> Good Morning, Apocalypseburg! > by FourShadow > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Good Morning, Apocalypseburg! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The winds blew through the sands and remains in Canterlot City. The once proud and lively city now was nothing but an abandoned city of memories. What started as an ordinary day turned for the worse, reducing the city into chaos. Magic began to leak from the portal, creating new monsters and releasing creatures from Equestria into their world. Sunset Shimmer and her friends fought them off, but they kept coming back. Every time they rebuilt, they would re-emerge again, destroying anything in sight. It got worse when strange beings and people from other dimensions were sucked into their world, and were forced to fight in the onslaught of chaos. The citizens of Canterlot City were soon dragged into the matter, and things only spiraled out of control even more. From the wreckage, everyone worked together and built a stronger, more mature society. It was there that they dubbed it; Apocalypseburg. The society was located in the outskirts of the city, a harsh and hot desert. Buried deep in dry canyons, with tons of homes and buildings built into the canyons. All of the buildings were custom made, mostly out of whatever they could salvage from the wreckage. Stuff like a few building parts, shipping containers, cars and trucks, etc. In the center of the city, was a massive tower, with some mobile homes and cars stacked on top of one another, held together thanks to some construction worker help. At the top of the tower was a lookout, and tons of electrical wires connecting the tower to all of the other dwellings. The citizens had truly put together a city, and it was a heckish place to live, filled with only the toughest of souls. Show any weakness and you would be eaten alive. This new life has toughened and hardened everyone living... "Make one a coffee with a touch of black and 14 sugars, aaannnddd I'll have a vanilla milkshake with an extra little dash of chocolate syrup!" Said a cheery and bubbly girl. Pinkie Pie was at the front of a line over at a small vendor to pick up some drinks. Just like everyone else in this tougher and grittier society, she was dressed in apocalyptic garb. Sharp spiked shoulder armor strapped to her tank top, and shorts that were once long pants, cut with some holes. The woman standing behind the counter, Mrs Cake, just kept a permanent scowl of despair as she got to work on making their drinks. Thankfully she had all the materials and ingredients she needed to make it happen. Once she was done, Pinkie Pie paid her the bill and grabbed the drinks in two sturdy coffee cups. Once she was done, she was bouncing along as happy as a clam. She took a sip of her drink, a happy sigh escaped her lips. "Good morning, Apocalypseburg!" She hummed a little hum as she walked on past everyone around her. A few people passed on motorcycles, some occasionally holding weaponry or gear that they made for themselves. Some would lean against walls of some complexes, or sit around a fire that was burning inside a barrel. "Good morning Aria!" Pinkie Pie waved. Off to the side, she could see the former siren with a permanent deranged look on her face. Scar down her eye, death skull tattoos on her shoulders, eye twitching. Only way you'd recognize her was by the disheveled pigtails she kept, but everything else was completely different. "It's Blazestone now!!" The former siren yelled, slicing up a car engine like a psycho. Pinkie Pie paid no attention to the former siren, and just kept going on her way. And passing by were a few more familiar faces. "Morning Duke! Snake Eyes, how are you two?" The two she greeted only gave nods and kept walking idly by, minding their own business. She skipped over a piece of fallen debris, continuing to bounce along. Parked alongside was another familiar face; former guitarist Flash Sentry. Or what he dubbed as his new name; Crash Sentry. Black punk jacket with spikes sticking out, spiked pants with armored padding on the knees and elbows, and a pair of aviator sunglasses to complete the look. "Morning Crashie!" The former student would have glared or growled like everyone else was in this post-apocalyptic society, but he didn't. Upon seeing who said hello, he only smiled and waved, greeting her back. Another area off to the side, she saw Sour Sweet and former CPA student Frosty Orange kicking back on a table, cowboy hats keeping the sun out of their eyes, along with goggles/sunglasses. They were sitting next to a group of girls who were enjoying some free-time, playing a set of instruments as if they were a band. And even as faded as it was, the name 'Jem and the Holograms' was still visible to any passing eye. "Morning Sour! Morning Frosty! Keep