It Only Takes A Bite: The Canterlot Trail

  I was starting to lose it.

  Voices were telling me to hang myself from the room's rafters and end it all. Hundreds, if not thousands of zombies were outside shambling around the town. I felt like my own safety had been breached. The pictures I drew started out as peaceful and serene, then went into a downward spiral of insanity and gore. At some point, I ran out of paper; I started to use the walls in the bedroom as my canvas before filling the entire room up. At some point, I gave up. I slumped onto the floor and started staring at my work. The drawings I had made were the visual definition of insanity. My brain was pulling me down into the dark depths of tartarus and I didn't care.

  I wanted to scream, but that would be the signal to begin my slow demise. I wanted to cry, but I had no tears. I wanted to be comforted, but nopony was around.

  I was about to head outside again when I suddenly heard the sound of a train chugging along, blowing its whistle. The moans started up again, and after a long ten minutes, most of the undead had left the town.

  Freedom.

  "Thank you, eternal princesses..." I prayed as I got my bow and quiver before heading out of the small room. I slowly peeked down the wooden staircase. I made a small knock on the floor as I listened for any moans.

  Nothing.

  I carefully headed down the set of wooden stairs, and then reached the first floor. I saw nothing indicating anything got in. The only thing I saw that wasn't the way it was when I first came in was that something had knocked over one of the shelves. I slowly went over to the door and went outside.

  The feeling of the cool air and the breeze made me feel like I had been reborn. Like a filly on her first day of summer, I happily trotted down the cobblestone road.

  "Hey you!" A voice from above called to me. I looked up and saw a pegasus above me that had a dazzling red mane flowing in the wind, and her coat matched the colors of the sunset.

  "What?" I called out.

  "You heard that train, didn't ya? I can show you a route to it that is safe! We're getting the hell outta the east and heading to Canterlot!"

  "Canterlot? That place is up?" I asked, shocked. This was some big news for me if the mare was correct. There actually was a place where I could be safe in this serene wasteland.

  "Yeah!" The mare called out before hovering to the ground and resting her wings on her sides, "I'll show you the path to the train, just follow me."

  I quickly agreed. Before heading out, she handed me an apple she had been carrying for me to eat. I thanked her as we started walking down the road.

  "So what's your name?" The mare asked.

  "Grey," I replied, "Yours?"

  "You can just call me Sky. It isn't my real name, but if I trust you enough then I might tell you."

  "Why the fake name?"

  "Because the bandits. One of them murdered my friend after she didn't give her something back in Trottingham a week or so ago. He found her by asking ponies around the place for where she was. I suggest you do the same so if something similar happens, you can change to your real name."

  "Well what kind of name would I use?"

  "Well, you have a bow and arrow. I think Archer is good enough."

  Silence filled most of the trip. I occasionally would shoot down an undead pony that was left behind by the horde from earlier. Soon, we were out of the town and at the train. Me and her climbed aboard the passenger car as the train slowly started to move down the railroad.

  I rarely used the train, but when I did I would always admire the landscape quickly passing by. The waving and shaking of the train would make me want to fall asleep, yet I wanted to see the world outside the window I was next to; It was the reason I immediately called the window seat the second we got in the passenger car; Sky was bemused at what I did.

  "You just stay here. I'll go tell the conductor we're heading out." Sky told me as she left the passenger car. I obliged and sat on the seat like an eager puppy.

  After a minute, the train shook and slowly started to move. Trees and bushes slowly moved by as the train sped up faster and faster. Soon, everything was a blur. Unfortunately, I was unable to take in the scenery as I quickly fell asleep.

    For a week, nothing interesting happened in the small but fortified town of Safe Haven. I worked as a scavenger, looking for supplies like food and whatnot. However, while I was scavenging one day, a tornado formed in the distance. It didn't do anything to me since it was so far away. Apparently, I learned that ever since the beginning of the outbreak, the area has been getting a crazy amount of tornadoes. Some ponies guess it's the lack of pegasus ponies controlling the weather, while others think that the pegasi themselves are doing it.

  I didn't feel safe after seeing what the bottom of the mountain that Canterlot stood on was like. There was a huge horde attracted by the activity at the top. I didn't think that I would be able to make it.

  However, one week after my arrival, I would be back on track and heading to Canterlot.

  I was trotting along the dirt road that was lined by fields of wheat and corn, both of which were unattended to. The sky was starting to get dark and menacing as I kept an eye out for any potential places to loot. However, I didn't see any buildings.

