Dead Pony Rising 2

Chapter Four

It's Happening Again, Isn't It?

One Month Later

Date: September 26, 2011 5:00 a.m.

There was a rumbling sound filling the room; the sound of an engine. It was the latest in technology in Equestria; an engine on a bicycle. The most technologically advanced piece of equipment was the steam engine system that ran all over the country; so, this was the most amazing thing they’ve seen. An earth pony was revving the engine; making sure that everything was working the way it should. He was given extensive training on these motorbikes now that they were becoming popular at Motoclops events. But this motorbike was different.

On the front were two saws, but they also had motors inside them. To the ponies of the land, they were called chainsaws. They roared loudly as they cut through the bodies of trees to make new homes for the Equestrian population. The earth pony kept revving the engine, noticing a small change that couldn’t be heard by normal pony ears. He reached down to get a wrench but couldn’t find one. Suddenly one came in his line of view; it was in the hooves of a younger filly sitting on top of the motorbike. He smiled warmly and lightly took the wrench from her and started tightening a screw.

“Hey!” Somepony shouted as he trotted into the room. “You’re on in two minutes, Mr. Greene.” The earth pony turns to face the unicorn that just walked in.

“My name’s Buck.” The earth pony says. Buck sets the wrench down on the floor and pulls himself up to talk to the unicorn.

“Yeah, yeah,” the unicorn says. “Look, I need you to sign this release form before you go out there.” He says floating the form in front of Buck. Buck grabs the pen with his mouth and carefully signs his name on the dotted line. “Oh, and…uh…don’t forget to include your next of kin.” Buck looks at the unicorn with slightly angered eyes.

“Her name is Katey.” He says. Buck turns back to his daughter and helps her down from the motorbike. “Can you take her somewhere safe?” Buck asks.

“Yeah, I’ll take her to the green room.” The unicorn says. Buck straps himself into the motorbike and turns to look at Katey.

“Go with the nice unicorn, Katey. Don’t worry,” Buck says, “I won’t be long.” Buck then revs the engine and takes off town a maintenance tunnel heading towards the sound of cheering ponies.

*** *** ***

Date: September 26, 2011 5:05 a.m.

Buck arrived at a large elevator with three other ponies on motorbikes. Much like Buck’s, they all had chainsaws specially attached to the front. His motorbike was yellow while the others were green, red, and blue. They all had logos of sponsors; the bike next to him, ironically, was sponsored by Phenotrots. And, on the front, was a logo they all shared: TIR.

Buck looked around and noticed the four of them were surrounded by a large fence surrounded by zombies that were pounding against the metal to try to get to the ponies inside.

“Hey, buddy,” the pony on the green motorbike said, “I heard you lost your wife in Pegasus.” There was a brief moment of silence. “I guess you suck at killing zombies, otherwise she’d still be around!” He starts laughing hysterically as Buck just turns his attention back at the zombies.

“Save it for the show, you parasprite.” Buck says angrily. Suddenly, the announcer came on.

“Zombies,” he said, “took our Fillydelphia! They took our Las Pegasus!” The small elevator they were on started rumbling as it came to life. “But tonight, Equestria, we’re gonna’ get a little payback!” Giant doors above Buck and the other ponies opened up; the cheering of many ponies getting louder. The elevator they were on started lifting up towards the now fully opened doors.

“Welcome, everypony, to Celestial Sisters, Manehatten!” Another said into the loudspeaker. “Equestria’s entertainment playground!” The elevator came to a stop in the center of a giant arena; packed with thousands upon thousands of ponies. Fireworks were going off everywhere as the pounding of heavy metal music filled the air. Buck looked around and just gazed in awe by the amazing sight that befell him.

“And now, it’s time for Equestria’s most dangerous game show!” The announcer continued. “It’s time for Terror. Is. Reality!” The entire audience started cheering even louder, the music was turned up many more decibels, and even more fireworks blasted through the air. “Now, here’s your host: Chaotic King!” Buck looked behind him to the main stage and saw somepony rise from the floor on his own personal elevator.

He stepped out and was quickly greeted with cheers and applause from the excited ponies. He was wearing dark sunglasses that covered most of his face, a giant purple coat that covered nearly his entire body, and a suit to match the coat. Buck could barely see his face and body with all the clothing and accessories he was wearing. The pony brought up a microphone and he started speaking to the audience.

