Pragmatism

Dark clouds were gathered on the horizon.

The Ponyville community had gathered at the town outskirts, all of them watching as purple lightning struck down at the fields below.

Spike tugged on Twilight’s wing, his eyes fixed on the spectacle. “Twilight... what is that?”

“I...” She strained her eyes in the hope that she would get a sudden moment of clarity. “I don’t know...”

“Well, whatever it is, it seems to be getting closer,” Rarity said.

Nearby, ponies’ ears twitched as they heard her words. Panicked murmurs began to spread through the crowd.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, looking around as everypony began to lose themselves and she totally kept her cool. “And there goes any hope of keeping order.”

“Now don’t be so sure, Rainbow. We don’t even know what the hay that thing is,” Applejack said. “Could be as harmless a simple ol’ apple.”

Twilight kept her eyes fixed on the incoming storm. “Well, somepony should check it out before it gets here.”

“Thank you for volunteering!” came the slightly too eager voice of Mayor Mare, who patted Twilight on the back. “I know you and your friends can handle this. Just like every other threat that has endangered our wonderful town!” Some of the nearby villagers murmured in agreement.

Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes. As much as it was a cowardly move, the Mayor was right. Sometimes she thought that Princess Celestia had more than one motive to send her here.

Suddenly the sky boomed, the sound of thunder close. Everypony jumped and started backing away, with the exception of Twilight and her friends. Well, except Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was crouched down, trying to move into the crowd. Rarity was quick to try and draw her out again.

Already, Twilight was forming a game plan in her head. A few seconds later, she sprung into action. “Rarity, keep the citizens calm and get them inside their homes. Fluttershy, make sure the animals are okay. The rest of us will check the storm out.”

Rarity gave her a quick nod. “At once, darling.” Immediately, she started to use her charm to convince the other ponies to vacate the area and get inside.

Fluttershy did the same, but was more cowed. “Alr-right...” She slowly spread her wings and flew off, but remained close to the ground.

Twilight turned to her remaining friends. Pinkie was bouncing around excitedly. “The storm looks so cool but pretty at the same time, and also,” she took in a deep breath, then boomed, “POWERFUL!!”

The librarian flinched. “Pinkie, we need to be serious. Can you do that?”

Pinkie’s head went up and down faster than Rainbow Dash’s wings could flap. “Yep-a-roony!” Well, that was about as serious as Pinkie could get.

Twilight turned to Rainbow and Applejack, who both looked determined. “You ready?”

Dash scuffed her chest, beaming with lax confidence. “Of course I am.”

“I’m always ready, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied.

“Good, we’ll—” Twilight felt something tug at her wing. Again. “Yes, Spike?”

The dragon looked up at her friend. “I’m coming too... right?” He sounded unsure, but he stood firm.

Twilight bit her lip, then looked at the same. After a moment’s mulling over, she said, “Alright, but... just stay back and be careful, okay?”

“I can take care of myself, Twi,” Spike replied.

“I know.” She smiled and rubbed his head affectionately. “But I don’t want you getting hurt, that’s all.” She gazed at her other comrades. They seemed ready. “Okay... let’s go.” She set off at a gallop, but quickly changed to a trot when she saw more lightning strike the earth.

The group gradually approached the storm, with Spike hanging back. Eventually, they could the very ground beneath their hooves vibrate as powerful electricity slammed into it. The hairs on the ponies backs started to raise on their ends, an odd hum in the air.

The dark clouds were now only a stone’s throw away from them when they came to a stop. Twilight bowed her head, as her horn started to glow. She jumped as more lightning and thunder boomed, as the others yelped in surprise, but eventually she got what she was looking. “This...” she began, her voice sounding lost, “this isn’t natural.”

“No, really? Was it the purple lightning that gave it away?” Rainbow Dash snarked, keeping down on the ground.

Twilight huffed and went on, “I’ll need to get closer to be able to tell its origin...” She gulped. The storm was strong and more importantly, unrelenting. But she reassured herself that the chances of them getting hit was low, as long as they kept down to the ground. She crouched down and slowly walked forward, the others following her lead.

“Teehee! It’s like we’re trying to be all sneaky so the storm won’t see us,” Pinkie chirped.

“Something like that...” Applejack said.

Soon, the clouds were directly above them. Everypony turned to Twilight, looking at her intently, their bodies poised to flee if anything happened. Twilight closed her eyes and focused, trying to determined the storm’s origin with her horn. “Okay... just give me a few—”

There was a bright flash as lightning shot down from above, right onto Twilight. She yelled in pain, her whole body getting shocked. A loud crackling noise could be heard, as they others had to shield their eyes from the light. And when it was over, only ashened grass remained.

Instantly Rainbow Dash raised herself off the ground and zoomed to where Twilight had been. “Twi! Twilight! What--where--”

Another flash, another shout, and another missing pony.

“Run!” Applejack ordered, lowering her head and setting off out of the storm at a charge. Pinkie and Spike screamed as they tried to follow her, lightning hitting the ground nearby them, almost tripping the pair.

Applejack kept solid even as lightning almost brushed her tail. Her legs were in constant motion, her hoofsteps surprisingly light for a mare her bulk. But even she succumbed to the power of the storm, electricity suddenly coursed through her frame and she too, was gone.

That only served to make Pinkie and Spike run faster. The former almost skidded across the ground with each step, making her all the more faster. Spike panted heavily as his short, stubby legs worked their hardest. He closed his eyes as he heard and felt lightning pour down all around him. Then the booming of the thunder.

He opened his eyes for just a moment to see how close he was to safety. The buildings of Ponyville were close... but too far for him. The storm was seemingly gaining on the town. More startlingly, Pinkie was nowhere to be seen.

His foot made a hard impact with a small rock and he fell to the ground with a thud. His knee suddenly filled with pain as he got up, a rough graze now on it. No longer could he run as he had before, but only limp. Yet that wasn’t enough.

Everything turned bright around him as lightning reached his head. Immense pain poured through his body for a couple of seconds, before he blacked out, his whole being gone from the plains.

