My Little Walking Dead

Flee to the Forest

“We’ll never make it,” Fluttershy said tearing her eyes from the train. Applejack nodded in acceptance, and together they sprang to their hooves and ran into the Everfree Forest, leaving the Ponyville behind them. After the light of the town, they were thrown into absolute darkness upon passing the tree line.

“Stay close,” Applejack said quietly, Fluttershy obliged and edged in closer. They crept silently through the undergrowth, their ears pricked up to catch the slightest sounds, but everything was silent in here.

They continued walking until they reached a small stream where they stopped for a drink.

“We’re not getting anywhere in this dark,” Applejack said, “We need to buckle down and wait till morning.”

“What if more of those things come?” Fluttershy asked looking all around them.

“Don’t worry, you get some rest, I’ll keep a look out.”

Fluttershy curled up on a patch of grass, but she couldn’t sleep, she was terrified, both for herself and Applejack as well as her other friends whose fates were a mystery to her.

Just as she felt herself drifting into a stupor she was shaken urgently awake by Applejack who was on full alert. Springing to her hooves she peered through the darkness, Angel sat stock still, bracing himself to run. Then Fluttershy heard what had alerted Applejack, the rustling of grass and the snapping of twigs on the ground.

“Should we run?” she asked nervously, but Applejack didn’t answer, she didn’t look afraid either. Looking back up Fluttershy saw a faint blue light breaking through the darkness.

Then to their delight, Rarity stepped through the trees into the clearing.

“Rarity,” they exclaimed in unison, and they rushed forward and embraced their friend. Following Rarity was Sweetie Belle, Granny Smith, Cheerilee, Rose Luck and Zecora.

“We were afraid nobody else had made it out,” Rarity said as Applejack and Granny Smith embraced.

“But where’s Appleblom?” Applejack asked suddenly, grabbing Sweetie Belle by the shoulders and shaking her.

“I wasn’t with her,” she answered quickly, “Rarity wouldn’t let me go to the sleepover, I don’t know what happened to Applebloom and Scootaloo.”

Applejack fell to the ground and buried her face into the grass. Fluttershy leaned down and held her, but she could feel her shaking with tears.

“We can’t stay here,” Cheerilee said, “we were being chased by some of them before we entered the forest, they might be looking for us now.”

“Then we have to get moving,” Rarity said taking charge of the situation. Fluttershy scooped Angel onto her back while Granny Smith urged Applejack to move. Sweetie Belle ran close to her sister’s side and Zecora remained at the back of the group, not talking to any of them.

“Um Rarity,” Fluttershy began tentatively, moving up beside her, “what are those things.”

“Alas Fluttershy, I have no idea,” she admitted, remaining focused on the forest route.

“Zombies,” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Rarity scolded.

“They are,” Sweetie Belle insisted, “I saw one being eaten by worms.”

“Enough Sweetie Belle,” Rarity commanded shuddering, “there is no such thing as zombies.”

Fluttershy wasn’t sure however, fluttering around to the other side of Rarity she leaned down to Sweetie Belle.

“What do you know about zombies?” she asked, Rarity rolled her eyes but didn’t interrupt.

“They can’t be killed, except by destroying the brain,” Sweetie Belle said in a hushed voice. Fluttershy thought back to the two that attacked her, how it got right back up after she stabbed it with the fire poker and the other died after Angel dropped the rock on its head.

“What else?” she asked.

“If they bite you, you become one,” Sweetie Belle told her. Fluttershy remembered what the doctor had said about a ‘strong case of the munchies’ and then stopped dead still as she remembered Daisy.

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for all this that doesn’t involve…” Cheerilee said walking up behind them, but drifted off not wanting to say the Z word out loud.

“Fluttershy, be a dear and take a look out over the canopy for us,” Rarity requested, though Fluttershy had the distinct feeling she wasn’t being given a choice. Spreading her wings she raised up through the branches into the night sky, Angel clinging to her mane. She scanned the entire forest; they seemed to have made good progress through it.

Looking back she saw the orange glow of the blazing buildings in Ponyville, and felt a vast emptiness inside her.

“Do you believe this zombie idea?” she asked Angel who responded with a series of gestures which she understood to mean ‘we can’t rule it out’. She nodded and continued looking across the forest, it was getting lighter, dawn wasn’t far off. In the slight darkness she could make out a dark building not too far away, perhaps it was the temple they found the Elements of Harmony.

Drifting back down she relayed this information to Rarity.

“Then that’s where we’ll go,” she decided without consulting the others, and immediately set off, the rest off the group trailing behind. Fluttershy noticed Applejack was falling behind, and she hadn’t spoken since they set off from the stream. She wanted to say something to her, to comfort her, but she hadn’t a clue what could possibly make her feel better at a time like this.

