A man, alone in the aftermath of armageddon, with no hope left to speak of, finds a little purple pony in all the destruction, and death. There just might be some hope left after all.
After the bombs fell, life became hard. Something as simple as finding food for the day became almost impossible. Animals died, and even the plants withered away when the snow started. I guess that's to be expected, what with the global thermonuclear winter and all... I'm running low on supplies... gonna have to head out into the snow again. I just hope I find something good this time. I barely survived the last blizzard.
-Cooper Slait
This story is a stand alone that I'll be uploading as I finish chapters. I decided not to burden myself with writing them all out like I usually do. Expect updates fairly regularly. If not weekly, then at least every other week or so.
A razor sharp wind cut through the air like a hot knife through butter, giving off a howling chill as it pierced the skeletal remains of the city below. As he traversed over the broken down husks of long abandoned cars and debris, a cloaked figure squinted through the chilly air. He tightly held his ragged cloak against his face to stave off the beginnings of frostbite, while his eyes scanned through the falling snow for any sign of life in the decadent city.
In his free hand, he held a pair of binoculars. The glass was broken on the right side, it's usefulness lost long ago. Upon noticing what appeared to be movement, he paused mid step, and brought the broken binoculars to his eyes. He squinted harder with his left eye, trying his best to see through the snowfall.
He couldn't identify anything for several minutes, and albeit hesitantly, he brought the binoculars back down to his waist and back into their pouch. With his left hand now free, he slowly unslung his rifle and brought it to his shoulder. A second ticked by, and with it, the cold wind continued to batter against him, blowing the tail of his tattered cloak out in the process.
Then, he was on his back. He never even heard the shot.
The force of the bullet knocked him off his feet, and he flopped onto his back, his rifle falling to the ground, and his broken binoculars dropping from their pouch in an instant. Biting cold clawed at his body, and slowly, he lost feeling in his limbs.
It didn't take long for the sound of footsteps to echo through the street. Within a few minutes, another figure, clothed in several layers of weathered camouflage approached the body with a rifle raised and aimed in case he was still alive. Once he arrived, he kicked the downed man's foot. There was no reaction. Relaxing significantly, the man slung his rifle and leaned down to loot the body. He only unlaced one boot before three more shots rang out, and he was dead, blood pouring from his skull.
"Ugh..." Cooper groaned as he sat up slightly.
He pulled his cloak aside to reveal a dirty plate carrier covering his chest. With a wince, he reached under the fabric to touch his chest. The tender flesh stung at the touch, but he detected no wetness.
"Three O' Eight... Fuck... Good thing you didn't have any AP rounds." Cooper sighed as he got to his feet and re-holstered his pistol on his hip.
He quickly searched the body for any supplies and ammo he could take, but found almost nothing.
"Damn... not even any more ammo... You really used your last bullet on me, huh?" Cooper shook his head.
With nothing else to take, he grabbed his rifle off of the ground and hastily made his way off of the highway. The closest building was barely standing, but it provided just enough concealment in case any one else was attracted to the sound of gunfire. He entered through the open doorway, his rifle aimed and at the ready the whole time, but quickly found that there was nothing and no one in the house. Any kind of life seemed to have died off long before Cooper's arrival.
The building was a small house once. The layout and destroyed kitchen furniture were indicative enough of that. Upon finishing his search of the house, Cooper sat down in what was once the kitchen to examine his equipment.
His plate carrier now sported its eighth hole, and the plate inside felt slightly lose, and flexible. He sighed before pulling out his sidearm and dropping the magazine. There were only four bullets left, plus one in the chamber, totaling up to five.
"That third shot was overkill... Fuck me... Should've saved it." Cooper muttered.
As with his pistol, he pulled his rifle out and released the magazine. Only one bullet shown in the rusted metal magazine, and he chewed his cheek in thought for a few moments before returning the magazine to his rifle.
With his equipment now organized, Cooper let out a long sigh.
"Five rounds of nine mil... two of seven-six-two..." He frowned.
He took to glancing out the window to get a sense of his surroundings. The harsh snow made it difficult to see further than a hundred feet or so away, but from what he could see, there was a large open field directly in front of the building he was in. Further out, a series of connected buildings, likely former apartment complexes, stood out as the obvious next move. Cooper looked back down to his watch and saw that it was nearing five in the afternoon.
With no sign of anyone else coming to investigate the sound of gunfire, Cooper gathered all of his gear and slowly exited the building on the side furthest from the highway. He hunched low to keep his profile as low as possible while moving across the open field to the apartment buildings. As he progressed, more and more of his surroundings revealed themselves to him. Primarily, the graveyard to his left, and the dilapidated tree slowly decaying above the small yard. To his right, more buildings off in the distance made themselves known, but aside from that, all he could see was white snow and the slowly darkening grey sky.
Cooper soon found himself at the foot of the first building, and he quickly hugged the wall for cover. He glanced back and forth but could see nothing and no one in the blizzard. His worn out boots made distinct crunching sounds as he progressed along the outside wall to the front door of the building. He kept his head low, below the windows and balconies of the apartment complex while he moved.
He opened the front door and stepped inside, bringing his rifle up to his shoulder in the process. Immediately, he saw the decayed state of the building. Entire floors were caved in on themselves, forming a massive crater in the center of the building, and allowing snow to pile up in the center of the floor. Light shown in from the ceiling, as snowflakes trickled in from the outside world.
Cooper made his search quickly, and soon moved to the next building. Much like the first one, it was in a state of utter decay, although there was a can of chile buried under one of the floorboards.
"Looks like dinner... Even if it expired a year ago..." Cooper muttered as he placed the can in his pocket.
With the first two buildings done, Cooper made his way over to the third building and began his search. Surprisingly, the third building was in much better shape than the first two, and the third floor still had all its windows intact. He swept the floor with his rifle, carefully checking each corner in case there were any threats hiding from him, but he found nothing. There was a decent sized bedroom with a mattress that felt stiff, and dirty, but he laid down on it all the same.
"Best bed I've had in months..." He whispered to himself.
For a few minutes, Cooper just enjoyed the feeling of the mattress against his body, before he got back up to his feet, and made his way back to what he assumed was the living room. There was some furniture that seemed like it could still support his weight, and he tested each of them accordingly. First, he laid down on the couch, and it easily took his weight. Next, he tried the adjacent chair, and albeit with some creaks, the chair held firm against his weight as well. With a satisfied sigh, he made his way over to the kitchen and eyed the appliances. The appliances all seemed modern, and made of stainless steel. He tried the stove, but it was completely dead.
"Hmm..."
He made his way to the metal cupboard and opened it, revealing several cobwebs as well as some ceramic plates and bowls.
"Well that's good... Now I just need a way to heat this and I can eat something warm for once."
Cooper searched around the apartment for quite some time before giving up and finding nothing else of value.
"Fuckin' modern furniture... Nothing's made of wood. Can't burn shit in here..." He thought aloud, before a slight breeze caught his attention.
Cooper turned to face the nearest window. Immediately, he noticed the balcony outside, along with the grill. He made his way out through the broken screen door, and grabbed the handle of the storage box on the bottom of the grill. Once opened, he saw a white propane tank, seemingly untouched by the cold world around him. He wrapped his fingers around the handle of the propane tank and gave it a firm shake. The sound of sloshing liquid inside ignited a victorious feeling in his heart, and he barely suppressed a cheer of joy as he removed the tank from the grill and make his way back inside.
However, just as he stepped one foot back into the apartment, a faint sound caught his ear. Cooper froze, and in the dead silence of the world around him, his ears picked up on what he could only assume was crying. He slowly turned back around and looked out into the chilled landscape in search of the source of the voice. All that greeted his eyes, however, was white snow and grey, decayed buildings off in the distance. For a moment, he entertained the idea that the crying was all in his head, but a sharp sniffle brought his attention right back to the street front of him, and he slowly grabbed his pistol with his free hand.
Taking care to diligently search the area in front of him, Cooper's eyes darted back and forth between each piece of debris and pile of snow. Every desolate tree and rusted over vehicle was scoured, until his eyes fell on a cardboard box sitting idly in the middle of the sidewalk across from him. It was just big enough for a child to fit inside of, and the thought of any child having to endure the world alone sent a stabbing pain through Cooper's heart. All the same, he looked back and forth for any signs of a trap, before he gave a silent sigh, and stepped back into the apartment.
Once inside, he deposited the propane tank on the floor and headed out the door. Within a minute, he was down the stairs and standing at the front door of the apartment. The cold wind sent a chill down his spine as he deliberated on how best to approach the possible ambush. With the sun setting quickly, only known from the blackening of the grey skies, Cooper decided on his course of action. He silently skulked out into the snow and moved from one destroyed car to the next, until he was only a few meters from the cardboard box.
He took one last cursory look around him to ensure no one was watching him, before he moved from his cover and reached the cardboard box. It almost seemed to shake as he approached, making a pit form in his stomach almost instantly. Out of reflex, Cooper pulled out his pistol and aimed at the box while he made his final approach. He reached out with his free hand and grabbed the edge of the box. A faint whimper reached his ears, before he flipped the lid open and jumped back. Nothing. He waited for a moment longer before stepping back up to the box and looking down into its contents.
What he saw was the last thing he expected to see. Instead of a child, or young adult, he saw what could only be described as a lavender pony. Its mane and tail were a distinctly blue color, with two highlights of purple and pink respectively. It almost seemed malnourished, if the visible ribs were anything to go off of. On its back, connected to its shoulders, sat a pair of disheveled wings, and on top of it's head, a delicately spiraled horn. Cooper focused on its face for a few moments, taking in how much shorter its muzzle was than a normal horse, and how it's deep purple eyes gazed back at him with an expression of pure terror.
"Twilight, are you sure that this thing is safe?" Spike asked, glancing at the strange machine Twilight had assembled in the throne room of the castle.
"I'm sure, Spike. I've only run the calculations... two hundred times? Eh, maybe three." Twilight shrugged as she stepped away from her creation.
"Okay, but... what exactly is it?" Spike pressed, craning his neck to inspect the metallic horseshoe-like shape of the device.
"It's a portal generator!" Twilight exclaimed, clopping her hooves together in excitement.
"A... portal generator?"
Spike tilted his head to the side and leaned closer to the strange machine.
"Yes! You see, I've been thinking more and more about it ever since we last saw Sunset Shimmer and the other versions of our friends. If StarSwirl's theory on alternate dimensions is correct, then there could be countless other worlds out there just waiting to be discovered! Not to mention, they could hold answers to age-old problems in our world that we could fix just by reading a book or two from them!" Twilight excitedly explained.
"Or could just be like any of the possible futures where the world is on fire or stuck in eternal night." Spike rolled his eyes.
Twilight let out a huff at Spike's less than excited attitude.
"Well of course there's always those possibilities, but don't you think I've accounted for that?" She replied, giving him a pouting look, "I've spent the last three days making calculations to ensure that the worlds I open the doorway to are safe and as similar to ours as possible. It took me the last twelve hours alone to narrow down my search to less than ten thousand worlds, but all of them are well within the magical coefficient-"
"Twilight, I'm gonna stop you there. Everything you say is just going to go in one ear and out the other." Spike interrupted, holding a claw up.
Twilight immediately pouted again.
"I can tell that I'm not gonna convince you that this is super dangerous, so I guess all I can do is ask what you need me to do." Spike admitted.
Twilight instantly perked back up.
"Well, all I really need you to do is to provide some dragon fire to light the portal." She replied as she trotted over to the portal generator.
"Alright, I'll do it... Shouldn't we at least get the rest of the girls over here... and maybe the princesses? Ya know, in case things don't go exactly as planned." Spike suggested.
"Spike, I'm just going one dimension over. Besides, time is relative in other dimensions, so I'll only be gone for a few seconds." Twilight reasoned.
"Twilight-" Spike began.
"I promise, I'll be fine. I'm just really, really excited to try this, Spike! Let me just give it a quick test run, and then we'll get the girls and the princesses over for a more adequate trial." Twilight pleaded, giving her best puppy dog eyes.
Spike frowned and looked away as Twilight continued her assault. He lasted for only half a minute before he sighed deeply and turned back to see her deep violet eyes.
"Ugh... geez... Fine! Fine, I'll trust your judgement here... but if anything goes wrong, I'm getting the princesses, the girls, and even Sunset if I have to. You'd better be back in a few seconds, tops." Spike relented, shaking his head.
Twilight smiled brightly.
"I promise, Spike. Trust me, I've done the math. Everything will be just fine." She excitedly proclaimed, before trotting over to the portal generator and waving him over.
Spike sighed quietly as he walked over to Twilight's machine and assumed his place next to the control panel.
"So... where exactly am I putting this dragon fire?" He asked.
"Right there in the power converter." Twilight said, her eyes never leaving the machine.
"Uh... Twilight, I have no idea where that is." Spike deadpanned.
"It's the little apple shaped hole next to the big red button." She replied.
Spike found the specified device and gave Twilight an expectant look.
"Alright, whenever you're ready." He said.
"Okay, on the count of three. Ready?" Twilight said, eagerly gazing into the horseshoe shape of the portal generator, "Three, two, one!"
Spike breathed a wave of dragon fire into the power converter, and the machine quickly powered up. Lights flickered on all over the control panel, and a strange, circular pool of energy formed in the generator. However, just as Spike ran out of breath and stopped, a loud bang, akin to the sound of lightning, startled him and Twilight. He jumped from the surprise, and fell over from the shock.
"Gah!" Spike shouted as his elbow hit the control panel on the way down.
"Oh, sorry about that Spike! Forgot to tell you that there might be some loud noise when it starts up for the first time." Twilight apologized, quickly making her way over to the fallen dragon.
"Yeah, geez... I thought something just blew up." Spike replied as he clutched his throbbing elbow.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah. I think I hit my funny bone on the floor though." He complained.
"Hehe, it'll be alright. Now come on! It's about to open the portal to World three seven six nine!" Twilight exclaimed as she rose to her hooves once more.
Spike followed her lead and looked into the portal as the strange green swirling energy slowly turned a shade darker, and then more violet, until it was a deep purple color. A strange humming sound emanated from the portal, sending a chill down Spike's spine.
"Uh... Twilight, are you sure this thing is safe? I mean... It sounds kinda creepy." Spike pressed, cautiously looking over at the lavender alicorn.
"It's fine Spike. That's just the sound it makes once it's made a connection. You should be excited! This is a first for all of ponykind! For... for all of any kind!" Twilight triumphantly exclaimed as she trotted over to the portal.
"If you say so... Still kinda gives me the creeps... You're sure that this thing is safe?" Spike pressed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"I'm sure, Spike. Trust me, I'll be back in just a few seconds." She replied, giving him a wide smile.
Twilight's bright attitude relieved Spike's fears somewhat, and he gave a small smile in return.
"Alright. I trust you. Go ahead and make history... again." He said with a supportive chuckle.
Twilight stepped into the deep violet portal, and the world around her instantly distorted. Her forelegs extended in front of her like noodles as they swirled into the vortex. She strained to discern what was happening, but before she knew it, it was already over. She blinked the stars out of her eyes and found herself staring out at a white world. Almost immediately, the cold sank into her coat, and she shivered from the exposure.
"Woah..." She said, watching her breath from a small mist in the alien air.
She took a few steps forward into the snow, before turning around to see the portal behind her, just in front of what appeared to be a snow covered house. Her brow creased in thought for a few moments as she glanced back at the world around her. Immediately around her, she saw open fields of white, and further out, what appeared to be a city much like Manehattan kissed the skyline just a few dozen miles away. The tall skyscrapers appeared to have unique designs that looked almost structurally unsafe, but Twilight couldn't help the giddy feeling that welled up in her heart at the sight of architecture from another universe. Even against the dull grey skies, the buildings stuck out as if they were attempting to pierce the cloud cover, and bring blue skies back over the land.
Well, I'll certainly need to calibrate the trans-dementional latitude and longitude. Also the weather calculator... Could've sworn I set it to summertime...
Twilight gave a small shrug and headed off in the direction of the city.
"Alright... I should be able to find my way back easy enough. Just gotta head toward the open field." Twilight shrugged as she trotted through the snow.
A quick gust of wind sent a chill down her spine, and Twilight cringed as she felt the cold bite at her skin under her fur.
Maybe I should go get a jacket before going any further...
She stopped mid step and turned to look back at the portal, then back to the city, and finally, back to the portal.
Eh...
She looked back at the city once more, and sighed.
Okay, I'll just go explore for a few minutes, and then I'll head right back. Besides, it's cold, but it's not that cold.
With her mind made up, Twilight set about on her way into the city. Despite the grey skies, she could vaguely make out the sun's location in the sky due to the increased brightness behind the skyscrapers, making them all appear darker than they actually were. As such, she squinted slightly at the impressive city in front of her.
There must be millions of creatures living here! It's at least twice the size of Las Pegasus!
Twilight found a happy bump in her step as she trotted into the city, but her excited gait quickly puttered out and died as a building blocked the light from the sky enough for her to properly see in front of her. She slowed from a happy trot, to a controlled step, and then she stopped completely.
Instead of bright lights and ponies walking all about through the town, and the typical merriment she would have expected in a city of this size, she saw no one. The streets were completely deserted, and covered in a thick layer of snow. The buildings were rotting, and decayed, while the skyscrapers were missing entire sections of their structure. Broken shards of glass reflected white light from the sky. Twilight lost the breath in her lungs, and she stumbled back as the situation dawned on her.
"What? No... nononononono... this isn't right... this can't be right..." She said as she slowly started to hyperventilate.
Twilight staggered back a step as if she was physically struck, and a deep pit quickly formed in her stomach as she glanced about the ruined city.
"I... I was supposed to be in an Equestria like Sunset Shimmer's... Something's gone wrong... How? I accounted for every possibility! I have to get back to the portal." She whispered to herself.
As she turned around to head back, she felt a sudden burning sensation in her flank, and a sharp sting, as if a bug bear had just stung her. She instantly lost strength in her right hind leg, and collapsed to the ground. Not a second later, a loud crack akin to thunder rang out from behind her, raking at her ears as the pain settled in.
Twilight cried out in pain as she felt warm fluid trickling down her leg, and she hastily glanced back to see a strange shape quickly moving toward her. With adrenaline flooding her system, she poured her magic into a teleportation spell. Her horn shown a bright violet light, and she disappeared with a quick flash.
When she reappeared, her eyes were tightly shut, but the feeling of falling forced them open. To her horror, she was hundreds of feet in the sky, and the tall skyscrapers were only growing larger. She uselessly flailed her limbs about before the pain in her hind leg stung like a scalding knife, and she cried out in pain once more. Tears clawed their way out of her eyes as she watched the buildings approach at terminal velocity, and a choked whimper was all she could muster before her wings snapped out.
Instantly, she felt the chilled air catch in her feathers, and her descent slowed dramatically. She landed atop the tallest building and collapsed as her hooves touched the snow. Red stained the white material as she struggled to put any weight on the damaged limb. Pained tears spilled down her cheeks, and Twilight sobbed into her forelegs as the agonizing sensation racked her leg over and over again. Only when she felt numbness crawling over her hind leg, did she venture to look back at her wound, and she nearly vomited at the sight.
Her entire leg was drenched in her own blood, all the way down to the fetlock, and soaking into the snow around her. She poured more of her energy into her magic, and hastily mended the wound as best as she could. Soft tendrils of lilac found their way to the bleeding wound, and gently healed. Twilight stifled a gasp as her magic picked up a foreign object in her body, and steadily removed it. She watched, part in horror, and part in morbid fascination, as a strange, pill-like object was extracted from her leg. Once it was removed, her magic resumed its task, and neatly healed the wound.
It would be sore for days, and her energy would be low as well, but she was alive. However, as she stared at the horrible brass colored pill held in her magical grasp, she couldn't help but wonder...
Cooper staggered back a step as the alien creature's voice filled his ears, and he almost dropped his pistol from shock. His brow furrowed in disbelief at what he was seeing, and it took several seconds before he could find his voice. He immediately re-aimed at the strange equine, taking note of how she flinched at the motion.
"What the hell are you?" He demanded.
"I... I'm a pony... please... don't kill me... I just wanna go home." She replied, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
Despite every instinct in his body telling him to shoot, or run, or both, Cooper felt the tiniest twinge of sympathy in his heart for the alien pony. Even through the complete absurdity of the situation, and albeit after several moments of hesitation, he lowered his pistol slightly, and gave her a critical look.
"It's not safe out here... Come with me." He said, before motioning for her to leave the box with his free hand.
The pony only hid away further under her wings at that, and gave him a fearful look that said more than words ever could. Cooper gave a sigh and lowered his pistol just enough to no longer aim at the lavender alien.
"I... promise I won't eat you." He said, once again motioning with his free hand.
She looked at his hand as if it was going to bite her, and for several seconds, it looked as if she wasn't going to move, however, eventually, a particularly cold gust of wind sent a hard shiver down her spine, and she finally relented. She shakily got to her hooves in the box, and gingerly stepped out onto the snow. Immediately, Cooper could see several scars on her forelegs, and the outline of her ribs on her emaciated figure.
Once she was completely out of the box, Cooper looked toward the apartment complex doorway and motioned with his pistol.
"In there."
The lavender pony slowly got the hint and made her way forward. There was a definite limp in her step, and she only made it half way through the snow before her right hind leg gave out and she crumpled into the icy ground. She let out a small whimper of pain as she tried to get back to her hooves, but her legs barely seemed capable of responding to her orders, and she only succeeded in reaching a kneeling position before she felt Cooper's hands on her barrel.
She instantly froze, and her breath came out in choked snippets, giving her a shaky appearance that made Cooper sigh.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Let me carry you. You clearly can't walk right now." He said lifting her out of the snow.
She was lighter than expected, even with her emaciated frame. With little trouble, Cooper pulled her up and propped her onto his shoulder, while he supported her rump with his forearm. Instantly, her forelegs wrapped around his chest and back, and she buried her muzzle into his shoulder as she shook in his arms. Whether it was from fear or the cold, he couldn't tell, but he pushed forward into the apartment to eliminate one of those possibilities regardless.
Once inside, her shaking seemed to die down some, however it was still noticeable, and with her face pointed away from him, he couldn't tell if she was still scared of him or not. All the same, he carried her up the steps to the third floor of the apartment and into the room he'd chosen. Once he opened the door and stepped inside, he quickly closed and locked it behind him, taking care to place a chair against the door handle just for extra security. With that taken care of, he made his way over to the couch, and gently patted the pony's back.
"I'm gonna put you down now. Don't freak out." He said.
She gave a small nod before being deposited on the couch. She looked around the room as Cooper walked over toward the propane tank to start a fire. The couch barely sagged at all under her weight, and for the first time in a while, her eyes were full of curiosity instead of fear.
Cooper arranged some of the pipes and more flammable materials from inside the room into a small fire pit, and with some finessing, managed to get a warm fire burning in the living room. Next, he pulled out the can of chili from his pocket, and a knife from his plate carrier. Instantly, the pony tensed up at the sight of the blade, but as he cut into the can and placed it on the makeshift grill, she relaxed slightly.
It wasn't until the knife was completely returned to it's sheath that she calmed down entirely. Cooper eyed her curiously before glancing out the window to see the world blackening, and he chewed his cheek in thought before looking down at the can of chili as it cooked.
"So... You got a name?" He asked, his eyes glancing up for only a moment.
For a few seconds, the pony seemed afraid of answering, but eventually, she did speak up, albeit timidly, and with a measure of fear still present in her tone.
"Y-yes... My name is Twilight Sparkle."
"Twilight Sparkle? Eh, you know what, that makes about as much sense as the rest of this, so whatever... You said you're a... pony?" He pressed, now giving her more of his attention.
"I am... I'm... specifically, I'm an alicorn." Twilight replied.
"Okay... So you're an alicorn named Twilight Sparkle... God, maybe that guy did kill me today." Cooper said, shaking his head.
"W-what?" Twilight somewhat fearfully replied.
"Nothing... Just the way things are these days..." Cooper sighed, "So how did you get here?"
"I... I'm not sure if I should tell you that..." She said, her voice just a whisper.
"Why not?" He pressed.
"I just... I'm not sure."
Cooper chewed his tongue in thought for a few moments before replying.
"Alright. I suppose that's fair enough."
He leaned forward to check the can. The food inside was bubbling slightly from the heat, indicating that it was just about ready. Cooper pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to the kitchen, much to Twilight's confusion and fear. A few moments later, he returned with two small bowls in his hands, and two spoons. He sat down in the same spot as before, and poured half the chili out in one bowl, and the rest out in the other.
"It's vegetarian, so... you know... there's no meat or anything in here."
Twilight took the bowl of chili in her magical grasp, her horn lighting up in the process. Cooper immediately jerked back as a tingling feeling formed around his fingers, and the bowl was lifted from his grasp.
"Whatthefuck!?" Cooper exclaimed as he instinctively grabbed his pistol.
Twilight immediately shot her hooves up in defense.
"It's just my magic! I swear!" She cried, her eyes wide in fear as she quickly placed the bowl on the floor.
"What? Magic?" He replied in disbelief. His gaze quickly darted down to his hand, and he gave it a few test shakes to make sure everything was still working.
"Yes... Why is that so surprising? Do you not know about magic or something?" Twilight questioned, her heart still pounding in her chest.
"Magic doesn't exist. It's not real... Tell me what you just did to my fucking hand or I'll fucking end you." Cooper demanded, clutching his affected hand against his chest while he aimed his pistol with the other.
"Wha... but... No magic? H-How is that possible!? Nononononono... Oh, Celestia please get me out of this place..." Twilight replied, as her ears splayed back and her eyes fell to the floor.
"Answer the question." Cooper pressed, as his index finger migrated to the trigger.
"I... I didn't do anything to you! I swear! I just tried to levitate the bowl..." Twilight pleaded, tears forming in her eyes.
Cooper stared at her with the intensity of a thousand burning suns, making her hair stand up on edge, and her entire body shake. Tears formed in the corners of Twilight's eyes as she stared down the barrel of his gun, and raw fear enclosed her mind, leaving her with tunnel vision that centered on that spiral of death she'd come to fear.
The stare down continued for almost a minute, before Cooper finally broke the tense silence and spoke.
"If what you're telling me is true... Then show me." He said, flatly.
Twilight almost aggressively nodded in response, before igniting her horn, and lifting the cup of chili in her magenta aura. Cooper stared with a blank expression as the bowl hovered in the air in front of him. Slowly, she lowered the bowl down to the ground, and looked back at him, a slight tremor still lingering in her spine.
"S-see? I can levitate things and do a w-whole bunch of other stuff with my magic." She said, after some time.
Cooper raised an eyebrow and slightly lowered his pistol.
"What else can you do?" He asked with genuine curiosity.
"Well... I can cast some transfiguration spells... Teleportation... there really aren't too many limits to be honest..." Twilight replied, feeling a little more at ease.
"You can teleport?" Cooper asked in disbelief.
"Yes."
"Show me."
Twilight poured more energy into her horn, and disappeared in a flash. A microsecond later, she reappeared on the chair across from the couch, making Cooper jump.
"Holy shit!" He exclaimed.
Twilight shrunk in on herself slightly at his outburst, but quickly relaxed at seeing his expression. A crooked grin was plastered on his face, and he immediately re-holstered his pistol.
"Holy... You can... You can teleport... Oh my God... This is insane..." He said, shaking his head in amazement.
"Among other things." Twilight sheepishly added.
"So... This magic... Is it... you know, safe to be around?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Very. It's only unsafe if you do something really, really dumb... like open a portal to another world and just jump in like a complete moron..." She rolled her eyes.
Cooper, having not heard the tail end of her reply, just shook his head in disbelief as his eyes fell to the floor.
"Wow... Who would'a thought something like you'd come out of all this shit..." He muttered.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? It ain't exactly a pleasant world out there." Cooper replied as he sat down on the couch once more.
"You mean it wasn't always like this?" Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side.
Cooper moved his jaw to reply, but paused as memories came flashing by. His eyes slowly fell to the floor, and he closed his mouth as his brows knitted into a deep frown.
"No... Not always..." He said, his voice just a whisper.
In the perfect silence of the apartment room, Twilight heard his words as if they were spoken at full volume. She cringed at his tone, and took a hesitant step toward him.
"Are... Are you okay?" She asked.
Cooper took a few seconds before replying.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. Just remembered something I told someone a long time ago." He sighed, "Look, it's getting late. Let's just eat and sleep. Tomorrow, we can talk more."
"Alright." Twilight slowly replied.
They quickly returned to the couch and chair to eat their dinner. Twilight took one bite of the now moderately-warm chili, and let out a small moan of satisfaction. Cooper raised an eyebrow at her reaction, before glancing down at her ribs and chuckling quietly.
"First time eating in a while, huh?" He asked.
"I haven't eaten anything in three days... And even that was only some half dead grass I had to dig for." Twilight sheepishly replied.
"Yeah, I know the feeling... Last time I couldn't find food, I went a whole week without eating anything. Thought I was gonna die after day four." He shook his head.
For a few more minutes, they ate in silence, before Twilight finally set her bowl down and fixed him with a curious look.
"You know... I just realized I still don't know your name."
Cooper finished his chili before turning back to Twilight.
"Name's Cooper. Cooper Slain." He replied.
"That's a strange name." She said, tilting her head to the side.
"Says the purple pony named after a bad book series." He deadpanned.
"Heh, I guess names are just different where we're from." She shrugged slightly.
"I guess so. Here, I'm gonna go sleep in the bedroom. You can have the couch." Cooper replied as he pushed himself to his feet.
"Okay."
Twilight got as comfortable as she could on the couch while she watched Cooper walk away. A thought found its way into her mind that quickly made its way out her mouth before she could stop it.
"Hey, Cooper?"
"Mhh?"
"Why... Why are you helping me? N-not that I have a problem with it! I-I just... Every other creature here has tried to kill me so far... I just don't understand." Twilight admitted, her eyes slowly falling to the floor.
Cooper chewed his cheek for a moment and glanced up to the ceiling.
"I don't know... Just felt like the right thing to do." He shrugged.
"Well... Thank you." Twilight gratefully replied.
Cooper quickly looked away and gave a small nod.
"Get some sleep, Twilight." He said, giving a wave goodnight.
He closed the door to his room, and let out a shaky breath.
Cooper rolled out of bed as the morning light filtered in through the boarded up window to his right. He groggily rubbed his eyes as he sat upright, but paused as a twinge of pain shot across his chest. He looked down at his dirty plate carrier and sighed.
Slowly, he unstrapped his armor and lifted it off his shoulders, exposing his tan undershirt. With a small grunt of pain, he lifted his shirt up enough to see the black and blue bruise on his chest, just a couple inches to the right of his heart. He shook his head in disapproval before redressing himself in his clothes and equipment.
"Guess I'm just lucky he didn't crack a rib..."
