Equestria Girls: Left For Dead

Sunset and Twilight waited out in the hallway in front of the door that led into what Sunset had called the 'Grieving Room'. She explained to Twilight that anyone who had lost a friend or loved one was free to be in there to mourn their loss in private or with friends. Though the event of losing a person had been rare in recent months, losing two people in one day was something that had never happened before.

After waiting outside for what seemed like hours, the two girls heard the door open and saw Applejack and Rarity step out into the hall with them.

"So how's he doing?" Sunset asked as she looked at her two friends.

"The only other time I've seen him like this was when Steel died." Rarity replied. "He'll definitely need some time to recover. I would not recommend sending him out on any scavenging runs anytime soon."

"Did you make sure to get his gun?"

"Yeah." Applejack replied as she held Bull's shotgun in her hands. "Wouldn't want him to do anything drastic with the current state of mind that he's in."

"Was that all he had on him?" Applejack simply nodded her head in response, making Sunset sigh with relief. "Good. Make sure that you keep it safe for when he feels like himself again. Whenever that'll be."

"Sure thing, sugarcube." She replied. "I'll make sure that this will be loaded and ready for him."

"I'm sure he must be feeling very miserable right now." Twilight said as she looked toward the closed door. "Were he and Adagio really that close?"

"I'd say that they were as close as possible without being official, darling." Rarity replied. "Before we set out to rescue you guys from the school, Adagio explained to me that she wouldn't have minded having Bull as her boyfriend. And after seeing her reaction after you saved him, I'd think that she genuinely cared for him as much as he did for her." This made Twilight look down toward the floor. After what she experienced with Flash, she knew exactly what Bull was going through.

"If he's going through what I did with Flash when I heard he didn't make it, the last thing he needs right now is to be alone."

"I agree with you on that." Sunset replied. "But I also understand that he needs his space. That's why I think we should sleep out here for tonight. That way Bull can have some time to himself to try and gather his thoughts. But if he needs us, we'll be right here for him." After saying that, Sunset looked around and saw each one of her friends nodding their head. "I'll go and grab some sleeping bags for us."

"I'll go with you, Sunset." Rarity said before she and Sunset started to walk away. Twilight and Applejack looked on until the two disappeared around a corner before both of them sat down on the floor. Once seated, Applejack laid Bull's shotgun on her lap and leaned back against the wall.

"This has certainly been an eventful day." She said. "You showing up here, us having to save Rainbow and the others, losing two of our modes of getting around the city, fighting off an entire horde, and losing two people to the infected."

"Yeah." Twilight replied. "Believe it or not, I actually started today by dusting some shelves in my library before I discovered the journal. I never imagined I'd do anything like this today." After saying that, the two girls sat quietly. Each one of them kept their eyes toward the room that Bull was in, keeping their ears open to any sign that he'd need them. But all that came from that room was silence. "I hope he's doing alright in there." She said. "I've never known anyone to be this silent during a time of grief. Even Fluttershy had her moments where she would cry. But he hasn't cried since we came back."

"He's just one of those who tend to keep their emotions locked inside until it gets to the point where he can't contain it any longer." Applejack replied. "In fact, the only times other than now in which I saw him get emotional was whenever he talked about his friend's death." Upon hearing that, Twilight remembered the way Bull had acted when he talked about Steel. She then unhooked the strap keeping the sword given to her by him on her back before removing it from its sheath. Even though there were many blood stains on the polished metal, she could still see her own reflection on some parts.

"I feel so bad for him right now." She said as she looked at the sword before looking up at the door. "Losing his best friend and then a romantic interest has got to be devastating."

"Eeyup." Applejack replied. "I can't imagine what it's like to lose someone that you wanted to be with. But I bet it must be really tough. Add that along with the pain of losing a friend and I'm amazed that he's still keeping quiet. I mean. I was really sad after having to kill Granny. But if I ever lost someone I had feelings for after that, I'd probably be an emotional wreck both inside and outside."

"Are you sure we shouldn't try and comfort him?" Twilight asked.

"We gave him his space when he was recovering from Steel's death." Applejack replied. "I know it's hard to do. But in his current state of mind, he might say or do something that would hurt someone."

"Well what about Rainbow and Spitfire?"

