AMONG THE TROTTING DEAD

-Next Day-

Twilight, Shining, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Marley stood by the gate to Sweet Apple Acres. Several feet in front of them was the imposing stature of the Everfree forest. The dense thicket towered over them, casting the nearby landscape in shadow. Shivers danced across Twilight’s back as she stared at the forest’s endless abyss. Never removing her gaze, she strapped her saddlebag tight to her body. ‘Maybe this might be a bad idea…’ She swallowed a lump. ‘But this is for Fluttershy…’

“Are you sure about this?” Twilight looked over at her brother.

“Yes, I am.” Twilight raised a brow. “Are you?”

Shining frowned. “No.” He looked at his hoof-lever rifle. “It’s too dangerous.”

“So is traveling to Canterlot.” Twilight quipped.

“Hey, we don’t need this sibling bickering now!” Applejack stated. “Let’s get in and get out!”

“I agree with the fisty country pony,” Marley stated with a laugh as he pumped his shotgun.

Shining let out a sigh as he walked up to his saddlebag. Twilight let out a sigh as she looked down at the ground. Applejack sighed as she placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I take it Shining mentioned going to Canterlot?”

“Yeah.” Twilight ran her hoof across the grass.

Applejack looked at Twilight’s brother who stood beside Marley. “He mentioned going to Canterlot, but since you were trapped in the hospital, he stayed and when you didn’t come back, he let it go.”

“Looks like he brought it up since I’m back in the fold.” Twilight sighed as he twirled her axe.

Applejack nodded her acknowledgment of her friend’s statement as she watched her play with the axe. “Worried you’ll have to use it?”

“Um…” She stared at the sharp edge of the axe. “Yes… I know they’re sick… Maybe fully gone. It just feels wrong that we have to think like this.” She held the axe in her hooves.

“I feel the same way. They were once ponies who had a life before they became sick.” Applejack looked at the knife strapped to her left foreleg. “Now all they care about is killing other ponies.”

“How… How do you kill them?” Twilight felt sick at her own question.

Applejack frowned. “You have to go for the head…. Several good whacks to the side or the back of the head.” She struggled to say.

“It’s a messy job, but it has to be done,” Marley stated with a huff. “You get bit, you get sick and...” He growled as he pumped his shotgun. “You become one of them.” Shining stared at his sister. He could see the shock and fear behind her stern expression. Chewing his cheek, he threw on his saddle bag.

“Are we ready?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Ready.” Applejack stated. “How’s everypony? Do they know the game plan?”

“Yeah, they’re staying within the farmhouse and or the barn until we get back.” Rainbow Dash strapped her saddle bag on her back. “Let’s get going! In and out in twenty seconds flat!” She laughed. The group nodded as they followed after her.

Entering the Everfree, the group unholstered their weapons as they slowly trekked through the forest. The trees above created a dense blanket of leaves, branches, and vines so thick, that sun’s light could barely cast its glow upon the forest floor. It didn’t help that the dense fog that swept over the land added to the darkness. “Why does your friend live in this forest?” Marley eyed the unnatural twisting trees.

“She likes the strange and unknowns.” Twilight kept her eyes on the dark patches through the fog.

“Now I know why the ponies of Ponyville never venture much into this place.” Marley huffed as he bit down on his shotgun’s trigger mouth peace. “Well except for your friend.” He said through clenched teeth.

Twilight nodded and looked up at Rainbow Dash flying above them through the branches.

Landing on a girthy branch, Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes, focusing on the forest floor’s chaotic horizon. Not seeing much to her left, she looked to the right and saw a group of trotters stumbling about. A chill ran up her spine as she noticed that one of them was a small filly. Swallowing a lump, she looked over her shoulders at the ponies below and lifted a hoof.

Seeing her gesture, the group stopped their climb up the small hill. “What is it?” Shining whispered.

Rainbow Dash lifted her front hooves and moved them in a trotting motion. The group nodded and slowly peeked over the hill and looked down at the trotters failing to move around a mass of protruding roots from a large tree.

“Six trotters.” Marley huffed.

“We can take them.” Applejack looked at Twilight, “You think you can handle yourself?”

“Yes… Of course.”

“You sure?” Her brother asked.

“Yes, I am.”

“Then let’s get to it!” Marley growled as he slid down the hill.

