//------------------------------//
// The Battle of Stalliongrad: Part II 
// Story: Of Vodka and Cider 
// by UglyTurnip 
//------------------------------//

Dimitri Petrenko lied on the pavement with his head blown to bits. After all he had been through, his adventure came to an abrupt halt here. He had survived the massacre at the fountain, three years of German capture, and most of the Berlin campaign. Many had seen this typical Red Army soldier as unkillable; a man who advanced with the strength of a tank. But Dimitri's luck had run out here. The man who had cheated death multiple times was now wrapped in its cold embrace.

Looking back on it, Nikolai found it darkly ironic that this man had died by a mercy kill at the hands of one of his own people, and not from one of the countless Germans he had fought over the course of the war. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Dimitri, as he only saw the worst of what Equestria had to offer. He also wondered if he could have saved him both, or if one of them simply had to die there.

But these thoughts were for another time. Right now, Nikolai's mind was focused on pure survival. He didn't even care where Reznov and Polonsky ran off to, they could make it on their own. The only person he really wanted to see right now was Berry, even if she couldn't really help with his current situation. In the meantime, all he could do was run and occasionally turn around and pick off a couple of zombies. 

He made it to the rooftop and slammed the door behind him. Before he could even catch his breath, however, he heard Reznov spoke. 

"OK, that's Chernov, but where's Dimitri?"

Perhaps if there weren't zombies on Nikolai's tail, he would have tried to dance around responsibility, but he wasted no time in telling the truth.

"Dimitri's dead!" Nikolai shouted. "I put him down."

Reznov was silent for a moment, and Nikolai could not tell how he was reacting to this news. It didn't take long to learn, however, and the drunk Russian found himself thrown against the wall by Reznov's powerful grip. He looked straight into Reznov's eyes and saw only hurt.

"Mudak!" Reznov screamed in Russian as a haymaker hit Nikolai in the jaw. "How dare you!"

"He was bitten!" Nikolai pleaded, ignoring the pain in his chin. "I had no choice. Trust me, I did him a favor."

Reznov only responded with another punch. Nikolai, a man who could withstand almost anything short of a bullet, winced.

Polonsky stepped in, saving Nikolai from a full beatdown. "Stop! Reznov, Nikolai had to make a choice, and for whatever reason, he chose me. Don't blame him for this."

Reznov did not falter. "He chose a stupid American over one of the Red Army's best snipers? If I were in Nikolai's shoes,-" Reznov dug a finger into Polonsky's chest. "-you would be dead by now."

Though he tried to hide it, Polonsky was intimidated. "W-well, you weren't."

The banging at the door reminded the trio that the zombies were still on their trail.

Polonsky drew his Ray Gun and waited for the door to give way. "Let's discuss this later."

Reznov gripped his Commando and snorted. "If we all survive, that is."

"I'm not letting anyone else die," Nikolai said matter-of-factly. "If it comes down to it, I'll use my monkeys. I think that will buy us enough time to escape."

"Then why didn't you use one to protect Dimitri and Polonsky?" Reznov questioned.

Nikolai paused. "Shit, Reznov. I thought we could hold them back. I didn't know the door would be so resistant."

Reznov let out what sounded like a low growl. "Just be glad these undead ponies are here, or I'd be taking my anger out on you!"

The door crashed open and the bottlenecked ponies were quickly gunned down by the dozens, only to be instantly replaced by more, and more, and more, until finally they realized that they were wasting ammo.

"We need to leave! I'll toss a monkey!" Nikolai shouted over the gunfire as he drew the second monkey from his magical ass and threw it. As the ponies gathered around the monkey, the three of them looked around for an escape route, finally discovering a ladder just as the monkey exploded. They wasted no time climbing to safety. Reznov and Polonsky went first, followed by Nikolai. As they caught their breath, they watched the undead below growl and snap at them, but they did not follow.

"I'm guessing that they can't climb ladders," Polonsky inferred.

Reznov kicked down the ladder. "Well, now we know they can't."

Nikolai stroked his chin. "Come to think of it, I'm not even sure how live ponies climb ladders."

"Perhaps we should rest for a bit," Reznov said, ignoring Nikolai's previous statement. "I . . . have some mourning to do."

