Along The Dreary Road

As I write this now, today more or less marks six months since the collapse. During the day, it is quiet and the streets are empty. At night, Canterlot and the nearby neighborhoods are as dark as the night itself, and the sounds of the dead can be heard clearly.

I and a few other people returned from a supply run near Twist Street. With our supplies dwindling faster than we initially believed, we had been making more runs than we anticipated. The suburbs weren't as bad as downtown. At best, we would come across no more than four or five infected, and thankfully they had died a long time ago to the point where we could outwalk them.

With the sun approaching the horizon and the sky turning orange, we hauled whatever we had and brought it back to the school. When we got there, while there were no guard posts or towers on the front, there was at least one scout watching for either us or any danger. We left with one scout at the front, and we came back greeting another. We were the last group to go out today, so the scout followed us inside, but resorting to watching from the nearby window, barricaded and blinded.

Even six months in, the lights of CHS still shone proudly, thanks to the generators. We found more fuel in a few garages and siphoned some out of several of the cars left on the streets - at least the ones that didn't burn or blow up or were left on. The kids were all walking down the halls and playing; if you had forgotten the world had ended, you'd think nothing had happened at all.

We went to the cafeteria and into the backroom. Since it was already a storage room, it was where we kept everything anyway. My friend Twilight was the one who counted all the food we had and, after calculating everything in her head, concluded how much the total would last us. While our supplies were dwindling, they would last us, at best, another six months. That is enough to, essentially, feed just one person for maybe three years. Or was it four?

"Did you guys have any trouble out there?" she asked, and we nodded.

"Just the usual few infected," I answered. "I think they're all migrating to the city. If that keeps up, we might not have to bring anything but our bags."

She smiled, remarking, "You should probably bring at least one...just in case."

"I know, I'm just saying," I answered back, laughing.

The other four scouts left to do their own thing, while I spent the next few minutes talking to Twilight while I helped her stock the shelves with the extra food. I asked her how she was doing.

"I'm doing okay."

"You sure? I know I don't talk to you a lot that often, but... if you're ever down, you can always talk to me."

"I know. But really, I'm okay." And then she seemed to hesitate, and for good reason. "... for the moment."

"Something wrong?"

She shook her head. "Not now, but...well...what happens when we run out of the things we need?"

"Like?"

"Well... for starters, medicine. Sure, we can grow food, that's what the garden on the roof's for. But we can't exactly grow medicine. I mean, we can, but what we need isn't in this region. And we can't risk sending kids out to other areas just for some plants. How would we communicate with them? Our walkie-talkies only go out so far, and we'd be sending them out for miles. What if something happens to them and we never hear from them again? What if-"

Twilight tended to ramble on a lot of things, no matter if it was serious or silly. When it came to serious topics like this, I had to stop her and tell her everything would be okay, and so I did just that.

"We'll figure something out," I informed her. "Maybe we'll get lucky. Maybe one day, they'll..."

"... do another drop?" She expressed concern. "There hasn't been a drop in months. We don't know if anything's out there anymore."

I held the high belief that parts of the world were still functioning, if not all the world, and America was the only one devastated. All we knew is there was at least one case in a foreign country, and then the radios went out. Twilight may have been right, or maybe she wasn't. We couldn't know for sure until we got the radio station working again, at least that was the plan.

"Hey," I talked to her gently while embracing her. "Even if another drop never comes again...it'll be okay. I'll die before I let anything happen to you or Dash or any of the others."

It was such a Hollywood thing to say, but it was the solid truth. I cared about my friends, and I cared about the girl I loved; I'd do anything to make sure they were safe and happy. And so far, I and every other scout in the school were doing a good job so far.

Plus, it wasn't too uncommon for someone my age to speak Hollywood.

Twilight sighed and nodded; she wasn't frustrated at all. I could tell that she was worried, even scared, but she took comfort in my words. I kissed her cheek and hugged her. She took it in and I could feel her smile.

When I pulled away, I asked her where Dash was.

"She was actually here right before you got here," she answered. "She just asked when you were supposed to get back and then said she was gonna lie down for a bit."

That was why I loved her. She always wanted to know where I was, what I was doing, and if I was okay. Of course, when I say it like that, it makes it sound like she's one of those obsessive SOs.

She's nothing like that. She just cares.

"Thanks," I say. "I'll see you at dinner, okay?"

Twilight smiled. "Okay. Bye."

She waved and I waved her back. Twilight always had this particular wave that she made to me. It was always adorable. I always regretted not talking to her more often, but I planned on it.

