Apocalypse with FLUTTERSHY?

Chapter 9

It had been a few hours since we left before we finally ran into a few infected. We were surprised not to run into any on the way, causing us to both jump when we heard the moaning ahead of us. We crouched behind a car and peeked around it, seeing a total of five of them. I gave Fluttershy a sign to follow me and slowly started to approach them, bat already in hand.  We got within fifteen feet before they noticed us. As they came stumbling at us I readied my bat, Shy following suit with her sword. When they got in range I swung the bat at the closest one, dropping it dead the second the bat hit it's skull. I repeated in rapid succession until one knocked me to the ground. All I could do is watch as it tried gnawing at me, before a blade pieced its skull, causing it to fall limp on top of me. I pushed it off and looked at Fluttershy, a look of horror on her face at what she had done.

Before she could start crying a put an arm on her shoulder.  "The first one is always the hardest. Just remember what I told you they are no longer alive. Your helping end their suffering." I said looking her in the eye. "Got it?" I asked concerned if she could continue. She shakily nodded, wiping her eyes as she went to pick up her weapon. She put it in the sheath on her back and we continued on our mission.

After a while we both decided to stop and eat. As we sat behind a overturned car I pulled out the food we brought for the journey and gave some to Shy. We ate in silence, listening for any signs of infected before she asked a question that surprised me.  "How do you deal with ending those things so easily?" She asked quietly.  "I don't I'm just better at hiding my emotions when I need to." I said simply. She gave me a worried look but remained silent. When we finished we continued down the road until the sun started to descend across the horizon. We looked around for a building to hide out in for the night and saw a old mechanic building across the street from us.

I checked the rooms of the mechanic garage, making sure it's clear before we set up camp. Seeing nothing we set up our sleeping bags in the office above the garage. We both talked for a bit about what we were going to do the next day and decided to go to sleep.  Halfway through the night I was woke up by loud banging coming from the garage below us. I looked over at Fluttershy who was wimpering as she stared at the door terrified. I patted her on the side and headed for the door, grabbing my bat and knife belt as I undid the lock.

"I got this don't worry." I said as I left the room and headed down the stairs towards the garage. As I looked around I saw what looked like a beam from a flashlight being pointed around the room, along with the sound of two people mumbling. 'Survivors?' I thought as I crept closer to listen in on their conversation.

"Are you sure they went in here?" A deep voice asked skeptically.  "Yeah I'm sure the guy and that weird horse thing went in hear a few hours ago." A slightly higher pitched voice responded. I peeked out from behind one of the walls next to the stairs to see two guys looking around. 'Shit scavengers. This might not end well.' I thought as I silently crept forward, using the shadows to hide.  "Yah I wonder what that yellow horse tastes like cooked." The smaller one said in a smug tone.  'Oh they are dead meat' I thought with pure malice as I unsheathed my knives.

Before the other could make a snide comment, I ran at them throwing a knife into the larger ones shoulder as I got closer. He screamed. Getting his friends attention but it was to late as I tackled him to the ground. A large crack could be heard as he hit the concrete floor. Seeing as he was dead I got up and slowly walked towards the other. He looked up at me terrified.  "Please get away!" He pleaded as he slowly tried crawling away.

"Oh no I think I am going to watch you squirm. Maybe see how you taste." I said evilly. He looked up at me in fear as I got closer, trying as desperately as he could to get away. I grabbed him by the stabbed shoulder and looked him in the eye. I saw nothing but complete fear as he saw nothing but emptiness in mine. I smiled darkly as I threw him closer to the garage door, causing him to scream in agony. I started to walk towards him before I felt something grab my shoulder. I turned around to see Fluttershy, a look of terror and shock in her eyes.

"Please stop." She whimpered, tears streaming down her face. I looked at her then towards the man leaning against the door in pain.  "What do you want me to do with him then? Help him?" I said sarcastically. She only nodded her head in response. I looked at her, shocked before I turned to the man, who look like was about to pass out. 'I can't believe I am going to do this.' I thought as I walked toward him. I looked at him in disgust as I pulled the knife out of his shoulder, causing him to scream in more pain.  "Your lucky she is here or I wouldn't be so merciful." Was all I could say as he blacked out.  "Shit, Fluttershy help me get him up stairs and prep the medical supplies!" I yelled As I grabbed him by his injured shoulder. She nodded as we brought him up stairs to our little camp.

