//------------------------------// // Friends 'til the Day They Die! // Story: Pinkie and the Zombie // by MorbidTheBrony //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie. What's not to love about her? She's funny, she's fun and she has a good heart. A heart that could make friends with literally anypony. And believe me when I say that if somepony refuses to be her friend, she'll eventually find a way. Just take a look at that donkey fella. But this story isn't about donkeys. Nope. This is a story about... In fact, I don't have to say. Just scroll back up and you'll know. Easy. Anyway, we open in the outskirts of the lovely town of Ponyville. Pinkie Pie, probably the most bubbly pony in all of Equestria, is bouncing up and down following the path that leads into town. She hums to herself a song about grinning or something without a care in the world. Yessiree, there ain't nothing that can bring this pink machine of joy down. Her bouncing, however, was cut short as she heard what sounded like somepony trying to tear out of a stale cake. She then felt the earth beneath her began to move. The dirt only moved under her, which confused Pinkie. Why was the ground suddenly breaking apart only from under her hooves and not anywhere else in the whole of Equestria? Was it like an earthquake only one pony could experience? Then suddenly, a green hoof shot out of the ground. Pinkie jumped out of the way and watched as something emerged from the ground she previously stood on. She raised an eyebrow at the creature. What was going on? Soon enough, that one hoof eventually became two hooves and Pinkie could hear the muffling screams in the ground get louder. She stepped forward to investigate closer but just at that moment, a whole pony shot out of the ground. "What the hay?!" Pinkie shouted, jumping back in surprise. The pony fell to the ground dead like. It was an earth pony that had green fur, an almost bald head what with a few strands of grey hair on his head and tail, bright white eyes and decaying flesh peeling off of its body. "Oh my gosh... A ZOMBIE!!" Pinkie screamed. "That's so cool!" The pony began moving again. Standing up and slowly limping his way towards the pink pony growling. "Well, howdy-do, Mister Zombie Pony! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she greeted, sticking a hoof out. The zombie was still making his way to her very slowly. It didn't look like he would make it to her very soon. He continued to growl. "Not much of a talker, eh? That's fine, I know plenty of ponies about as quiet as you. Just ask my friend Vinyl Scratch and you'll see!" Still the same from the zombie. "Here follow me. You've gotta meet all my friends in Ponyville." She grabbed the zombie's hoof and dragged him away towards the town. They quickly arrived in the middle of the town. The zombie looked all around, gazing at the all of the prey that surrounded him. It all looked so delicious. "Ooh! Who to meet first?" Pinkie asked all giddy like. She was so excited for the zombie to meet her friends. But who first? She caught sight of a yellow earth pony with an orange mane. "Hey, Carrot Top!" Carrot Top turned towards the duo as Pinkie zipped over to her with the zombie right behind her. "I'd like you to meet my new friend. His name is-" Carrot Top screamed and ran away. "No, it's actually-" Pinkie realised she was now gone. "Huh, that's a little rude. Running away like that. Oh well, there's always more ponies," she said with a shrug. "Come on, Mr Zombie Pony!" Pinkie Pie, again, dragged the zombie for other ponies to meet. Next up, she found Berry Bunch. The town's drunk. She was lying on a bench, looking very tired. "Hi, Berry! How was your night out last night?" Pinkie asked. Berry Bunch sat up, trying to keep her eyes open. "It was one of the..." She burped. "...best nights I EVER had!" She laughed, but then stopped when she caught sight of the green, decaying pony standing beside Pinkie. She rubbed her eyes and squinted. "Am I seeing things or is there an actual zombie standing right beside you?" Pinkie shook her head and drew her new friend closer to her. "Nope! I assure you, he is very real. Say 'hi', Mr Zombie Pony!" The zombie moaned loudly and tried to break free from Pinkie's grasp. Berry Bunch just continued sitting there, her expression not changing in the slightest. She then yawned. "Right. Well, I'm too tired to... y'know, run away, so I'm just gonna sleep it off and hope that this is just a dream," she said before laying back down. Almost instantly Berry fell asleep, leaving Pinkie and the zombie all on there