Fluttershy was thankful that the journey passed by without incident, it seemed they had left the zombies behind, but still, the forest felt eerie. Reaching the crevice where Rainbow Dash had tied the rope bridge they saw the temple clearly in the dim glow beginning to appear over the horizon.

“We should be able to rest there,” Rarity said, the others were only too glad, they were exhausted. Crossing the bridge in single file they approached the temple, Rarity taking the lead and opening the old rotten doors.

“Alright, we can rest here,” Rarity informed them, to which Applejack finally had enough.

“And who put you in charge?” she demanded.

“Well nopony else seemed able to rise to the occasion,” she said dismissively. Applejack opened her mouth ready to retort but Fluttershy cut in.

“Girls, this is no time for arguing,” neither of them said anything, but they didn’t look like they were finished.

Reluctantly every pony tried to get some sleep, Fluttershy offered to take watch and Zecora said she would also stay up. They sat together perfectly silent, looking out the arched windows for any signs of approaching zombies. Angel lay next to Fluttershy, his leg twitching slightly as he snoozed, Zecora seemed intent to stare out and not acknowledge Fluttershy at all.

“So um,” Fluttershy began awkwardly after an unbearably long period of silence, “what were you doing in Ponyville?”

“My home was ransacked,” she explained, “I came to warn Ponyville, but I found it too had been attacked.”

Fluttershy nodded and went back to staring out the window.

Time passed by and eventually the sun hung high in the sky, the summer heat causing her to sweat and pant. Then she saw a figure shift at the edge the forest, and squinting her eyes she made out a zombie stumbling across the tree line. She tapped Zecora on the shoulder and pointed, they both starred intently, readying themselves to warn the others if it came to it. It didn’t look like it would come to that however as the zombie continued along the edge of the forest and vanished past the tree line after several minutes of ridiculously slow walking.

Fluttershy walked across the room to where the others lay sleeping and nudged Rarity awake.

“Rarity wake up,” she said, then added, “if you don’t mind.”

Rarity stirred and sat up, Fluttershy told her about the zombie that passed by.

“We can’t stay here for much longer,” she said once Fluttershy was finished, “we’re very exposed, and we need food.”

“We should head back,” Applejack said, they both jumped slightly, not realising she was awake.

“That would be suicide,” Rarity said disdainfully.

“So we should save ourselves, let our friends die,” Applejack challenged her.

“There’s no guarantee there’s still anypony back in Ponyville,” Rarity argued, “We have to look after the ones we can.”

“Easy for you to say,” Applejack snarled, “your sisters here and safe.”

“Please don’t fight,” Fluttershy begged, “I’m sure we can come up with a compromise.”

“We could always go to Dodge,” Rose Luck said shyly, again they hadn’t realised she was awake, “not too far from Ponyville so that others might find us there, but it might be safe, and it definitely has food.”

“That sounds agreeable for the time being,” Rarity conceded, Applejack didn’t argue, but she didn’t look completely convinced either. With that decision made they woke Granny Smith, Sweetie Belle, Cheerilee and Angel and filled them in on the plan. None of them had a problem with it, though Angel asked Fluttershy to the side if she really thought it was a good idea, Fluttershy wasn’t sure, but she accepted it couldn’t be any worse than staying here.

The afternoon was well underway when they finally set off, re entering the forest. Fluttershy observed the group, the tension was palpable. Applejack and Rarity were staring daggers at each other, Zecora seemed detached from them all, and Granny smith was lagging behind more than usual. Only Cheerilee, Rose Luck and Sweetie Belle seemed fine, well as fine as you could expect to be when you had been chased from your home by zombies and many of your friends were quite possibly dead.

None of them spoke to each other, just remained focused on getting through the forest and reaching Dodge. Fluttershy opened her mouth, wanting to say something that might relax the atmosphere when they all came to a stop. Fluttershy had heard it too, the sound of branches snapping and leaves rustling. Looking up she saw a figure fly through the trees and come smashing down to the ground in front of her. She quickly recognised the Pegasus Cloudchaser, but she also quickly noticed the way she lay trembling on the ground, her rear leg sticking out at an awkward angle.

Cheerilee and Fluttershy ran in to help her but she screamed and tried to crawl away from them. As she did she exposed her left flank and Fluttershy saw the gash in her side covered in dry blood. Holding her still they looked closer and it became apparent to them all that something had taken a bite out of Cloudchaser’s flank. Sweetie Belle backed away and Fluttershy knew why, she recognised the symptoms, the rasping breath, the bloodshot eyes, she really was turning right in front of them.

“I guess we’d better put her down,” Applejack stated in a neutral tone. Rarity looked up horrified.

“She has a small infection and you want to kill her,” she exclaimed.

“She’s bitten,” Applejacks announced, “you heard what Sweetie Belle said, in a minute she’s gonna be like them.”

“For the last time,” Rarity shouted furiously, “there is no such thing as zombies. Now would you mind removing your executioner hood and try helping me.”

