Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 13
Chapter 2
Chapter 12

Chapter 1
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The Herd

Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome to "The Herd", the first production of Epic Black Banshee Studios.

Original Idea: EpicFailFTW1528

Writers: Defeneing, EpicFailFTW1528, IntelligentScribbles

Chapter 1

“Everything looks fine.” Said Nate, climbing his way up a ladder to the cockpit. The inhabitants of the space ship had just woken up from cryogenic sleep.This space shuttle was en route to a planet that appeared as if it could support life. The crew of seven consisted of Bromley, the captain, Evan, the pilot, Nate, the engineer, Josh, the navigator, Henrick and Hans, in charge of engine stability, and Fabio, in charge of weapons. The shuttle still had about a week to travel.

Their ship was approximately fifty meters long, including the fuel tank. It was all inclusive, meaning that instead of space shuttles in the late 20th century, where the fuel tank and thrusters fell off, this didn’t. It reduced fuel consumption slightly, as the total number of thrusters was reduced to three, as opposed to five. It was flying in a cyclonic pattern, imitating gravity on the inside.

The only reason they were out here was because of their determined captain. Over the years Bromley had seemed to grow more and more distant between his three life time friends; Evan, Nathaniel, and Josh. It took awhile to get him out of his stupor, but before long the entire group had him spilling his guts over why he was so angsty. He explained to them that the past few months had been rough on him, and that he had been taking secret training with the military. There was a secret operation currently being done that apparently he had become deeply involved in unintentionally. He digressed afterwards that he wanted out, badly, but the Military would track him no matter where he went. His speech had hinted that this mission was terrifying, and might result in the loss of his life in the end.

The friends were determined to help the angry, apparently military trained friend they had known for so long. They came to the conclusion that the only thing that would ever allow him to be free was to leave the planet. While sounding entirely impossible and perhaps even stupid at this point, Josh determined that “if there’s a will, there’s a way.” The friends ran though contacts, and Evan even tapped into his own bank account, which was entirely comprised of his own success as a CEO. Bromley headed into hiding, living off in the woods for a few years as his friends compiled supplies to build some sort of transportation.

One day, about a year after Bromley had headed into hiding. Nathaniel was in a massive supply store (Home Depot to be precise) and saw two brothers, twins to be precise, looking over a physics book while pointing at different metals. He approached them and asked about what they were doing. They grinned at him and told him about their dream to go past the sky without a major corporation shoving a stick up their butt in the process. He hid a massive smile threatening to appear and explained his own friend’s current predicament and they readily agreed to team up. The two brothers introduced themselves as Henrick and Hans. Soon the two boys headed out into the wilderness with a bewildered Bromley. He had in no way suspected even more help. They became amiable friends at a remarkable speed, and together, the three of them began working on the rocket, writing up blue prints, and even beginning base construction.

Quickly the soon to be space explorers made lists of things needed for the travel to be a successful flight. Light clothing was necessary, as was some sort of rationing. Dehydrated food stuffs and nutritional bars were packed in excess, and were placed inside crates which were packaged in the storage compartment. Evan did some math, and gave everyone a mass limit. Only so much could be packed.

As supplies slowly stacked up, and the gang got more involved in the construction of the rocket, they began to gather attention. Thankfully Bromley knew someone who could cover their asses. Fabio filled the position nicely, keeping the media shut down and the government mostly uninformed. Despite this, just before the launch, they made a public appearance. A very upset and obviously physically drained Bromley had stood before his friends and explained with fervency that the war was going to get worse, much worse, and he wanted no part of it. Bromley had grabbed a rifle that he had taken with him when he left the military and shot a bullet straight through a man’s chest with those words. The man turned out to be the head of black ops, and they left that night, hoping to dear god that the ship they had worked on for about 8 years would take off. Thankfully it did, but the motley crew didn’t prepare as much as they could have because of the rushed take off. They were left with their normal attire, instead of anything really space worthy before they took off. Then again, their normal attire wasn’t exactly... normal.

Nate had been shoved into space wearing a slim white T-Shirt, blue skinny jeans (with a few chains, of course), and green and purple Converse. He had thankfully had his spiked lip piercings in, and fortunately had to leave his hair long. He had a pack of cigarettes and a few cigars in his pants’ pockets. His appearance just didn’t really match his personality though. Most people would expect some sort of Gothic little freak. But Nate was fairly positive, somewhat easygoing, and rarely got caught up in anything that would cause him problems. Sure, he had depression. And sure he had just left Earth with his friends. He didn’t let that hold him down. He was loyal to his friend most of the time, and almost always loyal to his captain all of the time.. The only exception was when he was feeling slightly rebellious, in which case he’d just basically say “fuck the world” and only do what he wanted. After all, he was just a person. He couldn’t do anything too important anyways. That’s what Evan and the Captain were for.

Evan hated the world though, despite being a part of it. It was so full of boring stuff. Like bland colors. He tried to make the best of it by putting on a happy face in hopes that some of the smile would seep into his body. He constantly cracked jokes in a futile attempt to help himself feel better. He also wore brighter colors, sticking with interesting blues and greys that people hardly saw. In an effort to entertain himself he took up classes for everything that he could possibly learn. He started to get to know people and fell into a very fulfilling position in a company, CEO. He made as much money as he wanted, but it still didn’t make him happy.

Bromley was a different story. He wore dark clothing, boots or converse most of the time, and black leather fingerless gloves. They had been given to him in high school, by Evan no less. His clothing didn’t quite contradict his brown hair, or constantly color changing eyes. He wasn’t an obvious fit to any stereotype. He kept his life mostly secret. He had money and power. Sure, getting there isn’t any happily ever after story. Killing, stealing, threatening... It happens. He never really went into detail about any of it, though. At least not to his crew (with the exception of maybe Evan). He probably would never have gotten into that line of business if he hadn’t been so thoroughly destroyed at a young age. Oh well, you can’t change the past.

“That’s good. Josh set out coordinates please, and we’ll head towards our destination.” Bromley replied to Nathaniel in an even tone. Josh meanwhile thoughtfully brought a pen to his chin, tapping on it.

“Sir, we are already headed in the correct direction. No need to change our points.” With a nod, Bromley patted Josh’s shoulder. With a loud groan the captain continued his stretching, joints popping noisily in stiffness. He glared down at his body, noticing some of his muscles mass had decreased.

“God dammit...”

“A nail there, a lever there... Another sheet of metal there, some piping there... That should do it!” Twilight Sparkle said, applying the finishing touches to the interior of her spaceship. The robust craft was tall and goofy looking, painted pink and purple according to Twilight’s color choice. She had been working on the craft for approximately a week, her magic speeding up the process greatly. So far nopony had seen the ship besides her.

“Ooooooh... What's that? Is it an awesomely fantastical partytasmic party machine? I have one of those, you should make one. By the way what is this?” Pinkie Pie said excitedly, bouncing around the ship as Twilight stepped out of it. Pinkie Pie was an easily excited pony. She had thrown parties every day of her life. Although she began as a sad pony, she evolved into the queen of good times.

“You simply cannot mix purple and red! It just does not work,” exclaimed Rarity. She was one of the ponies who needed to make everything perfect and beautiful. She rushed off to get a paint can.

“Rarity we don’t have time. We should all launch before the moon is all they way in the sky,” Twilight motioned for her to come in. She left the paint can and came in, but not without looking back and lamenting her unfinished project. Twilight made Applejack and Pinkie Pie sit in the passenger seats, mainly because this technology was past their grasp. The rest of Twilight’s friends came in. Applejack was a hardworking pony who kicked trees for their apples. She was strong an courageous, she was candid, always straight to the point and honest, not hiding anything. She wasn’t afraid to get her hooves dirty either. She turned her head to view Rainbow Dash who had dashed in at some point. (see what I did there?) Rainbow Dash looked out of the navigation window, excited to go on another adventure.

Rainbow Dash had a mane and tail of rainbow colors. Her pegasus form and light bone structure allowed her to fly faster than anypony else. She had created the sonic rainboom which was literally a sonic boom that shot out a rainbow in a ring from where it happened. Literally created it. It made her a legend among the pegasus community, and in doing so made her even more cocky than before. Fluttershy had shyly stepped in when everypony else was getting on board, and she was listening to the quiet beeping of the crude radar device Twilight had constructed. Fluttershy was also a pegasus but she didn’t have much of a knack for flying. She instead concerned herself in the woodland creatures of the ground and stayed quite almost all of the time.

Rarity was in charge of making sure everypony was doing their job, and that everything was in working order. It took off slowly, gaining speed and eventually going into orbit. Pinkie Pie was immersed joy when she began to float around. Fluttershy was tightly gripping the radar device, and Rainbow dash was slightly scared, unused to not being in control when her hooves were off the ground. Twilight was amazed, and constantly took notes of what she saw.

Evan was blasting some sick dubs. Right as the bass drop had come, there was a huge crash. The ship had made an abrupt movement, as suddenly Fabio flipped out of his seat into the ceiling, then back down into his seat slowly, suddenly levitating. “Bass drop?” questioned Evan as he was being flung weightlessly. His body was rigid and his arms to his head. He knew bass was powerful but this ship was being flung about. Noisia was such a boss.

“Well, apparently we stopped spinning.” Said Hans, attempting to cling to any surface possible.

Nate was derping about. He wasn’t doing very much. Then again, bugging Fabio was always fun.

“DO A BARREL ROLL!” Nate yelled constantly. He irritated Fabio to the point of Fabio backhanding him. Upon the backhand, there was a crash.

“GOD DAMN IT WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TURNING ON GOD MODE?” Nate yelled, being flung into the wall.

“What the hell was that!?” shouted Bromley, immediately swimming through the air, over to the engines. Between the three thrusters, the engines were on fire, off, or exploded. “Well shit. We’re in for a ride boys.” with that Bromley swam through the space in the shuttle and reached for Evan’s stereo, lifting it and putting it on his shoulder. “Wait for the drop... Have a seizure.”

“I made you a bass, but I DROPPED IT!” Nate yelled loudly, entirely caught up in the epicness of it all.

“BASS DROP?” Evan asked louder. He was still very confused.

“FUCK YEAH!” came the normally relaxed brothers (Henrick and Hans) reply.

Although outwardly everyone was partying it out, it was an obvious attempt to relieve pressure from the situation. There was nothing anyone could do, so they just flipped and twirled, spazzing out ridiculously as the “WUMP WUMP WUMP” of the Dubstep echoed through the seven man ship. Evan still floated around like a board. Nothing made sense anymore. Noisia was destroying worlds.

“Eep-!” Fluttershy started, but stopped as she was sent hurtling into the wall. A pole narrowly missed her head, spearing the wall behind her. Twilight was knocked down by a flying seat. Rarity watched in horror as a glass panel from the inside of a window nearly smashed her. Rainbow Dash pushed her out of the way as shards of glass sprayed everywhere. Nopony got cut, but it was terrifying nonetheless. Rainbow Dash flipped and avoided flying objects with ease, attempting to get to a window quickly. She looked outside just in time to see a strange creature on only two legs appearing to walk in place in mid air. The thing turned to face her and his expression changed to extreme confusion, then a deep frantic purple and finally a blank stare. Rainbow Dash went green at the sight.

“I’m gonna puke...”

The two crafts had crashed. Thankfully at an angle, but a collision nonetheless. The ships hurtled down towards a large red planet. Hans and Henrick attempted to get into an escape pod, but were immediately killed by a gigantic piece of metal slicing neatly through their heads. Josh was more successful, having not been in the way of the large scrap of metal. He leaped over another sharp piece of material. He slammed into an escape pod, the door flipping open to let him in and he closed it behind him. He panted loudly. Grief would come later, first survival. His escape pod was ejected into space quickly, sending him to hopefully a safe location. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him Fabio was attempting to get into another escape pod. Unfortunately for the large man though, his suit got stuck in the door as it closed. As the pod ejected, he was suctioned through the tiny crack in the door, crushing him and exploding his head, lungs, stomach, and bladder all over the inside of the pod. The only thing left of him were his torn shoes, covered in his intestines.

For Bromley, the crash was entirely different. While most would of panicked and immediately rushed to an escape pod, he took in all the angles for about two seconds, timing himself. The explosions, the shards of glass and materials flying everywhere, were all in slow motion to him as he judged the trajectory of the pieces. He watched as Josh ran to one pod, Fabio to another, and quickly set his sight on the last one. Nate was using his expert hands to push himself along the wall towards the door. With one last look at the chaos, Bromley shoved himself off the wall and slammed his foot into Nate’s butt, sending him careening ten times faster into the door. Regaining composure speedily, Nate held the door open for his captain and pilot with shaking arms, teeth jarring at the effort as the door attempted to close automatically. Bromley flipped through the space in the shuttle after kicking Nate away, and positioned himself to kick off the ceiling, straight through the door. Meanwhile Evan used an explosion as momentum, laughing psychotically as he was force pushed by the blast through the door into his two team members.

Bromley grabbed the doors and tugged them in, just in time, as Fabio’s pod took off, ripping another hole through the already destroyed shuttle. He turned and blinked at a pale looking Evan and raised a brow.

“I didn’t think you even liked those guys that mu-” Evan kicked the side of the pod in anger and shouted back at Bromley;

“MY FUCKING STEREO WAS IN THERE!” Bromley face-palmed.

“We have bigger problems...” Came a solemn Nate’s voice. “The pod is broken, it won’t eject. Either the back up motors exploded, or the hatch won’t open for this pod.” The captain sighed, annoyed that all his efforts were probably for nothing.

“Oh well, we can just hope we survive the landing.”

No trench was torn in the ground. They had come at too steep an angle for that. There was no nice clean happy landing. The two ships, attached to each other by molten metal, had stuck into the ground. As the gravity increased so did the injuries. Even the skilled acrobats such as Bromley, Evan, and Rainbow Dash sustained wounds. Evan took most of them without really trying to do anything about them, for he didn’t care. The injuries just made him happy and joyous. The doors smashed off at reentry as did the windows and most of the paneling. Nate flew back into the ceiling of the pod, bouncing off and flipping onto his feet with a rush of adrenaline. Then he plonked down onto his butt, breathing heavily. Bromley on the other hand was slammed against one side of the pod, before jerking back into the other side, leaving a dent in the wall. Groaning loudly, he got to his feet, his back bruised.

“Well that fucking hur-” The pod ejected at just that moment, flying easily thirty feet into the air in a straight line. Bromley was suddenly pinned against the pod’s floor by the instant acceleration, Evan’s body crushing him while the said boy yelled in exhilaration. Nate, in another rush of adrenaline, leaped about the time the pod hit it’s peak. He smashed the door out as the pod started its descent. He jumped out (as his impaired judgement assumption was that was the best thing to do), falling outside of the pod. The small craft slammed into the ground ceiling first, sticking up like pillar with a deafening thump. Nate did as well, soon after.

“Uck I bith muh tun...” came an odd sounding voice. It was Bromley, his hand nursing his cheek.

“I can’t breathe... Where are my lungs...” Nate said, straining for breath. Evan walked calmly outside, as if nothing had happened, though already aware of what was coming. He dragged his fallen comrade to the shuttle just as Bromley was getting out, who was somehow still able to stand. He looked up in the air.

“Oh balls...” The ponies came out, all six of them. Before any words had been spoken, even introductions, Bromley shouted to anything still living, “Get back in!” Shards of paneling and metal rained down from the sky. Most of them burning in a horrendous blue flame. They had been traveling so fast that even the metal was burning. After the rain of death, the still living beings stepped out. They looked to the sky, expecting more of the blue flame. The fire was either dying fast or already snuffed. Embers still smoked and metal was twisted and groaning in ways that anyone with a memory would not forget. Bromley shot a glare at the figures near the other ship, already putting out fires to salvage supplies. He didn’t know what to say. They were ponies! Fluttershy spoke first.

“Wh-what are... eep-!” Fluttershy attempted, nearly fainting.

“What she meant to say is, what are you?” Twilight finished, observing the three humans

closely.

“People.” Evan answered simply.

“Interesting...” Twilight said, taking down a note. The ponies were roughly one and a quarter meters tall, quite noticeably shorter than the men, who were all roughly two meters, but only just under.

“We could easily ask the same of you though.” Nate’s eyes narrowed and looked closer at the ponies. Twilight indicated towards her horn;

“I’m a unicorn, as is she.” She stuck a hoof out towards Rarity, to which Bromley nodded and huffed in annoyance.

“We already know this. Just like that one and that one...” He pointed at Rainbow Dash who was circling his crew cautiously, and Fluttershy who was hiding behind Apple Jack.. “.. Is a pegasus. And as far as I can tell blondie over their and... Pink.. Thing... are normal horses.” He shook his head at Pinkie Pie. “Do you think that we’re that stupid? But seriously, she’s pink. What the hell?” Everypony stood up straighter and gave him dirty looks at the words. Rainbow Dash flew down and stood at the head of her friends snorted and stomped her foot in place with one hoof, leaving hoof marks on the ground. She ran up to him, launched herself back into the air and flew up to his eye level, hovering there. She glared heatedly into his eyes, pushing her face closer and closer as she threatened him. “Watch it bub!” Bromley’s eye twitched and Nate indicated to the other ponies to make her stop, his finger running across his neck as he put on a panicked expression.

“It’s OK Dashie, calm the hay down,” Applejack said, trying to calm her down. She strode forward, and stood on her hind legs before pulling down on Rainbow’s wing with her teeth, knocking the flying pony off balance. Bromley shot a withering look at the blue and rainbow pony before going walking off, presumably to either scout the area or salvage anything he could. He stayed in hearing range though, making sure to catch every word said.

“Do you have names...?” Nate said, looking between them all.

“Rainbow Dash.” said the blue pony said with obvious animosity as she went back to her friends.

“F-F-Fluttershy-eep!” A nervous Fluttershy peeked out then quickly ducked back behind AppleJack who calmly took the cue.

“Applejack.” Her accent amused Evan greatly, and he smirked even more at how her name sounded.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Her eloquent voice cut through, and she was about to say more when an irritatingly loud and happy voice shout of the pink pony next to her.

“Pinkie Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie” Thankfully the call was short lived, as Rarity spoke with her posh accent.

“And Rarity.” They all responded with their names.

“Do you have names?” Twilight asked the three people.

“Nate.”

“Evan. You’re talking...” he was cut off by the captain.

“And Bromley.”

“Your talking ponies! Holy crap that’s awesome!” Evan burst out laughing. The ponies just looked at him like he was weird before Twilight brought up an interesting question.

“I know that right now we aren’t on the best of terms, but I believe we need to acquiesce for a moment to figure out who we can confide in as our leader...” Everypony began whispering among themselves, but the humans kept a straight face. Finally Evan spoke up after about a minute.

“The answer is fairly obvious. Cappin’!” He dramatically bowed to Bromley, who raised a brow at the odd look before turning back to the ponies, not saying anything.

“What the hay?! No way!” Shouted an enraged Rainbow Dash, fluttering up into the air in indignity. “I am not taking order from that foal!” Bromley’s eye twitched in irritation and he just shook his head.

“Twilight was it? In my opinion it’s you or me. You seem level headed enough. I really wouldn’t mind taking a break from being in control, but if you don’t think you can handle the pressure of seven people and duties under your command then ill take the job.” he was applying pressure hoping she would back down. He knew he fit the job better than most, he had been appointed as captain on their shuttle for that sole reason only. “Leadership Qualities” were apparently something he had in him.

“Well, although I am used to leading The Elements of Harmony, I think I’ll back down on this one. You seem professional.” Applejack smiled at the pink pony, showing that she agreed, meanwhile Rarity seemed pretty indifferent about it, though Pinkie Pie seemed to be pouting.

“TWILIGHT?! WHY?! I’m out of here if I have to obey that guy!” With an irritated groan Bromley clenched his fists before savagely, yet still calmly replying to the damn Rainbitch.

“Do you know what would happen if you went out there alone? First of all, you couldn’t eat anything, because you don’t know what’s edible here. Second of all, if their were any creatures eager for a bite, I’m sure you would be plenty for a mouthful. Oh, I also forgot to mention you’ll probably die of thirst, because, oh look, guess what? There isn’t any visible water. I didn’t even see any when I looked down at this planet while flying over it before I was so rudely slammed into by some talking animals! There is also a strong chance that something lives here that isn’t as primitive as a basic beasts. You could get killed. Blasted out of the sky. Do you really wanna risk that? I have no complaints, cus you’re a fucking pain in the ass, but really, do you want that?” He finished coldly and growled lowly. “Now... Everyone go gather whatever is left of our ships. Make a supply pile.” He winced to himself because of Rainbow Dash’s crushed expression, but tried to ignore the guilt he was feeling. He watched her walk off instead of flying and sighed. He would have to make amends at some point in time. That was going to be a hard task. He put it on his to do list.

Not much was salvageable. The earth ponies hauled the material into a pile while the humans and the unicorns ripped off parts. The pegasuses tried to find a relatively flat area to start building that was still nearby. The metal was hauled off and away from the crater the crash had created. Small outlines were drawn in the surface of the earth for the parameters of the shelter. metal sheets were first hoisted in to position and then hammered in by the pegasi. Eventually however the metal would run short, and walls would still need to be put up. No one wanted to sleep right next to an alien life form. Evan began constructing a pick axe. The ground seemed to hold its form unless broken, which was not easy to do.

“Dashie, please grab me the hammer. Nate, grab the wrench.” Bromley directed. Rainbow Dash's wings stuck straight out, her face coloring. Bromley saw the blush out of the corner of his eye. This was going to be the easiest thing on his to do list. If he could keep her blushing, he might be able to gain a new friend. Her face remained red, as she dropped the hammer in Bromley's hand. No one besides her friends had called her Dashie for a long time and it struck her heart in an interesting way. But no, this man had been brash and mean the first time they had ever met. He had even blatantly said he didn’t want her around! Even dead... She could not like someone like that. He must be making fun of her, using the name that was supposed to be used by good friends. She replayed the voice in her head. He was definitely being sarcastic, or so she thought.

“What was that about...?” Nate whispered to Fluttershy.

“It's an expression of extreme excitement or joy. But that makes no sense. Maybe she was just stretching,” she whispered back.

After about an hour, they had started a foundation of a rather large shelter. The planet’s material was composed of a red material that functioned as rock but was as light as and as easy to carve as wood. Nate used the makeshift metal pick, and began taking large pieces of the material away, to the building site. Applejack was helping him. Evan was putting the pieces into place with the help of Rarity, and Bromley was hammering them in place, accompanied by Rainbow Dash.

“Did anyone see how big this planet was?” Nate asked, carrying one of the beams over to Evan. He had used the tip of the pick to shave it until it was straight. He tossed the hunk of “wood” at Evan, who caught it in midair, inches from his face.

“It was HUGE!” Pinkie Pie started, “at least a million times as big as Equestria!” All the humans chuckled at this, except for Evan who fell down laughing with the huge beam in his hands, letting it land on him. It was light enough to avoid injury but it still gave worry to those watching. He still continued to laugh however. The ponies blinked confusedly at the words before Twilight continued.

“That's actually accurate.” Twilight said, looking up from her plans for the house, “And

Equestria is at least two hundred million hoof-breadths wide.” Evan shoved the pillar off him without much trouble and flung himself up. He then measured her hoof, then did the math, and judged that the planet was roughly three times Earth's size, meaning it was probably one third the density. When night cycled, they pulled together some beds, and slept.

In the middle of the night, Fluttershy got up and nuzzled Nate.

“Wh-” Nate started, getting interrupted.

“I'm sorry for waking you, but will we ever get back home? I mean, I don't mean to bother you, and if you don't know that's fine..” Fluttershy whispered. She was about to turn away until Nate put his hand on her snout and moved it back and forth in a petting motion,

“We're gonna get back home.” He smile reassuringly. She walked back over to where she slept and curled up. Nate, being an insomniac, laid there, staring upward. He got up and looked out of the window. He could have been glad that they were lucky enough to find a planet with oxygen, that they had more than just them three to survive, and that there were large underground tunnels that they could build into and hopefully find more food in. But for now he was just glad he was surviving.

Rainbow Dash woke up well before the sun rose. She glared over at “the captain” and thought about him again. Suddenly he spoke up though. She had been sure he was asleep!

“Good morning Dashie...” he didn’t move at all. His back was facing her, so she wondered how he could of possibly known she was awake. “Those words I said back there... I was a a bit of a dick hm?” She said nothing, but she looked down sadly, going over the fact that someone would prefer her dead. “I... I don’t want you dead.” She was shocked. He had apologized to her! Well, probably as close as he’d ever get to apologizing to her. She silently walked over and nudged Bromley softly.

“Alright. Maybe you aren’t as mean as I thought you were.” She looked up at Nate, who was still poised over the window. She walked silently over to him. His sharp lip piercings glistened in the starlight. She looked out the window as well.

“It’s pretty out there. ” his voice reached her ears, and she looked out at the still clear night sky.

“Yeah, but there aren’t any clouds.. Anywhere.” She decided to go lay down again, feeling sleepy again.

“Hey Dashie.” That deep voice woke her slowly, and she felt a warmth on her snout. She leaned into it, that comforting touch lulling her back to sleep. That was until the person rubbing her face spoke again, in a slightly teasing tone. “Well you warm up fast.” With a flap of wings she was on her feet, glaring at her leader. He raised a brow, a smirk stretching into shape on his (she thought as) emotionless face. Her face lit up red and her wings strained at the unexpected expression, and the fact that she had rubbed herself all over his hand a few seconds earlier. Nate looked back at the two and laughed. “If I didn't know any better, I'd think you have a crush.” Nate said jokingly at Rainbow Dash. Bromley ignored the rude comment to the only pony who seemed to have any real bravery, and got back up onto his feet.

“Be quiet!” the pegasus shouted defensively. Nate simply shrugged and returned his gaze to window. While it was breathtaking to look up into the sky, the ground was a dismal scene. Nothing was living or moving, it was as if everything was dead. Except for something shambling in the distance. It disappeared into a mirage that looked like liquid when the sun rose. he shrugged it off, knowing that the combination of no sleep and being on a foreign planet probably did not help ones imagination. Evan immediately made another pickaxe and helped Nate get more supplies. Nate attempted to boil the substance of which the ground was made of, and it proved both pleasing to the stomach and tongue.

“You think there's going to be any water?” Evan said, taking another swing at the ground.

“I hope so.” Nate said, pounding through the strange substance. They broke into an

underground stream. The water was unstained by the red surface. “Oh thank god...” Nate said, immediately taking up a handful. It actually had a crisp flavor. Evan grabbed a few swallows himself, and they went back up after Nate carved the word “water” into the ground with his foot. They had also brought up all the pieces of ground back up and built onto their house, storing their new found rescource there. Pinkie jumped off, her constant bouncing speeding her across the ground. She had decided to go exploring. Rarity took care of spiffing up the house, and Twilight was looking up at the yellow sky, taking notes as to possibly why. Rainbow Dash was reclining above the new room, enjoying being lazy. Unfortunately for her Bromley spotted her.

“Are you going to do anything?” Bromley asked her, pausing from hammering the finishing touches into the roof.

“Wha-?” She said, looking over at him.

“Are you?” He repeated, his eyes hardening in warning. It astounded her how he could get things across so easily without making any facial expressions.

“Oh, sure, uh, what can I do?” She said, standing up, not wanting to anger him yet again.

“Help me get this giant freaking piece of... stuff onto the roof?”He motioned down to some material Evan had dug out earlier. He decided that some extra rock would keep the heat and cold out if they put it up on the roof in thin layers.

“Oh, yeah, sure. No problem.” She flew down and pushed the rock up with her back while Bromley pushed it up over the lip of the roof.

“So, Dashie, where do you hail from and what do you do?” Bromley requested, hoisting the last of the material onto his shoulder. Rainbow Dash could feel her cheeks heat up again by the nickname, and the almost sultry way he spoke it.

“I control the weather in Equestria.” Bromley nodded and said simply,

“Cool.” He was going to say more but a pink form in the distance caught his

attention. Pinkie pie had come sprinting back, crying and screaming. Nate and Evan looked over to see a group of seven humanoid figures coming up behind her. Bromley nodded at them and Nate grabbed one of their rifles and tossed another to Evan, running out to see what they were. Fluttershy flew behind them, in hopes that they were just animals. The sight she saw was not one she would ever forget. Rotting flesh, torn jaws, and empty eye sockets greeted her, and she screamed, terrified. One of the forms didn’t even have legs, unlike the humans they were with now, and was crawling towards them with it’s guts trailing behind it like some freak snake. Flutter felt sick to her stomach.

Every human knew the tale though. Earth had been running out of space to bury the dead. The third world war, after all, had been taking many casualties. The first choice was the Atlantic, then the Pacific, then they turned skyward. launching the bodies into orbit sufficed until they began re-entering. They didn’t want to bloody up the moon, so they started building spaceships. BIG spaceships. They loaded the coffins and took off, . They found a distant planet that was three times the size of Earth. There were a few red spots on it anyway, so they ejected the bodies there. The government never spoke about what happened after that though, not even to the men working for them. The bodies reacted oddly to the red substance. They would just hop right back to life, except for some reason they had developed a new taste. After roaming for long enough, most of them went insane, craving human flesh.. At one point, a stowaway was among them. Despite that, the zombies were too populous for NASA to do anything about it. They were too involved with the war to pay much attention to alien worlds.

Fluttershy fainted, and Nate stopped near her and began aiming. Evan ran about fifty meters farther, just twenty five meters from the zombies, and began firing. He had taken one look, realized what they were and automatically aimed for the head. It turned out those old zombie survival guide books he read back in middle school were paying off. His aim was true, and brains splattered all over the ground while Evan grew excited at the violence. He chuckled inaudibly as he shot them each once again in the head. Double tap, just to make sure.

Nate shook Fluttershy until she woke, ignoring the zombies since he knew his insane friend would have no problems. She blinked at him dazedly before eeping at the blood in the distance.

“OH MY! W-w-w-w...” She passed out again, her tiny form collapsing again into the ground. Nathaniel just shook his head and picked the tiny pony up, carrying her back to base camp. Pinkie had been bluntly struck in the flank by one of them, but probably quite hard, due to her reaction.

“Come with me Pinkie Pie.” Came Nates gentle voice, and the scared, normally bouncy pony somberly approached him. He knelt down and examined her flank, carefully running his fingers over the bruise forming. There was no skin broken, so she seemed to be okay, just a bit shaken. “You’re fine, don’t worry Pinkie.”

“You’re a doctor?” That was Twilight’s voice, as she had been watching the man.

“I’m a lot of things Twilight.” He didn’t even turn to face her, still comforting the pink horse. “It’s something you need to learn. Evan, Bromley, and I... We are all a lot of things. Do not stereotype one of us for another.” He walked away from the Pinkie to go tend to other things.

“So yeah, we have zombies.” Evan said to Bromley, the rifle slung over his back now. The captain just shook his head murmuring about how nothing surprised him after talking ponies. Zombies were so typical.

“What are those?” Rainbow Dash asked, almost nervously.

“People who aren't dead anymore and want to kill everything. They’re pretty popular in books written back where we come from.” Nate said, stepping in. She backed up for a moment, but then puffed out her chest, looking brave. Meanwhile Twilight tried to not shrink back from the humans.

“This is crazy! These people act so calmly after just murdering something. But Nate did say they were already dead...” Twilight thought to herself. “I must learn more, in case the girls and I are actually in danger being with them...”

Nate remained awake on the roof to stand guard that night, who would eventually switch with Evan. Applejack had difficulty sleeping, and Pinkie just laid there, wide eyed. Fluttershy rested on the roof, and Rainbow Dash and Bromley were asleep. Twilight was taking notes by the corpses, and Rarity was cleaning. They had managed to salvage some lights from the cockpit. The things had enough juice to last quite awhile by Evan’s standard.

Chapter 3
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The Herd

Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The night was chilly, and everypony huddled around Nate, finding his presence to be the least disturbing. Evan was presumably asleep in his own room, and the Captain was probably thinking over things alone. Fluttershy was nuzzled up against Nate’s side, and the rest of the ponies grouped around her. She was terrifically warm and sleepy because of this. She currently ran the risk of tipping onto someone, because she was so dozy. She tried to make conversation to stay awake. “So... Uhm... Nate... Um... Is the rocket finished?”

“No. No not even close. We need so many more parts. Pieces like the motor are impossible to build right now, and we have almost no fuel. We might be able to..” Nate was cut off by Rarity screaming.

“You mean we can’t build the ship? And then we can’t get off of this rock! We are going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives! Oh we’ll never see our families again!”

“No Rarity that’s not what I mean. All I’m saying is that...” Nate tried to explain but chaos interrupted. The rest of the ponies burst into cries and tears for their loved ones. Twilight went a wailing rampage about her baby dragon, Spike. Applejack took it to heart about poor little Apple Bloom. Rainbow Dash looked saddened, her dreams of joining the Wonderbolts crushed. Pinkie Pie turned dangerously desperate for some cupcakes, her hair straightening slowly.

“E-everypony please calm down. I... I’m sure Nate has a solution.” Fluttershy was on Nate’s side attempting to calm everypony down. But what she had said was false, Nate didn’t have a solution yet. They had no means of constructing anything at the moment. He was about to tell Fluttershy that she was wrong, but then realized the ramifications of doing that. If he let loose the information that he had no idea what to do, even more chaos would ensue. Instead he did the smart thing. He calmly clapped his hands together, alerting everypony more than a yell would have and once he had everypony’s attention he called them into a circle. It was time for some therapy. Nate started with Fluttershy. Her story would probably be the least exciting but still interesting. That might get everypony to calm down.

“Fluttershy what do you do at home? Back in Equestria?”

“Oh I um... I take care of all the little animals in the town. All the tiny bunnies and birds,” Fluttershy told her whole story. It was rather relaxing to everyone present and Rarity finally stopped bawling her eyes out. Nate asked all of them about their stories and the whole of it took about an hour and a half.

“You all have such nice lives back home. Which is why I am not going to stop working on this rocket to get us home. You will be the first stop on our travels. I promise.” Nate turned the whole chaotic scene into a calm, serene, and hopeful one. The ponies and Nate went to bed shortly after.

The next day went by like any other and the night was almost the same. A light was set in the middle of everypony. Everypony, even the captain, crowded around in a circle and allowed each other to keep warm. Despite the captain being there, Evan sat on the opposite side of everyone in the shelter. He stared at the pairs of people and ponies. Nate was cuddling with both Fluttershy and Twilight, one under each arm. Bromley was talking with Rainbow Dash, as usual. But instead of her normal blushing that she did whenever she was near the man, she was laughing right along with his jokes. His sense of humor was dry and raunchy, but Rainbow Dash loved it.

“Oh just pork already. It's going to happen at one point in time or another. So do it before we’re all dead,” Evan thought spitefully. The rest of the ponies; Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, were all huddled as close to the shelter as they could be. Evan was bored out of his mind so he got up silently, for he had learned how to ghost about just for the fun of it. The same reason he learned how to skate or how to throw a magnificent punch even with his significant lack of weight, and therefore momentum. Only Bromley noticed, but the only thing he did was raise an eyebrow at him. He looked at him in concern for a moment, before going back to chatting, finding his pilot’s actions somewhat ignorable. No one else even looked up. Nate was double flirting and Bromley was doing just as well so why should Evan miss out on the fun? He would get some, just maybe a different brand of it. Instead of heading towards the group, he headed out into the barren wasteland. He had stuffed a few bits of material in his pocket and he set it down on the ground about half a mile away from base camp. It glowed green just as the first fire they had lit did, and just as before; zombies rose up.

Evan put a smile on his face, and took one deep breath before drifting into a quiet chuckle. The first of the brutes came at him, and he countered with one long sweep with his leg through its torso. The first death of their comrades slowed them down, as if they still had feelings or were actually apprehensive towards the single figure standing in front of them, but it didn’t even phase Evan as he took a chance to look awesome. Striking a pose, he kept his balance on his single foot and hoisted his other foot above his head, creating a straight line between them.

“Come at me bro,” He said quietly but still out loud. Another one came close with several coming behind it. Evan brought his raised foot down on the closest one and instead of tearing through it as he did before, he launched himself up. While in the air, he took a graceful flip and landed with his fists down and arms straight into the shoulders of one of the ghouls in the middle, intentionally surrounding himself with moving dead flesh. The undead he had landed on flattened as much as it could before springing back into shape awkwardly and off to the side. Evan took the small amount of time that he was on his hands to spin like his favorite character from an anime he used to watch. He recollected that it was a show about pirates. The lone fighter had made a small clearing and stood up. In the small second it took for the zombies to close back around him he wondered how far back his fighting ways dated. Granted that one move was only from a show about pirates, but he had taught himself to use Persian scimitars, Medieval claymores, and oriental halberds. All he had learned was how to strike without hurting himself, but that seemed enough. The horde had grown significantly larger but Evan still just stood, lost in his thoughts. That was until he was thrown into a demonic mosh pit. His eyes went from staring thoughtfully into the ground, to the sky, and into the face of one zombie to the crotch of another. The first shift was from a hard swing from the arm of a zombie into Evan’s gut, sending his head up, but the rest of him down to the floor.

The second shift was from an accidental but still detrimental knee to the face forcing him to stand up and spin. One of the zombies headbutted him, and sent his face towards the crotch of another. By the sixth or seven hit Evan was tired of being thrown around, and pushed as hard as he could with his legs and ankles, tackling the zombie he was now facing. “I’m done with that, and I’m done with you. All of you!” he still spoke out loud, even if it was to no one. On the last words, he spun, and landed his fist on the side of the closest head. The head flew off and hit another, toppling the body it was attached to. The body was crushed and killed as the zombies came closer to their target. As he killed, Evan’s smile grew back, for he had lost it as he was thrown around. The side of his face hurt, and the smile did not help at all. “Time for some fun,” he thought to himself.

Back at camp, everyone was doing great. Bromley ignored the sinking feeling he had, and kept his attention focused on Rainbow Dash. God, this damn pony was so interesting and cute. Applejack however had begun to worry about the poor lonely boy on the other side of the small occupied area she stood up and walked over to where she thought he used to be sitting. There was nothing there, but she hadn’t noticed because for most of the walk over there she was looking expectantly at her friends, pleading them with her eyes to give her the lines that would cause the boy to come over. Unfortunately for her, they just smirked, and watched her in action; Rainbow Dash even winked at her. Evan was not there but nonetheless, she began talking to the nothing and invited it over to their small group. She then saw that no one was there. He had gone somewhere.

