Left 4 Derpy 2

Chapters

Chapter 1: Welcome (back) to the jungle
Chapter 2: A "hero's" introduction
Chapter 3 - So what else is new?

Chapter 1: Welcome (back) to the jungle

It was late at night in the town of Ponyville, and the light from the moon and stars cast shadows across the quiet town. All the residents slept soundly in their cozy beds, save for one. A small, grayish-purple unicorn filly with blond hair tossed and turned in her bed anxiously from a nightmare that was tormenting her. The blanket was becoming damp from her perspiration and tears. Just as the dream was coming to a climax, the filly gasped as her eyes shot open.

She sat up and looked around her room to see where she was. Once she safely determined that she was in her bedroom, the filly gave a sigh and slid out of her bed. She opened her bedroom door slowly, making sure there wasn’t anything outside before opening it the rest of the way and venturing into the hallway. The passage was dark, and what little light there was cast eerie shadows.

The filly trotted down the hallway hurriedly, before eventually coming to the house’s second bedroom. Poking her head in the door, she saw her mother sleeping peacefully, rays of moonlight shining over her from the window beside her bed. The filly stared at her mother, contemplating whether or not she should rouse her. However, it didn’t take her long to decide, so she stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her. She clambered up on the bed quietly and stepped over to her mother’s sleeping form, silhouetted in the moonlight.

“Mommy…” she whispered, “Mommy, wake up.”

Her mother shifted under the blankets slightly, but remained asleep. Seeing that her words were not working, the filly gently nudged her mother’s shoulder. “Mommy, please wake up.”

After a second or two of nudging passed, Ditzy opened her eyes a bit. “Mmm… Dinky?” she murmured as she leaned her head up, “What’s the matter, muffin?”

“I had another nightmare. …Can I sleep in here with you so it doesn’t come back?”

Ditzy smiled warmly and wrapped a hoof around her child. “Of course you can, sweetie.” She noticed Dinky was shivering, so she pulled the cover over her. “What was the dream about?”

“It was the same one again,” Dinky whispered as she snuggled up with Ditzy, “The two-legged monsters were everywhere, doing horrible things to everypony. I ran away and hid under my bed, but they found me… Then I woke up.”

A saddened look crept onto Ditzy’s face as she contemplated the dream. Her daughter had been having nightmares involving ‘two-legged monsters’ for months now. They had begun just a few days after Ditzy had her experience on earth with the zombies. Even now, she was not sure if what had happened was real or not, despite the scar and the sword that indicated otherwise.

However, in regards to her filly’s dreams, she came up with an idea to help Dinky deal with the nightmares. Based off her experience on Earth, she created a series of bedtime stories centered on four heroes that fought and defeated the monsters wherever they went. She even included herself in a few, so that she could explain how she had gotten the scar on her ribs. The stories helped Dinky deal with her nightmares whenever she had them, which relieved Ditzy immensely.

On the other hand, she was still deeply concerned as to why her filly was having dreams about two-legged monsters. Could Dinky actually be dreaming about zombies? If so, then how? Or was she actually traveling to their world every night, as Ditzy had done months ago? Such thoughts scared Ditzy, but she didn’t know what to do. All she could hope for is that the four heroes from her stories could help Dinky overcome her nightmares, somehow.

“…You want to hear another bedtime story?” Ditzy asked. Dinky looked up to her and grinned.

“Yeah! Tell me the one where they were trapped on the roof, fighting off the monsters until rescue arrived! …Please?”

“You really like that one, don’t you?” Ditzy asked warmly, to which Dinky replied with a nod. “Alright, I can tell you that one.”

Ditzy cleared her throat. “Ok, so there the four heroes were, atop a building so high it could reach the clouds. Their chariot had not yet arrived, and hundreds, if not thousands of monsters were scaling the building to get them. But do you think they were afraid?” Dinky shook her head. “No, of course they weren’t afraid. …I might have been a little intimidated, but I wasn’t afraid,” Ditzy said with a chuckle.

“You were there, right mommy?” Dinky asked in wonder.

“Yes, I was there. They had called the chariot so that they could fly me away and rescue me from the monsters.”

“Ooooh, ok. But you weren’t afraid of the monsters?”

“Oh no, not afraid. I doesn’t afraid of anything,” she continued jokingly. Dinky laughed a bit at her mother’s grammar.

“No mom, it's ‘I wasn’t afraid of anything’.”

Ditzy gasped. “You’re not? My, what a brave little muffin you must be.” She tousled her daughter’s hair, causing Dinky to laugh more. Ditzy looked at her filly as she laughed. It warmed her heart to see Dinky happy like this.

“So what happened to the heroes?” Dinky asked excitedly.

“Well, there we were, Bill, Zoey, Louis, Francis, and I, surrounded on all sides; their magical, miniature cannons firing into the sea of monsters, striking them down left and right. I helped them by flying around with my sword and defeating as many as I could,” she continued, pointing to the sheathed katana above the bed’s headboard, “But suddenly… a giant came out of nowhere, and began attacking the four heroes! It even destroyed the party muffins I had made,” Ditzy said ominously. Dinky gasped, holding her breath in anticipation.

