The Trotting Dead

by ZombieBrony22

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Adventure, Crossover
Length: 14218

A one-day picnic becomes an apocalypse. Twilight must try to lead Equestria past this new threat and fight forwards...

It was one second– one second– and it was over. Most of Equestria and beyond is overrun by a deadly threat. Meanwhile, Twilight is now leading Equestria forwards with help from new friends…

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-09-01 19:41:46 UTC

Day 001

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

I saw as Spike ran with suitcases in his claws and arms. I used my magic to carry a few off him and placed them on my back. I walked into a room where I grabbed a knife Shining gave me when I moved to Ponyville. He said "You don't have to use it, but just so my YSBFF doesn't forget me." I placed it in my suitcase and I went to get Spike.

"Spike! Hurry up! The train deports at 5!" I called.

"Hang on!" Spike said.

I waited five more minutes for Spike until he ran down.

"Are we going or what?" Spike asked.

I rolled my eyes and we went for the train and the others. I saw them near the train.

"Hey girls! Wait up!" I called as I ran.

"What took ya'll so long, Twi?" Applejack asked.

"Sorry. Spike had some extra packing to do." I said.

Spike then came running with four suitcases.

"Hey, guys." Spike said panting for breath.

We all had a laugh and I carried some of the suitcases.

****'S P.O.V

I was waiting in my house with Carl in Shane's car with him waiting for me to come back. I grabbed clothes and our family albums. I grabbed one of my husband, Rick. He was shot in an accident a few weeks ago. I placed them in trash bags and went back to the car.

"Let's go." I said to Shane.

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

I was about to step on the train when the guard stopped me.

"Ma'am, where are you and your occupants riding to?" All Aboard asked.

"To Canterlot." I said.

"Sorry, Ma'am, but with this sickness going around--"

"We have a personal summons from Princess Celestia herself." I said holding out the note she sent me.

All Aboard looked and sighed.

"Very well. ALL ABOARD!"

We arrived and saw how barely any ponies were out today. Of course, it was the virus-- at least the rumors of it. They said that it could cause ponies to get violent, but I don't believe it. Neither do my friends, but Spike insisted that I bought him a Swiss Army Knife and a mask for this trip. We arrived and found Celestia's castle. We trotted in and saw her with some other pony.

"Twilight. This is Red Needle. He's a scientist in the lab outside of Canterlot. He's here to help us evacuate as many ponies as we can to... ANYWHERE." Celestia said.

"Why, what's going on?" I asked.

"Twilight, did you bring the knife?" She asked.

I opened my suitcase and pulled out the 10-inch blade and placed it on the table. Red picked it up.

"Shining gave you this?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"The rest of you will help me keep Equestria safe from this virus." Celestia said.

"You mean that glorified flu?" Rainbow asked.

"You all saw the news last night, what happened."

YESTERDAY

I was watching the news when the story changed to a stallion limping and being poked at, he treated it like nothing.

"Rumors that this video is fake has been spreading. So far, these rumors are still unconfirmed--"

NOW

Rainbow was assigned with helping the royal guard escort civilians to the trains to go to separate places. me and Applejack were with Celestia helping defend the city from whatever this virus created. Rarity and Fluttershy, in their luck, was stuck escorting Blueblood to some castle outside Equestria. Wish them luck...

I was taking a walk with Spike outside the castle to see what was going on. We were near a shop when I heard growling. I pulled out my knife and told Spike to stay put. I went around the corner and saw some mare sinking her teeth into another's leg. She-- IT kept chewing until it saw me. It got up and snarled at me.

"St-stay back." I said pulling out my knife.

She showed no response as she kept snarling at me and trotting towards me. I shoved her back, but she kept coming.

"Celestia, please forgive me..." I stabbed her in the stomach.

She. Still. Kept. Coming.

Before I could pull it out, an arrow went through the head. When the body collapsed, I saw Red with Spike close and a bow and arrow on a bipod.

"You should aim for the brain. Only thing that kills them." He said as he pulled out the knife with his magic and handed it to me.

"I'll keep that in mind." I said as I wiped it off.

"Don't worry, the blood's not infectious, Just the bites." Red said.

"So these things are... ZOMBIES?" I asked him.

"Yeah. We call them Infected, but feel free to call them whatever suits your tounge." Red said.

SHANE'S P.O.V

We drove down the road until we saw a jam up ahead. a car was in front of us with a little girl. Lori and Carl went out to look for answers. I did the same.

"I'm Carol. This is my husband, Ed. This is Sophia." Carol said.

"Hi." Sophia said.

"I'm Lori. This is Shane and Carl." Lori said as she unpacked.

I saw Ed in the front smoking a cigarette. I had a bad feeling about him, I just couldn't lay my finger on it...

"So, what's going on?" Lori asked.

"We don't know. All we know is there's a jam near Atlanta." Carol said.

"What do we do?" Lori asked.

"We wait. We got nothin' but time, now." I said.

Day 006

LORI'S P.O.V

After the freeway and Atlanta bombing, Shane, me, Carl, Ed, Carol, and Sophia drove away from the roadblock. Shane was toying around with a C.B until we heard something.

"Hello... can anyone hear my voice?"

"This is Shane Walsh, speaking to messenger unknown, please respond."

"I hear you! Shane, my name's Amy. We have a camp set up off the highway, the rock quarry." Amy said.

"We'll be there in 10 minutes, repeat, 10 minutes."

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

We were setting up a quarantine zone in Ponyville with walls set up to keep the dead out. After Rarity and Fluttershy managed to escort Blueblood in one piece, they joined in on fortifying the walls with us. After a few days, the walls were finished. Not fences, a big, concrete and metal wall all around Ponyville.  We went to Canterlot to try to find some survivors.

"I doubt there's anypony left." Red said.

"Me too, but we gotta look." I said.

Now that most of Canterlot was evacuated, we had less hassle telling the Infected from the ponies. Me and Red were out looking around when we saw a construction site filled with food and building materials.

"You get food, I get building materials, as much as you can carry." Red said.

We grabbed as much food and construction materials as we could and headed back. We saw some Infected come by us and near a house. I went inside and saw about 5 of them. I then snuck out and used a spell to destroy the house. Red looked at me confused.

"There was 5 of them. I couldn't take them all on." I said.

Red nodded and we headed back into the walls. We dropped the heavy bags off and we went to rest.

*****'S P.O.V

I was with T-Dog organizing the food when 2 cars came by.

"Is that them?" Amy asked.

Then, 6 people came out, counting 2 children.

"Who are you?" Jim asked.

"I'm Shane. This is Lori, Carl, Ed, Carol, and Sophia. You must be Amy." Shane said pointing at Amy.

"Yeah." She said.

Dale came out.

"These are the people you contacted?" Dale asked.

"Yeah. That's them." Andrea said with him.

"Well, I'm Glenn. This is T-Dog, Jaqui, Morales, Jim, Miranda, Eliza, and Louis." I said.

"Hope you like it here." Dale said as he went back into his R.V.

RED'S P.O.V

I was laying my head down on my bed when I saw something outside. I got up and grabbed my knife. I opened the door and saw Twilight with Spike.

"Hey. What is it?" I asked.

"It's Celestia. She called us." Twilight said to me.

We went and saw her in Twilight's castle with Luna at standby.

"You said you wanted us?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. We have a problem." Celestia said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I think one of us is infected."

"What? Who?" I asked.

"Her name's Bon Bon. Whenever we went to her home, she never answered the doors. Her marefriend said that she was outside the walls on a run where all the other ponies were killed." Celestia said.

"I'll talk to her." Twilight said.

"Be safe." I said to her.

SHANE'S P.O.V

We were settling in with the camp when I asked about the city.

"Don't go there, man. It's a war zone, Geeks all over." Glenn said.

"Geeks? That's what you call 'em?" I asked.

"He does. We call them Walkers." Dale said.

"Sounds like a good name. Walkers... I like it." I said.

I looked at Ed, who was telling Carol to get in their tent. I looked at Ed, who looked like he was gritting his teeth.

"What's up with him?" I asked.

"I don't know. He's just like that." Andrea said.

"We should keep an eye on him, though." T-Dog said.

We kept planning when the leaves rustled. I grabbed my shotgun and took my aim.

"Come on out!" I said.

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

I was trotting to Bon Bon's when Lyra, her marefriend, stopped me.

"Look, I know I shoot my mouth off sometimes, but if she's bitten, tell me. Okay?" She asked.

"Of course." I said.

I knocked and waited. After she didn't respond, I opened the door. I trotted upstairs and went into her room.

"Bon Bon? It's me, Twilight! We're worried about you. You know, after the run..." I said.

I was about to leave when I saw a figure limp out of the closet. It looked at me with white, empty eyes.

It was Bon Bon.

When she walked out, I saw a dark red bite on her hindleg and her stomach with a blade in it. I pulled out my knife and stabbed her in the head. She fell to the ground and I pulled it out. I looked in sadness at the corpse. I knew her when I came here, she was sweet enough to help me adjust with the others. When I found out she was lesbian, I agreed to take it okay. I met Lyra and we got along pretty well. But now...

