Sacrifice

by Valuable Ashes

Rating: teen
Tags: Horror, Scootaloo, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 9323

Two different but very similar stories of a brave act.

This is a sequel to Cornered
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Would you sacrifice yourself for who is most dear to you?

Published 2020-07-18 02:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-07-18 02:00:00 UTC

Left behind

Author's Note

If you find anything wrong or out of place, write it down in the comments.

Left behind

"Apple Bloom! Leave me!" Scootaloo yelled at the yellow pony before catching her breath. "AB, Please"

Scootaloo was buried under a pile of wood. The debris hit her in the head and she could feel a mild concussion coming on. Although she was in no danger at the moment she couldn't break free from the fallen beams. The earth pony levitated an unconscious unicorn filly onto her back. The earth pony filly briefly stared at Scootaloo with tears in her eyes before running out the open door.

"Leave me, Apple Bloom." She sobbed trying to lift the beams off of her but failed. All around her, the growling became more intense and she could faintly hear scratching. Her vision started to blur as her headache started to worsen and could see no more.

A strong breeze blew through the country side and through an orchard. What used to be a massive plantation turned into a massive graveyard. There were bodies littered around trees and more so on a dirt path. Those bodies were once alive and healthy until the monsters came. Decaying flesh ponies with glowing white eyes sought destruction to the inhabitants of Ponyville, a quiet little town just south of Canterlot.

The events led the entire town to panic over the increasing deaths and loss of hope. Some fended for themselves only to be completely eviscerated. Teeth tore in skin and insides were eaten with much ecstasy.

The Royal guard that were supposed to escort the Elements of Harmony were either fighting or dead on that day. The undead poured out of the forest like water. Their hooves pounded on the grass once they found a pony to eat. Civilians were evacuated via pegasus carriages but few were pulled down by the undead causing adults and foals to fall off the carriage. However, the rest that couldn't evacuate fled to the outskirts of Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres. Among them were the elements.

While the undead were hunting the ponies. The six rallied up the few remaining ponies to the barn a few kilometres away. Unlucky ponies tripped and was either trampled by hooves or eaten alive. Some brave willed ponies stayed and fought to cover the retreat of ponies and inevitably fell to the undead. Their screams echoed across the road as one had their bellies ripped apart like a gift wrapper. As the last of the fleeing ponies entered the safety of the barn doors, the ponies calmed down. Until they saw the undead marching upon the red barn.

The living dead were dispatched but the ponies became anxious if more were to arrive. All able bodied ponies set up a defense line around the barn while most of them volunteered to defend the barn with the tools in the barn's shed. As night fell, the survivors were tense and waited for the undead to appear in the apple trees. Sometime later, they saw a pair of eyes in the dark. Glowing white eyes haunting them as they continued to walk towards them. The fight was short but the night was long. Ponies comforted the crying and wounded were carried to a makeshift infirmary.

As morning came, The survivors managed their supplies. Food and water was plentiful but the barn was lacking medical supplies. Few suggested to leave the barn to a much safer place such as Canterlot but many disagreed saying that it will take days to travel from this spot to the castle and it would be dangerous out there. The recently crowned princess sent a distress message via Dragonfire and was relieved to hear that the Princesses would send guards to rescue them. They just had to wait for two days until the pegasus carriages would come to pick them up at the barn.

All of them were relieved until they heard shouts outside. Unfortunately, to the surprise of many, a horde was surrounding the barn. Many ponies rushed to the defense line to support the few outside only to be mowed down. It was like Ponyville again but there was no escape. Many ponies hid inside rooms but they met a grizzly fate. Screams echoed the barn doors as mares and children get slaughtered in the most gruesome way. Two of them tried to escape to the roof but they soon found out that the undead will get their food no matter what.

Pegasi flew away from the barn to travel to another city most likely to tell about the horrors in Ponyville. In the middle of the barn, a bright lavender flash surrounded twelve ponies and one dragon and they disappeared. The undead were confused at the sudden disappearance of their food but continued to maul down any fleeing ponies.

In all the confusion, three fillies huddled in the basement. It was locked from the inside and the key lay next to it. The three were beginning to tire as the adrenaline faded from them. They heard the panicked shouts of the ponies above them but knew they couldn't do any help. If they open the trapdoor, a zombie could see them and they will lock the door again.

Soon, they became too tired to stay awake and fall asleep next to each other. The screaming dying down.

They woke up in the dusty basement hearing nothing but creaks of wood. One of them with a red bow on her mane used the key on the lock and the three peeked out from basement to the horrors of last night's. When the earth pony emerged from the trapdoor the other two followed suit. The wind blew through the living room, swinging the open doors and through the shattered windows.

The trapdoor was located in the kitchen, where the wounded were being healed up. The dining table had a red tablecloth on top of it. On top of both the table of cloth was a blue pony. Her arms were splayed out and the fillies could see her ribs poking out from her belly. One was speechless while the other two barfed out their dinner. Blood dripped from the body to the tablecloth which is increasingly becoming more red than white.

Her eyes were closed and her pink mane hung loosely from her head. She was indistinguishable if not for the cutie mark that was on her right flank. Most of it was covered in crimson blood. Apple Bloom, slowly crept up to the dead mare and looked at the cutie mark better. It had three pink cupcakes each with a cherry on top.

