Unturnedby MogarshyChaptersDay One - A PrologueMonth One, Day TwentyMonth Two, Day ThreeMonth Two, Day SeventeenDay One - A PrologueThe infected and dead rising again were thought to be a prank when it showed up in newspapers across Equestria. It was March 31st. Bad timing. Twilight gathered her friends in her new kingdom anyways to discuss the facts about these infected ponies. "Alright. Princess Celestia has hired many very intelligent and well-respected scientists to research on this infection. The results are...disturbing." Twilight shuffled the papers, cleared her throat, and began to read. "Dear Princess Celestia, We've come to a conclusion. The dead are rising again. After being infected, a pony will contract a fever that will kill them. After dying, the pony will come back to life. Their eyes are gray and their cutie mark fades away, which has led to two possible conclusions. These ponies are either an attack from Tirek, as these symptoms were seen in the ponies who's magic was taken away. Or, this is a curse set by the highest god herself to punish us. These ponies crave magical beings, and also non-magical beings. They want to feast. We've lost a scientist or two to accidental unlocked doors, where a subject came in and devoured them. Then, they turned into one of them too. The infected have a good nose, and respond to noise and light. Any loud noises or bright lights will attract them. They move at a very slow pace, so one of our head scientists has affectionately dubbed them 'trotters', which sounds fitting if you ask me. The longer a trotter subject goes without food, the slower and malnourished they become. They do not starve to death. Just...suffer. They seem to naturally form herds to wander the world and find food. The only successful way to kill one is shooting them in the head and breaking through the brain stem. We learned that the hard way. They eat lead like its for dinner unless you hit them in the brain. Many simple ponies will not realize these trotters are a threat, thinking they are sick ponies wandering the streets. A national crisis announcement should fix that, if you can, Princess. For now, arm yourself and prepare troops to mow them down. Also, most importantly, you don't-" Twilight stopped reading, as the writing ended there and the parchment was stained with blood. "Don't what?" Applejack asked. "We don't know. The lab was found overrun by these...trotters." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something sarcastic when an ear splitting shriek sounded from outside. Twilight rushed to the window, met with a scene of horror. Ponies were running from slow-moving, grotesque ponies, with gray eyes, mouths stained with blood, and no cutie marks. They flooded the streets, cornering some ponies and devouring them. Other ponies were fighting back with sticks and rocks, anything they could find on the ground. Two blocks away a house was on fire, attracting the trotters towards it. "Oh, no..." Twilight could only say, watching Ponyville crumble before her eyes. Month One, Day TwentyRainbow Dash got up at the crack of dawn. For the past week, she'd been reminding herself to get a mane-cut from somepony, but she always forgot until she was lying down for bed. It was all over the place. Stretching her legs and wings, she slid down the ladder to get breakfast, careful not to wake Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie and Rarity in the bunk below her. Twilight was already awake, coffee made and ready on the kitchen table. Five mugs. Rainbow's heart stopped for a minute. Applejack's missing cup still bothered her, even though it had been long since she was gone. About two weeks. She was the one who had to shoot her, too. Applejack got bit, and Applebloom couldn't bring herself to finish off her own sister. "Morning." Twilight said quietly, shaking Rainbow from her thoughts. "Mornin'. We going on a run today?" Dash asked, sitting next to Twilight at the kitchen table. Twilight's gun was taken apart and spread around the table. Everypony needs a manecut, Rainbow Dash observed. Twilight had resorted to putting her hair in a bun, bangs still long and in her face. Rarity's curls were, well, not really curls, having grown out and just becoming wavy, and Pinkie's mane was too frizzy to even bother with. Fluttershy just tucked her bangs behind her ears. Rainbow grabbed her coffee. "Me, you, and Fluttershy are going this time." Twilight responded, going back to counting her bullets. "I'm sure we'll be fine if we run into a few trotters. Wake Fluttershy up." Rainbow took a sip and returned to the bedroom. Fluttershy was already sitting up, rubbing her eyes with her hooves. Rainbow Dash smiled at her and she smiled back. "Morning, beautiful." Rainbow said casually, earning a blush from Fluttershy. "Ooooo." Pinkie chided, and Rainbow blew a raspberry at her. Pinkie giggle-snorted and returned it. Fluttershy joined in too. All three ponies were in a fierce raspberry battle. They got louder and louder as time went on. "Can you three fillies shut up?" Rarity whispered angrily, getting up and stretching. Spike was still asleep in his and Twilight's bunk. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were snoring in theirs. Fluttershy blew one last raspberry, which Rarity blew right back. The four mares started giggling uncontrollably. Twilight came into the room, levitating coffee cups to everypony. "Are you guys done? Can we go?" She asked tiredly, getting four raspberries in return. She smiled. "Alright. Breakfast first." Twilight returned to the kitchen, shaking her head. Breakfast was the last of the canned food before it spoiled, which everypony gulped down. They said goodbye and Twilight kissed Spike on the forehead before leaving. It was pleasantly warm outside, a bright sunny day with only a few clouds in the sky. Rainbow made a mental note of how many there were so she could water the crops later. The group headed out of Twilight's kingdom, towards the makeshift gate. Rarity closed the gate for them and told them to be careful. Rainbow Dash looked back. Twilight's kingdom had become a safety zone. The crystal was trotter proof. The chicken wire fence surrounding the kingdom and the farm was three ponies high. Sometimes on night watch, Twilight would make it an electric fence with her magic so she could focus on her plans. Food distribution, supplies, ammo. Other times she'd read books on survival strategies. Setting sprained hooves, keeping warm if you get trapped outside, stuff like that. In the morning, the kingdom looked welcoming. The kingdom was creepy at night, the only lights from windows and lanterns spread around frequented areas. Mostly it was dark and unfamiliar hallways, and everypony stuck to the bedroom, the game room, or the kitchen before bedtime. The only games Twilight had were board games. Or, you could read a book alone. Dash preferred being outside, where there was action and she could spread her wings. "So, what sector are we going in?" Rainbow asked when the groups silence got awkward. Twilight shushed her with a wing. The remains of Ponyville were unsettling. Once a noisy place with cluttered streets and friendly ponies, Ponyville had become a ghost town. The heavy silence was only broken by hooves on the weathered roads. Many houses were charred remains or boarded up. Twilight raised her gun and Rainbow held her crossbow tight in her mouth. Fluttershy had her machete. They went to the nearest uncleared area, the houses near Sugarcube Corner. All of the doors were boarded up, but Rainbow Dash could easily buck them in. The first house was empty, a couple boxes and cans turning up in the shelves. Any gems Spike could eat were taken. Fluttershy felt guilty at this blatant stealing, but of course, the world was different now. The second house had one trotter pony in the living room which Rainbow took care of easily. He was slow, being trapped in the house with nothing to eat. There were water bottles and some basic supplies. Rainbow found a hair tie in the bathroom and put her mane up in a pony tail, taking a few extra for the road. The third house was already opened. Twilight gave the wing signal for 'be on alert', sneaking into the building. No trotters on the first floor. Cabinets and drawers were opened and searched through. Strange noises were coming from the upstairs bedroom. Sounded like...snoring. Twilight levitated her gun and started to count down to three with shakes of her hoof. One. Rainbow pushed in front of the two. Two. She put her back legs towards the door, bracing herself. Fluttershy took a step back. Three. Rainbow bucked the door open. It was a bedroom, also empty, but a pony was curled up on the bed. Fluttershy dropped her weapon immediately. The sleeping pony lifted his head, shaking a mop of black hair out. He was a reddish-brown