Chapters I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
"Angel, could you get me a towel please? If you don't mind that is...?" Fluttershy asked as she looked out from behind a door.
The rabbit pointed towards the door and made two motions, she got a faint blush on her cheeks as she remembered the towels were in there.
She shut the door and grabbed a towel off the rack. She dried herself off, carefully cleaning her feathers. Once she was done, she put it into the dirty towel hamper by the tub and picked up her tooth brush.
She squeezed a little blob of mint toothpaste onto it and brushed furiously, getting her teeth, tongue and cheeks. If anypony had saw her clean her teeth, they would have thought she was related to Colgate.
She spit out the mouthwash and wiped her mouth off on a rag. She set that down and opened the door, only for Angel to run in and slam the toilet lid up, pointing furiously at the door. She quickly closed it and blew out the light in her lantern.
She closed the curtains and lifted the covers up. The warmth made her smile, sinking down she lifted her head in curiosity as her hoof touched something cold. Something solid.
She lifted the covers up and pulled out the object, she stared at it, blinking in confusion as she held it.
It was a long cylinder of metal, with a plastic grip on the underside and a trigger. The hammer was on the top and, thankfully, pointed forward as she pulled the trigger.
As she was setting it down, she felt a jolt go through her and then, blackness.
New York
Fluttershy blinked, she felt a cold, hard surface underneath her. She sat up and looked around.
Tall, grey buildings towered over, abandoned cars were wrecked, burnt or laying in the street. The smell of copper and ash was highly present as she took a few breaths.
"O-Oh my..." She said, eyes widening. "That freaky storm must have caused this... But, where am I?" She looked around again.
She got up and brushed some grim out of her coat, she did a three-sixty as she surveyed the area for ponies... Or for any life.
Down the street, a blurry figure walked out from an alley. She called out but her voice was to soft. So, she trotted forward.
As she got closer and the figure became clearer, her worry grew, not for herself, but for it. It was covered in what she knew was blood. Just as she was about to call out again, it turned and she froze.
It was a man wearing a blue jump-suit, his skin was pale, his eyes a bright red, his mouth dripped blood as his lips peeled up over his teeth. He trudged forward, his only arm outstretched as the stump of the other one had bits of flesh hanging on.
As he was on her, she ran instinctively. Screaming as loud as she could, the monster chasing shortly behind her.
She looked back and saw it gaining, desperate, she turned to a car and slid under. It smashed a window and got down on it's knees, snarling and yowling as it alerted the others.
She crawled out from underneath on the other side and was about to run when another, two armed woman came out from a pile of garbage. She was only missing the skin on the top half of her face, her nose a hole in her head, caked with dried blood.
Fluttershy ran around and saw more of the creatures converging on her, scared, she looked back and saw the broken window. She jumped over the zombie currently getting out and hid in the backseat floorboard, crying as she closed her eyes.
She began to scream when the car began to rock.
Three minutes earlier
"Pills here!" Louis said excitedly as Francis chuckled.
"I swear Louis," Francis laughed as the man grabbed the pill bottle. "We might need to do an intervention later."
"Coming from the guy who needs them right now." Louis shot back as he pointed at the gash in Francis's leg.
"I don't need any stinken' pills. Keep em'." Francis said. "Hey, look at that." His face brightened up as he saw a lone walker. Missing an arm. "Anger management for free." He rubbed his hands together as he snuck up to the zombie.
"Francis!" Bill hissed. "Don't just go out and attack the thing! Remember the Hunter incident?"
Francis froze and backed away, before taking out his shotgun and began to creep forward again.
Just as he saw it in his sights, it turned and began to chase something. He froze, confused and depressed of his kill.
Zoey walked up and put a comforting hand on the bikers shoulder. He rolled his eyes before they widened, a scream tearing through the air.
"Heeeellllp! Please! I don't want to die!" A voice rang out.
"Holy shit! Someones still alive!" Louis said. "Well I'll be damned."
"By the looks of it," Bill said looking from behind the alley corner. "She's trapped in a car by the infected."
"Well, let's go kick their asses and save her." Francis said. "She owes me violence. A lot of violence."
"We can't! Were limited on ammo! Sure we have enough, but risk a horde!" Bill said. "I'm sorry to say, or even suggest this, but we have to leave her. May god-"
"Don't you finish that sentence you old bastard." Francis said, coldly. Not his usual hateful tone, but a chill to the bone tone. "If you pansy's won't get her," he took out a pair of brass-knuckles and put a pair on each fist. "Then I will."
"What's gotten you to be such a heroic?" Zoey asked.
"Dunno' just felt like it." He shrugged.
He turned the corner and made a straight run for the four zombies.
Fluttershy began to scream, her cries for help becoming ragged as her throat became sore. She yelped and hid when the car gave a sudden lurch. Her hope began to rise when she heard yelling.
"Come on you bastards!" Francis yelled as he rammed his fists into two zombies heads, making the car move from the sudden impact.
Their heads were left with holes as they fell to the ground. The other two Zombies turned to him and lunged.
He swung out with a fist at the nearest Zombie, throwing it off course. The second swung, he ducked and grabbed it by the waist. he lifted it up before smashing it down onto the other. He held them down with a boot, aligning their heads before forcefully stomping them in the other.
The others ran up to him, wide eyed at the bikers damage.
"Well, that was fun while it lasted." Sulked the biker, cleaning the gore off and putting away his brass-knuckles. He turned to the crying and crouched down, and gave a small tap on the car door.
"Um, hello? You alright?"
The door swung open and Fluttershy lunged on him, holding him in a death grip as she cried.
"Thank you!Thank you!Thank you!" She cried. "I-I was so afraid... And those monsters!"
"What. The. Hell..." Bill said, his cigarette falling out of his mouth.
She looked up and saw Bill, she immediately jumped back into the car, shutting the door. Francis groaned, rubbing his neck where she had hugged him.
"I hate horses." He groaned, getting back up to the door.
"P-please... Don't eat me! I-I'm sorry for whatever I did! Just don't hurt me!" Fluttershy cried.
"Wow, wow, wow." Zoey said. "Why would we hurt you? Francis jut saved you. Whatever you are..."
"Here, let me talk with her." Francis said calmly. "Listen, my name is Francis. Can you tell me yours?"
"F-Fluttershy." Came the response.
"Well Fluttershy, could you come out? I promise not to harm you in any way, and if I do, then Zoey can shoot me. So, I'm going to open the door now. Do you trust me?"
"Y-Yes... If that's alright with you?"
"It is, now, I'm opening it right now."
Francis gripped the handle and slowly pulled the door open, he stuck out a welcoming hand as he did so.
Fluttershy peeked out from behind her mane and tentatively put her hoof in his hand. "Are you Francis?" She asked.
"Yes, I'm the one who saved you. Now, why don't you come out and meet the rest of the gang? I promise Louis is harmless."
"I am not harmless! I am a force of nature to be reckoned with!" Replied the angry accountant.
Fluttershy poked her head out of the car and looked at the shocked survivors, she stared just as much as them before a sickly smell hit her. She looked down and her eyes widened.
She saw the bodies of the infected, her first reaction to the gore was to vomit. She immediately emptied her dinner onto the corpses, adding to the smell.
"I hate vomit." Francis said, returning to his usual self.
Fluttershy coughed and spit out some more bile before she got it under control.
"W-What are they?" She asked.
"Vampires." Francis said immediately as Bill face-palmed.
"They're zombies." Bill said. "So, what are you, Fluttershy?"
"Where did you come from?" Louis asked.
"O-Oh... I'm a pegasus, and the last thing I remember was going to bed and finding this weird... That. I found one of those in my bed!" She pointed at Lois's shotgun. "It looked exactly like that!"
"A shotgun? You found a shotgun in your bed?" He said. "And I thought Francis was the only one who did that."
"B-But I never owned one..." She said. "Equestria doesn't have those."
"Well," Bill said. "I guess since Francis saved you, you want to tag along with us?"
She looked at the four survivors, mulling over her options she nodded. But before she could step off, she winced and nearly fell onto the corpses.
"I-I think my ankle might be twisted. I-I think it was when I ran back in here, that I clipped it." She said.
"Climb on." Francis said, crouching.
"W-What?"
"Climb on. As in, get on my back and wrap your arms... Or legs, around me neck. Come on, it's a free piggyback ride."
He gave a smile and she shakily wrapped her fore-legs around his neck, holding onto him with her wings and back legs.
"Alright, the safe-house should be down the block." Zoey said. "let's hope nothing get's in our way."
Francis snorted.
"Come on, I can see it from here, what's the worst that could happen?" He smirked.
A chunk of concrete came flying down, landing in the middle of the group. The survivors all glared at Francis.
"Tank!" Bill yelled, pointing his M-16 at the walking behemoth.
Fluttershy stared in horror at the monstrosity.
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I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
Charly and the chocolate factory. But with Zombies!
"So, we have to not only go through a bank, a military outpost, a museum with an aquarium and the center of town to get to the hospital?" Francis asked. "Isn't this some grade-A bullshit..." He rubbed his temples as he let out a dissatisfied groan. "let me go to the john before we go."
As the door was shut, Bill took a seat next to Fluttershy. She averted her eyes as he rolled a new cigarette in his mouth.
"So, I guess while were going to be together, why don't you tell me about yourself?" He asked.
