Chapters Something was released onto Equestria. A strange living chemical..... Something that was designed only to mutate and kill. Not much else is known. It killed many of us, others were driven insane. I don't understand why... Why would something like this happen to us?
(static )
That's not important. What is important is this recording. I will leave it here for whoever needs it. I am making journal of sorts, documenting all that I learn.
(static )
-iagnosed and classified one of the types of..... accidents. The insane ones, I like to call them Creepers , are biologically living corpses. They stumble around muttering to themsel-(static ) in particular. That's really all I have right now. I'll be leaving updates here and there. As far as I know, we are headed towards a safe house in downtown Manehat-(static )
So, I'll be leaving another recording there. Come on Twi! We're leaving . One minute Rainb-(static )
If anypony is finding these, then please follow us. We really ca-(static ) without more ponies. See you soon.
Twilight Sparkle
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Alright. I got the aspirin, the bandages, enough ammo to get us there. I think we're good. I guess I should go wake her up now. The yellow colt headed up the stairs towards his daughter's room. He unhinged the large latch over the knob and pulled the grate down from the door. He slowly stuck his head in through a small crack in the door.
"Caramel? It's time to go." The sleepy yellow filly tossed and turned in her bed. "CARAMEL!" The filly was flung from her mattress by the sudden stimuli.
"Gah! Daaaaad! What time is it?!" She demanded.
"Eleven-thirty. I let you sleep in." The young pony stood herself up. "I got us all packed and ready to go. We can eat breakfast, then get going." His daughter groaned from her drowsiness.
The two of them sat at their makeshift dinner table (A sheet of cardboard on an upside down stool) and ate breakfast. Apples and buttered bread.
"It's not much, but it's all I could really find. All the shops down the road were looted." Caramel seemingly ignored her father, just sitting down without a word. He dismissed this and moved on to his breakfast. A few moments later, he had already finished an apple. He looked at his daughter's plate. The food remained untouched.
"You alright, Caramel?" She stayed quiet for a moment. "Caramel?"
"Hey, Butterscotch." Her father shot her a nasty glare.
"That's disrespectful, Caramel! You don't call me by my first name." The young filly rolled her eyes.
"Sorry.... Dad. Do we have to see grandma today?" His daughter looked at him with her usual puppy dog eyes. Butterscotch shifted his attention back to his food.
"Yes." He said through a mouth full of bread. Caramel groaned rather loudly, as to emphasize her disappointment.
"You know how lonely she can get over there. No pony other than us is around anymore. It makes her day to see us. Besides. It's your thirteenth birthday. That's a big day and she told me that she has something for you." Caramel's eyes widened slightly at the mention of a gift, but not much. She still kept that look of indifference on her face. Butterscotch frowned.
"When we get over there, can you at least pretend that you're happy to see her?" Caramel nodded.
"I do act like I'm happy to see her. I just hate how she talks." Her father giggled.
"That's my mom. She's gonna be profane." They both giggled a bit.
Once breakfast was finished, the two threw their saddlebags over their backs and left the house.
"Alright. Let me lock up and we'll get moving." Butterscotch said. Caramel turned away from the door and headed down the walkway towards the gate at the end of their parking lot. After having placed the last of about five locks on his door, Butterscotch turned toward the walkway. Before continuing, something off to the side caught his eye.
"(GASP)! Caramel! Get down!" He shouted in a hushed tone. One of those creepers was coming around the corner. Butterscotch ran up and slammed himself against the fence, next to his daughter. It was only one. Best not to waste the ammo.
It was a red pegasus mare, walking down the sidewalk with a large sadistic smile plastered on her face. It seemed that about half of her face was decayed and she was limping on a broken leg.
"Today was a good day! We had lots of fun, didn't we?! Yeah we did!" She said. Butterscotch brought a hoof up to Caramel's mouth. "It is just so amazing out here!" She continued past the gate. Butterscotch lifted his head above the fence. The mare suddenly turned around, Butterscotch ducking back down. The mare shook her head violently.
"Did you see that?!?! ........... Yeeessssssss........." She inched back towards the gate, sniffing the air.
"Do you smell that too? ............. Yes, I do... A colt and a.... filly ." Caramel pulled a pistol from it's holster. Butterscotch put a hoof over the weapon and shook his head. She put it away as her father unsheathed a machete.
As she walked along the fence, she knocked on the boards.
"I was walking along one day (Knock)....... And I smelt a strange smell (Knock). We smelt a strange smell. (Knock) Right! We did! (Knock) But what was it?(Knock) I don't know.. We should go look for it.(Knock) We are going to find out where it's coming from! (Knock) It's around here! I gotta find it! (Knock) We have to find it!(Knock) Right! I'm sorry.(Knock)" Caramel clamped a hoof over her mouth. (Knock) She was getting closer. (Knock)..........
Silence...
She stuck her head over the fence, a demonic grin upon her face.
"THERE'S THE SMELL!!!" She then began to scream loudly.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-KAck!" Butterscotch had shoved his machete through the mare's throat. He wrapped a foreleg around the back of her neck and pulled her over the fence.
"Okay.... Hopefully none of the others see this." He said as he wiped the blood off of his blade. Caramel lifted her head over the fence.
