The Remaining: Transformationsby XvernChaptersHowling at the MoonA Picture Tells......A Thousand WordsNothing but QuestionsHowling at the MoonRunning. Legs sore, heart racing, lungs burning. He could hear the screams behind him, the howls. He couldn't look back, couldn't slow. He had to push himself as hard as he could. His pack weighed heavy on his shoulders but didn't impede his running. Running. That's all he could do. To turn and fight would be the end of him, even with the rifle in his hands. There were just too many of the Infected. It had been almost a month since the outbreak of an unknown disease. This disease would slowly... devolve it's victim, eating away at the brain until only the frontal lobe remained. It would basically reset it's victim to their primal instincts. The victim would first become confused and lose the ability to speak. They would sweat profusely, no matter how cold or hot. Then they would finally snap, turning on the healthy with animal-like ferocity. Anything within the Infected's reach could become an implement to kill the healthy. They didn't sleep, didn't drink... they just hunted and killed. There were few exceptions to this rule. Incredibly rare Infected who didn't attack you on site. They would simply stare at you, going about a repetitive task since it was all they knew. Most seemed to have moments of clarity in the haze of madness: asking for death, scrawling “Help” into the dirt or walls, and crying. The worst of it all wasn't until nightfall. When the sun went down, you stopped where you were and made camp. It didn't matter if you were in the middle of scaling a cliff or floating down a river, you did not move. You did not talk. You barely breathed. For, at night, the Infected became even more dangerous. Their senses were heightened at night, their predatory instinct stronger, their pack nature more prominent. All you could do was fall asleep and hope they didn't find your slumbering body. It was that or stay up all night, watching them stalk by you. Of course, the Infected weren't the only problem in this new world. Bandits, rogue military, warlords, they all vied for power and dominance. They all wanted your stuff and, in some cases, your body. They prowled where the Infected didn't, hoping to catch you by surprise. Many would claim to be survivors seeking assistance, only to break your leg and rob you blind. All of that, however, was of no importance when one found themselves being chased by a small horde. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” the man, James Cole, breathed as he pushed himself harder. The woods in the mountains of Colorado both helped and hindered him. It slowed him, so it slowed the Infected. He just had to be a little less slow than them. Legs screaming, lungs burning. He had to find someplace fast, someplace to make a stand. That was the only way he would shake his pursuers, unless a juicier target dropped in front of them. The likeliness of that happening of none-to-none. Even if it did, James knew he wouldn't leave them to die. “Oh shit!” he screamed, skidding to a stop just before the ground suddenly dropped away. Not a second later, James felt a solid weight slam into him, knocking him off. One of the Infected had been right behind him, silent as it had given chase. Now it, along with James, screamed as they plummeted. As they fell, James got a good look at the Infected. It was a 'her' with dirty, blood matted blonde hair. The hair, while not in the best condition, wasn't torn out like some of the others. She wore the tattered remains of a mechanic's jumpsuit. Grease stained her jumpsuit and skin, overlaid with blood and grime. Her blue, crazed eyes were staring at James as she snapped her jaws at him, the same jaws that were coated in blood. Then everything disappeared in a flash. -_-_-_-_-_- James opened his eyes to a blue, cloudless sky. The sun was luckily in a position that allowed his hat's visor to shade his eyes. Even so, his sunglasses helped reduce any of the excess glare. Around him, he could hear people, humans. They were pressed together, he could feel the people around him pushing into him, vying for that extra inch. Extra inch to what? A look forward gave that answer as buses, guarded by Humvees and soldiers, sat lined up on the road. “Please stay calm,” droned the officer behind the loudspeaker, “everyone will be able to fit on the buses. Please remember that it is one bag per person and that the bag must be able to fit on your lap.” The man's voice, even with the loudspeaker, was almost drowned out by the buzzing of voices from the crowd. Questions were asked: “Why is this happening?” at the top of the list. Both child and adult alike were crying, the tears falling freely from their eyes. Some told jokes to lighten the mood while others just stared at the buses. Gunfire could be heard in the distance by those who strained their ears. Far enough away to not cause immediate worry. They had heard of it in other countries. James had seen the grainy cell phone videos of the infected chasing other humans. He had seen the guts, the gore, the blood but he had always had the same thought: it's over there. That was the average American's thinking. It's over there. Now it was over here, in their backyards and their streets. Now it was an American problem because it was on American soil. The disease had jumped by plane or ship and know it was spreading across the country with a speed thought impossible. As the disease spread, the American military began to evacuate entire cities to 'containment camps' in attempts to keep the disease from spreading. As the screaming started, James knew it was too late. The scream, filled with shock and pain, came from the back of the herd. More screaming arose from the back. Shouting came too: “It's here!” As if to answer what was there, a human ran onto the roof of the car and looked upon the herd. Their stance was predatory: back hunched, arms out, hands curled into claws. Their eyes were empty of everything but rage. Blood caked their torso and lower face, a gaping wound visible on their left forearm. Their tongue hung from it's mouth, visibly dripping saliva. They then reared their head back... and howled. The noise was inhuman, echoing across the packed in crowd. Children covered their ears, babies cried louder, adults stared; everyone had a shiver run down their spine. Then the screaming, having been drowned out by the howl, came back. The screaming of the pained, the dying.... the deranged. As one, the herd turned and proceeded to stampede toward the awaiting buses and soldiers. Screams of terror filled the air. Those two slow were knocked over, trampled to death by the frightened herd of creatures. Bags were forgotten and dropped, tripping up even more of the mass. All this served to slow the crowd. All this served to assist the Infected. James, being carried by the surge, fought his way to the side. Though his survival instinct told him to stay with the mass, his common sense informed him that doing so would simply lead to his death. Thus he pushed his way through the mass to the outside. What he would do when he got out, he had no idea. He was close, so close. He could see the packed together cars through the people. Maybe he could hide in a car? Wait for this to blow over? Maybe- His thoughts stopped as another Infected jumped onto a car in front of him. It looked around at the panicking mass. The crazed eyes came to rest on James, who stood frozen as the bodies pushed around him. This is it, he thought, No escape. The Infected opened it's mouth and howled. -_-_-_-_-_- James' eyes snapped open to the darkness of night and an inhuman howling that was most certainly real. A howl of distress that made James' ears ring due to the closeness of it's source. Before his mind could come up to speed, he was on his feet and running, both hands held tightly onto his rifle. He dodged trees that appeared from the night. He stumbled over exposed roots and tore through bushes and tall grass. With fight or flight in full effect, he flew through the woods, uncaring of anything around him. He had to get distance between himself and the Infected. Once he had that, he could bunker down for the night. His only hope as that the howl would draw any other infected to the caller and distract them from hearing James' hurried movement. Even these creatures knew to respond when one of their own was in trouble. It was a basic instinct; help your own. Thus James pushed energy into his aching legs, urging them to create significant distance between himself and the trapped Infected. Something inside him told him it wouldn't stay trapped for long. -_-_-_-_-_- At the edge of the forest sat a lone cottage. The cottage seemed to be in a losing fight with nature as the grass grew up it's curved walls and on it's roof. Seemingly innumerable bird houses surrounded the cottage while dens were spread amongst the tiny mounds in the property. A fenced in backyard contained a chicken coop and more than a few feeding dishes. Inside this naturalist paradise lived a butter yellow pegasus with long, flowing pink hair. This pegasus, Fluttershy was her name, had a reputation around the nearby village as being a kind and compassionate pony. She was known as the caretaker for any animal that found itself within her hooves, no matter it's dietary needs. Whispers floated around about how the normally timid and easily frightened pegasus had even faced an enraged dragon when it had threatened her friends. This current night, however, the pegasus was under her blankets, shaking like a leaf. Her breathes came in quick gasps. She shut her pinprick eyes as another howl reached her ears, which pinned to her head in response. Her wings were wrapped around her body, shut tight in fear. Whatever was in the forest, she knew that it was not one of her animal friends. She didn't even think it was anything she knew of. It sounded primal, much more than that of any animal she had met. She knew she had to let Twilight know, if she hadn't heard it herself, but she couldn't find it in her to go outside at night. Not when whatever was making the noise could be prowling around, hunting for a pegasus roast. “I-I'll just w-w-wait until morning,” she whispered to herself. She found herself hoping that her animal friends were okay. Author's Note Hey guys. Recently read The Remaining. It was an AMAZING book! Very well written. The imagery had kept me awake on more than a few nights, expecting an Infected to bang on my door with a cleaver. Anyway, here's a crossover for y'all. Hope ya like it. A