//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: What was the plan again? // Story: Not Dead Yet // by Nebula Star //------------------------------// Not Dead Yet By Nebula Star Chapter 5: What was the plan again? *** “I think I've got it...” Luna announced getting everypony's attention. “Finally,” Twilight said sounding relieved as she turned to the door herself. After nearly an hour, they could finally get on with their part of the plan. It was a miracle that they hadn't been found by the zombies. A moment later, there was a soft chiming and the door slid open, revealing a decontamination room. Twilight stepped inside without hesitation, Zecora and Luna just behind her. Applejack took up position at the security door, and Pinkie continued to maintain her perimeter. “Crap...” Luna's moan was followed by several rhythmic thuds and Twilight looked to find the elder princess repeatedly slamming her head into the wall. “What?” Luna just pointed, not even stopping as she continued abusing her own cranium. Twilight looked and saw exactly what had caused Luna's reaction. Across the room from them was a door identical to the one they'd just gotten through. Above it was a plaque that read: Big Ol' Security Door's Twin Brother. Twilight's eye twitched dangerously, but before she could explode, she managed to regain control and instead decided on a less apocalyptic reaction; she decided to join Luna. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk... ~~~ “General!” One of the pegasus scouts landed silently on top of the small tower that overlooked the ambush point. They'd blocked off the avenue at one end of the block, creating a dead end. Once the zombies entered that stretch of the road, they'd be effectively surrounded. “What is it?” Fluttershy asked the scout. “Zombie hordes are gathering a few blocks east of here,” the scout reported. “No sign of their leaders.” Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you, um, you're dismissed, if that's alright...” He saluted and took off to resume his watch. “They must be trying to cut off Rainbow and the Crusaders,” Rarity said thoughtfully once the scout had taken off again. “Or they were captured and the Zombies are just preparing to attack,” Silver Crescent, Captain of Luna's Night Guard said darkly. “If you think for a moment that they could have captured my sister and her friends, then you've never seen the Crusaders in action,” Rarity told him dismissively. “No, it's more likely they already failed once and are trying again.” “Well we can't have that, can we,” Fluttershy said softly. “We'll have to try and lure them into the ambush ourselves. Captain, have the pegasus wings begin harassing the horde and luring them this way, if that's alright with you. I mean, if their leaders aren't there, they should fall for it...” The captain saluted. “As you command.” “Oh, did that sound like a command? I didn't mean to sound so demanding...” With a slight roll of his eyes, Silver flew off to give the orders. ~~~ “Blarg!” Apple Bloom slammed the door in the zombie's face. “Who wants to take this room?” “I do believe it is my turn,” Octavia said calmly, stepping forward and holding out her Cello case for her marefriend. “Hold this for me, will you Vinyl?” Vinyl took the cello and Octavia nodded to Apple Bloom that she was ready. Apple Bloom opened the door and Octavia leaped into the room. The sound of powerful punches and kicks followed, interspersed with heavy thuds and loud crashes. Only a few moments later the room fell silent again. “All clear!” Octavia called back. The rest of the group entered the room to find all the zombies that had been inside battered and broken, lying about the remains of office cubicles. “Not bad,” Sweetie Belle, allowed. “Your rhythm was a little choppy though.” “Yes, unfortunately they were spaced quite randomly throughout the room, so I wasn't able to keep a steady beat going, despite my best efforts,” Octavia told her as she retrieved her cello from her marefriend. “Yeah, I hate that; they're never very cooperative when it comes to music.” “That looks like it heads to the lobby.” Scootaloo interrupted pointing to a large doorway across the room from them. Apple Bloom nodded. “We should be far enough now to be past the collapsed building. We can either head out to the street and make a run for it, or keep moving through the towers and alleys laying low.” “Where are we headed anyway? Just back to your base?” Bonbon asked. “We were supposed to lead the zombies back to an ambush near our base that General Fluttershy was setting up,” Sweetie Belle told her as they