It took us a total of fourteen minutes to get the man upstairs.  "God what does this guy eat?" I muttered. Fluttershy gave me a disapproving look but said nothing. We leaned him against the wall and Fluttershy got to work bandaging his arm. I sat in a nearby chair and watched as she worked, stunned by her medical knowledge. After she finished the arm she turned and looked at me.  "There done. He won't be able to use that arm for a while, but it should heal in time." She said sighing. I shrugged, not really caring what happens to him.

It had been two hours since we brought him up into the office area we were camping in. Fluttershy went back to sleep and told me to keep an eye on him in case he woke up. About an hour after she fell asleep he started to stir.  He slowly sat up and yawned, before realization hit him like a fright train. He looked in front of himself to see me watching him. He looked at me in fear and slowly started backing away from me.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He continued to mutter apologies until I shut him up.  "No you aren't and if were not for her your limbs would be spread out across the road outside. Make sure you remember that. Or she may not be able to stop me next time." I said with hatred filling my words like venom. glaring at him as I motioned to the sleeping Fluttershy  He flinched as I spoke then looked to his bandaged shoulder.  "Why help me? I mean I came here planning to kill both of you?" He asked hesitantly.  I was about to answer when Fluttershy yawned and sat up.

"Because we couldn't just leave you there to die from that injury, even if you wanted to hurt us. It's called kindness." She said with a smile. The guys jaw dropped as she spoke before he looked at me.  "Did she..." He said mouth agape.  "Yes she can talk. No you are not hallucinating." I said simply. He slowly nodded his head before he remembered what she said.  "Thank you miss. I am sorry for trying to cause you harm." He said bowing his head in respect, and fear for if he didn't I would tear him to shreds.  "Your welcome." She said happily. "Now I need to check your injuries okay?" She asked hesitantly. He gave one look towards me, then nodded his head as she began to check his shoulder.

"So what's your name?" She asked as she checked his bandages. His shoulder was no longer bleeding thanks to Shy's stitch work, but it still looked pretty bad. 'He is lucky the blade didn't pierce that far into his shoulder or his arm would be useless' I thought with a smirk as he answered her question.  "My name is Bryce what's yours? He asked cautiously.  "My name is Fluttershy, and that is Steven." She said looking over to me with a smile. I glared at Bryce for a good minute before I decided to speak.  "We are leaving in a few hours at sunrise. As much as I hate to say it, you might want to come with us. You won't survive with your arm how it is right now. But if you are coming with I have one thing to say." I said as jumped up with incredible speed and got close to his face. "If I even think you plan on screwing us over you will be dismembered where you stand and left to rot. Do you understand?" I whispered harshly. He shuddered and nodded, averting his gaze. I gave Shy a small nod and let her finish her work.

When we left Bryce offered to be a sort of watcher for us, seeing as his arm was utterly unusable. we agreed, but put him in between us to keep an eye on him. We gave him the bat and I made sure to remind him of his predicament As we walked we saw very little infected, sneaking by them as we went. After an hour we were finally noticed by a small pack of infected. We ran at them with our weapons drawn.

Bryce made contact with them first. Using his uninjured arm, he swung the bat with impressive power, killing one with a blow to the head before I could enter the fray. Making quick work of them with my knives, I managed to kill three of them before one tackled me. It knocked me to the ground, my knives getting stuck in its chest as I fell.  "Damn it!" I yelled, but before it could rip out my neck Bryce smashed it's head in from behind. I shoved the thing off me, taking my knives with me and worked on finishing of the last of them. We managed to kill them all with Bryce smashing the last one's jaw in.

"Well looks like that's over." He said panting. As he turned to me the zombie sat up, half it's jaw missing. As Bryce turned around to face me I threw the knife into the creatures head, that was mere feet behind him. He turned shocked as it fell to the ground, finally dead.  "I'm sorry what that? Note to self, don't get cocky, and double tap damn it." I said smugly. As Fluttershy came out of hiding she walked up to us confused.  "Did I miss something?"  Me and Bryce only nodded, snickering at our little joke as we continued to our destination.

We walked for hours until the sun was high above us. We stopped to eat and so I could check our progress. The results were promising.  "Well guys we should make it to my parents house by tomorrow morning if we hurry. Bryce grunted through his sandwich and fluttershy nodded happily. With the new info we finished quickly and packed back up our gear. That was until Bryce saw something in the distance.

