Don't Hug the Dead

Chapters

1 - Mistakes Were Made
2 - Hello
3 - Good Night
4 - Supply Raid
5 - Real Solutions
6 - Hope
7 - A Faint Chance
8 - In Darkest Times
9 - Hello? Hello Hello?
10 -Doing What You Can

1 - Mistakes Were Made

Luna nodded to the tsuki before her. "Toby, it is ever a pleasure to see you. Who is that bunny beside you?"

Toby smiled, his eyes shining. "This is friend, Angel."

Angel gave Luna a small wave and a shy smile.

Luna bowed. "I am honored to make your acquaintance." She considered both considerable tsuki. "I am glad you could make it. Fluttershy asked me if I could call you. She wishes to examine you both, as one of the experts in critter anatomy." She coughed into a hoof. "I understand you are not, technically, a critter. Creatures both, there is still so much more to learn about you."

Angel inclined her head left, ears flopping. "Talk big, many words." She didn't sound upset, just amazed at the diction Luna was using.

Toby grinned. "She is big pony." He waves at her, just as big physically as anything else. "Big big. Big words. Big listen." He lunged forward at Luna and grabbed her in a firm hug, to the guards' concern. "Big hugs!"

Luna laughed and hugged back, then pulled away and looked the two of them over. "I am happy you could come. Now, this is something of a medical visit, and I do not wish to take up too much of your time, nor do I wish to delay your examination. If you two are allowing, this way." She turned away and began to lead on.

Toby and Angel followed her.

***

Toby and Angel were inside a large, spacious room. Luna was there as well. Her guards remained, but were sitting outside the door.

Fluttershy was in front of the two of them, smiling and giving them a small wave. "Oh, my. I always forget just how large you are." She circled around the two tsukis with wonder

Toby smiled. "Big." He nodded, then spread his arms at Fluttershy. "Hello?"

Luna snorted, amused, but she said nothing. She stood to the side, watching the interaction between Fluttershy, the ponies present, and the two tsuki.

Fluttershy giggled at the greeting. "Yes, very big. Hello to both of you!" She stepped up to Toby, and the comparison in size was immediately evident. Even the shortest tsuki was bigger than a pony, and Toby was not a short member of the species. "Oh, yes, he is a large one, isn't he?"

Angel hopped forward. "Hug?"

But Toby was there first, and he had asked, in his own way. He wrapped his arms around Fluttershy in a warm embrace.

Fluttershy blushed and hugged the tsuki back. "Oh, he is fluffy, too. Very nice."

Angel watched this, and then hopped in too, and soon they were all in a big, cuddly, fluffy hug.

Luna laughed gently at the interaction. "I see you are all getting along very well. One thing about tsuki, they will gladly hug you if you look at all willing about it. Now, I should—"

"—M'lady!" A guard rushed in. "An accident, in the mirror room!"

Luna scowled at that. "I'm on the way. You three stay here." And yet, the tsuki were right behind her. "Toby! You are not my warrior, you do not need to follow me."

Toby shook his head. "Help."

Luna sighed at that. "Fine, but keep to the side in case we need to fight." With that, she rushed through the halls.

Fluttershy scampered behind them, following her two examinees with a squeak.

***

The mirror room was, indeed, in disarray. Several of the mirrors were smashed. A few of the scientists and technicians were lying around the place, and the few who were still on their hooves looked shaken and scared. It was easy to see why. One of the mirrors was hopping around as if with a strange intelligence. "Has mine sister been informed of this?"

"Yes, m'lady," the guard said. "She is on her way, but I was able to get here quicker." He indicated the bouncing mirror. "I don't know what that is, but it was the cause of this mess.

Toby gave a powerful leap over Luna and the guard and landed before the bouncing mirror, which came to an abrupt stop, seeming to stare at the tsuki despite having no eyes.

Luna stepped up, her horn glowing as magic surrounded the mirror. "Now, what is this thing?" She tried to pick it up, to hold it still, but the moment her telekinesis wrapped around the mirror, she felt a jolt. "Ow!" She scowled at it anew. "Unfriendly thing, aren't you?"

"Got it." Toby went in to grab that rebellious mirror, and in that instant, the room was full of a loud popping sound. When it cleared, Toby was gone. The mirror had stopped moving, and was simply sitting in the middle of the floor.

Angel let out an alarmed squeal as only a rabbit-like creature could. "Toby!" She hopped over to where he had been a moment before. "Where go?!"

The guards and technicians were all staring at that point, stunned and horrified. They knew the tsuki was not dead, and he was not in the room, so he had to be... elsewhere.

Angel grabbed the mirror and shook it angrily. "Bring Toby back!"

Fluttershy was horrified. "What is happening in here?"

Luna shook her head. "I have no idea. I have never seen anything like this before. That thing has some sort of energy that is not normal, but it was not aggressive, nor is—" She stalled her words as Angel vanished in a flash. "We are losing our tsuki to that mirror." She turned to it with a sigh. "They will require rescuing. I shall need a volunteer." She looked at the guards. "I could order you to accompany me. If you do, you will be rewarded for your loyalty. If not, I will jump in, then you are to contact my sister and inform her that I have gone through the mirror."

Fluttershy raised a trembling hoof. "I already promised t-to take care of them. I'll help."

"Fluttershy, no. This is dangerous, and I cannot allow you to come to harm. I will go." Luna scowled down at the mirror, and then she was gone.

This did not stop Fluttershy from following after her, duty-bound. The guards left in the room stared in horror and alarm at the sudden disappearance of not one, not two, but now four individuals. One of them muttered something about 'not being paid enough for this.'

***

Angel was in a dark place. The ground was black beneath her feet and the sky was gray above her. There was mist everywhere, and she couldn't even see where it ended. "Toby?" She snuffled at the air as she slowly padded forward, unwilling to even jump in the lack of vision around her.

Toby was nearby, but he wasn't alone. He had found, or been found by, a group of other strange creatures. They were tall, but not as tall as Toby, and thin, and pale. They shambled instead of walking, trotting, or hopping, and saliva dripped from their mouths. As if that wasn't enough to make them creepy, they smelled like rot, a stench that was strong enough to knock Angel away.

She shook her head and let out a squeal of fear, scrambling back from them, her ears flattened back. "No. No no! Bad smell!"

The shambling creatures took no notice of her. They seemed to be solely interested in the large, fluffy creature that was currently closer to them. They reached out with emaciated hands towards Toby.

Toby tried to ignore them, tried to move away from them, but there were too many, and they were coming from every direction. He swiped at the nearest with a claw, but it did not bleed. The cruel smash of his heavy hand at least knocked it away, but there were so many to replace it. He let out an angry squeal and tried to leap, to get over them and out of the circle, but one of the creatures leaped with him, and grabbed him. The force of its jump, and the weight of its body on his own, knocked him to the side and he crashed to the ground, kicking that one away on impact. "Angel?!"

Angel let out a squeak of fear, but her friend needed her. She rushed in and grabbed one of the creatures, lifting it up and throwing it to the side, but then, another creature grabbed her from behind. Toby crashed into that strange thing, knocking it away. "We go!" He grabbed Angel's paw, and the two of them ran off into the mists, away from the shambling things, which followed, but were slower.

There was a flash of light as Luna appeared in that world, her horn aglow. Fluttershy appeared just a moment later, her eyes wide as she took in the situation.

Toby was running, dragging a squealing Angel behind him. They were running from a crowd of shambling things, monsters of some sort, and they were heading straight towards the new arrivals.

Fluttershy whirled around as if to retreat, but there was no portal headed back where they came from. She was stuck in this place, with those two tsuki rushing towards her. "Oh no..."

Luna's horn glowed brighter and she stepped between the onrushing crowd of two, and the monsters behind them. With a sudden blast of magic, she sent the monsters scattering. They didn't fall apart, or vanish, or even seem all that hurt. They were just pushed back. The mist swirled around them as they stood, and started to advance again. "We must withdraw! Do so together."

Toby and Angel ran past her, and she and Fluttershy followed, the two of them leading the way. Toby spotted a hole, a nice, safe looking hole, and dived into it, leading his friends into the sewers.

***

The sewers smelled, but they were at least free from the strange, shambling monsters that had been attacking them on the surface. Luna was not pleased at the smell, but she was glad to have the time to think.

Angel slapped Toby on both shoulders. "Smart! Good. Safe." She turned slowly in place. "What?" She pointed upwards. "Angry. Mean. Smell."

Toby nodded to that, but didn't say anything.

Luna cleared her throat. "Yes, well, I believe that I can explain that. These are known as zombies. They are creatures of the darkest necromancy. Their existence is a blasphemy against all that lives, or has lived, in this world, or any other." She inclined her head. "I could not say with certainty what gave rise to them here, but the practice is thoroughly banned in Equestria."

Toby and Angel glanced at one another and gave a nod.

Fluttershy shook her head. "That's awful. Why would anypony do such a thing?"

Luna sighed softly. "Another thing I do not know. This is not our world. What bothers me most is that the exit back was not there. We must find another way to return to Equestria." She scowled and looked down the tunnels. "I am afraid I have no idea which way to go. We may have to split up."

"No!" Angel said, shaking her head. "Stay together." She hugged Luna, as if to prevent her from leaving.

Toby grabbed Fluttershy, both ponies secured.

Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't want to stay here either."

Luna nodded. "Very well, we will stay together. We will go this way." She indicated the path to her left, and the tsuki released her, but remained at her sides, one to either side. "I pray there are others who live here, and not just the walking dead. We may require their aid to return home."

They were not far into the sewers when a sound echoed down from above, a sound of gunfire and shouting.

Luna tilted her head, and then she looked up at a sewer cover. She could see the light filtering through, and the sounds were coming from beyond. "I hear the voices of people. We must go above ground."

Angel and Toby nodded, and the four of them began to ascend.

Author's Note

Big Buns, Dead People, and gunshots. This can only go well, really. Welcome, walk with me down this dark pathway.

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2 - Hello

The noise level was astonishing. There was shooting, screaming, more shooting, and then what could only be called brawling. It sounded as if an entire army had gone mad with anger and violence. Creeping into view of it, things became clear. Several things that looked like the undead were battling the undead, keeping them back from a fortification.

Fluttershy quivered at the sight, and crept back. "Are we really going out there?"

Luna scowled at that. "I see no alternative. I will try diplomacy first."

Toby inclined his head left and right with sharp jerks. "Will listen? Busy." He pointed at the fierce battling.

Angel clapped her paws. "Then help." She pointed. "Make friends. Help clean bad smelling things. Not friends with."

Luna sighed and shook her head. "I would prefer to avoid battle, but this world is hardly a pleasant one. If you feel ready, I will assist. Fluttershy?" She turned to find an empty space where the pegasus had been a moment before. "Flutter?" She sighed, and focused on the enemy. With a burst of magic, a large number of them went flying.

A loud explosion rang through the area, and fire burned.

Toby shook his head and hopped in among the confused undead, striking out left and right at them. They seemed to be caught by surprise by his large sudden presence, to say nothing of his immense bulk and strength that could send them flying with great swings of hands or horns, and vicious kicks. Even so, they tried to swarm him.

Angel took in a breath and hopped in, smashing and ripping them apart, scattering pieces everywhere until she had made a path for them.

Luna used telekinetic force to grab hold of several of them, throwing them aside like broken toys. In little time at all, there was a clear pathway ahead, one without the undead, that led straight towards their new, hopefully, allies. She stepped forward at a purposeful trot. "Move lively, before more of those things return to battle."

***

They came through the doorway, and were met by guns leveled at them. At that, they froze. After the battle they had fought against the undead, they knew what damage guns could do. Yet, these living men did not immediately start firing, so there was a chance. One of them was very thin, tall, and wore an armored suit with a skull painted on it. He was looking right at Luna as he spoke. "Who are you?"

Another, a female, rolled a hand. "Don't you mean 'what are you?', Captain?"

"Enough." The Captain held up a hand. "They don't seem to be undead. Answer my question. Who are you? Where are you from? What do you want?"

Luna considered her options, but she needed these humans for her way back. "We are travelers, trying to return home. Our love for the undead is about equal to thine own, so we would rather ally with others who dislike them equally."

"Aha!" A scientist leapt up out of a chair, a wide grin on his face. He shoved glasses onto his face and strode right up to the taller humanoids. "Fascinating!" He went right up to Toby and began poking the immense rabbit creature. "They are very clearly alive, but they don't match any animal I've seen before, besides the obvious similarities. Say, who are you fellows? Where do you come from?"

Captain aimed a gun at the man. "Get away from that thing."

Angel yelped, and hopped away, grabbing the scientist and pulling him out of the line of fire.

The lady laughed at the scene. "Our guests have better manners than you, Cap. Just got here and already prepared to take a bullet for one of ours."

Luna grinned slightly. "I am called Princess Luna of Equestria. This big fellow is Toby." She indicated each member of the group as she mentioned them. "This is Angel." She then paused. "We had one more, but she vanished during the battle. Yellow, pegasus? A little meek? Please inform us if you see her."

