My Little Zombie: The Virus is Magicby ButtonStormChaptersPrologue: Three Weeks AgoChapter 1: Outbreak (Part One)Chapter 2: Outbreak (End)Chapter 3: The Hospital (Part 1)Chapter 4: The Hospital (Part 2) and Some Childhood MemoriesChapter 5: Does "Safe" Even Exist?Chapter 6: A Deal is Made...Prologue: Three Weeks AgoThree weeks ago: The first thing a pale white stallion Earth Pony, with red mane and tail, woke up to was a face-full of floor, After getting up from the ground, he went around to take a morning bath. The water was really nice...until the bathtub broke from strain. He stood up and shook his head, mane just barely getting into his eyes. "I'm going to have to have it trimmed today..." He said out loud sadly, as he walked out the door, ignoring his mess of a house. Needing some time to himself, before the mane cut, the pony trotted towards the Everfree Forest as a familiar blue Pegasus flew up to him, her velvet mane flowing behind her. "Hey there Wire, whats up?" She asked with bubbling joy. Wire shook his head in exasperation. "Not much Taffa." He said, thinking that she would make an amazing sister for the party pony Pinkie Pie. Taffa sighed. "Well, i'm off to work to make some more taffy! See ya!" With that, she sped off. Wire laughed to himself as he entered the Forest. He looked around for a while, somehow enjoying the dark green scenery, and after about an hour, he heard painful whimpers, but also grunts of determination, as he turned around Wire saw a pony with a tan-ish grey coat and a black mane with blue streaks, which matched his tail. The deep green eyes of the pony's showed pain...but that's not even as close to how he looked. The pony in front of Wire had several cuts and bruises, but worse was that it looked like something tried to flay his back, as his back has a strip of flesh missing, which looked suspiciously like a bite of some kind, with green around the wound, signifying infection. The pony managed to get out a single sentence. "Help...me..." he coughed, getting it on Wire, then collapsed, unconscious. Wire quickly acted on instinct, and put the pony over his back, and sprinted off to the hospital ~* * *~ After about twenty minutes of grueling running, Wire arrived at the hospital, an extremely large crowd following him, horrified at the state of the pony on his back. Wire stepped through the doors, and looked at the nurse behind the desk, then nodded to his back. The Nurse got the hint, got a stretcher, and wheeled the pony to a back room. Wire sighed in relief. "Good he's-" Suddenly, he erupted into a fit of coughing and wheezing, then fell on the floor, dizzy. A doctor pony came out and took him to a different room... ~* * *~ About a day later, the pony who was first hospitalized, walked out, bandages wrapped around his middle. He looked around curiously at Ponyville. Suddenly a very pink pony, who was bouncing up and down, was in front of him. "Hi there, what's your name?" She asked quickly, almost indiscernible. "My name is Storm Scratch, but i prefer Scratch. Yours?" Scratch said, then asked mildly. "My name's Pinkie Pie, and i'm so very happy to meet you! Oh, this means that i need to get preparations going!" With that, Pinkie Pie bounced off quickly, leaving only a blur. Scratch's left eye twitched. "I-uh-ern-alright...?" He shook his head, and smiled. The pony had been very friendly, and as he soon discovered, so were the others. After walking exploring for the day, loving every minute of the small town and clear skies, and managing to rent his own house, Scratch walked back to the rental house and opened the door, only to find it pitch black and eerily quiet... he took a step forward... "SURPRISE!" A lot of voices exclaimed at once as the light turned on, to show many faces. Scratch almost had a heart attack right then and there, but a certain pink pony came up to him, beaming widely. "Welcome to Ponyville, Scratch! I threw this party just for you!" Pinkie poked Scratch's nose with a hoof. "Are you excited, because i'm excited, i don't think I've ever been this excited before. Well, except for the time i threw Twilight a party, but i mean really, who could top that?!" She broke down into a fit of giggles. After shaking off his surprise, Scratch responded. "Thank you Pinkie Pie." He walked into the crowd, meeting the famous Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the other members of the Mane six, all while having the time of his life. ~* * *~ A scientist unicorn pony stood over the unconscious, barely breathing shape of Wire, and used a needle to extract a blood sample. A mixture of scientist and doctor ponies turned toward him as he put the blood into a dead rabbit, which quickly came back to life, rabid. They dispatched it, then examined a new blood sample under a microscope. The scientist turned to the others. "Oh, no..." A doctor looked at the examiner curiously. "is everything alright?" He asked carefully. The scientist pony didn't respond, only stared at Wire's body in horror. One of the nurses who had been dragged along asked. "Is it a problem in his blood." "Reanimation..." the scientist said quietly. "Er...what was that you said exactly?" The Nurse pony carefully asked. "Reanimation, you imbecile! Now leave, all of you, we need to leave immediately, at least go get some masks if you're going to stay, but i'm going." the scientist pony snapped, as he walked out the door, leaving only a nurse, a doctor, and a scientist, all with masks already on, in the room. The amateur scientist sat down then let loose a sigh. "Sorry, he's a bit nuts..." The doctor laughed. "Aren't we all? Anyways, we should leave for the night. Gotta get our sleep.." He yawned then left with the Nurse. As the scientist left, he swore he had seen the body of Wire move slightly, despite it's vegetative state... Chapter 1: Outbreak (Part One)Present Day: Tuesday, 3:48 a.m. An amateur scientist sat next to the body of Wire, who had reached a critical condition. He hadn't slept in days, claiming himself to be to busy with the work to go home. The pony needed to figure out what had caused his boss to leave so suddenly, as he worked, splicing the DNA, and doing many other scientific things with the blood, he couldn't seem to get the disease to separate from the blood. That's when a familiar nurse walked in with the doctor pony, both with masks. "H-have you been up all night again, Ragged?" The nurse asked, slightly worried for the scientist's health. Ragged looked over his shoulder. "I'm fine, Nurse Redheart. How are you two today?" The Doctor shrugged and yawned, then quickly shot his eyes over to Wire. "Found anything out yet?" He asked tiredly. "Not yet, Lifesaver...just that the thing won't separate." Ragged said, with a hint of irritation. A loud, continuing beep went off, signifying that Wire passed on. Nurse Redheart put a hoof over her heart. The three sat in silence for a while, sad about the loss, before they heard a shuffle. "What was that?" Ragged asked, looking around, but not behind. The nurse and doctor's pupils shrunk to pin points, and their ears flattened against their heads, as a dark shadow loomed over the pony scientist. Ragged looked back, and only managed a strangled yelp, before the shape ripped into him, spraying blood everywhere. When Nurse Redheart looked over to Lifesaver for advice, she discovered that he was gone, and the door was swinging wildly. Looking back she gasped in terror. The shape had been Wire, but his eyes were black...pitch black, and there was blood sprayed all over him. Wire was snarling a vicious snarl, pieces of skin hanging between his teeth, and was growling at Nurse Redheart. The lifeless body of Ragged twitched, and slowly stood, knocking Wire out of the way as he launched himself at Redheart, who had no chance of moving, before teeth dug into her skull ripping into her, as she let loose her final, blood curdling, scream... ~ * * *~ 8:47 a.m: Scratch woke up to sunlight appearing silently through the window. He looked around, scanning the room, as he sat up. Groaning, Scratch practically dragged himself out of the bed, and onto the floor, heading downstairs. As he trotted down the stairs silently, he couldn't hear the usual bustle of Ponyville, which confused him to completely new level. Scratch quickly made himself something to eat, and walked out the door, a little envious of Unicorns and Pegasi who have abilities that he, a normal Earth Pony, does not. Such as magic for example, or being able to walk on clouds. When Scratch looked outside, he saw that there was nopony in sight. Curiosity overtook him and he began to walk around, calling out names that belonged to ponies he had met. Scratch sighed and went over to Sugarcube Corner, stopping about halfway there when he heard a growl. Suddenly, he felt a great force ram into him, sprawling him out onto the ground, knocking him out of breath and making his vision blurry. Scratch looked up at his attacker as the blurry pony brought it's mouth down, and whispered in a raspy voice in his ear, that sent chills down Scratch's spine. "All will...fall..." The blurry pony said, vanishing. It was as if it never happened. Scratch was still standing where he had originally been, everything was as it should be. Except...he knew it had happened, due to a severe pain in his side. Shaking his head, the Earth pony moved on towards Sugarcube corner, while examining the area to make sure he wasn't tackled any more, or surprised. ~ * * *~ 9:07 a.m. After about a twenty minute walk, Scratch came within view of the famed Sugarcube Corner, and quickly brought up his pace to a slow jog. When the earth pony entered he felt chill run up his spine as he looked inside. The interior was dark and gloomy, and there was a small shape on the ground, about ten feet in front of him. "Hey there, where is everypony?" Scratch asked, a bit concerned. The shape did not answer, only stood up with a groan and turned to face Scratch, but it's face was hidden due to the darkness. It took a step forward, so the earth pony took a step back in confusion. There was a moment of silence... The pony in front of Scratch let loose a growl, far deeper than possibly imagined, yet still somehow female. It lunged at him, and Scratch barely had time to move before the creature landed where he had been only moments ago. As the figure stood once more, it was seen clearly. The pony, a mare, in front of Scratch had pitch black eyes, and where it's nose should have been was pure bone and blood. There were many other bite marks, all surround by green, which only added to the horror of it's appearance. Blood stained the mare's light yellow coat, and her bright blue mane. Worst of all, the mare's Cutie Mark wasn't there, only blood and muscle. The mare herself took a step forward, getting blood onto the ground, and slowly advanced to Storm Scratch, who had recently decided to hid behind the counter, rolling pin in mouth, shaking in pure fear. Taking a deep breath, Scratch leaped onto the counter only to see two more creatures standing next to the mare. Both were stallions, but before Scratch could analyze the pair, the mare lunged, immediately getting a face full of rolling pin, which cave in part of her face, ending her. The stallions growled at Scratch, who jumped to the side, as they lunged at the earth pony. Storm Scratch sprinted out the door, thinking one thing. "Pinkie Pie...you have some strong cooking utensils..." As Scratch approached a cross section, he heard growling and moaning. Grunts of effort, and the occasional scream of pain. When he looked to his left, he found nothing. Forward he found nothing. To his right, when his eyes examined the area, the rolling pin dropped out of his mouth, and he said one thing, with more surprise than anything. "Bloody hell..." Chapter 2: Outbreak (End)"Bloody Hell..." Scratch wasn't scared, he wasn't angry, or much of anything really. It was as if the scene in front of him forced him to cut all emotional ties at once. The scene of which made him emotionally reboot, was this: Blood was spattered all over the ground, as well as bits and pieces of skin, belonging to their completely dead owners. A ring of ponies...no...a ring of those, creatures were surounding what seemed to be some royal guards, only recognized by their flashing armor. Storm Scratch heard a cry of pain as another pony fell, but when a few of the creatures leaned down to eat at it, the sight made Scratch freeze even more so. There was Fluttershy, tears streaming down her face as she hit one over the head with a frying pan, blood covering a majority of her coat. Rainbow Dash, her expression unreadable, bucking wildly at a nearby one, caving in it's face, earning her coat a new spot of blood. Applejack, who swung her lasso around one of their heads, then jerked, ripping it off, and surprisingly almost spotless. Well, besides her hind legs. Rarity was nowhere to be found, nor was Spike. Princess Twilight, who was currently casting a spell, which made one of the creatures get crushed into a ball, and was surrounded by her guard, which only numbered few now, all covered in a majority of blood guts and Celestia knows what else. Then...there was Pinkie Pie...her normally poofy mane and tail were straight, she held a meat cleaver in her mouth by the hilt, as well a small frightened look in her eyes, yet an everlasting scowl on her face, and she was covered in blood...hind legs, tail..all of her. Pinkie slashed a creature as it reared up, and sliced it's stomach open, spilling it's intestines out all over the ground, then jumping up and slashing down, cutting the face deeply, seemingly killing it as it dropped to the ground. With that, the creatures that had been feasting, looked up, blocking the view once more as they advanced. Scratch heard multiple growling noises behind him, and when he turned, he was met by two familiar stallions who had chased him, looking as gross as ever. He swooped down and gripped the rolling pin in his mouth, swinging at the first stallion brave enough to charge...there was a cracking sound that echoed around the area, only unable to be heard by the surrounded ponies due to the growling and moaning. The stallion stared at Scratch, unresponsive as blood trickled down it's forehead...then collapsed, skull splitting open. Now, the second stallion took the distraction and charged, glancing the live earth pony's flank when it dodged, but it was still enough to send him reeling. As the creature charged again, Storm Scratch swung down and, just like that, the rolling pin shattered over it's head, the recoil sending Scratch and the stallion earth pony back. As Scratch shook off the pain in his hoof, he limped away quickly, into a nearby house, that wasn't as dark as the others. When he entered, Scratch immediately entered the kitchen, which had no second exit except a window, searching for a weapon, even though he heard the stallion shuffling behind him. Something shiny caught the earth pony's eye as he quickly grabbed it in his mouth, gripping for dear life, and turned around. What the shiny thing was, was a long butcher knife, about 13 inches long, and very sharp. The stallion was face-to-face with him, and snarling, which surprised Scratch so much, he reeled back as he swung, only grazing it's nose, which, in turn, made it angrier. So, he swung again, dispatching of it's head swiftly. "Alright, mental note. Rolling pins: *bad. Long, sharp knives, **good.