"Twilight! You okay?" Red asked.

He came up and saw Bon Bon.

"I-I'm sorry..." Red said.

"Don't worry about me. Worry about Lyra." I said.

SPIKE'S P.O.V

Bon Bon's funeral was short but sad. I didn't know her well, but I knew she was a good friend of Twilight.

"..in this world, we have losses. Ponies who were good, bad, and, well, friends. We must mourn this death, despite her sexuallity. May Bon Bon rest in peace." Celestia preached.

We were sent off and I went to see Rarity.

"Rarity? Are you home?" I asked.

"Hello? Oh, Spike! Please come in!" She said.

I walked in and took a seat.

"What do you need?" Rarity asked.

"Nothing, it's just... I think there's something wrong here." I said.

Day 007

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

It was a day since Bon Bon's death. Lyra was mourning at her grave for a while... I'm starting to get worried about her. I was waiting for somepony to talk to her until I saw Rarity trot by.

"Twilight, Spike wanted to talk to you, darling."

I went to see him in the Carousel Boutique with Sweetie Belle.

"Rarity said you wanted to talk." I said to him.

Spike got up and lead me out back.

"Spike... what's going on?" I asked.

"It's about Celestia. I don't think she's acting right." He said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Spike, you really need to be careful here." I said.

"Listen, she KNEW that run was a bad idea. It was full of those things for a while, and she STILL sent them in." Spike said.

"Spike, what're you talking about?" I asked.

"I saw guards search the place a week before. It had more of them then, and she STILL sent them out." Spike said.

"I'll talk to her." I insisted.

"Be careful, Twilight. This place might not be safe..." Spike said.

I went to see Celestia who was speaking to Red.

"Celestia? I need to talk to you-- alone." I said staring at Red.

"Okay." Red said calmly as he trotted out.

"Yes?" Celestia said.

"I talked with... some ponies. They think you sent the people on that run knowing that they wouldn't come back. Is this true?" I asked.

Celestia looked at me and slowly nodded.

"Ce-Celestia... why?" I asked.

"I thought they left by now. I guess I was wrong." Celestia said.

"Bon Bon DIED on that run. You had an Infected IN. CAMP! Anypony could've turned. Me, Luna, YOU..." I said.

"This run HAD to be done. We needed that medicine, and we got it. We lost lives, but it happens in this world." Celestia said.

I didn't say another word. I left as soon as she said it.

SHANE'S P.O.V

We were settling in at the camp. Lori and Carl have a tent a few steps away from mine. I was helping Dale keep watch against Walkers.

"So who's in charge here?" I asked.

"We were working on that." Dale said.

"What do we do about those new guys, Merle and Daryl?" I asked.

"I don't know. Daryl's crossbow is quieter than my gun, so he might be useful. But his brother..." Dale started.

"Hey, old man! My brother's STAYIN'!" Daryl said.

"We know, we just... we just have some concerns." I said.

"What's goin' on, here, huh?" Merle asked.

"Nothin'." Daryl said.

"Yeah. He's right. Just some talk." I said.

RAINBOW DASH'S P.O.V

I was walking out of the factory when I saw Twilight walk by.

"Hey, Twi'!" I called out.

She didn't say a word. She just kept walking.

"Hey, what is it?" I asked.

"Ce-- Celestia knew about the run and that it was infested." Twilight said.

"What?! There's no way she knew! Ponies DIED on that run." I said.

"I just talked to her, Rainbow. She knew." She said.

"Wh... why would she..."

"I don't know. The worst part is that she admitted it, right to my face. Like it was nothing, she just..."

"This... this is insane." I said.

"I know." Twilight replied.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"Get the others, Rarity, Pinkie, all of them. Tell them we're leaving." Twilight said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Twilight, we can't just leave! These ponies need us. We can't just leave because we're mad!" I said.

"... I know." Twilight sighed and took a seat.

"Then what is it? We can't wait for her to get more people killed. So what do we do?" I asked Twi'.

"The only thing we can do: Nothing."

I was mad at her answer, but I knew she was right.

"Want me to tell Spike?" I offered.

"No. I got that." Twilight said walking out.

****'S P.O.V

"... Today is day 7. The town's secured, and the military's moved in now. A fence is being set up to keep the Infected out. No-one's been infected so far, besides Susan and maybe Patrick. My dad says this could work. I doubt it. Christopher Clark signing off." I said to my video camera.

I noticed an Infected limp closer to the guards. Moyers noticed and shot it dead.

"That shot's gonna draw more. The fence needs to be build ASAP!" Moyers said.

I saw my dad walk by telling me to hop down from the roof.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just your mom wants you." Travis said as he went back to his jog.

I went to see my mom and saw that she was helping nurse the sick people.

"Dad said you wanted me." I said.

"Yeah. You're gonna have to stay at Madison's tonight."

"What?! Mom, I can't!" I said.

"Well, we have too if we're going to make this work. Travis wanted to move east, but the military came first. All we can do is make this work." Liza said.

"Fine. I'll go pack my stuff." I sighed as I went to my room and started packing.

Day 014

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

After what happened with Celestia, she seemed to stand down as a leader. Since no-pony didn't know what to do, I started making decisions and everypony went along with it. Celestia asked for me a few minutes ago. I was trotting down to her room in my castle.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I saw you out there today. You've been making decisions for the past week and you've been doing better than I've ever been. I know that ponies already see you as a leader, but I want to make it official. After this, I am leaving Ponyville, leaving Equestria for that matter." Celestia said.

"What?! Celestia, what do you mean 'leaving'?!" I asked.

"I have been in contact with my cousin in Aquestria. I am heading there later today." Celestia said.

Before I could talk more, Red came in.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Guards reported Trotters on the right wall, a lot."

SHANE'S P.O.V

We were working on our campfire when Daryl called out.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's some kid, man." Daryl said.

I ran over and saw a kid, only a few years older than Carl, with a rifle and a handbow slung on his back, a machete sheathed like a sword, and a large jacket.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked.

The kid looked at me and took off the hood.

"...Dewy. Dewy Decimal."

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

I followed Red to the wall when I saw about 50 Trotters trying to get through.

"This many won't bring the wall down, but that sound's attracting more and that'll bring the wall down." Red said to me.

"Alright, we need to draw them somewhere. Maybe a... maybe the mountains or somewhere else." I said.

"I have an idea. We could build a hole or a pit somewhere, draw them there, then light it up. Trotters are attracted to fire, so we can take out more." Red said.

"Alright. Rainbow, I want you to get the other pegasi on it." I said.

"You got it, Twi." Rainbow said.

RAINBOW DASH'S P.O.V

I flew over to Cloudsdale, which was part of our safe-zone, and told them about our plan.

"I'm in." Spitfire said.

"Me too." Soarin said.

"Alright, who else?" I asked.

About 6 other pegasi rose their hooves and we started packing. Shovels, guns, and flares.

"We gotta go!" I said as I saw the Trotter count was now 70.

We flew as fast as we could to the area and started digging. We had a hole about 20 inches deep and 10 inches wide, probably not enough, but it'll have to do.

"Get the flares ready!" I called out.

We flew back and dropped a flare. The Trotters started following it. We threw another one nearby, we kept doing this until they reached the pit. They fell in and we lit it up.

"Good job! Now, come on! Let's go home." I said.

We flew home, higher to avoid Trotters. We made it and we saw that the wall was cracked.

"We can fix it. We can always fix it." Twilight said.

This was when Celestia trotted forward.

"This is why I choose Princess Twilight Sparkle to take my place as leader of Ponyville, and after this, Equestria itself."

The crowd cheered and I was with them.

SHANE'S P.O.V

After we sat with the kid, he told us about an establishment up north near Atlanta. He told us about the leaders.

"They're EVIL, Shane. You wouldn't understand, because you won't HAVE to." Dewy said.

"Is someone named Rick in there?" Lori asked.

"I'm not sure, I'm sorry." Dewy said.

"You can stay here if you want." Dale said.

"Thank you, but I have somewhere in mind: Washington D.C." Dewy said.

"Alright, then. At least rest up." I reccomended.

"Alright. Are you sure you don't mind?" Dewy asked.

"We don't mind. The shower works, not good, but okay. Lori and Carol can wash your clothes meanwhile." Dale said.

"Thank you." Dewy said as he got up and walked in.

I looked at Carl who looked curious.

"Where was he from?" He asked.

"Don't know, bud. Best not to worry 'bout it. Besides, like he said, we won't have to if we stay here." I said.

"Got it." Glenn said.

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

It was a few hours after we led the herd away. We were already remodeling the wall with spikes set up around it and thickening the walls. I saw Celestia start loading a bag with food and water. She saw me and sighed.

"I hope you understand this, Twilight." She said.