“I knew that the heroes were in trouble, and I couldn’t just let the giant smash them, so I swooped in, my sword drawn, and cut the giant's arm off! Aaarrrg!” Ditzy stuck her foreleg behind her back and pretended to roar in anger. “…but even that wasn’t enough to stop the giant, so again I swooped down to help, and sliced his head clean off.”

“Did you really, mommy?” A touch of concern could be heard in the filly's voice.

“I’m afraid so, dear. You see, there was no other way to stop it before it could hurt, or even kill, the four heroes. And the heroes needed to be alive to help defeat the monsters and help people who are in trouble, like I was when they found me.”

“…Oh, okay.”

Ditzy gave Dinky a reassuring smile before continuing. “So, after the giant and the monsters were defeated, the chariot arrived to rescue us. However, as we were on our way across the roof, the evil hunter leapt out of nowhere and pounced on Francis! After knocking the hunter off, the two of them fought each-other, Francis wielding his trusty bat, and the hunter using his claws. After many minutes of slicing and swinging, Francis finally defeated the hunter. This time for good.”

“Yay Francis,” Dinky cheered quietly, “He’s the best hero ever! He’s not afraid of some stupid ol’ monsters.”

“He certainly isn’t,” Ditzy said warmly. “He and the others saved me that night. After we got on the chariot, they brought me safely home.”

Dinky suddenly wrapped her hooves around Ditzy. “That’s why they’re my heroes; they protected you from the monsters.”

Ditzy hugged Dinky back. “…I love you, Dinky,” she said, kissing her daughter.

“I love you too mommy.”

The two of them continued hugging until Ditzy lay Dinky down on the bed beside her. “You want to go to sleep now?”

Dinky nodded. “The heroes will protect me if I have nightmares.”

Ditzy smiled and kissed Dinky on the forehead. “Good night, my little muffin. Sweet dreams.” She watched as Dinky’s eyes close as she drifted off to sleep, before laying her head down and doing the same.

Dinky sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes groggily, and she tried looking around to gain her bearings. The moon wasn’t shining through the window, making sight near impossible. It couldn’t possibly be morning, what with it being as dark it was. So then why had she woken up? She knew she hadn’t been scared awake by her dreams this time. In fact, she didn’t even remember having any dreams.

Getting nervous from the dark, she felt beside her for Ditzy. However, her mother wasn’t there. Getting really nervous now, she clambered all around the bed looking for any signs of Ditzy.

“Mom!” she called out in a whisper, “Mommy, where are you?”

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard an audible thud. Looking around to locate the sound’s source, she noticed a small sliver of light creeping under the door from out in the hallway. She eyed the sliver of light cautiously before climbing off the bed and approaching the door. A light yellow aura surrounded the doorknob as Dinky opened the door slowly.

As Dinky stepped out into the hallway, she couldn’t help but notice that it was somehow a lot longer than usual, and she couldn’t make out the light’s source either. As she looked down the elongated hallway, she was able to make out something at the opposite end. Taking a few steps closer, she saw that it was Ditzy and an unfamiliar figure.

Looking closer still, she could discern that Ditzy was hunching over the figure, which appeared to be a fully clothed biped. Dinky also noticed there was a red liquid splattered on the floor and walls around it. She could also hear a sort of crunching noise coming from Ditzy.

“…Mommy?” Ditzy called out nervously.

The noise stopped abruptly as Ditzy raised her head. She remained stock still for a moment before slowly turning to face the filly. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her pupils were the size of buttons. But the thing that seemed to worry Dinky the most was the red liquid, similar to that on the walls, splattered around Ditzy’s mouth and chest.

“M-mom?!”

Ditzy’s eyes lock on the filly. They looked dead, but a look of hate and malice seemed to burn within them. A look of rage grew on her face as she opened her mouth, revealing a maw of red liquid behind a row of sharp teeth. To Dinky’s horror, the monster formerly known as Ditzy lunged at her. It spread its ragged wings, having feathers and flesh missing from them, and flapped them hard to gain momentum.

Dinky, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, ran back to the room. Once inside, she slammed the door shut with her magic and dashed to the bedside table between the bed and the wall, where she curled up in fear. Suddenly, the monster began bashing at the bedroom door, causing the wood to audibly splinter and crack. A few solid slams later, and the door broke apart. Dinky turned away and covered her eyes as the demonic-looking Ditzy walked into the room, standing upright on its back legs.

Dinky could hear the thud of its footsteps as it got closer. She desperately told herself it wasn’t real over and over, hoping that it would go away. All of a sudden, the footsteps stoped, and a silence fell over the room. After what felt like ages, Dinky slowly uncovered her eyes and turned around. She looked in horror as the monster stood above her ominously, its evil, glowing red eyes staring down upon her. In the blink of an eye, it lunged at her.

Suddenly her eyes shot open as she sat up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for any signs of the monster as her heart rate soared. Lying in the bed beside her was Ditzy, breathing deeply in blissful slumber. Not the evil looking Ditzy, but the normal, loving mother that Dinky knew.

