Problems of a Dead World

Chapter 2: The Grand Tour

"You know we're going to have get through her right?" Earl said, pointing to Sweet Apple Acres.

Shining stopped dead in his tracks.

"You didn't tell me we were going to have to convince her." The white unicorn said sharply.

"Well of course we have to deal with her, it's his sister!"

"You know how she is when it comes to her brother..."

Earl simply shook his head and continued down the road.

* * *

"No!" Applejack shouted, positioning herself in front of Macintosh.

The red stallion simply sighed as he knew what would happen next.

"AJ, come on, you do this every time!" Earl said stomping his hoof to the ground.

Applejack scowled and stomped her hoof to the ground as well.

"Ah do not!"

"Shining's birthday?"

"Well ah-"

"Flame Dancer's pool party?"

"That was-"

"That one time we went to Canterlo-"

"This is different!"

Earl raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" He asked.

"You're takin' mah brother to another dimension!" AJ shouted.

Mac rolled his eyes and stepped between the two.

"Both of yah', just shut up!" He said, his voice booming throughout the house.

Applejack and Earl's mouths shut simultaneously.

Macintosh let out a sigh and turned to his sister.

"If Celestia said it's OK, then wah' would there be any danger?" Mac asked.

Applejack thought for a moment before aiming her head to the floor.

"There wouldn't be..." She said quietly.

"Exactly," Mac said, placing a hoof under her chin and bringing her head back up. "Now I appreciate your concern, but I'm a grown stallion. Hay, I'm older than you."

Applejack chuckled slightly.

"That being said, I can take care of myself, alright?"

Applejack nodded and smiled.

"Ah suppose..." She said.

Mac nodded and turned to Earl and Shining.

"So you're on-board?" Earl asked.

The red earth-pony simply nodded.

"Nice we can leave-"

"Fellas'?" Applejack said, cutting off.

The three stallions quickly looked to the orange earth-pony, who held a determined expression.

"How 'bout I come with ya?"

* * *

As the Colonel sustained his wicked smile, with his arms outstretched for effect, the words sunk into Earl's mind. His new home. They were planning on keeping them there. After a few more moments of awkward silence, the Colonel dropped his arms to his sides and sighed. He swiftly motioned to the soldiers pouring out of the second truck and nodded towards the dead soldier lying on the ground. Without question, two of the soldiers rushed over to the corpse and began dragging it away, out into the fields. The colonel clapped his hands together.

"Well, then, shall I show you around?" He said, in a psychotically-happy tone.

Earl grimaced at the thought of entering the facility and glanced to his friends, who held the same worried expressions. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and nodded.

"Great," Colonel Jackson said, his tone only growing happier. "After that we can get down to real business."

As the Colonel spun around and threw open the front doors, the air instantly escaped Earl's lungs, causing a slight gasp.

Real business? He thought.

Another glance to his companions showed that they too feared his statement. With a nervous gulp, Earl wearily followed the menacing Colonel into the facility.

Upon entering, Earl was surprised to find that the room was spotless. It was a typical lobby for a complex such as this, but everything looked untouched by the infection. The Colonel was definitely keeping things tight. Maybe too tight. As Earl glanced around at a few directional signs on the walls and the decor of the front desk, the Colonel turned around and eyed his "Guests".

"Well, c'mon now. We don't have all day." He said, a hint of anger creeping into his voice.

Earl flinched slightly and wrapped his arm around Twilight as he continued down the halls, motioning for Applejack, Shining, and Macintosh to do the same, which they obliged to. There was somewhat of a silent understanding between the group and the situation they were in. As they moved deeper into the building, all knew how important it was to keep this man calm. If he were to kill a companion with no second-thought, he definitely wouldn't have a problem killing them.

The footsteps echoed through the silent walls as the Colonel led them through the base, pointing out random rooms and explaining the history of the place. Nobody was able to pay attention however, the thoughts of the terrifying situation were eating at them, anxiety growing with each passing footstep. The Colonel stopped at the end of yet another lengthy hallway and aimed his hand to a nearby door.

".. and here we have the kitchen." Jackson said, bringing his hand to the metal swinging door and shoving it open.

As expected, the group was led into a kitchen. It's walls were lined with various shelving and cooking appliances, but something quickly caught Earl's attention; the knife rack.

"Here is where we, well," The colonel chuckled cheesily. "Cook, of course."

Earl forced a nervous chuckle and waved his hand to his friends, motioning for them to do the same. Within seconds, the room was filled with a dull nervous laughter.

"A savior and a comedian." The colonel said with a contented sigh.

Twilight glanced up to Earl nervously and noticed his eyes fixated on something across the room. She nudged him lightly, causing his view to snap to her.

What are you looking at? She mouthed nervously.

Earl glanced up to the Colonel quickly, who's back was turned to them.

"The knife rack..." Earl whispered quietly, nodding in the direction of it.

She looked across the kitchen for a moment and soon found the object of his interest. She knew exactly what he was planning, and with a nod, broke away from his arm.

"Excuse me, Jackson was it?" She said, nervously approaching the Colonel.

Colonel Jackson glanced over his shoulder and smiled warmly.

"Well yes, it is. What can I do for you miss..." The Colonel replied.

"Twilight Sparkle." She replied, the nervousness fading from her voice slightly.

Jackson quickly raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Twilight Sparkle, huh? Sounds like some kinda... hippie name..."

With the Colonel successfully distracted, Earl inched his way across the room, hugging the metal counter-top behind him. After a few seconds, Shining took notice and raised an eyebrow in Earl's direction.

What are you doing?! Shining mouthed nervously.

Earl replied by pressing his index finger against his lips and pointing with his opposite hand to the knife rack. After a moment, Shining realized Earl's intention and turned to the Colonel as well.

"So... you've got quite the establishment here..." Shining said nervously.

The Colonel broke his view on Twilight and glanced to Shining.

"Well, I appreciate that, son. Might I ask your name?" The Colonel said with a smile.

"Shining Armor..." he replied.

Colonel Jackson let out an other chuckle.

"Do you all have hippie names?"

Finally reaching his objective, Earl made a desperate reach for the knife rack, barely swiping his fingers across one of the handles. He cursed quietly under his breath and glanced back to the Colonel, who was still, to Earl's advantage, distracted. With a deep breath, he made another reach for the knife rack. This time, his hand grasped one of the knives' handles, but brought the whole rack tumbling down onto the metal counter below, creating a massive crash.

Well... shit.