It's been an hour since the group witnessed the bloody death of a bandit. Even though the man was a bandit, it was still horrid to watch.
Lees group, including the St. John brothers emerge out of the woods and continue onto the path that leads up to a farmhouse.
Twilight and Rarity are still endeavouring to get their minds off of the scene they both saw.
Rarity is still overflowing with disbelief and distress. She was still trying to understand how one could do that to one of their own. I need to calm down, try a little breathing... maybe some meditation.
Twilight is trying to calm her stress level down. She could not believe that this is the world that she brought her friends to. He killed him, just like that. He just killed him... over food.
"Here it is! St. Johns family Dairy," Andy stops and turns around. He gestures to the electrical fence that is surrounding the farm. "Y'all can see how we've kept this place so safe." He continues on the path.
"The fence keeps them out?" Mark asks.
"You betcha, they fry like bugs in a zapper. We're pushing four-thousand volts through that thing, with generators and amps," Andy is enthusiastic about the fence.
"I'm just gonna assume, that that is a lot," Carley says in bewilderment.
They all stop at a gate that has a sign that says "St. Johns Dairy".
"This is a really brilliant set up," Lee is impressed on how the farm looks so blissful.
Andy opens the gate. "Suits us just fine!"
Twilight and Rarity are glad that they were finally at the farm, after seeing what happened. They both have a strong longing to be out of the woods as soon as possible after witnessing such a gruesome scene.
"This place looks untouched! You'd never know the rest of the world is in ruins," Carley acclaims.
"It's worth protecting, hence all the juice," Andy says.
Twilight sees a woman holding a basket walking over in their direction.
"I thought I saw y'all with company, comin' down the drive!" The woman cheerfully says.
"Guys, this is our momma." Andy introduces with a smile.
Andys mother walks up to the group with a smile. "I'm Brenda St. John and welcome to the St. John Dairy!"
Mark glances at the basket in Brenda's holding.
"This here's Lee, he's from Macon." Andy gestures to Lee.
"Oh really? A couple of our old farm hands were from Macon,"
Danny looks at his mother. "They've got a few more friends staying at the old motel."
"Oh my goodness, that place is pretty vulnerable. Have you got someone with survival experience to lead your group?" Brenda asks with concern.
"We all work together. Plus, we've got plenty of people with military experience," Lee says.
"Well, that's good to-" Brenda abruptly stops. Her attention was directed at the two multicoloured ponies. "Those are... some unusual coloured ponies ya have there."
"What do ponies usually look like over... here? If you don't mind me asking," Rarity casually asks, as if Brenda already knew she could speak.
"Oh lord! It can speak!?" Brenda yells with great astonishment.
Dan chuckles. "Yeah, me and Andy're still trying to wrap our heads around this!"
"This is extremely unusual!"
Brendas bewilderment makes Twilight and Rarity almost forget about the incident in the woods and their moods brighten as they smile.
"Yeah! Well, this is unusual for us too!" Twilight says as she chuckles.
"This is very... weird-in a good way though!" Brenda quickly clarifies. "Where did y'all come from?"
"Uhhh, something... transported us here. We don't know what it was though,"
"Oh dear... well, now that you're here, we'll make sure that you're safe and comfortable," Brenda says gently.
"Oh, why thank you, Brenda!" Rarity appreciatively says.
Brenda looks at everyone else. "Same goes for y'all as well!"
"Does that offer apply to the rest of us?" Lee refers back to the group at the motel.
"We're all incredibly hungry," Carley says slightly desperate.
Brenda holds out her basket that revealed to biscuits. "These are for y'all, baked fresh this morning," she generously offers in which, Rarity smiles at.
"A-mazing," Carley hungrily says.
"Can't get stuff like that anymore, not without a cow for milk and butter, that's for sure," Dan says with a thin smile on his face.
"That's right! Hopefully, Maybelle will make it through this bout of whatever she's got and be with us for a good long while," Brenda says.