"Guys we got a problem." He whispered harshly. I looked to where he was staring and froze. Farther down the street was a horde of at least a hundred of them. All heading towards our direction.  "This doesn't make sense why..." I stopped as I turned around. A helicopter, probably a military chopper of sorts, was seen off in the distance. I took in our surroundings and saw a RV a few cars behind us.  "Quick in there!" I whispered urgently. They rushed to the RV and went in Shy popping her head out a few seconds later.  "It's clear come on." I turned around and shut the door, causing her to freak.  "What are you doing?" She exclaimed. I smiled through the screen door.  "Making sure you stay safe before I do what I do best."  I said with a small smile before I turned towards the horde.  "And what are you going to do exactly?" She asked ecstatic and worried. I turned to her and smiled.  "Suicide runs, zombie killing, and blowing stuff up. What else?" I said before I sprinted toward the horde. 'Show time.'

I stood on top of a overturned car right between the horde and the RV. I reached into my backpack and pulled out two things, a bottle half filled with pneumonia and four tin foil balls. With a smirk I yelled at the top of my lungs, hoping to get the hordes attention.  "Hey zombies! FRESH MEAT OVER HERE! COME GET A TASTE!" I saw many of them perk up and start heading towards me, just like I wanted. When they got a decent distance away I threw the tin foil balls into the bottle and threw it at a car, landing it on a car hood right near the horde. The effect was instantaneous. The bottle exploded, just like I was taught in science class it would, catching the car on fire, causing it to also explode. The blast nearly knocked me off my feet, and incinerated quite a few zombies. As I watched the flames spread onto other cars I ran towards the RV, knowing full well what was about to happen. Like dominos cars started to catch fire and explode taking out quite a few zombies and burning the rest. I jumped into the RV and watched through the windshield as the last few explosions went off. I saw a few of them walk out of the flames, only to fall over a few moments later dead or with legs burned off.

"How exactly did you know that would work?" Bryce asked skeptically. I shrugged my shoulders as I caught my breath.  "I didn't. And don't think it's over, its far from it. There was quite a few out there and a few cars blowing up wont kill them all. Bryce come with me, Fluttershy stay here, things are about to get ugly." I ordered, hopping out the vehicle with Bryce in tow.

"Ok, here's the plan," I said as we stood on top the RV,  " I'm going to unload on as many as I can and you are going to kill any that try to climb up got it?" I said calmly. He nodded as he readied the bat.  "One question how can you be so calm right now?" He asked, curiosity in his voice. I looked at him and shrugged. I looked toward the horizon and saw the horde getting closer. I reached into my bag, pulling out my last three homemade firebombs and a lighter.  "If there is too many of them hit 'em with these." I said flatly. I didn't look to see his response. I just sat down and loaded my guns, ready to kill them all or die trying.

It took ten whole minutes before the horde was upon us. Starting with my revolvers, I unleashed a barrage of bullets on the horde, killing a decent amount in the process. When both guns were empty I reloaded while Bryce fended them off with the bat. As soon as both were loaded we repeated the process over again. We killed quite a few with this technique before we hit the first snag.  "I'm out of ammo!" I grunted as I threw the empty ammo box at a zombie. Throwing the revolvers at my feet I grab a Fire bomb and lit it.  "Hey Bryce!" He looked at me curiously.  "Want to know how I like my zombies?" He looked at me for a second confused, before he looked at me with a wicked grin.  "How do you like your zombies?" He asked rhetorically. I looked at him with a stupid grin.  "EXTRA CRISPY!" I shouted as I threw the explosive towards the horde. It bounced off a zombies head before it exploded. Fire rained down like hellfire as any zombie within ten feet were hit with the flames.

With most of the horde now dealt with, we hopped down and searched the area, killing any stranglers we came by.  After what seemed like the last one was killed we went back inside the RV. As we entered I was immediately tackled to the ground by Fluttershy. "Oh thank goodness you are ok! I was so worried." She said hugging me tighter as she talked. When she finally let me stand she looked out the screen door curiously.  "Are they gone?" She asked worriedly. I nodded, causing a large grin to appear on her face, which turned into a look of horror as she looked at something behind me. I looked at her confused, before realization hit me.  "Sonova bi..." Was all I said before something broke through the screen door and tackled me to the ground. Laying face down, I sat there helpless as it started reaching for my neck with its hungry jaws.