Looking around a bit more, she noticed the sliver of light under the door was still there. Unsure if she was just seeing things, having been shaken up so badly by the dream, she climbed off the bed and approached it. She stood before the door for a moment, staring at the light curiously. She felt compelled to open it like before, but what about the monster? …No, it wasn’t real, none of it was. It was just a dream. But still, she decided to peek into the hallway.

She turned the doorknob gingerly with her magic, opening the door just far enough for her to be able to stick her head through. This time the hallway, while not nearly as long as it was in her dream, still seemed a bit longer and wider than she was used to. As she looked around, she noticed the bloody biped from before standing up and staring at the wall absently.

She gasped at the creature involuntarily. Hearing her, it swiveled its head around and stared at her. It’s eyes were the same as the monster’s in her dream; Dead, yet filled with hate and malice. She stared back at it for a split second before closing the door and rushing over and climbing back atop the bed, where she began shaking Ditzy’s shoulder frantically.

“Mom!” she whispered, fearing the biped would hear her, “Mom wake up!”

“Mmph, but I don’t want any cupcakes…”

Dinky continued shoving her shoulder. “Mom, wake up! There’s a monster in the hallway!”

“m- *snort* -mhuh?” Ditzy muttered, finally waking up a bit. “What is it, Dinky?”

“There’s a MONSTER in the hallway!” Dinky screamed in a whisper.

Ditzy rolled over, looking at the terrified expression on Dinky’s face. “Don’t worry muffin, there’s no monster.”

“No, there is! It’s out in the hall and it’s covered in blood, and it walks on two legs, and, and-”

“Did you have another bad dream?”

“No! well, yeah… but this isn’t a dream, and I saw it out there! It has these horrible, dead eyes…”

Ditzy’s eyes opened wider as she pictured what Dinky had been describing. “…Stay here, I’m going to take a look.”

She pulled the blanket off her and slid off the bed, not noticing as Dinky wrapped herself in the blanket. Ditzy trotted to the door quietly and cracked it enough for her to see the hallway. Her eyes widened as she saw the biped standing in front of the door, staring at her. It lunged at her, but she didn’t hesitate in slamming the door and turning the lock as it slammed into the wood.

“See? It’s real!” Dinky whispered as she poked her head out from under the blankets.

Ditzy stepped back from the door, the situation racing through her mind like wildfire. She clearly recognized the biped for what it was. This was bad… if she was back on Earth, then that meant… Her thought was interrupted by the zombie beginning to beat on the door.

She looked to the sheathed katana hanging above the bed’s headboard. As quickly as her wings could carry her, she dashed over to it and hung it over her shoulder as it had been modified to do. She gripped its handle in her teeth, taking a second to adjust her grip before pulling the sword from the sheath.

“Stay down, Dinky. I’ll protect us.” She said through the handle as she looked down to her daughter. Dinky nodded before covering herself back up with the blanket.

Ditzy returned her stare to the door, glaring at it with anticipation as she readied herself to pounce. After a second of suspense, the thumping stopped. She remained steadfast in her pose, knowing better than to let her guard down. She jumped when an explosive blast sounded out followed instantly by a hole getting blasted in the door.

“…What was that,” Dinky questioned worriedly.

“Shh, stay down,” Ditzy replied, watching the hole in the door attentively.

After a moment of quiet, a silhouette moved in front of the door. Her grip on the katana’s handle tightened as the doorknob began to turn. As the mechanism clicked open Ditzy leapt forward, knocking the figure down as she burst through the door. Having the figure pinned on the ground, Ditzy moved to stab it in the neck. However, before the blade could make its cut, Ditzy froze. She stared at the two gun barrels aimed at her head bewilderedly for a second before looking down to the figure she had the katana to.

“S-shit, Ditzy! It’s good to see you too!” Zoey stammered nervously from having a sword less than an inch away from her jugular.

Ditzy got off Zoey with a flap of her wings. “Zoey? Louis? Bill? …H-hey, what are you doin here?”

“We could ask you the same thing,” Bill remarked, somewhat flabbergasted at the sight of the pony.

“Damn man, I thought we’d lost you in the chopper crash! Where’ve you been?” Louis asked anxiously.

Ditzy blinked absently before sheathing her sword. “Uh… I’ve been home in Equestria the past few months. Though, how I got back here, I haven’t a clue.”

“Wait, you’ve been back to Equestria,” Zoey asked as she stood up, “…And for months, no less?”

“It’s only been a couple of days since the chopper crash though. How do you suppose that works?” Bill asked, genuinely interested at how such a time difference could occur.

“Who cares, man. All that’s important is that we found you before anything dangerous could,” Louis said happily.

“Well, can’t argue there.”

“M-mom… Who- what are those things?” Dinky asked from the bed, catching everyone’s attention.

“Who’s that,” Louis asked.

Ditzy turned and walked back into the bedroom. “It’s ok Dinky, they’re friends.”

