Zoey smashed a zombie's nose in with a quick punch and sent it tumbling to the ground.

They had all been running ever since they had seen the newest infected, but thankfully hadn't encountered it. Running down the sidewalk, Bill and Louis were covering Francis as he held Fluttershy. Blasting the occasional infected away from the sides, Francis only had to carry the still paralyzed pegasus, even when he had to shoot once or twice.

"H-Hey!" Francis said slowing to a walk. "Why are we running again? Because it must have been like what, an hour ago that we've been running?"

"We we're running from that thing with the metal in its back." Louis said.

"But... Wasn't it this way?" Francis said. "So, why are we running towards it?"

The other three survivors all stopped and looked at each other, looking at him, they merely shrugged. He shook his head and crossed the street to Zoey. With the other two following, they quickly went into a two-story dentists office that Zoey had broken into.

The lobby had a few chairs on the walls, pictures of animals on the walls, blood on the floor that led to the receptionist desk. As the others all looked around, Francis set Fluttershy down in a chair. Sitting next to her, he looked around with a frown.

"This brings back bad memories." He said looking at the toys strewn about the room. "All the screaming... The blood... The infection spreading here." He said clenching a fist. "I can take adults, or teenagers, but not kids." He sighed looking at a teddy bear next to him. "Poor brats."

"You were at a dentist office when the infection got to you?" Zoey asked looking at him through the doorway. "What where you doing here? A checkup?"

"No," he said cracking his neck. "I was working. I was scaling some poor guy's gums when I heard the screaming. When I opened the door," he waved at the blood smeared across the floor. "There was a Hunter... I could only watch as it sunk its claws into a little girl's sides. And then, it tore her throat out and everything was silent. That's when I realized everyone else was either dead, or had run out."

"Did you know the girl?" Zoey asked leaning on the desk. "Did you kill the Hunter?"

"Yeah, I killed it, but I never knew her name. All I remember about her was that yellow dress with those frilly pink butterfly's. She didn't stand a chance... She was just so small, so defenseless. Maybe if I had ran, I could have-"

"Did you say her dress was yellow and had pink butterfly's on it?" Louis asked.

"Yeah. What about it?" He said looking at Louis. "Why do you care?"

"Well, Look at Fluttershy. Yellow with pink. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together." He shrugged.

He felt something drop onto his nose, wiping it away, he wiped his forehead and felt it coated in sweat. Shaking his head, he was about to get up when Fluttershy bolted forward with a gasp. He jumped to the side and slipped on a toy truck. Landing on his back, he reached under himself and pulled a few Rubix Cube pieces.

"The monster!" Fluttershy said flying to the ceiling. "W-Where is it?" She asked looking around. "Where are we?"

"Relax, kid," Bill said shutting the front door. "It's gone, and were in a dentist's office. We're safe."

"Yeah, you can say that, but you're not the one with plastic in your back." Francis grunted getting up. "I hope there wasn't anything on that thing. I'd hate myself, life, Louis, and bacteria if I died from an infection."

"Here, let me see that." Fluttershy said gliding down. "Maybe I can get it out."

She landed down onto the blood smeared floor, gulping and hoping that it wasn't his, she looked over his back and immediately spotted the small piece of black plastic sticking out. Tapping it with a hoof, it fell to the floor.

"There, all better." She said patting him on the shoulder. "Isn't that better Mr-I mean Francis!" She said quickly before her ears drooped. "I miss, Mr. Grizzles..." She said sniffling. "He was always such a nice bear."

"A bear? You're friends with a bear?" Louis asked. "Aren't you afraid he'll... I don't know, eat you?"

"Oh, no, no, no! He'd never do that!" She said brightening up. "I sometimes, whenever he wakes up in the spring, help him work out the stress in his joints with a soothing massage. And then, he even offers to help watch my chickens so they don't run away."