Polonsky nodded. "Take your time. As long as we're safe."

Nikolai opened his mouth to protest, with the intention of saying they should continue their journey to Berry and Cherry. However, one look at Reznov's facial expression changed his mind. "Yes, I could use a rest as well, and maybe some vodka."

Polonsky found a seat of the cold roof and drew a pack of cigarettes in his pocket. "I need to relieve some stress. Want one?"

Nikolai nodded, sitting down next to Polonsky and putting his weapon down. "Yeah, that'd be great. I've never smoked before."

Polonsky lit his and then Nikolai's. When the Russian took his first whiff, he immediately began to choke as the smoke got caught in his throat. Even after spitting it out he struggled to breathe. Polonsky watched helplessly as Nikolai continued to choke for a few more seconds before finally catching his breath again.

"W-what the fuck?" He managed to whimper. "That was terrible."

"I'm sorry," Polonsky said apologetically. "My first one wasn't even close to being that bad."

Nikolai nodded. "It's fine, but I think my first will be my last. I'll stick with vodka from now on."

There was a period of awkward silence before Polonsky spoke again. "Well, why did you choose me?"

Nikolai did not expect this. "What?"

"Back on the street. Why did you let Dimitri die? Why did I get to live?"

Nikolai paused as he processed the question in his head. Why did he choose Polonsky? 

After a moment of thinking, he found an answer. "You remind me too much of Dempsey."

Now Polonsky had to process this answer. "I feel guilty about what happened back there. Dimitri was a good man, and to know that he died like that. . . It bores into my conscience. Was there anything I could have done to save him?"

"I don't think so," answered Nikolai. "I should have thrown a second monkey. Everything was happening so fast though. I just forgot to do the logical thing. If it's anybody's fault, it's mine."

"I don't blame you for anything," Polonsky smiled. "If Reznov gives you trouble, I got your back."

Nikolai groaned at the mention of Reznov. "He hasn't liked me since I told him who I really am. It's like he still thinks I'm Chernov in denial. I know who I am, he doesn't," Nikolai sighed. "Dimitri's death only made it worse."

Polonsky finished his smoke and tossed it into the streets below. "He seems unstable. Do you think the Germans broke him?"

"I think so," Nikolai nodded. "But he built himself up harder so it wouldn't happen again."

"Poor guy. If he wasn't such an asshole, I'd probably like him."

Reznov returned from wherever he had vanished to with a bottle of vodka. Half of it was gone, and Nikolai could tell where it had went when he saw Reznov's mouth dripping. "I found this lying nearby. Want some?"

Nikolai's eyes lit up. "Certainly!" He smiled as he took the bottle and mercilessly chugged until every last drop was dry. Polonsky cracked a small grin at what he'd seen.

When he had finished, Nikolai tossed the bottle into the street, hearing the sound of glass shattering. "Perhaps Nikolai misjudged you, Reznov," he smiled, then belched. "I needed that."

Reznov smiled drunkenly. "You're welcome, comrade. Enjoy it."

"I do better when drunk. Nikolai is too serious when sober, too grim. But vodka, vodka lets me forget the bad times."

"Does it also make you refer to yourself in the third person?" Questioned an amused Polonsky.

"Da, *hic*, Nikolai sounds better than I, no?"

Reznov erupted into laughter. "That's my Chernov!"

"Hey, hey," Nikolai shook his head. "It's Nikolai. N-I-C. . . Fuck, let me start over. N-I-K-O-L-I. There, I got it."

"You forgot the A," Polonsky chuckled.

Nikolai frowned. "As in I'm about to make A fist hit A face?"

Reznov slapped Nikolai on the back. "Calm down, relax. Yeah, there may be zombies around that might kill us, but let's forget about them for a few hours.

Nikolai paused and licked his lips. "I wish we had a little more. I only feel buzzed."

"As do I, my friend!" Reznov sighed, his words slurring slightly. "As do I."

Polonsky shook his head and lit another cigarette. "Drunks."

. . .

Berry and the others remained on their rooftop, waiting for Nikolai and his group to rescue them and take them out of the city. Berry and Bertrot stood watch on opposite sides of the buildings, making sure to give the rest advanced warnings if more came for them. Though with the occasional spouts of gunfire, it was unlikely that they were the target. 