made their way across the office. “General Fluttershy!?” Lyra repeated raising a brow. “They made Fluttershy a general? Seriously?” “It was Twilight's idea,” Rainbow told her. “Apparently by what she's read, Fluttershy was the most likely of us to survive when the zombies attacked. She figured that if the rest of us wanted to survive, then we all needed to follow Fluttershy's lead. So Twi made her the general.” “And she was setting up an ambush for the zombies? What is she going to do? Sick herds of cute fluffy animals on them?” Lyra snorted at the thought. The Crusaders and Rainbow exchanged glances. “You don't know about Mr. Thunk do you?” Apple Bloom asked. “Mr. Thunk?” she asked confused. “Fluttershy's mace.” “Mace!?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Once she understood that the zombies weren't really alive anymore and that it was doing them a favor to finish them off, Fluttershy decided that she needed a weapon. We don't know where she got it or how she learned to wield it, but... Trust me, once Fluttershy snaps, you do not want to get in her way.” ~~~ “Well that was easy,” Silver said with a smirk as he landed back on the barricade near Fluttershy. “Wing group beta has the zombie horde coming in, hot on their tails. Cadenza must have just sent them ahead; there's no real leadership among them. As soon as we gave them something to chase, they came running.” “Oh, I do hope that none of your fliers get hurt,” Fluttershy worried. Silver waved it off. “Don't worry, General; the undead pegasi in this group are all too stupid to use their wings. Most probably don't even have enough brain power left to realize they have wings, and the unicorns among them aren't any better.” “Oh, okay then,” Fluttershy said then turned to face the rest of the soldiers behind the barricade. “This is it everypony. Remember, wait for the signal to break cover and begin the attack. Captain Pipsqueak, have the canons loaded and ready to fire.” “Arrr! Ay ay, Admiral!” The little piebald colt wearing a pirate hat, vest, and eye-patch replied then drew the saber belted around his waist as he turned to the rag-tag crew of mostly colts and fillies that were manning the canons. “You heard her, pack the powder and ram those balls in like the cannons are your lovers, you scurvy dogs!” “Oh my...” Fluttershy's eyes were wide at the colt's language. He may not have grown much physically since moving to Ponyville, but his mouth had certainly... matured. “Yes, well, everypony, get ready and wait for the signal.” Several pegasi took flight up to the surrounding buildings to pass word to the unicorns stationed there and everypony took their positions, hidden from the road in front of the barricade. The barricade itself had been made to look like just another pile of debris like those that clogged the rest of the avenue. With any luck, the zombie horde wouldn't realize it was a trap until it was too late and they found themselves practically surrounded. They spotted the guard fliers, both pegasi and nocturne, a few minutes later, flying down the avenue low enough to keep the zombie's attention, but high enough to remain out of reach. Ever so often they turned back to taunt their pursuers. Then the zombie hordes began to come into view, galloping, trotting, stumbling, and limping around or over the debris that filled the streets. More and more poured into their trap. There were hundreds, perhaps even thousands. “Oh my. Everypony hold...” Fluttershy said softly. They wanted as many as possible to be on the stretch of road in front of them, effectively trapped between the towers where their unicorns lay in wait to rain spells down on them. “... hold.” The zombies were only a few dozen yards away now, their moans and groans echoing along the supposedly abandoned avenue. Still they waited. Just a little longer. “Alright!” A unicorn stallion, wearing what looked like a set of armor cobbled together from pieces he'd found off of corpses, leaped up onto the barricade. “Great plan guys, let's do this!” He shouted and charged down the barricade toward the zombie horde. “LEROOOOOOOOY!” “Stick to the plan! Stick to the plan!” His commanding officer shouted, but it was too late. He'd already charged into the midst of the horde. He was immediately piled upon by the zombies. “Oh dear,” Fluttershy said softly as the zombies backed off a few moments later, the stallion already turned. “JENKINNNS” The now zombified stallion moaned as he charged the barricade. THUNK! Everypony froze in surprise at the sight of the new zombie being reduced to a red smear by an enormous mace. Their eyes