Apple Bloom held her hoof against her mouth as she knew who was on the table. She looked at the dead pony's face before going back to her friends. The trio left the kitchen to the living room and saw a massacre. Blood covered both the walls and floor. Mutilated limbs ripped off from their bearer and were visibly chewed on. They averted their eyes from any poor pony that had died in the room.

Sweetie Belle sobbed at the ponies while Scootaloo comforted her. Apple Bloom saw something in the middle of the room. It was a stetson that her big sister wore. It lay unharmed by anypony. She had trouble walking over to it and picked it up once near. Tears dripped from her cheeks as she fought hard to contain a loud wail. She walked back to the others wearing the stetson. They laid there, too shocked to move or say anything.

Outside the barn their sobbing didn't go unnoticed from the wandering undead eating the leftover meat near the defense line. Their urge to eat fresh meat overrides any other senses that they had. They shambled closer to the barn. Groaning louder as they grew nearer.

This alerted the fillies inside and quickly fled upstairs. The loud clip clops coming up the stairs were heard by the undead in the guest rooms and master bedrooms. The trio looked at the short corridor which lead to six bedrooms. The corridor was like the living room, full of blood and death. The wooden doors didn't stand a chance against the horde of last night. Apple Bloom quietly called out to the others and headed straight to her bedroom.

Before Apple Bloom could pass by the first room, a rotting hoof shot out of the broken door then out popped an undead. It's glowing eyes wandered until it settled on Apple Bloom. It tried to grabbed her but was shoved back in the room by Sweetie Belle via telekinesis. The trio entered the farm filly's bedroom and locked the door. The lack of death in the quiet room made them feel relaxed. However, they knew that the undead would come pounding on the door soon and left via the open window.

Scootaloo was the first to leap onto the roof. Her wings fluttering to support her weight. Once she reached the top, she was tackled by zombie. She let out a scream for help alerting Sweetie, who just got out of the window. She panicked and shot out a burst of magic that hit the roof right under her flightless friend. The ball of unknown magic burst and blasted a chunk of the roof as well as some of the beams. The roof couldn't support the weight of three ponies and collapsed.

Apple Bloom could only watch her friends falling down the hole before she ran back through the window. A loud crash resonated inside the barn attracting the zombies near the orchards. Their white eyes never leaving sight of the farm house. Apple Bloom rushed through the corridor, narrowly avoiding an exposed hoof poking out of the guest room door. She rushed down the stairs and ran to the debris.

There she saw Scootaloo trying her best at removing the wooden beams that were supporting the roof and Sweetie Belle beside her. The unicorn filly was unconscious and the wood was too heavy for Apple Bloom to lift. The flightless pegasus pleaded the earth pony filly to get out while still possible. With a heavy heart, Apple Bloom picked up Sweetie Belle and ran away from the barn leaving Scootaloo on her own.

As the filly carried her incapacitated friend, she met the undead outside. All of their eyes were trained on them as Apple Bloom evaded the undead. Some ran after her while others ignored her. She galloped as fast as she could away from the barn all the while crying knowing full well she left a good friend behind. As she ran past more undead, they all turned away from the barn to pursue the two, completely forgetting about the orange pegasus.

The flightless pegasus woke up but kept her eyes shut. Praying for Princess Luna to show up and tell her that it was all a bad dream. Then, she heard the sounds of birds chirping outside. This made her smile mentally, thinking that the nightmare was finally over. When she came to, however, she was met with a wide open front door and a whole lot of blood.

In a panic, she tried to jump off of the floor but she felt something restraining her. Looking behind her, she remembered that she was pinned by multiple wooden beams and part of a roof. She sucked in a breath and tried to pull herself out of the wood. She gasped for air as her energy faded and rested before she tried again. Finall, after a couple of tries, she broke free from the debris and landed on the blood stained floor. The dried blood felt sticky on her fur.

Whatever happened last night was not a dream. All around her were gore and bits of ponies. She could see the dead more clearly now with no tears on her eyes. Two ponies lay next to each other near a wall. Four were on the floor, their entrails that weren't eaten by the undead were exposed to the eyes of the young filly. There was a mare with half of her body inside a fireplace. Her top was burnt to a crisp. Faces that were once filled with color and emotions now only stayed in the same horrific expression that engraved itself in the filly's mind.

"Oh Celestia..." Her eyes darted from one pony to another. While she wasn't acquainted with half of the ponies in Ponyville she could easily remember who and what their names were. That purple pony in the fireplace was named 'Berry punch', that orange pony was 'Carrot Top'. The rest were indiscernible from the blood that covered them that only small patches of colors were visible. She shivered as she traversed through the piles of bodies and out into the open.

The birds outside were tweeting loudly, but couldn't find any of them. If Scootaloo woke up away from Ponyville, she would have believed that it was another normal day in Equestria. She passed by the makeshift wall made of logs of wood and chain link fences. It did great at stopping individual zombies until a whole horde came, knocking the wall like a stack of cards. Blood caked the grass, giving it a nasty crimson color.

