When The Dead Start To Trot

“I didn't know her but I am sure that she was a great pony,” Doctor Whooves said, standing next to an unbelievably sad Applejack.

They had buried Granny Smith who became a victim of the virus that killed ponies and turned them to flesh eating walkers.

At least the Doc said that this was a virus and no illness.

“No illness could ever cause something like this,” the Doc had explained to Applejack. He was sure about that.
But Applejack didn’t really care. She just lost somepony really important to her.

“Ah’m gonna miss ya,” she mumbled quietly, looking sadly down on the ground.

“Ah promise ya, Granny,” she suddenly said, looking up with a much more serious look, “Ah’m not gonna let that happen to me.”

“It won't. I know that,” the Doc whispered to her.

After a while of silence, the two ponies turned around and trotted away. Applejack looked back once to the improvised grave they had built because of the little time they had, then turned back around and went back to the school with Doctor Whooves.

“Why did it take so long?” a really annoyed Daisy asked with yet another deadly stare at Applejack.

Applejack could almost say she got used to that. After that 'incident’ that had happened in the store, they first went back to the school to eat.

Applejack wasn't hungry though. Her stomach was hurting because of her hunger but she couldn't manage to eat anything. But when the Doc came that evening to her room they had set up together for her, he brought her some rests of that day’s meal which she then ate hungrily.

“I must tell you something,” the Doc interrupted the silence the three ponies were in since there was nothing to say.
Applejack and Daisy didn't waste any energy and just waited for the Doc to begin.

“We already looked through Ponyville three times completely and yet there was nothing that could lead us to Applejack’s friends or to the pony I need to find.”

Applejack was wondering why he didn't address this one pony not just by its name.

“They must have left Ponyville already a while ago. But where could they have gone to?”

…

Silence.

“There was a train taking ponies to Canterlot,” Daisy then said, showing not a single emotion. “Almost the entire living population of Ponyville came on board.”

“What? When did that happen?” the Doc asked, obviously surprised. “I didn't notice any evacuation train.”

“How couldn't you?” she asked back. “It was loud enough to hear for everypony throughout the entire village!”

“Well,” he explained, though Applejack saw that he was clearly uncomfortable, “I was busy in my… well, investigating the virus.”

“And that was so loud ya didn't hear the train?” Applejack asked, knowing that this wasn't the honest truth.

“No, of course not that loud,” he admitted. “But it's sealed off enough from the train station.”

“Why’s he lyin’?” she thought.

Daisy didn't seem to believe him as well. She just rolled her eyes again.

“But back to the point,” he told them with an almost perfectly serious voice but it was still clear that he felt uncomfortable about the whole situation. “If the others all went to Canterlot, how can we get there?”

He looked at Applejack, then at Daisy.

“And why are you two still here?”

“I was in Manehatten for a while and when I came back, I could just see the panic, get to know what kind of happened and that was it. Before I knew what I should do, the train was gone.”

“What an incredible bad timing. Sorry,” the Doc said. “And what about you, Applejack?”

Daisy didn't say anything but she looked like she really wanted to know her reason although Applejack couldn't imagine why.

“Ah was in the hospital, layin’ in a coma, like it seems” she told them.

“In a coma?” the Doc asked back surprised.

“Fell down the stairs to the basement,” she said like it was nothing. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

The Doc didn't know what to say.

“Okay then, I guess,” he said awkwardly. “Sorry to hear that.”

He walked to the window and took a peek outside.

“We must look if we have a chance escaping with a train.”

“We don't,” Daisy answered. “There is yet another train but it's very old and wasn't used for like ten years. It probably doesn't work anymore.”

“But if it's the only chance we have, we must try,” Applejack replied. “But first, Ah must look for my family on the farm.”

“There is probably no one left but I understand how you feel,” Doctor Whooves said in thought. “I come with you.”

“What? Are you serious?” Daisy yelled, abruptly standing up and trotting towards him. “How much do you plan to do for her? You don't even know her!” She was completely angry, again.

“We are a group, Daisy!” the Doc actually yelled back which startled her a bit, never having seen this side of him. “Accept it!”

With that, he went to the exit.

“Come on, Applejack,” he said, still angry. “Let's go!”

“I feel sorry for you, really,” Doctor Whooves told Applejack, “but I already told you that this would probably happen.”

They had been at Sweet Apple Acres to find her family but when they arrived, they immediately realized that it was abandoned. They still looked around everywhere; they searched through the entire farm, but nothing.

They already almost arrived back at the school when Daisy came running towards them.

“Go! Go!” she yelled.

Applejack then saw them.

A huge herd of walkers was making its way to the three of them.