"What is taking them so long?" Bertrot expressed his worry. "It was just going to be a trip across the street, right?"

"Yeah. They shouldn't have gone too far," Cherry replied. "I have a feeling something went wrong."

"You mean besides the city turning into an apocalyptic hellhole?" Bertrot quipped. Cherry rolled her eyes in response.

"Maybe we could travel in the direction of the gunfire," Scarce suggested. "You know, track them down."

Berry was seriously considering agreeing with Scarce until Cherry spoke up. "I don't want to go any further in. We'd be safer out here."

"Maybe we should flee?" Curtain Call seriously suggested. Her tone lacking its usual dramatic flare. "I mean, Nikolai can take care of himself, right?"

"I'm not leaving without Nikolai!" Berry snapped. "If you four leave, I won't stop you, but I'm staying."

Cherry nodded. "We can't guarantee a safe escape without Nikolai and his friends. I'd prefer to get out without anyone here dying."

"Even Curtain Call?" Bertrot smirked.

"Hey!" Curtain Call interjected furiously. "I'm a valuable member of this team! Remember that zombie I killed?"

"Like I said, it was just one zombie," Berry frowned. "And your shouting will probably just bring more."

Cherry turned back to Bertrot, ignoring Curtain's outburst. "Yes, even Curtain. She may be useless, loud, and boisterous, but I. . . I just don't want to see anymore death today," she turned to Berry and trotted over to her. "Especially not from you or Nikolai. It's my fault for bringing you two into this mess."

Berry was determined. "We will not die here. Not me, not you, not Nikolai. All he needs to get us out of here is a good gun."

There was a moment of silence. "What if he abandons us?"

Berry shook her head. "Cherry, Nikolai isn't like that. He's coming for us. Just wait."

The pegasus said nothing at first. "I guess I'm just losing my faith in him."

Berry nodded. "These are dark times. I just hope it doesn't spread."

"I agree," came Scarce's voice from nearby. "It only hit yesterday, but it spread fast. Corpses just. . . Reanimated left and right. Ponies were caught off guard. I barely made it to safety myself."

"Do you know how this happened?"

Scarce shook her head. "Not a clue. It seems rather supernatural, though. Perhaps a form of dark magic?"

Berry added her opinion. "I think this magic is from Nikolai's world. These zombies are the exact same as those he described."

Cherry idly examined her wing. "I don't know, but I hope this ends with us getting out of here and back to Ponyville."

As The gunshots in the distance faded once more, Berry hoped so too.

. . .

"I need to find ammo," Nikolai stated as he counted his remaining shells. "I only have five shells left."

Polonsky was also checking his gun. "Three clips left. I hope that will be enough."

"There's no telling how many ponies lived here before this happened," Reznov began. "I doubt it will be enough."

"If only there was another chalk outline somewhere," Nikolai thought out loud. "Then we would be fine."

"Chalk?" Reznov asked. "Chalk does not- ah, screw it, everything about this is crazy, it probably does produce ammo."

"Not only ammo, but weapons," Nikolai smirked. "That's how I found my Olympia in the first place."

Polonsky walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down at the zombies swarming near the kicked-down ladder. "Well, we can't go down this way."

Nikolai walked over to him and stared down at the horde. One particular pony caught his eye, a blue-maned, orange stallion. Without hesitating, Nikolai drew his shotgun and shot said pony in the head.

"Don't waste the ammo."

Nikolai scowled at the corpse of Flash Sentry. "It wasn't a waste."

"Are you two ready to get moving?" Came Reznov's voice from the other side of the roof. He pointed at a glass roof a few feet above him. "I think this will lead back to your pony friends, Nikolai."

"Then we get moving," Nikolai nodded at the window. "Can you guys help me up there?"

Polonsky and Reznov glanced at each other, then at Nikolai's figure. "You're a little fat."

"Fat?" Nikolai asked as he looked down at his stomach. "Well, when I was younger, I told myself 'Little Nikolai, why have the six-pack when you can have the keg?' In hindsight, it was probably not the best decision."

"Yeah, you think?"

"Just lift me up," Nikolai rolled his eyes as he stood on Polonsky's shoulders. "Think of it as returning the favor for saving your life."