earth pony. He had distinct freckles and yawned, keeping his eyes closed as he moved his hoof to reach for something-what? A gun? Nope, glasses, which he shoved on his face. He rolled over onto his back, stretching. He had a gray unzipped hoodie and a black shirt with red writing under it. He rolled back over onto his side. He was a blank flank. Freckles? Earth pony? Rainbow was reminded of Applejack and put her crossbow away. He looked young. "Good morning, home intruders! Then again, this isn't my home either." He sat up fully, staring at the three mares. Twilight cleared her throat, lowering her gun. "Well, good morning. My name is Twilight Sparkle-" "Yeah, yeah, I know who you guys are! You're the Elements of Harmony! Well, just three of them. Princess Twilight Sparkle, magic, Rainbow Dash, loyalty, and--" The colt couldn't hold a squeal. "Fluttershy, kindness!" Fluttershy blushed. An awkward silence. "Oh, yeah. I'm Ray." He put a hoof to his chest. "Have you been surviving on your own this whole time?" Fluttershy asked. Ray nodded, proudly. "I came here from Chicahoof, on a school field trip. Then all hell broke loose and I've been sneaking around ever since." Twilight exchanged glances with her friends. "Well, you're welcome to stay with us. The more the merrier." "Really? I can? No joke?" He grinned and stood up, bouncing with excitement. Then he remembered his manners. "I uh, thank you, I would love that!" The trot back home was in awkward silence, Rainbow Dash and Twilight bickering quietly. Every so often they would look over their shoulder at Ray, and then resume arguing. Only snippets of what they said could be heard. "He's just another mouth to feed!" "He's young! A year or two older then Sweetie Belle and Applebloom!" "So?" "So? We couldn't of just left him behind! He wouldn't of survived on his own with no weapon!" "Really? 'Cause he looks pretty well-fed to me." Fluttershy trotted next to Ray to make casual conversation. "So, you're really from Chicahoof? I heard its beautiful there." He nodded. "Cold, and there's a lot of violence, but generally its a wonderful city. Born and raised there." "I think you already know where I'm from." She said. "So, how old are you exactly? If you don't mind telling me." "14." Fluttershy squeaked internally. He was four years younger then the rest of them. And two years older then Applebloom or Sweetie Belle. "Don't worry, I'm not about to talk about how much I hate my parents or cry about mares or something." That made Fluttershy laugh. "We're here." Twilight said, stopping at the gates. "They're here." Spike said, looking out the window, pausing their card game. "Hey, they've got a pony with them." "What?" Pinkie gasped. She jumped up onto the table, knocking all the cards over. "Its time for a Ponyville welcome, girls! And Spike!" Pinkie had no party supplies, but she still managed to find a couple balloons stuck in her mane to blow up and hang. Sweetie Belle and Rarity hung up a "Welcome, survivors!" banner. Spike looked out the window, reporting what he saw to Applebloom. "A colt. Earth pony. Hey, he's a blank flank! Looks kinda young, too." Applebloom was hopeful for once. Rarity went to open the gate, greeted by Twilight's sad expression. "What's wrong?" "We got some food, water, and band-aids, and we found this pony." Twilight sighed, falling into step with Rarity. "What's so bad about that?" She asked. "Well...he's so...young. 14. He's so far away from home. Came here on a field trip to Ponyville and never left." "I can't imagine what he's seen and been through." Rarity said quietly, understanding Twilight. Twilight and Rarity quietly filed in, followed by Fluttershy and Rainbow, then finally Ray. "SURPRISE!" Pinkie screamed, the lights turned on, and confetti filled the air. He jumped, accidentally inhaling a few confetti pieces and coughing violently. "Welcome, survivors." Dash read out loud over Ray's near death experience, snorting. "What, you expected there to be dead ponies?" Pinkie shook her head. Twilight smacked her hoof into his back and the murderous confetti pieces fell to the ground. "I planned this in the five minutes you took walking back! I saw the new pony and I thought we should give him a Ponyville welcome because I've never seen him around before and that means he's not from Ponyville and he didn't get a welcoming party!" Pinkie managed to say in one breath. Spike was sweeping up the fallen confetti, and the other ponies were shaking it out of their manes. "Better late then never, I suppose." The ponies enjoyed some of the extra snacks Twilight brought back, played board games, and had a good night. Ray had a good sense of humor, even though he stayed quiet most of the time. Who could blame him? They were practically celebrities. Ray was fine with sleeping on the floor, which made Twilight's life that much easier. Twilight took first watch. She would wake Rarity up in an hour. In the meantime, she was writing new supply plans for the new pony. The age gap was difficult to work through. He was four years younger then Twilight and her friends (excluding Fluttershy, who was 19). Twilight scrunched her muzzle. Ray could be classified as one of the kids and be first priority with meals and such. He was old enough to work and help at the same time, though. He could carry a weapon! The front door carefully swung open and Twilight turned around, finding Ray with his hoof on the doorknob. "Hey." He said quietly, sitting next to Twilight on the steps. "Can't sleep?" She asked. Ray nodded. "Nopony can nowadays." She looked back at her notepad and pencil she was levitating. The quiet wasn't awkward. Normal, really. Ray cleared his throat. "I uh, I come from Chicacolt. You know that. I know its really far away, but I was wondering if we could ever...check there for my family and friends." He swallowed. "I...just want to know what happened to them. Dead or alive. Stop their suffering, if that's how it is." Twilight bit the inside of her cheek, weighing the outcomes. It would allow them to find out what happened to the rest of the world, and possibly find more survivors on the way, but...Ponyville was home. "We'll go after we clear out Ponyville. Okay?" She put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. He nodded. "Yeah, sounds great! Thanks, Princess." He got to his hooves, grinning from ear to ear. "Just Twilight is fine." She smiled back. "Okay, Just Twilight." He laughed to himself, going back inside. Twilight remained smiling for her entire watch. Month Two, Day Three"Clear!" Rainbow Dash said. She lowered her crossbow, sighing with relief. Cleaning out Ponyville was harder then she thought it was. For the most part, the trotters in the streets were gone, but the houses were filled with them. It wasn't fun being in small confined spaces with things that wanted to eat you alive, but it was something to do. "Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, peering into the dark home. The windows were broken. One of them had dried up blood on the bottom glass shards. She frowned. "Yep." Rainbow replied, staring at the two dead corpses. She could recognize one of them as a member of her weather team. Cloud Kicker. "Really sure?" "Really sure." "Really really sure?" "Yes! Really really sure!" Rainbow shouted. "Can you guys loot and hurry up?" She added in a nicer tone. Fluttershy nodded, heading to the kitchen. Looting had escalated into taking everything from the houses. The food, water, and medical supplies were first. Then other things, like pencils or duct tape. All of the furniture was taken out last. A dedicated sector for New Ponyville was already walled off. The remaining houses on the outskirts were going to be used as material to fix the other ones. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called. She was galloping towards her on the path. "You do have wings, you know." Rainbow said, trying not to laugh. "What? Oh yeah." Twilight opened them and closed them. Embarrassed, she tried to explain herself. "Sorry, I forgot today was wall construction! I didn't check my schedule and sent you guys on house looting on accident! I rushed over here as quick as I could. Flying quickly is dangerous, anyways. Trotters can spot you." "True. Do you want me to round everypony up?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Please." "I will." Rainbow started to speed towards the castle, and, remembering what Twilight said, slowed down. Her rainbow trail was a beacon for hungry trotters. "Wake up, Ray!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, jumping on his back. "Wall construction, remember?" Ray groaned, getting to his hooves. Sweetie Belle frowned. Spike put Rays glasses on for him. "Today?" He asked sleepily, blinking a few times. "Eeyup!" Applebloom said, taking her hat, Applejack's old stetson. Sweetie hopped off Ray's back. "We better get goin', or Twilight will have our flanks!" Ray nodded, galloping outside with them. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was looking up at the wall, only half a pony taller then her. She frowned. Rainbow Dash flew by. "Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie called out suddenly, making Rainbow Dash jump in midair. Rainbow stopped. "What?" "How tall is this wall going to be?" Pinkie asked. "I don't know, three ponies high? Why?" Pinkie frowned again. "I keep getting a twitchy tail when I think about it. I think the walls too high! It's gonna fall over!" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Really, Pinkie? The higher it is the more defended we are. I'm sure something else will fall." A roof shingle from the house behind Pinkie broke off and fell to the ground, narrowly missing her head by inches. "See? I was right. You should get to helping with the wall, by the way." Before Pinkie could say anything else, Rainbow Dash flew away. The base for the wall was finished, it was the matter of bringing supplies and building it up. Rainbow, Pinkie, Twilight, and Rarity were standing around waiting for the younger ones. When they finally galloped into view, Twilight sighed in relief. "Where have you ponies been?" Rarity asked, hugging Sweetie Belle. "We were worried sick about you!" "Sorry we were late," Spike wheezed. "But somebody didn't want to get up." All eyes shifted on Ray. "...What? Why are you all looking at me?" He looked back at all of them, lowering his muzzle a little. Guilty. "Because you're like Rainbow! You two could sleep for years if nobody woke you up!" Twilight exclaimed. It took her a minute. "Hey!" Rainbow said. "Shut up, Rainbow Dash." "Yeah? Well-Well you're just an...egghead!" Rainbow Dash replied. Twilight huffed. Rainbow stuck her tongue out at her. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Is it-is it wrong I sleep a lot?" Ray asked, panicking. "Well..." Twilight began. "Come on, we've got work to do!" Rarity spoke up, interrupting Twilight. Everybody agreed, and Ray trotted off with Applebloom to gather the bricks and cement. Ray was staring determinedly at his hooves, an obvious frown on his face. Applebloom sighed. "Hey. Its okay if you like to sleep. Everybody is really stressed out. Working this hard all the time..." She shook her head. "I know, its just...Rarity doesn't like me, does she?" He looked at Applebloom, and she looked away. "No. She doesn't. I can't lie to you." "She doesn't trust me, does she?" Applebloom's frown grew. Ray sighed. "Nopony does." "Well...Sweetie Belle said something..." Applebloom started. "What?" "She said something really mean, and when I called her out on it, she said Rarity told her it." "And? What was it?" Applebloom bit her lip. "Uh...Well...Just forget about it! It isn't important!" "Applebloom." She scrunched her muzzle. Curse that big dumb mouth of hers! "Applebloom! What did she say?" "They said...They said you're a dirty no-good free-loadin' mule!" Applebloom finally said, stopping. Ray was silent, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry, Ray, I tried to censor the meanest parts, but-" She tried to save it, galloping to catch up with him. "You'd think after the world crumbled, ponies started eating each other, and the Princesses died, racism would die, too." He said quietly. Applebloom opened her mouth and closed her mouth. For once, she had nothing to say. Later, as everypony was settling down for bed, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had a hushed argument outside. "Listen, he's too old, its ridiculous!" Sweetie Belle was saying. "And he's...just weird! I don't like him!" "You're ridiculous! The Cutie Mark Crusaders are about helpin' EVERYPONY without a cutie mark! Just because he's a colt or he's older or he's a different species then you doesn't matter! Remember Babs?" "You think we're going to find out cutie marks in this apocalypse? Applebloom, we're blank flanks forever. Get real." "You don't know that! What if-what if this is our destiny? Cutie Mark Crusaders apocalypse survivors! We could get cutie marks with a certain weapon, or with resourcefulness, or-" Sweetie Belle raised a hoof to shush her. "You don't get it, do you?" She said softly. "Get what? You're being ridiculous? I understand that one loud an' clear." Applebloom frowned. "Scootaloo's dead. There is no more Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applebloom!" Before Applebloom could retaliate, Sweetie Belle galloped back in the building, finding Ray standing in the kitchen, a glass of water in his hooves. "Ray-" Sweetie began, taking a step towards him. "Oh, gonna make fun of the mule again, huh?" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Yeah. Applebloom told me." "I wasn't-I swear I didn't-" "Leave me alone." Ray said over her babbling. He turned around quickly and stormed upstairs. Sweetie Belle stood there teary eyed for a moment. After being tormented by Diamond Tiara for being a blank flank, she took out the memory on somepony innocent. She was the bully now. Applebloom came in the kitchen quietly. "Now look what you've done." She whispered. "Just because the world's broken doesn't mean we need to be broken." Sweetie sighed, levitating the broken glass pieces to the trash. "Get the mop." Applebloom turned away, frowning. Sweetie Belle hesitated. "Applebloom! I'll apologize to him in the morning. He can be in the CMC!" "And?" "And Rarity was...wrong about him." "Thank you, Sweetie Belle! This'll make him so happy! Heck, this'll make me so happy!" She threw her hooves over Sweetie Belle's shoulders, hugging her tightly. "Applebloom...can't...breathe." Sweetie gasped. "Oh. Sorry." Applebloom put her down. They both looked at each other for a moment. "First one to mop up the mess wins." Applebloom said quickly. They ran down the hallway, Applebloom playfully nudging Sweetie out of the way, both of them laughing and having fun without a care in the world for once. Month Two, Day SeventeenTwo weeks had passed since Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had let Ray into the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and life had become almost...normal. The three friends were sitting on top of the recently completed wall, gazing at the trotters wandering around aimlessly. "Look at that one, his eyeball fell out of his socket. I'm gonna call him...One Eye Guy. Or Pirate Pete." Ray said, watching the brown haired earth pony rub his yellowed fur on the side of the fence outside of the wall. The amount of precautions Twilight took was almost laughable, but Ray understood where she came from. "One Eye Guy has a nice ring to it." Sweetie Belle said. "Ooh, that ones got a missing wing! She's a lively one." The undead mare was trying to fly over the fence uselessly. "I'll call her...Spunky Sally." Applebloom wasn't very good at their game. Ray laughed at that. "Spunky Sally? Really?" Sweetie Belle started giggling. "What? Its nice." It matched the red and yellow pegasus in a way. "Alright, Bloom, I'll let it slide. Who's gonna name the one without any legs?" A moment of silence, everypony lost in thought. "I got it! Lucky." Sweetie Belle exclaimed suddenly, making everypony jump. "Good one!" "Hi Lucky." Applebloom said. Lucky gurgled in response, dragging his top half to the fence. "What are you three doing?" A voice asked from behind them. Twilight had been patrolling the walls and could only assume the trio was up to no good. "Naming trotters. It's fun." Sweetie Belle spoke up. "Naming them? Am I hearing you right?" "Yep! We've got Lucky, that's the one who's got no legs, and then there's-" Ray started, only to get interrupted by Twilight. "You know these aren't...ponies, right?" Twilight frowned. "Oh, yeah. They're like bugs or, or parasites, and we gotta squash 'em!" Applebloom said with a smile, making Twilight frown even more. "They used to be ponies, and now they're suffering. We have to put them out of their misery." Sweetie Belle said quietly. "But they eat other ponies." Ray reminded her. "I know, but...One Eye Guy was the coffee shop owner, remember? Applebloom is right, we gotta squash them." She sighed. Twilight looked at the ground, mouth open but no words coming out. "Sorry, Twilight." Ray said quickly. "It's fine...I just want to make sure you guys understood..." Twilight's voice trailed off. She flew away, back to the camp. Her head spun with what she just witnessed. Naming...naming trotters...It was sick, but they would stop now, right? Maybe they were just bored? Twilight changed directions, looking for a certain white coat and purple mane. "Good morning, Rarity!" Twilight called, landing suddenly a few feet in front of Rarity. Rarity jumped. "Oh, Twilight! You startled me." The mare rearranged her curls, looking up from her watering