She felt stupid. How had she not seen him disappear? She had been keeping such a close watch on him. Her friends laughed and rolled along the floor, but she ignored the unworried ponies. She knew that lonely people and ponies could be dangerous and do stupid things. Her misery was then interrupted by a scream. It didn't sound angry or terrified though. More like one of Pinkie Pie's screams, giddy and joyful. Bromley jumped to his feet, eyes narrowing dangerously. He didn't pick up on the joyous tone and began to worry about all of his comrades.

“Where in the name of Zeus's thundering butt hole did Evan run off to?” Before he could ask a follow up question another yell pierced the air, letting everyone know which direction it was coming from, and where Evan hopefully was. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh ha ha ha ha” The scream turned into laughing in the middle, confusing everyone. Without even stopping to question the noise, everyone just began loading up on weapons and ran towards the sound.

When they finally reached the source of the laughter and screaming, they encountered a mass of zombies, who were only interested in one thing which was at the center. Bromley took aim with one of the rifles knowing that even if they ran away, this horde would find them. The battlefield would be less cataclysmic if it wasn't at their base. He was just about to pull the trigger. 1....2....3... -gasp- he held his breath. “Head shots only,” he told himself. His finger pulled back, but he stopped. “Fuck... I know that laugh...” he continued aiming, but he took his finger off the trigger. “Ha ha ha ha ha! Rrrrraaaaaaaahhhhh! Die! Bwa ha ha ha,” the screams rang out again. The whole group knew who was in the middle. It was Evan. Bromley sighed, knowing of his friend’s psychotic tendencies.

“This human blows the other one out the water. Insanity levels anyways,” Twilight said to herself. “Better go help him. Although I would love to see if humans are really powerful enough to take on this many. Wait has he been... LAUGHING? Why isn’t Bromley helping him?!”

“This is what boredom gets you, amazing fun and a horde of zombies,” thought Evan as he splintered the showing ribs of a zombie. “How many have I killed?” he launched himself onto the head of a crawling zombie, instantly splattering what was left of the decayed skin over the ground. “Oh probably ten or twenty already. I should start counting! That might be fun! I wont include those other ones so that was one” he scissor kicked another in the face sending the head flying. “Learning parkour was apparently a good thing. Two” He landed crouched from the high jump and limited time to bring his legs back to a standing position. He forced his hand down hard onto the ground and broke ankles of zombies by spinning. “Skateboarding was nice too I guess” he brought down his foot from above his head onto a skull. “Three. That wasn't as wasted of an hour as I thought. All of this has been so...” his thoughts were cut off by the sound of flapping wings. He saw Rainbow Dash shoot into the sky just as he ripped the head off of the last remaining zombie that he had broken the ankles of, letting it roll along the ground and trip a few of its comrades.

“Evan! What are you doing? We have to get you out of here,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She shoved her front hoofs under his arms and began to try to take off, but Evan yanked down and swung her forward into a zombie, dazing her and the target.

“Get yourself out of here! And tell those idiots out there that this is my fight. I want all of them! Now go!” He turned around to find the closest zombie was upon him. He shoved his hand into the deteriorating ribcage and grabbed it solidly by the collarbone with his other hand. He flipped it over and rammed its head into the ground but instead of sticking in, it broke off and rolled towards Rainbow Dash. She screamed and flew away, eager to be away from the horrible fight. She didn't know what was worse; the suicide of the boy or the way zombies crumpled in his hands.

“Everyone stop firing!” she shouted into the crowd of humans and ponies below them. The ponies were in charge of reloading the guns when they were out of ammo. The humans meanwhile shot the rifles.

“What do you mean? He’s obviously getting overpowered,” Nathaniel called back while taking the next gun from Applejack.

“He doesn't want to be saved and I don't think he would need it,” she said looking back at the mass of zombies.

“Fine,” Bromley put his gun down completely and Nate followed suit. “If he wants to die, so be it. I knew he was in the mood for killing, but this is ridiculous.”

“He really thinks he can take on all of them?” Twilight was beginning to wonder why the man next to her was captain and not the subject at hand.

“If you get killed I swear to god I will kill you,” thought Bromley, well aware of the redundancy.

“Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. Oh counting is no fun!” One of the more agile zombies swung at him and he shot his torso towards the ground backwards and rammed his palms into the hard rock, shooting him upwards and into the zombie. The fight had picked up pace rapidly as the swarm grew larger. It fell to its back and onto the green fire, snuffing it out.

“Well that means not too many more will be coming. Oh well. Fun can't last forever.” He dropped to his knees and hands and shot his legs out in back of him knocking a whole row back.

“That's new,” he thought. It was somewhat reminiscent of what Applejack had told him about her job at the farm. The row of zombie went six deep revealing the end of the circle of death and his comrades. He waved and smiled.

“He’s nuts! Completely bonkers!” Twilight thought to herself as she sat, stunned at the beast in the center. She returned her gaze to the other ponies and humans and was taken aback. The ponies were all scared to death, which she expected. Nate wasn’t really scared, but he was biting his cheek to keep from yelling, and gripping his rifle tightly to keep from flipping out. But Bromley, was what surprised her. He was still, perfectly calm and unreadable, eyes calculating the situation. “And.. This is why he’s our leader. He can keep calm... under anything...”

The gap closed around Evan and the smile grew bigger. He ripped an arm off of a zombie and used it to beat it to death. “Oh the irony! That was so fun” Too much fun was a bad thing however. A zombie finally touched him. He spun at the sensation of the dead flesh on his skin. He turned to face his adversary and was jumped on by another zombie. “They can jump? This is getting to be so much fun!” He leaped and landed on his back, crushing the zombie. But before he could get up, another and another piled onto him. Eventually all but a few zombies were on top of him. He almost had his legs under him and he could see his friends. Nate raised his gun and Evan questioned whether he was trying to put him out of his “misery” or if he was going to try and help. Bromley shook his head at Nate and he let the gun rest again. He saw Bromley's mouth form the words “not yet”. The last zombie piled on and Evan’s small frail legs struggled an slipped as they tried to get under him.

“I'm dead. Oh well this was fun. Maybe I can do this again.” A voice in the back of his head said, “Your dying Evan. There will be no more fun after this.” No more fun? Unacceptable. He looked through the pile of dead flesh on top of him to try and see a place where he could squirm up to. Someplace he could stand up in. If he could stand he could live and destroy them all. An opening appeared in the mass of dead flesh. The leg he had managed to get under himself extended faster than he had ever attempted before and the barrier between him and fresh air broke with an explosion of limbs and one head. Evan brought his arms up sending more of the pile flying.

The ones that were still whole when they hit the ground receded back into their holes and cracks. Evan turned and struck with every limb he had, including his head, at every thing that he could reach. The mountain was torn to shreds in just a few minutes and it seemed hollow without the laughing. He wasn’t screaming either. His face was completely emotionless as he destroyed the mass below him. Bits and pieces were strewn about and once the unholy deed was done only one figure was left standing. The watchers had a hard time telling if it was a zombie or Evan. The thing standing in the middle of the wreckage threw its head back and laughed. A collective sigh was heard and Evan began walking towards the small troupe that stared at him, most of them scared. He slowed down as he looked confusedly at Bromley’s left eye twitching. Evan smiled a bit at him, glad he was taking it so well.

“Did you guys see that?! I took out all of them on my own!” he turned to see Bromley still staring at him stoically. His hand clenched into a fist. Evan had no time to react.

“Oh sh-” The last thing he saw was Bromley’s fist flying toward his face. The carrier of the fist grabbed the foot of the now unconscious Evan and began walking, dragging the unmoving figure behind him. The still conscious party followed him tentatively, most of the ponies terrified of the captain. He just disabled the most powerful thing they had ever seen. Everyone and everypony thought that it was a probably bad idea, what if they were attacked again? They would need this thing that the captain was dragging behind him. But they all remembered that the captain had not yet shown his full potential. The captain turned to face them, swinging the unconscious body with him. The head of Evan collided with a rock and Bromley dropped him carelessly.

“This idiot is not the most powerful asset to our team. If anything he is the least powerful. You all witnessed what he could have done to us. That group of undead could have easily marched into our camp and overpowered everyone while we were sleeping. This is not okay. Do not give him any thanks or admiration.” At the words he kicked Evan in the side, rolling him over onto his stomach. “He is stupid and reckless and we need to teach him to be more careful.” The captain made a point by sending his finger flying backwards and pointing towards the unconscious Evan several times throughout the speech. Even though the speech was made to make Evan seem like a bad person, Bromley felt the pride and adulation swell in his chest. He had always thought of this thing as his little brother. This damn little reckless bastard. He was pissed at the boy, but even still he had shown how strong he had become. Bromley picked back up the boy’s leg and dragged him along again, his back grinding against the ground. If the ground wasn’t already red it would have been in seconds.

“The captain likes this kid. No matter what goes on he is always going to trust him and rely on him. He faltered when saying that he was and idiot. It was slight but still visible, at least to me. He might not rely on the guy, but the Captain is going to want him around for a long time to come. What did this person do to deserve such respect from Bromley?” Twilight was lost in her thoughts again and was bringing up the back of the pack. Another thought nagged at her. “The least powerful? THAT was the least powerful? It might have just been because he was stupid but still... What the hay are they hiding from us... Or is the Captain... A lot more then he already looks to be?”

“Twilight are you OK? Do you need to take a breather?” Nate fell back from the front of the herd, and stared down at the silent, seemingly dazed pony.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I mean no. I’m fine. Just thinking haha.” Twilight smiled up at him, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Ah, I understand. What are you thinking about?” Nate asked, curious about what was bothering the small pony. Twilight looked down, knowing she wasn’t going to win this fight with so much on her mind.

“... Why did Evan do that?” Her voice was guarded, almost as if she was afraid of offending him.

“You mean kamikaze into like 400 zombies?” He grinned, trying to be a little humorous.

“Yeah, it’s stupid that he would even think about doing that.” Her judgemental tone didn’t really anger him, it was a common tone used by people who were ignorant of the outside world, or in the case of Twilight, had never lived in a disgusting place.

“He doesn’t like to be bored. He was stuck in a basement for most of his life with nothing to do but punch walls. And think very hard about the world and himself. It was his choice. There wasn’t much else to do on the surface, mainly because he had a very poor family. But when you think too long, without another person’s reasoning on the matter... to say the least it did some damage. We were busy talking away, and he was all alone over there. His version of fun is screwy.” He attempted to explain. She accepted it, and soon another question flew from her mouth.

“I see... Well what about the captain? How is he so... Well, unreadable? And... why is he that vigilant? He notices everything. I think he even saw Evan get up. He just didn’t do anything...” Nate winced at the question, the Captain might be a bit... confusing to someone like her.

“The captain... Well.. What are the worst living conditions you have seen where you come from?” He started off with a question, probing her for what she truly knew about hardship.

“Um... There was this one family that hardly had any bits. They only had two meals a day between the entire family!” Apparently nothing.

“... Bromley had meals. All three. But he had no one to share them with. His mother died of a disease, and his father killed himself weeks later. He ran to one of the nastiest and run down places there is and survived there. Every day he saw people get murdered, raped, or even tortured. He only had all of his meals because he did nasty things in exchange for them. He’s had his own share of things done to him, and he has to carry around that weight. He has to live with the pain, and the agony of losing everything he loved.”

“W-wow... That’s... So scary...” Twilight shuddered mid step, but continued walking, her eyes now looking sympathetically toward the man leading them. “But it doesn’t explain why the Captain is so observant.”

“In order to survive, he had to learn to become hyper vigilant. It’s second nature to him now. He killed a man when he was 15 years old. He taught himself how to be a weapon, and to preserve his sanity he began looking differently at the world. Most of the time he locks away his dark and evil side.”

“Evil?”

“Of course. He lost everything. Something died within him when everything around him vanished. How can you not become a little... Evil and screwed up after all that?”

“I guess I can see that... But you were saying?” Twilight nodded, then returned her attention to Nate.

“Bromley is... Just as insane as Evan. In every way. He just hides it behind a mask that he has developed in order to still be liked. Evan has a mask too but his is different. He went though a depression stage for most of his good life, but no one likes people like that. He needed friends so he made a happy funny mask. Bromley met him a little while before the creation of that mask. During that time Evan fluctuated between cycles of enjoying life and being brutally tortured by it. Bromley met him on a good day and they became friends. Probably the last time he showed any real emotion is when he heard Evan tried to commit suicide. Evan should have gotten a massive beat down but Bromley just told him off.That was probably right around when Evan started wearing the mask. He finally got it that he didn’t have any friends because no one wants to hang out with a depressing kid. That probably answers your questions about the connection between them.”

“Yeah... yeah it does...” Twilight was about to drift back into thought but then

Nathaniel asked a very interesting question.

“What did you think of us when the zombies woke us up? When Bromley punched that zombie?”

“Uh.. Well.. uh... I was very intrigued I guess. It took a lot of power and I know that. You all seemed so heartless when you didn’t break down afterwards though. You all can do more than all six of us can physically, but I’m sure our magic can overpower your physical attributes.”

“Oh you would be very surprised. After those two got to be good friends and Evan finally realized someone cared about him, they started training together. Evan had this waterfall near where he lived and he took Bromley to it. They practically lived there after that but that wasn’t what was surprising. What ended up happening was they stopped the waterfall. Not with a dam but with their arms. Eventually the two got to a point of training and strength that they could put their hands against the rock behind the water and give a large enough seismic force that the water would stop for a second or two. I witnessed this when I was bringing Evan some soup for his parents. And if they can stop a waterfall...” Nate paused and looked at the stupefied Twilight, her mouth agape at the news. “I’m sure they can do anything.”

“But even the force to keep your arms in a waterfall! That had to be hundreds of pounds pressing down! And seismic force? Like an earthquake? That stops waterfalls? Thats...” Nate cut her off. He was getting annoyed with her astonishment at the powers that humans could aquire.

“I know. I didn’t believe it either. But those two...” Evan’s head clonked against a rock. “They are something else.” Twilight was stunned. She had no more questions, or at least none she didn’t want to try and figure out for herself.

“My follow up question is what do you think of humans now?” Nate asked

“Oh you aliens are crazy. You have all the power in the world but you can’t build a rocket,” Twilight joked. Nate chuckled.

“OK. You need some clarification. They have all the power. I have all the brains they would ever need. Not to say they aren’t smart, but I usually plan most of what goes on. I get down to business right away and I solve most of the difficult problems they don’t want to work on. If anything, I’m the secret to their success,” Nate boasted, winking at Twilight. It was totally justified though. All of what he said was true. Bromley and Evan would still be at the waterfall if it wasn’t for Nate.

He was done telling stories for the night but he remembered the day they had stopped the waterfall. Nate had happened to run by the hide out right as the two placed their hands on the rock. He was awestruck as he saw them push and the rock shudder against their hands before the water slowed to a trickle, before finally ending. Shaking his head in disbelief he had approached and the two collapsed onto the ground. They both began laughing loudly as water poured down onto them, the exhilaration of what they just did getting to them. Nate knew an opportunity when he saw it. He was ecstatic. He obstinately ordered them to go and put those skills on the streets. Evan agreed but Bromley was not happy to go back into the darkness of his former life. The only reason he went was because of the money involved, and Evan.

Nate knew people. He had a nice life, a good place, but it was uninteresting. Life didn’t challenge his mental capacities. He hung out in the back alleys, content with his shadowy existence. People could get him what he wanted for cheaper than buying it on the Internet, and he could get almost anything, even illegal things. The hint of danger involved excited him, and he admitted he got a bit of a high off of it. That day he had taken Evan and Bromley to an underground fight club. He had been their before, and knew that both of his friend’s potentials were absolutely ridiculous.

The matches were wagered. No one bet on Bromley when it was his first round. Who would? He was just a sixteen year old. He was the first fight of the night and laughs emerged from the crowd as soon as he stepped onto the concrete floor. He didn’t react at all, as usual. A tall brawny guy with a cocky smirk on his face had come out and told him to go home. Bromley had cracked a knowing smile at that, and called out that the guy’s balls were too small to take him on. Such an easy and low jibe, but very effective on a fighting floor. The bald man had charged him with a roar of annoyance. It didn’t end well for him though, as a couple of seconds later Bromley dumped him on the ground with a closed windpipe and a broken arm. He hadn’t even moved an inch. The audience stopped laughing. The gasping man was dumped outside, but Bromley didn’t like that and called an ambulance after carrying his body out of the area.

Evan happened to be the second fight of the night. He waved and blew kisses at the crowd, as if he were some celebrity. The crowd had sobered up, but still didn’t place any bets on him. Evan’s trademark, the insane laughing began there. He had never had so much fun! Actual fun. Evan dodged and weaved all of his opponent’s furious punches as bets were shouted out and placed. Evan was smart and let the bets rise until he earned over $300 dollars. When it was time, he let the opposition get close to him. Evan tripped him and took the chance to spin and land a heavy blow on the falling mans lower back, crippling his legs for the rest of his life. Bromley recognized the movement style and later mentioned to Nate that he was using “Chaos style.” Bromley picked up on the betting trick and placed the collective $310 on himself.

He knew he would win, and even if he didn’t; it wasn’t like they lost anything. Bromley let the bets rise and took the man down once it was well over $1000. All it took was a foot to the face. Evan and Bromley made it to the finals, together. They would face each other. Nate was long gone by then. He had taken the money he was entitled to. He knew either way one of them would win and the other would survive. The next day when he tried to get a new illegal software program and some cigs he heard the story of how these two boys battled to the death last night. Nate asked who won but the man wouldn’t give a good enough description. He had run to Evan’s house to see them both bandaged and bruised badly. Evan was nursing a split elbow and recently relocated knee, while Bromley was hiding his shattered ankle and four broken fingers. Neither would give away who won. Nate was snapped out of his recollection by Bromley ordering him to help him lay Evan down on some blankets.

“Do you have a clue why this piece of shit took on all those beasts?” Bromley was clearly angry. He had been given some time to ruminate but it was clear that had only made him more furious.

“I thought you would have that figured out by now. We were neglecting him. He wanted something to do but we had nothing to offer him.” Nate was explaining as carefully as he could, trying to not place blame on the already furious captain.

“So why didn’t he go over and start talking with Applejack and them? We know he likes Applejack.” The captain’s rage was dieing down slowly. It was replaced by confusion. Usually he could figure out things on his own, but an unfamiliar concept was presented to him at the moment.

“You really have never seen how he reacts to girls have you? He is not your average baller, who just runs up to girls and shows them his dick. No, he leaves them alone and when he finally realizes that he might have a chance, he goes for it. And when there isn’t a girl present who he likes, or if there is a group of girls, he avoids them. He is also very very aware that he interrupts and destroys conversations when he enters them. Have you ever noticed that every time he comes into a conversation that he needs explaining of everything that has already happened, and when your done with that you forgot what you were going to say. He hates being out of the loop. Sometimes he even just comes in silently and you forget what you were saying because you had to address him. Thus he didn’t come over to either of our small groups.” Bromley leaned back a little, thinking. Had he really never looked into Evan’s romance life? Or seen how he obliterated conversation?

He had. But it had never effected him. He realized that he might be the only person who enjoyed the guy’s actually talking outside of his jokes.

“So why didn’t he just go to b...” Bromley was cut off by the unconscious boy laying beneath the two waking and sitting up very quickly.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh!” Evan screamed as soon as he sat up. A terrified scream. Bromley reacted quickly and sent him to bed again with another hit without looking.

“Why didn’t he just go to bed?”

“Probably pent up energy. Or he was just in the mood. It’s also very cold sleeping on stone. He could have been avoiding that. Do you know he’s the only one without a real bed? I tried offering one to him but he said that it was fun to sleep on a rock.” Nate didn’t react at all to the punch really, he just continued patiently explaining to his friend. Bromley looked down at Evan. To himself he thought,

“Why do you torture yourself friend? It doesn’t make you tougher...” Bromley stood up and left. Nate followed suit shortly afterwards. Bromley had plans for Evan. Waking up was not going to be pleasant experience for the boy.

Chapter 4
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The Herd

Chapter 4

A/N: Ey' folks. Welcome to chapter four. Hope you enjoy! The reviews have been great thus far, just wish there were a few more, if you catch my drift. Anyway, have fun everypony!

Chapter 4:

Evan was awoken by the terrible feeling of ice cold water pouring all over his sore face. The world was suddenly a frigid ball of hell, like someone had shoved icicles up his nose right after he got out of a hot tub. He gasped for air, and shot up, quickly snorting the water out of his nose. He glared up at Bromley in between eye rubs.

“Holy balls that’s cold!” he yelled angrily.

“You’re an idiot.” And then he was socked in the face again, because he was stupid enough to glare at Bromley. Once again, he was awakened by cold water to the face. Applejack happened by and watched.

“Could you stop please? That’s getting annoying.” Evan spluttered, this time directing his gaze to the floor.

“I’m satisfied.” Bromley let his leather covered fists drop to his sides.

“I should of never given you those damn gloves...You love them way too much,” was Evan’s reply. Applejack stepped inside the room and roundhouse kicked Bromley in the stomach, saying;

“We can’t be fight’n each other when we’re tryin’ to bar’ly SURVIVE, now.” Bromley grunted, and the warning look he sent at the pony had her backing up nervously.

“I do agree with you, but unfortunately my PILOT, the only person who can get us off this god forsaken planet... was stupid enough to go light a fire just to awaken some undead to fight off. For FUN of all things. I will never understand fully what’s wrong with you.” He returned his gaze to Evan.

“So the captain knows it was for fun. Has he done this before?” Twilight overheard the commotion and began asking even more questions to herself.

“You know damn well whats wrong with me. You just might not know the words to express it. I just wanted a little fun. All you people were cuddling and stuff and I wanted a little action too!”

Nate laughed to himself a bit at that. Evan seeking “action” from zombies... Oh that was funny. He dropped his weapon plans, and walked out of the room.

“SHUTTUP!” The loud call got everyone and everypony’s attention. Pinkie Pie stood tall and proud at the entrance to the room, her eyes wild with anger and annoyance. Fluttershy hid away nervously, while Rarity tried to fix a few split ends that had popped up in her hair when Pinkie screamed.

Evan stood up and his shirt fell off. Bromley had noticed that the back of it was completely torn apart earlier, but withheld from saying anything because of his plans. The weaker Evan was, the better. He bled profusely from the multiple cuts on his back from the dragging. The spot he had been laying on was soaked in sticky red blood and more flowed off of his back, onto his jeans and then the floor. Applejack gave a yelp, gained control of herself, and pulled Twilight into the room and tore the shirt into strips, bandaging his wounds. Twilight began casting a healing spell, and Nate took a blood sample. This was easy, given the excess, to ensure that Evan wasn’t infected. It seemed as though the man would be the only needed blood donor for the rest of his life. Nothing would clog the bleeding except for sealing the skin over.

“Nate... I hope to god these aren’t really zombies...” The captain mumbled to his engineer. Nate nodded and grimaced, then went to look for the med kit they had stuffed away inside a room. It wasn’t positive, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. “Also, Pinkie what’s wrong?” Bromley questioned.

“Friends should not be arguing like this! Even over a choice of music at a party, let alone a suicide mission,” for once Pinkie Pie’s expression was serious...Sort of... Bromley was about to start a rebuttal but Evan cut in.

“Ah! God that feels weird!” Evan was on the floor again, scratching at his back as the flesh sealed over. Twilight made sure that all the wounds were completely sealed. Nate injected the antivenin that he had found in the first aid kit. It wasn’t designed for zombies or anything, but it staved off snake bites and infections of sorts. They were all hoping it would work. Bromley glanced one last time over at the serious pink horse. She didn’t understand how humans worked, let alone insane ones.

“Now don’t go doing anything crazy, y’hear?” Applejack said, pulling a blanket over Evan. Everypony left as the cover wrapped around him, but AppleJack turned around to check on him again, only to find him shivering as the antivenin wracked his body with spasms and chills.

“Gawsh... You need t’learn to take care of yerself’...” She sighed and tugged the blanket away a bit to curl up beneath the covers with the trembling boy. She wrapped her long blond tail around his lower back, and sighed to herself, smiling a bit as he stopped shaking so roughly. Soon she found herself drifting off to sleep as well, her hat covering Evan’s head as it slid off in her sleep.

Hours later, Evan woke up to a wonderful warmth and apple scent. He snuggled his face further into the softness that was the pony’s neck and chest, the warmth once again lulling him to sleep.

“I could get used to this...”

“He had better not get used to that,” thought Twilight angrily, who stumbled across the

scene.

Everypony was exhausted after Evan’s suicidal actions earlier. It had left a massive impression on each pony. Rainbow Dash flew to the roof to sleep, while everyone else camped in their normal sleeping spots. Bromley, however, stayed up eyeing the night sky. He was perched on a rock beside the base camp. It was impossible for him to sleep, making him the ideal person for first watch. Evan was currently weighing on his mind, and he thought over the events that had led them to this strange planet. How his life would be much different had he not crashed into these ponies, and everything had gone according to plan. Suddenly something materialized on the dark horizon, and he stood trying to make out the shape... no not one shape but many shapes. He knew then what he saw another horde of zombies. “Can’t we get a fucking break on this poor excuse for a planet?!” he thought angrily to himself as he went to warn the others of the imminent danger.

“More zombies!?” Shouted Nate, staring at his captain’s stoic face.

“That’s right,” said Bromley, already loading a gun, “not more than fifteen minutes off by now,” Nate was stunned, after all those zombies Evan had obliterated, more were headed their way.

“I guess we’ll just have to show those zombies who’s boss then,” Nate stated trying to stay positive.

“Yeah. Go wake up the ponies, they need to be prepared to run if we can’t kill them off,”

Bromley said in an unemotional tone. He was in full captain mode, and he was going to protect his crew no matter what. Even if most of the crew were ponies. The thought struck him. He was captain of the pony brigade... The horde was growing closer. Bromley picked a point to meet them at, about one hundred meters from the house and headed out.

“WHAT?! More?! But Evan isn’t here to fight them off!” Rarity was in hysteria, one hundred percent sure she was going to die. Pinkie tried to calm her down with Applejack’s help, but both of them were on the brink of breaking down as well. Rainbow Dash sat away from them, tears gathering in her eyes. The captain was going out there to die for them. He couldn’t fight those zombies. Not like Evan could. Only Twilight was calm, as she was observing her friends. She noticed Rainbow and trotted over to her, smiling at the pony reassuringly. In a whisper she said;

“... The captain can hold his own. I’m pretty sure Rainbow. Don’t be so worried.” Her voice sounded so confident in Rainbow Dash’s ears and the pony perked up and looked at Twilight with large eyes. Fluttershy fluttered over (see what I did there?!) and smiled uncertainly at Twilight.

“N-Nate.. Will be alright. Won’t he?” Twilight grinned at her and nodded.

“How about the three of us go watch?” Twilight offered. Rainbow immediately flew out, the idea of watching a fight exciting her a bit.

“Well Nate... It’s been awhile since I’ve done anything serious.” Bromley stretched his arms a bit, tightening down his gloves.

“Yeah, you haven’t done anything since you went off the streets again, huh?” Nate inquired, lighting a cigarette and putting it to his mouth. It was hard to smoke with the danger of fire, but as long as the flames didn’t touch the ground it seemed to be alright.

“Actually, I had a few encounters out at the army camp. With some marines.” Bromley said, smirking a bit at the memories of the shame he had bestowed upon the few who challenged him.

“Ah... Well let’s hope you’re not too rusty.” Nate took a long drag, relaxing himself.

“You really don’t get rusty if you stay in shape. Then again, cryo fucked over my muscles.” The captain complained, popping a sore joint in his arm.

“I wouldn’t worry too much actually, you’ve pretty much regained all your definition in the past few weeks down here.” Nate mentioned, stomping his cigarette stub into the floor, satisfied with his nicotine high.

“You think?” Bromley took the comment in the least homo way he could. This was all just idle talk, the two keeping there minds busy while the wall of the dead moved towards them steadily. Both sighed and picked up their rifles, firing into the mob while continuing to banter with each other, keeping the conversation light hearted. But soon they were too close, and ammo supplies were getting low.

“Nate, I’m going in. I suggest you attack any that get through, and protect the ponies.” Bromley threw Nate his rifle. Just as he did, a zombie got close. Its mouth opened to take a chunk out of the captain, but it found it couldn’t because Bromley had literally impaled the creature onto his leg. After the powerful kick he shook the zombie off and headed into the mess. He punched one in the face, sending the head flying off, then hit another in the chest, sending its spinal cord out of his back and through another zombie’s stomach. That one dropped and Bromley finished it with an axe kick to the skull. A zombie dashed past him, but its life was ended quickly by Nate, who slammed one of the guns’ butt into its face and broke the things rotting skull in to shards.

With four dead, but many more to go, Bromley set to work. He ran forward, smashing one in the solar plexus, then using the falling body as a jump pad, he leaped off and kicked a zombie in the face, ripping its jaw off and splattering its brains onto its friends. Bromley landed on another, and twisted his feet slightly, breaking the thing’s ribs and destroying its mouth and nose.

Rainbow Dash just watched. Evan was good at fighting, so why wouldn’t Bromley be? It made sense, but holy hay, it was another monster out there. He wasn’t laughing manically, but the Captain did have a bit of a grin tugging at his mouth. She was close enough to see his eyes light up every time a bit of blood spilled across the ground. She grimaced as he ended another with a brutal punch. The torso disintegrated around his hand as he punched through, leaving a gaping hole in its chest and stomach. She realized it was unnecessary for him to do anything like that though, because the head was the weak point. He was just enjoying the power he held over the lesser creatures. Another head gone, more brains all over the floor. Bromley was just as murderous as Evan, but seemingly even more unbreakable. The zombies were trying the jump tactic again, and were starting to pile on the man, but he just shook them off and tore the bodies apart as they got near him. He had strong, large legs. The only reason he was more powerful then Evan she realized, was because he was bigger, and much more muscled. It really just came down to size and probably training. Evan might have a few advantages with his smaller frame as well though, but he hadn’t learned anything from a professional. Bromley had street fighting ingrained into him and military close ranged special lessons. Not that Rainbow Dash really knew this, but she understood that Bromley had learned from someone who had mastered hand to hand combat for a long time.

His blood was pumping, and he was enjoying this ghastly work that he was doing. The few zombies that got past him were ended quickly by Nate, who at this point was getting caught up in the blood lust that surrounded Bromley. He couldn’t take it anymore. The nicotine was wearing off, quickly being replaced by raw killing intent. Bromley was getting to Nate, and he could no longer watch. He headed into the horde, using the rifles as hammers. Brains splattered in front of his eyes, but he found he was getting no joy out of this. No, he was just satisfying his urge to protect, and nourishing his hunger for blood. The aura that Bromley had left off was surging through him, and in the moment he was a weapon as well. In the back of his mind, though, he was happy that he wasn’t as monstrous as his two friends.

Fluttershy watched as well, eyes showing obvious worry. She had reached out a hoof, unintentionally, as soon as Nate had begun attacking as well. She was slightly sickened by the display he was putting on. But she caught a glimpse of his face, and she realized he was not smiling or grinning like the captain. No he looked like he was putting himself through torture.

Bromley was starting to lose it, and he knew if he went over the edge things would get even uglier. Quickly, he steeled himself, and in a flurry of powerful blows, sent the last fifteen zombies back to their graves. Nate hadn’t even had a chance to help with them. Bromley’s hands throbbed for a second in minute pain, but he knew he hadn’t broken anything.

“Well that was a right damn mess,” said Bromley looking at the landscape full of the re-killed zombies before him. He crushed a skull in frustration, “Why can’t they just learn how to stay dead?” He shook his hands off, guts strewing themselves over the ground beneath him.

“Where did they all come from?” asked Nate as he cleaned the weapons, shaking a bit. His face was slightly green.

“Dunno... Maybe from that ‘fun’ that Evan was having earlier.” He glared in the direction of his recovering pilot, who was still unconscious inside their small hospital room. He turned back to Nate, only to find the man throwing up onto the ground. Bromley winced and patted him on the back. He supposed that his own reaction should probably be the same, but he really didn’t feel sick or anything. God he smelled like shit though. Rotting bits were never good. As he walked back to the ponies who were watching, he raised a brow at their expressions. Twilight was a little shaken, but otherwise calm. Fluttershy ran past him to Nate. He then turned to Rainbow Dash and he broke a little bit more on the inside.

Rainbow Dash stepped back from the man who looked like he was heading towards her. Right now she was disgusted at what he had done. He was terrifying, a merciless cold hearted fiend, a cold blooded killer, a heartless alien, a god who had struck down thousands of minions, power in it’s finest form. That was the only thing she saw in him. That was until his emotionless face broke as soon as she stepped back. If she didn’t know better, she would say she imagined it. For just a second, she saw pain flash across his features, and at the same time understanding and acceptance. He walked past her, his face once again stoic and a mask of indifference. After he walked by her, in his silent way, she bit her lip to stop from saying anything. She had done so much more damage then a zombie could of hoped to do, and all because of her limited understanding of how he worked. How he could deal. What his past was. She was an idiot in her own mind.

Fluttershy stopped about six feet away from Nate. He was done heaving, and he had moved away from the bile to sit down on the ground far away. His eyes were glossy, as he was lost in deep thought. His fingers trailed through the ground slowly, drawing up a fractal. Aimlessly he drew more, trying to alleviate pressure from his mind.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked shyly. Nate looked up, and eyed the creamy pony, his eyes refocusing through the lenses. His fingers stopped, and he took a second before speaking.

“... I will be. I’ve dealt with things like this before.” He said carefully, before sighing. He went back to staring though, trying to come to terms with a few things. On the other side of him, more fractals appeared, as he satisfied his need to do something creative. Fluttershy sat next to him, and comforted him with just her presence.

Evan had not participated in the fight to his great displeasure. It seemed he had broken several of his ribs, fingers, and toes during his little dance with the undead. There were way more bones he had broken but none of them were his. “How many bullets do we have left?” asked Bromley, hoping they had enough should another wave of zombies be hiding out somewhere waiting to strike.

“Not many,” was Nate’s curt reply, “I'm surprised we haven’t run out yet. One more ‘incident’ and we will be.” Nate worriedly bit his lip at the thought of running out of ammo. Knowing the captain, things would certainly get even more messy without any bullets.

Rainbow Dash hovered in the doorway of the room that Bromley and Nate were talking in. She tried to figure out how to let herself into the conversation, but instead Nate did it for her. He walked out of the doorway and whispered, “Good luck” to her. Bromley’s eyes followed Nate, out of the door and onto his next victim. Rainbow Dash hesitated, but was forced to go in as a voice greeted her.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” She almost dropped out of the air, startled by the low key tone. She slowly entered the room, staying silent. “No one really needs to see that side of me.” His eyes and face did not match his words. It was as if he was saying that because he had to, not because he wanted to. It was important for her to know. His face softened into an apologetic countenance afterwards though. It showed a trace of emotion, just enough to let her know. “I know that was pretty horrifying... watching me kill that many, in.. such a brutal way. I just want to say; that I normally don’t go off like that. Usually I can contain myself. Forgive me?” Rainbow Dash didn’t even have to pick her lines. Bromley had explained all of her questions that she had chosen.

“Uh... Oh it’s okay. I really just wanted to tell you that... that’s pretty cool. I mean you killed like... 10,000 zombies! In fact I just wanted to say... That I really... I just think you’re pretty cool. I mean you’re awesome! But I really mean to say that...” the words flowed from her mouth but she stopped when it took a turn towards the huge truth she was withholding. During her pause she told herself, “You love him. Just tell him. He will understand.” Before the words could explode from her mouth, though, Evan called for water. Bromley told her to hold the thought and walked off to help Evan. Rainbow Dash was literally left with her mouth open, about to spill the most important thing she had ever said.

“Are you ever going to tell him, darling?” Rarity invaded Rainbow Dash’s lost thoughts. She had a bit of a snobby look on her face, and she was grinning a bit. Rainbow had no idea when she had entered the room.

“I was trying to! Just... leave me alone right now...” Rainbow Dash floated away and rested on top of the now much bigger shelter. Construction over the past few days had expanded the place into a small complex. It had about nine rooms, each with different purposes.

She was currently perched in the middle of the roof, depressed about being cut off. She wasn’t sure if she could ever muster the courage to tell the Captain again. Really, she didn’t know why she loved him. She had known him for such a short period of time, but no one had ever summoned these emotions in her, especially not in this intense of a way.

“You want to know the real difference between you and me?” Evan surprised Bromley by allowing him to come into the room and find him looking as fine as ever, despite his shirt made from bandages. He needed them to heal his ribs. Bromley took a seat, realizing Evan didn’t want water. He wanted to talk.

“What is it? Is it that one of us makes mistakes and the other cleans them up?” Bromley was clearly mad he had been interrupted from his conversation.

“Your close. You do mop up a lot of my mistakes, and that is how this major difference forms. You kill a hundred or two zombies and get praise. Your little pony out there loves you. It’s what she was trying to say earlier. Don’t ask why I interrupted you. It’s for the best. But when I kill six or seven hundred zombies you drag me to Timbuktu and everyone is a bit upset with me. You are good. I am bad. I am also tired. Goodnight.”

“Before I go, I realize what you mean. But, you need to take into consideration the circumstances. You, Evan... The only pilot here, and the only actual hope, decided to have some ‘fun’. In this way, you almost got yourself killed. Now look at me. I was guarding my crew, which is my job. I protected the people, and I was ready to die for them. What’s more, is I didn’t die, or even almost die. This is where the difference lies Evan. Where as you are spontaneous and insane... I am calculative, and take things into consideration before I do them.” Bromley then left, pondering Evan’s words slightly, despite his own logic. They forced his anger away, and replaced it with semi-annoying guilt. He always knew that he had been the savior of people. Unlike a school janitor, he got recognition and praise for mopping up messes. Evan, on the other hand, was kicked around, no matter what his accomplishments. It all came down to common sense, something Evan sometimes didn’t have, and Bromley always had. It flawed them both, made them unequal. Evan always seemed to have something to inspire his thoughts. Usually on the matter of his own life.

That night, everypony fell asleep, despite their fear of more zombie attacks. Bromley climbed up onto the roof, and gently picked up Rainbow Dash. He carried her down and set her in her room, before going back onto the roof. He felt someone else up there, and prepared himself for an odd attack, but thankfully only Nate was there. He smiled at the man for a second, showing him he appreciated the help earlier that day, before he took a seat behind him. Automatically they both reclined back into the other. They were back to back, the full radius of the camp exposed to them.

“Ever killed a man with your bare hands before today?” Bromley questioned in his usual monotone.

“They aren’t people. Don’t think I puked because of that.” Nate shuddered a bit. He hated

puking, and he had been forced to because of the amount of smells in the air, the adrenaline, and the blood... He had freaked out a bit.

