Day 15, Equestria, Changling hive.
 
>With the mint colored p0ny in tail, you proceed towards the exit.
>You check your pip-boy, making sure of the time.
>2:00 AM. Most of the hive should be sleeping, making it easier for you to es...
>Something's not right.
>As you get near the exit, you see sunlight.
>Not artificial light. And certainly not moonlight.
"Hurry, go, now."
>You motion to her, and speed up yourself. As you approach the exit, you get a glipse of the outside. Deserts. Nothing like the forest you originally were.
>Rocks were scattered across the barren landscape, and hardly anything was growing.
>And the creatures were buzzing everywhere, flying above the entrence.
>You edge closer to the exit, hiding behind one of the faces, trying to formulate a plan out of this.
>It was only a matter of time before the rest of the hive realized you escaped.
>They would likely do so before dark, so waiting and sneaking out at night was not an option.
>No, your only solution was to run. And soon.
>"Where are we going?"
"You.. home. Where?"
>She takes a moment to figure out what you said.
>The p0nies used a different syntax than you, and it was challenging to adapt.
 
 
>You also mispronounced many of the sounds, not used to moving your mouth in such a manner.
>"North of here, I think. Are you tak..."
"Yes."
>"Then... I don't know. We could try to go straight north. Most of their terratory is to the south of here."
>You wondered why she would even come here to explore.
>You'd ask once you got to safety.
>Sticking your head outside, you look towards what should be north.
>There looked to be many hills, and what looked like a mine shaft.
>Past the mine, the cliff faces nearby blocked further vision.
>However, there was a crack in the cliff face, one characteristic of water erosion.
>That is your goal, then. Past that, you could not see any changlings.
>But just as you're moving back to where you were, you had the misfortune of being spotted.
>The creature, flying above you, let out a horrifying screech that echoed through the valley.
"RUN!"
>You sprint out of the cave, and ready your rifle.
>Horrified, you look back at the cliff face the wall was dug into.
>There were hundreds, possibly thousands, of holes in the wall, all dug out of the rock.
>And though their numbers were fewer than they should be, there were still far more than you could hope to match in combat.
>Eyes set on the east cliff face, you contenue to run.
>Your p0ny companion seems to be able to move swiftly, nearly matching your speed.
>The first of the changelings is upon you.
 
>Not having time to turn around and shoot, you fire the rifle behind you, hoping to hit something.
>It was a waste of energy, one you would probably come to resent yourself for doing.
>But you couldn't resent it if you're dead anyway.
>One of the shots lands, and you hear the creature scream as its body is burnt by the beam.
>You allow your mint colored companion to go ahead of you, slowing slightly.
>But the changlings were fast.
>Disreguard for your personal safety brings with it the ability to push the body far beyond it's normal capabilities, it seems.
>You lunge towards one of the changlings already closest to your companion, and quickly smash it's skull in.
>The momentum you gathered is used to your advantage, using it to do a quick front roll, before contenuing to sprint.
>You looked behind you, and assessed their numbers.
>48 on close persuit, 260 others in persuit, 7,856 not in persuit.
>By now you've made it almost a third of the way, dodging and shooting.
>The drain on your internal battery was becoming noticable.
>You and your companion top a small hill, now having full view of your target.
>The crevice itself had a small river flowing through it.
>It was narrow enough to funnel them into a more manageable number.
>The next few are upon you, swatting at your head, and attempting to grab you.
>You're glad they're mostly, save one or two, targetting you.
>You doubt your companion would be able to dodge them.
>After running for a straight 4 minutes, you've reached 3/4 the distance.
>But the mint pony was getting tired, you could see it.
>By now, more have closed on you, and constant evasion and eviceration of the creatures was wearing down on you as well.
 
>Reaching the small crevice, you can tell that your friend is exausted.
>Still, you motion for her to keep moving.
>The water was not more than half a foot high, no challenge to you.
>Behind you, the crevice was blocked by a single file line of the creatures. When one would get too close, you'd take a quick shot at it.
>Some of the other changlings were smart, though.
>They had already flown over the crevice, and were now blocking your way.
>You unload on them, turning them to dust and ash.
>This gets in the mint p0ny's eyes, however, and she trips on one of the stones.
>Coming to a halt, the changlings are now surrounding you from all sides.
>Behind you, you could no longer see where you entered the crevice.
>Above you, the swarm circled, blocking out the sun.
>And in front of you, the few that had flown around now blocked your path.
>There were too many, on all sides, to outright kill to get out.
>They closed in at a uniform pace.
>You could not escape.
>Your mint colored companion gets up from the fall, her face and chest bloodied.
>As the changlings have a yard left to reaching you, a shriek is heard, even through the mass of their hissing.
 
>Every one of the changlings stopped in their tracks... And then began to retreat.
>They pulled back, flying and running through the crevice back to their hive.
>It seems that their Queen thought you were too much trouble.
>You see your mint companion fall over, likely in shock from her injuries.
>You quickly inspect her injuries.
>Some of the rock had buried itself into her sternum.  
>Several fractured ribs.
>And her face skin was torn off in one place, leaving a red mark several inches in size.
>You quickly inject her with two of your stimpacks to make sure she would at least survive the rest of your trip.
>You could not operate in these close quarters.
>Picking her up on your arms, careful not to put weight on her chest, you make your way out of the crevice.
>You can see on the other side a sight you were familar with. The forest you were at when you were incapacitated.
>Exiting the crevice, you assess the immediate area.
>The river you came through seemed to be part of a delta. It was fed from a much larger river.
 