"See, captain? They are perfectly polite." The bespectacled man stepped forward. "I'm Doctor Victor Hoffman. Let me just say I am happy to meet you." He extended a hand, his grip firm as Luna shook it. He looked quite pleased to try shaking the pony's hoof. "You seem equine."

Luna lifted an ear. "We are of that family, yes. I do not have enough information to tell you if the tsuki are of the lagomorph family or not."

Both tsuki looked confused at the big words being tossed about. Angel spread her hands at the captain, huge arms to either side silently.

The captain looked confused at the gesture. "Uh..." He slowly put the gun down, watching Angel cautiously. "Hello?"

Angel rushed over, grinning widely, and gave the captain a big hug. "Friend." She nuzzled him while Toby nodded approvingly, rubbing his chest and getting a laugh from some of the observing soldiers.

Luna smiled gently. "Tsuki are a very tactile species. Hugs are how they bond, fight, love, and many other social activities. Accepting a hug is a strong step towards making friends with one." She watched that play out for a moment longer, but eventually, the hug did end. "So, you are all warriors against the undead? Excellent work, considering the state of this world."

Victor coughed gently, but he seemed more intrigued than alarmed. "It might behoove you to get a little less vague when speaking with soldiers, especially considering the...

Eyes turned upwards at a sound on the roof. "Eyes up there!" roared the captain, charging for the stairs.

But there would be no zombies waiting for them, just one scared pegasus. "Oh... um... hi, nice people we just rescued? Oh hello to you too, you scary armed gentleman that I don't know. Uh... sorry!" Fluttershy covered her face with a wing, shivering.

Luna smirked, though she also breathed a sigh of relief. "Now our quartet is reunited, and none the worse for wear." She chuckled. "Unless any of you object, perhaps a drink is in order."

The lady laughed as she advanced on the pegasus. "Hello there, little one. You look the least ready to fight of all your friend. Do you at least have a name?" Her hand gently stroked the yellow pegasus' mane. "Pretty little one, aren't you?"

"Oh, uh... thanks." Fluttershy smiled and blushed under the attention. "My name is Fluttershy."

"With an adorable name to go with it." She tickled at one of Fluttershy's ears. "The names Sally. Nice to meet you. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you until you can make it back to your princess."

"I appreciate it," replied Fluttershy, a flutter to her voice.

Luna inclined her head. "You have already fulfilled that task." She pointed at herself. "Her princess." Then, she pointed at Fluttershy. "My friend, a veterinarian of great skill."

Sally's mouth opened in astonishment as she looked over Luna anew. "Princess, eh?" She looked back at Fluttershy. "We have guard dogs that fight alongside us. Want to visit the kennels, check on them? They fight as hard as the rest of us." She grinned. "Though they're a bit less chatty."

Fluttershy nodded eagerly and the two of them moved off towards the kennels. All the fear she had shown evaporated, just like that, given the option of being around and helping some dogs. She forgot everything else going on, except for dogs.

Luna chuckled softly to herself, amused at the sight. "She loves animals and taking care of them. Now, Captain, can you give me any information about these zombies?"

As strange as their new guests were, they seemed to be on their side, and were far easier to get along with than any of the zombie hoard. Still, it was unusual enough that the doctor and the captain settled in with Luna for an extended conversation about the current situation with the world, and its plague of zombies.

Toby and Angel, lacking any interest in these things, and never having been interested in a long talk, followed after Sally. They accompanied her as she patrolled through the dark. Toby came up on her side. "Too dark." He squinted into the gloomy night, seeing little but that deep inky black.

"It is pretty dark." Sally held her rifle in a loose grasp, tilting it slightly upward. "I bet you're wishing for some moonlight."

Angel shook her head, big ears flopping. "Keep looking." She pointed at Sally, then out into the dark. "Can see?"

"A little, yeah." Sally scanned the surroundings. "Zombie." She fired a single shot from her rifle, taking out a nearby zombie with a clean shot.

The corpse collapsed and lay still and unmoving upon the ground. Toby sniffed in its direction, scowled, and turned back to Sally. "Come often?" His ears flattened out and his eyes narrowed. "From where?"

Angel nodded firmly. "Need help." She reached up with both hands, grabbing at air and crushing it to nothing, invisible threats destroyed.

Sally frowned at the simple speech of her furry friends. "We don't know. I hear the zombies used to be contained, but they broke out, and they're bloody everywhere these days. Getting rid of them is a right chore. We've been working to put them back in the box, but they don't cooperate." She grimaced. "They go towards sound. Unfortunately, like our guns, but our guns make them dead, so it's a trade."

Toby nodded understanding, but there was concern in his expression, and a degree of frustration. "Toby stop some, but not stop many alone." He gestured outwards, towards all that emptiness of darkness, all that area that he could not possibly cover on his own. "Many."

Angel bobbed her head. "Many." Something clicked. "That why get away." Toby looked at her. "Why get away." She pointed at Toby, then herself. "Not loud. Strong. Not loud. Run. Get away."

Sally chuckled lightly at her. "Clever bunny, aren't you? You're probably right about that. Well, we've had to get clever too, else the zombies would overrun us." She flashed Angel a wide smile, though there was a seriousness to it that indicated it was not a happy smile. "Glad you survived your first brush with those things, but let's not rely on luck too much, right?" She flashed the two bunnies a smile.

***

Fluttershy got low, eyeing an injured canine. "You poor thing." She looked up at a woman standing guard over her. "When did she injure her paw?"

"Just yesterday. One of those shambling freaks came close to biting her. Thankfully, we managed to keep our furry friend safe, but I wish we could have avoided the injury altogether. Your friend mentioned you're a vet, how's she look?"

Fluttershy carefully took the paw in between her forehooves, examining it closely. "There's an infection setting in. I don't think she wants to take her medicine properly."

"She does seem to be a fussy eater, doesn't she? What do you suggest?" The soldier in charge of the animals looked a bit out of his depth. Sure, he could keep his furry companions well-fed, but curing the infection was another matter altogether. The facilities for treating it weren't present.

Fluttershy examined the dog's food and the pills set beside it. She took the pills, examined them closely a moment before she mixed the pills in with some of the soft food and speaking gently with the ailing canine. It perked up under the attention, letting itself be fed the soft food from Fluttershy's hoof, consuming the meal, and with it, the antibiotic. Fluttershy patted the canine gently. "There's a good girl."

With a chuckle, the dog caretaker reached over to pet both canines. "You have a knack for this."

Fluttershy flushed at the compliment, smiling bashfully. "Thank you. I hope I'll be able to assist further, once I have more materials."

"We don't have much in the way of resources." He rolled his shoulders. "We work with what we got. It was almost pure luck we even had some biotics from a raid a week ago. Haven't had the time to do another raid yet, though we do need some more supplies."

Fluttershy nodded, and looked at the medical supply crate. It was nearly empty of the medical equipment. "I'll see what I can do for the rest." She stood, only to be tackled over, pounced by one of the other dogs that was already licking at her as if to thank her for helping the other. That caused a wave of jealousy, other dogs rushing over to also smother her in affection.

He grinned and leaned over, patting several heads at once. "Yeah, they love you. Can't blame them."

Author's Note

This world is not entirely hostile. Hello, fellow survivors. Compared to undead horrors, a talking horse or two and some big cuddle bunnies seem like a nice thing to run into. You'd take them onto your zombie-fighting survival squad, right?

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3 - Good Night

Luna looked out into the dark of night. "This is far from the nights I once held guardianship over." She ruffled her wings, scanning for movement carefully. "I can feel few and far dreams in it. A wasteland of some sort. How sad."

"You'd be surprised by the number of dreams here," said Victor. "The ones people do dream are generally nightmares, but people do dream." He scanned around with the telescope he held. "Your world does seem like a lovely place, from what I've heard."

Luna was silent, thinking to herself that she hoped that Toby and Angel were doing alright in this new environment. "Your people are troubled in their slumber. Perhaps I could assist? It is my duty as a protector of sleep, to ease minds." Her gaze wandered across the wasteland, seeking out more undead to obliterate.

Victor chuckled quietly as he turned the scope towards her. "You're welcome to ask them yourself. I'm not giving permission carte blanche for an alien, however well-meaning, to poke into their dreams." He pointed down towards the distant ground. "There."

Luna glanced, spotting several of the zombies lumbering along, aimlessly searching for their next victims. A quick series of energy blasts dispatched them, leaving behind smoking ruins where zombies used to be. "The unliving do not dream, or know pain. It is an existence devoid of joy or sorrow. I almost pity them, in that regard. No suffering, yes, but no happiness, either. Not for them."

Victor raised his scope and peered down again at the figures now lying in disarray. "We're here to keep them from getting to us, not consider what life as one of them might be like, for good or bad. Look, if I start turning, and you don't have a way to stop that, I want to be dead before I finish. Understood? If not, I may end up killing people."

Luna tilted her head at him, considering that for several long moments before nodding her head. "Understood." She saw the sincerity there, the passion. "You are a good friend." She inclined an ear. "Aren't you more of a scholar than a soldier, however?"

Victor sighed and lowered himself into a seat, gazing out into the night sky. "I prefer the pen to the sword, but sometimes the choice isn't mine to make. I was a researcher before this started, but after everything went bad, I found myself drafted into fighting for survival." He gestured over the barren landscape. "Now, this place is my office, the zombies are my research subjects, and the best writing tool is a gun."

Luna frowned at the thought. "Unfortunate, which feels far too tepid a word for the situation. I cannot express my regret." She raised a hoof to her chin. "At the least, I can assist you now. My attacks are far quieter than your guns. It draws less attention from them. Thus, we can take our time, and they will be unable to counter-attack."

Victor adjusted his glasses. "True. We may not have been the most cordial greeting party, but I doubt you could have picked a more opportune time to show up." He raised the scope. "Do your worst."

Luna laughed merrily, her horn glowing and sending a beam of power out into the night. With each blast, a few more shamblers were kept far away from the line of their fence. "May you all sleep well."

In one of the buildings, Toby rolled over onto the captain, getting a surprised grunt out of him. He was woken quite abruptly when the body of a tall, furry tsuki landed squarely atop him. After a moment of grunts and growls from Toby, and cursing from him, he managed to shove the fluffy thing off.

Toby sat up with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Sleeping." He mimed his hands as pillows with fake snoring sounds. "Not mean."

Sally shook her head from where she sat in the corner. "Just be more careful about sleeping. If he hadn't gotten you off in time, you would have crushed the good captain's ribs into paste."

The captain laughed at that. "It'll take more than that to end me, but that's not how I want to risk it." He pushed against Toby's thick fur. "Sleep a little further away. We can hug when it's day out."

Toby made an exaggerated gesture of zipping his lips. "Quiet sleeping. Got it." He sprawled back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling with an impatient sigh. "Sleep?"

Sally nodded to Toby. "Might as well sleep, or we're not going to last through the mission tomorrow. I'll keep an ear out while you all catch a nap." She eyed Toby a moment, then waved for him to come closer silently.

Toby saw it, looking confused a moment before he slid closer towards her.

She grabbed him and nestled in close. "You remind me of a stuffed animal I used to have. Can I, look, can I just hold you a while?" She felt embarrassed saying it aloud, but there was something reassuring about holding the fluffy thing close.

Toby gave a brief nod. "Yes." He closed his eyes, relaxed. His hand gently stroked Sally's head.

The captain was left watching this unfold from nearby. He was somewhat incredulous at first. After the display, he slowly laid back on the bed, watching the night turn by, listening to the noises outside. Sleep came for them all, a gently blanket over the room.

***

Luna yawned loudly into the new morning, glad the night was over, and ready to greet the new sun. "Good morning!"

There was a thump beside her as Victor woke up, startled by the noise. "Huh? Oh." He looked up at the rising sun. "We did it. One more night survived." He struggled to his feet. "Thank you for helping."

Luna rubbed her eyes. "Of course. It is the least I can do. My friends, Angel, Toby, Fluttershy, they have also helped your people, have they not?" She rose to her own hooves. "Let's report in, and get some sleep. I think both of us could use some."

Victor led the way downstairs and met up with the captain.

"How was everyone's night?" The Captain nodded as the two entered the room. "It looks like you two did good work up on the roof. Anything else to report?"

Luna shook her head. "Every undead monstrosity was kept far away from things. None approached." She grinned proudly.

Sally nodded to her. "That's excellent news. Most of our dogs are fine. One has a limp, but Fluttershy here patched him right up."

Fluttershy raised a hoof. "Excuse me." Eyes turned towards her, to her immediate regret. "Oh, um. It's just, we do want to get home. Does any of this help with that?"

The Captain shook his head. "I'm afraid we lack information about such travel. It simply never came up before. No way to experiment, no interest before, no resources to do it now."

Sally glanced at Fluttershy, then nodded. "What the captain said. It's not that we don't want to help, but life is about surviving right now. We don't really have the resources to send magical horses to their magical world."

