The night seemed longer than it had been for a long time. The cool air a little uncharacteristic for this time of year, the group being able to see their breaths in the moon light. Despite this, the group had continued on as they always had. Even Octavia ignored the cold, after her whole "No clothes" fight with Quill the other day. They had apologized and moved past it, but Octavia was still dead set on being naked as much as possible or as naked as possible. The group managed to convince her to wear something even remotely functional when they were travelling, just in case they ran into survivors. Eventually, she gave up and asked Silverwing to cut up her clothes. She now wore a similar outfit to her cousin Applejack when the farm mare was feeling exceptionally promiscuous. Quill could even see Octavia's cutie mark!
It was odd to see the Mare who used to be so prim and proper essentially dressed as what Canterlot would look at as a two bit slut, but it actually kinda suited the mare in this new situation. Quill thought she was silent and fast before, now it was just insane. Seeing her was a bitch too, as she never wore pure black clothing. Just very dark shades coupled with her very dark coat. Oh, and she cut her mane. Quill still couldn’t get used to that, but he figured Octavia wanted to get as far from the stuffy perfect Canterlot attitude as possible, and this was how she decided to do it. The shoulder Length hair suited her actually, if she put it in a pony tail at least. It looked mangled and off when her hair was down. Quill just thought it was because he was used to seeing her with longer hair.
Quill had given her a compliment once the other day, but Sweetie Belle jabbed him in the side. He was now aware that complimenting naked women when your new girlfriend was right beside you was a really bad idea, and that Sweetie Belle was a LOT stronger than she appeared to be.
Silverwing despite joining Octavia in her nudist ideals part time, still wore his uniform and body armour. He had handed the ammo for all the various firearms he once carried to those who now carried them, so he insisted on carrying a majority of their supplies. Quill didn’t argue, and really preferred Silverwing taking command. Silver made some calls that Quill didn’t agree with and soon learned that without Silver making said calls, they would all be dead. Quill didn’t want to be the leader anymore. He never did really well, and he chalked up his ability to lead before Silverwing to an insane amount of luck that was about to end in all likelihood.
For now though, he liked his luck right where it was. This was actually, quite possibly the happiest he had ever been in his life all things accounted for. He had more friends than he had ever had now, as well as a girlfriend. What a girlfriend Sweetie Belle was too!
Something told Quill she was trying to get as much out of their relationship as she could, and she was doing a decent job of it. He had finally gotten used to kissing the poor girl, but the group still poked at him for being a Pedo. Nothing hurtful, and of course they all knew he wasn’t actually a pedophile. It just looked really weird when Sweetie Belle would hold up her arms for Quill to pick her up like a child, and then have her suddenly trying to eat his face. She didn’t exactly have kissing down yet, but neither did Quill. They would simply have to survive by eating each others face. Once, Sweetie Belle went in for a kiss, and shoved her muzzle in Quills mouth. It was bad, and Octavia felt the need to pull Sweetie Belle into another room for a girl talk. Silver just stared at Quill awkwardly for a few minutes till the girls came back. They were starting to get better, and during the day when Silver and Octavia went off alone Quill and Sweetie could suck at kissing all they wanted!
Other than that, Sweetie Belle would do other things for him. Hold his hand, rub his back, cook him food... Yea that actually wasn’t one of Quills favorite things. Sweetie Belle had this nasty habit of burning whatever she made, and it took Quill a little bit of time to work up the courage to tell her. She burnt cereal once... The only thing that stopped him from spitting it out was the gun on the little girls hip. Dangerous little tyke she was...
It was a new night however, and the group was carrying on their lives as best they could...
“Ok, Silverwing? You gotta tell us what the plan is here” Quill piped up. The last week had been exploring the various parts of Canterlot and the group was getting a little unsettled. Best him look like the dumbass than Sweetie Belle or Octavia. Silver stopped where he was and look around. It was starting to seem like even he didn’t have a plan.
“We need to collect information on these things. As much as we can, or else whatever is in the castle could take us by surprise” the Soldier started. “Canterlot Castle, and Canterlot General Hospital are both Locations to which the outbreak happened the strongest. Who knows what could actually be in there” Silver finished. Quill thought it was a good idea...
Octavia did not.
“Whatevers in the Palace that will more than certainly surprise and kill us, will probably do the same out here once we find it. I say we should just get the castle over with and see if that passage you spoke of is still accessible. I would rather die trying to get out then die walking around with the hopes of learning what could be in the castle” Octavia said coolly.
Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “Octavia is right. If these thing are evolving, then chances are no matter how much information we gather here the things will just be a step ahead of us. Best go now and expect anything than to wait until they are next to impossible to defeat or even get around later” She piped in.
Silverwings shoulders slumped a little and he rolled his eyes. “What do you say Quill? Surely you agree with me!” He asked.
Quill just raised his hands. “My mom used to tell me that a happy wife means a happy life. I think that applies to both of us here dude” He joked. Both Octavia and Sweetie Belle looked away, Sweetie Belle blushing wildly. Octavia’s coat didn’t take to blush well, but you could see she was flustered. Silverwing however gave up in silence, mentioning something about everyone having it their way.
Silverwing just sighed “Fine, we will head to the Palace. If we run into anything we can’t handle though, we need to get out and find a better route. Alright?” He asked the group, looking around at the three with him. Everyone nodded. “Good, let’s go...” the stallion said finally.