She walked through the apple orchard, looking around for any of the undead that might pop out behind the trees. A fearful look was glued to her face. She didn't want to die. She knew the others back at the barn didn't want to die either but there's nothing she could do about it. She kept walking straight until she reached the end of the orchard. There she sucked in a large breath of air before heading to Ponyville.

She walked there slowly. Her brain remembering the screams of last night. How the ponies upstairs would yell for help only to get none and be eaten alive. How many foals were asleep when the commotion happened. She even thought about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They may be bullies but they were living ponies like her. Alive and healthy but now they are dead. This made her think about her friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Did they live? Did they find safety? Or did they die mere moments after fleeing the barn house? These thoughts made Scootaloo sick and tried to think of the good times.

Her thoughts took a more happy turn once she remembered the time where the three of them would always try to find their cutie marks but it would never happen. Sometimes, they would end up hurt or end up covered in tree sap. Scootaloo chuckled at the thought.

Scootaloo's stomach growled. It doesn't take too long to travel to Ponyville but Scootaloo was tired and hungry from the incident at the farmhouse. So she intended to travel to Sugarcube Corner once she gets there. On the road, she looked over to the Everfree forest where the undead came from. She shuddered slightly and agreed to herself that she won't go there at all.

However, this thought made her think about Zecora in her hut. Is she alive and safe? While she couldn't vouch for her safety, she felt as if the zebra was still alive and kicking. She's got to be.

She didn't know what she expected. Some houses were charred from abandoned candles that were left lit by the former owner of the house. The school had its windows shattered and the door was broken open. The playground was untouched and so was the small park. The town hall has seen better days. A large hole has appeared at the side of the large building. Few windows were smashed but the rest that were left alone were splashed with streaks of blood. One of the windows had a corpse hanging out of the middle of it. It's lifeless body swinging every time the wind was present.

Scootaloo passed by many houses that were in broken into and most likely had their inhabitants eaten. She passed by the residence of Derpy Hooves and leaned on the wall of the household, her eyes going distant. The average pony wouldn't be able to take up much more of this let alone a foal. She was broken out of her trance when her stomach growled. Now more hungry than ever, she walked faster to her destination.

Sugarcube Corner still looked as delicious as ever. Not a single body part or pool of blood to be found around it. It was like a safe haven to her. She sped up until she reached the inside of the bakery. She closed the door and flicked the light switch but there were no lights. She flicked it again but to no avail the light's are either busted or no electricity flows through the cables anymore.

She sighed and headed to the kitchen. Along the way, She passed by the counter and baked goods that were laid out inside displays. The cinnamon buns looked good from where she was and the strawberry cake too. She wondered if the path to the kitchen is worth it but decided against it. She opened the display and took out a slice of cake and dug into it. The flavors burst into her mouth like a fire cracker. After the first slice she took another, relishing in the sweetness and the texture of the two layered cake.

She was reaching out for a third until she heard some light clip clopping outside. She stayed silent until the noise from the left disappeared to the right. She was tensed. Her brain kept insisting her that there is a living breathing pony outside but after what happened back in the barn, she doesn't know who or what is outside now. She reached her hoof for the third slice and gobbled it down then walked out the front door to investigate the noise.

She put her side to the wall once she left the building and stayed beside it until she rounded the corner. The pony had a grayed out green coat and an unkempt mane. She was about to call out to him but the words died in her throat as he turned his head to the right and sniffed. His right eye was gone and so was his face. Bones were visible from his neck to his skull. Then the stallion sniffed again and turned right and found the horrified pegasus. He snarled at her and took one step forward. In turn, the filly stepped back.

Once Scootaloo looked at the stallion's face more clearly, her innocent mind completely shut down and restarted. The fight and flight response in her brain caused her to seize up and came up with only one possible reaction:

Run.

Scootaloo fled from the zombie and into an unknown direction. Hooves collided with the dirt making dust fly everywhere. Her eyes looked around the place searching for a place to hide. She passed by households but never stopped galloping. She was anxious entering the houses because there may be zombies in there. Turning a corner she found Twilight's library and ran faster to the tree.

Looking over her shoulder she found that she was alone. She walked the rest of the way and finally saw the tree. She entered the quiet library. Somehow, it felt eerie when nopony was inside the literal tree house. She locked the door and went upstairs. Up there she found Twilight's bedroom and shower. With no hesitation, she flopped onto the mare sized bed. The young pegasus was exhausted and terrified to the core. She laid on top of the bed, contemplating and thinking about the massacre and cried.

Scootaloo woke up at night. Having been slept through the day and afternoon. The moon was shining brightly over the skies. The darkness was scary and she would always search for a candle or lantern to light up the way. Scootaloo search Twilight's bedroom in the hopes of finding a candle and was rewarded with a small lamp and matches. She struck the match and lit the candle filling the bedroom with an orange glow that faded into the far corners. She carefully held the candle by it's hoof grip and stepped out the bedroom.

The darkness made Scootaloo feel unnerved but walked downstairs anyways. She walked to the pantry and took a loaf of bread and water. Now at the floor of the library, she sat down on one of the wooden chairs that were facing the table. She zoned out after sitting and thought about multiple things.