Cooper pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to the door, picking up his rifle in the process. The handle jiggled slightly, and the door creaked as he pushed his way into the living room, waking Twilight in the process. She nearly jumped out of the couch before realizing it was him, and let out a quiet sigh.
"Sorry." He muttered, as he made his way to the kitchen.
"It's... it's fine. I'm just still getting used to being around another creature I guess..." She replied, a bit of shame in her tone.
"Try not to. You'll live longer, trust me." Cooper shrugged.
Twilight pursed her lips for a moment.
"Are... Are you saying I should leave?" She asked.
Cooper cocked an eyebrow back.
"No... I mean... I don't know... I didn't really expect you to be here anymore to be honest."
"Why wouldn't I be here?" Twilight tilted her head to the side.
"I don't know... Still having a hard time believing you're real, I guess."
"Well... I am... So..." Twilight trailed off.
Cooper chewed his cheek for a moment before glancing out the window at the world. The blizzard was gone, leaving a calm world outside, and relatively soft grey skies. Out in the distance, he could see the city, sticking out like a crown of thorns among the cold, dead snow.
"What were you thinking of doing today?" He asked, suddenly flicking his eyes back to Twilight.
"What?" She asked, slightly taken aback at the question.
"Were you planning on going somewhere? Maybe trying to get home? I'm heading to the city, but if you're home is somewhere out here, then maybe I can help you get there." He offered, glancing back out at the city.
"I... I don't know where my home is... Everything just looks the same out there." Twilight wilted, her eyes falling to the floor.
"Well, the city is pretty hard to miss... If we go there, we could kill two birds with one stone. Maybe get you to where you're trying to go." He suggested
Twilight returned his suggestion with a puzzled look instead of an answer.
"What?"
"Your metaphors are so dark..." She replied.
"Well it's just a metaphor." He shrugged.
"R-right... anyways... I suppose that makes the most sense. We can go there together so you can do... whatever it is that you want to do there, and I can try to find my bearings." She concluded, a smile slowly forming on her face.
"I'm going there for supplies. The big cities always have the most food, water, and ammo... and Houston's the biggest city for at least the next few weeks of travel." Cooper explained.
"I see... Well... I think I can walk better now. I'm not sure how far away this city is, but it sounds like a good opportunity." Twilight replied, pushing herself to her hooves and letting out a long stretch.
"Alright... Just try to keep up. I can usually cover twelve miles in a day, and from what I can tell, Houston's a full twelve miles away."
"Okay. I'll do my best. I'm ready whenever you are." Twilight replied with a determined smile which quickly faded as she noticed Cooper staring blankly at her.
He blinked a few times before realizing that he was staring and shook his head clear.
"Um... You okay?" Twilight asked, a worried look quickly appearing on her face.
"Uh... Yeah... Yeah, sorry about that. I just... Thought of something." Cooper replied, keeping his eyes pointed anywhere but in her direction.
"What was it?" She pressed as she stepped off the couch.
"Nothing, nothing... You just kinda... remind me of someone. Let's go." He cleared his throat before heading to the door.
Twilight cocked her head to the side but followed behind regardless. Quick enough, they were outside in the frigid world once more, and she felt a familiar pit form in her stomach as she eyed the white snow again. Cooper stepped into the world without hesitation, prompting her to quickly swallow back her reservations and follow after him.
Time dragged on as the man and pony walked through the white nothingness. Before either of them knew it, the sky was darkening once more, and the temperature slowly dropped. Twilight's eyes glanced back and forth for any signs of danger as she struggled to keep up with the man in front of her. Cooper eyed her curiously, but decided not to say anything, and scanned his eyes over the horizon as well. The far off skyscrapers of Houston slowly grew in size as they approached, and for a time, the only sound in the air was the crunch of their feet and hooves against the snow.
"Um... Cooper?" Twilight called, suddenly.
Cooper turned to look back at her, taking notice that she was slightly further away than before.
"Yeah?"
"Could... Could you maybe... slow down just a little? I'm... I can't really keep this pace right now." Twilight admitted, her eyes falling to the snow at her hooves.
"We don't have time to be out in the open like this. I told you earlier that we need to get to Houston before nightfall," He replied, glancing up at the sky, "-and from the looks of things, it's only a couple hours away at best."
"I... I get that... but I just can't keep this pace anymore... My leg..." Twilight pleaded.
"How bad is it?"
"It hurts to put any weight on it."
Cooper looked back at the imposing skyscrapers of the city, then back to Twilight.
"Look, we're sitting ducks out here. Either you push through it, or you die out here. Can't you use your wings to help distribute the weight or something?" He rebutted.
"I... I can't!" She cried, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"Why not?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.
Before she could respond, a sound akin to whizzing and a loud crack snapped between them, and kicked up the snow just inches away from Cooper's foot.
"Get down!" He shouted as he dove into a small berm to his left.
Twilight quickly followed suit, and they both scrambled to get deeper into the snow as another crack filled the air, and more snow kicked up next to them.
Cooper dug into the snow and buried himself and Twilight just as the sound of gunfire finally reached his ears.
"You still alive?" He asked, his voice muffled by the snow.
"Mmhmhmm" Twilight responded.
Cooper sighed and angrily bit his lip as he contemplated his next move. After a few minutes of deliberation, he slowly dug his way out of the snow until just his head peaked out on the opposite side of the berm from the gunshots. He took a few deep breaths before looking left and right for any escape route. Upon seeing no cover or even decent concealment for hundreds of meters in either direction, he let out a long sigh. He reached down with his hand and felt for Twilight. Soon enough, he was able to grab her mane, and pull her head out of the snow, much to her displeasure.
"Ow, ow, ouch!" She cried
"Shh!"
She shut her mouth almost instantly.
"Alright, we're kinda pinned down here. I don't think we could make it to decent cover even if you could keep up with me..." He admitted, shaking his head slightly, "So, you got any ideas? From the sound of it, those were seven six two rounds. Almost sounded like an AK..."
"What?" Twilight asked.
"An AK. The type of rifle he was shooting. If it's an AK, then he has to be somewhere under three hundred meters. Either that, or just a really good shot." He explained.
"Uh... I-" Twilight began.
"Right, right, you don't know how far that is. It's close. Way too close for comfort."
"I see... Um... I... I might have an idea though." She offered.
"And what's that?"
"Well... I may be able to make some fake copies of us to distract him." She suggested.
Cooper considered her idea for a few moments before an idea popped into his head as well.
"That... might just work... Can you make them do certain things?"
"To an extent, yes. What did you have in mind?"
Cooper and Twilight broke out of the snow bank and ran for the buildings directly in front of them. Almost immediately, gunfire broke out, kicking up snow all around them. They both only made it fifty meters before Twilight dropped to the ground, and Cooper fell beside her. The gunfire stopped immediately, and a deadly silence filled the air as their bodies stopped moving completely.
Several poised moments of silence passed before two more shots rang out, kicking up more snow, and then nothing. Minutes passed slowly, yet the only thing that moved was the red slowly pooling into the snow around the man and pony. Finally, the shooters moved. They quickly approached their bodies with their rifle at the ready.
Just as they reached the dead bodies, they faded, and vanished into thin air, startling them both. Not a moment later, Cooper fired from his position in the berm. The first round struck true, knocking the first man to the ground instantly. The second reacted by shooting wildly into the snow in Cooper's direction, but it was obvious he couldn't see him. With a slow, deliberate breath, Cooper fired his second shot, and hit the second shooter in the neck, dropping him to the ground almost instantly.
With the threat taken care of, Cooper surfaced from the snow. Twilight popped out a moment later, breathing heavily from the exertion.
"Celestia... that thing... is so loud..." She wheezed.
"Better being on this side of it than that one. Come on." Cooper said, nodding to the two downed men fifty meters in front of them.
He hoisted himself out of the berm and jogged over to the bodies while Twilight struggled to fall in line behind him. Once she managed to free herself from the icy concealment, she walked over to Cooper to find him searching the first man.
"Cooper... A-are they..." She began to ask, before a gurgling sound caught her ears.
They both glanced over to the second man to see him coughing up blood while clutching his throat. Twilight looked away instantly, swallowing back her dinner from the previous night. Cooper simply shook his head and resumed his looting, much to her displeasure.
"Cooper... Are you just... gonna let him die?" She asked, visibly cringing as the man struggled to move.
"They tried to kill us. Why should I care how they die?" He absentmindedly replied.
"Cooper... He's suffering." Twilight pressed, stepping over to his side, only to look away as she saw the face of the man Cooper was searching.
"Those were my last two rounds of seven six two, and I'm not wasting my nine mil on him." He said, flatly.
"Cooper, please! This is wrong! I know they were trying to kill us but... for the love of Celestia, listen to him!" Twilight shouted, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as the man desperately struggled for air against the blood filling his throat.
Cooper paused his actions and sighed. He glanced over to Twilight to see her red, teary eyes, then back to the dying man to his left. With a deep shake of his head, he pushed himself to his feet and walked over to his side. He pulled his knife out of his plate carrier and reached around to the back of his skull. After a moment of searching, he found his target, and pressed the tip of the knife against his neck. He quickly thrust the knife in, and the man stopped struggling.
Twilight looked away as the tears slowly leaked from her tightly shut eyes, and she choked back a sob as Cooper moved onto looting the second body.
"Guess I was right about one thing..." He muttered, "They were shooting AK's. Between the two of them, they have two and a half full mags. That's gonna get us far."
Cooper quickly removed his empty magazine and replaced it with the fully loaded one. He racked a round into the chamber and rose to his feet.
"You coming?" He asked.
Slowly, and almost begrudgingly, Twilight complied, and turned to walk with him.
Cooper led Twilight into a large alleyway between massive buildings with his rifle at the ready. As she followed behind, she couldn't help but crane her neck upward to look at the complete marvel of engineering that was the skyscrapers. She was so lost in her awe, that she managed to walk right into Cooper's leg, nearly knocking him down in the process. He instantly turned around with an angry look on his face that sent a chill down her spine.
"S-sorry..." She mumbled.
"Pay attention. The cities are the most dangerous places to be. Keep your eyes open next time." He scolded.
"Right."
They continued on until arriving at the end of the alleyway. Cooper hugged the wall closely, motioning with his hand for Twilight to do the same. Once she complied, he scooted over to the edge until he could peak his head around the corner and look down the street. With the night quickly approaching, it was hard to discern if there was anyone else watching them down the street, especially with the literally thousands of shattered windows all along the skyscrapers. After only a few moments, Cooper returned fully to cover, a frown clear on his face.
"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.
"Can't tell if someone's watching the road. If there's anybody around here, they were bound to hear the gunshots from those two guys earlier... Mean's they'd probably be watching and setting up another ambush, or at least waiting to see if their buddies made it back with fresh loot." Cooper mused, his brow furrowing even further.
"Well... What should we do then? There isn't really another way through the city aside from just going through each building, right?" She questioned.
"Well... that's an option... Not a very good one, but... I may have another." Cooper replied, as his eyes flicked up to the lettering on the building across the street.
"What's your plan?"
"I'm gonna need you to teleport us across the street to that building that kinda looks like an 'H'." He explained.
"What!?" Twilight exclaimed.
"Quiet! They might hear you!" Cooper angrily whispered.
"Sorry... but teleporting myself is already hard enough, especially after what we already did with the clones. I'm not exactly at my strongest right now." Twilight rebutted, her voice also a whisper.
"Well it's either that, or we have to run across. That's about thirty meters of snow that's about... four feet deep? Maybe five. Take your pick, 'cause if we're running across, I don't think diving into the snow will save us this time around." He explained, with an exasperated sigh.
Twilight's eyes dropped down to the snow at her hooves, and she bit back a growl of frustration at the situation.
"Alright... I'll... I'll try my best." She said, after some time.
Cooper gave her a small nod before she charged her horn. Violet light encircled the man and pony over and over again until they were both glowing with the color. Beads of sweat formed on Twilight's brow as she focused, and her muzzled scrunched up while she tightly closed her eyes. Then, they blinked out of existence, only leaving a small pop of magical energy before reappearing across the street.
Cooper immediately stumbled into the closed door behind him as the nauseous feeling in his head made him loose his balance. Right beside him, Twilight also stumbled before falling into the snow to her left, unconscious. After a moment of righting himself, Cooper let out a slow groan, only to freeze as his eyes fell on Twilight's body beside him.
"Twilight? you okay?" He asked, pushing himself to his feet.
He received no response, and a frown once more formed on his face. He quickly slung his rifle and grabbed the alicorn by her withers. He lightly shook her, only for a pit to form in his stomach at the sight of her body limply shaking in his grasp.
"Oh no.. oh no, no, no, no... Twilight, come on. Wake up." He said, gently grabbing her head and brushing her mane away from her closed eyes.
Once more, she did not respond at all. As he felt his heart beat faster, Cooper quickly pulled her into his arms, placing his ear against her muzzle and two fingers on her jugular. Her heartbeat felt feint, and it took a moment for her breath to reach his ear, forcing a sigh of relief from the rugged man.
"Jesus Christ... Thought I lost you for a second there..." He whispered, still holding her close, "Right, you're unconscious. Come on, let's get you inside."
He lifted her onto his shoulder while simultaneously un-slinging his rifle and aiming it at the doorway from under his armpit. He gave a solid kick to the frame, right next to the handle. The door held firm against the first kick, and the second, forcing an angry grunt from the man as he kicked over and over again. Each sound rang out into the dead quiet world around him, sending a spike of anxiety to the forefront of his mind. Finally, the door broke open, allowing him to see into a darkened hotel lobby.
He quickly made his way into the entrance and toward the spiraling staircase in the center of the large room. With Twilight on his shoulder, he ascended the staircase until arriving at the second floor. He kept his rifle up and ready as he entered what appeared to be a long hallway filled with rooms. Upon arriving at the room labeled "269", he slung his rifle and retrieved a small key from his pocket. He quickly unlocked the door and pushed his way inside, closing and locking it behind him.
.
.
.
.
.
Twilight awoke with a small groan. Her head pounded as she pushed herself to her hooves, and into a long stretch. Immediately, she noticed how much warmer the room felt than the outside world she'd become accustomed to. Once she was standing upright, she took stock of her surroundings. She was standing on a rubber mat, laying in the corner of a small room. Across from her, there was a desk, littered with broken bottles and beakers. To the right of that, there was a large whiteboard with what appeared to be an incomplete complex formula written up. Sitting next to that, with his back to her, was Cooper. His ragged cloak was discarded to the side along with his rifle.
"Cooper?" Twilight asked.
He immediately turned around and let out a quiet sigh.
"Bout time you woke up. It's been over an hour." He said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Well... Sorry? I told you that I'm not strong enough to be doing that kind of complex teleportation right now." She indignantly replied.
Cooper let out a drawn out sigh.
"Come on. It's warmer over here." He said, gesturing to the spot next to him.
Twilight slowly complied, finding his words to be true as she stepped over to the indicated spot on the floor. She cocked an eyebrow back at him before sitting down.
"Why... why is it so much warmer over here?" She asked.
"Heater." Cooper replied, pointing to a machine with a shiny chrome grill just in front of them.
"W-what?" She cocked her head to the side.
"It's battery powered. I've had it on for the last ten minutes or so. Not sure how much longer it'll last, but I figured it'd be worth it for now." He explained with a shrug.
"That's... that's amazing. I can't believe you have this kind of technology. Here I was starting to think all you had were weapons." She chuckled slightly.
"This building is actually a sepsis research lab. My best friend used to work here. That's how i recognized it."
"I see... Are they..." Twilight began.
"Dead."
She cringed slightly.
"I... I'm so sorry. That's not an easy thing to go through." She offered.
"Yeah..." Cooper glanced away.
"Do... do you want to talk about it?" She asked, lightly.
"Not much to talk about... when the bombs fell, he died with the rest of them." He muttered.
"Bombs? What... what do you mean? What happened?" She pressed.
He let out a long sigh.
"Are you familiar with the acronym 'MAD'?" He asked, after some time.
"Um... I... I don't... think so?" Twilight replied, pursing her lips slightly.
"It stands for Mutually Assured Destruction. It's... basically the nations of the world saying 'If you kill us, we'll kill everyone'." He explained, his eyes downcast the whole time.
"Oh my gosh..." Twilight whispered.
"One country got sick of another county, so they nuked them. Then that county and their allies nuked back. Then the allies of that country nuked the allies of the other country, and so on... Before I knew it, seven billion people were dead." He shook his head.
Twilight's jaw dropped.
"S-seven... billion? As in, with a 'B'?" She asked in shock.
"Not initially... See, when that much shit gets thrown up into the sky from two thousand nukes going off within a few days, the clouds of ash can block out the sun... Makes the world cold... plants and animals starve... and then people starve..."
"I... Oh my gosh..." Twilight shook her head as the weight of the truth settled on her.
"That was about... four years ago now? Only people left alive these days are the ones who had enough supplies to last this long in the first place... or the means to take them." Cooper finished, taking a sobering breath.
"Cooper... I... I'm so sorry that happened... You must have been devastated." Twilight said, gently reaching to his shoulder with a hoof.
Cooper immediately stiffened at her touch, making her pause. After a few moments, Twilight brought her hoof back down to the floor and bit her lip as she looked away.
"I... thanks..." Cooper whispered, pointedly keeping his gaze directed as far away from the lavender alicorn as possible.
An uncomfortable silence filled the air between them for quite some time before Twilight decided to speak up.
"So... Is this the place you wanted to get to in the city? Or are we going to keep looking around for supplies?" She asked.
"No, no we're only here because I recognized the building and thought you could rest here for a bit. It actually worked pretty well since this place has access to the sewers. If we go through there, we might be able to avoid anyone watching the streets. Plus there's no snow down there and all the water is completely frozen, so it should be a little easier to walk around." Cooper replied.
"Well that's great then! Uh, won't it smell really bad though." She said, a squeamish look on her face.
Cooper chuckled.
"No, it shouldn't be too bad. Everything's frozen, remember?"
Twilight sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof.
"Right, right. Just never been a fan of walking into a sewer, hehe."
"They have sewers where you're from?" Cooper asked, tilting his head to the side.
Twilight paused for a moment in thought. She gave a deliberate and critical look his way before slowly answering, much to Cooper's confusion.
"We do. Although that's mostly only in the big cities. Smaller towns just use magic or the old fashioned outhouse to deal with those kinds of things." She explained.
"Huh... Sounds like you've just got your own little pony society, huh?" He responded with some amusement.
"Well we do have some impressive cities... but I don't think anything we have is quite as large as this city." She replied with a shrug.
"What's the weather like? Must be nicer than here." Cooper pressed, showing some genuine interest in the conversation.
"Well, the pegasai decide the weather in most places. Some places just have unicorns using magic to control the weather, but where I live it's pretty much all pegasai." She recounted.
He only blinked owlishly at her for a moment before shaking his head clear.
"Jesus..." He mumbled.
"What?"
"Sorry... Just still trying to come to terms with the fact that unicorns and pegasai exist and can apparently control the weather."
"Well, how does the weather run around here?" Twilight asked.
Cooper chuckled mirthlessly.
"Weather just does what it pleases here. Not like it changes much though. It goes from cold and snowy to colder and snowier." He shrugged.
"Oh... So this whole world is just like the Everfree forest... minus the cold, I suppose." Twilight recollected with a small shiver.
"No idea where or what that is, but I guess." He replied.
"Well, it's a strange place. The clouds move on their own, the animals are dangerous, and the plant life can give you a nasty case of poison joke or worse... Not many ponies want to venture in there just because it's so unpredictable." She replied.
"Makes sense... Almost sounds like Australia." Cooper shrugged.
"Where's that?"
"Other side of the planet."
"I see... I imagine things aren't much better over there than they are here." Twilight discerned.
"Doubt it." He replied.
Another tense silence filled the air between them for several minutes as they thought over what to say. Eventually, Cooper decided to be the one to break the silence.
"So... These pegasai back where you live... how do they control the weather?" He asked.
"Well... usually they just move clouds around from place to place, but depending on what weather is called for, they might have to bring in some specific equipment to make it colder or warmer." Twilight explained.
"They move clouds?" He cocked an eyebrow back.
"Mmhmm." She nodded.
"Huh... How about that... Think they could move the clouds here?" He pressed, glancing out the window.
Twilight bit her lip.
"I... I wish... but no. I tried to move clouds here and I just kept falling through. I'm not sure what it is about your world. The only magic I really have is my unicorn magic, and even then, it takes a lot out of me to affect anything other than myself. Hence why teleporting you took so much out of me." She elaborated.
Cooper's eyes fell to the floor, and he sighed.
"Eh... kinda figured, to be honest. Sounded too good to be true."
"I-I'm sure that there's ways that I could help you fix your world... I mean... Once I get home, I could come back properly equipped to help out, and maybe even figure out how to solve this global winter of yours." Twilight suggested, hopefully.
Cooper didn't reply for a moment. He glanced up at the window once more and frowned. It was small, but Twilight could faintly detect the barest hint of sadness in his eyes.
"I appreciate the idea, but I think we both know you're never coming back to this hellhole if we can get you home." He replied.
"Cooper, I-" She began.
"I haven't seen the sun in four years, Twilight... There's no fixing this. Might as well just stay home and try to forget you were ever here." He cut her off.
"I.. wha- you... but... four years without the sun?" Twilight responded, a deep frown on her face.
"Yeah... Just, tell me one thing." He said.
"Y-yes?"
"What does it feel like? To look up at the sun and feel its warmth? To see birds chirping in a blue sky?" He asked.
"Do... do you not remember?" Twilight fearfully asked.
"Just answer the question... please."
Twilight pursed her lips and looked away. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts before slowly explaining.
"It's... it's beautiful... The warmth fills your whole body, and you feel so light and calm... The birds relax your ears, and the soft breeze just kind of... makes you feel like flying." She responded.
"Good... that sounds nice. I think I'd like to see that again, someday." He wistfully replied, his gaze lingering on the blackened skies outside.
Twilight and Cooper stalked through the frozen sewer system as quietly as they could. It was made slightly more difficult by Twilight's hooves making a distinct clopping sound every time she stepped on the ice, but after over an hour of walking, it didn't seem as if anyone else was down there to hear her. They both breathed a small sigh of relief at the lack of a hostile presence nearby, and proceeded onward until they reached a four way intersection of sorts. Cooper held up a fist to halt their advance.
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"Did you hear that?" He asked.
Twilight's ears flicked back and forth as she tried to listen for the sound, but after several seconds of trying, she shook her head in confusion.
"I don't hear anything." She said.
"I swear I heard a whistling sound." He replied, glancing back and forth in the dark sewer.
"Hmm... maybe a breeze?" Twilight suggested.
"Down here?"
"Well... I don't know what else could make that-" She began to reply, only to freeze as the whistling sound reached her ears.
Cooper and Twilight both turned their attention to the path to their left. He quickly raised his rifle and proceeded toward the source of noise while Twilight followed behind. The further along the path, the louder and more intense the whistling got, until it was blaring so loud that Twilight's ears splayed back against her skull. A harsh chill blew past them as they rounded another corner, finding a bright light just a hundred meters down the sewer-way.
The pair walked with a measured step until they arrived at the source of light, finding it to be a large hole in the sewer wall. Upon reaching the exit, they immediately squinted in the harsh light after being in near complete darkness for hours. Once their eyes adjusted, they saw the cause of the hole in the wall. A crater, nearly a hundred meters across, and filled with debris and snow that almost piled up the ten meters to the surface.
Twilight eyed the crater curiously while Cooper sighed quietly, and slung his rifle. He gave a small nod and led Twilight into the snow, pointedly using the debris as stepping stones to the surface. As she followed behind him, she glanced back and forth at the pieces of metal littering the hole in the ground, particularly the tubular shaped object that Cooper was leading her toward.
"What... what caused this?" She asked, tapping the metal quizzically, "Was... was this from one of those 'nukes' you mentioned?"
"No... at least not directly. This was just a side effect." He muttered as he clamored into the tube, offering a hand for Twilight.
Taking his hand with her hoof, and stepping into the strange metal cylinder, Twilight shook her head.
"This was just a side effect? How deadly are these 'nukes'?" She asked.
"Each one had a blast radius measured in miles... Basically, you could kill millions of people with just one if they were clustered together close enough..." Cooper explained, ducking under some wires hanging from the ceiling.
"Celestia..." Twilight whispered, "But... what even... is this thing?"
"This was an airplane. A seven forty seven from the looks of it." He replied.
Twilight looked through the porthole-like windows and frowned.
"What's an... airplane do?"
"Well..." Cooper paused, and looked back at her, "People can't fly. So we built machines to fly us around. Airplanes are what we called them."
"You... built flying machines? Like airships?" She asked, her curiosity growing.
"Yeah... Mostly used jets for the last few decades. Unfortunately, jets need electricity to fly. At least, as far as I know... and the thing about nukes is that they usually release an EMP blast when they detonate." Cooper elaborated, his expression downcast.
"What's an-" She began.
"It basically wipes out electronics... Electronics that were very important to this plane flying through the air." He explained, cutting her off.
"Oh... so... t-this airplane..." She trailed off, her eyes filling with dread.
"Lost power... and was full of people... This crater is what happens when an airplane hits the ground at five hundred miles an hour with over a hundred souls on board."
"Oh my gosh..." Twilight whispered, falling to her haunches.
"Yeah..." He sighed, "Come on, let's keep moving."
Twilight slowly rose to her hooves and followed Cooper's lead. Soon enough they emerged from the rear of the destroyed airplane and climbed the rest of the way out of the crater. They found themselves in an empty street, populated only by a few snow covered cars and debris from the crash. As his eyes scanned building to building, Cooper spotted something that made his spirits rise considerably.
"No way..." He said in disbelief.
"What is it?" Twilight inquired, looking in the same direction.
"Follow me."
Without further warning, Cooper broke into a sprint toward the building in question, prompting Twilight to attempt to gallop after him. She quickly lost ground, and fell behind. Just as she was about to shout to get his attention, he reached the building and turned around, waving her closer. Suppressing a sigh, she shakily trotted the rest of the way toward the man and arrived at the entrance beside him.
"Why're you in such a rush? What even is this place?" She asked, keeping her voice down as she noticed Cooper unslinging his rifle.
"This is a supermarket. There's a chance that there's still some food here. Also a good chance someone else is here too. Staying out in the street like that just makes us easy targets... When we've cleared this place out, you're gonna have to explain a few things to me." He replied, before shouldering his rifle and rushing in through the doorway, leaving no room for debate.
"Cooper, wait!" Twilight whisper-shouted as he moved inside.
After no response, and his words weighing on her mind every second, Twilight glanced back and forth at the buildings surrounding them. She bit her lip in thought for several seconds, before shaking her head and moving inside after him. She was immediately met with a large entrance way, and a series of strange machines just to the right of the doorway. Behind them, and filling the majority of what she could see, were a series of aisles stocked with shelves that seemed to be in multiple different states of disarray and decay.
She easily spotted Cooper as he swept from one aisle to the next, and trotted after him as best as she could with her slight limp. As she approached him, the clopping sound of her hooves on the tile floor echoed around the room, making her visibly wince with each step. Cooper shared her fears, and quickly turned around to face her, holding up a fist while he frowned disapprovingly.
Twilight froze mid step, and he continued searching the building. It took some time, but eventually, he was able to clear the entire structure of any possible threats or people. He returned to the aisles to find her exactly in the same spot and position, and rolled his eyes as he gestured for her to follow. Taking the hint, and with a feint blush forming on her cheeks the purple alicorn followed behind until they both arrived at an aisle still filled with boxes and cans.
"Here." Cooper said, tossing her one of the cans.
She caught it in her magical grasp, and turned it around to read the label.
"Spa...gettios? She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's like tomato soup, but with some noodles... You ever have either of those?" He asked, pausing in his searching of the other shelves.
"I... yes. I have. I've just never heard of it being called... that." She said, shaking her head slightly.
Cooper grabbed several boxes and cans of soup before nodding toward the end of the aisle. Twilight took the hint and followed behind him. They walked past several aisles once more, before Cooper stopped and glanced at the shelf closest to him. He looked at the bag on the shelf, and then back to Twilight as she caught up to him, and grabbed the bag.
"What's that?" She asked, eyeing the bag curiously.
"Medical supplies. For your leg." Cooper replied, holding up the side with the red cross.
"I... thanks." Twilight demurely responded.
"Come on. I think I know the place for us to rest for the day." He said, leading forward toward the back door.
Twilight obediently followed behind, soon finding herself at the base of a long staircase. Cooper quickly ascended and entered the doorway at the top of the stairs, leaving her to struggle all the way to the top. As she rounded the doorway, she found a smallish room, filled with broken or unlit screens, a few chairs, and several windows overlooking the store below. Cooper set his items on the floor next to the window and sat down, resting against the wall.
She quickly made her way over to him and sat down beside him, placing her can on the ground as her eyes darted over to watch him open his can. He pulled a can opener out of his cloak, and easily opened the tin can, allowing the feint smell of tomatoes and preservatives to fill her nose. She gagged slightly at the smell, earning a small chuckle from the man beside her.
"I don't suppose you've got a means to heat any of this stuff up." He said, more of a statement than a question.
"Well... I mean... I probably shouldn't." She admitted, her eyes flicking back to her hind leg for a brief second.
"Shouldn't? Or can't?" Cooper questioned, "'Cause otherwise you're gonna have to eat this stuff the way it is, and let me tell you... it doesn't taste any better than it smells."
"I... alright. Here." She relented, taking his can with her magic.
The lavender aura around the can slowly turned red, and glowed brighter, and more intensely. A few seconds passed, and she set the can down on the floor, steam now slowly wafting from the top. The smell was much better too.
"Well shit... Wish I could do that." Cooper said, some disbelief in his voice.
Twilight let out a small sigh.
"It... takes a bit out of me to do that right now... but I think I can heat mine up too." She replied, igniting her horn once more.
"No, here." Cooper cut her off, grabbing her can from her magic and sliding his over to her.
"You eat that. I'm used to this shit." He said, pulling out his can opener.
"Wha- but Cooper, I can-" She started.
"You need to save your energy. That limp of yours doesn't look like it's getting any better. Tell me I'm wrong." He cut her off, staring at her flatly.
"I...well... no... it's... it's gotten worse, actually." She deflated, her features saddening some.
"I understand... Look, we have some food here. Water is easy to come by. I think we'll rest here for a bit. Maybe a week or something... just so you can get that leg back to normal." He shrugged.
"I... that would be amazing... Celestia knows trying to heal it has been draining me this whole time." She gratefully replied.
"Celesita... Who's that? Like your God or something?" Cooper responded, opening his can.
"Well... she's an alicorn like me... but she's been one for waaaaaaaaaaay longer than me... heh... I actually, uh... haven't been an alicorn for very long." She admitted, her eyes falling to the soup can before her.