"O-Oh... Um alright. What do you want to know?"
"Well," he shrugged. "Did you have a job?"
"Oh yes, I was the towns and the forest veterinarian. I took care of all the critters, like dogs, cats, fish, birds and bunnies... Bunnies..." She sniffled. "I miss Angel so much."
"Well alright now, no need to cry." He said rubbing her back. "I'm sure whoever it is, is perfectly fine. Why don't we talk about... News. Has anything interesting ever happened there?"
"W-Well..." She sniffed. "Discord pranked Celestia during the royal sun celebration. He dumped jello on her as she took the stage."
"Discord? Celestia? You all have some strange names." He laughed. "Kid, listen, whoever you have back there, I'm sure they wont have to worry... Heck, you just proved not even an hour ago a Tank couldn't mess with you if it tried."
"B-But... They'll know I'm gone." She said. "I was supposed to go to the spa with-what is that smell!?" She covered her nose.
"Francis!" Bill yelled. "Use some damn air freshener!"
"Damn Molotov cocktails..." Came the response.
Bill face-palmed.
"B-Bill," Fluttershy said. "Why don't you tell me something about yourself. Well, what's your full name?"
"My name?" He nodded. "Bill, Fredrick Sampson." He nodded. "Ya know, I can still remember when the infection hit. Damn massacre where I was at." He rubbed his head. "Men... Women... Even damn children were turning on each other. I took my M-16," he nodded to the gun on the table. "And went to a church. And then they started to ring the bells..." His eyes became distant.
"B-Bill...? Bill, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, snapping the old man out of his trance.
"Wha? Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just... It was just horrible. I knew so many of those people... Neighbors and old veteran buddies of mine... And I had to shoot all of them." A single tear rolled down his cheek before disappearing into his beard. "I had to shoot them all..." He said getting up.
The door opened and Francis came out, buckling his belt.
"Alright, I'm ready." He said, picking up his shotgun and Fluttershy.
As they opened the safe door, Francis spoke again.
"Oh yeah, were also out of toilet paper now." He laughed.
The survivors rolled their eyes at the biker as they went down the alleyway.
Fluttershy was shaking, her eyes darting to every shadow and dark corner they passed. Francis had his shot gun lowered, apparently enjoying the quiet.
"Flutters, how are you doing?" Francis asked as they turned a corner. "Hold that thought." He made a good sized hole in a zombies chest. "I hate zombies."
"I-I feel sick." She said, witnessing the gore.
He looked down at the gore a pursed his lips. "It's the blood and guts, isn't it?" He asked as they entered a green painted building. "You don't have very many fights in you place, do you?"
"N-No... The last war in Equestria was over one thousand years ago." She said. "B-But we never had any zombies."
"Hm," he grunted. "That sucks."
"W-What!?" She gasped. "How could you say that!? Aren't you sad, knowing all of them were once other living beings? Or that they could be friends or family?"
"You know, you would have been right at one time, but" he shrugged. "I never really cared about others all that much. My whole life was composed of failure, being fired, anger and sadness... A lost love." He frowned. "Yeah, I do care about these three knuckle heads. In a way... They are my family. And that's all I could ask for." He smiled. "That and a shotgun and some new vests. Maybe a shower too." he lifted his arm and smelled. "Oh dammit! That stinks!"
They entered through another doorway, a few tiles uplifted by age and poor cleaning.
As they walked through the hall, Fluttershy loosened her grip slightly, relaxing in the quietness.
She was quickly woken up by Zoey kicking in a door.
"Huh, a candy store." She said in surprise. "The street should be clear of infected. Come on."
As they passed though, Francis looked around, as if looking for something. With a laugh he ran over to a shelf a picked up a sucker in yellow wrapping.
"Chewy pops!" He said. "I remember these form when I was a kid! I loved these things!" He took a few and slipped them into his vest pocket.
As they left, the alarms went off and the three survivors looked at Francis.
"Whoops." He said. "My bad."
As the alarms went off, the sound of an approaching horde was heard.
"Ok, were low on ammo and there's a horde coming this way. I suggest we run." Bill said.
"Running?" Francis sneered. "Just follow my lead." He kicked down the sensors, the alarm was still blaring. "Come on, we can hide in the ceiling."
The others merely groaned but still listened to him.
He stood up on the counter, letting Fluttershy up first. After she was up, he crawled in and then hoisted Louis up. They helped Zoey and Bill up after, and just as the horde found it's way to the store.
They sealed the hole and Francis turned on a flashlight. His grin was hidden by the shadow.
"Great, now were stuck up here until they leave." Louis groaned.
"Hey," Francis spoke up. "If we hadn't have come up here, then we would be having to run away. We're all tired from lack of sleep. They wold have caught us and chowed down on our asses."
"He's got a point." Bill said. "We would have stopped at some point, even adrenaline can take someone only so far. But outrunning a horde, forget it."
"Oh dear..." Fluttershy said. "What if the alarm wont cut off? How long are we going to be up here?"
"I don't know." Zoey said. "But it beats being down there."
"Hang on," Francis groaned. "I'll go shut it off. Here, you take this, I have a spare." He said handing Fluttershy the flashlight.
As he crawled into darkness, Fluttershy listened to the sounds of the horde below. They were trampling and smashing just about everything from what she heard.
"Well," Zoey said. "Who wants to bet he'll come back with his fingers nearly burnt off?"
Fluttershy gasped sharply.
"It was a joke Fluttershy." She said. "Morbid, but still a joke. So, do you know any?"
"Um... A few. Why?"
"Maybe a few light hearted ones could help cheer us up." She said.
"W-Well, there was a gorilla with a pick axe walked into a bar and..."
The back of the store
"Come on you piece of crap!" Francis said angrily.
He touched two of the wires together and caused a spark, the alarm went off and he grinned.
He put away the pliers and rubber gloves, picking up his shotgun, he was about to crawl back into the vent when he heard a growl.
"I hate Hunter's." He said.
Out from behind a pair of boxes, a hooded head popped out. It bared it's blood caked lips and gave a screech.
It jumped out as he blew a shell into the boxes, sending jelly beans flying. It gave a growl before jumping at him.
He smirked and stepped to the side, putting a hand over his eyes as he watched the sparks fly. He gave a huff, kicking the smoking corpse of the Hunter.
"Now I remember why I liked being an electrician." He grinned. "I just like electrocuting things."
He pushed himself back up in the enter after eating some jelly beans. He crawled around a bit before seeing the others laughing.
"What's going on here?" He asked. "I almost get killed by a Hunter and I come back to find you all laughing your damn heads off."
"I'm sorry Francis, but she told a... Not so very good joke. But it was the best one I've heard in a long time." Louis laughed. "Oh, you almost got killed by a Hunter?"
"Louis."
"Yeah Francis?"
"Shut up."
"I love you too buddy."
Francis rolled his eye sin the dark, he turned his flashlight off as Fluttershy handed hers back.
"Now, we just wait for them to get bored." He said. "And that gives us time to sleep." He grinned. "If anyone wakes me and were not in mortal danger, I'll shoot you myself and then feed you to the vampires."
"Zombies." Bill said.
Francis raised a middle finger.
They all laid down, nearly at the same time falling asleep.
Fluttershy was shaking, from the dark and wondering how they could be sleeping, knowing there's a horde of flesh eating monster below.
"Hey, Flutter's." Francis said. "You cold?"
"J-Just a little." She said.
"Here, I know it's not much, but it should fit. You can wear it at night if you want." She couldn't see him, but she heard him twist and grunt. She jumped momentarily as something was laid across her back.
She touched the fabric and knew it was his vest. She coughed quietly from the smell. It smelled like alcohol, air freshener, blood and something else worse than vomit, but it kept her warm. It kept her safe from the ghosties.
"Hey, Flutters... When we pass by a clothing store, with actual clothes. What do you say we go shopping and get you a vest?"
"That... would be nice. Thank you Francis."
"No problem, now, go to sleep."
She smiled slightly, finding his grouchiness refreshing and comforting. She curled up on the ceiling, dreaming of her friends.
And her new friends.
Author's Note
The joke:
He sits down and orders a drink, but the bartender stops him.
"Sorry, but we don't allow miners." He said.
It was horrible, I know. But I had to do something with that.
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
Tough guys don't do charity.
Fluttershy yawned, stretching she cracked her back and legs. Looking around, she saw nothing but darkness, she stood up and squinted in the darkness. She smiled as she saw Francis with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
She looked down at the ceiling they were standing on an pulled a board out with her wings, carefully she peeked through and was relieved to see no infected below.
"About time you woke up kid."
She jumped and landed on Francis, startled, he jumped up yelling and swinging. He hit Louis who bumped Zoey and then she hit both of them in the belly.
"Talk about a hell of a wake up call." The old man laughed. "Sorry kid, didn't mean to startle you."
Francis grabbed Fluttershy by the sides and peeled her off his face. She shook like crazy, a crack was heard and their eyes went wide before they fell through the ceiling.
"Francis! Fluttershy! You alright!?"Louis asked peering down.
"Ohhh... Dammit..." Francis groaned as he lay half on the counter. "The... fuck..."
Fluttershy had rolled off him and was cushioned by a bag of licorice. With a gasp she quickly flew to his side.