CRACK!

The body fell limp on top of me, it's skull caved in. As I pushed it off and got to my feet I looked towards Bryce who only pointed behind me. I turned to see Fluttershy, bloody bat in her whooves, a look of anger in her eyes.  "Don't you DARE HURT MY FRIENDS!" She yelled angrily. 'Flutter rage at its finest. Note to self, NEVER MAKE HER MAD.' I thought with a grimace. She looked up at me with a small smile. I dropped down and wrapped my arms around her in a big hug.  "That's the second time you have saved my life. Your getting quite good at it." I said with a smirk. She giggled, returning the hug. When we broke the hug I looked t Bryce.  "Go get the rest of the gear on the roof. We still have a destination to reach." I said simply. He nodded with a smirk, and headed out the door to get the gear.

With all our gear together, we continued on past the burning corpses, gagging as we went. As the sun started to fall over the horizon we decided to keep going, much to Bryce's objections.  "It's not a good idea to travel at night. We should find a place to camp during the night." He said annoyed.  I looked at him and shrugged.  "We will be there a few hours after nightfall, there is no reason to stop when we are so close." I reasoned. He grunted before falling silent, choosing not to argue anymore. As it started to grow dark I pulled my dads old pair of night vision googles and slipped them on, glad to finally have a use for them. I told Shy and Bryce to stay close as we cautiously continued down the darkening road.

After a while we saw lights in the distance and went to investigate, hoping to find other survivors. We were not prepared for what we saw.

"OH GOD HELP ME!"  "GET IT OFF!"  "IT'S GOT ME!"  We watched on in horror as the group of survivors were torn to shreds. We watched as the last two ran away in fear, causing the rest of the infected to give chase. We waited until the sound of their screams could no longer be heard before we checked the area, still jumpy from the scene we just witnessed. We were able to find a small handgun and a small, half empty box of bullets. Bryce took the ammo and shoved it in his pack, using the handgun as we went. Finding nothing else of use, we left the area as fast as possible, hoping not to suffer the same fate as they did.

It was only a few minutes before we heard the screaming. Cautious I looked around in the dark and what I saw made my blood run cold. Quickly loading the shotgun I turned to the others worried.  "RUN!" I yelled sprinting forward with the others close behind. Through the darkness I saw them. About ten or so infected that were sprinting at us with incredible speed. A survivors worst nightmare. As they started to get closer and closer I formulated a plan. When one got close enough I turned around unloaded round after round into the sprinters.

BANG! CLACK-CLACK!

I unleashed a barrage of bullets into the sprinters until the gun clicked empty.  "Shit." I growled angrily as I dropped it and pulled out my knives and ran toward them. I could hear Fluttershy cry out but I toned her out, focusing on the sprinters in front of me. One jumped at me only to have one of my knives end up in its the soft area under the chin. As the corpse fell another jumped at me, falling to the ground with a hole where it's eye was seconds later. Everything around me started to slow as adrenaline continued pumping through my veins. With two left, I ran foward and tackled one to the ground, stabbing it in the head When we hit the ground. Before I could react one lunged at me only to get shot back as a gunshot rang out. I turned to see Bryce with the pistol in hand, smirking at me as I stood back up.  I smiled, picking up my discarded shotgun as we went.

When we finally reached my parent's neighborhood the sun had just started to rise. Sighing in relief I told everyone to pick up the pace, hoping to reach the house before the sun came up. When my parents house was finally in sight we sprinted toward it, happy to finally be able to take a breather. We went in and searched the house cautiously, until we were sure we were alone. I shut the door and fell with my back against it, exhausted. Before I passed out I heard Bryce shout from the hallway.  "Steven you might want to see this!" He said a feeling of urgency in his voice. I sprinted towards his voice and found him trying to get a door open.

"What?" I said worried. He pointed toward the door.  "Any idea what's in here?" He asked curiously. I shook my head, curious myself. My dad never let me in the room and it was always locked. He gestured me over and we worked at trying to get the door open. After ten minutes I heard Shy speak up behind us.  "Could this help?" She said holding a small key with a skull on it in her hoof. I grinned, taking the skeleton key and unlocking the door, only to be greeted by a flight of stairs.  "I never knew we had a basement." I muttered. As we reached the bottom my eyes widened, as I looked around the room. I grinned like a madman as I surveyed the room.  "Thank you Dad."

