Twilight and the others went back to the library after Twilight broke down at hearing about her sisters’ death. Her head placed in her hooves as she thought. She had to stop crying, for the moment at least. Her friends and everypony else in Ponyville needed her and the rest of Ponyville was still oblivious to what’s going on. Twilight lifted her head up, put on a brave face and immediately started giving orders. “Applejack, I need you and Rarity to go get Big Mac and Granny Smith at Sweet Apple Acres. Rick, go with them just in case.” Rick nodded and the group rushed off. “Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, go around town and bring all the ponies here. Daryl, I want you, Glenn and Fluttershy to go to Zecora’s and bring her here. I know that will be hard for you Fluttershy but I need you to be brave right now. They don’t know where Zecora lives, they need you.”
“Don’t worry Fluttershy; you’ll be fine with us around.” Glenn put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder seeing her shaking wildly. Sure the Everfree Forest is scary but it’s the new possible residents that scare her more then anything.
“Get going you three but if it’s too overwhelming in there…I think you get it.” Daryl and Glenn nodded and then ran off pulling Fluttershy behind them with her screaming very quietly.
“I don’t want to brave there, I want to be brave here with my friends or at least less terrified.” Fluttershy said trying to escape the two stallions’ grips. “Couldn’t we draw them a map?”
Twilight only shook as Fluttershy disappeared behind the door. “Ok, well to continue. Luna, send a note to my brother, I need him here.” Twilight continued giving out orders.
“Why must it be raining, my hooves are getting absolutely filthy. I just had my hooves done too.” Rarity complained. “My mane and tail is a mess.”
“How is it even in a crisis like this and yer still bein all finicky. We got a job to do so stop complainin Rarity.” Applejack continued running while Rarity tried to keep up while avoiding mud puddles. As soon as the house came into view, Rarity booked it. “Are ya serious, now ya run?” Applejack caught up with Rarity inside the home. “Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, where are ya?” Rarity and AJ split up to look for the two. Rarity went into the kitchen and then screamed. “What the hay?” AJ started upstairs and then turned around. “What’s wro-ng?” AJ looked up stairs and saw two Walkers coming down. “Rarity, to the barn now!” Rarity didn’t argue and ran off as fast as her hooves would carry her with AJ right behind her. Once they reached the barn, the quickly entered hoping to see Granny Smith and Big Mac there.
They found them alright, bandaged up and covered in blankets. They then noticed Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Rick came into the barn not too long after. “Not fair you two, I’m not used to running on hooves yet.” Rick said wiping mud off his face from having tripped so often. He went unnoticed by the two mares.
“Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, what are you two doing here? You’re supposed to be close to us, not way out here.” Rarity asked.
“We wanted to be helpful and come get Applejack’s family sis. When we got here, both of them had gotten bitten.” Sweetie said.
“We’ve been takin good care of em sis.” Apple Bloom said with a smile. “We don’t know what to do about the fevers though. They’re hotter then the oven when cookin up pies.”
“Get away from them you two, now!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle backed away at hearing Rick yell. The two injured ponies then fell limp. “Come on, let’s leave them and get out of here.” Rick said heading toward the barn doors when the doors started opening from the other side. A fleshy hoof could be seen and Rick clumsily ran over and shut the doors before they could fully open. “Is there another way out of here?” Rick asked as the doors pushed him forward. Quickly Rick turned and blocked the doors again. “Applejack, I need help.” AJ ran over and helped to keep the door shut.
“Uh, the windows.” AJ pointed and then looked at the windows to find walkers pounding on the glass. “Yes well, we can always make an exit for ourselves out the back of the barn. Rarity, could ya take care of that?”
Rarity headed toward the back when Big Mac and Granny Smith stood up. Rarity jumped back in surprise. The two bodies of Big Mac and Granny Smith stood up slowly groaning. Apple Bloom smiled and ran over to Granny Smith and her brother. Apple Bloom then jumped back when she saw the looks on her family members’ faces. “Get away from them Apple Bloom, they aren’t your family anymore.” Rick said and then noticed AJ try to go help. Rick grabbed her and pulled AJ back. “I need you here until a hole can be made. I can’t hold the doors by myself.” AJ nodded and backed up against the door. “Rarity, help her.”
Rarity used her magic to lift Walker Big Mac into the air and away when Sweetie Belle went to help her friend. “Sweetie Belle, stay away.” It was too late; Walker Big Mac grabbed onto Sweeties leg and pulled her down. Rarity went to help when a crack was heard. The sides of the building near the back began to bend and crack. Rarity did her best to throw the walkers away from the two fillies but she isn’t as good with magic as Twilight, so keeping it up had been made difficult. ‘Rarity, help I’m scared!’ The two fillies’s yelled out when the walls broke and in came more walkers. Rarity looked back and forth and then made her decision. “I’m sorry Apple Bloom.” Rick reached for his gun to try and help Apple Bloom but the door got pushed making Rick lose his grip on the gun which went flying out of reach.
Rarity used what is left of her magic and threw the walkers off her sister. Rarity ran over and then bucked a few walkers away from her sister freeing Sweetie from the group of walkers. The two then ran back to the doors. Apple Bloom screamed for Rarity to help but she hadn’t noticed to busy holding onto her terrified sister. The little filly then got bit and dragged away.
“Apple Bloom, Nooooo!” Applejack screamed wanting to leave but knew that they would all be screwed if she did but from the looks of it, they still are. AJ gave Rarity a dirty look but Rarity hadn’t noticed.