The group followed after and brought up their weapons as they neared the trotters. The trotter sensing their presence turned to face them. Without hesitation, Marley sat on his hindquarters and raised his crossbow into the air and shot off a bolt that sunk itself into one of the trotters’ skulls.

Applejack made quick work of one of the trotters by kicking out its front forelegs and quickly turning around stabbing it in the head with the fifteen-inch knife strapped to her foreleg. Rainbow Dash landed on a trotter and stabbed it in the back of the head with the knife strapped to her right hoof. Shining activated his magic and tossed his large twelve-inch knife at the trotter’s head which brought it to its knees.

Twilight lifted her axe over her head and struck one of the trotters on the top of its head. The axe however got stuck. Twilight struggled with the axe, her magic began to fade and a headache started to form. Another trotter to her right slowly stumbled over to her. The trotter’s horn sparked as it snarled. She could feel its magic gently kissing her. ‘It’s trying to use magic….’ Before the trotter could sink its teeth in her neck, Rainbow Dash stabbed the trotter in the head.

The trotter fell hard to the ground. “You alright?”

“Yeah…” Twilight grunted as she yanked the axe from the trotter’s skull. The trotter flopped to the ground.

Hearing an unnatural hiss, the group looked over at the filly trotter. Her hooves failed at propelling her forward. With a frown, Marley took out his machete and stabbed the filly in the side of the head. The filly gave one final growl before crumbling to the ground.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack stared at the filly’s lifeless corpse lying in the mud. Her pain-filled eyes stared back at them. They looked away; tears formed around their eyes as they thought about two little fillies similar in age.

For Twilight, the filly brought back memories of the teen colt trotter stuck under the putter wagon. ‘How many children turned?’ She thought. Shuttering, she stepped away from the filly and back onto the trail. The group followed after her.

Macintosh sat on the porch watching the fog roll across his orchard. He slowly sipped his coffee as his eyes strained to see the horizon. Letting out a sigh, he looked over at the barn and saw the kids playing tag around the barn. Sunny, Summer Wind, Thunderlane, Derpy, and Rarity kept their eyes on them as they talked amongst themselves.

Macintosh gave a smile as he looked into the house through the screen door. He saw Jet Cloud and Copper playing a game of cards by the fireplace. His grandmother slept in a rocking chair by the archway to the kitchen. Aloe and Lotus sat on the couch as they crocheted scarves. In the kitchen, he saw Carrot Top cooking a stew for lunch.

Feeling someone was watching her, Carrot Top looked towards the front door and saw Macintosh looking at her. She smiled and gave him a small wave. He waved at her with a sheepish smile before standing up and walking down the porch’s steps. Feeling more eyes on her, Carrot Top looked over at the couch and saw Lotus and Aloe looking at her with shit-eating grins. Carrot Top frowned and turned her attention back to her cooking.

Shaking his jitters, Macintosh made his way to the side of the house. “Soarin?” He looked up at the roof.

Soarin peaked his head over the edge with an upset look on his face. Macintosh laughed at his disheveled appearance. “Yeah?” Soarin asked in a drawn-out sigh.

“Want to switch? I’ll take over for now.”

The pegasus gave a happy sigh. “Thank Celestia!” He flapped his wings and jumped off the roof, landing next to the stallion. “I need to warm up by wings.” Macintosh shook his head as he took the binoculars. Before he could add to his friend’s words, a figure in the fog caught his eye. Soarin seeing his expression, turned around and stared at the same hazy outline of the figure. “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know?” Macintosh replied. The figure stood two hundred yards from the farmhouse. The brown cloke it wore added mystery to the already mysterious figure. “Alert the group.”

“And tell them what?”

“That we have a stalker…”

Further into the forest the air was dense. It felt like walking through thick pea soup. The group felt their fur stand on end as the forest’s natural sounds echoed all around them. Their bodies shivered as they looked side to side slowly trekking down the trail that led to Zecora’s house. The trees that surrounded them were girthy, like monstrous trolls of myth and legend,

Nearing a ‘T’ section on the dirt trail, Twilight strained her eyes through the dimly lit fog. A flicker of light caught her attention. “I think I found it!”

“Keep your voice down!” Marley huffed.

Twilight glared at the stallion.

“Hey you two, no need for this bickering!” Applejack hissed with a whisper.

“Yea, no bickering,” Shining stated dully as he led the group to the house.

