Apocalyptic Equestriaby Stale_CoffeeChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1Chapter One I woke up, and looked around me. “Still night time. I would’ve figured that I slept through the whole day, but that’s impossible.” I looked below, no zombies. That was good. It was dangerous to be out at night especially with Snowball lurking about. When he mutated, he became a tank-like creature. I lost all but three of my survivor group to him. The other three were bitten later the next day. I hadn’t seen Snowball since that one night, but I knew he could be anywhere. And he came only at night. Which I figured was odd, but I didn’t question it. Too odd of a question. Trixie turned too. She became a witch-like creature along with the rest of the unicorns. It was not safe at all. And she, along with other witches, could be anywhere. Luckily, they only attacked when provoked. I saw that with my own eyes. A pony walked up to one, Celestia bless his soul, aggravated it, and was blown to smithereens in an instant. I feared for my safety with them around. I have very little of what one would call a ’weapon’. I had a rusty pipe that was on the verge of breaking. There were rumors that the scientist ponies were making something called a “gun”, but that rumor was disproved when a team of refugees went into their lab and found nothing but dead ponies and a few zombies. Bless their souls. They were brave enough to go and look for this “gun”. I looked off into the horizon and saw a pony gallop past the moon. I almost fell out of my tree at the sight. “Another pony! Oh my gosh! I thought I was the last one left... must’ve been wrong!” Just then, I heard the distinctive roar of Snowball. The pony that ran by flew through the air, its body flailing about with blood streaming out of its head. “Damn it... looks like another dead.” I drooped my head down and lay my ears back. “May as well try to get some more sleep. Got a long day tomorrow. Need to cover as much ground as possible if I’m going to get to the Frozen North anytime soon.” I dropped my head on the branch and started to dose off when I heard, almost silently, a small foal walking below me. I looked below and saw that he was living. “Psst. Hey you, down there, yeah you.” He looked my way and almost yelled when he saw me. “Shh! We have to be quiet. You understand?” He nodded and looked around then asked, “Mind if I come up?” “Not at all. Well, as long as you are bite free.” He paused and looked himself over. “Yes sir, I am.” “Brilliant. Now, what’s your name little foal?” He climbed up to the branch above me and lay down then piped, “My name is Officer Cornelius. But call me OC. I was the leader of a few young foals and fillies that were my age. We were great at hiding from the zombies. Acted as if it was a game of hide-and-seek. But, sadly, most of my group went missing a few days ago. It’s just been me.” “Officer Cornelius eh? Well, my name is Peanut Butter. Nice to meet you.” “Well, my name is actually Oreo Cookie, but I like Officer Cornelius better. Sounds a whole lot more sophisticated don’t you think?” “Yes, it does. But I like Oreo Cookie. You sure you’re bite free kid?” He carefully got down to my branch and let me look him over. He was bite and scratch free. “Impressive, Oreo. Very impressive.” I also noticed his cutie mark was an Oreo. It was pretty cute if I did say so myself. He climbed back up to his branch and lay down his little head. “You said your name was Peanut Butter?” “That it is my name little friend.” “That’s a funny name. I like it.” Within a few minutes, he was snoring soundly. I smiled and lay back. I was asleep in no time. When I woke up, I looked above me at Oreo’s branch. He was there, looking at me. “Morning sleepy head!” I blinked a few times then said, “Remember that we need to be quiet. But hi.” “Sorry Peanut Butter. Sleep well?” I nodded and looked below us. Still no zombies. “Yeah, its weird they came by a few minutes ago, but ignored us. They just kept walking that way.” He pointed towards where I saw the pony die last night. Then he said, “I don’t know why, but they just did.” I got up and wobbled a bit upon standing. I smiled nervously and said, “Never stood on a tree limb before.” He smiled and laughed lightly. I looked around and to my surprise, the Ever Free Forest was quiet for once. Birds were chirping, squirrels ran across the trail. “This sight can almost make you forget that we are in an apocalypse. It’s peaceful here for an odd reason Oreo.” He was looking into the horizon with his eyes closed and was smiling. He seemed to enjoy the still air. I grabbed a few things and looked at him and asked, “Ready to go?” He looked my way and said, “Where are we going?” I looked into the distance and asked him, “Ever heard of the Frozen North?” He shook his head and I laughed. “That’s where we are going. But, we have to make haste. Now, do you want to travel by the road or the trees?” He sat there thinking for a second then responded, “Trees. They were my main mode of moving about when I was with my group.” I nodded and said, “Alright, here we go.” I jumped from my branch to the other tree. I looked at him and he spread his wings. ’I didn’t realize that he had wings’, I thought. He