“Well, Equestria,” he said, “are you hungry, for a little terror? Because tonight, we’re gonna’ give it to you!” He starts slowly pacing back and forth on the stage. “I’ve been poking these zombies all week,” he continues, “and boy are they ticked!” He laughed lightly. “Our contestants are almost ready, so let’s send them a little message: you’ve gotta’ be willing to risk it all, if you’re ever…really…gonna’…”

The entire audience then shouted in unison, “WIN! BIG!” And with that, Buck put on a specially designed helmet and revved his engine. A counter on the stage ticked down 3…2…1.

Buck then slammed his hoof on the gas and took off for a huge crowd of zombies set up for them. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of them just standing around. The goal was to kill the most zombies as possible before the clock hit zero. Each had a collar attached to their necks that would alert the scorecard if it was killed. Buck and the other three ponies kept driving back and forth through the endless crowds of zombies that were fed through two giant doors on either side of the arena.

What had Buck concerned is as to where all these zombies came from. He knew that all the zombies in Fillydelphia were taken out and Las Pegasus was completely sealed off from the rest of Equestria. He just shrugged it off and kept taking out more and more zombies. Blood started to coagulate on the front of Buck’s helmet; making it a little difficult to see where he was going.

The winner received over ten thousand bits to do whatever they please. Buck was there so he could make enough bits to get his daughter some more Zombrex. Phenotrots, maker of the product, recently released a special serum that can be taken once a day; versus the original twice a day.

“Better hurry up!” Chaotic said. “You’ve got fifteen seconds left, contestants.”

Buck started thinking about his daughter Katey and the fact that she had to take the forsaken drug. He had been working on getting as many bits as possible to keep his little one alive. He could still remember the horrible night she was infected; attacked by her own zombified mother in Las Pegasus. The trip through Stable Brook and the many deaths he witnessed.

“10…9…8…7…” The audience started chanting in unison, “6…5…4…3…2…1…” A loud horn blasted inside the arena signaling that the event was over. Buck slammed on his brakes and started driving away from the crowds of the shambling zombies that survived the initial attack.

“Alright!” Chaotic shouted. “Let’s wipe ‘em off and hose ‘em down! Let me here it everypony!”

“I LOVE YOU, CK!” A mare in the audience shouted.

“CK loves you too, baby.” Chaotic said. “Though, I did expect a little bit more from a real Motoclops champion.” The crowd started booing Buck. “But fillies and Gentlecolts, that is what I call a smackdown. And our winner will trot away, with the big money.” The crowd kept cheering.

“And we even have a little something for the losers.” Chaotic said; looking right into Buck’s eyes. “But we’re just getting started, everypony. The carnage is just…beginning. So, right now, let me hear you…MAKE SOME NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIISE!” Buck and the other three contestant drove back to the elevator they came in on and started heading back to their respected garages.

*** *** ***

Date: September 26, 2011 5:32 a.m.

“Veterinarians are looking into the problem and examining the diets of different farms.” A news anchor on a television set said. “This seems to have only compounded the problems which have been linked to the milk shortages in local areas.” Buck is sitting in the locker room looking at the money he won in tonight’s event; listening loosely to the newscast going on.

“The zombie rights group P.U.R.E. is in the news again.” The news anchor continues. “The protest group has shown up in the adult playground of Celestial Sisters, which was chosen as the sight of the latest installment of the pay-per-view game show Terror Is Reality.” Buck turns his attention to the T.V. to get a better listen to the report.

“The protest just compounds the problems of the game show,” the anchorstallion continues, “which has been plagued recently by tumbling ratings and controversy. PURE was on the site of the show to display their opposition to what they call the unethical treatment of zombies.” Buck just shakes his head about what he was hearing.

“Fluttershy, leader of the protest group, had this to say.” The report cuts to footage of Fluttershy in front of the Celestial Sisters Arena earlier that day.

“Let our government know that we will not stand for their systematic neglect of the infected.” She says bitterly. “We must take drastic action, now! That is…if everypony is able to.”

“Public opinions are mixed on the groups’ views, which are sometime seen as radical.” The anchorstallion continues.

“This is a joke, right?” One average pony citizen says on the broadcast. “Why would you want to save those ‘things’?”

