Equestria of The Dead: Twilight Sparkle

CHOICE MADE: LET THE MARE IN

You think of the risks should you open the door, but then you come to the realization that that pony outside is a living creature that does not deserve to perish at the hands of a corpse, and it's been so long since you've talked to anyone. You come to the conclusion to let the mare inside.

Quickly, you run to the door, lighting your horn, pulling out the nails and tearing down the barricades. Once all down, you quickly open the door as fast as you could. Standing directly in front of you was a young mare, but you weren't keen on appearances at the moment.

"Get inside, quickly!" You whisper, and without hesitation, the mare almost sprints inside the house, and you quickly shut the door behind her, but silently to avoid making too much noise.

"Oooh, dear Celestia, tha-" Before she could finish her sentence, you stick a hoof in her mouth, preventing her from speaking. You shush her, and she instantly goes quiet.

For the first few seconds, you hear almost nothing but the sounds of distant chirping crickets in the night. At first, you assume that you're in the clear, and you begin to sigh, about to remove your hoof from the mare's mouth.

Then you hear the clicks. Your hoof goes back inside, and you hold your breath once more.

The distant clicking noises become louder and louder until you hear them just behind your door along with the sound of shuffling hooves across the stone roads. Eventually, the shuffling hooves stop, but the clicking noises don't.

"Another one?" you ask in your mind.

You remember when you saw the first Clicking Zombie almost a week after patient zero. Clickers, as you call them, were the rare kinds of Walkers that were blind either at the hooves of survivors, or from birth. And when you said "rare," you meant the one outside was the third one you've ever heard. You saw the first one, but never the second.

After your encounter with the first one, you didn't know at first why they made those clicking noises. Then you read through a book or two and found a column about echolocation, which meant "using the sounds of the environment to locate objects," and those objects to Clickers were the living.

For about a minute, the Clicker stood just outside your door, possibly trying to locate the mare now behind you. The clicking noises that it made put you on edge, and you were afraid it would hear anything you did. Echolocation was a powerful thing in Equestria, and knowing that the dead could do it frightened you, but you were lucky they were not common.

A minute passed, and slowly, the sound of shuffling hooves returned, only to slowly become more and more distant along with the clicking sounds. A second minute passed, and by then, the Clicker was gone, its clicks in the far distance by now.

With the terror finally passed, you sigh once more, finally removing your hoof from the mare's mouth. But once the tension released a little, you then noticed that your hoof felt a little...wet. Upon inspecting it, you notice that it was wet with a clear liquid. You clearly knew that this was the mare's saliva, indicating that she was sucking on your hoof.

Quietly, the mare apologized, blushing as she did so and looking away from your face. You simply replied that it was alright, glowing your horn in the semi-darkness and levitating a roll of paper-towels towards you. You rip off one piece and begin wiping your hoof off until it was clean of saliva. You crumple up the paper-towel and throw it into the trash. It seemed pointless throwing it in the trash, but you liked doing something that made everything "normal" for a moment.

After a few more moments of silence, knowing that it's now okay to freely speak normally, you ask the mare if she's okay.

"Yes," she replies, "I'm okay....Thank you for letting me in....I-I'm G-Gold Daisy...but, um...whatever you want to call me is...f-fine." Daisy blushes slightly.

"That's a very nice name, Daisy," you reply to her like a teacher replying to a young child.

Daisy blushes a little, saying, "Thank you," while doing so.

"U-Umm...Are you...Are you Twilight Sparkle?"

For a moment, you wondered why she suddenly wanted to know your name, but you answer her question nonetheless.

"Yes, I am," you reply gently to Daisy. Slowly, her face begins to form a smile.

"Oh, thank Celestia I found you," she replied, fluttering her wings in response.

"Why did you ask?" You ask her.

Daisy's face slowly began to fade to a frown. You assumed she most likely went through tartarus just to get here. She probably didn't want to talk about it. Then she spoke.

"U-Uh, well...it all started at the refuge camp in Fillydelphia..."

Your eyes widen in surprise. You gasp.

"You're...You're from the camp? The one I've been hearing on the radio?"

"Y-Yes."

If she's from the camp, then she must've seen the others.

"Can I ask you something before you continue?" You ask her suddenly, and she shrieks in surprise.

"Y-Yes," she replies, shying behind her mane.

Definitely like Fluttershy.

"Do you recognize the Elements of Harmony?"

"Oh, yes. I do. They saved Equestria from that frightening princess...um...aren't you one of them?"

"Yes. I am the Element of Magic," you reply, smiling.

"Oh, wow. I've always wanted to meet one of you. Um...why did you ask if I knew them?"

"Well, I was wondering...have you seen the other elements at the survivor camp?"

Daisy was silent, with an expression as if she was thinking for a moment. You guessed she doesn't exactly focus on everyone there.

"N-No. Sorry."

You knew she'd say that.

"Don't be sorry. I was just wondering."

