A new issue of Equestria Daily had been off the press this morning. As I read the paper, the picture with Get Set's face caught my attention. At first I cheered with joy, then I panicked a bit knowing that she was in a city filled with changelings all by herself. I made my way over to the train station to find Set and take her back home with me, but when I hurried my way over there, I bumped into somepony. When I got up to continue to the train station, I realized the pony I ran into had an orange coat and a blonde mane. I didn't take me long to realize who I ran into.
"Applejack," I said. "I know where Set is. I knew she was still alive."
"Ah know," Applejack realizes. "Ah just saw the paper this mornin'. Ah shouldn't have doubted ya before."
"It's fine," I had forgiven her. "As long as she's still alive, that's all I need to know. I was gonna head over to the train station to go to Vanhoover to find Set."
"Do ya really think the train will depart to Vanhoover after what just happened?" Applejack asked.
"I have no choice," I answered. "It's either leave her to die or come to her rescue, and I'm not letting anypony else die because these changelings find this satisfying."
"In that case, Ah wanna come with ya," Applejack demanded.
"I appreciate your help, but this is my mess. I'm should be the only one to go," I said.
"This is my way of makin' it up to ya," Applejack said. "Ah'm helpin' ya find Set and Ah ain't takin' 'no' for an answer."
"Alright, you can come," I said, giving in.
"Thanks Steady," Applejack said.
We went to the train station to see if there were any tickets to go to Vanhoover, and thankfully the departure was available, but nopony boarded the trip. So we went up to the ticket window.
"Two tickets to Vanhoover, please," I asked the stallion behind the window.
"Vanhoover?" the stallion asked with concern. "Are you sure?"
"Her little sis is in Vanhoover," Applejack argued. "Please just do us a favor."
"Okay then," the stallion said, still with concern. "That'll be 10 bits per ticket."
"Here you are," I said, handing over the bits required for me and Applejack to ride the train. We then waited outside for the train to arrive. Once the train had arrived we boarded it, knowing what we were up against. The train took off, and I could just feel Set in my arms again.
"Once ya find Set, what're ya gonna do next?" Applejack asked.
"Don't worry, we're staying in Ponyville," I responded. "I just want to know where she's gonna be when we get there."
"If she's smart, probably somewhere safe," answered Applejack. Then there had been a long moment of silence that lasted for only a couple of minutes until I finally broke that silence.
"Applejack..." I started. "Let's say something doesn't go right with my search. If anything happens to me, while I'm looking for Get Set, I want you to take care of her. Promise?"
"Ah promise," Applejack confirmed.
"Pinkie Promise?" I asked again.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Applejack promised.
"Thanks AJ," I responded. "I'm glad I to meet somepony like you."
"Ya got a little filly to take care of," Applejack stated. "How could I say 'no'?" Then, I gave her a friendly hug as the train kept moving.
When we arrived in Vanhoover, the place looked completely demolished, as if it were struck by a bomb. I couldn't believe that the changelings had done all of this, and this is coming from one of the victims of the apocalypse. There were very few ponies left in the city as far as I could tell.
"Celestia," Applejack exclaimed. "This is...Ah-Ah don't even..." It was obvious she was speechless.
"Being one of the victims of this monstrosity, you think you'd be used to this kind of destruction," I said.
"Let's not focus on their work," Applejack insisted. "We need to find Set."
"Right," I agreed. "Let's go talk to the survivors, see what they know." And that's exactly what we set out to do. It didn't take a genius to know that there weren't that many ponies left in the city. But that didn't stop my search, and who knows, maybe there might be ponies that do know about my little sister. We started by visiting a few households to see if anypony was home, but nopony was home. As we continued, we did see some ponies and asked them if they knew anything about Set.
"Excuse me, sir," I said, trying to get the citizen's attention. "Have you seen a filly with a yellow coat and a dark green mane?"
"Sorry," the stallion responded. "I can't say that I have."
"Oh, well thanks anyway," I replied.
We continued to walk along the streets of Vanhoover as me and Applejack conversed with one another.
"Don't worry Steady, we'll find her," Applejack said.
"I know we will," I responded. "It's only a matter of time when we do."
We came across several ponies, asking them where my sister could be, but none of them seemed to scan across a single pony that matched my description of Get Set. At this point I wanted to give up, but I knew what was at stake if I did, which motivated me to keep looking for her. We then came across another mare who I was hoping could help us.