Picture Tells...CRASH! Bloodshot lavender eyes shot open at the sudden loud noise that seemed to echo in the still empty castle. Many images flew through the alicorn's head as she charged her horn. All those thoughts were dispelled at the accented voice that echoed down the halls. “Twilight? Where ya at sugarcube?” “Over here Applejack!” Twilight called back as she crawled out of her bed and used her magic to sing open the doors to her chambers. Having seen the doors open, Applejack made a beeline for the room. When she stopped outside, Twilight knew that something was wrong. Her close friend looked to have run three consecutive Running of the Leaves without pacing herself. Her tongue hung out of her mouth as she panted in an attempt to cool down. Sweat matted down her fur, though there was so much of it that it also dripped to the floor beneath her. “AJ! What's wrong?” “Last night, Twi, last night I woke up to this strange howling coming from the Everfree. It was so loud and... angry. It had woken up my family as well so Big Mac and me decided to stand watch outside while Granny Smith took care of Applebloom. We thought it would die down but it kept going for most of the night. It finally stopped just a couple hours to sunrise. I just couldn't sleep though Twi, there was just something wrong about that howling!” she explained quickly, barely taking time to breath. “What? Do you know of anything that could howl like that?” “Well, if'n I knew that, I wouldn't be here, would I?” she replied testily. Twilight didn't comment on it as her friend had stayed up almost all night listening to whatever it was that had made the noise. “No, no I guess you wouldn't. Who could...” As if a switch had been thrown, both of their eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “Fluttershy!” -_-_-_-_-_- When the sun had hit James' face, he had immediately gotten up and began moving again. With only a scavenged energy bar as sustenance, he was again trekking through the woods. The howling had stopped, he noticed, which meant that the Infected died in the night or that it was free and on the hunt. From experience, James knew that it was the latter. With his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings, James noticed a second thing: these woods were different. He didn't know how, or why, but he could tell that he was nowhere near where he was yesterday. Back in the other forest, the trees were green, healthy, and grew at natural intervals. In this forest, the trees were black with gnarled branches that grew more like weeds than trees. James found himself baffled as to how he hadn't run smack dab into one of the twisted plants in his sprint last night. He froze, his ears straining to hear anything. That was it though, there was nothing to hear. No birds chirping or feral dogs barking. No buzzing of insects or splashing of fish. There was just silence. How didn't I notice it before? he asked himself. The silence was deafening and he knew that each and every step he had taken had been echoing through the silent woods. The Infected could have tracked him. SNAP! James dropped low, careful of noise discipline, as his head shot around to face the sound. It came from his left, where a particularly batch of trees stood. Only small gaps were left visible through the trees' vines and branches. Even through those small gaps, however, he could see a familiar bipedal shape. It was barely twenty meters away, stalking through the overgrown foliage. Besides the one stick breaking, it was otherwise silent, moving with grace of a predator. A powerful scent hit James' nostrils, just about causing him to gag in reply. It was the smell of unwashed bodies, human feces and urine, and rotting gore; the smell of the Infected. Fighting back the wanting to barf, the man smirked. He smirked because he knew that if he could so easily smell the Infected, that meant that he was downwind from it. Thus it would be harder for it to smell him. Still, he steadied his grip on his rifle, slowly bringing it to bear on the Infected. He didn't know if he could get a shot through the trees but he wanted to be ready if the thing did notice him. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead when the Infected suddenly stopped. It was in this brief moment that a part of James realized that this was the same Infected that had sent him tumbling off the cliff. It's blond hair now had thorn branches entangled in it while it's jumpsuit was even more torn up than before. He realized that it may not be long before he was being chased by a deranged, naked woman through the woods. He nearly laughed at the imagery his mind conjured up. Following the Infected's path of sight, he found what had caught it's attention. There, standing in a clearing with a face that James would title 'dumbstruck' was a small, brown coated horse. Large saddlebags were on it's frame and a white... pith helmet rested on it's head. Even stranger to the human was the camera that it wore around it's neck. While James was confused at the strange appearance of the small horse, the Infected merely saw potential prey. The camera suddenly flashed, sealing the small horse's fate. With an angry, incomprehensible cry, thee Infected took off at full speed for the small horse. The horse stood still, rooted to it's spot in fear. Even so, the camera flashed two more times before the Infected tackled the horse to the ground. What came next sent shivers up James' spine. The horse screamed. It screamed and... shouted in some strange language. Shortly after it began, thee screaming stopped with a sickening snap. Only the sounds of breaking bones and ripping skin followed the silence. A silence that shook James out of his stupor. Sorry friend, he thought, It was you or me. Quickly and quietly, James moved away from the feeding Infected. Though the sounds the dead horse had made brought bile to his mouth, he had to take advantage of this distraction. His only consultation as he beat feet was that the Infected would completely devour the body, leaving no chance of spreading the disease. -_-_-_-_-_- “Did you hear that?” Twilight asked, suddenly skidding to a stop. “Ya, sounded like somepony screaming in the Everfree.” Again, the two shared a look before taking off again. They were already close to the cottage, thus arriving in no time at all. With no hesitation, Twilight backed off to allow Applejack to take lead. Said farmpony made short work of the door, plowing through the piece of wood and allowing entrance into the cottage. “Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Applejack cried before launching herself at the frightened pegasus, lathing onto her in a hug, “Thank Celestia you're okay.” “Did you hear the howling Fluttershy?” Twilight questioned upon entry into the cottage. Said cottage was packed nearly to the breaking point with animal, all of which were looking at the door and shaking. The entrance of the two ponies had startled them and, had it not been for Fluttershy's presence, they probably would have trampled the two ponies in an effort to escape. “I-I did,” she muttered as AJ let go of her, “I m-meant to let y-you know, Twilight, but as you c-can see.” “Your woodland friends needed comfort, I understand,” Twilight quickly replied with a nod as she looked at the animals, “Sorry for our entrance everyone.” “Do you have any idea what was doing that howling sugarcube?” “I can't say that I do,” Fluttershy responded, a little more in control of her voice, “It's nothing that I've heard before. Whatever it is though, I can tell that it's very, very angry.” “No offense partner, but I reckon anypony with two good ears could tell that.” Fluttershy merely nodded her head before excusing herself to assist the animals gathered in her cottage. With no relevant information gained, Twilight and Applejack exited the cottage to gaze out at the looming woods next to the cottage. “What now Twilight?” Applejack asked, her voice tinged with worry. She didn't want to think of the consequences if that had been somepony screaming. It had ended so abruptly, she thought with a shudder. “We need Rainbow Dash,” Twilight stated with conviction, “I need you to get her and have her do a fly-over of the forest. She needs to look for anything out of the ordinary. Tell her everything we know so far, she needs to know that this isn't a game.” “Consider it done but, if ya don't mind my asking, what are you gonna do?” “I'm going to inform Celestia and Luna.” As if to punctuate her statement, Twilight flared her wings. With a down-stroke that nearly blew Applejack over, the youngest Princess was airborne and heading for Canterlot. Applejack continued watching her friend for a couple moments before turning and galloping back down the trail. She had a certain pegasus to wake up. -_-_-_-_-_- Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grumble as she flew over the Everfree. She didn't see how some new creature warranted waking her up this early, especially on her day off. So what if it's loud, she thought as her eyes scanned the ground below, Nothing in this forest is ever quiet. No matter how much she grumbled and complained, she was still the Element of Loyalty. Even if her element had been returned to the Tree of Harmony, her true self required her to answer her friends' plea for help. Thus, she was flying over the Everfree, looking for anything out of ordinary in a forest that wasn't ordinary to begin with. Hang on she banked around to get a second view at what she glanced, It looks like a pony but... what are they covered in? Ignoring Applejack's warnings, Rainbow Dash began to descend in a circular pattern. When she got close enough to make out the specifics, her descent became a lot faster as her wings locked to her side in shock and fear. It was only by sheer willpower did the chromatic pegasus get her wings open in time to keep from smashing into the ground. Instead, she absorbed the impact with a slight bend of the legs as her eyes remained fixed on the scene before her. The pony, if it could still be called that, was torn open was it's chest to it's gut. Everything inside had been pulled out and... chewed on. Hunks of flesh was missing from the pony's side and back while it's head seemed to be attached by just a couple strands of muscle and sinew. Their bags had been torn off and tossed aside, the contents having spilled out, leaving camping gear strewn amidst the blood and gore. The blood pool stretched for several feet around the pony's legs, one of which was missing altogether. A glint of light caught Rainbow's eye. Happy to have something to focus