I came upon a sacred view along my way;

While walking through the woods one day,

Such calm & beauty gave me pause when it appeared like a dream;

While I beheld this enchanted woodland scene,

~A Woodland’s Charm - Jean Dament~

~Rainbow Dash~

So we got ourselves a new guy who was doubling as a bodyguard. Kinda pointless with Jaeger around if you ask me, but then again, we can’t leave a pony hanging. Then again… nah! Anyway-

“Where are we now?” I asked aloud. Trixie sighed in annoyance at my question. I had no clue why. I’d only asked like… seven times in the last minute.

“We’re still leaving the city. We’ve only passed an apartment building since you asked last time.” she replied. Why she pointed the building out, I didn’t know, but it certainly sounded interesting. I looked up at the building that she’d mentioned. It growled.

I found myself bumping into Jaeger. Ooh, that sturdy frame. It was like an earth pony with a horn.

“What the heck was that?” Twilight asked. I paid it little attention as I wrapped my arms around my roadblock.

“That’s a new sound to me.” Jaeger said, causing everypony to shiver. I got the feeling that maybe I should have been paying attention.

“I know what it is… everypony, run!” Zephyr replied.

Every pony kicked up their hooves and ran. I always did love a race.

~Jaeger~

I wasn't this guy's biggest fan at the time, but if he knew about this new kind of enemy, then I had little choice but to follow him. Having not tested my red magic against this new threat, there was always the possibility that it was immune, or at least resistant. That was not a chance I was willing to take with the others.

As we followed our newest addition to safety, a sickening howl filled our ears. The sound was disorientating and I was having difficulty getting my bearings. I looked behind me to find Scootaloo in worse shape than I was. She was clutching her ears and stumbling around like a blinded lamb. Steeling what little sense of direction remained in me, I turned back to help her. Luckily, she wasn't far. I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in what I assumed was the opposite direction; toward the others.

As the howl died down and we began to get our bearings again, what I thought were the rest of the group were actually a small herd of zombies. Scootaloo and I both skidded to a halt and took a sharp left. Just as we picked up the pace, one of the storm drains burst open, the lid flying high into the air. Several Shades climbed out at once and immediately chased after us.

"Shit!!!" Scootaloo screamed. A responsible adult would have told her to watch her language. A responsible adult would be dead. Besides, I nearly said the same thing.

"Don't look back, just run!" I told her. Scootaloo bolted like a squirrel on speed. Her wings buzzing to give her that little bit of extra velocity.

~Twilight~

I saw Jaeger turn back for Scootaloo. I thought his red magic might give him some sort of resistance to the new zombie's howl. I didn't think to wait for him. As Zephyr led us to what we assumed was safety, I figured Jaeger was right behind, with Scootaloo in tow.

We ran and we ran, trying to escape the creature that posed the biggest threat so far.

It felt like hours, but was in fact only minutes before we reached a safe distance and our sense returned to normal. Zephyr led us into an abandoned apartment building and slammed the door behind us.

"Is every pony okay?" Zephyr asked. It was nice to have somepony who was experienced in battle and warfare on our side. Such experience could prove useful to our cause.

"I think so!" said Trixie. Every pony began sounding off, when we all realised something at once. Two were missing. Rainbow Dash was the first to address it.

"Where's Scootaloo? And Jaeger?" There was a pause for a long moment before Dash decided on a correct response to the situation.

"FFFUUUUUU-"

~Scootaloo~

I didn’t have to be asked twice to run. I’d seen first hand what those Shades were capable of. Stuck in Rainbow Dash’s cloud home, I had no choice but to look down on Ponyville and watch as the ponies I’d come to know and love were torn apart, devoured or carried away by these very monsters.

I was not about to become like them. I wanted to live; I wanted to see Sweetie Belle and Applebloom again. I wanted to live with Rainbow Dash and be awesome with her. And to do that, I had to follow Jaeger’s orders.

The Shades were on our tails, snarling and grunting all the while they were chasing us. I heard Jaeger’s hoof steps among those of the Shades. It gave me some relief to know that he was still with me. I knew that without him, My chances of surviving this were severely… non-existent.

I felt strong, warm arms wrap around me and immediately knew they were Jaeger’s. He lifted me up and picked up the pace. As he carried me, I looked up at his face. I’d hoped to see a confident smirk, like the stories tell you about. I’d hoped he wouldn’t show fear. As the leader of our group, he had to show confidence… right?

Jaeger showed neither of those options. amidst the panting and the growling that was often involved with carrying a filly while at the same time running away from a horde of zombies and monsters, he seemed calm. Emotionally, he seemed as though he were in the zone; like he was used to this.

I wondered to myself; ‘Who was this guy?’ Who was this pony we’d all placed our trust in? Sure, he was the one who’d saved my life, but he was so much more. He spoke of his friend, the guy who wanted to be a royal guard. But anything about him personally, only Twilight would know. Assuming he trusted her enough to tell her.

I looked behind us as he ran, trying to get a good look at what was following us. There were a few fast zombies. Not terribly fast, but fast enough to keep up with a jogger. Two Shades seemed to lead the charge, but that was only because they were faster than the main horde. But the one that caught my eye was a zombie like I’d never seen before.

Unlike the others, it kept up with us, running on its hands and legs. It’s mouth hung open as though it had a broken jaw, and it groaned a long, menacing groan. The voice was the same as the one that had caused us to go all dizzy. As I heard it suck in air, a thought occurred to me. If it let out that howl again, Jaeger would have no choice but to stop and get his bearings.

I reacted quickly, covering Jaeger’s ears. I was just in time. The howl sounded and I found myself unable to tell which way was up. I couldn’t even tell if I still had a hold on Jaeger’s ears. With no other options, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something, anything.

After the howl had stopped, my ears were still ringing. I opened my eyes and took a moment for them to adjust. I immediately wished that I hadn’t opened my eyes. The howl of that one zombie had somehow rallied the rest, causing them to go from jogging speed to matching our own.

“They’re gaining on us!” I called out to Jaeger. If he’d replied, I couldn’t hear him. I grabbed his jacket and pulled myself closer to him, burying my head in his chest.

Author's Note

Here we go, everyone. A bit of a New Years Teaser. You can expect some major updates this year, not just to this story.