When The Dead Start To Trot

“Ah murdered somepony… Ah murdered somepony…”

Applejack was sitting in a corner of the waggon. She rocked herself back and forth. She felt like everything was crashing down on her.

“We had to…”

Doctor Whooves didn't feel much better as well. He even felt like he was more likely the one that killed Daisy.

“Daisy was just completely insane. She tried to kill me,” he added.

“He really doesn't know.”

“She tried to kill me as well!” Applejack yelled, clearly not knowing how to handle her emotions.

He didn't answer. She thought that he would be totally shocked or something but he seemingly wasn't.

“I thought so,” he said quietly. “I am so sorry, Applejack! I am so sorry!” he suddenly collapsed. Applejack could see that he started crying.

“Did she do something to you while you two were in the hospital? I shouldn't have let you go!” He really didn't know about the incident in the store though.

“She didn't,” Applejack said, knowing that Daisy actually probably did. She didn't want to make him more upset.

“Really?” the Doc asked back. He already thought that this wasn't the honest truth. “As you two arrived back at the train station, I could see the look on your face. I could clearly see that something must have happened. You know, you are a really bad liar, Applejack,” he told her, giving her a light smile.

“Yeah, Ah know,” she admitted. “But Ah’m not completely sure she did.”

The train stopped now completely.

“We should add more coal,” he said and stood up without saying something else. Applejack expected him to come back after filling up the boiler but he didn't. He stayed where he was and looked in the distance.

Applejack looked on the ground. The Doc had the same emotional and moral problems.

“How am Ah ever gonna deal with that? What if Ah meet Rose?”

“Hey, Applejack! Come here!” he then suddenly said. She could hear the fright in his voice.

She trotted towards the front of the train. As soon as she arrived there, she could see what shocked him like that.

“That's the train from Ponyville!”

“Everything's quiet.”

Applejack and Doctor Whooves stood on the right side of the train that was simply standing on the tracks.

“This really is the train that came from Ponyville, isn't it?” the Doc asked.

Applejack was startled by that. What happened to the train and the ponies? Why was it left alone standing on the tracks? What caused this?

Doctor Whooves positioned himself on his hind legs and watched through a window of a waggon.

Then suddenly, a walker jumped at the window the Doc was standing at which caused him to fall on his back.

“Ouch,” he said, having his right eye closed and rubbing his back.

“Everything's fine?” Applejack asked although she knew he couldn't have hurt himself much.

“Yes, sure,” he said and stood up. “I just didn't expect this to happen.”

She then realized that this definitely was one of the ponies of Ponyville. She did remember seeing the alive counterpart of that walker before a few times.

“Ponyville.”

“What?”

“Ah don't know his name but Ah saw this stallion on the market a few times before,” Applejack remembered.

“It's a pony from Ponyville,” the Doc repeated. He saw her starting to tremble.

“I am sure your friends are fine,” he guessed her thoughts. “I do not know them really well but I know that they are strong enough to survive, even Fluttershy.”

Still trembling, she turned her head to him fully.

“Ya know’em?”

“Well, I know Fluttershy, princess Twilight Sparkle since she is a princess as you know and now you.” He smiled at her.

“How can he smile now?” she thought. “In such a situation.”

“Why ya smilin’?” she suddenly yelled at him, causing him to jump back and fall back down on his already hurt back.

“What was that for?” he yelled back, actually a bit angry.

Applejack didn't say anything at first. She worried so much about her friends and also the other ponies that she just couldn't stand him smiling like that.

She helped him back up without saying a single word.

“Ah'm sorry! But we must find out what happened to those ponies,” Applejack apologized, then explained.

“Ready?” Applejack asked Doctor Whooves who was about to open the waggon door, holding his 'ice pickle'.

“Hopefully,” he simply said. He wanted to open the door finally but stopped shortly before he could do it.

“I understand why you yelled at me,” he said. “That smile was completely unfitting there. I am sorry too.”

“Ya don't need to apologize. Ah-”

A few walkers jumped against the door.

