> DayP
>  by Thunder Seethe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Before Reading
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

A/N: Authors notes won't be a frequent thing, but I felt that this was needed to be said. My editor AppleMLP has finally started, and submitted his first fic on this website. Go ahead and check his story out!

First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to actually read the "Before Reading" chapter. Here are some notes of what you should know in the story, and don't worry. No spoilers will be made.

[Check back here every now and then. I may have updates here, so look at the date of this chapter. Updates will be on the bottom, followed by a line to segregate each update.]

This does not follow up on the statistics of the actual game, so you won't see any dialogue from Global Chat or Side Chat. So something like this; "The Global Chat on the bottom left of their vision appeared with a message from xXBill_The_CoolXx saying that someone was in Cherno. Twilight made note of it, and tried to stay clear of the main city."  will definitely not happen.

If you're here for the story, and do not know anything about the game itself, then you may skip this part. Any character from the original game Arma II or the DLC Arma II: Operation Arrowhead will not be featured in this story at all. You may find similar names, but I wouldn't know because I haven't played the campaign myself. There will be added features that the game doesn't have such as; vodka/whisky bottles are actually full sometimes. There will be added features to woodcutting as well, but I won't get into it much. There will also be a use for knives, other than gutting animals. All of the names of cities, and towns will remain the same, as well as loot, bags, and others. This will also be geographically correct towards the Arma II: Operation Arrowhead, so the main cities will only be near the coastline as it's showed on the map, and game. 

As this is a Russian island, it'll be inhabited with Russians. Due to me being the person I am, there will be a few stereotypes in here... such as lots, and lots of Vodka. Hopefully you won't be too offended by my stupidity, but even authors need to be happy sometimes... right?

Well... what you're about to read, is the result of a week of sleep deprivation. This is rated mature for a reason, so expect swearing, and screwed up crap. No. Pony. Sex. That's one thing that I will never do; unfortunate for some of you.

Nonetheless, thanks for reading. If you were wondering what I was thinking when I decided to write this, well; I wasn't. This is my first attempt at a crossover fic, and a few reasons why are:

1. It has no actual storyline to begin with, except for survival.
2. For the lolz.
3. It could be interesting, and a new experience.
4. Nobody else did this crossover. (From what I could tell of)
5. The same reason why you clicked on this. "What the hell does DayP mean?"

P.S Zombiesare Zed's ("DayZ" is "Day Zed" so "DayP" is "Day Pony"... the ponies aren't the zombies.)
P.S.S More character tags will be added in the future to prevent any spoilers.
Rated M for Many.

M. Many
A. Adults
N. Not
Y. Youth

This is all for your little reference, and b4uread.

P.S.S Unlike most authors, I encourage harsh criticism. Please do some. I want to improve, and that is the only way.
P.S.S.S Comments are more favorable than favorites, as favorites are more favorable than likes.




Update 1: I won't be adding the Dark tag, just because I won't be going into much detail about death or the corpses body (at least not much in detail in my opinion).
Update on 7/31/12




Update 2: Well, as writers block takes its toll, I'm going to be on DayZ more often, so join me if you wanna have fun!
You'll see me on DayZ as either: Appliance Pony, Thunder Seethe, Big Wheels, or Eagle Eye.
Add me on steam: Appliance Pony
Have fun killing Zeds and stuff! Sorry about the late chapters -- for that matter, having it super short.




Update 3: Apologize for that update chapter thing. I was TRYING to edit the chapter name, but I accidentally hit the submit... I apologize. So I will ensure that there will be something interesting going on in the next chapter.




Update 4: New chapter today! If you haven't read my blog post, you'd know that I'm headed to Oregon in a few days, so it's likely I won't be able to update.
Update on: 8/18 From Damn iPhone.




Update 5: Long time no update. Sorry about that, but writers block has taken toll on this fic, and I'm trying to get rid of it by writing others.
Update on: 9/2

Update 6: Seriously long time no update, almost a month, so anyway. There will be another delay to my writing. Until break to at the least. There will be a blog post on it, because this goes for all of my fics.
Update on: 10/15/12
> Ch.1 Urgent!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

A normal day in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash clearing clouds, Rarity tending to a needy client, Fluttershy caring for her many animals, Pinkie planning new parties, Applejack working the farm, and Twilight studying-

"Spike!" Twilight called from her bedroom upstairs. "I'm heading to Canterlot in a few days. The princess said that it was something urgent."

"Yea... so what's the big deal?" Spike yelled back from downstairs, unamused of the current events.

"The big deal is that I'm going to be gone for a few days, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me!" Twilight retorted.

"No thanks. While you're gone, I'll eat all the ice cream out of the tub." Spike stated honestly.

At least he's being honest. He probably didn't learn his lesson back at the Canterlot library in the Starswirl the Bearded wing. Well, perhaps this is one of those moments that you need to learn from repetitive experience, and not other ponies advice. Twilight thought.

She continued going through her packing as she pondered of what her mentor needed to tell her upfront. It surely must be important if she can't tell Twilight through a letter.

She ignored her pending thoughts, and continued to do what mattered most; finding Spike a stomach ache relief spell.

"What do I need..." Twilight muttered to herself. "I'll take some books, some paper, one bottle of ink... make that two, and three quills."

Once all of her supplies were tucked tight in her suit case, she proceeded downstairs and towards the door. Spike was sitting next to the lightly colored staircase, lapping on his one of many tubs of Ruby Flavored Ice Cream.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Twilight asked with puppy eyes.

Spike just sighed and retorted the same answer Twilight had expected, "No."

Twilight let out a soft grunt as she left the library, and closed the door shut behind her with magic. Waiting outside was none other than Pinkie Pie. Random as usual, it freaked Twilight out as she naturally screamed and made a one-eighty U-Turn back to the library, where she was reunited with the recently closed door.

Twilight rubbed her head as she muttered something inaudible. Once she realized what happened, she quickly got up to greet Pinkie.

"Oh, sorry Pinkie. I didn't know you were coming! Hehe..." Twilight said as she continued rubbing her head.

"Sorry I scared you Twilight, but I heard you were going to Canterlot soon - I was also wondering if you wanted to try out my new recipe for a cupcake! It's also Gummy's birthday tomorrow - OH! I almost forgot to mention that -"

"Pinkie!" Twilight interjected.

"Sorry, what happened?" Pinkie asked, clearly clueless of what happened.

"Well, you started talking about me going to Canterlot soon... then you sorta trailed off." Twilight explained.

"Oh, right! I was wondering if I could tag along!" Pinkie said with a large grin on her face.

"Sorry... the princess wanted me to come first. If I believe that it's a good idea - or whatever, then you, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack will be included. Don't worry, I'll figure this out soon enough."

"Well, don't let me keep you! I'll be on my way, see ya' later Twilight!" Pinkie said as she was about to speed off into one direction.

With that, Twilight began trotting towards Ponyville's train station to take on her adventure to Canterlot. She passed Sugar Cube Corner, and saw Pinkie walking in, not showing any signs of exhaustion from her previous blur. Above, Rainbow Dash was sleeping on a cloud which stood out in the clear sky. If it hadn't been for her tail hanging off the cloud, she would be practically invisible to any Unicorn, or Earth pony.

Twilight, wanting to avoid any distractions which can cause her to miss her train, she decided not to stop by and say goodbye. She was already running late after the little chat with Pinkie.

She trotted quietly under the cloud and passed it.

"Hey Twi." Dash called from her cloud, clearly aware of her presence.

Startled, Twilight jumped a bit. It was the last thing she expected from Rainbow; not sleeping on a cloud. She knew that Dash wasn't a lazy pegasus; if anything, she was the most active of all the pegasi. Though when she gets a cloud, she's sleeping within minutes.

Almost forgetting to respond, Twilight spat something out. "The triangle is a octaploid!"

"What?" Rainbow responded, unsure of what the hay Twilight meant by, octaploid.

"Oh, uh... nothing. "Twilight blushed, as she tilted her head towards the ground feeling stupid after blurting out octaploid. 

What was she even thinking of? A nonexistent word, blurted out by Twilight? Rainbow thought, but quickly shook it off her mind.

"So uh, where you going?" Rainbow asked from her cloud.

"To Canterlot. The princess had something urgent for me, and I don't really wanna keep her waiting..." Twilight said impatiently.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't keep you here. See you later Twilight." Rainbow said as she yawned once more before falling into deep slumber.

Twilight did as she was told, and made haste to the train station. She really hates to be tardy! Other ponies would call out, "Hello Twilight!" but she would ignore them, and continue to make way to the station.

Without any further interruptions, Twilight made it there just in time to board the train to Canterlot.

It's been a while since she's gone; approximately four months after the wedding, how much could change? Twilight thought. She pondered the changes, and soon enough, in her far sight was the Canterlot castle. Most of the buildings that were damaged from the Changeling attacks were restored, and the Castle looked good as new. As for any new buildings, from what she could see; there weren't any.

She then thought about the princess. Why would she invite only me, and not any other pony for the urgent meeting? She thought about natural disasters pending to happen, but thought of it to be too absurd to leave any weather pony out of it. It must be something big. The hydra posed a threat to Canterlot? No...

Twilight then began thinking aloud. "Perhaps, the Griffon's are posing a war, and I'm being invited to discuss war efforts and propaganda! ... No... that wouldn't make sense, we've already made peace with them. Hmm..." Twilight said going in deep thought.

Ponies began staring at her, like she was from a psychedelic hospital, blabbering nonsense. Which, she was.

It was no longer than five more minutes when they reached Canterlot; home of the fancy, and rich ponies. The walls along the mountain side were tall and sturdy, any damage from the Changelings were patched, everything looked normal, and the people looked the same as well. Twilight looked happily as her smile drew obviously across her face. 

She quickly jumped out of the cart, almost forgetting to bring her suit case filled with writing and studying materials. Once out of the cart, she made her way to the castle, where the princess awaited for her presence.

She walked past ponies in all sorts of dresses, and tuxedos, though none of them were themed for a special occasion that she was aware of. It wasn't a long walk from the station to the castle, but Twilight still felt the need to rush. After all, for a princess to say; urgent, and invite one particular pony to the meeting seems like a good thing to be there early.

Of course, Twilight was always early, and never late.




Once in the castle, she was greeted with two guards; one unicorn, and one pegasus, both well equipped with armor.

"Hey, uh... the princess asked to see me... she said it was urgent." Twilight said with a smile. The two guards looked at each other, and shook their heads.

"Oh come on! The princess said it's urgent, and I need to go now!" Twilight said furiously. She tried to get across, but was stopped by the guards.

"Hmph..." Twilight grunted, trying to figure out a way in.

"Do you have a note?" The guard on the left said. Twilight flinched when she realized that she left the note at the library.

"Uh, no?" She smiled sheepishly.

"Then you can't enter." Said the guard on the right.

"Please, if you get the princess, I can assure you that she-"

"No means no." Both guards said, interjecting Twilight's statement.

Twilight sighed in defeat, and began to walk away, until a familiar voice made her stop midway.

"Twily!" A stallion voice called.

Twilight knew well enough who that was, and she could never be any happier for his impeccable timing. "BBBFF!" Twilight yelled happily. 

Both ponies ran to each other and hugged. "So, Twilight. Why so down?" Shining Armor asked with concern.

"Well, the princess asked me, and only me, to come to the castle to discuss an urgent matter... but I forgot the note she sent me at the library, and I'm not allowed in the castle." Twilight said truthfully.

"Hmm... let me see what I can do about that." Shining Armor said as he walked to the other guards who began to cower in fear when they realized their mistake.