"Of course I do. You want to be safe, but you know you can't lead. I get it, but I just hate it. What do I tell the others?" I asked her.

"Easy: Tell them the truth. I couldn't stay here anymore, not with the way I had things. I was scared, and I didn't have to be." Celestia said to me.

"Celestia... wait." I said.

She stopped and faced me.

"If you see anything that could threaten us, write a note to Spike." I said.

She nodded and walked out the gates.

She was gone... most likely for good.

As she left, I heard Red call out from the south. I galloped over and I saw... something at the other side.

"Who are you?!" I called out.

"...Liza." The creature said.

Day 020

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

It's been about a week since Liza showed up. After my day long research, it was apparent that she was a Centaur, a hybrid being-- Human and horse-- that has been resurrected after death from another world. It was until now that I didn't know where...

I saw Liza pass by and I wanted to ask her something.

"Oh, Liza." I called out.

"Yeah?"

"Do you... do you know anyone named Sunset Shimmer, by any chance?" I asked.

"No, I'm sorry." Liza said to me.

My heart was crushed. From what Liza and Griselda have told me, Earth is going through what Equestia is going through: The zombie apocalypse, well, Walker Apocalypse in Liza's and Griselda's case, due to no zombies existing on Earth.

"She might be alive, Twilight. I have hope." Griselda said in Spanish.

"Maybe..." I said.

DEWY'S P.O.V

I was helping Dale keep watch on top of his R.V.

"So, Dale, how did you build this place?" I asked.

"Well, T-Dog was taking his church van around, I met Amy and Andrea inside Atlanta shortly before all hell broke loose, and we found each other. We knew the city wasn't safe, so we found this place on a map. We drove here and saw that it was completely empty. The hill up here seemed decent enough, so I parked my R.V and we eventually got the tents. We were thinking of breaking down the stones for walls." Dale said.

"How will you do that?" I asked.

"Ever read Animal Farm?" Dale asked.

"Actually, I have. We read it for school, but we never finished it. So, you plan to push boulders down and hope that you can push them up? Even with that creek down there?" I asked.

"Yeah. The creek isn't that deep, so all we have to do is pull them out and let them dry." Dale said.

"Not sure if I agree with you, there. The cans work well enough, as far as I can see." I said.

We were silent until we noticed that it was past 12.

"You should get some rest. You said you were 13, right?" Dale asked.

"14." I said.

"Well, you should still get some shuteye. I can handle myself, you know." Dale said.

I hopped off the R.V and saw that Daryl was still up.

"...Daryl, right?" I asked.

"...Yeah. What?" Daryl asked.

"Where did you learn to shoot that thing?" I asked, pointing at his crossbow.

"...My dad. He tought me." Daryl said.

"Hmm." I said.

"How did you learn how to shoot?" Daryl asked.

"My dad. He was an A-hole, but he at least tought me how to survive. I watched some Parkour videos, so I have that." I said to him.

"Sounds like you got a chance." Daryl said.

"Yeah... I do. So do you and your people. I'm sure of it." I said.

"You should get some sleep." Daryl ordered.

"Fine." I said as I made my way to my tent.

I layed my head down and soon closed my eyes.

SPIKE'S P.O.V

I was in Twilight's Castle with Fluttershy and Rainbow.

"Wait, Rainbow, you wanna go on that run tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm surprised that you aren't." Rainbow said.

"Well, I like to stay as far from the Trotters as I can, thank you." I said.

"Oh, that's not why..." Rainbow teased.

"Oh, stop! So what if Rarity asked me on a date?" I asked her blushing.

"It means she likes you!" Rainbow blurted.

"Okay, so what?" I asked.

"Oh, Celestia, you're numb. She likes you and she wants you safe, so she called you off the run!" Rainbow said.

I turned to Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, is this true?" I asked.

"Um... I-I have no idea." Fluttershy said.

"Well, I'm not going anyway, so it doesn't matter." I said.

Rainbow soon started snickering and Fluttershy was just confused. I walked out to see Rarity at the Carousel Boutique. I walked in and I saw her making armor for the run tomorrow.

"This kind of leather is known for it's strong properties. I tried myself, no Trotter's getting into it." Rarity said.

"Yeah... I'm glad Twilight told you to make them out of the old dresses." I said.

"Yes, although it is a waste..." Rarity said.

"Well, think about how many lives you're saving." I said as I place my claws on her shoulders.

"Thanks, Spike. You know how to make a mare feel better..." Rarity said as she started to relax.

SHANE'S P.O.V

I woke up and saw that Dewy was packing up.

"What, you leavin'?" I asked.

"No. I'm just taking inventory." Dewy said.

I nodded and sat next to him.

"That kid of his, what's his name?" Dewy asked.

"Carl?" I asked.

"Yeah. Keep an eye on him, will you? I saw him playing near the cans earlier. Not that anything's wrong with that, but what if an Eater came and got him silently? Plus, what if... Adagio comes here? You need to prepare him for that..." Dewy said.

"Wait, who the hell's Adagio?" I asked him.

"Not the person you'd want around Carl, or Lori, or anybody in this camp... she takes people and she gives them a choice: Contribute or be her sex slave." Dewy said.

Carl? Sex slaves?

Hell no.

"Where is this 'Sex Camp'?" I asked him.

"In a high school nearby. Crystal Prep." Dewy said.

"Wait, that snob school?" I asked.

"Yep, that's the one." Dewy said as he started walking out.

"Wait." I said.

I grabbed a spare rifle and gave it to him.

"It's got no ammo, but I bet you can find some." I said.

"Yeah, I'll make do." Dewy said as he headed into his tent.

"Shane? Who is that guy?" Carl asked behind me.

I turned back and down at Carl.

"...Someone who gets it."

Day 024 [Part 2]

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

"EVERYPONY BACK!" I galloped as the horde got close.

I fired a shot, but that didn't matter now. The pegasi were trying to use thunder clouds to draw them away, but all that did was draw more in. They flew lower to try that way. But they were pulled down and torn apart before they could fly up.

I saw Rainbow kick a Trotter off of her and fly up. She saw me and flew my way.

"Did you see Spike?!" I asked her as we flew for the castle.

"No. The last time I saw him, he was with Rarity yesterday." Rainbow said.

I didn't even answer back. I took turn towards the Boutique. We swung the doors open and I saw that Red was already there. We quickly grabbed a mannequin and placed it in front of the door with a spell. We saw the door slam open as soon as we put the barricade up.

DEWY'S P.O.V

"Now, you wanna look at the dirt. See how the it's all messed up?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, I see it. There's a trail in it." I said.

"Good. Follow it, and soon enough, ya find what you're lookin' for." Daryl said.

I followed the trail and in time, I found something.

Adagio's people.

"Crap! Get back!" I whispered sharply.

Daryl and I hid behind a big thicket of bushes.

"That's them?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah." I said.

We listened to their conversation.

"...I'm just sayin'. We looked this far for what? A boy?! We have bigger things to worry about. How about Atlanta? We saw the Eaters in there! Too many, and food's gonna run out in there." A guard said.

"Yeah, I overheard her talk about that. She said we should try for D.C, maybe that factory nearby. I have no idea, I just heard from my cousin who's one of her Toys." The other said.

"Toys?" Daryl whispered.

"Shh! I'll tell you back at Camp. We let them pass, then we go." I said.

"Wait, did you hear that?" A guard asked.

"Crap..." I whispered as I grabbed my handbow.

"Hey, hey! What're ya doin?!" Daryl whispered.

"Killing them before they kill us." I said as I took my aim.

I pulled the trigger and the guard fell to the ground. I grabbed my machete, rushed out, and decapitated the other. I turned around and saw that they had a truck.

"I got their weapons. You get the truck." I said.

Reluctantly, Daryl got out and checked the truck. He revved the engine and it started.

"Good. Get that thing back to camp, I'll be there soon." I said.

Daryl drove off faster than I can say "Adagio".

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

We were locked inside the Boutique with the Trotters trying to get in. I was watching the doors and reinforcing them with either my magic, or more mannequins to brace the door.

"Mostly everypony got inside their houses, there is that, Twilight." Rarity said.

"...I know. It's just... I saw pegasi get pulled down and..." I started.

We were silent as I kept making the door hold. It was getting harder to control. I then felt some of the struggle ease. I looked up and saw Rarity apply her magic to it. Red came up and did the same.

"I told Spike to start finding loud objects and set them off. Once they're all here, the others will come out and take care of them." Red said.

We were silent until I turned to Rarity.

"Where was Spike last night?" I asked her.

DEWY'S P.O.V

I was grabbing the rifle I was given, readying up for the run. I saw Glenn come by with an axe.

"You ready?" I asked him.

"Are you?" Glenn asked.

"I was ready since the sun came up. I've been in Atlanta dozens of times. Never for supplies, but a way to get Adagio off of me." I said.

"Yeah, who is this Adagio? Was she your neighbor or something?" Glenn asked.

"No. She went to my friend's school." I said.

"What was their name?" Glenn asked.

