Treffle, his father Blackjack, and his sister Ether try to survive in a post apocalyptic Equestria. Not many know what happened, but all Treffle and his family are trying to do is survive.
Three years past, the field marshal of the Equestrian military, Spectrum Blast, stole the throne from the ever fragile Princess Twilight Sparkle. The ponies of the land were irate and rebelled. To the hooves of a desperate attempt to save the life of a Tyrant's rein the world fell. The sky filled with the colors it drained from the world below, leaving behind not but poison and anguish. The air is unbreathable, the land famished, the water acidic, and the memories fatal. But, if one were to shut themselves out, to be rid themselves of their equinity, they would have unlocked secret to traverse this barren world. Don't reminisce, don't empathize, don't think, and you will survive.
[Thank you so much to flutterbarry13 or Frost as I know him for editing my work! Many a heart to you! I never really read any post apocalyptic pony stories before, so if this one resembles a favorite of yours, sorry. Rated teen for language, gore, and heavy themes. Might change it to mature in time if I see fit. If you don't like the style of "Thoughts", go ahead and skip to "Introductory". You may have some unanswered questions, but that is what happens when skipping entire sections.]
Six months. It's been six months. Or has it been seven? I can't tell anymore. My perception of time has been lost ever since my watch died a while ago. Kind of inconvenient being technologically dependent, especially at times like these, but I guess we all had it coming.
I can't think back to that day. The last thing I need is to be depressed. I can't afford that.
I need to continue gathering. Who knows when the next time we'll eat will be?
Shit. Even thinking about food sends pain to my stomach. What's it been, three days? Something like that.
This plant has Black Goo on it. Okay, you’re out of the question. What about you?
Same. Damn it.
Okay, okay, calm down Treffle. Ripping the plant out of the ground isn’t going to get anything done. Just take a deep breath.
Fuck! That burns! Am I near a crater?
I need to move, and fast.
Where did he say the rendezvous was?
Shit, that really hurts.
Okay, take one more deep breath and run in the direction in which you came.
Ready?
Three…
Two…
One…
SHIT!
Go go go go go go go
Damn my lungs are getting heavy.
… Starting to black out. BREATHE YOU IMBECILE!
Okay. The burn is gone. Take a moment to catch your breath.
Damn. I need to get in better shape.
Heh. Of all times to be worrying about my physique, it had to be after shit hit the fan.
Oh well. Better late than never I suppose.
Okay, what now?
There are some plants over there. You should go check them out.
Oh please, please, please, for the love of the moon be clean.
Holy shit! Hahaha! Can it be? How many leaves do we got there?
Thirty-four. Oh sweet Celestia thank you for this harvest! Let's check out the other two plants!
Clean. Shit yes. I think that’s another twenty-eight to the bunch. I must have hit the biggest luck pot this side of the Canterhorn.
Okay. Last but not least you.
… Dirty. Damn it. Oh well. I can’t really complain. Sixty-two leaves, two plant stems and several roots are nothing to be sad about.
Dad will be quite pleased.
Now where is that bridge?
I need to get a vantage point.
Let's see…
Ah yes. Up there. Perfect. I’ll be able to see for miles. Now the only question remains, how do I get there?
I see some holes in the rock, but they don’t travel all the way up.
Yeah that’s about it. Damn. Um, I guess I don’t need to get to the very top. Just high enough to figure out where I am and where I need to go.
Great! Sounds like a plan.
Damn it. This plastic is very slippery on the rock.
I don’t want to take my bags off. Last thing I need is another serious burn. We don’t have the resources to treat it. Not after what happened to dad.
Okay, okay, compose yourself.
In…
…Out.
Time to ball up…
… Smartly. Just touch the ground quickly to see how hot it is.
Ready?
Damn, that wind feels good on my hoof.
One…
Two…
Three…
GO!
Huh, didn’t seem that hot… let's try that again, only with a little longer contact.
Ready?
…maybe…?
One…
Two…
Three…
GO!
