//-------------------------------------------------------//
             The Four Humans of the Apocalypse             
                   -by LukeTheMercenary-                   
//-------------------------------------------------------//
//-------------------------------------------------------//
                   Crashed In Canterlot                    
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Crashed In Canterlot
The four woke up in their car. Everything was cold, and quiet. The sun appeared to be just about to rise. They all groaned as they felt their sore muscles feel like the toughest leather. When they felt like they could finally move their jaws again, Luke finally spoke up.
"Ugh...is...everyone alright?" Luke asked.
"No, I am not 'O.K.' asshole!" Nick said.
"Ugh...how long have we been out?" Miranda asked.
"I dunno...what does the car's radio clock say?" Axel asked.
"Bah...it's broken." Nick grumbled.
"Let's get out of this tin can," Luke said, undoing his seatbelt and opening the car door.
"Don't disrespect my car. She's been with me for years."
"Can someone help me? I can't open my door..." Miranda said.
Luke hopped out of the car, and pulled open Miranda's door.
"Thanks, Luke."
Axel climbed out of the car, since his window was shattered. He flopped onto the stone ground and got himself up.
"Uh oh...Nick, you might have to see this." Axel said, looking at Nick's car.
"What?" Nick said, getting out of the driver's seat.
Once he did...he took a good, long look at his vehicle. The windshield was shattered, there were countless dents, and the front was destroyed beyond repair.
"My car!" Nick fell to his knees, and placed his hand on what was left of the hood, "Honk if you can hear me..."
The car, ironically, let out a honking noise before the hood let out a plume of white smoke.
"Well, that sucks." Axel shrugged.
Nick got up from the ground, and dusted himself off, "I suppose it could get worse." he said, trying to reassure himself.
"Hey guys....doesn't this place look a little familiar?"
The four looked around. To start, everything looked all...animated. Like a cartoon, or something. The city they were in looked...somewhat fancy. Like everything was designed like a castle in one way or another. However, it definitely has seen better days. Paper and trash was littered in the streets. Some buildings were boarded up, and others had their windows smashed to bits. Banners of both the sun and the moon were either draped on the walls, or fallen to the ground.
"Guys...does anyone else think that this place is..." Luke started.
"Is this..." Miranda said, her eyes widening.
"This place is..." Axel started.
"Oh no....please don't say it...please, god...don't have it be true..." Nick whispered to himself, closing his eyes tight.
"CANTERLOT!" Luke, Axel, and Miranda said together.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Nick yelled, his fists in the air toward the heavens.
Luke, Axel, and Miranda practically danced in a circle. Celebrating that their dreams have finally come true.
They then heard a growling noise coming from within a building. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and looked to the direction of the sound.
"What was that?" Luke asked.
"Well, when I hear ominous noises...I grab my gun." Nick said.
"Good idea. Nothing comforts me more than a firearm." Miranda said.
"Then you guys will be glad that I brought my collection with me today."
Everyone followed Nick to the trunk of the car, and he popped it open. Inside, were the crew's backpacks. Everyone grabbed their packs and checked the contents. Their emergency food and camping gear was thankfully unharmed. At the very bottom of the trunk, was a big black bag. Nick placed the bag on the ground, and opened it up. Inside were pistols, rifles, fully-automatic assault rifles, two shotguns, and some knives.
"Nick, you scare me." Miranda said.
"You use THESE to hunt?" Luke asked.
"Why? What's up?" Nick asked, calmly.
"Do normal people hunt with THIS?" Axel asked as he pulled out an AK-47.
"No, but I'm not 'normal people',"
"I won't argue with that." Luke said as he pulled out a second AK, as well as some pistols and a knife.
"Oh shut up, Luke."
After everyone grabbed their supplies, they started walking down the streets of Canterlot. It was all quiet. Too quiet.
"Hello?!" Luke called out.
His only response was the wind blowing in his face.
"Where is everyone?" Axel asked.
"They probably retreated when they saw your face." Nick said.
"Don't be jealous because I'm beautiful..."
"Yeah, that's what your mom told you."
Before they could start to bicker, they heard the growling noise again. Everyone pulled their guns up. They then heard a sound that eased their nerves a little.
Clip, clop. Clip, clop.
"Oh good, someone's out here." Luke said.
A pony-shaped figure stumbled out of a building. They turned toward the pony, their guns down.
"Hello, we don't mean harm. Do you know what's happening?" Miranda asked.
The mare stared at them. Her eyes practically white. Her mane appeared to be almost completely ripped out. She made growling noises as she walked toward them.
"It's a chick!" Nick said, pushing Miranda to the side, "Let a MAN handle this. Hey sweet cheeks, can you tell us where the others are?"
The mare stumbled toward Nick, got up on her hind legs, and pounced on him.
"Holy mother of damn!" Nick yelled as the pony chomped at him.
Nick used all his strength to push it's head away from him, but he felt like he couldn't do it for much longer. With a burst of adrenaline, he shoved the mare off of him and got back up on his feet. Axel, Luke, and Miranda took shots at the creature's body...but it seemed to be unaffected. It simply shrugged off the bullets and continued to attempt to make a meal out of Nick. Nick lifted his AK-47 and unloaded three bullets at the mare's head. Chunks of skull and brain matter flew and splattered behind it, and the mare fell to the ground.
"What. The. FUCK?!" Miranda asked.
"What is going on?" Luke asked, baffled and scared at the same time.
"I'll tell you what's going on," Nick started, "Your precious pony world has become a zombie pony world!"
"Zombies? Nu-uh. How can you be so sure?" Axel asked.
"Hm...let's see: Abandoned town, ponies with the taste for flesh..." Nick started, before walking to the mare corpse.
Everyone watched Nick in shock as he pulled the dead zombie's head, until he ripped it right off its neck. He made it face his friends.
"Almost no colors in the eyes?!" Nick said, holding the decapitated head of the zombie mare.
"Okay, okay! We get it!" Luke said.
"Just please...put that down! It's disrespectful!" Miranda said, shielding her eyes.
Nick threw the head to the side, and it made a sickening thump as it collided with the concrete.
"Point proven." Nick said.
The four continued to walk through town, occasionally making a joke or two. By now, the sun was fully up.
"Celestia's gotta be out there. SOMEONE has to be moving the sun." Luke said.
"This Celestia chick moves the sun? If that's the case, she's gotta be alive." Nick said.
"I agree. Let's head for the castle." Miranda said.
As they made their way to the castle, they heard laughing coming from around a corner. It was decided that looking for Celestia could wait, and the four pulled up their weapons. They started following the source of the sound. It lead to an alley. They all went down the alley, their boots quietly crunching on the loose pebbles on the ground. Nick lead them, and stopped at a small corner. He held his hand up, and started counting down from five with his hand. When he hit zero, everyone jumped into view...guns up. They found two stallions sitting in front of a fire, laughing with bottles next to them. They noticed the humans, and started laughing.
"Look! Giant monkies!" The green one said.
"Who are you callin' monkey?" Nick said.
"And they talk!" The brown stallion said, surprised. "Come on, and have a seat."
The four humans looked at each other, before shrugging and sitting at the fire with them.
"Do you guys know what is going on?" Axel asked.
"I dunno," the brown stallion said, taking a swig from his bottle, "The dead are coming back to life, no laws, and we can get whatever we want!"
"Ah, anarchy. Sounds fun." Nick said.
"You know it," The green stallion said, "We get what we want, when we want it. We want money, loot a store. We want food, steal from a garden. If we want to get laid..."
The green stallion stands up, and walks toward something with a tarp draped over it. He bites the tarp, and rips it off. It revealed a cage...and in this cage, there was a mare. She had a blue mane and tail, with yellow fur. Her legs were tied, and her mouth was gagged.
"We just use her!" The green stallion said as he let out a bellow of laughter.
The mare made eye-contact with Luke, and he saw total fear in her eyes. Luke elbowed Axel, and he leaned to listen.
"Dude...they're using her as a sex slave..." Luke whispered.
"Yeah," Axel whispered back, "What do we do?"
"Let me."
Luke cleared his throat, "Well, don't you guys think that it would be morally correct if you...find a mare to love, rather than...you know...finding and raping one?" Luke said, bluntly.
Luke looked at his friends, who made eye contact with him. He nodded at them, signaling that things might get intense.
"Why should we? Nopony's gonna stop us. Especially not YOU..." The brown stallion said, picking up a knife in his mouth.
"Well...I mean...maybe you should...let her go." Miranda said, taking her rifle into her hands.
"Well," the green stallion said, getting behind Miranda, "I apologize, sugar teats. That's not happening,"
"Ugh, forget this. Let's just shoot em'!" Nick said, standing up from his spot.
The four humans stand up, their guns drawn.
"We're gonna have to tell you to surrender." Luke said.
The two stallions looked at each other, laughed, and charged at the humans. However, the humans simply unleashed a barrage of bullets at the stallions...quickly blowing them into hamburger meat.
"You probably should've noticed the guns in our hands. Idiots." Nick remarked.
Luke walked to the cage and opened it. He pulled out a knife and cut the restraints holding the mare's legs together. He then pulled the gag from her mouth so she could speak.
"Oh my Celestia...thank you, all of you." The mare grabbed the closest human, which was Luke, and hugged him tight.
"You're welcome, Miss." Luke said, "You got a name?"
"Yes...my name is Milky Way."
"Why do they call you Milky way?"
Milky stood up, and almost immediately...the four humans noticed her ENORMOUS teats. They looked just like a woman's!
"Holy shit!" Nick yelled, "No wonder they call you Milky: You put a cow to shame with tits like that!"
"Nick! Have some manners!" Luke scolded.
Milky seemed embarrassed, she was looking at the ground.
"Milky, do you need anything?" Luke asked, comfortingly.
"I'm incredibly thirsty...do you have water?"
"Yes."
Luke pulls his canteen out of his backpack. He pulls the cap off and gives it to the mare. She takes it and drinks.
"Woah, slow down. How long has it been since you ate?" Luke asked.
Milky stopped drinking, and responded, "Ten days...I've only been drinking from the rain...which has been oddly frequent."
Luke took back his canteen, "Maybe you should stick with us. I mean...we don't need you getting taken again."
"You'll let me come with you? Oh, thank you!" She said, getting up on her hind legs and hugging Luke again.
Luke felt her teats on his leg, which made him blush a little.
"Okay, come on. Let's go." Nick said, "Before Luke passes out."
Suddenly, the sound of growling could he heard echoing through the alley. There were alleyways all around them...and there were zombies stumbling toward them in each one.
"Shit! We've been found!" Luke said.
"We got weapons, use em'!" Nick said, aiming his rifle.
"Get behind us, Milky...this is about to get messy..."
Author's Note
Thank you for reading my newest story! I wanted to try this one out, and see how it goes. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, leave a like and a comment. More is to come. Thank you, and have an awesome day! :twilightsheepish: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsheepish.png

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                     Well, This Sucks.                     
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Well, This Sucks.
"Four alleys, four of us!" Axel said.
"Grab a tunnel! Pull the cobwebs outta your ass and get in position!" Nick said, getting in a defensive position.
Everyone stood their ground and took in the sight of the whole thing. The ponies were clearly fresh dead. They were almost indistinguishable from other ponies. The only difference is, these had loss of eye color...and the growling. Some had bite marks, a sign of what ended them.
