Contact

by RIPTID3

Rating: mature
Tags: Crossover, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 5442

You are, Hard Luck. A mare from Los Pegasus trying to stay alive. With the princesses silent and no cure in sight, trusting the ponies around you is your best bet for survival.

(Second Person Narrative) (Interactive) (Zomponies)

The story progresses however you, the reader, choose it to. It will be tailored by the decisions and the choices you make.

You are, Hard Luck. A mare from Los Pegasus trying to survive in the midst of the outbreak. With the princesses silent and no cure in sight, trusting the ponies around you is your best bet for survival.

Cover image by: markoatanc
Proofread by: Moldyshishkabob

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-28 03:04:37 UTC

Chapter 1:1 Departure Time

The story progresses however you, the reader, choose it to. It will be tailored by the decisions and the choices you make.

Equestria.

Home to many sapient beings, from ponies to donkeys and everything in between, as well as a wide variety of wildlife. Where almost everything and everyone got along just fine. Where violence and death was a rare sight to behold.

And then the outbreak hit.

The initial outbreak began in Vanhoover before slowly spreading across Equestria. Ponies panicked as their long deceased loved ones started rising out of their graves; shambling bags of rotting flesh began roaming the lands of Equestria, devouring and killing the living. What was the cause? Nopony knew. The princesses had promised that they'd come up with something - anything - to deal with the crisis.

But the ponies knew that things would get far worse before it got better. And so they flooded stores, barns, and anything that had food and supplies and stocked up. They were locking themselves in their own homes, thinking that they could wait it out until the princesses came up with something to help them.

Last they heard of them, they'd locked themselves up in Canterlot and sealed it up tight alongside the Crystal Empire. Nopony got in; nopony got out. They'd gone silent. But rumor had it that Princess Twilight wasn't very happy about that decision, and wanted to get out there and help out. Celestia supposedly refused to let her exit Canterlot grounds, out of fear that she might get murdered, or even worse, bit.

And so, ponies were left to fend for themselves. They immediately thought of getting boats. They could be sailing out to sea to wait all this out, and maybe even look for somewhere else to live. Some planned on bargaining with the griffons; maybe they'd let them stay until their homes weren't filled with the dead anymore. The Manehattan folks and the Baltimare folks got it lucky. They sailed out to sea as soon as word got around that Equestria wasn't safe anymore.

As for you, you lived in Las Pegasus where you served as the clerk of a pawn shop, selling and buying antiques. You envied the pegasi and the unicorns for having wings and magic, while earth ponies didn't have too much except their exceptional agricultural skills. It wasn't all bad, as customers would usually bring in old guns and you and the others usually got to test fire them. But that didn't change the fact that you still longed someday for a pair of wings or maybe a horn.

You gazed out at Ghastly Gorge as the carriage continued moving. One of the foals had started to cry as her parent consoled her. Everypony else on the carriage was silent.

After the dead started spreading, the authorities had advised citizens to move as far east as possible, preferably before the dead reached their town. And almost everypony was smart enough to obey. A couple of really headstrong ones payed the radio broadcasts no heed and treated it like nothing. Some movie directors had actually talked about kidnapping and using live zomponies for their movies. Just the thought of it made you sick, how could they even think about trying to make money at such a dark time?

You had gotten out just in time. Already the place was almost overrun with the things. The whole city was in ruins, buildings were on fire, and blood and gore covered almost every road. You got the message and decided to leave while you could.

      "Hey." The stallion next to you said.

He was purple, with an orange colored mane. He looked incredibly thin, slightly shorter than you, with wings folded by his side.

      "Hi." You replied nonchalantly.

      "Where's a pretty mare like you headed?"

      "East I guess. Go to Baltimare, get a boat, wait out at sea. Maybe even find someplace new. You?"

      "I'm going back to Vanhoover. Couple of my friends are still back there. Gotta make sure they're okay."

      "Vanhoover? Isn't that place overrun?"

