They come at night... Mostly

Confronted, accosted in criminal stare
Where the innocents in danger, generally meet

~ For Survival or Greed - Carolyn Devonshire~

~Jaeger~

Having warned Twilight of the danger her home now possessed, I took the lead. I turned the doorknob, keeping sure to do it slowly so as not to make any sound. The door however, creaked as I opened it. If a Shade resided within, it would no doubt have been made aware of our presence. I prepared my magic for the worst, forgetting silence. I threw the door open and searched the main room. There was nothing. Four rooms it could have hidden in came to mind; the kitchen, the basement, Twilight's bedroom and the guest bedroom.

"Lounge is clear. But be on your guard. I'll check upstairs, you get the kitchen. If you see a Shade, put up a shield and call for me. If you see a zombie, try to contain it. Better yet, kill it. Removing the head from the body will work." I said to Twilight. She nodded with uncertainty.

"Okay. But Jaeger, have Shades or Zombies been known to close doors behind them?" she asked. A good question to be sure. I'd have liked nothing more than to have been made a fool of.

"Sadly, yes. Shades quickly discovered that ponies would stay away from houses with open doors. As a result, they close the doors as a tactic. Zombies have been known to bump into doors, closing them as a result." I replied, making my way upstairs. It seemed that I'd just been adding to Twilight's stockpile of fears, only rarely feeding her slivers of hope and happiness. Fortunately, Applejack's note would turn out to be one of the latter.

As I opened the door to Twilight's room, I was immediately assaulted by a deep sky blue. A shrill voice screamed at me as it's owner threw itself on me. I fell backwards, over the railing, taking my attacker with me. We fell down and landed on the wood floor. The adrenaline caused me to ignore the majority of my pain and ready myself for another attack. The blue onslaught landed a few feet away from me and seemed to do the same.

Getting a moment to look at her, I could see she was a unicorn like myself with a light grey, almost silver mane, the kind you could only get with age, yet her features remained splendidly young (she couldn't have been much older than Twilight). Her clothes were dishevelled violet robes with stars stitched into the fabric. She reminded me of a female version of Starswirl the Bearded, if the scriptures were to be believed.

I could see in her eyes that the mare was bordering on hysterics. She'd obviously been a drifter like myself. Our sudden presence in the tree must have shot her nerves. At least she wasn't a Zombie or a Shade. "So what are you, a raider?" I asked.

"I'm a survivor. I used to know the pony who lived here." she replied.

"Twilight Sparkle?" I asked. The blue unicorn nodded. "Strange. You're not one of the friends in the picture." I said, taking the picture from Rarity's and showing it to her.

"We weren't exactly friends. She was my rival. When she defeated me last, I left on somewhat neutral terms with her."

I pocketed the picture once more and lowered my guard just as Twilight left the kitchen to investigate. I saw her eyes widen in shock at the sight.

"Trixie?!" she called, naming my attacker. Trixie dropped her fighting stance to turn to the voice.

"Twilight Sparkle!" she cried as if finding a long lost friend. Clearly she would have been relieved to find anypony who knew her. I watched as our guest ran crying with relief into Twilight's arms.

"It's okay Trixie. You're safe here." Twilight said as she consoled the hysterical unicorn. "Jaeger, this is Trixie Lulamoon. She became one of my friends shortly before the incursion." she verified.

I nodded to Trixie who took my greeting with a nod of her own. "You didn't happen to find a note addressed to Twilight from Applejack while you were up in her room by chance, did you?" I asked, skipping the pleasantries.

"I didn't. I only arrived about a minute before you both showed up. I hid in Twilight's room and stayed by the door, ready to pounce upon whoever tried to come in." she replied.

"I noticed." I commented, cracking my neck before turning around to head back upstairs.

"He's a nice guy once you get to know him. We're looking for my friends. Hopefully, the Elements of Harmony will be able to do something about this whole apocalypse." I heard Twilight say.

~Trixie~

If hearing my former enemy call me friend in this version of Tartarus wasn't enough of a godsend, then her plan regarding the Elements of Harmony tipped the balance. Before the 'incursion' as they called it occurred, I might have been envious of Twilight's quick thinking, but now, all I could think of was: 'Thank Celestia for Twilight and her quick thinking.'

"May I come with you? I know it's an extra mouth to feed, but I'll do what I can to help you and in a world like this, there's strength in numbers, right?" I asked. Even I knew that I sounded so pitiful the chances of her taking up my request would only amount to how much she pitied me.