Twilight could hear some commotion, and a few whimpering, but the conversation was left inaudible. She just watched from a distance as her big brother gave the guards a little lesson, and a few minutes later, he was back.

"Okay, sorry about that misunderstanding. Better hurry, you don't want to keep the princess waiting!" Shining Armor said, motioning her to go on in.

Twilight gave her big brother one last hug, and entered the building while smiling at the guards who were now shaking. Now that she made it in the castle, all she needed to do was find her mentor.
> Ch.2 Mission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

"Hi Princess!" Twilight greeted casually.

The room was large, it contained stained glass windows, all different designs and color schemes. There were a few tables with pink table cloth, and a black and white checkerboard floor. The walls were made of solid marble walls, and the ceiling portrayed ancient Canterlot, when the castle was in its build.

"Hello Twilight, please take a seat. This explanation may take a while, and ask questions after." Celestia said seriously. Twilight followed the instructions made by her mentor, and took a seat.

"First off, you may choose whether or not you want to go on this mission. It's really dangerous, and I cannot promise any smooth sailing." Celestia warned. "It's dark, scary, and inhabited with bandits and horrifying creatures - which will be covered later. The island is named; Chernarus, and it is in chaos."

"Discord was freed?" Twilight assumed.

"No, Discord is still in his stone prison in the garden. I'm sure we don't need to worry about him very much." Celestia said with certainty.

"So, if it's not Discord causing chaos... who is?"

"Well, nopony really... We don't exactly have much information at the moment. I do know that it's dangerous, and those living there have to worry each day about survival. That's not all. They can't trust anyone, they kill each other just for one meal. Those in numbers will use it to their advantage and kill the survivors for the fun of it, and act like they were doing nothing wrong. Every part of harmony that once existed in that world, has been destroyed and replaced with havoc." Celestia said.

"Kill?" Twilight asked, the word made her spine shiver.

The Princess nodded, then continued, "From my understandings and current knowledge, they name themselves Bandits, or Rogues. Probably for what they do to other people."

"People?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. Sorry for that confusion. People, person, human. They are a species, and some are mutated after death, and somehow resurrect themselves. They become what the humans call; Zeds."

"Zeds?"

"Basically zombies. They feast off of the livings flesh." They both shivered at the last statement.

"Zombies... did they find a cure?" Twilight asked.

"No... Twilight, are you ready for a mission - should you choose to accept it?"

"Yes, but I'm not so sure." Twilight said as she pondered of what she was really meant to do in a world like that, or for a world like that.

"It's okay Twilight, you don't need to go."

Twilight made herself curious after the short time of trying to imagine the future. "I said I wasn't sure, so please tell me." Twilight said as she looked up to her mentor.

"Well, your mission is as it is. You and your friends; with their consent, go to that world and try to restore harmony, with all of its traits. To the least, restore some of it in a secured area, and help form a small civilization. You and your friends of all ponies should know what it would look like, but only go if every one of your friends agree and accept. After all, you and your friends are their only hope." Celestia added, hoping that Twilight would accept the mission.

"I'll make sure to ask them by the time I get back Princess." Twilight said with an unsure gesture, and a forced smile. She knew that this wouldn't be handled very well, especially with spike having problems with zombie ponies. She couldn't imagine what the others reactions would be like if she were to tell them that zombies were real; or at least Zeds. Perhaps it's not that she couldn't, its just that she wouldn't.

"Thank you Twilight. Here, take these." The Princess said while handing over a two rocks. One had a small cottage symbol, and the other had a whirlpool design. Rarity may want to adopt one of these patterns.

"What are these?" Twilight asked.

"Those are runes. The rune with the cottage symbol represents home in Equestria, while the rune with the whirlpool symbol represents Chenarus. They may only be used once, and these are the only runes in existence, so use them cautiously. The type of magic used to create them have been abandoned many years back, so there will be no duplications, unfortunately. Before I forget, you use the runes by smashing them into the ground." 

"Alright, thank you once again Princess." Twilight said while bowing as she backed out of the room. Twilight placed the two runes carefully inside of the brief case which contained her writing materials.

Once she was out of the room completely, she made her way to the old library that she and Spike used to live in. While on the way, she tried to make out events of how she would bring this up to her friends. She rehearsed them in her mind, looking for the right words that seemed to evade her mind. She began getting a headache, and started working on the task at hand; How am I going to explain everything to all my friends... along with details.

So she thought of what she did best; writing letters.

She thought of an appropriate way to start it off, and how to end it. She already knew what to write, it was just the matter of conjuring up some duplicates for everypony else. So, she started.

Dear Friends,

Recently I have gone to Canterlot to discuss an important matter at hoof with the Princess. I just didn't expect it to be this bad. There is this place called Chernarus, in another universe. The sentient beings there are of a different species called Humans, and a mutated form called Zeds. Zeds are basically like zombie ponies... except not ponies. They are the zombified version of humans, and they have the exact same characteristics as we have to describe zombies. They feast on the livings flesh... and/or brains.

The Princess has asked me to go on a mission - well... all of us to go on a mission to restore harmony in a place where it no longer exists. If you want to come, then please tell me when I return to Ponyville in two days. If you don't decide to come, well... I'm sorry but I'll end up going anyways, against the Princess's desire. She said to restore a civilization as well, and even though most of the harmony won't be there... a civilization could still have a chance.

Your Faithful Friend,
Twilight Sparkle
> Ch.3 Everyponies Invited!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

After a few days of what one would call boring research which Twlight found quite enjoyable, Twilight's train was finally arriving for her to go back home in Ponyville. Meanwhile, Pinkie felt that she was required to host a "Welcome Back" party for Twilight. They had yet to receive the letter that Twilight wrote a few days back. Consequently, the news that her friends were supposed to know about, would now be an indefinite surprise. Perhaps, there would be more surprises than Pinkie planned for her party.

Twilight got on her train, and began pondering about her research again. She had discovered that they spoke the same language, and that they were pretty much ponies... with a different body structure and all. She also discovered what it meant to find a can of beans, or a simple drink. The water had been polluted; for the most part. Which was why they're unable to drink directly from a pond or lake. They have to use their own filtering system using charcoal, sand, and a few cloth. Twilight had seen some handheld devices that seemed to fit perfectly in their... hoof. Whenever they saw a Zed, they pointed the device at it, and it would propel  a projectile and... kill the Zed.

It wasn't the only device she saw; there had been many others. Many of them were longer, and oddly shaped. One of them literally looked like a tube with a button on it! Some had these rectangular shaped objects that were detachable to the device. It also had a cylinder on the top with glass.

Twilight had really thought of taking her studies further in Ponyville, but she would have to take the scrying mirror with her; what she used to do studies on real-time with the other universe. It really was just an enchanted gold ring placed on a diamond encrusted stand, but still, the Princess probably would disapprove of it, so to save the trouble, she just left it there.

Twilight had fallen asleep on the train, since as usual, she stayed up all night doing research. If Spike had been there, perhaps she wouldn't have stayed up so late... or make that big of a mess. Shortly after she fell asleep, the train arrived in Ponyville leaving Twilight still sleep deprived.

Just as she gathered her stuff and exited her cart, she was immediately greeted by one of her most hyperactive friends; Pinkie.

"Hey Twilight! Haven't seen you in a few days, so was it fun? Huh? You need to tell me all about it! Was there cake? Cupcakes? Oh, even better! Were there any signs of leprechauns-" Leprechauns? Author clearly never thought of what he was writing.

"Pinkie!" Twilight interjected.

"Oh, sorry." Pinkie said sweetly with an adorable smile beaming across her face.

Twilight nodded, understanding Pinkie's usual actions. "So are you coming?" Twilight asked.

"Going where? To a party?" Pinkie asked hopefully.

"No, with me to Chernarus. Didn't you get my letter?"

"Uh, let me check." Pinkie said while putting a hoof to her chin, to strike a thinking pose. Just then, she turned to her side and started throwing things; much like it was in a bag, except she didn't have her saddlebag with her, so it came from oblivion. She tossed a few papers, a balloon, a bunch of confetti that exploded out of oblivion instead of her throwing it out, streamers, a rubber duck, a baseball bat, a baseball which was followed by a distant "Out of the park! He goes all the way!" speaker, and lastly, her party cannon. 

Twilight, being used to this, wasn't really surprised or questioned where she got all of those things, and where they were the whole time. Instead, she just asked a question that she already knew the answer to, "Find it?"

"Nope!" Pinkie said cheerfully. "Don't you worry. You can tell us all about it at your party - OOPS!" Just then, Pinkie darted off into the distance leaving behind a pink blur.

"Well, looks like I wouldn't have been able to study anyway." Twilight cooed.

She started walking to her library to talk to Spike about the letters she sent, and if he even got them. Unfortunately for Twilight, she was stopped by Rainbow Dash.

"Hey Twi!" Rainbow said swooping in from the sky, but not landing. She stayed in the air, hovering.

"Hi Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry, but I really need to see Spike."

"Oh, okay..." Rainbow said looking at her suspiciously, but continued. "So uh...  pretty nice day right? You wanna see Rarity?"

"No thanks, maybe later. I really need to see Spike." Twilight said, unwilling to change her response.

"Uh... Are you sure?" Rainbow said with a hint of begging in her voice.

"Yes. Maybe after I see Spike. It shouldn't take too long." Twilight started trotting to the library as she said that.

"Oh come on!" Dash pouted.

Twilight ignored it, and continued her way to the library. Shortly after her arrival, she could hear soft groans. She quickly swung the door open to see Spike laid in the middle of the floor with six tubs of ice cream around him, all different flavors ranging from Sapphire to Quartz. Near the tubs of ice cream, she spotted the five letters that were meant for her friends.

"Oh Spike, this is why you should never eat all that ice cream! It's not good for you. Well, at least you learned your lesson." Twilight said quietly since Spike seemed to be sleeping.

Just as Twilight started towards the five letters to hand to her friends in person, she tripped and hit a few books off their shelves. The noise was moderately loud, and Twilight froze to see if she had awoken Spike. It was like she was trying to sneak past a full sized dragon. She stopped at every squeak in the floor, and stopped to look at Spike every second. 

It was to a point where she realized that this was silly, and she could just use her magic to put him in his bed upstairs; which she promptly did.

"I must be going crazy." Twilight muttered under her breath.

She walked back downstairs, cleaned up the empty tubs and large spoons on the ground, picked up the letters, and left to find her friends.

Since the boutique was closest to her house than any other, she stopped there first. On her way, she noticed how little ponies were out and about from when she first came. 

What time is it? I couldn't have been gone that long right? Twilight thought as she looked up towards the sun trying to judge the time. It was about two in the afternoon.

Twilight continued keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Though the ponies in Ponyville were friendly and willing to discuss matters before jumping to conclusions, they also listened to Pinkie, and everypony knows what happened with the Zecora incident.

She started trotting slightly faster, and immediately bumped into the doors of Carousel Boutique. She knocked twice, then opened the door. The lights were off, and she charged her horn to cause alteration to the lighting. Due to it being an alteration and not an illusion spell, only Twilight could see through the darkness; which revealed Pinkie Pie with a smile to die for, Rarity with an annoyed look smashed on her face, Rainbow Dash near a light switch - then the lights flashed on, causing Twilight's alteration spell to shine even brighter which caused her to yelp as if she was surprised by the surprise party.

"Surprise!" Pinkie and half a dozen other ponies called out from behind. She quickly doused her spell, and slowly regained normal vision.

