In the safe room made from a room with unknown purpose...

"Well, not what I expected, but still fun!" Ellis said with his fists in the air.

"You call that fun?" Applejack asked her enthusiastic friend.

"I enjoyed the piss outta that!"

"Well, besides the tank and the jockeys, I guess it was kinda entertaining."

"If only Keith were here...he would have LOVED to do what we just did."

"There's just never a dull moment for you, is there Ellis?"

If there was one thing that AJ could see as Ellis' talent, it would have to be his lack of unhappiness. He was good at making a horrifying, life-threatening situation into a thrilling game. Applejack liked that about him.

"I ever tell you bout the time my buddy Keith drove off a cliff, broke both his legs? Now, it's not really a funny haha story, so much as it's a "make you think" story. Windshields looked pretty durable, right? Not the case according to Keith. Son of a bitch flew right through that sucker!" Ellis started to tell one of his infamous stories.

"Ellis, there's somethin' I gotta tell ya." Applejack said, taking off her hat.

"Sure."

"You see, I-"

An audible honking noise was heard along with a banging noise. Suddenly, the door's hinges gave in and it flew open. A charger must have grown impatient and decided to drop in. Applejack ran up to it and gave the zombie a wicked kick in the shins, causing it to fall down. The charger got back on it's feet and swung a punch at AJ, but missed and was given a few pieces of lead in it's head.

"Now, what were ya going to say?" Ellis asked.

Applejack was going to tell him, but got cold hooves and decided not to, "Say what?" She said, playing dumb.

"Never mind, let's get movin'."

"Okay."

They exit the safe room to be greeted with a large array of snack and game booths. However, the one thing that attracted their attention was one of those games that tested your strength.

"Oh man, I love these!" Ellis said as he grabbed one of the game's old hammers.

"I've seen these before. They're easy." Applejack said.

"Not this one. This game is rigged to the point where it is impossible."

"I can beat this one."

"Oh no you can't, but let's see who can do better."

Ellis goes up to the button and gives it a swing with all his might. The ball goes just under the bell, and Ellis cheered at his own personal achievement.

"Beat that!" Ellis said, crossing his arms.

Applejack picks up the mallet in her mouth and gives it a normal-looking swing, but the result was beyond normal. The ball darts up the pole like a bullet, smacking the bell and making it fly off.

Achievement Unlocked: Gong Show

"Beaten." Applejack boasted.

"Woah, you are a true, true country girl." Ellis said, mouth agape.

Ellis was truly impressed. He met a lot of girls, he met a lot of horses, and he even met a fair share of ponies in his life, but none of them compared to Applejack. He knew that she was someone special. Anyways, they walk their way through a bumper car game to find yet another area filled with booths. The only visible new thing nearby was ticket booths. Once again, the chopper flew above their heads, searchlights on.

"I'm glad there's a helicopter lookin' for us, but it's a little loud." Applejack said.

"What's your point?" Ellis asked.

"It could attract another one of them zombies."

"Like wh-AAAGH!"

While Ellis was not looking, a hunter happened to sneak up on him and pounce on for a late-night snack. However, Applejack managed to use her hind legs to split the zombie's head like a melon.

"Say, I'm gettin' pretty good at this." Applejack said as she looked at the blood on her hooves.

"Thanks, AJ." Ellis said to his four-legged friend.

Things were going pretty well for them until they reached the barns, where typical farming animals could be seen and petted. However, when the zombies came, they fudged that cake up.

"Ah, here's the barns. I got some good memories here." Ellis said, looking at the door leading inside.

"Like what?" Applejack asked.

"You see, when I was a kid, I witnessed a cow give birth to another baby cow."

"Wow."

"Then, the people randomly chose me to pick the name for it. I decided to name it Charlie. Weeks before the zombies came, I was told that Charlie was still alive! He was expected to live another two years."

"Well, let's go and see if you can meet him!"

"Yeah!"

When they entered, the first thing they noticed was a foul smell. A smell so strong, not even a wet rag could filter it. When they looked around, a gruesome sight sat there. In the pens where the cows were supposed to stand, they all laid curled up, dead. The intestines of the cows were ripped out, chewed up, and looking like pink, fleshy spaghetti noodles. Flies swarmed the poor creatures like the tornado to Oz as Applejack yet again, hurled all over the floor, adding to the horrible odor.