“Oh Celestia,” she said. She usually never said something like that but it wasn't like she would care in that moment.

She nodded to him and he nodded back. She hold her spear tight as he opened the door.

Six walkers approached them at once. Or at least they tried.

Since they all tried getting out at once, they got stuck in the door frame. Only one of them got outside.

The Doc took care of the walker. The others still tried to grab them.

”They were from Ponyville,” she thought. She’s seen all of them before.

After the two of them killed the last ones, they were relieved that there were only three more inside.

“There is another door,” he said and pointed to the back door. “If there were more walkers inside, they must have gone out.”

“Yeah,” she replied. “They’d be gone for already a long time.”

“Exactly.” They searched through the entire waggon without finding anything useful.

“Seems like we have to search through the coffers,” Applejack said although she didn't want to in order to look for her friends and also for that somepony that the Doc looked for.

It took a while but eventually they went through all coffers.

Nothing. There was nothing useful to find.

“What a waste of time.”

“Indeed,” the Doc agreed, “but we could not know before we tried.”

“Ah'm gonna look again,” Applejack said and already started doing that.

“Okay, I will too,” the Doc said after a short moment of silence and started too. The silence then returned and it was completely silent for about five minutes.

Boom. A gunshot.

Doctor Whooves went to the ground.

Somepony shot him.

He fell on the ground and hold his shot leg. It was luckily not that bad bleeding. The bullet has gone right through it.

Applejack was completely shocked but reacted quickly and threw her spear in the direction of the door where the gunshot must have come from in order to protect her friend.

She couldn't make out who it was but she a figure of somepony fleeing. That somepony dodged the spear pretty good.

“Come back!” she yelled and ran after her - she was sure the figure belonged to a mare - without hesitating.

Applejack quickly grabbed her spear and threw it after her again as soon as she was outside and saw her.

It hit her but because of the hectic, she didn't throw quite accurate and only the side of the spear hit her.

But that was still enough to get her out of balance and fall. Applejack quickly rushes to her and held her in place, grabbing her gun and threatening her with it.

Applejack then realized that she knew this pony actually quite well.

“Twilight?!”

“It is okay. I think I can walk on my own, now,” Doctor Whooves exclaimed although it was totally obvious that walking really hurt him at least.

“I am so, so, so sorry!” Twilight Sparkle apologized for the fourth time. “I thought it was one of those things.”

“It is enough, okay?” the Doc answered her a bit annoyed. It just gets pretty annoying hearing somepony apologizing for the same thing over and over.

“So-,” Twilight began, then realizing that she would only annoy him more with yet another apologize so she stopped.

“What even happened here though?” Applejack wanted to finally know. “Where are the others at?”

Twilight then stopped in her motion and just stood there in silence.

“Just when I forgot what happened,” she mumbled, stammering. Tears immediately swelled up in her eyes, soon pouring down.

Applejack guessed that Twilight was at least as traumatised as her from the occurred events.

“Look, Ah'm sorry, Twilight,” she quickly said. “Ya of course don't have to.”

“No, no,” Twilight said, shaking her head, tears still flowing and her voice still trembling. “I should tell you everything.”

She became silent once again.

Then suddenly, Twilight more or less jumped at Applejack and hugged her tight.

“I am so glad you're still alive, Applejack.” She didn't seem to want to let her go.

Silence. Applejack didn't how to react to this.

“How?”

“Huh?” Applejack replied confused.

“How did you get here? What happened to you in the hospital? How?” Twilight asked again.

“It's not the right time,” Applejack answered back shortly, not returning her gaze. She wanted to tell her everything that happened but she didn't want to when she was still getting sick worrying about the rest of her friends.

“How?” Twilight asked again, not giving up.

Once again silence.

“HOW?” she now yelled more than asked.

“Ah woke up in the hospital, went to the school, was knocked out by Daisy,-” she shortly stopped at remembering the Doc and herself about Daisy and her death, “-was told what happened in his world, learned to defend myself, the school was taken by walkers, we took the train, now we’re here.”