Toby chuckled. "Luna not horse."

Luna cleared her throat. "Pony." She glanced sidelong. "Is there anything you can spare? I could probably find what I need among these ruins."

Victor clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Tread carefully, and not, mmm, while we're both beat. If you want to join the scavenging teams, that'd be fantastic. Maybe you all can find something useful for you while you search for supplies. Sound good?"

Luna considered a moment, then nodded. "Very well. I shall have to endure a little while longer." She then fell forwards dramatically, face-planting onto the table with a dramatic sigh.

Angel hefted Luna up with the strength of her kind, carrying the tired alicorn towards the bunks. "Put bed."

Toby saluted to Angel as she left. "Good job!" He then turned to the other members. "Know way go home?"

Fluttershy poked a soft leg of Toby. "They don't. They said we can look with them for supplies. We might find something on the way. Toby, um, you're very strong, and fast. I bet they'd like you along."

Toby flexed, a grin on his muzzle. "Big! Tough." He glanced sidelong, waving his hands. "But can carry delicate. Gentle."

Fluttershy smiled, laughing quietly. "You are a very caring giant." She hugged Toby gently, to his approval. "Help them, please. You might be helping us too."

Sally nodded, coming over and extending a hand. "You do seem to be a tough customer, I bet we'd benefit from your assistance."

Toby eyed the offered hand, hesitantly. No, handshakes were not appropriate, so he grabbed Sally instead, gently mashing her against his front as he made little noises of happiness. Sally couldn't stop a slight blush from appearing on her cheeks.

***

Angel laid Luna down, watching as the pony princess dropped straight back asleep, snores emitting from her almost immediately. "Sleeping cutie." She patted Luna's forehead and turned away to see who else was sleeping. She saw Victor settling in to get some sleep of his own. "Is good?"

Victor groaned faintly into the pillow. "Yes, very good." He pulled the covers tighter over himself. "I didn't know when you got here, so I figured you needed the sleep anyway."

Angel hopped over in one long jump. "Is good. Not sleep." She inclined her head. "Tsuki sleep small. Sleep day. Sleep night. Not sleep dawn. Not sleep dusk. Is dawn, not sleep." She nodded with confidence, having explained the tsuki sleep cycled. "Is good. You sleep." She pointed at Victor, then pointed at herself. "Not sleep."

Victor stared at Angel blankly before rubbing his eyes. "Sure, alright, not gonna second guess someone else's sleep patterns, lord knows ours have been messed up." He pulled his blanket higher, eyes closed. "See you later, okay?"

Angel waved cheerfully. "Okay."

***

Back on Equestria, Princess Celestia stepped forward to Twilight Sparkle. "My sister failed to return with those two ambassadors. It seems that our magic portal worked perfectly." She hissed in a breath. "Not that we wanted them to. I would have preferred they hadn't worked at all." She paced back and forth across her personal study room. "We have tried again, and it seems this new universe they have found is far from stable."

Twilight nodded. "I'm worried about them all, but also intrigued by their findings." She rubbed behind her head. "It's difficult to learn much, but that is clearly a world in flux. They must be in danger, though the source of it is unknown."

"Twilight." Celestia gently bapped her once-student. "You're not helping me calm myself. You know how protective I am of my dear sister. Even though she is strong, and wise, and powerful, I still worry about her when she's late, or lost, or not feeling well, or maybe there is a small chill in the air and perhaps she doesn't have enough clothing." She laughed at herself tensely. "This is far beyond that. She is on a hostile world. I do not know if she is safe or not."

Twilight smiled faintly, touching the older alicorn. "You are worried, and that makes perfect sense to me. You have to remember, though, that she isn't the fragile filly anymore. She is grown up, able to stand equal-to-equal with you. She is even capable of defeating you in certain arenas. You've told me that many times, and I believe it. Your sister can do incredible things."

Celestia took a slow and deep breath. "Yes. Hm." She frowned faintly. "At least she has Toby at her side. Those two make for quite a pair. I doubt that tsuki would permit harm to befall her." She shook her head. "Still, if harm were to reach her, even despite his best efforts... There are dangers greater than physical strength."

Twilight nodded firmly. "I understand your concern, and I share it." She put a hoof at her chest. "I will continue my research. As soon as we learn anything new, I'll come running." She darted away, wings spreading to make haste easier.

Celestia smiled at Twilight. "Thank you." She settled herself into a chair and looked to the mirror that Luna had vanished into. "I would curse you, but you are the only key to her possible return."

Author's Note

Next adventure: supply gathering.
Nothing could go wrong.

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4 - Supply Raid

"...then, once more, the dreaded scourge of the moon came down from their realm among the stars, descending to the earth accompanied by countless terrors. The walking corpses that once were ponies, the four-legged monsters, the twisted beasts." Luna spread her wings wide. "Only the most brave could dare to even face them, let alone battle them. Yet, those heroes did come, and the war for Equestria was won." She pointed dramatically. "We shall never surrender!"

Angel sat in a corner of the bunker, listening to Luna tell her tale to the enraptured survivors.

One of the humans laughed with a clap. "So you ponies had a zombie problem and got past it, but your tale has a lot more magic in it than we have at our disposal."

Luna chuckled at the man, shaking her head. "Magic is not necessary for survival, as you humans ably demonstrate here. Yes, it made our job easier, but what matters most, no matter if you have magic or not, is that you fight." She clopped a metal-clad hoof to the floor. "That you survive, and fight, is proof of this."

The captain nodded. "I like that attitude. So, that means you want to join us on a hunt." He raised a hand. "I wouldn't object, but first, I thought I should ask you, what will you do if you encounter a loved one turned?"

Luna inclined her head. "You have met all the ones I would call loved." She lurched to the side, pounced suddenly.

Angel had her in a big full-body hug. "We love too!" She nuzzled the pony princess, tail wagging. "Love lots."

Luna smiled and stroked Angel's ears. "And I love thee as well. I will have no worry about it, for I am surrounded by the strong. If something were to get one of these people, there would be sadness, yes. However, they fought for all our sakes." She gave Angel a final stroke along her back with a hoof. "But I doubt they would surrender easily. Now, you mentioned a foraging mission. How fares that?"

"We are ready to head out." He gestured at Toby. "Your big friend here is going to help us carry some supplies." He grinned over at Fluttershy. "And you wanted to come?"

"No." Fluttershy adjusted the backpack atop her. "But I will. I can spot some of the things you'll need for your pets. Poor things."

Toby laughed merrily. "I strong." He flexed his arms and puffed up his chest. "Can carry." He grabbed Luna suddenly in both arms, hoisting her off the floor.

Luna wriggled in his grasp, but her hooves could not touch the ground with him holding her up. "Toby, dear, place me back down before I get annoyed."

"Not mad." Toby gently set her down and gave her a hug to be sure she knew how not mad he was. "We go."

Angel nodded firmly. "Yes." She glanced from pony to pony. "We go. We come back. We find supplies."

Luna smiled gently. "Thank you both. Let us hope that something useful to us can be found." She watched as three humans and two tsuki set out through the gates of their compound. "I'll keep this place safe until you return."

***

The group of six set out across the ruined world. The two bunnies, the three humans, and one pegasus, and all six of them armed and armored for battle. Toby scanned the environment. He had turned away the firearms offered him, instead taking up two heavy weapons, one bladed and one blunt. Either looked big enough to be a struggle for a human to hold aloft.

He had them on his back like it was no particularly big deal. "Smell good."

Sally looked up at Toby and cocked her head. "Oh? What do you smell?"

Toby pointed out at a distant farm. "Crops. Long time dead." His ears flopped down.

Another soldier fired a thumb up. "Good call. If you can smell crops, may be some food stored nearby worth scoping out."

Angel clapped her hands. "Yes! I like." Her tail flicked and she hopped from one foot to another. "We move!"

Fluttershy smiled over at Angel. "You seem to like farms?"

Angel shook her head, flopping her great ears in the motion. "No. But smell." She tapped at her snout. "Strong smell."

Toby grinned at his fellow tsuki. "Smeller." He marched forward towards the farmhouse, but paused, looking down the road where there were many shambling corpses.

"Look lively!" barked the soldier in charge.

The noise got their attention, a few staggering in their direction to inspect it. The first of those undead was shot in the head, the bullet taking the top half of its skull off.

Fluttershy shuddered, eyes squeezing shut as the corpse fell. "Why..."

But that was only the start, not the end, as other corpses picked up the pace the moment one was put down. It started with a single corpse running, then the next, and soon a herd of the damned came rushing towards them.

Angel jumped into the air, kicking out with two legs at the nearest, the force sending it tumbling back and into the path of the rest, tripping them up. Toby landed atop them, blade first. With the wet splitting sound of the sword parting flesh, he cut a small group of them cleanly into uneven two sides.

Sally's weapon fired, the burst of flame sending three of them to the ground burning, to lay forever unmoving once the flame consumed them.

A group rushed for them, hands reaching out for throats and faces. Toby swung his club with both arms, sending the corpses scattering like broken toys. Fluttershy ducked down behind her shield, letting bullets pass overhead, but also hiding herself from the sight of the carnage. She whimpered as bits of gore littered that shield, each ping making her flinch.

Angel and Toby pushed the fight far away from Fluttershy, not letting her be exposed to any harm from these things.

Toby grinned as one came within his reach. "Got you." His fist plowed through its head, sending it flying and rolling in the dust. As eager as the mob had been, they proved no match for the deceptively quiet annihilation of the tsuki.

The soldiers let out a subdued cheer as the battle ended, and a small celebration began while they surveyed what was left of the farm.

Toby sniffed around. "No people here."

Fluttershy swung open a metal box and stuffed her head inside. "Mmm, oh! Look at this." She fell back out of the box, holding a smaller box still in its plastic wrap. "Looks like dog food, and I think there are other supplies in there."

Sally whistled, impressed. "All right, we hit paydirt with this. Let's get all this back to base." She pointed to Toby, and he came forward with a large pack on his back. "Get all the food, human and pet alike, you can find. We'll find a use for all of it."

Toby grinned, his ears flopping about. He began filling his pack while Angel helped Fluttershy. The humans, meanwhile, kept guard, their guns up.

Sally waved urgently. "Let's get going as soon as we can. We fired shots. More of them will be rushing here any second." She glanced over to where Toby was putting the last few supplies into the bag. "Got that?"

Toby nodded. "Yes. Ready!" He hoisted the large pack, securing it against his back.

Angel suddenly hugged Sally, just to lift her up onto her back. "Faster."

Toby nodded, grabbing one soldier with an arm each. "Faster."

Fortunately for Fluttershy, she could fly after them as they began bounding home in tremendous leaps.

***

Back at base, Luna had found an interesting sight to gaze upon. She stared out from the roof, a telescope pressed to an eye as she viewed the distant horizon. There, she could see some sort of structure. "Could you tell me what that is?" She waved the captain closer. "There, that odd structure out there in the distance."

The captain peered through the glass. "It's hard to say, at this distance." He adjusted his scope with one finger, then another. "Mmm, looks like a power plant. Probably offline with nobody running the damn place. Could be useful to us, but it's far. I don't want you going out that way. Not yet."

Luna frowned, but she turned and nodded to the captain. "Very well." She hummed softly. "Your people must be advanced, even if they are suffering currently, if they have such things. We do not yet have those, though I am sure we can learn, in time. You could perhaps educate us on how these things work."

He shook his head with a chuckle. "I wouldn't know a damn thing about how it works. Just that it does, and that lets us turn on the lights. At least, back when things worked." He looked out at the power plant again. "Maybe we'll get it back sometime."

Luna smiled gently. "Perhaps, if there is any way I can help, I will." She looked up, seeing Toby and Angel land just at the gate. "It would seem our brave explorers return."

The gate opened, letting the two tsuki in with their passengers. Fluttershy soon fluttered down to the ground beside them. Sally was laughing and patting Angel's ears as they made it through safely. "You can put me down now."

The tsuki obediently set their human cargo to the ground, both looking so very pleased at their performance. Both turned their heads at Luna's voice from the top of the building.

Fluttershy waved gently to the princess. "We're back. We got some food."

Luna nodded with a little smile. "Wonderful work. I'm proud to see you all returning safe, sound, and successful."

Angel looked down, eyes on the ground. "Not find way home."

A male soldier patted Angel on the back. "Every day there's a chance. Yesterday it was ammo. Today, food. We'll keep looking. You and your boyfriend just keep us alive."

Angel went red at that. "Not boyfriend! Just friend. Boyfriend away. Far away." She waved desperately, trying to encompass just how far Equestria was. "Far."

The soldier nodded. "Gotcha. Your special somebunny is back at home, waiting for you. That's why we'll do what it takes to make sure you get there." He smiled and took his own weapon in hand. "Thanks for the assist. Get that bag of yours down to the supply depot so they can unload you."

Toby did as requested and dropped the large pack into a supply box. He grinned, arms stretching out. "Happy help."

