The Long Road Home

by ISKV

Act 1, Chapter 2 - How They Lived, God Only Knew

Mexico City is gone. Poof. And with it, Fort Villa has been completely overrun.

Today, we have lost many. Too many to count, although there are those who have tried. I’m one of them. I couldn’t do it.

But it’s a double-edged sword for them. While they got the city, we left a little… gift… shall we say…

Now, if my sources are correct, it should occur right… about… now…

Heh. There we go. Oh right, I forgot that you can’t hear them. Those 180mm shells pack quite the punch. I’m not sure what the Canadians used, but one of them placed right can bring down a building. We made sure they were placed right.

God. Sorry about the blood. I hope you can read most of the words. My lungs has been killing me ever since Laredo. They dropped something from their bombers, and some of the men have breathing problems. Anyways, the last of the Strykers are retreating, and they’ve taken the bait. Damn Egyptians never had to deal with a competent army before eh?!

Well, ‘Army’ because soldiers outnumber every other branch we managed to cobble together, but there are quite a few Marines, a couple members of the Coast Guard, and, oddly enough, a large number of Arizona State Troopers.

Oh well. Anyone who can aim, shoot, and understand orders is useful right now. There’s a giant bonus in the form of American civvies from the Midwest and the South, many of whom can shoot a human-sized target at seven hundred yards with a good, scoped rifle. I'm glad we weren't stuck with suit-wearing office workers, no offense to our fellow US Citizens. They make up the second line, with veterans taking charge. They’ve had quite a few victories of their own, if the reports are accurate.

And then there’s what’s left of the many gangs of Mexico and the southern states, who were willing to work with us to kick out the invaders. Turns out there really is something more important than crack.

Oh god. I think my left lung has a steel brush in it. God-fucking-dammit. I hope it doesn’t stain. It says the pages are waterproof so they should be fine right?

I can’t help but think about how my wife is. I sent her to Guam. Why Guam? Because in the heat of war, no one remembers Guam.

Then again, who remembers Guam anyways?

I know I’ve held this off for too long, but I think now is a good time.

"You know you've had a good life when you can look god in the eye from your deathbed and say 'WORTH IT.’”

My grandpa was a crazy bastard. But those words are still stuck in my mind. And no, I can’t look into god’s eyes and claim my life was worth it.

Not yet.

Unfortunately, he had nothing in his life that was worth anything. He worked odd jobs and slept in his personal fortress of wooden pallets and discarded tarps. Even his name spoke of a creature forgettable and unremarkable.

Rat.

It was a nickname that his sister invented, although not exactly in a bad way. Although why she decided to call him that, he never knew, and was probably never going to find out. She had disappeared right after their parent's deaths, citing some shaky reasons. Now, the only thing connecting him to his family was the sand brown military uniform he was currently wearing.

In spite of his life, he wasn't depressed or suicidal. Just lost in the confusion. All he needed was one spark to start. A kick in the right direction.

But for now, the right direction was the river to wash up for the day. Grunting in annoyance, he huffed his way towards the irradiated and potentially lethal water.

Not the he cared.

***

A number of ponies sneaked back to the beach a few days later. They cursed Blitz's father for forcing them out while the heavy fog and rain made visibility nonexistent, but were also thankful for the weather, after hearing of Eve's reports on the sighting of the humans.

Everyone was surprisingly calm considering the stories they heard of the humans. Merciless, bloodthirsty, and ever hungry for their next meal. Eve never really believed those stories, but Cerulean... she would freeze up every time the word "Human" was used. None of them ever knew why and they all had tried to speak to her, but their efforts were for naught. The light pink pegasus silently wished that she or Thunderstruck would be the ones to find the ship and the crew.

Cerulean breathed, her blue feathers fluttering in the wind. Though she was less than a mile away from the border of the neighboring ponies, Cerulean was glad that she was nowhere near the humans. Sneaking behind buildings and backtracking to keep potential stalkers from following her, she kept a vigilant eye out for trouble.

Her hair was soaked. Her coat was freezing. But after an hour of keeping watch on top of a particularly tall building, she sent a prayer of thanks to any gods who were listening in for lifting the fog.

She froze. Though they looked like ants in an ant farm at this distance, she could say with a straight face that humans had made landfall. The scout stared through her custom binoculars which were custom-painted in a stereotypically girlishly hot pink.

There were roughly eight humans, all loading sacks of equal size and shape into their worn boat. Tilting her head in confusion, she witnessed a human kicking one of the sacks, even going as far as beating it with the butt of his rifle.