The group sprinted into the house on hearing the wave of walkers traveling outside the property line, all but flooding the streets of Savannah. The eldest, a middle-aged man with a mustache, glanced over at the door being slammed shut.

“They shouldn’t be able ta get in the backyard, right?” he quickly drawled the others, running the back of a hand over his sweating brow as he glanced over the open kitchen they stood in.

The thud of decayed hands pounding against the door they had entered moments ago was the only answer he needed.

“Maybe not,” he scowled, adjusting the worn baseball cap he wore on top of his mopped, unkempt hair.

“We can secure this place!” a tall, dark skinned woman announced, wildly looking over the boarded up windows of the once-posh house.

“Christa!” another man announced, their leader, turning to the tall woman with a grim expression. He pointed with the stump of his arm--a recent victim of amputation in an effort to get rid of a walker’s poisonous bite. He quickly ran through his options before deciding on the best course of action. “Get on the windows in the front room--check the boards!”

“Got it,” she replied, turning and sprinting to the living room.

He quickly turned to the man with the moustache and gave an appraising look at his closest friend. “Kenny, move furniture--get some barricades going,”

“Readin’ my mind,” he agreed, running upstairs.

The man turned his attention to a teenager wearing a denim hoodie. “Ben,” he quickly addressed. The skittish, lanky boy looked at the one-armed man. “Kill anything that gets through!”

“Y-you know who you’re talking to, right, Lee?” the boy stammered.

“Do it!” the black man shouted, snapping Ben to action. Lee turned his attention to the last member of the group. “Omid,” He noticed the man staring blankly down the opposite side of the house. “What is it?”

Omid took off, the short man sprinting for the open double doors at the base of the stairwell. Lee’s eyes widened at the horde of undead, all marching towards the weakness in their defenses.

“Oh shit! Front doors! Everyone front!” the man barked. The others quickly swarmed, desperately trying to shut the door. Lee took a step forward, only to stumble and crack his head on the ground. A walker had thrust his hands into the doggie door and was trying to bite Lee’s foot. The black man reacted quickly, slamming his free leg hard onto the walker, eventually tearing off the creature’s hand.

“Lee, help!” Kenny shouted, doing all he could to force the doors shut.

“Cut their fucking arms off!” Christa barked, throwing her back against the door with the others.

“There’s gotta be a knife or something in there,” Omid quickly added. Lee flew to action, throwing the drawers in the kitchen open until he stumbled onto a well-used meat cleaver. He grabbed it and ran to the front door.

“Take their Goddamn arms off!” Kenny frantically repeated. Lee raised the weapon and brought it down, severing every hand that jutted through the cracks of the door with dozens of meaty whacks. With an almost herculean effort, they managed to shut and lock it.

They briefly stood, each catching their breaths as they looked at one-another.

“Now what?” Ben finally asked. Lee grimaced.

“Get ready to fight,” he warned.

Christa shook her head. “No, I’m sure this place will ho--”

The sound of shattering glass interrupted her words. They looked on in shock as the barricades fortifying the windows fell like paper, and walkers poured into the nearby room.

“Fuck! Get upstairs!” Lee ordered, clutching the meat cleaver tight in his one good hand.

The group sprinted upstairs, with Omid and Christa firing rounds to hold off the creatures.

“Guys! Help me with this!” Kenny commanded, throwing his weight against a hefty wooden desk. He and Lee began to move it, throwing it flush against the dead-end upstairs hallway.

“What do we do now?!” Ben said, obviously panicked.

“This’ll slow ‘em down,” Ken announced, tapping the desk and sliding over the top of it. “We get to the end of the hallway and make a fuckin’ stand.”

They quickly grouped up, Ken and Christa knelt down, their guns at the ready, the others standing right behind them. “We can’t let ourselves get trapped,” Lee said. What he wouldn’t do to get his arm back right now...

“We get as many as we can,” Ken stated, his eyes beady, hard slits as he glanced over to Lee. “An’ when we see an opening, we go for it.” He checked over his guns clip. “How many bullets ya’ll have?”

Everyone mechanically checked their quickly vanishing ammunition.

“Three,” Christa said.

Lee kept glaring down the hallway. “Five.”

Omid threw out the chamber of his revolver. “Four.”

“Two,” Ben mumbled.

“Ya’ll know where ta aim,” Kenny stated, exhaling and trying to keep calm.

“Get ready,” Christa said.

For a brief moment, nothing, save for the growing howls of the undead men and women. Then, one rounded the corner. Christa reacted first, instantly blowing it away with one well placed shot.

Three more took its place, each one snarling and desperately lunging for the others. Everyone’s bullets ripped down the hallway, striking true time and time again. Lee took his time especially; every shot had to count and without a second hand to steady his aim, things would be a hell of alot harder. Miraculously, with each shot a walker fell.

“I’m out,” Christa said.

“Me too, Ken replied,” pulling the trigger once towards one of the monsters just to be sure.

“Fuck! Where do we go?!” Omid asked, whipping around in a desperate attempt to find some way to escape being cornered.

“There’s no Goddamn opening!” Kenny spat as the walkers began closing the gap they had created.

Lee quickly glanced up at the roof to see a entrance to an attic. He mentally berated himself for not having noticed it earlier and sharply pulled the string attached to it down. The door opened and down came a ladder, ready to use. “GO!” he shouted.

They quickly climbed up, just as the first of the walkers had climbed over the barricade they had made with the desk. Lee went second last, just after Ben. As he scaled the ladder, his pistol slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor. He spared it a quick look, before rushing up—no use getting it now. When Ben came up behind them, Lee quickly hoisted the collapsible ladder up.

“Here, um... I’m not good with these,” Ben quietly said, handing over a pistol to the man. “It must of dropped out of your pocket.” Lee gave him a small nod as a way of thanks and put the gun in his back pocket.

Kenny broke away from the group, putting his hands in his side-pockets and going to the small window in the far side of the room. “That coulda gone better.”

Christa looked over the group. “Everyone ok?”

“Lee’s still bitten,” Ken darkly replied, glaring at the woman.

“Shut up.”

Omid put a finger to his temple, a headache well on its way. “Ok, let’s get out of here and keep movin’.”