Victor pointed at a few soldiers. "Get those supplies stored. We'll take stock later and see if we can make the most of them." He paused, spotting the dog food. "Huh. We'll put that to work. I know a few hungry hounds."

Luna came trotting down the stairs, her wings spread. "It is good to have you back." She closed with Fluttershy and the others, prompting a group hug between them all. "You know I'm not one for sentimentality, but I've been worried."

Fluttershy nodded against Luna, nuzzling her gently. "I was worried too." She looked up with a small smile. "They were so very brave. Um, I didn't watch all the fighting, but I could hear it."

Toby patted Fluttershy gently along the back. "Protect." His eyes shone with fierce determination.

Angel nodded. "I protect too. All of you." She pointed at the other ponies, then off to the humans. "Not hurt."

Toby leaned over against Angel. "We protect."

Victor turned away from them. He walked slowly over to the window, looking out across the empty streets. "It's good that people like you are helping, and we can work together to keep each other safe. It's only by putting little shit aside and putting our hands and heads together that we can make it through these crazy times."

Luna inclined her head gently, her horn softly glowing. "That is what I've been thinking." Her expression darkened. "How many worlds, how many times, how many places, has this sort of horror been seen?" She raised a hoof to her cheek. "The plague of undeath appears to be universally applied. Always a risk, no matter where you are." She turned to face Victor and, by extension, Toby, who was right next to Angel still, the two leaning against one another in a warm embrace. Luna's expression lightened. "Still, yes. So long as we can remain firmly united, we can get past this.

Author's Note

The bun buns are taking to this well. Great natural strength and lack of need for any loud weapons makes them a pretty natural zombie murder team.
Then there's Fluttershy. She'd much rather be home.

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5 - Real Solutions

Victor sighed softly, staring down into his coffee. "Another day survived. That's all that matters. Survive today. Get ready for tomorrow." He sipped from it, not caring about the heat or the bitter taste. It had been a long day, and he needed to get back up tomorrow and do it all again. "Any luck with your side of things?"

Luna flicked out her wings. "Yes, since you ask. I have managed basic contact, enough to inform them that we are safe. So far, at least. They have not yet discovered a way to return us to Equestria."

Victor sipped from his cup again, looking Luna over as he did so. "It must feel strange for you, used to magic, to be in a place where that doesn't come up." He leveled a finger at her. "It's useful, don't get me wrong, but it isn't making the zombies just turn around and leave or anything."

Luna nodded. "Yes. I am capable, and powerful indeed, yet the task before me is far too great. This is not a challenge I can overcome on my own, nor could Celestia." She noticed his confusion. "My sister. Equally skilled in the arts. Hm, together we might try something, but she isn't here. Do they come from some particular place?"

Victor slid to his feet. "I should get to bed. Started with the Knox Incident, but they're not coming from any one place. Everyone has a theory what it was, but nobody knows for sure. Maybe if we could find some survivors from the event." Victor walked away, still talking to himself. "But nobody from the event has shown up."

Luna cocked her head at Victor's words. "Hm." She slunk from the room in a different direction, seeking out a large tsuki looking out a dirty window. "Toby, a moment of your time?"

"Princess!" He turned and hugged her without delay. "How Toby help?"

"Toby, I want to talk a little more about this place." She nodded out the window. "You are strong, and you are fast. Perhaps you could scout the location where it began." She waved a hoof gently at him. "I'll go with you, in an instant if you wish, or remain here and wait."

Toby inclined his head, ears swaying with the movement. "Where look? Where start?"

Luna pointed off to a tower in the distance. "There, I think. That is the place called Knox." She shook her head. "No matter the distance, I can get us there, and back."

Toby held up his hands. "Toby fast. Toby quiet. Run. Not magic." He started making little running motions with his fingers.

Luna chuckled and bapped him on the shoulder with a hoof. "You are certainly that. Well, if you're certain you don't need my help..." She started to turn, only to pause. "You do mean jumping, rather than running, I imagine?"

Toby nodded. "Yes." He grinned wide, hopping from one foot to another, his tail flicking with eagerness. "I jump. Jump far. Run fast."

Luna nodded slowly, mulling the thought over. "Very well. I shall see if Victor will permit a mission to the site. You could learn something important about the source of all this, something that may help us all."

The sound of metal being banged on reached their ears. Toby looked back at the window, gasped, and reached for a road sign. The massive weapon fit easily in his hands as he turned his attention to the window. A clawed hand bashed against it from outside, and the glass cracked.

Toby leaped for the door, bashing his way out through a few of them with the force of the door and the weight of the tsuki pushing through it. He kicked it closed behind him and the sounds of battle were all Luna could hear to know Toby was doing his part.

Luna sighed softly. "May you live in interesting times," she grumbled to herself, shaking her head. She looked towards the door Toby had vanished through with clear hesitation. "Ah." She went to the window instead, where she could see Toby just as he was swinging the sign, catching a crawler right at the neck and beheading them in one savage attack.

A group of them rushed Toby from behind. Luna's magic flashed, striking them with a blast that lifted them from their feet. They came down, smoking, and ceased moving.

Luna watched through the dirty glass as Toby cut a swath through them with his chosen weapon, holding back the tide with some help from Luna whenever she saw one trying to get in from an undefended side. The attacks slowed, their numbers spent for the time being.

The door opened and Toby entered, panting, covered in sweat and blood. "All gone."

Luna nodded. "Well done. I shall speak with Victor on the morrow about the mission." She floated over a rag towards Toby. "To clean up, at least a little. You were quite the warrior. Even among such grim foes, you stood out."

Toby grinned at her, tail flicking back and forth. "Happy help." He began wiping himself off with the rag. "Like help princess. Like help new friends." He set the heavy road sign down and took the rag instead to try, in vain, to just rub himself clean. "Need bath." But there was no time for that during his patrol hours.

Luna nodded to Toby with a slight smile. "I like helping them as well. It seems the right thing to do. If this is truly an alien universe to us, it will be good for us to be kind." She angled an ear back. "I suppose that's true of any universe, really. Will you be safe, should I retire for the evening?"

Toby nodded. "Yes. Toby fine." He waved a hand towards the rest of the building. "Rest. Toby keep watch." He strode over and picked his weapon back up, watching the street outside.

Luna threw an arm over him in a parting hug before she slipped towards bed. On the way, she heard a soft whimper. In the kennel, she found Fluttershy treating one of the human's canine companions, who was looking quite unwell. "Fluttershy. Do you need anything?"

Fluttershy looked up at her, then shook her head gently. "No, I... I think he'll be alright now." She set the dog's leg down, allowing them to curl up as they wanted to. "It's a good thing we got those supplies when we did." She sat up, eyes on Luna. "This is a very sick world. Its creatures are suffering. Its critters are suffering. This place needs our help."

Luna nodded. "That's true. It may take more than the two of us to save it, but we can do what we can. We are not defenseless, and our kindness can stretch further than we know." She dared a little smile. "I will be seeing if we can do a mission tomorrow. By we, I mean Toby, to go fast and quietly and see if he can find the source of this. Surely any curse has a source. Right now, we only attack the symptom."

Fluttershy bowed her head gently. "I can't fight like you two, or Toby, but I'll do what I can."

Luna nodded gently. "Yes. You will. I have full faith in that." She placed her cheek against Fluttershy's, nuzzling it with hers gently. "I shall rest well, knowing you're looking out for us."

Fluttershy's wings spread with surprise. "O-oh! Luna, you're supposed to protect my dreams. Are you sure I can do the same for you?"

Luna snorted at that. "Knowing you and Toby stand vigil will give me pleasant enough slumber, I feel certain. Dreamwalking is a tool of my trade, but not the only means through which one can ensure peaceful sleep." She turned to look back at Toby, who was watching out from a window with quiet determination. "I must make a note to myself to find a way to repay your kindness one day. All of you."

Fluttershy hurried up to her. "It's no big deal, um." She fidgeted with her hooves. "It's not the first time I was called to, you know, save the day." She laughed weakly and forced. "It's a bit scary. It's a lot scary." She stepped from one hoof to the next. "But I'll do what I can."

Luna looked back to Fluttershy, nodding slowly. "We both will. Now, I must rest. Goodnight, Fluttershy." She turned and walked away, to where some beds were available.

She was out about as quickly as she could settle into one.

***

The next morning, Victor brought down a balled fist on a table, making it rattle from the impact. "You want to go out to Knox? Why? We've got enough problems on our hands just keeping this place safe." His eyes narrowed. "What are you after?"

Luna frowned at him from where she stood on the opposite side of the table, which had a map of the state on it, Knox highlighted in red. "We are playing defense. This issue will not be resolved if we do nothing but that. This curse needs to be lifted. The best way to do that is to find the source."

Victor sighed heavily, rubbing his temples with two fingers. "That isn't a great idea." He looked her right in the eyes. "You are sending your friend out to where they are thickest. Do you not care about him?"

"Of course I care about Toby. He is a dear and beloved friend, but every night or day he has to stand guard here is a risk. Every day we do nothing is a risk. There is nowhere in this cursed place that isn't one of those." She spread her wings. "I am offering an idea, not ordering a plan."

Victor nodded, his posture relaxing a little. "Fine. Fine." He gestured at Toby. "Can he get there in a day?"

Toby ran a hand down one of his ears. "Um." He looked at the map. "Where we? Where going? Here?" He pointed at the red spot.

Luna nodded gently. "Yes. That's where it started, they say."

Victor drove his finger down. "This is where we are." He traced out two lines. "It's only about sixty miles, if you head directly there. Do you think you can handle that?"

Toby did some quick calculations and nodded. "Yes. Fast, quiet. No fighting, only look. Only see." He turned towards Luna, looking down into her eyes. "I help?" The question was quiet and sincere.

Luna looked up at Toby, nodding slowly. "Toby, I believe in your skills." She went up for a full hug, returned eagerly. "Travel fast and quietly, as you said. Do not fight them unless you must to get away. I want you back here as soon as you can." Her head turned towards Victor. "Do I have your permission?"

Victor stared at her, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed over his chest. "Fine." He waved a hand. "But let me tell you one thing. The closer you get to there." He pointed at the red. "The more will be crawling around. You're throwing yourself into the heart of things, and we won't be able to help you if it goes wrong."

"No." With the soft landing of padded feet and the tack of her claws, Angel joined the discussion. "No."

Victor laughed roughly at the arrival of the second tsuki. "Finally, someone with some reason."

Angel pointed at herself. "Not go alone."

Victor buried his face in a hand. "Oh come on!" His head raised and he threw his arms wide. "You're just going to keep this up, aren't you? Both of you?" He shook his head. "No, no way."

Luna smiled at the two. "They are safer together. If one is waylaid, the other can help them get free and continue. They are both just as fast and strong. I feel much better if the two get to stay close together. Friends watching one another's backs. What else could you ask for?"

Victor grumbled. "I'm pretty sure I could ask to not send my best warriors and defenders into certain death." He sighed roughly, gesturing at Toby and Angel. He deflated, sinking back onto a near-broken chair. "Look. You all aren't ours. I can't bark orders at you, at least and expect you to always listen. You have your heart set on this, fine. I've given all the warnings I can give. I can only hope you come back safe."

Angel hopped over to Victor, leaning down to nuzzle him gently. "Come back. Promise."

Victor laughed and patted Angel on the head. "Damn it. You bunnies are too cute to become zombie food, and if I have to shoot you because you are a zombie, that'll hurt me in ways I don't even know about yet." His head raised as he looked up into the eyes of the tsuki. "But you promise?"

Angel nodded firmly. "We promise. All of us."

Toby bobbed his head. "Yes. Go fast. Stay safe. Come back. Promise."

Luna nodded, smiling at Victor. "Princesses don't make promises we don't intend to keep, my good man. They're coming back." Her head turned to the two bunnies. "So, let us see you off on your way." She spread her wings and began leading the group from the building.

Toby was out first, followed by Angel. The two sniffed the air, faced the same direction, and were gone as they launched into the air with powerful thrusts of their feet off the ground.

Luna nodded at where they once stood. "And so that begins. With luck, they will return with something that gets us closer to solving this in a more permanent fashion." She turned to Victor. "While we wait, I will gladly take on extra guard duty to make up for their absence."

Victor chuckled and patted Luna's shoulder with one hand. "It's alright. We've got enough to handle it, and we'll just double-check the locks and bolt-holes." He grinned at Luna. "Got me hoping, a dangerous thing, but you give me hope."

Luna smiled back, her wings folding in behind her. "I'm glad you have a little hope again, Victor. We will help this place, or we will die trying." Her face fell slightly, a hoof gently stroking the door. "No matter which happens first, we can't let the zombies win. I won't see this place fall if I can do anything about it."

Victor nodded gently, reaching out and touching her shoulder with one hand, their eyes meeting. "I appreciate the thought, but let's survive the day. Let that be our focus, instead of throwing ourselves for any heroic final moments."

Author's Note

Knox, where it all started. Where it could all end? Luna seems to hope so.