"Fire!" Axel yelled.
Without any objections, the four humans opened fire at the incoming undead. Milky had nowhere to hide...so she just stood behind everyone as the carnage started. One by one, the zombies dropped like flies. Heads exploded, brains flew, and blood rained. The sound of the brass bullet casings clinking on the ground were blocked out by the loud BANG, BANG, BANG of the powerful guns. The sounds were so loud, Milky had to cover her ears.
Ten minutes passed, and eventually...the zombies were dead. The ground was coated in thick, syrupy blood. The walls were painted with brain mush. The air smelled of gunpowder and rotten flesh. The stench was awful. Miranda had to cover her mouth to avoid throwing up....and Luke didn't have the time to cover his mouth. So his vomit only added to the dreadful odor.
"Okay, I gotta admit," Nick said, "That was pretty awesome. "
Luke wiped his mouth, "I guess so. It was alright."
"I think I found my new favorite hobby," Axel said, blowing the smoke at the end of his gun.
Milky poked Nick, who turned to her.
"Yeah, boob pony?" Nick asked.
"What are you going to do now?" Milky asked.
"Oh uh....guys, what ARE we gonna do?"
"Weren't we heading to the castle in order to look for Celestia?" Axel asked.
"Oh yeah! Let's get out of this place. It smells like shit."
The four humans and Milky stepped over the corpses, and exited the alleyway. Just as they did, they felt water drops fall on them.
"Is it raining?" Luke asked, "Oh, nevermind. It is."
Soon enough, the rain started falling. Hard. Soon enough, the five were soaking wet.
"Why is it raining? The pegasi aren't even around to change the weather!" Axel yelled through the hard rain.
The rain wasn't pleasant. Water droplets the size of oranges fell from the sky! It was brutal.
"Stick together!" Miranda yelled through the rain, "Where's Milky?!"
They looked around...but they could only see about ten feet ahead of them. Finally, Luke spotted Milky Way cornered by two zombies. Luke killed them, and picked Milky up.
"Come on, stick with us. I'll carry you." Luke said.
She held on to him, and Luke ignored the feeling of her teats on him. No time to think about that right now. He thought. They got back with the group, and they continued to search for the big castle. After aimless walking...they finally found the Canterlot castle. The drawbridge was down, but the gate was closed.
"There it is!" Axel yelled.
They ran across the slippery drawbridge and reached the metal gate.
"What do we do now?!" Miranda asked.
"Help me lift this! Everyone!" Nick yelled as he attempted to pull up the gate.
Having no choice, the four humans pulled at the gate with all their might. As they were doing that, Milky Way noticed something in the mist.
"Guys! Hurry! Please!" She yelled.
They looked back...and several zombies were stumbling at them. Axel attempted to shoot them, but his gun wouldn't work.
"Nick! Your crappy guns are too wet!" Axel complained.
"PULL!" Nick yelled.
The four humans used all their might...and the zombies were getting closer. With a burst of energy, they managed to pull the gate up a little.
"Okay! Let me!" Luke yelled.
He then climbed under the gate and opened the wooden doors. His friends dropped the gate and tried to hold off until Luke found a way to open the gate. They attempted to use their guns, but the water rendered them useless for the time being.
"Crap! I knew I should've cleaned the rust off!" Nick yelled.
They resorted to using their knives. Miranda slashed at the neck of an incoming zombie...and managed to decapitate it. The head rolled off and splashed into the moat beneath them. Axel attempted to stab the head of a zombie, but the skull was just too tough. He resorted to shoving them away for now.
"Luke!" Miranda yelled, "Hurry up!"
Inside, Luke found a big lever. He pulled it, and he metal gate went up.
"Come on! Get in, get in!" He yelled.
Nobody, or pony, argued with that. They jumped in, and Luke released the lever. The metal gate slammed down, actually managing to crack open the skull of a zombie who managed to almost get in. They made it. Luke collapsed on the ground, and panted.
"This is turning into some morning..." Luke grumbled as he tried to calm his racing heart.
"Speak for yourself! You weren't holding off zombies at a drawbridge, you bitch lord!" Nick yelled, angered, "What took you so long?"
"I was panicking, okay? I don't work well under stress!"
"Look, the important thing is we're safe." Miranda said, "Everyone's gonna be fine."
"Let's get back to the goal. We should look for Princess Celestia." Axel said.
"Right, right." Luke said, "Let's go."
"Anyone know where the throne room is?"
"Nope," Miranda said, "I guess we'll have to look around."
So, they decided to search the area for the throne room. Aside from the rain, it got pretty quiet. It was pretty awkward, just walking through the royal halls. Luke decided to start a conversation.
"So...Milky! What's your story?" Luke asked.
"H-huh?" she got startled due to the sudden noise.
"How did you end up where we found you? You didn't just appear in that cage, right?"
Milky sighs. She seemed to not like that question too much.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." Luke said.
"No, I can tell you." Milky said, looking down at the ground.
A bit of silence followed. The rain continued to fall outside. The sound of the rain, footsteps, and hoofsteps were the only noises that were heard. Finally, Milky spoke up.
"I lived in Trottingham ever since I was a filly. I owned a small dairy in the town to make a living, and I got by well." she said.
"You owned cows?" Axel asked.
"Um...no. Cows are independent, mostly. Nopony 'owns' them."
"Well, then how did you get milk?"
"Well...um...maybe you can figure that out..."
The four humans thought about it for a moment.
"Oh god!" Nick finally spoke up, "She bottles and sells her OWN titty milk!"
Milky tilted her head, "Is that so weird?"
"To us humans, yes. A little." Miranda said.
"Humans only drink milk from other humans when they're infants. When they're grown up, they drink milk from other animals." Axel added.
"Go ahead and continue, if you wish," Luke said.
"One day, about two weeks ago...somepony came into town. They didn't look too good. When someone tried to help them," Milky started to shake, "He...bit the pony's throat out!"
"Yummy," Nick said, not particularly interested in the conversation.
"I hid in my house for the next three days. During those days, I could only hear...screaming. From what I heard...the royal guards got involved, the Princesses said that they were going to evacuate everypony...but no one came."
"This is sounding like Left 4 Dead, a little." Axel said.
"On the fourth day, two stallions broke into my house. I tried to hide...but they found me. They...." Milky wipes her eye, "Beat me, forcefully had their way with me, and tied me up. They carried me all the way from my home, to Canterlot. They threw me in a cage, and would only want to take me out when they wanted to rape me..."
"Damn." Luke said, "I'm sorry I asked."
"But then you four came, and saved me. Thank you, again. All four of you."
Luke and the others smiled.
"The pleasure's all ours." Luke said.
"It was the right thing to do." Miranda said.
"No problem." Axel said.
"Whatever." Nick said.
After a bit of walking, they managed to find a set of big double doors.
"This must be it," Axel said.
He pushed open the doors, and everyone gasped when they found nothing there. No Celestia, no Luna, not even any guards. It was just...empty.
"Well, this sucks." Nick said.
"Son of a BITCH!" Axel said as he stomped on the ground.
"What a waste of fucking time! I walked through rain, killed zombies, for what? To waltz into an empty fucking castle?!"
"Take it easy, Nick," Luke said, "We'll think of something."
"Luke," Axel said, "I have to ask: What ARE we going to do next? We really have no plans, and we're stuck in here now."
Luke put his hand on his chin. Axel was right. There was really nothing they could do.
"Well, it's too dangerous to go outside right now. I say we just settle in the castle somewhere for the day. Tomorrow, the rain should be cleared up...and then we can get moving elsewhere." Luke concluded.
"Sounds good to me. I'm gonna go wring out my jacket somewhere," Nick said, going into another room.
"Let's split up, we can cover more ground that way." Miranda said.
"We should meet up in this exact spot in the morning."
"Sounds good. Divide and conquer." Luke said.
"Wait! Milky can't go alone. She has no weapon." Axel said.
"I'll take her. You comfy with that, Milky?"
She nods in response. Luke smiles at that.
"Alright. Come with me." Luke said, motioning for Milky to follow.
Milky follows Luke as he climbs up the stairs of the castle. By now, his gun was dry and able to be used again. Luke's muddy boots leave tracks on the royal comfort...but being a slob was the least of his concerns. Especially in a zombie apocalypse. They eventually reach a door, and Luke opens it. Inside, there was a big bedroom. A HUGE bed, some nightstands, a closet, a mirror, and a door to a balcony. On the bedframe, there was a picture of the sun painted on it.
"Woah, Celestia's room," Luke said, walking in.
"It's so...big." Milky said as she trotted in with him.
Luke approached the big bed, "BANZAI!" he yelled as he launched himself onto it.
He bounced once or twice until settling onto the cloudlike mattress. Luke almost completely forgot that there was somepony else in the room with him.
"So...why did you decide to take me with you?" Milky asked.
"Me? Well, I figured you might me comfortable around me." Luke asked.
"Well...I'm just glad Nick didn't take me."
"Nick? Well, he may seem bad...but he kinda grows on you after a little while. He can be rude, and obnoxious...but he's a good guy. We were friends since kindergarten."
Silence followed.
"So...where do I sleep tonight?" Milky asked.
"Well," Luke thought about what he would say next. His idea was a bit strange...but it was worth a shot, "Well, this bed is pretty big. There's enough room for both of us. Would you be willing to share?"
"Well...sure."
"Cool!"
Luke was unsure why he responded that way. He was just sharing a bed with a mare so she doesn't freeze up. Nothing weird about that, right?
"I know it's only morning...but I'm actually pretty tired." Luke said.
"Me too..." Milky responded.
Luke closed his eyes, and then Milky jumped next to him. Luke didn't object to her snuggling up to him. Her coat was so soft and warm. The warmth was overwhelming, and they eventually fell asleep.
Author's Note
Short chapter, I know. I figured that I should get this one out of the way before the day's out. If you like dit, leave a comment down below. As always: have a nice day :twilightsheepish: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsheepish.png

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                     Nick Likes Trains                     
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Author's Note
This is a preparation chapter. The next will be longer, I can promise you that much. Stick around for the next chapter: "Detour To Vanhoover"
Nick Likes Trains
The rain had stopped at around noon. The decrease in rainfall noises made Luke wake up from his nap. When he opened his eyes, he almost forgot where he was. However, memories of what had happened not too long ago flooded in...and he realized where he was. He was in Celestia's bedroom, laying on her bed. He attempted to get up, but something weighed down his left arm. Confused, he turned his head to see Milky Way. She was still there, snuggling up to him in an attempt to keep warm. And after judging by her...*ahem*...teats...he could tell that she was definitely cold.
Luke then noticed something. He was wet. No, not from the rain. He was dry, except for his pants. He pulled off the blanket, and saw a big wet spot on his jeans.
"Crap!" He said.
"Huh..?" Milky woke up from her nap.
"Oh...sorry to wake you. I uh..."
Luke motions to the wet spot on his jeans.
"Huh?" Milky looks down at her teats, "Oh um...you didn't have an accident...um...I think I...lactated in my sleep."
"Huh? Lactated? As in...milk came out?" Luke asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Yes...I'm sorry...I ruined your jeans."
"No, it's fine. I'll just get them cleaned later. I'm more concerned about my friends mocking me."