Yeah, I felt the heat then.
Okay, let's see about the rock.
It's cool. Wow, that feels good… Reminds me of the time before that day - Shhhh Treffle, nostalgia kills.
Excellent. This day just keeps getting better and better.
And up the rock we go.
The air is getting hot. I need to make pace.
Shit. I am starting to feel that on my skin. How high am I?
Not that high, I’m going to need to get significantly higher if I plan on seeing anything.
Time to ball up… again.
... Fuck. Okay, hold on. I don’t know how much more my lungs can take.
Let's check visibility... Wow, quite the view, or at least it used to be. I suppose just a bit higher.
Take a breath and make haste.
Ready?
One…
Two…
Now!
Fuck! That burns!
Go go go
Okay, I see it! The bridge.
Hurry hurry hurry hurrrrryyy
Oooo, dees tingwies feelll funnyyy
I’d sayyy… um, about twoo mmiilles wessssssssssss………………..
Oh, I guess I blacked out. Fan-fucking-tastic. This is just what we all need.
Okay, okay, all is well. Best thing to do right now is to get situated.
Equipment? All there.
Food? Got it.
Body? Other than my uncovered hooves, fine.
That reminds me. I should put my bags on.
Time? The sun is just peaking over the mountain. Awesome. I guess I’ll be traveling in the dark tonight. Thank Celestia my night vision goggles died only a week ago. Haven’t had much use for them until now. I don’t really know any night vision spells either. Damn. I really should have paid more attention in class. I’ll just have to have a “Frankie’s eye” I suppose.
I hope Ether is doing alright. She struggles enough as is when I’m with her.
Be strong.
Heh. I’ll have quite the scolding from dad when I get back. One would never think that they would be getting scolded for returning past their curfew during an apocalypse. Then again, I suppose he has every right to worry in this world.
Okay. Let's get moving.
Combat check.
Safety? Off.
Magazines? Well fitted. Rounds? In the chambers.
Eye? On and synchronized.
S.L.R.B. snug? Sure is.
Alright. Let's get going.
What direction did I say the bridge was in?
West?
Yeah, I think that’s right.
Even if it isn’t I’ll find out soon enough.
Time to get a move on Treffle. The longer this takes, the more danger Ether and dad are in.
Two miles wouldn't seem very far. Especially considering Treffle's most popular pass time now a day is walking fare distances. But, something about the darkened environment, the rather passive volumes, seemed to serve no other purpose than making time slow down, and make this particular journey feel endless. Perhaps it was the fact that he couldn't see five feet in front of his face, and the only thing guiding him to his destination was an arrow pointed forward next to a large W shone in his H.U.D. Perhaps it was the foalish fears that arose in the back of his mind every time a noise was produced in the surrounding environment. Then again, he had very good reasons to fear, to believe that something, or someone might be in one of those bushes getting ready to pop out, kill him, and loot all of his stuff. Animals were all but a rarity these days, therefore calling "noises in the dark" a foalish fear was obsolete. However, that certain someone would have to be very stupid to hide amongst these plants. Every damn one of them was drenched in an absorbent chemical substance Treffle named "Black Goo".
Or, perhaps it was the anticipation of his looming doom that would be served on a nice, shiny platter by his father when he reached the bridge, the currently appointed rendezvous his father had set just hours earlier. It was probably a beautiful blend of all three, with an amateur’s over seasoning of the latter. He was not exited to get back, but at the same time that's all he wanted to do. It wouldn't matter how angry dad would be, they'd be together, he would know that Ether is okay, and that's what mattered most in the current world.
Treffle had thought that he'd been walking for hours. His hooves concurred, but the rational part of his mind threw that idea out of the pool party the second it entered the nonexistent lobby. There was simply no possible way that could be true. A two mile walk would be nothing more than thirty minutes, an hour tops. Yet, here he was, still walking, seemingly getting nowhere. He had to be close, nothing else made sense.
