Zombie Chronicles: New World Order

The storm lasted for a whole other day, and in the second day, we managed to bury everyone who had died from the Anthrax. Those of us that were left were either recovering or mourning... but we all knew the same thing—we couldn’t go back to Canterlot, not like this.

After the sick started getting better, we did a census on who survived... it wasn’t many.

Twilight, Joel, Oz, Diamond, Jet Set, Filthy Rich, and Sugarcoat and few others got sick and got the antibiotics while Sour Sweet, Jason, Applejack, Blossom, Issac, Sunset, Dexter, Aunt Jessica, Blazing Waters, and I didn’t get sick.

After a whole day of pondering where we should go... we all had the same answer.

The Imperium.

Crystal Prep brought up too many bad memories for some, and the Sector was military personnel only, so it was our only option. On the second day, we started packing what we had again, with Jason still restrained due to Darcy possessing him again in the middle of the night.

We all gathered at the grave sites just above the school, where rows of freshly dug dirt and wooden graves with the names of the dead written on them...

Gary, Luna, Sombra, Nicholas, Buttercup, Sour Sweet and countless others...

I walked over to the four’s graves, uncertain of what to say...

“I didn’t know Luna as well as others here did... but from what I gathered, she was brave and compassionate. Am I right about that?” I turned to the crowd of about 25, who mostly nodded.

I glanced at Sombra’s...

“Aside from... you-know-who, Sombra was the other teacher who was nice to me. And unlike you-know-who, he never had some twisted motive, he was just—he was just that good of a man.” I choked up...

Nicholas was next...

“Nicholas said he wasn’t always as who he was when we knew him—but I’d say half of us were on the same boat as him. He didn’t deserve this... none of them deserved this.”

Finally, Gary...

Gary.

“When it...”

For a brief second, I lost my voice. It took a moment, but I collected myself and went on.

“When this started... I had nothing left. I had no-one left... if someone told me on that roof all those years ago that I’d get home to the zombie apocalypse... I would’ve just jumped off.” I weakly chuckled, hoping it’d light the mood the tiniest bit.

It didn’t.

“But after it all happened, in the year that followed, Gary helped me. Did any of you know that he was a veteran? Because, trust me, I didn’t. He taught me how to survive—scavenging, hunting, things like that... and when it mattered, he got me here. He gave up his place at Canterlot just so I could be let inside. I can never forget him doing that—making that sacrifice, it’s... it’s something we all have to do at one time or another. It felt like he just... kept on doing it, almost every day—when I got sick with the flu, to when that horde took our hometown for a couple of weeks... I’d be dead without him...”

An hour passed of us paying our respects and saying our goodbyes before we were ready to finish packing and head out onto the still-icy roads and make our way to the Imperium, maybe a two-day hike from the high school... but it was one we had to make.

We started that afternoon, after our supplies were packed and carried out of the basement by Applejack and Rainbow. The walk out of the school was a tough one, with no sign of Bloom anywhere, save for scorch marks on the walls and demolished walls where the red-masked freak probably smashed through. Rubble blocked our way more than once, but we managed to clear a path and soon after, we made it to the ice-covered roads.

Needless to say, a great deal of us slipped at first, before getting our footing and slowly walking the path, with snow up to our ankles...

Despite the cold, Rin was sweating droplets and her skin was turning pale as Jess and Rich helped her walk, their faces showing how destroyed they were...

When I heard Rin call my aunt her mom, it caught me off-guard... but after I talked to Jason, it all made much more sense—why Rin was in charge, the formation of the Kingdom, all of it.

Speaking of Jason...

I turned to see his hands tied to his request with Applejack next to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. He hadn’t said a word since Darcy possessed him the other day...

I turned back to see Joel and Diamond, apparently my step-cousin, who both got sick and thankfully survived. Their hands were interlocked again, but this time they stayed that way the entire hike, from the first second we left to the night in an abandoned mall just outside of Sanctuary.

While we were setting up camp for the night, Blazing pulled me aside and taught me and a few others how to melt snow into drinking water, using some of his own supply of drinking water that he thankfully kept to himself until now. After about an hour of gathering snow off the ground and icicles from the ceiling, we were able to provide fresh water for everyone while we ate what was left from the pantry, thankfully not poisoned.

That night, everyone stayed in separate shops with Joel and Diamond in an old Hot Topic, Jess, Rich, Applejack, Jason, and Rin staying in the food court, with the former two restrained just in case, and Twilight, Rainbow, and I were huddled up in an old Sear’s

We knew Rin wouldn’t turn that fast—bite wounds most often take a few days before they turn someone, very much like the ordinary Rabies strain. Regardless, she was already rasping and her fever was 105.

As the Twilight and Rainbow slept, my eyes were still open, and I decided to reach out to Aria...

Hey.

A minute passed of no response before...

Kyle? We saw that storm, we’re already reaching out to the Imperium, those savages won’t get away with this... I’m sorry we couldn’t help..

You’re on the other side of the county, there was nothing you could’ve done. All that matters is that some of us survived... and we will have our voice heard. I think it’s time we had another meeting between all of the communities.

A few more seconds passed before Aria’s voice was heard again.

I agree. I’ll take it to Autumn in the morning—you guys get to the Imperium, first.

I mentally nodded to her and soon found my eyes beginning to close...