“I know. But have you every really been in a bloody fight like that before?” Bromley asked,

even quieter. Nate stayed silent. Memories flooded through him of a few fights in the past. Nate was startled when Evan suddenly climbed up, who had made himself silent to not wake anyone. Bromley had felt someone climbing up, so he was already staring over in the direction Evan appeared from.

“Hey, you shouldn’t be moving...” Nate said worriedly, his eyes showing concern through the glare in the lenses caused by the planet’s moon.

“Oh, let me be Grandma.” Evan smirked at Nate, who just rolled his eyes before returning to his old position. Bromley adjusted, and Evan joined the strange seating. Bromley decided it was best not to mention the conversation earlier. Now all three were leaning back against each other, creating a foundation for the others to lean back on. It was so metaphoric, that they each grinned to themselves. Quietly, they began to whisper back and forth, just like they had years ago, when their friendship had just started. Nostalgia got the best of Evan and Nate, and both of them showed an odd vulnerability and actually gave real laughs. Bromley let his mask drop for a few minutes to smile a true grin, eyes closed in relaxation. Friends. Often taken for granted by the human race, but not by the three of them. They treasured what they had together.

“No homo.” Evan whispered randomly. Even Bromley chuckled at that.

Dreams are powerful things. And Twilight was unintentionally creating something very bad in her sleep. Her horn glowed an angry red, and a silent flash of crimson flew out across Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy. In her sleep, she had cast a night terror spell.

Applejack opened her eyes, only to find an empty base. Confusedly, she walked outside, looking around for any sign of her friends. They were all there last night. Checking every room thoroughly she suddenly stopped. A bone chilling laugh reached her ears. It was Evan’s, but it was even more insane sounding and even less controlled.

“Evan sugah-cube? Where are yah’ hun?” She said loudly. There was no reply, but the laughing wouldn’t stop. She hurriedly trotted towards the noise and rounded the corner of the complex, only to scream. There Evan stood, mounting Twilight’s head onto a rock. Her eyes were empty, dark sockets, and her mouth was locked open in a perpetual scream.

“Oh, hey Apple! Do you think this looks good here? I thought it would brighten the place up a bit.” He smiled at her happily, his eyes wide and unstable looking. She shuddered and took a step back, only to find herself tripping over something solid. She looked at it only to find Rainbow Dash staring at her. But her hide was completely removed. She could only see bone and muscle and her rosy eyes. They were fading too, into blackness. Screaming she ran away from Evan, who just began laughing again. Her path was short lived though, because she slammed into Pinkie Pie. The pony’s back was facing her, so she quickly ran around to scream at the sitting pony to run, only to find Pinkie Pie grinning at her, blood dripping from her mouth. She gasped and stepped back, slipping on something disgustingly slick. It was Pinkie’s intestines. She opened her mouth to scream but a hoof stopped her. She looked up hopefully, but a zombified Fluttershy met her vision, along with an equally undead Rarity. They opened their mouths to reveal fangs, glinting in the sun. As they neared the only thing she could hear was Evan chortling in the back and yelling;

“YES! My pets! Feed! Feed!”

Fluttershy looked around the forest she was seated in. She was slightly confused, as she didn’t think there were any forest on the planet. Looking around she finally realized it was back at home! She was home! She started walking in one direction. She suddenly slammed into someone. Nate had bumped into her. She looked up his pant leg and to his face, a smile already spreading. But... his face... His black, featureless face was the only thing to greet her vision. His hands were wrapped in shadow as well, seemingly long and clawed. The only thing that wasn’t consumed by darkness were two giant, glowing eyes. They were purple, seemingly calm. But as his head tilted downward, and he actually eyed her, they burst into a darker shade, flames licking along the outside of them. Lightning fast he picked her up by the neck. She whimpered as he threw her into the forest. His clothes burned off to reveal a black, featureless body. She tried to let out a scream, but he covered her mouth. He raised up a clawed hand and brought it down on her face. She flew off with one eye closed, blood streaming down her snout, along with a few tears. She ran into a tree, dazing herself. Slowly she opened her eyes and got up. Turning, her vision blurred, but she could still see Nate. He was holding a long rifle, trained on her face. He was no longer covered in black, and his face was almost like the Captain’s. Dead. Emotionless.

“Hello... Shy.” A cold, empty voice greeted her. One deafening boom and it was over.

Rainbow Dash was flying through cloud loops, much like she would in Cloudsdale. She turned and saw some of her pegasus friends, much like Cloudsdale. It was Clousdale. She flew around it excitedly, not believing her eyes. A dark storm cloud suddenly covered the town, however. Many pegasus were getting sucked in, not anywhere near as great a flier as her. She tried to fly through it to save her friends, but to no avail. After several deafening thunderclaps, the large cloud seemingly disappeared. Cloudsdale was revealed to be on fire. She couldn’t believe her eyes. There was one small, black cloud remaining. She soared up to it and gave it a swift kick, hoping to send out water to put out the massive fire. A hand flew out of it and grabbed her ankle before she could follow through. The cloud dissipated to reveal Bromley. He threw her through a building, shattering it like glass. His face was still stuck in an indifferent expression. She landed among the flames, her wings lighting on fire. It was agonizing, and she screamed to Bromley to help her. He leaped down off of the cloud; behind him wings of darkness sprouted. Raven feathers fluttered through the air, and he hovered in place for a couple of seconds. Then he glided down towards her, and his cold eyes looked her up and down once again. Then he stepped on her right wing. It broke under his foot slowly, making her scream in pain. He stepped off before stomping down again in a different spot, shattering more bones as he pressed more and more weight onto her wing. He began to do the same to the other despite her pleas to stop, but he looked her in the eyes the entire time. That sick flare of enjoyment flashed across each time a bone snapped.

“STOP! PLEASE!” He stepped away, seemingly out of mercy. But soon the flames began to eat at her broken wings, and she was stuck on her back, unable to move as she would be in too much pain if she rolled over. “Help... Bromley... I love you...” His eyes still didn’t change. And he reached behind his back. His hand came back into vision holding a unicorn horn. He leaned down and put the horn to her throat, then began applying pressure.

Author’s Note - EpicFailFTW1528: Hey guys! We are uploading new chapters to theherdfanfic.webs.com before we upload them to fanfiction.net. There’s also an RSS feed button thingy there, so you’ll know pretty much as soon as we do. It’s normally about midnight US Mountain time [-7:00 GMT] when we do, but nonetheless, you’ll know. We are nowhere near done, so keep reading!

Chapter 5
View Online

The Herd

Chapter 5

A/N: Chapter five! Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but we (as a group) have been very busy expanding the story and not editing it. Which brings me to this:

If you would be interested in helping write this story, edit it, or help at all, message me. I will email you a template to test your writing skills and your understanding of our characters. More of this at the bottom. Anyway, enjoy reading, the rest of you.

Chapter 5:

Crying was heard from the rooftops. Bromley, still awake, immediately bolted to his feet, and Nate who had been half dozing, also got up. The two glanced at each other before Nate swung over the edge of the ladder with one hand and dropped to the floor, while the Captain just leaped down, landing silently. Evan was passed out and nothing really woke him up when he was injured. If he had a paper cut it was like he was in a coma. However, he did wake up when his head hit the hard roof and made a solid yet hollow thunk when it hit. Yelping, he noticed Nate disappearing over the edge. He caught up to the two by skipping going down the ladder and jumped down instead of climbing, rolling as he landed, and injuring his back even more. Bromley nodded at both of them and they split up.

Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy woke up almost simultaneously. Fluttershy was bawling, and Applejack was wide eyed and shaking, unable to scream despite wanting to. Rainbow Dash was silent however, the pain still so real to her. Her face was wet with tears of agony, and her wings were aching on her back. Applejack immediately got up and ran outside, her dinner from the previous night soon splattering onto the ground. With one last heave, she walked back inside, groaning. Evan stopped outside her door, planning on checking on her. His injuries got the best of him though, but was too tired to go any further than the doorway. He leaned heavily on it, not all the way conscious. Applejack turned to face him, his head already hanging down.

“Zzz... donuts... gghhhz- Hm?” Evan was still waking up, a warm shoulder pressed against his leg. Looking dazedly at the pony’s pretty green eyes, which were currently worried and scared, he reached out to pet her neck gently.

“Yer’... mostly not-crazy, right?” Applejack asked flatly. Evan grinned tiredly.

“Yeah... I like to think I’m closer to eccentric or zealous... or high... “ His head lifted up from the pony’s gaze and he stared into the distance through the wall- rather than insane.” He mumbled, going back to sleep on her floor with a thud. Applejack calmed down a little and went to lay in her bed, forgetting the unconscious body in her doorway for a second or two, before realizing she should probably take him to his room.

Fluttershy ran outside, wanting to find Nate as fast as she could. As she rounded the corner though, she almost screamed as her neck was seized by a strong grasp. Dark eyes stared at her for a moment before the grip relaxed. She gulped a bit for air. Bromley was holding her, and he let her go slowly, setting her back down on the ground. She sucked in oxygen for a few seconds and looked up at the Captain. He was smiling a bit, apologetic.

“I’m sorry. I heard screaming and I thought it was an attack. I guess there wasn’t one though...” She nodded and smiled to him for a second.

“It’s alright. Good to know we have protectors.” She spotted Nate and hurriedly left Bromley though. Fluttershy then fluttered over to Nate, and nuzzled him, glad he wasn’t trying to kill her. She ignored the tingle around her neck when she touched his skin. It was akin to that feeling you get when you walk through a spiderweb.

“No sleep for me?” Nate questioned. “I guess I have to protect you again.”

“I had a nightmare...” She began. Nate immediately picked her up and hugged her.

“Awwww... What about?” Nate questioned, putting his hand on her cheek and stroking it slowly. It was surprising how you could so easily ignore the Captain when he wasn’t trying to gain attention, so she decided to speak about her horrors.

“Y-y-y-you killing m-m-m-m-...” She began to cry and buried her snout into his neck. He put his arms around her and whispered if she would like to sleep with him. She took the invitation, still shivering from the dream. Nate, despite the fact that he medically couldn’t fall asleep, laid there with her until he knew she was asleep. He kept whispering “It’ll be ok.” Into her ear. He listened in with a silent ear as Applejack came into the neighboring room which was Evan’s. She talked to Evan for a few seconds. All Nate had caught was that she had remembered that he was asleep in her room and she thought it should be the other way. Also something about Evan’s pets... What had happened?

Bromley left the two alone. It was obvious he wasn’t needed. He silently climbed back onto the roof and took a seat exactly where he was before. He ignored the quiet chattering, and gazed out at the horizon. This wasn’t unusual for him. Being the silent guardian, that everyone knew was there, but never really mentioned. Why? Because it wasn’t needed, as nobody really liked depending on someone. Weakness pissed off the majority of people, and he tried his hardest to cover up his own, he knew. So, why make others uncover what he himself hid? His thoughts were brought to a halt though, as he heard hoofsteps from below. Though they were quiet. He looked forward, right as a blue pony flew up in front of his vision.

Rainbow Dash flew up to the roof, still teary eyed. Her wings welcomed the air, and soon she was looking at the slightly hunched over form of the Captain. She had suspected he would be up there, seeing as he liked the quiet and the... Darkness. She outstretched a hoof to Bromley, though she couldn’t really see him, as her eyes hadn’t adjusted. He immediately shook it as though greeting her. She looked into his eyes, the only thing she could really make out, and hope surged through her as she saw the mirth in his eyes.

“How’s it going?” He said, smirking. She looked away and frowned, the memory of the dream still very vivid.

“Nightmare...” She said, looking back to him. Her eyes made it obvious that he had done something in the dream. They looked fearful, yet disbelieving. He shook his head slowly, tugging gently on her hoof. She flew closer and he spoke sincerely to her.

“I’m never gonna hurt you. No matter how angry, or monstrous I ever become, I will not raise my hand against you.” She felt as though her insides fluttered. She laid down next to him and curled up, both because he was warm and because she was developing even more feelings for him, despite the dream she had just experienced. She still flinched though, ever so slightly as his finger tips traced over her wings. He stilled at that and he looked down at her.

“... I may be a monster sometimes, but you tend to scare off that side of me. You’re much too pretty for him.” She looked back up to him. Her cheeks were flushed, which she imagined was obvious due to his slight grin. She pushed herself up onto her front feet and kissed his cheek. She laid down quickly, attempting to hide an excited squeal. He chuckled to himself silently, looking up to the sky. The stars seemed to be more vibrant and amazing this night than any other. He then corrected his thought process to avoid being so... cutesy. Twilight had a very serious apology in the morning but most of everyone enjoyed what had happened after the horror so they forgave her quickly and set back to work. Around mid day Rainbow Dash flew onto the roof again.

There was no more denying it. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. She had waited weeks, to tell Bromley how she felt, despite how taboo it may be. Sure, there were downfalls. What would the fillies look like? Would they have cutie marks? How long would it last? She flew down to his room yet again, though this time making sure to knock. Then she noticed that he was sitting with his friends in the room next to his. She beckoned to him secretly, hoping that his friends wouldn’t see. His awareness levels were ridiculous, because he turned to her as soon as she appeared at the door way. Silently he stood, leaving Evan and Nate to look over a massive sheet of paper. Evan was almost completely covered in wrappings. His shirt was off but it looked like he still had one, the white cloth stretched all the way up his torso and along his arms. It turned out they had run out of bullets that morning, fighting off six of the disgusting fiends.

“Awwweh” Nate said, watching Bromley walk out. Bromley immediately turned and shot a death glare at him, making him quiet down instantly and whistle to himself, looking at the clouds. Evan laughed raucously despite the repeated glares that were directed at him. The captain continued walking toward the little rainbow Pegasus, eyes lazily roaming over her, unknowingly checking out the teenage pony. At least she seemed like a teen. He found her flank attractive. She found herself blushing despite herself,and twirling her tail flirtatiously.

“Br-Bromley?” Rainbow Dash began.

“Yes?” He responded, eyebrow raising.

“I-I-I...” She could hardly even say those few words.

“You, you, you, what?” he said, trying to alleviate some pressure from the conversation.

“I-I... I like you.” She managed, still not quite conveying fully what she meant to say.

“I like you too Rainbow. So far you’ve proved to be a great friend.” Bromley resisted the urge to smirk, as he already knew what she was trying to say, and was enjoying teasing her.

“No no no... I mean... I l-l-...LIKE you... So h-hard...” She said, standing straight up again and saying “I want to love, and tolerate the shit outta you.” Bromley chuckled softly and ruffled her amazingly soft mane, determined to press harder for her true feelings.

“Holy balls that’s soft. Anyways, so best friends? That would be awesome.” He grinned at her in an almost overly sincere fashion, though it was a total facade.

“Agh, no... I-... What do you call being more than best friends?” She said.

“Hm... Best friends forever?” He carefully hid his smirk.

“No... I mean like...” She slowly ascended to his face and pressed forward, their breaths mingling for a second, before turning bright red, and flying away. Unfortunately for her, Bromley reached out, grabbed her tail gently and tugged her back into his chest, smirking. She tried to ignore the firm arms wrapped around her belly, and the elegantly raised eyebrow above his eye as she squealed in an awesome way. Meanwhile, Bromley avoided commenting to himself about how warm the small form was pressed against him, and how velvety her coat felt.

“I’m still not sure what you were trying to say... Clarify please, before you leave.”

“I-I-I-” She was frozen. She had no idea why she couldn’t just say it.

“What she’s trying to say,” Twilight said, interjecting, having heard the commotion, “is that she wants to be more than even best friends.” “Even if it is the worst choice of her life,” she thought to herself.

“She already said that. I’m really not quite sure what you mean by that.” He released the small rainbow pony and allowed her to fly a small distance away.

“Oh why don’t we be blunt with the fellow?” Rarity interrupted, storming in due to the lack of perfection everywhere, “Perhaps it’s love.” Rainbow Dash had returned right as she said this and went bright red, her wings suddenly freezing mid flight, stuck out wide. Bromley calmly walked under her, eyes not moving from Rarity’s and caught the pegasus. Then turned and raised a brow at the little winged pony.

“What is love?” he asked with a confused expression on his face. Nate had to keep himself from singing ‘Baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more’. Bromley’s head seemed to bob side to side for a few seconds, but he shook his head to clear it. He knew what love was. The question was stupid. What he really meant was... “Who would love me?” In his book it was unnatural for any affection to be put onto him. But, he had read about odd love in books and such.

“Uuugh... You humans are stupid sometimes you know that? Love is the strongest emotion any being has. It brings two PONIES together to form an unbreakable bond. They usually use marriage to define it,” Rarity explained. She was going to say more but Bromley stopped her with a look.

“So Dashie... What is she trying to say.. In your own words...?”

“I-I Lo-lo-v-v-” She started nervously, “You.” The mumbled words were too quiet for Bromley and he sighed, taking her to his room to see if she wasn’t as nervous. He opened the door, and set down her quivering form, then knelt to eye level with her, the door shutting behind him.

“Dash... You were saying?” Rainbow Dash could not get her wings to fold in, and her cheeks flared hotly, as pink as Pinkie Pie’s coat.

“I-I love you.” She said more clearly, still bright red. Bromley hid his turmoil of emotions well, and calmed himself to make sure this poor little pony wasn’t about to get in way in over her head.

“Dashie.. I’m not the heroic, amazing... courageous guy you may think I am.”

“It’s true! He’s even more so!” Evan butted in, supporting his friend whole heartedly. Bromley shooed him away politely with a hard slam of the door to his face. You could hear screaming and laughter that involved many curses. “OWWW... Hahaha! Oh! Ow! MY FUCKING FACE. Ow that fucking hurts ha ha ha! Ow! Ha ha ha!” When the sound ceased Bromley continued.

“I’ve done things I’m not proud of, and I will do more things I’m not proud of. I’ve lied, stolen, seen the darkest side of the world. I’ve even killed.”

“Liar!” came a voice from outside the door. Bromley gave it a cataclysmic kick and the door flew open wide, then closed again as it bounced off a body. Another thud was heard as said body hit the floor.

“I’m not saying that it’s not mutual, but I really would hate to see you hurt, especially by me. If you’re willing to take a risk, then I’ll do the best I can to keep you happy, safe, and... Loved.” She couldn’t contain herself. She hugged him tightly, nearly tackling him. Nate stepped over the unconscious Evan, poked his head in, then simply walked away, assuming they were “busy”. Bromley hugged her back, a flurry of emotions rushing over him. He was just barely thinking over future details, but what did that matter? Only this moment, right now mattered. He smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth spread across his chest. How long had it been since he had been in this close proximity with someone... without trying to rip out their jugular? He could not remember, or even remember anything negative in his life. He could hardly remember his name. The only thing that pulled him away was the now awake Evan calling out for another pickaxe.

“Dashie.. I probably need to go. Do you want to come gather supplies with me?”

“Why not?” She said, following him closely as he stood up and left through the door. She paused for a moment. Bromley turned around and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. She reached up and grabbed his collar, blushing of course, and lightly pressed her lips onto his. He was taken aback for a few moments, but was just fine with it after aforementioned few moments. Evan walked by and stopped, dropping the pickaxe he was holding and stared, slightly bewildered and very mildly startled. Nate looked at what Evan was looking at.

“Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweh!!!” Nate said as loudly as he could. Rainbow Dash was bright red, and Bromley was blushing a very light shade of pink, a veiled threat in his eyes apparent. They walked briskly down the hall, out of sight.

“Well if that’s what trips your trigger,” Evan said nonchalantly acting as if he hadn’t just been knocked out and continued walking. He stopped and fell down laughing. “Ha ha that’s a funny innuendo right there!” He stopped laughing but still lay on the ground on his back. The odd couple undid their hiding and stared at the strange young man. “That reminds me of a sad story. I wont tell it to you now. Only when the evidence becomes more.... permanent” He flipped himself up and skipped off. They could hear him singing down the hall.

“Three dead men, in the woman’s chest

“None been saved, and none been blessed

“Eyes on watch, for the next prey to be

“The folly of a king, kills you and me”

Nate stumbled into Fluttershy in the hallway, almost falling onto his back. He blinked at the pony, slightly confused that he hadn’t noticed her.

“Oh.. uh... Nate. Can I talk to you for a minute? uh.. i-i-if you don’t mind.” Fluttershy had caught his attention.

“Hm? Oh, of course.” Nate responded, sitting down so that he would be at eye level with her.

“I just thought that maybe since Rainbow Dash and Bromley are... together... that maybe you.. and I-I could - could maybe...”

“Oh I-I...” Nate responded nervously at first. He thought it ironic that he sounded so much like her at that moment. “I’d love to.” Fluttershy was about to squeal for joy when Evan flew threw a window, and landed next to them, scaring the bejeebus out of the pair. Really, his constant sneaking and odd, almost teleportation like habits, were becoming awkward. It was hard to tell how he had gotten outside, seeing as he had walked away FURTHER into the building a few seconds ago.

“After all this is done I wonder who gets Rarity and Pinkie Pie and Twilight”

“Oh, you never know. They might pair up amongst themselves. Wait, why didn’t you mention Appleja-” Nate said almost sarcastically, but getting interrupted.

“Oh won’t that be fun to watch! Oh better go!” Evan sprinted off in a direction that held no value whatsoever to anyone at the camp. There was literally nothing in that direction. Not even mines.

Nate laughed and put his arm over Fluttershy’s neck. She shied away at first but warmed up to the idea as Nate pulled closer. She nuzzled his cheek. He blushed a little and looked into her big, soft, blue eyes. She looked back into his. Their foreheads touched, and they both closed their eyes. They both smiled a giddy grin, stood up, and sauntered down together into Nate’s lab.

Evan was completely lost. He had gone out into the middle of the wasteland just to avoid talking about his relationship with Applejack. Nate was going to make fun of him. He was sure. His paranoia got the better of him and he dropped his supplies and spun around quickly, looking in every direction. “Come out come out wherever you are... I know your there...” Evan spoke to no one. “I know your watching me... Come on. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not crazy. I know your there! You’ve been watching me for my whole life. Why don’t you just come out?” Evan straightened up and put his hands into fists. “If you wont come out... I guess I'll just have to find you!” Evan began swinging at nothing. He axe kicked the air and three finger punched nothing. “My god, you’re pretty ninja. But avoid a Hadouken!” Evan thrust his hands, connected at the wrist, in front of him, allowing a small “pshew” to escape his lips. “I’m not crazy... I’m not crazy” Evan sat down and muttered to himself. He began sobbing silently. No tears flowed but he still shuddered as if he were actually shedding tears. A few minutes passed of him sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him and his torso bent over before a voice came to him. “You need people Evan. Don’t break down. Just go back,” a voice in his head told him. “Okay...” Evan stood up and grabbed the scattered supplies. He held them close to his chest as if it were his favorite blanket and he was three again, or like a small school girl, or gay school boy, with supplies papers and binders. He headed back to school.

Nate and Fluttershy were chilling in his lab, not doing any real work. They were talking and sending mental attacks. The war over information on the other person had started. Both were desperately trying to find out more about the other. Verbal covers were cascading down as well. “So what do you do in your free time? What kind of music do you listen to? What’s your favorite color?” The covers were deliberate and helped. By the way the other genius answered the false question the asker could determine what exactly they meant. A tentative answer to the color question meant that the person or pony had something to hide. The free time question answered what the person’s real interests were. Fluttershy was easy to read but she bombarded Nate’s mental barriers with everything she had. Nate eventually cracked when a question was repeated, his smirk giving away everything. Battle to the death ensued and lasted hours. Evan tried to watch but it was so boring. He didn’t comprehend what they were doing, to him it seemed like idle conversation. It was more fun to watch Bromley and Rainbow Dash. It was really challenging to try and figure out if the awkward touches between them were planned or actually accidental. “They have no idea...” He thought to himself. Bromley would accidentally put his hand on top of her hoof, reaching for the same wrench. Or she would turn to face him at the same time as he turned to face her, only to realize that their partner was much closer than they had predicted, accidentally letting their lips touch. None of the “kisses” were real one though and it cracked Evan up to watch how much pony slobber Bromley could get on his face. The best time, however, had to be the twister game they played. Rainbow Dash reached over his back to grab a wrench, and Bromley tried to go in between her legs to grab a nail or two that had fallen in a crevice beneath her. Bromley’s slipped and his head ended up going where it shouldn't. As he reacted she was flung over his back, forcing her lady parts to graze his face. Bromley stood up and walked away faster than his normal pace and refused to allow the stunned pony to see his red face. He yanked on Evan’s leg as he passed and forced him to fall off the roof onto his face. Previously Evan had been laughing his hardest, for more reasons than his own entertainment. Bromley’s face cleared up, letting him talk to the fleshy mat he had created. He told him off, letting the embarrassment clear his face the rest of the way. He shoved Evan off in the direction of the center of the complex and walked back to Rainbow Dash. They continued working, without the small screw ups

Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were sitting in the dining room. Pinkie was entertaining all the ponies on break, trying to keep a happy mood in the air, despite the dismal setting. Evan stepped in and saw the group. He counted them quickly and realizing there were more than one he turned to flee. “Don’t go! We can always use more of an audience!” Pinkie Pie called out. Evan took another step out the door.

“Oh yes you simply must stay. Pinkie Pie here is very funny.” Rarity strengthened Pinkie Pie’s plea. Evan stopped moving, his back still turned to the group. His head hung down as if he was defeated.

“Come on in sugar cube! I got a seat open next to me,” Applejack motioned to the rock next to her. Applejack pushed Evan over the edge. He turned around and sat next to his favorite horse. Pinkie’s antics continued and Evan controlled his laughter as much as he could. If he laughed too hard it would get awkward, and he already felt bad sitting around so many girls. Evan was missing work but that was okay. He was sitting next to the pony he “liked so hard” and was being entertained by another pony. A pink one at that. Maybe he was crazy.

Greetings! Okay, SO, we have ~200 pages (11pt font) of pure content, and we’ve published not even a quarter of it, and we are maybe halfway to the ending. We need help with editing, and maybe writing because that gets tiring as well. I’ve been told that you guys are offering to help, which I love hearing. Or reading. In any case, we’ll have 2 templates up to examine your knowledge of the characters thus far and your writing style, if you’re interested. Email your submission to me and Improviser. We’ll go over them and take in whoever fits what we’re looking for. We like humor, just to note. Also, please write at the end of your submission whther you’d prefer adding onto the story, or editing. Either way, you will have to do some of both, but even between the other authors and I, we take on different roles. Anyways, I’m hoping we receive more than 3 submissions, at least. I can almost guarantee that we will be taking up at least two. Another announcement: We aren’t going by the name Black Banshee studios anymore. What name we will be going under is undecided. So for now, this is The Herd by Improviser, EpicFailFTW1528, and IntelligentScribblez, edited by a lot of people I’ll list at a later date.

Until then!

-EpicFail

Chapter 6
View Online

The Herd

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Fluttershy and Nate were diligently at work in the compact lab, currently stuffed away in a basement area. After weeks and weeks of recovering scrap metal, and experimenting with the some of the native materials and rocks, they had discovered that they could create a rocket using the left over metal, and a possible fuel source was found in the mysterious ore. Unfortunately they had to burn it, so the whole thing was iffy. The space craft they would create would not be large enough, or have even close to the capacity needed to get them off the planet. But, it could be used to check for something that Nate and Bromley had been talking about in secret lately. If only not to raise false hopes among others about more survivors being out there, they had decided to keep it to themselves. They wanted to see if Josh had survived the explosion. The chances weren’t the highest, but the captain was sure he saw him get in an escape pod.

It was decided that, in the mean time, Nate, Bromley, Evan, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash would go on a small space expedition. They salvaged several space suits, and converted two of them to be pony-friendly. They also created a small pod, that would suit their services. It was probably a one use only pod, and wouldn’t last more then a few hours in space. Also, they added wing holes in one of the suits to accommodate Rainbow Dash. It would be her that would retrieve Josh, if they somehow stumbled upon him that is.

The three people would be on every window of the small pod, looking for him. Fluttershy had figured out an engine that used a propeller. It would shoot matter and fuel out the back and the propeller would hit it, creating propulsion. It was quite an amazing feat from the shy pony. After about thirty test runs and twenty eight failures, they were ready to begin their search. The main problem in the test runs being that the matter either damaged the propeller, or the propeller couldn’t hit enough matter to launch the rocket.

Twilight packed enough food for two meals for six ponies. Fluttershy was following Nate around nervously. He was putting a few welding tools in the toolbox, just in case.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Fluttershy asked quietly, looking up at Nate with worried eyes. They seemed almost wet, as if she were about to cry at the thought of the human she had grown so accustomed to, leaving.

“Of course!” he said, kneeling down in front of her. A sharp bit of the rock dug into his knee and he made slight wincing movement but held his knee in place.

“B-but what if something goes wrong?” she asked. She was honestly scared and her eyes grew red from withholding tears that were growing in amount with every passing second.

“Then... then...” Nate started, trying to think of something positive to say, “Then... then I guess we’ll have to enjoy this moment we have now.” He hugged her suddenly, feeling like this was the last time he would see the pony, which was a somewhat depressing thought. Even though she was just a pony, she did bring out feelings in him as if she were human. He knew that people used to make special relationships with horses, close to what some might call companionship, and this put his mind at ease. She put her hooves over his shoulders, closed her eyes and let one or two of the tears flow. They let go of each other, and Nate leaned down to kiss the little pony, but was interrupted. Just then, Evan ran over and picked up Nate in an enormous bear hug, forcing Nate to pull back, and allow the furiously blushing Fluttershy to faint.

“I’m going to miss you Nate! I promise I’ll come back down safely!” Evan had Nate hoisted above his head.

“I’m going with, you... stupid... asshole!” Nate shouted, straining for breath.

“Right...” Evan put Nate down and sprinted over to Bromley. “Bromley I’ll miss y...” He was going to say more, but the fist that was shot after a harsh glare sent him tumbling the other way.

Applejack watched them and after Evan finished his silliness, he began hoisting a few final observation tools into the ship.

“Ev- Sugar cube?” she managed, walking up to him almost nervously.

He looked down from the ship at her. A smile cracked on his face. He already knew what she was going to say. It did bother him a smidgen that she was using the name his mother had for him so many years ago.

“You’ll get back fine, right?” she said, walking up the makeshift ramp to him, still looking up at him.

“Yes.” he said plainly, falling to his ass with a grunt, and surprising her. He set the things next to him, ignoring Nate’s angry reprimanding to be careful with his equipment. The smile was still on his face, and he was now on eye level with Applejack. He didn’t like feeling above her, and she might behave differently if she felt submissive.

“You sure?” she said, resting her head on his shoulder now. He grinned even wider at the

action, and stared deep into her eyes as he said his next words.

“I’m sure.” he said, slowly putting his arm around her. “I’ll miss you Applejack! You’re like one of the family now! I promise I’ll come home safe!” Evan began to act as if he were crying. Then sat up straight with a happy face on as Bromley began speaking.

“Come on you love birds.” Bromley called over to them oh so tactfully, motioning towards Nate and Evan. Nate quickly kissed Fluttershy’s forehead and ran up to the ship, and Evan hugged Applejack tightly and she trotted down the ramp. Rainbow Dash nuzzled her best friend briefly, then joined Bromley. She fluttered up next a window, and grinned at the ponies outside in a strangely completely carefree way. Fluttershy flew up to the window to wave goodbye once more, and carried Applejack so she could too. Nate waved back a little teary eyed, and the ship began humming to life. Evan looked over at Bromley and Rainbow Dash and rolled his eyes with a huge smile on his face. The two grinned at him, sharing his sentiment. He suddenly realized how indifferent the captain and Rainbow were to this situation. Maybe the adventure loving pony didn’t mind having her life put at stake, but Bromley was the calculating sort, and didn’t like chancing things. Then again, he was the same apathetic Bromley that he had known in middle school. Maybe he was just insane. Evan chuckled at the thought that his friend could be insane. Bromley just didn’t seem like the type to be put in a straight jacket. No, he was the sociopath, not the lunatic. That sounded about right.

“Blast” off was slow. Very slow. Slower than even a bike would go. Evan had the urge to make a ringing sound, as if he were a bell on aforementioned bike. Once they hit orbit, though, which took forever, they turned off the engines and drifted a bit. Nate and Bromley were going over some calculations with Twilight. The piece of paper the three were hovered over was covered with a strange scrawl of numbers. They needed to figure out the general area that Josh could possibly be in. Evan was playing tag with Rainbow Dash. He would vault himself off walls and take stabs with his fingers at Rainbow Dash’s head. She would try to fly after him but she soon found out that wings didn’t work in space. She lost sight of him and heard a small chuckle. Soon after she felt a hard poke in the back of the head and Evan flew overhead and Rainbow Dash shouted;

“Get back here so I can pummel you!” She launched herself off the floor and towards Evan, nailing him in the chest with her bony head. He flew over and down to where Twilight, Bromley, and Nate were working. He landed in the middle of the table and quickly apologized. His eyes widened as the Captain calmly grabbed a hold of his shirt.

Meanwhile, back down on the planet, the ponies decided to make themselves busy. Rarity began making food for the night, and Applejack kept her mind off of Evan by tilling the ground with her hooves. In her wild blonde mane, she had always kept seeds. So she planted what she could, in hope that crops would begin to grow. She based what seeds to plant off of what season it had been when they left Equestria. She planted tomatoes, corn, and celery, along with a few of her apple seeds. Besides the work she was doing, she was still thoroughly worried about that insane boy, that was now miles above her. “Did he really mean that I was part of the family? And what family? Did he have a big ol’ family like the apple family? Did he just mean the inferred family that the three of the humans had?” As she covered up the last seed she realized that planting had done nothing to ease her thoughts. She went to her room and stared out the window, still remembering the trail that the slow moving rocket had left. A thought came to her. A day dream of sorts, about what Evan could possibly be doing up there. For some reason he was buff, and in the Captains chair. Then she realized that in the scene, the captain was lying dead on the floor, as were Nate and Rainbow dash. Evan rose from his chair and walked slowly towards Twilight. Before she could witness the gruesome scene she was imagining, a knock came at her door.

“AJ, darling, are you alright in there? You sound as if you’re screaming into a pillow,” came Rarity’s voice.

“Oh yeah... uh... I’m fine. I just had a bad dream.” Applejack yelled through the door, her half truth bothering her immensely.

“You shouldn’t take nap in the middle of the day darling. It’s bad for your complexion.” Rarity’s hooves sounded off as she walked away. Applejack went back to her bed and sat down. Evan wouldn’t kill everyone up there, would he? He really was the only one that they really NEEDED to get back, as the pilot. A tear fell from her nose and she realized that she had become so confused and frustrated that she had begun crying. Evan would come back fine, as well as everyone else. She knew it.

“Bromley, this was an acciden- AH!” Bromley picked Evan up the shirt and threw him back over to where Rainbow Dash was waiting with a playful smirk on his face. She tossed Evan back by putting her back hoofs against the wall and swinging him by his shirt with her teeth. Bromley kicked Evan back calmly, then turned to his coworkers. They continued to mull over the problem, while Bromley occasionally made an movement to toss back Evan. “GOD! The nostalgia!” Came Evan’s scream, as memories of middle school flooded back to him. He often enjoyed the games of Evan pong that happened. They were not staged with malicious intent, but more as a nice release for all of them. This game of Evan pong continued between them until the scientists and the mathematically savvy captain came to the conclusion that the escape pod would’ve had a trajectory no more than two degrees to the left of the crash’s flight pattern. Nate quickly estimated, and drew a diagram on a new sheet of paper. With the new chart as their guide, Twilight used her magic to stop Evan in mid flight, and told him to change their direction to fit the picture.

The Captain called out a few orders to split tasks between everyone. Rainbow Dash kept watch out the windows and looked for any type of debris, while Evan was forced to do his job and take over the steering. Nate continued to make calculations, while Twilight focused on keeping the vessel entirely protected. Bromley himself stepped back and began separate diagnostics of the tether they had made to allow Rainbow to recover the escape pod. They turned the engines back on and directed themselves through orbit for about thirty minutes. Suddenly Rainbow Dash called out to everyone.

“I see something!” Came her excited tone. Nate rushed on over to the window and gave affirmation that the object was, indeed, a pod that looked exactly like one of the ones off their old ship. It was roughly two hundred meters away from where they had predicted. Sadly, their restraining cord for Rainbow Dash was only one hundred meters long, so they were going to have to break out of orbit. The only downside to that was that there was no guarantee they could go back without tearing their ship to shreds AGAIN. If that happened though, they wouldn’t be living through it. They needed to try though, no one was willing to let a living being die.

Twilight casted a spell of shielding, and held it there. Evan took them out of orbit, and even the captain released a long breath when it was clear they were safe. It took roughly an hour for them to get to Josh. Each and every tweak of the controls was risky, and had to be calculated before doing anything. The tension rose, but the captain had made his call. They were saving Josh. They were finally ready to send Rainbow Dash off. They released the cyan blue pony from an air sealed chamber, Bromley sending her a reassuring smile while she drifted out, which was one of the first smiles she had ever seen from him. It took her about twenty minutes to figure out flight in zero gravity outside of a spaceship. Soon Nate’s voice came over a headset inside the suit, telling her what to do. She followed his orders with care, much to his surprise, and was able to reach Josh fairly easily. She grasped the edge of the pod between her hoofs, and they began to reel her in. The captain quietly issued orders while this was happening. “Slow down a bit,” Or “Hurry it up a little.” were commonly heard phrases. Rainbow Dash was safely pulled back, and Nate was fitted into a suit efficiently. They let him out, and he pulled Rainbow Dash in, then used the tether previously attached to the pony to tie the escape pod to the outside of their ship. He made sure to take a look inside though, through the window on the outside.

Nate could see his friend, and he breathed a sigh of relief into his helmet. Thankfully, Josh was in cryogenic sleep, so the months of absolutely NOTHING shouldn’t have effected him too negatively. He reentered the ship, telling everyone that they had successfully rescued their old friend. Evan triangulated the ship in the correct direction afterwards. They piloted themselves over their home base and re-entered the atmosphere (which took no less than four hours). The craft kept groaning, but the shield spell kept it in one piece. Twilight, at this point, was straining, her mane damp with sweat. The captain could be encouraging when he wanted to though, and she kept the shields on until they began landing. That was less than smooth, due to the landing gear burning up in the atmosphere, which was due to the captain's premature order to deply them. He had growled a bit to himself, realizing a bit too late what that would do. They landed roughly, but thankfully Rarity had seen them come in through the sky, and had ran up. She didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but she ignored the ship and focused her magical energy on keeping the pod behind it safe. When the run down ship landed, leaving a massive crater, the pod gently settled down next to it. The door refused to open on the main ship though, and now Rarity and Twilight were completely drained of energy.

