E 1 Ch 7: Everything's Going to be Okay...

Edited by- Solar_Flicker

The drugstore had been quiet for a while now. Larry was still unstable, forcing Lilly to keep her focus on him at all times. Clementine and Rainbow Dash kept each other company anxiously awaiting Lee and Applejack's return. Duck was doing much better as Kenny and Katjaa continuously offered their comfort. Twilight and Doug continued to share jokes and friendly banter as they took turns keeping watch. The drugstore had become so peaceful that the opening of the office door succeeded in startling a few of them. Their alarm vanished as Lee, Glenn, Carley and Applejack re-entered the safe haven.

"Everyone alright?" Kenny greeted Lee.

"Yeah. We had some close calls but Glenn is fine, and well... Yeah, we're okay." Lee's thoughts were still troubled by the desperate woman at the inn.

"I've got a few cans of gas for your pickup in the trunk of my car." Glenn spoke in a low hollow tone.

"Good to hear it." Kenny smiled.

"And things back here?" Carley asked.

"Quiet. Our 'friend' is still in and out over there. He won't survive anymore stress." Kenny motioned towards Larry.

"Then the next order of business is getting those pills out of the pharmacy." Lee added. Kenny nodded in agreement, and left to join his family. Applejack walked past them, staring at the ground and keeping to herself, the image of the frantic girl's dead body fresh in her mind. She slowly made her way towards the back of the store, but was stopped by Twilight who had taken notice of her mood.

"Hey, Applejack, is something bothering you?" She took a seat and notioned for AJ to do the same. A few quiet moments went by before the farm pony finally took a deep breath and spoke.

"When we went out to get Glenn..." She paused for a moment. "...There was this girl." She paused again. Twilight waited patiently for her friend to continue. "She was trapped in a room by some walkers, so we all decided to try and help her. Lee eventually cleared the way, and we finally made it to where she was. What we thought were cries for help were actually warnings to leave."

"Why, what was she trying to warn you about?"

Applejack sighed once more and continued. "When Lee tried to break in and help her she decided to just come out instead. She...walked out...and she was partially covered in blood. Her blood. She was bitten, Twi." Applejack frowned and brought her eyes back to the ground. Twilight looked confused for a moment, not knowing that a bite could mean inevitable death. AJ noticed her friend's expression and explained. "She told us that her boyfriend had been bitten. Apparently what follows is a serious fever or some kinda sickness, then eventually death, and then..." AJ let Twilight figure out the rest. The purple mare now empathized and understand why Applejack was in this troubled state.

"Applejack, I... I'm sorry."

"She did it, Twi."

"What?"

"She...took her own life."

"Oh." Twilight complexion went pale.

"She did it with Carley's gun. Lee... Lee and Ah tried to stop her."

"Applejack, I might not have been there, but I know you did all that you could." Twilight put her hoof on Applejack's cheek.

"Ah don't know. Maybe it would've been better to just give it to her." AJ shook her head.

"I trust your judgement, Applejack, but you can't let this get to you, it wasn't your fault." She moved closer and met AJ's eyes. "You remember how I felt like Shawn's death was my doing? Well, I've been doing my best to look past that, and not let it bog me down. It does take some time but I know you can move past this. We are going to find a way home. I promise." Twilight smiled hopefully.

"Thanks, Twi." AJ returned the grin. "Ah think Ah'm gonna rest for a bit though."

"Okay, take it easy. Rainbow Dash and I are here for you." Twilight stood, and made her way back to Doug. Meanwhile, Lee tried to scope out Clem and Rainbow but didn't have to as they found their way to him.

"Hey there, girls." He greeted.

"Hi, Lee." Rainbow replied happily.

"Here's your talkie back, Clementine."

"Thank you for taking care of it." Clem smiled and gladly took her toy back.

"I'm glad you two are doing okay. How has everyone been so far?" Lee asked Rainbow.

"Everyone's doing fine." Dash turned her head to find Applejack resting near the back of the store. "Is Applejack okay?"

Lee glanced at the farmpony and nodded. "Yeah, she's alright. She's just... had a long day, like everyone." Lee then turned his attention to the front door where Doug and Twilight were. "Listen, I have to get back to finding the keys for the pharmacy, so you two sit tight for now."

"Okay, c'mon, Rainbow. We can play another game of tic-tac-toe!" Clem hurried back to the middle of the store.