"Oh...my...god..." Ellis trailed off.

Applejack got up and tried to act natural, but this was too much! She finally finds the first recognizable creature in this world, and it's dead! Mutilated! However, she wasn't the only one feeling pain here. Ellis walked up to each individual cow, reading the name tags. When they went through a doorway leading to a second room full of mutilated cows, Ellis walked up to one of the cows and fell onto his knees. Tears started to form in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Applejack asked.

"Look." Ellis said as he rubbed the caked dirt off of the nametag.

"Sorry, I can't read your language."

"The nametag reads, 'Charlie'."

"Mother of Celestia."

"I'm sorry, Charlie." Ellis said, his wet tears falling onto the dried out scalp of the cow.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Ellis. I'll let you two have some time alone for a bit." Applejack said as she went into the next room and sat on one of the tables.

Ellis, for the first time in the apocalypse, was expressing his grief. He felt as if an iron nail was jabbed into his heart as he looked at his deceased childhood memory. After he had his little moment, he closed the cow's eyes.

"So long, old friend." He said as he went into the next room.

When he entered, Applejack was waiting for him. They looked at each other for about five seconds before Ellis kneeled. When he did, the two of them shared a hug. This went on for a solid ten minutes until the chopper was heard again outside.

"We should probably get movin'." Ellis said, his eyes still partially red from the tears.

"Alright, try and take it easy." Applejack said sympathetically.

When Ellis got back on his feet, they finally got out of the barn. When they exited, the duo noticed that it was a dead end. Not wanting to go back, they looked for an alternative route. They finally noticed hat they could climb onto the roof, so they did. Ellis got on first, and then he reached down for Applejack's hoof to pull her up. However, while he was in the midst of lifting her, a smoker from behind Ellis snared him in it's fungus-covered tongue. Ellis accidentally dropped Applejack on the ground as he was being dragged backwards. Then, the smoker reeled in his little fish and began to strangle Ellis.

"A...J...H-Help! Getting...weak...everything's...going...dark..." Ellis said, his voice weakening from the lack of oxygen.

Applejack rubbed her head and saw her only friend in this world getting strangled to death. Suddenly, a rage ran through her like fire and she leaped onto the roof with unnatural force. She pounced onto the smoker like a hunter and beat down onto it like a ball of dough. Reddish-blackish blood gushed out of the head, neck, and chest of the zombie. Finally, it exploded into a cloud of green smoke. Applejack then turned her attention to Ellis and unwrapped the tongue from him. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing very lightly.

"Ellis? Are you okay? Say somethin'. Anythin'!" Applejack said with panic in her voice.

"I saved fifteen percent on my car insurance." Ellis mumbled as he slowly got back on his feet.

"Oh, thank Celestia! You're okay!"

"Yeah, thanks for killin' that smoker. I owe you a lot."

They continued their way adventuring on the roofs, until finally finding a suitable place to get off. After exploring a bit more, they met with another dead end: a gate leading to the stage where the concert was originally going to be done. However, the controls that were used to open and close them were visible, and still working too.

"Alright, the only way we get through is if we open the gates. And...there!" Ellis said as he flipped the switch.

"Now what?" Applejack asked.

"Now, we wait."

Thirty seconds later...

"Hey, wanna hear a riddle?" Ellis asked.

"Sure, lemme hear it." Applejack responded, readying her brain.

"Okay, here it is: I am an odd number. If you take one letter away, I become even. What number am I?"

"Uhh, seven?"

"Right! Very good!"

Two minutes and a dead jockey later...

"Wanna hear another riddle?" Ellis again asked.

"Sure, why not?" Applejack asked in response.

"Okay. An elephant is stuck on a freeway. The only way you can get it off is if you take the 'f' out of 'free' and 'way'. So, how do you get the elephant off?"

"Wait, there's no 'f' in way." Applejack pointed out.

"Haha! You fell for it!"

"I don't get it."

"Never mind."

Then, the gates opened up.

"Okay, it's open! Run!" Ellis said.

They run at full speed into the safe room, and Ellis slammed the door and locked it behind him. When he did, he said:

"Wow, we...you know what? I got nothing smart to say this time."

Author's Note

Hi! Thanks for reading this chapter! That means...get ready...the next escape chapter is coming up soon! Expect it very soon!

PS: Leave a comment if you understood the second riddle.