Dead Rising: Case Equestria

TIME BEFORE ROYAL GUARD Arrives: 64:58:31

Derpy Hooves had never been a mare to avoid danger. In fact, she usually found herself quite often in the thick of dangerous situations, either due to her own natural clumsiness, or by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, even though most ponies knew her as the wall-eyed mare who couldn't do many jobs right, one thing was very well known, "you put her daughter in danger and Derpy will show you what she's capable of." Naturally, in a zompony apocalypse, as opposed to her usual self, Derpy became a lot more precise and directed in her movements for the sake of protecting her daughter Dinky. In fact, any zompony who tried to get close to her was promptly met with a hoof to the face or a good old fashioned buck.

"Man there's just no end to these things!" The gray mare thought exhausted as she had taken up a temporary shelter with her daughter in a nearby grocery store called "The Bazaar." It was a pretty generic name, but the mother and daughter weren't complaining since they were now hungrily chowing down on a couple of blueberry muffins along with some orange juice.

"Mommy?" Dinky said as her mother turned her attention to her, "Why are those things trying to hurt us, and where did they come from?"

"I don't know Dinky," Derpy said gaining a thoughtful look, but then gave the filly a reassuring hug, "but I promise I won't let them hurt you, no matter what!" At this, the little unicorn filly seemed to perk up as the pair began to get ready to go back out again. Currently they were searching for signs of other normal ponies that might have been around, but hadn't had much luck in doing so so far. However, Derpy had looked at the map of the building and figured out that a safe room had been made for emergencies, and figured that her best bet would be to look in the Royal Flush Plaza for a way in there. So with that thought in mind she marked the spot on her map, and proceeded to head out, Dinky clinging on to her mane once again.

As the pair traveled through the mall Derpy stopped as she put a couple of items into her saddlebags, some food and drink in case Dinky or herself got hungry or thirsty, and a couple of makeshift weapons, such as a frying pan, a fire axe, a flashlight, and a soccerball.

As she went into the thick of the mall she came to a huge area that held a giant fountain that also doubled as a bar for those willing to travel inside it. She then noticed a couple of stallions hanging from opposite railings, and from her mail runs throughout Ponyville she recognized the two to be Big Macintosh and Caramel. The two were trapped by a crowd of zomponies and the both of them looked to be getting tired from holding the railing...

"Help somebody!" Caramel called out terrified as he felt his grip beginning to slip. Big Mac however, locked eyes with Derpy and motioned over to Caramel, indicating his willingness to have her take care of Caramel first. Knowing that if she flew to save them she would most likely only be able to save one, Derpy was faced with a difficult choice: save Caramel and leave Big Mac to his fate, or vice versa? After a minute of deep contemplation Derpy decided upon her choice. She'd save both. Spotting a nearby toy store she saw a giant stuffed bear sitting in the corner of the store. Hastily she flew over and grabbed it and went to the spot she thought the scarlet stallion would land.

"Man I really hope I've got this position right..." She worried as she flew back over to help Caramel, and as his last hoof gave way she caught him just as he began to fall. Seconds later she heard the satisfying sound of a stallion having a soft landing, confirming her success to save Big Mac. Afterwards, she flew back across the fountain and set Caramel down next to Mac.

"Thank you kindly Ms. Derpy! We don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come along!" Caramel thanked the mare whilst shaking her hoof.

"Eeyup!" Mac affirmed the statement heartily as he gave a nod to his savior.

"Aw it's no problem you guys! Anything to help a couple of fellow ponies out!" Derpy blushed in slight embarrassment as she simply waved their praise off, always having been a humble mare. "But hey if you guys want I'm searching around for a safe place to wait this thing out, and I'd be glad to have a couple of partners to help me protect Dinky!"

"Sure thing ma'am! I'd be glad to help out!" Caramel said, willing to make good on his debt to the wall-eyed mare. "You in too Mac!"

"Eeyup!"