"I don't think there are any others coming." She said. Butterscotch smiled.
"Alright. Off to grandma's."
Butterscotch and Caramel entered their unicorn relative's home.
"Caramel! You look nice!" She said. "How long's it been? A week?"
"About a month." Caramel answered.
"Damn! That long already, huh? Time sure does fly when you're fighting those fuckers off, huh?!" Her grandmother said. Caramel only nodded in response. Her grandmother's constant profanity always made her uncomfortable. An awkward silence filled the room for a moment.
"Well, uh... How about you too go make yourselves at home, and I'll make some sandwiches or something." Butterscotch smiled, placing a hoof on his daughter's back and directing her to the living room. They sat down on the large, cotton sofa, and waited.
Butterscotch's mother entered the room, levitating a tray of sandwiches and drinks in her magic. She sat the tray down on a coffee table in the center of the room and sat down.
"So, how have you been, mom?" His mother chuckled.
"How have I been? Tired as hell! I had another three of those things try breaking in through my back door." Butterscotch turned his head toward the door in question. It was blackened and chunks of wood around the frame had been torn away.
"Why's it look like that?" He asked.
"Oh, yeah!" She laughed again. "I didn't feel like grabbin' my riffle, so I threw a Molotov at those sons of bitches! Fire got inside a little bit, but I put it out before it did anything major." Butterscotch bent down and picked a sandwich up off of the tray before him.
He turned his head toward his daughter. She was staring off into space, looking bored as ever. He nudged her.
"Oh, uhm..... Uh, it's nice to see you again, grandma." Caramel met her father's gaze again. That seemed to be what he nudged her for.
"It's nice to see you too, hun. I was gon- OH WAIT! I almost forgot!" The unicorn mare sped out of the room and disappeared for a moment.
"Hey, dad." Caramel whispered.
"What?"
"I've always been confused by something. Why am I a Pegasus, but you're an earth pony and grandma's a unicorn?" Butterscotch thought for a moment.
"I'm not sure... Genetics? Your grandpa was an earth pony too." His mother returned.
"Here it it!" The unicorn levitated a wrapped something into the room and sat it in front of Caramel. She only stared at it for a moment. "Well, go on!" Her grandmother insisted.
Caramel tore a piece of the paper off, revealing a solid metal something. She tore another strand off. Then another. Once all of the paper had been removed, a large sniper riffle sat on the coffee table.
"Wow..." She said. He grandmother was impressed with herself.
"Celestial Guardian ASW338, military grade!" She said. "Variable zoom, night vision scope, camcorder sight and a hair trigger. Automatically adjusts to target's range and compensates for wind resistance. This thing can knock a colt off his ass from a mile away! It'l blow a bigger hole in your head than a grenade launcher at point blank!!" Caramel's eyes widened as she lifted the gun off of the table. It was pretty heavy.
"Thanks, grandma." Caramel seemed pretty satisfied with her gift. She turned it onto it's side and took note of every detail of the gun.
"Why don't you go test it out?" Her grandma asked.
"Really?!" Caramel was visibly excited by her gift now.
"Sure, why not? Clean my lawn off for me!" She joked.
"Thanks, grandma!" She turned to leave.
"Ops! Wait!" The mare left the room again. Moments later, she returned with a steel tube. "Suppressor. Don't want to be attracting more of them, ya know?" Caramel nodded, snatching the barrel from her grandmother and running up the stairs excitedly.
"Where'd you get your hooves on something like that?" Butterscotch asked.
"Aw, your father used to obsess over weapons. I told him that they wouldn't do shit for him. Guess I was wrong. Poor bastard died of a heart attack a month after you were born."
"I know, mom." Awkward silence filled the room once again. She quickly tried to make up for the previous comment.
"Uh, ya know what? He was really a good guy. Pretty bad ass with a gun too. He'd set up those firing range platforms outside and see how fast he could get through them. He was always pissed when he went back and saw that he missed a target." The two laughed.
(TICK )
Butterscotch walked over to a window and pulled back a curtain. About three or four dead bodies lay sprawled about the ground outside.
"That suppressor works pretty good." He said.
"Hell yeah, it does!" His mother replied.
(TICK )
The scalp flew off of another passing colt. His body slammed against the ground.
"Caramel's a pretty good shooter. You've been teaching her?" She asked.
"Not really. That's all her." Butterscotch replied.
"Damn!"
Caramel descended from the upper floor. Her sniper, slung over her shoulder.
"Well, that was fun." She said. Butterscotch smiled at his daughter.
"Good to know." He replied. "Well, mom. We're gonna have to get going. We're low on food back home so I was thinking about some grocery shopping."
"Hey, no sweat. Let me give ya some things." His mother replied.
"No, no. You're alone here. You can't go out looking for things when ever you need to. There's two of us. Trust me, we're better off doing the scavenging."
"Butterscotch. You get your 'Get it done' attitude from your father. Alright. Have a nice day." She hugged her son. Then her granddaughter. They all said their 'goodbyes' then the two left.
During the walk home, Butterscotch decided to start a game.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Yeah." Caramel answered.
