Author's Note

Sheesh. Y'all need a medal for lasting this long with the original.

Or maybe you're a C̸̞̙̭̽̌̀̈́̽̕̕ȗ̵̧̨̢̻̩̞̘͙̉̋̊͂͘ŕ̷͖̦̍͝s̵̫̪̋̍͂̆̆͆̄é̶̡̧̺͖d̸͎͒̒̿̈̀ reader passing by whose eye got caught by this. My bad. I don't have anything interesting to say.

Or do I?

...

...

...

Haha I don't

Brother's Note

"Cheerilee, no!" Twi cried. She looked at me with tears and resentment before pacing. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead in frustration and sadness before squatting next to Cheerilee and wiping away my tears. From behind, Dash nudged me. She hoofed me a towel and hugged me after covering Cheerilee with it.

"We'll make it through this Dash. Trust me. There is not a single thing I won't do to keep you and the others safe."

"I know," she sniffed.

"Why?" Twi came over, "Why'd you kill her?"

She was still really mad about what happened, and I didn't blame her.

"She would've sprung on you before you could blink ..."

"I could have led her outside!"

"Twi ..." Dash interrupted, "Can I talk with you upstairs?"

"Fine." She gave me one more angry glance before following Dash up.

I looked back at Cloudchaser, who seemed okay for the meantime. She looked back and frowned before resting her head on the floor. AJ came down the flight of stairs and came over to speak to me.

"Golly ... what the hell happened between you two? I could hear your voices upstairs. Y'all were scarin' the fillies."

"I'm sorry AJ."

She looked at Cheerilee's covered body. "I heard the gunshot too. Did she turn?"

"She ... she did. But Twi thought she could lure her outside, or board her in a room."

AJ looked back up at me. "Are you for real? She would a' been bit in a second ..."

"I don't know. Maybe she had a point ..."

She gazed at me. "No, don't beat yourself up about it. If you wanna know the truth, I had my encounters with 'em after we disconnected from the apple farm. Them suckers was faster than I could believe. Nearly got myself bit by one trying to hide out in the barn. Twi hasn't experienced being chased by 'em so give 'er some space. It wasn't your fault."

I looked back and she smiled. "Thanks, AJ."

We took one more look at Cheerilee.

"Can you help me take her outside?"

"Alright by me."

We wrapped the blanket fully around her. I took the front and she took the back. Avoiding the laid out zombie and her blood puddle, we backed out the unhinged door. Some ponies would have to come out to fix the shattered front door and windows eventually.

The sun was high in the sky. I felt bad for sleeping all of the night and most of the morning. Clouds scattered the horizon. They'd have to adjust themselves, now that the pegasi couldn't fly up and move them around. The hospital cast small shadows on rose bushes that were scattered about its walls. Even with them there, we could still manage to see outside from the front windows they peered into.

We moved along the path until we found a plump cherry bush patch and unwrapped Cheerilee carefully. Blood was patched here and there on the blanket. We were lucky enough to have unwrapped her untouched left side. I held Cheerilee in place while Dash pulled the blanket from under her.

I laid her halfway in the bush and halfway out in a tiny kind of ditch between the field and the bush patch. It was secluded enough so that small rodents wouldn't feast on her, but open enough so that she could get up easily if we found a cure and were able to revive her, somehow.

I had no idea how the cure would be spread. I hadn't even learned where ponies go when they die, to be honest. Hopefully this didn't affect what time we set out for Canterlot. But as I thought about it, there were many guards in the kingdom. We probably had plenty of time to get to Princess Celestia before anything wild could happen.

I thought the ponies probably needed rest too. I didn't know if any of them had slept while I was knocked out. I really hoped they did.

"Well ... not really," Dash answered, after I asked when I arrived. She went into more detail about how their sleeping times were messed up.

"Damn."

With AJ and Flutters napping, and the others having to sleep when the night came around, we'd have to wait another day before leaving. I thought about proposing the idea that they could sleep now and we could leave at night. That would be too dangerous though; We wouldn't be able to see clearly at night, and the zombie ponies would get us easily. It was much too risky.

"Well then," I observed the mess, "Guess I could help clean up in the meantime."

The room was filled with blood. A zombie pony lay out with her legs pointed at Cheerilee's blood puddle. Her head dragged out a blood puddle of its own. Cloudchaser's attacker laid a blood trail from the corner I pulled it to. There was just blood everywhere.

"Do we have working water?" I asked Dash.

"Yeah, it's still running."

"Discord and I can take care of the floors," Nurse Redheart mentioned.

"Good, I'll help move the zombie ponies out."

"I'll join you," Dash replied.

One by one we dragged the disgusting ponies, or what used to be ponies, out. We went the opposite direction as Cheerilee, and placed them in a bush patch next to a nearby forest. Whenever they came back, which I still didn't know how and when, they could navigate their way out of it and to the hospital. For now, they'd lay there.

The hospital seemed gloomy now. The atmosphere definitely changed. The main lobby was almost clean, as ponies were now allowed to trot through it. Others were starting to work on the door when I noticed AJ. She trotted in the lobby and found the nearest seat to take and sob. I decided to join her.

"You alright, AJ?" I went over to sit next to her. She sniffed before saying, "I'm okay."

"You don't look like it. I know losing Cheerilee was pretty upsetting. Is Apple Bloom doing alright?"

"I think so. I haven't told her about Big Mac yet."

"Big Mac? Is he alright?"

"He's not dead, but he's missing."

"You sure he didn't go out to gather supplies or something?"

"I'm sure." She hoofed me a note saying:

AJ, I hop you dont mind me leeving. Im off to find the rest of the apple familie. I cant sleep without them beeing saf. Tell Apple Bloom too not wory about me, and keap her saf. Love ya, and hop too see ya soon!

"Oh AJ ... I'm so sorry." I hugged her tight. She sobbed on my shoulder as I held on.

"If you need help telling Apple Bloom, I can tell her with you."

She choked down some more tears. "Thanks, Devan."