It Only Takes A Bite

"Danger comes the sooner when it is despised."

  -Publilius Syrus

  Applejack awakened from her slumber to the sound of the wind outside pushing against the barred window. She yawned as she looked over to Scootaloo, who was also in the bed with her. She slowly climbed out of bed as she put her hat back atop her head and went over to the window. She could see the wooden wall that protected the town, and she could also see the dark, cloudy sky. She could hear the sounds of distant thunder. She grew worried, thinking back to the tornado she saw yesterday. She shivered as she remembered the funnel, black and thin, snaking and twisting across the distant landscape. She threw the image out of her mind and turned back towards Scootaloo. She trotted over to her and lightly shook her awake.

  "Do I have to get up now?" She yawned.

  "Nope. Ah'm just going to leave ya here so you get yer beauty sleep." Applejack sarcastically replied. "Yes, it's time to get up."

  Scootaloo moaned and slowly climbed out of the bed. Applejack got a saddlebag that Archer bought for her yesterday. He agreed to meet her outside the previous night.

  "Ready to go?" Applejack asked, trotting over to the door.

  "Yep." Scootaloo replied.

  Applejack nodded as she opened the door, letting Scootaloo through. The two went down the dark hallway. The two went outside, passing the front desk as they did, and found Archer right outside, carrying a saddlebag. He had his red jacket, as Applejack expected, and his bow with him. He trotted up to the two, wearing a smile.

  "So, you two ready?" Archer asked.

  "Yep." Applejack replied. "We're going to head to that carnival, right?"

  "Yeah. That's where we'll be heading to." Archer replied, turning towards one of the town's gates that lead to the outside. The small group started trotting towards the gate as Applejack continued to look up at the dark clouds above. She heard the sound of thunder in the far distance. As she reached the gates, she saw two stallions guarding the exit.

  "We're heading out." Archer told the guards.

  "Alright," The unicorn on the right replied, opening the door, "You three stay safe out there."

  "We will!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

  They all headed out as Applejack looked into the dark sky in the far distance. She saw a few streaks of lightning illuminate the sky far away. She almost jumped when she heard the loud thud of the gates shutting.

  "Are you worried another tornado will pop up?" Archer asked, looking at the cowpony.

  "Yeah," Applejack honestly replied, rubbing the back of her neck, "It's just that I never thought that stuff like this can happen without weather ponies. I was expecting bad storms, but not stuff that bad."

  "Don't worry, they're rare. The worst we'll get is rain."

  Applejack smiled as they started walking down the dirt path, leaving the safe haven behind.

  "Are we there yet?" Scootaloo asked, bored. "There's nothing to see out here."

  "No." Applejack replied, annoyed by the amount of times the foal asked. They were walking up a small hill, tired. Applejack's legs were sore since they spent an hour or two hiking in the empty fields. However, she smiled upon seeing the sight of a Ferris wheel in the distance. However, Archer grew confused at the sound of cheerful, but warbled music coming from a calliope.

  "Why is one of those playing?" Archer asked himself, looking into the desolated fairgrounds. Nothing could be seen there. An undead or two were seen wandering around one of the stands, but other than that, no signs of civilization could be seen. Archer motioned Applejack and Scootaloo to stay quiet as they started walking down the hill towards the entrance of the carnival. Stands, left abandoned and exposed to the elements of nature were common, and the rides were left in serious states of disrepair. They continued until they were at the entrance, where they found an undead shambling towards them. Applejack recognized the infected as Caramel. Her leg was bent to the point where the femur was sticking out. However, Archer quickly put it down with a single arrow, which caused it to fall to the ground, dead. Scootaloo couldn't bear to look at what was once a fellow group member, and neither could Applejack.

  "I wonder why there'd be flesh eaters here..." Archer muttered, cautiously looking around the empty fairgrounds.

  "Hello..?" A voice from one of the stalls whispered. It smelled of rotting food as they went past it.

