PROJECT: PONY UNDEAD

Chapters

1.1: Survival of The Fittest
1.2: The Beginning
1.3: Arrival
1.4: Tampered Wings
1.5: Regrets
1.6: Forest of Sorrow

1.1: Survival of The Fittest

Twilight sprinted quickly as the creatures gained on her. Her knapsack bounced on her back as she ran. She was gasping for air, but she knew that if she stopped running, she would be dead. It was as simple as that; If you stopped running, you were going to be eaten by the zombies messily. Zombies. Twilight wasn't a pony to use slang, but at the time it didn't matter. Everypony called them zombies, and that was probably how it was going to stay.

Twilight needed to swing these guys off. There was only a few of them, but they ran very fast. A single bite was lethal. If it came to a bite, Twilight knew she would end her life before she turned. If she was going to die due to these creatures, she wanted to die with at least a bit of dignity. That thought was quickly discarded as the screech from one of the runners squealed into Twilight's ears.

That wasn't good. Often than not, zombies that moan or screech usually send in tons more zombies into a chase. Twilight could only handle a few zombies at hand, and any more would be automatic death. She needed to find a place and fast. None of the buildings she saw so far were suitable. She was looking for multiple floor houses. That way, she could burn the stairs down and keep the zombies down on the first floor. Basements won't do; You could be trapped down one for who knows when.

As Twilight panted, she could see more undead ponies shambling around the streets straight ahead. She had to find a different route. As she ran, she scanned the streets. There was two options: dive into an alleyway and pray to Celestia that it wasn't a dead end, or keep on running and find more options. Twilight ran faster, realizing she had to make a decision at that moment. Twilight cut left and dived into the alleyway, with the zombies in hot pursuit.

Thankfully, the alleyway had many pathways to choose from; Twilight just didn't know which paths to take. Any wrong move could end her life, so she had to take her chances more than usual. Twilight turned left, then made a cut right, than another right, all the while the moans and screeches of the undead creatures chasing her around like a game of cat and mouse. Only if the game either mean't life or death.

Finally, Twilight found a steel door by a dead end. She attempted frantically to open the door, but the door was steel shut. The creatures were getting closer with every pull, and she needed in fast. The zombies were getting closer and closer, and Twilight knew she had to do something fast. She took a few steps back, and her horn lit up with magical energy. The steel door handle lit up with energy as well. Twilight scrunched her face, focusing very hard. Finally, Twilight heard a click by the door. She opened the door with her magic and ran herself in and shut the door right before the first zombie was about to pull her hair towards it's hungry mouth.

Twilight looked around the building. It was void of furniture and wallpaper. There was no windows, and a single broken lightbulb hung from the ceiling. Ladders and paint cans littered the room. This building must have been in construction, she thought to herself. She laid herself on to the blank, gray wall and took off her knapsack. She opened it and dug out an apple. It was still fresh and red. She took a bite out of it and savored the taste of it. She gulped down and took another bite, finally feeling relaxed since a long time.

As Twilight took successive bites into her apple, she assessed the situation she was in. Currently, Twilight was in a one story building with no windows and only one steel door. There was zombies outside the door; She knew because of the screeching that the zombies made outside. Twilight finished her apple and rested on a decision; She was to leave Canterlot tomorrow to move towards Appleloosa.

It made sense; During the day, the creatures are considerably more slower than their evening comrades. She knew this information by conducting various tests when the infection first started. Twilight had to be very careful not to be detected. It appeared that the zombies had heightened senses once the night came, and they were far more difficult to evade. So the obvious best solution was to leave in the morning rather than now, when the creatures were at their peak.

Twilight dropped the apple core on to the dusty floor, and rummaged through her knapsack once more. She pulled out a map and studied it for a moment. Ponyville was located in the middle of the map, while Appleloosa was down in the south. Apparently, Appleloosa was absolutely void of any undead. She heard the rumor through her small battery-powered radio she had in her knapsack. Someponies broadcasted messages, to see if anypony would reply to their messages, if anypony was still alive.

Of course, Twilight didn't answer to any of these messages at all; She thought they were completely unreliable. Even if you were to get a clear connection, you wouldn't get the right information anyways, so it was really a waste of battery life. But this message intrigued her. Not only was it the hometown of Applejack, but it was also the most likely place that Applejack could possibly reside in.

Once more, Twilight took out an item from her knapsack. This time, it was a novel from her favorite author, Summer Mane. She opened the book to a random page and started reading. Twilight read the book several times, but she could never stop reading it. Unlike a lot of the other things in her knapsack, she was hoping to cherish this one item until the infection was over. The book was about a young homeless filly who tries to make it into a singing contest and win the grand prize. Twilight always enjoyed the struggles that the young filly had to endure. It sort of reminded her of the circumstance that she was in right now.

Twilight took out a wristwatch from the knapsack and looked at the time. It was 8:30 PM. She knew she had to rest so she could get enough energy for the following day. She put the book aside and pulled a small sleeping bag again from the knapsack and rolled it out. Twilight wondered how she was able to outrun the creatures. Perhaps it was the will to live, but the answer didn't seem clear at that moment. She got out a candle and lighted it with a simple fire spell, just to make sure that if anything was to get inside, the least she could do was see what was inside. She tucked herself into the sleeping bag, and closed her eyes, hoping for a good night's sleep.

Twilight opened her eyes slowly. The candle had burned out overnight. She sat herself slowly and stretched her arms and yawned. She rubbed her eyes and took a look at her wristwatch. It was 9:30 in the morning. Twilight got out of her sleeping bag and took an inventory of her knapsack.

Twilight recounted for the third time and looked over her inventory. She had eight good apples, a flashlight, a medical kit, a knife, rope, some rations, a sleeping bag, and some novels. She put all the supplies back in the bag and placed it on her back. The weight was a little much, but she needed most of these items, including the novels. She stared at the iron door and sighed to herself. She took out her hoof and clicked open the door.

The sunlight invaded Twilight's eyes as she stepped out of her temporary home, and looked around her surroundings. The alleyway was littered with blood, while dead carcasses of animals are spread around. Normally, Twilight would vomit at the very sight, but she learned to gulp the vomit down and continue on. The air was smelly, just like the day before and the day before that.

Twilight started trotting quietly, to not wake the monsters that could be shambling around the streets, waiting to eat her flesh. She retraced her steps from before and looked around corners to make sure she would not be jumped. As she did this, she magically pulled out the Canterlot city map and studied it, without forgetting to occassionally check corners. The gates were close to where she was now, according to the map. If she could sneak out without making any unnecessary noise, she would be just alright.

Twilight turned up at a main street, and hid behind an abandoned stand. Zombies were shuffling everywhere, dragging their back legs. Twilight knew this wasn't good. Even if it was the morning, that didn't mean they were not a threat. They still had the potential to bite her at any moment, and it was beneficial to stay quiet and stay hidden so to not get munched on by a couple of zombies. As Twilight though about it, she suddenly got an idea.

Twilight learned a spell back when the infection wasn't in anypony's mind; The ability to become invisible. It was actually a rather difficult spell to cast, but all it took was a little effort to cast it. There was no other practical way of being hidden from the creatures, so this was the only option. Twilight closed her eyes, and focused the energy inside of her. Her horn lit up brightly, and a small flash was given off. Soon, Twilight felt a sensation, and finally, Twilight was no where to be seen.

Twilight opened her eyes and looked at her hoofs. The hoofs were not visible to her eye. Twilight felt proud of herself; It was listed as one of the most difficult to cast in many of her reference books, but she finally mastered the skill. Twilight was aware of the fact that the spell takes effect for only ten minutes, so she had to move quick. She erupted from her hiding place and quietly trotted amongst the clueless zombies.

Twilight was extremely lucky; These zombies smelling sense was most likely damaged, as the zombies paid no attention to her. Even with the invisibilty spell, she still made noise, so Twilight had to stay quiet as she weaved through the crowds of undead. Soon, the tall gates came to view as she walked towards them. Twilight was glad; Canterlot was getting increasingly dangerous, and a few more days would have been death. As she walked up to the gate, the gate was closed.