on besides the corpse, she focused her full attention on the object. She was surprised to find that it was a camera attached to a harness. She was more surprised to find that while the harness was beyond hope, the camera was still in one piece. I wonder if- SNAP! Quick as a bolt of lightning, Rainbow grabbed the camera and was airborne again. Without looking back, she banked for Ponyville and pumped her wings at their fastest. As she flew, she looked down to see the camera still cradled gently in her hooves. This further inspection revealed that some blood had gotten on the camera, causing the pegasus to gag. I hope this was worth grabbing, Rainbow thinks as she angles for Twilight's new castle, where Applejack had gathered the rest of their friends. They are going to be so upset with me for touching down. It didn't take a genius to see that Rainbow was avoiding thinking of the corpse in the woods... or the creature that caused it. Author's Note Honestly guys? I don't know how to feel about this one. I've never really done something like this before so please keep the feedback coming. Also, in case you couldn't tell, this does happen after "Twilight's Kingdom". As well, if it seems like any of the characters are acting out of character, feel free to let me know. ...A Thousand WordsThe door slammed open, allowing entry to the tired flier. So exhausted was she that her wings simply dragged across the floor. Eyes crazed by fear and uncertainty scanned the room, taking in the shocked faces of it's occupants. The windows were cracked, inviting a breeze that seemed to caress the sweat-soaked face of the intruder. “Twilight?” Celestia asked as two guards came trotting in after said alicorn, their faces a mixture of concern and confusion. Numerous servants rushed in after the guards, two of them working to try to cool down the physically exerted Princess. “Ce-Celestia...I...Ponyville...Creature...Screaming,” Twilight gasped between breathes. She hadn't stopped or slowed in her flight, pushing her muscles to their absolute limit and beyond. Some of the nobles in the throne room may later comment on her appearance but there were more pressing issues at the time. “Creature? Screaming? What happened?” Celestia asked, standing upright with her wings spread in surprise. Before answering, Twilight accepted a glass of water from a servant with a nod. While her former protege gracelessly chugged the water, Celestia asked that the throne room be emptied besides the two alicorns. By the time Twilight finished the glass, only the two Princesses remained, an unsettling quiet between them. “Now Twilight,” Celestia spoke softly as she walked down the steps from her throne, “tell me what happened.” “Last night, Applejack heard enraged howling, a kind which she hasn't heard before. She woke me up, thinking I knew, but I didn't even hear the howl. So we went to Fluttershy's but, on the way there, we heard what sounded like somepony screaming in the forest. Scared, we picked up the pace and got to Fluttershy's to find that her cottage was full of scared animals. We asked her about the howl but even she didn't know what it was! After heading back outside, I had Applejack get Rainbow Dash to do a fly-over to see if she could spot anything weird while I came here.” Celestia stood stock still, her features frozen in shock as her former student caught her breath again. Then, a flip was thrown, and her face turned to steely resolve. A pony was hurt; One of her ponies was hurt. She had to act. “Sergeant!” The door opened enough for a helmeted head to poke through, “Yes, Your Highness?” “Gather your platoon and make haste for Ponyville. You are to keep watch of the Everfree for an unknown creature and ensure that no harm come to Ponyville's inhabitants. Am I understood?” A hoof appeared and was quickly brought to the Guardspony's brow, “At once Princess!” The door slammed shut, again leaving the two alicorns alone. “Where are your friends?” Celestia asked. “They're probably waiting in the Council Chambers.” “Then that is where we shall go.” With a blinding yellow flash, the two were gone from the throne room. Upon entering and seeing that she was gone, a Guardspony made to wake Luna. Somepony had to put up the false wall of normalcy, after all. -_-_-_-_- If James had learned one thing in the apocalypse is that you not only look a gift horse in the mouth but you place a loaded firearm to it's head and watch it's reaction. So when James came across a hut in the middle of the strange, dark forest, he was more than a little skeptical. It made it worse that the hut appeared to be built into a still alive tree and have many native African decorations scattered about the outside. He could feel it though; he could feel the crazed eyes of the Infected on him. He could see it stalking through the woods, approaching him. Looking behind him, he was met with no sight other than that of the gnarled trees. Fixing his eyes back on the hut, he gave a large exhale before moving toward the structure in a crouch, his eyes moving to and fro. About two meters from the home, he turned around and aimed out at the woods. His pack hit the wall of the hut with a soft crunching noise. His eyes scanned the woods as he side-stepped toward the door. Something was making the hairs on his neck stand on end. The feeling caused his body to release adrenaline into his bloodstream in preparation for the Fight or Flight reflex. Was it the Infected? Could it have already found him? If it did, he thought as his index finger caressed the rifle's trigger, It's gonna get a nasty surprise. For his entire life, James had been told by innumerable individuals to “expect the unexpected” but when you're being chased by a deranged, cannibalistic human, the last thing you expect is for a pole staff to come a hair's breadth from crushing in the back of your head. With his only warning being the creaking of a window opening, James had come to a dead stop as the staff whisked by his head with enough speed to cause a strong wind. In a second, James had his left hand on the staff and gave a hard yank. He heard a gasp and felt the resistance disappear, causing him to rip the staff from the hut and toss it farther into the forest. It gave a resounding 'thwack!' as it struck one of the trees. With a fight at hand, his mind didn't fully register the noise that was being made. His rifle up in the firing position, he moved to the hut's door. Raising his leg, he launched it out and connected with the door. The hinges held, but that was because the brunt of the kick was focused next to the door handle. The locking mechanism, a simple chain, was ripped off as the door violently swung open. James entered quickly, his rifle up and scanning. He froze, his mind unable to comprehend the scene before him. There, standing on it's hindhooves in a martial arts stance, was a zebra with a mohawk. Gold rings were stacked on it's left foreleg and neck with golden hoop earrings. The face was a bit... compressed with a smaller snout. The eyes were large slits that seemed almost to big for it's face. A hoof was swung and James snapped out of his daze. He brought his rifle up in time to block the blow. With the zebra-thing closer, he could see that even on it's hindhooves, it was a couple inches shorter than him and he stood at a comfortable 5'10”. The hoof came around and, again, James used the rifle to deflect it. During the two strikes, the duo had circled around so that James was now looking out of the door. What he saw made his eyes widen and his heart quicken. There, standing in the treeline, was the Infected. Fresh blood coated the front of it's body. It's face had a bright red smear around it's mouth and drops around the rest of it's face. The blood was still fresh enough to drip from it's chin. It's teeth, shown in a wide smile, were stained red with the life essence; it's tongue snaked out in a manner that seemed almost seductive to lick some of the blood from it's lips. A large, bloody bone was held in it's right hand. Even from where he stood, James could see the chunks of meat that still clung to it. With all of this sensory input, James was only able to utter one word: “Fuck.” -_-_-_-_- The castle was deafening in it's silence as the seven ponies present examined the three pictures before them. It had taken little time to develop the pictures with the two alicorns present, this being done while Applejack was comforting a shaken Dash. When the pictures were ready, they had gathered around to see what the late naturalist had captured. What they saw had brought forth that silence that echoed the halls. It showed an unknown bipedal standing with a predatory slouch. It's eyes, looking as if Discord had touched the animal, was locked on the camera bearer. Blood could be seen on it's torn clothing but it couldn't be discerned if it was it's own or something else's. It's blonde mane was a complete mess with forestry sticking out of it and mud keeping it up at odd angles. The second picture showed the creature closer than before in full gallop. It's mouth was open, saliva connecting the two rows of sharp, carnivorous teeth. It's cheeks were pulled back in what the ponies assumed to be a smile, however deranged it appeared. The third picture showed the creature in uncomfortable detail. It's arms were out, ready to snatch the camera bearer. It's mouth was open that much wider and it's cheeks pulled back that much farther. The ponies could see the dried blood around it's mouth and splattered on it's face. While examining the photos, Twilight noticed something else. Scrunching her brow, she levitated the first picture closer to her face and looked it over again. A second later, her brows shot up and her eyes shot open... then her brows immediately scrunched down again as she moved the photo even closer to her face. “What is it Twilight?” Celestia asked, curious as to her student's reaction. “There's... There's another one, in the picture, but,” Twilight paused as she thought over her words, her eyes seeming to pick apart the very molecules of the picture, “I don't think it likes the one that attacked the photo-taker. Here, have a look.” Celestia's yellow took over Twilight's purple as the picture floated to the white alicorn's face. She examined it much as her former student had, brows scrunched. Her reaction was also much like the lavender princess. “I believe you are correct Twilight. That thing in it's paws looks to be a strange crossbow.” Celestia levitated the picture back to the floor, allowing the other five ponies a chance to look closer at it. In the