Ellis thought he was going to be alone for the rest of his life in the world. He was wrong, in fact, very wrong. He later makes an unexpected friend that will keep him company in the infected world.
In Savannah, Georgia, a country man by the name of Ellis thought he was the last survivor on Earth after the Green Flu hit. In a world of nothing but decay and dirt, one would not expect to find a friend. Ellis finds a new friend in a burning hotel, but this friend certainly does not look like she belongs in this world. She almost looked too colorful to be real. It may seem quiet, but little do they know, they are not alone. Other little "friends" lurk around every corner...and they are hungry.
PLEASE READ
This is based off of the Left 4 Dead 2 mutation called "Last Man On Earth". Last man on Earth is an intense mutation where you are on your own, there are no common infected, and multiple special infected will attack. If one happens to use their special ability on you and it works, you will soon be released and immediately in black and white vision and bleed out mode. To get a better idea, watch it on YouTube.
"Hey! Over Here! I'm still alive! Help!" Ellis yells to the helicopter as it flies away from the rooftop. "Shit..."
On the top of a hotel, waving pointlessly at the sky, was a survivor named Ellis. Ellis was a southerner raised in Savannah, a former mechanic at a garage, and generally loved life. However, that was the past. The present at that moment was the feeling of being stranded, loneliness, and worry. The air smelled of smoke and flesh. All he could hear was the sounds of flames slowly eating away at the hotel. Ellis was devastated. He rarely felt anger, but he was on the verge of it. He climbed all the way to a rooftop of a burning building, only to find that his escape bailed out on him. Thinking rationally, he looks at the helicopter's flight pattern.
"Look's like it's headin' for the evac center at the mall, guess I'd better head there." he said, trying to stay positive.
Ellis examines the area around him. The only items of interest were a health kit, a pistol, a crowbar, and a fire axe. Ellis decides to grab the fire axe, thinking that he wouldn't need a pistol, and the first aid kit. Securing his items, he heads down the stairs to find part of the stairwell he used was engulfed in flames. Looking around, he finds a metal door that leads into the main part of the hotel. He opens it to be greeted with an abandoned hallway. Now he was confused. It was chaos when he was outside the building, he could hear panicking noises while going up the stairs, and now not a soul. The silence actually scared Ellis. As he walked down the halls, he heard something. It sounded like a growling noise.
"Anyone?" Ellis asked, nervously.
He heard a banging noise from the other side of a door. Thinking that it was another survivor, he opened it. He was greeted by a figure wearing a hoodie with duct tape around parts of it's limbs. It then crouched, and tried to lunge at him. Using quick reflexes, he immediately jumps out of the way. The creature smashed against the window, shattering it and then falling out of the building. That one moment made Ellis feel not only scared, but also a bit powerful. He felt as if his confidence was slowly coming back. Smiling to himself, he explored the room that the creature came from. The room had a large table with papers scattered all over it, and had a pie chart with colors representing the people who are infected, those who are not, and those who are immune. The immune part was incredibly tiny. Before Ellis left that room, he heard a voice! It was not a growl or screech, it was another person's voice. Or was it?
He peeked his head out of the doorway to see a creature that looked like a pony run towards him. It's colorfulness not only startled Ellis, but confused him even more. He saw it for only a second, but he saw that It looked very unrealistic. Like it was from a cartoon show for children.
"Help me!" it yelled.
Ellis then sees another human-like creature. However, this one was different. It was only wearing overalls and one shoe, had one big bulging arm with a small arm on the other side, and the same thing going on with its feet. The creature then does the unthinkable and charges at him, making a horn-like honking noise. It goes right past Ellis and hits the wall next to the pony. Whatever it was, it was determined to kill her. The zombie swings its oversized arm wildly at the pony, and got closer and closer every time. Ellis, having a love for horses, takes his axe and chops the zombie in the back. Angered, it turns around and punches him in the chest. Making him fall onto his back. He quickly gets up and lands a hit on it's head, getting the axe stuck in the zombie's small dome. It stops, and falls lifelessly. Ellis then walks towards the pony.
"Hey, you okay?" he asks in a comforting tone.
"Are you one of those monsters?" the pony asks.
"Woah! You can talk? I mean, nah, I ain't one of them zombies."
"Okay, I'm gonna trust ya on that one."
"We should get moving, we can get to know each other later. It's too dangerous to stick around here. Just follow me."
Without another word, they both jog and trot down another hall, only to be blocked by flaming junk. Looking around, Ellis saw a door that lead to a storage room holding things like cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and other objects. The only way out is through a window that leads outside to a balcony without support beams. Hesitating at first, the slowly walk across, going into the closest window. When they enter, they hear another noise. Ellis closes his eyes and listens closely. It sounded like a cough that a really old person that used to smoke would make.
"What was that?" asked the pony.
"I don't wanna stand here to find out. Through here." Ellis said, pointing to an open door that lead to another staircase.
They headed down, only to see part of the staircase blacked off with flames. The only way through was a door that went back into the main part of the hotel. When they entered, they saw a long hallway lined up with doors leading to even more hotel rooms. As they jogged through the hall, a door broke, making a wall of flames in front of them. "Shit! We'll have to go around." Ellis said as they entered one of the hotel rooms. When they reached the end, Ellis spotted an elevator that looked to be in working condition. They both go in and Ellis presses the button that went to the bottom floor. When the door closed, he turned around and sighed.
"Now, we may have to stick together for a bit, so let me introduce myself: my name's Ellis. Some people like to call me Ell, but I personally don't like that because it kinda sounds like a girl's name but if you wanna call me Ell I suppose you could." he said.
"My name's Applejack. You can call me AJ if ya want. I have absolutely no idea what happened, or how I got here. By the way, thanks for savin me over there. I thought I was gonna be ground up into applesauce before you helped me." the pony said.
"Oh by the way, I love your hat."
"Heh, thanks."
The elevator starts to have smoke form on the inside, and Applejack starts to cough.
"Sweet Celestia! What's with the smoke?" Applejack said.
"It's the fire. This building is getting eaten away by flames as we speak. That's why we need to get out of here. Fast." Ellis responds.
When the elevator stopped, the doors stayed still. Ellis then gets the hustle in his muscle, and pries the doors open. Smoke fills the air completely with only the flames lighting the way. Ellis then notices something shiny on the ground. It was an UZI submachine gun. Grinning, he picks it up and motions Applejack to just follow him. As they navigate through the thick smoke, the coughing sound returns, except this time it was much closer. While Ellis was not thinking too much about it, Applejack was getting a bit scared. Normally, she would not be scared of anything at all. However, something about the sounds that the zombies were making really scared her. When they left that area, they found the main room with three different ways to go into the hotel, all blocked off. On the far side of the room, there was a metal door that looked pretty secure, so they both headed straight for it. Applejack entered first, but before Ellis went in, he heard a slurping noise and felt something get wrapped around him. Whatever it was, it made the same coughing sound that he heard earlier.
"Help! AJ Help! It's...choking...me!" Ellis yells.
Applejack runs out of the safe room and towards the zombie that was strangling Ellis. She gives it a good, hard kick and it explodes into a cloud of stinky, thick smoke. "Hey, thanks a lot!" Ellis said, cheerfully. Applejack blushes and they both head for the room with the metal door. After they enter, Ellis shuts and locks the door.
"That there was some crazy shit man!" Ellis yelled in celebration.
"So, tell me more about this Equestria place. Are you sayin that's where more of you ponies are?" Ellis asked, eagerly.
"Exactly! However, I think I'm nowhere near my home." Applejack responded.
"Hey, try not to worry about it. We'll think of somethin. Not really sure what somethin is, but I think we will figure it out."
Applejack starts to frown, then Ellis tries his best to cheer her up.
"Hey, look on the bright side: I'm here to help you, and there's an evacuation center nearby. Oh! I know a gun store that we are close to, if you wanna see some real weapons."
"Are those...uhh...weapons over there?" AJ asked, pointing at the front desk in the safe room.
Ellis looks at the front desk and drops his axe. There were three guns on the table: a standard wooden pump shotgun, a suppressed MAC-10 submachine gun, and a custom pistol. The funny thing was all these weapons had flashlights attached to them. Anyways, Ellis wished he could take them all, but knowing the limited space he had, he only took the pistol and shotgun. While he was loading up his guns and grabbing ammunition from a rather unorganized pile of bullets, he noticed AJ took an interest in the shotgun. Seeing an opportunity for another conversation, he decided to explain a little.
