As I lay back into the tube, one of the medical staff leant over me with a syringe in their hand. "This compound is what will slow your body down to a crawl. We'll see you in a few years... and we hope to have a cure by then." The needle pierced my skin and the fluid was put in to my blood stream. The member of staff looked down at me with tears in their eyes. "I'm not supposed to do this but..." They pulled their hood down, revealing a attractive young woman. My fiancée. She leant down to my head and kissed me, before standing back up. "...I'll miss you. Don't worry, I'll be here waiting for you."
I nodded slowly as the drugs started to take effect and the cryo-tube lid slid shut. Not much headway had been made in that respect... but I was desperate. I know everyone has their time, but it felt like mine had come to soon, as if Death was just in the background, pulling a prank on me. The last few years swam by my vision. Getting promoted to corporal, and then to sergeant within the next two years. The night I had ordered my dad around, as he only reached corporal! And that's when I met her. She was sitting quietly in the bar when a couple of guys tried to chat her up. It was clear she didn't want anything to do with them, but they were very insistent.
Now, being a newly appointed sergeant, I was full of confidence... and beer. I walked over to them and put my hand one of the men's shoulder. "Look guys, she's asked you to leave. Why don't you just do it? It's clear she's not interested." I had already anticipated the fist, and easily dodged the first two or three. I didn't, however, anticipate the bar stool that was whacked across my back. I was rolled over and the three men were standing over me, with grins on their faces. There was the sound of tables and chairs moving, and their grins disappeared.
“We'll that was a bad idea, wasn't it?" I recognised the barman's voice. "You've just attacked one of my regulars. And a friend of everyone in here. Not only that, but you know the law, what happens to those that attack soldiers in their own country. You guys are going away for a long time."
"Oh really?", one of them sneered as he pulled out a pistol. The crowd backed away a little, but stood their ground. The man pointed his pistol at the woman still sitting down. As he took the safety off, I leapt up at him and we smashed through a window. A gunshot rang out, and he took off down the street. My friends gathered around me with lots of towels in their hands. And then everything went black.
“My dearest sister, have you come to finally give me what I deserve?” The dark alicorn was sat upon her throne in Canterlot Castle, where she had decided to take up residence. The white alicorn that had just entered stood staring at her.
“No, I have not. Please Luna, end this madness!”
“My name is no longer 'Luna', and you are NOT MY SISTER!!!” At the dark alicorn's shout, Celestia was thrown back against the doors, and slumped to the ground. “I am Nightmare Moon, and you will do nothing to harm me! You care for this body too much, but not for the one who it belongs to!”
“I am sorry Luna, but you have left me no choice.” There was a flash from her horn and six pieces of gold were wrapped around her neck. “You have one last chance. Will you stop this?”
“No.”
“Very well.” A beam of rainbow light shot out and encapsulated the mare, the room being filled with her screams. The light finally subsided, leaving just the white alicorn standing, her main and tail hanging limply to the floor. “I'm sorry Luna, it had to be done.” As the tears started falling, she found herself pulled in to an embrace, and looked up to see her current captain of the guard.
I came to a few days later in hospital, and as I went to roll over I screamed out in pain. Looking down I saw a bandage to the left of my chest, covering the lower part of my lung. My scream had awakened someone in the room, and I cautiously turned the other way to see who it was. It was her. "Hey, you're awake. I'm glad to see that. I just want to thank you, for saving me from those men. Would... you like to know what happened to them?" I nodded my head. There was something trustful about this woman, even if I didn't know her name. "The two that were still inside the pub were... 'entertained' by your friends. The one who shot you is currently in a hostage situation. Hey, what do you think you are doing?"
I swung my legs of the bed, and started to stand up, but almost fell to the floor. She was instantly at my side, pushing me back on to the bed. "Hey, you stay in bed mister! I just so happen to be a nurse at this hospital, so if I have to get restraints on you, I bloody well will! Don't worry about him, I overheard you friends talking to some of you bosses. Apparently, the 'Saturday and Sunday' soldiers are about to go in. Whatever that means. Now you need your rest." My covers were pulled back over me and she tucked them in, before heading to the door. "I'm going to get you some food, and you'd best be in bed when I come back!” I opened my mouth to say something, but she just shook her head. “By the way, my name is Sarah.”
The memories disappeared, and my vision began to blur. I could feel my body getting colder. The guy that had shot me five years previously had used modified rounds, with some sort of radioactive isotope. The doctors had said that it should have cleared up either on it's own, or with a little chemotherapy. Well, that didn't work. And here I am, with the worlds only know case of this disease. It's not radiation poisoning, but they're not sure what it is, which is why I'm in this tube. They reckon it could take five years to figure something out, but I don't have that long.
There was a small display on the inside of the tube, with red numbers streaming across it and counting down. 'One thousand, eight hundred and twenty five days, twenty three hours, forty seven minutes, seventeen seconds.' How long I was going to be in here. I saw Sarah put her hand on the casing, and I tried to move mine to meet it, but they were restrained for safety. There was a biting sensation and everything went black.
