Journey's End

by RyanPAPP

Chapter One: The Weary Trail Ahead

Beep...Beep...Beep

"Wha... I-is thi-" I mumbled, my eyes rolling dilating. "He's awake!" I heard someone shout, followed by squeals in the distance. Bump. "Keep 'em down! We're almost clear!" I heard another voice shout.

In direct retaliation against the voice I tried to get up, but I got a hoof shoved into my shoulder. "Stay down, Civvie!" Bump.My vision became slightly less blurred. It was a guard pony holding me down and I seemed to be in a carriage lying down.

"Sir! Four o'clock!" I heard somepony shout from behind me. There was a high pitched squeal followed by the sound of rocks kicking up. The whole carriage shook, sending me rolling off the stretcher I was on.

"This is Lunar Guard Team! We're approaching the LZ and we've got the Package!" I heard the voice in front shout again. "Roger. Lunar Commander inbound, Jenkins!" Bump. There was another squeal, but much a closer. "Get down!" I heard the voice in the back shout.

The carriage went airborne and flipped a few times before landing right-side-up on the ground. The impact of the landing destroyed the carriage and several more squeals were heard as meteors flew all around me. I looked up and saw one coming for me. I put my hooves in front of my eyes, preparing for the worst.

But it never came. The next thing I knew I was in the air in the arms of a Pegasus. I stiffly looked up to see my rescuer, but they put me back down with their chin. "Are you what's left of Lunar Guard?" The pony asked, flying turbulently through the sky.

"I-I-I guess...?" I said, blood leaking from my mouth. "Dammit..." I heard the pony say under their breath. "Alright. We're gonna set down in this cave and you're gonna tell me what happened." The voice said descending.

We landed with a thump into a dark cave with hardly any light and I was plopped down onto my side. The pony walked over and looked down at me. "P-princess Luna...?" I asked, squinting. "There's no time! What happened out there, dammit?!"

I coughed up some more blood and told her all I knew. She sighed. "They were all that was left after the initial bombardment..." I sat up and scratched my aching horn, only to find that half was gone. "W-what happened?" I asked, rubbing the knob on top of my head.

The princess sat down next to me and looked at the ground. "It's not your concern. What is your concern is how you're gonna survive alone." "A-a-lone? Can't I just find somepony else?" I asked.

"Are you kidding me?!" She shouted, pointing outside. "We're it!" I scratched my head, unsure if this was all dream. "I'm leaving. Might as well spend what time I have left at home..." She said, trotting towards the cave entrance with her head down.

"I want a straight answer! What happened!" I shouted. She turned around and walked back, getting in my face. "The world ended. Wake up, butturcup!" She shouted, slamming her hoof into the ground.

She turns around and walks away again. Accept this time I choose the Paragon option. "If we're it... If we're really it... We should stick together..." I say weakly. She gets to the exit and begins her flight.

"Horse apples!" I shout , kicking the dirt. I too walk to the entrance and watch the endless meteor shower. I sit for about an hour before she returns with a small covered steel wagon behind her.

"You owe me..." She grunts, motioning for me to get in. I chuckle a bit and hop in the back. She begins flying and I notice the air getting thinner. "Where are we going?!" I shout, the wind muffling my voice to a whisper. "Safety!"