You and daring start to walk once you gather yourselves up and prepared to take on another encounter of the same magnitude or worse when you make it to the next building which Twilight will be directing you two towards. Twilight's voice comes through your headset.

“Okay now if you guys are where I think you are, that means you should be just about with in seeing distance of a fortified looking strip of buildings.”

You and Daring look around for a bit you two took shelter in an abandoned gas station which luckily was not infested by zombies. Instead of lingering around to see if there is anything of use inside you and Daring decide to listen to Twilight and try to get back as quickly as possible. Back on the main road you could see a few straggling zombies, humans and ponies alike, so Daring stated that the both of you should stay off the main road as much as possible, to which you agreed. The music began to play softly in your head set once again as you see the area Twilight was referring to. You decide it is a good time to ask Twilight which building it is but she beats you to the punch, when you hear her voice come through the headset and the music abruptly stop.

“I can see where you guys are and the building you are looking at that is infested by zombies is not the building you have to go into.”

You let out a sigh of relief for a moment but Twilight continues.

“The building on the left is the one you need to raid. Now I know how crazy and not safe this area may seem but you have an advantage that most runners in your position normally do not.”

You wonder for a moment what that could possibly be, you were no star athlete and you couldn’t use magic nor could you fly, what could your advantage possibly be.

“You have a suppressor for your pistol. Now hear me out, I know i told you never to shoot but it slipped my mind that the zombies would head towards a louder noise that the slight whistle you gun will make...”

Daring but in and said , “So all you have to do is shoot an object pretty far that will make a loud noise.”

Twilight excitedly shouted, “Exactly! Whoops sorry I forgot these are pretty sensitive and that was probably really loud. But its exactly what Daring said all you have to do is hit something that will make a loud bang of some sorts, or hit something that will rattle a few times to get their attention away from the building and you should be golden, but also be weary of the zombies that chased you from the first building, they might not near now, but just remember that they don't always mindlessly wonder some try to track their prey.”

You ask Daring what you should shoot and an approximation on how long it would keep the rotting bags of flesh occupied.

“Well if I could shoot something that would grab attention it would probably be that tanker by that locksmith shop that's all boarded up. Hit it a couple of times and the bullets will either rattle inside or hit the shop which will make the glass break, but if we are lucky it will cause an explosion and it will cause all the zombies here to go check it out, might even kill some. But that's just me”

You talk to her about your concerns like what if it isn’t explosive or what if you miss.

“So basically a plan B?”

You nod

“Well if that doesn't quite work you could always shoot at the cars that are in the parking lot of that building right there.”

She points her right hoof while floating right behind your head so you can see exactly where she was pointing. It looked like a bowling alley because of the lights on the top, but it could have been a small casino as well. After further inspection you realize it was the latter just by looking at the size of the building. and realizing you were a good mile or so away, you really couldn’t tell especially since you almost lost your life nearly an hour ago. You pull out your 1911 A1 and begin to put the silencer on the barrel. You aim at the tanker, steady your breathing and ready yourself because if it did explode you and Daring will be darting across the road to get into that building and try to get out quickly. You pull the trigger once, you hear the sound of the bullet leaving the chamber and wait a second to see if you could hear any noise. Nothing you fire again, still nothing you fire one last time hoping to at least hear a sound you did, but it was barely a ping. So you decide to go with plan B, and unload the rest of the clip into the parking lot. You hear plenty rings and as you got ready to sneak with Daring you hear a large explosion, followed by another, and another.

“Huh didn’t expect any of the cars to blow, Oh well lets get over there quickly I think we have a good window of time to snatch and grab. I guess we can do the same as last time you get the heavy stuff and ill get everything else.”

You agree and both of you make a beeline for the Police station.Once you make it to the door you try to open the door but it won't budge, you try to shove through the door again but this time throwing your body weight into the push as well but it didn't work either. Before you try anything else Daring pulled the door open and looks at you with a face that says “Dummy” and you both agree to split up and grab as much as possible and being sneaky was no longer an option so to shout for the other if in trouble of if something valuable was found. You dart left and Daring darts right. Immediately after opening a door leading to a corridor you find a box of rifle ammo.

*Acquired a box of 5.56mm*

After seeing that box in front of your face you decide that you should take a quick sweep of each room in this corridor. The first door you see is wooden so you don't take any chances of being wrong with doors again and just break it down with the fire ax. That will teach any more doors to mess with you. You look around the room really quickly and realize you just broke into the head chief's office. You can tell because of the name tag that was on the desk. There was a box of shotgun shells on the desk as well but you opened the closet on the far right to see if there was anything clothing wise you could bring back to the base for Rarity to either spruce up or use for scraps. Sadly all you found was underwear and a fancy looking dress shirt.

*Acquired underwear*
*Acquired fancy dress shirt.*

After placing the article of clothing in your bag you grab the shotgun shells and rummage through the desk as well and find nothing.