Nearing the light, the mound of darkness came into focus. It’s a single-story domed-shaped home, built into the side of a large oak tree. Dread fell upon the group as the status of the home revealed itself. The windows were busted up. The roof was partially caved in. The front door hung from one of its hinges and squeaked in the passing breeze. The only welcoming sight was a candle that graced their presence with its warm glow.

“Well, shit, you think your friends are still alive?” Marley asked, looking at Twilight and her friends. Twilight and her friends felt a pain course through their chests as they stepped into the home.

The living room and kitchen floor were caked in mud and broken glass. Burn marks and gashes scarred the walls. Furniture was burned and or broken. Looking further into the home, they could see one of the doors to one of the back rooms was wide open. The bed within was robbed of its sheets and the mattress’s cotton stuffing had oozed out onto the floor.

The doors to the other two rooms were closed.

With a defeated sigh, Twilight shut off her flashlight, allowing the dying candlelight to fill the space once more.

Anger rose within Rainbow Dash as she looked around at the decay before her. “Damn it!” She growled, kicking a bottle across the floor with her hoof.

“Looks like it’s been abandoned since the outbreak?” Shining stated as he stared at the layers of dust that clung to the bowl of the kitchen sink.

“But what about the candle?” Marley pointed at the object in question.

“It could’ve been lit by anypony.” Shining Armor commented. “Just look at the amount of wax that has melted already. Whoever lit it left long ago.”

“But the rains should’ve killed the flame.” Marley looked at the dying flame dance with the soft breeze blowing through the window.

“Well, let’s keep a lookout then.” Shining sighed, looking out the door.

Applejack sighed as she walked toward the back rooms. She looked into the opened bedroom and gazed at a blood stain on the mattress. “They’re not here….” She looked back and saw the hurt in Twilight’s eyes. “No…”

“Twilight?” Applejack could see tears forming around Twilight’s eyes. “Twilight… I know they’re out there. We’ll keep looking…” One of the doors squeaked open slightly. The group looked at each other, their spines shivered as they readied themselves. Applejack walked up to the door. “AH!” The door violently swung open, slamming against the wall with a loud thud.

A figure jumped out from the darkness and tackled Applejack to the floor. Turning her attention to her attacker, Applejack saw a zebra mare sitting on her stomach, pinning her hindlegs to the floor with hers. The mare growled as it lifted her right hoof in the air. Applejack stared at the knife tied to her foreleg. With a primal scream, the mare brought the knife down. Thinking fast, Applejack blocked the mare’s hoof with hers, halting the knife inches from her neck.

Shining Armor and Twilight activated their horns and quickly grabbed the mare, pinning her to the floor with their magic. The mare panicked at the aural strength overwhelming her limbs. The mare screamed out in fear and anger. Free from her attacker, Applejack hurried away from the zebra and held a hoof to her neck. “Damn…” She checked for a cut but found none.

Rainbow Dash stared at the struggling mare and looked over her disheveled appearance. “It can’t be Zecora? Can it?” She slowly walked up to the zebra and moved her tattered oily mane from her eyes. The mare recoiled from her touch and let out a hissing moan. Rainbow Dash felt her chest get heavy as she saw the bruises and scars that adored her body. Her starved form showed her ribs and pelvis. Sitting next to her, Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her mane. “It's okay Zecora, it's me, Rainbow Dash, do you remember?”

The mare let out a sob as her wild eyes stared at the cyan pegasus hovering over her. “Rainbow?” Her cyan eyes trembled.

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Yes… Do you remember? I’m your friend. I would help you scavenge for roots and berries.”

“Berries? Friend?” The mare looked around at the ponies standing around her. “Friends?”

Seeing that Rainbow Dash was making progress, Applejack sat beside her and untied the knife from Zecora’s hoof. “Yes, we’re your friends, I’m Applejack.” She set the knife on the floor. “That’s Twilight, Shining Armor, and Marley.” She pointed at each pony.

Zecora stared at each pony, her mind going over their names and faces. Blinking she turned her gaze back to Rainbow Dash. “Dash?” She tried to lift her forelegs to lay her hooves on Rainbow Dash’s cheeks. But her limbs remained trapped which caused her to panic once more. Not wanting to lose her progress, Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof up in the air, telling Shining and Twilight to kill their magic.

Twilight nodded and deactivated her magic. Her purple aura dissipated, freeing Zecora’s arms. Her brother was hesitant to release his hold, but a glare from his sister forced him to kill his magic.