I made my way up to the room that Dash and I had "claimed." It was really a janitor's office that we converted into our own cozy little place. The desk with the computer on it we kept and made it a place for us to play video games. We brought in a television from one of the nearby houses and grabbed whatever DVDs we could find. We had enough movies we haven't watched yet to last us for a decent while. The decorations of the room were a mix of my things and her things; surprisingly, they matched kinda well.

It was always a satisfying sight when I opened up the door, because it reminded me that I was alive for one more day.

When I opened the door, just as Twilight told me, Dash was lying in her... our bed, laying on her side. She wasn't asleep, just listening to music. But as soon as she felt the cold breeze, she turned to see me standing there. Her blank face quickly became a smile.

"Hey!" she said taking off her headphones, "You're back!"

"Hey," I answered back as she came over to hug me. "I was just helping Twilight stock the shelves."

"Did you get a lot?"

"About a few weeks' worth."

"Nice." She kissed me, and initially I thought it was going to be a simple quick kiss. But she held me close just to savor the moment. She moaned and sighed, wrapping her arms around me. It was the part of Dash that she hardly showed to anybody, even in spite of everything. She never wanted to let that image go.

When she pulled away, she grabbed my hand and brought me over to the bed. Again, also taken from nearby houses or mattress stores. This one was from the nearby Quills N' Sofas store. One of the comfier ones. Everybody slept well once we brought them back.

I laid down first and she fell on top of me. I had to adjust myself just so the weight of her didn't crush me. I wasn't saying she was fat, far from that. In fact, she's pretty buff. That's why I adjusted myself.

She gave me another kiss, putting her hands between my head, resting them on the pillow beneath me, while my hands rubbed her body above her jacket. She shivered from the ticklish sensation.

"I was worried about you, you know," she told me. I smiled reassuringly.

"I know," I answered back. "It's worse when I'm actually out there."

"I mean...I'm glad you're doin' it and all, but...why'd you have to be a scout, you know? Why didn't they just make you do something less dangerous and more sane, like planting in the garden or stocking shelves with Twilight?"

She always was worried about me, and I didn't blame her. Going out every single day and looking for supplies, with the added risk of never coming back or coming back as a shambling corpse, was stressful as all hell. I never admitted it to anybody except for her.

But I laughed when she brought up "boring." She was selected to be one of the people planting and watering the roof garden. Before this, I could never see Dash consider gardening 'sane'. However, at the same time, that brings up another question: Why wasn't she chosen to be a scout? I'll have to ask Soarin later.

Or... I'd rather not. Last thing I want is to put her in danger just because I opened my trap.

"Well... as long as we don't suddenly decide to go into the city, I think I'll be fine, as long as the others have got my back."

It hardly did much to ease Dash's worries. I could see it on her face, just as I had for the past couple of weeks. It started to dawn on me that she had been thinking about this for a long time.

"Hey," I told her. "It'll be okay. As long as we stick together, nothing will happen to me or anybody else, especially me.

"But... if you want me to, I could maybe ask Soarin or Mac and have them change me to gardening-"

"But then I feel bad because you'd only be doing that because of me. I mean, that'd be great, but..."

She sighed, frustrated not with me, but with herself. She covered her face with her hands and sat there for a second. When she pulled them away to reveal her face again, she apologized, her emotions visible like she was on the verge of a tear falling and wanting to argue at herself.

"It's fine."

"I mean...would you really do that for me?"

"Of course. The last thing I want is anybody getting worried, especially you. And," I shrugged, "even if he doesn't switch me, at least he'd know why."

"Right." Her response was unenthusiastic, as opposed to how she felt not that long ago.

I brought her in for a hug and let her know it was going to be fine. I always planned it, for things to work out. Even if everybody was convinced they weren't, I was convinced they would be, no matter what it took.

After we hugged, I decided to change the subject, already feeling down myself.

"So what'd you do today?" I asked her.

Getting up just a bit for her to speak clearly, she started. "Well...other than watering plants again, we... didn't really do all that much today. Well, I mean- okay, so do you remember that whole rumor Sour started a few weeks back?"

"Yeah," I answered, rubbing my hands up and down her body gently. I felt her shiver, but she seemed unfazed by it. She didn't mind it; casually getting into things was always our style.

"Yeah, so turns out it wasn't necessarily just a rumor. They actually kinda found out today that it was true - y'know, the whole 'rainbow cat' in the woods?"

"Like, they found an actual cat that was a rainbow color?"