Fluttershy looked at Applejack, she knew she was right, but she also knew she didn’t have it in her to do it. Standing up she pulled at Rarity trying to get her to back off while Applejack searched for a tool.

“Let go Fluttershy,” she ordered, “don’t tell me they’ve scared you into believing that old mare’s tale as well.”

“Rarity…” Fluttershy began, but Rarity shook her off.

“Rose, lend me a hoof will you,” she commanded. Rose Luck obliged and leaned over Cloudchaser; Cheerilee backed off and went to stand beside Zecora, Granny Smith and Sweetie Belle.

Fluttershy stood up and watched their feeble attempts to treat the bloody Pegasus; Applejack was standing nearby, a rock cradled in her fore leg. As they watched, Cloudchaser slowly slipped away, her breathing cutting off, her eyes closing. Rarity stood up and faced them, looking angry.

“You see, she’s not a zombie, she was just an injured filly who needed our help,” but no sooner had the words left her mouth than Cloudchaser sprang up sinking her teeth into Rose Luck’s neck.

Rose screamed as she tried to pull away, but Cloudchaser held fast. Fluttershy charged in and tried to pull Rose away while Applejack ran up and began hammering the rock down upon Cloudchaser’s head. After three hits she crumpled to the ground, her skull caved in, and Rose lay back shaking profusely.

“You see,” Applejack shouted at Rarity, “you see what happens, you can’t tell me those aren’t zombies.”

“I…” Rarity stuttered, heavily shaken by what had just taken place.

Cheerilee had vomited and Sweetie Belle was clutching Granny Smith and crying into her shoulder. Angel hopped across to Rose Luck and sniffed her; he looked up at Fluttershy who immediately knew what Angel was indicating. Rose couldn’t speak, she couldn’t even breath, she was fading fast, and both Fluttershy and Applejack knew what they had to do. Applejack leaned down and cradled Rose’s head in her forelegs and breathed heavily.

“I’m so sorry Rose Luck,” she said, before snapping her neck.

They waited there for only a few minutes, Sweetie Belle wanted to bury them, but Rarity explained they didn’t have the time, and so reluctantly they all moved off again, leaving the scene of death and the Everfree Forest behind them. The plains they emerged onto were scarce with life, small patches of grass littered their sights, but all too quickly it turned into a blank stretch of desert. The heat of the summer sun beginning its descent in the sky made them all feel heavy and tired. Fluttershy was finding it difficult to put one hoof in front of the other, her wings trailed out behind her and Angel lay slumped on her back.

Dodge City emerged mercifully quick, rippling in the heat like a mirage, Fluttershy dreaded for a moment that’s exactly what it was, but after what felt like a lifetime and hiking through the scorching desert they arrived at the edge of Dodge with the sun sitting low in the sky. It was a ghost town; the entire town was stripped of life. As they wandered the streets she felt a pang in her chest, this could very well be Ponyville.

“Alright y’all, keep your eyes open and follow me,” Applejack instructed in a whisper, “I reckon our best bet at food is the cherry orchard.”

None of them chose to argue, not even Rarity, although she didn’t look happy about having Applejack assume command. Fluttershy crept along behind Applejack, Angel sitting atop her head, his eyes swivelling across the empty streets. They seemed to be nearing their destination as Applejack was picking up the pace, her attention becoming increasingly more focused on a cluster of buildings directly in front of them. As Fluttershy trotted behind she glanced nervously over her shoulder and spotted what she guessed was the town hall. It reminded her of the one in Ponyville, except there was a tall clock tower on top rather than the large dome she was familiar with.

In the split second her eyes met the clock face her heart gave a sudden jolt, it read 5:59.

“Applejack,” she whispered urgently. The farm pony stopped mid stride and looked around, opening her mouth to question her, but before she could, the clock struck six. the entire party froze as the tolls began echoing out across the previously silent street, they stood stock still, their breaths caught in their throats as the clock chimed out and the street was once again left utterly silent, but not for long.

Fluttershy’s ears perked up as small sounds began emanating from all around them, the creaking of floor boards, the shifting of barrels, but most prominently, the low moaning. They came from every corner, every nook, and every cranny. They looked somehow more horrifying in the light of day, as their gruesome features were made painfully clear. Their pale skin hanging loosely and tattered from their exposed muscles, their twitching limbs, and the oh so familiar stench of death.

“Run now!” Applejack ordered, scooping Granny Smith onto her back and breaking into a gallop.

She didn’t need to tell the rest twice, as the dead began ambling towards them, Fluttershy, Cheerilee, Zecora and Rarity dashed after Applejack, the latter holding Sweetie Belle in her magical aura. Fluttershy panted as she fought to keep up with the others, she could feel Angel clinging to her skull and knew he must be terrified. The door to the Cheery house was so close, Fluttershy tried to fight her desire to look back, but after as the gap continued to decrease she knew she couldn’t fight it and glanced back.

