Chapter 2: Tolerance
Violet awoke to the sound of gently sobbing coming from the next room. It was still night time, probably around 3:00 in the morning. Sighing, she climbed out of bed, making sure not to wake her foal.
Carefully, she walked over the door, and found the handle with her magic, turning it slowly, careful not to make too much noise. Stepping through the door, she made sure to close it behind her. She found the Pegasus mare curled up on the floor next to a softly glowing lamp. She was crying softly into her hooves, occasionally taking a drink from the half empty bottle of whiskey next to her.
“Hey…” Violet moved closer, nudging her a bit. “What’s wrong?...”
The Pegasus mare sniffed a bit. “M-my family… my friends… everypony is dead… aren’t they?...” She stared at the ground, her eyes bloodshot from crying. “My sister… my parents… all my friends….” She took another drink. “There’s no hope… there’s no place left to go… we’re all fucked!” She sobbed. “We’re all gonna die…” She repeated softly, drinking deeply from the bottle.
“I…” Violet started to say, but stopped herself. The Pegasus was right. Everypony was dead. There WAS nowhere safe to go. Then she thought of her foal, her little Crimson. “There is hope…” She said softly. “you’re still alive... “ She hugged the mare tightly. “There has to be some place left… because…” She grit her teeth. “Because I have a foal, damnit!” the tears started to run down her cheeks as well. “Because I’m not going to just give up and die! I need to keep him safe…”
The mare said nothing, silently crying as Violet hugged her.
“We need to have faith… a reason to keep on living. “ Violet said. “And… and I can’t lose mine when he’s depending on me…”
The mare smiled a bit. “I wish I could be like you…” She said softly. “Have you ever... lost anyone?...”
“Yes…” She replied softly. “My husband… And now I’ve probably lost everyone else too…”
“How are you so calm?...” The mare whimpered.
“...because… “ She paused. She wasn’t so calm. Emotionally, she was a wreck. She wanted it all to be over. “I’m not… not really…. But I can’t show it.” She looked in the direction of the bedroom. “Because he’s so young and innocent… I can’t let him lose that so soon… To tell you the truth… I almost gave up... “ She looked away.
“So… Why are you two out here?...” The Pegasus asked.
“Well, I figured it’d be safer down south, where there isn’t much to bomb…” Violet said. “I dunno… It’s probably just as bad, but… I need something to live for…” She smiled a bit, looking back up at the Pegasus. “You know… You should come with us…”
“South?...” The Pegasus asked.
“Sure. You’re really close to Fillydelphia here… If it got hit as bad as Hollow Shades… And that pink stuff coming out of Canterlot… I don’t know what it is, but I don’t wanna stick around and find out…”
“How far South?...” Val asked, sounding a bit nervous.
“I dunno…” Violet replied. “Like I said… I dunno what to expect… I mean for all I know, it could be even worse down there…. Look, there’s no point in staying here… You’ll run out of supplies eventually… Then it’s just a matter of time.”
“I’ll think about it….”
“We’re leaving tomorrow morning, first thing…” Violet said. “Now… I need to get some sleep…” She yawned. “... And… so do you, if you wanna come with us… It’ll be a lot of walking….” She turned, and started walking back to the room.
“Hey, wait… Can I just ask you a question?...” Asked Val.
Violet stopped, turning to face her “Sure, what’s on your mind?...”
“Why do you… trust me?...” She asked.
“Huh?...” Violet asked. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Well, I mean…. Well from what you told me about what happened… I dunno… all I’m saying is… I’d have a hard time trusting other ponies after that…” The pegasus mare said, looking back at the bottle of liquor on the floor next to her.
Violet thought for a bit before answering. “...I guess… I’m just not used to the ‘New Equestria’ yet…” she smiled, walking over to the bedroom door. “Night again…”
* * *
The next morning, Violet awoke to the sound of music playing softly from the next room. Yawning, she climbed out of bed, and trotted over to the door, opening it with her magic. The source of the music was a record player in one corner of the room. She’d heard the song before, and smiled as she remembered where.
It had played on the radio the night her husband had left to go fight the Zebras. As the vocals started, she began to sing along with it.
“Outside the barracks
By the corner light
I’ll always stand, and wait for you at night
we will create a world for two
I’ll wait for you, the whole night through
for you, Lili Marleen
for you, Lili Marleen”
Valentine came out of the kitchen, and watched Violet quietly, Crimson standing next to her in the doorway. Violet’s voice was beautiful as she sang, closing her eyes.