The walkers kept pushing on the door and had started making holes in it. One walker managed to poke its head through. Rick went to punch it to push it back but it wasn’t necessary. A blade went right through its face but the blade isn’t that of a katana like Michonne had. Rick noticed it and knew who had killed the walker. Once the door stopped being pushed, they opened up the door and in front of them stood a black pony with brown mane and tail. He stands on two legs with a blade for a fore hoof. “How did you survive?” Rick asked as Rarity and Sweetie Belle ran past, the others followed.
“I didn’t.” The pony said showing off his left front hoof. A giant bite mark resides there. “I had to find my brother and at least say goodbye, for real this time.”
“Merle, thanks, I think I speak for each of us when I say that we owe you.” Rick said leading the way back to Ponyville having lost sight of Rarity and her sister.
Fluttershy, Glenn, and Daryl all made their way into the Everfree forest. It’s foggy and wet, the moister in the air making their coats sticky and uncomfortable. Fluttershy wanted out as soon as possible and so she ran as fast as she could but made sure that the others are still behind her. “Her hut is right over…here.” Fluttershy backed away from the hut seeing it in disarray.
“We need to make sure that she is still ok before we leave.” Daryl and Glenn surrounded the shy Pegasus. The three carefully made their way to the hut and peeked in. Four walkers are on their hands and knees eating something or somepony. Daryl and Glenn had been practicing holding their weapons as they walked figuring that if they can do that, they should be able to fire them. Daryl and Glenn made their way into the hut and took out one walker with an arrow while Glenn took out his knife and stabbed one in the head. They then did the same with the other two. The three then looked at what they had been eating. Blood and intestines cover the ground. When Fluttershy saw this, she threw up. “Is that her?”
“Y…yes.” Fluttershy quietly said and then turned around to find a walker right in her face. Fluttershy couldn’t move from fear as the walker tackled her to the ground. Glenn pushed it off the shy Pegasus and out the door. Daryl then shot it in the head. “T…th…thank y…you.” Glenn took a peak outside the hut and didn’t see anything.
“We’re good to go, let’s move it.” Glenn turned around as a crawling walker bit his leg. Glenn kicked it off and stabbed it in the head. “Go, tell Maggie I love her.” Glenn said as more and more walkers came from behind trees. “I’ll hold them off, now go.”
Fluttershy and Daryl nodded and then ran off.
Twilight set up a force field around the library and made sure that only living things could make it through. True that those with bites or scratches can make it in without trouble but Twilight would be able to take care of that. She would be alerted to anypony with an injury. More and more ponies came into the library and so far, all are ok. She had been alerted to some ponies but they had all been stubbed hooves or paper cuts, nothing serious. Soon Fluttershy and Daryl came back. “Where is Glenn?”
As soon as Maggie heard this, she ran from upstairs in a panic. “Glenn, tell me he is right behind you.” The looks on the two ponies’ faces confirmed her fears. “Gleeeeenn!” Maggie fell to her knees and began crying her eyes out.
Twilight let a tear slip feeling bad for the mare. Nopony spoke for about half an hour, except for Daryl who gave Maggie the message from Glenn, before the alarm went off. In came Rick and his group with an extra pony in tow. “Where is Granny Smith and your brother?” Twilight asked AJ and then asked one more question. “Also, who is this?”
“First off this is Merle.” At the sound of that, Daryl ran over and gave his brother a big hug.
“You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily did you because if you thought so, you were right.” Merle let Daryl take a look at his bite. “I saw some kind of portal thing and ran through. I had hoped to find you before I die. Goodbye bro.” Merle then collapsed onto the ground, he finally died from the fever.
“Goodbye.” Daryl took out his crossbow and then shot Merle in the head.
“I’m sorry Daryl.” Twilight put a hoof on Daryl’s shoulder but he shrugged it off and walked away. Twilight let out a sigh and then turned to the others. “So as for the other two?”
“They’re all walkers.” AJ said and then turned to Rarity. “No thanks to you so is Apple Bloom. Ya stopped tryin to save her when too many came in. You didn’t even bother to try after yer sister was safe.”
“I tried to but I could only take so much. I’m not like Twilight AJ.” Rarity tried to defend herself.
“Boo hoo, neither is Rick but he tried to. You didn’t even try to use his gun after he lost it tryin to save mah sister. Ya could have bucked them or somthin, but ya didn’t even try. Ya’ll are just too scared to get dirty aint ya? Now I have no sis, brother, or Granny Smith. I thought that I would at least have mah sister. Just stay out of mah life Rarity.” Applejack then ran upstairs crying.
“Rarity, does Applejack hate me now?” Sweetie asked and Rarity’s heart broke at that moment.
“No Sweetie, just me.” Rarity said sadly as she took a seat on the couch.
Rick then noticed something weird. “Is this place bigger then before?” Twilight nodded.
“Yeah, but I’ll explain that later.” Twilight then turned to Rarity. “Hey, I’m sure that you did your best, Applejack is just upset is all. She’ll calm down eventually.” The alarm then went off again and Twilight ran outside. All around the barrier are walkers pounding against it. She even noticed some above, flying as they hit the barrier. “Rainbow, Pinkie, get back safely.” Ricks group, Fluttershy, and Rarity couldn’t do anything but stare at the horde of walkers pounding on the barrier.