The sight nearly made her trip in panic; it seemed the whole population of Dodge was after them, the street was filled with the infected.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity shouted, pulling her attention back in front of her. Applejack had reached the door and was hammering against it, to everyponies’ dismay, it appeared to be locked. Crossing the final steps the group came to be gathered at the closed door as the inhabitants of Dodge began closing around them.

“Can’t you buck it down?” Rarity demanded, her voice filled with fear.

“’Course I can, but then they can follow us in!” she shouted back still struggling against the door, as if hoping it would unlock itself.

“We don’t have time!” Cheerilee pleaded, “We can just barricade it but we have to get inside now!”

Applejack yelled in frustration setting Granny Smith down before rearing up and driving her forehooves down upon the wooden obstacle, smashing it to pieces.

“In, now!” she ordered, standing back to allow the rest to go in ahead of her. Fluttershy was the last to pass through the door frame before Applejack entered. Quickly she cast her eyes about the musky room, searching desperately for something to pin against the door way.

“Here!” Applejack called out, putting her weight to a large cabinet. Zecora ran forward and helped Applejack shift it in front of the door, it was large enough to do the job, but would it hold against the horde? Applejack was leaning against the cabinet as it began to tremble against the battering it was taking from the other side. The walls did little to block out the moaning filling the streets, all the ponies gathered panted, at a loss for what to do. Fluttershy noticed a dense clattering filling the room and realised the creatures were knocking against the windows on either side of the door.

“This is hopeless,” Applejack huffed, “Cheerilee, Rarity, put your weight against this.”

Rarity chose not to argue, setting Sweetie Belle down she hurried over to help Cheerilee push against the cabinet.

“Zecora ah need your help, but it’s gonna be dangerous,” Applejack said turning to the zebra.

“Whatever you need my friend, help I shall always lend,” Zecora responded with determination.

“Good, now follow me,” she said sprinting from the room out a back door, Zecora followed without question.

“Applejack!” Rarity screamed, “Where does she think she’s going?”

Fluttershy rushed over to Sweetie Belle who was sobbing quietly in the corner. Wrapping her hooves around the unicorns head she began cooing softly to her. The room was then filled with smashing as the windows began caving in under the assault. Angel hopped in front of Fluttershy and stood aggressively, ready to defend her until the death. Just as she was sure they were doomed another sound was mixed with those of the infected, it was somepony shouting from outside, and the clanging of metal.

The ponies struggling to get in began to cease their assault, seemingly distracted by whatever was going on in the street. Warily, Fluttershy crept forward toward one of the broken windows, the ponies outside having lost interest in breaking their way in and now moving away. Reaching the window she stood up and looked out into the street they had run through. There at the base of the town hall was Applejack and Zecora, each shouting as loud as they could and beating seemingly random pieces of junk together.

Fluttershy gasped as she realised what they were doing, they were using themselves as bait to lure the creatures away. As the infected began covering the distance towards them, Applejack nodded once at Zecora and the pair dropped their objects. Zecora began trotting away, not too fast for her pursuers to lose interest, but not slow enough for them to catch her either.

“Don’t worry about us!” Applejack called out to them, “we’ll shake ‘em and circle on back!”

With that she too dashed off down a different street from Zecora, the creatures splitting up to chase them down.

The group stood inside the building in utter silence for some time, catching their breath and not daring to hope that they were indeed in the clear. It was only when Rarity stood back from the cabinet she had been leaning against that the silence was broken.

“Alright, it seems we’re safe for now,” she announced, “but we’ll need to secure ourselves while waiting for them to come back.”

It wasn’t until night fall that they heard any movement in the streets. The remainder of the day had been spent boarding up the windows with materials they found in a store room out back, mostly at the guidance of Granny Smith, as Rarity who despite her attempts to take charge of the situation, had no idea how to fortify the building. Once they were secured inside the building they cracked open one of the food reserves they had discovered upon their search of the place, which Rarity rationed out, giving rather liberal amounts to Sweetie Belle, although nopony objected.

When they heard the light trotting in the street Fluttershy ran to the back door they surmised Applejack had left through with Zecora, to let them in. Applejack ran up, panting and clutching her hat to her head, Fluttershy quickly bundled her in, locking the door behind them before pulling Applejack into a tight embrace.

“You were so brave, we never would have made it out if not for you,” she said as she pulled back.

“Shucks, it was nothin’, ah jus’ did what ah had ta,” she replied modestly, “is Zecora back?”

Fluttershy shook her head with worry; Applejack nodded but then brightened up.

“Don’t worry Sugarcube,” she began, “ah’m sure she’ll be along soon enough. Now what say we go see the others.”

With that the pair entered the main room, where Applejack was fed and thanked, and they all sat awake, waiting for Zecora to return, but it quickly became apparent she never would.