The first one was what happened back at the barn. The screams, the deaths, the zombies. She tried to think of something else but found it hard to do. Her emotions overloading with guilt and regret when none of the three at least tried to bring somepony down with them. She thought about her school mates. Pipsqueak, Snips, Snails. She thought about Babs Seed, Apple Bloom's cousin, and the good times they had. No matter how short it was.

She shook her head when she had the mere thought of their deaths. Her tears escaped from her eyes one more time as she could recall the voices that she heard back at the barn. Between the demoralizing screaming, she could make out crying and bargaining. The dead had no more thoughts of their own anymore and they can no longer speak in a civilized manner. Their bloody hooves and hunger for meat didn't make them ponies anymore. No, they were monsters.

Scootaloo stayed up all night and watched the candle wick slowly burn out. Time passed quickly as she was lost in her thoughts. The bread and glass of water remained untouched. Once the candle died out, the darkness barely consumed her as the sun began to rise from the horizon. She looked at the slowly rising sun with tired eyes. Eyes that barely had the strength to open anymore. She watched the sky turn from red-orange to blue. She looked away and stared straight at the books that lined up the shelves.

Being in the library reminded her of Twilight. One of the best friends she ever had. A little more than a year ago, she got wings making her an alicorn like the Princesses.

Like the Princesses.

Twilight.

Twilight asking help to the Princesses.

Scootaloo's eyes widened at the revelation.

Twilight asked help for the Princesses and was answered with rescue coming in two days. While she and her friends were back at the barn, they slept until morning which meant that there was only one day left before rescue. Then she fled the barn to Twilight's library to sleep then sat down until early morning. Which meant that rescue would be coming today. She was filled with hope and will power that she jumped around a bit before quieting down. That only left one question. Where are they going to land?

The guards were most likely told to head straight for the area where the letter was sent at. Meaning that they would likely be sent to the barn. Scootaloo was disheartened by the fact that she may have to venture through Ponyville and into the zombie infested farm house. Still, if this was what it took to get to safety then she would do it in a heartbeat. She found a saddle bag with Twilight's cutie mark on it and started to pack up essentials. Food and water that was stored in the kitchen, a ball that could be used to pass time, and a broom that she repurposed it a weapon. It's not the best but it's better than nothing.

Then with a shaky step, she marched forward.

The trip back to Sweet Apple Acres would be dangerous if not, outright suicide for a young foal. Scootaloo gripped the broom with her right wing trying to get a hang of it while her eyes searched for any potential threats that may come at her like an arrow. Soon enough, she spotted several of them many meters away from her.

"Those things are scary" She thought.

Their lifeless eyes and rotting bodies sent a shiver down the pegasus' spine. It was like something that came straight out of a nightmare or a fictional book. In the books, she knew that the protagonist would always be brave and strong for any weaker pony but she can't help but feel weak and frightened all the time. Every time she saw one of them moving around with no clear idea or direction she felt scared and sorry for the ponies. Even more so if she knew who they were.

The walk out of Ponyville would've been a quarter of an hour walk if it wasn't for the undead roaming about. Blood and body parts littered the streets like how paint would cover a concrete wall. She noticed a pattern with the amount of dead in one area. If there were more of them in the streets, then she would be close to a bloodbath and she didn't want that. She didn't want to deal with the sight of dead bodies either. For the last hours, she had been thrust into the world she knew but was explicitly detailed with gore.

Finally, she was out of there. When she looked around and spotted no zombies around her she sat down and took a piece of bread from the saddlebag. It was stale when she bit into it but finished it up. She carried her saddlebag and made a beeline for Sweet Apple Acres. She could just see the orchard from here.

Before she could make a step forward into the orchard, she heard loud growling in the trees. She held her broom tightly in her wing. The growling became louder and soon she finds a single zombie, shambling towards her slowly. She poked at it with the broom and the zombie batted the stick away from it. Whenever the zombie was close to her, she backed away just to poke at it again. She didn't know what to do next. The last thing she wanted to do was to kill the pony. Then suddenly, the zombie growled loudly and batted the broom harder than before. Making it fly away from Scootaloo's grip.

With nothing to protect her, she ran from the zombie alerting a couple of undead her way. She made it to the barn and it looked worse for wear. She ran to the front door and closed the door, locking it. Afterwards, she put a stool leaning against the door. She sat down, sweat pouring from her forehead. When she looked at the living room, she knew something was different. For example, she knew there were six bodies in the house and not two bodies and four skeletons. Maybe the undead ate their flesh? The thought made Scootaloo barf.

The adrenaline in her started to fade and she felt tired but she had to find a safer spot in the barn if she wanted to survive. She thought about the trapdoor back in the kitchen but the wooden debris blocked the path. Then, she looked through the hole in the roof.

"Aha! Perfect"

She crept up the stairs. It creaked every now and then making her wince. She stepped into the hallway, wary of her surroundings. She reached Apple Bloom's bedroom and breathed out a sigh of relief. That was, until, she heard noise from the front door. The door was banging loudly and waking the undead in the house. Inside the four bedrooms that were untouched, undead slowly came out of them. Scootaloo shrieked and quickly locked the door then pushing Apple Bloom's bed to it. She backed up until her flank hit the window frame.

