Equestria of the Dead

It was morning when everyone gathered at the front gate. Spike and the others, armed with their weapons, were ready to move out, but were stopped when Hondo and Cookie approached them. Cookie was against letting Rarity back out there, but knew that her daughter's friends needed her. Besides, Rarity was gonna go even if she tried to stop her. "Here, take this." Hondo said; pulling a device from his pocket. "Call us once you've gotten there, and we'll let you know how things are going on our end."

"Be careful, everyone." Cookie added. Rarity hugged her parents goodbye and the group was off a few seconds later. Naturally, Sweetie Belle attempted to sneak off , but Cookie grabbed the little girl and prevented her from doing so.

****************************

The neighborhood was clear of zombies so making it to the river took no time at all, but once there, the group noticed the street was littered with trash, pieces of clothing, and trails of dried blood. It looked as though a slaughter had taken place. It didn't look as though anyone was at the bridge either, which worked out perfectly for them since now they don't have to use the boat. It was kind of eerie how there was no sigh of anyone when usually at this time, it'd be full of people either heading to work, going to school, or walking their dogs, something like that, but the only sounds that could be heard were the group's footsteps and breathing. Upon making it to the bridge, with the exception of a few open cars and damaged cars, there was not a single soul around. This was good as there was no one in their way to slow them down, however, they still had to be cautious as a zombie could easily be behind something, or set off a car alarm that would attract them. They walked carefully across the bridge; checking around every vehicle they came across in case there was an un wanted surprise waiting for them. Thankfully, they made it across without any incident and continued on their journey. "Man, it's surreal." said Button.

"I know right." Spike replied. "Hard to believe this area was once full of people."

Sunset, who was head of everyone, suddenly stopped and placed a hand over her sword as though she was ready to fight. Everyone was alert, especially when she took a fighting stance. "What is it?" asked Rarity.

"Something's up ahead." she answered. "It looks like another group of survivors." Up ahead of them was a group of at least four people. At first, the thought process was that there was nothing to fear, but then they all remembered that gang that attacked them and figured that it was probably best to avoid another possible situation like that. Spike pointed to a nearby alley they could take to get to the next street and they wasted no time in moving towards it. They were able to make the first right where they ended up on the next street and continued onwards.

"Should we be avoiding people like this?" asked Cream. "I mean, what if someone need our help? We can't just ignore them, can we?"

"I get what you're saying, hell I even emphasize with it, but these are dangerous times." Rarity answered. "People will do whatever it takes to survive for one more day, and that could even mean pretending to be in trouble just to get us to let our guard down, then ambush us."

"Rarity's right." Sunset added. "We have to assume everyone's dangerous unless proven otherwise."

Cream lowered her head as this went against everything she believed in as a nurse, but her mind was put at ease when Button took her hand. The group moved closer to the sidewalk where they started to walk pass a coffee shop when suddenly......

*CRASH*

Out of no where, a zombie burst through the window. The shattered glass sprayed on everyone; causing them to yell and cover their eyes. A few seconds later, Spike opened his eyes and saw the zombie going for Twilight. Without a second thought, he lunged at the undead creature and managed to tackle it to the ground, but then, that's when it grabbed Spike and rolled over to pin him to the ground. Spike used all of his strength to push the undead off of him, but to no avail. The creature continued to chomp it's teeth together inching closer and closer to Spike, then suddenly once it got close enough, it stopped. Spike could feel it's grip on him loosen up, it was a struggle get it off him, but it wasn't as strong as before; almost as though it was losing it's strength for some reason. Once everyone else recovered from the glass being thrown on them, they quickly looked around and saw Spike being attacked. "SPIKE!" Twilight screamed as she grabbed her baseball bat. With one hard swing, she hit the zombie across the head; giving Spike a chance to move from under it. Then, Button took aim and shot the creature in the head; killing it instantly. Twilight threw herself at Spike; holding him tightly, but sadly, this moment couldn't last.