"You live in one strange world." Bill chuckled. "A world of magic ponies, bear masseuses, and animals that won't try and kill you if you get too close."

"What? The animals here aren't nice?" She asked cocking her head to the side. "Are they like Hydra's then? Territorial and really, really scary?"

"Yeah..." Louis nodded. "Something like that. Francis, how's the splinter?"

"Shut up."

"He's made a full recovery." Zoey remarked. "So, what do we do know? We're in a dentist office, with no plan, a infected stalking around that would make a Tank run for the hills, and no idea where we are in the city. Any ideas?"

No one, or pony, spoke up. She sighed and shrugged before settling into a chair. Bill, pushing a table in front of front doors pulled up a chair and set it down in front of it. Louis picked up a magazine and began flipping through it. Francis got back in his chair and set his chin down on the barrel of his gun.

Fluttershy, wanting to rest, looked down a the floor and felt more bile trying to come up. Looking to where a person would enter the back, she quietly glided down tot he door and took a look back at the others. Looking back at the blood, she put a hoof to her mouth and turned away.

Pushing the door open, she peeked around the corner and saw a light offering a flicker of light down a hallway. From what she could see, there were papers littered on the floor, blood across a wall, and a single window in the back with something blocking the small amount of light trying to come through.

"I-I'll just look to see if there's any bathroom. And then I'll be right out." She said to herself as she stepped past the door to let it close.

Gulping, she quietly began to trot through the dark hall, stopping to look at a paper or hearing something. She felt the air suddenly start to turn cold; her breathing became quicker, her legs shook and stooped in random order, and her wings were glued to her sides. Looking ahead, the thing in the window, she could tell, was humanoid.

"H-Hello?" She called out in a whisper. "I-I'm sorry if I'm trespassing, but me and my friends were being chased and-"

She stopped when the figure moved into the flickering light. Her breath caught only momentarily as she saw a man in aqua clothing and a white mask step past her, open a closet and take out a light bulb. She backed away, scared and curious as the man unscrewed the flickering bulb and replaced it with the new one. When the sudden flash engulfed them, he gave a grunt as he noticeable flinched.

He threw the burnt bulb away in a nearby trashcan and then, stopped. He stood straight up, gloved hands behind his back. Fluttershy gulped, looking anywhere but him as he slowly turned around. She shrunk down as he crouched down, and pulled down his mask.

"Who, and what are you?" He asked.

"I-I'm... Fluttershy." She whispered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He asked again. "Sorry if I'm scarring you, which, evidently I am." He said backing up. "Now, who are you?"

"F-Fluttershy." She said. "W-Who are you?"

"Ah, it is good to meet you Fluttershy." He said offering a white, gleaming smile. "I'm Richard. The dentist... Or, at least, the only dentist left probably. Eh, more overtime for me then." He shrugged. "Well, I need to go back to work. If you need a check up, just push the button on the intercom." He said pointing at the wall.

She looked and all she saw was a small plastic square stuck to the wall. Tilting her head, she squinted at a bright orange button. Looking back at the man, he was about to enter another room when he nodded.

She looked back at the button and was lifting a hoof when the door opened. Louis came in, gun raised in front of him. Lowering it, he looked towards Fluttershy and saw her shuffling her hooves on the floor.

"Fluttershy," he said keeping his gaze down the hall. "What was that noise? I thought I heard someone talking. Was there someone else here?"

"N-Not that I could see." She said.

"Fluttershy," he said giving her a blank stare. "There's a light shining right there. How could you not see?"

"W-Well, I guess it was because..." She looked to the side and her pupils shrunk. She squeaked and curled up against the corner, while grabbing the door to pull over herself. "Hunter!" She yelled pointing at the window.

Louis turned and saw the outline of a Hunter in the window, its form hidden by the shade. as he raised his gun to shoot, its head pulled back slightly as if to headbutt it. He fired, and the glass shattered, the Hunter screeched, and the door opened again.