Twilight cursed under her own breath. Twilight knew how to open a gate; It was just a matter of finding the switch. Twilight scanned the place. There was a rusty ladder that lead to a platform that had a switch. Twilight smiled briefly before making her way to the rusty ladder. She took a hoof and climbed herself up. The ladder was cold and it squeaked loudly. Twilight once again cursed in her breath, and slowly climbed the ladder. The ladder wobbled a little, warning Twilight that she had to be extra careful. She looked behind her shoulder. The zombies started to look at her general direction. The ladder wobbled even more, and Twilight was starting to lose her balance. Twilight suddenly heard a small pop from the bottom of the ladder.

Twilight winced, and the ladder gave way. Twilight fell from the ladder and tumbled to the ground. All this and her invisibility also powered down. Twilight grunted and slowly got herself up, before noticing that zombies were shuffling her way. Twilight's eyes widened, as Twilight looked for a way to escape. She couldn't get back up on the platform; The ladder was busted and layed on a pile of heap. She couldn't stay in Canterlot, as zombies were to eventually break down her defenses. She couldn't fight back; She used most of her magical energy for the invisibility spell, and she wasn't much of a physical fighter. Twilight made a frightening realization: She was going to die here.

As Twilight stood there with her life flashing before her very own eyes, she got an idea. Twilight quickly rustled through her knapsack that fell beside her, and pulled out a candle. She used the very last bit of magic, and ignited the candle with a little more fire than usual, and tossed it over the zombies heads. The zombies took their lifeless eyes from Twilight and followed the candle. They gathered around the candle, while Twilight plugged her ears and closed her eyes. What followed was a slightly audible bang, and a shock wave of a small explosion.

Twilight opened her eyes and stared at the mess. There was a big black mark at the center where the candle used to be, and torn bodies of dead ponies was spread around the street. Blood and guts was everywhere, and splattered at the nearby buildings. A little blood was evident on Twilight's cheek. She wiped the red liquid with her arm and let it drip from her hoof. Suddenly, the howls of the zombies were audible in the distance. They were coming.

Twilight worked hastily to open the gate. She didn't possess the upper body strength to do so, so she started looking for other options. She looked around the gate, hoping for a switch, a ladder, or anything. Then she remembered her rope. She grabbed the rope from her knapsack and threw it up at the platform. She also grabbed one of the novels as well. She threw up the novel into the air. It plunked on top of the rope at the platform. Twilight tugged the rope a few times, then started to climb up.

Unlike the first attempt, the rope held on much better. Twilight was successful on getting on top of the platform. She walked to the switch and pulled it down. The gate slowly rised up. Twilight jumped down from the platform and made a hasty escape out of the city. She ran as fast as her body could give her. She continued running for a good twenty minutes until stopping for breath. She took notice that she was following a trail with a flower field. She stopped to smell the roses. It smelled heavenly, and for once during the outbreak, Twilight felt at peace.

Twilight kept walking, grabbing the map from her knapsack. She studied the map as she trotted. Appleloosa was west of where she was going, and could expect to arrive in five hours. She rolled the map and put it back into the knapsack. Twilight was now as determined as ever to get to her destination.

Twilight needed to see Applejack, as quickly as possible. No matter what the cause was.

Author's Note

Holy crap! This story was the longest story I have written so far. I put a lot of effort into this one chapter, so expect the rest of the chapters to be awesome! I'll be active during this weekend, so another chapter may be released on Saturday or Sunday.

Confused as hell? The next chapter will explain everything. Well, sorta anyways.

"Give me a Stick; Don't be a dick"- Riffmaster

1.2: The Beginning

Twilight never took her eyes off of the text from her book. It was quite an interesting story. It was a sci-fi story about an army general travelling to a different dimension. The story was indeed humorous, and it has been a while since Twilight has read a good, funny story.

Twilight gazed from her book. The Golden Oaks Library was tidy and organized, thanks to the added help from her faithful assistant, who was currently eating a muffin across from the table that Twilight was sitting in. It was nice to finally take a break from all the studying that she had to do. Princess Celestia always mentioned to take breaks from studying once in a while, as too much knowledge at once could induce headaches.

Suddenly, something broke the silence. It sounded like a knock from the front door. Twilight pulled herself from her seat and trotted to the door. She opened the door to reveal Rarity at the front door. She appeared very worried about something. Her her eyes darted everywhere, and her mane was a little out of place. Sweat was rolling down her forehead as she looked around frantically. Twilight frowned. She didn't like to see Rarity worried, as she usually gets hysterical about a typical situation. She was probably missing a button for one of her dresses or something, Twilight thought.

"Hey, Rarity. What appears to be the problem?" Twilight asked. Rarity's eyes finally focused on Twilight, and started talking quickly.

"Twilight! I need your assistance! Sweetie..Belle... She's, she's..." Rarity attempted to say, but her words trailed off as she started a series of new sentences. Twilight put a hoof onto Rarity's shoulder.

"Rarity, what is it? What's wrong with Sweetie Belle? Start over from the beginning." Rarity sighed and started telling her story.

"Sweetie Belle has gone missing. She was sick for a little while, then she just suddenly disappeared. You must aid me in finding her. I am ever so worried!" Twilight thought for a moment. The last time Twilight saw Sweetie Belle was when she was sick the other day. Twilight never knew she was still ill. The fact that Sweetie Belle disappeared was also questionable. Where could she have gone, and how?

"Calm down, Rarity. We'll find her together. Now you must answer this question; How could she have disappeared? Was there any signs she was foalnapped?" Rarity put a hoof to her chin and shook her head.

"There couldn't be any reason why she was foalnapped. Her room was practically untouched. There was absolutely no sign of anything about her disappearance! But it's not like she walked out in the middle of the night. She would be too sick. This is a such confusing matter that I can't put my hoof on!" Twilight thought hard. Rarity was right; Sweetie Belle couldn't have gone anywhere. She was too sick to do so. So the fact that the filly was missing was very confusing. If this was a foalnapping, the culprit must have been a very good escape artist.

Rarity sighed and dropped her head a little. Twilight felt sad for her; A valuable piece from her life was taken from her, and she has no idea on how to get it back. Twilight patted her on the back.

"Don't worry, Rarity. It'll be fine. Have you told anyone else about this?" Twilight thought about recruiting her friends to aid her in her search for the filly. Rarity looked up, a little more optimistic.

"No, I haven't. Your the first one to know about this." The very thought that out of any of Rarity's friends, Twilight was the one that was chosen to tell her first, made Twilight feel good inside. Twilight felt scales brush against her legs, as Spike entered the conversation.

"Don't worry, Rarity! Where ever your sister is, I'll be able to find her!" Twilight looked at Spike for a moment. Spike blushed. "Er, I mean, we will find her."

The rest of noon was spent alerting ponies about the missing filly. Many were willing to help, and guards from Canterlot even agreed to assist in the search. Rainbow Dash assisted by getting a birds eye view from the sky, but no such luck. By dusk, no sign of the foal was found. By night, nopony was able to spot even a trace where the foal went. Rarity was getting less and less optimistic, with the help of words and Spike's obvious affection having no effect on the glum fashionable pony. By the end of the night, the guard called off the search until morning. Twilight thought that everypony would benefit from sleep, and will be full of energy in the morning.

It was 3:00 AM in the morning when Twilight first heard a soft bang. At first, Twilight just perked her ears up, and lowered them down as the thought of the house making noises entered her mind. She laid back down on her bed and pulled the soft covers more up to her head. The next bang, louder and more sudden, woke her up with a startle. She rised her body and pulled down the covers. She looked outside her window and grimaced at the sight that was clearly visible from beside her bed out the window.

Ponies were running from other ponies that appeared to have foam exiting their mouths. A couple of the foaming ponies were biting other ponies, tearing off the flesh of their regular comrades. They screamed at the top of their lungs as they were being devoured. Fillies were hiding in alleyways, hiding in boxes and barrels, curled up into balls wondering what in the world these ponies have gotten into themselves. Fire was evident from a few buildings, blazing and enjoying the fact that there was no firefighters to put it out. A mare jumped off from her balcony attempting to escape from the crazed ponies, and splatted to the ground, in which the foaming ponies ate the remains.

