Vacation

Chapters

02

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Outside, the 747 was flying lower and lower as it flew past the island, blasting past bungalows stretching out from the beach and into the shallows nearby. The plane continued on and on before eventually touching down in the water. It skidded across the crystal clear water for a decent stretch, sending waves splashing in either direction as a large wing ended up smashing through several of the nearby bungalows, sending wood and furniture flying.

Dee and everyone else on board were thrown forward as the water forcibly slowed the plane down, causing some to roll forward and a few to fall out. Rainbow stumbled, grabbing onto one of the seats as the plane continued to skid across the water before eventually coming to a halt.

Unfortunately, it ended up veering to the left, sliding into deeper water.

The plane groaned as it began to sink. People panicked and ran to get out as more infected stumbled out the door leading to coach.

"Crap!" Dee yelled as water rushed in, the plane sinking faster. He struggled to move towards the hole in the side in an attempt to escape. No way am I drowning today!

Dee moved as fast as he could, struggling to dodge the swiping hands of slow-moving infected as the plane groaned, dipping forward in the water and causing him to slide back. “Crap! Crap! Crap!” He lost his footing as the water rushed past his legs, his knees, his waist. From the corner of his eye, he saw stray baggage flying towards him. He tried to raise his arms to block, but the water slowed his movements, and the resulting impact sent him flying.

Near the hole, Rainbow was trying to help the ponies get out of the damned aircraft before it sunk. Stretching a hand towards a bitten pegasus, she froze as several infected grabbed onto him and yanked him away right before her eyes.

“No!” Rainbow screamed, vainly trying to reach across the growing distance as he was pulled away by the monsters. She couldn’t look away. They all fell back into the water, the stallion screaming and flailing madly in an attempt to escape.

He had no chance; there were so many of them. He was dragged under the water, dyeing it crimson with his blood.

The plane suddenly lurched forward, sinking faster and faster. Water quickly filled up the cabin, making the near-impossible task of escaping the infected even more difficult.

Rainbow was starting to panic, struggling to hold onto the seats and not get pulled under by the dozens of grasping hands. The other ponies weren’t so lucky. One by one, all but Rainbow fell victim to the infected, quickly pulled into the water with barely a chance to scream.

Damn it! Rainbow watched as the ponies were ripped apart, unable to do anything lest she share their fate. Biting back her fear, she realized she would need to focus solely on herself if she wanted to survive.

Rainbow began to crawl stiffly over the seats, the water already rising up to her chest and soaking her clothes and her wings. She felt heavier with each passing second, her movements becoming more and more sluggish. I gotta get out of here!

Mere feet from the hole, from safety and escape, she felt a hand grasp tightly onto her shoe. A yelp escaped her just as she was pulled down from the seat and into the water. Her eyes were wide open, but the sheer volume of blood clouding the water made it difficult to see as the infected that grabbed her tried to choke her out. Rainbow thrashed and flailed, throwing a punch into its face. It screeched through the water, trying to force itself past her guard to bite her.

Shit! Get offa me! She tried to throw it off but it wouldn’t budge; the monster’s grip was firm on her shoulders. Heart pounding in her chest, Rainbow could feel her lungs start to burn. She was going to run out of air at this rate!

Help arrived in the form of someone swimming up behind the infected, grabbing onto it, and gouging its eyes out. The scream of pain was muffled by the water as it let go and was kicked away.

Rainbow felt her rescuer grab onto her arm, pulling her up and helping her swim out. She followed, reluctantly leaving behind her fellow ponies and everyone else on board.

They were lost to the depths.

The pair desperately swam for the surface, kicking as hard as they could to reach the oxygen their lungs demanded. With a splash, they finally broke the surface, gasping and sucking in sweet, life-giving air as the bright sun shone down upon them.

Rainbow’s eyes opened up and she saw the beach a fair distance away. Looking behind her, the tail end of the aircraft was sinking below the depths, suitcases and other debris floating up around it. To her right, she saw him—the strange creature staring back at her with a mixed look of bewilderment and happiness in his eyes.

Both of them were silent, just staring at one another as the water washed around them.

No way. Dee gulped as Rainbow turned and swam towards the shore. He wondered why she didn’t just fly out, but he figured that the water was weighing her large wings down. After a moment, he followed in her wake, his mind swimming from what just happened. I gotta be hallucinating or something. Or maybe I died and this is some kind of fucked-up purgatory.

Upon reaching the shore, both survivors crawled onto the sand and took in the scenery around them. The beach stretched in either direction, littered with several dozens of beachgoers’ items—abandoned towels, umbrellas, various types of food wrappings. A rocky outcropping loomed in front of them with tropical flora growing above it, leading further up to what looked like a road. Looking farther right, they both saw the bungalows in the distance, several of them on fire with several more destroyed by the plane’s wing. They had made it to the island’s resort, but it was abandoned as far as they could tell. Not a living soul could be seen.

Dee heaved a sigh and stood up, brushing the sand from his pants and moving his hair out of his face. His eyes flicked over to Rainbow who was looking out into the water, and he grimaced. I saw those ponies get taken down in there… Damn. Dee didn’t know if they were ponies she knew or not, but it no doubt hurt to know that they were gone now. He turned his head towards the stretch of beach that looked to be heading in the direction of some buildings, specifically the bungalows and the hotel that he was supposed to be staying at.

For now though, he was going to panic and freak out.

“Holy fuck!” Dee yelled, running a hand through his hair and looking out towards the water. “The fuck!? What is this shit?!” He didn’t understand what was happening or what was going on. He quickly turned his gaze towards Rainbow, who had been watching him flip out. “How are you even here? Am I losing my mind or something?”

Rainbow recoiled slightly, scanning him up and down before looking him in the eyes. “What are you talking about?” She had no idea what this strange thing was on about. What even is he? He looks sorta like a minotaur, but he doesn’t have any horns… and he’s nowhere near big enough anyway.

Taking a few deep breaths, Dee shook his head and mumbled, “N-never mind.” He turned around and looked towards the bungalow area. His eyes were frantically searching for anyone on the beach, for anyone that might inhabit the island. But he saw no one, even after a second and third look. But that just meant he would have to go further inland to find someone. Damn it. What the hell is going on? First the plane ends up going down because of zombified monsters, then an anthro Rainbow Dash shows up alongside some other ponies and starts fighting the infected.

His day had gone from incredible to incredibly confusing in the span of a couple of hours.

“Jesus tittyfuckin’ Christ,” the human sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t know who or what that it is, but what in Tartarus is going on?” Rainbow questioned him, making him look back at her. “What were those things?” She still had no idea what to make of Dee—if he wasn’t a minotaur, then what was he?

“I… I don’t know what’s going on.” Dee put a hand to the side of his face, trying his damndest to take everything in. Every muscle in his body ached, and his leg burned from the injury he sustained on the flight. Damn it, where is everyone? he grimaced. He was so confused; if this was Hawaii, where was everyone at? No guests on the beach for as far as he could see, no sirens in the air from emergency first responders, and no screams from people in the bungalows they smashed through.

It was silent, save for the gentle crashing of waves against the shore and the calls of tropical birds flying above.

The concern welling up in his gut grew heavier with each passing second. He felt hot and muggy, which only made matters worse. Turning around to face Rainbow, a question for her suddenly died on his lips when he saw the mare had taken off her shirt and tossed it onto the ground, leaving only her soaking wet bra to cover her chest. Rainbow’s bust was rather decently sized for a mare of athletic talents; a modest size that gave her enough for a handful and then some, held in a taut black bikini bra that was sure to draw in a decent amount of looks. She didn’t notice Dee staring while she fished around for something in her pack. Eventually, she pulled out a shirt just as Dee turned away, his face a bright crimson.

Well then… he gulped, listening to the mare slipping on her shirt. Filing away that little image for later, Dee focused on what they had to do now. They had crashed—that much was obvious—onto an island that was supposed to be Hawaii, specifically Honolulu, his original destination.

“We need to find help,” he announced, figuring that perhaps there were people further up ahead. After all, one does not simply miss hearing a 747 crashing through several bungalows.

Hearing the sound of grunting, he turned back around and saw Rainbow wringing out her wet shirt. “Yeah, you do that,” she told him before throwing the shirt into her pack once she was satisfied. Slinging it over a shoulder, she flared out her large wings, giving them a few flaps to clear the water from them. “Thanks for the help and all, but I’m gone.”

After a moment, the mare spoke up, “Look… I have no idea what’s going on, but I need to get my friends,” she told him, making him look back towards her now that she was clothed. “You don’t look like you can fly, and you’re too big for me to carry, so you stay here, okay? Don’t worry, I won’t forget you—you helped me, so I’m gonna help you. I’ll be back in a flash and we’ll get this sorted out in no time!” She nodded, then blasted off from the ground and into the air, leaving behind the afterimage of a rainbow. Dee was given no chance to protest, the power of her takeoff sending him stumbling back from the force of the wind.

Lowering his arms from their protective guard in front of his eyes, he managed to spot the signature rainbow trail of her departure leading off into the skies towards unknown horizons. He didn’t know where she was going, but he hoped she stayed safe… and that she came back as she said she would. Shaking his head, he turned towards the beach that led back to the bungalows. With his new destination in mind, he set out.

Well… shit. I guess I technically made it to Hawaii, but… something’s telling me I’m going to be very disappointed in whatever’s up ahead, he thought to himself as he settled into a light jog. He had been hopeful for a nice week of fun in the sun, but instead he was attacked, the plane had crashed, and now…

Now everyone else on board was dead.

Goddamn tragedy. He looked back at the tail fin of the 747 as it continued to sink. He slowed in case someone else had actually survived and needed help. After a few minutes of waiting, however, he saw nothing but debris and a few bodies.

He resumed his jog, left leg burning from the injury he sustained during the fight on the plane and giving him a pronounced limp. Fuck, I need to get something for my leg, I don’t need it getting infected.

A faint rumble broken into his thoughts. He looked out over the ocean, seeing dark clouds on the horizon. “Is that a storm?”

He had just passed by a couple of changing rooms for beach goers when the first ungodly screech filled the air.

03

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Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Rainbow cursed and growled as she flew through the air, blasting through the thick cloud layers to try and find the airship. Much to her frustration, she couldn’t find any trace of it. Worst of all, she could sense a storm was coming; her pegasi instincts were acting up, hairs standing up on the back of her neck as her feathers felt the drastically different wind currents and temperature changes. It was going to be a bad one, a typhoon if not worse! She needed to find the airship now and turn it away from the storm.

Her hard wingbeats filled the air as she zoomed around, eyes rapidly scanning the skies. She listened for the airship’s distinct engine sound but heard only the increasing wind and lightning. The clouds were already forming on the horizon, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before the monsoon hit the island proper.

Rainbow was confident she and a few fliers could potentially disrupt the storm, possibly veer it away from the island so they could land safely, but she needed to find those fliers first.

Although…

Every cloud she flew through sent shivers down her spine. They weren’t at all like their Equestrian counterparts. None of them were tangible like the clouds of her homeland, she could barely interact with any of them! It was like trying to grab smoke or fog.

“Rainbow!” Lyra’s faint voice carried over the growing winds and the pegasus perked up her ears to try and find the source. “Rainbow! Where are you!?”

“Lyra!” Rainbow called out, looking towards the far left where the island was. She finally saw the airship, but there was a problem.

“Ahhh!” one of the ponies on board screamed as they were taken down by another pony, who immediately began ripping into him with a screech.

The monsters! They were on the airship!

Rainbow shot towards the Celestial Decadence with a powerful flap of her wings, swiftly closing the distance and landing hard on the deck. She saw several earth ponies and unicorns were acting similar to the monsters from the other aircraft. Wide, bloodshot eyes and deadly screeches escaping them as they charged the other ponies on board. Rainbow panicked. “What the hell is going on!?” She turned around just in time to see a pegasus run at her, shrieking for blood.

She yelped and spun on her heel, bringing her leg around in a vicious kick that sent the other pegasus careening towards the side of the airship. Rainbow didn’t waste time before darting away and trying to find her friends. As she looked, she wondered what could have possibly happened while she was gone. Why were these ponies acting this way? They were acting just like the weird alien things on the metal flying thing! She was confused and scared—and she never got scared!

She rushed up the stairs to the stern where the captain would be, throwing open the door before jumping back. The captain was in the doorway, growling and snarling. The mare swiped at her as blood ran down from a recent neck wound. She growled, eyelid twitching. Rainbow was preparing to bolt, to run away and try to find Lyra and the others, but stopped when she heard the captain speak.

“H-help me!” She choked, stumbling and acting as if her body wasn’t obeying his commands.

Rainbow calmed down slightly and said, “J-just stop! I can find something to hel-” She didn’t get to finish her sentence; the captain charged straight at her with a throaty scream. Rainbow stumbled back, unprepared for the sudden attack.

Tang!

The sound of metal on bone echoed as something smashed into the side of the captain’s head, sending teeth and blood flying before she tumbled down the steps. Rainbow looked up from the crumpled body to see Lyra holding a cast iron pan and shivering violently. The mint green mare was covered in droplets of blood, looking terrified.

“S-shit, come on!” She grabbed onto Rainbow’s hand, yanking her up onto her feet.

Once she was up, Rainbow hissed, “Lyra, what the hell is going on!?”

Lyra walked shakily to the banister and stared out over the deck as ponies fought for their lives; she looked to Rainbow to be on the verge of breaking into tears.“I-I don’t know! We were waiting for you to come back, then all of a sudden a pony came running out of the ship and bit another pony! It was so crazy! And now they’re all acting like monsters!” she said in panicked tones.

Her panic only grew when the storm suddenly closed in around the airship. The typhoon was upon them! The winds grew stronger and rain pelted the deck, the dirigible’s overhead air ballonets offering little protection as they swayed perilously back and forth, threatening to turn the entire airship on its side. A handful of unlucky ponies were plucked up by the wind, tossed over the edge to their grave. The rest managed to hold on to anything and everything as the winds forced the vessel closer and closer to the island’s jungle-like expanse of trees.

Lyra and Rainbow held on tightly, the winds rocking the ship as it sailed into the trees. Branches snapped and trees groaned, the ship crashing through palm trees and just missing the rocky cliffside.

Rainbow saw Lyra get snagged by something, falling away with an anguished scream.

“Lyra!” Rainbow cried out. She rushed over to the side before jumping off, catching sight of her friend smacking into a tree branch before sliding off and hitting the sandy trail below. Rainbow swiftly landed on the ground while the airship smashed through more trees, continuing to sail downward towards an unknown area.

The unicorn was curled up on the ground, groaning in pain and gripping her arm with a distressed grimace. “Ahh, shit!” she cursed, struggling not to move to avoid even more pain.

Rainbow rushed over to Lyra as she hissed and growled into the roaring wind.

“Shit, don’t move much,” Rainbow told her, looking left and right for any sign of the monsters she had seen on the plane. There were none in sight, thankfully. She knelt down to Lyra, helping her stand and offering her a shoulder. “Anything broken?”

“I don’t think so,” Lyra wheezed. “Just g-got the wind knocked outta me.” The injured mare took a step forward, wincing and holding an arm to her chest. “Shit.”

Lyra leaned heavily on her friend for support as they both looked forward, hearing a loud crash come from up the pathway along with distant yells. “Damn it...” Rainbow gave a look to Lyra and soon the duo began the trek down the path to the crash site.

After a few moments, Lyra spoke up, “What a trip this turned out to be, eh?” She gave a weak chuckle, wincing afterwards.

“Yeah, no shit...” Rainbow agreed, shaking her head. This was supposed to be a fun, week-long trip for not only herself, but for Lyra and the others on board, too. But all hopes of a fun time had gone up in smoke the second she saw those monsters on that strange aircraft. They had killed the ponies that came with her to help and worse, she realized with shiver, whatever the strange condition that had afflicted them seemed to have somehow spread to their own vessel

“Dash,” Lyra held her arm close to her chest, trying her best not to move it. “What happened out there? You were gone for awhile, and we were worried about ya. And the others that were with you still haven’t come back.” Lyra’s tone was pained but curious about what had transpired on the strange metal aircraft that almost clipped them. “What was that thing, anyway? How did it even fly?”

Rainbow gulped and stared straight ahead as what happened on the aircraft ran through her mind. “I don’t know, but there were some weird pygmy minotaurs or something on that thing, and they were acting strange.” Rainbow thought back to them, how they looked, how they moved, and how they acted. They attacked like crazed animals, that primal look in their eyes made her spine tingle in the worst way. Fear nipped at the back of her mind, and she could tell it plagued Lyra’s as well. Whatever was going on made them both fearful, though they tried not to show it. “No joke, Lyra, They were acting like fucking-”

“-zombies?” Lyra finished for her and Rainbow nodded her head in agreement. “I-is this a necromancer’s island?” She looked around with wide eyes, prompting Rainbow to look over at her.

“Necromancer?” Rainbow rose an eyebrow towards the mare. “You mean like… from storybooks? Those dark mages and stuff that raise like skeletons to fight for them?”

Lyra gave a little nod in response, continuing to lean on Rainbow. “Y-yeah… sorta,” She gulped, looking around in the trees, “Their magic speciality is the dark art of necromancy, or just… raising the dead, skeletons, corpses, doesn’t matter. If you see any shrunken heads or some kind of weird little trinkets hanging from the trees… it’s probably necromancer territory.”

Rainbow shivered a little; raising the dead? That was something she had only read in books, but they existed in Equestria? “So those storybooks are just stories then?”

“No, t-they’re not.” Lyra was nearly quiet now, taking care to watch her step and wincing every now and then. “F-fuck, my side… anywa-way. Necromancers… there might be s-some on this island, if they’re the ones who turned the ponies into z-zombies, they’ll be on this island somewhere, raising corpses to protect their hideouts...”

“I hope there’s not any...” Rainbow thought back to the creatures that were on the plane and the ponies who acted the same way. What had happened to them all was something she wanted to find out. Was it really a necromancer? That seemed the most likely explanation, though it also raised the question of where the necromancer was. Damn it, I need to send Twilight a letter. Rainbow recalled the magic candle she had in her backpack that Twilight had given her.

She would have to use it at some point to tell Twilight what was happening. She needed to get help for everyone who crashed in the airship, not just Lyra and herself. A dozen different thoughts ran through Rainbow’s mind in that moment; foremost among them were worries of what might have happened at the crash site. Images of burning wreckage and dead ponies littering the ground assaulted her mind, and it only made her speed up along the path she was walking.

The duo limped through the jungle, the calls of tropical birds filling their ears alongside the distant sound of crashing waves. Rainbow could make out the faint cries of someone yelling, but she couldn’t tell where exactly it was coming from. The skies were slowly growing darker the more time passed; by the progressively louder sound of the thunder the storm was closing in on the island. Rainbow could sense it was only going to get worse.

No sooner than she realized that when the skies opened up and rain pattered down from above, the deluge quickly soaking them both to the bone and making their clothes feel heavier. They needed to find someplace to hunker down, lest they risk getting caught in the worst of the storm, or possibly even injured by the raging winds that whipped around them with ever-growing strength.

The path down from where Lyra had fallen kept narrowing to the point where they were forced to squeeze between trees and fallen rocks to continue. The sound of waves slowly grew louder as they broke free from the foliage and into a small clearing that had some surfboards and footwear strewn about. A trail of planks and debris from the airship littered the sand further ahead, forcing them to pick their steps carefully.

“Jeez…” Lyra muttered, still holding her arm close as they moved through a narrow gap in some rocks on the opposite side of the clearing. “What are we gonna do, Dash!?” she called over the wind just before lightning struck a nearby tree, making them both flinch hard

“I… I don’t know. If I can get my backpack, there’s a dragonfire candle inside it. I can use it to write to Twilight, tell her what happened to the airship and these zombie-looking… things....” Should probably also tell her about what happened on that other airship, or whatever that thing was, she mentally noted. She was wholly intent on explaining the full situation to Twilight as best as she could before asking her to come help them, hoping she knew a spell or something other trick to cure the nightmarish affliction that seemed to have infected almost everypony.

“So we have to find your bag, and then hope Twilight reaches us in time with answers,” Lyra said without holding out much immediate hope. She fell silent after that, so Rainbow kept the rest of her thoughts to herself.

The path finally opened up to a large expanse of beach littered with more wood, ice chests, glass bottles, and what appeared to be party supplies. To the pair’s immediate right was the airship—most of it, at least.

It had crashed into a rocky outcropping on the edge of the treeline, a dozen feet up from the beach. It was suspended over the sand, slightly tilted and wedged between several thick trees and the rocks. Its hull was badly damaged by the crash and its ballonets looked to be shredded beyond repair; their only way off the island was now lost to them. On the far side of the cliff, a wide overhang extended partway over the water.

Craning her neck to look up at the deck as best she could, Rainbow noticed a pony was lying across the railing, unmoving; directly below him was a reddened patch of sand.

“Celestia have mercy,” Lyra murmured, looking up at the ship, choking back a sudden surge of bile. “Y-you think… anypony else is still on it?”

“I don’t know…” Was all Rainbow could answer, noting that the ship’s entire bow was smashed and splintered. The damage looked pretty bad, but with enough time and knowledgeable ponies, they could possibly repair it. However, that would take a while, given the extent of the damage and what all they had to do to get it airworthy again.

And I bet none of the survivors have any idea how to do that... I don’t either! “I have no idea. If they are, hopefully they’re alive.” Rainbow gulped nervously as she led Lyra over to a nearby rock. “Rest up here, I’m gonna check the ship--don’t worry; I’ll keep you in view at all times.”

After letting Lyra go and giving her a smirk, the unicorn questioned, “You sure you c-can handle yourself?”

Rainbow snorted, flexing her arms and patting the toned muscle there. “I used to box, remember?”

A tiny laugh escaped Lyra, who looked up and said, “So I guess you forgot how to throw that mean right hook when the captain jumped you?”

Both mares froze at that; both reminded of what happened not too long ago.

Clearing her throat, Rainbow spread her sore wings before flying up to the ship. Her normally graceful strokes were tight and shaky, fear’s chilly claws digging deep into her shoulders.

The deck of the airship was thrashed from what she could see. Boards had snapped in half, creating gaping holes leading into the bowels of the ship. Worse, rocks had fallen from the cliff overhang upon the airship’s impact and crushed several ponies who lay motionless. The deflated ballonets acted as a sort of canopy, providing shade across the entire deck. She didn’t see any familiar faces among the bodies, which was relieving and worrisome at the same time. Were the Pie sisters inside? Did Derpy and Dinky fall off somewhere along the way? Or were they all...?

Rainbow couldn’t finish the thought as she dropped carefully onto the deck, the damaged boards creaking under her weight. All was silent, save for the crashing waves nearby, the tropical birds in the sky above, and the storm that had begun to die down. Her eyes flicked back and forth, ears perked up high and straining to hear something, anything at all.

Nothing.

Walking slowly along the deck, she tried not to tremble at the sight of dead ponies lying around her. The concept of death was nothing new to her, but seeing dead bodies this close was more than enough to make her confidence waver. A few painfully long and silent seconds passed before her voice started working again.

“H-hello? Anypony here?”

No response.

She crept up to the door of the main cabin, gripping the knob tightly for a moment before wrenching it open, body tensed and prepared to face another monster. Thankfully, the hall was empty.

Heading inside, she didn’t find much of anything except the stairs leading down to the quarters, the galley, and so on. She continued calling out for anyone to answer, but was met with the same suffocating silence. She tried a new tactic, switching over to the names of ponies she knew were on the ship before everything went to Hell.

“Limestone? Derpy?”

Still nothing.

She cracked open a door, peering inside to see a stallion sprawled underneath a pile of broken wood and glass. A trail of blood snaked along the floor, leading to a gaping hole in the wall that exposed the room to the ocean’s spray. The stallion wasn’t moving, his gray eyes staring straight at the door, straight at Rainbow.

Swallowing her panic, she quickly shut the door, trying to keep her heart from bursting out of her chest. H-holy Celestia. Taking a shaky breath, she turned to face the foreboding stretch of doorways and darkness. Her only sources of light were the beams of sunlight piercing through the cracks in the deck above and the few light crystals that still had some magic left in them.

The remaining doors were all open, the rooms holding neither living nor dead. The ball of fear in Rainbow’s gut only grew heavier as the silence grew stronger. She could hear nothing but her own heartbeat pounding away in her ears. Not even the boards creaked liked the ones above. It was as if sound itself had died, leaving behind a lone mare and a ship full of corpses.

Rainbow sped up her steps, passing room after room, each one empty and quiet. So horribly, deafeningly quiet.

Where were the rest of the ponies? The crew?

“Guys?” she croaked, the word sucked away into the void the moment it left her.

No response.

She didn’t want to check any more rooms. Everything was empty.

A pained, feeble moan briefly cut through the veil of silence. Rainbow latched onto it like drowning sailor to a lifeboat, sprinting down the hall to find the source of that wonderful, awful noise.

She quickly reached the end of the hall, finding another closed door—the only other one. Wrenching the knob in terrified elation, her growing hope stumbled when the door refused to budge.

Rainbow cursed inwardly, twisting it futilely over and over. The crash must have bent the frame; not surprising, considering how close it was to the wrecked bow.

“Hello? Anypony in there?!” Rainbow cried out, pounding the door with a shaking fist.

She held her breath, hoping for something, anything that would tell her she wasn’t alone in a wooden graveyard.

“H-help.”

The voice was faint. It could barely be heard over the combined clamor of Rainbow’s pounding heart and the almighty silence.

But it was a response. She wasn’t alone.

The strangling fear immediately vanished, at last allowing Rainbow to breathe freely. The rush of relief was so strong, she nearly threw up and passed out, but somehow managed to hold onto herself.

“Don’t worry,” she shouted with false bravado, “I’m gonna get you out of there!”

She took two steps back, then threw her entire body into a spinning kick, smashing the door to splinters. This was a first class airship, but the doors were absolutely shoddy. The pieces flew across the room, striking the opposite wall in a series of hollow cracks.

It was music to Rainbow’s ears.

She wasted no time rushing into the trashed room. Nearly every piece of furniture was overturned. The floor was studded with shards of glass from the window, the bed was crushed underneath a heavy support beam. She saw no one inside.

“H-hello? Hey! Anypony in here?”

Another muffled moan. It sounded like it came from under the bed. Dropping to her hands and knees, Rainbow pressed her head to the floor, coming eye to eye with a pair of dull gold irises. Dinky Hooves stared back from her cramped position under the bed. She appeared to be pinned against the floor. “D-Dash?”

“Dinky!” Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. “You okay, kid?”

“I-I’m stuck!” she cried weakly, seeming on the verge of panic. “I can’t get my leg out!”

“Shit... Don’t worry, I got ya,” Rainbow reassured her. “Just hold tight.” She looked around the edges of the bed, noticing two of the legs had snapped from the weight of the beam, trapping Dinky’s leg underneath it. Squatting down slightly, Rainbow grabbed the bed frame and tried lifting, driving her legs into the floor with all her strength. It rose a few inches, but that was all she could manage by herself. Damn it! she growled as the bed slammed back to the floor.

“I-it’s too heavy!” Dinky groaned out. “Agh! I can’t move!”

Shit, I can barely lift this by myself. Come on, Rainbow! Think! She looked up at the beam, trying to see if there was a way to move it. It had broken in two separate places—the first being a complete break and the second only being a partial crack, which caused it to swing down onto the bed. If she could somehow finish off the second break, then she could drag it away and lift the bed. But she was already exhausted from fighting for her life, and the beam looked way too thick... Maybe she could-

A set of rapid footsteps suddenly grabbed Rainbow’s attention. She spun towards the doorway and dropped into a fighting stance, expecting a pony or not-minotaur zombie. Her fears were dismissed when a set of familiar red eyes turned the corner

“Vinyl!”

The white unicorn had obviously seen better days. Her glasses were gone and her club-hopping outfit was tattered and muddy. Rainbow had no idea how she found them, but that didn’t matter at the moment. With Vinyl’s help, she just might be able to lift the bed off of Dinky.

Self-consciously trying to wipe the grime from her hands, Rainbow made a few quick signs to explain the situation, ‘Dinky’s trapped under the bed, can you help me lift this?’

Vinyl’s eyes widened and she ducked down to look under the bed. Popping back up, she gave a quick nod and rushed to grab the corner nearest to Dinky. Rainbow immediately joined her and together they heaved, the bed creaking loudly in protest.

The bed rose slowly, inch by inch, until a loud crack made Vinyl and Rainbow freeze. Dinky whimpered below, still straining to pull her leg free.

“I-is it high enough?” Rainbow gritted out, her arms unable to go any higher. Vinyl looked to be the same, if not worse.

A muted ‘thud’ was her response, and seconds later Dinky crawled between the two mares, breathing heavily. They released the bed with a combined sigh of exertion, not bothering to drop it gently now that Dinky was out of the way. Rainbow looked behind her to see that Dinky had crawled over to the dresser nearby, lying on her back and panting. Rainbow gave a brief nod to Vinyl as thanks, then plopped down next to the teenager.

“You alright kid?” Rainbow asked, scanning Dinky for any major injuries. A few scratches covered her face along with some bruises scattered over her body, barely visible beneath her gray fur. Her thin crop top was torn slightly near the collar and her short shorts had some blood on the hem. Aside from a slight cut, her leg appeared to be uninjured.

“Y-yeah,” Dinky nodded shakily, running a hand through her hair and looking around the room. “My mom… She said to hide under the bed when the other ponies started acting crazy. Then the whole ship shook and… I-I think I passed out. I woke up a few minutes ago with my leg stuck and everypony gone.”

Shit, poor kid. Rainbow rubbed her temples, feeling a bit of a headache coming on for some reason. “A storm hit the ship and it crashed. It’s wedged up in some rocks right now.” She explained. Where the hell is Derpy? And everypony else, for that matter?

Dinky was rarely out of Derpy’s sights, as the mother lived up to the stereotype of overprotective pegasi parents well. So not finding her with her daughter made Rainbow very nervous.

Waving to catch Vinyl’s attention, Rainbow signed again, ‘Did you find anyone else?’

The DJ shook her head sadly. ‘No, I’ve been on my own since the crash.’

“Damn it...” Rainbow muttered. Could everypony be dead? She stood up and walked to the cracked doorway, face creased with worry. “Lyra’s down on the beach. Let’s do one last check of the ship before leaving.” she sighed. “I don’t wanna leave anypony behind.”

Rainbow signed the message to Vinyl, who nodded once and stood to follow, Dinky on her heels. Rainbow was reluctant to poke around for more corpses, but she was very glad to have friends with her this time.

ooo000---000ooo

Lyra sat huddled beneath a tree, gripping her side and trying to ignore the throbbing in her arm while the worst of the storm crept closer.

The winds had picked up, blowing around debris and causing the waves to crash against the shore. The rain was light for now, but she was still soaked to the bone, her hoodie clinging uncomfortably to her body. She knew that she was going to get sick if this kept up, but she didn’t want to leave in case Rainbow needed her. I hope she finds the others soon, this storm is getting really bad!

As if her thoughts had triggered an event, she heard a distant scream.

04

ooo000---000ooo

“Shit! Fuck off!”

Legs burning and heart pumping, Dee sprinted for his life through the jungle, blasting past trees and rocks as he carved a new path to safety. Lightning struck and thunder rolled, rain and wind pouring down and doing everything they could to impede his progress. Behind him—screeches and growls amidst the stomping of rapidly moving feet, and he thought he heard a few actual words tossed in as well.

Bursting free from the treeline, he found himself entering a large beach area. His spark of optimism was dashed immediately as the sound of several more infected emerged from various hiding places—the bushes, dressing huts, just lying prone on the beach; and all of them were wearing swimsuits and other beachwear. Blood marred their bodies like the others, crimson and brackish stained bandages wrapped around their arms and legs. They immediately spotted him and charged. Left with no other option, Dee turned sharply on his heel and angled himself diagonally back into the jungle, avoiding his original path.

From the sweat covering his brow, the pounding of his heart, and his breath coming in short bursts, he knew he couldn’t keep this up much longer. He ignored the fire in his legs and the knives in his lungs. He was not going to die here!

The underbrush leading further inland progressively thinned out, less bushes and palm fronds blocking his path, and Dee found himself on a pathway leading to god-knows-where. Up a hill, past rocks, over a fallen tree, he was chased relentlessly. Just as his body was about to give up, he saw the end of the path—a large, dark gray building right next to what looked like a gas station.

Dee didn’t even question it, instead hiking up his backpack and summoning what little energy he had left in him to keep moving.

“Go! Go! Go!” a voice that struck familiarity with Dee yelled, one he never expected to hear again… mostly because he assumed he’d finally gone insane.

Risking a backwards glance, he spotted Rainbow Dash—still anthro; yep, he was insane—running as fast as she could and carrying a terrified, mint green unicorn mare on her back. Just behind them were another pair of unicorns—a younger, blonde filly and a blue-haired mare, the latter of whom was gripping a thick pole in one hand. Chasing after them were several infected, all screeching for blood.

“Over there!” Rainbow shouted, pointing to the gray building up ahead.

Rainbow, Lyra, Dinky, and Vinyl? Am I hallucinating?! Distracted by the confusing sight and wondering if perhaps, he did eat something that was causing him to see things, Dee didn’t pay attention to where he was going and plowed chest-first into a low-hanging branch. The blow forcibly knocked all of the air out of him, his feet leaving the ground and arcing over his head, causing him to land heavily on his back. His ribs and chest burned and his lungs struggled to bring in oxygen as the growling behind him slowly got louder.

Scrambling drunkenly to his feet, Dee stumbled towards the building as fast as he could go. Just as victory was nearly within reach, he felt something hit him in the back and cause him to land on the ground. A pained gasp escaped him when he landed on his already-bruised chest. Jerking his body around to see whatever was scrambling up his body, panic shot through his mind as he found himself face to face with an infected that began holding him down and trying to bite into him!

“Shit! Get off! Get off!” Dee yelled, holding the snapping jaws at bay with one hand on its forehead, the other on its neck and gripping hard to keep it away.

The rest of the infected—from what he could see, were lagging behind, but they were closing in quickly. Even if he somehow escaped the grasp of the one on top of him, he was too drained to keep running for very much longer.

Was this it? Was this how it all ends?

Dee’s life flashed before his eyes…

And by Odin’s tits, it was really fucking boring.

The snapping jaws were inching closer to his face, sending fear through his mind. “Shit! Shit! Augh!” It was close, so terribly close to biting him and possibly infecting him with whatever mutating disease caused all of this mayhem.

THWACK!

The sound of wood smacking against bone rang out as the infected’s head snapped to the side, skin splitting and blood flying as a snarl left its maw. Grip loosening on him, he seized the opportunity to escape; Dee squeezed his legs up under the infected and kicked it hard, sending it flying back. Finally looking for had rescued him, Dee saw his savior and once more questioned his sanity.

V-Vinyl Scratch?

Deciding to deal with his deteriorating mental state after he got out of the chase alive, Dee rolled stiffly to his feet before turning to the mare.

“What are you-?! Gah! Whatever, let’s go!“ he shouted, waving for her to follow him. The two ran towards and around to the front of the building just in time to see the large doors closing—someone was already inside and about to lock them out!

Dee didn’t hesitate to use what little of his strength he had left to run at the door and ram shoulder first into it, forcing it open briefly while the ponies came up behind him. “Don’t you dare fuckin’ close this door!”

“Hey! Buzz off, man! This is our hidin’ place!” a man inside yelled back.

Dee growled and threw himself at the door again. He needed to get it open!

“Go away!” another voice from inside yelled.

“Let us in!” Dee pounded on the door and tried to force it open further so he could slip through. He wasn’t going to die! Not when safety was so fucking close!

The sound of stampeding feet sounded behind him and he knew the two unicorns behind him finally joined in, slamming against the door and pushing on it. Their combined efforts created a gap just wide enough to slip into. Dee being the wiggliest of the bunch forced himself through the gap and shoved away whoever was blocking the door. A startled yelp and he got inside and pulled the door open allowing the mares behind him to follow and get inside.

The inside was surprisingly spacious, basically being a single room—probably a vehicle maintenance building. Rainbow zipped inside with a flap of her wings just before Dee closed the door again. Turning around, they saw a group of a half-dozen or so people staring at them, some armed and others just hiding.

“What the fuck!?” the first man yelled, eyes wide at the sight of the ponies. “You lettin‘ in dem freaks?! You fuckin’ moron!”

“A loud shriek from the back, “Oh my god! Get away!”

Some within the group screamed in fear, rushing to the back of the room past shelves filled with junk and spare parts. Others up front grabbed whatever they could find to defend themselves with; pipes and sticks, even a shovel and hammer!

These people weren’t playing around.

“Damn it! Gimme the bat!” shouted an athletic man in a lifeguard uniform.

A dull boom resounded through the building causing even more panic and chaos, the mass of infected had finally made it to the door and were trying to get inside!

“Fuck!” Dee cried out upon almost losing his grip on the door, they were pushing hard! Dee, Dinky, and Vinyl pushed back against the door as hard as they could. He swore he felt the door slipping and the growls of the infected only made it worse! Thankfully they somehow managed to get it completely closed before throwing the lock down with a loud clunk. They backed away as the snarling monsters slammed against the door, their combined might nearly breaking the hinges and making the door buckle in the middle.

Fuck, that was close.

Tearing his gaze away from the bent metal, Dee was going to start asking questions and possibly chew someone out for trying to keep them locked outside.

Seeing the lifeguard running at Rainbow with a bat changed his mind.

“Raaah!” he yelled, taking a wild swing at the mare.

“Whoah!” Rainbow ducked out of the way, scrambling back from where she had set Lyra down next to a nearby table. She backpedaled to the wall, eyes wide at the glaring man. “What the fuck dude?! Put that down!”

“Goddamn freaks!” The man took another wild swing at her, grunting loudly when his target dodged again.

Dee jumped in and pushed the man back. “Chill the fuck out!” he yelled. A swift kick to the stomach was his swift reply, sending Dee stumbling back with a pained yelp and coughing violently.

“You bastard!” The man stood over Dee and held the bat high above his head.

Dee threw up his arms and tried to scramble away as the man swung down hard-

Crack!

His eyes shot open to witness Vinyl had come to the rescue once again, knocking the bat aside with her pole. Dee watched helplessly as the man threw a kick at her, but Vinyl jumped back, causing the man to stumble from his own momentum, then she jumped back in, raising her leg up and kicking out her heel into his gut to get him to back up. Hard. He flew through the air and into a large shelf, the entire structure and all of its contents collapsing on top of him.

Dee groaned and painfully rolled over to his knees. He saw Dinky hiding near Lyra after a quick look around, the older mare groaning and trying not to move due to whatever injuries she must have sustained. Slowly getting onto his knees, he heard Rainbow growl at the aggressive group of people.

“What’s the big idea?!” Rainbow demanded angrily, her wings flared.

“What the hell is that thing!?” the lifeguard hissed to a burly black man in a mechanic’s outfit.

The mechanic shook his head, frowning as he twirled the pipe he was wielding. “I dunno, but it’s fuckin’ ugly!”

“Hey! Fuck you!” Rainbow flipped them the bird at them and Vinyl gripped her pole tighter, both glancing at each other. “Stupid stallion! We’re just trying to get away from those things!”

“Shoulda stayed out there you goddamn freaks!” The life guard pointed his bloodied bat at her. “We don’t need you coming in here and infecting us! We got enough problems already!” Rainbow visibly bristled from what Dee could see, looking ready to tear them all to pieces.

“Dad! They’re trying to get in!” a girl screamed from the back. Immediately, everyone turned to the back of the building. There was a door for employees that was left wide open and Dee could only assume the infected from outside were approaching fast and intended on breaking through the fence that surrounded the back. The mechanic cursed and ran to close the door, locking it shut just in time. He then braced himself against the door, shortly joined by one of the other women.

“Listen here stallion, we’re staying here whether you like it or not!” Rainbow growled out, slashing a hand through the air in defiance. “And if you got a problem with it? Well, too fuckin’ bad!”

“You wanna go bitch?! I’ll fucking kill you!” The lifeguard swung his bat threateningly at them. Vinyl’s eyes were flicking between as many of the other humans as fast as they could, her body was twitchy but she looked ready for a fight with Rainbow looking keen on starting one. “I killed a bunch of those things! I have no problem killing a freak like you!”

Rainbow’s wings flared out as Dee finally stood up, coughing still and glaring at them. “I’m a fuckin’ Wonderbolt and you’re just a stallion, you couldn’t kill me even if you tried!” the mare yelled back, fists clenched. “I don’t wanna hurt you though, I know how fragile stallions are.”

“Try me!” The lifeguard looked ready to charge, as did Rainbow.

“Guys! Can we not-” Lyra called hoarsely before falling into a coughing fit. Dinky hesitantly put a hand on her back, rubbing it slightly. “W-we have bigger p-problems!” Lyra pleaded between coughs.

Dee knew Lyra was right, with all of the yelling and fighting going on, they were drawing in more of them! He stepped in between the lifeguard and Dash, holding out his hands to both.

“Fuckin’ cool it!” he yelled, his voice almost cracking. He was shaky, body aching and legs about to buckle under his weight. All of the running and getting hit had worn his body out, he wouldn’t be able to move much longer. “She’s right, we have way bigger problems than this shit right now!” When no one said anything, he added, “We need t-”

He was cut off by a blinding pain in the back of his skull, causing him to drop heavily to the floor like a sack of rocks. A loud ringing in his ears made it difficult to discern the words being thrown around.

“Y- … -hole!”

“Shu- … -p!”

Blinking past the pain, Dee could see the blurry outline of a person waving around some long object. A furry white knee suddenly entered his vision and it took him a few seconds to recognize Vinyl was kneeling next to him. Head feeling like it had been cracked open, another painful throb made him groan and tenderly hold the back of his noggin, wincing from the flash of pain lancing through him. The ringing finally dissipated enough to let him hear somewhat clearly, but it still sounded like he was listening through a pair of earplugs.

“Y-you’re freaks! Get the fuck out of here! This is our hiding spot!” It was the lifeguard who yelled that.

Someone snorted near him. “No fuckin’ way! We’re not going back out there!” Rainbow, it sounded like, her scratchy voice all too familiar to him.

While they continued their shouting match, Dee once more found himself struggling to get to his feet. The back of his head throbbed again and he felt a warm trickle run down his neck, setting off warning bells. Shit, I’m bleeding… Did that fucker hit me when I wasn’t looking? He couldn’t remember that well.

His vision still a blurred mess of colors, he could hear Rainbow and the lifeguard yelling at each other to his left and the sounds of the growling and snarling infected to his right. They were still banging up against the door, relentlessly trying to force it open and get at everyone inside—the terrifying thought of them rushing inside flashed through his eyes, horrid images of the mares being ripped apart...

Crunching and gnawing away…

Killing them or worse, turning them into other infected.

A woman walked forward, gripping a sledgehammer and wearing a bright orange vest and a hard hat; she must have been a construction worker before rushing into the building. “Let’s just kill them and be done with it! We don’t need any more people!”

“W-we’re just trying to hide! J-just like y-you!” Dinky pleaded off to the side, still crouched next to a still injured Lyra. “Those m-monsters tried to kill us! Please d-don’t throw us out to them!”

Dee saw as Lyra winced and his gaze turned back to the others; he counted at least four of them that were armed and angry enough to try attacking them, while the ones more towards the back were hiding out of sight.

The banging noise that sounded against the door just made things worse for all of them as more infected seemingly joined the others outside, increasing their numbers and the amount of stress they were putting on the door, further weakening it. Everyone was arguing, yelling, screaming, or otherwise threatening a fight while Dee was just trying to stand up.

They needed to stop, now, or things wouldn’t end well for any of them.

And he didn’t plan on getting eaten alive!

“G-guys, shut up!” Dee yelled over the clamor of the group. Immediately after, he heard a loud creaking noise which prompted his attention. Upon looking over to the door he saw the lock was beginning to buckle under the combined might of the infected, causing the door to slowly warp and tremble. He shakily stayed on his feet as the door struggled to stay closed, but it wouldn’t be long until it was ripped down! “Guys!” he screamed at them all. “Shut the fuck up! They’re trying to open the door!”

Sadly, they didn’t listen.

“Oh fuck this, I’m outta here!” a man who was previously-silent in the back yelled out, running over and throwing open the back door before sprinting outside amidst the yells from the other people to stay inside. “Every man for himself!”

“Carlos! You dumbass!” the lifeguard shouted after him. Dee watched as Rainbow decided to seize the opening she was given and shot forward with a flap of her wings, slamming her fist into the back of the man’s head and knocking him to the floor. She didn’t even hesitate before shoving the other men away with a swift attack.

“Come on, guys! We need to leave right now!” Rainbow called to everyone, already in the doorway and ushering them over.

A pained groan and Dee felt a surge of something in his body, a sudden burst of energy flooding through his legs and arms; his second wind! He made his way over to the downed Lyra and Dinky, leaning down to grab onto her good arm. “Up and at’em!” Dee attempted to lift her up to get them going, but his previous injuries made that a crapshoot and he just made both of their injuries worse, a sudden wave of pain making him double over again.

So much for that second wind...

Thankfully, Vinyl rushed over to aid them and lifted Lyra up onto her back, sparing Dee the weight and further embarrassment. Swallowing the pain and utilizing what energy he had left, he followed after them with Dinky trailing close behind him. It didn’t take long before the other men tried to regroup and attack, yelling and cursing as the door ended up buckling at long last. But they were already hauling ass for the back door and outside to freedom, away from the infected and the other survivors.

Once through the door and into the bright tropical sun, he saw Rainbow flying up over the fence that surrounded the back perimeter. Dinky had no trouble scaling it herself, vaulting over like a little pro. But that left Dee who had to help Vinyl with Lyra, because there was no way she could carry the other unicorn over by herself. They tried letting Lyra use the boxes nearby as steps to climb up, but the moment she grabbed the fence, she flinched and grabbed her ribs.

“A-ah, my side,” she hissed and whimpered, ears folding back, “I don’t think I can do this!”

“Shit, hey! Come get her!” Dee waved at Rainbow to get her to come back, the mare turned around and shot over the fence before he could blink and left her afterimage a bit ahead. She got Lyra onto her back and climbed up and over the fence, a zip of her impressive speed and she made it up and over safely on the other with Vinyl and Dee to follow soon after.

Being in much better condition, Vinyl made it over quickly, leaving Dee halfway up. Before he could reach the top, however, he felt something smash into his back, making him cry out in pain and almost fall back. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the lifeguard below him, angrily wielding his baseball bat!

“Fuckin’ bastards! You let them inside!” He raised his bat, prepared to strike again!

Dee furiously kicked at his assailant before he could use his bat, forcing him back and allowing him to scramble over the fence to safety. Panicked wheezing escaped him as he dropped to the ground on the other side, climbing onto his feet to follow the mares to the neighboring gas station.

Just as he started to run- more like limp, he looked up and saw a sign sitting above the roadway for drivers to see. It was rather unremarkable looking in design, but the words—more specifically, a single word—caught his eye.

That one word chilled him to the bone and made him run even faster.

Making his way over to the station was a damn chore, but he managed to make it as Rainbow kicked aside a slow moving infected and over to the front door. She kicked it open once he approached, and he rapidly scanned the inside as he entered beside her. He saw one sluggish-looking walker inside near the vending machine, but not much else in terms of threats.

Dee held the door open, ushering the ponies inside as Rainbow moved in. Once they were inside, he quickly moved to shut the door and lock it.

Safe at la-

Just as it was about to close, however, something rammed into it, sending Dee stumbling back into some shelves and knocking them over with a pained yelp. Before he could recover fully, the group from before rushed inside, led by the blood-covered lifeguard.

“Fuckin’ barricade the door and windows!” he ordered. The people immediately followed orders, swiftly moving to secure one side of the station despite a few of them limping from whatever they had suffered.

Dee clambered back to his feet as Dinky rushed towards a set of windows. “There’s so many of them!” she cried.

Growling to himself and grabbing a fallen set of shelves, Dee put aside his anger at the other humans and rushed to help block things up. “Block the windows and lock the door! Now!” Vinyl ran over to help him lift it before giving him a questioning look. Dee frantically gestured from the shelves to the window, and thankfully Vinyl quickly made the connection and helped him lift it up.

The duo slid it over to the window Dinky was at, prompting her to move and run to the back, hiding behind the register with Lyra, who was lying on the floor with a pained expression on her face. As he was dragging the shelves, Dee noticed Rainbow moving to barricade a different set of windows.

Despite the two groups’ anger towards one another, they pushed it all aside to secure the windows and doors as fast as they could. Their combined instinct to survive this madness was strong, and damn it all if they were gonna die because of a petty fight with one another.

Outside, Dee saw infected emerging from the jungle foliage, all of them being former tourists and beachgoers now mad for blood. They ran past cars, vaulting over the hoods as they honed in on the gas station like flesh-seeking missiles. They reached the building just as the barricades were completed, slamming their bodies against the doors and clawing at the windows to get inside to no avail.

Back inside, the lone walker shuffled over to the mechanic and attacked, nearly biting into him.

Probably should have dealt with him first.

“Ahhh! Get it off me!” The man was pushed up against the shelves by the undead monster, struggling to free himself after dropping his only means of defense.

Dee grabbed a nearby bottle of booze sitting on the shelf behind him, smashing it against the wall and shattering it into a deadly weapon before running over to the man. He shoved past the lifeguard before grabbing the walker by a shoulder and raising his makeshift weapon he stabbed the walker in the head. The broken glass cut deep into the rotted flesh, making it growl fiercely and try to turn around and attack. He stabbed again before wrestling it away from the burly man and down to the floor, causing them both to fall.

He kept stabbing; once-twice-thrice, he didn’t stop until the walker’s head was nothing more than bloodied mulch on the floor and his clothes were covered in brackish ooze. The walker was dead now, but the infected had cornered them once again in a building with no immediate way out.

Looking up, he saw that both groups were tensed and ready for a fight, eyeing each other warily. Rainbow and the lifeguard looked ready to throw down, fires raging deep in their eyes. Dinky was kneeling with Lyra behind the counter, the young filly’s face one of sheer terror. Vinyl was next to Rainbow, glaring at the humans and ready to get Rainbow’s back if a fight just so happened to break out. The rest of the humans were huddled together on the other side of the station, gripping their weapons and glaring back.

Dee was caught in the middle of it all, trying to stay alive while the infected tried to get inside. He wasn’t sure what the fuck just happened, or why this was happening to any of them, but at least he knew where he was now. Much as he wished he didn’t...

The world famous resort in Dead Island…

Banoi.

05

ooo000---000ooo

Fuck me, Dee sighed as he sat inside the gas station, eyes locked on the crudely barricaded windows and door as his ears tuned in to the sounds of wailing infected outside.

It had been a rough few hours since both groups of survivors had taken refuge in the station, fleeing from the relentless undead horde out for them all. Once inside they were forced to fight back the monsters from trying to get in—something that was easier said than done due to how many there were pushing up against the entrance.

Thankfully they had all managed to survive the onslaught, in part because they had emptied more store shelves and added them to the barricades which had held up surprisingly well for how many were outside. The majority of their “defense” was comprised of shelves and heavy floor coolers, yet it had proven to be a decent enough protection against the infected.

With nearly everything shoved to the front, the inside was now much more spacious as a result. Even so, it did little to relieve the tension everyone was feeling. Fighting for your life tended to make people a little high-strung, Dee had noted, though it had also forced an uneasy truce between the humans and ponies.

Both groups were keeping to their own respective corners of the gas station. The ponies were huddled up behind the counter at the back left; Dinky and Rainbow were kneeling by Lyra’s side and bandaging up her arm as best they could—apparently, from what he had learned, the green mare had fractured it during a nasty fall when airship crashed. Vinyl was standing guard in front of them with her bloodied pole, still a bit distrustful of the other group after the brief fight in the garage.

The other human survivors were all sitting on the floor near the fridges on the right side, the lifeguard and burly mechanic glaring at the ponies and acting as the guards, armed with their baseball bat and wrench respectively. There were more survivors, but Dee figured they probably didn’t make it to the station in time.

And Dee himself was just sitting in front of the door, smack in the middle of the room and not talking to either side. He was just trying to get his thoughts in order about everything, his mind a hurricane of confusion and curiosity.

I gotta be high as fuck or something. This can’t be real… can it?

He was struggling to grasp the dawning realization of his current reality. That sign he had seen earlier... It was just a welcome sign for people heading into the resort—the Royal Palms Resort of Banoi Island, a world-famous island resort known for its sandy white beaches, lush jungles, and incredibly beautiful sights.

Now, it was a zombie-infested hellhole. One Dee and the others were trapped in for the foreseeable future.

But the zombies weren’t the strangest part. No, the strangest part was that Banoi Island even existed in the first place.

Dee knew for a fact that it was a fictional island in a fictional universe, yet it all felt so real. The wind from the storm, the rainwater that soaked his clothes down to the skin, the injuries that stung throughout his body like pinpricks. It was all so real. So very, very real. But despite what his body was telling him, his mind still couldn’t grasp onto the one simple fact that this was his reality right now.

He was in a damn video game world, one he enjoyed but didn’t exactly want to end up in, trapped on a zombie filled island with anthropomorphic ponies from a cartoon he also enjoyed immensely.

Dee could still see it in his mind, the sign welcoming visitors to Banoi Island’s Royal Palms Resort with a picture of a smiling family on the beach and the words, Royal Palms Resort! Fun in the sun for the whole family!

Goddamn it.

Dee rubbed his face before standing up and stretching stiffly. Moving over to the window, he hesitantly peeked out into the lot. There were a couple of sedans and pickups, most of them in bad shape. Trunks were left open, luggage thrown out, gas cans strewn about. There were also several dozen infected wandering around, twitching, fighting one another in their viral induced rage, some even running off screeching into the tunnel leading to the city of Moresby.

Shit… I don’t see a damn thing that could help us. He knew the location fairly well. The station was near the tunnel in the game, ‘Dead Island’, a zombie game that focused on getting off of the island resort known as Banoi. But there were plenty of subtle differences between “reality” and the one in the game. Not going easy on me, are you? A frown marred his face as he continued to scan the surrounding area. There’s the garage we came from over to the left, the gas station, and… is that the spare parts building? Shit, if only one of these cars was in decent enough condition, we could just plow right through them and get away.

He knew it wouldn’t be nearly that easy, however, given that if enough undead got in their path they’d end up breaking down or getting stuck on top of a pile of writhing bodies.

And eaten alive, of course, can’t forget that.

Dee sighed before turning away from the window, careful not to make any noise that would draw the attention of the infected outside. He began taking stock of their current supplies—chocolate and fruit snacks, energy bars, energy drinks, and various other junk foods like chips and such were scattered across the floor from their haste to block the entrances. The idea to gather up everything and store it into the backroom came to mind and he hastily went about picking up most of it, he figured they should store it instead of leaving it around.

He noticed a few of them watching what he was doing, eyes wide and flickering with suspicion.

It only took a moment for someone to speak up. “What the fuck are you doing?” the lifeguard questioned him, and when Dee glanced over at him, saw the man was frowning deeply.

Picking up a empty shopping bag, Dee started tossing more of the fallen food into it. “We don’t know how long we’re gonna be stuck in here,” he responded briefly before heading towards the door to the back room. He moved past Vinyl Scratch, who only have him a brief glance that thankfully wasn’t hostile, it was more curious than anything.

Dee opened up the door, peering into the room to find that it was decently stocked with boxes of supplies; snack foods and bottles of energy drinks. Not enough for an extended siege but there was enough that it would last them enough time to potentially wait out the infected. “We need to make sure we can survive long enough to figure a way out of this mess,” he told the man as he set the bag down on a shelf. I’m not sure how long this’ll last us, given the numbers.

“We got plenty of food,” the lifeguard told Dee, who turned around to face the man who was glaring straight at him. “So don’t be messin’ with shit you don’t know anything about.”

Dee narrowed his eyes, pinpricks of irritation creeping up his spine. “Look, we need to be careful about how we handle what few supplies we got stuck in here with. There’s a decent amount now, but there’s-” He did a quick head count of how many survivors there were, four ponies, five humans, “-nine of us here inside this cramped ass station. Those numbers plus what little food we have in here don’t add up for the long run.”

The lifeguard’s mouth morphed into a deep frown, eyes glaring into Dee’s own. “Don’t be fuckin’ around with our food, you punk,” he growled, poking Dee’s chest with his bat and causing him to flinch. “I’m in charge here! And I’m telling you t-”

“Says who?” Cut in a voice.

Looking over, Dee saw Rainbow Dash glaring from the doorway and staring straight at the lifeguard.

“Says me you freak! Now shut up before I decide you’re not worth keeping around!” the lifeguard threatened, waving his bat towards her.

“If anything, I should be in charge of this shitshow!” She stood up angrily and tried to move past Vinyl, who had to hold her back from starting another fight with the man. “I’m a Wonderbolt Lieutenant! And what are you? A male lifeguard?! Please!” she spat. “Why don’t you let someone who knows what they’re doing be in charge, eh?”

Eyelids twitching, the lifeguard’s knuckles turned white as the grip on his bat grew tighter. “Wanna repeat that, you bitch?”

“You heard me! You’re just a stallion! I’m a fuckin’ Wonderbolt!” Rainbow shouted and balled up her fists, Vinyl struggling to wrestle her back. “And a mare to boot, punk!”

“Bitch!” The lifeguard looked ready to charge her, face screwing up in anger.

Everyone was silenced when the only human women of the group hissed at them all, “Everyone be quiet! Those things can hear us!” At that declaration, they all turned towards the front and saw a few infected clawing at the windows again, rattling loose metal and knocking glass onto the floor.

Standing tall-despite the lingering pain in his body, Dee took charge during the lull in conversation. “She’s right, we need to be quiet.” Dee hissed as he pushed past the lifeguard, glaring back at him. “And if you want to be the leader here, then you better fuckin’ act like one.” He grabbed another bag and continued picking up the discarded supplies that had been left on the floor to put into the back room, going about organizing most of it.

No one said anything after that… opting instead for silence.

ooo000---000ooo

The gas station had grown incredibly quiet after the group’s minor outburst, everyone agreeing to an angry silent truce so as to not cause so much noise and draw in the finected. They didn’t want to draw in dozens more of the monsters that had chased them into a literal corner.

For now, after some explanation from Dee, he had told them their best bet was to conserve their supplies and remain quiet… and pray the infected horde would eventually wander away after not getting what they wanted.

Dee didn’t know if this would happen or not, but it was something worth hoping for.

The lights inside the station were turned off to try and give off the appearance of no one being inside, shrouding them all in darkness as the street lights outside still flickered and buzzed, bathing the road in golden light. But the station itself was in the dark...

Inside the building, Rainbow Dash was sleeping fitfully next to an equally fitful Lyra. The pegasus’ mind kept turning to her other friends who were on the airship when it crashed, the ones she hadn’t found in time before Lyra cried out that there were monsters coming for them.

Derpy, Dinky, Marble, and Limestone…

What happened to them?

Did they fall out during the storm? Were they crushed after they fell in the jungle somewhere?

Rainbow couldn’t rest well knowing they could still be out there somewhere...

ooo000---000ooo

In a giant, cramped-looking city situated on a sort of large river that separated two sections of the city, Derpy sat huddled under the roof of a balcony as the night time storm raged over the island. The winds had grown too fierce for her gentle spirit to fly in, forcing her to land and take shelter despite her wishes. The rain was coming down harder as well, making her feel cold, wet, and miserable to boot.

This trip was supposed to be something special for her and Dinky, a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Haywaii resort. It was going to be a wonderful time for both of them, sunshine, white sandy beaches, a special birthday gift. For Derpy, it was a welcome escape from dealing with her coworkers’ antics and an early birthday present for her daughter, who was turning eighteen in just a few days. She had saved up all of her bits for this weekend vacation for the two of them, working day after day for two jobs just to get this opportunity.

But for some strange reason, Celestia, Luna, or perhaps both saw fit to punish them for whatever sin they had committed, inflicting this hellish nightmare upon them all.

It started on the airship—some ponies had begun acting strangely, almost savage. Disturbed looking, mumbling insane things as their bodies grew sickly in appearance. They started attacking anyone they saw shortly after—one of them even tried to get Dinky. Derpy yelled for her to hide while she desperately fought him off. He was thrashing and growling fiercely, trying to bite at her like a wild animal with rabies. With the savage pony now focused solely on her, Derpy retreated out of the room, leading him away from Dinky, away from her baby.

She was chased out onto the deck before the pony finally caught up near the edge of the ship. He grabbed her shoulders, once more trying to sink his teeth into her and take a chunk with him. Derpy frantically jerked away, breaking free when she shoved off the railing. The pony instantly lunged again, driving their combined weight into the already-damaged wood. It snapped hard, sending them both tumbling through the air.

The savage pony still clung to Derpy, preventing her from spreading her wings. She thrashed as hard as she could to escape, his hold gradually weakening until she finally slipped out and kicked him away. She managed to get her wings out, slowing her descent while the other pony continued to plummet towards the ground. Derpy didn’t bother with him, her instincts focused entirely on Dinky instead. She turned so she could fly after the airship.

The one she could no longer see.

Dark clouds obscured her view in every direction, thundering and booming. She lost her bearings twisting around in the air, so she didn’t even know which way it had gone. Left with no other choice, Derpy picked a direction and started flying it in the hopes of finding the airship. She had to find it!

She didn’t… and so here she was, hunkered down in some alien city with tears staining her cheeks and blurring her vision. She was cold. She was wet. She was miserable. Her surroundings weren’t helping matters much. The buildings were cramped together, creating tight alleyways and dozens of choke points to get lost in. Trash was strewn everywhere from overturned trash cans and overflowing dumpsters. The air was hazy with smoke from burning garbage piles and strange-looking carriages that had crashed and they were everywhere; the streets choked with them for blocks in every direction. Most of them were crushed and broken down, as if something had tried to tear them apart from the outside to get at whoever was inside.

And worst of all were the creatures wandering around in the streets below.

There were so many of them running through the streets, screaming, bashing down doors, chasing after the few carriages that were still moving. The carriages’ wheels would squeal when they turned sharp corners, some of them not making it and crashing into metal poles that were emitting light, smashing into the walls, or one another. Whenever that happened, sporadic pops and cracks sounded from everywhere. It was a distinct sound that resembled lightning or fireworks, yet it was completely different at the same time.

With teary eyes Derpy peered over the edge once more, one eye managing to focus enough to see clearly at what was happening down below. She focused on the strange monsters, watching as dozens of them sprinted towards a group of creatures that looked nearly identical to them. They were both ape-like, but one group was moving in a sharp, almost animalistic way—just like the ponies from the airship.

Many of the non-wild creatures were quickly chased down and torn into, screaming in fear and pain so loudly that it hurt Derpy’s ears to listen. A part of her wanted to help them, but how could she against these horrifying monsters that tore into whoever they wanted without hesitation!? She was more terrified than she’d ever been; she felt like she was going to have a panic attack if this kept on.

Her eyes—well, her good eye—flicked over to the canal that cut through and divided the city. Across the water, she had a clear view of the buildings on the opposite shore, a single suspension bridge connected the two portions of the city, but it was blocked off at both ends, one side by a few overturned carriages, the other by a pair of larger, bulky ones that looked like they had been purposefully placed. The large ones bore a symbol that Derpy recognized as some kind of law enforcement; it looked very similar to the police back home. There were more creatures over there as well, “normal” ones, trying to hold off the monsters near the bridge with their strange weapons.

Derpy swallowed the thick lump in her throat when another scream reached her ears. Dinky, I hope you’re safe, she silently prayed to the Two Sisters, despite her fears of them having punished them for something. She couldn’t bear the thought of her only child being mauled to death by these things. It was a disturbing thought, a frightening one even, one that brought more tears to her eyes and one that she couldn’t get rid of. She wiped away her tears and quietly sniffled before ducking back into her hiding spot, her heart was unable to take anymore of the chaos down in the streets.

What sort of hell did they end up in?!

I n-need to calm down. Derpy turned and looked at the door that led inside the building. Derpy had snuck a look through the window and found the room inside was rather cramped looking. Two bunk beds filled with clutter, dozens of baskets strewn out on the floor, blankets hung up as makeshift walls, books, magazines, trinkets, personal treasures and so on cluttering the shelves, floor and tables. She couldn’t imagine anyone living in such a state, and yet…

Not wanting to stay outside anymore with the monsters and screams, as well as a desire to just get out of the rain, she stood and went over to the door before opening it up. It creaked slightly—the hinges rusty from years of disrepair. She noted that only a single flimsy screen door was all that stood between the people inside and monsters outside. Derpy couldn’t help but wonder how this would hold up against a dozen of those running monsters.

Thankfully she was up a few floors...

She gulped before moving inside, the fear of something possibly being inside welling up in her heart... it was hard not to be afraid after what she had seen in the streets, the blood and mayhem. Her entire body felt rigid, her legs were shaky and palms sweaty. Her fight or flight instinct was wanting to kick into flight—she knew she couldn’t fight to save her life… Her wings begged her to take flight, to act on her instincts and get away, to find Dinky and hide somewhere away from these monsters.

The inside of the room was just as cramped as it looked from the outside, forcing her to tighten her wings against her back to keep them from snagging on something and knocking it over, potentially alerting someone or something inside to her presence. Derpy still didn’t know if anyone was inside… which made her feel bad for not knocking on the door first, but given the current circumstances she was just going to risk it.

Derpy gulped, timidly wringing her hands together. She tried to focus her eyes to look around, but her other eye decided to go its own route and mess up her vision once more. A shake of her head remedied that before she knocked on the wall of the room a few times, a soft thump against the wood. “...h-hello?” She called out with some hesitation lacing her gentle voice and waited for someone to answer her, perhaps berate her for entering the room without their permission.

A full minute of pure gut wrenching silence later, and no one answered her call.

Tentatively she walked over to the door leading into the hall and slowly peeked out, looking both ways. She saw more baskets sitting around filled with odd little fruits. The door at the end of the hall to her right was hastily barricaded with boards nailed over it and a couch laying up against it for added measure. A look to her left and she saw a couple of doors and a washer/dryer combo with some clothes lying on the floor, discarded before they could be washed and producing a funky scent that hit her nose.

Another constricting swallow and the mare stepped into the hall, hugging herself as her tennis shoes made a slight squeak with each step against the floorboards, aside from the muffled cracks and pops outside and those ghastly screeches from the monsters, it was the only sound inside the room. Derpy needed to find Dinky and get away from this damned island, she needed to get them both away from here as fast as possible.

But where was her precious daughter?

The mailmare reached a cluttered kitchen, ransacked and filled with old empty containers for food and drinks. She saw so much junk and garbage it made the inner housekeeper inside her flinch. Derpy moved past some of it, stepping on empty candy bar wrappers and producing a crinkling noise. “Hello?” Another gentle announcement to whoever may have been inside the apartment, but she heard nothing. If the door was blocked off, then there had to be someone inside.

Right? There wasn’t any other place to get out, unless they had wings and flew off from the balcony...

Turning a corner, the mare checked the dining room which was likewise cramped and small. A small table with three chairs sat around it, an ashtray with cigarettes and playing cards was all that was in the room. She left it alone before moving on to the next room.

The final room was a bedroom that led into a small bathroom with a closed door. The bed was horribly unmade with some bags lying on it packed with a few clothes and cans of food and bottles of water. Golden eyes blinked before shaking her head to get her bad eye to focus on what was in front of her, instead of going off on its own adventure like it did on occasion. The closet nearby appeared to be broken into, the doors smashed down and...

She gasped, hands flying to her mouth and eyes widening in shock.

A trail of blood leading away from the closet to the bathroom. Her body trembled violently and her heart was beating fast. The trail led across the stained carpet right to the closed bathroom door where she noticed the light was on through the gap between the door and the floor, the light must have been broken, as it was flickering on and off...

Swallowing bundle of fear collecting in her throat, the mare walked over to the bathroom door. A few moments passed before three gentle knocks sounded once more. “H-hello?” She called out gently. Maybe she was mistaken! Maybe it wasn’t blood, maybe it was punch!

Yeah… spilled punch, and they wanted to clean themselves up in the bathroom. Kids could be so messy sometimes...

But it didn’t explain why she didn’t hear anything in reply from them despite the repeated attempts to call them.

Another hard swallow and timidly reaching down, she gripped the knob, her entire body shook—fear coursing through her entire body once she turned it. The door slowly creaked open, revealing the light that continued to flicker on and off, bathing the room in brief yellowish/white flashes—it was like something out of a horror movie.

Then she heard the sickening crunches from the floor.

Both of her eyes focused and flicked down. Her eyes grew wider, pupils turning to pinpricks at the horror kneeling on the floor.

She saw one of the strange ape like creatures kneeling on the floor, a young teenage one at the most. But he had his hands buried deep inside the belly of an older male, ripping out brackish flesh and oozy sinew before shoving it into his mouth, barely chewing before shoving more of the chunks in after the rest and down his throat.

Any semblance of speech escaped her, her mind could barely comprehend what she was looking at right now—something inside her snapped as the teen slowly looked up at her, gurgly growls wafting past blood stained lips as red eyes locked onto her golden ones. Flesh fell from his engorged maw and onto his bloodstained pants, his lips tugging back into a torn snarl, jagged broken teeth set in a fine line.

Finally, Derpy found her voice.

“AHHH!” The mare shrieked before grabbing onto the door and slamming it shut mere moments before the monster-child bolted up with an monstrous scream of its own. She held the door shut as the child slammed into the wood, jostling her and almost making her lose her grip on it.

Her heart was furiously pounding away in her ribcage, threatening to burst and kill her! The flight part of her pegasi physiology immediately made itself known and took control—everything else was forgotten in favor of getting the hell out of this building and away from this… this thing!

She quickly moved away from the door and ran out of the hall, making her way back to the balcony door as the monster screeched and tried beating its way out of the bathroom door to get at the mare.

This is all a nightmare! This is all a nightmare! This is all a nightmare! Derpy repeated this mantra as she ran. It didn’t take her very long to find herself back at the door leading outside, bursting through with panicky noises and not looking back as spread her wings. She jumped off the balcony—a reckless move but one she didn’t care much about in the slightest, and soared out and away.

She didn’t care about the wet and cold outside any more, Derpy just wanted to get away from there… away from the monsters...

06

ooo000---000ooo

The bushes shuffled… and Limestone held her breath.

She was crouched down in the bushes, her green colored eyes glaring straight at the minotaur-like monsters wandering around the bungalow area. All of them bloodied, missing chunks of flesh, even limbs—it was insane. From every single one of the twitchy things, she heard some half strangled call for help, a faint ‘H-help me!’ half choked in a growl, almost impossible to hear unless you listened closely.

If anyone was foolish enough to fall for that, they’d be killed and turned into one of them.

She was unlucky enough to be witness to it. One of the other ape like creatures who wasn’t a monster fell for the ‘plea’ and tried to help them.

The poor bastard was taken down faster than she could react, so she couldn’t do anything, she was just glad Marble wasn’t looking.

She glanced back to look at her younger sister, the timid mare was cowering, acting more like a colt than a mare. Her body was plagued with violent shakes, eyes wide—terrified and confused. Limestone felt the same deep down… even if she didn’t want to admit it or show it outwardly, this whole situation was… admittedly frightening.

Limestone had to be the mare in the sisterly relationship they had, to protect her coltish sister.

She gripped the wrench in her hand, the blood covering the end already beginning to dry from her recent victim who was currently laying a few bungalows away from where they were hiding now. Limestone didn’t want to bludgeon his head in... but he made the mistake of pissing her off by going after Marble.

Ugh, this is fuckin’ bogus. She wriggled her snout in distaste, the smell of iron and death was strong strong in the air and it was disgusting.

Despite this, Limestone continued to scan the area for a way out of the mess they were currently in.

Getting thrown off of the airship during the storm had thrown a literal wrench into all of their vacation and search plans. She just wanted to go to this stupid island and find the stallion who was supposed to be not only her ‘chosen mate’ but her little sister’s as well. It felt so awkward to know that stallion who she was ‘destined’ to spend the rest of her life with was also her sister’s as well, but who was she to deny her sister true love if it came up?

If she even wanted it in the first place, that is.

Timid and fearful of even her own shadow—not unlike a certain Element of Harmony she had the displeasure of meeting, the idea of her little sister actually managing to overcome her crippling shyness to follow through on buried feelings was a laughable idea.

At least to her, it was about as likely as Limestone herself acting like Pinkie Pie and throwing parties.

She cursed inwardly.

Nice vacation my ass.

Limestone noticed most of the monsters were gathered near one of the bungalows and banging on the door—which she also noticed was caving in under the force of several converging on it at one time. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure why, but a decent idea did come to mind. And due to the monsters being occupied with tearing their way inside, that left the entire path up to another bungalow clear.

We gotta move.

They couldn’t hide in the bushes forever, it wouldn’t take long before one of them stumbled upon their hiding spot and they were killed, or worse...

Slowly, she turned around to look at Marble, who was huddled up on the ground behind her. Marble met her gaze with teary eyes. “Listen,” Limestone whispered, keeping her voice calm and quiet as she could. The last thing she needed was to alert the monsters to where they were. “We gotta move, but we need to be very quiet, you got that?”

Marble blinked and gave a timid nod, “Mmhmm...”

“...You barely talk anyway, why did I even bother?” Limestone rubbed her eyes and turned back around to face the path she planned on taking to get to safety.

Going back to the beach was not an option; they had just come from there after falling out into the water during the storm. Limestone had thought that for a moment they were both going to drown, but the storm had luckily swept them up towards the beach saving them from drowning.

Unfortunately, both of them were immediately attacked by the bloodied monsters that currently surrounded them.

Limestone had to drag Marble away and fight off the damned things with her fists before dragging them both away. She and Marble both were nearly bitten several times by them, but thankfully they were able to avoid it, mostly due to pure luck.

It also probably helped that Limestone was absolutely ripped from almost two straight decades of flipping boulders and rocks every day, back back to back for hours on end from working the farm, adding to her already considerable earth pony strength.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Stick close to me, got it?” A faint ‘mmhmm’ could be heard behind her and she stood up before moving through the bushes, pushing past a few as quietly as possible so she wouldn’t alert the monsters to where they were. “And be quiet.”

Marble said nothing.

Limestone just assumed she was going to listen, if she didn’t…

It’d end badly for both of them.

The two exited the bushes and quietly made their way down the path past one of the bungalows—all of which appeared to be locked up tighter than a bank vault, for whatever reason.

Limestone kept her eyes open and ears perked up, helping her hear plenty of noises throughout the area—screams, loud distant pops and cracks, and the bloody screeching and moaning noises of the damned monsters. Her eyes couldn’t help but take in the sights of the area they were in, where the bodies of mauled creatures lay on the ground and more blood than she thought was healthy to lose painted the walkways. Scattered lounge chairs, turned over umbrellas, trash cans and many more things littered the entire place past large pools of reddened water.

She gripped her wrench tightly as they moved past bungalow #3.

The danger they were in was not one she was stoked for. All around both of them were threats, things she didn’t understand surrounding them on all sides and no helpful information anywhere in sight. She didn’t want to think it… but if Marble wasn’t here, she could have just made a run for it.

Once an earth pony got moving, there wasn’t any hope in hell of stopping ‘em.

But Marble was right behind her, one of the most timid ponies she’s ever had the pleasure of knowing. And Limestone knew, deep down, that Marble was no fighter... she couldn’t fight anyone to save her life. So she had to protect her, no matter the cost.

She was honestly surprised Marble wasn’t freaking out—all of the blood pooling on the ground, the guts and intestines strewn out everywhere like party streamers. It was horrible how many of these strange things had been killed. All of them looked as if they had been ripped apart by wild animals, their bloody and chewed corpses had lain in the hot tropical sun for who knows how long, spreading the rotting stench of death far and wide before the sun set and the moon rose.

Limestone fought back the urge to throw up.

She continued leading Marble down the path, exiting the bushes and swiftly moving over towards one of the bungalows to hug the wall. She could hear the thumps and smashes of the creatures as they tried to break into a nearby building. Limestone paid it no mind though, instead focusing on the route ahead to safety.

There were plenty of bungalows around, most were locked up tight when they passed by, and she wasn’t too keen on smashing a door open and drawing attention.

Limestone was careful as she moved down the path, nearing a turned over umbrella before crouching down behind it. She didn’t hear any of the things near them now, and that gave her some relief as Marble crouched next to her. Where do we go? Where the hell can we go? Not knowing anything about the location just made her more angry.

How was she going to keep Marble safe if she couldn’t even figure out where safety lay?

Having a weapon made her feel more confident about surviving and she was certain she could take the creatures out single handedly if she had to. But taking on entire packs of the monsters that filled the resort was another thing entirely.

Just in the area across the pool they were crouched near, she saw a dozen or so meandering around a bloodied pile of bones and sinew. Even from where she and Marble were, she could hear them chewing and gnawing on the flesh of whatever poor creature they downed and tore into like a bunch of ravenous dogs.

Damn it, this isn’t good. Limestone’s eyes continued drifting across the area before they landed on a bungalow that was a dozen feet away from them both. It was labeled #4, but that wasn’t the only thing she noticed about it...

The door was wide open.

Looking behind her, she spotted Marble huddled up on the ground looking as terrified as ever. The younger mare’s eyes, however, were locked on the feast across the pool, “Hey, hey, Marble.” Limestone snapped her fingers, breaking Marble from her stupor with a noise. “I found a place we can hide, just follow me and stay low, got it?” Without waiting for an answer, Limestone began moving towards it.

A faint squeak sounded behind her which, swiftly followed by hasty footsteps.

The bungalow Limestone spotted appeared to be abandoned, least from the outside. The doors leading inside were wide open, allowing her and her sister to slip inside with little issue.

Limestone entered first, holding her wrench at the ready and peering around for any of the monsters. The room was furnished much like a tropical bungalow was supposed to be—paintings of exotic birds and mountains, jungles and beaches, a few couches with palm leaf and ocean themed throw pillows laying upon them, a small table with magazines, and so on. And there was no one inside, so it seemed.

She frowned before ushering Marble inside and closing the door. As an extra defensive measure, Limestone pushed one of the couches up against it, causing it to skid across the floor and thump up against the door once she was done.

“Whew.” The mare breathed and backed up from the door with a couple of relaxing deep breathes. Looking to her left, she spotted Marble standing awkwardly near one of the bookcases, eyes timidly peeking out from behind her bangs over at Limestone, who only snorted in response and said, “We’re safe now... alright?” She told Marble, who just gave a little nod.

Looking down at the wrench she utilized for a weapon, she blinked at the sight of the already drying blood covering it. Thinking back to when they first left… she honestly couldn’t have thought their vacation to Haywaii would end up this way.

“Grrr…”

She whipped around at the growl, wrench raised and ears flicking up on her head. She didn’t see anything, and she doubted Marble would try and joke with her like that—she was far too shy and quiet to do any sort of thing. But she did see a door that had been smashed down—a pinkish light spilled through from it as the sounds of some strange music played from a player on a table.

Aside from the music… she could hear a faint noise drifting into her ears from the room, a pitiful growling or sorts.

But so far, she hadn’t seen any animals apart from tropical birds flying overhead.

She spun her wrench, giving Marble a hard look that the younger mare knew to obey.

Stay back.

Once she had moved back, the earth mare carefully made her way over to the entrance as carefully as she could. The music was set at a low volume with no discernable lyrics and had the beat one of those ‘night clubs’ might have. The pink light disturbed her, and the music made her gut feel strange and caused her chest to tighten up. It reminded her of the more ‘questionable videos’ she had seen while staying in a Manehattan hotel one year to sell her family’s rock candy.

Limestone had spent one bored night in their hotel watching said videos while Marble was asleep. Though she’d initially done so out of morbid curiosity, she had to admit that some of it was hot. So perhaps it wasn’t too much of a surprise that it ended up leading to her hand making a trip down her slacks for some fun.

Once she made it to the door frame, she flicked an ear up and listened…

“Grr! Rrrr!”

She recognized that noise with a clenched gut, knowing it meant one of them was inside the bungalow.

Moving a tiny bit, she saw the outline of a device inside and it almost looked like a camera, but smaller and situated on a tripod pointed at the bed. Blood covered the floorboards, fresh as could be and leading towards a body laying on the ground atop the broken door.

Limestone felt her guts clench up even more as she looked further inside.

A body was up against the wall—covered in blood and missing chunks of his neck and arm. Blood was painted across the walls all around—hand prints, splatters, and other markings that made it look like a crime scene in lower Manehattan. And on the only bed in the room was even more blood… where handcuffed to the bedposts was one of the creatures—a female to be exact.

Writhing and growling, the female monster struggled to get free of her bonds. Her eyes were wide and red as the blood that coated her body. To the disgust of Limestone, she saw the creature was completely naked. The smell of iron and a very familiar scent filled the room, she didn’t need to look any further to know what was going on in here.

The lights, the cameras, the female on the bed, the discarded clothing, and the torn wrappers of certain rubbery objects.

Someone was shooting a porno.

Yet something had gone horribly wrong, if that wasn’t already obvious. Two males were dead, the female was strapped down to the bed with handcuffs, and the smell of death was strong. Limestone wasn’t entirely sure what had happened in the room, but she didn’t want to know, nor did she want Marble to see the carnage or what had preceded it

She also didn’t want Marble to see what she was about to do next.

Limestone moved into the room and stared down at the infected wench-the bite marks and blood covering her, disgusting… Lifting up her wrench and eyeballing her murky bloodshot eyes, she brought down the tool onto the creature’s head, crushing it with little issue thanks to her strength. The head split open with a sickening crunch, brackish blood spewing forth and covering the pillows. The creature gave a pitiful gurgle and tried to move, prompting Limestone to strike again until it fell still.

She looked at her hand, which was now covered in blood. Fucking gross. She grumbled, grabbing the sheet and wiping her hand and wrench clean of the blood. When that was done, she backed out of the room with a look of disgust before shooting Marble a look, “Do not go in there, understand?”

Marble gulped-her body trembling as her eyes flicked down, no doubt to the wrench. The mare nodded her head several times, backing up to the wall and drawing her legs up to her chest.

Limestone moved back into the room and took a seat on the couch, sitting her wrench down and trying to ignore the smell of rot and iron coming from the room she was just in.

She knew she was going to have to deal with the bodies at some point...

But for now, she needed to rest...

ooo000---000ooo

Rainbow was… angry? Though, angry might be an understatement.

The human that had saved her life snoozed away in another part of the building as the others conversed silently among themselves in the dark. Outside in the lot and the roadways, the sun having fallen hours ago covered the area in a shroud of darkness barely illuminated by streetlights.

Rainbow wasn’t sure where they were… but she knew she didn’t like it, not at all. Ever since crashing here, her entire time had been on the run away from monsters and hiding in the hopes she didn’t get killed. She could easily fly away and escape this mess of course, but she had not one, but three ponies to keep safe… along with the one human who wasn’t acting like a prick towards them.

Her eyes glanced over to him; he was laying on the floor next to some tools and some discarded trash. She wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about him… he was different, that was for sure and a lot nicer than the other two males who had constantly been trying to fight with them. He was the only one who stood up for them…

That was something else she had noticed during her short time here on the island. There were more males around, at least from what few proper glances of the hoard of monsters she had gotten during the running, anyway. There were a lot more males in it than females, which was… in of itself, both sad and confusing. Sad in that so many males had perished, and confusing that there were so many.

There’re so many males on this island, way more than females... She shuddered slightly, the very idea of an island full of stallions was a… admittedly a thought that crossed plenty of mares’ minds from time to time. To just lounge on a beautiful tropical island, surrounded by gorgeous stallions waiting on your every need hand and foot, it was a literal taboo dream for many mares.

She rubbed her thighs together at the thought, this island could have been that for all she knew. But instead it was filled with monstrous ape like creatures that were out for their blood, to turn them into monsters as well.

Rainbow licked her lips a bit. Another thing she had noticed was how different males acted here compared to females—the three she had met here were more confident and less fearful than a stallion, they were willing to fight instead of cower. Meanwhile, the one female in the group was timid, afraid, and trying to protect her daughter while the males fought.

It’s like the roles are reversed… That hit her the wrong way and she frowned. Mares should be the ones fighting to protect the stallions, not the other way around… She remarked silently, she had half a mind to go over there and ask her what her deal was. Why wasn’t she stepping up to the plate to help protect the males? Rainbow had no idea, but given how tense things were now, she wasn’t looking to start another fight after what happened in the other building.

A hand rubbed her face and she did her damndest to keep her thoughts in order. “Lyra, you good?” She asked, turning towards the minty green mare.

Lyra had been leaning up against the wall for most of the night, arm resting in her lap. The mare looked over at Rainbow, “Hurtin’...” She breathed out, eyes flicking around tiredly before centering in on Rainbow’s, “And tired...”

“Get some rest, we’ll get you some help tomorrow.” Rainbow told her, patting her gently on the shoulder.

“Everything hurts...” At that, Lyra gave a tiny and weak snort. “L-listen to me, sounding like a d-damn colt.”

Rainbow shook her head and squeezed Lyra’s shoulder, “I don’t think many colts fall out of airships and almost break their bones, do they?”

“Touche.” Lyra giggled weakly, causing Rainbow to return it.

This entire situation would be incredibly bad… except she wasn’t alone; she had her friends with her and a friendly human. So long as she had them, she knew she could make it through this.

Still, no one, pony or human had any idea on what tomorrow would bring for them all...

They could only hope it would be something good.

08

ooo000---000ooo

Huddled on the rooftop of an apartment building that was locked up as tight as possible, Derpy shivered and hugged herself. For hours she had sat there, having zipped her way out of that one apartment she had so curiously gone inside of—to see if she could find someone to help her with her problem, but instead all she found were nightmares that would haunt her for the rest of her natural life. She hugged her knees to her chest, her eyes half closed and body shas the storm over the island had let up slightly, but there was still a drizzle of rain.

Down in the city she could hear the monsters still—faint as they were, screeching and howling in their never ending chase for blood. Out of pure fearful curiosity, she crawled over to the edge once again and looked over. In the streets there lay streaks of brackish red, crashed automatic carriages cluttering the bridge and keeping many from running across it... as if there were any people left to do that anyway. What people she did see down there had been killed or turned into monsters, drug away into the sewers, or torn apart in the streets.

CRACK BANG BANG

Went the sounds of those odd devices the creatures were using, forcing her to hide a tiny bit so she wouldn’t get spotted… but she kept watching. She heard the rumbles of those carriages to the far north and saw a few with big boxy cannons on the back making their way through the carnage in the streets. Some of them blasted through the monsters, sending them flying, cracking bones and splattering them across the pavement, spilling blood and gore as the tires squished them and caused their heads to explode.

The odd vehicles moved up to the bridge, all of them colored like the jungle. More of those people stood on the back and manned the cannons while some sat in the back holding smaller flintlock like rifles before coming to a stop.

"Move move move! We have to blow the bridge to keep them from crossing! Jenkins, Roberts, move up!" Other similar cries and orders were yelled out and it was then Derpy realized they must have been soldiers. They moved from the vehicles and onto the bridge, firing their flintlocks several times and making her wonder if they were enchanted to fire more than one shot.

The monsters stood little chance against the soldiers and were swiftly cut down from their fire. Derpy watched as several of the soldiers moved forward through the crashed vehicles, where in the distance she saw the police officers that had been holding out on the bridge near a wall were gone, only blood, severed limbs, and monsters remained. The soldiers themselves from what Derpy could see, were moving towards the middle where the wall was. Some taking up positions near the vehicles and aiming their guns around, keeping watch for more monsters.

She noticed a couple of armed ones were guarding one who had a rather large backpack and looked nervous, he was a young one, barely in his twenties if Derpy had to guess his age.

He's so young... She thought, watching the group. Why are they making males do all this fighting? Was the first thought that came to mind despite all she had already witnessed… it was just so strange to see.

Just as they made it to the middle, the group of three soldiers started to head down some stairs off to the left of the bridge as more smoke rose from several parts of the city on the other side. Suddenly she heard one of them yell something out before some more loud cracks sounded, rapid pops before the two were suddenly tumbling down the stairs with a cry, roars and screams of pain and fear sounding after. As the one with the bag tried to run, he ended up getting hit in the back instead mid-sprint and was knocked off of the bridge, a shocked cry leaving him as he fell into the water below.

FLAP

Derpy had no idea what made her spring into action and fly out from her hiding spot, whether it was his cry of panic or some other factor, but she ended up overcoming her fear and flew over a large compound that sat next to the bridge, large pipes and pumps snaking throughout it like a maze. She glided over it as her eye caught sight of the other soldiers being pushed back by others of their kind, ones in street clothes, hockey masks and hoofball helmets before charging at the soldiers. Derpy shook her head and focused instead on the one who fell into the water, he needed her help!

Circling in from the far left, she saw him struggling to stay above the surface as blood was quickly beginning to cloud the water.

She angled her wings and flew in low, hovering with a few wing flaps above the water as he finally spotted her. He screamed suddenly, "Ahh! W-what the f-fuck!?" He managed over the waves and water threatening to drown him. He screamed again, like he was in pain as he thrashed around, "Aaaah! Haaah!"

