The three ponies, the swordstallion, the DJ, and the scooter rider trotted through ponyville, their hooves making sloshing noises as they walked across the wet muddy ground. They walked in silence, no words were needed, they had nothing to talk about, Big Mac was dead,
Vinyl had been tortured, and Swift had gone berserk, there was nothing else to be said.

The two adult ponies now were fully healed, having shared the healing potion Swift had found earlier, leaving them looking fresh and unwounded, but the wounds in Swift Blade's heart and mind were something the potions effects couldn't fix.

Swift's eyes were downcast, and he wasn't watching ahead of them, keeping an eye out for the undead.

Vinyl, was staring forward, but her eyes didn't seem to see anything.

Scootaloo was the only was keeping an eye out for danger, and she seemed to be doing a good job, since they saw no undead ponies on the way back to the apple orchard.

Their bags were full, and so were their heads.

Two undead ponies suddenly blocked the trio's way, letting out moans filled with lustful hunger.

Swift sighed, and drew his sword, starting towards the zombie ponies, ''Stay back you two'' he sighed again. ''I got this...''
He charged, readying the weapon to decapitate the first zombie, a unicorn mare, but his blade never met the zombies neck, a blue aura enveloped the sword and suddenly swung Swift, sending him towards the unicorns open mouth. Swift's eyes widened, and his mind flew back to the present, this was new. ''SHIT!''

Another aura took over the swordstallion's body, swiftly levitating him away from the two zombies.

Swift turned his head, seeing Vinyl grin at him, as her horn glowed, holding him away from the two undead mares.
''Well, it seems their starting to learn how to use magic'' Vinyl observed, as she lowered Swift to the ground. ''Lets rock.'' The mare grinned, and levitated her shades over her eyes.

The glasses had been retrieved before they left the castle, even though they were in bad shape, they were Vinyl's favorite pair. One lens had a large crack running across it, and the other was mostly shattered, but Vinyl didn't care much, she would wear them no matter what.

''Oh pony feathers, LOOK OUT!'' Scootaloo cried out, as the two undead ponies charged, letting out snarls.

Vinyl levitated the magic spear from her saddle bag, pointing the head at the earth pony quickly pulling ahead. The tip glowed for a few
seconds, before a colorful energy burst forward from the spear, colliding with the earth pony, sending her flying backwards.
The unicorn zombie lurched towards Scootaloo, somehow sensing that the little filly was the easiest target.

Scootaloo's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to scream, but Swift's back hooves met the unicorns side, sending her off course, causing the monster to crash into the ground.

Scootaloo smiled, ''Thanks Swift, that was to close.''

Swift nodded his head, and turned to face the creature struggling to stand up.

Vinyl started shaking the spear, trying to get it to let off another blast of energy to destroy the earth pony she had sent flying, but the weapon refused to work. She slowly remembered what Swift had mentioned earlier about these things and stopped waving it around, lifting it into the air with her magic and charged the monster.

The spear thrust forward, the glowing blade impaling itself into the zombie pony's head, the tip poking out of the other side of the dead ponies scull, some blood running out of the hole.
The disk jockeys eyes intensified as she seemed to struggle for a second, before her aura tore the spear free, letting the lifeless body hit the ground.

Swift Blade deflected a tree branch that was thrown at him by the unicorn zombie, then advanced on the zombie, chopping another branch that was hurled at him clean in half.

''All right buckface, that's enough!'' Swift Blade growled, and leapt forward, swinging his longsword at the creatures horn, the blade connected with the magical implement, stopping for a second, causing the horn to crack, before the blade cleaved through, sending the broken tip of the horn up into the air, where it landed a few feet away, rolling towards Scootaloo, who let out a little shriek and took a few steps back.

Swift panted, slightly, as he thrust the sword into the zombies head, ending its existence.
He quickly withdrew the blade, and watched the body hit the ground, no longer moving. Slowly, he turned away, sheathing his weapon, and motioned for Vinyl and Scootaloo to follow, ''Come on, lets get out of here before more show up.''