"Well then lets get going!" Derpy declared as she helped Caramel find a good weapon to fend off the hordes with, Mac needing nothing else except his brute strength. Caramel decided to work with a sledgehammer, having natural earth pony strength the weapon was easier for him to wield. Before they headed out Derpy made sure to make a quick check on Dinky, who reassured her mother that she was fine for now, and with that they went into the Silver Strip. Much to their horror, they found that many more zomponies awaited them. However, Derpy was a mare on a mission, and with a look of determination she nodded to Caramel and Mac, and together they tore through many zomponies throughout the strip.

"Man this is horrible!" Caramel commented, "All these good ponies, transformed into whatever these things are..."

"Eeyup..." Mac solemnly agreed, head bowed in a moment of silence for all the ponies who had fallen.

"What do you think might've cause this?" Derpy asked the stallions, who had looks of thought.

"Not really sure...I only know that this all started in the Pegasium during the Grand Prix they had there." Caramel said remembering the inital panic and the waves of ponies who had ran amuck.

"I know...I barely made it out with Dinky here..." she said gesturing to her daughter, "but the weird thing is that I know that's only part of the story of what happened, but I wonder how it all started..."

"Hmm...well I figure for now it's best just to get a move on, and when we get to a safe spot we can look into it more." Mac said in a moment of elaborate speech, which surprised the other members of his group. "What?" He said with a questioning look, "'Eeyup' and 'eenope' aren't the only things I say!" They all shared a small laugh at this and continued onward with a little higher spirits. After a bit more trotting they noticed another mare wading through a crowd of zomponies, the undead being a bit too slow to catch up with her even though they surrounded her. As the new mare neared the group she gave a look of surprise, obviously not expecting anymore survivors to be out and about.

"Ah hello there!" The mare said happily, "it's good to see that some other ponies are still alive out here!"

"Likewise Ms...?" Caramel said as he stopped, waiting for her to give her name.

"Flash Dancer, ace photographer and reporter! I'm covering this outbreak currently and I was searching for some leads in my investigation!" The mare explained as she introduced herself. "You guys wouldn't happen to know of anything I could use in my search do you?" She asked with a curious look.

"Sorry lady," Derpy said with an apologetic look, "we don't really know anymore than you do! We're just trying to get to a safe place! Know of anything like that?"

"As a matter of fact I do!" The mare confirmed, bringing smiles to the group's faces, "There's a safe room on the other side of the Royal Flush Plaza, it should be a maintenance area, and the way inside is through a ventilation duct, so don't worry if it looks like a dead end."

"Thanks for the help Ms. Flash Dancer!" Caramel said as he shook her hoof, Mac nodding while uttering a small "eeyup" in agreement.

"No problem, now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to my investigation!" The mare said as she left the group, off to conduct her search for clues elsewhere. With now renewed hope the group forged on towards their destination, and mowed down all opposition in their path. Caramel's sledgehammer took a beating, and was close to breaking, so he simply chose to switch off to a machete instead, and Derpy got out a fire axe she had found before. Together with these weapons and Mac's know how of fighting, the zomponies posed little threat to them, though the exhaustion did get to them at some points and they had to rest for a while.

Finally, after much effort, Derpy's goal: the Royal Flush Plaza, was in sight. However, a zompony managed to sneak up behind Caramel, and with a cry he was tackled to the ground as he struggled to fend it off. Luckily, before he could be bitten anywhere, his fellow stallion picked up the zompony in a hoof, slammed it into the ground a couple times, and threw it at another crowd of the undead, effectively bowling them over.

"Phew! Thanks Mac! I thought I was gonna' be zompony chow there for a second!" The tan stallion sighed in relief as he gave a grateful look towards the eldest Apple sibling.

"Eeyup!" WIth that incident taken care of, the group continued their trek as they managed to make it through the hordes without much incident, and eventually made it into the Plaza they were headed for. When they made it inside, Derpy saw a familiar face, one she hadn't seen in quite a while.

"Spike is that you?" The mare gasped in surprise as the aforementioned dragon turned around surprised.

"Oh hey Derpy! And Caramel and Big Mac too! It's good to see you guys!" Spike said grateful to see more of his friends had survived this pandemic.

"Good to see you as well little guy!" Caramel returned the gesture as he slapped the baby dragon on the back heartily. "Say, why have you got the rainbow one in a wheelchair?"