"J-just hold on!" She told him in a frantic and panicked voice, lowering herself until her sneaker clad feet and legs ended up in the water. She flapped her wings harder before grabbing onto the him who struggled slightly. He coughed and clutched his chest as she dragged him through the water, trying to lift him up and out of the water, but he was too heavy for some reason! But she pushed herself regardless things beneath the surface of the water tried to grab onto her feet, struggling against the water and whatever was underneath as the storm picked up again, she could feel it in the air... the wind was picking up and the clouds growing thicker and thicker by the minute! Come on! She growled to herself before finally reaching the shore and subsequent dock for boats.

She dragged him up out of the water and onto the metal walkway with a thud, landing next to him as he coughed and harked. Derpy knelt by his side, looking back out into the water as the pops and cracks continued up above on the bridge, and in the water she could see things underneath moving about. She gulped and looked down at the male who was suddenly very pale looking and struggling to breath.

He coughed as she checked him—which proved rather difficult with his armor and thick clothing, but she did see rips in his clothes around the chest, tiny holes and pieces of slightly warm metal embedded in a vest of sorts. But there were a few holes in that and blood flowed out of the obvious wounds. Derpy felt a bit of horror seep up in her chest, he was bleeding badly! "O-oh no..."

The male shook as he looked down at his legs, where Derpy also spotted several rips and tears in his ankles, and when she lifted up the tattered fabric she saw chunks of his flesh were ripped out forcing her to recoil slightly. Looking back at the man, she saw him stare at her for a few moments before he began to struggle to take off his backpack, unclasping it. Slowly, he pulled it out from under him shoved it into her chest, causing her eep. "D-don't l-lose t-that!" He choked on blood, his eyes now getting bloodshot.

"W-what?! Why? What are yo-" Derpy started before finding a small black object being shoved into her hand, making her tremble slightly… it was a flintlock, but one unlike anything she’d ever seen.

"T-take this... k-keep t-the bag s-safe an-and b-blo-..." He gurgled up blood, eyes rolling into the back of his head. His body fell limp as she watched, eyes wide as he choked on his own blood and gurgling.

"W-wait!" She dropped the backpack, hand wrapped around the other object she was given before she tried shaking him awake, "D-don't die!" Derpy cried, body trembling and heart pounding in her chest when he didn't respond. The mare shook and pushed herself away from the body, her breathing rapid and panicky before looking down at what he gave her to 'protect herself' with.

It was shaped like one of the minotaur's flintlock weapons, but with blackened metal parts instead of smooth wood and bronze parts. It was also heavier than she would have thought it'd be, but she could still hold it. It was oddly shaped as well, not like the usual wooden muzzle loaders she had heard about from time to time from her friend Berry Punch. It had the trigger and hammer, but everything else except for the hole in the front eluded her.

She moved her hand across the smooth metal along the top, her fingers touching a little raised bit at the end that lined up with the one in the back near the odd looking hammer. There also appeared to be a lever on the side, like one could flip it down or up if they wanted to, but for what purpose did it serve?

She was just given a dangerous weapon... one she wasn't sure if she could use properly.

Looking towards the backpack, she dragged it over and fiddled with it for a moment. It was colored black and had a flag on it, but she didn't pay it much mind before picking it up and standing, legs shaky as she looked down at the body. "I-I'm sorry..." She choked back a silent cry as she heard growls and snarls, and looking up near the stairs nearby she saw more of those monsters approaching. She spread her wings before tucking away the weapon into her pants and putting on the backpack and blasting off into the sky.

ooo000---000ooo

Down near the front, the roars and snarls of the undead and infected continued as Dee stared down at the blue pickup that was currently waiting for them to snag. It was the perfect plan! He thought about it for a few seconds longer; just get down there, take the truck and drive to either the Lighthouse or the Lifeguard Station, immediate profit. That was all there was to the plan, of course… easy as taking candy from a baby.

Rainbow however, didn't seem to think it was as easy as he made it sound.

"Dee, you sure you’re okay?" She had asked him after his quick declaration of using the truck to get out of the situation they were stuck in.

He blinked in confusion and turning to her, asked the mare, "Uhm... of course, why’d ya ask?"

"How are we going to use that weird carriage to get out of here?" Rainbow followed up, pointing to the front of it, "There's no hitch at the front and we don't have anything to pull it with!" She argued with him.

It was then he realized they probably had no idea how human vehicles worked, if the carriage comment wasn’t enough of an indication.

A sheepish chuckle left him, "Uhm... Rainbow," He turned back towards her, eyes taking in her form for a brief moment. Damn she is just... gorgeous, hell, they all are. He noted and pushed those thoughts back as a grin grew on his face, "It doesn't need a hitch to move, it'll move on its own if the key is in it." At Rainbow Dash's look of confusion, he sighed and squatted down and fell down into a cross legged sitting position. "Okay, I don’t have any earthly idea how shit on your world works—" At the world bit, Rainbow looked a little worried for a second, "—but here on mine, these don't need any kind of like... creature to pull them. All we need is gasoline—that’s a kind of fuel—to get it going, and a key to turn it on. I won't get too technical about it, but if the key is in it we can get out of here." He stressed the final words carefully to her.

He hoped the key was in the truck, if it wasn't, he could try hot-wiring it — hopefully wikihow’s information quality would hold up, but if that failed then perhaps they were truly screwed.

Rainbow continued to look skeptical about the idea, arms crossed and face set in uncertainty. "I don't know... what if it doesn't work? What if you get hurt or something?" She asked him, looking uncomfortable with the idea of him going down there and testing the vehicle.

He fully understood why—at last count, there were perhaps just under a hundred of those undead monsters down in the streets, most of them rapid moving monsters with a taste for flesh and a thirst for blood. They had taken down the woman with no problem, ripping her apart and feasting on her remains... he had no doubt that all that remained of her was the blood stains and bones.

Dee took a peek over the edge of the station rooftop and down into the horde—thankfully it looked like some of them decided to wander off in search of something else, decreasing the horde’s size greatly. But the number was still too much for him to feel safe jumping down and rushing through them, with every single one of them attempting to either climb up or get into the gas station. They failed thanks to the barricades they set up below still holding strong and for the roof being too high up for them to climb up.

If he was doing to do this, he needed to be fast on his feet to check the vehicle and get it running.

Damn it... this might be toug—

He started to think. But then he realized something, a daring plan came to mind, one that had no possible chance to fail!

Suddenly, Dee whirled around to face Rainbow Dash, "I have the perfect idea!"

“What is it?” Dinky found herself asking him, looking up from where she was crouched next to Lyra.

Dee clapped his hands together and stood up, “Okay, Rainbow, you can fly—” At that she nodded and the others followed him with their eyes as he walked over to the northern portion of the roof, “—So my plan is you fly,” He gestured over the crowd of undead, adding, “Well out of their reach but low enough to keep their interest, and you lead as many of them away from here as you can. You’re the diversion—” Dee glanced over to Vinyl and Lyra next, “Lyra will climb down with their help if I can get the truck moving, and then I’ll drive us out of here to somewhere safe!” He finished.

It would be the perfect plan… he goes down and quickly checks to see if the key is inside it, and if it was they were golden! Lyra will get the help she needs, they’ll get away to safety and won’t have to be on the run constantly!

It was—

"—insane." Rainbow stated as she stood near the northern part of the gas station where the horde of undead monsters were trying to get at her. “You’re insane.” She told him as Dee glanced down at the monsters-it seems they didn't care what kind of meat was in front of them, as long as it was moving and fresh.

Dee just shrugged and twirled his shovel before moving towards the back of the building, crouching down and gripping tight his shovel-his only means of defense. "Look, I know it sounds insane, but it's foolproof!" He told her, looking back at her as Vinyl was near Lyra. Dinky was watching Dee and Rainbow worriedly, and he took note of it but opted to focus instead on trying to get his plan underway. "Those things can't fly and while they can pretty much climb anything short of a sheer wall, they won't be able to get at you as long as you're up high enough." He explained to her, moving slightly in anticipation of jumping down and checking the truck.

The plan was simple, very simple. Rainbow would distract the horde of undead, flying up high out of their reach but low enough to lure them into following her away from the station. Once she did that, he would hop down and quickly check the truck to see if it was in running condition, if it was, they could get out of there and to safety. Thinking back to earlier, he figured the Lifeguard Station would be the perfect place to hide out, given its near-perfect defenses and ideal location, they'd be hard pressed to find another well defended place in the resort area.

Well,... there are the bunkers, but I'm not sure I trust those enough to risk it. He remembered from playing the game, his thoughts turning to not only the bunkers, but the lighthouse and Hotel as well. The former was high up and overlooking the resort for miles around, it was also well defended with a fence and hillsides that were difficult to scale up. It could be another location to hide out in should the Lifeguard Station turn them away. There was also the Royal Palms Resort Hotel, but if it was anything like the game, there were tons of infected inside the building and he wasn’t sure how well defended the place could be even if they got around to clearing it out.

Thinking about the Lifeguard Tower, he hoped being turned away wouldn't be the case.

Dee heard Rainbow growl and shake her head, "Ugh, just… just be careful, for fuck's sake..." She told him, spreading her wings and loosening up her joints for the plan. He could see how uncomfortable she was with this idea of his; if he fucked himself over and couldn't climb back up in time, he'd be dead for sure until Rainbow got to him... if she did. As fast as she could move, he wasn’t sure she would be able to get to him in time.

He swallowed hard.

"Okay, on three... one," Dee prepped his legs, playing out how this was going to go in his head. Leap down and land in a roll, parkour 101, no biggie at all. "Two," Dee took a deep breath, foot nearing the edge and body tensed. I got a baaad feeling... Already he felt like something was going to go wrong. "Three!"

Just as he said three, Rainbow took off from the roof and flew off a bit towards the north, yelling, "Come on you dirty monkeys!"

Oh come on. Once phase one of the plan was done and he saw the infected turn to chase after Rainbow, Dee leapt off the roof and onto the ground, he braced himself once he hit the ground—landing on the ground and bunching himself up into a roll to avoid any serious damage to his feet and ankles. His legs stung from the impact, a muffled grunt coming from him before he quickly recovered. Dee quickly stood up, gripping his shovel tightly and quickly looking around.

He didn't see any other infected around and from the louder growls and snarls, it appeared his plan was working. Creeping over to the corner, Dee peeked out and saw the giant crowd of infected monsters following Rainbow Dash, arms in the air and attempting to grab onto her feet or legs to bring her down. To his immense relief, she was being smart and flying low enough to hold their interest while still being too high for them to get her—there was at least a two foot difference between her and the infected.

The faster moving ones tried to use their speed and animal-like leaps to reach her, but their jumps were nowhere near high enough to get her and end her ceaseless taunts and insults.

So far, so good, now to check the truck!

Dee turned and rushed towards the truck with a barely contained smile and finding it in such a glorious condition it almost made his mouth water and his heart pound in excitement—said organ was already pounding though, from the sheer rush of what was happening, the infected horde was so close by and he had to act fast, or they were buggered until Rainbow could lead the horde away again... assuming he made it back to safety in time.

Gripping the door handle, he pulled on it and found the door was unlocked to his luck. He opened it up wide and slid into the driver's seat, laying his shovel aside and checking the ignition…

They weren't there.

"Fuck!" He slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

Dee quickly looked around the truck, pulling down the visors and grimacing upon not finding the key stored up there. He opened up the center console, only finding a bunch of work papers, someone's ID, and some other junk that served him no real or useful purpose. Dee slammed it shut, his heart pounding faster as the sounds of Rainbow's yelling continuing. She was still drawing them away, thankfully. which he was glad for.

Finally, he checked the glove box, ripping it open and finding nothing but old yellowed papers inside.

"Damn it!"

Then suddenly...

"Looking for these?"

Dee gave a start—his head whipping around and spotting Liam, the lifeguard with his bat.

And in his hands he saw some keys.

“Nighty night~”

Before Dee could try anything, he was hit in the head with the bat, and his world fell into darkness.

There’s that bad feeling coming to light...

ooo000---000ooo

Vinyl watched as Liam--Rainbow had told her his name--yanked Dee out of the vehicle, throwing him onto the ground as the other three survivors from inside quickly climbed into the thing and shut the doors.

Those assholes! She looked towards Dinky, the smaller unicorn looking terribly frightened as her mouth moved, Vinyl cursed her disabilities. Damn it! Vinyl took a deep breath before jumping down from the roof, landing on the ground in a roll before concentrating her magic. Fucking worthless male! Her horn lit up—she pictured a pulse pushing forth from her hands, a ball of powerful force magic, and once she felt it in her horn, she channeled it down through her arms and threw her hands out towards the vehicle to cast the spell.

Her arms shook from the force of her magic as she fired a force pulse at the vehicle the humans had climbed into, shattering the glass and causing it to skid forward and almost tip over before settling back on all four wheels. The people inside were no doubt shook by the impact of such a powerful spell, glass slicing into the lifeguard and injuring him from what she saw. But before she could do much else, her body suddenly felt weaker from the spell cast—her legs went shaky and her magic felt strangely drained; worse, her spell had failed to stop them, having come out much weaker than it usually did. She saw the angry but smug look of Liam before the vehicle they were in shot forward, passing by the mare and spewing an almost noxious fume into her face.

She covered her nose with her hand, coughing. She felt something wet on her nose, and pulling her hand away she saw crimson.

W-what? Gah! My fucking horn hurts now, what’s wrong with my magic? She struggled to stand back up and fight back the woozy feeling in her head. I gotta get Dee and get him back onto the roof, I knew this was a stupid idea! We shouldn’t have done this! Looking towards the vehicle, she saw it speed off and veer out of sight.

Shaking her head, she stumbled over to the fallen human who was out cold on the ground. She grabbed onto him and tried to shake him awake but he didn’t so much as budge. A surge of fear ran through her—was he dead? Did that damned lifeguard actually kill him?! A quick press of her fingers to his neck to check his pulse ended in relief, he was still alive, if only knocked out.

She continued to shake him, a bit rougher this time. Come on, wake up!

The human’s eyes fluttered open after another shake of his body and he looked woozy, eyes flicking about in a haze. He said something as he clambered weakly up onto his knees and looking behind her, his eyes widened and his mouth moved. He looked towards her, shaking his head and struggling to stand. Vinyl was quick to aid him, helping him stand and leading him away from the front.

Damn it! We need to get back on top of the station. She knew that horde could return at any moment and come down on them and she wasn’t looking forward to fighting them all off. With how her magic was affected from her Force Pulse spell, if she tried fighting with either her kickboxing or magic, she’d be taken down no problem.

Moving towards the back of the building where the lower part of the roof was, maybe they could climb up it? She didn’t know how long the horde of monsters could be kept at bay by Rainbow’s methods, if that odd carriage she saw made any noise, it could have attracted them to their position!

Her line of thought was broken once the two made it to the back, where an abnormally large male stumbled into view, nearly seven feet in height. A bloodied mechanic's jumpsuit covered his body, ripped to shreds around the arms and legs. The creature’s bloodied eyes flicked down to Vinyl’s own, and she suddenly felt very small compared to this giant.

The tall monster threw its head back, mouth open and body shaking back and forth. He looked back down at Vinyl as she felt Dee spring into action, pulling her back with a frantic look on his face.

Holy shit! They can get that big?! She turned and ran along with him, she didn’t know stallions on this island could grow that big! As she looked out ahead she watched Dee’s expression turn panicky during his half limp half run to the front. Dang it! We need a way back to the roof! Was her original thought but then she saw him rush towards another one of those odd contraptions and slam against the back. What is he doing?!

He turned and gestured for her to come over as he slammed the back door of it down, and closed up the other doors except the front two. He slid into the right front seat of the vehicle and slammed the door shut, she had little choice but to climb in with him.

Once inside she pulled the door close and looked back towards him. Dee was quickly searching through the vehicle’s compartments, in the middle, above and behind the wheel, even opening up a lid of sorts that was in front of her.

That caused something to fall out and land in her lap, giving her a jolt. Looking down Vinyl saw an oddly shaped flintlock sitting on her pants, colored silver with a black handle, an odd little switch near the hammer and was made entirely of metal. Along the side of it, she read Beretta Corp Australia. 9mm. She rose an eyebrow at the object, picking it up and keeping her finger away from the trigger, her brief training with flintlocks coming to mind.

The object was quickly taken by Dee who gave her a look and said something before putting the gun down in his lap, Weird looking flintlock. She noted as the human continued looking around the inside of the vehicle.

She watched until she was about to get out and take him with her back to the roof, maybe she could use the flintlock to some degree to fight off the horde before they got too close. Wait, no… she realized, she didn’t see any extra shots in the box she found it in… damn. But then she saw that the human found a pair of keys and his face immediately lit up before he jammed it into a hole behind the wheel and turned it.

Vinyl felt the entire metal contraption vibrate, making her look around. What was that?! A glance back at the human and his face lit up and he looked like he was laughing as his hand gripped a stick of sorts next to him, he manipulated it before slamming his foot down on some metal pedal on the floor.

It was then that Vinyl was suddenly thrust forward, almost hitting the flat surface of the inside. She stopped herself with her arms, the abrupt feeling of motion sending her stomach for a whirl. Vinyl tried holding on to something to try and steady herself, but that was about as pointless as trying to grab air. She was forced to the right by a sharp turn of the metal carriage and she hit the door, causing her busty chest to bounce about.

Fuck! This is what I get for not wearing a bra. She grimaced as the vehicle swerved around hard and then surged forward, pushing her back into the seat and her boobs to bulge upwards against her shirt. A look over to Dee and she saw an almost manic look in his eyes. Then he slammed into the giant male head on with the vehicle, making Vinyl lurch forward and almost slam against the front of the vehicle again as the bulky creature smashed against the hood, partially splattering the windshield with blood.

Vinyl gawked at the scene as Dee climbed out quickly. She followed him with a shaky walk and watched as he madly gestured to the roof where Dinky was. The unicorn nodded and rushed over somewhere.

What is he planning?

Vinyl looked back to where they came from and saw a couple of the monsters climbing out of the nearby foliage off to the far side and stumbling towards them—bloodied swimwear, torn and rotted skin, blood red eyes; they were terrifying to look at.

They needed to get the fuck out of here!

Looking up into the sky, she spotted Rainbow quickly zip back and land on the roof; Lyra was on her back just seconds later and she flew with her down onto the ground. Vinyl rushed over with haste to help Lyra stand up as Dee helped Dinky climb down—the young filly jumping down and landing in his arms and landing on the ground. They led the two to the back of the vehicle where he opened the back door and they helped Lyra inside, the mare’s face one of slight and barely contained pain.

Vinyl winced from how pained Lyra looked.

Damn it, she needs help… we need to get out of here first.

Turning back around, she spotted Rainbow ushering Dinky into the vehicle with haste..

The human, Dee, was quick to get everyone into the seats, with Vinyl climbing into the back with Dinky and Lyra as Rainbow got into the front alongside him. It drew his attention when she started breathing heavily. “What’s wrong?!”

“I d-don’t know, I feel exhausted,” She groaned, wings wrapped tight around her back. “W-weird.”

The doors were all shut, and Vinyl held on as the vehicle moved backwards again, the entire thing rumbling and vibrating their bodies. Vinyl felt slightly sick to her stomach when she turned around, spotting the hoard of monsters chasing after them, runners jumping onto the back and clawing at the glass.

It wasn’t long until the vehicle sped off down the road and away from the building… leaving behind the thirsty horde of undead monsters...

All she could do was just hang on and hope they made it out of this to safety.

09

ooo000---000ooo

Tires screeched on the roads, snarls slowly fading behind them as the engine’s own noise took over. Dee gripped the steering wheel tight and struggled to keep the SUV in a straight line, driving at such fast speeds was difficult for him, especially on such a twisty road that led up to the resort and hotel.

He had tucked the Beretta he found in his pocket as best as he could before speeding away from the gas station, an angry glare etched into his face. He tried to keep his head in the right place, using everything he had to focus and trying to stave off the pain that radiated from his head. He could feel it throbbing every second as he drove, and he felt tired and woozy… he felt hot, even, or rather his head felt hot.

Damn it, I’m surprised I’m still awake after everything that’s happened.

He had taken so many hits to the head and body, he figured it wouldn’t be very long until he just collapsed. Dee could feel it in his body, in his head. He wasn’t sure when, but judging from how blurry everything was getting…

Shit, gotta stay up… gotta stay awake… can’t crash now. He told himself, his eyes spotting two wrecked police cruisers on the left and right side of the road. Dee steered the truck to avoid them, but only just barely—the suv grazed one of them, shattering a headlight with a loud crash noise and jostling everyone inside “Fuck.”

“We’re out!” Dinky had cried happily from her place between Lyra and Vinyl in the back, the former holding her side in pain and the latter holding on for dear life when he looked back at them for a brief moment. “I can’t believe it!”

Looking over to the final occupant who was sitting next to him, he saw Rainbow let out a massive sigh in relief, chest rising and drawing his eyes for a moment… he certainly felt more awake now! She then looked over to him with a smile, catching him just as his eyes flicked up, “Damn good thinking,” She playfully punched his shoulder in praise, “Your idea worked! Not bad… for a stallion, hehe.”

Dee scoffed lightly and punched her back, “J-just barely,” He remarked with a tinge of annoyance lacing his tone… ‘for a stallion’? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Ignoring that piece of information for now, his thoughts turned to Liam and the others as they drove down the road. Attacking him and ditching them all to escape, leaving them for dead? A dick move on their part and he was fairly pissed about that. In fairness, when he thought about it, he was basically planning on doing much of the same, but he was planning on going back for them once he had driven everyone to the Lifeguard Tower.

“That asshole lifeguard hit me in the head - again mind you - and left us to die. We got lucky,” He added, thankful the SUV was in working condition. They honestly got lucky and he wasn’t counting on it lasting much longer. “Really fucking lucky.”

Finding the Beretta inside was also a lucky bonus, he gave props to the police who were kind enough to be slaughtered and leave a fully loaded firearm in the glove box for him to use.

Going back to watching the road, he saw a rust red bus almost blocking the road—some discarded baggage was sitting out and piled up next to it, and wandering around the bus were several infected people who growled upon spotting the truck before beginning to move towards it. Inside the currently shaking bus, he noticed there were living people still inside…trying to fight off the monsters inside, it must have just crashed recently.

He turned and avoided it, driving past it and the zombies as Rainbow and the others watched it with wide eyes.

“A-aren’t we going to help them?” Dinky asked… but no one answered.

Dee said nothing. He wanted to stop… he really did, but he knew they couldn’t.

“Holy Celestia...” Rainbow murmured as they passed the bus, “What is going on around here?”

Dee knew what was going on all too intimately. Having played the game dozens upon dozens of times, he knew just about everything about it top to bottom. All of that information would come in handy for them during this… he hoped. “It’s a pandemic, if I had to guess about it,” He started, gulping as they drove past a fenced up building with more of the monsters trying to rip the gate down and get inside at whoever was inside. “Fucking zombies everywhere, this ain’t natural… probably a virus or something.”

He saw a familiar looking turn coming up, it was the entrance that led to the jungle portion of Banoi. Once they drove up the hill, he paused to stop the truck and think for a moment.

“A virus?” Rainbow questioned as the truck idled. “Like... the feather flu or something?”

“Yeah, uh… sorta.” Dee looked down both paths — to his immediate left was the tunnel, where the ceiling lights were still on, showing the path to still be in one piece still as opposed to collapsed like the last time he saw it in the video game, he figured it was destroyed by the military to stop the influx of infected from spreading across the island… fat lot of good that did. To his right was the roadway leading to the Royal Palms Hotel; the massive building could be seen even from the hill, its unique build visible from all around.

Now which way to go? He had no idea where the tunnel went… was it another path to the jungle?

He was stopped from his decision when the mare next to him spoke. “If it’s a virus… do we have it?” Rainbow asked next, her voice on the verge of… fear?

As far as I know, it’s spread through bites, not any sort of aerial transmission so I think we should be safe from infection… for now, anyway. Dee thought and shook his head in reply to her, and he gave her a reassuring smile. “No, we’re safe for now.” He looked towards her, breathing heavily and blinking away the blariness. “I think it’s only transmitted through bites, as far as I can tell.” At the mare’s curious look, he elaborated, “Think about it. Every one of the things we’ve come across had bite marks and tears on their bodies—on their arms, legs, necks… it’s the only thing I can think of that could have spread this.” The water source might have spread it as well for all I know… I barely remember how the damn thing infected everyone or where it came from exactly, bah! What a great time to forget this stuff.

He saw Rainbow purse her lips and looked back at the others—she then said something to Vinyl using her hand gestures, leaving Dee to wonder how difficult it’d be to actually learn it, if only to make communication between him and Vinyl easier.

Maybe not too hard, he thought as a hand drifted down to the handgun they found in the glovebox, which from what his inner car-nut told him, was a Toyota Highlander outfitted for policing duties.

“Shit… where do we go now?” Rainbow murmured softly, drawing his attention. He turned and saw the mare looking out of the window past him, eyeing the distant hotel with a curious look. “What’s that place over there?”

Following her gaze, he asked, “That?” The hotel appeared to look the same from the game, an area that had a lot of infected around it. “That’s the Royal Palms Resort. It’s the hotel where guests would stay when visiting Banoi.” Thinking about his own trip to the Hawaii made him sigh heavily. “Probably would have ended up staying at a nice hotel myself if shit hadn’t fucked up for me.” He slumped his shoulders and sighed, remembering how hyped he was for a solid week of fun and relaxation in the sun; meeting cute Hawaiian girls and maybe checking out some of the local tourist spots!

But he didn’t get that. Perhaps in another life he would have gotten to enjoy his stay in Hawaii, instead of being thrust into a life or death situation right out of a video game versus creatures that shouldn’t exist! Then again the gorgeous anthro mares from a kid’s TV show he was surrounded by shouldn’t exist either, so said the logical part of him.

For fuck’s sake… I get a free vacation and all of a sudden this happens? he asked himself, smelling something fishy about the whole thing.

“We could try the hotel,” Rainbow said, flicking her gaze to Dee, “It’s our best bet.”

An uneasy feeling crept up Dee’s spine before he glanced back at the hotel, noting the tall structure and the dozens if not hundreds of rooms inside of it… that wasn’t even taking into account everything else inside of it. “I dunno… it’s a big building, and you saw how big that hoard was at the gas station.” He shuddered, seeing such a large gathering of undead made him rethink how he handled things in zombies games.

He felt bad now for the characters he had played and put through so much shit in the games when they had to face down such odds, now that he had experienced the same horrors himself first hand.

“It’s too big. There could be a lot more of those things in there for all we know.” He told her, knowing if it was anything like Dead Island’s version then there were going to be plenty of infected there, waiting for someone to fall into their trap. “I remember seeing a Lifeguard Tower down near the beach before I got chased, so I say we try there… it’s just a little further down the road, but it looks like a better idea then the hotel since it’s fenced in.”

Rainbow frowned slightly, looking past him towards the hotel again, “You sure about that?”

“Eeeehh… fairly,” Dee replied with an uneasy tone, “From what I saw it had some walls and wouldn’t take much time to clear ou-”

A sudden wave of lightheadedness prevented him from speaking further, and he swayed slightly. His lungs inhaled sharply and his hands slapped against the wheel to stabilize himself, nausea filled his being but… he managed to keep his head up.

“He- -right?” He heard from his left and saw Rainbow giving him a worried look. Her eyes were a little wide, and she had placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey.”

A shake of his head, where had that come from? He looked at Rainbow ab it more clearly and nodded. “I’m fine, just… t-tired is all.” He shifted the vehicle back into drive and turned right, sending the truck forward with a press of the pedal and driving down the hill towards the hotel.

He certainly wasn’t planning on heading to the hotel itself, only planning on passing by it on their way towards the lifeguard tower further down. He knew the Lifeguard Tower had walls and fences, and looked fairly easy enough to fortify if it came down to it. It would take a bit longer to get there, but it would be worth it… assuming the location itself had been cleared and taken over by one of the protagonists from the game. But even if it wasn’t, they could move in and clear it out themselves. It had a significantly lower population of undead than anywhere else.

As he drove by a crashed taxi cab, the one fateful question came to mind…

Would they be able to get inside if the other group was there?

HOOONK

“Shit! Look out!”

“Fuck!”

SCREEECH

CRASH

We’d find out, in due time.

ooo000---000ooo

Limestone wasn’t able to sleep very well on the couch—despite her rock hard attitude and tough nature to doing things in rough conditions, she found it difficult to sleep inside a building with several rotting bodies stinking up the place and the monsters outside scurrying around like Timberwolves and screeching as loud as a rooster come morning time.

What sleep she did get was filled with nightmares of Marble being mauled by the monsters and Limestone unable to save her in time. Something held her back, something was always holding her back from getting to her sister in time...

What a fun vacation this was turning out to be.

Limestone had awoken to Marble being cuddled up next to her, arms wrapped around her and face buried in the crook of her neck. One thing she immediately noticed was that her left arm was squished between her sister’s incredibly busty chest, causing her to puff out her cheeks in annoyance.

It was obvious who inherited the most from their mother, Cloudy Quartz; Pinkie Pie and Marble, both having grown into beautiful young mares with generously sized breasts. Meanwhile, Limestone was left with… well, hers were decently sized of course, enough for more than a handful of course. But still... even Maud was bigger than she was!

The younger mare didn’t seem to care all that much about her bust though, and didn’t even so much as try to flaunt them about like Pinkie Pie did during her parties, wearing those tight shirts and squeezing her tits together. Marble was more reserved… but even then on occasion Marble had a tendency to inadvertently show off her chest somehow…

Or at least, she assumed it was inadvertent, finding herself looking down at them again, noting how neatly their mass spread out to pillow around her arm.

Limestone felt her face burn and a pang of jealousy pop up in the back of her mind before it was swiftly quelled with the aggressive smashing of a mental sledgehammer, trying to find a way to disentangle herself from her little yet bigger sister.

Stupid brain, tits are tits. She thought to herself before gently wrenching herself free from Marble’s petite grasp, given a moment of pause when her sister pawed at her, trying to hold on to her for safety and comfort, a hand finding and closing on her big sister’s boob briefly. Pushing it away gently despite her suddenly flushed cheeks, Limestone sat up and looked around the room and saw the lights were still on from the other room, casting their disturbing pink glow into the main room. The faint music was also still playing. She slowly stood up before moving over to the room and peering inside, snorting and wrinkling her nose in disgust once the smell of iron hit her.

She had to do something about the bodies… but she wasn’t too keen on opening up the front door just to dispose of a dead body. Not only was she disgusted, but she still felt incredibly tired… how long did she even sleep for?

A scoff escaped her as she silently stared at the decaying bodies of the males and female, it was horrifying and disgusting and yet, she didn’t particularly feel all that disturbed by it for some reason. She entered the room with a cautious gait, but not enough to stop her from stepping in blood and immediately regretting her decision to go inside. A silent growl and she continued further in despite her shoes being ruined. Limestone stepped over the bodies and entered the other hall on the other side of the room where a door and a steel white box greeted her, the door itself led into the bathroom, but the box...

Limestone eyed it curiously… there were lots of boxes around, big wooden ones and some crates, but this one was drawing her attention. Huh, it’s different looking… was one reason it caught her eye as she made her way over and knelt down before it—it was a fairly simple looking box, with an unsecured lock on it and made of what looked like steel. Limestone unclasped the locks on it and lifted the lid, revealing a matte black interior which was filled with some papers, but nestled right in the middle of it she found something that made her immediately ditch the notion of using her wrench…

She found a hatchet inside.

A little grin made its way onto her face as she reached in and pulled it out, feeling of the weight of it and giving it a twirl, finding it to be made entirely of a black metal of sorts with a silver bladed edge. It had a nice weight to it and she was willing to bet this would be a much better weapon than the wrench, in many many ways.

Cleaner hits, for one.

Standing up with her new weapon in hand, she made her way back into the main room where Marble was just now waking up—the younger mare was sitting, yawning wide and stretching her arms far above her head with a squeak. Once more, Limestone was shown just how big Marble was in the chest region. For whatever reason, Marble had opted to wear her sweater and baggy pants on this trip instead of something more suited to the tropics, thus, her sweater wrapped snugly around her breasts in a way that accentuated just how plump they looked. It didn’t help she refused to wear a bra either, preferring to go without for whatever reason.

Jealousy reared its ugly head once more.

Limestone grunted when Marble looked over to her, a curious look in her baby sister’s eyes. Limestone just took a seat on the couch, clutching her hatchet in one hand. A wrinkle of her snout at the stench lingering inside, she wondered what they were going to do now.

Going outside didn’t seem like much of an option at the moment, considering the current circumstances…

She did have a nicer weapon now, nice and sharp! But she didn’t feel very confident in taking on an entire group by herself with just the hatchet.

She snorted and twirled it around once more, garnering a tiny noise from Marble who twiddled her fingers together in that timid way. Limestone noticed her sister had scooted over to the couch, sitting near her but staying far away from the weapon.

Limestone didn’t blame her… Marble wasn’t a pony that took up weapons let alone actually fought anyone else. If an argument broke out, there was that rare moment she might get grumpy and voice her own disapproval with a huff.

Damn it, this is so stupid… hiding in here like a couple of scared kids. Looking down at the younger mare, she saw her ears standing straight up as a faint gurgling hiss passed by the bungalow; one of the monsters, she figured.

Hearing Marble squeak and hunker down made Limestone rethink that scared kid comment, it was true, at least in Marble’s case. The mare had plenty of moments where she could be incredibly timid; it was a surprise she even agreed to come on this stupid trip with her, given how shy she got around strangers.

The first time she’d willingly left the Rock Farm and it ended in disaster for both of them.

Limestone suddenly felt the urge to smash the Choosing Stone with a sledgehammer, damn rock.

Stupid thing barely gave us anything to work with, just showed us the stupid airship and told us to board it to the island… gah! If I had know, I woulda smashed it to pieces! She shook her head, cursing the stone for its shadowy premonitions. It was dark when they were shown their chosen one, only a vague outline of his body and where to meet him on the island. Who the fuck meets their supposed ‘true love’ in a fucking hospital room?

Limestone wasn’t sure what the Choosing Stone’s fucking deal was, but if Marble ended up getting hurt because of this…

She was going to blow what money she had left to buy the strongest hammer she could find and destroy it.

SCREECH!!!!

She heard outside the bungalow along with a panicked cry from something, something alive. Limestone shot up and held tight her hatchet, staring at the door.

“Mmm mmm!” Marble murmured and turning around to face her, Limestone saw her baby sis shaking her head rapidly.

“Shh!” Limestone hissed and Marble slapped her hands over her mouth. Limestone said nothing as she slowly moved up to the door and placed an ear against it.

“Shit!” She heard a distinct voice yell, “Get offa me!”

“Rainbow, they’re everywhere! Ahh!”

Rainbow? Wasn’t that… that was Pinkie’s friend!

A fierce glare growing in her eyes, Limestone yelled, “Stay here!” She kicked off of the floor and grabbed the couch she pushed up against the door, and with little effort on her part she hurled it out of the way, sending it skidding roughly across the floor with a screech. With that gone, she burst through the door and back out into the bungalow area and the humid air.

Immediately she caught sight of the bloodied monsters wandering around to her far left where, to her surprise, she saw the cyan mare herself - Rainbow Dash, who was trying to ward off one of the damned things that had grabbed onto her. She managed to pull up her leg and kick it off of her, sending it flying into one of the buildings with a snarl and smashing the wood. Meanwhile, a blonde unicorn filly was scurrying around in a panic, filling the air around her with yelps and scared cries as she was being chased.

“Dinky!” Rainbow yelled, trying to fly over to her but being stopped by an ape that decided to jump at her. “Gah! Get off me!”

“Ahh! Help!”

Limestone spotted another of the fast moving ones running towards Rainbow and she sprang into action. With a yell, she ran forward and pulled her arm back and then threw it forward, hurling her hatchet through the air.

The cyan mare turned in time to see the head of the monster violently split open, the hatchet cutting through the bone with ease and splitting it right down the middle. It collapsed onto the ground shortly after, a sickening hiss escaping it’s bloodied lips.

Limestone rushed over and grabbed onto her hatchet, freeing it from the skull with a sickening schlick-ing sound, “What the fuck is going on!?” She didn’t waste anymore time with that as another infected rushed over, prompting her to whirl around and sucker punch it with her fist.

Any watching would be given the glorious sight of the earth pony mare’s fist caving in the infected’s face, the disgusting sound of bone crunching from the force and the gooshy sound of blood and sinew tearing as the monster crumbled before her, no match for her strength.

“I’ll explain later!” Rainbow had cried back. Limestone just growled when she turned to yell some more, but spotted her rushing over to Dinky and yanking the filly over to her. “Shit, we need to get out of here! There’s more of them coming!”

Twirling her hatchet again, Limestone yelled, “Come on!” She turned and ran back towards the bungalow she and her sister were hiding in.

Seeing her sister rushing out with an infected hot on her tail made her change her mind about going back inside. Limestone ran and slid on her feet past her Marble with a yell as she swung her weapon, it sliced through the air and cut clean through beast’s head, sending the top half of it flying.

She kicked the body away from her and whirled around to glare at Rainbow, “Damn it, we need to get out of here!”

With a yell of her own, Rainbow said, “The Lifeguard Tower, it’s over there somewhere!” Rainbow pointed behind Limestone, making the mare look. All she saw were tall bushes, overturned tables, and a pathway heading who knows where. “We gotta get there!”

A bloodcurdling roar was heard just before the four mares spotted several tall males in swimwear stumbling towards them, bulging muscles, eyes as red as the blood that covered their bodies and behind them were a dozen or so smaller ones…

They had to move... and fast.

Following after the pegasus, Limestone could only hope Rainbow knew where she was going.

ooo000---000ooo

Lyra was not happy… not at all.

Her ribs felt like they were on fire, her bad arm burned from her attacks, and the base of her horn had a painful headache coursing through it. The mare held out her pained arm—the palm of her hand still smoking from the spell she had used to propel a monster away from her.

“Grr!” She focused on her magic regardless and conjured up another low level pulse spell—her arm shook as the spell rippled through it, being channeled into her hand again before blasting out, sending the infected horde that threatened to overtake them flying or stumbling back from them and also causing her a great deal of agony.

Deep down in her soul, she could feel her magic wasn’t charging as fast as it usually did back in Equestria. She wasn’t some low tier unicorn like most; she had more mana in her reserves. But now it was depleting rapidly and being overtaken by what she could only describe as some other form of magic… her old magic wasn’t coming back fast enough.

Twelve spells in and she was already running dangerously low… though she did end up using a few high-level ones earlier that were known to take hefty chunks of magic, so that was on her. Right now, she was having to resort to low level spells to keep her and Dee safe.

The latter of whom couldn’t even fight because he was out cold.

How did this all happen?

They were still moving down the road in the weird human vehicle, a motorized carriage of sorts… headed for the Lifeguard Tower Dee had mentioned, Lyra was still in pain and she was hopeful to get some kind of medical attention there, lifeguard towers had first aid rooms in them.

But a loud blaring noise sounded, followed by Rainbow screaming, “Shit! Look out!”

“Fuck!” Dee had screamed next.

All Lyra knew next was the white hot fire burning through her body and an intense feeling of vertigo as she tumbled around the vehicle like a ragdoll. The crunching of metal against metal, the screeching of tires, and finally the harsh impact that led them to where they were now.

When she managed to get a good look, she found out that another one of those vehicles had sped out of control and crashed into theirs, sending them flying onto the road leading to the hotel and crashing once more into something else. She briefly heard panicked screams, loud pops and cracks followed by growls, but stunned and disoriented as she was, she was unable to do much of anything to help.

She awoke a few minutes later, her vision fading in and out as she somehow managed to drag Dee out of the vehicle, struggling to heft him up and carry him but ultimately failing-she could only drag him. The infected were grabbing at her, but she pushed them away with a roar and what little of her magic she could muster as she dragged the human away, she wasn’t going to let him get taken by them!

Now here she was-struggling to get to safety, wherever that may be.

She was thankful for whatever boost of adrenaline she was able to conjure up from the depths of her being, dulling the pain to a manageable degree and letting her push through the undead horde to a hopefully safer place.

Lyra kept moving, casting another force pulse spell and sending a running monster flying away to her right; it smacked into a pole with a disgusting crack as its bones broke. Behind her she dragged the human and kept moving with him until reaching one of the busses situated near some stairs, she began moving up them with Dee towards some doors she saw past a large pile of luggage. She would have carried him, but her arm was in intense pain from being used to channel her spells more accurately, and she couldn’t use it very well anyway.

Once up the stairs, she shoved past a zombie and punched him. She was successful in connecting a hit and making him fall over, but her arm stung with such fierceness it almost overtook the adrenaline spell she cast a minute ago.

She cried, holding her arm to her chest and rushing towards the front door with everything she had left. She slammed her shoulder into the door, forcing it open and dragging Dee inside. Once she gave it a quick look around and found no one inside, she turned around and quickly shut the door with a pained yelp.

Lyra growled and fought back the pain bubbling up in her chest and arm. The minty green mare struggled to get the door closed, to lock it shut and move further inside the building and hide from the monsters. She had to! It was her obligation as a mare to protect a stallion from harm and these pesky monsters were not making it easy!

“Rah! Back!” Lyra bellowed, her eyes glowing for a brief second from perhaps the last spell she’d be able to conjure for a while. A surge of strength rushed through her body and focused on her legs and arms, and she pushed the door close. Moving fast, she turned the lock causing the bolt to activate and shut the doors down tight.

She backed up now, the door only barely holding back the hoard that slammed into it full on and trying to crack the windows.

Turning back towards the human, she heard a groan come from him.

“F-fuck.” He murmured in pain, blood running down from a cut on his forehead.

Rushing over to him, she knelt down to help him up…

But then her spell wore off, her magic running dry as her world became nothing but pure pain.

“Ahh!” She collapsed, falling onto her uninjured side and scrunching up her body. Her arm burned furiously and her ribs stung-it felt like fire was covering her body. “S-shit, I overd-did it.” She cursed herself, wheezing now.

Looking over to Dee, she saw the human look back towards the door with a bleary look in his eyes. He managed to climb up onto shaky legs before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the strange human firearm. Where did he get it? She didn’t recall him having it earlier… though she hadn’t exactly been paying attention either; preoccupied with dealing with her own injuries.

He managed to back up a bit, haphazardly pointing his firearm at the door. “C-can you move?”

Lyra took a deep breath and struggled to stand up, her entire body protesting. “D-damn it!” She collapsed again, heaving and looking up at him. “J-just go! Before they get inside!” She didn’t want him risking his life for her; she’d provide a decent distraction… at least for a tiny bit.

But in an act of defiance she had never seen from a stallion before, the human instead pocketed his firearm and knelt down. He pulled on her good arm and pulled her onto her feet with a groan, “Sorry, n-no can d-do.”

Lyra frowned, “D-Dee, just leave me! They’ll b-be bus-”

“Shut up!” He yelled at her, “I’m not leaving you behind!” Her ears snapped back against her skull from how… determined he sounded. Dee growled and helped her stand up; her arm being looped around his shoulder and gun in his other hand as the hoard of infected tried to break through the door.

J-jeez, what a stallion. She shuddered from how he just… took charge like that. He was putting himself at risk just to save her? Why?! She wasn’t worth the risk… at least, that’s what she thought, she was one out of millions of mares in a finite population of stallions.

But he was doing it anyway, to keep her alive.

“P-please, I’m n-not worth it!” Lyra tried to fight him on this. But he just continued to help lug her down the lobby past completely devoured bodies and elevators.

“No!” Dee yelled once more, a growl escaping him as he helped her along. He turned with her down a hall through double open doors, leaning Lyra up against the wall in order to swiftly shut the doors. That done, he returned to Lyra and helping her further down the hall. He was breathing heavily, looking in scarcely better shape than her and ready to collapse at a moment’s notice, but he pressed on regardless.

The duo passed by baggage trolleys, several of which had been used as a makeshift barricade to block off one hall and forcing them down another. The doors leading into the hotel rooms themselves were all shut, a small pad and red light telling her they all must have been locked somehow.

The two heard several growls and snarls from one room they passed, followed by rapid and hard hits against the wooden door. Lyra felt the human speed up, and she tried her best to keep up with him despite the pain.

I wish he would just leave me! He could move so much faster! She knew this was true, and she was sure he did too. And yet he stayed with her! What kind of stallion was so determined like this to keep a mare alive? It was practically unheard of.

Eventually the duo reached a pair of utility doors leading to the stairwell. Dee slammed into the door and opened it up, looking up and down before Lyra was set down on the ground. She groaned in pain and watched Dee close the door up tight, breathing hard as his hands shook.

“D-Dee.” She tried getting his attention, looking up at the human male who was sweaty, bloody… he was hurt and it made her feel so bad. “You gotta go,” Lyra told him, holding her aching chest. “F-find your way back to R-Rainbow and the others, d-don’t worry about me, I’m j-just slowing you down!”

Turning to look down at her, Lyra saw something in the human’s eyes… something dangerous and yet… protective; frightened yet fiery even. “Lyra,” he started, “I’m not leaving you.” The young male stressed each word carefully. Raising an arm, he wiped the sweat and blood from his face, but he only smeared it and made it worse. “We just got-” He was stopped when a roar came from upstairs.

Everything changed when a fast moving infected in medical clothing jumped down at him from behind. Dee was smashed back and the two went tumbling down the stairs with a pair of screams.

Lyra’s eyes snapped open in fright, “No!”

She tried getting up, but her body had simply given up; she had no physical or magical reserves left. She collapsed onto the floor as she heard his scream of terror…

As her eyes closed shut for what she was only too certain would be the final time, all Lyra could think was that she had failed in her single greatest duty as a mare.

10

ooo000---000ooo

All across the island of Banoi, things were rapidly going from bad to worse.

As the number of infected steadily mounted, those who remained were attempting desperately to escape them, scrambling to find a safe place to hide away from the undead menace chasing after them. Even with as many that had already fallen, there were still perhaps thousands of tourists and residents of Banoi trying to find safety wherever they could away from the virus that was slowly spreading and ravaging the population, turning them into monsters.

The nearby city of Moresby was being overrun block by block as police officers tried futilely to cut off various streets and alleyways to keep the infected back, diverging them down different routes. Some survivors flocked to the church, others the police station, and still others tried to escape into Upper Moresby to hide with the well-defended Mayor. Already cut off, many just barricaded themselves in alleyways or in their apartments, stores, wherever they could to escape.

There were many that opted to flee further inland into the jungles, and others tried escaping on boats, yachts, even small airplanes from the Banoi airport to escape the island itself…

If only they knew what awaited them outside the island.

Near the northern portion of the resort sat a roadway leading further around the island to the city of Moresby, one that was packed with cars and a couple of buses trying to evacuate to it. Soldiers dressed in the standard uniform of the island’s small military known as the Banoi Island Defense Force stood around, wielding assault rifles and checking people before letting them pass the checkpoint to the other side of the island to get to safety.

Down below the surviving population was in a panic-people were running through the cars and being forced back by armed soldiers blocking the road with their barricade. Horns sounded, yells were thrown around by the soldiers to cut it out, and gunfire sounded near the beach as they shot at the infected who were running at them.

Shit was going to hell in a handbasket.

A helicopter flew over the nearby area, passing by as the soldiers on the ground started yelling, mostly into their radios and arguing over something. Things were slowly beginning to escalate around the checkpoint as the crush of fleeing cars and people increased and the soldiers knew it… civilians waiting to pass could see it in their eyes and how they were fidgeting around, gripping their weapons ever more tightly.

The peace shattered when someone in the back yelled, followed by the screech of an infected and blood curdling screams. People suddenly began running towards the front as several infected mixed in with the survivors, trying to find purchase.

The soldiers blocking the only way to safety turned their guns on the infected, but unable to find a way to shoot without hitting civilians. The infected rushed them, running and screaming towards any living being. With no choice, the soldiers open fired on them, firing into the vehicles and causing the entire roadblock to explode into a panicked frenzy of blood and chaos.

The hellstorm of lead rained down on survivor and infected alike; cars backed up and slammed into one other to try and escape. One car took too many hits to the engine and suddenly exploded, sending shrapnel flying and setting fire to the occupants inside.

Further down the road a horde of infected monsters were sprinting to get to the checkpoint, screaming and screeching loudly at the sight of such a large meal. The gunfire and explosions must have drawn their ire.

“Retreat! Retreat!” A soldier screamed and then yelled into his radio as the trucks began moving back towards the tunnels nearby, loaded up with soldiers and military supplies. “Ericson! Blow it! Blow the charges!” He ordered as he heard gunfire from above just before an acknowledgment. A loud explosion went off mere moments later.

He ran for his life as the rocks above began tumbling down, breaking loose and rolling towards the tunnel and road. The smaller ones fell down and smashed into the vehicles that had yet to back up out of the way, crushing the roofs and killing or injuring those inside. One of the busses tried speeding forward, breaking through the barricade before a bigger rock fell on top, smashing the entire driver’s side and causing it to topple onto its side and block the road, sending everyone inside flying around.

People screamed as one of the only routes to an evacuation point was completely destroyed, massive boulders and rocks crashing down and crushing anyone unfortunate enough to be under at the time. Behind them, the infected drew closer and the soldiers ran for their lives, abandoning them and their posts!

Unseen by all and watching from the shadows of a nearby hillside… a pair of sharp opal eyes watched the entire chaotic scene unfold. Moving back through the bushes, the figure disappeared into the shadows as the first group of survivors fell…

ooo000---000ooo

BOOM BOOM

SCREECH

BOOM

Dee and Lyra had managed to get into the stairwell to hide from the horde, but suddenly...

“Ahh! Shit!”

Dee flew down the stairs, tumbling and briefly hearing Lyra’s terrified cry for him. He slammed into the steps on the way down, his back sending shocks of pain through his body in the continued roll until he slammed into the wall at the bottom.

The infected didn’t give him much of a chance to retaliate and was on him, having tackled him and was now clawing at his clothes and trying to tear into him and rip his flesh apart.

Dee was quick however, despite the utter and agonizing pain he was in. Panic coupled with a surge of adrenaline and a primal need to survive gave him the strength to keep it from sinking its teeth into him.

“Get off of me you fuck!” Dee screamed, feeling its jagged nails digging into his arms and clawing to try and get past his defenses-screeches and snarls filled Dee’s ears and it only served to cause his heart rate to spike.

The missing sensation of weight in his right hand told him that he dropped his gun—not good! A look around and he saw it had been knocked aside a foot or so away from himself, but he could still reach it if he tried! But it would mean one less hand to keep the infected from getting at his neck, arm, any piece of exposed skin the monster could use to infect him with.

Avoiding another swipe of a clawed hand, he knew he had to chance it if he wanted to get out of this alive. His feeble punches were about as effective as hitting someone with a pillow…

Still worth a shot!

He pulled back his fist and smashed it into the man’s face—a loud crack ensued as the nose of the monster broke and his own hand stung violently. He held back a violent curse and punched again and again and again—the cheek of the infected split, blood gushed out of his nose onto Dee’s face and chest, one of his teeth went flying and for a moment, Dee thought he looked dazed. His growls and snarls were quieter, his blood red eyes blinking in a haze.

Taking the opportunity given, Dee bunched up his legs under him and grabbed onto his arms. And with a heave, he rolled back and pushed everything he had into his legs to send the oddly dazed undead monster flying down the stairs behind him.

With a moan he slammed into the wall, sliding down and onto the floor.

Scrambling fast, Dee got onto his knees and grabbed the handgun. He stood, aimed, and kept his finger on the trigger.

His target… it was a man, a security guard for the hotel judging from his attire. He was twitching violently on the ground, like he was having a seizure or something. High pitched growls escaped him in his struggles to get up, shoulders twitching and blood spewing from his mouth.

Suddenly… Dee found himself conflicted, that damned feeling hit him like a strike of thunder when he heard a half growled “H-help me!” from the Security Guard.

N-no… that shit’s true?!

Dee’s hands shook, blood running down one side of his face from a cut. He had heard rumors about that from the game, the rumors of the first stage of the infected in Dead Island were actually on the cusp of mutating into one of the different infected types. And during the first stage, they were essentially still alive and fully aware of what they were doing, even able to speak. And that just made what he had to do even worse.

He was killing someone who was still alive.

Snapping his head up, the security guard glared at Dee and growled again. Body still twitching, and his muscles flexing, he was angry and hungry for blood!

“D-don’t move!” Dee spat, tasting blood on his tongue as his entire body shook. He should shoot… he should’ve shot and ended this thing’s existence, but something was taking over, something that told him to stop… Fear? Hesitation?

He didn’t know, but he didn’t like it. He had a full magazine, fifteen 9mm parabellum rounds to send flying into this… thing, that’s all it was.

It wasn’t human anymore, it was a creature, a beast that wanted his blood, just like the others. It just happened to be someone who was still… alive. This was a thing that was slowly morphing into an unmistakable monster the likes of which would harm him, his friends, his very existence! Something that wanted to turn him and the others into flesh eating monsters...

So why couldn’t he pull the goddamned trigger?!

“Grrr! H-helrrrr!” The thing hissed out, body twitching still. Dee noticed his hands were ripped and torn apart, showing muscle and even the bone in some places leading up to his bloodied arms. “Rah!”

Dee’s foot slid back, his fight or flight instinct coming to mind and leaning towards running for it. “J-just stop.” What the fuck is wrong with me?! Just shoot him, damn it!

But he couldn’t pull the trigger, and he would immediately regret it.

The man roared and charged up the steps, arms outstretched, blood and spittle dribbling from his mouth, bloody and gnarled teeth open in a wide snarl, his blood red eyes locked on his own.

Legs shaking and unable to keep standing from his nerves, Dee fell back onto his ass, gun still aimed.

The infected jumped at him, landing on top of him once more… Dee was pushed back, the monster’s teeth were bared in a snarl, they came down...

BANG

The gun ended up being pushed against the guard’s head, and Dee was forced to pull the trigger… several times.

BANG BANG BANG

The body slumped down onto Dee’s, blood covering his chest and face now. And he wasn’t given much time before something slammed against the door nearby, forcing him once more to get up and get moving, he quickly grabbed Lyra and hastily dragged her upstairs in a panic and through another door, just as the one he and Lyra escaped through burst open.

Dee aimed his beretta down the hall and fired once more, his wrist aching slightly from the constant firing of the powerful 9mm round. He dragged an unconscious Lyra like she had done him down the hall, blood covering his entire shirt and part of his face from the fights. His eyes were wide and set in a glare at the infected who were currently giving chase after him and the mare who in her still injured state was panicking.

Slowly getting a feel for the gun, he fired again, scoring a headshot on one of the three chasing him before crashing through a door into one of the many rooms, dragging Lyra in and getting the strength to toss her inside. “I’ll lead them away!” Dee told her, giving her one last look before he threw the gun to her and closed the door, briefly hearing a “No!” before slamming it shut.

Turning around on his heel he ran down one of the other halls, body covered in a thin sheen of sweat and aching from everything that had happened so far—his vision was bleary, his ankles and feet felt hot, and his lungs burned. Behind him, the monsters gave chase, slamming against the walls and scrambling after him like a wave of bones and bloodied bodies. “Raaah!”

“Fuck off away from me you dirty bastards!” He yelled, sprinting down the hall in a straight shot for the end of the corridor where a utility door was situated, perhaps his only salvation at that moment.

He slammed through the utility door and closed it up just as the two more infected smashed into the metal, trying to get inside at him. They slammed their arms and bodies up against the door, their faces just barely able to be seen through the glass as they pounded on it, trying to shatter-

SMASH

One of them succeeded in it and snaked his arm through just as Dee was able to close and lock the door. He backed up—the arm of the infected writhing about, he was trying to squeeze through the small opening, unhindered by the glass cutting into his flesh!

“Rah! Hah! Raaaah!” The man growled, eyes locked on Dee’s own.

Dee backed up and hit the wall, his own eyes wide and glaring. His heart was pounding in his chest and his mind ran a million miles a minute. The entire weight of everything was close to crushing on him, but his mind still held on, fighting back the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him as his body threatened to collapse… he was running off of adrenaline at the moment, and could only pray it wouldn’t give out before he found safety for both himself and Lyra

G-gotta fight my way past! he realized. Looking around the stairwell he was now in, he didn’t see any of the infected inside above or below and thanked his lucky stars. Casting about for a fresh weapon after leaving the pistol with Lyra, a glint of something to his right caught his attention and brought an immediate smile to his face, making him instantly feel less terrified.

On the wall up half a flight of stairs was a distinctive looking container of sorts with a glass door, and inside it… was a fire red axe.

Dee grinned and rushed up the stairs towards the box, shakily but quickly finding the opening for it and yanking the axe out. Its weight was heavy, welcoming even to him—he twirled it a few times in his hand and gave it a test swing before looking back towards the door. He walked down the steps and glared at the infected trying to get through...

He realized then there was no knocking them out. He had to kill them.

Heartbeat picking up again, he grabbed onto the infected’s arm and it grabbed onto him in turn, trying to pull him through. He was able to keep himself from being pulled closer, however, and instead wrapped the arm-the infected’s elbow facing down-on his shoulder before sharply twisting and then snapping it with a strong upward blow to the elbow, causing the former human to scream in pain and try to get free.

Seconds later, Dee pulled free of the now-useless limb and spun around before swinging his axe hard, bringing it down onto the appendage that was now stuck and wedged in through the small window. The heavy and sharpened steel cut right through, slicing through the flesh and cutting the bone in one swift movement. Blood gushed forth onto the floor—an ear piercing shriek of pain sounding from the man as he stumbled back.

Dee unlocked the door right after and heel kicked it open, sending the other stumbling back and onto the ground as the other was smashed against the wall by the slam.

Rushing out into the hall, Dee brought up the axe and brought it down into the other man, this time ignoring the half growled out pleas for help and focusing instead on downing them.

The axe fell into the infected’s stomach, cutting through the clothes and into the flesh making it scream out in obvious pain. He yanked it free and with another pained scream of his own, brought it back down, pike first, this time in the chest. Crimson spewed from the monster’s mouth, a punctured lung—he yanked his axe free again and brought it down once more, aiming for the head, splitting it wide open and spilling brackish goo and ooze onto the floor.

Dee ripped his axe free with a snarl—spinning around to deal with the one who had been pinned by the wall-

RAAAH!

Jumping at him with only one good arm, the monster came at him—forcing Dee to back up and trip over the dead body of the previous one he killed. He fell onto the ground, almost losing his grip on his axe from the shock. Body falling on top of him, he was immediately pinned to the floor, one arm trying to get at him and the other a bloodied stump spewing brackish pus-filled fluids.

“Grrr! Get offa me you fuck!” Dee growled, using the axe as a shield to try and keep the man from biting him. Though it was difficult, having a body that weighed upwards to two hundred pounds trying to kill him, someone who barely weighed much in the first place.

Dee somehow managed, however, through sheer force of will and determination to keep himself alive, he was able to keep the infected off of him.

He pushed everything he had into his arms, pushing the infected up and away from him. His arms burned, his chest ached, everything was threatening to give out on him second by second! And he knew he didn’t have much left in him for another round of fighting, this could be it!

Shit! Shit! Shit! He chanted, growling, “Aaaah!”

BANG

The loud gunshot echoed throughout the hall as the now dead infected slumped down on top of the axe. He reacted fast and kicked it off of him, scrambling away before turning around, to see who his savoir was.

...It was Lyra.

The mare stood in the hall, clutching her abdomen with her injured arm and aiming the gun with her free hand towards him and the now deceased infected. She shook, blood on her lips that trailed down to her chin; her shirt was torn as well, revealing the pale green underside of a breast.

Slowly lowering her hand and the firearm, she looked down at Dee with a half faint look in her eyes. “A-are you a-alright?”

Tired, achy, and most importantly… hungry, he gave her a pathetically weak nod and replied, “More o-or less… yeah.” He told her, though his eyes couldn’t help but flicker at least once to her bare area of chest. A few moments and the duo heard more screams sounding from somewhere inside the hotel.

“Come on… we’ve gotta hide!” he told her, ending up leaning on her as much as her on him.

“Right…” she answered with a grimace, still struck by how he had been willing to sacrifice himself to save her, holding the gun with with one hand while she did her best to hold him up with the other. Neither one wanted to get into another fight, both weakened and broken to the point of collapsing as they were, so they packed up and rushed as best as they could back to the room Dee had thrown her in. They both entered room 101 and shut the door—which was swiftly followed by him helping Lyra over to the bed and laying her down on it. He didn’t waste time after running over to the door, locking and blocking it with one of the couches, and managing to heft one of the easy chairs on it for added weight.

It took all his remaining strength, and just as he finished, he heard rapid moving footsteps outside followed by sporadic breathing… then those footsteps ran away, trailing off into the distance.

Dee slowly backed away from the door, slowly sitting down on the floor...

His mental and physical reserves exhausted, his body decided to finally give out, and he fell into the world of unconsciousness before he could do much of anything.

ooo000---000ooo

Derpy had flown through the rainy skies of the city before ending up on top of yet another building, a large building with a flat rooftop and a large parking lot… and from what it sounded like, hundreds of people running to and fro from it in a hurry. She had hidden from them of course, hiding on the rooftop and hugging the backpack and odd flintlock to her.

She had ended up sneaking to the edge of the building near the front to get a looksee after a few moments and saw many people rushing around, screaming and yelling as sirens went off all around the area. She had flown across the river to the other side and it was here that she found the city was… far cleaner than the one she had come from. It didn’t resemble the slums and didn’t feel so claustrophobic, and there were far fewer wrecks around.

The screams persisted however… those of the monsters.

The minotaurs in blue uniforms and their flintlocks rushed around—police officers, she thought, grabbing people and ushering them to go and run, others ended up in a fight with some people armed with either flintlocks themselves or clubs and pipes.

It was bloody mayhem and forced her away to huddle on the middle on the roof.

Derpy was terrified and she had no earthly idea on what she was going to do to stay safe. A weight that sat in the back of her pants reminded her and she reached behind her before pulling off the firearm she was given by the now dead male soldier… the weapon trembled in her hand, and she wondered who would force a male as young as him to fight?

Gulping down the knot in her throat, she examined it. She knew what a flintlock was, having heard about them several times from her friends who had dated the royal guardsmares briefly. She sort of knew how they worked, but had never used one herself… a part of her wished she had listened to Berry Punch and practiced at the Ponyville Ironworks Forge with one. But she never saw the point of them.

If push came to shove, she would have to use it… and even so… could she willingly take another’s life? Those things were attacking anyone without provocation, tearing into them like wild animals. Males, females, and children even; it was bloody chaos in this city. And she was trapped in it, unless she moved further inland, but the mare had no idea what was there.

Animals?

More monsters?

Safety, even?

No idea.

For now, she could hide on the roof… assuming none of the strange apes found a way up, monster or not, she wasn’t in the mood to find out if she was capable of killing.

A heavy sigh left her and she placed a hand against her head, gently rubbing her brow. Her mind was trying to think of a plan, to think of what she could do, what she should do. Dinky, as far as she knew-hoped-was still alive and somewhere island, hidden away safely…

Again, she hoped.

So where was she? In this city perhaps? If so, then where was the airship she flew in on?

When she flew over the city, she didn’t see it anywhere, no wreckage, no trace of it anywhere. So if it wasn’t in the ci-

BANG BANG

CRASH

Derpy’s head snapped up and she let go of the bag. Gripping the firearm in her hand, she carefully crawled over to the edge to peer over into the streets. The crowd of people that were there were screaming now, many rushing towards those odd carriages of theirs and getting in before zipping off onto the road. Some crashed into another in their panicked haste, other people, or the monsters.

Oh right, there were monsters rushing into the area from the alleyways and parks nearby, coming all at once like it was somehow a coordinated attack. A few dozen screams and shrieks all combining together in a mishmosh of sounds—the symphony of the damned filling the air, ghastly and frightening it was to her. She could do nothing but watch. As horrible as it made her feel, as horribly heavy the feeling the of lead in her gut made her feel… she knew as long as she didn’t make her presence known, she would be okay…

But still, knowing that she could help, and that she was unintentionally choosing not to help filled her with a sense of dread and self disgust that knew no bounds.

She could see the monsters rushing in, vaulting over the vehicles—crashed or not and landing on top of people before attacking them. Sudden loud bangs and pops sounded from the police officers as they fired their weapons, a rain of small metal objects tearing into survivor and monster alike, the screams of pain and roars of the damned making her flight response threaten to burst free again and make her fly off.

Derpy backed away just as she saw a few dozen rush towards the officers.

Moving back to the middle of the roof, she hugged the bag and held her firearm in one hand shakily. She was so scared, her body was locking up and the screams down below did not help matters any with figuring out what she was going to do.

Firstly, she needed to find Dinky, and pronto! But where? Where was she?

That was the biggest question the single mother had right now, one she was going to continue asking until she got the answer she desired.

“Damn it!” Someone suddenly screamed from behind and Derpy’s head whipped around. She heard something clanging followed by heavy breathing. “Come on!”

“Move your ass! They’re comin’!” Another one yelled, a male this time.

Derpy stood up, clutching the backpack and holding her weapon forward towards the backend of the roof. She shook and trembled, wondering to herself who was back there. She closed her bad eye and focused her one good one. The beginnings of a ladder sat at the backend of the rooftop, a metal ring wrapping around the top. A bloodied hand shot up before one of the apes climbed up onto the roof, panicking and gripping a bloodied bat in the other hand.

They backed up from the edge as another attempted to climb up. But then his eyes bulged out, he gripped onto the ladder and screamed out-“Aaaah! F-fuck! One of the-” He tried to cry out but he was yanked down onto the ground amidst vicious screams and snarls. “Haaah! Ahhh! Get offa me! No!” His screams and cries were drowned out by horrific gurgling noises and the sounds of flesh being ripped apart.

“Hank! No!” The female screamed, glaring over the side before backing away with panicked breaths.

Derpy stared at the female, shaking almost… Hank? She briefly thought before the female turned around and spotting Derpy.

Eyes going wide, she held up her bat, “Get away you freak! AHHHH!” She screamed loudly and running at the mare. “You monster!”

“I-I’m not one of those things!” Derpy cried, dropping the backpack. Her hand shook, fear fueled her legs into moving back, “W-wait!”

“Fucking monster!” The bat wielding maniac rushed her, screaming at the top of her lungs.

What is she doing?! I’m not one of them! Derpy flared out her wings and moved further back, dodging a quick swipe of the bat from the female, the bat itself missing by a mere inch and making the pegasus flap her wings to send her back, “Ahh! H-Hey!”

The two continued moving back, Derpy’s wings pushing her back and away from the crazy and enraged minotaur like creature. She rushed at the pegasus, swinging her bat back and forth, up and down, trying to get a good hit but Derpy remained out of range—but only just barely! Derpy would’ve flown away, it was an easy fix! Fear kept her grounded, however.

But then a moment of hesitation on her part ended with her getting a bat to the side of the head, a pained yelp left her and she stumbled to the right—blood spewed from her mouth, her ears rang, and she collapsed onto the ground. She didn’t know what happened after that, but she heard felt something hit her leg and heard a sudden scream.

“Ahhh!” A thump was heard after, did she fall? “No no no! Ahh my leg! No! Get away from me you monsters! NOOO!”

Derpy wasn’t entirely sure what happened… but she wouldn’t find out for some time, as her world fell into darkness.

11

ooo000---000ooo

BOOM CRASH

Dee’s eyes shot open and he saw the ceiling of a room. His heart rate spiked, panic, fear, he sat up, only to instantly regret it as he was reminded of his injuries and exhaustion from the previous time. He groaned and looked at the door—which, to his relief, was still barricaded off. Though he wondered what the noise was… a quick glance behind him at the window and he heard it again, thunder and lightning, along with the pitter patter of rainfall against the still-intact glass.

A sigh of relief followed as he realized they were still alive and okay, at least for now…

Though ‘okay’ was a relative term as his body decided to throw in its own two cents on the matter. Aches and pains spread throughout his body—mostly focused in his head, his arms and especially his legs, all of which burned like they were on fire. Groaning, he slowly laid back down on the bed, huffing and resting up just a bit more, quickly finding that movement only exacerbated matters and instead opting to think about things.

Fucking hell… we barely made it out of that mess alive! he thought, recalling how close they’d gotten to biting the dust after the car crash and entering the hotel. Jeez… what did happen? Dee scoured his memories, thinking back just to before the crash. He vaguely recalled the truck smashing into something, followed by screeches, the screams of his comrades and than silence up until the point Lyra and him made it inside the resort building.

And now? Lyra and him were alone, and no one else was inside, he just now realized.

Worry began to trickle into his mind like the leaky faucet of his childhood home.

“Christ… they better have made it out alright.” The worry continued to spread regardless of his attempts to stopper the leak up. But how could he know if they were? They could have been seriously injured from the crash, or worse… killed and turned into one of the infected.

He wasn’t sure he could handle killing any of them if that was the case.

Killing the other infected was tough on its own. But killing a pony, specifically ones he loved and that he had for so long dreamed of becoming friends with? That was an issue that tore into his very being and made him terrified…

Could he even do it if it came down to it? Shooting one of the mares, or worse, using the axe on them; killing them up close and perseonal?

Worse, what if Lyra just suddenly died and he had to use it on her?

He looked over to where Lyra was next to him, laying on her back and her shirt lifted up slightly, its raised lower edge exposing more of her midsection and a deepening tear, a growing area showing her bust to him. Though the sight of her and rather surprising thoughts they provoked gave him some pause, the pain he felt quickly reasserted itself. Suddenly not just his limbs but his very hands ached, causing him to glance down and see the blood still covering them. A shiver ran across his form—his entire body stewed with an empty ache, and his bones had a hollow feeling—they felt fragile like glass and the dry sting of thirst bit at his throat.

Was this was shock felt like? PTSD? He wasn’t sure. But at a minimum, he needed water badly.

A very difficult swallow of his pasty mouth later, he swung his legs to the side of the bed, and, trying not to disturb Lyra, he clambered onto his shaky feet. The burning pains and aches persisted, but he was a stubborn young man and didn’t let it deter him in the slightest from achieving his goals. Steadying himself against the wall and furniture, Dee made his way over to the door to the bathroom. On his way there, a weight made itself known in his hands, making him glance down.

It was only then he realized he was still holding the handgun, not recalling having picked it up.

He had little time to consider the question before a fresh feeling of nausea bubbled up in his stomach upon going over and opening up the bathroom door. His chest stung from his rapid and paranoid heartbeat, fearing whatever may have been behind it, remembering the most recent battle he’d had with the infected, trying to hold them off and kill them behind another door. . He forced his fears back to bay, knowing that there couldn’t be anyone there or else they’d already come out and killed them while they slept, but also realized what it said about his mental state. Everything was a trap, and everything was dangerous; he had to be cautious about his moves from now on if both he and Lyra were to survive the coming days.

Thus, it still paid to be very careful. Brandishing the gun, he aimed inside the bathroom as the door swung open and hit the wall with a soft thud, the bathroom light illuminating a tropically decorated interior with a clean toilet, shower and a sink with generous counter space on it that appealed to his luxurious tastes.

Relief flooded through his system when he confirmed there was nothing inside… nothing deadly, that was and he lowered his weapon. He moved inside and set the gun down on the counter before testing the water flow, a turn of the handle and clear water rushed through into the sink basin below.

He was quick to strip off his backpack, jacket, and his shirt, tossing them aside before cleaning his hands and arms of the blood stains from the previous encounters with the infected--who knew what would happen if the blood stayed on him for very long? Could be infected that way? He didn’t quite remember what the rules of it were from the game, but better safe the sorry, he quickly decided, grabbing some nearby soap and furiously scrubbed away, giving the water a pinkish sort of hue that swirled down the drain.

Gah… this is a lotta blood, and I still don’t know how fucked up I am. At least the water still works… More blood ran off into the sink and his thoughts wandered to Lyra, who was probably still passed out on the bed. I need to get her some help, she’s more f- He was cut off as eyes grew blurry and he wobbled, a sudden dizzy spell came over him and he nearly lost his balance.

His hands swiftly grabbed onto the counter to steady himself, that terrible ache grew worse throughout his body. Nausea bubbled up inside him, churning around and fizzing up through his stomach like a shaken soda ready to burst.

He didn’t even so much as attempt to stop the hot putrid bile from coming. He lost his footing for a moment and his strength was suddenly sapped from his body, causing him to fall once his body expelled the last bits of vomit from his mouth—though the faint taste of iron lingered afterwards, blood?

“Damn it,” he hissed out as he wiped the remnants of the gunk from his mouth as he sat on the edge of the tub, trying to regather his strength. . It was another minute before he could stand again, grabbing the cheap plastic cup and throwing back several gulps of water, the first few to rinse out his mouth and the remainder to put some badly needed liquid in his system, wondering how much of his pain and lightheadedness was in fact due to dehydration. Having drank his fill, he leaned back up against the counter and looked down at his hands, still breathing heavily. Clean-ish as they were now, it still felt as if they were dirty. They were just monsters… not people. He went to great strides to remind himself of that one simple fact.

They. Were. Monsters. Not people.

They had no memories and no dreams—only the desire to consume the flesh of anyone and anything they came across and grow the horde. Killing zombies had always been academic in the game; you just did it. And yet, when he was placed in the game and then faced with them…

Fuck, stop being stupid, you dumbass! We’ve had this conversation before dozens if not thousands of times! You have to be smart! Dee bapped himself in the head before getting up and grabbing his gun, tucking it away into his pants. A sigh left him once he opened up his backpack on the floor, producing a clean white tee-shirt and slipping it on alongside his jacket. He stuffed the dirty shirt into his pack and made his way out of the room.

Walking into the bedroom proper, he glanced over to Lyra and saw her on the bed still sound asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly with each breath. She looked so peaceful laying on the plush covers of the queen sized bed, arms resting on her stomach and snoozing softly.

He took the time to look her over, his curious nature overriding anything else.

The mare was clad in a pair of form fitting jeans with specks of blood near the legs. A pair of white sneakers with stains on them were her footwear, also confirming that the ponies were not of the unguligrade type, in which their feet were hooves. She also wore a black hoodie that was unzipped halfway and bunched up along with her shirt just above her navel, showing a shirt with a logo for a band of sorts he couldn’t see properly--well, not unless he opened up her hoodie some more.

Which he wasn’t going to do, he doubted she would appreciate him stripping her just to see a pony band name.

Lyra’s mane was also unlike the one in the show. Instead of being trimmed short, it was actually quite long and reached well past her shoulder, and was really silky looking—obviously well taken care off and very attractive looking. Her coat also looked rather strange up close, so short it was barely visible and almost looked like skin. Her horn as well was like what he imagined it being, the line that ran down from the tip of the horn was deep and was a lighter color from the rest. Her tail was similar to her mane, in that it was soft and silky, but much longer. He had to get very close to see the texture and individual strands of her fur and found himself doing so without thinking, trying to get a sense of it. .

During his admiration of her body, a voice spoke up, “Enjoying the v-view?”

A sudden blush appeared on his face once he realized she was actually awake and watching him. He glanced up and saw her pretty golden orbs look up at him from where her head was laying on the pillow, an amused smirk was plastered on her face prompting him to stammer.

“W-what? Pfft, naw,” He shook his head, quickly drawing back. Fuck, that’s what I get for staring like a retard.

A lighthearted giggle was swiftly followed by a pained grunt, “Unf-hehe, j-just messing with ya.” She chuckled gently.

“Gee, thanks…” Dee rolled his eyes at her. Well, at least she’s not doing as bad as I thought? He was actually about to ask if she was alright, get some clarification on how she was feeling after everything. After all, she had probably hurt herself bad dragging his deadweight ass up to the hotel and inside.

She beat him to the punch and asked him instead. “Dee, are y-you okay?” She moved her body into a sitting position, scooching up against the headboard as she questioned him. “The crash was p-pretty bad and I know you t-took some l-licks.”

Dee scoffed inwardly, was she serious about that question? She was way more hurt than he was, he could tell without having to examine her. “Pfft, I should be asking you that,” His tone grew more concerned and soft. “You dragged my ass all the way up to the hotel with two fractured bones,” A shake of his head and he added, “I’m fine, Lyra. Alive and kicking. But are you?”

She responded with the tiniest of smiles and nodded her head, though he noticed the way her muscles seemed taut, and the smile on her face forced. She wasn’t okay, “I’m f-fi-” A violent cough interrupted her. She clutched her stomach and chest, wheezing and coughing hard.

He recognized that kind of cough, deep in the body... she needed actual medical help.

Damn it, I need to get her help, but I don’t know how to fix a fractured bone myself… He rubbed his face and continued thinking about what to do. He needed to do something, that much was obvious to the eye. But what could he do? “Lyra, you’re not okay,” Dee told her bluntly after her coughing fit was over, “Rainbow told me you had fractured bones, and I don’t know how you got me up here without dying, but I’m pretty sure you exhausted yourself beyond the limits your body can handle.”

“D-Dee… I’m f-fine, don’t worry about i-it.” She waved him off.

He grumbled and leaned his elbows on his knees, staring into the floor in thought. I remember from the game there’s a medical station in this hotel somewhere. So maybe I could find some painkillers or something to help deal with the pain… or help her heal up faster? It was worth a shot, but he didn’t recall the layout of the hotel… nor did he know if painkillers or anything else there would actually aid in fixing her body; in the game, you just found a medkit and your body was magically healed. Despite the uncanny similarities to the game now, surely that wouldn’t work the same way here…?

He had no idea, but either way, if he did want to aid Lyra and help her heal, he would have to brave the building’s many areas by himself to find the medical station and then find his way back, all the while fighting off infected and not getting bitten…

And hoping she wouldn’t be found in the meantime.

Looking back over to Lyra, he saw her face. She was smiling a little towards him, as if to assure him that she was indeed alright. But he didn’t believe her. She was hurting but putting on a brave face, and that hurt him more than it should have.

Lyra, after all, was one of the background characters of the show that he first loved and adored so much; seeing that she was in such pain caused a pang of hurt to drift into his chest.

And thus, with a sigh...

For her, he realized he was going to have to do it.

Looking down at the floor once more, he said, “Get some rest, yeah?” He patted the bed and felt the weight of the gun still tucked into his pants, and the fire axe was nearby as well, which he would need to get used to using in lieu of the handgun.

Bullets were a finite resource he didn’t have the current luxury to afford replacing.

Licking her soft looking lips, the mare gave him a look. “You… you gonna be okay?”

This mare is stubborn, he thought with a soft smile and nodded, “Yeah, get some rest. You’re gonna need it, eh?”

“Yeah, y-you’re right,” She rubbed her forehead and scooted down, getting into a better sleeping position with Dee’s assistance. He helped her lay down better, fluffing up her pillow and making sure she was comfortable. She giggled and took his hand gently, “You’re a sweet stallion, you know that?”

“Heh… I’m no stallion but I’ve been told I can be sweet,” he said softly, patting her hand and standing up. “Rest, okay? I’m right here.”

“Okay…” She gave him a grateful smile as he took a seat in a chair nearby and let out a breath as Lyra drifted off to sleep.

He stared at her for a few minutes more, trying to gather her nerve. Hopefully she’d be feeling better when she woke up.

Assuming he made it back alive that was…

Eyes drifting towards the axe, his hand drifted behind him to grip his handgun and pull it out. Dee gave it a swift lookover, finding six rounds left out of the full fifteen he had.

Damn, fired nine shots? He bet they didn’t even kill that many to begin with while using it, and that was bad. He wouldn’t get the accuracy bonus in the game with a score like that.

Writing a note for her explaining what he was doing--he didn’t want her coming after him if she woke up to find him not there--he pulled himself together and took stock of his weaponry. , When he left the room, he decided he’d have to rely on the fire axe for safety and offense, with the handgun being primarily on backup as a last resort. At least until he found more ammunition, which, if that worked at all similar to the game, he figured would be in the security room of the hotel or on the bodies of slain security guards he found.

A sad hope to have, but one nonetheless he clung to.

Sitting back in the chair, he waited and waited until he was certain Lyra was down and out… then he made his move.

ooo000---000ooo

Moving everything out from in front of the door proved to be a difficult task on his own.

He was still achy and tired, and he had to be quiet about it so he wouldn’t wake Lyra from her slumber, but he was able to do it successfully after an hour of careful movements and quietly uttered curses to the gods above and below that he didn’t fuck this up. Afterwards, he opened the door, checked either side of the hall and exited it once he found it empty.

Fire Axe tight in hand, his gun tucked away in his waistband behind him, and his wounds bandaged up with ripped-up shirts he found in someone’s suitcase inside the room, he was set to move. He had tied a makeshift bandana around his head as tight as he could get it, mostly to keep his bangs out of his face, deciding it was time for a change of hairstyle if he ever made it home. Then he began moving out.

Of course, he had no idea where he was heading or where to go, but he hammered the room number they were hiding out in inside his mind so he’d remember where to run back to…

Assuming he wasn’t cornered by infected, that is.

Creeping along the hall he kept his axe lowered to his side, eyes peeled wide open for any sign of trouble. He felt a sense of tunnel vision on his walk; staring down the long curved hallway, his heartbeat in his ears. His hands felt clammy around the axe handle, shaking, even. His life was just getting harder and harder the more he moved on.

Life was not being easy on him, it seemed.

Regardless of the actions he chose, there was a very high chance of him dying and he had to do his best to be as careful as he could be.

Trapped in here is going to be an issue for both Lyra and I. She’s injured and I’m not sure any of the cars outside work or not. Hell, even if they do, I’m not confident I can get any of them running anyway, he thought, passing by the dozens of locked doors into different rooms, strewn about baggage and overturned baggage trolleys. I’ll have to be careful on my way to the medical station; I know there’s got to be a lot of undead in this place.

Speeding up his pace, he jogged down the hall with his mission set into his mind.

And yet, for all his worry about himself Lyra, he couldn’t help but wonder about Rainbow and the others. Were they okay? Were they safe?.

Unable to do anything but tend to himself and Lyra, he could only hope and prey.

ooo000---000ooo

Rainbow wasn’t sure what she was expecting when they had hunkered down for the night in one of the bungalows, but she wasn’t expecting all of the insanity that happened to them.

They had lost the human Dee, and their friends Lyra and Vinyl in the confusion and she wasn’t sure where in the heck they were, but needless to say, she was worried about if they survived or not.

She sighed and peeked out through the door and into the storm currently rampaging across the island and saw to her relief that the area around their current hideout seemed to be devoid of the undead monsters. She gripped a lead pipe Limestone had given her, her only means of defense on the ground alongside her own martial arts. She could fly, yes, but the others couldn’t and she didn’t plan on leaving them behind.

For what kind of Element of Loyalty would she be if she did?

“This is insane… zombies?” Limestone asked herself for the umpteenth time and Rainbow had to agree.

Zombies, living dead, swarming the island all around and munching on the living like they were their own personal snackfood, and everyone, pony and human, were trapped with no way off.

No way off that they could find, that is.

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded, looking back at her little group. She had to explain what she had learned from Dee to them all. Limestone, Marble and Dinky were inside, with Limestone right behind her wielding the bloodied hatchet. Marble was next to Dinky, who was just as scared as Marble looked. “Zombies.”

“That explains the fucking smell,” Limestone grumbled, looking down at her hatchet.

“Hey,” Rainbow started quietly, leaning over to Limestone, “You and Marble haven’t been bitten, have you?” What Dee told her came to mind, about how it could be spread through bites and she clarified upon seeing Limestone’s look, “This is some kind of virus, and this stallion we met told us you can only get it through like... bites and stuff.”

That was a scary thought. One single bite and that was it?

Rainbow watched as Limestone turned to Marble, glaring straight at her. The two seemed to have some silent conversation with nothing but their eyes and it lasted all but a few seconds. Limestone turned back, “No.”

“Whew,” Rainbow sighed and turned back to the door, peeking out into the pool area. They had run pretty far, but they didn't make it to their destination. She wished Dee had been with them, he seemed to know where to go to get to the Lifeguard Tower.

She had no idea where to head to to get away from these nightmarish creatures.

“So what the Tartarus is our move here?” Limestone growled out from behind Rainbow.

The pegasus saw a couple of branching paths leading off into different areas, with no doubt one heading back towards the beach. Dee had said something about a Lifeguard Tower being near the beach and that it was their best bet, not the hotel they crashed near--she learned that the hard way. If Dee was going to stick to the plan, then maybe he had led the others there after the crash?

It was worth a shot to check out the tower and see if they had somehow made it there first.

“There’s a lifeguard tower nearby, I think,” Rainbow informed Limestone, gripping her lead pipe a bit tighter. “I’m hoping Lyra and the others made it there.” It was a long shot, but one worth exploring.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” A hiss left Limestone as thunder rolled outside, “Probably a lot safer there then in this stupid craphole.”

Rainbow looked back at Limestone, then at Marble and Dinky, the latter of which was trembling in the other’s arms. Marble had said nothing during their stay inside the small mini-bar rotunda, instead she just sat huddled up next to Dinky who was silently praying to Celestia to come and whisk them away to safety. Limestone, meanwhile, had barely managed to sleep, taking turns with Rainbow to keep watch and make sure nothing got to them.

Sleeping had ended up proving to be hard to do ever since they arrived on the island--the constant threat of an attack made sure of that.

“We gotta move fast. I dunno how many of those things there are around here, and I really don’t want to end up attracting a bunch of those running ones.” Rainbow pushed the door open with a creak, stepping out just after and looking all around through the heavy rainfall. She didn’t pick up any noises save for the crashing waves, a distant screech, and the rain itself.

Looking behind her, Limestone was rousing Marble and Dinky to their feet. “Come on, let’s go.”

A groan brought back Rainbow’s thoughts to the front; she spotted an undead in the waist deep water of the pool and sloshing his way over to them, the storm doing nothing to impair his progress or sight. The stairs were nearby, but he didn’t seem to notice it and instead tried to climb out from the chest high obstacle in his way.

This is horrible. So many of these strange ‘human’ creatures had been turned into monsters because of a virus? Where did it even come from?

Limestone broke her out of her thoughts with a question, “Which way?”

“Down by the beach,” Rainbow turned and pointed towards the shoreline, prompting Limestone to look towards it.

“Marble and I came from the beach,” Limestone twirled her hatchet, “Washed up on shore after falling off the damn airship… urg,” She didn’t look all too happy about that, a hand drifting to her shoulder and rolling it.

Falling was almost an alien concept to a pegasus, but Rainbow could only imagine how horrifying that had to have been for someone who didn’t have wings.

Shaking her head and focusing on the area around them, Rainbow changed the subject, “The lifeguard tower should be somewhere near the beach. If we’re lucky we can hole up there and I can send a letter to Twilight,” The candle came to mind, and she was happy to still have it in her backpack. She needed to send a letter as soon as possible. “Maybe get help to get off this stupid rock”

With no threats in sight, Rainbow ushered Limestone, Marble and Dinky out of the rotunda and down the path leading towards what was hopefully the lifeguard tower... and their salvation.

Hopefully the lifeguard they had met back at the gas station wasn’t there… she didn’t feel up for dealing with that rat bastard of a stallion for what he did to them. Not only leaving them to die, but also attacking Dee and the others.

The group of four made their way southward, moving down the path past turned over chairs and pools of blood staining the ground that was being washed around by the rain, turning it into a pinkish hue. The area around them had the appearance of a party that had been ruined, something that would no doubt make Pinkie Pie’s usual cheerful attitude sour. Spilled drinks and half eaten food beginning to rot, broken bottles of booze and discarded clothing.

Rainbow had been to dozens of Vinyl’s special ‘after-parties’ and this was usually how most of them ended up, just change the pools of blood to booze and the stench of death to raunchy sex.

The path leading through the hedges and a wooden built walkway was a nice relief from the tropical downpour overhead, they were still wet of course but still. And the path itself led further towards an overlook, which afforded them all an incredible view of the island and surrounding areas.

“Whoa.” Dinky muttered as they walked down the steps to the balcony, all of them taking in the view.

The island was incredibly large from what Rainbow could see, that much was obvious just from looking at the other parts. In the distance they saw a large structure on an island of sorts, it was far, but Rainbow was able to make out its shape and how grim it looked even in the storm. Off to the far right on a distant shore were buildings lining a roadway that led to a small port city of sorts sitting at the base of jungle covered mountains, it was far away and looked rather large.

The beach down below looked fairly normal, but there were clusters of undead moving along the sandy shores towards the huts around the area, growling and snarling. Blood marred the once pristine beachfront, ruining what must have been a once nice looking place.

“Place is a fucking nightmare.” Limestone broke the silence with her trademark annoyed remark, looking peeved when Rainbow glanced back at her. “Where the fuck is the lifeguard tower?”

Rainbow looked around the area, but she didn’t see any sign of it around. “I don’t know, but they’re supposed to be near the beach.”

“Didn’t that stallion tell you where it was?” Limestone questioned, sounding more and more angry by the second.

Now that Rainbow thought about it, no… he didn’t give an exact location of where it was, he only said that it was a better option then the hotel.

“No, he didn’t,” Rainbow rubbed her face, she figured she should have asked for its exact location, but it slipped her mind in favor of actually enjoying the fact that they had escaped the confines of the station. “Crap.”

This was a problem...

“Guys!” Dinky’s voice shouted from behind them.

Rainbow whirled around at the cry and she saw Dinky at the top of the stairs pointing to the far right, a bright smile on her face.

“The lifeguard tower is that way! There’s a sign here saying where it is!” Dinky told them, gesturing wildly to the right.