"Okay. Round one. It's big."
"Well, that's helpful! Uh, Equestria?" She asked.
"Nope."
"Um... Our house?"
"Nope." He replied.
"Okay.... I want to say...... The city?"
"Not even close." He teased.
"UGH!" Caramel groaned.
"Round two." Butterscotch began. "You can't touch it." Caramel thought a little longer before she spoke.
"Lava?" She asked.
"No."
"Uuuuhhhhh....... Lightning?"
"Ha! Well, you can't touch that, but still no."
"Oh come on!" Butterscotch laughed again.
"Okay, okay. Final round. It affects the water."
"Oh my god! Really?! Why can't you make this simple?"
"Because then it wouldn't be a challenge." Butterscotch joked.
"Okay...... The wind?"
"You can touch the wind."
"Ugh! Uh... Currents?"
"You're not even trying now."
"Fine! I give up! What is it?" She asked.
"What does princess Luna control?" Butterscotch asked.
"The moo- OH COME ON! REALLY?!" Butterscotch burst with laughter. "I feel so stupid!" Caramel shouted. They rounded the corner and headed down the street to the super market. "I can't believe you!" She shouted.
"Your face was awesome! It hit you like a train! 'Uh.. The moon?' That was awesome!" Her father teased. They passed by a few empty vehicles. Some had the doors ripped off the sides, while others seemed to have been abandoned after what looked like a crash. A large parking lot came into view.
"This is it." Butterscotch said.
The parking lot was completely infested with the creepers. They stumbled back and forth, some singing, some talking. Butterscotch unsheathed his machete again.
"I'm going in there. I need you to cover me. Only take out the ones that are near me, or else they'll catch on. Once I'm in I'll signal you. I'll provide cover from the second story window." Caramel nodded. She pulled her radio from her saddle bag. She then perched herself up on top of a dumpster, her sniper drawn.
"Alright. Here I go." Butterscotch ran around the back side of a rusty looking fence. Caramel kept track of her father through the sight on her riffle. Her radio went off.
"I spot three off to my left. Do you see them? "
"Yeah, I got 'em." The trigger was pulled. The creepers near her father dropped to the ground. He Continued along side the building. A creeper snuck up behind Butterscotch. Caramel quickly took him out. She noticed that her dad had jumped.
"That was a little close there. "
"Sorry." She replied. About seven kills later, her father had made it inside.
"Alright. Now you. "
"Right."
Butterscotch monitored his daughter through his riffle's scope. She followed a similar pattern up to the side of the building. A creeper had seen her and was waiting around the next corner for her. The creepers insides were sprawled all over the wall seconds after being spotted. Caramel stopped about halfway to the door. She picked something up off of the ground.
"What are you doing?!" He whispered.
"I found another one of those recordings. " Butterscotch's eyes widened.
"Cool, cool. Okay, get inside." The yellow filly obeyed and entered the building.
Okay! Okay! We made it! Thank Celestia we all made it! Uh... Um, we were being chased by another group of the cre-(Static ) it inside this mall. Fluttershy's checking now for any bites or scratches. I think we're (Static ) -ave soon. It doesn't look safe here. There are broken windows, cracked doors..... We'll just be catching our breath, then leaving. Twilight! What Fluttershy?! I think that- (Static ) was bitten!
What?! No! I'm fine, Fluttershy! I just.... must've cut my leg on some glass or something. Let me see.
................
Oh, no.....
(Static )
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"So I guess we get looking for food." Caramel said.
"Okay. I'll take the first floor, you stay up here. If you see any of those creepers, then try to avoid them. But if you have to kill some, make it quiet." Butterscotch ordered. Caramel nodded and walked off. Butterscotch headed down the powerless escalator. He was slow about it. Not wanting to make any unnecessary noises.
There was a cafe towards the back entrance of the mall. Must be something there. Butterscotch stayed low while approaching. He kept himself near tables and chairs as not to make himself easily visible.
BANG!
The loud noise sent Butterscotch's head upward, cracking against the downside of one of the cafe tables.
"Shit!" He whispered as sent a hoof up to caress the back of his head. He inched his head above the table.
A creeper was leaving the cafe's kitchen area.
"Why wasn't there any food in there? I DON'T KNOW!!!" The colt had a very large hole in his side and every step he took sprayed blood onto the floor. Butterscotch pulled a small blade from his saddle bag.
"Hey!" He whispered. The colt immediately cocked his head around.
"THERE'S SOME FOOD!" He screamed. The colt broke into a sprint towards Butterscotch. Butterscotch pulled the blade back and launched it as hard as he could, planting it directly into the deranged colt's forehead. He scooted up and pried the knife out of the creature's skull.
Inside the kitchen, he saw a few dirty grills and some other broken appliances. A few feet away was a freezer door. Butterscotch grabbed a fire extinguisher off of a nearby wall and knocked the lock off the door. Inside was a massive amount of canned foods ranging from carrots to green beans. That, and a couple of frozen corpses. Why in the freezer? He wondered. Canned foods aren't even supposed to be refrigerated . Butterscotch packed his saddle bags full of the cans and reemerged from the frozen room.