Along the walls like an armory were a vast variety of weapons, things from a mid-evil flail to a M16. I looked around and saw a few boxes in the corner labeled 'Ammo'. I chuckled as I looked at the twenty or so weapons. Bryce continued to look on in shock.  "How does your dad have so many weapons?" I chuckled.  "Really most of these have been past on from father to son for quite a few years. My family from my dads side have always been weapon nuts, in fact I'm willing to bet the only ones my father had actually gotten himself are the newer tech weaponry." I explained. He nodded dumbly as we went on to search through the weapons.

My grin got bigger and bigger as I went through each weapon until something caught my eye. It was a long black case, coated with dust with a note taped on it. I picked up the note and read it, curious on what was inside.

Dear Steven,

I was hoping to give this to you personally but due to circumstances I know you will understand. I've been bitten so I don't have long left. I know if you're alive you will eventually come here, and probably come down here. I want you to have one last gift.

A small smile grew on my face as I went to open the case. As the case opened my jaw fell. Inside was a katana. The sheath and handle were a ebony black, while the guard and end of the handle were a blood red. As I picked it up I saw that the handle itself was the same dark red, only covered in a black cording. Smiling I looked back at the note and continued reading.

The blade is named sanguinem umbra, Bloodshadow. It has been passed on from generation to generation. Given the circumstances the blade is now yours Steven. Make me proud son, make me proud.

Dad

I looked at the note with a sad smile before putting it away for now. 'There will be time to grief about this later' I thought sadly as I pulled the blade from its sheath and got a good look at it. The metal was a Dark gray, almost black. Engraved into the blade in red lettering was its original Latin name. I looked at the blade in my hand with a small smile before sheathing it. Flinging the blade over my shoulder, I headed upstairs to hopefully get some rest.

Going into my parents bedroom, I laid the sword against the closest door and collapsed onto the huge bed. Just as I started nodding off however, I saw Shy walk in.  "Umm are you awake?" She asked softly. I decided to pretend being asleep,hoping she would leave me be. Obviously the universe had other plans. Instead of leaving she walked further into the room, resting her saddlebags and weapons near the door. She started walking towards the bed before I heard a faint whisper.  "I hope he doesn't mind." I laid there curious, before I felt something lay down next to me.

As she laid on the edge of the bed I decided to drop the act.  "You ok Shy?" I asked quietly. She jumped before she faced me with a blush.  "I just don't want to be alone." She whimpered as she looked down. I sighed and opened up the blanket I was using.  "You just had to say so. I don't mind." I whispered comfortingly in her ear. She gave me a small smile as she got under the blanket, laying her head on my chest as she got comfortable. She sighed contently, hugging against my side as she fell asleep. As I started to drift off I had one final thought.  'I wonder how many beastiality jokes Bryce will come up with when he comes looking for us.' I sighed, wrapping an arm around her as sleep finally overtook me.

Just like before I woke up before Fluttershy. As I sat there waking up I had a thought. 'How did we get here so quick? I thought it would take at least three days to get here but we get here in two.' I shrugged my shoulder, dismissing the thought. I always could have guessed wrong. Looking out the window I saw it was already dark out. Carefully getting out of bed, I went through the house looking for Bryce. Unsurprisingly, I found him on the couch in the living room, a shotgun in his hand as he slept. I checked the gun in his hand to see if it was on safety, then went back up to bed. Sliding in as carefully as I left I sighed in contentment as I went back to sleep.

I woke up to being shaken awake. I looked up to see Fluttershy, a worried look on her face.  "Wake up please!" She said, barely louder than usual. I shot up and looked at her questionably. She jumped out of bed.  "They are trying to break in." She whimpered. I grabbed Bloodshadow and ran out the room, following the sound of banging. In the living room was Bryce, aiming a gun at the door as he looked up at me.  "See someone's awake!" He said with a smirk. I only nodded as I looked through the window by the door. There was a few of them all bashing on the door trying to get in.  I told Bryce to guard the door as I sprinted towards the back door.