Rainbow kicked off of the ground and zipped up into the air to try and get a look-lo and behold when she flew up high enough to see over the small mountainside blocking their view, she saw a sort of compound looking building situated in a position to overlook a decent portion of the beach, as well as the bungalows down below sitting on the water. She saw a sturdy looking gate blocking off the roadway, and the building itself had a tarp hanging from the front of her that read ‘HELP’ in bold.

They found it!

Rainbow cackling and yelled, “Good job kid! We’re almost there!”

Looking down at Dinky, she saw her pump a fist into the air in victory…

… mere seconds before she was pulled away by something and shrieking in fear, “Ahhh!”

“No!” Rainbow suddenly blasted off from where she was, kicking off with her magic and zipping downward with as much speed as she could. “Dinky!” She flipped and landed on the ground as the thunder and lightning rolled, lighting up the area briefly just as she landed.

Lightning struck nearby and lit up the area like a flashlight, and she saw the darkness of the shaded walkway disappear briefly just in time to see Dinky being pulled back by one of the undead…

Everything moved in a blur for her as she rushed inside after the young filly; from Dinky’s struggle to get free and her panicked expression, the mutilated face of the undead as he opened his mouth wide… the spray of blood as he sunk his teeth into Dinky’s shoulder.

“NO!”

Rainbow’s fist flew forward with such force past Dinky neck, hitting the undead straight on with a disgusting crunch. The undead let go of of her shoulder-but not without taking a chunk out of her shoulder and flying back a few feet.

Dinky’s weak cry of pain filled Rainbow’s ears; the filly collapsed forward onto her knees. Rainbow grabbed onto her, eyes wide in shock.

“No no no no, fuck!” Rainbow picked up Dinky and rushed back out just as Limestone made it up, “Shit! We need to go now!”

“What the fuck!?” Limestone saw Dinky’s shoulder, a decent amount of meat missing in action and blood rushing out onto the ground and onto Dinky and Rainbow’s clothing.

“Go! Now!” The pegasus screamed and rushed down the pathway headed towards the lifeguard tower.

And all the while, she could only hope that whatever Dee said about the bite was wrong...

ooo000---000ooo

An undead passed by and thankfully for our heroine, it was missing both eyes.

Vinyl sighed and licked her lips nervously, glancing around the inside of the place she found herself in.

She had managed to get away from the crash in one piece, but only just barely. Somehow she got split off from the others and had to fight her way to the hotel nearby, where she figured the others would be. But she was forced down a road away from Lyra who she saw was dragging Dee up towards the front entrance of the hotel, a group of monsters had chased the both of them away from one another.

Now she was underground in some kind of parking lot for those weird human vehicles-there were a lot of them, big ones, small ones, there was even a big boxy looking one that said ‘bank’ on the side of it. She wasn’t sure how to work any of them; if she did she would probably try and use one of them to get her friends and get out of there.

For now though, she was hiding from the monsters… or at least she was trying to hide. The infected were underground as well, though there were not as many as up top. They were sparse in number and dressed very differently, some wore suits and others security guard outfits, bellhop uniforms…

The hotel workers, she figured, crouched down low and moving throughout the hotel she had managed to sneak into.

After leaving the parking garage, she crept her way back to the ground level through a hall to see if she couldn’t find Lyra and Dee somewhere inside. She had been hopeful that the hotel would be devoid of the monsters, but sadly for her that was not the case. It seemed the hotel wasn’t as safe as she hoped it’d be, as the infected were all inside and creeping around nearly every corner.

Another thing that made this worse?

She was deaf for one thing, so she couldn’t hear a damn thing around her. So why bother with something so pointless? And it didn’t help her nerves any in the slightest that she was almost caught three times since she snuck her way inside. She only got lucky cause all three of them had been missing most of their faces and their eyes were gone…

Morbid, but… at least she didn’t get spotted and bit.

In short, she was trapped inside the dark, with barely any light and no sound to go off of, and barely any magic.

This doesn’t make sense, she thought as she snuck forward, eyes wide as could be and glancing left and right. Vinyl was doing her best to be on the lookout, glancing to the left, right, in front and behind her for any sign of the monsters. Pausing for a moment once she crept into a nearby room, she glanced down at her hands, My magic usually replenishes itself, so why the fuck isn’t it? In fairness, she could feel the trickles of some form of strange magic starting to fill up her near-empty reserves, but it felt off… it wasn’t Equestrian magic, that was for sure, and even when she got more of it, she wasn’t sure she could use it.

If that wasn’t enough to worry her, most of the spells she usually used to help her with day to day life were acting strange. Her light spell had been one she tried earlier to help her see through the darkened halls, but it wouldn’t stop fluctuating and sending sparks flying when she kept it active. So she had to deal without a light, at least for now until her magic decided to work like it was supposed to.

What even is up with this… all of my magic feels weird! Vinyl could feel it running along her spine, this foreign magical presence. It felt old to her; raw and… untapped, and yet her body so easily absorbed it; the trickle he had sensed was beginning to speed up as more of her native magic left her, leaving the new form of it to fill up her reserves without hesitation. It feels so old…

She shook her head, deciding she could worry about stuff like that later. Right now, she knew, she needed to find Lyra and the others.

The mare crept forward and kept her head and body ducked down in a crouch. She had moved until she was in some kind of underground area, lots of piping letting out steam and narrow hallways that made everything feel so claustrophobic. It didn’t help that everywhere she looked, she could almost feel the walls closing in on her.

The mare continued further and further inside before coming across some doors. She moved up to them, body loosened and ready for anything as she peeked in through the glass.

Flickering lights hung on the other side from the ceiling; briefly illuminating the layout of what appeared to be a kitchen-pots, pans, rising steam from something she could smell was still cooking… perhaps overcooking if the putrid burning smell gave her any idea. Blood stained the floor once she pushed the door open a bit and the smells of burning food, blood, rot, and smoke filled her nose.

Jeez. Vinyl covered her snout and moved inside, eyes wide and quickly glancing around.

She could see a cluster of white uniformed humans off to the side, hunched over something on the floor. Lumbering throughout the large kitchen, she could see a couple of infected, wandering aimlessly. A dozen stove burners were lit up; bright blue flames burning pots and pans alike, food boiled and burned, producing this obtrusive smell that made Vinyl’s nose crinkle up in disgust.

She had been in kitchens like this before, having gone to check out the hotels in a greater capacity as a famous DJ to meet with the ponies who cooked her meals and kept her hotel rooms clean. It felt right and she loved seeing the smiles on some of their faces when she strolled in and complimented them on how much work they put into making sure her stay was the best it could be.

It made her feel like less of a celebrity that was worshipped and more like a pony others could get to know. Sure she couldn’t speak or… hear, for that matter, but she still managed to bring smiles onto all of their faces. It helped she knew a few party tricks that usually made ponies happy, course… it also helped she liked to invite some staff to the after-parties for a drink or two.

Gah, gotta stay focused. Vinyl told herself, rubbing her face. Once more, she was reminded that her glasses were missing in action, no doubt shattered and broken during the crash. She made a mental note to find some more somewhere, even if they weren’t her trademark magenta color.

Vinyl stayed down low and moved forward, pausing next to stoves and preparation tables for food. The smell was horrible, a nauseating mixture of death, rot, burned food and smoke; it was disgusting and she did her best to get through the room as fast and quietly as she could.

The infected were everywhere in the kitchen from what she could see, and the fact she couldn’t hear anything only made the paranoia and fear welling up in her gut all that worse. Front and back, she had to keep an eye out and make sure she wasn’t being stalked by any of the infected.

Shit shit shit, I hate this! Vinyl eventually reached one of the double doors that might have led out, she wasn’t sure. She pushed on it, opening it up and slipping into the next room.

Stacked up chairs, some covered up tables, and a body greeted her; the latter of which she focused on a bit more than anything else. From the clothing the body wore, and the distinct shape of it, it was a male security guard. The clothing was torn and stained with blood, the head, blackened and rotting.

The most noticeable feature?

The long metal pole sticking out of his chest, right through where his heart would be.

Oh, Celestia! . She gulped and found her eyes glancing over to him and his belt, and at a black holster that held one of those weird looking flintlocks that she saw before.

Another glance up at the security guard; he didn’t move, breath, didn’t make any sort of movements that would indicate that he might still be alive.

Vinyl knew about how firearms worked, of course. A bout of curiosity led to her trying one out at one of Canterlot’s blacksmiths, and man did she have fun with that. The recoil was a bit strong, but firing it had been a trip.

Did this one act the same?

She swallowed her nerves and reached out for it; hand grazing the bloodied shirt and grasping onto the holster, she unclasped it and pulled it free before backing up. The body made no movements… he was dead.

Whew… Vinyl’s eyes glanced down at the firearm; from what she could tell, it was the same kind Dee had grabbed and kept with him when they escaped the station. It was shaped so weirdly, made of different material, and most of the weight was in the handle. I need to find someone who knows how these things work; maybe they ca-

She was cut off when the building shook slightly, and a surge of something rushed through her body…

She didn’t know if it was good or bad that there was suddenly a great deal of magic in the air...

12

ooo000---000ooo

There were a lot of things Dee expected once he found himself on the second floor overlooking one of the giant indoor swimming pools; undead wandering around under the water; a Floater lying in wait at the bottom; or maybe nothing at all.

What he didn’t expect to find was a whirlpool inside of said pool that was currently sucking down whatever was inside it down to the bottom.

He wasn’t a hundred percent sure on whatever the hell was currently going on.

Dee was running along and making his way through the area-fire-axe in hand and being mindful of his surroundings. Once he entered the pool area, the building violently shook and windows started to shatter nearby; things collapsed and rolled off of shelves and tables; and a few undead tumbled down the stairs to break their bones.

The pool he stared at briefly had started to change as well and was whirling around and around like a whirlpool. But why was it doing that? Pools didn’t do that, or the ones he knew of didn’t. “This wasn’t in the game,” He murmured and watched the whirlpool after making sure it was clear around him. Most of the undead were too far away, but even so… he couldn’t keep his eyes off of it.

Garbage, body parts, the blood itself, all swirling around faster and faster with no sign of stopping anytime soon. The sound of rushing and swirling water kept his attention for some time, as it did the infected wandering down below. He watched as a few running infected jump into the pool with a screech, probably drawn in by the loud sound. Once in the pool, they got sucked down under with screams, bodies twisting around before going under.

It was amusing to watch, at least to Dee, that is.

Well, aren’t I just a ray of fucking sunshine. He scrunched up his face and continued watching. Dee realized how dark that was in his head, but shook the thoughts away and instead went back to focusing on the mission at hand.

‘Obtain medical supplies for Lyra.’

Yeah, right… spooky pool water aside, she needs help and on top of that, I need to get back there fast before she wakes up. Somehow I doubt she’s going to be very happy about me disappearing. He thought, turning and beginning to make his way across towards the small bar area nearby. The lines of booze caught his attention, maybe a run back here later to get some would benefit them both. For medicinal purposes only, of course… but getting plastered might be medicinal at this rate!

Dee was careful to hide when needed and avoid as much confrontation with any undead as possible; he was still injured and moving around as much as he was now was enough to cause some pain to flare up. His head was better and from his clear thoughts, he guessed he’d been lucky enough to not get a concussion. He pressed on through the pain, and besides...

Lyra’s health was on the line here, and he needed to raid the medical bay. He would be fine after a good long rest, but her? She needed more substantial help.

There was a pretty good chance of there being nothing there, of course… crisis situations were never kind and left little in its wake.

But it was worth a shot, damn it.

“You… you there!” Dee stopped in his tracks, his heart pounding in his chest after hearing the voice and few screeches from somewhere, “How did you get in here?!”

Oh shit… I forgot about that dude! Dee glanced up and looked around; off to the far corner he saw one of the security cameras glaring right at him, red light blinking and focusing on him.

A loud gunshot also sounded off from somewhere in the hotel, startling Dee.

“Shiiit! Ken! Hurry up and get back here, there’s someone out there!”

Another gunshot had gone off, but this one was louder… it also caused some glass next to him to explode-sending shards flying. “Shit!”

“I see him! Intruder on the second floor walkway!” Another man had yelled, someone close by.

“What the fuck, I’m not an intruder! I’m a survivor! Please don’t shoot!” Dee screamed out at him, but another gunshot nearly took his head off. “Ahh!” He collapsed onto the ground, and quickly scurried away towards the bar, “Stop shooting at me! Please!”

“He’s running!”

“Ken! He’s heading towards you!”

What the fuck is this?! He knew that was one of the security guards from the game, the ones who helped out the heroes get to the bank truck inside the garage. So why were they attacking him?! “Shit shit shit!” He scurried further before getting back onto his feet, coughing as his ribs stung.

He made his way past the bar, an undead popping its head up and growling at him and only making matters worse.

The gunshots gave him even more cause for concern; a stray bullet could seriously injure or even kill him.

Screeee!

Even worse was that it was drawing in the infected!

The pounding of running feet could be heard below him and no small amount of panic coursed through his system. It was also alerting the ‘sleeping’ undead and causing them to get up and start moving, which was bad for him.

Dee rushed forward as another bullet was fired, zipping over his head and hitting one of the undead in front of him, causing it to stumble to the side and spraying blood.

Glancing back, Dee saw one of the security guards aiming at him, “Stop!”

He didn’t stop, however, and rushed past the undead; he slid past him and—fighting through the pain, kicked the zombie back behind him and moved forward, making his way towards the door on the other side he knew led to where he needed to go.

“Don’t shoot me, you asshole!” Dee yelled back, but his pleas went unheard as another shot was fired. Fuck! This guy isn’t giving a single fuck, I gotta move fast! The pain in his body suggested otherwise; throbs and stings whenever he moved in any direction made him want to find a place to rest and hide.

He was being watched by whoever was in the security room, so that would make resting anywhere dangerous.

How many guards are even still alive? Are they just hiding around the inside of the hotel? All good questions, of course.

BANG

Ones for later, when he wasn’t about to die.

A sudden exclamation of pain left Dee and he fell forward, sliding across the smooth floor after something hit the back of his leg. His axe slid out of his grasp away from him, a violent curse leaving his lips.

Another gunshot sounded and hit the floor beside him, forcing him to roll out of the way and crawl behind a wall for cover. “F-fuck.” Through heavy rapid breathing, a quick cursory glance at the floor and his leg once he was in cover revealed a trail of crimson. He had been shot!

“You’re done!” The guard yelled out.

At the sound of running footsteps closing in on his position, Dee pulled out his handgun. Not today asshole!

Just as he flicked the safety off, another screech filled the air followed by some thumps. “Ahhhh! Shit!”

Dee cringed and trembled, fear rushing through him when more gunshots sounded out-the screams of the guard that had shot at him began to morph into twisted and blood curdling shrieks of agony.

Peering past his cover, Dee saw the security guard was downed and being ripped into with a scream; the undead and infected didn’t hesitate to descend upon him and tear the guard apart.

A muffled curse left through clenched teeth as he peered down at his leg; the bullet had indeed hit him, luckily going all the way through. I’m not up for playing surgeon. Blood steadily flowed out as a growing sensation of pain filled his leg.

Crawling over to one of the tables nearby, he climbed up into one of the chairs with a growl and quickly ripped the makeshift bandana off of his head. He used it to tie around his leg to stop the bleeding, and he knew it wouldn’t do much, but it was something until he could get some proper bandaging.

Gotta move, gotta move, gotta move fast! A few quick breaths and Dee got back up, his leg crippling him. A brief spike of pain rushed up his leg whenever he took a step, he was going to have a bad limp for a while. Damn it, this is going to fuck me over big time!

He carefully made his way over to the ax he dropped, finding it laying near the door he had intended on entering, he picked it up, turning away from the gruesome scene of the now dead guard being torn into like a prime rib.

The crunching of flesh and sinew and cracking of bone filled his ears once he opened up the other door, peeking inside… then promptly vanishing on the other side.

He had to hurry…

I just hope my blood doesn’t attract them...

ooo000---000ooo

The rapid beating of her heart, agonized whimpers, and the screams of the damned… that’s what filled Rainbow’s ears when she zipped over to the lifeguard tower. She felt and smelled the warm sensation and iron scent of blood on her clothing, but she didn’t care…

Dinky had been bitten and she needed to stop the bleeding, now!

The lifeguard tower came into sight and she landed atop a chain link fencing that acted as a sort of roofing for the north part of the second floor deck, immediately in front of her she saw the tower and the blood on the staring and floor. There was blood everywhere, body parts, decimated bodies…

The survivors here had been turned into zombies, there was no help here.

“No no no!” She saw a few of them wandering around, with a couple directly below her and reaching up at her. The door leading into the tower was open, and she doubted anyone was even alive here. “Damn it!” Ripping off her backpack, she quickly pulled out her old shirt-still damp, and used it to bind Dinky’s bleeding shoulder as best as she could.

Rainbow stood seconds later and gripped her lead pipe tightly, she had to deal with these things!

Zipping down onto the nearly rain flooded floor, she landed and spun around as the crowd of zombies turned towards her. They shambled at her in an awkward gait while one remained behind to try and get at Dinky, but he was a short thing, she would be safe.

She waited until the first one approached her and attacked; she spun her body fast and brought up her heel, smashing into the side of its face with a sharp crack. It stumbled to the side with a groan as another approached-she grabbed onto the first one’s arm and spun hard, dragging it towards her and around to kick and slam into the second, causing them both to fall back. Rainbow kicked off of the floor next, zooming over to the next and crouching low-the undead was too slow to react once she shot up with her fist, connecting it to the underside of its jaw. The brief momentum of it flying gave her the chance to spin around and slam both of her legs into the chest to send it flying.

The undead flew back into the shelving nearby and broke something-evidenced by the loud snapping noise and it’s brief cry of pain as it hit the floor, hard. The others didn’t seem too perturbed by her speed, let alone her combat prowess, they didn’t even look scared!

Rainbow wasn’t going to stop however.

Zipping over to the railing nearby, a quick glance revealed several zombies down below, wandering aimlessly. She focused back on the ones in front of her, specifically the one charging at her with a wild sounding noise.

She waited, fighting back the primal fear inside her for the right opportunity. He made to attack but she was faster-utilizing her speed, and grabbed onto his arm and smashed a fist into his chest and with a yell, brought him up and threw him over her shoulder and off of the balcony before kicking off into the the air above. The smack of the body sounded once it hit the wet concrete down below, she shuddered and spun back around to face the remaining ones, all of them being soaked by the rain.

Gotta keep fighting!

She had to...

“Rah!” Limestone yelled and swung her hatchet hard to the right, swiping through the rain and the undead’s head, taking off the top part of it. Blood covered her shirt and she kicked him away with a violent growl before running down the path. She glanced behind her and saw Marble’s terrified gaze.

She kept moving though, tearing a path to the lifeguard tower. Unbelievable! They were making progress, and then suddenly Dinky gets a chunk taken out of her! The blood… bright red, stained the ground where Rainbow had been before she zipped off to the tower without the both of them. Limestone had to move fast to get there in time.

Damn it! If that shit about being bitten is true… She didn’t want to think about the kid turning into one of those things; Limestone couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would be like… she hoped she would never have to.

She didn’t get much chance to worry as another infected ran out from one of the paths and slipped on the water soaked ground, falling and spotting her with a scream before climbing back up and running at her; given ample warning, she was quick to respond to its attack.

She skidded and pulled back her fist, knuckles lined up-once the infected jumped at her with flailing arms, the earthen mare threw her punch. Back where Limestone was from, there was a certain set of rules to follow when you were with an Earth Pony Mare. The first and foremost rule?

CRACK-BOOM

Never, ever piss them off.

Thunder exploded through the skies as the infected’s head snapped back with such force, she could feel the bones in its body shatter and crack, and something inside its head popped. It gave a pitiful noise before flying back, sent flying fifteen backwards and skidding across the path. The infected hit the concrete hard and rolled for a foot before smashing into a pole, producing a loud noise.

And she kept moving.

“Move faster!” Limestone yelled back at Marble, to which the younger mare squeaked in fright and sped up behind her. The only thing she feared more than the undead surrounding her was incurring the displeasure and outright wrath of her big sister, who she admired greatly

After another sharp turn that involved running down some stairs and back up some more, and Limestone found one of the entrances to the Lifeguard Tower to her right, a locked up gate with bodies lying around, torn into and bloodied.

This place is a fucking mess. She heard the sounds of someone fighting in the tower-it had to have been Rainbow.

Before she could move forward however, one of the bodies suddenly sat up and stared at her. A groan left his bloodied lips and he slowly stood up, one eye twitching before locking onto her.

“Great,” Looking behind her at Marble, she said, “Stay back.”

Marble just cowered as Limestone ran off to clear the way, trying desperately not to get too wet from the storm going on, her increasingly torn and tattered shirt clinging to her, becoming see-through.

Burning… that was what Dinky felt, burning.

Her eyes stared aimlessly into the bright blue sky above, at the lazily drifting clouds and the birds… was she back home? She swore she could smell her mother’s cooking-fresh chocolate chip cookies and pecan pie.

Delicious.

Dinky figured she must have fallen asleep while she was outside with her friends… maybe, she wasn’t sure. The one thing she was questioning right now was the weird burning pain in her shoulder, and the odd growling noise behind her…

She was laying down, wasn’t she?

A blink of her eyes and everything changed, she saw storm clouds overhead and felt water hitting her entire body. She turned her head to the right and she saw a building-definitely not her house. A flash of blue and… was that Rainbow? Why was she covered in so much red?

She looks angry.

Rainbow yelled and flew out of sight for some strange reason… leaving Dinky to wonder.

I hope mom comes back… I’m tired… and wet, she decided as she fell back asleep

Rainbow landed on the ground with a splash and spun hard, kicking another of the undead off of the second floor and onto the concrete down below-that only left one! But then it grabbed onto Rainbow’s back and she panicked when the hungry growl sounded in her ears. “Gah!”

“Rrrr!” The undead tried to bite her, but a quick move from her and she managed to move around fast enough to stop it from sinking its teeth in her, and instead shoved the lead pipe into its mouth. The clink of its teeth on the metal told her he bit down-she was quick to smash it into the back of its throat, causing it to gag.

A spin and precise aim of her elbow into the side of its head dislodged its hold on her, and she drop-kicked him away-not before using her wings to stabilize her from falling onto the floor.

The undead slid back and hit the rail hard, his poor gait and slow reflexes was not enough to prevent him from falling over the side. The rustle of bushes and dull crack filled the air, and the fight was over… for now, that is.

Rainbow was breathing heavily, chest heaving and sucking in air-fists and shirt stained with blood, mane askew and feathers ruffled. Hand to hand combat was nothing new to her, everyone in the Wonderbolts trained in it for self defense… but she had never properly used it on anyone, let alone with the intent to… kill.

No… no, they’re monsters, not people. Rainbow reminded herself and flew back up to Dinky.

She knelt down and examined the filly-she was breathing rapidly, eyes almost vacant and flicking around, and the shirt she had used to bind the wound was heavily soaked in blood and rain water. Both of their clothing was covered in blood and water… in the case of Rainbow, it was more Dinky’s blood than anyone else’s.

Why… Celestia, why?!

She stood up on shaky legs and looked off to the left to the ground level where vehicles could drive into, and the gates. She saw Limestone swinging and slicing away with her hatchet at one of the monsters through the storm, one that was trying to get at Marble who was hiding nearby. She thought of going to help the other mare, but she seemed to have the situation well in hoof, and she was afraid to leave Dinky again anyway.

Rainbow found her eyes scanning the entire area, the storm clouds and the rain… this was supposed to be their vacation…

Not a fight for survival.

She was about to go down and get the Pie sisters over to the tower, if only so they could eventually clear it out… or at least get everyone together and away from the undead, but she ended up hearing more commotion from down below where they were at.

“Shit! What are those things?!” A woman yelled.

“Who cares, just kill the zombies!” Another one yelled, a male this time.

Survivors? She spread her wings and quickly flew over. Rainbow had lost her weapon, so she would have to be careful if they were hostile.

Once she was overhead, she saw a group of four humans, two of them were darker skinned individuals-wearing baggy pants and a jacket with a gold chain, the other an obvious female wearing a purple dress and carrying a weird weapon in her hand, another was wearing a torn red skirt, and the final one was a male with a mohawk and shorts.

Marble was staring at them and backing up as Limestone kicked away another of the monsters-it stumbled back from the hit and landed in a bush. One of the other humans looked up, and his eyes went wide, “They can fly?!”

“We’re not like them!” Rainbow was quick to yell down at them, landing next to Marble who immediately moved behind her to hide. “We’re just trying to survive this crap.”

“And they talk? What the hell is this shit,” The one ebon-skinned male scoffed, holding a paddle in his hand.

“Calm down, Sam,” The skirt clad girl told him and looked at Rainbow and Marble. “What are you?”

“We’re talking to them now?” The other male asked, frowning and holding up a pipe - he looked rather impatient. “How do we know they won’t try and kill us?”

“We’re ponies thank you very much and we’re not going to attack you guys… not unless you attack us first,” Rainbow warned, holding out an arm out in front of Marble. “We just need a safe place to hide out so we came here… I don’t want to fight any of you, if anything… we can help each other.”

The other woman who gripped a weapon similar to Dee’s was aiming it at them… Rainbow wasn’t a genius, but she knew a dangerous weapon when she saw one. They had a stare off before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a little plastic card. “We have a way in.”

“We’re not seriously considering that, are we?” The other male questioned the woman.

“We need the numbers,” She replied, walking past them and over to the gate.

Rainbow backed up with Marble and glanced towards Limestone who was using the shirt of one of the monsters to clean off her hatchet-she spit onto the ground and looked towards the others. “Who the hell are they?” She asked, walking over and to Marble.

“Backup… hopefully.” Rainbow told her as the light above the door lock turned green… and it opened and the four humans rushed in. She cracked her neck and flew up into the air and Limestone was quick to move in with them, Marble was more hesitant…

And then the fight began again.

ooo000---000ooo

Derpy shivered when she woke up-her head throbbing, body cold and wet. She sensed a storm had arrived, blanketing her with rainwater. She opened her eyes with a groan and coughed, gripping her head and rolling onto her side. “Nnng...” What had happened?

Memories of earlier flashed through her mind and she saw the strange ape like creature running ather, wildly swinging a bat at her. She got hit somehow-a moment of hesitation on her part, and the female suddenly disappeared with a scream…

Over the edge of the building.

The rain still pelting her body, she clambered up onto her knees and shakily crawled over to the edge… her mind was hazy, her eyes having trouble focusing, but she was able to peer down at the ground below.

Those odd vehicles were still parked around the lot, some crashed and others tipped over with a few intact ones around. Bodies lay everywhere-chewed and gnawed on, with little more than bones and sinew left on their bloodied bones. The city had grown quiet now… there were a few noises here and there, but nothing major like before. And directly below her, she saw the body of what could have only been the female… she could tell from the half torn apart face and the bat still clutched in her hand, one that was being chewed on by one of the monsters.

Failing to fight back the urge to throw up, she ended up expelling the contents of her stomach out onto the ground below, the putrid bile leaving her with a bad taste in her mouth after she was through. The monsters down below didn’t seem to care that she did it on top of them.

Derpy fell back with a gasp, a hand flying to her mouth and eyes brimming with tears. She felt horrible… her entire body, her stomach, everything about her felt incredibly disgusting. The mare was tired, hurting, she had a splitting headache… and all around her she smelled death!

I need to get out of here.

Looking around for the bag and weapon, she grabbed both of them and unzipped the pack’s top. She took a glance inside and found… odd, she found some weird looking blocks inside and some equally weird looking strings; they almost looked like the stuff she had seen in Doctor Whooves’s house. Derpy shook her head and shoved the weapon inside, zipping it back up.

She would have worn it, but given its weight, it was made more for earth or unicorn ponies in mind, so she wasn’t sure how she could wear it without sacrificing her flight. She huffed and opted to just carry it… it wasn’t too heavy.

I can’t stay here… I don’t think anyone else is here either, maybe further along the coast?

Derpy honestly had no idea where anyone was… but she wasn’t going to find them just sitting around. Hefting up the bag she took a deep breath and jumped up, flying up through the driving rain-it weighed both her and her clothes down, making them cling cloying to every curve of her form, but she was able to gain enough lift to soar above the buildings.

Once she was up high enough, she could see more of the city in its entirety on both sides of the river. She didn’t see anything that resembled the airship at all and could only assume that she had flown somewhere else entirely…

I gotta find it… find Dinky…

As she started flying across the city along the coast, she couldn’t help but find herself wondering just why this was happening. How was it they had gone from planning out all of the fun things to do on their first ever vacation.

I had spent so long saving up for this. Months, if not an entire year since Dinky’s seventeenth birthday. Derpy wanted to give her only child something special, something that she would remember and hold dear for the rest of her life.

Sadly for both of them, they would never forget this horrible experience… the monsters, the chaos, the fighting, all of it.

But maybe if they got out of here as soon as possible, they could shove it into the back of their minds and forget about it entirely! All of the monsters, the smells, the sights… just forget everything and move on.

Could they do that? Would it be that simple?

As Derpy flew over the city and eventually out of it alongside a coastline roadway, she had no idea if it would be.

The road below her was nearly choked with more of those vehicles-many had crashed off to one side and a lot of the longer ones had crashed, jack-knifed onto their sides and creating blockades down some other roads. But for the most part, it wasn’t completely blocked off. It continued around to the east away from the town.

She kept flying until the town was but a distant smoke billowing ruin on the horizon behind her and arrived at a building on the side of the road with some vehicles parked out front, but no people. A sign on the other side of the road caught her attention though, and when she flew down low enough to read it, she saw it detailed what was further down the route.

Baroki Town - 16 Kilometers
Royal Palms Resort - 43 Kilometers

Derpy had no idea what a kilometer was, but the island didn’t appear to be too big… and while she wasn’t necessarily a very fast flyer, she could cross vast distances with little issue. Being trained as a postal worker pegasus had its perks; what she lacked in speed she made up for endurance, able to deliver overnight packages all over the province when called upon. Given enough time, she could fly across Equestria from house to house, carrying bags of mail to every mailbox and not get tired.

She had no idea what to expect in either of these places, but… maybe Dinky and the others were in them?

Derpy would just have to fly out there and see.

ooo000---000ooo

The growling didn’t cease beyond the glass doors that separated Dee from the horde of undead. They held strong under the ceaseless snarling and attacks, but even so, he grew nervous about what would happen if the door just so happened to burst open. So many were behind it too, all of them hotel staff members who suffered at the gnarled hands of the infected.

“Fuck.”

He took a glance at a sign to his right and he saw a small sign that pointed to where all of the facilities inside the building were-such as the security office, janitorial duties office… and the medical bay, all of which were located on the other side of the door which was currently being bombarded by the undead.

“So close...”

He only had a few more rooms to pass and just a little further to go before reaching the medical bay. He was cut off! And he didn’t want to go back the way he came, not if those security guards were still back there.

“Damn it, now what do I do?” That was the million dollar question right there. How could he proceed forward without going back and getting shot at? The other guard was likely dead, yes, but who knows how many more were potentially stalking him. Fuck, I’m gonna have to risk something her-

He stopped when he heard the creak of a door to his right-a janitor’s closet-and mere seconds later, the door swung open fully and out ran one of the security guards! He yelled and tackled Dee up against the wall, surprising him enough to knock his axe away and pin him down, “I have him!”

“Aahh!” Dee struggled once he hit the wall, pain hitting his back and his leg once the man grabbed onto him. A moment of clarity hit him when he saw who this was-it was one of the NPCs of Dead Island, Ken, a security guard. “Get offa me!”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Ken yelled and slammed Dee up against the wall again before pulling out handcuffs.

Oh hell no! Acting on pure instinct, Dee shot his head forward into Ken’s with a sickening thump noise-and Dee felt pain explode across his forehead, “Rah!”

That admittedly stupid and painful attack made Ken yell out and loosen his grip. Once he was free, his self defense instincts kicked in-he launched a jab at Ken’s throat, making him back off and grab at his throat in pain before he swung wildly from the right, his fist connecting to the man’s head and making him stumble.

The door that held the undead rattled and shook from the force of more joining, no doubt enticed by the two lively survivors.

Dee found himself getting tackled by Ken once more, slammed against the wall and onto the floor with a yelp. His leg burned as Ken loomed above him, fist poised before being swung down into his face.

The side of Dee’s face exploded in pain once the punch connected, snapping his head to the side. “Gah!”

“Rotten bastard!” Ken growled and stood up, picking Dee up with him and throwing him against the wall.

Dee hit the wall and slid down, growling and trying to figure out how to get back at him. The door to his right rattled and shook, glass still beginning to crackle. In front of him, Ken pulled his baton out-with a flick of his wrist it extended with a violent snap.

“You let them into the hotel!” He snarled and pointed his baton dangerously, backing Dee up to the door of the janitor’s closet. “You let them in!”

Dee coughed and shook his head, “No way! They were already inside the damn place! They’re everywhere!” He gestured to the door to his right, where the glass was beginning to break further. Wait… I still have my gun. He realized, and his hand dropped to his side, he could sneak it out… shoot Ken, but he was a survivor! Why was he acting this way?

“You brought more of them here and let them into the lobby!” Ken argued, his eyes wide with a flicker of something deranged.

Shit, they must have gone insane or something. Key wasn’t like this in the game, nor was the other guy. Dee wasn’t sure how this was going to go, and he wasn’t liking the solutions that came to mind. “L-listen, buddy… I’m not a bad guy, nor are my friends! We were just trying to find a safe place to hide out!”

“You shouldn’t have come here!”

A crackle next to them both drew their attention. Dee looked over at the door holding back the undead, the door was weak and he knew it wouldn’t be long until it completely gave away and they flooded through the hall. The gun he had came to mind, and the remaining six bullets he had left.

He could use it to kill Ken, fire a few rounds into his chest and take him down.

Or… he could fire a single round into the door, allowing the undead inside.

No way. He couldn’t do that… “Buddy, just listen to me! I need help, one of my friends i-”

“I don’t care! You got one of my co-workers killed!” The man swung his baton dangerously.

“You fucking shot at me! I’m not gonna stick around while you try to kill me!” Dee screamed as the door next to them cracked and groaned under the weight of the undead. Fuck…

“You’re done!” The man suddenly yelled before moving forward.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck! Scrambling back, Dee pulled out his handgun causing Ken to back up. He shook violently, he couldn’t do it! His finger was twitching against the trigger-regardless of how much he wanted to pull it, he couldn’t… “Just stay away from me!” The other man didn’t-Ken’s eyes were twitching and his feet were shifting.

Left with no other option…

He aimed towards the door and fired into it twice, each blast impacting the glass and shattering the glass. Ken backpedaled and yelled out as the horde of growling undead broke through the remaining glass and forced themselves to open it.

Dee didn’t waste time before sliding back into the janitor’s closet and slamming the door shut with his foot and putting his body up against it. “Grr!”

“No! No! Open the door! Ahhh!” Ken screamed from the otherside of the door-shuffling and running footsteps sounding immediately after.

Chest heaving and sucking in as much air as he could, Dee held his gun tight and shook. Outside of the door he could hear the groans and moans, the half choked and snarled cries for help and for death. The high pitched screams of the infected and their stampeding footsteps alongside the slow shuffling caused his entire body freeze up.

He didn’t hear Ken screaming… only the never ending shuffle of the monsters between him and a flimsy wooden door.

Fuck, stay quiet. He trembled and held his gun tight. His leg burned as did his body, seems he just couldn’t get a break from the agony.

Dee heard the stumbling of undead keep moving-a train of shuffling feet against the carpet, the runners had long since left and only the slower ones remained, until all was silent.

Lungs struggled to suck in air and not escape as terrified whimpers, he was scared and he couldn’t deny it. But he had to move, had to get to the medical bay and find a safe route back that didn’t get him killed. From how things were going, the route back was likely going to be overrun with monsters… maybe even more security guards.

It certainly didn’t help that he only had four bullets left in his gun.

Fuck, I n-need more ammo. There was no ammo in the hotel, at least not any that was nearby. In the security room, possibly, but that was where the security guards were… assuming enough of them survived to put up enough of a fight against the infected.

A few more minutes of waiting passed him by-the one thing keeping him plastered to his ass was the lingering sensation of fear of opening the door and too many undead being outside. He didn’t want to move, he wanted to stay there, perhaps for the rest of the night, maybe next week, maybe if forever was an option…

No, no! He couldn’t do that, he had to suck it up and get moving!

Dee swallowed the lump in his throat and shakily stood up. The axe is on the floor, I need to get it back and get moving. The medical bay shouldn’t be too far now. Hands trembling and nerves attempting to steel themselves, he slowly gripped the door knob and turned it, drawing the bolt back and allowing the door to open.

All was silent as he opened the door a mere crack and peering out into the hallway-luckily for him it appeared to be empty. He heard nothing, no crunching of glass, no moans or shuffling of feet.

He opened the door some more and looked back to where Ken must have run and he saw it was empty as well.

The coast was clear!

Dee quickly moved out of the room and tucked his gun away behind. Pain from his gunshot wound made itself firmly clear when he began walking, or rather-limping towards the axe on the floor and picked it up.

Fuck, I’m not going to be able to move fast until I heal. He growled and shook his head, using the axe as a makeshift crutch to move down the hall, making his way towards the medical bay. “There better be some bandages in there… fucking hell.”

The broken doors he passed gave way to a small lobby esque area filled with chewed up corpses strewn about everywhere, another door leading somewhere, and a door that was left open and leading into the medical bay itself. The buzzing of flies filled the room as did the stench of rot itself-iron, blood and decay almost made him want to throw up, but he managed to keep his stomach from reacting too horribly.

Covering his nose he began moving through the room and heading towards the door. Axe in hand he hugged the wall and leaned over, peeking inside to see what the situation was.

Inside of the room leading next room leading to the Medical Bay proper, he saw an empty receptionist area with a desk and computer. But what really drew his attention was the nearly eight foot tall body covered in tight muscles from head to foot. It was a man dressed in camo swim trunks - below, bandages wrapped around his ankle from what could only be a bite mark.

It was one of the more advanced infected, one that Dee knew was called a Thug.

Fuck, there’s no way I’m taking that thing out on my own… A thought occurred to him to use the handgun, the one that only had four bullets left in it. Even if I got lucky, I don’t think my bullets are gonna do much, even headshots don’t really work on that thing. I gotta find another way to get it out of there.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and thought; he needed to find a way in that room… he was so close to a prize, one that he wasn’t even sure was still in there or not. They both needed medical attention now, and it was up to him to get it.

I could lure it out with some noise, but I can’t get caught by the fucker or I’m dead. His body felt heavy as did the weight on his mind and shoulders - back at the room they were hiding out in, Lyra was either still asleep - blissfully unaware of what was happening, or was awake and worrying herself endlessly about where he was.

He had to take a risk here if he was going to get the first aid… if it was even in there to begin with.

I’m not going to be very fast here… my leg is busted and I can’t run, and I’m not really confident my gun can penetrate its skull. Thugs aren’t really known for their weaknesses… except the legs, not really sure I could take his legs out though. He glanced back at the bodies, and a gruesome thought came to mind. Well… I could use some chunks of meat to distract it, better then nothing.

Disgusting as it was, he went over to the closest dismembered limb he could see and picked it up. It was a meaty looking arm, and hopefully it would distract the zombie long enough for him to sneak past to the door.

Another peak past the wall showed the giant undead was still staring at the wall—aside from the occasional twitches of his shoulders and head, and the intermittent growling noises, he appeared unaware of Dee’s presence.

Now was his chance if he was gonna go any further through this hell hole.

A gentle toss was all it took to send the arm gliding towards the air into the wall—promptly hitting it with a dull thud. The tall muscle bristling beast’s attention was drawn to it moments later.

Once he started stumbling over to the arm, he fell to his knees to pick up the arm—bringing it up to his mouth and tripping chunks from it and gnawing on it.

The plan worked!

His throat struggled to swallow the lump in his throat as he timidly stepped out from his hiding place and carefully crept his way into the room, each step as soft as he could physically make it with his injury. Every crunch of the meat and snapping of bone sent shivers down his spine… one wrong move and that would be him.

Let’s try and avoid that, shall we?

Every step led him closer and closer to the door, each spike of pain rushing up through his leg causing him to grimace and suck in his breath sharply and quietly. Once he arrived at the door he slipped inside and gently closed the door—ear pressed to the door, his hand twisted the knob as he closed it shut, then he released it, allowing it to shut properly with the softest of clicks.

A few moments passed as he continued to hear the munching, and he let loose a sigh of relief.

Thank Christ.

He allowed himself a moment of reprieve to gather his thoughts as his eyes glanced around the room.

There was a medical bed in the middle, several cabinets, desks, a computer nearby, a fridge, and some boxes, as well as a window that allowed him the perfect view of the pool he passed by not too long ago, it wasn’t swirling anymore it looked like.

Another sigh. He had made it after what felt like hours, when in reality it was probably around ten to twenty minutes of venturing down zombie filled hallways and trying not to get killed.

A quick little glance down at his leg told him how close he was to fucking up.

“Well, I made it here safe and sound… now to find that morphine.” With that goal in mind, he began searching the room.

ooo000---000ooo

Crack went the next undead’s skull as he was smashed into a wall by Sam B; another was quickly downed by Logan and his pipe. Xian and Purna, the only two human women of the group quickly moved throughout the lifeguard station, heading upstairs to the next level with Limestone and Marble trailing behind them.

Rainbow was in the front, having sped towards the stairs and opening the door that blocked off access to the second level. But an odd noise gave her and the others slight pause, one from an odd boxy device on a shelf that lit up suddenly.

“Mayday! Mayday! This is Oceanic Flight 815, we’ve lost power in all engines and have to make an emergency landing in the jungle north of the city!” It was a frantic voice - panicked and shaky as a rumbling noise filled the air.

Once Rainbow and the others made it back up to the second level, she flew up to where she had left Dinky and knelt down as a high-pitched whining began to fill the skies. Her eyes flicked up just in time to catch sight of a giant aircraft similar to the one Dee was on falling down from the skies - engines burning and screaming overhead as it flew towards a location she wasn’t keen on visiting anytime soon.

The ‘plane’ eventually disappeared once it passed over the hotel, the sound dying down after a few moments leaving Rainbow and the others stuck alone at the now eerily silent lifeguard station.

Jeez… is the world falling apart or is it just this island?

A shake of her head and Rainbow looked back down to Dinky - who was thankfully still breathing. Aside from some paleness Dinky was still hanging in there, which was a good thing. But they still needed to get her wound patched up, the shirt wouldn’t be able to do much more.

They had cleared out of the Lifeguard Tower shortly, thanks in part to the four other survivors who had joined them and gave Limestone and Marble entrance with a keycard. Rainbow had managed to help out greatly, but left most of the fighting to the four humans… she was exhausted, and while she loved a good workout, this was tiring… in more ways than one.

Magenta eyes traveled down her arm to her hand; it was covered in blood, as was her whole arm and parts of her clothing. She felt sick to her stomach, yet the most she could do was stare in disgust.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Picking up Dinky in her arms, Rainbow jumped back down to the floor from atop the shelving she hid Dinky on. Once she hit the floor, Limestone and Marble approached from the side, exiting the building that overlooked the beach.

“This place is clear…” Limestone grumbled and held up her bloodied hatchet, covered in the grisled remains of her latest victim.

Rainbow grimaced at the tool’s current state. She would’ve made a comment about it, but there were more pressing matters to attend to; Dinky’s injury needed fixing up. “Dinky needs help, now.” She said and jogged for the stairs heading down to the ground floor.

During their attack on the tower, she remembered passing by an infirmary downstairs… hopefully there would be something there they could use - painkillers, bandages, antibiotics, anything.

Rainbow made it downstairs and passed through the garage on her way into the lifeguard station proper, passing by a store room and bathroom before making a left past some bodies. There, at the end of the hall, the Infirmary!

She passed by Xian, the blade wielder of the human group who said something that went completely over her head, she wasn’t paying attention to her right now, she needed to get Dinky fixed up.

Limestone appeared in front of her once she stopped at the door, grabbing onto the door knob and saying, “I got it.” Limestone pushed the door open and moved inside, with Rainbow following close behind.

Inside the infirmary they saw blood splattered on the walls, covering various medical posters. A body lay up against the wall, one that Rainbow had saw Limestone absolutely destroy with her hatchet. The infirmary bed nearby was empty, the shelves were closed and Rainbow felt some minor relief flood through her when she saw there still appeared to be some medical supplies on the desks.

A grunt escaped Rainbow as she walked over to the bed and put Dinky down on it, relieving herself of the weight. She turned back towards Limestone, who was looking at all of the cabinets before fixing her with a hard stare and saying, “Look around for something we can use to fix Dinky up.”

The earth mare turned to regard Rainbow before going over to the desks and cabinets. “Like what?”

The sight of Marble wandering into the room caught Rainbow’s eyes, and she clarified. “I need something to clean Dinky’s wound with, I need some rags, bandages, antibiotics-” She listed off and went back to the filly to inspect her wound.

Pulling the shirt free made her grimace at the sight of the wound, the torn flesh and blood made her feel slightly queasy. She was able to hold it together however.

Damn it… that thing took a pretty decent chunk out of her.

There was a chunk of flesh missing from Dinky’s shoulder, ripped from her body like wet paper. Chunky bits of blood and flesh clung to the wound, but it wasn’t a complete loss… they could still fix this, they had to, not just for Dinky’s sake, but for Derpy’s as well.

She tossed the shirt away and grabbed some bandages from nearby; she didn’t have a lot of medical knowledge… so her Wonderbolt medical training would have to do for now.

Once Marble saw the sickening wound the younger filly had been afflicted with, she couldn’t stay in the room. Already she felt bile attempting to rise up from her gut for a second time… if seeing the bodies everywhere wasn’t enough, there was a good chance that the filly in that room wouldn’t survive much longer.

She would just have to hope Rainbow and Limestone could somehow help her.

For now, Marble needed air… this tower was too stuffy, and it smelled of death and decay. She rushed through the halls in a fast walk, passing by the bodies and keeping her hands to her muzzle to try and block out the smell-even her best efforts didn’t do much.

Emerging outside gave her some relief from the horrible stench and instead was replaced with the scent of rain. The cool tropical air washed over the area bringing with it the smell of the sea, among other things that Marble was able to block out to some degree. The storm let up after a few, with only a mere trickle of rainwater poured down.

But… even though she escaped the horrid stench from inside, she was instead bombarded with something else. She could feel it silently snaking up her bones and into her heart… it was but a faint whisper in her ears, the touch of something old and decrepit...

It was so faint that she couldn’t quite make it out.

W-what is this? Her eyes looked around the area she was in, the parking lot, fences, and the railing that let her look out into the ocean and the beach down below. But for the life of her, she couldn’t tell what it was… it was weak, that was all she knew.

The sound of something approaching the tower brought her out of her staring, as did the sound of footsteps nearby. When she looked, she saw it was two of those other humans, the bulky dark skinned one and the female in the red skirt.

When she watched, the gate nearby opened up allowing a red vehicle to roll in, loaded up with other human survivors… that was good, hopefully they were friendly.

A human with a very intimidating face tattoo climbed out of the vehicle alongside a few others, all of them wielding oars and pipes. The one who had the tattoo was wearing a lifeguard uniform, his eyes glanced around the area before locking onto her…

But he didn’t look too terribly shocked, instead he looked curiously at her.

Marble blinked as the two other survivors who helped clear the tower went over to him and began speaking, about what, she wasn’t sure.

I hope we can get out of this place… it’s scary. She swallowed the hard lump in her throat. Turning around, the mare walked over to the railing and gazed out across the water and the surrounding parts of the island.

It was such a big island, if she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought this was still the mainland of Equestria. Sadly for her, it wasn’t… it was some strange island full of ‘humans’, a place where the dead had risen by some means. It was disgusting and horrific, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She wanted to escape so badly… but how could she when her only means of escape had crash landed somewhere on the island? They could try repairing it, but she wasn’t sure if they could… not fast enough to escape before they were overwhelmed by monsters.

This is so surreal… She just wanted to go back home to the farm, strip off her soiled and clingy clothes and then hide under her blankets snuggled up against her big sister, safe and far far away from these monsters.

A gentle wind started blowing and her eyes wandered over to the concrete buildings on the other side of the island… what looked like a small city or even a town of sorts. Were they there as well? The rising smoke pillars didn’t give her much hope that it was safe.

“So it’s cleared out?” She heard behind her.

“Yeah, lots of those fuckers were inside, but we killed them all.”

“Good, maybe now we can try and get our bearings,” When she looked behind her, Marble saw it was the lifeguard who was speaking as he made his way over to the garage, “You guys are life savers.”

That they were… Marble had to agree, just four of them selflessly going up to and attacking the monsters without hesitation, Limestone and Rainbow helped, but still. So few against so many, without using any proper weapons.

They were either very brave or foolish. Or just incredibly awesome.

A heavy sigh.

She got her mind off of it, because right now they were safe; they had proper walls between them and the monsters and a place to sleep that was sturdy. But it wasn’t so much as a matter of how long they could keep the monsters out… but how long could the walls last…

A couple of gasps made Marble’s ears flick up to attention, prompting her to turn around. Her eyes caught sight of Rainbow stepping outside into the sunlight, her shirt and pants almost completely covered in blood, and her hands… even worse. Marble’s eyes went wide as the pegasus walked out and over to the wall, her back hitting it and sliding down into a sitting position...

Oh no...

ooo000---000ooo

Being quiet was one of his strong points. Dee knew that for a fact. He liked being stealthy in these types of situations—the ones that required that he limit the amount of noise he made, not whenever he ended up having to keep quiet so he wouldn’t get eaten by an undead monster.

The young man had wandered all around the room for about twenty minutes… he knew it was that long, cause he was checking his watch. Too much time was being wasted in here searching! It should still be in here, he knew that much.

But where?

The cabinets had little in them except bandages and some low yield painkillers, cotton swabs, and other little things that he didn’t want to grab. The tables were filled with nonsensical documents he couldn’t understand and medical profiles about the staff, mostly labeling allergies and any disabilities they had.

Like one he found for Ken, the security guard he ran up on who had a honey allergy...

Pretty useless information he had no doubt he wasn’t going to use.

The only thing he didn’t check was the first aid box nearby… and a sudden wave of stupidity filled him.

Why didn’t I check that first? He wondered and shook his head. Grabbing the axe he began limping over to the box nearby. Fuck, I need to get back soon, I can’t stay out here much longer. There were other threats in this place aside from the undead, and he had no intention of staying long enough to be found by anymore security guards.

The one who put a round into his leg was enough for him.

After making it to the first aid box, he leaned on his axe handle and lifted a hand to unlatch the lock, it popped open with ease and the box lid squeaked open.

Inside he spotted several vials of clear liquid, and beside them, hooked neatly into place… was a pneumatic injector - a needle free device used for delivering medicine via a high pressured narrow jet of liquid to pierce the skin.

A wide grin threatened to split his lips as he plucked it from it’s holder and giving it a look over… brand new it looked like. “Finally got ya, you little shit.” He leaned his axe against the wall and fought back the pain as he pulled off his backpack.

Three vials and one pneumatic injector? Sounded like a good deal to him, plus with the other medical supplies he found, he could patch himself up pretty decently once he got back to the room.

Once everything was packed up neatly in his backpack, he zipped it up tight and slung it back onto his shoulders before grabbing his axe, it was time to mo-...

...Was that growling?

13

ooo000---000ooo

The Royal Palms Resort was quite the spectacle.

A vast piece of property spanning from beach to beach with beautiful pools, luxurious bungalows and private cubbyholes, The Royal Palms was a five-star hotel with impressively done up rooms, boasting room service and exotic foods like you wouldn’t believe. It was a magnet for vacation-goers from all over the world, bringing guests and VIPs from every corner of the globe for one location to party hard on its sandy white beaches.

Sadly for Dee, he didn’t get to experience any of that. Instead, he got to experience what flying was like without wings.

He didn’t like it.

Dee had little to not time to react once the thug stomped over to him and swung his meaty arm, connecting with his chest. The wind and most of his consciousness knocked from him, his body felt numb and weightless after that, at least until he crashed through something - no doubt the window before splashing into something wet and sinking down below.

He realized he’d been lucky enough he hit the pool.

His senses returning, his eyes popped open and his muffled yell sounded from under the water. Despite the pain his bullet-torn leg was putting him through, he was able to kick against the water and swim up, breaking the surface to gulp down all that sweet oxygen.

“Fuck!” He gave his head a shake, flinging water all about and breathing heavily. Today’s gotta be a fucking Monday or something.

His eyes burned after opening underwater and a few rubs remedied it, allowing him to see the horde of undead nearby that slowly lumbered towards him, heading for the sound of his splash. Up above through the window he smashed through, he saw the thug shake, its mouth open wide before a roar filled the entire room.

When the screeching of the running infected filled his ears, he knew it was time to go. “No thank you!” A quick recap of what he had on him during his swim to the less zombie filled portion of the pool made him realize he had lost his axe from the attack. All he had left on him now was the handgun… and four bullets.

“Shit shit shit, gotta move faster.” He kicked and kicked against the pool water, propelling himself forward. His vision suddenly blurred - his eyes were beginning to burn again, there was an ungodly amount of chlorine in the water.

The larger infected up above roared once again as Dee’s hands grabbed onto the edge of the pool, pulling him closer until he was able to heft himself up and over with a groan of pain. His legs were tired, his biceps and eyes burned, his chest was badly bruised, and now he had to find his way back to Lyra without getting killed or leading a horde of undead back with him to the room.

Once he was up on his feet - leg hurting much worse than before, he pulled out his handgun and aimed at the approaching horde of undead behind him. There were too many for what little ammunition he had left, too many to shoot…

With that, he realized his only option right now was to run as fast as he could on his bum leg.

“Shit!” He turned tail and did just that, limping away with as much speed as he could put into his leg.

Every step was a burn fire for him as he left the pool area, cold, miserable, and in pain, with a dozen or more monsters on his ass trying to get at him. His head was being filled with the endless snarls and howls for his blood, his meat… for his very soul. He just had to fuck up and get shot; he couldn’t have pulled out his own gun and fired back, given him a chance to run. No , he had to keep running and get shot in the leg!

The route heading back to the room was the same, open doors, dead bodies, discarded luggage and battered down doors. He saw the stairs and up above on the catwalk, he saw the decimated body of the security guard who had shot him in the leg, completely obliterated.

If only there was more time, he could run up there and grab whatever ammo was buried in the blood and guts, but unlike in the game, where you could pretty much just absorb ammunition by walking over it, there were too many on his heels to effectively search.

Next time…

Dee kept moving through the hotel until reaching the hall to the stairs; if he remembered correctly, they were on the second level of the hotel, room 101. It wasn’t too far, he just had to lose the monsters, close the doors to slow them down, and get back to the room and hide inside until they passed by.

This hotel was a nightmare, and he knew they wouldn’t last long in here alone with no supplies, they needed to get out and find the others after healing up. While he would have preferred hiding out in a nice lush hotel room with tons of supplies and a couple of cute girls, he was instead stuck with an injured anthro pony, little to no supplies, and a busted, bullet-torn leg.

A few stray gunshots from somewhere else in the hotel, muffled pops from a handgun that sounded awfully close, but he couldn’t quite place where they were. Another security guard?

Hopefully not, I don’t need to get into another fight and get other own leg shot up!

He shook his head violently and kept moving! He couldn’t stop now, couldn’t die now! Lyra’s life and safety was on the line here, and so was he, he had to get back to the room.

Another loud gunshot caught his attention ahead of him. Now that his ears could focus, he pinpointed it as coming from where the lobby was located! He grimaced but kept moving away, using the wall as a way to support his weight.

He didn’t dare look behind him, he didn’t need another sight of a dozen or so undead faces coming at him.

Just as he exited the hall and entered the lobby, several things happened at once.

He tripped over a body he didn’t see, propelling him forward and smashing into the floor. His freshly jarred head began aching, almost making him lose focus on what was happening. And in front of him…

Vinyl Scratch, the DJ from Equestria, was alive!

The mare was surrounded by a couple of still moving undead and several bodies that looked like they were put through the wringer. His eyes stared wide at Vinyl as a surge of energy rushed through him, she was in trouble!

Just as he managed to get back onto his feet, he witnessed something that was… quite the show.

Vinyl Scratch backed up and dodged a swipe from the first undead, and with speed he could barely make out with his crappy eyesight, the mare spun around on her heel and swung her leg up high.

A vicious thump could be heard once her foot connected with its head, followed by a snap as it was sent flying across the lobby floor and flailing into a luggage cart.

She didn’t even take a brief moment to breath, she kept the spin going and kicked off of the floor into the air briefly, only seconds later did she come back down - dropping her entire weight into her leg.

The force of her dropkick was tremendous enough that it destroyed the undead’s collar bone into pieces. She quickly recovered and fell onto her hands. Just when he thought she was done, she fell back and suddenly springboarded both legs into the undead’s chest, sending him flying into the wall with a meaty smack.

She recovered shortly after, landing on her feet and dusting off her shoulders before spotting him.

He could only blink, and he would have made a comment about it, but right now wasn’t the time for small talk.

Besides, Vinyl was rushing towards him! He didn’t even get the chance to do anything before he was suddenly forced down until he was looking at the ground. He barely had time to register what was happening as up and over his back went Vinyl, the mare rolling over his bent-over form and using him as a platform to strike, propping herself with a hand on his back while kicking her leg out to smash into a monster, a loud crack resonating alongside the growls.

He was still being chased!

“Fuck!” He gathered his wits and pushed off of the floor, rushing towards the hall he knew led to the stairs going up, but not before tugging on Vinyl’s arms and pulling her towards him. He gestured wildly towards the hall, “We gotta go that way! That way!”

The horde was closing in fast, a sea of flailing bodies and gaping bloodied maws out for their blood and flesh.

Then Vinyl threw him onto her back and started running off to where he gestured to. “Whoa!” It was unexpected--he never thought she was strong enough to carry him on her back!--but it beat limping the way back to the room.

As they rushed down the hall, he chanced a look behind him and saw they were losing most of the slower moving infected, but behind most of them a few runners were trying to get through the clogged mass of their brethren to catch up.

Shit, we gotta get upstairs! Vinyl was booking it down the hall, going much faster then he would have on his own. And he knew he had to get her to go upstairs, but how was he supposed to get her to do that?

A sharp right turn jostled him from his thoughts. Vinyl had taken a turn down the hall leading towards the stairs, passing by an luggage cart and with a burst of blue from her horn, the cart was knocked over, spilling heavy bags and suitcases onto the floor.

That would slow them down for a bit.

Up ahead he spotted the door leading to the stairwell heading up, the same one he and Lyra had used. The bodies were still on the floor, filling the hall with the rancid stench of rot and iron, it was disgusting to smell even though he was used to it.

Vinyl, on the other hand, didn’t seem phased by the sights and smells around them. That, or she was too busy running to pay much attention to it.

He threw out his hand and pointed to the stairs, gesturing to it wildly. He saw Vinyl notice, look down the corridor to where he was pointing, then give a sharp nod before running towards it. That works! he figured.

Another look behind him revealed the horde was slowed down, but the runners were tearing a path through their slower brethren towards the duo. They were fast--damn fast; faster than the others he had seen, their eyes were red and bloodshot, veins on their arms and neck turning black.

“Go faster go faster go faster!” Dee urged Vinyl on, even though he knew full well she couldn’t hear him.

Luck seemed to favor them in the strangest form.

Dee saw a dark skinned man in a security guard uniform wander out from one of the adjoining halls, his body bloodied and handgun gripped tightly. He spotted the two, his eyes wide before he yelled, “YOU!”

It was Ken, the security guard that almost killed him back in the hall.

Dee’s face contorted in fear as Ken raised his handgun, he aimed at the two and he would have fired… had Vinyl pulled her hand out from under Dee’s leg where she was supporting him, and threw it out towards him. Something shot out from her hand, a pulse of blue energy that connected and sent Ken flying back into the corner of the wall with a yell, the impact stunning him.

With no way to save him without getting shot, Vinyl and Dee passed right on by, leaving him behind…

Dee immediately heard the screams right after as the infected fell upon him, he didn’t want or need to look back to see what happened.

Soon enough Vinyl kicked open the door to the stairwell and closed it just as the undead swarmed Ken’s body… Dee and Vinyl were given the perfect view of it.

“Geez...” Dee swallowed and shook his head. Looking down at the mare, he saw she was looking at him out of the corner of her red eye, and she gestured to the stairs as if to ask ‘up or down?’ “Oh, uh… up,” He pointed up and they proceeded up…

Towards safety at last.

ooo000---000ooo

Derpy had been flying for what felt like forever before finally reaching Baroki Town… and Celestia above, she was hopeful it was a safer place, maybe even in better shape.

Oh how wrong she was.

Baroki town was almost completely in flames. The buildings were falling apart and the air was choked in thick putrid smoke that made Derpy cough and struggle to breathe even from how high up she was. Down below, the roadways were cluttered with more of those vehicles - crashed and burning brightly, clogging up the roads, alleyways, and blocking off a dozen different routes in and out.

Other portions of the town were destroyed from the fires, houses and stores were gutted shells the further in towards the city center they were, where the most intense flames burned from a building that billowed black smoke.

She had no idea what had happened here, or where everyone was, but she had no intention on staying to find out. The air was rancid with that horrible smell, strong enough to make Derpy choke.

“No way they’re here...” She covered her face with her shirt and hefted up the heavy backpack she was carrying. If they’re not here… then where could they be?

The route leading up to Baroki was fairly bare of everything; there were no vehicles, no people, and worse, no sign of her friends anywhere. And Baroki looked as if it were completely consumed by fire, she didn’t hear anything except the roaring flames. With a sinking heart, she realized she had no hope of finding anyone here, monster or not. She could see a few black and charred things all over the place…

She gulped and turned right around, knowing that she would find nopony she knew nor sanctuary here. Baroki simply wasn’t a place to be right now.

Instead… she would have to try for the Royal Palms Resort and hope they were there, otherwise she would have to go further inland to the jungles and mountain areas. She had only visited a jungle once, and that was on a mailrun a few years ago… between the high humidity and canopy, to say nothing of all the bugs and occasional storms, it wasn’t fun.

Derpy didn’t start moving immediately down the road, however. Instead she flew a ways away from the town and landed on the deserted beach nearby, setting down the bag and relieving the stress it had on her shoulders and arms. It was a heavy bag, and with how it was made, she couldn’t quite carry it properly and it was beginning to take its toll on her upper body.

While she was used to heavy lifting from years of working as a postal service employee, she was already exhausted from everything prior, so this wasn’t helping her… or her headache.

She collapsed onto her butt on the sand and rubbed her temples; her face was contorted in pain and her eyes scrunched shut. Her head was in such pain right now… the stress of everything happening around her, the pain of not knowing what happened to Dinky or her friends.

It was almost too much.

They just have to be alright, they just have to be! Derpy tried to convince herself, Rainbow’s a a Wonderbolt! And she’s an Element of Harmony to boot, so she wouldn’t just… she doesn’t get beaten down that easily! Rainbow’s a tough mare, almost as strong as Bulk Biceps and twice as tough.

Just thinking about how Rainbow was made her shiver slightly… Rainbow could be very brusque sometimes, but she meant well, her heart was in the right place even if her head was usually still in the clouds.

Derpy let out a breath and adjusted her shirt… it felt really hot despite the rain that had come down not too long ago, which had let up now, letting her bask in the sun… what little of it that ever-so-briefly pierced the dark clouds. They still loomed over the island, threatening another downpour of tropical rainwater.

She was already wet enough as it was, she didn’t need any more of it drenching her clothing--and her--beyond easy drying.

After a moment she opened her eyes to gaze out at the crashing waves and distant thunderheads looming over the sea. Her ears flicked up, catching the faraway sound of lightning crackling and thunder booming. All around her, she heard nothing else except the waves and storms… she was alone, for now.

Dinky… please be okay. The mare rubbed her temples and did her best to try and curb the worry attempting to bubble up from her stomach. The anxiety was gnawing at her nerves and dredging up so many horrible possibilities as to what may have happened to her. There was too much that could have gone wrong to Dinky after she left… too much.

Such was the perilous life of being a single mother…

Just thinking about that made her even more sad. Derpy thought she would have it all, a good paying job, a loving husband and wonderful children, living in a nice house with a white picket fence - the curse of a teenage mare who dreamed too big and got herself into trouble.

I was so stupid… and I paid for it. A hand drifted to her stomach and her memories drifted back to those days… young and stupid…

The crackle of the storm brought her out of her thoughts and she sighed… she could only rest for so long, and despite her splitting headache, she had to keep moving to find Dinky and the others. There was only one place left to check they might be that she knew of…

The Royal Palms Resort.

The mare stood up and dusted off her pants, just a little further and she would find out if Dinky and the others were there or not.

Leaning down, she picked up the pack and strapped it on as best as she could, Turning her gaze out towards the road, she could barely make out what looked a tunnel of sorts that no doubt led to the resort.

If only this was Haywaii, she could be spending her time lounging on the beaches…

She wiped away a stray tear and started walking.

I’ll find you Dinky… mama’s coming!

ooo000---000ooo

“Fuckin’ finally… Christ.”

Was Dee’s first thought as they made it to the second floor hall where both of them sat down to rest for a minute.

He collapsed against the wall and Vinyl opposite of him, both heaving for air. Dee was tired, aching, his leg burned, his lungs hurt… hell, everything hurt and he hadn’t fought much. It only told him how much he needed to work on his body and fighting, as well as his stamina in general. He wasn’t much to look at when it came to muscle, but he had some from his physically demanding job back home.

Even with that, he was exhausted.

He rubbed his arm and winced from the injuries he had gotten, scraps and bruises, maybe some cuts from the glass, bruised chest and a cracked rib maybe, he wasn’t sure.

Dee looked over Vinyl and saw she was bloodied in places, but not from injuries. She had gotten that way from those she beat down with those… admittedly incredible moves she did.

He was still pretty shook by that, how she moved and decimated them with powerful kicks. Were those other bodies they passed ones she took down? He had no idea.

When he saw Vinyl pull out a handgun, he stared for a moment and watched her manipulate it… but she looked more or less confused about it. Was she the source of the gunshots?

Thinking for a moment he ended up pulling out his own, catching her eye for a moment. Slowly, he pulled the slide back, popping out one of the bullets and catching it. Vinyl blinked before doing the same thing, but the bullet popped out and bounced off of her snout.

“Snkrt,” Dee scrunched up his face and stifled a giggle as Vinyl’s cheeks turned bright red.

The mare rubbed the back of her head adorably, ruffling up her electric blue mane slightly. Her face was the epitome of sheepishness.

“Hehe, it’s alright,” He waved it off and spent a few minutes more showing her how the handgun worked - the safety, magazine release, the slide, the trigger, the hammer, and all of that. She nodded along to what he was showing her, and due to her… disability, he took it slow and did his best to show her by example.

He’d have to wait until they got back to Rainbow so he could explain it fully, maybe even teach them all about human firearms in case they found more of them. He knew by then they could handle themselves in hand-to-hand combat, but knowing how to work other things would be very helpful in this type of situation.

After his tutorial was over, they began heading to the room with what Dee had in his backpack. It had been a little over an hour since he had left, he determined after checking his watch several times.

I hope she didn’t wake up… wait, fuck, I’m beat up and have Vinyl with me, how will I explain that?

Seems he didn’t quite think this through.

On the way to the room, Vinyl stopped him with a gentle pat and gestured to him. He rose an eyebrow as he watched her eyes flick down to his leg, his chest, and back up to his face where a finger pointed to something on his forehead.

He reached up with a hand and rubbed the spot where she pointed, something slick covered his fingers and upon pulling his hand away, he saw blood. Vinyl gesturing to those spots among other areas where he was injured gave him some inclination as to what she was asking, and he just gave her a nod and a thumbs up.

“I’m fine, no worries.” Well, least she cares enough to ask.

She didn’t seem happy with that answer but nodded regardless, continuing to follow alongside him.

Once they reached the door of the room, Dee gripped the handle of the door and gave it a twist, opening the door and heading inside. For a brief moment, he realized he had been getting in and out of this room without using a keycard, which was odd… the door light was green, which meant it was open, maybe it only locked when it was on purpose?

He shook his head and limped inside, deciding it was a thought for another time.

Just as he entered the room he came face to face with Lyra, who was slightly bent forward, arm wrapped around her side and staring straight at him. The injured unicorn’s golden eyes blinked, flicking from him to Vinyl behind him before back to him… they traveled down to his chest, his legs.

“Oh… hey uh… how are you fee-”

Being yanked into the room by his shirt and held up magically caused him to eep instead.

Her eyes went from being curious to glaring at him. “Where the heck have you been?! You’re bleeding!” She gawked and looked up and down his body.

“L-look, I’m fine, okay?” Dee tried to tell her, holding up his hands and wincing once she let him down… back onto his aching leg, it was hard to hide his hiss of pain. “J-just fine.”

“You look like you got beat up!” Lyra groaned, holding her side.

Behind him, he heard the door closed and Vinyl came into his view, having moved into the room fully. Safety was now guaranteed, but safety from Lyra’s potential wraith? Not so much, he figured.

“Eehh… you’re not wrong?” She gave him a hard look and he had to wave it off, looking away as he walked over to the chair and sat down in it, groaning a bit.

His muscles were acting up now, burning now that he was resting, he pulled several on the way up there and back. And that wasn’t to mention everything else that was hurting, the scraps and bruises, the gunshot wound on his leg and whatever happened to his head.

Pain was gonna set in fully and it wouldn’t be fun.

He saw Lyra grimace and sit back down on the bed, her eyes drifting back to him. Her face was scrunched up, Vinyl’s was more or less the same. “Why did you leave? For what possible reason could you hav-”

Dee stopped her and took off his backpack, wincing before setting it in his lap and unzipping it. He also glanced over to where he left the note and saw it was untouched, she must have missed it. He let out a sigh once the bag was open, he reached inside and pulled out the Pneumatic Injector and one of the vials. “It ain’t much but it might help deal with the pain, at least for a little bit.” He told her.

Lyra blinked and looked between him and the injector, ears folding back. “What is it?”

“Morphine. I tried to find some decent first aid but the most I found were bandages and suntan lotion.” He grumbled, setting the bag down in the floor and the injector on the table in front of him along with the other vials of morphine. “That was the best I could do. I knew you were hurting and while it might be a bit strong, it’s something.”

Looking up for a moment, he saw Lyra was talking to Vinyl through sign language… did they all know it? He scrunched up his face a little, the only way he’d be able to talk to her is if he learned how to do it, which would be difficult. He only knew a few hand signs but that wouldn’t help much in this situation… using one one of them would be rather awkward, now that he thought about it.

Vinyl’s face suddenly scrunched up once Lyra was done and the DJ gazed over to Dee.

Then Lyra spoke, “Did… did you go out there just for me?”

He nodded and leaned back in the chair. “Well… yeah, why’d you think I left?” He stuck out his tongue and took off his jacket with a pained expression. “I left to find some first aid, didn’t go so w-well.” Messload of bandages and gauze, some aspirin, peroxide, the morphine… it’s not much but it’ll help out for a bit.

Lyra’s eyes fell and her ears went back further as Vinyl walked off to the bathroom, opening the door and going inside. The sound of water running caught his attention before shutting off and then Vinyl came out with a towel in hand. She went over to him and knelt by the chair, looking up at him.

Then he felt the warm and wet cloth press against one of the cuts on his forehead, making him wince slightly. He would’ve asked, but he figured she was cleaning up his cuts… so he just stayed quiet for now, letting her do her thing.

Several minutes had passed while Dee sat in the chair in complete silence, Vinyl next to him cleaning up his cuts. The mare was being careful about it, slow gentle movements and plucking out bits of glass, left over from when she was smashed through the window of the infirmary. He was thankful for it, but he could have done it himself if he wanted to.

Then came his leg… which Vinyl and Lyra both were pretty shocked at.

She had to rip up his pants a bit to get to the wound, they were ruined anyway so he would need to replace them. Everyone got a good look at the gunshot, a brackish wound with a sizable hole in the back of his leg dribble ooze, and in the front, another hole but just slightly bigger. Looking at it made his head feel woozy.

Both of the mares didn’t look too happy with this.

“Oh my goddess.” Lyra held a hand to her mouth, eyes wide at the wound itself. “That looks awful!”

Dee felt lightheaded looking down at it… now that the adrenaline was wearing off

Vinyl was quick to react, rooting through Dee’s bag for the bandages and gauze before pulling them out. She grabbed the towel she used and ran off to the bathroom again, the sound of rushing water beginning again.

“W-what caused that?!” Lyra gawked, a flicker of something in her eyes.

“Gunshot.” Dee answered with a sharp inhale. It was worse looking than he thought, and would need stitches, he wasn’t sure if it was that severe but from how big the hole were… “Was running from a guy and he shot me in the leg, my mistake for not firing back at him.”

The uncomfortable silence that followed was soon broken when Vinyl came walking back, new towel in hand and going over to his leg...

What came next was plenty of bone rattling pain and many attempts to not swat Vinyl’s hand away during her careful efforts to wipe away the blood on his leg, which had turned brackish from the blood coating his skin. The burn when she ran over the bullet holes themselves made him fidget.

“A-ah, be careful would ya?” She didn’t hear him obviously, but he still felt the need to vocalize it.

“That was from that weird flintlock of yours…?” Lyra spoke up after a moment.

Looking over to the minty green mare, he noticed she was looking straight at his leg… her face slightly green than usual. Dee sniffled softly… “Yeah, another survivor in the hotel had one and he shot me when I ran away… got me in the leg.” Fuck, that hurt… hopefully I don’t get shot at again; we better get off of this island before anything else happens!

After a while, Vinyl used some of the peroxide to clean it up a bit more, packed it with gauze and wrapped the bandaging around it nice and snug. The burn was quick and slightly painful, but it ended almost as quick as it began. Soon enough he was cleaned up and bandaged up properly, and feeling slightly better than before.

He saw Vinyl left him and started on Lyra next, but there wasn’t much she could do given most of her injuries were internal, bandages could only do so much for someone who had been hurt inside.

Dee sighed and leaned back… his eyes felt heavy and his body more so.

They were safe for now, but now came the bigger problem…

How were they going to get out of here alive?

ooo000---000ooo

Weary eyes opened up, ears picking up the sound of a worried voice…

“R-Rainbow?”

It was so soft, gentle… it reminded her of Fluttershy but, it wasn’t.

Rainbow rubbed her forehead and looked up… in front of her she saw Marble, the young pie sister giving her a worried look, her pretty eyes looking her over. Rainbow waved her off, sniffling and looking off into the sky for a moment.

“D-Dinky’s fine… j-just so much blood...” Rainbow muttered quietly, looking back to Marble. “She woke up in the middle of it… freaked out.”

Marble swallowed and nodded, shivering slightly.

Fuck. Rainbow looked down at her clothing, bloodied and ruined from working on Dinky to the best of her abilities. She didn’t know much about first aid to begin with save for what she learned from Wonderbolt bootcamp, so she had to make do with that and Limestone’s help.

She could only hope what she did was enough… and that Dee was hopefully wrong about the infection being passed through bites.

Her resting from the past hour or so of trying to fix Dinky was interrupted when she heard someone speaking in the garage.

“I checked the infirmary, aside from some bandages and gauze, there’s not much there I can work with in case one of us gets hurt… aside from the creature in there on the table, and Anne.” Spoke a man, an unfamiliar accented voice. “I need more medical supplies to be able to appropriately do something.”

Medical supplies…?

The man sighed, his tone one of exhaustion. “I don’t want to kill anyone, I’m a doctor, not a bloody executioner.”

A doctor!

Rainbow was quick to get back up and quickly moved past Marble, slipping into the garage and spotting the man. “You’re a doctor?” She asked causing the man to turn to her with a shocked expression.

“What the hell?!” He backpedaled as did several other people who decided to brandish a few weapons. “What are you?!”

Rainbow held up her hands, “I’m not a danger to anyone, but I need help! One of my friends was bitten an-”

“Bitten?!” One gasped.

“And you brought them inside?!”

That caused several people to get riled up, speaking to one another in hushed tones as a few others glared towards them. That wasn’t a look she wanted to see… she got enough of it back at the gas station.

“L-look, she’s not infected okay?! I just need someone to help patch her up, I can’t do it by myself!” She hated admitting she wasn’t good at things, but right now she put that aside from Dinky’s sake.

Some of the people around her didn’t seem to like the idea of there being a possible infected inside their new safe haven, some even spared a few glances towards the door leading towards the infirmary…

Any actions anyone wanted to take was stopped when the sound of the gate outside suddenly opening up caught everyone’s attention, along with, “We got more survivors!”

The lifeguard with the face tattoo turned and went outside as the other four humans who she and Limestone helped came out… hopefully they’d take their side in this squabble. But more survivors? That caught Rainbow’s attention, enough to make her go outside.

Could it be there? Lyra and the others? She moved past Marble again who was mostly keeping to herself, scrunched up in that adorable way of hers. Outside Rainbow caught sight of a truck… a familiar looking blue pickup truck parking next to the red one the others came in.

Rainbow’s eyes widened when she saw a human step out, covered in blood and looking relieved...

Then he locked eyes with Rainbow.

“You!”

ooo000---000ooo

Dee groaned… his hopes of napping the pain off were thwarted from the aggravating situation he was in, that being the pain in his leg and his sudden worry for Rainbow Dash and Dinky.

He was resting in the chair when it hit him; the thought of what happened to the duo after the crash. Were they okay? Did they make it to the hotel or did they go somewhere else?

Maybe they made it to the lifeguard tower in one piece… He rubbed his face and held his chest. His heart was aching and his head felt woozy… the stress and injuries were piling up.

Not only did he have them to worry about, but he also had to worry about how they were going to get out of here alive. How he was going to get them out alive. There were a lot of ways he could, but a lot of them involved getting to places he knew nothing about…

Specifically the garage below ground level; that was one place that came to mind. It was filled with vehicles left behind by both previous employees and guests visiting from across the world, he had no doubts they could find at least one working car down there, but the real question was how far was it and how long would it take them to get down there?

Even better… how many infected were down there, if any?

These were questions he needed to answer before they made a move.

The hotel’s a nice location to make a base in, if I’m being honest. It’s a nice place with some decent rooms and plenty of space inside of it to hold survivors. Hell, lock down the elevators and stairwells, and it could become a decent fortress… but we don’t have the manpower or resources to manage it. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Minus that, it’s ultimately a deathtrap. Best bet right now is to just escape and hole up at the lifeguard tower.

It was their only option.

Another shake of his head and Dee sat up, holding his side briefly when he looked over to Lyra and Vinyl. Vinyl was looking out of the window, arms crossed under her generously sized bust while Lyra was looking a bit relaxed… he had dosed her up with the morphine and she was looking rather dopey, but she did say the pain had lessened a bit.

Right now though, she was struggling with her shirt for some reason.

This prompted Dee to ask, “You alright there?”

Lyra let go of her shirt, grumbling in a half slur, “I w-want to change my clothes but my bag’s still at the airship.” She furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at her clothes, which were scuffed up and ruined in places. Her shirt was even worse, it was bloodied and torn from the fighting up here, he figured. “Mostly my shirt… it’s r-ruined!”

“I see…” Her shirt was pretty messed up… not really suitable for wearing anymore. But luckily for her, he remembered he had an extra shirt in his backpack! Dee sat up and reached into his pack for a moment, rooting through some of the stuff inside before pulling out a shirt of his… a button up flannel he packed. “I have a shirt you could use if you want. It’s not really meant for a female, but it might fit you.” He offered.

Lyra looked over to him and the shirt. “A-are you sure? I don’t want to take your clothes if you need them...”

He just waved her off with a smile. “It’s fine, if I need more I can just find some more from abandoned rooms and luggage, so it’s no biggie.”

Lyra’s nose scrunched up in a cute little way that made him smile, and she nodded slowly. “Thanks. Then, um… c-can you, uh... help me get my shirt off?” she asked him with the barest hint of a blush.

Those were words every hot blooded man on the planet wished a cute girl would ask him, but in this context it was purely to help her put on something less bloody and ripped up without aggravating her existing injuries in the process.

Dee didn’t really question it as he stood up and limped over to the bed. His leg was feeling a little better now, enough to get him over to the bed and sit down. The unicorn scooted over a tad to allow him some space and he saw her fluffy ears were pressed back against her mane.

She turned her back to him, where a few slash marks could be seen across the fabric along with some faint scratches on her back, just visible through her mint-colored fur… any deeper and she’d be in even worse pain than she already was.

As he helped her with taking off her shirt—being mindful of her and his injuries--he was unable to keep his eyes from drifting across her exotic and beautiful form. Even injured, the mare had an incredible figure that he found difficult to tear his gaze away from; a smooth coat that stood out alongside her gorgeous silky two tone mane, one that reached all the way down past her shoulders like a waterfall. Her body was curvy in all of the right places as well, giving her that delicious and natural hourglass figure from top to bottom; from her plush and juicy rear leading up to her mouthwatering chest.

That was another thing he found his eyes locking on, the large shapely minty green bust contained within a black bra. The black lace only accentuated the natural curvature of her breasts, causing his nerves to act up even despite the pain he was in. He could see there was more than a handful of delicious plush flesh to grope, squeeze, and suckle upon. He couldn’t help but imagine burying his face in between them, nestled in between them like soft pillows once she got the shirt off completely.

That ended with him having to shift his legs slightly to hide a problem he was currently experiencing, and an awkward clearing of his throat. “So u-uh… how are you feeling?” he asked, amazed he could be aroused even after all he’d been through.

Lyra swallowed and let out a shaky breath as she was handed the flannel shirt, golden eyes flicked up to meet his hazel ones and she offered him a little smile. “I’m fine,” She slipped an arm through the shirt, the slightest of movements in her bra catching his eyes for a moment, “just a l-little achy...” She slipped her other arm through, inhaling a bit and causing her chest to puff out a bit.

He tried really hard not to stare, but it was difficult… thinking about it, he looked between both Vinyl and Lyra subtly… they were both fairly on par for the same bust size, big and natural-looking breasts that were certainly ample but not too big that they’d get in the way… there was just enough to nestle one’s head into, among other things.

“Enjoying the view there?”

His face had never lit up so fast.

He looked away and inhaled, puffing out his cheeks, “I wasn’t doing nuttin and you can’t prove shit!”

Clearly, the perfect defense, one that was apparently giggle worthy - he heard Lyra giggling next to him and when he looked, she had a hand over her mouth to try and stifle them. It failed though, and her cute little giggles filled the room.

“Oh shush…” Dee grumbled, feeling his cheeks burning.

Another giggle and she gently patted his shoulder. “You’re fun to tease~”

“Bah.”

Despite the blush on his face and how annoyed he sounded… he had the slightest smile on his face.

But enough of the giggles… right now they had to worry about other things.

“Seriously though… are you feeling alright?” He inquired, she looked less dopey than before… was the morphine wearing off already?

Lyra gave a little nod and wiggled on the bed, slowly laying back and sighing a tiny bit. “Y-yeah… that ‘morphine’ stuff works nice… can’t really feel any pain, except a couple of tiny pinpricks.”

He mentally noted that down and rubbed his chest, least she was feeling better. “Alright, well… take advantage of it to try and get some rest, yeah?”

He patted the bed and was about to get up, but Lyra grabbing his hand stopped him from moving much further. When he looked back down at her he found himself face to face with a pair of pretty gold eyes.

“Hey… thank you, Dee.” She smiled sweetly. Below, he felt her thumb running little circles around the flat of his hand… he shivered slightly.

He offered her a smile in reply and said quietly, “No problem, heh… least I could do for ya.” I wish I could have done more, but the stupid infirmary didn’t have enough of anything.

If need be he knew he would probably make another run to find something else, hopefully it wouldn’t come to that and they’d be out of here by then.

Vinyl came over next and signed something to Lyra, scrunching up her face and gesturing to the window.

Lyra thankfully came to Dee’s rescue for a translation; “She’s wondering if we have a plan...”

Dee sat back down and sighed… a plan. “Well… I know there’s an underground parking garage in the hotel, it’s full of cars like the one we drove.” He brought his hand up and cupped his chin in thought, it was better than nothing. “Trucks, cars, vans… hopefully we can find at least one in halfway working condition.”

But he also knew the only way to find that out was to head down and check out the garage for themselves… a dangerous trek down two floors, if not more, to a darkened tomb filled with metal coffins and bodies that would rise given the slightest inclination…

It was a risk they would have to take, however; they simply couldn’t stay there.

“V-Vinyl said she was down there…” Lyra suddenly told him, grabbing his attention. She was? “S-she said she saw a lot of those carriages down there… some weren’t in too bad shape.”

“Huh…” Suddenly… his eyes lit up and he ended up looking towards Vinyl, “Wait, ask her if she saw a big boxy looking one that said Bank of Banoi on the side!”

Lyra did a few hand signs to ask Vinyl. Dee just sat, hopeful as they had their silent conversation. If what he thought was down there was there, then maybe… just maybe.

He watched the duo with hopeful eyes… and Vinyl…

She nodded.

Dee’s lips stretched to either side in a grin.

“Okay… new plan.” he got up off of the bed, managing to ignore the pain in his leg to stand up. “That thing I just asked about is a bank truck, it’s used for transporting money and shit. It’s a heavy duty vehicle too, can hold a lot of people and supplies, and the infected can’t break into it… it’s a tank, just about. It might still have weapons in it, too.” He looked between Lyra and Vinyl, grinning still. “If we can get down there and snag it… we can get out of here no problem.”

“R-really?” Lyra groaned and held her head, eyes locking onto his own. “Can you d-drive it?”

He gave her a nod and put his hands on his hips, adopting a more… confident pose. “I can, I just need to get the keys for it and we’re good to get the fuck out of this place.” It was all so simple…

Go down to the garage.

Get the keys.

Drive out to safety.

He pulled out the handgun he had and checked it once again… the brass showed itself to him and he counted four shots left in the magazine, he had no idea how many Vinyl had left… but maybe it would be enough to get them out of here.

If they did this… they would have to make every shot and every hit count.

ooo000---000ooo

A gentle tug of the door and Dee peeked out from the room and into the hall…

Nothing was out there; nothing that he could immediately make out, that was. It looked clear, so he would take it.

A glance behind him and he saw Vinyl was ready to go, with Lyra firmly on her back still wearing Dee’s shirt and slightly doped up on the morphine. In his hands he held both handguns, Vinyl giving it to him as an added measure of defense for their move down below.

He had wrapped several torn pieces of cloth around some of his injuries, patching them up to stop the blood flow. His leg still stung but that could easily be ignored for now, the more important thing to focus on was getting the the garage and the bank truck… hopefully without running into more of those security guards, assuming any of them survived.

After taking a deep breath he opened the door fully and moved out, guns aimed down either hall and scanning for any threats, but none popped up.

They were safe for now.

He gestured for Vinyl to follow him and starting making his way down the hall with both mares in pursuit. He hoped they would have a safe trip there… but it wasn’t likely.

The area’s a hot zone of infection, this had to have been one of the first places hit aside from Moresby. He looked down at both handguns with a frown. I got fourteen shots, Vinyl didn’t waste many of them I guess so that’s good… hopefully they’ll last on the way down. We just need to find the keys and get to the bank truck in one piece.

The route down the hall took the trio past rooms with busted down doors and others left wide open, inside each room Dee saw carnage; torn apart bodies and pools of blood, bones, it looked like battles had gone on in most of the rooms against hotel staff, guests and infected alike.

There could have been some decent loot in one of the rooms, maybe more, but he wasn’t planning on staying long enough to search. He had one goal in mind and that was to get everyone out of here alive… no matter the cost.

The path eventually led them to the stairwell again. Signs pointed to the floors up and down and the subsequent locations of shops, the infirmary, the upper class suites on the higher levels, there was even a helipad on the roof - no doubt for high value VIPs and such.

Shame he didn’t know how to fly a helicopter… then again, there probably wasn’t one up there to begin with.

If the hotel was given enough forewarning, odds are someone would’ve taken any aircraft up there and flown out… before getting shot down by the military guarding the islands. He figured as they headed down the stairs.

Dee stayed just a bit ahead and kept a close eye on the duo behind him, making sure they were moving alright and that nothing was behind them both.

It was all clear heading down.

Find the keys, find the truck, blast our way out of here and to freedom.

A Simple and easy plan.

The path down was littered with a few bodies here and there, most of them torn into and others looking as if they had just laid down and died. Dee was careful stepping over the bodies - moving past them with caution and making sure the mares were doing the same, which they were - Vinyl specifically. Smart mare.

They continued down the path and down another flight of stairs, finally reaching the level that was mostly comprised of cramped concrete halls lined with pipes leading underneath the hotel into various areas, most were red and white pipes with a few white ones. There were also doors leading into servicing rooms, most likely for sewage and electrical.

Steam was spewing from one pipe, filling the whole hall with a thick veil of vapor that made it difficult to see. It also made Dee even more cautious - his eyes were wide open, ears peeled and guns at the ready in either hand as he slowly limped his way through.

Damn it. The path being fogged up like it was made it difficult for Dee to spot any potential threats, undead or otherwise. He could just barely make out the pipe lined walls on either side, the lights up above… it made him nervous; more than he’d like. We’re almost there I think, just need to keep moving, and keep our eyes peeled… no telling what’s skulking around down here.