He played with the thought that this could all just be a dream, and he was stuck in an eternal loop, but every time a hoof struck the ground, the solidity of that idea shook violently.
Right… if only that were the case, this all be a dream.
He considered lighting off an illumination spell, but if anyone were out there, unaware of his presence, their ignorance would surely be cured.
So, with his options limited, Treffle just continued walking. Constantly scanning his surroundings, regardless to how limited his capabilities were, and stayed at the ready to pop anything in the scull if it were stupid enough to make itself apparent. His head turned, the twin barrels of his S.L.R.B. turned with it, constantly staying synchronized with the eyepiece that adorned his face.
He noticed that the terrain he was walking on started to ascend a bit. Maybe he was at a foot of a hill. If so, hopefully it will be tall enough to get a decent look at his surroundings, to see if he was anywhere near his destination. As he climbed, his legs started to have a slight burning sensation. Nothing much, just a bit noticeable, but still this annoyed him as he silently cursed his legs for not being more enduring.
Wow, I really need to get in better shape.
When he reached the apex of the supposed hill, his eyes were immediately drawn to a black arc just down the hill stretching across a large, dark pathway: a colorless bridge. He reasoned it to be about two hundred meters away. He had to stop to admire his quick distance skills sometime, but not now, he was just so close.
Just as Treffle was about to descend down the appointed hill, he noticed a soft, orange glow appearing from his right, then he heard hoofsteps, followed by a very raspy, not-so-friendly sounding voice. Slightly startled, he looked to his surroundings for any cover. All he could see were bushes. Bushes drenched in Black Goo. Damn it. With a slight sent of hesitation, he dove into the nearest decently sized bush. He sat there, as motionlessly as possible trying to stay out of sight. He hoped that his S.L.R.B. wasn't sticking out, or refracting light. Engaging somebody with no cover or support wouldn't exactly be productive, and he’d never had the best of luck.
He heard the hoofsteps amplify in sound like a drum, each step carving into his eardrum. The steps were followed by many a step, giving the impression that this guy had a rather large following. Treffle froze. He heard the raspy voice again, only this time it was accompanied with words.
"Hurry up fuck heads. If we take too long, it will be spoiled. We need to get a-cookin' fast!"
Cook? What kind of food could they have found that needs to be coo-
His thoughts where thrown off by the sounds of chains clinging together lightly. Treffle's eyes slightly widened in realization. He disabled his eye leaving the twin barrels motionless and slowly turned his head in the direction of the noises. Through the bush, he saw exactly what he had feared. A young butter yellow pegasus mare with a short, shaggy pink mane was wearing chains just above her bare hooves. Very large stallions, each equipped with very large guns or swords surrounded her.
Treffle studied the mare more closely, and noticed the fur below her eyes was soaked, but the eyes themselves appeared to have clear history. He looked down at her hooves, and mentally winced. They were bleeding and looked infected beyond repair. Black veins pursed up her legs and disappeared under her light clothing, but judging how thick they were, they likely traveled much further.
"Pi'y", a very large, deadly orange earth pony said, "Such a waste." He stepped closer, and stroked the mare’s chin.
"Such a treat is so hard tah find."
He gave a wicked smile and moved his face just inches from the yellow mare’s, making her recoil in disgust. The large stallion frowned at this, and forcefully pulled her close.
"I sure would like another taste," he seethed. He licked his lips. The other stallions murmured in agreement, some even chuckled. The mare stopped, the rest of the small convoy stopped with her. She looked at the offending stallion in the eye for a few seconds, then head butted him, causing a yell in pain, and a retreating earth pony.
"Fuckin'...!" He brought his hoof up to his nose, and then looked at it. The crimson liquid decorating his shoe sent a blood rage coursing through his veins. He looked back at the mare and began to shake.
"Piece o’ shi’ horse!" The stallion walked back up to his attacker and struck her.
Treffle flinched minutely at the hit. A pot of anger was beginning to brew inside his chest, but he remained still as possible.