"Another one? Haven't you won enough of those?" Dash griped. Lee left them to their game, and went to join Twilight and Doug, but on his way over he stopped by Carley who was still working on the radio.

"Hey, Carley, I was looking around earlier and I found these." Lee presesnted two small batteries. "They should fit the radio."

"Thanks, I should be able to get it to work now." Lee nodded in response and left to speak with Doug and Twilight.

"Hey, guys."

"Lee, glad to see you're alright." Twilight greeted.

"How are things looking?"

"The street has calmed downed a little, but there's still a crapload out there." Doug cringed, peeking out of the door.

"Well, we should have another look around anyway since the keys are on that walker, maybe we can find a way to get to him." Lee proposed. Doug and Twilight agreed as the three of them cautiously opened the door, and stepped out. The night air still carried the musty scent of carrion as a good majority of walkers continued to wander aimlessly in each direction. As Lee, Doug and Twilight kept low, they searched for possible ways to distract the horde. Lee's gaze wandered over to a set of televisions in an electronics shop across the street. He remembered the T.V remote he had found in the office, and presented it to Doug.

"Think you can do anything with this?" He offered him the remote and gestured towards the television sets.

"You know what I could do." Doug grinned and took the remote. He began to follow the procedure of re-rogramming it. "It's universal; I could program it to work with those T.V's across the street. Let's just hope the power is still on."

"You can just do that?" Lee asked.

"I memorized all of the codes when I was in AV." Doug said with a hint of pride. "Let's try."

"What does that thing even do?" Twilight chimed in.

"You'll see here in a second." Doug punched the last number in and pointed the remote at the sets. He hit the power button and instantly the store window came alive with static.

"Well-fucking-done Doug. All that dork nonsense might save a life." Lee teased.

"Whose to say it already hasn't?" Doug crouched back down.

"I resent that dork comment by the way." Twilight playfully nudged Lee. A handful of walkers stopped and slowly turned their attention to the sets. "Look, that got a few of them to take notice." Twilight pointed at the walkers thoughtlessly glaring at the fuzziness of the screens. They continued to stare for a few more seconds before walking away, causing Lee's, Twilight's and Doug's excitement to fade.

"But not enough." Lee sighed.

"I bet if we could shatter that store window, that might do the trick." Doug added. The three of them then searched for a way to do so. Lee noticed a nearby brick a couple of feet from the gate. He reached as far as the bars would let him, but it wasn't close enough.

"We have to get the lock off so we can use that brick and get the keys." Lee stated. "You wouldn't happen to have the combo would you, Doug?"

"Uh, well..."

"No, he doesn't." Twilight finished for him.

"Any ideas?" Doug added. Lee stood up and placed the blade of his recently acquired axe to the lock. He brought the weapon back and hit the padlock well enough to free it from the gate.

"Found the combo." Lee joked, pleased with himself.

"Awesome."

"Y'know, I could've probably just used my magic."

"Oh yeah, I didn't really think about that." Lee smiled. "Now to smash that window."

"Allow me." Twilight enveloped the brick in a purple glow and hurled it at the window with excellent aim. The glass noisily gave way, allowing the volume from the static to flow louder than before. After a few seconds, every nearby walker began to gather at the store and ogle at the sight, leaving a wide window of opportunity to search Lee's brother. Lee stood once again, clutching the axe and inching his way out of the gate.

"Be careful." Doug warned.

"You two keep an eye out." Lee replied as he casually walked towards his brother. He reached his deceased sibling and stared woefully at the sad sight. B's legs were mangled and most likely useless. Small patches of blood covered his face and forehead and his skin had become slightly ashy and discolored. Lee could already feel his stomach churning. B glanced up and rested his lifeless gaze on his older kin. He no longer saw a family member in front of him, instead his rotted brain only percieved a living meal to be eaten. B began to hungrily reach and scratch at Lee, but the fallen telephone pole assured his attempts were in vain. Lee bent down to his brother's level but had a hard time meeting his glazed eyes.

"Hey, bud." Lee started a fruitless conversation as B only responded with growls and snarls. "I don't know what happened to mom and dad, but I know if you were there, you would've died for them. So... yeah... I'm going to assume that's what happened."

Doug and Twilight watched from the door. From their perspective it looked as if Lee were searching for the keys already.