picture's background, almost obscured by the trees, they could see the other creature. It was in a crouch with it's crossbow up, not at the late pony but rather at the pony's killer. “This raises even more questions,” Celestia stated. “The first being: Why didn't it intervene?” Applejack added. -_-_-_-_- The Zebra, realizing that James' reaction was not directed to it, turned around to see the Infected step into the clearing. The weird equine dropped back to all fours and, even with it turned around, James saw it's jaw drop open and it's eyes go wide. The Infected took another step, and another, quickly speeding up into a sprint. James had only seconds to act before the Infected would be inside the hut. He stepped forward, roughly shoving aside the zebra with his leg. Raising his rifle, he let off two rounds aimed at the center of mass. Ears ringing, James watched as the rounds struck the Infected's chest, the power of the 7.62 round making it stumble back a couple steps. However, right before James slammed the door, he saw it continue to move toward the hut. With the door shut, James noticed a problem. He had kicked off the only way of securing the wooden construct. A large bookcase, sitting beside the door, solved that issue as James tipped it on it's side so that it lay in front of the door. Not a second later, the Infected slammed against the door and, even with the bookcase there, nearly gained entrance to the hut. Notably deranged laughter came through partially opened door. “I just want to play!” the Infected screamed before descending back into laughter. Not waiting for the Infected to get through the door, James made way for a room in the back of the hut. The equine was already inside, sitting wide-eyed in the corner. Slamming the door shut, James got about barricading it. A bed, a dresser, a bookcase, and more were shoved against the door. It was after he moved the dresser that the zebra had gotten up and began to help as well, babbling away in what James' mind could only deduce as a foreign language. The man let the zebra ramble, hoping it was trying to calm itself. -_-_-_-_- “Princesses!” The guard came careening into the Council Chambers, making all of it's occupants jump with fright. Seeing this, the guard came to an immediate halt and dropped to a bow. “Apologies but we have heard thunder coming from the Everfree with no clouds overhead. Flyby has reported an unknown bipedal assaulting a hut in the forest.” The former Element bearers' eyes widened as one, the same name coming to their lips in exclamation: “Zecora!” Author's Note Hey guys. Hope the wait wasn't too long. Again, if you see anything that seems Out of Character (especially with Zecora) please, for the love of Luna, let me know. Nothing but Questions“Jesus Fucking Christ, would you shut up!” James screamed at the Zebra. This only caused it to speak louder and faster, obviously not any calmer than when this began. He could tell that the Zebra was switching between two languages, both equally grating on James' quickly dwindling sanity. Between the Zebra's panicked monologue and the Infected's deranged laughter, James had more than a wanting to blow his own brains out. As he couldn't deal with the Infected, who was beating at the barricaded door with her bone club, his only output for his anger, confusion, and fear was the panicked zebra. As such, he wasn't very shocked to find himself blasting a hole in the wall next to the Zebra before placing the iron sights on the now frozen creature. “Shut up! Shut the fuck up!” he screamed, using his left hand to puppet something closing it's mouth, “Between your incessant chatter and that thing's demonic laughter, I can't fucking think straight!” James' anger ebbed as he saw the state that he had put the creature in. It's eyes had shrunk to pinpricks as their body shook like a leaf. It was curled into a tight ball with their tail wrapped around themselves. It was quite startling to see it like this compared to the confident martial arts fighter James had witnessed a mere minute earlier. Lowering his rifle, James turned and walked to the opposite wall and planted his pack laden back against it. Sliding down the wall, he ended up sitting with his knees to his chest and his rifle and arms helping to cradle them. His eyes settled on the rifle. It was an American remake of the AK-74 with a synthetic handguard and adjustable stock. He had looted it, and the magazines and ammo, from a gun store back in his hometown. He had looked upon it with almost holy reverence. Now, his gaze held only distaste for the weapon. He tossed the weapon away while fully wrapping his arms around his legs. He tried to set his forehead against his legs but stopped as his hat pecked at his thighs. Giving an empty chuckle, he moved his head up and then down so that his knees pushed the cap up. He could still hear the banging and laughter but here, within this ball, he could care less. While James knew how to kill the creature, he also knew that it would take time for the Infected to get through the door. This was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky because it meant he got to live longer but unlucky because he knew that it would still break through. A scary thought snaked through his head: would he be able to kill it? He hadn't been able to before, always covering it with some other reason. During the night, he could have pulled out a light, found the creature, and executed it. Yet he didn't. In the woods, where he watched it tackle and eat an obviously sentient being. All it would have taken was one round and that strange horse would've still been alive. And lastly in the very hut that may well be his grave. He had not only a clear shot but a reason to shoot. Instead, he put two in it's chest; something he knew wouldn't work. What is making me spare her?! James' eyes widened, Did I just...? Could that be why? Can I honestly see that thing as still being human? James didn't have an answer nor did he need one. The thought itself was the only answer he needed. He hugged himself tighter, tears squeezing between his clenched eyelids. The man felt something land on his shoulder. Looking up through teary eyes, he saw the Zebra sitting next to him. The look of sympathy and shared fear on it's face was evident as it left it's hoof resting on James' shoulder. He felt himself smile, an act that was reciprocated by the Zebra. That was when he noticed it. The laughing had stopped. James was about to voice a question when the door, and the items used to barricade it, blew inwards in a flash of yellow. In a flash on instinct, James had thrown himself over the Zebra. Pieces of woods ranging from splinters to whole planks flew through the air. Remarkably, only a few of the smaller pieces struck James. The human turned to the door to see a magnificent aura of golden yellow that was quickly replaced with the black of unconsciousness. -_-_-_-_-_- “Zecora, are you well? It didn't hurt you did it?” Celestia asked as she levitated the second creature away from the Zebra. After one of her Guardponies had declared the room barricaded, Celestia had seen no choice but to force entry. When she saw the creature over the screaming Zebra, she had instantly put it into a forced sleep. “Guards!” she called before the Zebra could answer. She levitated the creature of the room, “Put this one in a cell separate from the first.” “At once, Your Highness,” two of the guard replied in unison as they took control of the levitation field. This allowed the diarch to return her attention to the Zebra, who was looking at the discarded weapon. “Zecora?” Celestia asked softly, taking a step to the Zebra. Her voice startled the Zebra, making her jump before able to calm herself. The two exotic eyes focused on the wielder of the sun. “It did not harm me, if that is your thought. It was simply afraid of the creature, which for it, the bloodied sought,” the Zebra replied in her usual ryhme. Celestia couldn't help but feel that this one was more cryptic than what was normal for the Zebra. “Are you saying that the blood-stained one was after the other one?” Celestia asked. “That is what I mean, exalted diarch. The second fired lightening at the bloodied, though it was not in an arc.” That would explain the thunder the Guard heard. “What do you mean that it wasn't in an arc?” Celestia found this strange back and forth grating but centuries of practice kept her outward demeanor calm. “This device it wielded,” the Zebra pointed a hoof at the strange weapon, “From it, the lightening was fielded. It struck the creature twice yet it acted as if it was just lice. Yet,” now the Zebra looked at the hole the bullet had left in the wall, “the mark it has left. I must say that it is not for a pony to heft.” Celestia looked from the weapon to the hole in the wall. Had it fired at Zecora or was this just a miss from the two shots from earlier? She looked around the room, a glint of light catching her eye. With the clicking of her sandals, she walked across the debris strewn floor as if it was clear of clutter. When she was standing over the object, her shadow blocking the light, she saw that it was a strange metal cylinder. Picking it up in her magic she brought it to her nose, only to crinkle it at the strength of the strange odor that had permeated the entire hut. The inside and the lip was scorched black, as if it had been exposed to intense heat. “Sergeant!” “At your call, Princess,” the Sergeant replied as he trotted over. The Princess moved the strange item to the Sergeant, setting it in his outstretched hoof. “See if you can find anymore of these.” “At once Your Highness!” the Sergeant responded, throwing a salute before turning to begin his task. Satisfied, the Princess turned back to the Zebra to see that she was again staring at the strange weapon. Taking it in her magic, she brought it to her face, ignoring the startled gasp of the Zebra. She slowly spun the weapon, looking at it from all angles. She even peered into the hole in the front, trying to determine the reason it existed. As she examined the weapon, she found that she saw no way that a crossbow bolt could be loaded or fired. Perhaps... perhaps it's not a crossbow. She thought to the metal object that she had picked up earlier as she looked past the floating weapon at the hole in the way. With the evidence at hand, it was quite easy to say that it was, in fact, not a crossbow. Than what is it? she thought before looking back at the front door, thinking of the beings that would now be in cages, And what are you? Author's Note Short, yes, but I see this as a good stopping point. Hope you still enjoyed it anyway.