"Chocolate? Are you in here?" Butterscotch quickly ducked behind a nearby counter. He again, inched his head up to get a look at who was in the room with him. Two others. A mare and a colt.
"Chocolate?" The mare called.
"Chocolate doesn't like tables. Why would he be in here?" The colt asked.
"Because he is! Me thinks he be near!" Celestia knows what goes through their heads . Butterscotch thought to himself. The two creepers were nearing the counter. Butterscotch scanned the place for the one they might be looking for. His eyes froze on the colt he killed earlier. A chocolate bar cutie mark.
"Shit." He whispered.
"Whoa! That was definitely a noise!" The mare shouted. Butterscotch pulled himself back down.
"Uh. The talking kind of noise?"
"Yeah! Do you think it was Chocolate?" She asked.
"No. Chocolate doesn't sound that girly." The colt answered. Asshole! Butterscotch thought.
..................
"Hey, Spindle! Look at this! Someone spilled Chocolate all over the floor!" The mare cheered.
"He's got a hole in his head..." The colt noted.
"That means...." The mare paused for a moment. "One of those 'living' things is here." Shit! Shit! Shit! Butterscotch's heart was pounding at an incredible speed.
"But, didn't we kill them?" The colt asked.
"No.... They got away. But maybe they came back."
"Maybe. I hope so! I miss Rainbow Dash. She was nice."
"Whatever..." It sounded to Butterscotch that the mare was jealous of this Rainbow character. It's funny how these mindless creatures where so alive in nature. Until, of course, something upset them.
Butterscotch removed his pistol from the holster and began to spin on the silencer. He could hear the two crazy ponies moving around. They would find him if he didn't take them out. One.... He thought. Two..... The creepers were at the counter now.
"THREE!" He shouted as he launched himself from his sitting position. Butterscotch pulled the barrel up to eye level and pulled the trigger. The colt's brains exploding from the back of his skull. He swung the gun to the left, meeting with the mare's crazed glare.
"NOO!" Someone shouted. Butterscotch's shot was interrupted by a tackle to his side. He was slammed to the ground and his pistol flung far from him. Butterscotch reached for his machete and unsheathed the weapon. He swung it upward, toward the assailant's head, but stopped but before they connected.
"What the hell?!"
Butterscotch's attacker was very much alive. A pegasus mare with bright golden fur and yellow-orange mane. It resembled a flame.
"Spitfire! He almost shot me!" The mare cried.
"Shut up, Knick Knack!"
"Yes ma'am!" The mare sat where she was. Butterscotch's attacker turned her attention back towards him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You just killed two of my friends!" Butterscotch couldn't get over the fact that a living mare is siding with one of those dead, flesh eaters.
"I don't understand." He began. "They almost killed me. I was just defending myself."
"Yeah! But you could've just knocked them back or something! You didn't have to kill them!"
"I killed a couple of creepers. What's the big deal?" The golden pegasus mare picked Butterscotch up by his throat and slammed him into the wall. She cocked her hoof back, ready to launch it forward into his waiting face.
"Wh- what are you?!" Butterscotch managed to get out.
"I'm different." His world went black.
"Dad! " The voice sound as if it were a mile away. "Dad! What happened! " Butterscotch fully awakened. He could taste nothing but copper. As he felt around with his tongue, he noticed he was missing a tooth.
"Dad! Are you alright? What happened?"
"Bit-" He answered drowsily. "Bit- Bitch.... Bitch knocked my molar out...."
"Who?" Caramel asked.
"I did!" Butterscotch's antagonist was leaning up against a wall nearby. She was tossing a golden something up in the air and catching it. "By the way. This is a real nice shiny tooth ya got! Well, I got it now!"
"Give it back, bitch!" Butterscotch yelled through a mouth full of blood.
"Nah, I think I'll keep it. When you where knocked out, I saw this in the back of your mouth." She teased, waving the tooth around. "So, I decided to rip it out of your skull!" Caramel pulled a revolver out on the thief.
"Give my dad's tooth back, then get the hell out of here!" The mare only laughed.
"I can get over there and kill you before you even pull the trigger."
"Prove it." Caramel countered. The mare's smile faded.
"Alright." Caramel didn't have time to blink before the mare moved. She was out of sight in less than a second, and before Caramel knew it, the mare was behind her. Caramel tried to swing at her, but the mare caught Caramel's hoof in her own. Then spun the revolver around and planted the barrel into Caramel's cheek.
"LET HER GO!" Butterscotch screamed. He had stood himself up and had his gun aimed at the mare's face.
"Please." She began. "You think you can shoot me? The second the bullet leaves the barrel, I'll have her head in it's path." Butterscotch kept his stance for a moment, but then slowly backed down, placing his gun on the ground.
"Okay. I put my gun down. Now let her go." The mare obliged, tossing Caramel into her father.
"Thanks." He said. "Can I get my tooth back?" The mare thought for a moment.
"How about a deal?" She asked. "Knick Knack!" The creeper pony from earlier ran around a corner and stopped beside the golden pegasus mare.
"Yeah, Spitfire?" I guess that's her name. Butterscotch thought. I thought I heard someone call her that earlier.
"Go get that thing I found a while ago." The creeper left without a word.