"Your cow is sick? What's she-"
"We have a vet! W-we can bring her here, we can help you folks out!" Mark interrupted Lee during his sentence.
"A vet? Oh mama! Our prayers have been answered!" Brenda says appreciatevly.
"Maybe our whole GROUP can come... for the day?"
"Well how about this. Y'all go get your veterinary friend and I'll prepare some dinner. A big feast for all you hungry souls. It'll be nice to have some folks help out around here again. Danny"- Dan looks at his mother. -"Why don't you come help me out in the kitchen."
Brenda and her son Dan turn away from the group to walk back up to their farmhouse.
"Why don't I head back with the food and round up everyone for the trip back here," Carley says.
"You might wanna take someone with ya. Remember those roads can be dangerous," Andy suggests.
"I can handle myself,"
Mark unholsters his hunting rifle around his back and offers it to Carley.
"Here, take this"- Carley takes the rifle from Mark. -"Why don't you go ahead and take Ben along anyway."
"You wanna go back with your friend?" Lee asks Travis.
Travis glances at Ben before turning back at Lee. "A-actually, I'll stay with you guys." Lee nods.
"Take care of yourselves guys, see you in a while." Carley waves at them before heading back to the motel with Ben.
"Why don't ya guys take a look around? Once your all familiar with the place, I could use some help securin' the perimeter," Andy says.
Lees brow furrows. "Is there a problem?"
"Sometimes, the dead get tangled up in the fence before they fry and they end up knockin' over a post. It'd be a big help if y'all could walk the perimeter," Andy explains.
The dead... frying? I-I'm sure it isn't as bad as you think it is... I hope not. Rarity desperately did not want to deal with "The dead" especially while they were burnt. She hasn't even had her first encounter with one, well actually she did but not up close.
"You could learn a lil somethin' about our fence. I'm gonna go top off the generators before they run dry. Come and get me when you're ready." Andy turns and goes over to the generator with the gas cans.
"You betcha." Marks turns to the others. "This place is incredible! And that fence? Oh man! That fence. If we play our cards right, this may turn out to be a place we can stay. So, how do you wanna play this?"
"C-can we at least make sure this place is... safe? I mean every aspect of this farm, just in case," Twilight suggests.
Lee nods in agreement. "She's right. We need make sure that this place is as safe as they let on."
"Right. Obviously THEY think it's safe, but is it safe enough for the kids? I noticed the broken swing over there." Mark points over to a swing which hanged on a bulky trunk of a tree. "Not a big deal, but maybe there's other things that we just can't see yet."
"Checking the fence perimeter is a perfect strategic way of examining their defenses!" Twilight excitedly says.
"Alright, well I'll keep my eyes open, Lee will see what he can find out from Andy and... I guess you three can survey the area for anything... out of place." Mark says then walks further onto the yard.
Rarity and Twilight look to each other. "So, what're you thinking?"
Rarity asks.
"I'm wondering what's gonna be in that barn,"
"Hmm? What barn?"
"The one behind you,"
Rarity turns around and sees the barn, Twilight's looking at. "Oh, that... Maybe, Applejack should've came as well."
Twilight starts walking towards it.
"Where are you going?" Rarity frowns before asking. Why did I even ask, you know where she's going. It's so obvious! she thought to herself.
"Uhh, to see what's in the barn?"
"Privacy? Twilight? Ever heard of such a thing? You might not like what you find!"
"All the more reason to. If there is something in there that may come to harm us, we need to tell Lee and the others. And besides! Andy said we were free to explore."
She is right, Andy told them to get familiar with the farm. Why would the barn be excluded? "Y-your right, Twilight. I just have a feeling that I can't explain. I can't tell if it's a good or a bad feeling..." Rarity trails off.
Twilight remembers the feeling she got from the brothers when they were strolling throughout the woods.
"I think I had the same feeling a while back, when we were in the woods. You remember?"
"Yes... y-you didn't seem to trust the brothers."