can. Rarity had taken it upon herself to add flowers around town and arrange house furniture, insisting just because the world was over didn't mean they had to live in filth. Fluttershy usually helped her with the flowers, but as Ponyville's outlying buildings weren't completely safe, she had a lot of work to do. "Sorry, I just thought of something. You know how we haven't cleared out the schoolhouse yet?" Rarity nodded, listening with a raised eyebrow. "We should do that today. With the CMC." "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Ray? Hmph. I'll think about it." She returned to the posies she was watering, frowning slightly. "They need to get out. See the world as it really is. For Celestia's sake, they're up there on the wall naming trotters!" She dropped her watering can. "Naming...naming them?" She said, voice barely above a whisper. Twilight nodded, watching as Rarity composed herself. "I'll...I'll go. Are we going right now?" "After lunch. I'll tell the others." Twilight started to trot back to her castle, but paused. "Rarity." "What?" "You should bring Sweetie Belle a gun. She needs to practice with the real things." Rarity nodded. "And you should give Ray a knife or something." "What?" "I said, you should give Ray a weapon as well. Did I mumble or something?" "No, I just..." Twilight looked at her, frowning. "I understand. I do the same thing to Sweetie Belle. But we can't shield them from the evils of this world forever, like you said, they don't understand the situation we're in right now." "And they won't know until they see for themselves, right. I might have an extra knife. Might as well give Applebloom something, too." "Besides, I made them all matching saddlebags! With sheaths and holsters on one side. I put the Cutie Mark Crusaders patch on the sides instead of cutie marks." Rarity said excitedly. Twilight started laughing. Rarity pouted. "What? Its a solid idea!" "You really made them all saddlebags?" She giggled. "Of course! I was thinking about how we need more hooves for runs, and then I thought of the fillies, and of course they need bags to carry stuff! And they need places to hold weapons, too, so-" "Where did you get the time for that?" "I haven't slept properly for a week. Well, nopony has slept properly for a while. Thought I should be productive instead." Rarity frowned. "Do you not like them?" "No, I do. Really, I do. I think its a wonderful and generous thing you did, making those kids saddlebags. They'll go nuts for them. Thank you." She smiled, putting a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. Rarity smiled back. "I gotta go help with lunch, I'll see you after. Tell the CMC, will you?" Twilight said, opening her wings. "Alright. Bye, Twilight!" Rarity waved as Twilight flew up. "Wait, Rarity." Rarity huffed and looked up from her watering can. "What?" Twilight blew a raspberry and flew off, laughing. Rarity smiled to herself. "89 buckets of oats on the wall, 89 buckets of oats!" Sweetie Belle practically screamed, voice carrying throughout the empty town. You know, maybe naming trotters isn't that bad after all, Twilight thought. She was walking in the middle of the group. Applebloom, Ray, and Sweetie Belle were leading, Rarity bringing up the rear. "Take one down, pass it down," Applebloom sang out, smiling and trying not to laugh. "88 buckets of oats on the wall!" Ray yelled with equal enthusiasm. "Sweetie Belle, I think that's enough singing." Rarity snapped. "But...okay." Sweetie Belle hummed the song instead, earning a fit of giggling from the other two. 20 buckets later, the group had arrived at the schoolhouse. "Oh thank god." Twilight mumbled quietly. There were no visible trotters on the outside. The windows were boarded up, door blocked with a school chair. The remains of a filly corpse laid under the sign. Applebloom gulped and kept walking with the group. "Rarity and I are going to check the building. You guys stay close. We'll be out soon." Twilight said. The three nodded and went towards the playground. "No way, the seesaws intact. Dibs!" Ray called, running to the seat without blood all over it. "Dibs!" Applebloom yelled before Sweetie Belle could react. "I call the swings, then." Sweetie Belle said, trotting away with her nose in the air. She passed an upturned park bench and another corpse as she rounded the corner. The wind and the creaking seesaw and hushed voices were the only thing Sweetie could hear. "I'm not afraid of anything." She whispered to nopony in particular. The sound of gunshots and trotters came from the school building. Sweetie Belle stopped, looking at the building. She frowned. What if Ms. Cheerilie was in there? Or Twist? Or Pipsqueak? Or...or... A trotter groaned in the distance, and Sweetie Belle swung around, levitating her gun. One of the swings was broken, and the remaining one was occupied by a very familiar pink filly. She was stuck in the swing, chains rattling uselessly as she tried to get Sweetie. The one thing keeping her stuck on the swing was gravity. She swung back and forth, growling, hooves unable to touch the ground. It would of been kind of funny if it wasn't an undead Diamond Tiara. Sweetie Belle's legs gave out and she sat down on the grass, mouth open. The gun fell to the ground as well. "No..." She whimpered. She hated--no, used to hate Diamond Tiara for what she did to her and her friends, but this fate was too cruel. There was some good in Diamond Tiara, of course. Good ponies do bad things, right? Diamond Tiara snarled, leaning forward, her front hooves finally hitting the ground. Sweetie Belle shakily levitated the gun. Appleblooms words rang out in her ears. They're like parasites, and we have to squash them. No more suffering. "I'm sorry, Diamond Tiara." Sweetie Belle whispered. Diamond Tiara slowly advanced forward, legs sliding out of the swing. There was a bite on her shoulder, just like Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle sniffled. "I'm sorry! Okay?" Diamond Tiara's cutie mark and tiara were both gone. "Look, you're a blank flank forever now. Just like me." She attempted a smile, tears running down her cheeks as Diamond Tiara freed herself from the swing and stumbled towards Sweetie, growling again. Sweetie Belle raised the gun. "I forgive you." She closed her eyes, pulling the trigger. Diamond Tiara's now lifeless body fell to ground, blood splattering Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle started sobbing as Ray and Applebloom sprinted into view, weapons out. "Sweetie Belle, you alright?" Ray asked. Sweetie Belle nodded, looking at her hooves. Applebloom ran to her side. "I can't believe it...Did she bite you?" Applebloom asked, staring at Diamond Tiara's body in disbelief. Sweetie Belle shook her head, tears flying off her face. Applebloom hugged Sweetie Belle, starting to tear up. Sweetie Belle sobbed into her best friend's shoulder. "So...uh...what happened?" Ray asked, awkwardly sitting down next to them. "She was stuck in the swings. I got her, though. I squashed her." Sweetie Belle explained. Rarity and Twilight ran out of the building towards the kids. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity cried at the sight of her sister and Diamond Tiara's body. "Did you...shoot her?" She asked in disbelief. "Its okay Rarity, she was a trotter." Sweetie Belle said softly. Twilight sat down. "That explains why Filthy Rich hung himself in the schoolhouse." Twilight said quietly. "The note he left was too bloody to read." Rarity sat down as well, levitating a first aid kit and cleaning Sweetie Belle up. The group was silent. Ray cleared his throat. "While I was on the seesaw with Applebloom, I found this." He opened his bag and took out a bloody tiara. "I'm...guessing its hers." Twilight nodded, levitating it back on Diamond Tiara's mane. Applebloom closed her eyes. "You think the blood on the seesaw was hers?" Applebloom asked. "Maybe." "I think we should bury them here." Sweetie Belle said suddenly. "Diamond Tiara and her dad." The ponies had a quick lunch and started digging the graves. They buried the two filly corpses in the yard as well, plus the trotters in the schoolhouse. None of them were students or teachers, but Twilight recognized one of them as the Quills and Sofas owner. As the group made their way home, Sweetie Belle looked back at the graves. Diamond Tiara's tiara, perched on her makeshift gravestone, glinted in the fading sunlight. Filthy Riches tie flapped in the breeze, as if it were waving goodbye. "You're welcome." Sweetie Belle said quietly, imagining Diamond Tiara and her father standing there, smiling and waving goodbye. It made her feel better. "Sweetie Belle?" Rarity called, breaking her from her thoughts. "I'm coming!" Sweetie Belle said, galloping towards their group. She took one final look over her shoulder and watched Diamond Tiara hug her father before they faded away.