*Acquired 12 g box of shells.*

You rush out of the room and bash your way through the next door with relative ease. Upon entering the room you notice a dead man on the floor upon further inspection you notice he has dog tags around his neck, you would rather not spend much time in this room but you felt compelled to grab the dog tags, just in case someone was wondering what happened to this man. You walk up to the body and yank the tags from his neck and just run from the room.

*Acquired dog tag. You can check this later, because you don't have the time now.*

You notice there was only two rooms here so you leave the corridor back to the main room then you hear Daring yell you name as loud as she could. You rush looking for her hoping that nothing happened to her. You notice her standing next to a heavy looking safe.

“Well I’m sure we could look all over for the code or we could just try and pry it open and get at what’s inside. I vote for the latter but you are the one who can do both so we can either do this now or wait after we scour the rest of this place and hope we get back to it in time.”

You let her know although whatever is in there might be of use there is much more in the building that you could use. She nods and agrees with your decision and begins to search again while letting you know that she found three bottles of water, a few shirts, and a box of rifle ammo. While listening to her you find a box of pistol ammo.

*Acquired a box of .45 ACP.*

Upon taking the ammo you see book on the floor entitled “Assault Rifles & You: A Maintenance Guide for Beginners.”

*Acquired a book. Seems to be about maintaining assault rifles.*

You go back to the main hall and on the front desk see something that is reflecting light and check it out.

*Acquired a mobile phone. Its a cellphone, its dead but it might still work.*

You head to the back area which is labeled Law Enforcement officers only, and see a bunch of computers strewn about on desk or on the floor. So you start searching cubicles for anything that may be of use. You stumble upon an overcoat, a pair of pants, and a pair of barely worn sneakers, as well as another box of pistol ammo.

*Acquired an Overcoat. An ordinary overcoat for when its chilly outside.*
*Acquired a pair of pants. Plain jeans that are fit for casual wear.*
*Acquired a pair of sneakers. Seem to be barely worn might as well be new.*
*Acquired a box of .45 ACP.*

You see two marksman rifles on a desk in a cubicle and decide to throw them over your shoulder as well as pick up the three boxes of ammo.

*Acquired marksman rifle x2. Single fire rifle that uses 5.56mm bullets, and seems to be in good shape.*
*Acquired x3 boxes of 5.56mm rounds.*

You are starting to feel heavy because of the stuff you are carrying so you start to call for Daring so she can carry some of the things you found.

“You called?”

You let her know that you have a bit much on you and you feel like she could carry some if she is feeling up to it.

“Sure, give me some of that ammo you have been hoarding as well as these two rifles that you have around your shoulder.”

You give Daring the requested items and feel like you could carry much more than you just gave her.

“I’m sure I could carry more but then I wouldn't be able to loot anything myself.” She chuckled. “I think we should hurry though I’m not sure why but I have a bad feeling that if we don't get out of here quickly we might run into trouble. The zombies are still mulling that casino but I’m not sure for how much longer.”

You agree with her statement and begin to search once again for times that will be needed. You find a button down shirt that you like so you put it in your bag.

*Acquired a shirt. A button down shirt that might fit you and looks appealing.*

Running out of places to look you decide to check the back room, the door was already broken down so you take a bit more precaution when entering than the other rooms. The room looked like a kitchen and dining room combination. You immediately head for the fridge and find three bottles of water and three snack bars. While taking the contents of the fridge you wonder to yourself who even puts snack bars in the fridge.

*Acquired Bottle of water x3*
*Acquired snack bar x3*

You see a couch that has a windbreaker thrown over the top and walk over to it. Once close enough you smell rotting flesh and the overwhelming smell of death hit you senses like a freight train, and notice a pony with a holstered pistol made for earth ponies you assume because of its awkward appearance. The zompony notices you, and groans as it readies itself to attack you. It moves fast to close the gap between you and it and tries to bite your leg. You take a quick back-step and swing your other leg and it slams into the ponies face. Trying end the confrontation quickly you reach for the fire ax to kill the pony, but it recovers to fast, and tries to bite you again. You sidestep the pony and draw your pistol and let off four shots and the pony dropped into a lifeless state not wanting to be sorry later you squeezed the trigger two more time for good measure. You take the holster and the pony pistol from the corpse and grab the windbreaker windbreaker from the couch.

*Acquired a pistol. A modified pistol for ponies. To fire by mouth.*
*Acquired a windbreaker. A thin outer coat that is designed to resist wind chill. A light jacket.*

Deciding to stay in the room and search a bit more you find a book on the table and just grab it because it might be useful.

*Acquired a book.*

Looking around you see another one of those pony modded pistols and a box of ammo near it and grab it.

*Acquired modified pistol.*
*Acquired .45 ACP*

Taking one last sweep of the room you spot a pair of boots and a pair of dress shoes near the exit.