"This here is a gun. A weapon type that a lot of humans, especially people like me, use. Now, I know nothing about chemistry, but I know this: guns need these little things called bullets. Bullets come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and functions. They use a chemical reaction to launch pieces of metal that hit things that you point them at. Phew. I just sounded like my sixth grade science teacher." Ellis said.
"Uhh...so...they're tubes that metal comes out from?" Applejack asked.
"...Yeah, basically."
After that awkward moment, Ellis goes to the other safe room door and lifts the metal bar holding it locked.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll follow you." AJ responded.
Ellis then kicks open the red door and goes outside. Fresh air finally enters his lungs. For a few minutes, both Applejack and Ellis were sitting against a wall. Bringing in more and more clear air. Their bliss was interrupted by an odd sound. Again, it was unfamiliar to them both, but they continued to listen. It sounded like if someone was drooling, but they were slurping it up from their lips. Not wanting to stick around to see a face to go with the sound, they make their way down a road, only to find it, you guessed, blocked off by a fence and some old cars. After entering a room and finding another road, the drooling sound was extremely close. They crossed through a patch of grass to the other side, but there seemed to be no way through.
"Now what?" Applejack asked.
"I dunno...oh! Over that dumpster. We can get to the other side." Ellis pointed to a ladder connected to the dumpster."
"Ell, look out!"
Ellis looks behind him to notice an extremely vile looking zombie. It was a woman with a jaw that hung down farther than naturally, a slightly chubby stomach, sagging breasts, and a very thin body. Unnaturally thin. If it wasn't gross enough, the creature then spat out a baseball-sized compact ball of goo. When it hit the ground, it exploded and made a mess of sizzling goo right beneath out protagonist's feet and hooves.
"Oh, great. Now they're spittin shit at us!" Ellis said, jumping away from the puddle.
"What's wrong?" Applejack asked, completely unharmed by the acidic slime.
"Duck! Head down!"
Applejack did so, without anything else touching the now evaporating goo. Ellis took aim, and nailed the spitting zombie in the chest. It died almost instantly, acid spilling from the holes in its stomach. When all the acid disappeared, Ellis was puzzled by Applejack's immunity to the spitter's acid.
"How...did that not hurt you? A small amount splashed on my arm and it still burns a little!" Ellis asked, his slightly loud voice echoing.
"Hey, I work on a farm. My hooves callused every day. I felt nothing." Applejack responded, calmly.
"I guess working on cars doesn't make my skin thicker."
After that somewhat horrifying incident, they climb over the dumpster and head into another room. After climbing some stairs, they find another table with some better weapons. Ellis took a look at the three guns before him: a desert rifle, a hunting rifle, and an AK-47. Ellis decided to go with the AK since he knew it was a very powerful weapon. Then, he spots a medical box on the wall. When he opened it, he saw two small bottles of pain reliever pills. He placed one in his pocket, and he had Applejack put the other in her hat. They noticed that they were above a road, so they had to jump onto a portable toilet to get to the ground. After going into a building and crossing a bridge, Ellis noticed something.
"Hey, I recognize this! The gun store is just up ahead." Ellis said, excitedly.
"Wait, you hear somethin?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah, sounds like an old motor, or an old machine."
"Uh oh...one of those charging things!"
There was a honking noise and a loud series of quick footsteps. Elis grabs Applejack and jumps to the side. Another charging zombie had come to try and kill them. Ellis finished it off pretty easily with his assault rifle, so the panic was short-lived. Anyways, they crossed the rest of the bridge, and when they went down another patch of stairs, they finally arrived at "Whitaker's Gun Store". Well, if Ellis wasn't excited earlier, he definitely was now. He must have had a gungasm at the sight of all that firepower.
"Oh my god, it's Christmas!" Ellis yelled like a kid in a candy store.
"Wow, you humans have an odd taste in weapon designs." Applejack said, observing an auto shotgun.
"That may be so, but...oh man, I've wanted one of these rifles since I was nine!" Ellis said, picking up an M16.
Ellis then drops his dinky little pistol and replaces it with a desert eagle. After grabbing a hefty amount of ammunition, he headed for the back door and tried to open it. When it didn't budge, he looked for something to use. the only thing he spotted was a control panel with a red button on it. When he pressed it, the unexpected happened:
"Hello there. I've barricaded myself on the roof with ammo and provisions. But in my haste, I forgot cola! So here's my proposition: you go find me some cola at the food store, I'll clear the path to the mall for you." the supposed store owner said through the loudspeaker.
"Yeah, we get it: a man needs his snacks!" said Ellis.
"You may want to hurry now, before I change my mind."
When the owner finished that last sentence, the door suddenly opened. Wasting no time, Ellis and Applejack quickly spot the grocery store.
"Allow me," Applejack said, charging up her legs. Getting ready to buck the doors open.
The second she kicks the doors open, the alarm sounds. The ran like hounds looking for drugs inside the store, scouting every corner for some sign of cola. Finally, Ellis spots a six-pack of cola in glass bottles.
"Alright, AJ I got the dude's cola! Let's go let's go let's go!" Ellis yelled.
They both ran out of the store as fast as they could, but then they realized that there were more noises than just the alarm. Ellis set the cola down and got in a battle stance. At the same time, a hunter and a charger came out and tried to kill them. Ellis killed the charger with ease, but the hunter was too fast. It managed to sneak up on Applejack, and it pounced on her. She quickly kicked it off and it stumbled back. She gave it a head-butt and sent it flying, and it broke its neck on a car. This boosted Applejack's confidence a little bit. Anyways, Ellis grabbed the cola and they both ran back up the stairs, where they were met with a metal door with a slot at the bottom.
"Quick! Put it in the damn slot!" the gun store owner said.
Ellis places the cola in the slot and closes it. For about three seconds, it was all quiet. Suddenly, a rocket flies from the roof and hits a truck, blowing it up and revealing a path that goes straight to the mall.
"Yee haw!" Applejack Yelled in celebration.
"Now that's how you clear a path!" Ellis yelled.
"Good luck gettin to the mall!" said the gun store owner.
Without hesitation, they pass through the rubble of the truck and find themselves in a large parking lot, but all they saw was empty tents. When they got in front of the mall, they still heard nothing.
"Hope we're makin' the right call by goin to this mall." Ellis said.
"But...why is it so quiet?" Applejack asked.
"I guess it's inside."
They find an opening to the mall, only to discover that it's a safe room. Ellis shuts the door and barricades it before saying:
"Okay, that was close. I mean, shit man, that was straight up close!"
"I'm not sure if I can take much more of this." Applejack said.
"What? We practically just got started! Am I the only one havin' fun?" Ellis asked, confused.
"Well, you see, I'm not from here. I'm away from my friends that I held near and dear, and the first hour of it was spent almost bein eaten."
"Look at me: I not only lost my friends, but possible members of my family too. But I'm still bein positive and havin' fun. Think of it this way: killin these zombies is like revenge for taking the people away."
"Y'know, you're a very positive human. I admire that."
"Aw, shucks."
"Heh, my friend, Rarity, loved malls. She liked the wide variety of clothes and accessories when she couldn't sew."
"Man, I love malls. Oh, this one time I was in a mall up at Atlanta and these guys were dancin for like, money and stuff and my friend Dave and I were all like-"
"Hey, sorry to interrupt you sugar cube, but do you hear somethin?"
"Hear what?"
"Sounds like a...hysterical laugh."
"Uh oh. I hope there's no creepazoids in this here mall. I'm not in the mood to talk to some weirdo who can't...shit, I don't know...keep his pants on or somethin."
"Perhaps we an talk about it on they way to the evac center."
"I'll back you up on that one. This place is already dark as is. I don't wanna stick around when the sun goes down. You ready, AJ?"
"Let's win this rodeo."
Ellis removed the beam holding the door of the safe room closed. Once it fell, he pushed the door open. The mall, like the other locations the duo were, was quiet. Well, except for the laugh that sounded like a chipmunk combined with a can-opener. The building seemed to have lost all power, and was almost completely dark. It would have been completely dark if it wasn't for the sunroof. They went up the non-functioning escalator and saw the source of the creepy laugh. A zombie that was hunched over ran towards Ellis like a flea, and lunged onto him. However, instead of biting him, it was freaking humping him!