Howling at the MoonRunning. Legs sore, heart racing, lungs burning. He could hear the screams behind him, the howls. He couldn't look back, couldn't slow. He had to push himself as hard as he could. His pack weighed heavy on his shoulders but didn't impede his running. Running. That's all he could do. To turn and fight would be the end of him, even with the rifle in his hands. There were just too many of the Infected. It had been almost a month since the outbreak of an unknown disease. This disease would slowly... devolve it's victim, eating away at the brain until only the frontal lobe remained. It would basically reset it's victim to their primal instincts. The victim would first become confused and lose the ability to speak. They would sweat profusely, no matter how cold or hot. Then they would finally snap, turning on the healthy with animal-like ferocity. Anything within the Infected's reach could become an implement to kill the healthy. They didn't sleep, didn't drink... they just hunted and killed. There were few exceptions to this rule. Incredibly rare Infected who didn't attack you on site. They would simply stare at you, going about a repetitive task since it was all they knew. Most seemed to have moments of clarity in the haze of madness: asking for death, scrawling “Help” into the dirt or walls, and crying. The worst of it all wasn't until nightfall. When the sun went down, you stopped where you were and made camp. It didn't matter if you were in the middle of scaling a cliff or floating down a river, you did not move. You did not talk. You barely breathed. For, at night, the Infected became even more dangerous. Their senses were heightened at night, their predatory instinct stronger, their pack nature more prominent. All you could do was fall asleep and hope they didn't find your slumbering body. It was that or stay up all night, watching them stalk by you. Of course, the Infected weren't the only problem in this new world. Bandits, rogue military, warlords, they all vied for power and dominance. They all wanted your stuff and, in some cases, your body. They prowled where the Infected didn't, hoping to catch you by surprise. Many would claim to be survivors seeking assistance, only to break your leg and rob you blind. All of that, however, was of no importance when one found themselves being chased by a small horde. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” the man, James Cole, breathed as he pushed himself harder. The woods in the mountains of Colorado both helped and hindered him. It slowed him, so it slowed the Infected. He just had to be a little less slow than them. Legs screaming, lungs burning. He had to find someplace fast, someplace to make a stand. That was the only way he would shake his pursuers, unless a juicier target dropped in front of them. The likeliness of that happening of none-to-none. Even if it did, James knew he wouldn't leave them to die. “Oh shit!” he screamed, skidding to a stop just before the ground suddenly dropped away. Not a second later, James felt a solid weight slam into him, knocking him off. One of the Infected had been right behind him, silent as it had given chase. Now it, along with James, screamed as they plummeted. As they fell, James got a good look at the Infected. It was a 'her' with dirty, blood matted blonde hair. The hair, while not in the best condition, wasn't torn out like some of the others. She wore the tattered remains of a mechanic's jumpsuit. Grease stained her jumpsuit and skin, overlaid with blood and grime. Her blue, crazed eyes were staring at James as she snapped her jaws at him, the same jaws that were coated in blood. Then everything disappeared in a flash. -_-_-_-_-_- James opened his eyes to a blue, cloudless sky. The sun was luckily in a position that allowed his hat's visor to shade his eyes. Even so, his sunglasses helped reduce any of the excess glare. Around him, he could hear people, humans. They were pressed together, he could feel the people around him pushing into him, vying for that extra inch. Extra inch to what? A look forward gave that answer as buses, guarded by Humvees and soldiers, sat lined up on the road. “Please stay calm,” droned the officer behind the loudspeaker, “everyone will be able to fit on the buses. Please remember that it is one bag per person and that the bag must be able to fit on your lap.” The man's voice, even with the loudspeaker, was almost drowned out by the buzzing of voices from the crowd. Questions were asked: “Why is this happening?” at the top of the list. Both child and adult alike were crying, the tears falling freely from their eyes. Some told jokes to lighten the mood while others just stared at the buses. Gunfire could be heard in the distance by those who strained their ears. Far enough away to not cause immediate worry. They had heard of it in other countries. James had seen the grainy cell phone videos of the infected chasing other humans. He had seen the guts, the gore, the blood but he had always had the same thought: it's over there. That was the average American's thinking. It's over there. Now it was over here, in their backyards and their streets. Now it was an American problem because it was on American soil. The disease had jumped by plane or ship and know it was spreading across the country with a speed thought impossible. As the disease spread, the American military began to evacuate entire cities to 'containment camps' in attempts to keep the disease from spreading. As the screaming started, James knew it was too late. The scream, filled with shock and pain, came from the back of the herd. More screaming arose from the back. Shouting came too: “It's here!” As if to answer what was there, a human ran onto the roof of the car and looked upon the herd. Their stance was predatory: back hunched, arms out, hands curled into claws. Their eyes were empty of everything but rage. Blood caked their torso and lower face, a gaping wound visible on their left forearm. Their tongue hung from it's mouth, visibly dripping saliva. They then reared their head back... and howled. The noise was inhuman, echoing across the packed in crowd. Children covered their ears, babies cried louder, adults stared; everyone had a shiver run down their spine. Then the screaming, having been drowned out by the howl, came back. The screaming of the pained, the dying.... the deranged. As one, the herd turned and proceeded to stampede toward the awaiting buses and soldiers. Screams of terror filled the air. Those two slow were knocked over, trampled to death by the frightened herd of creatures. Bags were forgotten and dropped, tripping up even more of the mass. All this served to slow the crowd. All this served to assist the Infected. James, being carried by the surge, fought his way to the side. Though his survival instinct told him to stay with the mass, his common sense informed him that doing so would simply lead to his death. Thus he pushed his way through the mass to the outside. What he would do when he got out, he had no idea. He was close, so close. He could see the packed together cars through the people. Maybe he could hide in a car? Wait for this to blow over? Maybe- His thoughts stopped as another Infected jumped onto a car in front of him. It looked around at the panicking mass. The crazed eyes came to rest on James, who stood frozen as the bodies pushed around him. This is it, he thought, No escape. The Infected opened it's mouth and howled. -_-_-_-_-_- James' eyes snapped open to the darkness of night and an inhuman howling that was most certainly real. A howl of distress that made James' ears ring due to the closeness of it's source. Before his mind could come up to speed, he was on his feet and running, both hands held tightly onto his rifle. He dodged trees that appeared from the night. He stumbled over exposed roots and tore through bushes and tall grass. With fight or flight in full effect, he flew through the woods, uncaring of anything around him. He had to get distance between himself and the Infected. Once he had that, he could bunker down for the night. His only hope as that the howl would draw any other infected to the caller and distract them from hearing James' hurried movement. Even these creatures knew to respond when one of their own was in trouble. It was a basic instinct; help your own. Thus James pushed energy into his aching legs, urging them to create significant distance between himself and the trapped Infected. Something inside him told him it wouldn't stay trapped for long. -_-_-_-_-_- At the edge of the forest sat a lone cottage. The cottage seemed to be in a losing fight with nature as the grass grew up it's curved walls and on it's roof. Seemingly innumerable bird houses surrounded the cottage while dens were spread amongst the tiny mounds in the property. A fenced in backyard contained a chicken coop and more than a few feeding dishes. Inside this naturalist paradise lived a butter yellow pegasus with long, flowing pink hair. This pegasus, Fluttershy was her name, had a reputation around the nearby village as being a kind and compassionate pony. She was known as the caretaker for any animal that found itself within her hooves, no matter it's dietary needs. Whispers floated around about how the normally timid and easily frightened pegasus had even faced an enraged dragon when it had threatened her friends. This current night, however, the pegasus was under her blankets, shaking like a leaf. Her breathes came in quick gasps. She shut her pinprick eyes as another howl reached her ears, which pinned to her head in response. Her wings were wrapped around her body, shut tight in fear. Whatever was in the forest, she knew that it was not one of her animal friends. She didn't even think it was anything she knew of. It sounded primal, much more than that of any animal she had met. She knew she had to let Twilight know, if she hadn't heard it herself, but she couldn't find it in her to go outside at night. Not when whatever was making the noise could be prowling around, hunting for a pegasus roast. “I-I'll just w-w-wait until morning,” she whispered to herself. She found herself hoping that her animal friends were okay. Author's Note Hey guys. Recently read The Remaining. It was an AMAZING book! Very well written. The imagery had kept me awake on more than a few nights, expecting an Infected to bang on my door with a cleaver. Anyway, here's a crossover for y'all. Hope ya like it.