"Excuse me, miss," I said to the mare. "You wouldn't happen to see a filly happen to walk across these parts now, would you?"
"Is she a pegasus that has a yellow coat, a dark green mane, and a lightning bolt for a cutie mark?" the mare asked, fitting Get Set's description perfectly.
"Yeah, do you know where she is?" I asked with hope.
"Last I saw her, she ran off in that direction," the mare said, pointing in the direction Set had ran off to.
"Thank you, so much," I said with happiness.
We then ran to the eastern side of town, where Set had ran off to. It looked pretty empty with absolutely no ponies around. I don't know why Set would run off here, it just didn't seem that safe for her to be hiding from the changelings. Then, a thought came to mind, "Why are there no changelings in Vanhoover if the town looked so destroyed." My only guess was that the changelings attacked just last night, but I had to focus on why I'm here, to find Set.
"This doesn't seem like the type of place Set should be wandering in," I mentioned.
"So why would that mare say she ran off somewhere in this area?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know, AJ" I responded. "But at least bits and pieces of information are better than no information at all."
"Yer right about that," AJ admitted. "Well, we might as well keep lookin'."
In that area, we searched high and low on the streets and no sign of the filly anywhere. Then I saw another stallion and thought that he would know something about my little sister. So we went up and asked the stallion.
"Excuse us, sir," I said to the stallion. "Can you help us?"
"What can I do for you?" the stallion asked.
"We're lookin' for a filly yea high with a yellow coat, a dark green mane, and a lightning bolt cutie mark. Does any of that look familiar to ya?"
"Now that I think about it, I think I might have seen a filly like that run into that convenience store just across from here," the stallion said, pointing his hoof at the convenience store Set was hiding in. We also noticed that the entrance had been sealed off by some debris from the incident. "Good luck getting in there," the stallion said again.
"Thank you," I said with graciousness. We then headed on over to the convenience store the stallion was describing. As soon as we got there, we tried to figure out a way to get in there.
"Well, it's obvious that debris isn't going anywhere," I stated. "Maybe the back door?"
"Worth a shot," Applejack agreed.
When we walked around the building to get to the back door, we saw another changeling, and this one was vicious as it attacked my right hip with its fangs.
"Aaaahhh!!!" I screamed in pain. "Applejack! A little help here!"
"Get away from her ya monster!" Applejack cried at the monster as she bucked it in the face. The changeling then retreated from causing any further pain.
"Thanks AJ," I said. "It looks like that thing got its fangs into me pretty deep."
"Are ya gonna be okay?" Applejack asked.
"Don't worry about it," I told her. "I've been through worse. C'mon, let's just see if we can get in." We then tried to open the back door, and sure enough, it's locked.
"Well, what now?" I asked.
"Let's try the windows," Applejack suggested.
"Yeah, good idea," I commented. We then tried opening the windows, but they wouldn't budge. Just when we were about to give up, one more idea came to mind.
"What if I flew up to the roof of the building and see if there's a way in?" I suggested.
"It's our only option left," Applejack noted. "Do what ya gotta do, Ah guess."
I flew my way up to the top of the building and tried to find my way inside the convenience store. While looking, I saw another changeling that attacked me just as good, if not more than the last one. This time, it attacked my wing with its fangs.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!!!" I screamed again. "GET. OFF. OF. ME!!!" I then got the changeling off my wings and attacked it until it's had enough.
"Steady, are ya okay?" Applejack cried out.
"I'm fine." I yelled back, then talked to myself. "If only I could say the same for my wing." I tried flapping it, and it hurt every time I did. I didn't even know if I would be able to fly my way back out of the convenience store once I found way in, at least. I did see a hole on the top of the building, so I made my way inside. I jumped in and I landed perfectly on all four of my hooves. The impact hurt a little, but it was all worth it to reunite myself with Set. I then called out, "Set! Set, are you in here?"
"Steady, is that you?" a voice came out from behind the counter.
"Yeah, it's me," I confirmed. "You can come out."
Without hesitation, she came out from under the counter and gave me the biggest hug in the whole wide world.
"Oh Steady, I'm so glad to see you again!" Set said happily, then she noticed my blood marks. "Steady, you're bleeding!"
"I'll be okay Set," I insisted. "Right now, we gotta find a way out of here. How did you get in here in the first place?"
"I got in through the entrance," Set explained. "But now all that stuff is blocking the way."
"I got in through that hole up there," I said. "Can you fly up that high?"