"Francis! Are you alright? Your not hurt too-"
With a grunt he peeled himself off the counter, wiping some plaster off, he only nodded.
The others jumped down, looking worried as well. That was until Zoey noticed Fluttershy wearing Francis's vest.
"Hey Francis, how'd your vest get on Fluttershy?" She asked pointing a finger at the two.
He quickly looked himself over and saw a plain white shirt. Fluttershy handed him his vest and looked around as they talked.
"It's not what you think." He said raising his hands in defense. "I'm not into bestiality."
"Does the mean biker have a soft spot?" She teased. "Wait... What was that last part? I never said you did..."
"Never thought I'd see the day, Francis being nice. And to a girl!" Bill laughed.
"Mare actually." Louis corrected getting a thank you from Fluttershy.
Francis picked up his shotgun and blasted the wall behind them, mere inches from their heads. They ducked and looked at the biker in shock.
He cocked his shotgun again before stepping outside.
"I-Is he going to be alright?" Fluttershy asked.
"He just needs to blow off some steam," Zoey said. "We've never seen him be nice before."
"Maybe your rubbing off on him." Louis said.
Fluttershy looked at the biker and saw him standing at the door, a bored look on his face.
"Are you sissy's done chatting? We've got zombies to kill and evac points to get to."
"And he's back to his normal self." Zoey smirked.
They exited the candy store and back into the open street.
Fluttershy trotted next to Francis as the others went slightly ahead. Once the noise had went down she nuzzled his leg, he looked down and she mouthed a thank you. He smiled and nodded.
The streets were quiet, except from the occasional zombie getting blasted away.
The streets were littered in papers, an occasional corpse, or just a stray dog. The buildings towered over them, Fluttershy thought of Canterlot, but it was never so grey and intimidating to her.
A thunder-crack rocked the air, Francis jumped and shot out. A piece of concrete was uplifted from the road. The others looked back at him and saw Fluttershy clinging to his leg.
"Uh, Flutters?" He said uneasily. "Your cutting off my circulation."
She didn't listen but instead hugged less hard when another thunder-crack echoed. He gave a grunt before sliding her up to his back. She hugged him around the neck again, shivering as the rain started to fall.
He looked up and grimaced.
"I hate the rain."He said. "Hey shy, your not gonna be able to fly in this, are ya?" He asked. "Wouldn't your wings get all soggy?"
"Um... Pegasai wing's are meant for the tough weather, but I never passed flight school because of the height's. I-I don't think my wings are used to the rain." She replied looking dejectedly down to the ground.
He face-palmed. "Alright, you three turn around and keep looking forward." He said to the other survivors. When they didn't move, he cocked his shotgun again. "Good." He sighed. "I'm doing this way to often..."
He took her off and turned his vest around, he picked her back up and set her in the front. She looked at him with a sight blush, she eeped and hid behind her mane when the other three humans looked back.
"One. Damn. Word." Francis growled. "One. Word. And three shots."
Zoey put a hand to her mouth to keep herself from laughing, Louis and Bill were snickering. He rolled his eyes and gave a grunt. Fluttershy gave a squeak as he made it.
"Laugh it up, because this'll probably be the last time I do this." He said as he walked ahead again.
They remained silent as they walked, Fluttershy covered her eyes as the storm brewed ahead. The wind shrieked through the streets and alleyways, the roar of the infected was heard under the thunder as they began an attack on anything, and everything.
The survivors watched as the lightning outlined the infected, some of them tearing each other apart in the frenzy.
"Just ignore them, there focused on the storm!" Bill yelled over the wind as he kept his beret from flying away. "We can sneak around them, if we stick to the alleys!"
They got behind a car and it provided some cover from the wind. They all took a moment to breath, all of them shaking from the cold.
"I-I hate H-Hypothermia..." Francis said as his teeth chattered. "How are you, s-shy?"
She didn't respond but instead kept shaking, he put a hand to his jaw and he started to move along the ground. He looked at her in bemusement and shock as he began to do a three-sixty on the ground.
"Jeez, she shaking so bad, she could probably take apples off a tree." Louis said.
"I-I have before..." Fluttershy said. "It was when the Flim Flam brothers tried to take the apple families farm... I shook the apples out of the trees..."
They all just stared at her, Zoey coughed awkwardly while Bill whistled. Francis raised an eyebrow, interested in something.
"You worked on a farm too?" He asked.
She looked up and sneezed cutely as her nose brushed against the stubble on his chin. He snickered a little before raising his head up a bit further.
"It was only that one time..." She said. "I was so nervous, all those ponies, the entire town was counting on me and my friends to help save the orchard... It was worse than being a supermodel..."
"You were a supermodel too?" Francis asked. "What?" He asked towards the other survivors who were staring at him oddly. "What? You've never seen a guy in a speedo before?" He grinned as Zoey turned a shade green.
Even Fluttershy grimaced, imagining the biker wearing... That.
A grunt was heard and Bill put a bullet to a zombies head as it shambled past their cover. The sound of more infected yelling in anger towards the noise was heard, the old mans face turned into a grimace as he got up.
"Come on! We've got another horde!" Bill yelled as his eyes widened. "Shit! We've got special infected too!"
The other survivors got up and looked past the car as they ran into the alleyway.
Fluttershy saw a pair of sunken eyes behind a hood before a shriek went through the air.
She watched in horror as the 'special' infected, jumped half the way to where they were and finished the gap with a second jump. It skidded across the pavement when Zoey put a round of bullets into it. Francis stepped over it and let off a few shots, slowing, but barely, slowing the horde as it ran towards them.
As they ran, Louis got the idea to push over some trashcans, Francis tripped on one and fell on his shoulder. With a grunt, he got back up a furious expression plastered on his face.
"Louis!" Francis yelled over the horde and storm. "Come back here so I can strangle you!"
Louis passed a glance back and saw the biker begin to foam in the mouth, his eyes widened and he pulled out the pill bottle. He uncorked the cap and took a few of the white pills.
Louis stopped before sprinting ahead of the group, a crazed smile on his face as he navigated dead-ends in seconds before turning around and going another way. The other survivors, minus Francis, looked at him as they ran. Francis was still ticked off, shown clearly by the veins sticking up in is neck and the foam coming out of his mouth.
"Hey! Over here!" Louis yelled as he shot a door in. "I found a shortcut to the bank!" He jumped through in a somersault before sprinting ahead, the blast of a shot gun echoing out from the building.
The other survivors quickly ran in and looked around, noticing the corpses with multiple limbs missing, they followed the destruction that was Louis on acid that some idiot had put into a painkiller bottle. What an idiot... Whoever it was.
They arrived in an office and looked around, there was a large wooden desk propped by the door that Louis was trying to push. He grinned at Bill and Zoey, but frowned when he heard Francis further down the hall.
"Louis!" Francis yelled as he barreled into the room, the horde was close. "You son of a bitch!"
Fluttershy had passed out and was only know waking up. She looked between the two before climbing out of the bikers vest.
"Francis! Come on, help me move this desk so we don't get torn to pieces!" Louis yelled.
Francis glanced at the desk before gripping the edge, he gave a grunt before it came off the floor and blocked the doorway. He pulled another desk over and set it in front of it, the sound of the horde behind it made him stop for a second.
"That was close. Too close." Louis chuckled.
"You son of a bitch! You tripped me!" Francis yelled as he ran at the man. "Come back here!"
"I don't want to die!" Louis yelled. "Bill, Zoey! Help!"
Fluttershy stared at them for a second, closing her eyes and sobbing as Francis pinned Louis to the wall by the collar of his shirt.
Francis arched back a fist, as he was about to break Louis's nose, he looked over at Fluttershy staring at them pitifully. He gave a yell before punching the wall next to Louis's head, he pulled his fist out from the hole and brought Louis close to his face.
"Try shit like that again, and I wont hit the wall next time." He warned as he shoved Louis off.
Francis approached Fluttershy, he put a hand on her shoulder and she pulled away. He sighed before wrapping her in a hug, she quietly cried into his vest.
"I'm sorry Flutter's... I promise I wont do that again." He said rubbing her back in consolation. "It's alright now," he said tipping her chin up. "Shush now, don't cry." He wiped some tears away, she gave a small smile and hugged him around the neck. "Do you feel better?" He asked as he slowly began to scratch her back.
"Y-Yes..." She sniffed. "Y-You just looked so... So scary..." She whimpered.
"I am pretty ugly aren't I?" He laughed.
"Did he just take a shot at his own ego?" Zoey said. "Fluttershy, you might be doing something to Francis... And I like it." She grinned cheekily.
Fluttershy giggled a little before giving a yawn.
"F-Francis..." She said. "C-Could you scratch a little harder... If that's alright with-"
Her eyes widened as a *pomf* went throughout the room, she blushed a deep crimson as Francis and the others looked at her in confusion.
"Uh, Flutters..." Francis said setting her down. "Did you just get a boner?"
She gave a small squeak, feeling multiple pairs of eyes on her, she silently made her way under a desk and curled up in a balls of yellow and pink.
"Well, this just got twenty percent more awkward." Bill huffed as the humans turned away.
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
Fluttershy rapidly tried to push her wings down, the survivors had found other things to occupy themselves with.
Bill and Zoey were keeping watch by some windows, Louis was on a computer looking at cats, and Francis was laid out on a table, sleeping peacefully.