A Picture Tells...CRASH! Bloodshot lavender eyes shot open at the sudden loud noise that seemed to echo in the still empty castle. Many images flew through the alicorn's head as she charged her horn. All those thoughts were dispelled at the accented voice that echoed down the halls. “Twilight? Where ya at sugarcube?” “Over here Applejack!” Twilight called back as she crawled out of her bed and used her magic to sing open the doors to her chambers. Having seen the doors open, Applejack made a beeline for the room. When she stopped outside, Twilight knew that something was wrong. Her close friend looked to have run three consecutive Running of the Leaves without pacing herself. Her tongue hung out of her mouth as she panted in an attempt to cool down. Sweat matted down her fur, though there was so much of it that it also dripped to the floor beneath her. “AJ! What's wrong?” “Last night, Twi, last night I woke up to this strange howling coming from the Everfree. It was so loud and... angry. It had woken up my family as well so Big Mac and me decided to stand watch outside while Granny Smith took care of Applebloom. We thought it would die down but it kept going for most of the night. It finally stopped just a couple hours to sunrise. I just couldn't sleep though Twi, there was just something wrong about that howling!” she explained quickly, barely taking time to breath. “What? Do you know of anything that could howl like that?” “Well, if'n I knew that, I wouldn't be here, would I?” she replied testily. Twilight didn't comment on it as her friend had stayed up almost all night listening to whatever it was that had made the noise. “No, no I guess you wouldn't. Who could...” As if a switch had been thrown, both of their eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “Fluttershy!” -_-_-_-_-_- When the sun had hit James' face, he had immediately gotten up and began moving again. With only a scavenged energy bar as sustenance, he was again trekking through the woods. The howling had stopped, he noticed, which meant that the Infected died in the night or that it was free and on the hunt. From experience, James knew that it was the latter. With his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings, James noticed a second thing: these woods were different. He didn't know how, or why, but he could tell that he was nowhere near where he was yesterday. Back in the other forest, the trees were green, healthy, and grew at natural intervals. In this forest, the trees were black with gnarled branches that grew more like weeds than trees. James found himself baffled as to how he hadn't run smack dab into one of the twisted plants in his sprint last night. He froze, his ears straining to hear anything. That was it though, there was nothing to hear. No birds chirping or feral dogs barking. No buzzing of insects or splashing of fish. There was just silence. How didn't I notice it before? he asked himself. The silence was deafening and he knew that each and every step he had taken had been echoing through the silent woods. The Infected could have tracked him. SNAP! James dropped low, careful of noise discipline, as his head shot around to face the sound. It came from his left, where a particularly batch of trees stood. Only small gaps were left visible through the trees' vines and branches. Even through those small gaps, however, he could see a familiar bipedal shape. It was barely twenty meters away, stalking through the overgrown foliage. Besides the one stick breaking, it was otherwise silent, moving with grace of a predator. A powerful scent hit James' nostrils, just about causing him to gag in reply. It was the smell of unwashed bodies, human feces and urine, and rotting gore; the smell of the Infected. Fighting back the wanting to barf, the man smirked. He smirked because he knew that if he could so easily smell the Infected, that meant that he was downwind from it. Thus it would be harder for it to smell him. Still, he steadied his grip on his rifle, slowly bringing it to bear on the Infected. He didn't know if he could get a shot through the trees but he wanted to be ready if the thing did notice him. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead when the Infected suddenly stopped. It was in this brief moment that a part of James realized that this was the same Infected that had sent him tumbling off the cliff. It's blond hair now had thorn branches entangled in it while it's jumpsuit was even more torn up than before. He realized that it may not be long before he was being chased by a deranged, naked woman through the woods. He nearly laughed at the imagery his mind conjured up. Following the Infected's path of sight, he found what had caught it's attention. There, standing in a clearing with a face that James would title 'dumbstruck' was a small, brown coated horse. Large saddlebags were on it's frame and a white... pith helmet rested on it's head. Even stranger to the human was the camera that it wore around it's neck. While James was confused at the strange appearance of the small horse, the Infected merely saw potential prey. The camera suddenly flashed, sealing the small horse's fate. With an angry, incomprehensible cry, thee Infected took off at full speed for the small horse. The horse stood still, rooted to it's spot in fear. Even so, the camera flashed two more times before the Infected tackled the horse to the ground. What came next sent shivers up James' spine. The horse screamed. It screamed and... shouted in some strange language. Shortly after it began, thee screaming stopped with a sickening snap. Only the sounds of breaking bones and ripping skin followed the silence. A silence that shook James out of his stupor. Sorry friend, he thought, It was you or me. Quickly and quietly, James moved away from the feeding Infected. Though the sounds the dead horse had made brought bile to his mouth, he had to take advantage of this distraction. His only consultation as he beat feet was that the Infected would completely devour the body, leaving no chance of spreading the disease. -_-_-_-_-_- “Did you hear that?” Twilight asked, suddenly skidding to a stop. “Ya, sounded like somepony screaming in the Everfree.” Again, the two shared a look before taking off again. They were already close to the cottage, thus arriving in no time at all. With no hesitation, Twilight backed off to allow Applejack to take lead. Said farmpony made short work of the door, plowing through the piece of wood and allowing entrance into the cottage. “Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Applejack cried before launching herself at the frightened pegasus, lathing onto her in a hug, “Thank Celestia you're okay.” “Did you hear the howling Fluttershy?” Twilight questioned upon entry into the cottage. Said cottage was packed nearly to the breaking point with animal, all of which were looking at the door and shaking. The entrance of the two ponies had startled them and, had it not been for Fluttershy's presence, they probably would have trampled the two ponies in an effort to escape. “I-I did,” she muttered as AJ let go of her, “I m-meant to let y-you know, Twilight, but as you c-can see.” “Your woodland friends needed comfort, I understand,” Twilight quickly replied with a nod as she looked at the animals, “Sorry for our entrance everyone.” “Do you have any idea what was doing that howling sugarcube?” “I can't say that I do,” Fluttershy responded, a little more in control of her voice, “It's nothing that I've heard before. Whatever it is though, I can tell that it's very, very angry.” “No offense partner, but I reckon anypony with two good ears could tell that.” Fluttershy merely nodded her head before excusing herself to assist the animals gathered in her cottage. With no relevant information gained, Twilight and Applejack exited the cottage to gaze out at the looming woods next to the cottage. “What now Twilight?” Applejack asked, her voice tinged with worry. She didn't want to think of the consequences if that had been somepony screaming. It had ended so abruptly, she thought with a shudder. “We need Rainbow Dash,” Twilight stated with conviction, “I need you to get her and have her do a fly-over of the forest. She needs to look for anything out of the ordinary. Tell her everything we know so far, she needs to know that this isn't a game.” “Consider it done but, if ya don't mind my asking, what are you gonna do?” “I'm going to inform Celestia and Luna.” As if to punctuate her statement, Twilight flared her wings. With a down-stroke that nearly blew Applejack over, the youngest Princess was airborne and heading for Canterlot. Applejack continued watching her friend for a couple moments before turning and galloping back down the trail. She had a certain pegasus to wake up. -_-_-_-_-_- Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grumble as she flew over the Everfree. She didn't see how some new creature warranted waking her up this early, especially on her day off. So what if it's loud, she thought as her eyes scanned the ground below, Nothing in this forest is ever quiet. No matter how much she grumbled and complained, she was still the Element of Loyalty. Even if her element had been returned to the Tree of Harmony, her true self required her to answer her friends' plea for help. Thus, she was flying over the Everfree, looking for anything out of ordinary in a forest that wasn't ordinary to begin with. Hang on she banked around to get a second view at what she glanced, It looks like a pony but... what are they covered in? Ignoring Applejack's warnings, Rainbow Dash began to descend in a circular pattern. When she got close enough to make out the specifics, her descent became a lot faster as her wings locked to her side in shock and fear. It was only by sheer willpower did the chromatic pegasus get her wings open in time to keep from smashing into the ground. Instead, she absorbed the impact with a slight bend of the legs as her eyes remained fixed on the scene before her. The pony, if it could still be called that, was torn open was it's chest to it's gut. Everything inside had been pulled out and... chewed on. Hunks of flesh was missing from the pony's side and back while it's head seemed to be attached by just a couple strands of muscle and sinew. Their bags had been torn off and tossed aside, the contents having spilled out, leaving camping gear strewn amidst the blood and gore. The blood pool stretched for several feet around the pony's legs, one of which was missing altogether. A glint of light caught Rainbow's eye. Happy to have something to focus on besides the corpse, she focused her full attention on the object. She was surprised to find that it was a camera attached to a harness. She was more surprised to find that while the harness was beyond hope, the camera was still in one piece. I wonder if- SNAP! Quick as a bolt of lightning, Rainbow grabbed the camera and was airborne again. Without looking back, she banked for Ponyville and pumped her wings at their fastest. As she flew, she looked down to see the camera still cradled gently in her hooves. This further inspection revealed that some blood had gotten on the camera, causing the pegasus to gag. I hope this was worth grabbing, Rainbow thinks as she angles for Twilight's new castle, where Applejack had gathered the rest of their friends. They are going to be so upset with me for touching down. It didn't take a genius to see that Rainbow was avoiding thinking of the corpse in the woods... or the creature that caused it. Author's Note Honestly guys? I don't know how to feel about this one. I've never really done something like this before so please keep the feedback coming. Also, in case you couldn't tell, this does happen after "Twilight's Kingdom". As well, if it seems like any of the characters are acting out of character, feel free to let me know.