“Wait, didn’t she say she had a daughter named Dinky,” Zoey whispered to Louis, who responded with a shrug.

“You know the stories I’ve told you?” Ditzy asked, to which dinky nodded slowly. “Well, these are the heroes. That’s Bill, Zoey, Louis,” she continued, pointing to the respective owner of each name, “And that’s Fran-“ She stopped when she noticed the biker was missing from the group. “…Where’s Francis?”

“Oh, we were looking over this way for any supplies, so he opted for covering the exit,” Zoey explained before turning back down the hallway, “Hey FRANCIS! Get over here, you need to check this out!”

Dinky poked her head out from the covers and looked at the group in awe. “S-so they’re…”

“Yep, that’s them.” Ditzy replied.

“…So the stories…?”

“Most of which actually happened. Particularly the ones that included me.”

Louis stepped inside the room. “Wait, what stories? Stories about us?” Ditzy was about to give him a response, but was cut short as a grey Pegasus with a closely shaven mane and a black vest walked up to the group.

“Ok, you called me here, so what’s the big deal,” he asked bluntly in an all too familiar gruff-sounding voice.

“…Francis?!” Ditzy asked, taken aback by his arrival. Francis looked at her, and the irritated look he had increased significantly.

“…Son of a BI-“

Chapter 2: A "hero's" introduction

“…Son of a BITCH!”

“Francis!” Ditzy said in a shocked voice as she recoiled a bit. “Please watch your language! There’s a filly present!”

“Well for starters, I think I have a right to talk to you however I please after you turned me into a freaking pony!” The gruff speaking pegasi paused momentarily. “…And what the hell is a ‘filly’?”

“It’s a baby pony, Francis,” Zoey said in a flat tone of voice.

“Shit, you brought another one with you this time?! Gah!” Francis rolled his eyes as he turned back down the hall. “As if one of you freaks was bad enough! Oh, and let me guess,” he continued, turning back to the group, “’Ohhh, we have to take her with us to help her get home and blabady blah blah!’”

Francis shot them an irritated scowl before turning and walking back down the hall from whence he came. Ditzy looked up to the others in a stunned curiosity, silently asking for an explanation. Bill let out a sigh and adjusted his beret.

“He’s been pissed ever since the wings started growing out of his back. Lemme tell ya, you would not believe the difficulties we’ve had trying to convince survivors to help us.”

“Yeah,” Louis said, “this one guy held up in a church even called a horde down on our asses.” Ditzy glared at him sternly. “Oh- oh right, language. Sorry.”

Ditzy let out an exasperated sigh and turned back to the bed where Dinky had been peeking out from under the blankets, silently watching what was going on. Ditzy couldn’t possibly know what was going through her poor child’s mind right now, but it pained her none the less to know that she was in this violent, hostile world.

“What am I going to do?” Ditzy whispered to herself. “I couldn’t possibly drag her through what I went through. Nopony should have to endure that, especially my sweet little muffin. But what choice do I have? Stay here and wait for an inevitable horde or special infected to find us and kill us both?” She looked back up to the three familiar faces around her. “…Or brave the zombie masses with the only people that I know can protect us?”

Zoey kneeled down and gingerly placed a hand on Ditzy’s soft cheek. “I swear to you, we’ll keep you two safe until you find your way home. We’ve done it once already under worse conditions, so I think we’ll manage just fine this time around.”

“Just don’t go biting at us this time,” Louis said jokingly. Ditzy was about say something in response, but was cut short when Dinky spoke up.

“Mom, is it ok if I come out now since the heroes are here?” the filly asked cautiously.

“Sure, Dinky, you can come out now,” Ditzy said in a motherly tone as she walked back into the room. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched Dinky wriggle her way out from under the covers before hopping down to the floor. The filly smiled lovingly up to her mother before looking to the three humans in the doorway.

“…They’re different from what I expected,” Dinky said curiously as she cocked an eyebrow. “Well, all but Francis. And why do they say such mean words?”

Ditzy wrapped a hoof around the filly. “It’s a bad habit that I’ve been trying to break them of,” she said in an informative tone as she looked up and eyed the survivors. Louis rubbed the back of his neck instinctively.

“Do you want to go introduce yourself to them?” Ditzy asked. Dinky looked up to her and nodded excitedly. “Alright then. Remember to be polite,” she said in a motherly tone.

A big smile spread across Dinky’s face as she ran to the open door. She stopped just before the frame and looked to the three humans in the hallway. Bill and Louis looked down to her while Zoey, who was still crouching, grinned at the cute filly. She reached out an open, inviting hand to Dinky.

“Hey there, Dinky. I’m Zoey,” she said sweetly. “Your mother has told us about how a good little filly you are.”

Dinky blushed a bit. “It’s nice to meet you, Zoey. Mommy’s told me a lot about the adventures she went on with you,” she said energetically. “It’s so awesome to finally meet you all in person.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, kid,” Bill said gruffly, but with a pleasant tone.

“Yeah man, though I wish it were under better circumstances. I’m Louis, by the way. And this is Bill,” Louis said as he laid an open hand on Bill’s shoulder. He noticed Ditzy walking up beside Dinky and nodded to her. “So… heros, huh?” he asked jokingly.

