The next day, Colby was awoken by the steady drumming of rain on the roof of the cave. He sat up looking at the smoldering remains of the fire, the smell of smoke tickled his nose. Across the fire Crash stirred a bit as well and let out a groan. There supplies lay scattered across the floor of the cave and a soft dripping noise came from farther back in the darkness. A little light shone through the entrance to the cave.
Colby spared a glance out of the cave to see a light mist had cumulated over the night and hung just above the ground. The air was quiet cold probably due to the rain and the fog. Crash sat up as well shaking his head in drowsiness. He looked around at the state of the cave and there situation and yawned in satisfaction.
“Hey Colby? Is the storm gone”? Asked Crash gazing at the fire.
“No not yet…it’s just a light rain”.
“Hmm not too bad”.
“I hate the rain”. Replied Colby shivering at the thought of getting wet.
“Don’t worry, you’ll survive”.
Colby rolled his eyes and got up dusting the dirt off of his fur and pants. Outside, it seemed as if the mist was disappearing but the light rain showed no signs of stopping. They had slept very well last night considering the thunder and lightning. Of course with the storm no one would dare try to find there little cave. So in comparison it all worked out.
Colby walked over to the remains of the fire and began prodding at it with a stick. “You think there’s enough heat left in the fire to cook some breakfast”?
“Hm I don’t know, guess without a watch there’s no one to keep the fire going”.
“good point…well it’s worth a shot right”? Replied Colby moving a few more charred sticks around. “Well next time we gotta keep a watch no matter what”.
“Right”. Agreed Crash.
Colby nodded shuffling back to where he slept. He dug in his back pack for a few seconds before pulling out a few pale rectangle bars. They looked hard and in-edible but made out of a substance that when cooked, packed enough nutrition to keep you going for days. It was not as good as the farm fresh food they were used too but in war time it was better than nothing.
“This stuff makes me sick, but at least it fills you up” said Colby moving back to the fire.
“Thank goodness for that”
“Amen”
Colby laid a bunch of discarded sticks across the top of the hole. He then laid the two pale blocks across the sticks and In a few minutes the edges of the substance began to bubble. Crash and Colby watched in silence as the rain outside continued to fall. The sound was almost peaceful threatening to send the two furies back to sleep and forget the whole war.
“Hmm success” said Crash watching Colby flip the rectangles. He yawned again stretching his paws to the roof of the cave. It was still early but they had to get back to there ship before mid-day.
“At least this time it does not smell”
“Yeah last time the odor put you on your rear end”. Said Crash chuckling at the thought of the first time Colby had tried to eat the ration bars. They had opened up the packages and Colby took one whiff and was out cold for the next few hours.
“Well I can’t complain crash, this is better than what the main army gets”. Replied Colby hiding a blush.
“The best luxury in the apocalypse”. Noted crash as the cave filled with the odor of the cooking bars.
They both chuckled at that watching the food cook. A few minutes later they had eaten there tasteless meal and were getting ready to move out.
Crash grabbed his pack and hoisted it over his shoulder along with his quiver.
“You ready my friend”? Asked Crash as he stood by the entrance to the cave.
“Ready to get soaked you mean”?
“Yup let’s go ya big baby”.
Colby groaned as they jogged out of the cave back onto the dry river bed, or what used to be. Know it was a ankle deep grey stream moving fast. Wading through a rather slow part of the current they made there way up the bank and back into the forest. By now the mist had dissipated and the rain not as heavy.
“Hope our good luck holds out and that storm continues to move away”. Said Colby as they slowed to a walk.
“Were does weather like this come from? It was never like this before the war”
“Well you do know that the Flying ponies had the job of maintaining the weather”?
Crash stopped and rolled his eyes. “Ponies controlling the weather? That’s about as Nuts as this war”
“I swear, they coordinated the patters from a flying city in Equestria”!
“So where are they now”?
“Well as far as I know…a hundred years ago a war happened between the Zebras and Ponies and the flying city was destroyed…now Equestria is in ruins again because of the humans”.
Crash sighed and continued to walk stepping over the dead plants in there way. Colby followed holding his rifle high grinning. The mist here was thicker than before but still could be seen through.