"No..." He mumbled, swatting at an imaginary object. "I hate fly's... My sandwich." He grimaced rolling over.
he fell to the floor, yelling as he shot up. The others, minus Fluttershy, looked over at him. He coughed into his fist before straightening his vest.
"Sandwich's? Really?" Zoey questioned.
"I want egg salad." He huffed picking up his pump action. "My brother always made the best."
"You have a brother?" They all asked.
"I'm adopted," he shrugged. "I was taken in by a Latino family. My name is Francis, Alexander, Sanchez." He took a bow. "I never did tell you all my full name before, did I?" He scratched his head with the barrel of his gun, finger dangerously close to the trigger.
"Francis, put that down before you blow your brains out!" Zoey said.
He shrugged before putting the gun down.
"C-Come on! Go down...!" Fluttershy said quietly.
Francis cocked his head to the side, rubbing his thin goatee. He walked over to her and pulled her out from the desk. She squeaked as he turned her round and round, looking her over.
"So, I'm guessing your wings won't go down do to an increase in reproductive hormones?" He asked.
"W-What?" She asked.
"Your wings are doing this because of an increase in hormones, correct?" He asked.
She nodded, blushing.
"I may know how to fix this." He said. "Hold still, this could feel... Weird."
He unbuckled his belt and leaned down, wrapping it around the bases of her wings, he pulled the belt hard and she flinched.
"Sorry, I'm just cutting off the blood flow slightly." He said. "Lessen the blood flow, I lessen the effects of the hormones. Come get me when your wings become placid again." He ruffled her mane once before walking back to the others.
"Francis!" Zoey yelled. "Pull up your pants!"
"But I feel so free!" He whined as he pulled them up. "Besides, I'm letting Fluttershy borrow my belt." He jabbed a thumb towards the pegasus.
"Letting her try on all your clothes, aren't you?" She asked.
"No, I'm just helping her with an... Issue." He grinned. "Hey Zoey, come over here, I need your help."
He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her by Fluttershy, the pegasus looked up and cocked her head to the side.
"Alright Fluttershy, look at Zoey." Francis said as he held up his pants.
Fluttershy looked at Zoey, the human shrugged before whistling a small tune.
"How are your wings?" He asked.
"Still up..." She sighed.
"Damn, I was thinking that would have made them go down." He said. "I guess your doomed with a pretty face Zoey." He shrugged.
She slapped him across the face before storming off. He fell to the floor laughing at her, both of them red-faced.
"That was to easy!" He laughed.
"Screw you Francis!" She yelled.
"Hey," he chortled. "If it makes you feel any better, you look better than some Italian supermodels I've had to work with."
She kept her back to him, he rolled his eyes in response.
"F-Francis..." Fluttershy poked him with a hoof. "C-Can you take the belt off now?" She asked looking away.
He gave her a small smile before undoing the belt and putting it back on himself.
"Get down!" Louis whispered pulling Francis down. "Smoker."
Francis raised his eyebrows before picking up a stack of papers. He got a rubber band from Louis and put the papers around his head. He crept towards the window and raised his head slightly.
"There's a Smoker out there alright." He shrugged. "Hey, uh, Fluttershy, do you want to... I don't know... get it?"
"W-What...?" Fluttershy stuttered with wide eyes. "Y-You want me to... K-Kill... It?"
"I'll help you, but you need to learn if your going to survive." He said. "We all had to learn at some point. Bill, mind if I borrow your gun?" He asked.
Bill glanced over at the pegasus and sighed, a cloud of smoke wafting up from his cigarette. He handed the biker his gun which Francis took slowly.
"Come on over Flutteshy," he said. "This'll have to do before we can make a suitable target range." He stuck out a gloved hand. "If you trust me, I promise you, we, or anyone else will not judge you. Please... Do this for yourself and me."
She blinked through the tears, slowly she crawled towards him. he wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder comfortably. She still shook even with his comfort.
"Now, take your writing hoof." He said. She put her left hoof up. "Ok, good, now, put it around the trigger." He slowly put it around the trigger. "Now, press the butt of it against your shoulder and make sure you have a tight grip."
She nodded, keeping her eyes closed. He sighed, already knowing he was really going to hate this part.
"Now, just look down the sight on it."
She stopped and looked up at him, a small frown streaked with tears.
"Trust me, whatever you'll be shooting, isn't a friend, a person, or anything but a monster."
She opened her eyes and looked down the gun, seeing a small piece sticking up, she focused on that.
The Smoker came into view, he lifted the small aim up to its head.
"Now, just pull it once, and you wont have to do anything more today. Ok?"
Shakily, she pulled the trigger. She threw the gun down as the glass was still breaking and buried her face into his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her, rocking her gently. His face was a complete blank, his eyes distant as she cried. The others looked on in sadness.
The only sounds afterwards that could be heard were the moans of the infected and the rain pelting against the roof.
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
Bill looked up, groggily he stretched out letting the morning air wash over him. Shivering from the chill it brought, he looked around and saw the others sleeping peacefully. All except Francis who was looking at him with blood-shot eyes.
"Mornin' grandpa." Francis whispered giving a small, sad smile.
"Francis?" Bill said squinting at the biker. "You look like you haven't gotten a minute of sleep."
He merely shrugged, instead he ran a hand down Fluttershy's mane, she smiled slightly making a small purring sound. Bill looked back up at Francis and saw him frowning.
"I stayed up all night, comforting her," he said. "And crying myself."
"You? Crying?" Bill chuckled before he saw Francis give him a small glare. "Your serious? Well... Why?"
"Because I'm a complete bastard." He said scowling. "A stupid, deadweight, bastard for what I've done."
"Ah, earlier with the gun." He nodded. "Francis, what you did was good... But bad at the same time."
"No..." He moaned. shutting his eyes and slowly setting Fluttershy to the side. "It was horrible. A god damn abomination, Bill." He said clenching his fists.
"She had to learn at some point Francis." Bill said. "She would have died if we hadn't let her shoot."
"We?" He said. "What we? It was me, who had her shoot and-"
"Me who gave you the gun." Bill said. "If anything, we all take some of the blame here. Louis and Zoey could have stopped us, I could not have given you the gun, and you didn't have to let her. Were all to blame."
"But I made her do it...!" He hissed putting his gloved hands to his eyes. "I can take zombies, violence, killing... But... But I just can't handle turning something so... So innocent into a killer. What the fuck is wrong with me, Bill?"
"Nothing Francis." Bill said sternly. "Other than a large attitude. You are a good man, not a bad one. You did it for her own good."
"How am I a good man?" He asked wiping a strand of snot away,
"Because you feel guilt." He said. "Listen, back in my days in Vietnam, I saw first-hand how a teenager, maybe just fifteen, got up as we were liberating a camp. And then sunk a knife into a soldiers throat. And do you know what I did?"
"Y-You shot the kid?"
"No. He was shot by someone else. Me, I was the one who put the soldier out of his misery. I shot him in the head. It was a bad thing, but it was the right thing to do. Francis, I can relate to you in more ways than you know."
"Are you trying to butter me up? Sorry, but I don't swing that way." The biker laughed slightly. "That joke sucked... I was always a bad comedian."
"You were a comedian?"
They both looked and saw Zoey sitting up. She was staring at Francis, her grin tuned into a frown when she saw his face. He looked back down at the floor, rubbing a hand over Fluttershy's side.
"Francis? Are you feeling alright?" She asked in concern. "Your eyes are all puffy, and you have some snot dripping down you chin stubble."
He merely shook his head and kept quiet.
"He feels guilty about having Fluttershy shoot the Smoker." Bill said. "I told him were all to blame in the whole picture."
"But, why are his eyes all-"
"I was crying alright." Francis grunted. "Go on, laugh. The tough, nerve breaking biker was crying. Just let it all out."
He still stared at the floor, hearing nothing he made a wary glance up. His muscles tightened when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning, he saw Zoey with a frown.
"Francis," she leaned in and hugged him. "Why the hell would you think I'd laugh? We all have our reasons to cry, and each time no one should judge you. I kind'a respect you for that." She said.
"Wow... Francis was crying?"
The survivors turned to see Louis just now sitting up.
"Make one damn joke. One joke and I'll dangle you out the window." Francis warned.
"Hey, were cool, calm down." He said. "She's gotta point. That takes guts admitting you cried because you felt emotion. The last time I cried was because my tie got caught in a paper shredder at work one time."
The others merely stared at the former accountant. Francis got a large grin on his face before he began to laugh.
Fluttershy woke up when Francis fell to his side, clutching his sides as he laughed. She squeaked in surprise and ran to Zoey as she watched with a smile.
"Wait, let me get this straight... You got your tie caught in a... A..." Slowly his look went from a laughing one, to a suspicious one. "Were you wearing a black and red striped tie that day? On a Thursday?"
"Yeah. Why? How did you know that?" Louis asked uneasily.
"Because I was the one who had to come and re-carpet the place after it caused a fire!" He exploded. "I had to do over a thousand goddamn feet because of your sorry ass! I was the one you talked to as an apology! You got me fired because it was the wrong color!"
"That... That was you?" Louis said wide-eyed. "Oh my god, I never meant for you to get fired! I swear!"