“Beugler tonight, don't play the call to arms
I want another evening with her charms
Then we will say goodbye and part
I'll always keep you in my heart
With me, Lili Marleen
With me, Lili Marleen
give me a rose to show how much you care
Tie to the stem a lock of golden hair
Surely tomorrow, you'll feel blue
But then will come a love that's new
For you, Lili Marleen
For you, Lili Marleen”
Tears started to well up in Violet’s eyes as she recalled how Equestria was before the war. Life had been so easy then. Before the stress of hearing the casualty figures on the radio, praying that your loved ones weren’t among them; comforting friends who’d lost loved ones in the war, and eventually having to deal with the loss of the one she loved.
“When we are marching in the mud and cold
And when my pack seems more than I can hold
My love for you renews my might
I'm warm again, my pack is light
It's you, Lili Marleen
It's you, Lili Marleen
my love for you renews my might
I'm warm again, my pack is light
It's you, Lili Marleen…
It's you, Lili... Marleen…”
As she finished, there were tears running down her cheeks. Noticing the two watching her, she tried to smile, wiping the tears from her face.
“Sorry… I just… I need a minute…” She sniffed a bit. “Where did you get that record, Val?..” She asked the Pegasus mare, wiping tears from her eyes.
“It was my mother’s.” Valentine smiled. “She always used to play it when I was little… My dad was a Royal Guard a long time ago…. Your voice was so lovely…”
Violet blushed a bit at the compliment. “Thanks… I… I haven’t done that in a long time.”
“Well, I made breakfast for everypony. I figured we’d need plenty of energy for the trip ahead.” The Pegasus mare said, smiling.
“So you’re coming with us?” Violet asked, brightening a bit.
“I thought about it, and I figured there’s no point in sitting here and dying of radiation sickness eventually. Besides… It’s not safe to be wandering around alone any more.” The mare looked back up at Violet. “I’ve packed up everything I can carry… All the medical supplies I could get my hooves on.”
“Good. We’ll leave right after breakfast.” Violet smiled, clapping her hooves together.
* * *
When everypony was finished eating, Valentine insisted on washing the dishes. “I’d hate to leave unwashed dishes in the sink…” She said as she began to scrub them. Violet agreed, thinking about how she’d locked the front door before leaving her home.
Soon, it was time for Valentine to leave her home as well. Donning their saddlebags, the three ponies stepped out the door.
Valentine looked back at the cabin, and smiled a bit. “This place… my parents used to take me out here sometimes during the summer... So many happy memories….” A tear ran down her cheek, and she sniffed a bit. “I’m gonna miss it…”
Violet smiled, and hugged the Pegasus mare gently, comforting her. “I know it’s hard…” She said softly.
“Yeah... “ Val wiped her eyes, sighing. “So... I guess we should get going….”
Violet released her from the gentle hug, and checked to make sure she had everything. “Yeah…” She looked down at Crimson, wearing his radiation suit and mask. The two mares were going without them, but Violet didn’t want to take any chances with her foal.
The three ponies set off, Valentine not looking back as they left her home; Violet going in front, spurred on by determination; Crimson trotting along behind her.
* * *
“Megaspell holocaust, day three…” Violet muttered to herself as she walked through the open field, the others trailing along behind her. “Today, I saw....” She looked around a bit. “More smoke in the distance… and hey, it’s gotten colder out.”
“Violet, who are you talking to?” Asked Val, looking at her with a slightly concerned impression.
“I don’t know. Maybe to stay sane?” Violet sighed, continuing to walk. “Stupid, I didn’t think it would get cold this quickly. Should have packed winter clothes.”
“We should be able to scavenge something before it gets too cold out.” The Pegasus said, looking up into the sky. “It’s real cloudy too… I hope it doesn’t rain.”
“Yeah. Hey Val, did you pack any kind of… weapon?” Violet asked, turning around to face the Pegasus.
“No, why do you ask?”
“Well, who knows who we’ll encounter out here… I brought my revolver along, just in case.” Violet said, nodding at her saddlebags.
“I really hope you’re wrong... “ Val said, starting to walk forward again. “I mean… There can’t be… many ponies left after this....” She said softly.
Violet continued to walk in silence, keeping her eyes on the ground in front of her. Soon, they came to another small town, much like the one Violet had accidentally stumbled into the previous day, only this one was in better shape. The buildings were still standing for the most part, with the east facing wall of every building slightly blackened by soot. There There were bodies here too.
Violet stopped dead as she noticed one of the dead mares was a Zebra. Looking around, she saw that there were several Zebra corpses scattered around the pony bodies. They weren’t burned like some of the ponies. They all had gunshot wounds. There were a few Equestrian soldiers scattered about as well, although they wore a different uniform as the ones from the aid station.