  The wind started to pick up as clouds f dirt rolled along the dusty ground. The fields waved in the wind like the ocean, and the clouds in the distance started to slowly rotate. A funnel slowly twisted down from above as I stared at it before touching down behind a large hill covered with trees doomed to be yanked and uprooted out of the ground. Amazement kept me focused on it as it started to bend and twist like an earth worm writhing in ones grasp. After a second, I shook myself back to my senses once I saw it move over the hill, and immediately started to gallop the other direction. I saw debris from a small cabin get ripped up from somewhere behind the hill as I looked back.

    I did some quick calculating in my head to figure out if the tornado was heading in my direction.

  It took me only five seconds to confirm that it would reach me within a minute or less. I took off in a gallop and dived into a ditch. The ponies in Safe Haven always said this was a safe way to take cover from tornadoes, knowing that they had at least three of them before I arrived.

  I heard the wind grow louder as dust and dirt blew in the gale-force winds, forcing me to close my eyes. I heard the twister pass right over me; It was amazingly loud, and I had to cover up my ears.

  Soon, as fast as it came, it soon went away from me. Silent howls filled the wet air as a sheet of rain began to pour down on me, filling the ditch with water and mud. I slowly emerged from the makeshift shelter and turned towards the direction of the monstrous tornado. Like a carnivore searching for food, its long funnel searched the land below the clouds, ripping up everything unlucky enough to be caught in its path.

  "Ugh..." A young voice moaned from nearby. I immediately pulled out my bow, and pointed at the source of the noise.

  On the ground nearby laid a small orange foal. She was still alive, as evidenced by her breathing. I knelt down near her and she looked up at me.

  "Who are you?" She asked, blinking once.

  "Archer," I replied, "you had just managed to survive getting sucked up by a tornado."

  "What?" She muttered. I pointed towards the distant twister in response, and she looked at it. She looked at the beast in amazement, watching it rip up a small farm house that was hidden behind the tall cornstalks.

  "So, what's your name?" I asked, helping the young filly up from the ground.

  "Scootaloo." She quietly replied, rubbing her arm.

  "Were you out here all alone?" I asked, looking around the area.

  "No, I was with somepony else, I don't know where they are." Scootaloo replied, saddened.

  "Well, I can bring you back to the town I'm staying at. It's more safer there than it is out here."

  "But we need to find Applejack!"

  "Who?"

  "Applejack! She was with me last night! You have to help me find her!"

  I didn't have much hope for finding her. It took me several minutes to convince her to return to Safe Haven with me after saying I would find Applejack, whoever she was. The name was very familiar, yet I couldn't put my hoof on where I heard it from, not that it was important information to help me find her. After retuning Scootaloo to the hotel I was staying at, I immediately headed back out after getting me and her a snack to munch on.

  Soon, I left the town of Safe Haven and returned to scavenging the outskirts of town. I was at a small farmhouse, which had been abandoned some time before the outbreak. I found nothing but dusty surfaces and masses of cobwebs. I stepped out of the farmhouse, not wanting to stay there any longer after encountering a wasp nest.

  As I prepared to head back to town, I heard the sound of somepony yelling.

  "Hello!?" They shouted from the distance, "Anypony!?"

  The sound of galloping resonated across the landscape. I retreated behind the large red barn, and readied my bow as I peeked out from the corner. An orange mare ran out from the field of wheat, slowing to a trot before laying up against the barn. Her face showed signs of depression and hopelessness. Slowly, I stepped out from behind the barn and slowly walked over to her.

  "Hello?" I asked.

  I startled the cowpony, which in turn startled me too.

  "Who are ya?" She angrily asked.

  "Archer." I replied. "Who are you?"

  "Applejack," The mare replied, "Ah'm from Ponyville. Been out for a week or two in the hospital."

  I was amazed to see that the pony Scootaloo has been trying to find was alive. I couldn't help but smile.

  "There's a filly back at town looking for you. Does the name Scootaloo sound familiar?"

  "Yes!" She suddenly exclaimed, rising up. "Where is she!?"

  "At the hotel in the town of Safe Haven. I've been staying there for about a week. I'll show you the way there." I replied. She quickly nodded as I began to walk towards the direction, which resulted in another uneventful walk that was only interrupted by an undead dragging itself out from the cornfield. From Applejack's face, I could tell that she had known the green undead unicorn at some point before she was killed. It took a single shot for me to put the undead down before we continued to town.

  As we walked up to the large wooden gates, I noticed the door wasn't opening.

  "Hey! It's me!" I called, "Open the door!"

  "What's the password?" A voice called out from the other side. A bit of anger brewed in my head at the fact the gate now had a password.

  "Password!" I randomly guessed. To my surprise, the gates swung open revealing the small town. A single glance at Applejack told me that she was apparently amused by what had happened.

  We both walked in and passed by the mare running the gate. I muttered a curse as I passed by her, calling her a "Dumb bitch." We continued to the hotel and we went up to my room.