"What's he doing?" Twilight asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe he's having some trouble." Doug leaned out a bit to get Lee's attention. "Did you find them yet?!"

"Give me a second!" Lee turned and snapped back. He knew he had to shorten the goodbye, but it still didn't make it any easier knowing he would be putting B out of his misery. He closed his eyes and continued. "I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry I wasn't here. But knowing you were; to take care of them through all of it, that helped." Lee slowly stood. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and raised the axe behind him. B continued to struggle despite the weight of the pole, while Lee aimed his blow. He closed his eyes and brought the axe down hard into B's neck. Blood soaked the axe's blade while several drops fell upon the ground and poll.

Doug cringed while Twilight looked away all together. Lee breathed a few more times trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him. He as well as Doug and Twilight jumped as B made another attempt to grab at Lee.

"Fuck!" Lee swore as he jumped back. He clinched his teeth as he prepared to strike his brother again. 'In the head this time, dammit!' Lee hated himself for even thinking that, but it was the only thing that would end B's suffering. He swung down again, catching B's neck once more. His emotional anguish and refusal to look when he swung kept making him miss. He tried again, but still hit B's neck, the sickening sound of flesh being torn from the axe was also making Lee lose his concentration. B was now barely moving or making any noise, but was still unmistakingly undead. Lee swung for a fourth time missing his mark yet again. Twilight couldn't take any more as she fought the urge to vomit.

"I'm heading back in." She said as she opened the door, leaving Doug to watch over Lee. Lee stopped his assault and controlled his breathing. He forced himself to watch as he swung one final time, finally burying his weapon into B's skull. Lee waited for a moment to make sure B wouldn't come back. After several seconds, he leaned on the axe and bent back down to search his brother.

"Oh...God..." Lee reached into the front pocket of B's uniform and found the keys. "There we go." Lee had finally found them, but celebrating was the last thing on his mind. He stood, and waved the keys to Doug who was still keeping watch. Doug was about to give a thumbs up when he noticed some of the walkers bringing their attention back to the street.

"Holy crap! Run!" Doug called out. Lee booked it back to the door before any of the them could get too close. Doug closed the gate behind him but had no way of locking it this time around. They both headed back into the store as Doug braced the door in case any of the walkers might try to follow them in.

"Man, that was close." Doug stated, relieved to be back inside.

"But we did it, that's all that matters." Lee could feel tears welling up, but held them back as he went to tell Lilly the good news. On his way over, he noticed Carley was still fidgeting with the radio.

"Still not working?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, I can't figure it out."

"Here, let me see it." Lee once again examined the device. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with it externally and Lee figured that Carley had already tried the volume and power. He noticed that the atenna was down so he tried that next. After extending it and hitting the power, nothing happened. He turned it around once more and found his gaze drifting over the battery port. 'Oh, she didn't.' Lee chuckled to himself as he opened it only to find the batteries in backwards. 'She did.' Lee grinned but didn't say a word as he repositioned them. After the batteries were taken care of, Lee pushed power and the radio buzzed to life.

"You fixed it!" Carley said, trying to hide her embarrassment. Lee left Carley to the static and occasional bits of reports coming in. He continued on his way but not before Rainbow could intercept him.

"Hey, Lee. Can I talk to you for a second?" Her expression seemed somewhat troubled.

"In just a minute, Dash. We finally got the keys for the pharmacy so I'm going to see what I can do about Larry. Afterwards, we can talk."

"Okay, fine, but it can't wait for too long." Dash left on that note as Lee approached Lilly and her father.

"I've got the keys."

"Great! God, you're amazing." Lilly smiled and looked towards the office. "Let's get in there." Lilly and Lee entered the office together and Lee wasted no time in unlocking the pharmacy door and stepping in to search for the nitroglycerin pills. However, upon Lee's haste, he had completely forgotten about the anti-theft alarm his parent's had installed which sounded mere seconds after stepping inside. Lee felt his heart sink, knowing that the blaring alarm would attract every walker several blocks away.

"Ah, shit." Lee cursed himself.

"Oh no. We gotta hurry!" Lilly ran past Lee as they both began to search for the medication. Back in the store everyone, excluding Larry, was now on their feet/hooves, scared for their life by the panic of the drugstores alarm.