“Kid’s right; we gotta keep movin’,” Kenny agreed with a nod. About the only thing you could do was keep on keepin on nowadays. “Think there’s any chance we get Clem and catch up to those Goddamn thieves?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Lee replied.

Things had quickly deteriorated from the group. There used to be more of them, for a start. Clem, or Clementine, was only a small girl. Alone and only eight years old. She was the first living person Lee had encountered when this whole madness began. And that was a long time ago. Over the weeks and months, they had stuck together through thick and thin. During that time, something special had formed between them.

And now that was gone—she was gone. Taken by a faceless voice on the walkie talkie Lee had.

Omid walked to the window and shook his head. “Well, we’re not getting out through this window. No latches, no roof access and thirty feet straight down.”

Kenny rubbed his moustache. “Anyone have any ideas?”

Omid smiled, walking away from the group. “I bet this guy does. He’s got a... resourceful air about him.”

“Knock it off,” Christa quietly said.

He kept grinning, looking over the bust of a distinguished man. “Dixon Kent the third,” he read off the small plaque underneath the statue. “Industri--”

“Omid,” she warned.

He rose, glaring hard at her. “Christia. I’m just trying to lighten the fucking tone.”

The tall woman crossed her arms, gazing down at him. “We need solutions, not stupid jokes!” On the silence that flooded the group, her icy expression melted. “I’m sorry.”

Kenny rocked on the balls of his feet, briefly in thought. “So... no ideas then.”

“There’s gotta be another way,” Lee said, wiping the sweat off his brow.

“Check the floor for any other access: a vent, anything.” Christa swallowed.

“Or we wait for the house to clear and stick to the high ground,” Ken offered.

Lee let out a small cough, wiping his forehead again. He didn’t know whether he was tired, still succumbing to the effects of the bite, or if the blood loss was affecting him.

“Hey...” Christa quietly said, moving towards the man and resting the back of her palm against his forehead. “You’re not looking great, and you’re warm.”

He backed off from her. “I’m okay, don’t—”

The walkie talkie came to life, just as he was stumbling back. “Lee, Lee, Lee? I’m okay, I’m where my parents—oh no!” It was Clem’s voice.

It shook him out of his daze. Lee picked up the walkie talkie and was about to reply, but all he got was static. His face fell, if only slightly.

“What’s that mean?” Christa asked.

“She’s at the hotel, where her parents are staying; he hasn’t moved her,” he explained. For a moment, hope felt like it was within reach. He wondered if Clem’s parents were there right now, trapped by that man. But that didn’t seem likely, as unfortunate as it was.

“Yet,” Ken tersely added, scowling. He cared about Clementine just as much as Lee, in his own way. He didn’t really say it, but it was obvious by how he acted around the girl. Not even a week back, he had a kid Clem’s age. Young boy most referred to as Duck. Him and Ken’s wife, though--boy got bit and Kat... they were gone.

He briefly glared over to Ben. It was all thanks to that fuckin’ shitbird. If he hadn’t--the man swallowed hard. Shoved that thought back.

Right now, it was about making sure that little girl was safe. He wasn’t gonna let another kid get hurt if he could help it.

“Yeah, yet,” Christa agreed.

Ken didn’t want to say it, but he knew he’d be the only one that would. Him and Lee didn’t get where they were by being the nice guys--sometimes you had to do bad things so good people could keep going. Was just how it was nowadays. “We need to start thinking about more than just Clementine when it comes to our... urgency.”

“What do you mean?” Omid asked, not sure if he liked where this was going.

“How do we get out of here?” Ken asked the group.

“That’s the whole point; we don’t know.”

“Ok, now your life depends on it. How do you get out of here?”

“I don’t know. I don’t get it,” Omid said, tilting his head slightly.

“I do,” Christa cooly answered.

“Stop it,” Lee said firmly, glancing at all of them. “We can’t panic.”

Ken pointed to Lee’s cut-off arm. “Do ya think that worked?”

He briefly looked at where he arm had once been. “I... I don’t know.” He glanced back at Kenny. “I hope so.” And hope to God he did. Even if it had... he was still missing a limb. That put him at a severe disadvantage. A part of his mind kept telling him that he was a dead man walking.

Ken adjusted his ballcap. “I think we need to have an... ‘adult’ conversation on what happens if Lee takes another spill.”

Omid gave a small shrug. “Hey, look...”

The older man took to pacing. “We could be lookin’ at a Larry situation here.”

Christa raised a brow. “Who’s Larry?”

“I think it’d be best if we just worried about getting to Clem right now,” Lee said. Sure, he hated Larry’s guts when he was around, but bringing up questionable actions now would get them nowhere. They had their priorities.

Kenny gave a shake of his head, looking solemnly at his friend. “We’re not gonna do her any good if you’ve attacked us.”

Lee held his own. “That isn’t going to happen.”

“How do ya know that?” he quickly replied, observing the other.

“Guys,” Christa replied. “I don’t know what happened before me and Omid showed up, but we can cross this bridge when we get to it.”

Kenny continued to pace, glancing over his shoulder at the black man. “Lee, I’m not advocating anythin’ here... but how is this not a thing? We’re all so worked up about Clementine that we’re forgettin’ what happend ta you.”

Lee kept silent, no straight answers coming to him. Kenny was right, as much as it pained him to hear it.

“This is getting out of hand,” Omid said, glancing at both of them.

“Yer gonna listen ta me,” Kenny said, marching up to Lee and pointing a finger at him. “We’re gonna get Clementine back, with or without you. Because I haven’t given up everything to die just because we were stupid!”

“I’m sorry, okay?!” Lee cried, facing up to Kenny. “Fuck! We can’t do this!” He didn’t want to do this. Not to Ken.

“We’re going to have to!” Kenny shot back. They both glanced down at the heavy bust of Dixon Kent. Lee thrust his arm forward and grabbed it, glaring daggers at Kenny, ready to throw. His grip on it tightened as he let out a shout of anger and threw the damn thing.

The wall across from him received a nasty hole. Then there was silence, everyone taking in what just happened.

“You ruined that dude’s face,” Omid said.

“Shut up, sweetie,” Christa promptly replied.