      "All the more reason to go make sure they're doing fine."

The two of you kept quiet as silence filled the air. The foal had calmed down eventually and was now snoring peacefully in her mother's embrace.

      "Things have gone to shit haven't they?" The stallion grumbled.

You nodded in agreement.

      "I saw a couple of ponies out in the woods, fightin' over supplies. Then all of a sudden, one of them pulls out a gun and shoots the other in the head, for a good five times. Bastard even spat on his body." he said.

      "Wish somepony would do something about this, anything would do so long as it helps." you responded.

      "Well, we'd better get used to it. Things are gonna get a lot worse before they get better."

      "How can we get used to it? Their numbers just keep rising and ours..."

      "We just gotta look on the bright side of things. Too bad there isn't one right now. By the way, name's Sunray. You?"

      "Hard Luck."

You and the stallion kept quiet, the carriage continued moving along at a slow and steady pace. It was supposed to take everypony to the train station, where they would hitch a ride to Baltimare. But it was a risk; nopony knew if the rail roads were even functional, but there wasn't a better alternative.

      "Celestia damn it." The stallion pulling the carriage cursed.

Before him was the dead, deformed corpse of a pony. Its mane was nothing but tufts of red hair here and there, its fur coat also had a few patches of grey fur, and its face was disfigured to the point that there was no chance of recognition. You couldn't even tell if it was a stallion or a mare. Several wounds and holes littered its body, and dried blood was caked into whatever was left of its fur.

The carriage pony decided to try and step around it. He cautiously placed a hoof forwards, but the corpse didn't move. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

Bad idea.

Almost immediately after he stepped forwards, the corpse shot awake and used its mangled hooves to push itself forward, sinking its teeth into the foreleg of the carriage pony. In response, he screamed in pain and used his spare hoof to try and push the zompony off him. It was useless, as the weight of the zompony brought him down to the ground before allowing it to devour him. It plunged its rotting muzzle into his belly, ripping off the skin and flesh that kept his insides... well, inside.

      "Mother of Celestia..." Sunray muttered.

Before you could even panic and bail, another one of the things had snuck up on the carriage; it bit onto Sunray's wing before dragging him off. He landed on the ground with a thud as the zompony bit his neck, resulting in a stream of blood squirting out of his throat. One of the passengers started screaming, but you didn't have time to stop and look. Instead, you hopped off and ran as fast as your legs would allow you as their terrified screams attracted even more of the things.

…...

You slowly walked along the railroad tracks, hoping that they'd lead you to a city, a town, or something. And where there's a town, there's supplies. Even if said town was overrun by zomponies, you were confident that'd you'd be able to find some food for your almost empty saddlebags. (Which contained an old revolver your boss had given you as a departing gift, three bullets, and half a bottle of water).

You'd been walking for a good few hours now and you wanted to stop and rest, but you knew you had to try and find some shelter in the safety of daylight. Along the horizon, a small town came into your sights. You breathed a sigh of relief as you were filled with a glimmer of hope. Maybe the town hadn't even been hit yet.

As you got closer, you found out that you were wrong.

Various buildings were burned and destroyed; stalls and carts were vandalized and overturned. So far, no visible zomponies roamed the streets. A couple of corpses littered the streets, but they were far too mutilated to reanimate. As you forged on, you encountered various signs of gore. A decapitated head, a pony in half with his intestines still connecting his upper half and lower half together, amongst others.

You held in your lunch as you continued on along the path.

You made no effort to search any of the ruined homes, because the supplies were most probably already used up or tainted. Instead, you saw a bakery up ahead. You assumed that they'd had plenty of stuff to keep you alive, and it looked like it was in relatively good shape.

You were about to set foot towards your destination, but something stopped you. The faint sound of grunting, as though someone was having difficulty moving something. You cautiously advanced towards the source, which you tracked down to a old, destroyed building, the top half of it had collapsed. You would have pulled out your revolver, but you were afraid that firing it would cause more trouble than it was worth.

