//------------------------------// // Starved For Help: Is this paranoia or... // Story: The Mane 6 And Lee Everett // by Can-dees_Murder_Weapon //------------------------------// Andy starts lowering the saw down onto Twilight's horn. As soon as it made contact, it makes a spark and Twilight's eyes shoots open and she feels a very sharp pain in her horn almost unbearable pain. Twilight quickly registers that she's tied up and spots Andy holding her down. On instinct, Twilight teleports from the table out of the room and onto the floor, surprising the St. John brothers. She groans, she tries moving but due to the rope restraining her, she is unable to. Andy starts running towards her, Twilight sees him and tries teleporting again; from the barn to the outside. She groans again, she lifts her head up to see where Andy is. She spots him only a few feet away, instead of teleporting again; she looks at the ropes that are tied around her hooves. Using her magic, she slices through the ropes, setting her free. She stumbles slightly before getting up into a fighting stance and prepares herself for the brothers. Andy and Danny exits the barn, Danny holding his hunting rifle and Andy holding his revolver; they spot Twilight, scowling at them. "Where. Are. My. Friends?" Twilight's voice filled with hatred, as she stares into the eyes of the brothers, not daring to look away. She then notices the weapons in their grasp but she ignores it with apathy, she could easily decimate them if she wants to but she decided to give them a chance. Danny has his hunting rifle lowered, while his older brother has his raised at the purple unicorn. To tell the truth, Danny is afraid of her. He saw her teleport a few moments ago, she managed to free herself from the ropes that were tied around her, what else CAN she do? He doesn't want to find out, but he doesn't move. He's physically unable to move, he soon finds himself slowly being lifted up along with brother. Soon after both of their guns disappear from their hands and with a spark, reappears onto the ground beside Twilight. Slowly and callously, with a cold-blooded stare, Twilight starts walking towards them. Her eyes move towards Andy but her head stays still. "I'm going to ask you a question, Andy... if you refuse to answer the question: Your brother will face a very. Very. harsh punishment. Understood?" Andy just glares at her, not saying anything. Twilight closes her eyes as she sighs. "Where are my friends?" Danny is petrified, he looks at his brother and hopes that he will say anything. But he doesn't, Andy only stares at the unicorn with the same glare. Danny loses his nerve and he opens his mouth to tell the unicorn where they are. "They're in'there! The meatlocker, in the barn!" Twilight now turns her head towards Danny and sees genuine fear in his eyes. She considers to spare them for a moment but then again, what if they come up behind her and knock her out again. She dreads on the thought of killing them, so she just flings them towards their farmhouse, landing on the hill. Twilight picks up their weapons off the ground and she starts running into the barn, unbeknownst that Duck and Katjaa are not in the meatlocker. As she makes her way into the slaughter room and sets down the weapons on the metal bench she was on when she awoke. She ignores the blood that is dried in the room, her only goal is to save her friends, no matter what. She walks over to the large metal door that led into the meatlocker as she does, that's when she notices the yelling and screaming along with a few thuds that emanates from inside the room. "Ah... ah'-nrg! NOT gonna let ya kill HIM!" "It's... *THUD* THE-ONLY WAY!" Twilight wastes no time opening the metal door. As soon as she gets the door open... *SPLURT* Bits of liquid fly onto Twilight's eyes and face. She brings a hoof over to her face to clear her vision, after she does she scans the room. She finds Rainbow Dash holding down Applejack, Fluttershy cowering in the right side of the corner in the room along with Rarity and Clementine while Pinkie tries comforting them. Doug and David on the opposite side, seemingly distraught. Her line of sight falls onto Larry... actually Larry's corpse. Half of his face is splattered with a salt lick, leaving only his jaw. His blood plagues the room, the floor around him, his daughter along with Lee is covered in it. "NOOOOOOO!!!" Lilly screams out. "Kenny! What the fuck!" Lee says as Kenny slowly backs away. "I'm sorry... i-it had to be done!" He says. "You don't know that!" Lee retorts. "Yes, ah do and so do you! I was counting on you, man..." Kenny trails off as he sees Twilight standing by the door and He walks over to her. "Hey! What-happened? D-did you see my family?" Twilight ignores him, she's more focused on the room before her. "NOOOO!!!!" The yell of Katjaa's frantic voice, makes Kenny gasp before running past Twilight and leaving the group in the meatlocker. After Kenny leaves, Lee walks up to Twilight to check if she is okay. He sees the small chip in