The Zombie War (Original)

I was on the roof with Sugarcoat still restrained. I was on lookout for cars or other Shadowbolts.

"Kyle? I... I know that this sounds stupid, but I'm sorry." Sugarcoat said.

I turned to her.

"Sorry for what, beating me down until I pass out every day? Taking my will to live? I still don't know what's right anymore. I'm sure the one you should be sorry about is Joel. He seemed like he wanted to kill you if I'd let him. And to be honest, I would've let him. Sorry isn't enough..." I said sharply.

"...I know." Sugarcoat said.

I was with the others when I saw Joel pace out.

"Joel?" I asked.

I started to follow him.

"Twi?" Rainbow called to me.

I kept following him until I saw him just at the 2nd floor. He threw his pack off his back and went through it. He pulled out a form of video tape.

"Joel?" I called.

Joel recoiled and turned and saw me.

"Sorry for startling you." I apologized.

"It's fine." Joel said.

"What is that?" I asked Joel, pointing at the tape.

Joel was silent for the longest time. He just kept staring at the tape.

"...In it is something I shouldn't have done. Something I could've avoided if I tried, if I wanted to. I didn't." Joel said.

"What is it?" I asked again.

"...This records my first time with Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet."

I was with Sombra and Luna trying to get to the flare spot.

"She shot up a flare, what does that mean?" I asked.

"It means what she's in danger. Maybe stuck somwhere, maybe a herd, or bad people, worst case." Sombra recited.

"What if she found Kyle? What he fired that flare?" I asked in anticipation.

"Don't get your hopes up, Scootaloo." Luna said.

"Only one way to find out." I said.

I was sitting with Sugarcoat still.

"So, about Joel..."

"He's doing fine. Or he WAS, until he saw you again." I said.

"I know what we did to him was bad. Hell, it was evil." Sugarcoat confessed.

"You two lead him to that office, made him let you strap him down, and practically RAPED him. You know that, right?" I asked.

"...I know." Sugarcoat said.

Joel started breaking down.

"...They kept asking me what it was. I just said it was a yearbook. I... I just said it was... Me and my older brother were on a run for supplies. He talked to me; said that he was proud of me, and that I was a good man. We came back, and the T.V was static, my father glared at me, my mother had tears... Oh, god... He started yelling. They heard it, and they were just... just... ON HIM! A day after, I woke up, alone. I kept looking and I found them... In the road."

I was absolutely shellshocked. I knew Joel, but not like this...

"Joel. It doesn't matter what you did before. All of that is gone now. You know that, right?" I asked him.

"If that was true, why does Kyle have Sugarcoat tied up for something they did to him before?" Joel asked.

"Kyle's a different story. The things he's seen, the things he's lost..." I started.

"The things he's done?" Joel asked.

"...Yeah. The things he's done. The things that were going to be done to him if he didn't do those things..." I said.

I saw that Sugarcoat truly was sorry about Joel. But I couldn't let her see that I know that. Not yet.

"So, about Autumn Flier..." Sugarcoat started.

"Don't." I tempted.

"Look, he... he leads Crystal Prep now." Sugarcoat said.

So, he's this "Hell"?

"Joel told us that there was someone called Hell inside those walls. Is Autumn Flier this 'Hell'?" I asked.

"No. That's someone else. SHE'S worse than Cinch, Kyle. She came in at Autumn's side and ordered us to be locked in a storage room in the start of everything. Then the fences were reinforced, and Autumn ruled with an iron fist, along with Hell." Sugarcoat said.

"Do you know her real name?" I asked.

"Well, I think it's-"

"KYLE!" Rainbow called.

"Shit. Come on!" I said as I untied Sugarcoat.

We bolted down thinking that it was another horde, but instead, I saw...

I saw...

I was with Kyle when he ran down. I didn't know what was going on, but I was right behind him. We made it down and I saw him looking at my fellow recruiters.

Not all of them, but one of them.

"Scoot?" Kyle whispered.

Scootaloo, our new recruiter, was shellshocked. The first thing she did was start to walk. Then she started to run. Kyle did the same. They then practically tackled each other in an embrace. Rainbow then joined and the others did too.

Polygamy much?

"Um... Kyle, you're Scootaloo's boyfriend?" I asked, trying not to be awkward.

"...Yeah." Kyle said, breaking the embrace.

"Well, normally we do this at one of our outposts... I'm Luna, you've already met Sombra, no doubt." Luna said.

"Yeah. I know him." Kyle said.

Joel came down, but he didn't do much but stare.

"If we move now, we can make it back home." I said.

"And where's that?" Kyle asked.

"It was where you were when all of this started. It's Canterlot. We expanded massively; we even have your home I think." Luna said.

"When can we go?" Kyle asked.

"We should go tomorrow. It's getting dark." Scootaloo said.

"If we push now, we can make it to one of the apartments nearby." Kyle said as he handed Scootaloo her machete.

"Keep it. You seem good with it. I got this." Scootaloo said as she grabbed her hatchet.

I was with Scootaloo in one of the old apartment rooms. I kept watch for anything strange when Scootaloo tapped my shoulder.

"You should get some sleep." She said.

"The Shadowbolts, are they okay by you?" I asked her.

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

"Sugarcoat, Sombra, are they okay by you?" I repeated.

"Yeah, the others, Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, and Cinch are all good by me." Scootaloo said.

Cinch?

"Cinch's alive?" I asked.

"Yeah. I told her about you, and she hates it." She said.

"I'll see." I simply said.

"Come on, let's get some sleep." Scootaloo said.

She took the left and I took the right. I was looking at the door until I felt an arm wrap around me. I turned around and saw Scootaloo with her arm around me. I wrapped my arm around her and closed my eyes.

It feels like I'm dreaming...