"Does it matter? She's probably dead." I said.

"You should still talk about it, man." Glenn said.

"...Alright. Her name was Sunset Shimmer. I met her a few months before the world went to hell. She was one of the nicest people I've ever met." I said.

"What happened?" Glenn asked me.

"Well, I was home alone when it happened. Someone went up to our door, a neighbor. I opened the door and he said that his wife was attacked. I went to see and... well... she was bitten. None of us knew what it meant until she came back and tore her husband's throat out. That was my first confrontation with an Eater. When I learned that no-one was coming home, I headed out to find help. That was when Adagio came in. I was searching a building with another friend of mine, his name was Dwight. Adagio rolled up with her sisters in the back, and the rest was history. He handed me this and headed off with them. I followed them for scouting, and I saw what I know now..." I said.

"Jesus..." Glenn started as he placed a bag on his back.

"Can we go now?" I asked.

"Yeah. Sure..." Glenn said.

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

We were still holed up inside the Boutique. Spike was able to set noises up and it was working.

Unfortunately for us, we were holding them back.

"There's just too many of them!" Red said.

The Trotters started breaking through the windows.

"Twilight, if we don't get through this, I want you to know that you're a good pony." Red said.

"Red, we WILL get through this!" I said.

The door gave in and we ran upstairs. I grabbed a couch and lodged it between the stairs.

"We have to get out of here." I said.

"Wait! I have an idea. You get the one on the left, I get the right one. We'll need at least two..." Red said as he disbatched a Trotter and pulled in into the safe-zone.

I did the same and we dragged the bodies upstairs.

"You might want to put Spike in another room..." Red said as he grabbed an axe.

"Red, what are you doing?!" I asked.

"Think about it, Twi! They don't attack each other, why? Easy: The smell. They smell dead and we don't. But if we do smell like them..." Red said.

I took a minute to consider this. There are more Trotters inside the house and more are coming.

"Rarity, take Spike into another room. Grab us some bedsheets while you're at it..." I said.

"Um... okay." Rarity said as she took Spike's claw and brought him into another room.

"You have an idea on where he was last night?" Red asked me.

"...Yeah. He was here with Rarity, most likely..." I said.

"That's it? That's all you think?" Red asked.

"No. It's not..." I said as Rarity came back in with bedsheets.

"I also have Spike's pocket knife to cut holes for our heads..." Rarity said.

"Well, get to it." Red said as he swung the axe into a Trotter's stomach.

DEWY'S P.O.V

"You sure about it?" Glenn asked.

"Trust me, I've been on this exact street before. There's a gun store nearby, and it's loaded." I said.

"I hope you're right..." Glenn said.

"Trust me, I am." I said as I loaded my rifle and looked down the street.

"It's clear." I said.

We hopped down and we paced into the store.

I was right, it was loaded...

Of Walkers.

"Damn it! Adagio got to it first!" I said as I slammed the door shut.

The door slam attracted the city on to us, as about 50 Walkers were around us.

"GO!" I said as I went to the roof.

Glenn went to the roof from where we came. The Walkers were pushing on the roof door. I grabbed a board on the door and I shoved it between the hinges. I looked back and saw that Glenn was gone.

He didn't see me go to the roof, and I was hard to see, he must've thought that I was surrounded.

"Damn it..." I cursed as I looked down on the streets and saw that it was infested.

Wait... I have an idea...

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

Our makeshift ponchos were done. Red was smearing the guts on the ponchos and I only had one thought.

I really had to scratch my nose...

We made our way down the stairs, with Spike at my side.

"Now, when we get out there, no-pony say a word. They might hear us." Red said as he pushed the couch down gently.

We walked out and saw that about the entire herd was inside the Boutique.

We went outside and I stayed while the others went on ahead. I was readying up a spell to start to break down the Boutique. After about a minute, I brought down the Boutique, and most of the herd went with it.

I turned around and saw Rarity glare furiously at me.

"Rarity, it was the only way to stop them. We have other things to worry about now..." I said, pointing at the other houses, with other ponies now walking out.

Day 531

****'S P.O.V

"...Turn it off..." I heard Tyreese say in the back.

After a minute, he stopped breathing. We stopped the car and carried him out.

"Damn..." I said.

"I'll get him." Michonne said, grabbing her sword.

She forced the sword through his forehead and I radioed Carol.

"Tyreese's dead. We'll be there soon... get a shovel ready." I said.

"Alright, Rick." Carol said a moment later.

I looked around to make sure Walkers weren't on us.

I could've sworn that I saw someone move in the woods.

"You alright?" Noah asked me.

"...Yeah. Maybe." I said.

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

It's been a year and a half since the attack. Not much has happened since then. The Trotters seemed to nearly vanish, but they're still out there. I guess our exterminations are working.

"Hey, Twi." Red said from behind me.

"Hey, Red. Did you see Spike?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's with Rarity, go figure..." Red said as he rolled his eyes.

I let out a chuckle and I sat down with Red.

"How long has it been since the attack? A year?" Red asked.

"One and a half." I said to him.

"Yeah." Red chuckled.

It was okay for us after the attack, until we learned that Pinkie, Derpy, Spitfire, and various others had died in the attack. Luckly for us, most of the ponies survived, but not all of us.

DARYL'S P.O.V

We were back at the camp, burying Tyreese's body.

"We look not at what can be seen, we look at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary. But what cannot be seen is eternal. For we know that if our earthly plain is destroyed, we have a building from God. A building, not made with hands. A building... in the heavens. In the heavens..." Gabriel said as he closed his bible.

We each took the shovel and placed a pile of dirt on Tyreese. When we were done, Rick finished burying the body. We went back to the cars where we waited for him.

Then, out of the bushes, a face appeared.

"Um, hello." The voice said.

We quickly raised our guns and turned around. The stranger raised his rifle and pointed it at us.

"Easy, friends..." He said.

I recognized that rifle. It was the one we gave to...

The one we gave to...

"Dewy?" I asked.

SPIKE'S P.O.V

I opened my eyes and started recalling the night before. I moved my head slightly and felt Rarity's mane on my nose.

"Morning..." I slowly said, trying to wipe the sleep off of my system.

"Good morning." Rarity said, moving her head to face me.

"How was... um..." I awkwardly started.

"It was beautiful, Spike. Just like always." She giggled.

"You think Twi's on to us?" I asked her.

"Even if she is, I won't be suprised if she and Red hook up. They've been friends for only a year, and they've been talking more than the six of us ever have." Rarity said, rolling her eyes.

I let out a chuckle and kissed again.

DEWY'S P.O.V

Could it be them? After all this time?

"Daryl?" I asked.

He nodded. Glenn stepped up and Carol looked on. I saw Carl, older and with a cowboy hat, but definitely Carl.

Looks like he isn't a Toy yet...

"You have no idea how great it is to see you guys. Wait, where's Shane?"

Their faces turned into either confusion or sadness.

"Dale?"

Glenn let out a long sigh.

"Sophia?"

Carol turned away.

"Morales? Jaqui, T-Dog?"

No-one moved.

"Lori?"

Carl couldn't look at me.

"My God, I'm so sorry... come on out, guys." I said.

The others came on out with their weapons holstered.

"Everyone, including those of you I don't know, meet Paul Monroe, Ezekiel, Clementine, A.J, Magna, Yumiko, Molly, Kelly, and Bernie. We're... well..." I started.

"You're what?" Carol asked.

Everyone looked at us. I saw the guy with the orange handlebar reach for his M16, but Glenn stopped him and shook his head.

"Well, old friend... we're the Resistance."

RED'S P.O.V

I was near the walls, checking them for changes. Twilight came up and saw me.

"It's been holding since we added the thicker walls. It's fine, Red. You don't have to be so stingy." Twilight said.

"You can never be safe enough." I said, looking for tears in the walls.

I was silent as I heard Trotters banging on the wall.

"You should take them out, or they'll attract more." I advised.

"That's the guards' job." Twilight brushed off.

Sure enough, silenced shots went into the Trotters and the banging was suppressed.

"You did a good job, bringing that weapons article back with you after your trip to Earth." I said.

"After the Changeling attack, I thought we could use some advanced weaponry. When Sunset showed me that article, how could I not bring it with me?" Twilight asked rhetorically.

"Good point." I joked.

"So, anyway... there was something else I wanted to talk to you about." Twilight said.

"Okay... why do you sound like you wanna be alone?" I asked.

"Because it's something I wanna ask you... privately." Twilight said.

RICK'S P.O.V

I was finished burying Tyreese. I was paying my respects before I started heading back. I heard rustling in a bush. I walked over, drawing my gun. I was slowly walking in the forest, until I turned past a tree and two young faces faced me. One of them had a large ponytail of blue hair, while the other had a mask over their face.

"You found us, okay?! We earned what we took..." The blue haired one said.

I was confused, what did they take? Who did they think I was?

I couldn't wonder forever, because I turned around and a man with a baseball bat smacked me across my head.