leaped from his branch and floated to the one next to me. “Impressive.” He smiled and nodded firmly. We kept moving through the trees, hoping not to run into any trouble along the way. I looked back and asked him if he had a weapon. “No sir. I don’t. Never thought I would need one at the time.” I paused and gave him my pipe. “This helped me. It is a little worn out, but we can find new ones everywhere.” He beamed when I gave it to him and exclaimed, “Thanks Peanut Butter!” I nodded in acknowledgement and hopped to the next tree. I missed it by just a few inches and fell to the ground. I winced and looked ahead of me. There was nothing there... or so I thought. A zombie came stumbling around the other side of a tree and looked my way. It sped up, and I tried moving, but my body hurt too much. It was closing in fast, and I looked up at Oreo. “Sorry”, I mouthed. That was when the zombie closed its jaws around my neck. I screamed in pain, but then, its grip loosened and it collapsed to the ground. Oreo was standing there with the pipe in his mouth, beating the zombie’s head into a pulp. When he was done, he looked at me and said faintly, “Looks like this is the end. Do you want me to do it?” He meant finishing me so I wouldn’t turn. I shook my head and said, “Stay in that tree over there.” I pointed and said, “I’ll stay in that one. If I turn, do it. If I don’t then we continue.” He nodded and climbed up his tree. I made my way up mine and bandaged up my neck, hoping to stop the bleeding. I passed out moments later. I awoke in the tree, Oreo across from me. “How long was I out?” He looked at me and grabbed the pipe. He came over to my tree and stood a good distance away from me. My body lunged towards him and I yelled, “Whoa! Whoa! What’s happening?” He jumped to the side and struck my head. I felt nothing, though I heard the skull crack. “Oh dear Celestia no. No.. why me?” I lunged towards him again, but this time he struck me clean in the head. The brain was penetrated and I collapsed to the floor of the forest. I had turned and attacked the little guy. Chapter 2Chapter Two He just came at me and attacked me! My gosh! He did turn... it sounded as if he were trying to speak to me, but I couldn’t tell. I had to kill him. Poor Peanut Butter. I barely knew him. And now, he’s dead. Again... I felt bad, having to kill him. But, I needed to put him out of his misery. He was such a nice guy. Why did he have to die? I had no clue how to get to the Frozen North. I didn’t even know what that was! And I was alone again! I went down and searched Peanut Butter’s saddlebags. He had a map of Equestria, a few apples, something that looked fleshy but was cooked, and a journal. “The map would be helpful. Apples for food. This...” I took a bite of the fleshy stuff and swallowed. I puked and said, “Pony poison? Wait no.. it’s meat. He has a note in here for the recipe for... ‘Beef Jerky’? Well then. And this journal. May not be of use to me, but it’s fancy and will sell for a high price.” I took everything and began to move on. I sat up in a tree and looked over the map. “Okay, so I’m where this circle is... I need to get where that ‘X’ is then. Seems easy enough.” I noticed the quickest route was through the forest and along the tracks. I was near the Ruins which were next to a river. I walked to the ruins and followed the river out of the forest. I saw a faint object that looked like a train. “The tracks must be that way.” I trotted over towards the train. It was at Dodge Junction. Nopony seemed to be around, so I looked behind the train and saw no more tracks. So I walked the opposite way. The Macintosh Hills were to my left and the Rambling Rock Ridge to my right. I kept walking until I came to a fork in the tracks. One path led to Apple Loosa, which seemed a whole lot closer to me than Ponyville. So I headed towards Apple Loosa in search of life. Night was falling quickly, so I picked up the pace. With nowhere to hide, this path wasn’t safe at all. My pipe was breaking, and I had no other weapon. I began to see a faint outline of some trees. “There must be a good sturdy branch for me to hide on!” I spread out my wings and started to flap them. I had forgotten that all of the Pegasus magic faded when the apocalypse started. I lifted off the ground just barely, and fell. I began to gallop towards the nearest tree, hoping to get into it quickly. The moon was rising quickly, and I just knew this night would be bad. Before I reached the tree, an arrow flew by me. “Whoa! The what?” Another arrow flew by. Then another. They kept coming, and I tumbled behind the trunk of the tree just in time. I sat there breathing heavily, trying to figure out what the heck was happening. Did they think I was a zombie? Well, that’s impossible! I haven’t seen a zombie for a while, and I don’t think they could gallop as fast as me... could they? Then again, I was just a little foal. Of course they could. I shook my head and began to climb the tree. I reached a good, sturdy branch and lay down. I looked through some leaves and saw lights coming from Apple Loosa. And a lot of cheering and booing. I lay my head down, and dozed off. Going to be a long night. Some say that only a select few ponies are