As you entered the home, the floor was littered as rubble, glass and wood was strewn amongst the wreckage of wood and hay. The furniture inside had been destroyed by the top half of the home. You traced the grunting to the kitchen.

You peered inside and what you saw broke your heart.

Inside was a pegasus stallion with a dark gray coat and a blue-silver mane. His cutie mark was a storm cloud with a lightning bolt descending from it; half of his body was trapped by a mess of wooden pillars and concrete. The worst part? A small colt, with a gray-ish coat of fur and a dark gray mane, was trying to pull him out. The stallion had his eyes closed. You were unsure if he was unconscious, or dead.

      "C'mon Thunderlane! Wake up!" The colt begged as he continued trying to pull the stallion out.

You slowly approached him.

      "Hey, kid?" You asked.

The colt turned around and looked at you. His eyes widened and  they had a certain twinkle in them.

      "You've gotta help me, please, miss!" He pleaded.

He looked up at you with a desperate look in his eyes. You wanted to help this colt, but you didn't know how. You weren't exactly the strongest mare alive, and you didn't know how you could get Thunderlane out besides cutting him in half. Even if you could bring yourself to do it, you had no knives, no axes - nothing.

      "Kid, I'd love to help, but I'm not sure if he's still al-"

      "Rumble..." Thunderlane groaned.

      "See miss?! He's still alive, he's just trapped!" The colt exclaimed.

You walked over and braced yourself, but as you were about to try and pull him out, he interrupted you.

      "No... don't waste... your time." Thunderlane croaked.

      "Huh?" You questioned.

      "Listen... I'm done for... but Rumble... you gotta bring him to Dodge Junction... Where our parents were headed..."

      "Thunderlane!" Rumble cried out.

      "Listen Rumble... I know you don't want to leave...but you can't stay here... follow the lady... she'll bring you back to mom and dad..."

      "But Thunderlane-" Rumble began.

      "No... just get outta here..."

      "But... okay." Rumble relented.

The colt walked over to you and sat down next to you with his back facing Thunderlane. You turned your attention back to Thunderlane, who was still wheezing. You wanted to say something, but you found nothing suitable to say. Even if you did, it'd come off sounding cheesy.

And then, Thunderlane's wheezing stopped. He fell limp; Rumble choked back a sob, and you sat down and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

      "Everything's gonna be just fine, I'm gonna help you find your parents alright?" You comforted.

      "I-I guess." he sniffled.

      "You ready to go?"

      "Y-yea I guess."

      "RARGH!"

You turned around as Rumble hid behind you. Thunderlane was straining to get to you, his eyes were orbs of complete white; he struggled to gain some grip to pull himself out, but his attempts were futile. He didn't stop growling and snarling at you.

You were unsure as to what to do; you never thought it took them that quick to reanimate. Rumble continued to whimper and cower as he peered from behind your legs. You would put down the zompony if you could put the revolver close enough to his head, as it would probably be enough to silence the shot. But if you left him here, you'd spare yourself a bullet.

a) Put him out of his misery

b) Leave him

c) Kill them both.

Chapter 1:2 Bitter From The Sweet

Chose to Kill Thunderlane: 66.5%

Chose to leave him: 33.5%

Chose to kill both of them: 0%

You pulled out your revolver from your saddlebag. You were quite aware of the fact that there were three bullets inside, and the massive power from the gun was sure to give out a deafening sound, that was probably loud enough to alert every single one of the undead within the town.

You used your tongue to cock the hammer before placing it in your mouth with your tongue pressing against the trigger; you aimed at Thunderlane's head and steadied the gun before pulling the trigger.

*BANG*

The massive power of the gun thrust itself into your mouth; you gag slightly before spitting it out. You never were used to the huge recoil the darned thing packed, almost as much as the old rifles, but you would have to get used to it until you could find a better alternative.

