The quiet sound of humming filled the library as Twilight was busy conducting her weekly routine of dusting the bookshelves. Even though it really wasn't needed, the young purple alicorn wanted to keep herself busy. Who would blame her? The map hasn't summoned any of her friends in quite a while, no threat of attack or any sign of trouble could be seen, and Starlight had already been given her task in her friendship studies. She had been sent to Sweet Apple Acres to learn just how valuable having somepony to help out can be by helping Applejack with applebucking, especially since Big Mac was out of town on a delivery.

"It sure has been calm around here." Twilight thought as she continued dusting. "No villains, no monsters, nothing that required all of us to save Equestria." As soon as she said that in her head, her feather duster brushed across a book that Twilight knew very well. Seeing this, the young alicorn decided to take a small break and placed the duster aside so she could take a look at the book. "Not even a problem from my friends at Canterlot High." She thought as she looked at the journal that she and her friend, Sunset Shimmer, use to communicate between the different worlds. As she decided to sit down in a chair, the sound of a door opening caught her attention.

"Hey Twilight." Spike said as he poked his head into the room. "All done with dusting already?"

"Nah." Twilight replied. "I just decided to take a small break."

"That's rare." The little dragon said as he walked into the room while carrying two mugs of apple cider. "Usually you don't stop until you're all done." However, he soon found why she did so. "Been a while since I last saw that book." He said before allowing Twilight to take one of the mugs with her magic.

"Huh. You're right, Spike." She replied. "It has been a while since I last talked to Sunset." She then looked at the book before using her magic to open it to where they last spoke. But upon seeing the date that the conversation took place on, her pupils shrank. "Almost six months!" She exclaimed before showing Spike.

"Woah." He said in surprise. "Has it really been that long?"

"Yes!" She replied. "Ohhh. What kind of friend am I? I've let six months go by without even thinking about her!" Spike looked on as his friend began to freak out. "What if she thinks I'm ignoring her? What if she thinks she did something wrong and I won't speak to her?"

"Twilight. Calm down." The little dragon said before walking over and gently placing a claw on her back. "Just take a minute or so and write to her. I'm sure she'd like to hear from you."

Twilight sighed a bit before looking down at the reassuring eyes of her friend. "You're right, Spike. I should write to her." She then let the book lay open on the table before making a quill and some ink appear beside it.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

I'm so sorry for the amount of time between the last time we spoke and now. I didn't realize that we haven't talked for a while until today. There's just been so many things that has happened since we last spoke. Shining Armor and Cadance had their baby. A natural born alicorn that they named Flurry Heart. I've also taken on a pupil. Her name is Starlight Glimmer. She's a unicorn with an insane amount of magical knowledge. Remember when I last came there and told you about being stuck in a time loop? Well..... she was the reason behind it.

But I've forgiven her for her past actions and she has taken to her friendship studies very well.

Anyways, how have you been? How are the rest of our friends doing? Are you guys still playing music together? How is my human counterpart getting along at CHS?

I have so many questions. But I'll stop myself before I overwhelm you with them. I'll be looking forward to talking to you again. Please respond as soon as you read this.

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

"And now I just have to wait until she replies." Twilight said before placing the quill down on the table. After saying that, Twilight just sat and looked at the book, occasionally breaking her glance to take a sip of her cider. Minutes passed by, but yet the book wasn't showing any signs of a response. "This isn't right." She said. "She usually replies right away."

"Maybe she's busy." Spike suggested. "Maybe she's practicing her guitar with the rest of her friends."

"I suppose so." Twilight replied. "Well, the message will be there when she opens her book." She sighed again before picking up her feather duster. "Guess I'll just go back to dusting until I either finish or she replies. Whichever comes first."

"Alright." The little one said as he started walking toward the door. "I'll just go ahead and go over to Rarity's for a bit. See you when I get back."

"Ok." She replied. "Tell Rarity I said hi!"

"Will do." Spike said before closing the door behind him, leaving Twilight alone to get back to her dusting.

-One hour later-

Twilight grew more anxious by the minute as she glanced between the shelf that she was dusting and the book on the table. If Sunset had replied, the book would've started glowing and vibrating. But each time she looked, it just sat there.