"Forget it, I was going to quit that day anyway." He sighed. "I hate carpeting." He said crossing his arms. "Come on you pansies, and Fluttershy," he added. "We need to go before I throw Louis out the window."
As they collected their weapons, Fluttershy went up to Francis and poked him in the leg. He looked down with a frown, going onto a knee he hugged her while rubbing her head.
"Don't worry," he said. "You don't have to do a thing today. Just like I promised."
"It's not that..." She said. "I never mean to make you feel guilty about anything." She whispered.
His hand stopped, she froze in sudden fear. Shutting her eyes she hunched slightly, expecting him to start yelling, but instead she looked back at him and saw him frowning.
"Flutter's, you didn't... I mean not on purpose... I made myself feel guilty." He said. "besides, I had something in my eye. That's all."
"That reminds me when I saw that guy at the zoo," Louis said. "Yeah, I dropped my slushi and some employee slipped right into the Gila monster inclosure. He flung sand, and lizards everywhere. I've only ran that fast when a Tank-"
"That was your slushi?" Francis growled. "At the North Carolina zoo? That asshat who dropped his drink, made me fall into that same enclosure, and then blinded me for two days because of the sand?"
"It wasn't on an April? Was it?" Louis laughed nervously.
Francis narrowed his eyes.
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
Francis currently had Louis's ankles on his shoulders as he held the former accountant out a window. Louis, for his part, was quietly screaming, but sputtering at the biker. Francis stared down at the man with a frown, Louis looked back up with an expression of fear as he felt the biker adjust his fingers.
"Francis, come on!" Louis yelled. "I never even knew you!"
"Yeah," Francis said. "I know. But, um... Were you also at the Lincoln University when the lab was blown up, after someone fucked with the chemicals and a bunsen burner? Because I was about to graduate when I was blamed for something I didn't do!"
"W-What? No! I've only went there on a class trip! I was in an accounting class in a online program. I've never been there!"
"Alright, but, how fast do you think a human body can fall from a window when compared to how fast an apple can fall?" He asked. "Because I'm out of apples, I'll use you and throw a computer tower after you. Don't worry, it's only a two story drop."
"Francis...?" Fluttershy said hovering next to him. "C-Could you please not drop Louis? Please...?" She asked staring at the accountant.
"Alright..." He groaned hoisting Louis back in. "Louis, we have some history to discuss." He said looking into the other man's eyes. "But later."
Louis nodded before scrambling to get his gun. Francis took a sucker out from his jacket and unwrapped it. Leaning against the wall, he looked out the window and put a finger to his chin in thought. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he looked and saw Fluttershy nodding towards the door. Raising an eyebrow, he slowly traced a trail of blood to the door where it just slid down.
"What the hell is this?" He commented. "This wasn't here before, was it?" He asked looking back at the others. "Hey, the hell is this?" He asked himself as he wiped blood from the bridge of his nose. "No way."
They all looked up and saw the ceiling had a stain of crimson running down the middle. Suddenly, one of the panels began to move. They all rushed for their guns, Fluttershy hiding behind a desk while she saw Francis give her a nod and wave her back. Slinking back, she could only let her imagination run free as she heard a crash, evidently from the ceiling collapsing.
"Take it down!" Bill yelled.
She flinched when she heard a screech and something shatter. She heard Francis give out a shot shortly before the shatter. Peeking out from cover, she saw Bill, Zoey, and Louis moving the desk's out from the doorway in an obvious panic. Not seeing Francis, her little heart sped up as she saw no sign of him. Coming out, she looked up to see if he was just standing on the desk, seeing he wasn't, she gave a small whimper.
"W-Where's Francis?" She asked. "A-And what was t-that noise. Was that a special infected?"
"Yes!" Zoey said. "A Hunter, freshly turned, came out from the ceiling and took Francis out the window!" She said before they finally got the last desk out of the way. "Come on! I think I hear-"
"You rotting son of a bitch! You got liver on my vest!" Francis yelled out from below.
Running through the doorway, the three survivors quickly began to run. Inside, Fluttershy opened her wings and took off from the window. Looking down, she saw Francis firing away at a couple of zombies as they ran at him. Gliding a safe distance above, he aimed his shotgun between two zombies rushing, fired, and watched as the sides of their heads were blown off. Looking up, he gave a small wave. She quickly glided down and landed by his side.
"Franics! Z-Zoey said you fell out the window. How did you survive?" She asked.
"The Hunter and another infected broke my fall." He said kicking the Hunter's corpse. "You will not believe how disgusting that felt. Landing who knows how fast on rotting meet, cracked bones, and whatever that zombie ate. Well, it was probably a person or an animal, or something like that." He said. "It was like working in the sewer all over again. Except there isn't a sewage pipe putting rats on me."
Looking around the empty street, he went over to an abandoned car, climbed on the hood, and put his hands behind his head. Laying his shotgun on his chest, he put an arm over it, his hand gripping the trigger.
"Francis!" Bill yelled as he and the others burst from the front of the building. "Francis! Where the hell are you!?"
"Quit yelling old man, I'm right here." Francis said sliding off the car. "So, which way now?"
"Francis, you just fell two stories and lived, you need to take a breather." Zoey said.
"Breathers are for pussies." He said cocking his shotgun. "So, which way to the military outpost?" He asked looking down the street. "Because, if I'm right, we're going to have to follow that trail of smoke." He said pointing at the pillar of smoke rising in the distance.
Zoey, digging in her pocket, produced a smaller map than back at the safe-house. Looking at it for a moment, she folded it back up and pointed towards the smoke. Francis let out a sigh before he began to march.
"You know," Louis said. "If they were overrun, do you think there's weapons and ammo? Maybe a working car or truck?"
"Or a tank?" Francis said. "Now that would be awesome. Imagine that, a tank versus a Tank. That rotting bastard wouldn't stand a chance."
"Yeah." Louis smiled. "You think I could be a gunner? Zoey could re-load the canon, and Bill could navigate. We wouldn't have to worry about any of the special infected."
"Except if a Tank gets behind us." Francis said. "We're boned if that happens. I wonder if it could tear through a tank...?" He asked himself. "What do you think we'll find there, Fluttershy? Um, Fluttershy, you alright?" He asked looking at the shaking pegasus. Tracing her line of sight, he noticed the others were quiet, and, following their sight, he raised an eyebrow.
A large something was dragging itself into an alleyway. Its arms were as massive as a Tank's, puss and blood dripped from its back where shards of metal stuck out. It walked on all fours, like a gorilla, and it was currently climbing a building. As it disappeared from sight, they all merely stood in shock at what they saw.
"Um... Maybe we should run?" Louis suggested.
"You run, I'm going to charge the enemy." Francis said. "And then, pretend I just didn't see an infected pincushion. Fluttershy, you alright? Fluttershy?" He said looking down. "Oh."
Fluttershy, for her part, reacted as calmly as she could. She was currently on her back, legs stuck up, her eyes wide and each time she breathed, a 'baa' came out. Francis leaned down and wrapped his arms around her. Cradling her in one arm, he held his shotgun in the other as they all began to run.
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
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.
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
When Johnny comes marching home.
"Close the door! Close it!" Zoey yelled as her and the others tried to close the door in the new building they had taken residence in.
They had been running through buildings after the dentist's office had been overrun. Now, they were all pushing against the metal door to the new safe room Bill had luckily spied as they were running. Fluttershy, having wings, was the first to enter. She was currently inside a ten gallon bucket on the other side of the room.
As the other three survivors pushed against the door, they slowly managed to close it. Louis, using his knee, kicked the metal bar into place and jumped away with the others as the infected began to try and reach them through the bars. Getting up, they wiped the blood and other fluids off from themselves before moving tables and boxes in front of the door.
"Finally," Francis groaned as he sat against the wall. "I hate having to run that far. Especially since I was the one having to use my elbow to bust down the doors." He said hotly while giving Louis a glare. "Only if there was someone else to help."
"Hey, don't give me that glare." Louis said. "You're the one who decided to go silver back on the Hunter and then act like an NFL player when you saw a regular infected going after Fluttershy. Besides, your shoulder shouldn't hurt that much, you did use the zombie to plow through the doors."
He rolled his eyes and snorted. Looking to the side, he tapped the side of the bucket and chuckled a bit as it flew an inch off the ground. Slowly, it rose up and Fluttershy peeked out from behind her mane.
"A-Are we safe?" She asked.
"Take a look," Francis said pointing to the door. "They can't get in."
She spared a glance at the infected attempting to get in, she quickly slammed the bucket back down in silence. Rolling his eyes, he took the bucket by the top edges and lifted it up.
"Wait, what?" He said seeing nothing.
Feeling the bucket rattle slightly, he looked up and saw Fluttershy hanging onto the inside. Frowning, he held out the bucket and shook it slightly, she slid off the inside and onto the floor where she latched onto his legs. He dropped the bucket and fell back onto the concrete floor, trying to pry her off.
"Fluttershy," Francis groaned. "My leg. I'm losing feeling in my leg. Get off me."
She loosened her grip and sat with her back to the door.
"So, where the hell are we?" Zoey asked. "Are we still on track?"
Bill, looking over a map on the wall, traced a finger over a road and began going up. stopping on a marker called Florence Road, he tapped it twice. Holding his finger there, he looked over at where the military outpost was and traced a path to it.