*" The earth pony thought to himself quickly as he galloped out the door, heading for the ring of ponies. As he approached Scratch saw multiple more creatures, which he now dubbed Zomponies, coming out of little alleyways, and dispatched of them quickly so he could make his way to the ring. Then, with a mighty heave, Storm Scratch launched himself over the ring and landed in front of the survivors, making most of them jump. Rainbow's jaw was open in shock as she bucked another zompony in the face. Scratch simply ceased to see anything around him, and it was as if everything was in slow motion. He slashed into one, killing it then swung at another, just barley reaching enough to kill, as he bucked a different one. Sure, the other ponies were dispatching them, but not very fast, as Scratch, fueled by a cease to care, tore into them. During the fight, the earth pony caught a glimpse of the pony DJ, but didn't care. Scratch stopped only when the zomponies were dead, then turned back to the other ponies, who leaned back at his appearance. "Has anyone else been bit or scratched?" He asked frantically. After a quick run over, the survivors proved fine and Scratch sighed, but tensed once more, when he heard a familiar voice. "You alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, a concerned face just barely hidden. "Yes, why wouldn't i be?" The exhausted earth pony replied. "Er...this is why." Rainbow Dash spoke up, pointing at a window nearby. Scratch got up, leaving the knife behind, as he checked his appearance...he gasped. Put simply, he looked horrible. His short mane was disheveled, matted with blood, as well as his coat. The earth pony's pupils were shrunk to pinpoints, and he had a few cuts and bruises on him. Not to mention, his Cutie Mark, which was a question mark, was almost covered in dry blood. He rubbed his shoulder where a slight green tint was, then turned back to them and laughed. "Wow, i look horrible." He laughed, a bit mildly, but nonetheless, laughing. "So, why were you all here?" Twilight stepped forward. "We are here to find some kind of clue to of what this is. So, we arrived here at said hospital, and got surrounded." She said, with a blank face. "Alright, well i'll help." Scratch said, not wishing to be question, as he picked up the knife in his mouth. Twilight nodded. "Thank you. Now, why don't you take Applejack and Vinyl Scratch, and hurry." All three nodded, and went in without question. ~~***~~ A shape moved in a nearby window, anxiously, inside the hospital. The living were coming, and soon, it would be time to feast... Chapter 3: The Hospital (Part 1)Ponyville Hospital Tuesday (present day) 10:38 a.m. Twilight paced back and forth anxiously. She was worried to say the least. The small group that had went in consisting of Storm Scratch, Vinyl, and Applejack, had yet to return, and Princess Twilight's nerves were frayed. "They should have been back by now, RD..." She said nervously. Rainbow only rolled her eyes, though she was worried as well, and said. "Honestly, Twilight, they're fine. They probably found something of use, or decided to go scavenging." That shut Twilight up, with false hope, as one of her guard patted her back. "All will be well. No matter what trials this group must face." They all heard a shuffle behind them, and turned... ~~***~~ Scratch walked alone down the corridor, as he felt is heart beating extremely fast. He'd already killed several ponies that tried to eat him, after his group had decided to split up. His knife was stained, and Scratch struggled to keep it upright in his jaw. Looking inside a dark room, he saw some medicine (painkillers, that kind of thing), and immediately brightened. Quickly setting the knife down, Scratch put the medicine. in his pack, then turned around. "You're kidding, right?" ~~***~~ Applejack trotted slowly down the ominous, dark hallway, shining a flashlight down it with a hoof, holding her lasso with her tail. Moving the flashlight to her mouth, she opened a door, only to quickly close it, feeling the banging on the door, sending waves of agony down her back. She bucked the door in, on the zomponies and ran blindly. The earth pony saw a set of double doors, and slammed into them, only to stop in front of many, many, creatures. She backed up, but stopped when she heard growling behind her. Applejack gulped. ~~***~~ Vinyl Scratch walked down the hall until she reached another lobby. It was fairly nice, catching the light from outside in the window, and there were some chairs, fluffy and brown. the wood on it was oak, and fairly pleasant in her eyes. There was a desk over to the right, and and some papers on it. She stepped over to it, headphones blaring rock into her ears, and examined them. Here is what the paper said: Examiner of Patient: Ragged Black (amateur scientist) Patient Name: Wire ??? Date: Monday, April 2015 Time: 4:43 a.m. Patient Status: Critical Patient Condition (illness/injury): Unknown Recent Developments: Patient has recently began having seizures, and fever has begun rising dramatically, and temp has reached 118.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Began becoming pale, and bowels have stopped acting on command. Blood will not separate from illness. Notes: A different approach may be needed. Magic will be attempted to separate both compounds. Vinyl smiled and looked behind the desk for anything else of use. She found a flashlight, keys, a gun- "Oooh...Desert Griffon...sweet!" Vinyl cried as she searched some more. -, about four clips of ammo (which went into her bags), and a few ID cards. The DJ unicorn smiled at her find. After putting all items into her pack, and switching out her stainless steel knife for the gun, she turned around. A gunshot was heard from inside, audible to all within the compound and outside. ~~***~~ Twilight was currently hugging a bloody purple and green dragon, while others crowded around a certain seamstress. While they were celebrating the arrival of the two, they all heard a gunshot emit from inside. Twilight jumped, as did a few others. "At least we know they're alive..." Fluttershy said timidly. Rainbow nodded, now filled with hope. "You're right!" Even Twilight smiled, then turned to Spike. "How are you? You weren't bit or scratched were you? Oh, tell us how you got here!" She spouted endlessly. Spike smiled warmly, which looked a bit menacing due to blood getting smeared on his teeth. "Weeell..." ~~***~~ Storm Scratch backed up a small bit as a mare stepped toward him. She had been here a while, and one of the first infected, which was clear due to an eye missing, bloody coat, hooves worn down to bone stubs, and even peeling flesh. He looked at her as she blocked the path to his knife, charged, and bucked... He was met by a wall. Scratch yelped in pain, and limped as he stood up, seeing that the zombie was somehow where he had been standing before. The mare sprinted forward, slamming the earth pony into the wall once more with a yelp, and a groan. A white -hot pain seared through his shoulders, one from a fracture, and another from a bite. Bucking wildly, Scratch managed to graze the mare's face with one strike, knocking her away slightly. Storm Scratch groaned in agony as he crawled to the knife, gripping it in his maw. He turned over just as the mare pounced on his with a sickening shitch. All was quiet as the earth pony's consciousness faded. ~~***~~ Applejack jumped up onto a nearby crate of blood (for transplant purposes) and looked around. "Whoa Nelly..." The Earth pony mare said, as she saw many ponies (doctors, patients, and nurses alike), who were turned, all looking, some growling, but all at her. She swung her lasso, and ripped off a near ones head, sending blood everywhere, then jumped down, and repeated the process until she reached the door. Applejack opened it, and ran back down the hall, turning left, and then continuing on. She reached a quiet room, and quickly shut herself in, the flashlight her only tool to see. As the earth pony looked around she spotted a mare on the ground, which seemed to be laying on something...something, familiar. So, she walked over, moved the mare, with a lot of effort, and when she saw who it was, she gasped. It was Storm Scratch, the pony who had saved them with an insatiable blood lust, laying on the ground barely breathing, and surrounded by a pool of blood. ~~***~~ Vinyl stood over a dead stallion, who had been wearing a breathing mask of some kind, and seemed to be a doctor. Well, would look like it, if not for the blood, and the rotting smell, as well as the new bullet hole in it's head. She stepped over him, and walked on, checking doors, until she came to the last one of the dark hallway. The DJ attempted to open the door...it was locked. Vinyl Scratch used magic to grab the keys, unlock the door, and stepped in. As she looked around, using her horn for light, she came across another document: Examiner(s) of Patient: Ragged Black (amateur scientist) , Lifesaver (doctor), and Nurse Redheart (nurse) Patient Name: Wire ??? Date: Tuesday, April 2015 Time: 3:47 ??? Patient Status: Critical DeCEasEd- Vinyl was curious as to why it was marked out, but read on. Patient Condition (illness/injury): Diseased (stay away from without mask) Recent Developments: None so far THe LivINg ArE COMINg Notes: BLood ANd MeaT is POWeR...PoWER is- And that's where it ended. The DJ looked up, suddenly scared. They knew that they had been coming...and looking closer, the horrible writing was identified as blood. She backed up out of the room, as something in there let loose a horrible roar, as she ran to get her friends... Chapter 4: The Hospital (Part 2) and Some Childhood MemoriesSweet Apple Acres Saturday, May, 2001 3:47 a.m. A young, orange, filly trotted slowly around her home orchard, smiling broadly. She was in a very good mood, and nothing would bring her down…until she heard a certain amount of news. The moon shone on her back, as the earth pony sat on the edge of the Everfree forest, most feared place in (most) of Equestria. This was where her life would change. This is where she would grow to hate the forest. Suddenly, a pair of barely glowing eyes opened, looking at the earth filly, and a slight smile appeared on its mostly featureless face. “Hi Applejack.” The shadow said smoothly. “Hello, Neo Scratch.” Applejack replied happily. This was their normal meeting place, and she had grown a certain attachment for the colt, who had recently stepped out. The colt was about the size of her, with a black mane that had faded, dark blue streaks. Neo had a mask, which looked like a realistic pony face, but no one, not even the Princesses of the Sun and Moon knew. He didn't have a Cutie Mark yet on his tan-ish gray coat, Even though Applejack did. “Please, I’ve told you to call me Scratch.” Neo replied with a shake of his head. “Sorry, sugar-er-Scratch.” The orange filly said, quickly correcting herself, blushing in the process. Scratch came over and sat by her, to where their coats were barely touching…. “I’m leaving soon.” Neo Scratch said, ruining the mood. “What?” Applejack asked, worried now. “You remember me saying that when I left, I wouldn't remember anything about you, Pinkie, or our friends correct? Well, I’m leaving soon…” The earth pony’s eyes widened. “Y-you can’t! I-I-we…why?” “I’m the last of my kind, AJ…I-“ “No you’re not! I’ma earth pony to, and ya’ll know that!” “AJ! I…I’m not what you think I am, and...since i'm the last, i must retain my culture's tradition of a memory wipe for a new life to begin…” Neo said sadly, and a bit darkly. “W-what’re ya talkin’ bout?” Applejack asked. Neo stood up, and pulled off his mask…Applejack gasped. ~~***~~ Applejack shook her head and looked around for a way out, as the banging on the door grew harder. She sighed…now was not the time to reminisce about the past. The earth pony had a new friend, even if she couldn't have saved the last one like him, she needed to save this one. Applejack looked at the door, gulped, and opened the door…only to be met with open air. Confused, Applejack heaved Scratch onto her back, put the flashlight back in her mouth, then continued down the hallway, hurriedly. Dodging multiple zomponies along the way, the earth pony ran down the hall, until she saw a familiar DJ, leaning against a door with her side, apparently struggling. ~~***~~ Vinyl had, had a nice time until that roar came along. She had been running...and running...and running, until she came to this door, coming to the realization that whatever that had made the roar wasn't following her. Knocking on the door, she had heard a shuffling, then more, and soon enough the zombies were pounding at the door. Not wanting to overwhelmed, she held the door in place, and thats when she had seen Applejack...and who was on her back. "A...little help-ompf-would be nice...." The DJ said hoarsely. Applejack raised a hoof, pointed it a Vinyl, then at herself, then motioned down the hallway stairs. The Unicorn nodded, braced herself, and let go of the door, galloping along the hall, and down the stairs, Applejack closely behind. ~~***~~ Spike gasped for breath, as Twilight nearly hugged him to death, while the others crowded around Rarity. "Rarity, what happened?" Pinkie could be heard asking, slightly happier, but still worried. "My little Spikey-wikey here, saved me. I was nearly eaten by those dreadful...things...." Rarity said, spitting out the last word with disgust. "Hey, who's in there?" The seamstress asked, hearing a noise come from inside the hospital... What happened next, no one would ever be able to explain in a way that made sense...a beaten and battered Applejack and Vinyl were thrown at their hooves, bags on, but Scratch and his bags were no where to be found. ~~***~~ Scratch groaned as he sat up, whimpering slightly as he moved his forelegs. He looked around...and couldn't find the DJ or Applejack anywhere. Sure, when he was being carried, he couldn't see, but he could hear...and what Storm had heard hadn't been pretty. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, glowing slightly as they did so, the earth pony stood shakily, seeing something move in the shadows. With that, he backed up, only to slip on something hard and cold. Examining what he had stepped on, with glowing eyes, his eyes widened at what he saw. It was a bag, his bag is what his first thought picked up on, and lying next to it was his knife. Quickly putting the hilt in his mouth, and bags on his shoulders, Scratch trudged forwards, groaning as pain flashed through him like a spear. Feeling something breeze past him, the earth pony spun around to meet with...an undead Bulk Biceps. All he could see was his face, and that's all he needed to see, due to Bulk not having a right eye, and have of his face. "Oh fuck..." Scratch said, not able to keep a filter on, due to how terrified he was, as he ran. A terrible and horrible roar echoed through the halls, and outside, as Bulk Biceps simply knocked very heavy stuff out of the way, chasing a limping/running Scratch, who stumbled over his own hooves as he ran. ~~***~~ Twilight stared in shock at the beaten body of here friends, and looked at one of her honor guard, expectantly. "Can't you heal them?" She asked. "Sorry ma'am, but i can't, but you can right?" The young princess shook her head. "It would take to long...let's just hope the other one is alive..." All of their ears perked up at the sound of a roar, Fluttershy fell over in fright, and Rainbow just stared expectantly at the doors. ~~***~~ Scratch ignored the pain that flared through his forelegs, the burning in his lungs, and the pain in his side from earlier. His drive was to live, and let those flesh-eaters rot in Tartarus. Very suddenly, a pain shot through his side, with the force of a truck, and he felt a moment of weightlessness. Pain wracked his very being, as he connected with the ground insi-wait a minute...that wasn't tile...that was dirt! Groaning, Scratch looked up with blurry vision, and saw Rainbow standing over him, mouth opened in shock. If Storm Scratch would look around, he would see that everypony else's expression was the same, but Rainbow's was for a different reason. Scratch stood up, shaking off the pain to the best of his ability, eyes glowing once more as they readjusted to the lighting. ~~***~~ Cloudsdale Monday (before the Saturday of Applejack), May of 2001 5:24 p.m. A certain young, blue, rainbow maned, filly trotted along on a cloud through Cloudsdale, heading home. Out of nowhere two bullies came up in front of her. The first one, a light, tan-ish brown, stallion Pegasus, Hoops, spoke up. "Hey, it's Rainbow Crash! Going to go crash again, but at home? Ha!" Now the second one spoke up, a dark brown, almost black, stallion, Dumb-bell,a spoke up. "Yeah, too bad the Academy kicked you out, we'd enjoy laughing at ya!" "I didn't get kicked out..." Rainbow Dash said quietly. "Can't you pick on somebody else?" Hoops spoke up once more. "Why, we just looove teas-ompf!" He was cut off by a dark grey hoof hitting his face. Falling to the ground, Hoop groaned. Dumb-bell looked up in shock at a colt, smaller than them, wearing a tattered cloak with holes in it, but his face was visible...glowing eyes as well. "It's not nice picking on filly's, so why don't you pick on someone your own size?" the pony asked, seeming intimidating at first, but then pathetic. Hoops stood back up, rubbing a new-found bruise forming on his cheek as Dumb-bell laughed and laughed a hit at the pony, sending him reeling. The pony lost it's cloak, and it revealed...and earth pony?! With glowing eyes that is. Both bullies, including RD, who had been in a state of shock for the defense, reeled back in shock. What was an *Earth Pony doing on a cloud?! Even better, how was an Earth Pony on a cloud?!* Hoops was the first to recover. "I don't know what you are but you are going dow-gah!" The earth pony launched a repeated amount of single leg bucks at his face. Knocking him clean out. Looking at Dumb-bell, he said. "You up next?" Dumb-bell shook his head, put Hoops on his back and ran off. Scratch sighed in relief, then held the side of his neck, wincing. "Hey, you okay man? That was pretty awesome...oh and...thanks..." Rainbow said, blushing slightly, but quickly straightened up and said, "But, don't tell anyone i was bein' mushy. I'll deny it completely." "I won't tell anypony, Rainbow Dash." The earth pony said walking towards her, head down. "Th-waaaait....how'd you know my name? I don't even know yours." she said suspiciously. The earth pony simply said, "It's Neo Scratch. I know your name, Applejack's, Pinkamena Diane Pie's, Rarity's, Fluttershy's, and one that hasn't been met yet. Though now you know me, i have one more who must know. Good bye, RD." With that, he jumped off the cloud, seemingly disappearing inside a void... ~~***~~ Rainbow was snapped back to attention when she heard a yelp of pain. When she looked back over, she saw Scratch on the ground, struggling to get up, in front of, Bulk. "HOLY CELESTIA, THAT THING IS HUGE!" Rainbow thought, hearing Storm say something to everypony. "Everypony, leave, i'll deal with this....urg..." Scratch spat up a bit of blood, then turned back to the Bulk. "Are you nuts?!" Twilight yelled in concern. "We aren't leaving you behind!" "JUST LEAVE!!!" Storm Scratch yelled at the top of his lungs, eyes beginning to have a hint of red, and were bloodshot. Everypony stepped back, and with much hesitation, they left, leaving the tiny-winged Pegasus and it's opponent to their work. ~~***~~ 1:18 p.m. Twilight looked at Applejack, who had remained silent, as well as Rainbow, who was silent as well. The troop of ponies were taking a lot long longer than normal, thanks to an abundance of zombies. Applejack had been the first to wake up, eventually coming to the realization that she had left her lasso, and Vinyl was still out cold. "AJ, where are we going?" the Princess asked "Sweet Apple Acres. It's the safest place ah know besides Canterlot. Ya'll should know me by now, i know mah safe places." The orange coat mare said, with enthusiasm, despite her beaten figure. "Oh..." After a moment they arrived at teh farm, seeing Granny Smith holding a large pitchfork, which seemed impossible. Big Mac was sitting on the steps with a shotgun, and little Apple Bloom, holding a large kitchen knife, peeking out through the window. The apples on the trees shining like new pennies. Apple Bloom spotted the group and ran out the door. "Welcome home, big sis!" Chapter 5: Does "Safe" Even Exist?Rock Farm Tuesday, April 2001 8:56 a.m. A bright pink filly with a flat pink mane, by the name of Pinkamena Diane Pie, or Pinkie Pie, sat alone on a large flat rock, rubbing her cutie mark with contempt. Sure, she loved it and all, but what was the point of it, when there was no one to share the parties with? Yes, her family partied with her once a year, but that wasn't enough for the hyperactive pony. She was about to leave when she heard a voice. "Why so sad, Pinkie?" Pinkie Pie spun around so fast, it would be classified as impossible. In front of her was an earth pony, with a black mane that had faded dark blue streaks, which matched his tail. The pony's eyes were glowing slightly, and were staring at her, contently. "Er...hi there?" Pinkie Pie said cautiously. The earth pony stepped up to her. "My name's Neo, and i was wondering if you would like to have a party?" The rock farm inhabitant's eyes widened, mane returning to it's poofy state. "Oh, sure! Uh, let me just go get the stuff a-" Neo cut her off quickly, and gave some cryptic advice. "I already have things ready, Pinkamena. Oh...when you have friends...don't ever, ever let them get depressed, don't ever let them go." As they walked to the silo-like thing, the two earth ponies talked ecstatically, until Neo opened the door. "Whaaaaaa?!" Pinkie exclaimed,looking around at the completely decked out inside. Neo smiled as he looked at his work. the inside was completely filled with decorations, going from balloons, to a couple party canons, and a simple table with confetti napkins, and a double-layer cake in the middle. "Oh. My. CELESTIA! This party is amazing! Thanks!" the hyper pony said quickly before running of to a game. Neo smiled warmly, and said one thing. "Thanks for my last party, Pinkie..." ~~***~~ Sweet Apple Acres Monday, July 2015 9:48 a.m. Twilight sighed as she looked over the farm. It'd been almost a month since the hospital...almost a month since they lost a friend. Applejack had worked hard to keep the farm as safe as possible, but despite the gigantic wall, they kept losing more and more members...a lot more than what they were receiving. Over the last month, they had found several fillies, and a couple ponies old enough to fight. She had even made a list of every pony they've had: Overseers: Twilight Sparkle: Alive Applejack: Alive Rainbow Dash: Alive Rarity: Alive Fluttershy: Alive Pinkie Pie: Alive Spike: Alive Fillies/Colts: Apple Bloom: Alive Diamond Tiara: Alive Official Sentries: Big Mac: Alive Cheat Code: (last remaining honor guard of Twilight's) Alive Vinyl Scratch: Alive Deceased: Button Mash All except one honor/royal guard (too many to name) Missing: Sweetie Bell Scootaloo Granny Smith Storm Scratch Twilight sighed at the last one...he had sacrificed himself for them...but, there was still, if slim, hope. Scratch's body hasn't been found yet. She and her friends had mourned over the losses, but his more than ever. Twilight didn't know why, but she felt like she had met him before now...a long time ago...and it was bad enough, that she had to put things in parenthesis, it made her feel lousy for the dead. "TWILIGHT!" A certain cyan Pegasus yelled, for her attention. The Princess in question, turned around slowly, to face Rainbow. "Yes, RD?" Rainbow saluted and said, in a mock formal voice. "We've found another settlement in Ponyville, at the school." Twilight's manner straightened. "Gather up Applejack, yourself, and Vinyl. I'm coming along to. We've got a job to do." Dash nodded, then raced out the door, eventually gathering up the others outside. ~~***~~ Applejack stood silently, while the others wondered why they were here. Twilight came down, out of the house. "We have received word of another settlement at Ponyville's school." She said with a blank face. "..." All were silent, then stood up, and walked toward the gate, which consisted of a LOT of wooden doors. Applejack glanced at Twilight. "Well come on sugarcube. We've got some talking to do with those other folks." She said, walking through the gates. Twilight simply followed quietly. ~~***~~ Ponyville Market Monday, February 2001 5:03 p.m. A white unicorn, filly, with diamonds as her cutie mark, and a purple mane trotted happily through town, not able to wait to sell the gems for material. After a while, the unicorn ran into somepony, and was knocked down, her gems quickly getting taken by passing ponies who didn't care. Rarity, the unicorn, started to cry as she went home... Closing the door behind her, Rarity went up to her room, and drew what she had wanted to make, which was a simple dress that had the occasional frilly part to it. In fact, she had wanted to make a product from it, but it was not to be, since those meany ponies took her gems...or so she thought. The rain pounding on the windows with taps, seemed to sooth her soul... Ring! Rarity's ears perked up as she heard the bells from the front door ring, signifying that somepony had come in. Walking slowly down the stairs, she gasped when she got to the front room. A colt, about the same size as her, with a black mane that had faded blue streaks, a soaked tan-ish gray coat, and multiple bruises and cuts, stepped in, groaning, holding... a bag full of gems! "Oh, are you alright?!" Rarity asked, worried as she stepped forward. "Mostly...ow..i brought...the gems...you lost...back...ugh...." Neo Scratch said, groaning. Rarity's eyes widened. "Huh? Oh! Set them down, and...if i can, i'll get some bandag-" "No need." Neo said, suddenly not so weak now, as he set the gems down. "I went through a lot of trouble to get these. You should be thankful of my Generosity. Be Generous...it's rewarding." the earth pony said. "Oh, before i go, i'm Neo Scratch." "Rarity." The filly said as Neo disappeared. ~~***~~ The trek through Ponyville was a long one, don't get her wrong, but to Twilight, it was peaceful since their small group encountered little resistance. As they did travel, Vinyl spoke up. "At least we know they're alive." She said, hearing gunfire off in the distance. Applejack simply nodded, and sped up. Rainbow and Twilight were both quiet, but they sped up as well, now hearing moans of frustration. "Die, you undead scum!" "Carrier, watch your mouth!" "Sorry, boss..." "Watch your back, Bell!" "On it!" Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack all shared a look, then rushed forward...only to meet a wall with a medium-sized hold towards the bottom of it, pieces of skin hanging on it. The top of he school was barely visible, but there were undead Pegasi, Flyers to them, that were diving in and out. Vinyl sighed, and started to crawl through the hole, barley managing to make it inside, before she disappeared. "Get ready to rush in, girls! I'm opening the gate!" The DJ said True to her word, the gates opened to show quite a few Zomponies surrounding a group of colts and fillies, all about the age of Scootaloo, and in the middle, was Ms. Cheerilee, holding a shotgun in her hooves, blowing off another zombie's head. Beside her was Sweetie Bell, using her magic to hold a good size knife. The three newcomers nodded at each other and helped clear out the area... ~~***~~ 10:48 a.m. Twilight stared at the fillies and colts. How'd they learned to cope with this was beyond her, but she looked at Ms. Cheerilee. "Hello, Ms. Cheerilee." The Princess said warmly. "Eh? Oh, hey Princess Twilight." The teacher said, obviously tired as she checked over her children. "What're you here for?" Applejack answered this time. "Well, we've made a might fine base over at the Acres, and wanted ta know if ya'll wanted to come." "It's safe." Twilight said, finishing the sentence before they were interrupted by an appearance. Off to the side, groaning as he stumbled out of the doors of the school, was Storm Scratch. He had bandages wrapped around the right side of his head...and face. There were some bruises, obvious broken bones, though almost healed, and a few band-aids which covered the deeper cuts. His side had stitches which were poorly put in, since a large cut was on his side. Scratch's mane was disheveled, and gray coat covered in dry blood. The wounded pony said something, full of regret, and a tad bit of hate. "And, let me ask you a question, Twilight Sparkle... ...does "safe" even exist?" Chapter 6: A Deal is Made...Fluttershy's Cottage Saturday, March 2001 (Before RD) 8:56 p.m. Ever since she fell out of Cloudsdale, Fluttershy had lived with the animals, occasionally heading into town for supplies. She lived inside a cottage on the edge of the Everfree, which had seemed abandoned. Fluttershy's pink mane was flowing behind her, wind beating at her until she reached the cottage. The kind Pegasi had been helping some baby ducks into her cottage, but when she turned around, Fluttershy had seen a shape dash off to the left, dropping a massive piece of timber onto the ground. As the filly examined it in the cold rain, which had recently started pouring down, she gasped...it was part of a Timber Wolf, but how did it lose this? Wait...that Timber Wolf must have taken the ducklings! Fluttershy ignored her massive urge to run and hide, and followed the Timber Wolf's tracks. As she approached the Everfree, completely soaked to the bone now, the filly heard grunts of effort, and then a massive thud beside her, splashing mud on her and the ground around. Inside the hole that was made was a colt, who was struggling to get up. When the lightning flashed, she got a quick look at him. The colt was an earth pony, who had large scratch marks on his body with blood oozing out of it, a disheveled black mane which had faded blue streaks, no Cutie mark, a soaked tan-ish gray coat, and slightly glowing eyes. Groaning, the colt got up as the lightning flash went away. Fluttershy's nerves were frayed from the thud the colt had made, so she just whimpered as she cowered down until she heard... "I'm going to get those ducks back...can't...let em die...ugh..." Fluttershy peeked out from underneath one of her hooves, and saw the colt treading back into the Everfree. Finally her nerve snapped, and the Pegasus ran back to her cottage, slamming the door shut behind her... 10:48 p.m. Fluttershy knew she should be in bed by now, being a filly and all, but...the Pegasus felt horrible... She had left a poor colt to his fate, as well as her duckling, not to mention she was still filthy, dragging mud all over the mostly barren house. Thunder rolled across the sky, sending it's booms of terror out into the open. Eventually, Fluttershy heard a slight knock at her door, and paused, surprised. Doing a quick shake to make herself, at the very least, presentable, she opened the door In front of her were the ducklings from before, all straining to be near another pony's leg. When Fluttershy looked up, she saw the colt from before, more cuts and bruises, a *huge** gash on his side, and a limp in his step, standing over the ducklings. The colt smiled weakly, blood smearing his teeth.* "Uh...h-hi...um...c-come in, little ducklings..." Fluttershy said timidly, as the babies did just that, wanting to get out of the rain. The colt that was smiling suddenly stopped and groaned, before looking at the yellow Pegasus before him. "Got..any bandages? Ugh..." With that, he passed out... ~~***~~ Fluttershy's Cottage Sunday, March 2001 4:54 p.m. Fluttershy rubbed her now clean coat, sighing as she looked over at the colt next to her, who was out cold. She shivered as she remembered patching up his wounds...a filly shouldn't have to do that...but... The Pegasus looked over at the sleeping colt, smiling warmly. Anypony who would go through this for animals, was a good pony in her book. The colt lying beside her groaned, opening his eyes slightly, then let out a weak yawn. "Ow...what...happened? ...oh yeah...that.." With a deadpan look, he examined Fluttershy. "O-oh, hi t-there..." The Pegasus said shyly. "My name is Neo Scratch, and i presume you're Fluttershy? Thanks for helping me with the wounds...quick question though...how long have i been out?" "Oh, about a day. N-not long at all..." Fluttershy said quietly. Neo sighed and sat up, rubbing where one of the deeper scratches were. "So...you take care of animals, correct?" "Y-yes..." "Well, i was hoping my kindness would pay off. Are the ducklings safe?" Neo Scratch asked. "Yes.." The timid filly replied. "Well, good, i have to go now...again, thanks..." The colt complemented as he stood up, heading to the door with a limp. "W-will you be OK?" Fluttershy asked. "I will. I'm also pretty sure i'll be seeing you again a while from now. Thank you for your hospitality, Fluttershy..." Neo said, leaving behind a, slight confused, but happy filly... ~~***~~ Ponyville School Monday, July 2015 10:54 a.m. Princess Twilight stared at the ground, thinking about what had just been said. She had been expecting something of a happy reaction, but not that... "And let me ask you a question, Princess Twilight...does "safe" even exist?" Those words still rang around in her head... "Er...you okay sugarcube?" The familiar voice of Applejack, snapping Twilight back to attention. "Yeah..." Then she looked back at Storm Scratch, and said. "Trust us, it's safe." Scratch snorted. "This place has lasted a month before they dug under. They're smarter than you think...no place is truly safe, Twilight." Vinyl stepped forward. "You're different somehow...I've got my eyes on you...But are you coming with us or not-ow!" Applejack had elbowed her in the side, sending a wave of pain into it. "Be nice... anyway...are ya?" Scratch sighed and thought for a moment, before nodding, and walking inside. After a moment, he came out with Scootaloo, and a few unknown colts and fillies. "Ready..." He said as Ms. Cheerilee gathered up the rest of them. Storm Scratch waltzed over to the, still open, gates of iron, and waited until everypony was out, following behind Twilight. "We should hurry, darkness comes sooner than one might think..." ~~***~~ Canterlot Castle Tuesday, May 2001 (after RD, before last AJ) 7:47 p.m. A lavender unicorn filly, by the name of Twilight, was lying on a massive bed, inside Canterlot Castle. She was reading one of her most favorite books about magic...at least thats what the case was until a voice came from a corner of her room. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle..." The unicorn in question looked up from her book, examining the room, until her vision came to rest on a pair of, slightly green, glowing eyes. "Er...hi? H-how do you know m-my name? What is yours?" Twilight questioned. "My name is Neo Scratch. I know a lot about you, and some...what was the word? ... soon to be acquaintances of yours..." The voice said as a shape moved and stepped out from the shadows. The voice belonged to a colt, no bigger than her, who had a pitch black mane with faded blue streaks, a tan-ish gray coat, and no Cutie mark. The colt's eyes were violent green, but in different lighting seemed to go from green to red, to even violet. He was also smiling a toothy smile that, Neo as far as Twilight knew, had normal teeth, but they were slightly pointed. Neo smiled warmly. "I hear you like books..." the colt said, pulling a book from his bags. The unicorn was confused, somepony she just met was giving her a book? When Neo Scratch finished getting it out, he gently set a book on the bed. Twilight looked over, and read the title. Unknown Species, Considered Extinct "What am i supposed to do with this?" The lavender unicorn filly asked. "Read it. Never tell anyone about it." Neo replied simply, walking over to the window. "I'll see you around, Twilight Sparkle..." "Er...bye?" The filly in question said, not used to many people talking to her. Neo leaped out the window, and hooves could be heard through the garden... ~~***~~ Ponyville Square Monday, July 2015 11:43 a.m. Applejack looked at Twilight. "Are ya'll sure he's alright? That stallion looks like he just saw somethin traumatizing..." Rainbow flew down next to her. "You're right..." The orange mare beside her glared at her. "Where in the hay have you been, Rainbow? We could'a used the help..." Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. "I totally didn't sneak into Sugarcube Corner..." "Rainbow..." Twilight said in exasperation, face hoofing in the process. "Sorry Twi, but i got a stomach that needed satisfied...hey, that rhymed! Er...sort of..." The rainbow maned Pegasus replied. Vinyl was keeping close eyes on Storm Scratch, when a colt came up to the group of four. The colt was fairly tall for his age, and his blonde mane stuck out like a dandelion in a weed field. He had no Cutie mark, but his eyes were blue, and filled with determination. "I'd be grateful he's even alive. Do you know what state we found him in? Scratch should be dead right now. When we found him, a lot of his bones were sticking out, there was blood everywhere, and whatever did that to him, was no where to be seen. Think about what he's been through. It's been much worse than all of us. Probably worse than all of you. I'd think about that." The colt said, beginning to trot away, clearly satisfied. All four of the mares were speechless. Never before had a colt stepped up to them like that... "He's right..." Twilight said quietly, glancing over at Storm Scratch, who was off in his own little world... ~~***~~ Storm Scratch has been through a lot, but never, ever, has he been through something like that before...it still haunted him to this day... ~~***~~ Ponyville Hospital Grounds Tuesday, June 2015 10:22 a.m. Scratch's body groaned under his own weight, he's taken too many hits, and he knew it....so did Bulk Biceps. The tiny-winged Pegasus in question charged at the bloody form of Storm Scratch, connecting with him and sending him into the wall, with a *crunch.* Bulk Biceps low out a series of growls that sounded like a demented chuckle. A dark figure stepped out from the shadows and spoke, with that voice, which sent familiar chills down Scratch's back. "As i said...all will fall...now, that i am more powerful, i am willing to make a...deal...the safety of your friends for...the sanity of somepony else..." The Shadow said simply, making it not sound like a request. Storm Scratch let out a small growl before replying with a weak, "fine..." "Good. Bulk, you can continue your fun." The Shadow said disappearing back into the shadows. Bulk Biceps stalked forward, and brought a hoof down at his head, and after that, everything was a blur... ~~***~~ Scratch jumped nearly eight feet in the air when he felt someone's hoof touch his shoulder. Looking over his saw Applejack staring at him with a concerned face. "You okay, sugarcube?" The mare asked carefully, feeling like she was on thin ice. Storm Scratch didn't answer, but he didn't need to...his eyes, which AJ just noticed seemed to change color in different lighting, gave off a broken look, as if something had been ripped from him. "We thought not. Look, we're here for ya if you ever need anything. Ya got that?" Applejack asked seriously, though she gave him a warm smile. Scratch nodded, then looked back at the ground, seeming even more down than normal. The farmer next to him sighed, and walked back over to her friends. "I tried..." Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "There's nothing we can do about it right now, we're nearly there anyways..." ~~***~~ Nearly an hour later they arrived at the farm, Scratch snorting at the gates of wooden doors. "How exactly are wooden doors safe?" He challenged. Princess Twilight looked away sheepishly. "Truth is...those creatures never get close enough to hit them..." Storm Scratch sighed and walked in as the gates opened, looking around gloomily at the (mostly) happy environment around him. The first stop the group made, was at the farm house, so they could put up their things. Applejack, with much hesitance, went to check up on the others, while Rainbow Dash went to check for flyers. Twilight went to update her list, and Vinyl went back to her sentry post. The fillies and Colts went to meet up with the others, and Ms. Cheerilee went to see what job she got. When the farm house went quiet, Scratch sighed and rubbed his wounds, looking around. He saw a shape standing in the doorway, which stumbled toward him, groaning and moaning in that horrible way only those zomponies could. Storm Scratch's pupils shrunk to pinpoints as he lunged at the shadow, knocking it to the ground despite his pain, tearing into the shape with his bare hooves, spreading blood on them, wrapping his hooves in the muscle until the shape was nothing but a smear in the ground...Scratch felt a huge pain go through his head, so he shook it. Suddenly the pain was gone, and Scratch looked down, seeing a horrible sight... Below him was a mangled shape of a stallion. The stallion had strangely blue hair, with black streaks, which matched his tail. The coat on the stallion was a tan color with the barest hint of gray, red eyes open in terror. Storm Scratch knew what he had to do...he had to hide the body...he had to do something...anything... ~~***~~ 9:38 p.m. Twilight and her friends walked into the farmhouse, only to see a...strange sight. The entire house was squeaky clean, top to bottom, and on the floor was the sleeping shape of Storm Scratch, who opened his eyes once he heard the others come in. Sitting up, Scratch looked at his comrades with a nervous look, having an empty feeling in his mind...not heart...mind. "Hi girls...ow...i figured i'd clean up a bit." He said with tired enthusiasm. "Well, ya'll sure did a might fine job, don't ya think so girls?" Applejack said happily. "Uh-huh..." They all replied, unused to seeing the house so clean. Storm Scratch stood up shakily, then glanced over at Twilight. "So where do i sleep?" "In here with us. Pick any room. if you choose a room that has another inhabitant, sleep on the floor. Spike's making Rarity's bed right now, before they hit the hay." The young Princess said with a bored tone. Scratch nodded then raced upstairs, picking the first room he laid eyes on, lying down a blanket and pillow on the floor, then, just before falling asleep, he heard Applejack's tired voice speak quietly. "Well, that was fast. I'ma find out whats wrong with you if it's the last thing ah do..." With that, he heard the creak of a bed, then a soft snore, before falling asleep himself...