"Hey Twilight." Spike called out before entering the room. "I'm back."

"Hey Spike." She replied before setting down the duster again. "How was your visit with Rarity?"

"Amazing." He replied. "Rarity showed off a bunch of new designs that she wanted a second opinion on. And guess who she asked." Twilight simply chuckled before pointing her hoof at the little dragon. "Correct." He said before jumping onto a chair by the table as Twilight sat down where she was. "So....." He said before looking at the journal. "Did Sunset reply yet?"

"No." Twilight replied. "She hasn't. And now, this is starting to worry me."

"Why?"

"Because she's never taken this long to respond before." The alicorn said before burying her face into her hooves. "I've really messed up this time."

"No you didn't, Twilight." Spike replied. "You're a great friend."

"Then why hasn't she written back yet?"

"I don't know." The little dragon replied. "Maybe you should go and pay her a surprise visit. That'll give you and her some quality time to spend together."

This made Twilight look back up before gazing at him. "That's a great idea, Spike!" She said before getting off of her chair while grabbing the book with her magic. "Maybe I should pay her a visit. It would certainly surprise her."

"Yes it would." Spike replied before the two exited the library and started to make their way toward the room that housed the mirror portal. As she carried the book with her, Twilight couldn't help but think about all the things she and Sunset could do. "How long do you think you'll be there?"

"Well, maybe a few days or so." She replied. "I'm sure Sunset would be sad if I didn't spend a while with her after not even talking to her for so long."

"That's true."

"You wanna come along?"

"Nah." He replied. "I think I'd be better off staying here. Especially since you said that the other you has a dog that looks and talks exactly like me."

"Alright then." Twilight replied before the two entered the room. "Just be sure to tell Starlight and the others where I am if they ask."

"Will do." The little dragon replied as Twilight levitated the book up and placed it above the mirror where her machine would then siphon the magical energy needed to open the portal.

"I'll write to you when I'm ready to come back." She said before walking over and turning on the machine. Both of them then watched as it started absorbing the magic from the book before soon enough, the portal opened. Upon seeing this, Twilight smiled before she started to step closer to it. But as soon as she started walking, she stopped for a bit as she noticed the portal begin to ripple and glow. "What in Equestria?" She thought before the top half of an earth pony stallion emerged. Twilight gazed at him before his eyes focused on her. She then watched as he rolled over onto his hooves before getting up and coming completely through.

"Uhh..... hello." Twilight said. But the pony didn't respond. He just slowly looked around the room before turning his attention back to Twilight. Something didn't seem right about this pony to her. His eyes were bloodshot and his mane looked as though it had gotten into a fight with some hedge trimmers. "Are you alright?"

The pony just groaned in response before slowly making his way forward toward Twilight.

"Umm..... who are you?" She asked.

Again, the pony groaned as he continued stepping toward her, going a bit faster with each step. This was making Twilight very nervous as she started backing away from him.

"Don't be rude." Spike said. "She asked who you were. The least you could do is answer."

The pony just looked at Spike for a moment before returning his focus to the alicorn as he continued walking toward her.

"Please stop." She said. "You're starting to scare me."

But he didn't stop. He just kept coming forward. Soon, Twilight's effort to keep away from him was stopped as her flank bumped into the wall. Upon seeing this, the pony let out a shriek before racing toward her. "Stay away!" She cried out, but he didn't stop. Seeing no other alternative and to protect herself, Twilight fired a bolt of magic at the pony, striking him directly between the eyes before he fell to the floor.

"Twilight!" Spike said as he rushed over. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She said. "I'm fine." She then turned her attention to the pony who had just tried attacking her. Looking closely, she could see that he was still breathing. "Good." She said. "He's just sleeping now."

"What was all that about?" Spike asked as he looked at the pony.

"I have no idea." Twilight replied. "But this isn't right. I've never encountered somepony like this on the other side."

"Well to be honest." Spike said. "This pony was acting just like the zombies in my comic books. Groaning, slowly walking until they broke out in speed to catch their next meal."

"Spike!"

"Oh. Sorry." The little one said. "But the similarities are there, Twilight."