Twilight hurled a wave of brown liquids from her stomach at the sight that she was currently witnessing. She continued to vomit until she could feel no more in her stomach. Her mind was racing at the speed of light. What in all of Equestria has gotten into these ponies? Do they have rabies? A banging from her door snapped the thoughts out of her mind. A loud moan came crashing through Twilight's ears and awoken Spike from his sleep.

"Twilight? W-what's going on?" Usually, Twilight would have an answer to many of the baby dragon's questions, but at that moment, Twilight did not have any clue as to what was presently going on. The banging from the door grew increasingly louder, and the moans from outside were screeching at a high decibel. Twilight ran to the door and peeped through the tiny hole. Rarity was there, her mane very messy. Twilight quickly opened the door, to which Rarity rushed in and closed the door behind her.

As Rarity entered, Twilight studied Rarity's physical features. Rarity was sweating all over, and her mane was in shambles. Her eyes were red with sleep deprivation and darted around the room, not looking at the same thing for even half a second. Spike, who was now aware of the noises, looked at Rarity with confusion. Rarity trotted back and forth worriedly, glancing out the window once or twice, then resume pacing back and forth. Twilight blocked Rarity's repetitive path and asked in great worry.

"Rarity! Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"I haven't a clue! Ponies are eating each other, Twilight! It is not safe to be out there, or here too! We have to get out of here, from this town!" Twilight thought for a moment, then got an idea. She rushed to one of the bookshelves and took down book from book, attempting to find an answer to the situation. As she searched for an explanation, the screeching and moaning of the ponies grew increasingly louder. Spike poked at Twilight.

"Um, Twilight? I think you should ditch the books and get out of here! You heard Rarity! Zombies are eating ponies!" Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Zombies? That is a stupid term. We don't even know if this is rabies!"

"Look, these things are eating each other and moaning. Does it even matter what they're called? We need to get outta here!"

Spike tugged at Twilight worriedly, trying furiously to get Twilight to stray from the text. Twilight didn't budge a bit; She still checked for references in her books. Spike sighed.

"Look, if you're not coming, then I'll go myself!" With that, Spike rushed to the door and closed the door behind him before Twilight could even react to the sudden outburst. Rarity also reacted, left in shock. Twilight finally ripped away from her books and ran to the door, calling Spike while grabbing Rarity.

"Come on! We have to get Spike before he's eaten by those...Those...Things!" Twilight yelled, frustration audible in her tone. The two unicorns trotted quickly out the door and into the fire.

Ponyville was in utter chaos. Bodies of once living ponies had their flesh ripped out, with the insides spilling around the ground. Some bodies grouped together in piles, while others were spread out from each other. Blood and guts were evident on the buildings. Ponies were still running around, majorly confused as to what was going on. Nopony knew what to do, what was going, nor why it was happening.

Twilight and Rarity entered the market square, only to see one of the most horrifying scenes of the night. A group of foaming ponies were devouring a filly, no more than eight years old. Her face was stuck in a position of horror, while the ponies reached into a hole that was ripped through the filly, grabbing the guts and blood and sticking it into their hungry mouths. At first, Twilight didn't even realize it was a filly. Rarity was the first to squelch the brown liquids from her mouth, unable to keep the lunch she had that day in her stomach. Twilight soon joined in.

After the ordeal, the two ponies made their way to the Carousel Boutique. Rarity spotted a flash of purple scales entering her house. The two made their way into the boutique. Twilight crashed open the door and frantically looked around the building, calling Spike's name.

"Spike! Spike! Come on, we have to get out of here! This place is not safe! We have to go!" Twilight pounded a hoof to the ground, frustrated. Rarity also helped with the search. She walked past a small framed picture of Sweetie Belle, then turned back to examine it. Rarity stared at the picture, her eyes full of remorse and despair. She closed her eyes as a single tear rolled down her face. Twilight frowned. Twilight couldn't bear to see one of her friends glum, but with a situation like this, it was hard to see a light through the tunnel.

Suddenly, Twilight and Rarity could hear weeping coming from the second floor. Rarity didn't realize the sound at first. The word "Rarity" with a sweet tone brought Rarity to tears. She quickly rushed up to the stairs and opened the door. The room was tidy, and a small filly crying curled into a ball sat in the corner. Rarity, almost instinctively, rushed to the filly, and hugged her the most she has ever squeezed in her life. Twilight, after all the things that happened today, finally smiled.

Rarity stared at Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle stared at Rarity, with tired and pink eyes. The young filly sniffed a couple times, then continued to hug. Twilight gazed away from the beautiful scene to study the room. Spike was last seen entering the boutique, but he was no where to be seen inside. Where in the world can that dragon hide?, Twilight thought to herself.

Suddenly, the moans of creatures outside filled the room. The ponies were inside the house. We forgot to close the door! Twilight's heart started to beat faster. Ideas and solutions were arriving slowly in Twilight's brain, and she needed something now. Her eyes darted around the room and spotted a window. She trotted over to the window and opened it. A haystack was at the bottom, and it appeared that they could jump down. A lightpost was close to the haystack and sharp, so they had to be careful not to land on that.

"Okay, guys! We have to jump off the building!" Twilight ordered. Rarity's eyes widened. She stopped holding her frail sister and glared at Twilight.

"Are you mad? That is too steep a drop! We won't survive!"

"There is a haystack at the bottom. If we're careful, we can get a safe landing and get out of the city before you could say poof!" Rarity still glared at Twilight, until Sweetie Belle poked at Rarity. Rarity looked down at the filly, whose eyes were big and wide with despair.

"I don't want to die, Rarity," Sweetie Belle said quietly. Rarity gulped down, and nodded. She stared at Twilight, and again nodded. Twilight walked to the window and stared down at the ground. Normally, Twilight couldn't stand heights. But at the time, it didn't really matter if simple fears got in the way. It was a matter of survival, and Twilight wasn't going to get eaten by a couple of creatures.

"Okay, i'll jump first. Sweetie Belle, you'll jump second, then Rarity. Okay?" The two sisters nodded at Twilight. Twilight climbed out the window, and with one breath, she jumped. The air was cool and blistery as she descended to the ground. Twilight made contact with the straw. It felt nice as she tumbled into it. She poked her head up from the straw and held out her hooves.

"Okay, Sweetie Belle. Jump now!" Sweetie Belle climbed to the window. She hesitated first, then didn't go at all.

"I don't know if I can do it, Twilight," said Sweetie Belle. Twilight sighed, then tried again.

"Don't worry. I'll catch you. You can trust me." Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity. Rarity nodded at Sweetie Belle, telling her to go. Sweetie Belle took in a deep breath, and jumped. Twilight positioned herself as the filly flew from the ground. Twilight nabbed her as she was about to fall to the straw. Sweetie Belle curled with Twilight. Twilight felt, nice. Twilight yelled at Rarity, who was staring at the ground nervously.

"Rarity, it's your turn!" Rarity bit her lower lip, then looked back. Rarity could hear the coming creatures advancing up the stairs. She looked down again, and sighed.

"I can't do it, Twilight! It's impossible!" Twilight rolled her eyes and attempted to comfort Rarity.

"Rarity, by the time you actually decide to jump, you'll be eaten by those things! Now jump!"

"Oh, that sounds comforting! I just can't do it!" Twilight looked down at Sweetie Belle. She was on the verge of tears at the sight of her sister. Twilight looked up at Rarity and called her.

"Rarity, think of Sweetie Belle. She wouldn't want her older sister to die a horrible death, right?" Rarity stared at Sweetie Belle. She was staring up at Rarity with the biggest tear-stricken eyes she has ever seen. Rarity sighed, then started to jump. A group of foaming ponies crashed through the door and rushed over to Rarity. She stopped mid-jump, and froze. Rarity looked down at the ground, then the creatures. She finally jumped, not before the filthy mouth of the creature bumped her behind and set her slightly to the left. Right where the lamppost was.

"Rarity, no!!!", Twilight yelled. Rarity flailed her arms around and screamed. The screaming and flailing ended as the tip of the lamppost striked right through Rarity's body, instantly spraying blood to the ground. The blood ended up on Twilight and Sweetie Belle's face. Rarity's face was stuck in a pose of horror, and her eyes were still open, until they slowly closed, ending her life.