Day One - A PrologueThe infected and dead rising again were thought to be a prank when it showed up in newspapers across Equestria. It was March 31st. Bad timing. Twilight gathered her friends in her new kingdom anyways to discuss the facts about these infected ponies. "Alright. Princess Celestia has hired many very intelligent and well-respected scientists to research on this infection. The results are...disturbing." Twilight shuffled the papers, cleared her throat, and began to read. "Dear Princess Celestia, We've come to a conclusion. The dead are rising again. After being infected, a pony will contract a fever that will kill them. After dying, the pony will come back to life. Their eyes are gray and their cutie mark fades away, which has led to two possible conclusions. These ponies are either an attack from Tirek, as these symptoms were seen in the ponies who's magic was taken away. Or, this is a curse set by the highest god herself to punish us. These ponies crave magical beings, and also non-magical beings. They want to feast. We've lost a scientist or two to accidental unlocked doors, where a subject came in and devoured them. Then, they turned into one of them too. The infected have a good nose, and respond to noise and light. Any loud noises or bright lights will attract them. They move at a very slow pace, so one of our head scientists has affectionately dubbed them 'trotters', which sounds fitting if you ask me. The longer a trotter subject goes without food, the slower and malnourished they become. They do not starve to death. Just...suffer. They seem to naturally form herds to wander the world and find food. The only successful way to kill one is shooting them in the head and breaking through the brain stem. We learned that the hard way. They eat lead like its for dinner unless you hit them in the brain. Many simple ponies will not realize these trotters are a threat, thinking they are sick ponies wandering the streets. A national crisis announcement should fix that, if you can, Princess. For now, arm yourself and prepare troops to mow them down. Also, most importantly, you don't-" Twilight stopped reading, as the writing ended there and the parchment was stained with blood. "Don't what?" Applejack asked. "We don't know. The lab was found overrun by these...trotters." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something sarcastic when an ear splitting shriek sounded from outside. Twilight rushed to the window, met with a scene of horror. Ponies were running from slow-moving, grotesque ponies, with gray eyes, mouths stained with blood, and no cutie marks. They flooded the streets, cornering some ponies and devouring them. Other ponies were fighting back with sticks and rocks, anything they could find on the ground. Two blocks away a house was on fire, attracting the trotters towards it. "Oh, no..." Twilight could only say, watching Ponyville crumble before her eyes.
Month One, Day TwentyRainbow Dash got up at the crack of dawn. For the past week, she'd been reminding herself to get a mane-cut from somepony, but she always forgot until she was lying down for bed. It was all over the place. Stretching her legs and wings, she slid down the ladder to get breakfast, careful not to wake Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie and Rarity in the bunk below her. Twilight was already awake, coffee made and ready on the kitchen table. Five mugs. Rainbow's heart stopped for a minute. Applejack's missing cup still bothered her, even though it had been long since she was gone. About two weeks. She was the one who had to shoot her, too. Applejack got bit, and Applebloom couldn't bring herself to finish off her own sister. "Morning." Twilight said quietly, shaking Rainbow from her thoughts. "Mornin'. We going on a run today?" Dash asked, sitting next to Twilight at the kitchen table. Twilight's gun was taken apart and spread around the table. Everypony needs a manecut, Rainbow Dash observed. Twilight had resorted to putting her hair in a bun, bangs still long and in her face. Rarity's curls were, well, not really curls, having grown out and just becoming wavy, and Pinkie's mane was too frizzy to even bother with. Fluttershy just tucked her bangs behind her ears. Rainbow grabbed her coffee. "Me, you, and Fluttershy are going this time." Twilight responded, going back to counting her bullets. "I'm sure we'll be fine if we run into a few trotters. Wake Fluttershy up." Rainbow took a sip and returned to the bedroom. Fluttershy was already sitting up, rubbing her eyes with her hooves. Rainbow Dash smiled at her and she smiled back. "Morning, beautiful." Rainbow said casually, earning a blush from Fluttershy. "Ooooo." Pinkie chided, and Rainbow blew a raspberry at her. Pinkie giggle-snorted and returned it. Fluttershy joined in too. All three ponies were in a fierce raspberry battle. They got louder and louder as time went on. "Can you three fillies shut up?" Rarity whispered angrily, getting up and stretching. Spike was still asleep in his and Twilight's bunk. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were snoring in theirs. Fluttershy blew one last raspberry, which Rarity blew right back. The four mares started giggling uncontrollably. Twilight came into the room, levitating coffee cups to everypony. "Are you guys done? Can we go?" She asked tiredly, getting four raspberries in return. She smiled. "Alright. Breakfast first." Twilight returned to the kitchen, shaking her head. Breakfast was the last of the canned food before it spoiled, which everypony gulped down. They said goodbye and Twilight kissed Spike on the forehead before leaving. It was pleasantly warm outside, a bright sunny day with only a few clouds in the sky. Rainbow made a mental note of how many there were so she could water the crops later. The group headed out of Twilight's kingdom, towards the makeshift gate. Rarity closed the gate for them and told them to be careful. Rainbow Dash looked back. Twilight's kingdom had become a safety zone. The crystal was trotter proof. The chicken wire fence surrounding the kingdom and the farm was three ponies high. Sometimes on night watch, Twilight would make it an electric fence with her magic so she could focus on her plans. Food distribution, supplies, ammo. Other times she'd read books on survival strategies. Setting sprained hooves, keeping warm if you get trapped outside, stuff like that. In the morning, the kingdom looked welcoming. The kingdom was creepy at night, the only lights from windows and lanterns spread around frequented areas. Mostly it was dark and unfamiliar hallways, and everypony stuck to the bedroom, the game room, or the kitchen before bedtime. The only games Twilight had were board games. Or, you could read a book alone. Dash preferred being outside, where there was action and she could spread her wings. "So, what sector are we going in?" Rainbow asked when the groups silence got awkward. Twilight shushed her with a wing. The remains of Ponyville were unsettling. Once a noisy place with cluttered streets and friendly ponies, Ponyville had become a ghost town. The heavy silence was only broken by hooves on the weathered roads. Many houses were charred remains or boarded up. Twilight raised her gun and Rainbow held her crossbow tight in her mouth. Fluttershy had her machete. They went to the nearest uncleared area, the houses near Sugarcube Corner. All of the doors were boarded up, but Rainbow Dash could easily buck them in. The first house was empty, a couple boxes and cans turning up in the shelves. Any gems Spike could eat were taken. Fluttershy felt guilty at this blatant stealing, but of course, the world was different now. The second house had one trotter pony in the living room which Rainbow took care of easily. He was slow, being trapped in the house with nothing to eat. There were water bottles and some basic supplies. Rainbow found a hair tie in the bathroom and put her mane up in a pony tail, taking a few extra for the road. The third house was already opened. Twilight gave the wing signal for 'be on alert', sneaking into the building. No trotters on the first floor. Cabinets and drawers were opened and searched through. Strange noises were coming from the upstairs bedroom. Sounded like...snoring. Twilight levitated her gun and started to count down to three with shakes of her hoof. One. Rainbow pushed in front of the two. Two. She put her back legs towards the door, bracing herself. Fluttershy took a step back. Three. Rainbow bucked the door open. It was a bedroom, also empty, but a pony was curled up on the bed. Fluttershy dropped her weapon immediately. The sleeping pony lifted his head, shaking a mop of black hair out. He was a reddish-brown earth pony. He had distinct freckles and yawned, keeping