on rocking, Jem!" Pinkie called out, ignoring the fight that broke out from two more random individuals in the building next to her. Continuing on, she saw two hulking robots stomp past her. These robots were some of the strange 'visitors' that got pulled into their dimension. "Hello, Autobots!" Pinkie giggled, skipping right through them. Pinkie walked down the sidewalk, continuing to bop along, happy as a clam. Off to the side, she saw Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest with welding outfits on, working on a shiny blue and black sports car with the hood opened up. "Hi girls! Hope you get better, Dropkick!" Pinkie Pie waved. Not even realizing it, Indigo was dangling the blowtorch in the grille, setting it in flames, and earning a loud grunt of pain from the vehicle. "Indigo!" Indigo shrieked. "Sorry!" And in a fit of panic, she swatted at the flames with a rag. Pinkie Pie let out a soft giggle as she watched them panic. But she kept on skipping along, passing by a few others. She stopped near another food stand, watching as the apple girl now dressed in only a head-band, ragged tank top, brown vest and pants, accompanied by spiked wrist armor was cooking some food for customers along with the help of a purple-skinned girl with spiked up hair, a white head-band, eye-patch, and ragged shirt. "Hi Twilight! Hey Applejack!" Applejack couldn't help but chuckle. "Mornin' Pinkie. How ya doin'?" "Doing good! How's the cooking going?" "Goin' fine, thank you. You heard back from Rainbow or Shatter yet?" "No not yet! But we'll know when they get here, silly!" Pinkie Pie quipped, stepping onto the lift to the watchtower. Slamming her fist on the button, the lift started to pull up, taking her past a few ledges of the tower, heading straight up to the top. On the watchtower was an orange-skinned girl, staring off in the distance. A pair of red tinted goggles rested on her forehead, and the only clothes she had on were a black bra top, cut up shorts, fingerless gloves, and steel boots. She too wore a pair of spiked shoulder armor, with some extra straps holding her bra top, armor, and shorts all together so nothing would fall off or down. She leaned against a railing as she stared off at the distance, a few flags flailing as they hung over the bars, blowing with the breeze. Once I was a student, fighting for my own cause. Only with the help of Twilight Sparkle could I change and be set on the right path. Now, I only fight to survive with those I call family. My past is not today, but now... the past is now not-- "Hey Sunset! I got your coffee!" Pinkie Pie interrupted. Sunset looked back for a sec before going back to look ahead. "Coffee. The bitter liquid offered by someone I call family provide the only supplements of pleasure left in these--" "Oooh, are you monologing again?" "... Yes." Pinkie Pie giggled. "There's no one up here, silly! Well, there is now, you have me! But it would be weird to start monologing to your friend." "Yes, yes it would," Sunset nodded, accepting the coffee cup from Pinkie Pie. She took a sip of it, a soft 'mmm' of delight. "Ahhh... that's the stuff." Pinkie Pie engulfed a good portion of her milkshake, almost shivering at the near brain freeze. But she was back to standing next to Sunset Shimmer, staring off at the distance. They could hear the wind in the open desert, blowing past the hot sands. A few glass jars and wind chimes making sounds as they dangled from their posts. "Hard to believe we managed to survive, isn't it?" Pinkie asked, breaking the silence. Sunset paused. "Yeah. I guess so." She took another sip. "I... I don't even know how we managed to get everyone out here." "Oh that's easy! You and Twilight freaked out for a few hours and--" "No, no, that's not what I meant." "Oh." Sunset sighed, shifting her shoulders. "I guess... I don't know. I wish I could have seen them coming." Pinkie Pie patted her bare shoulder, slipping her finger under her spiked armor. "None of us knew. It's okay. The important thing is we're all out here, we're all still alive, and we're keeping steady! Besides, we still got food, water, electricity flowing, and not to mention our friends still patrolling for more resources, am I right?" Pinkie Pie wiggled her eyebrows. Sunset couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah..." Another pause of silence between the two. "Ah, you know something Shim?" Pinkie asked. "Even after all of the hard stuff, and even though we're living out in nowhere with a bunch of people scared out of their lives... we're all still alive." Sunset hadn't thought of that before. "Yeah. I guess so." "Though you know something? I'm always looking forward to a new day!" Pinkie squeaked. Sunset turned her head. "H-How? We're out in the desert, we've been ran out of our city, and we're now fighting for