"Well, we went slightly off path for a bit, but if this part here," he pointed at a cross road. "Isn't blocked off, we should be able to have a straight shot at it."
"What are waiting for then?" Louis asked. "Lets go!"
"Not yet," Bill said. "We need to do an ammo count. I haven't fired any bullets, so I'm still at two clips, three if you count the one already in it."
"I've got four clips." Zoey said.
"Uh... Thirteen shells." Louis said. "How many-"
"I'm out." Francis said. "Hang on, I'll get something." He said shouldering his shotgun.
They all watched him trace the pipes on the ceiling, seeing him stop and stare up at one, he reached up and grabbed it. Hanging an inch off the floor, he shook his body in hopes of loosening it. Feeling it rattle, he pushed his lower body up and planted both feet against the opposite sides of it. Pulling it with all his strength, it finally disconnected and he fell to the floor, unfortunately taking the pipe down faster than himself.
He laid there for a minute, the others not sure what to do. Even Fluttershy was at a loss for words as she stared at the biker. Slowly, he stood up, using the pipe as a cane, he had one hand holding it while he cradled his mistreated masculinity with the other.
"Alright," he said. "Now I'm ready." He grunted as he stood straight up.
"Francis, are you sure you don't need to sit down?" Zoey asked. "You took a hard hit in the ba-"
"Shut up you monkeys and lets just go." He said beginning to limp towards the door. "I'll just hang in the back for a bit. Fluttershy, why don't you go with Louis for a bit?"
She merely nodded and bit her lip when she saw him hobble over to the second door, took out the bar and exited. The others all shook their heads before following.
The new area was a dimly lit alleyway, piles of trash littered the ground while trashcans and bags were lined on the walls. The wail of the infected could still be heard from there, with only a building separating the two factions.
Going down the alleyway, the others kept their eyes on the windows above, prepared if a Smoker or Boomer came down. Fluttershy was still shaking, shaking and observant. She was especially scared that it was dark, there were zombies, and she was in the back. Moving up to where he was next to Louis, he gave her a glance before going back to staring ahead.
Seeing a light shining through the darkness, they pressed themselves up against the wall and slowly slid to the corner. Francis stuck his head out from the side, standing still for a moment, he got out from cover and went around. The others keeping watch from the sides and back followed immediately, not wanting a gap to be made.
The light was coming from a burning car on the side of the road. Walking past it and into the street, only a few cars could be seen. Infected stood idly on the sidewalk or in the road, occasionally they would move from one spot to another.
"Just stay quiet and try not to attract them all at once." Bill said as they huddled by the car. "I'm telling you especially Francis."
"Jerk. I can be stealthy." The biker muttered as they all went to another car.
An infected stood by the side, back turned to them while it fought over another for no indiscriminate reason. Bill, Looking at Francis made a motion with his head towards the two infected. Francis nodded and crouch walked to where Bill was at, and in a swift motion, smashed the pipe against the closest infected's head and knocking it onto the other. He quickly beat the other zombie's head in before getting back behind cover.
"Alright, two down and," Francis looked up and then groaned. "Six more to go. I hate math."
"You hate everything." Zoey remarked.
"Not true."
"What don't you hate?"
"Fluttershy, guns, explosions, vests, fire, and beer."
She rolled her eyes before peeking over the edge herself. She stayed like that for a second before taking a pistol out from a holster on her side. Pointing it straight ahead, she fired off six shots, holstering the gun again she stood up and began walking.
Getting out from cover, they all saw each of the infected laying in a puddle of blood. She looked back and smirked as she saw Francis stare dejectedly at his pipe. Coming out, Fluttershy felt nauseous as she saw the blood, swallowing what little bile that was coming up, she took in a deep breath but only to cough from the horrid smell of the two zombies Francis killed.
"Don't worry," Louis said. "You get used to it quick. Just take small breaths."
She nodded and began taking, small deep breaths in. Slowly, the bile went down and she gave a small smile. Looking ahead, she saw the others had stopped in the center of the road.
"W-What's wrong?" She asked flying up to Bill. "Are there anymore zombies?"
"No, but the intersection ahead is crowded with cars." He said. "We can get through, but it will take a while to get to where we're going. Alright, everyone stay sharp. We're going in."
She looked ahead and saw a neat line of rusted cars, paint chipping off from them and piling on the ground. Windows were shattered, even pieces of metal from torn car doors jutted out from the sides.
Going forward again, they all slowly approached the wrecks. Glass crunching underfoot, they all squirmed their way past the first row of cars into the more open areas between them. Giving each other looks from the sides, they all let out a simultaneous sigh as they continued on.
Fluttershy was breathing slowly. Trying to keep the smell of molded seats, blood and oil out of her lungs. Looking next to her, she saw Louis wipe his eyes with a sleeve as he coughed a little.
As they progressed further into the maze of wreckage, the cars and vehicles created large walls of metal, blocking each other from view. The only way they could tell if someone was close, was by how far their breathing was from where another was at. Fluttershy, was for her part freaking out whenever her and Louis passed a large vehicle with rotting corpses hanging out from the windows.
"Great, there's a fork here." Louis said as he stared at the pile of vehicles blocking the way. "Which way do you think we should go, Fluttershy?" He asked looking down at her.
"O-Oh... I don't really care. Just as long as we can get out of here." She said.
"Alright, let's try something." He said putting a hand over his eyes. "Eleven, ten, nine-"
As he was counting, Fluttershy heard glass crunching from behind her. Turning, she saw an infected running at her, lips curled back and ready to kill. Gasping, she ran through the left fork.
"One." Louis said looking at the left. "Come on Fluttershy. Where'd you go?" He asked before getting tackled by the infected. "Son of a bitch! Get off me!"
Fluttershy was running as fast as she could, her wings locked up in fright as she saw more bodies in the shadows. Hearing Louis yell made her stop before she realized some of the shadows were moving. Seeing two infected shamble out from a bus, she immediately turned and began running again with them hot on her hooves.
Looking wildly around, she tripped when a gunshot, presumably Louis, startled her enough that she tripped and hit her head on the bumper of a car
The first one grabbed her roughly by the right wing making her semi-conscious self yelp in pain. The second one grabbed her by the front left leg. The one holding her leg bit down and she screamed, the infected were blown away by Louis as he got there a second too late, and she was left on the ground holding her bleeding leg.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Louis yelled as he stared wide-eyed at her wound. "H-Hang on, I just need something to wrap around it!"
Tearing off the bottom of his shirt, she quickly wrapped it around her should and propped he reg into it after tying another piece of cloth over the wound. Helping her back onto her hooves, he quickly looked around with a certain twitch in his movements.
"L-Louis...!" She cried. "I-It bit me! Am I going to turn into one of t-them?" She asked.
"No dammit!" He yelled. "You will not turn!" He yelled. "Fluttershy, I need you to promise me something, can you do that?"
"Y-Yes..." She sniffed.
"Do not say a word about this to anyone, got it?" He asked. "I don't want them freaking out and... Well, you know." He said staring at her leg.
"D-Don't say anything? But what if they ask what happened?"
"You tripped and cut your leg on a piece of metal." He said. "Come on, let's see if we can't find the others. Can you walk? Fly? Or do you need me to carry you?"
"I-I don't think I can walk, and my wing needs preening." She said wiping her face with her god leg. "C-Can you carry me?"
"Sure," he said picking her up by the back legs. "Your a lot lighter than I thought you'd be. "
"Pegasai have hallow bones so they can fly better." She said. "We also make the rainbows, fix the weather and, once a year make a pony powered tornado to bring water up from Ponyville's reservoir to Cloudsdale."
"Sounds fun. But we need to be quiet so I don't get tackled again."
"Oh, sorry. I rattle off things when I'm scared."
"No problem."
Author's Note
Sorry for the late chapter, I had a bit of trouble wording this. The next chapter shouldn't take as long. On the bright side, after I finish the chapter after this one, I can move on to King of Velrain!
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
Boom, Boom... Sorry. My bad.
Fluttershy was gritting her teeth, small sobs coming out from her as she cradled her leg. Ever since she had been bit, she expected it to feel hot, blistering where the infected had bitten her, but no. Her leg felt cold, almost numbingly so, where the bite was. She was taking deep, quick breaths as Louis navigated his way through the piles of cars.
"Fluttershy, how's the leg?" Louis asked pushing a car door out of the way.
"C-Cold. S-So... Cold." She said. "W-Why is it c-cold?" She asked opening her eyes until her tears stung them so bad she forced them shut again.
"That's no good." He said. "When I got bit, it burned. And I mean like putting your hand on a stove-top hot. My skin actually blistered a bit before it healed."
"W-Will I turn?" She asked. "I-Is there a cure?"
"If there was a cure, there wouldn't be any infected. So far though, the only cure we have come out of a gun." He said. "I had a friend that was bit one time, Kenny. He was a good guy. Didn't hurt anyone, didn't steal... Sure he got drunk a little, but the most he ever did was fracture his pelvis trying to do some drunk parkour."
"H-He sounded nice. W-What happened?" She asked sending a tremor through him.
"The infection. We were in a Food Lion, stuck in the back. He got bit earlier, and we both waited it out. Hoping that he was immune. When he stopped moving, I went to nudge him and that's when he changed and lunged at me. He bit me on the shoulder, nearly taking a piece of me as I pushed him off and... Well, you can guess."