The head of Thunderlane had blown up; blood and bits of skull and brain were splattered against the floor and the debris. The corpse had stopped moving completely, instead falling limp once more.

Rumble will remember that.

……

The gunshot had easily attracted at least five of the things to your position, so you chose to stay in Rumble's home while you waited for them to leave.

      "So, Rumble, how long you been trying to save your brother?" You inquired.

      "He was trapped since last night." Rumble mumbled.

You raised an eyebrow, surprised that Thunderlane hadn't died from blood loss.

      "Hey, miss?" Rumble said.

      "Yea?"

      "What's your name?"

      "It's Hard Luck."

The both of you kept quiet after that. Nothing but the sound of the monsters groaning and shuffling their way through the town hit your ears. You couldn't stop checking your gun; the possibility of one of those, things, breaking in was still high. If they did come in, you needed to make sure that you could defend both yourself and Rumble.

      "Miss Hard Luck?" Rumble suddenly asked.

      "Kid, Hard Luck's fine."

      "Okay. Why did you kill my brother?"

You thought about for a while, before replying.

      "Because he turned?"

      "Yeah, but maybe we could've saved him. Maybe a cure would come out."

      "Maybe, kid. But I don't think anything's gonna be popping up soon. Do you think he'd like to have stayed like that until we can find a cure?"

Rumble stayed silent and walked away from you,

After a little while longer, the groaning and shuffling stopped. You glanced out the window and found no sign of the zomponies.

      "Hey, kid, ready to go?" You questioned.

      "Almost." He replied.

The colt ran into the what you assumed was a living room, and returned with a blanket over his back and a pillow in his mouth. He walked over to the dead body of his brother and slid the pillow underneath his destroyed head before draping the blanket over his torso.

…...

You and Rumble walked together towards the bakery. It looked to be in good shape, save for maybe the dust and blood on the walls, but besides that, it was in better shape than most of the other buildings around here. You assumed that food and water were a guaranteed.

As you got closer to the building, you noticed that the inside was incredibly messy, the inside had molding food splattered across the floor and pieces of glass and wood were amongst the wreckage. You placed a hoof on the door and gave it a light push. It swung open easily.

      "Stay close to me, alright?" You urged Rumble.

The colt nodded in response, and you stepped inside. Immediately, the smell of rotting food hit your nostrils; Rumble covered his muzzle. To your left, a flight of stairs led to the upper portion of the home. You assumed that it would bear even more goodies.

      "It stinks in here." Rumble complained.

      "I know, kid. I know."

You cautiously made your way to the kitchen, and observed drawers that were overturned, it looked ransacked, as bags of sugar, flour and all sorts of other baking ingredients were everywhere. Unless you could live on pure sugar, you doubt that any of this would help you.

      "See anything we can use?" You confirm with Rumble.

      "No."

You turned around and headed back towards the stairs. A couple of steps were missing, but you could easily climb them regardless. Rumble climbed up the first few steps before stopping at the first broken one.

      "What's wrong, kid?" You asked him.

      "I don't think I can climb this." Rumble grumbled.

You backed up a couple of steps and lowered yourself.

      "Here, climb on, kid." You encourage, motioning your head towards your back. The colt grinned and scrambled up onto your back. Once he settled, you continued up the stairs.

Once you reached the top, you were met with a long hallway, with two doors to your right and a single door at the far end on your left. You cautiously stepped towards the first door and pushed it open. As the it swung open, you breathed a sigh of relief as nothing came charging out. Rumble had resorted to burying his muzzle in your mane.

      "Are there any monsters?" Rumble's mumbled voice came through.

      "Coast is clear." You respond.

The colt pulled his muzzle out of your black and gold mane and looked around. The room was small, with a fallen wardrobe taking up most of the space. There was a bed on the far corner, it's mattress stained and torn. Despite that, there was nothing worth taking. You turned around to exit the room.