The mare collapsed to the ground with a thud. She was knocked unconscious by the large orange pony’s hit. The other stallions just shook their heads with slight amusement painted across their faces. The leading stallion, or at least who Treffle assumed to be the leader, walked back to the scene and sighed. "Congratulations Hobs, you have just been nominated to carry her unconscious ass until we make camp."
The rasp in his voice almost shook Treffle.
The surrounding stallions gave out some chuckles. ‘Hobs’ looked at the lead stallion and let out a frustrated breath. He leaned down and picked the unconscious mare off of the ground, placing her onto his back.
The lead stallion spoke again, "Well then, if nopony else has the need to tenderize the meat, lets get a move on." The group began moving at this, just like before, only now the chains raddled with more volume as they banged and clanged against each other on Hob’s body. The rest of the group passed by quickly, probably eager to rest and get some… grub. As much as Treffle wanted to spring out in action and rescue the mare, he knew he stood no chance. Unlike in all those video games he used to play, enemies can actually aim and don’t just stand still like dumbasses waiting to get shot. Not to mention the fact that there are about twenty of them, and even if he went to get help from his family, they are only three, not exactly very promising odds.
The entire group had passed now, and Treffle could no longer hear them or see the light. He declared it safe enough to get up. He stood from the bushes, wiped away any Black Goo that decided to stick to his clothes, and looked in the direction the group was heading in.
At least they'll give her a faster death than the poison.
He agreed with this statement. There was no possible way to argue it. The poison running through that mare’s veins was a nasty one. If she were lucky, it would slowly, ever so slowly creep up her blood stream until it reached her brain, drowning it in noxious acids. However, if it traveled to slowly, the acidic chemicals would eat every vein connected to the heart, and she would internally bleed to death. Being butchered, and eaten sounded like a much better way to go.
“I am sorry,” Treffle breathed. “I wish I could do something to help.”
He frowned, shook his head, turned and walked in the direction of his destination.
Six months. Six months of anarchy and we have resorted to cannibalism.
Treffle shook.
“What the fuck!?” It would have taken a very practiced listener to hear the rock being thrown through the air over Treffle’s outburst.
Ponydom is pathetic, how fragile could we possibly be?
He continued walking, leaving a deafening silence in his place.
It is truly amazing how much a simple touch can help ones sanity. How just a little physical gesture can reignite the resolve and endurance thought to have be consumed. This is exactly what Spectrum Blast was mentally gearing as he massaged his temples into oblivion. The sweet, oh so sweet pressure releases pressing down on two little muscles lightly caused. It was unbelievably magical. Who ever came up with this idea when sketching the outline of life, thank the rainbow for you. It's little things like this that make life livable.
Oh my moon this is amazi-
"Sir?"
Spectrum Blast opened his eyes, and saw the very thing he was just wishing would disappear in a white puff of smoke.
"What is it Star Shield?"
"You still haven't told me what to tell the civilians, they're very set on getting an answer on why they can't leave, sir.
Spectrum Blast returned to his glorious massage.
"What, is our usual excuse not cutting it anymore?"
"They are finding it hard to believe that there are still rebels surrounding us making passage unsafe. They don't find it reasonable that they could still be out there waiting after all this time, sir."
Spectrum Blast looked up at his white officer.
"Have these ponies never known war? I have been in sit outs for years waiting for the enemy to come out and surrender. Tell them that this is war, and the rebels wont let a measly seven months break their conquest. Tell them that if any of them want to go out there into... that, be my guest, but if they do, they cannot come back."
"Yes sir, oh and one more thing."
"There is always one more thing isn't there. What is it?"
"Our supply rations are down to a quarter of the original amount, sir, what are we going to do about food?"
"I don't know, expand the shield and start farming probably."
"Okay, I will be getting further details from you soon, sir." Star Shield gave a solute to his overlord.
"Get out of here."