She hopped out and closed the window behind her. Then carefully traversed around the hole the Sweetie Belle accidentally created. Looking through the hole, she saw so many undead trying to reach out to her. The sight was disturbingly creepy and wanted to get away from that hole as much as possible. She could hear them down there, snarling and growling like a predator would do.

Then she heard the door to Apple Bloom's bedroom, being pounded over and over again. She sat down on the roof, looking at her hooves.

"Is this how I'm going to die?" She said aloud. There was no use being silent anymore. Not with a horde right outside the house. She laid on the roof, admiring the sun in sky and all of it's beauty. For what seemed like the end to her, she cried.

...

...

...

"What is that thing?" Above her she could just make out tiny dots in the distance. All getting steadily closer to her every few seconds. Her eyes slowly widens as she knew what it was.

Pegasi carriages.

She smiled, then giggled, then laughed out loud. There, in the distance, were ten pagasus carriages. Six of the them had four Royal guards in each carriage while the rest were empty. Most likely for the ponies that were supposed to be rescued. Scootaloo waved her arms as high as she can while yelling. The ten carriages swooped down in front of the barn and started to slash their way through. Pegasus guards unhitched themselves off of the carriages and joined in the fight. One by one, the undead trickled out and finally all was quiet.

Scootaloo pried the bed away from the door and opened it. There she found three Royal guards searching for any survivors. One of them spotted Scootaloo upstairs and went to go get her. Finally, after two days of nothing but terror and running. She was safe. She was safe and it was all that mattered to her. She was given first aid for any cuts and bruises while the rest of the guards swept in the barn to make sure if there were more survivors. She lay down on a carriage while a medic was nursing her head.

Ponies ran all around the breached barn. The Royal guard were setting up a small camp. Officers barked out orders to teams of ponies before breaking up and moving out in pegasi carriages. Some were inspecting the insides of the building. Scootaloo was half asleep when a lieutenant came up to her.

She removed her helmet and the simple transformation spell wore off. Her magenta coat visible to everyopny. She nudged Scootaloo's shoulder and asked some questions.

"What's your name?"

"Scootaloo" The young filly rubbed her bandanged forehead and looked at the pony who was looking all around them.

"Darling, where did everypony go?"

"G-gone"

"What do you mean gone?"

"They w-were killed by monsters. I didn't know what to do. They were everywhere, killed everypony. I didn't know what to do" Scootaloo whimpered on the built in chairs the carriage had. The guard patted her head. They stayed like this before the orange pegasus mouthed something in realization.

"Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle"

"What was that?" The pony leaned in closer.

"Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They escaped. I know they escaped, I saw them escape. Can you-" Scootaloo gulped. "Can you look for them?"

"We'll do all we can" She patted Scootaloo on the head then turned to the pegasus who was on the harness. "Make sure she gets to Princess Celestia as soon as you can"

"Will do, ma'am" Then the carriage was lifted and the two ponies hauled Scootaloo and soared across the sky.

Scootaloo felt the winds with her fur. How she wished she could fly up high in the sky. The sun shone brightly over the sky, casting shadows in the town of Ponyville. She didn't have the heart to acknowledge the destruction at this height and went to lay back down on the carriage where she finally had a relaxing sleep.

Sealed Fate

Apple Bloom rushed out of the farm carrying Sweetie Belle on her back. The snarls of the undead both growing farther and closer. She looked behind her and spotted a horde of them running after her. All their decaying hooves impacting the dirt leaving nothing but dust behind them. It was as if the entire Ponyville population was after her. Apple Bloom's eyes widen and continued to gallop faster than the horde.

Just as she was reaching the outskirts of Ponyville, she wheezed and her legs were aching. Even then she still had to run. The horde has been reduced from the tens to ones and the last two undead were far away from her. The living pony's scent being harder to smell at a far distance made the undead stop pursuing. Once she finally stepped in the boundary of Ponyville, she was no longer being hunted.

Making sure she wasn't being followed, Apple Bloom collapsed on the rocky roads. Her eyes were drooping from exhaustion and wanted to sleep on the road right now but heard knew she had to hide. To keep Sweetie Belle and herself safe. She crawled on the road before shakily climbing up to four legs. She entered the first house she spotted and locked herself in there. She moved a table to the door then finally laid down. Sweetie Belle slid off of her back and landed on the floor with a soft thump.

She didn't know how long she laid there but she didn't care. She couldn't move an inch from her position even if she wanted to. Without anything to occupy her mind on, she thought back to Scootaloo. She was practically begging to be left behind just so she could save them both. She thought back to better times where none of this happened. Where there was still school and the adventures they would create together. How she wished this was all a bad dream.

When there was nothing left to remember, Apple Bloom cried on the floor. Beside her, the body of Sweetie Belle shifted making Apple Bloom's head to turn in her direction. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes to the dark and dusty house of an unknown resident. Slowly her white hoof reached out to her horn before retracting it. She closed her eyes and hissed in pain. The two were silent before the white filly started crying.

The country filly wrapped her hooves around the only pony in the room and cried too.

Not even two minutes have passed when they both heard the clanking of pots deeper inside the house. The two fillies laid in silence, listening for any more noises. After a while, the yellow filly stood up and the other followed suit. Apple Bloom cautiously walked towards the noise, her eyes darting everywhere for any hidden zombies. Sweetie Belle lit up her horn, a faint light green surrounding it.

