Rainbow Dash peeked her head through the crack in the door, counting all of the undead wandering out on the street. She stopped trying after twenty.
She pulled her head back in and turned to Scootaloo, worry evident on the older mare’s face. She forced on a brave smile. “Nothing to worry about,” she tried to reassure them. “We can do this, easy peasy one two threesie.”
Scootaloo looked up at her fearless idol, grinning. “I know we can, Dash!”
Rainbow Dash slowly walked up to the tiny Pegasus, placing a hoof on the filly’s head. “Ready, squirt?”
“Ready!” Scootaloo was as confident as ever.
Rainbow turned back to the door, standing directly in front of it. She raised her hoof, placing it gently on the dark wood. “Then here…
“We…
“GO!”
She threw the door open, sprinting out at full speed, Scootaloo hot on her trail. The pair zigged and zagged between the rotting corpses of their once-friends, Rainbow dodging a swipe from Roseluck, Scootaloo narrowly avoiding a bite from Minuet.
“Keep moving!” Rainbow shouted the encouragement to Scootaloo. However, she heard the filly cry out. Rainbow turned, ready to fight off some creep who thought they could hurt her sister. However, what she saw mortified the mare.
In front of Scootaloo stood Apple Bloom, her fur almost grey and matted with dirt and grime. On her left hind leg was a very visible bite mark. Her usually bright orange eyes were faded out to near-white, and her hair was a mess, her ribbon missing.
Rainbow ran up and kicked the thing that wore her friend’s skin, looking at Scootaloo. “We have to keep going!”
“But –“
“No buts! She’s gone, Scootaloo, and from the looks of it she’s been gone for a while. We can’t save her! You’ll only get infected yourself!”
Scootaloo looked on the verge of tears, but held her composure. She looked up to Rainbow Dash. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
The sprinted down the street, ducking and diving over the infected. Dash sorely wished she could simply fly over the flightless corpses, but she couldn’t leave Scootaloo alone. The filly was still bound to the ground, and it would still be a while before that changed.
Rainbow Dash, lost in her thoughts, suddenly slammed on her brakes, stopping dead in her tracks. Scootaloo stopped behind her, breathing heavily. “What’s wrong?” The filly looked up at the mare, but quickly noticed the issue.
In front of the pair stood a massive horde of the dead. Dash quickly tried to come up with a solution. They couldn’t go backwards, since the dead there were still looking for the living ponies. They could try to go around, but Rainbow wasn’t sure if there were more lurking around the corner. She quickly estimated there to be about fifty or so corpses in front of her. She took a deep breath, then turned to Scootaloo.
“We’re running for it, Squirt.” She placed a hoof on the fillies shoulder. “Are you ready?”
The filly gulped nervously, but nodded. Rainbow smiled reassuringly, then turned back to the horde. She took a steadying breath, then ran full speed into the group, Scootaloo hot on her heels.
“Stay close! We can do –“
“RAINBOW DASH! HELP ME!”
Rainbow immediately turned around and almost threw up.
A brown stallion had grabbed Scootaloo and dragged her down, tearing into her back and ripping out flesh and muscle. His muzzle was covered in blood and gore, other zombies now joining him in his feast. Rainbow felt tears welling up, but knew Scootaloo was gone. She turned away, flapping her wings to get airborne. Behind her, she could hear the filly screaming, begging, crying…
… Then nothing. Nothing but the moans of the dead.
She flew as fast as she could away from the horde, tears streaming behind her. She landed in front of the building marked with a red cross on it, tapping on the door twice, then three time, then twice again, the established code. The door was pushed open, and Applejack greeted her.
“Howdy, Rainbow,” the orange farm pony said, quickly letting the pegasus in before slamming the door shut and locking it again.
“Hey, AJ,” Dash acknowledged her. Her eyes still stung from the tears, and her heart ached with her guilt. She slowly walked over to a couch, sitting down on it. “Who else made it here?”
“Me, Twi, Fluttershy, an’ Rarity all made it. Haven’t heard nothin’ from Pinkie, though,” Applejack cast her eyes down sadly. “Sure hope she’s alright…”
Twilight emerged from a back room, her mane a frazzled mess. Rarity and Fluttershy, who both looked terrified, but otherwise unhurt, followed her out. The purple unicorn looked at Rainbow, smiling happily. “Hey, Rainbow!” She trotted up to the other mare, smiling.
“What happened to your hair?” Rainbow tilted her head quizzically, eyeing the rats nest of a mane that sat atop the unicorns head.
“Eh, just a few biters trying to grab me. Zapped’em away with this bad boy, though,” she grinned, tapping her horn with a hoof. “I escorted these two here, but I couldn’t find Pinkie. Did you happen to see her?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Not since the outbreak, no.”
Twilight sighed sadly. “Well, we’ll just hope for the best, right?”
The others nodded. Fluttershy peered out through a window, noticing a small number of zombies approaching them. “Um, excuse me, girls, but, we seem to have company.”
Everyone else rushed to her window, looking out the window. Twilight took a step back, then seemed to have an idea. She closed her eyes in concentration, her horn lighting up as she cast a spell. A couple of minutes past, and then the glow died. Rainbow looked around the room, but didn’t seem to notice anything different. “What did you do?” She looked at the purple unicorn.
“I just put up a barrier around the house. Kind of like what Shiny did for his wedding,” Twilight paused, remembering seeing her brother sacrificing himself to by her some time, leading away the horde that had been chasing them. “It should hold them off for a while, though not indefinitely. We just need to think up a plan while we wait on everypony else.”
“Speaking of,” Rarity spoke up. “Rainbow, darling, wasn’t Scootaloo supposed to be coming with you?”
Author's Note
Just an idea I had in my head. I shall write more on 'Octavius' soon.