The walkers, the runners, god forbid there was something bigger lurking in the darkness. He didn’t have the energy to try fighting anything that was bigger than he was. The regular infected were enough trouble for him, and with his injuries he wouldn’t last very long in a prolonged fight against much of anything.

Minute by minute he was losing more energy because of this trek… how much longer would he last before collapsing?

Glancing back at Vinyl and Lyra, he noticed the former attempting to use her magic, horn sparking but nothing happening… if anything it only made her look worse. She frowned and glared at her horn. “O-our magic isn’t working...” Lyra mumbled from Vinyl’s back, breathing heavily, “A-at least n-not enough to be h-helpful...”

Dee grimaced and nodded, “W-well… considering what all happened, you guys must be exhausted.”

“N-not that,” Lyra stopped him, looking up at him finally. “We haven’t b-been able to use our m-magic right for hours… V-Vinyl got a nosebleed when she tried stopping L-Liam with her magic, she g-got dizzy, that’s not s-supposed to happen, not to a s-strong magic user like h-her.”

Stopping for a moment to glance at the two…was that true? “Huh?”

Lyra swallowed hard and breathed out, “O-our magic isn’t as strong h-here, it’s a-acting weird.”

That made Dee’s nerves act up… thinking about it, having two unicorns with potentially strong magic could be of incredibly use in this world, but if their magic wasn’t working the way it was supposed to, then any plans of having them use their magic to help were ruined. Telekinesis was a useful skill to have, even their light magic, yet their powers were suffering from something they couldn’t explain.

Regardless, these were things to ponder later after they were hopefully in a safer location.

Continuing through the steam and moving through the halls and doors, they passed through a few maintenance rooms and reached a service entrance that led them to the parking garage. Once inside, the trio saw the flickering lights showing them the entirety of the underground - dozens of parked vehicles filled every space, some half out of their spots and others piled up in a horrible looking fender bender of crushed metal. Some undead wandered around, but not enough that they would be much issue.

Dee’s main issue right now were the infected he saw running around, screeching and growling as they pursued whatever it was they were after. They’re still alive to some twisted degree, so a couple of shots should take them down quickly enough… hopefully. He crouched near a car with Vinyl stopping right behind him. He scanned the garage carefully, looking for that wonderful vault of reinforced steel on wheels.

There were plenty of trucks inside of the garage, pickups and suvs, luxury sedans, even a couple of police cars nearby with flashing lights. No sign of the bank truck just yet, sadly for them.

“Nng,” Lyra drew his attention for a moment, she spoke, “D-do you see it?”

Another look around the garage, and still no sign of the vehicle in question he was hoping to get his hands on. It must have been further in or hidden away, or - god forbid - already taken by someone else who had the same idea.

“No… must be somewhere else in the garage, we gotta keep moving so stick close and stay low.” He said to both of them, gesturing to Vinyl on what to do. He may not know how to sign, but he figured she’d understand basic ‘stfu and stay low’ hand movements.

He saw Vinyl nod and tighten her hold on Lyra, to which Dee responded with his own nod before they began to move once more.

They stayed low and passed only when Dee made sure it was safe - aside from the wandering undead and distant screeches of the running infected, there was little to actually worry about. The vehicles around them provided an adequate amount of hiding places from any curious undead eyes, plus the lighting was nice enough to flicker out enough to give them the shadows to move in.

There were plenty of obstacles for them to run into of course, such as overturned cars and pile ups, maybe a small fire or even some suspicious looking bodies. Taking detours ate up their time, but when it came to this… it paid off to be better safe than sorry.

At least to Dee, that is.

He ended up seeing something that drew his attention, and it appeared to be a small work station for the hotel’s valets, individuals who took guests cars and stored them in the garage for them. No doubt there was a small locker with keys inside of it.

Dee led the duo past a couple of cars and a few torn up bodies to the door, which he opened up carefully and peered inside.

It was an office from the looks of the decor, a couple of desks, computers, and a box on the wall that was open, revealing several dozens upon dozens of keys.

Dee grinned and stood up, going over to the box and saying, “Jackpot.”

He opened the box up further and gazed at all of the keys, each one with a specific tag on it for the parking space it belonged to. Sadly for him, they were all fairly similar looking, car keys belonging to the no doubt hundreds of cars and trucks that filled the garage. None of them looked even remotely distinct from one another.

“Why’re we i-in here?” Lyra asked as Dee went about sifting through the keys, trying to find something that gave him some inclination of one being a bank truck key.

“The bank truck needs a key to start it,” He explained, tucking the guns into his waistband. He peered out through the door and didn’t see any infected nearby, and immediately went looking through the keys some more. “If we don’t have the key, we ain’t getting out of here.” A sad reality, one they might have to face.

He kept looking as hard as he could, but every single key looked alike! Was their plan foiled because he couldn’t tell what key was the one they needed?

“Damn it,” He sighed and turned back to Vinyl and Lyra, the latter of which was being set down in a chair and Vinyl returning his look.

He knew he couldn’t speak to her, but the look she shared was one he knew and returned with one of his own.

They needed to hurry up and find a way out.

“W-will any of the other keys work? W-what about the other carriages?” Lyra broke the silence as Dee shut the door slowly, making sure it made no noise.

“I mean… they could work, we might have to use one of them to get the hell out of here if we don’t find the key we need for the truck.” He grunted and began searching the office, ripping open drawers and file cabinets in search of it. I’d much prefer the bank truck, it’s sturdy as hell, it’ll be way more useful!

During their search for the key, Dee ended up in another room of the office and scrounging around anything of use. All he found so far was junk — empty candy wrappers, bags from some food joint on the island, and some other stuff that didn’t have any real use to him.

Slamming a drawer shut, Dee stood back and glared around the room till he locked his eyes on Vinyl. Seeing her strange serenity induced him take a couple of calming deep breaths; ones he needed to steady his nerves. And to his surprise, his eyes ended up drifting over Vinyl’s body, much like they had when he was looking over Lyra back in the hotel room.

He swallowed a lump in his throat, she was busying herself digging in a file drawer, completely unaware of his... examination.

Vinyl had a body type similar to Lyra; wide hips and luscious curves that were evident from head to toe paired with a medium length mane that was a bit shorter than that of her minty green counterpart. Her clothes were ripped up in a few places, though it looked intentional - her jeans were ripped in the knees and around her hips. The only noticeable differences Vinyl had when it came to Lyra was a noticeably bigger breast size, less muscle, and a plushier looking butt, which only made her earlier battle feats all the more impressive.

The tight clothes she wore made him think of the ideal club-goer or DJ - her shirt was tight but not too much so, and her jeans were snug around her hips and butt, showing off her curves decently. She was a showmare, so of course she needed to draw in the crowds… seems she already knows just the right way to do that!

A shake of his head followed as he attempted to tear his gaze from her. As alluring as Vinyl looked to him, he didn’t want to spend so much time gawking at the mare… she was hot, plain and simple, so was Lyra! They were both gorgeous mares with bodies that made the women he had seen back home pale in comparison.

Whew… I think it’s getting hot in here. He tugged at his shirt collar and let out a breath. Enough, dammit! This isn’t the time. Gotta focus on the key… the key. Dee reminded himself and started looking again, rummaging through drawers and less-likely locations like wastepaper baskets.

There weren’t many other places to look for things, it was looking like their luck was beginning to run out.

“Blegh, only one place left to check.” Dee grumbled, wandering over to a locker and grabbing onto the handle.

One turn of the handle… but it didn’t pop open immediately, it acted like it was hung on something. He grunted and grabbed the handle with both hands, bracing himself with a foot against the wall and pulling hard.

Suddenly, the door popped open, releasing what was keeping it hung.

It wasn’t pretty.

A body fell out of the locker with a loud - “Raaagh!” His eyes snapped open and he charged out of the locker, leaping at Dee.

Dee did the only thing he could think of.

Yell loudly.

“Ahh shit shit shit!” He stumbled back and tripped over the desk, knocking everything off into the floor, smashing glass and damaging the computer. He flipped over it with a yelp, smashing into the floor soon after as the infected screech once more.

He yanked out his pistol, trying to get a bead on the valet-dressed corpse and fire off a shot. A split second pang of fear of the sound it would make drawing in a hoard made him hesitate… and that hesitation cost him.

The infected jumped over the desk with a yell; mouth wide open and arms stretched out towards him. Dee threw up his arms just in time to catch the bastard, the jarring sensation of having a heavy body fall on top of him hurt his arms but the adrenaline kicking in helped with that.

His injuries however, were sapping what was left of his energy, and his hold on the rabid infected was weakening quicker then he could react.

“Nnnng!” He tried forcing what little energy he had left into holding the infected back, but it was hard! “Gah!”

“D-Dee!?” He heard Lyra’s panicked voice, but she still sounded out of it from the morphine.

Another grunt and he tried getting his leg up under the chest, but he was foiled by that when the infected suddenly swiped at his head, smacking him hard and making him lose focus for just a split second.

A sudden surge of anger rushed through Dee, snarling at the valet, he growled out, “Grrr! Fuck off!” He pulled his head back and with more force then he thought he had in him, he smashed his forehead into that of the infected’s, causing it to yelp and his grip to slacken.

The loosening of his hold gave Dee enough time to get both of his legs up under him and kick him up and behind him into the lockers, sending him sprawling into them with a screech.

He rolled onto his knees and scrambled over to where Vinyl was, who had finally caught wind of what was happening. She rushed over and helped Dee up onto his feet, her eyes wide as she stood in front of him.

“It’s just one, we got thi-” He had started to say before Vinyl shook her head, eyes narrowed and pushing him back a little.

Was she keeping him from fighting?

She poked his forehead with a finger before he could try saying anything else, and he felt his forehead sting. He grunted and put a hand to where she touched and felt something wet, pulling his hand away, he saw blood.

Shit, bastard must have cut me!. he realized, looking back up at the valet who clambered back onto his feet, growling at Vinyl and him. We need to kill this asshole and get out, hell, one of those smaller cars wi- His eyes caught the glint of metal on the valet’s belt, which looked like a pair of keys.

Vinyl suddenly rushed forward, forcing the infected to do the same. She easily ducked a swipe with little effort, countering it with a swift spin and throwing her leg up and around, smashing the heel of her boot right into the valet’s head.

His head snapped down with a screech and just when Dee thought it was over, Vinyl threw out both of her hands… horn lighting up a sickly dark blue color making him back up. Vinyl’s face suddenly contorted into pain, blood running from her nose before a sudden wave of… something blasted out, blasting over the valet’s body causing him to fly up into the wall with a sickening crunch.

Dee swore he saw him crack the wall before going limp on the floor, a gurgling hiss escaping him as he fell still.

Vinyl had decided to take that opportune moment herself to suddenly fall onto her knees, coughing and holding her head.

“Oh shit.” Dee swallowed, pulling his handgun out and going over to her. He knelt down to check her and he saw that her eyes were bloodshot, blood was running down from her muzzle onto her shirt. “Are you okay!?”

She looked woozy and unstable, her legs were shaky and her body swaying.

Shit, whatever she just did took a lot out of her… was that what Lyra meant by their magic not working right? He stood up and rushed over to the valet, kneeling down and flipping over the crushed body to get to the keys. Dee reached down to the belt and plucked them free, grinning when he saw the distinct shape of an ignition key. “Perfect… maybe this is the bank truck key?”

Shaking his head and stowing that away for later, he stuffed the keys into his pocket and went back over to Vinyl and grabbed onto her arm, gently helping her onto her feet. She made some kind of pained breathing noise but was able to stand.

“Okay, just lean on me and we’ll get out of here.” Dee patted her on the shoulder and lifted her up just a bit more, giving her a nod to lean on him. Her head bounced up and down groggily, her face pale with a hint of green tinting her cheeks.

Dee’s face scrunched up and he attempted to carry Vinyl out of the room, hopefully get her to a chair and let her rest for a few moments before they made a dash for the bank truck.

Just a little more. He had to keep moving and keep his head up, Dee knew that. But he also knew his body couldn’t take much more of this, it had been maybe two days? And between his lack of sleep and his mounting injuries, he was starting to feel his reaction times slowing, as well as his energy dropping bit by bit. We have to get out of here!

After getting Vinyl into a chair, Dee pulled out the one handgun with the most rounds left and kept watch while the injured unicorn regained her energy, or tried to.

Vinyl looked so sluggish looking, her eyes were unfocused and her muzzle had blood trickling from it, staining her fur and clothes.

Their magic isn’t working right, so Lyra said… if that’s happening, does that mean it’s also hurting them when they try to use it? If Vinyl’s condition is any indication… He heard a howl in the garage and froze, listening to rapid running footsteps and something smashing. Not a good sign, but they were close; he just needed Vinyl to get into a better state.

A sigh and Dee looked at the keys he now had… it was their only hope right now, all of the keys looked the same and the ones he held looked slightly different from the others, so hopefully these keys were the ones they were looking for.

Only one way to find out! he realized.

Soon enough he saw Vinyl wipe her muzzle on her shirt and take a few deep but shaky breaths, and he saw Lyra groan before sitting up and drawing her friend’s attention, then she did a few hand signs. “Are you okay?” Lyra said aloud.

Vinyl gave a shaky nod, managing to get up out of the chair and stand. Dee had stood and went over to her, giving her a thumbs up and a curious look, the former of which she returned with her own.

He nodded and looked over to Lyra, holding up the key he had found. “I think I found the key, if you guys are ready… I think it’s time we got the fuck out of this hellhole, aye?”

With what was no doubt great effort on her part Lyra was able to stand up, arm still wrapped around her chest where her ribs were. “W-we need to go.”

Dee couldn’t agree more.

The trio soon got ready for the final push out of the hotel. Dee had both handguns prepared for use and managed to find a decent hand weapon, a large wrench hidden away in the back room. Vinyl had taken up her role as Lyra’s temporary steed so that she didn’t have to move much, thus keeping her injuries from getting worse.

Gripping the wrench tightly in his hands, Dee pushed open the door leading back out and prepared himself - mentally and physically. He knew he couldn’t keep going much longer, but he was going to put everything he had into this one last run for safety.

Find the bank truck, and get the hell out of dodge!

A nod to Vinyl and he went out into the parking lot, wrench ready to fend off any of the infected.

He led Vinyl and Lyra away from the office and further into the garage, eyes peeled for the bank truck.

It shouldn’t be too hard to find, it’s a massive block of steel on wheels! He peered up and over some cars and past concrete support columns, still trying desperately to find the vehicle they needed.

A tap on his shoulder startled him and he whipped around, finding Vinyl’s head gesturing to the left, past some vans. On her back, Lyra groaned out, “D-Dee… the t-truck.”

His heart skipped several beats, once when she said that, and several more times when he actually followed their gaze… there it was, parked not too far from where they were hidden from view - a massive vehicle made of nearly twenty tons of light grey armored bulletproof steel, their salvation was so close.

And nothing was in their way!

“Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here.” He told Lyra, making his way towards the truck with only escape in mind.

Dee pulled the key out of his pocket, eyes locked onto the driver’s side door…

The last thing he heard were stomping footsteps to his right, he wasn’t able to react in time… and everything went black for him.

ooo000---000ooo

Lyra’s eyes had gone wide when she saw the massive… creature suddenly come out of nowhere and not only slug Dee, but send him flying into the side into the side of another vehicle, smashing its window and denting the metal.

Dee made no noise once he hit it, he had fallen silent and immediately slumped to the side like a broken doll.

“Dee!” She nearly started choking when she got a good look at the monster.

He was an easily seven feet tall humanoid, comprised almost purely of bulging muscle mass and covered in blood stained clothing that looked like a security guard’s uniform. His shirt was ripped to pieces, exposing a gnarled chest covered in bite marks and tears, even a few ribs could be seen through what skin, muscle and sinew was missing.

Lyra almost gagged.

“S-shit.” Lyra winced as Vinyl let her down onto her feet, freeing up her hands so she could talk to Vinyl. “What is that thing...” She had never seen something so big before, least of all a male.

The only other large male she knew about was Big Mac - and sadly for her (and every other mare) he was incredibly gay.

It didn’t matter now however, the only thing that did matter was that they needed to get past this thing! But how? They couldn’t use their magic!

That didn’t stop her friend from charging at the lumbering beast, “V-Vinyl!” She cried, but the DJ had already ran up to the thing.

Vinyl dodged a slow swipe from the monster, ducking backwards and falling back onto her hands. She pulled her legs back, muscles tightening and with a grunt, she shot up and springboarded her legs out.

Both of the DJ’s legs smashed into the jaw of the massive creature, a loud cracking noise filling the air as he stumbled back. Vinyl was quick to recover from the attack, backflipping away briefly and landing a couple of feet or so away from him.

Damn… I’m glad Vinyl is in good shape. Lyra watched as Vinyl ran at him again. That’s a kickboxer for you; she’s not a good puncher but she’s deadly with those legs! Lyra was no slouch herself when it came to fighting, of course, but she wasn’t in any condition to be of any use right now.

So she had to leave it up to Vinyl, who she knew was a vicious fighter when things got rough.

She saw Vinyl dodge another angry swipe with a forward roll, swiftly countering with a hard strike of her leg to his arm. Lyra heard a loud snap and watched the appendage dangle to the side uselessly, causing the beast to roar in anger.

Vinyl didn’t notice as she spun around on her hands, bringing both of her legs back around to smash into his chest, sending him stumbling back.

The mare jumped back onto her feet and springboarded forward towards the bank truck, slamming her feet into the side and running up before kicking off with a rapid spin.

A loud smash and her leg connected with the beast’s skull, blood flying from his mouth and a few teeth.

“Ung, get him Vee!” Lyra cheered her on, despite the latter obviously not being able to hear anything.

Cheering on a mare beating up a stallion of all things… if they were back home they’d be arrested and charged with assault, along with purposeful endangerment to a male. It made her cringe just to think about… but things were different here, it seemed.

Suddenly her senses were bombarded by a loud explosion and a bright light enveloped the garage briefly like thunder. Lyra yelped and winced from the loud echoing boom, her ears ringing while the sound continued to reverberate throughout the walls and ceiling of the garage interior

In front of her Vinyl was standing stock still, staring up at the male who had stopped moving… for good reason as well.

The top part of his head had come clean off, leaving chunks of skull, blood and something else to dribble down the front of his face like chunky and rotten yogurt. One of his eyes had popped, oozing goo down his cheek.

Lyra’s ear flicked, she heard heavy breathing from where Dee was. She looked over to the young human and saw him standing on shaky legs, blood running down either side of his face and one of his eyes were closed. In his hand, he held one of his firearms, smoke trailed up from the barrel.

“F-fuck you.” He gasped out, letting his arm fall to the side and slumping forward slightly. He coughed up blood onto the concrete, holding his chest yet managing to stand up still.

“D-Dee!” Lyra groaned and rushed over to him, wincing from her injuries. She ignored it in favor of going over to him, where she managed to catch him just before he collapsed completely.

She saw Dee put a hand to his mouth, coughing into it and covering his pale skin in blood. “G-get me to the truck, we have to g-go, now!”

Vinyl had ran over and gently took Dee’s other arm, helping him stand up fully as Lyra nodded, and gave a quick hand sign to the other mare. “To the truck.” She told her and the duo helped the human over to the vehicle.

As they approached the driver’s side door, Dee and Lyra heard a series of loud screeches fill the garage, echoing loudly, their heart rates increasing as they realizes that fresh infected had entered, attracted by the racket and sharp sound of a gunshot.

“Ung,” Dee pulled out the key, quickly breaking free of the two mares and shoving the key into the truck’s door… and he turned it.

A dull thunk sounded and he ripped the door open.

“Get the fuck in!”

ooo000---000ooo

They were everywhere… but he didn’t care, the only thing he care about was getting to the fucking exit and not crashing.

Dee and the two mares had gotten into the bank truck, clambering inside and buckling in as he took the driver’s seat. Thankfully it had a full tank of gas and working headlights, lighting up their way out of the garage’s darkened innards.

He didn’t waste time slamming down on the accelerator and sending the twenty ton monster rolling forward with a roar of its engine. A car was parked out in the way but that didn’t stop him from plowing through it, crushing the front end of it and causing debris to go flying.

The infected? He would have laughed if he didn’t feel like his ribs were shattered.

The armored truck wasn’t going to be stopped by any walking corpses in front of them, specially when said truck was a block of steel going thirty to forty miles per hour.

Any of the monsters in front of them were smashed aside, splattered onto the front like paste and sent flying away. Every turn in the garage he took was leading them to the exit, which was so close now, nothing was going to stop them!

Nothing could, he made sure of that.

Dee’s body was on fire right now, from the fear of the situation, the adrenaline coursing through his veins, and the agonizing pain of his injuries being worsened with the sharp turns and the speed bumps he neglected to slow down for.

A mistake on his part, as it made all of their pain worse and damaged the truck, scraping the metal and denting the top.

He kept driving however, one eye keeping an eye on the signs and watching out for any major hazards like parked cars or blockades keeping them from going further.

“Ung!” Lyra had cried out once they hit another speed bump. “H-how much further?!”

“N-not much further, just a little long - there!” He spotted it, the tunnel leading out. The sweet and bright light of the sun was like a beacon of hope, growing brighter and brighter the closer they got!

Dee’s eyes ached from the light and he slammed on the accelerator, switching to the next gear and driving faster, pushing the truck as fast as it could go!

They smashed through a few infected and shot out into the daylight… or what he thought was daylight.

Once they landed back on the road, Dee wrestled for control of the truck, scraping along the side of luxury sedan as he got a good look at the outside.

The sky was filled with thick clouds, rain falling down in sheets of intense tropical downpour. The wind was blowing sideways from what he could see, all of the trees were being violently pushed over, bent double to the point that some palms looked on the verge of toppling. Even some of the monsters they had fought were being pushed around, some tripping and falling into the pool out front of the hotel.

Even if there was a storm, they were safe inside of the truck.

He slowed down to a more reasonable speed and drove past the wreckage of the police car they had appropriated at the gas station, turning right and heading into the tunnel to the other side.

The slow speed he was driving gave him time to calm his nerves and get his thoughts in order, which was currently as much a maelstrom of chaos as was the weather outside.

Fuck fuck fuck… we barely made it out of there alive. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands and took deep calming breaths, mostly to deal with the pain. His body was beaten, badly, and it showed from the blood covering him and the fresh bruises starting to form under his clothes. Think I might have some cracked ribs. , If that’s the case I’m done for a while. Lucky this thing has a full tank, so we’ll get to the tower safely in no time and can even use it more later

Another turn and he kept the truck blazing down the path to the lifeguard tower.

A feeling of elation trickled into the back of his mind, but his near overpowering exhaustion was keeping him from fully enjoying the moment. He was hurting, bad, and Lyra still needed someone with medical knowledge to look her over.

Driving past a bus and running over a hill jostled him from his thoughts, and he winced from the spike of pain filling his body.

“A-are we safe?” Lyra’s voice carried from the backseat, where the mares were sitting, buckled in safely--they’d learned quickly enough about seatbelts, at least.

Dee swerved down the curvy roads leading to the Lifeguard Tower, avoiding cars and the few stray infected that tried getting in their way. “Yeah… I think it’s s-safe to say we’re safe, Lyra.”

He swallowed, tasting blood and bile - he felt woozy and increasingly dizzy, worried he was on the verge of fainting. I can’t keep going… but I can’t pass out now! I gotta keep going, for just a little longer…

ooo000---000ooo

Derpy flew up and over the area she had discovered, carefully inspecting the resort with wide eyes.

On one hand, it was beautiful looking, a large hotel was nearby with pools and bungalows around it, a long stretch of crystal white sand with even more bungalows out on the water, huts and plenty of routes in and out. It looked like a tropical paradise!

On the other hand however… the monsters were here too, all of them wearing beach gear and swimwear; some were even naked. She saw the beasts were everywhere, wandering around in search of fresh meat; something or someone to tear apart like wild animals. In a few cases, they settled for animals; she caught one group snacking on the remains of a dog.

Derpy gulped and held the backpack she was given close to her.

She hoped Dinky was here somewhere, but safe and sound and not being torn apart… or worse, already eaten… by one of the monsters.

Worse still, she might have already become one of the monsters…?

She shivered at the thought. Celestia please, keep her safe. Another hard swallow and she started flying, trying to fight off the exhaustion that was threatening to down her.

It was so strange. She had been flying long distances for close to twenty years, carrying heavy packages from post office to post office and across the whole of Equestria! Flying from house to house, carrying important parcels they needed. She might not have been the fastest flyer - that honor belonged to Rainbow - but she certainly had the endurance for long-distance flying.

Derpy was many things, but she wasn’t no slacker!

Yet, for some reason she was getting incredibly tired now; her wings were straining to keep her up and her energy was getting sapped. Even when she had a sudden idea to rest on a nearby cloud, in hopes she’d be out of view and reach of the monsters below while recuperating, she couldn’t even touch it! Her body passed through it like it was smoke!

Whatever world they were in, pegasi apparently could not control its weather. And as a consequence, she needed to land, and soon.

But where? She wondered, looking around as she started to glide. Flapping her wings was tiring her out, so she opted to glide from the height she was at currently, which was pretty far up as she was able to see the whole resort and then some.

As she searched the area with her keen eyes, she ended up spotting a familiar face far down, standing in a small parking lot and seemingly yelling at one of those odd ape like creatures was Rainbow Dash!

“Hey!” She smiled and the mare would have started going down further had her eyes not caught sight of something moving rather fast down the road. “Huh?” Derpy paused briefly, eyeing the strange object…

It looked like on of those odd carriages the ape-like creatures drove, but much bigger and blocky shaped, it also appeared to be covered in a lot of blood.

Oh, no. Shaking her head, she switched her gaze back to where Rainbow was… and headed that way.

ooo000---000ooo

Luckily for Dee, it didn’t take much longer before they turned down the final curve to the tower, and there he saw it… the end of the road and the tower on the far left, along with its walls and the satellite dish on top. He slowed the truck down to a near crawl when he saw non-infected humans behind improvised barricades and every one of them looked like they weren’t going to let them in. But after determining he wasn’t infected, they let him pass. He turned the wheel and drove forward at a much more sedate speed once the gate opened up, and inside he saw a pair of pickup trucks parked off to the side tended by mechanics, who glanced up see the new arrival with smiles, appreciating the powerful new vehicle being added to their inventory.

Once the truck stopped and the gate closed behind them, he turned the truck off and leaned back, dizziness and pain filling his form. “Finally...” He groaned and pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened up the door, climbing out carefully and trying not to fall.

He tripped on his own foot though, sending him falling forward with a yelp.

Shit! He tried to brace himself, but it was hopeless.

However, he hit something else entirely - or rather, a pair of very soft somethings and felt someone’s arms wrap around him.

“Huh…? Dee grunted and felt his legs shake, unable to stand - he was just too weak.

“Whoa there, Dee?” He heard Rainbow’s voice, and the belated realization of where his face was firmly planted caused his ears to burn, feeling suddenly very disinclined to move. “You’re alive!”

He held back a cough, not wanting to stain Rainbow’s clothing with his blood anymore then he already was. “Y-yeah.” He murmured, struggling to stand with what little energy he had left in him.

When he was able to stand, his realization was only proven more concrete… he had landed first face into Rainbow’s chest, covering her shirt in the remnants of the blood on his face. He figured she’d be grossed out by it, but her eyes told him differently - he only saw concern and curiosity in them.

“A-are Lyra and Vinyl…?” She started as the door to the truck opened behind him.

He shook his head, leaning back against the truck. “N-no, they’re alright… we all made it out alive.” That was something he was glad about… making it out alive with the two alive and well, if only bruised and scuffed up.

Rainbow’s features relaxed and she let out a huge breath before gently slapping Dee on the shoulder, even giving him a grin. “Glad you’re alright, Dee.”

He nodded and shot a hand to his mouth, coughing into it. “Y-yeah.” Finally… we can fucking rest.

A voice - a completely new voice to Dee - suddenly made itself known, yelling from above, “Hey! Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow’s head shot up and she looked into the sky, then she broke out into a wide smile, “Derpy! You’re safe!”

Derpy? He blinked and managed to push himself off of the truck as Rainbow ran over to greet the mare in question, easily recognizable by her grey coat and blond mane under which peered her namesake eyes.

He wasn’t paying much attention to it however, instead he found himself looking at the group of human survivors who were talking amongst themselves, some looking at the truck in awe and at him, while others were sending looks that ranged from curious to outright hostile at the mares.

Hopefully no one starts anything… I need to rest, Christ. He leaned against the front corner of the truck and held his side, wincing.

“So… you’re the human Rainbow told us about?” Another voice spoke up to his side, and he saw a familiar and unexpected face approach him.

A mare about as tall as he was and colored a distinct shade of grey with lighter colored grey hair, and a pair of apple green eyes. She was clad in bloodied clothing and holding a hatchet, and looked both tired and pissed off.

Even in an anthro form, he recognized her instantly as both Pinkie Pie’s sister and a pony you did not want to anger in any way, shape or form…

Limestone Pie.

“I… I guess?” Dee shrugged, clearing his throat as the rain continued falling down, having turned into a light downpour. “I’m… Dee…” he at least managed to introduce himself, still leaning on Rainbow heavily, feeling the increasing torrent soak into his clothes and skin.

He didn’t care… it felt nice compared to everything else.

Behind Limestone he saw yet another familiar pony, identifying her by her mane and coat colors to say nothing of her mousy demeanor, it was Marble Pie! Unlike her sister, she looked very nervous and frightened… the poor girl.

Rainbow, Derpy, Dinky, Limestone, Marble, Lyra, AND Vinyl? Who else do I know that’s here from Equestria?

Dee put a hand to his woozy head and turned to Rainbow and Derpy, the duo looking like they were talking about something. He didn’t know what. At the truck, Vinyl was helping Lyra step out and over to the building.

He breathed a sigh of relief…

That relief was destroyed upon hearing, “So you’re alive after all, well whaddya know.”

The hairs on the back of Dee’s neck stood on end when that voice registered with him, and he turned around and spotted the lifeguard… Liam, standing not too far from him, holding his bloodied baseball bat.

“...Yeah, I’m alive,” He narrowed his eyes, staring past Limestone. “Sorry to disappoint, you didn’t hit as hard as you wanted.”

Liam’s face scrunched up and he scowled, eyes locked onto Dee’s own. The two stared down one another as the rain fell, fists clenched and everything falling silent around them.

“You know this prick?” Limestone asked him, turning to face Dee.

“Unfortunately,” Dee muttered, wiping his brow - which felt sticky with blood and sweat. “We were at the gas station not too far from here… we had an… disagreement that led to use getting separated.” And the shit kicked out of me, and almost dying.

Someone approached him from behind and spoke up, “He made it here after we cleared out the tower with some other survivors,” Rainbow told Dee, voice quiet. “Showed up and tried to get us kicked out.”

“Tried? I’m still trying to get you out of here you damn freak!” Liam yelled, pointing his bat at Dee and the mares.

Dee looked to his left, and he saw the Pie sisters, Lyra and Vinyl, and to his right, Derpy and Rainbow, with him in the middle. He growled and looked back to Liam, “They’re trying to survive, just like you and me, dirtbag.”

“They all attacked me and my group!” Liam suddenly yelled, eyes wide and furious looking, the veins on his neck and forehead looked ready to pop just about. “Forced themselves into our hideout and got my people killed! My family barely made it out of there alive!”

“We did not attack you! We were trying to find a place to hide!” Rainbow retaliated, stepping in front of Dee along with Limestone - he figured it was to protect him from Liam. Considering what happened at the station, he didn’t blame her. “You’re the one who wouldn’t stop calling us monsters and trying to get us killed!”

Dee heard Lyra pipe up next from where she was, saying, “We don’t want to hurt anyone, we j-just want to rest and get away from those monsters, p-please! W-we’re not dangerous!”

Liam swung his bat, clenching a fist and shaking, “Goddamn lies! If it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have lost so many people!”

Dee had had enough and glared at them. “You almost got me and everyone else killed, you bastard! Both your group and mine!” He swiped an hand through the air, vaguely gesturing to the mares behind him, “None of us want to kill or hurt anyone! Yeah, we found that damn gas station and forced our way in, but what did you expect? For us to stay outside and get eaten?! Hell no!” he screamed, causing everyone to stare at them, “We weren’t going to stay outside and get turned into zombie food!”

Liam growled, looking like he was recoiling, “You should have gone somewhere else!” He shook his bat around and flung his hair back.

“There was nowhere else to go! We had to take shelter there!” Dee coughed and hunched over, blood covering his hands again. “Grk… fuck.”

He felt someone place their hands on his shoulders and pull him back, “Dee, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine, just fucked up from g-getting out of the hotel.” He wiped his mouth and stood up again, shrugging off her hands.

“Just back off, you dumbass,” Limestone grumbled, looking over to the lifeguard. “Shit’s past and we’re all here to stay, whether you like it or not.”

Liam growled as several people began leaving, seemingly losing interest in the conversation. “Grrr!”

Someone else piped up from the crowd, “Just let it go, man. We got other things to worry about.”

Still standing in the middle of the crowd, Dee held his stomach and chest with his arms, standing his ground despite the pain he was in. He wasn’t backing down from this… he knew they had gotten some people killed, but it was heat of the moment and he didn’t like the fact…

But he didn’t like the idea of dying either, and survival took precedence over hesitation.

“Damn freaks,” The lifeguard scoffed and gripped his bat, sneering at them… specially Rainbow. “And you’re the biggest freak!”

That got on Rainbow’s nerves, from what Dee could hear in front of him. “Hey! I don’t care if you are a stallion! You mess with him, you’re messing with me! So shut your damn mouth or I’ll fucking shut it for you!”

“Oh yeah? Make me, you rainbow haired cunt!” Liem stepped forward with his bat, his eyes glaring straight at them. “Time to teach you a lesson, but first, I’m kicking your ass!” He yelled at Dee.

F-fuck, I can’t fight like this!

Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to.

With Limestone and Rainbow were in front of him, Liem would have to go through both of them to get to him.

It wasn’t until Liem swung his bat that the fight swiftly began.

Dee was barely able to hold himself up, but he managed to keep himself standing long enough to watch Limestone sidestep the bat alongside Rainbow, the latter spreading her wings and kicking off of the ground, taking flight as the bat hit the ground.

Limestone was quick to act when Liem swung again, he aimed for the earth pony’s stomach or maybe her legs even. But she merely jumped back from it, and once Liem hit the ground, tripping over his own two feet she rushed in and grabbed onto his bat.

“Gah! Cunt!” Liem yelled, trying in desperation to keep his bat, but his strength was no match for the mare. She easily wrenched it from his grasp and held it away from him, and before he could even think about getting it back, she slammed the side of it against her knee and caused it to snap in two, sending splinters flying. “Y-you… you freak!”

He got up onto his feet and ran at her, fists balled up tightly and arm pulled back to deliver a punch.

Dee watched as he was foiled once Rainbow swooped in on Liem’s blind side, and she delivered three swift kicks against him, two to the shoulder and one to the head that sent him stumbling to the side. Just when Dee thought the duo was done, Limestone came in from the other side when Liem was dazed, and she brought out her arm.

Limestone’s arm connected with Liem’s neck, his eyes bulged out and a pained wheeze escaped the man once she struck him, sending him flying backwards and skidding across the pavement past a dozen or so onlookers. Once he stopped, he coughed up blood and didn’t move much after that, at least until his friend came over to check on him.

After that small fight, Dee saw that everyone was staring at the two mares with wide awestruck gazes. The whole area had grown silent after that, no one said or did anything save for George and Liem, the latter coughing up blood and spewing curse after curse.

Rainbow and Limestone just glared towards the lifeguard, causing those in their line of sight to move out of the way. “Don’t fuck with us again, you prick.” Rainbow spat, “And don’t fuck with him again, or you’re gonna get more than just your ass kicked.”

It didn’t take much longer until Dee’s breathing slowed down, and he gave both of them a thumbs up before his vision distorted again and he felt weightless.

Before he finally met with the ground, he had one final thought.

Yep, I’m in love...

14

ooo000---000ooo

The Lifeguard Tower; a beacon of hope for the survivors of Banoi Island.

It was fortified even before the outbreak with decent sized walls surrounding it on all sides, a metal gate for entry into the small parking lot, and even the building itself could be locked down with a steel shutter over the garage. The only other doors leading inside could be hastily barricaded and blocked off should the need arise, all of which were made of hollow metal.

The storms that plagued the island had calmed down over the following days and the infected monsters hadn’t yet found their way to the tower, allowing the survivors who gathered for safety a manner of peace and quiet, as well as the time to recuperate and lick their wounds until the next inevitable shitstorm started.

Being stranded on a tropical island with monsters was a surefire way to lose energy, Rainbow reflected.

It was more peaceful than earlier in the week, that was for damn certain.

The previous week, Dee, Rainbow Dash and the others had finally reunited at the Lifeguard Tower alongside some new additions that made it safe and sound, like Derpy and the Pie Sisters.

Of course, Rainbow couldn’t forget the lifeguard, unfortunately. Liam and his family, alongside his burly mechanic friend, George had managed to make it to the tower safe and sound it seemed.

Things were supposed to be so simple for them all, just a little vacation to a tropical island resort where they would all have fun, get drunk and party hard, maybe even have a nice fuck late into the night or on the many dozens of beaches, but instead they had gotten nothing but pain and misery.

And for a single mother, nothing but never ending heartbreak and fear for her child.

It was only a matter of time until Derpy had learned of Dinky’s fate and it took only scant minutes before news of the nature of her injury began spreading around the Tower like wildfire. Couple that with the fears of infection and how the virus was spread from infected to survivor, and everyone was suddenly wary and on guard, even hostile.

Worst of all, aside from the beatdown Liam was given, the infection also gave him the perfect ammunition to use against them, which he was using to try and get them thrown out.

Rainbow had been holding in her anger for the whole week into next. Kicking his ass was one way of relieving the stress she was holding in, but she didn’t want to start anymore fights, knowing it was only likely to get them evicted and definitely not while several of their party was injured and unable to move. It didn’t stop her from sending the lifeguard glares whenever she could.

The pegasus mare had taken to standing sentry outside of the infirmary alongside Vinyl and Limestone, the two — aside from Marble and Derpy — were the only ones able to keep moving one hundred percent, so they opted to stay on guard around their friends while they healed.

Thankfully, they had someone with medical knowledge within the group who was helping take care of the injured, including their own, much to Rainbow’s relief and Liam’s vexation.

It took a bit of coaxing from them and the group Rainbow fought alongside with to get the doctor to help, but they were getting the much needed aid they needed.

Nevertheless, she was under no illusions that their fate still hung very much in the balance. It had been a painful week for all of them and the new week had just started. From the looks of things, despite the lack of infected activity, there was no sign anyone coming to help them, at least not immediately. And Rainbow found herself starting to go stir-crazy, grounded partially by necessity and partially by choice as she was afraid to leave her friends behind, especially their new human one, Dee.

After some time standing watch, Rainbow nodded to the two mares next to her and went into the infirmary, where she went over to where her injured friends were laid up in beds.

Due to the size of the room, there wasn’t much space for everyone who was hurt, so a lot had to be placed on the floor. Only the most injured were given the few beds available, That was the decision of the exhausted and bedraggled human doctor, who had been put under a great deal of stress and pain trying to treat the injured with his increasingly meager supplies. Thankfully, one of the beds had been spared for Dee, and one for Derpy’s daughter, Dinky, who was bandaged up heavily around her shoulders and neck where she had a chunk of her neck torn free; the smell of alcohol prominent as they kept the wound bandage soaked in it in a desperate attempt to forestall infection.

From what Rainbow learned from Lyra and Vinyl during their time at the hotel, Dee had risked his life not once, but several times to try and get aid, venturing deep into the hotel to find medicine for her wounds and getting severely hurt in the process. It was a surprise he hadn’t gotten killed, and yet, he hadn’t hesitated to put himself in danger either--completely unlike so many stallions of her own world.

She shook his head as she stared down at him, wishing there was something more she could do for him after all he’d done for her friends. Dee remained covered in bandages from the whole ordeal of last week; bruises marred his pale skin alongside cuts and scrapes, and his clothing was all but ruined from blood and rips in the cloth. His breathing was shallow, his chest barely rising and falling...

A sigh and a silent prayer for the brave human later, Rainbow went over to Derpy, who was still sitting next to Dinky with that heartbroken look etched into her face. Her eyes had bags under them and her wings sagged behind her, her mane was unkempt and exhaustion threatened to overtake her.

Rainbow could only imagine what it was like being a mother in a horrible situation like this.

Constantly worrying about the safety of your only child.

Upon arriving at the bed the latter lay in, she put a hand on her Derpy’s shoulder as she stood vigil over her daughter.. “Hey...”

After a single sniffle, the pegasus mare managed to reply. “H-hey...”

“So, um, how… how’re you holdin’ up?” Probably not the best question to ask, Rainbow knew that much, but what else could she say to her?

Derpy swallowed hard and murmured, “I’m f-fine.” No she wasn’t, the crack at the end of her her voice told Rainbow that much. “I don’t c-care what happens to me; I j-just want Dinky to be okay,” she added in a trembling voice.

Rainbow rubbed her fellow pegasus on the back gently., “She’ll pull through. She’s a tough kid, you know. Tough just like her mom, in fact. And you heard the doc.”

“That s-she’ll pull t-through...” That got a dry chuckle out of the older mare, who wiped her eyes. “I h-hope so...” Another sniffle and Derpy adjusted the blanket atop Dinky’s form. “L-last week was her birthday. I wanted to take her someplace n-nice for a present, and l-look what happened...” Her lip began to quiver.

A birthday surprise gone horribly wrong.

What could Rainbow say to that?

“You can’t blame yourself. Be sure and get some sleep for yourself, okay?” She wasn’t sure what else to say or do past that, so she ended up giving Derpy a small squeeze of the shoulder, before backing away and going over to where Dee was laid up.

Looking over at the chair next to Dee, she saw Lyra was sitting there watching him rest, keeping vigil over him much like Derpy and had done for Dinky.

Rainbow couldn’t help but smile at that. She knew Lyra hadn’t left his side since he was brought in here, even going so far as to chew out Liam and buy them some time to convince the head lifeguard, Sinamoi, to let them stay. Which he had, to this point, appreciating their combat abilities and various talents even if he kept a wary eye on them along with the rest.

“Hey, Ly.” Rainbow stopped and crouched next to the unicorn, her eyes glancing over to Dee.

Lyra’s eyes flicked over to Rainbow and she gave a weak smile, one that almost seemed forced. “Dash...”

“Doing any better?” Rainbow nodded to Lyra’s chest, curious.

“Yeah,” Lyra sniffled and lifted up her shirt, revealing some bandages wrapped underneath her bust. “Turned out my ribs were just bruised from the fall. No break, thank Celestia. They’re healing properly now that I can rest,” She gestured to the desk behind Rainbow, where the doctor of the group was looking through the cabinants. “He gave me some more medicine to deal with the pain. Humans may not have magic, but they’ve got some nice analgesics and painkiller pills, anyway. So I should be good to go in a little bit.”

Another nod from the prismatic mare and she stood up to look at Dee, who was still knocked out on the bed. “How’s he doing?”

“He was badly hurt,” The doctor, Jack, spoke up and glanced over to them. “Bruised ribs, a gunshot wound to his leg, bruises and lacerations, a mild concussion and a fever.” He explained and slammed another of the cabinet doors shut. “He’s one tough bugger, though. He’ll live, he just needs some time to heal up properly… and some decent medical supplies...” his voice trailed off uncertainly.

“We don’t have any?” Lyra questioned, sounding a little on edge, maybe even worried.

Jack sighed and looked back at them. “We did, but we’re running out. After a week, this place has been cleaned out of anything really useful. At this point, we got q-tips and cotton balls but barely anything else left. We need more substantial medical supplies if we’re going to last here… least until help arrives.” Left unspoken in his final statement was the silent if on the last two words.

That didn’t sit well with Rainbow, whose eyes glanced over Dee’s injured form. She shuffled her wings and rolled her shoulder with a grimace, an old pain in it still trying to crop up as she tested its mobility. “Do you know what all we need?” She asked Jack after a moment, maybe she could go find it.

“Well… we could do with more bandages, painkillers, antibiotics and the like,” He opened up most of the medical storage and revealed they had little left of anything useful; even the large glass pill bottle was down to a few broken stragglers and a small layer of dust at the bottom. “We’re completely out of everything we need to heal those still injured.”

Standing up and moving over to him - prompting him to move back slightly - she looked at the cabinets, wondering again if they’d ever fully accept or trust them. “Okay. And do you know where we could find any of that stuff?”

Though still wary of her, he thought about it and answered. “Maybe. When we were heading here from the beach, I happened to see a crashed paramedic truck nearby, further up the road.” Jack told her and with that, Rainbow started to get a brave or potentially stupid idea. “It seemed intact, so it should have a decent amount of medical supplies in the back.”

The mare crossed her arms and put a hand to her chin in thought. Maybe that was the ticket to greater trust while simultaneously helping her friends, she thought She could go get it, it would only be a quick flight there and back—oh, wait, , she abruptly remembered. It’s not that easy here!

Since they landed on this island, or perhaps in the greater world, all of their abilities had been sapped somehow. Neither Lyra or Vinyl could use their magic very well, only managing to get off a few sparks for a spell as any actual attempt at spellmaking gave both intense headaches and nosebleeds.

As for Derpy and her, they couldn’t fly as well, only able to do cover infuriatingly short distances at a time - though Derpy could manage a bit more, seeing how she was an endurance flyer unlike Rainbow. The latter sincerely doubted the former would be willing to leave Dinky’s side though.

Marble and Limestone, on the other hand, apparently didn’t suffer much except for a slight decrease in their natural earth pony strength and stamina. Aside from the muscles they had, they were at least marginally weaker than before, though the pair could still move heavy supply boxes and Limestone was not at all averse to throwing her weight around, having nearly broken the wrist of one drunken human who’d found a liquor stash and tried to grope her, ending up flinging him ten feet away.

He could hardly blame them, given she’d had trouble keeping her eyes off them in the past; it gave Rainbow the thought of how strong they were even without their impressive physiques.

A shake of her head followed — she would think about ogling her best friend’s sisters’ bodies later. If there even is a later, she tried not to think, deciding that if they did get out of this, the first thing she’d want to do is have a celebratory sex romp with them. Hey, a filly’s gotta dream, right? “Okay, then. I’ll go get those supplies...” She told everyone in the room, gaining some surprised and suspicious looks, “And I’ll see if I can’t find anything else useful while I’m out there.”

“You’re going out there?” Jack questioned her, raising an eyebrow.

“Will anyone else?” Rainbow turned to him and frowned, “Sam B and the others already left to hunt down supplies for the place and they haven’t been back in a couple of days. Everyone else is scared out of their minds right now; no way is anyone else going outside.” Rainbow clenched her fists and glanced down at them. “Least of all for us...”

She never would have thought she’d be in a situation where she would be fighting for her life, but she was glad she at least learned how to defend herself. Shame it had to involve killing things though. Or were the infected technically already dead?

She didn’t know the answer and wasn’t sure she wanted to know, given both solutions presented their own separate issues. “I’m strong enough to fight those things off, besides...” She turned to glance at Dee, who was sickly and pale looking on the bed - where every breath sounded like a pained wheeze. “I owe him this. Dee would do the same for any of us.”

She really believed that, and she knew Lyra and Vinyl did after what she learned Dee had done for the two of them.

Lyra was the resident ‘human’ lover back in their small-town home of Ponyville - eccentric at times and obsessed with the mythological creatures known as humans, even going so far as to pursue it as a field in her archaeology studies despite it being constantly derided by the more ‘reputable’ members of her community as just myth and hoax. So it was a surprise she wasn’t acting crazy about the humans all around her, and given how she simply refused to leave his side, Rainbow knew Lyra had to be telling the truth, they were best friends, after all.

He almost died in the hotel doing what he did… we owe him this much, she shook her head again at that, part of her starting to think that for all her heroics and constantly saving her friends, she owed him more than that!

But such things lay in the very uncertain future. After getting some rough directions from Jack, she didn’t waste anymore time then she had to before leaving the room and heading out into the garage of the Tower, where she found one of the other humans messing around with the red pickup truck. Rainbow glanced around the inside of the room and saw the workbench off to the side, a few boxes of supplies sitting opposite of that, and outside of the garage itself she spotted the bank truck Dee and them drove up in - which was sitting and ready to be used alongside the other pickup.

The whole tower was turned into a safe haven from the undead hordes on the island - with the walls surrounding it, the gate, and the people on guard, it would be hard for any of the monsters to make it inside.

So far it had worked. Their defenses were holding up nicely, despite everyone being armed with whatever improvised weapons they had found inside of the building: rowing paddles, wrenches, pipes; whatever that wasn’t bolted down. It was a horribly inadequate means of defense, but it was all they had at the moment.

Save for the human handguns Dee and Vinyl brought with them, as well as the one Derpy had on her, which from a brief recap, she had gotten from a soldier she met a while back.

Vinyl and Lyra gave her a quick rundown of how they worked. They were similar to flintlocks in a way and yet… so much more advanced than what they had back home, enough to the point that their far-more potent firepower visibly made Derpy look even more frightened.

They didn’t have much ammo left for them, however and a quick comment from Lyra about the lifeguard - Liam - had them unanimously decide to hide the weapons from him. He was violent, hateful, and was looking for any reason to get them thrown out; failing that he might well decide to attempt an ambush of them again. .

Rainbow didn’t want to give him any means to hurt her friends.

She went over to the workbench with a cautious ear raised, listening to the conversations that rolled around from the people around her — both above and outside next to the trucks. As she listened, she looked around for something she could use for a weapon.

“Those horses or whatever, man, I don’t know… they freak me out.” She heard from above, the muffled voices of the other survivors barely piercing the ceiling.

There was a brief pause before his companion answered. “We’re surrounding by fucking zombies, and they freak you out?”

“I’m serious! You saw how those two kicked that lifeguard’s ass! How long until we’re next?!”

“Oh, come off it. You saying he didn’t deserve it? He keeps trying to cause shit and stir up trouble. And whatever they are, we can use their wings and muscle,” Rainbow was gratified to hear at least one human say.

“Yeah, well, I still don’t trust ‘em. I mean, where’d they even come from? Some kind of mutation?” Another wondered, sounding suspicious.

“Might be aliens. This whole thing might’ve been caused by aliens!” Yet another voice spoke up.

Aliens? Pssh. She rolled her eyes. Does it ever occur to you guys that to us, YOU’RE the aliens? She didn’t dart up there to ask despite the temptation.

Rainbow shook her head and rummaged around before coming across a paddle. It was worn down and beaten, but for a temporary weapon, it would have to do for now until she found something else.

Thus armed, she turned and stepped out towards the garage exit and out into the sunny tropical weather. Her eyes flicked down to the paddle she was holding with a grimace; to think she would have to fight and kill made her sick to her stomach, but it was necessary to do if she wanted to survive another day.

Just thinking about the fight for the Tower she and the others had last week made her stomach churn. Everything she knew about life had been shattered and ruined over the course of the week — murder was slowly becoming a normal thing, even if the things they were killing were, in fact, already dead to begin with.

So is this what it’s like to fight a war? she wondered. Killing becomes as normal and as natural as breathing? It was almost too much, but somehow she was able to stomach the feeling of dread bubbling up in her and force her nerves back. It was kill or be killed, she learned the hard way that there was no talking to those things and making them stop.

The others knew it too, she could tell…

Force was the only way, even if her mind and deeply-ingrained morals of Friendship and Harmony told her that was the wrong way.

She made her way over to the gate and was about to prepare herself to head out and find those medical supplies they needed, only to stop when she heard, “Hey Rainbow. I heard from Lyra that you decided to make a supply run. You going out there alone?”

Looking back she saw the form of Limestone approaching her, having changed her clothes to something a little bit more protective than her previous attire - that being a hoodie and some pants. She still had her hatchet as well, the weapon tucked into her belt and ready for instant use.

Rainbow looked at the resort and sighed, she was planning on going alone, but she couldn’t fly away if things got too bad. With her flight magic stunted, she would be grounded quickly and have to run for it and hope she could get away!

“I was gonna,” Rainbow admitted and rubbed the back of her head, chuckling a little.

Limestone walked over to the pegasus, standing next to her. “Where’re you going anyway?” Limestone rose an eyebrow at Rainbow, crossing her arms and frowning.

Rainbow turned to look back at the lifeguard tower and she thought about the injured inside, mostly focusing on Dee and Dinky. “To some medical vehicle the doc said was wrecked not far up the road. We need more medical supplies for everyone here, we don’t have much to spare...” If things ended up getting too bad, she figured, they might get kicked out.

Rainbow frowned when she looked up at the tower, spotting the lifeguard Liam talking with someone. She couldn’t hear anything they were saying, but the expression the human had on his face was one Rainbow was all too familiar with, especially when he turned to look in their direction.

Disdain.

She had never hated anyone in her life, but that man got on her nerves the whole week. It seemed like—no, they were always at each other’s throats anytime they were in the same room. Whether it was in passing or just a chance encounter, they always found some reason to try and start a fight.

The others were able to hold back, but Rainbow?

She always got verbal with him anytime they ran into one another and with how small the lifeguard tower was, that was almost a constant. It was beginning to get on the others nerves, that much was obvious with how they looked at them.

A shake of her head and she turned to face Limestone with a hard look of her own. She wasn’t going to waste any more time thinking about that asshole. “Even if everyone didn’t need the supplies right now, I’m getting sick of being stared at like I’m some kind of monster that needs to be kicked out,” She growled out and she knew Limestone had to know what she meant, that damn lifeguard. “Besides… getting some medical supplies for the tower might help us out in the long run.”

Limestone just kept her arms crossed and snorted hard, and it wasn’t long till she was glaring up at the lifeguard, Liem, who had turned and walked off somewhere. “Stupid male,” She grumbled hard and turned back to Rainbow. “Do you have any idea where to look?”

What Jack said came to mind and Rainbow nodded her head. “There’s a paramedic truck further up the road that Jack mentioned, it might have what we need in the back.” It was worth a shot, and considering they were at a resort, the odds of finding a hospital were slim. She didn’t figure there was one nearby, let alone any other kind of medical facility.

Rainbow saw Limestone stare past her and up the cliffside and jungle flora, up towards the hotel. A wrinkle of her grey snout and she rolled her shoulders, which produced a loud crack noise. “Think you need help getting shit?”

Did she need help doing this? It would be a fairly quick trip up the road, but thinking about it, she honestly didn’t know where exactly the crashed vehicle was or what it looked like. The only thing she did know was that it was a paramedic truck. Just another one of those weird human vehicles, but baring the star of life like some carriages back home.

On top of that, the undead were everywhere and only growing in size. The chaos of earlier in the week had diminished when people got more and more used to the sightings of the creatures that plagued the island, hunting them at seemingly every turn. And while they were decently protected inside of the lifeguard tower, they had to go outside to scavenge for supplies.

Lifeguard Towers weren’t exactly know for their abundance of supplies in situations such as this one.

“Are you cool with coming along?” Rainbow turned to regard Limestone with a curious gaze. “He just said the truck or whatever was somewhere down the road, but I don’t know how far it is from here.”

She had a paddle for rowing as a way to defend herself! She didn’t like it, but it was all she had. Limestone was probably the only one within the survivor group who had a proper weapon, aside from Sam B and the others.

“Beats sitting here on my ass doing nothing.” Limestone grumbled out and pulled out her hatchet before giving it an experimental twirl.

Rainbow noticed her doing that a lot, sitting around and spinning the weapon she had found. The mare was deft with her movements, spinning and twirling it the whole time they were here. It would appear the mare had started to get used to using it.

“Might as well, besides...” Limestone looked off towards the other buildings and the jungle foliage beyond the Tower. “We gotta do something, and I don’t plan on letting that kid die… not if I can do anything about it.”

Rainbow couldn’t agree more.

“Alright, then let’s go, it should be up the road somewhere, we just have to find it.”

With their goal in mind, they set out.

ooo000---000ooo

Vinyl was worried, and it was for all of the wrong reasons.

Standing watch outside a small space where her friends were was worrisome. The other humans gave her looks when they came in asking the doctor for something, only to be turned away. She was grateful that damned lifeguard hadn’t entered the room at any point, it was fortunate too, as she wasn’t sure she could fight very well in such a cramped space.

Kickboxing was how she handled rowdy fans of hers or a back alley hustler, self defense she learned after a rough night in a Manehattan night club outing with her friends. So naturally, with her long legs, she needed plenty of room to move around and she couldn’t do that in here, what with everything in her way.

Lyra was the closest to her, and while she wasn’t hurting nearly as bad as she was before, she still had to take it easy until her ribs healed. Derpy was in no shape, physically or emotionally, to fight anyone, nor were Dee or Dinky.

Speaking of the latter.

Vinyl chanced a look back at Derpy and her daughter, the latter of whom was bandaged up heavily around her neck and shoulder, where she had suffered a near fatal wound from one of those monsters outside their walls. It took nearly all of the medical supplies they had in the infirmary just to keep her from bleeding out, and no one was happy about that.

She could see it in their eyes when they were told, she was outside when it happened.

The anger, the shock, the fear.

She understood it, but at the same time… they needed it.

She was naturally worried what was going to come from this. It’s been a solid week since Dinky was brought in and fixed up, since everyone regrouped and settled down in the building, and all of this time, they’ve been living off of the supplies that had been stocked up inside the whole time.

Nothing new had been brought in, and they were running low on a little bit of everything, the one thing being medical supplies, which they desperately needed.

Dinky wasn’t the only one who had been hurt badly.

How long would it be until someone who was more desperate tried something? Would she be able to keep her friends safe?

A familiar weight made itself known in the back of her - purposefully - ripped up pants, the pistol she had found in the hotel. The other two had been hidden in Derpy’s bag, which she was keeping next to her. Vinyl made sure to keep the pistol hidden from view, if only to keep the lifeguard from spotting it, thus, she made sure to keep her hoodie over her pants.

If things did go south for them, she could use it. From what she remembered, the ‘beretta’ held fifteen bullets, so that meant she could fire it that many times before she had to reload it. While she had a vague idea on how to do that, she didn’t have an extra ‘magazine’ to carry on her.

She only had fifteen bullets, and if they had to fight, she had to make every shot count.

I hate this.

Everyone did, she knew that much.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned, and she saw Lyra behind her. Her hand rose up, and the unicorn quickly signed something. “Hey Vinyl, were you heading to a show or something on the airship?” She asked.

She forgot, she hadn’t told anyone why she was on the airship to begin with. Vinyl looked back and thought for a moment.

It had been a few months since her last gig in Las Pegasus, and she had just gotten home to her place in the upper-west side of Manehattan.

The door slammed open when she hit it and she walked in and tossed her jacket to the side; it landed somewhere and she locked the door behind her. She didn’t waste much time before going over to the fridge and pulling out one of the hard ciders and immediately moving over to plop down on her couch.

Today had been a long day, no — the entire week had been long.

Ugh, so many fans were there… begging for me to sign their shirts or album covers, or somewhere on their body… then you had the mares who wanted me to sign their tits; least they were cute!

The one upside of the whole experience during the end of her gig was a couple of romps with a few overly excited fans of hers, a few mares, hyped to meet their number one DJ. They were something to let her blow off a lot of pent up steam and frustration.

Now she was home, safe and sound, free to do the same thing she always did.

Listen to the nothingness around her, a constant ever since she was born.

A gentle sigh left her and she unscrewed the cap on her bottle and immediately began chugging it. She was done with tonight before it even began, she just wanted nothing more than to sleep away the rest of it and wake up somewhere else.

Fame was beginning to take its toll on her.

She looked around her room and saw the posters that had been hung up, the albums and platinum records she had amassed during her career. Symbols of fame and prosperity throughout her decade or so of spinning turntables and gathering a following to rival that of old world cults of Celestia and Luna combined.

And yet, for all of the money she had in her bank, the fame she was known for, the amount of sex and booze and drugs she could have any time round the clock…

She felt empty, unfulfilled.

Even the cider she was drinking felt bland and tasteless, flat like a soda left out in the sun. Or maybe it was because she remembered she hadn’t bought any new booze in well over a few months.

In fact, when was the last time she had even seen the inside of her bedroom?

Putting the flat booze aside, she stood up and made her way to the hall leading to her bedroom. The penthouse had a lot of rooms in it, and naturally she took the master as her own room. The other rooms were empty, barren, save for the one she turned into a recording room to test new tracks she made and such.

It had been a while… maybe she should sleep in her own bed for once.

She stood up and kept the cider bottle in hand as she made her way to her room.

Vinyl passed by something on her counter, and it gave her pause enough to glance at it. A pile of envelopes and newspapers, with a small note sitting next to them. She blinked and took off her trademark glasses before going over to them, and she picked up the note.

‘Hello V, saw you left your mailbox to rot again and it was piling up. You’re lucky I stop by every now and then to tidy things up while you’re gone on your trips! Anyway, I decided to take some of your mail and bundle it up for you; bills and other things like that.

You know… you barely write me anymore since you moved to the big city. I miss you, and I wish you would come visit sometime. It gets lonely in this cottage.

Goddess above, I might even say I miss that dreadful music of yours.

Please, come visit me sometime, we’ll have tea. Well. I’ll have tea, and you can drink one of those atrocious energy drinks you love so much.

With love, Octavia Melody.’

A small smile grew on her face as she laid the letter down. She sighed and looked at the bundle of mail.

Damn it, Octy...

A pang of something hit Vinyl’s chest and it tightened, and she adjusted the necklace around her neck. She shook her head and looked at the bundle before untying it and sifting through it. Most of it, to little surprise, was junk mail; a lot of it was stuff for magazine subscriptions or something that didn’t really peak her interest. She saw some letters from family she had grown distant from, a couple from partners she’d had in the past who somehow remembered her address. She wondered how many were interested in her and how many were interested in her fame and money.

But one of them stood out, it was an envelope with a plain looking label on it with her name. She plucked it out and tore it open, and out fell…

An airship ticket?

ooo000---000ooo

Rainbow continued walking up the road with her paddle in hand. Behind her, she knew Limestone was still following, if only from the heavy bootsteps of hers. The earthmare wasn’t the calm sort, especially not in this situation; every step she took was tense and heavy.

Then again, couldn’t she say the same about herself? Rainbow knew she had her reckless moments, but even so…

That mare behind her was angry.

The road ahead of them was quiet, thankfully. Some still-smoking trucks and cars, a bloodstain here or there on the road, and some garbage was the most they saw during their walk. And the bodies…

The bodies.

Rainbow had to swallow hard when she saw them littering the road. It was one or two here and there, completely torn apart in whatever place they’d finally been run down or cornered. It was apparent a few had fought back to no avail judging by some discarded and broken weapons that were even less usable than her paddle. It was beyond her how these humans could be capable of something like this, tearing into their own kind like wild animals and leaving nothing but bone and sinew.

“Can’t believe a virus is making them do this.” Rainbow muttered, her eyes lingering on one of the bodies. It had no clothing, nothing to give her any indication it was a male or female, just… that it was once a person at some point.

Limestone grunted and Rainbow felt her brush by her folded up wings. “It’s all fucked up.” The mare said and continued walking, only to slow down and glance at another one of the bodies. “How can a fucking… virus do this kind of shit?” she asked, her tone one of disgust.

Rainbow wondered that herself. She knew about diseases like the Feather Flu and Cutie Pox, and even magical ailments like that caused by Poison Joke, but that was about it, she didn’t have much knowledge about anything else. And the last was because of a flower, while the first was a seasonal illness that was annoying but not much more. The second was just something silly that could happen to foals but easily curable with the right now medicine.

Now this? This was something else entirely.

“I don’t know, but it freaks me out.” Rainbow swallowed again and tried to ignore the smell, but it was hard not to notice it.

Death was in the air and following their every movement.

Rainbow followed after Limestone and nudged her, so they could keep moving. “How far do we have to go again?” Limestone looked back, a questioning look in her eye.

“I… I don’t know; that guy just said it was up the road. He said they passed it, so we shouldn’t have to go too far.” Rainbow looked up ahead and she saw a dozen vehicles clogging up parts of the road, but there was enough room for a car or two to maneuver through, carefully.

“And you really trust him?” Limestone was skeptical, but that in itself was hardly unusual. She didn’t trust anybody outside of her own sisters as a rule.

“He patched up Lyra and is caring for Dinky. I don’t think he fully trusts us, but I don’t think he’d just send us out to get killed after all that, either,” she noted quietly as she studied the human carriages more closely.

Plenty of them had been smashed and knocked aside, it was clear to see; from what Lyra told her, that was thanks in part to Dee and them stealing the large blocky vehicle and using it as a battering ram.

He was desperate, she noted again. But for her sake than for his…? She found the thought of him--a stallion--protecting a mare strangely heady. If he wasn’t human, I might just—

“I don’t like being out here.” Limestone broke into her thoughts again, twirling her hatchet as she kept her ears perked and eyes open. The mare was hard and stoned face most of the time, but now was a time that would get on anyone’s nerves, knowing they could get attacked at any moment.

“Me neither, but we need to get those medical supplies.” Rainbow hated it, especially considering she could barely fly. Maybe for a few minutes, tops before exhaustion set in, and she wasn’t even sure why that was happening.

It made her think about the clouds, which drew her eyes for a moment.

They floated lazily across the sky from one end of the horizon to the other, fluffy and white as she was used to. Yet, they were different in subtle ways, giving her a sense that they were almost like Everfree clouds, yet they lacked the chaotic flare--and propensity for breaking into sudden, violent squalls--that those possessed.

But these? These were just… lacking.

She ended bumping into Limestone in front of her, the latter making no noise. Rainbow glanced down to ask her what was up, only to freeze upon what was ahead of them.

The road leading up and curving around the bungalows around them had been relatively deserted, some bodies and vehicle wreckage here and there, but up ahead that suddenly changed. The road was completely clogged up with twitching and hissing bodies, currently surrounding a couple of SUVs and cars.

Rainbow gripped her paddle hard and her eyes went wide. Her wings twitched behind her back as she had a strong and instinctive urge to jump into the air and fly, but with everything that happened recently, she’d be lucky if she could stay aloft before crashing down somewhere. On top of that, Limestone would be stuck on the ground.

Limestone stayed silent and was slowly stepping back, and Rainbow quietly did the same.

There’re so many of them! She didn’t see anything like that in the whole week they’ve been there, any of the monsters they had encountered were usually on their lonesome, wandering off somewhere out of sight, out of mind. But now?

But now, there was an entire crowd right in front of them!

And it seemed luck was not in their favor, as Rainbow felt some minor resistance on the heel of her shoe, and she felt her heart leap into her chest when she heard a loud crunch noise. She could feel her heart stop as dozens of the monsters up ahead of them slowly turned their heads to look, and vicious red eyes locked on her and Limestone.

“...Fuck.”

A loud scream emanated from the crowd, and both mares turned tail and sprinted away as the crowd slowly formed on them and gave chase.

“Crap crap crap!” Rainbow didn’t dare glance behind her, and she had to fight the urge to spread her wings and fly away. She knew she wouldn’t get far, and on top of that, she wouldn’t be able to lift Limestone up and carry her away to safety.

She hated feeling so weak!

“We can’t go back, but we can’t get through them!” Rainbow cursed, and looked up towards the right, where the resorts various pathways leading up to bungalows, pools, and small bars led. “Up there!”

“What’s that gonna do!?” Limestone argued, “We’ll get cornered!”

“We can’t go back, we need to get those supplies!” Rainbow countered and darted to the right, sprinting up the steps. “We’ll lose them up here and go around! Maybe there’s a shortcut!”

Limestone cast a look behind her with a grimace, where the horde was growing in size and chasing after them. She honestly didn’t have any other choice but to follow Rainbow, and hope they lost the monsters.

She was strong; as strong as an earth pony could physically be. Given proper preparation, she could beat a dozen of the monsters down with her bare hands...

But even she couldn’t take on hundreds of them with just her hatchet and fists.

So she relented and followed Rainbow, heading up and into the bungalows, hopefully on a shorter path to both lose the pursuers and find the supplies.

They had to… if not for themselves, then for their human and pony friends back at the tower.

Author's Note

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the absolute legend that is Firesight and his editing skills? Because holy crap, he's making this story so much better than ever before.

Give this boy some mad props, and thanks for reading everyone!

15

Thunder struck outside the Lifeguard Tower; a boom so loud it made the area tremble, waking up one of those asleep in the infirmary.

Specifically, Dee.

He sat up with a gasp, only for an immediate wave of pain and nausea to force him back down to the bed. It crept up in his stomach, and he felt sickly from head to toe on top of being dizzy. He struggled to swallow the bile back down his dry throat, as his bleary eyes took in the room he was in. His mind registered the medical paraphernalia and equipment on the tables, the bed he was on, and the smell.

Hospital and doctors offices always had a distinct smell about them.

He took a few deep breaths and found his eyes drifting to the right, where he saw the form of Lyra sitting up in the chair, looking over at him with those pretty golden eyes of hers. She was dressed in different clothes this time around, a cleaner shirt and pants that looked a bit loose on her frame. She looked better than last he saw her, which filled him with some relief.

But confusion filled his sleep-addled mind as he struggled to comprehend what had happened, what did happen? He didn’t remember how he got in the room, let alone why he was there. The pain he felt gave him a few clues though.

“Good to see you awake.” Lyra smiled softly and shifted in the chair, leaning forward.

He blinked his eyes and cleared his throat quietly. “Lyra? What…?” He gently shook his head as he lay on the bed. Grogginess snuck into his body, his limbs ached, as did his injuries. “What the hell happened?”

“You passed out when we got to the Lifeguard Tower,” She told him, arms still crossed. “There was a bit of a fight with Liam, and afterwards you just dropped like a bag of apples off a cart.” Her eyes flickered about his features as she gazed at him, as if watching for his reaction.

Dee just gazed off into space, half paying attention while the other portion was busy trying to figure out if this was still his reality, or if he was in some kind of stress induced coma dream. Eventually he managed to speak, “I… well, that explains some things, thanks for clearing it up.” The memories flooded in slowly, and his dislike of Liam only grew. “Fuck, how long was I out for?”

“A week.” When Dee’s eyebrow shot up in surprise, she elaborated. , “You were badly hurt, Dee… between the gunshot wound, being bruised and beaten repeatedly, and picking up a mild concussion on top of it, it’s a wonder you’re still alive!” She raised her voice in a scolding tone briefly only to catch herself, and quickly glanced over to where a few other injured people were sleeping - or at least attempting to. After making sure she hadn’t woken anyone else up, she continued, “We had to give you the last of the medicine so you wouldn’t get an infection.”

Dee felt a minor wave of guilt wash over him. They’d used to last of the medicine on him? If that was truly the case, and if they were still in a bad situation, odds are they’d be out for the time being until some scavenging runs were made to scrounge up more. He rubbed his forehead and sighed, “Shit… that’s not good. But a week? There have been no more attacks…?” he asked her hopefully, wondering if that meant rescue had arrived and their nightmare was finally over..

Lyra nodded slowly. “No, but that’s not to say it’s hasn’t been rough the past few days. Everyone’s been on edge because of what’s been going on, between the monsters outside the walls and the food situation…” And in a whisper, she added, “And that lifeguard, Liam? He’s still trying to cause trouble for us.”

That got Dee’s eyes to narrow. “Right… him.” A wave of annoyance washed over his form and he remembered what a pain the man was, from his attitude at the gas station before, to the fight they later had. It only served to remind him of how many times he’d gotten struck by the man. “And here I was hoping we wouldn’t be running into him again.”

“He’s with Sinamoi right now,” Lyra brought up. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but from what I heard from Rainbow, he’s still trying to get us kicked out.” She scoffed lightly, “I’m not surprised, given he hasn’t liked us since we met.”

Dee focused back on her and listened, and he agreed wholeheartedly. Yet his focus kept getting drawn elsewhere, as during the conversation he couldn’t help but notice she was constantly adjusting her jacket, which was a tad too tight for her form. The red zip up flannel hoodie that was only done up halfway, exposing a white v-neck underneath and the barest hints of a dark green bra.

He didn’t like the fact he stared on occasion, but it was hard when his company was less than human and had a more than just simply attractive figure.

A snicker broke him from his staring, “I see you’ve noticed that my new clothes are a bit too tight?” Lyra made a show of tugging at her flannel, specifically near the halfway point that was keeping most of her top together. Her finger teased the zipper for a moment, seemingly fully aware of what she was doing, watching his reaction carefully. “I lost my bag when we crashed here and what I was wearing got ruined. The shirt you gave me helps out a lot, but it does have a couple of problems~” She pulled and the zipper came loose, as did part of the flannel, exposing more of her bust barely contained by the rather tight shirt. Her breasts shifted and bounced slightly behind the shirt, which was more than enough to give Dee his own problems.

Dee could feel his face burn as her finger traced lower, briefly but tantalizingly tracing the outline of a curve, and he coughed. “Ahem, y-yeah… crashed here,” He glanced away from her briefly. As much as a part of him would love to stare, and he recognized that she was all but inviting it--was this a thank-you for his rescue of her?--he had enough self-control to note the current situation wasn’t exactly appropriate for that, “But, uh… h-how did you g-guys get here a-again?” He tried but failed to master both his nerves and suddenly aroused libido, which was making itself known despite his lingering pain and wounds.

The details escaped him, but Lyra was kind enough to explain.

“My friends and I were on an airship,” Lyra started as her hand drifted back down to her lap, and the zipper she undid was left alone. “We were all headed to Haywaii for a vacation. Myself, I was going to get away from it all for a week or so, relax, maybe drink a little and dance.” She propped her head up with a hand and glanced sideways, a frown tugging at her lips. “But then one of the passengers on our ship turned into one of those zombie things outside, bit another pony and… well, we lost the captain during the chaos and ended up with no one to pilot the ship...” her voice trailed off as she gave a visible shudder. “I won’t lie, Dee. I thought we were all dead.”

“You crashed.” Dee finished for her, and she nodded.

“Well, they crashed, a few fell off before the ship made landfall… that’s how I got hurt,” She lifted her hoodie, showing the underside of her breast where some bandages were wrapped snugly around a wound he couldn’t see. “I hit fell out when we went over the island and I fell out from low altitude as the ship listed hard, hitting some trees on the way down.”

“Ouch.” Dee hissed and held his own chest in sympathy--no wonder she was in such bad shape! “You’re doing better now though, eh?” Falling off of a moving airship and smacking into some trees on the way down didn’t sound like something you could just walk away from, not unless you were in a movie. Lyra seemed okay for the most part, however.

“Yeah, those pain meds I got helped deal with the pain a lot,” She lifted up an arm and flexed for a moment, a tiny smile on her face. “Bonus points for being a unicorn, too--what little magic I had left in me helped speed up the recovery.”

Huh… magic? “So that helped heal you faster?” He narrowed his eyes at Lyra for a moment, his eyes scanning her form before landing on a small necklace she wore.

“Yep! I… I would have tried using a minor healing spell to help you, but,” She looked up at her horn, and her face scrunched up. She grunted, the spirals of her horn began to glow and a couple of sparks flew from the end of it, but aside from that, not much else happened. “I can’t use my magic now. After I expended what I brought with me, it’s like I lost any access to it.”

How could a unicorn lose access to their magic? If they couldn’t use magic, what did that mean for the others? “That’s weird, you sure you don’t need to like...” He waved his hand around vaguely, searching for a good word to describe what he meant. “I don’t know, recharge or something?”

A sharp snort left the unicorn. “Pfft, I wish. Normally in our own world, recharging happens automatically, over time. Vinyl and I are not sure what’s going on, but we can’t use our magic here no matter how hard we try.” She looked down at her hands, as if they held the answer, leaving Dee reflecting that an Anthro version of Lyra probably wouldn’t be so obsessed with hands and fingers as fan canon held, given she already had them. “We can’t use our magic to do anything, and Rainbow and Derpy said they’re having trouble flying… there’s something off about this island, and it’s affecting our magic somehow.”

“That’s not good.” He groaned and managed to sit up slowly. Now that he had a moment to get his bearings, he could focus his energy on sitting up and possibly getting out of bed. His concussion had other ideas, sending a fresh spell of dizziness through him.

As did Lyra, who was quick to firmly push him back down onto the bed. “Uh uh, no getting up for you, mister!” She stated and gave him a stern look. “Not until the doc says you can get up.”

“I’m not a baby,” Dee pouted, yet laid back down at her insistence. Seems he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, much to his disdain.

She just giggled, prompting an eye roll from him.

Seems his recovery was going to take a bit, so he might as well make the best of it.

ooo000---000ooo

Everything was so scary.

Marble knew she could handle herself pretty well when it came down to it. She was just as strong as Limestone after countless years of manual labor on their parents’ rock farm, but that didn’t stop her heart from seizing up with fear, and making her question just how safe they really were behind the walls that surrounded the lifeguard tower.

All of the humans were keeping watch, armed only with their crude clubs and bats to fend off any of the monsters, some of them eyeing her suspiciously as she stood outside the building, trying to remain inconspicuous under the shade of a palm tree. The only bright side of their predicament was the gorgeous view of the beach and surrounding resort down below, shorting a long stretch of sandy beaches, bungalows built out onto the water, and crystal clear blue waters for as far as her eyes could see.

At least the travel brochure was right about that much! She could almost see herself getting lost in the view, forgetting her worries and her fears.

Yet most of that was ruined whenever her eyes spotted a rotting body half buried in the sand, the stark contrast between the sand’s grainy color and the brackish crimson that was someone else’s blood reminding her constantly of their dire circumstances, to say nothing of the roaming infected that plagued the island. She still spotted them from time to time outside the walls, whether they were sprinting to some unknown destination or lumbering to feast on a devoured corpse.

It made her sick to her stomach.

“We need to do something about our food situation,” She heard someone murmur.

She squeaked and held a hand over her mouth before looking towards the voice. She saw two other survivors not far away next to some upturned row boats speaking to one another in low tones that her large and swiveling pony ears allowed her to eavesdrop on..

“We don’t have much left, just some boxes of canned corn and beans, energy bars and some energy drinks,” One mentioned, holding up an empty can of beans. “We’re almost out, and we got over twenty people here.”

“Didn’t Sam B and them make a run for some food not too long ago?” The other male questioned, leaving Marble marveling again at how many males this species had.

Still, the question was a valid one. Marble remembered watching the group leave, stating they were going to go look around the immediate area and try to bring back some food. But it had been a couple of days since they set out, and not a peep had been heard back from them yet.

“They did, but they haven’t come back yet.” The scraped-empty can was tossed behind the man, falling down the cliff face and making plenty of noise, which drew nearby infected to try and clamber up the rocks to get the can, only to slip and fall back down and the steep and slick rocks. “If they don’t get back soon, we’ll be fighting over scraps.”

“It isn’t that bad,” A new voice declared in a more accented voice. “Not yet.” Looking over, Marble spotted the head lifeguard, Sinamoi, who seemed to have become the unofficial leader of the survivors. “We have enough food to last us for a bit if we ration it carefully. When the others get back, we’ll have more than enough for several weeks.”

“You sure about that?” Doubt radiated from the one man. “We got a lotta people here, and didn’t we run out of medicine last night? Where’re you gonna find that around here?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Sinamoi insisted, never wavering despite the questions being thrown at him. “A lot of the paramedic trucks are missing, but they’re probably strewn about the resort areas, they’ll have medicine in them. The gas stations also have medical kits inside them, not counting the bungalows and the hotel itself. If push comes to shove… we’ll make do with what we have for now.”

The two survivors calmed down and shared a look with one another, before nodding and going off somewhere.

Marble never was one for talking a lot; she preferred staying quiet and she knew she could never take lead like Sinamoi did--one of the reasons she had nearly fallen for the equally quiet Big Macintosh during her family’s one visit to their rock farm a couple Hearth’s Warmings back. But what she lacked in voice, she made up with other ways, for example… she had a keen eye.

She noticed Sinamoi was sweating during the conversation. A fist was clenched behind his back, tensing up his arm and shoulder, yet he kept his eyes on the duo the whole time.

What could he be nervous about? She wondered and worried, and soon enough she was so lost in her thoughts she failed to notice his gaze falling on her. She didn’t realize he had noticed her until he wandered over to her, causing her to freeze up like a deer in front of headlights. Oh no!

“You’re one of those… horses, aren’t you?” He asked, and Marble had to bite her tongue — she wasn’t a horse! “With the group who drove in with the bank truck?”

She nodded shyly. Marble didn’t know much about the truck, but she was glad to see Pinkie’s friends had made it out okay.

Sinamoi sighed and turned to gaze out at the ocean before leaning down on the railing that kept them from falling down the cliffside. “I don’t know where you lot came from… hell, Wayne’s muttering about aliens and I didn’t believe him at first, but after seeing you lot.” He gave her a look, to which she puffed out a cheek. “Well… I don’t know.”

I’m not an alien! Marble wanted to say but was afraid to. So she limited her reaction to pouting a tiny bit and looking out over the ocean, her arms crossed.

“I don’t mean any offense,” Sinamoi replied quickly, noticing her offense. “It’s just everything that’s been going on is strange to me, to all of us,” he quickly clarified. “I wake up from a long shift last night and the first thing I hear on the radio is the walking dead, and then after that a plane crashes in the jungle followed by this weird flying boat, on top of that… well,” he gestured to her, “You and your colorful pony friends show up? This isn’t normal, not for us at least.”

Marble let out a tiny sigh and looked down at the ground. He was no less an oddity to her; a human lifeguard, a male who worked on an island resort neither she nor the others had ever heard of before. And then when she learned no one had even heard of Equestria or ponies even though they had heard of humans? She didn’t know what to make of it. It was strange to experience, but then again, everything going on was strange when it wasn’t outright horrifying

“It isn’t normal for us either…” she finally managed a few tinny words. She wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, but it was giving her sweet little mind a headache.

Sinamoi’s expression softened at that. “Help will come soon,” he stated with a hopeful tone. And Marble could see him staring out at the ocean, far beyond whatever she could see. “I just need to get the radio here working, and wait for the monsoon to pass so I can contact the outside; try and get us evacuated somehow. It’ll happen and we’ll all be free of this place. Just you wait.” He chanced putting a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch slightly before he squeezed it and then walked away.

She stared after him for a moment, blushing at the contact. Her sister would likely have greeted that with a wrist lock and if it was egregious enough, a body slam, but her…?

She craved reassurance, and he had granted it. And for it, Marble fervently hoped he was right about their potential rescue.

In truth, she wasn’t sure how much of this she could take. Between the bodies, the monsters, the pure hatred stemming from Liam, and the overall desperate situation they were all having to suffer from, they were all on edge and starting to snap at each other from loss of sleep, lack of food and accumulated injuries. She kept her head up, however, and prayed that her sister and their friends stayed safe.

ooo000---000ooo

“Stay quiet.” Dash whispered from where she was crouched, paddle in hand as Limestone stayed behind her.

The duo had to run fast to escape the rampaging horde of infected, to make them lose track before going into hiding. Thankfully they found a bar with an open door and rushed inside, before closing the door. They could hear the stampeding feet of the humans outside, feel their bodies smashing up against the building as they were parted like a wave of meat.

They kept on going, however, until all was eerily silent.

Rainbow didn’t say anything else as she kept the door closed. She struggled to keep her breathing steady, to keep her nerves calm lest the infected somehow hear them, or even smell them.

She wasn’t a hundred percent sure how the infection worked, whether they could smell them or not, but she wasn’t willing to find out, not now.

They still had a mission to do.

Adjusting her backpack, she gently pulled the door open and peered out into the resort. They had been running so much they made it back to the hotel the others had desperately tried to escape. Now they had returned to it by choice, risking their lives for a few medical supplies. She could only hope they were close to the paramedic truck, for if not, she knew they would have to fight their way back to the lifeguard tower.

She wasn’t looking forward to dealing with the horde again.

“You see any of them?” Limestone whispered in her ear, startling Rainbow and snapping her out of her thoughts.

She mentally kicked herself at that, having momentarily forgotten Limestone was with her.

“No, just bodies.” She opened the door a bit more, and perked her ears up to listen. She heard some distant hissing, but no moans or screechs, or the grumbles she had come to associate with the infected right off. “The coast is clear.”

“We gotta be close to that stupid truck by now,” Limestone exited the building with Rainbow, hatchet at the ready. “So where the hay is it?”

Rainbow glanced around the immediate area, with the massive pools, bars, and the bodies. This place would have no doubt been a wonderful place to relax, but sadly she wouldn’t get to do that for the foreseeable future — or ever unless they could find a way off the island. “Should be on the road somewhere, probably past the hotel… hopefully we didn’t already pass it.” She looked off to the side, noticing a few off beaten paths. “Let’s go down one of those. They hopefully stay away from the mob and will let lead us towards that stupid truck.”

“Those humans better appreciate this,” Limestone growled. “Especially Liam. And if he comes after us or Dee again, I ain’t gonna be responsible for what I do,” she announced in a tone that told Rainbow she meant every word of it. With that, the duo quickly left the bar with weapons in hand; their ears and eyes peeled for any dangerous monster lurking around.

The area was scarce the further they moved towards the hotel, closing in on the outside walls curving around the decorative path lined with carefully trimmed hedges to guide guests to their destination, alongside signs.

Upon reaching the edge of the building, both mares peeked out carefully into the roundabout that surrounded a massive fountain and the front of the hotel, where busses and other vehicles blocked the road, and luggage was forgotten in piles. From the looks of the few walkers that wandered around or tore into corpses, they were in the midst of unloading the bus when the outbreak hit.

Rainbow swallowed.

“I don’t see the paramedic truck anywhere,” She scanned the vehicles, but didn’t see anything that looked even remotely like it. She at least remembered that they were generally white and had an easily recognizable red plus sign on the side of them..

“Must be down the road,” Limestone whispered, “I don’t know which way though...”

“I didn’t see anything like that coming up from the other way,” She gestured to the road heading left from the hotel, where in the distance she saw the smoldering remains of the ground carriage--she’d heard it referred to as an SUV and wondered what that stood for--they used to escape. Seems it had caught fire after they ran for it, now it was a burned out wreck. “It must be down the road leading to the lifeguard tower.”

It made sense that the vehicle would be closer to where it call home. She just had to keep an eye out for the star of life that would be on the vehicle.

“Let’s hug the wall along the side there,” Rainbow looked over and saw they had a clear path leading to the road and the snarl of cars. “Keep quiet and move quick.”

Rainbow Dash was first to run out towards the wall off to the far right, with Limestone quickly following behind her.

Just as Limestone made it out into the open, she heard a strange noise coming from the front of the bus off to her left. It drew her attention enough to cause her to slow, a sort of sporadic gurgling hiss noise that made her hackles stand on end.

Glancing towards the noise, she saw something stumble out into view.

Her eyes widened and she backtracked at the grisly and horrifying sight.

Lumbering into view was… something that resembled one of those humans, but it was so mutated, Limestone wouldn’t have been able to tell had she not got a good look at the remains of the face buried amidst bubbling and oozing pustules and flesh that ballooned outward, warping its body in such a way it made her wonder how it could even stand let alone move. The tattered remains of clothing clung to its body, and it held out an arm before a gurgle escaped its gnarled mouth, “H-help me.”

Her first thought. It’s still alive? Which confused her, and horrified her, that poor bastard was somehow still alive through the mutation he was unfortunate enough to go through. His bubbling wounds and pulsating mounds of glowing flesh made her recoil and back away from him, but he stumbled towards her, almost smiling through it.

“S-save me.” He gargled, blood and some kind of oozing yellow mess dribbled from his twisted maw, as bloodshot eyes locked onto her like heat seeking missiles. “I-it hurts!”

“Stay back.” Limestone told him, holding up her hatchet as he tried to close the distance between them both.

Rainbow’s voice broke her concentration. “Limestone!” A quick glance back at where she was and she saw Rainbow running over. “Come on, let’s go!” Rainbow’s face scrunched up when she noticed what was holding Limestone up.

“Help me!” The thing gurgled with every step, dribbling puss and goop onto the ground that sizzled upon contact.

Limestone fought with her legs and quickly backed away. She didn’t know what in the hell that thing was, but she had more important things to worry ab-

Something fell from above and smashed into the thing, splitting it down from the collarbone and down into its torso. The monster gurgled and screeched, his pustules bubbling and suddenly erupting across his body.

The resulting explosion sent her flying and skidding across the ground. Pebbles and debris cut across her bare arms until she came to a stop on the road, and slid up to a car.

Limestone’s vision was blurred and her ears were ringing. Panic set in and she gripped her hatchet tightly, confusion ran rampant through her mind.

“-estone!”

Ears still ringing, she managed to get back onto her now wobbly feet. Her sight was distorted and she struggled to focus, but she did see several shadowy figures approaching her from all sides. She couldn’t focus!

Did she yell? She swung her hatchet wildly, and hit something solid. Her vision eventually began to clear up, her ears cleared up and she could hear again.

“Limestone, move!” Rainbow suddenly yelled, and the mare felt her arm get yanked back.

She was pulled out of the way just in time to avoid getting grappled by one of the infected monsters. Limestone recoiled and got her bearings back and backpedeled from the beast, and turned tail.

“Are you okay?” Rainbow joined her shortly, and kept pace with her friend.

After a quick check, Limestone felt of her forehead. “F-fuck, I think I’m bleeding.” Pulling away her hand revealed blood splattered across her palm. “Damn it! What was that thing? It just… b-blew up in my face!”

“I have no idea.” Rainbow shook her head and focused on the path ahead.