"AGH! HELP! IS THIS THING HUMPIN ME?" Ellis yelled.
"Hang on, I'll get it!" Applejack yelled as she grabbed a bat with her mouth and gave the head-humper a smack on the back of the head.
The jockey lets go of Ellis and stumbled backwards, letting Ellis fill the flea man with .50 caliber desert eagle rounds.
"Shit, man." Ellis groans, rubbing his neck.
"You okay, Ellis?" Applejack asked, poking the jockey's corpse.
"Physically: yeah. Mentally: no. I've been violated by a freaking zombie."
Applejack was trying to hold back a laugh after Ellis finished that last sentence. However, the funny moment made a quick getaway when the two heard a coughing sound. Ellis, not wanting to be snared in a tongue again, quickly motioned Applejack to follow him through a partially closed gate and down another escalator. When they reached the bottom, they heard a distant sobbing noise.
"Hey, you hear that cryin? Someone might still be alive!" Ellis said, excitedly.
"I dunno, something about that cry sends chills down my spine." Applejack said, nervously.
"Well, the least we could do is keep our eyes out."
They head down to their right and encounter yet another escalator. This one was going up this time. When they reach to top, they see what appeared to be a woman wearing nothing but a pair of gray panties and the upper half of a shirt. Her skin was gray and her hair was white. She was walking aimlessly, hands over her face and sobbing.
"See? I told you there was someone else alive here." Ellis said.
"Wait...don't go to her. I gotta bad feeling about this." Applejack warned.
"But she's almost nude! I'd tap it."
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Applejack rolled her eyes in disgust.
Ellis approached the crying girl slowly, but calmly. The second he got close, he noticed she had sharp claws, and just being around her gave him many feelings like anxiety, stress, and unhappiness. Then she started to growl. Growls turned into almost yells as the creature revealed its red, glowing eyes to him. He immediately backed away, and the creature calmed down and went back to crying as if nothing had happened.
"Ok, you win this time." Ellis said to Applejack as she smirked at him with not only an "in your face" look, but with a bit of relief, as well.
They observe the area around them to find a door that was pushed in and diagonal in the doorway. They climb over to find themselves in the halls where people like staff normally walked or took coffee breaks. They went down the hall to find a split in the path. To the right, there was a door that was blocked off by a soda machine. To the left, there was a door that was clear. Taking the obvious choice, they go down yet another hall leading to a door. Inside, there were a few mannequins (that gave Ellis the creeps) and a table with guns and ammo. Grabbing more ammo, Ellis found himself in a toy store. The main door was locked, and the only way through was if they broke the glass window.
"This may cause a bit of a racket, but," Ellis shoots the window open, sounding an alarm," Agh, that sound! We have to turn that alarm off!"
"Agreed!" Applejack yells over the loud bell.
As they exit the toy store, the worst happened: a loud roar was heard. Like a loud bear through a megaphone. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a massive muscular zombie with arms larger than its legs smashed through a gate behind them.
"OH SHIT! RUN!" Ellis yelled.
Applejack was paralyzed with fear. The zombies just may have gotten to her. She stood there with wide eyes as the hulking zombie made its way to her. Luckily, Ellis was able to grab her and place her on his back like a backpack. Quite a useful way to transport a paralyzed pony. Anyways, after hauling Applejack up 2 floors, she slowly starts to regain her calmness.
"Hang in there! Let me just shut off the alarm and...okay, just stay on my back! I'll carry you to the next safe area! And whatever you do, don't look back! You don't wanna know what's behind us!" Ellis said.
Ellis now running for dear life. He only ran wherever the path took him. The hulking zombie may have been bulky, but it was not slow. Ellis could barely outrun it. If things couldn't get any worse, they reached the evac center. When they did, all they saw were bloody tarps caked with corpses of people. had flies all around them and it smelled worse than spoiled milk left to decompose in a toilet bowl.
"Oh no..." Ellis trailed off.
"Ugh...what's that sme- oh sweet Celestia." Applejack managed to squeeze out of her quivering lips.
"Safe room up there!" Ellis pointed to the floor above them.
The ground then started to shake very hard. Now, Ellis was racing up the escalator like he had dry ice in his boxers (if he even wears underpants). When he reached the floor, he raced for the safe room and shut the metal door. He locked it and said:
In the safe room made from a room with unknown purpose...
Applejack was now crying. She thought that she could possibly get help at the evacuation zone, but it's gone. Ellis was not really good in these types of situations. He, too was upset about the wrecked evac zone, but he had high hopes and confidence there was another way.
"My...friends. My...brother, my little sister, my granny. I'll never see em' again," were the words that Applejack said through her tears.
Ellis realized that this was the moment. The zombies finally broke her down. She lost all hope in seeing her loved ones again. He had to say something.
"Applejack...don't worry. There's always another way. I assure you that I will find a solution to this. You'll be with your loved ones again soon. I can feel it."
"You mean that?" Applejack asked, ceasing to cry.
"To be honest, I would fist fight one of those giant zombies if it meant that someone could return to their home safely. Just because I lost my family doesn't mean someone else should."
"Ellis..."
"If you don't mind, I have to ask: how did you get here?"
"Well, if you wanna know, it started like this: my friend, Twilight, had a spell she was workin on. While she was practicing, I walked in on her and she freaked out. She accidentally zapped me with her magic and I was taken to that flamin building."
"Sounds reasonable."
"Sorry Ellis. It's just...I'm under a lot of stress right now, and you're right: there's always another way. I just don't know what."
"Well, let's find out. Shall we exit?"
"We don't got much choice. Let's go."
With that said, Ellis gives the door a kick and they leave the safe room. After walking through the hallway, they noticed that the area was under construction before the zombies came.
"In the elevator." Ellis said, pointing to an elevator that seemed to be working.
They enter the elevator, and try to decide what to do next.
"Well, no one here is gonna save us. You got a plan?" Applejack asked, trying to forget about the corpses from earlier.
"Actually, I've been thinking...so I've been thinking that Jimmy Gibbs, the guy on those posters, has his stock car around here somewhere. We just gotta find it, gas it up, and I'll drive it to New Orleans my damn self."
"What's a car? And what's 'gas'?"
"A car is like a metal wagon, but it requires fuel to work. The tank inside the car is likely empty, so like I said, we should find some gasoline."
"What does it look like?"
"You'll recognize it. So as soon as the doors open, hustle and find some gasoline."
For the next five seconds, the elevator continued to go down. It then stopped, and the doors opened. There was a gas can right in front of them.
"Ok, look for more of those and bring them to the car right there!" Ellis yelled as he pointed to the car and grabbed the gasoline.
So the search was on. They were checking every nook and cranny for any cans of precious gasoline. The process was this: find a gas can, drop it by the car, and find more. They needed at least eight to be able to drive out of there. Applejack was on the ground floor, and Ellis was on the floor above. The first 10 minutes were pretty productive. They had already found three out of eight gas cans. Ellis was engaging combat with a charger, and Applejack was in combat with a hunter. Ellis filled the charger with holes, and Applejack beat the hunter to death.
"Ellis!" Applejack yelled.
"Yeah?" Ellis responded.
"How is the process?"
"Goin nicely. We already got three cans. We just need five more."
"Ellis...what's that noise?!"
Ellis looked down at the floor to see another one of those hulking zombies.
"Shit! Run AJ! Up here!" Ellis yelled down to her.
While Applejack ran her way up the stairs, Ellis looked for something to use. He spotted what appeared to be a Molotov. This gave him an idea. He lit it and threw it down onto the tank. It was engulfed in flames, but that didn't stop it from trying to chase down our two protagonists. While they were running, Applejack fell through a glass floor panel and onto the floor underneath. Being separated from her only friend in this world, she panicked and tried to look for him. She found one gas can along the way, so she threw it down to the car. That meant they were halfway done. Anyways, Applejack could still hear the booming sound of the tank's massive steps and Ellis freaking out. They finally found each other on the second floor, but the tank had them backed up in a corner. At this point, Ellis was holding on to Applejack and closed his eyes, waiting for what was to come. Suddenly, the tank let out a final roar, and it just dropped dead. Ellis opened his eyes and looked at the now charred tank corpse.