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6 - Hope

Toby landed from a leap that cleared a considerable distance in a single jump, his ears up to catch any sound of an attack. He looked back to where Angel was coming in fast after her own jump. She touched noses for but a moment, attention on the area around them. "In red."

He nodded at that. "In red." They were both fairly sure they were on the red part of the map. They could see the dead lumbering around, growing in number. Fortunately, they didn't make too much noise in their springs, and hadn't attracted—A small group of four were hurrying towards them with excited noises.

Angel launched first, springing away from the attack. Toby followed her as they bounced away faster than the horde could follow. The bunnies touched noses, looking down at a large building with many windows and doors.

The two of them sprang from one roof to another, looking down at the street below, until they were perched atop a decrepit gas station that had a roof that worked well enough for their need of it. The zombies seemed less drawn to haunt higher up, a fact they were happy to take advantage of. The tall building they had spied loomed before them. It was about five stories tall, practically a tower compared to everything around it.

The bunnies jumped off the rooftop with a single bound, landing atop the tallest building with ease. Toby and Angel adjusted their weapons, then went down to find a way inside. The door was locked, but not very sturdily; At least, compared to the physical might of Toby's tug. It came free in his hands and he threw it aside as if surprised he was holding it. "Answer?" He pointed inside.

"Hope." Angel stepped inside, not bothering to jump in the confined space of that dark hallway. Toby followed after her, both moving quietly and sniffing for anything out of the ordinary.

Angel sniffed at the air and made a face, her eyes flicking to Toby. "Smell wrong." She raised up to look over the dividers of what was once an office area, the cubicles mostly intact. "Nothing moving."

Toby nodded. "I look too." He walked down one aisle and turned to look at a series of doors. "Office?"

Angel shrugged. With a noncommittal noise, she did a long jump to clear the space and land in front of the doors. She pawed at them, testing which of them were locked or not. Deciding without asking, she threw her considerable bulk against the one that was locked, forcing it to burst open for her with the sound of abused metal.

Toby was there just after her. "Quiet." He turned his floppy ears, little motions, trying to hear if anything had been alerted to their presence.

Angel glanced back and nodded her agreement. "Yes." She looked into the office, finding it empty except for a broken window and some papers that were still fluttering about in the wind. "Look?"

"What look for?" Toby brushed alongside her as he slipped into the room and began searching, but unsure what he was looking for. Without a clue, he grabbed any paper that had intelligible writing and stuffing it away for later examination. It wasn't like he could read very well, and certainly not however humans did it.

He was there to look, and he would look. Toby stuffed a few more things into a pack he carried, then looked at Angel for an answer to his question.

Angel shrugged at him, her head turning towards a safe she found in the office. She approached it on quiet paws, save the taps of her considerable claws on the floor. She felt over the safe, finding it to be a solid object, tougher feeling than anything else they'd torn apart so far. She didn't know it, but it was designed to not be physically menaced.

She tried to lift it, making a surprised little sound when she discovered just how heavy it was. She could get it up, but hopping with it felt impractical at best. "What inside?"

Toby chuckled at that. "We look. Later." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black disk, sticking it onto the side of the safe.

Angel stared at Toby in confusion. "What that?"

"Not know?" Unfortunately for Toby, the safe was not a CD player, and nothing happened. "Thought help?"

"What is it?" Angel stepped closer to sniff it, but couldn't smell anything from it.

"Disc. Help learn magic. Thought help us." Toby looked down at the device, now stuck to the side of a safe they were hardly going to be able to move. "Don't know how." He pulled it free. "Look for more. Take more." He slipped the disc away.

Angel smiled with an idea, refusing to leave the safe. She picked up the unwieldy thing and moved for a window. With a foot, she slid the window open, then put the safe down on the sill of it, teetering dangerously. "Will make noise. Ready?"

Toby nodded quickly. "Ready." He took in a deep breath, his shoulders rolling. He watched intently as Angel dropped it out the window.

There was an almighty crash as the safe shattered on impact with the ground, a sound so loud that Toby and Angel both winced, but it did explode open, spilling its contents far below.

Unfortunately, the shamblers had heard that great bang, and they were coming, from everywhere. The hungry noises of the dead were incoming from all directions. Angel launched through the window, descending towards the ground rapidly.

Toby followed her just after, landing with enough force to dent the ground around him. He snatched a few of the papers, but most of them were blank. "Take. Take." He picked them up anyway.

Angel joined him, grabbing everything that had scattered from the broken safe. With the thunderous sound of undeath storming towards them, there was no time to think about what to grab and what not to. Both of them frantically grabbed for anything that would fit in their hands. "Go!"

They launched up onto the roof of the building. Toby grinned at Angel, and she smiled right back, then they were away again. They bounded from roof to roof as they made for base, staying above where the zombies could catch them. They could see that great sound had mobilized them, all of them. As they passed quietly, they could see the ground had become a literal carpet of moving bodies rushing to see what had made such a frightfully delicious sound.

Angel and Toby touched noses one last time before they continued their rapid retreat back home, away from the horde and the danger. They were fast, faster than any zombie they'd seen, and soon left them behind as they came back to their new friends.

***

Fluttershy released a dog from its kennel, the canine bounding around her with sniffs and licks, eager to be outside of that little cage. She grinned and stroked him gently, hugging him close, but soon let him run free. The other dogs had already been freed, and the last was a gentle mutt who was very happy to be free. "All your friends are healthy and happy." She nodded to the collection of canines that shared the nod back at her.

All their tails wagged, though with different tempos. But it didn't take an expert to know they were happy dogs.

Sally was sitting on the wall, watching Fluttershy work on her animals with the eyes of a hawk. She was smiling, however. "You're really good with them."

Fluttershy looked up at her. "I'm, um, just doing what I can." She offered a hoof for one dog and got half a dozen pushing in to nose at and lick at her.

Sally chuckled softly, shaking her head. "You've got them all happy and healthy. That's not nothing, in my books." She sighed. "Just a matter of what we're going to do with them." She inspected her gun a quiet moment. "We took them in partially out of pity. In a way, we could see ourselves in them, suffering and miserable in this damned hellscape. So, you know, we took them in, even if having pets isn't exactly the best idea for the times."

Fluttershy nodded quickly, looking to one of her canine friends. "What... what is going to happen to them?" The worry made her words weaker.

Sally spread her hands. "I don't know."

Fluttershy spread her wings as if the say something strongly, but they wilted back into place. "Well." She hugged a dog that had come up to her. "They just want to be happy, and make you happy too. They're a part of your family."

Sally chuckled, stepping over and kneeling by Fluttershy's side, petting the dog that the pony was holding. "Yeah. I know." She sighed gently. "But a bunch of happy puppies are the opposite of quiet, and they won't be happy being shut in the kennel space anymore, now that they're all healthy."

Fluttershy looked from one of them to another, eyes wide at the thought. "But I don't know how to keep them quiet. I could ask." She cleared her throat, which got all the dogs looking at her curiously. "The people here want to have you as part of their pack." The dogs barked and wagged joyfully at that news. "But." They quieted. "You need to be quiet. There are dangers that will come if you make noise. Only bark as a last resort." She lowered a hoof. "Quiet, shh."

Most of the dogs nodded obediently.

Fluttershy grinned. "They're pretty smart. They'll help us stay safe." She looked to Sally, then back at the dogs. "You'll be quiet, right?" The dogs nodded again with more conviction. One let out the smallest yip.

Sally chuckled and patted that one on the head. "Well, I guess that's settled."

There was a sudden crash as a door burst open and Toby came tumbling through it, landing flat on his back with an 'oomf'. Angel burse through after him, landing on top of him even as her foot kicked the door shut behind them. The two panted with the effort of their flight.

Fluttershy's jaw dropped and she took off to land beside them, looking over both closely for signs of injury.

Toby grinned, pushing up and lifting Angel off the ground with ease as he got to his feet.

Angel did a little hop back to the ground. "We back." She patted the bags she had. "Have things."

"Good things?" Toby started dropping his bags to the ground. "Hope."

Sally nodded to the two bunnies. "I'll get Victor. You two just take it easy for a bit. I'm glad you made it back safely." She offered them both a wave. "I'll go fetch our captain and bring him in for a briefing." She walked off, leaving them to Fluttershy's care.

Fluttershy inspected the two carefully. "You did very well! Look how many things you brought back, and I don't see a single slash or bite on either of you. Did you just not run into any of them?"

Toby shook his head quickly. "Fought. Not close. Not hurt."

Fluttershy nodded. "That's really good work." She hugged Toby around the middle. "I was really worried."

Angel made a hopping motion with her hand. "We fast. Stay ahead. Stay above. Not fight. Run. Get."

Fluttershy grinned. "Oh, I am so glad you're both safe." Her head raised as a sound caught her ears. "They're coming back, with Victor I think!"

Victor and Luna both eagerly ascended the stairs, following on the footsteps of Sally to reach them, both with determined looks with just enough hope of good news. He arrived first, barely.

"What is all this?" He crouched beside the first bag in the hallway. "Don't get me wrong, welcome back. That you've made it safe is a huge load off my shoulders, but what did you find?" He undid the first and began pulling out papers, many crumpled in a mess. "This, hm, is going to take some time to pick through."

Luna leaned over Victor, looking at the documents one at a time, hoping to catch something that could be useful. "They said they found something." Her horn began glowing with soft light as she lifted up the papers one by one with a little magical grip. "But, yes. It does not appear concern was made for the order of what they brought. Angel, Toby, you both did exceptionally well today. Good job."

Victor chuckled and patted both on the back before walking off. "Yeah. They did good."

Luna watched Victor depart, her head tilting slightly. She looked at Sally. "If you would be so kind, bring the bags to whoever would be best suited for learning from this."

Sally laughed at that. "That would be the man that just left. Let's get it loaded up in his office." She grabbed as many as she could, most not terribly heavy. "This way." She gestured, then started moving.

Luna, however, remained behind. Her eyes turned back to Fluttershy, who was hugging Angel and Toby together. She looked over them quietly. "I do not know if this will get us home faster, but if we can make this world safer, it'll be good for them, and for us."

Fluttershy looked up to Luna and nodded. "I hope so too."

***

Victor sat at his desk with a sigh, pouring through the paperwork that Toby and Angel had brought back. The mess of papers covered his desk in a sea of information, none of it in a very reasonable order to make sense of. He could only assume there were duplicates among the chaos.

It was up to him to sort it, and try to learn something from the result. "You had to go get that doctorate." He chuckled softly to himself as he moved the papers around, slowly putting them in order. "Time to prove it's worth something in a tight situation."

Author's Note

Back home, with hope. Now Victor has to shuffle through the mess and find something, anything, they can work with.

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7 - A Faint Chance

Victor looked up as Sally came in. "Hm? I'll be out when I have a solid to report."

Sally clapped him on the shoulder. "You've been working on that pile for hours. I thought you'd at least have taken a coffee break." She chuckled softly and sat down next to him.

Victor grinned. "I'm close to figuring this out. I think." His grin turned to a weary sigh. "This whole thing is, to put it mildly, complicated. The notes the moment this started are intense, and not all of them are proven." He swept some papers aside to get at others, leaving the surface a mess in his wake.

Sally's head shook slightly at the mess Victor was making of his once clean office. "What does all that even mean?" She looked over the notes he was picking up, trying to see what had him excited. "Was there a clue in all that of what we should be doing?"

He huffed, slumping a moment. "If they had a clue, they would have been all over it. Nobody involved in this seemed to have wanted to be involved in it. So, that's why I'm still hear, sorting. I'm teasing out the clues, to find out which ones we should try to chase, and which ones look unlikely."

Sally chuckled softly at that. "So, it's a big pile of nonsense." She leaned on him a little bit, her head against his shoulder. "Why don't you go get some rest, Captain?" She stood up and pointed to the door. "That's an order."

"You don't get to give me orders." Despite that, he was getting to his own feet. "Keep everyone else out of this room until I get back. Don't want someone to wander by and shuffle my papers."

"Yes, sir." She saluted. "I'm sure nobody would dare go against the wishes of the good Captain Victor." She chuckled softly and started walking just behind him, seeing him to the door and out of the room. "Sleep well."

Luna replaced him the moment he was out of earshot. "Is there good news? He looked quite fatigued, but not all that pleased."

Sally sighed and looked back to the mess on the desk. "I'm not sure he learned anything, really. Or at least if he did, he was unwilling to say as much."

Luna peeked around Sally to the riot of papers. "My friends risked much to fetch those. I do hope something comes of this." She spread her wings, using their lift to get her over to the desk and look it over herself. "It seems quite a mess. Is he usually this disorderly?"

Sally chuckled softly and shook her head. "Not this bad, and don't touch a thing. He doesn't want whatever order he has being messed up."

Luna looked over it all quietly. Her horn lit up as she took in the sight of each scrap of paper, lingering a long moment on each before moving to the next.