Prologue: Three Weeks AgoThree weeks ago: The first thing a pale white stallion Earth Pony, with red mane and tail, woke up to was a face-full of floor, After getting up from the ground, he went around to take a morning bath. The water was really nice...until the bathtub broke from strain. He stood up and shook his head, mane just barely getting into his eyes. "I'm going to have to have it trimmed today..." He said out loud sadly, as he walked out the door, ignoring his mess of a house. Needing some time to himself, before the mane cut, the pony trotted towards the Everfree Forest as a familiar blue Pegasus flew up to him, her velvet mane flowing behind her. "Hey there Wire, whats up?" She asked with bubbling joy. Wire shook his head in exasperation. "Not much Taffa." He said, thinking that she would make an amazing sister for the party pony Pinkie Pie. Taffa sighed. "Well, i'm off to work to make some more taffy! See ya!" With that, she sped off. Wire laughed to himself as he entered the Forest. He looked around for a while, somehow enjoying the dark green scenery, and after about an hour, he heard painful whimpers, but also grunts of determination, as he turned around Wire saw a pony with a tan-ish grey coat and a black mane with blue streaks, which matched his tail. The deep green eyes of the pony's showed pain...but that's not even as close to how he looked. The pony in front of Wire had several cuts and bruises, but worse was that it looked like something tried to flay his back, as his back has a strip of flesh missing, which looked suspiciously like a bite of some kind, with green around the wound, signifying infection. The pony managed to get out a single sentence. "Help...me..." he coughed, getting it on Wire, then collapsed, unconscious. Wire quickly acted on instinct, and put the pony over his back, and sprinted off to the hospital ~* * *~ After about twenty minutes of grueling running, Wire arrived at the hospital, an extremely large crowd following him, horrified at the state of the pony on his back. Wire stepped through the doors, and looked at the nurse behind the desk, then nodded to his back. The Nurse got the hint, got a stretcher, and wheeled the pony to a back room. Wire sighed in relief. "Good he's-" Suddenly, he erupted into a fit of coughing and wheezing, then fell on the floor, dizzy. A doctor pony came out and took him to a different room... ~* * *~ About a day later, the pony who was first hospitalized, walked out, bandages wrapped around his middle. He looked around curiously at Ponyville. Suddenly a very pink pony, who was bouncing up and down, was in front of him. "Hi there, what's your name?" She asked quickly, almost indiscernible. "My name is Storm Scratch, but i prefer Scratch. Yours?" Scratch said, then asked mildly. "My name's Pinkie Pie, and i'm so very happy to meet you! Oh, this means that i need to get preparations going!" With that, Pinkie Pie bounced off quickly, leaving only a blur. Scratch's left eye twitched. "I-uh-ern-alright...?" He shook his head, and smiled. The pony had been very friendly, and as he soon discovered, so were the others. After walking exploring for the day, loving every minute of the small town and clear skies, and managing to rent his own house, Scratch walked back to the rental house and opened the door, only to find it pitch black and eerily quiet... he took a step forward... "SURPRISE!" A lot of voices exclaimed at once as the light turned on, to show many faces. Scratch almost had a heart attack right then and there, but a certain pink pony came up to him, beaming widely. "Welcome to Ponyville, Scratch! I threw this party just for you!" Pinkie poked Scratch's nose with a hoof. "Are you excited, because i'm excited, i don't think I've ever been this excited before. Well, except for the time i threw Twilight a party, but i mean really, who could top that?!" She broke down into a fit of giggles. After shaking off his surprise, Scratch responded. "Thank you Pinkie Pie." He walked into the crowd, meeting the famous Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the other members of the Mane six, all while having the time of his life. ~* * *~ A scientist unicorn pony stood over the unconscious, barely breathing shape of Wire, and used a needle to extract a blood sample. A mixture of scientist and doctor ponies turned toward him as he put the blood into a dead rabbit, which quickly came back to life, rabid. They dispatched it, then examined a new blood sample under a microscope. The scientist turned to the others. "Oh, no..." A doctor looked at the examiner curiously. "is everything alright?" He asked carefully. The scientist pony didn't respond, only stared at Wire's body in horror. One of the nurses who had been dragged along asked. "Is it a problem in his blood." "Reanimation..." the scientist said quietly. "Er...what was that you said exactly?" The Nurse pony carefully asked. "Reanimation, you imbecile! Now leave, all of you, we need to leave immediately, at least go get some masks if you're going to stay, but i'm going." the scientist pony snapped, as he walked out the door, leaving only a nurse, a doctor, and a scientist, all with masks already on, in the room. The amateur scientist sat down then let loose a sigh. "Sorry, he's a bit nuts..." The doctor laughed. "Aren't we all? Anyways, we should leave for the night. Gotta get our sleep.." He yawned then left with the Nurse. As the scientist left, he swore he had seen the body of Wire move slightly, despite it's vegetative state...
Chapter 1: Outbreak (Part One)Present Day: Tuesday, 3:48 a.m. An amateur scientist sat next to the body of Wire, who had reached a critical condition. He hadn't slept in days, claiming himself to be to busy with the work to go home. The pony needed to figure out what had caused his boss to leave so suddenly, as he worked, splicing the DNA, and doing many other scientific things with the blood, he couldn't seem to get the disease to separate from the blood. That's when a familiar nurse walked in with the doctor pony, both with masks. "H-have you been up all night again, Ragged?" The nurse asked, slightly worried for the scientist's health. Ragged looked over his shoulder. "I'm fine, Nurse Redheart. How are you two today?" The Doctor shrugged and yawned, then quickly shot his eyes over to Wire. "Found anything out yet?" He asked tiredly. "Not yet, Lifesaver...just that the thing won't separate." Ragged said, with a hint of irritation. A loud, continuing beep went off, signifying that Wire passed on. Nurse Redheart put a hoof over her heart. The three sat in silence for a while, sad about the loss, before they heard a shuffle. "What was that?" Ragged asked, looking around, but not behind. The nurse and doctor's pupils shrunk to pin points, and their ears flattened against their heads, as a dark shadow loomed over the pony scientist. Ragged looked back, and only managed a strangled yelp, before the shape ripped into him, spraying blood everywhere. When Nurse Redheart looked over to Lifesaver for advice, she discovered that he was gone, and the door was swinging wildly. Looking back she gasped in terror. The shape had been Wire, but his eyes were black...pitch black, and there was blood sprayed all over him. Wire was snarling a vicious snarl, pieces of skin hanging between his teeth, and was growling at Nurse Redheart. The lifeless body of Ragged twitched, and slowly stood, knocking Wire out of the way as he launched himself at Redheart, who had no chance of moving, before teeth dug into her skull ripping into her, as she let loose her final, blood curdling, scream... ~ * * *~ 8:47 a.m: Scratch woke up to sunlight appearing silently through the window. He looked around, scanning the room, as he sat up. Groaning, Scratch practically dragged himself out of the bed, and onto the floor, heading downstairs. As he trotted down the stairs silently, he couldn't hear the usual bustle of Ponyville, which confused him to completely new level. Scratch quickly made himself something to eat, and walked out the door, a little envious of Unicorns and Pegasi who have abilities that he, a normal Earth Pony, does not. Such as magic for example, or being able to walk on clouds. When Scratch looked outside, he saw that there was nopony in sight. Curiosity overtook him and he began to walk around, calling out names that belonged to ponies he had met. Scratch sighed and went over to Sugarcube Corner, stopping about halfway there when he heard a growl. Suddenly, he felt a great force ram into him, sprawling him out onto the ground, knocking him out of breath and making his vision blurry. Scratch looked up at his attacker as the blurry pony brought it's mouth down, and whispered in a raspy voice in his ear, that sent chills down Scratch's spine. "All will...fall..." The blurry pony said, vanishing. It was as if it never happened. Scratch was still standing where he had originally been, everything was as it should be. Except...he knew it had happened, due to a severe pain in his side. Shaking his head, the Earth pony moved on towards Sugarcube corner, while examining the area to make sure he wasn't tackled any more, or surprised. ~ * * *~ 9:07 a.m. After about a twenty minute walk, Scratch came within view of the famed Sugarcube Corner, and quickly brought up his pace to a slow jog. When the earth pony entered he felt chill run up his spine as he looked inside. The interior was dark and gloomy, and there was a small shape on the ground, about ten feet in front of him. "Hey there, where is everypony?" Scratch asked, a bit concerned. The shape did not answer, only stood up with a groan and turned to face Scratch, but it's face was hidden due to the darkness. It took a step forward, so the earth pony took a step back in confusion. There was a moment of silence... The pony in front of Scratch let loose a growl, far deeper than possibly imagined, yet still somehow female. It lunged at him, and Scratch barely had time to move before the creature landed where he had been only moments ago. As the figure stood once more, it was seen clearly. The pony, a mare, in front of Scratch had pitch black eyes, and where it's nose should have been was pure bone and blood. There were many other bite marks, all surround by green, which only added to the horror of it's appearance. Blood stained the mare's light yellow coat, and her bright blue mane. Worst of all, the mare's Cutie Mark wasn't there, only blood and muscle. The mare herself took a step forward, getting blood onto the ground, and slowly advanced to Storm Scratch, who had recently decided to hid behind the counter, rolling pin in mouth, shaking in pure fear. Taking a deep breath, Scratch leaped onto the counter only to see two more creatures standing next to the mare. Both were stallions, but before Scratch could analyze the pair, the mare lunged, immediately getting a face full of rolling pin, which cave in part of her face, ending her. The stallions growled at Scratch, who jumped to the side, as they lunged at the earth pony. Storm Scratch sprinted out the door, thinking one thing. "Pinkie Pie...you have some strong cooking utensils..." As Scratch approached a cross section, he heard growling and moaning. Grunts of effort, and the occasional scream of pain. When he looked to his left, he found nothing. Forward he found nothing. To his right, when his eyes examined the area, the rolling pin dropped out of his mouth, and he said one thing, with more surprise than anything. "Bloody hell..."
Chapter 2: Outbreak (End)"Bloody Hell..." Scratch wasn't scared, he wasn't angry, or much of anything really. It was as if the scene in front of him forced him to cut all emotional ties at once. The scene of which made him emotionally reboot, was this: Blood was spattered all over the ground, as well as bits and pieces of skin, belonging to their completely dead owners. A ring of ponies...no...a ring of those, creatures were surounding what seemed to be some royal guards, only recognized by their flashing armor. Storm Scratch heard a cry of pain as another pony fell, but when a few of the creatures leaned down to eat at it, the sight made Scratch freeze even more so. There was Fluttershy, tears streaming down her face as she hit one over the head with a frying pan, blood covering a majority of her coat. Rainbow Dash, her expression unreadable, bucking wildly at a nearby one, caving in it's face, earning her coat a new spot of blood. Applejack, who swung her lasso around one of their heads, then jerked, ripping it off, and surprisingly almost spotless. Well, besides her hind legs. Rarity was nowhere to be found, nor was Spike. Princess Twilight, who was currently casting a spell, which made one of the creatures get crushed into a ball, and was surrounded by her guard, which only numbered few now, all covered in a majority of blood guts and Celestia knows what else. Then...there was Pinkie Pie...her normally poofy mane and tail were straight, she held a meat cleaver in her mouth by the hilt, as well a small frightened look in her eyes, yet an everlasting scowl on her face, and she was covered in blood...hind legs, tail..all of her. Pinkie slashed a creature as it reared up, and sliced it's stomach open, spilling it's intestines out all over the ground, then jumping up and slashing down, cutting the face deeply, seemingly killing it as it dropped to the ground. With that, the creatures that had been feasting, looked up, blocking the view once more as they advanced. Scratch heard multiple growling noises behind him, and when he turned, he was met by two familiar stallions who had chased him, looking as gross as ever. He swooped down and gripped the rolling pin in his mouth, swinging at the first stallion brave enough to charge...there was a cracking sound that echoed around the area, only unable to be heard by the surrounded ponies due to the growling and moaning. The stallion stared at Scratch, unresponsive as blood trickled down it's forehead...then collapsed, skull splitting open. Now, the second stallion took the distraction and charged, glancing the live earth pony's flank when it dodged, but it was still enough to send him reeling. As the creature charged again, Storm Scratch swung down and, just like that, the rolling pin shattered over it's head, the recoil sending Scratch and the stallion earth pony back. As Scratch shook off the pain in his hoof, he limped away quickly, into a nearby house, that wasn't as dark as the others. When he entered, Scratch immediately entered the kitchen, which had no second exit except a window, searching for a weapon, even though he heard the stallion shuffling behind him. Something shiny caught the earth pony's eye as he quickly grabbed it in his mouth, gripping for dear life, and turned around. What the shiny thing was, was a long butcher knife, about 13 inches long, and very sharp. The stallion was face-to-face with him, and snarling, which surprised Scratch so much, he reeled back as he swung, only grazing it's nose, which, in turn, made it angrier. So, he swung again, dispatching of it's head swiftly. "Alright, mental note. Rolling pins: *bad. Long, sharp knives, **good.*" The earth pony thought to himself quickly as he galloped out the door, heading for the ring of ponies. As he approached Scratch saw multiple more creatures, which he now dubbed Zomponies, coming out of little alleyways, and dispatched of them quickly so he could make his way to the ring. Then, with a mighty heave, Storm Scratch launched himself over the ring and landed in front of the survivors, making most of them jump. Rainbow's jaw was open in shock as she bucked another zompony in the face. Scratch simply ceased to see anything around him, and it was as if everything was in slow motion. He slashed into one, killing it then swung at another, just barley reaching enough to kill, as he bucked a different one. Sure, the other ponies were dispatching them, but not very fast, as Scratch, fueled by a cease to care, tore into them. During the fight, the earth pony caught a glimpse of the pony DJ, but didn't care. Scratch stopped only when the zomponies were dead, then turned back to the other ponies, who leaned back at his appearance. "Has anyone else been bit or scratched?" He asked frantically. After a quick run over, the survivors proved fine and Scratch sighed, but tensed once more, when he heard a familiar voice. "You alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, a concerned face just barely hidden. "Yes, why wouldn't i be?" The exhausted earth pony replied. "Er...this is why." Rainbow Dash spoke up, pointing at a window nearby. Scratch got up, leaving the knife behind, as he checked his appearance...he gasped. Put simply, he looked horrible. His short mane was disheveled, matted with blood, as well as his coat. The earth pony's pupils were shrunk to pinpoints, and he had a few cuts and bruises on him. Not to mention, his Cutie Mark, which was a question mark, was almost covered in dry blood. He rubbed his shoulder where a slight green tint was, then turned back to them and laughed. "Wow, i look horrible." He laughed, a bit mildly, but nonetheless, laughing. "So, why were you all here?" Twilight stepped forward. "We are here to find some kind of clue to of what this is. So, we arrived here at said hospital, and got surrounded." She said, with a blank face. "Alright, well i'll help." Scratch said, not wishing to be question, as he picked up the knife in his mouth. Twilight nodded. "Thank you. Now, why don't you take Applejack and Vinyl Scratch, and hurry." All three nodded, and went in without question. ~~***~~ A shape moved in a nearby window, anxiously, inside the hospital. The living were coming, and soon, it would be time to feast...