"What in tarnation?" Applejack said.
"Must've been the fire. It looks like it got to him." Ellis said.
They spot two more gas cans, so they threw them down.
"Just two more!" Ellis yelled.
At this point, they knew that speed was key. Another tank was coming soon, and they knew it. They needed to find the last two cans before things got worse. Twenty minutes passed and Ellis already killed a spitter, hunter, and even a jockey. Applejack already killed a charger, smoker, and a spitter. The two had their own forms of combat: Ellis was great with guns, and Applejack used her muscular legs. Both were effective. Things got real when the duo found the last two cans.
"I got one!" Ellis yelled.
"I got another!" Applejack yelled back.
"Ok! We got them all! Let's gas up the car!"
"Alright! Meet you there!"
Ellis was the first to reach the car, and was already starting to fuel it up.
"Hersh da cam." Applejack said with the gas can in her mouth.
She dropped it behind him. While he was fueling the car, she kept her eyes and ears open for anything suspicious.
One out of eight cans inside
"I hear one of them chargin things." Applejack said.
"I see em'." Ellis said as he filled the zombie with holes, "Got em."
Three out of eight cans inside
"I cannot wait to drive this." Ellis said, excitedly.
"Does this thing mean a lot to you?" Applejack asked.
"You bet. I loved the races that Jimmy Gibbs Jr. won with this. That and, I love the feeling of speed: the air tryin to hold ya back as it flows through your hair. Man, that's the life."
"Heh, that reminds me of one of my friends."
"Yeah? Well, maybe if I get the chance, I could meet your friends."
Seven out of eight cans inside
"Oh, man. I am too excited." Ellis said.
Applejack couldn't help but smile every time Ellis said something out of excitement. Maybe she liked the fact that it was hard to get rid of his good mood. Maybe it was his determination and dedication to do the right thing. Whatever it was, there was something about him that made her want to be closer...
"Alright! It's gassed up! Inside!" Ellis yelled as a tank could be seen in the distance.
Applejack stopped staring off into space and followed his instructions. She went in the back seat and Ellis shut the door behind her. Ellis found the key and he activated the car. He turned it and the motor started to work.
"Oh, yeah. Listen to that purr." Ellis said, trying to hold back the drool.
"THE TANK!" Applejack yelled as she pointed her hoof at the incoming tank.
"Oh, right!" Ellis said as he stomped his foot on the gas pedal.
The car accelerated forwards and Ellis smashed it through the doors of the mall.
Ellis was driving the race car. He never felt so alive. His dream was to drive Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s vehicle, and there he was. He had big plans for the future: go to New Orleans, make friends, and try to live like he used to. In the back, Applejack was asleep. All the running, the fighting, and the drama of the whole situation made her more tired than she ever was before. Ellis looked back and saw her snoozing. The sight made him laugh a little. As mentioned before, Ellis loved horses. However, something about this one made him happier than any other horse or pony ever did. Maybe it was her hard-working attitude. Perhaps it was her southern accent. Hell, maybe it could have been the little freckles on both sides of her face. Whatever it was, he was certainly feeling a positive bond starting to form, but he tried to ignore it and focus on driving.
"Shit!" Ellis said as he slammed on the brakes of the car.
He was driving the stock car at full speed along the road, but when he saw the mass of abandoned cars up ahead, he stomped his full foot on the brake pedal. Applejack was asleep in the back until the loss in force launched her forewords, slamming her into the back of Ellis' seat. The car continued to screech forewords until stopping behind some old cars.
"Oh, no. This is not good." Ellis groaned and rested his head on the wheel.
"Ugh...did somepony catch the number on that carriage?" Applejack said, half asleep.
"Well, I should've expected this."
"Expected what?"
"Look."
"That's a lot of cars."
"Yeah, but they're abandoned. Can't go any further."
They exit the car and check the trunk for anything useful. All they found was a little bit of ammo and an adrenaline shot. Ellis took the ammunition and placed the shot in his pocket. Then, they tried to decide what to do next.
"Sorry, Applejack. This car is capable a' miracles, but it can't drive over forty miles of parked cars. I think we're walkin'." Ellis said.
"At least we're outta that mall. That place was freaky." Applejack said, remembering the tank.
"Hey, look at that! Whispering Oaks Amusement Park! I loved goin there as a child."
"Let's go and see where the road will take us."
"I'll agree with you there. Let's go."
Ellis jumped on top of an obscuring car and helps AJ up. The cars all looked like people just left them on the spot. when they got to a somewhat clear area, they saw beams shine into the sky.
"Searchlights! That's the first sign of light we've seen in a hundred miles." Ellis observed.
"I wonder what was with all those cars." Applejack wondered.
"Maybe people left them when they got rescued."
"I can only hope that they escaped."
They climb up a hill and jump onto a billboard. The duo then scans the surrounding area with their eyes. They see that the property that they were standing on was a motel. Or, at least, what was left of it. Ellis jumped off the roof of the motel building and held his arms out to catch Applejack. She jumped down and landed right on top of him. She may have been smaller than he was, but she wasn't lighter than him. Anyways, after they got up, they noticed a weird smell. Like if something was cooking, but the meat was rotting. They traced the odor all the way to the swimming pool nearby. When they arrived, a horrifying sight was before them: there were charred corpses of people in the deep end, and they even had a little bit of smoke still coming off of them.
"Sweet Celestia!" Applejack said weakly as she unloaded the contents of her stomach onto the cement.
"Those poor people. All they wanted to do was go for a swim." Ellis said.
Ellis helped AJ get up and they tried looking for a way out. A coughing sound was heard in the distance. Suddenly, a large, thick tongue wrapped around Applejack and dragged her backwards. Ellis located the smoker and shot it in the chest a few times. It released AJ, but it ran off before Ellis could finish the job. He then focused his attention on Applejack. She was still wrapped up in that slimy tongue.
"Ugh, now I know how you felt back at that hotel." Applejack said.
"Yeah, but he got you pretty good." Ellis responded.
He then unraveled his friend. Every time he touched the tongue, it would make a sickening juicy sound. When that was over, they kept their eyes open for not only a way out, but for any more infected. After snooping through some of the rooms, they find one with a hole busted in the wall. When they enter the next room, they jump out of the window and exit the motel completely. The road to Whispering Oaks was blocked by a chain link fence, so they needed to find an alternative route. Behind the motel was a little landslide leading to a small swamp-like area.
"Looks pretty steep. Careful." Ellis warned.
Ellis went down first. He slid on his feet down towards the swamp, landing in a puddle of water.
"Woah, that was crazy." Ellis said.
"Incomin!" Applejack shouted as she herself slid down on her hooves, sliding onto a mini-ledge like a ramp and flying forward, again landing on Ellis. However, this time, they were face-to-face. In fact, their faces were so close, Ellis' nose and AJ's muzzle almost touched.
Ellis was staring right into Applejack's eyes, as she did the same. Applejack then began to blush, either by the sheer awkwardness, or something else...
"Opps, sorry." AJ apologized.
"Um, it's alright. Erm..." Ellis couldn't find the rest of the words in the sentence.
They got up, and walked through the swamp, trying to act like nothing had happened. While they were walking, there were 3 different noises going on: They could hear a charger, spitter, and a witch. Now, that may seem like not much. However, when you're in a swamp at night with limited vision, you should be worried. They spotted a ledge leading up, so they climbed it. When they reached the top, there was a safe house up ahead, and behind it was Whispering Oaks.
"Whispering Oaks! We made it." Ellis said happily.
However, there was a sitting witch in the middle of the parking lot, so they needed to sneak past her to get to the safe room in one piece. Seemed simple enough. Without warning, a honking noise was heard from behind, and sure enough, a charger was coming right for Applejack. Ellis pushed her out of the way, but then he was the one who ended up getting rammed into. While he was getting carried by the zombie, the charger also rammed right into the witch, flinging her to the side. The charger then began to repeatedly slam Ellis into the ground.
"Help! Applejack, it's crushing me into shit!" Ellis yelled.
Before she could save him, the witch let out an ear-piercing scream. It ran straight to the charger and slashed it to death, surprising both Ellis and Applejack. The relief was short-lived when it then started to slash at Ellis, adding long cuts to his arms.
