Chapters Nopony knows how it started. Some say that the first one was a pony royal who lived near Canterlot and just went insane. Others say that the original was a mailmare in Ponyville but the one thing most agree is that once it started, there was nothing that could stop it. One by one, ponies fell to what became known as the carrion plague due to the creatures that were attacking corpses. It didn’t matter how how much you tried to protect yourself from it, one bite or even a single scratch that breaks your skin causes you to die and come back as one of those… monsters. But somehow, I’ve survived this living Tatarus. Ever since this outbreak started three years ago. And now, I’d like to tell you my story.
It begins about three years after the initial beginning of the outbreak and me, I was walking the streets of a ruined town called ‘Ponyville’. As it was well known for being home to several of our greatest heroes at one point I felt a little disheartened when I saw how desolate and decaying it looked. The weirdest thing though was the giant tree in the center of town. Sorry. Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Iron Heart. I am a seventeen year old Pegasus stallion. My fur is tinted iron while my mane and tail is long, spiky and colored oil black. My eyes or… eye is a light blue, almost white in fact. My cutie mark is a heart being covered by an iron shell. I used to live in Canterlot but soon left it for it became a large hunting ground for the infected. I was among the few that managed to escape the first wave of infected the moment they entered the city but not without a heavy price. Many of my friends became either food for the infected or they were merely assimilated into the horde of monsters. This was also around the time I lost my eye during an escape….. Sorry. I just start rambling when I think about the past and I get trapped thinking of it.
Anyway, I walked through the streets of Ponyville and saw the carnage this town went through. Half or fully eaten corpses littered the streets, buildings were barred up or were set in flames, and wrecked carriages covered the roads. But those weren’t why I came here. In a world like this, scavenging is how you survive. So usually I saw an opened door on every few buildings but didn’t want to risk an infected ripping out my throat. I then noticed a building that seemed to be made out of cookies and knew that was where I had to start. So as I approached the building, I drew out my firepony’s axe that I found before I left Canterlot. I gently pushed open the door so that I wouldn’t make any noise that would startle any nearby infected and walked in to check the place out. So far it was nothing more than a deli place that seemed to be loaded with every form of sugary sweet food you could think of… and they were years old. I mean white mold covered them like a pastry infection, the smell of rotten frosting and cream fillings floated through the air from these foods, and they looked like they were hard as rocks. I was hungry but I wasn’t insane enough to eat those.
I feel sorry for whoever owned this place. I bet they had a load of customers before everything went to Tartarus. I thought as I looked around the place. I was about to move… before I heard the sound of flesh being eaten. I carefully turned around and I saw… one of them. It was a yellow stallion and he seemed to be eating the corpse of a light blue mare with pinkish hair. As I observed the infected and the corpse, I sighed in sadness at what I saw. On the corpse’s and the infected’s ring finger, there were golden bands with a diamonds in the center. I sighed as I hefted the heavy ax over my head and swung it down on the undead monster’s head, killing it instantly. I then sent a silent prayer to Celestia that she watch over his and the mare’s soul. As I pulled my axe from the creature’s skull, it fell next to the corpse, laying its arm across her open chest.
True love lasts forever. Even during an apocalypse. I thought as I sheathed my axe. Acting quick, I went into the kitchen area of the shop and looked around for any food. I opened the doors to the cabinets, opened the oven, even searched the refrigerator. But yet, no food in sight anywhere in this damned place! I would settle for the flesh of the infected if it didn’t mean sudden death when devoured.
When I looked through the window of the building, I then saw a farm out in the distance and it appeared to be whole and healthy. Not a single bad fruit on it’s trees but of course this could be a hallucination as many others had suffered the same things from lack of food and water that they even…. ate other ponies. I shuddered but decided the risk was worth it.
I then headed out of the bakery and towards the farm which stood out from this whole place. But as I headed there, I wondered if there’s any survivors at the farm. I remember a few weeks ago, a kind elderly mare allowed me to stay with her if I kept the infected off of her property. So hopefully, there’s somepony here that will help me. As I neared the entrance of the farm, I saw a rusty metallic sign that hung by a rusty chain.
Sweet Apple Acres? I’ve heard about this place. Says that this place has the greatest apple cider in all of Equestria. I thought as I stared at the sign as it swung in the wind. It seemed like such a shame that even this place had fallen to decay. The sign swung back and forth for a bit before it finally snapped free from it’s chains and fell to the ground at my hooves. I walked forward towards what appeared to be the healthiest apple tree in the whole field. The apples were nice and plump making my mouth water. As I got closer, though, I noticed a pony was chained to the tree almost like he was a guard dog or something.