"You needn't ask, Trixie. I was actually going to ask you to come with us. An extra set of eyes would be more than useful in these dark times. Frankly, I'm just glad to have one friend from before with me." she replied. I wondered after what I'd done to her and her friends, 'how in Equestria did I deserve her kindness?' I was a con artist, a talent-less hack, everything a pony should never be, yet I survived while many innocent lives died. This massive impact on Equestria had done much to change my views on life.

"I'd be glad to help in any way I can, Twilight... And thank you. I had no idea you thought of me as a friend, especially after what I'd done." I said, doing nothing to hide the guilt I felt over the events.

It was then that Twilight surprised me. Her next words were something I never thought I'd hear. "To be honest, Trixie; I don't think I can really call myself a friend." she said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"When the Shades reached Ponyville, I didn't bother to look for my friends, I just took Spike and hid in the basement. We've been living there until yesterday. It's how I met Jaeger. I decided to sneak a peek and found him going over my friendship journal. He's agreed to teach me what he knows about surviving in this world. He's also the one who came up with the idea of using the Elements to quell the Shades and the Zombie virus." she replied. 'Thank Celestia for Jaeger and his quick thinking.' I amended my previous thought regarding the plan. It was then that Twilight began to cry. Being new to friendship, I didn't know what to do. I just wrapped my arms around her as comfortingly as I could and let her cry. The aftermath of the Ursa Minor incident was less awkward than this. Fortunately, it didn't remain as such for long. The unicorn known as Jaeger descended the stairs holding a note.

"Looks like Applejack and Rarity took their sisters and Fluttershy to 'Sugarcube Corner' next. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that it's the building that looks like the candy house in that old pony's tale." he said, completely ignoring Twilight's cries.

"I believe so, if memory serves. It's about two blocks West of here." I said, patting Twilight's back lightly.

"The letter was addressed to Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Seems that they didn't find the others on the way here." he said after acknowledging my input.

Twilight wiped away her tears before contributing to the conversation herself. "It worries me that Rainbow Dash still wasn't found. Knowing her, she'd have searched Ponyville from above. It's almost impossible for her to not have spotted Applejack and the others from the air." she said.

"Perhaps she went to Cloudsdale. Pegasi have a natural instinct to return there whenever there's an attack. That instinct may have overcome her loyalty to you and the others." I said.

"Cloudsdale no longer exists now. Do either of you know where Rainbow Dash would have gone, assuming she survived its destruction?" Jaeger asked.

"She would have either returned here or gone to Canterlot to assist in protecting the Princesses." Twilight replied.

"The answer to which one may be revealed in Applejack's next note. Shall we away for Sugarcube Corner?" I asked. The two nodded just as Twilight's little Dragon friend, Spike exited the kitchen with a pack full of items. I assumed it was food and water, perhaps cooking utensils as well.

~Twilight~

It really was nice to see Trixie join our little band. I hated myself for wishing it was one of my other friends, but she was still a welcome addition. Jaeger had neglected to express any concerns regarding her accompanying us, so I figured he didn't care either way. We were half way to Sugarcube Corner when Jaeger stopped us and drew our attention to a pony. A dead one.

"Twilight. Kill that one over there. You need to get used to seeing them. It'll help in case we come across one of your friends in that state." Jaeger said. The thought of seeing one of my friends as a zombie made me flinch. This caused a reaction in Trixie.

"You could at least be more tactful when saying that kind of stuff, Jaeger." she scolded him.

"We can't afford such luxuries out here, Trixie. You know as well as I do that your mind and body need to be like steel if you want to survive. She will not obtain that kind of mental discipline if we tip-toe around the difficult subjects." he retorted. As they argued, the zombie overheard them. I watched as another familiar face entered my view. Lyra. That aqua body now a shade of grey combined with it. The bronze patches that symbolised dried blood around her mouth, chest and arm. She was faster than Cheerilee, but still couldn't go faster than an average walk.

It seemed that Jaeger and Trixie had failed to notice Lyra's advances. The left me to deal with her as Jaeger had instructed. Like Cheerilee, I only knew Lyra as an acquaintance. I remembered that she was actually good friends with Pinkie Pie, much like Ditzy Doo was with Rainbow Dash. I recalled the events that transpired with Cheerilee. The cold hands, those teeth around my neck. The feeling that I was going to die. That sensation of what I believed was a heart attack. I didn't want that again. I never wanted that again.

All thought left my mind as I narrowed my eyes at the body of Lyra. It was a monster, a demon which was an enemy to me and my friends, an enemy to Equestria, to the Princesses. It had to be destroyed.