Due to her previous yelp, everypony laughed as they assumed it was because of the surprise; not from her spell being harmful.

"You guys got me!" Twilight said smiling, not wanting to admit that she was only surprised by the sudden lighting, and that she was fully prepared for the incoming cheer.

Pinkie greeted her with a big smile, and began rambling on how she accidentally told her about it, but she probably didn't notice it, so she did it anyway in a place where she'd least expect it. Then, she sent out invitations last minute to get as many ponies as possible to come. She also mentioned that Rarity didn't really approve of this as she only has so long until her clients' dresses need to be completed, and that now wouldn't be the best time. But when Twilight was mentioned, she was immediately open to the suggestion.

Twilight still needed to tell them about the letters they haven't received, but there were just too many ponies around for her to mention it now. It would have to wait a bit longer.




It was now close to midnight, and the party was near its end. Everypony except for Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Twilight were there. Since they were closer friends, and they all knew each other, they started asking Twilight about Canterlot; which jogged her memory about the letters.

"Did ya' get to see your brother? You know... Your BBBFF?" Applejack cooed.

"As a matter of fact, I did! Which reminds me... I need to ask you girls about something important." Twilight said as she went through her bag to grab the letters she had sent. "I meant to send this to Spike for him to give to you, but I guess he fell asleep, or was too busy eating ice cream to really care for it much." She levitated the notes; one to each pony and they each read it.

After a few minutes, they all stared at each other, and simultaneously said; "Chernarus? Zeds? Humans?"

"Yes, yes, and yes. Chenarus is an island that is infected with the Zeds. Zeds are basically zombie ponies, but they're zombie humans. Humans are the species that are still living. The Princess told me that if none of you are going, or some don't want to go, then none of us are going." Twilight said putting her face towards the ground, not wanting to mention that if they didn't go, then she was going alone. "I suppose you all want to know what we're going to be doing there in the first place?"

The other five nodded, and paid attention to the information. "Every living person - human, is suffering and are living on sheer will power to just... want to survive. Everyday, many of them die due to starvation, or dehydration. Due to the circumstances, they would even kill a person just for one meal, and not even consider to ask if they're friendly because that could get them shot. It's pure chaos; not caused by Discord. It's come to the point where the Zeds aren't the real problem. It's the lack of humanity. They are all well armed enough to help themselves by building a civilization, but they can't trust each other enough to do that. Even when they do, they are shortly betrayed. Sometimes, they just don't feel like they want to live anymore and they... commit suicide." Twilight shivered when she remembered what she saw. A young child was roaming through the forest being chased by bandits and rogues, just because he ate more than what he was supposed to. Shortly after, he hung himself because he didn't want to be caught and possibly tortured by the men chasing him. 

"Bandits and rogues are the biggest. They kill for fun, and are heartless. I'll leave the descriptions at that. Our mission is to restore harmony, or whatever is left of it, and even more important; restore a civilization. This is a very dangerous mission, and if one of you don't want to come, then you should speak up. If one of us decides they don't want to go, none of us come. If we do go, then once we are there, there is no going back until we complete the mission." Twilight finished sternly.

"Whelp, I'm in." Applejack said sincerely.

"Yea, I guess the Wonderbolts are gonna have to wait... Danger is my middle name after all!" Rainbow said big headed.

"Oh... okay." Fluttershy said not so enthusiastically.

"Well, I suppose I could go. This is far more important after all." Rarity said with a small smile.

"Well, of course I'll go, but how will we get there?" Pinkie asked, shortly after, the other girls nodded in agreement. How will they get there?

Twilight went through her bags and grabbed out the rune that will bring them to Chenarus. "We will get there by using this rune. It's used by -" Twilight was cut short when Pinkie sped up to Twilight.

"Oh! What is this, it's shiny!" Pinkie said, still in motion towards Twilight. The shininess of the rune, that seemed to be recently polished caught Pinkie's eye, and she lost her positioning on her hoofs, which caused her to trip and knock the rune out of Twilight's levitation spell. It fell on the floor, and cracked. Before Pinkie could say, "Oops!", a bright light shrouded the room for a few moments, then they were gone.
> Ch.4 The Wonderful Island of Chenarus!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

The six friends appeared after a large flash into the island of Chenarus. They appeared on the coastline, near the ocean. The six had no idea what an ocean was, as they were only used to rivers and ponds, so a large mass of water surrounding the land was new to them; but not to Twilight. She had done research of this land already, or at least as much as she could from her scrying mirror. 

They didn't really pay much attention to the water as much as the sounds of distant gunfire, and large structures made of metal. 

"Pinkie!" Everypony said in unison; except Pinkie.

Pinkie giggled, "Sorry!"

Twilight could have sworn that this island looked a lot more destroyed from her scrying mirror, but it actually looked pretty nice. Now all that was missing was some type of commercial pony saying, 
"Welcome to the wonderful island of Chenarus! Where all of your hopes and dreams can come true! We have Zeds, more Zeds, and even MORE Zeds! Feel the need to run a marathon? No problem! If you're unarmed and spotted by a Zed, well you're in for a marathon! Enjoy your stay, and remember, the Island of Chenarus is always open for you."

She moved a bit more above the hill they were on to get away from the mysterious large body of water. She got a clearer view of a paved road, and a few large hills. In her scrying mirror, she heard large explosions. Perhaps, maybe this place got slightly better since yesterday.

"So uh, Twilight... Now that we're here, where do we start? You know... bringing back harmony and stuff." Fluttershy said quietly, and indefinitely less enthusiastic than Pinkie, but who is ever more enthusiastic than Pinkie?

Twilight was still observing her surroundings, and almost ignored Fluttershy's question, but decided to answer vaguely without looking back. "Now, but I don't know exactly what to do."

"Well, ya' mentioned something about creating a new civilization and stuff right? Why don't we start by gathering up people and  you know, making their civilization?" Applejack suggested.

"Sure, but we should probably get out of the open. From my understandings, most of the people here aren't as friendly as the ponies in Equestria."

The other ponies nodded in agreement, and they made haste to the nearest mountain off towards the right. It started as a small hill, but if you followed the ridge, it broke off into a steep mountain with an abundance of trees that patch up the mountain half way to the top. 

Twilight was constantly casting a spell that would trigger any living thing, including the Zeds. This could help looking for any survivors, but unfortunately, that would also mean they could run into Zeds, or possibly bandits and rogues. Not to mention, the only ranged spell Twilight knew of didn't involve shooting jolts of magic from her horn to do damage to a specific enemy - well, unless Pinkie decided to use her as a Gatling Gun. Twilight was still unsure of how that even worked, and thus, didn't learn the spell to shoot out jolts. With good reasoning as in Equestria; full of harmony and barely any true enemies, the was no need for violent spells. Her lack of intelligence with aggressive spells, was made up for with alteration, illusion, and most importantly; teleportation.

Though she hadn't spent much time on teleportation itself, thus being limited to certain distances, she was good at taking groups with her, and getting far enough away from the enemy, so that he or she or it would give up. Most unicorns have spells related to their talents. Such as Rarity, who uses levitation with specific accuracy as she threads the needles, or needs to levitate an abundance of cloth. Not to mention her ability to bring her drama chair out of seemingly nowhere. But, since Twilight's special talent is magic, she had many more spells; needed or not, to use throughout her life. Not to mention her mentor is Princess Celestia herself, and her inspiration is a master of spells; Starswirl the Bearded.

It wasn't much longer till they reached the foot of the mountain. Rarity already started complaining about her mane getting messy, but was quickly hushed by Applejack as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. the trees weren't very thick, and judging by the clouds, it wouldn't be just cloudy anymore. Rainbow predicted that the sunlight would last for no more than thirty minutes, and offered to move the clouds a bit.

"No, we don't know exactly how the weather works in this world. For all we know, the clouds containing electricity may or may not be strong enough to severely injure you." Twilight warned. She could tell Rainbow Dash was disappointed that she couldn't even do weather duties while they restored harmony. Deep inside, she knew that Twilight was just trying to keep her safe, and since this was an alien environment that Twilight probably studied, she should probably listen to her instead of complain.

They made their way up the smaller hill in no time. Pinkie was unusually quiet, and it was beginning to worry Twilight and the others. Still, they tried to ignore the phenomenon and move on. Stealthily.

Just over the hill, she could see more buildings, this time wooden and concrete, and a two buildings with small towers. They both had the same layout. The vents, and the black roof, including building design remained the same. One of those buildings were connected to a large brick building with no vents on the top, but had the same color roofs as the others. She assumed that was a Power Plant since there was a large silo connected with a white and red color scheme near the top portions of it.

Twilight looked at her friends, beaming with curiosity. Her friends all knew what she wanted to do; look inside the Power Plant. Before deciding, her friends looked at each other unsure whether or not this was a safe idea, or if it would get them all killed. Nonetheless, they had no food, no water, and it was only a matter of time before they'll need it.

They slowly nodded their heads, and the decision was made.

They trotted down the hill half expecting one of them - specifically Rarity to slip and complain about her mane or coat, but luckily enough, none of that happened. It's only a matter of time. Twilight thought.

Halfway down the hill, they heard a loud pop that echoed in the distance, and a large pile of dirt kicked up in the air next to them. Twilight was familiar of the pop, and already knew what it was. She was unsure how to handle this - exactly, so she did the next best thing.

"Run!" Twilight yelped as she broke into full gallop, and the others followed shortly behind.

Finally, after about five minutes of her silence, Pinkie yelled, "This is fun!" As she broke into a blur and was in the building before anypony else. Predicted. Twilight thought again, half satisfied that she knew it was going to happen before it did leaving a small smile on her face when she thought of her constantly hyper friend.

There were many gunshots as they continued past the road, "Almost there!" Applejack called.

The ground kicked up the loose asphalt in chunks which scraped Rarity's side. There was no cut, but she made a horrifying yelp as if she was attacked by an Ursa Major. Nonetheless, they made it to the white concreted building with three large red doors, and a back door, to which they promptly closed.

They sat there both in fear, and wondering what exactly they were fearing, which made the next conversation.

"Twilight, what was that?" Rainbow asked hesitantly, still unsure what to think.

Twilight thought for a moment to possibly go into detail about the supposed weapon. Then, she remembered one that was long, and had a cylinder like attachment to the top. She assumed it acted like binoculars, as the weapon was high powered and made to be accurate at long distances. "I'm not sure of the exact name of it," Twilight started truthfully. "but I do know that it shoots projectiles in the shapes of pointed three dimensional cylinders, and is made to... Kill." Again, she and the others shuddered at the thought.

"So... it's this thing. That shoots stuff out. That kills things." Rainbow concluded. She was unsure how she could trust the people if the first thing they did, was to shoot them with whatever.

"Yes." Twilight confirmed. She also could see the worry in Rainbow's and the others faces, along with the doubt that went with it. Twilight was also beginning to feel downed, until she remembered that there were such thing as bandits and rogues. "What you and I just experienced, was a bandit. They are basically senseless killers who kill for the fun of it." 

"For the what of it?" Pinkie added. "How can that be fun? I know fun, and I also know what not fun is, and I know for sure that isn't fun!" Pinkie finished.

Fluttershy was cowering in the corner crying, and Rarity immediately trotted towards her to calm her friend. She needed it herself too.

"Pinkie, some of those people, are straight up monsters. However, there are still some good people here, and if it's possible, we can set up a new community, and I promise Pinkie. You will get to throw them a party before we leave." Pinkie's face lit up brightly with a large smile at the end of her sentence, hearing nothing but the end.