"Neither one of them, as far as I know, weren't as close to Soarin as Bull was to Adagio." She replied. "I'm sure they must be feeling down right now, but not as much as he is." After saying that, the sounds of footsteps approaching made the two girls turn to find Rainbow and Spitfire walking toward them.

"Hey guys." Rainbow said before she and Spitfire stopped beside Twilight and Applejack. "How's Bull doing?"

"About as well as he was when we came back here." Applejack replied. "He hasn't made a sound or anything since then."

"That's not good." Spitfire said. "Bottling up something like that inside is never a good thing to do."

"Yeah." Rainbow added. "I mean. We're still down about Soarin. But after some time doing uhh... things, we feel better than we did when we got here."

"What did you guys do?" Twilight asked as Rainbow and Spitfire sat down next to them.

"We mourned for a little while." Spitfire replied. "It's only natural to do so after something like this happens."

"So you're saying Bull needs to open up and just let his feelings out?" Spitfire nodded in response just as Sunset and Rarity had returned with many sleeping bags in their grip. But as Twilight looked up, she saw that Sunset also had the journal with her.

"Uh.... Twilight?" Sunset said as she put the sleeping bags down. "I just got a message from Princess Celestia. I think you might want to take a look at it." Twilight raised an eyebrow at her before the fiery haired girl sat down beside her and opened up the journal to the page where the message was on.

Dear Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle,

There is something that you need to know before you discuss coming to Equestria with your peers. This is something that my sister and I think must be done to permanently prevent this cursed disease from spreading into our world. Once everypony that wishes to come to Equestria crosses through the portal, we've decided that the mirror will be destroyed. This will be a one way journey.

Please make sure to tell your fellow survivors this information as it is very crucial that they know this before you allow them to make a decision.

• Princess Celestia

Twilight's pupils shrank once she finished reading the message. She then looked up at her friend who just closed her eyes and nodded.

"We'll discuss this with the rest of the people here tomorrow." Sunset said as she closed the book before a small yawn escaped from her mouth. "At least we made it back here. I don't think I would've been able to sleep at all if we had to camp out at CHS."

"Yeah. I can agree with you on that." Twilight replied before looking around. "Aren't Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy going to join us?"

"Fluttershy's taking care of the stray animals and Pinkie volunteered for dish duty tonight." Sunset replied. "I told them where we'd be when they were finished if they'd like to join us." Twilight just nodded her head before Rarity gave her a sleeping bag. "I may need your help tomorrow with explaining the situation to the others." She continued as Twilight scooted herself inside her comfortable bag.

"So are we gonna talk about what we went up against today?" Rainbow asked while laying down on top of her sleeping bag. "I mean. We've been at this for months now and I've never seen anything like what we faced today."

"I know." Sunset replied. "I'm amazed yet at the same time terrified because of this. I've never seen anything like this before. Bulk Biceps becoming this unstoppable juggernaut."

"Like some kind of tank." Rainbow replied.

"Yeah. And Principal Cinch being able to spit some sort of acidic substance. Snips was riding on Soarin's back like he was some kind of.... uh.... Oh what's the word I'm looking for?"

"A jockey?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah. That's it."

"And Flash was some form of infected that was entirely different." Twilight added before looking at her friend. "Sunset. You said you killed Flash back in the school by shooting him in the head. But if that was the case, how was it possible for him to attack Bull on the bus?"

"I don't know." She replied. "I shot him directly in the side of the head. I've never seen any infected get up after that." She then rubbed her chin as she thought about possible reasons. "Maybe these unique infected have some sort of regeneration ability."

"It's a good possibility." Twilight said.

"And then you add in those two infected who got Adagio. I've never seen any infected with such long tongues before. And.... even though I only saw them for a couple of seconds, I'd recognize those hairstyles anywhere. Those two were Aria and Sonata."

"Adagio's sisters?"

"Yeah." She replied. "But what bothers me is that they could've easily gotten both Adagio and Bull. But instead, they teamed up and got just her. I'm not sure why they'd choose to just get one and not two."

"I wouldn't know." Twilight said. "Maybe it's because they recognized her or something."

"Could be." Sunset replied. "And if that's what those two became, who knows what Adagio has become." After saying that, Sunset sighed before looking down toward the floor. "I just don't think we can keep up what we're doing here much longer if these special types of infected are out there. I don't want to lose any more people."