I saw red as I charged my horn and screamed at the thing. I threw pure magic at the zombie, knocking it over. On it's back, I made my magic take on the form of a large hammer. And with all my stress flooding out of me, I threw the magic-hammer down onto Lyra's head. I did it again, and again, and again until there was nothing above her body but a pile of crimson mush.

I stood there, breathing heavily. The thought of feeling like I did with Cheerilee being my fuel for the onslaught on Lyra gone, my vision slowly returned to normal. I no longer heard Jaeger and Trixie arguing, and Spike and Winona were as quiet as the dead should have been.

"Well done, Twilight. Whatever you thought when you killed it, remember it the next time you see one. That thought will help you to survive another day, and another. Until you find your friends." Jaeger's voice reached me. Water filled my vision and I fell to the ground, crying. Trixie was holding me within a second. I could feel Jaeger's presence beside me and he placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. I looked up at him and he had a knowing smile on his face. My eyes widened as another zombie had crept up from behind him. It was reaching down to him, growling ever so gently. I was about to warn him when his eyes flashed bright red and his horn glowed the same colour for just a second. It all vanished when the zombie's head exploded in a blast of scarlet. None of which got on him or us. The body fell down, never to move again.

It was like second nature to him, killing these things. Behind that facade of a kind face, there was a cold and calculating killer. I could see it in his eyes. He took pleasure in killing those monsters. The kind of pleasure those out for revenge expect when they exact it. Only this time, his desire for revenge got him exactly what he wanted. "Let's move on, shall we?" he asked, breaking my gaze as he stood up. He hoisted me to my hooves and led the way to Sugarcube Corner.

~Jaeger~

Seeing Sugarcube Corner up close made me so hungry. I felt I could eat a whole pumpkin. Though, given the average lifespan of pastries, the food that remained would likely do more harm than good to my system.

"Fuck, I hope they have Twinkies." I commented as I stepped forward. I reached for the door and tried to open it. Like at Carousel Boutique, it was barricaded from within. A good sign to be sure. There were even signs of attempted entry, but they all pointed to failure. The place seemed safe to me, safer than Rarity's place.

I forced open the door like before and checked the immediate area. "Clear." I called., stepping further inside, the others following behind. Trixie was the last to enter and upon my gesture, she closed the door behind her.

"Hello?" Twilight called out. To all of our surprises, there was a rustle from upstairs. Just the one, then everything fell silent.

"We're not alone in here." I said, making sure that everypony understood that. Twilight and Trixie both moved slowly towards the door again while I moved towards the staircase. I took the picture of the six ponies out and examined the other five faces to refresh my memory before replacing it.

Climbing the steps slowly, I made my presence known to whomever was above. "I'm coming up the stairs. I mean you no harm." I called out. The only response was the sound of scrambling, as though somepony was looking for the most advantageous corner to both hide and see me when I came into view. The shuffling also unnerved me. There was no response. That could have also indicated a Shade. "Are you a pony? I know you're alive, you're too quick to be a zombie. And you know I'm not one either, because they can't talk." I tried to console the unknown entity. There was a pained whine from the end of the upstairs hallway. I knew that kind of whine all too well. Many a pony I'd come across in the early days of the incursion made those noises when they refused to believe their eyes and ears. foals, mainly, but adults were not beyond the action.

Fortunately, that whine allowed me to zero in on the pony's location. It also eliminated the possibility of it being a Shade. Shades tended to make more... monstrous noises.

I approached the end of the hallway. The pony was hidden within the shadows, behind a makeshift cubicle made out of a wooden crate spray-painted black and a black curtain. It was difficult to see within the shadows, but I saw it. A good idea when dealing with zombies, but Shades would be able to see it as if it were all white against a blue background in the middle of the day.

I gently knelt down in front of the cubicle and quickly parted the curtains. My ears were assaulted with screams of sheer terror. Fists made contact with my face and I heard the light flapping of wings as the mare tried to fend me off.

"Girls! Get up here and help me deal with this Pegasus!" I called to Twilight and the others. Their hoofsteps could be heard coming up the stairs followed by both running across the hallway to my side. I pulled the Pegasus out of the cubicle. Once she got a glimpse of Twilight she completely ignored me and lunged at the lavender mare, crushing her in a desperate hug before breaking into hysterical waterworks.

"Twilight!" she cried, sobbing as though she'd just lost all her family. For all I knew, she had during the events of the Incursion. I took the chance to examine the Pegasus. I recognised her immediately. The cyan coat and the chromatic mane and tail.

Twilight rubbed the Pegasus' back in a gentle and soothing manner. "It's okay. I'm here. I've got you. You'll be fine from now on... Rainbow Dash."