Their screams from earlier alerted a small wave of zombies, and they were now pouring into the streets. Thankfully, they were a good bit away from them, but it was still best if they got out of there. Rising to his feet, Spike grabbed Twilight's hand and started running along with everyone else. They came across a four way stop and continued running straight; not realizing that they were spotted by a group of survivors. Said survivors decided to follow them in case they were heading somewhere save, but were stopped when they came across the small horde of zombies. A quick fight started amongst them in which they used whatever melee weapons they had to hold them off.

Spike and the others soon came across a small convenient store, and ran in. Thankfully, it was cool inside, so they could cool off a bit before heading back out. It didn't look as though any zombies were inside, but the place was a total disaster. Shelves and item were all over the floor as though a fight had just broken out, but at least they were safe. Twilight continued to hug Spike who was confused about that zombie's actions. This wasn't the first time something like happen. Spike could recall when he and Twilight were separated from the others, he was attacked in a similar way, however, for a brief moment, the zombie's grip started to loosen a bit before Twilight killed it. "Are you okay?!" Twilight worried. "Please tell me it didn't bite you!"

"It didn't, trust me, i'd know if it did." he reassured.

Sunset made her way towards the back of the store to grab a water bottle, while Rarity checked the map on her phone to plan out their next move. It was then, everyone heard a gasp from Cream. She pointed towards the door, and they all saw a group of survivors passing by. "Everyone, hide." said Rarity. Quickly, everyone moved, Spike, Twilight, Rarity, and Sunset hid down the isles, while Cream and Button took cover behind the counter. "Don't anyone make any sudden movements." Looking over at Sunset, Rarity gave a nod, and she moved around the isles to get closer to the door. Sunset peeked out and saw that the group of survivors were two guys and three girls who looked a bit older than they were. First impressions were that they were probably 2nd year college students. They had no guns which was a good thing for them. That means if they were get into a fight, they'd have the advantage. Upon further inspection, Sunset could see the guys holding a baseball bat, and a crowbar, while one of the girls held a machete respectively. The other two girls appeared to be unarmed, but Sunset couldn't tell at from where she was. They looked as though they were looking around for something, or someone, whatever the case, they can't take the chance that these guys just might attack them.

"Sunset, what are they doing?" Rarity asked.

"They're looking around." she answered. "It's possible they saw us coming this way."

"So what do we do?" asked Cream."

"Keep quiet and stay out of sight." Sunset answered. "Hopefully, they'll think no one's in this building and move on. So everyone just stay where you are for the time being and try not to bump into anything or make a sound." Sunset slowly backed away from the door, but kept close to check if the coast was clear later. Over with Spike and Twilight, the two sat down in the candy isle with Twilight holding onto him. Spike himself was in deep thought, thinking about that zombie from earlier, and why it suddenly started to loosen it's grip on him. What was the deal with that? Spike decided to put those thoughts on hold for now, and focus on Twilight, whose grip on him increased a bit.

Behind the counter, Cream laid on the floor with Button in her arms to keep out of sight. Button could tell by her slight trembling that she was scared they were gonna be found. He didn't blame her, not after what happened last time when they were attacked by a gang and she was nearly killed. In order to calm her a bit, Button wrapped and arm around her, and rubbed his hand up and down her back. This seemed to do the trick as Cream softly hummed and snuggled him. Button couldn't help but grin as he felt his mother's breasts against him. He would love nothing more than to play with those soft, massive mammaries of hers, but such a thing would have to wait until they were in a more secure location.

Sunset once again peeked out the door, and saw that the survivors were gone. This was both good and bad at the same time. Good, because now they can continue on their way, but bad because she had no idea which way they went. For she knew, they could be close by in hiding. "Okay, they're gone." she said. "But don't ask which way they went."

"Looks like we'll have to take a chance and go for it." said Twilight. One by one, everyone stood up from their hiding place as Sunset carefully walked out of the building and surveyed the area. Once she found no sighs of them, she motioned for the others to come out. It was then, they witness two zombies walking aimlessly in the street. Not wanting to alert them, the group, as quietly as possible, walked around to the side of the building to the next street and proceeded from there. However, they were unknowingly spotted by the other survivors who were about four yards away from them. The other group decided to follow them, but kept their distance as to not alert them.