"I'll try," she said. She tried multiple times to fly up to where the hole was and only reached half that height every single time. "It's no use, I can't do it."
"Alright, well I guess I'll..." I started, then I felt a little light-headed.
"You'll what?" Set asked.
"...I'll help you up that hole," I finished.
"Okay then," Set said. "I know that your wing is bleeding and all, but do you think you can carry me up by flying me there?"
"I'm willing to do anything," I said, letting her know I'd protect her with my life. As I got a hold of Set, I tried flying to the hole, but my right wing was doing all the work. My left wing wouldn't do anything, "Well, we know we're not gonna get up there like that," I stated. "How about that crate, we can use it to hoist you up a little better."
"It's worth a shot," Set agreed. We then push the crate from the wall that was covering the back door to the revealing spot that was shown by the ceiling. It took a while, given my physical condition, but we finally got it in place. "I still don't think I can reach it Steady," Set mentioned. That's when we found more boxes from behind the counter Set was hiding behind. We grabbed them and used them as stairs to get up to the crate and make the escape. "I hope this works," Set said. She then made her way up the boxes and onto the crate. Once on the crate, she flew up and out of the convenience store. "I did it!" Set cheered.
"That's...that's great." I said, still feeling light-headed from the blood loss.
"Are you okay?" Set wondered.
"I-I'll be okay," I replied, trying not to worry her.
"Alright, your turn," Set responded.
I slowly got up the boxes no problem, but when I was climbing up to get on the crate, I fell off and passed out.
Moments later, I regained consciousness and saw Set trying to wake me up and the amount of blood I lost while I was out.
"Steady, wake up!" Set said with hope. "Please don't be dead!"
"Set..." I started. "Wha...What happened?"
"I think you passed out," Set explained.
"I...uh...I don't know if...if I'll make it," I said directly to Set.
"Don't say that!" Set cried out with concern. "You need to get up, please get up!"
I tried to get up but it was no use; I ended up falling flat on my flank. "I can't Set," I said.
"No, no, no, no, no! Please get up, I know you can!" Set said, cheering me on.
I tried one last time to get on my hooves and make my escape with Get Set, but I was too weak to continue onward. "I'm sorry Set," I apologized. "I really wish it didn't have to end this way."
"It can't end like this, not like this!" Set said, not wanting to believe I was going to die. Then she started to cry.
"Come here Set," I said as she followed my command, giving me a hug in addition. "We...both know that...I'm not...gonna make it. I...I hate to even say it...but you need to...leave me behind."
"I can't, I...I won't," Set argued.
"You don't have a choice," I fought back. "You know...what you have to do."
"It's not fair," Set pouted. "First, my mommy and daddy, and now my big sister. What's gonna happen to our family?"
"The only way...to keep our family whole...is to never forget about them," I told her. "Can you do that?"
"Don't worry, I will," Set promised.
"Here, take this," I said, handing Set over my satchel. "It's got apples, bits, and the family photo. All the stuff you'll need."
"Thanks Steady," Set replied as she was about to make her way out, but before she did, I stopped to let her know something.
"One more thing," I told her. "There's a mare out there with a...blonde mane and...an orange coat. Her name's...Applejack and she's gonna...take care of you from now on. You're gonna love her."
"Alright then," Set said.
"Before I go...there's one other thing...I have to tell you," I said, trying to get her attention before I passed away.
"What's that?" Set asked.
"I...love you..." Those were my final words before I died.
Set sniffled, cried, and said, "I love you too, Steady." She then made her way out of the convenience store. Once on the roof, she jumped from there and gently flew her way down to the ground where she met Applejack for the first time.
"Howdy, y'all must be Get Set," Applejack assumed. "Ready Steady's been talkin' an awful lot about ya. Speakin' of which, where is she?"
Set started to cry again when she heard her sister's name and given what happened to her. Applejack took the hint.
"She didn't make it, did she?" Applejack asked in confirmation.
Set shook her head in agreement while still sobbing.
"There, there," Applejack said calmingly. "Everythin's gonna be alright. Steady said that if anything went wrong in findin' ya, that Ah should be the one to take care of ya. Ya do trust me, right?"
Set, once again, shook her head to let Applejack know what Set thought of her.
"Don't ya worry," Applejack assured. "Ya're in good hooves now."
They then made their way over to the train station where Get Set would go home with Applejack and see the city of Ponyville for her very first time. But one thing will never, ever, leave her mind: that I, Ready Steady, will always still be in her heart.