"It's not that I don't trust them. They seem good... I just can't explain it."
"Well, that's exactly what I'm feeling at the moment. I can't explain it."
Twilight sighs before taking a short glance at the barn. "I'm gonna check it out to be sure."
"Alright, tell me what you find." Twilight nods then goes over to the barn.
Twilight walks past Andy who is doing something with a large metallic box which is making lots of noise. She comes across a gate. She looks at Andy before turning back to the fence. Maybe I shouldn't use my magic. If they are bad, I could use that to my advantage. She thought to herself. She goes to push the gate open-
"Hey... uhh-what're you fixin to do round the barn?" Andy interrupts her.
Twilight frowns but quickly shrugs it off before turning to Andy. "Oh! I'm just gonna explore the barn! I'm quite curious."
"Ha, well I appreciate that you are! But I'm afraid there isn't much to see in there. Just a cow and plenty of hay,"
"But I've never been in a barn before. Believe it or not," Twilight blurts out. That was a lie, the best lie of all time.
"Really? Ah well, I'll find you somethin' to do over there after y'all get back from securing the perimeter," Andy offers.
After? Why after? Why not now? The barn is right there. All I want to do is look around. How long could that possibly take? Twilight thought with suspicion. She already had an abnormal feeling from them before but that just sells it... or she's just being paranoid. "Oh great! I would love to help, I'll be back later."
"Alright, see ya!" Andy goes back to working on the metallic box.
Twilight looks at it in curiosity. "If you don't mind me asking but what is that?"
"Huh? Oh this! This here's a generator. It produces power for our fence."
"Hmm, interesting..." Twilight stands there for a moment or two in thought before choosing to walk off but she bumps into Lee as soon as she turns around.
"Oh sorry!"
"There's no need to apologize, it was an honest mistake," Lee politely says, He smiles to reassure her.
"Really? My horn didn't hit you, did it?" She asks unsure with slight concern.
"I'm really am fine Twilight, listen we're gonna go out to take care of the perimeter now. I just gotta let Andy know first, Okay?"
"Okay!"
Lee nods before he continues walking over to Andy who is still tinkering with the generator.
Andy looks up at Lee. "Hi!"
"Hi! We can all go check that perimeter now," Lee says.
"Oh good. The fence will stop a walker in about three or more seconds but it gets overloaded if we leave the husks out there," Andy explains.
"You know we can clear the fence ourselves if you want to stay here and finish up with the generators."
"That'd be great! I'll turn off the Northwest section and uh, y'all can strip em' off and look for any weak points, well that'd be a big help!"
"Sounds easy enough."
"Y'all stay attentive, you never know," Andy says sternly.
Lee nods before heading out with the group.
"So how's the place lookin'? Is it safe enough for us to stay... if we can?" Mark asks.
They're all huddled near each other, Mark and Lee are in front with Twilight, Rarity and Travis are behind them.
"Yeah, it's pretty amazing what they've done with this dairy,"- Lee says, looking at Mark. -"But lets see what it takes to secure this fence before drawing any conclusions."
"I can't wait till Mr. Parker gets out here. Hopefully, his leg's okay," Travis says.
"Katjaa's taking good care of him, there's no need to worry," Lee reassures the teen.
"I can't wait till everyone else comes out here, e-everyone besides Larry," Mark says.
"He wouldn't be such a pain in the ass if you weren't going and telling him we were behind his back the hold time!" Lee says, clearly irritated.
"I-I'm sorry, alright?" Mark apologizes.
Lee sighs. "We'll work it out somehow."
"Well, hopefully he'll calm down once he's out here."
"What is that old buffon's problem anyway? Has he even heard of the term "civilised""? Rarity abruptly asks. Rarity was never intimidated by the old man, if anything, she was just infuriated with the man's carelessness towards others.
"To be honest... no I don't think so," Mark answers her.
"Lee? Do you mind if I ask a question?" Twilight asks.
Lee glances at her for a second before turning back to see in front of him. "Sure, what is it?"