Chapter 3: The Hospital (Part 1)Ponyville Hospital Tuesday (present day) 10:38 a.m. Twilight paced back and forth anxiously. She was worried to say the least. The small group that had went in consisting of Storm Scratch, Vinyl, and Applejack, had yet to return, and Princess Twilight's nerves were frayed. "They should have been back by now, RD..." She said nervously. Rainbow only rolled her eyes, though she was worried as well, and said. "Honestly, Twilight, they're fine. They probably found something of use, or decided to go scavenging." That shut Twilight up, with false hope, as one of her guard patted her back. "All will be well. No matter what trials this group must face." They all heard a shuffle behind them, and turned... ~~***~~ Scratch walked alone down the corridor, as he felt is heart beating extremely fast. He'd already killed several ponies that tried to eat him, after his group had decided to split up. His knife was stained, and Scratch struggled to keep it upright in his jaw. Looking inside a dark room, he saw some medicine (painkillers, that kind of thing), and immediately brightened. Quickly setting the knife down, Scratch put the medicine. in his pack, then turned around. "You're kidding, right?" ~~***~~ Applejack trotted slowly down the ominous, dark hallway, shining a flashlight down it with a hoof, holding her lasso with her tail. Moving the flashlight to her mouth, she opened a door, only to quickly close it, feeling the banging on the door, sending waves of agony down her back. She bucked the door in, on the zomponies and ran blindly. The earth pony saw a set of double doors, and slammed into them, only to stop in front of many, many, creatures. She backed up, but stopped when she heard growling behind her. Applejack gulped. ~~***~~ Vinyl Scratch walked down the hall until she reached another lobby. It was fairly nice, catching the light from outside in the window, and there were some chairs, fluffy and brown. the wood on it was oak, and fairly pleasant in her eyes. There was a desk over to the right, and and some papers on it. She stepped over to it, headphones blaring rock into her ears, and examined them. Here is what the paper said: Examiner of Patient: Ragged Black (amateur scientist) Patient Name: Wire ??? Date: Monday, April 2015 Time: 4:43 a.m. Patient Status: Critical Patient Condition (illness/injury): Unknown Recent Developments: Patient has recently began having seizures, and fever has begun rising dramatically, and temp has reached 118.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Began becoming pale, and bowels have stopped acting on command. Blood will not separate from illness. Notes: A different approach may be needed. Magic will be attempted to separate both compounds. Vinyl smiled and looked behind the desk for anything else of use. She found a flashlight, keys, a gun- "Oooh...Desert Griffon...sweet!" Vinyl cried as she searched some more. -, about four clips of ammo (which went into her bags), and a few ID cards. The DJ unicorn smiled at her find. After putting all items into her pack, and switching out her stainless steel knife for the gun, she turned around. A gunshot was heard from inside, audible to all within the compound and outside. ~~***~~ Twilight was currently hugging a bloody purple and green dragon, while others crowded around a certain seamstress. While they were celebrating the arrival of the two, they all heard a gunshot emit from inside. Twilight jumped, as did a few others. "At least we know they're alive..." Fluttershy said timidly. Rainbow nodded, now filled with hope. "You're right!" Even Twilight smiled, then turned to Spike. "How are you? You weren't bit or scratched were you? Oh, tell us how you got here!" She spouted endlessly. Spike smiled warmly, which looked a bit menacing due to blood getting smeared on his teeth. "Weeell..." ~~***~~ Storm Scratch backed up a small bit as a mare stepped toward him. She had been here a while, and one of the first infected, which was clear due to an eye missing, bloody coat, hooves worn down to bone stubs, and even peeling flesh. He looked at her as she blocked the path to his knife, charged, and bucked... He was met by a wall. Scratch yelped in pain, and limped as he stood up, seeing that the zombie was somehow where he had been standing before. The mare sprinted forward, slamming the earth pony into the wall once more with a yelp, and a groan. A white -hot pain seared through his shoulders, one from a fracture, and another from a bite. Bucking wildly, Scratch managed to graze the mare's face with one strike, knocking her away slightly. Storm Scratch groaned in agony as he crawled to the knife, gripping it in his maw. He turned over just as the mare pounced on his with a sickening shitch. All was quiet as the earth pony's consciousness faded. ~~***~~ Applejack jumped up onto a nearby crate of blood (for transplant purposes) and looked around. "Whoa Nelly..." The Earth pony mare said, as she saw many ponies (doctors, patients, and nurses alike), who were turned, all looking, some growling, but all at her. She swung her lasso, and ripped off a near ones head, sending blood everywhere, then jumped down, and repeated the process until she reached the door. Applejack opened it, and ran back down the hall, turning left, and then continuing on. She reached a quiet room, and quickly shut herself in, the flashlight her only tool to see. As the earth pony looked around she spotted a mare on the ground, which seemed to be laying on something...something, familiar. So, she walked over, moved the mare, with a lot of effort, and when she saw who it was, she gasped. It was Storm Scratch, the pony who had saved them with an insatiable blood lust, laying on the ground barely breathing, and surrounded by a pool of blood. ~~***~~ Vinyl stood over a dead stallion, who had been wearing a breathing mask of some kind, and seemed to be a doctor. Well, would look like it, if not for the blood, and the rotting smell, as well as the new bullet hole in it's head. She stepped over him, and walked on, checking doors, until she came to the last one of the dark hallway. The DJ attempted to open the door...it was locked. Vinyl Scratch used magic to grab the keys, unlock the door, and stepped in. As she looked around, using her horn for light, she came across another document: Examiner(s) of Patient: Ragged Black (amateur scientist) , Lifesaver (doctor), and Nurse Redheart (nurse) Patient Name: Wire ??? Date: Tuesday, April 2015 Time: 3:47 ??? Patient Status: Critical DeCEasEd- Vinyl was curious as to why it was marked out, but read on. Patient Condition (illness/injury): Diseased (stay away from without mask) Recent Developments: None so far THe LivINg ArE COMINg Notes: BLood ANd MeaT is POWeR...PoWER is- And that's where it ended. The DJ looked up, suddenly scared. They knew that they had been coming...and looking closer, the horrible writing was identified as blood. She backed up out of the room, as something in there let loose a horrible roar, as she ran to get her friends...
Chapter 4: The Hospital (Part 2) and Some Childhood MemoriesSweet Apple Acres Saturday, May, 2001 3:47 a.m. A young, orange, filly trotted slowly around her home orchard, smiling broadly. She was in a very good mood, and nothing would bring her down…until she heard a certain amount of news. The moon shone on her back, as the earth pony sat on the edge of the Everfree forest, most feared place in (most) of Equestria. This was where her life would change. This is where she would grow to hate the forest. Suddenly, a pair of barely glowing eyes opened, looking at the earth filly, and a slight smile appeared on its mostly featureless face. “Hi Applejack.” The shadow said smoothly. “Hello, Neo Scratch.” Applejack replied happily. This was their normal meeting place, and she had grown a certain attachment for the colt, who had recently stepped out. The colt was about the size of her, with a black mane that had faded, dark blue streaks. Neo had a mask, which looked like a realistic pony face, but no one, not even the Princesses of the Sun and Moon knew. He didn't have a Cutie Mark yet on his tan-ish gray coat, Even though Applejack did. “Please, I’ve told you to call me Scratch.” Neo replied with a shake of his head. “Sorry, sugar-er-Scratch.” The orange filly said, quickly correcting herself, blushing in the process. Scratch came over and sat by her, to where their coats were barely touching…. “I’m leaving soon.” Neo Scratch said, ruining the mood. “What?” Applejack asked, worried now. “You remember me saying that when I left, I wouldn't remember anything about you, Pinkie, or our friends correct? Well, I’m leaving soon…” The earth pony’s eyes widened. “Y-you can’t! I-I-we…why?” “I’m the last of my kind, AJ…I-“ “No you’re not! I’ma earth pony to, and ya’ll know that!” “AJ! I…I’m not what you think I am, and...since i'm the last, i must retain my culture's tradition of a memory wipe for a new life to begin…” Neo said sadly, and a bit darkly. “W-what’re ya talkin’ bout?” Applejack asked. Neo stood up, and pulled off his mask…Applejack gasped. ~~***~~ Applejack shook her head and looked around for a way out, as the banging on the door grew harder. She sighed…now was not the time to reminisce about the past. The earth pony had a new friend, even if she couldn't have saved the last one like him, she needed to save this one. Applejack looked at the door, gulped, and opened the door…only to be met with open air. Confused, Applejack heaved Scratch onto her back, put the flashlight back in her mouth, then continued down the hallway, hurriedly. Dodging multiple zomponies along the way, the earth pony ran down the hall, until she saw a familiar DJ, leaning against a door with her side, apparently struggling. ~~***~~ Vinyl had, had a nice time until that roar came along. She had been running...and running...and running, until she came to this door, coming to the realization that whatever that had made the roar wasn't following her. Knocking on the door, she had heard a shuffling, then more, and soon enough the zombies were pounding at the door. Not wanting to overwhelmed, she held the door in place, and thats when she had seen Applejack...and who was on her back. "A...little help-ompf-would be nice...." The DJ said hoarsely. Applejack raised a hoof, pointed it a Vinyl, then at herself, then motioned down the hallway stairs. The Unicorn nodded, braced herself, and let go of the door, galloping along the hall, and down the stairs, Applejack closely behind. ~~***~~ Spike gasped for breath, as Twilight nearly hugged him to death, while the others crowded around Rarity. "Rarity, what happened?" Pinkie could be heard asking, slightly happier, but still worried. "My little Spikey-wikey here, saved me. I was nearly eaten by those dreadful...things...." Rarity said, spitting out the last word with disgust. "Hey, who's in there?" The seamstress asked, hearing a noise come from inside the hospital... What happened next, no one would ever be able to explain in a way that made sense...a beaten and battered Applejack and Vinyl were thrown at their hooves, bags on, but Scratch and his bags were no where to be found. ~~***~~ Scratch groaned as he sat up, whimpering slightly as he moved his forelegs. He looked around...and couldn't find the DJ or Applejack anywhere. Sure, when he was being carried, he couldn't see, but he could hear...and what Storm had heard hadn't been pretty. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, glowing slightly as they did so, the earth pony stood shakily, seeing something move in the shadows. With that, he backed up, only to slip on something hard and cold. Examining what he had stepped on, with glowing eyes, his eyes widened at what he saw. It was a bag, his bag is what his first thought picked up on, and lying next to it was his knife. Quickly putting the hilt in his mouth, and bags on his shoulders, Scratch trudged forwards, groaning as pain flashed through him like a spear. Feeling something breeze past him, the earth pony spun around to meet with...an undead Bulk Biceps. All he could see was his face, and that's all he needed to see, due to Bulk not having a right eye, and have of his face. "Oh fuck..." Scratch said, not able to keep a filter on, due to how terrified he was, as he ran. A terrible and horrible roar echoed through the halls, and outside, as Bulk Biceps simply knocked very heavy stuff out of the way, chasing a limping/running Scratch, who stumbled over his own hooves as he ran. ~~***~~ Twilight stared in shock at the beaten body of here friends, and looked at one of her honor guard, expectantly. "Can't you heal them?" She asked. "Sorry ma'am, but i can't, but you can right?" The young princess shook her head. "It would take to long...let's just hope the other one is alive..." All of their ears perked up at the sound of a roar, Fluttershy fell over in fright, and Rainbow just stared expectantly at the doors. ~~***~~ Scratch ignored the pain that flared through his forelegs, the burning in his lungs, and the pain in his side from earlier. His drive was to live, and let those flesh-eaters rot in Tartarus. Very suddenly, a pain shot through his side, with the force of a truck, and he felt a moment of weightlessness. Pain wracked his very being, as he connected with the ground insi-wait a minute...that wasn't tile...that was dirt! Groaning, Scratch looked up with blurry vision, and saw Rainbow standing over him, mouth opened in shock. If Storm Scratch would look around, he would see that everypony else's expression was the same, but Rainbow's was for a different reason. Scratch stood up, shaking off the pain to the best of his ability, eyes glowing once more as they readjusted to the lighting. ~~***~~ Cloudsdale Monday (before the Saturday of Applejack), May of 2001 5:24 p.m. A certain young, blue, rainbow maned, filly trotted along on a cloud through Cloudsdale, heading home. Out of nowhere two bullies came up in front of her. The first one, a light, tan-ish brown, stallion Pegasus, Hoops, spoke up. "Hey, it's Rainbow Crash! Going to go crash again, but at home? Ha!" Now the second one spoke up, a dark brown, almost black, stallion, Dumb-bell,a spoke up. "Yeah, too bad the Academy kicked you out, we'd enjoy laughing at ya!" "I didn't get kicked out..." Rainbow Dash said quietly. "Can't you pick on somebody else?" Hoops spoke up once more. "Why, we just looove teas-ompf!" He was cut off by a dark grey hoof hitting his face. Falling to the ground, Hoop groaned. Dumb-bell looked up in shock at a colt, smaller than them, wearing a tattered cloak with holes in it, but his face was visible...glowing eyes as well. "It's not nice picking on filly's, so why don't you pick on someone your own size?" the pony asked, seeming intimidating at first, but then pathetic. Hoops stood back up, rubbing a new-found bruise forming on his cheek as Dumb-bell laughed and laughed a hit at the pony, sending him reeling. The pony lost it's cloak, and it revealed...and earth pony?! With glowing eyes that is. Both bullies, including RD, who had been in a state of shock for the defense, reeled back in shock. What was an *Earth Pony doing on a cloud?! Even better, how was an Earth Pony on a cloud?!* Hoops was the first to recover. "I don't know what you are but you are going dow-gah!" The earth pony launched a repeated amount of single leg bucks at his face. Knocking him clean out. Looking at Dumb-bell, he said. "You up next?" Dumb-bell shook his head, put Hoops on his back and ran off. Scratch sighed in relief, then held the side of his neck, wincing. "Hey, you okay man? That was pretty awesome...oh and...thanks..." Rainbow said, blushing slightly, but quickly straightened up and said, "But, don't tell anyone i was bein' mushy. I'll deny it completely." "I won't tell anypony, Rainbow Dash." The earth pony said walking towards her, head down. "Th-waaaait....how'd you know my name? I don't even know yours." she said suspiciously. The earth pony simply said, "It's Neo Scratch. I know your name, Applejack's, Pinkamena Diane Pie's, Rarity's, Fluttershy's, and one that hasn't been met yet. Though now you know me, i have one more who must know. Good bye, RD." With that, he jumped off the cloud, seemingly disappearing inside a void... ~~***~~ Rainbow was snapped back to attention when she heard a yelp of pain. When she looked back over, she saw Scratch on the ground, struggling to get up, in front of, Bulk. "HOLY CELESTIA, THAT THING IS HUGE!" Rainbow thought, hearing Storm say something to everypony. "Everypony, leave, i'll deal with this....urg..." Scratch spat up a bit of blood, then turned back to the Bulk. "Are you nuts?!" Twilight yelled in concern. "We aren't leaving you behind!" "JUST LEAVE!!!" Storm Scratch yelled at the top of his lungs, eyes beginning to have a hint of red, and were bloodshot. Everypony stepped back, and with much hesitation, they left, leaving the tiny-winged Pegasus and it's opponent to their work. ~~***~~ 1:18 p.m. Twilight looked at Applejack, who had remained silent, as well as Rainbow, who was silent as well. The troop of ponies were taking a lot long longer than normal, thanks to an abundance of zombies. Applejack had been the first to wake up, eventually coming to the realization that she had left her lasso, and Vinyl was still out cold. "AJ, where are we going?" the Princess asked "Sweet Apple Acres. It's the safest place ah know besides Canterlot. Ya'll should know me by now, i know mah safe places." The orange coat mare said, with enthusiasm, despite her beaten figure. "Oh..." After a moment they arrived at teh farm, seeing Granny Smith holding a large pitchfork, which seemed impossible. Big Mac was sitting on the steps with a shotgun, and little Apple Bloom, holding a large kitchen knife, peeking out through the window. The apples on the trees shining like new pennies. Apple Bloom spotted the group and ran out the door. "Welcome home, big sis!"
Chapter 5: Does "Safe" Even Exist?Rock Farm Tuesday, April 2001 8:56 a.m. A bright pink filly with a flat pink mane, by the name of Pinkamena Diane Pie, or Pinkie Pie, sat alone on a large flat rock, rubbing her cutie mark with contempt. Sure, she loved it and all, but what was the point of it, when there was no one to share the parties with? Yes, her family partied with her once a year, but that wasn't enough for the hyperactive pony. She was about to leave when she heard a voice. "Why so sad, Pinkie?" Pinkie Pie spun around so fast, it would be classified as impossible. In front of her was an earth pony, with a black mane that had faded dark blue streaks, which matched his tail. The pony's eyes were glowing slightly, and were staring at her, contently. "Er...hi there?" Pinkie Pie said cautiously. The earth pony stepped up to her. "My name's Neo, and i was wondering if you would like to have a party?" The rock farm inhabitant's eyes widened, mane returning to it's poofy state. "Oh, sure! Uh, let me just go get the stuff a-" Neo cut her off quickly, and gave some cryptic advice. "I already have things ready, Pinkamena. Oh...when you have friends...don't ever, ever let them get depressed, don't ever let them go." As they walked to the silo-like thing, the two earth ponies talked ecstatically, until Neo opened the door. "Whaaaaaa?!" Pinkie exclaimed,looking around at the completely decked out inside. Neo smiled as he looked at his work. the inside was completely filled with decorations, going from balloons, to a couple party canons, and a simple table with confetti napkins, and a double-layer cake in the middle. "Oh. My. CELESTIA! This party is amazing! Thanks!" the hyper pony said quickly before running of to a game. Neo smiled warmly, and said one thing. "Thanks for my last party, Pinkie..." ~~***~~ Sweet Apple Acres Monday, July 2015 9:48 a.m. Twilight sighed as she looked over the farm. It'd been almost a month since the hospital...almost a month since they lost a friend. Applejack had worked hard to keep the farm as safe as possible, but despite the gigantic wall, they kept losing more and more members...a lot more than what they were receiving. Over the last month, they had found several fillies, and a couple ponies old enough to fight. She had even made a list of every pony they've had: Overseers: Twilight Sparkle: Alive Applejack: Alive Rainbow Dash: Alive Rarity: Alive Fluttershy: Alive Pinkie Pie: Alive Spike: Alive Fillies/Colts: Apple Bloom: Alive Diamond Tiara: Alive Official Sentries: Big Mac: Alive Cheat Code: (last remaining honor guard of Twilight's) Alive Vinyl Scratch: Alive Deceased: Button Mash All except one honor/royal guard (too many to name) Missing: Sweetie Bell Scootaloo Granny Smith Storm Scratch Twilight sighed at the last one...he had sacrificed himself for them...but, there was still, if slim, hope. Scratch's body hasn't been found yet. She and her friends had mourned over the losses, but his more than ever. Twilight didn't know why, but she felt like she had met him before now...a long time ago...and it was bad enough, that she had to put things in parenthesis, it made her feel lousy for the dead. "TWILIGHT!" A certain cyan Pegasus yelled, for her attention. The Princess in question, turned around slowly, to face Rainbow. "Yes, RD?" Rainbow saluted and said, in a mock formal voice. "We've found another settlement in Ponyville, at the school." Twilight's manner straightened. "Gather up Applejack, yourself, and Vinyl. I'm coming along to. We've got a job to do." Dash nodded, then raced out the door, eventually gathering up the others outside. ~~***~~ Applejack stood silently, while the others wondered why they were here. Twilight came down, out of the house. "We have received word of another settlement at Ponyville's school." She said with a blank face. "..." All were silent, then stood up, and walked toward the gate, which consisted of a LOT of wooden doors. Applejack glanced at Twilight. "Well come on sugarcube. We've got some talking to do with those other folks." She said, walking through the gates. Twilight simply followed quietly. ~~***~~ Ponyville Market Monday, February 2001 5:03 p.m. A white unicorn, filly, with diamonds as her cutie mark, and a purple mane trotted happily through town, not able to wait to sell the gems for material. After a while, the unicorn ran into somepony, and was knocked down, her gems quickly getting taken by passing ponies who didn't care. Rarity, the unicorn, started to cry as she went home... Closing the door behind her, Rarity went up to her room, and drew what she had wanted to make, which was a simple dress that had the occasional frilly part to it. In fact, she had wanted to make a product from it, but it was not to be, since those meany ponies took her gems...or so she thought. The rain pounding on the windows with taps, seemed to sooth her soul... Ring! Rarity's ears perked up as she heard the bells from the front door ring, signifying that somepony had come in. Walking slowly down the stairs, she gasped when she got to the front room. A colt, about the same size as her, with a black mane that had faded blue streaks, a soaked tan-ish gray coat, and multiple bruises and cuts, stepped in, groaning, holding... a bag full of gems! "Oh, are you alright?!" Rarity asked, worried as she stepped forward. "Mostly...ow..i brought...the gems...you lost...back...ugh...." Neo Scratch said, groaning. Rarity's eyes widened. "Huh? Oh! Set them down, and...if i can, i'll get some bandag-" "No need." Neo said, suddenly not so weak now, as he set the gems down. "I went through a lot of trouble to get these. You should be thankful of my Generosity. Be Generous...it's rewarding." the earth pony said. "Oh, before i go, i'm Neo Scratch." "Rarity." The filly said as Neo disappeared. ~~***~~ The trek through Ponyville was a long one, don't get her wrong, but to Twilight, it was peaceful since their small group encountered little resistance. As they did travel, Vinyl spoke up. "At least we know they're alive." She said, hearing gunfire off in the distance. Applejack simply nodded, and sped up. Rainbow and Twilight were both quiet, but they sped up as well, now hearing moans of frustration. "Die, you undead scum!" "Carrier, watch your mouth!" "Sorry, boss..." "Watch your back, Bell!" "On it!" Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack all shared a look, then rushed forward...only to meet a wall with a medium-sized hold towards the bottom of it, pieces of skin hanging on it. The top of he school was barely visible, but there were undead Pegasi, Flyers to them, that were diving in and out. Vinyl sighed, and started to crawl through the hole, barley managing to make it inside, before she disappeared. "Get ready to rush in, girls! I'm opening the gate!" The DJ said True to her word, the gates opened to show quite a few Zomponies surrounding a group of colts and fillies, all about the age of Scootaloo, and in the middle, was Ms. Cheerilee, holding a shotgun in her hooves, blowing off another zombie's head. Beside her was Sweetie Bell, using her magic to hold a good size knife. The three newcomers nodded at each other and helped clear out the area... ~~***~~ 10:48 a.m. Twilight stared at the fillies and colts. How'd they learned to cope with this was beyond her, but she looked at Ms. Cheerilee. "Hello, Ms. Cheerilee." The Princess said warmly. "Eh? Oh, hey Princess Twilight." The teacher said, obviously tired as she checked over her children. "What're you here for?" Applejack answered this time. "Well, we've made a might fine base over at the Acres, and wanted ta know if ya'll wanted to come." "It's safe." Twilight said, finishing the sentence before they were interrupted by an appearance. Off to the side, groaning as he stumbled out of the doors of the school, was Storm Scratch. He had bandages wrapped around the right side of his head...and face. There were some bruises, obvious broken bones, though almost healed, and a few band-aids which covered the deeper cuts. His side had stitches which were poorly put in, since a large cut was on his side. Scratch's mane was disheveled, and gray coat covered in dry blood. The wounded pony said something, full of regret, and a tad bit of hate. "And, let me ask you a question, Twilight Sparkle... ...does "safe" even exist?"