She told Twilight the shortest version she could imagine although she wasn't sure if Twilight would still ask her about more details. She left her meet with Granny's walker and Daisy's death out on purpose of her story.

“Okay, who is Daisy and do you mean by ‘walker’ the trotting dead ponies?” Twilight asked, much to Applejack’s annoyance since her nerves were totally blank at that time but at least Twilight was now obviously calmer than before.

“She was my 'partner’ for five months,” the Doc answered truthfully. “But she… didn't make it.”

“Oh… was she also…”

Twilight didn't finish her question. She looked down, tears forming in her eyes again.

Applejack wanted to ask her to finally hear the full question but she knew better than to unsettle her even more.

“...devoured?”

“What? Devoured?” Applejack asked shocked. She didn't hear that ponies were or even could be devoured.

“Bitten,” the Doc shortly corrected.

At the sight of Applejack's shocked gaze, he asked, “ Did you not think of it before?”

“Ah guess it makes sense if ya can tell it like that,” she admitted. “Enough walkers, one pony and… ya know.”

“But what do you mean by ‘bitten’?” Twilight asked, meaning more Doctor Whooves than Applejack.

“Excuse me?” he asked back confused.

“Bitten ponies turn to one of these things after they… died because of the caused fever,” Applejack tried to explain.

“They turn?!” Twilight couldn't believe what she just heard. “I mean, I saw walkers biting them but there were always that many that they just…”

She once again stopped during her sentence but Applejack already knew what she meant to say so that she didn't need to finish this time.

“What am I only going to do now?” Twilight then said to herself, loud enough to hear for Applejack and the Doc.

“What ya mean, Twilight?”

“I'm not feeling that well but it's okay.”

Filthy Rich laid on the bench of the waggon in front of the waggon the Doc and Applejack hit.

They didn't say anything since they both knew what would eventually happen to him although Applejack never saw somepony turn.

“The Doc probably has,” she thought. “Hopefully not somepony close to him.”

“I'm fine. Don't you worry, guys,” Filthy Rich tried to calm them down a bit. His shoulder still hurt and you could clearly and - for Applejack even worse - easily see the flesh sticking out from his wound.

He obviously didn't know that he would die soon.

“Just a little fever. The wound is clean and doesn't even hurt that much,” he added. “I would try to sell these wound-cleaning techniques if I could.”

All three of them stared at him in disbelief, even though Twilight seemed to have already heard something like that before from him.

But still, that he was able to make such a comment without shaming himself to death during such a time was unbelievable for Applejack.

“I just found him a few days ago,” Twilight told them. “He was running away from walkers coming from the west and I simply helped him.”

“She saved me!” he happily corrected. “I'd have died for sure if she wouldn't have come along.”

Applejack looked at the Doc and he looked back at her. They both didn't want to tell him in order to not depress the mood anymore.

Twilight who now also knew what would happen to him soon had a hard time looking and especially speaking to him.

“What's the matter?” Filthy Rich asked surprised. He of course noticed the awkward silence the four of them were in.

“Just hard to comprehend,” Applejack then tried to break the awkwardness.

“Comprehending what?” he asked back, not understanding what she could mean by that.

“Anything.”

Filthy Rich still didn't get it but much to Applejack's delight, he didn't ask any more questions.

“But what happened here though? Ya didn't finish last time,” she asked especially Twilight, feeling too uncomfortable to speak with Filthy Rich anymore.

She didn't like having to ask Twilight again but they needed to know what happened.

“You're right. You should know it,” Twilight then quietly said.

“I can if you don't want to,” Filthy Rich then said.

“Twilight didn't say anything. She just nodded her head.

“I wasn't here when they tried to escape from Ponyville,” Filthy Rich began. “I was in Manehatten at this time. But from what I heard from Twilight, they ran out of coal because they burned it way too fast so that they were stuck here on the tracks. Then, after pretty much everypony panicked, a 'herd’ of ‘walkers’ as you call them came and… well, got them,” he told them.

There were no real details but Applejack and Doctor Whooves of course understood what happened.