"Really, you're going there?" Polonsky responded as he did his best to avoid collapsing under Nikolai's weight. Luckily, he managed to stay standing as Nikolai busted open the window and crawled in. Polonsky sighed in relief when he felt the weight lift off of his shoulders.

"Alright," Reznov muttered. as he forced himself onto Polonsky's shoulders. "Now it's my turn."

"Fuck," Polonsky managed to grunt. It was a good thing that Reznov was somewhat lighter than the drunk Russian. Once Reznov made it, Polonsky was pulled up by Nikolai, and they found themselves in a dark, narrow hallway. The three breathed a collective sigh of relief when they noticed the lack of glowing yellow eyes in the room. 

"I would love a damn flashlight," Reznov groaned as they started down the hall. "I have a feeling that something will creep up on us in the dark."

"Well, I haven't been here too long," Nikolai started. "But I'm pretty sure flashlights haven't been invented yet."

They could hear Polonsky facepalm behind them. "They have modern architecture, but no flashlights?"

"Yeah, Ponyland is technologically fucked up. Their government is a dual-monarchy, like Austria-Hungary."

"Ah, they have yet to embrace the ideals of communism. Perhaps we should start a revolution."

"Believe me," Nikolai cringed. "I've tried. It didn't end well. I count myself lucky that I wasn't jailed or executed."

Polonsky sighed. "Russians. In the middle of an apocalypse and all they can talk about is Communism."

"Shut up, American capitalist."

"Can we drop the political talk?" Nikolai spoke. "We have bigger problems than whose system works better."

That dropped the conversation for a few seconds until Nikolai opened a door to a bedroom lit by a firefly lantern.

"Bingo," Nikolai smirked. "I'll carry it, since my shotgun is low on ammo." 

Polonsky nodded. "We should head for the roof, right?"

"Definitely," Nikolai agreed. "The streets are a deathtrap, and we've already lost one man to the horde. Let's not lose anyone else."

Reznov visibly cringed at the indirect mention of Dimitri, but said nothing and followed Nikolai.

Though a few ponies did roam the halls, they were often alone and quickly taken down by a swift stab from Nikolai's knife. The three of them made there way silently to the rooftop and checked to see the location of Berry and Cherry. Through the darkness, Polonsky spotted them standing only a few rooftops away, though they were not looking in his direction.

"We're not too far guys," The American spoke as he pointed at the group of ponies. "We just have to make our way through a few more buildings."

Nikolai smiled. "Good, we pick them up, and then we get out of this city."

"And allow it to spread?" Polonsky questioned.

"What else can we do?"

Polonsky was silent as he searched for a logical answer, but found none. "Never mind."

"Time for some parkour," Nikolai stated as he studied the gaps in between the buildings. "It's a little risky, but we can make it."

Polonsky nodded. "I guess I'll go first," he muttered as he gently tossed his Ray Gun onto the other side. The American took a few steps back and made a running leap for the other side, landing with a roll. He picked up his weapon and motioned for the next person. Nikolai didn't take a running start and just jumped. He didn't make it entirely and grabbed the ledge. Luckily, the fat Russian was still strong enough to pull his weight up, but it did exhaust him.

"Maybe I should lose a little weight. This keg is too big."

Reznov tossed Nikolai his shotgun and lantern, but did not prepare himself to jump. Reznov was an Iron Wolf, but he was an Iron Wolf with a phobia of heights.

"I'll go around," he announced hesitantly. "I'm not about to go jumping around buildings like I'm suicidal."

"C'mon," Polonsky coaxed. "Nikolai made it, and he's fat."

Nikolai did not resist the urge to bonk Polonsky on the head.

"Ow!"

Reznov began walking to the door that led downstairs. "I'll do what I can to get back quickly, but if I don't come back, just assume I'm dead."

The words hung painfully in the air as nobody spoke for a second. 

"Reznov," Polonsky began. "You're one tough son of a bitch. You will make it."

Reznov's face grew dark with genuine uncertainty. "I hope you're right, American."

With those words, Reznov ducked into the building and out of sight.

"Fuck, we went from four to two."

Nikolai idly rubbed his gun. "Don't jinx it. I kinda like you, Polonsky. I don't want you to die."