soon followed the mace's handle to the pink and yellow mare that wielded it. Fluttershy's head was down, her face hidden behind her mane. Silence fell over the scene. Even among the surviving ponies, only a few had ever seen Fluttershy fight before. Most didn't believe what they'd just seen. Slowly Fluttershy raised her head, letting one side of her mane fall back, revealing one furious eye blazing with unbelievable rage. She raised her mace back into the air with one hoof, brandishing it over her head. “WHO ELSE WANTS SOME!” ~~~ “Yeah, ever since the zombies turned Discord into a vegetable, Fluttershy has a tendency to just snap when it comes time to fight.” Apple Bloom told the others as they made their way into the lobby of the building. “Is it really a good idea to have her in charge then?” Octavia asked. Scootaloo gave a dismissive wave. “Rarity and the captains know to take over command when it happens.” Bonbon snorted. “It's hard to imagine timid little Fluttershy wielding a mace and charging into battle.” “Yeah, I know what you mean. Scared the feathers off of me the first time she went into berserker mode,” Rainbow agreed. “One moment she's cowering behind us, barely managing to give orders, the next she was pounding a zombie's head to mush with her bare hooves. Then she got that mace...” She shivered. “It still doesn't sound like she should be in charge though. I mean, why isn't Princess Twilight in charge?” Lyra asked as they entered the building's lobby. “Two BDs,” she added, almost as an afterthought. Shing, Shing! Dinky's sword made quick work of the two zombies loitering in the lobby and an instant later she was trotting alongside the crusaders again as if nothing had happened, humming a happy tune. “Technically Twilight and Luna are in charge, but Twilight insists on keeping Fluttershy as general and lets her give all the orders.” Rainbow shrugged. “Flutters has handled it pretty well. It actually goes to show that you shouldn't assume anything about anypony, they might just surprise you. Heck, we assumed you guys were all dead when you didn't escape Ponyville with the rest of us.” Lyra smirked proudly. “Three years on our own and in all that time we've only lost a single pony.” “Poor Colgate.” Octavia sighed. “She never could resist putting her hoof in other ponies' mouths.” Vinyl shook her head. “Guess we don't have to worry about not always brushing for the past few years.” Scootaloo commented to the other crusaders and Sweetie Belle slugged her in the shoulder. “So how's it look out front?” Bonbon asked, getting back to the matter at hoof. “Not good.” Derpy called back from where she was at a tall narrow window through which bright shafts of light were pouring into the building. “There's a lot of Zombies out there, but they seem to be on the move, heading um... is that west, yeah west.” Sweetie Belle frowned looking at her fetlock computer. “That's heading toward the ambush point... I bet they were trying to cut us off and the others noticed, they're probably luring them away to help clear the path for us.” “Whatever it is, there's still far to many out there,” Octavia cautioned. Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. “Let's keep indoors for now, and try to keep making our way toward the ambush point. If we can get close enough, we can probably make a run for it.” “Well then let's get going before they find us,” Bonbon said trotting to one of the doors out of the lobby that headed toward the western side of the building and opened it. “Brains!” Dozen's of undead fore-hooves and sickly looking magical aura's grabbed Bonbon before she could react, dragging her into the horde of zombies that had been waiting on the other side of the door. “Bonnie!” Lyra cried lunging forward, but Octavia and Vinyl caught her, holding her back. There were too many. With a green flash, Bonbon reverted to her changeling form and sunk her fangs into one of the forelegs holding her. And promptly gagged at the taste. “Oh gross! That's disgusting!” She sputtered, the zombie she'd bitten not even seeming to notice as she was dragged deeper into the teaming mass of undead. “No, you don't want to eat her!” Lyra cried, struggling against the others that were now pulling her away as zombies began to pour into the lobby through every door. “SHE'S NOT AS SWEET AS HER NAME SUGGESTS!” Everyone, including the zombies froze as the room temperature seemed to drop; everyone staring at Lyra in shock. “WHAT!?” Bonbon cried furiously, finally breaking the silence. “I'M SORRY HONEY, BUT IT'S TRUE!” “LYRA I SWEAR, IF THEY TURN ME, I AM SO HUNTING YOU