"Pinkie promise?" She added.

Twilight gave a soft smile and sighed as she recited the promise. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Going through the emotions as she said the words.

Pinkie smiled happily in glee, and was ready to scream in her happiness, but was quickly hushed. Reminded that there was a bandit somewhere looking to kill.

Rainbow just started wondering through the other corners refraining from taking the stairs to the tower since... a person was just shooting at them, and they clearly had the upper advantage. Around, she found some one oddly shaped thing that was part metal, part wood, and this lever thingy - two lever thingies. 

"Twilight?" Rainbow called from under the stairs of the tower. "What is this thing?"

Twilight walked over to examine what she saw, and noted what she had saw earlier. A handheld weapon, that was also ranged, but made for shorter distances. It was a weapon, and as she got a closer look, she could see engraved writings on here, and surprisingly, it was written in the same language they spoke in Equestria. "Colt M1911" was plastered on the slide.

"It's a... Colt - " 

"That, is definitely not a colt Twilight. Have you been like, hit on the head or something?" Rainbow interrupted.

"No, but this thing has something written on here. Colt M1911." I'm going to just assume Colt is the brand name, and M stands for model, of the year nineteen eleven." She knew it was a wild guess, but she felt like it was right.

Unable to use the weapon, they just lay it back where they found it for someone else to use. Just in case they were also in trouble. They grouped back in the main room and just waited for something, and didn't want to move just in case the bandit may be patient enough to just sit around and wait for them to come out.

After approximately ten minutes, they started hearing distant thunder. They figured that if this place were to flood, they would be forced to go up on the tower and risk getting shot. So they decided to leave. They walked towards the back door of the structure, and just as they were to open it, they heard steps getting louder and louder as it approached. It was definitely running. Just as they were to open the door to check what was outside, the door swung open as something rushed inside and fell to the ground dead. Then, another charged in still alive, and panting loudly with sweat dribbling down his face. He was a lot taller than the ponies, which contributed to the threat that he was going to kill them. He looked back up, and back down and stared at the six multicolor ponies.

Then, for the first time, they heard what a male human sounded like with an odd accent, different from Rarity's. "What is this capitalist pig dog shit?"
> Ch.5 What's a Russian?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

"What is a... Russian, that's what you called it right?" Twilight asked the large man standing in front of the ponies who were now sitting, and openly trusting him.

"A Russian like me, we love Vodka -" He was cut short by a small pink coated and maned pony.

"Vodka? I love that stuff! I could down that in under ten. Seconds. Flat!" Pinkie echoed Rainbow from a year back.

"Hey! That's my line!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Pinkie giggled, and forwarded her attention back to the Russian.

The Russian wasn't so sure how to respond to the talking colorful capitalist ponies, but he decided to answer truthfully. He was in shock of the unicorns' and winged ponies' existence, and considering they may have been aware of not to trust people, they were asking what a Russian was. Deciding that he was confusing himself more, rather than helping come up with a solution to lie and get the hell out, or tell the truth and try to group up with them.

He decided a little bit of both. "I'm a Russian. Nothing else to it. I love Vodka, and big guns. I hate capitalist pig dogs, and there are a few of them on this island." He looked away, edging towards the door, until something caught his eye.

He spotted in the opposite corner; a M1911 with a few mags. That sight quickly changed his thoughts about lying a bit to turn away. No matter how weird this situation was, it was clear to him that he wanted that gun. He may have been bulked with a few good weapons already, he still had room for one side arm. Just in case he needed to reload, or he was in a close quarter area; he was lacking a shotgun.

Having only an Alice pack, he wouldn't be able to carry too many weapons. Just two primaries, a few spaces for ammo, food, and water, and the last space in his holster for a M1911. He was badly beaten, visible from the small gashes and scratches across his face and arms. The blood ran down and dripped against the ground, meaning he was just recently wounded; and probably in deep pain.

"Oh poor thing!" Fluttershy called out from the opposite corner of the man. She rushed over to him and began examining his wounds. "I'll take care of it, don't you worry." She scurried off towards Twilight, and began whispering into her ear. Not purposely, but just to make sure Twilight actually heard her request.

Twilight paused, and gave her an odd look. Shrugging it off, her horn started to glow, and was followed by clanging and scraps from above.

A few seconds later, Fluttershy noticed a few bandages, a blood bag (Blood type O), morphine, a few doses of epinephrine, and some other objects that were unfamiliar to her laid sprawled across the room. She started helping herself to the morphine, blood bags, bandages, and epinephrine, and proceeded to stuff some of the items in her saddle bag. She left out one morphine, a few bandages, and one blood bag to help tend to the wounds of her new patient. He wasn't an animal, but hey. Most living things were the same in Equestria, and all she needed to do was find where the bleeding was.

She trotted quickly, but gently back to the Russian who was still standing in place, staring and in shock of what just happened; witnessing levitation wasn't exactly an everyday thing in Chernarus. Well, neither was seeing a winged pony that could fly, or even just a simple horn on a unicorn, not to mention the actual colors of the ponies made them out of place; a normal color would be black, white, gray, at least among those color schemes. 

Yet, under all these circumstances, he started to think that the odd colors and ponies talking were just people wearing different shirts, and that he was just drunk. But Russians don't get drunk, and he didn't feel drunk at all. Still, he ignored those facts.

"Okay... Sorry, I didn't quite catch your name." Fluttershy asked sweetly as she rolled up his sleeves to find the wound. He had lots of arm hair. I mean, a lot. Might as well have been a coat, or a mane on his arm.

He didn't know how this happened at first, or why he did it, but he gave into the mare, and started answering all the questions truthfully. "My name is Vasili. My father named me after a famous war hero in Mother Russia. He is long gone, but the spirit and morale he brought us all has lived on." He continued as Fluttershy found the wound. She realized that the blood loss wasn't severe, nor was the wound. It only required a swift cleaning, and a bandage. She pulled out a water bottle - almost out of nowhere like Pinkie, and quickly started cleaning the wound before infection took place. He breathed in deep to lower the pain. It was definitely a gunshot wound, but it only grazed his shoulder instead of puncturing it.

"Tell me if it's too tight okay?" Fluttershy said as she slowly started to tense up the bandage's knot to keep it firm.

Vasili didn't say anything until the knot was as tight as Fluttershy was capable of. "You don't think it's too tight?" Fluttershy asked to ensure maximum satisfactory; even though she wasn't getting paid for it. She had already been tightening it to more than enough, and decided maybe he was shy to say anything. She decided to lay it off, and loosen it.

"No, actually I couldn't really tell that it was being tightened." The man said, still keeping an eye on the weapon. He took note that the ponies also weren't armed. If he really wanted it, he could just walk over there, grab it, and leave. However, if it wasn't his vision, or him experiencing first-time-being-drunk, then he surely wouldn't want to miss anything else the multicolored ponies could do. One question struck his mind. What would ponies be doing here in the first place? He could have sworn that those ponies should be somewhere... mystical, magical, and anywhere but here; hell.

"What brings you here to hell?" He casually asked making his way closer to the gun, but not alarmingly. He acted casually, like he wanted to move away from the door, and move to cover.

"Hell? Oh, you mean Chernarus." Twilight giggled softly, "We're here to-" 

Rainbow Dash finally broke out of her silence, and gave the shorter story. "The Princess noticed disharmony in this area, and she wants us; The Elements of Harmony, to fix it up best as possible, and maybe form a civilization. Trust me, you'd like my version better."

"Rainbow!" Rarity budded. "It's not like a mare to interrupt somepony who's talking. I thought those lessons I was giving you should have sunken in by now." Rainbow Dash blushed, and scowled.

She muttered under her breath, "Nopony was supposed to know I wanted to act more... Mare-like."

Twilight started giggling as she put two and two together. "You. Wanted to act more like a mare Rainbow?" She laughed with Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy didn't feel like laughing at a pony wasn nice, so she just listened.

"Do tell how it went Rarity!" Twilight asked deviously, knowing it would upset her friend, but did so as a joke.

"As much as I like talking about me, this isn't exactly one of the more desirable things." Rainbow said.

Vasili was feeling slightly out of place, and started making his way towards the pistol under the stairs, while the ponies were talking, and laughing. This was slightly different to him. Laughter wasn't exactly seen or heard of; other than the sadistic laughs of bandits. But this laughter was different, no matter how slightly. This was laughter of not someone's pain, but more as a joke. Something he also hasn't heard of. He began feeling a little more situated with those ponies, but they didn't seem like they knew how to survive out here. Nor did they know how to ration food and water. However, if they learned, the ponies with horns on their head which proved to be magical could definitely become of use. Not to mention the winged pony. She could be used as reconnaissance. Which works out since her coat is sky blue.

It was a tough decision. He could offer protection and knowledge about survival, but he was no expertise at this either. Once they do get better at survival, maybe they could help with scavenging food with their magic.

He was able to reach the gun without them noticing, and started going upstairs.

His shoes didn't make it too stealthily against the metal stairs, as he was immediately stopped by a purple translucent wall. He didn't really say anything, but he just turned around giving them a look of confusion.

"Sorry to stop you, you can keep the gun. It's just that there was something shooting at us earlier, and nearly got us." Twilight warned. She was able to get a good observation of the tower before running in, and noticed there were windows on all four sides of the rectangular tower. If the person shooting was still around, he'd definitely be shot as soon as he was in sight.

"Bah!" Vasili pouted. "It is that same asshole who shot at me." He said pulling up the bandaged arm. "Except I wasn't lucky enough to leave unscathed... However, the storm is rolling in, and there should be a pretty intense fog. That should work against the sniper, not to mention the intense weather would make him stay indoors." He thought to himself that even if he couldn't see them, the Zeds would hear them, and cause every Zed in town to attack.

"A sniper?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, they have high powered weapons with scopes. Made to kill with precision at long distances." Vasili concluded.

"So what now?" Rainbow asked impatiently.

"Well, I was thinking of heading back to town and picking up a few food cans and canteens for you ponies. Though I prefer if someone gave me a little help guarding as reconnaissance." He looked past the yellow pegasus and to the Rainbow one.

"I wouldn't mind." Rainbow said before she was invited to go. "My wings could use a flight." She said while stretching her wings.

"Okay." Twilight paused to think for a second. Rainbow Dash is going to go with a stranger. With a gun. To loot. She thought a bit more, and realized that it would be necessary for survival... For now. "I guess the rest of us will stay here until you two return."




The thunder was tumultuous. It offered no mercy to any ears as it roared across miles, leaving behind bolts of light blue lightning behind its trail. The rain drops were large, and fell hard. The weather pony knew that this would soon lead to lots of fog, and eventually a hail storm.

Rainbow flew above, and her coat began to darken and camouflage with the sky. Vasili was crouched below, slowly edging his way towards the market. He was covered in mud and loose blades of grass. His bandages played no use as it slid off into puddles of mud-water.

After a few minutes, he finally made his way to the small house near a dirt road, not too far from the power plant, but they were making good time. Just as he passed the fence of the house, the thunder roared, and a loud clanging sound was heard. Rainbow saw mud get kicked off the ground next to Vasili, and they both immediately knew what that was. Vasili sprinted full speed towards the house, kicking up the mud behind him as he made his way safely inside. Soon after, more shots were fired, and it whistled passed Rainbow's mane cutting a few hairs. She soon found herself in the house as well.