Luke got up from the bed, and stretched a little. A few joints popped, and he stopped stretching. Walking around the bed, he pulled his gun bag out from the left side and pulled out one of the rifles.
"What do you wanna do now?" Luke asked.
"I don't know..." Milky responded.
Luke strapped the bag to his back and opened the door, "Come on, Milky. Let's do a bit of exploring."
Nick and Axel were in the higher regions of the castle. They were hanging out on the royal library. They had managed to break through the gate, and take a look around.
"Ugh. This place doesn't have anything worth stealing." Nick said.
"We're not here to steal. We're here to search for supplies...maybe answers to why Equestria became so fucking psychotic. There wasn't any rape...or blood in the show. Something went wrong." Axel said.
"Blah, blah, blah. To be honest, this is a WHOLE lot better than the show."
"You've never even watched the show!"
"Yes I have!"
"What, two minutes of it?"
Nick responded to this by giving Axel a little shove. Axel responded by pushing harder. Nick punched Axel, and he collided with a bookcase. Several novels and scrolls fell to the floor. One book, however, hit Nick smack on the head. Nick stumbled, and fell to the ground.
"Okay," Nick said, "We're even."
"Hello? Guys?" Nick's radio buzzed.
Nick pulled up the radio, and held it upside-down in a dazed act, "Hello?"
Axel sighed, "Idiot." He then grabbed the hunting radio from Nick's hand and spoke into it. "Hello?"
"Hey, Axel," Miranda's voice said.
"Hey, Miranda. What's up?"
"In case you haven't noticed: The rain has cleared up. I've been looking around with some binoculars, and saw that the train station is untouched. Do you think we can use it to get places? The car is fucked, so..."
"Ok...but here's the big question: Where would we go, and why?"
"That's the...interesting...part. Radio everyone to come to the entrance of the castle."
Ten minutes after everyone got the message, Luke, Milky, Miranda, Axel, and Nick met near the entrance of the castle.
"You found a working train?" Luke asked.
"I only listened because I heard the word 'train'. " Nick said, eagerly.
"So, listen to this: When I snooped through the castle, I discovered this scroll." Miranda said, holding out a dusty, rolled-up piece of paper.
"What does it say?" Axel asked.
"It says," Miranda started, "Humans, Mythological Miracles: When all-out disaster strikes, it is said that the four chosen humans are sent to bring peace and harmony to the apocalyptic land. If the Six Elements of Harmony combine with the Four Elements of Survival, disaster will be no more. The Elements of Survival are Brutality, Hospitality, Morality, and Collaboration. [CAUTION: Use only in a scenario that is impossible to handle alone.]"
Everyone thought about it for a few minutes.
"So...we're the chosen ones?!" Axel said, looking at himself.
"Aww yeah! This just got a heckuva lot more awesome!" Nick yelled, fist-bumping the air. "Zombies, trains, and being a superhero!"
"So...we have to find the other elements?"
"Who are they?"
"I'll answer that," Luke said, "The elements are the main ponies of the show."
"Show?" Milky Way asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Everyone looked at Milky, then back at each other. Somehow, they non-verbally agreed to not tell her.
"We'll tell you some other time," Axel simply said.
Milky nodded, which satisfied everyone.
"So...what's the plan?" Nick asked.
"Well, we gotta find the Elements of Harmony. In order to do that, we must go to Ponyville. Forget spending the night here. We take the train to Ponyville, find the Elements, then save the world. We can be done with this in just two days! Maybe even one!" Miranda suggested, "Who's ready to save the world?!"
"I like trains."
Nobody said anything. They only stared at Nick.
"What?" He said, shrugging, "I like trains."
They shook their heads, and opened the front gate. Luckily, the zombies had wandered off by then. The group of five exited the castle, crossed the drawbridge, and made their way to the train station. Upon arrival, they found only one train there: The Friendship Express. Taped to the doors was a note that read "TRACKS TO PONYVILLE UNAVAILABLE. INFECTED INDIVIDUALS OVERRUN. PLEASE WAIT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."
"Further notice," Nick scoffed, "Like we're gonna wait to use this thing."
"I hope it still works," Miranda said.
"Lemme see. I'm the train expert."
Nick climbed into the conductor's seat, and examined the controls. After pressing a few buttons and fiddling with some switches, some smoke exited the top.
"Yep! This girly contraption work." Nick said, smiling.
"It's not THAT girly." Axel said.
"Look at it: It's like a centipede of cakes! But...a train is a train, and I like trains."
Nick pulled a rope, and the horn blared.
"All aboard!" Nick yelled, followed by some giddy giggling, "I've always wanted to say that."
"Try to keep it down...you'll attract infected." Milky said, climbing into a train car.
"Well, get in before the zombies come!"
They obey, and Nick makes the train move from it's position. Soon enough, the train was rumbling down the mountain.
"Hey Luke," Nick said, "Come with me. I gotta show you something."
Luke followed Nick to the front of the train, where a large black and white map was displayed on the wall.
"So...if the way to Ponyville is blocked, how will we get there?" Luke asked.
"Here's the plan: We go Southwest, and stop at a station that is between a place called Vanhoover, and Tall Tale. We stop there to refuel or resupply, and then continue to Ponyville. Shouldn't be too hard." Nick said, moving his finger across the map to emphasize his idea.
"I like it! This will be a piece of cake!"
"Don't jinx us...because if this goes wrong, I'm going to beat the crap out of you."
"Alright, Hercules. Focus on the train."

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                    Detour To Vanhoover                    
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Detour To Vanhoover
The train went it's way on the tracks, rumbling and bouncing in a cartoonish way. Nick was sitting in the head of the train, grinning wider than the sky itself. Everyone else was chatting in the car behind. Miranda was trying to comfort Milky while Luke and Axel were attempting to decide what they would do next.
After three hours of non-stop travel, Nick noticed something in the tracks. A zombie. Okay. He thought. Not that bad. He didn't think much of it. The train collided with the undead equine, blood and guts splattered in a gory explosion. Nick laughed at the grim sight, and continued to keep his eyes on the tracks. However, the train went along a curve on the tracks...and a whole HERD of undead seemed to be migrating on the tracks.
"Ah shit!" Nick yelled as he pulled the lever for the brakes.
The train screeched, but it was going too fast to stop in time. The change in friction sent Nick off his feet and onto the floor, letting go of the brakes. The train started speeding again, ramming into the zomponies. The train mowed them down like a lawn, but it was not stable. The train was still going at full-speed, even though it was about to derail. Soon enough, the train tipped to the right...followed by the rest of the cars. Nick fell down, and felt a sharp pain in his thigh. He screamed in agony, and observed his wound. It turned out that he had forgotten to sheathe one of his knives, and had instead put it in his pocket. Well, it had somehow found a way to cut through the cloth in his pocket...and stab into his leg.
"Mother fuck..." Nick said through his hyperventilating.
He heard the door to the next cart get banged on a few times, until it opened to reveal Axel and Luke. They crawled through the sideways door and ran to their friend.
"Oh my god! Nick, you okay?" Luke asked, panicking.
"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M OKAY?!" Nick yelled, staring intensely at the knife that had caused a deep and painful wound.
"What do we do?!" Axel asked.
"Just..." Nick took some deep breaths, "Do as I say. I-I'm gonna pull this sucker out. When I do, I want Axel to get my first aid kit and sew my wound back together."
"What do I do?" Luke asked.
"Slap my ass and call me daddy."
"I'll take that as a 'nothing' then."
Nick grabbed the wooden handle of the knife and held it tight. Then, without even counting to three, he yanked it out of his thigh. The sound of his skin tearing was overshadowed by his violent screaming. Nick was grasping a rock in his fist to attempt to deal with the pain, but he had actually managed to break it in two with the massive amount of adrenaline that was running through his body.
"THE KIT! NOW!" Nick yelled.
Axel wasted no time grabbing Nick's emergency first-aid kit from his backpack. He opened the kit and pulled out the needle and thread. He then applied rubbing alcohol to sanitize the wound and needle. He professionally sewed the wound closed and followed it with a layer of bandage. Throughout it all, Nick was taking deep breaths to calm himself.
"Where's Miranda and Milky?" Nick asked.
"Miranda is with Milky in the car behind us." Luke responded.
"They okay?"
"A few bruises here and there, but otherwise fine."
"Good."
After a few minutes, the pain in Nick's thigh finally eased up enough to walk.
"Okay, guys. Help me up." Nick said, holding up his hand.
"You sure you wanna try to walk now?" Axel asked.
"Just help me up, you pansy."
Axel and Luke shrug, and help Nick up. He grunts a little, but manages to get on his feet.
"Okay. The wound is a little tender...but otherwise alright." Nick said.
"Good. Let's get moving." Luke said.
The three crawled through the sideways door and into the next cart, where Miranda was seen on the window above...pulling Milky up.
"Found an escape location, MacGyver?" Nick asked.
"Shut it, Nicholas." Miranda responded.
Once Milky was pulled up, the three remaining humans hoisted themselves up through the window. Once up, they realized that they had derailed quite close to Vanhoover train station.
"Lucky us. We've reached our stopping point." Luke said.
"UN lucky us," Nick said, "We lost our train!"
"Let's not focus on that. For now, let's just find a place to rest. Who knows? Maybe someone's still alive out here."
"That just means another empty belly to fill."
"Speaking of empty bellies, I hope I get to eat soon...I'm so hungry..." Milky Way said.
"I'll sneak you something to eat in a little bit," Luke whispered to her.
"Let's go," Nick said, hopping off the derailed Friendship Express.
The rest followed, and soon enough...they were walking into Vanhoover. It was a village smaller than Ponyville, but with the exception of a few larger buildings such as hotels, apartments, and even a supermarket. However, not a living soul was seen. Not LIVING. A few zombies roamed the streets, but were quickly dispatched by the humans when they saw them.
"This place is dead," Nick said.
"I'll say," Luke responded, "Well, let's focus on the primary objective: Looking for some supplies."
"Where to?" Axel asked.
"Let's try the market," Miranda said, "Market equals food."
The five nodded at that, and they entered the market. As expected, the shelves were bare. All that remained was some wrappers here, and a few bloodstains there. However, one thing that stuck out the most was the corpse of a stallion lying next to some shelves. He had no bite-marks, or any sign of death from infection. He had several large gashes along his chest, legs, and face. Finally, to top it off...it seemed someone cut him from the anus, up the gut, and to the neck. Exposing all his internal organs. Luke, being a bit squeamish, forced himself to turn away.
"Gnarly," Nick said.
"This guy wasn't killed by zombies." Axel added.
"I think I lost my appetite," Milky said, looking away.
"Let's just leave. Now." Luke said.
They decided to exit the supermarket and focus on the second objective: Finding a place to spend the night. After some looking around, they decided to check out the apartment building. However, upon entering, something didn't feel right. Just standing in the empty lobby gave off bad vibes.
"Something's wrong," Nick said.
"What is?" Axel asked.
"I dunno...but...something isn't right. This place gives off a bad aura."
"Well, let's check it out."
Suddenly, they heard screaming, followed by loud thumping from above them.
"I think we found the source of your paranoia." Luke said.
"Okay, everyone. Miranda, you guard Milky. You guys, come with me." Nick said.
"Stay safe, guys." Miranda said.