"I kinda figured. Well... not really. My guess was either those wings were for show, or you really just never learned to fly." He shrugged, taking a scoop of the cold spaghettios.
"Well... you're pretty much right... I've only been an alicorn for a few weeks." She explained.
"Only a few weeks? What were you before?"
"I was a unicorn... Kind of a shut in, to be honest. Celestia sent me to make some friends and... one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was ascended to an alicorn."
"I see... So the wings..." He trailed off, giving her a gesturing motion with his hand.
"Are real. They work and everything, I just... I'm not very good with them yet... I end up crashing more than actually flying." She dejectedly admitted.
"Ah, well... I suppose not all birds fly on their first try." He replied.
"Or their thirtieth..." She muttered.
"Heh, well... Maybe we'll get you flying once that leg heals up." Cooper offered.
"I don't think you'd be able to do much in the way of teaching... no offense." Twilight replied with a small smile.
"Eh, not really... I could watch and try to catch you if you fall I guess."
Twilight felt the tiniest twinge in her heart.
"You... you'd do that for me?" She asked, her hoof gently touching her chest.
Cooper looked back and forth in the nearly empty room.
"I mean... not like I've got plans." He shrugged.
"I... I don't know what to say... just... thank you, Cooper. Thank you so much." She said.
For a second, she leaned in for a hug, but at the sudden stiffening of Cooper's posture, she froze, and leaned back slowly.
"S-sorry." She whispered.
"It's... you're fine. No worries." He replied, letting out a silent sigh.
"Really... thank you though. I don't know how I can ever repay you for all you've done for me."
"Don't mention it... I do want to ask you about something though." He replied.
"Sure."
"You said earlier that the limp was 'draining' you... what does that mean?" He asked, using air quotes.
"Well... when I first got here I was hurt, badly... one of those people... hurt my leg. I was able to heal it, but the wound was just so bad that it took most of my magic to stop the bleeding... Combine that with the tissue damage and trying not to freeze or starve over the last month... I've been surviving purely on my magic for weeks. If you hadn't found me in that box... well I don't think I would have made it too much longer." She explained, a sad frown on her face.
"Someone shot you?" Cooper asked, a frown on his face as well.
"If that's what those things do, then yes." She replied, pointing at Cooper's AK-47.
"Shit... Yeah, that'd leave a nasty wound... Especially on something your size. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't kill you, if it was seven six two." He shook his head, grabbing the magazine and pulling it out to examine the ammo.
"Whatever it was... it's made it hard to function." She sighed.
Cooper stared at the dejected pony to his left for almost a full minute before he slowly and deliberately moved his hand to her wither. She tensed slightly at the contact, but said nothing as her eyes darted over to his hand. He gently rested his palm on her soft, lavender fur and gave her a gentle stroke just down to her wing.
"Hey... It's... it's gonna be okay." He offered, doing his best to give a sympathetic smile.
Twilight's eyes widened some at the gesture before a small smile found its way onto her face.
Cooper's eyes slowly drifted across the surrounding buildings. He scanned every nook, cranny, and crevice he could see from his vantage point atop the supermarket. Eventually, he finally breathed a small sigh of relief and turned around to Twilight and gave her a small nod. She smiled in return, and slowly trotted out onto the rooftop to him.
Once they were together, she made a small gallop and unfurled her wings, giving them several flaps to gain altitude. Just as she ran out of rooftop, she gave one more solid flap, and took to the sky. Her wings powered through the frigid air, and she slowly flew higher toward the clouds. However, just as she reached the other side of the street, she quickly banked back and glided toward the supermarket, finding Cooper watching her from afar. As she reached the roof, she slowed her descent by flaring her wings, and came to a slow glide over the snowy air conditioning units. Her hooves touched the roof, and she stumbled slightly, before righting herself and transitioning into a slow trot right up to Cooper.
He gave her a small nod, while the tiniest trace of a grin formed on his lips.
"Not bad... Landing could still use some work though." He said, shrugging slightly.
Twilight huffed.
"Well it's not like snow is easy to land on with hooves... If I had some skiies, then I could just slide in." She rebutted.
"I'll be sure to let you know if we find any skiies any time soon." Cooper replied, sarcastically.
"Oh har har... but honestly, was it that bad?" She asked, a small pout on her face.
Cooper rolled his eyes.
"You were great. A lot better than the last couple days." He relented.
Twilight positively beamed.
"Heh, come on, let's get back inside. We'll pick this back up in a few hours." Cooper chuckled.
Still smiling, Twilight followed his lead as Cooper headed down the stairs and back into the supermarket. Quickly enough, they found themselves at their designated sleeping room, and took to sitting or laying down on the blankets they'd found.
"So, how's the leg doing? Didn't seem like you were limping as much today." Cooper mentioned as he pulled out a box of crackers and absentmindedly ate a few.
"It's getting better every day. Still hurts to put a lot of weight on it, but it's definitely getting stronger and healing. Being able to focus my magic on mending the tissue instead of just staying alive is helping a lot." Twilight happily replied.
"I figured as much. How much longer do you think before you'll be decently healed up enough to move around like normal?"
"Probably just another couple of days. Honestly, it's not too much of a problem to move around now. Just a little painful if I put all my weight on it." She explained.
"Alright. Sounds good. I think we have enough food left for-" Cooper began, before a sound caught his ear, and he quickly turned to look out the window to the store below.
"What is-"
"Get down. Now." He whispered.
Twilight complied, and slowly crawled over to the window beside Cooper to look down onto the store with him. Quick enough, she heard the reason for his sudden change in behavior.
"Over here! I found something!" A masculine voice called out, making her ears splay back against her skull in fear.
Cooper quietly grabbed his rifle from its position next to the computer monitors and shouldered it. He took aim at the aisles as the foreign voices grew closer, and slowly migrated his finger to the trigger.
"I think there's still some food in here! Looks like a bunch of canned shit that's been just sitting here all this time." Another voice spoke out.
"How the fuck'd that happen? Did people not raid this place or something after the bombs fell?" The first voice responded.
As Cooper and Twilight watched the aisles, the two men finally came into their sight. They both looked to be in similar states of raggedness as Cooper, with their clothing being just a mish-mash of whatever torn up jackets they could find in the city. They were armed with a crossbow and a longbow, respectively, although their weapons were slung on their backs as they searched through the shelves for food.
"I think one of them hit just a few miles away. Not close enough to bury this place in radiation, but close enough to kill almost everything and convince whatever survived to run the other way." The first man shrugged.
"Well I guess it's our lucky day then. You go ahead and search the rest of the building. I'll bag as much of this stuff as I can." The second man replied.
Cooper tensed and aligned his sights on the first man. His finger quickly tensed on the trigger, but just as he was about to squeeze, the feeling of a hoof on his leg pulled his attention for a moment. He glanced down to see Twilight giving him a pleading look.
"They're just looking for food... Maybe... Maybe we should just let them go..." She suggested, her voice just a whisper.
"They're going to take our food and kill us if they get the chance. I'm not risking it." He bitterly replied, quickly re-reacquiring his sight picture.
"Cooper... They don't know we're here. We might be able to just wait them out." She pressed, placing her hoof on his forearm.
"Didn't you hear them? The other one's going to search the building. Guess what happens when he finds us, Twilight." He deadpanned, barely sparing her a glance as he followed the first man with his rifle.
"You don't know that... Listen, I know you don't trust anyone, and I'm not asking you to... but please don't kill them... I've already seen enough death here..." Twilight pleaded, placing both hooves on Cooper's firing arm.
Cooper turned his head to give a harsh glare and stern warning to the lavender alicorn, but froze as he saw her eyes, and the tears forming in the corners of those eyes. She had a look of pleading on her face that made him pause, and slowly tear his eyes away, if only to look down at the floor.
"Twilight... it's either them... or us." He said, his voice just a whisper.
"It doesn't have to be. I know that things are different here than they are back home... but maybe what this world needs isn't more killing... maybe it needs just a little bit of kindness." She offered, a trace of a smile forming on her lips.
Cooper's eyes flicked back up to his sights and the man they were trained on. For several seconds of intense, deliberate thought, he held his finger against the trigger and tensed every muscle in his body. However, as the man walked further and further into the store, the shot became harder, and more difficult to take, until it was gone, and Cooper let out a long, quiet sigh. He pulled the rifle out of his shoulder and sat down against the wall, finding a positively beaming Twilight smiling down at him.
"For what it's worth, I think you made the right decision." She said, gently placing her hoof on his hand.
"What about our food? They're not gonna leave much of anything... This might just be the worst idea I've ever followed through with." He shook his head and sighed.
"Sometimes you just need to take a bit of a leap of faith on these things... Just like when you decided to take care of me instead of eating me." She chuckled lightly.
Cooper gave a small nod before taking his rifle and aiming it at the door.
"Alright... but if he comes through that door, I'm shooting him. Nothing you can say will change my mind on that."
"Fair enough... but thanks for listening to me." She gave a warm smile.
The minutes slowly passed by until Cooper heard the sounds of people speaking once more.
"Find anything?" The first man said.
"Nah. Nothing else. You got the stuff?" The second man replied.
"Yeah, let's go. It's gonna get dark in a few hours and I want to have this shit stocked up."
With that, the two men left, leaving Cooper and Twilight alone in the supermarket once more. For almost another hour, they stayed in their sleeping room, before Cooper finally made his way downstairs, his rifle at the ready and Twilight at his side. They soon found their way into the aisles and searched for food. As expected, there was nothing on any of the shelves, save for long expired bread and other perishables.
Eventually they found themselves at the soup aisle, finding that only a spare few cans were left on the shelves. Cooper suppressed a growl at the situation while Twilight felt a small pit form in her stomach.
"W-well... I'm sure we'll be able to find food somewhere else... Besides, there's still some food that can get us through the next couple of days." She spoke up after some time, her voice just a little shaky.
"Yeah... sure." Cooper muttered, grabbing up the cans and throwing them into his pockets.
Twilight cringed at his tone, but quickly used her magic to help give Cooper as many cans as possible. Immediately, it became apparent that he didn't quite have enough room for them all.
"Uh... h-here, I'll find something to carry these in." She offered, hastily trotting off further into the store.
Cooper sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor. He looked down at the can of soup in his hand and let out a mirthless chuckle.
"Campbell's tomato soup... her favorite..." He whispered.
As Twilight trotted further into the store, a growing pit of dread found its way into her heart.
What was I thinking!? They took ALL our food! Celestia, what is wrong with me? This isn't Equestria! Creatures don't care if you show them kindness here, they just want to survive! This is like the Everfree but the whole planet! Ugh!
She passed several aisles before arriving at what appeared to be a clothing aisle. She quickly made her way through the aisle, looking high and low for any kind of bag that would hold their supplies.
And what must Cooper be thinking!? I probably just convinced him to starve because of my stupid ideas!
She shook her head in anger and shame before a sight caught her eyes. She paused mid step and looked curiously at what appeared to be a row of saddlebags lined up on the wall. She hesitantly stepped toward the lowest row and grabbed the bag with her hoof, feeling it's cold texture in the still frigid air.
"Hmm..." She murmured to herself.
Just as she pulled the bag to the side, a faint sound caught her ear. A sound she could only relate to a branch bending. Instantly, her blood froze in her veins, and she turned her head to see one of the men aiming his bow at her from just twenty feet away. Her instincts took over and she immediately jumped back, away from the wall, just as the arrow was let loose. It soared through the air with a distinctive *twang, and embedded itself right in her left foreleg. The arrow pierced both sides of the leg, sending blood splattering down to the floor below.
Twilight cried out in pain as she stumbled back, nearly falling over in the process. Blood trickled out of the wound and onto the floor below as the sharp, stinging pain wracked her mind. Before she even had time to think, she heard the sound of a blade being unsheathed. She looked up at her assailant to see him rushing toward her. Her ears picked up on the faint sound of boots on cool tile as her senses heightened, and adrenaline filled her veins.
"COOPER!!!!!!" She cried, her voice a mix of fear and pain.
Cooper nearly jumped from the sound of Twilight's voice. He immediately dropped the can of tomato soup in his hands and unslung his rifle. With his heart pumping and adrenaline filling his veins, he sprinted toward the sound of her scream, his rifle up and at the ready the whole time. It didn't take long for him to reach the other side of the store, finding the sound of hooves scurrying on tile and men yelling to each other.
"Hold it down!" One of the scavengers yelled.
"I can't! It keeps squirming!" The other growled back.
"Cooper!"
The raw fear in her voice made an angry pit form in Cooper's heart that spurred him to action faster than his brain could keep up. He nearly transitioned to a full sprint as his vision turned red.
"What the fuck is this thing saying?" One of the men asked through a grunt.
"It keeps saying... Cooper..." The other replied.
Cooper could hear the struggling pony and the men as they started to move, but his tunnel vision made it difficult to focus on anything other than just moving as fast as his legs could carry him. He swiftly arrived at the other side of the aisle and brought his rifle up as he rounded the corner. Immediately, a hand grabbed the barrel startling him enough to pull the trigger, and sending a round through the next several aisles. Almost in the blink of an eye, he saw the black metal of a blade arcing around and toward his face as his assailant thrust the knife toward him.
Cooper reacted by bringing his support hand off of the handguard and into a forward 'L' shape, catching the man's forearm. The blade came to a screeching halt just a few inches from his face.
Without a second of hesitation, Cooper released his grip with his firing hand and punched his elbow out, right into the attacker's nose. A loud crunching sound filled his ears as the man's nose broke, forcing him to stumble back and release his hold on the knife as well as the rifle.
With his weapon now free, Cooper quickly grabbed it a hold of the pistol grip, only to immediately drop it once more as an arrow struck him right in the chest, stunning him for the briefest of moments. His plate carrier absorbed the blow, stopping the arrow in its tracks, but the impact splintered the shaft, sending fragments of wood up and into his face, nearly blinding him in the process. He stumbled back as his rifle fell to the ground and quickly wiped the fragments of wood from his face and eyes.
Just as he regained his vision, Cooper was knocked back by the first man as he tackled him into the wall. He slammed into the frozen plaster with a resounding *crack*, and leaving a large indent as well as a spiderweb of cracking. Stunned once again, he took a deep gasp of air from the shock of the impact, before grabbing hold of the man still latched to his torso with his left hand, and bringing his elbow down onto his back with his right. The impact knocked the man to his knees, and drove the breath from his lungs, forcing him to cough for air before Cooper punched him in the temple, knocking him down to the ground again.
Cooper pushed himself back to his feet. Now with a second of breathing room, he quickly looked over the aisle. Immediately, he saw Twilight's bloodied form laying on the floor just behind the man now running at him. Her chest was heaving rapidly, indicating that she was at least still breathing and possibly conscious.
The second scavenger quickly approached him armed with what appeared to be a large Bowie knife in his hand. With his time quickly running out, Cooper ruled out reaching for his rifle. It was simply too far away now, leaving him only a few scant options.
He pushed himself off the wall and toward the rifle, but deftly dodged to the side as the man swung wildly with the knife, narrowly missing his left shoulder. He swung again, in an wide arc, just barely missing once more, but leaving his right side exposed. Taking full advantage of this, Cooper swiftly hooked his arm under the mans right armpit and grabbed hold of his chest. Simultaneously, he reached around his back and grabbed his waist, effectively wrapping his arms around him in a bear hug. Cooper instantly leaned back and twisted as hard as he could to his left. He let out a feral growl as the motion lifted the man off his feet and into the air, before violently slamming him into the ground.
"GAH!" He cried out as the impact knocked the wind out of him.
Cooper pushed himself to his feet as quick as he could and turned around to see the other man getting to his feet. Without giving him time to fully recover, Cooper pushed forward and sprinted at the bleeding man. Within an instant, he tackled him much the same way he had been tackled, and slammed the man into the wall, breaking through the plaster in the process. The two of them fell into the next room, where Cooper stifled a groan at the force of the impact and landing.
However, the man below him fared much worse and seemed to be struggling to breath as Cooper pushed himself up to his knees. He turned around to face the other man just as he grabbed a hold of his rifle. Cooper's blood nearly froze in his veins as he watched, in slow motion, the deliberate rise of the barrel until it was pointed in his direction. As fast as his legs could move, he jumped to the right, and out of the way of the hole in the wall. Three deafening gunshots, made only louder in the enclosed environment, punched through the wall as the man fired blindly. All three barely missed Cooper as he dove to the side.
The scavenger now holding his rifle quickly pressed the attack, and entered the storage room through the hole in the wall. He found his comrade getting to his feet, but saw no sign of Cooper amid all the boxes and debris littering the room. He slowly swept from one side to the other, his finger glued to the trigger as he searched.
"You alright?" He asked.
"Y-yeah... Get that bastard... He went that way..." The other replied, pointing toward the boxes at the far end of the room.
He took a few steps forward, before firing wildly into the boxes, ripping cardboard to pieces and littering the wall with holes. After nearly emptying the mag and almost deafening himself, the man's ears picked up an a very distinct sound. A sound of something heavy falling to the floor just in front of him.
"I think I got him!" He yelled.
"Alright, make sure. I'ma go finish that horse thing." The other scavenger replied.
The second man got to his feet and made his way toward the hole in the wall as the first man headed toward the end of the room. As he approached, he kept the rifle ready and aimed at the source of the noise. He closed in until he reached the box in question, and slowly searched around it. Instead of Cooper's corpse, however, he found a sack of heavy jackets and clothing. A pit formed in his stomach as he turned just in time for Cooper to jump out of the box he was hiding in, and tackle him against the wall, firing off another round in the process.
With his assailant now pinned in such a way that he couldn't use the rifle, Cooper angrily headbutted him, before punching him in the kidney. He cried out in pain, prompting the other man to hurriedly rush back into the room. Before he could close the distance, however, Cooper grabbed the rifle barrel and pointed it at him. The man holding the rifle didn't even have time to resist as Cooper jammed his knuckle against his trigger finger, forcing the weapon to fire once more, and hitting the second man in the leg.
"Gah!" He cried as he fell to the ground.
"NO!" The first man cried, before kneeing Cooper in the groin.
Cooper cried out in pain before a swift right hook knocked him to the ground. He choked back the urge to vomit from the cheap shot as a horrible sight filled his vision. The barrel of his own rifle stared down at him, driving a spike of fear into his veins. Time slowed as the barrel stayed trained right on his head, and for a moment, there was only silence. Then, a loud, metallic click filled the air. The man holding the rifle twisted it in his hands, a confused look on his face, giving Cooper all the time he needed.
He grabbed his pistol from its holster on his hip and fired two more rounds, one striking the mans chest, and one hitting him in the head, putting a hole between his eyes and painting the wall red with blood.
"KYLE!" The second man cried, before launching himself at Cooper in a fit of rage.
Before Cooper could react, he felt the impact of the second man jumping on him and knocking the pistol out of his hand. He barely felt the impact of the knife against his plate carrier amidst the force of the man landing on him. He immediately moved to push the man off of him, but as his arm drew back, Cooper saw the shine of the steel blade in the his hand.
Cooper instantly moved his left arm to catch his assailant's forearm as it came down to his chest, stopping the blade just a few scant inches from his throat in the process. The man clamored on top of him and used his free hand to put more weight and pressure into the knife. Responding in kind, Cooper braced with his right arm, and held the knife back while he struggled for breath.
The man on top of him growled fiercely as he leaned forward, putting all of his weight into the tip of the blade, and driving it ever closer to Cooper's neck. For just a few tense seconds, they seemed to be at an impasse. However, just as Cooper was able to push back slightly, he felt the full force of a headbutt, knocking his head back against the concrete floor, and leaving him dazed as blood started to drip from his nose.
Taking advantage of the situation, the scavenger thrust forward with all of his weight, overcoming Cooper's stunned defenses, and shoving the blade deep into his shoulder, just a few inches to the left of his throat. Cooper gasped in pain, before crying out as he felt the sharp burning sensation all the way through to his shoulder-blade. He screamed in agony as the blade was aggressively wretched from his body, and brought up in a wide arc once more. He weakly held out his left arm to block the knife as he clutched the wound with his right arm. As he watched the sheen of the knife edge against the feint light, he tensed, preparing himself for the end.
However, just as that blade reached the apex of it's arc, a single gunshot broke through the air, and the scavenger dropped dead, instantly. He slumped over on top of Cooper as blood poured from the hole between his eyes. Under the dead weight, he gasped for air, struggling to move the man off of him. After a few moments, he was able to push the body off of his chest with his good arm, and turned his attention to the direction of the gunshot.
Standing there, still covered in a good measure of blood, and with her lavender aura enveloping his pistol, was Twilight.
The pistol fell to the floor and clattered out of Twilight's magic, leaving only her and Cooper's heaving breaths as the sole source of noise in the room. For a short time, they simply stared at each other, neither one knowing what to do or say, however soon enough the tears came.
Twilight tried and failed to choke back a sob as Cooper pushed himself up to a sitting position to survey the damage done. Tears streaked down her cheeks and fell to the floor below, leaving two distinct damp streaks on her face that only seems to grow darker as the seconds passed. Her strength quickly left her, and she collapsed onto the floor into the fetal position as she cried ever harder.
All the while, Cooper looked over her with a sad frown. However, the pain in his shoulder quickly reminded him that he was still bleeding quite profusely, as was Twilight.
"Hey, come on. We're both bleeding. Let's fix that first, then we can worry about what happened." He said, pushing himself to his feet with an angry groan.
"I-I... I... I k-killed him..." Twilight whimpered.
"Yeah... yeah, you did... No worse than what he was going to do to you or me though. Come on, get up." He replied, as he picked up his rifle and walked over to her.
Twilight sniffled.
"He's dead..." She croaked.
Cooper grabbed his pistol from the floor and eyed it curiously. The slide was locked to the rear, and a quick glance into the action confirmed that the magazine was completely empty. With a tired sigh, Cooper released the slide and slid the pistol into his holster. He then removed the magazine from his rifle and replaced it with a fresh one, before slinging it over his good shoulder and kneeling down beside the distraught alicorn. He brought his hand just to the back of her head, however just before his fingers could make contact with her mane, he paused. He contemplated for a few seconds before eventually committing and gently placing his hand on the back of her head.
"Hey... You did what you had to do... Saved me in the process... No sense crying about it now." He offered.
Twilight choked back another sob.
"I... I'm such an i-idiot! This is all my f-f-fault... You got hurt because of me..."
She trembled beneath his touch, and even though his jacket and cloak were slowly turning crimson with his blood, he sat down beside her and simply pet her mane.
"It's alright... I've been hurt worse before... Just next time, when I say what to do, listen to me. We're alright... We're alright." He replied, his gentle petting seeming to calm her just a little.
"H-how do you do this? How do you kill your own so easily... I... I can't..." Another sniffle, "I can't live with myself after this..."
"Twilight... you either live with it... or you die... Speaking of which, we're both gonna be dead soon if we don't stop the bleeding on both of us. Come on. Get up." Cooper ordered, ceasing his ministrations and pushing himself to his feet.
For a few seconds, Twilight's quiet sniffling was the only reply he received. However, after nearly a minute, the lavender alicorn slowly rolled onto her belly and pushed herself to her hooves. She struggled with her foreleg, but after a helping hand from Cooper, she was able to stand upright, albeit with tears still staining her cheeks.
"Alright... Come on. Let's get fixed up." He said as he headed toward the stairs.
Twilight lethargically followed behind as they made their way up the stairs and into their sleeping room. Once there, Cooper pulled out the medical bag and sorted through its contents. As he treated his wound, Twilight sat on the floor across from him, her eyes glued to the tiles as if they held all the worlds secrets. Eventually, she looked down at her wounded foreleg, finding her lavender fur turned a sickly crimson at the wound. The wooden shaft of the arrow sticking out both sides made her stomach turn, and the broad-head steel made her cringe. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and the room around her spun. She tried to keep her composure, but after less than a minute she lost herself and hastily got to her hooves. She trotted to the door as fast as she could on three legs, much to Cooper's confusion, before reaching the doorway and vomiting.
Cooper watched as she retched again and again, giving the smallest of frowns. Eventually, she was able to regain control of her stomach and make her way back into the room. There was silence in the room for a few moments as Cooper continued to work on his own injury, before Twilight brought her muzzle down to her foreleg and bit on the shaft. She attempted to pull the arrow out, only to wince and release her hold on the arrow after less than a second. A pained grunt left her grit teeth as she bit down once more and pulled. This time, the shaft slid back almost an inch, sending a spike of pain so sharp through her system that she cried out. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes once more, but all she could focus on was getting that terrible piece of wood out of her leg, no matter what.
Cooper glanced up just as he set his plate carrier down on the floor to see Twilight bite down on the shaft once more and angrily yank her head to the side, pulling the broad-head all the way back to her flesh and sticking it into her foreleg.
"Gah!" She cried.
"Twilight, stop!" Cooper commanded, dropping his tools back into the medical bag.
She ignored him. It was as if the only thing she could focus on anymore was getting the arrow out of her leg, no matter what. Fresh tears streaked from her eyes as she pulled even harder against the shaft, a grunt of pain escaping her grit teeth in the process. She brought her muzzle right up to her wound to bite down on the shaft at its base, smearing her own blood all over her face in the process, and forcing an angry frown to form on Coopers face as well.
He pushed himself to his feet with a grimace and walked over to her as fast as he could with the medical bag in his grasp. Upon arriving, he grabbed her by her mane and pulled. She immediately released the arrow and fearfully looked up at him as the blood and tears slowly dripped from her cheeks, staining them a dark crimson.
"Stop. Just... stop. I know what you're going through right now, and this isn't helping. You want this thing out? Let me do it. You're only going to hurt yourself more." He firmly scolded, holding her mane tightly in his hand the whole time.
Twilight managed a meek nod before he sat down in front of her and took the wounded limb in his hands. He quickly assessed the damage with an increasing frown, before reaching into his pocket and pulling a knife out.
"You're lucky you didn't cause too much more damage trying to pull it out like that. You have to break these things off, then pull them out." He explained as he cut into the shaft, just below the broad head.
Twilight stayed silent as he worked. Soon enough the tip of the arrow was cut free and fell to the floor. Once that was done, he slowly pulled the remainder of the shaft out from the other side, and removed the arrow from Twilight's foreleg. He quickly reached into the medical bag and pulled out some gauze. With just a small amount of fenangling, Cooper managed to get the wound packed and wrapped. Once he was satisfied with his work, he leaned forward and gently cupped Twilight's cheek with his left hand as he examined her face.
"Here, let's get that off of you." He mumbled, more to himself than to her.
With his bad arm, Cooper slowly, and with occasional twitches of pain, reached into the medical bag to pull out a few small rags. With even more fenangling, he managed to pour some water from his canteen onto the rags and bring one up to her face. Slowly, he wiped the blood and tear stains from her coat until her lavender fur was relatively clean once more, albeit with some dirty spots here and there.
Once he was done, Cooper set the rags down on the floor and sat down beside Twilight as she sluggishly brought a hoof to her face to stroke through her now cleaned fur. She slowly looked over to him while he cleaned and packed his own wounds. her eyes were drawn to the vertical slit now present just between Cooper's collarbone and his shoulder, then back up to his face, and the drying blood present in his beard. A twinge of guilt shot through her heart once more, forcing the lavender mare to look away in shame.
She glanced down at the spots of blood on the floor, and then back up to her bandaged foreleg once more. After a few seconds of deliberation, she turned back toward Cooper and spoke.
"H-hey Cooper..." Her voice came out like a small whisper.
"Mmhhm?" He mumbled, his mouth full of gauze he packed the stab wound.
"T-thank you... for coming back for me... I- I'm so sorry I got you hurt..." She managed, her voice cracking as she bit back the tears yet again.
Cooper finished packing his wound and looked over to her before he started wrapping. For a few moments, he said nothing, however as he looked onto her longer and longer, a small sigh escaped his lips.
"I'm not gonna leave you behind. Never." He stated, before tying off the last of the gauze on his shoulder.
Twilight looked back up to him in an instant. She practically threw herself at him and wrapped her hooves around his waist in the tightest hug she could muster. Cooper was startled by the action, but only enough to throw the roll of gauze as he jerked his hands back from Twilight. However, unlike previous physical encounters between them, she did not back off this time. Instead, she almost desperately burrowed her muzzle into his chest, seemingly uncaring for the blood she was smearing back into her coat once more.
"T-Twilight... you're getting my blood all over you..." Cooper mumbled, his hands hovering awkwardly over the soft pony in his lap.
Twilight gave what could only be described as a soft murmur against Cooper's chest and squeezed tighter. With his hands just hovering above her soft fur, and an increasing feeling of awkwardness at his hesitation to return the gesture, Cooper gingerly brought his hands down to Twilight's barrel and hugged her back. Immediately, the plush feeling of her fur registered on his fingers, and he couldn't help but let out a silent sigh as he was able to pull her closer.
Twilight nuzzled her cheek into his chest until she reached his right collarbone, and she gently rested her muzzle there, just under his neck. His chin came down and rested comfortably on her head, just behind her horn, and his hands soon came to a rest on her wither and barrel. Her fur bristled under his fingers as they dug in to gently touch her skin beneath.
Despite the alien feeling of her soft fur and warm body pressed against his so closely, Cooper felt something in his chest that was hard to place. It was a strangely warm feeling. One that left him feeling surprisingly cozy against the cold wall and with no warm clothing on. Instead, he only had the warmth of the lavender alicorn on his lap, and for some reason, that just seemed to be enough.
Cooper quietly finished packing the last of the supplies in his backpack just as Twilight walked into the room. She used her magic to levitate a modified purse to her barrel and strap it on as a makeshift saddlebag.
"Got everything?" She asked.
"Yeah. Come on. Let's get moving." Cooper replied, slinging the backpack.
Together, they stepped out into the city once more, finding the early morning light casting a gentle haze over the frigid world. Cooper stepped into the snow with his rifle in his hands once more, and scanned from building to building until he was satisfied that there were no prying eyes. He waved to Twilight, and she promptly limped out into the snow behind him.
"Are you sure about this? We could still stay a few more days and let that leg heal up." Cooper suggested, eyeing her limp warily.
"I'm sure... I just can't stay in that building anymore..." She shamefully replied.
Cooper slowly reached out with his left hand, wincing slightly from the pain, and brushed his fingers against her mane.
"Alright. If I remember right, there should be another market a few miles down the road. Once we reach it, we can rest for a bit." He replied, rolling his shoulder slightly as he pulled away.
"Thanks." Twilight responded, a small blush on her cheeks from the contact.
"No problem. Come on, let's get moving."
With that, they slowly traversed through the ruined city, carefully moving between building to building, and searching each window they came across as if at any moment, someone would peak out and end them. It was tedious, draining work, particularly with Cooper's bad shoulder making it hard to fully shoulder the rifle, but he did it all the same. Behind him the whole while, Twilight searched with her eyes, occasionally struggling with her limp as well.