Chapter 6: A Deal is Made...Fluttershy's Cottage Saturday, March 2001 (Before RD) 8:56 p.m. Ever since she fell out of Cloudsdale, Fluttershy had lived with the animals, occasionally heading into town for supplies. She lived inside a cottage on the edge of the Everfree, which had seemed abandoned. Fluttershy's pink mane was flowing behind her, wind beating at her until she reached the cottage. The kind Pegasi had been helping some baby ducks into her cottage, but when she turned around, Fluttershy had seen a shape dash off to the left, dropping a massive piece of timber onto the ground. As the filly examined it in the cold rain, which had recently started pouring down, she gasped...it was part of a Timber Wolf, but how did it lose this? Wait...that Timber Wolf must have taken the ducklings! Fluttershy ignored her massive urge to run and hide, and followed the Timber Wolf's tracks. As she approached the Everfree, completely soaked to the bone now, the filly heard grunts of effort, and then a massive thud beside her, splashing mud on her and the ground around. Inside the hole that was made was a colt, who was struggling to get up. When the lightning flashed, she got a quick look at him. The colt was an earth pony, who had large scratch marks on his body with blood oozing out of it, a disheveled black mane which had faded blue streaks, no Cutie mark, a soaked tan-ish gray coat, and slightly glowing eyes. Groaning, the colt got up as the lightning flash went away. Fluttershy's nerves were frayed from the thud the colt had made, so she just whimpered as she cowered down until she heard... "I'm going to get those ducks back...can't...let em die...ugh..." Fluttershy peeked out from underneath one of her hooves, and saw the colt treading back into the Everfree. Finally her nerve snapped, and the Pegasus ran back to her cottage, slamming the door shut behind her... 10:48 p.m. Fluttershy knew she should be in bed by now, being a filly and all, but...the Pegasus felt horrible... She had left a poor colt to his fate, as well as her duckling, not to mention she was still filthy, dragging mud all over the mostly barren house. Thunder rolled across the sky, sending it's booms of terror out into the open. Eventually, Fluttershy heard a slight knock at her door, and paused, surprised. Doing a quick shake to make herself, at the very least, presentable, she opened the door In front of her were the ducklings from before, all straining to be near another pony's leg. When Fluttershy looked up, she saw the colt from before, more cuts and bruises, a *huge** gash on his side, and a limp in his step, standing over the ducklings. The colt smiled weakly, blood smearing his teeth.* "Uh...h-hi...um...c-come in, little ducklings..." Fluttershy said timidly, as the babies did just that, wanting to get out of the rain. The colt that was smiling suddenly stopped and groaned, before looking at the yellow Pegasus before him. "Got..any bandages? Ugh..." With that, he passed out... ~~***~~ Fluttershy's Cottage Sunday, March 2001 4:54 p.m. Fluttershy rubbed her now clean coat, sighing as she looked over at the colt next to her, who was out cold. She shivered as she remembered patching up his wounds...a filly shouldn't have to do that...but... The Pegasus looked over at the sleeping colt, smiling warmly. Anypony who would go through this for animals, was a good pony in her book. The colt lying beside her groaned, opening his eyes slightly, then let out a weak yawn. "Ow...what...happened? ...oh yeah...that.." With a deadpan look, he examined Fluttershy. "O-oh, hi t-there..." The Pegasus said shyly. "My name is Neo Scratch, and i presume you're Fluttershy? Thanks for helping me with the wounds...quick question though...how long have i been out?" "Oh, about a day. N-not long at all..." Fluttershy said quietly. Neo sighed and sat up, rubbing where one of the deeper scratches were. "So...you take care of animals, correct?" "Y-yes..." "Well, i was hoping my kindness would pay off. Are the ducklings safe?" Neo Scratch asked. "Yes.." The timid filly replied. "Well, good, i have to go now...again, thanks..." The colt complemented as he stood up, heading to the door with a limp. "W-will you be OK?" Fluttershy asked. "I will. I'm also pretty sure i'll be seeing you again a while from now. Thank you for your hospitality, Fluttershy..." Neo said, leaving behind a, slight confused, but happy filly... ~~***~~ Ponyville School Monday, July 2015 10:54 a.m. Princess Twilight stared at the ground, thinking about what had just been said. She had been expecting something of a happy reaction, but not that... "And let me ask you a question, Princess Twilight...does "safe" even exist?" Those words still rang around in her head... "Er...you okay sugarcube?" The familiar voice of Applejack, snapping Twilight back to attention. "Yeah..." Then she looked back at Storm Scratch, and said. "Trust us, it's safe." Scratch snorted. "This place has lasted a month before they dug under. They're smarter than you think...no place is truly safe, Twilight." Vinyl stepped forward. "You're different somehow...I've got my eyes on you...But are you coming with us or not-ow!" Applejack had elbowed her in the side, sending a wave of pain into it. "Be nice... anyway...are ya?" Scratch sighed and thought for a moment, before nodding, and walking inside. After a moment, he came out with Scootaloo, and a few unknown colts and fillies. "Ready..." He said as Ms. Cheerilee gathered up the rest of them. Storm Scratch waltzed over to the, still open, gates of iron, and waited until everypony was out, following behind Twilight. "We should hurry, darkness comes sooner than one might think..." ~~***~~ Canterlot Castle Tuesday, May 2001 (after RD, before last AJ) 7:47 p.m. A lavender unicorn filly, by the name of Twilight, was lying on a massive bed, inside Canterlot Castle. She was reading one of her most favorite books about magic...at least thats what the case was until a voice came from a corner of her room. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle..." The unicorn in question looked up from her book, examining the room, until her vision came to rest on a pair of, slightly green, glowing eyes. "Er...hi? H-how do you know m-my name? What is yours?" Twilight questioned. "My name is Neo Scratch. I know a lot about you, and some...what was the word? ... soon to be acquaintances of yours..." The voice said as a shape moved and stepped out from the shadows. The voice belonged to a colt, no bigger than her, who had a pitch black mane with faded blue streaks, a tan-ish gray coat, and no Cutie mark. The colt's eyes were violent green, but in different lighting seemed to go from green to red, to even violet. He was also smiling a toothy smile that, Neo as far as Twilight knew, had normal teeth, but they were slightly pointed. Neo smiled warmly. "I hear you like books..." the colt said, pulling a book from his bags. The unicorn was confused, somepony she just met was giving her a book? When Neo Scratch finished getting it out, he gently set a book on the bed. Twilight looked over, and read the title. Unknown Species, Considered Extinct "What am i supposed to do with this?" The lavender unicorn filly asked. "Read it. Never tell anyone about it." Neo replied simply, walking over to the window. "I'll see you around, Twilight Sparkle..." "Er...bye?" The filly in question said, not used to many people talking to her. Neo leaped out the window, and hooves could be heard through the garden... ~~***~~ Ponyville Square Monday, July 2015 11:43 a.m. Applejack looked at Twilight. "Are ya'll sure he's alright? That stallion looks like he just saw somethin traumatizing..." Rainbow flew down next to her. "You're right..." The orange mare beside her glared at her. "Where in the hay have you been, Rainbow? We could'a used the help..." Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. "I totally didn't sneak into Sugarcube Corner..." "Rainbow..." Twilight said in exasperation, face hoofing in the process. "Sorry Twi, but i got a stomach that needed satisfied...hey, that rhymed! Er...sort of..." The rainbow maned Pegasus replied. Vinyl was keeping close eyes on Storm Scratch, when a colt came up to the group of four. The colt was fairly tall for his age, and his blonde mane stuck out like a dandelion in a weed field. He had no Cutie mark, but his eyes were blue, and filled with determination. "I'd be grateful he's even alive. Do you know what state we found him in? Scratch should be dead right now. When we found him, a lot of his bones were sticking out, there was blood everywhere, and whatever did that to him, was no where to be seen. Think about what he's been through. It's been much worse than all of us. Probably worse than all of you. I'd think about that." The colt said, beginning to trot away, clearly satisfied. All four of the mares were speechless. Never before had a colt stepped up to them like that... "He's right..." Twilight said quietly, glancing over at Storm Scratch, who was off in his own little world... ~~***~~ Storm Scratch has been through a lot, but never, ever, has he been through something like that before...it still haunted him to this day... ~~***~~ Ponyville Hospital Grounds Tuesday, June 2015 10:22 a.m. Scratch's body groaned under his own weight, he's taken too many hits, and he knew it....so did Bulk Biceps. The tiny-winged Pegasus in question charged at the bloody form of Storm Scratch, connecting with him and sending him into the wall, with a *crunch.* Bulk Biceps low out a series of growls that sounded like a demented chuckle. A dark figure stepped out from the shadows and spoke, with that voice, which sent familiar chills down Scratch's back. "As i said...all will fall...now, that i am more powerful, i am willing to make a...deal...the safety of your friends for...the sanity of somepony else..." The Shadow said simply, making it not sound like a request. Storm Scratch let out a small growl before replying with a weak, "fine..." "Good. Bulk, you can continue your fun." The Shadow said disappearing back into the shadows. Bulk Biceps stalked forward, and brought a hoof down at his head, and after that, everything was a blur... ~~***~~ Scratch jumped nearly eight feet in the air when he felt someone's hoof touch his shoulder. Looking over his saw Applejack staring at him with a concerned face. "You okay, sugarcube?" The mare asked carefully, feeling like she was on thin ice. Storm Scratch didn't answer, but he didn't need to...his eyes, which AJ just noticed seemed to change color in different lighting, gave off a broken look, as if something had been ripped from him. "We thought not. Look, we're here for ya if you ever need anything. Ya got that?" Applejack asked seriously, though she gave him a warm smile. Scratch nodded, then looked back at the ground, seeming even more down than normal. The farmer next to him sighed, and walked back over to her friends. "I tried..." Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "There's nothing we can do about it right now, we're nearly there anyways..." ~~***~~ Nearly an hour later they arrived at the farm, Scratch snorting at the gates of wooden doors. "How exactly are wooden doors safe?" He challenged. Princess Twilight looked away sheepishly. "Truth is...those creatures never get close enough to hit them..." Storm Scratch sighed and walked in as the gates opened, looking around gloomily at the (mostly) happy environment around him. The first stop the group made, was at the farm house, so they could put up their things. Applejack, with much hesitance, went to check up on the others, while Rainbow Dash went to check for flyers. Twilight went to update her list, and Vinyl went back to her sentry post. The fillies and Colts went to meet up with the others, and Ms. Cheerilee went to see what job she got. When the farm house went quiet, Scratch sighed and rubbed his wounds, looking around. He saw a shape standing in the doorway, which stumbled toward him, groaning and moaning in that horrible way only those zomponies could. Storm Scratch's pupils shrunk to pinpoints as he lunged at the shadow, knocking it to the ground despite his pain, tearing into the shape with his bare hooves, spreading blood on them, wrapping his hooves in the muscle until the shape was nothing but a smear in the ground...Scratch felt a huge pain go through his head, so he shook it. Suddenly the pain was gone, and Scratch looked down, seeing a horrible sight... Below him was a mangled shape of a stallion. The stallion had strangely blue hair, with black streaks, which matched his tail. The coat on the stallion was a tan color with the barest hint of gray, red eyes open in terror. Storm Scratch knew what he had to do...he had to hide the body...he had to do something...anything... ~~***~~ 9:38 p.m. Twilight and her friends walked into the farmhouse, only to see a...strange sight. The entire house was squeaky clean, top to bottom, and on the floor was the sleeping shape of Storm Scratch, who opened his eyes once he heard the others come in. Sitting up, Scratch looked at his comrades with a nervous look, having an empty feeling in his mind...not heart...mind. "Hi girls...ow...i figured i'd clean up a bit." He said with tired enthusiasm. "Well, ya'll sure did a might fine job, don't ya think so girls?" Applejack said happily. "Uh-huh..." They all replied, unused to seeing the house so clean. Storm Scratch stood up shakily, then glanced over at Twilight. "So where do i sleep?" "In here with us. Pick any room. if you choose a room that has another inhabitant, sleep on the floor. Spike's making Rarity's bed right now, before they hit the hay." The young Princess said with a bored tone. Scratch nodded then raced upstairs, picking the first room he laid eyes on, lying down a blanket and pillow on the floor, then, just before falling asleep, he heard Applejack's tired voice speak quietly. "Well, that was fast. I'ma find out whats wrong with you if it's the last thing ah do..." With that, he heard the creak of a bed, then a soft snore, before falling asleep himself...