Limestone just grumbled. They needed to find that damned truck already, she was already tired of being away from the lifeguard tower already.

Limestone followed Rainbow for a short time, eventually turning right on the roadway and avoiding the piles of bodies and crashed cars for a fair distance. They entered a tunnel system and came out the other side, just barely avoiding the undead that had huddled up inside.

On the other side, groups of huddled up undead blocked their path forcing them to take an alternate route to the right and up into the hillsides, and stalk across while still following the road.

Finally, up ahead, they discovered something, another one of the gas stations, similar to the one they had just escaped not too long ago. This one was filled with vehicles, some still smoking, and plenty of bodies. Some of which still moved. The windows and front door of the station were boarded up, and it appeared there were survivors still inside, fending off the crowd of undead and infected outside.

Limestone and Rainbow crouched outside of the building, perched up on a hill and hidden by bushes. The path there was blocked off; the horde of undead was honestly too thick to fight through, and there were too many runners amidst the crowd of shambling corpses. The vehicles presented too many obstacles to navigate through safely, and only blocked off escape routes.

“Jeez… so many.” Rainbow murmured.

“Yeah…” Limestone just stared as she heard the panicked yells of the people inside. The hatchet was gripped a bit harder in her hand, but her face remained stoic. There were survivors in there, but… what could they even do against such odds? She may have grown up on a farm, but she was far from the dumbest.

She knew they were outnumbered and outgunned, she only had a hatchet and Rainbow a flimsy looking paddle. There were dozens of them down there, and even with her strength combined with Rainbow’s martial arts skills, they could probably take on a few at most before getting overwhelmed.

This whole situation was a game of numbers, and they were losing.

“There’s nothing we can do here.” Limestone muttered. “There’s too many of them.”

“I know, but...” Rainbow kept looking down at the crowd, and her eyes scanned everything. Limestone noticed her looking around, as if trying to find something, anything they could use but to no avail. “...”

“We can’t stay here, Rainbow. We gotta go find that lifeguard truck.” Limestone moved away, silently and turned around to head over the hill. “It sucks, but we can’t help them. Come on, let’s go.”

She didn’t like the idea of leaving behind survivors any more than Rainbow, but what could they do?

They were simply outnumbered, and to try would only create more victims. Or worse, more infected.

She glanced behind her and saw Rainbow hesitating. But after a last look at the station down below, Rainbow turned and followed after, her jaw tight and eyes downcast.

The duo crested a hilltop and passed through some bushes and a few trees.

Limestone nearly slipped a few times from how steep the hill was, and she made her irritation known. “Stupid… hill!” She growled and climbed up, and glanced back at Rainbow who was similarly struggling. “I don’t suppose you could…?” she trailed off meaningfully as she looked back at her pegasus friend.

Rainbow huffed and looked up. She was covered in sweat, a sight Limestone didn’t expect to see from the normally excellent athlete. “I could fly up, yeah, but I don’t know if I can carry you. And either way, as things stand, the effort would exhaust me. I just don’t have my usual strength or stamina in the air.” Her wings fidgeted on her back at the comment.

She had to have been itching to fly, but with their magic being… sapped or whatever, Limestone wasn’t sure if she would be flying like she used to anytime soon.

“Yeah…” Limestone could even feel her own strength was less than what it originally was. She was still a strong mare, but even then…

She was the first to crest the hilltop and look around, and once she did, “...Are you fucking...”

“What?” Rainbow questioned from behind.

Once she felt Rainbow beside her, Limestone pointed with her hatchet down at the road below. Its paved surface curved through the bungalows and shortly led back to the lifeguard tower nearby… but a short distance away, they both spotted a snarl of ruined cars.

One of which was bright yellow, had a light on top and had the symbols of a lifeguard on the side of it, and a medical trunk in the back.

“Are you fucking…” Rainbow couldn’t help but repeat the half-uttered curse, recognizing that they had taken an incredibly long way around to get to something that was barely a short walk away. But perhaps it had still been worth it--the horde of undead that chased them away earlier was blocking the path there, and had been relatively halved once they got their attention, which left the medical supplies down in the mostly-undamaged ambulance below unguarded.

Both mares shared a look, and then let out a massive sigh.

What a day this has been… Rainbow thought to herself as she and Limestone clambered down the other side of the hill, feeling more invigorated for their goal now being in sight. It was then Limestone slipped on the wet rock and she caught her from behind, flaring her wings to make sure they didn’t fall too fast, eventually sliding with her to a stop at the base of the hill.

But maybe things are finally looking up? she thought as she realized she had two handfuls of Limestone’s mammaries, which were exposed beneath her rolled-up shirt, causing the pair to blush hard as they realized their predicament. “Uh… sorry?” Rainbow tried to remove her hands immediately, only to find them caught between her bunched-up blouse and flesh.

“Sure you are…” Limestone’s growl sounded forced, and for a moment, Rainbow thought her teat might have gone hard beneath her hands. “You wanna screw, we can do it after we get off this sun-forsaken rock, Rainbow,” she told her friend.

That caught Rainbow short. “Promise…?” she asked.

“Promise,” Limestone replied as she stood up, and to Rainbow’s surprise, kissed her deeply before turning back to their task.

16

The medical trunk was in sight, and both mares knew they needed to acquire it for the lifeguard tower. The truck itself had been demolished in the front, where a four door sedan had plowed into it and crushed not only the engine compartment, but the cab and killing the driver inside. A few undead roamed around aimlessly, but other than that, the path there was clear.

Rainbow went down first, armed with her paddle with Limestone closing in behind. The duo reached the bottom and hid behind a bus bench, appraising the situation before formulating their plan.

“I’ll carry it back to the lifeguard tower.” Limestone was quick to take on the task.

Rainbow nodded and twirled her paddle around a few times. She took a moment to psych herself up for the fight ahead. She wasn’t too keen on the killing aspect--it was completely against the ideals of Friendship and Harmony, and she could scarcely imagine what Twilight would say to what she was about to do. But after what happened at the Tower with Dinky, and how she had to fight off the undead by herself...

As much as she hated it, a part of her was growing accustomed to the fighting and even starting to relish it. And that thought disturbed her most of all.

Rainbow held up three fingers and slowly peered out, and saw a couple of infected next to the truck, around the front end and ripping apart a body. It was a grisly sight, but having seen it several dozen times already, she was able to steel herself and not get nauseous.

She counted down to two and gripped her paddle, tightly.

Once she reached one, she immediately bolted out into the open and ran at the first infected, prepared to take them down as swiftly as she could. Behind her, Limestone covered the rear with her hatchet and made a beeline for the trunk.

Sensing her approach, the first infected turned and made a threatening growl before lunging right at her, arms outstretched and mouth open wide at the prospect of fresh meat.

But Rainbow was quick to react; with her paddle raised, she pulled back and planted her foot forward, swinging her weapon in a broad downward arc while using her wings to add force to the strike.

The wooden instrument struck with enough force to produce a dull thunk noise, and cause a split to appear atop the undead’s head. Half-coagulated blood oozed out and it looked dazed for a moment, knocked to its knees.

Recognizing the advantage was hers, Rainbow quickly followed up and swing the paddle a second time, bringing it back around and smashing it right into the creature’s head, knocking it askew as the second infected finally began to move.

To her side, Limestone quickly approached and forgot about the trunk for a moment to assist Rainbow. Twirling her hatchet, she moved past the pegasus as she brought her paddle down again on her second target. She wasn’t as successful this time, as the paddle only scored a glancing blow off the shoulder, but her earth pony friend took advantage of the distraction, blindsiding it as its attention was focused on Rainbow.

Having learned from experience that hesitation could be fatal and it not being in her nature to hold back anyway, Limestone didn’t even hesitate to strike the other infected; she swung up with her hatchet to hit him in the chin with all her force, cleaving its jaw and the lower half of its skull neatly in two as she quickly followed up with a front kick.

The resulting blows split the beast’s head open entirely, and sent him flying back into one of the cars. A nasty sounding crack once his head hit the windshield and blood splattered across the glass, and slowly began to flow down towards the hood.

Turning around, she found Rainbow dealing a finishing blow to her own undead. The former human was on the ground, laid up against the lifeguard truck and bleeding from numerous head wounds up until Rainbow struck him once again, finally breaking her paddle.

Breathing heavily, Rainbow tossed aside the stick she was holding and stepped back. She wiped her mouth, and from what Limestone could see, she was trembling slightly.

“S-shit...” Rainbow swallowed hard and shook her head as Limestone putting a steadying arm around her waist. “I don’t know if I can ever get used to that...”

“I’d be worried if you did,” she said as she helped Rainbow against the side of a vehicle, and then went over to the truck. She jumped into the back of it and knelt down to open up the medical trunk. “I don’t think any of us want to, but we will the longer we stay here.”

Rainbow turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “Whaddya mean?”

After unclasping the locks, she lifted up the lid and smiled as she found the promised medical supplies sitting inside, untouched. “This whole island is fucked, Rainbow… there’s no way this thing hasn’t spread all around.” She eyeballed Rainbow and locked up the trunk. “The longer we stay here, the more we’re going to have to fight, and the easier it’s going to get… until we’re numb to it.”

Rainbow felt her stomach turn over at the thought of becoming numb to this; murder. But was it murder? She looked at the bodies off to the side, and it felt sickening to see such a sight, the grisly gore and blood staining the concrete. She still felt grossed out by it, but… was Limestone right?

Would she really start paying it no notice the more they lingered on the island? And if so, what would that mean even if they finally a way back home?

Unaware of her friend’s thoughts, Limestone eventually dragged the trunk out of the back and onto her back, before jumping out of the truck and landing with ease despite her load. Even minus the bulk of her earth pony magic, she was still an incredibly strong mare, and was able to heft up the trunk without issue.

It was then Rainbow noticed the muscles in her arms and shoulders bulging slightly. It wasn’t unseemly or overly noticeable, but she could see all of the work she did on the Pie Farm harvesting rocks really did improve her body a lot; she seemed to be nearly on Applejack’s level of strength.

She was impressed.

“Alright, let’s get moving.” Limestone grumbled and adjusted her hold on the trunk. “The sooner we get this back, the better.”

“Right.” Armed with only a crude spear in the form of a thick and sharpened stick--someone else’s discarded weapon, she guessed as she picked it up off the road, she clutched it nervously and led the way for Limestone, and kept her eyes peeled on the road ahead. They had the medical supplies now, which took a load off her shoulders.

She just hoped this would put them in a better light with the other survivors… once they got back.

ooo000---000ooo

Dee grumbled as he sat up on the bed, arms crossed and glaring at the mare next to him, who likewise glared at him in return.

“I feel fine, Lyra,” he explained as he rolled his hand in the air and gave her a general ‘It’s all good’ expression. “Honest.”

Lyra just crossed her arms under her bust, and ended up lifting it slightly. “I still don’t want to risk it… you got hurt really badly, ya know.”

Dee couldn’t stop the sigh of exasperation that escaped his lips; he enjoyed Lyra’s presence, to say nothing of the fact she seemed to have some actual interest in him, but having her treat him like a child was still a bit demeaning. “Lyra, h-honestly… I’m fine, I promise. My head doesn’t hurt, my leg stings but I’m sure I can walk… I just wanna go outside for a bit and get some air. It’s stuffy as hell in here.” It also didn’t help that he was beginning to get a bit of cabin fever.

The mare was ever watchful when he woke up, and she almost seemed to contemplate it. “Mmm.”

“Getting out might be helpful,” Jack spoke up from the desk, where he was sitting and nursing a bottle of something, a closer look revealed it was a bottle of expensive alcohol; he was reserving the cheap stuff for antiseptic purposes. “If you can move and stay with your group, we could use the free bed. Not all of my patients need to be on the floor.” He sounded a bit aggravated at that, but who could blame him given what he had to work with?

That just gave Dee all the more reason to sit up and rip the covers from the bed.

Doing so revealed he was wearing only boxers and covered in bandages. His chest, arm, and his leg where he had been shot. He grumbled and looked to Lyra, whose eyes drifted downward a bit.

His cheeks burned and he grumbled again. “What happened to my clothes?”

“They were uh… i-in the way of the bandages, needed to take em off to take care of ya!” Lyra told him with a bright and sheepish smile, though the blush on her cheeks betrayed her ‘true motives.’

“...Uh huh, gimme.” Dee made a grabbin’ motion with his fingers and hands, and Lyra just chuckled before going to the bag next to her to retrieve them.

After some searching, Lyra reappeared with a pair of jeans and a plain looking polo shirt for Dee, which he was slow to put on. She helped him get dressed, and during it, he felt her get ever so handsy with him, her hands roaming over his chest and ‘flanks’ repeatedly.

Oddly enough, he found he didn’t mind that much, and his annoyance at her quickly ebbed.

Finally dressed and able to move, he slowly moved away from the bed with Lyra’s aid, with the unicorn mare keeping a hand on his arm and her arm around his waist. His leg stung when he put weight on it, causing him to give one involuntary hiss, but it didn’t hurt to the point the couldn’t move.

He had dealt with far worse pain over the course of his stay; this was quite manageable in comparison.

With a few more halting steps, his abused limbs slowly got used to moving again. He found, to his relief, that his body didn’t ache as bad; the painkillers he had been given worked wonders and were still in effect for the time being.

With a deep breath, he moved past Lyra and began his somewhat painful trek out of the room. Lyra dropped off their bags with Derpy, who was still by a sickly Dinky’s side. She didn’t pay the duo any heed… didn’t even notice Dee’s pitying look.

Heading out of the room with Lyra close behind, ready to catch him in an instant if he fell, he passed by Vinyl, who was resting by a tree, quick to raise an eyebrow at both him and Lyra.

“I’m fine, honest.” He gave her a thumbs up, and despite the worried look in her red eyes, a quick confirmation from Lyra via sign language that he noticed was enough to let Vinyl rest easy.

The inside of the Lifeguard Tower was filled with survivors, blood stains, and random papers, magazines, and bags brought in by the survivors. He spotted some supplies around; cans of food, bottles of water and energy drinks, and some candy bars. Some of the survivors were in the other room, conversing with each other, mostly complaining about what was going on and what they were going to do now.

A few of them gave him and Lyra looks that ranged from mildly curious to outright hostile, ones he did his best to ignore as he limped his way outside into the sunny tropical weather.

A few more survivors were outside, one working on the red pickup truck nearby, another staring at a pile of bodies off to the side, covered by a tarp that did little to keep the flies away. He also saw Sinamoi standing nearby, with Marble gazing off into the ocean. “Well, at least he’s accepted Marble…” he noted to himself, taking it as a good sign.

The sun out, he was glad to see after several days of storms, and from where it was in the sky he figured it to be around noon-ish or so.

He soaked it in for a bit before giving a sigh, at which point he wandered over to a nearby bench and sat down. “Bah… fucking hell.”

Though surprised, Lyra was quick to sit down next to him, plopping down and placing her hands on either side of her. She turned to look him in the eyes and tilted her head. “What’s up?”

He vaguely swung his hand around the area. “Just this whole situation is fucking… aggravating to me.“ The bank truck caught his eye, and the splattered remains of infected on the front. He wrinkled his nose.

“Aggravating?” Lyra repeated. “I guess that’s one word for it…”

“Well, yeah. Death around every corner, trapped in this damn lifeguard tower with that… rat bastard, Liam.” He frowned and looked up at the second floor, where he could see the aforementioned man himself, talking with a small group of people. “I owe half my wounds to him. He’s trying to round up people to get us kicked out, I know it… and if he gets enough people scared, we might not have a choice.”

Fear was a strong motivating factor for a lot of people, if you knew how to use it that is.

Lyra frowned and leaned forward, before cupping her hands together. “I hope he doesn’t. I don’t think we can move Dinky just yet. She’s still hurt pretty badly, and we need more medical supplies to treat her wounds.” Her ears folded back and she shot a sideways glance towards Dee. “She still hasn’t woken up yet… and I’m not the only one who’s worried about the bite.”

The bite, he remembered. Dee frowned and leaned back, letting the warm tropical air wash over him as he began to think.

The infection was transmitted through bites, typical of situations like this, fluid transmission. There were infected ponies as well, from what he learned from Rainbow and Lyra, their airship crashed due to the infection getting on board somehow, and turning them into the monsters that surrounded them on all sides.

He also remembered that there was a good chance they were immune to the effects of the virus, if only because of certain blood traits, such as being O-Positive or something along those lines. Which meant anyone infected by the virus wouldn’t turn… or at least that’s the reasoning he had.

The memory of the end of Dead Island: Riptide entered his mind, where the heroes who had been bitten dozens of times and were immune began to experience side effects of the virus in their system, either finally becoming infected, or mutating into something else entirely, he wasn’t sure.

Dinky? He couldn’t even begin to wonder if she would remain uninfected, or if she would turn or not. He had no idea how pony bodies worked relative to humans… but if they could get infected, they would find out in due time.

“I know, but we can’t do anything about it right now, unfortunately.” He was sorry to say that, and he let it be known. “We have nothing to counteract the virus, and no way to get anything even if it did exist. Time isn’t on our side here...”

Lyra frowned deeper and ran a hand through her long mane. “Damn it… I hope she doesn’t turn, I… I don’t think Derpy can handle that, not now. She’s already lost her once, in effect, and if her foal actually dies...”

He grimaced at that. “I don’t know what to do, Lyra… I’m sorry.” Dee murmured and glanced away. “I wish there was something, but… all I can do is offer the gun Vinyl has for a quick and hopefully painless end if it comes down to it.” After a moment, he finally turned back to Lyra, who grimaced as well but also didn’t tell him not to. “If she does, the whole tower isn’t going to let us keep her here, there’ll be panic… people are already scared out of their minds, and Liam’s trying to use that against us.”

His greatest fear was not only Dinky turning, but all of them being thrown out and forced to survive without a safe place to go.

He wasn’t ready to be thrown out because of one of their own being infected.

Dee cast a long hard look at Liam up above, and this time, he sensed the stare and returned it. The malice in his gaze was almost palpable, and Lyra shared his feelings.

None of their group particularly liked the man, it wasn’t hard to see why.

“Open the gate!” Someone yelled from the front, drawing their attention away from unsavory things.

Lyra and Dee looked towards the gate, and they saw Rainbow - armed with a broken and bloody stick trying to get the gate open. Behind her, Limestone was carrying a large metal trunk on her back. She looked less tired than annoyed at having to carry it.

Lyra was quick to rush over, alongside Marble and a couple of others, who pulled open the gate and allowed the duo to come back within the safety of the walls.

Dee struggled for a few moments to stand, and he managed before he hobbled over to the group.

“We found the medical supplies up the road,” Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief as a few other human survivors came over and to the large trunk.

Lyra knelt down and unlocked the clasps, and popped it open to reveal several first aid kits, rolls upon rolls of bandages and gauze, healing salves, boxes of bandaids, and other medical items for healing burns and minor to moderate injuries. Most important, a dozen or so bottles of pain medication and antiseptics. Nothing quite extreme, but enough to ease the immediate worries of everyone in the tower.

“Well whaddya know, the horses pulled it off.” One of the men mentioned, looking down at the trunk with a look of awe in his eyes.

“Ponies.” Lyra glared up at him before turning to glare up at the man. “We’re ponies, not horses.” She emphasized and stood up.

“That should be enough to help the others inside...” The other of the humans muttered and looked to Rainbow and Limestone, and with a smile he nodded. “You guys really pulled it off, thank you.”

Rainbow flicked her nose with a finger and grinned. “Heh, well… couldn’t have done it without Limestone’s help, she did most of the work.”

At the mention of her name, Limestone just grunted as Marble ran up and leaped at her, practically squoze the life out of her.

It was an amusing sight to behold for Dee, seeing the toughest pie family member being doted on by the silent and adorable Marble.

The sound of approaching footsteps got Dee’s attention, and Sinamoi appeared in the corner of his vision. He walked over to the trunk and peered inside, and his eyes practically lit up at the first aid kits and other supplies inside.

“Goddamn, you two actually pulled it off and found the supplies, more than enough.” Sinamoi’s voice was filled with equal parts praise and relief.

Dee could only wonder how much these supplies would help the lifeguard tower. With how many injured people there were inside, they would need medical treatment - nothing requiring a hospital, but something to get them back up on their feet and to recovery.

He allowed himself a moment to relax as he wandered back over to the bench and sat down. He needed to let his leg rest for a bit longer, he figured.

“Looks like shit won’t be completely lost after all, heh.” He muttered and looked out towards the ocean.

Even from where he was sitting, he could make out the distant city nearby - whether or not it was Moresby remained to be seen. And even more important, was the island that housed the most dangerous criminals on the whole island, Banoi Max Security Prison.

Salvation awaited them all there. A helicopter that could hopefully get them off the island and to safety, assuming things played out the way he hoped--played out the way the game did, he corrected himself.

“H-hey, Dee.” Rainbow’s voice brought him out of his thought process.

He turned to face Rainbow, who had opted to take a seat next to him. Aside from the blood covering her pants, she looked relatively unharmed and in good health. Her eyes… betrayed how she really felt; they were near pinpricks, and her body was shaky.

“Hey yourself.” He offered her a small smile and a pat on the back, right below her wing. “So uh… how was the trip?”

She swallowed and turned her gaze to the ground. “W-well… we ended up taking the long way around, ran into a massive… horde of those things that chased us back to the hotel.” She explained as Dee listened with rapt attention, not immediately hearing anything in her description of events that would cause her reaction. “After we lost ‘em, we looped around the road and… we found survivors.” Her tremor got worse.

“Wait, really?” He hadn’t seen or heard of any new survivors arriving.

“Yeah, but we couldn’t do anything for them...” Rainbow’s voice dropped. “They were trapped in a gas station like we were, windows boarded up, door blocked off, but there were so many of them… just completely blocking any escape route out of there!” Tears welled in her eyes as she finished.

With that, he understood. When she mentioned the gas station, he knew exactly where they had been—near the lighthouse to the north, where another survivor encampment was holed up; survivors who split off from Sinamoi’s group and formed their own hideout. “So you left them?”

She nodded jerkily, her guilt etched all over her face. “Limestone and I just left them there, kept moving until we found the truck… and made it back here. We got the supplies, but...” the rest went unspoken.

“Rainbow.” Dee rested his hand gently on her shoulder, ignoring the pain in his side to speak. “With shit like this going on, it’s hard to know when you’re gonna make a right or wrong decision,” He started off delicately, waiting until she turned to glance his way. “Most of the time, and as horrible as this is going to sound… you just have to look out for yourself. There’s honestly not much you can do for them if there were that many, and if you’d tried, you’d’ve been killed. Or worse, become one of them.” He didn’t even want to think of what he would do if faced with an infected Rainbow.

Rainbow’s face contorted and she looked down at her hands, eyes flicking across the fingertips as she considered his words. “I… w-well maybe… there had to have been something I could have done.”

Dee patted her on the shoulder and just muttered. “We could sit here all day and wonder about the what ifs, but—” He paused as pain flared up, he grunted but managed to continue, earning him a concerned look. “—right now, we got other things to worry about.” Dee tapped her shoulder and got her attention, then gestured with his head towards Liam who was on the second floor.

The lifeguard was glaring down at the group surrounding the trunk of medical supplies. His own group stood beside him and they were talking; about what, neither of them could tell, they were too far away.

It wasn’t long before Liam’s eyes drifted towards the duo. Dee scowled as the pain from earlier in the week flared up again. Next to him, Rainbow glared right back and flipped him the bird, and kept it up for a good long while, causing Dee to smile--no matter what she was feeling inside, Rainbow was still Rainbow.

Eventually, the voice of Sinamoi caused Rainbow to put her hand down. “Hey,” he called as he walked over to them. “About the supplies you brought.”

Clearing her throat, Rainbow looked up at him. “Yeah?” She was still kinda fidgety, either from being caught flipping Liam the bird, or from what she had to do to get back here, either way, Sinamoi either didn’t seem to notice or saw fit to let it go.

“You two really pulled through for all of us here,” Sinamoi told her. “Risked your lives to help the people here. Lot of rumors going around that you can’t be trusted because of what you are, and we should just kick you out,” That got Rainbow’s face to screw up, but Sinamoi held up a hand. “But I’m not one of them. Far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter who or what you are—if you’re willing to do that, you’re good in my book.”

Sinamoi looked towards Dee next and drew his attention to him, “and so are you,” He looked back towards the bank truck currently sitting, waiting to be used again. “Bringing that bank truck here has given me some ideas.”

“Really?” Dee rose an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Sinamoi told him and looked around the tower. “We have a lot of people here, and our food supplies aren’t going to last long.” His voice grew quieter when he mentioned that, and it wasn’t long before the gate opened up again. “If we don’t get any outside help soon… I don’t want to think of what might happen.”

Dee sniffed and spoke up, “things will be alright, long as we’re careful and think things out carefully.” He told Sinamoi and Rainbow, who turned towards him. “That’s the one thing we have that those monsters outside don’t… minds and the ability to use them. We’re still alive and have the brains to keep it that way.” He nodded and stood up slowly, and groaned at the renewed pain in his joints. “We just have to keep it that way for as long as we can until we get off this damn island. And if that means a few more supply runs like the ones Rainbow here just launched, then so be it. She proved we can do it.”

He absently but affectionately laid a hand on her leg and squeezed, then froze for a moment, worried about her reaction. She looked surprised, but pleased, accepting his comfort for what it was--he truly didn’t mean it anything more than that just then--and squeezed it back, holding his hand in hers for a moment, taking what strength she could from him, surprised yet again that this strange stallion was taking the role a mare normally did--no matter how many times she saw the behavior, she still wasn’t used to it, but she was quickly deciding she liked it.

You know, if he was really was a stallion, I might just… she squeezed his hand back and was surprised to sense a sudden warmth and wetness between her legs.

Regardless, she knew it wasn’t the time to explore such thoughts no matter how easily this exotic male seemed to be working his way into her thoughts. The thought of making additional supply runs was disconcerting; she didn’t relish the idea of going back out again, while Sinamoi crossed his arms with a sigh.

“Right, well… hopefully rescue will be coming soon, because I’m not sure how much longer people can take living like this.” He paused and looked out across the ocean before speaking again. “I have a radio I’m trying to fix up, but until we can replace something with the satellite dish, we’re not gonna be able to have much luck.”

“Right.” Dee understood perfect that without the radio in good working order, any chance of contacting the outside world…

Is lost.

ooo000---000ooo

After the medical supplies had been brought back, several of the injured survivors were able to get slightly better treatment than before, thanks to the efforts of Rainbow and Limestone, who Sinamoi made a point of thanking publicly, letting everyone know what they had done. They got a bit of good rep for it and no one glared at them as hard as before, though a few, like Liam, remained stubborn in their distrust of the alien ponies.

The group of ponies and their one true human friend had retreated for now within the confines of the Lifeguard Tower, safe behind the walls and away from prying eyes inside of the garage. All that was inside was a workbench, and a single red pickup truck that was being worked on by someone who wasn’t there at the moment, allowing them to speak in private.

Rainbow, Marble, Limestone, Lyra, and Dee all stood in a circle save for the latter who was sitting down on a crate and resting.

“How bad is it out there?” Lyra asked, turning to the duo who had gone out.

“It’s bad… really bad.” Rainbow fell back and rested against the wall, and threw her arms together as to ward off a chill. “We ran into a massive horde of those things on our way to the truck, they chased us back to the hotel and bungalows nearby, we had to loop around through the hotel and along another road to lose them...”

“Those things are everywhere,” Limestone growled and kicked an empty can across the floor with her boot. “And one of them… when we were out front of the hotel, one of those fucking things blew up when I got close to it!”

Lyra’s eyes went wide. “B-blew up? What do you mean it blew up?” she asked with a look towards Dee, who she noticed was staring at Limestone, before turning her attention back to her earth pony friend.

“Yeah. And before that, the damn thing was… it was talking!” The normally hard-bitten Limestone showed a brief moment of unease; she clutched her arm and snorted. Marble came to her side and hugged her hard, Lime didn’t fight her on it. “Asked me to help it…”

“That’s fucked up.” Dee murmured quietly, as his mind filled with the image of the creature she described… one he was all too familiar with from the game. “First the walkers, now the runners… now there’s the exploding ones, not good.”

Everyone turned their attention to Dee, and Rainbow was the first to ask. “What’s up?”

Dee answered carefully, still not wanting to give away that his knowledge of this place actually came from a video game he’d played in the past. “This virus, or whatever it is… it’s evolving. As it spreads, it’s not only turning people and ponies into monsters,” Dee placed his hands on his knees and looked up at the mares in front of him. “But different kinds of monsters. Maybe it’s just a question of being infected long enough, but they’re mutating, and becoming more dangerous for it.” He held up a finger and added, “If that keeps happening, we’re going to have more than just Walkers and Runners on our hands.”

“M-mutating?” Lyra gulped and suddenly hugged herself with a shiver. She looked particularly disturbed by that. “Like, mutating how?”

“Limestone just said one of them blew up? That’s not something humans do; not naturally anyway.” He cupped his chin and thought about the creature some more, the Suicider from what he could recall from the in-game lore. “I don’t one hundred percent know how the virus works, but from what I can think of off the top of my head, it’s changing the body from the inside… turning them into something more than just… zombies.”

“Jeez, so you mean there’ll be more of those… explody ones?” Rainbow looked outside, and saw some people moving around.

“Maybe more than just them, hell… the body is fucking weird,” He gestured to himself, lifting up a shirt and exposing his pale skin. “The virus is changing people based on a bunch of different things, I imagine, like the size of someone, their amount of muscle… hell, maybe even some health problems could be turning them into something else. There are a ton of potential factors to consider, and we don’t know how this virus works, except for one simple fact:

“Like any virus, its purpose is to spread itself further, and it converts its hosts into forms that help facilitate that. One that calls to its victims with a human voice to lure them in close and then explode, wounding their victims and showering them with additional virus in the process would certainly do the job,” he concluded as the others listened to him in horror.

“That’s fucked up…” was all Rainbow could immediately see, scarcely able to imagine a magical curse back on their own world that could do such a thing.

Lyra shared the same thoughts, though she kept hers to herself. He’s calling it a virus, but is this thing actually a curse with magical roots given it seemed to hit our world as well? she couldn’t help but wonder. We don’t know on which world it started given it seemed to hit both at once, but if it’s ours, is it even possible that there could be a magical cure…?

Limestone and Marble looked equally uncomfortable at the suggested explanation, when the full weight of it hit them. The idea of a virus, magical or otherwise changing someone into something even more terrifying than a walking or running corpse was just… unreal. And something far beyond their experience or worse fears.

“Dinky…?” A softer voice spoke up from beside Limestone; it was Marble, who was hiding in her sweater, having pulled up the collar around her muzzle.

Dee frowned and turned his attention towards the door. He hadn’t talked with Derpy at all since everyone had met back up after last week’s events, given the skew-eyed mare was standing vigil over her daughter. He, too, was very worried about Dinky, unsure of how the virus would affect her, if at all.

Hopefully, like certain humans, she was immune to this whole damn thing. But he didn’t know that.

“I can’t say.” His voice filled with regret, he looked Marble in the eye sighed. “I honestly don’t know how this is going to affect her. She could be immune or she could be turning right now for all we know! I just...” He lowered his head fall into his hands, and those around him could hear grumbling. “I just don’t know. We just have to wait and hope for the best...” he looked down to realize that he was suddenly holding Lyra’s hand tightly as everyone pressed close to for mutual protection and comfort, the mares instinctively making a protective ring around him.

The group grew uneasy as the day dragged on, until eventually everyone moved around and settled back inside the Lifeguard Tower.

Being in better shape than some others, they settled towards the front of the building, the main room where the vending machine, some tables, couches and a desk sat. Some survivors had turned it into an impromptu living area, with sleeping bags and backpacks sitting in the respective areas they claimed for themselves.

Still recuperating and finding he tired quite easily, Dee collapsed onto one of the barren couches and rested on it with Lyra, who joined him while the Pie Sisters and Rainbow opted to check on Dinky and Derpy in the infirmary.

Watching them leave, he rested his back against the couch and took off his cap, and ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck… this is exhausting.” He closed his eyes, and relaxed for a moment.

“Hmm?”

Popping open an eye, he looked at Lyra, who was leaning against the backrest of the couch on her side. She had her upper body facing towards him, and the hoodie he had given her to wear was unzipped halfway, exposing the tight shirt she had been wearing underneath. With how her posture was, the hoodie had come undone a bit more, allowing more of her bust to fall naturally, its curves showing through clearly.

He had a difficult time not imaging how they looked naked; how perfectly shaped they appeared from the glances he had stolen. Lyra’s body wasn’t like most human females here, hers was something… exotic, to say nothing of outright enticing to him, same with Rainbow. Heck, even Limestone and Marble have some pretty generous assets going… he’d noted, suddenly and sorely fantasizing about the earlier scene with the four mares gathered close around for mutual comfort and protection. Yeah, like I would be so lucky! I’d just be happy with Lyra here...

He felt his cheeks heat up, but kept his cool, masking his suddenly sexual thoughts. “Just… all of this going on.” He gestured to the room, which was devoid of survivors for the moment. It seemed everyone was outside for one reason or another, letting the two have some privacy. Whether that was luck or not, he had no idea, or how long it would last.

“Not the trip you imagined, huh?” she asked rhetorically, stretching out slightly before him.

“You said it. I just wanted to have a relaxing vacation,” He griped and slumped down on the couch. “You know--chill out on the beach, have a few drinks, maybe meet some people...”

He could practically feel Lyra’s smirk. “Meet some cute human girls?” she suggested easily.

A moment and he nodded. “Yeah, actually.” Dee turned and added onto that, “I’d be lying if I said no! Ha!” He chuckled and scratched his chin as Lyra returned it with a giggle of her own.

“On the hunt for some fun times then?” She smirked and propped her head up with a hand, grinning as she gave him a flick of her minty mane.

Dee’s smile faltered and he shrugged, suddenly keenly aware of her gaze and presence. “I… maybe, I don’t know, hehe.” He looked around the room and focused on one of the magazines stands nearby, all of which were locations for hiking and camping on Banoi Island. Dee rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from the mare. “Maybe make a friend or something to hang out with, ya know?”

Lyra’s ear twitched and she studied him for a moment. “...You sure that’s the only reason?”

At the question, he stiffened, and went silent.

Lyra watched Dee’s face screw up slightly, his eyes avoiding her as they stared at the wall across from them. His happy demeanor disappeared and was replaced with an uneasy silence that made Lyra increasingly uncomfortable, leaving her wondering if she’d said or done something wrong.

What was he hiding? She wondered, but decided that for now, it would have to wait.

She didn’t know how, but she sensed trouble was brewing on the horizon.

17

A few days passed rather swiftly after Rainbow and Limestone had returned with medical supplies, saving several lives, and as an added bonus, ended up showing the other survivors that the ponies weren’t all bad.

It was clear to the Equestrians that some were still thinking the opposite though, as plenty of the survivors glared at them whenever they walked by. It was ignored for the most part, but it still got on the nerves of the group of outcasts in the tower.

Dee and Lyra were doing much better, thanks to the medical supplies. Dee was just about fully recovered, able to walk fully and jog, which meant he was already planning things. Lyra was by his side most of the time, sticking by him even if he didn’t need her help moving around.

“Down there are the Diamond Bungalows,” Dee pointed out from where he was standing, gesturing across the bloodstained beaches towards dozens of buildings constructed atop stilts over the water, “the fancier bungalow district of the resort. After that you got the Silver Bungalows closest to the hotel, the Golden Bungalows closer to the beach, and finally the Hotel Bungalows, respectively.”

“Where're the Golden and Silver Bungalow Districts at?” Lyra leaned against the railing and kept her eyes on him.

“Nearby us, actually. The Silver Bungalow District is near the Diamond one to our north, and the Golden Bungalow District is the closest to the Hotel, if I’m not mistaken.” Dee held up a map and traced his finger along the coastline, drawing Lyra’s attention. Then he looked at the labels again and blinked. “Wait, I’m wrong. See here? The Golden Bungalows are next to the Silver Bungalows, while Silver’s just north of us, and Golden is further down towards the beach.”

The mare placed her own finger on the guest map and hummed as she glanced at the bungalow names, noting again the ones nearby. She had a mental map of where they were in her head, and eyed the footpaths leading to the Silver Bungalows.

“So the Silver Bungalows are nearby, and they’re pretty good?” Her eyes flicked up, catching his gaze.

“Yeah, the whole resort is pretty luxurious. I think the way it works is that the Silver is the moderately-priced one, Golden’s pretty fancy, and then Diamond respectively with the Hotel Bungalows being the best ones aside from the hotel itself.” Dee looked down at the map again and then to Lyra. “Or maybe it's the reverse? I have no idea, this place is a lot better than what I’m used to… I spent a lot of money on the flight here, and I don’t get to enjoy any of it.”

She watched Dee fold up the map and set it aside with a grumble. As horrible as this situation was, they didn’t have much time to really let loose as they all originally planned.

Though, she reflected again, it didn’t mean they couldn’t have some fun while they were waiting to be rescued.

“Say, Dee...” She elbowed the human and smiled towards him, “You seem to be doing well now. We’ve been cooped up in here for days, so how about we stretch our legs? Do you wanna go check out the bungalows?”

“...huh?” He hadn’t thought about checking the bungalows or anywhere else for days, being too preoccupied with recuperating. “Why? We’re not doing bad for supplies right now.”

She kept that grin on her face. “Looking for supplies would be a bonus for getting to check out one of those locked up rooms, don’t you think?” Lyra gave him a little playful punch to the shoulder. “You know, I bet the beds are really soft~”

The temptation of sleeping on a nice luxury resort bed sounded like a fun idea to him at first, getting to rest on a soft bed, preferably in an air conditioned room with room service… that was his original plan, but now?

At least he didn’t have to pay for anything else.

On the bright side of things, everything was essentially free now; food, drinks, booze, anything and everything was up for grabs, including guns and ammo.

“Well… I guess it couldn’t hurt to look around, maybe there’s something hidden in the bungalows,” Dee murmured softly.

Lyra smiled and patted him on the back. “It’ll be fun~”

The idea was awfully tempting, and after thinking about it a bit more he shrugged. “We’d have to be careful though. Those damn things are everywhere.” He warned, still wary of the world outside the walls.

Dee pushed off of the railing and made his way to the garage with Lyra in tow. Inside, there were some weapons laid out on the workbench, mostly pipes, paddles and a couple of tools. He picked up one of the hammers and gave it a twirl.

“Like, don’t get me wrong,” Dee gave a few test swings of the hammer, and after finding its weight acceptable, he nodded, “I’m all for taking advantage of this kind of situation, same as the rest… but I’m not a dumbass, so I’d much prefer to be careful about this, ya know?”

Next to him, he watched Lyra pick up a large pipe. “Yeah, I know.” Golden eyes regarded him for a moment, and she smiled. “Honestly, I just want to get away from the tower for a bit, you know?” She looked behind her, before scooching over to Dee and whispering, “I also just want to get away from that asshole lifeguard for a bit.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you.” Dee glanced behind him as well and into the door leading inside. He didn’t see him or anyone else, but he knew Liam was around somewhere. “I guess he’s still acting up? Still trying to get everyone else to turn on us?”

“Yeah, he almost got into a fist fight with Vinyl.” Lyra turned and walked out of the garage with Dee in tow. “She was just standing outside the infirmary for Derpy, and then he just started insulting her… I mean, she couldn’t hear him or really understand him, but she knows he’s an asshole.”

The duo walked outside and into the sun once more and approached the small gate next to the main one. It was normally locked, but after the group of Logan, Sam B, Xian and Purna found the keycard, it was unlocked and allowed survivors to travel down towards the beach, if they so desired.

None of the survivors left, except for Logan and his group, and the ponies with Dee. None had the courage or stupidity to go outside when there were so many of the undead wandering around every corner, some even lying in wait.

Rainbow was next to the gate and caught the two before they left. She raised an eyebrow at their weapons and pushed off of the wall. “What’re you guys up to?”

Her face lighting up, Lyra said, “We’re going on a supply run to the Silver Bungalows nearby, gonna get away from the tower for a bit and away from Liam-” She added quietly with an eyeroll, one Rainbow shared, “-and just relax a bit, maybe take a load off on the nice beds. Wanna come with?”

“Iunno… seems kinda risky, don’t you think?” Rainbow cocked out a hip and kept her arms crossed. Her eyes were unsure, and her lips were tightened into a thin line. “What if we get trapped out there? I still can’t really fly and you can’t use your magic.”

“A good point, but the infected aren’t all that smart,” Dee pointed out as he gestured towards the gate, where one of the Walkers wandered on by, paying them no mind, “and I don’t think they can smell us either. I mean, if that was the case, they’d have probably overrun this place by now, or at least blocked off the exits and kept us from getting out. As long as we’re careful about it, we could go anywhere as long as we don’t draw attention.”

“I guess,” Rainbow muttered. Her eyes were still watching the Walker that drifted on by, eventually climbing up the stairs and away from them.

Lyra turned to Dee. Her eyes were flickering with curiosity before she asked, “Hey… Dee, do these bungalows have working showers in them?”

That got Rainbow’s attention and caused Lyra’s eyes to light up. Dee blinked and he had only just realized that he hadn’t had a shower in a long while. “I… honestly wouldn’t see why not, the guests have to shower somehow.”

“...Do you think they’re still working?” Rainbow wondered next as she ran a hand through her mane.

“Assuming the water treatment plants and pump stations on the island are still being manned, they should still work just fine… fuck, okay now I want to go, I need a long hot shower.” The fact he was filthy had finally been brought up, and it was clear that they all needed a nice hot shower to get two weeks of grime and muck off of them. Wet towels and buckets of sea water only did so much for one’s hygiene.

“Alright! Well, let’s go, yeah?” Lyra smiled and pushed the gate open, and made sure the coast was clear before beckoning her friends to follow. “Let’s hope the showers are working.”

Following behind with Dee in the middle, Rainbow nodded her head. “Yeah, a hot shower and the chance to properly preen my wings sounds awesome right now. Count me in!” She stretched out her limbs as the trio followed the path of the Walker, opting to walk along the road and take the shortcut instead of the long way around.

“Yeah, I think we’d all love a hot shower right now, it’s been nearly two weeks since we landed on Banoi, and none of us have bathed since...” Dee began to feel a bit nervous and brought his shirt up to his nose. It wasn’t too bad, but he concluded that they all needed a quick shower, if only to get rid of the funk and alleviate any stress. He learned a long time ago that a shower was the key to feeling better after a long hard day of work.

With Lyra leading the way, they quickly moved away from the lifeguard tower and past the solitary walker that wandered up some stairs nearby, completely ignoring them. None of them attempted to chase after it, the less they had to do, the better.

“So, here’s a question, Dee--what exactly are we waiting around for?” Rainbow asked as they passed by a few vehicle wrecks mostly consisting of utility pickups, rental sedans and SUVs.

“Hmm?”

“I mean… why are we just waiting around the lifeguard tower?” Rainbow clarified, speeding up to walk next to Dee and Lyra, her wings flaring slightly--she wasn’t used to being grounded so long and she hated it. “Shouldn’t we be trying to find a way off the island or something?”

Dee let out a tiny sigh and glanced back to the lifeguard tower. “Yeah, we should be, but… Sinamoi thinks we should wait for the military to roll in and evacuate the survivors.” A wave of his hand and he brushed it aside. “Honestly, I don’t think they’re coming.”

“Why not?” Lyra was next to ask, peering at the human curiously.

“Well… several reasons, I suppose.” Dee began as they approached the Silver Bungalows. “The islands in the Banoi Archipelago are all probably infected by now with this plague going around, flights to and from the island were cut off for a reason, and it’s been nearly two weeks since the outbreak began… that I’m aware of.” Looking ahead, he gave his hammer a twirl and continued to think about it. “The Australian Military and the BIDF have had plenty of time to fly in and locate survivors, and evacuate them on top of that, but they haven’t yet. And as far as I’m aware, there isn’t any military presence on the island that we know of yet.”

Lyra furrowed her eyebrows and glanced away for a moment. “So… we’re waiting for help that isn’t coming?” Her voice dropped a few octaves, and was a lot quieter.

“I… I’m not saying that exactly, just...” He looked up and spotted the lighthouse in the distance, and in his mind he remembered that the original group of survivors split up, one waiting for military aid and the other actively trying to get off the island. “Well, we shouldn’t get our hopes up, you know? We’ll have to get off the island eventually, either with the military’s help… or without.”

“So we’re on our own…?” Rainbow asked him.

He didn’t want to say yes, because he knew how that sounded. Being trapped on an island with no one to turn to for help, left for the hordes of flesh hungry monsters that stalked about in every corner.

“Well…” Dee knew the reason the military wasn’t moving in… but if he said anything about it to the group, they would begin to wonder how he knew this to begin with. “For now, yes.”

“...I see the bungalows.” Lyra broke the awkward silence that had descended.

Dee looked up to see she was right--the Silver Bungalows were in sight now, with small footpaths that led through the foliage and debris towards several luxurious guest houses and a couple of pools. But their discovery also led them through a bloodied path of carnage which instantly subdued their mood.

Several bodies of guests and staff alike lay around the cramped footpaths and in open areas, torn into like animals and their remains left behind to rot. Little was left of their bodies, whether clothing, skin or muscle; everything had been ripped away by the Walkers who were here before. All that remained were bloodied skeletons with torn clothing and a few loose pieces of flesh or sinew attached, slowly rotting away.

“Is everywhere on the island going to be like this?” Lyra murmured, mostly to herself as Rainbow and Dee looked around cautiously.

“...Honest truth?” Dee threw out there as they stepped past the bodies and a single bungalow that had already been broken into.

Neither of the mares said anything, so he remained quiet. Instead, they moved on past the bungalow and towards one of the other ones nearby that was still intact.

Upon approaching the larger one, nestled against the hillside and surrounded by several other bungalows, they saw a pool in the middle that looked relatively untouched by the Walkers. No bodies were laying around, the only signs that people had been there previously was the abandoned luggage strewn about, and the garbage.

“Looks like no one’s been here for a while.” Rainbow muttered, kicking over a bag and causing its contents to spill out, revealing a few articles of clothing, a hat, and some candy bars.

After confirming they were safe, Dee allowed himself to relax for the moment, snatching up the candy and splitting the bars among them. “Lucky for us then. Maybe we can hang out here for a while before anything comes our way.” He eyed up the buildings surrounding them, choosing one to break into. He didn’t think he’d be wondering that at any point in his life with the intention of going through with it, but life’s funny and tends to throw curveballs you don’t expect.

He also didn’t expect he’d be contemplating more pleasurable pursuits during such a time, yet during his search, Dee found his eyes drifting to his female companions increasingly often — more specifically, he was admiring their bodies, the way each was shaped and toned, unique in their own ways but equally as beautiful. It was difficult not to look at them; he was an adult like them after all, and it had been a long time since they had gotten any action.

Lyra spoke up and brought him out of his thoughts. “This one’s the biggest,” she noted as she stopped in front of one of the bungalows, eyeing the front doors to it and the overall size.

Dee and Rainbow joined her and examined the generously sized building. It was much larger than the other ones they had seen around, giving them the idea that perhaps this was one built for family getaways. It was only one story, but from how large it was, it had to be spacious inside, and now they just needed to get the door open.

“I don’t suppose anyone has a key…?” Dee threw out there as they looked for a way inside.

The windows were locked up and so were the doors. Dee noticed the windows were stronger than the other bungalows, as were the walls, and the front door itself which led to him wondering what exactly was in this particular building that led to stronger reinforcements.

His curiosity piqued.

“No, sadly.” Lyra looked for a way inside, but could only find locked windows and doors. She grumbled and crossed her arms as her face contorted in annoyance. “Think we could break in somehow?”

“Maybe,” Dee began looking around for a way inside as well, but he wasn’t able to find much. The building was locked up tight, and short of finding a keycard, they weren’t getting inside. “But it’s gonna be hard getting inside without a key. I have no idea how to break in without making noise and making it easy for those fucking infected to get inside.”

“Yeah,” Lyra muttered and rubbed her nose. She thought about using her magic to pick the lock, but she didn’t think her magic would be stable enough to handle such a task. And from the looks of the lock itself, magic wasn’t breaking into that, especially given how advanced it looked.

Lyra began trying to think of a way to get inside. She picked apart her brain, running through all kinds of scenarios in the hope of figuring out a solution to their problem.

Only for the front doors to open up and Rainbow to walk out with a grin. “Welcome to the Silver Bungalows! Hope you enjoy your stay!” She looked immensely pleased with herself.

“I… w-what?!” Lyra blubbered as Rainbow gestured for an equally openmouthed Dee to go in first.

Dee blinked stupidly before shrugging and heading inside. “Nice going, Dashie~” He winked as he moved past her and into the building.

“H-how did you-”

Rainbow just chuckled. “There was an enclosure surrounding the back of it, and I found a door that was unlocked when I climbed over the tall wall. I may not be able to fly, but my wings still give me enough lift to make climbing a lot easier!” She smirked and crossed her arms. “I’ve already given the house a once-over, there’s no infected inside!”

Lyra had nothing to say, she just stuck out her tongue and moved inside.

The door closed. Rainbow locked it up tight before the trio moved around their new hideout for the time being.

The inside of the main room was well furnished, with several couches arranged in front of a large flat screen TV. Cabinets, paintings, potted plants, and everything else had a clearly exotic tropical theme to it, right down to the patterns on the towels, pillows, and the artwork on the door frames and walls.

The master bedroom was large and had an equally grand bathroom adjoining it, complete with a big shower and plenty of fresh towels… well, fresh as can be in a situation like this. The master bedroom came equipped with a large king size bed with very plush looking comforters on top alongside fresh linen, and dozens of soft looking pillows. It even had a TV!

There was another bedroom as well, smaller in size but equally as plush and lavish looking, with a smaller bed and bathroom inside of it.

Rainbow all but collapsed onto the nearest couch with a heavy sigh, and laid her head back on the fine cushions. “Luna save me, ugh.” She shifted her wings to make herself more comfortable, draping them out where she could.

Lyra giggled as she glanced around the interior of the main room, admiring the decor and sneaking some glances at the spread legged Rainbow who was sprawled out on the couch without a care in the world. “Getting comfy, Dashie?”

“You’re Celestia damn right I am! I’m exhausted and we haven’t even been out that long.” She ran a hand through her mane with another heavy sigh, only to pull it away and realize how greasy and dirty it was. “Goddess knows I need a shower, badly.”

Dee realized that they all did now that it was mentioned. There was a certain odor in the air no one could really deny but didn’t say out loud, partially out of respect but mostly because everyone knew they smelled bad.

“There should be two in here we can all use.” Dee murmured after looking through the rooms, and after discovering both bathrooms for himself, he nodded, twisting a knob and finding that water still flowed freely. “Alright, we got two bathrooms with showers, so you both can go first and I’ll wa-”

“Nah,” Lyra already stated and grabbed Dee by the hand, quickly dragging him off towards the master bedroom. “I’m gonna help you shower!”

Dash’s chuckle reached Dee’s ears easily enough.

His cheeks turning bright red, Dee protested, “w-what?! No! I can shower by myself p-perfectly fine!” He was lying through his teeth and it hurt. He could, but he truly didn’t want to, not when he had certain things on his mind despite all his aches and pains.

Things involving Lyra’s busty and gorgeous form showering beside him...

In close quarters...

Covered in water head to toe...

He swallowed hard as Lyra just giggled, dragging him into the room with the biggest grin he had ever seen on a person, or pony…

Just the biggest smile in general.

“You’re still hurt!” She countered with that devious smile on her face.

The inside of the bathroom was pretty well stocked with soaps, shampoos, and other name brands neither individual recognized. Better yet, the shower itself was fairly large, with some towels nearby for all of them to use when they were finished.

Lyra didn’t even bother to close the door as her hands were already reaching for the shower knobs to turn it on.

A thunk and a hiss later, the water came rushing out from the head, splashing down onto the floor of the shower. Lyra kept her hand in the shower to test the temperature, making sure it was nice and hot while she snuck some glances back at Dee. “Well?”

God above, what could he even say to that? Never mind the fact that Lyra wasn’t giving him much of an option to say no, or any way to get out of this even if he wanted to. It seemed he had little choice but to strip down and shower with her.

Though perhaps not-so-strangely, his little friend down below seemed perfectly fine with this rapid and unexpected turn of events.

“Need some help?” Rainbow’s voice sounded from the door behind him, causing Dee’s heart to almost explode in his chest.

“I think we’ve got a shy boy here, Dashie. He’s a little nervous about stripping down I think~” Lyra teased as she pulled her hand from the water only to turn promptly flick her fingers at Dee, sending droplets of water onto his face that caused him to flinch and the green-hued mare to grin. “It’s adorable!”

“W-well, come on!” He waved his hands about, hoping the blush of his cheeks wasn’t too pronounced. “I can shower by myself, heh...” Even as he said that he found the idea being shoved far away in favor of showering with Lyra.

“Oh, really? I guess we’ll just have to give our reluctant stud a lesson in the proper pleasuring of mares, then!” Dash decided with an impish grin and nodded her head. “First things first - shirts off!”

“B-but I -” Before he knew it, Dee found himself being stripped down without so much as a chance to retaliate or fight either mare off, not that he would have done so even if were inclined to resist. They moved faster than he thought they would have!

“Hey! That’s my shirt! Oi! Not my pants!” Dee barely squeaked and caused both of them to giggle as they mercilessly stripped him of his clothes, and possibly his pride.

By the time they were done with it, only his bulging underwear was left. “Oh my Luna, he squealed!” Lyra booped Dee on the nose as Dash tossed away his shirt, exposing his pale white chest. “Could he be any more adorable, Dashie?”

“Not to me!” Rainbow replied as her fuschia eyes -- was that their official color? He hadn’t checked her website for a color palette in a long time - danced across the human’s body, examining him in detail before nodding in satisfaction as Dee could only feel like he was being inspected like wares in a meat market. “Pretty interesting body,” She poked at his side and his abdomen as Lyra was unable to keep herself from looking across his body with a smile. “Kinda like a pony but… no fur.”

“It is kinda odd. But your skin feels nice,” Lyra told him as she drew her fingers across his chest, noting the presence of and gently brushing a nipple, causing him to take a ragged breath. “Oh, you like that, do you?” she gave it an additional flick of a finger, watching his reaction carefully

He blushed so hard he was sure they had to see it; a wave of self-consciousness washing over him. Dee knew he was by no means a bodybuilding hunk, but he wasn’t a fat slob either like too many of his former friends or roommates; nor did he have anything impressive to look at. He knew full well he was a fairly average man by human standards, possessing a passable amount of muscle that was offset by a bit of pudge around his belly--which had subsided considerably over the past two weeks due to exertion, healing and food rationing, though at least he could boast some strong legs from years of walking.

Honestly? the only good looking part of me is my face and hair, he decided as they continued to inspect him

He blushed as the two mares poked and prodded him, the embarrassment only growing slightly the more they looked him over, and worse, the more his arousal grew.

“You’re so cute~” Lyra giggled and suddenly leaned in, before leaning in to plant a kiss on his cheek.

That got him to stammer out something incoherent before Lyra backed up and grinned.

Then she grabbed the bottom of her own shirt with both hands, and teasingly began lifting it up. Inch by delicious inch she revealed the bare and toned belly of hers; a closer look revealed she had the shortest peppermint-hued fur covering her body there.

As he watched spellbound, she took off the jacket he had given her and lifted her own shirt up and over her shoulders, and Dee’s eyes immediately flicked down just in time to watch as Lyra’s generous and perky bust bounced free of the jacket. Their mass held firmly within the firm fabric of a black bra, a pair of deliciously plush breasts jiggled with her every movement.

His jacket hit the floor, but with his attention now focused on her ample breasts, Dee barely noticed it.

“I think I might have changed his mind about the shower~” Lyra chuckled as she grabbed at her bust and lifted up each tit in turn. She gave them a suggestive squeeze in front of him, causing some of her flesh to push up and almost out of her bra, deliciously emphasizing its mass and curves to his hungry eyes.

“Can hardly blame him. A pair of tits like that would tempt me too!” Rainbow leaned back against the wall behind him with her arms crossed over her chest and watched, thoroughly enjoying the scene and taking the chance to ogle Lyra’s feminine form herself.

“Huh?” an entranced Dee blinked, but immediately shook his head as he realized he had been caught staring. Despite his cheeks being red, and his boxers beginning to sport a plenty noticeable tent, he felt obligated to at least lodge a protest. “Oi, no using your tits to cheat!”

Lyra’s pearly white teeth were exposed with how wide her grin became, and her golden eyes flicked down to his prominent bulge. His boxers were pretty loose, but tight enough that she could see how excited he was; the head of his disobedient shaft threatening to find its way through the fly. “All’s fair in love, Dee. You earned it for how much you did for me. Besides, your little friend doesn’t seem to mind~” she all but cooed, giving the front of his jeans a light swat with her removed jacket that caused his organ to twitch.

“He certainly doesn’t, hehe~” Rainbow added on, and a muffled sound of falling clothing told him that her own shirt joined Lyra’s on the floor. “And she’s right, Dee--you earned this. I don’t know how things work here, but in Equestria, stallions who protect and defend mares are treasures who get rewarded.”

“But… I…” Dee felt like his heart was going to explode from how hard it was beating right now; afraid to look back at Rainbow for fear he’d cream himself right then and there.

How could he have thought this was going to happen? Being stuck on a tropical paradise—a zombie-filled one, but that was beside the point—with not just one, but six incredibly gorgeous mares, two of which were stripping down and about to shower with him… willingly no less!

As if the obvious sexual tension wasn’t enough, they were teasing him.

It was far more than he ever thought he’d experience or earn, but for all his ongoing anxieties, he also knew he’d never forgive himself if he didn’t take this chance. He also couldn’t help but glance behind him, setting his eyes on Rainbow’s body for the first time.

He wasn’t at all displeased, given that Rainbow’s body was much more toned than Lyra’s was. Being an athlete and all, her body was sculpted from head to toe with fine sleek musculature, honed from years of training herself to be the best flyer in her world. The wide birthing hips she possessed were enough to make his mouth water, and the noticeable thigh gap, a bonus if he ever saw one. With her shirt off, her less ample but still-prominent breasts were clad in a swimsuit bikini. Her bust was a bit on the smaller side than Lyra’s but nonetheless enticing to him, easily a handful-plus each that left him immediately and eagerly visulizing himself groping them.

The blood all seemed to drain from his head just then and for a moment, he felt like he had blacked out. By the time his senses returned their pants had come off as well and he was bereft of his boxers, leaving his throbbing erection in full display. Both mares had fine figures, with Lyra having a big bubbly and plush rump you could sink your fingers into while Rainbow’s was more taut and toned-looking, but still delicious to stare at and irresistible to grab on to.

Seconds later, both mares had approached the shower in their underwear, before reaching behind them and undoing the straps of their brasseries; as a trembling Dee watched, Lyra undid her clasp while Rainbow untied her own.

They then turned to him and simply tossed the removed articles of clothing onto his rigid cock like it was a hanger; his organ was so engorged with blood it barely bent under their combined weight. Watching the bounce of their newly bare tits just about made him faint again, given the bras they wore were somehow deceiving as both had much bigger breasts than he had initially thought; Lyra especially as hers came bouncing free alongside Rainbow’s own. Their panties came next, exposing their bare and delicious looking asses to him, and the faintest view of their soft looking cunnies which they took great pains to display to him.

The only scrap of clothing that remained on them were the necklaces they wore, which they neglected to take off for whatever reason. But for all they had already displayed to him, he didn’t mind one bit.

Rainbow gave an enticing flick of her prismatic pony tail as she held out a hand to the human they had come to know so well. “Well? Let’s go, Dee! After all, the water will get cold before long~” Even Lyra held out her hand, although she had a saucier grin on her face.

Was this really happening? Dee couldn’t believe what was going on, but he found his mind abandoning any attempts at logic and decided to go with the much more base idea:

Jump into the shower with the two willing females in front of him.

The feelings about how he looked and lingering sense of inadequacy were thrown out the window as he slipped his fingers into the pile of feminine undergarments that still hung off his throbbing cock, and in one swift movement slid them off before tossing them to the side into a haphazard pile.

Gold and magenta eyes zeroed in on him as he stepped forward.

Their suddenly half-lustful and half-predatory stares made him nervous.

“He’s not as big as a stallion is, that’s for sure,” Rainbow commented to Dee’s momentary chagrin, though the teasing smile never left her face as she climbed into the shower and under the water, which began running along and tracing down the sculpted curves of her body.

Lyra took his hand. Dee gave no effort to resist as she pulled him into the shower. “Yeah, well, you know what they say Dashie,” She watched as the human’s eyes were drawn to her body, and she gave his hand a loving squeeze, and she whispered, “It's not about how big it is, it’s all in how well you use it~” She ended that and leaned in to Dee, giving him a kiss on the cheek and pulled him fully into the shower.

The relatively hot water hit him, but he found his gaze on a sight and feeling that was much more appealing to him at the moment.

He suddenly found himself in the middle of the shower between both mares, standing beneath the large showerhead. Lyra had her arms wrapped around his waist and her body firmly pressed up against him; more specifically, she was pressing her ample breasts into his chest. He could feel just how soft they were even through his bare skin, including how exquisitely erect her nipples were. Behind him, Rainbow was doing the same, arms around his stomach and pressing into his back with her own soft tits, starting to nibble gently on an ear.

He was in the middle of a tit sandwich. Big, perky and soft ones in front, with firmer more moderately-sized ones in the back, and both capped by two incredibly perky nipples he desperately wanted to fondle and suckle.

“Aw, look at that! You’re blushing~” Lyra cooed. Her smile could practically melt your heart, and how she was gently moving her hands at his sides sent the strangest tingling feeling coursing up and down his trembling form. “It’s cute~”

“H-heh, n-no you?” He still couldn’t believe this was happening to him, and he was hesitant to pinch himself to see. For even if he woke up back in his own bed to discover his vacation and the subsequent zombie apocalypse had been a dream, he still would have regretted it for being deprived of his two dream mares.

“Have to say, you’re honestly not bad-looking for a human,” Rainbow commented from behind, placing her head next to his as her hands traveled across his torso. “Maybe you could use a bit more muscle on your frame, but...” She breathed a bit next to his ear and whispered, “I think you’re pretty cute~”

“Th-thanks, I think…” he said in a shaky voice as, almost hesitantly, his hands came to rest on Lyra’s hips. He felt how soft her feminine body was, how it curved to form the shape of her plump and very squishy ass. His fingers trembled at the feel—she had an incredible body, one he was more than happy to be pressed up against. He wanted desperatelyto move them further south and explore that wonderful rump, but--

“If you want to feel me up, I’m not gonna stop ya, stud,” Lyra suddenly commented as her hands ran up from his waist to run along his back, tracing little wet circles on his skin between his spine and Rainbow’s body before moving her hands to join his. Her soft palms laid atop his hands, her fingers delicately wrapped around them and she moved them further back to rest on the pliable mountains that were Lyra’s ass. “You can touch me all you want…”

“Don’t worry, Dee. She won’t bite… much~” Rainbow teased as her arms reached down to touch Dee’s, and she took her fingers in his before grabbing a hold of and squeezing Lyra’s plush ass, kneading the soft flesh along with him.

“Holy…” was all he could immediately think to say, certain in that one moment that he’d found his truest heaven in the midst of utter hell. It wasn’t that he was inexperienced. He had touched several asses in his time—most but not all being accidental; he’d genuinely been with two girls over the years—but Lyra’s was something else altogether. His fingers, guided by Rainbow’s, sank into Lyra’s rear, grabbing handfuls of soft, delicious flesh. And through it all, Rainbow aided him in his efforts, lifting and squeezing along with him, which only got the slightest of hums from Lyra.

“Never knew you felt this way about me, Dashie…” she cooed softly as she pushed back against the two sets of hands now alternately squeezing and spreading her.

“I know what I like, Lyra—stud stallions and hot mares. Don’t often get to have them together, though! Well, maybe that one time with AJ and Big Macintosh…” she recalled almost wistfully, causing Dee to blink hard and Lyra to glance back.

“Those two? Nice. But nowhere else? Not even with the Wonderbolts?” Lyra asked a little breathlessly before Dee could. But then again, wouldn’t that have given away the fact that he was knowledgeable about them and their world?

Rainbow only snickered at the suggestion. “Nah. Spitfire’s very strict about intra-team relationships. Of course, then she turns around and drags me into her private shower after performances half the time…” she chuckled as she buried her muzzle in the nape of Dee’s neck again, nibbling and nickering softly. “Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. I’ve also been with Spike and Twilight.”

“Those two?” Lyra asked incredulously as she pushed back hard into the probing pair of paws. “Never thought of either like… that!”

“Me neither, until Twi asked me to help with one of her experiments. She said was trying to find a way to increase the rate of male births, but all she succeeded in was accidentally causing both of us to enter estrus at once. It was the strongest heat either of us had ever experienced, and we, uh… kinda pounced poor Spike,” she admitted, causing Dee to gape and Lyra to laugh. “So yeah. Twi threw him onto his back to take his twin cocks—before you ask, he’s an adolescent dragon, and that means he’s got two of them, Dee! And I took his muzzle while we made out above him,” she recalled as Dee found himself vividly visualizing it.

“It was fun, though we were all mortified after. Of course, then Spike got a bit greedy and suddenly bulked up before our eyes. He then threw both of us onto her backs and took both our slits at once. And the more he got, the more he wanted. He ended up fucking our brains out that night and didn’t stop until the spell we were all under was completely spent.”

“So that’s why Spike suddenly got bigger!” Lyra realized with some amazement. “I wondered why he was being so evasive about it at Sugarcube Corner the next week…”

“Yep. What can I say? The drake’s a budding stud! And I’m pretty sure Twi’s been indulging herself with him ever since,” Rainbow concluded. “Lucky guy. Just like you, Dee.”

“Th-thanks…” Dee wasn’t sure if he was getting more turned on by the scene or the equally arousing talk accompanying it, but then decided it didn’t matter as he continued to feel up Lyra’s rear to his heart’s content.

She flexed her muscles in response, and he felt the tight corded muscle underneath bulge out against his fingers. Not only did she have an amazing ass, she had plenty of muscle underneath to support such a glorious asset, providing the proper amount of firmness to go with its softness. Rainbow’s hands had pulled away, coming back to rest on his stomach as he kept playing with Lyra’s rear.

Dee found his breath taken away as Lyra just stared into his eyes, watching the pure worship on his face as he fondled away. “Enjoying yourself?” she asked with a wink behind him at Rainbow.

“You have an incredible ass,” was all he could manage, swallowing the hard lump that formed in his throat. The fact some of her flesh was spilling through his fingers was enough to shatter the floodgates keeping his blood from flowing southward, engoring his erection further; he couldn’t ever remember feeling this hard and sensitive!

“I’m so glad you noticed~” Lyra pressed herself more firmly up against him, her perky nipples poking into his skin while she allowed his unbelievably engorged hard-on to slip neatly between her wet thighs.

He noticed immediately it wasn’t damp from the water.

“I’m with Dee. You do have a nice ass,” Rainbow agreed and ran her hands up Dee’s stomach, up to his chest before her hands slid up and across Lyra’s plump breasts. “Been admiring them for a while! You got some nice tits too-” she accentuated this by settling her hands directly onto the front of them, and gently squeezing them as he could only watch spellbound. Lyra gave a small coo to the contact, leaning hard into Rainbow’s hands with a grin.

“Thanks, filly. Gotta say, you have some nice ones yourself~” Lyra told Rainbow. As Dee watched, she moved her hands around to Dash’s backside before a resounding slap sounded, followed by Rainbow jerking her body forward into Dee and Lyra.

“H-hey!” Rainbow pouted behind Dee, and squeezed Lyra’s tits a bit harder in mild revenge, causing the green mare to squeak and let out a gasp. Despite sounding like she was annoyed, the mare was barely hiding a grin. “Careful there, Lyra. Don’t start something you can’t stop.”

“You know you love it,” Lyra’s eyes flicked down as she pushed her legs together, wrapping her wet thighs around his manhood. It stood proudly before being engulfed by her legs, She could feel it throbbing and tingling anew in response to her actions and comments. “I think he likes it too~”

“Hey, don’t hog him!” Rainbow demanded as she reached a hand around to cup his balls, rolling them gently with her fingers; it once again took everything he had not to cream himself right then and there. “Not as big as a stallion’s, but who cares? Far as I’m concerned, you’ve already shown you’ve got a bigger pair than any stallion I’ve ever met!”

“Uh… even Spike?” he asked tentatively.

“Especially Spike. It isn’t hard, given he doesn’t even have visible balls!” she answered to another laugh from Lyra.

Dry-mouthed and completely unable to talk over his pounding heart and raging arousal, Dee nervously licked a lip and glanced off to the side.

“Oh, is that so~?” Lyra raised her hand up, and she slapped Rainbow on the rump again, producing another squeak and a slight gasp, before grabbing onto it and digging her fingers into the taut rear of her friend. “Kinky little guy aren’t you?”

“M-maybe, maybe not,” Dee murmured, but he couldn’t deny that hearing Rainbow yelp and gasp, as well as feeling her jerk her body against him from the contact aroused him quite a bit.

And Lyra knew it.

Flipping her mane back, she pushed herself back a bit and released his cock, and then lifted her arms above her head. His eyes traced along the perfect curve of her breasts, from how they fell down to form that deliciously round shape, and rounding up to the large perky dark green nipples that stood out prominently, all but begging to be suckled on.

His mouth began to water, and he inhaled.

Sensing she had his attention, Lyra twirled her body halfway to one side and then to the other. Her tits swayed from side to side, springing back into place once she stopped moving before she started swiveling her hips, letting her curves do the talking for her.

“Christ, Lyra.” Dee was mesmerized by her body, how she was moving, and it certainly showed. “If you’re trying to make me fall in love with you, you’re succeeding.”

“Just her and not me?” Rainbow pouted, to which despite all his excitement, Dee thought of the perfect retort.

“No… only because I don’t want to run afoul of this ‘Spike’ if he really is a dragon!” he said, causing Rainbow to sputter and Lyra to guffaw. “If it wasn’t for him, though…” he trailed off meaningfully.

“He’s got ya there, Rainbow. You do seem to be already spoken for,” Lyra teased.

“Aw, come on! Spike and I aren’t an item! Even if I did really enjoy getting dominated by him…” she admitted, then blushed hard enough that Dee could feel the heat coming off her cheeks. “And even if it turns out Twi knows how to magically pleasure you eight ways from Sunday.”

Dee didn’t get a chance to respond before a set of blue fingers suddenly wrapped around his dick, gripping onto the rock hard shaft as Rainbow took immediate advantage of his distraction. “Damn, you’re really hard,” Rainbow’s voice whispered huskily into his ear as Lyra made a show of grabbing onto her tits, squeezing them in her hands and pushing them together. “You must really like her little show~” Rainbow’s hand began to move now, still gripping onto him and stroking him slowly. “Almost as much as you like me.”

“You just gotta make everything a competition, don’t you, Rainbow?” Lyra intensified her efforts, rolling a breast up to suckle on herself. “That said, do you, Dee?”

“Y-yeah.” He ended up pushing back into Rainbow and lightly thrusting into her strong digits, even as his eyes were locked on Lyra’s form. “I like the show. I like you both…” he admitted, feeling his cock pulse and squirt some clear fluid once at the suggestion.

“Well, in that case…” Lyra smiled wide as she closed the distance between them, all but sauntering up to him. Her hand touched his stomach and trailed down, touching Rainbow’s hand briefly, then finally grabbed what rested below his shaft.

“Well, we like you. We’re gonna have a lot of fun with you~” Lyra told him as Rainbow gave the human a fondle of affirmation.

“Eeyup,” Rainbow nodded with a squeeze of her own, then grinned at the look Lyra gave him. “Sorry, you can’t be with AJ and Big Mac without picking up a few things. He ain’t much of a talker, but he can pleasure a mare like nobody’s business. Have to say, Dee, you’ve got quite a lot to measure up to. But don’t worry. We’ll train you until you’re better than both Spike and B-M. So let’s get started, stud! Your instruction in the erotic arts begins now…”

18

“So let’s get started, stud! Your instruction in the erotic arts begins now…” Rainbow all but purred in his ear as she groped and pressed into him from behind. Her posture sandwiched him firmly between herself and an even more voluptuous Lyra, whose tits neither his eyes nor hands could get enough of.

For a moment, Dee thought he was going to faint from the idea of receiving erotic instruction from the pair alone, but he found his mind wandering to something else instead. “N-not that I’m against it , b-but… why me?” He had to ask as he found one of his hands joining Rainbow’s on his stomach, where he absentmindedly intertwined his fingers with hers. She returned the gesture, causing his heart to swell from the tender contact and accepted intimacy.

“You really are adorable, you know that?” Rainbow squeezed his hand and kissed him on the cheek as Lyra closed in on him, gently massaging his chest as her lips stretched into a soft smile. Her other hand came to rest on his other cheek before leaning in close. “How about you answer, Lyra? You’re better with words than me.”

“Fine. If you really want to know, Dee? It’s because you’re different from the other humans.” She ran her thumb in little circles on his face, her sunglow-shaded eyes locked onto his own as Rainbow started to nibble on his neck. “You risked your life so much to help us survive, even though you barely even know us. And even though you’re a male on top of it.”

“What she said. Do you have any idea how many stallions would do what you did?” Rainbow added as she kissed him on the neck again and squeezed his hand tightly, the two mares quickly taking his breath away as they continued to caress him at will. “I can’t think of any who would, short of Big Macintosh. Most would just only think about saving themselves in this situation and leave the rest of us for dead. So, needless to say, you’re not an absolute dick like way too many of them.” Her voice was soft as she pressed into him,

“Bottom line — you’re a sweet stud, you helped us out so much,” she smiled as Lyra closed in and hugged the duo from the side, and pressed her busty chest into them, “And for saving our lives so many times, just saying ‘thank you’ doesn’t feel like it’s good enough. So~”

When his head turned to look at Rainbow, she took that opportunity to press her lips against his. The athletic mare immediately took control of the situation with Lyra, who was quick to pin Dee against her.

Guiding his hands to her ample breasts anew, whose deliciously plump mounds he couldn’t help but knead to his heart’s content, Lyra moved and planted a kiss on the human’s neck, then another, and finally an entire series of them trailing down to his collarbone, chest and belly before finally squatting down in front of his prominent crotch.

Forced to relinquish his hands from her boobs as she knelt too low for him to reach them, he opened his unfocused eyes to see her face to face with his rock hard and throbbing cock Rainbow was so lovingly stroking from behind. He groaned as her hand slid up and down his length, aided by a mixture of water and a healthy amount of pre-cum that dribbled from the tip, leaving Dee amazed that he could be so ready to go after all the injuries he’d suffered since arriving there.

Licking her lips, she waited until Rainbow let go to take over in pumping his cock as she looked over his shoulder and smirked, wrapping her wings around them both. She smiled as she studied his organ, feeling the blood pumping with it with every beat of his racing heart.

“You know, I’ve always been interested in you humans. I can hardly be blamed either, I mean your anatomy is so…” pausing to lean in close to his member, she stuck out her tongue and opened her mouth, taking the tip into her lips. Her tongue running along the underside of his musky shaft, she slowly took it inch by inch easily, feeling him twitch from the sensation and hearing him groan into the kiss with Rainbow. She bottomed out, and pulled off, leaving behind a trail of her saliva and finishing her thought, “exotic~”

“Interested? Try obsessed!” Rainbow teased as Lyra raised a single middle digit towards her friend even as she started going down on a gasping and breathless Dee for a second time, who was once again wondering if he was being repaid for something he’d done in a previous life. “Serious, Dee, she’s not lying. For the record, we’ve known about your world for a few centuries now, and that you seem to be outpacing us in some ways.

“But open portals to your world are very rare, and even now we don’t have much ability to predict them. Guess we slipped through one by accident, but the funny thing is? Here and now, I don’t mind. This alone makes it all worth it.” She began to nibble at his ear while fondling his balls from behind, making him go weak in the knees from the dual-stimulation. “Hey, hey! Don’t make him come too soon, Lyra! I want a turn with him too, remember!”

Finally letting Dee get some air, one of his eyelids twitched and he found himself leaning against Rainbow to keep himself steady. “J-Jesus Christ.” He looked down at Lyra, who brushed her wet mane back and looked up at him with an innocent smile and rosy cheeks. God she’s cute, just so fucking... the thought was lost as she leaned back briefly to spread her legs spread, showing him the upper-most part of her sacred treasure; a swollen pair of pussy lips, wet and glistening and just begging to be plowed.

His reason starting to abandon him, he gave a loud urk as his hips bucked once, making his desires known to both mares.

“Hehehe, too much?” Rainbow teased as Lyra only smiled and immediately leaned forward to clos in on his cock again, engulfing his throbbing member in her soft and practiced muzzle. “Have to say, you’re pretty good at teasing, Lyra. I told you all about my encounters, so fair’s fair… who have you been with?”

“Aside from Bonbon?” Lyra said as her soft lips ran over his sensitive flesh, drawing out a fresh groan from the human. Her tongue began to run across the underside of his flesh, slowly moving towards his base as she took in his entire length, leaving him certain she’d done this before. “Can’t say I go for stallions at all, for all the reasons we’ve already talked about. But that doesn’t mean I can’t go for males of other races,” she added idly as she backed off slightly when she sensed him getting close to climax again.

“The griffons are fun, especially if you find an older one who’s been around the block a few times. Unlike stallions, their males try to perform because that’s how they win mates. And back in college, I also went on a solo expedition to the dragon lands for a sociological study I was working on that coincided with their once-a-decade mating seasons,” she recalled with a wistful grin.

“Of course, me being young and dumb, I didn’t know that before I went, so by the time I arrived, my clothes didn’t stay on me long—I swear the amount of magical pheremones in the air were so strong they pretty much sent me straight into heat as well. To make a long story short, I got bred pretty good by the drakes there; not that I minded. That’s where I learned to give head properly. And even some of the drakinas had a go at me. Have to say, dragon girls are fun,” she noted idly as she lowered her head onto him again, leaving Dee’s head spinning at the idea of anthro dragons and griffons, suddenly imagining himself groping a buxom Gilda or Ember the same way he was Lyra.

“You too with dragons, huh?” Rainbow stood and watched her with a grin. “My only griffon experience was with Gilda, but I got plenty of my own oral practice with Spike that one time—had to learn to deep throat him real quick! If they gave Lyra the same treatment, then she’ll be a real pro at this, trust me on that~” she told Dee eagerly as she held him up from behind, bracing him.

“Y-yeah…” He found himself all but trembling in her hold as his legs threatened to buckle anew from sheer sensual pleasure; his hands rested on the wall and on her own hip, and she held onto him to keep him steady so he and the others didn’t slip down inside of the shower itself. “A pro…”

In response to his whispered words, Lyra’s lips wrapped tightly around his cock yet again. She began sucking like a foal would to a teat; swallowing and flexing her throat to get him as deep within her as she could. Her muzzle was soon pressed against his crotch, causing the scent of his unique non-equine musk to start filling her lungs. She groaned; the vibrations of her throat bringing her new human lover even more nerve-wracking rapture.

He again thought he was about to climax again before she sensed it and pulled off of him for a third fourth time, slowly sliding off and letting her lips rest around his tip. She suckled his overstimulated head for a moment before looking up at him, her golden eyes half-lidded. Her lips then pulled back into a cute smile before she began bobbing her head, taking in his entire length again before pulling back off it, only to finally engulf it once more in a single smooth movement.

Dee felt his head getting light and his body was growing hotter by the second from the warm water and equally hot bodies before him. The sensations flooding his body were foreign, but he wasn’t hating it in the slightest. It only made him realize how long it had been since he had last gotten off, so he knew that no matter how good Lyra was at building him up and backing him off, he wasn’t going to last much longer.

“H-holy shit.” He could already feel that sweet pressure building up in his body, though it was far more than he’d ever felt before by his own hand. “I… this is…” his mouth went dry as he simply couldn’t talk while processing all the sensual sensations he was now experiencing. This is certainly a first I’m all too happy to have right now, fuck! He was finally able to finish the sentence with his thoughts.

“Huh. You act like you’ve never gotten your dick sucked before,” she said in an air that suggested she was surprised by it.

Managing to get his thoughts together and tearing his eyes away from the bobbing head of Lyra, he looked at Rainbow. He still felt Lyra’s muzzle making contact with his pelvis, her soft lips kissing him every time she took his entirety. “W-well, uh… I h-haven’t, actually, h-hehe!”

The admittance actually startled the duo. Lyra slowed slightly and gave him a questioning look, but it was Rainbow who actually decided to ask: “Wait, really?”

A nervous nod was followed by a hard swallow, as Dee found himself worried for a moment that his inexperience might somehow be a turn-off for the clearly well-practiced pair, “E-err, yeah, this is a f-first for me.”

But to his relief. Lyra only looked initially surprised, before turning delighted. “You hear that, Rainbow? We got ourselves a virgin here.” Lyra pulled off slowly, and slowly her tongue ran across her sultry lips. She placed her lips against the tip of his cock, and smiled up at him.

“So we do. And just how do you think we should break our new stud in?” Dee could all but hear the smirk in Rainbow’s voice.

“I might have a few ideas.” She gave his member another little peck as her hand gripped his shaft, giving it a loving squeeze that milked some more clear fluid onto her fingers. “Well, Dee, I admit I’m surprised, but also pleased that we get to be your first. And since we want you to come back to us, Rainbow and I will just have to make sure this will be an experience you won’t ever forget~” she all but cooed as she looked up at Rainbow, then motioned down at his erection with her eyes.

At that, Rainbow grinned and nodded her head to the invitation. “You know what? Lyra’s right--we wouldn’t want your first time to be anything but awesome, stud — especially if we want your services again later!”

“My services…?” Dee barely had time to process the idea of getting to have sex with them whenever he wanted, but the train of thought was quickly scattered as he saw Rainbow slip around him, brushing his back with her wing. She then ducked down onto her knees alongside her friend, to a smile and quick kiss from Lyra.

Only then guessing what they were about to do and only barely able to restrain his cock from erupting all over their faces and chests right then and there, Dee wasn’t given another second’s notice before the pair leaned over as one. Taking pains to press a boob against the other mare’s for what their human lover could only assume was for his enjoyment as much as theirs, they went down on him as one.

Lyra engulfed his cock once more and Rainbow joined in; she shoved her muzzle against the base of the human’s dick and wrapped her lips around the side before following Lyra’s lead and running her tongue along his length.

“Fuuuuuck…” was all he could say as they brought him to the heights of ecstasy; between their combined oral efforts, it took everything he had to just keep standing, let alone coming.

But he couldn’t help it, given the way Lyra and Rainbow moved in tandem made his legs quiver. Their moves were practiced and precise; their tongues working in sync and overlapping with one another to keep his very happy shaft enveloped in their longer half-equine tongues. And best of all, they seemed to be immensely enjoying themselves as well; Rainbow’s moans and Lyra’s ragged breathing was heavenly to listen to, and he shortly found himself moving his hips in time with the latter’s mouth.

“Holy sh-shit.” He placed one of his hands on Lyra’s head and the other on Rainbow’s as they serviced him orally, worshipping his very essence as a man.

So many fantasies were becoming a reality in such a small space of time that he found it difficult to believe, yet the incredible sensations he was receiving from the two mares knelt before him was enough to tell him that this was indeed his reality.

A period of pure heaven in the midst of undead hell.

Lyra dragged her tongue along the underside of his cock before flicking it along the tip; her efforts continuously pumped him as Rainbow took a moment to breathe. “Damn,” Lyra was breathing fairly hard as well while she looked up at him, a flush on her cheeks. “Gotta say, most stallions would have bust a nut already… a-are we not good enough?” She looked worried as she shared a look with Rainbow, who had also pulled back looking equally concerned.

He had to laugh at their forlorn features, scarcely able to believe he’d gotten so lucky. He could feel that delightful pressure building up inside despite their worries; every twitch and tingle he experienced only told him that they were doing wonderfully.

Dee fluffed their manes with his hands, which were still firmly nestled between their ears., “N-no, you’re both amazing!” he reassured the two of them immediately. It’s j-just… well, I’m n-not a stallion either, so maybe I got more stamina than they do. You’ve had me on the verge repeatedly already, but I don’t want to want to come just yet!” he told them eagerly; hearing that stallions truly didn’t last that long and having that little fact confirmed inflated a little bit of his pride.

“I want to savor this, and then I want to return the favor! I just need to make sure I’ve got enough left after to satisfy you both,” he then added, hoping and praying that he would be able to.

Their jaws dropped open as they exchanged a startled glance. “You want to…” an incredulous Rainbow began.

“Return the favor?” Lyra finished. “You really mean it, Dee?”

He was taken aback in turn, wondering if Equestrian stallions were so entitled and knew so little about lovemaking that they only saw sex as a means to get their rocks off without any concern for their mares. “Of course! Human guys always want to leave their ladies wanting more! It’s part of how we attract mates!” he explained quickly, to which Lyra and Rainbow’s eyes lit up.

They looked at each other, and then they both looked up at him in fresh interest. “Rainbow? I think we’ve hit the jackpot,” Lyra finally said.

“You said it, girlfriend. So humans not only last longer, but you want us to be satisfied too, hmm?” Rainbow asked him, and a hungry look began to grow in both of their eyes. “Don’t know about you, filly, but I’m suddenly thinking of staying here, even if I have trouble flying and there are all these monsters about. No male except Spike ever satisfied me fully before.”

“I’ve had a griffon or two that did, while the dragons were more quantity over quality — though in fairness, when you got mated eighteen times a day by various drakes, and sometimes by two or three at a time, you tended to end up very happy if occasionally a bit sore after.”

“I can imagine.” As Dee watched, the two began to rub up hard against each other in their excitement reaching around each other’s back to grope the other mare’s opposite breast. “I really should stay here and conduct some new sociology studies. The Canterlot Conservatory would have to accept my papers on humans now!”

“If Twilight can figure out how to open a permanent portal, maybe I can convince Spitfire to take the Wonderbolts on tour here,” Rainbow suggested eagerly. “Given all the trouble she has getting Soarin to satisfy her, I’m sure she’d love to meet Dee. And so would Rarity, given how badly she got burned by Blueblood ”

“R… Rarity?” His mouth suddenly went very dry and his cock twitched hard when he visualized her in the same anthro form as her friends.

This time, Lyra and Rainbow smirked as they exchanged a look. “Oh, right. Guess that’s another name you wouldn’t know, but she’s a top-notch dressmaker who can be a bit too prissy for my tastes, but there’s no denying she’s drop-dead gorgeous. I’d be careful, though — poor Spike has a crush on her, so if you’re interested in her as well, you’d probably have to fight him,” Rainbow said with a wink.

“Oh. Well, I, uh, th-think I’ll pass on her if it means fighting a dragon, thanks…” he swallowed, fearful of giving himself away by accidentally voicing his opinion of her looks, wondering how big Spike was in a larger humanized form.

“Smart boy. That’s part of why we like you,” Lyra agreed, giving him a newly lascivious look. “Now where were we…? Ah, yes. Your reward. Wanna switch places, Rainbow?”

“Love to,” she replied, and even though Dee’s heart leapt again along with his libido, he idly wondered if he should have been worried about their looks.

But he had little time to worry. After a moment of only eye contact between the trio, Rainbow and Lyra stood up inside the shower before they both planted a kiss on either of his cheeks. His cheeks grew red from the affection before the duo traded locations, with Rainbow standing in front of him and Lyra off to the side, slipping one hand around his waist while another rubbed his chest and she pressed her large and luscious breasts into his side.

He might have more enjoyed that if his attention wasn’t fully on Rainbow at that moment. He watched intently as she moved around to stand in front of him, resting a hand on her cocked-out hip. Striking a jaunty pose like she was a model for a fashion magazine — or better yet, playcolt centerfold–was that even a thing in Equestria? — she brushed back some of her mane and shot him a grin as his eyes roamed across her bare and wet body. His eyes devoured every delicious inch of her form, from her perky breasts down to her wide hips and athletic rear, to the thigh gap and up to where her tight cunt sat invitingly, inviting his gaze upon it.

It was plenty to worry him on whether or not his already-overstimulated dick would explode from how hard he was getting.

“Okay then, stud — let’s start your lovemaking lessons by seeing just how long you can last~” Rainbow shot him the most lecherous grin she could manage. “And then we’ll go from there.”

Lyra licked her lips and moved around to hug Dee from behind much like Rainbow did. Her breasts now pressed firmly into his back, her taut nipples and soft tit flesh reminding him how beautifully busty she was, and that he hadn’t fully enjoyed the feel of her flesh yet. “This is going to be fun. And I know I’m going to enjoy the view!”

Turning around, Rainbow gave her wet tail a swish and her ass a shake, then smacked her hand against it. It barely jiggled showing just how wonderfully firm it was, and it only enticed him further as she then bent forward to prop herself against the glass wall of the shower, thrusting her hips back towards him with her wings splayed slightly out to the sides. “Time to show us what you can do, big guy.”

“R-right…” He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to reason with himself.

This was actually happening, this was his reality right now. He was naked with two gorgeous girls who wanted his body, and even more incredibly, they were anthro versions of his two favorite characters from his favorite show!

