The Trotting Dead

They awoke in the middle of the night to the scream of a pony. Rainbow Dash got up, and looked out the window, and heard gunfire. The Zombie Ponies had come all the way to Canterlot; they must have hit Fillydelphia, Manehattan, and Baltimare when they were asleep!

They grabbed their guns and ran down to the gates of the city, and saw the mass hordes of Zombie Ponies outside the gates. There must have been over five hundred at the least, over two thousand at most.

Pinkie Pie put down her M249 on a bipod on the ground, and began to fire at the Zombie Ponies. The sound was massive; it nearly burst the eardrums of all the others. The others followed suit, raised the weapons, and fired, except for Fluttershy.

Twilight calmed herself, and pulled off a headshot with the .50cal, and saw through the scope as blood spurted from what was left of the pony’s head, and saw brain matter litter the ground around it. She decided not to think about it, and continued to fire.

“They’re not normal ponies,” she said, “Not anymore, it’s not murder it’s more like exterminating a pest, like parasprites. Just don’t think!” She pulled the trigger again, and saw the bullet fly into another pony’s neck, and strangely felt satisfaction.

Pinkie Pie was roaring with laughter as she let the M249 spew bullets anywhere and everywhere in the fields around Canterlot.

“This is so fun!” she said, “We should do this more often, huh Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash smirked as she killed one with her G36C, “Yeah, it’s more fun if they ain’t alive, Pinkie! Just keep shooting!”

Rarity took careful aim with the MP7, and used magic to not hold the MP, but levitate it at head level, so there would be no recoil. She pulled the trigger with magic and saw bullets pierce a pony’s skull, and closed her eyes to the carnage. All the while, Fluttershy was hiding behind a wall, whimpering and cowering.

Derpy was hip-firing her AK-47, and hit almost nopony with her gun. With her double vision, it would have been worse aiming down the iron sights than hip-firing. She just fired, and hoped it hit something.

“Derpy,” Twilight said, “Close the eye that is sagging! Use the other one, it will help!” She said over the gunfire. Derpy closed one eye, and smiled. She thanked Twilight, and soon pulled off pretty accurate shots.

It was inevitable the Zombie Ponies would break the barricades, the military and the Mane 7 –including Derpy now- were only delaying it. The Zombies seemed to mutate, they sprinted at the living, and screamed now, instead of moving slowly and moaning. The living ran for their lives, but some were too slow. Fluttershy cringed at the sounds of stallions and mares screaming for help, their mothers, and for Celestia to save them before they were infected.

As the military and Mane 7 retreated into Canterlot, the Zombies pursued and attacked the unarmed ponies. Canterlot descended into complete disarray, and unicorns used magic to set buildings on fire, and send them crashing down on the Zombie Ponies. Now, many of the infected were on fire, which made them only that much more dangerous. Those trapped under buildings caught those trying to run above the rubble, and bit at their feet.

What kept the Mane 7 together, no one knows, but they ran together throughout the streets of Canterlot.

“Over there, in the rodeo!” Applejack said, “We can hold out there, in the stands!” They ran into the rodeo, where only hours before, they were drying Derpy’s tears, they were now holding out against a Zombie Pony horde.

They climbed into the stands, and had their weapons trained on the doors. The infected ponies eventually came through the doors. Pinkie Pie was the first to open fire, taking the heads off of three infected ponies. The horde came through the doors, and began to climb up the stands. Rainbow Dash and Applejack went to the bottom of the stands, and took their heads off with bullets and buckshot.

“Yee-haw, take this you nasty vermin!” Applejack said as she fired a burst of the M4 shotgun and blew three infected ponies apart. Blood and gore soon littered the floor of the rodeo, and the show animals were getting anxious.

“Rainbow Dash, Applejack!” Twilight shouted, “Get back, I have an idea! Rarity, help me get those gates open!” They used their magic to open the gates, and let loose the bulls. They charged and plowed through the horde, and crushed numerous others. All the while, Twilight was picking off headshot after headshot with the Barrett, guided the bulls with her bullets.

Fluttershy’s scream ripped through the night as an infected Prince Blueblood, whose mane was out of order, and suit was stained with blood, tackled and pinned her to the ground. His mouth was stained with blood, and he was drooling out a mixture of saliva and blood on Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash called, “Use your gun! You have no choice! He’s not the Blueblood you know; he’s not even a pony anymore!” Fluttershy upholstered her M1911, turned her head, and fired at Prince Blueblood. The sounds of a head exploding and blood and brain matter splattering on the floor were the most audible sounds in the entire rodeo.
Fluttershy looked up at Prince Blueblood’s now nearly headless carcass, her face splattered with blood, skull fragments and brain matter. Her face began to contort, and then she started smiling wickedly. She grabbed her M1911, and fired at the zombies.

“You’re all going to die!” She screamed, and the others looked towards her, and saw her about to jump down onto the rodeo floor from the stands. Rainbow Dash flew right beside her and kept her from jumping. Fluttershy was now incredibly not herself, laughing evilly as she fired her gun but ran out of ammo.

Pinkie pie fired her M249 by her feet, and said, “Fluttershy, stop! Calm down!” She turned, and took a deep breath.

“Sorry everypony,” she said, “I just got out of control. But I know now I can fight them. They’re not real ponies anymore.” The others began to smile, and they all forgot their situation. That was their biggest mistake.

