Author's Note

I made you guys a promise...and I broke it...I'm sorry. This chapter is my apology gift to you all.

Dark Carnival: Concert [EDITED]

In the safe room made from a storage room

Applejack was imaginably shaken up from just...everything. Ellis was pondering on what was the next thing to do.

"Whatcha thinkin' bout?" Applejack asked.

"Thinking about how we're gonna get outta this..." Ellis said in response.

Due to the past events, our two heroes are imaginably tired. Running, jumping, and fighting for an entire day and part of a night is energy consuming. Ellis and his four-legged friend have been trying to catch their breath in the safe house for about ten minutes since they first entered. It was then when Ellis caught an Idea...

"Oh! I got a plan on how to signal that chopper!" Ellis said excitedly.

"Really? How?" Applejack asked curiously.

"The Midnight Riders!"

"What about them?"

"Their shows are always filled with the most explosive and visible fireworks! We could activate the concert and signal the chopper!"

"Say, that's a good idea!"

"Starting the Midnight Riders concert...this is the best day of my life!"

"Wait, wouldn't the noise attract any...unwanted attention?"

"Likely, so we'd better get ready for a fight..."

"Alrighty, I'm ready when you are."

"Let's kick some ass!"

Ellis gives the door a kick and steps out. Followed by AJ, he continues to stroll through the food court. Only a minute passes when a Spitter decided to make herself visible. Ellis raised his rifle in the direction of the thin, drooling beast...but Applejack decided to step in and beat the tar out of the zombie. Applejack's talent in um..."hoof" fighting proceeded to impress Ellis. After that mess, they get ready to leave the food court...until AJ spots a creepy wooden sign.

"Ugh...that's disturbing." Applejack said, cringing at the wooden cutout of Whispering Oak's mascot: Lil Peanut.

"What is?" Ellis asked.

"That...peanut...thing..."

"Oh man, I love Lil Peanut! I had all his toys as a kid. Ah...good times..."

Ellis continued to have flashbacks on his childhood until he heard a growling from behind him. Being familiar with this noise already, Ellis ducked down and filled the Hunter with holes from his rifle. After that, they finally exited the food court and into the concert area. It was what you would expect of a concert: A large stage on one side, and benches in a staircase-like fashion. Ellis looked around in amazement as he saw the stage all decked out with a Midnight Riders background. Pushing his love for the band aside, he wasted no time looking for the controls to cause as much attention as possible.

Ellis locates the controls for stage lighting at the very back of the seating area. "Lights!" He yells down to Applejack, who was still on the stage.

He presses the button and as expected, the stage lighting activates. He practically giggles as he went down the steps and gets ready to activate the concert tapes.

"When I press this, it's all startin'!" Ellis yells like it's his last day to be alive.

"Ellis...?" AJ asked.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I gotta tell ya...just in case we don't make it or somethin'..."

"Sure. What is it?"

Applejack motions Ellis to crouch down. He does so, and expects her to whisper or something. Then, without a word, she kisses him on the lips. At first, this shocked Ellis. The thought of a pony kissing him on the mouth was mind-blowing. However, he didn't dislike it. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it. Applejack stopped kissing him and blushed so bright red, you would have thought there was too much blood in her head. Ellis stared at her with a shocked expression. Applejack covers her face with her hat, feeling embarrassed.

"Hey...AJ..?" Ellis said, smiling.

"Y-yeah?" Applejack said, face still covered by her hat.

Ellis pulls AJs hat from her face and kisses her in return. They shared a passionate kiss for the next thirty seconds, and when they released...Applejack's face was unimaginably red, then she practically fainted as Ellis whispered into her ear the words, "I love you..."

Applejack finally figured out what those feelings were earlier. She was deeply in love with Ellis. As for Ellis, he didn't know until the kiss either. Time almost slowed down for our two heroes as they discovered their secret feelings for each other.

After a few minutes, they realized that if they wanted to continue being...you know...ALIVE, then they were going to have to signal the helicopter before it leaves. Ellis turns around and presses the button, activating the concert and starting the music.

"Turn it up! Turn it WAY UP!" He yells as he picks up a nearby guitar and pretends to strum it.

Applejack giggles a little at Ellis' goofiness, but then quickly stops when she notices the infected party crashers incoming. A Smoker and a Jockey come out of a nearby building and charge our protagonists. The Jockey decided to go for Ellis while the Smoker goes after AJ. Ellis, currently not having a gun in hand, uses the guitar to beat the head humper senseless. The Smoker took a more stealthy approach, however. Hiding behind a corn dog stand, the Smoker used his tongue to snag himself a four-legged snack. Applejack was stuck in the Smoker's tongue and called out for Ellis' help. He heard her call and quickly saved AJ by blasting the Smoker with his magnum pistol.

After that, the song finished. When it did, a new one played...and a familiar and unfriendly roar came from a nearby bathroom. Sure enough, a tank jumped out and lumbered towards Ellis. Applejack, not willing to lose her new boyfriend, ran around the area, searching for something to use. She discovers a Molotov, and lights it. Grasping the bottle in her teeth, she throws it at the hulk of a zombie and it ignites. The tank becomes enraged at this and chases AJ. However, she only had to run for about thirty seconds due to the Tank's weakness to fire. Just as the zombie dies, another song plays. The duo begin to calm down a little and try to rest. After turning a charger into Swiss cheese, Ellis begins searching for another Molotov while Applejack beats the snot out of a Hunter.

"I love this song!" Ellis yells into the sky.

Minutes passed as the rock and roll kept on...well...rolling while Ellis and Applejack were searching for supplies. It was at that point where the intense fireworks started flying sky high. They exploded into the air, lighting up the night sky as our survivors continued to fight the undead. Suddenly, another Tank appeared. Ellis, knowing what to do, threw a Molotov at the not-so-jolly and not-so-green giant. After about one minute, the Tank fell down...charred like a rotisserie chicken. Extra crispy.

All the songs have finished, and the firework cannons fired everything they had into the sky. Through the booming sparks, the helicopter could be heard from a distance. It finally made an appearance on the left side of the audience area. However, on the right....a purple glow could be seen. A purple sphere appears and a lavender unicorn comes out.

"Applejack!" she yells.

"Twilight!" Applejack yells in response.

"Come with me! Let's go home!"

Ellis remembered making a promise to AJ that he would somehow get her home. However, he didn't want to leave her side. Still, he wanted to get to New Orleans...

"Oh, what the hell. Geronimo!" Ellis yells as he follows AJ and Twilight into the portal.

The portal closes and the helicopter pilot is confused. The fireworks were still going off while he was there, but no signs of those who activated them. Suddenly, a voice is heard from below him.

"Wait! Help us!" A voice yells from below.

The helicopter pilot waits in his spot as a human and a pony climb the stairs.

"Finally, a helicopter. Now we can finally be rescued..." The human said.

"Um...Nick?" Asked the pony.

"Yes, Lyra?" Nick asked in response.

"Who called for help, anyways?"

"Not sure, but who cares? At least WE made it..."

They both climb into the helicopter and It takes off...

The Survivors Have Escaped!