Day 532

RICK'S P.O.V

My eyes were barely open, but I could hear them.

"...Probably just a soldier from one of the outposts... probably hates her too..." The one boy said.

I fell unconscious again.

"We just need to find the Resistance, and we're clear. This is the last day we're living like this." The boy said with what seems to be that blue-haired girl resting her head on his shoulder while the other one was sharpening her knife.

I finally woke up for good this time.

"You up? Good." The boy said as he drew his gun on me.

"Here's the deal: You don't say shit, and I don't kill you."

"I'm not who you think I am..." I said.

The boy cocked his gun and pointed.

"Say something else... come on, I dare you." The boy said.

"Norman... put the gun down." The blue-haired girl said, placing her hands on Norman's shoulders.

Norman lowered the gun and pulled me up.

"We're moving." The girl with the mask said.

I nodded and we started walking.

RED'S P.O.V

I was in too much of a rush. Twilight, the leader of this community, just asked me out on a date!

"Calm down, Red. You've known this mare for the past 2 years. You can do this... you can do this..." I said as I knocked on her door.

"It's open!" Twilight called.

I walked in and I saw Twilight, and she obviously made a stop at Rarity's. She found one of Rarity's old dresses she had stocked up and cleaned it up.

"Wow... um... you look great." I said, flattered.

"Thanks. You do, too." Twilight said.

As for me, I managed to find an old tuxedo of mine that I used for science conventions back before the Trotters.

"Thanks. Um, may I come in?" I asked.

"Of course." Twilight said.

RICK'S P.O.V

"If we hurry, we should see the Resistance HQ." The blue haired girl said.

"Yeah. We should..." Norman said.

"What's the Resistance?" I asked suddenly.

I thought Norman was going to smoke me, but instead he looked back.

"The Resistance is the group that hasn't had enough people. It's the only people who are against... her..." Norman said.

"Wait, who's her?" I asked.

"Man, you really want this disguise to work, don't you? You know who she is." The masked girl said.

"I have people out here. A son, a baby girl, and about 13 other people. If they find you, they will kill you..." I said.

"What, are you gonna pull something on us?" Norman asked, drawing his gun again.

"Do you really think that we're afraid of 15 of Adagio's men? We took on 50 at once... look where we are." The masked girl said.

"Wait, Norman, she doesn't keep children... how old's your son?" The blue haired girl asked.

It's been so long that I've lost count...

"16, maybe 15..." I guessed.

"Hah! He's probably one of Adagio's Toys! HE probably is, too!" Norman said as he shoved the gun into my head.

Time to make my move...

I grabbed his gun and twisted it out of his hand. He cracked me across the face and the gun went off into the dirt.

"F***! You just drew them to us! God DAMN IT! We gotta MOVE!" Norman said.

I snatched their bag of supplies and took off. They shot at me, but I kept running.

"We NEED that, please!" The blue haired girl pleaded.

I just kept on running.

DEWY'S P.O.V

"Where is he?" Daryl asked.

"I don't know, he said he was here..." Maggie said.

"What if Adagio got him?" Glenn asked.

He remembered...

"Wait, who's Adagio?" Noah asked.

"You want the full version or the short one? Adagio is a warlord, an evil dictator with everyone kneeling at her feet. She has a factory, not too far from D.C. She also has outposts set up, kinda like mini-camps. Towns, schools, apartments... but they all answer to her, and her alone. If you wind up there... it can only go two ways: Soldier or Toy." I said.

"Wait, what the hell's a Toy?" Abraham asked.

I turned back, and I turned to Jesus.

"...Show them the tattoos..." I said to him.

Nodding slowly, he walked forward and took off his jacket, revealing about 20 black tallies written on his back.

"What in the dick..." Abraham started.

"These marks are the marks of a Toy. They represent every time he... destressed Adagio as a living. That there is a Toy... in a nutshell, anyway." I said.

I saw some sickened faces in the group. Daryl looked almost pale, Glenn looked away, struggling not to vomit.

"This is only one of about 20 men and women, 13 and up." I said.

"Wait, men and women?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah. If only your companion, Rick were still here, so he can protect his son at all costs..." Paul said as he put the jacket back on.

"We could sit here all day and describe Adagio's philosophy, but we gotta find your leader, first." I said.

"He was here. Rick couldn't have gone far." Carol said as she pulled her trench knife out.

"Careful, you don't know what or who can be out here..." Ezekiel said.

Sure enough, three people came out of the woods. There was a kid with a beanie, a girl with blue hair in a ponytail, and a person with a mask on their face.

"Easy..." The boy said as he drew a makeshift spear.

"You take it easy. Drop your weapons." Clementine said as she drew her gun on him.

Sure enough, the boy dropped the spear.

"Who are you?" I asked, taking a step closer.

"I'm Norman. This is Sonata and Aria. We're, um... looking for the Resistance." Norman said.

"You're looking at it." I said, holding my hand out.

"You're Dewy Decimal? You're the guy who took on a horde of Walkers on a rooftop in Atlanta?" Aria asked.

Glenn looked slightly ashamed.

"Yeah, that's me." I said as I shook Norman's hand.

"You have idea how long we've been--"

"GET AWAY! CARL! GET AWAY!" A man screamed from the woods.

Everyone drew their weapons at Norman as Rick stormed out of the woods.

"Whoa, whoa... YOU'RE with the Resistance?! Why the hell didn't you say so?!" Norman asked.

"DROP YOUR GODAMN WEAPONS, NOW!" Rick screamed.

"Rick, lower your voice!" I hissed.

"Who the hell are you, and how the hell do you know my name? And to top it all off, WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON HERE?!" Rick demanded.

"RELAX, GOD DAMNIT! You're just gonna make things worse!" Daryl said.

Rick looked at us, lowered the gun, and took a breath.

"Who are you?" He asked calmly.

"My name's Dewy Decimal, leader of the Resistance. This is my team." I said, pointing at my group.

"How do you know my name?" Rick asked.

"I was with your group when you were in the coma, near Atlanta. After a while, I went back and saw a map with a note meant for... Morgan?" I asked.

"What the hell's going on?" Rick asked.

"Rick, we're called the Resistance for a reason..." I started.

RED'S P.O.V

"Thanks for dinner tonight, Twilight. You really didn't have to make it." I said as I took a bite.

"I know, but I figured since it was a special occasion, you know? Plus, you ARE eating in my house..." Twilight said.

I chuckled and she chuckled with me.

"So... um..." Twilight started.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I... don't know how else to say this... wanna stay here tonight?"

Day 536

RICK'S P.O.V

It's been 4 days since we met up with the Resistance. They took us to their home, an old middle school with massive walls to keep Walkers and this "Adagio" away.

"How do you know her?" I asked Dewy.

"She sent men to raid us several times. Dewy was even on the hunt from her when he found Shane's camp back in Atlanta. He said that's why he left your camp when he did, so they can live free. But now... They're not being hunted by Adagio, yet... But the dead and the living." Ezekiel answered.

"Wait, so none of you has seen this girl, but you're so convinced she's real?" Glenn asked.

"I've seen her many times while I was alone in Atlanta. Norman, can you confirm that you were a Toy, along with our man, Jesus?" Dewy asked.

Norman looked at Dewy, and then at Rick.

"Yes." He confirmed.

"And there it is." Paul said.

"Yeah, she's real. She's real and on her way, too." Daryl said, pointing at a pickup truck.

"Oh, shit." Dewy muttered as he grabbed his silenced rifle and shot at the truck.

The truck drove closer and I started firing at it. When the truck stopped, an R.V came up behind it and rammed it. When the doors opened, about 4 people came out. Once Dewy saw them, he was stunned.

"Mom?" He called.

He threw his rifle to the ground and bolted toward the person who he just called his mother.

"Dewy?" The woman asked, dashing to him.

When everyone walked out of the R.V, we saw one person who didn't belong. She had a black leather jacket like Daryl's, just darker and too small. She had red hair with small yellow strands in it.

"Sunset? You saved them?" Dewy asked.

Sunset nodded and held Dewy in an embrace. I walked up to the small group.

"I'm Rick. You?" I asked the woman who said to be his mother.

"Jessie. These are my sons, Ron and Sam."

We met up and we brought the R.V inside.

"Everyone, this is my mother and my brothers. This is the one I've told you people about. She knew Adagio before the Walkers." Dewy said.

"You KNEW her?!" Paul asked.

"Well, knew is a strong word, but yeah. I knew her, somewhat." Sunset said.

"What was she like? Did she do what she does now?" A Resistance member asked.

"Um... what does she do now?" Sunset asked.

"I'll tell you four later. Right now, we have people to welcome." Dewy said.

"Actually, we wanna hear it ourselves." Abraham said.

Dewy let out a sigh.

"See that bonfire over there? We can talk there." He said.

We headed over and Dewy took a seat.