"Don't worry about me."
With that said, the three guys stomped up the stairs to see what was making that noise. Every step they took, the screaming got closer. It got strong when they reached an apartment that had long lines crudely carved into it by what appeared to be a knife, or some object that had a sharp end.
"Hey!" Nick knocked on the door, "Anyone in there?"
Right when he said that, the screaming stopped. In fact all noise inside the room behind the door had stopped entirely.
"Oh, forget this." Luke said.
He then pulled up his AK and shot the lock multiple times. After that, he kicked the door down. Luke, Nick, and Axel quickly entered the room with their guns drawn. They were met with zero opposition.
"Seems okay, but don't let your guard down. Someone is in here." Nick said.
Nick, a long time ago, was in the American Army. He was in it for two years, until he got kicked out for being rambunctious and rude. However, he had picked up on some skills that would be useful in a situation such as this one.
The three looked around the small apartment. It was lightly furnished here and there, but it was ransacked.
"Looks like someone raided this place," Axel said.
"Nothing worth ste-" Nick started.
"SCAVENGING."
"Ugh...'scavenging' here."
Luke walked into the kitchen, where he came across a stallion's corpse. He had red as his mane, tail, and coat color...and his cutie mark was a pick. He seemed to have been disemboweled like the previous corpse, but there were some bruises in some spots. It seemed like a fight took place.
"Poor bastard," Luke said, shaking his head, "Hm?"
Luke noticed a shattered picture frame on the floor. It seemed to have been knocked over during the scuffle, and was face-down. He knelt over and picked it up, observing the photo inside. Behind the cracked glass, there was a photo of the red stallion. He was smiling, standing next to an orange mare who was wearing braces. Luke looked at the stallion's corpse, and felt a great feeling of grief.
"I'm sorry this happened to you," He said to the corpse, "If I find whoever this is, I promise I'll make sure she's safe."
Luke then closed the stallion's eyes, and covered his body with a sheet. He sat there for about ten more seconds, before being interrupted.
"Luke! Help us out here!" Nick yelled from another room.
Luke quickly got up from the floor and ran into the living room. He found Nick and Axel ramming into a door he could only assume was a bedroom. Before he could help, the door flew off the hinges from a force by the other side...knocking Axel and Nick down. The culprit stood in the doorway, levitating a knife with his magic. His fur was gray, his mane was black, and he had no tail. A crazed look was in his eyes, and he was staring directly at Luke. Behind him, lying in a bed, was the orange mare from the photo. She was clearly crying, her mascara was running down her face. Her mane was messed up, and she was panting. She made eye contact with Luke, much like how Milky did.
Luke then turned his attention back to the stallion. The stallion changed at Luke headfirst, knocking him over. Luke's gun fell to the ground, and the stallion violently swung his knife at Luke's head. Luke dodged the attacks and punched the stallion square in the snout, sending him backwards. Luke then pulled out his bowie knife and thought for a moment. The blade wasn't balanced, but maybe...just maybe...he could throw it at the stallion.
The psychopath got ready for another attack, so Luke did the first thing that came to mind: He threw the blade at him. It spun in the air, and got the stallion right in his chest. It sunk a good three inches in, and he collapsed to the floor. Dropping his own knife as well. By this time, Axel and Nick got to their feet and took a look at the whole scene.
"Nice job, Luke. You finally handled yourself like a man." Nick said.
"Yeah, especially since you both were lying on the floor doing nothing! What ere you doing, making out under that door?!" Luke said.
"Quit your bitching," Axel said, "The important thing is that he's-"
The gray stallion on the ground started making some noises on the ground.
"He's still alive!" Luke yelled, pulling out a pistol and shooting him in the head multiple times.
"Shit!" Nick said, he and Axel joining the shooting.
Soon, the psychopath's head and upper body was reduced to nothing more than a pile of blood, flesh, and brains. Bullet casings littered the bloody floor, still hot.
"We really should stop wasting ammo. We'll run out eventually." Axel said.
"Yeah, yeah." Nick replied, "We're not out yet, so I'm not gonna be concerned until we do."
"Guys," Luke said, "Look"
Luke pointed into the bedroom at the mare, still sobbing...but was now wrapped up in a ball. That's her. Luke thought.
"Uhh...hi there," Luke said.
No response.
"We're here to save you." Axel added.
Still no verbal response, but she did look up at them with one eye.
"Uhh, hello?" Nick said, "We just saved your ass, and not even a 'thank you'. You could at least say something."
"Nick, go downstairs with Miranda." Luke said.
"But-"
"No. 'Buts' are for pooping. Go downstairs now."
Nick grumbled, and went downstairs. Luke the turned to the mare, who lifted her head from her hooves.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. We're the good guys," Luke said, "We don't bite."
The mare slowly got onto her hooves, and stepped off the bed. She walked up to Luke, facing the floor.
"Just come with us, okay? We're here to rescue you." Axel said.
"I just killed that guy. You're safe now, everything's gonna be fine." Luke added.
The mare stayed quiet, but followed Luke and Axel out of the apartment room and down the stairs into the lobby. Nick was sitting in a chair, while Miranda was having a pleasant conversation with Milky.
"You're back," Miranda said, "And you brought someone."
"Yeah, but she's not talking. She did follow us, though...so she's gonna stick around." Axel responded.
"What's the sleeping plan?"
"Not in here. I think it's best that nobody sleeps in this building."
"What?! Then what're we gonna do for sleep?"
"Let's just set up outside," Luke said, "We can sleep in tents, and set up cans on strings to alert us if any roamers come for a midnight snack."
"Well...okay, fine. But we'd better get started if we want to get the traps done. It's almost nighttime."
With that said, they all went outside to find a decent camping site. They picked an area that was next to a building, and close to the forest. Luke and Nick went into the forest to get some firewood, and Axel and Miranda stayed at the campsite to set up the tents and can traps. After ten minutes, Luke and Nick returned to the campsite with plenty of wood to last for a few hours.
"We set up the traps," Axel said.
"And I got the tents ready. Just two, plenty for all six of us." Miranda added.
"Um...Miss Miranda?" Milky asked.
"Yes?"
"Can we eat now?"
"Oh my goodness! With all the hassle, we completely forgot to eat."
"Don't worry. We'll split all our camping food amongst everyone. Everyone will be fed." Luke assured everyone.
After setting up a fire, the four humans poured out all their food onto the ground and organized it. It was supposed to last for three days, but it could be rationed to last even longer. They organized the food in piles. There was canned soup, canned beans, beef jerky, granola, and other types of food that could last for long periods of time without spoiling. Next, they pulled out their cookware. A few small pots, a little pan, spoons, knives, forks, and their canteens of water.
"Let's feed them first." Axel said, "Milky, what would you like?"
"Um...how about that?" Milky asked as she pointed at a granola bar.
"Okay. What about you, Miss?"
The orange mare continued to look at the ground. Axel shrugged, and decided to continue on. Luke got to eat last. Luke picked a can of soup with potatoes, beans, green beans, carrots, and some other veggies. After peeling off the sticker and opening the top, he poured it in a pot and set it on top of the fire. In just minutes, the soup was hot enough to eat. Luke picked up the pan by its handle, grabbed a spoon, and started eating. By this time, the sun was down, so the air cooled off. There was always something comforting to Luke about eating hot soup in the cold. Just a few bites in, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Luke turned to see the orange mare sitting next to him, avoiding eye contact.
"C-could I have some..?" The mare shyly asked.
"Sure." Luke said as he pulled a spoon from is backpack. He set the soup pot in front of her along with the spoon. Surprisingly, she levitated the spoon to eat.
"Woah, you're a unicorn?" Axel asked, "I don't see a horn."
The mare pulled her mane to the side to reveal a small horn. The four shared an "Ooooooh," before getting back to what they were doing.
"So," Luke started, "What's your name?"
"Venus...Venus Spring," she responded.
"Venus, eh? That's a nice name."
"Also...thank you for saving me...I-I wish the same could be said about Mars..."
"Was Mars the...guy I found in the kitchen?"
Venus stopped eating, and nodded slowly. Luke patted her on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry..." Luke said.
"N-no....it's f-fine..." Venus said before finishing off the rest of the soup.
After everyone finished their food and put out the fire, they started organizing the sleep situation.
"Two tents, four sleeping bags, six of us. How is this going to work?" Nick said, "Let me start off by saying that I am NOT sleeping in a tent with a pony."
"Well, that's rude," Milky said.
"Bah."
"Well...Luke, you don't care who you're with right?" Miranda asked.
"I'm just tired. As long as I'm sleeping somewhere warm, I'll be fine." Luke responded.
"Okay. Axel and Nick will share a tent with me, and you can share a tent with Milky and Venus."
"I guess."
Axel, Miranda, and Nick climbed into one tent. Luke, Milky, and Venus climbed into another.
"There are only two sleeping bags, what should we do?" Milky asked.
"Hm...oh! You and Venus sleep in the bags, and I'll sleep in the middle to keep warm." Luke said.
"Are you sure about that?"
"I'm sure. I don't mind."
The two mares got in their sleeping bags, and Luke got between them.
"Goodnight, Venus and Milky." Luke said.
"Goodnight," Milky replied.
"Night..." Venus said, sleepily.
With that, Luke closed his eyes...and let the beauty of sleep overcome him.
Author's Note
Well, this took longer than expected. If you guys enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment and like the story if you haven't already. As always, have a nice day :twilightsheepish: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsheepish.png
PS: Mars, if you're reading this...pls don't hate me...I just love Venus so much :heart: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/heart.png

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                      Sharing Stories                      
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Sharing Stories
BOOM!
That was the noise that made Luke conscious again, and the feeling of a corpse collapsing onto him was what woke him fully up. The feeling of thick, cold blood splattering on his face was enough to make him shriek in fear. The smell of gun powder and rotten flesh invaded his nostrils. Milky woke up suddenly, and clung onto Luke in fear. By this time, Nick, Miranda, and Axel got up from their tents peeked into Luke's to see what was going on.
"Yo! What's the deal?!" Nick asked.
"A biter got inside the tent!" Luke said, looking at the corpse, "Thanks for saving us."
"Uhh...that wasn't us..." Miranda said.
"Then who was it?"
Eyes looked around in the tent, and they saw Venus standing in the back. Holding a double-barreled shotgun in her magic aura. She stood there, eyes wide with a fish-out-of-water look. A little blood was splattered on the barrels of the gun and her face. Venus dropped the weapon, and she fell with it.
"O-oh my Celestia...I-I've killed it..." Venus said, covering her eyes with her hooves.
"Venus...you used a gun!" Luke said, "And you saved my life! Wicked!"
"I-is that good..?"
"I think my face being intact, and the world being rid of another zombie are both awesome things. That, and the fact that a pony used a gun!"
"I just may reconsider my opinion on you equines." Nick said.
"Wow, you got NICK of all people impressed. That's really something."
"H-heh...t-thank you..." Venus said, blushing a little.
"Well, I'm not going to be able to sleep after this. Let's all have some breakfast." Axel said.
"You guys go ahead...I'm gonna clean the zombie blood off my face." Luke said.
"I-I think I will too...c-can I follow you?" Venus asked.
"Sure. There's a stream nearby in the forest. Follow me."