immune to the virus. Just hope it’s true. Crumpets Chapter 3Chapter Three I awoke, my neck aching slightly. Overnight, zombies had trailed below me, apparently drawn to the light and sounds coming from inside of Apple Loosa. The noise had died down, and it was pretty much silent. I hopped down from the tree and started to trot towards the town. It was walled off completely. Seemed like there was no way in or out. I saw a little door with a note on it. I read it and stepped back. “Welcome to the Apple Loosa Arena?” I read further, and learned that they used Apple Loosa as a zombie AND survivor killing arena. You could enter along with many other ponies, but only one came out alive. “My gosh... things have changed immensely. I mean look at it! They not only kill zombies, but each other!” I walked around the town and saw another door. This one had a sign that read: Welcome to Apple Loosa! Hope you enjoy your stay! This town is under strict surveillance by Celestia’s Royal Guard. You can enter and stay, but if you want to leave to anywhere North of here, you MUST enter in the arena. Thank you. -Royal Guard I knocked on the door. It took a few moments, but it opened. I stepped inside and the sight didn’t surprise me. Most of the ponies were sick or dying. One was being tested on. He had been bitten. I guessed that they were trying to make some kind of medicine for immunity to the plague. I laughed a little. There probably was no cure and no such thing as immunity. One of the scientists turned my way and asked, “And just what are you laughing at little foal?” I drooped my ears, embarrassed, and responded, “Nothing sir. Nothing.” He nodded slowly, then turned away. I walked off towards the town square. There was an entire market! I sold Peanut Butter’s journal and bought a few apples. I saw a weapon shop. “This place might come in handy. If only I had more bits. Um... excuse me? Do you know where I could get some more money?” The pony at the booth said that they needed somepony to go and pick the apples, but everypony was too scared to go and get them. “I’ll go and do it!” She laughed and said, “Well aren’t you a cute little fella? Now go run along.” I told her, “I’m not kidding. I can go and get them.” She shrugged and led me to the Mayor’s Office. When we stepped in, she said, “I have a little foal here that wants to go out and pick the apples out in the orchard!” A lot of the ponies looked at me and laughed. I stomped my hoof on the ground and yelled, “OH YEAH?! YOU DON’T THINK THAT I CAN DO IT? JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE!” And with that, I stormed out of the office and ran into the orchard. I didn’t know that the job was going to be dangerous at all. I began bucking at the trees with all my strength. I got three baskets full, and when I brought those to the market, I was paid a fair wage. I went back out and continued bucking at the trees. Some of the Royal Guard came out and watched me from a distance. They had underestimated my strength. Just because I was a little foal didn’t mean that I couldn’t do hard work. They sent for some ponies to come and collect the baskets. I would then be given more money for collecting the apples. I felt good, doing something for this sad place. The ponies went inside. The only ones that stayed were the Royal Guard members. When they began going inside, I stopped, grabbed my baskets, and started to slowly go towards the doors. Just then, I was shoved to the floor. The apples rolled across the ground and I yelled for help. The guard turned around just in time to see the zombies latch its teeth into my leg. I yelled out in pain, and kicked him off me. I stood up lazily and toppled over. The guard came over and finished the zombie off. Then he came over to me and asked if he should finish me. “No,” I whispered, “take me to the scientists. I might be of use.” He nodded, and I faded out. When I awoke, I was restrained to a cold metal bed. A few scientists loomed over me, their faces awestruck. “What? What are you looking at?” One took off his face mask and said, “We ran some tests while you were unconscious. Your blood... it showed that you are immune to the virus. You can’t turn into one of those zombies. You are invincible to their bites.” My eyes widened and I exclaimed, “Immune! What the heck! I thought I was a goner. And now to learn that I’m immune! Wow!” They all nodded in unison. I looked at myself and asked, “Why am I restrained?” One responded, “We didn’t want you to attack if you had turned.” I nodded slowly and said, “Untie me please.” “Right.. of course. Right away.” Once I was loose, I wandered about the facilities. It wasn’t much, just a small make-shift hospital. I walked out into the brisk, dry air. There was an entire crowd standing outside, as if they were waiting for me to appear. And when I did, a whole lot of them started cheering. Some tried charging at me screaming, “We need his blood! He can save us all!” They were taken away from the scene and I continued walking. I was given a ton of bits, which almost made me cry. I was told that I should go and enter in the tournament in the arena. “Me? Go into there? Oh no. You don’t know what you are talking about. It’s a blood bath!” One