      “*GROWL*”

Rumble was started to the point that he almost fell off your back. You immediately whipped out your revolver and looked around for the source of the noise, but everything looked relatively unchanged.

And then you saw the wardrobe move.

You swore you could see the wardrobe bounce off the ground a good inch or two. You cautiously backed up as a pink-ish hoof punched a hole through the wooden wardrobe. Splinters flew everywhere, as the foreleg retracted back into where it came from.

      "Hard Luck, I'm scared." Rumble whimpered.

You lowered yourself and let Rumble hop off before walking up to the piece of furniture. You peeked inside the hole and made out a pink pony. It was definitely pink, but other than that, you couldn't really make out its gender or physical condition. You contemplated shooting it, but it'd be more trouble than it was worth. Plus, you had only two bullets left, and you doubted that you'd be finding any more anytime soon.

You put away your gun and exited the room, leaving the zompony to struggle in its wooden prison.

Moving onto the next room, you followed the same procedures that you performed on the previous door. Inside, there sat a baby crib. Little baby toys were still inside, and the room looked to be in relatively good shape, save for a smashed window. It looked like it was old, not new, not vandalized, just old and abandoned. You shook your head and exited the room, making sure to close the door behind you.

You moved to the last room; its door was ajar. You pushed the door open with ease. You walked into the room, Rumble following closely behind.

Inside rested a queen sized bed and a table with a mirror on the wall. Not too far away was a bathroom. The floors were covered in dust, and some corners had spider webs in them. You made a beeline towards the table and searched the drawers, you found a pair of scissors and some bandages. You took the bandages and stored them in your bag.

      "Isn't this stealing?" Rumble hesitated.

You turned around and looked at the colt before walking towards him and placing a hoof on his mane.

      "No. Sorta. Yes. But think of it as a... donation! You know? When ponies give away things they don't need anymore?"

      "How do we know they don't need it?"

      "Well, for starters, I don't think they're coming back anytime soon. Secondly, if they needed it, wouldn't they have taken it along with them to wherever they were headed?"

      "I guess."

You ruffled the colt’s mane and got up, deciding to search the bathroom whilst Rumble went in and hopped on top of the toilet. As you stepped inside, you noticed a medicine cabinet. You opened it and searched through the various bottles, finding some shaving gel, acne cream, and a comb. You took the comb, because why not? Never know when you might need it.

      "Ahhh!" Rumble yelled.

You turned around to find a zompony before you. She looked incredibly thin and her right foreleg looked broken, but she was still in better condition than some other zomponies you've seen. You immediately craned your head back to your saddlebag and whipped our your gun. However, before you could cock the hammer, the corpse had pushed you against the cabinet. You instinctively used your hoof to hold the creature back.

You used your tongue to cock the hammer. You almost dropped the gun on your first attempt, but you managed to bite onto it and use your tongue to pull it back into your mouth. The zompony hadn't slowed down in the least and was still trying to kill you, she would occasionally snap at you in an attempt to bite you. With difficulty, you cocked the hammer and wrapped your tongue around the trigger. You steadied the gun as best as you could and fired.

The shot had hit the monster right in the forehead, splattering blood everywhere. You felt your muzzle go wet as blood covered your green fur. The zompony fell limp and crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. You fell back onto all fours and breathed a sigh of relief. Rumble simply stared at you with wide eyes.

      "A-Are you okay?" Rumble asked.

      "I'm fine. I think. You?"

      "I'm good."

You stomped on the head of the pink demon once more and stepped out of the bathroom.

      "C'mon, Rumble. Better leave before the rest of 'em show up." You urged.

……

You ran as fast as you could while Rumble was trying his best to hang onto your back. A mob of the undead was right on your tail. Although they couldn't run very fast themselves, you were lugging along saddlebags (granted they were partially empty, but having them flop around and hit your legs was starting to get annoying) and a colt on your back.

Not exactly the best combination for speed.