"Adagio Dazzle is the leader of a settlement nearby, the factory. She has soldiers who she calls Saviors. We've seen as many as 20 on scavenging runs. I don't even want to think about how many they'd send to take us over." Dewy said.

Norman stepped up.

"It's not just Saviors. She collects herds that gather near The Sanctuary and either use them to build the walls up or they lock them in a nearby football stadium for an emergency army. They'd most likely draw them here if we ever run out of food." He said.

"How do you know that?" Sunset asked him.

"Me, Aria, and Sonata were from there." Norman confessed.

"Yeah. We have others from there, too. You'll fit right in." Dewy said.

SPIKE'S P.O.V

I was with Rarity at noon, I think. We were on a bench near the center of town.

"What happened with Twilight and Red? Did they..." Rarity started.

"Yep. As far as I know, at least." I answered.

Rarity let out a chuckle.

"Well, it's about time. I was afraid those two would never get together." Rarity said.

We sat there, talking about how we knew they'd get together for the past year, until Twilight called us.

"Yeah?" I asked once we caught up.

"The portal's open. I wanna go and find Sunset. Maybe the others, too. Wanna come with me?" Twilight asked.

"What if it's the same over there?" Rarity asked.

"Don't worry, I have a gun and I have my knife. Spike can stay in the backpack."

Rarity gave her a threatening look.

"Probably should've said that he turns into a dog." Twilight chuckled nervously.

Rarity didn't let the stare go and galloped away.

"Is she okay?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know. She's never like this." I said.

"Anyway, I wish the Centaurs can come with us." Twilight said, sighing.

"Me, too. Lee would do good, maybe Shane." I suggested.

"No, definitely not Shane." Twilight said.

I remembered the story, how he slept with his best friend's wife (Who does that?!) and probably is the baby's father.

"On second thought... maybe Rainbow should come with us, too." I said.

"I'll get her." Twilight said.

RICK'S P.O.V

"...So, these Saviors, they'll find us, they'll hunt us, they'll try to own us... Just like these 'Wolves' did." I said to the people, pointing at Jessie, who told the story of Alexandria.

"Now, we need to come for them, before they come for us; that's how we keep this place, it's how we feed this place." I said.

"Rick, I understand your anger, I do. But Rick, I care for my people, too. There are just too many of them." Dewy said.

"I'm tellin' ya, 'Adagio's' a myth, some boogeyman." Daryl said.

"Thanks for trying, but she's as real as we are." Paul said.

"Listen, we need to fight. We have too. People'll get hurt, but it'll be a far cry compared to what'll happen if they attack." I said.

"We tried. We almost won, but we lost support, and we got cornered. Adagio lined us up, and killed one of us. His name was Aiden. She bashed his head in, right there, in front of all of us. She then took our youngest, Fran, and made her a Toy. She was 16..." Dewy said, his voice slightly cracking.

He cleared his throat and turned back at us.

"Even if this worked, she has outposts. 20, at least. Satellite stations, military checkpoints, you name it, she has it." Jesus said.

"We'll do it. If we go, kill Adagio, take out her boy toys, will you hook us up? We want rooms, medicine, and more food." Daryl said.

Dewy was stroking his chin, clearly in deep thought.

"You'll do it?" Dewy asked me.

"Yeah, of course. Confrontation isn't a problem we have trouble with." I said.

"Well... I suppose it's worth a shot." Dewy said.

"We would like to speak to the person in charge, it's about time we met them." Carol said.

Dewy chuckled.

"You're looking at him." He said.

Day 537

DEWY'S P.O.V

I saw Rick talk to my mother a little bit. As it looks, my dad's either dead, or he left; hopefully, it's the latter.

"Hey." Sunset said to me.

"Oh, hey Sunset." I said.

She went next to me and saw what I saw.

"It's good to see her like this." Sunset said.

"Yeah... how did you find them?" I asked.

Sunset stopped for a moment.

"Well..."

2 MONTHS AGO

SUNSET'S P.O.V

It was a year or two since the Brainless came and took over Canterlot. I've been on the move since then.

I kept driving until I saw a big sign for a town called "Alexandria", it sounds like a good place to stock up. I drove in that direction and I saw a big wall, with a gate on the front. I stopped the van, walked out, and tried to look for a way in.

But all I found were people wanting out.

I saw a woman with two kids, holding the gate. The woman drew a gun on me.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Easy. My name's Sunset. I was just hoping to stock up here." I said, holding my hands up.

"You won't find that here. Everything we had was taken weeks ago." The woman said as she lowered her gun and opened the gate.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Maniacs with Ws on their heads. They came and killed everyone." She said.

"You have a gun, is there an armory?" I asked.

"We looked, nothing's left of it."

"Damn... wanna come with me? I'm trying to find an old friend of mine." I said.

"What's his name?"

"Dewy Decimal." I said.

The woman's look changed to shock.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Dewy's my son..."

NOW

RICK'S P.O.V

"...And they just killed all of us. Or who was left..." Jessie said to me.

"I'm sorry. We came from a place, too. It's gone now, a prison." I said.

"From here?" Jessie asked.

"No, Georgia." I said.

"What moved you up here?" Jessie asked.

I looked around for Eugine.

"You see that man down there?" I asked.

"The mullet? Yeah." Jessie said.

"He lied to us, and said that he knew a cure for the Walkers. Noah then told us that he had family in Virginia, we went there, they were gone." I said.

"Sounds horrible." Jessie said.

"Yeah, it was." I said.

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

"Twi'!" Rainbow shouted.

Me and Red bursted out of bed, galloped to Rainbow, and asked what was going on.

"There're ponies out the gate. They sound like they're from that place you were, Earth?"

I galloped to the gate and saw 2 ponies with guns.

"Who are you?" I asked, panting for breath.

"Hello, my name's Aaron. This is my boyfriend, Eric."

"You two need something?" Rainbow asked.

"Just a place. We lost ours, ran to a town to meet up with our people, ran into a sign, and wound up here." Eric said.

"Is there anyone left there?" I asked.

"No." Aaron said.

I sighed, opened the gate, and let the two in.

"Welcome to Ponyville. I'm Twilight." I said.

"Thank you for this." Aaron said as he handed his gun over.

"You, too." I told Eric.

He handed his gun and I showed them one of the empty houses.

"You know, we were recruiters back at Alexandria. We could help you get more people." Aaron said.

"Sure, that'd be great." I said.

SUNSET'S P.O.V

"Okay, and that's Daryl?" I asked Sonata.

"Yeah, that's him. Looks like Merle didn't make it, though..." Sonata said.

"How do you know Daryl?" I asked her.

"No, we just knew Merle. At least... Adagio did. We saw Daryl a few times with him, watching the bike while Merle and Adagio... Uh..." Sonata started.

"Wait, so Adagio was a prostitute before?" Rick asked.

"Yep, that's pretty spot-on." Aria said as she was whitling a twig.

"Why do you wear the mask?" Rick asked her.

Aria stood up, took off the mask, and showed Rick an ugly burn on the right side of her face.

"How did it--" Rick started.

"Iron. Right here. Solve your question?" Aria asked Rick as she put the mask back on.

"Yeah." Rick said as he shook his head and walked away.

"We should get Dewy." Sonata said.

"Sure." I said as I noticed Daryl was holding something.

It looked like a small statue. I decided to go talk to him about it.

"Hey, Daryl." I said.

"Hey." Daryl said.

"What do you have there?" I asked.

"This? It was from Merle. He got it from Adagio, after one of there meetin's." Daryl said.

"Wait, that was regular?" I asked.

"Once every two days. Since Adagio became old enough. She was 18, right?" Daryl asked me.

"I have no idea, she was at high-school, so... maybe." I said.

"Yeah, she was." Aria said behind us.

"Thanks for the heads up, and no thanks for the image." I said as I got up.

Daryl chuckled and started working on the bike the Resistance gave him.

"So, you're Sunset?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. You're Rick?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Look, you said you knew Adagio before?" Rick asked me.

"Yeah." I said.

"Do you know if she's... dangerous?" Rick asked.

"Trust me, she's very dangerous." I gravely said.

Day 540

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

After Aaron and Eric volunteered to look for Sunset and... others, I told them that I was going, also.

"Who's going to take over when you're gone?" Aaron asked.

"We have a counsel. They can handle themselves." I said as I holstered my gun.

"Suit yourself." Eric said as he grabbed his rifle.

"Let's go." I said.

RICK'S P.O.V

After a few more days of staying with the Resistance, we decided it's time to think long-term here.

"Have you seen Dewy around?" I asked Jesus.

"Yeah, he's chatting with the new recruits." He said.

"Wait, who?" I asked.

"Aria, Sonata, Norman, and Daryl. They decided to join us, along with others in your group." Jesus said.

I nodded and went to see Dewy. He was chatting with Glenn and Daryl.

"You sure you two can do this?" Dewy asked.

"Yeah, it's gotta be done." Daryl said.

"I'm in. I'll talk to Maggie about it." Glenn said.

"What's goin' on?" I asked.