They stepped through the gates into Sweet Apple Acres. it was silent, and there was nopony to meet them at the gate.

Swift looked around, he didn't like this, ''Somepony should be here to greet us.'' He murmured.

Scootaloo's head swung back and forth, a worried expression on her face. Vinyl shrugged, ''C'mon, we better find out what's going on.'' She began heading up the road.

Swift shook his head and sighed, ''Yeah, c'mon Scoots.'' The blue stallion pat the small filly on the back, reassuring her everything would be fine, and followed after Vinyl, Scootaloo following close behind.

Swift kept looking around, trying to spot any signs of life, or death, but there was nothing.

Finally reaching the farm house, the three ponies stopped, staring at their destination like it would explode and kill them all if they entered, they spent a few minutes just staring at it in silence, when Vinyl broke it.

''Lets go in, if we don't, we're never gonna find out where everypony is.''

Slowly, Swift Blade nodded. ''Yeah...lets find out.''
The swordstallion stepped through the door first, a combat knife clutched in his teeth.

The interior of the house was empty, something was very wrong here. ''Where are AJ and Pinkie?'' Swift asked aloud.
Vinyl shrugged, her horn glowing, illuminating the space around them. ''Stay close Scoot's.''
The little pegasus nodded, and slowly followed the two older ponies inside.

Swift looked down the hallway, his ears pricked, listening for any sounds, but there was only the sound of his breathing, and the creek of his hooves against the wood floor.

''Um...maybe they aren't here?'' Scootaloo's voice shook from beside Vinyl.

The swordstallion turned, ''You may be right, but lets search for some clues first.''
The trio began to search around the house, but it was Vinyl and Scootaloo who found the note.

''SWIFT!''

Swift Blade turned away from the couch he was searching over, turning to run towards the shout, he dashed into the kitchen. ''What happened?!''

The DJ held a piece of papyrus in her magic aura, grinning as she did, a glint coming from her red eyes through the shattered lens of her glasses. ''Look what Scootaloo found.'' She said triumphantly.

Swift let himself relax, trotting over. He gave the orange filly a pat on the head, receiving a blush and little ''It was nothing...'' Before looking at the DJ. ''What's it say?''

The white unicorn cleared her throat and began to read:

''Dear everypony, Pinkie Pie has informed me that Scootaloo went after you when you didn't return, I was going to go after her, but Pinkie told me not to worry about it. She's always been right before, and its my duty to be honest and trust ponies, so I believed her. I'm really hoping that you all have come home together. Pinkie and me are probably out in the orchard if your reading this.
~ Apple Jack

Swift blinked, and shrugged off his saddle bags, motioning for Vinyl to do the same, he stretched out, he had been carrying all the stuff Big Mac was supposed to carry, but now that his injuries were healed, he could do it.

''Come on, lets find them.''

''Alright''

It took much searching, the three combing the orchard, keeping an eye out for the orange farm mare, and the pink party pony. They stuck together. They didn't want to split up and get lost in the maze of tree's or get attacked while alone.

Finally Swift spotted a pink form through some trees, and motioned for Scootaloo and Vinyl to follow.

Stepping through the trees, they found themselves in a clearing, Apple Jack and Pinkie Pie stood in front of a large hole, a pile of dirt sitting a few hoofsteps away from the hole. A shovel had been stabbed into the dirt pile, its blade encrusted with dirt and grass.

A makeshift tombstone made from a large flat stone stood tall just across the hole, something had been carved into it, proving it was a tombstone.

Apple Jack stood ridged, her head lowered, not making any noise, as tears ran down her orange face, over her freckles, and hung from the edge of her face for an instant, before falling, hitting the grass below.

Pinkie Pie was not so silent, her mane and tail had deflated, and tears were pouring down her cheeks, as she wailed into Apple Jack's shoulder.

The three ponies slowly entered the clearing, trying not to disturb the two mares, before standing next to them.

Swift gazed down into the hole, his eyes beginning to tear up, as he saw why they were crying.