"What thing would that be?" Butterscotch asked.
"Well, when you were knocked out, I also looked through your bag. I didn't find much but I did see that you had one or two of those digital recorders."
"Yeah, so?" He asked.
"Well, I found one in here. Now, you can have it, but it'l cost ya." Spitfire held the tooth at eye level. Butterscotch groaned, both from the fact that he'd have to give up his molar, and from the soreness in his jaw. He unzipped his saddle bags and checked inside. Both recordings were still in there.
"Fine. Keep it. I'll trade it for the recording." Spitfire smiled. The creeper pony rounded the corner once again with the tape balanced on her head.
"Here you go! Fresh from the oven!" Hopefully not.
"Alright. One tape for one golden tooth. Enjoy." Spitfire tossed Butterscotch the tape. "Nice doing business with you." She teased as she flew off. The creeper stared at them for a bit, then ran off after Spitfire.
"I sure hope you don't have to get anymore teeth ripped out." Caramel joked.
"You and me both." Her father agreed.
(Static ) This is terrible! Rainbow Dash (Static ) - bitten!! She's going through convulsions and her pupils are dilating. HOLD HER DOWN!! Uh- (Static ) - almost bit her own tongue off... Rarity is holding her jaw open so she doesn't break her teeth. She is currently being held down by Pin- AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! .... by Pinkie and AppleJack. She's screaming at the top of her lungs (Static ) - bleeding from her eyes. Rainbow has a large gouge in her side from the creeper that attacked us. AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Fluttershy (Static ) - so no need to worry about him. To tell you the truth... life sucks. (Static ) - kill her when she turns....
(sobbing)
Why, Rainbow?.... Why didn't you stay with the group?!
(Static )
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"DAD!" Butterscotch was startled.
"DAD! You're gonna have to listen to that later! We've got a problem!" Caramel was screaming at the top of her lungs right in her father's face. Butterscotch turned his head to be faced with an entire hallway of creepers running towards them.
"SHIT!!!" He screamed. The yellow colt screamed. He crammed his recorder into his saddle bags and sped off. The creepers following closely behind.
"Dad! Up ahead!" Caramel pointed down the hall towards the cafe from earlier. The top of the kitchen area wwould make a good sniping spot for them. The two rushed into the room. Butterscotch grabbed a nearby chair and threw it at the croud chasing them. He managed to knock down about two or three of them, but others simply trampled them or ran around. Butterscotch turned his attention back towards their destination. Caramel reached the kitchen first and with one mighty flap of wings she was on the top. Butterscotch jumped from the ground, onto a nearby table, and up at the roof. He flew threw the air. Fear consumed him as he realized that his jump as short. He was going to die.
"Gotcha!" Butterscotch looked up and locked eyes with his daughter who had caught his hoof in her own. Caramel hoisted Butterscotch up next to her. A creeper clawed it's way up the side. BAM! Butterscotch's shotgun exploded in it's face. Tink Tink Tink . Caramel was killing off the slower ones towards the back of the group. Evidently, she still had her suppressor on.
"Caramel!" His daughter glanced to her side for a moment.
"What!?" She asked.
"We don't have enough ammo for this!" Butterscotch opened the flap of his saddle bag, revealing a large grenade. Looking behind, Butterscotch was faced with a wall of glass. Past the glass was a thin street, stretching on for a while.
"Shit! I thought we were on the first floor!" He yelled. Caramel whipped herself around and smashed the glass with the butt of her riffle.
"Dad, we're gonna have to do the hang glider!" This scared him. They'd only practiced he hang glider a few times, and when they did practice it was only from the top of his truck. This was at least forty feet! Butterscotch shook himself out of his fear.
"O-Okay... Lets do it!" The pin was pulled. Shortly after dropping the explosive, the colt turned to his daughter. "Now!" He ran and jumped out of the window, his daughter followed in suit. With a mighty flap of her wings, she was above him, wrapping her fore hooves around his waist. Caramel held her wings open at an angle specifically for catching air. Their descent was slowed, Caramel then adjusted her wings and aimed the two toward the top of a nearby staircase.
BANG!!!
The grenade went off. The shock wave knocking Caramel off of her balance. Butterscotch slipped from her grip.
"SHIT!" Caramel cried as her father fell. The yellow colt slammed against the ground. "GAAAAAH!!" He screeched. Caramel almost suffered the same punishment, but was able to catch her balance and, instead, landed safely. "OH SWEET CELESTIA! THIS IS FUCKING PAINFUL!!" The light yellow filly ran to her father's aid. She gagged at the sight of his hind leg. The bone stuck out in a grotesque fashion, the skin around it completely shredded. Blood had already began pooling around the earth pony. At the sight of his injury, the colt became extremely pale. Either from blood loss or from the sight of the morbid scene.
"Oh no! (Gag) Ugh... Um, let me help you up." Caramel offered. Putting her father's hoof around her neck, Caramel hoisted Butterscotch up and began to drag him down the road.
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Hindsight sat in the passenger seat, disassembling a handgun, then rebuilding it. Ricochet kept a steady speed with their van. Their kidnapped victim lay bound and gagged in the back.