Twilight stared at the corpse of what used to be her friend. She shivered and kept her mouth wide open at the very sight. Twilight slowly looked down. Sweetie Belle was trying to hold back tears, but failed miserably at the sight. She wimpered and quietly cried. She repeated the same word, over and over again.

"S-s-sis-sister? Sis-sister? S-s-s-sister?"

Twilight pulled a photograph of Rarity from her knapsack as she trailed through the flower field. It was a group photo with Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Twilight closed her eyes and cursed at herself. One of the lives she could have saved, and she didn't. No. Couldn't. Twilight took care of Sweetie Belle for the night, before she realized that she had a bite wound, and was turned into one of them. Twilight had no choice, but take a nearby knife, and stab her until she couldn't move. It felt horrible. Princess Celestia would never forgive Twilight if she cut up a young filly.

Never.

Author's Note

This one took a really long time to do. It took me over a week to produce this. One revision became another revision, so this one should be really good.

Also, thanks for all the support of this story! I never figured I would get this kind of reception, so it really warms my heart that people read this and enjoy it. Another chapter should come in the next week, or the week after that. School is important, so I have to focus on that. Stay tuned!

"Give me a stick; Don't be a dick."- Riffmaster

1.3: Arrival

Twilight sobbed uncontrollably as she curled into a ball in the corner of the abandoned store, with the carcass of one of her best friend's sister laying across from Twilight. Her throat was sore from the sobbing, and Twilight squeezed her eyes the hardest she could. The tears drenched Twilight's face, with spasms of wimpers coming now and then. The knife that she used to kill the little filly was still in her hoof, dripping with wet blood. Twilight threw it across the room in an explosion of anger. The knife fell beside the lifeless foal, to which the lavender mare cried to even more.

Oh Celestia, why? Why did this happen? Twilight thought in the midst of her sorrow. Twilight's coat had the filly's blood splattered all over it. Her mind swam with the amount of thoughts that was invading her mind. Does this make me a bad pony?Will Celestia be mad at me? As of far, Twilight was unable to get any communication from the two princesses. In the midst of the screaming outside, it appeared that the princesses were making no attempt to even acknowledge the situation. Fire and screams was all she could hear outside, and she shuddered at the very thought of being eaten.

Suddenly, Twilight heard a startling noise, something of a bump. Twilight opened her eyes to see that the corpse of Sweetie Belle has risen, her one back leg limping. Sweetie Belle's mane was much darker and out-of-place, and her eyes were glowing yellow, lighting the dark room. Her teeth were broken, her mouth dripping with blood. Twilight froze in horror of the sight. The horrible creature snarled at Twilight, and started to limp towards Twilight. Her pace started to change as she started to sprint at the frightened Twilight. Twilight pushed her back to the wall as she suddenly knew what her fate was.

No, no, no, no! Not like this! What used to be of Sweetie Belle rushed over to Twilight, her mouth wide open, revealing her gnashing teeth. As the foal rushed closer, Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs, realizing her knife that she used to "kill" Sweetie Belle was at the other side of the room. Sweetie Belle pounced on to Twilight, knocking the lavender mare against the wall. Twilight tried her best to keep the little monster away from her, but before she could push her off, the hungry teeth bit into Twilight's arm.

Twilight awoke with a startle. Sweat poured from her forehead. Twilight took a hoof and swiped away at the sweat. Twilight looked around. The tent that she pitched up was still intact, with no sign of damage. Twilight looked out the screen window. The moon was still at the top of the sky, shining it's light down into the bushy forest that was part of Twilight's journey to Appleloosa. Twilight calmed herself down. She laid back on her small pillow, immediately feeling discomfort. She pulled her sheets to her face and cried.

The horrible memory plauged her for weeks. The pandemic has been going well into three months, and the number of creatures kept rising every day. More often than she would have liked, deaths developed before her own eyes. The screams of mares and stallions alike vibrated into Twilight's ears and shattered her ear drums. Of course, it was only a mild exaggeration, but that is what it felt like to Twilight, and the pain grew increasingly worse with every other filly seperated from their families hiding from the creatures of darkness, in some cases being found by them.

Twilight knew she wanted to help every pony that she could, but she had to keep her own self in line before she could help anypony, and most of the time, Twilight had to stand back and watch the horrible scene unfold before her very eyes. Her emotions always broke out at the horrifying scene countless times, and telling herself that it was okay was never enough. Twilight knew nothing was okay, and everypony else was probably thinking the same thought.

Twilight twisted and turned all night, memories of death after death flashing into her mind, even though Twilight wanted to filter out those dreams. By the time the light intruded into the tent, Twilight was already awake. Twilight got out of the tent, dreary-eyed and tired. Twilight knew she had to make time before any of the creatures come startling her. Twilight didn't exactly have the energy to run from crazed ponies, so she had to go fast. She packed up the tent into her knapsack and headed her way to Appleloosa.

Twilight's journey to Appleloosa was, to say the least, nerve wracking. Every moment felt like it could be her last. Snaps of twigs and flaps of birds were all enough to make her nervous and jump in fear. Twilight had a knife tucked into a pocket that she made out of leather for her knapsack, just in case some dead pony decided to jump her. Surprisingly, no zombies were evident in the lonely forest, and Twilight felt more at peace than she should have been. Soon, the scenery transitioned from fantastic and lush forests to cactuses and sand as far as the eye could see in a blink of an eye.

Twilight had a bottle of water in her knapsack, but her water supply was running low, so it was best to keep the water as it was. She needed to forage as best as she can, because she never knew when she was going to run out of necessary resources. The high and mighty sun burned overhead, causing Twilight to sweat. As of far, Twilight couldn't find a trace of civilization. Twilight checked her map several times, the sun disorienting her sense of direction. Twilight often realized that she was walking around in circles, causing Twilight to loudly curse at nopony in frustration. Twilight thought she would never find the town of Appleloosa, before a slight glance of her eyes told her this wasn't true.

The small town of Appleloosa was merely a couple strips of buildings, with a couple of other buildings and houses on their own. Twilight breathed a little easier, and made her way to the buildings. As promised, no trace of the creatures were evident inside the barren and dusty buildings. It almost appeared as if everypony left in terror, leaving everything that they have ever owned in exchange for their lives.

Twilight entered one of the buildings, only to immediately cough at the amount of dust that was inside. Cobwebs owned every corner of the ceiling and floor, with spiders crawling about, building webs in hopes of catching flies, which were also evident. Rarity would've had a fit with the entire mess, Twilight thought sadly. Twilight examined some notes from a messy desk, with papers and documents filling most of the surface of the table. Many of the accounts that were on display were disturbing, telling of people morphing into horrible creatures, eating many little terrified foals, who were no more than six. The accounts of these stories were enough to make Twilight spill vomit to the ground, as the reports were unnecessarily descriptive.

Twilight was captivated at the documents, that she didn't hear the click of a gun behind her. Twilight's eyes widened, as her head turned. Twilight felt massive pain as the back of the gun connected with Twilight's face, sending her to the floor. Twilight's body sprawled to the ground, the dust making her cough blood. The red liquid dripped from her mouth as she looked up to see who the gun-wielder was. The revolver that belonged in western movies was pointed at Twilight's forehead, threatening her very life. The pony was orange, with white freckles and yellow ponytails, with fell down to her shoulders from her cowboy hat. Twilight only knew who this pony was.

"Applejack, is that you?" Twilight asked the mysterious pony. The mysterious mare stopped gritting her teeth and looked at the sprawled body that she was pointing a gun at. Applejack started shaking the gun, before she dropped it and collapsed in a crying fit. Twilight rised up and hugged her, trying her best to comfort her. Twilight and Applejack sat their, sobbing in embrace. Applejack sniffed and managed to muster up words.

"Ah..Ah thought you's was d-d-dead..." Twilight's eyes dripped with tears running down her cheek. Applejack looked up at Twilight and smiled. Twilight smiled back down. Applejack pushed Twilight away gently, and got up, with Twilight coming up as well. They looked at each other and nodded.

Twilight spent the rest of the day catching up on the details. Applejack decided in the midst of the confusion and death, that she was going to go to Appleloosa and taking the Apple family with her. However, Granny Smith was involved in a carriage accident, which eventually led to her death. Big Mac sacrificed himself to saving the rest of the family along the trip, which left only Applejack and Applebloom. Applebloom got sick, which made her turn. Applejack didn't go into detail as to what followed next.