Ditzy shrugged. “Better than ‘killer vigilantes’,” she replied as she wrapped a hoof around her filly.

Dinky’s smile shrunk slightly as a puzzled look came across her face. “I don’t understand though… why is it that Francis is a pony, but you three are still ‘hue-mens’? Were you changed into huemens by the disease that made everyone else zambies?”

“’Humans’, dear,” Ditzy corrected politely.

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Zoey said as she stood back up. “Francis used to be human, but was somehow turned into a pony after Ditzy bit him.” Dinky turned to her mother, a look of confusion on her face.

“I don’t really understand it either, dear,” Ditzy said plainly as she shrugged.

Bill stepped forward and slung his trusty rifle to the ready. “I hate to cut the welcoming committee short,” he said bluntly, “But we’ve had a horde tailing us for the past hour.” Dinky stifled a giggle at his choice of words, though he didn’t notice. “We were already on our way to a safe house that’s not too far from here, according to the map. We can finish introductions and explanations there, okay Ditzy?”

Ditzy looked down to Dinky. She dreaded the very idea that her innocent filly would be exposed to the horrors of this apocalyptic world, but at this point such an event was inevitable. Of course this in no way made Ditzy feel any better, but she didn’t exactly have much say in the matter. All she could hope to do is help guide Dinky through the upcoming gauntlet one step at a time, helping her and protecting her at every turn.

“…Okay,” Ditzy said reluctantly after a moment of consideration. “We’ll come with you to the safe house and continue this conversation there.”

Bill nodded. “It should be just past this building. With any luck there won’t be much between us and the safe house,” he said as he headed down the hallway in the direction that Francis had gone. He stopped at the stairs and looked back at the others expectantly. Zoey stood up and slung the AK-47 off her back before looking back down to Dinky.

“Don’t worry,” she said confidently, “We’ll keep the big bad zombies from hurting you.”

“That’s right Dinky, as long as we’re here we won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Ditzy said to her grinning filly. Louis and Zoey could hear a great deal of worry in Ditzy’s voice.

Dinky smiled so wide she had to shut her eyes. “And that’s why you’re the best mommy a filly could ask for,” she said happily. Louis grasped his chest and bent over as he felt his heart explode. Zoey, however, simply smiled at the filly’s adorableness.

Dinky used ‘cuteness cannon’. It’s super effective.

“Come on, the more time we stand here the more likely it is that a horde will start bursting through the walls,” Bill said bluntly, seemingly unaffected by Dinky’s words.

Louis and Zoey sighed a bit as they begrudgingly made their way down the hallway to the old veteran. Ditzy, walking closely to her filly, followed shortly after. Bill let Louis and Zoey lead the way down the stairs before following suit behind Ditzy. The five of them followed the hallway until the right wall opened up into what had been a kitchen. All that was left now was a filthy, empty room with a set of counters and a stove, as well as three ceiling-to-floor windows in the adjacent wall from where they stood. Francis stood in front of the center window, holding a hoof against the tainted glass as he looked to the streets below.

“Francis,” Bill said as he approached the windows, “What’s it look like out there?”

“Well I’ve got some bad news, and some worse news,” the biker-themed pegasus stated bluntly.

Louis rolled his eyes. “Come on Francis, it can’t be that bad,” he said optimistically.

“The bad news is that the safe house is in that old hotel across the street,” Francis said, ignoring Louis’ optimism.

“…How is that bad news?” Ditzy asked.

“Its bad news because of the worse news,” Francis continued, his eye twitching irritably at hearing Ditzy’s voice. “The worst news being that there’s got to be at least two-hundred freaking vampires in the street between us and it.”

The group walked up to the windows, looking down to the streets alongside Francis. Sure enough, the streets were swarming with a mass of zombies so thick that they couldn’t even see the pavement. Bill pursed his lips and sighed.

“Well… shit.”

Chapter 3 - So what else is new?

The six survivors stood by the three kitchen windows overlooking a sea of infected that filled the streets below. It did not appear that any special infected were amongst the vast horde, but those with experience knew better. Even if there really weren’t any specials, with a horde that huge they would just be icing on the fuster-cluck cake. To think that there was a safe house just across the street seemed to make the situation just that much worse. They were so close, and yet had so far yet to go…

Bill and the others silently watched the mass as they tried desperately to think of a plan that would get them to the other side of the street without being brutally maimed. Dinky, however, was not as focused on the horde as the others. Instead, she was enthralled in the new and alien world she found herself in. The sheer size of the city alone left her in awe. Buildings tall as the sky jutted up from the ground for as far as she could see. Many seemed to be in decent condition, but others had walls of flame gushing from broken windows, casting an eerie orange glow into the night sky. It was all just as she had imagined from her mother’s stories.