Kenny walked over and tore off a chunk off of the wall. “It’s corroded ta hell,” he marveled, then rose to join the others briefly.

While the others talked, Lee picked up a nearby coat stand and pounded the hole with it. More parts of the wall came off. Smiling to himself, he knelt down and examined the damage. “This wall ain’t shit.”

“Is this really possible?” Omid asked himself. Kenny grabbed the coat hanger from the one-armed man and struck the wall himself.

“Yeah,” Kenny said to himself, nodding. “We can do this.”

“Okay,” Lee responded.

“We’ll work in shifts: Omid, Christa and I. Lee, you rest.” He gazed down at the hole. “We’ll have ta work fast.”

The others parted, heading towards the other side of the attic and resting on a couch there, leaving Lee and Kenny briefly alone.

Lee observed Kenny as he worked. There was only one thing he could say now. “I wasn’t going to hurt you.”

“...Sure pal, I know,” Kenny quietly agreed, having no real doubt otherwise as he kept on working. The man had always had his back--nothing would change that. Lee left to join Christa and Omid. Ben was just sitting near the corner, thinking. Kenny had some time to himself to work on getting them out of here.

Kenny wasn’t a man prone to introspection, but he found himself traveling there now. Mostly, he lived shooting from the hip and thinking on his feet. Both nice traits to have during the apocalypse.

Not that it did Duck or Kat a licka good, he thought, pausing to wipe at his eye. Christ. Kat...

His thoughts over the last few days kept spinning him to his family. Duck’s pale body, each breath the boy took a struggle, and Kat, dead. Lifeless. A bullet in her temple by her own hand. She couldn’t take Duck like that--couldn’t live without the boy.

An’ you can? he thought, continuing to beat aggressively at the wall, splintering it with every angry blow.

He didn’t have much to live for, all things considered. But he didn’t want to give up either--that’s what coward’s did. Plus, he still had a few people to take care of. Namely, Lee and Clementine. They were the only family he had left now, and he’d be damned if he was gonna lose either of ‘em, especially the girl.

Kenny wiped at his brow and struck a few more times. All the shit he sacrificed. All the things he and Lee had to go arm-in-arm into and do just to get here. They couldn’t be for nothing. He had to try and keep ‘em safe.

His hands trembled as the strength ran out of his arms. His age was starting to catch up to him. He popped the rack down and moved to the couch. “I’m outta gas,” he announced, turning his gaze to Omid. “You look good and rested.”

Omid rolled his eyes. “Sure, if you don’t count an infected leg.”

“Want me to do it?” Christa offered. Omid raised a hand.

“Nah, hon. You can hop in after me.” He got up and moved to the wall.

Kenny sat down in his place. “Shouldn’t be long now. It’s good we’re forced ta take a breath.”

A sharp jolt a pain coursed through Lee’s arm. He let out a pained grunt, looking down at it.

“That, uh... feelin’ any better?” Ken asked.

“Still feels recently chopped.” Lee shrugged. “So, no Kenny. It feels ‘bout as good as you’d expect.”

He shook his head. “I mean, do you think it worked? Did it--did it help at all?”

Lee peered down at his stump, moving it a little. “I feel like a man who got bitten. So take that for what it’s worth.”

“I still can’t believe you went and got chomped. Jus’... fuckin’ hell.”

“At least he told us,” Christa offered.

“Took some brass,” Ken said, looking away from the man. “I don’t think I woulda.” He leaned forward, putting his face into his hands and letting out a shuddering breath. Goddamnit. Jus’ like Duck... Bit, an’ there ain't shit I can do for ‘em.

“How are you?” Christa asked.

“I’m... I dunno how to answer that.”

“It’ll be all right, Ken,” Lee reassured him. He had witnessed Kenny lose near to damn everything. He’d even shot Duck for him before the boy turned, because no father should’ve had to go through that. It wasn’t right.

Kenny looked between them. “Why you actin’ like what’s happened ain’t happend?” He licked his lips. “Anyway... I appreciate it from both of ya. A lot of us have lost families.” He glanced over, noticing Ben sitting forlornly in the corner. It seemed like Kenny was gonna say something, but remained silent.

Lee spoke up. “Maybe take it easy on him from here on out.” Things between the pair had definitely been tense, considering that it was Ben’s fault that Kenny’s family was dead; fucking bandits had used the kid. That’s when things started to get real bad. As if they weren’t before...

“I’m angry as hell,” Ken spat out, still wishing they had just dropped him back at Craford when they had the chance--it wouldn’t have brought his family back, but at least the kid wouldn’t be around to possibly fuck them over again. He gave a considering pause. Just before the walkers had forced them inside, Ben had laid out some heavy shit to Ken. Mainly about how he never made it back home--he never got to figure out what happened to his family.

At least with Ken, he knew completely.

“Not at him,” Lee replied. He wished that was the case, anyway.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“You heard him outside,” Lee said. Things had gotten explosive out there, but it showed one thing: that there was more to Ben than at first glance.

“I did.” He nodded. “I never really thought about it that way.” He glanced over the edge of the couch--in a small cardboard box was an unopened whiskey bottle. He snapped it open and took a heavy drink. “This guy ever tell you ‘bout what we’ve been through?”

They spoke quietly to one another, talking about the past, and decisions they had to face. Eventually, Omid called out to them. “I’m through!” he announced, gazing inside the waist-high hole he’d made. “No walkers. Things are looking up,” he said as the others joined him.

The inside was a small bedroom, with a television and a patio door leading to a small balcony. On a nearby bed, two bodies, a man and a woman, lay. Their fingers were entwined, and a gun rested in the man’s other hand. Dry blood stained the pillows which their heads were rested on.

Kenny sighed. “God...” he croaked out, turning from the group to stare out a window at the streets.

Lee spared his friend a concerned look. What Kenny was looking at... well, it was a fate he could’ve taken as well. “Let’s keep moving,” he told everyone. There was no use in staying here, especially when it made them all feel uncomfortable. “We gotta go.”

“Yeah...” Christa agreed. Omid moved closer to her and put a hand around her waist. “We’ve seen so many people... I don’t know why these ones break my heart.”