Day 12

Dodge had become comfortable enough once they finished securing the cherry farm, a feat made all the easier by Applejack’s contributions. Along with that the farm perimeter was already fenced, so once inside they could wonder through safely, with full access to the cheery trees, which Applejack was more than capable of tending. When they needed something that wasn’t already in the farm they would travel out in pairs and scavenge through the other houses for supplies. Fluttershy had been nervous about doing this the first day, but quickly found she had a knack for moving quickly and quietly.

She would either travel out with Applejack or Rarity, the former normally when they knew heavy lifting was required, but on this day it was the latter she was travelling with. They moved through a side street after Fluttershy had checked to see if the coast was clear, Rarity seemed distracted, but Fluttershy didn’t want to talk while they were out in the open. Once they reached their destination, a building that was once a general store, Rarity stepped forward and began fiddling with the lock. While Fluttershy knew she’d never admit it, even Rarity wasn’t delicate enough to pick locks, instead she settled for systematically breaking them apart in the neatest way possible.

Once the door was unlocked the two crept forward and made their way into the dimly lit shop.

“Okay,” Rarity began, I previous visit to this shop earlier during their stay had proven there were no infected inside, so they were free to talk. “Let’s get to work, see what we missed.”

Fluttershy nodded and set about scouring the shelves for anything that might be useful. They had already been scarce upon their arrival, stripped down by the few survivors who had been lucky enough to get out alive, coupled with their earlier salvage trips, there was hardly anything worth claiming.

Still Fluttershy packed her saddlebags with assorted metal fittings, threads, and other seemingly useless items, perhaps they could find a use for them.

“So Fluttershy,” Rarity said at last, discarding a small gas cooker broken beyond repair. “Have you thought any more about leaving?”

Fluttershy gulped, she had been afraid of this, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever.

“I still don’t know,” she replied hesitantly, “we seem pretty well off where we are.”

She knew Rarity wouldn’t react well to hearing that, and she wasn’t disappointed.

“But surely darling, you’re not happy?” she enquired, sounding more like she was telling Fluttershy what she felt rather than asking her. “Don’t you hate having to sneak around, ration food and fear for your life?”

“Of course I do, but…” Fluttershy began only to be cut off.

“Exactly, we’re accomplishing nothing by hiding here,” she continued, “We should go now while we have food to manage travelling.”

“But, what if everywhere is the same?” Fluttershy pleaded, “What if this is the best we’re going to find.”

“I refuse to believe that,” Rarity said curtly, “it is my duty to find what’s best for my sister, surely you can appreciate that?”

Fluttershy didn’t answer; she didn’t know how she could possibly answer that. Instead she skulked away, heading for the counter to check for stuff that was missed.

She faintly heard Rarity give an annoyed groan at her departure, but shook her head to ignore the guilty feeling; she had to stay focused on the job, that’s what Applejack always said. As she continued to think she was barely aware of her own movements, until her hoof collided painfully with something jutting out of the floor. She gasped, flinching away and looking down. It appeared to be a loose floor board, bent awkwardly so it was raised higher than the rest of the floor. Sighing she placed her hoof back down, and immediately became aware of something cool against her shin, almost like a breeze.

Curiously she reached forward and shifted the floor board out of the way. The gap it created definitely revealed something beneath the floor, but it was too dark to see. Reaching into her saddlebags she pulled out a hammer, which she used to loosen the other boards on either side of the hole she had created. After several minutes of grunting and starting to break out into sweat the hole was now big enough to fit through.

“Still too dark,” she muttered to herself before raisin her head over the counter. “Rarity, I think I found something.”

The unicorn didn’t hesitate to come over, clearly finding nothing of use herself. Once she arrived she immediately saw the issue and lit her horn up, using the faint blue light to illuminate the hole in front of them. Fluttershy had assumed it was a basement, but instead it was just a single square hole, about three feet by three feet. Resting in the bottom was a small crate.

“Ohhh,” Rarity murmured, “well done Fluttershy.”

using her telekinesis she began to heave the box out of the hole, it was clearly heavier than anything she was used to lifting as she was visibly straining under the weight of it.

Soon enough however it was set down in front of them and the pair grinned widely, eager to see what treasures they had uncovered. Using the hammer again, Fluttershy eased the nails out holding the lid in place until it was ready to lift off. Depositing the hammer back in her bag she looked Rarity in the eye. She nodded and together they took a deep breath before Fluttershy slid the lid off.

“Jackpot!” they exclaimed in unison. Before them the crate was packed to the brim with small metal canisters, each bearing a label indicating their contents.

“Potatoes, carrots, beans…” Rarity read off, lifting can after can out of the box in her magical aura. “Fluttershy… this is perfect! There’s enough food here to see us to Manehattan.”