her horn. "Hey, Twilight, are... you okay?" Twilight glances at him for a second before looking at Lilly, who is sobbing over her father. "Y-yes, I'm fine. But, what about, Larry? What in EQUESTRIA HAPPENED IN HERE?" Lee shakes his head as he sighs. "I'll... explain that later. Let's just focus on getting out of here, okay?" Twilight nods, still staring at Larry's corpse. "Get... off me, Rainbow." Applejack calmly but menacingly says. Rainbow obeys and Applejack gets up off the floor, not even turning to look at her friend as she does so. Before Applejack could walk away, Rainbow speaks up. "Applejack... you need to understand-" "AH DON'T NEED TA UNDERSTAND ANYTHIN', DASH!" The outburst from Applejack, sends everyone's attention towards them, everyone except Lilly. "Tell me somethin', Dash! How do ya know for CERTAIN that, LARRY was really dead?" "W-we-I... couldn't take the chance. I... I wanted everypony to be safe." Rainbow sadly says as she leans away from Applejack. "He still could've been alive!" "Y-you were right next to him! W-w-what if he turned? H-he would've gone for you!" Rainbow's voice sounds more desperate than angry. She didn't want Larry to die but at the same time, she didn't want her ANY of her friends getting injured. "AH WOULD'VE BEEN FINE, WE ALL WOULD HAVE!!!" Before Applejack could get more livid, Twilight walks up behind her. "Applejack, we'll deal with this later. Let's just focus on getting out of here." Applejack stares angrily at Rainbow for a few seconds before walking away without another word. "T-Twilight, I-I-" "Hey, worry about it later. Okay?" Twilight gently says as she puts her hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. After Lee and Twilight made sure that everyone was okay. They both, along with the group leave the barn. The sound of heavy rain, it is all the group hears and the moon shines upon the farm. Twilight looks around for Andy and Danny. She spots a silhouette, seemingly dragging itself towards the St. John house. "Carley!" Lee quietly exclaims, bringing the group's attention to a cornfield a few feet away, which is fenced. "Lee?" Carley says as Ben comes up behind her. He lets out a yelp, as the stalks from the cornfield cut him; Carley sushes him before looking back at Lee. "Is everyone okay? You guys have been gone WAY too long." "We need help." "Yeah, I figured. When you guys didn't come back, I thought something was up." "Larry is DEAD and those monsters cut off Mark's legs and fed them to us!" Rarity exclaims before Lee could respond. Carley grimaces. "Shit, is everyone else okay?" "They've still got, Duck and, Katjaa in the house and I don't know where the fuck, Kenny is," Lee says. "Alright, we'll come in to help!" "The main gate is too dangerous! Go around the fence and see if there's a way in. I'll keep looking for, Kenny." "You won't be searching on your own." Twilight says as she walks up to Lee. Lee looks at her, unsure if he should let her help. Twilight sees his uncertainty and chooses to make it clear, that she's not gonna be persuaded to change her mind. "Lee, you'll need the help. I'll be able to assist you if things get too heated." Lee remembers how the purple unicorn was able to protect him, during the bandit ambush and he decides to let her go along with him. Lee and Twilight start making their way towards the house, Lee told the rest of the group to stay in the barn in case if it got too dangerous. Twilight's friends were a bit hesitant, especially Rainbow Dash but Twilight managed to convince them that she would be fine. As the two get closer towards the house, they see Danny laying on his back staring at them. Lee and Twilight glances down to his legs to find that they are broken, bent in a way that's not supposed to be bent. Twilight almost feels sympathetic for him, almost. She thinks back to when she woke up and found the brothers nearly cutting off her horn. If it wasn't for them, Rainbow Dash and Applejack wouldn't be fighting. If it wasn't for them bringing them to the farm, Travis would still be alive and Rarity wouldn't have to put him down. If it wasn't for them, LARRY WOULD STILL BE ALIVE! Twilight is only getting more infuriated as she remembers everything the St. Johns have done to them. "Y'all understand now, don't you? You can have me," Danny's strangely calm voice, confuses Twilight and Lee. "It's how the world works, now. Give part of-ya' self, so others can live." "Did, Mark ever volunteered to be food?" Twilight menacingly asks. "H-he... uhh, oh... it doesn't matter now. Y-ya' need ta' keep me alive. If ya' kill me, the meat gets tainted, ya' can't eat it." "You're already tainted," Lee says, angrily. From her peripheral vision, Twilight spots a saw on a table that lays along with a tool box and she contemplates on whever to execute Danny or spare his life. Luckily for her, Lee speaks before she makes the decision. "This is NOT how the world works now!" Twilight is glad that Lee made the decision and not her. After dealing with Danny, Twilight and Lee continue to the farmhouse. They both hear Katjaa's loud pleas as they get closer. They both stop at the hill and they take one look at each other before going up the hill. "Something's up. Imma' take the boy and check around-" "NO, PLEASE, DON'T TAKE MY BOY!