"What does "fuck" mean?"
Mark bursts into laughter while Lee's eyes widen and Travis just looks away pretending he didn't hear what the Purple unicorn just said. Rarity is just as curious as Twilight.
"I-it's a curse word, nothing more to it," Lee says as he looks back at her.
"You-wait hold on, what type of... species are you?"
"We're humans,"
"Humans? Hmm,"
The group comes into contact with a burnt corpse tangled on the fence. Rarity immediately gags. "Oh my Celestia! That stench is HORRIBLE!"
"I'm never gonna get used to the smell," Mark says while he covers his nose.
Lee kicks the leg of the corpse, making sure it was actually dead.
"What... is that?" Twilight nervously asks.
"A walker."- Lee turns to Twilight. "You'll get used to seeing them."
"I don't think I want to," Twilight mutters, mainly to herself but Lee hears but decides not to comment on it.
Lee further examines the corpse and notices the arrow that's plunged through it's neck, pinning it against the fence post.
"Why's there an arrow in it's neck?" Twilight asks.
"I don't know... you know what an arrow is?" Lee replies.
"Yes, we have them back in Equestria!"
Lee nods before he leans over to pull the arrow out of the corpse. "Disgusting..."
"Do you *COUGH* need help?" Rarity asks whilst gagging.
"Nah, I can take care of it," Lee lifts up his axe and uses to push the corpse off the fence.
"Come on, I'm sure there's still more." The group continues the patrol.
"Once this fence is patched up this place will be a fortress! God, can you guys imagine not having to worry about the walkers anymore?" Mark says.
"Well, we've never dealt with one up close, so..." Twilight says.
"This place isn't safe without gas," Travis says.
"Not many drivers these days, guys,"- Mark reminds them. -"We could scavenge a years worth of gas, easily. What do you guys think of the brothers?"
"I can't tell if I trust them or don't trust them," Twilight blurts out.
"Why's that?" Lee curiously asks.
"I don't know why, I just have this feeling that I can't explain,"
Lee frowns in thought before speaking again. "Well, if anything happens we'll take care of you."
"And we'll take care of you as well!" Rarity happily says.
Lee smiles. "Thank you, Rarity!"
"Thank you, too!"
A few moments later, the group falls silent as they approach another burnt tangled corpse.
"Oh Celestia..." Rarity covers her muzzle, hoping it will block out the smell.
Lee lifts his axe again and pushes the corpse off the fence. The corpse falls but due to trying to climb over the fence, the electricity melted it's skin leaving the corpse hanging on the wires of the fence.
Lee chops both of the wrists off of the corpse.
"Ya never gonna get used to the smell, will ya?" Mark smiles as he asks Rarity.
"It would probably take a few millennias," Rarity impassively says.
The group continues their patrol.
"Geez, I cannot stop thinking about dinner,"- Mark looks at Lee. -"Thanks for the rations by the way. It's probably all that's keeping me on my feet right now."
"Maybe we can ask for more when this is finished?" Rarity suggests.
"Uhh, no offense or anything but can't you just eat grass or something?" Mark politely says.
Rarity stares straight at him. "Yes... but it's quite dull on it's own."
Mark doesn't care. "Then you're set for life. There's grass all around you, eat that. Let us eat our human food."
Lee chuckles.
Moments later another corpse comes into view but this one seems to have the entire fence post down.
"Please tell me this is the last one," Rarity desperately asks.
"Maybe, we'll see," Lee between while chuckling.
Mark looks at the corpse. "He's tangled up in there pretty good."
"I think we'd get a better grip from the other side," Lee suggests as Mark goes over the other side. Lee does also soon after.
With little effort, they both manage to get the posts standing again.
The sound of electricity and the light bulb startles them.
"What the hell? What's going on?" Mark asks frightened.
"I think the fence turned on!" Twilight yells.