“That's why I didn't know what happens when you are 'bitten’,” Twilight whispered to Applejack, making sure Filthy Rich wouldn't hear her. “All ponies were simply completely killed by those things.”

“When was he bitten?” Applejack whispered back to Twilight.

“One and a half day ago,” she answered.

Applejack didn't answer this time. The Doc had once told her that bitten ponies would only have around two days until they turn. He said he’d have heard it a few days after the apocalypse began.

“I once read about so called 'zombies’,” Twilight then suddenly changed the subject. “Undead ponies who wander around and try to eat the fresh flesh of living ponies.”

“So, what exactly happens now?” Applejack answered. She wouldn't have expected Twilight to have read something about something like a zombie apocalypse before but she didn't even care anymore right now. She was only surprised that there actually was a book that tells about those kind of things.

“But then, she realised that if this book is about the walkers, then maybe there was also a cure for the virus explained in it.

“Do ya still got the book?” she asked, startling Twilight a bit with her sudden interest.

“In the castle,” she said, still surprised and slightly confused but also having an idea what Applejack could have want to say. “I didn't take it with me of course.”

“Maybe a cure’s explained inside it,” Applejack said loud enough for everypony to hear in the waggon.

“What? A cure?” the Doc asked.

“It would be possible,” Twilight said. “I at least don't remember reading something about a cure, but I didn't read the whole book yet.”

“Then we’ve got to return to Ponyville,” Applejack exclaimed, leaving the Doc and Filthy Rich, who didn't know the context, confused.

“Later,” she added, addressing the two of them.

It was relatively hard to change the Doc’s opinion to not return and continue their way to Canterlot but eventually Applejack could convince him. She saw this as the only chance they had to save all still living ponies.

They took some of the coal onto the other train since they had to switch the train in order to get to Canterlot but they were careful to only take the coal they needed and not more. In case they would have to leave it behind, they would at least not lose all the coal.

On the way back to Ponyville, Applejack had a bit luck that Twilight wasn't paying attention when they reached the spot where Daisy died. Her body of course still laid there on the tracks but only now Applejack could see what the train wheel did to her head. She felt the urge to vomit again and was glad she was able to barely hold it back so that Twilight wouldn't see Daisy.

Filthy Rich of course stayed in the waggon. He first wanted to come with Applejack and Twilight but almost immediately broke down as he tried to walk so that the Doc stayed with him because of his wound.

After calming down a bit again without Twilight noticing, she asked her, “Where have ya been the whole time, Twilight?”

She and the Doc have once checked her castle but they couldn't find anything or anypony.

“I was in Ponyville for the first three months, I think,” she answered. “As it started, I informed princess Celestia about the happening and tried to help everypony in Ponyville. I wanted to organise everything so that everypony could flee but because of their panic, it was impossible to manage.”

“Yeah,” Applejack simply said. She didn't know what else she could have answered with.

“I put the bed in front of your door.”

“What?” Applejack asked. She never expected to hear anything about the bed blocking her door again.

“I put the bed in front of your door,” Twilight repeated. “It was when everything started. There were the first walkers and everything went down in the hospital. I went to your room and checked on you but you were still in a coma. And of course, I couldn't take you with me so I quickly put a bed in front of your door to block your room from all walkers. I just hoped that you would wake up in safeness. But on the other hoof…”

“What 'on the other hoof’?”

“On the other hoof, I also hoped you wouldn't wake up.”

Applejack didn't answer.

“I didn't want you to have to live through something as horrible as this here. I thought you would have been completely caught off-guard from waking up in this new world,” Twilight explained, obviously feeling bad for what she just said before her explanation.

“Ah get ya.”

“Thanks.”

There was nothing except awkward silence as they approached Ponyville.

“Anything?” Twilight asked while throwing out all the books and looking for the right one. She had no idea where she had left it.

“Nope,” it came back. More books fell to the floor.

They already looked for about twenty minutes and still didn't find the book.

“Where could I have placed it at?” Twilight murmured to herself. She has just went through an entire shelf again and went on to the next one.