just looked at me and said, “We all contributed in making you some of the toughest armor we could. It might be of use if you win.” I sat down and thought about entering in the tournament. “Okay, but as long as you guys believe in me.” They all cheered and followed me as I went to sign up. That night, I would become something I never thought I would become... a true monster. Chapter 4Chapter Four It smelt absolutely terrible! It smelt of decay and dried up blood... I could’ve let my insides gush out of me. But I held them in. I was standing on a high pedestal, with some good-looking armor, a sword, and a bow. Many other colts and mares were on the same kind of pedestals as me. I felt bad that I was the only foal, but that made me harder to shoot at and harder to injure. Zombies were on the floor, standing below each pedestal, waiting for their next meal. I shuddered at the thought and looked out at the crowd. The light was blinding, but I could make out slight silhouettes of the ponies in the stands. They seemed to be cheering for me, and for their protection, they were blocked off by a fence. It seemed to have a medium sized hole in it, and some zombies were heading towards them. “Oh dear... this is going to get nasty.” The timer began its countdown. Each second was just a moment closer to death. The pedestals were slowly dropping as the timer went down. At 10 seconds, they stopped moving and all the power in the arena went off. Everypony started to scream unexpectedly. I couldn’t make out what they were all saying, but I heard one voice say, “Its got me! Its teeth are sinking into my leg! It hurts!” I could barely see a thing, then small red lights appeared on the walls surrounding the battle floor. With each flash, I could see people being bitten, the rest of the pedestals were empty, zombies were climbing through the hole in the gate. An arrow whizzed by my head, cutting my ear. I saw one of the combatants trying to hit me. The rest were fighting, zombies surrounding them too. I jumped down from my ledge when the lights went off. When they were back on, I was within the shadows of the arena. I rushed out towards a few zombies and shoved my sword through each of their heads. I cut one open and doused myself in its blood and intestines. That was when I threw up. The zombies began ignoring me though and I fell into their crowd, attacking when necessary. The plan was going well. I attacked a few of the combatants, killing them and letting the zombies finish them off. The horde began picking up speed, and I was thrown to the floor and trampled on. I got back up and saw bolts of light coming from within the fence. Zombies heads were popping instantly, and their limbs were being blown off. The lights were blowing my way, and I began to freak out. I was too well disguised, and I began bolting about. Some of those... things blew through my tail, blowing some hair off. I tripped over a dead body and fell into a deep, dark pit in the middle of the arena. They must have opened it in order to contain a few zombies. I saw a pony’s silhouette appear over the hole, then a loud shout, “Grenade out!” I looked about. It was pitch black. I heard a little noise as metal clashed on the... grenade. I grabbed a dead zombie and threw it on top of me. Hopefully, it would protect me from whatever this ‘grenade’ did. BOOM! The ground shook underneath me and a blinding light filled the hole. I was blown back, and my mane was beginning to burn slightly. I hit a wall and went unconscious. Hopefully, somepony found me.. hopefully. I woke up, still in the pit. Everything in here was burnt and indefinable. The sun was coming from up above, beaming light through the hole. Everything was silent. Not a single voice. I heard screaming come from the distance, then a loud ‘rat-a-tat-a-tat’ noise. “How am I going to get out of here? Gosh... this is the worst predicament that I could be in.” Something else in the pit moved. I shuddered and drew my sword. I heard a loud banging on an iron gate on the far side of the pit. Then, it busted down and the hell-hole was filled with a loud, angry yell.. It was Snowball. “Oh dear...” He charged my way and I tried jumping aside, but he grabbed me and threw me against the wall. “Ow.. that really hurts.” He charged again, shoving me deeper into the wall. I had my sword aiming towards him, which it penetrated his muscle. He stumbled back at tore it out. He then threw it at me, barely missing my ear. I began pulling it out of the wall when he charged again. I grabbed an arrow and threw it in front of me. It penetrated his eye, but didn’t go deep enough. He lashed out at it and broke it. It was still in his eye, but he charged again. I threw another one into his other eye. He stumbled back and fell on his side. He was screaming and yelling. I hopped out of the wall and pulled out the sword. He was slowly getting up, and thrashing about. “He has no idea where I am... I hope.” He looked my way and yelled. I looked at him oddly and he charged. He could still smell me! I had to get rid of my scent... somehow. I jumped out of the way just in time. He ran into the wall and sat there. I looked around for something to shroud my scent in. But, all the bodies had been burnt, so their blood was... well useless.
