Luna of the Dead

"Yes, this spot will work." Luna tossed the duffel bag into the corner of the room. It made a loud thud when the guns and ammo boxes hit the floor. "Yes, this will do fine. The windows are already boarded up, there's multiple ways to make a quick escape, and we will have shelter."

Spike and Apple Bloom trudged into the room, heads hanging low. She knew those two had been through a lot, but Spike had seemed to be doing better...until Apple Acres. Everything had gone downhill, and now their will was close to breaking. "We have to find something to boost their spirits" Luna thought aloud. The wooden floor creaked as they walked about, trying to find somewhere comfortable to sleep. They had spent their day returning to Ponyville and exploring some of the nearby stores. Most everything had been looted long ago, but they were able to find a couple knives and cloth napkins at the restaurant, and some mild pain killers at the clinic. They would explore the remaining stores, look for supplies, and try to come up with a plan.

Apple Bloom started silently sobbing, and Spike ran his claws through her mane to comfort her. It broke Luna's heart to think of these two, who were still so young, having to go through this. Luna felt her resolve beginning to break, but she snapped out of it. Even if she felt it was hopeless, she had to be strong for the little ones. They were one more responsibility that she could not abandon.

The room was pretty basic; probably a filly's room. There were pictures and drawings of a young colt with a propeller cap, and there were various video games scattered through the room. Luna remembered how much she loved to play video games. Celestia would raise the sun, and Luna was relieved of duty. Instead of sleeping like she should have, she spent hours playing games with other ponies around Equestria. Her favorite competitor was a young, white unicorn who lived here in Ponyville. How she wished she could return to the careless days of pre-appocalyptic Equestria, back when she had almost no responsibilities or problems. Her right wing began to hurt, so Luna had to readjust it in the sling Spike made from a table cloth.

"Alright you two, we should be hitting the hay soon. We have a long day ahead of use tomorrow, and we need to keep up our strength. We have a few apples and some cans of fruit. We'll have a small dinner, and in the morning well go and find more food, alright?"

Apple Bloom didn't raise her head. She was lying on her stomach, legs crossed, and her head on the floor starring at the wall. Spike just nodded, took one of the apples, and went over to a comfy spot on the ground. Luna wondered if they would ever be like their old selves again. In a world like this, nopony ever seemed the same as they were before. A wonderfully kind pony could turn cold and heartless, a generous pony could become greedy and evil, and some of your best friends would just as soon shot ya as talk to ya. This world had a funny way of changing everything you once knew into nothing but pain and misery. And that's the world these two had to grow up in now. Luna knew it was tough, but she hoped it wasn't impossible.

~~~~~~~~~~

Luna had dropped the sun into the horizon, and cool night had replaced it. It had only been one day, but this small group had seen enough death and destruction to last them the rest of their lives. Sleep did not come easily, to any of them, but eventually they all found their way to unconsciousness...

A cold chill swept through the dead street. A figure walked through, unfazed but the cold. It slowly, mindlessly trotted along the dirt path, looking, listening for anything to sustain its endless hunger. The corpse had heard sounds from this direction, and it kept walking toward the house with boarded windows. There was a small *snap* from a twig near the Everfree Forest. The figure stopped, raised its light blue wings, and launched into flight towards the new sound.

Luna walked away from the window, and lay her pistol on the ground near her sleeping area. That was the first one she had seen in Ponyville. A sharp shutter shot up through her spine, and she stopped thinking about the zombies. She just lied her head down, closed her eyes, and drifted away...