-" "Let go, woman!" As Twilight and Lee get further up the hill, they hear a faint door close. Suddenly a silhouette appears by the front door, through the fly screen. "Danny? That you? What's goin' on out there?" The voice reveals it to be Brenda. "Danny IS out here, but I'm afraid he is now incapable of walking!" Twilight says, loud enough for Brenda to hear her. Brenda mutters something but it is too faint for Lee or Twilight to hear and her silhouette leaves the door. "Come here!" "Let. Me. Go!" Twilight and Lee get to the door. "Lee!-" "Get back, don't come in here!" Brenda yells immediately after Katjaa. "Y'all just HAD to go snoopin' around didn't ya'!" "Let her go, Brenda." Lee calmly says before opening the door to the house. "Lee, don't you take another step!" Brenda threatens him while pointing a revolver at him. Lee stops as he steps into the house, blocking Twilight from coming in. "Brenda, come on now. You know you don't wanna do this!" Brenda brings the gun back to Katjaa's temple as they begin backing up the stairs to the second floor of the house. "Just go away and leave us be!" Lee cautiously starts going into the house, letting Twilight in. "Stop right ther-YOU!" Brenda caught sight of Twilight and she becomes enraged at what she presumably done to her son, Danny. In one swift motion, she points the gun at her and... *BANG* The bullet comes into contact, with... well Brenda isn't sure what the bullet collided with. It's like there is an invisible wall that is protecting them. *BANG* *BANG* Brenda pulls the trigger two more times, but Twilight still is unharmed. "Didn't, Andy tell you, Brenda? I have magic." Twilight doesn't let her respond. Brenda's gun disappears with a purple spark and it reappears by Lee's feet. Brenda suddenly feels a force on her arm that's keeping Katjaa hostage and she notices a faint aura engulfing it. Brenda's arm is yanked away from Katjaa's neck, releasing her from Brenda's grasp and a strong shove sends her tumbling backwards. A pair of arms grapples Brenda from behind the shoulder and she immediately feels the bite sink into her right cheek, tearing it open and she lets out a scream of agony. Katjaa runs towards Twilight and Lee. "They took, Duck! Where's, Kenny?" She worryingly asks. Immediately after she asks, they hear Andy yelling from outside the house, along with Kenny. They all run outside, leaving the gun on the floor behind. Twilight stops to take a look back at Brenda who's screams have now come to a halt. Twilight frowns and she feels a bit of regret but she ignores it and she follows after Lee and Katjaa. Twilight leaves the house and she finds Kenny running towards Andy who's holding Duck as hostage. *BANG* A loud bang goes off and Kenny falls to the ground, tightly clutching his stomach. Twilight gasps and her instincts kick in straight away. Using her magic, she pushes Andy away from Duck. Andy loses his balance and he falls, rolling down the hill of his farmhouse. Twilight teleports to Andy as he struggles to get back to his feet. With all her might, she throws a heavy punch to his abdomen, winding him in the process. He falls to his knees, desperately grasping at air. Twilight spots a 2x4 leaning against the fence, near the generator. She picks it up, using her magic and she looks back at Andy who's trying to get back on his feet; Twilight doesn't let him, she brings the blunt plank to his face with incredible speed and he falls to the ground, barely conscious. Twilight goes to finish him off but she notices something. The group, including her friends are gathered around by the main gate, watching the whole thing unfold. All of the humans, contain an expression of bewilderment while her friends, have a look of... sadness? No no, it looks more like they want her to... stop? But, why wouldn't they say anything? Why don't they tell her to stop? Are they still shell-shocked? That's when she realizes... Twilight's sight falls to Andy, who's no longer making an effort to get up. What... am I doing? This... this isn't me, Twilight thought to herself. She drops the 2x4 into a puddle and she hesitantly trots over to Andy. "Andy, I-I shouldn't h-have." Suddenly it all dawns on her, everything that has happened to her and her friends. From Travis being killed to Larry being killed and nearly losing her horn. She comes to full realization about the situation she's in and all of her hatred for the St. Johns dissipates and she loses her nerve. Guilt and regret is all she feels now, Brenda getting bitten and killed to Danny's legs being broken. It was all caused by her. "Oh, Celestia," she whispers. "What have I done. I... shouldn't... this never should've happened!" Rarity steps forward, concerned for her friend. "Twilight? Twilight, let's just go, okay? We can leave now." "Rarity! This