When Apple Bloom walked around the corner, she yelped as a figure tried to bash her with a frying pan. Sweetie Belle reflexively fired off a simple knock back spell and the pan flew from the figure's grasp while Apple Bloom retreated behind Sweetie Belle. They both heard the figure stumble to the wooden floor then heard it grab something else creating a "shing" sound.

"W-who's there?" The figure asked. The duo peeked around the corner and saw a trembling mare. She's holding a kitchen knife in her mouth.

"It's just us. This is Apple Bloom and I'm Sweetie Belle" Upon hearing and seeing the foals, she relaxes before tensing up and pointing the knife at them again.

"Are any of you bitten?"

Sweetie Belle raised one of her eyebrows then searched for any bite marks on her and on Apple Bloom. After confirming that there are none, she shook her head at the mare. The mare fully relaxed and spat out the knife.

"Good, what are you fillies doing here? I thought all of you left on evacuation?"

"Only some of us escaped. Even then, it wasn't enough"

The mare said nothing and walked past the duo and sat on a couch. The fillies stood still before Sweetie Belle's stomach grumbled. Apple Bloom looked at her and she blushed a bit.

"There's food in the fridge. Whatever's left of it"

The white filly walked into the kitchen to look for food while the yellow filly walked towards the mare. Maybe she had some answers as to why all of this happened?

"Hey miss? Do you know what happened here?"

"Do you think I have your answers? I didn't even know what the buck happened yesterday. What makes you think I know what's happening?" The mare calmed down before going back down on the couch. Her hooves covering her face. "I'm sorry but it's all so wrong. These things are wrong. The destruction is wrong. This day is wrong. This must be a nightmare"

Apple Bloom left the mare then returned to Sweetie Belle who is munching on a carrot. The filly held out another carrot for her. Apple Bloom accepted the carrot and munched on it. While they were eating it, the mare stood up from the couch to the front door. She locked it then went into some room.

Seconds pass and she popped out and gestured the fillies to enter. They enter a bed room with one master bed on one side and a single bed just at the opposite side. The room itself was in a good condition compared to all the other houses down the street. Almost immediately after laying on it, Apple Bloom slept with a smile on her face. The mare settled on the single bed and slept on it too, leaving Sweetie Belle next to Apple Bloom.

The unicorn filly put a hoof near her horn to feel if the wound was still open. It wasn't but it still stung when she touched it. The events that happened today were traumatizing and exhausting leaving the two foals with nowhere to go. Now with a feeling of safety in this house and with somepony older than them, did they relax.

The three fell asleep on the beds hours before the sun fell behind the horizon.

The trio woke up to the sound of hooves beating against the front door. The orange mare ran from the bedroom to the living room with the kitchen knife in her jaw. The fillies cuddled up together in their blankets. The white filly sobbing silently as the yellow filly tried to assure her.

Carefully holding out the knife with its blade pointing at the door, the mare turned the knob to let the one undead to stumble in. The zombie was unidentifiable at first glance, its muzzle already gone and exposing teeth with the remainder of its gums. It tried to take a bite out of the mare and grabbed her by the shoulders. The mare struggled and successfully pushed it away.

It lost balance and dropped on the wooden floor. The mare held out the knife above its head and hesitated before plunging the sharp knife deep into the fleshy head of the zombie.

It met a slight resistance from the skull but nonetheless was enough to penetrate it completely killing the zombie. The orange mare panted a bit before looking out the front door.

It was dark out and the light from the stars privided her with little light. Her lawn had seen better days at first glance. Flowers were torn to shreds and stomped on. On one plant, the orange mare could see a wilting sunflower with a chunk eaten off by somepony. Whoever ate it she never knew. It was unlikely any of the undead eating as she saw what they do eat. She closed the door with a silent click then walked back to the bedroom.

She saw the two fillies cuddled up next to each other then proceeded to sling a saddlebag bulging with necessities around her.

"Where are we going, miss?"

The orange mare stopped for a second. Her mind thinking over the 'we' in the filly's statement. She knew she didn't have the heart to leave behind two fillies in her house.

"It's Poppy, Apple Bloom. We are going to town hall. It's the safest building we can hide in. Then we wait for rescue in there"

The two fillies nodded in agreement and headed out to the town hall. On the road, they were greeted by two zombies. Their bodies stood rigid and their noses searched for any living thing heading their way. The trio avoided many of them as best as they could but before long, they spotted a large mass of undead in front of them. Rotting stench assaulted their nostrils and Poppy resisted the urge to gag at the smell. They traveled through an alleyway to find an alternate way over there.

The night helped conceal them from the undead but soon they knew they had to sleep in for the night. They searched for a suitable place to sleep in. Where not too many undead roamed around and has a backdoor or a window to retreat to. They found the place, a hardware store in the middle of two houses. A sign hanged from a window which said "Repairs and replacements available here"

Most of the windows and the door were intact giving them enough time to escape if any undead found them. The store had a variety of tools, some long enough and sharp to be considered as a weapon. The trio entered the store as quietly as possible as to not catch the attention of any undead.