"So, what's the situation with supplies? Are you well stocked?" Twilight asked. Applejack was making a little tea with the oven that was still in working order. Applejack brought the tea to the table that Twilight was sitting and poured the hot contents into little cups. Applejack sat down and sipped on her tea.

"Yep. A lot of people actually left their supplies at home in the hurry, Ah suppose. Been living on those supplies for a while now, but Ah'm starting to run out. I need to hunt a little in the Everfree so I can cook some rabbits or birds." Twilight's face grimaced. Twilight knew that in order to survive, ponies had to eat lower animals. It was terrifying, but it had to be done. Actually hunting for your own survival was something that Twilight considered, but never actually thought of doing.

"Are you suggesting that we actually, um, kill animals?" Applejack frowned.

"Well, what were ya expecting? We die here with no food? We have to kill in order to survive. I know it doesn't make us any better than those things, but that's just how it goes. You gotta learn that, Twilight." Twilight didn't feel much better with that in mind, but Twilight had no choice but to accept it. Twilight has gotten tougher than when she was before, but somethings just didn't sit very well with the mare, especially the thought of killing innocent animals.

"Besides, ever since those dead ponies came by, the plants have been dying out. Haven't found a nice fruit or plant during the trip, so Ah suppose that those things are killing the plants as we speak." Twilight thought for a moment; it wasn't too far off that the dead ponies were killing the plants. In fact, Twilight noticed the same effect too. Could it be that the undead was also killing the plants somehow? Twilight shuddered at the thought.

The two decided to go immediately, so the Everfree forest wouldn't be high with activity during the night. Unlike Twilight, Applejack fared much better at pointing directions from a map. Twilight and Applejack walked the entire way, with occasional breaks now and then, and with a few hours of travelling, they arrived at the Everfree Forest. Twilight didn't like the Everfree forest, especially with the added zombie threat. But Applejack insisted the less time they waste, the better the chances of finding more food. Twilight didn't like that reasoning, but there was no stopping Applejack anyways.

Along the way, Applejack taught Twilight how to wrangle the animals, and how to make traps. Twilight learned a lot of these methods in her texts, but she never used them. Today was her test, as she learned how to properly skin a rabbit. Fluttershy would have been horrified that Twilight was learning how to skin helpless rabbits, but Twilight would've never wanted to skin Angel, is he was still alive, that is.

By the end of the day, Twilight completely learned the skill of skinning and hunting, thanks to the help of Applejack. They have skinned well about twenty rabbits that day. Twilight almost forgot about her previous worries and just skinned rabbits like she has been doing it for years. Applejack was a gentle, but firm teacher. Whenever Twilight made a mistake, Applejack gave a smart remark, then told her what she was doing wrong. Twilight liked that teaching style. It made her feel good inside.

The sun started to lower down, as the light was shimmering down. Twilight put the skins and meat into her knapsack and sheaved her knife into her leather pocket. Twilight and Applejack walked together, congratulating each other during the day's hunt. Twilight was mid-way into complimenting her companion before she saw something that caught her eye. What Twilight saw was a straw hut with smoke coming from a little chimney at the top. Applejack caught Twilight's eye and followed her look. The two both knew who the hut belonged to, the only zebra crazy enough to reside in the Everfree forest; Zecora.

"There's smoke coming out of the chimney. Do you think we should look inside?" Twilight asked. Applejack thought for a moment, then nodded.

"We should. Zecora is a nice zebra; Ah believe she may be able to lend us a few supplies." Twilight nodded at the statement. Of course, the hut didn't exactly look very welcoming, but Zecora was a strange zebra at best anyways. The two advanced to the door, which was a little open. Twilight and Applejack looked at each other and nodded. Gripping her shiny knife tightly, Twilight opened the door slightly, then opened it entirely.

The home was littered with many different masks and items from an ancient culture. The air felt warm and smelled funny. The two ponies examined many of the items in awe of their designs and patterns. Applejack looked at a rug with many different patterns, while Twilight looked at a goblet with a ton of different gems embedded into the gold base. Twilight was captivated at the goblet that neither Applejack or Twilight noticed the clopping coming behind them. Suddenly, Twilight's neck was pulled behind her. Twilight let out a squeal of terror, with Applejack immediately taking notice. Twilight tried desperately to get the hoof off of her, before a shiny knife was pressed against her neck. Applejack stood by, glaring at the zebra that was holding Twilight hostage. Twilight's heart started to beat faster, as the zebra started to snicker.

"It appears we have unexpected guests; It doesn't matter, you are my dinner at best!"

Author's Note

Aaaaaaaaalrighty then *Snap*

Anyways, this took a really long time to do, due to colds, family problems and writers block. But finally, I have been able to put together this monster of a third chapter. You've been waiting long enough, so here it is. Now it's going to be a hell to write Zecora's lines, because I stink at rhyming.

Check in for Chapter IV next week, or the week after that.

"Give me a stick; Don't be a dick"- Riffmaster.

1.4: Tampered Wings

Rainbow Dash soaked the cloth with warm water and squeezed the final drops into the sink. She made her way to the wheezing filly, her wings laying at a crooked angle. Scootaloo breathed heavily, squeezing her eyes in pain as each breath led to another stab of piercing pain. Rainbow Dash placed the warm cloth on to Scootaloo's forehead, covering her red scratched mark, which covered a portion of her body. Scootaloo winced in pain as the cloth sat, causing Rainbow Dash to sigh once more.

The dark room, lit only by a dim candle, smelled slightly sour, and was made mostly out of bright brown wood. A locked cellar door rested on the ceiling of the room, banging and scratching erupting from it. Moans and groans filled the small room, worrying Rainbow Dash to the point of sheer agony. Rainbow Dash never knew when the moment would come, the moment that the creatures would finally break down the door and eat both pegasi.

Scootaloo whimpered, some tears strolling down from her eyes to her cheeks. Rainbow Dash used her hoof to both serve for the tear and to calm down the scared filly. Rainbow Dash shushed her in a motherly tone, trying her best to keep her own composure as well. Scootaloo found the strength to open her eyes wide and look at the cyan coloured pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash, I'm scared," Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash brushed Scootaloo's hair lightly, shushing her once more.

"Don't be. It'll be okay."

"What happens when the monsters come down the door?" At first, Rainbow Dash would have said that they wouldn't, and even if they did, Rainbow Dash would have protected her with her athleticism. However, the moment she realized that everything she thought was wrong, she decided to say nothing and continue to brush her hair. Rainbow Dash didn't like to lie, but at the time it felt necessary.

Rainbow Dash remembered the first day of the outbreak. Rainbow Dash thought she could have saved everypony, that it would be just like a parasprite spread. But it was an entirely different story the moment it happened. Ponies were eaten left and right, and there was absolutely nothing that she could have done. She felt powerless, stripped of her abilities, almost as if she was frozen, and she couldn't move.

The banging and scratching grew worse as every second ticked. Rainbow Dash stared at the cellar door, sweating much more than she has ever sweat, including her usual athletic activities. As every moment passed, as every breath coming from the filly erupted from her mouth, the more unsure Rainbow Dash became. A small opening cracked open in the cellar door, some light invading the dark room. Rainbow Dash gasped, immediately holding Scootaloo. Scootaloo started to breath heavier, before being calmed down by the cyan coloured pegasus.

Rainbow Dash grabbed the shovel with her free hoof, waiting for the worst to come. The hole only grew bigger and bigger, before a bloody gray hoof eventually bursted through the door, nabbing at nothing. Scootaloo screamed at the top of her lungs, while being shielded by Rainbow Dash.

"Don't worry! I'll get 'em!" Rainbow Dash left the fearful filly and ran to the cellar door, swinging her shovel wildly. She sliced the hoof away, blood spraying on to the pegasi's face, and the zombie's hoof laying on the cold wooden floor. Another hoof tried to get through before being sliced. The hole in the door became just big enough for the muzzles of foaming creatures to fit. Sharp, thrashing teeth bit at Rainbow Dash's shovel, with Rainbow Dash trying to avoid the vicious bites. One set of teeth clamped on to the shovel, and didn't let go. Rainbow Dash waved the shovel left and right, before ripping out the set of teeth from the creature. Rainbow Dash looked at the set of teeth for a moment, before grabbing it off the shovel and continued swinging.