"What in the hay is goin' on?!" Applejack shouted

"God dammit! They must've triggered the anti-theft alarm by accident!" Kenny answered. "That fucking thing's gonna bring every damn walker in Macon down on top of us!" Moments later, Lilly returned with the pills while Lee followed closely behind.

"Kenny!" Lee ran up to him. "Is the truck ready?!"

"Yeah, but I'll have to pull it around!"

"Lee!" Twilight jumped in. "What's happening?!" She panicked.

"We accidentally tripped the alarm so we have to start evacuating!" It didn't take long for the usettling banging of hands on the walls of the store to build up around them. Lilly administered the medication and helped her dad to his feet.

"What are we going to do?!" Twilight cried, but the alarm mixed with the growls of the undead made it hard to hear much. Katjaa put her hand on her son's shoulders to comfort him.

"Duck, c'mon baby, time to go." She made sure to keep her voice at a calm level so not to scare him.

"I'm gonna get the truck pulled up around back!" Kenny announced.

"Do it fast, I've got to get my dad out of here!" Lilly added.

"I don't plan on dilly-dallying. Honey, take Duck into the office and barricade the living hell out of the door behind me. Applejack, help Katjiaa and please watch out for her and Duck."

"Can do!" AJ nodded.

"Glenn, when you hear me honking in the alley, start getting people out of here."

"You got it." Glenn confirmed.

"Doug, Carley, Lee and Twilight, you guys make sure our defenses stay up til then. And Lee, I'd better take that axe in case in I run into any of them on the way to my truck."

"Here you go." Lee tossed the weapon into Kenny's hands. The sound of the gate opening signaled that the horde of walkers were now just outside of the door.

"Guys, that door's not locked anymore!" Doug said nervously.

"Shit, you four get on it, I'll be back as fast as I can!" Kenny then left through the office. Doug, Carley and Glenn used the weight of their bodies to brace the door while Twilight engulfed the door with her magic in an attempt to keep the walkers out. Lee kneeled down to speak to Clem and Rainbow.

"Rainbow, keep Clem safe, and both of you stay away from the windows." The front door jolted as dozens of mindless walkers tried to force their way in.

"Glenn, we need your help, please hurry!" Katjaa called from the office. Lee heard as well as he ran over to the door, offering to take Glenn's place. Glenn moved to help Kat and Applejack as Lee now aided in bracing the door. The weight of the walkers were steadily increasing, as the human's strength as well as Twilight's magic was beginning to wear out. The door violently shook and rattled convincing Doug to give a probable farewell.

"Hey, Lee. If we don't make it through this, you should know that... I think you're a great guy."

"We will make it through this!" Lee responded.

"You guys, If anything happens to me, promise me you'll look after Applejack and Rainbow Dash." Twilight pleaded.

"God dammit, don't talk like that!" Lee shouted.

"Doug, if we don't make it through this, you should know..." Carley was interrupted as the door nearly gave way, pushing Lee away from it. Lee regained his footing and pushed back on the door as Twilight strained to hold the door shut. The walls of the store rattled and the windows broke as more walkers arrived. Once they had gotten the door shut again, Doug urged Carley to continue.

"I should know what?"

"Huh?" Carley had forgotten almost instantly.

"You said I should know..." Again, they were interrupted as the the wall next to Doug caved in, knocking over a large shelf and allowing the walkers a way in.

"SHIT!" Carley swore as she took her weight off of the door and pulled out her pistol. "On it." Carley fired off a couple of rounds, hitting her mark. As Carley moved away from the door to get a better advantage with her aim, Doug, Lee and Twilight could feel the weight of the door starting to overwhelm them. Lee knew they couldn't keep this up forever so he called Rainbow and Clem to his aid.

"Rainbow, Clementine, can either of you look for something to stick in between the handles?! Something real strong, okay?!"

"Got it!"

"Okay!" Clementine searched the floor of the aisles while Rainbow darted from one shelf to another. A voilent shove caused the doors to partially open, forcing Doug, Lee and Twilight to push their limits and close it again.

"Did you guys find anything?!" Twilight called out.

"Nothing yet! Oh, wait, Clementine, that cane!" Dash zoomed into the office with Clem as more walkers pounded on a boarded window. The boards had been hastily nailed on, making them weak against the walker's assualt.

"That window is screwed!" Doug took notice.

