“oh just fuckin great…”

Applejack had just exited the doors to the park with Burt as they were greeted with zombies. They were set up on a flight of stairs descending to the grass and trails below with zombies scattered about them. The only thing that remotely seemed off was the presence of a loud blaring noise that only seemed to be getting louder drowning out the moans of the zombies below.

“What in tarnation..?”

Approaching at a rapid pace was a large metallic machine on four wheels with three creatures dressed in the same orange clothes. The machine came to screeching halt as Applejack found the gazes of the three creatures upon her and Burt.

“ah crap...” Burt mumbled out with much dismay.

“We’ve got us some live ones!” One of the creatures shouted.

“Wanna riddle them up!?” Another asked

“Nah man, we gonna need that for the military. Let’s blow their asses sky high,” The third one answered as it tossed a cylinder looking object towards Applejack and Burt.

Applejack found her mind racing with questions as the object fell right behind her and Burt. She was about to turn and see what it was up close but Burt, as if finding some sudden energy, pushed her forward while lunging down the stairs. There came the sound of a loud explosion that blared in Applejack’s ears as she felt herself tumble down the stairs. She came to a stop face first into the ground as every muscle in her body ached. There was a loud ringing in her ears as she started to find her sight returning. While the ringing began to slowly fade, she could barely make out the sound of shouting...

“pair of dumbasses!”

“nothin’ but speed bumps!”

“zombie chow if you ask me!”

She could hear the machine let out a roar as instinct told her to get up. She was just pushing herself up as her aching muscles begged for her not to when she felt something wrap around her and pull her off the ground. She felt herself be pulled a ways before the grip loosened and she was on the ground once more. With new found adrenaline, she got herself up on her hooves and whipped her head around to see Burt was getting up from a lying position as the three creatures took off in their large machine. She took note of the zombies slowly advancing on them as the machine went on its way knocking down and ripping apart any zombie in its path. Applejack tore her attention away from it as she helped Burt get up as she took notice to the...blood staining his bandages.

“Gotta keep…moving…” Applejack said once Burt was able to walk.

However, Burt was now going a snail’s pace as he winced in pain every time he took a good step forward. The zombies were slowly coming up on them as Applejack looked around for something of use. She spied a rock near a tree and figured it would have to do. She ran over to it and grabbed it between her front hooves. Using her back legs as a pivot, she lifted the rock up and turned to face towards Burt. She saw a zombie coming right up on him as she swung her front legs and letting the rock soar out of her grip. The rock flew right at the zombie digging into its neck and causing it to stumble off to the side rendering a delay in its pursuit on Burt. She quickly looked around in hopes of another rock but came up dry as she saw Burt fall to the ground. She ran over to him while shoving herself into the side of a zombie sending it off its course. She tried to help Burt get to his feet but he wasn’t budging.

“Come on get up partner,” Applejack begged with dread over coming her voice as the zombies closed in on her, “GET UP!”

Burt made an attempt to get up but ended up on the ground once again as the moans of zombies filled both their ears.

“HEY!”

Applejack whipped her head around at the sound of a familiar voice as she was greeted with…the first creature she met rushing towards her along with another creature. Applejack felt a moment of hope come over here as she turned back to Burt just as a zombie was leaning down with its decayed and blood dripping mouth open. Drawing in a breath as her expression turned to one of anger, she immediately turned and got on her front legs before delivering a solid buck kick right to the lowering zombie’s head. She heard the sound of ripping flesh and something falling onto the ground. She turned around to help Burt once again seeing the zombie’s head rolling across the ground with the rest of its body lying on Burt’s back. Applejack shoved the lifeless body off Burt before trying again to help him up.

“rraAAH!”

Applejack watched as the first creature she met ran in while swinging back a baseball bat in his grip before swinging forward and making contact with a single zombie’s skull. The creature pulled the bat in a quick back swing hitting another nearby zombie. The creature proceeded in a swinging frenzy at the surrounding zombies with the sound of the bat breaking into skulls and ripping flesh filling Applejack’s ears.

“FOUR!”

Applejack whipped her head around to see the second creature swinging a thin metal object with a wide club end to it. The club head made contact with a small white ball on the grass as it zipped with great speed right into a zombie’s torso. Applejack made a dash for the rock from earlier right near a zombie. She gripped it between her front hooves before delivering a kick to the zombie and letting it fall to the ground. She brought herself forward and lifted the rock over her head quickly before slamming it down on the zombie’s moaning head. She felt the rock slip from her grip before she heard the sound of ripping flesh and contact with bone. Once she heard the moaning subside, she took in heavy breaths to regain to herself while looking around. The zombies that had been surrounding her and Burt were now on the ground with torn flesh and immobility. The creature she meet at the beginning of all the confusion was breathing heavily with the bat still in his grip. She saw him turn his head towards her as they locked eyesight. Applejack began to recall what the very creature had said…

“Hi…” The creature said while letting out a breath before taking another in.

“Howdy…” Applejack replied as she decided not to recall, “…thanks partner…”

“..Don’t mention it...” The creature said while moving over to Applejack, “How bout we get you and your friend out of here?”

“I’d reckon that be best,” Applejack replied as she took notice to the zombies slowly advancing on them to replace their fallen comrades, “Also…you got a name?”