You eventually ran into a clearing. No buildings stood save for a partially demolished tower, and you assumed that it was the town hall. Or what's left of it at least. You tripped and fell muzzle first onto the ground. Rumble was flung a few feet ahead of you. The groans of the undead were starting to get louder.

You tried to get up, but one of the things had managed to shamble its way towards you. You promptly panicked as you saw the thing stand above you. It fell forwards, hooves extended, with the intent of ripping you apart. You raised your hooves up to your muzzle in an attempt to defend yourself.

A ball of blue light flew past your head and slammed into the monster, sending it flying backwards. You looked around for the pony who just saved your life. Your eyes were met with a white unicorn with a long, curly royal purple mane. You couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was motioning towards the doors to the building.

You picked yourself up and ran towards Rumble. Just as he was about to get up, you used your muzzle to fling him onto your back. You dashed towards the building and ran past the open doors before skidding to a stop. The white unicorn shut the doors behind her, her horn glowed with blue light.

      "Exactly what do you think you're doing?!" A scratchy voiced bellowed.

You tracked down the source of the voice to a cyan blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane. She was hovering above the rest of the group. The group itself consisted of a mint unicorn with a cyan mane, an orange earth pony with a yellow mane, and a yellow pegasus with a long, pink mane. The mint unicorn's horn was glowing gold.

      "Saving fellow survivors. Is it that hard to see?" The white unicorn replied.

      "You risked our lives!" The cyan blue pegasus shouted.

      "And what exactly do you suggest I do? Stand by and watch our own kind get murdered and eaten? Besides, darling, it's time someone demonstrated a bit of chivalry." The white unicorn answered.

      "Well, your little demonstration was a waste. Look! She's bitten!" The pegasus said, pointing at you. You were suddenly reminded that almost the entire front of your face was still covered in blood.

      "I'm not bitten!" You retorted.

The pegasus floated down and approached you.

      "Oh really? Then what's all this?" The pegasus demanded, pointing at the blood.

      "Rainbow! Ah think that's enough!" The orange earth pony commanded, stepping forward.

      "So I'm the bad pony here?! I'm just trying to keep us all alive!" The cyan pegasus responded, glaring at the orange earth pony.

a) "Well, you don't have to be a bitch about it!”

b) "I'm not bitten, I swear!”

c) Knock her out

Chapter 1:3 Friends and Foes

Chose to argue: 33.5%

Chose to deny: 66.5%

Chose to knock her out: 0%

      "I'm not bitten, I swear!" You exclaim.

      "Then what's with all that blood?" The pegasus asked.

      "A close call with one of those things. Glad I had a gun on me."

The pegasus raised an eyebrow and looked you up and down.

      "You get away this time. But, as soon as we know you're infected..."

She did a neck slice before turning around and flying off into a corner of the building.

      "What's her problem?" You asked as you glared at her.

      "Oh, don't y'all mind Rainbow. She's just... stressed, y'know? What's yer name?" The orange country pony inquired.

      "Hard Luck."

      "Name's Applejack. That pegasus that almost murdered ya'? That's Rainbow Dash." Applejack said, pointing at the cyan pegasus.

      "She's real friendly isn't she?" You grumble.

      "Don't ya worry. She ain't the kindest or the most polite, but she's quick to apologize. We're all just... on edge." Applejack explained.

      "Tell me about it. Hard to believe just a couple of weeks ago things were just fine. And then Vanhoover was hit, started to spread like wildfire..."

      "We're all takin' it pretty hard. 'Specially after what happened to Pinkie." Applejack explained as she looked at the ground out of grief.

      "Oh..."

      "One o' the things wandered its way into Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie thought it was a new pony; warmed up to him real quick. We wanted to help; authorities kept urgin' us to stay out though. What happened to her, we don't know. She might still be alive for all we know."

       "Jeez."

      "Rainbow took it the hardest of them all. I'm worried that losin' another pony might just do her in. Best to give her time to calm down before y'all try and make friends with her."

      "I'll take note."