As I observed the pony, I saw that he was muscular, must’ve been from years of working on the farm. His fur was red and even stained dark red with blood. His mane and tail were orange and he was simply wearing a pair of torn blue jeans. I then noticed, clear as day, a bite mark on his arm. Slowly, I drew my axe and approached the stallion.
“Hey. Are you dead?” I joked as I slowly moved my axe towards him like an animal trainer with an alligator. But before my blade even touched his skin, the stallion came alive and released a screech I will never forget.
“YYYYEEEEEEEAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG!
“Celestia please find a place in your heaven for this poor soul.” I whispered as I brought up the axe but before I could bring it down, the stallion snapped from his chains. I tried to react fast enough but the stallion tackled me before I could even get another swing ready. Me and him skidded across the dirt before coming to a stop at the entrance of the farm. Using all the strength I had, I held back the stallion’s snapping head. I tried to hold him back as hard as I could and I saw his eyes. His faded, soulless eyes that shown that no pony was left in this shell that was once a living pony.
I soon felt him starting to break my axe and I knew that once it was gone my only chance at survival was gone. He was merely inches from my face when he suddenly stopped as I heard a loud ‘THUMP’ sound emanating from his head. I looked up and saw an arrow going right through his forehead and the stallion slumped to the ground dead. I rolled his now lifeless body off of me and quickly got back on my hooves. But as soon as I did, I felt an arrow press up against my back.
“Ah wouldn’t move if Ah were ya’.” I heard a southern voice growl at me. I then quickly brought my hands up.
“Look, I’m not here for trouble. I just wanted some food and then I’ll leave.” I said, hoping to fool whoever was probably about to shoot an arrow through my body.
“Now turn around nice and slow like.” The voice ordered and I did so but slowly. The origin of the voice was a yellow earth pony mare that looked around sixteen or seventeen with a red mane tied back with a red bow. She held a crossbow in her hands and a murderous glint in her eyes that told ‘I’m not afraid to kill you’.
“L-Look, I swear I am-” I tried to get out. But then the mare moved the crossbow up to my adam’s apple.
“Lookin’ fer food. Ah know. But how do Ah know Ah can trust ya’?” She asked as she pressed the crossbow a little bit closer to my throat.
“Here’s what I’m going to do. I’ll place my axe down, and you can drop the crossbow.” I suggested and got a crossbow bolt near my head as a response. I gulped as there was already another bolt in place already. The weapon was repositioned at my head once more.
“Or how about ya’ drop tha’ axe and Ah keep the crossbow?” She asked and I agreed with it. Slowly, I moved down to the ground and placed my axe on the soil next to me. I then got back up and held my hands in the air.
“Is that better?” I asked her. Luckily she moved her crossbow a little bit farther from my head.
“Better. Now, if ya’ want food, come with meh and Ah’ll set ya’ up with some nice, homemade Apple Pie.” She replied making my stomach growl. I willingly followed her as we walked towards the house in the distance but what bothered me was the undead corpses lying around with arrows placed in their heads but in very strategic positions. I knew this mare was good with a crossbow but how is she that good?
I walked with the yellow mare, her crossbow was still trained on me, as she led me towards the farmhouse where she lived. I could instantly tell this mare was somewhat unstable because who would even live in this town? It’s swarming with infected and the only possible place for food has only spoiled sweets, candy, and, most recently, two dead bodies. But those weren’t the only signs I saw on her. From watching zombie movies and playing games with those undead freaks in them, I noticed her pupils were dilated like the psychos in my personal favorite game Dead Rising, she was shaking like it was below zero, and she just plain seemed wacky. But if I said anything, I’d end up with a bolt in my body.
As we neared the house, I smelt what was described as sweet and sickening. It was rotting flesh.
“Now please be kind to mah Granny.” She ordered me as the door opened. I nearly vomited at the sight inside of it. The bodies of several possibly equally insane ponies littered the room and some actually….. SWEET CELESTIA ONE OF THEM WAS SKINNED INTO A BUCKING CHAIR! Okay, okay, deep breaths now Iron. Maybe it was just that one….. and another was the dinner table cloth…. joy.