The day dragged on, and even though the total distance covered was just a few miles, it took the entire morning, and into the early afternoon before they were able to finally arrive at the market. Before they could step foot into the market, however, Cooper paused at the corner of the street. He held up his good arm with a fist, making Twilight freeze behind him. Kneeling down to her level and peeking around the corner at the parking lot, he let out a small sigh. There were dozens of car remains littered throughout the lot, but no real cover aside from that.
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"The market is just ahead... but there's almost no cover. It's ambush city out there. If we go straight in, and there's somebody in there, they'll see us coming a mile away." He explained, pointing ahead.
"Hmm... What if we went around?" Twilight asked.
"They built this place out in the middle of a huge opening. We're gonna be exposed on every side. Not to mention we're running out of light. It's gonna get dark soon." He responded.
Twilight bit her lip and frowned.
"I could... maybe try teleporting us again. It's not too much further than last time." She reasoned.
"Nope. Last time you were out for over an hour and you're hurt worse now than you were then. Not risking it." Cooper firmly replied.
Twilight looked down at her foreleg and sighed.
"Okay... if you're sure." She replied with a small shiver.
He nodded.
"We're gonna have to move pretty quick on the off chance that there is someone watching. Think you can keep up?" He asked.
"If I don't, I'll die."
"Now you're getting it."
Cooper leaned out from his spot against the wall first and checked one more time to make sure there weren't any threats he could make out. Once he was sure that it was as clear as it was going to get, he pushed off the wall and broke into a quick run toward the store. Twilight broke into a shaky trot after him, trying her best to keep weight off of her foreleg as best as she could, and wincing with every step. Within seconds, they were in the middle of the parking lot, and pushing through the deep snow that almost came up to Twilight's withers.
Their pace slowed to an agonizing crawl that left a sickening feeling in both their guts as their goal refused to grow any closer. Twilight's ears flicked back and forth as she strained to listen for any signs of life around them aside from Cooper as he plowed through the snow to make a path for them both. Each second ticked by, bringing a tidal wave of fear and anxiety that made her heart beat so fast in her chest she thought it would burst. She glanced back at Cooper to find him still struggling through the snow no faster than before.
"Do you think we could go any faster?" She asked.
"I'm... going... as fast as... I can!" Cooper panted through grit teeth.
He aggressively pushed into the snow and toward the market until finally they reached the end of the deep snow. Cooper tumbled through the last of the icy material and fell into the much lower snow at the end of the parking lot. He gasped for breath while Twilight followed in his wake out of the snow. She unsteadily plopped down next to him and nudged his arm with her muzzle.
"You okay?" She asked.
"Yeah... just... shoulder is killing me..." Cooper replied, before pushing himself up to a sitting position.
"It looks like it's starting to bleed again... Once we're inside, I'll change the bandage out for you." She offered.
"Yeah... thanks. Come on."
With that, Cooper pushed himself to his feet and headed into the doorway of the market. He deftly shouldered his rifle, biting back a groan from the pain, and moved through the entrance with Twilight limping in just behind him. The market was much like the one they'd just come from, only larger, and with more aisles. The state of the market however, was much worse. From their new position inside the store, Cooper and Twilight were able to see the extent of the damage the building had suffered. An entire section of the opposite wall from the entrance was completely gone. Snow piled high through the store and a cold chill breezed through the missing wall segment, forcing a shiver through Cooper's body.
Water dripped from his cloak and plate carrier as the snow melted into his clothes. His legs were particularly damp, and the funneled breeze only made the chill worse as the adrenaline in his system died down.
"Come on... Let's see what we can find." Cooper announced, his eyes continuing to scan the building for previously unseen threats.
Twilight followed his lead and searched through the aisles for any food or supplies. They quickly found that there was almost nothing of value left on any of the shelves. Twilight furrowed her brow as she looked through the canned food aisle and found only a single can of soup still lying on its side. Across from her, Cooper searched for more medical supplies, but let out a quiet sigh upon only finding a small package of frozen bandages.
"Find anything?" Twilight asked as she rounded the corner and walked into Cooper's aisle.
"Nothing usable... you?" He replied, rolling his shoulder and wincing.
"Just a can of soup... You okay?" She asked, eyeing the reddened bandage over his wound.
"Yeah... Come on, let's find somewhere to rest." He answered.
Cooper headed for the nearby doorway and checked inside. He found a break room of sorts, with chairs and tables littering the decadent room, as well as a refrigerator full of long expired food. Once he was sure there was no one inside, he waved Twilight over and sat down at one of the chairs. She quickly made her way in after him, ensuring to close the door behind her and found her seat just across from him.
She struggled for a minute to find a comfortable position in a chair that was clearly never meant for her, but eventually found that sitting on her haunches was sufficient, and ignited her horn. The medical bag levitated out of her saddlebag, and found it's way to Cooper's hands. He swiftly opened it and found the necessary bandages and gauze while Twilight used her magic to slowly shuffle his cloak off his shoulders and unclip his plate carrier. Once she had access to the wound, she gently pealed off the bloodied wrap already in place and set about examining the wound.
"Looks better than it did yesterday. Those stitches you did are torn though... Here, let me fix this." She muttered through bouts of chewing on her cheek.
She levitated more sutures out of the medical bag while simultaneously removing the ones in Cooper's shoulder. He winced and groaned slightly through the procedure, but bit his tongue and kept any choice words to himself.
"S-shouldn't you be, fuck... be saving your magic?" He managed as the last of the stitches were removed from his body.
"I can spare this much to fix you up. Besides, you got my foreleg fixed up enough so I don't need to use magic on it... and it's my fault you're hurt anyways..." Twilight replied, her eyes flicking downward for a moment.
"Twilight... I told you to get over that." Cooper rebutted.
"I know..." She responded, before her voice trailed off into a whisper, "I just can't is all..."
"Let's just get me patched up and then we can work on getting some kind of fire going or something... I'm freezing." He said, suppressing another shiver.
"Right. Here, this is going to be a little painful at first..."
Sticking her tongue out in concentration, Twilight methodically sutured Cooper's wound shut, as well as wiping away the blood that trickled out as she worked. With each poke and prod, Cooper grit his teeth harder, and his knuckles shown white as he clenched them tightly.
Eventually, the work was done, and Twilight pulled away, proudly tying off the bandage with her magic, and depositing the remainder of the medical supplies in her bag. Once she was done, Cooper let out a quiet breath and rolled his shoulder slightly. He winced once more from the residual pain, but gave a nod to Twilight regardless.
"Good work. Thanks." He said, allowing a small trace of a thankful smile to form on his face.
Twilight beamed from the praise while Cooper clipped his plate carrier back on and re-adorned his cloak. They headed to the doorway but both froze mid-step as a feint sound caught their ears.
"You sure there's anything still in here?" A voice called from outside.
"Yeah! There's gotta be something. Gabe said this side of the city got almost no looters for the last few years. There's gotta be something here." Another replied.
"Yeah but has Gabe had eyes on this place for the last four years?" Yet another responded.
"Gabe's got eyes everywhere. You know that." A forth voice answered.
As the voices drew closer, more and more spoke out, freezing the blood in Cooper and Twilight's veins, and forcing them to step back from the door. Before long, the sound of boots crunching in the snow drowned out their erratic heartbeats in their ears, and they quickly searched the room for a way out.
"We need to go. There has to be at least twelve of them." Cooper whispered while frantically looking for another doorway.
"There's no window in here... and no doors... We're stuck." Twilight replied, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Shit... I can hear them outside the door." He muttered as he unslung his rifle.
"There's too many of them... I can try to teleport us out of here." Twilight offered, her eyes flicking back and forth between Cooper and the door.
"And risk you getting knocked out again? When there could be more just outside? There's no chance. We're screwed either way." He responded.
Twilight bit her lip.
"Oh no... what are we gonna do?" She frantically asked.
"Hide. Now." He ordered, standing up and moving toward the doorway.
"Wait, Cooper!" Twilight began, but her words weren't fast enough, and the door was opened.
As the door opened, Twilight jumped to the side and out of sight. She only just made it clear before the outsider had a clear view of the room, and Cooper pointing his rifle at him.
"Woah!" He shouted as he jumped to the side and out of the doorway.
"What is it!?" One of the men called out.
"Don't shoot!" He cried, peeking around the corner at Cooper.
Cooper's finger pressed up against the trigger, and he kept his gaze steady on the man in the doorway. He contemplated shooting as the sounds of boots on snow grew louder, and adrenaline flooded his veins.
"What's going on!?"
"There's a guy in here! He's got a rifle!" The first man responded from the doorway.
"Holy shit!" Another shouted.
As more and more men surrounded the doorway, Cooper felt his nerves twitch. His eyes darted from left to right over and over as he waited, anxiously gripping his rifle so tight his knuckles turned white. Across the room from him, and still out of sight, Twilight watched with her heart thundering in her chest.
"Hey man! We don't want any trouble! We're just scouting for food. Don't shoot!" The first voice called out.
"Then look somewhere else. Just keep moving along and you'll all be fine." Cooper gruffly replied.
There was some hushed chatter at the door before he received a reply.
"Are you alone? We got some food and supplies back at our camp. If you put down the rifle and don't shoot any of us, we can take you back with us. You have my word that we won't hurt you."
Cooper glanced over to Twilight for a brief second before flicking his gaze back to the doorway. For a few tense moments, he pondered what to say, before finally deciding and clearing his throat.
"I'm alone... what kind of camp?" He asked, as he slowly stepped toward her.
"A survivor camp. We're trying to rebuild what's left of humanity and create a society... Being out here by yourself... that's rough, friend. If you just lower the gun, and let us talk to you, we can work something out." The man responded.
"And just how in the fuck can I trust you to not shoot me the second I put my rifle down?!" Cooper shouted back.
"You don't have to put it down. Just... don't aim at us. Listen, we're low on manpower... if you've lasted this long out here by yourself, then you must know a thing or two about surviving. We could use more people like you." The man explained.
Cooper quickly pulled away from the doorway and quietly moved over to Twilight.
"Listen... I know this is going to be a terrible idea... but I need you to trust me. No matter what happens, you stay hidden in here until I leave. Try to follow behind as much as you can. You're gonna have to put that flying practice to good use now. Stay on rooftops and out of sight... if you can't... Take the rest of the supplies and go where ever you can to get away from people." He quietly explained, unslinging his backpack and handing it to Twilight.
"B-but... what about you? You aren't seriously thinking of going with them are you?" She questioned, her eyes going wide.
"It's the only way to keep them from seeing you... Look, if they... if they kill me, just teleport out of here. Try to aim for the route we came through and hopefully they won't spot you." He replied, looking back at the doorway once more.
"You alright in there, friend?" The man called out from outside.
"C-Cooper..." Twilight whimpered.
Before she could say anything else, Cooper quickly wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug.
"I won't let them hurt you. I promise." He whispered.
Twilight choked back a small sniffle as Cooper pulled away. She tried, in vain, to hold him closer for just a few more seconds, but her hooves slipped off his cloak, and fell to her barrel as she sat on her haunches.
"God... you really do look just like her..." He quietly murmured to himself as he headed for the doorway.
"Hello?" The man called from outside.
"Yeah! I'm here... Just... debating... If you're being honest with me... then step out into the doorway. I won't shoot." Cooper called back as he retook his position aiming at the doorway.
There was more muffled voices from the doorway, before they seemed to come to an agreement.
"How about we make a compromise, friend? You show us that you'll put the rifle down, and I'll walk into the doorway. Deal?" The man asked.
Cooper chewed his cheek for a few moments, leaving a deadly silence in the air and making Twilight's fur stand on edge.
"Alright. I'll keep my gun down, but you tell your buddies to do the same." He replied.
"Okay. That's fair enough."
"Are you insane?!" Another voice whisper-shouted from behind.
"Quiet! Let Adrian talk!" The second man admonished.
"Alright friend, we'll keep our guns down. I'm gonna peek around this corner now. Please don't shoot me." Adrian asked.
"S'long as your friends keep up their end of the deal." Cooper muttered.
Slowly, but surely, a messy head of curly hair peeked around the corner, along with dark skin, and two deep brown eyes. Cooper let out a small breath as he saw that only Adrian would be peeking into the doorway, and slowly lowered his rifle until it was pointing at the floor between them. He tried, in vain, to hide the groan of pain that escaped his lips from his bad shoulder as the weight was somewhat relieved.
"You alright, friend?" Adrian asked.
"I'm fine."
"That shoulder doesn't look fine... What happened?" He pressed, a genuine look of concern creeping onto his face.
"The last people I ran into." Cooper practically spat the words out as a frown formed on his face.
"Yikes... Well, I get why you're not very trusting of us... Makes sense. If you want, we do have something of a doctor back at our camp. She could take a look at your shoulder and make sure it's okay. I know how bad an infected wound can get out here." Adrian offered.
Cooper's eyes quickly darted over to Twilight for the briefest moment before returning back to Adrian.
"What guarantee do I have that you'll actually take me there and not just stab me in the back the second I'm not looking?" He responded harshly.
"Like I said, I get that you don't trust us. That's probably a smart thing to do, all things considered... All I can offer you is the fact that we're in the same boat. What's to stop you from shooting us in the back the second we're not looking?" Adrian replied, after a moment of thought.
"Any chance you just leave me alone?" Cooper asked in a last ditch attempt.
"I'd have to ask you to leave. Boss man Gabe is taking all this territory for the new settlement. He's a lot less friendly than I am. As far as he's concerned, you're either with us, or against us." Adrian explained.
"Gabe? Settlement? What are you talking about?" Cooper pressed, his eyes squinting in scrutiny.
"Gabriel Sanchez. He's our leader. Chief, if you will. Like I said, we're trying to rebuild society here. That starts with a big settlement... It'd be a fresh start for all of us after the world ended." Adrian elaborated, stepping into the doorway more fully.
Cooper's eyes darted over to Twilight one last time before he sighed quietly to himself and took a step forward, much to her despair.
"Alright... Let's just... let's go." He replied.
Cooper slowly walked toward the doorway with his anxiety quickly building. Each step felt like time slowed further and further until he was standing just in front of Adrian. As he walked, Twilight watched from her corner with an ever increasing amount of dread in her stomach that made it hard to keep from hyperventilating.
As Cooper reached the doorway, Adrian stepped to the side to allow him to pass. Behind him, Cooper could just make out the rest of his group as they parted enough for him and Adrian to walk through. There was a total of thirteen other men standing around in the decadent marketplace, all with their eyes trained on him with a mixture of emotions clear on their faces. Some seemed relieved while others seemed relatively annoyed. Curiously however, was the lack of malice on any of their faces.
Cooper finally paused once he was out in the center of the store with all of Adrian's group surrounding him. He clutched his rifle tightly in his hands, but kept the muzzle pointed down. His eyes darted back and forth at the many faces now taking him in as if he was some stray dog, but no one gave him any indication that they meant him any harm.
"There you go. See? No one wants to hurt anybody here." Adrian comforted, offering a small smile.
"If you say so." Cooper replied.
"Well, we came for supplies, and we'll be returning with another mouth to feed, heh." Adrian quipped.
"Better check the rest of the store just to be sure." One of the other men said as he stepped toward the backroom Cooper just left.
Cooper immediately turned and spoke.
"I wouldn't go in there if I was you." He warned.
"Why?" The man replied, his posture tensing some.
"Unless you really want to see a week's worth of my shit piled up on the floor." Cooper shrugged.
"Gross..." The group simultaneously cringed and stepped away from the room.
"Well... I think we can just leave that alone. Food is hard enough to come by these days, and I'd rather not lose any." Adrian admitted, waving his men further away from the room.
"I think that'd probably be for the best." Cooper agreed.
"Right... Well, let's get moving guys. We've got about two hours of light left. I think we can make it back to camp in that time." Adrian announced.
The group quickly gathered together and headed for the large missing segment of the furthest wall in the store. As they walked out with Cooper at the center of their formation, Twilight watched from afar, her heart full of fear as she peaked around the doorway. As she stared after them, she only barely saw Cooper glance back at her for a brief second, before quickly returning his attention to the group of men now walking all around him. Soon enough they were all out of the store, and once more walking through the cold snow.
Twilight quietly followed behind until she reached the hole in the wall and frowned. It was still bright enough for the men to easily see her if she flew even remotely near them, and the weight of her saddlebags, along with Cooper's bag was only going to make flying even more difficult. Slowly, and almost begrudgingly, she unfurled her wings and sought the nearest rooftop.
With a good flap of her wings, she took to the air, and slowly flew over to the snow-covered roof. Strangely enough, the short trek wasn't quite as tiresome as she expected, and upon landing on the rooftop, she gave a small flap of her wings as if to ensure they were still working right.
"Huh? Guess those flights really did pay off. This isn't nearly as tiring as I thought it'd be..." She whispered in thought.
From her new vantage point, Twilight quickly spotted Cooper's group once more. From a quick look, she could tell that none of them had spotted her thus far, prompting a small sigh of relief to leave her lips.
She glanced up from the group to see the potential miles of houses and roads they could potentially still travel and frowned.
"Here we are! Home sweet home!" Adrian called out over the howling wind.
Suppressing a chill from the frigid air, Cooper squinted his eyes and stared ahead at the somewhat large camp amidst several small apartment complexes. There were a total of five buildings, all with bright orange lights scattered among their many windows and casting a faint firelight into the blackened world outside. It looked so warm and inviting while also leaving a strange, uneasy feeling in his gut.
While the rest of the men around him breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of their home, Cooper could only look back and glance at the rooftops. A small frown formed on his face as he failed to see Twilight's purple mane or lavender coat, but he was quickly pulled from his thoughts by Adrian tapping him on his shoulder.
"You alright, friend? We've scouted this area pretty well earlier today. As far as we know, you were the only guy for twenty miles in that direction." Adrian chuckled as he looked back at the direction they'd come from.
"Yeah... just a hard habit to break, is all." Cooper muttered as he turned back toward the camp. He immediately took note of the guard presence and sheer firepower of the group. There were over a dozen men patrolling around the camp, and even what appeared to be a machine gun nested in the third floor of one of the buildings.
"Well, if you ask me, I'd say that's a good thing. Keeps you alive in the long run... Just don't be surprised if everybody here is a little more lax. We've got things to be afraid of, sure, but for the most part, it's just farming and searching for supplies these days. Most people we meet are ecstatic to have a warm place to call home once we offer it." Adrian replied, no small measure of pride in his voice.
"I'm sure they're all lovely people." Cooper responded, eying the impressive amount of firepower once more.
Adrian eyed him curiously for a moment, before looking back toward where Cooper had been looking previously. His eyes drifted from rooftop to rooftop, but found nothing out of the ordinary. He gave a small shrug and moved back to Cooper's side as he entered the camp.
A few moments later, Twilight poked her head out from the snow and squinted to better see the men as they filed into the entrance point.
"Wow... They all seem so... peaceful... but Celestia, that's a lot of weapons..." She whispered to herself.
She kept her gaze focused on the group until she finally found her target.
"There he is... What are you planning, Cooper?"
She watched as Adrian led Cooper into the largest, and most decorative building in the area. Long black tapestries draped from the walls, stained with well over a year's worth of snow. Still, she could make out what appeared to be a blue falcon soaring high in the center of the fabric.
Once Cooper was inside the building, and she could see him no more, Twilight quietly sighed to herself and moved from her hiding spot. She quietly shuffled through the snow and jumped from the roof, before silently gliding to the top of the apparent capital building. Upon landing on the snowy roof, she quickly unclipped her makeshift saddlebags as well as Cooper's backpack, and buried them in the snow.
"Well... if we do manage to get out of here alive, we'll at least have some food stored and ready." She mumbled to herself.
With no other options, Twilight dug a small hole in the snow and buried herself up to her neck. Once there, and significantly colder than a moment before, she ignited her horn, taking caution to keep the light from becoming too bright and giving her position away in the blackened night. A soothing warmth soon over took her entire body, and she sighed quietly to herself as she laid down in the snow to sleep.
Below her on the first floor, Cooper felt a growing tightness in his throat as he was lead through the large building.
"Where are we going, exactly?" He asked, eying Adrian critically.
"We're taking you to Gabe. He's the big boss around here, but don't let that intimidate you too much. He only wants what's best for all of us." Adrian explained.
"Uh huh... And if he doesn't like me?" Cooper trailed off, looking at Adrian expectantly.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it. I mean, Gabe can be harsh when he has to be, but you didn't shoot any of us, so the chances of him not liking you or worse are pretty slim." Adrian answered.
"Or worse?" Cooper raised an eyebrow.
Before he could receive an answer, they arrived at their destination, and Adrian gave a three loud knocks on the steel door. A moment later, the door was pulled open, and the harsh sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air, making Cooper cringe slightly.
Without any delay, Adrian led the way into a throne room of sorts. At the end of the room, there was a large metal chair, seemingly welded together by multiple pieces of steel that were obviously salvaged from cars or other sources throughout the years. Sitting atop that chair, was a man who looked to be every bit as worn and jaded as Cooper. However, before he could say anything, Adrian spoke up.
"Gabe! We're all back in one piece and even managed to find another survivor out there." He announced.
"I can see that. I'm pleased you all made it back in one piece," Gabe responded in a deep, gravely voice before turning his attention to Cooper, "What's your name and story?"
"Story?" Cooper asked, cocking an eyebrow back.
"Yes, your story. Who are you and how did you come to be here?" Gabe reiterated.
Cooper pursed his lips in thought for a brief pause before answering.
"My name is Cooper Slain. There's not much of a story... I'm just another man trying to survive."
Gabe nodded in approval and chuckled.
"There are many like you in this camp. I'm sure you'll find your place without issue..." Gabe trailed off, "Might I inquire as to how you were wounded?"
Cooper glanced down at his shoulder and frowned.
"Last two guys I ran into... One of them stabbed me." He explained.
"I see... Adrian, please take our newest addition to the medic and have her look him over. We take care of our own here." Gabe replied.
"No problem. This way, friend." Adrian responded, waving Cooper over.
Cooper looked back and forth between Gabe and Adrian for a moment before nodding and turning to follow Adrian.
"Thank you." He said, giving Gabe one last look as he headed for the door.
"As I stated, we take care of our own here." Gabe coolly replied.
"I suppose so..." Cooper mumbled to himself as Adrian led him out.
They soon found themselves walking along through the building in complete silence, save for their footsteps on the hard tile floor. As they walked down the hallway and toward the medical room, Cooper chewed on his cheek in thought. Adrian gave him a curious look as he watched from the side.
"What's on your mind?" Adrian asked.
"Nothing... Just... does he always talk like that?" Cooper replied.
"Gabe? Oh yeah, he talks like that all the time. He's... a tad eccentric, but he's done good by us all so far. Don't worry, you get used to it." He chuckled.
"If you say so."
"Ah, don't worry. I know it's all just a lot to take in, Here, why don't you just talk with the medic and have her check you out. After that, I can show you to where you'll be staying, and tomorrow we can really get into what's going to be expected of you here." Adrian casually responded as they arrived at a set of aluminum double doors with a red plus on either door.
Cooper raised an eyebrow.
"Well you're not too old to fight or go on scouting missions. Plus you're probably one of the longest surviving people that's been completely alone all this time. Gabe's gonna want you on scouting missions, friend. Besides, you didn't think you'd just get a room and board for free, did you?" Adrian chuckled loudly.
"I didn't expect to be here at all to be honest." Cooper simply shook his head.
"Heh, well you made it. Anyways, we can talk about that later. You just go ahead and get that arm checked out."
"Right."
With that, Cooper pushed through the double doors with his good hand and walked into the relatively empty medical room. There were a few chairs for people to sit on at the side, and simple wooden desk with an older woman sitting behind it. Her light silver hair, large reading glasses, and the wrinkles on her face showed her age well enough, making Cooper hesitate slightly.
"Hello dear, can I help you?" She asked.
"Y-yeah... I just got here today... Adrian and Gabe wanted you to look at my shoulder." Cooper answered.
"Of course... Are you alright, dear? You seem like you're a little nervous." She replied, tilting her head to the side slightly.
"Yeah... I just... didn't expect to see someone over the age of forty ever again." He said, shaking he head slightly.
"Hehe, well if things continue to go as well as they are, you just might see a whole lot more people my age. Now, you said you're here for your shoulder?" She pressed, standing up and walking toward him.
"Yeah... Got stabbed about a week ago... They figured you could give it a once over." He replied.
"Hmm, I think I can do that," She replied, motioning him over to the chair nearest to her, "By the way, what's your name?"
"Cooper." He answered as he took his seat.
"That's a nice name. Mine is Martha." Martha replied, before motioning with her hand.
Taking the hint, Cooper removed his cloak and unclipped his plate carrier. He set his rifle on the floor, resting against the wall and gave her room to look more closely at his bandaging.
"Well it's nice to meet you, Martha."
"Likewise."
Martha slowly and gently unwrapped Cooper's shoulder too look at the wound underneath. After a few minutes, she had all the gauze and wrap removed and could clearly see the slowly scarring wound, along with all the stitching holding it together.
"Well for a man with, I'm assuming little medical experience, you did a fine job with the stitching. Looks like you may have pulled on them a little bit, but it's holding together nicely... Bandages look fine too, not too bloody or anything... I think you'll be fine. Just take it easy on this shoulder for the next few days. It's mostly closed up already anyways." Martha explained as she observed the wound.
"That's good to hear. Thank you." Cooper nodded.
"I'm happy to give good news whenever I can, dear. Now let's put this wrap back on there. You did a fine job on taking care of the wound. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been stabbed a few times before." She chuckled.
Cooper let out a dry laugh.
"Let's just say that things haven't exactly been easy the last few years."
"I'll bet."
With that, Martha quickly retied the bandaging and stepped back, allowing Cooper to re-adorn his vest and cloak. He slowly picked up his rifle before turning to the door and heading out.
"Come back in a few days, and I can take those stitches out for you." She called as he reached the door.
Cooper gave a small nod before opening the door and stepping outside. He immediately found Adrian, who appeared to have been waiting outside the whole time.
"Ready to see where you'll be staying?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah. I could use a good night of sleep for once."
Cooper awoke to the sound of pounding on his door. He instinctively pushed himself to a sitting position and reached for his sidearm, only to pause as he picked it up. A frown creased his brow as he remembered that he had no more ammunition to speak of, and he gently set the pistol down on the nightstand with a sigh. After glancing about his room once more, and seeing nothing aside from his cloak, plate carrier, and boots, he rolled out of bed and got to his feet. He suppressed a groan at the stinging pain in his shoulder, but managed to make his way to the door just as another set of loud knocks reached his ears.
"Yeah?" He asked, upon opening the door.
"Just making sure you were up, friend." Adrian cordially replied.
"I am... what's up?" Cooper responded, raising an eyebrow as Adrian started walking away.
"Oh, just breakfast. Figured you were probably hungry, so I thought I'd make sure you didn't miss it. Some of the hunters brought back a deer last night, so we're fixing to have some venison before heading back out to search for more supplies." He answered.
"What am I supposed to do in the meantime while you guys are gone? Thought I was getting assigned to your scouting team or something." Cooper questioned, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly.
"Not with that shoulder you're not. Doc told you what, a week or so before you'd be good enough to be of any use?" Adrian shook his head.
"She said a few days."
"Well there you go. There's plenty to do around the camp, just go see Gabe and he'll point you in the right direction. 'Sides, if that shoulder gets hurt even worse back out there, you're gonna take even longer to be useful around here." He chuckled.
Cooper chewed his cheek in thought, "I suppose so..."
"Go ahead and get yourself some breakfast, then talk to Gabe. I'll be back by nightfall." Adrian replied, before waving goodbye and heading down the stairs.
With Adrian gone, and his stomach growling slightly, Cooper quietly sighed to himself and headed back to his bed. He slowly, and with several winces of pain, donned his plate carrier and cloak. With that done, he holstered his pistol and slipped on his boots. Much like the floor, they were cold to the touch, but after an hour or so of wearing them, they'd warm up. Lastly, he grabbed his rifle and slung it over his shoulder, before heading out the door and down the stairs.
Cooper soon found himself among the many denizens of the camp as they lined up for food. He suppressed a slight chuckle at how closely the scene resembled a soup kitchen before taking his place at the end of the line and waiting for his food. Despite being the newest face of the group, no one approached him, in fact, they barely seemed to notice him. They all seemed much more interested in getting a taste of the recently hunted deer meat that could be smelled from across the camp.
Soon enough, Cooper found himself at the front of the line, and receiving a portion of the meat. It was a small portion, just large enough to keep him satiated for a few hours, but nothing more. With a quick nod of thanks to the apparent cook, he made his way over to a nearby chair and took a seat. He glanced up at the early morning sky to find grey skies, and a distinct lack of the lavender color he'd become used to.
He sighed quietly to himself.
"Hope she found somewhere safe... Maybe her way back home if nothing else." He muttered, no louder than a whisper.
When only the sound of muted chatter all around him answered his words, he returned to his meal, and ate in silence.
Twilight stirred from her sleep with a heavy shiver. Her eyes blearily opened to the sight of white all around her, and it took a few moments for her to register just where she was. With a groan, she tiredly pushed herself up and out of the snow enough to free her withers and barrel, before glancing around to ensure no one had spotted her yet. Her ear quickly perked at the sound of multiple voices chattering away below her, and after a quick struggle to wade through the deep snow, she slowly peaked over the edge to look down on the camp grounds below.
The smell of meat quickly assaulted her nose, and she wrinkled her muzzle in distaste. The food line instantly caught her eyes, cluing her in as to the source of the smell that made her fur stand on edge.
"Never am going to get used to that smell... I know human's are omnivores, but eating another creature just seems so... wrong..." Twilight whispered to herself, her eyes squinting in deliberation.
Only a few more moments passed before another door opened, and Cooper stepped out into the world. Twilight breathed an audible sigh of relief upon seeing him head down the stairs and into the line.
"Thank Celestia you're still okay... Now I just need to figure out how we can communicate." Twilight muttered, sticking her tongue out in thought.
She attempted to cast a spell, but her horn merely fizzled and sparked, before dying out and leaving her with a wince of pain.
"Okay... Guess I used up the last of my magic last night... Ugh, it took forever to get that much strength back and I blew it all just trying to stay warm." She grumbled.
As Twilight deliberated over her magic, Cooper took his seat and quickly ate his breakfast. Within a couple minutes, he was finished, and staring aimlessly at his empty plate.
The sound of boots trudging through snow quickly caught his ears as they came to a stop beside him. He slowly looked over to see the boots in question, before looking up to see their owner.
"Adrian tells me you're searching for a purpose. I do believe I can provide several, unless of course, your wounds are too great at the moment." Gabe announced, looking down at him with a calm expression on his face.
"What do you need me to do?" Cooper replied, pushing himself to his feet.
"A man of action. Respectable," Gabe replied, nodding slightly, "We're in need of a man to go heat the ice and feed it into the water pipe just across the camp. The last man appointed to this position is heading the scouting party today, and his successor unfortunately died last week. Do you believe you'll be up to the task?"