"GO!" Lee ordered. Doug hesitated knowing that he would be leaving only Lee and Twilight to hold the door, but he soon left to hold them off at the window as the door once again swung halfway open. Lee's muscles ached and fought to push the door closed again. Despite already using her magic, Twilight was now using her physical strength as well to hold the door shut.

"Lee, I can't keep this up!" Twilight was beginning to lose consciousness from the excessive strain of magic.

"You don't have to, Twilight!" Dash announced as her and Clem arrived with Mr. Everett's cane. Lee immediately took the cane and shoved it between the handles, finally allowing himself and Twilight to breath. Just when the door had been secured, cries for help came from both Carley and Doug.

"AAHH! GET OFF, GET OFF!" Doug had been grabbed through the gaps in the boards, and in a matter of seconds, the boards would give away.

"Shit! I'm out! Lee, ammo, in my purse!" Carley's had expended the final bullet in her clip giving a walker time to seize her by the ankle and keep her from reaching her purse. Soon, she would be overwhelmed. Lee glanced from Doug to Carley, unsure of what to do. In his mind, he figured Carley would be quicker to help since all she needed was ammo from her purse. He figured if he was quick enough, he may still have time to help Doug. Lee rushed over to Carley's purse and tossed her a full clip. Twilight noticed that Lee had gone to help Carley and could see that Doug was still in mortal danger.

"NOO!" She shouted as she hurried to help him. "I may not have been able to save Shawn, but I won't let you die, too!" Twilight used the remains of her magical energy to force the walkers off of him with one powerful push. The energy sent the walkers sprawling away from the window and even managed to knock the boards off with them, but Doug remained inside safe and sound.

"Oh, God, thank you." Carley had managed to free herself from the walker's grasp and dispatched several more giving her the opportunity to escape. At last, Kenny arrived back calling for everyone to leave.

"Let's go!" Rainbow helped Twilight to the office door while Doug and Carley followed close behind. Larry held the door open as Lee and Clementine were the last ones out. Before Clem could make a break for it, a walker grabbed her ankle, causing her to trip and fall. Immediately Lee reacted with a few stomps to the walker's head. His assault didn't kill the monster, but as soon as Clem was free, her and Lee booked it. Clem squeezed past Larry and Lee was just about to make it through, until Larry halted him with his hand and scowled at Lee.

"You're not coming with us you son of a BITCH!" Larry met Lee's face with his fist, knocking Lee onto the ground and severely dazing him.

"No!" Clem cried out, but Larry forced her to keep moving. In the office, Dash was tending to Twilight. She noticed Clem was with Larry and knew that Lee shouldn't have been far behind.

"Where's Lee?!" She asked, but Larry simply ignored her.

"Larry punched him!" Clem answered.

"What?! You motherbucker!" Dash darted back into the store to find Lee flat on the ground and a walker crawling towards him at an alarming pace. She flew through the door and positioned herself directly over the monster. Without thinking about it, Dash flew full force straight down, letting her hooves land on the walker's rotted skull. Gore and brain matter splattered onto her hooves and up her leg. Rainbow kept her eyes closed during the attack, not wanting to see the gruesome damage she had dealt, but the feeling of the blood on her coat made her shiver. By now, Kenny had arrived as well and Lee was starting to regain his awareness.

"C'mon, we're not letting someone else get eaten today." Kenny pulled Lee up by the hand. "Especially a good friend." Kenny left through the office along with Rainbow Dash, while Lee took one last look in the now infested store and shut the door behind him.

Luna was sitting at her room's balcony, watching as she raised the elegant moon from the mountain tops. She took a moment to look over the streets of Canterlot that now bathed in the moonlight. The peaceful sight always did help her to relax. Her thoughts were interrupted by hoofsteps just outside the door. She turned to look for a second and spotted her sister. Luna left the balcony and went to talk to her distressed sister.

"Tia, is that you?" Upon hearing Luna's voice, Celestia did an about face. "It's late, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Can't sleep." Celestia responded softly.

"Twilight and the others?"

"Yes." Celestia brought her hoof to her temple as a slight headache took over. "I've actually been trying to psychically link my mind to Twilight's so that I may find or even speak to her. That alone takes an outrageous amount of concentration though, and as far away as she might possibly be, it may even prove to be impossible."