By then, the hole had grown increasingly bigger, enough for three heads to fit at one time. Rainbow Dash knew the shovel would not last long; it was a very old shovel that was used for mining in caves, and the very fact that it was about to break drove Rainbow Dash to the mental brink. The end of the shovel where the metal stuck snapped into two, causing Rainbow Dash to fall to the floor, with only the stick and nothing else. She crawled backwards, realizing the horrible fate that had befallen her; she was about to die, and she could not do anything about it.

As her fate dawned on her, Rainbow Dash looked at the scared filly that was laying there in the makeshift bed for the very last time. She crawled over to Scootaloo and hugged her. Scootaloo sniffled.

"Are we gonna die?" She asked.

"I am so sorry," Rainbow Dash replied, tugging the filly tightly. As the screeching and moans grew louder, Rainbow Dash clamped her eyes shut, and awaited her death. But nothing came of the sort. Instead, only the sound of clanging knives and invasion of dead skin filled the room. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and looked at the sight. Rainbow Dash immediately felt okay at the sight of her old pink friend.

Pinkie Pie was always described as crazy, but Rainbow Dash accepted her craziness at the time of dire need. Pinkie Pie used two daggers in each hoove, stabbing the ponies faces and intruding their hearts. She flew daggers across the room, pinning a zombie to the wall, immediately ending it's afterlife. She hoove-kicked and punched zombies out of the way, making them tumble into each other, giving her the advantage of killing them one by one. Time went by, as wave after wave of zombies invaded the room, but never visually giving the crazy pink pony any fatigue of any sorts.

At last, the last zombie stood in the corner, waiting for the time to strike. Pinkie Pie stared at the zombie with determination and anticipation. The zombie screeched and charged at Pinkie Pie. Pinkie dodged the zombie's bite and sank her knife into the zombie's heart. The zombie moaned and fell to the floor. Pinkie ripped the body open, blood spilling out of it. The zombie attempted to move, before a dagger pierced through it's brain, stopping it's movements. At last, the zombie was dead, and Pinkie Pie sheathed the bloody knifes back into her pockets. Rainbow Dash stood in awe of what became of her friend. Pinkie Pie was crazy, but she never mentioned taking training of combat before, which scared Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie turned around and smiled at the two sitting ponies. She started jumping in glee and squealed in delight.

"Yay, that was fun! I mean, I just stabbed a zombie in the face, ripped open it's body, which was filled with red stuff and guts, and finally, dodging a zombie then killed it! It was the most fun I've had all day!" Pinkie Pie squealed, making the two pegasi uncomfortable. Pinkie Pie looked at Scootaloo, with instant worry.

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright, Scoots?" Pinkie Pie inquired.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good! Even though you're feeling okey-doky-lokiely good, me and Fluttershy have supplies for you!"

"Wait, Fluttershy's here too?" Rainbow Dash asked, surprised to see that Fluttershy, timid and weak, happened to make the outbreak as well. Fluttershy poked her head down the cellar door, with a nervous expression.

"Um, is everything okay down here? I don't want to get eaten by those things," Fluttershy uttered quietly, scanning the amount of dead carcasses in the room before laying eyes on the pained filly. Fluttershy gasped and rushed down the staircase and fell to Scootaloo's bedside, opening her knapsack on her back to take out supplies. She took out a red medical kit and started treating Scootaloo's wounds. While she was doing that, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie shuffled to the other side of the room and talked.

"Where were you when the outbreak started?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We were still in Ponyville, looking for you guys. We didn't figure you would be in the cold icelands. It's so cold out here!" Pinkie Pie explained.

"That was the plan. We figured if we had a shelter in the midst of the ice, the zombies wouldn't follow us because it would be too cold! However, it just seems there's more zombies here than they were in Ponyville."

"Hey, we noticed that too! Everywhere we went, there was these swarms of dead ponies walking around like they own the place! Do you think it means anything? I mean, I'm not really sure, because I'm not an expert in zombies, which would've been really helpful, because then I would've known what to do and we could find a cure and then everything would've turned back to normal!" Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, then gasped.

"Wait a minute. I just had an idea!"

"What is it?"

"There's only one smart pony that we know right know, and that's Twilight! All we have to do is find her, and then we could fix up this mess!"

"But how are we gonna find her? I mean, the last time we saw her was when we were looking for Sweetie Belle, and that was it!"

"I know. I just don't know what else to do..." Rainbow Dash looked at Scootaloo. Fluttershy mended some bandages to her forehead, much to the pain of Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash frowned and drooped her head down.

"I almost lost Scootaloo because I wasn't strong enough. I thought I could protect her and save her with my strength. But I couldn't, and you guys had to bail me out of my failure. I mean, what does that tell me? That I'm not as strong as I used to be?" Pinkie Pie looked at Rainbow Dash and put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Rainbow, just because you weren't able to save Scootaloo on your own, doesn't mean you're a failure. It's just that you needed some help, that's all. Besides, nopony would've been able to shake off that many zombies on their own anyways, so don't let yourself get down for a mistake that anypony else would've made." Rainbow Dash took those words to account and decided that Pinkie Pie was right. Rainbow Dash hugged Pinkie Pie, and Pinkie Pie took the hug back.

"Thanks for helping me out back there," Rainbow Dash said.

"Anytime, Rainbow," Pinkie Pie replied.

"Anytime."

Author's Note

I am COMPLETELY sorry that it took a while to create this chapter. I've been caught up with Christmas, New Years, and a bunch of other stuff. Anyways, I know this is relatively shorter than the other chapters, but I figured it would be a good way to start up the new story arch with the other half of the Mane Six.

Also, it was a handy way to get out of writing Zecora's dialogue.

"Give me a stick; Don't be a dick" Riffmaster

1.5: Regrets

Spike yawned as he raised himself from the hardwood floor. He rubbed his eyes and smacked his lips. His sight adjusted to the dark, revealing the same dark night that he found himself in about an hour ago. Spike groaned and got up to his feet.

The sound of whooshing wind pounded on the glass outside of the cabin. The dead trees swayed back and forth as the wind violently travelled across the land. The cabin stood atop a lonely hill, a forest leading down the hill. The moon was blocked by the overlay of clouds shrouding the ground, creating a darker night than usual.

Spike observed the landscape through the open window and sighed to himself quietly. No other emotion took him by the neck than the feeling of guilt. Spike knew what he had done was not right, but he reacted in the moment. There wasn't anything that he could do. He didn't like the decision that he made. Then again, he wasn't ready to die at that moment.

"You feeling alright, kid?"

Spike jumped in a mad moment of surprise and immediately twirled his body around. He wiped his brow and sighed in relief as it was none other than Windmill. His eyes were barely open as he stretched his blue body and his wings. He let out a loud yawn and scratched his messy black hair. He raised his upper body and rubbed his eyes. Spike sat down and relaxed.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Spike said. Windmill slowly got up on his four legs and travelled to Spike's side. He sat down beside Spike and sighed. Spike looked down at the floor, his eyes suggesting the sign of guilt. Windmill stared at Spike and put a hoof on Spike's shoulder.

"It'll be alright, Spike. You just gotta let loose," Windmill said.

"I don't know, Windmill,” Spike said worriedly. “I mean, what are we going to do? We're in a cabin on a hill and we can't go anywhere because there's a zombie infested forest blocking our way! How are we supposed to get food? Or water? Or-"

A hoof blocked his mouth. Spike looked up at the pegasus, who was looking sternly down at the baby dragon. Windmill pulled his hoof away and looked off in the distance. Spike stared down at the ground again. The sound of droplets started to pound down on the roof of the cabin. A flash of lightning lighted up the dark cabin for a moment, as a thunderous clap shook the cabin.

"You can't keep on looking at the dark side of things, Spike," Windmill said as he continued to stare off into space. "Even if it does look dark, you got to find the light at the end of the tunnel."

"Do you get what I mean?" Windmill asked, looking down at the baby dragon. Spike nodded his head. Windmill looked back at nothing. Spike thought about what Windmill had said. To him, it seemed like good advice. But how was it supposed to help him? Spike thought for a moment, then threw the thought away. Windmill closed his eyes, then reopened them again.