“You can call me Frank,” The creature replied as he proceeded to help Burt up, “How about you?”

“Applejack,”

“If you two are done talking let’s get moving,” The second creature commented as he swung the metal club once again sending a white ball towards an incoming zombie.

Applejack turned her attention towards the second creature was she noticed…the green machine and the sound of that blaring noise from earlier rapidly getting louder.

“OTIS, LOOK OUT!”

Applejack saw the creature, apparently known as Otis whip his head towards the incoming machine before getting out of the way just as the machine was about to collide. However there came the sound of a collision that filled Applejack’s ears as she saw the machine had made head on contact with a tree denting its front. The three creatures dressed in orange were in their hopping and hollering fit as if they found joy in crashing while the one manning a swiveling object began to aim…

“RUN!” Applejack heard Frank’s voice shout.

Applejack ran forward towards the three creatures hoping to catch their attention. She made a jump onto the back of the machine right just as the creature manning the swiveling object had started to attack and a pattern of noise was heard. Once Applejack found her hooves on a solid surface, she crouched back and leaped forward charging her head right into creature. The impact threw its aim off as she felt the machine begin to move suddenly just as she came back down onto it.

“What the hell!?”

Applejack whipped her head to see the other two creatures with one of them looking back at her. It was wielding a baseball bat and getting ready to swing from its position. Applejack moved towards the creature before ducking as it took a swing at her. Just as the bat cleared striking distance, Applejack rose up before reeling back and slamming her head forward striking the creature. The force sent the creature head first into glass in a frame of the machine. The creature came back from the hit swinging the bat back around as Applejack ducked causing the bat to swing right into the back of the other creature’s head. The creature slumped forward just before the machine took a violent turn throwing Applejack off and onto the ground. She felt herself roll on the ground before coming to stop as she heard a loud crash alongside several screams and the sound of metal colliding with the ground before it finally… stopped. Applejack got up on her hooves to see the machine overturned alongside a tree with what appeared to be shattered glass on the ground. Settling on the ground just near the glass was a small pool of blood…

“Come on let’s get going,” She heard Frank say before they all turned away from the wreckage and started to head for another part of the park.

Applejack followed Frank and Otis towards another set of doors leading to another area of the entire building and it came to no surprise when she saw it was filled with zombies as well. They entered the area and proceeded towards the other end as they dealt with the zombies in their way. Applejack and Otis kept the fighting close to Frank as they all helped Burt make it across the sea of zombies. Applejack noticed a zombie dropping a sharp knife onto the ground as she formed an idea. She broke from the perimeter and ran over scooping the handle into her mouth with the blade pointing to the side. Diving into a group of zombies, she clenched her teeth tighter on the grip as she jumped while spinning herself. She heard the sound of the knife ripping into flesh before her hooves came back onto the ground. She moved her efforts closer to Frank as they were coming up on a door after passing several patches of grass elevated from the ground. Otis ran forward towards the door pushing aside a zombie in his way as Applejack kept dealing with zombies around her and Frank. Applejack focused her attention towards the door while making sure Frank was able to make it. She found herself in a narrow hallway before hearing the door shut behind her accompanied by a few sighs. Applejack turned to see Frank taking a few breathes with Burt hunched over his back while Otis held the door shut. There was barely any time to rest before Applejack found herself following Frank and Otis down the hall and into a another area of the building with large structures towering over her. She followed the two between two the structures in a manner of a maze past all the zombies lumbering around. After making several turns around the structures, they came up on a wall with what appeared to be two panels side by side only separated by a small crack between them. Applejack watched Otis walk towards a small rectangle panel right before pressing something. After a while, there came a ding and the two panels slid apart revealing a small room. Applejack entered along with Frank and Otis, who pushed something on another panel inside the room before the two large panels shut. She felt the room shift a bit as if it were ascending just as Frank slowly set Burt on the floor.

“Fat...Supermarket...fuck…” Applejack heard Burt mutter out.

“Hey, stay with me buddy,” Frank said while crouching down, “You’re safe now. Tell me what happened?”

Applejack turned from Burt as he began to describe the events to face Otis who was still standing by the small panel.

“Ah’m mighty thankful of yur help back there, partner,” Applejack said with a smile before titling her hat, “Name’s Applejack.”

She didn’t get a response back as she noticed a bit of hesitance in Otis’s face before he let out a small chuckle and a sigh.

“Sorry…uh…hard time believin’ you’re a talking pony and that you’re here, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t conk my head on anything...” Otis explained before giving a smile back, “You can call me Otis.”

“Did you get a good look at the guy who attacked you in the food court?” The two of them heard Frank ask Burt just as a loud ding was heard.

“I did...” They heard Burt mumble out.

The two panels of the room slid apart revealing a sunlit area; however it seemed that the sun was going to set soon. Applejack was ready to exit the small room as she heard the description given by Burt. She froze in place just as a chill came over her as she recalled meeting the creature on the roof and in the building earlier. The intimidation she felt then creped right onto her… She turned back to look at Frank and could tell…he was recalling the same thing...

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and the story so far everyone. Be sure to leave feedback in the comments below and have a good day.