Without losing a single word, the Doc and Applejack began running as well. The walkers may not be fast but they are extremely dangerous in a herd. They were close as well.

She couldn't be sure but Applejack thought seeing walkers get into the school.

“The school! Did they take it?” she tried asking Daisy during their run.

“They did! And the food with it!”

“At least, we are now here where we wanted to go to anyway,” the Doc tried to lighten the mood up.

“But we lost all our food, my hammer and our only safe place which wasn't as safe as you said it was, Doctor!” Daisy countered.

Applejack had to admit that she was right in this case. They now had nowhere to stay and no food left.

“Stop demotivating everypony all the time, Daisy!” he became angry again. “Yes, we did, but we are here where we wanted to go and the walkers definitely got lost in the streets somewhere.”

“Wow, great news!” Daisy sarcastically answered. “You know, Doctor, you can't see everything from the bright side. There are things that are just shit and that's it. There are things that are just all negative and bad.”

“You can think like that; I don't care, but I think my way and 'that’s it’!” he argued with her.

Daisy once again had that mischievous look on her face and once again trotted away.

“We should check around and make sure everything's safe. Maybe we even find the train,” he said to Applejack although he didn't look in her direction at all. He trotted away as well.

“That's gonna end bad,” Applejack thought and followed him.

“When we find the train, we have to make sure we have enough coal to get to Canterlot,” she remembered him.

“I think this should not be a problem,” he said, completely calm again. “This is a train station and if the inhabitants left as frantic as Daisy described, I doubt that they took coal with them.”

Although he now had lost it already twice, he regained his calmness and brains really fast. Applejack really admired his self-control.

“You have probably been living here longer than me,” he then said. “Have you an idea where they could have stored it away?”

“Ah already went by train plenty of times but Ah´ve never seen some old train somewhere,” she admitted.

“Too bad.”

They went around a corner.

“Oh well, it seems like we already found it,” he said and pointed a hoof to a large barn. As they approached it, they could see a bit through a crack in the gate. The old train was indeed inside.

“Oh! That went faster than expected,” she stated with a surprised look. “We have luck for once!”

“Let's see if it works,” he happily exclaimed and tried to open the gate.

But it was closed.

“Ah thought so,” she said frustrated. “Havin’ luck twice in a row is too much to ask for.”

“The key must be somewhere around here,” the Doc said surprisingly optimistic. “And we will find it!”

“What about the hospital?”

“What?” Applejack turned around.

Daisy was back and looked at her, obviously wanting an answer.

“What’s about it?”

“Your family,” she shortly replied. “Or this pony you’re searching, Doc. Heck, anypony! Anypony could still be there! The hospital is huge and probably a safe place.” She hoofpalmed herself. “Why the hay didn't we go there before?”

“Safe? If there were any other patients left behind like me, but didn't get outside, they could've died. And with who knows how many walkers inside, it wouldn't be that safe,” Applejack thought.

But Daisy had a point. The hospital wasn't exactly huge but still one of the largest buildings in Ponyville.

But still, did Daisy really not think about possibly deceased patients? And there could still have been ponies before they were evacuated that took all the stuff the three of them needed right now.

Then, she remembered all the dead ponies she encountered when leaving the building, around two hundred of them. She also remembered all the dried blood around the corpses. Though many of them should have turned by now, there was enough blood around heads which indicated that they were stabbed in the head so that they won't turn.

That's also something the Doc and her had found out thanks to his… experiments.

He always said, “We need to learn the 'rules of survival’ of this world and for that, we only have one possibility: experimenting with walkers.”

He was right with that. She always had problems with slicing open a body or picking around in a brain. She still hated it and sometimes vomited but the Doc was understanding and helped her to get used to this 'new world’.

He then always remembered her that those things are not ponies anymore. She is just glad that Big Macintosh and Applebloom have got away safely as well as her friends.

Probably.

“Ah’ve never really thought about’em since… this here,” she said to herself. “Ah hope they’re all safe in Canterlot.”

“If you want to, Applejack,” the Doc suddenly interrupted the silence, “then you and Daisy could go to the hospital and look around. Maybe you’ll even find food but I don't have a good feeling about that.”

“Why only when she wants to?” Daisy returned, losing it again. “I need to find somepony as well, my other friend Rose.”

“Why didn't ya tell us earlier?” Applejack asked innocently. “Ya never said anything about Rose.”

“Because I never had any reason to tell somepony, especially you!” Daisy snarled.

“Stop it, you two!” the Doc stopped them. “Please!”

“Ah’m sorry,” Applejack said.

Daisy stayed silent.

“Let's go then,” she then said and went to the exit.