They were now both trapped in the house, with Zeds roaming not to far away.
> Ch.6 "Hit 'Em Right Between The Eye"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

Vasili took a few quick glances out of the window, in search of the sniper who shot him a few days back. The glass of the window was slightly cracked, and blurred from the heavy rain. It was useless looking for the sniper. The fog was rolled in, and limited their sight to no more than thirty meters. This being said, the sniper must have a thermal or IR (Infra-Red) optic. Thunder roared in the distance, loud enough to cover the sound of a sniper taking shots. Hell, it could easily be mistaken as a rocket; given the rocket hadn't combusted into a blazing death.

Vasili paced in the small room furnished by a small dining table with three wooden chairs. The wood on the chairs were cheap, and you could practically see splinters waiting to appear. The nails hammered on the sides were beginning to rust, and could be easily pried off and used as a melee weapon. The table had a single cloth which featured a dark blue border, with a white center filled with a checkerboard of blue spots. 

A small coffee table sat across that featured a drawer with a metal handle, and a painting which hung above it. The chair was the same as the chairs accompanying the dining table, but was oddly placed on the side; placed so you wouldn't be in front of the drawer connected to the desk. Being that the room was so small, it was probably to prevent anyone from bumping into each other. Though it would have made a bit more sense to turn the coffee table to have the drawer face the chair, but it wasn't there house.

The painting was faded, but you could make out a tree that resided near an ocean scenery. Not much could be said about the painting.

Rainbow Dash sat in a corner; traumatized on the fact that she nearly died. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung as if she wanted to say something, but any words waiting to be spoken were escaping her. She realized what she was doing, and shook her head, and glanced out the window.

Vasili muttered something as he continued to pace around the dining table which translated something close to, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to actually speak this time, but was cut off when Vasili started. "Well fuck me with my mother's cane. The snipers got us pinned here with a damned thermal or some shit. We're stuck here until he decides to actually get out of the rain. Fuck!" Vasili said, he genuinely sounded like a scared Russian.

"I..." Rainbow Dash started. "I can get my friends. We can go up to the mountain, and have Twilight spot living things with that spell of hers. Maybe then, we could talk the sniper into -"

"Talk?" Vasili interjected. He stopped pacing around the table and edged closer to Dash with a menacing tone. Dash started to shiver in fear. Vasili saw what he was doing, and felt somewhat sorry for the pony, so he backed off. "Look. If it's one thing I know about snipers, bandits, or rogues, it's that they would use that advantage of any innocents. If they get into the position where an innocent walks up to them for reasoning, they would either shoot you, or if you're lucky, they'd just mug you and leave you for dead." Vasili said with a cold breath. He crouched about eye level to the window, and looked outside. "They are not one for reaso-" Another roar of thunder came from the distance as the storm neared the city. As if on cue, the window Vasili was looking out of shred into pieces as a bullet made its home in his brain.

His mouth dropped as he stayed still. Rainbow Dash was staring at him mouth agape when she saw blood oozing out and dripping on the floor. Vasili fell to his side, and lay emotionless; dead.

She turned away from the corpse and moved closer to the edge of the wall, hopefully out of sight from the sniper. He was a good shot. 

Rainbow's head started to fill with thoughts for Vasili. Has he had a family to look out for? What was he doing here? How do I escape? At that thought, her head swiftly looked left and right, looking for other doors to escape. She saw one door near the coffee table, dangerously close to the windows, but if she crawled, maybe she could try the door. 

Puddles started to form in the room, both mixed with water that leaked through the broken window, with a few shards just hanging out of its frame, and the blood from Vasili's corpse. It started to make a dark pink color, and began staining the dark wooden floor.

Locked.

She tried the back door near the entrance, and that too was locked. She was trapped in the small house with a broken window, cool breezes, a dead body, and only one way out. She could attempt a daring escape, but that would risk her getting shot. However, she didn't have any food or water, and didn't have the stomach to loot whatever Vasili had. It also didn't feel right to her. She just held her nose as the body began taking the scent of a dead corpse.

+++

She had made up her mind. Since it would be some time before the storm is over, she decided to take her chances.

She crept up to the door with no plan except dodge bullets, and get to the building where her friends were staying. She peaked out the door, beginning to shiver from the cool air, spiking her coat that the rain passed. She started to tear up as she remembered how Vasili was killed mid-sentence, and how she might be like him in a matter of minutes.

Forgetting those thoughts, she wiped her tears off and took flight towards the factory.

Rat-tat-tat

A different gun was firing off towards Rainbow as she flew in the storm. It was firing at a significantly faster rate than the other, and was directed towards her. Not only was it faster, it sounded much closer making her an easier target.

She dodged the bullets with much ease, and was left unscathed. She had no doubt that the thing shooting at her was the same thing that shot Vasili. She had to fight all of the urges she was getting to buck the person in the jaw, then where it hurts most. Still, even if she had, there would still be his weapons, and she wanted to get as far away from that danger as possible. Besides, reporting this to Twilight would definitely be a priority.

You know, the first person they met and seemed friendly just got shot.

+++

A few seconds of dodging bullets later, Rainbow Dash found herself back in the building, panting, tearing, and hyperventilating. She tried to speak, but she only stuttered and stammered. "Vasi- De-dead. Sho-shoo... coming!" She started stomping all four hooves on the concrete flooring multiple times, and had anypony not known any better, it would have looked like she was dancing.

The shooter was near, and was probably bringing a nice amount of Zeds with him. Even more a reason why to hurry.

The others didn't question Rainbow Dash, as they rarely saw her afraid. Her middle name used to be Danger. Rainbow Daring Dash, and for the most part, she was fearless most of the time. From Twilight's point of view, they were in an alien land that was in its own apocalypse and whatever made Rainbow scared enough to stutter and cry, it must be something to be afraid of.

The others thought the same, but in different tones of voice. They gathered their saddlebags, and quickly started a full sprint towards - wherever this road was going to take them; away from the city, and its coast. As they edged further away from the hellish city, they could hear multiple gunshots. Then a short pause, followed by screams of agony and pain.
> Ch. 7.5 Small Chapter with a Hint of Writers Block
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

Rarity looked up towards her friend, feeling the need to yell, but that would mean to lose her lady-like attitude. "You mean to tell me that you have been here before?" Her pink friend just smiled and giggled.

"Well, yeah! Well, not exactly here, here, but on some island before it was all scary and stuff." She giggled a bit more, and began bouncing around. Her mane and tail still puffy and happy, it was a wonder how she could stay happy at a time like this. After all, it's only been five minutes since Vasili's death. A death that was probably soon to be forgotten.

Twilight gazed over towards Pinkie with a smile of disbelief. "Really Pinkie? Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

Pinkie turned around and continued hopping backwards. "Well duh!" Pinkie said not willing to let up on what she saw and believed. "Of course I wasn't dreaming!"

Rainbow Dash swooped in front of her and crossed her hooves in midair. "Well how did you get here without Twilight's rock?"

"Its a rune." Twilight specified, slightly annoyed.

Pinkie just looked up, closed her eyes gleefully and stated, "It happened when I broke my wall! ..."



"Pinkie, as hard as I find that to believe, you really need to show me how you did that." Twilight said interested in Pinkie's story.

Pinkie, still hopping and hyper replied, "I can try, but this is just like my Pinkie Sense. I don't know how I do it! It just happe- TWITCHY TWITCH. TWITCHY TWITCHY TWITCH! Pinkie held her tail to keep it somewhat still, and began taking cover under a nearby jungle leaf. The others followed her actions, and Twilight cast a shield spell for extra precaution.

Nearby, they heard an odd distortion of the sound in the distance. It was like the air was being forced, or cut rapidly. As the sound edged closer, they could hear the thumps in the air causing the dirt and loose rocks below to vibrate. There was a bright orange and red light overhead, and it took no longer than a few seconds for the six friends to realize that the object above was on fire, and was ready to crash down ahead.

Rarity, realizing their horrible fate, promptly asked Twilight if there was anything she can do to stop the fire, or land it safely, but by then, there was a loud explosion lighting up the night. Thunder cracked overhead, and the fog lit up like a Christmas tree. Rarity's eyes glistened in the light, but she was tearing up when she saw a person running out, flames engulfing whatever memories and life he held. He tried to douse the flames by burying himself in dirt, but it was inevitable. He soon dropped to his knees, arm to the side, and fell, allowing the flames to consume him.

Rainbow Dash tried to break through the bubble. She couldn't just stay hidden and in cover when she could help someone survive. Soon, Fluttershy joined in bucking the shield. Then Pinkie, and Applejack. Just as Twilight was going to let the shield go, she found herself strengthening it as another explosion from the downed vehicle erupted from the debris. Shrapnel flew in all directions, some getting stuck in tree's and some flying towards Twilight's shield. A few pieces of shrapnel punctured the shield, while others flew in like nothing was there. A single piece cut Twilight's foreleg, but she continued to concentrate on her magic while the others took cover in the small bubble.

It was no doubt that the man who they wanted to save, was now dead.



[Cue writers block. Well DANG NABBIT! Sorry guys. It's been like, what, a week since my last update? Sorry. Well, writers block has it's pain, and it's happening again. Well, DANG IT. I'M RAGING SO MUCH NOW. With school and everything going on, I find it harder and harder to release daily updates. Yet, I find myself working on new stories when I know from past experience that there will never be any daily update.

So now it comes to this. I know that blog posts are 'iffy' and not everyone really reads them (I don't), so instead of posting blog updates for this story... Remember the first chapter? The Before You Read one? Well, that will be my update source I guess. So, every week, I'll update it on the very bottom with the date of it's update. If I can't even do that, then I'm hopeless and just stop reading my crap.

In the case that I don't update it and you're wondering whats going on, or if you're getting impatient anyways, then message me. When someone messages me, I will get their request done ASAP. None of that tomfoolery.

Anyway, while I pound my head in the wall to get rid of my situation... If anyone wants to play DayZ, feel free to add me on steam and send me a message saying who you are. Hopefully this isn't breaking any rule by the FIMFiction laws. Oh well. TL;DR as they say. (User was banned for that sentence)
Steam: Thunder_Seethe or Appliance Pony I'll be on Thunder_Seethe when I play DayZ. So yea. Writers Block message out.]
> Ch. 8 Incoming Derp Inbound!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

The sky became a violent red, quite alien to the six ponies. They continued their walk eying the sky. Twilight couldn't help but think of the man who caught fire. She felt guilty, remorse, and pain. Pain not only to herself, but to her friends. What they have seen could have, or did scar them.

I wonder how they're holding up... Twilight thought, eying her friends behind. None of them seemed quite well themselves, following the same expressions as Twilight. Alert, tired, and extremely depressed.

Their walk continued, the majority of it being uneventful. Occasionally they ducked in cover because of a shadow, or a tree branch snapping, or even the simple chirping of a bird. They all became quite paranoid, although Fluttershy remained the most calm. Of all ponies, right?

Rainbow Dash clutched her stomach and began complaining. "Ugh, I'm hungry!"

Twilight went through her bag, and went through her eight items. A book called "Survival for Dummies", scrap paper, ink, quills, an empty canteen scavenged from the building in the city, the rune that will bring them home, a single muffin from her party - courtesy of Derpy, and her letters made for her friends. She levitated the only party-sized muffin from her bag, and the smell of a chocolate muffin filled the air. Now, everypony grabbed their stomach as it rumbled.

"Okay," started Twilight, "I only have one muffin, so we'll have to spli- Ahh!" Twilight was tackled by something and was thrown backwards, with whatever it was coming down with her. She caught a few glimpses of blonde and gray, but it happened all too fast. It was really nothing but a blur.