"DON'T YOU DARE!!!" Applejack screamed as she took out her anger on the witch. It was a lot stronger than all the other infected, with the only exception being the tank. Anyways, she stopped beating it when the witch's femur started to stick out of it's leg.
"You okay?" Applejack asked.
"A little scraped up, but yeah." Ellis said, looking at the now bleeding cuts on his arms.
"Let's just go."
They make their way into the safe room, this time Applejack shut and locked the door. When she did, Ellis said:
"Oh man. Oooh man, oh man, oh man, oh man." Ellis repeatedly said, applying pressure to his cuts on his arms.
"Do you have somethin' to use on it?" Applejack asked.
"No...wait, yeah! My first aid kit!"
Ellis pulled the health bag off of his back and removed the contents. First, he used alcohol dabs to cleanse the wounds. (Which you could imagine to be pretty painful.) Then, he applied bandages to his arms.
"Oh, yeah." Ellis said blissfully.
"That witch got you pretty good." Applejack acknowledged.
"Yeah, but I'm still alive."
"Thank Celestia." Applejack whispered to herself.
"You say somethin'?"
"Oh, uhh...yeah, erm...what do we do next?"
"Well, the best option would be...oh man, check it out, AJ! That's the Midnight Riders!" Ellis said, pointing at a poster.
"Are they any good?"
"Uhh, yeah. They are a pretty big deal alright. They also got the best firework show in the business. I remember the best seat I got: front row, center! Lost my eyebrows."
That last sentence made Applejack giggle a little. She started to imagine the scenario until creepy sounds were heard outside the door.
"Perhaps we should just get goin'." Applejack said.
"Right, right. Ready?" Ellis asked, hand on the door.
"Let's go kick some flank!"
Ellis then kicks the door and they exit the safe room. As they stroll through the abandoned carnival, they look at the abandoned games, food stands, and benches. Ellis was going through mixed feelings of nostalgia from his childhood, and horror from what this once happy location became. Applejack was just listening to the crickets and the occasional blowing of the wind. In a way, it was kind of peaceful. Anyways, after a while of walking, they discovered a storage room with plush animals on top of boxes and shelves.
"Heh, I remember whenever I played a game, I never won a single one of them." Ellis said, remembering his childhood.
"My friend Fluttershy loved animals." Applejack said, remembering the good old days back in Ponyville.
"I as well like animals. Especially horses. I love horses." Ellis said.
That last sentence made Applejack get a fluttery feeling in her stomach. Then she realized: he said horse, not pony. "But, horses are similar to ponies, right?" Applejack thought to herself. The reason why she was thinking like this was beyond her.
"Wait, you said that your friend, um, what's her name? Fluttershy, right? You said she liked animals, right?" Ellis asked.
Applejack snapped back into reality and responded, "Oh, uh, yeah. Why?"
"Well, do you think we should take one of these plushies with us? You know, in cas- erm, I mean, when you get back home?"
"I think she'd like that."
"Alright. Which one should we take? The elephant, or the giraffe?"
"How bout...the elephant!"
"I'll get it."
Ellis climbed onto a stack of boxes and grabbed an elephant plush. When he did, he strapped it onto his back (below the first aid kit) and jumped down. When he landed, a growl was heard. Suddenly, a hunter out of nowhere pounced on Applejack, just thrashing and ripping at her fur. Ellis, not wanting to lose his only friend, ran behind the hunter and pulled it off of her. He pistol-whipped the monster in the face with his desert eagle and turned it into Swiss cheese.
"You okay?" Ellis asked Applejack as he helped her up.
"Yeah, fine. Thanks. OW!" Applejack yelled as she fell back onto the ground.
"What's wrong?"
"I feel like that hunter pulled my muscles the wrong way."
"I'd imagine so. Here, take these pills." Ellis said as he handed the medication to his four-legged friend.
"Well, if you say so." Applejack said as she slammed the entire bottle down her throat.
"Woah! Don't you think that was a bit much?"
"I dunno, but I'm feelin' good!"
"Alright, well, let's keep movin'."
They exit the storage room and re-enter the main area of the carnival. After a bit of walking, they find a cotton candy booth with a table laden with ammo. While Ellis grabbed the precious 5.56 ammunition, he noticed what the booth used to sell.
"Hey, can we stop to make some cotton candy? Seriously." Ellis asked.
"Cotton candy. Heh, that reminds me of my friend, Pinkie Pie. Ponies always said her mane looked and smelled like cotton candy." Applejack remembered the fond memories she shared with her happy-go-lucky friend.
"You had a lot a' friends, didn't you?"
"Well...uh...yeah."
When they left, Ellis spotted a banner hanging above them. After reading it, Ellis' nostalgia meter exploded twice.
"Holy shit, AJ! Kiddieland! I wanna ride one! Just one! Let me ride the Screaming Oak just once. Man, when will we ever be here again?" Ellis said while his inner child broke loose from it's shackles.
To Ellis' disappointment, all the rides were non-functional. Yes, he tried working every single one of them with no success. While Ellis was goofing around with broken controls, Applejack was hearing noises. Horrifying noises. Whatever it was, It sounded like it had thick vocal cords. Like a really muscular man who got a six pack abs, and THEN decided to take steroids.
"Ellis..." Applejack tapped the shoulder of her friend.
"Yes?" Ellis responded.
"I really think we should get movin'."
"Why's that?"
"I hear somethin'."
"What is it? Spitter? Hunter? Jockey?"
"No...I think it's a tank."
Ellis stopped fiddling with the control panel of a ride and got up.
"Okay, then. Let's keep movin'."
They continue their way through Kiddieland until they spot an alley. Inside, there was a picture of a house with a cross in it made out of orange spray paint. Next to it was an arrow pointing to the other side of the alley. As they walked through the alley and into another storage building, the sound of a tank's growl creeped closer. Adding to Applejack's anxiety. They found a ladder leading to the roof, and due to it's steepness and lack of steps, Ellis had to climb first.
"Take my hand." Ellis said as he reached his arm down to Applejack.
She held her hoof out towards him and he grabbed it. As he pulled her up, a crazed laugh was heard in the distance.
"Hate them things." Ellis grunted as he pulled Applejack up.
"That's a...what's it called...a jockey, right?" AJ asked.
"Yeah, and let me tell you: I'd much rather NOT have my face humped by a zombie again."
After exploring the roof, they see that they are above a giant slide, amongst a few booths that used to sell food.
"Man, it's like we lucked out and bought every ride in this place for ourselves. You know, that was gonna be the first thing I did if I ever won the lottery." Ellis said, fantasizing.
Applejack was too concerned about the tank's noises than anything else. None of the zombies really scared her, but the witch and the tank, ESPECIALLY the tank, horrified her. Anyways, they continued walking through the carnival until finding a dead end at a carousel.
"We aint gettin' through here unless we activate the carousel." Ellis said.
"Well, turn on the carousel." Applejack responded.
"Well, you see, it's gonna make noises that might attract more zombies."
"Do we really have much of a choice?"
"Fraid not. I'm startin it!"
Ellis flipped the switch, and then the gate opened. While it was doing that, the carousel was playing incredibly obnoxious and annoying circus music. To make things worse, the tank that was heard earlier noticed our two heroes and decided to chase them.
"Shit! Run, man! Run!" Ellis yelled.
"I'm tryin' to go as fast as I can!" Applejack yelled back.
The tank may have a small distance away, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't catch up to them.
"Hey, there's a safe room in the Tunnel of Love!" Ellis yelled.
"Oh, great." Applejack mumbled.
The jockey from earlier was very close. Applejack didn't even notice it...until it decided to take her for a ride. Of course, it jumped on her head. However, due to her strength, she usually could save herself from situations like this. This was no exception. Ellis tried to shoot the jockey, but his gun started to jam. Applejack used her hind legs to give the head-humper a kick so hard, she head his ribs crack. Ellis was too distracted with grabbing his sidearm (that he already accidentally dropped while panicking) to see that AJ already finished the job.
"Woah, you got that little spud?" Ellis asked Applejack while looking at the Jockey's corpse.
"Mashed potatas, now." Applejack Joked.