"Oh...it's a long story, but I need to head back to the safe room now or else Rainbow Dash could be in trouble!" Spike said with a sense of urgency.

"Oh really?" Derpy inquired with surprise, "What a coinkydink! We were headed over there as well!"

"Sweet, then let's get going!" With the group now in agreement they set of quickly, following the dragon's lead as he carted his pegasus friend towards the safe room. However, as they were nearing the plaza area that Spike knew lead to the maintenance vents, they noticed something, it was a red pegasus stallion wearing glasses and a mailpony's attire. However, he seemed to be yelling at a store in frustration.

"Hello! Special delivery! Somepony? Anypony? This package requires a signature to be accounted for!" The stallion's annoyed look increased further at the lack of response. The group of Spike and co. simply shrugged at this before stepping forward.

"Um, hey buddy? I don't think anypony is home!" Spike called out the mailpony, who turned around, startled by the voice. However, the pony shook off his surprise and smiled, flying eagerly up to the group.

"Ah sir!" He said eyeing Spike, "maybe you can sign for this package?" Spike was surprised at this offer and looked at the package, which was labled "Ponybrex." Not believing his luck, Spike decided to jump at the offer.

"Sure buddy, whatever you want, if it'll make you happy." The dragon then signed his name in the appropriate boxes before gesturing to the package, "I could use that anyhow." He then finished signing his information and handed back the clipboard and paper to the stallion, and reached for the package. However, the stallion looked at the paper intently, and just before Spike took the package he pulled it away.

"Wait one minute sir!" He said glaring at the dragon's signature, "you aren't the designated recipient of this package!"

"Wait b-but you just-" Spike sputtered, trying to tell the pony that he didn't actually specify that detail,

"You do realize sir, that mail fraud is a federal crime?" The pony cut him off with a harsh glare.

"It's true Spike!" Derpy confirmed, having been a mailmare herself, "Stealing other people's mail is never justifiable at all really!"

"Ah, a fellow mail pony such as myself!" The pony smiled at this, however he then turned his attention back to Spike.

"Actually, it turns out I do have a package for you! One moment sir!" The pony then reached into his bag and handed it to the dragon. He then eeped and ran back towards his mail cart that he had stationed in front of the store. Spike and the group were confused by this, and the dragon held up the package to his ear and shook it.

"Wait why is it ticking?" The dragon thought puzzled, "wait *ticking?***" he thought wide eyed as he threw the package away with a grunt. Much to his expectations, the package landed inside the cart of mail just before the mailpony reached it, and exploded, knocking the mail pony a couple feet away, dazed but quite angry at this new developement.

"You sir, are becoming a hinderance to the mail service itself, now all my rounds for today are behind, and you shall pay the price for interfering with the Equestrian postal service!" The stallion said hatefully as Spike, Caramel, and Big Mac tensed up. Derpy however, showed a rare look of fury as Dinky trembled a bit at the stallion's attitude.

"Spike, Caramel, Big Mac!" Derpy addressed the others quietly as they turned to her. "Take Dinky and get back to the safe house."

"What?" Spike looked incredulous at her order, "Are you sure about this Derpy? This guy seems like he's lost it!"

"I know!" Derpy said, her glare only intensifying, "It's bad enough that he endangered our lives with that stunt he pulled...but when he messes with the integrity of the postal service..." she paused, taking out the mail pony's hat she wore during her rounds and putting it on, "he just makes it personal!"

"Alright...if you're really sure..." Spike said, taking Dinky as he and the other stallions headed towards the safe room along with Rainbow Dash.

"Be careful momma!" Dinky called out to her mom, who gave a reassuring smile to the filly. Once she made sure they had gotten to a safe place, Derpy turned back to the crazed mail stallion with a determined look.

"Ma'am, I thought you of all ponies would understand a fellow mail pony's duties!" The stallion chastised her and shook his head in disappointment, "but it seems you need to be reminded exactly what your duties are!" He then pulled a bowie knife out of his bag, brandishing it.

"Bring it!" Derpy countered, unfazed as she pulled out the frying pan she'd found earlier, preparing herself for the ensuing fight...