The journey from the factory to Canterlot Grocery didn't last long as the truck soon entered the parking lot outside the store. As Twilight looked around the lot, the first thing she saw was a blue car that was modified with iron bars lining the windows, but no plow on the front.

"Well, their car's still here." Bull said as he brought the truck to a stop next to it. "That means they must either still be inside or they had to run on foot."

"I just hope they're alright." Twilight replied as she got out. Once she closed her door, she looked around again. But to her surprise, the area was devoid of any infected individuals. "I don't understand." She said as Sunset walked up beside her. "Where is the horde that Rainbow mentioned?"

"I'm not sure." Sunset replied while also looking around. "Maybe most of them left before we got here." Twilight then noticed the large gun in her friend's hands. It looked different from what she saw Bull use.

"What kind of gun is that?" She asked before pointing at it.

"This?" She replied. "Just something Bull found for me a couple of months ago. It's called an AK-47. A high powered semi-automatic rifle that shoots really fast." She then pulled out a smaller gun, one that she only needed one hand to hold. "And this is my desert eagle. One of the strongest handguns ever made. It can easily kill an infected with one shot to the head."

Twilight gulped. "The head?"

"Most effective way to put them out of their misery." Bull replied while coming up behind her. "One shot there and it's over."

"You got that right." Applejack added as she joined the rest of the group. "I'm gonna make sure that these things pay for taking Granny away from me and the rest of the family." In her hands was a gun that looked similar to Bull's except it was a bit bigger and didn't have a sliding part on the bottom.

"That the rifle Steel found for you, AJ?" Bull asked.

"Eeyup." She replied in her own version of Big Mac's response. "Hasn't let me down yet."

"Good to hear." He said before he started making his way toward the building with the rest close behind. As they got closer, Twilight nervously clutched her sword, keeping her eyes peeled for any movement. She was so nervous that she jumped when she felt Sunset lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Twilight." She said in a calm tone. "We'll make sure that you won't have as much contact with the infected as we will." Seeing her friend being calm did help as the shaking did die down a bit, but she was still nervous. As the group came to the doors, or at least where they once were, all of them became quiet to hear for any sign of someone or something inside.

"Follow me." Bull whispered before he started making his way inside. The three girls nodded in response before doing the same. Inside the store, Twilight saw that each cash register was open, only to have nothing inside each drawer. The aisles were littered with open things of food, ranging from crackers, cookies, chips, even half empty bottles of pop could be seen.

"This place looks like it got raided a while ago." Sunset whispered as she looked around. "Look at all of this wasted food."

"I know." Applejack replied. "Such a shame."

"Yeah, this place is still pretty much in the same condition it was in the last time I was here." Bull said. "Adagio and I came here on a run a week ago and picked up quite a lot."

"I can tell." Sunset replied as she saw multiple empty spaces on the shelves. "Makes sense as to why Rainbow and the others came here as well then, I guess."

"I still don't see any infected though." Twilight said as she kept looking around, prompting the rest of them to as well. Besides them, the store seemed to be deserted. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Only one way to find out for sure if we're the only ones here." Bull replied before making his way over to a shelf that had a few jars of pickles sitting on it. Taking one into his hand, he then turned and hurled it at the nearest wall. The glass jar broke on contact, sending bits of glass, pickles, and the pickle juice all over the area around. After that, the group stood still, not making any sounds. A few seconds passed until they heard some noises coming from the back of the store.

"Guess we're not alone after all." Sunset said before an infected person appeared in her sight. The person cried out before he started running toward the group. Sunset soon aimed her AK at the incoming threat before she pulled the trigger, sending dozens of bullets flying into his body before he collapsed onto the floor. She then walked up to him while pulling out her handgun before putting a shot into the back of his head.

"W-was that necessary?" Twilight asked.

"Yes." She replied before walking back to the group. "I've seen infected people get up after taking similar hits. Like Bull said. One clean shot to the head and it's done."

"You've learned well." Bull said, earning a smile from her. He then looked around the store again. "Judging by how nothing else is happening, that may have been the only one here."

"Seems so." She replied. "Come on. Let's go find Rainbow and the others." Each of them nodded in response before they all started making their way toward the back of the store. "I bet Rainbow's gonna flip out when she sees that no one is here anymore."

"Yeah." Applejack replied. "She's gonna be so mad when she finds out that this place is empty." But as the group entered the backroom though, things looked much different. A small group of infected were all gathered around a partially open metal door, trying desperately to get inside. "Or...... maybe not." She said.

"Keep that door shut!" Rainbow's voice could be heard calling out from the room.

"I'm trying!" Soarin replied. "There's just too many!"

"Where the heck are Sunset and the others?!" Spitfire asked as it looked like all three of them were doing the best they could to keep the door closed.

*BOOM*

The sound of Applejack's rifle going off echoed around the room before one of the infected fell to the floor, shrieking in pain.

"Don't worry, ya'll." She called out while reloading. "We're here to save ya."

"Ready...." Sunset said as the group now had the undivided attention of each of the infected. Within seconds, every single one of them began sprinting toward them. "Aim...." Each gun was soon pointed directly at the approaching threat as Twilight did her best to stay behind Bull. "Fire!" Upon hearing that word, Bull and Applejack both started shooting their guns, scoring many hits as they got close. Sunset then proceeded to unleash the power of her own gun, spraying bullets into each infected before Bull and AJ finished them off.

From her place behind them, Twilight could see the effect that this was having as the infected were falling well before they were within a threatening distance. But soon, her eyes caught sight of an infected trying to sneak through the door that they came through. Sensing that none of her friends could turn to get him without sacrificing their contribution to keeping the main threat at bay, she clutched her sword tightly and made her decision.