his eyes closed as he moved his hoof to reach for something-what? A gun? Nope, glasses, which he shoved on his face. He rolled over onto his back, stretching. He had a gray unzipped hoodie and a black shirt with red writing under it. He rolled back over onto his side. He was a blank flank. Freckles? Earth pony? Rainbow was reminded of Applejack and put her crossbow away. He looked young. "Good morning, home intruders! Then again, this isn't my home either." He sat up fully, staring at the three mares. Twilight cleared her throat, lowering her gun. "Well, good morning. My name is Twilight Sparkle-" "Yeah, yeah, I know who you guys are! You're the Elements of Harmony! Well, just three of them. Princess Twilight Sparkle, magic, Rainbow Dash, loyalty, and--" The colt couldn't hold a squeal. "Fluttershy, kindness!" Fluttershy blushed. An awkward silence. "Oh, yeah. I'm Ray." He put a hoof to his chest. "Have you been surviving on your own this whole time?" Fluttershy asked. Ray nodded, proudly. "I came here from Chicahoof, on a school field trip. Then all hell broke loose and I've been sneaking around ever since." Twilight exchanged glances with her friends. "Well, you're welcome to stay with us. The more the merrier." "Really? I can? No joke?" He grinned and stood up, bouncing with excitement. Then he remembered his manners. "I uh, thank you, I would love that!" The trot back home was in awkward silence, Rainbow Dash and Twilight bickering quietly. Every so often they would look over their shoulder at Ray, and then resume arguing. Only snippets of what they said could be heard. "He's just another mouth to feed!" "He's young! A year or two older then Sweetie Belle and Applebloom!" "So?" "So? We couldn't of just left him behind! He wouldn't of survived on his own with no weapon!" "Really? 'Cause he looks pretty well-fed to me." Fluttershy trotted next to Ray to make casual conversation. "So, you're really from Chicahoof? I heard its beautiful there." He nodded. "Cold, and there's a lot of violence, but generally its a wonderful city. Born and raised there." "I think you already know where I'm from." She said. "So, how old are you exactly? If you don't mind telling me." "14." Fluttershy squeaked internally. He was four years younger then the rest of them. And two years older then Applebloom or Sweetie Belle. "Don't worry, I'm not about to talk about how much I hate my parents or cry about mares or something." That made Fluttershy laugh. "We're here." Twilight said, stopping at the gates. "They're here." Spike said, looking out the window, pausing their card game. "Hey, they've got a pony with them." "What?" Pinkie gasped. She jumped up onto the table, knocking all the cards over. "Its time for a Ponyville welcome, girls! And Spike!" Pinkie had no party supplies, but she still managed to find a couple balloons stuck in her mane to blow up and hang. Sweetie Belle and Rarity hung up a "Welcome, survivors!" banner. Spike looked out the window, reporting what he saw to Applebloom. "A colt. Earth pony. Hey, he's a blank flank! Looks kinda young, too." Applebloom was hopeful for once. Rarity went to open the gate, greeted by Twilight's sad expression. "What's wrong?" "We got some food, water, and band-aids, and we found this pony." Twilight sighed, falling into step with Rarity. "What's so bad about that?" She asked. "Well...he's so...young. 14. He's so far away from home. Came here on a field trip to Ponyville and never left." "I can't imagine what he's seen and been through." Rarity said quietly, understanding Twilight. Twilight and Rarity quietly filed in, followed by Fluttershy and Rainbow, then finally Ray. "SURPRISE!" Pinkie screamed, the lights turned on, and confetti filled the air. He jumped, accidentally inhaling a few confetti pieces and coughing violently. "Welcome, survivors." Dash read out loud over Ray's near death experience, snorting. "What, you expected there to be dead ponies?" Pinkie shook her head. Twilight smacked her hoof into his back and the murderous confetti pieces fell to the ground. "I planned this in the five minutes you took walking back! I saw the new pony and I thought we should give him a Ponyville welcome because I've never seen him around before and that means he's not from Ponyville and he didn't get a welcoming party!" Pinkie managed to say in one breath. Spike was sweeping up the fallen confetti, and the other ponies were shaking it out of their manes. "Better late then never, I suppose." The ponies enjoyed some of the extra snacks Twilight brought back, played board games, and had a good night. Ray had a good sense of humor, even though he stayed quiet most of the time. Who could blame him? They were practically celebrities. Ray was fine with sleeping on the floor, which made Twilight's life that much easier. Twilight took first watch. She would wake Rarity up in an hour. In the meantime, she was writing new supply plans for the new pony. The age gap was difficult to work through. He was four years younger then Twilight and her friends (excluding Fluttershy, who was 19). Twilight scrunched her muzzle. Ray could be classified as one of the kids and be first priority with meals and such. He was old enough to work and help at the same time, though. He could carry a weapon! The front door carefully swung open and Twilight turned around, finding Ray with his hoof on the doorknob. "Hey." He said quietly, sitting next to Twilight on the steps. "Can't sleep?" She asked. Ray nodded. "Nopony can nowadays." She looked back at her notepad and pencil she was levitating. The quiet wasn't awkward. Normal, really. Ray cleared his throat. "I uh, I come from Chicacolt. You know that. I know its really far away, but I was wondering if we could ever...check there for my family and friends." He swallowed. "I...just want to know what happened to them. Dead or alive. Stop their suffering, if that's how it is." Twilight bit the inside of her cheek, weighing the outcomes. It would allow them to find out what happened to the rest of the world, and possibly find more survivors on the way, but...Ponyville was home. "We'll go after we clear out Ponyville. Okay?" She put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. He nodded. "Yeah, sounds great! Thanks, Princess." He got to his hooves, grinning from ear to ear. "Just Twilight is fine." She smiled back. "Okay, Just Twilight." He laughed to himself, going back inside. Twilight remained smiling for her entire watch.
Month Two, Day Three"Clear!" Rainbow Dash said. She lowered her crossbow, sighing with relief. Cleaning out Ponyville was harder then she thought it was. For the most part, the trotters in the streets were gone, but the houses were filled with them. It wasn't fun being in small confined spaces with things that wanted to eat you alive, but it was something to do. "Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, peering into the dark home. The windows were broken. One of them had dried up blood on the bottom glass shards. She frowned. "Yep." Rainbow replied, staring at the two dead corpses. She could recognize one of them as a member of her weather team. Cloud Kicker. "Really sure?" "Really sure." "Really really sure?" "Yes! Really really sure!" Rainbow shouted. "Can you guys loot and hurry up?" She added in a nicer tone. Fluttershy nodded, heading to the kitchen. Looting had escalated into taking everything from the houses. The food, water, and medical supplies were first. Then other things, like pencils or duct tape. All of the furniture was taken out last. A dedicated sector for New Ponyville was already walled off. The remaining houses on the outskirts were going to be used as material to fix the other ones. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called. She was galloping towards her on the path. "You do have wings, you know." Rainbow said, trying not to laugh. "What? Oh yeah." Twilight opened them and closed them. Embarrassed, she tried to explain herself. "Sorry, I forgot today was wall construction! I didn't check my schedule and sent you guys on house looting on accident! I rushed over here as quick as I could. Flying quickly is dangerous, anyways. Trotters can spot you." "True. Do you want me to round everypony up?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Please." "I will." Rainbow started to speed towards the castle, and, remembering what Twilight said, slowed down. Her rainbow trail was a beacon for hungry trotters. "Wake up, Ray!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, jumping on his back. "Wall construction, remember?" Ray groaned, getting to his hooves. Sweetie Belle frowned. Spike put Rays glasses on for him. "Today?" He asked sleepily, blinking a few times. "Eeyup!" Applebloom said, taking her hat, Applejack's old stetson. Sweetie hopped off Ray's back. "We better get goin', or Twilight will have our flanks!" Ray nodded, galloping outside with them. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was looking up at the wall, only half a pony taller then her. She frowned. Rainbow Dash flew by. "Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie called out suddenly, making Rainbow Dash jump in midair. Rainbow stopped. "What?" "How tall is this wall going to be?" Pinkie asked. "I don't know, three ponies high? Why?" Pinkie frowned again. "I keep getting a twitchy tail when I think about it. I think the walls too high! It's gonna fall over!" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Really, Pinkie? The higher it is the more defended we are. I'm sure something else will fall." A roof shingle from the house behind Pinkie broke off and fell to the ground, narrowly missing her head by inches. "See? I was right. You should get to helping with the wall, by the way." Before Pinkie could say anything else, Rainbow Dash flew away. The base for the wall was finished, it was the matter of bringing supplies and building it up. Rainbow, Pinkie, Twilight, and Rarity were standing around waiting for the younger ones. When they finally galloped into view, Twilight sighed in relief. "Where have you ponies been?" Rarity asked, hugging Sweetie Belle. "We were worried sick about you!" "Sorry we were late," Spike wheezed. "But somebody didn't want to get up." All eyes shifted on Ray. "...What? Why are you all looking at me?" He looked back at all of them, lowering his muzzle a little. Guilty. "Because you're like Rainbow! You two could sleep for years if nobody woke you up!" Twilight exclaimed. It took her a minute. "Hey!" Rainbow said. "Shut up, Rainbow Dash." "Yeah? Well-Well you're just an...egghead!" Rainbow Dash replied. Twilight huffed. Rainbow stuck her tongue out at her. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Is it-is it wrong I sleep a lot?" Ray asked, panicking. "Well..." Twilight began. "Come on, we've got work to do!" Rarity spoke up, interrupting Twilight. Everybody agreed, and Ray trotted off with Applebloom to gather the bricks and cement. Ray was staring determinedly at his hooves, an obvious frown on his face. Applebloom sighed. "Hey. Its okay if you like to sleep. Everybody is really stressed out. Working this hard all the time..." She shook her head. "I know, its just...Rarity doesn't like me, does she?" He looked at Applebloom, and she looked away. "No. She doesn't. I can't lie to you." "She doesn't trust me, does she?" Applebloom's frown grew. Ray sighed. "Nopony does." "Well...Sweetie Belle said something..." Applebloom started. "What?" "She said something really mean, and when I called her out on it, she said Rarity told her it." "And? What was it?" Applebloom bit her lip. "Uh...Well...Just forget about it! It isn't important!" "Applebloom." She scrunched her muzzle. Curse that big dumb mouth of hers! "Applebloom! What did she say?" "They said...They said you're a dirty no-good free-loadin' mule!" Applebloom finally said, stopping. Ray was silent, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry, Ray, I tried to censor the meanest parts, but-" She tried to save it, galloping to catch up with him. "You'd think after the world crumbled, ponies started eating each other, and the Princesses died, racism would die, too." He said quietly. Applebloom opened her mouth and closed her mouth. For once, she had nothing to say. Later, as everypony was settling down for bed, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had a hushed argument outside. "Listen, he's too old, its ridiculous!" Sweetie Belle was saying. "And he's...just weird! I don't like him!" "You're ridiculous! The Cutie Mark Crusaders are about helpin' EVERYPONY without a cutie mark! Just because he's a colt or he's older or he's a different species then you doesn't matter! Remember Babs?" "You think we're going to find out cutie marks in this apocalypse? Applebloom, we're blank flanks forever. Get real." "You don't know that! What if-what if this is our destiny? Cutie Mark Crusaders apocalypse survivors! We could get cutie marks with a certain weapon, or with resourcefulness, or-" Sweetie Belle raised a hoof to shush her. "You don't get it, do you?" She said softly. "Get what? You're being ridiculous? I understand that one loud an' clear." Applebloom frowned. "Scootaloo's dead. There is no more Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applebloom!" Before Applebloom could retaliate, Sweetie Belle galloped back in the building, finding Ray standing in the kitchen, a glass of water in his hooves. "Ray-" Sweetie began, taking a step towards him. "Oh, gonna make fun of the mule again, huh?" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Yeah. Applebloom told me." "I wasn't-I swear I didn't-" "Leave me alone." Ray said over her babbling. He turned around quickly and stormed upstairs. Sweetie Belle stood there teary eyed for a moment. After being tormented by Diamond Tiara for being a blank flank, she took out the memory on somepony innocent. She was the bully now. Applebloom came in the kitchen quietly. "Now look what you've done." She whispered. "Just because the world's broken doesn't mean we need to be broken." Sweetie sighed, levitating the broken glass pieces to the trash. "Get the mop." Applebloom turned away, frowning. Sweetie Belle hesitated. "Applebloom! I'll apologize to him in the morning. He can be in the CMC!" "And?" "And Rarity was...wrong about him." "Thank you, Sweetie Belle! This'll make him so happy! Heck, this'll make me so happy!" She threw her hooves over Sweetie Belle's shoulders, hugging her tightly. "Applebloom...can't...breathe." Sweetie gasped. "Oh. Sorry." Applebloom put her down. They both looked at each other for a moment. "First one to mop up the mess wins." Applebloom said quickly. They ran down the hallway, Applebloom playfully nudging Sweetie out of the way, both of them laughing and having fun without a care in the world for once.
Month Two, Day SeventeenTwo weeks had passed since Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had let Ray into the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and life had become almost...normal. The three friends were sitting on top of the recently completed wall, gazing at the trotters wandering around aimlessly. "Look at that one, his eyeball fell out of his socket. I'm gonna call him...One Eye Guy. Or Pirate Pete." Ray said, watching the brown haired earth pony rub his yellowed fur on the side of the fence outside of the wall. The amount of precautions Twilight took was almost laughable, but Ray understood where she came from. "One Eye Guy has a nice ring to it." Sweetie Belle said. "Ooh, that ones got a missing wing! She's a lively one." The undead mare was trying to fly over the fence uselessly. "I'll call her...Spunky Sally." Applebloom wasn't very good at their game. Ray laughed at that. "Spunky Sally? Really?" Sweetie Belle started giggling. "What? Its nice." It matched the red and yellow pegasus in a way. "Alright, Bloom, I'll let it slide. Who's gonna name the one without any legs?" A moment of silence, everypony lost in thought. "I got it! Lucky." Sweetie Belle exclaimed suddenly, making everypony jump. "Good one!" "Hi Lucky." Applebloom said. Lucky gurgled in response, dragging his top half to the fence. "What are you three doing?" A voice asked from behind them. Twilight had been patrolling the walls and could only assume the trio was up to no good. "Naming trotters. It's fun." Sweetie Belle spoke up. "Naming them? Am I hearing you right?" "Yep! We've got Lucky, that's the one who's got no legs, and then there's-" Ray started, only to get interrupted by Twilight. "You know these aren't...ponies, right?" Twilight frowned. "Oh, yeah. They're like bugs or, or parasites, and we gotta squash 'em!" Applebloom said with a smile, making Twilight frown even more. "They used to be ponies, and now they're suffering. We have to put them out of their misery." Sweetie Belle said quietly. "But they eat other ponies." Ray reminded her. "I know, but...One Eye Guy was the coffee shop owner, remember? Applebloom is right, we gotta squash them." She sighed. Twilight looked at the ground, mouth open but no words coming out. "Sorry, Twilight." Ray said quickly. "It's fine...I just want to make sure you guys understood..." Twilight's voice trailed off. She flew away, back to the camp. Her head spun with what she just witnessed. Naming...naming trotters...It was sick, but they would stop now, right? Maybe they were just bored? Twilight changed directions, looking for a certain white coat and purple mane. "Good morning, Rarity!" Twilight called, landing suddenly a few feet in front of Rarity. Rarity jumped. "Oh, Twilight! You startled me." The mare rearranged her curls, looking up from her watering can. Rarity had taken it upon herself to add flowers