“God, why did you tell me to let out the landing gear? Idiot move.” Came Nate’s irritated voice.

“Yeah, CAPTAIN? Why did you? Huh?” Came Evan’s slightly mocking tone. He laughed at the captain loudly, but then felt a chill go up his spine. Everyone outside could hear odd sounds of running footsteps inside the pod shortly after, and then silence.

“Okay, you asked for it you bastards.” said Bromley suddenly, in an overly strained voice.

“W-wait! Bromley calm down! Bromley!” Evan’s voice blared out of the metal,

“Put me down! Dammit Bromley!” and mingled with Nate’s. The ponies, who had surrounded the crashed pod as soon as it landed, stepped back just in time. The hatch door suddenly detached completely from the ship, and Nate and Evan came flying out with it, both landing with a loud thud. Evan broke out into laughter, while Nate just shook his head in disbelief. Bromley had just used both of them respectively as battering rams to open up the sealed door.

Everypony greeted the returning heroes with glee. Business need to though first. Twilight asked Applejack to push the pod to her room. It was massive and round, so Applejack had to roll it back using her hind legs. They stuffed it in Twi’s room, which was barely large enough. They had caught two small spheres on the way back into the planet’s atmosphere, an orange one going on about space, and a blue one talking about how they should take him back so he could apologise to “her”, but they paid little attention to them. They appeared to have input sockets in their “backs”, which also seemed to have some function. Nate attached one to one of the computers left from their shuttle, and put the orange one in the spaceship, simply to satisfy it for the moment. He gave them little thought after that.

They had left in the morning and returned in the middle of the night, so Applejack and Fluttershy didn’t rest easily. Applejack was the first to emerge from Twilight’s room after observing the pod for a small amount of time. Hurriedly, she looked for her favorite human.

“Evan!” Applejack shouted excitedly, trotting up to the fellow. She leaped up to him and into his arms. He held her there in a tight hug. She was not normally one to worry about somebody as much as she did, but Evan was different, for some reason. She had never really attached herself emotionally to anypony before. At least not like this. She felt secure around Evan. Sure, he wasn’t the most sane being ever, and her daydream earlier did not help the feeling at all, but nonetheless, he was protective and that’s what she needed in a possible mate.

“Hi there.” He replied. He snuggled into her and she allowed him to. He really liked this pony, but he also didn’t want to tie himself down to anyone, or rather, anypony, for now. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. She helped him feel sane. It was a unfamiliar, but a welcomed feeling. Perhaps becoming attached to his pony wouldn’t be a bad idea after all. He decided silently that he would have to talk to Bromley about it. Bromley seemed quite attached to Rainbow Dash, and Nate appeared to just see Fluttershy as an assistant or friend. He may also talk to Rainbow Dash about what she felt towards Bromley. It was unlikely, but it may help him decide what he wanted to do faster.

“Nate! I missed you!” Fluttershy said, flying up slowly and wrapping her forelegs around his shoulders. He hugged her back. She knew that he was pretty emotionally unstable, but she still enjoyed his company. He was a lot more sane than the other two humans. He was also much calmer, and much more sane. At least in her opinion. She also knew that he was much more generous and caring most of the time than the other two. He was nice. And that’s exactly what she felt she needed out of somepony. What role he would play in her life, she was unsure of at this time.

“I missed you too.” He said, nuzzling her. He carried her inside, then began organising their sketches and plans for the future. He liked the quiet, calm pony. Sure, she was a bit too curious about some things, and was not quick to act with violence, but that’s a good thing sometimes. He needed something there to calm him down whenever he went off. She was a sort of relaxer for him. He would actively deny it, but that’s why he liked keeping her around. Getting angry was easy in apocalyptic situations. Well, not with Fluttershy around. He smiled when he glanced out the door and saw her pass.

Evan and Bromley were engaged in a less than comfortable conversation about the ponies and what relationships with them could be like. They were intelligent beings, able to think just as well as humans could. One could perhaps consider them humans enclosed in a small horse body. The conversation continued as they walked down the main hallway and into the planning room.

Rarity was going on about how dirty everything always was, and Pinkie was just being Pinkie. She kept yelling at rocks to be quiet, and about some person she saw, but as many would know, it was probably just her being crazy.

Except it wasn’t.

“So what are you guys up to?” a different voice said, originating behind Evan and Bromley.

“And that’s why it’s totally fine to... wait weren’t you listening?” Evan said, thinking that Bromley was just trying to be funny.

“Why would I say ‘you guys’?” Bromley said, turning around.

“Hey!” The person said, forcing Evan and Bromley to leap from their seats and hit the ground. They backed away slowly.

“Who the hell are you!?” Evan shouted between gasps.

“How the hell did you get behind me?!” Bromley looked offended that his ninja skills had been thwarted.

“I call myself Keenan. The other people around here call me Urrrghnngfood.” he said, mimicking a zombie. Evan and Bromley simply nodded, still confused as to how Keenan got there.

“Who’s Urghngfood?” Nate said passing by, hearing that last comment. He did a double take when he saw the third person there, and verified that he was still himself. He walked up to the person and grabbed his face, also making sure that he was a separate, real, legitimate, entity. He then decided that now would be an appropriate time for the double take he was skeptical on doing, due to the fact that he could have been hallucinating, which would have made a double take double take worthy. Keenan bowed to them and made to leave, but Bromley tripped the guy. He rolled back to his feet easily and turned back to the captain, who shot a question out.

“How did you get here?” Keenan grinned at Bromley’s question and began his epic tale.

“Years ago, on Earth, I was helping an arms dealer. He oftentimes put in orders, and I had the connections in order to help him. I knew guys practically everywhere, and people liked that I knew so many people, so I was highly respected. I was the king of all the middle men basically. I’m sure you understand. All three of you look to be fairly... Illegal. Anyway, unfortunately that all went to pot when .. Well some issues came up. I failed with some diplomacy and a couple of my friends began to war. So I had to get out. They followed, and I had to leave the planet. I smuggled myself as a stowaway, on one of the first body export ships, and made it off planet.” Bromley stopped him there by raising his hand.

“How did you survive? The zombies would of eaten you as soon as you touched down. I do believe that you could sneak on board, seeing as I didn’t sense you, but zombies are numerous.” Bromley questioned him professionally, trying to get all the information.

“I am a master of stealth because of my occupation, and I had several surgeries when I

was really rich for a period of time. Anyway, because of these, I actually do not smell of anything. I am scentless. Therefore, the zombies couldn’t sense me when they came back to life, and I was able to avoid getting eaten for years. The occasional zombie would become aware of me, but they are pretty gullible you know? Anyways, I’ll just be... going...” Keenan finished his story with a grin and made to leave, but the Captain stopped him once again. Nate had moved in front of the door, and didn’t budge even when Keenan nudged him.

“You are on my property right now. My crew has taken possession of the area, and you have no right to be here unless I authorize you.” Bromley blandly voiced. Keenan twitched a little at the words. “But... I need more people. We need more people. So if you would like to stay, you are welcome to; if you can make yourself useful around here. Most people in your... Field of work, tend to be jacks of all trades. So I’ll trust that you will be a valuable asset. Do you wish to join us?” Though everything sounded formal, the Captain was dealing with business officially, and Nate and Evan were used to this routine. Kennan accepted his offer with a bow, and went off to introduce himself to the odd community beginning to form on this piece of shit planet.

Nate decided to ask Evan to spar again, but Evan was a little preoccupied with introducing himself and Bromley, who was still stunned, to the new guy. The sparring between them had begun mostly because attacks were more common than not anymore.

The attacks occurred in higher concentration during high noon. This made the fights more... odorous. But it was also easier. Heat causes meat to rot much more rapidly, so the things were already sort of loosened up before the undead humans got to the house. On top of that, the zombies were more visible against the red ground. Their pale skin was also slightly reflective. So, considering these factors, and the amount of combat skill between everybody, this “threat” to their survival wasn’t very... well, threatening. Keenan actually brought a very useful fighting style to their group. He carried a metal pole, used much like a bow staff, and easily tore through the zombies with Evan and Bromley at the front lines. Nate would calmly follow with the blunt ends of the guns, keeping the ponies safe from any zombies that managed to get through. The ponies still sort of sat on the side lines, but Evan had spotted Bromley experimenting with Rainbow Dash (not like that you dirty perverts). He was teaching her to fight and use her assets and thankfully she had trained enough on Equestria to already be plenty strong enough. The only thing he really had to teach her was how to apply her power, much like he did. Because of this, Evan began tutoring Applejack. He taught her via anatomy, where the weak points of humans were. Where flesh would separate from the body, and where their small sense of balance originated from.

Ranged weapons were still not optional, but they were making fast progress as far as technology goes, so who knows? Maybe, one day, they’ll create space cannons. The sky is the limit. Not even the sky. The UNIVERSE is the limit.

A/N EpicFailFTW1528: WOOO! CHAPTER 6! Not that exciting. Meh. Anyways, we would like some cover art for the story. Please?

Chapter 7
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The Herd

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Nate and Evan had gotten into the habit of sparring to train. Every time, however, Evan would start laughing. It started usually as soon as he took a hit. It was rather disarming to Nate, who finally snapped. One day, while they were sparring, Nate had screamed, “What the hell is wrong with you?” Evan stopped moving and the grin on his face disappeared. Nate saw this and dealt him one in the sternum. Instead of crumbling over like a normal person, he fell over backwards like a plank of wood.

“I know I can be a little... excitable...” Evan stared up at the sky. He flung himself up and walked off to his quarters with his head hung low. Nate confusedly watched him go, then blinked as he saw Bromley follow after him slowly. He ran up to talk to the other man for a second, and was relieved when he saw that Bromley wasn’t angry.

“I’m sorry captain, it’s just... that laugh. It is not natural.” Bromley winced and nodded a bit, then looked up thoughtfully at the hazy sky. His eyes darkened a bit as he chose his next words carefully.

“Yeah... I know.. But that’s how he deals with it, Nate. As long as he can deal with it, that’s all that matters.” Nate remembered the last time Evan couldn’t “deal with it”. Not much got through to his imagination but Evan’s face of pure rage and desperation flashed wildly in his mind. He shuddered. Bromley sighed deeply and continued following his long time friend to his room, determined to empathize and see what he could do for the boy. Then he realized that this wasn’t his job anymore. Quickly he spun around, and beckoned his rainbow mare friend to him.

“Dashie... Go find Applejack. Evan needs company right now.” Dash nodded and flew off in a rainbow blur, unaware of the fond smile following her. Bromley sighed to himself again (he seemed to be doing that a lot), and busied himself with mapping out the area. A few hours ago Nathaniel had given him a massive piece of paper, constructed out of six magically glued together pieces. He sighed and carefully ran the barely functioning pen around the paper. He brought the pen to his mouth, chewing on the top of it thoughtfully. Karma decided to slap him in the mouth for something he did. The pen exploded. Again, in his mouth. “FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-”

“Applejack, we need your help,” Rainbow Dash called down to Applejack. She was a few feet above her, hovering in the air.

“It’s that dumb kid Evan ag’in ain’t it?” she asked, thinking she already knew what the problem was. Her guess was that Evan had gone out and gotten himself injured again. Her nostrils flared angrily and her eyes narrowed.

“It’s not what you think. He isn’t laughing right now, and I don’t think he will be for awhile if you don’t go talk to him! Nate did something to him. Well.. Not really did something to him... He just... Actually just said what we’ve all been thinking. He’s not hurt, hes just.... down. He’s cooled off too much, AJ.” Applejack began to worry. If Evan wasn’t laughing or hurt then what could possible be wrong? Rainbow Dash hadn’t given a very good description. She sprinted out of the room and towards Evan’s quarters. The door was closed. She hadn’t given herself enough time to think. What would she say? How would she even come into the room? Wouldn’t it be awkward to have a pony come into your room and try to cheer you up? She wasn’t even sure of what the problem was. Before she could knock, a voice rang out.

“Go away Applejack. I want to be alone right now,” Evan sounded miserable.

“How’d you know it was me?” Applejack was confused. Had somepony ran ahead and told him she was coming? Then again, the guy did have good hearing.

“I’m prithee to what Bromley does around here. I don’t need any help. I’m fine, see?” He opened the door with a smile plastered on his face. It wasn’t his normal smile however. His eyes told it all. This was all about something that had happened before, and he had been wearing a mask ever since. The mask had fallen off and he was still making a new one.

“Oh, sugar cube, yer gonna be ok.” his smile dropped. That reassuring voice made him feel odd, and he was unsure if he liked it.

“I need more time. I need to bury this and fix myself. I need to be better,” he said to himself. “Go away I’m going to be working.”

“Well how can I help?” Applejack cut in quickly. He sighed, stood up, and went up to her and patted her nose.

“You’re a very warm pony. You know that?” Both of them knew he meant that in more then one way. Evan’s eyes glazed over slightly as he thought of his life time best friend Bromley. The captain was the opposite of warm. He was icy cold, and would freeze you over if you spent prolonged periods of time next to him. Well, that was until a certain rainbow seemed to melt that exterior.

“It gets very cold at night, don’tcha know?” Apple’s voice broke into his mind, and he cracked a smile. A real smile. Not the crazed “I need to be better” smile. Someone he didn’t know for most of his life was making him happy. It was a new experience. He let her in, and even though it wasn’t anywhere close to night time, they laid down on his bed. “I’m definitely getting used to this” he thought to himself. She laid over him to keep him warm. He wasn’t the comfiest person ever, mainly because he really needed to eat more, but she was fine with it. They both drifted off to sleep.

Fluttershy, currently taking a walk around the complex, looked into the open door and saw them. She giggled quietly to herself and slowly closed the door, as to not wake them. She then wondered about something. She looked into Rainbow Dash’s room, seeing her moving everything down the hall and into a different room. She peeked into that room and saw Bromley organizing a few objects. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow like nothing was wrong at all, despite her slightly flushed face at the thought of her friend... sleeping with the Captain. Oh that sounded so dirty! Fluttershy then flew silently and gently to Nate’s lab, seeing him adding wings to the awkward space craft.

“Uhm, can I, maybe, if it’s alright, interrupt for a few seconds?” She said shyly. Nate looked up, his hair thoroughly messed up. Rarity saw this through the window in passing and immediately ran off to get a brush.

“What is it?” he said, pulling the goggles from his face and let them fall around his neck.

“Well, you see, I’m not saying that you’re bad or anything, it’s just...” Fluttershy began, interrupted by Rarity rushing in to brush through Nate’s hair. Keenan poked his head in and looked around, simply trying to get used to the place. Pinkie Pie was showing him around. Fluttershy sat there quietly as Rarity brushed Nate’s hair at least a hundred times through.

As soon as Rarity left and closed the door, Fluttershy continued, “Applejack and Evan are sharing a bed and Rainbow Dash is moving into Bromley’s room, and I was just thinking, if it’s alright, I mean, if you don’t want to that’s fine...” she said, looking away in a saddened fashion. Nate immediately pieced things together, as he sometimes does.

“You want to move into my room?” Nate guessed, directing her attention to him again.

“Yes! I mean, only if you want... I don’t want to impose...” she said, backing away a bit as if preparing to run.

“Well we can start moving you in now.” Nate said, getting up and starting to walk to Fluttershy’s quarters. He knew that this probably meant that their relationship would extend to, well, whatever the pony equivalent of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship would be. Unless she was moving simply as a courtesy.

“Oh joy!” she said, flying out quietly and into her quarters. Nate picked up most of her belongings (which numbered few) and took them to his quarters. She organized them until Nate came in with the bed that was in her room.

“Oh, um, you can leave that back in my room, if that’s not too much trouble...” Fluttershy said. No, this was no courtesy. She saw him as what he assumed the ponies would call a “coltfriend”.

“Oh... okay.” Nate said, wobbling back down the hall and replacing the bed. When he set it back down and returned to his room, Fluttershy was already in his bed. He laid down next to her, sort of awkwardly at first. She looked up when he did so, then jumped on top of him. He didn’t mind it, really. After all, she was his marefriend.

This was an interesting concept. The two were practically aliens to each other, but this didn’t matter much at all, it appeared. They seemed to have genuine feelings for one another. Not just Nate and Fluttershy either. Thus far, Evan and Applejack, Bromley and Rainbow Dash... it was almost as if it were contagious. Even though there were only five humans here, and it would be doubtful that any other humans would show up. Perhaps this was why it burned in Twilight’s mind. She hated the idea of ponies and humans being paired together, as did Rarity. Twilight was more prone to jealousy, though. She even had a human in her room, albeit a frozen one. She cracked the door open a smidgen, letting the cold steam slip out and the human inside to warm up.

“Hey Bromley?” Rainbow Dash quipped at the tall man who was currently stuffing away needless objects under the bed. He got back up onto his feet, turning and raising a brow at her. “So... This room doesn’t have enough space for another bed.” She said plainly. Bromley blinked a couple of times before answering.

“I thought that was already known.” Rainbow Dash blushed lightly, making Bromley smirk at her. She flew over and kicked him in the shoulder teasingly. He didn’t budge, his smirk fading to a small smile. She continued her train of thought.

“Well, I was just wondering if it was OKAY with you.” Bromley just shook his head, chuckling for a second.

“No, I’m just gonna make you sleep on the floor.” He said sarcastically. She looked offended as if she took it seriously for a second, before her brain finally sped up to pace and allowed the sarcasm of the comment to get through.

“Shut up.” She glared at him and he chuckled again, reaching out and pulling her to his chest before collapsing on the bed with her on top of him. She nestled into his strong pecs, breathing in deeply. He was amazingly comfortable, like a firm bed. She could feel the restrained power, kept tightly under control. It turned her on greatly, just knowing he could dominate her, but she ignored that so she could revel in the fact that somepony cared about her. Cared about her enough to experience real feelings for her. It was truly flattering, and she felt undeserving of such things. But, little did she know of the Captain’s own problems of self worth.

Pinkie pie rolled over on the ground, giggling loudly at the top of her longs. The squirming pink horse was being tickled half to death by Keenan, who had his fingers pressing into her sides while he grinned down at her innocently.

“O-oh - HAHAHAHAHA- KEENAN STOP! I c-can- hahhahaha- Breathe...” Keenan pulled back laughing loudly as Pinkie Pie tried to regain her breath. She sprung to her feet suddenly, shoving him over. “Do you like trombones?” She asked out of the blue.

“Hm... yes.” Keenan nodded to her, then shot her a question. “Do you like waffles?” Pinkie Pie thought about it for a second before nodding vigorously.

“Yeah, I like waffles!” Keenan suddenly broke out into song, and Pinkie Pie sang along every time the words “yeah we like” rang out from the loud out-of-key boy’s tone. Keenan scooted out from under Pinkie and got to his feet. He skipped back to the base, having come to a mental agreement with Pinkie Pie. “Hey Pinkie, sleep with me tonight?” Pinkie Pie happily bounced after him giggling loudly and shouting yes.

Keenan and Pinkie Pie took the bed from Fluttershy’s room and moved it into theirs. The randomness they shared could keep the other entertained. Sure, it wasn’t the most normal pairing ever, but it worked. Rather well, actually. Rarity simply shook her head in disapproval. Nopony had good taste, in her mind. It should be a mare and a colt. Not a mare and a person, not a mare and a mare, but a mare and a colt. She couldn’t stand it. She either had to break them all up or die trying. She sighed and closed her eyes, shaking her head. She ventured outside, simply trotting about the perimeter of the house.

Twilight pulled a somewhat thawed Josh out of the chamber he was stuck in. She hoisted his chilled arm over her back and dragged him to her bed. She made several attempts at thawing him. First covering him with all the blankets she had, then even laying on top of him, to even casting a fire spell above him. He didn’t budge, despite becoming room temperature once more. She gave a defeated sigh and had her head mere inches from the bed when something caught her eye: Josh’s eyes. Josh’s open, conscious, blinking eyes.

Chapter 8
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The Herd

Chapter 8

A/N: SO~ Seeing as our 7th chapter was so short, I decided to do a double publish tonight. I hope it makes up for the lateness and the shortness of the last chapter.

Chapter 8:

“J-Josh?” Twilight stuttered, not expecting the new comer to be wide awake.

“Ugh...coffee...explanation...peferably in that order. Where am I?” Josh said, sitting up and looking at Twilight, blinking slowly. She stared back at him and opened her mouth, no words coming forth. His eyes took in the pony, and he seemed to come to terms with the fact that either he was high, or dead, or dreaming, or he was on a far off planet where equines could speak.

“I don’t know.” she managed, still staring at him.

“So useful.” he scathingly replied. He tried standing up, but he fell over immediately. He couldn’t move his legs. Twilight hoisted him back into the bed and laid down next to him. He was freezing cold, so she thought that the extra warmth could only help. He relaxed. He didn’t know who (or even what, for that matter) was laying next to him and tending for him, but it wasn’t trying to eat him yet so he couldn’t complain.

“Who are you?” Josh asked, staring up at the ceiling.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle.” she said, looking over at him once more.

“Twilight Sparkle.” He repeated indifferently. She continued.

“Your friends, Bromley, Nate, and Evan, are here also.”

“They survived?” He asked, not really suprised.

“Yes.” She affirmed.

“Henrick and Hans?” He almost regretted asking.

“Who?”

“Alright then. You get the number of that semi?”

Twilight only cocked her head questioningly.

“What hit us?” asked the immobilized biped.

“I did.” Twilight responded with a twinge of regret .

“Any one else?” Was his next question.

“Yes, all the other ponies: Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.”

“So, you’re a pony. That working out for you?” He grinned a bit at her. She rolled her eyes, as if expecting this.

“Yes. Aren’t you a person?” He nodded quickly.

“Homosapiensapien, and I should hope so. Or that crash really did a number on the ol’ brain-pan.”

“Alright.” Twilight laid her head down. Nate hurried to see if he had actually heard Josh’s voice, and it turned out that he had.

“Josh!” Nate yelled, running over to him.

“Engy.” Josh calmly replied, then tried his hardest to sit up.

“Anything abnormal?” Nate asked, looking Josh up and down.

“I can’t move my legs. Don’t know where I am. Technicolor pony people are talking to me. Y’know the usual. Good news is, the insurance ’ll cover this.” Josh joked.

“I’m tending to him.” Twilight said, looking up.

“Alright, good, good.” Nate said, running to the door again and calling for Evan and Bromley.

“Josh!” they shouted (one much louder) in unison upon entering the room.

“Evan. Cap’n.” Josh said, then quickly explained to them that his legs were defective. Bromley frowned, before realizing that being taken out of cryogenic sleep without the proper equipment might cause such a thing to happen. He decided that before he made a decision, they should give Josh some time. Evan went and got everypony else (and Keenan), introducing them to Josh. Once he knew everybody and everypony knew him, they left him and Twilight alone. Josh contemplated his new life, and Twilight silently kept him company. He looked over at the purple horse and gave her a sincere smile.

“Thank you, Twilight. I wish to make a pact with you. A pact of friendship!” He fell once again silent, while Twilight looked at him stupefied. She smiled a bit to herself, and then closed her eyes, beginning to meditate. After a long while of thoughtful silence, the human and the mare both fell asleep.

Rainbow Dash slept in Bromley’s room for the first time as a roommate. Bromley was up against the wall, his hazel eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. Rainbow hoped that he wasn’t asleep for the same reason that she wasn’t. She felt her heart beating ridiculously fast, and she was far too tense to sleep. The things this damn captain did to her... She decided to speak up, albeit nervously.

“H-hey.” Bromley didn’t turn, but grunted in response.

“Hm?”

“So this is interesting... What do people do in their sleep?” She asked, feeling like she was stepping on dangerous ground for some reason. But she was curious about it nonetheless.

“Hm... Well, most people dream. And rest up. Some people move in their sleep, some people talk. Erm, wet dreams... Isn’t it the same for ponies?” Bromley replied. Rainbow Dash was a relieved he wasn’t angry, despite how late it was. She talked a little more openly, like she usually did.

“Yeah. Normally our dreams mean something though. Is it the same for humans?” She pondered, sitting up and looking at him, silently hoping he would turn to face her.

“Not for most... Unless you mean to reveal to them that they have something bothering their conscience, or to remind them of traumatizing experiences. Though Evan tends to dream of future events sometimes. We called him ‘The Oracle’ for a good while there. Prophecy is what we call it.” Bromley rambled for a few seconds, and he lazily rolled over onto one arm, leaning on it while staring at the mare. She felt her heart skip a beat, and it annoyed and thrilled her at the same time.

“That sounds cool. What are wet dreams?” She said, trying not to grin at the man during what she considered to be a rather serious conversation.

“Err... Uhm... Well, do um....” Bromley just shook his head at himself. “Okay, do ponies have... Urges?” Bromley asked the cyan blue mare in a slightly higher monotone then usual.

“Yeah... sure, you could call them that,” she replied, realizing that this was the strangest conversation she had ever participated in. Bromley looked partially relieved, but his eye twitched rapidly at her next words. “I’m just not sure what eating and drinking and things like that have to do with dreams.”

“... Do ponies recognize sex as a ‘fun’ thing to do?” He asked bluntly. Rainbow Dash blushed at that, her wings raising slowly up behind her.

“Oh no.. Wait you mean... Oh yeah... I know what wet dreams are.” Rainbow Dash looked down at her hooves, feeling embarrassed. She remembered her experience from the other night. Thank Celestia that it was before she had moved into Bromley’s room. If she had woken up with the same soaked sheets and covers as she had a couple nights before, but next to Bromley instead, she never could have forgiven herself. The dream leading up to the finish was even more humiliating. Bromley had seemed so misshapen with his lower... parts so much like a colt, but to her it was sexy. He had brutally made love to her in the dream and she must have been panting heavily in her sleep, for when she woke, she was not only soaked, but also hoarse. Bromley was unhappy with the silence that had been delivered by Rainbow Dash’s remembrance, and wanted to make sure that she was once again comfortable, so he eagerly changed the topic.

“Anyway, as I said earlier, MOST humans get to dream things like that all the time.” Rainbow Dash raised her head, curious eyes looking at him. That was better, he was unsure of what she had been thinking about, but it seemed to put a dampen on her spirits. (As well as her thighs).

“Oh, uh good! Me neither. I mean, I’m sure Fluttershy or one of them get those tendencies, but uh not me. I’m way too cool for that.” Bromley grinned at the obvious lie, and Rainbow Dash’s face lit up brightly in the darkness as she saw his expression.

“I didn’t mean that, silly. I meant I hardly sleep at all. Don’t worry though, I get those too, when I do dream that is.” Bromley winked at her suggestively at that, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Holy Celestia, had he just... Sexually flirted with her? She smirked at him a bit and laid down next to him, far closer then before. Bromley soothingly ran a thumb along her cheek, while letting his head drop down onto his pillow.

“.... So....” She didn’t really know what to say, but thankfully he stopped her by pressing his lips to hers. She felt like she was melting, as his tongue worked its way around her maw, into her mouth and finally played with her tongue. She became so focused on the kiss she didn’t notice herself pressing her hoofs to his chest, scooting closer until she was pressed flush against him. Her eyes were squeezed shut as he distracted her from all her troubles and problems with a simple, long, meaningful kiss. He pulled away, leaving her breathing hard while he was (annoyingly enough) not winded in the slightest. He kissed her on the nose then fell into a light doze, while she buried herself further into his chest. Sleep was not an easy escape to him, but he could rest with Rainbow’s comforting warmth. She herself had never felt safer in her life, and submitted to the call of sleep and warmth.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy slept in Nate’s room for also the first time ever. They were both mildly restless peopl- er... beings, so they spent quite a lot of the night making small conversation, and trying to find comfortable sleeping positions. Nate finally decided that letting her lay on top of him was the best solution.

“Are you sure this isn’t going to be awkward?” She asked shyly. Nate put his arms around her.

“Not at all.” He said. She looked away in a blush and a grin, slowly lowering her head to his chest. He kissed her forehead and reclined, closing his eyes. He was slightly taken aback when she put her forelegs over his shoulders. She fell asleep, though. He didn’t mind as long as she was relaxed. He smiled and dozed off slowly.

Applejack slept in Evan’s bed again.

Keenan and Pinkie just slept in the same room. Rarity slept alone. They all slept soundly, though.

That was, until Evan started coughing in convulsions. He woke everyone up, as he was so loud. Nate’s first thought was the antivenin. He knew that it might not have worked. He made Fluttershy get off him, and then headed down to Evan’s room after telling her to please stay put. He confronted Bromley in the hallway, and he could tell that the man was just as tired as him.

“No sleep for you either?” He asked. Neither broke stride towards Evan’s room, and Bromley just nodded.

“When do I ever sleep? Same with you, for that matter...” Bromley replied with a small sigh. Pinkie Pie peeked her head out of her own room, but Keenan pulled her back in. He looked at them questioningly.

“Just go back to bed, keep Pinkie calm.” Nate said. Bromley nodded in agreement and they continued on without looking back. Josh was leaning against Evan’s doorway, Twilight worriedly staring at the door as more coughing echoed through the establishment. They opened the door and entered at the same time. Twilight immediately casted a spell to calm Evan’s chest and heart rate, making sure he didn’t break a rib with his seizing. He stopped, but he looked terribly pale. Bromley checked him for fever, and found nothing to be straying from the norm. Josh offered a consolatory smile to Evan, who just blinked back without response. Bromley barked out a couple of orders, and everyone attended to them while he went to go get another dose of the antivenin.

When he returned, they had followed his instructions and laid Evan down in a bed of his own. Evan was nude beneath the covers, and Nate had checked him over (no homo) for any bites they hadn’t seen. Applejack wouldn’t be allowed to sleep next to him for the time being. Evan was bitter about that fact, and finally seemed to break. He was tired of being a burden. “It’s always me, isn’t it? I’m sorry guys. Maybe you should just let me...” he was cut off by a light but effective kick to the nose. It didn’t break it, or even make it bleed, but it sure as hell made his eyes water.

“We ain’t just letting you die!” Applejack was not happy with the way he was talking. No one was. Applejack asked everyone to leave for a few minutes. Bromley replied that he probably wouldn’t be back, and was going to try and sleep again. Nate followed after him, and Josh saluted before leaving the room with Twilight.

“Why do you keep talkin’ like that?” she asked, tearing up a bit

“Look, you silly filly, all I’ve been is trouble. That thing Nate gave me might have not worked. Letting me die is the easiest thing to do.”

“I ain’t lookin’ fer the easiest thing to do!” Applejack began crying. She ran out for a moment and came back with a first aid kit.

“It’s not going to help, Applejack. You should just go. If you really think I’ll get better I will need my rest.” With that she left. She ran out with tears in her eyes. She didn’t want this person to die. Twilight had mentioned something earlier. Something that would help all of the awkwardness between humans and ponies. But if he was dead it wouldn’t do any good.

As (almost) everyone else fell back to sleep that night, Evan became bored. His armpit hurt, which was usual for a reason he didn’t really want to think about. His stomach wracked him with pain and he was forced to stay awake. Other than the aforementioned pains he also had a few spaces on him such as behind his shoulders and many places on his face and head that seemed extremely tight. No one could know about them but those were scars that didn’t heal right. Nothing ever seemed to heal right with him. The saddening part was that most of the scars were lessons from Bromley. Evan didn’t complain. He couldn’t let Bromley know that he was being hurt worse than expected. Awake as he was, he strode outside into the cold night, deciding that he felt well enough to at least walk. He wasn’t going to light a fire again. The multiple beat-downs had taught him a lesson. That and if he died that way Applejack would never forgive him. A tree stood in his path. A tree? No that couldn’t be right. This was a barren wasteland. How far had he gone? This wasn’t right. The whole place looked like Earth. Mountains rose up on the far side of the now expanding forest. The one tree before him through looked mad. It scowled at him. “You stupid tree!” he said angrily. He socked it in the “face” and kept walking. The forest was full of animals. So many of them looked like animals from home, but they were different colors. All bright colors too. “How far have I gone?” he thought. He saw his comrades. Applejack trotted up to him, going behind him. Rainbow Dash and Bromley walked away, as did Nate and Fluttershy, Josh and Twilight, and Keenan and Pinkie. Beside Josh though, was a tall, regal looking pegasus with a unicorn horn. Next to Twilight, was someone else he knew, but he couldn’t recall the man’s name. He looked at Rarity. A giant wooden beam fell upon her.

“WAKE UP!” a loud voice shouted.

“Kill the queen!” Evan replied, waking up to Applejack yelling. His eyes were bleary, and he felt like he had totally lost track of reality.

“Oh finally. Good heavens, sugar cube, you were shakin’ like a leaf!” she had been watching him ever since he fell asleep to make sure he was safe.

“I had the weirdest dream,” he trailed off and sat up. Applejack was about to protest but he stood up and had forgotten about his lack of clothing. Applejack was surprised and turned away, a strange appendage now visible to her.

“Whats wrong? Holy mother of Abraham Lincoln!” He pulled the blanket over himself. Nate heard the commotion and saw Applejack run, completely red in embarrassment, down the hall. He thought to himself, “Evan forgot his clothes probably. OH GOD!” He went to go explain human anatomy to Applejack, but not before running inside and tossing some clothes to Evan.

“It’s fine Applejack. You sleep next to him, don’t you? Haven’t you ever wondered whats beneath his clothing?” Nate said, laughing.

“Apparently it’s a bunch o’ muscles and a floppy horn! I saw Twilight with one before, but on her head! And it was because of blue flowers! Why was it between his legs!?”

“I guess he has a six pack too... It’s just the way humans are. I could go into specifics but I don’t want all the blood to go into your head. Unless you really want to know.”

“It might be nice. The more I can know the better.”

“Okay, so that floppy horn sometimes gets... not floppy. And that’s how you know he’s... happy. And when he’s happy he wants to... Uh... oh ball sacks aflame this is weird. Colts have them too. It’s the same appendage.”

“You mean I saw his...” she gulped and looked down.

“Yes, but I don’t think he minds too much. You two are already sleeping together.”

“BUT NOT LIKE THAT YET!” She stood up and walked out the door.

“‘Yet’?” Nate asked himself quietly. He laughed at the thought as Fluttershy walked in.

“What’s so funny?” she asked quietly, “Is my hair messy? Oh gosh, I’m sorry, I’ll go fix it...”

“No it was Applejack.” He said, glancing at her hair and thinking it adorable.

“What did she do?” Fluttershy questioned, blushing a bit as he eyed her.

“She saw Evan’s... I’m going to have to explain this to you too aren’t I? Colt parts is probably the best way to describe it.”

“She saw his muscles? I didn’t think he had many...”

“No no... His... Fillymaker...?” He tried, thinking that that was the best name that an equine being would understand.

She blushed and nodded, then ran off, probably to ask Applejack what it was like.

Bromley was working on hauling slabs of rock into place. If they were going to live here, they were going to have to make it nice. He looked up and saw Applejack running from Nate’s place. He looked back at the sleeping form of Rainbow Dash and wondered what could have possibly happened. He went and laid down next to his partner. She was warm and soft. He stroked her mane and his eyes closed. Before he could really doze off, however, he overheard Fluttershy and Applejack whispering, but nothing specific. Just “Evan”, “Colt”, “Fillymaker”, and “Embarrassed”. He wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he laughed thinking of the possibilities. All he could put together was Applejack had met Evan’s fillymaker. His coltparts. And she was embarrassed. Rainbow Dash woke up and asked why he was laughing so loudly.

“Colt parts and fillymakers.” He responded simply.

“That’s not enough information and you know it,” she stated.

“Applejack saw Evan’s colt parts.” Bromley said, breaking out into mirth filled laughter again.

“But he’s a person. He isn’t a colt.” Rainbow Dash said, confused.

“We have them too.” Bromley clarified, but it apparently didn’t bring light to the subject.

“‘We?” Rainbow Dash raised a brow, and Bromley just rolled his eyes. He laid back down.

“All male people. Now go back to bed.” Was all he said as he closed his eyes.

She looked at him, surprised. Her curiosity was piqued. She had thoughts of waiting till her mate was asleep and then taking inventory of his... body parts. She waited about fifteen minutes for him to doze off. She turned over in bed as silently as possible and attempted to peek.

“Rainbow. What the fuck are you doing?” Bromley questioned. That voice.. He hadn’t talked like that since she had first met him. It was terrifying, and it made her squirm her way to her side of the bed.

“I’m sorry. I was just wondering what it looked like. I’ve never seen...” He cut her off, his tone changing from dangerous to irritated.

“Can we wait a little longer before we do something like that?” One eye shot open, and the piercing gleam chilled her to the bone. Her mouth betrayed her in a hurry though.

“Applejack saw Evan’s!” She almost attempted to stuff her hoofs into her mouth, but thankfully Bromley just sighed and calmly reached for her and pulled her to his chest. Once again that strange feeling of safety seeped through her, and he began talking in that calm tone that relaxed her so well again.

“It was probably an accident. Why else would she go running off like that?”

“Because she was... Actually I don’t want to explain pony anatomy right now.” Rainbow Dash said obstinately.

“Come on. All of you have probably learned anatomy from us tonight. What’s stopping you from being fair?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t argue with that.

“Okay so ponies express... Excitement differently for different ponies. Pegasuses wings stick straight out, unicorns start sparkling, and earth ponies’ tails stick straight up.”

“Mkay... Dashie.” Bromley said. Rainbow Dash’s wings stuck straight out and she started blushing.

“Hey!” she shouted, her voice quivering. Bromley ignored the thrill that came from that little quiver

“What? Does the name Dashie,” her wings twitched rapidly, “make you happy?”

“Ugh!” She tried to kick him in the stomach, though wisely his hand deflected it. Irritated, she tried to fly away, but her wings wouldn’t flap right, as Bromley kept repeating “Dashie” over and over.

“You know what!?” She shouted, turning around angrily.

“What?” Bromley said, laughing. She stood there for a moment, wondering what, in fact, “what” was. She stood straight up again and stuck her tongue out at him, then trotted away. Fluttershy started giggling behind Bromley. He turned around, surprised.

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh.” she said shyly, backing up.

“Oh it’s fine. Ey’ Nate.” Bromley said,

“Been a lot of drama with you too? It seems like everyone’s goin’ nuts. Twilight ‘n’ Josh are out on a walk with Pinkie ‘n’ Keenan. I say them in pairs for a reason, Bromley.” Applejack said.

“We’re dating ponies! There’s going to be drama.”

“What’s wrong with ponies?” asked an inquisitive Twilight.

