The Trotting Dead

"Hey Twilight?"

Twilight Sparkle squinted to see the orange filly through the forest's harsh tones of black.  "Yes?"

Scootaloo looked down to the ground, and then away from Twilight as she stared longingly into the rest of the Everfree Forest.  "Do you think the rest of Equestria is like...  Like this?"

Twilight admitted that question had been on her mind for some time as well.  Did the rest of the world have the horrors of Ponyville, or was it just isolated?  She didn't know for sure, but she would give her own life for the latter.

These thoughts seemed to vanish as Twilight suddenly looked closely at Scootaloo's facial features.  Hidden under her small, black brow was a pair of hard, intense eyes, almost glaring back at Twilight.  Her eyelids were slightly folded down, and showing these eyes between them only worked to increase the effect.  Twilight was suddenly saddened.

Back when Twilight was in Canterlot, Celestia would take her to the dungeon a few times a year.  They never went very far, but Twilight was still able to see the faces of hardened criminals.  Those eyes that the outlaws displayed and Scootaloo's were one and the same.  They both screamed that they had discovered the most adult part of Equestria, that they could handle a lot more than they should have been able to.

There would be no more comforting to Scootaloo.

"I...  I don't know, Scoots.  I honestly don't know."

Scootaloo looked at the Twilight and said, "I hope it's not."

"Me too, Scootaloo.  Me too."

Twilight reached out to feel the filly's soft coat, and when she did, she was surprised to feel Scootaloo scoot up next to her, resting her small head on Twilight's tense shoulders.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Scoots.  And, I promise, whatever happens, we'll get through this."

They sat there, staring into the stars.

Twilight Sparkle awoke to the sound of birds chirping.

In the brief moment between dream and reality, Twilight completely forgot about the apocalypse.  The warm forest air smelled of pine needles, and the log she had slept on was coated in a shine of dew.  Squirrels ran around, and it felt like bliss.  But as this wonderful scene unfolded, everything came crashing down with memory.

Twilight got up, putting a hoof to her forehead as she felt an intense headache.  But as she stood up, the unicorn also heard something.  It was the sound of many soft whispers, carried by the ever so light wind.  Following this sound, Twilight took multiple steps into the grass.  She suddenly found it strange that although Ponyville was in complete chaos, nature was practically unscathed.  In fact, if she didn't know any better, she would have thought plant and animal life was flourishing!

"Oh, there you are!"

Twilight looked away from the vegetation that painted her vision hues of green, and looked at the red and white pony standing only twenty yards away.  It was Roseluck.

Trotting towards Twilight, Roseluck explained further.  "Hey, Rainbow Dash is awake now, and we'd all like for you to see."

Twilight Sparkle nodded her head and followed, only a small bit offended that no one woke her up.

"Oh, hey Twilight!" Rainbow exclaimed, her voice even more scratchy then usual.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Besides being knocked in the head and dragged into the Everfree forest by a big cart," Rainbow Dash chuckled and continued, "then yeah, I guess I'm great."

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck.  "Yeah," she said, smiling coyly, "Sorry about that."

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, before breaking off and changing the subject.  "So," she began, "we should probably get going..."

Fluttershy seemed almost scared by this.  "Oh, no no no!  You have to lie here and rest!  You can't go out!"

Rainbow Dash looked the yellow pegasus in the eye.  "Alright," she said, shrugging it off, "if you really wanna stay another night in the Everfree Forest, it's your decision."

Twilight Sparkle was amazed at how fast minds can change as the rest of the ponies began to pack.

Twilight liked to walk with Scootaloo.

She hadn't gotten much of a chance before, but now that they were on the road - er, trail - together, she realized how comforting it was.  Just looking at the sweet filly's face could take the trouble of the world off of her mind.  And there were a lot of troubles in the word.

"Hey, Twilight?"

Twilight looked at her daughter's face once more.  "Yeah, Scoots?"

"Where are we going?"

Recounting the maps she had studied under Celestia's watchful eye, Twilight began to paint where they'd be headed.  "Y'know that old railway?  The one that crosses Ghastly Gorge?"

Scootaloo had a brief moment of confusion, then lit up as a wide grin sprouted across the plane of her face.  "You mean the one that goes from Ponyville to Appaloosa?"

"That's the one.  Anyway, when we exit this forest, we'll be right on it.  Then we'll follow that up north, and then...

"...And then?"

Twilight was lost on this one.  "I don't know, you got any ideas?"

Scootaloo stared off into the distance as they walked with their friends.  After a long moment of thought, she finally said, "Manehatten."

Twilight was confused.  She thought the filly would have surely picked Cloudsdale, as that was where her idol, Rainbow Dash, was born.   "Why Manehatten?" Twilight prodded.

Scootaloo answered Twilight's question in one short word.  "Babs."

"It's the EXIT!"

Twilight was exhausted.  "Pinkie," she scolded, "for the last time, it is not the..."  Twilight froze mid-sentence to see a small light towards the end of the trail they were currently headed down.  Pinkie might actually be right this time! she thought excitedly as she started to rush down the dirt path.  She wasn't even paying attention to what she was doing; her feet were acting on their own.  Down the trail they went, sending dirt and pebbles flying up in a cloud of dust.  Her friends soon followed, but given Twilight's massive head-start, the princess's student was the first to arrive.

"Yes!" she shouted as she flew out of the sprawling forest.  She could see the railroad in front of her, and after she and her friends had been trotting for what felt like ages, it was a great achievement to have escaped the Everfree Forest.  They all (especially Fluttershy) breathed a sigh of relief upon exiting the huge woodland.  It seemed unanimous as to what they do as all the ponies lay down in the grassland, resting.

"Hey, Twilight?"

Twilight opened her eyes to the familiar voice of Scootaloo.  "Yes, Scootaloo?" she responded.

"I know I've already asked this, but where are we going?"

Twilight sat up and looked at the flightless filly.  Like her, Scootaloo was upright as well, staring off into the distance.  This time, Twilight decided to be honest as to what destination she was leaning towards.  "Maybe Canterlot?"

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to the conversation between the two ponies.  "Why Canterlot?" she inquired.

Twilight looked at the now awake pegasus and thought about her question.  She knew from common sense that the princesses had to be alive, otherwise the sun would not have risen that morning, so why was she so anxious to get there?  To catch up with old friends? she wondered briefly, before realizing that the thought was foolish; she didn't have any friends in Canterlot.  Suddenly, Twilight thought about Spike.

Twilight Sparkle knew that Spike could deliver letters to Princess Celestia by setting fire to them, but would the same tactic work on himself?  She knew it was unlikely, but she had to know.  Twilight knew that if she didn't, she'd never forgive herself.

Twilight was about to tell Rainbow Dash why she had planned to go to the great city when she realized that that would seem foolish, even selfish.  Rainbow Dash may have been the element of loyalty, but even Twilight wondered how far that could be pushed.  Would Dash really would go after a dragon already deemed dead just because of the Twilight's crazy hope?  The magical unicorn had to think of an excuse, and fast; Rainbow Dash wasn't exactly the most patient one of her friends.  She racked her brain, trying to come up with something, Come on, Twilight, think!

Finally, she had it.  Her speech was slow, careful, as if she was afraid her real reason would suddenly slip out at any given moment.  She spoke, "If any city is safe, it would be Canterlot.  They have guards everywhere, and I'm sure the castle of the princesses themselves wouldn't be overrun!"

Rainbow Dash seemed satisfied with this answer.  After a bit of thinking, she said, "Canterlot it is, then.  There's only one problem."

Twilight was confused.  "And what is that?" she asked.

"We'd have to go through Ponyville."