Chapter 1Chapter One I woke up, and looked around me. “Still night time. I would’ve figured that I slept through the whole day, but that’s impossible.” I looked below, no zombies. That was good. It was dangerous to be out at night especially with Snowball lurking about. When he mutated, he became a tank-like creature. I lost all but three of my survivor group to him. The other three were bitten later the next day. I hadn’t seen Snowball since that one night, but I knew he could be anywhere. And he came only at night. Which I figured was odd, but I didn’t question it. Too odd of a question. Trixie turned too. She became a witch-like creature along with the rest of the unicorns. It was not safe at all. And she, along with other witches, could be anywhere. Luckily, they only attacked when provoked. I saw that with my own eyes. A pony walked up to one, Celestia bless his soul, aggravated it, and was blown to smithereens in an instant. I feared for my safety with them around. I have very little of what one would call a ’weapon’. I had a rusty pipe that was on the verge of breaking. There were rumors that the scientist ponies were making something called a “gun”, but that rumor was disproved when a team of refugees went into their lab and found nothing but dead ponies and a few zombies. Bless their souls. They were brave enough to go and look for this “gun”. I looked off into the horizon and saw a pony gallop past the moon. I almost fell out of my tree at the sight. “Another pony! Oh my gosh! I thought I was the last one left... must’ve been wrong!” Just then, I heard the distinctive roar of Snowball. The pony that ran by flew through the air, its body flailing about with blood streaming out of its head. “Damn it... looks like another dead.” I drooped my head down and lay my ears back. “May as well try to get some more sleep. Got a long day tomorrow. Need to cover as much ground as possible if I’m going to get to the Frozen North anytime soon.” I dropped my head on the branch and started to dose off when I heard, almost silently, a small foal walking below me. I looked below and saw that he was living. “Psst. Hey you, down there, yeah you.” He looked my way and almost yelled when he saw me. “Shh! We have to be quiet. You understand?” He nodded and looked around then asked, “Mind if I come up?” “Not at all. Well, as long as you are bite free.” He paused and looked himself over. “Yes sir, I am.” “Brilliant. Now, what’s your name little foal?” He climbed up to the branch above me and lay down then piped, “My name is Officer Cornelius. But call me OC. I was the leader of a few young foals and fillies that were my age. We were great at hiding from the zombies. Acted as if it was a game of hide-and-seek. But, sadly, most of my group went missing a few days ago. It’s just been me.” “Officer Cornelius eh? Well, my name is Peanut Butter. Nice to meet you.” “Well, my name is actually Oreo Cookie, but I like Officer Cornelius better. Sounds a whole lot more sophisticated don’t you think?” “Yes, it does. But I like Oreo Cookie. You sure you’re bite free kid?” He carefully got down to my branch and let me look him over. He was bite and scratch free. “Impressive, Oreo. Very impressive.” I also noticed his cutie mark was an Oreo. It was pretty cute if I did say so myself. He climbed back up to his branch and lay down his little head. “You said your name was Peanut Butter?” “That it is my name little friend.” “That’s a funny name. I like it.” Within a few minutes, he was snoring soundly. I smiled and lay back. I was asleep in no time. When I woke up, I looked above me at Oreo’s branch. He was there, looking at me. “Morning sleepy head!” I blinked a few times then said, “Remember that we need to be quiet. But hi.” “Sorry Peanut Butter. Sleep well?” I nodded and looked below us. Still no zombies. “Yeah, its weird they came by a few minutes ago, but ignored us. They just kept walking that way.” He pointed towards where I saw the pony die last night. Then he said, “I don’t know why, but they just did.” I got up and wobbled a bit upon standing. I smiled nervously and said, “Never stood on a tree limb before.” He smiled and laughed lightly. I looked around and to my surprise, the Ever Free Forest was quiet for once. Birds were chirping, squirrels ran across the trail. “This sight can almost make you forget that we are in an apocalypse. It’s peaceful here for an odd reason Oreo.” He was looking into the horizon with his eyes closed and was smiling. He seemed to enjoy the still air. I grabbed a few things and looked at him and asked, “Ready to go?” He looked my way and said, “Where are we going?” I looked into the distance and asked him, “Ever heard of the Frozen North?” He shook his head and I laughed. “That’s where we are going. But, we have to make haste. Now, do you want to travel by the road or the trees?” He sat there thinking for a second then responded, “Trees. They were my main mode of moving about when I was with my group.” I nodded and said, “Alright, here we go.” I jumped from my branch to the other tree. I looked at him and he spread his wings. ’I didn’t realize that he had wings’, I thought. He leaped from his branch and floated to