"For what it's worth, I don't want you to die either."

Nikolai ignored the idle compliment and raised his gun. "Just a little further. Let's go."

. . .

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Questioned Curtain Call. "I'm absolutely bored."

Berry was extremely close to giving Curtain a smackdown. "For the last time, he will be here soon enough. Now, please shut up."

"I just hope we'll have enough firepower to get out of here," Bertrot thought out loud.

"Four men with guns will definitely buy enough time. Nikolai alone got us in."

"I'm calling it now," Scarce began. "At least one of them is dead."

"You're a glass half-empty kind of pony, aren't you Scarce?" Bertrot questioned with a smirk.

"Having to constantly babysit a mentally unstable sister can do things to you."

This, of course, offended Curtain "Mentally uns-" 

"SHUT UP, CURTAIN!" Everyone shouted simultaneously, not caring if the zombies below heard.

After a brief moment of silence as Curtain finally backed down, Berry glanced to the east and saw the first rays of morning light bathe the sky. "I guess Celestia's finally awake."

"At least we'll be able to see now," Bertrot smiled. "Stumbling around looking for the exit sounds dangerous."

Cherry spread her wings, preparing to take off. "I'll go check on their progress."

"You won't have to," came Nikolai's voice as he climbed up onto the rooftop, gasping for breath. Polonsky effortlessly pushed himself up with them.

"Nikolai!" Berry gasped happily. "You're here!"

"Da," the drunk Russian croaked as he wiped a gleam of sweat from his brow. "It was quite the journey."

"Yeah, we lost Dimitri, and Reznov split up with us," Polonsky explained solemnly. "We're lucky to be alive."

"Called it," Scarce allowed a small smirk, ignoring Cherry's side glance.

"They're on their own," Nikolai continued. "Samantha's not controlling them."

"Samantha?"

Nikolai caught Berry's confusion. "Oh right, I never explained that. Now's not the time though. I think we should evacuate right now."

"Wait, what about Reznov? We can't leave him behind!" Polonsky exclaimed.

"We'll wait for him as long as we can, but if he can't make it before we have to go, then we'll have to leave him behind."

"We're not leaving him! I let one man die today, I'm not letting another one meet the same fate!" Polonsky protested.

"I don't want to!" Nikolai argued. "But we need to go before this spreads! Thousands of lives are at stake!"

Polonsky searched for a counter-argument, but couldn't find anything. "Then you go."

"You don't mean-"

"We hold the line, and you and your pony friends go when you need to. I'll try to find Reznov and bring us back alive."

Nikolai grabbed Polonsky by the shoulders. "You're a fool, friend," he whispered with genuine worry. "If you go stay in here, you'll be eaten alive."

"You don't need me to come with you as much as Reznov needs the help."

Nikolai became angry. "If you wish to die, so be it!" His expression had trouble hiding the hurt in it. "We'll hold out at the wagon on the hill."

"You have a wagon?" Bertrot questioned.

"Yeah. It's empty enough to hold all of us."

Bertrot nodded. "Since you're offering me a way out, I'll help pull the cart."

"Thanks," Cherry accepted. "Who will take the second spot?"

The ponies glanced at Curtain and smirked.

"Who, me? You can't be serious!"

"Oh, we're serious," Berry gave a wicked grin. "Maybe next time you won't be such a bitch."

Curtain only exhaled deeply in response, for even she knew better than to start a fight.

Polonsky watched as the zombies below continued to stumble down the road, but his eyebrow rose when he saw that a growing number of them were walking out of the city gate.

"If we gotta go, we gotta go now," he told the ponies as he unholstered his gun. "C'mon, Reznov. Don't let us down," he added under his breath.

Nikolai bent down to Cherry's height and put a hand on her shoulder. "Cherry, we're close to this Crystal Empire place, right?"

Cherry slowly nodded. "Yeah."

"Go get help," Nikolai said firmly. "Let's hope they have a few battlemages to spare."

Cherry spread her wings bravely, but hesitated. "Nikolai, Polonsky," she spoke to the two humans. "Please get everyone out of here. I don't want to see anyone else die today."

Polonsky paused and looked down, ignoring his personal main objective for the moment. "These ponies will live. Nikolai will live. I will live."