A distant rumble sounded as a cloud of black smoke floated into the air as an old, worn-out engine sputtered to life. With their cargo loaded, the humans boarded their sea vessel.

Cerulean peeked from her hiding space. To her horror, the boat started sailing south, right toward her friends. The blue pegasus slipped on her headset.

"This is Cerulean! Th-The humans are going south! If you can hear me, get off of the beach!"

Yelling could be heard as Eve's voice crackled through the aged speakers, "Cee, what happened over there?"

"They were loading something, I-I don't know exactly, but they're definitely after something."

"How can you tell?

"They're following the beach instead of going out to sea."

"Alright. Cee, keep an eye on them will ya?"

She squeaked, "I'll-I'll try."

***

Following the humans, Cerulean sneaked from one building from another, keeping low to the ground and flying only when there was enough distance between them. The rain had stopped, and the sun was up, but still low in the sky. As she flew, some rubble tumbled to the ground, but the humans were oblivious to her presence.

The boat's engines stopped rumbling and the craft slowed to a stop. But it was as if they knew, they stopped at the very location her fellow ponies had been salvaging fuel. The pegasus hid behind a particularly large corner of a building.

As she peeked out, her radio broke the silence, "Cee!"

She gasped and turned the volume down. Risking a look, the pegasus slowly poked her head out from behind the concrete boulder.

Cerulean let out a breath she unconsciously held. Still ignorant to her presence.

"What?" she whispered.

"You alright?"

"I'm okay."

"What's happening now?"

She closed her eyes and listened. An engine that was soon silenced, and voices from multiple humans and their footsteps as they trodded across the sand.

"How many?"

"Just another one! Make it good!"

"Yeah."

The pegasus whispered into her microphone, "They want something. I don't know what but..."

"Cee, move!"

"I can't! They're right behind me!"

"Fine. Keep quiet then."

Cerulean removed her saddlebag and radio and hid it in a small hole in case she needed to bolt from her hiding spot. It only sounded like one pair of footsteps thudded on the ground. The human stopped mere feet from the mare. If she moved now, it was a guarantee to be discovered. The pegasus unconsciously shivered. It was a mistake to come this close, and now she was paying for it with fear. She could hear the heavy breathing of the biped as he looked around for whatever he was looking for.

Suddenly, he started yelling back to the boat in a slow, almost bored voice.

"There's nothing here! You think the boss is gonna care if we miss one?"

"Screw him. We ain't stayin' here."

The voices eventually blended into the background until they were no more than a mumble to the pegasus. A roar from the boat notified the surrounding area that the humans had left the beach. Cerulean's thumping heartbeat finally calmed after a minute.

She looked out from behind her cover. The long drone of the vessel was gradually reduced to a distant buzz and the beach was devoid of humans. That was too close for comfort, and Cerulean reminded herself to stay at least one floor above her target next time.

Confident in her hiding skills and speed, Cerulean flew out from the boulder and behind a rusting tank. The beach held many signs of the visitors. The wet sand easily preserved the footprints from the humans. Each print varied in size and shape, one human was apparently going barefoot. She dashed from one tank to another, making sure she was invisible from the open sea. Eventually, the pegasus arrived at the landing site. There was a distinct depression where the boat had shaped the sand into a shallow trench. Here, the prints were too numerous to count, many of them stepping where another had once stood. Among the prints was a smiley face drawn with a stick that lightened her mood somewhat.

Her back felt light and vulnerable without her dual saddlebag and radio. The sun indicated that it was late morning, about the same time everyone back home would be waking up. The splashing water distracted and lured her closer towards the irresistible water. She looked around and took advantage of the lack certain bipeds. Even though she was a pegasus, Cerulean always felt more comfortable underwater. Usually she would've dived and swam with her wings, but today was just for a quick swim.

Conclusion-It has been way too long since her last contact with water. The water that came up to her shoulders splashed against her face as the waves sent tiny walls of water towards her. But she could only smile as the pegasus let herself go in the gentle rocking of the waves and the soft, almost liquid sand against her legs. Cerulean walked to a shallower area where the water only came up to her knees. One of her most favorite things to do in shallow water. There, she sat down and wiggled until she was half buried in sand and her head was the only part of her above water.

Cerulean unconsciously let out a moan that could've come out of a bedroom. The wet sand surrounded her legs like nothing else, the feeling was almost nostalgic. The longest she went without surrounding herself with water was barely a week, never mind a whole month or so. She blushed, glad that no one was around to hear it. Nevertheless, it was time to leave before anyone came looking for her. Seawater dripping from her coat, she shook herself dry, splattering the immediate area.