never should've happened! This isn't what we do! We... we don't KILL PONIES!" Rarity slightly jumps at her friend's outburst but she still continues walking towards her friends. "I-it's okay, Twilight. Let's just leave, okay, darling?" "But-but, what about, Andy? WHAT DO WE DO? I DON'T WANT TO KILL HIM! WE CAN'T!" Rarity very gently puts a hoof on her friend's shoulder in attempt to calm her down. "Darling, listen to me. Let's leave now, this place is too dangerous, please let's leave now." Twilight merely nods and she walks back to the group with Rarity. "It's over, let's go," Lee says before turning around and leaving the barn. The rest of the group follows after him. Lilly takes a look back at Andy who's still on the ground, she notices a now reanimated Brenda stumbling down the hill. She contemplates killing him herself to avenge her father for bringing them here but overall, decides against it and she follows after the group. Lee wonders through the woods, with the group following close behind. While he continues walking, he thinks back to the dairy farm, more specifically Twilight. How she suddenly started freaking out, she seemed fine before she faced Andy. What was it that made her crack? Was it her friends? She said they don't kill from where they're from, so what do they exactly do to the ones that cause harm in their world? "Lee?" Lee was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice Carley coming up to him. "I'd say I'm sorry for leaving the motel unattended but, you know..." "There's no need to apologize, Carley. It's understandable," Lee says. "Were they... really killing people? For food?" Carley says, unsure if she wants to know. "Yeah and, Clementine almost ate some." "You said "almost" so... you stopped her." Lee nods. "I can't leave her alone, Carley. This world now, it just hides... unspeakable shit at every turn." Carley looks back at Twilight, who's walking beside Rarity before looking back at Lee. "I don't think, Twilight is doing so well." "I'm... sure she'll be okay, we were in a desperate situation and it's also their first day here. They're experiencing bad things, I don't know how it is back in their world but it's obviously better than ours." Rarity watches as Carley pulls something out of her back pocket and she hands it to Lee. "Twilight? Are you okay?" The timid voice makes Rarity look to her left to find Fluttershy, beside Twilight. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong," Twilight casually says. Rarity and Fluttershy share a look of concern. "Darling... are you-" "I don't wanna talk about it. I don't ever. Want. To talk about it. Let's just leave it at that," Twilight calmly says but Rarity detects a hint of distress in her voice. "I... alright, darling." The group continues through the woods until they hear a noise. "Dad, what's that noise?" Duck asks, a bit scared. "Sounds like a car," Kenny says as he listens intently. "Oh god, not more strangers," Ben says. Lee and Kenny share a look of suspicion before continuing forward. They soon come across the source of the sound and the group catches sight of the car with the lights and engine on. Lee crouches behind a bush. "Don't shoot! We're here to help!" He shouts to anyone that may be occupying the vehicle. He then cautiously starts walking over to the car while still crouching. Half way there, and he hasn't seen anyone around the car; he sees that the front door is open. He looks into the car, he leans over to the keys to turn off the ignition and in the process of doing so, he sees that the fuel meter is on empty. "Figures." He pulls the keys from the slot. "Oh crap!" Kenny says. "Baby, you gotta see this! There's a shit load of food and supplies, back here!" The trunk of the station wagon is filled with a variety of resources, food, supplies and boxes that contains more resources. The rest of the group goes over to the car. "This food can save all of us!" Katjaa says, with hope. "Not. All of us," Kenny looks over at Lilly as she says so. After, he lets out a long sigh. "We don't if these people are dead," Ben says. "He's right. For all we know, they could've just left to... look for shelter. What if they come back?" "If they do, then we're just monsters who came out of the woods and ruined their lives," Lilly says, answering David. "This stuff isn't ours." "Dad, whose car is it?" Duck asks. "Don't worry about that, Duck. It's ours now." Kenny says finishing with a smile. "It's abandoned, Ducky. Don't worry." Katjaa says as she walks over to her son. "But, what if it's not!" Clementine says her voice raised, slightly which draws the attention of the whole group. "What if it's not abandoned? What if it is someone's?" "Ah know we ain't... you know "humans" but ya' can't just take things that ain't yours," Applejack says. She knows she doesn't have a say of what happens since, her and her friends can just eat grass. "This ain't your business, you can literally eat grass. So, keep out of it," Kenny sternly says. "We shouldn't take this," Lee