our survival! How can you be so happy about this?" Pinkie Pie waited a moment or two, still keeping an optimistic look on her face. "Because even though we're all the way out here... we're still a functioning group. All of our friends and family are here, we have electricity, we have food, water, means of defending ourselves... we're still alive. And even though it may take some time... we'll be able to rebuild our cities again. We'll get back our city, our homes, all of it. And even though this place is suuuper dusty and windy and far from home... we've made it our home away from home. As far as I believe, I still have you, and Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Spike, and all of our friends!" Pinkie Pie then surprised Sunset Shimmer with an embracing hug. The former unicorn was shocked, but she did feel a little warmth in her heart. Wrapping her arms around her friend, she held her in a big hug, sighing happily. "I don't know what I'd do without your optimism," Sunset sighed. "Awww, shucks," Pinkie blushed. Pinkie Pie took another sip of her milkshake. But when she looked back at the distance, she saw something that caught her eye. Some dust clouds in the distance that were rumbling towards them. "Whoa, dust storm alert! Dust storm alert!" Pinkie panicked. "I don't think that's a dust storm," Sunset commented, holding up a pair of binoculars. She focused on the rumbling clouds, and she found the sources of the sand and dust blowing into the air. Four vehicles were seen driving straight towards the canyon. The one leading the pack was an open muscle car with big truck wheels keeping it running over the bumpy roads. An open engine roaring with power, a cow skull mounted on the front of the hood, and tons of spikes and nails sticking out of the back, and out of the hubcaps of the wheels. This leader car was piloted by none other than Rainbow Dash; former athlete now road warrior. Just like the others; spiked shoulder armor, but with some spiked gauntlets added to give herself some more to fight with. She unfortunately now wore a prosthetic right arm after an unfortunate accident had occurred. Behind her was a big rig carrying a trailer, and with two guards driving next to it. One guard on the side was driving a motorcycle; AKA Neon Lights. On the other side was a red and black sports car, with a small symbol of a triangular shaped face on the front of the hood. And behind the wheel of the big rig was another familiar face; Water Melody. Former CHS student, now dubbing herself as Water Hunter. "They're back! Come on, lets go greet them!" In a cloud of smoke, Pinkie Pie zipped over to the lift, and Sunset Shimmer walked normally over to join. Once they were on, Sunset pressed the button and the lift began to go down. When arriving on the ground floor, they dashed past Fluttershy who was sharing equal apocalyptic garb. Ink and tattoos all over her body to make herself seem tribal, but fierce. Her hair was disheveled, and the only clothes she had on were a tank top and shorts held together by some straps. "Hi Fluttershy!" Fluttershy only smiled and tapped the staff she was holding on a rock as a response. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy ran towards the entrance of the canyons, standing next to a few guards. A few allies in the watchtowers pointed a few turrents towards the arriving cars until Sunset gave them the signal to stop. All of the cars came to a halt, grinding against the sand. Everyone began to emerge from the cars, to be suddenly greeted by a happy bouncy Pinkie. "Hi everybody!" The red and black sports car parked next to the big rig began to shift and change. A pair of arms transformed, and a pair of legs unfolded as well. The legs planted themselves into the ground and rose up, while the rest of the car began to change. The front grille turned into a chest, the tires began to swing back and mount on the shoulders. A head popped out, with a gray face, red helm, and a pair of nasty looking red eyes. Her head swiveled to look down towards the party animal. "Hey Shatter, how was the recon mission?" Pinkie asked innocently. "Underwhelming," the femme replied. "Just the same thing every time. Nothing." "It wasn't nothing, Shatter. We did manage to collect some more supplies out there. We were able to steal some more weaponry," Neon Lights said, pushing a container lid opening up. The first thing he plucked out of the box was a single flame-thrower, which he examined. "That's terrifying," Shatter commented. "... if you wanted to poke someone's eye out." Neon Lights flicked his finger on the trigger, releasing a giant burst of flames towards the sky, almost the robot's size. "Or melt them," Neon grit his teeth. "Anyways," Rainbow said, grabbing everyone's attention. "We did get some fresh supplies, so plenty of