"Hey boss!" Ricochet called, slightly easing off of the gas.
"What?" Hindsight replied.
"Something exploded up here! It looks like the mall." Hindsight thought for a moment.
"I thought that we cleared that place out."
"It must've filled back up again." Ricochet guessed.
"Well, creepers wouldn't have been able to set off that explosion. Maybe someone else is down there?"
"Maybe..." Ricochet sped back up.
"Mrrrpppphhh! Hhhhhmmmmppppp! " Their victim struggled to be free of her binds.
Hindsight unbuckled himself and moved to the back of the van. He placed his hoof on their prisoner's head and began stroking it.
"Shhh. Shhh. It's alright. It's okay." Hindsight placed the barrel of the gun up to the shaking mare's head.
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Caramel helped her father along the road. Not knowing where they were headed. Not knowing if her father would make it through or not. Just trying to keep him going.
"Dad. How're you holding up?" Caramel asked. Her father lifted his head as high as he could, barely meeting her gaze. His yellow face had gone completely pale.
"Uhhh... N-nnot good.... I th-think I'm going int-to shock.." Butterscotch slouched his head back down. Tears welled up in his daughter's eyes.
"Um... Oh yeah! Um, let's play our game!" Butterscotch only managed some incoherent babbling as a response. "Um, okay... Round one. It's hot."
"ung.... Fire?.."
"No." Caramel answered.
"Lava?..." Butterscotch drowsily asked.
"No."
"I.... I n-need another hint.."
Caramel had to keep herself from crying. Seeing her father like this was horrible.
"Okay. Round two. It's very bright." Butterscotch thought for a moment.
"A light bulb?"
"Not even close."
"Heh.. Um. A heat lamp?" He asked.
"Isn't that the same thing?" Caramel joked. Butterscotch hacked and coughed, falling to the ground.
"Alright, come on." She said, helping him up again.
"Final round. It keeps us alive."
"Well.. y-you're getting g-good at this... Uh, heat?"
"Ha! Heat isn't bright." Butterscotch forced a laugh.
"Okay. I gi-give up. W-what is it?" Caramel smiled.
"What does Princess Celestia control?" Butterscotch laughed.
"Ah, ya got me!" He admitted. Caramel thought for something else to do.
"Hey, dad."
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to finish that tape?" Butterscotch smiled.
"Sure."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Static ) It's been about two days since Rainbow's been bitten. All I can say is (Static ) thank Celestia! Rainbow is still alive! It turns out that the bite doesn't kill you! The bite itself will only infect the host with the virus, but won't kill the host. So far (Static ) amazing abilities. She's been faster, smarter, and stronger ever since she's been bitten. She's also somehow been able to communicate with the creepers. (Static ) listen to her! It's incredible! She made friends with these three creepers. I wrote their names down. Chocolate, Spindle, and Knick Knack.
Also, something else amazing. It turns out that Spitfire was also infected, but hasn't died yet. We were about to approach her but didn't when we saw her tear a colt in half.
Long story, short. If you are bitten, you don't have to worry. Just focus on what makes you yourself (Static ) - still be the same. I think Spitfire lost sight of that. Maybe that's what drove her insane. I hope this helps...
Twilight Sparkle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Further down the road, a black something was visible.
"Hey, dad." Caramel began. "What's that?" Butterscotch lifted his head again. It was apparent that the black something was a van approaching.
"A car... or a v-van or something..." Caramel sat her father off to the side of the road. She then flew into the air and waved around frantically.
"HEY!! OVER HERE!!" She shouted. The van turned onto the road she flew above and pulled up next to them. Caramel grabbed her father again.
The van's side door slid open. A green mare stood in the doorway.
"Oh shit!" She said, noticing Butterscotch's injury. "Hey Spearhead!" An older colt spun his head around from the driver's seat.
"Wha- Oh, shit! What happened?!" He asked.
"He fell from a high window. Can you help him?" Caramel begged. The mare nodded.
"Uh, yeah. Stitch!"
"Yeah?" A younger colt emerged from the back of the van. He looked to be about Caramel's age.
"This guy needs his leg done up."
"Not a problem."
"Thank you." Caramel said as she helped her father into the van.
"Put this in his mouth." Stitch ordered, handing Caramel a moistened rag. Butterscotch was held down on the floor of the van. His leg was propped up by the green unicorn mare's magic. With tears in her eyes, Caramel stuffed the wet rag into her father's mouth. Butterscotch gagged for a moment.
"Why am I doing this?" She asked, concerned for her father.
"Well, we don't want him breaking his teeth. When I 'fix' his leg, he's gonna want to bite down. That rag is gonna keep his jaw open." The blue unicorn answered. He turned to his green companion. "Ready, Cast?"
"Ready as ever. You mind holdin' his front legs down?" She asked Caramel. She complied and pressed her hooves over his. "Nothin' medical. Just don't want him punchin' me in the face is all."
Cast and Stitch's magic focused on the injury and combined into a misty turquoise color. Butterscotch lifted his head to look at his wound.
"Hey." Stitch pointed at Butterscotch. "You need to keep his attention off of his leg." He ordered Caramel. The weeping filly looked down at her father, sobbing now.