“Well… Now would be a great time to find a weapon…” Violet said, not taking her eyes off the Zebra in front of her. “I’m gonna go look through the houses and see what I can find.”
“B-but they’re... dead…” Val said, trembling as she stared wide eyed at the corpses littering the street.
Violet went over to one of the dead Equestrian soldiers, and picked up the small weapon from beside the corpse. It was bigger than her revolver, and had more ammunition. She held it up in front of Valentine, giving a questioning look.
“Submachine gun.” Valentine said, taking it, and slipping it into her saddlebag.
“Your dad teach you a lot about guns?” Violet asked, pulling more ammunition for the new weapon from the dead soldier’s webbing.
“A little bit… I mean, I know the basics.” Val said, taking the ammunition, and putting it away with the SMG.
“Good! you’re our resident firearms expert then!” Violet smiled, going to one of the houses, and opening the door slowly.
Slipping inside, she found a pretty normal living room, with several more doors leading to different rooms. Opening one door, she found a staircase leading to a cellar. Cautiously, she went down the stairs, and looked around inside. There were a few medical boxes, and she scavenged what she could from them. They’d all need to take RadAway after being this close to a Megaspell detonation.
She trotted back up the stairs, intending to look through the other rooms as well. Then, she heard a sound from one of the rooms, a slight rustling. Slowly, she pulled her revolver from her saddlebag, and made sure it was loaded. Cautiously approaching the door, she slowly turned the knob and pulled it open.
BANG!
Violet was blinded by the flash of light right in her face, and her world went silent for a moment, only for the silence to be replaced with a ringing in her ears a moment later. Her vision cleared, and she stared wide eyed down the barrel of a rifle. Her revolver had been knocked from her telekinetic grip by the bullet that had almost killed her.
The rifle dropped to the floor with a clatter, and a very frightened stallion stood in front of her, trembling. His mouth was moving, but Violet could hear nothing but the ring in her ears. As her hearing slowly returned, she could make out what he was saying.
“Oh no… oh no, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know!” the Earth Pony stallion whimpered, stepping back slowly.
Violet just stood there, still in shock. Only her revolver had saved her life, taking the full impact of the rifle bullet. Still, her face was covered in powder burns, and her hearing hadn’t fully returned yet.
“You… You… Shot…” Violet stammered, staring in disbelief at the stallion. She was too shocked to be angry. It was the first time she’d heard a gunshot that close.
Valentine rushed in quickly, seeing Violet standing there wide eyed, and the stallion at the opposite end of the room, trembling like a leaf.
“What the fuck happened?!” Val asked, looking back and forth between the two ponies.
“He sh-shot me…” Violet said, continuing to stare at the stallion.
Crimson ran into the room, and hugged his mother’s right foreleg tightly. “Mommy, what was that sound?!”
The stallion took one look at the colt, and started to cry into his hooves. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to!”
Val trotted over to him, and shoved him onto the ground. “You SHOT her?! WHY! WHY would you do that? Can’t you see she has a colt?!” She yelled, slapping him across the face with a hoof.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know!” The stallion sobbed, curling up into a ball as the Pegasus mare continued to beat him.
Violet shook her head as she came back to her senses. “Val, stop it! Let him go!”
The mare gave the Earth Pony a good clop to the side of the head before backing off.
Violet went up to the stallion, and put a hoof on his shoulder. “Why?...” She asked softly.
“I thought you were one of them…” The stallion said, wiping his eyes dry. “Th-they killed everypony….”
“Who’s they? The Zebras?” Asked Violet, gesturing to the street outside.
“Striped bastards ambushed us here… I didn’t know they were even still in Equestria… after what they did…” He closed his eyes, and clenched his teeth. “They killed everypony…” He said, his voice breaking as he tried to keep from crying. He was young, but somehow he reminded Violet of her husband before he’d joined up. He had a light orange coat with a white mane and green eyes, and was shorter than Violet by a little bit.
“Hey… It’s okay… They’re all gone now…” Violet said softly, hugging the stallion to her chest, and stroking his mane comfortingly.
“W-why are you doing this?...” He sniffed, closing his eyes as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. “I just shot at you…”
“Guess I’ll never learn not to trust ponies…” Violet smiled a bit. “What’s your name, soldier?...” She asked as she released him.
“Orange Cream, Private First Class…” He said, standing up straight, as if standing at attention. “You have no idea how great it is to see another pony face…”
“You must know more than we do right now,” Violet said. “how bad is it everywhere else?...”