"Some of your people are interested to join us." Dewy said.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that. If you have the room, I was thinking we should start talking long-term here." I said.

"Like what?" Dewy asked.

"Like farming, water, supplies." I said.

"We've been thinking of that, too. We have some of us farming, but we don't have any water sources, and even if we did, we would have no way of replenishing it." Dewy said.

"We can collect rainwater, morning dew, the usual primitive survival tactic." Eugene said.

"That's not a bad idea, Eugene." Dewy said.

"We need something to collect it all in, and we need a lot of them. We should get construction crew on it." I said.

"I'll ask Abraham if he's up to the task. I feel like he's a heavy-lifting kind of guy." Dewy said.

"That's one way of putting it." Glenn said.

Daryl was silent, but I could tell something was on his mind.

"Daryl, you alright?" Dewy asked.

"'M fine. Just... give me a sec'." Daryl said.

I took his word, and I left to check on Sasha, who volunteered to be placed in the school's roof as a sniper.

"You okay?" I asked her.

She didn't answer, and went back to checking the area.

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

We went through the portal, but we wound up somewhere else...

"Wait, where are we?" Twilight asked.

"This is Virginia. We found the portal on our way out of Alexandria." Aaron said as he showed me where we came out of.

It turned out that we came out of another statue, but it clearly wasn't the same one. I read the sign-- I had some trouble, due to me knowing only Equestrian-- and it said "Shirewilt Estates".

"What happened here...?" I asked.

"We have no idea. All we saw was that sign over there." Eric said.

I looked and saw the words...

ADAGIO NOT FAR

and

WE ARE ALL ADAGIO

Written with blood.

"Adagio's here?" I asked.

"Wait, who's Adagio?" Aaron asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." A man said behind us.

RICK'S P.O.V

"Look, we can't go back to Shirewilt." Noah said.

"There're still supplies there, we couldn't get to them because..." I started, remembering Tyreese.

"I'll go." Sasha said.

"Me, too." Daryl said.

"We can go in there, take out those Walkers... We'll have another outpost. Count me in." Dewy said.

"I'm in, too." Abraham said.

"Screw it, I'm in." Norman said.

"Alright, let's load up." I said.

"Don't count me out." Jesus said as he grabbed one of his knifes.

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

"...I'm gonna need you to get on your knees." The man said, backed up by his 20 other men.

We already gave up our weapons, and we got on our knees.

"Now, we don't know you people, but you definitely have a place. Y'all got clean clothes, no beards... Let's just cut this to the chase. You're shit, it ain't yours anymore."

"Who's are they?" I asked.

The man took a step.

"You're property... now belongs to Adagio."

We were silent as the man pulled two guns on Aaron and Eric.

"You see, we introduce ourselves by just poppin' one of you right off the bat. Now, question is, which one of you gets the honor?" The man asked.

"No-one." A voice said from behind us.

Before anyone could say a word, gunshots took out the 20 men, including Asshole #1.

"You can get up now! It's safe! We mean no harm!" The voice said.

We stood up, and watched as about 8 people came from the trees.

"Hello there, I'm Dewy. This is Rick, Sunset, Sasha, Daryl, Norman, Abraham, and Paul-- we call him Jesus." The kid said.

Aaron was panting for breath.

"Hi. I'm... I'm Aaron. This... this is Twilight, and Eric. Wow, that was something..." Aaron said.

"Were you two from here?" Rick asked.

"Actually, we're from there" I said, pointing at the sign.

"And what's there?" Rick asked.

I could tell he had no idea what I was talking about, so I stuck my arm through to show them the portal. Some of the group jumped back, while others just had a petrified expression on their faces.

"Let me sum this up. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am not human."

Day 540 [Part 2]

RICK'S P.O.V

We took Twilight back to Resistance H.Q, where we discussed Equestria.

"It could be everything we've ever wanted." Michonne said.

"It could be something to love." Glenn said.

"Yeah, something to trust." Dewy said.

"Or... something to fear..." I suggested.

We were silent as I saw people start to pack.

Time for a larger world.

DARYL'S P.O.V

Rick doesn't know what he's getting into. Adagio... she's dangerous. Hell, I'd say she's worse than the Gov'nor.

"Daryl?" Glenn called.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You said you knew Adagio and her sisters before, right?"

"Yeah, Merle did... Why?" I asked.

Glenn swallowed, and I knew this was serious.

"Does the name Aria Blaze mean anything in this?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah, she's one of the three who took Rick, why?" I asked.

I saw Glenn put one hand on his holster.

"Whoa, whoa... calm down, a'right? Just chill before you do somethin' ya' can't undo." I said, putting my hand on his holster-arm.

"You don't know..." Glenn whisperer as he went to Maggie.

What the hell was that all about?

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

I was talking with Noah, who was telling me about Beth.

"I'm sorry. We lost people, too. Trust me, we all lost someone by now." I said.

"Can't be more true." Abraham said.

"You must be Ford." I said.

"Yeah." Abraham said, following an awkward silence.

Luckily, the silence was short as Dewy came and told everyone to pack.

"Let's see this... 'Equestria'." Rick said as he loaded his Colt Python.

We were at Wiltshire Estates. The car broke down, and we knew that we wouldn't be able to make it back.

"I guess this is a one-way trip, then..." Rick said.

"Yeah, I guess it is." I said as I went back to Equestria.

I plopped on the ground, and I quickly moved back.

"Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Everypony, I would like to welcome newcomers. Quite a few of them, actually." I said.

Rick came through first. I helped him on his hooves. I saw some startled faces as he came from the same mirror I did.

"This is Rick Grimes. He's the leader of the group. I saved his people, and offered them a place here." I said.

"Wh..." Rick started.

"Might wanna move back." I said.

It took Rick a second, but he moved over, just in time for Daryl to come through.

"This is Daryl. I feel like he and Rainbow Dash have a lot in common..."

SPIKE'S P.O.V

It's been an hour since we welcomed Rick's group. I was talking to Carl, who was talking about Earth in more detail.

"Wait, so Twilight wasn't a scaleless dragon?" Spike asked.

"No." Carl said, laughing slightly.

I saw Rick talk to Twilight. Twilight nodded, her horn glowed, and Rick turned back to... whatever he was.

"I'll be right back..." Carl said.

I nodded, and decided to visit Rarity.

"Who are those ponies?" Rarity asked.

"Twilight brought them here from the Crystal Mirror. She said she saved them." I told her.

"Yes, I did speak with her, and she said there's a meeting by Town Hall in a few minutes. Want to come with?" Rarity offered.

"Of course." I said, hopping on her back.

We made it to Town Hall, where Twilight was talking about a new enemy. I noticed some ponies giving Rick's people odd looks for them no longer being ponies, but I'm sure Twilight will fill the gaps.

"...Her name is Adagio Dazzle. She is one of the three sirens from Starswirl's Oddesy. She somehow made it to the zombie apocalypse, and she has raised a massive army of... people she calls Saviors. We need to unite with Rick's group to counter this threat before it reaches us." Twilight said.

"We could leave them alone. I mean... they haven't found us yet." One pony said.

"We saw a group of them by your portal, they took down the safe-zone that was there, and it looked like they had interest in staying." Rick said.

"Rick is right. If we don't fight this now, they'll find us later. We have to come for them before they come for us!" Twilight said in leadership.

Some ponies cheered, while Rick's group looked on with faces of worry.

RICK'S P.O.V

We were settling in one of the few houses the Ponyville folk provided for us. The first thing Carl noticed about the place...

Running, warm water.

I decided to take a shower, but as soon as I walked in, I noticed that the showers were a little... different.

It was a tub with a shower head on top.

I decided I had some work to do, so I removed the tub, put up some curtains, and stepped in to my makeshift shower. I'll have to work on it another day.

I took off my fur coat and set it aside. I worked down to the boots and stepped into the shower. I turned the nozzle to hot, and nearly jumped like a cat.

"Hmm... I guess it's been so long." I said as I turned the cold nozzle slightly.

As I cleaned myself off, I found myself asking a question that I couldn''t quite shake off.

What are zombies?

GLENN'S P.O.V

I saw her set up in a house with Dewy, Norman, and Sonata. I knew that that was a bad arrangement, but what can I do?

What didn't I do?

I need to find a time to tell Rick and the others about her.

About what Aria Blaze did to me before the outbreak...

Day 547

RICK'S P.O.V

It's been about a week since we showed up in Ponyville. We've learned that there are other cities still intact throughout Equestria. They have a trade network via the trains. Food, medicine, ponies, you name it, they trade.

Well, only ponies who want to go, at least.

Me, Carl, and Michonne are settled in one of the abandoned neighborhoods along with the others. We get visits from some of the locals, questions, interviews.

I noticed one of our neighbors, Home Run. His daughter, Scootaloo always came out of the house in the morning with a fresh bruise or two.

"I think someone-- or... somepony should look into it." I suggested to Twilight.