Fluttershy didn’t respond to that, instead she just emptied her saddle bags of the useless junk she had accumulated and began filling them instead with the tins of food. Her silence hadn’t gone unnoticed by Rarity; although she eyed Fluttershy suspiciously she didn’t comment but instead also began packing the food away. By the time the crate was empty they were both heavily laden with food, it wouldn’t be easy getting back to the farm.

Taking the lead, Rarity ambled towards the back door they had entered through. They probably weren’t going to find anything else, but if they did there was no way either of them could carry anything more. As she reached the door she reached out ready to swing it open, but was pulled back by Fluttershy. Rarity seemed to excited by their discovery to have noticed, but Fluttershy was constantly wary of her surroundings, and the faint moaning emanating from outside hadn’t escaped her notice. Rarity turned ready to question Fluttershy’s actions but was cut off by a yellow hoof pressed against her mouth.

Moving as silently as she could, Fluttershy inched the door open, allowing only a sliver of light to come in, but enough room for her to just about make out the alley they had entered from. There were at least half a dozen infected gathered there, seemingly oblivious to the potential meal mere feet away. Pulling back from the door just as silently, Fluttershy muttered a rare curse word before turning back to Rarity.

“How many?” she questioned in a whisper.

“Six, maybe more,” Fluttershy replied looking all around the main room of the shop for other possible exits.

“We can try the front door,” Rarity suggested as they crept away from the back exit.

“No good,” Fluttershy responded shaking her head, “too open, we’d never be able to sneak away with all this stuff.”

Rarity nodded reluctantly, giving Fluttershy an odd look.

“So what do you suggest?” Fluttershy thought it over for a moment, the alley was their best chance at getting back to the farm laden with all this salvage, but they couldn’t use it… could they?

“Follow me,” Fluttershy ordered, a moment of inspiration giving way to her more assertive side. Moving as quickly as she could without making too much noise, she circled the store, arriving at an employee only door, Rarity remaining a few steps behind. Swinging it open the pair discovered a staircase they already knew to be there from their previous visit. Ascending it swiftly, Fluttershy followed along the wall until she was crouched beneath a window overlooking the alleyway.

“Alright Rarity, I’ve got a plan,” she began turning to the unicorn.

Rarity listened intently as Fluttershy explained, it would be simple enough, and yet so long as there were no complications it would be perfect. Once she was sure what she had to do, she moved over to the window, her horn lighting up. Fluttershy gave her a nod and looking out the window her horn gave a surge of power. The back door was flung open, the sound ringing through the alley way, all of the infected spun around to find the source of the noise. Fluttershy watched as Rarity shut her eyes, picturing the shop below them. As she did, faint crashing noises could be heard beneath them.

Looking out the window, Fluttershy was pleased to see they were taking the bait and all of the infected were stumbling through the back door to investigate the source of the noise. Once all were safely inside and out of the way, Fluttershy gave Rarity a tap on the shoulder and she ceased her destruction of the room bellow, instead focusing her magic on the back door once again, closing it much more gently so as not to alert the infected of their sudden imprisonment. With that step cleared, Fluttershy unlatched the window and began angling herself out.

Once her legs and head were freed, she let herself free fall to the ground, spreading her wings to slow her descent. Once she was safely on the ground she looked back up at Rarity who was in the process of climbing through the window herself. She gave one noticeable gulp before letting her self fall down after, her horn flashing once and her body glowing with a pale blue light, causing her to fall at a similar speed of a feather caught in a light breeze. Once both were safely on the ground and satisfied their escape had gone unnoticed by the infected now rummaging through the general store, they set off the way they had come, their new found loot safely stored in their bags.

They arrived at the farm without encountering anymore infected, which was lucky considering neither were in any state for running away on account of the bags weighing them down. As the perimeter gate loomed into view, it was swung open by a familiar purple mare. Cheerilee eyed the street nervously as she let them both pass through, quickly slamming the gate behind them.

“Thank goodness you’re both safe,” she said, sounding relieved. While none of them had found themselves in any great peril beyond the first day in Dodge, this whole situation had the poor teacher down to her last nerves, panicking at the slightest thing.

“Yes, we’re safe, and we have wonderful news,” Rarity informed her, leading the way into the main building. as they walked across Fluttershy saw Applejack working the fields, upon meeting her eye she stopped what she was doing and trotted up to meet them, walking in pace with Fluttershy.

“hey there Sugarcube, everything alright out there?” she asked warmly, Fluttershy nodded giving a little gesture towards her heavy looking saddle bags which hadn’t escaped Applejack’s notice. upon entering the building she saw Granny Smith sitting as she normally did on the rocking chair Applejack had fixed up for her, being fed some soup by Angel.

Fluttershy smiled at the sight, the little rabbit had taken a great fondness for the Apple family matriarch. Sweetie Belle ran over to them as they entered, eager to see what they had brought back. Once the general greetings and assurances of ell being were out of the way they all gathered around the table in the centre as Fluttershy and Rarity deposited the contents of their saddlebags.