“Well… We’ve had no contact with headquarters, the ministries, or the government. We’ve… I’ve been trying to get through to somepony since… it happened. No luck though.” The stallion sighed. “I just… hope that the ponies who were supposed to go into the stables got there in time…”
“Well we can’t be the only ones left on the surface. There are refugees from everywhere, and there must be some places that didn’t get bombed…” Violet said, looking out the window at the cloudy skies and smoke in the distance. “I don’t suppose you have anywhere to go?”
“Not anymore…” He sighed, picking up his rifle, and slinging it around his neck. “I’m all alone now. My squad’s all dead, my family….” He stared at the floor between his hooves. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do…”
“Why not come with us?” Asked Violet.
“Wait just a second!” Valentine protested. “He almost KILLED you!”
“It was an accident.” Violet said. “Besides, I’m still here, aren’t I?”
The Pegasus didn’t say anything, looking at the stallion suspiciously. “You won’t be for long with that attitude.” She said as she turned, and walked out the door.
“I’m really sorry about that…” The stallion blushed a bit. “There’s no excusing what I did, but… any way I can make it up to you, I’ll try my best.”
“A new revolver would be nice…” Violet frowned, picking up her broken revolver with her magic. The entire front of the pistol was badly dented and torn by the impact of the bullet.
“I don’t know if I can repair it… But the bodies outside must have some weapons…” He said, looking away. “The sergeant always carried a pearl handled revolver with her…” He said softly. “I don’t know where you’d find her, but… please don’t screw around with any of the bodies… they were like brothers and sisters….”
“You gonna stay in here then?...” Violet asked, tossing the broken firearm aside.
“Until we leave… If you’ll have me… I just don’t wanna see all their dead faces again…” He shivered, hanging his head.
“Of course… we should be ready shortly… I sure don’t wanna make camp here…” She said, turning to leave. “Crimson, can you stay inside with the nice stallion?” She smiled, nuzzling her colt gently. “Mommy will be back in a couple minutes…”
“Okay.” The little foal smiled, hugging her before going back into the other room.
* * *
Violet found the Pegasus mare quickly. Valentine was going through the pockets and packs of the bodies, and gingerly picking out anything useful. She tried not to touch them too much.
“Hey.” Violet said, standing there and looking at her.
“Hi.” She replied. “Where’s the colt?”
“He’s inside with Orange.” Violet said, glancing around at the different corpses.
“I hope he’s as ‘innocent’ as you think he is…” Valentine smirked, going to the next body, and discovering a few healing potions.
“I trust him to look after my kid, don’t I?...” Violet sighed. “I hope he’s doing alright… I mean… this is all new to him… and he’s just so little…”
“I hope… I mean, do you think we should... “ She bit her lip. “I mean, just look at all these pony corpses… Do you think he should be seeing stuff like this?...”
“What do you want me to do? put a blindfold on him?” Violet asked.
“... I dunno, Maybe... I just worry about him… I know he’s your responsibility, but… I don’t wanna see him get hurt. Physically OR mentally…” Valentine turned the healing potion over in her hooves a few times before slipping it into her saddlebags.
“I don’t know… I don’t know what to do… All I want is to keep him safe… And… what I’m about to say is gonna sound a bit harsh… he’s gonna have to learn sooner or later… I don’t think he quite understands yet… I didn’t exactly prepare him for this... but eventually, he’s going to have to accept the fact that this is the way Equestria is gonna be from now on…” Violet said as she walked along the street.
“Life’s a bitch…” Valentine said, looking away. “It’s cruel and unfair… no foal should have to see the things that I’ve seen just today…”
Violet had found the mare she was looking for. The sergeant was a middle aged mare, with a dark green coat, and darker green mane. She had a single gunshot wound to the chest, and looked strangely peaceful. Gently, Violet picked up the pearl handled revolver from the blood stained ground next to the dead mare. The gun was different from her other one. It was silver, with designs engraved into the steel. On the mouth grip, a name was carved into the pearl: “Tolerance.”
* * *
Violet stepped into the house again, followed by Valentine. Crimson and Orange Cream were both involved in separate activities. Orange was looking through the cabinets for any non-perishable foods to throw into his saddlebags. Crimson was in the living room, looking through a collection of holotapes, arranging them in separate piles.
“We’re back, everypony.” Violet said cheerfully as she stepped into the room.
The stallion looked at her, and frowned a bit. “I guess you found her, huh?...” He asked, noticing the revolver in the holster around Violet’s neck.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Violet smiled, looking down at the pistol.
Valentine walked up to the stallion, and hugged him gently. “I’m sorry for how I acted back there…” She said softly, pulling away.
Orange blushed furiously under his orange coat. “I-it’s fine…” He stammered.