Rainbow Dash lay in the ground below, her head still separated from her body. Some of her coat was covered in mud and muck, and her brightly colored mane and tail were matted and faded. her head snapped up at the ponies, trying to bite the out of reach victims.

''Ah guess...'' Apple Jack sniffed. ''Ah guess its time to say our goodbyes and bury Rainbow now that y'all are back.''

The swordstallion gave a short little nod, staring down grimly at the undead rainbow Pegasus. ''Yeah...''

Apple Jack's gaze survived the ponies present, before frowning slightly, wiping a tear away with her hoof. ''W-Where...where's Big Mac?''

Swift opened his mouth, but nothing came out, so he lowered his head.

Vinyl spoke for him, ''He's...He's dead AJ, I'm sorry...'' The unicorn's horn glowed and levitated her broken shades off her face, lowering them over her horn to keep them off her eyes.

Apple Jack's legs collapsed out from under her, and she fell to her knees, her pupils dilated, and her tears began to fall faster and harder. ''No, no...nonononononono...'' She began to murmur, her Stetson lowering over her eyes, covering them.

Pinkie sniffled, and wrapped her front hooves, over the sobbing farmer, still sobbing softly.

''Not ma brother too...no... WHY!'' Apple Jack threw her front hooves in the air, her tears streaming down her face. After a few more shouts at the uncaring permanent dawn, the farm mare slowly turned to look at Swift and Vinyl, her face filled with sadness. ''How...h-how did he...die?''

Swift shook his head sadly. ''It might be best to talk about later...we have something else to do for now.'' He stared back down at Rainbow's snapping head, the pale lifeless eyes barrowing into his very soul, as if telling him, ''Your a monster, you murdered a pony in such a horrible way, it makes me look like a timid cat.''

Slowly, Apple Jack nodded her head, ''Your...your right.'' she stood up, causing Pinkie to back away, still teary eyed and sniffling.

They formed a circle around the pit, staring down at the rainbow colored monster below, Swift looked over at Apple Jack and Pinkie once more, ''Do you want to...?''

They shook their heads, tears renewing their path down their faces. ''No, I cant kill ma best friend, even if she isn't the pony she was any more...''

Pinkie's response, was a mere, ''No...I cant do it...''

Swift nodded his head, and stepped carefully down into the hole, pulling the combat dagger from his sheath. He looked down at Rainbow Dash, allowing more tears to fall from his eyes, before he raised the knife.

''Wait.''

The small voice stopped the swordstallion. He turned around, gazing at the filly who spoke, ''Scootaloo?''

The little orange Pegasus stared down at him, determination in her eyes, ''I... I'll do it.''

Pinkie stared at her with slight shock, ''No, you cant, your just a filly! We cant let you do something like th-'' She was cut off by Swift's voice.

''Why Scoot's? Why do you feel its your duty to end Dash's existence?''

Scootaloo stayed silent for a second, before letting a few tears fall from her own eyes. ''Because...Rainbow Dash was like the sister I never had, and I always dreamed of someday flying with her. I was always egging her on, supporting her before she got into the Wonderbolts, and if her best friends refused to put an end to her, she would want me to do it.''

Swift could only stare at the filly, not moving. The others waited for his answer, not sure how to stop the filly, but when they heard his answer, their mouths dropped.

''Alright. Your right. Please, put her to rest.''

Everypony began to open their mouths to protest, but Swift held up a hoof, ''Think about it, if Rainbow Dash could tell us who she wanted to put her to rest, do you think she would have wanted me to do it? She's only known me for a few mouths, where she's known Scootaloo and you longer then me.'' he paused, ''She would want, one of her biggest fans to see her off.''

Nopony protested, and let Scootaloo climb down the hole to Swift, he held the knife out to her, giving her a reassuring smile, ''Just...stab right through the base of her head...''

The slightly scared filly nodded quickly, taking the weapon from the stallion and standing over Dash, her tears spilling out more now. ''G-Goodbye... R-Rainbow...'' With her shaky farewell, the filly lowered the knife, lining the blade up with her target, and brought the blade down.