“Now please be kind and sit by Granny. Ah’ll get the food.” The mare said to me with a crooked smile. I was wrong. She wasn’t wacky. She’s lost her bucking lid! So as I sat down, I noticed what was probably the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. It was an elderly mare with most of her skin missing off of her body, revealing her muscles and bones. Maggots were oozing out of her body as they chewed on her decaying body. I noticed though that her cutie mark was a pie. I think I just lost my appetite for pie right about now. The yellow nutjob left for the kitchen a little later and I knew it wouldn’t be long before she came back, considering what she probably ate, so I had at most a few minutes before she returned with lunch .
I considered just getting up and leaving but then I remembered how good she is with a crossbow. So instead I decided to see what a little distraction would do. I picked up a bone from the table, she somehow made it into a knife, and picked it up. Using my aiming, or what I had of aiming with my only eye, I tossed it and to my luck, it knocked over a picture, sending it to the floor with the glass frame shattering. I then heard a gasp come from the kitchen and the mare came into the room and went over to the picture.
“No no no. Please tell meh that it’s alright.” She begged as she tried to pick up the glass shards without cutting herself. I was about to get up and run but then… I saw my defense against that crossbow of hers. Laying in the hand of a fallen pony was a .357 Revolver. The cylinder that held the bullets had about three shots left. If I could grab it, I could possibly save myself in case anything goes bad. I was about to reach over and grab it when I saw the picture I just hit.
“S-Scootaloo….. Sw-Sweetie…. Ah’m so sorry Ah got the picture hurt please don’t be sad.” The mare said to the picture of what seemed to be her as a filly and two other fillies behind her. All three of them were smiling and seemed to be wearing what seemed to be red capes with some sort of symbol on them. Those were her friends that she might’ve lost. Or they’re alive. But then the worst thing happened. The floor under me creaked getting the mare’s attention. Quickly, I grabbed the revolver and aimed it right at the mare who aimed her crossbow back at me.
“Y-you…. you threw t-that dagger. You h-hurt mah friends.” She stammered at me. While normally this would be intimidating I couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit remorseful for the crazy mare.
“Look I’m sorry but I tend to hurt other ponies when they tend to try and eat me-” I started but soon felt a arrow zoom by me.
“Ah never said… Ah was gonna eat ya’. Y-you w-wanted food a-and Ah was gonna give it.” She said.
“T-Then explain the pony skin couch! And the tablecloth too!” I ordered.
“Them? They were tryin’ to rob meh so Ah just defended myself. So Ah made sure Ah had somethin’ to ward off intruders.” She explained. Alright, I had to admit that was a good plan.
“B-But your Granny, she’s-” I tried to get out.
“DON’T YA’ DARE SAY IT! She’s ‘bout alive as you and meh!” She claimed. So the mare still was a couple of nuts short of a fruitcake but she still had to realize ‘Granny’ wasn’t exactly…. active anymore. Any sign of movement I’m thinking was in part due to the maggots.
“Look Miss-” I started.
“Applebloom.” She interrupted.
“Look Applebloom, I know that you think that your Granny is alive-” I began to explain.
“But she is. Everyday we head out to the orchard and pick apples.” She interrupted again.
“But look at her. She’s not alive. She’s gone.” I told her and already I saw some sane portion of her trying to find some lie in my words but it couldn’t seem to find any as she started to break down into tears. She walked over to the maggot filled corpse and fell to her knees.
“G-Granny Smith… p-please t-tell him h-he’s lyin’.” She begged the corpse. The sight was almost too much for my heart to bear. I looked back to the revolver I had in my hand and considered aiming it at her and allowing her to join her family in Elysium. But then what that make me better than the old her? Than Steel Wing? I knew now that somehow, this was a chance to make things right for Applebloom. Slowly, I made my way to her as she cried her tears that she must’ve been holding back for a long time, and placed my hand on her shoulder. She looked at me and I noticed that the wild look in her eyes were gone now. And I saw a pair of two beautiful eyes that now spoke in a more gentle voice.
“T-thank ya’ fer that. Ah’ve l-lived alone f-fer so long that I-I’ve forgot what it’s like t-tah have a livin’ being with meh.” She told me. She cried a little more but I held her close and allowed her to cry into my fur. She then looked at my face, allowing me to wipe away the tears.
“Don’t worry. We all need somepony through this Applebloom.” I said back with a gentle smile.
“S-So what’s yer’ name?” She asked me as she stepped back a bit.