"Hey! What's going-oh." Richard stopped mid-sentence as Louis pointed his shotgun at him. "You know, I think I needed to re-organize my pens. I'll be in my office." He said quickly before slamming the door.

"So, nobody, huh?" Louis said as Fluttershy ran past him and back into the lobby. Louis quickly backed up and shut the door, making sure to lock it, he turned on his heel and looked down at the pegasus who had went to Francis's side. She peeked out from behind her mane, one hoof on his leg as she looked back at Louis guiltily.

"We heard a gunshot, everything alright?" Bill asked getting up. "Sounded like a Hunter."

"It was, and a guest in the back. Fluttershy was talking with him."

"Fluttershy," Francis looked down at her with a small frown. "Who were you talking to? And more importantly, is he dangerous?"

"I-I don't think so... He could have gotten me when he replaced the light bulb. But he just asked what my name was, and what I was. I think he forgot the second part. he was really nice, he even offered to give me a checkup."

"Yes, yes, that's all fine and dandy but who was he? And was he dangerous?"

"His name was Richard. A-And... I don't suppose so. He is a dentist." She said lowering herself even more onto the floor.

"Yeah, well so am I." Francis said. "And I'm dangerous as hell. Louis, you get the Hunter, or what?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "It was behind a window. I heard a screech, but that's it."

As they all sat in silence, a sudden scream rang out through the building. Louis backed away from the door, shotgun raised. The others had their weapons raised as well before Richard stumbled through the door, holding his arm with blood coming out from it. His tanned skin was lighter than it had been, his eyes glazed over as if he were in a trance.

He took sluggish steps forward, sweat dripped off him, Zoey was about to speak when his eyes rolled up and he fell forward. Fluttershy seeing him injured, rushed out from cover and went to his side.

"Futtershy, get away from him!" Francis yelled attempting to pull her away.

"B-But he's hurt! What if he needs help!?" She asked keeping her gaze on the fallen dentist. "Look! He's still alive! He's moving!"

Richard's body was twitching and jerking, foam came out from his mouth that soon turned crimson. Blood came out from his nose and eyes, his skin became grey, the veins and arteries turning purple. When he suddenly ran at Fluttershy on all fours, snarling and yelling.

Zoey quickly fired a few shots from her UZI into his back. He gave a small spurt of blood from his mouth before falling flat. She grabbed him by the ankles and dragged the body tot he opposite side of the room, where she put one last bullet into his head.

"W-What... What was that?" Fluttershy asked behind her mane. "W-What happened to him?"

"The Green Flu." Bill said. "If your immune, like me and the others, then you're safe from it. If not, you turn into one of the infected. It drives them mad, they'll attack anything that isn't them."

"And if you want to live, you need to kill the infected or, if by some chance, get away." Zoey said. "And, I think Louis didn't kill the Hunter. Louis, come with me, we're going to finish it off." She said putting a new clip in.

As those two left, Fluttershy was back in her chair, curled up in the fetal position, a small puddle of tears soaking the end of her tail. she tried to push away when she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she felt it on her shoulder again, she looked up and saw Bill looking down at her.

"Ya know," he sighed. "This might sound crazy, but once you've seen someone turn, the one's after, if there's any, get easier. I watched as an entire building was turned. Ever since then, I've seen my fair share, and it didn't hurt as much. Trust me, compared to other things, that wasn't too bad."

"B-But that doesn't make me feel any better!" She cried.

"This sort of thing stays with you forever, but it gets fuzzier as time passes. If you get, no, when you get home," he smiled. "You can be with your friends, and make new, better memories that will push all of this away. But not get rid of it."

"I-I guess..." She said. "speaking of friends, where are Zoey and Louis? S-Shouldn't they have been back by now? They're not hurt, are they?"

Before he could speak, the other two survivors rushed in, both of them panting. They didn't speak to the others but instead began piling furniture against the doors. As Louis pushed a small table's legs between the handles, Zoey caught her breath and spoke.