      "Go on, you should get to know the rest o' the group. If yer gonna stick with us, ya might as well be on good terms with the rest o' the gang."

Applejack turned her attention back to her saddlebags, browsing through it's content before pulling out a plastic bag of apples.

       "Here, hand these out and they'll warm up to ya real quick."

       "Thanks."

Applejack rested her head on her saddlebags and placed her stetson on her face, a clear sign that she was going to take a nap. You scanned the room and looked at all the ponies, trying to decide which one you should approach first. The mint unicorn seemed okay, bored even. She kept peeking out the window and staring at the surroundings, all the while her horn kept glowing. The yellow pegasus was sitting close to the white unicorn, her long pink mane covering most of her muzzle. The white unicorn herself was staring out the window, for whatever reason, you still didn't know. Rumble was sitting next to her, staring off into space.

You decided to approach the mint unicorn first. You made your way to her while she sat on the floor and drew random shapes absent mindedly. If she noticed you, she didn't let on.

      "Hey." You greeted.

      "Huh? Oh, hi!" She responded.

      "Here, take this." You said as you grabbed one of the apples out of the bag and placed it in front of her.

      "Sweet! Some food!" She exclaimed before taking a big bite out of the apple, juice squirting out of the apple.

Just then, Rumble walked over and leaned against your foreleg.

      "Here kid, have an apple." You advise the colt as you give him one of the ripe, red fruits.

      "Thanks, Hard Luck."

      "Hi, Rumble." The mint unicorn welcomed.

      "Hi, Miss Lyra." Rumble replied.

      "Wait, you know him?" You asked.

      "Course I do. Town's pretty small; most of the townsfolk know each other."

      "Ohhh..."

      "So, you got a name?"

      "Hard Luck."

      "Where you from?"

      "Las Pegasus. Place was in absolute chaos when I left."

      "Couldn't have been any worse than Ponyville was."

      "So, why is your horn glowing?"

      "I gotta help Rarity with the shield spell. If we tried to do it ourselves, we probably wouldn't be alive right now."

      "Smart. Wasn't there a hospital nearby? A couple of restaurants pretty close to here as well?”

      "Yes?"

      "You ponies scavenged the place yet?"

      "Wish we could, magic really drains ya. Too many of the things are out there. No way we could make it there and back without sacrificing somepony."

      "I see. Rumble, why don't you keep Lyra company?"

Rumble nodded and sat next to her. You got up and made your way towards Rarity and the pegasus.

      "Hi." You greeted.

      "Eep!" The pegasus squeaked before hiding behind her mane.

      "Applejack told me to hand these out, so..." You said as you pull out two apples from the plastic bag.

      "Thank you, darling. I was in need of something to eat." The white unicorn thanked.

      "Say, thanks for helping me out back there."

      "Oh don't bother. I needed the exercise. This body didn't come from just sitting around, you know."

      "I take it your name is Rarity."

      "Why yes, yes it is. And yours?"

      "Hard Luck. Who's the pegasus?"

      "This is Fluttershy."

      "Hello."

      "H-hi." The pegasus whispered.

      "She's really shy." Rarity explained.

      "Good to know." You say.

      "So, you have a plan?"

      "Find the kid's parents in Appleloosa, go straight to Fillydelphia, find a boat, sail out to sea, look for someplace better to live. Do you have a plan?"

      "Not at the moment. But your plan sounds solid."

      "Been a nice talk; enjoy the apple."

      "Thank you again for the food."

      "You should be thanking Applejack."

You turn around and look around, making sure you hadn't left out anypony. Applejack probably wouldn't want one, considering she was the one who gave them out in the first place. Lyra and Rumble were done; Rarity and Fluttershy were good. That left one more pony.

You shot a glance at Rainbow Dash, who was still sitting at the corner. She hadn't budged an inch. You looked into the plastic bag and noticed that you only had one more apple left.

a) Give it to Rainbow Dash

b) Take it yourself