Venus nodded, and she followed Luke into the forest. The forest was green, and full of plant life. Grass, flowers, and a few mushrooms grew on the ground. Leaves, and a few birds were able to be seen in the trees. Venus got an uncomfortable look on her face as she followed Luke, as bad memories from her foalhood made their way into her head. Luke took notice of this, and decided to try and strike up conversation...to no avail. Eventually, they found a little stream in the middle of a clearing in the forest. Beautiful flowers were seen all around them, surrounding the two with wonderful scents. The sound of birds singing went perfectly with the sound of the running stream.
"W-wow..." Venus said as she took in the site before her.
"It's so...beautiful. It's nice to see something happy still exists here." Luke said.
Luke approached the stream, and dipped his hands in the stream of cold water. With the help of the morning sun, the fish below the surface were able to be seen. Luke brought the water to his face, and started scrubbing the blood off. It came off easily with the help of the water, and in thirty seconds...all the blood was off his face.
"Ahh...much better..." Luke said, feeling much more clean.
Luke looked up to see Venus, staring at herself in the reflection of the water. A small tear fell from her eye. Luke approached her and sat on a rock next to her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Luke asked.
"N-nothing." Venus said.
"Really convincing. Now, I'm gonna ask again...and I'd like for you to give me a real answer. If you tell me, I may be able to help."
"W-why do y-you care?"
"If we're going to survive in a group, we should at least support each other. I mean...you saved my life earlier. At least let me repay you by trying to help you."
There was a long pause. The sounds around them almost seemed to grow louder.
"It started a l-long time ago..." Venus finally started speaking, "W-when I was a foal...I-I was fillynapped by a stallion...a-and was t-taken to a c-cabin in the woods. T-they..."
"It's okay," Luke said, "You don't have to tell me anything that will make you feel worse."
"T-then...that night...M-Mars saved me. W-we've been the greatest of friends e-ever since."
"Mars...was he the guy...I saw in the kitchen?"
"Y-yes..."
"Oh...I'm sorry..."
"The last t-time I saw him...w-was when he told me t-to stay inside our room and t-that he'd come back s-soon. Someone was p-pounding on the door, t-then I heard what sounded like a fight go o-on. I-I then heard him s-screaming. T-then...it went quiet. I waited f-for thirty minutes until I decided to open the door. W-when I did...t-that crazy stallion burst in. H-he threw m-me onto my b-bed..."
Luke could tell where this was going, so he decided to stop her there too.
"Okay, okay...but...we saved you in the end." Luke said.
"Y-yes..." Venus said, looking down.
A few more minutes passed.
"Before all...this...what did you do?" Luke asked.
"H-huh?" Venus asked, finished washing the blood off her face.
"What did you do? For work, I mean."
"W-well...when we first moved into our apartment, I worked i-in a supermarket. H-however...due to rent getting e-expensive...I d-decided that I-i had no choice but to be a p-prostitute. A-after all....I-I've b-been raped for almost my entire life..."
Luke raised an eyebrow. Something about that last sentence plucked a nerve. Luke was disgusted, and felt sympathy for Venus.
"It's not right," Luke started, "You're better than that."
"N-no I'm not. For almost my whole life, I-I've been called 'slut, bitch, whore,'...everything in the book. I d-decided to just accept the f-fact that maybe t-that's what I am." Venus said, tears falling from her face.
"No, you're not," Luke said, wiping the tears away from her face, "You were brought into the world for a reason. You were born with a purpose, as well as everyone else. It's only a matter whether or not you choose to follow that purpose or not."
"B-but I d-don't know what my p-purpose even is."
"It'll come to you. You just need to be patient."
"W-when?"
"Likely when you least expected it. Look at me: I wasn't always a 'chosen hero' or whatever. Before I came here, I was the most regular person in the world. I worked, had a house, and friends. Suddenly...what started as a little trip with my friends became the bridge to my life purpose. My purpose was to come here, and save lives. If I found my purpose now, then your purpose should be coming to you soon."
"D-do you think s-so?"
"I know so. Not a doubt in my mind about it."
Venus looked up at Luke with teary eyes.
"N-nopony except Mars ever listened to m-my problems....a-and I just m-met you." she said.
"You don't deserve the life you've got. The world has been cruel to you. You never deserved to be raped, or bullied, or to be walking the streets wearing those...stocking things that hookers wear. You've got so much potential, you could've done so much for this world...and it abused and misused you. While the world can be a cruel place, there will still be those few people who will support and listen to you. I solemnly swear to be one of those people." Luke replied.
Venus looked at Luke...and a smile slowly formed on her face, exposing her braces. That's adorable. Luke thought. She leaned on Luke's shoulder, and he put an arm around her. Luke gave her a little scratch behind the ear, and she closed her eyes. He scratched for a few minutes, until he stopped.
"T-thanks," Venus said, looking at Luke, "I n-needed that."
"You're welcome." Luke responded, "If you need someone to talk to, that someone can be me."
Luke finished by patting her on the head.
"Let's head back to camp before the group starts worrying about us," Luke said
"O-okay." Venus replied.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed this short chapter. If you did, please comment and leave a like if you haven't already. And as always, have a nice day :twilightsheepish: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsheepish.png

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                    Just The Two Of Us.                    
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Just The Two Of Us.
While walking to the camp, something didn't feel right. Like something bad had happened...but they just didn't know what. Something that Luke had learned long ago was to trust your gut. Luke and Venus approached their camp with caution. When they arrived at the campsite, however, there...well, wasn't even a campsite!
"Wait, what?!" Luke said, as he looked in the surrounding area.
There wasn't anything left. It was like the camp and Luke's friends just...disappeared. The tents, the supplies, Axel, Miranda, Nick, Milky...all that was left was the fire. Well, the fire that went out. Luke stared in disbelief at the whole display. He looked to Venus, who was in shock as well. Luke's disbelief turned to anger. Suddenly, all the events of the past two days started to take effect on him.
"Is this a fucking joke?!" Luke yelled, "I leave for a few minutes, and THIS is what I'm greeted with?! I'm stuck here in the middle of the shithole town, in a shithole apocalypse, surrounded by undead SHITHEADS! My friends are gone, and I got no supplies!" Luke stomped about, flailing his arms around in his little tantrum, "Is there any way this could possibly get any worse?!"
Suddenly, a loud screech echoed through the air. Luke snapped out of his temper tantrum, and looked around. Venus lowered herself to the ground, and covered her eyes with her hooves. Time seemed to slow down for a moment. Luke scanned the vicinity with his eyes. He could see nothing. He then saw something at the corner of his eyes. It was tall, and gray. The thing walked toward him like a normal pony. Luke stepped to Venus, not taking his eyes off the thing, and pulled at her.
"Venus," He whispered, "Get up slowly. Don't look around, just get up...and follow me."
"W-what for..?" she asked, quietly.
"I'll tell you later...just...get up..."
Venus got up slowly. When she did, however, the mysterious figure spread its wings and flew straight at them...its long horn pointed toward the duo. Luke tackled Venus out of the way, and looked at the monstrosity that attempted to impale them. To Luke's horror...it was none other than the princess of the sun herself.
"Princess Celestia, you're a zombie?" Luke asked to nobody in particular.
Celestia's eyes had lost all color. Her fur had turned from bright white to dull gray. Her mane and tail, once bight and flowing like magic, had turned a dead black, and was straight down. Celestia had a bite mark on her leg, and multiple other wounds on her legs and chest.
Luke looked around in his pockets, and checked his belt. His pistol! He always kept a 9mm Beretta when he went out in public, and it was registered in his name. He pulled out the pistol, and pointed it at the infected princess. She charged at him again, her horn pointed right at his heart. Luke pulled the trigger several times, unloading several rounds at her skull. Each bullet hit, and she stopped dead in her tracks. She actually stumbled back a little, but she simply brushed it off.
"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" Luke managed to sputter as he grabbed Venus from the ground, and started running.
Venus gasped as Luke hoisted her over his shoulder, and sprinted into the nearby forest along a path. The zombie Celestia flew over them in the treetops, doing dive-bomb maneuvers every thirty seconds. Luke wasn't exactly a track runner, and he could only run for so long.
"I can't hold out! We need to think of something!" Luke said.
"Maybe we-" Venus managed to say before getting lifted up by the zombie of the sun.
She screamed in fear as Zombie Celestia pulled her up into the sky. Luke pointed his pistol up, and pulled the trigger. His heart dropped when he heard a dull click.
"Shit, damnit, fuck!" Luke cursed more as he dug in his pockets for another magazine.
Celestia was getting higher, and Venus spent the entire moment screaming bloody murder. Her shrieks went through Luke's ears, making him flinch. He fumbled through the items in his pockets, until he finally found what he was looking for: Another magazine! He yanked the empty one from his pistol, and slammed the fresh one in. He pulled back the slide, chambered a bullet, and aimed. Celestia and Venus were up super high now. Whatever guardian angel is out there watching over me...please, let me make this shot. Luke thought.
He took a deep breath, and fired. Less than a second passed before the bullet hit. He hit a good spot. He managed to hit Celestia in the eye, and she immediately dropped Venus. If Venus wasn't screaming before, she was now. She was falling quickly, so Luke had to think fast. He did the only thing that came to mind: He positioned himself under her, his arms out. She landed in his arms, almost knocking him over. She gasped, and looked up at Luke.
"Y-you saved m-me," Venus said through her gasping for the air that she screamed out.
"Don't thank me yet!" Luke yelled as he looked up.
Celestia looked down at them with one eye. The one Luke hit exploded in the socket, bloody and jellylike. She gnashed her hideous yellowed teeth and spread her wings.
Luke looked around frantically. He carried Venus off the trail into the thicker parts of the woods. He heard the horrifying sound of flapping wings above them. Suddenly, he saw the most amazing thing: A tree that had an abnormally large hollow. It was on the ground, and there was enough space for both of them. He ran to the hollow, and set Venus on the ground. She climbed in, and Luke crouched and followed. It was cramped. Then, Celestia landed on the ground. She scanned the area with her eye. At one point, she landed on the ground in front of the hollow. Luke and Venus covered their mouths to silence their breathing. After walking around the area, Celestia got bored...and flew away. Luke and Venus uncovered their mouths, and started panting. Luke from the running, and Venus from the horror.
"That...was a close one." Luke said, almost passing out from the lack of oxygen.
"Y-you saved my life...y-you could h-have run and saved y-yourself." Venus said.
"Why would I do that? You're my friend. Friends don't leave each other behind."
Venus looked at Luke almost in awe.
"You act like you're so surprised that I did something for you. Do others do kind acts for you?" Luke said, an eyebrow raised.
"A-almost never. Venus replied, "When I-I do experience kindness...i o-only assume it's s-so they would h-have their w-way with me. "
Luke looked sorrowfully at Venus. Poor Venus. She spent almost her whole life at the short end of the stick. Luke thought. He patted her on the head.
"I think it's safe to go outside now," Luke said.
He exited first, pistol in hand. The area seemed clear.
"You can come out now," Luke said.
Venus exited the hollow. She approached Luke, and looked up at him.
"What do we do now?" she asked.
"I say...we just follow the path." Luke said.
She nodded in agreement, and the duo managed to locate the path. They walked for hours. All they knew, was that it was morning when they started walking...and when they stopped, the sun was going down. When they stopped, they looked at what laid before them: A large mountain range. The path lead onto one of the mountains, and many twists and turns could be noted.
