Dead Ponies: Fightback

We all thought that us Resistance were the only creatures left alive. We thought that these undead wouldn't become anything different. And we thought that we would not survive the dark times for long.

We were wrong every single time.

After much time, the zombies began to evolve. They appeared in different types and each had different purposes. Some had some form of sentiency and could carry weapons. Some could raise killed zombies from the dead and order them to charge. And some were a blend of metal and flesh, designed for killing.

But somehow, despite all these new zombies types, we evolved along with the times and began to fight back. And even with these new undead roaming around Equestria, we still managed to find survivors out there. And our numbers grew...

PONYVILLE

Gunfire rang out through the streets, followed by the squelching of flesh and the thumping of hooves, claws and paws impacting the ground rapidly. The echos of those sounds carried through the darkened sky.

Hordes of zombies had gathered around Sugarcube Corner, attracted by the many corpses that lay in dirt out the front. Surrounded by the horde and looking for an opening to make a run for it, was our group of heroes. Having spent a few minutes racing to the Resistance base, they were eventually surrounded by zombies and forced to take shelter at the Sugarcube Corner.

Now, they were under siege, running short of ammo and about to be overrun. Gallus had radioed for support from the Resistance base and help was coming, but it would need to come quick.

"Guys, I'm running low on ammo!" Ember cried out, as she fired another burst from her MP44.

"Base, we're getting overrun! Where is that support?!" Gallus cried out into her personal radio, the gunfire from his friends drowning out his words.

'Just hold your ground a little longer. You have an armoured vehicle moving to assist. Base out,' Was the reply.

Gallus just silently cursed under his breath, then yelled out to the others, "We have to hold out! Assistance is coming!"

"About time! I'm on my last mag!" Silverstream replied.

But the undead would not let up. They inched closer and closer, while the Resistance fighters did all they could to fight back and conserve ammo. But everything would go wrong. After only 30 more seconds, Yona had run out of ammo, Gallus had only three rounds left in his rifle, Silverstream, Ocellus and Smolder were down to their last mag and Sandbar was out of rounds. Spike, Big Mac and Discord couldn't help them either, as they had run out of ammo well before they had even arrived at Sugarcube Corner.

With their weapons depleted, Sandbar and Yona ran back to protect the three, using their bodies to shield them. Eventually, the undead were slowly closing in on the door and about to break in. Those who still had ammo left didn't have enough to hold on any longer and fell back to take cover behind overturned tables.

"This isn't good," Gallus thought out loud, as he readied his Carcano for the final stand.

"Please tell me there's nothing to worry about! I don't want to die!" Spike wept, the floor below him damp with his tears as he held onto Big Mac for dear life.

"No creature is dying under my watch! Not today!" Gallus responded as he waited for the zombies to bust down the front door, ready to fight until the bitter end.

Then, everything changed at that moment. All of a sudden, there came the roar of an engine and machine gun fire, with the sounds of bodies being ripped into pieces filling the void of silence. The Young Six immediately got up and checked the windows to see what was happening.

A Hanomag APC, with barbed wire placed around the open top and fresh blood staining the armour plating, had arrived on the scene. It ran down a good portion of the undead horde and stopped with the back facing the door, a unicorn manning the MG42Z on the front and gunning down more zombies.

Gallus let out a sigh of relief. He let out a whistle and opened the front door. "You can come out, you three. You're safe,"

Eventually, the trio stepped out from behind the table and approached the door. Gallus lead the way out and opened the back door of the Hanomag and allowed the others to hop in. With everyone in, the Hanomag pulled away from the old bakery, squashing a few Zombies in the process.

It didn't take long for the APC to get through the streets and arrive at the Resistance base, which was located at once was the old Ponyville Schoolhouse. But the school was no longer what it once was. The entire perimeter was lined with pieces of wood, stone and other building materials in order to make a massive fortress wall around the building. Barbed wire and wooden spikes lined the top of the wall, with a single griffon up top, keeping watch. With the APC approaching, the entrance, which was nothing more than a cargo train car minus its wheels, was opened from the inside by a pony who then directed the Hanomag through the doors and closed them behind him.