“So what happened to all the ponies”? Asked Crash
“Some were Sold by slavers around the world, others survived in Underground bunkers called stables…but all that were above ground are probably dead”.
“Do you think we will find any of them? Have you ever seen or met one”?
“Yes a few times, there’s a cook at the palace who is a unicorn, he always brought me a little extra somedays”.
“Wow, I never knew”. Exclaimed Crash.
Colby shrugged and continued on. Soon they came to a broad dirt path. Wheel ruts and tire tracks covered the wide expanse of the road. Dead trees lined both sides of the road and It wound it’s way into the distance in both directions.
“I think we better stay off the main roads”. Said Colby. He pointed towards the dirt road.
“Whys that”?
“Because the Humans use these as supply routes for the invasion army. Remember when we had to destroy the bridge down south”.
“Oh yea”.
About two weeks ago they were given the task of destroying a large, stone bridge crossing the divide; a deep narrow gorge running across the country separating it in two. There was only five bridges operational at the time that spanned the gap. They, as a part of a larger mission to isolate the rest of the country and stop the flow of resources to the Hr forces. Of course they had to blow up all the bridges. They succeed but only after loosing a close friend.
Crash looked at Colby remembering that mission and the pain it brought to mind. “Please don’t remind me…”
“Rico did his duty, and so are we, that’s what we are”.
Crash looked at him with fire in his eyes. “Were what? Expendable?!!” He stopped and stood straight his fists clenched. The air around them seemed to heat up as they stared at each other.
“No Crash that’s not it…were freedom fighters protecting this damn country”. Colby spat back wiping a bit of sweat trickling down his forehead. Maybe it was getting hotter. “You need to calm down ok we will get our new orders against the Hr and be on our merry way”.
“I hate them, I really do, they will pay”. Said crash through clenched teeth.
“Well after we get back to the ship we can have some more revenge”.
Crash nodded in return grinning. A few seconds later his ears perked up and he glanced down the road. Colby noticed it too smelling the air his whiskers quivering. The dirt road was just wide enough for two of those mechs to stand shoulder to shoulder. The dead forest provided little cover allowing whatever was coming down the road a good view in all directions.
“You sense it too right”? Asked Colby.
“Yeah due south, somethings coming”. Replied Crash peering down the road. “A lot of something’s to be exact”.
“Humans”? Said Colby raising an eyebrow the line of his mouth curving into a grin.
“By the sound of it”. Said crash quietly. He sniffed the air a few times wincing at the scent of oil and smoke. “Definitely Humans”.
“Maybe revenge will come a little earlier”.
Turning, the two furies retreated back into the forest a ways. Ducking under what available cover there was they watched the road intently. A few minutes later a steady humming could be heard. Shouting and rough voices drifted in the air as well. A few birds took off into the air due to the disturbance of the peace.
“A convoy, just as I thought”. Exclaimed Crash pulling out his bow. He shifted on his back legs looking out as he pulled out another red arrow. His custom built Arrow heads could be interchangeable for different tasks. They were also color coated.
“Are you sure? It does not sound like those things they call trucks”. Said Colby looking over his shoulder then he added; “there has been no activity up here lately”.
“Trust me, and if it’s not then we will find out once they come into view”.
He nods taking position ready to fight. The sounds get louder as the convoy of humans grow closer. Leading the troop is a boxing tank. With a wicked looking cannon mounted on the front. The whole thing floated a few inches off the ground. Crash inhales quickly fear rushing into him.
“Damn it Colby I was wrong they got tanks we can’t stand up to them”.
Colby shakes his head grinning courage taking hold again “Come on, we can take them”
“No, let’s get out of here before they spot us”. Replied crash shaking his head.
“All right I trust you”.
The two furrys shuffle away from the cover of the log. Once they are out of sight they begin to sprint away into the forest leaving the ship far behind. They soon slow to a walk heading north towards the landing place of there airship.
“I could never tell those human contraptions apart”. Said Crash calmly.
“Neither could I, but a good human is a dead human and that’s the way I like to see them”. Replied Colby. “They all deserve to die”.