The prints caught her eye again. The area around where the boat had been still bore the signs of the visitors, but the waves and the rising tide had washed away some into a puddle. As the mare's hooves splashed in the water, she noticed the one set of footprints leading away from the group, most likely belonging to the human that had nearly discovered her.

Out of curiosity, she followed them through the maze of tanks. They winded left and right, occasionally going over and backtracking. But as she walked closer to the city and out of the beach, her heartbeat started to return to its panicked rhythm. The only footprints leading towards the beach was her own. If the human didn't return then where-

Chunk-Chunk

Cerulean's entire body froze at the two metallic clacks. That sound immediately brought back up memories from the depth of her mind. Memories that she would rather not remember...

A voice whispered from the shadows behind her. She dared not turn around.

"Nothing personal..."

The world around the pegasus exploded into white-hot pain as electricity laced throughout her body from the black cylinder that embedded itself into her flank.

Cerulean let out a blood curdling shriek.

***

Where. Is. That. Blasted. PONY?

Eve fumed as she flew back to the very same beach they had salvaged the fuel but a few hours ago. And Cee... completely forgot about her conversation.

Cut to now, she didn't even answer, much less contact home when she should've. Sure Eve took the stories of humans with a grain of salt, but when Cerulean failed to answer she assumed the worst. If she was just swimming again, which was most likely true, she would've been on the receiving end of a few harsh words... and maybe forbidden to eat cookies for a week.

A sharp crack echoed through the city. Eve's heart stopped.

"No... No. No. No. No. No! NO! NO!" she screamed as her wings pushed the air beneath them, propelling the pegasus to a speed only seen in panicked and adrenaline pumped mothers. Eve tore through the city, kicking up a cloud of dust behind her. With the beach was only a few seconds away, the speeding flyer kicked off her saddlebag for a vital few extra moments.

As she sped out of the cover of the buildings, she saw the nightmare of all equine. A human standing over a downed pony with a weapon in his hands. She believed those stories now.

Her blue eyes narrowed and hardened. All traces of the pegasus named Eve disappeared from her body and was replaced by a cold, mindless machine. On the rare occasion the mare went into "Hypermode" as it was jokingly called, she would stop at nothing, barely distinguishing between an obstacle and an ally. Her mind weaved a plan within a split second.

Eve spread her wings to pitch up from a streamlined position. She brought her back hooves up and aimed for the human's chest where she timed contact with a buck from both legs. His eyes widened at the approaching pony and pulled out a flare gun from inside his jacket. He slammed into the sand, breaking a few ribs as the trigger to the orange gun was pulled, sending a red beacon into the sky. Eve paid it no mind and rushed to where Cerulean was still screaming from pain. Using her teeth and praying that it didn't knock her out, the pink mare pulled out the cylinder.

It took a few precious seconds, but the blue pegasus finally regained control of herself.

"Cee. Go. NOW." Eve yelled in an emotionless voice.

"Bu-But I-" she stuttered.

"Go. Hom-"

She was interrupted by another black cylinder, this time embedding itself into her neck. The human winced from shooting a shotgun one-handed, he placed it on the ground, trying to switch hands to reload. She never gave him that chance.

Even with a Shock Dart near vital areas, Eve was relentless in her assault. Her wings and gravity helped in gaining speed which she used to ram the fallen human multiple times, and unlike fists, hooves were made to survive impacts.

All she could think about was distracting the human long enough so her friend could escape. Eve jumped up and came back down once more. He spat out blood and made his move. Taking one arm around her neck and the other holding her wings, he rolled so her back was facing the ocean. Eve wiggled, trying to get out of the headlock and escape.

Another source of pain tightened her muscles. And another. And yet another. She let out a scream that would've made a mandrake jealous. A short distance away, the human's flare notified the crew that he needed them back at shore. The men had been shooting the mare with the darts, their aim straight and true after a lifetime of marksmanship.

Another. And another, until Eve's back resembled a porcupine with unusually large quills. Her body surrendered and she fell limp. The human that had been holding the pegasus down wheezed and moved slightly, allowing Eve to see past him. Her mind eased at the lack of a certain friend. It didn't matter, for as long as Cerulean was safe, her mission was a success. The pony's eyes softened as her mind grew ever blurry.

Cee, take care of everything will ya? You know, make sure Blitz doesn't cry himself to sleep, find food and supplies, play with the foals... I'm not sure where I'm going to go, but take care... be safe... and for the love of god... don't hate yourself...