Left 4 Friendship: Magic is Dead

by UnweptSchlipps


Day 1: They Were Once Like Us

I've noticed that there is a steep drop-off of views from last chapter to this. I hope you guys aren't stopping just because it STARTS off like a random zombie story with no plot or path. I just implore you all to approach this with an open mind and keep reading on. Because frankly, it's only the beginning of the story. If you're, like, 6 or 7 chapters in and you still don't like it, then okay, I understand. But don't stop reading just because if the first 2. Thanks!


They were in that forest for about an hour, giving them time to calm down and catch their breath. The survivors were still visibly shaken from the incident. But through the tiny patches of sky above they could see it getting darker. Soon it would be night, and everypony knew that the Everfree Forest was extremely hostile at night. Then again, the village wasn't exactly the pinnacle of safety either.

Rainbow leaned against a tree, where Fluttershy was tending to her wound. It was a nasty bite which had taken out a sizeable chunk of skin. Fluttershy had said the wound didn't cut into the muscle or bone, so at least there was that. But every time Dash would try to step on it, she grunted in pain. Fluttershy knew Dash needed medical help; otherwise it could get swollen or infected. And unless they were going to go deeper and try to find Zecora's place, this forest would be no use for that.

After a few more minutes of resting, Twilight said quietly, "Well, you girls realize what we have to do, right?"

After a pause for silence, she answered for them, "We've gotta go back to Ponyville."

At that statement, Fluttershy whispered hastily, "Please don't make me go back in there, Twilight. I don't want to see…what happened."

"Come on Fluttershy. It'll be a piece of cake. We'll go in, grab some food and some weapons, and head out before you know it!" Dash remarked.

"Weapons? Y-you mean I'm going to have to…"

Twilight took Fluttershy's hoof to try and comfort her, saying, "Please Fluttershy, you have to come with us. This place is dangerous now, and we can't leave you by yourself. There's strength in numbers, you know."

But she could tell the yellow pegasus's heart still wasn't in it. So the unicorn continued, "I promise that if we go back, we'll look for Applejack, Rarity, and Spike, okay?"

That seemed to convince her, and she reluctantly nodded her head.

So it was decided, the quartet was heading back to town. As they readied themselves for the undoubtedly perilous journey ahead, Pinkie said, "Don't worry, girls. I've got a good feeling about this! How much damage could some ponies do, right?"

Xxx

Apparently they could do a lot. As in, turn a whole city into a smoldering pile of terror in a matter of hours. That a lot. The sun was already ducking over the horizon, and it was getting too dark. Pinkie plucked a flaming piece of wood from the numerous piles of wreckage strewn around the village. It was heart-wrenching to see Ponyville, their home, in such despair. Everything was once beautiful, friendly, and inviting. Every so often they would pass a building, and a memory of the fun times had there would fill their minds. But now it was all gone. The ponies couldn't help but shed a few tears. Even Rainbow looked a little distraught.

Here and there, they'd come across some zombified pony that used to be a neighbor. And they would have to kill them as though they were just some lowly animal. But they weren't animals. They were friends, loved ones, neighbors. They were ponies that were greeting them in the streets just a few hours ago. Now they were greeting them with snarls, blood, and bites. It was easy to see why the small party of survivors was scared out of their wits.

After killing another one of their "friends", Rainbow asked somberly, "What do you think caused this thing?"

"I don't know," Twilight replied.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that."

Just as she had promised, Twilight led the group on a search for their missing friends. Every now and then they would think they heard some kind of sound, a signal of another survivor. And every time they would come across yet another pony that they had to either run away from or put down. It was frustrating work, and it didn't help the morale one bit. One time they had come across the infected body of the Mayor herself. And just like the rest, Twilight had to bring herself to kill her.

Soon they found a large pile of ashes and rubble situated in the middle of the village. At first they weren't sure where it had come from. Some kind of fire? A building? As they sifted through the dust, Twilight soon came across a rectangular shape covered in the thick, black ash. Slowly wiping it clean with her magic, Twilight began to make out some letters. It was a sign. And after a few more brushes of her hoof, she made out the word…

Library

Twilight sat stolidly, unbelieving of the word printed before her eyes. The library, the very same one where she and Spike had lived. Their sanctuary, their home. It was the place where the unicorn could just sit and read her troubles away. But now, it was nothing. The only remnants of Twilight's past life were the ashes and a splintered, burnt, broken sign. The apocalyptic world sent her entire livelihood up in flames, not to mention the ideas of countless ponies before her. Centuries upon centuries of research and books were all reduced to ash.

And then there was the matter of Spike. He was still missing, and for all she knew he could be buried among the ashes of her beloved books.

Before she knew it, Twilight felt a tear stream down her face. She saw it plop onto the sign and run down, carving a tiny path in the ash. The scholar kept staring at the sign, trying to imagine it the way it was before the outbreak. But the act was useless, and it didn't change the terrible scene surrounding them.

Rainbow came up, putting her hoof on Twilight's shoulder and whispering, "I'm so sorry Twilight."

But she slid her hoof away and carefully placed the sign back into the ash. Wiping her face clean of tears, the unicorn said, "We need to keep moving."

And that's just what Twilight did. She never looked back.

XXX

After a few minutes (or an hour; time seemed so trivial at the moment) they found themselves standing in front of the Ponyville Mall. And the first thing Rainbow Dash said was, "We have a mall?" Apparently Twilight had no clue of its existence, and she too stood confused.

Twilight was still stinging from the destruction of the library. That plus the unknown whereabouts of their friends pretty much put a damper on whatever optimism they had.

Pinkie managed to say, "Maybe there's some ponies in there who can help us."