Sally watched with great confusion, her head tilting. "Does it make sense to you, alien pony princess?"

"Of course not. There's nothing magical about my ability to read." She lowered herself to the desk, her eyes narrowing. "Is that an 'a'? Why does this person write in such horrible penmanship?"

Sally snorted, holding back a proper laugh. "Probably because it was written by a doctor under pressure, so double the poor writing all in one. I swear, the moment you get a doctorate, your writing's shot. Do we need to find a translator?"

"No." With a flash of light from her horn, the papers began to lift and sort themselves, then lay out flat upon the table in a more orderly manner, each one flipped around to face upwards.

Sally hissed softly. "He's probably going to flip a gasket. They were in some order he wanted, and now they're in your order. It's a nicer looking order, but it isn't his."

Luna smiled up at her. "I do apologize. I was merely hoping to speed this process along by getting them into an easily readable state. If he gets upset with me, I will take the blame, of course."

"He'll be plenty mad at me for not guarding his stuff like I just promised I would." Sally shook her head slightly. "We'd best have something good to tell him when he gets back. I hope you find something."

"I'll do what I can. You go keep watch of our friends." Luna sank to her haunches, going through the papers more methodically than Victor had been. "Hm." Sure, the references to modern things eluded her, but not all of it.

Sally headed for the door. "Good luck. Don't break your brain with too much thinking. It's dangerous around these parts."

***

Sally headed out, finding Fluttershy at the door. "Today's my lucky day for running into our pony troops." She reached out and patted Fluttershy on the head. "How are you doing? It's been quite a while since I saw you last."

Fluttershy smiled at that. "I was just checking up on my dogs." She pointed to the outside door. "I let them out for some exercise."

Sally cringed at the idea. "They going to be quiet out there?"

"I told them to be." She lifted in a brief flutter to the door before peeking out the door. No sounds came back other than her being pounced and knocked back into the room with a dog atop her, licking her face.

Sally laughed softly at the display of affection. "Looks like you're quite the dog trainer."

Fluttershy giggled, pushing up from under her canine friend. "I've had a little experience with all sorts of animals, and I think we all just get along." She hugged the dog and sent it back out to join its friends. "But they're being quiet." She nodded firmly. "See?"

Sally shook her head slightly. "That's adorable. But seriously, we're happy you've helped our friends stay safe and sound." She waved to the outside. "You're going to go out to play with them?"

"Well..." She blushed with a wriggle. "If I do, they'll keep licking me. Which is a nice thing, how they show they appreciate me, but I don't want to be wet."

Sally laughed gently. "You're an adorable pony princess person." She patted Fluttershy gently on the back. "I won't tell you what to do. Just make sure they're quiet, alright?"

Fluttershy inclined her head. "The princess is there." She pointed to the office with Luna. "I'm just a regular pony. Not a princess."

Sally stared at Fluttershy a moment. "You know what, I believe you. You aren't princess material. I'll leave you be to your doggy friends."

Fluttershy waved a wing out the door, summoning her dogs back inside. "I'll get them back in their kennel. You're all such good dogs." She hugged and was hugged by, her canine friends.

***

Victor stretched, rubbing his eyes, but not yet opening them as he felt the world around him coming to focus. The sound of rain on the roof was pleasant as the storm continued. But the work he'd left behind pulled at him, and got him to his feet even if laying there felt better.

The door opened and Luna came in, floating over the paper she'd taken from his desk, reading intently, chewing her lip. "Ah, thou are awake, good."

He blinked down at her a moment. "Princess, what do you have there?" He gestured at the paper she was looking over. "What are you doing with it?"

She floated the paper before his suddenly awake and alert eyes. "This." She pointed a hoof to it. "I cannot stop thinking of this event as described on this page." She read aloud from it, "'The event is an ongoing process that has transformed nearby organisms into zombie-like creatures.'" She glanced up at Victor, who was now looking over her head. "This is the event we are currently in, is it not?"

Victor's eyes flicked back to the papers. "I'll look it over again, and let you know if I find anything."

Luna nodded at him. "Very well, I shall help in any way you need." She tucked that paper and drew out another. "This one." She floated it towards his view. "It speaks of attempts to 'curb' the process, something about a vaccine?" Her head cocked a little at that. "I find this jargon to be dense. Does it make sense to you?"

Victor snorted at that, shaking his head. "I'm not a medical doctor. That's not exactly my area of specialty. I'm doing my best to figure out which documents may actually have meaning for us." He snatched the paper from the air. "A vaccine, if it worked, would make someone immune to whatever this is, so they couldn't turn into a zombie. We don't have the materials to even hope to manufacture a vaccine, so even if they found one, it won't help us, unfortunately."

Luna sighed and shook her head. "And I'm no scholar of science. We need a doctor or someone else who would understand this better."

"Doctor?" Angel perked up her ears. She did a small hop to clear the room towards them. "Ask Fluttershy?"

Luna blinked at Angel, blank a moment. "Fluttershy? Oh! She is something of a doctor, a lay doctor. Still, perhaps there is wisdom in your words, my dear."

Victor blinked up at Angel. "I, um... okay. If you want to bring her up to speed, be my guest."

Angel smiled and nodded to him. "Can ask?" She fled the room with awkward steps and long leaps, not wanting to crash against the ceiling on the way. She descended and found Fluttershy playing with the animals. She smiled and joined in, petting the dogs, but then raised a paw towards Fluttershy, her eyes locking on to hers. "Fluttershy. Need help?"

Fluttershy looked at her curiously.

Angel pointed back at the stairs she had just taken. "They need you. Need doctor."

Fluttershy nodded quickly to that. "Of course, I'll come right away. Are they hurt?" Her eyes widened a little more. "Oh my, they are? Oh no." She looked at the animals around her. None of them were injured, so she waved goodbye to them and quickly zipped up the stairs. "Where's the hurt creature?"

Luna waved Fluttershy closer. "We need a medical opinion, but not about an injured creature." She gestured at the papers. "There's a vaccine mentioned here, but we don't know if it works."

Fluttershy looked over the documents with a sigh. "Um. Okay." She landed and held out a hoof. Once the first paper was given to her, she scanned over it. "Oh my. This is a lot of medical words."

Luna nodded. "Can you make sense of it? The rest of us are without medical training of any kind."

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, um, some of it. I'm not a doctor either, but I have some familiarity." She laughed with the memory. "When an animal was really hurt, I brought them to Doctor Fauna. But I could patch them up if it wasn't too bad." She quieted down as she focused on reading the documents, flipping through one page at a time, trying to make sense of it. "This is... this is really confusing, Luna. But it's talking about how they were trying to make a vaccine." She turned a page over. "But they were also trying to stop the, uh, zombies that were already there from causing trouble. Even if everyone was fixed, the zombies already there would be quite a mess to deal with."

Luna nodded quietly, looking over the pages in Fluttershy's hooves as best she could. "That does sound like what we are dealing with." She glanced at Victor and Sally. "There were efforts to both fix the problem, and deal with the mess."

Victor took a slow breath. "Tell me you can see something we can use, please."

Fluttershy sighed and nodded. "Maybe. This looks simple enough." She tapped at the page. "But I'm not sure we have everything we would need. Um, give me a piece of paper and I'll write this down a little easier to understand. It's a spray, I think. Spray it at the zombies and it should hurt them, make them not move, if it works properly. But there's no guarantee that it will work."

Luna grinned at her. "I think we all knew this was going to be a gamble, but if you've found us something, let's take a look and see if we have everything necessary." Her horn glowed just a moment, paper appearing beside Fluttershy. "Please, do write it down so we can all see it."

Fluttershy looked over the words before her, mouthing them as she tried to figure them out, making notes as simply as she could. She had a little bit of help from Victor, who hovered nearby. The two quietly argued when they reached complex words, but, together, they worked out the recipe in every day english.

"So simple, but it won't be easy." Victor had a hand to his head. "We have the ingredient list for some anti-shambler spray. The paper was talking like this was something new, untested. Not sure if they ever got the chance to even try it out, which means it could end up doing not a damn thing. But we don't really have a choice."

Sally chuckled softly at that, gripping his shoulder. "We never did have a choice, Victor. Come on, we've got a mission. Let's go figure out if we can make this, and how well it works."

"Right." He took the simplified recipe and stuck it to a cork board where everyone passing by could see it. "Then we need to start collecting these ingredients. Some of them may be around here, so start with that, check off what we already have."

Toby and Angel both nodded at each other, grinning and getting ready to leave. "Find things. We go. Now." Toby was already headed towards the door, not waiting for anyone else.

Luna appeared before them with a flash of magic. "Hold yourselves! My speedy friends, we should do as Victor requested. Search the stores here before we set out, so we know what we absolutely need to find."

Author's Note

But will it even work?

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8 - In Darkest Times

"Thank god." Victor ran a hand over his list, then festooned with checkmarks next to some of the items listed on it. Even better, a crate rested beside his desk with those collected items, ready to be used. "Alright, then we know what we still need." He pulled the list off the board, popping the poor pin along with it in the motion. "Let's have a look at the map and see if we can't spot it."

Luna was there in a moment. "A sound plan. We shall find where these ingredients may be." Her voice went quiet. "And if they are not to be found, we'll deal with that when we come to it."

"Hear Luna?" Angel poked her head in, just to walk in eagerly on spotting Luna. "Victor wake?" That was when she saw him. "Oh. Happy?"

Toby hopped into the room behind her, grinning as well. "We happy. Go?"

Sally came up the stairs and around the two bunnies, a cocky smile on her lips. "I bet Victor'll be happier with a nice mug." She placed a mug of coffee down. "A rare treat, but this feels like it calls for it."

Victor grinned at the newcomers. "Thanks. Good to see you two." His attention focused on the map, his hand tracing over the red lines. "Alright, the best hope for this stuff would be in a store, if it's anywhere at all. And the store we'd want, that we haven't picked clean already, would be here." He tapped at the map meaningfully. "Get in, grab a bag of fertilizer, get out. Don't get killed."

Luna nodded gently, her eyes locked on the map. "That sounds simple enough, given what we have been dealing with thus far. The plan being to spray it on zombies?" She chuckled softly, shaking her head slightly.

"Not just the fertilizer." He waved at his collection. "We have to make what we're gonna spray. A, uh, magic potion, if that helps."

Toby and Angel looked at each other with a shrug and a nod.

"We go. Find. Help?" Angel stepped forward with a grin. "Help yes?"

Toby grinned and patted her on the back. "Yes. We go."

Victor looked over the two smiling, and huge, rabbits. "This is becoming a bad habit. If we let you two take care of each mission, we'll forget how to do it ourselves." He pointed to them, then to Luna. "You all want to get back to wherever you came from. Whenever you do, we won't have you. And having that day hit us with us being too used to it would be bad."

He looked to Sally. "Grab a few boys. Go in, get out, keep it quiet. You know the deal."

"Right you are, Captain." Sally saluted sharply and wheeled around. She stopped by the two tsuki, reaching out and patting them gently on the backs. "You've been great help so far, both of you. We're not mad, but you can't do every mission. I bet he has a different one for you." She marched with purpose from the room.

Luna watched her departure, then turned to Victor. "Do we?"

Victor laughed softly, pointing to Angel and Toby. "I want you three to get me something."

"What?" Angel perked up with a smile.

Victor grinned at them. "I want you to find me some entertainment, something quiet enough that we can have some music and fun without drawing zombies here."

All three tilted their heads, though some left and others right. Luna raised a hoof. "Quiet, but it has music? Isn't that a contradiction?"

Victor laughed softly and waved at them. "It sounds like I've given you your mission, soldiers. Get me something to pass the time. I'll be here working on the recipe for the potion."

Hearing a dismissal, the tsuki scrambled from the room without another word. Luna was slower, peeking back at Victor before she ducked her head through the door and joined the others.

"I have an idea, which I remember from Equestria. I will have to hope they have it here too. If a pony wanted to play music quietly, they'd put on headphones." She raised her hooves to her ears, which twitched gently. "They cover your ears and let one person hear the music."

Toby grinned and nodded. "Find. Yes!"

Angel followed his excitement. "We get! Make find!"

"Let's go!" Toby leaped out to grab up weapons, shouldering a rifle and two pistols with ease.

Luna was on Toby in an instant. "Hold on, friend. Since when did you two consider weapons? I thought speed was your weapon."

Toby and Angel shared a glance, then he turned to her. "Too many. Can't always run. We try guns. Help."

Angel nodded along. "Fast is safe." She nodded firmly at that. "Not fast enough? Weapon." She grabbed a shotgun for herself, slipping it onto her back snugly. "Where go?"

Luna considered that. "If I had to guess, a store that shows music. Notes in the window? That would be where I'd search for both things that play music, and headphones." She raised her wings slightly. "Let us depart, and find these items!"

"Goodbye!" They both waved, eager to depart, and scrambled out.

