//------------------------------// // Friend // Story: The World that Came After // by Aslfrasle //------------------------------// It had been nearly an hour and a half since Grey had started searching. He had searched the entire area twice yet he had seen neither coat nor mane of Noir. He had been a bit worried when she disappeared after their fight, and now he was getting seriously concerned. This section of the hospital isn’t that big, I should have found her by now he thought to himself. The Director’s Office had proved to be a bust, the entire room was even more destroyed than the rest of the hospital. When he had arrived while searching for Noir, the room had been turned upside down. The bookcase with what probably would have been the director’s medical journals had been pulled down from the wall, his chair was lying on it’s side and the various effects he had kept on his desk had been tossed about. A thick layer of dust coated everything in the room, indicating it had been like this for a while. The safe behind the director’s desk had been large enough to take up half of the wall and was tightly locked with a large steel bolt. Grey had also noticed some papers and files had been wildly tossed around the room though he paid them no mind, as they were worthless now. Grey had since been wandering the halls of the hospital’s emergency room trying to think of places he hadn’t checked. I just don’t get it, he thought, where could that darn mare have got off to? I would’ve thought she’d have beelined for the director’s office after we split up, though that place was just a mess. From the way that place had been torn apart, it looked she’d she’d already been through there, and the evidence support that theory. The reckless tearing apart of the director’s office, the wanton way all his papers were tossed about, that definitely seemed like Noir’s hoof-work. Wait a second… Grey thought. I feel like something’s off about those papers and files from the director’s safe. They weren’t anything special though, just patient lists and recorded of the hospital’s expen… Grey stopped as he realized what he had missed due to his worry over Noir. Dad always kept files like those locked up, for the safety of his patients and the hospital, so how did they get strewn all over the room? I don’t think the director himself would leave such valuable documents lying around, though I guess somepony, possibly Noir, could have taken them out of the safe and left them after finding they were worthless. Grey sighed as he lost what could have been his only lead. He had almost dismissed the papers when he remembered the rest of the room. The thick layer of dust made it clear that nothing in that room had been moved in a long time, yet the papers seemed almost pristine. If they had been left out they would have become dust themselves by now meaning they must have been in the safe until recently. Somepony probably opened it looking for treasure or maybe even one of the bits, Noir certainly thought that’s where it would be. But why would they close it afterwards? Grey paled as he realized the truth, A ruined hospital in the middle of nowhere, a safe that could only be opened from the outside, Noir seemingly nowhere in the entire hospital. The only reason anypony would have for closing that safe now is if they had something they needed to hide so that nopony would ever find it, or in this case, find her. Grey unfurled his wings and shot down the hallway as he realized what had happened. There’s somepony else here, somepony else looking for that bit. Noir had probably bee-lined for the Director’s Office and managed to crack the safe. But somepony followed her and watched her as she was searching through the safe. After she pulled everything out of the safe and found nothing, her pursuer probably pushed her in and locked the safe behind her, leaving him free to search the rest of the hospital freely. It took only a few minutes for Grey to reach the Director’s Office. He hadn’t flown that fast in years and it was going to take a few hours to recover from the strain he had put his wings through. As he tore through the doorway, he ripped open one of the satchels belted to his stomach, and pulled out several vials filled with a familiar purple liquid. There’s no way I’m gettin that safe open conventionally, so these will have to do. I can mix up some more later. Uncorking the last remaining bottles of his prototype Blight toxin, he poured the contents over the steel bolt and began using his hooves to rub the substance in, hoping to speed up the process. Grey’s efforts were rewarded with a hiss as the acidic substance ate through the metal door. Grey strained the muscles in his front hooves as he pulled the now bolt-less door open. The metal screeched loudly as the door’s rusted hinges gave way. The heavy door swung open and Grey peered into the darkness inside. Somehow, he found it was even messier than the room outside. He then noticed a huddled form in the far back of the safe. Noir! he thought. She was curled up in a ball and had hidden herself under a sheet of some kind. Grey had only taken two steps inside of the massive safe when he heard a voice come from behind him. “Die!” the voice shouted. He felt something, no, somepony jump onto his back. Grey struggled to hold himself up. Whoever this is, they can’t be a pony! It feels like there’s a minotaur wrestling with a bear on top of me he thought as his hooves buckled under the pressure. He tried to fight back or force it off, yet it was no good. He had been pinned. As the weight crushing down on his back intensified, Grey realized that it felt strangely familiar. “N…Noir?” he choked out with what little air remained in his crushed lungs. “Wait, Grey?” he heard the voice say as the weight on his back slowly lessened. Grey turned to see Noir standing behind him. “What are you doing here, Grey?” she asked. “I was looking for you,” he said. “When you disappeared after our fight, I started looking around. I found a supply closet with plenty of supplies for Appleloosa. After that, I started looking for you, figured with how reckless you were you’d have probably gotten yourself into some kind of trouble.” “I wasn’t being reckless! Something just snuck up behind me and pushed me in there when I wasn’t looking!” she shouted, her face turning red, “And another thing, I didn’t need your help! I could’ve gotten out of there on my own!” “Excuse me? You were stuck inside a giant metal safe, which mind you hasn’t rusted or degraded very much, in a hospital in the middle of nowhere,” said Grey. “How, pray tell, did you plan to get out of there without my help?” “I don’t know, but I’m sure I would’ve been fine!” said Noir. “Well, excuse me princess. I’m so sorry I came and tried to help you. Next time I’ll be sure to keep myself out of it.” Grey said. He could feel the steam bursting out of his ears. How can she be so ungrateful? I save her life and she acts like I was getting in the way. “Well, whatever. If you’re so capable I’m sure you don’t need my help, so I’ll just be on my way.” Grey turned to leave when he felt a tugging feeling on his left hind hoof. Looking down he saw a yellowish aura surrounding it, and a similar one coming from Noir’s horn. “D…n’t…o,” he heard her mumble. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you clearly,” said Grey. “I said don’t go…” The mumbling continued. “One more time, don’t what?” he asked. “I said don’t go, okay!” she shouted, her pale white face had turned a surprising shade of crimson. “What?” said Grey, “But I thought you were so capable that you didn’t need my help?” “And I don’t!” she shouted vehemently. “But, in case you’ve forgotten, you still owe me for almost killing me with that toxin earlier. That means that I own you and I won’t have some disobedient little colt run off before I get my due.” Grey exhaled a heavy sigh. I was kind of hoping she wouldn’t remember that. Last time she wanted payback, I had to eat meat. Grey shuddered as he remembered the taste. Who knows what else she could have up her sleeves. “Fine, I’ll stick with you for now, though I refuse to eat any other ponies, or sit by and let you recklessly kill yourself. If I’m going to be traveling with you then we’re going to follow my rules and stay safe, got it?” “Ugh, fine. You and your rules,” said Noir. “Rules are meant to keep ponies safe since the Princesses aren’t here anymore!” Grey said. “Now let’s go, we still need to find that bit, as well as whatever it was that attacked you.” Grey turned to leave yet once more did he feel Noir’s magic tugging, though this time it was his tail. He turned and saw Noir with looking at him with a solemn face and a glint in her eyes. “If we’re going to be partners, I just want you to know that I’m really…glad that you, you know, came looking for me. I was getting kind of scared since it was pitch-black in there and I had no ideas on how to get out. To be honest, if you hadn’t come back, I probably would have died in that safe and nopony ever would’ve known. So, I just want to say…thank you Grey, and that I would be honored to call you friend,” Noir finished her apology with a bow. “I’m also sorry I was a pain before.” Grey was, for lack of a better term, stunned. Dear Celestia, I just cannot understand this mare. First she’s going on about how she’s better off without me, then begs me not to go, only to say it’s because I owe her. Now she’s putting on this crazy show. Looking at her as she rose he noticed the twinkle in her eyes looked almost like a star. You know, when she’s not being crude or trying to kill me she’s actually kind of cute, it’s almost a shame I ain’t 20 years younger. Grey chuckled. “What’s so funny?’ said Noir. “Oh nothing, nothing at all. We should probably get moving if we want to find that bit and chase down your mystery assailant,” Grey replied. “Then let’s get going,” said Noir. “Oh Grey, I’ve got an idea. How about we make a friendly little wager?” “What are you talking about, Noir?” asked Grey. “I thought we were gonna search for the bit.” “Yeah, I know that. What I propose is that we make a bet on who finds the bit first, and whoever wins get to make the loser do whatever they want. Sound good?” Noir replied. “Why would I want to do that?” said Grey. “I thought we just decided it was better to stay together.” “We wouldn’t have to separate for this, plus now that you saved my life, your debt is actually repaid. This way though, I can make you my servant again. It’s just not as fun when I can’t mess with you or boss you around.” Noir said with a smirk. “I’m not going to play your childish games, Noir. This is serious,” said Grey. “If we’re going to find that bit we can’t be horsing around.” “Oh come on!” Noir pleaded. “You never know Grey, you might just win, and then you’d get to do whatever you want with me.” Noir flashed him a sultry smile as she licked her lips. Grey felt his face flush and could almost see his muzzle turning red. While he tried to surpass the upcoming urge, his efforts proved to be fruitless as his wings involuntarily popped out and extended with an audible *pomf*. “Come on Grey, at least buy a mare dinner first.” Noir said, her voice cracking from muffled laughter. “It’s not…You…It’s an involuntary action, okay! It never would’ve happened if you didn’t pull that stupid line!” Grey shouted as he tried to calm himself down and thus lower the blood flow to his wings. “Oh Celestia… I can’t believe… you just… because I…” Noir’s words were drowned out by a tide of laughter as she fell onto her back and began giggling like a school-filly. “Whatever, let’s just go already. We still need to find that bit and standing around here laughing at me isn’t going to get us anywhere,” said Grey. Noir simply continued to roll around on the floor, laughing like a mad-mare. Grey could hear a few words mixed in though they were immediately replaced by more raucous laughter. “Well, if you’re not going to help me look,” Grey said, developing a smirk of his own, “then I might just find that bit myself, then I really will make you do whatever I want. Noir’s laughter died down as she registered Grey’s words. “So you are up to the bet after all? Then let’s get this started. First pony to find the bit wins,” Noir said extending her hoof. “Agreed,” Grey said, tapping his hoof against hers. “All right then,” said Noir, “we start in 3…2…1…” Grey and Noir took off like a bolt of lightning, racing further into the depths of the hospital. Each pony was searching their hardest, hoping to find the bit first in an attempt to humiliate the other. What they didn’t notice however, was the small chunks of slime that had congregated in the upper corner of the Director’s Office. “I thought I had gotten rid of that insipid girl.” A deep voice resonated from within the slime. “I guess I’ll just have to take care of both of them myself to make sure that they stay dead. No one is getting that bit but me.” The voice cackled as the slime withdrew itself into the cracks in the wall. Grey and Noir were too busy searching to notice the smudges of teal slime spread across the hospital were slowly pulling themselves through the walls, all headed to a central location…the hospital morgue.