“Nothing,” answered Nate quickly so as to not offend anyone, “We are just used dating people and we all think it’s kinda.... weird to date ponies.” Fluttershy began to cry and ran away. Nate ran after her, apologising profusely. Bromley sighed and stood up to find his flustered Rainbow Dash, while Twilight seemed to go off to talk to Josh. Rarity looked on in jealousy. She was the most fabulous pony. Why didn’t anybody want her? She stepped into her room and began pacing. She gave the wall a furious strike with her hind legs. She heard a few cracks and turned in fear, eyes widening as massive cracks spread over the red rock.

Bromley was near his room, when he suddenly heard an ominous noise. To others, it would mean nothing. Perhaps they would think they had stepped on a pebble, or that it really was nothing. But no, a crack was extremely off key in this building, as Rarity furiously made sure there was as little dust and excess rubble inside as possible. That noise was probably worse then the sound of dead flesh sliding across the ground towards them. He turned, and rushed down the hallway in the direction the noise sounded from.

A few splinters fell from the ceiling. The next few moments felt as though they were in slow motion for Rarity the unicorn. She heard a sickening crack, as the ceiling began collapsing. Her magic ceased to function, and her horn gave a few sputters of sparks. Seeing that attempting to stop the impeding damage was futile, she took off for the door, but it wouldn’t save her. The red material first hit her back, splitting her spine nicely in two and rendering her paralyzed. Her mouth shot open in a quiet scream of agony, as her nerves despite being severed, shot into agonizing pain. She heard someone else scream, and through hazy visions she saw the purple form of Twilight.

“Rarity! P-please just stay put, I-I’ll try to move you out.” Twilight began to lift bits of ceiling off of the elegant but bloody pony, but only caused worse damage. More support beams scissored over Rarity, leaving huge gashes in her sides. She wailed at each one, leaving Twilight’s ears burning. Twilight screamed louder for Rarity to hang in there, but her brain was ceasing to function at the sight of so much blood. The bleeding that came from the swinging objects made the more burgundy material turn a brighter red. Twilight began to walk into the room, but she was pulled away by two large men, just in time. The main support over her room finally fell, a deafening thud and cringe-worthy crunching being the last sounds before dead silence. The other ponies, who were previously content in their rooms felt a chill wash over the establishment. Nate stopped his search for Fluttershy, eyes narrowing while he turned in concern. Evan even leaped out of bed and threw on his shirt. This event would not soon be forgotten.

A/N Mr. Fail: Hello Internet :D! For the record, I still feel guilty about this *sad face*. Mainly because of S2E5. Anyways, we are officially going by... Dunder Shux Studios! I love that name! It makes my wings extend beyond belief! And they make a “pomf” sound! Like, seriously! Anyways, You will understand what it comes from later on. I promise. Unless you don’t. Then I don’t promise. ALSO! I suck major balls at computer art *sad face* You guys are capable of better! I’m sure! So please send some art, I would be your friend FORRREEEEVERRRR. That’s a pinkie promise (The whole hope of flight and eye-cupcakes bit included)! Love you guys!

A/N IntelligentScribbles: You guys... get high, (Don’t or I will murder your loved ones with your left testicle and 17 rolls of duct tape. Your family name will no longer exist. I will rip any remembrance of your whole family tree out of existence. I will burn down as many libraries as it takes to erase you from history) live life, and find bright pink animals on a desolate red planet with six ponies. Kill one and have a great time writing a story. With us! This is seriously fun. Also gives you that nice feeling of commitment that most of us search for. We need artists, editors, and people with musical talent. And don’t think we’re making a big deal out of this. This is a studio, not an overhyped FanFic about ponies. Granted, this is our first story, but I alone have other several other stories I’m working on. Cmon people! Join us! I got weed! And you know that first rule! (Remember drugs are for retards. Unless you know... you need them to like keep living...)

Chapter 9
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The Herd

Chapter 9

A/N: Well people, sorry for the UBER long delay on this. We hit a bit of a laziness streak, and at the same time editors block. We love reviews though guys, and I’m happy you guys are making such an effort for us. Anyway, enjoy reading. -Improviser

Chapter 9

“RARITY!” all of the ponies except Twilight shouted in unison. Nate and Evan ran up to the scene and began tearing through the rubble. Including Evan, who shouldn’t have been out of bed anyways, put in one hundred percent of himself to the job. Bromley and Josh looked away, both of them allowing Twilight to sob onto their clothes. Bromley knew that there was no hope, as did Josh. Bromley had lived through hell and back and Josh was previously a marine; moments like these were not unknown to them. Hopefully, they could help Twilight deal with her new emotional weight. The rubble was slowly dragged away to reveal the bloody mess of an unfortunate, dead unicorn. Her legs were broken, and her skull was crushed, but miraculously the beautiful horn was still intact. Applejack dragged Evan, who screamed and kicked every moment of the way, back to bed by his hair. Once the task was done, she told him to lay down for a while, and shot him a warning look through her grief stricken eyes. Twilight recovered enough to stand and determinedly looked at her friend’s carcass. For some reason she turned and looked to both Josh and Bromley for strength. They both nodded at her, both of the former soldiers were stoic, but she could see that they understood. Twilight could also see that she needed to attend to duty first. Almost stumbling, she approached Rarity’s corpse and stared down at it. Forcing the bile back down into her stomach, she used magic to remove the horn from Rarity without causing a mess, and looked around at the humans. With tears in her eyes she said, “The best use of this is to give it to one of you.”

“Who... and why?” Bromley asked softly, though making it fairly obvious he didn’t want it.

“Someone who wants to be a pony badly. Taking this and putting it to your forehead should transform you, if I theorised correctly.” Twilight said. Evan overheard and realized that it was exactly like his dream. However, he was instructed however by his mare to stay in bed. He decided he would tell her later. He was extremely tempted to get up to accept the horn though, but he stayed put obediently.

“Uhm, if I could make a suggestion, I mean, if that’s okay...” Fluttershy started, ”I think that whoever gets it should be ready for that kind of thing...” Surprisingly she was composed, though her face shone with dried tears.

“What in tarnation does that mean?” Applejack said, still quite upset at Rarity’s untimely death. Her hat bent down to cover her eyes and hide her tears.

“I mean, of course, I don’t want to force anything on anyone, but somebody like Keenan.... or Bromley. They seem well acquainted with their mares, and I think they deserve it most.” Nate winced at that comment, mainly because he knew he was included in that statement after recently offending Fluttershy.

“I’m okay with not being a pony,” Bromley said calmly, “and I’m sure Rain

bow Dash is too.” Dash nodded to make his point. “Keenan?” Twilight said, pointing the horn toward him. He raised his forehead in approval. Twilight chanted for a few seconds, then brought the magical horn to the man’s head, where it suddenly slammed to it, like a magnet to metal. When the base of the horn touched his forehead, it dug in about a centimeter. He grit his teeth, and then his eyes rolled back in his head. A large cloud of sparkles flew around him and once they dissipated, a pony was left in his spot. His coat was brown, and his mane was short and spiked, alternating brown and black. He had glasses and a horn. His cutie mark was a shotgun, as he had spent most of his life killing zombies. Pinkie bounced up and down, glad that her colt was the first to be converted. She finally calmed down and began to nuzzle him. Nate began digging a hole to bury Rarity, and Twilight began teaching Keenan, now a Unicorn named Coffee Essence, how to use his magic. Nate could barely hold back tears as he pulled Rarity out from under the wreckage of the room to take her to the impromptu grave. After putting her in, he began refilling the hole. There was some ground material left over, so he boiled it into soup and gave it to Evan, who was currently sobbing with Applejack.

Neither had been present at the funeral and they had huddled up for comfort in another room. Evan’s tears disappeared with the presentation of food, but soon reappeared when he learned that it was the ground that had been replaced by Rarity.

Bromley and Rainbow Dash looked on, and it was obvious she was attempting to be strong. Her eyes were red around the edges though, and her face was stuck in an emotionless half-frown. Bromley was doing the opposite, trying to find a reason to allow any grief through. However, his emotionless countenance was as hard and aloof as always, as much as he didn’t want it to be. He turned to view his pony friend and winced at her expression. He silently grabbed her hoof and lead her to his room, a gentle look appearing on his face.

Nate stepped out and, bursting into tears, slumped down to the floor, eventually falling asleep. He had a lot on his mind; from how Fluttershy was going to react to what the loss of Rarity would do to their further survival. He knew that Fluttershy was still angry with him, and this upset him greatly.

Twilight and Josh retired to their separate quarters with a brief nod to each other, Pinkie Pie and Coffee Essence to theirs, and Fluttershy to hers and Nate’s. It was a silent evening, besides occasional weeping.

After dragging Rainbow Dash into their shared room, Bromley sat and stretched out his arms a bit, indicating she could sit on his lap. She lowered herself from the air onto his legs and he idly stroked his gloved hand through her mane. Bromley sighed, and gently kissed her between her tear strained eyes. He wrapped his firm arms around her and quietly spoke into her ear in a comforting tone, “Rainbow... It’s okay to cry... It’s not a sign of weakness. Cry for those you love.”

At those words Rainbow Dash exploded into sobs, her face pressing into his chest. Bromley scooted back against the wall and held her close as she exposed her emotions to him. He was amazed she trusted him enough to bawl her eyes out all over him, and it made him smile despite the grave circumstances.

“I hate losing...” She lifted her face to stare at her boyfriend helplessly, trembling on his lap. She brought her lips to his and held them there, as he leaned forward and gently kissed his Dashie. She pulled away a few seconds later, the trembling ending, and her sobs slowly died down to exhausted whimpers. Bromley laid down, holding her small form close to him as she cried herself to sleep. He himself just stayed beside her, keeping her warm for a bit until night fell. When it did, he left.

Coffee was unable to empathize at all with Pinkie Pie. He had not known Rarity, and he had been on his own for years. Pinkie’s silence and the way she actually walked instead of bounced in her giddy ways disturbed him. Even her hair seemed a bit flatter, but he thought that was just they way she hung her head. Silently he approached her pink form, and noticed the tremble in her walking. Suddenly she collapsed against the walls in gasping breaths, hiccuping as tears flowed freely down her face. Quickly Coffee galloped over and nuzzled her neck, attempting to comfort her. He used his snout to lift her to her feet, and lead her back to their room.

Coffee lifted the emotionally overcome pony onto the bed and then leaped up with her, laying behind her and gently probing his snout through her mane, trying to help his little pink pony. She continued hiccuping and wetting the pillow with tears, and he drew even closer to her. She shied away and curled up into a tight ball. Sighing softly, Coffee gave her space and laid down on his side of the bed, facing her still to make sure she was alright. Soon her breathing evened out and the hiccuping stopped. He knew she was asleep, but it troubled him how she was closing herself off from him. He decided that she just needed some time alone for a bit, so he attempted to fall asleep, though unable to because of his worry for the small pink pony. He moved over and nuzzled her head, her hair spreading over his snout. He rolled back over to face away from her, closed his eyes, and laid there in the same manner throughout the entire night.

Evan knew how to handle the problem perfectly. Make a speech to the closest person and cry at the end. He waited a few silence filled minutes before Applejack began quietly sobbing again. “Hey AJ?” She looked up at her coltfriend. “It’s going to be okay. Don’t be sad because she’s gone. Be happy because we had her. And she is still alive. In here,” he pointed to her chest. Every corny movie line he had ever heard flowed from him. But amazingly, it was working, for Applejack stopped her sobbing and just began sniffling every now and then. “If you don’t forget her, she won’t die. Ever. And I know that this is not like losing a pet, or a distant relative. This is the real deal. And it takes one bad ass motherfucker to live through it. But you’re the strongest pony in all of Equestria, right?” Applejack slowly nodded. After a short pause Evan leaned down a little more and ended up halfway on top of his equine friend. His arms were wrapped around her and his chin touched the top of her head. “What’s life like for you in Equestria?” Applejack explained slowly at first, needing to stop for small cry breaks, but she eventually warmed up.

“And then Big Macintosh tol’ me...” She was interrupted by a small snore. Evan had fallen asleep almost entirely on top of her. It didn’t matter. She was comfy and she felt much, much better. Maybe Evan could see what her life was like, instead of hearing stories sometime. Well, half of her stories.

The following morning, nothing went about as it normally did, or should, for that matter. Little effort was made to repair Rarity’s room. The only reason work was done was because the captain couldn’t stand lazing about for too long. Evan was still confined to bed rest, but he talked out a few farming options with Applejack. This still entailed little detail, as there were still many depressing feelings floating about. Nate brought up two twelve foot two by fours, thoroughly exhausted by the time he did. Fluttershy simply floated about to check on everypony and everybody, as the case may be. She did try to avoid Nate though. It pained him to have not talked to her all day, but he assumed he deserved it. After deducing that he may just be overreacting again, he lit up a cigarette and savored every huff.

Night had fallen, and nopony was really feeling up to sleeping. Bromley kept watch again. After about five minutes, the pony he had left to sleep alone came up on the roof with him. He heard her quiet wing flaps, though they seemed half hearted. He remained silent, even as she laid her head on his shoulder and leaned against him. Rainbow Dash kept watch with Bromley for a long time, both silent until Bromley finally broke the silence.

“How are you feeling?” Bromley queried somewhat randomly. Rainbow Dash turned to him, her eyes obviously moist. She glanced away again, before answering.

“I don’t wanna talk about it...” she sighed painfully. Suddenly the Captain turned rapidly, and a loud whimper- like squeal came from behind them. Rainbow Dash raised her head to look behind herself, having heard a ‘whump’ shortly after the odd noise.

Fluttershy scrunched up her nose at having made the two sounds, then stepped quietly over to the couple. “H-hello... Um, I-I’m curious... If you don’t mind answering... How are you two doing?” she whispered, taking a seat.

“I guess I’m fine...” Bromley said, his eyes peering at Rainbow Dash, filed with worry. She shook her head.

“No I meant... how are you TWO doing, you know, as a pair?” Bromley raised a brow at Fluttershy, and then looked to Rainbow Dash. She returned the gaze.

“Quite well,” he responded, a sigh slipping out as he finished. Fluttershy nodded slowly.

“It isn’t weird for you?” she asked. Bromley and Rainbow Dash shook their heads in unison, and as if to prove it, Bromley pulled the small pony closer to him. Fluttershy felt her heart sink. She floated slowly back down off the roof.

“That was kind of odd... But she did choose the... difficult one,” Bromley stated with a small smirk. Rainbow Dash nodded and glanced to the mound on the ground that contained her friend of late. The grave seemed to bring every bit of emotion flooding back into her. A tear slid down Rainbow Dash’s cheek. She no longer felt like she had to deal with this alone though, so she took a small jump onto Bromley’s lap. Strong arms wrapped around her delicate frame, and she succumbed to grief. Bromley meanwhile turned his piercing gaze towards the darkness, watching for anything that could bring more grief upon the little mare in his hold.

Evan meanwhile, watched from below. His grief stricken apple farmer was curled against his leg, yet he had a clear view of Bromley from his room. Even in this pure darkness, Bromley’s penetrating gaze was visible, and had he not known the man for as long as he had, it would creep him out a bit. A few thoughts flitted through his mind, and he just laughed to himself.

“... I fear for anything that dares put themselves against ponies. The scariest, most intelligent, and most powerful race in the galaxy is now guarding them, and of them its finest.

A pilot. A gifted scientist. A leader.

The bringers of insanity, death, and terror.

Yet at the same time producers of peace, love, and friendship.

Such is the human race itself.”

“Sugarcube?” Applejack nuzzled Evan, who was in a state of half-consciousness. After a few groans, he managed to sit up.

“Yes, Applejack?” He rubbed one eye tiredly and looked in her direction. She gave the boy a forced smile then buried her face into his chest.

“I din’t even get along with ‘er that well... Why do I miss ‘er so bad?” She asked quietly. Evan felt a few tears soak into his shirt. He let one manly tear fall and raised her head to look at him.

“I’ll tell you a short story. One day, when I was about... 13 or so, I met Bromley. To tell you the truth, I absolutely hated the kid for a bit. Back then, he would smile a bit too brightly, his gums would show really huge, and it was super annoying. Well, I treated him pretty bad the first few days, weeks even, yet he stuck around me and one of my old buddies. Well two months into our... acquaintanceship, I guess, I saw something terrible. I passed by this really old neighborhood on the way back to school one day, and saw Bromley, pinned to the wall by three really big guys. Black guys. He didn’t look scared at all, in fact he scared the shit out of me just driving by. But I didn’t say anything to my parents, and we just kept driving. I knew he was dead though, there was no fuggin’ way he was alive. My thoughts were confirmed, when the next day he wasn’t at school. I was so sad. Terrified. I missed him. He wasn’t there anymore, even though I practically despised his presence. But he was dead! And I wanted him back,” Evan finished his little tale, and Applejack looked confused, yet somehow comforted.

“The cappin’ is alive though,” she said dully.

“I’ll finish the story another day. All I’m saying is, I totally get ya sistah!” Applejack just shook her head, sighing deeply and burying back into the insane boy’s chest.

“I’m so stinkin’ hungry... Do you wana go get some food and make a good ol college try at getting fat?” She moaned and dug her face into Evan’s stomach. Evan’s face darkened but he stayed where he was. Even though she thought her nose touched his spine, the motion was still comforting, and it lulled her into a half asleep state. He fell asleep after roughly two hours.

Nate woke up more angry than anything in the morning. He barely slept, he had no coffee, and Fluttershy was, once more, on the opposite side of the room. He decided mining was the best solution to boil down his anger. After three hours of endless pounding, he returned with enough material to replaced the collapsed parts of the late unicorn’s room. He silently replaced them, having Twilight mold them together. Twilight looked as though she were on the verge of tears the entire time. Nate couldn’t seem to get the pure anger out of his system, despite having gone through two cigarettes. Maybe talking to Fluttershy would help.

“Flutter, get over here,” he said after finishing the work and stepping into his room. She turned and began walking away, only to have Nate stomp up behind her.

“I- I don’t really want to-” she started.

“No, you’re gonna listen. I know how you feel. In high school, I felt like ‘love’ was pointless. I doubted it existed. It always seemed that even trying to make a relationship work would end in miserable failure. Until I met one girl named Taylor. She was everything I was looking for at the time. She never let things take off, and then she took her own life. You’re the first thing I’ve cared for like this since then. That means a lot to me. I know what I said was fucking moronic, but I don’t want to feel what I did when Taylor removed herself from existence,” he growled. She nodded and hurried away. Nate couldn’t really do anything else. He went back underground and pretty much just sat there. He had no will to mine, or do anything, for that matter. After pondering the idea for a while, he finally decided to grab a bucketful of water and go shower. The makeshift shower was simple a bucket with holes in the bottom. One would dump the water into said bucket and just stand there for roughly one minute, which would be about when the water ran out. There was no soap, but the water did enough to remove at least some smell, as long as one would take the effort to shower regularly and keep their clothes clean. This was more of the humans’ concern, though. Being a pony was much, much easier.

A/N Mr. Fail: Hello again. Hopefully, within the close future, we’ll start putting readings on YouTube, and people who can do impersonations of the ponies would be much appreciated, being able to voice act would also be preferred. Also, editors always welcome :/ We’re getting it done though. We could always go faster, though. Just make sure you do that one submission thing that I commented earlier (on FIMFiction only). Also I’m working on a new, COMPLETELY better website. It will be a LOT nicer looking and more functional. Also, I am considering starting a mini-tition for a cover. Reward will be to have access to reading what we have thus far without having to edit. Again, this is all still in the works, so it may not happen, but I’m not opposed to it. I guess it’ll depend on the number of people who’re willing.

Chapter 10
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The Herd

Chapter 10

A/N: I'm so sorry this took SO long. Besides school and developments within our studio, time has been very short. We have gotten new editors, an artist, and even a possible singer to join our studio. Basically, things have been BUSY.

As always we appreciate feedback on this chapter though, as that is what keep us running, and be sure to check out FIMfiction soon, for the new cover art for our story. We are always excepting new members to the studio that are at least a little productive! Anyways, ENJOY!

-Defeneing

Chapter 10:

In the morning, Nate continued to apologise to Fluttershy. He knew that she was hurt by his comment about it being weird to date ponies, but he didn’t mean that he didn’t like it. He knew she was still upset, due to her ignoring him. He decided to try to clear his mind and go work on the spacecraft. It was now fit for their whole team, being now more space-shuttle shaped. The minor differences were that instead of thrusters on the back, there were zeppelin-esque fans, and instead of a small window for the pilot, huge windows on the front and sides. He was cleaning the magically assembled glass when Fluttershy stepped in.

“If I could interrupt for a moment, I mean, if that’s okay...” she started. Nate turned around, excited that she was talking to him again.

“Yes...?” he asked in a bright voice.

“About what you said... I- I-...” she looked away, stuttering terribly. ”I’m moving back into my room. If it’s awkward to you.”

“Oh....” Nate dropped his cleaning cloth. He left the shuttle behind and headed back into his room. He took in the sight of Fluttershy’s belongings in his room for another brief moment, committing it to memory. Finally he worked up the strength to pick up the first object. Her stuffed animal version of Angel, her pet bunny back in Equestria. He held himself together and gathered up the rest of Fluttershy’s things, then carried them into her room. Out of his love that he was hopelessly trying to deny, he moved his bed into there, as she didn’t have one. He went back to his room without a word and laid down on his cold floor (more like fell). He just stayed there, his face to the ground. After about an hour of thinking, brooding, and allowing his anger to culminate his eyes finally roamed from the floor to the sword that he kept in the corner of his room. Leaping to his feet, he grabbed the hilt and threw it as hard as he could into the floor. The dam finally broke. Once again he collapsed and started sobbing. He kept at it until he literally passed out, his years of pain flashing before his eyes repeatedly, until the new wound that had been left by Fluttershy rendered him unconscious.

Nate awoke feeling slightly better, and yet like he needed to talk to someone. Decidedly, he left his room in search of Evan. He seemed like a better fit to spill the beans to, rather than Bromley or one of the ponies. He walked outside of the establishment, and saw just the tip of Evan’s head and pick axe disappear into one of the mines they had dug out. Hurriedly, he ran after him. He caught up with the boy about twenty meters down into the passage. It was out of safely out of earshot of anyone else.

As soon as Evan’s full attention was on him, Nate began blathering almost nonsensically about what had happened between Fluttershy in him. After his little rant he began to walk backwards, towards the exit.

“But! I’m okay now. Thanks for listen-” Nate was cut off as he was spun around by Evan and a hard fist smashed into his eye, sending him down onto his derriere.

“Ha! No... It’s not going to be okay Nate,” Nate looked up at Evan through one eye, his other closed with his hand over it. “Thats a load of bullshit until you fix the shitty shit with your shit and stuff.” He was back to talking nonsense again. But something clicked in Nate. He got the point.

“Yeah, I have to go and... talk to Fluttershy about something,” Nate said, hurriedly leaving the tunnel. Evan smirked knowingly and shook his head, before hefting his pick axe and getting back to the methodical, mind numbing, and repetitive work. As Nate was leaving he could have sworn he heard Evan scream, “You shall burn in the pits of hell, Rock! For I shall vanquish thee to the unholy realm of Satan, where you will be punished for your impurities! Away with thee! RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

Nate searched for Fluttershy desperately, determined to find her. When he found her, he was out of breath, panting quietly. He had found her in his own room, the last place he would of expected her to be. She appeared to be picking up the last of her things, but was looking at him, startled from his entrance.

“Fluttershy...” he started, “every one's weird. Even back where I come from. I like weird. No, I love weird. I’m nothing without weird...” He exploded quickly. “Evan’s fucking weird as hell.” he thought to himself.

“Wh-what are you saying?” she stuttered, looking up at him.

“I think I’m saying something irrational but I don’t even care.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“I... I want you to move back in.”

“Well... sure. Yes, I mean. I mean yes.”

Nate smiled and hugged her. She didn’t question his black eye. She was just glad that he would let her back in after what happened. Her stuff was moved for a third time. There was still only one bed. Nate hesitated, but Fluttershy had forgiven him enough to go back to how everything was before. It was nightfall by the time they had finished moving her back in. She laid down. Nate looked at her and slowly climbed onto the bed, glancing over at her every so often. He was all the way in the bed and couldn't stay awake for very long. Everything was good and well again in that section. However on a different front, more problems had to be addressed.

Applejack was trying to calm Evan enough so that he would go bed. She had let her mouth slip a little bit, and he wasn’t letting it go.

“Now why on Earth would Nate tell you that? That’s none of his business. Well I suppose he has one too... But he doesn’t have mine!”

“He was just explainin’. Don’t be mad sugarcube. I was just askin ‘bout your kind.”

“I still feel like shit because of that whole fiasco.”

“Now, don’t be mad. Look, le’s just go to bed and I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning.” She said with a certain softness to her voice that usually reserved for when she needed to reassure Fluttershy.

“I don’t know...”

“Relax...” she said, not wanting to rile up her mate any more.

“I can’t believe you still want to sleep with me after what Nate explained.”

“Ah’ll sleep with you no matter what yall show me,” Evan smiled at his close friend’s honesty and promise. He then flung himself backwards against the wall, which he hit with a loud thud, and then landed on the bed. Applejack climbed onto the bed over him, curled up, and closed her eyes. Her tail suddenly went stiff and began poking him in the side. Evan was confused for a moment, before he remembered what Bromley had told him about ponies; “Soon,” he thought. Applejack promptly “Eeped” at the realization of her tail and imitated an apple while trying to hide it. She squirmed around for a bit, then looked down, a little ashamed.

“It’s fine. That makes us equal I guess,” Evan chuckled.

“Wait, are you...?” she said, looking back toward his feet. “Well, Ah hope you can be a pony soon,” she said sleepily. Evan questioned what in the name of all that is holy she could mean, before finally giving up and accepting facts. She wanted him to be a pony. The two finally fell asleep.

In the morning, there was a large wave of zombies approaching from three directions.

Unfortunately for Evan, he was practically comatose with how exhausted he was from last night. Nate was still sound asleep as well, perfectly content and sleeping with his Fluttershy. However, Bromley had decided to take the last watch that night, having been woken by Twilight after she finished the first watch. He eyed the approaching forces of doom. There were at least sixty zombies, he estimated. “Aww, Shit...” he sighed and jumped down off the roof. And the most retarded thing happened to him then; his lighter flew out of his pocket and hit the ground, exploding into flames in front of him, causing more zombies to begin rising from the ground to join the army already approaching. He narrowed his eyes angrily at his doomed luck. Bromley took one last swig of the water he kept attached at his belt and threw it on the ground in rage, the plastic breaking on impact and sending water flying everywhere. Everywhere, including the flames. There were now at least one hundred zombies. “I’m so screwed...” He reached behind him for the sword Nate had constructed for him out of scrap metal, only to find it gone. “Oh fu-” His own mental thought was completely cut off as he heard a terrifying scream. The pony scream was obviously Rainbow Dash’s, and he ignored the crippled mess of humanoid undead and rushed towards his room. A few zombies hit the floor as he ran by, their slow senses unable to pick up on him. The door was open and inside somehow three zombies were surrounding his sky blue pony. Bromley snapped.

“If I die saving her... it’s worth it. Everything is worth it. Every bit of pain... Every bit of loneliness.. So long as she lives.”

Rainbow Dash looked at him, her eyes filled with fear, and his feet moved even faster as rage rolled up his body, overcoming his usual calculative mind. With an inhuman snarl he rushed forward and shoved his fist straight through the first zombie’s chest, then without pulling his arm out he spun and grabbed the next zombie, slamming it into the last zombie with a loud snap. He implanted his booted foot into both of the fallen zombie’s skulls at the same time, and tore his arm out of his makeshift shield. Adrenaline still pumping through him, his fingers grabbed onto the screaming zombie’s scalp, completely removing the head of the mangled creature in his rage. His eyes bled into crimson in his anger induced insanity and he spun to face the wave coming toward the door. They seemed to have finally caught on to the scent of blood. Much like the captain had. He reached down and picked up his blade which Nate had given him earlier (and he foolishly left behind) and slowly walked out of his room, closing the blood splattered door behind him. Rainbow Dash lay on the bed, still in shock from the close call she had moments before.

The waves of zombies had grown, and they were surging towards every sleeping being in the building. Bromley, half aware of what he was doing, ran out into the mess of them. Evan, who had awoken at the feeling of blood lust a few rooms down from his, soon stumbled sleepily to the entrance and watched Bromley.

“Oh. Right. That’s a pile of FUCK heading towards us.” He tried to clear the bleariness from his eyes and he approached the zombies with the Captain. Bromley looked behind him at Evan, eyes no longer red but their normal icy green.

“Evan.” He greeted. For some reason his arm was already covered in gore, but Evan ignored that and joined his captain. They stood still in front of the swarming mass still steadily flooding towards them. Bromley examined his odd sword, while Evan just shook his head slightly.

“That is indeed my name, and waking up is not fun.” Evan pointed out. To force himself to wake up he recited a few random lines that he remembered from past experiences. “How now brown cow. A bird in your face is just as bad as shit in your face. Don’t eat the blue moss. Moss in general is bad for you. I am bad at narcissism, but getting better at facepalming. Okay! Let’s do this! Or...” Bromley chuckled internally at the moss comment. He had told Evan that just a week after they had met. Evan continued, “There is a lot more of them then when I had my fun in the wasteland... I don’t think just the two of us will be able to do this. Let’s not do this.” Bromley thoughtfully nodded.

“But I have a few things calculated... We should be alright if we fight defensively. Just hold against them for a bit. No going berserk, okay?” Bromley hid his command in a nice request. Evan nodded and got into a defensive stance. Bromley followed suit and just in time as the first zombies walked into the corridor leading to their rooms. The hall was not wide enough for more than four zombies to fit side by side together, so thankfully it would be difficult for them to be overwhelmed. The first zombie went down with his head split in two by Bromley’s blade. Sliding the now wet blade out with the one arm he had used, he got back into his original stance. Evan took the next zombie, kicking its head into the wall and spraying its brains all over the side. He, like Bromley, got back into position.

Unfortunately the zombies appeared to be forcing their way in now though, and they were faced with three at the same time. Bromley completely removed ones head with a swipe, while Evan kicked one back then threw the last one to the floor in between Bromley and him. Bromley without even looking used his foot to eradicate it, while Evan flew forward and finished of the zombie he had previously kicked back with a rib splitting axe kick. He danced back to where he had been standing before, right as the next wave came.

“God, we’re gonna get butt fucked at this rate...” Evan mumbled as he narrowly avoided a claw to the face. He grabbed the hand connected to the finger and tugged the zombie closer so he could headbutt it. It seemed to be less durable than even the average zombie though, and brains and gore soon caked his head and face.

“FUCK!” Evan cursed loudly, using his arm to wipe the nastiness off his eyes and face. Bromley resisted chuckling at Evan while he dismembered one zombie before sliding his sword into it’s eye socket, sheathing it there. He slammed his fist into the next zombie’s face, shattering it’s skull and spreading it’s grey matter all over his hand. He unsheathed his sword shortly after and got back into position. But he had to take a step back as another zombie hurriedly lunged at him. They were losing ground already. At this point they were four feet back in their own house. Only sixteen more until they hit the back wall and they were screwed.

“Hey look! A door!” It happened to be the door to Evan’s room anyways, so it was fine to use. He began opening and closing it rhythmically. As the heavy metal plate smashed into zombies, they broke to pieces or fell back and toppled some of their comrades over. Suddenly though, his door hinge broke and the heavy door dropped over onto the zombies. Evan’s arm was sore at this point. Bromley stepped in and hacked through four zombies easily, in an attempt to recover ground. He was pushed back again though, more zombies crowding into the cramped space. Things were already beginning to look grim, and there were many more left.

“I want you to know Bromley, I’m the one who pissed on your lizard.” Bromley gave a “da fuq?” face before realizing Evan was laughing. Bromley had never even owned a lizard. Evan split a zombie skull and took another wasted step backwards. “Can we like, start moving forwards now? I don’t usually have to lean back in fights and I don’t like this. Out of my element man.” Bromley held off a couple before implanting his sword in one, which he promptly ripped out straight after. Of course the only thing he ripped out was the hilt, deeming it useless. Glaring for a brief moment at it, he slammed the hilt into the other zombie’s eye, killing it. He finally got a chance to reply to Evan.

“Well here is the issue Evan. If we do step forward AT ALL, we get out there in the open, where we get surrounded. Now, as much as I would love to go berserk on these bastards with you, we probably won’t live through it this time.” Bromley calmly explained.

“And what exactly is the problem with that? I mean, sure we would leave this whole place almost defenseless, but who cares? Oh god, can you imagine Nate and Coffee trying to defend these ponies?” Bromley grinned a bit at the thought, defensively kicking a zombie away at the same time Evan did.

“Welllll, how about I put it this way: Applejack.” Evan stopped moving.

“Oh hell no! Not my pony you fucking assholes!” Evan had a small spurt of rage before realizing that that wasn’t his niche. That was Bromley’s, and his alone. He also realized it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do when they weren’t supposed to push forward. He planted his feet back onto the floor, stepping off the door, and readied himself yet again. Bromley did as well, though this time they both looked a bit more serious.

“Evan.” Bromley said in an almost duty filled voice.

“Bromley.” Evan returned the comment.

“Today is a good day to die.” They both said loudly, before punishing the continuous horde of zombies. Blood spattered, limbs practically dissolved, and the captain and his second hand fought for their friends.

“Why the hell didn’t they wake me up?” Josh questioned in an annoyed voice as he left his room only to find blood absolutely everywhere. He found the source of it; two battered and exhausted idiots (one of which happened to be his leader) holding up a position at the mid-way point of the hall way. Bodies were everywhere, and the still incoming zombies would stumble over their already fallen companions in an effort to reach the two cocky defenders. Josh retreated back into his room to find the long metal pipe Coffee had previously used while in his human form. Josh hefted it up, and then twirled it deftly between his fingers. It had been a while, but it was about time he got back into the action. As he emerged from his room back into the hallway, he suddenly gave a very uncharacteristic yell.

“CHARGE!” At that Josh ran as fast as he could forward, using the metal rod to pole vault himself into the middle of the horde. Hopefully he would be followed.

An invigorating war cry from behind caused Bromley to turn and see Josh pulling an Evan. He was acting just as retarded, launching himself straight into the enemy.

“You idiot...” Bromley mumbled before he threw caution to the wind and forced his tired muscles on. Into the flood he ran, tearing through the first zombie and then the second in a mere instant in an attempt to catch up with a hopefully still alive Josh. Evan was right in tune with his captain, slamming into the fray and pushing back the zombies on his side of the hall way. He crushed one to death with this, practically melding its body with the undead behind it. He ducked low suddenly, his sixth sense telling him to do so. Just as he did, Josh’s now intestine covered rod flew over his head. Bromley himself almost experienced the same thing, but he grabbed a hold of the metal and leaped over it like he would hop over a fence back on Earth. Once his feet hit the floor again, he was on the next zombie, his fist cracking open yet another rotting skull.

Josh was busy swinging the rod around in wide sweeps, making sure to keep the zombies far away from him. Occasionally he would stab or whack for a killing blow, but his main objective at the moment was to push the zombie horde. The outside was close, and he kept pushing, the two men beside him killing or shoving back any of the monsters he didn’t.

Bromley meanwhile was inwardly worrying. Josh may have completely removed the zombies from their home, but they had lost their defensive position. He saw the outside world approaching quickly, and they broke from their entrance with a yell of victory. It was short lived though. They had pushed out of their shelter, only to find themselves completely surrounded by the undead.

“Fuck me...” Josh said to himself, mentally face-palming.

Twilight had stayed in her room for as long as she could. She had woken up to a loud cry of “charge!” and she had obediently stayed in the room like the Captain had said to do in a situation like this. At the moment though, she couldn’t hear anything from outside, not even the sound of a metal pipe jarring when it made contact with bone. She nervously approached the door, before opening it with magic and peeking her head out. Fear shot up her spine. The battle was still going, and it looked like a losing one. The corridor leading to the exit was piled at least two high all the way through with corpses. At the entrance of the home though, it was much worse. A wall surrounding Josh Evan and Bromley that was made of the bodies was steadily rising higher, as zombies piled onto the fatigued warriors. Never before had she seen Evan look so stone faced. He was even more serious than the first time he had shown his power. It was almost as if he knew he was fighting to the end. Bromley, looked solemn, despite his constantly moving fists. Josh was panting lightly, the veins in his forearms showing as he put in as much effort as possible to fight the zombies. His still weak legs shook beneath him, but he fought on. Twilight stood there for almost three full minutes, watching the three in their supposed final moments. And then it seemed as if all three fell at the same time. Josh’s legs gave out, Bromley punched a zombie, but found that he didn’t kill it and was being dragged by his own arm into the horde, and Evan dislocated his shoulder with an abusive punch, dropping to the ground with a yell. It was their final moments, that spurred her first.

“A single miscalculation dominoes into a death sentence...” Bromley thought with slight annoyance. He closed his eyes as his body tumbled into the death pit, hoping for a fast death.

“Of all the stupid stuff I’ve done...” Evan clutched his arm, trying fruitlessly to shove it back into place.

“I should of known... The captain doesn’t hold for no reason...” Josh berated himself. His vision was blurring away steadily as his energy ran out.

“What in the name of Celestia are they thinking? I have to help them...” thought Twilight. She would not watch another one of her friends die with her standing close by! Not again! Her horn burst to light, along with her eyes as she activated her magic. She concentrated as hard as she could.

“Well... That was a pretty fast death. Damn, I didn’t feel any pain at all.” Bromley felt weightless. Was he in heaven? His body felt so light... So free. And then everything went to hell as Twilight dropped him on the ground from eight feet in the air.

“Fuck...” He breathed out, opening his eyes only to be greeted by the rosy eyes of Rainbow Dash glaring at him.

“You reckless... grr... BUCKING piece of... HOLY HAY ... DEAR CELESTIA HELP ME NOT KILL YOU!” Rainbow Dash slammed her hoofs into his chest, and Bromley gasped out the last of the air in his lungs.

“I-I’m sorry...” Bromley gasped out, his ribs screaming. The damn pony was strong! “I will be mo... more careful.. Fuckgetoffmeplease.” He breathed out as quickly as he could, and Rainbow Dash stepped off him immediately, nuzzling his neck shortly after. Bromley attempted to not black out.

“Zombies... Dead...” Bromley shakily rolled onto his hands and knees, but Rainbow Dash gently kicked him in the side, making him roll back over.

“No way. You already took out like a hundred of them on your own...” Rainbow Dash glared at him, annoyed.