“Oh my!” Cheerilee whispered as she gazed down at their amazing finds.

“Is that… food?” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, giving a little squeak o excitement as she realised what the tin cans contained.

“Nice goin’,” Applejack said, delighted, “with this we’ll really be able to stick it out here come winter, real good job you pair.”

“Winter!” Rarity exclaimed, all semblance of glee at their discovery forgotten, “you think we brought all this food back so you could keep us held up in here? These are the supplies we need to begin moving away from here!”

“This again,” Applejack muttered darkly, “we’ve been through this Rare, you can’t go draggin’ us along with you after some fantasy of a better life somewhere else.”

“We need to leave now while we have the supplies necessary!” Rarity snapped back, the others began shifting uncomfortably at the latest argument between their two fearless leaders. “I’m not about to let my sister live her life in some shack, in constant fear of those monsters.”

“There’s nothin’ to suggest it’s any better anywhere else,” Applejack insisted, “’sides, Granny Smith is too old for travellin’. We got a good deal set up here, and you’re about to throw that away for some dream of a better life that don’t exist.”

Rarity opened her mouth to argue but both mares were silenced by a surprisingly loud shout from none other than Granny Smith.

“That’s enough!” she exclaimed, the sheer volume the old mare managed was enough to silence them all simply out of surprise, “now you pair outta be ashamed of yourselves, fightin’ like a pair o’ school fillies. Now I want you both to apolo…”

Her scolding was cut off as she was overcome by a severe coughing fit, after she seemed to have yelled herself hoarse.

Angle rushed forward and began patting her on the back before leading her away to her chair. Applejack and Rarity made forward to see if she was alright but Angle began making aggressive gestures at them both.

“He thinks you should give her some space,” Fluttershy translated. Both mares looked like they wanted to continue their argument, but knew it was benefiting no one, so instead they chose to avert their gaze from one another and storm off in opposite directions.

As Applejack approached the back door she gestured towards Fluttershy, indicating she wanted to talk. Fluttershy obeyed and walked out into the cherry orchard with her.

“Can you believe the attitude of that one?” Applejack exclaimed once they were clear of the house, “We got a pretty good deal set up here, we got food, a well, security, and we’re only a journey away from home, and she wants to throw that all away for some pie in the sky dream of sunny skies and warm beaches.”

“She just wants what’s best for her sister,” Fluttershy began before cowering under the withering glare Applejack gave her.

“And I don’t,” she said, tears forming in the corner of her eyes, “shucks, I don’t even know where my sister is, she could be back in Ponyville, she could have escaped or she could be… she could be…”

Fluttershy moved forward and embraced her friend.

“All ah know is that if we set off in the opposite direction, we’re letting go of whatever hope we still have of ever seeing our friends or family again.” Fluttershy brushed her mane as Applejack’s body was wracked with quiet sobs.

“Tell me the truth Fluttershy,” she whispered into her shoulder, “your honest opinion, am ah right to hold out hope that one day we can go back… or am ah just denying what’s in front of my eyes?”

Fluttershy gulped as everything rushed through her mind, her conversations with Rarity and Applejack, Rarity’s hopes for giving Sweetie Belle a better life, Applejack’s hopes of returning home and finding their friends, Granny Smith’s inability to travel, the chance that if they did return to Ponyville… it wouldn’t be good news.

She opened her mouth, ready to give her answer, but at that moment something caught her eye. The perimeter fence, lying wide open.

“Applejack!” she began, Applejack’s head snapping up in response to her terrified voice. Following her gaze, she too saw the open gate.

“Shit!” she exclaimed, just as a shriek rent through the air.

“Cheerilee!” Fluttershy squealed, Applejack galloped off, making for the house.

Regaining control of her senses, Fluttershy sped off to the gate, slamming it shut and being sure to lock it before anything else could get in. once she was sure it was secured she followed after Applejack to the back door of the main building. Passing over the threshold she became wary, there was very little noise coming from within. As she neared the main room where they had laid the food out she began to hear the unmistakable sound of crying. Crossing the last steps into the room, she felt as if her heart had been encased in ice, but once she saw what awaited them inside, it felt as if her heart stopped beating altogether.

Sweetie Belle was curled up against her sister, bawling her eyes out as Rarity held her close, barely able to control her own shaking. Cheerilee leaned against the far wall, her own body wracked with sobs. A single infected lay in a crumpled heap in the centre of the room, its head a bloody pulp. Not far behind that, Applejack sat, cradling the trembling body of Granny Smith. Edging forward, Fluttershy saw exactly what she feared; Granny Smith was cradling one of her hooves, the unmistakable bite marks visible.