****************************

It was late afternoon when the group was starting to approach the highway, but before they could get there, they had to make a trip to Cranky Doodle Dandy's shop which wasn't that far away. "It's right over here." said Button as he led everyone down the street where they came across an old abandon shop. The place looked as though nobody's used the place in years. "Is this old man Cranky's shop?" asked Spike.

"Sure is." Button answered. They walked up to the to the door and found that it had a rusty chain on it. One hard swing from Spike's axe broke it clean off. The door itself was a bit hard to get open, but once it was, the group was met with a dark building; mostly due to windows being boarded up. "We need to get these down somehow." Button suggested.

"Hold on, we don't wanna make too much noise." Rarity warned. "We might attract more of those zombies."

"Rarity's right." Twilight added as she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out her phone. "Here, use this. maybe we can find a light switch or something."

"Okay, you girls stay here while we look around." Spike said while taking the phone. Turning on the phone's flashlight, the two boys started to navigate their way through the shop. Button was the one who took the lead since he was the only one among them who's been here before. The two boys traveled to the office which was located behind the counter. Once in there, Button searched for the main light switch while. "Come on, I know it's here somewhere." he said. Button walked along the wall until he came across a small compartment where the main switch was. "Let's hope this works." he said before flipping the switch. There was a small sound, which was probably the main breaker, before the lights inside the shop flickered a bit, then lit up the building.

"Whoa, i'm surprised this place still has power." said Spike as he and Button left the office. Looking around, the group could see that Cranky's shop was a hardware shop, but that wasn't why they were hear. Button made his way around the counter and headed for the back area. Everyone else followed him while looking around. The shelves were mostly empty and rusted with the only on them being open empty boxes. The roof didn't look all that good either, it was as though it could cave in on them at any second. The group made it to the back storage area where Button turned his attention to the floor.

"I know it's here somewhere." he said. The back area wasn't that big so Button had no idea why he was having trouble finding what he was looking for.

"What are you looking for?" asked Twilight.

"There's a secret door Cranky hid back here." he explained. "Remember...I said he has a basement filled with weapons we could use. Now if I could just find that......" It was then Button nearly tripped over something. Looking down, he saw that it was a handle. "There it is." he said. "Hey, Spike, give me a hand." Both boys grabbed the handle and pulled as hard as they could. It was a struggle, mostly due to the rust, but they eventually got it open. Button was the first to take the ladder leading down into the basement followed by Spike.

"What in the hell?" Spike said in amazement. There before him, was a massive arsenal of assault weapons; every type of gun imaginable was on display.

"Was this man preparing for a war or something?" Rarity asked after climbing off the ladder.

"Like I said, he was a conspiracy nutcase." Button answered. "He kept going on and on about we need to arm ourselves and get ready to fight the government who's gonna issue some kind of population control or something like that. Anyway, let's grab what we can, and get outta here." The group did just that. Cream filled a duffle bag full of ammo while everyone else grabbed holsters and riffles of their choice. Even Sunset, who wasn't too keen on using guns and instead preferred her sword, armed herself with two hand guns. Once fully equipped, they each climbed the ladder to get out of the basement, however, another problem arose. As they were about to leave the building, they noticed the survivors from earlier starting to pass up the shop. Rarity quickly waved for everyone to hide behind something, and Button, running as fast as he could, made it to the office and killed the power.

"Shit, they followed us." Rarity whispered.

"What now?" whispered Sunset.

"Just keep out of sight until they leave." she answered. Rarity, being the closest to the entrance, kept a lookout while everyone remained out of sight. Button, coming out of the office, couldn't see a thing. It was gonna take a while for his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, so he took his time walking. However, he tripped on an unknown object and fell forward, but luckily for him, Cream was nearby to break his fall.

"You okay, Honey Button?" she whispered.

"Yeah, thanks." he answered. Cream leaned in and planted a small peck on his forehead before holding him close. Once his eyes started to come into focus, Button could see Cream looking at with that warm smile of hers. Unfortunately, their little moment was cut short when they heard Rarity cursing. Apparently, the other survivors turned their attention towards the shop and were heading their way. "Everyone, get down." she said before moving towards one of the isles. Cream and Button crawled behind the counter, while Spike and Twilight moved further into the darkness. Sunset was hiding into the shadows; ready to strike if the situation called for it.

