Chapter One - Escape

Lucky sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He felt like he had been walking for an eternity and the sun felt like it was sending all of its heat directly at him. His hooves hurt, his joints ached, and he hadn't eaten in quite some time. The stallion had been on the run from the living dead for a few hours, having narrowly escaped a horde of a decent-enough size to make anypony quiver in their horseshoes. Once he felt he had moved far enough away, he decided that it was time to stop for a while and eat.

"I'm not hearing the droning sound anymore, so I think I can eat in peace now..." he said.

He moved off the side of the road into the thick brush, finally taking a moment to sit in the shade, out of the burning gaze of the sun and in quiet silence. He reached into his pack and retrieved a can of baked beans he had managed to steal off of a deserted grocery cart a couple of towns back. The owners wouldn't miss it.

Hell, the owners are probably long dead if the blood all over the cart was any indication... he thought to himself. He reached into his pack to find his can opener, and gave an irritated groan when he couldn't find it.

"I must've left it back in that crappy old hut... dammit all..." he cursed under his breath.

At this point, it was all about finding a sharp enough rock to punch a hole in the can. He dug through the dirt, finding nothing but pebbles and twigs under his hooves. After searching for what seemed like an hour, he gave up, reaching for his canteen of water. He finished what little water he had left, and suddenly a new sense of urgency filled his mind.

I need water...

He then frantically began to dig at the ground, hoping to find any form of moisture he could that would give away the presence of a nearby water source. He then stopped.

Wait now, Lucky... just take a moment and listen... if there's a river nearby, you'll hear it if you're quiet enough... he thought, calming himself down. He closed his eyes and kept himself perfectly still, trying to listen to even the tiniest hint of flowing water. Suddenly, he heard a loud splash not too far from where he was standing.

Perfect!

He then quickly but quietly made his way towards the source of the noise, finding a rather large stream of water, as well as what had caused the noise. An undead mare had slipped and fallen in the water, and with no sense of balance, could not get backed up. It flailed its legs wildly, trying to stabilize itself, but the current of the water kept pushing it back off balance. Lucky would have laughed at its comical flailing if it had not struck him as pathetically sad first.

He decided then that before he would take some water, he'd take care of the undead stuck in the river first. He looked around for any kind of blunt object he could find, eventually spying a heavy looking rock he could use. He heaved it up, and made his way into the water. He got as close to the undead as he felt comfortable, watching the creature carefully. He summoned his strength, and threw the rock as hard as he could, the heavy object coming down straight on the creature's head, creating a loud splash and a sickening crack, signalling its skull had been crushed. Bits of bone fragments flew out from underneath the stone on impact, blood and brain matter spilling out into the surrounding water, tainting it dark red. Lucky felt his stomach turn, but the creature moved no more, the deed done. He removed the rock, and gently pushed the lifeless body aside, the current of the stream taking the body away. He reached to his side to grab his canteen, having waited for the contaminated water to be washed away, and felt cold steel touch the back of his neck.

"Do as I say or I'll use you to paint the forest," a voice said from behind him.

Shit, he thought to himself.

"Turn around," the voice said again. Lucky slowly turned around, not expecting a heavy, wooden object to collide with the side of his head and knock him unconscious.

Lucky's head throbbed. Just breathing hurt- all he could smell and taste was blood.

Fuck, I think my muzzle's broken... he thought to himself. Every part of his body was sore, but his head was what caused him the most pain. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing the pony that had gotten the jump on him was rummaging through his pack.

"Shit... this asshole's got nothing on him..." the stallion muttered as he up-ended the bag, sending all its contents to the ground, beginning to sift through it all for anything useful

Lucky tried to move his hooves, only to find that his forelegs had been bound together. He shifted slightly, and found that the bindings were loose. He carefully and quietly slipped out of the bindings, making sure not to alert the thief before him. He looked around to see if there was some sort of weapon or object he could use to free himself, then take on his attacker. He saw his shotgun a couple of feet away, the light brown buttstock stained with blood.

I can't believe I let him get the jump on me with my own weapon... Lucky thought, chastising himself for making such a dumb mistake. He then slowly began to inch towards the shotgun, trying his best not to make any noise, when he accidentally snapped a twig underneath his rump. The stallion immediately heard it, wheeling around immediately.

"The fu- hey!" he yelled, immediately lunging at Lucky. Lucky threw his weight towards his gun, but the stallion landed ontop of him first, punching him in the face with what felt like every ounce of strength in his body.

"Get off of me!" Lucky coughed, spitting blood out of his mouth as he tried to struggle.

"Fuck you, asshole! I'm gonna kill you and take all of your shit! I shoulda killed you back at the river!" he yelled, throwing punch after punch at Lucky. When he felt himself tire, he climbed up off of Lucky and went for the gun. He picked it up, and pointed the barrel right at Lucky's temple. "Night night, motherfu-" the stallion then yelled as a small blade swung over his shoulder and tucked itself in right at his collarbone, causing him to drop the gun. Lucky stared in shock as what appeared to be a unicorn filly continued her attack, driving her blade into the stallion's shoulder repeatedly as he struggled to throw her off.

"Leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!" she yelled.

"Fuck you, you little bitch! I'll kill you too!" he yelled, trying to get her off his back.

With the stallion distracted, Lucky grabbed the gun and used it to get to his hooves. The filly screamed as he finally threw her off, knocking away her weapon. She backed away from the stallion, who was now bleeding profusely.

"You think you can get the jump on me!? You think you can kill me that easily!? I'll fucking kill you!" he yelled, moving in to take her down. Suddenly, he felt cold steel press against the base of his skull. When the stallion turned his head, he saw Lucky aiming down the sights.

"Night night, motherfucker," Lucky said as he pulled the trigger. The stallion's head exploded as the twelve-gauge buck ripped through it, a loud bang signalling a violent end to the situation. Blood fountained out of the now gaping wound where the stallion's head once sat, the corpse twitching violently then falling still. The filly stared in shock at the body before her, Lucky taking a few steps back and sitting on his rump.

"That was reckless, little missy... reckless, but necessary... thank you," Lucky said. The filly nodded her head, still staring at the lifeless corpse of the stallion. Lucky stood back up, and the filly backed away. "Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you," he reassured, extending a hoof to the filly. She gingerly took it, and stood up. He took a moment to look her over- she was young and had a blank flank, keying Lucky in to the idea that she was maybe the age of an elementary school foal, with a purple coat and a deep blue mane, cut short and pulled back tightly. Her eyes were ice blue, complimenting her mane.

"What's your name?"

"Star... Star Shimmer..."

"Nice to meet you, Star. I'm Lucky," he said. It was then that the familiar droning noise filled Lucky's ears once more. "We need to leave... the gunshot caught their attention. Let's be quick and quiet, okay?"

"Okay..." Star said nervously. The two quickly picked up Lucky's things and hurried off deeper into the brush.