  "Hello?" Applejack asked. "Somepony there?"

  "Applejack? Is that you?" The voice asked.

  "Who are you? How do you know her?" Archer asked. The interior was obscured by the darkness inside. Archer used his magic to use his horn as a lantern, and to Applejack's shock, Caramel was up against a wall, with a bite mark on his leg. He looked up glumly at the cowpony.

  "Caramel..." Applejack muttered. "What happened..?"

  "I got bit..." He muttered. "It happened after that tornado... It hit the cabin last night and tore it to shreds. I think Bon Bon was impaled by a piece of wood, and Lyra was killed after getting hit by a shed..."

  Archer and Applejack stared at the bite. Blood seeped out of the wound.

  "Can I see?" Scootaloo asked, not able to see.

  "No. Don't look. Just wait for a second." Applejack commanded. The foal huffed angrily in response.

  "You gotta kill me..." Caramel muttered. "I can't be one of them..."

  "You're joking, right?" Applejack asked, shocked at what the stallion requested her to do.

  "No." Was the only answer. Silence filled the air, filled by the howls of the wind outside.

  "I'll do it." Archer told Applejack, pulling out his bow. "Just go away from here."

  "But... We can get him something, right?" Applejack desperately asked, about to release a stream of tears.

  "Just go. I'll meet you at the Ferris wheel."

  Applejack opened her mouth to argue, only to be interrupted by Caramel.

  "Please, just go."

  She quickly trotted away from the stand as Archer climbed inside. She ushered Scootaloo to follow her as they made their way across the dirt path over to the abandoned Ferris wheel. She tightly shut her eyes.

Fwoop!

  That single sound told Applejack that Caramel's life had ended. She looked towards the ground as a few tears started to roll down her face.

  "What happened, Applejack?" Scootaloo asked, looking up at the cowpony.

  "Nothing." She sobbed. Archer trotted back over, his face looking grim.

  "APPLEJACK!" Archer yelled from the stand. "HELP!"

  She snapped her head up to the red and white stand and quickly galloped over to it, knowing what the scream meant. She went up to the front of it, and on the inside, she saw an undead mare on top of Archer attempting to bite him. His bow laid on the counter next to several pretzels that Applejack presumed were stale. She turned around and bucked the monster off of Archer, causing it to fly back towards the wall. She then backed up closer and then raised her legs and bucked. She heard the sound of a sickening crunch and felt a bunch of warm liquid splatter all over her legs. She slowly pulled her legs out of the skull, trying to prevent herself from puking as she felt her legs get slightly scratches by small pieces of skull fragments.

  "Thanks for that, Applejack..." Archer muttered tiredly, catching his breath. "He came in through the door, bursting it down."

  "No problem..." Applejack smiled, still scraping off brain matter from her hooves. Her eyes turned towards the corpse of Caramel, and she grew disturbed when she saw a slight smile on his face. The wound in his eye didn't help matters either, since it made Applejack cringe at the sight. "Can we get out of here?"

  "Good idea." Archer replied, looking at the spoiled food. "I thought there was still some good stuff here, but I guess not."

  The two headed out to where Scootaloo was standing. The wind had gotten considerably stronger. Leaves and tumbleweed a were being blown about, and the howls of the wind could now be heard clearly.

  "Okay, we should probably find a place to rest tonight." Archer suggested, looking at the dark sky.

  "Good idea." Applejack replied, holding onto her hat to make sure it wouldn't fly off. The three started walking out of the carnival, passing by the same rides and stalls they passed earlier. As they left the park, they started hiking down the dirt road. Applejack had to squint her eyes because of the dust being blown about.

  Suddenly, the sound of a rumbling akin to a train passing by was able to be heard. Applejack felt her stomach twist up in a knot and looked behind her. A black funnel in the far distance was able to be seen, tearing up the fields of corn and wheat. It snaked it's way across the landscape, ripping up anything in it's path. However, what made Applejack's heart skip a beat was when he realized that the force of nature was heading towards her and her group.