"It's just heating water. Can't be too hard. Am I meeting someone over there? Or do I just have to figure it out myself?" He replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to. One of the camp females can point you in the right direction and give you the necessary guidance. It truly is a simple affair."
With that, Gabe walked back into the massive capital building, leaving Cooper with a decidedly bewildered expression on his face.
"Jesus fuck that guy's weird." He muttered with a small shake of his head.
With that, Cooper turned and headed toward the nearest group of people still finishing their breakfast. Among the group were several women, all who eyed him with raised eyebrows upon his arrival.
"You're the one they found last night, aren't you?" One asked.
"Yeah... yeah, that's me. Gabe said one of you could point me in the right direction of the water pipe. Apparently he needs me to melt water and put it in the pipe, unless I'm misunderstanding something here." Cooper replied, flatly.
"Oh sure, I can take you there." One of the women answered, having finished her food.
She quickly got to her feet and led Cooper to the far side of the camp. Upon arriving, Cooper saw the contraption the camp was using as a source of water. A small fireplace was visible via the open door of an elevated cabin on top of a relatively large hill. A steel shovel was planted in the ground just outside the cabin, making Cooper frown as he glanced down at his shoulder. Finally, there was the long pipe itself, that appeared to be simply powered by gravity, allowing the melted ice and water to flow down to the camp.
"Alright, here we are. Just shovel the snow and ice into the pipe opening and use the fire to heat the pipe. It's tedious and boring work, but you get to keep warm, and it's not too hard, even with an injured shoulder." The women announced.
"Right. Thanks for the help." Cooper acknowledged.
"Any time." She replied.
With that, she headed off back into the camp, leaving Cooper all alone to tend to the pipe and ice. He slowly made his way up to the cabin and grabbed the shovel on his way in. A small sigh of relief escaped his lips as he felt the heat of the fire warm him against the frigid temperatures outside, but it only lasted a second before he set to work. He set his rifle down by the doorway and gripped the shaft of the shovel with his good hand. Slowly and steadily, he shoveled the snow and made his way inside to dump it into the pipe and heat it with a flaming log from the pile.
He continued like this for less than an hour before a harsh banging sound startled him out of his work, and he hastily looked around the inside of the cabin for the source of noise. A distinctly loud *thump* above his head made him duck, and he quickly dove for his rifle. He grabbed the pistol grip and shouldered the rifle as he pushed outside into the cold. He quickly turned around to see what was causing the noise and brought his finger to the trigger. As soon as he laid eyes on the roof, he froze, and dropped his rifle.
"Cooper!" Twilight tiredly exclaimed from the roof.
"Twilight?" He replied, incredulously, "What are you doing here? No, never mind, get down from there. Let's talk inside."
With that, Cooper picked up his rifle and rushed inside with Twilight coming in a mere second after him. Once they were both inside, he sat his rifle down again, and dropped to a knee just as she rushed at him.
Twilight quickly wrapped her forelegs around him and nuzzled her cheek against his. He warmly returned the gesture, pulling her in tight with his good arm and relishing in the feeling of her fur against him, even if it was cold to the touch.
"I followed you here as best as I could. I had to take a few detours to avoid being spotted, but I don't think anyone saw me." She explained, barely holding back a small squeak of happiness.
"Thank God... I thought you left and went off to fuck knows where." He sighed.
"I wouldn't leave you like that... You're too important to me." Twilight replied, pulling away enough to look him in his dark mocha eyes.
"Thanks... I was worried I'd never see you again for a second there." Cooper chuckled.
"I'm the one who was worried about never seeing you again." She countered.
"I suppose we have got a bit attached to each other, huh?"
"Looks like all that doom and gloom just doesn't suit you when I'm around." Twilight teased.
Cooper took a moment to respond, but when he did, he simply chuckled.
"Oh man, you really are just like her." He replied, shaking his head.
"Like who?"
"My daughter... You act and talk just like her... God, you even look like her somehow." He admitted, his eyes falling to the floor.
"You have a daughter?" Twilight pressed, her eyes lighting up in excitement.
"Cooper, I... I'm so sorry. I had no idea..." Twilight trailed off, a sad frown forming on her muzzle.
"It's alright... I just wish I could have been there." He whispered, his head hanging low.
Twilight quickly pulled him back into a tight hug with her good foreleg, and nuzzled her cheek against his as she squeezed him ever tighter against her chest.
"Did... did you have a wife too?" Twilight quietly asked, pulling away just slightly.
"Yeah," He looked away slightly, "They died together."
"Was... was it from the blast?"
"No. People just... wanted what we had."
"What happened? If you don't mind telling me." Twilight inquired, ensuring to use as gentle a tone as she could.
"It's... not much of a story. I went to go look for supplies... they stayed at the house. While I was gone, people showed up... When I came home, my wife and daughter were dead." He replied, his voice devoid of any kind of emotion.
"Cooper..." She whispered, her heart aching.
Cooper sniffled quickly.
"I, uh... I never found the guys that did it... God, I'd do some bad things to them too... Real bad things..." He whispered, "I'd make them hurt... make them suffer for every second they hurt them... I-" He continued, but stopped short as Twilight pulled him into another tight hug.
"You poor, poor man..." She cried, her voice strained from the tears threatening to spill out.
Cooper froze for just a moment before burying his face into Twilight's mane. He silently wept into her fur and hair as she held him close, her good hoof stroking down his neck every few seconds.
For a time unknown to either of them, they sat there beside the fire, and held each other. Only when he had no tears left to shed, did Cooper finally pull away and release his grip on Twilight's back.
"Thanks... Sorry about that." He said.
"Don't ever apologize for having feelings... I can't imagine the pain you must have went through." Twilight comforted, giving a small smile of support.
"All the same... there's enough to worry about out here without me getting all emotional."
"You can share those things with me. Trust me, I don't know what I would do if I lost my brother or my friends..." She replied with a small shiver.
"Yeah..."
"What was she like?" Twilight asked, suddenly.
"Heh, like you... Always wanted to know everything about everything... Always so optimistic, even when I told her exactly what would happen... She even said that this whole winter would end if we just put aside our differences and got along." Cooper chuckled to himself.
"If only." Twilight replied, a trace of a smile on her face as she glanced out at the snowy landscape outside.
Cooper nodded slightly in response before looking over at the pipe and sighing.
"I should probably get back to work soon. They might wonder why the water stopped otherwise." He said after a moment.
"Are you sure staying around these people is a good idea?" Twilight inquired, stepping away enough for him to get to his feet.
"It's not like I have much of a choice right now. If we leave, we're bound to run into them again soon. They've taken over this whole area... Hell, the last few guys we had to kill were probably scouts for these guys or something." Cooper replied.
"What if we left the area? Headed somewhere far away where they wouldn't find us? Twilight questioned.
"Good luck getting anywhere. Most of the area around Houston is no man's land. Just snow and ice for dozens of miles. Just about everyone still alive lives somewhere near the city or in it." He explained.
"Well... what do you want to do then?"
"... I don't know," He sighed, "If I thought they wouldn't shoot you on sight, I'd say let's just stay with these people and see if they can actually do what they plan to do... but I don't know. They're confusing the hell outta me." He shook his head.
"What do you mean? What do they plan to do?" She pressed.
"They want to try to restart civilization. Basically start over and rebuild what we've lost. Problem is, I don't think they have a snowballs chance in Hell."
"What? Why? That sounds fantastic!" She exclaimed.
"Twilight... The world's dead. No amount of wanting to fix it is going to change that. Everyone here, every one of those people are dead. They just don't know it yet." Cooper explained.
Twilight frowned.
"I don't want to believe that... If these people are trying to do what you say, then isn't that alone reason enough to help them? To try to rebuild your world?" Twilight reasoned.
"Trust me, Twilight... You're preaching to the wrong choir. Even if we somehow managed to get everyone to stop killing each other, we'd just end up starving to death once we run out of food. There's almost nothing left alive at this point, and we can only find so many cans of food in every supermarket around. What do we do when we run out of food?" He asked.
Twilight bit her lip before sighing.
"I don't know what the answer to that is... but if there's one thing I learned from my friends, it's that great things can happen when you work together... This might just be your chance to do that." She offered.
Cooper pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned. He chewed his cheek for a few moments before fixing her with a melancholy look and spoke.
"If, and I mean only if that worked here... how do you know they wouldn't just shoot you the first chance they got? Last I checked, I'm pretty much the only one on this planet who hasn't tried to kill you." He retaliated.
Twilight cringed as the memories flooded her mind, and she glanced down at her still bandaged foreleg with a sigh.
"I don't know..." She admitted.
"Exactly, and that's what scares me," He replied, before kneeling down beside her again. He placed his hand on her cheek and softly stroked his fingers along the short fur on her face, "I told you I wouldn't let anyone hurt you... As long as I can still fight, I'll do exactly that."
Twilight blushed slightly as she looked down and away. Cooper slowly pulled his hand away from her face and stood back up to his full height before looking back over at the pipe and sighing.
"I really do need to get back to work. They're probably sending someone over here right now to see what the holdup is with the water. Do you think you can stay hidden until nightfall?" He asked, gazing in the direction of the camp.
"I can probably stay hidden on some rooftops... but I don't think I can stay out in the cold again tonight. I used what magic I've been regenerating just to stay warm last night." She replied, suppressing a small shiver.
Cooper frowned at her reply.
"Alright... Do you know what building I'm staying in?"
"Yeah. I saw you leave this morning." Twilight thoughtfully replied.
"Good. Find somewhere to hide and stay warm until nightfall. Once it's dark, head to the roof of that building and wait for me to open the door. That's how you'll know it's clear and you can come inside." He explained.
"Okay... I'll see you tonight." Twilight responded, before limping to the doorway and unfurling her wings. She gave a few small flaps before taking to the air and disappearing from sight.
Cooper let out a small breath and made his way back over to the shovel and grabbed it with his good arm. He made his way outside and shoveled up some more snow before walking back to the pipe.
Twilight shivered under the pitch black, starless night sky. The cold air and snow sapped at her strength, making it hard to focus on Cooper's instructions over trying to just get warm. Her teeth chattered as she looked down over the doorway for the tenth time in just as many minutes.
"Come on, I'm freezing my wings off up here..." She muttered to herself.
A few more minutes passed in a painful silence before the door opened, and Twilight's ears flicked back at the rusted metal scraping against itself. She quickly peaked over the edge once more and saw Cooper looking up at her. He waved her down with his good arm, and she hastily dropped from the roof. She flapped her wings just twice to slow her descent and landed on the snowy ground with a quiet *thud*. A sharp wince swept through her body as her injured foreleg made contact with the ground, but she managed to keep from making any noise aside from a small inhale.
"You okay?" Cooper whispered.
"Y-yeah. Just a little cold is all." Twilight replied.
"We'll get you warmed up in a sec. The floors are tile though, so try to make as little noise walking on them as you can. Let's go."
With that, he turned and headed inside the still open door, prompting Twilight to follow behind. She instantly winced as her hooves connected with the tile floor, making a loud clopping sound that echoed through the hallway and made Cooper wince. Biting her lip in concentration for a moment, she unfurled her wings and flapped them just enough to get her hooves off the ground. She glanced up at Cooper to find him giving her a nod of approval before closing the door behind them and heading back into the hallway. Twilight suppressed a small sigh of relief at the much warmer temperature in the building as the door shut fully and made her way after him.
"Let's be fast. I'm still not sure how many people live here, but they're bound to be coming in and out any second. I'm on the second floor, so let me go first. Try to stay close but if someone shows up, head back out as fast as you can." He instructed.
"Got it." She replied, only now taking note that Cooper had his rifle slung over his shoulder.
They hurried through the first floor to the flight of stairs at the center of the building. Cooper peaked up the stairs for anyone making their way down, but upon finding nothing, he waved Twilight over and headed up the steps. They quickly reached the second floor of the building, pausing only for Cooper to make sure both hallways were clear. Once he was sure there was still no one in sight, he waved her forward again, and broke into a quick jog down the hallway toward his room. Twilight struggled to keep up with him without causing too much noise or hitting any of the copious obstacles throughout the hallway with her wings. She fell behind only slightly as Cooper reached the door in question and shoved it open.
She quickly banked to turn into the room and flew inside, ensuring to snap her wings back to her barrel, lest they hit the doorway on the way in. Once her hooves connected to the floor with a deafening *clop* she froze. She looked back at Cooper just as he slammed the door shut and locked it. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he slouched against the door and down to the floor.
"Jesus... We're gonna have to find a better way to get you in here if we have to do this again." Cooper shook his head.
"You're telling me. Trying not to hit anything with my wings was almost impossible. There's so much trash and debris out there. Even Rainbow Dash would have a tough time with that." She muttered.
"I'm just glad you made it. How are you doing?" He replied, pushing himself to his feet and un-slinging his rifle.
"I'm okay, just freezing is all. It's so much warmer in here but it's still barely above freezing, if that." She replied.
Cooper made his way to the bed, moving to take off his cloak and body armor in the process, but he winced in pain once more as he moved his bad shoulder.
"Here, let me help." Twilight offered, hopping onto the bed and holding out her forelegs invitingly.
Cooper eyed her for a few seconds before chuckling lightly to himself and giving a small nod of acceptance.
"What's so funny?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow back.
"Nothing, nothing. You're just too cute." He replied as he sat down in front of her on the bed.
Twilight pouted slightly but quickly set about removing and unclipping his coat and plate carrier. With them off, they were quickly set aside on the floor.
"Thanks."
"Happy to help." She beamed.
"I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm gonna pass out any minute now. Turns out that shoveling snow for eight hours straight is pretty exhausting. Who knew?" Cooper said, pulling his boots off.
"It would be nice to sleep in a bed for once." Twilight trailed off, her good hoof pawing at the bed.
"But?" He replied, turning around to see her contemplative look.
"Well... Do you... no, never mind. It's stupid." She blushed and looked away.
Cooper turned to fully face her.
"Twilight, what is it?" He pressed, tilting his head to the side.
"Well... I just... would you mind... snuggling?" She barely whispered.
"Snuggling?" He repeated.
"Um... y-you don't have to if you don't want to... I just... I'm just pretty cold still." She admitted, her gaze drifting anywhere but on Cooper.
"Dear god you're so cute you're gonna give me a heart attack. Get over here." He chuckled.
Twilight's demeanor instantly perked up, and she darted to the man in front of her. She wrapped her hooves around is chest, taking care to avoid his shoulder wound and nuzzled her muzzle into the crook of his neck. He gently wrapped his arms around her barrel and pulled her close before laying down. The lavender alicorn came to a rest on his side, his warmth slowly sinking into her noticeably chilly fur.
"Hehe, just like old times." Cooper happily whispered to himself before pulling the blanket over their bodies and dozing off. Twilight heard him clearly, but opted to simply give his neck a small nuzzle before sleep claimed her as well.
Twilight's eyes slowly fluttered open as the rays of early morning sunshine filtered down on her. She slowly turned her head to look out the window to see the soft blue skies and chirping birds as they flew about through the warm summer air. A soft smile graced her face as she contemplated getting out of bed or just staying in for a few more minutes, however a small rumbling in her stomach made her decision for her, and she climbed out of bed.
Her hooves clopped down on the hard wood floors of the library. She walked down the steps toward the kitchen to find Spike already up and making breakfast.
"Oh, hey Spike!" She chirped, a smile already on her face.
"Hey, Twilight! I'm almost done making breakfast. Come on down!" He responded.
Twilight eagerly took her seat at the table just in time for Spike to walk over with a plate held in his claws. He quickly deposited the food on the table, prompting a confused look from the lavender alicorn as she looked down at the food.
"Um, Spike? Spaghetti for breakfast?" She asked.
"Yeah! Speghettios!" He proudly exclaimed, pulling a can out of the trash and holding it up for her to see.
"Spa...ghettios..." She parroted, her eyes falling down to the plate before her.
Suddenly, the plate was gone, along with the table. She quickly glanced back up to see that Spike was also nowhere to be seen. She jumped out of her chair and found herself no longer in the library kitchen, but instead in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Her heart rate climbed as her anxiety spiked, and she struggled to breathe as the sounds of gunfire echoed through the air. Her coat felt frozen yet it burned so bad in certain spots that she jumped.
Twilight frantically looked back and forth through the blinding snow but saw nothing. Her ears flicked back and forth as she searched for any sign of life aside from the constant thunderous noise exploding all around her. She quickly sank to her haunches and fought to keep the tears out of her eyes.
"No... No please... This can't be happening..." She cried.
"Twilight!" A voice shouted through the void around her.
She hastily blinked back the tears and searched for the source of the voice, but the howling wind blinded her to anyone that might be out there.
"H-Hello!?" She called back.
"Twilight!" The voice grew louder.
"I-I'm over here!" She cried, finding the voice to be coming from dead ahead.
Then, silence. She looked back and forth but found nothing but darkness surrounding her. She couldn't make out the floor from anything else in the darkness, but her hooves and the rest of her body were plainly visible. Another quick glance around confirmed that there was simply nothing else in existence aside from the purple pony.
"Hello?" She asked her quiet voice echoing through the void over and over again.
help
"What?" She pushed herself to her hooves and searched the emptiness for the source of the voice.
Twilight...
"Cooper? Where are you!?" She cried, her anxiety climbing once more.
"Twilight." He said, his voice coming from behind her.
Twilight yelped as she was startled almost into the air. She turned around so fast that her eyes had trouble keeping up, and searched for the source of the voice. She felt her blood freeze at the sight before her. Cooper was laying on the floor, blood oozing from several spots all along his chest and stomach.
"Help me... Twilight." He groaned.
She galloped over to him as fast as she could, her hooves echoing noisily in the empty air. Within seconds, she reached his side and frantically looked over his badly damaged body.
"Cooper! Oh no... no, no, no. Please, Celestia no!" She wept, fresh tears spilling from her eyes and dampening the fur on her cheeks.
Her horn glowed to life as several healing spells flashed through her mind. However, before she could do anything, her magic fizzled out, and a sharp stinging pain shot through her forehead from her horn.
"Gah!" She cried, "My magic!"
As she clutched her horn in pain, Cooper fell from consciousness and his arms limply fell to the floor. She struggled to reignite her horn, but a small pop and fizzle was all she could muster.
"No, no, no... I can't be out of magic... Not now!" She pleaded, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to force a spell.
It only took a few seconds for the endeavor to prove fruitless, and for Twilight's breathing to accelerate to hyperventilating. She looked down at Cooper's dying body and pushed herself to him. She planted her hooves over his wounds and applied as much pressure as she could.
"Please stay with me... please don't die... Cooper, please don't... Please." She whispered, before the world turned white.
"Twilight? Hey!" She heard a voice, startling her eyes open.
"Cooper!" She cried, throwing her forelegs out as if she was trying to grab him.
"Hey, hey! Calm down. I'm right here." He said, his voice coming from just above her ear.
Twilight craned her neck back to look up at Cooper. He was still holding onto her from the previous night, and his face bore a look of deep concern.
"Cooper?" She asked, rolling over to her belly and pushing herself to her forelegs.
He let go of his grip on her chest fluff and allowed her to stand up.
"Yeah. I'm right here. You were calling my name and freaking out there for a second. You okay?" He asked, giving a concerned frown.
Twilight threw her forelegs around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug.
"Oh my gosh. I thought you were dead." She whimpered into his neck.
"T-Twilight, I'm fine. You just had a nightmare is all. It's fine." He comforted, placing one hand on the back of her head and stroking down her back with the other.
"I just... I was just so afraid of losing you."
"Hey, it's alright. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Not without you." He answered softly.
Twilight shook in his embrace for a few minutes before she was able to finally calm down. She slowly pulled her head away from his chest and looked up into his eyes.
"I-I'm sorry. I guess I had a really bad dream." She replied, her eyes flicking down and away.
"It's okay. I'm here for ya'. What was it about?" Cooper inquired.
Twilight took a few moments to collect her thoughts before replying.
"Well... it's hard to explain. I was back home, then I wasn't. I was in some kind of empty blank space and just when I thought I was losing it, I heard your voice... You were calling for help. I-I turned around and you were lying there on the floor, dying. I rushed over to you and... and..." She trailed off.
Cooper looked at her critically for a few moments as her words sunk in.
"Damn, that is a shitty dream. You don't have to worry about that though. I'm still here and so are you. That's all that matters." He comforted, brushing a hand through her mane in a playful manner.
"I just wish you hadn't gotten hurt because of me." She whispered.
"Oh don't start that again. I'm fine. I've had worse, trust me." He chuckled.
"I-I know... I just still feel bad about it." She admitted.
"Don't. We learned from it, and we're still alive. There's nothing else to say." He gave a small smile.
Twilight gave a small nod before returning the smile and sitting upright. She looked out the frosted window to find that there were several people out and about, eating breakfast and doing their morning tasks.
"How long did we sleep for?" She asked, frowning slightly.
"Well I'm not too sure, but it looks like everyone's up. I should probably head down there and get some food in a minute. I'll see what I can bring back for you." He answered, rolling out of bed and getting to his feet.
"Wait, what am I supposed to do while you're gone?" She pressed, turning around on the bed.
"Just stay in here. Try to rest up and recoup your magic. I'm only gonna be gone for a few minutes and I'm pretty sure sneaking you outta here in the morning is gonna be impossible. There's way too many people around to not notice you." Cooper explained.
Twilight bit her lip but nodded nonetheless.
"Alright. Just... try to hurry." She meekly replied.
"Heh, don't worry. I'll back in a few minutes. If anyone knocks or tries to come in before me, we'll leave this window unlocked. Just jump out and fly away from here. We'll meet up at the pipe like we did yesterday and we can move out from there." He instructed as he adorned his body armor and cloak.
Twilight gave a small nod as Cooper headed for the door. Once he was outside, she crawled over the bed to the window and pressed her hoof against it. The frame budged after just a little force, and a chilly breeze instantly flooded through the crack. She shivered before closing the window once more and looking out the glass to see the growing crowd of people just as Cooper stepped outside.
He hurried along to the food line but was intercepted by a group of people that were already waiting in line. Twilight's heart pounded faster in her chest as she saw Cooper visibly tense at the group's approach, and for a few moments, he appeared to be in some sort of stare-off with them. However, after a few moments, he relaxed and responded to them, a noticeable relief washing over his body in the process. Twilight felt the weight leave her chest as well, and she continued to watch as Cooper chatted with the group as if they were long time friends.
Twilight continued to watch as they all got their food, ate, discussed some more, and went their separate ways. She saw Cooper head back into the building and turned around to eagerly face the door as he came up the stairs. She didn't have to wait long before he knocked on the door three times and entered.
"Well that was interesting." He said, shaking off the last of the chills from the outside air.
"Who were those people?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.
"They were some of the people that pointed me in the right direction to melt the ice yesterday. Said that I did a good job and they wanted to know a bit more about me since I'm the new guy and all. Weird." He shook his head.
"What's weird about that? That sounds really kind of them." Twilight replied.
"I guess I'm just not used to people being nice to me anymore. Feels almost... wrong? I don't know. Anyways, I brought you something." He responded, pulling a plastic container out of his pocket.
Twilight eyed the container curiously for a moment as Cooper held it out in front of her.
"What... is this?" She asked.
"Jello. Trust me, this stuff is pretty much a delicacy at this point." He wiggled it in his hand slightly, prompting the gelatinous material inside to jiggle even more.
"Jello? Is that just jelly?" Twilight inquired, looking back up to Cooper with a skeptical brow raised.
"Basically. Come on, try it. You'll love this stuff, I promise."
Twilight shrugged and grabbed the jello from Cooper's hands. He pried the lid off in the process, exposing the red jelly to the air and Twilight's muzzle. She gave an experimental sniff before an experimental lick, and then dove into the jelly. She ate greedily, and squeezed the container to force as much jello out as she could. Quick enough, there was nothing left, and she struggled to pry the container off her muzzle as Cooper chuckled to himself.
"Well... I told you you'd like it." He mused. He gently grabbed the jello cup and pulled it off her muzzle.
Twilight sheepishly smiled back at him and chuckled nervously, "You weren't kidding."
Cooper playfully tussled her mane with his free hand before heading over toward the door.
"Welp I've got another long day of shoveling snow ahead of me. Unless you're strong enough to teleport onto the roof, I don't think you're gonna be able to make it over there with me. Think you can hide out, in here, for the rest of the day?" He asked.
"I think I can manage for today. You just be careful out there. I can't help you this time, if you get into trouble."
Cooper waved a hand at her comment, "Eh, don't worry about me. You just stay hidden... Everything's gonna be fine."
Cooper trekked through the snow to his predetermined outpost for the day with a tiny trace of a smile tugging at his lips. Each step up the hill to the shack and pipeline felt easier and easier. For the first time in a long time, he felt somewhat well rested. Even through the biting chill of the cold air, a small hint of warmth clung to him like an invisible blanket, making the outside world simply not feel so bad.
He reached the shack and placed his rifle by the doorway upon entering. As with the previous day, there was no one stationed at the pipe upon his arrival, but this time the fire was out. He grabbed the nearby can of gasoline and poured a small amount onto the fire. A quick shake of the can confirmed that there was only a few more days worth of gas left.
Should probably tell Gabe or Adrian about that, Cooper thought.
Cooper reached into his pocket, pulled out a lighter, and attempted to light the fire. It took three flicks before the flint ignited the butane, and a small flame took its first breath. He gently brought the lighter down to the wood and ignited it.
With that taken care of, Cooper simply grabbed the shovel laying against the wall and headed back outside. As he dug up shovel-fulls of snow, he still felt the twinge of pain in his shoulder, however it felt much less severe than the day before; allowing him to work faster and with much higher spirits.
He smiled to himself at the simplicity of the work and lost himself in his thoughts for just a moment. Then a sound reached his ears.
What the...
Cooper glanced toward the camp, a frown forming on his brow as the sound increased in volume.
Sounds like a lot of yelling...
Then gunfire rang out. Slow, and distant at first, but quickly growing louder, and more frequent until it sounded like an all out firefight was raging just a mile away. Cooper sprinted for the door and grabbed his AK-47 as he pushed into the snow to look back at the camp.
From the distance, he could barely make out the flashes of gunfire and the screams against the cold breeze as it picked up against his back.
"Twilight..." Cooper whispered, his eyes widening as he surveyed the battle
Without another thought, Cooper sprinted down the hill and back toward the town, sending powered white snow in all directions as he closed the distance to the fight. The closer he got, the louder and more clear the screams became. Men, women, and even the children could be heard through the small lulls in the thunderous gunshots. As he arrived at the site, he finally saw the cause of all the screaming.
Over a dozen bodies were littered all around the center of the camp and behind various buildings in the lot. Over two dozen more men were running through the buildings, setting fire and shooting where they went. The screams shrieked out through the windows as bullets tore through the plaster walls, sending a chill down Cooper's spine.
His eyes immediately darted to the capitol building Gabe used just as the long tapestries were set ablaze. Billowing smoke poured out into the sky, darkening it even more than it already was.
With his anxiety quickly rising, Cooper looked back over to his building to see that his floor was still relatively untouched, and the window to his room was still slightly cracked open. As if to confirm his worst fears, he saw a brief glimpse of lavender flash by the window, along with a dark purple mane, and two fearful eyes.
"Dammit Twilight... Why are you still in there?" Cooper cursed under his breath.
Twilight peeked out of the window several times, her eyes wide and fear clearly displayed on her face. She looked three times before ducking back out of sight, and presumably hiding.
Cooper let out an angry sigh before flicking the safety lever down to fire, then pushed forward toward the building. He was almost immediately spotted by several of the attacking group and the sound of whizzing bullets quickly came his way.
Cooper broke into a sprint to the nearest cover, which happened to be a broken down car. Diving down behind the engine block, his shoulder stung, but he grit his teeth through the pain and ducked into the snow as the car was quickly riddled with bullets.
"Fuck, how much ammo do these guys have?" He muttered to himself.
Cooper rolled to the side and pushed himself up to a kneeling position while shouldering his rifle. He peeked up from the front of the car and took stock of where the greatest threats were. Once he had their positions, he ducked back behind cover just in time to dodge a hail of gunfire.
Cooper scurried over to the opposite side of the car and peaked out again, this time aiming his rifle and finding the easiest man to shoot.
He was rewarded with a clean shot on one of the men trying to maneuver around for a better shot against him, and fired two rounds. One struck the man's chest while the other sailed just over his shoulder. He fell to the ground and writhed about in agony before Cooper had to hide behind cover once more, lest a hail of bullets tear him apart.
He quickly made his way over to the other side of the car again as the rounds tore through the withered frame. Cooper reached the engine block and shouldered his rifle once more. He popped out and fired three more rounds at the second assailant. The last round tagged him in the shoulder, sending him falling to the ground as he clutched the bleeding joint.
Even more bullets came his way, forcing Cooper to duck down yet again and move. He attempted to peak out from the other side of the car, only for a bullet to whiz just a few precarious inches by his face. He jerked back behind cover, falling to his back in the process, and took a deep breath.
"Fuck me." He whispered.
Cooper looked to his left to see there was another car he could maneuver to. With a small grunt, he pushed himself back to a crouched position and shouldered his rifle. He pushed out from cover and opened fire, sending a hail of bullets toward the raiders.
Gunfire echoed out in front of him while more bullets cracked and whizzed past him as he ran.
Cooper's shots flew wildly between, and over the raiders engaging him, but it had the desired effect and forced them to duck their heads behind cover. Just as he reached the other car, the enemy fire ceased completely under his overwhelming volume of fire, and he was able to take cover once more.
Once behind the engine block of the new car, Cooper pulled the magazine from his rifle and inspected to see how much ammo he had left.
"One round, fuck me." He muttered.
Cooper placed the magazine in the magazine pouch of his plate carrier and pulled out the second magazine. He rocked the fresh mag into the rifle and re-shouldered it. He pushed out just long enough to fire two more rounds at one of the men as they moved from cover to cover, striking the raider in the leg.
He fell to the snow and cried out in pain as he struggled to crawl to the wall he was running to. Before Cooper could finish him off, another hail of bullets tore into the engine block he was using for cover, and he fell back as one round penetrated through the car completely and rammed into his body armor.
As Cooper rolled over to get to his feet, more bullets whizzed next to him, kicking up snow all around him. He moved over to the rear of the car and looked over to the building. There was only about a dozen feet between him and the closest door. He bit his lip in concentration as he calculated the probability of making it to the doorway under the intense enemy fire.
Christ, how much ammo do these guys fucking have?! Cooper thought, again.
Cooper looked back and forth for any other options, but found nothing viable aside from simply continuing the gunfight. It took all of a second for him to make up his mind and wait for a lull in the firefight once more.
