//------------------------------//
// 1.1: Survival of The Fittest 
// Story: PROJECT: PONY UNDEAD 
// by Flying Fantasy Horse 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight sprinted quickly as the creatures gained on her. Her knapsack bounced on her back as she ran. She was gasping for air, but she knew that if she stopped running, she would be dead. It was as simple as that; If you stopped running, you were going to be eaten by the zombies messily. Zombies. Twilight wasn't a pony to use slang, but at the time it didn't matter. Everypony called them zombies, and that was probably how it was going to stay.

Twilight needed to swing these guys off. There was only a few of them, but they ran very fast. A single bite was lethal. If it came to a bite, Twilight knew she would end her life before she turned. If she was going to die due to these creatures, she wanted to die with at least a bit of dignity. That thought was quickly discarded as the screech from one of the runners squealed into Twilight's ears.

That wasn't good. Often than not, zombies that moan or screech usually send in tons more zombies into a chase. Twilight could only handle a few zombies at hand, and any more would be automatic death. She needed to find a place and fast. None of the buildings she saw so far were suitable. She was looking for multiple floor houses. That way, she could burn the stairs down and keep the zombies down on the first floor. Basements won't do; You could be trapped down one for who knows when.

As Twilight panted, she could see more undead ponies shambling around the streets straight ahead. She had to find a different route. As she ran, she scanned the streets. There was two options: dive into an alleyway and pray to Celestia that it wasn't a dead end, or keep on running and find more options. Twilight ran faster, realizing she had to make a decision at that moment. Twilight cut left and dived into the alleyway, with the zombies in hot pursuit.

Thankfully, the alleyway had many pathways to choose from; Twilight just didn't know which paths to take. Any wrong move could end her life, so she had to take her chances more than usual. Twilight turned left, then made a cut right, than another right, all the while the moans and screeches of the undead creatures chasing her around like a game of cat and mouse. Only if the game either mean't life or death.

Finally, Twilight found a steel door by a dead end. She attempted frantically to open the door, but the door was steel shut. The creatures were getting closer with every pull, and she needed in fast. The zombies were getting closer and closer, and Twilight knew she had to do something fast. She took a few steps back, and her horn lit up with magical energy. The steel door handle lit up with energy as well. Twilight scrunched her face, focusing very hard. Finally, Twilight heard a click by the door. She opened the door with her magic and ran herself in and shut the door right before the first zombie was about to pull her hair towards it's hungry mouth.

Twilight looked around the building. It was void of furniture and wallpaper. There was no windows, and a single broken lightbulb hung from the ceiling. Ladders and paint cans littered the room. This building must have been in construction, she thought to herself. She laid herself on to the blank, gray wall and took off her knapsack. She opened it and dug out an apple. It was still fresh and red. She took a bite out of it and savored the taste of it. She gulped down and took another bite, finally feeling relaxed since a long time.

As Twilight took successive bites into her apple, she assessed the situation she was in. Currently, Twilight was in a one story building with no windows and only one steel door. There was zombies outside the door; She knew because of the screeching that the zombies made outside. Twilight finished her apple and rested on a decision; She was to leave Canterlot tomorrow to move towards Appleloosa. 

It made sense; During the day, the creatures are considerably more slower than their evening comrades. She knew this information by conducting various tests when the infection first started. Twilight had to be very careful not to be detected. It appeared that the zombies had heightened senses once the night came, and they were far more difficult to evade. So the obvious best solution was to leave in the morning rather than now, when the creatures were at their peak.

Twilight dropped the apple core on to the dusty floor, and rummaged through her knapsack once more. She pulled out a map and studied it for a moment. Ponyville was located in the middle of the map, while Appleloosa was down in the south. Apparently, Appleloosa was absolutely void of any undead. She heard the rumor through her small battery-powered radio she had in her knapsack. Someponies broadcasted messages, to see if anypony would reply to their messages, if anypony was still alive.

Of course, Twilight didn't answer to any of these messages at all; She thought they were completely unreliable. Even if you were to get a clear connection, you wouldn't get the right information anyways, so it was really a waste of battery life. But this message intrigued her. Not only was it the hometown of Applejack, but it was also the most likely place that Applejack could possibly reside in.

Once more, Twilight took out an item from her knapsack. This time, it was a novel from her favorite author, Summer Mane. She opened the book to a random page and started reading. Twilight read the book several times, but she could never stop reading it. Unlike a lot of the other things in her knapsack, she was hoping to cherish this one item until the infection was over. The book was about a young homeless filly who tries to make it into a singing contest and win the grand prize. Twilight always enjoyed the struggles that the young filly had to endure. It sort of reminded her of the circumstance that she was in right now.

Twilight took out a wristwatch from the knapsack and looked at the time. It was 8:30 PM. She knew she had to rest so she could get enough energy for the following day. She put the book aside and pulled a small sleeping bag again from the knapsack and rolled it out. Twilight wondered how she was able to outrun the creatures. Perhaps it was the will to live, but the answer didn't seem clear at that moment. She got out a candle and lighted it with a simple fire spell, just to make sure that if anything was to get inside, the least she could do was see what was inside. She tucked herself into the sleeping bag, and closed her eyes, hoping for a good night's sleep.





Twilight opened her eyes slowly. The candle had burned out overnight. She sat herself slowly and stretched her arms and yawned. She rubbed her eyes and took a look at her wristwatch. It was 9:30 in the morning. Twilight got out of her sleeping bag and took an inventory of her knapsack. 