Going around the house, I finally was able to see all of them. There was six total, all oblivious to me standing there. I unsheathed my blade as I got there attention.  "Hey uglies!" They all turned to face me, limping forward.  "Come get some." I growled as I ran at them. I sliced at them with the blade as I ran at them, causing them to collapse to the ground dead in seconds. Within two minutes all but one had been sliced to pieces. It jumped on my back trying to bite at my exposed neck. Acting on instinct, I threw him over my shoulder causing his back to slam into concrete. Taking the sword I drove it through the skull, killing it instantly. With a heavy sigh, I wiped the bloody blade on my shirt and went back inside.

"Wake me up when there's more of them." I grumbled, adrenaline levels dropping as I stumbled up the stairs to bed. As I entered the room I saw Fluttershy sitting on the bed. She smiled and moved over letting me climb in. I laid down with a grunt tired but not yet able to sleep. I heard Fluttershy giggle as she laid down facing me. She looked as if she was deep in thought before she looked me in the eye.  "Um can I ask you something?" She said hesitantly. I looked at her curiously before I slowly nodded. She gave me a small smile before she continued.  "D-do you like me?" She said, a faint blush on her muzzle.

With my half asleep state I didn't think to much of the question.  "Of course Shy. Your a great friend. Why?" I muttered sleepily. She was silent for a minute before she shook her head.  "I d-didn't mean it like that." She said quietly. I was about to ask her what she meant before I felt something soft against my lips. To put it bluntly I was wide awake now.

'Brain.exe has shutdown. Reboot?

rebooting...

...

...

...

Rebooting complete..

I sat there in shock as Shy pressed her lips to mine. After a few seconds I returned the kiss, softly pressing my lips to hers. I felt her smile through the kiss as we sat there, lips locked. After what felt like an hour our lips parted, both of us blushing.  She wrapped her hooves around me and hugged me tightly, almost as if she was afraid I was going to disappear.  "That answer your question?" I smirked lifting her chin up to face me. She giggled and nodded, laying her head on my shoulder.

We laid there for about an hour before I felt her heartbeat slow. I laid awake there deep in thought, Fluttershy snuggled up against my side asleep.

'damn man. talk about that escalated quickly.'

'Right? Kinda curious why she likes me already, it's only been what, five ish days?'

'think about it. Since she has appeared here you have basically been like a guardian angel to her the entire time. When she first got here you protected her from the infected,and have continued to do so since. You would even risk your life instantly to protect her. It's no wonder she fell for you.

'Yah but I think it happened a little quick'

'so what? We had relationships with people in less time. It hasn't really stopped us before has it?

'Yah but this is the first time they showed feelings for us first.'

'True. But hey it's still a better love story than'

'You finish that thought and you will be erased from this mind.'

'Killjoy.'

I smirked, having won the mental battle with myself, before I groaned realizing I had a battle with myself in the first place. Looking down to Fluttershy, a content smile on her face as she slept, I decided I didn't care what happens. All I cared about was keeping her safe, or die trying.  With that final thought, I smiled as I felt myself nodding off to sleep.

I woke up to the sun shining in my face. As I went to sit up I felt a weight on my chest. Looking down I saw Fluttershy clinging to me as she slept. Chuckling, I lightly petted her mane, content with just laying there. As the minutes went by, she finally woke up. With a big yawn she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes with a forehoof. She looked down to me with a small smile, before she moved over to let me get up. I got up and grabbed my gear, watching Shy do the same. As we walked out of the room, I lightly scratched behind one of her ears, earning a happy sigh.

We entered the kitchen. To an odd sight. On the counter was a pile of various foods, all layed out and looking freshly made. Curious, I went to go into the living room, only to find Bryce walking out the door, sticking a note to it on his way out. I chased after him, trying to find out what he was up to.  "Hey where do you think your going?" I shouted from the doorway. He froze, slowly turning around to face me. He looked at me with a sad smile.  "I was hoping to leave before you both woke up." He said chuckling.

"And why is that?" I asked cautiously reaching for Bloodshadow. He saw my motion and shook his head.  "Don't worry I didn't take anything, other than the pistol we found." He slowly turned around, continuing to walk away. I ran after him, curious and confused.  "Then why are you leaving?" I called as I got closer. He shrugged, turning around to speak.  "I'm going off on my own. I feel like I got to find some answers, try to see why this all started. So for now this is goodbye. Maybe we will meet again, but the chances are slim. I just want to say thanks you both for your kindness, but its my time to leave." He answered, walking further down the street. I was about to chase after him before I felt a hoof on my arm.