"All the more reason for us to pack up and head off to Equestria if you ask me." Applejack said before taking off her stetson. "Especially after what Bull and I went through in the shop room. The flower trio became these unstoppable things that wouldn't go down after being shot. It had to take Bull going on a chainsaw rampage to finally stop them. If the infected are getting stronger, we need to get out while we still can."

"Yeah." Rainbow added. "I'm all for fighting them and all. But if they're gonna be getting tougher to beat, we either need to step up our game and get some bigger guns or leave." She then looked at the shotgun by Applejack's sleeping bag. "But considering there aren't any places around here to get bigger guns than what we got right now, I think we should go." Once she finished speaking, she turned to look at Spitfire who was laying down beside her. "What do you think, Spitfire?"

"If it means getting away from all of this, then I'm all for getting the heck out of here." She replied. "Even though it'll take a long time to get used to, I'll take becoming a pony over becoming an infected any day."

"Rarity?" Sunset asked upon hearing what Spitfire had to say. "What do you think?" All eyes turned toward the fashionista who in turn looked around.

"Honestly, I don't think there is any other option for us." She replied. "Either we go and live the rest of our lives as ponies or stay and fight to survive as long as possible. I'll go with the former, darling."

"So is it safe to say that we at least are all in agreement about living in Equestria? Even though we won't be able to return to this world?" Sunset asked. Each one of her friends nodded in response. "Alright. Now to just explain the situation to the others. I'd go ask Bull about his opinion, but I think it can wait until morning. Maybe he'll be in a better state of mind then."

"I hope so." Applejack replied. "Who knows what's gonna be waiting for us back at the school. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

After hearing her friend say that, Twilight looked back toward the still closed door. Throughout the conversation, she still kept listening for Bull if he made a sound or anything. But nothing was heard.

"Well...." Sunset said, gaining Twilight's attention. "I think it's time to call it a night. I'm guessing Fluttershy and Pinkie must've decided to sleep in their cots." After saying that, Sunset laid down and scooted herself inside her sleeping bag. "Good night, girls." And soon after each of them said their own replies, the hallway was silent except for the soft sounds of snoring.

-Three hours later-

Twilight tossed and turned in her sleeping bag. No matter what she tried to do, she couldn't sleep while knowing that her friend in the room was in emotional turmoil. Soon, she turned to look at the still closed door. Even though it had been several hours, she still didn't hear a single noise come from the room.

"Maybe I should go and check on him." She thought before scooting out of her sleeping bag. "Just to make sure he's alright, even if he's just sleeping." Once she got back to her feet, she quietly stepped over the others. But as she put her foot between Spitfire and Rainbow, the rainbow haired girl rolled over and laid on top of it, causing Twilight to almost lose her balance and fall. Thankfully she was able to catch herself against the wall before she fell on top of her friend.

After getting over to the door, Twilight put her ear up against it. She still couldn't hear any noise at all. She then put her hand on the door knob and slowly twisted it until the latch opened. Once that happened, she gently pushed the door open, making sure to be as quiet as possible in case Bull was sleeping. If he was though, she couldn't tell due to it being completely dark in the room.

"Bull?" She quietly asked. "Are you still awake?"

"Huh?" Bull's voice replied in a low tone. "Oh. Hey Twilight."

"Hey." She said as she stepped inside before closing the door behind her. "Is there a light or something in here? I can't see a thing."

"Yeah." He replied. "Give me a second." Soon after saying that, Bull turned on a small light. Now with the ability to see, Twilight saw that Bull was sitting on a gray couch that had a small end table in a corner with a lamp that was giving the room the only source of light. Looking closer though, Twilight noticed that he had something clenched in his fist.

"Mind if I sit down?" She asked.

"Yeah. Go right ahead." He replied before moving to allow Twilight to sit down beside him. Once she sat down, Twilight was amazed by how comfortable the couch was compared to the sleeping bag she was trying to sleep in. "How come you're still awake?" Bull asked, making the humanized alicorn look at him. "I figured you'd be asleep like the others are."

"I couldn't sleep." She replied. "Not while knowing that you were going through something like this."

"No need to worry." He said. "I'm fine."

"No you're not, Bull." Twilight replied. "I know for a fact you're not fine. No one can be fine after going through what you did." She followed up her sentence by putting her hand on Bull's shoulder. "It's okay to be sad, Bull. No one would blame you or make fun of you for crying."