You gotta do this, Dee. Not just for yourself, but for Bronies everywhere! He told himself as she leaned against the glass wall of the shower and flicked her multicolored tail out of the way, flagging it hard as she gave her rump a shake in his direction. He took a shuddering breath as she took pains to show off not just her rear, but showcase the tight asshole and the pair of hot and swollen pussy lips he was about to fuck, not necessarily in that order.

The sight alone nearly enough to make him cream himself, he found he didn’t have the heart or will left to hesitate, wanting only to bury himself in her to the hilt.

Dee was entranced as he placed both of his hands on Rainbow’s ass; fingers resting along the curve of her hips as he gently spread her cheeks. “Yeah. That’s the way…” He heard Lyra’s voice over his shoulder as her body continued pressing into his. “Spread those flanks wide, Dee…” she encouraged him huskily, leaving him unable to push back, forcing him to move forward with her draped on him.

Not that he needed any encouragement, realizing that she was guiding him closer to the pegasus until his horizontally-hanging cock bumped lightly against the inside Rainbow’s thigh.

Being so close to her and feeling his virgin dick touch a female for the first time, the latter twitched hard as a sudden spike of pleasure shot through the sensitive organ; the feeling of her body heat even in the water only made his heart beat faster and faster. But this close to her, his nerves flared hard at the act he was being asked to perform and the performance expected of him, his anxiety overriding his excitement for just a moment. “U-uhh, just f-fair warning… I’m not really g-good at this ki-kinda thing. So b-bear with me here…” he sputtered out weakly.

But far from disappointed, Rainbow only looked back and grinned, thrusting her rear harder up into his hands, urging more from him; he obliged her by beginning to knead her fleshy flanks in earnest. “Aw… you’re so sweet to be worried about your own performance, Dee. Most stallions wouldn’t even care.”

Hugging him with one arm and leaning in, Lyra whispered, “She’s right. But you shouldn’t worry, Dee. It’s your first time, so I’ll help you, don’t worry.”

Though he was about to respond, asking her what she meant by that was quickly off the table once she gripped onto his member with her hand, squeezing and stroking it once. He held on against his imminent orgasm for dear life as she then pointed it in the direction of Rainbow’s tight pussy. She then skillfully used her hips and fingers to guide it—and him—forward into the inviting entrance of her equally beautiful pegasus friend, Rainbow’s wings flaring slightly wider behind her as he got closer and scraping more heavily against the sides of the shower stall.

“Nice wingboner, Rainbow,” Lyra teased. “Hope you don’t get them during performances.”

“None of your business. Now get him in me already!” she all but ordered, looking over her shoulder at them. “I want to be rutted, right now!”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Dee found himself responding like she was a military officer–which, in some ways, she in fact was being one of the Wonderbolts! The heat from her nethers only increased once he poked her folds, and then, to his shock and delight, the head of his very happy organ slipped right into with Lyra’s aid, parting the lips of her entrance with ease. He gave a shuddering gasp at the incredible sensations of entering her for the first time; it only took a few moments of feeling her wet and velvety folds for him to realize that he had indeed found heaven in the midst of undead hell.

He had in fact done some minor acts with a few women before ranging from groping to drunkenly baring a breast, and had even gotten a blow job from one once. But he’d never felt actual pussy, and the experience of slipping inside of a horny pegasus far out shadowed any of those past memories. She was slick and tight, but her hot cunny hungrily swallowed up inch after inch of his delighted dick, engulfing it in a heat that seldom few humans would get to feel.

In fact, at this moment, he was probably the only human in existence who would!

Dee didn’t have any words to accurately describe how it felt to be enveloped by Rainbow’s eager opening, but his body and mind knew enough to grab onto her cyan ass and take over, allowing Lyra to let go of him… for the moment. The mint-shaded unicorn mare stayed right where she was, with her arms wrapped around him and pressing herself against him to make him go deeper into Rainbow, adding her own weight and hip movement to his increasingly powerful and urgent efforts to pound her friend’s pussy.

“Oooo, wow.” Rainbow let out a little sigh and squeezed around him before adjusting her stance in the shower; spreading her legs and raising her tail and ass a bit to give him easier access, her wings and tail twitching repeatedly before him. “Now, that’s a different feeling~ his tip goes in a lot easier than most stallions! I like it! In fact, I like it a lot! So give me some more, stud!” she implored him, beginning to push back in time with her thrusts, bracing herself with her hands and wings.

“M-more…” Dee repeatedly dumbly, wondering again what he’d done in this life or a past one to have earned this chance at ecstasy. Spurred on by her words and her actions, to say nothing of the sheer heady knowledge of what he was doing and who he was doing it to, his mind became quickly clouded by pure arousal and lust.

Pistoning himself forward as hard and as fast as he could, he buried himself as deep as he could in her, sinking progressively deeper with every thrust. He still couldn’t believe it--the ideal fantasy he had in mind for years was actually coming to life!

The feeling of his cock being enveloped, squeezed and milked by her incredibly tight and wet hole was intoxicating to him, leaving him never wanting to pull out of it. He didn’t know what a human’s felt like in comparison, but she felt incredibly hot to him — maybe pony bodies had higher temperatures?—and the simple ease with which the smooth blue lips of her pussy parted to admit him was an equally strong turn-on, leaving him aware as it , greedily suckling down every single illicit inch he was able to give her.

To his delight, the feeling seemed mutual as Rainbow had fallen silent, except for her grunts and increasingly ragged breathing as she pushed back against him in time with Dee’s Lyra-aided thrusts. “Looks like you’re having fun, Rainbow! Nah, he’s definitely not as big, but he looks like he knows how ot use his tool! By Celestia herself, I can’t wait for my turn.” Lyra ran her hands all up and down Dee’s body as she held him, rubbing up against him as hard as she could. She continued to help guide his movements until he was finally balls deep inside of her pegasus friend, firmly buried within the tight and silky folds of her pussy as his balls themselves slapped audibly against her rear with each fresh thrust.

He groaned in pure pleasure as Rainbow squeezed his girth with her muscles and began rolling her hips as she stabilized herself on the wall, pushing back into him. “Y-your turn?” he just barely heard over the pounding of his pulse and rush of sensations assaulting him, his world rapidly narrowing to just Rainbow’s pussy.

Rainbow giggled as she pushed more into Dee’s pelvis, causing her toned ass to press and grind harder against him. Lyra said, “You didn’t think Rainbow was going to get all the fun did you?” Lyra slid her hand down his stomach tenderly. “Hope you got enough stamina for both of us, stud~”

“B-both of you…” He was worried that this was all just a dream, just some kind of crazy-ass dream. But even if it was, and he would awaken in his bed back home surrounded by MLP posters and plushies, he was going to take full advantage of this! And then maybe write a story about it to post on FimFiction later…

Deciding to up things further, he grabbed onto either side of Rainbow’s wide hips, feeling her sweaty form and the tensed muscles beneath her before he started to pull his dick free. Once he was about halfway out of her, he took a far more deliberate and powerful thrust than he’d been using, slamming back into her with a wet plap.

“Ah!” She jerked forward from the impact and gasped sharply as he slowly moved his fingers further down her hips, and wrapped them around the front of her legs for a better grip. “W-whoa.” Rainbow breathed out as he started to pull free again, before pushing back in, rocking her body again. She adjusted her legs to take the increased force, spreading herself a bit wider and arching her back to better give him access. “Taking charge, Dee? I like that in a stallion!”

“Me too!” Lyra said in her own excitement, biting down lightly on his shoulder as she watched, sending a fresh shiver through him and leaving him wondering if biting was a pony thing. “If you like dominant males, you should come with me to the dragon lands during their next migration and mating season, Rainbow! Take it from me that those boys will rock your world good!”

“Don’t tempt me!” Rainbow said through gritted teeth. “If they’re even half as good as Dee here, I’ll never leave!”

He was only half-listening to them at that point, his entire world increasingly limited to his cock and the feel of Rainbow’s exquisite body wrapped around him. The adrenaline was beginning to course through his veins the closer he got; he felt his orgasm starting to rise again within him. But mustering all his waning willpower, he held it off for as long as he could, not wanting the moment — this utterly incredible moment — to end for anything.

But despite all his efforts, the eagerness he was feeling began to overpower his desire to make it last longer, and it wasn’t long before it bubbled up; a rapidly growing heat he couldn’t hope to extinguish no matter how hard he tried.

“Nnng, I’m s-starting to get closer-”

“Good! Give it to me, Dee! I want it all!” Rainbow ordered, her hands now propped hard on the wall ahead of her. “You’re better than any stallion! And almost better than Spike!”

“You heard her. So don’t hold back, stud…” Lyra all but cooed in his ear. “Claim her. Fill her. Make her yours…” she implored, speaking in a sensual and sibilant whisper.

He felt Lyra’s hips press against him from behind, the mare still aiding him with her hips and hands in his thrusts into Rainbow. He felt her grin through the bite as she held onto him. Her movements started getting faster, and Rainbow’s gasps and moans became more and more frequent as her muscles tightened around his phallus. The pegasus met his hips with a wet and raunchy slap as their speed increased, the rushing water almost drowned out by Rainbow’s quivering moans that were suddenly punctuated by strong series of sensual gasps and a flood of fluid that left her, which Dee could feel were running in rivulets down her thighs.

“G-gods, I just c-came.” Rainbow breathed out, and he noticed she seemed slicker than before. It was suddenly far easier to slip in and out of her incredibly warm pussy, and the stimulation she offered only hastened and strengthened his growing orgasm. He wanted to hold out just a few seconds more as he swelled with pride after getting her to finish first, but in the end, he was unable to hold himself back.

His stance changed slightly as his meekness from before was lost in a haze of lust and a feeling of pure manhood. The frequency of their hips meeting increased as he sped up, forcing shocked gasps from Rainbow as her arousal quickly returned. She glanced behind her as he dug his fingers against her cutie mark and started to furiously pound away, Lyra tried keeping pace and managed to match him after a few moments, only adding onto the force the mare felt.

And then to his shock, she fingered his tail, finding and pressing a pleasure button he hadn’t even known was there! “Holy–” he bit out as he nearly came on the spot again, but after having edged up and back so many times, he was able to hold it off once more.

But Rainbow was not so restrained. “O-oooh gods, yeeesssss~” Her pegasus wings stiffened as she angled herself down as much as she could until she found herself pressed up against the glass wall of the shower, out of room to move. Her back in a sharp arch, the mare was unable to do little to resist the endless erotic onslaught of her human companion; his rapid fire thrusts and the feral movements of his hips only serving to make her legs quiver like jelly as his hardness filled her, already having stayed in her for far more time than she could ever remember any stallion had, including Spike. “D-Dee, I’m g-gonna c-cum again~”

“Damn stud~” Lyra finally let go of Dee’s shoulder and kept thrusting along with him, grinning as she witnessed her friend absolutely melting. “Just like that, make her moan! By Luna’s moon, break her will and make her cum all over your dick again~”

Rainbow’s body trembled and Lyra could tell she had climaxed again when she released another sharp cry; not just from that but from how her legs clenched together and all the heavy breathing escaping her. Lyra couldn’t help but grin, immensely enjoying the show. She knew Rainbow enough to know that she tried so hard not to be vocal, or at the very least, not sound so girly when she did it. But here and now, she was moaning and shuddering in so much pleasure, she was unable to restrain her squeals of pleasure. Indeed, their new human stallion had driven her carnal desires so high that she simply had to let her mate know just how much she was enjoying this~

A series of orgasmic spasms wracked her as slick viscous fluid mixed in with the water rushing down the mare’s thighs. But even as she came for a second time, Dee continued his relentless assault against her tight cunt, urged on by Lyra’s words and weight to say nothing of the finger still pressed firmly into his prostate.

But all good things had to come to an end, and he was finally at his limit, having put it off as long as he could. He kept pounding into her until his own orgasm finally overtook him, shooting his pleasure to its absolute peak before the wave rapture he generated finally came crashing down over him. It took the form of an absolute avalanche of an orgasm the likes of which he’d never experienced before rushed down as if it was crashing down a mountain, consuming everything in its way.

In his overpleasured mind, it was a cascade of whitethat destroyed all in its path, or in this case, a flurry of white-hot cum that flooded Rainbow’s pussy.

The mare stiffened as Dee buried his shaft as deep as he could inside of her and at long last unleashed his load, pumping streamer after streamer into her waiting womb. An absolute torrent of fresh seed flooded her cunny and painted her insides white as it flowed deep inside her, no doubt filling her fertile nest as he claimed her as his own. For her part, Rainbow tried to hold it back, but her body quivered violently before she moaned again, coming for the third time in as many minutes. The feeling alone of this human stallion seeing to her needs and putting her pleasure before his own was enough to send a fresh series of electric shocks up and down her spine, spreading out along all her nerve pathways into a tingling sensation that made her knees weak.

“H-hnnnng~ Gods…” The pegasus mare trembled where she stood, desperately holding onto what she could to keep from falling over as yet another round of orgasmic contractions rocked her body, giving her three in one sitting—even with Spike and Spitfire, she had only managed two! She could feel a bit of drool escaping her slackened lips as her very happy pussy milked his human cock for all it was worth, taking in every single drop of seed.

For Dee? He was in a euphoric paradise, the ecstasy-filled sensation of releasing what felt like several weeks' worth of pent-up frustration and orgasms inside of her, to say nothing of a lifetime of waiting for his first woman, who turned out to be one of his greatest fantasies made real. It was unlike anything he had felt before, even counting what little he had done with his previous partners. His own legs felt weak at the massive release and the utter rapture that accompanied it, his head swam with a dozen thoughts and fresh fantasies as Lyra held onto him from behind.

Lyra's moan caught him off guard. He felt her body shudder behind him and her hold tighten as a large splash landed behind his feet. Did she just...cum? The way her breathing picked up, how she held onto him so tightly, he thought that maybe she did without him even touching her!

“M-Mmm, that’s it, let her have every last drop~” Lyra whispered into his ear again, her hot breath washing over and tickling him. She was pushing against him and breathing heavily as she ran her hands across his chest and he pumped her pegasus friend full of virile cum. “That’s it! Harder! Deeper! Make her cum! Make her scream! Bend her will and breed her like the stud you are~”

Her words only drove his pleasure even higher, the spasms of his loins and continuing thrusts of his hips still not slowing, leaving him wondering if it would ever stop. To his relief and regret, it finally did; his orgasm withering down to an end after an eternity of ecstasy.

Even after his spurts were reduced to a final drizzle, Dee found himself still holding onto the firm yet plush sides of Rainbow’s hips before slowly pulling out. Even now he felt her tightening to keep him inside, but her slick marecum combined with his made it easy for him to pull out with a wet schlop noise.

He backed away from her as the almost primal urge to witness his work overcame him, and he got to see the wonderful view of her tight and as-yet unused asshole, and just below that her slightly gaping cunt oozing his cum, dribbling down her thighs.

“F-fuck, Dee.” Rainbow gasped out, trying to steady her still shaky breathing. “That was incredible…”

“It was, even just to watch! He lasted really long,” Lyra added as she hugged Dee from behind again, one hand across his chest as she pressed her huge tits into his back, and the other hand running down to grab onto his slickened and only barely softened cock.

To her surprise, and even Dee’s given the intensity of his orgasm, it was still rather solid.

“By Dragon Lord Ember’s blue boobs… y-you’re still hard after that?” Lyra’s tone sounded surprised, and he could almost see a glint in the glass from her eyes.

After taking a breath, he nodded slowly, suddenly imagining Ember as an anthro. “Y-yeah. We can last for a while, even a-after an orgasm.” He told her as Rainbow slowly stood up. “We just need to t-take a br-breather.”

“Yeah, well, you ain’t the only one!” Rainbow’s wings were stiff as could be and in the shower, kind of cramped until she slowly got out, water dripping down before she turned to face the two. Still soaking wet, her athletic body was fully on display for them, but Dee in particular. He got to see every inch of her body from head to toe, completely bare to him; from her glistening cum soaked thighs and wide hips to her six-pack abs, and further up, the plush and perky tits. Though not especially large, each breast had a perfectly centered darker shade of blue outlining her nipples, both begging to be played with and sucked on.

She ran a hand through her long mane and cocked out a hip again before flicking out her tail, sending water droplets flying.

“Wow, Dee. We really did hit the jackpot with you! So how about we take this to the bedroom… and really get started?” She suggested before turning around and grabbing for a towel, taking pains to bend over as she leaned out.

He had just come harder than he ever had in his life, and yet, the way her firm ass moved had him weak in the knees again.

“Sounds like a plan!” Lyra was the next to exit the shower, but not without turning it off and gently grabbing ahold of his hand. Grabbing a large towel she could wrap around them both, she led him out of the shower carefully, dried him off and then led him from the bathroom, following Rainbow into the main room.

Once she let go of his hand, the unicorn walked over to where Rainbow was standing next to the large bed, hip still cocked out. Lyra turned to join her and placed both her hands on either hip before looking Dee’s way.

Dee’s heart leapt into his throat again at the sight. Lyra's curves stood in utter contrast to Rainbow's more athletic form, though that didn't mean she wasn't built. The unicorn was clearly rocking some muscle, but not nearly enough to rival Rainbow’s, and there was also no question that she did have a few perks that outshined her pegasus friend. Lyra’s tits were far larger than Rainbow’s, the perfect round shape with erect nipples begging to be tweaked and suckled. Her hips were slightly wider as well, accentuating her bubbly ass that he would love to see bouncing on top of him as she rode his dick.

And better yet, the mare knew what she had and she was all too eager to flaunt it his way.

Where his gaze landed was not lost on the two mares. “You know, Rainbow, I think he seems like a tit guy~” Lyra teased and placed both hands on either of her mounds. She lifted each one up with a light grip and gave them a little bounce, showing just how heavy they were to the human. She giggled and squeezed each mammary enticingly before two fingers around her nipples, pinching them lightly and making them grow a bit larger.

Her eyes flicked from his lustful gaze down to his cock, which twitched in response to her teasing, rapidly reaching full erection again.

“Oh yeah, he’s definitely a tit guy.” Another coo from the unicorn followed as she pushed both of her tits together before backing up a bit. Once the bed was close enough, she allowed herself to fall onto the foot of it, letting the plush mattress give way slightly. She bounced back up, her breasts giving a bounce of their own. “Why don’t you come on over and play with them some more, Dee? I know you want to~”

“Dude, she’s letting you touch her tits!” Rainbow licked her lips, unable to keep her eyes off her best friend. She smirked, imagining herself railing the beautiful unicorn, before crawling up behind Dee and resting her head on one of his shoulders and an elbow on his other. While she rocked a smaller pair of tits, they still felt heavenly as they pressed into Dee's back, the two hard nubs of her nipples accentuating their pillowiness.

More than a handful and just below Lyra’s own marvelous size, Rainbow’s bust fit her more aerodynamic frame while still possessing more than the average pegasus athlete. She bared her teeth slightly, revealing a sharpened canine as she lightly nibbled on his neck.

“If it’s tits you want, it’s tits you’ll have. Either her or myself, we’re ready for you big guy.” Rainbow winked as her hand wrapped around his chest, trailing down his body before grabbing onto his dick. She gave it a tender squeeze before kissing his neck, and she whispered, “I’m ready for round two, but I’m not greedy. Before we go again, I think Lyra’s needing a taste of what you gave me~”

“Well, I don’t want to be unfair to her…” A second wind overcame Dee in that moment and he eyed up Lyra, who beckoned him over with pursed lips and a twinkle in her eye. Her legs spread wide open for him, inviting him to come and take her as he pleased, to bury his dick inside of her tight and moist cunt. Just as plush and enticing as Rainbow’s, yet her curves made it all the more intoxicating to look at.

Unable to take anymore, he quickly closed the distance between himself and Lyra, abandoning the embarrassment and steeling his nerves as he situated himself between her legs, staring fixedly into her mint green cunt.

The mare just smiled and kept her legs open as his gaze devoured her. Her eyes locked onto his and she couldn’t help the lascivious grin that grew on her face as she watched the human hungrily eyeing her up, almost like a predator stalking its next meal. That notion made her suck in her bottom lip and bite it, remembering the thrill she’d had being stalked by airborne drakes desperate to bury their twin cocks in her, and even the odd drakina who’d missed out on males that day and used Lyra’s muzzle to quench their heat instead.

So it was no surprise that Dee looking at her in such a similar way as they did was strangely arousing, filling her with pleasant memories and making the pace of her heartbeat speed up.

Her face felt hot as Dee positioned himself just before her entrance. He grabbed a hold of his dick as Rainbow approached from behind and then climbed onto the bed beside Lyra. His free hand rested on Lyra’s juicy thigh to his left and he pressed the head of his organ against her tight folds, earning himself a slight start from the mare before pushing further.

He slid into her with ease and he soon found himself experiencing nirvana a second time. She seemed more experienced or at least a little more eager as the slick and tight walls enthusiastically pulled him in, drawing him deeper and deeper until he bottomed out at her inner entrance. His eyes went wide as her muscles contracted and tightened around him, massaging his rock solid dick as he rested against her, expertly milking him.

He might have marveled at her technique more—had she perfected it with the dragons? And why was the idea of her stalked and sexed repeatedly by them such a turn-on? He’d buy a video of it if one was available—if the heat and slickness levels of her body weren’t off the charts along with his excitement.

“Holy fuck, you’re so wet.” He breathed out as his left hand drifted away from his cock and Lyra’s body of what seemed like its own accord, its fingers tracing along her curves on their way to her ample and inviting breasts. Finding it, his palm hungrily wrapped around the one mound before he sunk his digits into it, squeezing its mass. Titflesh spilled out between every digit as her hardened nipple pressed invitingly against his palm. “Christ.”

“Don’t know who that is, but I’m all yours to play with whenever you want~” Lyra told him as she placed her hand on his own. Her golden eyes almost glowed in the dim lighting of the bungalow they chose to do this in, and her smile was warm and bright. “You can have me anytime you want, stud. Now show me what you can do with that dick of yours! Give me the same treatment as Rainbow! Breed me like I’m in heat~”

That offer was all that was needed to activate the neurons in his brain. In fact, just one word out of her entire enticing statement was enough to set his loins afire.

Breed.

Lyra kept herself propped up with both of her hands behind her as Dee steadied himself, positioning himself properly to piston his hips, preparing to drive his throbbing cock repeatedly into Lyra’s hungry folds.

He pulled only halfway out of her before his legs almost buckled and he slammed right back into her with a grunt. Her body heat combined with her slick tunnel was a hair’s breadth away from being too much for him to handle, and when coupled with being sensitive from his earlier orgasm and the uncanny way her muscles were milking him, it felt even more powerful, and that was more than enough motivation to get him moving.

Lyra had to brace herself as Dee changed up his stance suddenly and grabbed onto her hips. She yelped once he pulled out again only to slam his rod back inside of her, hard, forcing her to fall onto her back with a groan, clutching the sheets as she held her legs up and wide. “G-gods, h-holy-”

Any further words were lost in the lust-filled haze as the human started rocking her body back and forth with his thrusts while Rainbow watched and Lyra just lay there, her beautiful body and world rocked with every thrust. Her legs shook as he did exactly as she had asked; giving her the same treatment as Rainbow while showing her what he could do. His movements were frenzied and wild, and every impact sent ripples of pleasure coursing through her, causing her large breasts to wobble hard on her chest, her tits inscribing circular motions in the air above her.

Every single one of her nerve endings fired off all round as he slammed into just the right spot. She could feel his engorged tip smashing into it and making her panting come out as desperate whimpers as she came for the first time, calling Dee’s name.

From beside their new human lover, Rainbow watched her friend’s enjoyment with hungry eyes. Everything from the way her body moved from his primal fucking to the wild sensations she felt welling up in her chest made her cunny wetter then it was before, and she was more than eager for a second round from her human companion, who was the best of Spike and Spitfire thrown together at once, with maybe even a dash of Applejack and Big Macintosh for his willingness to share and ability to pleasure multiple partners repeatedly.

As she saw Lyra’s conquest unfold, her hand fell between her thighs and she rubbed her labia and clit, gently pressing down and rubbing it in circles to stimulate herself. The little spikes of pleasure felt wonderful, heightened by the incredibly erotic show in front of her, but she needed more.

In fact, just like her magic-induced threesome with Twilight and Spike, she craved more.

As Lyra lay there getting plowed like a tractor going through a wheat field at full speed, Rainbow decided she could be a bystander no longer and now was the time to climb on top of Lyra. The unicorn managed to crack open an eye during her rutting to see the musky sight of Rainbow’s freshly plowed pussy hovering above her, still oozing droplets of her now favorite human’s seed.

“Mmmmmph… Rainbow…” was all Lyra could say as she inhaled the scent of Rainbow’s arousal and Dee’s musk combined. But there was little else to say as Rainbow pressed her snatch to the unicorn’s muzzle, and she responded in kind with her tongue quickly lapping up all the mingled cum and nectar from her entrance, and then going to town on her friend’s clit. Lyra’s arms went around Rainbow’s legs and kept her in place as her muzzle pressed against Rainbow’s cunt, and she used her half-equine tongue to penetrate deeper, equally eating out her fiend’s well-sexed snatch.

The almost spicy flavor of Rainbow’s marecum and the saltiness of Dee’s seed mixed together only heightened her already sky-high arousal further, causing her pussy to tighten more around Dee’s cock as he thrust into her. Every impact was accentuated by a tight squeeze and a muffled groan into Rainbow’s crotch, which in turn made the pegasus moan her approval.

Rainbow’s eyes closed as she rode Lyra’s muzzle, and her ears swiveled behind to listen to the sounds of Dee’s hips colliding with Lyra’s own. Every thrust was a muffled moan or squeal, every one of them vibrating or rumbling against her clit and forcing her to squeeze her thighs around Lyra’s head. The squeeze and the riding gave Lyra an opportunity to start furiously suckling and licking at Rainbow’s cunt, her heavily breathing accompanied by her desperate mewls of pleasure as the two mares had an experience neither would ever forget.

Quivering and trembling, Rainbow’s movements became more ragged as her wings sprang out to either side to their fullest. Propping herself on one hand, she frantically worked her tits with the other deciding that coming to this strange monster-infested world had been worth it for this experience alone—sex with a stallion would never be good enough for her after this!

But sex with Spike and Twilight? Maybe! she had to mentally add to herself, thinking that for as virile and deliciously dominant the young drake had proven, maybe he just needed more experience and practice? Lost in her lust, she vowed to give him the chance when they got back. But here and now, her moans grew in depth and volume until she all but howled out a cry of pleasure, and a gush of marecum flooded forth and flowed readily into Lyra’s mouth.

It covered her muzzle and drenched the fur of her chin, and yet the unicorn mare didn’t let up as Rainbow was surprised to see a weak spark of magic at the end of her horn as it hovered near her navel. Whatever it was, it only sped up Lyra’s efforts to further the other mare’s orgasm only moments before she reached hers.

Her own cry was muted by Rainbow’s cunt pressed against her muzzle, but her body’s shaking and the sticky marecum splashing out onto Dee’s cock told him she had reached her end. Her legs buckled and her tunnel squeezed around him as he closed in on his second orgasm of the day, and despite having already come so hard he feared he would pass out with Rainbow, he kept thrusting into the mint-hued unicorn mare with wild abandon before he finally hilted himself inside of her and unleashed his next load.

Even after already having come inside Rainbow–IWTCIRD! He jokingly thought to himself–it was well beyond anything he had felt before.

An almost lightning like sensation shot through his entire system, a burning wildfire or erotic ecstasy that spread to both Lyra and Rainbow in the moment of climax that sent the two mares into a fresh frenzy of sexual activity. He wasn’t sure how, but the orgasm he experienced heightened both of theirs simultaneously as he unloaded his balls inside of the unicorn mare, who clamped down on his cock with her muscles so hard he almost thought she was strangling it, milking out every last drop she could into her fertile womb.

Dee wasn’t even able to completely finish before a suddenly unsteady Rainbow fell off of Lyra dizzily, collapsing to the bed beside her. Her normally unruly mane was now an even bigger mess, looking like it had been struck by a bolt of lightning she’d launched from a cloud herself, leaving the pegasus mare covered in as much sweat as Lyra was.

For all her pleasure and her latest orgasm, which she had this time shared with Dee and Rainbow directly, Lyra was not done. As deep continued to unload himself with her, her strong legs wrapped around her human stallion before she pulled him close. And then in a sudden and rather blinding movement, she pulled him onto the bed and flipped him onto his back mid-orgasm, and landed on top of him all in one move without letting him slip from her folds.

Now on the bed, Lyra’s hungry and wild gaze locked onto his own; he swore he saw them and her horn glowing with magical power,. Or maybe it was the lighting?

He didn’t know, but any further thoughts were lost as the mare started grinding herself on top of his cock, which was impossibly still hard and ready for more. She took advantage of his seemingly endless erection to ride—and him—him for all he had, grinning at his shocked expression.

“I learned that move to help deal with dragons, letting them know that for as much as they wanted to dominate me, I could dominate them if I wanted,” she informed him.

“Wow, really?” A dazed Rainbow asked, just starting to pull herself back up. “I might be able to use that when dealing with Spike!” But instead of answering her, Lyra alternated between grinding and bouncing on top of him, and given her position, it made it all too easy for her to rapidly hop up and down without losing her grip on him. She leaned back in pleasure as her tongue lolled out slightly and sweat trickled down her body, taking visible and immense pleasure in the fact Dee’s eyes were on her the entire time.

Her breasts specifically, and how they jumped up and down with her movements, enticing his eager gaze to him and fueling his seemingly boundless fires further. Beads of sweat clung to her erect nipples and it wasn’t long before she felt his hands groping both mounds of flesh, kneading and squeezing them tightly. She felt his fingers sink into her tits then alternate pushing and pulling on them, squeezing them together, playing with them, and causing fierce rushes of pleasure to travel up and down her spine.

“Nnng, gods, this is amazing~” Lyra moaned through gritted teeth. Her horn crackled slightly, little sparks of golden aura traveling up and down the spire and into her body, perhaps even into Dee itself, neither were sure or paying enough attention to care. “F-fuck! Rainbow, I want to bring him back with us!”

“Me too!” she said as she finally stood up and began pleasuring herself again, watching the scene unfold. “I’m sure Twilight could figure out how to bring him back home…”

Instead of responding, Lyra’s body shook again as another body-shaking orgasm rocked the unicorn’s body, causing her to halt her bouncing momentarily and nearly lose her balance atop him. Stronger than the last, she couldn’t hold back the squirt of cum that splashed out of the top of her slit onto her new lover and the borrowed bed. Unable to stop herself from falling backwards, she found herself slipping off of him but made the best of it by sliding down and quickly engulfing his plump cock into her mouth, and quickly bobbing her head up and down.

Dee shivered and groaned as she used her long tongue to wrap around his length, teasing his sensitive tip as pre-cum continually flowed from it like a faucet left running, filling her mouth with his taste and her nose with his scent.

“Hey, Lyra, save some for me!” Rainbow’s mouth soon joined the fray and she started to lap at and lick his cock where Lyra couldn’t, even going so far as to press her lips against his seed-filled sack and suckle on each of the engorged orbs.

The duel sensation sent fresh feelings of rapture coursing through him, driving him towards his third climax in the space of ten minutes. Despite that, he was ultimately blinded if not outright blindsided by the sexual energy forced upon him courtesy of the two hungry mares, their eyes glowing in hues of rose and gold.

In the end, it was all too much for him. Unable to hold back any more, Dee’s leg muscles tightened and the heat in his loins grew to such an extent he couldn’t keep his internal dam from bursting. In the end, all it took was opening his eyes to see the two mares double-teaming on his tip to push him over the edge; once he had a good look at both of their tongues licking around the crown and kissing, suckling, and breathing, he was gone.

It was indeed a third climax he shortly reached as before, but unlike them, it was somehow even stronger.

Despite being certain he was already drained, what his balls released was a load that dwarfed anything that came before it. Ropes of viscous cum shot from his tip past both of the mare’s lips, splashing onto their faces with so much force that it spattered all over their forms, leaving their cheeks all but covered in his essence. Unable to get enough of it, the two mares grabbed his cock and started pumping, prolonging and encouraging its eruption for as long as they could. They even jockeyed for position in front of his ceaselessly spurting shaft as both of them shook, their tails twitching and legs trembling as their faces and tongues were bathed in warm seed.

And yet, it just kept coming; thick rope after rope pushing forth from his aching balls and landing on Lyra’s face, mane, her and her sparking horn. Rainbow’s muzzle, mane and even her eyelid were shortly coated as well, and then, as if recognizing that there was more of them to hit, his cock began painting their breasts next, covering their surface with crisscrossing trails of cum until it was dripping off their undersides and nipples.

Dee was only peripherally aware of it, his final orgasm having lasted the better part of a minute. Once it subsided and his spurs finally slowed and stopped, all three remained still as they bathed in the afterglow of the sensual deviance they took part and no small amount of pleasure in.

His senses only slowly returning, Dee lifted his lightheaded self up to look at his work on the two and saw his cum covering them, leaving him amazed at the load he’d generated–it looked like he’d hit them with a month’s worth of cream at once! But even then, the two mares weren’t done.

As he watched, Rainbow’s hand grabbed onto Lyra’s mane and ran through its sperm-slickened surface before she locked lips with her longtime friend, smearing what she had on her mouth and tongue onto Lyra’s own, who reciprocated instantly. Both moaned into one another’s mouths as they smeared his essence all over each other’s bodies, the duo embracing and running their hands across one another’s body as their wet breasts pressed happily together and tongues danced in celebration and mutual pleasure, mixing his seed with each other’s saliva. They traded it back and forth, snowballing it before splitting it and swallowing either half.

They turned to Dee to see him watching them, so they put on a show for a little longer before crawling up to him on all fours, still dripping so much semen he thought they’d all but bathed in it. Leaning down, they gently grasped his slowly softening member before kissing either side of it–just lightly, not heavily this time as they seemed to know it would be oversensitive in his post-coital bliss–and began to clean up what cum was on it.

He could only groan and lean back at the treatment, propping himself with his hands on the bed behind him while they placed tender kisses up and down his meat. It was as if the pair had practiced doing this together before dragging their tongues along his shaft and gently fondling his balls, content to just lay back and let it happen.

As he soaked up their attention and affection and felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep, all he could think of was what a day this had become.

Hours later and lying on the bed, Dee stared up at the ceiling as Lyra and Rainbow had snuggled up to him on either side, thoroughly satisfied and pumped full of cum. They were both exhausted and covered in sweat, to say nothing of increasingly crusty spunk, but in such a way that it was welcome. It was a feeling that Dee especially was more than willing to embrace after everything that had happened; from crash landing on the island, to the fighting, arguing, and stress.

“Goddess above, I needed that,” Lyra murmured from where she was pressed into the crook of Dee’s neck. “Fuck… I’m so sore and I need another shower, but I feel so good.”

“Mmm.” Rainbow nodded and moved onto her back, she squirmed and began to stretch outward. “Mmm! Ahh, that was amazing, Dee.” Rainbow smiled brightly and laid her arms across her stomach. “You’re the best of Spike, Soarin and Big Mac all rolled up into one. If I had more energy, I’d want to go again.”

“Think Soarin will care if you banged someone else?” Lyra suddenly asked, prompting Dee’s eyes to refocus from the lusty haze he was bathing in.

“We’re in a pretty open relationship, so nah, I don’t think he’ll mind.” Rainbow snickered and looked over at Lyra’s cum covered face, most of which had been licked off by both mares. “Told him and Spitfire some stuff might happen on my vacay, and they were fine with it–as long as I told them all about it later.” She winked, dragging a finger across her own cheek and pulling off a bead of still-fluid cum she stuck in her mouth with a hum. “He’s gonna have to up his game, though, after this!”

Dee had no idea she was in that kind of relationship, let alone with him of all ponies. First a threesome with AJ’s family, then a tryst with Spike and Twilight, and now Soarin too? He marveled, thinking that far from being the lesbian she was typically only depicted as in fanfiction, the real Rainbow clearly had nothing against males.

He might have been at least mildly jealous, if hadn’t just been told he was the best of any of them. Oh well, at least he didn’t have to worry about dealing with an overly jealous boyfriend or three anytime soon.

Hopefully.

ooo000---000ooo

Another long and hot shower later, the trio returned to the Lifeguard Tower in one piece; in far higher spirits thanks to their little escapade. They walked back in close proximity to one another; Lyra especially next to Dee, as she was holding his hand. They waltzed back into the compound with smiles on their faces, not even caring who noticed

The other survivors were still going about their usual business; organizing whatever weapons they managed to scrounge up from their surroundings, or just watching the horizon in vain hope of the BIDF or some other force coming to rescue them from the area.

Limestone was standing outside next to the bank truck alongside Marble, and Rainbow managed to tear herself away from her friends before she approached the duo.

“Anything happen while we were gone?” Rainbow looked around, but didn’t seem to notice much of anything different.

Limestone took a good long look at Rainbow, and then the lifeguard tower before stating, “No attacks, but we’re running out of food.”

The high spirits the trio were in began to drop at the sound of that. “We are?” Lyra’s voice croaked slightly, and she squeezed Dee’s hand.

“Yeah. I overheard the head lifeguard guy talking about it with someone. He says our food and water supplies are running out.” Her eyes stared long and hard at the tower, and the others followed her gaze towards one of the only other surviving lifeguards; Liem, who was wandering around on the second floor for whatever reason. “He also said that the medical supplies we brought back helped a lot… fat lot of good it does for empty stomachs, though.”

“It was bound to happen eventually,” Dee spoke up, gently prying his hand from Lyra’s strong grip and approaching them. He drew their attention, and he continued, “the lifeguard tower didn’t have a lot of food to begin with. We just have to stay calm and figure this out, assuming Sinamoi doesn’t already have a plan in mind.”

Marble timidly walked up behind her bigger sister, and peeking out from behind her shoulder, listened as Rainbow spoke up next. “Well, we already found the medical supplies. So I guess we’re just gonna need to go back out to find some food...”

“Then we’ll do it. There’s bound to be some food around the resort,” Dee pointed out and gestured to the area around them. “The bars will probably have some food in them and plenty of booze, though we can’t survive on that. The gas stations around will also have some food stores. The one we were in is probably abandoned now, so I bet that food we gathered up is still in the store room.”

The thought of the gas station where Lyra, Rainbow, Vinyl, Dinky and Dee first met brought back a few bad memories, specifically of Liem and what he did by abandoning them. The memory of the hundreds of undead and infected outside it didn’t help either.

But if there was food still in there…

“So I guess we’re going to have to do a supply run then?” Lyra figured, and Dee’s nod only confirmed it.

“Yeah, there’re a few places we can stop by and scrounge around for supplies that I know of.” He looked around the area, and saw one of the pickups ready to go. “We’ll take one of the trucks to move around quicker.”

Rainbow halted him, however. “Who’ll go?”

“I know I’m going,” Dee told her, and gave her a stern look when her rose-colored eyes turned to worry. “None of you know where anything is, and I don’t need to be sitting here worrying my ass off.”

“Well if you’re going, then so am I.” Lyra crossed her arms under her bust. “No way am I letting you wander off alone… not again.” She told him pointedly.

Dee’s look softened and he cracked a smile before he gave her a thumbs up. “I’m gonna need someone to help me find stuff,” He eyed Limestone and Marble, and his eyes caught sight of the former’s muscles. He hummed. “Might need someone to help lift the heavier stuff if we find it… think you’d be up for joining?” he asked her.

Limestone’s lips curved upwards and her arms crossed. The muscles in her arms bulged out slightly, showing the results of years of rock farming, and she cocked a hip out slightly. “Are you looking for someone with a bit more strength then?” She raised up an arm and flexed it, showing him an impressive bicep.

Dee saw it and nearly gaped. If there was one thing Limestone the others didn’t, it was a body sculpted from pure muscle from what he could only assume was a lifetime of work on her family’s rock farm. Even without her earth pony magic, he had no doubt she could crush someone’s skull easily.

Dee cleared his throat and took his hat off before running a hand through his hair. “H-heh, I guess?” He offered, finding his eyes admiring the Pie family member’s body a bit more than he should have.

“Keep that up and our little buddy here might pop something~” Lyra giggled suddenly, causing Rainbow to snicker as well.

Limestone only grinned as Dee coughed. “Oh shut it,” he told the two, they just giggled. He blew a raspberry and shook his head. “Anyway, you in, Limestone?”

“Sure,” Lime lowered her arm and pulled out her hatchet. “Been itching to get out there again. It’s getting stuffy in this compound, and the longer I stay cooped up here, the more likely I am to beat Liem to a pulp.”

Dee nodded and approached the pickup, as he paused by the driver side door, he turned to the pegasus nearby. “Rainbow?”

She looked like she was considering it for a moment but she eventually shook her head. “Nah, I think I’m going to stay here so I can check up on Derpy and Vinyl.” She gave a look to Limestone, who nodded. “I’ll also be the resident muscle in case Liem tries anything while you’re gone. I can handle him. Besides, with Limestone with you, I think you’re in good hands, Dee.”

Dee smiled and nodded. “Alright, well… tell Sinamoi what we’re doing if you see him, give the people some hope, ya know?”

She gave him a thumbs up before she turned around and gave the group a minor wave. She then began walking into the building, disappearing from view shortly.

He watched her go, his eyes focused on her tail and toned butt the whole time. I hate to see ya go, but I love watching you leave! he thought before turning to the others. “Alright, let’s saddle up and get moving, yeah? I figure the other group is out looking for supplies, but I’m sure it won’t hurt if we help out a little, yeah?” He climbed into the cab of the truck and grabbed the key, hidden above the visor.

Lyra climbed in beside him. “Sounds good to me, maybe it’ll help people see we aren’t as bad as Liem is telling them.”

“Fuck him.” Limestone grumbled as she climbed into the backseat. “He’s gotten a couple of other people on his side, and someone tried starting shit with Vinyl and Derpy again.”

“Seriously?” Dee glanced back at her through the rear view.

Once he got a good look at Limestone, he noticed Marble had climbed into the vehicle and joined them. She took a seat by her sister, and buckled herself in with a tiny smile.

“Yeah, even the doc is acting funny.” Limestone glanced towards Marble after finishing, who was sitting timidly in her seat. “Wait, you’re coming too?”

“M-mhm.” Marble nodded and brushed back some of her mane.

Limestone didn’t exactly know what to say to her normally timid sister joining them on this excursion. Lyra had nothing to say either, but she was curious as to why the sudden change to her usual demeanor.

“You sure about joining us?” Dee turned around to face Marble. He noted she was wearing something different from before; a pair of cargo pants and boots, alongside a rather form fitting t-shirt where the bulge of her nipples could be seen through the fabric, and a jacket, half zipped up. It would have been zipped up fully but either her breasts were too large to be confined, or she just left it open to let them breathe in the heat.

Whatever the case, he wasn’t complaining, suddenly imagining himself with the two pie sisters in place of Lyra and Rainbow.

“Cause it’s going to be really dangerous,” he explained to cover where his thoughts had gone and the sudden tightness in his jeans, which seemed completely unaware that he’d come three times already that day. “You sure you can handle it, Marble?”

Hesitation was floating across her eyes now, and she started twirling some of her mane around her finger. “...Mhm.”

Dee wasn’t entirely convinced. He knew she was a really timid and quiet pony but was she going to be able to handle what was outside those walls?

Whatever the case, he’d keep her by his side and make sure she didn’t get hurt, he’d rather not see an enraged Limestone let loose on the island.

A knock on the side window drew Dee’s attention, and when he looked to see who it was he saw Rainbow. He blinked and lowered the window, “Change your mind?”

She reached behind her and pulled out the handgun he had given her. To his relief, she thankfully handed it to him hilt-first instead of pointing it straight at him. She quickly placed it in his lap before anyone outside could see. “I appreciate you trusting me with this, but I figured you’d get better use out of it than I will.”

Before he could say anything, she leaned into the truck and planted a little kiss on his cheek as Limestone smirked and Marble blushed. “Stay safe, Dee.”

“You too,” he told her. Nodding, she then turned and jogged back into the building, leaving him and the others behind.

A smile on his face, he stuck the key into the ignition and turned it, which started the truck up. It rumbled and he shifted it into reverse, backing up away from the tower and turning it to head back out onto the road. When the gate opened thanks to a helpful survivor, he shifted it back into drive and drove out of the tower.

Once they were out, he felt a weight settle into his gut.

For as good as the day had gone, he somehow felt that this excursion for supplies wouldn’t end well… something felt off to him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

Whatever it was, it didn’t change the fact that they needed food, and he had the means to get it. Steeling himself and letting thoughts of protecting his new friends brace him, the lifeguard tower disappeared from the rearview mirror as he climbed a hill and passed by abandoned vehicles.

He just hoped the others would stay safe while they were out searching.

Author's Note

After some immense help from my editor Firesight, I bring to you the next chapter of Vacation! We're one step closer to ending this arc, the next chapter after this will conclude this entire arc and we'll eventually move on to the second arc.

Thanks again to Firesight for editing this, and his amazing additions to the characters, the scenes, and his overall incredible work in general. Check out his work, and his stories, and give him some love!

:heart:

19

“Think it’s still overrun?” Dee asked Limestone during the drive towards the first gas station next to the lighthouse. It would be a short drive down the road, past the bungalows and some minor crashes. He was hoping it would be a clear drive with no dead to run into.

They’d have to stop just short of driving straight into the station because of what the others said. If it was true, then the station was probably still overrun with the survivors trapped inside.

Limestone was in the backseat alongside Marble, arms crossed as they drove across the road. The occasional bump jostled the whole group, more noticeably with the mares. He noticed the extra movement immediately and had to force himself to focus on driving and not on the bouncing tit-flesh behind him and to his side.

“Maybe.” Limestone murmured and glanced out of her window at the world passing her by. “There was a massive… herd of those things when Rainbow and I were making our way back to the Tower. Too many for either of us to fight off alone.”

“Survivors were there too? I remember you guys mentioning that.” He knew who was there, but if that herd of undead was as big as they said it was, odds are they were dead. That door at the station or barred windows weren’t meant to hold off hundreds of bodies.

“We didn’t count how many, but there were some people inside.” Limestone confirmed. “I doubt they survived.”

“Maybe they did though!” Lyra turned around to peek at Limestone. “Don’t count them out so quickly!”

Limestone glared at the unicorn mare, forcing her to recoil. “Rainbow wanted to help them, but there were too many for us to fight off alone.” She looked out of the window again. “It’s been a few days since and they’re probably dead by now, there’s no way that door held with how many were pushing against it.”

“B-but...” Lyra’s ears fell back as she slowly realized just how right Limestone probably was.

Dee figured she didn’t want to believe it, but even he knew what Limestone was saying was accurate. If there were that many going after that station, and pounding away against that door, then no doubt they lost the fight and were long since dead.

That could have been us… he knew only too well. He counted their lucky stars they got out when they did at the tunnel station weeks ago, odds are if things had gone a different way then they had originally, they could easily have met the same fate.

They drove in silence for the next few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, the turn he was looking for appeared; they saw a sandy path to the right leading down to the beaches below, and a road left heading up to the lighthouse.

Further along, a bus was parked with luggage spilled out onto the ground, and a few bodies. A little further? Nothing.

The gas station came into view, prompting Dee to slow to a halt next to some trees and bushes.

“Okay, best we go and check it out on foot.” He put the truck into park, turned it off, and pulled the keys from the ignition.

He pocketed them as an afterthought.

Lyra was the first to step out, with Dee and the others following. “So what’s our plan here?” She asked Dee, who pulled out his hammer and adjusted the handgun tucked into the waistband of his jeans.

“We scout out the station from here, see just what we’re dealing with.” Dee started for the bus nearby, his hammer held tight as Limestone followed close behind. Marble was right behind her, and Lyra was the last in line.

He crouched down and the others followed suit. Dee took cover near the pile of luggage at the back of the bus and cautiously peered out towards the station.

They were all able to see the state it was in, and it wasn’t good. There was a large snarl of vehicles that had parked around every pump, some had crashed around the front creating a sort of barrier to keep other cars from pulling in or escaping. Off to the far left where a road led down to the marina, there was a large tourist bus that had tipped over, having been hit by another bus. The wreck blocked off the road entirely.

In the middle of the crowded station, they could see a few dozen of the infected wandering around. All was silent, save for the shuffling of feet and the occasional moan from the undead.

“Doesn’t look much different from when we were last here.” Limestone commented from where she was standing over Dee’s crouched form.

Dee couldn’t help but notice she was leaning forward in such a way that her bust just barely grazed the top of his head.

He didn’t complain, wondering if all the Pie sisters were so well-endowed.

“Y-yeah,” He cleared his throat lightly and focused the best he could on the station. “Looks like we were right about the survivors as well; the door is smashed in… sorry, Lyra.” He took note of Lyra’s silence.

“Okay, so what are we supposed to do here?” Limestone grumbled. “There’s too many of them for us to take on alone.”

“Honestly? Not sure,” Dee admitted with a scratch of his head, though he briefly forgot Limestone’s breasts were almost resting atop it . His hand brushed against them; his fingers even tweaked a single soft and perky tit of one of the meanest Pie Sisters he knew of.

He froze and stared straight ahead, his fingers feeling paralyzed against her ample flesh. He saw Lyra shooting him a tiny smirk out of the corner of his eyes .

“Already going for Limestone?” She teased him. “You’re one brave stallion.”

Dee suddenly feared for his life when he felt a hand grab his own, firmly.

“Brave or stupid. How ‘bout you wait till we’re inside before grabbing my tits, yeah?” Limestone told him as she removed his hand and gently pushed it down. “You can grope me later, after we’ve done what we came to do.”

Dee’s cheeks warmed, suddenly having a vision of the meanest and most dangerous Pie sister dominating him, mounting him from above. “I uh… d-didn’t mean-”

He didn’t get to finish before Lyra spoke up, diverting their attention. “There’s too many of them, and I don’t think we can fight through them. Is there any way we can distract them?”

“Uh…” Dee made an attempt to compose himself before looking out ahead and tried ignoring what Limestone said. He didn’t even want to know what was going through Marble’s head in that moment, given the fierce blush on her cheeks.

“U-uhm… we probably could,” Dee said for distraction, trying to focus on the problem at hand. Still, he wasn’t sure how they would. He didn’t have anything on him that could draw any of their attention, save for the handgun. But wasting a valuable bullet just for that? No, he shook his head. There had to be another way.

There were so many of them crowded around the entrance, with a few stragglers off to the side. All of them were herded under the station’s canopy and blocked in by the cars and trucks, which was keeping them from wandering away easily. If they had something to chase after, that could get them to move and clear the way.

But were they really willing to risk that, for supplies that might not even be there?

But no matter how many times he turned it over his head, he kept coming back to the same conclusion—that there had to have been something there if the survivors held out; between the food, water, and the precious gasoline that was still underground. It had to be worth it, and more to the point, he was the leader of this little outing. He could get these ponies hurt or killed if he made a mistake. And he wasn’t sure he could live with himself if he did.

“Well?” Lyra murmured, breaking into his thoughts again.

He answered after releasing a single sigh, “Sound would be the most likely way of drawing them, either something real loud or someone deliberately drawing their attention. I don’t really want any of us risking their lives like that if we can help it, but other than my gun, we don’t have anything loud enough to draw their attention. And I’m not about to waste ammo like that.”

“You may not want us to, but what other choice do we have?” Limestone peered out further. Ahead, Dee followed her gaze and saw a few healthier looking infected running around, chasing something. “Maybe we should just give up on this place? Is there anywhere else we can go for supplies?”

Dee searched his memory of the game. He knew of only a few places they could go instead; the other gas station, a few warehouses. A grumble escaped him at the game’s limited playing field; there weren’t many places to go, save for the city of Moresby nearby, but the way there was blocked off by tunnels chock full of wreckage and the infected.

The resort area was small, with places few and far in between that would have any decent supplies. With how many survivor groups there were, the odds of the supplies lasting without moving to a new location were slim to none.

A murmur from Marble drew everyone’s immediate attention, given how was rare it was to hear her speak.

Dee turned to her. “Huh?”

Her cheeks were red, and she hummed nervously. A tap from Limestone caused her to speak up. “Something’s c-coming.”

Dee turned back towards the station and listened alongside the others, and they couldn’t hear anything, at first that is.

Suddenly the sound of tires peeling out on the road further ahead sounded, the air was filled with the loud horn blaring, and at the sharp turn, a large rust red bus swerved in from out of nowhere at full speed. Whatever was going on inside, he couldn’t tell.

The group watched the bus blazed a fiery path down the road, smashing through some of the scattered Walkers and Runners roaming around, crushing them underneath the immense weight of the vehicle. It made a sharp left turn, smashing into and throwing a small car out of the way before hitting another bus.

The impact was great enough to cause the vehicle to tip over sideways hard and fast, where it began to slide down the other hill heading down towards the docks to the north. The crash was obnoxiously loud. Metal crunching and warping from the force, before falling still.

The crash and the resulting sound of the blaring horn was enough to draw the attention of every creature surrounding the gas station. One began to move, followed by another, and another. It wasn’t long before most of the runners began sprinting towards the crashed bus, followed by their slower counterparts.

It opened up a clear path to the gas station's front entrance.

“Well…I guess we have an opening now.” Lyra commented.

Any distraction was a welcome one, especially if it cleared out the horde. He felt sorry for whoever was driving the bus, but there was nothing they could do against that many infected. Dee stood up and dusted off his pants. “Alright, let’s go while they’re distracted! Make it quick girls—we move in, move out, and then head for the next station.”

The girls nodded and stood up, quickly following his lead across the road and through the foliage. They stuck to cover to minimize their profile and make sure the other nearby monsters didn’t spot them. Which was an easy enough task, given their distraction

The horde began to disperse. The faster ones were climbing over the slower ones, vaulting over vehicles and the short concrete walls to get to the crashed bus currently smoking. The walkers huddled together into a thick mass of rotting flesh, pushing forward until they began falling over the edge and hitting the ground, only to get back up and keep moving towards their prize.

Dee paid them no further mind as he led the group towards the station and one of the side walls bordering the property. Once he made it, he vaulted over and into the lot full of gas pumps and crashed cars. He couldn’t help but note that many of them were very old models of vehicles and not ones he was used to seeing in real life, let alone in Dead Island.

Half-eaten corpses were everywhere in the station’s lot, completely eviscerated by the horde that stood there prior. He could only guess they were either the bodies of those who had been hiding inside the building or people who came later in search of fuel and supplies like themselves, only to fall victim to the horde of undead.

The main difference between the bodies and Dee’s group though, was that he didn’t plan on letting anyone die today.

He leapt the low wall and crouched down on the other side of it with his hammer at the ready. Limestone wasn’t far behind him, she jumped over in a single leap and landed nearby as the other girls followed.

Several vehicles created a line leading from the road to the building, a barrier of hastily abandoned vehicles. There was no way they could get any cars out easily, even if any of them happened to be in working order. But that wasn’t something to focus on, for now, he focused on grabbing the potential supplies inside the building and its accompanying garage.

“So many bodies.” Lyra murmured as she knelt next to Dee.

“That’s what these things do,” Dee replied and crept up to the main door of the station. It had been beaten down easily, and the defenses on the windows warped from the sheer force of the undead mob. “They only leave behind chewed up bones and gristle.”

It was a morbid sight, to say nothing of the smell of it, but one he was starting to grow used to the longer he was on the island. The others? He wasn’t sure, though a quick glance at them told him all he needed to know. Lyra’s averted eyes, Limestone’s silence and steely focus, and the now-green tint to Marble’s cheeks.

Moving up to the door, he leaned forward and peered inside with the side of his eye.

The inside was an absolute mess, but still intact from the looks of things. Only one of the walkers remained inside, near the fenced up counter space. He wouldn’t know if any more were inside unless he went in.

Limestone beat him to the punch.

She stood up and strode inside with focused purpose, and he wasn’t given a chance to try and stop her before she ran up to the walking corpse. Limestone planted a foot forward and coiled her arm back, which drew the undead’s attention.

He lunged towards her just as she threw her fist. From his position outside, he watched it sink into the undead’s face. His skull caved in, bone warping and cracking under incredible force as he was sent flying backwards into the wall. Just a single punch was all it took to crush his head, leaving Dee no idea how much this world was affecting the mare’s own natural strength. If she was this strong even without the aid of earth pony magic, the idea of her original self was terrifying to think about, and he was suddenly very glad she had not retaliated for accidentally groping her earlier. For she could have crushed his hand in an instant!

After Limestone looked around and then nodded an all-clear to him, Dee stood and moved into the building, hammer raised. A quick scan of the inside revealed no other undead present, only a few devoured bodies in tattered clothing. He allowed himself to relax as Lyra and Marble entered the building, and carefully looked around.

“Alright, look around and be careful, gather up what you think is good and pack it up.” Dee ordered and quickly made his way around, scanning the shelves and tables for anything they could grab and bring back to the lighthouse.

“Anything we should keep an eye out for?” Lyra asked as Marble tentatively rifled through some shelves.

“Anything with a red cross on it, like medical supplies. Non-perishable foodstuffs; canned goods and the like. Water of course, maybe ammo for the guns we got if you remember what it looks like, and things we can use as weapons.” Dee listed as he ended up joining Limestone in her search. “I bet there are gas cans outside. We can fill them up from the pumps and use the fuel for the bank truck back at the compound and firebombs.”

“You sure do know a lot.” Lyra noticed.

“Yeah, well… when you grow up like I did, you pick up a thing or two.” Dee replied.

Dee found the vending machine nearby, next to shelves of fruits that had begun to sour. The power was still on across the island, but with no one to rotate the stock with fresh products, things were beginning to stale and rot. It didn’t stop him from attempting to pry open the vending machine; a swing of his hammer, and he buried the claws into the lock, wedged in tight to try and break it off with his strength.

But it wouldn’t give, and then he noticed Limestone leaning against the wall next to him, studying him. His eyes drifted to the mare briefly. She was taller than he was by a whole foot, bringing her height up to six feet solid. Her body was chiseled into pure toned muscle from what he could only guess were years of hard work on her family’s rock farm.

And that was to say nothing of that endlessly angry gaze of hers, giving her a strong and intimidating presence.

“You’re not like most of the males I’ve seen,” she reached in to grasp his makeshift prybar and the result was a loud POP that sent the lock that Dee had been struggling with to the floor with a clack.. Marveling again at her strength, and trying not to let his eyes drift downwards onto her two enormous breasts he’d already accidentally touched once, he swung open the door to reveal the relatively intact stock.

“Yeah, I’m a bit of a puzzle, aren’t I?” He proposed and began gathering up what was inside, most of it being various flavors of energy drinks. He eyed the lockbox full of coins and dollar bills for a moment, before making a grab for that as well. “Quite the character.”

“That’s one word for it ,” She helped him out and grabbed what she could after tucking the hatchet into her pants, handle first. “Most stallions I know are too scared to do anything violent. Too timid to take charge of things, or do anything like what we’ve been doing.”

Dee brought everything he gathered to the counter space, where Lyra and Marble had already placed a few items of interest; snack bars of varying flavors and sizes, candies, a few cases of juice and water. They amassed quite a pile of supplies already, and they weren’t even close to finishing looting the place. It was shaping up to be a good haul.

“Don’t mistake what I’m doing as being fearless.” Dee chuckled and looked up at Limestone. He straightened out and with a cock of his hip to the side, he said, “I’m absolutely terrified right now.”

“So you’re scared but still doing this? Then you’re really not like the stallions I know,” she notedly idly; for a moment, her gaze on him almost seemed to turn appraising.

“Thanks, I think…” Looking outside, at the bodies laying around, he fidgeted. “I’m nervous as all hell, shaky, and who knows when my next mistake may end up being my last, but… no point in laying around whining about things, ya know?”

“Yeah. I know,” she said, starting to stack the boxes they’d filled so they could carry them out.

After returning to grabbing canned drinks out of the machine, he also made it a purpose to try and break open the box that held the money in it.

Not necessary, but he was a greedy bastard.

He thought he saw Limestone’s lip quirk up into a half-smile before she wandered off. A smile from her? He must have said something she liked.

The group moved a little quicker to gather up what they could, storing most into bags and boxes near the counter. Before long, they had managed to accumulate a good amount of supplies, mostly snack foods, various fruit and energy drinks, and soda. Enough to last a week or more if they did it right, but with how many people they had? It wouldn’t last long.

“We got a lot here.” Limestone looked through some of it. “But it isn’t enough, is it?”

“No, not with how many people there are at the tower,” Lyra commented as Dee looted behind the counter, gathering what he could to add to the pile, but he was mostly pilfering from the register.

Looking up from the register - after finding it only full of coin - he said, “there’re still some other places to check for supplies; the other station we came from originally I know has supplies hidden in the storeroom, and the warehouses down by the docks to the north, there may be some supplies there we can snag for the group.”

Limestone and Lyra glanced at him. “Are you sure about that?” Limestone wondered.

“Would there be any boats there? At the docks I mean.” Lyra asked him. “Docks usually have boats.”

“I wouldn’t hold out any hope for boats,” Dee breathed quietly as he stuffed some supplies into his pack. “The military who quarantined the island probably made sure to eliminate any possibility of the infection escaping, which probably means no boats or ships we can use to escape.”

As much as he wished that wasn’t the case, it was probably true. The island was big, and there could be a boat or ship still hidden somewhere, but a decent seaworthy boat? They would need something big enough to carry them and their supplies until they reached the mainland, which would be a difficult task. Besides, he wasn’t sure how to even pilot a boat, but there was only one way to really find out.

“I think we’ve gathered up everything we can find inside, let’s go check the garage and gather up what fuel we can get before moving on.” Dee informed the group as he grabbed his pack and one of the bags. “But be careful, that bus probably won’t last forever for a distraction. Marble, Lyra, I want you two to take what we gathered and head back to the truck, Limestone, I’ll need you to stick with me.”

As Marble grabbed a couple of the bags, Lyra asked, “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I got her muscle, and the gun on me. We’ll be fine.” Dee reassured Lyra with a smile, before heading to the back door with Limestone.

The door leading outside was wide open, and a trail of blood led to a pair of bodies up against the fence that surrounded the small enclosure. From there, both survivors could see out to the bus, which was being torn apart by the horde of monsters.

Dee and Limestone could see the windows being smashed, and inside… the people being viciously torn apart by the hoard as they shrieked in fear and agony.

“Gods...” Limestone whispered to whatever deity she prayed to.

Dee backed away from the scene and turned around to face a ladder that led up to the roof of the garage. As he started for it, he paused briefly to turn and look at Limestone. “Horrible as it is… we can’t help them. And this is what we’re going to be seeing for a long while until we escape the island.”

Limestone just watched the chaos for a bit before following after Dee. She watched him climb up the ladder, then she started after him. “Is it always like this in this world?”

Halfway up the ladder, he paused and turned to look back down at Limestone again. “What do you mean?”

“Full of monsters like this.” She asked him as she climbed up the ladder. He moved further and climbed onto the roof before waiting for her. “Chaos, destruction...”

Once she reached the top, he held out a hand to her and shook his head. “No, this is something new for all of us I think. This virus or whatever it is is ransacking the island area by area… it won’t be long until it consumes everything unless someone stops it in its tracks.”

“May Celestia grant such a thing.” Limestone surprised him by taking his hand as the duo made their way onto the roof, trying to get a better look at the area around them.

Once there, they were able to get a good vantage point, though Dee half-wished they hadn’t. A single glance around him showed that much of the surrounding area was covered in half-devoured carcasses and many crashed cars he assumed belonged to said bodies. The road heading further north towards the marina was likewise littered with vehicles and roaming infected; a steadily moving wall of undead flesh that was closing in on the crashed bus full of surviving tourists and locals, with a few dozen running infected right behind them.

He quickly realized that the infected would make it there first.

Dee’s eyes scanned the area, before landing on Limestone, who was staring at the bus with wide and unmoving eyes. He followed her gaze to the bus, and he found what she was watching.

It was hard not to watch the carnage unfolding before them, it was almost… terrifyingly beautiful to watch; a shower of blood and cacophony of blood curdling screams and shrieks, the damned souls trapped within would either burn alive as the bus caught fire, or be torn apart as the undead and runners broke their way inside through the glass windows.

But like a train wreck in progress, he couldn’t look away. He sighed as he kept his eyes on the bus.

“I don’t like it, but this is something we’re going to have to get used to, Limestone.” He told her and slowly brought up a hand to rest on her shoulder. He was met with the firm muscle of an earth pony as a gentle wind blew in. “I hope we can get out of here before things get worse… but I don’t know when that will happen.”

If at all.

That last part went unsaid, because he knew that now was the time they needed to have some hope of discovery and rescue from this nightmare, lest they all become dinner for the walking dead that roamed the island.

Dee turned away from it and gently tugged on Limestone’s shoulder to pull her from the view; they had other things to focus on at the moment. Nodding, she bowed her head once in silent prayer, then followed him back below.

The duo scurried across the rooftop before reaching an opening in the garage attached to the main building. The opening led down inside, and even without going down below they could hear the sounds of the undead.

To make it even worse, the lights were off.

“Shit, dark as fuck down there.” Dee tried to angle himself better to look down below. He didn’t see anything… but he felt their eyes on him.

Like daggers in the darkness.

“We have to go down there?” Limestone glanced up at her human companion.

He nodded, patting the gun in his pocket. “The power to the pumps is in there. If we turn that on, we can fill up some jerry cans and stock the station up with fuel. We’ll need it in the coming days, I’m sure.” He didn’t know how many cans were in the building, but he hoped there was enough.

He had no clue how long they would be on the island for, but it wouldn’t be long before the fuel tanks were dried and the remaining supplies were used up. He shuddered to think of that situation; how difficult that would make survival for their crew.

Staying here for longer than we need to, what a terrible thought that is. If we have to stay here for a long time, how long would the supplies throughout the island last? They’re already stretched awful thin in the resort...

He was trying to think of how best to approach the situation when this time, Limestone laid on a hand on his shoulder. “Stay here,” she ordered him, and without another word or giving him time to protest, she suddenly dropped into the darkness with her hatchet in hand.

Dee caught the sound of a wet splat noise, followed by a pained yelp from one of the infected inside as Limestone dealt with them. There were a series of loud slams and thuds, and even some sickening cracks. She’d told him to stay put, but he couldn’t knowing she was down there facing the hoard alone. Maybe she was trying to protect him like one of her world’s stallions, but being human, his mindset was an entirely different one. “Here goes nothing…” he shuddered before deciding to drop down inside as well.

He landed on a few crates and then jumped down into the floor, and quickly twirled his hammer as he scanned for hostiles.

A body flew past him and slammed into the wall with a sickening splat before falling to the floor; a quick look behind him revealed it to be an undead with its head split open.

Ahead of him, Limestone had carved a swath straight through the undead with swift and deadly accuracy; there was no need for precision or even protection when it came to the earth pony mare’s brute strength. The toned rock farmer swung her hatchet with so much force she cleaved through flesh and bone like it was nothing!

But through it all, she made no sounds of victory; emitted not even a single grunt. It was an effortless job for her and she did it well, especially considering…

It made Dee wonder.

She’s taking them down without breaking a sweat… fuck, this is easy for her.

He watched her fight off the ones in front of her, easily breaking bones with one hand, or leg, and cleaving through them with her hatchet.

You know, the others aren’t so eager to kill, but Limestone…

He had no sooner finished the thought before the last undead fell before Limestone’s hatchet, blood crisscrossed the walls and floors in gorey patterns caused by her. She flunt the end of her weapon towards the ground, sending blood flying before letting out a small breath.

“You alright, Lime?” Dee couldn’t help but ask her as he approached.

The mare took a moment to herself, looking around at her work and verifying there were no further infected present. “I’m fine.”

Dee’s mouth scrunched up as the mare walked over to a large panel laden with switches, handles and buttons, and a single red light. She looked it over as he took a gander at the pickup on the inside, as well as the fuel canisters sitting on a shelf nearby, neatly organized.

Well, at least we can bring back a lot of fuel, not like it matters much at the moment.

“Limestone,” Dee walked over to the panel and looked it over, before examining the switches and buttons. He hit several and reached for the breaker switch to flip the power on, but paused to regard the earth pony. “A lot of people on this island are still trying to adjust… especially to the whole… killing these… things.” He gestured to the bodies, personally it didn’t bother him; at least not at the moment. “You adapted pretty quick and it just worries me-”

“Don’t.” Lime told him and looked away, focusing on the panel instead. “You said it yourself a while ago, it’s kill or be killed.” She turned and faced the door leading out of here, and crossed her arms. “Maybe it does come easy to me, but I also have motivation. My sister’s life is at stake every second we’re out here, and I’ll be damned if anything happens to her. Or you.”

He paused before flipping the switch. Did she just say she cared about me? He felt both flattered and frightened at the same time. But not knowing how to ask, he just nodded in response.

A rumbling sound shook the building before the lights inside flickered on, crackling and buzzing. The aftermath of Limestone’s fight was clear now; blood and guts splattered here and there like an artist’s rendition of a battlefield. But that wasn’t why they were here, he sharply reminded himself; they were here for fuel and supplies for the lifeguard tower which would hopefully put them in a far better position to survive long enough to be rescued.

After several moments of tense silence, Limestone and Dee grabbed the gas cans before heading outside through the previously blockaded door.

Marble and Lyra were crouched near one of the pumps, where several vehicles had piled into the station in hopes of getting fuel, only to be overrun. Blood pools stained the ground, but no bodies were to be found anywhere.

Upon spotting the two exiting the garage, the duo waved them over.

As Dee and Limestone approached with the cans in hand, Lyra’s eyes drifted to them and nodded. “Are those what we need? That stuff smells… well, bad.” She made a face.

“That’s because it’s very volatile and flammable. It’s what our vehicles burn to power their engines. Well, most of them anyway.” After setting down one of the cans next to the pump, Dee let out a breath and turned to the girls. “They are what we need, we just need to fill them up with fuel and make our way out of here, then head to the docks to find more supplies to bring back to the Tower…”

His eyes drifted to the bus crash nearby and grimaced, then turned to face the pump. He grabbed onto the handle itself and popped open the jerry can cap, and shoved the nozzle inside. He pulled the trigger, activating the pump to fill the can up.

“That’s all it takes. Do the same for the other cans, and hope we can get out of here without attracting attentio—”

A loud screech sounded, echoing through the air and causing all of them to freeze. They all whirled around towards another abandoned bus further up the road next to the Lighthouse road, and his guts clenched as he saw a small group of infected running towards them.

“Fuck, they must have been attracted to the power being turned on.” Dee grumbled as the pump itself was loud, no doubt attracting the undead. “Shit, we’re gonna have to-”

He stopped once Limestone stepped forward, walking past Marble and Lyra and pulling her hatchet out of her belt. She gave it a twirl before jumping up on top of one of the car hoods, causing it to groan under her weight before taking a defensive stance.

“Fill up as many of those as you can,” Limestone ordered the trio. “I’ll hold them off.”

Dee stood up, prepared to head towards her. “Wait, Limestone! We have to-”

Lyra stopped him with a hand on her arm and shook her head. “Let’s just fill these up and get out of here! She’s really strong, and she can handle them!” She pushed him back towards the cans before going to another of the empty ones and grabbing it. “S-show me how to use it!”

“Right.” Dee spat onto the ground before pulling out his hammer. He rushed over to the can he was filling up and adjusted the handle before clicking the trigger twice, forcing the fuel to keep going without having to hold down the switch. He rushed over to Lyra and took her over to the other pump.

“Take the cap off, shove this nozzle inside,” he explained to her as sweat ran down his face. She clumsily unscrewed the cap and grabbed the pump, mimicking what he did before he spoke again. “Pull this twice and let it sit inside the can, and we can help Limestone out!”

He jumped back from the pump and rushed over to where Limestone was standing just as the first infected rushed over the first car.

A cacophony of snarls from the four behind and clumsy sprinting allowed the beast to jump up and towards Limestone.

She responded with a swift and deadly movement; she brought her fist up from below and smashed it hard into the beast’s stomach. A sickening crunch and violent exhale of breath left the beast before it was sent flying through the air, far above and away from them to fall broken to the ground below.

Her first attacker dispatched, Limestone jumped off of the vehicle and onto the ground, quickly approaching the other infected as they rushed towards her, unimpeded by her violent attack on their own.

Dee slid off to the other side to protect the other path leading to the pumps and to Marble who was content hiding from the chaotic battle taking place. Lyra was nearby as well, holding onto an iron pipe she found for defense.

Two of the infected rushed for Limestone while the other deviated towards Dee, blasting through a bush as Limestone was forced to jump back to avoid a tackle.

Once she landed she had to dodge another swipe and grab before she retaliated with a swift left hook to the monster’s face, forcing it to stumble. The other jumped at her and she ducked under him, and tackled the infected she punched to the ground.

Her fist slammed into the monster’s face, caving it in with one violent motion and causing blood and brain matter to spew from the cracks and crevices, covering her fist, her arm, and parts of her clothing in blood.

The other infected tripped over her, falling onto the ground, and was swiftly attacked by Limestone who whirled around. She kicked off the ground and brought her leg around in a wide upward-arc, slamming a steel toed boot into his ribcage.

Several loud cracks sounded before he collapsed, wheezing and coughing up blood even as he still tried to crawl after her.

Limestone spun once to recover from her kick before bringing up her leg again, slamming her heel into his head.

Near the pumps, Dee was locked in combat with a burly but strong running infected. Dodging and weaving around the infected’s clumsy grabs and strikes, he was quick enough on his feet to avoid the attacks and retaliated; he swung his hammer into the creature’s upper arm and shoulder rapidly. A series of loud cracks signaled broken bones, and he quickly took advantage by rushing forward, slamming his upper body into its stomach.

His impact caused it to stumble, but not before grabbing onto him.

“Fuck!”

“Nng, Dee!” he heard Lyra cry and she rushed over when he looked. She swung her pipe hard into the back of the creature’s head, connecting with a violent crunching sound.

The body fell limp and Dee was released. He quickly wrenched himself from the arms of the infected and shot a grateful look at Lyra, giving her a thankful nod before a quick glance around revealed they were safe, at least for the time being. He then rushed back over to one of the gas cans to check it, making sure it didn’t spill over.

He heard Lyra approach from the side and he let out a sigh. “Okay… we’re good for now. If you can, try to grab the other cans, and let’s fill them up as full as we can before ditching this place.” he looked at Lyra and Marble as Limestone came over. “We need as much fuel as we can get our hands on before heading on to the next station.”

“Right, boss.” Dee’s eyes paused on Limestone’s muscular form for a moment; the confident stride in her step and the way she looked at everything with a cautious eye. Her strong yet feminine body was enough to make him realize he was staring before he turned his gaze elsewhere.

A sign nearby gave him pause again and he stared for a moment. Along the road was a sign that Lyra spotted, following her human friend’s gaze. She looked it over as Limestone gathered Marble’s attention, and the duo went back into the garage to grab the spare cans.

“Gas Shortage; limit of forty-five liters per customer.” Lyra read off and looked at Dee, as if looking for clarification.

He tilted his head. “Gas shortage?” He didn’t remember that either from the game. It was reasonable to assume that during the outbreak, a shortage of fuel was to be expected… but this didn’t seem normal, even for a tropical paradise like this. “Hopefully there’s enough in the station… we kind of need it right now.”

“What does the shortage mean? If there’s not that much fuel-”

Dee filled up the first jerry can before closing the cap with a thunk and pulling it aside. He looked to Marble and Limestone, the duo carrying out the rest of the can shortly. “It means we won’t be able to use vehicles for very much longer, if we run out of fuel we’ll have to move on foot.”

The idea wasn’t the best one, but when it came to survival… they would have little to no choice when the fuel finally ran dry on the island. Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen for some time, and until then, they could enjoy what luxuries they could.

“Let’s just gather up what we can and move on.”

In short order, the group filled up roughly seven twenty liter jerry cans full of fuel and given their size, that was a collective one-hundred and forty liters of fuel altogether. A good amount to store away and use for their vehicles, or Molotov use, depending.

After gathering up all of their supplies, Dee hurried the group along to carry everything back to the truck. The bags of food supplies were hauled out first by Dee and Limestone, while Lyra and Marble hauled as many of the cans as they could; for as heavy as they were, it proved a difficult task.

The massive hoard of monsters nearby served as a very effective reminder that they needed to hurry; the ravenous snarls and tearing of flesh from their most recent victims hastened their retrieval of supplies.

They worked quickly as the bed of the truck was loaded up with both the jerry cans and bags of food and other supplies; whatever they could carry and find that was useful. Upon finishing the loading, they piled back into the truck with Dee at the helm once again.

“Where to next?” Lyra asked as she filed in next to Dee, with Marble and Lime in the back.

“... back to where we first met, if you remember,” Dee answered as his mind drifted to the tunnel gas station down the road. “The tunnel gas station, where we found Liam and the others… there’s still supplies in the backroom that we left there when shit hit the fan.”
“Just so long as Liam’s not there…” Limestone mumbled. “If he doesn’t watch it, I’m going to throw him right over the fence.”

Though Dee didn’t disagree with the sentiment for how often he had been hurt and bullied by the burly lifeguard, he put it out of his mind, knowing that they weren’t going to find him there. It had been a long time since they had initially sought refuge there, and now they were headed back again. It was where they all first met — Dee meeting Lyra and the others, that is — and because the supplies they left there had to still be there, they would have to retrieve them, assuming someone hadn’t taken them already. No doubt they would prove valuable in the coming days, especially with the current situation.

Dee tried to steady his nerves before turning the key over and starting the truck up, and pulling out of the hiding area they were in, and down the road.

The Marina would have been a better option, but it was blocked off currently and they would have to take the long way around.

The station came first.

ooo000---000ooo

The drive to the station was quiet, save for searching radio channels for any kind of station still operating. Nothing came on the radio except static, and a few music stations that played an emergency broadcast signal that looped.

Nothing helpful, or even anything to pass the time as they drove.

A familiar sign told them they were approaching the station, showing the hiked-up gas prices in liters per. More signs above and below detailed gas shortages and a limitation on how much customers could purchase.

The parking lot and surrounding area were thankfully abandoned, save for the dozens of corpses, which allowed them to pull into the station properly.

A bell went off as they triggered the weight below, but there was not a soul around to help them.

Dee and Lyra knew that firsthand.

Dee stepped out first, and the first thing he took note of was the smashed in front doors of the station, and the immense amount of blood covering the frame, the ground, and walls around the entrance. Of the remains of the construction worker that was with Liam’s group, little was left but a few scraps of bloodied clothing… not even bones.

“Is that-”

“Yeah.”

Dee answered swiftly and took a breath before stepping over a piece of torn clothing fabric and into the building.

It was as abandoned and desolate as they had left it, and a quick look showed a lot of the food resources they gathered up were still in the backroom, stocked up nicely on the shelves.

“Feels weird being back here.” Lyra commented after walking in with him, boots crunching overtop broken glass.

The lights flickered and cast a dull orange light over the area, and he saw where Lyra, Dinky and himself had holed up alongside Vinyl and Rainbow when they first came here. He huffed out. “Aye, but we won’t be here long… just to gather what we can and head to the marina.”

He started for the backroom and knelt down. Hearing familiar bootfalls behind him, he paused before turning around, spotting Limestone staring at him.

“So what are we going to do about Liam?”

The silence that greeted her question was deafening.

The question was on everyone’s minds, Dee knew that much. Ever since they arrived here, he had been hot on their heels the entire time. Trying to turn people against them, hurt them, even kill them because of whatever hysteria had taken hold of him. He had injured many of them purposefully, tried taking control of their group, and now he was attempting something at the lifeguard tower.

He wanted to brush it off, say something reassuring, but he couldn’t. It was clear no one trusted any of them, especially the ponies. He was just in the middle of a stupid situation, and the only way out was to side with the rest of his own kind, betraying Rainbow and the others to a fate worse than death.

“He’s becoming a problem.” In the end, all he could think to do was state the obvious.

“Liam? What can we do?” Lyra entered the conversation, stepping into the backroom. “He’s out for blood… and hasn’t stopped since we ran into him.”

“That’s my point. It won’t be long until he does something that is going to screw us all over.” Limestone added and glanced down at Dee. “We can’t keep dancing around it… it’s on all of our minds.”

Dee found interest in the wall, staring at the fading cracked paint job as his mind ran circles around what she said. “You’re right, and I agree with you completely… but there isn’t much we can do about him.” He sighed and stood back up.

“There’s plenty we can do.” Limestone interjected and clenched her fists tight enough to pop her knuckles, one by one in rapid succession. “He’s attacked every single one of us, and he’s injured you.” She pointed out. Her eyes were furious, almost burning from a fury buried behind her green irises. “And when he goes after Marble, I swear I’ll-”

“Lime.” Dee held up his hand and locked eyes with the mare. He was almost shaking from how angry the mare looked, and it didn’t help she was tensed up head to toe; he could make out every muscle in her body flexing, solid like the stone she took her name from and ready to crush an unfortunate soul’s head. “I understand, trust me, I’d love nothing more than to beat his ass… but you have to understand we are outnumbered here.”

Limestone took a few deep breaths when Marble came up behind her, and she tried to relax. “What do you mean…?”

“The entire tower is against us, save for a couple of souls there.” Dee leaned back against the wall and recounted all who was on their side; it wasn’t many. Sinamoi, the doctor, maybe a couple of others like Sam B’s group. “If we started a fight to take out Liam, we’d be outnumbered really quickly. We can’t start a fight there, we’re on thin ice as it is… we have to win everyone over, and starting a fight with one of their more trusted people is not the way.”

Limestone’s angered grunt was the only response he got before Lyra spoke up next. “So we just… let him stay then? And keep trying to attack us or get others to do it?”

“So say we do what you want. We start a fight and then we kill Liam… then what? Do you think everything would just go back to normal?” Dee countered, causing Lyra’s ears to fold back. “At best, we’d be exiled out of our only sanctuary; at worst, we’d all be killed.”

“I-I don’t want to kill anyone…” she said.

“Speak for yourself, Lyra. I’ll gladly kill him. Especially if he goes after Marble. Or you again, Dee.” Limestone muttered angrily from where she was leaning against the opposite wall.

“Limestone!” Lyra gasped, turning to face the earth pony mare. “We can’t do that!”

“Why? Cause he’s a male? If he’s trying to get us all killed, then as far as I’m concerned, he deserves it.” She pushed off of the wall and stood in front of Lyra, towering a whole head over her. The other mare flinched at her display. “Make a distraction somewhere, draw the whole group away and I’ll pull him away… and kill him, no one will ever know.”

Lyra nearly recoiled from her words, even Marble looked disturbed. “L-Limestone… what’s gotten into you? W-we can’t do that, i-it’s wrong!”

Limestone clicked her tongue and leaned down to get into Lyra’s face, and said, “we’re not in Equestria anymore, Lyra… the Male Protection Laws don’t matter here.” Her voice was little more than a harsh whisper. “I give you my word that if he so much as looks at Marble wrong, I’ll snap his fucking neck.”

Dee’s legs nearly shook from her tone; from the way she said it and the piercing look in her eyes. She wasn’t making threats, this was a promise, and he knew she meant to keep it. Could they stop her if it came down to it? Keep themselves from getting kicked out of the Tower?

No chance in hell we could stop her, he now knew after seeing her in action; an utterly unstoppable and pitiless force of nature powered by earth pony strength and stamina. Not without shooting her…

He fought his terror-filled legs and managed to utter, “Look, uh… l-let’s just focus on getting these supplies. We can talk about Liam later… preferably while we’re not in danger of getting killed.”

There was a very tense silence before Lime backed off and walked out of the room. Marble stayed with Lyra and Dee, breathing heavily and hugging herself. It seemed she was not spared from her own sister’s frightening energy. Lyra was visibly sweating bullets before leaning back against the wall.

“Gods…” Lyra swallowed.

Dee turned around and let out a breath before gathering up what was abandoned, stuffing a few of the candy bars into his pockets before grabbing some other things. “Does she uh… hate males or something? I noticed what she said about… protective laws?”

He glanced back to see Marble shaking her head. Her mouth opened to say something, but she closed it soon after. Lyra opted to speak for her, saying, “the Male Protection Laws. I assume you humans don’t have something like that here?”

“No, nothing of the sort as far as I know.” Dee turned and faced her, curious now. “My world doesn’t have anything like that. What are they anyway? In fact… it seems like wherever you guys come from, you have some… strange views when it comes to the male population here, why is that?”

Lyra wiped her forehead and smiled briefly as her hand ran through her hair. “The Male Protective Laws are in place to-” She paused, glancing at Marble again. “-well, some history first I guess. The first thing you need to know is that Equestria has a very skewed male to female population where the mares outnumber the stallions five to one.” She began to explain, with Marble nodding along to her explanation. “Five mares to one stallion? There was actually a crisis a couple of centuries or so where the number of available studs had dropped substantially-”

Dee blinked hard, realizing that yet another fan belief about Equestria had proven true, covering his thoughts by grabbing a case of supplies nearby and jerking his head towards the door. “Let’s walk and talk, yeah?”

“-Right, sorry.” Lyra quickly gathered up what she could. Hurriedly she followed after him as Marble closed in behind. “Anyway; the number dropped really low to the point that monogamy had been outlawed. Polygamy took its place and herd-life had become commonplace to try and even out the numbers, even today there are still so few males. So the Male Protection Laws were put into place; basically, it's a series of laws that forbid any male from coming into harm, like being in active military service, construction, emergency services… if it could harm or kill a male, they were forbidden, but there are exceptions.”

A load of information to digest, Dee’s head nearly spun as they walked outside to the truck, and loaded up what they grabbed. As he set down some of the items and strapped them down, he turned to Lyra. “That explains why you guys are so protective of males…”

Lyra’s cheeks flushed and she uttered, “not any male though…” She cast a look his way and smiled. “You’re different from the others.”

He lifted a finger and scratched at his cheek absentmindedly as his mind drifted back to a certain event; the memory of what he, Rainbow, and Lyra, did brought a smile to his face and a sudden swelling of his loins. “Heh, maybe…” His cheeks turned a rosy tint before he looked back towards her. “So males are just heavily protected then?”

Lyra blinked and cleared her throat before nodding. “Yeah. Stallions are a… rare commodity back home, especially ones who have an open slot in their herd. There’s a limitation to how many mares one stallion can have in his herd, and it’s usually capped around five or six mares.” She chuckled and turned to lean her elbow on the truck. Lyra gazed out at the island as a wind blew over them, and continued, “The thought of even hurting a male is a crime, and to… kill a one? Even talking about it could land you in the dungeons and end up shunned for life.”

Her eyes flicked to Limestone who was pacing around, her arms crossed while keeping watch for any monsters. Lyra sighed and turned back to Dee, a sad look in her eyes.

“It’s an instant execution if you’re lucky. To murder a male is the highest criminal offense, and incurs the death penalty, even if they were in the wrong… they’re protected by the MPL, and some take advantage of it and are forgiven for whatever they do. It’s created a pretty rough dynamic back home, and it sucks but… when the population is so skewed, what can we do?”

“That bad, huh?” Dee clicked his tongue and looked off towards the beach nearby, the crashing waves, and the city that lay beyond it. “We don’t have anything like that here. Our gender ratios are nearly perfectly even. People will kill for no other reason than to just kill. Men, women, children even… it doesn’t matter who you are, or what you are, they’ll even kill over the color of your skin, it’s ridiculous.”

He kicked off of the ground and looked back towards the station before rolling his shoulders.

“Interesting to learn a bit more… maybe we can talk some more when we’re in a safer place, Lyra?” He offered as he made his way back to the building.

He didn’t even notice her bright smile.

“Actually… I think I’d like that.”

ooo000---000ooo

After picking the station clean of whatever paltry supplies it had to offer the group, they quickly left the station after a few infected showed up. Their route back took them back to the tunnel entrance into the mountainside which had been blocked off, between collapsed rubble and crushed vehicles, there was no way through to the inner island.

They paused at the hilltop before heading back down towards the hotel, but instead of going straight, they turned left just before the hotel entrance.

“Why is the marina next?” Limestone was amusing to see in the back seat, a six-foot-tall mare covered in muscle hunched forward in the small four-person cab. “What would we need to get there?”

Trying his best to not focus on it that much, he instead focused on the drive down the incline headed towards the ocean. “The marina is sure to have some tools we can use, either as makeshift weapons or something to fortify the Tower with. The walls and the gate will hold off the infected, but for how long? I don’t know, plus we’ll need to defend ourselves.”

The truck rumbled down the incline before reaching the T-Crossing in the road. Ahead of them, a large bus had run off the road and onto the beach, half-buried in the sand. Next to it was a burning pickup truck carrying barrels, crashed onto its side with a sedan beside it, evidence of a bad crash.

The gnarled corpses of the drivers told them all they needed to know.

Dee angled the steering wheel to turn right towards the marina, but the route to the left caught his attention. The congested traffic that blocked off the road called to him, usually a dangerous sort of area to peruse, but the promise of unclaimed luggage and loot beckoned.

“Actually, change of plans.”

Dee turned the truck to the left and quickly drove towards the snarl.

“Holy-”

“What happened here?”

The truck pulled to a stop on the sidebar, and after a moment, Dee put the truck in reverse and angled the front end so that in the event of something going wrong, they could make a quick escape.

He nodded and climbed out of the truck with the girls. A glance up ahead showed collapsed boulders on the road ahead, along with a blockade. “If I had to guess… someone blew the passage further inland to cut off the infection.” I know that’s the case, the BIDF had to blow the passage, but it didn’t work. Derpy told us about Moresby… it was a failed effort and only got more people killed.