...A Thousand WordsThe door slammed open, allowing entry to the tired flier. So exhausted was she that her wings simply dragged across the floor. Eyes crazed by fear and uncertainty scanned the room, taking in the shocked faces of it's occupants. The windows were cracked, inviting a breeze that seemed to caress the sweat-soaked face of the intruder. “Twilight?” Celestia asked as two guards came trotting in after said alicorn, their faces a mixture of concern and confusion. Numerous servants rushed in after the guards, two of them working to try to cool down the physically exerted Princess. “Ce-Celestia...I...Ponyville...Creature...Screaming,” Twilight gasped between breathes. She hadn't stopped or slowed in her flight, pushing her muscles to their absolute limit and beyond. Some of the nobles in the throne room may later comment on her appearance but there were more pressing issues at the time. “Creature? Screaming? What happened?” Celestia asked, standing upright with her wings spread in surprise. Before answering, Twilight accepted a glass of water from a servant with a nod. While her former protege gracelessly chugged the water, Celestia asked that the throne room be emptied besides the two alicorns. By the time Twilight finished the glass, only the two Princesses remained, an unsettling quiet between them. “Now Twilight,” Celestia spoke softly as she walked down the steps from her throne, “tell me what happened.” “Last night, Applejack heard enraged howling, a kind which she hasn't heard before. She woke me up, thinking I knew, but I didn't even hear the howl. So we went to Fluttershy's but, on the way there, we heard what sounded like somepony screaming in the forest. Scared, we picked up the pace and got to Fluttershy's to find that her cottage was full of scared animals. We asked her about the howl but even she didn't know what it was! After heading back outside, I had Applejack get Rainbow Dash to do a fly-over to see if she could spot anything weird while I came here.” Celestia stood stock still, her features frozen in shock as her former student caught her breath again. Then, a flip was thrown, and her face turned to steely resolve. A pony was hurt; One of her ponies was hurt. She had to act. “Sergeant!” The door opened enough for a helmeted head to poke through, “Yes, Your Highness?” “Gather your platoon and make haste for Ponyville. You are to keep watch of the Everfree for an unknown creature and ensure that no harm come to Ponyville's inhabitants. Am I understood?” A hoof appeared and was quickly brought to the Guardspony's brow, “At once Princess!” The door slammed shut, again leaving the two alicorns alone. “Where are your friends?” Celestia asked. “They're probably waiting in the Council Chambers.” “Then that is where we shall go.” With a blinding yellow flash, the two were gone from the throne room. Upon entering and seeing that she was gone, a Guardspony made to wake Luna. Somepony had to put up the false wall of normalcy, after all. -_-_-_-_- If James had learned one thing in the apocalypse is that you not only look a gift horse in the mouth but you place a loaded firearm to it's head and watch it's reaction. So when James came across a hut in the middle of the strange, dark forest, he was more than a little skeptical. It made it worse that the hut appeared to be built into a still alive tree and have many native African decorations scattered about the outside. He could feel it though; he could feel the crazed eyes of the Infected on him. He could see it stalking through the woods, approaching him. Looking behind him, he was met with no sight other than that of the gnarled trees. Fixing his eyes back on the hut, he gave a large exhale before moving toward the structure in a crouch, his eyes moving to and fro. About two meters from the home, he turned around and aimed out at the woods. His pack hit the wall of the hut with a soft crunching noise. His eyes scanned the woods as he side-stepped toward the door. Something was making the hairs on his neck stand on end. The feeling caused his body to release adrenaline into his bloodstream in preparation for the Fight or Flight reflex. Was it the Infected? Could it have already found him? If it did, he thought as his index finger caressed the rifle's trigger, It's gonna get a nasty surprise. For his entire life, James had been told by innumerable individuals to “expect the unexpected” but when you're being chased by a deranged, cannibalistic human, the last thing you expect is for a pole staff to come a hair's breadth from crushing in the back of your head. With his only warning being the creaking of a window opening, James had come to a dead stop as the staff whisked by his head with enough speed to cause a strong wind. In a second, James had his left hand on the staff and gave a hard yank. He heard a gasp and felt the resistance disappear, causing him to rip the staff from the hut and toss it farther into the forest. It gave a resounding 'thwack!' as it struck one of the trees. With a fight at hand, his mind didn't fully register the noise that was being made. His rifle up in the firing position, he moved to the hut's door. Raising his leg, he launched it out and connected with the door. The hinges held, but that was because the brunt of the kick was focused next to the door handle. The locking mechanism, a simple chain, was ripped off as the door violently swung open. James entered quickly, his rifle up and scanning. He froze, his mind unable to comprehend the scene before him. There, standing on it's hindhooves in a martial arts stance, was a zebra with a mohawk. Gold rings were stacked on it's left foreleg and neck with golden hoop earrings. The face was a bit... compressed with a smaller snout. The eyes were large slits that seemed almost to big for it's face. A hoof was swung and James snapped out of his daze. He brought his rifle up in time to block the blow. With the zebra-thing closer, he could see that even on it's hindhooves, it was a couple inches shorter than him and he stood at a comfortable 5'10”. The hoof came around and, again, James used the rifle to deflect it. During the two strikes, the duo had circled around so that James was now looking out of the door. What he saw made his eyes widen and his heart quicken. There, standing in the treeline, was the Infected. Fresh blood coated the front of it's body. It's face had a bright red smear around it's mouth and drops around the rest of it's face. The blood was still fresh enough to drip from it's chin. It's teeth, shown in a wide smile, were stained red with the life essence; it's tongue snaked out in a manner that seemed almost seductive to lick some of the blood from it's lips. A large, bloody bone was held in it's right hand. Even from where he stood, James could see the chunks of meat that still clung to it. With all of this sensory input, James was only able to utter one word: “Fuck.” -_-_-_-_- The castle was deafening in it's silence as the seven ponies present examined the three pictures before them. It had taken little time to develop the pictures with the two alicorns present, this being done while Applejack was comforting a shaken Dash. When the pictures were ready, they had gathered around to see what the late naturalist had captured. What they saw had brought forth that silence that echoed the halls. It showed an unknown bipedal standing with a predatory slouch. It's eyes, looking as if Discord had touched the animal, was locked on the camera bearer. Blood could be seen on it's torn clothing but it couldn't be discerned if it was it's own or something else's. It's blonde mane was a complete mess with forestry sticking out of it and mud keeping it up at odd angles. The second picture showed the creature closer than before in full gallop. It's mouth was open, saliva connecting the two rows of sharp, carnivorous teeth. It's cheeks were pulled back in what the ponies assumed to be a smile, however deranged it appeared. The third picture showed the creature in uncomfortable detail. It's arms were out, ready to snatch the camera bearer. It's mouth was open that much wider and it's cheeks pulled back that much farther. The ponies could see the dried blood around it's mouth and splattered on it's face. While examining the photos, Twilight noticed something else. Scrunching her brow, she levitated the first picture closer to her face and looked it over again. A second later, her brows shot up and her eyes shot open... then her brows immediately scrunched down again as she moved the photo even closer to her face. “What is it Twilight?” Celestia asked, curious as to her student's reaction. “There's... There's another one, in the picture, but,” Twilight paused as she thought over her words, her eyes seeming to pick apart the very molecules of the picture, “I don't think it likes the one that attacked the photo-taker. Here, have a look.” Celestia's yellow took over Twilight's purple as the picture floated to the white alicorn's face. She examined it much as her former student had, brows scrunched. Her reaction was also much like the lavender princess. “I believe you are correct Twilight. That thing in it's paws looks to be a strange crossbow.” Celestia levitated the picture back to the floor, allowing the other five ponies a chance to look closer at it. In the picture's background, almost obscured by the trees, they could see