A few more hours passed, when Octavia finally looked at Silver with an interested look. “Silver... Why is your name Silverwing?” She asked. The group just paused, unsure of how to react. “Yea, it’s probably rather rude to ask, but it has been confusing me for quite some time and I would rather know now instead of dying later” She said.
Silver stopped and looked at Octavia, a conflicted look on his face. “First off, we won’t die. Second, I’ll tell you when we get out of here. Look, we are at the Castle now anyway. We need to hit up the armoury, and then get to the sub level of the Castle as fast as possible. Come on!” He finished. He sounded aggravated, so the group left the topic along. Octavia seemed ashamed a little, but kept herself moving regardless.
They walked, and could see that the castle was in fact abandoned. One thing that made them all nervous though was the vines as thick as tree trunks that had taken the once beautiful castle as it’s home.
“We aren’t far now... Just a little further” Silver said, before they came to a large door. It was clear that it was designed to keep people out. Silver walked up, and placed his hand on a glowing brick. “Emergency Access Clearance Bravo Alpha. Identification One One Seven Seven Three Eight Four” The Military stallion spoke with a sound of dread.
The stone flashed red multiple times before lighting up with a solid, steady green. A loud thunk could be heard from within the room and the doors slid open with a strained grating. “We need to hurry” Silver commanded, slipping into the room.
Quill just looked at Octavia and SweetieBelle before shrugging and following along. Really, at this point it felt they were all way over their heads at this point. They ran into the room, and were shocked by what they saw. First... It was BIG! Quill suddenly felt enormously small and pathetic in comparison to the now apparent strength of the royal guard. He used to scoff at how the only thing keeping Equestria safe were the Princesses and the Royal Guards were useless. This very quickly changed his mind.
In accompaniment to the usual gold armour and basic Roaman styled weapons, there was a plethora of firearms. Shotguns, Handguns, Rifles, carbines, and firearms that Silver never even told them about.
“Uh Silver... this is a lot of firepower...” Sweetiebelle whispered softly, looking at a gun which was almost bigger than she was. She reached out to grab it but Silver stopped her sharply.
“Don’t even think about it. I don’t even have the training to use that thing, and from the demonstrations we saw, that thing would spin you around like a top if not set up properly. That is not something used for what we need” He said, walking right past it and too a large wall of Lockers.
“We need to stock up on ammunition. If things go to plan, we will be out of Canterlot and in the hands of the Equestrian government by tomorrow evening. Grab what you can carry, and lets get going” He said, prying open one of the lockers and starting to sort through literal cases of ammunition.
Octavia walked over and started to fill up her own make shift sack, with Quill and Sweetiebelle soon following after. Things went on quietly, but eventually everyone was stocked up and ready to move out. Quill had noticed Silver grab what looked like a six pack of beer, but he was almost certain they weren’t beer. Metal cylinders with red bands around them. He would ask later, for now they had to leave.
“Alright, now where are we heading?” Quill asked, looking around.
“We need to head to the sub level of the Castle. From there, we have a path into the inner workings of the mountain which leave out through a cave at the base. It was originally intended to ease up the Canterlot water and sewage lines during floods. We are going through the maintenance hatch, but you will see what I am talking about once we get in. till then, we need to move” The Stallion said, leading the group out of the armoury.
The walk through the castle was nerve wracking, but uneventful for the most part. The plant that had taken over the city with such muscle had turned the halls of the castle into a jungle, but there was no sign of infected ponies. It was odd for such a place to be abandoned, and no one felt safe. If anything, it made them even more paranoid of what would be around the next corner.
Quill was also a little paranoid over the guns. With how jumpy everyone was, it was a miracle they hadn’t just started firing at something. He himself had to turn the safety on so that he didn’t just reflex pull the trigger. He was calmed a bit though, when Silver seemed to relax.
“Alright... We are here. The plants made it difficult, but The hatch should be just over there. We will go down one at a time, but be careful! These shafts haven’t been checked out in a long time. Who knows what damages time or even this plant thing has done” He mentioned, walking over and opening a floor hatch.
Quills face would have went pale if that was possible. It was dark... Quill didn’t realize how much the dark bothered him, until he saw the all encompassing, pitch black of their escape route. Silverwing pulled out a small light rod and cracked it. He dropped it down the hatched and watched as it lit up the hole.
“Alright, The ladder looks clear. I’ll go down first, then Octavia, then Sweetiebelle. Quill, you follow last and make sure nothing comes after us. Worst comes to worst, you get down the hole and shut the hatch” He said flatly, before starting down the hatch himself.
Quill groaned internally, but kept his eyes peeled on the darkness around them. It took them a few minutes, but eventually, Quill was able to follow behind Sweetiebelle and rejoin the group. They walked in silence, lead only by the very faint glow of the light rod. It was just enough to see the path before them and the wall directly beside them, but nothing else.
they walked for a bit until they heard rustling from all around them. “Stay close everyone! Stay tight and...” Silverwing started before they heard a clatter and a scream. “Sweetiebelle?!” He called out.
“Uhm... I’m right here Silver...” the small mare whispered, cuddling into Quill and looking around in fright.
You could see Silvers eyes grow wide “OCTAVIA! Octavia!! Respond!” He started screaming until a soft, calm voice that every citizen in Equestria would recognize interrupted him.
“Good evening my Dear Little Ponies... What has you so scared..?”