"Well, perhaps it would be best if you tried to sleep again then." Luna moved closer and brushed Celestia's face with her hoof in an attempt to comfort her. "You can wake up bright, early and refreshed. I'll even stay up for a while and help you if you like?"

"I would like that very much, sister." The sun goddess smiled her thanks. "I'll try to get some sleep."

"Good. I'll get you up as soon as the moon sets."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Tia." Celestia returned to her room without another peep. Luna made her way back to her balcony and let the stars and moon ease her mind.

Despite losing the drugstore to the walkers, everyone had made it out okay for the most part. Kenny had driven them to the motor inn where Glenn had been trapped. Stragglers had been dealt with, so all that was left to do was secure the area and gather the bodies. Lilly compiled them in the center of the lot. Among them was the corpse of the girl who had ended her life, bringing back terrible thoughts for Glenn and Applejack. Kenny checked in on his family while the three ponies discussed setting up refuge with the humans. Clementine leaned against an abandoned RV while Duck talked nonstop with her. Carley and Doug were busy salvaging anything they could find around the inn, while Glenn listened to the radio of his pizza car to see if things were any better in the city.

Lee stood away from the lot peering at the picture of his parents and brother. They were gone forever, but Lee would never forget them. He only hoped that wherever they were, they could come to forgive him for all of the pain he may have caused. Lee brought his attention to the road when he thought he could hear screams and gunfire and decided it would proabably be best to head back into the parking lot and check in with everyone. Glenn was the closest.

"Hey, Glenn." Glenn held out his hand signaling Lee to wait. He listened closesly as the news report continued.

"...Uncountable severe emergencies, the cities and their current level of disaster are as follows: Atlanta, stage nine catasrophe. Augusta..." Upon hearing Atlanta's state, Glenn looked up at Lee.

"I think I need to go." Lilly overheard and began to walk over to him and Lee.

"To Atlanta?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, I've got friends there, and I can't stay here knowing that they could be trapped in that city."

"It sounds like nobody knows what's happening there. When we left a few days ago, it could've gone either way." Lee warned.

"I got to take my chances." Glenn persisted. Lee noticed that Lilly was thinking about intervening with Glenn's decision, but knowing that it shouldn't be anyone's choice but his, he waved her off. Lilly was hesistant but left Lee to it. Lee brought his attention back to Glenn.

"Find your friends and be safe." Lee gave his blessing.

"Thanks Lee, that means a lot. I don't mean to abandon you all, but this seems like an okay setup and I'm sure things will be back to normal around here in no time."

"Let's hope."

"You guys be safe." Glenn smiled.

"We'll try." Lee returned the gesture. Glenn was ready to start up his car but not before giving one last glance at the mutilated balcony where that poor woman had wrestled for an easy way out. Before he thought too much about it, he started the engine and took off down the road. Lee watched as he went and then turned his attention to Kenny and his family. He went to greet them at Kenny's truck.

"Hey, Ken."

"Close call back there." Kenny turned to meet Lee.

"Thanks for picking me up." Lee extended his hand as he and Kenny shook.

"No problem, we have to take care of each other."

"Yeah, we do."

"Hey, about Clementine."

"Yeah?"

"Earlier I said there's some stuff out there that might screw up a precious little girl like her."

"You did." Lee nodded.

"Well I still think that's true, but after what I saw today, I think between you taking care of her and her taking care of herself, you two are gonna be just fine." Kenny now held faith in Lee's position as a gurdian.

"Thanks, Kenny."

"You got it." With that, Kenny left to speak with his wife. Lee saw Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight standing underneath the broken balcony. When Dash and him met eyes, she hovered over to him.

"Lee, you know that thing I needed to talk to you about?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's just..." She paused to find the right words. "I need you to tell them."

"About...my past?" Lee was unsure of what she meant at first but soon caught on.

"Yes."

Lee raised a brow. "Why couldn't you?"

"I thought about it for a while, and I figured it would be better if they heard it from you."

"Rainbow..." Lee was about to object but Dash interrupted.

"My friends are very trusting and I can vouch for you. If I'm able to look past what you've done because of the kind of good person you are now, I'm sure they can too." Lee was still hesitant, but he figured if he refused then Rainbow would probably still take it upon herself to tell them instead.

"You're putting me in a real awkward position here, Dash."

"Please, Lee, you can trust them." Dash pleaded.

Lee let out a heavy sigh. "...Fine."