Glancing back revealed Lyra had stepped out of the truck with Lime and Marble being next in line. “What happened to the people?” Lyra asked as she and the others looked at the vehicles, all of the cars stuck bumper to bumper as they headed further down the road before stopping at a checkpoint.

“Same thing that happened to everyone else. Devoured, or turned into the walking dead.” Dee told them grimly before approaching one of the station wagons and glancing inside and finding the seats covered in abandoned luggage and bloodstains, and in the front seat… a gnarled corpse of a man. “Ripped to shreds like this poor fucker.”

He sighed and tore his gaze from the body before looking further ahead, spotting all manner of older vehicles, trucks, even a couple of buses and an RV nearby, though further up ahead he saw something else that caught his attention.

Something that shouldn’t have been there.

He almost forgot about the mares as he made his way through the vehicles. Ahead of many cars that looked like they all belonged in a museum of seventies and eighties vehicles, he spotted what appeared to be an old military truck near the blockade. His mind searched and searched before coming to the conclusion it was a Russian truck, an older model that — at least in his world — was being phased out for more modern vehicles, and to top it all off it still bore the Red Star of the USSR.

Why would Banoi have such an old truck still bearing the USSR star?

In fact, why were all of the vehicles he was seeing older cars?

His questions stopped when he felt someone grab his arm, and it nearly startled him into swinging his hammer. His heart nearly shot out of his chest until he whirled around to face Lyra, and realized he was safe.

“Dee, are you okay?”

He swallowed as sweat trailed down his brow, and he wiped it away. He was sweating? Heat’s starting to get to me, I think. “Yeah, it’s nothing. Just… that truck might have supplies in i-” He pointed towards the truck before he heard a crunch beside him.

His body froze and Lyra mimicked him. The two turned to face the camper truck and its torn open doors, and it was then neither had noticed the blood trail leading inside, the handprints, nor the smell that suddenly appeared.

Two bodies were strewn about on the floor of the vehicle, a man and a woman, their entrails pulled out and spread around like clumps of wet confetti. A small humanoid completely covered in bright crimson knelt beside either corpse, arms buried elbow deep inside of the rotten carcasses and shoveling handfuls of putrid excrement and gore into his maw.

Milky white pupils shot up from the bodies as the child glared at Lyra and Dee. The duo returned the glare, and there was silence between them all.

The child’s cheeks split apart as his jaw slowly dropped to reveal jagged broken teeth, and his chest began to rapidly expand.

It took a brief second for Dee to realize what he was witnessing.

“Fuck.”

The infected child reared back and let loose a shriek the likes of which sent Dee and the others stumbling back. The volume was incredibly loud and made their ears ring, forcing them to drop and cover their ears lest they lose their hearing, or bust an eardrum.

Even with their hands over their sensitive organs, they could still hear the shriek.

The wind was knocked out of Dee as the child sprinted out of the camper and knocked him over, and started sprinting wildly down the highway, still screaming like a banshee.

Picking himself up off the ground, Dee shook his head and moved his jaw. “God…” He rubbed his sore ears, ringing persisting for some time.

Lyra groaned and kept her ears pinned down before glaring at the runaway child. “What in the heck was t-that?!”

“No idea…” Dee muttered and spat onto the ground, before watching the child disappear. His eyes turned to the hillsides behind the camper when he heard moans, those of the undead. Shortly after, screeching and snarls joined the cacophony and alerted the group of survivors.

It was then Dee understood what the infected child did, it wasn’t some random screaming monster…

“Son of a bitch, you little inbred fuck!” Dee pulled out his handgun and hammer before backing up. “Fuck, back to the truck!”

He aimed his handgun at the approaching swarm as it descended from the surrounding hillside, a mixture of running infected and walkers stumbling and sprinting out of the foliage and jumping down from the cliff face.

The runners landed easily, the walkers slammed into the ground hard before crawling back up.

There were close to a dozen walkers and perhaps a dozen runners, and with how far they were in the snarl, they would have to fight their way back to the truck.

“There’s too many!”

“They’re surrounding us!”

Dee panicked, they fucked up. He aimed his handgun at the closest runner and pulled the trigger, firing a round and piercing its chest. Blood flew from its new wound and it stumbled forward, smashing into the front end of a car.

“We gotta fight!” He swiftly cursed after and spun his hammer as the runners closed in all around.

“Into the camper!” Lime yelled, and drawing Dee’s attention he saw she was ushering her sister inside.

Marble’s panicked and sickened visage told him all he needed to know.

She had to hide amongst the bodies.

“I don’t care, get inside and hide, now!” She bellowed and shoved her sister forward, and with no other option left, Marble ran inside.

A runner jumped over the top of the camper, shaking it before leaping down at Limestone. The mare was almost brought down and she just barely managed to bring her arm up in time to keep it from getting a good hold of her.

Backing away from another runner, Dee opened fire on the next infected running towards him. Three rounds he fired busted out the kneecaps of two infected and pierced the skull of the third.

Four shots were fired, four less to use.

Around the front end of the camper, a walker appeared and sprang towards Dee with a growl.

“Fuck-” he pulled back his hammer, and swung it forward with all his might, slamming it right into the creature’s skull, sinking the front end of the hammer into the skull. “-off!” He whirled around to fight another walker, only to find his hammer stuck.

A curse and he slammed his boot into the dead walker, trying to wrench his hammer free.

Sweat rushed down his brow as the other walker closed in, and the hammer still would not come free no matter how hard he tugged and pulled.

“Goddamn it!” He kicked the zombie away, hammer still inside of its skull before turning around just in time for the undead to close in.

A quick pull of the trigger sent another round directly into the skull of the walker, snapping its head back and causing it to collapse onto the ground.

He backed away before bumping into Lyra, who was covered in blood and wielding a steel pipe she had acquired from somewhere. “We need to get back to the truck.”

Lyra nodded and kept her back to Dee as they turned to face the other walkers closing in, but mostly the runners who were oddly enough… keeping their distance.

Limestone had killed her assailant and was currently protecting the camper’s torn open entrance as Marble hid in the back.

The infected surrounding them as the walkers closed in watched the group as they fended off one walker after another; gunshots ringing out from Dee’s handgun, Lyra’s pipe crushing skulls and Limestone hacking off heads, they were able to hold their ground as the ground around them became littered in bodies.

Yet no ground was gained in their desperation to get back to the truck.

Lyra and Dee were forced to separate when an infected sprinted at them out of the blue, jumping at the duo. Dee went one way and Lyra was forced towards Limestone, nearly getting hacked by her hatchet mid-swing from another she had killed.

Dee stumbled forward and grabbed onto the camper to stabilize himself, recovering shortly after before turning around. The infected forced him away from the camper despite how close he was, leaving him no choice but to back away and aim his handgun before pulling the trigger.

The round penetrated the infected’s chest, spewing blood as it went through and hit another walker behind him. Blood flowed freely down its chest as the infected kept its eyes locked on the survivor, teeth bared before it collapsed.

He took a breath before getting ready to rejoin the fight, but then a violent-sounding screech from behind him stopped him.

Turning to face the infected threat behind him, he saw there was a creature on top of the military truck. It was crouched on all fours, clad in tropical shorts and its eyes… its face even had been clawed off, and its eyes were missing entirely.

It snarled and hissed before it crouched even lower, and then launched itself from the top of the truck and through the air.

Ignoring its lack of vision, it soared through the air right towards him!

He backpedaled and angled his gun up, but he was too slow. The leaping infected slammed into him and knocked him right into the ground, knocking the gun from his hand, causing it to slide a short distance away, just out of reach.

“Hyug!” Dee coughed out before the infected straddled him, screeching in his face and disorienting him further. He held up his arms as the infected grabbed at his shirt, tearing into the fabric easily.

He felt claws scratch against his skin and screamed.

“Get the fuck off me! Son of a-!”

But his screams were for nothing as he felt the sharpened digits sink into his flesh and tear across his chest. They inflicted almost unimaginable pain as the infected clawed at him, tearing and swiping away at his skin and the sinew beneath!

“AAAAH!”

Dee tried fighting back but found his strength was feeble compared to the monster before him, leaving him helpless before it.

But just when he thought he was dead, a gray hand shot out of his peripheral vision and grabbed onto the infected by his neck, wrenching him away.

His vision cleared to see Limestone holding up the infected by its neck with a low growl. She wrangled him up before winding up, almost like a baseball player, and then chucked him bodily across the road with contemptuous ease, right into a pile of walkers condensed together, bowling them all over with the body thrown.

Dee scrambled away from the camper while the walkers closed in, driven into a frenzy at the scent of fresh blood. “W-we gotta go, now!” Dee sputtered out as his hand came to clutch his chest.

“Dee!” Lyra cried as Limestone stood in front of them, wielding her hatchet and a metal pipe in either hand. Using her as a shield, Lyra grabbed onto Dee and pulled him away and helped him up onto his feet. “I got you!”

The creature that Limestone had thrown into the crowd recovered rather quickly, and another piercing howl escaped its lungs before it leaped off of the corpse it landed upon and towards Lime!

But Limestone was prepared. She dropped her weapons and stood her ground, and when the infected closed in from above, she quickly backstepped and grabbed onto its outstretched arms. With a yell, she quickly planted her foot down and spun hard, still holding onto the monster’s arms.

She spun as hard as she could before finally releasing her foe, sending him hurling like a ragdoll into the nearby mountainous wall beside the road.

The sound of a full-grown man’s body slamming into the stone at such speeds was sickening to hear; Dee could hear the crunching and snapping of bones against stone, the disgusting squelching of soft fleshy organs being demolished and penetrated by jagged bone fragments, all destroyed by the immense force of the throw.

The display of raw strength and power left him with his mouth agape.

“Get the fuck in the truck! Now!” Limestone bellowed and retrieved her weapons before banging on the camper. “Marble! Come outside now! Go!” Marble was quick to move after that, nearly slipping on blood and gore inside the RV before running outside.

She rushed past Lyra who was aiding Dee towards the truck, while Limestone brought up the rear and swung her weapons at any infected closing in, easily decapitating the runners in one fell swing as the group piled into the truck.

Their enemies slain or at least too damaged to pursue quickly, Limestone was the last in and she slammed the door shut, allowing them to drive off finally.

Despite his injuries and haze of pain, Dee stayed at the wheel and steered them clear of any incoming monsters before driving back up the hill towards the hotel.

Forget the Marina, he decided, it was time to head back to the tower.

ooo000---000ooo

During the drive to the tower, Dee’s wounds were tended to by an angsty Lyra wielding a first-aid kit. Awkward as it was, they didn’t stop to mend his wounds, instead opting to do it mid-drive. He couldn’t bring himself to fight Lyra on the matter.

His mind was occupied on the way back, mostly with two very important things he noticed during their fight. The first being the Soviet truck that just so happened to be in the middle of the snarl, acting as if it was a part of the blockade and the reason why people were unable to move further inland. The second part was the two new infected that attacked them.

The screaming child that alerted the other nearby infected, and the leaping monster so similar to another he knew of, one that shouldn’t exist in this timeline. Yet, both of them did, and the latter almost killed him because he froze.

It’s gonna get me killed. He sighed as Lyra finished taping up his bandages around his wound, stopping the bleeding.

“It’s not the best but it’ll help… at least for now.” Lyra wiped the sweat away as she turned to look out of the windshield as they came to the winding trails leading back to the tower, past all of the bungalows and crashed cars.

“I appreciate it, thank you.” He looked in the mirror, back at the Pie sisters and he said, “Limestone… you saved my life! There’s not much I can do to repay you for that, but thank you.” He bowed his head to her.

As expected, she snorted and avoided his gaze. “Just don’t let those things get the drop on you next time, and we’ll call it even.”

He let out a small huff, smiling a bit before he nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

The truck angled around the turn, and Dee was unable to turn in time to avoid running over a dead body, crushing it under the tire. He winced as he noticed a few dead bodies on the road, ones that were not there hours prior.

An attack? He saw a few smoke plumes from above, and outside of the walls was a crowd of walkers surrounding something… or rather, someone and feasting on them.

He swallowed as they approached the gate.

Survivors on the other side pulled the gate open, allowing them to pull inside. A lot of them were wielding bloodied paddles, pipes and tools as the truck came to a stop near the bank truck. Dee turned the engine off before opening the door as one of the survivors walked over.

“Bit late to help.” He muttered, covered in blood and holding onto a pole. He gestured to a pile of bodies near the overlook of the Tower and said, “we just got attacked by a swarm of those things.”

Dee’s eyes followed until landing on the line of corpses nearby, and a lot of the bodies… those were survivors, at least five or killed during the attack. He winced. “Christ… how many did we-?”

“Seven, two got chased outside the walls.” The man explained and crossed his arms. “We lost some good people today, probably would have been less if we had more fighters here…”

Another wince from Dee, that was directed at them. He looked in the man’s eyes and saw it, the underlying anger of them leaving unannounced, and finally returning after a battle had been waged. They had lost seven people as well, and one of them was being torn apart outside the walls as they were talking.

“Are they…” Lyra started as she had exited the car, with Limestone and Marble leaving right after. “Uhm…”

The man snorted and turned around before he walked away.

“Looks like everyone’s pissed…” Lyra noted as it seemed many of the people around were tired, aching, and glaring at the bodies. “This… this isn’t our fault, is it?”

“No.” Dee shook his head and walked over to the truck’s bed and looked inside at the fuel cans and other supplies. “There’s no way we could have known this would happen. I’m sure Liam will try spinning some story, but this is not our fault.” He shook his head and reached into the back before pulling out some of the food and water. “I’m going to bring this to Sinamoi, tell him we brought some supplies…”

Making sure his supplies were gathered up properly, he headed into the lifeguard tower to find Sinamoi.

While he was gone, Lyra sighed and looked at Limestone and Marble. “I’m going to check up on the others.” With that, she made her to the door leading inside.

Lyra made a bee-line through the garage as Dee walked upstairs. Lyra herself went inside the hall leading past the bathrooms, and made a left to the medical office.

To her relief, she spotted Vinyl still on guard. The unicorn smiled upon Lyra’s arrival and waved, to which Lyra responded with a nod. She held up a hand and quickly signed, “Are Derpy and Dinky okay?”

Vinyl replied with a nod, allowing Lyra to feel even more relieved.

“Rainbow?” Lyra asked next only for Vinyl to avoid her gaze, and Lyra’s heart dropped. “I-is Rainbow…?”

Vinyl sighed and signed, “she went missing during the attack. No one knows where she went, but no one seems to care either.”

Lyra’s hand went up to her forehead and horn, and she ran it past that and through her hair with a frustrated growl. Missing was better than dead, but knowing no one seems to care made her even more frustrated. Of course, no one was going to start looking for her, because of what she was.

Maybe if it was a human.

Lyra looked around the inside of the lifeguard tower, the posters, the machines. She left Vinyl behind before heading outside, ready to tell Lime and Marble.

Only to run into Dee in the garage.

Spotting Lyra, Dee walked over. “I can’t find Sinamoi.” He told her, a worried glance in his eyes. “And I can’t find Liam either.”

Lyra’s eyebrow raised. “They’re missing?”

“Either that… or one of the two is the body being devoured outside the wall right now, and the other missing in action.” Dee theorized, and he glanced around the garage momentarily. “If Liam is dead and Sinamoi missing…”

“Dee, before you say anything else…” Lyra swallowed and let out a sigh. “Rainbow is missing too.”

He stiffened at that information; his eyes slowly widening. “Rainbow’s…”

Lyra nodded, fear and worry in her gaze. “I don’t know where she’s at… Vinyl hasn’t seen her, and no one else cares enough to look because she’s a pony.” Lyra bit her lip and shook her head. “She isn’t dead, I know that… she can’t be.”

Losing one of their own, missing or not.

Dee swallowed a lump in his throat before turning to head outside, past Lyra. “Son of a bitch…”

“Dee-”

“No, no… it’s fine.” It wasn’t fine and he knew it, but he lied regardless. “You’re right, she’s not dead. We’ll find her.”

A rumbling in the skies any further conversation as Limestone hurried over, and dark clouds moved in. “Storm is moving in, we need to get these supplies inside.”

Dee fought back her fears and nodded, looking back over to Lyra. “She’ll be alright, Lyra. She’s a tough girl.”

Lyra bit her lip but nodded, and tried to smile. “Y-yeah, she is.”

She tightened her chest and swallowed any doubts she may have had, helping Dee, Limestone and Marble gather up the supplies.

It took some time and the help of a few other people, who offered at least some grudging thanks for the windfall of precious wares, but they gathered everything into the garage before the downpour of rain from the approaching storm. The news broke between the whole group of what happened; between Rainbow going missing and the supplies gathered, and there wasn’t much they could do except rest.

And yet, for as tired as they all were, no one slept easy that night. How could they, knowing one of their friends was missing in action?

ooo000---000ooo

The morning sun was blocked out by the storm clouds surrounding the island, and no one really wanted to wake up to face the day, but they had to.

By force.

Namely with Dee being rudely woken up and grabbed by several people, dragged out of the room he was sleeping in, violently and across the floor kicking and screaming.

“H-hey! Let me go!” He immediately started throwing punches, flailing to try and get free of their grasp, but they either further restrained him or jostled him around to make his efforts futile. Their strength proved too much for his smaller and weakened frame caught off guard.

He was dragged like an animal through the hall of the building and taken outside, in the storm and rain and it wasn’t long before he was thrown out and onto the pavement near the bank truck. He hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of him and further worsening his injuries from the day before.

“Goddamn it!” He yelled and scrambled back, finding himself in the sudden company of his only friends on this island.

Lyra sat beside him, Limestone guarded a Marble with a bloody nose, and Derpy was holding onto a still wounded Dinky who was still knocked out. Vinyl was next to Lyra, holding a wrench in her hand. Everyone looked roughed up, beaten, and bruised up from a fight, and they were all surrounded by the survivors of the lighthouse.

“What the hell is your problem?!” Dee jumped to his feet and found one of the men pointing a baseball bat at him. It was enough to intimidate him into not moving any closer, but he still yelled, “what the fuck is going o-”

The survivors were fidgeting in place as Dee yelled at them, holding onto makeshift weapons and keeping their guard up. None of the girls made any sudden moves save for Lyra, who jumped to Dee’s side. The crowd began to part as a familiar lifeguard approached…

It wasn’t Sinamoi.

Even worse was the very loaded handgun he was holding in his hand.

“Shit.”

Liam held up his handgun proudly and smiled at the survivors. “Things are changing around here, folks!” The man announced to the whole crowd of survivors. “I’m the new leader of this place, and I’m done housing these fucking mutants.” He gestured vaguely to Lyra and the other ponies, quickly drawing their ire.

“We’re not mutants!” Lyra cried. “We’re survivors, just like all of you!”

“P-please, don’t do this!” Derpy was still holding the injured Dinky in her arms, the latter of whom was breathing shakily.

“What the hell is going on?! Liam!” Dee screamed at the man, who returned the younger man’s look with a very smug look. He tore his gaze away from the lifeguard and looked around the assembled crowd, but he didn’t see their only savior amidst them. “What are you doing? Where the hell is Sinamoi?!”

“He was too weak to protect us,” Liam started and began walking around the crowd. “He wanted us to contact help and wait for them to arrive. He was too scared! So scared-” Liam looked towards Dee and his group, “-that he couldn’t defend himself from the zombies outside our walls.”

There was silence among the crowd for a while, but with what he said it suddenly struck the group, Dee’s in particular. The horde of zombies outside the Lifeguard Tower’s walls, the ‘survivor’ the guards were unable to rescue that they had found, devoured outside. They didn’t know, they figured it was just another unlucky victim or perhaps Liam himself.

Fists clenched, he looked at the girls, then to the man and he growled, “You son of a bitch...”

“Ahh ahh ah! Now now.” The gun was pointed directly at him now, causing his anxiety to flare up. “I wouldn’t piss off the guy with the gun, kid… things are changing around here, starting with the eviction of our mutant residents!” He sounded so cheerful, it made Dee sick.

The ones who were obviously on Liam’s side began to move in, and Dee shouted, “You can’t do this! You’re insane!”

“My b-baby, she can’t move like t-this! She’s still hurt!” Derpy pleaded with them, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Please!”

A few of the people in the crowd were looking uneasy, many averting their gazes as if that would help avoid what they were doing. “She’s infected!” Liam shouted to them after noticing their unease. “She will turn into one of them sooner or later! We can’t risk what we have here because of their mistakes! We have walls, we have food, water, safety!”

“Don’t listen to him! Please, you can’t throw us out! We’ve done nothing but help you!” Lyra started next, standing by Dee’s side. “We risked our lives to get food and water! Why would we do anything to hurt yo-!”

“Quiet!” Liam bellowed and turned to face the group, handgun aimed at them. His finger was gently grazing the trigger, and the man looked seconds away from pulling it. “I should kill the whole lot of you right here, right now! But… I’m benevolent, and I’ll allow you to live…” He smiled.

The groaning outside of the gates told them of his real plan.

Dee’s face turned to horror as he realized Liam’s thugs had blocked off any escape and armed with heavy melee weapons and another one holding the only other handgun they had, they didn’t have any choice.

“Liam, you can’t do this.” Dee started as they were forced to back up to the gate. Derpy was sobbing hysterically and begging amidst Dee’s own pleading, as Limestone and Lyra tried to keep the thugs away from Marble and Dinky. “We won’t last ten minutes out there.”

As the gates opened and the thugs moved in, Liam pointed his gun at Dee and said, “I missed the part where that’s my problem.”

Derpy was grabbed by two of the thugs roughly, and she was kicked out by the men. Someone had grabbed Dinky and to the shock of the mother and several of Dee’s group, threw her unconscious body outside.

“DINKY!”

“You fucking bastards!”

Dee had had enough, and he swung at Liam despite the gun as Limestone charged in. Lyra tried holding her back, but the earth pony mare had charged past the other men and right for Liam.

A flash of light and an earth-shattering boom caused his ears to ring and his vision to go white, and he felt weightless. His vision returned quickly enough though, and a burning hot pain made itself known in his shoulder as another boom sounded, followed by a scream.

“LIMESTONE!”

Dee fell on his ass, clutching his shoulder as blood poured from the wound. He felt dizzy, unable to get his footing back as he looked behind him at the body of Limestone laying on the ground, she had been shot… Marble had collapsed next to her and was sobbing, as Derpy pulled Dinky away as several walkers closed in.

She was screaming wildly as Lyra sprang into action alongside Vinyl, the only two left able to fight properly.

Dee felt himself being picked up before he was thrown out of the Lifeguard Tower and onto the hard pavement, the storm raged on as a downpour of rain threatened to drown them out, but he couldn’t find it in him to get back up as the gates to the tower closed, and the undead surrounded them.

Screams and shouts, and the sounds of fighting and pleading were all Dee heard before blacking out, and he accepted his fate.

I’m sorry everyone.

Author's Note

And thus ends the first arc of Vacation! Ima take a little break from this and work on something else for a bit.

This story is officially the longest one I’ve ever written! I hope you all enjoyed the story do far!

Stay tuned for the next arc!

20

Dee didn’t remember how they got to this point, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Everything had been a dizzying blur shrouded in blood and deafened by screaming survivors and the howls of the undead menace surrounding them.

He had his hand pressed against the gunshot wound as they made their way through the resort area behind the hotel, chased by god knows how many zombies after being forced from the Lifeguard Tower by Liam. He could hear them closing in from behind, hissing, growling, stumbling over furniture to grab at and tear them limb from limb, their all-consuming hunger for living flesh driving them to chase after his hard-pressed group in the hope of scoring a quick meal.

Desperation nipped at their heels as the group did everything they could to escape. They’d made it this far, but Dee’s energy was starting to run out, and the hopelessness of the situation fueled by massive amounts of adrenaline was the only thing keeping him up on his feet and pushing away grabbing hands.

The same could be said for the girls behind him; their huffs and shouts of fighting reaching him at the front. He chanced a look behind at the ever-growing horde of zombies chasing them, and their eyes and shouts only told him how close to death they were.

Lyra and Vinyl were the only ones able to fight back in any decent enough capacity by then. They were armed with their fists and no weapons, as everything, including all food and medical supplies,had been confiscated by Liam at gunpoint before their forced exile into the maddening chaos of Banoi Island.

Marble and Derpy were directly behind Dee, both carrying an incapacitated Limestone and Dinky respectively. The former’s gunshot wound had been only hastily patched with scraps of clothes, while the latter remained pale and unconscious in her mother’s arms.

The distress in their eyes was almost too much as they ran, stumbled and crawled through the resort’s dizzying array of lounge chairs, discarded luggage and entertainment items, eager to find safety somewhere, anywhere in this hellhole of a resort.

But there was no sanctuary to be found from the unceasing tide of undead. There were no weapons and no help in sight; they were completely alone out here while surrounded by hellish monsters on all sides.

Even as he stumbled along gasping for breath, Dee couldn’t help but reflect that he’d gone from heaven to hell in the space of just a couple short hours. And though he half-thought that his threesome with Rainbow and Lyra would make dying worth it—was there any experience that would ever beat that? He also wasn’t about to stop fighting for his new friends and lovers. Goddamn it, after how much of this hellhole we’ve survived, I can’t let it end like this! For me or anyone else!

He kept a thumb jammed into his shoulder to stop the blood flow as he jogged forward through the ruined lounge area behind the hotel, searching his memories of the game for a place they could hide and find refuge in. But it was very hard to concentrate or consider the question when he could hear the shrieks and screams everywhere of approaching Runners, Walkers, and god knows what else.

Maybe more special infected if they were so unlucky.

He shuddered at the thought and nearly tripped over a lounge chair before the fresh sound of fighting attracted his attention. He spun around and glanced back in time to see Vinyl spin kick a zombie away from Marble, who had fallen behind lugging her sister.

Limestone’s normally iron-tough body was now little more than two hundred pounds of dead weight, and the duo was drenched in blood from her gunshot wound bleeding right through her makeshift bandage. She was unquestionably tough, swearing under her breath that she’d live long enough to kill Liam, but even though she worked on a farm moving rocks, exhaustion and blood loss was taking its toll on her.

Dee made his way through one of the lounge bars as a shortcut and was flung forward when the door burst open. A zombie rushed out, and before he could react, it plowed into him with all the considerable force it had, knocking him over before crawling on top.

“God! FUCK!” was all Dee could shout as he was slammed into the ground and then slid forward on the blood-slickened floor of the kitchen, and turned around to face the undead.

The monster crawled towards Dee with a snarl and tried to bite at his legs, his stomach, whatever it could get to, but Dee managed to gather the strength needed to kick him away. A fresh surge of adrenaline charging him up, he was back to full strength to a degree, but the pain from his own gunshot wound was limiting his movement.

“Get the fuck off me!” He screamed before he crawled away and scrambled up onto his feet. He grabbed a bottle nearby and slammed it into the bar, the resulting shatter sending glass shards falling to the ground and leaving him with a deadly weapon to fight back with. “We have to move faster, there’s too many of them!”

“We can’t!” Lyra shouted in pure despair as she pushed away a crippled zombie with a wrecked leg it could only drag along behind it, sending it stumbling into a nearby pool. “We’re surrounded!”

Dee looked back and saw Derpy’s face was contorted in horror as she held Dinky close. Worse, he realized Lyra was right as they found themselves backed into the bar by the horde encroaching on all sides; she and Vinyl ushered Marble and Derpy into the small building the undead had burst forth from, with Vinyl swiftly dispatching the monster with a swift downward kick, snapping its neck.

“Gods, someone help us!” Derpy cried as Lyra, Vinyl and Dee scrambled to find usable weapons.

They were cornered.

“Goddamn it!” He growled and swung his weapon at a zombie, cutting its throat open, but otherwise not deterring it. Brackish ooze poured forth and he pushed it away as the crowd grew denser. “Fucking fuck! Get the hell away from us!”

But they didn’t listen, continuing to press close, trying to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. There were too many of them for the group to fight off alone, and all Dee had was a broken bottle to fight with. Against a living opponent, at least potentially deadly, but the undead? Not so useful, but it was all he had to defend with.

The blood loss and endless exertion was starting to affect his sight, and he felt dizziness starting to set in as the edges of his vision grayed out. He fought against it as a few undead struggled to climb over the counter to get at the defending trio, armed with only their wits and whatever happened to be nearby that was loose enough to tear clean but sturdy enough to act as a temporary weapon.

“Raaah!” Dee shouted and grabbed onto an undead’s arm, pulling him over the counter before pinning him down, and swiftly slamming the sharpened glass into the skull of the undead. He did it once, twice, and then another time, until he finally broke through the weakened skull and penetrated its brain, killing whatever was left of the person it once was.

But his weapon was too cracked and slippery to hold now, and he let go of it as he backed up until his back hit Lyra’s.

“Fuck, fuck, it can’t end like this!” Lyra shouted as Vinyl kicked another zombie that made it over, sending it flying back over the bar.Thankfully, the runners were at the rear of the crowd and held back by the density of the walkers, keeping them from making it anywhere close to the survivors as the crowd composed of regular zombies closed in from all sides.

Dee tried to think of a way out, but the more infected that approached, the fewer ideas came to mind. They couldn’t find a way, there wasn’t a way out of this without someone getting hurt, or worse, killed.

Goddamn it all.

Dee pulled back his fist and launched it into the face of an undead who crawled over as more swarmed in from the left and the right, only kept at bay by Lyra and Vinyl, the duo’s hands and feet doing most of the work as Derpy and Marble remained inside of the building, guarding their injured and potentially infected sister and daughter. The undead moans coupled with the shattering sound of splintering wood and breaking glass were the only things they could hear, drowning out all other sounds.

Pushed back until all three were at the door, Vinyl had slipped back inside the building with Derpy and Marble, and quickly ushered the two and their family to the opposite door. With a shout, Dee yanked Lyra behind him into the room as well before noticing and grabbing an oar from inside, ripping it from a mantelpiece display and before swinging it downward as hard as he could into an undead’s skull. Gaining a moment of separation, he grabbed a nearby trash can lid as well from the inside and used it as a shield to hold back the swarm.

“Go out the back way!” Dee shouted to the group behind him, earning him disbelieving stares from Lyra, Derpy, and Vinyl. “Go out the back door, I’ll distract them!”

“W-what?! No!” Lyra shot up off of the floor and tackled the shield Dee had made and the door, struggling to close it shut with his help. “W-we’re not leaving you here, Dee!”

Dee roared and pushed with everything he had, forcing the door shut and slamming it against the undead who piled against it. “Just fucking go! Go to the tunnel gas station south of here! Wh-where we came from before! I’ll catch up!” He kept the door shut, but he could feel it starting to give under the weight of so many undead. Desperation nipped at his mind, the door would give any second now! He grabbed onto Lyra’s shirt and used his strength to throw her behind him towards the others. “FUCKING GO, GODDAMN IT!”

He fought back the door and slammed his knee into it as the hinges buckled.

Lyra had landed against the shelving hard, and she kicked off of it to scream, to yell at him, but she stopped.

The look he was giving her told her all she needed to know.

The mare slammed her fist against the wall, denting it and bloodying her knuckles before she turned and pulled Vinyl to her feet, and she quickly signed something to her. Vinyl’s eyes widened, but she nodded regardless and aided Derpy and Marble to their feet. The duo helped pick up Limestone and Dinky before moving to the back door, arming themselves with whatever was inside of the building.

Vinyl with the second oar from the mantlepiece display, identical to what Dee had on him, and Lyra with a discarded wrench sitting nearby.

The group moved to the back door and Vinyl led the charge, quickly slamming it open and kicking an undead away. It was their only opening to escape, and Lyra was quick behind the others, and she shot Dee one last look before she bolted.

Left by himself, Dee glanced back to see the girls had started running towards the hotel bungalows and the side paths leading down towards where he knew the gas station was, thankfully few zombies chased after them.

Then a zombie blocked his view, followed by another, and then another piling in.

“So fucking be it!”

The door gave way, and he was pushed back.

He bellowed out a war cry and swung his oar…

That was the last Lyra heard of him before they rounded the corner, and only the endless moans and screams of the monsters filled the air.

ooo000---000ooo

Lyra held up the rear as the group bolted as fast as they could away from the bar where they were cornered, and hearing Dee’s last cry almost sent her into a frenzied panic. But her old instincts as a guardsmare kicked in and forced her to steel her nerves, suddenly recalling the sound of her old drill instructor barking in her ear for failing to keep focus. Remembering his words to her, she reminded herself sharply to concentrate only on the mission at hand, which was protecting her friends and allies.

Sir, yes sir! She unconsciously answered him as she swung her wrench into a runner coming up from the side. It was howling its horrific cry, but her weapon silenced it instantly and sent it falling to the ground from the impact to its jaw.

She spun back around to face Marble who was hauling Limestone—the younger and less burly of the two sisters may have been shy and no fighter, but she was still an Earth Pony and thus quite strong—and in front of her was Derpy, still carrying Dinky. Vinyl led the pack and kept the infected monsters at bay with some well placed spin kicks and hits from her oar; a product of her excellent martial arts training that Lyra had found even tested her skills, especially when they had their magic available.

What I wouldn’t give to have my magic back now… but there’s nothing I can do about that. Have to head to the gas station, that’s what Dee said, and he’ll be there.

She wasn’t sure how likely that was, but she was going to hold him to it. And if he didn’t?

Well, there wouldn’t be much she could do, now was there? At least I got to be with him… if we die here, at least I can take that to my grave!

She continued following the group as Vinyl led them through the bungalows, past busted down doors and spilled food and drinks, abandoned pool items like towels and sandals, and so on.

It was a shame how messed up this place was, otherwise she'd have loved to enjoy the scenery. The pools, the food and drink; maybe some more fun with Dee and the others. Instead, she was forced into a fight for survival on this alien world which seemed quite different from her own in most ways, yet uncannily alike in others. Monsters around every corner, surviving ape-like humans who didn’t want to help them because of what they were. Abandoned and alone in a hostile world with no help in sight?

Celly’s Sun, this is too much for us.

Despite their fatigue, they kept moving until they found a dirt path leading up into the hillsides surrounding the hotel, bypassing the need to go down the main road snaking through the island. The trek uphill was daunting, short as it was, and once they crested the top, Lyra paused to glance behind her at the hotel as the rain fall grew worse and the cloud cover grew denser. The undead swarming the bungalows and the area behind the hotel; the hundreds they had to slog through to get to this point.

But they were free of them now. Her new friend and lover had bought them precious seconds to escape, and now he was stuck in the middle of all of them…

Perhaps even dead.

With a sharp shake of her head, she threw the thought from her mind. There was no way he’d die from that; he had proven himself to be a strong human, even for a male! He would find a way out of that mess, and back to them, back to her! And then they’d…

Lyra swallowed the lump in her throat and turned back around to follow her friends as they followed the rocky jungle path leading further south to their destination. With some luck, they would find refuge in the gas station, where they could lick their wounds and treat their injuries.

Finally having lost their pursuers in the torrential downpour of stormwinds and rainfall, they began their difficult trek across the terrain to the station. It wasn’t easy, given how tired and battered they were, but they weren’t about to stop now.

Deciding that they were safe, at least for the moment, Lyra stomped up ahead to check over Marble and Limestone. Finding that they were flagging, she took Limestone’s other arm and slung it over her shoulders. “I’ll help you, Marble. We don’t dare stop in the open, so let’s keep moving until we reach the station.”

“M-mmm.” Marble grunted with a nod, her face wet with sweat.

The path there had grown more treacherous as the roads running alongside the hidden dirt path they were on were suddenly overflowing with the undead; dozens upon dozens of them wandering down the road towards the hotel.

“There’s so many of them…” Lyra murmured as the group watched. They carefully hid in the foliage as they kept heading to the station, but were unable to get their eyes off of the hundreds of monsters. “Where did they all come from?”

Only silence answered her before they turned back to the path.

It took them maybe half an hour to walk through the increasing winds and rainfall before coming across the gas station, which Lyra and Vinyl recognized instantly. This was where they had met Dee, among other humans. This was where they were trapped before making a brave escape, only to crash and fight their way to the lifeguard tower.

Thankfully, it seemed the area was abandoned; no monsters in sight with the focus of undead efforts remaining on the hotel. Vinyl was quick to head down and check the area out, her eyes scanning around as the others listened, but no sound could be heard save for the distant howl half a mile away.

After snaking their way down the hill as the storm around them worsened, they quickly made their way around the gas station’s battered and empty shell to the garage from before. The doors were wide open and thankfully empty, but once they made it inside they shut and locked the doors as the storm covered the otherwise loud sounds of it.

Finally in shelter, Vinyl aided Lyra in helping Marble and Dinky inside, situating them near the rearwhere the back door was located.

Once inside, Lyra quickly headed for the door and made sure it was secure. She checked the bolts that would keep the door locked, even as bent as they were from the horde that attacked them so early on. Though she could still see the dents on the metal, she nodded in satisfaction that they would hold.

“We need to secure the building,” she said before remembering that her friend was deaf. Whirling around, she quickly signed the statement to Vinyl and added, “Find anything we can use as a weapon— something sturdy like tools or anything.”

Her muted unicorn friend nodded and quickly began rummaging around the warehouse's many shelves, crates and boxes, looking for anything and everything they could wield as a weapon.

Finally able to relax a little bit, Lyra let herself breathe as she looked over her soaking wet clothing, noting that the visible outline of her ample breasts and hardened nipples could be seen poking through the skin tight fabric. Wishing for a moment that Dee was there to see them and touch them again—she found she wanted to fuck him again for sacrificing himself as most stallions never would!—she sighed and went over to Derpy and the others before kneeling down.

Derpy was cradling a woozy looking Dinky, the younger mare’s eyes finally seeming to open after what felt like ages. “I-it’s gonna be okay, sweetpea, w-we’re gonna be okay.”

Lyra swallowed and placed a hand on Derpy’s shoulder. “She’ll be fine… I promise.” Lyra’s hand clenched around a large red wrench she discovered, her only weapon now in this desolate hellscape. “We’ll all be fine.”

Though she didn’t speak, Derpy shuddered as the storm beat down on the metal roofing of the building and its gale blew through the area. The storm was barreling down on them now, and they could feel the cold winds seeping in through cracks and crevices nearby, chilling them to the bone. The fear and anxiety they felt was beyond anything they had felt before, and having lost some of their group and cast out of the Tower, she knew that they were at the mercy of whatever was out there.

“H-how can you be so s-sure?” Derpy asked as thunder nearly drowned out her question. “W-we’re so close to being killed, and w-we lost R-Rainbow and D-Dee…”

Lyra closed her eyes in pain. Losing them was like a knife thrust into her chest. Not only her closest friend, but also her human lover… if she could call him that, which honestly felt right.

‘I’ll catch up!’ He had told them, before he was swallowed by the monsters.

“Rainbow is too tough to go out like that.” Lyra told Derpy, her grip tightening briefly on the pegasus’ shoulder. “And Dee? He’s tough for a male… he’s proven himself to be so incredibly different from any other stallions I’ve ever known. We’ll see them both again, I’m sure.”

She offered a smile as Dinky stirred with a groan, her eyes closing and opening again. She swallowed and looked to her mother, then to Lyra before back again. “Mommy? W-what happened?” Her voice was hoarse, dry, and Derpy nearly burst into tears to hear it.

Lyra acted quickly and pulled together what few supplies they had, finding some water in the form of a few bottles that had been hidden in the station that they had missed during their previous sweeps through it. She brought one over to Dinky and unscrewed the cap, carefully placing it to her lips with Derpy’s aid.

“See? Already a plus.” Lyra whispered as Dinky greedily drank from the bottle.

It wasn’t a whole lot, but seeing her wake up was enough of a plus that it soothed their spirits… for the moment.

Some time had passed as Derpy cradled Dinky, explaining to her the events of what had transpired since she had been out and taken care of since her injury. As that was happening, Lyra had made the rounds and checked on everyone, especially Limestone and Marble, the latter of whom hadn’t spoken a single word since Limestone was attacked.

Limestone herself was leaned up against a wall; the muscular mare had ripped her shirt into pieces and used the remains to close off her wound and staunch the bleeding. That left her with only a sports bra on, which barely contained her large and impressive assets from spilling out. Blood covered her chest, her mane was askew, and her eyes…

Lyra didn’t need to ask why she was so furious, and even looking at her for longer than a few seconds made her feel uneasy. She knew what kind of look that was from a few engagements with Harpie pirates during her time as a Guardspony, worn by mares who had just seen the carnage they’d wrought on an unprotected ship or isolated settlement. She knew exactly what Limestone was feeling, and she partially felt some of it herself.

The unicorn clenched and glanced at her balled up fist for a moment.

After all we’ve done, all we’ve risked, and we’re still kicked out and almost killed by that mad human. We risked our lives to gather food, fuel, and even medicine for them, and we were outcasted by them all.

She couldn’t believe that humans could be so heartless, even when one of their own was severely injured.

“I don’t understand how they could be s-so cruel.”

Derpy’s voice cracked through the storm outside as Vinyl and Marble hunted around for things; things to try and dry themselves and cover up with to stay warm. Even though they were on a tropical island, the storm and winds made it chilly, which was not good given their exposure moments earlier.

“I don’t know either.” Lyra murmured in reply and sighed in relief as she took off her shirt, the wet fabric starting to aggravate her greatly. She tossed it aside and shook her mane out, sending droplets of water flying everywhere while wishing she could at least cast a drying spell from her powerless horn. “We helped them a lot, and they tossed us out like we were nothing.”

“That was their last mistake,” came the growl of Limestone, drawing everyone’s attention.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that the next time I see any of them, I’m going to kill them, starting with that goddess damned lifeguard,” the farmpony declared as the air slowly grew colder from her glare alone, there burned a hatred in her eyes that none of them dared to snuff out. “He’ll be the first to die. And he’s gonna watch as I carve out his fucking heart.”

“L-Limestone-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Limestone bellowed, forcing Lyra to step back as the earth pony stood to her full height despite her wounds. Her hands clenched into tight fists, muscles tensed and teeth gritted. “We risked our fucking necks for that useless lot! We could have gotten killed because of everything we did for them! We almost died!”

Lyra couldn’t deny any of that, because she was speaking the truth. Still, she stood her ground as Limestone stomped her way over, getting into Lyra’s face as the storm raged outside. Lyra’s fear gave in and she found herself back to the wall. “Lime, please. I know, I understand, and I’m not trying to defend them… but you’re still talking about killing living people, and a male at that, you know we can’t-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Limestone’s fist flew towards Lyra and just barely missed her before smashing into the concrete wall with a meaty thunk and a solid crack. Lyra’s mane was pushed aside from the speed and force, sweat poured down from her head as she realized just how close she was to hitting her.

Limestone leaned in closer until her snout was almost touching the unicorn’s; the bare undersides of her barely bra-covered breasts pressing an inch into the top of Lyra’s, which were equally exposed.

“To hell with the protection laws… we’re not in Equestria anymore, spearhead, we’re in a completely different world.” Limestone growled out as the others watched from nearby, too terrified to move and assist Lyra. “I’m not going to follow those rules anymore, because there’s no point.”

“But w-we can’t-” Lyra started, her eyes flicking to Limestone’s boobs pressed against her, but Lime’s glare cut her off.

“Says who? You?”

“Says the law, Limestone!” Lyra bit back, trying to summon up the backbone to stand up to the intimidating mare, trying to ignore the twin mounds of flesh in her face. “We’re not in Equestria, yes, but we’re still Equestrian citizens! We can’t just cast aside our laws and morals because we’re in a different world!”

“Oh yeah? Why not? There isn’t anyone here to stop us, Lyra.” Limestone said coldly as she pushed off of the wall to draw back fractionally from her. The bottoms of her breasts slid off the top of Lyra’s while the lower edge of her sports bra caught the top of the latter, causing them both to partially pull off almost all the way to their taut nipples.

Despite their sudden and rather sorely compromising position, which elicited at least a brief blush from both of them, Limestone didn’t relent her glare. She raised her fist to show bits of concrete stuck to her knuckles, and nodded to the indent of her fist marking the wall next to Lyra’s head. “No royal guard, no princesses, there aren’t even any police or soldiers here… they’re all dead.” She made a brief bobbing motion with her chest that caused her bra to snap all the way back and her tits to pop free, which then bounced upwards to hit Lyra’s chin.

Lyra swallowed hard, feeling the cold breeze contrasting with her suddenly hot flesh and cheeks as the sudden motion had freed her own boobs of its undergarment as well, their mass squeezed upwards to press firmly and deliciously into the bottom of Limestone’s, who inner sides now pressed into her cheeks. “B-but still, the Princesses wouldn’t-” She tried hard to resist the urge to bury her face within them and raise her paws to grope them; her fingers finding and closing on the inch long nipples she could just see so rigidly protruding.

“They’re never going to know, nor are they going to find out.” With a parting smirk at the other mare’s reaction, Limestone turned and walked away, tugging her bra back down. “Because if things keep going the way they are now, we’ll all be dead before we find a way home. So if you want to suck my tits, Lyra, feel free. In fact, do whatever you want with me or anyone else. May as well live like there’s no tomorrow, because guess what, filly? There probably ain’t.”

Lyra was left with those words bouncing around in her head as Lime took her place by Marble’s side, the latter as silent as the grave. The only sounds were that of the elements outside and the debris hitting the sides of the building, nothing more.

Despite the erotic invitation, Lyra eventually slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, burying her head in her hands while crying softly to herself.

Do whatever you want with me… we’ll all be dead. The words echoed in her head over and over, her despair warring with the arousal the other mare’s actions had created in her. It felt wanton, it felt wrong, and worse, it felt like a betrayal of Dee.

None of which was to say that Limestone wasn’t right. Rainbow was already missing; most likely dead no matter how hard she tried to think otherwise. Dee said he would return to them before long, but it had already been a few hours since then, or so she assumed, given she had lost all track of time.

Pain took hold of her before long, a sensation in her chest like icy talons gripping her heart.

Her eyes burned and she hung her head, eventually pulling her legs to her only bra-covered chest. The thought of having lost two of their own, almost too much to bear, she stifled another cry, deciding instead to listen to the storm raging outside the walls of their hideout.

Celestia help us… she released the silent prayer, wondering if there was anyone in either world who could aid them now.

ooo000---000ooo

A few hours later, the storm finally calmed down enough that the rain ceased, leaving only the blazing heat of the sun rising into the sky above. Worse, the humidity had risen a great deal in its wake, meaning anyone outside would on doubt be miserable.

Especially if you were covered in blood and exhausted.

Walking away from the pool and bungalow areas near the hotel was a man, covered head to toe in blood spatters while missing his shirt along with one of his shoes, clutching a bloodied piece of lead pipe. A few undead trailed behind him trying to give chase, but with their slouched bodies and rotted legs, they weren’t making much headway running him down.

Even at a walking pace, he was losing them. Which was a good thing, given he wasn’t capable of much more.

His leg shaking from exertion and pain, he was breathing in the hot air around him as he walked around the hotel, following a path laid out before him of corpses and blood, discarded luggage, and various abandoned items.

But for all the horrors of his surroundings, they barely registered on his punch-drunk form. His unfocused eyes and dazed mind were set on finding one place, and the only thought he was capable of just then was that he needed to get there before his chance was lost.

I have to find them.

His body was battered, even outright torn up in places, but he kept moving until making his way around the front of the hotel, where even more bodies lay on the road. Heads bashed in, necks broken, arms and legs dislocated, some had simply been rendered immobile while others were outright killed. Blood stained everything from the concrete to the abandoned vehicles; it was such a bloodbath to the point that even the fountain marking the entrance of the hotel had been ruined with dozens of bodies and body parts floating in its pool, replacing the crystal clear water with a diluted crimson hue.

Finally satisfied he’d lost his remaining pursuers, he limped down the road snaking away from the hotel, past the crashed vehicles that included the police SUV they used, the other car they eventually crashed into, and others further down the way.

“God…” He cursed and looked behind him and then back ahead, tightly gripping his lead pipe. He soon saw some even more abandoned vehicles and bodies, and he grimaced as he felt the fire that was burning in him fading like candlelight. “If I’m gonna walk the whole way, you guys better be there.”

If he made it there, he was forced to admit as a growling to his left alerted him to another threat. But he wasn’t fresh; his tired legs and aching hands simply didn’t feel up for another battle.

The mostly intact creature he spotted sent a chill down his spine, as did the brisk pace it closed on him at; his body immediately went into flight mode upon seeing it.

Despite the burning in his legs and lungs, he forced himself to run, recognizing that it was another one of those leaping infected from the pass that Limestone had killed.

He rushed towards the hill to his right as the creature screeched and howled before jumping towards him, covering the distance between them with a single terrifyingly powerful leap.

“Fuck away from me you bastard!” He howled as, mustering all his remaining energy, he swung his lead pipe around in time to catch the beast in mid-air. Instincts kicked in and he swung his weapon just in time to catch its head, avoiding the outstretched arms and smashing the metal weapon into its face.

He stumbled to the right to avoid the hundred or so pounds of body flung towards him and allowed it to pass, slamming into the road behind him as more howls sounded nearby, with the leaper’s cry having alerted more of the creatures.

Dee cursed.

His lead pipe bent and was useless now, and he tossed it aside before rushing up the hill as he saw the creatures leaping from afar to catch up to him. He forced his weakened body up the hill, grasping onto clumps of grass and the thick roots from the jungle trees to hoist himself up. A herculean task in his current state, but one he managed to achieve out of a simple determination to see his pony friends again before he started limping into the hillside jungle.

He feared that it didn’t provide him cover as much as his pursuers. Trees and bushes flanked him on all sides, offering perfect hiding spots for the infected hunting him down, and he cursed as he kept moving forward.

But as the noises got steadily closer, he realized that he was fighting a losing battle and they’d probably catch up to him in under a minute. This is gonna be it, fuck. No weapons, no one to help, could really use some divine intervention right about now.

A small prayer went out from the back of his mind before he tripped over a tree root sticking up out of the ground, and he yelped before falling down a hill, rolling through the grass and coming to a stop in a depression near some rocks.

“Ow…” His chest burned, his ribs ached, and old injuries from the past flared up like never before. His body had nothing left; he could feel it in his bones and muscles as well as his heaving lungs.

He tried to pull himself up but failed, falling back to the ground. A second attempt proved futile as no matter how much he willed himself to rise or tried to fuel himself with thoughts of his friends, his limbs simply refused to work.

“F-fuck.”

The howling was a ghastly noise, and it closed in the longer he laid there.

It was all he could do. His body had given up, refusing to heed his desperate call to allow him just a little longer to keep moving. Guess this is it, then… he hoped it would be quick, and he wouldn’t turn into an infected that would threaten his new friends. As he looked up at the sky and the sun overhead, he wondered…

Will they survive without me? They should… they’re strong girls, fuck… just glad I got them this far. And got to be with them at least once…

As the howling grew louder, he heard fresh footsteps to his right, away from the pursuite expected their source to be another undead, but they weren’t shuffling nor did he hear any howling or growling.

He managed the strength to look over and he spotted a single blurry figure standing above him, their silhouette marked by the sun behind them. He also saw three other smaller figures behind them, looking down at him before his vision began to fade. They were talking, but with the sound of his own pounding heart and rushing blood in his ears, he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

The last thing he saw was a hand reaching out to him before darkness took him.

ooo000---000ooo

Dee came too slowly, emerging out of a deep but fitful sleep.

He spotted a ceiling above him and flickering lights when he finally woke up fully, and once again picked up voices nearby, but this time they were clear as day. Even as dizzy and tired as he remained, he was able to focus on what they were saying.

“Why did you bring this thing in here? He could be dangerous!” said a worried male voice.

“Look, he’s not one of them. Besides, we can’t just abandon people who need help!” replied a female one.

“People? He’s not even an Equestrian!” came the reply, causing Dee’s eyes to go wide.

Equestrian? Wait…

He blinked hard and turned his head to look to the side, to try and see whoever was talking.

To his surprise, blue-and-yellow uniform-clad ponies greeted him, though none were looking at him.

“And? He’s still a male, and Equestrian law dictates we can’t allow the death of any male if we can help it,” the mare

“But we’re not even in Equestria!” the stallion insisted.

“Soarin!” She shouted, causing the light blue stallion she was addressing to flinch. “That’s enough! I give the orders here, not you! And in case you haven’t noticed, he’s awake.”

Dee gulped.

The yellow mare eventually walked through the door, and once his eyes cleared up properly he saw who exactly it was. He froze as the mare strut into the room he was in: clad in a blue and yellow bodysuit that was skintight and fitted for pegasi like herself, with armor around the hips and shins, chest and arms, bracers.

Spitfire, the acting commander of the Wonderbolts.

He watched how she moved and couldn’t help but admire her hardened flyer’s body: toned and sleek muscles bulged against the material of her suit, outlining her impressive physique that grabbed his attention almost immediately. If there was one thing he loved, it was a fit female, and Spitfire was exactly that. He had to adjust the covers as his eyes drifted from her helmet down to her tightly clad bust; even with her tits covered by the suit and a modicum of armor, he couldn’t help but notice just how big her assets were in relation to other pegasi, including Rainbow.

The pegasus made her way over to a wheeled chair before pulling it over and sitting down on it. She took a moment to unclasp the helmet she was wearing and take it off, allowing her fiery mane to escape into its trademark flare.

“Greetings, creature. You will forgive me if I don’t know your name or your race. I have some questions for you, and I hope you’ll answer them.”

Dee struggled to sit up against all odds, and scooted back to lean against the wall before looking at her, trying not to gawk. They’d saved him, and the last thing he needed was for their charity to be withdrawn because he couldn’t stop ogling her. “What kind of questions?”

Even as he asked the question, his mind was running a million miles an hour at the fact that he was looking at Spitfire. How did she get here? Why was she here? Did that mean more ponies were on the island? Could they help him save his friends? More questions burned in his mind as she spoke.

“We haven’t made much headway with the locals, given the affliction they’re suffering from. You’re the only survivor we’ve discovered so far.” She explained to him, eyes looking around the inside of the structure they were in. The cold concrete walls reminded Dee of the bunkers on the island. “First, where are we? I don’t recognize this island on any of our maps, but I have a suspicion we’re no longer in Equestria. Second, who and what are you? And lastly, have you seen anymore of our kind around the island?”

Dee rubbed his head and swung his legs from the metal bed he was on, taking it slow lest he injure himself further. “Well, for starters, you’re on Banoi Island. It’s a resort destination for the rich. Or at least, it was.” He took a moment to look Spitfire over from her skintight outfit to her armor, her eyes. “My name is Dee. I’m a human, stuck on the island. I arrived just as this plague broke out.”

“Banoi? I’ve never heard of this place.” She narrowed her eyes and cupped her chin before looking off to the side. “And you say you’re a ‘human’? That’s not a species I am familiar with.”

“Probably because you’re not in Equestria anymore.” At her surprised and then suspicious look, he quickly clarified: , “I’ve met more of you before, and they told me where they were from. This world isn’t Equestria, it’s a place called Earth.”

Spitfire lit up at his comment and she leaned forward. “Do you know where they are? My name is Spitfire, I’m the commanding officer of the Wonderbolts, an elite military team. We’ve been sent to find them.”

So they have a way here? Do they have a way back?

He idly wondered if that meant they had a way off the island, because they had to have gotten here somehow. He took in a small breath before he said, “I think I know, but… it’s been hours since we got split up, since…”

His mind recalled Liam, what he had done to them and his fists clenched. Limestone and himself had been shot, the others cast out, and Rainbow missing.

Dee tried to calm himself down before he stood up, legs burning, but he fought it off. “They should be at a nearby gas station over this hill and down the road, and I’m going to find them.”

Spitfire had quickly stood up herself before placing her hands on his shoulders, firmly pushing him back down onto the bed despite his silent protest. “You are not going anywhere.”

Dee tried to stand up again, but she grabbed a hold of him and pushed him back down again. “Grr, I can’t just sit here!”

She gave him a hard glare, and that alone was able to freeze him up. “Listen, human. Though I admit I don’t know what kind of magic or regenerative capabilities you wield, I can tell just by looking at you that you are far too injured to be moving around. In fact, you were beaten half to death when we found you…” Her glare softened slightly and she let go of him, satisfied that he would stay put. “I appreciate the worry you have for my kind, but I can’t have you risking your life out there.”

Dee clicked his tongue and looked away. “I’m not a kid, Spitfire. I’ve been on this island with those girls for two weeks now, and I’ve been fighting for my life with them since I got here.” He gave her a pointed stare. “I get that you don’t want me risking my life, but for all we’ve been through, I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

Spitfire shook her head, much to his chagrin. “A commendable sentiment, especially for a stallion. But you’re not in any shape for it. You’ll be staying here while we hunt down the others.” She took a step back and before calling out, “Sergeant Mending Hearts!”

The summoned pony arrived a few seconds later. It was another mare dressed in similarly light armor as her commanding officer, but hers was outfitted with first aid equipment and other marks of a medic, including red crosses on either shoulder, the bandage pouches on her belt, and the large pack hanging off of her hip.

She saluted Spitfire before being put at ease. Spitfire said, “Take care of the human here, Lieutenant. Fleetfoot and I are going to survey the area and see if we can find the other ponies.”

“You’re going to die if you aren’t careful.” Dee spoke up, causing both mares and even Soarin nearby to freeze. “This island isn’t what it seems like. The ‘people’ you encountered aren’t people, they’re monsters. Infected by some awful disease that turns them into flesh-hungry demons, as well as anyone they bite.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve dealt with monsters and demons before, kid,” Soarin replied, and Dee’s eyes narrowed at the stallion. “These… infected won’t be a problem for us.”

“You won’t be fighting, Soarin,” Spitfire said matter of factly, poking his chestplate with a finger and causing him to wince. “You’re only here as an observer, not to fight these things. That’s Fleetfoot’s job, and my job.”

“Oh come on, Captain! I’m not like other males and you know that!”

“I am not going to argue with you. You know the rules—you’re not getting into combat, and that’s final.”

Mending Hearts had taken her place by Dee’s side and began checking his body, observing his injuries as the human watched Soarin and Spitfire bicker back and forth.

So that’s Soarin from their world? Have to say, he sounds like a prick. Why’s he so concerned about fighting? Also why is he even here if males aren’t allowed in any combat roles? What the hell is an observer?

Without even thinking, Dee said, “So you're the one Rainbow’s talked about then?”

Soarin and Spitfire stopped talking and the stallion whirled to face him, and his eyes lit up. “You know Rainbow Dash?”

The corner of Dee’s mouth twitched upwards for a split second before returning to the frown he had, albeit forced, and he nodded. “Saved her life, she saved mine. She’s a good friend by now, but… I don’t know where she is.”

Spitfire’s eyes narrowed. “But you said earlier—”

He held up a hand and gave her a hard glare. “I’m not trying to fool you. I know where some of them are, but along the way to getting there, something happened… something bad, and we got split up. I don’t know where Dashie is,” he muttered, not even realizing the look he was getting from Soarin. “For all I know, she’s dead. We didn’t exactly get a chance to look for her before we were all attacked.”

He blinked and looked to Mending Hearts who was studying his gunshot wound and frowning. Uncapping an odd bottle, she poured a strange liquid into it that stung and then numbed the area, almost instantly staunching the bleeding as a bonus. She then began to patch it up, starting with a needle and thread.

“And what about the others? Are they hurt?” Spitfire asked, to which Dee could only groan.

“Yes. Limestone suffered the same wound as I did.” He mentioned, flicking his gaze back to Spitfire, whose ears perked up. “Dinky was injured badly. She’s still alive, last I knew, but I don’t know for how long.”

“How bad is the injury?” Spitfire asked, to which Dee looked up at her.

“She was bitten by the undead.” The mare’s face turned white and he added, “So far she hasn’t succumbed. I don’t know if she’s immune to this virus, but if she isn’t… she may still become one of them.”

Spitfire cursed and turned on her heels, slamming her helmet back on. “There’s no time, then! Let’s move, now!” Soarin did the same as she did as Fleetfoot followed behind, leaving Dee alone with the medic.

He hoped Dinky was immune, because if she wasn’t… he couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of devastation Derpy would suffer from.

For Derpy’s sake, she damn well better be…

ooo000---000ooo

Back at the gas station in the back where the garage was at, the group of mares still hid out there waiting for Dee to arrive. They didn’t have any other kind of plan other than to just wait, but what if he never showed up? They didn’t have many supplies, and sooner or later, the undead would find them again, just as they had before. Lyra figured that she would have to take charge of the group, something she was not hoping to do anytime soon with a wounded but increasingly murderous Limestone on her hands.

Behind the counter was Derpy, she cradled the injured Dinky who had been in and out of consciousness for some time. The young mare’s breathing was raspy, and despite trying to rest, she was fidgeting and burning up.

“M-mom…”

Derpy’s eyes opened and she looked down at her child, whom she had been rocking back and forth gently. A hand delicately went to Dinky’s cheek. “Yes sweetie?” Derpy’s heart sped up when she realized just how hot she was to the touch, she was burning up!

Dinky’s eyes opened and Derpy’s eyes widened, they were horribly bloodshot… a horrid shade of red that nearly took over her eyes completely.

“I’m s-so hungry…”

Author's Note

It's been a while! I've returned with the first of many banger updates, this one for Vacation! Do enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments! No worries, there's plenty more where this came from.

Big fat thanks to the man, the myth, the legend, Firesight! Amazing work editing this into something worthy of being published!

21

After being tended to by Mending Hearts, Dee was cleared to the point he could finally walk around. She did tell him to take it easy, and that he couldn’t leave, so all he could really do was pace around the bunker and worry.

He was correct in his earlier assumptions: this was one of the World War II bunkers on the island. He walked around the inside, examining the faded propaganda posters left behind by the Imperial Japanese who occupied the island, and noted the vines seeping in from the firing ports nearby where the jungle had overgrown near it.

It’s not in the best of shape, but it’s sturdy enough to keep the undead out for the time being. If it can withstand shellfire from warships, it can withstand the hammering fists of a thousand ravenous zombies right out of a video game, right?

As he exited the area that had been turned into a medical bay, he noticed several other ponies laying on beds wrapped in blankets; who they were he had no idea. Wandering further, he soon found himself in the main area with the entrance firmly sealed and guarded by a Wonderbolt member in full armor. He didn’t know their names, not recognizing them from the show, , but it looked like they had sent an entire squad to the island. But how the hell did they get here? He still had no idea.

Looking over to his left, he noticed the workshop area of the bunker was populated by equipment brought in by the Wonderbolts: large wooden crates etched with the Wonderbolts emblem. One of them was open and, unable to contain his curiosity, he walked over and peered inside.

He blinked.

Long wooden rifles, single shot muskets. His mind flickered back to the history books of the American Revolution and the breech-loading rifles of the British Army during the 1770s. They were powerful guns for their time, and he imagined being hit by their shots would still ruin your whole day, but he didn’t exactly expect to see a bunch of anthro ponies carrying them around.

“You guys are armed with these?” He couldn’t help but ask the Wonderbolt standing guard nearby, who turned to regard him.

She clicked her tongue disdainfully. “Like you would know anything about them? Don’t even think about touching them, male, or you might hurt yourself.”

The sneering comment made his eyebrow twitch, and the inner gun nut in his heart screamed out.

“I actually know quite a bit, thank you,” he replied, turning to regard the mare with narrowed eyes. “I’ll have you know I used to own something like thi-”

“I doubt that. You’re just a male, what would you know?” She scoffed and waved him off with a laugh as her wings shuffled, armored up just like the rest of her, albeit with some other kind of material that looked strange to him. “You wouldn’t be able to fire it, let alone handle it.”

He snorted and spat onto the wall nearby before walking away with a shake of his head, badly wanting to prove her wrong but knowing that he didn’t need to be making any more enemies just then. “Whatever.”

Still steaming, he left the main room and went over to one of the ladders, deciding to climb it to the second level. He felt the eyes of the mare behind him boring holes into him, but he did his best to ignore it.

After peering over the edge to see what was up top, he spotted some more ponies… but they weren’t Wonderbolts.

“Hey look! It’s the monkey guy!”

“Scootaloo, he ain’t no monkey!”

“I don’t know Bloom, he kinda looks like one.”

“Guys, he can hear you ya know.”

“He can?!”

“Why didn’t you warn us, Sweetie!”

“Girls, please.”

“Holy…” was all he could think to say as he recognized anthro versions of Cutie Mark Crusaders, alongside two other adult mares: a moderately purple mare with long two tone hair sitting next to the trio of teenage fillies, and the other a gray mare with black hair and regarding him with curious eyes.

“You’ve finally woken up?” Octavia spoke.

Cheerilee and Octavia?

He blinked and finally finished his climb with a groan, and looked over the five carefully. “I, uh… have, yeah.”

The man looked over at one of the gunports that peered out into the island, and he walked over to it. He looked outside and saw the resort, the roads, the trees, thankfully they were high up enough that no infected could reach them, as the bunker was built into the face of a cliff. He could see the bunker overlooking the ocean nearby, the beaches, where were they exactly?

“We were fortunate enough to have been found by the commander of the Wonderbolts,” Octavia spoke to him and stood up, slowly making her way over to the port. “We found you when we landed here by accident.”

He flicked his eyes over to her. “How did you guys end up here?”

Octavia looked out of the port and gestured into the distance. He looked and followed her line of sight before his eyes landed on what looked like a small yacht anchored just off the shore, hidden near some rocks.

“I was going to Haywaii originally to watch my friend’s show, before I had discovered she had gone missing. It quickly turned into a search and rescue mission which I was financing and heading along with my ship’s crew.” She gestured behind her to the fillies. “The children behind me had snuck onto the ship against the wishes of their guardians in search of their destinies… so we’re stuck with them, now. And as for Cheerilee?”

Octavia glanced behind her to see the teacher, who was awkwardly rubbing the back of her head.

“Oh. Well, I’m a fan of DJ-PON3, actually, so I wanted to try and help.”

Octavia tittered and looked back to Dee. “I offered her a ride as we were all going the same route… however we ended up here instead, it’s peculiar.” The mare rubbed her chin and looked back at the other ponies with a curious gaze. “We should have arrived on schedule, yet here we are on this strange island… it’s beautiful, but not on any of the maps my captain possesses.”

“We only just learned recently that they had all gone missing before we left port. It was dangerous to bring the children along, but now that they’re here…”

“Rainbow will get us out of this!” Scootaloo declared, standing up suddenly. “I just know it!”

Dee sniffled and looked at them all before turning to Octavia, saying, “DJ-PON3? You mean Vinyl Scratch, right?”

Octavia whipped her head around to him. “You’ve seen her?”

“I know her, actually.” He smiled briefly at the memory of the brave mare who didn’t let her deafness hold her back, either in her profession or aiding her friends. “I ran into her a few weeks ago when I crash-landed here, fighting for our lives to get to safety… I owe her my life, honestly. She saved me plenty of times. I saw her in action, and she’s absolutely incredible.”

Octavia smiled warmly and brushed aside some of her long, dark hair. “She truly is, I’m very happy to hear it. But… is she alright?” She noticed him hesitate.

“The last I saw of her, she was.” Dee nodded cautiously, which allowed Octavia to breathe out a sigh and visibly relax herself.

“You have no idea how much that alleviates my stress.” She sighed and looked back outside. “She’s such a reckless mare by nature, between her deafness and fearlessness. But I am glad to know she is well, even in a situation like this.”

“Hopefully Spitfire will find them all. And if that ship is in good shape… we could finally get off this damn island,” Dee commented and allowed himself a speck of hope to flicker into existence, it looked like they would finally be able to escape!

“Yes,” Octavia agreed.

Yes!

“But-”

NO!

He had to fight the stifled scream threatening to escape his chest as Octavia popped his bubble. “My captain and the crew suffered injuries when we landed here. A party disembarked to the island to find the locals, only to return with half their number and the captain dreadfully injured.”

Of course, for fucks sake they don’t know they’re dealing with the undead.

“They ran across some kind of beasts that injured them, they barely made it back to the ship before the Wonderbolts found us.” Octavia looked pale upon mentioning it, hugging herself and by proxy, causing her large breasts to squish together, drawing his eyes for a brief moment as their mass bulged out the top of her work shirt. “They were treated by their medic, but they’re now quite ill and in no shape to pilot the ship.”

Dee froze. Clearing his throat and tearing his eyes from her bosom—he could just see the bump of a nipple and even the barest hint of the surrounding areola as a slightly raised area against the backdrop of her greater breasts—he looked back up to her. “What kind of injuries?” He asked as he looked at the yacht again. Even from this distance, he couldn’t see anyone on deck, but then a sinking feeling hit him. “Wait—were they bitten?”

Octavia looked startled. “W-yes… yes they were, actually. But how did you-?”

That wasn’t good, he realized, his heart beginning to pound in his chest. “Fuck, where are they now?”

“They’re down below in the makeshift infirmary you were in. Why do you ask?”

Shit!

Dee blinked again before whirling around and running. Not even bothering with the ladder, he leapt down from the second floor of the bunker and landed on the hard concrete floor in a now well-practiced roll. The pain that coursed through him almost took him out, but the adrenaline managed to keep him going.

“Hey! Watch it!” The guard shouted, storming over to him. “You’re going to hu-”

He shoved her aside and sprinted back to the room he had been in, through a metal door to try and find Mending Hearts.

Skidding to a stop, he didn’t see her on the bed he was on prior to leaving.

He froze as the grotesque sounds of crunching and chewing reached his ears, and the color left his face as he slowly looked over to the other beds and the ponies on them, or the lack of them.

In the floor in a pool of crimson was the Wonderbolt, helmet torn from her head as four large stallions were tearing into her chest and stomach, pulling free her entrails and guts and devouring them. The mare’s face was frozen in petrified horror, unable to even speak as an arm reached out to him.

“H-help.”

One of the stallions looked up from his meal to gaze at Dee, red bloodshot eyes glared into his own before a scream left the now infected monster’s throat.

Dee’s scream joined the monster’s.

ooo000---000ooo

The rain had finally let up at long last, and Rainbow wasn’t sure how long it had been since the fight at the Tower.

Not long enough. She let out a shaky breath as she poked her head out from behind the rock she was hiding behind, scanning the area ahead of her.

She had been forced further north by a horde of monsters with many of the sprinting undead nipping at her heels the entire time. Silently thanking Spitfire for all the stamina training she’d put the Wonderbolts through, she eventually managed to lose them before finding herself hiding along the coastline near a cave system surrounding the beach. Overhang rocks and foliage provided cover from the sun and earlier storm, but it seemed to have done very little to stop the destruction of several yachts and personal boats from being upturned and sunk, or washed ashore.

Dozens of bodies were floating in the water with scores more hanging off the railings of the yachts, torn into by the surrounding undead populating the coastline. They were generally wearing either a combination of swimwear and tropical attire or virtually nothing at all.

Some were even naked; she had to avert her eyes from their bloodied dangling bits.

Trying her best to shut out the carnage from her thoughts, Rainbow examined the ships and boats that crashed onto the shore, and the ones still floating out in the water. She saw the latter as a possible means of escape, but given their condition and the storms that seemed to constantly assault the island from all sides, she didn’t have any hopes of getting any of them working. Not that she knew how to sail anyway, unless it was an airship; she had some basic knowledge around piloting one of those. But one for the ocean?

It’s the same as flying, just… a lot more risk involved for those who can’t fly.

Swallowing hard, she snuck out from hiding and decided to start looking for something she could use for a weapon. Maybe something abandoned among the luggage strewn from the ships that washed on shore? Or maybe a discarded weapon from a previous survivor?

Whatever the case was, she needed to find a weapon to help her get back to the others, to get back to the Tower.

To take down Liam.

The name tasted bitter on her tongue and she grabbed a hold of her arm, where a crudely wrapped bandage stifled the bleeding from a wound she had gotten, not from an infected, but from a human survivor.

She spat and moved along the sands, checking each container she found lying on the beach.

But her search was fruitless. All she found was useless swimming attire, a few wrapped snacks and water bottles, some wallets and purses. Aside from the food, she didn’t have a use for most of it, so she packed away the supplies and kept moving, carefully avoiding the undead who were grouped around one boat.

I have to find a way back to the others, especially to Dee. She needed to find out if they—and especially he—were okay.

If he was killed, I don’t know what I’ll do… The mare climbed up past some rocks to get out of reach and search some more containers, finding a few different looking ones. They were black crates with lettering on them that looked unfamiliar to her, but most likely belonged to some of the ships below. She crouched beside one and examined it more closely, and found some symbols on it she couldn’t quite decipher: an octagon emblazoned on the wood with every side curving inward.

Weird. She reached for the clasps and undid them, opening up the lid to see what was inside.

Inside of the crate she found some black ropes neatly bundled up inside, alongside climbing hooks and other related and assorted gear. Huh. Nothing too useful but deciding it might come in handy for later, she grabbed what she could. After tucking a few smaller items into her backpack, she lashed the rope around her, hoping she could find a use for it when she found the others.

The other crates had similar items in them, stuff for climbing and others containing strange black devices. This time, they took the form of a very small square with four small rotors on each wing in the shape of an X, with small handheld objects inside. She couldn’t even begin to guess what exactly it was, but maybe Dee would know?

She closed it back up before checking it for an easier way to carry, and shortly discovered one in the form of a collapsible handle hidden on the top. Hefting it and finding it wasn’t too heavy, Rainbow decided to take it with her on her way back to the others. It wasn’t a weapon but the case seemed sturdy enough; maybe she could find a use for it later on her trek back?

The shoreline she was on didn’t seem to have anything else of importance that grabbed her attention. The ships that had run aground were battered from the elements, half sunk further out, while others still afloat had far too many zombies on them to warrant risking her life to try and clear them in the hopes of having a way off the island.

A sigh left her as she turned and started for the opposite side of the shore. Her search complete, she found herself eager to try and find some other way around the horde that chased her. A way to get back to her friends.

Back to Dee.

Her heart felt funny when she thought about him, and she had to shake her head before smiling at the warmth she sensed within her just to visualize his features.

“To think I’d start feeling this way for a human, even though I still barely know him.” She shook her head again as she moved along the rocks high above, safely out of reach of the zombies down below who still swarmed around the beached boats and personal luxury yachts.

Despite the not-too-distant danger, her thoughts lingered on the human male. She couldn’t fathom why she’d been so instantly attracted to him, especially since she had been in a relationship with Soarin and messed around with a couple of others during her time in the Wonderbolts. Granted, she wasn’t monogamous by any means. Most mares weren’t given the herd lifestyle and marriage laws of Equestria, yet she found herself feeling strangely giddy whenever Dee came to mind.

A rock tumbled when she stumbled briefly; a slight scraping noise left her as the rock fell down below and smacking one of the monsters in the head. Freezing and holding her breath as it looked up but saw nothing, she was afraid to relax or even so much as twitch for another minute until she was satisfied he hadn’t detected her She glanced up and watched the waves crashing against the shore, the rocks, pushing against beached boats further onto land with each push. Another scan of the roiled water from her position didn’t reveal any that seemed usable without major repairs, they all appeared to have been damaged too badly by the previous storm and being tossed against the shore.

If only they could have been useful. If only there was one boat that was still intact and free of these creatures…

But the thought was lost and her ears twitched. It was hard to tell over the pounding surf and sharp breeze, but she thought she heard something in the distance—a scream?

Pointing her ears in that direction, it wasn’t immediately repeated. She was about to write it off as another infected crying out, but then she heard it again, more distinctly. And this time, there were words that underlay the cries of terror; they sounded more like-

“Aaaaah!”

“Run for it!”

Those were not infected. But they were definitely being chased by them.

Rainbow’s wings sprang out and she leapt from the rock she was on to soar above the rest of the infected that had wandered around her current position. She flew through the air with whatever strength she had left in her wings, but unable to gain any lift in this magic-poor place except by the strongest and most exhausting flaps that would quickly drain her strength, she mostly let herself glide.

To the west she flew through the wide caverns that fronted the ocean and created some sheltered anchorages, where she passed by beached boats and yachts and small groups of monsters before she reached the entrance to the cave from the other side.

Once she got closer, she flew around to one of the naturally formed stone pillars that supported the mountain above and grabbed onto one of the rocks for a moment. She scoped out the area ahead of her, her keen eyesight letting her peer far enough to see the nearby docks and a fenced in warehouse.

But she wasn’t focused on that.

She found her rose-colored eyes zeroing in on two small figures dashing across the sand, pursued by a large and bloodied figure.

She was shocked to recognize the two; a set of pegasus twins with a yellow color palette and green manes and tails. They were two feisty souls she’d met previously and instantly liked; the leaders of her fan club in the town of Hope Hollow.

Pickle and Barley Barrel.

“Holy—” Rainbow dropped from the pillar and glided down and angled herself down to fall faster, using gravity to send her flying out of the cavern and close in on the duo.

Behind them she saw the infected was closing in, and had almost gotten within grabbing distance.

Come on! She silently urged them, beating her wings harder in an effort to reach them first.
She flew in low until she almost touched the ground to pick up some additional speed and lift, and thankfully the two spotted her approaching as she took dead aim at the infected chasing them.

“Pickle! Watch out!” Barley shouted as she pushed her brother out of the way.

That’s the way! Rainbow praised with her thoughts. She grinned and twisted mid-flight, using all the speed she had gathered to slam her heavy boots into the chest of the infected monster, putting all her considerable might into the strike.

Given that means her roughly fifty-kilos of weight were moving well over normal flying speeds?

Even if he was far bigger than her, he didn’t stand a chance.

There was a sound of snapping ribs as the monster was sent flying through the air with a screech, soaring across the expanse of beach before slamming into the ground with a grisly sound, twisting and contorting as his bones broke and shattered before he smashed into a rock with a sickly crunch.

Rainbow twisted again and landed upright, skidding across the sand before coming to a stop.

Despite the feat and the knowledge she had just saved two foals, she found herself given pause. Shit… been awhile since I’ve had to use any pegasi martial arts. My speed and power behind them are gonna send anyone flying, but I’ve never seen what happens to someone when they can’t defend. Poor guy… She spared a moment of pity for the infected human male, her mare instincts recoiling at having killed him even though she knew he was irrevocably lost. Staring at him, she suddenly wondered how much therapy she was going to need after this ordeal was over. Assuming she even survived it.

She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before turning around to find the twins, who were staring at her in a mixture of awe and wonder.

“R-Rainbow?” Barley murmured at last.

The eighteen year old filly looked like she had been put through the wringer. She was covered in dirt and some scratch marks along her arms and legs, and her feathers were ruffled. The clothes she wore had been torn in some places, exposing her young body in more than a few places, including directly over an immature breast that allowed a small part of the darker area near a snipple to show. But that didn’t disturb Rainbow so much as the broken and bloodied piece of wood she held in her hand.

Her brother, Pickle, was even worse for wear. The colt had multiple bandages around his arms and legs, a another on his head, and his clothing was in even worse shape. The hoodie was ripped apart, his shirt and shorts missing entire chunks that exposed large areas of his boyish butt and belly, and his wings… he was missing several feathers; they looked like they’d been roughly ripped away.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Rainbow approached Pickle and knelt down as Barley rushed over. The colt had fallen to his knee and clutched his side, whimpering in pain.

“How did you two…?” Rainbow started to ask but she shook her head, now wasn’t the time to be questioning things. “Never mind. I’m here. You’re going to be fine. Pickle, can you walk?”

He looked up at her and his leg, which was clad in a bloodied bandage. “N-not very well.”

Rainbow silently cursed and looked to Barley. “Can you fly?”

“I-uh… y-yeah, sorta. But Pickle-”

“But nothing.” Rainbow quickly hoisted Pickle up onto her back and spread her wings. “Hold on, buddy. I’ve got you. Now by Luna’s moon, let’s get out of here before more of them show up.” She waited until Barley took off and then kicked off into the air with a firm grasp on Pickle, ignoring the additional pain and fatigue her heavy wingflaps caused with the additional weight..

“Ugh…” Her adrenaline rush spent, she was feeling even weaker as she flew, only barely able to gain altitude and hoping that she could catch a thermal. . She did her best not to show that she was struggling, but to her relief, the flight difficulties she’d been experiencing didn’t seem to affect the filly at all, so she took advantage of that to get them to safety…

Wherever that was.

ooo000---000ooo

The recoil of the muzzleloading rifle was more than he had initially expected, at least compared to the one he owned back home. It kicked into his shoulder like a mule, but it was a pain he had to endure as the undead ponies closed in from the makeshift medical bay.

The shot he fired zipped through the air and through the head of one of the ponies, snapping it back as a blood curdling gurgle left its maw. It collapsed to the ground, but that still left the rest of the crew of Octavia’s ship.

Without any more ammo within reach, having been pushed back by the undead, he spun the long rifle around and opted to utilize it as a blunt object. If it was crafted out of a decently hardy wood, it would hold up against the monsters currently surrounding them for a time.

Dee cursed as Octavia and Cheerilee were on either side of him, with the CMC making up their inner circle, huddled together and whimpering.

The rest of the undead had decided to leave the bleeding corpse of Mending behind and focused their efforts instead on Dee and the rest.

“Can’t catch a fucking break.” Dee cursed and swung his makeshift club around to his side, readying himself.

Off to the side he saw the lone Wonderbolt who was guarding the place suddenly jump in front of the trio. her wings shot out to the sides, which was followed by a smooth metallic unsheathing sound as several blades appeared along the outer part of her pinions running along the ends of each of her largest feathers.

Wing-blades! Dee identified from one or two fan fiction stories he’d read in the past. As he watched, she also pulled a short sword from her belt, something that looked surprisingly similar to an ancient Roman Gladius.

“All of you, back!” She hollered and took a stance, blades out and ready for use. The undead were not phased by her bravado, as expected, but she stood firm.

“We have to get out of here!” Dee told them as his eyes flicked over to the body of Mending, who now had bloodshot eyes and was slowly rising from the ground, her expression slowly changing from horrified to hungry. “We’re going to get overrun!”

“But isn’t the outside dangerous?!” Cheerilee questioned as she watched the monsters close in, mouths stretched open and groaning.

“Better than being in here.” He countered and held firm on the rifle as he eyed the exit. “We have to go! Now!”

“Captain Spitfire-” Octavia started to say, but Dee cut her off hard.

“Captain Spitfire isn’t here, and I’m not waiting around for her to come back while these freaks try to eat us alive!” Dee shouted again as she shoved past the guardsmare with the rifle raised, and he rushed forward and swung hard at the first undead pony that got in his way.

The hardwood held firm against the skull, which caved it in with surprising force on Dee’s behalf. The shock however rushed through him and into his wounds, forcing a spike of pain through his system, nearly knocking the wind from his lungs.

He felt a hand grab onto his arm and pull him back.

“Don’t be foolish, Dee! You’ll get killed in your current state.” He heard Octavia’s voice as he was pulled against her, his bare back pressed against her chest.

He felt a brief moment’s reprieve before he forced himself to stand, still holding onto the rifle. “Stay back. That’s an order!” The guardsmare directed, fixing with a brief but hard glare before she kicked off of the ground and shot forward with a hard flap of her wings, and shoulder checked one of the undead away and spun around on her heel, raised her leg, and swiftly kicked the other out of the way.

“I can’t just sit around while my friends are out th-there somewhere.” Dee growled out and pushed off of Octavia, while grateful for her help, he still had no desires to wait around here.

He watched as the guardsmare kept forcing the undead back with hard hitting and fast attacks, using both the flat of all of her blades and her own physical prowess, she was able to force them back.

But she made no killing blow.

“Back, you fiends!” The guardsmare yelled and smashed the flat of her blade into the head of one of the undead, causing it to snarl in response.

“Goddammit, stop trying to go easy on them! You have to kill them!” Dee yelled, earning him a shocked look from both Octavia and Cheerilee, and an equally aghast gasp from one of the fillies.

“K-kill? But-” Cheerilee started to stammer, only for Dee to stop her.

“We don’t have fucking time for this.” Dee hissed and using whatever strength he had left, he charged forward and swung the rifle hard into the closest undead.

Despite having killed two already in front of the mares and now brutally killing a third by smashing its skull in, it seemed they were going to have to get used to the idea of killing quickly. But he was so used to it by then, he almost forgot that killing was supposed to be bad.

These ponies were no longer alive, however, they were now ravenous undead… just like the humans that roamed the island.

Once he had dispatched the third, he fought off the agonizing burning pain in his body and threw the rifle into one of the others, knocking it aside as he made a beeline for the crate full of rifles. He grabbed another and the accompanying powder, ball, and so on and proceeded to load it.

“Put that away! It’s dangerous!” The guardsmare shouted at him, but he ignored her.

Once he managed to finish the tedious loading procedure, he took aim at one of the undead.

Mending Hearts was now among them, blood still running from the torn open flesh across her bodysuit, exposing what was once pristine fur and an immaculate, impressively trim body. She was cute before, and he might even ogled her if given half a chance. But now?

But now, she was just another walking corpse that had to be put down permanently.

Despite that, he muttered an apology to the kind healer mare before pulling the trigger, and a resounding boom echoed throughout the bunker as the powder ignited. The gun worked perfectly as the lead ball was sent hurtling towards Mending Hearts, whose head exploded when it made contact. She dropped like a brick, blood gushing from her neck stump.

Dee quickly went about loading another shot as the guardsmare shoved away one of the last infected crew members of Octavia’s ship, and she whirled around to face the human.

“Put the goddess damned firearm down now! You have no idea-”

“Will you just shut up? I know-” He shoved the ball into the rifle, pulled the hammer back, and aimed, “-exactly what I’m doing!”

Another explosion and the ball shot past the guardsmare to emphasize his words, snapping the head off the final infected and killing them.

Once their body hit the floor, Dee went about quickly loading up yet another round.

They were clear now, but he wanted it prepared just in case.

As he did, the guardsmare started to approach him with her blades.

“You murdered them!” She screamed at him, fury in her eyes and every step she took was another indicator of her anger. “How could you!”

He finished loading up the rifle quickly, thankful for his quick hands as he quickly pulled the hammer back and backed up.

“Do not fucking test me.” He told her, and the look in his eyes along with the loaded musket he held stopped in her tracks. “Let me make one thing perfectly clear, lady: I’m not like any stallion from your world, I am not some feeble child that needs to be taken care of and I am most certainly not in the mood to play this stupid goddamn game! So get it through your thick skull here and now that these things are not alive in any capacity. They are undead fucking monsters that want to kill and eat every single one of us!” He shouted in the bunker, his voice nearly breaking at the end.

Words could not describe his anger, the exhaustion and the pain, on top of the adrenaline surging through his system, a deadly cocktail of internal chemicals and emotions that made him feel dizzy and tired, yet hyperactive and focused on one thing.

Find his mares.

His mares?

The guardsmare finally backed away after a few tense moments before she sheathed her blades as the others watched from the safety of the other room, which led outside.

“You are a fool.” She told him.

“I never said I was smart.” He hissed through his teeth as he lowered the rifle before using its strap to sling it over his shoulder, and then looked to the boxes containing the black powder guns. “But I can’t sit around here waiting. Every second I’m stuck in here is another moment going by that I have to worry about my friends, and I am impatient as fuck to find them right now.”

After cooling off some, he felt the adrenaline wearing off and looked at his wounds, at Mending Hearts work. She’d done an excellent job dressing his wound and stitching him up, even giving him some kind of medicine that seemed to work fast—maybe some magical potion she gave him while he was out? Regardless, that had to be why he was able to move around despite having taken the worst beating he’s ever gotten in his life.

Then again, from the constant smackdown from Liam’s men, being shot, abused, and beaten by infected and other monsters, and the near constant exhaustion of running for his life, it was a wonder he was still able to move, let alone function.

He thanked his lucky stars and whatever deity saw fit to keep him going and opted to loot the crates the Wonderbolts had brought with them. It was still theft, considering they came here to rescue the girls, but if he was going to help them at all with possibly getting off of this accursed island, he’d need an edge, and that edge came in the form of black powder rifles and pistols.

He would have preferred semi-auto, but black powder would do for the time being.

Dee let out a small sigh before he went about preparing himself for what was to come.

Still in shock, none of the other mares bothered him as he searched for his clothing, specifically a shirt to cover himself with. Luckily a crate of spare uniforms and clothing was among the other supplies brought by the Wonderbolts. They mostly consisted of food, first aid supplies and the like, though he found it curious why they brought so much for a rescue expedition, especially the firearms.

He acquired a new navy blue shirt that was roughly his size, and then grabbed a bag that was discarded inside of the bunker and checked it for anything useful before deciding to fill it up with some of the supplies. He started with a couple of first aid kits and a couple canteens of water before loading up on powder, percussion caps and ammunition for the guns. For the latter, he grabbed a pair of flintlock pistols that reminded him of English dragoon pistols and stuck them in his waistband. It was the same with the rifle he had, which he found eerily similar to early British flintlock and black powder guns.

He wondered if there was a connection somewhere.

As he set about packing up what he needed, he heard footsteps approaching.

“Excuse me.”

Octavia’s voice drew his attention from his packing and he turned to look at the mare. “What?”

She was idly fidgeting with her shirt sleeve. “You said you knew Vinyl, correct?”

Dee saw Cheerilee and the CMC were nearby the door, all eyeing him and Octavia nervously. He looked from them back to the gray earth pony and nodded. “I do know her. She saved my life…” he remembered the hotel when she appeared out of nowhere with a firearm, utilizing her hardy kicks to help him and Lyra escape. “That’s why I’m going after her. Why do you ask?”He had a feeling why.