Inside the store were two shelves in the middle of the room showcasing glue, screws, and nails. In the left side of the building was a workbench with a tool wall above it. In the far side of the building was a counter with more shelves behind it. More worthless junk. In the very back was a backdoor. It was open wide.

The trio listened for any undead inside the building. When they heard nothing, Poppy started to pick up the items from the shelf so she can slide the shelf over to the door. While she was doing that, the two fillies searched the store for anything they could use.

Sweetie Belle grabbed a broom with her magic from one corner of the store. She would very much like to keep a big difference away from her and the living corpses wandering the streets. Apple Bloom was the most fit of the three and could buck somepony without suffering from muscle strains but she knew she wouldn't do it on ponies despite being turned into mindless flesh eating ponies. She grabbed a mop and swung it around the store, causing it to tumble from her hooves into the tiled floor below.

CLANG

Everypony stopped what they were doing and stood still. When nothing happened for minutes they resumed their tasks. Apple Bloom sheepishly took the mop and laid it on a table. When Poppy was finished barricading the windows, she moved her way to the center of the store. There she saw Sweetie waving the broom into the air while Apple Bloom was fiddling with a toolbox.

Conscious on how unarmed she is, she trotted over to the tool wall and picked up a wrench. It was heavy but she was certain it could do some blunt force trauma. She swung it a few times before placing it back on the tool wall. Poppy headed to the backdoor to close it. Fearing that a zombie may waltz into the building unnoticed. She moved behind a counter and found a grisly sight.

A blue earth pony stallion was in the way of the door, stopping the door from closing. What was more horrific was that half of its barrel was destroyed somehow. Somepony may have slammed the door on him making him lose a chunk of himself. Poppy snapped out of her gaze when the stallion looked at her and started growling. She yelped and backpedaled but only stopped when she saw that the zombie wasn't going anywhere. The door must have dug deep into him.

Poppy rushed to the tool wall to grab the wrench ignoring the trembling fillies. Now with weapon in hoof, she swung at the pinned pony. Every time the wrench made contact with the skull, she felt as if she was dying inside. A pony she didn't know, and she was killing him. When the zombie stayed still and most of his head was gone, Poppy crumbled like paper and sobbed.

It was a long night for the three.

Apple Bloom woke up earlier than the two. Working on the farm shaped her sleep schedule so she can do her chores early. She rarely slept the day away. One incident was from finding her swimming cutie marks, then the other one was from doing homework a little too late. One was pardoned and the other was water to the face.

Apple Bloom was about to sleep again but heard snarling that made her hairs stand. Her head whipped around to the noise and was greeted by a zombie trying to grab them from the front door. Behind it, was a few others. Thumping the glass but made no attempt to knock it down. She did her best not to scream and alert other zombies to them. Instead, she poked and nudged the two others as quietly as she can.

Sweetie Belle was the first the wake up. Her green eyes widen when she saw the undead. Her first instinct was to scream but was swiftly stopped by a yellow hoof to her muzzle. Poppy quickly made a plan and ushered the fillies to the back door. Sweetie Belle grabbed the broom in her magic and kept it beside her. The door was closed but a there was an unmistakable splotch of dried blood on the lower edge of the door. Poppy shuddered with what she did last night.

She had to dump the body outside so she could close the door. As she laid the stallion on the concrete road, she started to think whether or not she would bury him. She decided against it as she didn't want to be seen by any more undead. The question lingered in her mind more than she would like to admit to herself.

Poppy led the two away from the hardware store and onto the road. The path to town hall was difficult however. There were small groups of undead here and there. If it was just Poppy, then the mare would have no trouble in reaching her destination.

The road was blocked again and they had to go through a detour. They had to go through an antique shop this time. Sweetie Belle kept her broom beside her at all times, her horn glowing brightly in case of a close quarter attack. Poppy led the trio to an open window.

While the orange mare was searching for threats outside the window, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked around the shop. The building housed many furniture that held little value to them except that it was old and still functioning. They spotted a rocking chair and a few porcelain vases on shelves.

Poppy hopped out the window as quietly as she could then turned around to the other two. She took Apple Bloom by the barrel and gently lifted her out with her. Before Sweetie could be pulled out, however, she got grabbed by something inside the store, eliciting a scream from her mouth. Sweetie grabbed anything near her with her magic and smashed it on the zombie's head. The sound of breaking porcelain made her cringe but the zombie lost its grip on her.

Poppy wasted no time and jumped back in the store to help out Sweetie Belle. She found the filly propped up against the wall with the end of her broom being the only thing separating her from life and death. Poppy pounced on the zombie with all her might and made them both fall to the floor. In all the commotion, Apple Bloom went inside and helped the white filly on her hooves.

The mare and zombie were having a struggle on the floor. The zombie was squirming below the mare before it pushed her off and came on top of her. The mare panted and used her forehooves to stop the zombie from biting her neck. This idea didn't help her as the zombie bit into her left foreleg.

The mare gasped in pain before shaking off the zombie and using the remains of the broken vase to stab it. The zombie lay dead for the second time and Poppy cradled foreleg before being called out by the two fillies. Who were oblivious to her bite.

"Come on, let's go! I can hear lots o' them coming to us"

Despite shaking, Poppy got up from the floor and headed out the window. Even if she can't save herself, she can most certainly try to save them.