“87...” Bromley wheezed out.

“Hey! I think that popped my shoulder back into place! Woo! Way to go pony! Ah god. No... wait... That didn’t help at all!” Evan glared at his arm. He had landed the same way as Bromley, having been tugged out of a mob about to feast on him. He started flinging his arm around as much as it would go in an attempt to relocate his shoulder.

“You should stop doing that before you cause any more damage to yourself. Evan, stop!” Twilight exclaimed. He just kept flinging his dislodged arm around wildly. Twilight began stepping closer. She put up her hooves to try and grapple with him and then found herself a little farther aways with a burning sting on her cheek.

“Just bitch slapped a pony... Sorry Twi! I really did not mean to make you my whore. I got Applejack for that.” Evan stopped flinging his arm around. He began walking towards the zombies again, limping a bit. Suddenly he flew back all the way into the wall behind Twilight. Where Evan used to be stood Applejack.

“Now ya call me your bitch agin and Ah swear to Celestia, you won't never buck nothing ever again with them legs. Y’hear?” Evan had no reply, seeing as not only was his face embedded in the wall, but he seemed to be unconscious.

Nate heard the screaming and was outside. He would of been even quicker, but Fluttershy was on his chest previously. He had left his sword inside, but he didn’t care as he ran towards a glowing Twilight. Besides him ran Coffee, the unicorn’s own horn lit up bright yellow, like a firefly. Nate ran past the door Evan had previously knocked over, he noticed a piece of the scrap metal that had broken off it. He gripped it, tore it from the door and ran towards Twilight again, who was currently starting to get flanked by zombies as she lifted the three humans that were at the entrance getting swarmed. One zombie dropped lower to take a bite out of Twilight’s neck, but Nate was faster, removing the zombie’s head from its body. Nate placed himself in front of the concentrating pony, ignoring the rest of the inhabitants of the shelter that were running out. Coffee lunged ahead, his glowing horn suddenly spewing bright blasts of energy sporadically. The energy tore through zombies much like a shotgun would, ripping through the mottled flesh easily and killing them quickly. The zombie lines began dropping, but it was obvious Coffee couldn’t keep it up for long. Rainbow Dash was currently tending to Bromley, and Applejack was busy berating Evan, despite him being unconscious. Nate decided he had to do something.

Despite his hate of blood and gore, Nate still had the balls of steel that everyone on Bromley’s crew had. No member was afraid to give up their life for their friends. Nate headed into battle to join Coffee, picking up the rod that Josh had dropped when he fell to the zombies. He swung it with ease, breaking one zombie in two practically with a hard hit. Coffee kept firing, though his coat was covered in a light layer of sweat because of the tiredness he was beginning to experience. Two people can’t hold the line though. Nate suddenly felt clawed hands on his shoulder, and he turned, eyes wide. He watched as a zombie screamed at him before launching it’s open mouthed face at him. He saw the fangs swiftly approaching and could do nothing. It was suddenly thrown onto the ground roughly, an angry Fluttershy landing on its chest and swiftly bucking it’s face into a bloody pulp in two kicks. Nate had to refocus his attention on killing the zombies again, though inside he was amazed she had the courage to even attempt saving him.

Coffee encountered a similar situation, but suddenly three of the zombies exploded in a confetti filled blast, blood covered streamers and colorful paper flying everywhere. The now sparkly corpses didn’t rise, and Coffee turned for a brief second to see Pinkie Pie behind an odd cannon.

“I never go anywhere without my party cannon.” She said sweetly, then fired again.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack entered the battle shortly after, Applejack applying the skill she had learned from Evan to completely ruin the zombie bodies while Rainbow Dash rained down kicks on the zombies’ heads from above. She would swoop down in a blue blur, then a head would explode from one of her powerful kicks shortly after.

The still conscious crew members held the line valiantly, killing the last of the zombies with amazing team work. Applejack, Coffee, and Nate held the line in the exact places Bromley, Josh, and Evan had been in earlier, while Rainbow Dash provided aerial support. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, barraged the enemy with artillery while Fluttershy guarded the unconscious bodies of her comrades. After a few minutes, the fight was over. Everypony (and Nate) stood victorious. Nate suddenly stabbed the metal staff that everyone had been using deep into a pile of bodies, impaling four corpses and raising the rod up in the air like a flag.

At that, everyone whooped and hollered, happy to be alive. Twilight checked over Josh Bromley and Evan and confirmed they were perfectly alright. She carried off Josh to her chambers to check on his body's condition. He had pushed himself ridiculously hard. Rainbow Dash laid down on Bromley’s chest, attempting to comfort herself. She had almost lost him. Applejack pulled Evan off of the wall and hoisted him onto her back, carrying him back to their room.

Nate started pushing the bodies into the huge tunnel they designated for dead zombie pushing. He was tired, but he was the only one awake. He had work to do. Once the remains were clear, Nate looked over at Rainbow Dash. She was asleep now, exhausted from the earlier battle. Obviously it wasn’t a very good sleep, as she occasionally trembled. He sighed and rubbed the sweat off his forehead. He spied Fluttershy, who was blankly staring at him, as if she didn’t actually see him. He set down the shovel he had used to remove the corpses from the home and approached the cream coated Mare. Kneeling, he stared her in the eyes. She seemed to look through him, almost behind him. He shook his hand in front of her face and she finally seemed to zone back into reality.

“Hey.” Nate said evenly, keeping his voice carefully neutral. He understood what she was currently thinking about. Her first kill.

“Hi...” She replied in a squeaky voice, her glassy eyes unfocused. Nate gently ran his hand down over her cheek. Unintentionally Fluttershy leaned into his warm hand.

“... Thank you.” He said sincerely. Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded, a light blush covering her cheeks.

“... Yeah. That thing... Wasn’t really alive was it?” Nate shook his head in confirmation.

“Mhmm. It wasn’t alive at all. It was dead long ago, and it just happened to turn into a monster. You helped it. You prevented its body from becoming desecrated. You honored the life that used to be in it.” Nate explained sagely, hoping that his words would keep her calm. She seemed to relax a little, in fact look a little proud. That was good.

“I’m.. I’m going to go lay down. Thank you Nate.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek before trotting away. Nate avoided the way his stomach “fluttered” around, and then stood and went to go get a drink of water. He was so drained, both physically and mentally. If he couldn’t go rest, he could at least refresh himself with some water. There was still work to do.

Coffee’s horn actually hurt. He could hardly believe it was even possible, but his horn ached, like he had pulled a muscle in it or something. It was similar to a headache, but it seemed to make his entire body scream at him to go lay down. He had left Nate to clean things up, and had retreated back to his room, Pinkie close behind.

“Are you okay Coffee?!” Her voice was loud, grating on his poor nerves.

“No Pinkie. I accidentally my everything.” He groaned. It seemed to make the pink pony lower her voice, as her next words were in a whisper.

“Oh sorry.... Hey, um... Did I do a good job?” Coffee nodded despite his headache.

“Yeah... You did great. Thanks for saving me.” Pinkie smiled hugely at the gratitude shown to her, then went and curled up against her coltfriend’s back.

“No problem hun! You can count on me!” She said loudly in her mate’s ear.

“Please be quiet...” Coffee pleaded.

Bromley awoke with the feeling of a thousand muscle cramps and like ten thousand grown men had just shit, pissed, and died on him. But at the same time, he felt a wonderful mare laying on him that seemed to be nuzzled deep into his neck. His horrible, rancid smelling neck. With a groan he moved his arm. Every single joint that existed in that particular arm gave a horrifying popping sound, which felt absolutely fantastic to his stiff body.

His fingers laced gently through the rainbow mane, spread across his chest and he felt even worse for messing it up with the gore covering his hand. And then he realized there was already chunks of flesh lodged deeply in her hair.

“Why is there zombie casserole in your hair?” He asked calmly. The previously sleeping pony shot up on his chest, making him wince in pain.

“Oh my gosh you’re okay.” She shot down, and before Bromley could protest she attached her pony lips to his human ones. After the initial surprise, he gingerly kissed her back, stroking her cheek with one hand comfortingly as he did so. She pulled back, blushing heavily.

“Um... Anyway... We totally killed the rest of the zombies.” She said like nothing had happened. Bromley raised an eyebrow.

“We?”

“Yeah. Coffee, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Nate, and even Fluttershy! They all helped me destroy the last of the zombies. I took out about half.” She held up a blood stained hoof, looking proud of herself.

“Really now?” Bromley asked with a smirk, his deep tone laced with playfulness.

“Yep! All me.” She said back, grinning like an idiot. At that they both laughed then abruptly stopped. Bromley stated what they were both thinking.

“I smell like shit.”

Rainbow Dash giggled a little at that, a cute smile appearing across her face.

“Me too.” Bromley wisely didn’t agree or disagree. Rainbow Dash let him up, saying she was going to sleep on the roof, and he walked over to Nate who was tiredly shoveling the last of the dead bodies into the dead hole they had created.

“Ey’ Nate...” He greeted him carefully. Nathaniel turned to face him, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Oh. You’re awake. Good. You’re okay...?” He questioned Bromley.

“Yeah. I might of cracked a rib or something. And I don’t think there is a part of me that isn’t bruised, but other then that I’m okay.” Bromley replied, grimacing as he peeled some dried flesh off of his shoulder.

“Anyway... I don’t think we’ve gotten gored up this bad before. Evan is the same. We should arrange for a bath.” Bromley stilled at that, his heart rate picking up again.

“... A bath? Singular?” Nathaniel shrugged.

“Why not? Not like they’re humans.” Bromley’s eye twitched at that.

“But they are still girls. With personalities like humans. And they are going to be wet. Around us. With our naked bodies.” Bromley explained to Nate, clarifying things slowly.

“... Oh... Well we can run... Two.” Nathaniel decided. Bromley nodded in agreement.

“Alright. I’ll get to work on digging some shallow holes. You keep putting away these bodies and...” Bromley peeled his shirt off his head, handing it to Nate who stared at it like it had been up Satan’s ass. “I think you can just wash some of our clothes. Save the pants and stuff for later, I’m sure we can get to that ourselves.” Bromley walked off, his eye twitching each time his jeans gave a squelching sound from the blood and guts soaking into them.

Bromley decided to put the two water holes at about a sixty feet difference. While he would be able to hear the ponies because his hearing was trained to be ridiculously powerful, no other human would hear them, and the ponies wouldn’t be able to hear the humans. He dug each trench to be about three feet deep with a wide enough circumference on one to house all the girls and a slightly smaller one for the boys. With a grunt he sat down after, exhausted again.

He fell back asleep, the hot sun warming his shirtless chest.

That is how Nathaniel found Bromley a few hours later. He had dragged all the ponies with him, and a limping Josh who had recently awoken. An unconscious Evan also came along, slung over Applejack’s back. Bromley awoke as soon as Nate’s footsteps became audible, and got to his feet.

“Well, the larger one is for you girls... And of course that leaves the guys the smaller one. Now, how do we get water in here?” Nate sighed.

“We should dig down a little further in a separate hole for water, then use buckets to drag it over.” Bromley nodded, picking up the shovel again. With the help of Josh and Nathaniel, a third hole was finished in minutes, bubbling with water. Nate ran to get buckets while Bromley took a much needed drink.

Nate returned with buckets in record time, and soon with the ponies’ help the bathing holes were full of water. Bromley poured his last bucket on Evan’s face, who sputtered to wakefulness.

“You asshole!” He glared up at his captain, who just shrugged, dropping the bucket on the ground.

“Never claimed I wasn’t, dear friend.”

“I just realized... I spend a lot of time unconscious.”

The boys stripped down to their boxers and sat down in the lukewarm water. Bromley relaxed on the side tiredly, while Nate attempted to float in the middle of the pool. Josh was almost asleep in his little corner of the pool, while Evan suddenly sent a wave of water over to Bromley, who almost snorted it all up his nose. After a few coughs and gags Bromley glared up at his pilot.

“Come here you little bastard.” Bromley made a move to get up, but Evan screamed at him.

“I will never do that again if you don’t touch me!” Evan put up his hands defensively.

“If you ever splash me again I will rain down hell fire on your soul.” Bromley threatened a final time before laying his head back again.

Everyone was washing up, tired of just relaxing. Josh pushed his head under the water, coming out a few seconds later after rinsing through his hair thoroughly. Out of his messy brown hair, a lump of flesh that sort of looked like a kidney floated to the top of the water. Nate just stared at it, not saying a word.

“... Never speak of this.” Josh said in a montone, tossing the organ far away from the pool. Bromley felt refreshed and decided to get out. First though, he looked over in the ponies direction. His eyes widened and he nudged Evan before pointing over at the other pool. Evan was soon spell bound. Nate, seeing them both staring towards the ponies, automatically turned to look in that direction as well.

There was more splashing than necessary, but the raining droplets only accented their bodies. Bromley couldn’t keep his eyes from staring at Rainbow Dash’s flank and slender sides, memorizing her figure expertly. Eventually his eyes trailed up to her wet hair, currently hiding half of her face. As the ponies came out of the water they shook off their mane. Applejack twisted hers like someone would twist a towel in an effort to wring out the water. She stepped out first and Evan resisted drooling. Nate stared directly at Fluttershy’s face and saw how she whipped her hair around, letting the water fly away from the pink mane. Coffee now sat there, entranced as Pinkie Pie’s normally curly hair stuck to her back in long strands, her pink fur glistening in the sunlight. All of the men were enjoying the sight until the ponies finally finished getting dry. Just as the girls were about to leave for the house, Evan called out;

“You’re very sexy!” All the ponies turned their heads and saw Bromley holding Evan by his neck underwater.

“I’m going to kill you!” Bromley raged, before intelligently . Nate, Josh, and Coffee averted their eyes from the ponies and tried desperately to submerge themselves. Once the ponies had re-entered the house, Coffee stepped out of the water and went for the door. Josh and Nate went off to fill another hole with water to wash clothes with.

Nate began washing Bromley’s clothes. All of Bromley’s clothes were so dirty that he couldn’t even put them on to help wash clothes. They were coated with disgusting chunks of dried flesh. He was restrained to his quarters after he got out of the water, until his clothes were clean. Of course, it was also Rainbow Dash’s room, and no one could really keep her from walking on in if she felt like it. She did consider it, but decided to keep Bromley’s dignity intact and sit outside. She did, however, request to bring his clothes in.

When this did occur, she silently opened the door, his clothes over her back. He was covered from the bottom down by a blanket that had previously been on the bed. She was still curious as to what it looked like, so she closed the door behind her, in case she did anything... irrational. She approached him slowly, letting his clothes slide off her back onto the floor. She lifted his pants up and acted as though she were giving it to him, but dropped it. Bromley had bent down to pick up the clothes, and was planning on using his now clean clothes to cover himself. She surprised him and he let go completely of the blanket around his waist. Instead of staring at what was nearest her head (his “head”), she flew up into the air and put her front hooves on Bromley’s shoulders. She gave a him a long kiss. Her tongue licked at his lips gently, but Bromley was still recovering from the horse mouth coming extremely close to his balls. She didn’t mind. He was safe. And home. And naked! She realized the latter at the last second and fled, but not without seeing what... “colt parts” looked like. She and Applejack had an interesting conversation about that a little later.

Bromley sighed to himself, willing his totally unmanly blush to go away. Did that just happen? Was he really three inches away from a little horsey blow-job? He dressed quickly and went outside. He was happy Rainbow Dash wasn’t as terrified of him as he suspected she would be after witnessing his darker side, even if it was just for a few seconds. He had come dangerously close to snapping.

Evan was in his quarters, kneeling in a corner. Applejack woke up only to hear him finish what he was doing. He said quietly and almost in a deep growl, “Forgive me lord, for I have slaughtered” to the corner. With that he got up and checked on the now “asleep” pony in his bed. He kissed her on the head. She stayed still and waited for what Evan was going to do next. She heard a roar and a sudden thud mixed with a loud crack. Then;

“Mother of god! Oh sweet Jesus that hurt. Oh... Thank you wall.” Evan had just fixed his arm by ramming it into the wall. Applejack still laid still, despite the odd noises. Evan set off for his destination; Bromley’s room. He was not happy that he had almost died in the last fight. It all came down to the fact that Bromley and him had not been able to hold on their own. Evan felt like he needed to redeem himself, and he was sure Bromley felt the same way. It was almost like an itch on his back in the place that he couldn’t reach. Without release for his anger, Bromley might start acting oddly. Evan got ready to put his plan into play.

His captain was still in the process of dressing himself so Evan was forced to wait patiently by the door. The man opened it up and Evan grabbed him by the neck with his forearm and hand. He swung Bromley under his arm and ran with him out to the open space in front of the house. “Spar with me!” he shouted. Nate went into the lab, ignoring the two oddities. Rainbow Dash, confused by the muffled scream of Evan’s, flew down and noticed Bromley indifferently staring at the ground as he was tugged along by Evan. She watched as Applejack trotted out of Evan’s room, following the two boys quietly. Setting him down, Evan stood about five feet away from Bromley. Bromley sighed and reached into his pockets to pull out his gloves which he calmly tugged on. It was pretty ironic, seeing as the guy who he was going to punch in the face had given him these amazing things.

“Evan... I hope you know what you’re getting into. I’m a little angry at the moment, and although I may have a broken rib or two, I’m still gonna kick your ass.” Bromley’s still tired eyes narrowed and he got into a professional fighting stance, something that hadn’t been necessary since their arrival.

“Yes, this is what I want!” Evan grinned triumphantly, and settled into his own ready-to-kick-this-guy’s-ass stance. “And what you need,” he thought. Nate poked his head out and watched from the sidelines for a few seconds, before ducking back inside his lab. He work on space craft quietly in his lab, trying to block out that he had no partner to work with. Fluttershy was diddling around, not doing anything in particular.

Rainbow Dash nervously settled down on the ground near the makeshift arena, wondering how serious her colt was. She was still seriously worried about his physical condition, and now even his mental state. His strange eyes and pure anger kept flashing in her mind, making her shudder. Coffee and Pinkie suddenly bounded out the door and through the arena, happy as any two ponies could be. The fighters stared at the two animals for a second then their eyes returned to each other. Suddenly Bromley smirked and called out just loud enough for everyone in the radius to hear;

“Challenge accepted, bitch.” Evan stood up out of his stance and walked over to Bromley who remained as tense as before. He expected nothing less than something strange from his overly eccentric friend. He hoisted his fist behind him dramatically and threw it straight at the man he called his captain. Bromley’s hand shot up and with a loud smack the fist was caught in the man grasp. Evan smiled and spun away from the arm that was caught. It held tight and Evan flung himself towards his friend with his full body. With a grunt Bromley lurched back, avoiding the body successfully, but twisting a muscle in his thigh in the process. With an unamused sound he slammed his foot into his annoying friend’s kidney while he was down, not afraid to play dirty. Evan was winded for only a second, before his hoarse laugh erupted from his mouth. Bromley hurt a hell of alot more than any zombie ever could, but he didn’t care. Evan spun after he was hit, then used his hand to get to his feet instantly. As he shot up he smashed his foot forward, almost hitting Bromley’s crotch. Bromley stared down at the foot before Evan spoke up. “You’re going to need those. I forgot.” Rainbow Dash glared darkly at him. Bromley realized that he was being made a fool. He felt his anger growing again, but he carefully controlled himself. He now understood Evan’s plan, and he needed to put a stop to it before it got too far. He would knock him out before he lost himself. Evan stepped backwards two feet, beckoning his adversary. Bromley shot forward, faster than even Evan had ever seen him move. Rainbow Dash resisted gasping at the speed, and she blinked confusedly as Bromley actually stood still in front of Evan’s face, speaking too quietly for her to hear. Evan was expecting to feel his face cave in, but instead Bromley just whispered in his ear.

“I know what you’re trying to do.” Bromley growled lowly.

“I know what I’m trying to do!” Evan replied a little louder, then jabbed his fingers into Bromley’s side, exactly where he had seen the darkest bruise from the battle. Bromley felt his eyes bleed into red, his vision turning into a bloody haze.

With that Bromley threw what was known to his friends as the “NOPE” fist, and Evan flew about five feet backward as it connected with his right eyeball, then flew back even further as his back ground against the red planet’s floor. He hadn’t even made an effort to dodge it. He now lay there on the ground. Applejack was tense, her teeth grinding together audibly as the boy didn’t get up. Bromley stood still, his eyes reverting back to normal. He let out a heavy sigh, turning to leave. Then the laughing came from him. Evan slammed his fists into the ground and leaped forward, sending himself flying towards his friend with open hands. Bromley’s eyes widened, and he turned just in time. He shot his own arms up and caught him, flipping backwards and pinning the smaller boy beneath him.

“God damn it, stop it Evan!” He said loudly. Evan grinned, shaking his head. Evan used his back muscles to pile drive his head into Bromley’s chest, reigniting the intense pain Bromley felt from his cracked ribs. Bromley roared, his eyes once again transforming into their red. He pulled back his arm, this time in a hooking manner, and launched it towards the little douche bag who kept screwing with him. Before it connected and as it was being prepped, Evan asked the most important question of the year.

“How much will make you happy?” He took the blow, feeling his jaw pop out in one hit, and his cheek break. Evan resisted blacking out, and using his full willpower rammed his now bleeding hands into ground, launching the much heavier boy off of him. He stumbled onto his feet. Turning to face his friend, then spitting a bit of blood onto the ground next to him, he spoke again.

“All you do is drown yourself in your hardships. All you do is rot slowly in your own mind. You’ve done it for years. You take it out with rage, at every opportunity it can get. I want to know how much will make you happy. I knew the zombies weren’t enough. They’re so easy these days. I felt as though you needed help from a friend. Someone who’s always been there for you.” Bromley stood his ground, his chest burning and his vision a foggy mess. He didn’t attack though, and Evan took that as a sign to continue. “How much will make you feel better?” The point was hard to get across because of the laughing that appeared in the middle of the tiny rant. Bromley sneered at the boy standing across from him, his words barely ringing in his mind. Evan had pushed him too far. His eyes showed his vicious insanity, which was normally so much more hidden from the world. Rainbow Dash whimpered in the back of her throat, and trembled as she viewed her colt in a new light. Applejack was even tenser, ready to rush forward to help her mate. But what in the name of Celestia was Evan doing?

“It will never be enough Evan... I could kill ten thousand zombies and I wouldn’t be satisfied. I could fight ten thousand Evans, and kill them all before I’d be satisfied.” Bromley held his agonizing chest with one hand, the pain fueling the fire of his rage.

“How about kill one? One that didn’t put up a fight? Would you kill a completely defenseless friend?” Bromley’s eye twitched one last time. And then he showed the world his true colors. He rushed towards the figure with its hands in it pockets. He smashed into its chest sending it flying and sprawling over the ground.

“You know, I would! I really would. Because he has no concern for what happens to him, and he’s an idiot. And he couldn’t leave his friend’s dark side alone!” Evan stood, shoved his hands back in its pockets gave a slight chuckle and looked on expectantly. Bromley charged again and instead of sending the skinny boy flying, he picked up the standing figure by the throat with one hand, hoisting him into the air.

“I. Hate. You.” Bromley whispered, his crimson stained eyes glaring up at his friend’s.Their dark salute was shadowed by the sun, and soon Evan went limp. With a howl of frustration Bromley dropped the still figure to the ground. His eyes faded back into their normal hue once again, and his chest let him know he had overexerted himself. He collapsed next to Evan and screamed again, curling into a ball as agony overtook him. Applejack sat there, hot tears streaming down her face. She got to her feet, and began to walk slowly towards the still forms of the boys. Rainbow Dash still sat there though, fear racing through her.

“I can’t kill you, you fuckin’ idiot!” With a grunt of pain Bromley uncurled and smashed his fist into the boy’s chest, making him buck up in the air with a strangled gasp before he began coughing loudly, desperate for air. Eventually the pilot got the oxygen he needed and sat up.

“I knew you couldn’t do it. But I really hope this helped. Maybe you might actually get to use those balls. Know that I’ll always be there for you, and if you needed to kill me to keep living as happy as you are, then so be it. And I know you don’t actually hate me. Also, Chuck Testa.” Evan got up and walked away, limping slightly, grasping his bruised throat in his calloused hands. He left the broken figure behind him. Evan felt that he had to break open that shell, and so he did. He nodded at Rainbow Dash, and the worried pony almost sonic Rainboomed to her colt, taking the head bob as a sign that it was fine.

Evan stopped on his way to wherever he was going (he hadn’t decided yet) and gave Applejack a long hug.

“Were you worried babe?” Applejack nodded and Evan hugged her tighter. “Are you still mad at me?” She shook her head. “Well we have to fix that!” He stole her hat and ran away with it atop his head. His chuckles (that were hoarse and sounded more like dying animals) could be heard across the complex as he played the game with his mate. To him, nothing before the embrace had ever transpired.

An explosion was heard from Nate’s lab. Fluttershy immediately burst into tears and ran toward it. Twilight looked up and started walking toward the site nervously, in case another explosion went off. Nate pushed through the door of his lab that lead outside, half of his facial skin burnt to a crisp and part of his skull visible. Various bits of flaming hair and skin fluttered away after every step. He limped forwards, one of his legs bending awkwardly. He walked in a straight line until his unnaturally concave leg gave out, an audible crack sickeningly sounding. He slammed his fist on the ground in frustration, soon trying to get up again, but to no avail. He went unconscious from shock shortly thereafter. Fluttershy approached him, her eyes watering profusely, and began to drag him into their room. She had her mouth on his charred collar, the scent of burning flesh stinging her nose and eyes. She furiously tugged to lift him, and soon laid him out on the bed.

Josh, meanwhile, desperately attempted to put out the fire with the help of Coffee. Pinkie Pie went to join Fluttershy to comfort her. The fire in the lab seemed to be caused by an engine experiment. All the work Nate had put into his space craft was destroyed. Decimated. The only things that really remained of the craft was the blackened shell. Coffee and Josh cooled the room as much as they could with a mixture of magic (that Coffee had been learning from Twilight) and water.

She sat, waiting for anything. A breath. A heartbeat. A blink. Anything. She laid her head on his chest and sobbed. Fluttershy cried for a minute or two before she noticed that her tears were running onto his neck and pooling near his adam’s apple. She wiped it away with her foreleg, tears still gently sliding down her yellow cheeks, then laid her head back down. Pinkie Pie looked on, choking back a few tears herself. Twilight was at the entrance to the room, and was looking at the scene with a stone face. Suddenly the chest Fluttershy was crying on was moving. Nate eventually started coughing, verifying that he was indeed laughing. She had tickled him back to life with her tears, for the time being. She called for Twilight, who then hurried into their room. No one was really sure what had happened to them. Evan was standing in the actual doorway with the now solemn Applejack, who was currently nuzzling against his leg reassuringly, her hat was still resting atop his head. Evan looked indifferent, almost like the Captain.

“Can you do it yet?” asked Fluttershy, braver now than ever.

“I can try,” replied Twilight. She put her horn to Nate’s chest. He stopped breathing and light lifted out of his chest. It seemed to be attached to the tip of her horn. She put it down on the ground. It turned into a glowing white foal. At that everyone gasped, even Evan. There were no features but it soon grew. It gained glasses and a frown. The lip piercings were still there, but the hands and feet were hooves. Nate was a pony. Or, as one’s name changes as their body does, Dusk Swirl. His coat was purple. His eyes were pink. He had a sharp horn, a white patch in his coat at the horn’s base. He had a short purple and white tail, and a purple and white striped mane. His cutie mark was a blue pickaxe.

While everyone else was rejoicing at Dusk’s new body and his new given life, Bromley still sat in the clearing. Rainbow Dash slowly approached him. “Stay back Dashie... I’m sane... but..t” he said sadly, eyes tearing up hugely as his tear ducts stretched themselves out. He hadn’t cried in years.

“After what I just saw, I’m not so sure. Albeit, he did get up and walk away, but how did he know how to trip your trigger like that? Why did you almost kill him? He might die of bleeding later!” Rainbow Dash’s voice grew louder and more escalated. Bromley broke down again and was silent as more tears dripped down his face. Rainbow Dash finally saw what had transpired. Bromley had relied on Evan his whole life as the one place he couldn’t be angry. But Evan had drove him mercilessly to throw all of that away. Rainbow Dash went the last few feet to her one and only mate. “There there. It’s going to be ok. I’ll take care of you.”

“You don’t want me to be near you! Look at what I just did to my friend. My own crew member! I’ve known him for years and you for maybe a couple months. How could I not hurt you worse than him? Do the math!” With a determined grunt Bromley stood up on shaky feet and headed off in the opposite direction of the house. The tears were gone, and his calculative brain began to take the safest path of action. He couldn’t be near anyone right now, that much was certain to him. He needed to go find someplace to hide away. Some place where he would never hurt anyone who mattered ever again. His instincts informed him of something following him. He turned to find Rainbow Dash rushing toward him and prepared himself for what he had to do next. His hand struck out expertly, hitting a nerve point in her neck. He caught her limp form, inches away from the ground and slowly settled her there.

“I’m sorry...” He leaned down, kissed her pony cheek one last time. His shakes were gone, his body running in full capacity once again. After strapping his gloves on tighter, he walked over to where Nate had previously stuck their swords into the ground after cleaning them. Picking up two of the blades, he looked them over, deeming them sharm enough. He silently crept to his room and found two belts he wasn’t using. He made a sort of sheath that would allow him to carry his swords on his back, and he left the complex in a strange direction, determined to be forever lost in this world before he killed someone. However, the soft, salt, sand-like ground left imprints of where he had stepped, making it clearly visible of the direction he had traveled. Maybe his subconscious wanted him to be found.

Chapter 11
View Online

The Herd

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

His friend had a new body, his mate was no longer mad at him, and even though he was in a world of pain from the fight with his best friend, Evan was feeling good. The only thing that was wrong was the fact that his friend was still outside with his own mate and Evan feared that he may do something stupid. Fluttershy was currently hugging Nate, happy tears streaming down her face. Everyone else was cheering, smiling and patting both of the ponies on the back in congratulations. Evan saw a perfect opportunity to leave as Applejack finally left his side.

He excused himself from the joy and walked to the front door, away from everyone else. When he stepped out though, all he saw was Rainbow Dash, lying broken on the ground. Her figure slept lifeless just a few feet from where Bromley once was. Evan sprinted out from the shelter on broken bones and a shattered conscience. He picked her up, quickly checking her over for injuries, and his eyes widened as he saw the faint bruise on her neck. The captain had gone professional on them.

“Well dip me in ketchup and call me dinner.” He thought to himself. Evan rushed the rainbow Pegasus towards the still partying group. He set her on her shared bed, and took inventory of the room. Seeing nothing too badly out of place he realized his friend was even further away than he had originally suspected. Swiftly, he ran back outside taking nothing except his guilt.The trail Bromley had carved in the dirt was fairly obvious. He must be shattered emotionally if Evan could see the path this clearly. He rushed as fast as his limbs would let him. He would not let his friend down now.

Twilight and Josh hadn’t talked since yesterday. She sat down on Josh’s bed, as he needed to rest, and she just wanted to talk. The human reclined backwards, his back resting against the wall behind the bed while the pony sat on her haunches, gazing at him expectantly.

“Oh. Hey Joshua.” Twilight said, her voice sounding slightly hopeful.

“Wuz Up.” Josh said blandly, the norm for him. There was always a spark of mystery in it though. She thought it as inquisitive, and somewhat attractive.

“I’ve been thinking about the other ponies and people. Evan has Applejack. Dusk has Fluttershy. Coffee has Pinkie Pie. Bromley even has someone to love him.” The petite magenta equine contemplated. Staring out into the space of his own mind Josh replied;

“That would seem to be the case.” She turned away, a hesitance in her voice so many nerds are all too familiar with as she asked;

“Well do you think we should as well?”

“We’re on some backwater mudball at the ass end of the ‘verse knee deep in ‘fun and interesting’ and the only thing I have going for me,” pausing his monologue to double-tap his index finger against his temple, “is this old thing. It's not what you would call an ‘opportune’ time if you catch my drift.”

The look of rejection on Twilight’s face was natural. This naturalness of his words did nothing to impede Josh from feeling like a douche.

With a weighted nasal exhale he continued, ”I’ll tell you what, we make it out of this alive and I’ll buy you a drink, see where it leads, alright?” Twilight perked up a bit, and Josh felt himself lighten up a little too.

Inside Dusk’s room, he, Fluttershy, and Applejack were talking quietly. Applejack had an odd feeling in her gut, and she realized with a start that Evan was gone.

“Hey y’all... either of you see where Evan went?” Her worried tone instantly alerted the two love struck ponies next to her.

“I don’t believe I- I have Applejack.. I’m so sorry...” was Fluttershy’s weak reply. Dusk nodded in agreement, but then returned his attention to the cream coated mare. Applejack nodded in thanks, and with the pretense of calmness left them to find Evan. Before long she had searched the entire perimeter of the base camp, unable to find any sight of her colt friend. No, he was more than a friend. She was deeply concerned for him. After all, one just doesn’t sleep with someone and just consider them a friend. Now that she began thinking deeply, Applejack came to a dark realization that she loved that insane man. And he had left her. Without warning. Not even a vague goodbye or a measly glance in her direction. She was decimated.

Applejack stopped moving when she got to the entrance of her own room. She sat there at the front door and finally just burst into tears. Terrible thoughts plagued her. Were his feelings not mutual? Was she just a toy for him to play with? Did he actually not care? She sat there, hooves covering her face. She realized she was being irrational, but there was nothing that could stop the flow of questions continually flowing through her head. Wet tears dripped past her hooves onto the floor, and splashing noise seemed to throw her out of her daze. She pushed the door open to her room, and stumbled in, tears still flowing. Her stetson hat was left forgotten on the floor as she jumped onto the bed.

All the things that had happened to Applejack since the original crash suddenly seemed to emerge from her memories. The strange creatures. The blood and gore. The boy she loved fighting for her safety. Rarity’s death. Everything flashed into her head once again and there was no Evan to comfort her now. He wasn’t there to pull her into his surprisingly strong chest. Sobbing as hard as ever, she buried her head into her pillow. Why couldn’t she sleep? It was so difficult, without Evan’s warm body to sleep next to, she just could not drift into slumber like normal. She cried even more, now knowing that even her sleeping patterns would go askew. She stared at the empty side of the bed where Evan usually slept.

Sure, they would both end up in the middle anyways, cuddling the night away, but it seemed so much more profound. She laid in the middle of the bed. It was too cold. Sighing quietly she sniffed the sheets, his lingering scent comforting her just a bit. She couldn’t take this though, she needed to get out of this bed. She got up and laid on the floor. “It would be softer if Evan were here.” The blond pony thought to herself. She stared at the ceiling. No matter what she couldn’t get her mind off of him. At least she wasn’t thinking about Rarity. She turned her head and looked at the door. Maybe if she wandered outside enough, a zombie would get her. Then she’d stop thinking about anything. Permanently.

“Applejack?” Fluttershy whispered, poking her head in the door suddenly.

“What?” Applejack whispered, closing her eyes and squeezing a few more tears out.

“Dusk and I are worried about you. We want you to come into our room until Evan gets back.” Fluttershy peeked her head in and Dusk followed, confirming that he was okay with it.

“He ain’t Comin’ BACK!” Applejack shouted, increasingly louder, crying harder than ever. Fluttershy shot straight to the edge of tears and Dusk put his hoof around her. He turned her around and gave her a gentle push outside.

“Evan goes off a lot Applejack. Don’t be too upset. Have you noticed how we haven’t seen Bromley either? I’m willing to bet the two of them are taking good care of eachother.” Dusk said to the whimpering pony laying on the bed. He approached her and patted her back.

“Just trust in them. Those two... they may be crazy, but they always look out for each other.” Applejack seemed to settle down a bit, so he backed up and left her. As he stepped out of the room, he hoped to the almighty whatever, that what he said was true.

“FUCKING BROMLEY! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!” Evan shouted, running after his best friend as fast as he could. His lungs hurt. His legs hurt. His throat still fucking hurt. He screamed again;

“BROMLEY I’M GOING TO KILL YOU IF RAINBOW DASH DOESN- WOHA! FUC- OW!” And suddenly he was in the air. “THAT DICK!” Bromley had left a rope trap and he was now hanging from a giant rock by his foot.

“FUCK! BROMLEY! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!” Growling loudly he began to fiddle with the knot keeping him high in the air. Then he realized how high up he was. “How did he string this thing up so fast...” A gust of wind blasted past him, a BIG one. This gave him an idea. He shut his eyes, wrapped his arms around himself, and concentrated.

“Dusk’s wrong. He’s wrong alright. He don’t know the first thang’ about Evan.” Applejack paced her room and was beginning to wear a circle in the floor. She looked at her path and realized that she had been walking in a circle for what was probably the past two hours. With a sigh she laid back down on the bed that once belonged to Evan. She teared up yet again, probably the fourth time that day. She didn’t understand why her brain was telling her he was gone completely. Obviously he was out there, possibly dying because of zombies. At that her heart hurt, and she put her hoof to her chest as more hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

There had to be something to make this easier. At this point she felt like she somehow deserved everything that had happened to her. Did she lie? Did she somehow betray the Elements of Harmony? She opened her bleary eyes, staring blankly at the slightly fogged up looking room. Then she spied it, lying next to Evan’s pile of ruined clothes. It was a thin piece of scrap metal, probably from their old door which had been replaced with another by Josh. Still, the thin piece of metal shone in the sunlight and Applejack got off the bed and approached the alloy. She stared down at it for a second, before she picked it up in her snout.

She nervously thought about what she was going to do, wondering if she was going to actually do the deed. She nodded finally in affirmation and turned perfectly to press the metal against her flank, right where her cutie mark was. With a grunt, she applied pressure and then pulled, slicing open her flank across her previously untainted cutie mark. A little whimper of pain echoed from her, but she rotated the blade in her mouth and lined it up again, then slashed cutie mark through again, in a cross. Blood ran down her beautiful coat, and the mare shook in pain. It hurt, a lot. But she knew she deserved all of this. Persevering, she turned again this time to her other cutie mark.

There was no chance to cut her right flank though, as she was knocked off her feet and slammed onto her back.

“What the buck are you doing?!” Said the rainbow pegasus that smacked into Applejack.

Applejack cried out as her cut flank let her know that it had scraped against the floor. She then glared up at her friend. Rainbow Dash glanced back at the blood for a second, before swinging her hoof down and smacking Applejack in the face. Applejack’s glare was gone, replaced with shock. She blinked up at her friend, realizing quickly how senseless she had been.