"Yeah, I was thinking about that. I think it's best if you and Michonne look into it." Twilight suggested.

Twilight came up with a job for me and Michonne: Constables.

"I'll look into it. You have my word." I said.

"Good. I'd help, but I have to help get things set for the party tonight." Twilight said.

GLENN'S P.O.V

I was talking to one of the locals with Maggie.

"Wait, so what happened?" My wife asked the pony with the cowboy hat.

"We managed to take Chrysalis down, and Canterlot started repairs." The pony said.

"It seems like you've been through more than we have, Applejack." Maggie said.

"Now, that ain't true." A familiar voice said behind us.

"Come on, Beth, she has a point. We went through weak, simple-minded creeps, while they've taken down an entire army in half a day!" Maggie said to her centaur sister.

The centaurs still took me some getting-used-to. Equestria's population must be booming at this point with almost all of the human population now here as half horses.

"I have to admit, this world sure has it's stories." Hershel said.

"Amen." Shaun said from the back of the farm.

Shaun, Maggie's step-brother. Not that bad of a guy, actually.

SPIKE'S P.O.V

I was out hunting fabric and leather with Rarity, who seemed distant lately.

"If you're still angry at Twilight over the Boutique, I get it. Okay? I just... I think you need to let it go." I said.

"My parent's belongings were in there. Everything they had, gone because of a reckless tactic that did not need to be done." Rarity said.

"Rares, we would've died." I said, putting my claw on her shoulder.

Rarity didn't look at me or say anything until we found the spot, an old store with a few Trotters outside.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"I have an idea, see that tree?" Rarity asked, pointing her hoof at a lone tree.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"Can you burn it?" Rarity asked.

"Come on, that's a little too far, Twi--"

"I'm serious. Can. You. Burn it?" Rarity asked again.

I nodded.

"Go."

I took a breath and lit the tree. On que, the dead started shambling toward the tree. As soon as they were far enough from the door, Rarity galloped and I ran to the doors and entered. We were greeted by an empty building with no sign of materials anywhere.

"Celestia, DAMN IT!" Rarity screamed, trotting to the edges of the store, looking for any sign of supplies.

"Rarity, there's nothing here, let's just go." I said

"No, not until every inch of this place is searched..." Rarity muttered.

I noticed a side door and pointed it out. Rarity galloped and I had to leap out of the way as Rarity smashed the door down. I stayed outside the door, trying not to tempt Rarity all-the-more.

Then I heard a soft gasp.

"Rarity? You okay in there?" I called.

No response.

I took a breath and went inside to see Rarity glancing at what looked like a filthy sink, on the wall, the word HUSH scrapped into the walls about 6 times, I went closer to the sink, only to see a pair of filly-sized horseshoes sticking out.

I stepped back of the door, only to bump into something.

Or a Trotter.

I didn't hesitate, I pulled my knife and stabbed it in the eye. Rarity was right behind me and she quickly held me in an embrace.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have been so desperate..." Rarity started.

"What do you mean, babe?" I asked.

"I promised you that I would never want you out here again. I broke that... and now..." Rarity started choking her sobs back.

We stayed there for a few minutes before I tapped her back.

"Let's go, Rares." I said as I kissed her cheek.

CARL'S P.O.V

"You remember how to do this?" Hershel asked me.

"Yeah." I said as I was closing in on Sweet Apple Acres with Hershel and Beth.

"You know, when we first came here, we had no idea what had happened. We thought this was heaven, but then... we saw Applejack roaming around, and she brought us to Ponyville. I don't know how we wound up here, but here we are." Hershel said.

"Yeah, Eugene was wonderin' that, too. Said that it's odd that this is the afterlife." Beth said.

"Yeah, it's... weird. You know? What happens to people who die here, what happens to the ponies here?"

That was a sentence I never thought I'd say.

As we were about to go on the walkway, a local looked at me with an overreaction of wonder.

"Ignore 'em, they're just curious." Hershel said.

"Yeah, us too." I said as I waved to the pony.

By the time we made it down, the sun was about tree-level. We were near the farm when Applejack saw us and trotted toward us. She then stepped near me.

"You can sleep in one of the cabins we put together. This is Ponyville's only farm, now. We don't just produce apples-- there's soy, sorghum, and grain, just to name a few. That and the live stock add up to quite a food producion rate." She said.

"Sure, thanks." I said.

"Don't mention it. Hope you and your group like it here." Applejack said.

I hesitated.

"I think we're starting to."

Day 024

SPIKE'S P.O.V

I was with Rarity in her room. I looked out the window and saw that Twilight's improved the walls. The pegasi added a line of thunder clouds around the outside of the walls to zap Trotters, the unicorns added magical supports to the walls, and the earth ponies are using cut down trees to build the walls up.

"It looks great." I said.

"Yes, yes it does..." Rarity said.

"Why did you tell them not to let me go on the run?" I asked her.

"Well... I just don't want to see you go like the others out there do. Every second out there, it is simply a horror in of itself... I don't want to think of you out there, let alone know that there is a chance I might not see you, or anyone who goes out there again." Rarity choked.

"Rarity. I know that you're afraid, and I get that. But, I know how to run if things go bad. I know when things will go bad, I do." I said, holding my claw on her shoulder.

DEWY'S P.O.V

I ran out the tent when Daryl called me.

"What is it?!" I cried.

I ran up and saw that a deer was down and Eaters were consuming it.

"You get the ones on the left, I get the right." Daryl said.

I pulled out my machete and forced it through a dormant Eater, then I swung it through another.

"Damn it!" Daryl cursed.

"It's fine, Daryl. We got enough squirrel to last us." I said.

"Yeah, but that ain't enough." Daryl said.

"It never will be, Daryl. Always remember that. No matter what you get, it'll never be enough..." I said.

"Yeah, I know. That's what sucks." Daryl said as he pulled his arrows out of the corpses.

RED'S P.O.V

I was with Twilight in her castle trying to figure out a problem with the housing.

"We just don't have any room! What can we do?" Twilight stressed.

"What if we expand the wall? You have to remember, this is only a section of Ponyville. If we move in on it, we can get half the town in a few days or so." I said.

Twilight was clearly shocked by this.

"Yeah. I... I think we can do it." Twilight said.

I noticed that she seemed unsure and, mostly frustrated.

"You alright?" I asked her.

"Huh? Y- yeah, I'm fine." Twilight said.

"You sure? You're not bitten, are you?" I felt a wave of fear.

"No! It's just... I'm fine, you wouldn't understand." Twilight said.

"Mare troubles?" I guessed.

"Yeah. Mare troubles." Twilight nodded as she walked away to the bookshelves.

Yeah, that's not mare troubles...

I went to see what she was stressing about on the table, and I saw a map of Equestria. It was changing at the second. I saw towns crossed out and circled. I noticed that Celestia's name was up on the right corner.

She was marking towns that were either overrun or safe.

"What is this?" I asked her.

"It's a map of Equestria. I gave another one to her when she left. She tells me which towns are up and running or overrun. So far, it's mostly--"

We were interrupted by Canterlot being marked in a circle and a note at the side.

DO NOT VISIT

DEWY'S P.O.V

After a day of squirrels and Eaters, we went back to Camp.

"Well?" Shane asked.

"Nothin' but squirrels and Walkers." Daryl said.

"Walkers?!" Dale asked.

"Don't worry, we eliminated them." I said.

"Yeah, but there could be more." Shane said grabbing his shotgun.

"Woah, there, Rambo! Sound attracts those things! They'll be on us faster than kids on a pinata!" I said to him.

"I told you we should put a wall up. At least a form of one. Maybe we could park the cars in places that could seperate them." Dale suggested.

"That could work. Glenn, we need you to go in the city and find as much as you can." Shane said.

"I'll go with him. I know my way around Eaters-- or Walkers-- and I know who Adagio is." I said.

"That's the deal. Glenn, you in?" Shane asked.

Glenn looked at the group, and then at me. He let out a sigh and said

"Fine."

TWILIGHT'S P.O.V

"What does it mean?" I asked Red.

"I have no idea. It was infested before, but... anypony could've cleared it up." Red said.

"All it would take is a lot of other ponies. We could have an enemy on our hooves, Red." Twilight said.

"If we do, we need to tell the others. We need to get prepared for ponies, not just Trotters." Red said.

"I'll set up a lookout." I said as I galloped out to get Rainbow.

"RAINBOW! OPEN UP, IT'S URGENT!" I cried, quickly knocking on her door.

She opened the door and rubbed her eyes.

"Twi, can't you see that I'm trying to sleep?" She yawned.

"Listen, Canterlot just got inhabited." I said.

"So what?" Rainbow asked.

"Celestia told me to not visit it. It was her home, if anypony bad's there--" We were interrupted by a gunshot.

"Come on!" I said.

We ran out and saw that the walls were down and about 200 Trotters were roaming inside the walls.

"SPIKE!" I cried out as me, Red, and Rainbow galloped back to warn ponies.

We're being overrun.