Cherry wasn't exactly satisfied with this statement, but spread her wings and launched into the sky anyway.

Nikolai turned to him. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Polonsky?"

For the first time since they met, Polonsky equipped his Marine combat helmet. "The Marines drilled it into my head to never leave a brother behind. I can't just leave him alone."

Nikolai wasn't quite sure how to react to this act of valor, but he eventually settled on a simple nod. "When you get out, look for a town called Ponyville. That's where we'll be staying."

Polonsky gave a serious expression. "We both know that's an if."

"Let's pretend it's a when, friend, for both of our sakes."

Polonsky gave a small smile. "Right," he agreed, then pointed to the door. "I'm ready when you are."

Nikolai readied his shotgun. "I'm hoping that chalk is still there."

"What the hell does chalk have to-" Polonsky started, before cutting himself off as he remembered everything he had already seen. "Never mind, probably something else magical."

. . .

Polonsky was the first one out onto the street, and with the sun now illuminating the broken city, he could fully see the carnage for the first time. The streets were soaked with blood and littered with the corpses of innocent ponies that had simply been eaten too much to turn back. The marine held back the vomit in his mouth and stepped forward. Nikolai emerged behind him and also took a moment to observe the scenery.

"Wow, it's like a little girl's nightmare."

Polonsky managed a nod. "A demented little girl."

Out of all the ponies, only Scarce chose to observe. "Our city will never be the same again."

"Looks like you ponies finally experienced the effects of war for the first time," stated Polosnky as the party began to walk towards the gate. He didn't notice the rolled eyes of the ponies, annoyed by his ignorance.

Nikolai watched the zombie ponies wandering the streets to see if they noticed them, most wandered aimlessly, staring at the ground, completely ignorant of their surroundings, but a few had detected them, and were beginning to shamble towards them.

Polonsky raised his gun to kill them, but Nikolai lightly pushed his wrist, a silent command to lower the weapon. "Not now," came Nikolai's voice, barely above a whisper. "You'll attract the entire city."

Polonsky raised an eyebrow. "But that's the plan, isn't it?"

"Do you want to fight in a crowded city, or an open field with an easy escape route?"

Polonsky lowered his gun, but as the group exited through the gate, a thought entered his head. "What if they surround the wagon?"

Nikolai didn't immediately respond. "We won't let that happen."

Polonsky saw this as dodging the question. "Seriously? No backup plan? I seem to remember you having a problem with that back in that building."

Nikolai was caught on his hypocrisy. "Fuck, you got a point."

"I say we keep the wagon moving, maybe circle the city or something," suggested Bertrot. "I've been a courier long enough to have the stamina for it."

"I'm not running long-" 

"Shut up, Curtain."

They reached the wagon with the few shamblers still slowly following their trail. Nikolai's first action was to walk over to the Olympia chalk outline and put his hand on it. A moderately-sized bag containing shotgun shells materialized into his hands. As he went around to the other side, he noticed another chalk drawing, and smiled to himself. Perhaps there was hope for Reznov after all

Polonsky stood at the back of the wagon as Nikolai walked to his side, gripping his new M16.

"That looks powerful."

"Well, the bad news is that it's jammed on burst fire mode, but I think I can still make it work well."

Polonsky smiled and shot at the shamblers, killing them easily. "I'll get one of those too and trade out my empty rifle."

"Berry, watch the front," ordered Nikolai. "We're dead if too many get in the way."

"If it were up to me, we'd be getting out of here ASAP."

"Reznov's counting on us," Polonsky pleaded to Berry. "What if it was Nikolai?"

Berry hesitated. "Point taken, but please don't get us killed."

Nikolai slung his rifle on his back and used his Olympia on the first zombies to come as Polonsky helped load up the wagon. At first, it was only a few at a time, but as the first two minutes passed by, they began to gallop rapidly at the Russian, and he had to use his M16 just to stay alive.

"Hurry up and help me, Polonsky!" Nikolai shouted as he emptied out another clip. "They're coming in too fast!"

Polonsky nodded and rushed over with his own M16, covering Nikolai while he reloaded. The marine forcefully smacked into one with the butt of his rifle and blew the head off of another "What the hell's got them so worked up, Nik?"