Crimson ran up to Violet excitedly, depositing a stack of holotapes in front of her. “For you, Mommy!” He beamed up at her.
Violet picked up the stack with her magic, and looked through them. She smiled as she read through the names, seeing many of the old classics she used to play all the time. “Thank you, Crimson…” She hugged her foal gently, looking over at Orange. “Did you help him with these?” She asked.
The stallion shook his head, looking baffled. “No. He was over there the whole time, and I was in here.” He said.
“It was hard.” Crimson smiled. “But I remembered the colors! And the pictures on them!” He said happily, tapping one of them with his little hoof.
Violet hugged him again, kissing his nose gently. “Thank you so much…” She smiled.
“You’re welcome, Mommy.” He beamed back at her as she let go of him.
“So…” Violet said, turning to the other two. “Is everypony ready?...”
______________________________________________________________________________
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Wolokai · 31k words · 107 8 · 4.7k views
- Jaytee · 10k words · 65 8 · 4.2k views
- Skyboss · 13k words · 278 20 · 8.4k views
- Silentpegasus · 74k words · 320 13 · 4.7k views
- Bluecho · 109k words · 426 27 · 6.7k views
- MintMetal · 5.1k words · 88 3 · 2.1k views
- Wolokai · 21k words · 159 8 · 9.3k views
- songdogScuffle · 4.4k words · 28 1 · 2.4k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.146 seconds
Total duration
1,037 users online
2,123,420 hits today, 2,156,967 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Well this is... odd. I'm interested. I'll read this as soon as I have time. Very interesting.
5940002 Thanks.
The first part was written late at night when I was very tired, and I got a bit emotional writing it myself. XD
However, I don't think that the rest of the story was crafted with the same degree of "emotion" as the first 'scene.' I also don't feel as if I did a great job on the characters. Sure, it was a good IDEA (plot wise), but I don't think the characters are very believable or unique.
Due to this fact, and also a lack of proper planning and character development, I will be creating a NEW story. (just as soon as I figure out what the plot and characters will be.)
A very powerful story indeed so far. I'll be tracking this
So far, you're A-OK with characters, spelling, punctuation and grammer. Having a story occurring on Judgement Day is actually a rare sight thus far. I'm looking forward to reading what you do with these ideas.
5946673 Thank you for the encouraging words. However, I'm taking a break from this story (for now at least) to work on a new idea of mine. The new story will hopefully be even better than this one, as I'm doing lots of pre-planning. In this one, I pretty much made it up as I went along.
Well written, can't wait to read more of this. Each character has his/her own definable personality and you are very keen on the descriptions without going too far off of your main focus. Keep it up pal!
6046395
Wait till you read the one I'm working on now ^^. Expect the first chapter..... Sometime soon! Maybe this month, maybe next. But over the summer, I plan to write MOST, if not ALL of it.
Well, I can say I have seen much worse FoE fics out there. Having said that, it's not that special either. The story has a good premise, but I feel is executed quite weakly. While I cannot say for certain, seeing as we're only 2 chapters in, it seems to advance rather quickly. This can be a major downside if you don't draw in readers with the initial sucker punch, per se.
In terms of technical issues, the second chapter started out fine, and then halfway through you decide to skip most of the line breaks. Line breaks just make it easier to read. Considering the rest of the story has proper lines, I have no idea why you did this.
Rather, you would convey the feelings through how the character is saying the sentence with a modifier, i.e 'she exclaimed solemnly'.
On another note, there are far too many periods. The ellipsis is not really used that way, rather it is used in a place where you omit words, instead of just creating a semi-pause. It also feels really awkward to have that many, and makes everyone seem really really emo. Yes, the world ended, but you really don't need a dramatic pause after a question mark.
One last thing, I believe a song was supposed to be there, but the massive absence of text in the middle of chapter 2 should really be corrected.
So, review done. To answer your blog's question, you could continue and the current fanbase would probably read it, but editing the whole thing over with an editor (or a couple) would really help if you were to continue this.
6667600
Thank you for the advice. I do plan on continuing this story as soon as possible. I feel like I've improved slightly, and so chapter 3 should be much better. I'll look over the chapters I've got though. Do you reccomend I rewrite the whole thing from the beginning, or should I correct the small errors and leave it as is?
6839200 Re-writing something is almost never necessary, unless you have plot holes that need fixing to warrant the dramatic change. That being said, you can definitely add to the story in places rather than purely doing a overhaul of the technical stuff.
6839214
Any advice on where to start? I feel like if I need to change something a lot, it should be the first chapter. (first impressions, donchya know.)