“Iron Heart. And... sorry about what’s happened to your family. Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked with a concerned voice. Applebloom nodded which I took as a yes.
“M-mah sister Applejack is out in the barn. She locked herself in there after five of those monsters chased her into it. W-what are they?” She asked me.
“The best I figure is that these things are living corpses. Other than the fact that they want to eat our faces and devour our brains I got nothing.” I replied.
“Well…. can ya’ get Applejack’s body out of the barn so Ah… we can bury them?” She asked me.
“Of course. You grab the shovel and I’ll get them ready.” I replied as I headed for the door.
“Thanks.” She said to me. I then headed out of the door and towards the farm which seemed like it saw better days. The wood was splintering and the paint was coming off of it. As I headed to the door, I noticed that there was no lock on the outside, but on the inside is a different story. I tried to push it open but instead I felt the weight of several bodies blocking the door… which shouldn’t be possible considering what Applebloom told me about the scene. I pushed it a little more and soon felt the bodies slide away as I opened it at last only to see a mess of blood and a crap ton of bodies. They were decayed and seemed to have bullets in their heads which meant ‘Bloom’s sister did kill these infected. But then I noticed something. No Applejack.
Only a puddle of what could’ve been her dried blood. I felt a shiver go down my spine when that meant one thing. She was infected. Acting fast, I checked every part of the barn to see if her sister died anywhere in there from the loft to behind the tractor. But then, I noticed a torn and bloodied stetson laying near the barn wall. I picked it up and felt every fiber of my being chill as I realized something. Applejack did die but instead of staying that way she got a wake up call and came back as some undead monster. I ran back to the house and saw Applebloom digging the graves.
“Iron what in tarnation-”
“She’s not there.” I told Bloom.
“W-what do ya’ mean Iron?”
“I mean your sister isn’t in the barn… I think she’s one of them.” I replied. Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks as she dropped the shovel.
“W-We need to move now. If she’s here, she’ll be after us.” She stuttered.
“I know. But first, we need to get supplies and weapons.” I said to her. She simply nodded and ran back to her house. I ran back towards the barn, hoping to find something to use for a weapon since that red stallion cracked my axe handle, making it useless. I made it to the barn again and I nearly sighed in relief as I saw countless farm weapons. I walked over to a nearby machete and picked it up. It felt good but I still kept an open mind as I put the blade down. I then looked over and saw a rusted pitchfork with some duct tape laying next to it. Suddenly, the light bulb in my head went off as I gained an idea. Being that my father could basically make anything from anything he could find, he taught me how to make weapons with nearly anything. So, I grabbed the machete and the pitchfork and placed them down on the work table. I then grabbed the duct tape and taped the machete to the other end of the pitchfork. When I was done, I had a weapon that had two ends that could slice and stab. I smiled as I turned to leave…. only to see by far one of the ugliest infected in my life.
It walked upright but it’s pot belly was a sight that I didn’t need to see at all. It had a weird jaw formation and it dribbled what seemed to be pure acid. Its arms were long and ended with sharpened nails that could slice me apart like butter. It hissed before spitting at me. I dodged it and watched as it dissolved the wall behind me.
“Alright. Time for a test run.” I said as I readied my new weapon. I ran towards the infected and before it could swing one of its arms at me, I sliced it open with the pitchfork end, causing its intestines to fall to the ground with a slimy and wet thump. It shrieked in pain as the intestines fell entirely out of the stomach. It still tried to charge me but then it spat a glob on acid at me which missed and hit the wall behind me. I watched in amazement as it melted slowly and almost didn’t notice the creature nearly jump me. I was about to use the pitchfork side but I heard a loud blast and the beast fell into a hay bale maker which turned on and grinded it to mince meat. I turned my head and saw Applebloom with the revolver I had on me. I looked at my pants and saw that it was gone. She took it off of me.
“Thanks. I owe you one Applebloom.” I said as I placed the weapon on the homemade strap on my back.
“No problem. Now, can we get this done with before more show?” She asked as she passed the gun back to me.
“Of course.” I replied as I placed the gun back at my side. I followed her back to where she dug two holes and in them laid her Granny Smith and that red stallion from before.
“Ah heard the prayer ya’ said to Big Mac before I ended him. Could ya’ say another here?” She asked. I nodded as I closed my eyes and started the prayer again. “Celestia please find a place in your heaven for these poor souls. Please allow them to see their family and hopefully allow them peace through this Tartarus.” I said as calmly as I could for the two grave sights.
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.