"Uh-oh. Quick! Into the safe house!" Ellis yelled once more, seeing the tank advance closer.
They finally entered the safe room, and Ellis locked the door. Right when he did, he heard something pound against it one time and that was it. Total silence like it never happened. Ellis then said:
"Ugh, I've got some bad memories bout this kind of ride..." Applejack groaned.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Ellis asked, a little bit of teasing in his voice.
"Ya see, this one time I was given a bet. The bet was to see if I could ride with a random stallion pony and act normal."
"And how'd that go?"
"Horribly! It wasn't even a solid minute before he tried to stick his tongue down ma throat!"
"Ugh. Did you fight back?"
"I had to act normal. I just faced forward while he was practically lickin' the left side of ma face!"
"So, you got sexually assaulted in the tunnel of love?"
"Pretty much. When we exited the ride, I gave him a kick so hard, he puked the contents of his belly up!"
"Heh, well I guessed he learned the hard way that that was no way to treat a lady."
"Oh, no. I'm no lady. I'm not all froo froo and sophisticated."
"Well, you're definitely cute."
"Aww, you're just sayin that."
"No, really! I mean with the hat, the little picture on your...well...butt, and your hair style, who could not like someone like you? You're a born farm girl!"
Applejack blushed a little before continuing the conversation.
"Anyways, I actually do have one good memory bout the tunnel a' love." Applejack mentioned.
"Like corn, I'm all ears." Ellis said.
"Ys see, I had a friend named Spike. He was a dragon, but he was goin' out with ma friend Rarity for about a year. Bout a few weeks ago, he asked me to accompany Rarity and him on the ride. Even though I didn't want to, I went anyways. Halfway through the ride, he pulled out a ring and proposed to her! She said yes, she was cryin', I was cryin', it was just...shoot, I dunno. It just happened so fast."
"So, when was the weddin'?"
"It was gonna happen bout two days from when I was teleported here. I sure hope I don't miss it."
A scratching sound was heard on the door they came in from.
"Shit! Sorry to interrupt our pleasant conversation, but maybe we should get outta here." Ellis said.
"Agreed. Let's go." Applejack responded.
Ellis pulls up the support beam on the door and kicks it open. They exit and climb the stairs.
"This is cool." Ellis said, looking at the lights and the broken ride.
They walk along the now drained "river" that the swans used to float and ride on while listening cautiously for any unwanted pests that would happen to find them. About five minutes passed when they heard a crazed giggle.
"Of course there would be a jockey here." Applejack groaned.
"I reckon there would be at least ten of em' in here." Ellis responded.
Suddenly, the flea man known as the jockey jumped out from behind a pillar and lunged at Applejack, getting ahold of her head.
"WHAT THE BUCK?! GET THIS THING OFFA ME!" Applejack yelled, her voice slightly muffed by the jockey's...well...yeah.
"Hang on, I got it!" Ellis yelled as he smacked the head-humper with the butt of his gun, then filling it with 5.56 rounds.
"Ugh, I hope that doesn't count as losin' ma virginity."
"Well, it only humped ya, you know."
"Still, that was disgustin'."
"Wait, you're a virgin?"
"Did ya hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That...growlin' noise."
Then, behind the counter, a hunter crawled out and jumped at Ellis. Applejack kicked it out of the air and stomped on it's skull. Brain matter splattered all over the floor and wall like a bowl of bad Jell-O. After that, they continued their way down the tunnel of cheesiness. Applejack cringing at the corny decorations of hearts and cupids.
"Ugh, I now know personally why you hate jockeys." Applejack said.
"Ha Ha! Yeah, that one seemed like he enjoyed himself there!" Ellis playfully mocked his equestrian friend.
"Next time I see one of those, Ima tear off it's-"
"Woah, woah. Try to calm yourself. Look." Ellis said as he took a deep breath and lodged a single bullet into the head of a jockey.
"Or ya can do that."
After some more walking, they found the maintenance room where extra swans were stored and repaired. As they explored the room, noises were heard in the distance. They ended up finding a hole in the ground leading back to the tunnel, so they did the normal routine for situations like this: Ellis first, then AJ next. When they did, a sob was heard very clearly.
"Shh, I hear one of them cryin' girls." Ellis warned.
They go through the tunnel with caution, keeping their eyes open for the witch. They soon find her in the middle of a hole in the wall leading outside. Ellis tiptoed by her, not making any sudden movements. The witch noticed him, but she only growled at him for about three seconds before going back to crying. "Okay, you next, but don't make any sudden movements. Be slow, be steady." Ellis whispered. Applejack tiptoed her way past the witch, trying to act normal. This time, the witch stood up, growling like a combination of human and dog. It's head was twitching like a captured lightning bolt. Soon, it finally calmed completely down.
"Phew, that was close." Applejack sighed in relief.
Outside they saw a chopper flying low in the sky with a searchlight on.
"Hey, that's a helicopter!" Ellis said.
"If only we could get it down here." Applejack responded.
After hopping over a broken fence, they find themselves near the controls of the roller coaster, "The Screaming Oak".
"The only way to get through is if we activate the controls, and I'm sure it's gonna make quite a racket once it works. Get ready for a fight." Ellis warned as he flipped the switch.
"Well, here we go!" Applejack said as the mini gate opened to the tracks.
As they ran on with the coaster ahead of them, Ellis was having the time of his life. When he wasn't spreading his arms apart like a bird, he was making roller coaster buildup noises with his mouth. Applejack was busy giggling at the goofball she could call her friend. The happy moment jumped out the window when another jockey leaped into eyesight. Ellis quickly wiped it from existence with his magnum pistol, and they moved on.
"We gotta turn off the coaster, it's making an alarm!" Ellis yelled as he slid down a steep drop on the coaster.
"Yeah! Plus, ma ears are hurting now!" Applejack responded.
A loud roar was heard from behind them. Applejack looked back too see that the tank from earlier must have followed them all the way to the coaster. They were now running for dear life. If one of them got knocked off, they would die from ground impact. Finally, they reached the controls of the coaster. The tank was still a small distance away, but it was closing in on them fast.
"Quick! Turn it off!" Applejack yelled.
"I can't! It won't work!" Ellis said, repeatedly turning the switch."
"Ugh! Let me!"
Applejack went up to the controls and smashed them with her forelegs. Again, her strength impressed Ellis. They continued sprinting their way to the safe room. Applejack went in first, and then Ellis. AJ shut the door and then locket it with her mouth. Ellis then said:
In the safe room made from a room with unknown purpose...
"Well, not what I expected, but still fun!" Ellis said with his fists in the air.
"You call that fun?" Applejack asked her enthusiastic friend.
"I enjoyed the piss outta that!"
"Well, besides the tank and the jockeys, I guess it was kinda entertaining."
"If only Keith were here...he would have LOVED to do what we just did."
"There's just never a dull moment for you, is there Ellis?"
If there was one thing that AJ could see as Ellis' talent, it would have to be his lack of unhappiness. He was good at making a horrifying, life-threatening situation into a thrilling game. Applejack liked that about him.
"I ever tell you bout the time my buddy Keith drove off a cliff, broke both his legs? Now, it's not really a funny haha story, so much as it's a "make you think" story. Windshields looked pretty durable, right? Not the case according to Keith. Son of a bitch flew right through that sucker!" Ellis started to tell one of his infamous stories.
"Ellis, there's somethin' I gotta tell ya." Applejack said, taking off her hat.
"Sure."
"You see, I-"
An audible honking noise was heard along with a banging noise. Suddenly, the door's hinges gave in and it flew open. A charger must have grown impatient and decided to drop in. Applejack ran up to it and gave the zombie a wicked kick in the shins, causing it to fall down. The charger got back on it's feet and swung a punch at AJ, but missed and was given a few pieces of lead in it's head.
"Now, what were ya going to say?" Ellis asked.
Applejack was going to tell him, but got cold hooves and decided not to, "Say what?" She said, playing dumb.
"Never mind, let's get movin'."
"Okay."
They exit the safe room to be greeted with a large array of snack and game booths. However, the one thing that attracted their attention was one of those games that tested your strength.
"Oh man, I love these!" Ellis said as he grabbed one of the game's old hammers.
"I've seen these before. They're easy." Applejack said.
"Not this one. This game is rigged to the point where it is impossible."
"I can beat this one."