"You got any family?" Windmill asked.

"Yeah. Well, sort of. I lived with Twilight Sparkle. You probably heard of her. She found me in an egg and took me in. I'm her personal assistant," Spike explained. Windmill nodded.

"So how did you two get separated?" Windmill asked. Spike was about to say something, before stopping himself. He didn't say a word and collected his thoughts for a moment before replying.

"I... I ran away. Things were just getting... way too intense. I didn't know what to do. She wouldn't come with me when the whole thing started. I just reacted and ran away," Spike explained. Windmill listened attentively to what Spike was saying, nodding as he talked. "It was so stupid of me and I can't believe I did it..."

Spike sniffed.

His eyes became puffy. He wiped his eyes as tears started to fall from his cheeks. He buried his face into his knees and whimpered softly. Windmill stared at him and sighed.

"Don't feel bad about what you've done. It wasn't your fault," Windmill said.

"It was so my fault!” Spike hissed. “I was the one who deserted her! I was the one who left her with those zombies! I...I..."

Spike stopped as salty tears fell down his face. He cried softly in the cabin as the storm gained more traction. Windmill looked out the window. His eyes became more alert as he stood up. Spike looked up at Windmill, wiping away his tears.

"What is it?"

"Get the gun," Windmill said hurriedly.

Spike was confused, but knew not to question what he said. More often than not, Windmill was right about a lot of things ever since he met him. If it wasn’t for him, Spike would probably would have been dinner for the undead creatures. He sort of reminded Spike of a Wonderbolt that Rainbow Dash always obsessed over.

In the corner of a room was a typical hunting rifle. These were banned from Equestria, but they found their way into circulation one way or another. With haste, Spike rushed to the gun and picked it up. It was heavy, but Spike has carried bigger things in the past, so it wasn’t too much of a problem for him.

Figures this isn’t the heaviest thing I carried, he thought to himself.

Quickly, he ran to Windmill and gave it him. He took the weapon from the dragon’s hands and slightly opened the window. Loud cold air found its way inside the small cabin as the storm raged on.

The hellish screams also made their way into the cabin.

“Damn,” Windmill muttered to himself as he levelled the hunting rifle to the window. He squinted his eyes through the scope and pulled the trigger.

A burst of yellow light filled the cabin as a shockwave coursed through Spike’s body, causing him to drop to the ground. Spike personally never felt the sheer force of a gunshot, let alone the ear splitting sound of it. Magical use was loud and rough, but the power of a gun was completely different. It was louder, rougher and it was ten times more deadly.

“Spike! Get the door! Barricade with anything you got!” Windmill ordered.

Spike looked around for anything that he could possibly use as something for a barricade. His options were limited, however. All that was available to him was a small green duffle bag with next to nothing inside. Spike hastily looked around the bare cabin for anything, but nothing came into view for him.

Another yellow flame burst, causing Spike to jump. The shrill shrieks were becoming closer and closer as the whistling wind pattered against the wooden cabin. Soon, there would be zombies piling up at the door, and they would eventually come in because of the lack of barricade.

Then Spike had an idea.

“Spike! What’s going on?!” Windmill cried out as he shot another bullet. “I don’t have enough ammo, and those things are getting closer!”

“Windmill, I have an idea! We need to open the door!” Spike said.

Windmill looked at the small dragon with great concern. “Excuse me? You do realize that will mean death, right?”

“I know what I’m doing! Just trust me!”

Windmill looked out the window and sighed to himself. He pulled the gun away from the window and trotted to the door. At that moment, the sounds of the undead were at the doorway and scratching away. Some were at the window, their yellow glowing eyes filling the room up with its hellish light.

“Spike, you know what you’re doing?” Windmill asked, gripping the rusty doorknob hard.

“You just need to give me a little time to charge up!”

“What does that mean?!”

“You’ll see!”

Spike stepped a couple steps back and closed his eyes. He focused his energy into his stomach. A flaming sensation washed over him, and he could feel a burning feeling around his gut. But it wasn’t enough. Spike groaned a little, some smoke exiting his nostrils.

The creatures banged on the door, a little wear and tear forming on the wooden door. Windmill struggled to keep the door closed as the creatures were forming a small group outside the cabin. The glowing beasts at the window smashed the glass and poked their hungry foaming mouths inside the cabin.

“Spike!”

Spike did not waste another second.

“Open the door, now!”

The door swung open and the creatures started to shamble into the cabin. Spike opened his fiery red eyes and opened his mouth.

Suddenly, the temperature in the cabin grew to a boiling point, igniting the wood with fire, along with the creatures that Spike aimed at. The zombies shrieked in merciless pain as the green flames shooting from Spike’s mouth ate away at their undead skin, picking it away clean.

As the last of the flames came out, Spike dropped to his knees feeling weak. He gasped for air, the smoke that filled his lungs eating away at precious oxygen. He felt his heavy eyes drop, the rest of the cabin starting to turn darker, until Spike fell into a conscious abyss.

Spike slowly opened his eyes, as the pounding rain pattered on to his forehead. He could feel himself being carried on the back of something, but his mind was clouded with nothing that he couldn’t think straight. He focused his sight on a silhouette, which looked distinctively familiar.

“Windmill?”

“Don’t try to talk. Rest easy.”

Spike didn’t complain with that statement, as he fell back into the dark abyss

Spike woke up again. Instead of the cold and harsh rain of before, he felt dry and clean. The rain of before felt like it was farther away from him and the thunder and lightning was a distant memory.

Spike got up, but a pain coursed through his spine, causing him to fall back on something. He was still trying to make out where he was. It seemed like he was in something like a hole filled with wood.

A tree, maybe?

“Hey, you alright?”

Spike looked up slowly, and saw that it was indeed Windmill at the other side of the hole. It was actually quite a spacious room. It was cluttered with broken bark and green moss with a trace of water poking down at the ground of the room.

Spike looked to his left to see that there was a hole that led to a view of tall trees. Not only were there trees, they were at the top of the trees. It seemed like they were stories high.

How did Windmill manage to do this?

“You know, kid, if it wasn’t for you, we might have actually been in a bit of trouble,” Windmill mentioned.

“You mean you didn’t trust me?” Spike asked.

“To be honest, I didn’t, and I feel bad about that.”

Spike rested his head on the bark and rested his head, which had a very bad headache.

Spike did have time for one question, however.

“How did you get us up here with all that rain? Only a Wonderbolt could have done what you did!”

Windmill winced and then looked down at the ground. He looked down for a few moments before he silently spoke up.

“You know, I haven’t been completely honest with you, Spike,” he started to say. Spike leaned up to hear him better, interested in what he was about to say. “My name isn’t Windmill. That was just an alias. I use it so I don’t have to get swarmed by fans. I figured if I kept using the alias, I wouldn’t have people swarming around me again, and putting them in danger.”

Spike perked his eyebrows up. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

“Wait, you’re-“

“My name is Soarin, one of the members of the Wonderbolts team.”

Spike sat there, completely shocked as to what he was hearing. He was just saved by a Wonderbolt, and he himself saved a Wonderbolt in return. Spike sputtered some things, before his headache coursed back into his skull.

“You should probably sleep now. You did a lot to keep us save, and now you just need some rest.”

Spike nodded and rested his head on to the bark of tree. Soarin looked out at the ravaged forest. The things couldn’t climb up these trees, so they were save for now. He rested his own head on to the walls of the tree and thought one final thought before he went to sleep.

I’ll find you, old friend. No matter what it takes.

1.6: Forest of Sorrow

The knife dug deeper into Twilight’s neck, creating a small scar in the process. She whimpered as she was immobilized by the zebra foe, who was chuckling sinisterly. Applejack aimed her rifle at Zecora and gritted her teeth to the point where her veins in her gums writhed with pain.

Applejack always knew this zebra was trouble.

“Let her go, Zecora, or I’ll have to pull the trigger,” she said, her voice booming to fill the entire small house. Zecora only chuckled louder, annoying Applejack’s ears.

“I’m sorry, my little pony, but it looks like this is the end of your friend’s story,” Zecora replied, staring down at Twilight.