"There's no one in here." one of them said as they walked in. "Let's go, Flash."

"I can't believe we lost them." he said.

"Mind telling why we're following them again?" he asked.

"I was hoping they could help us." Flash answered. "Maybe they know how to get to Suri's Haven."

"You mean that place that's being ran by Suri Polomare's uncle....what was his name again.....Neighsay, or something?" he asked. "Even if they did know how to get there, what makes you think they'll tell us, or rather, what makes you think we'll be let in?"

"Well we have to try." Flash said before turning back to the entrance. "We can't going on like this, Thunderlane. With each passing day, there seems to be more and more of these things."

"In any case, we better get back to the girls." said Thunderlane.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Right as they started to leave, they heard screaming from outside. The two boys ran out of the shop to see a group of thugs grabbing their friends. The thugs appeared to be in some sort of gang by the way they dressed. There were six of them in total; three were holding the girls while the others turned their attention towards the boys.

"Well look what we have hear." one of them said. By the way he carried himself, he was probably the leader. Flash and Thunderlane readied their weapons but the leader snapped his fingers and the girl soon found knives next to their throats. "Ah, ah, ah....I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not unless you wanna see their pretty necks get slashed." Getting the message, both boys dropped their weapons and kicked them away. "Good boys." he said. "Now tell me, just what are you doing here on our turf?"

"We were just passing through." Flash explained. "Look, we don't want any trouble."

"Oh, don't worry, no trouble at all, unless....." he started. "You're willing to make a little deal with us."

"What kind of deal?" asked Thunderlane.

"You see, after the world went to hell, my boys and I haven't had much "fun" lately, and we're feeling a bit....pent up....if you know what I mean." he explained. "So how about this, we'll let you two go free with your lives, and you leave us these sexy little ladies." The three girl's eyes widen after hearing that and they tried to break away from the other gang members, but their grip was too strong. One of them grab one of the girls' shirts and ripped it off her; bra and all. She screamed to the top of her lungs as her bountiful breasts were exposed.

"Holy shit, look as those tits!" one of them yelled.

"I wonder how big these two are as well." said another one as he approached them. The other two girls screamed for him to either stop or to get away from them, but he ignored their pleas and proceeded to rip off their shirts too. All gang members' mouths water once they saw the display of breasts before them. Two of the girls bawled their eyes out while the one with orange puffy hair gritted her teeth and gave a death glare at all of them; her face red from embarrassment while tears roll down her eyes.

"STOP IT!" yelled Flash as he took one step forward.

*BANG*

The leader fired a warning shot at Flash's feet stopping him in his tracks. "Here's a little advice for you kid, don't be a hero." he said. "That's the quickest way to get yourself killed; especially in this day and age.

Inside the shop, Spike's anger was reaching it's boiling point he saw what was happening. It reminded him of what happened to Twilight and how he was helpless to stop it. Speaking of whom, Twilight as also reaching a boiling point as she remembered what it was like being humiliated like that. Thankfully, she had Spike there to save her. The two of them placed their hands on the weapons, ready to attack, when they were suddenly stopped by Sunset. Before they could protest, they noticed Button moving to lay on the floor in the prone position, taking aim. "You got a clear shot, Button?" she asked.

"Yeah, ready when you are." he said.

"Hold your position." she said before turning back at Spike. "We can't just rush in. Let's take care of the ones holding the girls first, once their free, then we rush'em." Rarity grabbed Twilight and brought her a few feet from where she was standing where the two of them took aim from behind part of the window that wasn't boarded up.

"Got eyes on the target." Rarity confirmed.

"Same here." Twilight added.

"Alright, Spike, I'll need you to cover me." Sunset said as she moved towards the entrance. Taking a stance, she placed a hand on her sword as Spike stood next to her and readied his gun. "You guys free the girls, and Spike and I will handle the rest." Everyone nodded in agreement as Sunset took one final exhale.

"NOW!" she yelled.