>You set your friend down on a nearby flat rock, and begin your work.
>About an hour later, you are satesfied with your work.
>Her cracked ribs were the biggest problem.
>Removing the rock fragments without doing further damage proved difficult.
>Still, you were far too close to the changlings to risk setting up camp.
>You close her up, stiching her chest and face with a protean thread you found schematics for a while back.
>The thread, as the injury healed, would be absorbed by the body, making it unnessesary to take the stiching out at a later date.
>However, doing this used up about 1/3 of what you had with you.
>You administer a small sedative to keep her under for the time being.
>If she were to wake, she would be in extreme pain. At least another day was needed before the pain could be bearable.
>You pick her up in your arms, and start heading north, following the river delta.
 
 
 
>The foliage that surrounds you amazes you.
>The sheer amount of animal and plant life was astounding.
>Once you had made significant amount of distance away from the hive, the trees began to impove in appearance.
>It is as if the Changlings corrupted the very earth they lived on.
>The sun is getting low in the sky, hues of orange and red begin to appear on the horizon.
>You walk a distance away from the river, and set your p0ny friend under a tree.
>She was still unconscious.
>You were worried what would happen when she woke up.
>She had been oddly trusting of you before.
>But when she awoke to stiching on her chest, and her body in pain, would she still trust you?
>So many unanswered questions.
>Your pip-boy now registered the time as 11:00 AM.
>The sun was setting.
>Was it malfunctioning?
>Not only that, but you felt... Lighter.
>You were able to lunge, jump, sprint far easier, expending far less energy.
>And the wingspan of the creatures, in proportion to their body, was abnormally small.
>Parhaps you had to confront the possibility... That you were not on Earth any longer.
>No part of the world went unspared by the nuclear warheads that you heard of.
>Not only that, but there was very little radiation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
>The natural level of background radiation, according to your pip-boy, was far lower than it should be.
>The only possible conclusion... Is that you were not on Earth.
>For the first time since you got here, you considered the anomaly you created to get here.
>The data you glanced over said that the anomaly will target another location roughly similar to it's orgin.
>It could be that the anomaly targetted another planet entirely.
>A planet similar to yours.
>If so, you'd need to create another one, and figure out how to connect it back to your world.
>But you bearly comprehended how the anomaly works in the first place. How could you build the machinery to create a new one?
>And even if you could do that, how would you link it back to your world?
>Irrelivant for now. You needed food and water.
>You walk back down to the river, staying within eyesight of her, just in case.
>The trees had thinned out enough that you could still view her from the river.
>You dump the bottles of soda you had, as well as the cheap beer, and fill them with water.
>The vodka and whiskey, however, you were holding on to.
>Both to drink, and to sterilize wounds.
 
 
>You dunk your face in the river, washing it, and taking a drink of water.
>It's been so long since you drank something NOT made of disgusting bio-sludge, that it tasted like heaven.
>Refreshed, and with a clean face, you turn your attention to your injuries.
>You still had pieces of the creatures stuck in your hands.
>And while your jacket covered it, you had a large wound on your back.
>You decide to pick out the pieces from your hand first.
>It would be best to let your body heal your back over time, rather than to attempt to stitch it together with your hands behind your back.
>Your shoulder damage was negligable.
>Unless you developed an infection to the tissue, which was unlikely, you could sow the muscle and skin back together easily.
>The burns should heal on their own as well.
>You glance at your reflection in the water, contemplating.
>As you look at yourself, you notice movement directly above your head.
>Looks like a squirrel.
 
 
>You pull your rifle out and look towards where the creature should be.
>Toning down the rifle's output to stun the creature (As opposed to vaporizing it), you track it.
>It's jumping from tree to tree, not really caring about your presence.
>It's larger than most squirrels in your world, as well. So it might be a satesfying meal...
>You take the shot as it makes the mistake of standing still.
>The shot lands in it's chest, causing it to fall out of the tree.
>It lands in the mud by the river.
>You grab the creature, and quickly break it's neck.
>Where there was one, there was bound to be others.
>Over the next hour, in the waning light of day, you hunt and gather what scarce food you can, and return to your hill, with your companion.
>She still sleeps.
>You quickly check over her, making sure all of her injuries were holding up fine.
>They were.
>You gather enough wood for a small fire, clear enough ground, and set up a cooking fire.
>You detest using your medical instruments to clean animals, but you could sterilize them.
>Cleaning the animals, you set the meat up on sticks next to the fire.
>You set your back against the tree, finally allowing yourself a moment of rest.
>Good progress was made today.
>You make several notes in your pip-boy about today's events.
 
 
>After you finish, you take the meat off the sticks, and dig in.
>No herbs, spices, or salt was available, but still.
>Best meal of the fortnight, right here.
>The berries, mushrooms, and other assorted things you gathered were beside you.
>You didn't want to test them for being poison until you ate enough to not be hungry.
>As you finish your meaty feast, you bury the remains in the ground, away from your camp, and return.
>By this time, the fire had died down, and the moon was out, shining in all of it's glory.
>It looked different than your moon.
>It looked a bit brighter, a bit larger.
>And the empty lava seas looked different as well.
>More evidence to the fact that this world was not Earth.
>Staring at it, you admire it's beauty.
>You observe the stars around, as well.
>You didn't recognize any constellations in the night sky.
>Still, they were just as beautiful.
>The galaxy itself crossed what you assumed to be the ecliptic of the planet.
>It looked similar, at least.
>No telling if it was the one your planet was in...
>You scatter the ashes, and set your head down to rest.