The dark alicorn was standing on the throne dais of her old castle, one that she had not seen for a thousand years, staring down at the six mares who had confronted her. “You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!”
The lavender mare at the front look around at the others. “But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!
For the second time, Nightmare Moon was attacked by a beam of rainbow light, and she again found herself screaming, but not at her failure, because her grip on Luna was being severed. And she would become nothing.
It felt like thousands of ants were biting me, my skin tingling all over. The next think I know there is a bright patch in my vision. They're thawing me out already? Five years? Felt like five seconds! Water started to pool on the bottom of the tube, getting warmer as it made it's way up my body. By the time it reached my neck, I could move around, almost swim in it. I waited for the hatch to open, but nothing happened, so I looked for the emergency manual release, and pulled it. The water drained away and I felt the tube go to around a sixty degree incline. The doors then popped open, and I opened my eyes, expecting to see a medical team, and a very special nurse.
There was no one. It was very dark, but the windows were letting in a little light. I clambered out of the tube, very wobbly, and went towards the wardrobe where my clothes were. On the way over I tripped on something, and I felt something akin to a stick break as I hit the floor. Reaching down, I pulled the stick towards me, and once I saw what it was, I dropped it in horror. It was a bone. A human bone. I scrambled away and bumped into the side. Something rolled off, and I picked it up, rewarded with a torch.
I turned it on and slowly made my way back over to the body. It was a member of medical staff, but there in their coat, was three holes, surrounded by brown stains. “What the hell happened here?” I rolled them over and grabbed the ID tag. “Who have we got here? Dr S. Hunt huh? Sorry I couldn't help you.” I then looked at the picture. “No... no... no!” I pulled the tattered remains of the shirt away, and hanging around the neck were a set of dog tags. I pulled them away and looked them over to make sure. “Sgt Luckes, Eleventh June, nineteen eighty six. Oh god Sarah, what happened? Why?”
I turned to a beeping noise from the side, and saw a computer running. I was still alive, so it meant there was power still. I flicked on the screen and used it to find the light switch. I wish I didn't. There were bodies every where, and the walls were covered in holes of varying sizes. Turning back to the computer, there was only one file on there, so I clicked on that. Sarah appeared, covered in dust and grime. And blood.
“Alec, if you're watching this, then things went very, very wrong. The world started to fall apart after you went to sleep. Turns out the fossil fuels levels were lower then they were telling us. We ran out. For the first two years, the world came together trying to sort the problem out, and were making good headway. Then, two months ago, a navy ship in patrol in the Atlantic called in with a message that there was a unknown and massive fleet out there. Before they could give numbers, the signal dropped off. Every available asset was sent there, but less than a tenth returned.”
“We still don't know what's going on outside, but we are quite safe here. For now at least. We haven't had a resupply run for two days now. The military are usually on time, but something isn't sitting right. I also wish to let you know that we are close, so close to finding a cure. The computer's running simulations. If you are on your own when you see this, two more files will open. One will be a guide to mix the cure yourself, and the other will be a clock to see how long you had to wait for.”
I could hear the sounds of fighting, and Sarah looked up worryingly. “I have encrypted this computer to only activate to your voice once I speak a certain pass phrase. But I hope that in just a few short years, you can hold me in your arms again, looking out over the coast from our balcony. Just don't try to sing that song again, leave it to the professionals!” She giggled a little and then went back to being serious. “I've got my doctorate, so I am now the one in charge of the project. This way I can ensu... Jenna, what's going on?” I could hear shouting in a different language, and then Sarah was pulled from her chair by a masked man, and put on her knees. I could see her colleagues in the same positions around the room. A man walked up behind her, a AK in his arms. He started to speak in very broken English.
“Any last words?”
Sarah looked at the camera and I saw her grip my tags in one hand. “I love you, Alec.” The screen went dark, but I still heard three shorts ring out. The file closed down, and two more programs started to run. The first one was a clock, but I took no notice of it. Right now, my priority was the cure. I read the instructions and started to gather the chemicals from the drawers. The sound of movement caught my ears, and I noticed one of the skeletons had a knife in it's chest. There was another one next to it, with an AK in it's hand. I knelt down next to it and rolled it over. There were a set of tags on it as well, but these ones had not stood the test of time. “Cpt Dix... Sevent... Ju...nineteen eig..y s.x... I'm sorry Simon, but thanks for being there at the end.”
I picked up the rifle and hid around the corner. The sounds of a vehicle came through the door, and stopped moving. I could hear an artificial voice. “Oh! What happened in here? The tube is open? About time! Now, I wonder where he is?” I came out of cover and raised the rifle up, taking a shot at the vehicle. The top of it spun round and leant down to inspect the damage. There wasn't any. A barrel appeared on top. “You shot me! Time to shoot you! Come in to the light!” Well, might as well get it over with. I walked out and saw that it was in fact some sort of robot. Two glowing blue orbs widened, and the barrel disappeared. “Sgt Luckes! Quickly, I have to administer the cure!”
“What do you mean, administer the cure?” A panel on the front opened and a syringe appeared on a tray. It was picked up and held out towards me, plunger first.