"Yep," she quickly answered. "Well, it wasn't exactly a rainbow rainbow cat, but more like a cat with more than one color. So...kinda yeah, kinda no."

She started taking off her jacket and I helped her toss it to the couch. As I lifted her tank-top just to reveal her breasts, I asked her, "Who found it?"

"Brrrnng," she shivered as my somewhat cold hands touched her skin. "I think it was Ghost's group. They were supposed to be looking for an axe to cut down some of the trees around here and ended up finding this random cat in one of the garages. They even took some pictures of it. It's actually kinda cute."

"Did they share it with you?"

"Duh," she replied. "It took them a little bit longer because of the whole, y'know, cell service going down and stuff, but..." She kept her body still while she grabbed her phone and opened up her images. I teased her with a light rub of one of her nipples. She shook a bit and moaned, laughing faintly.

When she finally found the picture, she showed it to me. She didn't lie: It's an actual rainbow fucking cat. "Aww. Did they keep it?"

"No," she answered with a sad tone. "They tried to find a cage to bring it back, but it was gone by the time they did. I'm sure we'll see it again."

"Hopefully. We need a couple pets around here."

"Well, we still got Tank," she said, pointing to the tank next to the computer, containing the old tortoise sleeping snuggly in a patch of dirt.

"Yeah," I said with a bit of a smile. Not getting distracted, I twisted her nipple gently.

It got her going.

With a louder moan, she started strutting herself on my hips, removing her tank-top entirely, revealing her bare chest. She always considered her body cool, but I always thought it was cute in a sexy way.

Unbuttoning her pants a bit, I slid a hand down it and asked her what else happened today while I searched for what I was looking for.

"Mmmn," she hesitated. "Well, we watched that Zootopia film that came out last year."

"Is that the one with the bunny and the fox?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I thought it was a dumb kids' movie, but it was actually kinda fu-aahh!" she stopped as I found her entrance and slid my way in.

"You alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, it's just your fingers are fucking cold."

"Really?" I asked. She nodded. I made a joke along the lines of, "Guess I better warm them up then."

"You're a fucking idiot," she said back to me with a cute laugh, a laugh that quickly turned into a moan once I started moving my finger.

"Anything else happen?"

"Hhnnnmmng...W-Well, the group that's been trying to-brrrhh-trying to get the radio tower working said they might...mmmight have it working by Friday."

"So we'd be able to find out if the world's actually around?"

"Yeah, pretty...hahhh..." She leaned her head back and curled her back. "-Pretty much. Fuck, can we just do it already? Sorry, just your fucking-"

I laughed again. "Alright."

It didn't take long for us to come. Once we were finished, the two of us were panting, sweaty messes laying side by side. Dash was shivering, both from the cold air in the room, and her still lingering orgasm. She gripped the sheets with a smile on her face, laughing silently with joy.

"I'm always afraid I'm never gonna feel this again," she said.

Even after just having sex, she was never too wary of somber thoughts. I brought her in for a hug. It was sweaty, but it was definitely a needed one for both of us.

"Don't worry," I told her. "I won't be going anywhere. Well, I will, but... you know."

She laughed again. "I know."

As we pulled away from the hug, I spent the next few moments right after just looking into her eyes. It was such a cheesy moment, but I always cherished it, always looking at those magenta pupils and seeing just how much she loved me back. It would never get old.

I kissed her again for a minute. I gently rubbed one of her nipples, but it was more of laughter than of moaning. She wrapped her arms around me and didn't want to let me go for a while. Eventually, we decided to get up and play some video games. Of course, when it's said like that, it's worded so poorly, but it was really all we did afterwards. That was the common thing between us: It didn't matter what we did - before the day was out, we were playing Kirby or GTA or whatever we had on us at the time. Some games were shared around the group unless there were multiple copies.

Tonight, we just chose to run down random old ladies in Vice City. It was always hilarious to hear what they had to say to us.

For two straight hours, we played Vice City, then switched it around with whatever zombie games we had. Ironic, of course - probably the most ironic thing that could happen now.

With every score made or every feat accomplished or every joke told, we were laughing and smiling, cheering and kissing. It was always nice to have her just smile and not be so sad.

I loved her for it.

Before we knew it, eight o'clock came around, and the lights were off. We set a rule a few months back with the intention to conserve fuel: At eight every night, the power would be rerouted to the kitchen and storage facilities. It wasn't necessarily that the other parts of the building were just dark, but rather most things like the TVs would stop working. If anyone wanted to watch movies on their computers or phones, they could do so - they just had to charge them beforehand.