They soon climbed up the stands, and the Zombie Ponies sprinted towards the ponies. Applejack jumped in front of them and fired shell after shell of the M4 at the horde. Rainbow Dash and the others followed suit, but they were running low on ammo, but they just kept coming.

“We can’t hold out much longer here, everypony!” Applejack said, kicking a Zombie Pony in the face as she was reloading her M4 shotgun. The horde was just charging them, and the ponies needed help, desperately.
It was when all seemed lost, that the Wonderbolts flew seemingly out of nowhere and landed on the stands. Armed to the teeth with fully customized M16s, they mowed down the Zombie Ponies. Once the horde was eradicated, Spitfire and Soarin’ walked over to Twilight and Rainbow Dash to talk.

“Well,” Spitfire said, pushing her mane back with her hand, “That was fun. Now, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, we need to get you out of here.” She put her ACR on her back, and continued, “Orders from Princess Celestia. We need to get you to Manehattan, they haven’t been hit yet.”

“But what are we going to do about Canterlot, and Baltimare and Fillydelphia?” Twilight said, “We need to help out here.”

“No, we need you in Manehattan by sunrise,” Soarin’ said, putting away his F2000, “All ponies are being evacuated to Manehattan, we are withdrawing all military and paramilitary forces back to Manehattan. The Princess and Princess Luna are already there, it’s the new capital of Equestria. Come on now, the train’s leaving. Fluttershy, Derpy, and Rainbow Dash, you can fly there with us. The others are going on the train.”

After some resistance, the group broke up, with the three Pegasi going with the Wonderbolts, leaving the other four to go on the train. As the Wonderbolts flew away, Rainbow Dash sped ahead, unleashing a Sonic Rainboom. Any power still up in Canterlot was now knocked out, as the Rainboom took out all power in the area.

“I don’t see why those Wonderbolts can’t come with us.” Applejack said, “It makes absolutely no sense. What if we derail? What will we do then? We have no ammo, what are we supposed to do, bludgeon them with our guns?”

The train pulled away, and Twilight checked the time, it was about 2 A.M. Twilight looked at Spike, who had stayed at the Palace but boarded the train. He was fast asleep, probably dreaming about Rarity. She sighed, and looked out the window, and looked at the destruction the Zombie Ponies were causing. There were flaming ones that caught buildings on fire and soon, the entire city itself was ablaze. By then, the train was half a mile away, and all Twilight could see is the haze of the flames.

By the time the train had reached Manehattan, the sun was just rising over the horizon. The ponies stayed by the train, passing time, napping, reminiscing about the celebrations the day before.

Applejack readjusted her hat, and saw the Wonderbolts walking towards them. “Anything happen while we were on the train?”

“No,” Spitfire said, “We just need to hold the fort, and if necessary, head to Las Pegasus in the west.”

“We can’t just keep running from them, you know,” Rarity said, “I’ve seen what they do, they’ll just follow us. They sense where we are, and they follow the sense. It’s no use; soon all of Equestria will be consumed by the Ponyville Virus. We need to kill every last one of them, we can’t run from them anymore. It’s all or nothing, are you in, or not?” Rarity put out her hand, to show she wasn’t going to stop fighting.

The ponies thought about it, and one by one, they put their hands in.

“This is for us, all of us,” Rarity said, “For Pegasi, for Unicorns, and for Earth Ponies, so that we all might kill this virus, once and for all!” They all agreed, and then, they restocked on ammo and got some new hardware.

Fluttershy walked into the armory, and looked at every gun. She stopped, and smiled at a P90 submachine gun, and two ES Five-seveNs, she also got two holsters for the Five-seveNs, and was happy with her choice. Applejack switched in her M4 for an Armsel Striker semi-auto shotgun, equipped with a foregrip. As a sidearm, she chose two .44 Colt Anaconda revolvers.

Rainbow Dash kept the G36C, but equipped it with a red dot sight, and M320 grenade launcher. She also chose a Desert Eagle as her sidearm of choice. Twilight chose for a sidearm, a Heckler and Koch MP5K submachine gun. Rarity kept the MP7, but chose a Beretta M9 for her pistol.

“This is too heavy,” Pinkie Pie said, lifting the M249 onto the counter, “Can I get something lighter?” The clerk nodded, and handed her a M27 IAR SAW. As a sidearm, Pinkie Pie chose two Mini-Uzis. She smiled evilly at her weapons, and then hopped out of the armory.

Derpy didn’t know what to choose for her sidearm. At first, she wanted a M60, but the clerk advised a Heckler and Koch USP pistol. She took it, thanked him, and walked out after Pinkie Pie. The others followed suit, followed by Spitfire and Soarin’ in the rear.

The weather over Manehattan was gloomy. It was overcast, and it began to drizzle. The weather report said a large rain storm was expected from noon onwards. The ponies decided to get something to eat, and stopped at a breakfast diner. Having not eaten since the day, they were all exhausted and starved.

They all ordered a short stack of pancakes, with eggs and bacon. They dug in, and picked up the bill for the Wonderbolts, although money had almost no value anymore. They walked out, their bellies full, and prepared for the long day ahead.

They got a room in the hotel, and began to clean their weapons, check their ammo, and sleep. By noon, they were fully rested, and the city was drenched in a torrential downpour. Rainbow Dash sighed; it was a truly depressing day, given the circumstances.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think! So, I hope the first gunfight with the Zombies was good enough for you, it was fun writing it. Especially Pinkie’s part, that was REALLY fun. So, they’re all in Manehattan now, but will it be like this forever? Find out in the next chapter, of course!