A few hours into our second hike, the snow had started to melt, now down to our toes, making it much easier to walk. At this point, most of us were a tad parched, but we couldn’t stop to gather and boil more snow. We were just outside the Imperium’s border when I glanced at what looked like a horse along with one of the armored Knights riding down towards us...

“Kyle Wiliams! What brings you and this... delegation to the Imperium?” The knight asked, guessing why we were all out here...

Whether it was the looks on our faces or Rin’s bite mark, the Knight slowly removed her helmet, revealing a teen about my age, with a purple mohawk, purple skin darker than Twilight’s, and a scar running down her left eye...

“We’re all that’s left... the Trix poisoned our water, and sent an assassin to wipe us out...” I said to her.

Silence for a moment, before the knight sighed in shock.

“Shit... Come—I'll escort you all to the Imperium.” She said as she tugged on the reins, her horse now moving at our pace...

We were about to head out when we saw a large pack of dust beginning to form in the far distance...

“What... is that...?” I asked, trying to make out what it was.

The knight seemed nervous as she hopped off her horse and pulled out a pair of binoculars, removing her helmet and scoping out the dust trail...

“Holy shit...” She whispered as she slowly handed me the binoculars, and I looked to see...

An ocean of the dead... some of them were what Issac called “Necromorphs”, and even a few new ones, some having fungi growing on them with others glowing a dark-purple color... but it was the same—we had to move if we were going to miss them.

“We should keep moving.” I said as I handed the knight the binoculars and we quickly started hiking again, this time with this knight guiding us...

Once we reached the gates, I glanced at Twilight and Rainbow, who were both right next to me and the gates began to open, my dad and Celestia at the other side...

“What do we tell her...?” I asked Twilight.

She took a deep breath and took a step forward, with my dad walking over to me with a smile on his face... before looking out to see how many of us there were...

“What happened?” Was all he asked before I saw Celestia look out into the crowd, most likely looking for her sister...

“Luna? Luna?!” She cried out desperately before I glanced at my dad and shook my head, letting him know she didn’t make it.

He was quick to pull me in for a hug, which I returned until he pulled away and walked over to and embraced a sobbing Celestia...

The rest of us couldn’t say anything, most of us looking down to the ground.

“Where’s the cellar? Darcy possessed me, I can’t let her hurt anyone else.” Jason said to a random guard who confusedly pointed him to the direction of the castle...

How could I have been so stupid?

I should’ve known that while my mind was somewhere else, they would be inducing some kind of possession spell on me.

But I won’t let them get through again, not if I can help it.

With my hands tied behind my back, I entered the castle, where Chrysalis was on the throne, quick to recognize me.

“Jason... I heard what happened at Canterlot, I’m so sor--”

“I need to be locked up. Darcy—one of the Trix-- put some kind of spell on me, made me...” I choked up in my hysteria, still having no memory of poisoning the water.

“She used my body to poison our water supply.” I simply said, not knowing how else to explain it.

Chrysalis glanced at me in pure silence, not knowing what else to say except...

“If you think this is what’s best, I won’t try and stop you—but say the word, and we will be down there with the keys.” She said as she rose from the throne and led me down the side door, into what must’ve been the new dungeon.

As I walked down the dark stairway and reached the rows of empty cells, I found a random one and opened it, entering the cell with Chrysalis hesitating to close the door behind me.

“You don’t have to do this, Jason... maybe we can reach out to your Red Fountain friends--”

“Don’t worry—that’s my plan, but for right now, I can’t be trusted. No matter what I say, no matter what happens... keep. Me. In here.” I said.

She glanced at me before nodding, shutting and locking the cell door before leaving the dungeon, most likely to talk to the others...

Silence. Pure, unfiltered silence. I sat back onto the floor and rested my head on the mattress, trying to summon all the willpower I have to call out for her...

Darcy.

No reply—maybe our “bond” isn’t like Kyle and Aria’s...

I can live with that.

“Who’s there...?” A weak voice croaked out.

That voice... it sounded familiar.

I didn’t say anything, not wanting to get friendly with whoever that was...

“Jason? I-is that you?” The same voice called out, only this time... in fear.

It clicked to me faster that the lock of the cell door did—it was Gaverial...

“Shut up...” Was all I said to him as I hopped on the decent mattress and closed my eyes...

I slowly entered the throne room, seeing Chrysalis massage the bridge of her nose, probably not hearing me open the door.

“Chrysalis.” Was all I said to get her to look up in surprise.

“Kyle...” She said back, and I didn’t waste any time to say what I went there to say.

“My... our son was brought here with my dad. I’m thankful he didn’t have to see what happened... or that he didn’t die along with them... but don’t think this is me saying ‘thank you’-- because it isn’t. You lied to me, manipulated me-- you fucking marked me!” I said, showing her my shoulder-bite.

She didn’t say a word, her face didn’t change, and she didn’t even flinch, almost as if she was waiting for this conversation.

“I can never forgive you for what you did... but that doesn’t change the fact that your people are the only chance we have against the New World Order.

As I went to walk away, I heard Chrysalis call out.

“I know you can’t forgive me—and you shouldn’t. What I did then never left my mind... I don’t know why they look up to me, when there’re far better people with less... sinful pasts.” She said to me.

I stopped, and a very faint smile formed on my face, only seeing myself in her words.

“Maybe it’s... how we make up for what we did, what steps we take to repair the damage we caused. Maybe that’s it...” I said as I walked out of the large throne room doors and two guards closed them behind me.