“Stay tuned,” the anchorstallion says, “coming up after the break, we’ve got weather and sports.” The broadcast ends as commercials for Zombrex start playing. Another contestant from the show trots into the locker room and sits next to Buck.

“Doesn’t feel very good, does it?” He asks. “I lost my family in Fillydelphia. I’d rather just have them back.” Buck nods in agreement; remembering his wife. After a few seconds, Buck pulls himself up and trots over to his locker. His TIR uniform is hung up and he just slams the door closed. As he starts trotting to the exit, he stop by another pony and asks him a question.

“Hey, do you know where the green rooms are?” Buck asks. The pony turns around to face Buck.

“Yeah. Just take the elevator up a floor and straight down the hallway.” He says. “You can’t miss it.” Buck then trots out of the locker room and towards the elevator the other pony was talking about. He passed some posters of the show and a couple vending machines before finally reaching the polished metal doors of the elevator. He pushes the button just as soon as the doors open; a beautiful, black-maned mare trots out wearing a sequenced silver dress.

“The mares were a little disappointed in your performance tonight, Buck.” She says in a seductive voice. “But you must get that a lot.” She says insultingly. Buck trots into the elevator and watches as the mare meets up with her twin sister and the two hold hooves as they look at Buck.

“Good night, fillies.” Buck says as the doors to the elevator close. Light muzak starts playing as Buck looks at a Zombrex. He sighs and just waits for the elevator to stop. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and the elevator comes to a loud stop; throwing Buck to the floor and the lights going out. For a few seconds the lights came back to life as Buck pulled himself up. He could hear an alarm and screams outside of the elevator.

“Katey.” He says as he gallops to the doors. Using all of his strength, Buck starts pulling the doors open to get outside and to safety. They slowly opened and Buck saw some ponies running away from somepony else. One Pegasus pony trots into view clutching his shoulder as blood poured out of the wound.

“Oh, Celestia,” he said in a pain filled voice, “oh, Celestia, she got me…she got me…” He came to a stop and started growling. More ponies pushed past him and kept running for safety. The Pegasus turned around, revealing himself to being a fresh zombie. He notices Buck and starts trotting for him.

“Oh, no.” Buck says as he starts pushing the elevator doors apart harder this time. The zombie got closer and closer to Buck as he pulled himself out of the elevator. He was about to attack, when a frantic unicorn accidentally ran into him and the two fell to the ground. The zombie Pegasus started to devour the unicorn as Buck just watched in shock. He jumped over the zombie and started galloping to the green room his daughter was in. All around him, ponies were being attacked and devoured by zombies. Buck couldn’t help any of them and just kept galloping down the hall to the green rooms.

He reached the end of the hall and saw one with a gold star and the word GREENE imprinted on the front. He swung the door open and galloped inside.

“Katey?!” He asked scared. He looked over and saw a zombie devouring somepony on the ground. Panicking, Buck gallops over to the two. “Katey!” He shouts. “Get off her!” He says as he pulls the zombie away and throws him to the ground. He looks back and notices it’s the unicorn that brought Katey to the green room in the first place. He picked up the green Clop Clop backpack that Katey always had and looked around.

There was a sudden thump coming from one of the closets next to Buck. He trotted over and opened the door; Katey jumped out swinging a clothes hanger back and forth protecting herself.

“GO AWAY!” She shouts still swinging.

“Katey, it’s me, it’s Daddy!” Buck says calming her down. She looks up at Buck.

“It’s happening again, isn’t it?” She asks scared. “Like what happened when Mommy…”

“Shh, Katey, listen to me.” Buck says helping put Katey’s backpack on her. “You need to stay calm, okay? We need to get out of here, so hang on tight, okay?” He helped her onto his back and spun around to face to doorway. Katey wrapped her hooves around Buck’s neck and Buck started galloping out of the green room.

More zombies had filled the hallway while Buck was inside the room. He galloped out of some double doors and into the main hall of the Celestial Sisters Arena. There were zombies everywhere, attacking innocent ponies and devouring them. Buck just kept galloping through the masses of zombies. He galloped down a small flight of stairs and out of the building.
Outside, small fires were billowing smoke into the air. He watched as zombies took down a few ponies and started eating them. Katey buried her face in Buck mane; trying to ignore everything that was going on. Buck started galloping down another flight of stairs and past a fountain that was filled with the blood of many ponies.