To put this into perspective, we were using 24 gallons of fuel a day; one gallon an hour. With the rule in place, we knocked it down to 8 gallons a day. We were able to save the fuel for whatever else we needed it for, and still had enough to charge whatever we had or play whatever we wanted before the 'power curfew'.

The reason we chose eight o'clock was because that was dinnertime. Everyone in the school would head on down to the cafeteria and eat their meals, mingle a bit, then go about the rest of the evening. When it came to guards, it was either a shift change or a can of spam.

Dash and I showered quickly and then headed down to the cafeteria. Before the collapsed, the room was always packed with kids of all ages going up to grab their food and then gossiping about the newest 'whatever' that happened that day or the day before.

That was still the case, only the entire cafeteria was all that was left of the school's entire population. Anyone who wasn't rounded up by the military and brought here was either killed, turned, or went elsewhere, hearing about stories of places west that withstood everything. Hopefully, they were okay.

We went up to the stands to grab our food. It was Soup Night tonight, so we were able to spare a few cans of chicken noodle soup, enough to feed the entire group. Some went to bring bowls to the guards and lookouts, and the rest stayed in the cafeteria and talked about whatever was worth talking about.

For a couple of minutes, Dash and I sat at an empty table and enjoyed our meal, chatting about video games and soccer matches.

"Ugh, I can't wait until we can start working out back," she groaned with glee. "Imagine being able to have soccer matches again! That'll keep the younger ones entertained, at least."

I replied, "I think it'll keep everyone entertained. Sure, video games and movies help loads, but being able to go outside and have fun without the fear of getting attacked would be awesome."

As we spoke, Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy came over and sat down with us. I knew Applejack before the outbreak, but I met Twilight and Fluttershy after, having only seen them around a few times beforehand. We all hugged like we hadn't seen each other in a while.

"So, partner," Applejack began towards me, "how was it out there today?"

"Pretty decent," I explained. "We came across a few infected, but they were no problem, just walkers. I think the rest are migrating to the city. That should leave the suburbs safe for a little while."

"That's one thing I was actually meaning to talk to you and the other grown-ups about... When we run out of stuff in the neighborhoods... where will we get them after?"

I eyed Rainbow and the others nervously.

"Worst case scenario... the city."

Fluttershy's head reared up, looking at me with fear. "No...! But... those things...!"

"I know, Fluttershy, I know," I answered, my mouth scrunched and my head nodding. "The last time any of us went in there, they all... But at least we know they're drawn by sound. I've been thinking about possibly creating some sound machines loud enough to draw the infected out of the city for a while... days even."

"Why days?" Dash asked.

"We might not be able to bring everything back in a single day. You've got supermarkets, mini-marts, plus the supply drops that we tried to reach before. If we're lucky, everything's still there, just waiting for us to take it."

"Or just a bunch of bloodthirsty corpses," Dash added, rubbing her shoulder with nervousness.

I shrugged, agreeing with her, but I added, "Well... on the bright side, most of the infected in the city have to be walkers by now. We won't have to worry about being chased by runners, unless someone was recently turned."

Grabbing my bowl, I started slurping down the contents, enjoying every drop with a content grin on my face before putting it down and noticing the four of them staring at me... well, three.

"We'll think of something. There's still plenty of houses we haven't hit yet. It's gonna be a while before it has to come to that."

"Hopefully." Dash held my hand under the table and started eating her soup.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, turning to Fluttershy, whom she noticed had been staring at the empty space beside her. "... Fluttershy?"

"Rarity... Pinkie... Sunset... They..."

The pinkette started to cry softly, while her friend held her close to her.

"Shh, shh... We don't know that. They're okay. I know they are."

The three girls were friends of theirs, going back a couple of years before I met them. I never met them before the outbreak, but I had seen them around, never speaking to them. They were some of the first to leave the group during the first couple of weeks, afraid it would all go wrong.

But six months later, we all thought they would have returned. Dash and Applejack assumed the worst, beating themselves up for thinking that way, but still forcing themselves to consider the possibility.

Fluttershy and Twilight, however, were still holding on, hoping that their friends were okay somewhere, in another city, or with another community that is riding the apocalypse out like us.

Hopefully.

Dinner was over in an hour, and everyone went back to whatever they had been doing before. Some of the older kids had another movie night in the auditorium, watching some of the more mature films that were available. The younger kids were getting ready for bed. But the rest of us were a mixed bag.