the one next to me. “Impressive.” He smiled and nodded firmly. We kept moving through the trees, hoping not to run into any trouble along the way. I looked back and asked him if he had a weapon. “No sir. I don’t. Never thought I would need one at the time.” I paused and gave him my pipe. “This helped me. It is a little worn out, but we can find new ones everywhere.” He beamed when I gave it to him and exclaimed, “Thanks Peanut Butter!” I nodded in acknowledgement and hopped to the next tree. I missed it by just a few inches and fell to the ground. I winced and looked ahead of me. There was nothing there... or so I thought. A zombie came stumbling around the other side of a tree and looked my way. It sped up, and I tried moving, but my body hurt too much. It was closing in fast, and I looked up at Oreo. “Sorry”, I mouthed. That was when the zombie closed its jaws around my neck. I screamed in pain, but then, its grip loosened and it collapsed to the ground. Oreo was standing there with the pipe in his mouth, beating the zombie’s head into a pulp. When he was done, he looked at me and said faintly, “Looks like this is the end. Do you want me to do it?” He meant finishing me so I wouldn’t turn. I shook my head and said, “Stay in that tree over there.” I pointed and said, “I’ll stay in that one. If I turn, do it. If I don’t then we continue.” He nodded and climbed up his tree. I made my way up mine and bandaged up my neck, hoping to stop the bleeding. I passed out moments later. I awoke in the tree, Oreo across from me. “How long was I out?” He looked at me and grabbed the pipe. He came over to my tree and stood a good distance away from me. My body lunged towards him and I yelled, “Whoa! Whoa! What’s happening?” He jumped to the side and struck my head. I felt nothing, though I heard the skull crack. “Oh dear Celestia no. No.. why me?” I lunged towards him again, but this time he struck me clean in the head. The brain was penetrated and I collapsed to the floor of the forest. I had turned and attacked the little guy.
Chapter 2Chapter Two He just came at me and attacked me! My gosh! He did turn... it sounded as if he were trying to speak to me, but I couldn’t tell. I had to kill him. Poor Peanut Butter. I barely knew him. And now, he’s dead. Again... I felt bad, having to kill him. But, I needed to put him out of his misery. He was such a nice guy. Why did he have to die? I had no clue how to get to the Frozen North. I didn’t even know what that was! And I was alone again! I went down and searched Peanut Butter’s saddlebags. He had a map of Equestria, a few apples, something that looked fleshy but was cooked, and a journal. “The map would be helpful. Apples for food. This...” I took a bite of the fleshy stuff and swallowed. I puked and said, “Pony poison? Wait no.. it’s meat. He has a note in here for the recipe for... ‘Beef Jerky’? Well then. And this journal. May not be of use to me, but it’s fancy and will sell for a high price.” I took everything and began to move on. I sat up in a tree and looked over the map. “Okay, so I’m where this circle is... I need to get where that ‘X’ is then. Seems easy enough.” I noticed the quickest route was through the forest and along the tracks. I was near the Ruins which were next to a river. I walked to the ruins and followed the river out of the forest. I saw a faint object that looked like a train. “The tracks must be that way.” I trotted over towards the train. It was at Dodge Junction. Nopony seemed to be around, so I looked behind the train and saw no more tracks. So I walked the opposite way. The Macintosh Hills were to my left and the Rambling Rock Ridge to my right. I kept walking until I came to a fork in the tracks. One path led to Apple Loosa, which seemed a whole lot closer to me than Ponyville. So I headed towards Apple Loosa in search of life. Night was falling quickly, so I picked up the pace. With nowhere to hide, this path wasn’t safe at all. My pipe was breaking, and I had no other weapon. I began to see a faint outline of some trees. “There must be a good sturdy branch for me to hide on!” I spread out my wings and started to flap them. I had forgotten that all of the Pegasus magic faded when the apocalypse started. I lifted off the ground just barely, and fell. I began to gallop towards the nearest tree, hoping to get into it quickly. The moon was rising quickly, and I just knew this night would be bad. Before I reached the tree, an arrow flew by me. “Whoa! The what?” Another arrow flew by. Then another. They kept coming, and I tumbled behind the trunk of the tree just in time. I sat there breathing heavily, trying to figure out what the heck was happening. Did they think I was a zombie? Well, that’s impossible! I haven’t seen a zombie for a while, and I don’t think they could gallop as fast as me... could they? Then again, I was just a little foal. Of course they could. I shook my head and began to climb the tree. I reached a good, sturdy branch and lay down. I looked through some leaves and saw lights coming from Apple Loosa. And a lot of cheering and booing. I lay my head down, and dozed off. Going to be a long night. Some say that only a select few ponies are immune to the virus. Just hope it’s true. Crumpets