It becomes silent for a few moments. Nothing but awkward silence. Then again, silence is never awkward anymore. It's more common than it was a month ago. Some days, you'd hear screams in the far distance. Other days, it's silent. You became used to it overtime. It takes about a minute for you to speak up again.

"So," you begin, "What happened at the camp?"

"Oh. Right," Daisy replied, forgetting about the story she was ready to tell just a minute ago.

"Well...every week or so...the ponies who run the camp - they call themselves governors - they send a number of ponies out of the camp to look for food. They sent me out, along with a few others...including this one stallion I met around 2 weeks ago. When we first met, he introduced himself, complimented me...and then he asked me if he wanted to hang out sometime."

"So, he's your date?"

Daisy blushed at the question.

"Oh, no. We weren't dating or anything. He said he already has a marefriend. U-Um...had one. He doesn't know if she's okay or not."

"What does he look like? Is he handsome?" You ask, trying to make the mare blush again. You succeed as her face begins to redden again.

"U-Um...Y-Yes," she replies, smiling, "He's a nice pony. He's blue, just like me. Some ponies at the camp say we look like clones...just the opposite gender. Hehe..." Daisy giggles a bit.

"What else is there about him?"

"Well...He really loves music. Classical. I love classical, too."

You complimented, saying you also enjoyed classical music. You'd listen to it whenever you read a book once in a while. But...that was before the outbreak. When the power plants failed, so did the record player. Now you just read a book with the silence howling in your ears.

Then you remembered something...What Daisy said about the stallion...He was blue. Lightning's blue, too. She also said the stallion loves classical music. Lightning does also. Could...Could Daisy be talking about him? No, of course not. You forget that Lightning isn't the only stallion that's blue in Equestria. It was a slim chance she'd actually be talking about him. Although, there isn't any harm in finding out. You had to know for sure.

"Daisy," you start, "What's this stallion's name?"

"Uh...I can't remember...Except his last name. I think it was...Flash."

Flash? That's Lightning's last name. And there can't be anyone else in Equestria with the last name of 'Flash'. It was obvious she was indeed talking about him. But she didn't seem to remember his first name. Perhaps you could fill in the blank.

"Is it Lightning Flash?"

"O-Oh! Yes! I m-mean...yes. Sorry for shouting," Daisy apologizes, hiding behind her mane again.

When you heard her response, a sudden feeling began to form inside you. A feeling of happiness. Excitement. Lightning's alive. However, the feeling suddenly begins to fade. You remember she said she's seen only Lightning there, and not the rest of your friends. Still, you are fairly happy to know your stallionfriend is still alive.

"H-How do you know his name?"

You look to her for a moment.

"He's...he's my stallionfriend. We've been together for 2 years. I got separated from him during the outbreak. It's been a whole month since I've seen him. I hoped every day that he was okay. Now I know..."

You become silent for a moment. Then you look towards Daisy.

"Thank you, Daisy." You walk over to her, and wrap your forelegs around her, pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you so much."

"U-Uh...you're welcome."

After an awkward 15 seconds, you pull away from Daisy.

"Sorry. I'm just so happy."

"It...it's okay," she replies, smiling to you.

"So..." You begin, trying to suppress your happiness. "Can you continue your story, Daisy?"

"Oh. Okay. W-Well, when we talked the first time, he sometimes...u-um...talked...about you. Who you were, what your favorite things were...and it made him...cry. He said that the last time he saw you were here in this town...over a month ago. I told him I was there for him, and he thanked me. After that, we started...seeing each other more often...N-Not in that way, I mean!"

Daisy blushed, and you simply said that it was alright, and you allowed her to continue.

"W-Well...umm...yesterday...I was picked to go out with...I think 10-12 other ponies to go find some food for the rest of the group. Lightning was also picked to go with us. When we went out, he stayed alongside me the whole time. We talked and laughed. Kept each other company...then...he..."

"He what?"

"He...kissed me...B-But he quickly apologized afterwards."

He...kissed her?

Usually, you would probably feel angered at this, betrayed, cheated...but you couldn't blame Lightning. He has no idea if you're alive or not. He most likely lost all hope of seeing you alive and possibly decided to move on. Hopefully, if he has done that, he hasn't completely forgotten about you.

"Oh...He did...?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Don't worry, Daisy. I'm not angry or anything."

"You're...you're not?"

"No. I can't blame him. You do look cute."

Once again, you succeeded in making Daisy blush. Her cheeks became as red as a tomato, a vegetable you haven't seen since the end began.

"T-Thank you, Twilight. But, um...you're taking this...awfully...well. I...thought Lightning was your stallionfriend?"

"He is...but...well...he doesn't know I'm alive...so...I can't blame him. I guess he just wanted to move on. I probably would've done the same thing..."

Daisy smiles a little, knowing Twilight felt no anger at her still-lover for his actions. It becomes silent for a moment before she finally continues.

"A-Anyway...we continued forward into a nearby town...I think it was called Maneya."