“I have lost track of how long I have been here, my logs were destroyed. I found this place ages ago, and I knew it would help me fulfil my purpose. I was a soldier drone, but there has not been anyone to fight for years. I do believe you are the last human on Earth.” It started to roll towards me, and flipped the syringe around. “Now please hold still, I must get this right.”
I jumped over the other side of the cryo-tube. “Hold on a minute! Why should I trust an ex soldier drone with a needle?”
“Because I finished it. Dr Hunt was so close, if only she had a little more time. I could not get into her computer, but thankfully she kept all over her notes on paper as well. I studied them and corrected a few errors. They were in a photo album, would you like to see them?”
“No. No, not yet.” I put the rifle down and climbed on to a unoccupied bed. “Very well, do it.”
“Yes sir,” I watched as a drip was inserted perfectly in to my system, and then the robot added the cure. “I must warn you, there may be some side effects associated with the chemicals...” It's voice was slowly lost to me as I slipped away.
It was wonderful. I had never run so fast, or so far, and yet felt like I could carry on going. The strange yellow tint faded away, and I found myself slowing down, coming to a stop. I saw a patch of blood on the ground, and found I could 'see' it's scent. Following at, I came across a small camp fire, and I could hear voices. “It's a good job we had that shotgun, otherwise those wolves would have been the end of us! Let's get him patched up.”
I crept through the bushes till I could see properly. There was a group of around fifteen people milling about. I could see a strange orange glow surround them, and I knew that was what I needed. I spotted a woman away from the group and charged out at her, getting screams from the others. I heard a gun click by the time we hit the ground, with me pinning her. “Get away from her, now!”
I looked up to the man and growled at him, making him back away slightly. The woman under me stopped struggling. “Alec... is that you?” I looked down to see Sarah, and she still had my tags around her neck. “What happened to you?” Before I could try and answer, I heard more footsteps come up, followed by three more guns clicking. I looked up to see four men with shotguns.
“Even if you look like him, he's not in there any more. You have ten seconds to get off her, or we will open fire.” I slowly stood back up, but pulled Sarah with me, putting her between us. “Come on now, just let her go, and you can be on your way.” My ear twitched and I turned just in time to see a fifth man to the side, taking aim. The safety was off and his finger slowly pulled the trigger.
I spun Sarah around, so that the bullets impacted my back and left her alone. It hurt like hell, but I wouldn't harm her. I fell to the floor and saw her looking over me, worry clear on her face. “Alec, stay with us! Hold on please!”
I opened my mouth to say something, but instead I let out what could only be described as a feral roar. A gun barrel was placed in my face, and that was all I needed to act. I leapt to my feet and lashed at the man, sending him flying through the air. I turned my attention to the others and noticed they were moving too slow. Or I was too fast. It didn't matter, they fell one by one until all that was left was Sarah.
“Alec, what happened? Where did you get that speed and strengtughugh.” I could see my own fingers around her throat, lifting her from the ground, and slowly gripping tighter. I could see the panic in her eyes as she realised I wouldn't let go. I was trying to stop, but another part of my, more like an animal then a person was enjoying it... and it was winning. After a few moments, her eyes rolled into their sockets and she went limp. I dropped her to the ground and took off running again. It seemed killing them gave me my strange powers back. After a few hours of running, I again slowed down. I heard another group of people and went to investigate. I stopped when I saw the same camp, the same people, and the same glow. Even Sarah was there. I didn't hesitate this time. I needed that glow to keep going, and they would give it to me. I jumped at the first person and snapped their neck, and I let loose another feral roar... but this time, I enjoyed it.
Twilight approached the god of chaos, sitting on his odd throne in Ponyville town square. “All right, ladies, let's show him what friendship can do!”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Pinkie Pie turned to the side and grabbed a mouthful of chocolate rain, before bounding back in to line and growling at Discord.
He looked up to see the six mares floating in the air. “Huh. What's this?” He pulled down his glasses and his eyes widened as the Elements started working. “No. NO!” The beam of light swirled around him, ending with a flash. As the light melted away, they opened their eyes to see a statue of the draconequus on the ground, and Ponyville back to how it belonged.
I sat up screaming at what I had just done. I lost count of how many times I had attacked Sarah and our friends. That's who the others were. I started to cry. It was because of me in the fucking tube that they stayed. Because of me they died before their time. Death got his victim, it just wasn't me. The sound of machinery drew my attention to the door, where the robot had entered. “I have brought you some supplies. I do not know what you do or do not like, but these are as fresh as you will get.”
“How long?”
“You were unconscious for two days after I gave you the cure, and I am please to say that any sign of the ailment has been completely eradicated.”
I looked at the clock on the computer still ticking. “How long?”
The robot followed my gaze and looked at the screen, it's lights dimming a little. “Eight million, Seven hundred and seventy thousand, three hundred and sixty eight hours, fifty nine minutes, and forty four seconds. Or if you'd prefer, a thousand years, six months, six days, five hours, fifty nine minutes, and forty four seconds. Welcome back to reality. Come on, you are alive... give me a smile!”