Twilight recounted for the third time and looked over her inventory. She had eight good apples, a flashlight, a medical kit, a knife, rope, some rations, a sleeping bag, and some novels. She put all the supplies back in the bag and placed it on her back. The weight was a little much, but she needed most of these items, including the novels. She stared at the iron door and sighed to herself. She took out her hoof and clicked open the door. 

The sunlight invaded Twilight's eyes as she stepped out of her temporary home, and looked around her surroundings. The alleyway was littered with blood, while dead carcasses of animals are spread around. Normally, Twilight would vomit at the very sight, but she learned to gulp the vomit down and continue on. The air was smelly, just like the day before and the day before that. 

Twilight started trotting quietly, to not wake the monsters that could be shambling around the streets, waiting to eat her flesh. She retraced her steps from before and looked around corners to make sure she would not be jumped. As she did this, she magically pulled out the Canterlot city map and studied it, without forgetting to occassionally check corners. The gates were close to where she was now, according to the map. If she could sneak out without making any unnecessary noise, she would be just alright. 

Twilight turned up at a main street, and hid behind an abandoned stand. Zombies were shuffling everywhere, dragging their back legs. Twilight knew this wasn't good. Even if it was the morning, that didn't mean they were not a threat. They still had the potential to bite her at any moment, and it was beneficial to stay quiet and stay hidden so to not get munched on by a couple of zombies. As Twilight though about it, she suddenly got an idea.

Twilight learned a spell back when the infection wasn't in anypony's mind; The ability to become invisible. It was actually a rather difficult spell to cast, but all it took was a little effort to cast it. There was no other practical way of being hidden from the creatures, so this was the only option. Twilight closed her eyes, and focused the energy inside of her. Her horn lit up brightly, and a small flash was given off. Soon, Twilight felt a sensation, and finally, Twilight was no where to be seen.

Twilight opened her eyes and looked at her hoofs. The hoofs were not visible to her eye. Twilight felt proud of herself; It was listed as one of the most difficult to cast in many of her reference books, but she finally mastered the skill. Twilight was aware of the fact that the spell takes effect for only ten minutes, so she had to move quick. She erupted from her hiding place and quietly trotted amongst the clueless zombies.

Twilight was extremely lucky; These zombies smelling sense was most likely damaged, as the zombies paid no attention to her. Even with the invisibilty spell, she still made noise, so Twilight had to stay quiet as she weaved through the crowds of undead. Soon, the tall gates came to view as she walked towards them. Twilight was glad; Canterlot was getting increasingly dangerous, and a few more days would have been death. As she walked up to the gate, the gate was closed.

Twilight cursed under her own breath. Twilight knew how to open a gate; It was just a matter of finding the switch. Twilight scanned the place. There was a rusty ladder that lead to a platform that had a switch. Twilight smiled briefly before making her way to the rusty ladder. She took a hoof and climbed herself up. The ladder was cold and it squeaked loudly. Twilight once again cursed in her breath, and slowly climbed the ladder. The ladder wobbled a little, warning Twilight that she had to be extra careful. She looked behind her shoulder. The zombies started to look at her general direction. The ladder wobbled even more, and Twilight was starting to lose her balance. Twilight suddenly heard a small pop from the bottom of the ladder. 

Twilight winced, and the ladder gave way. Twilight fell from the ladder and tumbled to the ground. All this and her invisibility also powered down. Twilight grunted and slowly got herself up, before noticing that zombies were shuffling her way. Twilight's eyes widened, as Twilight looked for a way to escape. She couldn't get back up on the platform; The ladder was busted and layed on a pile of heap. She couldn't stay in Canterlot, as zombies were to eventually break down her defenses. She couldn't fight back; She used most of her magical energy for the invisibility spell, and she wasn't much of a physical fighter. Twilight made a frightening realization: She was going to die here.

As Twilight stood there with her life flashing before her very own eyes, she got an idea. Twilight quickly rustled through her knapsack that fell beside her, and pulled out a candle. She used the very last bit of magic, and ignited the candle with a little more fire than usual, and tossed it over the zombies heads. The zombies took their lifeless eyes from Twilight and followed the candle. They gathered around the candle, while Twilight plugged her ears and closed her eyes. What followed was a slightly audible bang, and a shock wave of a small explosion.

Twilight opened her eyes and stared at the mess. There was a big black mark at the center where the candle used to be, and torn bodies of dead ponies was spread around the street. Blood and guts was everywhere, and splattered at the nearby buildings. A little blood was evident on Twilight's cheek. She wiped the red liquid with her arm and let it drip from her hoof. Suddenly, the howls of the zombies were audible in the distance. They were coming. 	

Twilight worked hastily to open the gate. She didn't possess the upper body strength to do so, so she started looking for other options. She looked around the gate, hoping for a switch, a ladder, or anything. Then she remembered her rope. She grabbed the rope from her knapsack and threw it up at the platform. She also grabbed one of the novels as well. She threw up the novel into the air. It plunked on top of the rope at the platform. Twilight tugged the rope a few times, then started to climb up.

Unlike the first attempt, the rope held on much better. Twilight was successful on getting on top of the platform. She walked to the switch and pulled it down. The gate slowly rised up. Twilight jumped down from the platform and made a hasty escape out of the city. She ran as fast as her body could give her. She continued running for a good twenty minutes until stopping for breath. She took notice that she was following a trail with a flower field. She stopped to smell the roses. It smelled heavenly, and for once during the outbreak, Twilight felt at peace. 

Twilight kept walking, grabbing the map from her knapsack. She studied the map as she trotted. Appleloosa was west of where she was going, and could expect to arrive in five hours. She rolled the map and put it back into the knapsack. Twilight was now as determined as ever to get to her destination. 

Twilight needed to see Applejack, as quickly as possible. No matter what the cause was.