The Infected World

Have you ever heard the saying ‘It’s a long walk down the highway of life’? Well it talks about how your life can be long like a highway. And boy was my highway long. Me and my new friend, Applebloom, were walking down the long and possibly deadly highway that led out of Ponyville and to Dodge Junction. But hey,  it wasn’t as dull as walks used to be now that I’ve got somepony to talk to.

“So Applebloom…. what did your family do before the outbreak?” I asked, even though it was a stupid question.

“Well mah sister worked out at the acres but mostly we Apples made cider.” She told me as she put her crossbow over her shoulder. I simply smiled at this. Life for her must’ve been good before everything went bad. “What ‘bout your family?” She asked.

“Um… well it’s hard to explain really. My dad was a mechanic and my mom stayed at home but did the shopping for my family. But when the outbreak started to overtake Equestria, my dad taught me how to build weapons from items I can find and my mom taught me how to sneak through the mobs of infected.” I explained.

“Sounds like yer’ folks were amazin’. Ah never knew mah Ma’ an’ Pa’. They died when Ah was lit’l. Had mah Granny, Big Brother and Sis’.” She told me as a small tear dripped from her cheek. I felt sorry for her. Her whole family, gone. I swore I felt my own tears fall from my face.

“Well… how about we tell jokes?” I asked, hoping to break us away from the sadness.

“Alright. You go first.” She replied as a smile started to grow.

“Okay. Um…. oh! Why does a squirrel swim on its back?” I asked.

“Ah dunno’. Why does a squirrel swim on it’s back?” She asked back.

“To keep its nuts dry!” I finished, making her give off a giggle.

“Alright mah turn. Um… oh Applejack told meh this one. What does a chicken shout when it’s mad?” She asked.

“I have no idea.”

“You motherclucker!” She finished, making me laugh.

“Oh man… okay you wanna know something? Blueblood doesn’t deserve his nickname.” I told her catching her off guard.

“Why are yah talking about Blueballs like that?” She asked.

“Well why call him something he doesn’t even have?” I asked, making Applebloom let out a loud laugh. I quickly covered her mouth in case we weren’t alone on this highway. I slowly moved my hand away and heard her say ‘Sorry.’

“It’s fine Applebloom. I guess jokes are off the table. So.. how about we get to know each other a bit?” I asked her.

“But Ah thought we know enough.” She told me.

“I mean about our skills and our weaknesses so we could cover them.” I said.

“Oh Ah see. Alright. Who’s goin’ first?” She asked.

“Mares first.” I replied.

“Well yah already know Ah’m a flank kicker with the crossbow but Ah’m not that fast tah be honest.” She told me which made sense why her crossbow was an automatic reloader instead of her doing it manually. “What ‘bout you?” She asked.

“Well as you know I can make weapons from anything and I’m fast but… I’m somewhat of a klutz at times. I’m good at scouting though thanks to a mare I met in Manehatten a while back. Her name was I think… Babs-” I said, making her yank my face in her direction.

“Babs?! Yah met her?! Where is she and how is she?!” She asked so quickly I almost wondered if they were a couple. It wouldn’t surprise me as I’ve met several filly foolers before.

“Um…. well she lives in Manehatten but I don’t know where in it. She keeps changing places and last I saw of her she was perfectly okay.” I told her honestly.

“Oh… well it’s just that she’s mah cousin and Ah’ve missed her so much.” She told me. Cousins?! Well.. scratch that theory off my list.

“Well maybe if we can get into Manehatten we’ll find her. But the infected are in large numbers there. When the infection first struck there, I barely made it out. It costed me this.” I said, pointing to my eye that I wrapped in bandages.

“Oh mah… what happened?” She asked me.

“Well as ponies tried to run out, a pony make a carriage blow up, making a piece of the metal hooked onto it fly through the air and cut my eye. I don’t think I’ll show you what it looks like now.” I told her.

“Alright. Well when the infection hit Ponyville, Ah was scared for mah life.” She said as she tugged on her saddle bag.

“I never heard Ponyville’s story. What happened?” I asked. Her eyes suddenly became darker.

“Ah don’t remember much but Ah remember what started it. Me and mah friends were comin’ home but somethin’ was off. We passed by a gray mare with a blonde mane, Ditzy, but she didn’t look like Ditzy. Ah didn’t know at the moment but she was infected. She tried to bite us but a pony named Time Turner took the bite for us. Soon, the plague spreaded around and… well that’s why Ponyville looked like it was now.” She explained. Wow, just two ponies turned her hometown into an infection hotspot. But soon, I heard a familiar sound coming from me and Applebloom. It was the growling of stomachs.

“How about we take a small break?” I suggested to her.

“Okay. But then we’d better get movin’.” She replied as we sat down on the ruins of a carriage. I pulled out a small box that my parents were going to give my baby brother and opened it to reveal a still somewhat good sandwich and several daisies. Applebloom pulled her saddlebag up to reveal she was carrying….. apples. Why was I not surprised. We took our lunches and began to eat. It’s been a while since we ate, ever since we left Applebloom’s house. As we sat there and ate, I looked into the box and saw an old picture I had. It had me, my mom, dad and baby brother in our house… a day before everything went to shit. I felt tears dribble from my face as I saw the smile on my baby brother’s face. He was only five when they came and took him. I just stood there and watched as they… ate him. I felt a part of me die that day and I knew that it would never come back.

“Ya’ okay Iron?” Applebloom asked me. I blinked a little before I rubbed my eyes a little.

“Y-yeah Bloom.” I lied. After we finished our meals, we grabbed our things and continued back on our journey.

“Um… Iron, Ah gotta go to tha’ bathroom.” Applebloom told me, making me groan.

“Fine. Just go on a tree and-”

“No. Ah need a bush or somethin’.” She told me. I mentally faced palmed myself.

“Well why not behind a carriage?” I asked her. I mean there were several she could hide behind and it’s not like it mattered what with it being the end of the world and all.

“Alright. Just keep watch.” She replied as she went behind the carriage. As I stood there, I pulled out a pack of cigarettes I found back in Ponyville along with a lighter. I took a smoky, placed it in my mouth and lit it, taking a big huff while the cigarette took flame. As the end of the smoke turned a bright orange, I took it out and puffed out a cloud of smoke. Sure smoking’s a bad habit but it was my way of calming down. I then heard Applebloom hum as she did her business meaning soon we’d be back on the road. A few moments later Applebloom walked back out from behind the carriage as she zipped up her pants.

“So you ready now Bloom?”

“Yeah. Let’s go Iron.” She told me. With that all said and done we headed down the highway again.