And once the Hanomag came to a stop, Spike, Discord and Big Mac got out first and got a first-hand look at what Equestrian society had become.

Gone were the happy ponies that roamed the streets with friends, going out for drinks or to the local market. In fact, pony society had become more like griffon, dragon or even changeling society before they were reformed by friendship. All of the ponies had become faded and the expressions they wore said that they had run out of hope and that every day became a struggle for survival. And it wasn't just ponies. To the trio's surprise, the ponies were not alone. They were joined by dragons, reformed changelings, griffons and even the odd zebra, Abyssinian and even Storm Creature. This strange gathering of different creatures in one place reminded Spike of when the School of Friendship was opened and Twilight had permitted it open to students of all races.

Twilight... Spike had almost forgotten about her. He just hoped that she was okay. He hoped that she was still alive, in this nightmare land that was once his home.

A white pegasus with a bright blue mane with golden armour marched up to the group, a Lee-Enfield Mk. III bolt-action rifle slung on his back. "Sergeant Gallus, great to see you made it back in one piece," He greeted, saluting the griffon.

"We were lucky that the APC showed up when it did. We would've been zombie food otherwise," Gallus remarked.

"The Commander's waiting for you. I'll lead you too her,"

"Lead the way,"

The guard just saluted again, about-faced and walked towards the school, with all the others in tow. It didn't take long for the group to get to where they were going, which was the old classroom, where Miss Cheerilee taught fillies and foals about all sorts of subjects.

And in that room, discussing a file with a griffon, was none other than the Dragon Lord (or rather, former Dragon Lord) Ember. She finished up her discussion and handed the file to the griffon, who then walked away. Spike's eyes lit up like gems when he saw her. "EMBER!!!!" He cried out, catching the dragon's attention. The baby dragon rushed up to Ember and embraced her hips, with Ember just patting him on the head.

"Ember, I'm so glad you're safe!" Spike told her, tightening his hug.

"Same here. Thank the goddesses you're okay!" She replied, turning her attention to the farm stallion and the draconequus. "Seems like your friends got out of there as well. It's very nice to meet you again,"

"Nice to meet you, too. At least we are safe now," Discord remarked, smiling for the first time in years.

Ember joined in with her smiling, that is until Cheerilee ran up to her in a panic. "Commander! We have a problem!" She then handed Ember a slip of paper, which the dragon began to read. "It just came in. It's from Indigo,"

"Oh, shit. Dammit!!" Ember swore, turning her attention towards the three. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to get you back out there. We are in some serious trouble and looks like you are the only ones I can count on for this task,"

"What?!" All three cried out.

"Commander, are you sure that is the wisest idea? Why don't you send me and my squad out?" Gallus asked.

"No can do, Sergeant. We need you here in Ponyville," Ember explained, grabbing a Springfield rifle from the teacher's desk.

Gallus came up to Ember and whispered into her ear, "Are you sure you want to send them to rescue our most valuable asset? I saw how they preformed and they were out of ammunition before we were even 7 feet away from the Town Hall. If it wasn't for that, we won't have been trapped in the bakery,"

"They are friends and siblings of the Elements of Harmony. I've seen them fight before," She whispered back, "Granted it was years ago, but still. They have potential in them,"

"They won't last a single hour out there, not without proper training,"

"I'll give them a quick training before they go. We have no other choice, Gallus," Ember concluded, before turning her attention to the three in front of her. As for the three heroes, they were in utter shock. They had just arrived at the safety of a Resistance shelter and they were being sent back out?! When did the nightmare end for them?!

"Listen, I know you just got here but we really need your help on this. We have no other personnel to send on this mission. All I ask is of you to do this task for me and the entire Resistance," Ember explained to them.

"Ember, why us?" Spike asked, "We don't know what we are doing with these weapons!"

"Don't worry about it Spike. I'll give you some better training before I send you off," Ember stated, leaning in close to her old friend, "I know this is hard for you to understand, but I need you guys for this. Trust me,"

All three of our heroes stood there in silence, still processing what was going on.