Manya...why does that sound familiar to you?

'Oh!' you remember. Maneya was the town everypony in Fillydelphia called "the perfect paradise". It had a three story library, a spa that treated customers for only 5 bits, and much more. Some even said it was the perfect place for a honeymoon. Months ago, you and Lightning made a promise you'd go there when you two got married...well, if you got married. But sadly...that dream won't be coming true anytime soon.

"When we entered the town, we all split up and started looking in houses. We only found a few supplies: Bandages and beans. Some of the others found bread, but it was all..." Daisy shook for a second, with a disgusted look on her face, "...moldy," she finished.

You visioned the moldy bread in your mind, and you too shook in disgust.

"We all met back at where they wanted us to be. We debated whether or not to bring back what we had or keep looking...That was when we were ambushed."

"By who?"

"The...bandits."

Daisy tightened her eyes, as if the memory was painful to remember. You didn't want to ask.

You knew who the bandits were. They were nothing but sick, twisted psychotic ponies who killed anypony in their sights, living or dead, just for fun. It was extremely rare that they let anypony join them. Some who did want to join got bludgeoned to death or burned alive. Some even raped mares they came across. You heard of them, but you've never seen any of them. Thank Celestia you haven't.

"They...They came out of nowhere...and killed one of us with one of those...gun-thingies."

Guns. You've heard of them. You learned what they are, and what they do. They kill. They were deadly weapons with small projectiles that could pierce the head of anypony, and kill them faster than you could say 'dead'. They could even kill an Ursa Major. In the newspapers, all around the world, ponies had murdered others with these weapons for purposes. Others did it for fun. Slowly, over time, Equestria began to turn from a peaceful land to a violent and chaotic one.

"One of them...took me and...they hit me in the head. E-Everything went black...I woke up a while l-later. I don't remember how long...but when I woke up, I couldn't move. They had me tied to a table with r-rope. Then when they came into the room...they said some things to me...They said they'd...kill me if I didn't do what they told me."

You covered your mouth with your hooves in shock. You wish you hadn't heard what she said next.

"They...they r...raped me. They beat me...they did...horrible things to me...and...they...didn't p-pull out..."

Pull out?

It took you a moment to realize what that meant. They...finished inside of her. You knew why they did.

"Daisy," you speak up, your voice cracking in sadness. Slowly, you walk to her and embrace her in a warm, loving hug. She accepts it gladly. Finally, after around 10 seconds or so, you both pull away. Daisy continues to speak.

"After they were...done with me, they told me to wait...then they left. I just stayed there, blindfolded and tied to a table. I did manage to get my blindfold off somehow...That was when I saw this knife. I couldn't use my hooves to reach it...but my wings weren't tied up...so I started to fly and I went sideways, so I was closer to the floor. I-I managed to reach the knife...and...I cut myself free..."

Daisy flapped her wings and smiled slightly.

"Once I got free...I snuck out the window that was in the room. Then I ran...I ran as fast as I could away from the place. I did get tired from running, so I flew. By the time I escaped, it was dark...but the moon was out, so it helped me see. Once I got tired, I landed and started walking...I...I was scared...I was so scared...I didn't know if the others got away or not...I hoped they did. Eventually, I found a small camp...and there was a tent in it...I went quiet and slowly snuck my way to it...then I opened it. Luckily, nopony was in it. Quickly, I crawled into it and closed it. I was so tired, I fell asleep and slept like a baby bunny."

Daisy smiled and closed her eyes, remembering the peaceful slumber.

When she said 'baby bunny', she definitely reminded you of Fluttershy.

"W-When I woke up, I heard a noise. At first, I was scared. But then I heard the noise of s-static. When I opened up the tent, I found a radio on a nearby t-table. I picked it up and I eventually picked up your b-broadcast. When you said Ponyville, I quickly looked at my surroundings. When I was a young filly, I could always point out the directions. I was in Fillydelphia, so I knew Ponyville was west. It took an exhausting twelve hours to get here...But when I got here...it was dark again. I didn't know where I was going. I started to think the broadcast was old...Then I saw your house lights through the windows. When I started heading to it, a large number of them had spotted me...So I ran as fast as I could...I-If you d-didn't open the door...I-I w-w-would've..."

Daisy couldn't finish her sentence. The fear of what might've happened had you not opened the door for her burned into her brain, and it was enough for her to collapse into tears. For a few seconds, you just stood there, not sure what to do. Then you slowly leaned down to Daisy and enveloped her in a warm hug, and reminded her that she was fine, and nopony was going to hurt her.

She thanks you.

Slowly, you begin to pull away from her...then her gaze catches your eyes. Her bright, green, sparkling eyes glisten from the candlelight, and she stares into your eyes. If you could see yours, they'd be bright, purple, and sparkling as well. The two of your are frozen for an awkward moment, just looking into each other's eyes.

>Kiss her (SLIGHT CLOP)

'I think we should head off to bed.'