"W-we can't go through t-this!" Venus said.
"Yes we can! Just...not tonight. I know better than to be on mountains at night." Luke said. "I barely survived last time, I don't want to take chances this time."
"S-so then w-what do we do now?"
"We'll camp here for the upcoming night." Luke said.
"W-where's you s-sleeping bag?"
"It disappeared along with my friends."
"S-so how w-will we sleep?"
"I guess we'll have to get on a bed of twigs or...something. First, I'll make a fire."
Luke started gathering sticks nearby. After stacking the wood in a pile, he took out a lighter and lit it. In just thirty seconds, a warm and cozy fire formed before them. By then, the sun was down...and the moon rose up.
"I still wonder how the sun and moon are moving without the princesses." Luke said.
"Y-yeah," Venus said before yawning.
Luke smiled at how adorable that looked, "I think it's about time we get some rest. It's been a long day."
Luke walked around the area, and gathered various amounts of leaves. He put them into a pile, almost like a nest.
"Ta-da!" Luke said, presenting the makeshift bed to Venus.
She giggled, "I s-suppose that'll do. T-thanks."
She climbed into the makeshift bed, and laid down. She closed her eyes, and relaxed.
Luke went over to a tree, sat down, and leaned his back on it. He pulled the hood up on his jacket to protect his head from the tree bark, and closed his eyes. I made her laugh. Luke chuckled lightly to himself. Even in dark, sad, or downright scary times...joy can still be found. Even in the smallest gestures. With that in mind, he fell asleep.
When Venus heard his snores, she got up from her makeshift bed. She slowly approached Luke, and looked at him.
"Luke?" she asked.
She only got snores in response. Luke was in a deep sleep. Venus then laid next to Luke, setting her head on his lap. Luke, still asleep, set an arm around her. She closed her eyes.
Why is h-he so nice to me? He d-doesn't seem t-to want sex...he's just...nice. Why? And...why do I have this f-fluttering feeling in my c-chest? Venus asked herself in her mind. She was too tired to think anymore. With the warm fire before her, and Luke nearby, she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep.
And sleep she did.
Author's Note
Wow, I am SO sorry I haven't updated in so long. I hope you guys are still sticking around. I want to update more often, and I'm sure you guys want me to as well :twilightblush: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightblush.png. I am trying to, but I've had a lot on my plate recently. Once the week is out, I should be updating more frequently.
Witht hat said. thank you guys for reading! If you liked this story, leave a coment and a like if you haven't already! As always, have a nice day :twilightsheepish: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsheepish.png

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                  Foals, Bears, and Fear!                  
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Foals, Bears, and Fear!
"What the fuck?! You trying to kill us?!" Nick thrashed around in an enclosed space that he assumed was a box.
Suddenly, he felt himself getting roughly dropped on a hard surface. I've been through this for a day. I'm done! Nick thought. He took his fists, and pounded on a wall on the box as hard as he could. After punching three times, the top of the box flew off, and he stood upright. He held up his fists, and looked around.
"Who thought they could contain me?" Nick growled.
Nick was met with confused looks by multiple ponies. NORMAL ponies. They looked at him with shocked expressions. Finally, one in the crowd spoke.
"It's the Element of Brutality!" A stallion yelled.
The ponies in the crowd cheered and stomped their hooves in delight. Nick heard the sounds of more crates being cracked open. He turned around to see royal guards opening other crates. First, there was his supplies. Then, there was the rest of his crew. Milky, Miranda, and Axel popped out of the crates themselves.
"Guys! You're here too!" Nick yelled as he ran to his buddies.
"What...happened?" Axel said as he tried to let his eyes adjust to the light.
"Let me explain," A voice said nearby.
The four looked to the side, to see the princess of the night, Luna. She approached them with a smile, but then she frowned.
"Wait...where's the fourth human?" she asked a royal guard.
"Wait, Luke isn't here! That's right!" Miranda said, her hands over her mouth.
"Damnit! You kidnapped us, and left behind our friend!" Nick said as he grabbed a guard by the throat and pulled him at eye level.
"Nick! Please calm down!" Axel said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Nick hesitated, and looked at the guard. He was struggling for air. Nick set him down, and the guard gasped and sputtered on the ground. He looked at Luna.
"Now, you were gonna explain?" Nick asked.
Luna sighed, and spoke, "I sent my guards to look for you. When they found you...they decided to well...take you."
"Oh, that's great. It's not like the normal thing to do would be to ask."
Luna ignored his comment, "Welcome to the Sanctuary of Ponyville. Worry not about the undead. We are surrounded by a huge wall made of wood and stone, guarded 24/7 by Equestria's finest."
"What about Luke?" Miranda asked.
"Fret not about your friend. We will send search parties out to find him. For now, relax here in town. If you shall require anything, the guards will assist you. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns...hesitate not to speak to me."
With that said, Luna left the area. Leaving Nick and his friends surrounded by a crowd. Everypony immediately bombarded the humans with questions. Most of which they were unable to answer.
"What do we do now?" Axel asked.
"I don't know about you...but I think we should just relax for a while. We're in a safe area, and we're surrounded by guards and protection. I think we deserve to relax for a while." Miranda said, helping Milky from her box.
"What about Luke?"
"Well...let's just hope that he'll make it."
"I know he will make it," Nick said, cracking open a wooden crate...his guns and ammo spilling out, "Luke may be a little bit of a wuss...but he's gotten through everything he devoted himself to. I know that he's all obsessed with ponies and crap. I know he devoted himself to this world, and if he's gotta stay alive in order to save it...then I know that the last thing he would do is die." Nick grabbed a gun bag and started stuffing it with some guns and ammo.
"That's the nicest thing I've heard you say about him," Milky said, smirking.
"Yeah, whatever. Listen, Ima go explore this town. If we're gonna be stuck here, may as well familiarize ourselves with it."
"See ya, Nick!" Miranda said, waving.
Nick walked off to the center of town. You know what? I'm gonna explore later. I just wanna relax. Nick thought. He went to the nearest bench, and plopped himself onto it. He yelped, as he didn't realize how short they were. He shrugged, and leaned back in his seat. The sounds of the birds and nearby chatter of the citizens of Ponyville overtook him, and he started to get drowsy. Before he fell asleep, he felt something else plop itself on the bench next to him. He opened his eyes, and looked to his left. When he did, he saw a little filly with a white coat and light blue mane and tail sitting next to him...sniffling. Nick got curious, so he decided to talk to her.
"Hey, something wrong?" Nick asked, even though it was obvious that something was.
"M-my bear...Mr. Sprinkles. I lost him." the filly said, tears falling form her eyes.
"You lost your teddy bear, huh? Bummer."
"I miss him so much...It was a gift from my mommy before she...got the 'ponies are food' flu."
Nick thought for a moment. Oh, what the hell. I got nothing to do. He thought.
"Do you have a clue where it is?" Nick asked.
The filly looked at him, her lavender eyes puffy with a hint of red, "I left him in the orphanage...but it's scary in there."
"Why's that?"
"Some of my friends are..."
"Zombies?"
"Yes...a bunch of us got out, but the rest of us are...'somies'?"
"Zombies. With a 'Z'."
"What's a Z?"
"...nevermind. Excuse me for a bit."
Nick got up from the bench, leaving a confused foal behind him. He found the orphanage rather quickly, there was a big sign with the word "Orphanage" written in Equestrian on it. Nick could make out what the word meant, and went to the front door. Holding a double-barreled shotgun in hand, he jiggled the knob on the door...but it refused to open. He then decided to pull open a window, and he climbed inside. He closed it behind him, and looked around. The darkness, combined with the smell of mold and mildew only added to the derelict atmosphere.
"What a shithole. The apocalypse jut started...ten days ago here or some shit?" Nick said as he looked around.
He observed his surroundings as he walked down the hall. The paint was cracking, the walls were caked with even more mold. The wooden floor beneath him squished beneath his feet. The overall setting of the location was enough to send shivers down his spine. After a bit of walking, he found what he was looking for: The bedrooms. Long rows of beds and chests lined the wall. The chests likely for holding the orphans personal belongings. After scanning the beds with his eyes, he saw a lump on top of a bed. Upon further inspection, he saw that it was a brown stuffed bear. It had a red bowtie around it's neck, and a sewed-on smile.
"Bingo! You're coming with me." Nick said as he grabbed the teddy bear and put it in his jacket.
He then heard groaning coming from a nearby hall. He turned, to see what he was expecting: Zomponies. All foals, devoid of life, stumbling toward him. Nick put his shotgun on his back and pulled out his trusty AK-47. He started walking backwards slowly, shooting the zomponies in the head. He reached the window, and continued to shoot. Even though Nick didn't like ponies, he felt a large amount of sadness within him. They were just kids. Now...they're zombies. Nick thought as he finished the last one. When the job was done, Nick hoisted himself through the window and closed it behind him.
Nick returned to the bench ten minutes later, and saw the filly still sitting there...moping. Nick took out the stuffed bear, and approached her.
"Hey, look." Nick said.
The filly looked up, and her eyes widened, "Mr. Sprinkles!" she said as she grabbed her bear and held it in her forelegs, hugging it tight. "Thank you so much, Mr. Hyooman."
"No problem." Nick said.
"Hey...my name is Cotton Cloudy."
"I'm Nick."
"Mr. Nick...you're my hero."
Nick smiled, and left her to snuggle her teddy bear. As nick walked away, he was approached by a smirking Axel.
"I saw what you did there," he said, "You did something nice for a pony."
"Well, I still am not a brony," Nick said, "But I still have my moral values."
"Riiiiiight."
Nick scoffed, and went into town. He smiled slightly, a good feeling in his heart.
Author's Note
Thank you guys for reading this chapter! If you liked it, leave a comment! As always, have a nice day! :twilightblush: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightblush.png

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                           Kalt                            
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Kalt
Luke sat in his trench, alone. The snow fell slowly, and it was freezing as all hell. All his colleagues were asleep that night. Surrounded by fellow troops, yet he felt so alone. He felt homesick. His feet itched, his hands were cracked and dry, and hunger was constant. The only comfort he could receive was from a tiny fire pit in front of him. Things have been tense for a while. Especially with no-man's land right behind him. The enemy could show up at any moment.
Just as he was thinking that, he heard movement from above. He clamped his hand over his mouth to silence his gasp. He quietly peeked up from the trench, and into no-man's land. He saw a short, dark figure stumbling toward the trench. Luke pulled up his Springfield M1903 rifle, and pointed it at the figure. He took a shot at it. The crack of his rifle echoed through the sky, and the figure fell. One of Luke's fellow soldiers, Hanson, woke up.
"Ugh...what's going on?" Hanson asked.
"Eh, just a Kraut. Wonder what he was doing out there in no-man's land?" Luke asked back.
They then heard more movement from behind them. They heard the sound of something falling into the trench from behind them. They whipped their heads around, and looked at the creature at their feet. It was lacking a helmet, or uniform...or even features of a human. It appeared Equine in nature, but it's face was mangled and torn up.
"What the?!" Luke said.
He peeked over the trench, and saw rows upon rows of the undead equines.