The seconds ticked by in slow motion, and as he waited with his muscles tensed, he let out a slow, calming breath. With a good push off of the car, he re-shouldered his rifle and fired at a much slower rate. He quickly shuffled back to the doorway as he continued to fire, keeping the group's heads down and allowing him precious time to reach the door. Once he felt his back collide with the steel frame, he instantly turned and grabbed the handle. With a heavy jerk, he pulled the door open and dove inside just as dozens of rounds tore into the doorway around him.
From his position on the floor, Cooper crawled forward, away from the firefight until he was far enough away from the door that bullets weren't dancing just over his head. He quickly pushed himself to a standing position and sprinted toward the staircase in the center of the building. Smoke billowing out from several of the rooms along the way slowed his progress some, and the occasional dead body on the floor almost made him stumble.
Once he reached the staircase, Cooper aimed toward the top and ascended, making a point to keep his finger on the trigger. He reached the top of the staircase with ease and found himself in his hallway, already filled with smoke. The smell of sulfur and burning wood wrinkled his nose slightly, but he pushed forward in the direction of his room without another moment of hesitation. He ducked low to avoid as much of the smoke as possible, until he reached an impasse.
One of the rooms was open and flames were spreading out through the doorway into the hallway. From his position, several feet away, Cooper could feel the intense heat filling the air around him and a frown formed on his face.
Fuck... how am I gonna get through this shit?
He looked back and forth for an answer, but found nothing. With time running low and his anxiety quickly rising to a boiling point, Cooper slung his rifle and backed up for a running start. He took a breath and held it before sprinting through the hallway and jumping through the fire. He closed his eyes as he entered the flames. Heat seared at his cloak and plate carrier as the flames licked at his body, threatening to turn him into a human torch.
Within two seconds, he was clear of the doorway and the spreading flames, but as he reached the other side and opened his eyes, he nearly panicked at what he saw. His plate carrier was burning, the flames dancing precariously close to his beard, and his cloak was burning at the heel.
With no time to think, Cooper tried to put the flames out on his plate carrier with his hands, but only succeeded in setting another small fire on his glove. He waved the appendage off as he unclipped the plate carrier with his other hand, dropping the body armor to the floor. The flames were smothered much quicker, allowing him time to put out the small burns on his cloak and grab his nearly empty magazine from the plate carrier.
Just as he was about to grab the body armor and reattach it, he heard a distinctly feminine scream come from his room, just three doors down. He pushed himself to his feet and sprinted for the door, leaving his armor behind.
Cooper sprinted to his room and rammed into the door with his good shoulder. Immediately, the door broke free from its hinges and smashed into the floor while he landed on top of it. Once he was in the room, his eyes darted up to find Twilight sitting on the bed and looking at him with wide, fearful eyes. However, something much worse caught his eyes to the right and a pit formed in Cooper's stomach as he looked down the barrel of a gun, again.
"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!" Gabe exclaimed, leaning down to press his pistol against Cooper's temple.
"Wait! Please!" Twilight cried out, pushing herself to her hooves.
"Not another word from you, creature!" Gabe shouted, instantly aiming at her.
"Gabe, stop," Cooper growled, pushing himself to his knees.
Before he could get to his feet, Cooper felt the cold steel of Gabe's pistol against his temple once more.
"Tell me, why does our current predicament have your name written all over it? Why is it that not two days after I graciously permitted you entrance into my camp, that we are so viciously attacked?" Gabe demanded, aggressively pressing the barrel against Cooper's head.
Cooper spared a fleeting look at Twilight as Gabe seethed. She was shaking and almost in tears, but otherwise seemed to be unharmed. The bed was a mess, and the closet door was broken, indicating that some kind of scuffle had transpired before Cooper arrived. With a mental sigh of relief for having arrived in time, he looked back at the man and spoke.
"Gabe, whatever's happening out there right now... we had nothing to do with it," Cooper began, his voice as calm as he could make it. "I know you're freaking out right now, but just put the gun down and we can all get out of here. Nobody else has to die today."
Gabe scoffed.
"You and your demon have already taken everything I've built from me! Do you understand how hard it was? How long it took? How much I sacrificed to build this settlement!? God chose me to reunite this land! Not you! Not that... thing!" Gabe declared, turning his anger towards Twilight.
"-and just what the hell even is this creature!? It's an abomination!"
Gabe wrathfully lurched towards Twilight, who instantly shuffled back against the window as he approached. Twilight was still easily within arm's reach, and Gabe pressed the gun against her chin, forcing a small gulp of fear down her throat.
"GABE! That's enough! You wanna point that gun at someone, you point it at me, goddammit!" Cooper snarled as he pushed himself to his feet.
Just as fast, the gun was on him again and Gabe's eyes bore through him with a gaze of pure hatred.
"All I am... all I have... is my people... and now, because of you two... I have no people." Gabe growled, pressing the trigger back until there was no more slack to take up.
"I told you we had nothing to do with what's going on right now! You've been taking territory all over the area for how fucking long now!? Did you really expect nobody to say 'fuck you' this whole time?" Cooper retaliated.
"We gave them a choice!" Gabe shouted back.
"Oh yeah? What choice was that? Join us or leave? I'm sure they took that reeeeeeal well. You've been forcing people to join you or seek life elsewhere; when there was nowhere else to go! Now, when they've grouped up and come back to fuck your day up, you're gonna try to pin the blame on me and Twilight!?"
"SHUT UP!!!" Gabe screamed, slamming the pistol against Cooper's temple.
Cooper immediately fell to the ground and clutched the side of his head as stars danced about in his blurry vision; his hearing was obscured by a dull ringing that made it nearly impossible to hear the rest of the commotion in the room.
"Cooper!"
"Get off me! You vermin!"
Cooper blinked several times to clear his sight. He heard dull thumps and the sounds of gunfire faintly sounded in his ears. His vision, blurry as it was, spun over and over again, making the cream colored walls blend with the red light fading in through the doorway to paint a spiraling picture that made him want to vomit.
"Twi... Gabe... stop..." Cooper groaned, planting his hands on the floor and pushing himself to his knees.
His knuckles ground against the floorboards while blood trickled down his cheek. He had to shut his right eye to keep the blood from obscuring his vision, but as he looked up, he froze. He saw Twilight, pinning Gabe to the ground with her horn heavily pressed against the back of his neck.
The pistol was laying on the floor just out of Gabe's reach, but he wasn't reaching for it. Instead, Gabe was struggling to get the lavender alicorn off of his back.
Cooper managed to unsteadily get to his feet, but still couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stared in shock for a few seconds before his brain finally caught up.
Cooper grabbed the gun from the ground, "Twilight, you can get off him now. I got this." He said, pointing the gun down at Gabe's head.
Twilight immediately pulled away and looked up at him.
"Cooper! Oh my gosh, are you okay?! Your head, you're bleeding!" She exclaimed as she rushed over to his side.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Listen, we need to get out of here. Grab my rifle and let's get moving." Cooper instructed.
Twilight hastily rushed over and grabbed Cooper's rifle while Gabe got to his knees.
"You... bastards..." Gabe huffed.
"You talk to m-" Cooper began, but before he could finish, the glass window shattered and a grenade landed by his boot, "Grenade! Get down!" He shouted, kicking the grenade toward the closet and diving towards Twilight.
Just a second later, the grenade exploded, sending shrapnel flying in all directions and blowing a hole in the side of the building where Cooper's wall used to be. Wood and plaster showered the pair as both Cooper and Twilight reeled from the blast in the doorway of the room.
Cooper and Twilight's ears rang as they struggled to get to their feet and hooves. Cooper slowly pushed himself up to his knees, before stumbling and falling back down onto the floor. Twilight shook her head to try to clear it of the dull ringing before grabbing Cooper's shoulder with her hooves and shaking him.
"Cooper, come on!"
Her voice barely registered against the new ringing and aching in his head. Cooper turned to see the source of his shaking, only to find a pair of dark purple eyes staring fearfully down at him.
"Oh my gosh... Your leg's bleeding!
Cooper squinted as the barely perceptible voice reached his ears.
"What!?" He shouted, his own voice coming out raspy and foggy to his ear.
"Hold on!" She shouted, just an inch away from his ear.
Twilight's horn lit up in a magenta aura that quickly wrapped around Cooper's leg. He sluggishly glanced down at the leg in question to see his pants turning a dark shade of crimson. Several distinct holes were visible along his thigh and calf as blood slowly leaked out and onto the floor below.
"Fuck me..." Cooper whispered, his hearing having returned somewhat.
After a few more seconds of Twilight working on his leg, Cooper felt multiple twinges of pain flare up along where her magical aura touched him. He hissed in pain as seven distinct pieces of shrapnel were pulled out from his wounds. He then watched in awe as the shards of metal and wood were discarded to the side and the wounds quickly closed.
Not a second later, Twilight collapsed next to him, panting heavily.
"Twilight!" Cooper cried, grabbing her by her withers.
Twilight looked up to him with a small smile as she took deep breaths, "I'm okay... I'm okay. How are you? Does it still hurt? I got every piece I could feel. They weren't as deep as any of mine, so I think you should be fine." She explained.
"I'm good. Jesus, you're amazing. Can you walk." Cooper replied, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Y-yeah. That took a lot out of me, but I think I can at least walk and keep up with you. Just, don't expect me to use my magic any time soon." Twilight responded.
"Good enough for me. Let's go." Cooper smiled as he got to his feet.
"What about Gabe?" Twilight inquired, looking back at the destroyed room.
"Fuck him. We need to move, now." He dismissed, grabbing his rifle from the floor and shouldering it.
Cooper headed out of the doorway with Twilight close behind. He looked down both sides of the long corridor and let out a small sigh of relief at the lack of any hostile forces. He gave her a small nod as he moved out into the hallway and away from the burning fires. They quickly reached the end of the floor and entered the fire escape stairway on the far side of the building
Quickly moving down the steps, Cooper and Twilight made their way down to the first floor and to the fire exit doorway. Upon reaching the door, Cooper cautiously pushed the door open while peeking outside with his rifle at the ready. He found no immediate sign of the raiders as he opened the door fully. With a rusty creak, the door stopped at the fully open position, allowing both of them a clear route to the next few buildings leading away from the settlement.
"Alright, think you can keep up? We're gonna have to run for it." Cooper explained, eyeing the route carefully.
"I'll do my best. My leg still hurts, but it's not as bad as before." Twilight replied, her eyes flicking back and forth between Cooper and the exit.
"Let's just try to stick close to the buildings. I don't think they got to them yet, so they should be a good amount of cover." Cooper elaborated.
"Right... Cooper, are you sure we should just leave these people though? I mean, obviously not Gabe, but everyone else was nice though. I don't think they deserve this." Twilight reasoned with a small frown.
"Nothing we can do to help them. Right now, we need to get the hell out of here before we end up just like them. It's a miracle they don't have the whole camp surrounded right now as is. We need to go before that changes." Cooper answered, shaking his head.
"I-I get that... but I still feel like we should do something. Anything. Almost every person here was just trying to get by and survive." She pressed.
Cooper paused for a moment before looking down at the ground. He let out a quiet sigh as he dropped down to one knee and looked Twilight in the eye.
"Twilight... you have a good heart. Probably the best out of anyone still left on this Earth," Cooper bit his lip and looked away, "but sometimes, there just isn't anything you can do. Sometimes... you just have to walk away."
Twilight gave him a pleading look, "Can't we do anything?"
Cooper shook his head, "The only thing we can do is live to fight another day. That's all."
Twilight looked down to the floor with a defeated expression on her face, "Okay... let's go." She whispered.
Cooper hesitated for just a moment before gently patting her wither with his hand. "Twilight, I know it's hard; but trust me, it's the right call. Like I said, you have a good heart, and don't ever lose that. Just, know that sometimes there are things that you just can't do, no matter how badly you want to." He said, comforting her with his words.
Twilight looked up to him with a somber expression as she nodded, "Okay."
Cooper peeked out through the slightly ajar door. He slowly scanned from left to right for any signs of the raiders while keeping his rifle at the ready in his shoulder. Once he was satisfied that there were no hostiles immediately in sight, he turned and looked down to Twilight.
"Alright, ready?" He asked, almost sounding unsure himself.
Twilight let out a long, slow breath, "Ready as I'm ever going to be."
Cooper nodded down to her and pulled the door open fully. He pushed out into the snow and instantly looked to his left. All he could see was smoke and dead bodies littering the bloodied snow. He hastily turned right, finding more dead bodies, but no burning buildings.
The sounds of gunfire and screaming were coming from all around, making it difficult to discern which way was safer. However, sparing a glance straight ahead, and with only a second of deliberation, Cooper rushed toward the nearest building.
We still have to cover over a hundred meters of open ground, but at least it looks like they haven't raided this one yet. The alleyway should give us some cover at least. He thought to himself as he broke into a sprint.
Twilight galloped after him with a slight limp in her step; but was otherwise unimpeded. She stayed close to his side as he ran, and they both quickly found themselves alongside one of the only unscathed buildings in the settlement. They stealthily skulked around the alleyway next to the building, ensuring to keep a watchful eye out for the surrounding buildings.
Cooper led the way to the far side of the building and peeked out from the corner to look over the nearby courtyard. There were several raiders searching the area in front of them and in the nearby buildings.
"Son of a bitch... looks like they did get around us after all." Cooper muttered under his breath.
"Is there another way out of here?" Twilight questioned, a steady frown forming on her face.
"I don't think so. Unless we can get a distraction that'll draw them away from the pipeline, we're stuck." Cooper replied.
Twilight furrowed her brow in thought, "I don't think I have enough magic to do anything impressive..."
"Hang on, I think we might have a chance here." Cooper cut in, pointing at the raiders in front.
One by one, they moved from the courtyard over to the next building, leaving a bewildered Twilight and Cooper with room to maneuver.
"Where are they going?" Twilight inquired.
"No idea. Doesn't matter either; let's go while we have the chance." Cooper ordered.
"There's no cover out there though. Won't we be exposed if they see us from another angle?" Twilight pressed.
Cooper squinted his eyes to see better out in the distance before something caught his attention, "Out there; see the snow bank right over there?" He asked, pointing to a rather large patch of piled up snow.
"Yeah?"
"It's just big enough for us to use as some concealment, and we need to head in that direction anyway. It won't stop any bullets from hitting us, but they can't hit what they can't see. Only other option is to hope for a miracle and find a way through the town." He explained.
Twilight bit her lip in thought as she rationalized the plan in her head, "Well... that might work, but we're gonna have to be fast." She reasoned.
Cooper shook his head, "We're kinda running out of options at the moment."
"Alright, let's go." Twilight firmly replied.
They both ran out into the courtyard and toward the pipeline. As they moved, Twilight glanced to the side to see the raiders as they set fire to a nearby building on their right. Several people fled the burning structure through the front doorway, only to be mowed down as soon as they stepped outside.
Twilight jerked her head away and bit back the bile forming in her throat at the sight. More and more distance was crossed, leaving a deeper and deeper pit in her stomach that made her feel sick. From his position in front of her, Cooper eyed the atrocity with much the same disgust, but only grit his teeth and gripped his rifle ever tighter.
Just as they reached the edge of the courtyard, the sound of incoming fire raked at their ears, making Twilight jump and startling Cooper almost into falling over. The harsh crack and whiz of bullets flying through the air screamed in both of their ears as snow was kicked up around them. It took a fraction of a second for him to retaliate with his rifle. Cooper took aim and wildly fired a volley of bullets that did exactly what he intended them to.
"Run! While they're pinned!" He cried, waving to Twilight as he shuffled backwards, firing a round off every second.
Twilight needed no encouragement and galloped as quickly as her hooves could carry her to the pipeline. The explosive sounds of gunfire were more than enough motivation for her to ignore the ache in her foreleg and push all of her strength into the fastest gallop she could muster.
Twilight quickly arrived at the pipeline and turned to see Cooper as she panted for breath.
"Cooper! Come on!" She cried, flinching as a bullet hit the pipe to the left of her.
"On it!" He called back, firing the last round from his magazine.
With one last pull of the trigger, and a loud metallic click, Cooper turned around and sprinted the last of the distance to the pipe. Just as he arrived, more gunfire erupted from the buildings behind them, peppering the pipe and ground all around with bullets. He dove behind the pipe and grabbed Twilight's mane, dragging her down with him.
"Stay down!" He shouted.
Twilight complied, although she barely choked back a cry of pain from the rough treatment. Once Cooper let go of her mane, they both crawled forward, along the pipe, and away from the incoming fire. Bullets tore through the aluminum pipe and into the snow behind them.
Together, they struggled forward, wincing as bullets punched through particularly close and nearly hit them. For over a hundred meters they crawled with their faces dragging against the snow in an attempt to keep as low as physically possible.
Finally, Cooper and Twilight reached the small shack at the end of the pipeline. The distant sound of gunfire still rang in their ears as they got to their feet and hooves to take cover behind the structure. Cooper rushed to the far side of the building and peeked out to see if any of the raiders had followed them along the pipeline.
"Looks clear. I don't think they followed us-" Cooper began, before a bullet whizzed past him, making him jump back behind cover, "-still shooting at us though."
"Do you think they can hit us from here if we just run for it?" Twilight inquired, peeking out from her side for just a second.
"Maybe... depends on if they have any kind of magnified optics or not. Since they didn't hit us on the way to the pipe, my guess is no. If we book it from here, we should be alright." Cooper replied, his brow furrowing in thought.
"Alright, so where do we go from here?" Twilight pressed.
Cooper surveyed the barren landscape in front of them; off in the distance there were several more buildings from the city, along with a snowy forest just beside it. The trees all appeared to be dead, providing little in the way of cover or concealment.
"Our best bet is gonna be running into the city. It's about... a quarter mile away. Since we're on an incline, they shouldn't be able to see us from back there, but only just barely. They won't be able to see you at all." He explained.
"What about you?"
"As long as I keep my head down, I should be fine." He gave a confident smile.
Twilight felt her spirits rise immediately at his tone, "Okay, let's get out of here."
Cooper pushed off the wall of the shack and ran down the small slope to the open ground below with Twilight just behind him. Together, they broke into a full sprint and gallop across the frigid, open terrain and quickly covered the distance in just a few minutes.
Throughout the entire trek, Cooper frequently chanced a quick look back at the settlement, finding nothing other than smoke billowing into the sky and the sound of gunfire as the last of the settlers were slaughtered. He sadly shook his head in disgust at the atrocity, but returned his attention to Twilight and the city before too long.
Finally, they reached a small wire fence at the end of the open area. Twilight unfurled her wings and easily soared over it while Cooper jumped up and climbed the rusted fence until he could drop down on the other side. He stumbled on the landing before finding his footing and running after the lavender alicorn as she headed toward the nearest buildings.
Sparing one last look behind them for any potential followers, Cooper pushed forward to the front and re-shouldered his rifle. He pulled the magazine free to confirm there were no more bullets present. With a small sigh, he placed the magazine in his pocket and pulled out the last magazine he still had from his other pocket. He rocked the magazine into the rifle and pulled the charging handle back, chambering the only round.
With the rifle now loaded once more, he pushed forward into the large expanse of the city, Twilight trailing just behind him. Together, they moved from building to building, ensuring to search every angle, nook, or crevice as they progressed, just in case of any potential threats on their path.
The day dragged on as they moved, never staying in the same area for longer than a few minutes at a time. Cooper and Twilight both periodically checked behind them in case any of the raiders were pursuing them through the guts of the city, but every time they looked, they only saw snow.
Eventually, they arrived at an intersection, Cooper eyed a building with a large cross sticking straight up on the roof, collecting snow. A long sigh escaped his lips before he silently nudged Twilight, getting her attention.
"Here, let's rest in the church for a bit." Cooper spoke up, eyeing the building warily.
Twilight turned her attention to the building in question and gave a small nod, "Alright, lead on." She replied.
They pushed across the street, Cooper ensuring to keep his rifle trained on any and all windows that could present a threat as they moved. They quickly arrived at the church and kicked the front door open. Cooper rushed inside and secured the main room of the building while Twilight stayed by the doorway, watching for anyone else outside.
Cooper quickly scoured the building and cleared every room in the small church. Once he was certain there was no one hiding anywhere, he whistled to Twilight. She trotted into the main room to find that the pews were all scattered and splintered from the center of the room, as if something had torn them to pieces. Dried blood stains on the walls and floor painted a haunting picture of what could have transpired. However, there were no bodies, or even bones, lying anywhere on the floor.
"What happened here?" Twilight asked, eyeing the scorch marks on the tile floor.
"Looks like they gathered around the center here and off'd themselves." Cooper gruffly replied.
"What?" Twilight incredulously asked.
"Scorch marks on the floor and chips all over the walls and floor... pews all splintered and busted up... my guess is that they all gathered here in the center of the room, pulled the pin on a frag grenade, and blew themselves to Hell." Cooper shook his head as he observed the room.
"What? B-but... why... why would they do that? Where are their bodies?" Twilight inquired as she searched the room with her eyes.
Cooper kneeled down and inspected the blast marks carefully.
"My guess is that they did this a long time ago. Probably not too long after the bombs dropped. Maybe someone else took their remains out and buried them. Who knows?" He shrugged.
"B-but... why?" Twilight questioned, a pleading tone in her voice.
Cooper shook his head, "Maybe they gave up? Thought the world was ending and they wanted to go out quick? I don't know. Not the first time I've seen something like this though." He explained, a somber tone in his voice.
"Celestia... is there any end to this world's misery?" Twilight asked, her voice just a whisper.
"I think we should bed down here for the night." Cooper suggested.
"Why?" Twilight eyed the blood stains on the wall with a measure of sorrow.
"It's gonna get dark outside soon. Might as well get some rest. I think we put enough distance between us and those raiders for now." He reasoned.
Twilight moved to speak, but thought better of it and sighed, "Alright. Do you think we could get a fire going in here?"
Cooper and Twilight huddled around a small fire in the center of the church. They kept their hands and hooves close to the flames in a small attempt to keep warm in the frigid air as blackness enveloped the world outside.
"Thanks for agreeing to the fire," Twilight mumbled, "It feels like it got even colder than usual tonight."
"S'long as it stays small... Since we're inside and the windows are all boarded up, it shouldn't draw any attention, but you never know." Cooper replied, absentmindedly.
Twilight gave a small nod of acknowledgment before returning her attention to the fire in front of her. The small flames licked at her hooves, giving small doses of warmth against the bitter cold that filled the room around them. She suppressed a shiver and scooted just a tiny bit closer to the heat. As she got more comfortable, her eyes flicked back up to Cooper to find him staring into the flames with his brow furrowed deep in thought.
Twilight cocked her head to the side, "Something on your mind?" She asked.
"Just thinking." Cooper muttered.
"What about?"
"Our next move." He answered, simply.
"Which is?" Twilight pressed.
"I don't know. Part of me thinks that we should find where those raiders are held up and give them some good fuckin' payback..." he trailed off.
"And the other part?" Twilight asked, an uneasy frown forming on her face.
"The other part," he sighed, "wants to just move on. Find somewhere else to settle down and try to live in whatever kind of peace we can find in this world." Cooper admitted, shaking his head.
A silence fell over the room as Twilight mulled over Cooper's words. Eventually, she found her gaze drifting down into the flames below as they crackled lightly, just a few inches from her fur. "Is there anywhere we can even go to find peace here anymore?" She asked, after some time.
"That's the thing; I don't know anymore," Cooper shook his head and chewed on his lip, "That group... that was the closest I've had to normal in four years... and it was taken away in a matter of hours." He sighed.
Twilight wilted slightly as the memories flashed through her mind, "All those people... how could they just do that to each other? That wasn't just killing over resources, it was killing just because they wanted to."
"People do fucked up shit when there aren't any consequences." Cooper replied.
"I don't understand... I don't think I'll ever understand the ability to just kill each other and not even care, or worse, to enjoy it." Twilight shivered in disgust.
Cooper looked into the flames with a distant stare as he spoke.
"People used to be civil... Used to be kind and generous. Hell, places like this were where people would go every Sunday and be a community. Going to church with your family was a staple of growing up, and we all thought it made us better people."
He sighed.
"I think the problem is that when we nuked ourselves, God stopped taking care of us. Left us to our own devices, and now look at us." He explained, his gaze never leaving the small fire.
"God? Who's that?" Twilight inquired, a curious look on her face.
Cooper raised an eyebrow before his gaze slowly moved up to the alicorn in front of him.
"You don't have a God where you're from?" He asked, puzzled.
"Not that I'm aware of." Twilight mused.
"Like, nothing at all? No higher power that you all know of and pray to?" Cooper pressed.
"I mean... We have Princess Celestia and Luna. They raise the sun and lower the moon, but I don't think anypony would use the term 'God' to describe them. They're just our diarchs. There's also my sister in law, Cadence. She's the princess of love, and me. I just became a princess before getting stuck here though, so I don't really have any duties or anything yet." Twilight explained, sticking her tongue out in thought.
Cooper just stared at her with a mix of disbelief and confusion on his face.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"That's a lot to unpack, but uh... I guess you would say that a God is some kind of being that has more power than you could ever imagine. As in, the ability to make everything and everyone just like that." Cooper explained, snapping his fingers to prove his point.
"Well... I guess with that logic then Princess Celestia and Luna are the closest we have to Gods where I come from." Twilight reasoned.
"Right, except for you, they're real people, er, ponies." Cooper commented
"Yes. They're very real, and very kind. Celestia has actually been my mentor ever since I was a foal." Twilight replied, a nostalgic smile finding its way onto her muzzle.
"Yeah, well here, there ain't no real Gods walking around and talking to the people here. The closest thing any of us have to meeting God is a few books that talk about his son from over two thousand years ago, and near death experiences where people sometimes claim to have seen him." Cooper elaborated.
"What? Wait, you mean none of you have ever seen your 'God', but you still have buildings and ceremonies to worship him?" Twilight asked, incredulously.
Cooper chuckled dryly. "Pretty much, yeah. No one's ever truly seen the guy, and to make it worse, there's like, a hundred different religions that say their version of God is the right one, and everyone else is wrong. 'Course, that only breeds a cycle of 'fuck you, I'm right' and 'no fuck you, I'm right'. Hell, we've probably had more wars over religion than anything else on the planet."
A deep frown formed on Twilight's face as Cooper's explanation rolled about in her head. Her mouth moved to speak a few times, but the words simply failed to come out, and she just stared down at the fire once more. After almost a minute, Cooper shrugged slightly and spoke up. "It wasn't all bad. Like I said, going to church was a big part of growing up, and everyone felt a little more like a part of the community when we went." He said.
"I... but, if you never even saw this 'God', then why do you believe in him? Especially after everything that's happened to your world. If Equestria was like this, Celestia and Luna would do everything in their power to stop the death and suffering."
Cooper sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know, Twilight. Maybe because that's all we had to believe in? Maybe God doesn't exist and we're all alone in the universe... well, maybe not all alone, but you get my point. I don't have the answers. All I know is that if God does exist, he either doesn't care anymore, or is so ashamed of us that he's left us to our own devices."
"It doesn't matter either way. All we can do is try to survive until we run out of luck." Cooper replied, a somewhat defeated tone in his voice.
Twilight frowned at Cooper's tone. As he sat in quiet thought, she found her gaze once more migrating down to the fire below. The strained silence made her ears splay flat against her head, and after a few moments, she let out a quiet sigh.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to sound so critical.. I just view things from a different scientific perspective, and killing each other over something you can't even be sure exists just seems so... alien to me." Twilight apologized, her violet eyes gently looking up at him.
Cooper looked over to the boarded up window behind him for a moment before looking back down to Twilight with a sad smile on his face.
"It's alright. Not your fault. To be honest, when you say it like that, it really does sound kinda dumb, doesn't it?" He chuckled softly.
Twilight allowed a small smile to form on her face before replying. "I wouldn't say that. It's just... different. It must be hard not having someone like Celestia or Luna to lead your people. It'd be like having to grow up without parents." She offered.
"Heh, I guess so. Guess we were set up for failure from the very start." Cooper chuckled mirthlessly.
Twilight frowned immediately. After a moment of contemplating, she shakily rose to her hooves, earning a curious look from Cooper. She slowly made her away around the fire until she was standing beside his good shoulder. Once there, she sat on her haunches and leaned against his shoulder, bringing her head to a rest against his neck.
She made sure to keep her horn from poking him in the face as she nuzzled softly against his jaw, eliciting a small sigh from the rugged man beside her.
"You're just a big cuddle bug, aren't you?" Cooper teased, wrapping his good arm around her withers and holding her close.
"Don't act like you don't enjoy it." Twilight teased him back.
Cooper snorted, but returned the gesture by resting his cheek on the top of her head and rubbing her foreleg with his hand.
"Eh, it's not the worst thing I've ever experienced."
Twilight smiled up at him before snuggling against his side just a smidge closer and letting out a small sigh of satisfaction. Together, they shared the warmth provided by the small fire, and each other's body heat.
As the shrill howl of the breeze outside echoed through the cold air, they huddled close together under an invisible blanket of comfort. Eventually, they both felt their eyelids grow heavy, and their posture slumped down as they found sleep hovering just a few moments away.
"Hey, Cooper? Twilight suddenly asked, earning a raised eyebrow from the man in question.
"Yeah?" He replied.
"Can you tell me what their names were?" She continued.
"Whose?"
"Your wife and daughter."
Cooper pursed his lips as the flames flicked about in front of him. For a time, the dancing fire held his gaze as if it held all of the world's secrets. After some time, Twilight glanced up to ensure she hadn't caused any offense at the question, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Cooper beat her to it.
"My wife's name was Mya. She was the most beautiful woman I've ever met in my entire life. God, I don't know what she was doing with a shaggy mop like me, but for whatever reason, she chose me." He recalled, a fond smile tugging at his lips.
Twilight instantly smiled at the short story, her tail swishing happily as he continued.
"We met... thirteen years ago, if I remember right. Fresh outta high school and working my last summer job as a waiter before heading to college, and in walks this gorgeous, stunning woman. Her soft brown hair fell down her shoulders like silk and bobbed with every step she took. Her eyes, somehow they were the color of the ocean."
Cooper paused, taking a moment to wistfully sigh as the memories flashed by. "I could get lost in those eyes for hours, if she'd let me. Heh, she'd always get annoyed if I stared for too long, though. Mya said it got weird after over a minute... me, I just couldn't believe someone could have eyes that seemed to see right into your soul, like hers." He trailed off with a small chuckle.
"And, your daughter?" Twilight pressed, an excited smile on her face.
"Sarah... her name was Sarah. She was a tiny little thing before all this happened. Loved to play sports and just be outside," Cooper smiled, "I remember the time I had to take her to her first day of baseball practice. She was the most adorable little kid, in her little baseball uniform, smiling up at me with those baby blues." He finished with a small laugh.
"Aww." Twilight cooed, clearly invested in the story.
Cooper smiled wide as he looked down at the lavender alicorn pressed closely against his side.