"Well they should." He said before sighing heavily. "I deserve it. I deserve to be made fun of for crying. I couldn't keep my promise to Adagio. I promised to protect her. I told her that any infected wanting her would have to go through me first. I... I failed her."

"Bull. It wasn't your fault." Twilight said. "No one could've seen this coming."

"It is my fault." He replied. "If I had let her get on the bus before I did, she'd be back here with us. But no. The one time I had my back turned was when they got her." As he said that, a tear began to form in his eye. "I was going to ask her out on a date when we got back here." He said. "I wanted her to know how I really felt about her." Twilight looked on as Bull opened up his clenched fist to reveal a necklace, one that looked exactly like what Adagio and her sisters wore when they tried taking over the school.

"Where did you get that?" She asked while pointing at the necklace.

"I found it in an abandoned jewelry store." He replied. "I remember Adagio talking about her old necklace. About how much she missed it. She even drew me a picture of what it looked like. So you could imagine how excited I felt when I found this." He sighed once more as he looked down at it. "I was going to give this to her today. But having to save the others, even though only two of them made it back, prevented me from doing it. Even if she said no, I still would've given it to her."

"I'm sure she would've loved it, Bull." She replied. "And I'm sure she wouldn't have said no to a date."

"You think so?"

"I do." Twilight said before putting her hand on top of his. As she looked up into his eyes, Twilight could see a few tears start to streak down his blue colored cheeks. Bull's eyes though immediately broke contact with hers and looked down to the floor.

"Why did it have to be her though?" He asked. "Why did they take just her?"

"Those two that took her...." She replied. ".... were her sisters."

"Her sisters?"

"That's what Sunset said." She said. "Maybe they just recognized her and waited for the exact moment to strike."

"But why?" He asked before wiping a tear from his eye. "Why would they specifically target her? I've never heard of any infected do that before."

"I'm not sure." Twilight replied. "But that's why we need to get out of here while we still can. There's a plan already made for us to escape."

"I know." He said. "I could hear you all through the door."

"Well then. Do you want to come and live in Equestria with us?"

Bull looked up toward Twilight when she asked that. He then looked back down toward the floor.

"I don't think now is the best time for me to make a decision." He replied. "I'm still upset about what happened."

"Take your time, Bull." Twilight said before a yawn escaped from her mouth. "We'll be having a meeting with everyone else tomorrow where we'll discuss this. Will you be there?"

"Sure." He replied. "I'll come."

"Good." She said before surprising Bull by giving him a hug. "You know. Even though we've only known each other for not even a day, I know that Adagio would've been a lucky girl to have you as her boyfriend."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're kind, strong, brave, and were willing to protect a complete stranger like me when I was cornered by Ms. Cheerilee." She replied. "I'm sure that there's more to you than that. But this is all that I know after only knowing you for this long." After saying that, the room became silent as Twilight continued her hug, feeling Bull's heartbeat against her chest. Soon, she felt his arms reach up and wrap around her as he returned the hug.

"Thank you." He replied before sniffling. Twilight pulled back slightly to find tears now streaming down his cheeks. Upon seeing that, she made sure to hold him close as he finally stopped holding his feelings in. After a few minutes, Twilight felt his hands begin moving away. She then loosened her grip on him and finally pulled away completely.

"Do you feel better at all?" She asked.

"A little." He replied before wiping his nose with his sleeve. "Not much. But a little."

"Well it's a start at least." She said before yawning again. "I think I'm gonna go back out into the hall now and try to get some sleep."

"Alright." He replied. "I'll try and get some as well. Won't promise I will. But I'll try." With that said, Twilight got up and started making her way toward the door. "Hey." He said, making her look at him. "If you want to, you can sleep on the couch. I have no problem sleeping on the floor."

"Well.... I appreciate the offer." She replied. "But no. I'll let you have it. I've got a sleeping bag out in the hall."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." She then opened the door after saying that. "Good night, Bull."

"Good night, Twilight." He replied. "And.... thanks for coming in and checking up on me."

"Anytime." She said. "I'm sure the others would've done the same thing if they weren't sleeping."

"Yeah." He said before Twilight stepped out into the hall. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night." She replied before closing the door. Once closed, Twilight looked down and saw the glow of light coming from under the door disappear. "Well...." She thought as she stepped over her friends again to return to her sleeping bag. "I think that went really well."