“I wish to join you.”

“Join me?” He stood up to eye level with the mare. “You mean-”

“Leave the bunker, yes.” She sighed. “I’ll admit, it is a rather foolish idea, especially if those… things are out there, but if Vinyl is out in that mess, then for the sake of our relationship, I must brave it to find her.”

He sniffed and looked down at his bag. “Octavia, I understand you want to help. But with all due respect, you should probably stay here.” He gestured to the bunker, and to the angry looking Wonderbolt nearby. “The Wonderbolts seem capable of protecting you guys, plus… going out there…” he let his voice trail off.

“Is an idiotic move.” The Wonderbolt grumbled as she glared from her spot in the room.

Octavia spoke up before the human could, eyeing up the Wonderbolt. “I suppose I am an idiot then.” She turned back to Dee and said, “I am aware of the dangers, Dee. I was told how dangerous this entire trip would be. I came knowing full well I may not return home in one piece, but if going out there and facing down those demons means finding my beloved Vinyl? Then so be it.”

A small half chuckle left him as he listened to her, before he zipped up his bag and picked up both it and the rifle. He looked at Octavia and smiled. “Do you know how to fight?”

“I may be a classical musician, but Vinyl and I have gotten into some scraps before… I can hold my own.” She nodded. “I even know how to fire a flintlock.”

He stared at her, gauging the determination and resolve in her violet eyes. To his surprise, he found plenty. “Fine. Gather up whatever you need, and we’ll head out,” he told her before adding, “I have an idea of where they all might be. We were separated, but if they all listened to me, they should still be there.” He hoped, anyway. He knew full well that anything could have happened after they separated, including that they were now all dead or worse than that, infected, but he was still holding out hope.

He took a breath and silently thanked the corpse of Mending Hearts for whatever she did, because despite everything, he was able to move properly again.

As he looked towards Cheerilee and the CMC, he wondered what to do about them.

The Crusaders were young, vulnerable, and had next to no combat experience and were—in the nicest way possible—a liability in a group. He hated that they were here and what they would no doubt experience, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do about it. Except try to make sure that they all came out of this alive..

“Okay, well… we shoul-”

He stopped talking as the ground shook, the slightest tremble in the reinforced concrete floor that gave Dee pause. Normally it wouldn’t matter, just a tremor in the earth; maybe a subterranean volcano off the coast of the island. But given the current circumstances of what he’s seen and faced so far…

“What was that?”

-something told him this was anything but a volcano.

Something outside of the bunker roared and the ground shook once more before the entire structure seemed to shake. Everyone started to look around for whatever it was as Dee raised his rifle, listening to the noises as bits and pieces of the bunker fell from cracks forming above.

Another violent shake and the door to the bunker exploded off of its hinges, warping under the force of something far stronger than incredibly thick steel made to withstand explosions. A gnarled arm reached in and gripped onto the frame of the door before a bulky form forced itself inside, covered in twisted mangled muscle that stretched the skin to the point that it began to tear. A jawless monster stared at the group of ponies and one human as it meandered inside.

The group stared at the hulking beast as it rumbled low in its throat like an old truck.

No one had any chance to say anything before it charged with a mighty roar.

22

ooo000---000ooo

The tropical jungles of Banoi were a harsh environment, if a bit less so near the Resort bordering the coastline of the island to the east. It was easier to traverse thanks to the infrastructure for tourists and locals to travel on, such as the roads and sidewalks, but it did little to combat the intense heat waves and the deadly monsoons that regularly hit the island almost year around, causing plenty of hospital visits for everything from tropical diseases to simple sunstroke, and an increase in visitor bills to pay.

Dee wished that was all they had to worry about.

He sprinted down the dirt path leading away from the bunker he woke up in as the others trailed behind him, all screaming and running for their lives. The gargantuan monster that broke its way into their hiding spot had decided to chase after them, only moments away from Dee leaving, and they were forced to run for their lives.

“What on earth is that thing?!” One of them cried.

Dee sucked in air and yelled out, “doesn’t matter! Just fucking run for it and don’t stop for anything!”

Dee tightened his pack as the ground shook with every violent shake of the ground, and every time he looked back at what was chasing them, he had to remind himself that this was in fact, not a nightmare, he was wide awake and this was the twisted reality he was forced into.

He vaulted over a fallen tree with the flintlock pistol in hand, having dropped the rifle back in the bunker in his haste to flee. He was all for fighting whatever came their way, but that was something that a flintlock would have no chance against, and he wasn’t keen on wasting the one primed bullet he had on something that was ninety-eight percent dense mutant muscle.

Ahead of him the path ascended upwards through the trees, and he swore he heard screaming and shrieking from the hills to the right, on top of the cliffs overlooking most of the resort. He kept running and only glanced behind him a few times to see if the others were keeping up with him, because if they weren’t, they were dead meat.

Dee nearly tripped over a rock and stumbled forward before he fell onto his knees, scrapping them on the hard dirt path.

“Shit!” He scrambled back onto his feet. “Keep moving!” He yelled back at them as he felt one of the ponies run by him, followed by two others. He got a look and noticed it was the CMC blasting past him. He cursed again and shot off from where he was on the ground after them, they shouldn’t be so far ahead and he knew that.

The CMC slowed once he caught up to them and he grabbed onto the shoulder of Sweetie Belle.

The ground shook continuously from the behemoth of a monster chasing after them, and he heard it roar before the shaking stopped, and he turned, going against his gut to look and see why it had ceased stomping.

He looked just in time to see a massive chunk of the ground being torn from its roots and held above the monster’s head.

“EVERYONE DOWN!”

Dee bellowed and tackled the closest of the CMC to the ground as the monster hurled the chunk of earth their way. The debris broke apart mid air and showered them in small to moderately sized chunks of dirt and rocks, pelting them before it started chasing after them. They screamed and yelled as they endured the hits, but kept moving.

The human pulled the young filly off of the ground and shoved the other two forward as he turned around and aimed the flintlock past the other mares. He waited until they were out of the way before he pulled the trigger, and the blast of the pistol echoed out.

The shot hit the large mutant dead center in the face, but the bulging musculature and hulking density of its body mass kept the shot from doing any lethal damage. If anything, it only served to piss off the infected creature more.

A curse left his lips and he turned around and started running again.

The chase lasted well to the point they climbed up the steep incline, passing by a wrecked SUV off to the left, which he guessed had driven off the road above. When Dee stopped for a brief moment to look, he noticed a woman trying to pull open a door.

Fuck.

She turned and spotted him and the others, and her momentary look of hope turned into shock and she screamed. “W-what the hell?!”

The roar of the monster behind them forced Dee to swallow and he turned, and ran back up the hill and onto the road above, where they passed by a tunnel full of wrecked cars and debris.

As they got onto the pavement and kept running down the road, they heard the scream of the woman and then a man behind them, followed by a blood curdling shriek. But it was swiftly silenced by the sound of metal being crushed and smashed, accompanied by the bellow of a primal and enraged beast.

Damn it.

He felt no little guilt that he’d in essence used them as bait, but there had been little else he could do and no way he could see to save them. In any event, it gave Dee and the others a chance to get away safely, heading for the gas station down the road.

After some time they slowed and he took a few deep gulping breaths, doing what he could to recover and calm his pounding heart down. After a minute or two the flow of adrenaline slowed, as did his heart, and he did what he could to steady himself, still shaking from the run earlier.

Octavia came running up beside Cheerilee, who rushed over to the CMC, and she gasped out, “by the flames of Tartarus, what in the name of Celestia was that?”

Dee did his best to speak calmly as he turned to Octavia. “Big fucking monster, is what it is,” he told her, although a brief flash of what it looked like appeared in his mind. He recalled it as an image of a hulking monster with a body type similar to a gorilla, but smaller unmutated legs.

But the overall appearance of the beast reminded him of something else. Just like the leaping infected they encountered at the blocked off pass nearby, it was all too similar to something in his memory.

It reminds me of the Tank, and that one from before was like the Hunter. But those are special infected forms from Left 4 Dead, not Dead Island! So what’s with the crossover of infected types?

It was just more questions, with no answers in sight.

As he turned towards the road headed to the gas station, he recalled it bordered the tunnel that led into the city of Moresby. It was, if the game lore held here, a heavily overrun slum filled with countless supplies and even more survivors, and it perhaps even held the answers he craved.

Maybe it’s time I found some answers. He looked down at the fired flintlock before he went about the process of reloading.

“Okay, I’m gonna be honest.” He started before turning his gaze to the mares and fillies behind him, all of whom turned their attention to him, even the angry Wonderbolt, “I don’t like our odds out here in the resort, especially with people like Liam controlling the Lifeguard Tower.” He bristled at the thought of the man, and spat. “There are very few places around here we can safely hold out in, and it won’t be long until they’re overrun.”

“Liam?” Cheerilee asked.

Dee snorted. “He’s a fucking bastard, nothing else to it.”

Octavia had finally calmed herself down some as Cheerilee comforted the Crusaders next to them. “So what are you suggesting?”

This’ll probably make the Wonderbolt mare mad, but… “There’s something we need to do once we find the others. No offense to Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts, but I highly doubt we’ll get off the island their way,” he told them.

The sole Wonderbolt of the group glared, her wings flaring outward in anger.

As expected.

“Leave it to a pitiful stallion like you to doubt the leadership of a mare.” she said with a sneer. “Spitfire has a foolproof plan for getting us out of here, and I’ll be damned if I let you-”

He pulled back the hammer on the reloaded flintlock, and the sound alone silenced all in front of him.

“I already told you before, lady, that I’m not fucking around. I am impatient as all fuck right now, so you can either leave, or come with me. The choice is yours. Either way, I’m finding the girls, and we’re getting the fuck out of here.” He glared at the Wonderbolt as clouds gathered above; another storm was coming from the looks of it. “This is where we either part ways or continue south, if you’re with me, follow, if not, fuck off and die somewhere else.”

He turned back around and started down the road before holstering the pistol, not even bothering to glance back to see who followed, if any of them did. His assumption was that at least Octavia would, given Vinyl was supposed to be at the location he told them about. If she and the rest made it, that was, of which he was hopeful they did.

If not, then he wasn’t sure what to do or where to go.

Regardless, the road was long and winding, with hills to his left and the mountainside to his right, and thankfully no undead in sight. The only things he saw were abandoned cars and trucks, all of which he started to root through for anything of use.

“Gods.” He heard Octavia’s voice beside him.

He had stopped by an abandoned police car, its lights still flashing and the siren itself emitting a weak, distorted wail from the damage the whole vehicle took during the attacks. The windows were smashed in and blood covered the seats, with the half-eaten body of an officer sitting in the front driver’s seat.

It was a gruesome sight and an even worse smell, but Dee didn’t let either bother him, having grown accustomed to the horrors of the island for the most part, so it didn’t halt him in his task of looting. As he rooted through the vehicle in an attempt to find anything of worth, specifically usable weapons, he didn’t find much in the front seats. The flintlock would be good for the time being, but he needed something more substantial. And with apologies to the ponies, good for more than one shot at a time.

After popping open the glove compartment, he discovered a revolver tucked away behind papers and pens. It was a popular model as well from what his inner gun nut told him; a Smith and Wesson Model 15.

He grabbed onto the handle of the gun and pulled it out before ejecting the cylinder, and inside he noted six brass .38 special inside. A half-dozen fully loaded unspent cartridges, ready to go at a moment’s notice. He let out a small breath and tucked it into the waistband of his pants as he popped the trunk, then relieved the dead officer of several more fully loaded moon clips attached to his utility belt.

They were a means to rapidly reload all six chambers as fast or even faster than you could swap mags on a semi-auto, at least if you were practiced with them enough.

“The island is full of carnage like this.” He told the stunned Wonderbolt mare before wandering around to the trunk and lifting up the lid. “Best to get used to it as quickly as you can.”

A spare tire sat off to the side along with the tools necessary to take off the tire and jack up the car. There was also a long box in the middle that he reached for and unclasped it before grabbing the handle.

“Is the entire island like this?” Cheerilee’s voice asked weakly, visibly sweating from the sight of the body.

He paused only briefly from opening the case, raising his eyes to hers. “Yes. And I’m sorry to be so blunt, but you need to get used to it quickly. Because there’s going to be a lot more of this everywhere we go.”

Cheerilee gave a whimpering sound as Dee pulled up on the lid and opened the case.

Jackpot! He grinned toothfully at the sight of a pump action shotgun, wooden furniture, and a shortened barrel. He reached into the case to pull it out and check it over; a brass check, the condition it was in, and so on. It was unloaded, which he frowned at and looked for some ammunition, but he didn’t find any in the trunk or on the dead officer, meaning that for now, the gun was little more than a club in his hands.

With the strap, he slung it over his shoulder. Maybe if he got lucky he could find some shells? If not, it was no big loss, it still worked as a blunt instrument and its butt could do serious damage if swung properly into an infected creature.

“I can’t believe this island is like this.” Cheerilee murmured softly, frowning as she steered the fillies away from the vehicle. “Is your whole world suffering from this?”

I would hope not. He thought, but he offered the mare a shrug. “I don’t know. Everything was fine up until I crash-landed here what feels like ages ago, I couldn’t tell you what the world beyond this island is like.” He hoped there was a safe place, and that the rest of the world was as yet untouched by the all-consuming infection, but he genuinely had no idea.

Or maybe he did. The presence of other monsters from other games he encountered, like the leaping infected and the hulking behemoth, almost suggested that the world was being afflicted by every single zombie genre at once.

Such creatures shouldn’t exist on the island, or in this universe, yet here they were. It made him wonder what else had changed, and his skin crawled from the possibility of yet more and deadlier infected existing. Or worse, that the entire world was being slowly consumed by them.

Moving on from the remains of the police car, they proceeded down the road towards the station, leading his small ‘herd’ further down the road. The road was long and winding, with noises ranging from tropical birds and the other local wildlife to distant roars and some kind of strange sound over a loudspeaker. Whatever the latter were, all of the noises were constant in the rainfall, as was the feeling that they were being watched by something, or someone.

The road ahead was littered in junk, garbage, more cars that Dee stopped by to check and scavenge from, only to turn up empty. They later passed by a walled off shack, and even further ahead was a bus blocking the road, forcing them to to traverse over a small hill to get past.

“So you and the other mares, you’ve been surviving this entire time?” Octavia asked him as they passed by the bus.

On the other side of it, the group noticed a small pile of bodies laying up against the vehicle or on the ground, torn into by wild animals and being eaten by crows at the moment. A bunch of luggage was also piled up outside it, all ripped open, clothes strewn about, discarded like someone rooted through it all.

Dee ignored it and continued moving, nodding at Octavia’s question.

“I think at least a week or more. I’ve been through so much that I’ve honestly forgotten how long we’ve been here.” He looked down the road as he led them, hand resting on the grip of the .38 special tucked into his waistband. “But we’ve been fighting for our lives since day one, it hasn’t been easy. With the walkers and runners gnawing at our heels, and the special infected cropping up recently, we’ve been doing everything we can just to stay alive.”

He then reminded himself it was time to not only switch locations, but head to Moresby to not only find help, but answers as to what was going on.

Eventually the area they had abandoned ages ago came into view, consisting of the tunnel off to the far right with a billboard above, and a small area to work on maintenance above and behind it. To the left was the gas station, with all the abandoned vehicles and bodies lying everywhere just as before. But thankfully looked as if the undead were nowhere in sight.

Wait a minute… Dee started to speed up as he saw the closed doors, haphazardly barricaded and put back up to keep whatever was outside out, the windows were still boarded up and it looked like some things had been moved to add further protection.

Spurred onward by a desperate moment of hope—somebody was in there! —he ran up to the station.

“Lyra!” He called out as he all but slammed against the front door, and then rapped hard against it. “Lyra, it’s Dee!”

He hit the door several more times as the others gathered behind him, and he heard nothing.

“Dee?!” Lyra’s voice came at last, allowing him to feel relieved for a bit.

The sound of metal scraping against the floor could be heard as it was moved out of the way before the broken down door was bodily heaved out of the way, revealing a bloodied and mean-looking Limestone behind it, whose large form quickly gave way to Lyra and the others who had survived Liam’s forced exile.

“Lyra!” He called as Lyra rushed out, and Dee half expected a hug from her. “I-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before a sharp crack sounded out and a violent stinging sensation blossomed in his cheek.

“You almost got yourself KILLED!” Lyra shouted as Dee placed a hand where she had struck him. “What in the hell were you thinking?! You’re a stallion, dammit! That was so stupid and irresponsible of you!”

“Lyra-”

“You shouldn’t have done that! You should have come with us, but no, you thought you were being a big hero didn’t you?!” She demanded, not once turning to look at the other mares and the fillies who were standing nearby watching. Her eyes were red, and tears ran down her cheeks as she added, “I thought you were… I…”

She hung her head and balled up her fists as Dee reached out tentatively to place a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t shrug him off, but she did pull him in for a hug and to bury her face in the crook of his neck. He hugged her in return as his eyes drifted up to spot Limestone and Marble in the station, alongside Vinyl who was slowly coming out.

He saw her red eyes widen upon spotting Octavia behind him.

“Vinyl!” Octavia cried before stepping over to her, smiling before embracing her DJ friend. The unicorn looked like she was at a loss for words, not that she could speak of course. She embraced Octavia with the same reverence one would for a long lost lover, passionately, yet tenderly as the two exchanged a deep kiss.

It brought Lyra’s attention out of Dee’s neck and she pulled away to look behind her, and once she saw Octavia she turned to find Cheerilee and the Crusaders standing next to a very relieved but stoic Wonderbolt.

Dee had looked back at the other girls and then to Limestone who finally stepped out, shirt covered in blood. She looked like she had murdered someone, and Marble? Still timid, but she waved at Dee and offered a small smile from behind her bangs, the look in her eyes telling him that she was equally happy to see him.

“I’m glad to see you guys are alright, slaps aside.” He joked lightly, causing Lyra to turn away.

“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that…” She bowed her head to the human. “Please forgive me.”

“Lyra, it’s okay.” He told her and reached towards her hand, and gently ushered her to stand up. “Honestly, if that’s the only thing that hurts me today, Christ, I’ll fucking take it.” He breathed out and a look at his eyes told them all that he needed a break.

Then again, who didn’t? It had been a rollercoaster since they had left the Tower.

Dee looked out behind the building into the skies, and the surrounding hillsides. “Has Rainbow…?”

“Hasn’t shown up.” Limestone grumbled out as she stepped outside, letting the rain hit her and quickly soak through her clothes, turning them clingy and briefly drawing Dee’s gaze. “Haven’t heard anything at all since we got to the station.”

“Hopefully she survived.” Lyra added and turned to Dee, and the others. “She’s a tough mare who never gives up. She’ll find us…”

Dee frowned. “I know she’s tough. But the thing is, she doesn’t know to come here to the station.” He told them, and sighed as he looked around again, not for anything in particular, but just to look. “If she escaped the fight at the Tower, who knows where she would have ended up… but this is assuming that she didn’t…” He didn’t finish, not wanting to think about the possibility of her death.

Yet after everything, it still hit him like a brick.

She could be dead.

A strong grip tugged on him and he heard Limestone’s voice, “come on, Dee, there’s no point in worry about what we can’t control. So let’s get out of the rain.”

He let out a small sigh, lingering for a moment more in the hope she’d come flying over one of the hills, before he turned and followed everyone inside.

He shook off the water and took off his shirt before going into the restroom to wring it out. He was soaked from the storm outside, and they had no spare clothing. But thankfully the power and water was still running on the island, which actually wasn’t too surprising given the power grid was underground and designed to withstand typhoons, so they didn’t have to worry about running out of clean water anytime soon.

As everyone got situated inside of the station, the door was left open and guarded by the injured Limestone who still had her weapon of choice, the bloodied hatchet she had found upon her arrival on the island, and the Wonderbolt mare. Neither said a word to each other the entire time they watched the outside for any threats.

The rest of the group huddled up inside and kept mostly together, waiting for Dee to finish so he could explain things.

He had taken a moment to look in the mirror and look himself over as they waited, thankfully the door was closed.

I need to be alone for a bit. Was what he told them, and it was the truth.

He let out a breath he hadn’t noticed he was holding and glared at the image of himself.

It had been two weeks and some change since they landed on the island and they’d made next to no progress going forward, even with his knowledge of the game their predicament and surroundings were based on. The only thing they’d managed in that time was getting kicked out of their only sanctuary due to a deranged psychopath, and getting more injured than they had previously, almost losing several of their own along the way. Worse, he couldn’t rule it out that they had already lost one of their own, though he fought off that thought with every fiber of his being.

His hair was a mess, he noticed, running a hand through the short strands. But it was still long enough to be a tangled mess, and it needed to be trimmed soon. His beard was starting to come in as well, short red and dark brown hairs mixed in with the grays he’d never seen before, but which he guessed were born from stress and anxiety. His clothing wasn’t even his, as his luggage had gotten lost in the plane and his backpack taken from him at the tower, meaning all of his belongings were lost save for his wallet and keys.

The water turned on and he cupped his hands up under the faucet to gather some in his hands, and he watched it until it pooled and overflowed on all sides, going straight down the drain.

A gentle knock shook him from his stupor. Before he could say a word,the door creaked open, and he heard Lyra’s voice.

“Dee?” He saw her peeking inside and he quickly ducked his head down to throw the water into his face.

He washed his face quickly and murmured. “Yeah, yeah… I’m good, just… thinking, plus my face is dirty so-”

The door opened and Lyra entered the room. He sighed as she moved over to stand next to him.

Her hand touched his back and he stopped washing his face as she spoke, “you’re not okay, Dee.” She told him and he flicked his eyes up to look at her through the reflection of the mirror.

“That easy to tell?” He asked and got a small smile from her.

Lyra said, “I used to be a part of the Royal Guard—Intelligence Bureau specifically. It was my job to read people’s faces, in order to see what they were thinking.” She ran her hand up to his shoulder and squeezed lightly, and his own hand slowly came up to touch it. “You’re putting on a brave face for all of us, and I love that about you. But I know what you’re thinking and feeling. You’re afraid, Dee. And not just for Rainbow, but all of us.”

He let out a small huff and stood up before running his now wet hands through his hair with a sigh, and he gathered up his hair before tying it into a short ponytail. “Yeah, I’m afraid. In fact, I’m terrified, Lyra. One wrong decision and we all die. I mean, it’s a miracle we made it this far without losing anyo-” he stopped himself as Rainbow’s face flashed through his head again.

But once again, Lyra seemingly read his thoughts. “She’s okay, Dee.” Lyra told him.

“How do you know?”

“I just know that she’s a tough gal who’s gotten out of plenty of crazy situations before…”

“None of us know if she’s okay or not.” He countered and turned to face the unicorn after getting his hair situated, pulled back tight to keep his bangs out of his face. “Frankly, I have no idea where she could even b-”

Someone rapidly approached the restroom and the door swung open to reveal Marble, eyes wide as could be as she gestured wildly to the front and made muffled whining noises in a haste. Whatever it was was enough to prevent her from speaking properly, and fearing the worst, Lyra and Dee rushed outside.

Instead of possibly seeing some kind of fight, instead…

It was Rainbow Dash, with two foals in tow.

Lyra suddenly rushed forward with a yelp of excitement before embracing her friend, pulling the bloodied mare in close who returned her hug.

“I knew you were okay!” Lyra cried as the doors to the station were finally closed up as the weather got worse, with raging winds and rainfall coming down hard and fast from the incoming storm.

Beside her were the pair of twins, Pickle and Barley, Rainbow’s longtime fans. Pickle was holding onto his sister who helped him limp inside the building to somewhere he could sit down as the girls rejoiced at the survival and appearance of Rainbow, most of them anyway.

Dee watched Lyra and Rainbow for a moment as Limestone and the guardsmare went about closing up the door, barricading it in the event Rainbow was followed by monsters. But none appeared, and once they were secure, Dee felt relieved to find all his friends alive as he looked over every pony in the building, the burden on his heart lifting to know they were safe for now.

He made his way over to them and zeroed in on Rainbow, who in turn looked to him with a smile. She looked tired, covered in sweat, blood — thankfully none of it hers.

“It’s good to see you alive, Dashie.” He told her and quickly went in for a firm hug, one which she returned.

He heard her breathy chuckle next to his ear before he felt her peck his cheek. “I’m a lot tougher than I look, stud.”

He pulled away with a chuckle. “So I’m told.” He let her go and her eyes lingered on him before she turned to Lyra and the others. “When you got time, fill me in on what happened, yeah?” He looked over towards the counter where Derpy was on the floor, cradling Dinky who was weakly talking to her mother. “I want to check on Derpy.”

Without waiting for a response he made his way over to the pair. Derpy noticed him approaching and she gave him a halfhearted smile. “D-Dee… hello.”

“Hey there.” he knelt down and smiled warmly, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You holding up alright?”

He noted Derpy’s eyes were bloodshot and tears stained her cheeks, dried now he couldn’t even begin to imagine how she was feeling at the moment. When he looked down at the younger mare she cradled he saw her bandage was a brackish color, it needed to be changed soon, he knew that, and despite her fur, she looked unnaturally pale.

“I… I just want my Dinky to be okay.” She murmured and looked down at her daughter, who was breathing raspily. She cupped her cheek and brushed her thumb across the fur there. “I just want her to get better.”

“I-I’ll be okay, m-mom…” Dinky wheezed out and inhaled shakily. “I p-promise.”

“That’s the spirit.” Dee agreed and looked back to Derpy. “She’ll be fine, we just need to change her bandage soon. And maybe give her some medicine.”

Derpy looked him in the eyes and asked him a question, one he knew he wasn’t ready to answer.

“But where do we get medicine?”

He was at a loss there, and he couldn’t hide it on his face either. He looked down at Dinky, and then back up to Derpy.

We would have had plenty had Liam not kicked us out, the psychopath… we should have just hid the medicine and-

He stopped mid-thought as an idea came to mind, and his hand clenched tightly into a fist.

Offering the mother a tender smile, he said, “you don’t worry about a thing, understand?” He told Derpy and stood up. “Dinky will be just fine.”

He turned and walked away from the counter to approach the group of gathered mares in the main area, which had been cleared away to both make room as well as fortify the broken down windows and doors, reinforced by security shutters built in already. Once he made his way there he noticed Lyra looking at him.

“Dee, what’s up?” Lyra asked him and walked over.

“It’s time we did something.” He said just loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Like what?” Limestone was the first to ask, though he noted there was a hint of interest in her tone.

“I don’t think there’s much we can do,” Octavia spoke from her spot next to Vinyl. “Is there? I fear our situation is rather hopeless, especially without the rest of the Wonderbolts to help us.”

The guardsmare, still nameless, just scoffed. “I can find Spitfire and the others quick enough, you forget we’re speedy fliers.”

“And I’m the speediest of all of us, Sergeant,” Rainbow retorted, putting some military bite in her voice that instantly reminded Dee that Dash was a Wonderbolt herself. “But in case you haven’t noticed, it’s really hard to fly here. You’d exhaust yourself just getting back, and if you have to land because you’re too tired, you could be trapped.”

“And even if you find her, given these… beasts we’ve narrowly escaped from, I don’t know how much she could actually help.” Octavia added, still shaken from earlier.

“Guys, calm down.” Rainbow said and looked over to Dee. “So what’s the plan here Dee?” The guardsmare snorted again, drawing the ire of the rainbow mare. “You got a problem, Haywire?”

So Haywire is her name? Fitting. Dee thought as the aptly named mare turned away.

“Hmph.” Haywire grunted.

Dee let out a sigh before finally speaking. “Look, I’m not going to lie. We’re in a shit situation right now, and I’m just going to come out and say it… there is no help coming, probably won’t be coming.”

“No help coming?” “What do you mean?” “What?” were some of the responses, to which he held up his hand to silence them.

“Look. We’ve been here two weeks and there hasn’t been one thing to tell us help is coming other than the Wonderbolts. And with no offense to them, it’s too small a group, and from what I saw of the operation they were ill-equipped-” He quickly shot a hand out in a halting gesture to Haywire who looked ready to speak, “-I’m sorry, but it’s true. Black powder guns against what’s on this island? No dice. Sorry, but that’s a death sentence, even if you’re firing them from the air.”

“How?” Haywire growled out as she glared at him. “I don’t know who you think you are, but we are Equestria’s elite, you stupid colt! I assure you that we are adequately prepared for anyth-”

“What about that monster back there?” He cut her off hard, causing her to fall silent. “You had your flintlocks, and you had your blades, but in the end, you were running just like the rest of us. Even if you and the rest of the Wonderbolts were armed with those, you wouldn’t get far on this island, they take too long to reload, not to mention the fact I know there are monsters here that would shrug off the shots like they were nothing.”

Haywire was silent still, almost angry, yet she stood completely still.

“My point is, you guys came to help, and I thank you… but what even is your plan to get everyone off the island? Quite frankly, I’m shocked you guys got here at all.” Because the military has the island cut off, how did they arrive here without getting spotted and attacked? “You came here for the girls, I’m assuming?”

Haywire looked between the human and Rainbow, before finally speaking, “our mission is the safe extraction of one of the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow is a priority on our list due to her being one of the first to go missing.”

The first? Dee blinked.

“What do you mean first?” Lyra echoed Dee’s unspoken question as she looked towards Haywire.

Turning to face the unicorn, Haywire replied, “Rainbow is a priority target to recover. Finding the rest of you was an optional objective that frankly, we weren’t planning on doing,” she told them all bluntly, and more than a few of the girls Dee noticed, bristled. “It’s not enough that we lost one Element, but three altogether-”

Like a glass window shattering, Dee felt a sickening feeling in his stomach bubbling to the service.

“Three?!” Rainbow cried. “Who else went missing?”

“Who cares about that?” Limestone’s neck cracked almost violently as she glared at Haywire, and Rainbow shot a look to the earth pony. “So the rest of us are just mincemeat then? Just abandoned while you hunt down the pride parade over here?”

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted and stomped past Lyra, the latter unable to grab her in time. “I wouldn’t let them abandon any of you, and you know it! So don’t talk about me like that!”

“She said it herself, flygirl, there were no plans to rescue us anyway.” Limestone turned to face Rainbow, who stood a whole foot higher over her and crossed her arms over her chest, deliberately looming over her. “We were optional.”

“Even if that is true, I wouldn’t let them! Spitfire knows me! And she knows I would never abandon anyone, ever!” Rainbow shouted back, refusing to back down despite the muscular earth mare’s appearance.

Lyra moved over to the duo and quickly got in between them before Octavia stepped in, followed by Vinyl. “I understand your frustration, but infighting right now will not solve anything.” She looked between the two before looking towards Haywire. “Who were the other Elements? I was unaware of other ponies being missing.”

Dee was also just as confused as Octavia looked, three of the Elements of Harmony missing? If that is the case, why keep the fact they were missing a secret until now from Octavia if they were sending search parties?

Haywire crossed her arms and glanced at the wall nearby, she hadn’t spoken yet and that managed to draw Rainbow’s attention away from Limestone. The Wonderbolt turned to her comrade and asked, “who else is missing?”

A click of her tongue and Haywire finally said, “the Elements of Laughter and Kindness went MIA shortly after you and the others disappeared. Given what’s happening, it’s a very inconvenient time for ponies to go missing, least of all the ones who are supposed to be the protectors of harmony and friendship.” She muttered the last bit as Lyra fixed Haywire with a look.

“How is it inconvenient? It’s not like we asked to go missing.” Lyra combated as Limestone huffed and walked over to one of the far walls away from everyone. Marble quickly followed her as Rainbow and Octavia stood together with Dee.

Haywire sniffled before leaning back against one of the shelves, her wings shuffled and she said, “this isn’t something I’m supposed to be divulging to civilians present, but it’s not like it matters.” she huffed, causing Dee to blink again—there was something not even civilians were supposed to know?

“There is a lot of instability going on in the League of Harmony right now. It doesn’t help that we’ve lost key individuals involved in national defense, and it isn’t going to take long before Equestria’s enemies realize that three of the Elements are missing.”

“Instability?” Lyra’s arms crossed underneath her bust and she raised an eyebrow. “Things seemed fine before we left.”

“Things have a habit of changing very quickly when it comes to politics in the deep north.” Haywire mentioned ominously.

It felt like an icy chill overtook the room and Dee felt the hairs on his arm stand on end, as if prickling from the freezing cold.

“Listen, I’m not exactly well versed in… multidimensional politics, so you’re gonna have to cut me some slack here, but what exactly do you mean by that?” Dee asked Haywire, who fixed him with a glare. “Spare me the look, Haywire. I’m just wondering so I can understand better.”

“I don’t know how it is in your world, but in ours, there’s the League of Harmony.” Lyra started, deciding to take over explaining it as Haywire was starting to look rather peeved. “It’s a collection of nations joining together to keep peace and harmony in their respective regions, and it’s been going strong since Celestia’s reign began ages ago.”

“But that peace is becoming very fragile right now.” Haywire jumped in. “It isn’t enough that the Zebra are demanding more coal, but there is conflict brewing between the Diamond Dogs and Abyssinians over territory disputes, not to mention the war going on beyond the Sea of Shadows…”

Lyra frowned. “I knew about the Zebras, the territory dispute is new, but… the Sea of Shadows? There isn’t much out there, Haywire, nothing except-”

As she trailed off, the unicorn mare’s face drained of all color, prompting Dee to look towards her.

“Lyra? What’s wrong?” He asked as her eyes flicked back and forth, lost in thought.

Then she spoke, but Dee couldn’t make sense of her answer. “You don’t mean it’s happened, do you?”

Haywire just nodded, and Lyra cursed before slamming a fist against the counter. “Damn it all, that fool.”

Dee blinked and looked at Rainbow, but unfortunately she seemed just as confused.

“What’s beyond the Sea of Shadows? I didn’t think there was anything up that far north… is there?” Rainbow poked Lyra, who finally turned to face her friend.

“There is only one realm that lies that far north, and it isn’t a part of the League of Harmony… not officially, anyway. Due to constant civil wars for control of the throne, it has been left in shambles century after century. This despite repeated attempts to introduce ourselves to them and bring them into the League to offer some kind of assistance in rebuilding and stabilizing their country. But all of our dignitaries were rejected or went missing every time. And it wasn’t until I did some digging myself that I learned the truth.”

She looked back to Haywire who just stood in silence as the rest of the girls started paying more attention to the conversation. Dee couldn’t deny he was intrigued by the sudden shift in tone, from interest to worry and fear.

“Beyond the Sea of Shadows is the Caribou Empire.”

Dee felt his blood run cold, and the tone shifted dramatically as the other mares looked disturbed and worried.

“A civil war broke out shortly before you girls went missing.” Haywire added with an uneasy expression on her face. “The son of the previous Emperor who’s kept the peace the last few centuries was murdered. The ‘official’ story is that he was assassinated by unknown assailants which led to a civil war over the throne, but the true story-”

“Dainn.” Lyra interrupted with a fiery growl, speaking a name that Dee wished he didn’t recognize. “That damn fool actually went through with it?”

“He did indeed. Murdered his dear old dad right on the throne in front of everyone, believing it would shock everyone else into obeying him. But it had the exact opposite effect. The war going on right now is between the loyalists and Dainn’s nationalists, the latter of which are rapidly gaining strength… that is why it’s bad you and the others are missing. We need the Elements right now, and if anyone discovers you’re missing-”

Octavia stepped in. “Wait, I thought it was common knowledge?”

“We only told specific individuals in order to gain their help.” Haywire told Octavia without missing a beat. “You and your family’s resources were needed.”

Octavia bristled. “I see.” She huffed before stepping back and adjusting her shirt, then turning to Vinyl and muttering a single word: “bollocks.”

“So members of the Elements of Harmony being missing is a secret, but the others are public info?” Dee asked and got a nod in return. “I guess it makes sense. From what I understand, you guys are pretty important, so if any nations learn that the pillars that are key in defending Equestria are missing-”

“It’ll be chaos, a Discord speciality.” Rainbow finished as Lyra held her head.

“Gods above, it’s not enough we’re trapped on this island full of monsters, but there’s a war brewing back home with the worst foes imaginable…”

It took Dee everything he had not to say anything, and instead he opted to chew his lip and pick at his facial hair. The Caribou and Dainn were names he knew, but not ones he expected to learn of or hear in the current situation, which only made whatever anxiety he had worse. He knew that the loss of not just one but three of the Elements could devastate Equestria, as the Elements of Harmony were unfortunately crucial in protecting the country.

He wasn’t sure how Celestia, Luna, or Cadance would be able to handle any kind of all out war, and he was working on the assumption they were all powerful, Celestia especially given her position as the solar diarch.

Regardless, he shook his head and cleared his throat to get the attention of the mares surrounding him.

“It’s even more of a reason to get everyone the fuck off this island.” He told them and looked over to Haywire. “Do you know where Spitfire and the others had gone?”

“Scouting mission around the area.” Haywire told him. “Hunt down any other passengers from the airship that went missing.”

“She shouldn’t bother. They’re all dead.” Dee told her with a shake of his head, earning another frown. “From what Lyra and Dash had told me, after finding Dinky and Vinyl, no one else had survived the crash except for who you see here. I saw too many get pulled under and drown when my plane crashed, they tried to help but got killed for it…” Dee’s mind flashed back to the plane, the hundreds of passengers who didn’t make it, and now that he thought about it… he was the only one who survived.

“We’re the only survivors who matter right now, and we need to get off this island. You guys got here thanks to Octavia’s yacht, so maybe that’s our one solid chance out of here.” He continued and looked at the rest of the mares. “We’re getting off this island and it’s the key.”

“But how are we going to get there?” Limestone questioned from her spot, drawing everyone’s attention. “In case you haven’t noticed-” she held her injured arm, still covered in blood from her gunshot wound, “-I’m hurting bad over here, Derpy’s kid is out for the count, and now we have a bunch of other kids to watch out for. I don’t know where that boat is, but that’s a lot of distance to cover on foot, and not all of us can fight.”

“I can handle anything that comes our way.” Haywire smirked and flared out her wings, revealing the blades along each feather as a hand rested on the pommel of her sword.

“Whoa!” The CmC ooo’d as Pickle and Barley watched in astonishment from the side.

“With those, we’ll make it there in no time!” Scootaloo grinned and looked over to her hero, Rainbow.

In surprising fashion, Rainbow stepped in with a frown, “Haywire, you’re a good flier and an even better fighter with blades. I know that firsthand, but the things infesting this island are not like the monsters we fought back home. These things are mindless. They will kill you without a second thought, they don’t hesitate to attack, and they’re sure as shit not going to care about your blades,” she warned. “They don’t care how many they lose; if you try to fight them with those alone, they will drown you with numbers, tearing you apart. Or worse, turn you into one of them.”

“We need a safer way to get down to the docks.” Dee cut in before Haywire could retort. “None of the cars around here work, unfortunately. They’re all too beat up and even if one ran, they’re not going to hold all of us.”

“It is a long way to the docks.” Octavia sighed as Lyra looked at Dee. “And after our encounter with that brutish beast… I fear…” She refrained from saying anything more due to the foals present.

“Dee.” Lyra walked over to him and she fixed him with a look. “Remember back at the hotel? What did we take back to the lighthouse?”

Dee felt his heart skip a beat.

The armored bank truck.

“Lyra, you’re a genius.” He smiled, only to remember Liam and the others who had kicked them out, the gun they had, but then he remembered his own. “Liam is going to be a problem though.”

Lyra and Dee heard bones cracking next to them and upon looking, noticed Limestone was now standing next to them. There was an intense fire burning in her eyes, and even despite her injury, she was fired up.

“Don’t worry, Dee. Leave him completely to me.”

01

ooo000---000ooo

"Flight 556 US to Honolulu will be landing shortly. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened, and remain seated until the plane comes to a complete stop. We hope you enjoy your stay," a voice announced through the plane's PA system. The people crowding the aisle hastily returned to their seats, some quickly exchanging phone numbers or sharing a laugh before seating themselves.

Ahh, Hawaii... This is gonna be the tits, one passenger by the name of Dee thought to himself as he buckled back into his seat. Holding his backpack close to his chest, he looked out the window and into the cloudy skies as the plane slowly began its descent. He could just barely make out the islands in the distance. Huh... don't remember them lookin' like that, he mused, adjusting his jacket briefly as his mind recalled the area of Honolulu. The most distinct feature he recalled from his google search was the Diamond Head volcanic cone off to the south end of the island, a notable tourist spot on the island. Eh, probably just crap sleep or something fuckin' with my brain. He settled into a more comfortable position.

Here he was: sitting on a flight to Honolulu, eager to get some epic things done. Have some fun in the sun, see the sights, try some of the food, meet some girls and hopefully have a grand old time. He had only taken a few things with him—some spare clothes and such, nothing more. He never thought he would actually win such a lottery. It was through sheer luck that he did, though it did make him wonder what he had done to earn such luck. Regardless, he was going to use the week long vacation to have as much fun as humanly possible.

No need to go too crazy though... just fun enough. He nodded his head, chuckling slightly as he looked out the window once more. A thump next to him drew his attention, and he saw the man in the next seat over had finally returned. The older fellow was rather sickly looking, with pale skin and bloodshot eyes.

"Hey man, you alright?" Dee questioned him, looking slightly worried. Jeez, I hope he's not sick. Knowing my luck, I'll catch it and end up spending the entire week in a hospital bed.

The man nodded, waving his hand in an I'm fine manner, "Y-yes, I'm just... This plane is making me sick to my stomach."

"Ahh, motion sickness?" Dee summarized, receiving a nod as an answer. "Well, we're gonna land soon, so just hang in there, yeah?"

The man nodded again, buckling himself in and sighing heavily as he dabbed his face with a handkerchief. Dee just sat back in his own seat, idly scooching over to the left further away from the man. While he was polite, he didn't feel like catching some flu bug and ruining his vacation. It better just be motion sickness, or I’m gonna be fuckin’ pissed.

Eyes flicking back to the window, Dee saw the island closing in. He could make out a rather large building in the distance a few miles inland. It was probably the hotel, with a large area of bungalows and snaking roadways leading down from it to a huge beach with even more bungalows built out onto the water.

Dee suddenly grew nervous. This definitely didn't look like Honolulu.

He thought they were flying to the city proper, but they were instead angled toward a rather large, isolated airport.

It was strange... very strange. Might be another part of Honolulu? I honestly have no idea... he hummed as the man next to him coughed again.

Little did he know, several of the passengers were coughing.

And one of them... one of them had stopped breathing.

ooo000---000ooo

"We're beginning our descent mares and gentlecolts! Please make sure to have all of your luggage with you as we make port," a mare announced from the helm while everyone aboard the airship prepared to disembark.

"Man, this is gonna be one awesome vacation!" Rainbow chuckled to herself as she stood up from her bed. She grabbed her backpack before looking out through the window to see the island closing in. She could just barely make out its shape in the distance, and she grew more excited the closer the ship got. She swiftly threw her pack over her back before doing a quick search to make sure she didn't leave anything like the last time she took a trip.

She did find the dragonfire candle Twilight had given her, and picked it up. She smirked and shoved it into her backpack, quite the handy little magical artifact it was, allowing her to send letters even from so far away.

I should send Soarin a letter when I get the chance. Maybe he can come visit whenever he gets some leave. She grinned at the thought. Have some fun in the sun with him… she allowed herself a brief dreamy grin.

When she had finished gathering up her belongings, she moved out of the room and walked down the hall leading to the deck as other ponies got around to gathering up their things, all sounding just as excited and happy to be there as she felt.

A sigh escaped her as she recalled how she ended up there.

Another day of saving Equestria had left Rainbow exhausted and ready to sleep away the rest of the month. She and her friends had taken care of a friendship problem in Manehattan... again. And right after they were done, they were called by the police to help deal with a second problem. Another Bugbear had somehow crossed over into Equestria and was terrorizing small towns in search of food. They were able to handle it rather efficiently, of course—being an Element of Harmony didn't mean she was a slacker. She knew how to handle big situations, especially with Twilight leading them. Pinkie's party cannon helped out a lot, too.

After dealing with the Bugbear, another friendship problem appeared. Honestly, it was the most work they’d ever done in only a few days, and they were all tuckered out. They all decided they needed a break after that business, each one splitting off to engage in their own form of relaxation.

Fluttershy holed up in her cottage, deciding to do some reading and take care of her animals. Really, not much changed on that front.

Twilight took up refuge in her castle with... well, her books. And Spike.

Applejack decided to visit Braeburn over in Appaloosa for a week, leaving the farm in Pinkie and Big Mac's hooves for the time being.

Rarity left her boutique and took Sweetie Belle to go visit her family and spend the weekend with them away from it all, probably going to the spa like she always did.

As for Rainbow Dash...

Well, she had been given a round trip ticket to Haywaii to spend the next week out in the hot sun, playing on the beach, or just napping away in the five-star hotel room she had scored thanks to Twilight paying for the whole trip. All Rainbow had to do was shove a few extra clothes into her backpack and set out for the airport in Canterlot. It was a straight shot to Haywaii from there.

It was a long trip, and along the way she noticed several familiar faces on board. She immediately saw Derpy and her daughter Dinky when she first boarded the airship. Apparently, Derpy was taking Dinky on a trip to Haywaii for her eighteenth birthday. It was sweet, and Rainbow wished them a good time.

Next on the list was a favorite duo of hers: her best friend Lyra Heartstrings and club sensation DJ-PON3, otherwise known as Vinyl Scratch. Rainbow often saw them at Pinkie's parties and they got along quite well, so seeing that they were heading to Haywaii was an awesome treat. During her conversation with Vinyl however, Rainbow learned her sign language was just a tad bit rusty. She made a mental note to brush up on her skills once they landed, promising herself she’d have it mastered in ten minutes flat.

And... possibly the oddest pairing she had seen on the ship were the Pie Sisters; Marble and Limestone. The only mare that was more shy than Fluttershy, and the heavy hitting protector of the Pie Farm. Needless to say, she hadn't expected either to be on the airship, let alone heading to Haywaii of all places. After having a brief greeting with both over lunch and inquiring as to why they were on the ship in the first place, Rainbow learned they had gone to the “Choosing Stone” and it pointed them in the direction of Haywaii. Oddly enough, both of them were directed to the same potential... mate.

She left them in peace after that, as both of the mares were having a bit of trouble trying to take everything in.

So here she was. On an airship with some friends headed to Haywaii for a week of sun-filled excitement. I should go surfing when I get the chance, she noted, wondering how many sick waves she could rip apart with her 120% guaranteed awesome.

Upon arriving on the deck of the airship, the rainbow-maned mare quickly made haste towards the bow to watch the island close in. She was excited, incredibly so. She had never been to Haywaii before, so being able to go like this was like winning the lottery. Her heart pounded in her chest, her body shook with anticipation, and her eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the clouds disappearing in front of the ship.

"Woah, jeez, calm down some, Dashie~" Lyra's lyrical voice teased from beside her. Rainbow managed to rip her eyes away to see Lyra standing next to her clad in her usual outfit, a black hoodie and jeans. "If you keep vibrating like that, you might end up setting the wood on fire."

"I can't help it! I'm so excited!" Rainbow exclaimed as the clouds parted way for them, being sliced apart by the airship. "I've just never been before, so I'm super excited to see what's what!"

"Hehehe, yeah I bet!" Lyra threw an arm around her friend, smiling widely. "Sun, sandy beaches, endless waves for surfing," she waggled her eyebrows, "maybe some cute stallions~"

"Pfft!" Rainbow pushed on Lyra, making her giggle. "That's all you fillyfriend if you don’t scare them off first; I'm not looking to hook up with anypony."

The mint green mare just laughed before stepping away, the grin still plastered on her face. "You might change your mind when those hunks of stallion meat that work out on the beaches~ Haywaii ponies are so unf~" The unicorn gave her hips a little wiggle. "Gorgeous~"

A look down and Rainbow noticed the mare's jeans hugging her butt in that way that would draw plenty of attention. They weren’t slutty, but they were definitely made to catch the eye. She had to admit, Lyra had a great ass. And it made her self-conscious about her own. She idly groped her own butt with a hand, humming to herself. She certainly had a nice flank of her own, but it was more on the tight and athletic side, not as plush-looking as Lyra's. Damn... Shaking her head and looking away before Lyra caught her staring—again—she turned her attention back to front of the bow. "Well... eh, who knows."

Lyra just smiled, and the two mares watched the clouds part completely, finally bringing the island into view...

It probably would have been an incredible sight, had a distant hum in the skies not drawn Rainbow's attention. Her ears perked up, and when she looked up to her left, she saw something closing in through the clouds. It was roaring loudly, grabbing the attention of everyone on deck.

Rainbow's eyes went wide at the sight of it. It was huge! Bigger than any airship she had ever seen. Part of the wing near the engines--at least she thought were engines--was on fire, black smoke trailing behind it as it quickly plummeted towards the island in the distance. She saw that a hole had opened up on the side of the craft, and for a brief moment she saw individuals inside. She didn't need to focus her ears to hear the screams of terror coming from them.

"Holy shit..." Dash muttered as Lyra ran over to the side, watching the aircraft fall.

"Damn it! What was that?!" she asked, turning to face Rainbow, who had flared out her wings.

"Trouble!" Rainbow turned to the other fliers who had gathered nearby. "There's ponies in trouble on that thing, and we need to help them! Let's go!"

With that declaration, she took off towards the aircraft as it blasted through the clouds on a direct path towards a large looking city. Rainbow's wings beat against the wind in an effort to pick up more speed. Whatever that thing was, it was moving much faster than she thought something of that size was capable of.

The smoke was thick and nearly enveloped her and the others behind her, so she flew above the smoke stream and closed in on the hole on the right side of the aircraft. Her mind whirled with thoughts of what this thing could possibly be. Her heart was pounding, flooding her body with adrenaline. She prepared herself to play the hero like she had done several times in the past, ready to save the lives of any on board should they need it.

Suddenly, a bag shot out of the hole, rocketing towards her. She twisted sharply out of its path, watching in confusion as more debris flew out from the craft. What the hell?! She kept moving closer before finally gripping the edge and swinging her body inside.

"Alright! What's-" Rainbow froze in shock and fear.

And so did the creature staring back at her.

ooo000---000ooo

"Shit!" someone screamed. "Get off th- Ahhhh!"

For fuck's sake! Dee growled to himself as he gripped a bag in his hand, eyes flicking rapidly between the monsters that had sprung up from coach.

Everything had been going smoothly. The flight was headed towards Hawaii, slowly but surely, until someone sprinted out of coach, screeching before jumping one of the attendants. She screamed as the man dragged her down and tore into her neck. It wasn't long before he was tackled by some of the other passengers, but then more of them came sprinting out, running at people and screaming, screeching, growling like blood-crazed monsters.

Dee was certain that was exactly what they were. The grayed skin and varicose veins, the rips and tears across their arms and necks from injuries that didn’t seem to faze them, the blood red sclera that had eyed him like he was some sort of tasty morsel, the bite marks that took out chunks of skin.

He bounced from foot to foot, keeping his body moving as the crazy, blood-covered people jumped at and over anyone in sight. All of them were practically flooding from coach as people screamed and cried out for help. He saw multiple people get taken down and ripped apart. These monsters were tearing into flesh like ravenous dogs, sending blood splashing onto the floors and seats as the survivors tried desperately to escape.

"Get back now!" someone yelled to Dee's left. He looked over and he saw a man holding a gun. "Back! I’m an Air Marshal!"

A few bloodied people glared towards him, these with blood-red eyes wide open and teeth set in a snarl before they charged with a screech. "Reeee!"

Stumbling back, he fired a few shots towards them, nailing a few in the shoulders and chest before he was grabbed by one of them and held down against the seat. "Gah!" The man fired another shot, startling everyone on the plane as the bullet went wild and blasted out a window. The air began rushing out, causing even more panic. A few dozen people stampeded towards the cockpit and tried forcing their way through.

A stream of bullets suddenly tore through the cabin, ripping apart infected and passengers alike. The shots appeared to be coming from… outside the plane? Dee began backing up as several bullets pierced the emergency door nearby. The holes were small, but the force of the wind quickly widened them before ripping the entire door off.

The pressure immediately left the cabin as the force of a hurricane tried to squeeze itself through an eight foot hole, nearly tearing Dee away from the seat he had grabbed onto. Several others were not so lucky, however. Those closest to the hole were sucked out with screams and snarls. Some flew into the engines to be ground into mulch, while the rest were just thrown out into the skies where they fell to their death in the water below. Some of the people still on the plane were knocked over, which allowed the infected to jump onto them and tear them apart. Others just ran blindly towards the cockpit, joining the ones trying to force their way inside to escape the infected.

Damn it! What's happening?! Dee struggled to get to his feet, his hat being ripped from his head and thrown around. His hair whipped around his face as he gripped the bag in his hand tighter. I need to find a way out of this mess!

He hadn't expected his flight to end up like this. Dee just wanted a nice flight as a prelude to a nice, relaxing vacation, but now... he was so sure he was dreaming; none of this could be real, right? The pain in his left leg, however, reminded him that this was, in fact, reality. Some twisted form of it, of course.

Before he could get up completely, one of the infected surged forward and grabbed onto his shirt, forcing him back down. Dee immediately twisted around, slamming a fist into the the infected's head, making it snarl and growl as they stumbled around through the rushing winds. The infected was snapping its jaws inches from Dee’s face, jagged fingernails clawing wildly at his neck to try and get a better hold on him. Dee yelled and let go of his bag before drawing his leg up and kicking the monster in the chest hard, sending it flying back. The wind instantly took hold, ripping it through the hole before it could even hit the floor. A wet, grating sound filled his ears as the body was sucked into the engine, causing it to start smoking.

"Fuck you!" He bellowed, looking around and using the seats to help him crawl towards the front. The wind rushed by him as the plane plummeted, the screeching engines failing to drown out the screams of the people still on board as they tried to fight off the infected.

I need to find a safe spot! It was a feeble thought, though. He knew once this plane crashed, he was probably going to die, especially if it ended up flying into some buildings, or the mountains. Damn it, the most I can do is buckle myself into one of the seats and hope for the best!

He dragged himself over to the nearest seat, turning around and seeing a few stumbling monsters walk out of the coach, growling as they joined their faster-moving brethren in ripping apart the passengers.

Just as he grabbed onto the seat, he thought he heard someone yell out, "Alright! What's-" The voice suddenly cut off, and when he got a good look at who it was, he froze.

It was a bipedal creature of sorts, resembling some kind of alien-horse-thing. It was clearly female, and had cyan fur and a rainbow colored mane. On its back were a pair of outstretched wings with multicolored primary feathers. The dawning realization finally hit Dee like a freight train: this was an anthropomorphic Rainbow Dash standing in the plane, staring at him with eyes wide in what he could only guess was shock. He could only stare back, equally shocked while the undead flooded into first class. His head whipped toward one of the runners as it leaped over the seats at him, arms out and teeth bared.

"Fuckin’ fuck!" He fell back onto the floor of the airplane as people continued to scream. The plane suddenly jostled as more gunfire from outside impacted it, piercing the monster in front of him.

Dee heard the mare curse, "Holy crap!" The mare ducked inside as the objects whizzed overhead, one of them almost grazing her ear. He saw her turn around and witness that one of the fliers following her had gotten hit by one, making them scream and clutch the bleeding wound. They lost their speed and ended up flying too close to the engine.

"Huh? What th- AHHH!" The pony screamed, fighting against the pull of the engine. They tried scrambling and flapping their wings as hard as possible to escape, but the engine was too strong, and the pony was sucked up and crushed inside. The engine burst into flames and sparks as blood, bone, and sinew exploded out from the back of it, causing the plane to dip down further to the right side towards the resort area itself.

The crazed, pale-skinned people with their wide, blood-red eyes quickly caught sight of the cyan mare and lurched towards her. She backpedaled, primal fear in her eyes as the infected ran at her. Dee watched it suddenly jump at her, forcing her to act. She swiftly spun on her heel, putting all her strength into the kick. Her boot collided with the infected's head and sent him flying back with a snarl.

Fuck! Dee growled before running over to the mare. Another infected ran at the mare from the side, but Dee tackled it to the ground before it could reach her.

Man, mare, and monster alike were suddenly jostled as the plane dove lower and lower. The pegasi who had followed after Rainbow to help managed to climb into the plane itself, numbering three. They swiftly moved inside, expecting to help out ponies, but instead they saw the infected and freaked out.

"What the- What's going on?!" One of them shrieked before he was grabbed from behind. The infected that grabbed the pony sunk its teeth into his neck, causing him to scream out, "Gaaaah! Get it off!"

A mare swiftly ran over to him as Dee rolled around, the undead climbing on top of him and trying to bite him. The infected lurched back as the full force of Dee's hard head smacked into the other's. It screeched and recoiled slightly and Dee grabbed onto its arms, holding them down and angling himself before kicking the undead cretin behind him, sending it screeching again as it flew out through the hole into the skies.

He shot up to his feet, quickly running at another of the infected making its way towards Rainbow. His heart was racing at a million miles an hour, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He threw a hard right punch, knocking out a few teeth from the infected before following it up with a swift left uppercut, a right hook, then kicking the infected away. His fists ached and his eyes were wide and scared. The plane shook more violently and the undead only grew in number. He saw Rainbow yank an infected away, giving it a swift roundhouse kick and sending it flying.

The plane suddenly took a sharp turn to the right, causing everyone to fall out screaming.

"Shit!" Dee stumbled and held onto the seat closest to him. The plane had gotten even lower—he could make out the island mountains as well as several hills and small buildings nearby on the beaches.

He prayed it would be a soft landing, or even if the infected didn’t kill them, the crash certainly would…

07

ooo000---000ooo

Cold.

That was how Dee felt when he woke up…: cold. His eyes opened up, the ceiling of the gas station greeted him instead of his room back home. He heard the shuffling of footsteps outside the barricaded front door—the moans of the undead followed soon after alongside distant screams.

A sigh blew past his lips and he sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head and wincing from the pain at past injuries he sustained during their little confrontation in the garage outside.

Fuck. He pulled his hand away and looked at it, revealing the smallest specks of dried blood on it. A few more curious touches told him the area was still tender from the impact. Ugh, he just had to hit me... all I was trying to do was calm everyone down; fat lotta good it did me, ended up with a fucked up head. A shake of his head followed; he was lucky he wasn’t killed by those hits.

Dee had taken to sleeping directly on the other side of the counter next to a small shelf filled with some tools. In front of him the other survivors were still sleeping, save for the burly mechanic and the lifeguard who were conversing near one of the windows and occasionally glancing outside into the lot. Dee slowly got up and looked over the other side of the counter where he spotted the still very Lyra-esque-looking humanoid sitting up-appearing tired and still in pain from past injuries. Vinyl Scratch, the DJ unicorn, was kneeling by Lyra’s side. And off to the side Rainbow was leaning against the wall, glaring at the lifeguard. The youngest of them, Dinky, was still sound asleep and covered up with a jacket.

How she slept through any of this, Dee would never know.

Lucky filly.

With a grimace he stood up and stretched out his aching limbs, producing a few relieving pops and cracks with a snort. A shake of his head and he peered over the counter at the ponies once more before moving around towards Rainbow who immediately fixed him with an intense glare, one that nearly sent him reeling backwards.

Her eyes were bloodshot and the frown didn’t make her look any better. “What do you want?” Her tone was quiet, but significantly less hostile sounding when she was speaking to the other humans.

Well… at least she didn’t sound pissed at him.

“How is she?” Dee gestured to Lyra with a jerk of his head, whose arm was now being held in a sling fashioned from a shirt they had found somewhere in the station. The mare was sitting up against the wall and Vinyl was kneeling next to her, gently checking it as her minty green friend hissed in pain from the adjustments made.

He saw Rainbow’s eyes flick over to the unicorn, “I think her arm’s fractured, probably some cracked ribs,” Licking her soft blue lips, Rainbow added, “That fall from the airship messed her up, and landing on those trees before we crashed didn’t help any...”

Dee crossed his arms together and looked over to Lyra, her tired achy breaths clear as day. “She gonna be alright to move if we have to?” he inquired quietly. I don’t think I’m up for running anymore… not just because I was fucked up, but because Lyra is way worse… with someone injured in the way Lyra was, it’d be difficult to move. Possibly cracked ribs and a fractured arm... she’s gonna be a liability to us if we have to run, but damn it all if I’ll leave her behind… what kind of person would I be if I let one of my favorite unicorn characters from my fav show die because of that? He wasn’t sure what to do about her right now, so he focused on Rainbow for a moment instead. Rainbow can fly, so maybe that part is taken care of; she can just hunker down in high places with Lyra if need be, she was carrying her earlier and I don’t think Lyra’s all that heavy anyway.

He wasn’t one to abandon people… least, he hoped it wouldn’t have to come to that if he could help it.

Rainbow frowned in reply to his earlier question. “Not for very long--she needs medicine, and she needs a doctor! I can’t fix her and Vinyl can’t either; we only know basic first aid stuff,” she huffed, bumping back against the wall and rubbing her face.

“Ditto. And I already looked for a first aid kid last night... couldn’t find one. All we got are energy bars, junk food, energy drinks and some bottles of water.” Dee had looked as hard as he could when he took inventory of their items, scouring the entire building top to bottom. All he found were just lots of typical gas station supplies that weren’t exactly helpful in the current situation. “Aside from a couple unopened containers of aspirin and some bottles of booze, there’s no painkillers in sight and no medkits; we got nothing.” He sighed as he ventured into the back room and looked around. Four cases of fruit juice, some bottles of liquor—we can use it for disinfectant, at least—boxes of fruit and some various snackfoods. He pinched the bridge of his nose as footsteps—or were they hoofsteps?—sounded behind him, he saw Rainbow when he jerked his head around to look at her.

She had her arms crossed under her bust—lifting them up just a bit, her eyes flicking down from his pants up to his chest, then finally landing his face. “...So what’s your name?”

Huh... figured she wouldn’t ask, he thought, wondering exactly how she was appraising him and whether he’d passed her test. Deciding now was a decent enough time to get acquainted, he smiled softly. “Name’s Dustin, but you can just call me Dee; everyone else does.” He held out his hand, “Nice to meet ya despite the current circumstances.”

A few seconds of silence passed between them before she took his hand, giving it a brief but strong shake, “Rainbow Dash, Second Class Wonderbolt Lieutenant.” She stared into his eyes for a moment, “Listen, about the airship thing you were on?”

“The airplane?” He stepped back slightly, leaning against the metal shelving that held two large boxes and sighing, rubbing his arms to try to warm them up. “Mmm, what about it?”

She licked her lips, the mare’s eyes flickering with a pang of reluctance for what she was probably about to say. “You... you saved my life back there,” She sounded hesitant in her words, uncomfortable even saying it. “Lot of stallions wouldn’t have stayed let alone risk their lives like that...”

Dee chuckled a bit and shrugged, “Well... I’m not a stallion,” He clarified, chuckling at the thought of being compared to his species’ pony counterpart, Pfft... I think it’s safe to say I’m definitely not like a stallion, especially in the dick department, hehehe. “It’s no problem at all, so you don’t need to thank me.” A bigger smile crossed his face as he locked eyes with her, “I’m just happy you’re alright.”

“Hmm.” Rainbow quirked her mouth out to one side and nodded before backing out of the room, saying no more about it.

Letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, Dee left the room himself before walking over to the windows on the right side. He slowed up slightly as he approached the right side, peering through the battered shelving and junk that acted as their only line of defense against the horde outside.

He saw the same scene as before, a dozen or so undead wandering around and growling. A few of them were kneeling over some ripped apart corpses on the ground—little more than skeletal remains covered in crimson and a few remaining scraps of fly-ridden flesh and sinew. Nothing seemed to have changed—save for the lack of runners and the screams, meaning they must have run off somewhere. The distant pops and cracks of gunfire had ceased as well, making him wonder if the owners had won or lost their fights.

Knowing how things are going on the island right now... most likely the latter. He sighed, head hanging low as he heard the sounds of the others waking up.

The rest of the morning went much like that.

The other survivors woke up and went about their ‘daily routine’ as best as they could in the confined and limited space of the gas station—bones popped and cracked, tired and unsatisfied groans sounding, and the glares from both sides had begun again, but were subdued this time around. It was something Dee was not looking forward to dealing with in the coming days should they be forced to stay here for a prolonged period of time. Everyone was tired, hungry, and scared shitless of what could happen at any moment.

As for Dee? He just wanted to go home and snuggle up in his bed with all of his plushies, sleep away the nightmares that would follow and go back to working his nine to five job at Walmart stocking up shelves.

He narrowed his eyes and tried to think... what could they do to escape this situation without getting killed? That was paramount.

Come on, think! You’ve played Dead Island dozens of times you dumbass... He tapped his head a few times, trying his very damn best to think of a way out of this mess. It was a zombie game with one clear goal in mind, escape the island, and he knew how to escape it… well, one way to escape it. But that was too far off and he wasn’t even sure if they could even get there in one piece.

His thoughts along with the dead silence of the station was suddenly broken by the heartbreaking question of the young human girl. “Mom... are we going to die here?”

Dee’s heart skipped a beat when that registered in his mind. Die. He knew how horribly true that was for them--if they didn’t find a way out of this station and to a safer place, then chances were very good that they would in fact die a horrible death. They had limited food and water, no decent medical supplies in sight, and everyone was acting like there was another fight about to brew up with each other. Especially the Lifeguard and Rainbow, he noted. They’ve been at each other’s throats since the beginning of this shit. They’ve calmed down for now... but if things keep on like this, there’s gonna be bloodshed on all sides... he gulped, wondering if it was in his power to prevent that from happening.

“N-no sweetie...we’re n-not.” He heard the mother tell her child, but from the way her voice cracked at the end, she was just saying that to try and soothe her daughter’s mind.

Dee rubbed his eyes as he tried to figure out how they could escape this station to safety. While it was defended now, they had no weapons except for the lifeguard’s baseball bat, the mechanic’s wrench, Vinyl’s now flimsy pole, and a shovel that in the main room—one of the tools left behind.

He glanced back at it and sniffled before looking back towards the room they kept their supplies in. He saw Dinky had woken up as well and was sleepily talking with Rainbow about something… but Dee found himself unable to help but notice the sun shining down through the door to hear what they were talking about...

Huh... He was about to turn back towards the window to look out—thoughts almost drifting back towards escaping the station. But instead, he thought about the sun and how it was shining through from above... through the skylight. Wait... the skylight! Dee’s face broke out into a grin before turning on his heel and swiftly heading towards the backroom.

He saw Dinky and Rainbow look towards him—Dinky quickly avoiding him and letting him pass. “What are you doing?” He heard someone ask, but he continued into the backroom before looking up and spotting two slanted skylights in the ceiling.

Dee’s grin grew.

“I think I found a solution to our problem.” He turned around, spotting Rainbow standing in the doorway looking at him.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow looked confused but also hopeful.

Moving out of the room, he made a beeline for the shovel up against the wall and made to grab it. He would borrow the baseball bat, but he wasn’t too keen on speaking with the lifeguard for it, not after what happ-

Smack

“Yeow!” Dee yanked away his hand with a yelp. A bright red mark appear on the back of his hand and when he looked to his assaulter, he saw the lifeguard with his baseball bat once more.

The lifeguard scowled at Dee. “The fuck do you think you’re doing punk?”

Flicking his hand a few times, Dee returned the scowl. “I think I found out a way out of this mess.” You fucking asshole. He made to grab the shovel again, but was stopped once more by the lifeguard.

Dee found the bat pushed up against his chest and he was forced back against the wall, before he was forced down onto his ass with a kick. Dee yelped once he landed, his eyes snapping open with a snarl as a burst of anger filled him, that’s it! He shot onto his feet and charged the lifeguard with a right hook. The bat being swung into his arm stopped him, causing him to slip up and miss before the lifeguard’s fist smashed into his gut, causing his eyes to bug out before he was kicked back down onto the floor with another swift kick.

Dee landed on the floor and coughed, holding his gut in pain and cursing up a storm.

“Sit your ass down!” The lifeguard yelled, his voice reverberating throughout the entire station and grabbing everyone’s attention—save Vinyl for obvious reasons. “Listen here you little jackass! Because of you and those fuckin’ mutants, we lost three of our people!” He pushed the bat up against Dee’s chest.

“Hey! Stop it!” Rainbow’s voice sounded, followed by her footsteps. “Why don’t you put down the bat before you hurt yourself, buddy.”

Looking over, Dee saw her approaching and looking ready to start another fight... only for her to be grabbed by the burly mechanic and picked up by her neck. She didn’t look prepared for that as her eyes bugged out—legs kicking at the man before she was thrown halfway across the station and into the vending machine, was she holding back?! She collided with a loud thud and a cry of pain just as Vinyl sprang into action, pole in hand, a swing of the wrench sent her back however to avoid it.

Looking back to the lifeguard, the man said, “You’re not in charge here, I am.” He growled, his bloodied bat getting dangerously close to Dee’s face—who was still on the ground groaning in pain. “And if you fucks don’t want to get thrown out... you better fucking listen to what I tell you to do!”

His voice made it clear, very clear who was in charge. His eyes flicked over to Rainbow, who was wincing and glaring up at the mechanic who only gripped onto his bloodied wrench with a snarl. The woman and her daughter stayed back from them all, huddling up near the refrigerated shelves against the wall.

Dee held up a hand slightly, chest and arm aching. “O-okay, fine... y-you’re in charge.”

The lifeguard grinned and backed away, shouldering his bat with a smug look on his face that made Dee want to punch him. “That’s right, I am... and don’t you forget it either, bitch.” With that, the lifeguard ventured back over to the middle of the room and gestured to them all, “Let’s get that straight now... I’m in charge here and if you fucks got a problem with it... well, leave.” He gestured to the front door, and the zombies outside. “My buddy George here will kindly show you the front door.” The mechanic hmmphed at his name and nodded.

No one said anything after that…

Seems they’ve lost, for now.

ooo000---000ooo

“Fuck.”

Was all Dee could mutter as he sat behind the counter, nursing his wounds away from the prying eyes of the lifeguard and his friend, George. After being assaulted for what felt like the fifteenth time, Rainbow and Vinyl were happy to let him sit next to them after what happened—and he wasn’t sure if they were pitying him or what. But either way, he wasn’t going to fight them on it, having some kind of friendly company to be with was something he so desperately needed, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Rainbow sat across from him next to Lyra, who was looking as tired as everyone felt. Vinyl was next to Dee, and Dinky was on Lyra’s other side.

Together they sat in silence.

Until Lyra broke it, asking the question the others didn’t dare to ask, the ones that lingered on everyone’s minds.

“What are we going to do?”

Rainbow was quick to rub her face at that, eyes closed and inhaling deeply. “I don’t know... we’re trapped in this stupid place until we can find a way out,” Her hand fell to her side and she glared at the lifeguard, who was conversing silently with George last time Dee glanced over. “Fuck nugget over there isn’t helping us any, we’re on our own.”

A harsh tsk sounded as Dee added, “You’re telling me.” He whispered, a hand subconsciously going to his arm and gently rubbing the spot where he was hit by the bat. Gah... I’m fucking pathetic, couldn’t even stand up to him every time we talked. I got my ass handed to me, big time. Dee hit his head against the back of the counter, only to regret it immediately as a flash of pain surged through him.

Not only were they stuck in the station, but they were stuck in there with a very angry and armed lifeguard and mechanic who didn’t want them moving from their spot or doing anything even remotely useful.

“We need... to get out of here.” Lyra coughed, rubbing below her chest. “Find someplace else.”

“I know Lyra, but what are we gonna do? We can’t bum rush them.” Rainbow replied with a quiet tone. “For a couple of males, they’re not weaklings or afraid to fight…”

To Dee, it sounded like that’s exactly what she wanted to do.

So what was stopping her?

“Even if we got past those two buckets of testosterone and small dick syndrome, we’d have to fight past dozens of undead who’re still lingering around,” Dee pointed out quietly, scowling slightly.

Then a hand touched his shoulder, breaking his train of thought.

A glance to his left and he saw Vinyl with a look on her face, red eyes flicking from his face to his chest. The alabaster mare was a bit close to him, her shoulder almost touching his as she tapped his chest, a strange hint of something flickering in her eyes.

“Huh?” Dee asked, raising an eyebrow at the mare who then proceeded to move her hands about in front of her. When she was done, an expectant look appeared in her eyes. “Uh… N-no habla finger movements?”

Dee’s eyes flicked down, catching sight of Rainbow’s foot tapping Vinyl’s before Rainbow did the same thing, but hers were a bit different. This confused Dee as the two had an odd exchange of back and forth with hand movements—only halfway through did he realize they were using sign language.

Wait… is Vinyl a mute or deaf? he wondered. While that was a headcanon that crossed his mind from time to time back when he wrote stories, he didn’t think it was an actual thing. This changes things… maybe.

After the two were done, Rainbow turned to him. “Vinyl wants to know if you’re okay,” Rainbow told him.

He made a face at that but ultimately nodded to Vinyl, “Oh, yeah! Aside from some uh… minor injuries, I’ll be fine.” He gave her a thumbs up and a smile to which she responded with a nod and a smile of her own before scooting up closer to him, her hip touching his own. He felt a bit odd about the close contact, but he didn’t say anything as he looked back towards Rainbow.

Rainbow looked relieved by that, head bobbing up and down. “That’s good to hear… you took a pretty nasty beating through all of this.” He saw an odd look in the winged mare’s eyes, but he wasn’t sure what it meant however. “You sure you’re okay? I know the lifeguard’s beaten you up a lot...”

Dee nodded again to reassure her, his smile staying there, “I am, honest. Hehehe, that’s not the first time I took a beating like that and it certainly won’t be the last, hahaha,” He chuckled as Lyra and Rainbow gave him a pair of looks, eyes widened and staring at him. Dee rose an eyebrow at the odd expression. Why are they so shocked? Bah, doesn’t matter… we need to figure a way out of this mess. He thought to himself as Rainbow suddenly signed something to Vinyl. He wasn’t sure how they were going to go about doing that however, given their current situation.

Before Dee could try and concoct any manner of plan with the mares next to him on what they could do next, something suddenly crashed against the front door and startled everyone. Dee snapped his head around as a sudden cry came from outside, “Let me in!” Dee saw the lifeguard and George run over, he stood up himself. “LET ME IN!”

It was the construction worker woman from the garage!

“Shit! Get this barricade out of the way!” George yelled as both he and the Lifeguard tried moving it.

Dee cursed as he heard the distant screeches and howls. Goddamn it! They’re going to let the infected inside! Dee made to stop them, knowing full well even if they did manage to get the woman inside, the infected would soon follow and overtake them. “Wait!” He called out to them, “Don’t open that door!”

“Fuck off! We’re bringing her inside!” The two started to move one of the shelves, and looking out the window, Dee could see walkers closing in.

Before Dee could do much, Rainbow and Vinyl suddenly rushed by him. “Stay back!” Rainbow pushed him back gently as the two mares went over to the two.

Oh fuck.

“Liam!” The woman suddenly yelled and the lifeguard turned around just in time to see the rainbow haired mare throw a punch into his face.

Crack

“Ahh!” Liam yelled as he stumbled back into the barricade, his body flopping onto the shelves and rattling them all loudly.

George whirled around with a yell, holding his wrench high before charging at Rainbow with a roar. Vinyl stepped in however—moving swiftly and spinning around in a crouch, her leg extended and swept under his own before knocking him down onto the floor with a yell. He collided with a shelf, his head hitting one of the shelves and making him lose his wrench in the chaos.

Dee just watched it all and panicked.

Shit shit shit! He heard the growls and the panicked noises of the woman outside, she was being too loud! He didn’t want her to die, he didn’t want anyone to die despite the bullshit these people put him through, but with how things were now going… “Ahhh shit.” He rushed over and grabbed the shovel as the woman yelled suddenly.

“Let me in! They’re coming! Please!” The woman outside yelled, pounding on the door and trying to get it open. But with everything blocking it, the door was wedged in a way that kept it from being opened from the outside.

Once he had the shovel, he looked and saw Liam and George fighting with the two ponies. Rainbow was dodging the swings of the baseball bat, her eyes set in a glare as the bat swung left and right, up and down in an attempt to either knock her back or cave in her skull. The mare was quick on her feet, using her wings to aid in dodging the swings and moving in quick to strike, her fist flying out towards his arm and making him growl and yell.

Vinyl was doing the same but she held down George on his back, pinning him down as he struggled to get up and take her down. “Let me go you bitch!”

Rushing towards the back, he heard the woman say, “Sally, stay put!”

Dee rushed into the backroom as the sounds of scuffling could be heard throughout the gas station. He saw Dinky give him a look and Lyra watching him as well before he vanished into the backroom with the shovel.

He looked up at the glass that made up the skylights and didn’t waste time before climbing onto the small table and swinging the shovel against the glass, cracking it with a single blow. Come on! He nearly dropped the shovel as the growls outside got worse. He pulled back and swung again, cracking it further. “Fuck!”

“Oh god! No! Get away from me!” The woman outside screamed and Dee felt himself grow more anxious to break the window.

He wasn’t sure what Rainbow and Vinyl had planned, but he needed to try and find a way for them all to get out of here. “Grr!” One more swing.

CRASH

Went the window, finally shattering into sharp and jagged pieces that rained down on top of him. He averted his gaze and covered his face, eyes snapping close as glass pelted his jacket. The people in the front yelled and screamed during their scuffle, the fight growing worse as Dinky yelled for them to stop.

“Please stop!” Dinky cried out loud.

“Get away from my husband you bitch!” ‘Liam’s’ wife screamed, followed by another yell.

Dee cursed loudly and scrambled to smash the bits of jagged glass out of the way so they could climb up. He was careful not to get any in his eyes—the last thing he needed was to end up blind because of his haste. Once the glass was cleared he bent down and jumped up, his chest and arm cried out in protest and he almost lost his grip. But he managed to hold on and pull himself up with a pained grunt.

Sunlight poured down onto his body, the tropical heat washing over him as he hoisted himself further until he could stand up. Dee gripped his shovel and looked around, spotting the garage they had escaped from, the other area filled with tools and other junk. And behind him he saw a way onto the roof, which he scurried over to.

Once he climbed up, she found some crates, bags and boxes sitting about, most of it luggage and crates of the small round fruits. He also spotted blood stains and trails leading off the roof, laying nearby was a body, still dressed in swimwear. His grip tightened around the shovel before running over to the downed body, he wasted no time before bringing his shovel up and slamming it down onto the head, causing blood to spatter onto the roof and his shoes.

It wasn’t a strong enough hit to kill him.

The body suddenly growled before shooting up, a scream escaping the infected as it charged at Dee.

He panicked with a sudden--“Gah!” he swung his shovel in a wide arc, clipping the undead in the head and causing it to snap to the side. But it kept coming at him, he backpedaled and swung again, the tool smashing into the undead’s head once again, snapping it violently to the side and making it stumble away. Taking the opportunity, he rushed the infected and tackled him with all his weight, “Raaah!” Pushing the undead back to the edge he backed off and brought up his leg before kicking him off. “Eat pavement!” Dee yelled once his foot connected with the monster, sending his foe tumbling off the edge of the roof and smacking onto the ground. It smashed into the ground with a loud crunch, its head cracking open and spilling brackish ooze.

Dee stepped back and stared down at the body. J-jeez… that’s the second one I’ve… He gulped, shaking his head and going back to the makeshift entrance he made through the ceiling of the storeroom. Jumping down onto the edge, he slipped back into the station just in time to hear the yelling.

“Fucking bitch!” He heard Liam yell, followed by a sickening crack noise.

“Aaaaaah!” The construction woman screamed suddenly from outside, “Haaah! AHHHHH! GET OFF ME! NOOOOO!”

Dee ran back out into the main room, finding Rainbow wrestling with Liam and trying to get the bat out of his grasp. George himself was trying to get a hit on Vinyl who just dodged left and right, skillfully swerving left and right to avoid the burly man’s fists. Ignoring the fight for now, Dee rushed over to Dinky and Lyra, the latter of whom was in a painful looking crouch and leaning against the counter for support.

“Come on, we need to get to the roof.” He told them, causing them to give him a look.

“The roof?” Dinky tilted her head as Lyra coughed.

Lyra shook her head, “I-I don’t think I can c-climb.”

Dee cursed, knowing full well she was injured. “I’ll help you.” He told them both as he stood up. Lyra managed to do the same as Dinky helped her.

Looking back at the fight, Dee grumbled before rushing to the back room. Dinky was right behind him with Lyra, who was clutching her arm to her side.

Shit, think think think, how do I help get her up? A few moments amidst the screams and yelling didn’t help him come up with a solution, he was terrified right now, his mind whirling about with frantic thoughts of what he was gonna do to get everyone out of this mess. A moment of clarity suddenly came to mind, and he said, “Quick, get onto the shelf!” He told Lyra, pointing to the overturned shelf in question, the one he used to climb up.

Lyra gave him a look before climbing up, wincing in pain as Dinky hopped up with her. He jumped up as well before turning to Dinky.

“Okay, listen kid, I’m gonna need you to climb up there first.” He told the young mare.

“W-what?” Dinky blinked her eyes in confusion and Lyra looked ready to speak, but a crash against the front made them look towards the fight. “Why?”

Rainbow, Vinyl, Liam and George looked at the windows, where they found the construction woman was smushed up against the shattered window, dozens of walkers tearing into her as her terrified eyes stared inside. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Seconds later she was pulled into the crowd as dozens more of them pushed against the weakened barricade, struggling to get inside. Her blood curdling screams echoed throughout the area, no doubt drawing in even more of the infected menace.

“Shit, no time!” Dee knelt down and held out his hands, lacing his fingers together. “Come on! We gotta move!”

Dinky looked panicky for a brief moment before moving over to him, putting her foot into his hands and bracing herself on his shoulders before he rocketed her up towards the opening, a squeak escaped her and a grunt from him as she got up. And looking up, she grabbed onto the edge and climbed up in a panicked way before looking down. He did the same for Lyra, who slowly went over to him and braced herself with her good arm.

She was a bit heavier then Dinky was but he managed to lift her up, pouring what strength he had in his arms and lifting. “Gah! K-kid!” Dee cried out, his chest and injured arm protesting loudly before relief came as Lyra’s arm was grabbed, from what he saw. Once Dinky began to pull, he accidentally ended up grabbing onto Lyra’s very plush butt, fingers digging into the flesh through her pants and making her eep slightly from the contact. He cursed quietly before pushing her up further and doing his best to ignore the fact he was groping his second favorite pony, finally he was able to grab onto her feet and push her the rest of the way up despite her pained noises.

“H-hah!” Lyra cried out once she was finally up top, coughing loudly.

“Fuck fuck fuck.” Dee looked towards the front, “Rainbow! Vinyl!” They both ended up kicking away their enemies. Dee saw Rainbow looking back towards him, “Come on! To the roof!” He jumped up and hoped they’d follow after him.

Safety was in reach!

Once he climbed up onto the roof with the two mares, he turned and made to help Lyra up. He gripped onto her good hand and pulled her up onto the roof.

Moments later he caught sight of Dinky climbing up immediately after, scared squeaky noises escaping her as she ended up bumping into Lyra.

“Whoa!” Lyra cried out as she fell forward, Dee scrambling to grab onto her as he fell back onto the roof. “Ah!”

“Whoah!” Suddenly his world was engulfed in complete darkness as Lyra landed on top of him. It took him… maybe a few scant seconds to realize that his face was buried firmly in between her deliciously warm, soft, and generously sized bust—immediately his face felt like it was on fire from the heat of his cheeks and her flesh. Holy…

Eventually his world grew brighter as Lyra sat up, an arm going up under her breasts to hold her chest and wince, she was straddling his crotch and grimacing in pain. He just stared at the mare, a bit shaky but nonetheless alright…

Also lowkey demanding that what was trying to happen in his pants to chill the fuck out; the position Lyra was in on top of him ensured he felt a certain… heat through his pants from her own and he felt his face grow hotter.

Now was not the time to get a boner!

Shaking her head and looking down at him, Lyra asked, “Y-you alright?”

He would’ve laughed, but instead he fought back the blush he was building and he nodded several times, “A-aye.” With that confirmation, Lyra climbed off of him with a groan as Rainbow suddenly blasted out from the entrance he had made from the window, soaring up with shaky wingbeats. Vinyl climbed up shortly after as the yells of Liam and George could be heard down below, cursing and screaming at them all.

Dee scrambled up onto his feet and found himself moving over to the edge of the roof near the front of the station—even before he got to the edge he immediately saw dozens of undead and running infected crowding around the front, all of them around the body of the construction worker and ripping her apart. Limb after limb, she was hoisted up and torn into by the animalistic monsters. The others not focused on the feast tried to get inside—doing their best to rip through the barricade and get at the other survivors to dine upon them.

Holy shit, holy shit, there’s so many of them! Every one of the monsters down below filled the lot—running infected from the roadways nearby, several slow moving ones wandering in from the jungle nearby to catch up. Screeches and growls, hisses and snarls, they were like animals… hungry and vicious animals and he was trapped with them all. “Son of a bitch, there’s no way we can get out through this.”

“Hey,” Behind him, he saw Rainbow Dash walk up to him before kneeling by his side, putting a hand on his shoulder. She had a few scratches and scraps but otherwise looked alright. “You gonna be alright?”

Dee took a few deep breaths before giving her a nod. “Y-yeah,” He looked out into the swarm of infected and gulped, “But we’re fucked.”

“No we’re not.” She told him sternly as he backed away from the edge, rubbing his face. “We’ll find a way out of this.”

Dee could only hope she was right...

ooo000---000ooo

Dee was huddled up on the rooftop and staring straight ahead at the rocks as clouds loomed overhead. His eyes were not focused on much of anything save the gently moving trees, and his ears were listening to one thing and one thing only—the screeches, snarls, growls, and the disgusting crunching of flesh and cracking of bone. He sat in the middle against the pile of boxes and bags as Rainbow and Vinyl looked through most of them, probably in an attempt to find some supplies.

He would have helped, but for now his mind was swimming with what he could do to get them out of this mess.

Rainbow can fly, obviously... and she can carry Lyra no problem, she’s stronger than she looks so maybe she could airlift us somewhere? Depends on where though, I don’t know where to go. He rubbed his chin, fingers tugging at the hairs. The lifeguard station would be a good bet, but it’s too far for us to move on foot and none of the vehicles look like they’re in any shape to be used. He felt that his goatee was beginning to come in again. “Mmm.”

“Damn, there’s nothing up here.” Rainbow growled, kicking a small box off of the roof and onto the ground, causing it to break. The mare huffed and took a seat next to Dee and he saw out of the corner of his eye that she was looking at him. “What’s up, Dee?”

She had been asking that along with Vinyl every now and then—the two checking on him as if he were going to change his mind and tell them that he wasn’t alright. His only response to them so far was; ‘I’m fine, just thinking.’ He was thinking, as painful as it was for his head. He needed to find a way to get them out of this mess. He didn’t want to die here...

Rainbow didn’t seem too convinced with his answer, unfortunately for him.

“Listen, I know you gotta be really freaked out right now, but we’ll keep you safe.” Rainbow told him softly, making him look over to her. She gave him a determined look, one that filled him with a bit more confidence and beat back the fear of dying on this island. The brony part of him was excited by this, that she was so friendly and helpful towards him instead of being hostile like she was to the others. “Alright? Me and Vinyl will make sure those monsters don’t get ya.”

She patted him on the shoulder, giving him a brighter smile.

He just nodded to her, giving her his own weaker smile before he looked up and saw Vinyl stifling a silent laugh, quickly signing something to Rainbow, the latter of whom blushing lightly and flipping the unicorn the bird. Vinyl snickered and wandered off over to Lyra. “Don’t mind her, she just thinks she’s funny.” She snorted and rolled her eyes before looking back at him.

Dee was still confused, not even sure what it was she signed in the first place. “Uh, o-okay?” He shook his head as he felt her grip adjust on his shoulder and around his back, having slipped her arm around his shoulders. The feeling was odd and caused his heartbeat to pick up... it had been a while since he had a girl sit this close to him, let alone act so friendly. By no means was he hating this, considering who it was with him right now, hell, he was all for it.

But he was still curious.

He shook his head and instead focused his thoughts once more on what to do... and suddenly like a light bulb being switched on above him, something came to mind.

Memories of when he was younger and playing Dead Island came to mind, one of the gas station they all sat on top of. He remembered going to the top and looking out across the immediate area, gazing at the tunnel, the sign, looking down and thinking the game was pretty fun so far and how it’d be fun to write a fanfiction about it.

Then he remembered the truck, the one that sat off to the right of where he was sitting right now.

Dee bolted up off of the ground, jolting Rainbow, “Whoa!” She cried, but he ignored her and ran over to the side, and his hopes suddenly soared as he laid eyes upon what was sitting on the ground.

Sitting in the small driveway of sorts was a blue pickup truck in better condition than the other vehicles sitting about. He couldn’t see any infected around the side save for a few bodies with beaten in heads, it was clear, as was the path out onto the main road leading up to the resort and the city of Moresby. He grinned suddenly, a surge of confidence rushed through him as he realized not all hope was lost after all.

He heard footsteps behind him, and looking he saw Rainbow, Vinyl and Dinky walk up next to him, along with a pained Lyra. “What is it?” Rainbow questioned, looking confused.

Dee just pointed to the truck, and said, “I think I just found our way out of here.”