Finally free, Zecora sat up and placed her hooves on Rainbow Dash’s cheeks. “Rainbow?” She cried.

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Yes, it's me.”

A sob left Zecora as she looked at Applejack. “Applejack?” She turned her attention to Twilight. “Twilight?” She reached out with her hooves as a begging child would. Seeing the fear in her eyes, Twilight sat beside the zebra. Zecora rubbed her cheeks as she repeated their names.

Zecora gave them large smiles but as quickly as she did, a torrent of sobs overwhelmed her. Tears fell from her eyes as a sense of dread took hold. She clutched unto Applejack. Her body shook as he let her emotions take hold.

Feeling her body temperature spike, Applejack took out her canteen and pour the cold water onto the mare’s back. “Shhh… You’re safe.”

“Tell her to keep her voice down!” Marley growled. “She’s ringing the damned dinner bell!”

Applejack gave him a scowl. “Really? Clearly, she’s been through hell!” She stroked Zecora’s back, trying to calm her down. “Cut her some slack!” Marley returned the scowl before turning his attention to the window keeping an eye out for any of the dead within the forest.

Sighing at the two, Twilight looked over at her brother. “My magic is still a little weak to perform any major spells. But I do know of one that will calm her down.” She pointed at his horn. “Could I borrow some magic?”

Shining smiled. “Sure.” He activated his horn and a ball of blue light formed around his horn’s tip. Lowering his head, he touched her horn with his. His aura flowed into her. “Is that enough for your spell?” He looked at her with a cocky smirk.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, thanks.” She activated her horn as she walked up to Zecora. She touched the zebra’s forehead with her horn. Zecora’s body shivered from the magic coursing throughout her body, her eyes closed and her sobs faded to a simple whimper.

Silence filled the room as Zecora fell into a deep sleep. The group watched her chest rise and fall with each shallow breath she took. “I think this will be the best sleep she’ll have in a long time,” Applejack commented as she stood up.

Shining picked up Zecora with his magic and placed her on his back. Taking out some rope from his saddlebag, Twilight gently secured her to him. “Is that too tight?”

“No.” Shining Armor replied, moving his limbs, checking her work.

“I say let’s get going, we don’t want to be here when the trotters show up,” Marley stated as he headed out of the house.

“Are you sure they heard her?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I don’t want to take any chances…”

“EEERRRAAAHHH!”

Ear-piercing screams echoed throughout the forest. The group went numb as they looked out the windows. “What was that?” Twilight asked, her ears swiveling to locate the source of the sound.

“A galloper!” Shining Armor hissed.

“A what?” Twilight felt her chest get heavy.

“A galloper!” Shining Armor shouted, galloping out of the house.

“What makes it different from the trotters I’ve seen?”

“Imagine a trotter, but it’s pissed off!” He looked back at his sister.

“Very, pissed off!” Marley growled, pumping his shotgun.

The group raced through the forest, jumping over roots and ducking under low-hanging branches. Behind them were five gallopers. Their crazed milky-yellow eyes glared at them as they chased after their next meals.

Twilight looked back at the monsters. Their fur was coarse and patchy. Their skin was a pale sickly white. Their teeth were unnaturally yellow and black. Their mouths oozed with infected foam. “EEERRRAAAHHH!” Her ears folded against her skull as the hellish-like sounds they made.

Nearing the edge of the forest on the backside of the orchard, Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. “We are almost home, it's time for a quick escape!”

“Sounds like a plan!” Marley shouted. “Twilight!”

She looked at the stallion. “Yeah?”

“I need you to unzip the left-side pouch of my saddle bag and pull out a thingy that looks like a pipe!” He pointed at the side of his saddlebag with a nod of his head. Twilight didn’t press on the why and or the how a pipe would kill all five gallopers. Igniting her horn, she unzipped the pouch and pulled out the pipe. Studying it, she saw it was a twelve-inch aluminum pipe with both ends capped and a red plastic button on one end. “Pretty nifty, isn’t it?”

Twilight gave the stallion a perplexed look. “What do you want me to do with it?”

“Glad you asked… Hey Shining, your sis is going to throw her first pipe!” He laughed.

“Save the jokes for later, Marley!” Shining spat!”

“Fine…” He moaned. “So, what I need you to do is press that red button and throw it off into the forest somewhere on your right.” Without hesitation, Twilight pressed the button and threw it as hard as her magic allowed her to.