"I remember asking her if she was ready to go, and she just looked at me with the most energetic little smile kids seem to have and said, 'I'll do my best, daddy.'. God, I think she just about gave me diabetes that day, she was so sweet." Cooper mirthfully recalled.
"She sounds like the cutest little fil, er... little girl ever." Twilight smiled warmly up at Cooper.
"Yeah, yeah she was... I thought Mya was my reason for living right up until Sarah was born. I'd have given anything for that kid." Cooper sighed.
"I know you would, Cooper. I know it may be hard to believe... but I think she'd be proud of you for never giving up." Twilight offered, squeezing him just a smidge tighter.
Cooper fell silent. His gaze lingered on the fire for only a few moments before he finally tore his gaze away and looked down to Twilight once more.
"Thank you." He buried his face in Twilight's mane as they hugged each other close.
Cooper blearily opened his eyes and glanced around the church. His neck ached, and his back felt stiff from his position on the floor, but he managed to suppress a groan as he attempted to get up. However, just as he moved, an increasingly familiar weight on his chest made him pause. He glanced down to see Twilight still asleep and leaning on him as a makeshift pillow.
Cooper chuckled quietly to himself as he watched her head rise and fall with each soft breath she took. He looked over to the fire they had from the previous night to see that there weren't even any embers present anymore. Almost immediately, he noticed the chilly air seemed somewhat warmer than before.
"Hmm... must be snowing." He muttered as he gazed up to the boarded up windows.
"Mmm." Twilight stirred, her eyes slowly blinking open.
"Time to get up, Twilight." Cooper whispered, gently nudging her wither with his hand.
"Mmm, five more minutes? You're so warm." Twilight murmured, nuzzling her cheek against Cooper's chest just a bit harder.
Cooper chuckled. "We're gonna need to get up and get going. I figured out what our next move is."
Twilight's ear flicked and she slowly, almost begrudgingly, lifted her head to look at him directly. "Okay, where are we going?" She asked.
"We're going someplace I know very well. There should be some food over there, but it's out of town and there shouldn't be many people out there." Cooper replied.
"O-kay... but, where is it?" Twilight pressed.
"We just need to keep heading North. I'll tell you on the way." He answered, pushing himself up into a sitting position.
"I feel like you're keeping the name of this mystery location a secret for some reason... like, what is it? A store? Another apartment complex? I'm confused." Twilight frowned as she was forced to leave Cooper's body heat.
"Heh, let's just say that it's a surprise. Come on, we need to get moving if we're gonna get there before nightfall." He said, suddenly pushing himself to his feet.
Twilight slowly got to her hooves, her joints popping as she stretched out each of her legs, along with her wings and neck. Her foreleg still felt somewhat stiff and sore, however it was hardly noticeable anymore compared to the previous few days of healing. Beside her, Cooper stretched in much the same fashion, popping several vertebrae as well as his fingers. He rolled his shoulder a few times to test for any residual pain, and winced as he felt the stitches pulling his skin slightly.
"Hey. Twilight, can you do me a quick favor before we go?" He asked.
"What's that?" She replied.
Cooper sat back down on the floor and pulled his shirt down enough to expose the bandaging on his shoulder. "Think you can take these stitches out, for good? The lady back at the camp said they should be good to come out in just a few days. I think at this point they're good to come out."
Twilight eyed the bandaging for only a moment before giving a nod, "Yeah, I can do that." She said, her horn slowly glowing in a lavender hue.
A similar aura of magic enveloped the bandaging on Cooper's shoulder, removing it with ease. After that was done, Twilight took the stitches out one by one. Cooper winced from time to time, but the procedure was, for the most part, painless. Within a few minutes, Twilight was done, and her horn stopped glowing, letting Cooper's shirt fall back in place over the scar on his shoulder. He took a moment to roll the shoulder and look at her work before looking up at the short alicorn and giving a smile.
"Thanks, that's a lot better."
"Just, glad I could help." Twilight blushed.
With that, Cooper got to his feet and grabbed his rifle from the floor. He flicked the safety to 'fire', and pulled the charging handle back just an inch. He could clearly see the bullet in the chamber as well as the lack of any other bullets in the magazine. With a short sigh, he pushed the charging handle back forward and flipped the safety back into the 'safe' position.
"Well, let's just hope that we don't run into anyone else today, 'cause I've only got one round." He said, slinging the rifle in the process.
"As long as we don't make too much noise, or go out in the open, we should be fine, right?" Twilight asked.
"The problem with that, is that we're gonna have to go through some main streets to get there. I don't know the route through all the back roads and alleys. Good news is that it's snowing, so if it's snowing as hard as it usually does, we should be able to just walk around out there and not be noticed with how bad visibility gets." Cooper responded.
"How do you know it's snowing?" Twilight tilted her head to the side.
"Call it a hunch." Cooper gave a small grin.
Twilight stared at him for a few moments before shrugging. "Well, alright then... but if something bad happens, then this time it's your fault." She teased.
Cooper laughed. "Fair enough. I guess it's my turn to take the blame if shit goes sideways. Come on, let's get out there."
With a wave of his hand, the duo headed for the door and made their way outside.
.
.
.
.
Cooper and Twilight slowly crept down the street as the early morning light seeped through the dense cloud cover above. Soft snow sprinkled down to the world around them, making it difficult to see more than just a few hundred feet ahead. All the same, Cooper led the way alongside the buildings on what he could only assume used to be the sidewalk.
As he progressed in the front, Twilight looked back behind them to ensure that they weren't being followed or watched; however, it was difficult for her to tell what with all the fluttering snow blocking her view.
"How much farther?" Twilight asked, her eyes flicking back to Cooper.
Cooper suppressed a shiver as he turned his head to reply, "Shouldn't be more than a few more miles. We'll be at the edge of the city when you stop seeing so many tall buildings. Let's just try to keep our voices down until we get out of the streets."
Twilight nodded her head at his answer before returning to her task of watching the rear, but not before a small frown formed on her face at Cooper's shivering. As they continued to walk through the heavy snow, she noticed a fair amount of powdery white piled up on her back and withers.
With a small sigh, she paused mid-step and shook like a cat trying to dry off. Cooper immediately turned around and eyed her curiously until she finished shaking, then he raised an eyebrow. "You get it all?" He snarked.
"As a matter of fact, I think I did." Twilight smiled up at him.
"Great. You'll only have to do that again every... five minutes? Eh, maybe more." He chuckled.
Twilight harrumphed as they started walking once more. "I'm so sick of snow. If I ever make it back to Equestria, I'm leaving Winter Wrapup to the rest of the girls for the next decade." She said with an annoyed flick of her tail.
"Winter Wrapup? The hell is that?" Cooper replied absentmindedly, his eyes scanning from building to building.
"It's a time of year when we clean up the winter snow and get the town ready for spring. It takes the entire town, but we usually manage in a day, maybe two at the most." Twilight mused
"Well then, by that logic, wouldn't you want to be a part of it from now on? To get rid of the snow even faster?" Cooper questioned, looking back.
"To get rid of the snow, you have to pull snow plows through it and actually be in the thick of it. Hence, I need to get away from it for a bit, because this world never stops snowing." Twilight sighed.
"Well, what about your magic? You've been pretty much running on empty ever since you got here, so I don't know what you can do at full strength. I'd bet it would make short work of some snow." Cooper shrugged.
"That's the thing though, you can't use magic to wrap up winter."
"Why? Weather doesn't cooperate with your magic?" Cooper inquired.
"No, it's just tradition. Ponies in Ponyville get very upset if you try to cheat using magic... learned that one the hard way." Twilight chuckled dryly.
They passed by what appeared to be an old hair salon. A broken down barber's pole swirled slowly with the breeze as the snow slowly filled and emptied the plastic interior through the massive crack in the side. Cooper and Twilight slowed to look into the store as they passed before resuming their pace while crossing what was once a crosswalk.
"Well... then what do the unicorns do? If the pegasi are on weather duty, and they can't use magic, who does all the shit work on the ground? Or, do you guys just suck it up and pull the plows without magic?" Cooper asked, casting a quick glance over his shoulder.
"Well, yes and no. To be honest, earth ponies do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to plowing the snow. Unicorns, like my friend Rarity, help in more decorative ways, since we're not allowed to use our magic to help." Twilight answered, sticking her tongue out in thought.
"Wait, earth ponies? You never mentioned them before, what are they?" Cooper questioned, stepping over a frozen tire.
"Well, earth ponies are just like pegasi and unicorns, only instead of horns or wings, they have a lot more strength in their legs. They're generally good at growing plants or digging through rocks and other materials in the ground. Most of their magic is in their hooves." Twilight explained, also stepping over the frozen tire.
"So... they're just really good farmers? That sounds like a shitty gig when the other two species can fly and do crazy shit, like teleport." Cooper frowned.
"I don't think you understand just how strong earth ponies physically are. My friend, AppleJack, regularly bucks trees and all of the apples fall out every time with just one kick." Twilight elaborated.
"She... bucks trees?" Cooper arched an eyebrow.
"Uh, yes? She's an apple farmer." Twilight shrugged.
"Huh... well, you learn something new every day." Cooper shook his head.
"Right, anyways... I think I can finally see the end of all these super tall buildings." Twilight said, squinting her eyes to see ahead of them.
Sure enough, the dense skyscrapers and tall buildings surrounding them were thinning out dramatically. Unfortunately, without the protection of those buildings, the amount of snow falling from the sky only seemed to increase.
With a heavy sigh, Cooper pushed against the increasing amount of snow as it clung to his shirt and cloak. Behind him, Twilight frowned at the increased volume of snow and moved just a bit closer to him, almost using his height as a kind of barrier. If Cooper noticed, he didn't show it. He simply pressed forward through the street until arriving at what appeared to be the end of the buildings.
To his right stood a tall building at almost twenty stories high. To his left, another building at least ten stories tall. In front there was nothing but white as far as the eye could see. As Twilight stepped up to Cooper's side, he glanced across the large expanse of white, his eyes squinting as if he was searching for something.
"What do you see?" Twilight asked, after a moment.
"Well... if that building to our left is what I think it is... then there's a pretty fucking huge lake in front of us... and my house on the other side." He explained, his eyes blinking through the snow a few times.
Cooper cautiously stepped onto the ice of the lake with a quiet sigh. Even though there were several inches of snow between him and the cold hard ice, he felt his anxiety creeping up on him at the situation. Sparing a glance to the left, he saw the skeletal remains of the bridge outlined against the falling snow.
Cooper shook his head and turned around to wave Twilight closer. "Alright, I think we'll be good. This water should be frozen all the way though, but this part of the lake always seemed to be moving, so there's a chance it could still be water under there. We're just gonna have to take it nice and slow."
"Are you sure there isn't any other way across?" Twilight asked, her eyes darting back and forth through the snowy landscape.
"Well, you could just fly across, but then you'd just be waiting on the other side for a while." Cooper shrugged.
Twilight blew a strand of her mane out of her face. "Not happening."
"Well, then, let's get moving. It shouldn't be too far across. Maybe just a few hundred yards or so." Cooper replied, turning and taking another step onto the ice.
"How is the ice not buried under ten feet of snow, like almost every other open area around here?" Twilight mused, following in Cooper's steps.
"It gets really, really windy out here in the open, at night. The city breaks up the breeze enough to keep from freezing us all to death. But, out here the snow just gets blown away... plus it doesn't snow all too often anymore. It's just dark gray skies for the most part." Cooper answered her, walking with a steady, yet still somewhat anxious, pace.
Twilight placed her hoof in Cooper's boot-print as she followed. "Really? I mean, it feels like it's snowed every week since I got here."
Cooper paused mid-step and turned his head around. He raised an eyebrow at Twilight before chuckling. "You haven't seen anything yet. The entire first year after the bombs fell... I think at one point it snowed for three months straight."
Twilight stared wide eyed at Cooper as he turned back around and made his way forward. After trying to sort her thoughts out for a moment, she pushed forward and quickly caught back up with him. "That... that's insane... that's like when the Windigos tormented Equestria." Twilight muttered.
"Well, I'm pretty sure there aren't any Windigos around here, whatever they are." Cooper replied over his shoulder.
Twilight shook her head, "Well, regardless, I can't believe you survived that. You humans are a really strong species for not having any fur. I haven't had a trim in months now, and I'm freezing." She complained.
"Trust me, my fingers are starting to lose feeling. My plate carrier used to keep my hands warm, but I lost that back at the settlement. Now, my entire torso is cold." Cooper muttered, flexing his fingers to get some blood flow.
As they continued to talk, Cooper and Twilight covered good ground over the frozen lake. The idle conversation worked wonders on taking their minds off of their current precarious status, and allowed them to keep their attention focused elsewhere, as well.
They continued on for several minutes until Cooper could just barely make out the edge of the lake and the land beyond it. He turned around to Twilight to speak, but just as he turned to face her, a sound reached his ears. It was quiet, almost too quiet to make out with the soft patter of the snow against his ears, but as the seconds ticked by, the sound grew louder.
"Hold up." Cooper whispered, his voice coming out like ice.
Twilight froze in place. "What is it?" She asked, her ears flicking back and forth as she looked around for the sign of Cooper's sudden change in tone.
"Hear that?" He asked, holding up a hand for silence.
Twilight strained her ears to hear, but for a moment there was nothing. However, after a moment, her right ear flicked to the side, and her eyes widened.
"Is that-" she began, only to stop as the crunching sound of something running through snow grew louder, and louder.
Cooper and Twilight turned to the side just in time to see a figure leap towards them, moving so quickly that neither of them could identify it. Cooper just barely lunged to the side in time to avoid the creature as it leaped past him, it's jaws snapping shut where his throat would have been a split second earlier.
As the blur of fur and teeth whizzed past him, Cooper stumbled and regained his footing. He quickly shouldered his rifle and pointed it in the direction the beast had gone, only to find nothing there. Snow continued to fall, obscuring any trace of the creature as it ran about through the snow.
"What the hay was that?!" Twilight exclaimed, rushing over to Cooper's side.
"I don't know. I think it might have been a wolf, or maybe a really big dog. It moved so damn fast, I couldn't tell." He responded, his eyes flicking back and forth through the white world around them.
The sound quickly reached their ears again and they both turned just in time for the blur of teeth and fur to jump between them. This time its jaws were aiming for Twilight. Taking the half second of warning she had, Twilight immediately dove away from the beast and into the snow, but not before feeling its teeth brush through her mane.
As Twilight dodged, Cooper aimed his rifle and migrated his finger to the trigger. However, just as he turned to fire, the blur disappeared into the snow once more. He let out a frustrated huff as Twilight got back to her hooves and pressed her barrel against his leg.
"I can't get a shot on this thing. It's too damn fast." Cooper grumbled through grit teeth.
"Are you sure this thing isn't a Windigo?" Twilight asked, hey eyes darting back and forth as she unconsciously pushed herself into Cooper even more. "Knowing this world, I wouldn't be surprised if your Windigos had teeth and claws."
"Like I said, probably a-" Cooper started, only to be cut off as the creature leapt at him from the side. He barely managed to raise his rifle high enough to block the teeth that were aiming for his jugular. The force of the animal slamming into him threw him off balance and he fell on top of Twilight, taking her down with him.
"Gah!" She cried as the weight of Cooper and the creature came down on her back.
They collapsed into a pile of thrashing limbs, claws, fists, hooves, and teeth. Cooper struggled to keep its jaws away from his face as the creature bit down again and again. He shoved the beast off of his chest with all his might, creating just enough space to finally identify just what he was being attacked by.
The wolf, if it could even be called that anymore, was clearly starving and malnourished. Its ribs were visible, and its coat was excessively mangy. Several scars along its shoulder and face, along with greying fur around its muzzle, indicated that it was an old wolf.
It's lips peeled back in a feral snarl that sent a chill down Cooper's spine. Lastly, a pair of piercing amber eyes stared back at him with such ferocity and intensity that seeing them left a pit in Cooper’s stomach that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
"What in Tartaurus is that thing?" Twilight wheezed under Cooper's weight, her eyes trained on the wolf as well.
"It's hungry." Cooper answered, before the wolf lunged at him again.
Cooper quickly moved to shoulder his rifle, but the wolf was too fast, and too close. It covered the distance in less than a second, pinning the rifle against his chest and clamping its jaws down on the first thing that it could reach. Cooper managed to thrust his forearm out to block the feral animal's bite before it could reach his throat, but nothing could prepare him for actual impact.
Feral teeth cut through Cooper's jacket and into the flesh of his forearm. Lancing pain instantly shot through the limb as the wolf clamped down with all its might, nearly breaking Cooper's forearm in the process. He screamed in pain as the teeth dug deeper into his flesh, ripping and tearing as the wolf thrashed its head from side to side.
With his rifle pinned and his left arm in the wolf's mouth, Cooper released his grip on the pistol grip and balled his hand into a fist. He punched the wolf in the muzzle as hard as he could, but the impact only seemed to make the wolf bite down harder. Another cry of agony escaped his lips as the wolf chewed on his arm once more, its teeth scraping against the bones of Cooper's forearm in the process.
Under the combined weight of Cooper and the wolf, Twilight squirmed to break free. Her ears splayed back against her head as Cooper's screams raked at her brain and she felt her heart threatening to pound out of her chest. She pressed her hooves into the snow and pushed herself into as upright a position as she could before rolling out from under Cooper.
Once she was free, she immediately got to her hooves and turned to face the struggling man and wolf. Her eyes darted to Cooper's forearm as a sickening snap reached her ears and Cooper’s arm bent to an unnatural angle.
Cooper screamed once more as his blood seeped down his sleeve and onto his chest.
"Get off of him!" Twilight snarled, leaping forward with all her might.
She angled her head downward and pointed her horn straight at the wolf's ribcage. It paid her no attention until her horn pierced through it's flesh and into its chest cavity.
Immediately, the wolf released it's vice-like bite on Cooper's forearm and yelped in pain. Sickly crimson fluid poured out of the hole as Twilight's horn punched all the way through its chest and into one of its lungs.
Twilight froze as warm blood poured down her horn and soaked into her mane, quickly dripping down onto her muzzle and over her eyes. She grit her teeth as the wolf turned and bit down on her wither, its teeth sinking into her flesh and spilling her blood as well.
Tears dripped from her tightly closed eyes before she felt the wolf pry itself from her horn. Only a microsecond later, she felt her world spin as she was thrown to the side, knife-like pain lancing through her shoulder the whole time.
When Twilight could finally see straight, she found herself a few feet away from Cooper and the wolf closing the distance. Blood dripped freely from the hole in its side, a sick gurgling sound emanating from its throat with every wretched breath. Twilight tried to push herself to her hooves again, but stopped short when she found that her leg no longer responded to her commands.
She looked down in horror to see her own shredded flesh, the tensed muscles underneath, and the blood freely flowing out to the snow below.
She tried again to get to her hooves, but only managed to sit up slightly, putting all of her weight on her good foreleg. Each step the wolf took slowed time down until its jaws were only a few precious inches from her eyes, and all she could do was stare in horror as they came to take her.
A flash, followed by an explosive blast, raked at her hollow ears and the wolf lay dead before her. Twilight could only blink at how instantaneously the beast had fallen.
As she stared blankly ahead, she felt each breath leave her body in slow, raspy wisps. Her eyes slowly fell to the man lying not five feet away, his rifle held in one hand and smoke billowing from the barrel.
Twilight barely made it a step towards Cooper before searing pain stabbed into her wither and her foreleg gave out, unceremoniously dropping her to her chin, forcing a cry of pain past her lips. With grit teeth, she pushed herself up to a standing position once more and limped the rest of the way to Cooper's side.
As Twilight arrived, Cooper sat up and set his rifle on the snow next to him. As soon as they were close enough, he pulled Twilight in close with his good arm, wincing slightly in the process. He wiped some of the blood out of her eyes and mane, his arm shaking ever so slightly as he held onto her.
"Are you alright?" He asked, his gaze lingering on her shredded shoulder.
"Y-yeah... how about you?" Twilight responded.
"Damn wolf... broke my arm and almost ch-chewed all the way through. Here, think you can help me get this belt off?" Cooper inquired as he grabbed his belt buckle with his good hand.
Twilight brought a tiny spark to her horn and the belt was swiftly unbuckled. With that done, Cooper removed the belt from his waist and tied it around his arm, just below his shoulder. He cinched the belt down as tight as he could, grimacing and grunting in pain the whole time. Once he felt it was sufficiently tight enough, he refocused his attention to Twilight as she shivered on his lap.
"Alright... it's a shitty tourniquet, but it'll have to do for now. How bad is the shoulder?" He asked, taking time to inspect Twilight's wounds.
"It hurts, but it almost feels numb in a way... it's hard to explain." Twilight replied, her own gaze drifting down to her damaged limb. Her entire foreleg was covered in a layer of bright red that made her stomach churn. A flap of shredded skin and fur dangled limply from her wither as more and more blood oozed out from the deep lacerations, ending just shy of her collar bone.
Cooper looked up to the edge of the lake and then back down to Twilight. "You might be going into shock. Here, we'll get moving to the house and we should be able to get something to help deal with that, in there. It's just over that hill." He pointed toward what could just barely be made out to be a house-like shape through the falling snow.
Twilight sluggishly nodded and moved off of Cooper's lap. She limped only a step before she felt a hand grab hold of her under her barrel and, in a sudden swinging motion, she was lifted up to Cooper's good shoulder. She simply blinked at him in surprise as he gave her a small smile.
"Not gonna let you hurt that shoulder any more than it already looks. You're pretty light, so no worries."
Twilight simply stared back at Cooper for a few moments before a thankful smile formed on her lips and she rested her head on top of his. Cooper chuckled lightly before heading up the bank and toward land once more.
"What about your rifle?" Twilight questioned, her eyes flicking back to the lake and the trail of red slowly seeping into the snow.
"Getting your shoulder to stop bleeding is the first priority. I'll get the rifle once you're fixed." He answered, simply.
Cooper carried Twilight another twenty steps before they arrived at a heavily snowed in silhouette of a house. His knees sunk deep into the snow with each step he took, but he continued on without complaint until arriving at the door.
"Alright, I'm gonna set you down now. Try not to put weight on that leg." He advised.
Twilight gave a small nod before being gently deposited onto the snow beside the door. Cooper brushed some of the powdery ice off of the doorway until the black handle was finally visible and accessible. With that finished, he reached deep into one of his pockets and procured a key. It slid into the lock and easily unlatched the door, allowing Cooper to turn the handle and push the door open.
With that taken care of, he scooped Twilight up again and made his way inside. From her position against his shoulder, Twilight could only scan the dark house with her eyes as she was carried through the doorway and into what appeared to be a living room. At least, it used to be a living room.
The couch was shredded and the carpet was covered with so many different kinds of stains that Twilight wasn't sure what was blood and what wasn't. Each wall had several bullet holes and even more stains splattered all over the plaster that painted a haunting picture of what had happened in this room long ago.
As Twilight took in the room around her, Cooper gently set her down on the tattered couch. She winced slightly as she accidentally put a bit of weight on her foreleg, but managed to keep her attention on the room around her, rather than her pain.
Once Cooper was satisfied that she was situated, he quickly made his way over to the doorway and closed it, ensuring to lock the door before returning to the living room. "Alright, I'm gonna go get the first aid kit. Sit tight." He instructed before heading off through one of the other two doorways in the room.
Twilight nodded and waited patiently for his return, shivering at the lingering cold in the room. Her gaze flicked back and forth between the rest of the room, eventually stopping on a long dormant fireplace on the opposite side. For a few moments, she considered using the rest of her magic to create a fire, for them both. Then her attention went back to her wither.
"Try not to stare at it too much. Don't want you losing your lunch or anything." Cooper joked. "But, in all seriousness, we didn't have much here in terms of medical. Best I can do is clean it and wrap it up... it'll be a pretty nasty scar, but you'll live, at least." He said.
"Thank you, Cooper. I don't know why, but it just doesn't hurt. It's... almost fascinating to see what I look like on the inside... wait, that sounded so much better in my head." Twilight's brow furrowed.
Cooper laughed for a moment before a serious look appeared on his face. "Yeah, you are definitely going into shock. Here, lay down on your good side and don't move."
Twilight complied with his instructions and laid down. Once there, Cooper leaned down and closely inspected the wound on her shoulder. He gently pulled the flap of loose skin up to look into the muscle beneath for several seconds before pulling away with a sigh and then closing the wound as best as her body would allow.
“Do you wanna have some salad, Copper, my mom made extra,” Twilight said, lying her head down before groggily blinking to clear her eyes.
Ignoring her comment, Cooper said, "Okay, from what I can see, it doesn't look like any arteries were damaged. I think you're just going into shock from the blood loss. Can you feel anything right now?" He asked, looking down on her with kind eyes.
Twilight looked down for a few seconds before looking back up to Cooper. "N-not really. I feel like... like it should hurt, but I can't really say I notice the pain. This is just a bee sting, doctor, do you have to be so serious?"
Cooper gave a friendly smile. "I'll patch this up as best as I can, but I've only got one arm to work with." He looked down to his ruined forearm and shrugged.
"Oh my gosh, that's right! Your arm! W-we need to fix it!" Twilight shouted, as she tried to sit up.
Cooper immediately pushed her back into the couch. "No. We fix you first, then we fix me. I'll be alright. I've been hurt worse before; besides, I'm not the one talking about salad and bee stings." He asserted.
"You have!? Wait, I've been talking about what now?" Twilight shook her head. "I mean... a-are you sure? If we don't fix your arm, you might lose it!" She protested, frowning slightly.
"Twilight, you're bleeding all over the couch. I've at least got a tourniquet on my arm. I've got time. No more arguing, let's fix you up." He chastised her as he pulled out several alcohol wipes and a roll of gauze from the first aid kit. "Now, this is probably gonna sting like hell. I need you to bear with it for me, okay?"
Twilight put on a brave face as she nodded, although there was a slight tremor in her lip as she watched his hand approach with the alcohol wipe.
"Just take a deep breath, okay?" Cooper comforted.
Twilight complied and inhaled deeply, only to scream in pain as the burning sensation of the alcohol seared into her open flesh. She grit her teeth as Cooper worked over the wound again and again, each wipe only serving to send a wave of pain shooting up her wither and into her neck. Tears spilled from her eyes while she desperately clenched them shut from the pain.
Even though his movements were gentle and quick, the pain from Cooper's soft strokes nearly made her pass out. However, after less than thirty seconds, it was over. He set the bloodied wipes on the floor and pulled out the gauze. Using his teeth to pry the gauze open, Cooper swiftly set about packing the wound with the white material. Soon enough, it was packed to the brim and he looked up to Twilight's tear-streaked face to confirm she was still awake.
"You okay?" He asked, softly.
"Mm-hmm." She whimpered.
"Alright, can you sit up for me?"
Twilight managed a shaky nod before she leaned forward. Cooper quickly helped her up with his hand until she was sitting on her haunches and looking up to him with bloodshot, barely focused eyes.
"Why did that hurt so much more than the actual bite?" Twilight questioned, her eyes drifting down to Cooper's hand as he began wrapping the excess gauze around her barrel.
"Adrenaline, probably. That and you went into shock. Now that we're back here and you've calmed down, you're starting to feel everything. Honestly, that's a good thing. Mean's your blood pressure isn't too low. We're not out of the woods yet, though." Cooper replied as he finished tying off Twilight's bandaging.
"What do you mean?" Twilight questioned, wincing slightly as he snugged the gauze down against her wither.
"You just need to lay down for a bit. Take it easy and rest. Like I said before, if you get dizzy or anything, let me know immediately." He answered before bringing his hand to her face and gently lifting her eyelid slightly. "It doesn't look like your pupils are dilated, so that's a good sign," he said, bringing his hand away from her face.
Twilight nodded slowly before leaning back into the couch and laying down, keeping weight off her leg. She watched Cooper with curious eyes as he sat down against the couch, facing away from her as he set about fixing his own wounds.
He eyed his own lacerated forearm for a few moments before pulling out the last alcohol wipe and ripping it open. He took a deep, sobering breath before Twilight nickered softly. Cooper turned and looked back to see Twilight giving a small supportive smile and nod as she rested her head against the cushion.
He nodded as a smile found its way on his lips as well, and then proceeded to wipe the wound. He growled in pain as the searing agony made its way through his forearm and up his shoulder.
Just like with Twilight, the action took little time and soon enough his forearm was wrapped in a tight layer of gauze.
"O-okay... okay... just need to splint the bone now, and then I'll be right as rain." Cooper stated flatly as he got to his feet.
Twilight watched as he made his way over to the other side of the room.
"I'm gonna look for something to splint my arm in the rest of the house. If you start to feel dizzy, or like you're gonna pass out at all, you yell for me, alright?" He said, glancing back at Twilight.
"I will. Thank you, Cooper." Twilight gave a smile, feeling better by the second.
Cooper walked over to Twilight's couch with a splint freshly tied to his arm. She gave him a small smile as he approached, which he happily returned before sitting down beside her.
"So... that was a hell of a day." Cooper sighed.
"Yeah. Now we both get to be wounded again... yay." Twilight sarcastically agreed.
"Heh, you get used to it out here. We'll probably be dead of infection in a few days if we don't get some serious antibiotics or something soon." Cooper noted.
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "You say that like it's just another Tuesday."
"Well, for me it pretty much is... Not sure how things are where you're from, but here, an infection these days can easily kill you." Cooper shrugged.
"We have things like infections and sickness back in Equestria, but ever since I became an alicorn, I've noticed I heal a lot faster than I used to. Hay, I probably should have died twice already just from blood loss alone." Twilight replied.
"Well, I guess that does explain a few things. That wolf got you pretty damn good, didn't he?"
Twilight glanced down at her wither and the reddened bandages wrapped around it. "Yeah, yeah he got me good. Got you worse though, if I'm being honest."
Cooper looked down to his bandaged and splinted forearm. "Yep. Believe it or not, that's the second time I've been mauled by a wolf out here." He laughed.
"Seriously? You need to stop running into those things." Twilight chuckled.
"I'm trying my best... anyways, I should probably go back and look for my rifle. Might not have any ammo right now, but I'm sure we'll find something while we're out here." Cooper responded, pushing himself to his feet.
"Do you even remember where it is?" Twilight asked.
"I've got a pretty good idea. Besides, if worse comes to worse, I can just follow the blood trail. Think you'll be alright here for a few minutes while I go get it?" He asked.
"I think I'll be alright. Just... don't stay out there too long. It's starting to get dark out and I don't want to have to come galloping out there, looking for you in this blizzard." She answered.
Cooper smiled. "No worries. This should only take a couple of minutes."
Cooper got off of the couch with a groan before moving toward the door, and stepping outside into the snow. He closed the door behind him, leaving Twilight alone in the house. For a few moments, she was content to simply lay down and rest, however, a faint sound eventually reached her ears. She looked around the room for the source of the noise, but found nothing aside from the stains and torn up furniture she was already resting on.