The solute ended, "May the colors of your rainbow enlighten you." Star Shield walked out of the oval office. Spectrum Blast stood from his seat and walked over to a walled mirror. The image before him was frightening. He glared at the silver highlights in his hair, willing them away. He couldn't help the fact that he was exhausted from all of the events his time in power had given life to.
"Pretty stressed out there Spec..." He pulled on one of the bags under his eyes.
"I'd like to see how you'd fare in this boat."
Yes, he knew what the world out there was like and no, he was not about to tell the civilians the truth. Civilians have already demonstrated what they'll do if they hear something they don't like. Last time it ended in the world collapsing. Considering that the survival of ponydom likely rests on the ponies currently in Canterlot, another uprising would be anything but productive.
At least the sun and moon still rise everyday...
“Something is still in order.”
Treffle sat on a rock, overlooking the magical fire Ether had cast earlier. It was a nice little fire. It radiated enough heat to keep warm and gave off practically no light; one might consider it OP.
Since Treffle’s encounter with the cannibal freaks, he was able to make it to the bridge without any hiccups. It took him a few minutes of wandering to find his family dug into the side of the dried up river, but in the end he was successful… more or less. As happy as his dad was for the food, Ether had only looked at Treffle once, and that one look would have put Fluttershy’s famous “stare” to shame. The anxiety, the relief, the amorous agony burned into Treffle’s memory. It almost made him forget the yellow mare’s face… almost.
Treffle looked to his right, to find his father, Blackjack, sitting down next to him. Treffle tried not to look at his charred skin, or the black, pulsing veins adorning his neck, but it was impossible.
Blackjack noticed this. “Don’t worry son, it’ll take quite a while before these start affecting anything.” This did little to help Treffle’s anxiety.
“Yeah, but that ‘while’ will come eventually.”
Blackjack smiled reassuringly at his son.
“You’re right, and it will probably come sooner than later, but we can’t really do anything about it, so, for the time being, we will just have to make due with what we have.” He ruffled Treffle’s mane, expelling a few needed annoyed snickers from him.
“Hey, not the mane dude. I worked on that for a full minute this morning,” Treffle joked.
“I can tell,” Blackjack fired.
“You’re just jealous that I still have hair you ol’ asshole,” Treffle smirked.
“Oh really?” Blackjack stroked his furless head. “At least I can do more productive things in the morning than ‘fix my mane’. Besides, if anything, you’re jealous of how badass this injury has made me look. No one fucks with somepony who has scar tissue replacing almost all of their fur.”
“Yeah you got me there, I’m definitely not ugly enough to scare insane cannibals away with my looks alone.”
“Ohhh hohoho, you got me good there fucker! Just remember you’re half of this hot stuff.” They both shared in a laugh.
Treffle looked to Ether, who was lying on the ground, cuddling with her kukris. Her black clothing shined lightly in the subtle glow of the magical fire.
“She’s pissed.”
“Well yeah, what do you expect? You were gone for hours. You should have seen how worried she was.”
“You weren’t worried?”
Blackjack shook his head. “You know what you are doing. I believe I am safe to assume that you are smart enough to pick and choose what conflicts you can or cannot handle on your own, so no, I wasn’t worried, but, I have been wrong before.” He motioned to his bare skin. “You need to go ever there and talk to her, Treffle. The last thing we need is to have some unsettled tension between any of us.”
Treffle looked at his father, “I know I know, I’m just scared she’ll hack me to death it I get to close, be it with her kukris or not.”
“I know, but knowing your sister, and how much she depends on you, I’m quite positive this wont be the case. And besides, you gave her a full belly tonight, something I know for a fact she wont disregard.” He smiled reassuringly at Treffle, and motioned for him to go. Sighing, Treffle got up and cautiously moved in close to his sister.
“Hey,” Treffle faintly spoke to the grey teenager in front of him.
Ether didn’t respond, or at least if she did, Treffle didn’t catch it. He sat himself next to her and tried again.
“Hey,” he poked her in the back. No response still. “I know you’re still awake you butt. I need to talk to you.”