"I'm so sorry that I dropped you, Dad!" She lamented. "I'm so sorry!"
"NOW!"
SNAP
"MMMMMRRRRRRRRFFFFF!!!" Butterscotch screamed through the rag. He thrashed about on the floor, but Caramel did a decent job of keeping him in place.
"Good. The worst is over. You can let him go now." Stitch said. Caramel released her father and sat off to his side. Stitch pulled a needle out of a nearby bag. Attaching a thin thread to it, he began to sew Butterscotch's leg back up.
Butterscotch's breathing began to slow.
"Uh, ah think I got an I.V in here somewhere." Cast scanned the van for her supplies. Caramel stroked a hoof over her father's head.
"It's okay, dad. You did it." She said. She pulled the rag from his mouth.
"H-hey... Caramel..."
"Yeah, dad?" Butterscotch gave a weak smile.
"I-I heard you say sh- shit..." Caramel went red. "I-It's funny.... You.. you still think- that I'm gonna stand you in the corner, or something. In a zombie ap-apocalypse." He forced a laugh. Caramel simply smiled.
"I love you dad." She gave him a peck on the forehead. Butterscotch smiled and shut his eyes.
"Found it!" Cast shouted. Caramel looked over to see her placing the I.V in her father's foreleg.
"Thank you." She said. Cast smiled back at her.
"Hey, it ain't a problem. We were on our way down here anyway. Just lucky that we caught ya." Caramel sighed as she looked back to her father.
"He should be fine by the time we stop." Stitch informed.
"Wait. Where are we going?" Caramel asked. The older colt driving spoke.
"We're heading for the safe haven. A place of refuge was announced over the radio. I caught it as I was flipping through channels. From what I heard, that place has four big ass walls, guards at every post, and some bloodthirsty workers!" The colt laughed.
"Spearhead gets kinda.... 'Enthusiastic' about killin'." Cast said.
"So, what are we doing now?" Caramel asked. Spearhead laughed.
"Well, at the moment. I'm fucking driving!"
"He's also a sarcastic prick." Stitch noted.
"Fuck you, Stitch! Anyway, we're almost at the gas station." The van pulled off to the left. Stitch and Spearhead stepped out of the vehicle the side door left open. It appeared that they were at a run down gas station, one that probably went out of business before the outbreak.
"Are you coming?" Stitch asked. Caramel looked back to her father, placing a hoof on his head.
"I'll watch him." Cast offered. Caramel nodded and stepped out of the vehicle. Both Stitch and Spearhead had their backs up against the walls on either sides of the station's doors. Spearhead gave a motion.
One... Two..... Three!
The door was kicked down. The two colt's entered the room, guns scanning the area like light houses.
"Clear!" Stitch shouted. Their guns were lowered. Caramel entered after them. The store looked as if it had been looted. There was almost nothing.
"I've got a few candy bars over here." Stitch said.
"I'll do ya one better." Spearhead began. He held a bag of chips over his head like a trophy. "A family size bag of cheddar potato chips!" He cheered.
"I've got a riffle." Caramel interrupted. She stood behind the register as she removed the weapon from underneath the counter. Stitch laughed.
"Ohoho! Shown up by a little filly!" He teased.
"Boo hoo! I'm so fucking sad!" Spearhead grunted sarcastically.
Spearhead approached Caramel, removing the gun from her grasp.
"Good find." Spearhead examined the gun. " Model OA-93, 6 1/2-inch barrel, shortened gas system, 5.56x45 mm/.223 Rem. pistol. Close quarters combat. Damn! This guy must've been a war vet!"
"That doesn't mean anything." Stitch said, packing the food.
"Fuck you, it doesn't mean anything! This guy knew what he was packing! A couple of shots from this thing and you're done!" Spearhead held the gun high with a huge smile on his face. Caramel looked back underneath the counter.
"Hey, there's a few more magazines in here."
"Great!" Spearhead got a head of himself and went to grab the magazines as well.
"Spearhead! You know the rules!" Stitch reminded. Spearhead grunted.
"Fine!" He handed Caramel the gun.
"What rule?" She asked.
"When it comes to weapons, 'Finders, Keepers'." Stitch answered. Caramel smiled. The weapon was pretty cool looking. She stuffed it into her saddle bag, along with the other magazines.
The three reemerged from the station. Cast could be seen putting a few canisters of gasoline in the back of the van. Spearhead grumpily sat himself in the driver's seat and Stitch in the passenger.
SLAM
Everyone's attention shifted back towards the station.
"YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT STUFF!!!" A creeper cried as it emerged from the side of the building. It sprinted towards them, shouting with each step. "I-WILL-CALL-THE-POLICE-ON-YOU!!!" It lunged at Caramel.
BANG
The killer dropped to the ground. A fresh bullet wound in it's head. Caramel turned around. Her father sat upright, in the back of the van, a pistol in his hoof.
"Asshole... Almost g-gotcha.." He slouched back down.
"Thanks dad." Caramel said. She shut the door.
"Alright. Off to the safe haven." Spearhead said. He reached for the keys to the ignition but stopped.
"HALT!" Another creeper shouted from around the corner.