"Why didn't you-"
"Shoot myself?" He mused. "I guess I was scared. Too scared to die, and so far, I think that's what has kept me alive so far."
"Y-You know what I think i-it was?" She said sniffling.
"What?"
"I-I think it was-"
"Fluttershy! Louis!"
They both looked ahead and saw Zoey, Bill, and Francis standing in an open clearing. They all had worried looks that turned into even worse when they saw the red on Fluttershy. Rushing over, they quickly stopped Louis and he handed Fluttershy over to Zoey.
"Louis, what the hell happened?" Francis asked. "She's covered in blood!"
"S-She tripped and cut her leg on some metal." He said. "We were being chased after I was jumped, she ran and when I caught up, she was sitting in an empty car."
Frowning, he turned to the pegasus who nodded in confirmation. Turning back to Louis, he lightly slugged him in the shoulder. Ignoring Louis, he turned his attention back to Fluttershy who was shivering. Putting a hand to her head, he immediately put it back to his chest as he stared at her in shock.
"Fluttershy, you're freezing!" He said rubbing his hand. "And I mean absolutely cold."
"I-I'm sorry. I skipped m-my checkup y-yesterday." She said before sneezing. "Sorry."
Nodding, he picked her up again and winced as she put a leg around his neck. Looking around, she noticed the cars and other vehicles had stopped in a pileup behind them. Looking behind herself as Francis began to trudge through the garbage littering the highway, she saw a large building, larger than most and resembled the Cloudsdale stadium.
"That's just one of the abandoned stadiums," Zoey said. "When the infection hit, there wasn't a need for sports, or in any case, sports literally died. So, the military set up a base here, moved a few vehicles, and posted a ton of soldiers."
"All of which got their asses kicked by the infected." Francis said. "Look at us, a rag tag team of misfits, and we're doing better."
"Oh my, that's horrible." Fluttershy wheezed out. "I-I don't feel so cold anymore, is that good?"
"Nope. You're still a walking case of frostbite." Francis said.
"Frostbite is here? I hope he isn't hurt." She said. "He was always so like Rainbow Dash, he'd fly right into the winter clouds and come out covered in frost. Everypony say's, even himself, that he's slightly frost retardant. I've never heard of being frost retardant, but I've heard of being flame retardant."
"...You do know I was talking about the medical condition, right?" Francis said slowly.
"...Now I do." She said timidly.
As they walked towards the stadium, she became acutely more aware of what was around her.
The road they were one was littered from debris, mainly clothes and empty suitcases arranged in piles, and then there were the bodies. Dozens of them rotting and being pecked at by birds, one of which just had to look at her with an eyeball in its beak.
"That-That bird h-has an... I-In i-it's..." Fluttershy said pointing towards the offending bird. "That's just horrible!" She said attempting to vomit but only making dry heaves.
"Eh, I've seen a cow eat a chicken before." Francis said.
Fluttershy squeaked, her eyes rolled up in her head, and her head fell on his shoulder. He tried to blow some of her mane out of his face and ended up with more of it covering it. Groaning, he looked over to see the others snickering.
"Now isn't that just adorable." Zoey said making him grip his pipe even tighter. "Francis carrying her around like that, almost like a mother holding a child."
"That's the ugliest woman I've ever seen then." Louis said.
"I wouldn't worry about her, I'd worry about the father!" Bill laughed.
Francis muttered an 'I hate you all' through Flutterhsy's mane.
Arriving at the stadium doors, the glass push and pull doors had long since shattered. There were a few bodies laying in the glass, some with bullet holes in their heads, most with shards of glass sticking out from their backs. As they all stepped over them, they all stopped and coughed as the smell of decay, mold, ash, used gunpowder and dried blood hit them.
"Oh, dammit! That stinks!" Francis said effectively pushing the pink mane from his face. "Now it's worse!"
Coughing and wheezing, they all took a few seconds to adjust to the air. Looking around in the darkness, they all took into account the horrible condition of the lobby they were in.
The concession stand had most of the glass smashed in, tiles had been uprooted, mice and other small rodents rummaged through the filth, even a part of the ceiling where the tiles had fallen off was being used as an exit for a broken pipe that had long since dried up. And the scraps of clothing that were littered and stained laid by the doorways, barricades made from fencing, and anything cloth might get caught on.
"So, should we look around, or just head out into the stadium?" Louis asked casually walking towards a second set of unlabelled doors. "Because, if there's still power, I'm sure as hell not getting jumped in the dark."
As he left, Zoey quickly followed him with a mock salute goodbye. Bill, moving the cigarette in his mouth, looked over at Francis and nodded towards the concession stand. Francis got the idea and walked over, careful to not trip on anything.
"Alright old man, what is it?" Francis said sweeping some glass away to lay Fluttershy down.
"Did Louis seem a bit strange to you?" Bill asked looking at the doors. "Not himself in any way when he was talking to Fluttershy?"
"Not really, I failed at being a psychologist. By the way, it was the judge's fault that the convict was freed, not mine." Francis said.
"I'm just going to ignore that last bit." Bill said with a raised eyebrow. "But I'm getting off topic. Didn't you think Louis sounded a bit... Nervous?"
"Yeah, you know, now that you mention it, he did." Francis nodded. "But what does a nervous voice have to do with anything? He was nearly killed, and he is a huge wuss."
"He's been nearly killed plenty of times before, but not once did he sound like that." Bill said leaning against the metal edges of the counter. "You don't think he was lying, do you?"
"Nah, we both know he can't lie for shit." Francis said spitting on the ground next to him. "Nice to see she's still alive." Francis said as Fluttershy began to stir.
"I-Is the bird gone...?" She asked sitting up on the glass top. "Where are we?"
"Were inside the stadium." Bill said. "Fluttershy, is that story you told us true?"
"The one about Frostbite?" She said.
"No, the one about what happened to your leg." He said nodding towards the reddening cloth. "Speaking of that, how's it feeling?"
"O-Oh..." She said, her pupils dilating as the biker and veteran looked at her. "I-It still hurts." She squeaked out.
"Well, that's to be expected from a nasty cut like that." He said. "So, what happened out there? Because even I can tell, even being chased, you're to observant to just trip."
"I-I... Um... I-"
"Don't have to answer that." Francis said letting her breathe out a sigh. "Come on, if she say's she slipped, she slipped."
"Alright, fair enough." He shrugged. "Hod do you think Louis and Zoey are doing?"
"Doing what?" Fluttershy asked.
"Fucking." Francis said while whistling an innocent tune.
"For the love of! Francis, really?" Bill groaned as he slapped a hand to his face.
"O-Oh my..." Fluttershy said hiding behind her mane. "I-I think I'm just going to go and preen my wings a bit. If that's OK?" She asked.
Francis picked her up and set her down. As she walked away to a corner, Bill looked over at Francis with a glare, he merely looked back with a grin.
Louis and Zoey
"Do you even know where you're going?" Zoey asked as he led them through the dark hall with only a lighter.
"Yeah, of course I do, I'm following the signs overhead." He said stopping to raise the lighter. "Left to the junction box." It read. "Come on, let's hurry and get out of here. It smells worse down here then up top."
Feeling around on the wall, she pulled her hand back in disgust when it went into something wet and grainy. Gagging slightly, she wiped it on her pants.
In the darkness, a low moan was mistaken for a pipe rattling.
"Do you even know what to look for?" Zoey asked as Louis navigated through the halls. "Seriously, I'm really having doubts right-"
"Yeah, yeah, hold this, will you?" He asked handing her the lighter.
"Sure. Why not?" She said grabbing the lighter.
As she shined it no him, she leaned forward slightly to see him opening a large grey box on the wall. He gently grabbed her wrist and led the flame forward, fiddling with the switches and wires, he looked them over before flipping an orange switch at the bottom, to where the colored tab was green.
With a sudden whirring, the lights in the hall returned, and the venting was also turned back on. As he gave a clap and smile of self accomplishment, that quickly faded as he looked down the now lit hall.
"Zoey, I think I just fucked up." He said raising his gun. "I definitely did!"
She turned and dropped the lighter. Infected were picking themselves up off the floor, all of them now with their bloodied eyes on them, lips pulled back in one group snarl.
"Louis! This is all your fault!" Zoey yelled as she raised her gun and began taking the infected out by the two's.
Up above
Francis was twiddling one of Fluttershy's feathers in his hand, seemingly mesmerized by it. Every once in a while, he would hold it up to the light and squint, almost as if he were trying to stare at something hidden inside or outside of it. When the venting turned on, he jumped and dropped the feather in a small patch of dust.
"Dammit." He muttered picking it up. He paused before a sudden realization hit him. "Oh no..." He only managed to say before Fluttershy pounced on his back with a sudden death grip. "That's alright, I didn't need a spine anyway." He said attempting to stand.
"Relax, kid, it's just the air and lights." Bill said. "Nothing to be afraid of."
"B-But what about the... I-I hear them! I-I can hear them!" She said pointing at the unlabelled doors. "T-There are so many! Listen!" she squeaked as she ran behind a crate.
The two men shared a look before listening. Bill was the first to tear his eyes and ears away from it, he was shortly followed by Francis who went over to help Fluttershy calm down.