She watched as the pipe bomb disappeared into the brush of the forest. “NOW WHAT?”

“Now we teleport! Shining you know what to do!” Shining nodded and teleported Applejack, Zecora, and himself. Rainbow Dash bolted towards the sky and flew high over the trees out of sight of the gallopers. Marley and Twilight were the only ones left, running for their lives.

“What do we do?” Twilight gave the stallion a harsh glare.

“Teleport us halfway to the farmhouse and I’ll push the button on this!” He pulled out a small square cube with an antenna on its top and a button on its face.

Twilight’s brow began to perspire. “I don’t know if I have enough to get us there… It’s only been two days since I woke up in the hospital!” She activated her horn and let out a growl. “DAMN IT!” A bright white light engulfed them.

Marley and Twilight appeared out of a ball of bright white light. Crashing onto the orchard’s soft dirt fields. They quickly got up and hid behind an apple tree. Seeing the gallopers exiting the forest, Marley cursed under his breath and ducked behind the tree, pressing the red button on the receiver.

Distant crackling and explosions echoed across the land. The gallopers stopped in their tracks and swiveled their heads toward the source of the noise. Screeching towards the sky, they ran into the forest once more.

Watching them disappear into the forest, Twilight laid her head against the tree and let out a heavy sigh. “Let’s never do that again….” Marley laughed as he offered her a hoof.

The children stared at Zecora from the doorway. Sadness washed over them as they studied her thin frame, wondering what happened to her. “Come, children, it's time for bed,” Derpy called out. Carrot Top and Sunny stood behind her giving the children soft smiles. The children sighed as they obeyed their elders.

“Did you get a good look at this figure?” Shining Armor asked Macintosh.

“Naw…” He sat down on the floor in the far corner of the room. “Soarin tried to fly over to the figure, but it slipped away into town.”

Rarity who sat next to Hooves by Zecora’s bedside looked at the stallions. “You think this mysterious figure could be connected to Zecora’s condition?”

“I don’t know sugar cube?” Applejack sighed, leaning against the wall. “She might struggle to tell us what happened to her.” She sat her hat on the nightstand. “Even if she remembers what happened, I doubt she would know this stranger.”

Twilight sat at the end of the bed. “Even so, we still need to ask her what happened at least.” She ran a hoof through her mane. “Clearly, trotters didn’t do this to her.”

“If that’s true…” Rainbow Dash jumped down from the window’s bench. “Then we might have a group of bandits on the loose.”

The group bowed their heads in thought. “Looks like the fence is on the top priority.” Shining sighed. Macintosh nodded in agreement. “Good thing we didn’t leave supplies at Fluttershy’s house. And we should stop.”

Twilight looked at her brother with a concerned glare but slowly nodded in agreement. “We should, don’t want others to know of the orchard.”

“But what about Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash huffed.

“If she was still around Ponyville, she would’ve been here already.” Twilight sighed. Rainbow Dash bit her lip as she looked out the window watching the rain crash onto the earth.

“Well sorry for changing the subject, but our friend should be just fine.” Hooves picked up his leather bag of mismatched medical supplies. “I placed some cream on her cuts and bruises. “He threw his bag over his back. “Hopefully, they should heal within the week. When it comes to her eating, we should give her small portions until she gets some of her weight back.” He headed out of the room. “Oh, I also gave her something to wake her up from her magically induced coma.” He gave Twilight a friendly frown before making his way down the stairs.

With a heavy sigh, the group walked over to Zecora’s bed.

“I’ll wait here until she wakes up,” Twilight commented.

“Same, Rarity? Applejack? What say you?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the ponies in question.

“Of course, darling, I want to be here to hear her story, if she feels up to it.”

A heaviness left Zecora as she took a long breath. Shivers danced through her body as consciousness came back to her. Feeling the warmth of soft sheets consuming her body, her mind began to wander. She felt off like she wasn’t supposed to be here. Nervous, she sat up. “Ah…” She hissed, bringing a hoof to her brow.

“Zecora’s awake.”

Freezing in fear, she cowered under her sheets.

“Did your sleep spell wipe her memory, Twilight?”

“No… It shouldn’t’ve?”

‘Twilight?’ Zecora thought. Her heart rate slowed to a steady pace as she worked herself up to open her eyes. Slowly she opened them. The candlelight that surrounded her caused her to squint them. She groaned as she allowed them to adjust to the soft yellows and oranges that colored the room.