DOWN!” “I LOVE YOU TOO, BONNIE!” Lyra cried even as Bonbon vanished from view among the zombie horde. “There's nothing we can do for her now, there's too many,” Octavia told her sympathetically as they continued dragging her away. “Not good.” Apple Bloom muttered as they all backed toward the front entrance of the tower; zombies pouring out of every other door into the lobby, including the one they'd come through themselves. “They've got us boxed in.” “Looks like we don't have a choice; we'll have to make a run for it from here,” Rainbow said glancing out the windows behind them. There were still a lot of zombies out there. Then a tall, once white, stallion in armor emerged from amidst the rest of the zombies. “Crap, Rotting Armor is here.” Scootaloo groaned. “RUN!” Sweetie Belle pulled a grenade from her harness and tossed it into the crowd of zombies, cloaking it with an invisibility spell as she did. At the same time Rainbow and Derpy kicked the front door open. Unable to see the grenade, none of the magic users were able to catch it and it exploded behind them as they charged out into the street. Their appearance caught the zombies there off guard, many of them skidding to a stop and looking dumbly at them for several moments as their undead brains very slowly processed what they were seeing. Most never finished as spells, swords and blunt force trauma quickly reduced their mental capacities down to zero. “Let's go!” Apple Bloom shouted when the immediate threats were taken care of, and started down the road at a gallop, following the rest of the zombies that hadn't noticed their appearance yet. Rainbow Dash and Derpy flew past her overhead taking point, and quickly taking down any zombies that started to turn back with their martial arts. Apple Bloom noted that of the two, Derpy's style seemed to be far more mobile and evasive, using her wings to throw herself around in unpredictable maneuvers that would often end with a zombie getting pummeled into the ground. The other crusaders and Dinky stayed close to Apple Bloom. Octavia and Carrot Top were right behind them with Lyra and Vinyl bringing up the rear while holding off the zombies chasing them with their magic. “Where are you going my little love muffins!” They all heard the undead princess and looked up to find her flying just behind, taking command of the zombies streaming out of the building they'd just left. “NOT YOUR MUFFINS!” Derpy screamed as she slammed another zombie into a nearby wall with a powerful roundhouse kick. “Keep going!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Lyra, Vinyl, try to hold her off!” Even as she shouted, the two unicorns were casting their sound based spells at the incoming alicorn, while still running from the zombies on their tails. “Oh I just love how your little tushies shake when you run!” Cadenza called lustfully as she easily evaded the unicorns' attacks. “THAT IS IT!” Sweetie Belle shouted furiously. Spinning around, she shot a blast of her own at the alicorn. A blast that moved far faster than any others, slicing through the space between them before Cadenza could react. The spell impacted against the alicorn's chest and exploded with a single thunderous tone, like a bell the size of one of the nearby towers. The remaining windows all along the road shattered and the undead princess was thrown high into the air, smoke trailing her body. “Nopony looks at my tush but Bloom!” Sweetie Belle spat. “Aw. Thanks Sweetie,” Apple Bloom said and gave her a kiss. Scootaloo groaned. “Make out later, girls; running from zombies now!” “It's not much further!” Rainbow shouted from above and ahead. “Just three more blocks; I can see fighting at the barricade!” The rest of the group charged forward, weaving around the debris from partially collapsed buildings that clogged the road. Ahead they could hear the sounds of battle and soon they began to see the horde of zombies that were still between them and the barricade, but they had no choice now, they had to break through, or the second horde behind them would overrun them. To the crusader's surprise, Carrot Top suddenly galloped past them, taking point. “Out of my WAY!” She shouted, slamming her hooves into the ground creating a shock-wave that shattered the pavement in front of her, tossing dozens of zombies aside like rag dolls. The crusader's mouths hung open in shock even as they charged after the farm mare through the cleared ground. “I told you, nobody gets in Carrot Top's way.” Lyra told them with a smirk. Even as she said it, Carrot Top slammed her fore-hoof into another zombie, sending it flying