*Acquired a pair of boots. Steel toed boots that are perfect for trekking through mud.*
*Acquired a pair of dress shoes. Pointy leather shoes that are more for formal attire.*

You link back up with Daring in the main hall. You notice she seems to be a bit on edge. you take a closer look and notice a scratch on her left flank right under her cutie mark, and a fresh trail of blood. You ask what happened to her.

“Well I saw the pony you just killed and it kinda spooked me a bit, and I got a bit scared because if you could kill that thing with no remorse and taking extra shots to make sure you got the job done made me think back to a time when one of my best friends was killed in a similar manner. And well I flew away quickly scared and ran into a shelf that cut me.” She says a bit shaken, “But then I remembered that you aren't that person. So could ya wrap up this cut for me and lets get out of here quickly because I’m sure blood attracts zombies.”

You look around and spot a first aid kit on the wall and open it, thees some gauze and some bandage wraps it wasn't going to heal it instantly but it would help the blood clot. Soon you hear your headset come to life.

“Hurry the zombies are coming back! I heard that Daring is hurt too so just come back don't worry about the last building! Its going to be dark soon and you probably have more than enough supplies just come back alive and safe, you haven’t been told yet but the zombies become rather aggressive at night and lets just say that an open cut can be traced from over a mile away when night falls!”
Twilight’s voice a bit shaky relayed the information to you. You told her you had no idea how to get back without going through the zombies from before. She let you know that if you turned the next block there would be a lightly forested area, and there is a hut there that has an underground tunnel. You and Daring rush to the area as quickly as possible and open the door to the hut. Twilight’s voice came through the headset once more.

“That leads to the out skirts of the town, it leaves you by the main road but not where the zombies were before. Its like the area where you found the bag with the rifles, so that's about a mile away from Stable township. Now hurry the sun will be setting soon setting.”

You and daring went down the tunnel and started to move fast to the other side. It was a long time spent down there in the tunnel so you and Daring shared a snack bar each to make sure you didn't pass out from exhaustion, or starve as well as a bottle of water each. Once you and Daring emerged the sun was almost hidden which meant that you had to hightail it back to Stable township. You put on some serious speed so you could try and get back before night fall while Daring was flying right by your side, letting you know that this was an awesome adventure that she would have to write so when the world was back to normal she could have a book ready for her series. Soon Flood lights were in your sights and that meant that Stable township was right up ahead. You hear loud groans come from your left, and saw a pack of zombies gunning right for you and Daring. You tell Daring to fly to the town and let them know that they will need to fend off some zombies and you were both fine, She nodded and took off. Then you realized you could contact Twilight and let her know as well. Loud sirens went off and a dozen silhouetted figures stood at the town gates ready to defend Stable township. You yell at the top of your lungs that its you to not fire, and that you could make it to the gates before the zombies. You weren't sure they herd you because you heard them load their weapons as well as watched them aim. You were sure the sniper in the guard tower was the one that shouted fire when you saw a wall of bullets coming your way, as well as muzzle flashes that blinded you. You immediately hit the floor afraid that you were going to get hit in the crossfire. You hear screaming come from the town and groans from the zombies as you clutch your head hoping that the bullets wouldn't hit you. Foot steps became very dominate in your ears so you look up. You see John and he tells you to keep your head down and to try and stay close, and most importantly don't look back. You listen to him and what felt like hours you reached the gate and were handed a rifle and was ordered to fire. You did as you were told. After some time the zombies started to move away from the town you weren't sure how long you were in that firefight but you would rather not be in another like that again for as long as you live.

“Well I’ll be. Ya actually made it back.” came from Applejack. “Glad ya got here as night started or ya would ‘ave been zombie food. And look at the supplies you brought back. Now ah am a mare of my word but you look like you could use some sleep before we start looking through the spoils. Ah had Daring leave her bag in the armory’s back room you put yours there too so you can see what ya’ll want and the rest will be stored and reused by everyone here. Ah speak for all of Stable township when ah say ya did good kid, ya did good. Now take a load off and ah’ll see you at the crack o dawn, ya ‘ear me .”

You nod in agreeance still catching your breath and trying to get your heart rate under control. You start to walk to the barracks to leave the bag and Daring comes out of no where and takes the bag from you.

“Go to the shower I’ll take this to the barracks for you. You look like you need a shower.”
She sniffs herself quickly, “Smells like I need one too. I’ll meet you there.”

Author's Note

HoooWeee this chapter took way to long to put out. This was my favorite one to write so far. Been rather distracted with video games. (Killing Crota was the main reason) but I also hit a wall with motivation. But now I'm over it hopefully i can get this story done before College starts up again. Well enough with the excuses. If you liked the chapter let me know in the comments please, and also if there are any mistakes no matter how small let me know, I can't grow as a writer with no critiques. So lay em on me. Enjoy.