own. There was a few seconds of silence between everyone. "Yeesh, what's with ponies today?" Pinkie asked, breaking the silence. She took the zombie's hoof and began trotting away again. "Maybe someone else will want to be your friend. I know! We should visit Twilight! She makes friends with everypony, no matter what species they are. Maybe that could go for undead ponies too." So, they both turned in the direction of Twilight Sparkle's castle. As they made their way to the castle, the zombie passed by all different kinds of smells. Smells that were delicious. Smells that came from every pony they passed by. However, he couldn't follow those smells - poor thing - what with him being stuck with this pink thing! He would try to break free and run for a quick meal, but she would always catch him right before he could eat. He even tried having the hoof be ripped off of his body but that still didn't work. She just grabbed onto the other one. Soon enough they both stood outside a large tree looking, crystal castle. Pinkie allowed the zombie to step inside who declined her offer and began wandering elsewhere, only to then be dragged inside of the castle. But as soon as he was inside the castle, he could smell something greater than anything ever before. It somehow smelled like a unicorn and a pegasus combined. He looked all around for the direction of the smell found that it was coming from the direction in which they were heading. Pinkie opened another door. Inside, there was a large crystal table surrounded by seven chairs and what looked to be the roots of a large tree hanging from the top of the ceiling. Sitting in the chair labeled by a pink, six pointed star sat a purple alicorn with a book in front of her face. "Hey, Twilight!" Pinkie greeted, waving at her friend that wasn't looking to see the wave. "I've found a new friend and I want you to meet him." "Oh! Well, how lovely of you-" Twilight stopped as she looked to see who, or in this case, 'what' her new friend was. She screamed and backed up right against her chair. "Pinkie! What is that thing?!" "Well duh, silly-filly, it's a zombie!" Pinkie showcased the zombie as if he was worth something. The zombie moaned. "Where did it come from, and why did you bring it here?!" Twilight asked, not calming down. Pinkie's face went from smiling to disappointment. "Okay, first of all he's a he. Right? And second, I found him rising out of the ground just a little outside of town. And third because he's awesome and I love him and I want others to as well!" She hugged the zombie, which he then ignored her and continued staring at the meal on the other side of the room. Twilight's face switched from fear to anger as she facehoofed. "Pinkie. Do you know how dangerous zombies are? They eat ponies! They turn them into zombies! They kill or infect entire city populations! Something like this cannot be allowed here! Especially in this castle! Get rid of him!" Pinkie gasped. "Twilight Sparkle! How dare you say something like that to anypony just because they're different! What would Celestia think?" "I'd think that she'd think that this zombie is a danger to everypony around it and it should be dealt with immediately so it doesn't cause trouble. How long has he been here for?" The zombie was just standing there, with a small chunk of flesh falling off his body, causing the princess to shiver in disgust. Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin. "Hmm. I'd say approximately... around nine minutes." "Has he caused any trouble to anyone in town?" "He's scared away a couple of ponies, but that's it. Honest!" Twilight was still very skeptical about this. It was a zombie, so it never meant good news. She just couldn't believe Pinkie would think that bringing a zombie into her home was oh such a good idea. But perhaps Pinkie could be able to keep it- "Him!" Pinkie growled angrily. ...keep him at bay. The zombie could suddenly smell something else. It didn't smell as nice as the purple hybrid thing sitting across the table but it still smelled good. So it wandered off, this time without Pinkie noticing. "Come on, Twilight! Please let him stay," Pinkie pleaded, lying flat on the ground and waving her hooves together, pleading like a child. Twilight sighed through her nose in annoyance. "No, Pinkie. I can't let him stay. It's only a matter of time until he inevitably- where did he go?" Pinkie looked behind her, hoping the zombie was where she left him Unfortunately, he wasn't there. She looked back at Twilight, who had a worried expression, guiltily and nervously smiled. "Whoopsie?" Goodness