***

Toby landed on the rooftop of a building, a short leap having carried him to this location. He could see the zombies milling about below, unaware of him for the moment. He nodded with satisfaction as he scanned the storefronts. Most of the windows were dirty, or just smashed. There were few clues on what might lie within. He grinned to himself as he saw a sign that looked to have some musical meaning. An old, tarnished horn hung above the door. His ears raised as he spotted it, pointing forward to catch any noises. What musical sounds may have come from it had died long ago, with the power.

Still, Angel and Luna saw where he was looking. Angel bounded in a great leap as Luna soared in on quiet wings. Toby was right behind them, landing heavily atop her.

"Toby!" She pushed up, her head shaking as she struggled to free herself from the ground. "What was that for?"

Toby grinned at her, patting her on the head. "Sorry." He stepped free of her, just to point ahead. "Music?"

Luna looked up at the horn. "Maybe. Let's be careful, please." She stepped up to what was once a window, broken long ago. "This way." She stepped up onto the counter behind the window, entering the store proper with a little flutter of wings.

The others followed, though not with so much grace and ease, instead stepping heavily into the dark interior. The dust in the air hung in place as they took position inside the shop. None of them saw anything moving around, at least.

Luna began picking and pulling through things along the darkened aisles. "Look for music, and headphones. I don't know what music would look like. Do they have records? Look for records." Her horn glowed, conjuring the image of what a record looked like.

Toby grinned, nodding eagerly. He could see the image perfectly, and that helped quite a bit in his search. He bounded down an aisle, finding it empty, but there were more. In the next, there were many things that could be music, but appeared nothing like records. He pulled one apart to find a smaller thing held inside. He held it up towards Luna with clear confusion. "Music?"

Luna squinted at the cassette. "Oh!" She nodded quickly. "I saw that musician, DJP? She had many letters in her name, but she used one of those with the contraption she wore constantly to play music." With that thought fresh in her mind, she scanned quickly through. While salvagers of the past were searching for things to keep them alive, many left the unassuming tape players behind, there, tucked in an open cubby in the counter.

Toby's ears perked as he watched what Luna was grabbing. "Oh!" He turned and grabbed another cassette tape. He passed it to Luna with a smile. "Music?"

Luna grinned and nodded. "Music." She turned to display the plastic container she held. "Behold, it comes with headphones!" She was pointing with a hoof, the box held in her magic. "Get all the tapes you can stuff in your bags."

Toby grinned and nodded, filling his bag with the cassettes that were left, while Luna busied herself with figuring out how exactly to get the tape player into her bag. Angel had been looking over the tapes with interest, grabbing up some of them to put away as well. She saw Luna still musing and grabbed the player from her, stuffing it away. "We fast. We go."

"Yes, let us get these back to Victor and his people." Luna nodded eagerly. "They will be very happy to see what we've found." She waited for the others to finish their gathering of loot, then made a quick escape out of the shop. They crashed into a zombie walking past so hard, the zombie went sprawling on the ground with a soft groan of discomfort, or was that hunger?

Luna looked down at the fallen zombie. "My apologies, sir." She turned to the others. "We'd best leave before he calls more friends to join him in looking at us. Farewell!" She snapped her wings out and took to the sky. Toby and Luna launched into their great leaps, leaving the poor zombie to rise and perhaps ponder what had just happened to it.

***

They came back to the compound without further incident, Toby grinning proudly as the door was opened by a soldier behind it. He and Angel both made for Victor's office.

Luna, however, paused, spotting something out of place. "Some of you are missing. Is Sally still on her mission? Did they make it out alright?" She turned to the nearest soldier, her head tilting with worry. "They did make it out?"

A soldier nearby turned to her, then waved down the hallway. "She's still out. We won't find out until she gets back." He sighed gently, shaking his head. "You'll know when she's back when she's back. Or she isn't."

Luna nodded, looking out towards the door. "I wish her well in her search." Humans seemed adaptable beings, but not as fast as a winged alicorn, or a tsuki. She put the thoughts from her mind as she pushed to join the tsuki in Victor's office.

He was there, smiling, perhaps grinning with the naked joy of what they had pulled out for him. "I wear, only one of you is called Angel, but you're all them. Half of you even have the wings." He took the player from Angel's furry fingers and tore at the plastic shell to free it to the air. "Please please please, damn it." Against his wishes, there were no batteries included. "My fault, good odds you don't even know what that is."

Toby and Angel looked confused. Luna chuckled softly. "I remember. They're in the red crate." She gestured back towards their supply cache. "They are a power source, if I understand it correctly."

He reached for one of the slender cylinders. "They are. We only have so many of them, is the thing. I'll have to keep my listening down to an hour a day at most to be responsible about it." He slid two into the player and closed it up. "Might last a month if I do it right. Still, it'll be a good month."

Luna nodded quietly. "You've found music, something to keep your spirits up and bring a smile to your face. Just as you told us to do."

Victor chuckled softly. "I didn't know you'd actually find something like this." He popped the headphones on and ran his hands over the tapes. "And so many choices. From nothing to spoiled for options. And none of you got hurt? Did you even see any zombies?"

Toby laughed and nodded. "Saw many!"

Angel nodded her agreement. "Saw. Not hurt."

Victor grinned at that, nodding to them quietly. "Good. You had no problems, and you found me some sweet entertainment." Sliding one of them into place, he pressed the play button and the rest could hear distant music coming from him. He sank into his chair with a pleased, but more sedate, smile. "I missed this so damn much." He almost looked like he could cry.

Luna waved to the others and led the way out of the room, leaving Victor to listen in peace. "I hope they found what they were looking for."

Toby and Angel both nodded at that.

Author's Note

Sometimes, a little music can brighten a dreary day. I think a zombie apocalypse counts.

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9 - Hello? Hello Hello?

Sally took the time to pause and reload her gun, watching as the zombies staggered closer to their position. They were trying to keep quiet, but the zombies were getting closer all the time. Though the gun was a potent weapon, it was a loud one. She holstered it and drew out a bat, feeling its heft as she brought it into position.

They let the first staggering near-corpse get past the doorframe to unleash relatively silent doom upon it. She brought down the bat on its head as a long blade sliced it from shoulder to midsection. Another grabbed it and threw it to the ground inside the building to finish pummeling it until it stopped so much as twitching.

She nodded at that, watching them take the zombie and drag it away. There could be no sign that they were there. "That's one."

They moved slowly, but she knew her duty.

***

"—Una."

Luna looked around at that voice. "Twilight?"

Toby sat up from where he had been tinkering with something to pass the time. "What?"

Luna reached up a hoof, batting at one of her ears. "Perhaps the still of this place is getting to me, but I thought I heard Twilight."

Angel nodded. "Hear too. Voice."

Toby inclined his head, ears sagging with the new gravity. "Not hear." His ears flicked gently. "No."

Luna sighed softly and sank to her haunches. "If you heard it as well, I doubt it is only my stirring madness."

Angel tapped herself on the chest. "Hear purple. She said you." She pointed at Luna.

Toby just looked a bit confused at the exchange, but he didn't argue about what others had heard. He wasn't them.

"Can you—"

Luna twitched an ear at the words, cut off before finishing. "Twilight, are you trying to reach us? Whatever you're doing, it's working, a little."

"Oh good. We were worried about you all. How are you?" The voice, Twilight's they hoped, sounded relieved and hopeful though it had no body to belong to.

"We're fine. We have made contact with some of the locals, and they have been most helpful." Luna waved at the two tsuki in the room, though she wondered if she could be seen or not. "They're in a desperate situation."

"Really?" There was a moment of quiet. "Define 'desperate?'"

"The humans we've found are struggling for basic needs. We've been helping them where we can, but this is a world where living beings are transformed into the undead." Luna frowned just thinking about it. "I've seen better situations."

"I am so very sorry to hear that. I'll get you out of there as fast as I can." Quiet returned a moment. "This mirror is being very stubborn. It's taken a lot of effort to get some voices through. Like the Canterlot High mirror, unbalances distort things, so we can't see what's going on."

A new voice butted in, "Sister, are you safe?"

Luna felt her heart flutter. "'Tia, we're okay, for now. We have been assisting the humans of this world."

"Good. I'm sure your aid is most welcome." The relief in her voice was evident. "Sister, we're doing all we can to get you out of there."

Luna nodded quietly, glancing around. "Toby, Angel, it would appear aid is coming from Equestria." She rose to her hooves. "I should inform Fluttershy. Have either of you seen her recently?"

Toby and Angel both shook their heads.

"I shall seek her out then." Luna headed towards the door as she called out. "We'll stay here, if that's what you were about to ask."

"Yes," came Twilight's surprised voice. "Try not to move too far. It took a lot of trial and error to reach you at all. If you could, confirm Fluttershy's safety. We're all worried about her."

Luna chuckled as she peeked outside across the quiet city. "I will, as soon as I locate our pegasus friend. She's probably with the dogs, wherever they happen to be."

"Please do. Be careful, sister. Twilight has been busy trying to find you for hours now."

"I will, 'Tia. We've managed well so far. I'm sure we'll last as long as we need." Luna turned on ear back. Hours? Time clearly was moving slower on the other side. She decided not to bring that up as a canine snout came rushing out to greet her. "There you are."

She gently ruffled the delighted canine's head. "I am pleased to encounter you as well. Where is that kind would-be mother of yours?"

The dog turned and barked before it trotted off in the direction it had come, beckoning her to follow after.

Luna smiled and followed along without further delay. She listened with one ear for any sound of zombies, but none could be heard, at least not at that moment. Fluttershy came into view, playing with the rest of the pack of dogs in what seemed to be a happy time for all parties involved.

Fluttershy looked up, smiling brightly. "Oh, hello! You're just in time to join our game, if you want. The others aren't here." Her head tilted faintly. "They're not back yet, I mean. I hope they're safe."

Luna nodded. "Do not let me interrupt. I am glad to see you are doing well, but I carry good news. Twilight and Celestia have reached out. They know we're here and are trying to get us back home."

Fluttershy stopped playing with her dogs, rising to a stand. "We're going home? We'll be going back?"

"Indeed." Luna's smile was gentle, reassuring. "You have some who miss you back there. I can't say it is happening this instant, but Twilight is not one to give up easily. She has rescued our realm numerous times, as you are aware. I doubt she will accept any answer that isn't our safe return."

Fluttershy grinned happily. "I'm so happy. I don't mind helping these people, but they're in a lot of trouble here."

Luna's head dipped into a nod. "That is true. I find myself wishing to lend more lasting aid to them." She glanced back towards the shelter before she came in closer. "Truth told, however, part of me is aware perhaps we should not be meddling overly much. This world has its story to write, and we are guests."

Fluttershy smiled faintly at that. "I know how you feel. It's not nice of me to feel this way, but I'm kind of happy to be going home." She nuzzled the puppy closest to her. "I don't like the idea of leaving them behind though." She pouted at the very idea, just to get licked for her trouble. She giggled and hugged the dog responsible. "They're such good little dogs! Even the, uh, less little ones."

Luna chuckled softly and reached to pat one. "Indeed. They are very fine animals, and I am glad to see you have made friends here." She took a look up towards the sky, a smile finding her. "Were this place not infested with the walking dead, I would call this a fine day. Come, let's get you, and your friends, inside for now."

Fluttershy nodded, moving to follow beside her. "I hope they stay safe without me watching them. But if we're going back, we should all stay together in one place." She waved to the canines, who started trotting towards the door into the building. Without further orders, they filed right into the building and headed down for their kennels.

"Twilight?" Luna put a hoof aside an ear. "Are you still there?"

"No." That was Celestia. "But I can pass a message to her."

Fluttershy grinned hopefully. "Tell her I said hi, please? We're going to go back and let her find us."

Celestia's voice was soft, gentle, kind. "She said hello, and she is pleased you are well. You must be terrified, Fluttershy. I apologize for letting this happen to you."

Fluttershy tensed. "N-no! I got to meet some wonderful critters, and some creatures that need our help." She fidgeted in place. "I could do without the zombies, but, um, I'm not mad we came."

Celestia was quiet for a long moment, but Luna felt something on her ear, warm and gentle, like a kiss. "We will find you as soon as possible. Please, do not put yourselves in any additional danger."

"Sister." Luna smiled gently at that disembodied voice. "I will guard them, and myself. See you face to face, soon, I hope."

"Contact," came an excited voice from a side room. "Radio from the mission. Light injuries, no fatalities. They're on the way back." The man who owned the voice came rushing in, nodded at the ponies, and rushed right on past to find the others and spread the word.

Luna felt her tension ease. "Good news." She looked to Fluttershy. "Perhaps they will be able to put a true mark on their problem."

"That would be nice." Fluttershy went down the stairs to join the dogs she had sent ahead of her. She properly latched their kennels and assured them at they'd all been such good dogs. The part where she poured them kibble especially got their tails wagging.

Luna chuckled softly, watching from the doorway as Fluttershy got the dogs' meals ready. "They do adore you. It's like you have your own army of dogs."

