28 Weeks Later

There they were, in the dimly-lit cottage. Carrot and Cup Cake, standing close to each other in the candle light, Cupcake holding a photo of their family before the field trip to the AGT that their children had taken. Thank Celestia for that field trip.

"D'you think they're safe?" She said in a Buckingham-tainted accent. Carrot nodded, smiling.

"Well, of course," he said, his accent becoming thick from their time spent around former Buckingham residents. Unlike his wife, his accent was different. He rolled his r's and his o's were an "O-oo" sound. When he said "doing" it sounded like "doowen." This was something he had picked up from his friend in the mountains. Over the many weeks they had survived in that cottage, the 6 of them-- Carrot, Cup, Sparrow, Sandy, and the old couple who had taken them in, Mr. Star and Mrs. Velvet.

It was a cozy cottage, the candlelight not being unpleasant even its dimness. Sparrow sat on a sofa, flipping through old newspaper. Carrot was trying to comfort Cup, who indeed seemed down-hearted. He gave her a small kiss, which she returned. They embraced for a moment until Velvet walked into the living room with a box of truffles. Carrot broke the kiss and sighed.

"I found these in the wine-cellar," the ageing mare made remarked. "I thought we might have them after supper!" Carrot nodded and smiled in her direction.

Supper was pleasant that evening, for the most part. They were having Amontillado from vintage of 1843, along with the last 20 ounce can of pasta. There say seven bowls at the table, one Sally had saved for her colt friend, Dime. Sparrow grunted in annoyance. "Yer never gonna give up, are ya? Don't you get it? Your little colt-friend prob'ly died out there after he ran out on us."

"Shut up!" she screamed. "He's coming back! I know it." She crossed her forelegs as she sat.

"I think," he started again, "that you need ta just accept de fact that it's dem out there, an' us in 'ere." Sandy shook her head and stood up in disgust, taking her bowl into the kitchen.

"Sick bastard," she muttered. She turned on the still-working tap, when a knocking, a loud banging, came at the door.

The group heard a muffled voice through the door. "Let me in! Help me, please! Somebody please let me in!" Cupcake looks up from her bowl. The rest of the group glanced around.

"It's just a colt!" she shouted. Carrot stared at her.

"You don't know wha's out there." He shook his head, his eyes frightened.

"For heaven's sake, Carrot, it's just a kid!!" Carrot finally stood up from the table, picking up a crowbar, and pulling off the boards from the iron holders on the door. He unlocked the bolts on top and bottom, readied himself, and opened the door to a flash of light, and a small, pale foal.

"In! In! Come on!" Carrot stepped aside, and the colt dashed in. He closed the door as the colt ran into Cupcake's outstretched hooves for an embrace. He began locking the door back, placing all the boards on the irons.

***

The young colt, not yet introduced by name, had been sat down at the table with a bowl of pasta; Dime's bowl. "Where'd you come from?" Carrot asked.

"Ponyville," he said, continuing to stuff his face."

"Ponyville," said Star said. "That's about a mile up the river, you must've ran here!"

"They were chasing me," the boy said. Carrot tilted his head in curiosity.

"Who was chasing you?" he asked.

"My mum... My dad... They were screaming..." The boy looked genuinely frightened. "They tried to kill me." Carrot looked up at his wife, worried. "There were others, too."

"How many?" he asked.

"Loads."

In the kitchen, as Sandy finished dishes, she heard a growling. She opened up the curtain to look outside. She saw nothing. "Dime?" she asked aloud. Then, something jumped up. A pair of beady eyes. The thing broke its hood through the space in the boards, cracking the glass. It grabbed Sandy's foreleg and pulled it through the window. She gave a scream, shouting, "Help me!! It's got my arm! It's my a-a-arm!!!" The thing took a chunk out of her arm. Sandy fell back on to the ground as Sparrow and Carrot, armed with a crowbar, dashed into the kitchen.

"Sandy! No!!" Sparrow ran over to her. She jumped up, her eyes fresh and angry, and tackled him. "Ah! Get the fuck off!!" Carrot kicked her in the ribs. She flew onto the ground and vomited blood. Sparrow picked himself up with his wings.

"Sparrow! Get them outta here! Now!" Sparrow did as he was told, ushering Star and Velvet out the front window. The young colt dashed up the stairs, Cupcake frantically chasing after him.

"No! Wait! Come back," she screamed.