"Time to put all those lessons with Shining to use." She thought before charging toward the lone infected. Her opponent let out a shriek before doing the same. "Forgive me, Celestia!" She called out while closing her eyes before swinging the blade with all of her might. Not even two seconds later, she felt the blade make contact. The feeling was brief, lasting only a second or so, but the sound of two things hitting the concrete floor made Twilight open her eyes to see what had happened.

The blade itself was now covered in blood while more of it was on her clothes. Luckily for her though, she wasn't hurt at all. As for the infected, his decapitated body was laying on the floor just a foot away from her with his head not much further. The blade appeared to slice cleanly through his neck. The sight of this made Twilight begin trembling as her eyes drifted to the blood covered steel.

"I...... I......" She stammered as the blood started to drip off onto the floor.

"Woah...." Bull's voice said, making her jump before spinning around to find the three of them looking at her with their mouths agape.

"I never thought I'd ever see you do something like that." Sunset added in an impressed tone. "Where did you learn to use a sword?"

"S-Shining Armor t-taught me." She stuttered, still trying to process what she had just done.

"Very impressive." Bull replied. "I honestly wasn't expecting that at all." He then noticed how much Twilight was shaking as a result of what she did. Looking at both Sunset and Applejack, he soon walked over and gave her a hug. "Thanks for watching our backs." This did seem to have an effect on the humanized alicorn as her shakiness slowly stopped before he let go.

"You're welcome." She replied before looking at Sunset and Applejack. Both of them each gave her a thumbs up in response, making a smile appear on her face. After that, the sound of the metal door behind them opening echoed throughout the room. Turning toward it, the group saw Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Soarin all walk out of the room with sweat dripping off of their faces. They all looked exhausted from holding the door shut against that many infected.

"You guys alright?" Sunset asked as she started walking toward them.

"Yeah." Rainbow replied between deep breaths. "We're fine."

"Good thing you guys came when you did." Soarin said before wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "Otherwise I don't know how much longer we could've lasted."

"Yeah." Spitfire agreed. "Those guys just wouldn't quit."

"Well you're safe now." Twilight replied, making Rainbow look up instantly.

"Woah woah woah." She said. "Twilight? Is that really you?"

"Yep."

"Oh man! Its been so long since I last saw you!" She exclaimed before running over and giving her friend a hug. "Really wish this was under better circumstances. But hey. Beggars can't be choosers."

"It's good to see you too, Rainbow." Twilight replied before returning the hug. "I'm just glad to see that you're safe."

"So what exactly happened?" Sunset asked.

"Well it started out pretty much the same as it always did." Rainbow replied before letting Twilight out of the hug. "Seeing as how Bull and Adagio were able to get lots of food from here before, we figured that there was still some that they left behind or couldn't carry. Turns out that there was plenty still here for us to grab."

"So we started loading the car up with every piece of food we could salvage from here." Soarin continued. "But after we finished loading the trunk, we saw a small group of infected just a few blocks away, coming straight for us!"

"They must've been able to smell the food or something. I don't know." Spitfire said. "But we realized that being out in the open against a group of infected probably wasn't the best idea. So we chose to retreat inside and barricaded ourselves in the dairy cooler. Surprisingly, the thing held up until the infected started charging at the door all at once. That's when things started to get intense."

"And that's when you showed up." Rainbow said. "Thank you guys so much for helping us out."

"Hey. What are friends for?" Sunset asked before all of them started to make their way out of the back room.

"Well at least now we'll have food that can last us for quite a while. Now lets just get in our cars and head back to base." She replied. But as they got closer to the front of the store, noises could be heard coming from outside. "Hold up." She said, making everyone stop. "You guys hear that?" Not even a second passed before the car that they came in suddenly came smashing through the front of the store, sending dust and debris flying through the air, before it came to rest upside down against the back wall. Each set of eyes were wide open, glued on the unexpected arrival that was once Scavenger One's car before a loud noise could be heard from the outside. Slowly, each of their heads turned to find a large horde of infected outside with a very large, yet familiar looking infected person smack dab in the center, holding up the truck that Bull and the others came in.

"Is that.... Bulk?" Soarin asked.

"I..... think.... so." Sunset replied while slowly backing away. "And it looks like he's been doing lots of workouts."

"YEAH!" Bulk roared before hurling the truck straight at them.

"Take cover!" Bull called out before each of them ducked as the truck came flying through the gaping hole in the wall before smashing into the car. When the dust settled again, each of them gazed as the car and truck were now completely totaled.

"Sweet Celestia......" Twilight said softly before Bulk roared again, making all of them jump back up to their feet before the horde of infected started to rush into the store. Seeing this, each of them immediately started sprinting as fast as they could back the way they came before bursting through the doors leading into the backroom.

"Through there!" Spitfire yelled while pointing at the fire door. Not wasting any time, Sunset kicked open the door, predictably resulting in the alarm beginning to go off, but none of them cared at this point as each of them raced through the door before Bull slammed it shut again.

"That ain't gonna hold them back for long." Soarin said as they all started running through the street. Sure enough, he would be proven right as the sounds of the infected giving pursuit would soon follow.

Author's Note

What's up everypony?

So this is just the first of many encounters that our protagonists will have with the special infected as I have had plans since I first started writing this story to have characters that aren't survivors portray them. Bulk Biceps was the obvious choice for the tank. The only question that remains is who will be the others. Here is a link to the blog that I made asking this very question. Post your ideas there or in the comment section if you like. Those that make the most sense will find a place in future chapters.

I hope you guys are still enjoying the story so far.

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