Angel hopped over to her and looked up at her sadly, she knew he realised what was going n and nodded, confirming his fears of what had to happen. Rarity stepped forward, taking up a lead pipe that had been discarded next to the dead infected in her magic.

“Applejack,” she began stiffly, “please step back, you know what has to happen.”

Applejack starred up at her, the tears in her eyes failing to disguise her fury.

“No, ah won’t let you take her from me!” she bellowed as tears flowed freely from her eyes.

“Applejack you’ve seen what happens, you know how quickly they turn, we have to…” Rarity began, edging forward, the pipe held aloft.

“No, I won’t let you!”

“Applejack…” Fluttershy whispered sadly, reaching out to touch her shoulder, but Applejack snapped away, clutching the aging mare tightly to her chest.

“Apple… Applejack,” Granny Smith whispered, her voice quivering with weakness.

Applejack leaned in and the pair whispered together, Fluttershy couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she could tell Applejack was objecting, and a sinking feeling in her gut told her what Granny Smith was saying. After a minute or two, Applejack finally pulled away from the other mare, who seemed to have slipped in unconsciousness, at least Fluttershy liked to think that’s what had happened.

“Alright,” Applejack said standing up, but as Rarity moved forward she spoke again, “but not you! ah’ll do this mah self.”

Rarity nodded and held the pipe out, which Applejack clutched in her mouth after a moment of hesitation. Everyone in the room held a collective breath as Applejack stood over her granny, readying herself. Then as she raised the pipe, Fluttershy turned away, clenching her eyes shut and folding her ears, but it did little to block out the sickening crunch that echoed through the room, followed by the clattering of metal on wood. Reluctantly she turned back, trying to avert her gaze from the lime green corpse, instead looking at Applejack who was shaking violently, unable to tear her eyes away from her granny.

“I’m… terribly sorry Applejack,” Rarity said after an unpleasant moment of silence, stepping forward, “I know that wasn’t easy, but you did what you had to…”

But she was cut off as Applejack snapped around, her hoof swinging up and connecting violently with the side of her face. Sweetie Belle screamed as her sister was sent packing to the floor, Cheerilee gasped and Fluttershy rushed forward, placing herself between the two mares.

“You didn’t lock the gate!” Applejack screamed trying to fight past Fluttershy to get at Rarity, “mah granny is dead because of you!”

“I wasn’t responsible for the gate!” Rarity spat back, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, “it wasn’t my fault!”

“I… I left it unlocked,” Cheerilee stammered. Applejack turned on her, but Fluttershy cut off her tantrum.

“No! This is nopony’s fault!” she shouted, her voice threatening to give way, “this is a terrible thing that should never have happened, but we can’t turn on each other now.”

All the anger seemed to drain from Applejack as she collapsed to her knees, crying freely. Fluttershy leaned down and embraced her once more. Angel sat looking mournfully down at Granny Smith, while Sweetie Belle rushed to her sister’s side, Cheerilee ran from the room, nopony tried to stop her.

“We should bury her,” Applejack stated after an awfully long silence, filled only with the sound of crying. Fluttershy nodded and helped Applejack to her hooves, and together they set about digging a grave. Cheerilee was already outside, and was eager to assist when she realised what they were doing. Angel scraped away an impressive amount of dirt with only his paws; even Sweetie Belle had a hoof at shovelling. Only Rarity refused to help, instead shutting herself away in the sleeping quarters.

Day 13

Fluttershy wasn’t surprised to see Applejack still sitting next to the fresh grave when she woke up that morning. What she was surprised to see when she turned away from the window and entered the main room was Rarity packing her bags with the cans of food.

“Rarity, what are you doing?” she said, though she knew full well.

“Ah good, you’re up, give me a hoof won’t you?” she asked, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to be doing.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Rarity tensed up at the question before answering.

“Yes, we are,” she stated, “yesterday made it clear that we simply can’t stay here, for Sweetie, I have to move on. You’ll come too won’t you?”

Fluttershy hesitated, her answer had seemed so clear when Applejack had asked her yesterday, now she wasn’t sure, but she was saved from answering by another voice joining the conversation.

“So that’s it huh? You’re flying the coop.” they both looked around to see Applejack standing in the doorway, she didn’t look angry, or sad, or anything, just empty.

“Yes Applejack I am, and you would be a fool not to come,” Rarity replied matter of factly.

“Then ah guess ah’m a fool,” Applejack replied bitterly.

“I… I think I want to leave too,” another voice said, Fluttershy saw it was Cheerilee who was standing in the doorway with Sweetie Belle. Applejack nodded, accepting her decision before looking to Fluttershy.

“How ‘bout you Shy?” she asked, Fluttershy felt all eyes on her and her heart rate double. She looked down to Angel who gave her a look which made it clear he would stick with her no matter what.

“Well…” she began at last, giving one gulp before continuing, “I want to…”

Do you:

a) Stay-

b) Leave-