A few screams broke out, mostly from Rarity as she witnessed a fight. "Oh the horror!" She cried out. She stood on her two hind legs, and her horn glowed a bright blue as she fell backwards with a hoof upon her forehead. She only wished her drama couch spell worked. Instead, it brought an old friend who went by the name; with no say in it, "Tom".

"Ow..." Rarity muttered as she rubbed her head, with Fluttershy rushing in not to far back to aid her friend.

Rainbow hovered, swiftly turning her head trying to look for Twilight in the night. There had just been too much going on. Too much noise, until finally, silence, and a pony with a blonde mane and gray coat stood in the middle of all the chaos.

"Sorry!" A familiar voice to all six ponies said.

The six ponies turned their heads, ignoring what had happened, they stared at the pony who had a large chocolate muffin in her hoofs. She munched on the muffin happily.

"Wha-how did- but- the Princess- I ju- bu - but... WHAT?" Twilight said in total confusion.

The other ponies nodded in agreement, and motioned Derpy to explain how the hay she got here.

Derpy looked at the six ponies, with one eye, and started. "I was headed home from the muffin store after work, then I couldn't help but notice a nice muffin smell coming from above me! So I flew up and kept following the smell, and then I started flying down because the smell went down. Then it was all dark, which was weird because it was only evening and the sun was supposed to still be up, then I found myself eating the muffin! It was really good. I want another." Derpy stated, then began daydreaming about another muffin, this time blueberry with raisins. Then looked back down at the muffin she already had in her hooves, which she began eating again, much slower to save the taste.

Twilight just stood there, and just stared. Her mind, was completely jello. What Derpy had just said was that she flew up, and then flew back down into a different world, which simulates teleportation - without a spell.

Her face remained unchanged as she stared dumbfounded at the mare eating her muffin, which everypony forgot, was supposed to be shared.

Low on food and liquids, it would be their best interest to get going. Luckily for them, the main city is just about three hundred meters out, you could see a faint red light pushing the dark away, which displayed many houses. The red light seemed to be coming out of a stick on fire, which was alien to the ponies, and for all they knew, it could be hazardous.

Twilight turned to tell her friends and new companion; Derpy, to stray away from the red light as they continued to slowly edge towards the small town.

They were now within twenty feet of the first house. The moonlight shone brightly on the town, and the flare helped as well. They could make out the wood was rotting, and moss was beginning to take hold of the house. Twilight motioned Rarity to open the door while the others kept watch. Twilight was now using her night vision spell, and was awaiting for the click of the doorknob.

Locked.

Every door was locked. They couldn't risk breaking the window for a few reasons. One, if someone is in there who turns out to be a bandit or rogue, they'd be in trouble that's out of their control. Two, the Zeds would hear them, and if they didn't, it would attract anyone who's nearby -- someone had to set those lights up.

They moved to the next house which seemed to be open. The door seemed to be swung to its shack-like wall, and seemed to be vacant from the front view.

If we're lucky, maybe we could savage some food... I'm sure we're all starving.

They moved carefully but with haste towards the open room. Twilight was first inside, being the most curious and having night vision to her advantage, she was able to move quickly without being spotted. She was their eyes.

She took a quick but observant look around the room and spotted something... It was standing on two legs staring at the corner of the room opposite of her. It seemed emotionless, but it seemed to be breathing. She couldn't think of anything to say, and she edged back to make distance, making a clopping sound on the wooden floor.

It jerked and looked up from where it was.

Twilight hesitated heavily, and found her composure then spoke. "He-Hello?" Her eye was now twitching, and she could hear her friends edging closer.

It didn't move.

Now, a little louder she repeated herself, and now without hesitation. "Hello?" She edged slightly closer to the thing.

It didn't move again. It seemed like it didn't comprehend the English coming out of her mouth. Like it was an alien... Or perhaps, if it was Russian like Vasili, it spoke a different language. Now she just had to remember one of those words that she remembered Vasili say quite often. Not coming to any better solution of a greeting, she took note of some type of beverage they drank often.

She could still hear her friends edging closer. They seemed to be about ten feet out, moving slowly, but with haste. She could hear them whispering about each other. Her night vision became slightly more clear when she put more focus - still keeping the word in mind, and took note of it's clothing.

Battered, abhorrent, revolting, those words are what came to mind when she saw its clothing. She could then make out that it was probably clothing scavenged from others.

Not wanting to wait for her friends to get closer, and with impatience she opened her mouth to speak. "Vodka?"

The creature jerked whipped it's head around. It's eye sockets were empty, its nose had rotted off, blood was leaking from its lips, and now it was clear to her; Zed!

She dispersed a quick but violent scream as she fled the room, immediately crashing into her friends.

She was panting vigorously, and she received from her friends a series of, "What's wrong?" and still panting, she gave them a few hints of what was going on then fled. It translated something close to, "Oh! ... Run! ... Thing! ... Zed! ... Likes - VODKA!"

The Zed slowly crept out of the room and made a wicked snarl towards them, and without any need of further explanation, they ran screaming leaving dust and blurs behind. The Zed managed to catch up quickly, and kept its pace.

The noise started to attract more of them. More came by the number, and they soon had a horde chasing them in a random direction. Not knowing what more to do, Pinkie Pie stopped in anger pulling Twilight back with her.

"Stay away from my friends!" Pinkie lifted Twilight up, as she just hung there helplessly. This seemed like deja vu to her, and knew exactly what was going to happen. She just sighed and let it go.

Pinkie proceeded to grab her friend's tail, and held her up by her chest and swiftly began pulling her tail up and down like an easy pull lever. With each pull came a bright light from Twilight's horn, shooting out short bursts of Star Wars like purple beams. Though most of them missed, it brightly lit up the night and slowed the Zeds.

After Twilight dispersed such a great amount of magical energy, she fell, exhausted. Her night vision spell ceased to continue as well, and now risked getting eaten. Pinkie had been long ahead before she realized how much energy she made Twilight use, and didn't think that she would be suffering any fatigue.

Luckily, Rainbow Dash was able to carry a few extra pounds, and with a beam of rainbow, Twilight was now mobile.

The horde followed them, and were back on the road where they met Derpy; who was the furthest ahead of the group. Nopony really knew what to do with her, or how she could contribute -- she didn't exactly have the best record of being reliable without accidents. At least her heart was in the right place.

Rarity did most of the screaming, and still continued. Applejack, beginning to get worn out from her yelping and drama, finally put a hoof down, sparing the others from doing so.

"Girl, ya have ta calm down! Concentrate more on runnin' than on cryin'!" Applejack said with a tense tone. Rarity gave her the look of annoyance, and just looked forward and began sprinting, thinking of a response, but gave up.

Rainbow Dash continued flying overhead, and cast a silhouette over them. The night was reaching its peak, and was now almost pitch black, had it not been for the moon. Thank Luna for that.



Running and flying for almost three miles on the roads, the Zeds slowly started to get lost on their tracks, but as many as twenty still followed. Snarling, and running awkwardly, they followed with speed.

More lights.

The red flares were being seen off in the distance along with small arms fire. Small pops and twangs could be heard along with screaming. They were headed right back to where they started. But with nowhere else to run, this was probably their best chance.

Derpy was now out of sight. Shrouded in the darkness, but nopony had enough strength to call out for her. They just hoped for the best. After all, she could have somehow re-teleported herself back to Equestria -- Celestia knows how.

To sum it up, about twenty Zeds were in pursuit of the six friends, Derpy split from the group somehow, Twilight is unconscious, and the ground was muddy which threatened one of them to slip and injure a leg.

What could be worst than this? Rainbow pouted in her mind. Unknowingly, she just jinxed the situation.

Thunder crackled overhead, and a bolt of lightning struck straight towards a Zed, which broke into multiple bolts that connected to the other Zeds. Rainbow turned to get a good look at the light show, and slowed slightly as she watched the Zeds. The Zeds stopped as they were being electrocuted at an intense wattage, they held their heads in what seemed to be agony, then dropped to the ground.

By now, the others have turned around and took their turns saying something similar to, "What the hay?" as they witnessed the light show.

They were on a dirt road, and seemed to be near the foot of a mountain. Near the top, it had an abundance of trees, and another small light atop.

The lightning stopped short of a second, and everything was blackened again.

Silence.

Rainbow Dash touched down to take a rest from carrying Twilight. Everypony stayed silent and listened for anything moving, a twig snapping, or even the slightest sigh that didn't come from them.

Still, nothing was heard.

Rainbow Dash turned, panting slightly. She is an athletic pony, so she was able to recover much faster after a flight. After all, her job is to kick clouds and move them all day. "You think they're... dead?" Even though she wished for them to be dead, she still stammered at the word. It was unpleasant, and hardly used in Equestria. Most ponies found it very rude to say such things.

The other ponies just panted, unable to speak. Twilight was shifting on the dirt road, and the others followed. They just sat down and tried to take a rest. Maybe just a few minutes.

Crack

All of the ponies were asleep.

Crack... Pfft

None of them budged.

Hurr...

Nothing. They were asleep and oblivious to that sound that seemed all too familiar. However, sleep took hold of all six ponies, and whatever was making those sounds, was nearing closer.

The patting sound from shoes and dirt from the road they slept on was no more than ten feet away. It began snarling, the distasteful sound -- and smell, of a Zed was nearing. Slightly different though, it smelled cooked!

Crack... Pfft - Pfft - Pfft

More footsteps arose from the darkness. The moon hid behind the trees providing no light.

Occasional pops and screams came off from the distance, which made Twilight stir in her sleep. Her eyes flickered open slightly, feeling much more relaxed. She noticed that it was still dark, and probably no more than thirty minutes from where she last left off, unless she slept for a few days. Which she doubted.

Her horn let out a steady aura, and was now using her night vision spell. Nothing. Just trees, the dirt road she was sleeping on, her sleeping friends, foot of a mountain, occasional pops and screams from the distant city that seemed all to familiar --

Urrg...

She remembered that sound. She whipped her head around and spotted two... Things. They didn't seem much like Zeds at all! They looked like hellish spawns of miniature humanoids. They were also smoking.

Instinctively, she shrieked, waking up her friends, and made the Zeds aware that they were around. The Zeds stared into her eyes before breaking out into a full sprint. They now stood, and ran like Vasili. Their skin was also no longer rotting. From far away, they could have looked human.

"Run!" Twilight blurted out as loudly as possible to break everypony out of sleep, and into full sprint. As for Rainbow Dash, it was flight.

The Zeds were no more than five feet behind, and they were gaining on them. The six moved downhill towards the city, hoping they could find someone to help, or maybe even lose the mutated ones.

It was really dark. The moon was still over the mountain and hidden by its trees. They followed the red light, even if it could only cause more trouble. Light was needed, at least for the others. Twilight's cutie mark insists that she is allowed to learn all magic with much ease. Other unicorns only have access to magic that resembled their cutie mark. So Rarity was best at levitation, and concentration. So basically, the others were running blindly.

"Left!" Twilight called out, trying to keep pace with her friends. They made a sharp left turn, and Applejack unfortunately crashed into a pole.

She rubbed her head, picked up her hat, and continued running along side her friends, muttering something under her breath.

Twilight started searching for any building that already had a door open so they didn't need to encounter anymore locked doors. Soon, they discovered a large rectangular building with a box and balcony. It had many windows in the front, which could leave them very exposed to any bandits who want to cause trouble. Still, this was probably their only chance for survival.

"In here!" Twilight called to her friends, but soon realized that they couldn't see the door. This resulted in Applejack crashing into another pole, Rarity running into a mud puddle which resulted in painful, ear-bleeding whining, Rainbow Dash crashing into the window, and Pinkie Pie almost jumping over the building, but resulted in her landing on the roof unscathed. Fluttershy seemed to be the only one who made it in the building safely.