"Let him go. He has his mind set on leaving so we really shouldn't try to stop him." She said, heading back to the house. With a heavy sigh I watched as he continued walking into the horizon, before following Shy inside. We sat and ate in silence, saddened by Bryce's departure. That was until I jumped out of my seat, a huge grin on my face.  "Josh is supposed to meet us here today!" I exclaimed. Shy shared the same grin, but remained seated.  "That's great!" She said, barely louder than usual. Eating in a hurry, I went out to the porch, watching for my old friend to come by.

I stayed out until the sun started to set before I slowly headed back in. Before I could however, I heard gunshots in the distance. With a newfound hope I ran of the porch, heading towards the sounds. As I got closer and the sounds grew louder I saw infected running behind a house. Following in quick pursuit I turned the corner to see corpses litter the ground. I followed the trail of bodies until I came upon a sight that almost made me jump in joy.  Standing on top of a small shed, surrounded by infected was Josh. I watched him fire upon the undead beings, before he looked down at his gun in frustration.  He threw it, managing to hit one in the head as he looked around.

He looked around the yard, probably trying to find something useful, before he saw me. We made eye contact, his look of frustration turning into one of joy. That was until he looked back down and saw the predicament he was in. He looked at me pleadingly, before he saw me charging across the yard blade drawn. With an animalistic cry I surged forward, slicing any infected in my way to shreds. I managed to get to the shed before I was surrounded. Josh gave me a hand and helped me up.

When I was on my feet we shared a brotherly hug, before we looked towards the horde of flesh eaters at our feet. I reached into my pack, trying to find something we could use. I pulled out a few handgun mags, trying to find the gun that went with them. Frustrated I looked through the other pockets before sighing in relief. I pulled out the handgun and handed it to Josh. He looked at me confused.  "What are you gonna use?" He asked concerned. I smirked, waving my hand dismissively."I got something, don't worry bro." I said reaching for Bloodshadow. He nodded, flipping the safety off.

I waited until I saw an opening before jumping down, knocking one to the ground as I landed. Not wasting a second Pierced its skull with my blade, ending it's existence. I saw as one reached for me, only to have a bullet go through it's head before it got close. Sliding my blade out of the corpse, I turned and sliced at an infected, chopping it's head off in one clean slice. I looked at the blade in awe. 'Damn this thing is sharp.' I shook my head as I impaled another through its head. As we went about the undead, I watched as the amount dwindled smaller and smaller. When the last one fell We looked around at the carnage.

"Glad to see you're ok." He said relieved. I smirked.  "Hey it will take more than a few Zombies to take this guy down!" I retorted. He chuckled, before looking at me worried.  "I got a surprise for you. Just don't freak out ok? There is someone I want you to see." He said hesitantly, gesturing for me to follow him. Curious, I followed him as he led me to what could be described as a garbage truck converted into an RV. It was modified to look like a survivalist's dream. Welded to the front of the car was a thick metal plate covered in spikes. The rest of the vehicle was covered in similar modifications, and all I could do was stare slack jawed at the monstrosity.

"How in holy hell did you get this behemoth of a vehicle!?" I exclaimed. He looked at me in amusement.  "Remember the mall we used to hang out at a lot?" I nodded dumbly.  "Get this, the day the infection started there was supposed to be a car show in the parking lot. I found this with the key in the ignition and decided it was free game. I managed to get it to my dads old workshop and rigged it up with the modifications. But that's beside the point, wait here a second." He explained as he went inside the vehicle. After about a minute he walked back out with a grin.

"Steven I would like you to meet someone." He said as the door opened. I watched in shock as the door opened and a pink blur hopped out. I watched as Pinkie hopped up to me with a smile. I sat there frozen as Josh spoke.  "I would like you to meet Pinkie Pie, as hard as it is to believe." He looked at me with a grin. She looked up at me, grinning ear to ear.  "Hiiya!" She exclaimed happily. I looked over to Josh with a serious look.  "When did you find her?" I asked, feeling like I already knew the answer. He thought for a moment before speaking.  "About five or so days ago. Why?" He asked curiously. I figured as much.  "Because that was the same time we found Twilight and Fluttershy." I explained. He looked at me in shock.