"So you think that this is a zombie?" She asked while pointing her hoof at the sleeping pony.

"Do you have any other explanation?"

Twilight rubbed her hoof against her muzzle as she thought about what reason was behind this pony's attempted attack. But the more she thought about it, the more likely her friend's explanation was right.

"What if there are more like what this pony is on the other side?" She asked. "Maybe this is why Sunset hasn't replied!"

"Good chance." Spike replied before Twilight grabbed the sleeping 'zombie' with her magic. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go over there and see if I can find Sunset and the others." She replied. "But I can't risk another one of these things entering the portal."

"So just like what we were originally going to do." Spike said. "I'll stay here and close the portal after you go through. That way, nothing will get through until you write back."

Twilight nodded her head before using her magic to send the unconscious pony through the portal. She then started to make her way toward it as well.

"Please be careful, Twilight." Spike said.

"I will." She replied. "If worse comes to worse and you don't hear back from me in say..... a week, open the portal and come find me. I'll try and stay around the portal if I can."

"Alright." Spike said before the alicorn breathed in and sighed heavily. Steeling her resolve and now determined to find her friends, Twilight slowly entered the portal.

After going through the bizarre space between the two worlds, Twilight found herself flung out of the portal before crashing to the concrete below. Luckily though, each time this has happened, she always found herself without any cuts or scrapes. "I'm back." She softly said to herself as she took her time to get used to her human body again. As she slowly got up though, her eyes grew wide at what was around.

The school was directly in front of her as it always was. But she saw that some of the windows were boarded up while others were shattered. The main doors were eerily open though. Slowly, she turned around and placed her hand against the side of the Wondercolt statue. It felt solid.

"Good." She thought. "Spike closed it." Twilight then remembered the reason why as she started to look for the pony that she had sent back here. Looking around, she soon found the now human like creature still asleep just a few yards away. But he was very much different from his pony form. Cuts, sores, and blisters covered his body along with torn clothing.

Being cautious, she decided to slowly and quietly walk away, keeping a wary eye on the creature in case he woke up. Once around the corner of the school, she breathed a soft sigh of relief before looking around again. Normally there would be people everywhere. But now, there were just these metal carriages that Sunset called cars in the streets with smashed windows.

"What in Equestria happened here?" Twilight asked herself as she continued to look around. "Where is everypony? Err... I mean everybody." Glancing from her right to her left, Twilight found one of the fire doors of Canterlot High open. "Maybe somebody is in here." She thought before slowly making her way over toward the metal door. With every step, Twilight could feel her heart beat a little faster as she grew more and more scared. But if she was going to find anyone who could help, she might as well start in the place that she knows best.

Soon, she stopped right outside the entrance. Peering inside, her nostrils were immediately assaulted by a vulgar scent that made her want to gag. She then tried using her hand to fan it away, but to no avail.

"Hello?" She called out into the dimly lit hallway. "Is anyone in here?" A few seconds of silence passed without a response. "Hello?" She called out again, this time a bit louder. This time, she heard the sound of a small glass item breaking before she heard some unfamiliar noises coming from within. Squinting her eyes to see as best as she could, Twilight saw a door immediately get kicked open before she saw something move from behind it. In the flickering lights of the hallway, she could just make out the silhouette of a woman.

"Hello?" Twilight said. But the response she got was an ear piercing shriek from her before she began charging at her. Twilight immediately started to panic before remembering the metal door. Without a moment to lose, she grabbed the door and slammed it shut before pressing herself against it. Shortly after, she felt a large thud as the woman most likely barreled straight into it. Breathing heavily, Twilight kept herself against the door until she heard the woman on the other side begin pounding on it.

"Oh no!" She thought as she started to back away from the door, making sure to get as much distance between herself and it as possible. It wasn't until she got to the sidewalk that the door opened again, revealing the woman for Twilight to see. She looked like the human version of Ms. Cheerilee, only with her clothes torn to where you could practically see her bra and panties.

Cheerilee's bloodshot eyes immediately caught sight of Twilight and she soon let out another shriek before beginning her sprint toward her. With no magic to defend her this time, Twilight immediately started running as fast as she could with Cheerilee not far behind.