“Well good luck with that my friend, as far as I know there numbers are growing”.
Colby stopped and looked at him in wonder. “They came down in spaceships and those mech things, I think they outnumbered us and were prepared for this”.
“If you say so crash”.
They continued to trudge for a few more hours. The sun was high now about mid-day. It was very hard to tell. After about another thirty minutes they reached a ravine. Peering over the edge Colby whistled in surprise. The ravine was about twenty meters across. Just wide enough for an airship. The walls were a dark grey and very rocky.
“Man, ya know this seems deeper then I remember”.
Crash shrugged and pulled out his bow. He attached a green arrow to it and pulled back aiming into the ravine. He let it fly and in a puff of steam two grappling hooks burst from the arrow. One heading down into the darkness and the other backwards into a nearby tree. A length of rope connected the two.
“There we go, should be strong enough to hold us”. Said crash testing the strength of the rope.
“Yeah sure it is”. Replied Colby warily grabbing the rope. Wrapping his hands around he shuts his eyes and jumps off the edge sliding down into the darkness”. “AHHHHhhhhh”!
Crash watches in amusement as Colby’s cries faded into the darkness. He grinned and grabbed the rope swinging over the edge and into the darkness. He shut his eyes and within moments his feet hit the rocky ground at the bottom of the ravine.
“Well then”. Said crash. “That was easier said then done”.
Colby stood there shaking in fear and anger. “It was way easier to climb out then slide in”
“If you say so”. Replied Crash smugly.
“Ok where did we park the ship?” Asked Colby peering into the darkness. Even with his cat eyes he could not make out anything in the inky blackness of the ravine floor.
Crash fumbled in his side bag and pulled out a skinny yellow cylinder. “Well then, let there be light.” With a strike of a match he lit a fuse and the yellow tube exploded in light.
Colby watched in amusement as crash threw the flare deeper into the ravine. “Easier said then done”
“Yes now let’s have a look around shall we, tell me if you-”
“Found it!” Called Colby cutting his partner off. He stood on the edge of a cliff looking down to where the flare was burning.
“We could jump down, why did we park it down there?”
“Beats me, that was three days ago”
Crash shrugged and bounded over next to Colby. In the darkness they could make out the faint outline of the ship glowing in the light of the flare. Dropping over the edge, Crash landed a few seconds later on his rabbit feet. Colby came down a few seconds later landing on all fours.
“Can all cats do that?” Asked crash as he watched Colby get up.
“That’s just a superstition that was spread to increase moral”
“Oh”
They both looked around spotting the flare a little ways away. Right next to it was an odd shaped wooden craft. It had the appearance of a sailing ship and would look more at home on the high seas then at the bottom of a rocky ravine. The only thing that separated the ship from it’s sea counterparts, was the addition of two giant hydrogen balloons attached to the top.
Colby cursed as he tripped a bit reaching the smooth wooden side of the ship. “Darn thing, it’s about as old as the federation itself”.
“What do you expect them to give to a suicide mission”.
Colby shot him a glare in the dimming light of the flare. Walking around the ship they found a dangling rope. In a few minutes they had hoisted themselves onto the deck of the ship. Colby wasted no time starting the engines and activating the floodlights. Beams of light pierced the darkness in front and behind the ship.
“Home sweet airship away from home”. Said Crash sitting on a chair inside the main cabin.
“Well it’s better then walking” replied Colby, who was fiddling with an old radio at the back of the cabin.
“Yeah”
Cursing, Colby turned a few more knobs and waited. “I can’t get this thing to work, any ideas?”
Crash shrugged and walked over. He looked at the radio for a minute before giving it a good kick with his foot. The radio sputtered and crackled to life.
Colby watched in silence shaking his head. “Your logic with technology always amazes me”.
“It was instinct I think”.
Colby nodded and turned back to the radio. He put on a headset and turned a few knobs. He talked for a bit with other soldiers on the other end before turning the radio off. He took off the headset and turned to Crash who waited patiently.
“What’s the news Colby….are we going home?”
Colby sighed and grinned. “No…we have one more mission, let’s get to it”