Before Applejack could do anything, Doctor Whooves put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Please be careful. You just can't trust her anymore. I can’t have her harming you. Watch out!”

Applejack nodded.

“Ah'm gonna be careful. Don't worry, Doc!” she calmly said. She actually cared about him since he has been so kind to her and she didn't want him to worry about her.

“Ah'm not gonna let myself be harmed.”

“I'm gonna check those rooms; you check these here, okay?” Daisy asked, suspiciously calm.

“Okay,” Applejack said. She didn't think that this could be any kind of trap. She couldn't have had enough time to set anything up, especially if it's in the hospital which isn't even that near the school or the train station.

They brought their weapons with them of course. Applejack knew that if Daisy would try to directly attack, she could easily kill her if she's fast enough.

“A spear versus a hammer. If Ah must, Ah'm gonna do it. …

But can Ah even?”

She probably would, she knew that, even if it's just her survival instinct.

It's just that although Daisy tried to let her die and would do it again, she was no walker. She was a living pony.

And Applejack didn't want to be a murderer.

“Everything’s clear!” Applejack said a bit louder so that Daisy could hear her.

“Here too!” she said back.

Applejack went in another room which was also free of walkers. There was yet another door in the room.

“Probably the bathroom.”

She opened the door.

Nothing. The bathroom was empty as well.

She then wanted to try if the water pipe still worked since the one in the school didn't.

She didn't have a shower for what felt like an eternity. To be exactly, it were exactly five months and nineteen days. She didn't have a shower during her coma as well of course but she didn't know that that's how long she’s been out.

She opened the water tap.

“It works!” she happily exclaimed, loud enough to hear for Daisy.

“What works?” she heard Daisy yell from the other side of the floor.

“The water pipe!” Applejack didn't care that Daisy was like an enemy to her right now.

“Oh yeah, here too!” it came back.

Daisy then galloped over to her room.

“I even found two cups,” she said, showing two simple cups filled with water.

“Here. You should drink something,” she said while handing Applejack one of the cups.

“Thank ya,” she said and taking the cup from her. She was indeed pretty thirsty.

For meeting her, she had left the bathroom.

“Oh, Ah wonder if the toilet works,” she then said and walked back in the bathroom.

The toilet still worked as well. She could flush it.

“Great!” she said and put the cup to her mouth.

Then, she stopped.

Why would Daisy bring her a cup of water? Maybe it was just her being paranoid but she more or less promised the Doc that nothing would happen to her and she couldn't trust Daisy so she simply emptied the cup over the still flushing toilet.

But if it was a trap, then Daisy would notice that she didn't fall for it and maybe would try something else.

Applejack didn't know what else Daisy could do but she knew that she would do something.

With that thought in mind, she opened the water tap and drank some water out of it.

Applejack came back to Daisy with a pretty wet face while acting like she was drinking from the cup. She hated that wet feeling but thought that it would be the best right now when it came to Daisy.

“Why are you so wet now?” she of course asked her.

But she already knew.

It has been indeed a trap. She once has worked in this hospital for a while and since then, nothing has changed its place.

She went exactly to the room where the strong medicine and other stuff like anesthetic were kept.

The cups were also there. She filled them with water and one of them, the one she handed Applejack, with anesthetic.

Of course you can't take too much of it since too much could kill you so Daisy simply overdosed the water by around ten times.

Applejack wouldn't have survived such an overdose.

“Just washin’ my face, ya know?” Applejack answered, trying to sound completely normal and calm but she thought that she failed that really bad.

“Okay, then,” Daisy also tried being calm and innocent but on the inside, she was pretty angry that her plan didn't work out.

They didn't find any food at all neither anypony. But they still found useful medicine which can usually be expected in a hospital. Usually at least but in a world with walkers trotting around and killing the living, it's unbelievable luck to find something like medicine somewhere untouched.

“Great news!” the Doc greeted the two ponies. “I found the key for the gate.”

“Fantastic!” Applejack exclaimed. “But does the train work?”

“Come with me!” He lead them to the now open gate. The train inside definitely looked old but also really nice and well taken care of.

“It works perfectly fine! Somepony took great care of it and kept it in shape!”

“So, we can actually get to Canterlot now?” Daisy asked, finally saying something. Since her trap on Applejack failed, she didn't say a single word. Applejack neither. What could she say to somepony that probably just tried to kill her for the second time?

“We can because there is more than enough coal,” he said and grabbed a piece of coal laying near him.

“Somepony seemed to have taken a trip on the train from time to time,” he added.

“Should we go now?” Applejack asked. She didn't want to seem rude but she just wanted to leave Ponyville as fast as possible and find her friends and family.