However, Ditzy was not as thrilled by the city as her daughter was. She recognized that this was a different city than the one she had been in before, and honestly, this place seemed far more dangerous than the last time she had been to earth. Burning buildings, some of which looked as though they had collapsed in on themselves, mangled cars in the streets, and the obligatory hordes of zombies. Yet, even though she feared and loathed this world so much, something inside her couldn’t help but feel glad to be back.

“Soooo…” Ditzy said slowly, breaking the silence. “What’s the plan?”

“Besides not getting our asses killed?” Francis said with a huff.

Ditzy shot him an unappreciative scowl for his cursing before looking up to Bill. “Well, what do we have to work with?”

“Not much, I’m afraid,” the veteran replied as he turned around to scan the kitchen for anything that might help their predicament. “I’m down to my last mag, Zoey has about five clips for her pistols, Louis only has four more shells for the shotgun, and Francis, well… he still has his bat.”

Ditzy thought she heard Francis growl at Bill’s closing statement. “It’s fucking bullshit that I can’t use my shotgun anymore is what it is.”

“Relax man, I’m taking good care of her for ya,” Louis chimed in with a reassuring pat on the gun’s grip. Francis merely grumbled something beneath his breath in response.

Ditzy’s stern expression intensified. “Francis, stop swearing. I’m serious.”

“Would you give that shit a rest? I mean, I don’t think cussing is going to be much of a concern for your dumb kid when we’re diving head first into that horde outside,” Francis replied snidely as he turned to stare the mare eye to eye… sort of.

Another silence fell across the room as tension between the two pegasi. The three humans looked amongst themselves worriedly, fearing the moment someone made a move.

“Stop it, both of you,” Dinky called out, her voice cracking slightly. “Francis, you’re supposed to be the good guy, the hero even. Good guys don’t use mean words like that! And mom…” the filly paused, unsure of what to say. She knew that her mother was technically in the right here, but she still didn’t like seeing her get pent up like this. Besides, instances such as these never seemed to end well. “Please… I don’t like to see you get so upset.”

Francis looked to the filly, a puzzled look on his face, before uttering a devious chuckle. “You know, you’re in for a huge reality check once we smash though these windows. I would try to explain some of it, but it’s honestly more fun to watch newbies learn about shit like this firsthand.”

“I can handle it,” Dinky replied with a confident smile on her face.

“HA! Y-yeah, sure you can,” Francis said in an obnoxiously sarcastic tone. “And I’m sure Louis here can drink a twelve-pack and still be sober enough to drive home.”

“Hey!” Louis said indignantly from behind Francis.

Zoey cleared her throat loudly to get everyone’s attention. “If you guys are done bickering like an old married couple, then I think I’ve got a plan.” She waited until everyone was facing her before continuing. “Ok, so… if I’m seeing this right, then there is a police car a few blocks down that way,” she said, pointing out the window next to her. “I figure if we can get it running, we can turn on its sirens and send it driving down the street away from us. The sound should be more than enough to draw the horde out of our way. Then, once it’s as clear as it’s going to get, we make a break for the safe house.”

“Sounds good enough,” Francis stated bluntly. “But who’s gonna’ be the dumbass to start the car?”

“Easy. The one who’s had the most experience with police cars,” Zoey said with a sly grin.

Everyone turned to Francis, who began looking around at everyone in confusion. “…What?”

Louis chuckled. “You’re right Zoey. After all, Francis has practically told everyone we’ve met that he’s a cop. Hence, he knows the most about cop cars.”

Realizing what was being insinuated, Francis’ expression turned to one of anger. “Now hold the damn phone! I’m not goin’ out there, much less with the intention of bringing every stinkin’ vampire in the city down on my ass!”

“Francis,” Zoey began, “You can fly, remember? Just fly over the horde to the car, start it up, turn the siren on, find a way to keep the gas pedal down, then fly back. Hell, even Ditzy could do it. No offense…”

Ditzy shrugged. “None taken. To be honest, I would go to help, but I wouldn’t think of leaving Dinky.”

“Hey, yea! Make her go!” Francis said as he pointed a hoof at her. “I mean, she left us for dead at the chopper. It’s time she does something to help us instead of running away.” He almost jumped when he felt his hoof slapped down violently. Turning to see who would dare do such a thing, a chill ran down his spine when he was met with Ditzy’s cold, angry gaze.

“You think I left you? Deserted you?!” Ditzy’s eye twitched angrily as she paused.

Francis swallowed nervously, his hate having been quelled. “Um… do you mean me specifically, or-“

“I saved your life three times, and would have given my own to keep you safe… to keep any of you safe!” She motioned her hoof to the other three humans. “I made some mistakes, sure, but what else could I have done when getting thrown into this mess?!”

“Actually,” Francis cut in, “considering I saved you twice, you only owe me one-“

“Owing someone doesn’t matter if they’re DEAD. And another thing! When the helicopter was crashing, I could have simply jumped out the door and flown to safety, but did I?”

“Well is sure would make sen-“

“No! I stayed with you until the end, risking my own life then as I had time and time again. You know why? Because we were a group! Heck, I’d even dare to say that we were more than a group. But even then, after sticking with you through thick and thin, I wake up back in my house, back in my world. I mean, I didn’t know what happened to you! I was beyond happy to be home with my beloved daughter, of course… but what had happened to you guys?!” Her angry gaze began to waver as her eyes grew moist.