"We've got another horde! The Hunter was still alive and it attracted more infected." She said grabbing a chair to put against the front doors. "We need a way out of here, and now."

"Can this get any worse?" Francis groaned.

The wall he was leaning on, gave a cracking sound before a large chunk of metal flew out on the left side of his head, he watched the piece of metal with a confused looked before leaning towards the window. He quickly pulled the shade down by the string and hit the wall with the back of his head.

"Well, it just got worse." He said. "Take a guess at what's outside?"

They didn't answer, but instead of replying Bill and Zoey were reinforcing the other window and front doors. Louis, on the other hand, was tapping the wall with a finger. Francis raised and eyebrow at the accountant, who seemed to have gone mad.

As Louis tapped the wall, Fluttershy went up to him, not wanting to get in the way or be near the uncovered window. As she looked up at him, he would go from one spot, high or low, to another before repeating. Just as she was about to ask what he was doing, he smiled and began tapping furiously on the middle of the wall.

"Guys!" He called out. "I found a hallow part of the wall! We can smash through here and get to the next building!"

"Louis, this is serious!" Francis said. "Not some movie. We're in real danger!"

He rolled his eyes and began beating the wall with the butt of his gun. As he was doing so, the floor began to vibrate with the rush of the horde. The wailing of the infected momentarily drowned out all the other noise, but what made them all stop, was the roar of the new infected.

"Louis, hurry the hell up!" Francis said. "I don't want to become a shishkebabb!"

The other had now backed away from the windows and doors, guns raised. Fluttershy was huddled under another table by the window they had yet to barricade.

"Fluttershy," Zoey whispered. "Come on, we don't need you getting trampled over there. Just hurry over!"

As she got out from her cover, a shadow, followed by a screech went through the air. She only had time to blink as a Hunter came through the shade and had her pinned.

She looked up and saw no eyes, only the bottom half of its face. It's skin had turned grey, a much more threatening shade then what Discord had done before to her and her friends. Its lips were peeled back, exposing broken or cracked teeth with sharp points, caked blood cracked and flaked on its chin, and the terrible stench of decay from the rotting teeth that had yet to fall out. She stared in horror as it raised a claw up, closing her eyes, she expected pain but instead heard a familiar yell.

Francis grabbed the Hunter by the arm and back of its hood, with a yell he threw it across to the other side of the room. It got up with a growl, crouched and leapt into the air. Francis ducked slightly and grabbed it by the legs, smashing it down on the floor he threw it again so it hit the wall by the other survivors.

"Not again!" He yelled. "Your not doing again! Not this time!" He yelled as he delivered punch, after punch to it.

He gave a swift punch to its arm and heard a crack, grabbing its arms, he lifted it off the ground and slammed it against the wall Louis had been hitting. The wall cracked in multiple places, blood streaming from cuts on the Hunter. It tried to lean forward and bite him, but Francis leaned back and gave it a headbutt. Blood spurted from its nose as it flailed, its screech now congested with blood running down its throat.

Francis, taking a step back gave it one more push before the wall broke and he was faced with another, only with a series of nails sticking out. He let go of the Hunter and brought a foot up, kicking it in the chest, it went back into the nailed wall.

Louis, acting quickly, threw Francis his shotgun. Francis put it to his shoulder and fired into the Hunter's chest, it was trying to peel itself off when the pellets hit it and sent it back. He fired again, the Hunter jerked to the side, one arm through the wall now. With a third shot to the chest again, the Hunter's body went fully through the wall.

As the survivors ran through, the infected crashing in, and Fluttershy leading them, Francis stopped to look at the Hunter. It gave a slight twitch before a stream of blood came out from its mouth. He put the barrel of his shotgun to its head and gave one last shot.

Author's Note

Sorry for the sudden silence. I was vegetating on my bed, and reading some dead Space books. I really liked the end to Catalyst.