abruptly. "What!" Kenny says as he starts walking over to Lee. "Did you get some meal, back there that the some of us missed out-on? We have to take this stuff." "What if it was yours?" "If it was mine, it wouldn't be out here in the first place." Kenny says immediately after Rainbow finished. "We'll survive, without it," Lee says. "The hell we will! The rest of us're takin' this stuff." Kenny holds out his palm for the keys Lee took from the car. Lee takes the keys out of his pocket and he gives it to Kenny. As Kenny unlocks the trunk of the car, the grim atmosphere is replaced with gratitude. Almost everyone's mood has lifted while Kenny continues handing over boxes of supplies to people to take back to the motel. Lee along with the mane six and David wait for the rest of the group to finish with the station wagon. Katjaa sees a red hoodie in the vehicle, she tells Lee about giving it to Clementine but politely declines. After a few moments of waiting, Carley walks over to Lee while pulling out a pair of batteries. "Hey, there were some batteries in one of those boxes. I thought they'd might work on your camcorder." Lee takes them as Carley gives some to Clementine. Rainbow glances at Applejack who is just watching the group take supplies out of the vehicle. Rainbow hesitantly walks up to her friend. "Uhh, Applejack?" Applejack hears her but she chooses to ignore her as if she is just a ghost. Rainbow sighs before hesitantly trying again. "Applej-" "You got somepo-person killed, Rainbow Dash," Applejack abruptly says, interrupting her. Rainbow Dash lets out a sharp gasp, feeling like she just got punched in the heart. Like rope that's tied around it, strangling the life out of it. Applejack pauses and she lets her head hang slightly. She looks back up at her friend before turning her whole body to face her and she gives her a grimly look. "Ah know ya' did it to protect us... but ya' still got someone killed. A'hm sorry, Rainbow but ah don't want to speak with ya'." After Applejack finishes, she goes over to Lee who's finishing putting new batteries in his device; leaving Rainbow Dash alone. As Applejack reaches Lee, from her angle; she notices that he has a look of concern and worry as he is seemingly watching the device. "What's tha' matter?" Lee gasps before immediately turning to her. "Whoa, sorry! Didn't mean ta' scare ya'," Applejack apologizes. Lee sighs in relief. Applejack frowns in confusion. "Uhh, what's wrong? What were you... lookin' at?" Lee raises his hand to look at the camcorder before glancing at Applejack. "I was just watching the footage on this camera and..." he trails off. "And?" Applejack says, now feeling a little anxious over Lee's unusual behaviour. "... it was a video of us. That woman, that we met back in the woods with, Danny? She'd been filming us... back at the motel." Applejack now understands why Lee looked so worried over the device. Before she knows it, Lee kneels down to her height. He holds out the camcorder for the both of them. The first few seconds of the film are of Lee and his group back at the motel before Applejack and her friends had arrived. They were moving a couple of cars to block off entry to the motel. It abruptly cuts to the woman dropping the camcorder in her tent while she is yelling frantically at whoever. It cuts back to the motel again, but this time Applejack and her friends were there. As the film goes on, Applejack found herself growing more and more dismayed by it. Suddenly, the woman pointes the camcorder at her as she starts her rant. "-the people ah used ta' call friends... the people who took... don't worry, little girl. Bandits got their eye on that Dairy. As long, as they keep gettin' food from them; you'll be safe, ah promise." The video ends, leaving Applejack in a state of utter concern. She can't help but feel vulnerable even though she is with her friends. "The... bandits... they don't know where y'all are... right?" "If they were watching the Dairy... then they would've seen us." Lee says as he looks at Kenny, who's carrying a box of food. "Alright, y'all. We've got everythin', let's head back now." Kenny starts walking through the woods with the group. As Applejack trots besides her friend, Fluttershy. She gets a faint feeling, mainly over her left side of her shoulder. She can't explain it, it feels like they're being observed. Applejack doesn't want to turn to her left, in fear of finding a black silhouette over by a set of bushes. Against her better judgment, she slowly turns to her left... Only to find nothing, only trees and bushes that are barely visible since it's quite dark. Applejack doesn't even notice, that she had got closer to Fluttershy until she said something. "Applejack, are you... okay?" Applejack looks at Fluttershy and she takes a moment to answer. "N-no, this place is... creepin' me out." Fluttershy frowns, sympathetically. "Oh, at least you're not on your own. We're here." Applejack merely nods at her. Thank Celestia, a'hm not out here on mah own! END OF EPISODE: Starved For Help...