“I didn’t even fully know if what had happened was real or not, yet I still couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened after the crash. For weeks I stayed up all night, lying in my bed as my mind kept repeating the crash over and over, wondering if you had lived or died… and even if I could sleep, what then? Would I be sucked back into this horrid world that could rival Tartarus itself?! Would I even find you guys again, or would I be all alone to face these monsters?” The tears welling up in Ditzy’s eyes finally began streaming down her cheeks. “I was torn between worlds for over a month, not knowing what had happened or would happen. If it weren’t for the love and kindness of my sweet Dinky, I would have been driven insane.

“But then…” Ditzy shut her eyes to wipe the tears away. “Then my daughter starts dreaming of this place, of these monsters. I felt even more scared than the first time I saw a Tank when I thought that she might go through what I had, even if she was just seeing a fraction of it all. So I did the only thing I could think of to help her. I told her about you guys, and how you seemed to overcome the troubles of this place, no matter how badly the odds were stacked against you…”

Silence fell over the room as everyone stared at Ditzy, each interpreting her words in their respective ways. Eventually, she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked back up to Francis, a stern expression on her face.

“But I’m here now and my daughter has been dragged in with me, and even though I’m glad you are all still alive, my darkest fears have still come to fruition. I don’t care how long it will be before we are taken home, or even if we will be… but I am willing to do whatever it takes to protect my daughter and my friends, no matter the cost.” She placed a hoof on Francis’ chest and scowled. “So don’t you dare try to say that I would desert you, or anyone else here.”

Francis simply stood there, trying to keep a neutral look on his face despite mix of fearful emotions he felt rolling around in his stomach. All he could do was stand there staring the grey mare in the eye, hoping desperately that someone would hurry up and break the ice. His wish was eventually granted by Bill, who did so via a forced cough.

“I hate to break up the therapy session, really, but the night isn’t getting any younger, and that plane isn’t likely to wait until eternity for us, so we need to get a move on. Francis, I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if you go take care of the police car,” the old veteran said carefully.

Francis opened his mouth to reply, but Ditzy cut him off. “I’ll go with him. Nobody should be left alone in situations like these,” she said, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the pony in question. “Dinky, stick with Zoey. She’ll keep you safe until I get back…” She turned to Zoey, the firm expression on her face fading slightly. “Won’t you?”

“H-heck yea, of course,” Zoey said reassuringly.

Ditzy nodded to her before turning around to Dinky. “I’ll be right back, ok muffin? Just stay as close to them as you can until you reach the safe house. And please, please, stay safe…” She smiled meekly as Dinky nodded to her.

“Fine, if you’re coming then hurry up. The sooner we get to the safe house, the sooner we can all take a chill pill,” Francis said gruffly, though there was little to no anger in his voice. He took a few steps to the window and pulled the bat off his back, shielding his eyes with a foreleg before smashing the window violently. Most of the glass fell to the street below, a couple of pieces even stabbing a zombie in the head.

With the window between them and the horde gone, the room was instantly filled with the groans, gurgles, and other such disturbing sounds of the hundreds of infected swarming the streets below. The noise was not incredibly loud, but the intensity of so many suffering infected was enough to make you feel sick.

Dinky folded her ears down to try to block out as much of the sound as she could, but to no avail. She watched as Francis spread his wings and launched himself out of the window. Ditzy turned to her and smiled reassuringly before repeating Francis’ actions. Dinky suddenly felt like she was all alone, with nothing but the noise surrounding her. However, she snapped out of the grim feeling when Zoey knelt down beside her.

“Hey, don’t worry, ok?” Zoey said in a kind tone. “She’ll be alright. Believe me, she’s been through worse.”

Dinky looked up to her and tried to smile back, though it wasn’t sincere. “Yea, I suppose. I just… I’ve never seen her break down like that before, you know? I’ve seen her upset, sure, plenty of times, but I’ve never seen her, well… lose it like that. I hope she starts feeling better.” A touch of sincerity crept into Dinky’s smile. “…At least she has us to help her, right?”

Zoey tousled the filly’s hair gingerly. “She sure does. And you better believe we’ll do everything within our power to get you two home safely.”

Dinky looked up to her and smiled again before turning to the broken window, looking out at the desolate city. She wasn’t really one to be pessimistic, but even so, the situation just seemed to be getting grimmer and grimmer. And if it was this bad now, then she shuddered at the thought of how bad things might get in the not-too-distant future…

Ditzy could barely see Francis as he flew through the dark city. His grey fur, near-black, buzz-cut, mane, and black vest made him darn near invisible. Of course if she knew what a police car looked like, she wouldn’t have to rely so much on her companion. However, when she wasn’t eying Francis to make sure she wasn’t lost, she was getting a good view of the city. She didn’t remember too much about the city from last time, but she felt it was safe to assume that this was a different one. Aside from the almost shocking amount of devastation, the building looked much bigger and much different. Plus, there wasn’t any towering sky-scraper with a massive, neon “MERCY” sign lighting up the upper three floors, so that was a pretty big indicator as well.