"I don't know!" Nikolai roared over the crashing sound of gunfire, moans, and death cries. "We gotta get outta here!"

"WE ARE NOT LEAVING HIM!" Polonsky shouted bravely as he managed to quickly slap a new clip into his gun. "WE CAN HOLD!" 

"BERRY!" Nikolai called to the earth pony, ignoring Polonsky's rally "WHAT DOES THE FRONT LOOK LIKE!?"

"STILL CLEAR!" He heard.

The sun had finally reached above the horizon and they had a complete view of the crisp morning air. It probably would have been a much better view if there weren't corpses everywhere.

There was a break in the waves and the two soldiers loaded their guns again.

"Last chance, Polonsky," Nikolai began, dead serious. "Let's go."

Polonsky glanced ahead to the mob of undead approaching the hill, the city itself, and back to Nikolai.

"Let's make one circle around the walls!" Polonsky pleaded. "And if we don't find him. . . I'll go."

"Fair enough," Nikolai nodded. "Let's do this."

"ALL PONIES INTO THE WAGON!" Polonsky ordered loudly as Berry and Scarce climbed into the back, followed by the two humans."

"Alright," Nikolai ordered, loud enough for Bertrot and Curtain to hear from the front. "The plan is to make a loop around the wall and leave if we don't see Reznov. Whatever you two in the front do, don't stop running."

For once, Curtain didn't throw a fit as they began to trot down the opposite end of the hill and circle the city. 

Polonsky eagerly watched the walls and surrounding wilderness for any sign of human life, but for the first quarter there was nothing in the way but the occasional zombie pony. The American shot his Ray Gun at the border behind them in rage, his hope quickly dwindling.

"Please be here," Polonsky muttered after the other side of the city proved unfruitful and they rounded the last quarter of the loop. "Don't let me down, Reznov."

Nikolai, despite his eagerness to leave, silently hoped that Reznov was almost out, but he knew all too well the odds were thin. The Russian hated to see another man die from this disaster, but it was no use getting everybody killed.

The crew in the back felt a sudden smash in the front and the wagon came to a sudden halt. 

"Shit!" Polonsky yelled as the scrambled to climb out of the back. "What went wrong!?"

The question was soon answered as they heard a cry of pain unlike any other, Curtain's cry of pain. The mare had gotten too close to one and had been grabbed. The resulting bite had taken a large chunk of her neck and she choked on her blood, struggling for air, a genuine look of fear and desperation in her eyes.

"Curtain, no!" Scarce said, revealing genuine emotion for the first time. "No!"

Nikolai gave Curtain the same gift he gave Dimitri. Bertrot struggled to remove his own harness and slammed it on to the ground, taking off in a full sprint away from the city. Nikolai didn't blame him, because before they could make a similar break for it, he saw that the area was completely encircled by a massive horse horde, and it closed in on them.

"Well, fuck!" Polonsky shouted, emptying out his clip into as many as he could, tears filling his eyes. "What a way to go, ain't it!?"

It would have been a way to go, but a large explosion blew a hole in the horde, allowing the group to quickly sprint out.

"What the hell was that!?" Nikolai asked to no one in particular. 

Berry glanced up in the sky and her eyes widened. "No fucking way."

Princess Cadence rocketed through the air at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud, delivering blasts of magical death to anything that got in their way. She did not openly acknowledge the group, instead the zombies had her undivided attention at the moment.

"Nikolai, get the two ponies and go!" Polonsky ordered the Russian. "I got this!"

Nikolai hesitated.

"Get out of here!" Polonsky demanded fiercely. "You were right, and at least one of us needs to live!"

Nikolai only gave him a look of disbelief. "Are you still doing this?"

"I have to," he nodded, still running. "If you don't hear from me again, expect the worst."

Seeing that he had time to do so, Nikolai grabbed Polonsky and looked him in the eye. "Good luck. You come back alive, OK?"

The marine paused, searching for the right exact words. "OK," he finally said, and Nikolai let him go.

Berry and Scarce galloped away at full speed and Nikolai managed to barely keep up in a full sprint behind him all the way back to the hill. Nikolai gave one last look to see only a burning city in ruins as the sun radiated just above the tallest buildings.