around town and arrange house furniture, insisting just because the world was over didn't mean they had to live in filth. Fluttershy usually helped her with the flowers, but as Ponyville's outlying buildings weren't completely safe, she had a lot of work to do. "Sorry, I just thought of something. You know how we haven't cleared out the schoolhouse yet?" Rarity nodded, listening with a raised eyebrow. "We should do that today. With the CMC." "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Ray? Hmph. I'll think about it." She returned to the posies she was watering, frowning slightly. "They need to get out. See the world as it really is. For Celestia's sake, they're up there on the wall naming trotters!" She dropped her watering can. "Naming...naming them?" She said, voice barely above a whisper. Twilight nodded, watching as Rarity composed herself. "I'll...I'll go. Are we going right now?" "After lunch. I'll tell the others." Twilight started to trot back to her castle, but paused. "Rarity." "What?" "You should bring Sweetie Belle a gun. She needs to practice with the real things." Rarity nodded. "And you should give Ray a knife or something." "What?" "I said, you should give Ray a weapon as well. Did I mumble or something?" "No, I just..." Twilight looked at her, frowning. "I understand. I do the same thing to Sweetie Belle. But we can't shield them from the evils of this world forever, like you said, they don't understand the situation we're in right now." "And they won't know until they see for themselves, right. I might have an extra knife. Might as well give Applebloom something, too." "Besides, I made them all matching saddlebags! With sheaths and holsters on one side. I put the Cutie Mark Crusaders patch on the sides instead of cutie marks." Rarity said excitedly. Twilight started laughing. Rarity pouted. "What? Its a solid idea!" "You really made them all saddlebags?" She giggled. "Of course! I was thinking about how we need more hooves for runs, and then I thought of the fillies, and of course they need bags to carry stuff! And they need places to hold weapons, too, so-" "Where did you get the time for that?" "I haven't slept properly for a week. Well, nopony has slept properly for a while. Thought I should be productive instead." Rarity frowned. "Do you not like them?" "No, I do. Really, I do. I think its a wonderful and generous thing you did, making those kids saddlebags. They'll go nuts for them. Thank you." She smiled, putting a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. Rarity smiled back. "I gotta go help with lunch, I'll see you after. Tell the CMC, will you?" Twilight said, opening her wings. "Alright. Bye, Twilight!" Rarity waved as Twilight flew up. "Wait, Rarity." Rarity huffed and looked up from her watering can. "What?" Twilight blew a raspberry and flew off, laughing. Rarity smiled to herself. "89 buckets of oats on the wall, 89 buckets of oats!" Sweetie Belle practically screamed, voice carrying throughout the empty town. You know, maybe naming trotters isn't that bad after all, Twilight thought. She was walking in the middle of the group. Applebloom, Ray, and Sweetie Belle were leading, Rarity bringing up the rear. "Take one down, pass it down," Applebloom sang out, smiling and trying not to laugh. "88 buckets of oats on the wall!" Ray yelled with equal enthusiasm. "Sweetie Belle, I think that's enough singing." Rarity snapped. "But...okay." Sweetie Belle hummed the song instead, earning a fit of giggling from the other two. 20 buckets later, the group had arrived at the schoolhouse. "Oh thank god." Twilight mumbled quietly. There were no visible trotters on the outside. The windows were boarded up, door blocked with a school chair. The remains of a filly corpse laid under the sign. Applebloom gulped and kept walking with the group. "Rarity and I are going to check the building. You guys stay close. We'll be out soon." Twilight said. The three nodded and went towards the playground. "No way, the seesaws intact. Dibs!" Ray called, running to the seat without blood all over it. "Dibs!" Applebloom yelled before Sweetie Belle could react. "I call the swings, then." Sweetie Belle said, trotting away with her nose in the air. She passed an upturned park bench and another corpse as she rounded the corner. The wind and the creaking seesaw and hushed voices were the only thing Sweetie could hear. "I'm not afraid of anything." She whispered to nopony in particular. The sound of gunshots and trotters came from the school building. Sweetie Belle stopped, looking at the building. She frowned. What if Ms. Cheerilie was in there? Or Twist? Or Pipsqueak? Or...or... A trotter groaned in the distance, and Sweetie Belle swung around, levitating her gun. One of the swings was broken, and the remaining one was occupied by a very familiar pink filly. She was stuck in the swing, chains rattling uselessly as she tried to get Sweetie. The one thing keeping her stuck on the swing was gravity. She swung back and forth, growling, hooves unable to touch the ground. It would of been kind of funny if it wasn't an undead Diamond Tiara. Sweetie Belle's legs gave out and she sat down on the grass, mouth open. The gun fell to the ground as well. "No..." She whimpered. She hated--no, used to hate Diamond Tiara for what she did to her and her friends, but this fate was too cruel. There was some good in Diamond Tiara, of course. Good ponies do bad things, right? Diamond Tiara snarled, leaning forward, her front hooves finally hitting the ground. Sweetie Belle shakily levitated the gun. Appleblooms words rang out in her ears. They're like parasites, and we have to squash them. No more suffering. "I'm sorry, Diamond Tiara." Sweetie Belle whispered. Diamond Tiara slowly advanced forward, legs sliding out of the swing. There was a bite on her shoulder, just like Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle sniffled. "I'm sorry! Okay?" Diamond Tiara's cutie mark and tiara were both gone. "Look, you're a blank flank forever now. Just like me." She attempted a smile, tears running down her cheeks as Diamond Tiara freed herself from the swing and stumbled towards Sweetie, growling again. Sweetie Belle raised the gun. "I forgive you." She closed her eyes, pulling the trigger. Diamond Tiara's now lifeless body fell to ground, blood splattering Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle started sobbing as Ray and Applebloom sprinted into view, weapons out. "Sweetie Belle, you alright?" Ray asked. Sweetie Belle nodded, looking at her hooves. Applebloom ran to her side. "I can't believe it...Did she bite you?" Applebloom asked, staring at Diamond Tiara's body in disbelief. Sweetie Belle shook her head, tears flying off her face. Applebloom hugged Sweetie Belle, starting to tear up. Sweetie Belle sobbed into her best friend's shoulder. "So...uh...what happened?" Ray asked, awkwardly sitting down next to them. "She was stuck in the swings. I got her, though. I squashed her." Sweetie Belle explained. Rarity and Twilight ran out of the building towards the kids. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity cried at the sight of her sister and Diamond Tiara's body. "Did you...shoot her?" She asked in disbelief. "Its okay Rarity, she was a trotter." Sweetie Belle said softly. Twilight sat down. "That explains why Filthy Rich hung himself in the schoolhouse." Twilight said quietly. "The note he left was too bloody to read." Rarity sat down as well, levitating a first aid kit and cleaning Sweetie Belle up. The group was silent. Ray cleared his throat. "While I was on the seesaw with Applebloom, I found this." He opened his bag and took out a bloody tiara. "I'm...guessing its hers." Twilight nodded, levitating it back on Diamond Tiara's mane. Applebloom closed her eyes. "You think the blood on the seesaw was hers?" Applebloom asked. "Maybe." "I think we should bury them here." Sweetie Belle said suddenly. "Diamond Tiara and her dad." The ponies had a quick lunch and started digging the graves. They buried the two filly corpses in the yard as well, plus the trotters in the schoolhouse. None of them were students or teachers, but Twilight recognized one of them as the Quills and Sofas owner. As the group made their way home, Sweetie Belle looked back at the graves. Diamond Tiara's tiara, perched on her makeshift gravestone, glinted in the fading sunlight. Filthy Riches tie flapped in the breeze, as if it were waving goodbye. "You're welcome." Sweetie Belle said quietly, imagining Diamond Tiara and her father standing there, smiling and waving goodbye. It made her feel better. "Sweetie Belle?" Rarity called, breaking her from her thoughts. "I'm coming!" Sweetie Belle said, galloping towards their group. She took one final look over her shoulder and watched Diamond Tiara hug her father before they faded away.