Chapter 3Chapter Three I awoke, my neck aching slightly. Overnight, zombies had trailed below me, apparently drawn to the light and sounds coming from inside of Apple Loosa. The noise had died down, and it was pretty much silent. I hopped down from the tree and started to trot towards the town. It was walled off completely. Seemed like there was no way in or out. I saw a little door with a note on it. I read it and stepped back. “Welcome to the Apple Loosa Arena?” I read further, and learned that they used Apple Loosa as a zombie AND survivor killing arena. You could enter along with many other ponies, but only one came out alive. “My gosh... things have changed immensely. I mean look at it! They not only kill zombies, but each other!” I walked around the town and saw another door. This one had a sign that read: Welcome to Apple Loosa! Hope you enjoy your stay! This town is under strict surveillance by Celestia’s Royal Guard. You can enter and stay, but if you want to leave to anywhere North of here, you MUST enter in the arena. Thank you. -Royal Guard I knocked on the door. It took a few moments, but it opened. I stepped inside and the sight didn’t surprise me. Most of the ponies were sick or dying. One was being tested on. He had been bitten. I guessed that they were trying to make some kind of medicine for immunity to the plague. I laughed a little. There probably was no cure and no such thing as immunity. One of the scientists turned my way and asked, “And just what are you laughing at little foal?” I drooped my ears, embarrassed, and responded, “Nothing sir. Nothing.” He nodded slowly, then turned away. I walked off towards the town square. There was an entire market! I sold Peanut Butter’s journal and bought a few apples. I saw a weapon shop. “This place might come in handy. If only I had more bits. Um... excuse me? Do you know where I could get some more money?” The pony at the booth said that they needed somepony to go and pick the apples, but everypony was too scared to go and get them. “I’ll go and do it!” She laughed and said, “Well aren’t you a cute little fella? Now go run along.” I told her, “I’m not kidding. I can go and get them.” She shrugged and led me to the Mayor’s Office. When we stepped in, she said, “I have a little foal here that wants to go out and pick the apples out in the orchard!” A lot of the ponies looked at me and laughed. I stomped my hoof on the ground and yelled, “OH YEAH?! YOU DON’T THINK THAT I CAN DO IT? JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE!” And with that, I stormed out of the office and ran into the orchard. I didn’t know that the job was going to be dangerous at all. I began bucking at the trees with all my strength. I got three baskets full, and when I brought those to the market, I was paid a fair wage. I went back out and continued bucking at the trees. Some of the Royal Guard came out and watched me from a distance. They had underestimated my strength. Just because I was a little foal didn’t mean that I couldn’t do hard work. They sent for some ponies to come and collect the baskets. I would then be given more money for collecting the apples. I felt good, doing something for this sad place. The ponies went inside. The only ones that stayed were the Royal Guard members. When they began going inside, I stopped, grabbed my baskets, and started to slowly go towards the doors. Just then, I was shoved to the floor. The apples rolled across the ground and I yelled for help. The guard turned around just in time to see the zombies latch its teeth into my leg. I yelled out in pain, and kicked him off me. I stood up lazily and toppled over. The guard came over and finished the zombie off. Then he came over to me and asked if he should finish me. “No,” I whispered, “take me to the scientists. I might be of use.” He nodded, and I faded out. When I awoke, I was restrained to a cold metal bed. A few scientists loomed over me, their faces awestruck. “What? What are you looking at?” One took off his face mask and said, “We ran some tests while you were unconscious. Your blood... it showed that you are immune to the virus. You can’t turn into one of those zombies. You are invincible to their bites.” My eyes widened and I exclaimed, “Immune! What the heck! I thought I was a goner. And now to learn that I’m immune! Wow!” They all nodded in unison. I looked at myself and asked, “Why am I restrained?” One responded, “We didn’t want you to attack if you had turned.” I nodded slowly and said, “Untie me please.” “Right.. of course. Right away.” Once I was loose, I wandered about the facilities. It wasn’t much, just a small make-shift hospital. I walked out into the brisk, dry air. There was an entire crowd standing outside, as if they were waiting for me to appear. And when I did, a whole lot of them started cheering. Some tried charging at me screaming, “We need his blood! He can save us all!” They were taken away from the scene and I continued walking. I was given a ton of bits, which almost made me cry. I was told that I should go and enter in the tournament in the arena. “Me? Go into there? Oh no. You don’t know what you are talking about. It’s a blood bath!” One just looked at me and said, “We all contributed in making you some of the toughest armor we could. It might be of use if you win.” I sat down and thought about entering in the tournament. “Okay, but as long as you guys believe in me.” They all cheered and followed me as I went to sign up. That night, I would become something I never thought I would become... a true monster.