"Thank you." They both made their way over to the other ponies. Twilight and Applejack ended their conversation as the two of them approached.

"Lee, what's going on?" Twilight began.

"Rainbow said y'all had somethin' you wanted to tell us?" Dash stood next to her friends while Lee took a knee. He glanced behind him to make sure no one else was nearby.

"Yeah, I do, it's really important." He started. "A couple of days ago... I was on my way to prison." Twilight and Applejack exchanged surprised looks.

"You were a criminal?" Twilight eyed Lee suspiciously.

"What did y'all do?" AJ chimed.

"I got into a fight with someone... and I ended up killing him." Lee waited for them to say something but the next question was directed towards Dash.

"Rainbow, you knew about this?" Twilight faced her cyan friend.

"I found out only earlier tonight, I asked Lee if I could tell you guys and he had no problem with that, but the reason I wanted him to tell you himself is because I trust him and I really think you should too." Twilight and AJ shared unsure expressions.

"We pretty much never have murders occur in Equestria, heck, Ah can't even remember the last time one was recorded." Applejack stated.

"Lee, this is... quite the revelation. I'm just not sure what to make of this." Twilight felt ambivilent about whether to accept Lee, or keep at a distance from now on.

"I understand, it's a lot to take in." Lee responded.

"Can y'all give us details?" AJ pressed.

"Yeah..." Lee sighed. "The reason we fought is because I confronted him. He and my wife... they... were seeing each other."

"So, it was a crime of passion." Twilight concluded.

"Not exactly." Lee shook his head. "It was accidental." Applejack looked questioningly at Lee. She didn't speak but instead studied his eyes. When she was sure that Lee wasn't holding anything back she turned to Twilight and nodded.

"Ah believe him." She said softly. "And Ah don't think he's dangerous." Twilight looked from Applejack to Rainbow and then back to Lee. She then scanned the ground trying to come to her own conclusion. After a short moment, she let her suspicion drift away.

"Okay Lee, if my friends trust you, then so do I." Lee could feel the tension melt from his body. He had successfully gained the trust of the weird alien ponies, and as strange as that was, it was trust alone that he was thankful for.

"Thank you Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash. That means a lot to me." Lee smiled.

"I'm so glad we could get past this." Dash beamed.

"Yeah, me too." Lee agreed. "Listen though, I really need you guys to keep this just between us, for now anyway."

"You mean you haven't told anyone else?" Twilight scanned the lot.

"Well what about Kenny over there." AJ pointed. "Ain't he yer friend?"

"Yeah he is but I've only known the man for a day, and as protective as he is with his family, I don't think he'd be quite as accepting as you guys are. At least not yet."

"Okay Lee, we'll keep this to ourselves." Twilight nodded. "But just know that the longer you hold onto this, the tougher it's going to be to let out." Lee didn't reply, he just glanced away knowing that Twilight was definitely right about that.

"I'm gonna go check in with the others so I'll leave you guys to it." Lee stood and waved as he made his way over to Doug and Carley. Twilight waited until he was out of earshot and turned to Rainbow Dash.

"Are you absolutely sure about him?"

"I am. Lee's a decent guy and a good caretaker, we can trust him."

Lee's conversation with Carley and Doug was brief. They both were doing alright despite the circumstances and Lee didn't keep them from salvaging supplies for too long. Lee had also tried to convince Doug that he held nothing against him for saving Carley first, but Doug was understanding and simply happy to be alive. Afterwards Lee made his way towards Clementine who stood quietly behind the RV while Duck rambled incoherintly next to her. On his way over he glanced to his right to find Larry eyeballing him from a post. Lee returned the stare and then broke it as he approached Clem. Duck was talking a mile a minute.

"...And it was all like pow pow pow! I thought the super dinosaur was toast, but you know what, he wasn't. Oh, and then..."

"Hey Duck, you want to cool it for a minute?" Lee interrupted.

"Okay, sorry." Lee bent down to talk to Clem who appeared to be sulking.

"I'm sorry there's uh, not a lot of kids here." Lee apologized thinking Duck was the issue.

"No, it's not that, it's... I got grabbed again." Clem shivered.

"I was there though."

"I fell and my walkie-talkie broke. Glenn had the other one."

Lee cursed himself for forgetting to ask Glenn for the talkie back, but it was much too late now. "Aw, I'm sorry."