“Stick a sock in your riddles, Dr. Zeuss,” Applejack said, stepping closer to the pair. “Give me back my friend! I’m not afraid to use this!”

“The scent of this mare is very lovely, but I wonder what it will smell like when I dispose of the body!”

“You sick varmint! Don’t you talk to her that way!”

Applejack took a step forward with determination. The zebra dug the knife a tad deeper into Twilight’s purple neck, threatening to end her life if the knife dug any deeper. Applejack winced and growled silently as there were limited options for her.

She could not shoot her gun; it was a scatter shot that could fatally harm Twilight, which is not something she planned to do. If she got any closer, the crazed zebra would probably choose to slice her neck open, leaving her dead.

Damn, she thought to herself. There has to be something that I can do…

“I can do this one thing just for you, but you would have to dispose of your tool,” Zecora spoke with a hoarse voice.

“You’re gonna give Twilight back?” Applejack asked, lowering her gun and raising one of her eyebrows with curiosity.

Could this zebra actually be doing what she wanted her to do?

“I will give your dear Twilight back, only if you put your weapon into a brown sack,” Zecora said, staring deep into the cowpony’s eyes.

Applejack took a quick glance at a frightened Twilight. Her eyes were deep with fear and her breath was quick and frequent. She was scared witless, and it did not take too much to know that this was the case.

Applejack looked back at Zecora and sighed. She slowly dropped the gun to the floor and looked up in defeat. Zecora smiled wickedly and unseized Twilight. She trotted silently to Applejack, around the gun, and arrived at the golden pony’s side.

Zecora walked up to the gun and picked it up, raising it to her eye level. She studied it quickly, seemingly admiring the different features of the gun. She quickly retrieved a brown bag and placed the weapon inside. Applejack screamed inside.

That was my only gun.

Twilight looked down at the ground and coughed quickly. Applejack looked at her and rubbed her calmly. Twilight looked up, a glare forming in her eyes.

“How could you, Zecora?” she said, her voice trembling with every word she spoke. “Why would you betray us when we were your friends?”

Zecora turned away and walked up to one of the masks that took the space of the walls.

“When the undead started to rise, ponies started to blame me when I knew it was all but lies,” she said with a solemn voice. “I was beaten and hurt, as everyone pointed their hooves and treated me like dirt.”

“Zecora, we didn’t know about this,” Applejack spoke up. “You know we are your friends! All we needed are a few supplies, or maybe even residence here!”

The zebra looked away from the mask and glared at Applejack.

“Those ponies are the worst thing to happen, and you try to defend them?”

“If somepony tries to stick a knife to my friend, Ah think they’re the worst.”

Zecora leaped towards Applejack and stuck her knife at her neck. Applejack immediately started to feel hot as tension started to fill and sweat trickled down her forehead.

“If you want to survive, I suggest you do not insult me so you can stay alive,” she said coldly.

“Ah think you’re forgetting one thing to the whole puzzle, Zecora,” Applejack said, darting her eyes to the brown bag.

Zecora chuckled. “And what could that be, you monstrous chimpanzee?”

“You don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.”

“Here!” Twilight yelled as she slipped away.

Zecora gasped as the unicorn raced to the brown satchel. She screamed and chased after Twilight. Twilight hastily pulled out the gun and turned around, only to meet the vicious enemy in her face. She quickly threw the gun to Applejack’s general area before being brought down to the ground.

Twilight quickly recovered from the fall, but now faced an even bigger danger; a zebra with a knife. Zecora took vicious swings, Twilight barely dodging them. She groaned as she tried to shake the crazed zebra off, but Zecora held on and continued to take swings.

Twilight dodged near misses of the glistening knife, some landing in the mists of her hair and letting them rest on to the dusty ground. Twilight moved her bound body around, sweat dripping down her forehead in the frantic battle.

Zecora just will not let go!

Suddenly, almost as loud as a thunder crack, something behind Zecora’s head bashed against the back of her skull. She let out a small gasp, her eyes wide and mouth open in surprise, and she collapsed to the floor beside Twilight. She took in a small breath and got up to her feet.

She glanced at Applejack, her shotgun raised and pointed down at Zecora. The zebra groaned as she laid on the ground with her body sprawled. Applejack sighed and cocked back her gun. Zecora, even in her stupefied state, managed to make a raspy and quiet plea.

“Please, I beg of you not to shoot. I will shower your heads with riches and loot.”

“Now, Zecora,” Applejack said, keeping her aim on Zecora. “I want you to know that you do not hurt one of my friends, ever.”

Zecora shook her head quickly. “Yes, I will do anything you say. I do not want to make a mistake and pay.”

Applejack laid down her gun. “Good.”

She looked back at Twilight, whose eyes were mesmerized at Zecora. “Twilight, are you okay?”

Twilight bounced back to reality and quickly nodded to Applejack.

“Good. Hand me the rope in the bag, will ya?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “You’re going to tie her up?!”

“Well, so far, she proved she hasn’t been trustworthy,” Applejack said, glaring down at Zecora. “Unless we can trust her again, she ain’t going nowhere.”

Zecora groaned in defeat. Applejack glanced back at Twilight and motioned for the rope. Twilight took a misstep before heading to the knapsack. She pulled out the rope, guilt coursing through her.

Was this really happening? Do we have to tie her up?

In the other room, similarly decorated with artifacts from long ago, the two ponies sat down at each other with materials from their knapsack scattered across the floor and they studied what they had left. They had enough from the rabbit hunt that they could survive for a few weeks if they rationed enough, and there was plenty of water from before.

Twilight was thankful that she found some plant food for her to consume; she wasn’t hot on the idea of eating dead rabbit meat. On the opposite end, Applejack didn’t seem to mind as she took the meat and rotated it above a boiling pot with spices they found scattered around the place. In the other room, Zecora was gagged and tied with no weapons present in the room, so there would not be any more trouble with her.

As she ate her daisies, Twilight pondered in her head what was going on. For her, everything was going wrong. One of her friends, or at least what used to be her friend, tried to kill the two with no remorse like a wild beast. It was as if she has gone mentally insane, a topic that Twilight herself skimmed over in her studies.

A thought found its way into her mind, and she found herself with a realization that she couldn’t shake off.

What if the others are like this?

“Are you okay there, Twi?”

Twilight snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her. She then stared down at the floor with a sense of gray colour in her mood. Applejack took off her hat and placed it beside one of the apples and crawled a little closer.

“Twilight, I know there is something wrong. And as a friend, you gotta tell me so we can get through this.” Twilight looked up to Applejack. “Now what’s wrong?”

Twilight sighed. “Well, I just had this thought, and honestly, it sounds really stupid.”

Twilight stopped in the middle and stared off into space, as if she was collecting her thoughts for the millionth time that day. She did not know what to say, but she had to tell her what was wrong.

“But, I was thinking that, Zecora was one of our friends.”

“One of our ex-friends,” Applejack sourly added.

“And she attacked us viciously. She laid on top of me and tried to stab me, Applejack!”

Her voice was growing, and she was starting to tremble. Applejack looked at her with great concern. Twilight tried her best to hold back tears, but suddenly her eyes were dripping down with small salty tears.

“What if, the others do the same thing as Zecora?”

Applejack winced, and stared down at the floor. Twilight choked out a small whimper, as more tears started to pour down.

“Why, Zecora…”

Applejack glanced back to Twilight. She put her hoof over Twilight’s hoof, wet with the water from her eyes.

“Now you listen to me, Twilight, and you listen closely,” Applejack said solemnly. “Our friends are not like that all. Besides, we are the Elements of Harmony, and we would never disband from each other.

“I know it seems hard to think about, but I know if we stick together, we will find each other. We’ll find a way to fix this mess, and this nightmare will finally be over. We won’t ever have to think about the lives that we lost, but we’ll try to save everypony else, just like we always do.”

Twilight looked up at Applejack, and immediately grasped her and buried her face into her shoulder. Applejack was caught by surprise, but took the hug and squeezed in a small embrace as Twilight quietly whimpered in the small cottage in the middle of the Everfree Forest.

“Promise me you won’t ever leave me, Applejack,” Twilight quietly said.

“I will never leave you, Twilight. Not in a million years,” Applejack replied.

Not in a million years.