Dash and I went back to our rooms and laid down on the bed again, the sheets smelling of sex and lust. It made the girl bite her lip, as if anticipating another go.

With just a single wink and a few minutes later, the two of us were on the bed, me on top of her as I pounded away against her beneath the blankets. We were still clothed, and to be honest, that was something that seemed just hotter than being naked.

I groped her breasts as she gripped the sheets. Even with how fast we were going, the bed didn't make as much noise as we thought it would; it was the best thing about times like this.

"Fuck, I'm..." she moaned, unable to finish her words.

"Shh... Let it out. Be a good girl."

Dash playfully punched me. "Fuck yo-aah...!"

In a sudden burst of ecstasy, Rainbow's orgasm hit, and she was left mumbling incoherence and unconsciously moving about to the feeling; her grip on the bed sheets was gone.

She looked me in the eyes as I came soon after, pulling out to be safe. My essence dripped along her pelvis, and it was enough to make her giggle from the ticklish but warm sensation. I reached down and gently scooped up the liquid, letting it fall into her mouth, to which she gladly swallowed without hesitation. It was easier to clean that way. Her own words at one point.

With a sigh, I fell beside her and we slipped our pants back up, and our shirts back down. In the darkness of the room, with nothing but the lights between the cracks of the door illuminating the place faintly, we looked at each other, barely able to see. I turned on the nearby lamp on its lowest setting.

Dash was looking into my eyes again, a brief yawn escaping her lips.

"Would you ever wanna have a baby?"

It was a surprising and sudden question that I didn't expect, and she could tell.

"I mean, like... after we're settled down and after we know that we'll be safe. However long that'll take. Would you want to then?"

At first, I was hesitant to answer. Dash didn't really give an opinion on having children, especially since the two of us have only been together for two months. But Dash was an optimist, always looking to the future even when she seemed to be the opposite. It seemed that most of the kids here were optimists at this point.

But I think I was afraid to answer because of how she would react. If she wanted children and I said no, would she leave me?

"Hey," she spoke, noticing my hesitation, and rested a hand on my cheek. "I won't be mad at you."

With a sigh, I answered her. "No. The thing is... I don't know how to take care of kids. I mean, babies. I... I feel like I'd be a horrible parent. And even if we knew we were safe, I feel like I would be careless enough to let something hap... happen."

The thought of a child of mine being trapped in the grips of an Infected...

Rainbow saw my expression change subtly, and it was enough to make her hold me close.

"I'm sorry I asked," she sighed. "I... I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay," I told her. "I mean... Maybe. Maybe I would be up for it when I was sure we would never have to deal with this kind of thing again. No more Infected, no more scavenging and scouting, no more problems. If we could get back to something like we used to have... then... maybe."

She smiled against my shoulder and nodded, changing the subject to something else—something that still managed to excite her.

"You know... tomorrow's my birthday~"

"Oh, really? I didn't know that," I joked.

Sticking a tongue out at me, she added, "In case you're feeling a little adventurous... I circled some places nearby you could take a look at if you wanted to... get something for me...?"

Her voice, that sing-song tone she would sometimes do, was always one of the cute things about her.

Dash leaned over me to grab a map of the city and showed it to me. It was clearer in print where the school was, and where the stores were. One of the stores was a guitar shop just a couple of blocks from here, and the other was a music shop that contained all the newest CDs that had been available at the time.

"Listening to the same thing gets a bit boring," she spoke up. "So I figured... maybe you could find some new CDs? I mean, I don't listen to CDs that much either, but..."

I smiled. "You're lucky. I think we're supposed to be heading out in that direction." Lifting my hand, I booped her on the nose. "If it's safe enough tomorrow, I'll give them a look. Sound good?"

"Mm-hmm," she hummed. "But you know, you don't have to do it. The last thing I need is any of the leaders chewing you out over something I... wanted."

She said that in a way like she was embarrassed to say it, almost as if she feared being seen as a spoiled child for it. It wasn't the case at all. And in this day and age, was it really being spoiled if everything was handed to you much easier?

"If it comes to that, I'll take care of it," I comforted her, giving her neck a gentle kiss. She smiled at me with blissful peace.

"Thank you."

I smiled back. "You're welcome."

A moment later, we heard the familiar sound of the already dim hallway lights shutting off until morning. That was our cue to nod off to sleep.

I laid behind Dash, my arms holding her close to me. I could smell the faint scent of perfume on her hair. She told me she hated it before the collapse, but she wanted to feel like things were normal still.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

I always feared saying those words as much as I loved it.