Hopefully the rest of them were unharmed.

“Fantastic!” the Doc shouted. “I love this train! It's old but still modern somehow. You understand, Applejack?”

“Not really,” Applejack admitted a bit ashamed. “Would ya excuse me, Doc? Ah’m just tired,” she told him. She was tired enough to take a nap even on a jerking train.

“Well of course, Applejack,” he answered. “I can fully understand you.”

“Thank ya.”

She looked for a place near the Doc where she could nap for a while.

Daisy didn't seem to plan to kill the Doc or anything but she was now obviously less trusting to him and didn't get along with him that well anymore. She was just completely insane by now.

But Applejack actually wasn't that wrong about Daisy that day.

“What is wrong with you, Daisy? Ever since Applejack came to us, you act completely… different. Where is the Daisy I met when the apocalypse began? Where is the Daisy I met when I was surrounded by walkers and who helped me to survive while risking her own life?”
“That Daisy would still be here if Applejack wasn't!”
“But why?”
“...”
“It is because of Lily Valley, isn't it?"
“Stop it!”

It was way too loud to sleep. Applejack woke up and heard Doctor Whooves and Daisy arguing. But this time, it was different than the times before.

“I am right, am I not?”
“I said stop it!”
“Just tell me!”
“She ruined us!”
“What are you even talking about?”
“We managed to survive five whole months without any problems. But then, Applejack came. We lost the school, Lily died, I almost died in that store and-”
“And she helped saving you! It's not her fault that Lily died, it's not her fault that the walkers got the school since she wasn't even there at this time and it's not her fault that you almost died because you lost your damn hammer!”

Applejack never heard the Doc that angry before. He didn't seem like himself. It was like his personality was swapped with the opposite kind.

"I’ve never seen Lily this whole time. Then, Applejack came and just a while later, I found her. Or more what was still left of her."
"How does this-"
"Her whole lower body was gone!"

Applejack could hear her starting to slightly cry.

"Applejack didn’t do it. I know it."
"How?!"
"She would never do it. How even could she have done it? There is no way."

Then, there was silence for about half a minute. Applejack felt like she could hear the upcoming trouble.

She then only heard a loud bang. She shot up and ran towards the front part of the train where she had heard the two of them.

As soon as she arrived, she saw Daisy sitting on the Doctor’s back, pushing his head down through the open side door. He was already halfway through the door, his mane almost grinding on the rail.

“HELP! APPLEJACK!” he shouted his lungs out. He felt like his eardrums would explode from the wind rushing through his ears.

Applejack didn't need to be told twice. She immediately jumped on Daisy, trying to push her off of Doctor Whooves.

“Leave him alone!”

“You stay out of that!” Daisy shouted back.

“Ah certainly won't if a friend’s in danger!”

With Daisy distracted, the Doc somehow managed to hold himself up enough before falling down.

After Applejack had pushed Daisy off of him and kind of thrown her to the side, she quickly grabbed him and pulled him up into the room before he could finally fall down.

Daisy already got up by then and jumped on Applejack, catching her off-guard. She was pushed to the edge of the train now as well.

“You… ruined… EVERYTHING!” Daisy yelled.

Applejack couldn't get up. Daisy positioned herself on her back in a way that didn't allow her to get free.

“Applejack!” The Doc came to save her but Daisy was prepared this time.

She kicked out with her hind leg, hitting Doctor Whooves perfectly in the middle of his chest.

He struggled to breath and collapsed but still hold Daisy’s hind leg that just knocked him down.

“Let me go!” she yelled, kicking out again but missing the Doc this time.

That was Applejack’s chance.

While Daisy was kicking and with that not paying attention to her, Applejack raised her rump and did a little jump. She couldn't jump that high right now because of Daisy but it was high enough to bring her out of balance. Now it was Daisy's turn to slip to the edge.

Daisy could barely grab Applejack before falling down. While she hold Applejack's shoulders, she said, “You won't make it! I guarantee you that! With all the problems you cause, you’ll kill everypony near you including yourself!”

Applejack shook herself to get Daisy off of her.

And it succeeded.

In a last try of saving herself, Daisy tried to take ahold of the train somewhere but she slipped.

The uncontrolled train was moving really slow because the cole was almost out.

She fell down and rolled a bit forward in front of the train. Her head landed on the rail. She couldn't get up on time because of the pain from her fall. The train then came by.

Nopony’s skull can take that pressure. The brain of course also not.

She was almost immediately dead.

The train went by. The Doc recovered from her kick. Applejack didn't even realize that she just killed somepony.

“At least she’s not gonna turn…”