Fluttershy wouldn't calm down, and before they could react, she flew past Francis and grabbed the gun out of Bill's hand, aimed it at the door and fired. As the shots still vibrated through the air, a single infected fell through the doors, a bullet hole between its eyes. Fluttershy, looking down at her good hoof, dropped the gun and promptly fainted.
"Um, if she knew that thing was behind the doors, do you think she actually heard more of them?" Bill asked retrieving his gun.
"I wouldn't doubt it." Francis said. "Who knows, her hearing may be better than ours." He said picking up Fluttershy and his pipe.
"How do you think Zoey and Louis are doing?" He asked.
Before the biker could respond, the two people in question came running through the doors and nearly slammed into Bill. They were panting and covered in blood, before Bill or Francis could speak, they pointed towards the doors to the stadium and ran. Bill or Francis didn't need to be told twice as they heard the sound of the infected from the other side of the door.
They all ran out, meeting in the front row of the stadiums seats. Not looking back, they all jumped the rail and onto the field where a few were just wandering, not yet alerted by the rest of their brethren and sisters.
"Where the hell are we going to go!?" Bill yelled as he ran around on of the few vehicles dotting the field.
Before he could answer, a roar tore through the concrete bowl. They stopped, if only momentarily along with the infected, to see the goliath infected smashing its way down the rows.
"Tank!" Francis yelled as he sprinted ahead.
"Oh fuck my life! A Tank too!?" Louis yelled. "Where!?"
"Not a zombie! A tank!" Francis yelled as he reached the treads of the armored vehicle. "Come on!"
The others, not wanting to be in the open, quickly ran to it just as the flood of infected came screaming down on them. Tightening the hatch, Francis and the others were all crouched inside the vehicle as it rocked gently.
"We'll, isn't this just great?" Louis said. "Trapped inside a tin can like sardines," the tank suddenly lurched to the side. "And with a bunch of hungry cats outside!"
"Well if you hate it so much! Go outside!" Francis yelled as he undid a panel below a monitor. "Blue to red, red to green and black to yellow... I hope." He paused as a spark flew between the wires. "Oh yeah! That's more like it!"
"... Did you just hot-wire a tank?" Bill asked.
"Maybe." Francis replied. "Out of all the times, this has to be the worst." He said looking as Fluttershy started to raise her head.
"W-What's going on?" She asked before noticing her surroundings. "W-Where are we?"
The others merely looked at each other quietly, not wanting to scare her even more. With a roar from the outside, followed by the sound of metal hitting the tank, Francis looked over to his right at another screen and saw the monstrosity pulling puss and blood covered pieces of metal from its body before throwing them.
"O-Oh my..." Fluttershy said putting a hoof to her mouth.
"Uh, guys, you may want to cover your ears." Francis said as he took the controls and the end of the tank's barrel came into view. And he held it there, looking at the controls, and glancing at the others before Zoey hitting him in the back of the head shook him from his stupor. "What!?"
"Fir the damn thing already!" The other humans yelled.
"Would now be a good time to tell you I failed boot camp because I didn't pass the tank simulation?"
"Francis, I hate you so much right now." Zoey said.
"Uh, Bill, do you know how to fire this thing?" Francis asked.
"Do you think I honestly remember being in a tank?" Bill said.
As they were bickering, Fluttershy was looking at the other screen. She saw the infected hurling pieces of metal at the tank, each one ricocheting off. Looking at the controls, she glanced at the others before pressing a button.
The vehicle rocked drastically after giving off an almost ear shattering bang. All of the humans looked at Fluttershy before slowly looking over at the other monitor. The infected that was once standing, now had a massive hole blown through its chest. As it slowly put a hand to the wound, its knees finally gave out and it fell into the dirt.
"S-Sorry... My bad." She said. "I-I didn't know!"
"Um, it's alright." Zoey said. "You may have just saved our lives."
They all sat quietly inside, listening tot he screams of the infected as they tried to get in. eventually, Francis took the controls and started to move the tank, crushing any infected unlucky enough to be caught in the treads.
Author's Note
Fluttershy is the only living thing that can apologize for getting sick. And have a reasonable excuse for why.
So, on to King of Velrain! And, I might also be working on an alternate version to my self insert story... I feel a strange emotion considering it was easier to write the first chapter, then the first of the other one.
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
Fluttershy stared in horror at it.
It was a large hulk of muscle, each vein and clogged artery was easily shown, it's knuckles were bloody from dragging them along the concrete, it's bottom jaw was missing and a small tongue hung out. And it's eyes, those small beady eyes, expressed nothing but pure hatred and hunger towards them all.
It gave a bellow, hitting its chest like a gorilla before speeding up.
Bill pulled out a Molotov and threw it right in it's path as the others shot it. Fluttershy let go of Francis and hit behind another car, watching as the bullets and flames seemed to merely make it even more angry.
"Bill, watch out!" Francis yelled as the old man was swung at. "Don't let it get too close!"
"I never thought of that!" Bill yelled back, shooting a few rounds into the Tank's shoulder. "Get some space between us and-Zoey! Watch out!"
Zoey hadn't noticed, but now she was between a wall and the Tank. It turned and ran towards her. She shot desperately at it, peppering it with her Uzi. Her eyes widened as it raised a bulky fist to the side, getting ready to swat her to the side.
At the last second, Francis spun her around and took the blow, sending them both flying in a tangle of limbs.
They stopped after a short roll, grunting in pain.
Francis rolled off her, grabbing his shotgun he leaned up with some difficulty. Zoey got up, shaking slightly from the impact on the concrete.
"Come on! My grandma hit harder than you!" Francis yelled.
It gave another roar that was cut short as it stopped and momentarily stared at the buttermilk colored pegasus hovering in front of it.
"Fluttershy! Run dammit!" Francis yelled, attempting to get up but only falling back down with a pained yell.
It was about to raise another fist when it saw her eyes, it started hitting the ground in confusion and slight pain.
"How dare you!" Fluttershy yelled. "How dare you hurt them! Sure they hurt you, but only after you tried to crush them! You should be ashamed of yourself! Bad Tank!"
It gave a roar of putrid air. The smell stinging her eyes, but she kept staring as it raged.
"Shame on you! I know you must feel angry, but that is no reason to take it out on them! Now go and think about what you've done."
It gave another roar, smashing the concrete under its fists.
"I said go!" She yelled, pointing away.
With a swift turn, it ran away. Smacking a few cars away as it fled, roaring in anger.
She set herself down and rubbed her eyes before going to Francis.
"Francis! Are you alright!" She asked. "Oh no... You back!" She gasped.
"You..." He said. "You crazy son of a bitch!" He grinned. "Now that, was badass." With a grunt, he stood up again, keeping the barrel of his gun pointing down. He stretched and bent back, with a crack his pained expression went away. "Much better..."
"Francis." Bill said. "That had to be the craziest thing I have ever seen you do. And that tops the drinking Molotov's incident."
"No, that's still the craziest thing for me." He said. "Zoey, you alright? Your turning the color of a Smoker."
Zoey shook her head, hand on her mouth before giving a thumbs-up.
"How did you do that? You managed to scare off a Tank! You scared a Tank!" Louis said.
"Oh... Um, I don't really like talking about it." Fluttershy said, hiding behind her mane. "It's called the Stare, I use it on my animals when they misbehave badly."
"Not sure what animal could deserve that." He mused.
"Um... Star-nosed Mole?" Francis suggested.
Louis face-palmed, smirking.
"Guys, I think we should get going before it comes back." Zoey said. "Oh, that really shook my stomach up."
"She's right, I'm not sure about you all, but I don't want to find out if Fluttershy can make it run away again." He reloaded his M-16. "Let's get moving."
As Louis helped Zoey along, Francis knelt down to Fluttershy, a serious expression on his face.
"Fluttershy, when I say run. Can you just run?" He asked.
"I-I'm sorry but, I may not be the Element of Loyalty, but, I'd like to think of you as my friend. And, I would never leave a friend." She said.
The bikers face relaxed slightly, giving a nod he picked her up by surprise and placed her on his back.
Zoey and the others were ahead now, and gaining speed as they saw a building up ahead; lights shining through the boarded windows, a large outline of a house with a cross in it spray-painted on one.
"Hurry up!" Bill yelled. "I'm not about to lose anyone when were a few steps from safety!"
Francis rolled his eyes as he stepped through a broken window, glass crunching underfoot as him and his companion looked around.
"I hate clothing stores." Francis said.
"It almost looks like Rarity's boutique." Fluttershy said. "I-Is that the safe-house?" She pointed at the large red door.
"Yeah. I guess it is." Francis said. "I hope it has a toilet. I hate public buildings without restroom's."
They all entered, Louis closing the bar behind them.
Fluttershy looked around, curious at everything.
There was a gun rack with a M-16, pump action shotgun and a hunting rifle. On a table lay a large pile of ammo, and four red med-kits. On the wall were multiple messages, nearly all of them to family or friends.
"Alright," Bill said, walking up to a map on the wall. "We need to get to Mercy Hospital." He re-lit a cigarette. "Here's what we've got to do."
I hate horses. But I love Fluttershy!
As I'm sure you all know, the group is going to Mercy Hospital, but not the one you're thinking of. I'm making my own story line.
Just a heads up for people so you don't get confused.