Twilight facehoofed and added,"Oh... right." She levitated Applejack and Rarity away and guided them in the door.

Once inside, the Zeds didn't let up. They followed in, and began walking instead of sprinting.

What, they can't run indoors? Twilight thought.

She looked around, and saw a staircase to her immediate right. "Everypony up the stairs!" She now using her horn as a small light source to help guide Rarity and Applejack up. On the second floor, Rainbow Dash was holding her muzzle with a hoof.

"Never. Again." Rainbow pouted as she started moving angrily up the next flight of stairs.

Pinkie Pie bounced happily when they met at the third floor. Only to be reminded that they were now stuck in this building, and the mutated Zeds were on their way up.

Pinkie looked at Twilight and asked. "What do we do now?" The others nodded in agreement.

Sweat began to run down her face, unable to think of a reasonable answer. They can't just give up and go home now can they? They were so close! They've already encountered a friendly human survivor, there's got to be more than one.

"Well?" Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.

Twilight's eyes went wide and her pupils small before she closed them shut tightly, and replied. "I don't know!"

The hallway was dark, and this was the last floor of the building. There were two openings in the wall on both sides of the building, and a small room behind Pinkie. Twilight peeked over the edge of the hallway, and spotted the hole Rainbow made when she crashed. Glass shards laid all over the room.

"I guess... There's only one way out of this now isn't there?" Twilight said quietly, but just loud enough so it's audible to her friends. She turned to look at them. "I guess I failed the princess. Let's go home..." Twilight said with a hint of failure in her voice. Her first failed assignment.

Rarity looked at the others to see if they had anything to say. "Twilight. You didn't fail -- at least not you alone. We've all failed. Except we've probably failed much more than you have, right Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow scowled at Rarity, still uneasy about what happened not two minutes ago. "What?"

"You know... You did drop out of--"

Rainbow jumped. "Hey! I chose to not do the homework! It was lame, and was holding me back from practicing my tricks!"

"Well," Rarity continued. Pinkie was beginning to laugh silently. Applejack just rolled her eyes. "That is your story. But perhaps we should focus on Twilight's problem... maybe after we go back to Ponyville, and get cleaned." Rarity said looking at her muddy hooves. She just polished them an hour before they arrived.

"I suppo-" Twilight was cut short when a few pops and bright flashes echoed in the building, and something hit the floor. It actually sounded something was rolling down the staircase.

They remained silent, and a few metalic sounds were heard. The six friends began to cower into the back room near Pinkie, and they all remained silent.

The mutated Zed from downstairs growled.

Twang!

A sound of string, then the sickly sound of flesh being ripped out was heard, even from up on the third floor. It was very distinct. You couldn't mistake the sound.

After a few brief moments of silenced, they heard footsteps near the stairs. There was a rustle of equipment being shifted, and a zipper. What happened next was all too familiar. It had no accent, but spoke words that are just too familiar to Twilight when she was spying on people from the scrying mirror. "Friendly?"



Long chapters ahead to make up for the short chapter. I will also be leaving for Oregon on Tuesday, so I won't be able to update for a while. Let alone play DayZ. Check the 'before reading' chapter thing for updates daily.
> Ch. 9 Anonymous
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP
[As I said, In Twilights POV from now on since nobody seemed to mind] I also apologize that I haven't done an update in a while. I was on hiatus due to school and other activities.

I hope they're friendly. Why do I keep telling myself that anyway! They did take care of those things, did they not? Unless those electrical shocks resurrected them... That's a disturbing thought. I kept myself as still as possible, which wasn't very still. At least I was calmer than Fluttershy. Poor girl. She was hiding behind all of us weeping quietly. Trapped in the middle of the night, what could possibly save us from what horrors await - if any.

I sighed silently as I began to eavesdrop over a conversation.

"Damn! You got a few batteries on you?" A low baritone voice said. Their probably about one floor below us.

The reply was quieter. Not shy, but it was muffled by a cloth or something, therefore; inaudible.

"Well crap." Guess they don't have batteries. "Well, wait down here... If something happens, then you just run and don't look for me. If something is up there... I'll take care of it. Just stay here alright?" There was a short pause, and I heard whispers going back and forth between them. A few seconds later, I heard a static sound. Never heard anything like it before, so my first thought was to duck. The other girls did the same, and we were cowering in a corner. If I teleported out of here, I could very well lead them into more of those things, and even worst, I can't go too far. I hadn't mastered it, not to mention I just suffered a head injury, and it takes too much out of me. The flash may also attract Zeds as well... I wonder if whoever was in here last wrote a, "How To Survive a Zed Apocalypse For Dummies - Handbook".

Doubt it.

"Hello?" The voice called out, he's not far from us now. "I'm friendly! Do you need any help? If not, we can just leave, we don't want any trouble."

I held my hoof up signaling to keep the others quiet. Maybe we could wait this out, but what if they are friendly. If I go out there, and if something should happen, the chances are that they assume I was the only one there and had already looted the place is high. This could be their only chance, and I will take this one for the team.

But how would they get back. I have the lode stone, and I know that I can't tell them its powers too early, not now. If I do, the next instance that something similar happens, they'll use it and abandon the mission. I can't let that happen can I? They're my friends though, what if they do get hurt, or trapped here forever? Well, they did come with me knowing the dangers... Does it make it right to leave them oblivious of their only chance of survival should anything go wrong? I don't think so, but the mission...

"Hello?" The voice called out once more. The voice echoed throughout the building, and I could hear the cruel growling of the Zeds outside. His voice quickly died down, and he was once again whispering to whoever was with him.

"Girls." I whispered. They didn't really move, other than their shaking, but they forwarded their eyes towards me. "I'm going to go out there, and see if he's friendly. If he doesn't do anything crazy and he seems alright, then I'll lead him back here."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rainbow Dash whispered. "What if he isn't friendly? What's going to happen to you?"

"Yea... What if Rainbow Dash is right?" Fluttershy agreed, not making this any easier on me than it is. The others nodded in agreement not wanting to make anymore noise.

"Well, looks like we'll have to hope for the best, and if he isn't friendly, well... We'll have to see if we could come to a compromise. Until then, don't come out unless I give the okay." Rainbow Dash didn't seem to like the idea, but didn't bother to intervene. Fluttershy started to whimper, and I honestly feel bad for her. This was just way to much for her to experience, and I hope Spike... Well, he seems to be able to take care of himself well. Angel on the other hand... I'm sure that bunny will be independent enough to help the others.

Rarity tried to calm Fluttershy down again, not really expecting much improvement, but it was something. Guess I should start moving.

As soon as I stepped out into the dark halls, I let my horn glow slightly. "Hello?" I called out nervously. This is probably the worst plan I've ever come up with in my entire life! Guess it's better than abandoning the objective.

"Hello?" I called out once more, and receiving no response. This makes me suspicious of whoever was calling for us earlier. He might have left a few traces of where he went, and hopefully he and whoever was with him, will be nice enough to join us. Guess the only way to find out is to descend to the lower floors.
Oh fun.

I gave up calling for him. They clearly left, and I brought the others down to help look for any clues of where they went. The bodies of the Super Zeds were stacked in a corner. They seemed to be taken care of... Best not let anyone see this.

I levitated them with my magic and stuffed them in a room. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were discussing something. Didn't really seem too serious, probably talking about previous pranks they pulled on the egg head, most of them that I'm not a fan of.

"Find anything?" I called to Rarity who seemed to be moving through things meticulously.

Rarity shot her eyes at me in surprise and responded, "Oh, no dear. I'm simply just tidying up this place until- oh what's this? Twilight, come here and take a look at this."

I was already ahead of her. As soon as she stopped abruptly in mid-sentence, I was already moving, and so were the others.

She was holding a large squared piece of paper. "Is that a map Rarity?" It was rhetorical, I could see the mountain marks, latitude and longitude, coordinate markings, height differentiation, hill slopes, forest, urban, names of cities, and like all maps have, a North, South, East, and West paper compass. "Very good find. If there's one thing important like this, there's bound to be more. We should keep looking. If you see anything that looks important, just take it."

After a few minutes of looking through this structure, I've run into a note. Probably the only lead I had to where the people who were here not too long ago might be.

To Whomever is reading,

Hello. I'd just like to let you know that we are friendlies. We don't want any harm, and hopefully we can come to a compromise should you decide to hurt us. We aren't Russian. We come from a different area, and I don't have much time to write this. Staying in one spot, especially in an area like this for too long is just asking for trouble. We'll be on our way, out of this hell hole. If you have a map, meet me at Pik Kozlova mountain peak. This is risky just saying this, but I will be spending the night up there. Please, we don't want any harm. Just more people to help.

We're in search of any vehicle to help us along the way. I can't walk to the destination that you and I both want to get to. I have a child, and walking there is too risky for her without medical supplies, and the walk alone might kill her. If you think you can help us out, please find us.

I'm not sure how much you know, so if you have a map, I want you to look for a major city in the south called, Elektrozavodsk. You are currently in a small office building. If you look slightly North East of that position, the mountain called Dobryy is a hot spot for snipers, avoid going to the power plant and on any roofs. My suggestion is to get out of that city, and don't spend anymore time than you need to here.

Hopefully I will be able to pass on more information to you when we meet up at Pik Kozlova, if you decide to join us, which we both hope you do.

Yours Truly,
Anonymous
> Ch.10 Leaving the Safe House
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

After reading the note, the girls and I thought it would be a good idea to leave first thing in the morning. We've all been through a lot, and since this person... persons knows what we were being chased by, I hope he could take that into consideration. Hopefully he gives us a little more time.

I took the liberty of holding the map. Not because I feel a lot more comfortable when I'm navigating, but just because I feel as if the others are starting to become less willing to follow through on this mission. I mean, Rainbow Dash has already seen death. She's strong, I know she can handle a lot of things, but that, will never be forgotten.

I pull the map out from my ruck sack which contains only the rune to take us home, and a few items I scavenged throughout my stay. An empty water bottle, what seems to be canned food; beans, and some... Mountain Dew.

We could spend the night here, but seeing as the Zeds like to roam free around these parts, there is a slight chance of them wandering in this building. Not to mention that there seems to be more people here too, bandits and rogues to be exact. We can't exactly fend for ourselves if we should ever come upon that situation. Then again, this is the only place that we know that has a stable concrete roof and structure. The other houses look like they'll collapse at any given moment. The forests seem to be uninhabited by Zeds, bandits, and rogues, but we might succumb to any foreign illnesses if the weather continues down this path.

Perhaps I should leave this to a vote. It would be fair, but I'm not sure if they'll be thinking this through as much as I, and if I'm right, there may be worst things to come. I don't exactly have much knowledge on Zeds or really anything here, so it is definitely hard to tell whether staying indoors or outdoors is safer. None of us do, but I suppose I have more knowledge than them.

Think Twilight, think! What do I already know, and have seen.

Dobryy mountain is apparently a bandits paradise, Zeds like to roam through cities and residential areas, rogues hang out near roads in an attempt to rob any people passing by, weather patterns are different and only similar to the fact of clouds being thicker and grayer during a storm, and clouds are clearer and whiter whilst being a normal sunny day. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy may be able to move the clouds, but things definitely work different here, and we can't risk injuries.

Mountains won't be our best option since they'll be the vantage points for any snipers.