"Where are they?" He asked worried.  "Fluttershy is at my parents house and Twilight is with Riley back at my house." I said plainly. He nodded slowly before Pinkie spoke up.  "Oooooo what is this?" She asked curiously as she stared at my blade, sheathed at my side. I looked over to see Josh also looking curious.  I shrugged and got down to eye level with Pinkie. I reached for the blade and held it out in front of me as she examined the blade.  "This is Bloodshadow. It has been passed on along my family and my dad left it for me. He left me a note saying how he had been bitten, and how he wanted me to have it." I explained with a sad smile. I put the blade back in it's sheath as I stood up, only to be tackled by Pinkie in a hug.

I smiled as I carefully pulled her off, only after telling her I was fine. She looked unsure but got off none the less.  "Let's head back to my parents and get Shy, then get the hell out of here." I muttered as I walked over to Josh. He gave me a worried look.  "Ok give me a second, I was changing the flat tire before I got swarmed by zeds. It will only take a minute." He assured. I gave him a small nod as he got to work, watching for anymore infected as I waited. After a minute or two I heard Josh yell he finished. We got in the vehicle as we rode in silence to my parents house.

When we got inside I was tackled to the ground by a worried Fluttershy.  "There you are! What took so long?" She exclaimed. I smiled as I pointed to Josh and Pinkie behind me. Her jaw fell as she saw her energetic pink friend.  "P-Pinkie!? What are you doing here!? She said astonished. Pinkie giggled as she told the story.  "Well, I was going to go tell a joke to Twilight about peanut butter and Zap apples. I saw you walk in so I followed, there was this bright light and then POOF! Now I'm here!" She exclaimed happily. We looked on in shock as Twilight's words haunted me.

"I don't think I can send both of you with us.

I sat in dread at the realization that we might not even have a chance to go now. Shaking my head of my thoughts I turned to Shy.  "Get ready and grab your gear, we are leaving." I said absent mindedly. She nodded and went upstairs as I looked to Josh and Pinkie "Go downstairs and grab as many weapons and ammo as you can. We are going to need it." I said. Josh nodded and pinkie gave a salute as they headed towards the basement. I went into the living room, grabbing a large book from a nearby shelf.

It was a photo album, filled with pictures of my family and friends. I turned to the last page, being greeted with a picture of me and all my friends. I stared at the photo with a look of sadness. It was taken on my birthday, a week before the infection started. I smiled as tears went down my face, memories flowing through my mind like a film reel. But before I could enjoy it I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. 'I can act nostalgic later but not now.' I thought as I threw it in my backpack. I went and grabbed as much food and water as I could, throwing it all in a cooler.

As we finished packing the RV Josh started it up, ready to leave as soon as we were done. I finished checking everything and hopped in, telling Josh we were ready. He backed up and drove as I gave him directions. It took two hours before we pulled into the driveway, being greeted by both Riley and Twilight. We all exchanged greetings before Riley pulled me to the side.  "We got a problem." He whispered. I looked at him in confusion.  "What?" I whispered back.  "Yesterday Twilight made a huge discovery. She can send all of us back, which is incredible news." He explained. I waited for him to continue.  "Problem is not only will it attract a lot of attention while she does the spell, but we need a large area to use it. We also need someone to stay here to close it with this." He said, holding up a small pinkish gem. I nodded in understanding, glad for a bit of good news, even if it wasn't the best.

We agreed to set out the day after tomorrow, choosing the empty field a few miles away. As everyone went to bed I sat in the living room alone. Riley came down and sat with me, two large glasses of chocolate milk in hand.  As we sat there enjoying our drinks, we went over what has happened to each other the past few days. He told how he shared his feelings with Twilight, who apparently felt the same. I told of me and Fluttershy, both of us smirking like idiots. We both placed bets that Josh has feelings for Pinkie, and if she had feelings for him. We joked about how they choose to sleep in the RV, probably to be alone. As the night went on, the conversation took a serious turn.

"Riley, I want you to watch after Shy for me alright." I said sadly. He looked at me confused, before he realized what I was implying.  "No way in hell man, you aren't doing it." He muttered harshly. I looked at him with a small smile.  "I'm not changing my decision, I'll stay behind and close it." I uttered. Before he could object however, I looked him in the eye. He sighed and handed me the crystal, seeing my mind was made up.  "I will man. I promise." He whispered quietly. I nodded with a smile, before heading up to sleep, Riley heading to the kitchen to dispose of the glasses. I laid down next to Fluttershy who was already sleeping. I laid an arm over her, smiling as I fell asleep.