It was highly doubtful. The doors were all smashed in, and a few rambling zombies stood in the front. The glass windows were cracked, and it seemed as though a gas leak caused a small fire on the top floor. It was hard to believe so much damage could be done in half of a day. Yet there it was before their eyes.

Seeing as though everywhere else was wrecked, the survivors had no choice but to venture into the deserted building. The few zombies that were blocking the way suddenly charged at them with lightning speed. Their reflexes were nothing like that of a normal pony. Whatever infection that had caused this had made them bigger and stronger. Not to mention deadlier.

Twilight let one of the mad creatures run towards her. Then when he got close enough, she magically swung her metal piece, letting it connect with his skull with a sickening thud. In her mind she yelled, That's for my library!

Not surprisingly, Rainbow was hacking away at the attackers with her wooden plank. She was easily getting the hang of it, and at the time the others couldn't help but wonder if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Pinkie Pie brought up the rear, using her makeshift torch to keep the monsters at bay. Fluttershy was in the middle of the group, staying out of the fracas while the others handled the dirty work.

They managed to force their way into the mall, charging through the doors. Once they were in, Twilight magically barricaded the doors with some shelves and racks. Once the front was secured, the four surveyed the dark corridors that surrounded them.

"Have ever seen anything like this, guys? I mean jeez, are they even allowed to be that fast?" Dash uttered bitterly, holding the plank behind her back while searching the store they had wandered into.

Unfortunately it was a clothing store, so if the group was going to find some food they'd have to venture deeper into the shopping center. But then they realized just how long the entire journey might be, and how it could take them anywhere from the freezing cold north to the humid south. There might never be a better time to get some layers on. So Twilight suggested, "Maybe we should take some clothes, huh? You never know what to expect."

Twilight supposed it was a sort of grim humor that only a zombie apocalypse would get them to step into a mall. And here they were, picking out clothes like some divas while creatures lurked just outside the doors. The trapped ponies needed to somehow block their minds from all the terror that waited outside. Before they knew it, they began to chat idly, locked inside their own little compound.

Dash popped out wearing a cowboy hat, joking, "Hey check it out guys! I'm…Applejack." She saw her friends frowning, and she said quietly, "Too soon?"

Pinkie Pie came out from one of the fitting rooms wearing a white buttoned shirt and a dark red tie. Her choice of clothing was quite…questionable, and Twilight just had to ask, "Pinkie, you do realize you got that from the stallion section, right?"

She just shrugged and replied, "So? I like the tie."

Pretty soon, the quartet was all clothed and ready to go. Twilight slid on her green jacket when Dash said, "Wow, let me tell you something. That is an ugly jacket."

Indignant, Twilight countered, "That's a little uncalled for, and when did you become a fashionista? Besides, you're the one wearing the tacky leather vest. And biker gloves? Really?"

Before she and Dash could go back and forth, Fluttershy timidly came up holding some bags she had scavenged. She carefully placed them on the ground, and told her friends, "I found these just in case. I suppose we should be prepared for…whatever."

The group was surprised to find the bags already filled with some items. Twilight's was supplied with bandages, a bottle of pain pills, and a small orange contraption. She flipped the cap off to reveal a small needle.

"What this for, Fluttershy?" the unicorn asked.

"I think that's adrenaline. Helps ease the pain. It'll also give a big boost of energy."

Dash remarked, "Better not give it to Pinkie then, huh?" while taking out a pair of metal paddles from her pack.

"What are these thingies?" she inquired, dangling them by their cords.

That was when Pinkie Pie blurted out, "They're defibrillators, duh! You use 'em to revive dead people. Sheesh, haven't you ever played the game before?"

Rainbow Dash looked over at Twilight questioningly, but she just shrugged, feeling just as confused as her. But of course it's Pinkie Pie, so what could they expect?

Fluttershy began to carefully wrap Rainbow's wound with some bandages found with the first aid supplies. Pinkie and Twilight were amazed at how delicate Fluttershy's touch was, maneuvering the cloth around the wound like an art. Truthfully, since they had only seen her do this kind of treatment to forest creatures, the friends had no idea that she was skilled in pony treatment as well.

As Fluttershy did her routine, Dash said quietly, "How do you think this thing spreads? 'Cause if it's through bites…y'know. Then what?"

Just the thought of one of their friends turning into one of those blood-thirsty monstrosities right before their eyes made the survivors frightened. Although she would never admit it, even Rainbow Dash felt a bit anxious, especially since she was the one with the wound.

Twilight could only reply, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

The group had spent enough time in this store searching for clothes and supplies. They still had no food after all, and to get some they were going to have to go to the market on the other side. And to get there, they'd probably have to fight their way through another horde of creatures. Although they weren't exactly prepared for the challenge that was ahead, they felt as ready as they'd ever be. Luckily, the quartet managed to scrounge up some weapons to better suit the drastic situation. A crowbar, a metal pipe, a fire axe. Fluttershy still held nothing but the satchel, so the others couldn't help but feel a little bit worried for her.

As they gathered around the exit, they spied a poster of a stallion dressed in a red, white, and blue track suit and a cap. Frankly, Twilight thought he looked like an idiot or a clown, but apparently Dash thought otherwise.

"Oh heeeyyy! Crazy Gibbs!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Who the heck is Crazy Gibbs Jr.?" Twilight asked.

"Trust me, Twilight. In these parts, he's as famous as…the Wonderbolts. Or the princess."

"Really? Because he looks like a buck-head."

Dash glared at her lavender friend, and the look of annoyance was apparent in her eyes. She curled her lip into a pout and uttered angrily, "Get your ass moving, Twilight."

And on that note, they began to bust through the glass into the atrium. And that was their first mistake.

~~~~~~
Edit: Got the italics working! Thanks for the help Ghrathyrn! I'm such a noob at these things.