"Oh no you can't, but let's see who can do better."
Ellis goes up to the button and gives it a swing with all his might. The ball goes just under the bell, and Ellis cheered at his own personal achievement.
"Beat that!" Ellis said, crossing his arms.
Applejack picks up the mallet in her mouth and gives it a normal-looking swing, but the result was beyond normal. The ball darts up the pole like a bullet, smacking the bell and making it fly off.
Achievement Unlocked: Gong Show
"Beaten." Applejack boasted.
"Woah, you are a true, true country girl." Ellis said, mouth agape.
Ellis was truly impressed. He met a lot of girls, he met a lot of horses, and he even met a fair share of ponies in his life, but none of them compared to Applejack. He knew that she was someone special. Anyways, they walk their way through a bumper car game to find yet another area filled with booths. The only visible new thing nearby was ticket booths. Once again, the chopper flew above their heads, searchlights on.
"I'm glad there's a helicopter lookin' for us, but it's a little loud." Applejack said.
"What's your point?" Ellis asked.
"It could attract another one of them zombies."
"Like wh-AAAGH!"
While Ellis was not looking, a hunter happened to sneak up on him and pounce on for a late-night snack. However, Applejack managed to use her hind legs to split the zombie's head like a melon.
"Say, I'm gettin' pretty good at this." Applejack said as she looked at the blood on her hooves.
"Thanks, AJ." Ellis said to his four-legged friend.
Things were going pretty well for them until they reached the barns, where typical farming animals could be seen and petted. However, when the zombies came, they fudged that cake up.
"Ah, here's the barns. I got some good memories here." Ellis said, looking at the door leading inside.
"Like what?" Applejack asked.
"You see, when I was a kid, I witnessed a cow give birth to another baby cow."
"Wow."
"Then, the people randomly chose me to pick the name for it. I decided to name it Charlie. Weeks before the zombies came, I was told that Charlie was still alive! He was expected to live another two years."
"Well, let's go and see if you can meet him!"
"Yeah!"
When they entered, the first thing they noticed was a foul smell. A smell so strong, not even a wet rag could filter it. When they looked around, a gruesome sight sat there. In the pens where the cows were supposed to stand, they all laid curled up, dead. The intestines of the cows were ripped out, chewed up, and looking like pink, fleshy spaghetti noodles. Flies swarmed the poor creatures like the tornado to Oz as Applejack yet again, hurled all over the floor, adding to the horrible odor.
"Oh...my...god..." Ellis trailed off.
Applejack got up and tried to act natural, but this was too much! She finally finds the first recognizable creature in this world, and it's dead! Mutilated! However, she wasn't the only one feeling pain here. Ellis walked up to each individual cow, reading the name tags. When they went through a doorway leading to a second room full of mutilated cows, Ellis walked up to one of the cows and fell onto his knees. Tears started to form in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Applejack asked.
"Look." Ellis said as he rubbed the caked dirt off of the nametag.
"Sorry, I can't read your language."
"The nametag reads, 'Charlie'."
"Mother of Celestia."
"I'm sorry, Charlie." Ellis said, his wet tears falling onto the dried out scalp of the cow.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Ellis. I'll let you two have some time alone for a bit." Applejack said as she went into the next room and sat on one of the tables.
Ellis, for the first time in the apocalypse, was expressing his grief. He felt as if an iron nail was jabbed into his heart as he looked at his deceased childhood memory. After he had his little moment, he closed the cow's eyes.
"So long, old friend." He said as he went into the next room.
When he entered, Applejack was waiting for him. They looked at each other for about five seconds before Ellis kneeled. When he did, the two of them shared a hug. This went on for a solid ten minutes until the chopper was heard again outside.
"We should probably get movin'." Ellis said, his eyes still partially red from the tears.
"Alright, try and take it easy." Applejack said sympathetically.
When Ellis got back on his feet, they finally got out of the barn. When they exited, the duo noticed that it was a dead end. Not wanting to go back, they looked for an alternative route. They finally noticed hat they could climb onto the roof, so they did. Ellis got on first, and then he reached down for Applejack's hoof to pull her up. However, while he was in the midst of lifting her, a smoker from behind Ellis snared him in it's fungus-covered tongue. Ellis accidentally dropped Applejack on the ground as he was being dragged backwards. Then, the smoker reeled in his little fish and began to strangle Ellis.
"A...J...H-Help! Getting...weak...everything's...going...dark..." Ellis said, his voice weakening from the lack of oxygen.
Applejack rubbed her head and saw her only friend in this world getting strangled to death. Suddenly, a rage ran through her like fire and she leaped onto the roof with unnatural force. She pounced onto the smoker like a hunter and beat down onto it like a ball of dough. Reddish-blackish blood gushed out of the head, neck, and chest of the zombie. Finally, it exploded into a cloud of green smoke. Applejack then turned her attention to Ellis and unwrapped the tongue from him. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing very lightly.
"Ellis? Are you okay? Say somethin'. Anythin'!" Applejack said with panic in her voice.
"I saved fifteen percent on my car insurance." Ellis mumbled as he slowly got back on his feet.
"Oh, thank Celestia! You're okay!"
"Yeah, thanks for killin' that smoker. I owe you a lot."
They continued their way adventuring on the roofs, until finally finding a suitable place to get off. After exploring a bit more, they met with another dead end: a gate leading to the stage where the concert was originally going to be done. However, the controls that were used to open and close them were visible, and still working too.
"Alright, the only way we get through is if we open the gates. And...there!" Ellis said as he flipped the switch.
"Now what?" Applejack asked.
"Now, we wait."
Thirty seconds later...
"Hey, wanna hear a riddle?" Ellis asked.
"Sure, lemme hear it." Applejack responded, readying her brain.
"Okay, here it is: I am an odd number. If you take one letter away, I become even. What number am I?"
"Uhh, seven?"
"Right! Very good!"
Two minutes and a dead jockey later...
"Wanna hear another riddle?" Ellis again asked.
"Sure, why not?" Applejack asked in response.
"Okay. An elephant is stuck on a freeway. The only way you can get it off is if you take the 'f' out of 'free' and 'way'. So, how do you get the elephant off?"
"Wait, there's no 'f' in way." Applejack pointed out.
"Haha! You fell for it!"
"I don't get it."
"Never mind."
Then, the gates opened up.
"Okay, it's open! Run!" Ellis said.
They run at full speed into the safe room, and Ellis slammed the door and locked it behind him. When he did, he said:
"Wow, we...you know what? I got nothing smart to say this time."
Applejack was imaginably shaken up from just...everything. Ellis was pondering on what was the next thing to do.
"Whatcha thinkin' bout?" Applejack asked.
"Thinking about how we're gonna get outta this..." Ellis said in response.
Due to the past events, our two heroes are imaginably tired. Running, jumping, and fighting for an entire day and part of a night is energy consuming. Ellis and his four-legged friend have been trying to catch their breath in the safe house for about ten minutes since they first entered. It was then when Ellis caught an Idea...
"Oh! I got a plan on how to signal that chopper!" Ellis said excitedly.
"Really? How?" Applejack asked curiously.
"The Midnight Riders!"
"What about them?"
"Their shows are always filled with the most explosive and visible fireworks! We could activate the concert and signal the chopper!"
"Say, that's a good idea!"
"Starting the Midnight Riders concert...this is the best day of my life!"
"Wait, wouldn't the noise attract any...unwanted attention?"
"Likely, so we'd better get ready for a fight..."
"Alrighty, I'm ready when you are."
"Let's kick some ass!"
Ellis gives the door a kick and steps out. Followed by AJ, he continues to stroll through the food court. Only a minute passes when a Spitter decided to make herself visible. Ellis raised his rifle in the direction of the thin, drooling beast...but Applejack decided to step in and beat the tar out of the zombie. Applejack's talent in um..."hoof" fighting proceeded to impress Ellis. After that mess, they get ready to leave the food court...until AJ spots a creepy wooden sign.
"Ugh...that's disturbing." Applejack said, cringing at the wooden cutout of Whispering Oak's mascot: Lil Peanut.
"What is?" Ellis asked.
"That...peanut...thing..."
"Oh man, I love Lil Peanut! I had all his toys as a kid. Ah...good times..."
