//------------------------------// // Even the Weak Must Stand, // Story: Equestria Forever // by TheMajorTechie //------------------------------// ~~~ Entry 678, Scout Day 11, Elise Ciara         It’s been so long since I’ve seen people… actual, living people.         And here I am, standing in front of a library, of all the places I’d find people. You’d think that I’d have a better chance scouting out camps and stuff, but… I’m just gonna leave it at “No-one’s there anymore”.         I braced my body against the crusty door, wincing from the pain that shot up my leg. I busted up my knee earlier while I was scouting along the roads. Finally, I got the heavy door to open wide enough for me to slip in.         At first, the library seemed clearly abandoned, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that there was an odd shelf that just kinda… stuck out from the wall.         Upon closer inspection, I found that it was a passageway, and so naturally, I peeked inside.         To my surprise, I saw people. And not only that, but there was a full-sized greenhouse in the back room, and… Twilight Sparkle?         Twilight’s ears perked at the sound of footsteps.         “Guys,” she whispered, “Someone’s here.”         Tyrone whirled around, spotting the figure in the direction Twilight pointed her hoof. Instinctively, he picked a large, heavy book from the ground. A perfect size to throw at one’s head.         “Be careful,” Kevin warned, stepping aside for Tyrone to allow his passage.         Tyrone stumbled about in the darkened section of the library, tripping over piles of dusty books, and occasionally yelping in pain from stubbing his toe. Finally, he reached the area the figure had slinked off into.         “Come out,” he said firmly, “SHOW YOURSELF!”         A low groan echoed through the section, followed by a girl who had duct-taped several books together as a splint. She wore a green hoodie, and her hair was heavily matted with all sorts of things. She could barely walk, and was supporting herself against the shelves.         Tyrone dropped the book, which landed with a soft ‘thud’ against the carpeted floor.         “I-I’m sorry, miss…” he stammered, “I didn’t expect someone like you to be snooping around the library. I mean, typically, the only other people you’d see these days are raiders…”         Elise chuckled, and suddenly winced again as she knocked her bad knee against the book.         “It’s fine,” she replied as she rubbed her knee, “I’ve had to deal with my own share of raiders for a while now.”         Tyrone raised an eyebrow, surprised at the girl’s remark. “Well, then why are you here?” he asked. The girl paused for a moment to think. “My family and I were on a camping trip when the war began, so naturally, we stayed hidden in the forest. That is, until the ‘Scorched Earth’ siege was launched. I lost my entire family to the fires, so I became a lone wolf. Y’know? Surviving on my own, living off whatever I find…” Tyrone patted her on the back. And she didn’t even shed a tear about it, either. He thought as he slid his arms under her. “You don’t have to live like that anymore,” he said as he lifted her up. Tyrone returned to the rest of the group with the bandaged girl, much to the surprise of everyone else. Trevin pointed towards Elise as he glanced towards Twilight. “Looks like we’ve found your intruder, Twi.” Twilight’s initial worry of an attack soon gave way, her face relaxing as she let out her tension. “Well, that’s good.” She said, glancing towards Elise. Kevin stared at Elise for several seconds, before finally saying, “You can’t stay.” “W-what?!” Screamed Elise, regretting her outburst immediately after with a wincing scowl. “I’ve been walking. With a bad leg.” She heaved her wounded leg onto the table to prove her point. “And on top of that, I haven’t seen anything even remotely similar to civilization for months.” Kevin backed up in surprise. “Woah, lady. I didn’t mean that you couldn’t stay just because you’re here, I meant to say that the greenhouse won’t be able to support so many people.” He stepped back towards Elise. “What I mean is, you’ll have to work your stay. We can’t afford to just mindlessly donate to whoever the hell we want, okay?” Elise shrugged. “I’m fine with that.” She said casually, eyeing Kevin intensely. She dropped her focus on Kevin, and turned to Twilight. “One more thing, why is a fuckin’ pony here?!” Twilight chuckled nervously. “It’s kind of a long story, actually…” she replied, setting her book down. “You see, Equestria’s in just a bad of a state as this world, possibly even worse as far as I know. So I left my friends, what’s left of my family, and Equestria as a whole to find what I can only say would be the last chance for society.” Kevin leaned in towards Trevin. “Woah, that’s deep.” he whispered, earning a quick smack to the face. “Shut up, Kevin.” Kevin leaned back. “But still... deep.” Another smack. Tyrone rolled his eyes at the encounter. “Listen. All we need are some helpers. Alright? Some nice people who are willing to do some work, fix this place up some more. We’re not gonna be saving the world on an empty stomach, y’know?” Kevin shut up, and nodded vigorously. “Now then. Elise here’s injured too, so we’ll need to treat her first. She wouldn’t be very helpful just sitting there.” Trevin silently rushed towards the office for a first aid kit, while Elise began mapping out the area on a notebook.