“I-I’m sorry Rainbow Dash... I don’t know what got inta’ me...” Applejack winced as Rainbow Dash clambered off of her, accidentally pressing her bleeding cutie mark into the floor once again. Applejack got up, and Rainbow Dash left for a second before returning with a roll of bandages.

“I’ll wrap it.” The blue coated mare was much calmer than usual, but Applejack detected massive strain in her voice. The bandage soon wrapped around her hind leg, and she gasped in slight pain as Rainbow Dash tugged it fairly tight. Worry nagged at her as Rainbow Dash didn’t speak, her normal talkativeness and competitive air gone.

“Rainbow Dash... What’s wrong hun?” Rainbow Dash tensed at that and pulled away, the bandage secure.

“Bromley ran away. And I’m not really mad at Evan, but he’s the one who made him leave.” She stopped talking, walking to the door.

“I... I’m sorry Rainbow Dash...” Rainbow Dash turned instantly, shooting Applejack with a glare from her fiery eyes that almost put as much fear into Applejack as the captain had when he had looked her scarily.

“I’m not gonna sit back and let him just go! Unlike you apparently.” Applejack flinched at the comment. “Come on, AJ. Buck up, and let’s go find our mates.”

Evan’s miserable form still hung from the rope near the rock. Another gust of wind came for the first time in about a quarter of an hour. His eyes and arms shot open and he used his light body to catch as much wind and momentum as he could. He then curled up and grabbed the rope. He didn’t hang there for long, and instead kept going. The next flip of his body meant that he would catch the rope with his feet, which he did flawlessly. He successfully repeated the process until he reached the top, where he untied himself and then scaled down the rock. As he was doing so, he saw two blurry shapes in the distance from where he came. Noticing it to be Applejack and Rainbow Dash, he turned back towards where Bromley’s tracks led.

“Bromley...” Evan growled in his head as he began walking in the direction of his friend’s path again.

Bromley was camped out on a cliff, above a large red valley that was beautiful to look at. Beside him, was a medium sized cave. Inside he had stowed his water canteen, and had prepared a clean area to rest. He had run far enough away from everyone. They would never find him. And if they did even manage to find his trail, they would be currently dangling in the air.

Exhaling loudly, he slumped against the rock wall on this giant piece of shit that everyone had crash landed on. It was desert everywhere, and he had hoped by leaving he might find someplace more life filled. Like a forest, or an oasis even. But no. There was only rocks and this... red shit all over the ground. It didn’t help that the rocks were also made of red shit. Bromley grumbled and got up to his feet. His life had only gotten more complicated since he got here. He had to take care of more people or ponies or whatever, and he also had even more drama in his life. He hated drama so much.

“Fuck this planet!” he roared in anger and kicked an oversized, round boulder. The boulder began to shake and rumble, until it finally moved to the side, revealing a massive hole leading straight down. Bromley stared for a second, confused as to why he could move the thick, chunky piece of land, and then glanced down the hole. He leaped back just in time, as a clawed hand, easily the size of him emerged.

“Of course. I insult the planet, and it sicks its dog on me.” Bromley’s voice was calm, even as he ran from the hole and slid down the ramp into the valley. He rolled when he hit the bottom, soon running again as (true to his suspicions) the hand was soon joined by another and an enormous beast pulled itself out of the hole. Bromley took a second to stare at the monstrosity.

It’s claws were connected to each other by webbed material, much like a duck feet, and the webbing continued up its arms, connecting them to its sides. It looked bat like, except it didn’t appear to have a head. At the front of its torso was just a mouth, with two holes directly above them. It looked naked, no fur, just orangish flesh all over its body. Bromley continued to stare at his oppressor before it turned towards him, its endless chest holes boring into his soul. His eyes narrowed, and he reached behind him to pull out both of his blades as the creature let out a screech and bolted towards him.

“My god Bromley, you sure do walk a lot.” Evan said to himself, carefully tracing the path his leader had left him.

“Y’all sure do walk slow.” Applejack said coming around a corner that Evan had just turned. Rainbow Dash also turned the bend and stopped hovering.

“Yeah well what do you expect? I’m not exactly in the best of minds- PONIES! Holy shit it’s ponies!” Evan realized that he was no longer alone and talking to himself, and that the two ponies had somehow caught up with him. Applejack glared angrily at him, and he sighed.

“Applejack... Can we talk about this later? We need to find Bromley before he’s too far for us to track him down.” Applejack nodded at that in agreement, and Evan spied a glance at Rainbow Dash. She looked... different. At this moment her eyes were hard, like iced over blood. Her mouth was caught in a permanent frown, and even her hair seemed to look like it was shaded darker than normal. The captain hadn’t realized how much he would effect by leaving. Or maybe he did and didn’t care. It didn’t matter though, Evan was now confident he could drag Bromley back to base with the help of the ponies.

“Lets go get our captain.” He began walking, not waiting for a reply after that. The ponies followed him closely, but silence reigned supreme among them. Evan would occasionally stoop down to look at the tracks closer, or would climb up on a rock to get a better view, while Rainbow Dash basically did the same and would fly up high for a few moments and come back down. It was during one of these trips that the silence was broken.

“I see him!” Rainbow Dash’s voice was joyful, and Evan cracked a smirk at her.

“Where is he?” Evan called up, the glee in her voice reflecting into his own.

“He’s just over those rocks in front of you, in a valley. He looks okay- WHAT THE HAY IS THAT?!” Her voice abruptly went higher, and at that Evan began running, dread pooling in his stomach. He heard the clip clopping of hooves behind him, signalling that Applejack was also on the run. Evan then heard a screech that seemed to make the ground shake, making him stumble to his knees for a second before continuing to dash madly towards the sound. He practically flew around the rock mass that Rainbow Dash had mentioned earlier, and almost fell to his death as he reached a sudden cliff. His feet carried him to the edge, momentum almost pushing him over the tall cliff. His arms windmilled wildly in an effort to keep himself alive.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” He repeated frantically, but thankfully Applejack was there to save him. With a tug, he fell down on his rear, safely on the overhang. Rainbow Dash was already flying down the steep sides to Bromley and some horrific monster from a nightmare, leaving Evan and Applejack to watch.

“Applejack stay here. Or you know, be the classical person that gets told to stay somewhere and start heading down the mountain yourself. Just, stay safe,” Evan kneeled down to face the pony that meant so much to him, a tear forming in his eye. He glanced down at the pinkish creature and back to his mare. “Okay?” Before Applejack could answer he turned and leaped off the side of the cliff head first, wrapping his arms around himself in the shape of a torpedo. Down he shot, eyes barely open. Rainbow Dash was already next to Bromley who was currently being backed up by the beast.

“This is because of me. If this doesn’t work, they will die, and if it does work, I will die. But I at least deserve it.” Evan thought as he closed his eyes, but not before looking his mate dead in the eye and giving her a wide smile.

“Later AJ!”

“Rainbow Dash why are you here!” Bromley barked while dodging another swipe of the massive claws. She had swooped down next to him and gave him a short but meaningful hug.

“Evan and Applejack should be...” She was cut off by a scream of exhilaration and a woosh of air. A fleshy impact was heard and the deformed bat screamed and fell to its knees. It gave the confused pair a few seconds to gather their wits as it shook on the ground. Something dropped limply from its back, hitting the ground with yet another sickening thud. Just as the creature was getting up, Bromley took action. He ran forward with one sword, leaving one of them behind on the ground next to a still hovering Rainbow Dash.

“Stay!” He commanded Rainbow Dash and turned the sword downwards, ready to stab the creature through the heart. He saw the human form on the ground next to the monster roll flat, and his speed increased tenfold as he realized it was Evan. His blade whirred, and he jabbed forward as the creature stumbled to its feet, feeding his blade through one of the holes in its face. It screamed so loudly that Bromley flew all the way back to Rainbow Dash. he did happen to roll mid flight and land on his feet. Evan went flying as well, but instead into the wall behind Rainbow Dash, who had managed to find a rock to camp behind. Bromley himself opened his eyes at the sound of a rustle. The monster was standing again, and it was charging even fast towards him and Rainbow Dash. Time seemed to slow down as numbers began to frantically rush through Bromley’s head.

The angle was perfect, as Bromley rolled onto his feet in a brief second, tore the other blade from the ground, and shoved it in front of him, forcing the monster to impale itself to the hilt on his blade. He felt the sword penetrate through its torso region, and when it finally seemed to stop he quickly adjusted his feet, slicing the sword all the way through the side of the thing and making it bleed all over the floor. Apparently even that wasn’t enough though, as its hand swiped to slash him open. Calculations still rapidly flowing, he made use of his sword to stab through the creature’s hand, then let go of the blade to pull the other sword that was still impaled into its facial orifice out. The monster was now consumed with pain, and Bromley took advantage of that to climb on top of the deadly creature and slash down where he suspected its spinal cord was, finishing the beast. Spinal fluids gushed out and covered his legs, but he didn’t care as he kept slicing until the creature was long dead. With an exhausted sigh, Bromley fell from the creature, landing on the red floor with blood and other fluids spilling across it.

“Evan! EVAN!” Came a loud yell. Applejack came sprinting from the safe path down the slope. Bromley thought back to how the creature first collapsed.

“That idiot!” Bromley screamed mentally while quickly getting back to his feet. He turned back to the wall that Evan had become one with. As he reached Evan’s resting place, he fell from the wall, seemingly dead. AJ doubled her pace and finally stopped inches before his head.

“Oh you stupid asshole. I suppose you did help me more than anyone else did with the monster, but you didn’t have to go and kill yourself.” Bromley patronized him, even in his death. With a roll of his eyes he went up on the cliff to find his water canteen, before dropping back down and splashing the remaining water on to Evan’s face, in hopes that his friend wasn’t actually deceased. He had plowed into the monster head first after all.

“FUCK! Cold water! Cold water in hell! And why the fuck is Applejack in hell? That’s not okay! And Bromley! You died too! I am dissapoint young man!” Before Evan could continue in his rant, Applejack kicked him in the face, sending him a few feet to his left and silencing him for hopefully a few more hours. Bromley sighed and grabbed him by his arm.

“Guess I should drag him home.” Bromley muttered beneath his breath, then turned flawlessly in the original direction they had all come from, only to find a set of rosy eyes glaring heatedly at him from a blue pony.

“You are an asshole. What makes you think you can run away from me? Huh?” Rainbow Dash proceed to dart lower, hovering just barely over the ground, then kick Bromley where it hurt men the most, forcing him to double over in pain. “You think that’s bad? That’s nothing! You left me! Your balls will never know what I felt!” Rainbow Dash landed and bashed Bromley’s skull with her hoof. “Just go buck yourself! You left me hanging. No, not even hanging, you left me unconscious! They, ” she flung a hoof in the bystanders’ direction. “had to carry me inside! You did nothing except care about yourself!” Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof to smash down on his head again, despite the blood already starting to pour down from a concussion she had given him. As her hoof neared, his hand shot up, catching it, and his head raised to stare straight into Rainbow Dash’s eyes.

“That’s not true... That’s not true at all. I ran away so I wouldn’t hurt you, or anyone else in the damn camp. That idiot,” Bromley pointed at the unconscious form of Evan behind him, “broke the one damn wall that I put up years ago to prevent myself from hurting everyone around me. Do you know what it’s like to have to rebuild that wall? Knowing that you could possibly kill the people you love any second just because they anger you slightly, with perhaps a joke... Or a casual insult?” Bromley stood up after letting go of her hoof, the dizziness hardly affecting him as he seethed at the Rainbow mare now on the ground below him, looking shocked. “He didn’t have to do that! He just wants you to see every single damn side of me, even if it kills you or him or anyone else! He’s... Chaotic good.” Ignoring the blood now running down his neck, Bromley picked up Evan’s legs again, stumbling back towards the camp. Applejack lifted a hoof but Bromley shot a glare in her direction.

“The idiot did it to save me. I’ll take care of him.” Bromley barked roughly, his voice making both of the girls back up even further. The aura of anger and darkness emanating from Bromley was terrifying. Applejack silently clipped the belts Bromley had used to carry his swords on Rainbow Dash, allowing her to carry the blades. Both of the ponies kept quiet, fearful of Bromley. As he took the lead, both of the mares made sure to stay at least twenty feet behind him. Once they reached base camp, Bromley picked up Evan and slung him over Applejack’s back, then snuck through the back way to his room, Rainbow Dash silently following him.

Evan tried carefully to nonchalantly walk away from the house. He had woken up to a thankfully empty room at home.

“AJ is going to be pissed...” he thought to himself while turning a corner. Unfortunately for him, Applejack was on the other side. “Oh! Fuck me!” he screamed as he turned to flee. Applejack growled and chased after him. “No no no! Don’t hurt me! I just woke up from a coma! I have lymes disease!”

“Now what in tarnation do fruit have to do with me hurting you?” Applejack called after him. Evans stopped moving and turned to face his pony.

“You know? I don’t really kno- oof!” Applejack had rushed forward in a tackle, and leaped into the air to give him a hug and a kiss, and take him down. She continued to punch and kick and beat upon Evan until finally she was satisfied enough to talk comprehensively.

“Why did you leave me!” she demanded.

“Do you really want that answer?” Evan asked. Applejack kicked him again. “Firstly: ow! Secondly: It’s because I knew Bromley needed help. You, were fine here, but he was not. If he hadn’t found that bat thing, something else would have gotten to him, and we would lose a captain.” Evan explained as calmly as he could.

“So you pick him over me?” Applejack asked incredulously.

“No. There is no someone over anyone else. I will take care of everyone who matters to me.” Evan said with a voice slightly deeper and more masculine than his usual tone.

“Fine.” Applejack let Evan up. His torso shot from the ground and he was once again on his feet. From his increased elevation, he saw something he didn’t like. Her flank.

“Applejack, who did this to you?” He tapped the bandage on her hind. Her expression turned quickly from rage to embarrassment.

“Uh well you see,” she began. Then her head sank low. “I did...”

“Before I get a white sleeveless shirt and a new reputation, why?”

“Well you were gone. And I thought you left me. Forever, y’know.”

“I could never do that.” He said softly. He carried her back into their room, and set her on the bed. He removed the bandage and looked at her cutie mark that she had scratched through. “That’s not ok,” He attempted to patronize her. “Bad horsey. No.” He waved his finger in her face.

“Well in that case; bad human, no leaving me!” She said as she waved her hoof at him. Evan nodded and laughed softly. He laid down next to her and caressed her hair, putting it back into its normal style. Unable to withhold any longer, he kissed her passionately, his tongue darting out and requesting entrance to her snout. Her lips parted slowly, and he indulged in her sweet mouth. It was hardly surprising that she tasted like the juiciest apple he had ever bitten into. He loved apples. They reminded him of home for some reason. Pulling back slowly, his mouth stretched into a loving smile.

“No you quit that. Y’all don’t get to smile at me like that.” Applejack got serious. There was no doubt that she was happy that Evan was home, and even less doubt that she had loved every moment of the kiss, but she was still mad.

“Oh bullshit! Can’t just tell me not to smile! You ain’t Hitler, little pony.” Applejack kicked Evan in the stomach and sent him flying off her and onto the floor. She got to her feet at the same time as Evan did. “It’s on now!” Evan ran towards his mare while she ran a him. He looked as if he were going to smash right into her, and she put her head down to ram him. At the very last second, he sidestepped and as she ran past he slapped her plot. She reeled and turned once again to face him. He chuckled, grinning evilly at the mare. Her face was bright red.

“Ya’ varmint! Git back ere’!” Applejack ran at him once more, keeping her head up to see his movements. He stood there plainly, the smile now replaced by an indifferent half-frown. Just before she had reached him, his hands shot from his sides and grabbed her shoulders. He gripped into the malleable flesh and spun her in the air. Just as she was beginning to fall, he let go. She panicked but then finally landed on her hooves somehow. She turned back to her mate.

“How did...” Her slightly annoyed and confused tone was humorous to Evan. He shrugged and leaped back onto the bed.

“You forget what, and who I am.”

“Yall’re crazy. And Ah love ya for it. But right now, yall need a beating.” Applejack rushed forward and Evan barely had time to fling himself out of the way. She made a sharp turn, still running at full speed. Evan backed up slowly as AJ kept running. Evan jumped in the air and AJ watched him as he flipped upside down. Her attention then turned to the wall in front of her that was closing in on her fast. She dug her hooves in but still hit the wall with her face and a thud. She felt a deep pound resonate from on top of her head and looked up with her eyes to spy Evan doing a handstand where her stetson used to be.

“You really are a lightweight aren’t ya?” Her voice sounded muffled in her ears.

“Well there’s that, and the fact that you just hit your head on a wall. You should probably go lay down until you get your senses back.” Evan said, even more muffled than Applejack.

“Yeah... I suppose...” Applejack said as she walked over to the bed, still carrying the unnecessary weight of Evan atop her head. Just as she began to lay down, Evan carefully cartwheeled off her head. As his feet hit the ground, he slipped on the stetson he had flung from AJ’s head. He went face first into a wall that resounded with a huge crash.

“Stop wrestling so loudly you foals!” Fluttershy shouted quietly, innocent as ever.

“I think they were actually... filly making.” Twilight said.

“If that’s the pony equivalent of fucking, then yeah.” Dusk said, holding back a laugh.

“Oh...” Fluttershy said, turning red and running back down the hall in complete embarrassment. The door opened and revealed a fully dressed Evan.

“Don’t get any sick ideas you dumb bitches. I’m a little too injured for that right now.” Evan said while leaning on the door. He looked absolutely terrible. Almost as if running after Bromley had only given him another beating.

“Hey, you stupid asshole. You should probably let me look you over, ‘cuz right now, you look like shit.” Dusk motioned to Evan’s body and after taking quick look at himself, he stepped out from his doorway. Dusk led him to his lab with Twilight and Fluttershy. They laid him down on a table and the two unicorn’s began checking him over instantly. They poked and prodded but Evan remained mostly stoic. Only when Twilight touched his feet did he break his countenance and give a smile.

“Quit that! I’m ticklish.” Twilight stopped. She went into the next room with Nate and Fluttershy stayed with Evan. Mainly to make sure that he didn’t try to walk off. As if she could stop him if he tried. Dusk and Twilight came back into the room with a clipboard. Dusk spoke.

“You have a shattered left arm, three broken ribs, and a cracked femur. How in God’s good name did you do all of this crap to yourself? An an even better question is; how the fuck are you still even moving?” Dusk was a little stunned.

“No one ever believes me when I say I’m the tank. Now then, fix me?” Using their combined magic, both of the ponies fixed him very quickly.

Bromley closed the door behind the mare as he entered his room, and stripped off his bloody clothes in the dark. He put on some comfortable pants and a warm shirt and slipped off his fingerless gloves, laying them on a rock next to his bed. He turned to Rainbow, staying silent as he unclipped the swords Applejack had clipped onto her back to carry back to his place and put them on the rock as well. He climbed into bed, facing the wall. He was unsurprised when Rainbow Dash laid down on the floor near the bed.

“You can sleep by yourself tonight.” She said, curling into a ball in an attempt to keep herself warm.

“I know neither of us likes that idea.” Bromley said calmly.

“Only because I’m cold...” she said, jumping onto the bed and snuggling next to him. She pressed her face into his chest, warming up quickly.

“Dashie... I’m sorry... Really, really sorry...” his gentle voice caught her by surprise, and she stayed silent as he apologized in a sincere tone she had only heard him use once. The last time was when she first confessed to him.

“I was unstable Rainbow Dash. While I can entirely blame Evan, I can’t really hate him for it. You needed to see that. And... I was an idiot... I admit it... And I’m really sorry for what I did to you... I hurt the most awesome, most amazing Pegasus ever.” His hand reached back and stroked over the bruise he had left on her neck, and she let out a little yelp as pain shot up her neck, but then died down as tension was released. His fingers were just as relaxing as they were lethal, as he pressed down firmly on that spot.

“It’s okay... I-I mean; YOU BETTER BE.” She said, resting her head on his chest. He smirked that annoyingly attractive smirk and kissed her languidly, taking the time to enjoy his little Pegasus. He pulled away slowly, pleased with the blush he had caused. Judging by the stiffness of her wings, it was time to call it quits though.

“I won’t do it again... I’ll never leave you Dashie... I love you...” Silently he curled around her, and allowed himself to fall into an exhausted rest, leaving Rainbow Dash blushing and extremely happy at his words. His arms gently tugged her wings down to fold across her back, and his knees tucked up against her flanks to keep her even warmer.

“I-I l-love you too.” she stuttered, then lay awake for a bit. She thought over everything that had occurred, and deemed all of it worth it. She decided to fall asleep at that point though, totally missing the smile flitted across the grown man’s features, because Bromley could still hear in his state of half-sleep.

“A lot...” she finished, now fully asleep. Her quiet and slow breathing released the rest of the tension inside Bromley. He hadn’t felt so relaxed for as long as he could remember. It was undoubtedly a foreign feeling, but he loved it. He drifted into a peaceful, deep sleep, the comforting presence of Rainbow Dash allowing him to finally rest.

It was short lived though, because Bromley woke up in the middle of the night, confused as he was instantly pulled into reality by the sobs of Rainbow Dash. To let her know he was conscious he ran his hand up her back, his other hand lifting her head so he could look at her face.

“I-I-I...” she attempted speech, broken up by another fit of tears. Bromley began to worry, and he was growing irritated with himself as the haze of sleep refused to lift from his brain.

“What?” Bromley patiently asked, still not fully comprehending. He blinked away the fog of drowsiness, and focused on the bright blue Pegasus.

“I thought you were d-d-...” Realization washed over him and he finally knew how much damage he had done. Mumbling to himself about his stupidity, and lack of self control, he rolled, tugging her onto his chest. She blinked confusedly past the tears, and he ran his hand through her mane above him. God it was so soft, and he continued smoothing back the multi-colored tresses as he spoke.

“I’m here Dashie... Feel me. Go ahead and touch me... I’m still here.” She blushed in the darkness, but he could still tell. Grabbing a hoof, he gently placed it on his face, holding it there while he stared up at her. Hesitantly at first, she rubbed her hoof on his face, her eyes softening as she rubbed up and down the healing cut on his face. It was sure to scar, but she didn’t mind. Bromley let go of her hoof. She rubbed down his cheek again before trailing her foot down his neck to his chest, drawing a little design there as she took him in. Bromley recognized the design of a cloud, and had to resist the urge to smile. He kept his face carefully stoic, his eyes glued to her face, and didn’t move at all, allowing the little pegasus to prove to herself that her mate was still here with her. Her hooves roved over his chest, arms, belly, and eventually his legs, until she seemed to finally assure herself that he was really here. Tiredly, she collapsed on him, nuzzling his neck as her voice, though still creaky, started to take on its normal tomboyish tone.

“Hehe... Aren’t you glad you met me?” She smirked at him and he chuckled and nodded at her.

“Yes. I really am. I suppose you aren’t so lucky though eh?” he grinned a bit more and she smacked his shoulder playfully.

“No... You make me 20% cooler.” She giggled a bit. Bromley just shook his head at the corny joke.

Defeneing: We have decided to release a chapter every three days! Even though its kinda iffyl. Unfortunately we have school. And this isn’t the only thing we are working on. I myself, am also working with someone to write the second part of “Friendship is a Miracle,” which is also a really good read, I suggest you read it. WHICH BRINGS ME TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

If you know Doomlord, or “Aramis”... Both of these people are now part of Dunder Shux studio, and their story will be released under our studio name.(Dunder Shux studios) ALSO, we are no longer just writing stories. A certain someone... Has decided to start doing some music for us! (yes doing.) If you’ve heard of Trixie’s Ballad, you know her name! And for those of you who haven’t... Go look it up!

Chapter 13
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The Herd

Chapter 13

A/N: Hey, guys sorry its been awhile. Here is whats happening!

We have formed a partnership with Bogyle Bronies. Hopefully we will be doing stuff with them. ALSO. Equestrian Beats has joined our studio! Woohoo! -applaud- look him up on youtube.

Alright so that being said, other news....

This chapter. Is technically part 1. Okay so, chapter 12 was 4000 words long right? That was AFTER edit, which means we added about 2000 words. WELL. Chapter 13, unedited is around... 14000 words. Yes. Fourteen thousand. That means we'll double it EASILY. Which means we have SO MUCH WORK. That is basically chapters 1-6 all together. So I guess you could consider this a little teaser for the rest of the chapter.

Oh and you perverts finally get a lil' bit of your clop. Have fun.

Chapter 13:

It had been about a week since Bromley had returned to home base. It was also morning, and remarkably peaceful. It was rather cliche, especially considering their situation. Rainbow Dash woke up to the wonderful feeling of the captain wrapped around her small frame, and she snuggled even further into the warmth. Knowing him, he was probably already awake. Over the past week she had gotten to know the man a lot better, in an attempt to understand him at least in the slightest. She had discovered that he was the lightest sleeper she had ever known, and woke up if someone, or somepony, a few doors down even stepped out of bed. Knowing this, she lifted her head and smiled sleepily at him, and was unsurprised to find his calm hazel eyes lazily staring at her. His teeth glistened into view for a second as he smirked at her. She blushed a light shade of pink, and leaned up to press her lips to his. They enjoyed the kiss for a few seconds before they pulled away, and Rainbow Dash realized her wings were stiffer then boards. Bromley either didn’t notice, or politely ignored that fact (much more likely) as he sat up in bed, joints popping loudly.

“Well, I suppose I should get up and actually do something.” He chuckled, rubbing a still sore arm. Rainbow Dash attempted to relax, only to find her wings refusing to fold. Bromley raised his brow at her for a few seconds, before sparingly leaving the room, as to not embarrass the pegasus anymore.

“Why can’t I... God damn it! I feel terrible now that he’s gone...” she came to the realization that her entire body was aching. Was she sick? What was going on? She staggered to her feet, deciding to go Twilight’s room to see if she could provide some light on the issue. Worrying Bromley was not something she wanted to do. She let out a groan of annoyance as she realized she wouldn’t be able to fly. So she began the long (actually extremely short, but she’s a flying horse, who can blame her?) walk over to Twilight.

Rainbow Dash knocked lightly on her purple friend’s door, and she heard murmuring behind the door before it opened to reveal a drowsy Twilight.

“Oh, I’ll come back later Twilight.” She turned to leave, but her friend tapped her on the back and motioned her inside.

“No. Come in Rainbow Dash, I can tell somethings wrong. You okay girl?” Rainbow stepped in.

“I’m actually not sure what’s going on... I just know I’m hurting really badly all over, and my wings won’t fold...” Twilight looked startled at this and her horn glowed as she began to check over Rainbow. The purple pony grew confused as she couldn’t detect anything wrong with her friend.

“Um.. When did this start?” The blue pony blushed lightly and mumbled something under her breath. Twilight was unused to hearing her friend so... well.. quiet in general.

“Sorry, what Dash?” The pegasus glared at her and then spoke clearly, like her old self.

“When Bromley left to get to work.” Twilight grinned, and then nodded, deciding to keep pressing.

“Does it hurt really bad anywhere in particular?” Rainbow Dash’s cheeks exploded into red at the words as she whispered into Twilight’s ear. Twilight herself blushed a bit and she bit her lip.

“Um... You’re not gonna like the sound of this Rainbow. But um... You’re in heat.” Rainbow’s eyes widened hugely and she shook her head.

“No, no, no, no, no, NO! I can’t.. NO! Twilight this is not good!” The purple pony bobbed her head up and down in agreement.

“I know Dash, but there isn’t anything you can do about this. The only way you’ll feel better is if... Erm.. Your... Urges.. are... taken care of..” Twilight looked at her sympathetically, and Rainbow Dash teared up.

“I-I-I... Don’t want him to think that...” Twilight shushed her with a hoof to the mouth and glared at her like a mother would when her child climbed up on the roof. A form on the bed behind Twilight suddenly moved for a second, before speaking.

“Dash, it’s your body and your feelings. This is something you need decide for yourself. Go talk to him if you need to, if not, just...try to control yourself.” commented Josh having been roused from slumber by the the two of them. He rolled onto his side then, away from the two ponies. Rainbow Dash thanked Twilight and walked out of her room, retreating back to her own.

When she stepped in, Bromley was there. Rainbow Dash felt herself burn up just at seeing him, and her ache intensified in a certain region. Lust bubbling, she somehow managed to act semi-normal and force herself to talk.

“Aren't you getting ready to fuc- go to work?” She said, catching herself.

“Yes.” Bromley said, letting out a chuckle at her slip up. It seemed she was developing Earth lingo. Perhaps he should let her know what that all really meant.

“So later we should bang-” she shook her head, “spar.” He blinked for a few moments, ignoring the fact that she wanted to take sparring lessons with him, and instead played on what she said at first.

“By the way you’re talking, I’d think you meant in bed.” he wasn’t facing her, so she failed to see his self-righteous smirk stretch across his face.

“Why not? I mean, No, not. That. I’m going to get into your pants- bed- FUCK- go outside.” she stepped out, red in the face. Behind her Bromley shook his head, holding back laughter.

Rainbow Dash subsequently ran into Fluttershy. Sighing, she asked if she could talk to her fellow winged horse alone. Fluttershy agreed, though she was confused, she led her into Dusk’s and her room. Rainbow checked out the room to make sure nopony else was in it, before shutting the door behind Fluttershy and her.

“What did you want to talk about?” The cream colored mare asked her with a sweet smile, almost mocking Dash’s perdicament.

“Have you two, you know, mated?” Dash blurted out.

“What? No.. We decided we’ll wait until we want fillies.” Fluttershy said, looking at Rainbow Dash inquisitively, a nervous blush spreading across her face. “Have you and Bromley...?” Her innocence prevailed and she trailed off.

“No but I’m... I’m... in.... Uhm... heat.” Rainbow Dash stuttered, wincing at her own speech pattern. Fluttershy was taken aback.

“You know it’s bad for somepony to resist those urges for too long...” she said, her wings extending slightly due to the topic.

“I know...” Rainbow Dash said, staring at the ground.

“You could... Try to erm... You know.. Clop?” Rainbow stuttered something unintelligible at that and forced herself out of the room. She came to the conclusion that she needed to talk to Applejack. After wandering the complex, her entire body screaming at her to go ride Bromley like the bull he was, she found AJ outside, sitting alone. Applejack turned to face her, and the smile that she shot her was replaced with a worried frown.

“Rainbow Dash... You don’t look so good girl.” Rainbow Dash nodded, offering a weak smile.

“Yeah... I’m not feeling so well. But um... what was it like for you and Evan?” Rainbow Dash asked the cowgirl pony.

“Now why in Equestria does everypony think that Evan and I were filly making?” Applejack retorted irritably, before turning away from Rainbow Dash.

“Geese, sorry AJ. I just thought that from like all the noise...” Rainbow Dash felt horrible for jumping to conclusions, but Applejack halted her words with her own.

“No. I ain’t that lucky.” Applejack teased. She turned back and hugged Rainbow Dash comfortingly.

“Y’all are in heat, huh?” She asked in a whisper. Rainbow Dash barely nodded, and Applejack sympathetically gave her a squeeze. “You’ll be fine. Ya’ hear me?” She dropped back down onto all fours and trotted off, leaving Rainbow Dash alone.

At this point, Rainbow Dash was terrified that if the captain and her ended up... Rutting, she would become pregnant. Even if he was a human, it didn’t mean his semen wouldn’t affect her womb. Logically it made no sense, but her brain cautioned her against doing such a thing. She wasn’t afraid of the sex anymore, but she didn’t want fillies. Not yet, anyways. Sighing to herself, she decided to attempt to alleviate herself of the pain coursing through her. She had no choice. The ache between her hind legs was unbearable, as it had slowly gotten worse throughout the day. Whimpering to herself, she began searching for a place to be alone. It was this, or the possibility of fillies. She decided to go down one of the mines. The pain needed to end!

Bromley sighed to himself (as he did so very often). Looking up, he took in the sight of the shuttle he was attempting to help construct. It was just a basic frame. After the incident with the stereo, Dusk had begun to work on important things. Bromley decided to commit most of his time to helping with the project, and they had started on an actual shuttle to get them off the planet. They needed so many more materials, so he was forced to go do the dirty work with his pilot, Evan. Evan and him were left to pull out rocks and find anything that would be possibly useful. Standing, he headed towards one of their four mining tunnels.

Picking up a pickaxe stored outside the mine, he headed inside. He stopped short, suddenly hearing a loud moan.

“Oh.. Yes! Yes!” he heard. His eyes narrowed, as it sounded like Rainbow’s voice. He silently quickened his pace, and shot down the mineshaft. He slowed as he neared the source of the voice, and peeked his head around the corner. He did not expect what was presented to him at that moment. He saw Rainbow Dash, the source of his affections, with her hind high in the air and one foreleg slung over her back with her hoof in between her hind legs. The other hoof was tucked beneath her head, cushioning her cheek which was currently burning red. Stilling, he took in the view, attempting to ignore his own arousal at the sight. He watched her closed eyes flutter occasionally, and her wings twitch in pleasure as her hoof worked over her marehood. His fingers dug into the rock wall as he watched for a few more seconds.

“Bromley!” She called out loudly, nearing her release. That killed everything. His silent vigil was shattered as his grip tightened even more, and the rocky wall his fingers were mashing cracked, forcing the sharp noise to echo through the room.

“Shit.” He cursed to himself.

Her eyes shot open at the sudden noise and immediately latched onto him, her gaze fixated in horror on him. She stopped moving entirely, stuck in her current position as a mortified expression crossed over her face. She forced herself to stand despite her weakness, and strode out slowly, completely embarrassed. She couldn’t believe he saw that. She was stopped though, as he gripped her tail as she passed him. Her eyes widened and she looked up to see his normally calm gaze transformed into that of a predator. The colors were mixed, the usual brown green streaked with red.

“Dashie... If that is what you want...” He let his words go unfinished and he left the cave, heading deeper into the mineshaft. Rainbow Dash trembled, alone in her thoughts. Now that she had briefly entertained her own needs, they were even worse. It didn’t help that he had blatantly expressed that he wouldn’t mind taking their relationship in that direction. She sighed gently and headed up to the surface. She wanted to cry, yet have hot raging sex with her coltfriend at the same time. This was terrible.

Twilight’s worry for her friend had brought back a memory from a spell book she had read back in Equestria. She thought back to a certain enchantment and began to experiment. Josh had left her alone to work, and she had concocted a spell to help her poor pegasus friend feel at least a miniscule amount of relief. She was now searching for the rainbow colored mare. Twilight now saw her emerging from one of the mines the boys used.

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, approaching the pony.

“Yeah ,Twilight?” Murmured Rainbow Dash in question. Suddenly Twilight’s horn glowed brightly, and a strange rainbow colored bolt of lightning flew from the horn. The multicolored lightning struck Rainbow right on her cutie mark, and she flew up into the air as fast as she could, startled.

“What the hay was that?” Rainbow Dash yelled, shocked by the bolt of rainbow. Her wings fluttered nervously about and hurriedly Twilight explained.

“That should just keep your urges down. And reduce your chance of having fillies.” She was so tired now. It was odd how much power the spell had sapped her of, and now she was exhausted. She bypassed everyone and trotted back to her own room, her legs practically collapsing beneath her as she entered the room. She fell asleep, blissfully unaware of the unusual side effect the spell had created.

Rainbow Dash was thankful. She didn’t feel the need to fuck anything. Or, more specifically, the captain. The pain between her legs died down to a dull ache, easy to ignore. Feeling utterly fantastic, she went to go talk to Applejack, who was sitting next to Evan.

“I suppose it’s about time to be ponytizationitized,” Evan said tiredly. He wasn’t too excited about it, but it was what Applejack wanted. He would give up his hands in order to make his love happy. Evan hadn’t told the captain about it, but he really didn’t care what anyone thought of his decision. It was about time he joined his mate fully, and that was near impossible as a human. Dusk had been taking lessons from Twilight on the arts of magic, and this was his first major test. Dusk had stopped working on the shuttle briefly in order to assist Evan.

Dusk rested his horn in the center of Evan’s chest.

“Is this going to hurt?” the human boy asked, looking down.

“I don’t know.” Dusk said, his horn glowing. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

“Buddy, there’s a point in every man’s life, where he has to stick his finger in a rotten cantaloupe and deal with it.” Dusk started channeling his magic and Evan began shrinking, his face elongating. While he felt the odd shifting, no pain was included in the transformation. Wings spread from his back slowly, while his bones rattled and rearranged, expanding and contracting where needed to fit a new body. Sparkling light radiated off of his changing form. When the sparkles cleared, a pegasus, with a golden coat, mane, and wings, was left. Dusk found himself blacking out shortly after, drained completely of energy.

Meanwhile, down in the mines, Bromley was contemplating certain... things. His pick swung repeatedly, taking out chunks of material to use. It was a mindless task that allowed his ample brain power to process everything that had been happening in the last few hours. He questioned why Rainbow Dash would of started doing this now of all times, or if she had secretly been getting herself off without anyone noticing. That was highly unlikely, seeing as she was around some of the most hyper aware humans in existence. The next swing of his pick brought him back into reality as water suddenly gushed from the open hole in the wall. He stepped back in time to not get soaked, but glared at the water. He pushed the chunks of mined minerals towards the entrance after taking a sip of the delicious fresh water. He would haul them up to the surface later, because right now he really didn’t feel like even seeing Rainbow. He knew she was extremely embarrassed, and he would make sure not to bring up the subject of what happened until or if she wanted to. He winced as a headache suddenly hit him. Nothing too bad; just a little spike of pain. It was probably because he had been down in this damn tunnel all day. He hoisted up a bit of the material he had collected and decided to head to the surface. Thinking of ways to avoid Rainbow Dash, he dropped his pickaxe by the mine and immediately brought the chunks of rock that he had gathered over to a pile next to the beginnings of their escape vessel. After dropping off all the noticeably useful chunks of material, he stretched his cramped muscles. Behind him, there was a large commotion going on with Evan. He hurried over to the group, just in time to watch Evan begin to shape shift. He arrived as Evan shifted, and grinned down at his old buddy, much to the chagrin of everyone else.

Evan’s name was changed to Flux Drift. His cutie mark was a human fist.

“I guess that leaves me then, eh?” Bromley said jokingly, then frowned. “... Psh, Josh and I are the only humans left...” Shaking his head, his smile returned. Then something reached his nose. His face immediately changed back to its emotionless look, and his head snapped to stare at the source of the smell, Rainbow Dash. His face remained expressionless as he made an excuse to leave.

“Wait...” Rainbow Dash said. Bromley turned to face her. She didn’t pick up on the jerkiness of his movements, and the way he seemed to be restraining himself. She beckoned him to come over to where she was, alone in a corner. He walked over cautiously, but stayed five feet away from her. The scent grew almost overpowering, and he trembled as he neared. He constantly resisted the urge to run to her and dominate the poor little mare.