Ether did move at this, but not in a way that showed she wanted to speak to anyone, especially her brother.
“Well, now that I have your attention, I just wanted to apologize for worrying you. I got overly cocky and thought I could take on some mist, and I know that was stupid. Sometimes we have to extend out limits to survive, and well, I almost pushed myself to fa-“
A white mane was shoved in his face, and a grey filly wrapped around him in a tearful hug cutting off his speech. Treffle hugged back tightly. “I’m sorry Ether.”
“Just-just don’t let it happen again okay?”
Treffle smiled and hugged even tighter. “You’ve got yourself a deal dude.”
Treffle was released from Ether’s hug and she assumed her fetal position on the ground. Treffle sat down by his father again.
“So, any ideas on were to go? If I am correct, winter is fast approaching, and well, I don’t think we can last long like this in a frozen world.”
Blackjack nodded his head. “I know, and yes I have an idea. The Foal Mountains aren’t far from here, and a cave of some sort could solve our winter problems.”
“Okay. What about food and the like?”
“Well, unless we find a cave with fertile soil, we will have to continue gathering like we have. Our water problems will be solved, however.”
Treffle looked questioningly at Blackjack. “What, the snow? Doesn’t it take more water to melt snow than you actually get from it?”
“Well if you eat it straight off the ground yeah, but only an idiot would do that, especially considering how much the snow fall will filter the acid from the air. If we boil the snow first, then we’ll be fine.”
“Okay, but we will need warm clothes though…”
“I am well aware of this. That’s why we will be making a stop back home.”
This statement took Treffle aback. “Dad, Fillydelfia is the sight of a massive crater, we will be burned alive before we can even make it into city limits!”
“Not necessarily. If we stay on the outskirts of town and move quickly we’ll be fine. Worst comes to worst and we are held up for a while, we will only sustain minor burns. And besides, acid pockets are quite visible, so we'll just stay away from greened areas.”
Treffle shook his head in skepticism. “I don’t know dad, this seems pretty risky.”
“Well, it’s either stay out here and freeze to death, or possibly sustain a few burns here and there, your choice.”
Treffle sighed in defeat. “Yeah, okay you’re right.”
Blackjack smiled, “Damn right I am.” He again ruffled his son’s mane. “Go get some sleep son, we have quite the distance to cover tomorrow, so you’ll need all rest you can get.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll wake you when it’s your shift.” Blackjack winked.
Treffle smiled at this and winked back. “Okay, guten nacht vater.”
“Guten nacht, Ich liebe dich.”
“Ich liebe dich.”
Treffle stood and walked to Ether. Her soft snoring was prevalent in the quiet air. He opened one of the S.A.W. blankets within his bag and placed around Ether. The sight of her cuddling with her blades made him chuckle a bit. He again set himself down next to her, and decided to study the skies to sleep.
Grey clouds blanket the skies again. Heh, who would have guessed?
The study session ended and Treffle quickly realized just how exhausted he was. He soon found himself wandering the canvas of dreams.
Treffle was never really able to fall asleep fast. He would always just sit in bed, conceiving impossible social situations and trying to find the answers for the questions life constantly presented. Obviously, this wouldn’t work in an apocalyptic lifestyle. One day, Treffle noticed just how constantly grey the sky was. For the past five months, Treffle had been doing this, and it has yet to fail. The sky was always the same, which resulted in the same, quick study sessions, which resulted in fast sleep. T’was truly brilliant.
Only Blackjack remained awake at this point. He sat on a rock over looking the magical fire Ether had set earlier. He was wrapped in a S.A.W. blanket and studied the believability of the artificial fire. He never understood how unicorns were able to do the things they did, but then again, he didn’t need to. One of the benefits of being an earth pony: you don’t have to study overly complex magic bullshit. It was nice.
Blackjack looked at the clouded skies, and focused in on the blue light piercing the clouds.
Where the hell did you guys go?
His head shook, and a single tear was bold enough to escape. It ran down his bald cheek, tickling his sensations with it.