“Get to the safe house!” A pony with a hoofgun shouted. Buck galloped past him and up a flight of stairs until he was at what was known as the Luna Strip. He came to a stop when he saw a sign that read: Celestial Sisters Emergency Shelter. Buck looked down and saw giant metal doors slowly closing.

“We’re gonna’ have to take our chances in there, kiddo.” Buck says as he starts trotting down the stairwell and into the safehouse; just before the doors closed for good. As he came in, he sat Katey down on the ground. He looked around and saw seven other surviving ponies shuffling around and panicking. “It’s going to be okay now, Katey.” He said.

“I can’t get a signal. Why…why can’t I get a signal?” One unicorn mare asked as she fiddled with a small radio. Buck looked over to a larger pony who was pacing back and forth; talking to himself.

“She…she was looking right at me…and they had her…and I couldn’t do anything.” He said. “She went down…without a sound. I…I had to get outta’ there…I just…galloped.” Suddenly, the zombies started pounding on the metal door; the gurgling of the blood in their mouths filled the small room. Another set of doors opened on the other side; a huge stallion waiting. The other ponies started trotting into the massive safehouse. Buck started trotting in with Katey; when the stallion stopped him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, “hold on a second, son.” He noticed a bite mark on Katey’s leg from the Pegasus outbreak.

“Listen,” Buck says, “it’s an existing condition, alright? It’s okay, it happened a long time ago.”

“It’s only a matter of time before she turns.” The stallion said.

“Hey, don’t worry.” Buck says pulling out a small white box. “I’ve got Zombrex.”

“Yeah? Well, you better have a lot.” The stallion says. “Because there ain’t none here and the rescue ain’t comin’ for three days.”

“Three days?” Buck asks.

“Yeah, the Guardians will already be mobilizing but their first priority is to quarantine the city. And that takes time…They’ll enter the city at first light three days from now; that’s the standard procedure.”

“So…we’re stuck here?” Buck asks.

“There’s a couch in the security room,” the stallion says, “why don’t you take her in there, it’s quieter.”

“Thanks.” Buck says. He starts trotting away as the stallion closes the metal doors for the last time. Buck slowly trots into the security room and has Katey sit on the couch. He sits down next to her and pulls out the empty box of Zombrex he showed the stallion.

“We don’t have any Zombrex, do we?” Katey asks.

“I was gonna’ get some…right after the show.” Buck says. “We still have time.”

“Where are you gonna’ get it, Dad?” Katey asks.

“You let me worry about that, okay kiddo?” Buck says.

“I know where you can get some.” A quiet voice says out of the corner of the room. Buck and Katey look over and see a yellow Pegasus with a long pink mane.

“How long have you been listening?” Buck asks.

“Don’t worry,” she says, “I won’t say anything.” She trots over to a table. “I think there’s a pharmacy in the Royal Sun Mall…I’m Fluttershy, by the way.” She says as she sits on a chair.

“I’m Buck…and this is Katey.” Buck says. Buck starts trotting over to Fluttershy. “Do you know a way out of here?” Fluttershy thinks for a moment.

“No.” She says. “But, if you find one, I suggest you take this.” She reaches over and hands Buck a small yellow transceiver. “That way we can keep in touch.” Buck puts it in his back pocket.

“There are closed circuit cameras all over the city.” Fluttershy continues. “These monitors are playback only, but I’ll keep an eye on them.” Buck starts trotting back to the door leading into the safe house. “Buck,” Fluttershy says, “If you find anypony alive out there…”

“I’ll do what I can.” Buck says. “Keep an eye on my daughter, okay?” Buck looks over and sees Katey pull out the gaming system he got back in Stable Brook; Fluttershy smiles and nods that she’ll keep an eye on Katey. Before Buck trots out of the security room, he notices a map of Celestial Sisters on the table next to the monitors. He picks it up and puts it in his back pocket just before trotting out of the room. He closed the door behind him and started walking through one of the many halls to find a way out.

He came up to a small ventilation system and saw a hatch leading into an air duct. He gallops down to the hatch and swings it wide open. He looked inside and found it to be dead quiet. He looked all around before climbing in and crawling back into Celestial Sisters.