the other creature. It was in a crouch with it's crossbow up, not at the late pony but rather at the pony's killer. “This raises even more questions,” Celestia stated. “The first being: Why didn't it intervene?” Applejack added. -_-_-_-_- The Zebra, realizing that James' reaction was not directed to it, turned around to see the Infected step into the clearing. The weird equine dropped back to all fours and, even with it turned around, James saw it's jaw drop open and it's eyes go wide. The Infected took another step, and another, quickly speeding up into a sprint. James had only seconds to act before the Infected would be inside the hut. He stepped forward, roughly shoving aside the zebra with his leg. Raising his rifle, he let off two rounds aimed at the center of mass. Ears ringing, James watched as the rounds struck the Infected's chest, the power of the 7.62 round making it stumble back a couple steps. However, right before James slammed the door, he saw it continue to move toward the hut. With the door shut, James noticed a problem. He had kicked off the only way of securing the wooden construct. A large bookcase, sitting beside the door, solved that issue as James tipped it on it's side so that it lay in front of the door. Not a second later, the Infected slammed against the door and, even with the bookcase there, nearly gained entrance to the hut. Notably deranged laughter came through partially opened door. “I just want to play!” the Infected screamed before descending back into laughter. Not waiting for the Infected to get through the door, James made way for a room in the back of the hut. The equine was already inside, sitting wide-eyed in the corner. Slamming the door shut, James got about barricading it. A bed, a dresser, a bookcase, and more were shoved against the door. It was after he moved the dresser that the zebra had gotten up and began to help as well, babbling away in what James' mind could only deduce as a foreign language. The man let the zebra ramble, hoping it was trying to calm itself. -_-_-_-_- “Princesses!” The guard came careening into the Council Chambers, making all of it's occupants jump with fright. Seeing this, the guard came to an immediate halt and dropped to a bow. “Apologies but we have heard thunder coming from the Everfree with no clouds overhead. Flyby has reported an unknown bipedal assaulting a hut in the forest.” The former Element bearers' eyes widened as one, the same name coming to their lips in exclamation: “Zecora!” Author's Note Hey guys. Hope the wait wasn't too long. Again, if you see anything that seems Out of Character (especially with Zecora) please, for the love of Luna, let me know.
Nothing but Questions“Jesus Fucking Christ, would you shut up!” James screamed at the Zebra. This only caused it to speak louder and faster, obviously not any calmer than when this began. He could tell that the Zebra was switching between two languages, both equally grating on James' quickly dwindling sanity. Between the Zebra's panicked monologue and the Infected's deranged laughter, James had more than a wanting to blow his own brains out. As he couldn't deal with the Infected, who was beating at the barricaded door with her bone club, his only output for his anger, confusion, and fear was the panicked zebra. As such, he wasn't very shocked to find himself blasting a hole in the wall next to the Zebra before placing the iron sights on the now frozen creature. “Shut up! Shut the fuck up!” he screamed, using his left hand to puppet something closing it's mouth, “Between your incessant chatter and that thing's demonic laughter, I can't fucking think straight!” James' anger ebbed as he saw the state that he had put the creature in. It's eyes had shrunk to pinpricks as their body shook like a leaf. It was curled into a tight ball with their tail wrapped around themselves. It was quite startling to see it like this compared to the confident martial arts fighter James had witnessed a mere minute earlier. Lowering his rifle, James turned and walked to the opposite wall and planted his pack laden back against it. Sliding down the wall, he ended up sitting with his knees to his chest and his rifle and arms helping to cradle them. His eyes settled on the rifle. It was an American remake of the AK-74 with a synthetic handguard and adjustable stock. He had looted it, and the magazines and ammo, from a gun store back in his hometown. He had looked upon it with almost holy reverence. Now, his gaze held only distaste for the weapon. He tossed the weapon away while fully wrapping his arms around his legs. He tried to set his forehead against his legs but stopped as his hat pecked at his thighs. Giving an empty chuckle, he moved his head up and then down so that his knees pushed the cap up. He could still hear the banging and laughter but here, within this ball, he could care less. While James knew how to kill the creature, he also knew that it would take time for the Infected to get through the door. This was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky because it meant he got to live longer but unlucky because he knew that it would still break through. A scary thought snaked through his head: would he be able to kill it? He hadn't been able to before, always covering it with some other reason. During the night, he could have pulled out a light, found the creature, and executed it. Yet he didn't. In the woods, where he watched it tackle and eat an obviously sentient being. All it would have taken was one round and that strange horse would've still been alive. And lastly in the very hut that may well be his grave. He had not only a clear shot but a reason to shoot. Instead, he put two in it's chest; something he knew wouldn't work. What is making me spare her?! James' eyes widened, Did I just...? Could that be why? Can I honestly see that thing as still being human? James didn't have an answer nor did he need one. The thought itself was the only answer he needed. He hugged himself tighter, tears squeezing between his clenched eyelids. The man felt something land on his shoulder. Looking up through teary eyes, he saw the Zebra sitting next to him. The look of sympathy and shared fear on it's face was evident as it left it's hoof resting on James' shoulder. He felt himself smile, an act that was reciprocated by the Zebra. That was when he noticed it. The laughing had stopped. James was about to voice a question when the door, and the items used to barricade it, blew inwards in a flash of yellow. In a flash on instinct, James had thrown himself over the Zebra. Pieces of woods ranging from splinters to whole planks flew through the air. Remarkably, only a few of the smaller pieces struck James. The human turned to the door to see a magnificent aura of golden yellow that was quickly replaced with the black of unconsciousness. -_-_-_-_-_- “Zecora, are you well? It didn't hurt you did it?” Celestia asked as she levitated the second creature away from the Zebra. After one of her Guardponies had declared the room barricaded, Celestia had seen no choice but to force entry. When she saw the creature over the screaming Zebra, she had instantly put it into a forced sleep. “Guards!” she called before the Zebra could answer. She levitated the creature of the room, “Put this one in a cell separate from the first.” “At once, Your Highness,” two of the guard replied in unison as they took control of the levitation field. This allowed the diarch to return her attention to the Zebra, who was looking at the discarded weapon. “Zecora?” Celestia asked softly, taking a step to the Zebra. Her voice startled the Zebra, making her jump before able to calm herself. The two exotic eyes focused on the wielder of the sun. “It did not harm me, if that is your thought. It was simply afraid of the creature, which for it, the bloodied sought,” the Zebra replied in her usual ryhme. Celestia couldn't help but feel that this one was more cryptic than what was normal for the Zebra. “Are you saying that the blood-stained one was after the other one?” Celestia asked. “That is what I mean, exalted diarch. The second fired lightening at the bloodied, though it was not in an arc.” That would explain the thunder the Guard heard. “What do you mean that it wasn't in an arc?” Celestia found this strange back and forth grating but centuries of practice kept her outward demeanor calm. “This device it wielded,” the Zebra pointed a hoof at the strange weapon, “From it, the lightening was fielded. It struck the creature twice yet it acted as if it was just lice. Yet,” now the Zebra looked at the hole the bullet had left in the wall, “the mark it has left. I must say that it is not for a pony to heft.” Celestia looked from the weapon to the hole in the wall. Had it fired at Zecora or was this just a miss from the two shots from earlier? She looked around the room, a glint of light catching her eye. With the clicking of her sandals, she walked across the debris strewn floor as if it was clear of clutter. When she was standing over the object, her shadow blocking the light, she saw that it was a strange metal cylinder. Picking it up in her magic she brought it to her nose, only to crinkle it at the strength of the strange odor that had permeated the entire hut. The inside and the lip was scorched black, as if it had been exposed to intense heat. “Sergeant!” “At your call, Princess,” the Sergeant replied as he trotted over. The Princess moved the strange item to the Sergeant, setting it in his outstretched hoof. “See if you can find anymore of these.” “At once Your Highness!” the Sergeant responded, throwing a salute before turning to begin his task. Satisfied, the Princess turned back to the Zebra to see that she was again staring at the strange weapon. Taking it in her magic, she brought it to her face, ignoring the startled gasp of the Zebra. She slowly spun the weapon, looking at it from all angles. She even peered into the hole in the front, trying to determine the reason it existed. As she examined the weapon, she found that she saw no way that a crossbow bolt could be loaded or fired. Perhaps... perhaps it's not a crossbow. She thought to the metal object that she had picked up earlier as she looked past the floating weapon at the hole in the way. With the evidence at hand, it was quite easy to say that it was, in fact, not a crossbow. Than what is it? she thought before looking back at the front door, thinking of the beings that would now be in cages, And what are you? Author's Note Short, yes, but I see this as a good stopping point. Hope you still enjoyed it anyway.