It wasn’t long before Ditzy saw Francis veer to one side and rapidly descend. She followed suit, watching as he cancelled out his momentum with a few hard flaps and landed on a white and blue car with a row of lights on its roof. Francis turned around and kept an eye on her as she slowed down and hovered in the air beside the vehicle.

“Alright, this shouldn’t take long,” Francis said matter-of-factly. “There’s none of those freaks around right now, but you know as well as I that that can change in a heartbeat. I’ll get the car ready, and you keep any nosy piles of crap from buggin’ me, got it?”

“Right.” Ditzy gave a single nod before pulling the katana off her back.

Francis smirked and lifted himself in the air beside the driver’s window. He folded his back legs up and paused for a moment to build up some power. There was a loud crack as he suddenly and violently bucked the window as hard as he could. He bit his lower lip as a twinge of pain shot through his legs from the force of the impact. The window had a massive spider web of cracks branching out from the two points of impact, but the glass was still intact. Francis let out an irritated sigh at how many more kicks it would take to break the bullet-proof glass. As he pulled his legs back in preparation to buck the glass again, Ditzy cleared her throat.

“Yea?” Francis said irritably as he looked up to the grey mare.

“Well, why don’t you try the handle?” Ditzy said plainly.

Francis stared at her for a moment. “…No fingers, remember?”

Ditzy rubbed a hoof at her chin in contemplation for a moment before smiling. Without saying a word, she hovered beside Francis and stuck her katana through the handle’s hole and pulled outwards. With a natural-sounding click, the door popped open. Ditzy pulled her katana from the handle and turned to Francis, lowering her eyelids and grinning as if to say “told you so.”

Francis rolled his eyes and pulled the door open enough to get inside. “Yea well, I would’ve tried that eventually. Now go keep watch before some shit-head jumps out at us.” He flopped down in the driver’s seat, watching Ditzy for a second before looking around the cabin. His eyes stopped as their gaze fell upon a Desert Eagle lying on the passenger’s seat. His eyes scoured the gun for a moment, looking across its sleek, silver barrel down to its black handle.

“What I wouldn’t give to have my fingers back…” he muttered as he gripped the hand-cannon between his hooves and slipped it in a button-up pocket on his vest. “Now, sirens… sirens…” His gaze darted around the numerous dials and nobs on the dashboard before eventually seeing one with a little speaker symbol above it.

“Ah, there you are,” he said confidently as he slammed his hoof against the button. Suddenly an ear-piercing siren blared out from the car as the row of lights on its roof began flashing blue and white. Francis was just about to get out of the car when a sudden realization slapped the triumphant grin off his face.

“Wait… wasn’t I supposed to start the engine first?” He thought for a split second before his eyes widened in shock at his mistake. Frantically be began looking around for the car’s keys everywhere he could think of. He checked the arm rest, the glove compartment, even the fold-down mirrors, but none of them held what he desperately sought.

“Um… oh, I know! I’ll just turn the alarm off!” He went to hit the button again, but in his rushed manner, he simply smashed the console, resulting in a ZAP as the circuits busted. “…Shit…”

The rest of the group stood by the windows, watching the distant police car in anticipation. After what felt like an hour, the lights flashed on. There was a split second before the sound reached them, but when it did, it was loud. The horde beneath them fell silent, letting the sharp sound of the siren pierce the night as it traveled through the derelict city. Suddenly, the horde began screaming and roaring angrily as they began flooding down the street towards the source of the shrill sound.

“Hey it worked! They did it,” Louis said happily.

Bill’s serious expression hardened. “No… not yet. That idiot hasn’t even started the car yet, and if he doesn’t get that damn thing moving as far away as possible, then we can all kiss our asses goodbye.”

“Why? The horde is almost gone now, and we’ll be able to get to the safe house long before the siren stops,” Louis said with a shrug.

“Yea, it’s drawn our horde away, but think of all the thousands of other infected that are swarming to get to it. If they don’t get that car further away, these streets will be so flooded with infected that the freaking Statue of Liberty would drown.”

Dinky looked up to Bill curiously. “…What’s the ‘Statue of Liberty?’”

“It doesn’t matter, kid. At this point, she’s just a grim reminder of what life was like before the outbreak.” Bill looked back out the window thoughtfully.

“Oh… okay…”

The group watched as the streets below steadily grew less populated, though now zombies from other unseen places had begun to filter out into the streets as well. One thought crossed the mind of everyone in the group as they silently watched the infected rush towards the police car.

“We’ll only get one shot at this…”

Author's Note

Hey guys, I'm a zombie! (dead, but still kicking)

hope you all had a happy Halloween, and hope even more that you enjoyed the chapter. :twilightsmile:
I'm trying to get back into writing, but my time is still limited between school and other IRL things, so there's no set schedule for chapter postings. But I will be trying to post them as soon as possible.

Hope you all have an awesome weekend,
~Fecler