"GO! GO! GO!" Stitch yelled to the driver. Spearhead quickly spun the keys, the van springing to life.
"HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A SOLDIER'S SEEN HIS COMRADE DOWNED IN COMBAT!!!" It screamed. Spearhead slammed his hoof on the gas, causing the van to rocket forward. The insane colt jumped onto the side of the vehicle. An ax blade penetrated the side of the van. The colt stuck his hoof into the slit and spread the metal apart, his face clearly visible.
"HOLD THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!! THOU HAST MURDERED THINE ALLY!! NOW THINE OWN BLOOD SHALL BE SPILLED!!" Caramel unsheathed her machete and swung it. It clanged against the colt's neck, bouncing off like it had hit stone. Cast pulled a shotgun out from her bag and shot the colt. The shot sparked against his face, he then spit the bullet out.
"UP TO NO GOOD, I SEE!! THOU SHALT PAY FOR THINE TREACHERY!!"
"MOVE!" Stitch yelled. Pushing Cast out of the way, Stitch stuck a packet of Semtex to the colt's chest and pushed him off of the van.
It's body hit the pavement at over sixty miles per hour. But it jumped back up as if pain was non existent. Stitch revealed a detonator and squeezed the trigger.
BAM
Pieces were sent flying in every direction. Nothing remained of the colt.
"What the fuck was that?!" Spearhead screamed back to them.
"I... don't know." Caramel managed. A radio sitting on the dash board went off.
Hey! This is Ricochet here. Come in Spearhead.
"Spearhead here. I hear you Ricochet."
Where are we going?
"We were going to rendezvous at the dealership, remember?"
Alright. See you at the dealership.
"See ya."
The group of survivors finally reached their destination. Caramel was the first out of her vehicle. She jumped from the van with her new gun strapped over her shoulder. The caravan had stopped at what looked like an abandoned car dealership. The paint on the building and most of the cars was very faded. Blood stained the walls in such a fashion that it was clear that there was a struggle. Two colts jumped from a van nearby. Caramel assumed that these were the ones she'd heard over the radio earlier.
"So, how'd the gas station go? And why the fuck is there a huge ass hole in your van?!" One asked.
"It went about as good as swallowing a grenade, Ricochet. Did you dumb shits find anything?" Spearhead asked.
"Yeah. A couple of guns here and there. A few snacks." Another colt emerged from the opposite side of the van. He stood next to Ricochet and simply stared at Caramel. Spearhead noticed this.
"Oh, yeah. Uh, Hindsight, this is Caramel. Caramel, this is Hindsight. He's a buddy of ours." Spearhead looked to Hindsight. "We met her on the road. She was with her dad, and he don't look too good."
"Was he bitten?" Hindsight asked.
"No. Broken leg."
"Well, that can't be good."
"It ain't." Spearhead said.
"Hey!" Cast shouted. She had the back of Hindsight and Ricochet's van open. A freshly killed corpse lay inside, bound and gagged. "What the hell is this?!" She shouted. Ricochet hesitated.
"Um... We um, we were walking down the road and uh-"
"We were attacked while scavenging for supplies." Hindsight interrupted. "This creeper almost killed Ricochet."
"That don't explain why ya got'er in yer trunk." Cast countered.
"Well... We didn't want to chance her getting back up and coming after us again." Hindsight explained.
"Why is she tied up?"
"Look! I had adrenalin pumping and I wasn't thinking clearly! I tied her up and threw her in the back! Nothing else!" He almost seemed offended that Cast would dare ask him about the body.
An awkward silence surrounded them.
"Alright. So, what are we doing for dinner? It's getting late." Stitch said. Caramel hadn't noticed it, but the sky had begun to dim a bit.
"We'll take care of that. You all head inside." Hindsight insisted. The others entered the building. Caramel watched as Ricochet and Hindsight went back to their van for something. She then headed back to where her father was resting.
"Dad? How're you doing?" Her father leaned up.
"Better than earlier. What are w-" Butterscotch paused.
"You need to let me explain situations like that. You almost got us caught."
"Sorry! She caught me off guard!"
"You need to be quicker than that! Do you know how suspicious that looked?!"
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, alright?! Now help me with the food."
Caramel picked her father up.
"What do you think that was about?" Butterscotch asked.
"I... I don't know." She answered. Caramel helped her father out of the van, making sure to keep pressure off of his hind leg. The two of them entered the dealership just as Ricochet was bringing in a box. He bumped into the two of them. He seemed surprised and at the same time he shot them a nasty glare. Caramel pushed past him and headed into the main room of the dealership. She sat her father down among the rest of the group and herself next to him.
"So... What are we doing for diner?" She asked. Ricochet and Hindsight sat their boxes down in the back of the dealership. After opening them, they revealed bags of various types of potato chips.
"We have chips, crisps, and deep fried potato slices. Take your pick." Ricochet joked. Hindsight began pulling bags of the snack food from the box, then passed them around.
"That's it?" Cast asked. "That aint' nothin'!" She complained, still grabbing for a bag of chips.
Caramel smiled. She brought her father a bag of chips and sat back down with him. This would be a good group, she thought.