Kenny turned around to face them. “What’s heartbreakin’ is not givin’ yerself a chance.” His expression nearly broke as he looked down at the ground. “It’s what Katja did.”

“You did everything you could,” Lee offered. He had offered his condolences enough times. Now it felt like empty words.

“No, Lee...” His sights took him miles away as the others gave him some time to speak. “She left me... my son... people that cared about us. I forgive her, but it don’t make it any less wrong.” He raised his shoulders and stared at the group. “Ya don’t jus’ end it ‘cause it’s hard.” He pointed a finger at them all. “Ya stick it out, an’ ya help the folks that care about ya.” He forced a small smile onto his face. “So let’s figure a way outta here an’ get that little girl.”

“We should move,” Omid said. Christa gave a small word of agreement as Kenny looked at the gun in the man’s hands.

“Got at least one shot left,” he announced to the others, loading the clip back in.

Christa turned towards the TV on the wall. “Let’s clear the room before we move on. Lee, figure out where we’re headed.”

Lee walked to the balcony door, but not before staring at a picture above the fireplace. It depicted a picturesque valley. It’s hard to believe the world once felt this peaceful... He turned away from it and moved on, opening the door. Stepping out onto the metal balcony, he saw a roof top just ahead of him and a alleyway down below. The gap was sizeable, but the jump looked just about possible...

After a moment’s deliberation, they agreed to make the jump over the rooftops. Lee hoisted himself onto the railing, then lept for the higher ground. He landed hard on his chest, then hoisted himself up. With only one arm it was difficult, but he managed all the same. Omid gave a small smirk Chirsta’s direction, then made the jump himself. Then Christa, then Kenny, the railing making a groan under his weight as he jumped off. Finally, Ben came to it. As he stood on the railing, an unearthly groan filled the balcony and it collapsed, sending Ben screaming downard. He landed with a meaty thud on the concrete back alley a good story below.

All of them glanced down, shock written all over their faces as they saw Ben, collapsed on the ground, some rubbish covering his form.

“Me an’ my fuckin’ mouth,” Kenny said, shaking his head.

“Holy fuck! What are we gonna do?!” Omid asked, turning frantically to the others. Kenny spared them one small, unsure glance, before running off, making his way down a fire escape ladder.

Lee watched him go, then turned to the others, looking determined. “Kenny and I can handle this.”

“Dude, lemme help you,” Omid suggested. “You’re already hurt.”

“Even more reason we all don’t need to risk it.” He nodded towards Christa. “You worry about her.” There was a pause as all three mulled it over, but Lee quickly went on. “And if all this goes bad, you might be Clementine’s last hope.”

Christa put a hand on her hip, looking conflicted. “We’ll keep an eye out.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lee rushed down to join Kenny. He went past an open gate, then looked both ways down the alley lined with boarded up windows. Both exits were clear.

“Oww... uh...” Ben groaned, twitching slightly. “I’m okay...”

Lee approached the kid; it didn’t look good. Already he could see blood spilling onto the ground. It was fresh. Kenny was knelt down besides him and had noted the same damn thing.

“I’m okay, just get me out of here...” Ben said, his voice strained.

“Shh!” Lee warned him. The kid was in pain, but if he started wailing... “Quiet, Ben, or they’ll be onto us!” He looked behind him. A walker was out in the street. He swore it hadn’t been there before.

“Yeah,” Kenny agreed. “Try ta keep yer mouth shut.”

“I’m sorry,” Ben said moving slightly under the trash he was all but buried under, “Just get me up... my leg’s hurt, I think.”

Kenny looked down at the man--at the boy. He really was just a kid, all things considered. “We’re gonna get yer ass up.”

“Really?” Ben asked, surprised. “I thought you--”

Kenny lifted the garbage away from Ben. His jaw dropped. One of the pieces of the balcony had impaled the kid, jutting through his stomach like a blood-soaked flagpole.

“Fuckin’ hell...” Kenny swore, not taking his eyes off the wound.

“What is it?” Ben asked, staring straight up and breathing hard. “I’m ok... I’m ok.” He paused and noticed his injury. His eyes turned wild. Frantic as he grabbed the metal imprisoning him.

“Just yank him off that thing. Fast,” Lee said. Shit... there wasn’t an alternative that he could see. Ben’s cries of pain were bound to attract the walkers, so they needed to be as quick as they could. “Like a band aid.”

“Do you think--” The groans of the undead cut Ken off. Lee looked down into the streets. More and more of them were assembling and they were beginning to notice the group. Time was slipping away, like sand through a person’s fingers.

“Fuck!” Kenny cried out. He grabbed Ben and hoisted him. But he still couldn’t get the kid off, and his pained screams just drove more onto the men. On seeing the walkers approaching like a sickly wall of death, tears welled up in Ben’s eyes, and his lower lip trembled in raw, complete terror.

“Oh God, don’t let them get to me!” he begged, shivering in fear as he stared up at Kenny. The man looked down at him and came to a small understanding. It was seconds later that he made a decision.

He always had been a guy to shoot from the hip.

Kenny turned to Lee. “Do ya have any more bullets left? This has only got one left in it.”

“I’m out!” he replied.

“Shit!” Kenny glanced over his shoulder once more at Ben. One deep, hard breath, and he turned back to Lee, his expression unreadable. “Get the fuck outta here,” he spat.

Lee blinked once. “What?!”

“Go back, she needs ya, Lee!” Kenny snapped, gesturing to the ladder.

“Kenny!”

“This is not a discussion!” he shouted back just as loudly, staring hard at the man.

Lee looked at the encroaching hordes of walkers. He couldn’t just leave him there! He still had a fighting chance. Abandoning his best friend like this... no. No way in hell he was going to do that.

“Hell no, man!” he shot back. “I’m not leaving!”

“What did I jus’ say?!” Kenny said, throwing his arms to the side.

“Let’s get Ben and get out of here!” Lee ordered, gesturing to their only escape.

Kenny gave a resigned, pained frown at Lee’s words. In an instant, he snapped forward, shoving the one-armed man and locking him behind the gate leading to the ladder.