Carrot smacked the back of Sandy's head with the crowbar, cracking her skull and spilling her brains. He thrashed it against her several more times. As the boards were knocked off of the kitchen window, which was larger than you may have perceived, one of the infected came in through it. Carrot whipped around, catching it across the temple with his weapon, also flinging it out of his hoof's grip. "Ah! Fuck!" He turned around and bolted up the stairs after his wife, while other infected poured into the house through the kitchen and the ajar front door.

They had made it to the barn-- Sparrow, Velvet, and Star. The infected were hot on their hooves, and before they knew it, were barging down the door, or trying. Star braced himself against the barn door. Sparrow ran for the ladder to the loft, screaming at Velvet, "Vel, come on! Leave him!"

Star looked in her eyes apologetically. "Go, darling, you must!"

"No, I won't leave you," she pleaded.

"Damn it, Velvet, go!!" In that moment, the several infected at the door overpowered him. Velvet did as commanded, running to the ladder as fast as her age allowed. She had only managed to put her hoof on the ladder, when, as she looked back, she gazed in horror as her husband was swarmed by those dreaded monsters.

"NO!! Star!!" Sparrow held out his hoof to her.

"Take my hoof, Velvet!" She only glanced up at him once. "Now, Vel, take my--oh God!!" They, the things, grabbed her by her legs, pulling her down off the ladder. They tore into her, even the transformed Star. He looked up at Sparrow, growling. Sparrow slammed the loft door and moved over to the hen window.

"Cupcake! Cupcake!" Carrot was storming up the stairs, bursting through a door, slamming it behind himself and locking. One of the infected chasing him threw his body against the door. Carrot turned around, facing his wife. "What are you doing! Come on!" He grabbed for her hoof, but she drew away sharply.

"NO! I see him!" She pointed over to the closet, where the colt they had rescued hid himself. She motioned for him to come out, which he did reluctantly. He ran into her arms again.

And then, it got in. The infected stallion broke down the door, standing between Carrot and the other two, blood oozing from his mouth and dribbling on the floor. Cupcake eyed him and Carrot nervously.

"Carrot!!" she screamed, staring at him fearfully. "Help us!" The infected then turned and ran at Carrot. Carrot, who had inched his way to the bathroom in the bedroom, slammed the door in the infected's face. The monster flung himself at the door, screaming angrily.

"CARROT!!"

Carrot instantly ran for the bathroom window, opening it up, and rolling out of it and down the shingles of the roof. He landed roughly on his hooves, staying below the stone fence. Several figures dashed past him. He recovered from his two-story fall, standing again, and ran out the fence and into the field by the farm house. Glancing back only once, he took note that he was being followed-- at least twenty infected were trailing him. He looked back again. There, Cupcake stood, banging on the window, screaming. Something dragged her away, and he didn't look back for another moment. He kept galloping, hard, fast, breathing in quick motions. He heard the screams behind him grow louder-- clearly, there were more of the infected behind him. He glanced up at the hill to his side. Several more, probably fifteen or so, were scaling the hilltop.

As he galloped past the hill, the group that came over it joined with the larger horde, still trailing them, the blood from their orifices falling on their matted fur and on the untamed blades of grass. He just kept running, had to. He spotted Sparrow. He made it?

"Sparrow!! Start the boat!!" The injured pegasus did so, drawing the engine cord back. He fumbled with the ropes, pushing the boat off the dock. Carrot leaped on to the boat, landing hard. Sparrow, still on the dock and pushing off the boat, tried to make his own jump, but failed, slipping off the bow. As he surfaced, he frantically made grabs for Carrot's outstretched hooves as the mob of infected leaped into the water after him. "No! Sparrow! Grab on!"

"No! No! Carrot, help! He--!" They dragged him down, one of them landing a perfect bite. Blood clouded the already murky river, and Sparrow surfaced, red-eyed, blood-soaked, and angry.

"Agh! Sparrow!" Carrot fell back in shock as the turned Sparrow grabbed onto the bow. Carrot began frantically kicking and bucking at his face, eventually knocking him off as the boat spun circles. The motor fan slashed over his head, clouding the water even further with infected blood. Carrot stabilized the boat, sending her forward, past the group of wading, beady eyed infected.

He glanced back a couple of times, panting hard and loud. "Oh fuck! Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" He calmed down, looking back at the empty window of the farm house. He gave a heavy-hearted sigh and looked back at the river.

"I'm sorry..."