I need to find those people who left us the note. They'll know where to go, hide, and hopefully help us on our little quest. Still, in the shape the others are in, and even I, we'll be unable to make it without any rest. I don't even know how much longer I could take this.

I take another look over my saddlebag, and I spotted Rainbow Dash in a corner staring at the ground. I should go over there and cheer her up.

"Hey Rainbow Dash."

She didn't look up when she responded. "Yea?" The words dragged out of her mouth faintly.

I just looked at the ground with her, not really knowing what to say. She's seen more than I have, me being fainted, I honestly don't know what would've happened if...

I'll try not to think about that.

"Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, she looked over to me and abandoned the existence of the concrete floor when she took flight. "why are we still here? Shouldn't we be looking for those two... What do you call them..."

"Humans?" Applejack called from a different room, joining the scene as she poked her head out.

"Yea... Humans." Rainbow concluded, looking annoyed that her memory failed her. "Seriously though. I can't really find myself sleeping here with those..."

"Mutant Zeds? Yea, those things are kinda freaky!" Pinkie called from upstairs, not really joining the conversation, she was occupied doing something upstairs.

I looked over that those mutants, and I have to agree with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. Those things are creepy, and I can't find myself letting us sleep here.

Of course, we're only assuming that they left us that note.

"If it is okay with everyone, we should leave as soon as possible to maybe catch up with those people who left us that note. Like Pinkie and Rainbow said, those things are creepy, and sleeping here really doesn't sound very fun."

Pinkie came down the stairs, her hair was puffy as usual, seemingly to ignore everything that was around her and keeping her bubbly and happy attitude. I should feel happy, but I feel sad because I know that things will be getting worst.

I really am starting to regret bringing them here. All of them. Their corruption will be because of me, even if they did come willingly, it was because I was going. I shouldn't have given them the choice.

I have some bad feelings, but I can't go back now.

Pinkie and the others joined the hall in which Rainbow and I were originally in. It was pretty dark, and I was manipulating the moon light to be more attracted to this building. I'm already drained, but this spell isn't one that needs constant energy, and doesn't use much to cast, to my favor.

"Well, what are waiting for, Twilight? Have you gotten the map and your brains?" Rarity smirked.

I nodded, and pulled out the map from my saddlebag.

"So, are we all ready to go?" The others just looked at each other and nodded.

With that, we started back down the stairs.

Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and me, all walk down the stairs and out of the building, and a lonely road to come.

We head west of Elektrozavodsk, and it shouldn't be long until Pik Kozlava, but we still have a long way to go before establishing a civilization, at least one that doesn't involve killing each other. Perhaps, these two people could be the start of it all! Guess it's more the reason to hurry.

[A/N: I know I don't usually put A/N's here, partly because I hate it when other authors do it. However, I doubt people read comments, so posting it there won't do any good. So, this is what I have to say. My editor has been busy with homework, so I've done my best to edit it myself until he is less busy. For the time being, you may find more grammatical errors than before, and I'm not letting this be the reason why it turned out to be a small chapter and released late.
Sorry for any disappointment that I may have caused.]
> Ch.11 Ciao Roccia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

DayP

How does one live through such calamity; an affliction, such as I, living in a world of discord.
It is our belonging.

Early morning, about three o-clock sharp; now is the best time to move.
In the new island of Chernarus, there is a brief moment of silence. When all of the horror that has been caused, there is a prayer that's sent out. The skies that once was illuminated by the burning helicopter, the fire, screams, and everything in-between, silenced. A moment of serenity. What a thing to say in this god forbidden land; the same god that caused the disaster known as the apocalypse.

Zeds, often mistaken for zombies along with their traits that we've not seen, but come to believe from the horror movies we've watched before this event; horizon. Horizon was when the island of Chernobyl was vanquished by the American soldiers, and unfortunately, have succumbed to radiation sickness.

They said the contamination dissipated.

During the raid on Chernarus, they have spread the radiation while dying from it. Buried in the soil, whatever new crops that grew on their decomposed bodies have infected the living.

A zombie infects by blood. Zeds, they're much different- almost magical beings, but explainable through the large occurrence of phenomenons throughout the event, horizon.

Horizon wasn't the nuclear reactor going off, in fact, this isn't even a real event- I just call it that because there weren't any scientists in the area to prove me wrong; we were cut off from the world, and the world wanted it to be that way. The event that I call, horizon, has nothing to do with black holes or the sun coming up; nor the raid on Chernarus.

It was a bright light.



Early morning, January 15, 2055

The sun crept through the shades of the medical tent that I lay in. Bandages tied tightly around my forehead and knee, the smell of blood and human flesh lingered throughout the camp. Even after being here for weeks, you never get used to that repelling smell; if I could walk fast enough, I would have ran away.

In fact, the man next to me already tried, provided that his legs weren't bleeding with consistent pain. I talked to him, he told me that he never went far, he soon found himself lying on the grass. His fellow soldiers brought him back here.
The smell followed him.

A few hours passed. Then a few more. Before I knew it, it was time for me to sleep, and that's when it happened.

"Hey," the commander said as he walked up to me. Usually I would sit up and salute, but there was no energy left in me. "you're going home."

By those words, I was shocked. I looked at the others who were worst off than me. Missing limbs, bullet wounds, and here I am with a small stab wound in the knee. I was confused. Why do I go home? I didn't argue, this may be the thing that saves my life. Still, I would be leaving my brothers in arms behind.

Who am I to argue with my own commander?
It was settled, I'm leaving in that Russian acquired Ural to home, or some other military medical facility. Whichever is better than here, and I can only hope and pray for the safety of my friends caught up in the bloody battle.

He held his hand out to me and I took it. He swung me up out of my bedridden position and helped me to the Ural.

Outside of the medical tents were like a whole new world. The smell still lingered, but it was a different, much more cleaner smell than the tents. It was like it was disappearing from my knowledge, but stuck around in the corner of my nostril to remind me of their suffering.

I crawled in through the back and took a seat next to the other wounded soldiers with bandages on their heads, some covering their eyes, and most of them were moaning from whatever level of pain they were in. Then the smell became more vivid.
For me, my leg was surprisingly numb. Probably in shock from me standing for once in a while, but it was a wonderful feeling to not feel anything. I was still under mental and physical fatigue.
It ached to think, but I couldn't help myself.

My uniform was stained of a few circles of blood. Only one bullet in the leg and I was going home, or away from here. To be honest, I think home would by anything but here. Here is a horrible place.

I remember those days when I actually dreamed of being in the military. Dreaming of killing the enemy and being a hero. Acts of valor, saving fellow soldiers, and completing the job at the same time. Earning medals.

And here I am, sitting in this truck with a bunch of wounded with a bullet in my leg. My only act of heroism was charging into the battlefield wading through bullets and killing someone. I don't know him, he doesn't know me, so why did I shoot?
It really makes me question the humanity of war- if there is any. Why are we fighting? Too many questions that are left unanswered, and I doubt I'll ever get it. Rumors say that the Russian's have a weapon capable of causing an apocalypse, nuclear, gas, chemical, parasites, I don't know. Rumors are rumors, and I try not to believe in rumors.

A few minutes passed and I could hear the engine starting. My heart lifted a little. It was at that moment when I realized that I'd never have to see this dreadful place again, at least not for a while. That thought alone made my heart skip a beat!
The idea of me holding my family in my arms again. Wife and soon to be child, I was reminded how much I had to live for. All from the start of an engine.

The movement made everyone shift slightly in the tight area. I was crushed, and the numbing my leg was once in disappeared and pain came back with a vengeance. Of course, mimicking everyone else in the truck, I screamed in pain. I really wish I was shot in the hand or something. I looked at my right hand which was clenching the bullet wound and bloodstained bandage.

On second thought, if I was shot in the hand, I would still be fighting, and I'd never really get to have that secret handshake I wanted to do with my kid. I guess I'd be able to do a nub-bump instead of a fist-bump... Don't know if that's really worth losing a hand for, though.

I returned to clenching the wound, just in case the cut reopened during the shift and sudden pressure.

"Sorry!" The driver called from the front, "Road up ahead will be very bumpy, try to sit tight!"

As if on cue, as soon as he said bumpy, the truck began to shake vigorously and the other wounded men began bouncing and falling of their seats and onto the wounded and possibly dead laying on the floors. I usually don't cuss, but damn!

I tried to ignore the pain and hold on to the back of the truck. Thank god that I was positioned in the back, and not in the middle.

A few more minutes of bumps later, I could hear distant gunfire. The echoes of the AK's and occasional explosions could be heard over the booming noise of the engine. I peaked my head out of the truck, just slightly, and caught eye of a few American choppers with M240's and gunners on each side of the chopper. I smiled at the sight, but I stopped when I realized that they were going into battle with one soul purpose: to kill.

The driver in the front whistled and cooed, "that's our boys right there, yeehaw!" He paused and looked towards the direction of the choppers and proceeded with an explanation. "Word has it, they're going to put on some fire for the other boys to run in a building and claim that secret whatchamacallit in the enemy territory!" I looked back out once again, and the gunfire increased. The sound of men charging and yelling for moral boost could be heard. We may be getting close to the battlefield, hope not too close.

"If it all is true, this could mean the end of this part of the war, and take it all the way back to their homeland of M-o-ther Russia!" The driver continued. He focused back on the road ahead to take precaution of not crashing. "When you boys get to the medical facility, you'd best be listening to the radio, if we win, ya'll are certainly going to be drinking tonight- first shot is on me!" The driver offered. He seemed very happy about the situation, but when I take a life, even if they were going to shoot me, it doesn't feel right. Not unless it's an animal of some sort.

I must have stared at the driver for some time. My ears were getting deaf from the engine, and even more deaf from the distant explosions. To add to it all, I started hearing the choppers come back, probably to refuel and rearm. It sounded like it's coming this way!

I poked my head out to show support for the soldiers leaving the battlefield. My ears started ringing, and the sound of everything seemed to stop. The chopper, the engine, even the distant battle that was taking place. All silent, and the ringing sound. The chopper was still moving, in shape, but it was falling rapidly and losing control. I looked at the driver while covering my ears in hopes of stopping the sound that I've confirmed to be an external sound, and not just me.

The people in the truck were also holding their ears and looked as if they were yelling. Keeping their eyes closed and staring at the ground, shaking. The driver was no longer holding the wheel, and the glass in front of him shattered. Blood poured from the driver's fingers which were hanging off to his side and created a small puddle under his hand.

I looked what was ahead, but it was nothing but a light- a very bright and blinding light. I would say bright as the sun, but then I'd be lying. This is brighter than the sun. It burned to look at it. It burned to look close my eyes, I could see through my eyelids as if I had x-ray vision. I looked away and put my hands up in front of my face, doing whatever I could to stop the pain. I no longer am conscious of the pain in my leg, just my eyes and the burning sensation.

I must keep focus.

To no avail, I started hitting whatever was near me out of frustration.
I couldn't see, I couldn't hear, I couldn't feel the pain in my legs. I could only feel the burning coming from that horrific light.

Almost instantly, the burning stopped, the light had ceased to exist, and the truck soon started swerving out of control and off the side of the rail. Earning its last few screams of the wounded, and me flying out the back opening. I've never thought I'd say this, but thank the Russian's for not putting seat belts.

I rolled down the hill, no faster than the truck which occasionally took flight and was stopped by a tree. I skid down the hill, rolling every so often, trying to dodge tree's but I was too disoriented. I could barely move my arms, and I could still not hear.
To my right, I saw a large cloud of smoke emerge from the totaled truck, and in front of me, a wonderful rock saying hello to my head.