  "RUN!" Archer yelled. Applejack quickly got Scootaloo onto her back and broke into a gallop alongside Archer. She looked behind as she saw several tents get blown away as the twister got closer to the carnival. Then, the funnel reached the carnival. To her amazement, Applejack saw the Ferris wheel torn off the ground and tossed away like a toy. Tents and rides were thrown about as the tornado hunted them down.

  "House!" Scootaloo yelled, holding onto Applejack for dear life. The group looked ahead and saw a farm house next to the dirt trail. They immediately marked it as their destination and proceeded to turn towards the house with the funnel still on their tail. As they got closer, Archer saw a refuge which took the form of a door leading to the cellar. He galloped up to it and attempted to open it, only to find it locked by a padlock.

  "OH MOTHER OF HORSEAPPLES!" He yelled in frustration. He started using his magic to try and forcefully rip the lock off the door. Applejack and Scootaloo turned and saw the funnel getting closer and closer to their destination. Then, out of nowhere, the large structure of the Ferris wheel crashed right next to the house, causing the ground to rumble from the impact. The wind started to pick up as chairs, mailboxes, and twigs were blown around.

  "I got it!" Archer yelled as the padlock popped off, causing the door to fly open and almost smack him in the face. The three quickly scampered down the stairs as Archer slammed the door behind him. The cellar was mostly empty, save for a table and chair, along with a bunk bed. Scootaloo started visibly shaking as they quickly made their way over to the wall on the far side of the underground room. The tornado could be heard right above them. They could hear the sound of the house won't ripped off it's foundations as they huddled together in fear. The doors leading outside were being hit by debris from outside and the lights in the cellar started to flicker on and off. Applejack squinted her eyes shut as she put her ears against her head to drown out the loud roar from the twister.

  "Applebloom, Ah checked already. There ain't any monsters near your tree house." Applejack told her younger sister as they sat on the couch together. "What kind of thing got that in your head?"

  "Ah told ya! Ah ain't lying! Ah swear!" Applebloom desperately said.

  "Applebloom, it's getting late, and you have school tomorrow." Applejack replied. "Just get some shuteye and you'll forget about all of whatever you're talking about."

  Applebloom huffed as she hopped off the couch and proceeded to storm up the stairs. Applejack sighed, chuckling slightly at her sister's imagination.

  "Alright, tommorow, Ah gotta finish up the new shed." Applejack reminded herself as she herself got of the couch. "Nothing can go wrong tomorrow."

  Silence filled the ears of everyone in the pitch black room. However the sound of a calliope could be heard playing as Archer illuminated the concrete shelter with his horn and slowly got up from the concrete floor. Applejack and Scootaloo followed.

  "Is it over?" Scootaloo weakly asked, scared.

  "Ah think." Applejack replied silently.

  They walked closer and closer to the door, and they were able to hear the sound of music from the calliope outside playing more clearly. However, it sounded slightly garbled. They climbed up the stairs as Archer slowly opened the cellar door. Applejack walked out, ignoring the brightness of the sunlight from outside. The wind was calm, and birds could be heard singing. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness and her mouth dropped as she saw the destruction.

  The house was mostly gone. Only the hallway and part of the bathroom remained, along with piles of wood planks and other furniture. The large Ferris wheel from the amusement park was lying on the ground near the house, it's gondolas still attached except for two, which were who knows where. A wagon that housed the calliope that was playing the music was lying on it's side on the ground, lightly damaged. Applejack felt disturbed from hearing the cheerful music playing in the aftermath of the storm. She had no idea how long she, Scootaloo, and Archer were holed up in the storm shelter, but they guessed it was a long time.

  "I hope we get to Canterlot soon..." Scootaloo whispered, looking at the damage. The calliope continued to play it's disturbing tune as they all stared in awe at the damage around them.

  "We're getting out of here as soon as we can." Archer instructed. "I do NOT want to deal with any more bad weather."