weaponry, got some more water, more food... We didn't caught by anyone or anything while we were out there. Oh, and Pinkie?" "Yeah?" Pinkie Pie tilted her head. "You're gonna like what I pulled out..." Rainbow Dash smirked. Shatter grabbed the top of the lid, yanking the top of the shipping container off, allowing everyone to see the contents inside. When Pinkie Pie looked inside, her eyes practically turned into sparkling stars. "EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" Pinkie Pie squeed. "You like it?" "I love it! Where did you find this!?" "We raided a few factories, found a bunch of supplies still intact and not out of date!" Rainbow smirked. Pinkie Pie was now jumping up and down like a little girl, excited like one as well. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! Everybody! We're havin' the biggest cake for dessert tonight!!!" The food they made for dinner that night was indeed delicious. Everyone was so stuffed from the meal, they almost felt like they were gonna explode. But one thing none of them could deny was that it was the best cooked meals that had been made for them all in a long time. No one could even remember the last time something that felt so like home was made, and it made everyone feel a sense of pleasure and joy. Up on one of the canyon walls, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were all gathered together, sitting on some lawn chairs, staring off into the night sky. A small campfire was built near them, perfect for a little warmth while the cool wind blew. They were just waiting for Rarity who was rushing to get up there. "Sorry I'm late darlings, I've been running up here, but you know how hard it is when one of your ankles is nothing but metal?" Rarity raised her left foot, revealing the prosthetic part she was now relying on. "It's okay, silly!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "Come on, have a chair!" Rarity smiled and graciously took a seat with the others. The evening stars were twinkling over their heads, like a bunch of little diamonds. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah..." A pause was in the group's discussion. "Tis truly a wonderful thing," Pinkie Pie said, imitating a voice worthy of a queen. "Since when are you acting queen?" Rainbow asked, raising a brow. The pink skinned girl laughed. "Cause I'm happy, silly!" "You're always happy," Applejack said. "Well, yeah!' "Pinkie Pie, darling, not to rain on your parade, but we're living out here in a scorching lands several miles away from home, constantly trying to prepare ourselves for any incoming monster attacks! How can you still be so bubbly and happy about our situation?" "Because..." Pinkie began. "We're still alive. I know all of you are missing that special part about home, everything that you held close. I do. But it doesn't mean it's gone forever, does it? Someday, we're going to go back, rebuild our homes, and move back into our old lives again. And besides... it's not truly gone is it? Look at everyone down there!" The girls looked back to the city below. Everyone was back to their normal business, but somethin' was different this time. Maybe it was the chill wind, maybe it was the big cake that Pinkie Pie whipped up for everyone. No one knew. But they could see familiar faces were being kind and friendly to one another, like it was back before things were rough. Aria was seen offering barrels of freshly delivered oil to Shatter and Dropkick who couldn't help but smile and accept them. The silver-skinned man they called Destro was chuckling in delight with military man Duke. 'Crash' Sentry was having a nice talk with Lyra and Bon Bon, all three looked and sounded like they were having a wonderful time in each other's company. Even Juniper Montage joined for a bit of company. "They're happy, they're getting along with each other... just like old times. Just like when we pass by each other in the halls at school, or even hang out at the mall or at each other's homes! Everyone here knows each other, we're alive. So even if things are bad now... we just need a little reminder of home," Pinkie Pie cooed, holding some bags of marshmallows. Pause. And out of all of the girls, one-eyed Sparkle was the one to stand up and speak. "You know something girls? Pinkie Pie's right. Even though things are rough, even though times are hard out here... we still have each other. And we still have all of our friends. So I like to raise a toast," Twilight raised her cup up. "To friendship, to everyone here in Apocalypseburg... and to family." "To family!" Everyone raised their cups, sharing a toast with one another. Looking off in the horizon, they would await for the day when they could rebuild what had been destroyed. The time for re-civilization would come. No matter how long it took... they would be ready.