with enough force to take down nearly a dozen more. Meanwhile Derpy was weaving through the air in seemingly impossible maneuvers, taking down one zombie after another, while Rainbow merely used sheer speed as a weapon, plowing through the hordes and taking down dozens at a time. Behind Lyra and Vinyl did what they could to hold off the second horde along with Sweetie Belle, who would spin around every few moments to cast another explosive bell tone spell, that while not nearly as powerful as the first one she'd used on Cadenza, still produced devastating results. “Just a little further!” Rainbow shouted back, as the group rounded another pile of debris and finally the barricade came into view, along with what was left of the first wave. Apple Bloom skidded to a stop, finding a zombie directly in her path looking ready to pounce. THUNK! Apple Bloom's eyes widened as the zombie in her path was reduced to a bloody pulp beneath an enormous mace, wielded by a butter yellow pegasus that wore a mask of pure rage. A mask that turned off like the flip of a switch a moment later. “Oh girls, you made it. And you found some friends too! How wonderful!” Fluttershy said happily smiling as the rest of the group came into view. “Um, you might want to get down. If you don't mind that is.” They all looked past her wondering what she meant and a second later were all diving for cover as they saw the cannons on the barricade, all aimed just above their heads, Pipsquek standing at the fore, saber raised. “FIRE!” He shouted and the cannons roared. Behind them the first lines of the second wave exploded in fire and shrapnel, undead bodies flying everywhere. “I'm so glad you're all alright.” Fluttershy said smiling as if she hadn't even noticed the carnage caused by the cannons, even as undead body parts rained down around them. “Come along now; let's get back to the barricade.” The group all exchanged glances and shrugs before climbing back to their hooves and starting on the last stretch. “Oh you naughty naughty filly! That hurt!” Cadenza's voice called from above and behind them once more. “OH! COME ON!” Sweetie Belle shouted in frustration. “You know I'm going to have to give you spankings for that!” CLANG! A zombie, launched by a swing of Fluttershy's mace slammed into the undead alicorn, sending her flying once more. “BACK OFF, BITCH!” Every eye within earshot widened in shock, staring at Fluttershy. Just as before, Fluttershy's rage turned off like a switch. “Come along then,” she said happily and was practically skipping as she led them back towards the barricade. “Yeah... that's Mr. Thunk.” Rainbow told the others, then quickly followed after Fluttershy. “Remind me never to get on Fluttershy's bad side...” Lyra said softly. The others nodded then hurried after the general. “Oh, an ambush!” Cadenza sounded delighted as she spotted the barricade. “How exciting!” “Hurry!” Apple Bloom shouted as they reached the barricade and began climbing to reach the safety of their forces. “I think I know who planned this!” Cadenza continued happily as she flew back and forth just out of range of the weapons and far enough to evade most spells sent her way. “Where are you my little lavender ladybug of love! Come out, come out, where ever you are!” Below, the second wave of her minions was gathering, filling the street as far as they could see. The crusaders gathered atop the barricade, looking out over the horde, finally among the safety of their allies. At least a thousand zombies filled the road, perhaps even more. Then as they watched, dozens of the undead pegasi took flight, revealing themselves to be ints that had retained their ability to fly. “That's not good...” Octavia observed softly. Dozens of energy shields came to life among the horde, showing that it wasn't only the pegasi that were ints. “Not good at all...” Cadence hovered over her forces grinning. “Go my pretties, take the cute ones alive and find my precious Twilight! Find my pretty purple princess!” ~~~ Luna sighed in relief. “Finally...” A moment later, the second security door lock that she'd been working on for nearly a half hour beeped indicating that it was now open. “Alright,” Twilight said, getting to her hooves and trying to ignore her splitting headache. “This is it everypony. Lets get what we came for. Luna hit the button, and the door slid open... To reveal Pinkie Pie standing on the other side. “Wahoo! Let's do this!” Pinkie cheered and spun, galloping further into the secure lab. Twilight's eye twitched and she had to try really hard to keep from introducing her head to the wall once more.