"Help!" Twilight cried out as loud as she could. "Please! Somepony help me!" But there was no one around that she could see. Twilight turned her head to look back only to find Ms. Cheerilee slowly beginning to close the distance between herself and the humanized alicorn. Looking back in front, Twilight saw that she was coming up toward Sugarcube Corner. "Help!" She called out again as she kept sprinting down the sidewalk. "Is anypony out there?!"

She could hear Cheerilee breathing down her neck before she turned her head to look back just as her pursuer decided to leap at her. Seeing this, Twilight quickly dodged to the side, letting Cheerilee fly past her with only a few feet to spare. But this sudden change in direction put Twilight in a dead end alley between Sugarcube Corner and another building.

"No." She said softly before looking back to see Cheerilee now blocking the only exit. "No no no no no! Help! Somepony! Anypony!" She cried out, her eyes now filling with tears as Cheerilee began to walk down the alley, almost stalking her as Twilight backed away. "Please!" She begged. "Somepony save me!"

*BOOM*

The sudden sound from the alley's entrance made both of them stop before Cheerilee turned around to find a guy standing at the entrance holding some sort of object in his hands. Twilight looked on as he slowly aimed one end of the object at Cheerilee.

"Get behind something!" She heard him call out as Cheerilee started sprinting toward him. Twilight immediately heeded his warning and ducked behind a dumpster before she heard another sound similar to the first one. And then another before the area became silent. Shaking violently, Twilight slowly peeked around the corner of the dumpster to find Cheerilee laying face down with the guy standing next to her before he looked over at her.

Slowly, he put the object in his hands into some kind of sleeve on his back before making his way over to her before he stopped just a few feet away. Looking up, Twilight could see that he was wearing all black. Black pants, a black jacket, and a black hat that was similar in shape to Applejack's. His eyes were covered by a set of orange tinted mirrored glasses that she could only see herself in instead of his eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked before offering a hand out to her. "Did you get bit?"

"I-I-I'm fine." Twilight stammered before she reached out and took hold of his hand before he helped her up. "And n-no. I didn't get b-bit."

"That's good." He said. "Guess I got here just in time then. You're lucky I was checking the pawn shop over here for supplies. Otherwise...."

Hearing this, Twilight immediately grabbed onto him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." She said before sobbing into his jacket. "Thank you so much for saving me!"

"No problem." He replied before returning the hug by wrapping an arm around her body. "I'm just glad to see that you're alright."

"W-Who are you?" She asked while looking up at him.

"Name's Bullseye. But most people just call me Bull." He replied before taking off his glasses to show her his green colored eyes. "And you?"

"Twilight." She said. "Twilight Sparkle."

"Huh." He replied. "I know a girl that has that exact same name." He then paused and looked at her for a bit. "Come to think of it, you kinda look just like her."

"Well. I uh...." She said before hearing a shriek echo from across the city.

"Perhaps I should take you back to base." He said. "It's a lot safer there than it is here. Plus Phoenix is always happy to meet new people."

"Phoenix?"

"My group's leader." Bull replied before reaching into his pocket and pulling out some kind of box like object with a long rod sticking out of one of the sides.

"What is that?" Twilight asked, making Bull look at her with a confused look on his face.

"A walkie talkie." He replied before putting it close to his mouth. "Scavenger Two to Base. Come in, Base. Over."

"This is Base." A voice replied. "What do you need, Scavenger Two? Did you find the supplies we need? Over."

"Negative." Bull replied. "The Under the Sun Emporium looks like its been cleaned out of any valuable items. But I did manage to find something else. Something that Phoenix will need to see. Over."

"What did you find? Over."

Bull slowly turned his gaze toward Twilight before pressing the button on the side to speak.

"A survivor."

Author's Note

What's up everypony?

So this is something that has been floating around in my head for quite some time before I finally decided to make it into a story. I hope that you guys enjoyed reading this first chapter. If so, feel free to leave a like and a fave. If not, please tell me in the comment section on what I need to do to improve.

Full steam ahead, my fellow bronies and pegasisters.
- Harms Way