Fluttershy giggled and nodded. "I hadn't thought of it that way. I wouldn't want to, um, make any army do what you'd want an army to do. They're a big canine family." She nodded towards the collection that mostly made sounds of crunching kibble as they worked on their meal. "They're doing the best they can, just like the humans, just in a different way."

Luna stepped over and patted one of the larger dogs, smiling as the canine wagged its tail even though it was busy getting fed. "Of course. They are merely a more welcoming group than those above us." She turned away just to jump. Toby had not been there a moment ago.

Toby batted at one of his long ears. "Sister coming? Good news. Need me do something?"

Luna shook her head, a hoof on her chest. "I do apologize. I did not hear you coming." She waved for him to come closer. "My sister, Celestia, spoke with me just a bit ago. She and Twilight and doing their best to get us home. Until then, we do our best to remain safe."

Toby was quiet a moment. "But." He shuffled from one large pawfoot to the other. "Help? They ask for help. It dangerous."

Luna nodded quietly. "It is. I would not mind assisting them, but I know that, if we are to get home, we will not be here to help them forever."

Toby nodded with clear thought. "Take?" Luna looked confused. "Take them." He pointed upstairs. "Take them home."

Fluttershy's ears rose. "Oh, they could come with us. Um, there'd be so much work needed though, if we wanted to take everyone in the base. There are a lot of humans here."

Luna shook her head firmly. "We can't do that. Our world has its own issues, as does theirs. To visit, perhaps, but we should not be trying to move in either direction."

Angel joined them, landing at the bottom of the stairs with a soft thud. "Why? Safer home. They happy."

Fluttershy looked between the two. "I know how you feel. They deserve better, and we can offer that, but... we can't make it like this is a choice. What if they're needed here?"

Luna nodded at Fluttershy. "Precisely. We do not know the course of this world, and to remove its players would be quite unkind of us. One of them may be the cure, the answer to this world's suffering. If we were to remove that person, we would be dooming this world at our own hooves and paws."

Angel frowned, ears flattening against her skull. "They help." She pointed towards Toby. "Help them?"

Toby nodded quickly. "We go? They go?" He pointed to his head. "We stay, we help?"

Luna smiled at her friend and his limited speech, trying to fit such large thoughts out through his imprecise tongue. "It is times like these, friend Toby, that I am reminded that your simple words do not mean your mind is simple at all. You are struggling about very heavy thoughts." She offered a hoof towards him. "And all I have to offer is a hug right now."

Toby smiled eagerly and stepped into that waiting hoof. He wrapped both arms around her, squeezing Luna close with a soft grunt of joy.

Fluttershy smiled and nodded to Angel. "You too." They met with a warm embrace. However complicated the worlds and their place in it, they knew they had one another at least.

Author's Note

Contact! We have contact! Twilight is on the case.

A thank you to my Supporter Patron: Zap Transfer👋🏽

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10 -Doing What You Can

Luna was up on her hooves the moment she felt them coming. They were moving in fast, no doubt ready to get home safe and sound. She turned, hurrying up the stairs, past the door. "They're back."

Victor looked up from where he had been writing something. "The retrieval squad? Stupid question." He pushed off the desk to get up to his feet. "Are they safe?!"

Luna turned, nodding. "There are some injured, but I believe they are alright."

He hurried after her, making for the doorway as the soldiers pulled it open with groaning wood and clanging metal. They filed in, looking weary for their journey. Sally thrust a bag into Victor's hands. "Make this happen. Tell me this was worth the trip."

Victor grinned and opened the bag. The others were pulling out their own prizes from the run. Fertilizer was what they wanted, and they had gotten enough to start a small farm. He chuckled faintly and tossed it over his shoulder. "I'm on the case. Don't need me to tell you, but focus on resting, all of you."

Luna stepped over towards them as Victor left. "We should move inside, lest we make this opening a temptation for the zombies."

They looked between each other. None of them had any reason to disagree. Soon they had the door shut securely. Sally swatted Luna's shoulders. "Thanks for taking up the slack. Someone has to keep an eye on things while away teams are off doing their thing." She turned away. "And, just between me and you? You can tell a zombie is coming by how it smells." Her tone wasn't joking at all.

Luna snorted at that. "Sounds like you need a shower." She pointed a hoof deeper into their little bunker. "Go get one, you've more than earned it."

Sally laughed at that as she pushed off towards the washroom.

***

Victor took a slow breath, his eyes scanning over the recipe laid out on the counter before him. He glanced down at the mortar and pestle. The smell of the various ingredients wafted through the air around him, assaulting his nose and senses.

"Smells like salad." Toby's voice sounded from behind him.

Victor turned, smiling faintly at Toby's comment. "I suppose so. I don't have all the information on how exactly this works, just the basics of it." He prodded the mortar with the pestle. "But I have the list, and I'm getting the ingredients." A faint pause. "Does it really smell like food to you? I wouldn't want to eat anything that smelled like this."

Toby reached down to touch the mixture in the dish. Victor was about to say something about him doing that, but Toby just brought his finger to his mouth. He licked it clean with a thoughtful expression. "Spicy. Not bad." He nodded with seeming satisfaction. "Not eat, important." He stood up tall. "Ready?"

Victor laughed softly. "Not yet. I still have more to do here. But we're getting there." His eyes went towards the door. "You know what I need?"

Toby shook his head, ears flapping.

Victor grabbed one paper from a pile of so many others. "Here. See this picture? I need you to find just one container of this and hurry on back. No fighting, in, out."

Toby looked at the picture and nodded quickly, grinning with the trust being shown. "Yes!"

"Good. Wish I could tell you exactly where to get it, but we've looted most of the easy stuff around here. It'll be in a building somewhere. But if anyone can run fast enough to get it done, it's you."

Toby grinned proudly at that. "Yes." He leaned in, grabbing Victor into a crushing hug with a soft laugh. "Not run, jump." He hopped up just to come down facing the exit. "Be fast, not hurt. Be back quick!" He raced off towards the exit, slowing only when he reached the door to make sure it was safe.

Victor watched him depart and turned his attention back on the recipe. He still had a lot to do, but it wouldn't take more than another day to complete the concoction. Assuming he could get that last part.

He put that out of his mind for the moment, focusing on getting the rest of it together. At least they had those. He grabbed one of a few spray bottles more designed to get weed killer around. "Smelly weeds." He started to mix his concoction together. It smelled like rotten vegetables, a scent that quickly spread across the room.

***

Toby leaped down the road, landing in a crouch as he took the impact from the landing. He was in search mode, so the zombies didn't register at first. He stood up tall and looked at them. One was coming at him, not in the usual shamble. It was running like it had somewhere to be, and that somewhere was uncomfortable close to Toby.

Toby looked down at the image in his hand, then up at the zombie coming for him. "No." He jumped just in time to dodge a grasping hand and kicked off a shoulder to launch himself up to another rooftop. The zombie he'd used as a boost lunged for him, but came up short with Toby on a roof, and the zombie on the ground. "No." He bounded away from the angry dead chaser, looking into the darkened store windows in search of that picture.

***

Sally turned to face Victor as she dried her hair. "Hey, how goes it?" She grinned. "No rush, but I like having good news to report."

Victor looked up at her, pulling up his goggles. "Won't know until we have the last ingredient, and we test it. Got Toby rushing to get the last little bit we need to really see if we got somewhere or not." He sighed softly. "I'm sure some of this is a little imprecise. We can make up the difference in volume if we need, though I hope not." He looked over his recipe again, glancing at his mortar of smelly grass and other things.

Sally put a hand on his shoulder. "We're all going to give it our best. If we can start melting zombies like unwanted weeds, that's a big step up." She grinned at him.

Victor nodded with a weak smile. "We're going to try it, but I don't want anyone getting hurt assuming this will for sure work."

Sally punched him in the side. "If it works, great, but I'll be ready to bugger off if they don't just fall over. I'll make sure anyone else on the team gets the same instructions. We won't count on it working unless it does."

He nodded slowly. "Just be ready to get out of there and back to safety if they come after you."

Sally nodded quickly. "It's not like we haven't had a plan B before." She hiked a thumb upwards. "And we have eyes from the sky. Feel a little safer with a magical horse ready to set them on fire." She grinned and winked at that.

Victor laughed softly. "Not exactly the safest job around. I'd be lying if I claimed not to feel a little better having some magical backup, but let's be real. We didn't ask for her to show up, and, eventually, she and her friends will wander off."

He threw a hand aside. "They don't owe us a thing. We owe them everything."

Sally shrugged gently. "We could still use it while it lasts, right?"

Victor nodded in agreement. "It's a nice safety net, but we shouldn't depend on it." He looked down at the collection of things he had assembled and gathered. "I'm hoping this works. It'll become two legs we can stand on without them."

"O-oh." They turned to see Fluttershy peeking at them, half-hiding behind her own mane. "Sorry."

Sally crouched to be closer to the level of the pegasus. "What have you got to be sorry about? You've been nothing but helpful since you got here."

Fluttershy nodded. "But, you were saying how nice it would be if we left. We're just in the way, aren't we?"

Sally gently rubbed Fluttershy's shoulder, working up to her mane. "We didn't say that. We said it'd be nice if we could handle our own problems. All of you have been amazing help in your own ways, but we don't want to depend on someone who has other places they need to be."

Fluttershy was quiet a moment, leaning into Sally's hand a quiet moment. "Can I help more?" She lifted an ear. "Luna is fighting. Toby and Angel are fast and get thing for you." She smiled weakly. "I'm not good at either of those things."

Victor glanced over at her. "Hey, you helped us with our dogs." He nodded towards the stairway down to the kennel. "They're doing a lot better now, and even my dogs like you." He chuckled at that. "And they didn't like anyone that wasn't me before. You're a medic, and those aren't easy to find. You're pulling your weight."

Fluttershy was quiet a moment longer. "But, um, Luna said that she and Celestia think it might be bad to meddle." Her head tilted in confusion. "They weren't talking about helping, were they?"

Sally looked confused. "Luna I know. Celestia?" She rolled a hand in the air. "Who's that?"

Fluttershy turned her attention towards Sally, frowning softly at the question. "She's the ruler of Equestria. She raises the sun." She was quiet, just thinking. "And the most kind princess you could ever hope to meet. She and Luna are sisters." She smiled gently. "She and a friend of mine are trying to get me back to Equestria."

Sally grinned and nodded. "You must be excited to hear they're working to get you back home."

Fluttershy was quiet a long moment. "I don't want you all to get hurt." She shrank a little. "It's not fair if we get a happy ending and you don't."

Victor sighed softly. "It's not about being fair, is it?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "Isn't it? You're creatures too."

Sally and Victor shared a glance, but they couldn't find an answer to the question. Sally mussed Fluttershy's soft mane. "You take care of yourself, Fluttershy. We'll do our best to take care of our things. All we're asking." Sally leaned in towards her. "Is for you to take care of the dogs downstairs. It'd be nice if someone with so much skill in caring for them could stick around."

Fluttershy nodded with a smile. "Oh!" She perked. "Is any of your people interested in helping them? I could, um, show them the basics." She fidgeted with one of her wings. "I'm not very good at, um, teaching."

Victor smiled and nodded. "I'd be happy to learn more from you." He gestured for her to follow. "Let's go say hello to some puppers."

***

The lights had long gone dark and the city had become silent as a graveyard. Toby was moving from building to building, looking in windows and around shelves. The picture in his hand remained a constant companion.

Searching in the gloom was difficult at best, squinting against what little light the moon could offer. He saw a sign, faded with age and weathering. A pharmacy would be the most likely place to find it, though most were picked clean when people were still alive enough to do so.

He bounded towards the door of the place and grabbed for a handle. It rattled, still closed, locked. Toby scowled. "No." He pulled with all his strength, wrenching the metal free with a low screech of abused metal.

He looked around nervously for what had heard that. Nervous, he bounded up to the ceiling and went still, hoping nothing would hear him. He looked down, watching. Zombies, even as stupid as they were, had an annoying ability to sense what they considered food.

He was not food.

When it seemed no one had noticed him, he leaped into the building, landing in a crouch. He couldn't see, it was too dark. He could smell medicines, and feel packages. It was something. He began grabbing everything he could, not knowing if it was the right thing or not. He'd take it back and hope.

He gathered them together in a pile of boxes, a soft thump sounding from each collision. He was just about to turn to leave when his ears rose at a sound. There, in the doorway, a dead walking form reached towards him, groaning softly with hunger or anger. Maybe both.

Toby tensed, his ears flattening against his skull. "Not food." He spread his fingers, ready to leap out past. "Not want eat!" The zombie lunged for him, only for Toby's greater speed to throw the zombie off balance. Toby kicked off from the zombie and leaped up into the rafters. The monster reached up for him, just for Toby to land on him with the crushing weight of his considerable bulk.

The zombie let out one last hiss of air as all of it left its lungs, pushed out by Toby's feet on its back. Toby scrambled off the zombie, gathering up what he had grabbed from the store and leaping off into the distance for home.

Author's Note

Every player tries to do what they can.

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