gracious! How big was this castle? The zombie continued slowly wandering around trying to find the smell. He was closing in on it. He just knew it. Eventually on his travels, he came across another set of large crystal doors. He sniffed again. It was behind these doors. The zombie groaned in delight as it tried to open the door by smashing it down. No surprise, it didn't work. But that didn't stop him. He continued beating it and beating it. Hoping he could at least make a crack. There was an untouched dinner behind this door and he needed it. On the other side of the door was the castle's giant library, and sitting at the table in the middle of it was Starlight Glimmer, reading a book of her own. She was so engrossed in it that she managed to block out all sound around her. But something then tried to break down her soundproof barrier and boy, did Starlight notice it. She looked away from her book to the source of the sound. The door. That was strange. She hadn't locked it, or did she? Starlight honestly couldn't remember. She stepped off of her chair and walked towards the door. She opened it an inch and found that she definitely didn't lock it. So why was there someone trying to break in? Even with the door slightly open, the beating continued. Starlight rolled her eyes and opened the door completely. She screamed in fear when she saw a zombie behind the door. It roared and chased Starlight around the room. For a pony with only three legs, it was a fast thing. Starlight tried hitting it with spells only for the zombie to take the blow and keep chasing her. It eventually managed to get close enough for it to pounce on her, so it took the chance it had and Starlight found herself being bound to the floor by a zombie. Twilight and Pinkie were roaming around the castle in hopes that they'd find the zombie. "Mr Zombie Pony! Where are you?" Pinkie called out. "You know you aren't supposed to walk off on your own! What would your mother say?" "I would imagine nothing because she's dead," Twilight mumbled. She kept her distance from the ground by flying everywhere they searched, incase they actually ran into the zombie and then attacked. Pinkie and Twilight were beginning to worry that the zombie had managed to escape. Which, to Pinkie, seemed far too dangerous for a newborn zombie. Twilight imagined the dangers he would put the civilians of Ponyville in. He could potentially create an entire army of zombies and destroy all life in the world, which would be a very catastrophic outcome, indeed. Even if the zombie was still in her castle, there'd still be huge dangers. What if he ran into Starlight or Spike? Starlight might be able to take him on, but Spike? Nuh-uh, girlfriend! That dragon would be done for! But then, they heard a terribly loud scream. Twilight recognised its owner straight away. "That's Starlight!" Twilight shouted before shooting forward in the direction of the library. "Wait up, Twilight!" Pinkie called out, bouncing through the halls and completely falling behind the princess. Twilight, however, did not stop. Her student, her friend was in complete danger and Twilight had to save her. She arrived at the library door. Before she could touch the door, there was a blinding light that made its through the cracks in the door. The doors were then flung open. When she looked inside, she saw a Starlight Glimmer, hoof on heart, breathing insanely. She was looking at something. Twilight followed her eyes onto a small mountain of black dust on the floor. "Starlight! Are you okay?" she asked, running over to her pupil. "I-I'm fine, but why was there a zombie in the castle?! Starlight asked, shouting. Twilight rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "Funny story, actually. You see, Pinkie Pie found a zombie and decided to bring it to the castle. Speaking of, where is the zombie?" Starlight's eyebrows furrowed in anger as she pointed towards the black pile of dust on the floor. "Gone!" Twilight couldn't help but grin, which then caused Starlight to grin. They were both about to brohoof, but at that very moment, Pinkie Pie came bursting through the door. "Don't run off without me like that!" Pinkie shouted, panting. She stepped forward towards the other girls, still gasping for air. "Now... where's Mr Zombie Pony, Starlight?" Starlight looked at Twilight to see if she should explain to her. Twilight answered her with a 'be my guest' kind of gesture. So Starlight smirked and walked towards the pink pony. "Pinkie Pie..." She began. She then drew in a large amount of air, letting out a mighty, "...he's dead."