"Shit! Hanson, I'm gonna need help!" Luke yelled.
No response.
"Hanson?" Luke asked, looking to his side.
Hanson was gone, as well as the rest of his fellow troops. Luke stood there, feeling powerless with that dinky little rifle. He then saw a bright flash of light above him. He looked up to see a large blue equine flying above him. She landed by his side, and faced him.
"Princess Luna?!" Luke asked, finally snapping out of it, "What the hell?!"
"No time for talk! Use this!" Luna responded, making something materialize in a magical aura in front of him.
Luke watched in amazement as she made an old WW1 machine gun materialize before his very eyes. However, his amazement was quickly erased by the sounds of hundreds of zomponies. He quickly placed his hands on the firing mechanism and pulled the trigger. Princess Luna joined in on the fighting, firing blasts of magic into the crowd of zomponies. Zombie after zombie dropped like flies from the onslaught of lead and magic. When the deed was done, the machine gun's barrel was red. Luke released his grip on the gun, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Crikey...thought I was a goner. Thanks for your help. Uh...where am I, princess?" Luke asked.
"You are asleep. I found your dream, only to realize it was becoming a nightmare." Luna said.
"So...this is a dream, huh?"
"It is."
The snow fell harder on the trenches.
"Tell me, why are you dreaming of a historical event that happened over a century ago in your world?" Luna asked, confused.
"My great, great uncle served in the first World War. I spent a month learning about him. He was like some kind of superhero to me." Luke said.
The area around the two suddenly began to transform. Luke watched in awe as the terrain went from trenches, to a large field. However, the snow continued to fall.
"Ugh...if this is my dream, can I make the snow go away? It's cold." Luke said, rubbing his arms.
"I'm afraid I am unable to control that. You're about to wake up...and it is snowing in real life right now." Luna said.
"Ah shit! And I'm sleeping in the open! I gotta wake up right now!"
The area started to get brighter, and it was getting hard to see.
"Good luck, Luke! Come to Ponyville as soon as possible!" Luna said.
Soon, the light consumed the area, and then Luke opened his eyes.
"Ugh...what a dream," Luke said.
He felt weight on his lap. He looked down to see Venus sleeping next to him, with her head resting upon his left leg. The snow that was falling was getting in her hair, and her gentle breaths were visible in the frosty air. Luke smiled, and poked her.
"Hey. Wake up, sleepyhead." Luke said.
Venus stirred, "S-so cold...I-I wanna g-go home,"
"Venus. Wakey wakey..."
Venus woke up, and shivered. "It's s-so c-cold."
"I know, I know. We're gonna get moving right now. We just gotta get over these mountains."
Venus got on her four hooves, and shook the snow off of her body.
"We'd better go now. I think a blizzard's coming. If we get moving now, we may be able to make decent progress before the snow hits us full blast." Luke said.
"W-well...let's get m-moving." Venus replied.
Luke looked at the cluster of mountains before him. Some paths were steep, others were flat. It was hard to pick one, but the incoming blizzard made Luke choose a steep path. Taking it slowly, the duo started climbing the mountain.
Luke, being a hunter, knew a bit about hiking. He hiked in various terrains, but snow wasn't one of them. The wind picked up, and slowed down sometimes. Every step he took, the snow got a little higher. After painful climbing, the duo reached the top of a mountain. From there, they could see into the distance.
"Would you look at the view? That's beautiful." Luke said.
And it was, in a sense. There was a forest with many tall green trees, and in the distance...a town could be seen.
"Ponyville." Luke said, a smile forming on his lips, "There it is. We're almost there, Venus. Soon, we'll be safe."
"T-that's g-great." Venus said, shivering.
"You okay, Venus? You're stuttering more than normal."
"I-I'm just s-so cold..." Venus said. "A-and my hooves h-hurt."
"Here, lemme look at them."
Luke knelt down and examined one of her hooves. Snow stuck to it, and it was cold to the touch.
"Jeez. Hope you aren't getting frostbite. Here." Luke said, putting his hands on her hips.
"What are you do-" Venus started.
Luke held her up, and placed her on his back. She placed her forelegs over his shoulders, and wrapped her hind legs around his waist. He held on to her hind legs for support.
"I'll carry you the rest of the way." Luke said. He then pulled off his hunting jacket, and placed it on her, "You're gonna need this."
"A-are you sure?" Venus asked.
"No problem, I can manage. We're almost there, anyways."
Luke was wrong. They still had quite a bit of distance to cover, he just didn't want to worry Venus. He sighed, and continued to make his way through the mountains. By now, the snow was tall enough to engulf his feet with every step he took. The low temperature was starting to take it's toll on Luke. He could hardly feel his feet, as his boots weren't the kind made for snow. He was wearing tough, thick pants that provided decent protection from the cold. As for his top, he wore a long-sleeved shirt, that didn't do much to protect him from the dropping temperature. His hands were covered by tough gloves that kept them somewhat warm. All in all, though, he was cold. He shivered, and his teeth chattered. After twenty minutes of this, he reached the bottom of the mountains.
"W-we made it," Luke said, "N-now we just gotta make our way...t-through the woods on the path. We'll get to P-P-Ponyville in no time."
"O-Okay." Venus said, shivering herself.
Venus was worried. Luke was pushing himself too hard. He was shivering, and he was carrying her, but he persisted. Luke however, was determined to get Venus to Ponyville. Every step he took was another step closer to sanctuary. Stopping at any moment, would make the next move difficult.
Thirty minutes passed, and by then...the snow was tall enough to climb halfway above his shin. Luke's vision was clouding up. He could hardly feel either of his legs. He couldn't take it anymore. His legs game in, and he fell face-down. Venus fell along with him, and ran up to him.
"Luke, Luke! P-please get u-up!" Venus yelled frantically.
"I....I can't move....s-so cold..." Luke said, his speech slowing down.
"N-no...L-Luke...please..."
"V-Venus...take my gun...t-take my backpack...you're gonna need it...God knows I won't..."
"No, L-Luke! S-stay awake! Please don't l-leave me."
Venus teared up, her tears felt absolutely freezing upon her cheeks.
"Just because...I'm dying...doesn't mean you have to...now...go..." Luke said, his eyes beginning to close.
"N-no! Stop!"
Luke's eyes closed, and his breathing slowed. Venus knelt down closer in the snow.
"N-no...no no no...p-please, no!"
A figure appeared in the mist. It was approaching slowly. It was wall, and it had long wavy hair. Venus closed her eyes, and waited for impending doom. However, she was surprised to hear a familiar voice...
"Guys! I found them!" Miranda's voice said, muffled by the wind and snow.
Nick made an appearance behind her.
"Good God! What happened to Luke?! We gotta get him indoors! We can't have him die!" Nick yelled.
"If he does, all is lost," Miranda said, grabbing him from his underarms and dragging him down the path.
Venus, with no other choice, follows closely behind...her heart dropping to the pits of her stomach.
Author's Note
Sorry it took so long. Been super busy. Thank you guys so much for watching! If you liked it, leave a like and comment. As always, have a nice day :twilightblush: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightblush.png

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                Home Is Where The Horror Is                
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Home Is Where The Horror Is
"Is he g-going to be o-okay?" Venus asked.
"I don't know," A nurse replied, setting Luke onto a table.
"How long will it take for him to wake up?"
"I'm not sure. He's got horrible frostbite. Especially in his legs. He's lucky if he could walk again. For now, I will cast a healing spell on him as life support until he wakes from his coma."
The nurse placed a blanket over Luke, and left the room. Upon leaving, Axel, Nick, and Miranda enter.
"Damn. He trudged through the snow without taking a break?" Miranda said.
"Crazy bastard," Nick commented, a grin on his face.
"Must be taking lessons from you, Nick." Axel said.
"Shut up, Axel."
"What? That was a compliment."
Venus sits on the floor, next to Luke's bed. She looked down at the ground, and simply stayed there.
"Well, I guess we should go," Axel said, "Let Luke get his recovery rest."
"I hope I can find me some good hooch in this town," Nick said.
The humans leave. Venus looked at Luke, and sighs deeply.
"G-get better Luke." she said.
She took one last look at him, before leaving the room.
Three weeks later...
A bitter smell invaded Luke's nostrils. It was the smell of smoke. Thick smoke. He opened his eyes, and sat straight up. He was horrified to see that outside the room he was in, there was a fire going on.
"Where the hell am I? Where's Venus?!" Luke asked in a panicked tone.
He threw the blanket off himself, and put his legs on the floor. However, he had tried to stand up too soon, and he fell.
"My legs....so stiff..." he mumbled.
Using the nightstand next to him for support, he got back on his feet. Examining himself, he noticed that almost all his clothes were gone! All except for his underpants.
"I *cough cough* gotta get out of here." He said.
He pulled open one of the drawers, and found all his belongings. His clothes, and his weapon. Getting dressed, and arming himself, he stumbled out of the room, and into the halls of the smoldering building.
It was now clear to Luke that he was in a hospital. He was somewhat relieved that someone found him, but there were two things that were bugging him now. One: Venus, or anyone was nowhere to be found. Two: Obviously, the building was on fucking fire! While searching for the lobby, some of the undead came to stop Luke. All were in either hospital gowns, or nurse outfits. However, his trigger finger was fully functional, and he made easy work of the walking corpses.
With effort, he had managed to find the lobby. Upon exiting, he realized he was in Ponyville. Yay! However, something much worse than zombies was happening. Damn! Ponies were attacking! Ponies dressed in intimidating clothes: Masks, bandanas, and random gear as armor.
Luke quickly put two and two together, and began shooting at the perpetrators. Since they didn't have guns, they were easy to take down. However, when Luke's magazine ran out, he was horrified to see that he ran out of bullets. Right at that moment, a mare levitating a lead pipe in her magic charged at Luke. Before she could reach him, her head exploded, and a loud crack could be heard. So loud, it almost deafened Luke. Blood and brains splattered on his shirt. Nick then appeared, and ran to Luke holding two rifles.
"Nick!" Luke said, "What is going on?!"
"You're alive! No time to waste! Grab this rifle, and follow me!" Nick said, tossing Luke an AK.
This AK rifle had gone through some repairs over time, it seemed. The butt stock was replaced with the handle of a shovel, a few metal plates crudely placed here and there, and the words "GET SOME" were etched into the metal. Luke took the rifle, and followed Nick toward the major battle site. In the middle of town, a huge fight was taking place. Masked ponies with melee weapons were attacking regular ponies, royal guards, the remainders of Luke's friends, as well as the Princess of the Night, Luna. Luke ran into the thick of it, fighting alongside his allies. Even some unicorns were fighting with guns.
In the middle of the fight, Luke heard a violent scream somewhere behind him. He ran back, to see Milky Way getting pinned down by two stallions.
"Oh hell no," Luke said.
He lifted up his assault rifle, and pulled the trigger on the two bastards. They didn't stand a chance against hot lead to their guts.
"You okay?" Luke asked.
"Luke, you're alive! Thank you for saving me." Milky said, gratefully.
"Where's Venus?"
"I don't know! She could be anywhere!"
Luke ran back to the battlefield, and straight for Nick. He pulled him into cover, and held him by his collar.
"Nick! Where is Venus?!" he demanded.
"She got carried off into one of the carriages, along with many other mares!" Nick replied.