"Why would, Andy turn the fence on? Doesn't he-" Travis doesn't get to finish his sentence due to an arrow that flies straight into his neck causing him to fall to the ground.
Rarity screams in terror and Twilight just stands there as she tries to process what just happened. The sounds of Mark's yelp knocks her out of it. She quickly turns to him and she immediately spots the arrow lodged into the back of his shoulder.
"What's GOING ON?" Twilight doesn't get a response, instead Lee and Mark try running over to a fence that's a few metres away but their attempt is interrupted when a couple of arrows land a few inches away from their feet.
Lee turns around and spots a idle tractor. Lee grabs Mark and they bolt towards it for cover.
Meanwhile, Twilight notices multiple arrows that nearly hits her and Rarity. By natural instinct, she uses her magic to reflect as much arrows as she can.
Rarity barely manages to keep herself from shaking as she looks over at Travis who now lays motionless on the ground. It soon hits her as she realizes Travis was no longer alive. Rarity glances at Lee and Mark who are behind the tractor. It did not take for her to notice that Lee is going to poke his head out. Oh no, not a chance. There's no way I'll lose another friend. fearing for her new friend's life, she uses her magic and pushes him down before he could have the chance to peek over the tractor.
"Stay down!" Rarity yells over at him.
"Do you see who they are?!" Lee yells.
Thanks to Twilight, she's able to look at the culprits who are hiding in the woods. She notices some of them wearing masks. "I think they're bandits!"
"Fuck..." Lee mutters under his breath. "With the fence on, that gate is our only way out!"
"Rarity!" Twilight yells.
"Yes? WHAT IS IT?" Rarity yells as she runs over to her friend.
"I have a plan to get them out but I need your help!" Twilight quickly explains.
"Okay, tell me!" Rarity urges her to continue.
"The both of us are gonna have to use our magic. As they run for the gate, we'll reflect any arrow that comes their way!"
Rarity immediately despises the idea. "WHAT? Twilight, I don't trust my magic enough for that! What if I miss!?"
"Well, we don't have a whole lot of choices at the moment and like I said both of us we'll be protecting them!"
Rarity doesn't have didn't want to waste any time debating on how they were gonna save Lee and Mark. "Okay! Alright, let's do it!"
Twilight nods before turning to Lee and she explains their plan.
"Just trust us on this! We'll get you out, just don't stop running!"
"Argh! This is so fucked!" Mark exclaims while clutching his shoulder.
"I'm gonna count down from three!" Rarity yells.
Twilight and Rarity don't seem to hear the growling noises emanating from behind them due to all the mayhem that's happening.
"Three!"
The growls grow louder but neither of the ponies, including Lee and Mark don't seem to notice.
"Two!"
Lee and Mark's eyes lock on to the fence gate.
"One!"
Mark gulps...
"GO!"
Lee and Mark bolt for the gate as if the Grim Reaper himself was after them. Rarity and Twilight reflecting any arrows that came their way.
All was going well until Rarity felt a very strong force on her that causes for her to fall to the ground. Rarity quickly turns around and sees Travis... as a walker.
Out of her peripheral vision, Twilight turned and saw Rarity being pounced on by Travis. Before the walker was able to take a chunk out of her, Rarity holds out her hooves to stop him. Twilight notices Rarity struggling to hold him back but sees Lee and Mark almost near the gate.
Twilight is lost in thought, unsure of what to do. What do I do? She hopelessly thought. She's going to lose one of them... but which one would it be.
She gasps. "Magic... Rarity! Use your magic!"
Soon after a light blue aura engulfs the arrow in Travis's neck and it's ripped out. A second after it's out it, Rarity jams it into the side of the walker's temple, killing it permanently. Rarity doesn't care about what she just did, she'll worry about it later. She pushes Travis's corpse off of her.
Lee kicks open the gate. "Let's get out of here!"
The group flees to safety while a bandit taunts them.
"YOU LUCKY SONS O' BITCHES! GO AHEAD N' RUN! WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE!"
END OF CHAPTER...