Lee tried to stop the gate from closing, but he was too late. He shook it, glaring at his friend. “What the fuck, Kenny?!”

The man looked his age. Worn. Beaten. Tired. So tired. He gazed evenly at the man. “Lee... Lee, it’s ok.”

Lee tensed up, desperate. He went for the only thing he thought could persuade Kenny. “Katjaa wouldn’t want this... damn it, Kenny!”

He swallowed. “Yeah, she woulda... I either save the boy, or I get ta see her again.” He nodded at Lee. “Go get that girl!”

He turned at the approaching wave of walkers. “Back ya sons-of-bitches!” he shouted, striking one with the barrel of his pistol on the head, dropping it, then barely pushing back another that lunged for him. On seeing he was outnumbered, he turned, only to a horde barely a dozen feet away from Ben.

And the only thing Lee could do was watch as he witnessed his friend get overwhelmed by walkers.

“Aw fuck!” Ben wept pitifully. “Kenny, plea--”

Ken ran by the kid and pulled the trigger.

The only thing Lee heard after that were the undead. His face fell as he looked down and his grip on the gate loosened.

They were gone.

Twilight’s head felt like it had become a beehive; there was a constant stinging which would not relent. She saw nothing but darkness, until she wearily opened her eyes. Slowly, she raised herself, everything around her a little blurry. A few moments to recuperate were all she needed before she willed herself to get up on her two legs.

She blinked, then looked down and yelped in surprise. Her whole entire anatomy had changed. Before she was a ungulate and now she appeared to be some form of bipedal creature. Cautiously, she took a few steps forward. Not once did she stumble.

At first, that made little sense, but once her brain got into gear... If my body has reverted to this... odd form, then it makes sense that my brain and nerves must be automatically programmed to respond and work appropriately. Not that it stopped it from feeling odd, though.

Gazing down at herself, she could see that miraculously, she wasn’t naked. A white buttoned t-shirt covered her chest, while a purple jumper was tied around her waist. In the same place, she was wearing a purple skirt and black tights covered her legs. Finally, pink converse shoes were on her feet. She couldn’t help but wonder what Rarity would think...

She blinked, then sighed deeply and rubbed her face. “No no no no...” she repeatedly said to herself. Paranoia filled her mind. Why was she in a new form? Where was she? How long had she been out? Where were her friends? How far was Ponyville from her? How—

She stopped and took in a deep breath, moving her light pink arm forward in a calm motion. Cadence’s technique brought her a little comfort, enough to examine her surroundings. She was in a small room and it was dark. It look worn and tattered and the wooden floorboards underneath her squeaked with every step. It looked similar to some rooms she had seen back in Ponyville... although the dimensions were a bit different.

“AAH!!”

Twilight jumped and immediately left the room. The source of that scream wasn’t too far off. Opening the door led her to a hallway, with faded green walls. She ran to the middle and called out, “Hello?!”

“Wha—Twilight?”

A surge of relief swept over her. That was Rainbow’s voice. “I’m out in the hallway!”

The knob on the door next to her moved a little, before the door itself swung open, a distressed looking Rainbow Dash stepping out. She had pale skin and her attire was very different to Twilight’s: a red shirt, blue hoodie, jeans and white trainers.

Rainbow immediately pointed at Twilight. “What happened to you?!” She looked down at herself. “What happened to me?!”

“Rainbow, calm down!” Her friend went quiet, but still looked a bit panicked. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but... it’s something to do with that magical storm and lightning. There can’t be any other explanation for it.” Rainbow nodded, pleading with her eyes for Twilight to continue. “But I think we’ll be just fine as long as we—”

A low growl came from downstairs.

The two of them swallowed. “Twilight... I don’t think we’re the only ones in here...”

Kenny was a hypocrite, when it was all said and done. He couldn’t save the kid, but couldn’t just give his life for him either. It felt like it stood against everything he believed in. As much as it hurt, seeing Katja again would just have to wait. He scanned the mass of bodies approaching him in front of him, knowing that there were just as many shambling their way towards him from behind. There had to be a way out. Had to be.

His sights settled on a boarded up window near Ben’s still warm corpse. Adrenaline pulsed through his body as he climbed up to it and slammed his gun into the wood, punching a hole in it. He scowled, slamming his fist again into it, ignoring the splinters digging into his fist.

He heard a low groan next to him, as one of the undead on his right lunged for him. Kenny took his foot and kicked the walker square in the chest, throwing him a bit back and giving the man a few brief seconds of breathing room. He punched once more at the wood, finally getting a sizable chunk free. Kenny hoisted himself up as a walker grabbed his ankle, starting to pull him back. He whipped around and threw the gun at the bastard’s face, striking the creature square in the skull and dropping him. Kenny crawled into the building amid the wood and broken glass, cutting himself on his hands, his wrists, his gut, but at least getting off the streets. The man looked around frantically--walkers would be coming in any second. His sights set on a nearby bookshelf. In one hard push, he knocked it over, at least partially covering the boarded up windows. It wasn’t much, but it’d at least buy him some time to get a sense of where he needed to go. He wandered through the living room, pausing at the kitchen to look for supplies.

Place was tapped out. Not much of a surprise--Molly said the same thing. Still... hope had a way of making you ignore things.

There was a sudden creak in the floorboards up top.

Walkers? Ken thought. He searched around the place, finally settling on a hefty leg from a barstool. The man let out a small gasp of pain when he clenched his hands around it--shit was gonna be sore for days. If he even made it that long.

Still though, he needed to get to the roof. Walkers upstairs or not, he had to get back to Lee and hunt down Clementine.

After searching for a moment longer, he came to a stairwell that had several of its boards busted out. Cautiously moving past them by the sides, Kenny climbed up the stairs. They moaned underneath his footsteps, creating a little echo. When he reached the top, there was nothing but an empty hallway going left and right.

Kenny swallowed and licked his lips. He moved at a careful half crouch, intently listening to the sounds around him with every step. There was another creak in the floorboards. It was close. He held his breath, strangely reminded of the time he and Lee had tried to creep up on that farmer boy, Danny.

And then it happened, almost instantly. There was a guttural moan and out from one of the open doors came two rotting arms that latched onto him.

