The Last Stand

Friends til The Bitter End

That night, Applejack hardly got any sleep. It wasn't the sound of death constantly knocking at the door but the words of her little sister.

"I don't care about my friends? Damn it Applebloom, you just don't get it! It's just us now!" She quietly ranted, "If ah lose you... ah'll be... alone..." Tears began streaming down her face, "Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight... I sure hope y'all are okay." Applejack wiped her eyes. She didn't want to be alone and with that new fear, something dawned on her. If Sweetie Belle could survive this long alone, then the chances of her friends surviving would be even higher. There's a chance that they'd still be alive. This gave Applejack a ray of hope in these dark times.

"Applejack? Are you alright?"

"Sweetie Belle? Go back to sleep, sugarcube."

"I can't sleep, I can't stop thinking about Rarity."

"First thing t'morrow mornin'. We're goin' to Carousel Boutique." Sweetie Belle instantly burst into tears and hugged Applejack tightly.

"T-t-thank y-you A-A-Applej-j-jack." Sweetie Belle stuttered, her voice cracking every now and then.

"We're going to find Rarity and the rest of our friends. Ah don't want to die without knowin' there was a chance. Now get some shut eye, ah need you ready to run tomorrow if we have to." Applejack tucked Sweetie Belle in a blanket next to Applebloom. She sat down in the center of the room and watched the door.

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Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom awoke to the familiar darkness of the cellar. She had fallen asleep at some point. She cursed for putting the girls in danger by falling asleep. Applejack feared the worst out of today's excursion, but it was the only way she could keep the fillies calm and help her search for supplies.

"The moans have stopped, they must have lost interest in us," Applejack figured, "things are lookin' better now."

"Yea, with those monsters gone, we can finally get out of this place." Applebloom commented.

"Alright, now ah don't know how many of those things are gunna be waitin' outside that door. The moment ah open it, ah want ya to stay close to me and move fast and silently. You understand?" Sweetie Belle and Applebloom both nodded. "No, ah wanna hear you say, 'Yes, Applejack, ah will stick close to you and move fast and quiet.'"

"Yes, Applejack, I will stick close to you and move fast and quiet." The fillies said simultaneously.

"Good, now one... two... three." Applejack gently pushed open the cellar door and was once again temporarily blinded. When her sight returned, the only ones she saw were the two from yesterday. The one that lost it's leg was still crawling around and the one she smacked with her gun was still walking around too.

"Hey, there's only two of them!" Sweetie Belle said cheerily.

"Yea, an' they're so far away too!"

"Alright, now y'all do what ah told ya and we'll make it to Rarity in no time at all." They all walked out of the cellar and headed towards Ponyville. It was a beautiful sunny day, not a single cloud in the sky and there was a gentle breeze. Anypony would say that this day would be perfect, if it weren't for the smell of rotting flesh and death lingering in the air.

"Sis?" Applebloom whispered.

"Yea? What is it?" Applejack answered.

"Do you think we could stop by the clubhouse sometime? There are some things there that ah'd like to get, y'know meh-men-toes."

Applejack didn't think that this was a good idea. It's not smart to spend anymore time than is needed out in the open, but it's on the way back, it couldn't be that bad.

"Sure, after we check out Ponyville, we'll stop by the clubhouse." Applebloom and Sweetie Belle smiled at each other. This caused Applejack to smile. If they could be happy in these dark times, it made no sense for her not to put a smile on too. The three continued to walk down the dirt road, since they were alone, they felt it safe to be a little louder. They shared jokes and stories of their adventures and before they knew it, the laughter stopped as they gazed upon their home of Ponyville, at least what was left of it.

Ponyville, the town they once called home, was now deserted, the ground was decorated with corpses and blood.

"Stay close," Applejack pulled Sweetie Belle and Applebloom close, "don't look at them. Just hold onto me." The two fillies grabbed hold of Applejack's saddle bag and shut their eyes tightly. As she guided them through the streets of Ponyville. Applejack recognized a few. Lyra and Bon Bon were leaning against a wall, half eaten and bloodied. Lyra's chest cavity was completely empty and Bon Bon's intestines spewed from what was left of the lower half of her body. Fortunately, their heads were still untouched, their eyes were shut and they looked almost peaceful. They died hoof in hoof. The stench and the emotion was almost too much to bear. Everypony knew of their relationship and that made it even harder on the farmer pony. The atmosphere became suffocating and caused Applejack to lose her balance.

"Applejack, are you okay?" Applebloom still had her eyes closed.

"Yea, ahm fine." Applejack lowered her hat and said a quick prayer in silence and continued towards Carousel Boutique. The exterior of the building would make Rarity faint. It was looking a bit worse for wear, to put it lightly.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle called, "I'm here and I brought Applejack and Applebloom!" There was no response.

"Rarity! It's Applejack! If yer there, let us know!" They were answered with silence once again, Applejack feared the worst and pulled out her shotgun and loaded a shell into it. Sweetie Belle just stared at the gun and began to cry.

"Hmmm, it's unlocked." Applejack thought as the door creaked open, "Rarity? Ya in here? If y'are say sumthin'!" She entered the building. There wasn't much light, but there was enough for her to see the interior was a complete mess, the Grand Galloping gala from a few years ago looks much better by comparison.

"Rarity?! Where are you! Come out, sis!"

"Girls, ahm not going to lie to you, ahm scared..." Applejack gulped and walked further into the darkness. She walked around the toppled mannequins and tattered dresses. There were several mannequins that displayed Rarity's favorite dresses. The only one that was not completely ruined was her first gala dress. Just looking at it sent Applejack back to when they all used to laugh and go on adventures..

"Applejack, everyin' gonna alright?" Applebloom asked.

"Not anymore." Applejack sighed. She continued through the workshop and up the staircase, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom following close behind.

"Here's her room!" Sweetie Belle squeaked as she swung the door open. At the far side of the room sat a very unkempt white pony, it's mane was purple and a mess. This is not the Rarity that Applejack knew and loved. This was not her friend.

"Sweetie Belle... stand b-b-back." Applejack pointed her shotgun at the white pony.

"What are ya doin'?!" Applebloom asked. Applejack didn't respond.

"Rarity? It's me, Sweetie Belle, your little sister," Rarity turned her head and to everyone's horror, her eyes became faded and grey. Her stare was as dead as she was.

"Sweetie Belle, that isn't Rarity, it's one of those... those... things! It may look like your big sister, but it's not. Ah want you to go into the hall and cover your ears." Sweetie Belle ran out of the room in tears, "Applebloom, please get her, make sure she doesn't go too far away, keep her safe," Applebloom nodded and darted out of the room after Sweetie Belle. Now it was just Applejack and Rarity.

"Rarity, you must've been so scared an' lonely. You had Sweetie Belle, but you didn't have your friends to lean on. If you got bit, ahm assumin' that you must've gotten in a bit of a tussle with one of them trying to save yer sister." Rarity began shambling towards Applejack. She raised her gun,

"Ahm sorry." She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.