"Thanks. I know I need to be tough, I'm just sad, and I know it doesn't make any sense but it's how I used to talk to my mom and dad and now they're gone... It's gone." Clem began to tear up.

"Maybe we can find you another one." Lee tried to cheer her up.

"I'll just keep this one I guess." Lee was about to say something else but a very unwelcome voice interrupted him.

"Lee, come here for a second." Larry beckoned him.

Lee looked back at Clem. "Let me go deal with this." Lee stood to leave as Duck resumed his ramble fest. From a distance, Dash noticed Lee going to talk with him.

"If there's anyone here you guys need to be wary of, it's that scumbag right there." Rainbow narrowed her eyes and pointed at Larry.

"We know Rainbow, we were there when he tried to throw Duck out." AJ agreed.

"Not only that, but he tried to get Lee killed." Dash spat. Twilight and Applejack gasped. "You want to know why I was covered in blood when we left the drugstore? I went back to save Lee after Clementine told me that Larry had punched him. A walker was about to get him so I had no other choice but to stop it myself."

"I'm sorry you had to do that, Dash." Twilight hugged her friend.

Lee cautiously approached Larry ready for whatever verbal or physical assault that might come his way.

"What do you want?" Lee spoke coldly.

"You like my daughter?" Larry's tone was surprisingly calm, helping Lee to relax a little. Lee crossed his arms and glanced at Lilly. She had been a little rough at first but at this point, Lee didn't really hold anything against her.

"Yeah, she's great."

"Well stay the fuck away from her." And just like that, the tension between Lee and Larry reappeared like a brick wall between the two.

"Or what?" Lee challenged.

"Or everyone will know that you, Lee Everett, are a killer and you were before it was something you had to do to stay alive." Larry inched closer making Lee put his hands back to his side. "I know who you are, and I don't give a shit about what happens to you. But if anything happens to my daughter or that little girl you've got with you... Heh, you watch your ass." On that note, Larry went to stand by himself elsewhere leaving Lee to stew on the fact that at least half of the group now knew about his past. Seconds later, Lilly approached Lee.

"Hey Lee, do you have a second?" Lee peeked behind him to see Larry giving him a death stare, but ignored him and let Lilly continue. "My dad would be dead if it weren't for you." She smiled.

"Don't mention it, I'm just glad everyone made it out okay."

"And about those... ponies..."

"You should know that if it weren't for Twilight, Doug probably wouldn't be here." Lee wasn't about to let Lilly speak against them.

"I was going to say that I think they've earned their keep here." Lilly nodded.

"That's good, from what I've seen, they have plenty to contribute." Lee was happy to have their company, even if they did know about his past, he trusted them. Both Lee and Lilly turned their attention to the sky as what sounded like helicopter rotors became audible.

"I hope that's the sound of us winning this thing." Kenny went to join them.

"Me too." Lilly agreed.

"This motor inn's pretty damn defendable. We block off the entrances with some cars and keep someone on watch; we could stay here until the military rolls through." Kenny scanned the lot.

"I actually agree with that plan." Lilly added.

"As do I. When we get started, I can help on moving those cars." Twilight joined in. "And perhaps when we get the chance, I can search the inn or scavenge Macon to look for parts to build a replacement machine, so my friends and I can go home!" She said happily.

"You really think that could work?" Lee asked.

"With enough time, energy and scrap, yes I do." She beamed.

"Well we've got beds, we've got water and most importantly, we've got light. There are worse places to call home." Kenny let his optimism show.

"Yeah, you're right. You know guys, I think it's going to be okay." Lilly concluded. The four of them stood at the edge of the lot happy to have a plan going. Just when things seemed their brightest, the street lights from down the road began to flicker off. The noise of fading electricity sounded as the lights of the balcony were next, followed by the bright yellow motor inn sign, leaving the group vulnerable and swallowing the entire area in complete darkness...

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note

For those who don't follow my blogs, if you're wondering why this took 2 and a half months to write, it's because the desktop that I've always worked on had to be updated and cleansed of viruses. It took a while to get that done and it cost quite a bit to get the computer fixed. While now I'm saving up to get a laptop, I'm finally able to get back to updating the story until I get one.

It's great to be back, and the website's new format is...nifty...

Hope you guys enjoyed the first episode!

-KJ