“Fuck!” he called out, pushing the monster back and raising his makeshift club. He brought it down, missing the head but snapping the collarbone in one blow. It grabbed him once more; Kenny fought back, using everything he could in his taxed muscles to keep the thing from leaning down and biting him.

A series of light thuds could be heard nearby and were approaching the two very swiftly. “Oh no you don’t!” cried Rainbow as she charged out of the doorway and slammed her shoulder into the undead, tackling it down onto the floor.

Kenny sucked in desperate breaths, feeling like his heart was about ready to leap out of its cage. No matter how many times he’d been jumped, stuff still made him nearly shit his pants. He came to his senses quick enough and grabbed his club. “Move!” he barked to the girl.

Rainbow stepped back into the room. Inside, Twilight poked her head out from the bookcase which they had tipped over to make a hiding spot.

Kenny raised the club and brought it down, caving through the walker’s skull, then brought it up and down once more, splattering the walls and floor with blood. He shook his head and took another breath to calm his nerves, then wiped at his forehead and glanced around.

‘Where the hell’d ya go?” he asked.

“I-In here,” Rainbow replied from the room, a little shaken. She had saw the whole thing and if it was a work of fiction, it would have been awesome. But it happened right there and right then. Somehow it just didn’t feel the same... Kenny approached, leaning on the doorframe.

“Thanks back there, kid.” He tilted his eyes towards the downstairs stairwell, and quickly started to speak. “Look, have ya been hidin’ in here? Ya got any supplies? Place ain’t gonna be safe for much longer--walkers were poundin’ the hell outta the place when I came inside. We gotta move.” He rubbed at his mouth, rising from his perch and pacing the hallway. “Where’s the upstairs?”

“Uh... not sure,” she answered, catching her breath. She looked back and gestured for Twilight to come out, which she did.

“We haven’t found much, sir,” Twilight said.

Rainbow glanced between her friend and the stranger. “I guess we’re ditching this hole.”

“Alright.” he spun his finger around. “Let’s look for a stairwell--grab yer shit if ya got any.” He took off quickly down the hall.

Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other, both wearing an expression of bemusement. The latter spoke up first. “You still have your magic?”

Twilight looked at her fingers, wiggling them slightly. “I’m not sure. But without a point of focus to unleash it from...” She looked at her friend, a little grim. “I’d rather not risk it.”

Dash nodded, then spotted something on the ground close to her friend. “If he’s packing something, I better too.” She knelt down a picked up a worn baseball bat, but it looked sturdy enough to knock a few heads. Standing back up, she gave Twilight a quick nod. “Let’s go. I doubt he’s gonna wait for us... and...”

“... he’s our only lead right now,” Twilight finished for her. There was a brief, uncertain pause before the two started running after the stranger.

Kenny made his way down the hall, peeking in rooms on occasion just in case there were some supplies around. His quick glance said there was nothing of the sort, and his gut instinct agreed. He made his way down the hallway and finally came to the stairwell.

It was blocked off, sealed away by dozens and dozens of pieces of furniture and trash.

“Shit,” he swore under his breath, rubbing his moustache in thought. One came to him. “Girls!” he barked out. “Get here.”

The two approached, eyes widening as they saw the sight. “... buck,” was the only thing Rainbow could say.

Twilight scratched at her head, thinking. “Can’t we just remove it manually...?” she asked. Even she knew it was a weak suggestion, from the looks of things.

“If we had a good coupla hours, maybe.” He pointed to a nearby room. “Follow me.”

He lead them into a small room, with a window peeking outside. He opened it, noting a small ledge about six inches wide running across the building.

“Either of y’all aerobic?” he asked.

“You betcha,” Rainbow replied, going over to the window. She peered at it for a moment, before smashing the glass with her bat.

“Rainbow! You didn’t need to smash it!” Twilight cried, watching as her friend cleared the glass from the pane.

“Whatever. It’s done now,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll find a way up.”

“Rainbow?” Twilight said, just as the athlete was getting out of the window.

“Yeah?”

Twilight’s brows furrowed as she looked at her, worried. “Just... be careful.”

Rainbow stopped for a moment before answering. “Yeah, I will.” She clambered out of the building and stepped carefully onto the ledge, keeping her back against the wall. She looked down and all she saw were shuffling... things. They shambled in no particular direction, all of them rotting. Some even had limbs missing. Dash grimaced and tried to move on, shuffling to the side. That’s when she saw it. Up along the wall right next to her was a water pipe.

“Guys!” she cried as loudly as possible without disturbing the creatures below. “Found a pipe. I’ll climb up, then toss something down or something from one of the rooms.”

She didn’t wait for their response. The bat found itself firmly held between her teeth as she edged closer to the pipe. And that’s when she realised: she had no wings. She had to look over her shoulder to confirm it. Her jaw loosened and she almost dropped the bat in shock.

“Rainbow... you okay out there...?” Twilight called out.

She blinked. Must have been there awhile. Effectively, she had been clipped. Right when she needed it most...

She took hold of the bat to respond. “I’m fine,” she lied. “I’m fine...” she told herself. Bat back in mouth, she grabbed a hold of the pipe. Wings or not, she could do this. She was Rainbow Dash. Wings weren’t a requirement to be awesome. Just being her was.

She hugged the pipe with her limbs and slowly started dragging herself up. Each movement was an effort, usually accompanied by a grunt. But eventually she prevailed, finding another ledge and more windows. Getting off the pipe, she wasted no time in smashing a window and getting back on solid footing.

She almost fell to the floor as she came down from the window. Her legs were quivering, but she couldn’t stop to rest yet. Like the others, this room was fairly tight. It did have enough room for a bed, the sheets sloping onto the floor. And that gave her an idea. A radiator lay nearby the window, just far enough to allow her plan to work.

Grabbing the bedsheet, she tied it to the heater and let it drop down from the window. She hoped it would be just long enough for the others to notice.

Kenny glanced out the window and noticed the tail of a piece of cloth dangling from above them. “Looks like that’s our ticket.” He tilted his head towards it. “Well. Ladies first.”