They looked through all the shelves and threw down the wrong ones. Twilight always loved sort outher books. She would have no problem doing it again.

That is, if she would ever get the chance again.

“There it is,” Applejack then yelled. Soon enough, she realised she shouldn't be so loud to not attract the walkers to them since the Doc once noticed how much walkers are attracted to noise as he studied them.

“Really? Great!” Twilight happily said and trotted over to her.

“With her magic she quickly looked through the book and found a page named 'the cure’.

“Perfect! What it's sayin'?” Applejack asked, hating to have to wait to get the answer. She has never been a patient pony.

Twilight began to read. “'The cure of the virus to stop the apocalypse is…’”

She stopped and looked at the page with a mixed look of shock and hopelessness.

“What? What?!” Applejack asked impatiently.

“‘... Inexistent.’”

Silence.

“That can't be. That can't be.” Applejack couldn't believe that there was nothing they could do against the walkers. “Nothin’ to stop it.”

Then, she grabbed the book that Twilight then frightenedly released from her magic and threw it away.

Unfortunately, she wasn't quite attentive and was way too loud. A few walkers got attracted. The two of them could already hear them.

“Applejack!” Twilight angrily shouted.

“Sorry, sugarcube,” she quickly said without much emotion. “We've got to go.”

They didn't have any kind of problem getting out since Twilight could quickly teleport them outside. They were pretty lucky there weren't any walkers near the train.

“He is sweating pretty bad, just like we both found out it would happen, Applejack,” Doctor Whooves whispered to Twilight and especially Applejack, careful to not let Filthy Rich hear it.

“You found out?” Twilight asked, not understanding what exactly he wanted to say with this.

“He found out, to tell the truth,” Applejack corrected. She still didn't even know how he found that out but she didn't feel like asking.

She had a bad feeling about that.

“What we’re gonna do with him?” Applejack asked. “When he dies…”

Applejack never really got along with Filthy Rich but seeing him laying on a bench, sweating like that and almost unable to move…

Just like Granny Smith.

“We're going to wait for now, about him,” Twilight said in a tone that made clear she didn't want and would not discuss her decision, “and move on to Canterlot.”

“Sure thing,” the Doc said, noticing Twilight’s tone as well. He didn't have the nerves to discuss anyway just after finding out that there is no cure.

At least not yet. He now also wanted to get to Canterlot to help creating a cure for the virus.

“Okay then,” Twilight said, now in a leading tone Applejack would never have expected to hear from her friend.

“As the walkers came inside, the others fled,” Twilight suddenly added. “I'm sure they're safe. They can take care of themselves, even Pinkie.”

Applejack couldn't help herself but to smile at the thought of Pinkie attacking the walkers with her party cannon and cupcakes. She quickly put that thought aside since this kind of inattentiveness is what gets you killed in this world. But she also knew that it was good she didn't lost her humour yet since it showed her she still had her sanity, at least in her opinion.

“Let's move on, then,” Doctor Whooves said, sounding a bit impatient which surprised Applejack. “We shouldn't stay too long on the tracks like that for so long.”

“Yeah, he's right,” Applejack said. “Can ya handle the train drive alone?” she asked the Doc who was already on his way to the front part of the train, a bit hobbling.

“Well sure I can. I would not mind a little bit of help though.”

Applejack laid in a surprisingly comfortable bed. The sheets were rather dirty but you can't have high standards in a world like this.

It was quiet but she still could hear the walkers outside, trying desperately to get in. They banged against the door and the windows unstoppably.

Applejack looked up at the ceiling and didn't say anything. She just stared at the blank ceiling.

Doctor Whooves was next to her, sitting on the very edge of the bed. He didn't say anything either.

He was seemingly in deep thought, but in reality, he just didn't know what to say.

They were there for already about thirty minutes and still didn't do anything. Applejack would have tried to sleep but she couldn't. Not only because of the walkers but also because of what had just happened.

Doctor Whooves felt the need to break the silence and simply said the first thing that came to his mind.

“I am sorry.”