The sharp blade pierced the cyan Pegasus's head, causing some blood to spurt up, some getting on the blade, for a split second, Scootaloo thought she could see some life return to her idols eyes, before her eyes faded. Scootaloo withdrew the knife, staring sadly down at the now motionless head, the eyes dim and empty.

She handed the weapon in her hooves to Swift, climbing back up to join with the others, small sobs echoing from her. The swordstallion sheathed the dagger, and followed.

The ponies all stared down at the lifeless corpse, some sobbing, others letting tears run down their cheeks and fall to the ground without caring.

Apple Jack lifted her head slightly, and began to address the four ponies around her, ''Rainbow Dash... was a amazing pony. She was always helping others when they needed help, and was as loyal as they came. She was a true friend...''

Pinkie Pie joined her, staring tearfully at the corpse, ''D-Dashie...was always there for me, and the rest of her friends, doing all sorts of awesome stuff to make us watch in awe, s-she was o-one...of the best ponies I've ever met.''

Swift slowly joined them, his head high, and his tears falling freely, ''I didn't know Dash as long as you, but she was an amazing flyer, a great hero, and somepony I will never forget. She was a loyal friend, and will forever be in our hearts.'' He ended with a sad smile.

Scootaloo and Vinyl stayed silent, Scootaloo's face was buried in Vinyl's side, sobbing into her coat.

Slowly, Apple Jack trotted past the ponies, and grabbed the shovel, shoveling a huge pile of dirt onto it, she raised it over the hole, some of her tears falling on the body in it. ''So long Rainbow Dash, may y'all rest in peace.'' The farmer tipped the shovel, letting the dirt spill onto Rainbow Dash's corpse.

The survivors packed up the wagon, filling it with supplies for the journey ahead. They worked in silence, the funeral had taken its toll on the ponies, not to mention filling their minds with memories, maybe not of Dash, but of their own loved one's, who they never got to bury.

Swift shook his head sadly, as he loaded a large bag filled with food onto the cart, his gaze wandered to Vinyl, who stood a few hooves away, levitating a few medical kits with her magic.

He didn't want what happened to any of his other friends to happen to her, he didn't want to bury her in the ground. He had to protect her, she was going to survive if it killed him.

Pinkie Pie's mane and tail had poofed back up again, but she still wore a sad expression. She was trying to lift Apple Jack's war hammer onto the cart, sweat dripped down her face, making it look like she was still crying. She missed her friends, and she wished Dashy didn't have to go, but it was to late now. She would make sure to watch over her remaining friends with all her heart, and cheer them up when thing looked grim.

Apple Jack suddenly stepped next to the party pony and took the hammer from her, placing it down in the cart. ''There ya go.'' she gave Pinkie a small smile.

Pinkie gave her a grin, her expression rising a bit, ''Thanks Apple Jack.''

Scootaloo watched the ponies load the wagon up, her expression unreadable. ''Goodbye Rainbow...'' She murmured to herself. She jolted when a hoof patted the filly's shoulder, she looked up to see Swift standing in front of her.

''Come on Scoot's, we're done packing, lets go.''

The orange Pegasus filly stared at him for a second, before slowly nodding her head. ''Alright, lets go.''

Swift trotted over to the carts harness, trying to strap himself in.

Suddenly a magenta aura surrounded the straps, buckling themselves around the stallions form, he looked over at the DJ, who was grinning at him. ''It looked like you could use a hoof''

The swordstallion smiled, and watched as the others boarded the cart, first Apple Jack, then Vinyl, Scootaloo, and finally Pinkie, once they were all in, Swift Blade turned to look at the farm house one last time, before heading down the road, pulling the cart full of ponies with him.

Apple Jack and Pinkie stared back at the slowly vanishing house and barn, their eyes getting misty. Apple Jack tilted her Stetson, as a sign of goodbye to her home, and Pinkie merely waved. before the house was consumed by the apple tree's, and the travelers found themselves on open dirt road.

The journey had begun.

Author's Note

Alright, sorry that my writing style keeps changing, sometimes I'm lazy.

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me this far.

Please keep enjoying Hope is dead.