“Er...” The bedsheet dangled there, waiting for her. No... mocking her; she couldn’t climb up herself. No way. She had never been that athletic. “I can’t...” she admitted. “I just don’t have the muscle mass.”

“How the fuck you live this long?” Ken muttered under his breath, giving the sheets a hard tug to make sure they stayed in place. What happened to Ben was still fresh on his mind, and made him more wary than usual. On seeing it hold, he grabbed it and started to climb up, bracing his feet against the wall and moving with his arms. He made it to the window and ducked in.

“Good thinkin’,” he said, then stuck his head out the window. “Alright, girl! Grab hold and I’ll hoist ya up.”

She apprehensively approached the bedsheet and stepped out onto the ledge. Then she did the one thing she shouldn’t have. She looked down.

“Aaah!” she yelped, stumbling back into the room. She put a hand on her chest, recovering from her fright. “Sweet Celestia... that’s high...”

“Come on!” Kenny shouted. “Get yer ass movin’!”

Twilight took a few moments to steel herself, then moved forward. She focused on the skyline as she grabbed onto the sheet with both of her hands and gave it a sharp tug.

Kenny grunted and started to pull the woman up. “Give me a fuckin’ hand!” he called to the other woman. Dash ran to Kenny’s side and took a hold of the sheet, using every ounce of her strength as she pulled back. The two worked in tandem, the result being in Twilight’s steady rise to the ledge. As soon as she was in the clear, she practically leapt into the room and reunited with her friend. She bent down, putting her hands on her knees and caught her breath.

Dash stepped closer to her, unsure of how to act. She settled with putting her hand on Twilight’s shoulder, saying, “Hey... you did good.”

Twilight forced a smile onto her face. “Thanks... but you were a major factor in that.” She straightened herself and looked back at Kenny. “And you too. I guess we just purchased some time for ourselves...”

“We didn’t purchase any time. We jus’ borrowed it,” he said. He turned from the girls and rubbed hard at his eyes, the weight of what he had to do earlier weighing down his shoulders. “Fuck...” he swore in a cracking voice, looking up at the ceiling. He quickly got his emotions back in check. “We can’t dawdle. Let’s get to the roof, we can talk when we’re safe.”

Never safe. Jus’ ‘safer’, he thought, wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

Dash nodded, guiding Twilight out in the hallway. She sharply looked down both ways, bat at the ready. “Nothing out here. I think we’re good.”

“Considering the circumstances anyway...” Twilight added.

Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t find the words. She just went on, Twi behind her, until they found the stairs. “Found ‘em.”

“Thank God fer small favors,” Kenny muttered, climbing up the steps. The pair followed in his stead.

They skipped past another floor and continued upwards, coming to a small room up at the top with a single door.

“Jackpot...” Kenny said, trying the handle.

Locked.

“Fuck this!” he roared, slamming his foot just above the handle and forcing the door open.

The dull light of the sun peaked through the cracks of the horizon caused by the streets. Walkers peppered the landscape down below, even now Kenny could hear them, their voices whispers in the breeze.

“Should be some way we can go from building ta building--Marsh house ain’t that far now.”

Rainbow closed the door behind her. “Yeah, I can do that.” Her gaze went over to Twilight, who was sitting down, looking at her lap. “But we should take a break first. Recharge and all that, y’know?”

He was about to argue the point, but shut his mouth. If Lee hadn’t got to Clem, he’d have to take care of the fucker that grabbed the girl himself, and he’d need to make sure his tank was full for that to happen. “...Fine,” he reluctantly agreed. “But we can’t take all day now.”

“Got it,” Dash replied. “What’s your name, anyway?”

“Guess we ain’t had a chance ta get the usual out of the way. Kenny.” He gave an appreciative nod Dash’s way. “An’ ya seem pretty resourceful. Good job back there, kid.”

“What can I say? I think as fast as I can run,” she shot back, with a smirk. It quickly vanished once she looked back at her friend, who was still quiet. “Just... call me Dash. Or RD. My friend here’s Twilight. Twi for short.”

“What kinda names are those?” he asked with a shake of his head. “Bet ya gals are west coast or somethin’--names like that an’ the hair ya got? Ya wouldn’t have lasted a second in Florida school.”

Rainbow was about to open her mouth, but Twilight got up and cut her short. “Something like that, yes.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Sorry, I’m back now. Just needed a little cooldown time after all that...” She held out a hand for Kenny. “I wish the circumstances were better for all of us, but it’s good to meet a friendly face all the same.”

He returned the gesture, nodding. “So, what y’all doin’ here?”

“We... got lost,” Twilight said. It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“How about you?” Rainbow queried, folding her arms.

“Came down ta Savannah ta get a boat. Found out the place was tapped dry.” He frowned, glancing towards the distance, towards where he knew the Marsh House was. “Now, though...”

Twilight followed Kenny’s gaze, raising an eyebrow. “You’re heading for somewhere in particular?”

“Marsh house,” he bluntly answered.

Dash scoffed. “The heck is that? Some swamp place?”

“This look like fuckin’ swampland ta ya?” Kenny snapped. “It’s a Goddamn hotel.”

Rainbow merely smirked. “You seriously getting a reservation in this dump?”

“Dash...” Twilight calmly chided her. “Is there something there that you need?”

He looked over the two. “Fuck. Alright. Ta keep it short: a girl’s been kidnapped. I’m makin’ my way there because me an’ the people I was travelin’ with can’t think of any other fuckin’ spot she could be.”

Twilight gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, while Dash was shocked into silence. “Who would do such a thing in a... in a world like this?!” Twilight demanded, throwing an arm at their surroundings.

“Ya don’t touch kids, no matter how fucked up the world gets.” Ken agreed with a nod. “An’ that’s why I’m goin’ there.”

Twilight and Dash shared a look, both of their expressions determined. “We’ll help you out, and that kid,” the latter affirmed.

“Appreciate it.”

“We haven’t got any time to waste then,” Twilight said. Dash shot her a surprised look, to which she leaned in and whispered. “I’m... I’m doing okay. We can talk later.” Rainbow nodded and Twilight faced the man. “Lead the way, Kenny.”