Ellis continued to have flashbacks on his childhood until he heard a growling from behind him. Being familiar with this noise already, Ellis ducked down and filled the Hunter with holes from his rifle. After that, they finally exited the food court and into the concert area. It was what you would expect of a concert: A large stage on one side, and benches in a staircase-like fashion. Ellis looked around in amazement as he saw the stage all decked out with a Midnight Riders background. Pushing his love for the band aside, he wasted no time looking for the controls to cause as much attention as possible.
Ellis locates the controls for stage lighting at the very back of the seating area. "Lights!" He yells down to Applejack, who was still on the stage.
He presses the button and as expected, the stage lighting activates. He practically giggles as he went down the steps and gets ready to activate the concert tapes.
"When I press this, it's all startin'!" Ellis yells like it's his last day to be alive.
"Ellis...?" AJ asked.
"Yeah?"
"There's something I gotta tell ya...just in case we don't make it or somethin'..."
"Sure. What is it?"
Applejack motions Ellis to crouch down. He does so, and expects her to whisper or something. Then, without a word, she kisses him on the lips. At first, this shocked Ellis. The thought of a pony kissing him on the mouth was mind-blowing. However, he didn't dislike it. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it. Applejack stopped kissing him and blushed so bright red, you would have thought there was too much blood in her head. Ellis stared at her with a shocked expression. Applejack covers her face with her hat, feeling embarrassed.
"Hey...AJ..?" Ellis said, smiling.
"Y-yeah?" Applejack said, face still covered by her hat.
Ellis pulls AJs hat from her face and kisses her in return. They shared a passionate kiss for the next thirty seconds, and when they released...Applejack's face was unimaginably red, then she practically fainted as Ellis whispered into her ear the words, "I love you..."
Applejack finally figured out what those feelings were earlier. She was deeply in love with Ellis. As for Ellis, he didn't know until the kiss either. Time almost slowed down for our two heroes as they discovered their secret feelings for each other.
After a few minutes, they realized that if they wanted to continue being...you know...ALIVE, then they were going to have to signal the helicopter before it leaves. Ellis turns around and presses the button, activating the concert and starting the music.
"Turn it up! Turn it WAY UP!" He yells as he picks up a nearby guitar and pretends to strum it.
Applejack giggles a little at Ellis' goofiness, but then quickly stops when she notices the infected party crashers incoming. A Smoker and a Jockey come out of a nearby building and charge our protagonists. The Jockey decided to go for Ellis while the Smoker goes after AJ. Ellis, currently not having a gun in hand, uses the guitar to beat the head humper senseless. The Smoker took a more stealthy approach, however. Hiding behind a corn dog stand, the Smoker used his tongue to snag himself a four-legged snack. Applejack was stuck in the Smoker's tongue and called out for Ellis' help. He heard her call and quickly saved AJ by blasting the Smoker with his magnum pistol.
After that, the song finished. When it did, a new one played...and a familiar and unfriendly roar came from a nearby bathroom. Sure enough, a tank jumped out and lumbered towards Ellis. Applejack, not willing to lose her new boyfriend, ran around the area, searching for something to use. She discovers a Molotov, and lights it. Grasping the bottle in her teeth, she throws it at the hulk of a zombie and it ignites. The tank becomes enraged at this and chases AJ. However, she only had to run for about thirty seconds due to the Tank's weakness to fire. Just as the zombie dies, another song plays. The duo begin to calm down a little and try to rest. After turning a charger into Swiss cheese, Ellis begins searching for another Molotov while Applejack beats the snot out of a Hunter.
"I love this song!" Ellis yells into the sky.
Minutes passed as the rock and roll kept on...well...rolling while Ellis and Applejack were searching for supplies. It was at that point where the intense fireworks started flying sky high. They exploded into the air, lighting up the night sky as our survivors continued to fight the undead. Suddenly, another Tank appeared. Ellis, knowing what to do, threw a Molotov at the not-so-jolly and not-so-green giant. After about one minute, the Tank fell down...charred like a rotisserie chicken. Extra crispy.
All the songs have finished, and the firework cannons fired everything they had into the sky. Through the booming sparks, the helicopter could be heard from a distance. It finally made an appearance on the left side of the audience area. However, on the right....a purple glow could be seen. A purple sphere appears and a lavender unicorn comes out.
"Applejack!" she yells.
"Twilight!" Applejack yells in response.
"Come with me! Let's go home!"
Ellis remembered making a promise to AJ that he would somehow get her home. However, he didn't want to leave her side. Still, he wanted to get to New Orleans...
"Oh, what the hell. Geronimo!" Ellis yells as he follows AJ and Twilight into the portal.
The portal closes and the helicopter pilot is confused. The fireworks were still going off while he was there, but no signs of those who activated them. Suddenly, a voice is heard from below him.
"Wait! Help us!" A voice yells from below.
The helicopter pilot waits in his spot as a human and a pony climb the stairs.
"Finally, a helicopter. Now we can finally be rescued..." The human said.
"Um...Nick?" Asked the pony.
"Yes, Lyra?" Nick asked in response.
"Who called for help, anyways?"
"Not sure, but who cares? At least WE made it..."
They both climb into the helicopter and It takes off...
All the songs have finished, and the firework cannons fired everything they had into the sky. Through the booming sparks, the helicopter could be heard from a distance. It finally made an appearance on the left side of the audience area.
"Woo hoo!" Ellis yelled, "The chopper's here!"
The two unlikely lovers hauled ass to the helicopter, until Applejack spotted something in the distance. Two figures: A white one and a mint colored one.
"Stop the helicopter!" The one in white yelled, holding something in his arms.
"Ellis! Tell the pilot to wait!" AJ yelled.
Ellis hopped into the helicopter and told him to wait a moment. He agreed, and waited for everyone to climb in. After Applejack climbed in, the two other figures entered the chopper as well. One was a human, with a white suit and a scar on his face. The other, was a mint colored unicorn with a white streak through her mane. Once everyone was on, the helicopter took off into the night. Finally, everyone could relax...
"Thanks," The human said, holding a garden gnome, "I guess I owe you for that."
"Ay, it's no problem." Ellis said, "Oh! Ad I see you also found a pony!"
"Yeah. Her name's-"
"Lyra Heartstrings!" Applejack said as she jumped to her hooves.
"How did you know that?" Nick asked, surprised.
"We both came from Ponyville! AJ here is a friend of Twilight Sparkle!" Lyra said, happy to see a familiar face for once.
"Well shit. As if things couldn't get any stranger."
Nick set the gnome down and slumped in his seat.
"Name's Nick," Nick started, "And I'm gonna get out of this piece-of-shit place if it kills me."
"Pleasure ta meet ya." Applejack said, tipping her hat.
"So," Nick started, "I suppose you two have survived with each other?"
"Yup," Ellis said, "We became very close friends, and...well..."
"And then we became MUCH more than friends," Applejack said, giving Ellis a small kiss on the cheek.
"Wait...you two...are..?" Nick said, trying his DAMNEST to be polite for once and hide his disgust.
Ellis and AJ simple nodded, and the whole copter fell into silence. Beside the sound of the motor, it was quiet. Finally, Applejack broke the silence.
"So uh, what is that?" Applejack asked, referring to the gnome.
"Oh. I got really pissed earlier, so I played one of the games...except I shot at the targets instead of throwing balls at them. I ended up willing, and the prize box opened." Nick said.
"Okay, but...what is it?"
"Oh! I know! I studied humans back in Ponyville! I think it's called...a...'keemstar' ?" Lyra said, trying to remember her studies.
"No. It's a garden gnome, Lyra. The only reason why I carried this dumb thing is because you SO BADLY wanted to take it with us." Nick said, irritably.
"Well, I wanted something to take back home to show my friends!"
While they were arguing, Ellis noticed that the pilot had his hands off the controls. In fact, they were at his sides. Now, Ellis didn't know shit about flying a helicopter, but he also knew that you have to use the CONTROLLS to fly it.
"Hey! You okay?!" Ellis called out to the pilot.
The pilot scrambled violently out of his seat, and looked at everyone. His yellow, glowing eyes indicated that the green flu had already taken him. He let out a savage growl and got ready to charge at them.
"Everyone get back!" Nick yelled as he pulled out his Glock and pointed it at the undead pilot.