“About earlier... It’s just I’m... I’m... i-in... heat..” Bromley nodded at the words, and his eye twitched even more as she shifted, sending the scent all around in the air. He inhaled the seductive aroma, and his hands clenched, balling into fists. His eyes closed in thought; he decided to confess why he was being so stiff, despite how oblivious she was to it.

“Rainbow... For some reason... You smell.. amazing...” He breathed slowly, regaining control as he had almost launched himself onto the pony. “I didn’t smell you... When you were erm... Helping yourself. Has anything happened since then?” Rainbow nodded and explained how Twilight struck her with a spell. Bromley suggested unusual side effects and she seemed to agree.

“Let’s... go see her.” Rainbow Dash offered. Bromley nodded, but Rainbow made the mistake of stepping towards him. Instantly she was lifted off the ground and slammed into the wall, Bromley breathing heavily over her throat. Her eyes opened wide in slight fear, and she whimpered quietly as his teeth grazed over her throat. She felt her ache grow, and she gasped in his ear as he trailed a wet line of saliva up her throat to her ear.

“Stupid... Why did you get closer?” His teeth grated angrily against each other for a second before they parted to allow his tongue to slip though. “... Gah.. Dashie...” Her wings shot out behind her, splaying against the wall as he teased her ear with his tongue, kissing back down her cheek to her neck. “Dammit...” With the last of his willpower he dropped her and launched himself backwards, landing in a crouch six feet away from the trembling pony. He didn’t raise his head to look at Rainbow Dash, too ashamed to do so. “As you were saying... Why doesn’t ONE of us go to Twilight. Preferably you, the one who didn’t almost rape his mate.” With a huff of frustration, Bromley stood and retreated back to the mines, leaving the upset and dazed rainbow pegasus behind him. His fists clenched at his sides, anger building at the fact that there was nothing he could do. Rainbow went into the complex, en route to Twilight’s room.

Fluttershy bumped into Rainbow Dash while going down the hall. Fluttershy immediately noticed her shocked, yet saddened look.

“What’s wrong, Dashie?” Fluttershy asked in a gentle manner.

“DON’T FUCKING CALL ME THAT!” Rainbow Dash screamed in a fit of rage. Fluttershy burst into tears and ran back to her room. Dusk stormed out.

“What the hell?!” he shouted, directing it to Rainbow Dash.

“What?” she responded coolly.

“You fucking know what!” he said, butting his head against hers.

“She fucking deserved it! Flutterbitch! Get back out here!” Rainbow Dash yelled sarcastically. Fluttershy’s crying increased in volume from inside the room. In a fit of fury, Dusk’s eyes and horn lit up. He fired a lightning bolt into her, sending her flying out the door, binding down her wings with metal. Bromley, hearing the angered screaming from Dusk and Dash, and crying from afar, had already come running towards the area. The door opened, and the scent of burning feathers greeted his nose as his pegasus flew into his chest. He took the impact in stride, easily staying upright. His eyes raked over the metal bonds around her sides and wings and the scalding feathers and his brain went into overtime. In his panic, he couldn’t even smell the lustful pheromones constantly being excreted by the pony. He laid her down quickly, pulling out his water bottle and dousing the flames on her wings. Bromley shook her gently in an attempt to wake her. She was already knocked out, possibly even dead. The possibilities raged through his mind like wildfire. He knew his eyes were bleeding into red, and he honestly didn’t care. His veins themselves felt like they were pulsating with hot acid. The sheer amount of betrayal he had just witnessed and the amount of retardation shown by someone with so much power spurred his indulgent anger on even more. He knew his actions were going to be irrational soon, but treating this situation with rationality was not something he wished to do. His eyes shot up to view a horrified Dusk. Bromley refused to take account of the guilt and shock already shining off of Dusk’s eyes, or the tremble of fading muscle spasms in his hoofs that proved it was on impulse.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Chapter 2
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The Herd

Chapter 2

Welcome to chapter 2. Reviews accepted!

Chapter 2:

The sun rose lazily, illuminating the yellow sky once again. Evan, currently on watch, noticed and decided that he was free to lay down. The captain should be awake by now, seeing as the lighting had changed. Bromley was a very light sleeper. Evan sat in a stiff position, to keep himself vigilant, for most of the night. He retired to his quarters and eventually he laid down and allowed the pain from his back to lull him to sleep.

Bromley laid awake, staring at the ceiling of the wreckage they were currently camped in. He had awoken around an hour ago by his estimation, and taken stock of his surroundings without moving at all. Mentally he checked for any pains or injuries, and found nothing outside the normal. His body was bruised from the crash, and he was awfully rigid as he stretched. He was only really concerned because it seemed that whoever had taken the last watch had not awoken him. Sitting up silently, his eyes roamed around the camp, checking on his own crew, and the new members of his team. Well, that is if they wanted to be. Thankfully even Nate had fallen asleep, and he noticed with a grin that Fluttershy had crept over and curled up against his back. She must of gotten cold in the middle of the night. With a yawn, he stretched his strong legs, then stood up and walked around the camp. Quietly he began gathering flammable materials to build a warm morning fire..

Bromley was dressed in black jeans and a dark grey long sleeved shirt. Of course, he wasn't thinking about crashing when he geared up that one morning in space, so he had worn his cons. He was currently regretting it, because the damn things had no ankle support and were slippery on wet ground. But at least he had shoes. He eyed his clothes, noticing that somehow he hadn't ripped a single thread. His hands were enclosed in his fingerless black leather gloves, allowing him to work without chaffing the palms of his hands.

Hearing a small sigh, he turned to see Rainbow Dash stretching languidly, eyelashes fluttering as she gazed at her surroundings. Her hoofs were raised high in the air, as she stretched her legs with a quiet groan. She rolled onto her belly and spread out her wings from there, the light bones in them popping. He smirked a bit to himself at the cute sight and laid the materials he found in a circle, then took out a lighter he kept for memories sake. He crouched, struck his lighter, and the fire flared to life. Except it flared it green.

"What the fu-" he was cut off instantly by an echoing crack. He leaped back just in time as a mutilated hand shot out of the hard packed earth and grabbed at his leg. Thinking fast, he smashed his foot into the dead flesh of the presumed zombie hand, a satisfying crunch reaching his ears. "Yeah, eat that you little sh-" Once again he was cut off as a second hand shot out and grasped his ankle. Growling, he tugged his foot out of the grasp with force, his eyes widening as the hand came with him, torn out of the ground by his yank. "What in Jesus- Oof!" the wind was knocked out of him as he fell onto his back, and his eyes widened as more hands and even heads and torsos began rising out of the ground around the ominous green flames.

Evan awoke to the normally comical sounds of Bromley screaming. It wasn’t something you woke up to often, and it had to be pretty amazing, scary, or odd if the captain had lost his cool. He watched with confusion for a few seconds, as Bromley fell back, his normally stoic face in a state of panic. There were at least two dozen zombies emerging from the ground around a strange green flame, and it didn't seem that they would stop. Evan took a second to laugh his ass off. Bromley just got into fights wherever he went, no matter what the hell it was with. An ostrich had even picked a fight with him one time. Back to reality. Evan thought fast and reached towards the ground. He grabbed a small bottle they had carried on the ship that he had filled with water from the make-shift well, and rushed over, throwing it with the cap open toward the fire a couple yards away from the zombies. Most of the forms arising quickly shrunk back into the ground as soon as the fire was put out, but he realized that a few remained standing around the charred pile of material. Quickly, he turned and ran for the rifles, hoping to god that Bromley was as agile and strong as he constantly claiming to be.

At this point Evan had a short moment to take in his surroundings. He took a look at Rainbow Dash, intrigued by her mixed expression of fear and anger. He could tell it wasn't for herself either. Nate tossed him one of the rifles, and Evan caught it and pushed the bolt back into position, using the synergy the two had developed in eighth grade. Nate had half loaded it and sent it flying.

'Get a hold of yourself... You've seen worse.. Lived through worse...' those were Bromley's only thoughts as he stood up quickly and shot a death glare at the closest zombie, his arm locking back before he stepped forward and hurtled the fist into the zombie's nose, shoving the deformed thing's nasal passage straight into it's brain, ending it's pathetic second life. The body lifted off the ground and landed a few feet away, and Bromley quickly retreated, turning and rushing toward the rest of his group. There were probably eight left, and he ignored the feeling of pain in his arm. He heard bodies drop behind him as Evan and now Nate who must have woken up, took pot shots at the zombies. Slowing, he dropped onto his ass in an exhausted grunt against the wall. Unexpected attacks really weren’t his forte. Evan came up to him with a curled up nose and a funny looking face, his mouth in an “O” and a scrunched up forehead. He raised his hands so they were level with his face and bent over slightly. The next thing he said reminded them of something that was quite popular on the Internet. “Why you no use gun?”

“Shut up.”

Rainbow Dash’s heart thudded painfully, her eyes stretched to the point that if the eyelids peeled back anymore they would fall out of her head. She couldn't move either, her legs refused to move, and she could only watch as the tall human was quickly thrust into danger by the simple act of lighting a fire. Her brain told her to scream, to do anything, but her body refused her will. She wanted to Sonic Rainboom into the whole mob of them, but her hoofs were glued to the floor, and her wings seemed stuck in place.

Thankfully it was unnecessary, as Bromley stood up and threw a zombie back a good four feet, blood flying everywhere. He rushed back towards his rifle wielding pilot and collapsed near him, and Rainbow Dash let out a long breath as fear left her, replaced with happiness and joy.

Rainbow Dash rushed toward her fallen comrade, fear-filled eyes quickly taking him in as he let out a shudder, releasing his tension as quickly as he could. She nuzzled Bromley suddenly, surprising him as her warm snout rubbed against his cheek. Blushing darkly she backed up and grinned at him as nonchalantly as she could.

"N-nice punch! That was awesome!" Bromley chuckled at that and let a smirk stretch across his features. He noticed the relief clear on her face and he shook his head at her.

"Don't worry, I can hold my own, Dash." He turned away and laid his head against the wall again, allowing himself a moment to rest. Because his eyes were closed he missed the interesting looks Rainbow's friends were sending her as well as the raised eye brows and smirking faces of Evan and Nathaniel. He however did hear the incessant laughing of Evan. “Thinks he’s got it all figured out does he?” thought Bromley. She glared defiantly at them all and flew off onto the roof of the house to keep watch, meanwhile Bromley slipped into a light sleep, taking a catnap.

“These humans are insane!” Twilight thought to herself, giving Bromley a once-over for injuries from afar. “Just one of them did what six of us couldn’t do. He had no fear! What could have caused that?” She thought deeply, and then assumed the conclusion would reveal itself in time. The only question was if the others were like that. Or if they were worse.

About half an hour later, Bromley opened his hazel colored eyes. He stood up and stretched, before quietly taking a seat on a red rock next to Nathaniel and Evan. "So guys... No fire..." Evan nodded sagely and Nate half-frowned. Bromley huffed and rubbed his arm with a wince, and pulled up his sleeve to check himself over. Thankfully he had only pulled a muscle. That’s what happened when you didn't stretch properly then killed a zombie in one punch he supposed.

"Ugh... this shirt smells so bad. Got blood and guts on it..." He sighed and stood, heading to his current room. Which was a small little seven by seven space constructed by Nate that basically just kept his belongings in place. He removed his shirt with a sigh, glancing down at the many scars littering his body. He was a (technically) retired military officer after all. He grimaced and reached for a new shirt. His door swung open then though, and he blinked slowly at a suddenly flustered Rainbow Dash.

"U-uh... sorry for n-not knocking." She sounded so much like Fluttershy right now. Quickly she stared down at her hooves, her gaze avoiding the skin currently visible. She didn't know why she sounded so embarrassed, after all, ponies didn't wear clothes. So why did she feel so awkward? She had forgotten what she was going to say as soon as the door flew open in front of her, so she quietly stepped out and then closed the door, confused greatly with herself, and leaving Bromley blinking at a once again shut door. She vehemently told herself her wings were not stiff, and she flew away in a wobbly rainbow path to the roof yet again. It seemed to be her current hang out area. Twilight had been watching the pegasus, and she frowned a bit as Rainbow flew off.

“It’s going to happen,” Twilight thought to herself. “Maybe not now. Maybe not in a month. but she will fall in love with him.”

"That was interesting..." He mumbled quietly and then slipped on a black short-sleeve shirt, stepping out of his room and looking around for the small Rainbow pegasus for a few moments before shrugging and heading back to his original crew. That little Rainbow Dash had such a cute accent. He thought for a few minutes about her odd behaviour, and obviously he realized that yes, indeed, an animal was coming onto him. Albeit a pretty, talking, one, but still. He was developing an attraction to a Pegasus. A winged horse. A horse. There was something seriously screwed up about this.

Nathaniel was running through calculations in his brain quietly, going over everything that he could think of that might possibly happen to him, his friends, and the new additions to their little party. A large notepad that he had recovered from the wreckage lay in front of him, along with a mostly exploded pen that had just a little ink left inside of it. The main problem he was currently going over in his mind was the lack of bullets remaining. When it came down to it, if the zombie attacks kept happening they would be out of bullets in perhaps a months time. This was not good at all. Additionally the current source of nutrition might not suit them, or the ponies for that matter, for all that long.

He grinned as he though of another dilemma currently visible to him. The obvious attraction that Rainbow Dash was harboring for his captain. It was disconcerting, and he was sure that Bromley realized what the pony thought of him as. The feelings produced surprisingly fast, and he realized that in the end there was nothing really all that screwed up about it. First off, they were currently crashed on an alien planet, where they were unsure if they would even live to see the next day. Also, Rainbow Dash had a brain, a conscious, culture, and thinking abilities. She wasn't a primitive beast of burden. In all rights, Bromley would be perfectly justified in allowing the little bond to continue further. But she was still a horse. A god damn winged horse. Nathaniel was pulled out of his own world by a nudge on his shoulder. He turned to see the timid Fluttershy nosing him gently.

"H-hello there Nathaniel.. I was wondering, if it wouldn't bother you to explain, if you could tell me what you are writing down." She stepped back quickly as he turned to face her. Had he surprised her that easily?

"Hey Fluttershy. I was just going over some plans. No need to worry yourself." Nate gently explained to the trepidatious little pony. She smiled a little, and Nate ignored how that smile made him feel disturbingly more carefree.

“It’s the same thing here! Am I the only one who thinks these humans are dangerous? This is a problem.” Twilight’s thoughts invaded into her work again. She was attempting to take notes of the planet, and of the humans, but her fellow ponies’ feelings were getting in the way.

"I-if I can make a suggestion, are crops or farms a possibility?" Nate thought for a few seconds then slowly nodded his head, agreeing with the idea. Soon the two of them were immersed in a quiet intellectual conversation about how to tend and produce enough food to feed their mutual friends.

Rainbow Dash was alone on the roof, gazing out at the land without really seeing it. She was lost in her thoughts, something that was extremely uncommon for her. She loved action! Adrenaline! Flying... not sitting here brooding about her own feelings. But that was just the problem. She hadn’t been able to move, to fly, when Bromley was in danger. Never before had she been that immobilized without something weighing her down physically. It was scary, how just the fact that he was in danger had her rooted to the spot. Why did it effect her like that?

She was already beginning to come to terms with the fact that “The Captain” meant a bit more to her then even her friends. She had just met him, and in fact he was a total asshole until recently, but even still... a pony can’t pick. He was an alien, a strange looking being with no fur, scales, or even a coat. Yet, she had continued to look, and stare, and actually found him attractive. The humans obviously shared features with them. Legs, a head... and So on. They seemed to be built to be powerful, much like a male pony. Maybe even more powerful. They were definitely more agile. Judging from earlier, their chests were just as big, and strong. He had hit something hard enough to make it fly away, and send it’s... snout she guessed, straight into its own body.

Now that she really thought about it, he was her “type.” Despite being an entirely different species, he had all the qualities that she knew she needed. He was powerful, he was calm, and he could handle himself. It seemed he would be there for her, even though he hardly knew her as of yet, and it was obvious he could protect her. Her wings stood up a bit as she realized he would probably be quite good in the sky. A roll in the clouds wouldn’t be out of the things she was starting to think about.

But there was no time for romance. They were just trying to survive right now. Zombies were here, and they were going to run out of food, or something before long, and she needed to focus on helping somehow. It didn’t matter if this was the first male that had ever attracted her attention. It didn’t matter if she was feeling lonely at times, even back in Equestria. She was used to fighting alone, for what she believed in. She could continue doing it.

That night everybody and everypony gathered around for dinner, Nate boiling up some quick food for them all. They sat at a stone table, a smooth almost flat rock that they had found near the crash site. It was about two meters long and a meter wide, and was very light. Bromley and Evan had dragged it back to base, much to the surprise of Rarity, who quickly cleaned it up and thanked them profusely for giving them something to put food on. It was so “barbaric” according to her, to eat on the ground. Nate began to serve everyone up. He put the soup-like food into some bowls that were just dented bits of metal from their ship. The captain sat at one end of the long table with Rainbow Dash and Evan taking a seat next to him. He raised a brow at the little pony and she blushed a bit before grinning at him. Twilight took a seat next to her and Applejack went ahead and sat next to Evan. Nate was on the opposite side of Bromley, and Fluttershy and Rarity sat on either side of him. Pinkie Pie squirmed her way in-between Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie brought life to the meal, and nobody and nopony could resist smiling at her antics. She talked about Equestria, and how life in Ponyville tended to be. Evan quizzed her relentlessly, curious about the life of the talking ponies. Bromley was mostly silent, mulling over things in his head. Rainbow Dash prodded him in the side with her hoof, causing him to look over at her. She asked him what he did and he winced, almost invisibly.

“I’ll tell you some other time.” he tried to smile a bit, but it was almost impossible with the subject at hand.

“Oh... Alright! I’ll keep you to that.” She smirked a bit, trying to brighten up the man. He chuckled a bit and continued to eat.

“You mumbled in your sleep last night.” Rainbow stiffened a bit, unsure if what she said was anything... private. “You said something about the erm... ‘wonderbolts’?” He continued. At that she exploded into conversation about how cool they were, and how she wanted to be one. He listened, calmly smiling and staying silent, allowing her to talk about her dreams. It was relaxing.

Evan balked at his captain, completely bewildered. He was smiling! Just because something was talking to him! In a typical conversation with the Captain, he would comment and joke around, but it was almost impossible to drag him into anything that involved personal things. But here he was. Allowing someone to babble in his ear about things he didn’t have. Dreams.

“Ey’ Evan. You done eating sugah’ cube?” Evan turned to the blond pony sitting next to him and nodded at her. She smiled at him, and he couldn’t resist returning the infectious thing.

“I was wonderin’... Wut do ya’ do?” She asked him curiously

“Now that is probably the least interesting story of the century. I have all the money any man could ever ask for. I am a CEO of a company, and instead of working, I spend my time defying gravity on a longboard or driving cars from companies that ninety percent of the world has never heard of and going speeds that ninety nine percent have never imagined could be attained in a piece of metal. Nothing interesting.”

“Now what in the name of Celestia is a car? Or a longboard? An how the hay do you get any speed outta’ somethin’ that ain’t livin’? Cus I dun see no magic with y’all.”

“Longboard. Let’s start there. It’s several pieces of wood steam compressed and glued together. When that part is done it ends up less than an inch thick. You put metal bars underneath it and attach wheels with lubed bearings in them and ride it.

“You talk fancy. You know that? Cars next!”

“Uh ok... Cars use combustion of petrol and turn it into a gas that powers the wheels and drive shaft. The wheels move and that moves the car. The wheels are made of rubber so they grip the ground very well. The more cylinders that a car has the more fuel it can combust and the more power it has. Most commercial cars have anywhere from four to six cylinders but the cars I drive have anywhere upwards from ten.”

“I hope ya’ know that I didn’t understand a word of that.”

“Yes I know. But I also know that you like it when I talk fancy.”

“Shush.” Applejack whispered to him sarcastically. Evan’s face plummeted into his soup bowl, barely fitting. The fit of laughter could be heard even through the metal however and everyone looked at him like he was crazy, which he guessed he was. Pinkie pie screamed in joy and tried it for herself. When she arose from her underwater experience she deemed it the “new, more funner” way to eat. Applejack was giggling and Evan was still muffling his laughter with soup and metal. Bromley cracked a smile. Evan instantly knew and rose from his seat with the bowl still attached to his face. Through it you could barely hear him yell.

“Haha! Achievement get!”

“Indeed. Could you hear my lips split?” Came another sarcastic comment.

“Damn straight! I’m just ninja like that!” Evan sat back down and missed the makeshift chair, falling onto his ass and sprawling himself all over the floor. The shock jarred the bowl from his face. “Most of the time...”

“You just wish you could make me do it more often.” was the dull reply. Evan lifted himself up from the ground.

“I’m going to say yes. Rainbow Dash, I’m jealous.” and with that, he left the table to do god knows what. Rainbow Dash looked sheepish, but inside she was extremely happy. She had made the captain laugh more than one of his trusted crew members could. Achievement get for her! The rest of the meal progressed fine. Pinkie pie was comedic as usual and Rainbow Dash did get the captain to smile one more time. But only one more time. He knew that Evan was fragile and even though he wasn’t present, it seemed wrong that a horse was better than him at something. Applejack went to try and find the missing guest, but to no avail. She returned and enjoyed the rest of the evening. When the party disbanded the people and ponies present retired to their quarters. Applejack made her way to hers and saw that Evan’s door was open. She peeked inside and saw him on the rock that served as his bed. He was flinging a ball of metal at the the ceiling. He got up and without even looking at her he picked her up, carried her out and set her down. He closed his door and went back to throwing the ball. Applejack thunk nothing of it immediately and retired to her own quarters. Only when she got to her bed did she realize what was wrong. Evan was sad. It was a depressing thought. She had been told earlier that Evan rode a plank of wood for fun, but not being able to make that captain laugh had broken his heart.

Despite all that Evan could claim he was good at, he had never been able to bring joy to the Captain. He had always been his friend, and had good times with him. But, even still, nothing could remove Bromley from his pain. He was too entwined in his own suffering and inability to change the past or enact vengeance. Evan was unable to pull the Captain away from it, and yet a random rainbow colored pegasus could manage to do it. It stung.

Bromley however had a different problem. Rainbow Dash was attempting to get closer and closer to him. And she was succeeding. He was well aware that she liked him more than she should. She was setting herself up for harm. He was a cold, vicious bastard when he wanted to be. “This is a problem” he determined, and at those words he gave his final frustrated grunt of the night. The soft pounding of the metal ball on the stone roof of the room was ignorable, even relaxing. He drifted into unconsciousness restlessly, mind still actively stressing over his problems.

They called themselves humans, and these humans were truly remarkable creatures. It was incredible to watch them work, to watch them communicate in just as intelligent ways as her and her fellow ponies. They were also comical at times, and everypony viewed them as friendly. There was something that was completely missing from them that everypony else had, and it frightened Twilight Sparkle. They lacked any semblance of innocence. She had glanced into there eyes over the past few days and had seen emotions that were not supposed to be prevalent. And yet they were, and somehow these "people" could deal with the dark feelings. In one of their eyes she saw deep fear and longing. These belonged to Nate. While those feelings were not completely alien to her, but in his eyes they were so apparent! He was stressed constantly and you could tell. She saw frustration and worthlessness in Evan’s. He masked it well with his insane visage, but it was still there. She could pity the obviously not-all-there boy. But then there were the terrifying eyes, filled with agony and resentfulness, along with with rage held in them. Those soulless eyes were the captain’s, and she feared for those who put themselves against him. But what scared her the most was that she saw something else that they all had that she herself had never experienced, even before her friends in Ponyville. Loneliness.

Chapter 12
View Online

The Herd

Chapter 12

A/N Defeneing: Hey guys! Here to bring you a REALLY short chapter this time around. Sorry about this. On the bright side chapter 13 is just above 25 pages BEFORE editing, so you guys might get a massive like... 20k word chapter vs. this eeny little 3k one. BUT, there is a story in here, and some more fluffy shit, as always. Which is what we seem to SUCK at writing. Takes us hours. Anyway, as always it’s great if you guys would leave reviews.

I would also like to announce that our video editing department has just started, and a youtube channel should be up fairly soon. Development on a website has also been continuously going! ALSO. Have you guys possibly seen...

MINDLESSGONZO?!?! That dude/chick/guy/lady? Yeah, well... We are probably going to start a Tumblr featuring the OCS and the ponies (Aka the Mane Six) from The Herd. It would be fantastic to get some amazing support from you guys in this project. Anyway, enjoy reading!

Chapter 12

“Git back here you slippery snake!” Applejack shouted, muffled barely by the wall. She and Evan had been at war for most of the night.

“Ugh.” Fluttershy complained, burying her head in the pillows. The noise from the neighboring quarters had kept her up all night. There was a loud slam and a strangled cry of pain. Dusk nuzzled her neck.

“Are you trying to, I mean, I’m not accusing you of anything, I’m just not in the mood...” Fluttershy started.

“What? No! I’m just trying to cheer you up is all.” Dusk said, mildly defensive.

“Oh... okay” She said, warming up to him. She was still worried about him. Had the transformation healed his internal injuries? She had no way of knowing.

“What’s worrying you?” Dusk asked, seeing the look of concern on Fluttershy’s face.

“What? Oh... Uhm... Nothing... I just... No, never mind.” she said, closing her eyes and leaning against him, trying to avoid the inevitable conversation.

“Am I ugly?” he asked, hoping that wasn’t the problem the problem.

“Huh? No! Absolutely not! I find you quite attractive.”

“Is it about the transformation?” He asked now, his intuition kicking in.

“Oh... Uhm... Yes, but don’t worry about it...” She squeaked out.

“I’m fine... I promise you.” he said, nuzzling her neck once more. She cuddled into him deeper and they pushed closer together for warmth. Fluttershy opened her mouth to talk but close it immediately.

“What were you going to say?” Dusk asked after sensing her movement..

“I-I.. Actually, I don’t want to say it... I don’t want to scare you off...” Fluttershy closed her eyes in embarrassment.

“I love you.” Dusk proclaimed, almost cutting her off.

“Eep~!” she was slightly startled, “I-I love you too...”

“You promise?” Dusk joked slightly.

“I promise.” She couldn’t help but smile. He was fantastically warm with her near. They both relaxed, despite the commotion coming from Applejack’s room.

“Ow! Fuck! Balls! My balls...” Evan’s voice rang out this time. Fluttershy ignored it. She felt as though everything would be okay when Dusk was near. He snuggled deep into his mare, loving her heat.

“H-Have you ever... thought about, maybe, at some time, I’m not rushing you or anything, that we could, maybe, have fillies? I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s fine, but I’ve been wanting them for as long as I can remember...” Fluttershy once again regretted what she was saying, but a little less this time.

“Someday. Soon maybe.” Dusk said, nuzzling her cheek. She blushed and smiled at him. He pulled the covers up and they laid there, looking at each other, neither wanting to sleep.

“Oh, I have something to show you!” he said suddenly, throwing the covers off and trotting to the lab. She followed slowly, for fear of the uncomfortable cold. They walked into his lab side by side though, and Dusk pointed to a covered object in a corner. He pulled the blanket off of a contraption she had only ever seen once.

“You made a DJ stand?” she inquired shyly, looking it over. He nodded excitedly while she giggled.

“So...” Dusk twitched in annoyance as he heard the captain’s slightly condescending tone. “You decide... That instead of building something useful, like perhaps... I don’t know, maybe a ship to get us off this hell hole of danger and to a safer place? You build a... Stereo. Great decision.” Bromley stood in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, while his eyes stared at Dusk blankly. He then straightened himself before Dusk could compose a response and lazily walked away. “Good job Nate. I mean ‘Dusk.’”

“... I...” Dusk sighed as the captain disappeared around a corner. He had just wanted to give everypony a gift for the work and hard times they had been going through. He should've known that Bromley wouldn’t approve. Actually, the captain was probably smart in what he had said, but he had succeeded in making Dusk feel like an idiot and at the same time a douchebag. Fluttershy gently nuzzled him.

“I like it.” She smiled at him, and he returned it half-heartedly to its place under the cover. They trotted back to their room, got under the covers, and cuddled the night away.

It was very, very, very early in Coffee’s opinion. And he was very, very, very tired. And he could have slept through all that banging, swearing, and pained cries without a problem, but unfortunately for him, his only source of warmth was curled up on the floor beside the bed he was laying on. This was deeply angering, for he was frigid. The damn, pink, master of torture was no better off, seeing as she was shivering like she was sleeping on a tub of ice cream. Enough was enough. He wanted his Pinkie Pie back, and by jove he was going to get her. Standing up he strutted over to the trembling ball of pink with authority and prodded her shoulder with his hoof.

“Pinkie. Get up.” His angry voice was much too loud for Pinkie Pie to ignore.

“Go away! I don’t want to do anything...” she whined.

“No. Get up. Get into bed.” His hoof nudged her, forcing her onto her belly.

“What? No... I’m fine...” She attempted to lay back down, but his nose stopped her, his frustrated eyes boring into hers.

“Pinkie... You’re not fine.” His voice had lost a bit of the anger, but it was still firm, and consoling. Almost parental.

“I don’t want to...” His nostrils flared slightly, and he shook his head for a second before closing his eyes. He seemed to come to terms with himself and opened them again, speaking gently to Pinkie Pie.

“Look, I know you and Rarity were friends. Close friends. I haven’t had any close friends to lose. I really don’t understand how you feel. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to try to help.” Coffee gently rubbed his snout down her mane, trying to reassure her.

“But you can’t! You’ll never know how I feel...” Coffee grew irritated at this and suddenly Pinkie found the larger pony glaring daggers above her, somehow flipped onto her back.

“I’m starting to! You know why? You’re disappearing. The Pinkie Pie I know and love is receding into a tight little shell, and I can’t do anything about it! It’s like you’re dying. My closest friend is dying right in front of me! I’m pretty sure I’m starting to know how you feel. While in the daytime you act happy around everypony else... At night you leave me cold and alone on the bed. Do I deserve that Pinkie Pie?” At that he stomped his hoofs into the ground besides her head and stepped off of her. Pinkie slowly mulled over his words, and realized that her colt friend was probably right. How could she abandon the person she loved to the same fate she went through? Sighing she stood and silently joined him on the bed. He had his back turned to her, but she just curled up against his spine, showing that she was ready for things to go back to the way they were before. Coffee smiled to himself in acknowledgement of the warmth not only on his back, but in his heart.

“Applejack... Applejack! Just stop... stop beating up on me! Stop! For like two seconds.” Evan told his mare in between hooves to the face. She stopped, and Evan dared to look at her.

“Yall got three seconds.” Applejack said testily. Evan only pointed behind her. She turned and saw something amazing. The sunrise. “You mean to say, that Ah been beating up on y'all fer the whole night?”

“Yeah. Yeah you have. And I can’t even remember why...” Evan’s head shot back down to the floor as he took another hoof to the face.

“Because right as I was coming to terms with you running after Bromley, y’all have to go an make a comment about me being fat.”

“Right. Well, throughout the past seven or eight hours, you have most definitely proven to me that all that extra is really muscle. DON’T HIT ME!” Applejack forced another hoof into his bleeding face.

“Y’all really don’t know when to stop do you?” Applejack said while getting in his face.

“The same whole reason I failed my drivers test the first time.” Evan said while pushing the orange pony off of him. He looked out the window at the sunrise. “I used to wake up at this time every day and go for a walk. Just to see what the rest of the city’s mornings were like.” Evan turned away from the natural beauty, wiping off some of the blood from his bleeding nose. “But now I have to wake up to zombies and hardships. I’m willing to bet all the money I ever owned that everyone and everypony here is pissed at me.”

“Now cheer up sugarcube. They can all go the hay if their mad at you fer doing the right thing.” Applejack said. She strode up to Evan’s leg and brushed against it.

“Calling you fat was the right thing to do?” He found himself on his back with another hoof in his face. “Right! It’s not fat, it’s muscle!” Evan bled just a little more.

“Ah ain’t got nothing extra back there alright? Jus’ get up and make me some breakfast so Ah can go to sleep.” Evan once more pushed his mare off of him and got up. He ripped off part of a shirt that he wasn’t using and soaked it in a bit of water before wiping his face of the blood. Feeling slightly dizzy, he still made his way to the kitchen area of the establishment. He instantly regretted doing so though, as the captain was calmly eating on the table there.

“Hey Bromley... Uh... Sleep well?”

“No. No I didn’t. You fucking your pony traumatized my brain for the rest of my life.” Bromley replied monotonously.

“Sorry? I’m not exactly sure that we was havin’ a party but whatever.” Evan said, accidentally trailing off into an accent.

“Why are you suddenly black?”

“Look I don’t know. I’m just trying to avoid the imminent conversation that we’re going to have.” Bromley looked on expectantly. “Just let me feed AJ and get her back to bed. She needs sleep.” Evan motioned to the mare that had followed him to the kitchen.

“If yall have something to say to each other, I’m sure you can say it in front of me.” Applejack spoke her mind, not wanting to leave Evan in the hands of the beast, but instead of saying anything, Evan went and began preparing a simple meal, soup. Applejack just looked at Bromley for an explanation. He remained stoic staring ahead at the wall behind her and ignoring both her and Applejack. Evan brought the breakfast soup to his mare.

“You really don’t want to be here for this. I don’t care what kind of promises you can make to say that no matter what, you won’t think of us different. You will gain a new perspective if you stay, but its not one you want to have. I really love you AJ but right now, you can’t be here.” Evan was dead serious and Applejack noticed. She nodded and left with bowl in her mouth.

“What could be so bad about them talking? They ain’t gonna fight ag’in are they?” Applejack wondered while going back to her room.

Evan sat down at the table across from his friend. “How do I start this...” he thought.

“Do you remember the time I hit you with a stop sign?” Evan asked. Bromley’s face twitched a little, almost as if it was refusing to smile, which was probably the case. “That was the first day we really talked, and you tripped my trigger so hard. I couldn't rip a stop sign ever out of the ground again like that day, even now. You made me so damn mad, that I think I lost all of my anger. I’m never mad anymore. Just... frustrated or confused. I may yell but I’m never angry.” Bromley picked up on where Evan was going.

“So you’re saying that you were trying to replicate that day? That you were trying to rid me of my anger? You wanted to replicate the day before we were best friends?” Bromley asked as he calmly placed his spoon in his bowl and pushed it to the side.

“I don’t mean to completely kill your anger, or your rage. That’s what makes you who you are. But you do need to control it a little better. All I wanted to do was show you that no matter how angry you get, there is a limit.” Bromley said nothing, and remained indifferent. “You get angry like little kid who doesn’t get what he wants. You build and build and build until finally all comes to, is a temper tantrum.”

“You’re treading in a minefield.” Bromley’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh, the nostalgia. Except this time,” Evan spread his arms. “they aren’t actual mines. What I mean to say is this. Kill zombies for the first time. Get pissed. Kill again. Get more pissed. Get backed into the home because of zombies. Rage. Get asked to kill your friend, and break. Tantrum in the form of running away instead of just manning up and turning 18 for real. You don’t want to kill Rainbow Dash? Don’t.”

“It isn’t that simple...” Bromley was about to explain but Evan cut in.

“So why can I do it? I’m easily the dumbest live person on the planet, but I can resist killing Applejack when she beats on me. Maybe I’m better.” Evan stood up.

“But that’s you. You have no idea what it’s like to have all this rage build up inside you.” Bromley was growing frustrated at getting cut off.

“I hit you with a stop sign that I pulled out of the ground. I spend more time unconscious than all of you combined. Would I really just not care? My own pony beats up on me because shes mad and I have to let her or I could seriously injure her. I can control my anger Bromley. What about you?”

“I can, and I can’t. As you saw, I left as soon as it threatened to bubble over. Every time I’m angry I just shove it down, but then assholes like you come and dig it up again. Why did you do that? Its stupid and unnecessary.” Bromley was frustrated and confused at his copilot, but didn’t show it in the slightest.

“Because I needed to teach you that even when you get super angry, you will have a limit. As for how do you control the anger, just put everything you care about above the limit. Or, start caring more.” Evan walked over to his still sitting friend. “You care enough about me to not kill me, and for that I thank you. Start caring more about Rainbow Dash and maybe you won’t be afraid of killing her.” Bromley gripped the edge of the rock table to keep himself sitting.

“Everything you just said was a complete pile of shit. I care just as much about Rainbow Dash as I do about you. I know you feel like you did something for me, but you did nothing. I do not have ‘temper tantrums’ as you call them. Well... I do. But they are never inflicted on my friends. Until they are idiots and start shit up like you did.”

“But that just proves that you’re going to snap someday. In front of all of us. And maybe kill all of us.” Bromley smirked a bit and just shook his head.

“You don’t think I know that? I’ve known that for the longest time Evan.” Bromley stood up and Evan tensed as he neared him. “You have had a hard life, just as I have... But your parents died of natural causes. Mine? They were tortured to death. In front of me.” Bromley whispered in Evan’s ear, before heading towards the door. “Besides. You and I both know that you’ll snap some day too.” Bromley turned one last time to fix Evan with a hard glare. “You did both good and bad. While I would've preferred you hadn’t done something that idiotic, you showed Rainbow Dash the insanity inside of me. I thank you for that. I don’t thank you for almost killing yourself to do it.”

“All is fair in love and war.” Bromley turned once more to leave and Evan called after him. “God will have a hard time stopping us if we crack at the same time.”

“God forbid it ever happens Evan.” Bromley replied without turning, opening the door and leaving Evan alone to his thoughts. Evan’s face returned to the rock table that was before him. Just the thoughts streaming through his head had darkened his mood. What would happen when he broke? Would he go on a rampage, or just sort of fade away?

“Have the Captain and you... Acquiesced?” Evan spun to face Josh, currently leaning against the door frame. “Or have you perhaps... Discovered an even deeper facet of your friendship?” Josh asked.

“If you want gay porn from us, it’s not happening.” Evan stood up and walked towards him slowly, trying hard to give the impression of apathy.

“I’m fairly sure you know the real meaning in my words sir.” Josh said, staring at his coworker. “I suggest you don’t evade thinking of what has been brought to mind.”

“I don’t really want to think about what I just discovered.”

“There is no reason not to. Trust yourself and trust The Captain, and everything will turn out okay.” Josh put a hand on Evan’s shoulder.

“Man... Feels like I had this talk with Nate awhile ago.” Evan said cynically.