Chapter 4Chapter Four It smelt absolutely terrible! It smelt of decay and dried up blood... I could’ve let my insides gush out of me. But I held them in. I was standing on a high pedestal, with some good-looking armor, a sword, and a bow. Many other colts and mares were on the same kind of pedestals as me. I felt bad that I was the only foal, but that made me harder to shoot at and harder to injure. Zombies were on the floor, standing below each pedestal, waiting for their next meal. I shuddered at the thought and looked out at the crowd. The light was blinding, but I could make out slight silhouettes of the ponies in the stands. They seemed to be cheering for me, and for their protection, they were blocked off by a fence. It seemed to have a medium sized hole in it, and some zombies were heading towards them. “Oh dear... this is going to get nasty.” The timer began its countdown. Each second was just a moment closer to death. The pedestals were slowly dropping as the timer went down. At 10 seconds, they stopped moving and all the power in the arena went off. Everypony started to scream unexpectedly. I couldn’t make out what they were all saying, but I heard one voice say, “Its got me! Its teeth are sinking into my leg! It hurts!” I could barely see a thing, then small red lights appeared on the walls surrounding the battle floor. With each flash, I could see people being bitten, the rest of the pedestals were empty, zombies were climbing through the hole in the gate. An arrow whizzed by my head, cutting my ear. I saw one of the combatants trying to hit me. The rest were fighting, zombies surrounding them too. I jumped down from my ledge when the lights went off. When they were back on, I was within the shadows of the arena. I rushed out towards a few zombies and shoved my sword through each of their heads. I cut one open and doused myself in its blood and intestines. That was when I threw up. The zombies began ignoring me though and I fell into their crowd, attacking when necessary. The plan was going well. I attacked a few of the combatants, killing them and letting the zombies finish them off. The horde began picking up speed, and I was thrown to the floor and trampled on. I got back up and saw bolts of light coming from within the fence. Zombies heads were popping instantly, and their limbs were being blown off. The lights were blowing my way, and I began to freak out. I was too well disguised, and I began bolting about. Some of those... things blew through my tail, blowing some hair off. I tripped over a dead body and fell into a deep, dark pit in the middle of the arena. They must have opened it in order to contain a few zombies. I saw a pony’s silhouette appear over the hole, then a loud shout, “Grenade out!” I looked about. It was pitch black. I heard a little noise as metal clashed on the... grenade. I grabbed a dead zombie and threw it on top of me. Hopefully, it would protect me from whatever this ‘grenade’ did. BOOM! The ground shook underneath me and a blinding light filled the hole. I was blown back, and my mane was beginning to burn slightly. I hit a wall and went unconscious. Hopefully, somepony found me.. hopefully. I woke up, still in the pit. Everything in here was burnt and indefinable. The sun was coming from up above, beaming light through the hole. Everything was silent. Not a single voice. I heard screaming come from the distance, then a loud ‘rat-a-tat-a-tat’ noise. “How am I going to get out of here? Gosh... this is the worst predicament that I could be in.” Something else in the pit moved. I shuddered and drew my sword. I heard a loud banging on an iron gate on the far side of the pit. Then, it busted down and the hell-hole was filled with a loud, angry yell.. It was Snowball. “Oh dear...” He charged my way and I tried jumping aside, but he grabbed me and threw me against the wall. “Ow.. that really hurts.” He charged again, shoving me deeper into the wall. I had my sword aiming towards him, which it penetrated his muscle. He stumbled back at tore it out. He then threw it at me, barely missing my ear. I began pulling it out of the wall when he charged again. I grabbed an arrow and threw it in front of me. It penetrated his eye, but didn’t go deep enough. He lashed out at it and broke it. It was still in his eye, but he charged again. I threw another one into his other eye. He stumbled back and fell on his side. He was screaming and yelling. I hopped out of the wall and pulled out the sword. He was slowly getting up, and thrashing about. “He has no idea where I am... I hope.” He looked my way and yelled. I looked at him oddly and he charged. He could still smell me! I had to get rid of my scent... somehow. I jumped out of the way just in time. He ran into the wall and sat there. I looked around for something to shroud my scent in. But, all the bodies had been burnt, so their blood was... well useless.