The trio ran from the growing horde as they evade the undead alone in the streets. In wasn't far now, probably a few blocks left. Suddenly, five undead cut them off and ran towards them. They were trapped. If they go back, they will get eaten by the horde. If they try to run past them, there's no guarantee the fillies would make it out alive. The undead were too fast.

With no way out they fled into a building. The inside of the restaurant was a bright yellow and the stools and chairs were knocked around everywhere. From the door, Poppy spotted a back door. It was wide open and couldn't see any undead coming from that way.

"Go! Through that door" The fillies wasted no time to flee but the yellow filly noticed something. Poppy had her back towards them, wielding nothing but a knife she picked up from a table. The undead were piling up the windows bashing the glass.

"Poppy? What are you doing? Come on" Apple Bloom asked making Sweetie stop in her tracks to look at the mare. The orange mare let out a shaky sigh. Then quickly trotted over to the fillies.

"I can't come with you to town hall"

"But why not?" Poppy revealed the bite mark to them.

"What's this?"

"I've been bitten. Do you ever wonder how the undead seem to grow bigger instead of lessen? It's this," The mare let out another shaky breath. "They bite you and in minutes you'll turn into one of them"

The two fillies looked at the orange mare with wide eyes. Sweetie Belle tried not to cry while Apple Bloom held onto her stetson and had a thousand yard stare. Poppy could hear the undead bashing the window even harder and went back to her former spot. She looked over her shoulder with sad eyes.

"When you get rescued... Please, remember me"

Apple Bloom nodded then grabbed Sweetie by the barrel to get out of there. The country filly released her hoof when she could finally run with her.

Seconds later, they reached town hall but didn't expect it to be in ruins. There was a gaping hole in the side of the building and all they could see from their position was red. They couldn't look for another place to stay as some of the undead horde broke off from the big one to run to them. The duo ran as fast as all their four legs could carry them and into the miraculously standing building. The grayed out hooves bashed on the windows, cracking them...

They ran up the stairs and onto the highest floor they can go and look out through one of the windows. They could see groups of undead pour out from the streets and headed in one single direction. With the undead hot on their trails, Sweetie Belle pushed Apple Bloom aside to smash open the window. Glass shards fell from the roof and onto the concrete below. The window was roughly pushed open to let the two fillies out. The first zombie crawled through the broken window...

The two fillies relaxed a bit when they reached the top of the building until they found two rotting hooves cling on to the roof. Sweetie reflexively pushed it off the roof when it tried to climb onto the roof. Behind them, another grabbed onto the roof but was stopped by a buck to the face by Apple Bloom. Poppy stabbed the zombie until it couldn't move anymore...

While on held off from one side, the other held the other but soon there were too many for them too count but even when they were backed up against each other they still held strong. A decaying pony pounced on the country filly but was quickly bucked off. Apple Bloom refused this to be the end she didn't want to die up here. The next few came in...

Before all hope was lost, two figures sped past them through the air slicing undead on the roof. Their rotting bodies taking a few of the undead off the roof and onto the ground. The fillies were bewildered at the sudden change of undead they were facing. Then the figures sped right past them killing more undead. With every undead dying by her hooves...
When there were no more on the roof with them they heard a commotion below them. A platoon of Royal Guards were slicing through wave after wave of undead. Ponies clad in golden armor were wielding a sword and shield and a few pegasi with spears and bows.
She could feel her ponykind slip away from her, little by little...
When everything was quiet the duo finally came downstairs. Multiple guards saw them both immediately and medics rushed in to medicate any wounds they had. Sweetie was laying on a pegasi carriage with two medics on them while Apple Bloom stayed beside her holding her sister's stetson. Then all the windows broke causing multiple zombies to grab her...
"How're you feeling?"

"I feel better, thank you"

"When we're done here we will go back to Canterlot. It's not safe for fillies like you to be here" Before the two medics could leave, Apple Bloom poked one of them. She could feel the undead biting into her and soon she blacks out from the pain...
"Hey, miss. Have you seen an orange filly with purple mane?"

"Was her name Scootaloo?" Sweetie nodded. "She safe and sound. Asked our captain to come look for you"

"Thank you again"

"No problem" Then the two fillies were left alone in the carriage.

"We should go look for Poppy! The Royal Guard is here" Sweetie exclaimed. Apple Bloom didn't respond immediately and frowned. Hours after the Royal Guard rescued the two fillies, the orange mare could feel some of her senses coming back to her...
"I think it's too late for that Sweetie"

"Why not?"

"You heard her... it's too late for her. She... sacrificed herself... for us"

The two fillies sat it silence even when they were being flown to Canterlot. There just wasn't too much to celebrate. In the span of two days, a friend and a complete stranger would give their lives for the safety of them both. The fillies didn't know how to respond to that.
Poppy gently opened her eyes and saw the restaurant before her...
Sweetie Belle was lying asleep on the pegasi carriage as Apple Bloom still looked out into the town of Ponyville and that orange mare left behind. Soon, she will lay down beside the white filly and sleep but she couldn't take her mind away from the mare.
Lifting up her grayed out hoof, she gasped and asked to nopony in particular. "W-why am I... alive?"