"Maybe... I'm just hearing things after all that super loud gunfire..." She reasoned as she shut her eyes in an attempt to rest.
However, the noise persisted, irritating her ears and stalling her nap. It was just faint enough to be impossible to place, but at the same time, it felt oddly familiar. She opened her eyes with a frustrated groan and sat upright, nearly crying out in pain in the process. Once she was sitting upright, Twilight unfurled her wings and slowly flapped them to ensure they were still working correctly.
"Not too much room in here... but I think I can at least make it to the doorway." She mused.
With a few good flaps of her wings, Twilight rose from the couch and into the air. She winced slightly with every flap, but the pain was manageable, at the very least.
"If that wolf had bitten me just an inch closer to my wings... guess I did get pretty lucky after all."
Twilight slowly flapped her way over to the other side of the room until she reached the doorway. Once there, she slowly lowered herself down to her three good hooves and limped into the hallway. The hall appeared to span the length of the entire house, opening up into a larger living room and kitchen. Aside from that, Twilight could only see two other doorways and a staircase from her position.
Once she had enough clearance again, she took to the air and fluttered down the hall until arriving at the staircase and the doorway next to it. Still hovering in the air, she grabbed the handle with her good hoof and pushed the door open, revealing a dark room filled with months worth of trash and other miscellaneous items.
A large truck with a thin layer of ice still coating its windows was parked in the center of it all. Several sections were rusted and dented or scratched, including a few bullet holes on the front fender.
With a curious frown, Twilight closed the door to the garage and flapped down the hallway to the living room and kitchen. The floor layout was open enough that she could see the entire kitchen and dining table from across the room. She slowly looked over the living room to find that the windows were all boarded up with wooden planks that made it almost impossible to see outside.
The furniture was essentially destroyed, save for a couch in much better condition.
Her curiosity unsated, Twilight continued her exploration of the house and headed toward the dining room until her ears perked up once more.
"Where is that sound coming from?" She whispered to herself.
Twilight looked back and forth throughout the room for almost a minute before sighing and slowly making her way to the staircase. Just as she reached the first few steps, her ears perked up once more, only this time it was a much more familiar sound.
"Twilight?" Cooper called, before closing the back door.
"I'm over here!" Twilight called back to him.
A few moments passed before Cooper poked his head out of the doorway, his rifle once more slung around his shoulder.
"What are you doing? You should be resting right now, not flying around the house." He scolded, a firm look appearing on his face.
"I know, I know." Twilight sighed. "I just keep hearing this weird sound and I'm not sure if I'm going crazy, or if your house just makes weirder noises than anywhere else I've been since I got here." She explained.
Cooper stepped out of the doorway and into the hallway proper. "Weird noise? What are you talking about?"
Twilight shrugged. "Listen."
They both fell silent and focused on only their ears. They listened for well over a minute before Cooper shook his head.
"I don't hear anything, Twilight. You did lose a lot of blood; you sure you aren't just hallucinating?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know... maybe? I just... I swear that I'm hearing something. It only lasts for a few moments, but when it's there, it feels like it's just quiet enough to be impossible to discern." Twilight pouted, a frown on her face.
Cooper walked toward Twilight until he was just an arms length away. "Well, here's an idea. Let's get some rest for the day, and then tomorrow we can go around looking for this weird noise you say you heard. Sound good?" He smiled.
"Heh, yeah. That sounds alright to me. Thanks, Cooper." Twilight smiled.
"Right, well let's get you out of the air and back onto a couch then. I saw the food stock when I got the first aid kit and it looks like we've got a few days of food at least. We should just stay here until that runs out, or we start dying of infection." He suggested, gently grabbing her good hoof and leading her toward the living room.
"You still have food here? Why did you leave if you still had some resources here?" Twilight questioned as she was led to the couch.
Cooper paused mid-step and frowned. His gaze fell to the floor for a moment before glancing over to Twilight with a sad look. "After Mya and Sarah were killed here, I just... couldn't stay. Left the next morning and never came back... until now, anyway." He sighed.
"O-oh... I'm so sorry, Cooper. I didn't realize..." Twilight apologized.
"It's fine, no worries. Come on, take a seat." He replied, ushering Twilight down to the larger living room couch.
Twilight slowly landed on the couch in question and laid down on her side. She looked up to Cooper and watched as he made his way back over to the kitchen and searched through one of the pantries.
"So... we've got a choice of beef stew, chili, and lentil soup for dinner. What're you feeling?" He called from the kitchen.
"Uh... anything but the beef." Twilight responded with a shiver.
"Oh, right. Sorry about that." Cooper replied, placing the beef stew back into the pantry.
He grabbed both of the remaining cans of soup in his good hand and made his way back over to the couch Twilight was sitting on. He sat down beside her and placed both cans on the coffee table in the center of the room before leaning back until he was lazily laying on the couch.
Cooper let out a deep sigh. "You know, I'm starting to get feeling in my arm again." He said.
"Yeah?" Twilight asked, looking up at him.
"Yep... shit hurts like hell." He chuckled, prompting Twilight to giggle alongside him.
They settled into a comfortable silence for a few moments while they both occupied themselves with getting more comfortable on the couch. Once they were both settled in and considerably comfortable, they glanced over at the two cans of soup sitting on the coffee table.
"You hungry?" Cooper absentmindedly asked.
"Honestly? Not at the moment." Twilight shrugged, a movement that made her grunt in pain.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah... just moved my wither, and that was a mistake." Twilight replied.
"Heh, I think we'd be alright if we just took a nap for now. I'm not too hungry either." Cooper responded, reclining fully into the couch and closing his eyes.
Twilight watched him for a moment before shakily getting to her three good hooves on the couch and slowly shuffling over toward Cooper. He opened one eye to watch her as she approached until she arrived at his side and laid down on his lap, her head coming to a rest on his stomach.
Cooper snorted in amusement as he brought his good arm over and scratched Twilight's ears. She let out a grateful hum as his digits sank into her fur and massaged her scalp between ear scratches.
Eventually, they drifted off into a peaceful sleep together; the nap only lasted for an hour before Twilight blearily opened her eyes. Her ears twitched back and forth as she groggily looked around the room for the source of irritation, but found nothing. She slowly lifted her head from Cooper's stomach, an action that woke him in the process, and looked over to the window.
"What's up?" Cooper asked, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.
"I... I hear that noise again. Do you hear it?" Twilight inquired, looking over to Cooper with a frown on her face.
Cooper sluggishly looked over to where Twilight was previously looking before squinting slightly and leaning his head forward just a few inches. After a moment, his ears picked up on a very faint sound and he looked down to Twilight with a raised brow.
"Okay... I think I hear it. What the hell is that?" He asked.
"I don't know. I heard it earlier, but then it just kinda got drowned out by the wind, I think." Twilight replied.
Cooper gently eased Twilight off of his lap with his good arm and got to his feet. Once he was standing, he made his way over to the boarded up window and peered through the gaps in the boarding.
"Well there's way too much snow to see anything from here. I'll head upstairs and see if I can see what's making that noise from there." Cooper announced.
Twilight nodded and Cooper made his way back down the hallway and up the stairs. Once he was gone, Twilight flapped her wings a few times to get into the air and fluttered over to a different window. Just like before, there was too much snow to see anything, and she let out a quiet sigh.
"Twilight! Get up here!" Cooper shouted from upstairs.
Twilight instantly turned in the air and flew down the hallway to the staircase. She slowed down to avoid hitting her wings on any of the doorways or stairs as she ascended, but quickly arrived at the second floor of the house.
"Where are you?!" Twilight called out.
"In here!" Cooper immediately replied.
Twilight wasted no time and followed the sound of his voice until arriving at a bedroom. The bed was broken and shattered, splinters of wood laying all over the floor. The walls were covered in posters of pop bands and other musical talents, yet there were bullet holes and stains on those as well. However, Twilight's attention was completely focused on only one thing as she entered the room.
Through the boarded up window, which was now missing a plank in the center, she could easily see the glowing purple light of the portal off in the distance. The humming finally registered in her ears.
Cooper and Twilight both stared out at the beacon of violet light not a hundred meters in front of the house. The slightly eerie hum of the portal reverberated through the boarded windows of the bedroom so clearly now, that it could be felt through the floor.
"Oh my gosh..." Twilight breathed for the first time in nearly a minute of gaping.
"So... that's it, isn't it?" Cooper inquired, his eyes never straying from the purple light.
"Y-yes... that's it. That's how I got here. I... I was starting to think I was never going to see it again." Twilight whispered, her eyes wide as saucers.
Silence fell over the pair as they stared back at the light, it's only competition being the humming that filled the room so clearly that it forced a thought to wander into Twilight's head.
How did I not know what that sound was before? It's so obvious now...
She shook her head to clear the thought away and turned to face Cooper. As her eyes fell on him, she saw that he was already facing her, a look of contemplation on his face.
"We, uh... we should probably get you outta here, huh?" He asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.
Twilight instantly picked up on his change in tone. "Cooper, what's wrong? That's the portal! We can get out of here!" She exclaimed, a fresh wave of excitement filling her body with each word and a beaming smile forming on her face.
Cooper slowly turned his gaze from Twilight to the rest of the room. As he looked away from her, Twilight turned to follow his eyes and see what he was looking at. She immediately noticed the torn up bed and blood stains on the wall. Her smile quickly faltered, and she turned to see a melancholy look on Cooper's face.
Twilight swallowed and licked her lips. "Cooper... I know leaving is hard... but, please, come with me. There's a better life waiting for you in Equestria. Mya and Sarah would want you to be happy... I want you to be happy."
Cooper's eyes drifted to the floor and he gave a mute nod. "I know... it's just..." He trailed off, shaking his head as he sat down against the wall.
Twilight instantly limped over to his side and nuzzled his cheek. An arm soon found it's way wrapping around her neck and pulling her closer. She happily leaned into it and, for a few moments, they simply held onto each other.
Soon enough, Cooper released his hold on Twilight and fixed her with an apologetic look as she sat down on her haunches beside him.
"It's just hard to say goodbye, is all... I know they've been gone for years, but as long as I was here, it always kinda felt like they were still... close, you know?" He managed to say, his voice croaking just slightly.
"I understand, Cooper. I understand, and please believe me when I say that I would never ask you to give up their memory or anything like that, ever. I just... I can't bear the thought of leaving you here in this... this horrible place while I go home and be with my friends and family. I just can't." Twilight replied, using her wing as a makeshift hand and wrapping it around Cooper's knee.
Cooper chuckled mirthlessly. "Thought I was supposed to be the one looking out for you." He said, his voice nearly a whisper.
"We take care of each other." Twilight smiled.
Cooper slowly looked up at Twilight once more. "And if I couldn't go through?" He asked
"Then I'd stay here with you." Twilight affirmed.
"Twilight-"
"No. Cooper,” Twilight cut him off, “I'm not leaving you behind. If I can't get you to walk through that portal with me, or there's any reason at all that you couldn't come with me, I'd stay right here by your side."
Cooper sat upright. "Twilight, there's no way in hell I'd let you stay here. You have a family and friends to go back to, for Christ's sake!" He exclaimed.
Twilight was unfazed. "I am not leaving you. Period."
He held her gaze for a few moments before a long, drawn out sigh escaped his lips. "Alright. Alright, we'll see, but I don't know what's gonna happen. For all we know, me going through that thing might turn me into mush on the other side."
"That won't happen. I specifically calibrated the portal to keep any living creature alive and intact if it passed through. It's completely safe, guaranteed." Twilight asserted.
Cooper looked to the floor. "If you say so."
Twilight looked back at the destroyed room behind her for a few seconds before her gaze fell back on Cooper. "Do you... need a minute to say goodbye?" She asked.
For a moment he didn't respond, but eventually Cooper looked up until his eyes locked with hers once more. "Just a minute."
"Okay." Twilight replied, leaning back slightly.
Cooper pushed himself to his feet and looked over the remains of the bedroom. He slowly walked over to the bed and gently pressed his hand against the hardened mattress. He sighed softly through his nose and stepped out of the bedroom, prompting Twilight to unfurl her wings and follow behind. She slowly made her way through the doorway and followed along as Cooper led her to another bedroom at the far end of the hallway.
The master bedroom was furnished much the same as the other bedroom, with the exception of the size of the bed and dresser. The sheets were a soft blue, but the color was faded and the fabric tattered away to little more than a ghostly reminder of what once was. As she watched him walk up to the bed, Twilight paused in the doorway, her wings providing the only ambient noise in the house aside from the nearly constant humming.
Cooper looked down at the mattress and once more placed his hand on the sheets. Another, more drawn out sigh filled the air before he bowed his head and closed his eyes. Twilight watched him for over a minute as he stood in near complete silence, before he finally opened his eyes again and turned around to face her.
"Okay... let's get out of here." He said, his voice no more than a whisper.
Twilight nodded. "I know it's hard, but thank you. I don't think I'd ever sleep another night in my life knowing I left you here." She admitted.
Cooper slowly nodded. "I know... just... that's the second time I've had to do that. Sorry, being here makes me emotional." He said with a dry chuckle.
"Well, then let's get out of here, once and for all." Twilight replied, giving an encouraging smile.
Cooper allowed a small smile to form on his face. "Yeah... yeah, let's go."
Twilight nodded and turned to allow him to exit the room. Once he was out, he took the lead and led the way down the stairs to the living room. With some effort, Cooper managed to pry the front door open and dig through the snow in the entryway until a large enough hole was made for them both to fit. Cooper climbed out with little issue while Twilight needed a helping hand to climb out, without putting weight on her foreleg.
The bitter cold stung at their skin as the darkened clouded skies greeted them with more falling snow. Cooper looked ahead to the purple light of the portal and waved Twilight after him as he trudged forward. She took only a second to follow behind him, her wings keeping her aloft so she wouldn’t have to walk behind him.
Together they made their way through the snow and cold until the portal was just a dozen feet away. Cooper slowed their pace as the humming sound drowned out any ambient noise around the swirling vortex. Twilight fluttered up to his side and gently nuzzled his cheek with her own and nodded toward the portal
"Let's go together." She said, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the humming.
Cooper shakily nodded. "Alright."
They stepped and fluttered toward the portal until they were just just a hair's breadth away from the edge. Cooper stared in fascination as the swirling vortex of violet color waved and rippled like a pool of water beckoning him closer.
"You ready?" Twilight called from his side.
"Yeah." He answered, breathlessly.
"On the count of three! Three! Two! One! Go!" Twilight exclaimed, the excitement in her voice bled over into Cooper's heart, pushing him forward.
Together they went into the vortex and the world around them shifted. Colors distorted, limbs spaghettified, and even pain melted away as they felt the world change. Flashing lights blinded them as stars zipped by faster than either could rationalize, and even space itself changed to conform around them as they disappeared through reality.
Cooper felt his eyeballs spin in his head as he tried to understand just what exactly he was feeling, but to no avail. His mind swam about in a soup as his body extended and retracted around him. All he could manage to do was look to Twilight for assurance, but even she was stretched out and as lost as he was.
His mind wondered just how long the journey could last, and as he saw a kaleidoscope of color and shapes, he simply closed his eyes and silently prayed.
Then, warmth. Cooper was aware that his body was swaying back and forth, but he couldn't quite see just what was happening. It took a moment for him to remember that his eyes were closed, but as soon as he did, he saw light. Blinding, brilliant light that blocked out everything else and left him squinting as he used his hand to block out the rays of illumination.
Cooper took several deep breaths as his mind struggled to catch up with where he was and, after a moment, his eyes finally adjusted to the lighting of the room. Reflective crystals greeted him from all sides, the light refracting off the shiny material through the multiple windows littering the wall. To his left, he saw Twilight step over to the portal generator and press a button with her hoof.
Almost immediately, the loud humming noise faded to nothing and a new sound reached his ears; the sound of birds chirping off in the distance. Cooper's knees felt weak and he slowly turned his gaze toward the open doorway leading to the outside world.
"Spike! Spike, where are you!?" Twilight called out, looking back and forth across the room. "Now just where did that little drake get off to? I know I was gone for a while, but it should have only been a few minutes here." She finished, scratching her chin in thought.
Cooper was far too preoccupied with the doorway to pay attention to Twilight, and after another moment of intense focus, he stepped toward the light. Twilight eyed him curiously as he slowly walked away from her before she came to a realization.
"Four years... well I'm glad I get to see the end of that." She smiled, flapping her wings to gain some air and follow Cooper out.
As Cooper approached the doorway, the intense light of the outside world continued to glare at his eyes, making it harder to see the closer he got. He squinted his eyes and held a hand in front of his face as he finally reached the end of the room and the opening to the outside world.
Once he was finally there, and his eyes adjusted, Cooper looked out into the world, finding a clear blue sky and green as far as the eye could see. His shoulders slumped and he sharply inhaled as his eyes watered from the sheer beauty of the world in front of him. For almost a minute he stared out at sheer spectacle of a world not frozen in ice, losing himself in the utter majesty of Equestria for the first time.
He almost didn't hear the pistol cocking behind him.
"I was wondering when you'd come on through." A disturbingly familiar voice spoke out.
Cooper and Twilight both simultaneously froze. The world around them suddenly seemed perfectly quiet, as if a feather falling to the floor, could be heard from across the room. Birds and the gentle breeze vanished, leaving only a terrible silence to fill the void as two pairs of eyes slowly turned to look back into the castle.
Cooper's eyes fell on Gabe as he took a step toward them, pistol in hand, and a sinister scowl on his face. Bloodied rags were wrapped all around his left arm and both of his legs. One of his eyes was noticeably bloodshot, only making his expression that much more intimidating.
"Gabe." Cooper responded, his gaze hardening.
"Oh no..." Twilight whispered.
Gabe's eyes drifted from Cooper to Twilight, then back to Cooper once more. "I have to say, I was starting to think I'd never find you two... vandals for the rest of my life."
"Gabe, listen. What happened back there was not our fault." Cooper replied, holding his hands out in a placating manner.
"I was starting to lose hope that I'd ever have my revenge... until I stumbled onto your little portal, abomination." Gabe continued, his bloodshot gaze drifting over to Twilight.
"Spike..." Twilight's eyes widened.
"Imagine my shock when, after I step into that majestic portal, that I find myself in a land of wonder, and warmth. A perfect place to start over." Gabe carried on, apparently ignoring, or simply not hearing, Twilight. "A place that seems befitting only to the most righteous of men... yet I find scum like you mere moments after my arrival. It seems that God has given me an opportunity for penance... for closure." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nostrils.
Cooper and Twilight shared a quick glance before Gabe opened his eyes and breathed out once more.
"Gabe, I know you think you're some kind of savior sent by God to save humanity... but killing us will do literally nothing. Think about this. You can live a peaceful life now. We don't have to be enemies. We don't have to kill anymore." Cooper reasoned, taking a step toward Gabe.
"Oh, I know I wasn't the savior of humanity, Cooper. Our kind were long past due to fester and die out. You and your pet showed me that when you took away my settlement... no, no... I have seen the light. God has spoken to me and he has given me this entire world as a reward for my work and sacrifice." Gabe smiled a crooked, bloody smile that sent a chill down both Cooper and Twilight's spines.
"Where is Spike?" Twilight asked, her tone more of an accusation than a question.
"I don't even know who that is." Gabe replied, prompting a small look of relief to form on Twilight's face. "All I know is that this land will be my heaven. It was made for me. The sun and moon rise and fall for me. God will provide me with everything I need to live out my life in paradise... I just have one last task to accomplish, and then I can finally rest." He finished, taking another deep breath.
Cooper and Twilight tensed at his words. Cooper clenched his fist while Twilight's wings twitched with anticipation.
"And just what is that final task?" Cooper asked, a deep frown on his face.
A few seconds passed before Gabe responded. "Getting my revenge."
He pointed the pistol at Cooper, his finger pressed against the trigger and a scowl forming on his face. Just as he squeezed the trigger back, a purple blur slammed into him, throwing his shot off just enough to miss Cooper and splinter bits of crystal from the wall behind him. Gabe was knocked back, but managed to say on his feet as he shoved Twilight off of him and down to the ground below.
Twilight landed on her wither, sending a shock of agony straight into her shoulder and making her cry out in pain. The bandage around her wither almost instantly turned red as her wounds were reopened from the strike. As she struggled to move on the floor, Cooper rushed Gabe, unslinging his rifle and gripping it by the barrel with his good hand. He grit his teeth in pain as he used his wounded arm to grab the hand guard, allowing him to hold the weapon like a baseball bat.
As Cooper closed the last of the distance, Gabe recovered enough to see him coming. He raised the pistol up to fire once more, but Cooper managed to swing the butt of the rifle right into his ribcage, cracking several in the process. He gasped in pain before Cooper threw the rifle to the ground and wrapped his arms around Gabe's torso, preventing him from getting a shot off in the process.
Cooper lifted Gabe into the air, snarling in pain as he slammed him back down to the crystal floor below. Gabe screamed in agony as his back collided with the floor, knocking the breath out of his lungs and sending a stabbing pain through his cracked ribs as several of them broke completely from the shock. As his body reeled from the impact, Gabe maintained his white knuckled grip on the pistol, quickly jerking the weapon up and pulling the trigger just as it pointed at Cooper's chest.
The muzzle flashed, illuminating the room in bright light for just a second as time slowed down to a crawl. As Cooper panted for breath, his gaze slowly lowered down to his own chest. Blood oozed freely from the hole just below his chest, and he staggered back a step from the surprise of the gunshot. Cooper brought his good hand over to the wound and touched the blood pumping out of his chest with each heartbeat, almost as if to confirm it was actually real. His legs suddenly felt weak, and he staggered back a step before they gave out completely and he fell down onto his back, the world spinning around him.
Meanwhile, Gabe rolled over and pushed himself up to a kneeling position, and then back to his feet. He coughed up a measure of blood as he stood up fully. He slowly walked over to Cooper, wheezing for breath with each step, as the floor slowly turned red. Twilight stared up in horror as Gabe walked over to Cooper, each step sending a jolt of adrenaline through her body. The sight of blood pooling around Cooper while she struggled to simply get to her hooves made something snap inside her.
Twilight's eyes widened with each step he took, and as her gaze darted down to Cooper's body laying just a few scant feet away; a new feeling welled up in her heart. A feeling of utter rage and hatred. Tears spilled from her eyes as her mane quickly turned from its normal purple color to a raging inferno and her horn glowed white hot with pure magical energy.
Twilight grit her teeth as every last ounce of her mana poured into her horn. The spell concentrated at the tip of her horn, but the raw energy rose the ambient temperature of the room several degrees. The crystal floor just below her horn warped and cracked from the intense heat nearly matching the surface of the sun.
As Gabe reached Cooper and stood over him, his pistol aimed right at Cooper's head, he felt the heat radiating from the enraged alicorn behind him. He slowly turned around and stared as Twilight looked up at him with red irises and hair that flickered back and forth like a blazing inferno. The light of her horn was so bright that it almost blinded him, although he could easily see the pure hatred in her expression as her gaze bore into him.
"Get. Away. From. Him!" Twilight screamed, magic pulsing from her horn with every word.
For a brief moment, a look of fear flashed through Gabe's eyes, but just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, and he raised his pistol. Just as his finger squeezed the trigger, Twilight unleashed everything. A beam of intense, scorching energy rocketed out of her horn, breaking the sound barrier and engulfing Gabe completely. Blinding white light poured out of her horn and punched a hole the size of a car into the crystal wall, obliterating it completely and darting out into the sky for miles.
Seconds dragged on, feeling like minutes as Twilight's rage slowly dwindled. The beam of energy dissipated and died, leaving her gasping for air as her mane returned to normal and tears streaked down her face. Her vision spun and she felt her hooves give out under her. After just a few seconds, she dropped to the floor, falling unconscious almost immediately.
Almost a minute passed before Twilight stirred again. Her eyes fluttered open, making her wince in pain at the bright light now pouring in through the massive hole in the crystal wall. She was able to push herself to her hooves with a grunt and grimace of pain, before looking over to where Gabe once stood.
There was nothing but a few ashes and the blackened scorch marks on the floor. Not even the pistol remained from Twilight's wrath. Blinking back the shock from that revelation, Twilight's eyes darted to Cooper's body laying just a few feet away in a puddle of his own blood. She desperately pushed herself forward, falling onto her face immediately as her wither gave out once more.
"Coo...per." She groaned through the pain.
Twilight used her good hoof to pull and her hind legs to push as she literally dragged herself to the man in front of her. She reached his side after only a few moment, his blood quickly finding its way all over her chest and cheek. Once there, she managed to lift her head up and onto his chest, finding his eyes looking down on her once more.
"G-good... shot." Cooper whispered, his voice a weak, raspy shell of its former strength.
"Y-you're gonna be okay." Twilight replied, her voice just a whisper.
Twilight's eyes trailed down to Cooper's chest where his shirt was soaked in his own blood. A small hole just in the center of his chest pumped a small amount of blood out with each beat of his heart, sending a chill down Twilight's spine as she watched. She closed her eyes and attempted to cast a healing spell on Cooper's wounds, but her magic simply fizzled and died on her horn.
Twilight's eyes shot wide open with alarm and a pit immediately formed in her stomach. She attempted to cast the spell once more, only for her horn to provide the same reaction. Her heart beat faster in her chest as she frantically tried to cast the spell over and over again, tears quickly leaking out of her eyes as she watched the color slowly fade from Cooper's skin.
"No... no, no, no... please, no... this can't be happening. Not again." Twilight muttered, her voice cracking as more sparks poured uselessly from her horn.
Twilight tightly shut her eyes as she tried once more to heal Cooper's wounds, only to pause as she felt something soft touch her cheek. Her tired, bloodshot eyes opened to find Cooper's good hand gently cupping her cheek as he looked up at her.
"Hey... it's okay." Cooper whispered.
"What!? No! No, it's not okay! You're dying!" Twilight cried, her entire body trembling as she desperately clutched Cooper's hand with her hoof.
Cooper coughed up a small amount of blood. "It's... okay... you... you gave me a reason to live again... I'll be alright." He smiled, a bloody smile that made Twilight sob into his stomach.
"N-no! You're... you're dying. You can't die! You can't... you... you're my friend." Twilight said through sniffles.
Cooper weakly chuckled, before coughing. "Heh... you're home now, Twilight... you've got your friends and family again... I'm just... going to be with mine now."
"I can't lose you!" She shouted, squeezing herself closer to him.
"Don't beat yourself up over it... because of you... I got to see the sun again." Cooper weakly smiled at her.
Twilight looked up at Cooper. With tears streaking down her cheeks, she slowly nodded and gently hugged his stomach. She felt his hand come to a rest on her mane as he gently ran his fingers through her hair. She felt each beat of his heart as it slowed.
"I don't want you to go." She whimpered.
"I'll... see you again... one day." Cooper replied, his voice just a murmur.
Twilight felt the slow beat of Cooper's heart once more. "I'll miss you."
A finger softly rubbed her ear. "Me too."
One more beat, and then there was silence. Twilight felt the fingers in her mane slowly go limp, and the hand slumped to the floor beside her. She grit her teeth to stifle a scream of anguish as she heard Cooper exhale his last breath, but as the seconds of emptiness ticked by, she found her resolve crumbling more and more.
Twilight couldn't bear to look up to see his face. Her entire body shook and convulsed as the dam broke, and she screamed out in anguish as she desperately held Cooper's body against hers.
Minutes slowly ticked by as the purple alicorn's cries echoed through the crystal castle, but soon enough, a new sound reached her ears. A familiar sound, that only made the pain worse.
"This way! I think she's back!"
"Darling, whatever do you think that blast was?"
"If I know Twilight, it's probably another spell gone wrong."
"Well, I just hope she didn't hurt herself."
"Come on guys! She said she'd only be gone for a few minutes, and it's been almost half... an... hour."
The last voice trailed off as several pairs of hooves and a pair of scaly claws reached the doorway. They all stared in shock as Twilight continued to cry, Cooper's body still held tightly in her forelegs.
Twilight walked out of her castle, a slight limp in her step as she made her way outside into the morning sun, only made worse by the saddlebags she wore on her barrel. As she stepped outside, she was greeted by bright, shining light that made her ears splay back and her eyelids snap shut.
"Twilight, are you going out!?" Spike called from behind.
Twilight barely managed a nod before she walked away from the castle, leaving a concerned dragon behind on the front door step.
"Years of therapy and she still barely talks on the anniversary." Spike shook his head in sadness. "Please, get better, Twi." He sighed, then turned around and headed back inside the castle.
As Twilight walked through town, the limp in her gait made it difficult for her to reach her destination with any kind of speed. Eventually, she arrived at the small Magnolia tree just at the entrance to the White Tail Woods. She stepped up to the gravestone in front of the tree and promptly collapsed at the base, her coat slick with sweat and her chest heaving.
After taking a couple minutes to calm down, she looked up at the grave once more and spoke.
"Hey Cooper... sorry it took so long for me to get here today. You know that my wither was so damaged that I can barely walk, ever since..." She sighed. "Celestia keeps telling me that she can heal it, but I keep telling her no... I don't know; it just doesn't feel right to have it fixed. Does that sound crazy to you?"
A gentle breeze picked up, softly blowing her mane and revealing the deep scars lining her wither and shoulder.
"You made it four years without magic, so why shouldn't I go a few with a limp?" She let out a mirthless chuckle. "Well, I do have some news for you. The last year has been really busy; what with everything going on. Sunset has officially taken over my job as a Princess since my injuries have proven to be too much for me to overcome."
Twilight sat silently for a minute, then a lone tear slowly streaked down her cheek.
"Had another mental breakdown while trying to give day-court last month. Some stallion was petitioning to have his popcorn machine posted outside the castle for tourists and the like... turns out that popping corn can sound an awful lot like gunfire when you're not paying attention." Twilight rolled her eyes. "That was fun to deal with." She sighed again. “Nopony knows what gunfire sounds like, so they just didn’t understand.”
The breeze swiftly died down, as if to leave her with silence as her answer.
"Otherwise, things have been going well. Starlight and the girls have done everything in their power to try to fix me up, but none of it seems to work... at least, not yet."
Twilight ignited her horn and levitated a small roll of parchment out from her saddlebags.
"As it turns out... that spell Starlight was using to go back in time... well, it still works."
She opened the scroll and eyed the resewn page critically.
"And, if I can do this right... just one more time... maybe I can bring you back too."
Twilight's eyes darted down to the grave beneath her. She sluggishly pushed herself to her hooves and stood upright.
"I'm gonna take back our past... maybe give you a future with your wife and daughter... maybe a life where we can know each other like we always should have."
Twilight's horn glowed brighter as the incantation completed in her mind, and the scroll was slowly enveloped in a bright white light.
"I'll see you soon."
With that, the spell completed and Twilight left in a flash of light.