"Oh no. Not on my watch."
Hastily, and probably very stupidly, Luke charged into the attacking group, shooting every masked foe left and right. Cutting deep into enemy lines, he sees what he was looking for: a carriage. Sure enough, peeking back at him over the top, was Venus. They made eye contact, and Luke gave her that reassuring smile again. He then went straight for the carriage, stood inside, and shot at everyone running for him. When the last casing in his gun was spent, all the attackers were dead. Luke, panting, freed all the mares, including Venus.
"L-Luke! I-I thought you d-died." Venus said, before wrapping her forelegs around his neck.
Luke returned the hug, "Nah, it's gonna take more than a snow day to do me in."
The other humans approach them.
"Well, would you look at that? He lives!" Axel said.
"Never doubted you, Luke." Miranda said, smiling.
"So this is Luke?" an unknown voice said, "Glad to see he made it."
"Huh?" Luke said, raising an eyebrow.
He releases Venus, and turn around. Standing with his friends, was another human. He wore a dirty jacket, ripped jeans, and he had a HUGE sniper rifle in his hands.
"Who are you?" Luke asked, tilting his head.
"Let me introduce myself," the mysterious human said, "My name is William."
Author's Note
Yep, this is supposed to take place in an ALTERNATE alternate universe before Guardian From Afar 3. And yes, this Luke is a different one.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                     Eyes On The Road!                     
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Eyes On The Road!
The stars twinkled in the sky above the mountains. A glow shimmered from the silvery moon, bathing the whole night in a small amount of light. On the mountains, there was a red car. It's headlights were on, not only to help the driver see...but to also allow animals in the road a chance to live. In this car, were four friends. Three men, and a woman. They planned to go on a hunting trip for hogs, and they thought that nighttime was the best time.
"You guys excited?" Axel asked in the passenger seat.
"Yeah." Nick replied from in the driver's seat.
"My dad liked the taste of hog. I always wondered what it tasted like," Miranda said from the left back seat.
"It's like pork and beef. It's pretty damn tasty." Luke replied from the right back seat.
The road made the car bounce up and down, as it was dirt...not concrete.
"Did you guys see the latest episode of My Little Pony?" Luke asked.
"Oh god, here we go again," Nick said, wanting to slam his head on the steering wheel.
"What's your problem?" Miranda asked.
"You people and your ponies. We're all adults here, we've outgrown that shit."
"Oh please...if only you gave it a chance!" Axel said.
"No finger-fucking way."
"Uh, guys..." Miranda said, trying to get the men's attention.
"Come on, Nick. It wouldn't hurt to lighten up a little once in a while," Axel said.
"Guys..."
"I don't need YOU to tell me to lighten up, you horse-fucker," Nick quipped, giving Axel a smirk from the mirror.
"Hey! That's a stereotype!" Luke said.
"Oh yeah? Show me your browsing history!"
"Guys..." Miranda said, her face turning pale...
"I would show you, but I can't shove my phone THAT far up your ass!" Luke yelled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick said, taking a hand off the steering wheel to face Luke.
"That that's where your head is!"
"GUYS! LOOK OUT!" Miranda had managed to scream.
Suddenly, the car flew off the side of the mountain...straight down a cliff. It was a steep fall...
"Damnit!" Luke said.
"Son of a bitch!" Axel screamed.
"I hate you guys!" Miranda yelled.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!" Nick screamed at the top of his lungs.
Before they collided with the ground below them, they blacked out...
Author's Note
This chapter is just to set the story. This story may suck...but I think it's worth trying. I hope you enjoy it. Sit back, relax, and get ready.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                 A Slight Change of Heart                  
//-------------------------------------------------------//
A Slight Change of Heart
Nick, and his friends (minus Luke and Venus) were quickly adjusting to their new situation. Something that was quickly noticed was that aside from the walls and guards...life in Ponyville continued as normal. Ponies grew their own fruits and vegetables in their gardens, and Sweet Apple Acres was still being used and run by Applejack and her family. Water was found easily, as the nearby lakes and streams provided enough for a long time. As for things like kitchen appliances, they were all powered by magic. No issues there.
However, the apocalypse still made problems for the citizens of Ponyville. Due to the recent outbreak, many were separated from families in the outside towns and cities. Some ended up losing their families in Ponyville during the early days of the apocalypse. Because of this, many foals became orphans due to their parents and elders dying from the mysterious outbreak...or the looters.
Two days after their arrival, they were already well-known in town. However, until Luke and Venus arrived, IF they arrive...they must find a way to occupy their time. That brings the story here.
Axel decided to talk to the guards for a job, while Miranda decided to work with the orphaned foals. They even spoke to Nick about getting a job. "I don't want to work with these cringey ponies," Nick would say in response, "Isn't being a superhero enough of a job?"
All through his life, Nick hated being told what to do. That's why he quit being in the army after such a short period of time. A lot of people called him a loner, which he scoffed at. "There aren't any loners," Nick would say, "There are only leaders and followers. A loner is just a leader who hasn't found anyone to lead yet."
Anyways, this brings us to two days after their arrival. Nick was talking to Miranda is town hall.
"What do you do?" Nick asked.
"Well, because the orphanage is...unsuitable for ponies to live in, they have to camp here." Miranda responded.
The setup was makeshift. Various mattresses, blankets, mini-tents, and sleeping bags were scattered messily about the floor. The chairs and benches that once faced the end of the room were pushed to the side to make room. The foals lied around, talking with their friends. Some seemed to even forget about the dreadful apocalypse going on.
"Well, better than the orphanage. Place stinked like piss." Nick said.
"Nick! Language!" Miranda said.
"Alright, alright! Anyways...what do you do again?"
"Oh right! I help Mayor Mare out with the fillies and colts. Maybe even teach them."
"Yeah...I could see you being a teacher!"
"Really?"
"No."
Miranda punched him in the shoulder, "Screw you, Nick."
"I love you too," Nick said, batting his eyelashes annoyingly.
Miranda wretched, "Ugh, no thanks."
Nick was about to walk out, when he felt something tug his leg frantically. He turned around to see the filly from two days ago, Cotton Cloudy. She again, looked distressed.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked.
"Those meanies took my bear!" Cotton Cloudy said.
"Where are they?"
She pointed to three colts, who were bashing her teddy bear against the wall. Nick wasted no time, and approached them. He quickly grabbed it, and yanked it out of one's teeth. The colt looked at him, and then his pupils shrunk to the size of pinheads.
"I told you my best friend was the element of Brutality!" Cotton said, hiding behind Nick's leg.
"Here ya go, Cotton," Nick said, handing her the bear.
"B-but...whaaa...?" A colt said.
"Now," Nick said, cracking his knuckles, "What have you got to say for yourself?"
The three colts looked at each other, "We're sorry!" one said.
"Yeah!" said the other, "Just please, don't tell Luna!"
"Keep it up, and I will," Nick said, putting on a cheesy demon voice.
That was enough to make the three colts run away like they had dry ice on their backs. Nick laughed so hard, he fell to the ground...tears falling from his eyes. He then heard someone else laughing...he looked to see Cotton laughing alongside him.
"Heh, am I really that funny?" Nick asked.
"You're hilarious! That...was the first time I've laughed in a bit." Cotton said, quietly.
"Superhero Nick, back at it again?" Miranda asked, "Someone's lightening up to ponies..."
Nick quickly got up, "Nope. Sticking to my opinion. However, I'll take any chance to share my awesomeness with the world." He said, defensively.
"Awesomeness? More like sharing your massive ego with the world."
Nick scrunched up his face, like is he had just sucked on a sour lemon.
"Looks like I got ya." Miranda said, smirking and walking away.
Nick sigh, and accepted defeat. He had better things to do anyway, so he went outside.
Outside, Nick was thinking about what he would do now that he was in Ponyville. Guess I'd better find me a house to stay in or something. Nick's stomach then let out a low growl. It sounded like a wolf was in his gut, craving for food. But first, I gotta find me some grub.
With that, Nick went off into town. He decided to check an empty house for food. Due to the recent disaster, there must be a few empty homes that have food in it. He went to the first house he saw. It was a two-story building, and the door was ajar. Nick pushed it open, and bent his neck so he wouldn't bump into the doorframe. The living room was furnished with a couch and two chairs. A bright yellow rug lay in the center. A coffee table in front of the couch had a vase of flowers on it, already withering.
The most striking thing was the pictures on the walls. Nick walked over to them, and examined them out of curiosity. One photo appeared to be a wedding picture. A white mare, with a green mane stood next to a stallion with a light blue mane and gray fur. They were smiling. The next photo was a honeymoon photo. The two were in a place that looked like Las Vegas. The stallion seemed drunk off his mind, and the mare was trying to stand him up. The next photo was a hospital picture. The mare was lying in a hospital bed, and the stallion was right beside her. Nick was slightly shocked when he saw that they were looking at a filly Cotton Cloudy, resting in her mother's arms. The last photo was of their filly, playing outside. The mare and stallion were sitting on their porch, as Cloudy lied in the grass. She was smiling as a monarch butterfly rested on her nose.
Nick recalled Cloudy talking about her parent becoming zombies. He then looked back at the pictures. His thoughts about finding food went out the window. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his lip quivered.
"This was my house," he heard a voice say from behind.
"I'm not crying!" Nick said, turning around to see Cotton Cloudy standing behind him.
Nick's tight throat made his voice shake, giving away the fact that he indeed WAS crying. His vision got foggy, and he sniffled.
"Okay, fine. You got me. So what I feel bad for you? So what if you don't have a family anymore? So what if...I didn't really have one either..." Nick slowed his words down a little.
"Nick..?" Cotton asked, "Are you ok?"
"Mama...Papa..." Nick said, "Died in a car crash when I was seven. I loved my parents. Papa wanted me to join the army, and Mama took care of me for most of my life. When they died...I was taken in by my uncle. Raised me to be a hard worker." Nick sat on the tiny couch, "He always told me, 'Nicky, you're gonna have a family again one day. You just gotta be capable to provide for them, and care about them.' I wanted a family again, so I worked my ass off wherever I went. Put maximum effort into everything I did."
Nick looked at Cloudy, who returned his gaze.
"I don't want you to go alone. You need SOMEONE to keep an eye on you." Nick said.
Cotton Cloudy's eyes widened, "Will you take care of me?!"
"Sure, as long as-"
He felt Cotton fly into his arms, and she held on to him tight, "Thank you, Mr. Nick! I'll be the best foal ever!" She said as she closed her eyes, genuine happiness could be seen on her face.
Nick smiled. All his thoughts about disliking ponies were forgotten. It was only a few days since he met her, and suddenly...he grew attached to her. For the first time in a long time, he had found something to care for. Not as a pet, or another friend, but almost like...a daughter of his own. He felt himself wrap Cotton in a hug, and he ruffled her mane with a free hand.
"Cotton?" Nick asked.
"Yes, Nick?" Cloudy asked in response.
"Could you...not tell my friends about this? They'd never let me hear the end of it."
"I don't say anything."
With that, the two continued to share a hug. For once, Nick didn't feel sarcastic, or annoyed...but rather...genuine sympathy, and fatherly love.
Author's Note
Thank you guys for reading! If you liked this chapter, leave a comment! As always, have a nice day :twilightsheepish: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsheepish.png