Vacation

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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.