Four figures that sat around her came into focus. Their soft smiles across their faces brought a sense of calm. Their fur colors were dulled out by the candlelight, but she could make out who was who. A pulsing migraine flowed across her skull. With a tired sigh, she rubbed the back of her head. “Twilight? Applejack? Rarity? Rainbow Dash?” Her eyes bounced from mare to mare. She felt her heart getting heavy. “I wasn’t dreaming…” She finally took her eyes off the mares and looked at her room and studied its plain décor.

“How are you feeling?” Applejack asked, patting the mare’s left hoof.

Zecora took her friend’s hoof in hers and rubbed it. “I feel… okay…” She let go and tried to sit up straight. Rainbow Dash helped her, placing some pillows to brace her back and neck.

“We’re just glad we found you when we did.” Twilight sighed. “You have a long recovery ahead of you.”

Zecora looked down at her chest and saw the slight outline of her ribs under her skin. She shuttered, running a hoof through her mane. A chill ran down her spine as she felt her mane was no longer oily and dusty.

“Derpy and I gave you a bath. I hope you don’t mind?” Rarity smiled.

Zecora shook her head. “No… Thank you…” She settled back into the pillows and gave a sigh. “I’m just glad my friends are alive… most of them… Where’s Pinkie?”

“Her and the Cakes on her parent’s farm.” Twilight smiled crossing her forearms and resting them on the bed. Zecora smiled and stared at the patterns of her bed sheet. Though, as the seconds' passed, her smile turned into a frown.

“Zecora… Not to bring up painful memories… But do you know what happened to you? Was Fluttershy with you?” Rainbow Dash asked, her magenta eyes looking into the zebra’s soul for answers. Zecora held back the urge to let out a sob. Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat, she curled up and shuttered a sigh. “Zecora?”

“I remember every horrible detail… I remember it all…”

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

Zecora looked at the unicorn. “I found Fluttershy… I saw her trying to save a mother and her child.”

“Who was she trying to save?” Rainbow Dash’s twitched.

“Love Tap and Button Mash.” Zecora sighed. “I helped. Told her the route to your farm wasn’t safe. She came with me to my house. She was going to stay there until the madness died down.” She looked at Applejack. “Cloud I get some tea?”

After getting her tea, and taking a gentle sip, she continued.

“We thought that night would be alright, but we found out Love Tap was bitten. We took precautions and made sure she was comfortable.” She sipped her drink.

“How long did she take to turn?” Twilight asked.

A shiver ran through Zecora as she let out a pathetic laugh. “I don’t know?”

“What do you mean?”

Zecora tapped her cup of tea. “The next day, Fluttershy was getting wood for the fireplace after Button Mash and I foraged for some berries and roots, when these ponies attacked us… Five of them. They took Fluttershy and Button Mash. But two of them stayed behind… to… to…” She grinded her teeth as she let out a cry. “They called me a witch! They’d beat me! Raped me!” Zecora hung her head a she stared into her cup.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash mulled over her words as they let her deal with her pain in her own way.

“Um?” Rainbow Dash swallowed a lump in her throat. “What happened to your captors?”

Zecora looked at the prism haired pegasus. “Button Mash’s mother is what…” sipped her tea. “Fluttershy had locked the door from the inside before she shut it in the morning. Three days in to my…. Punishment.” She choked. “One of the stallions forced the door open after hearing a sound.” She let out a small giggle. “Love Tap sunk her teeth into him.” She laughed at the memory.

Twilight and her friends looked at one another.

“I had to fight off Love Tap… Had to kill her… I killed one of the attackers, but not the one she bit.” She cried. “He got away! But the one I got!” Her body shook. “I just kept stabbing him… And… It… It… Felt…”

“Good?’ Rarity asked as she sat on the bed, running her hoof through Zecora’s mane. She nodded. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight gave each other looks as what Zecora said sunk in. Rarity however just sighed as she placed a hoof under the zebra’s chin. “Zecora, do you know where they took them?”

Zecora stared at her tea.

Rainbow Dash felt her mind begin to spin. “Zecora? Do you know where they took her?” She too her hooves in hers. “Please?”

Zecora looked into her cup and stared at her own worn and tired reflection glaring at her. “Before the other attackers left, they mentioned a place called Sanctuary….”