Chapter XVIII: Hoof-Deep In The Dead
My family has a very long and grueling history. As far as I knew, all the way back to the formation of our family as a clan in Northern Germany back in 300 something AD, we’ve always been in the military.
Always.
My father, my grandfather, my great grandfather, all the way back to our very roots, which I now know, thanks to Ancestry.com. My father expected me to go into the armed forces, but I was always a fan of video games. I hated violence and death, unless it was virtual. I always found life as something to be cherished, and full of fun, which is where I picked up my talent and hobby of video games - life was meant to be enjoyed through your simple pleasures. I guess you could say I was like Pinkie Pie in that regard. Still, I knew that war was an unavoidable part of human life. I knew that it happened.
But I never expected it to be necessary.
I never expected fighting to be a daily occurrence in my life.
I never expected the solder in my blood to have to come out. Nor that murderous demon I had hiding away, something I never knew I had in the first place.
Especially in a world full of technicolor pastel ponies.
I for certain, never thought I’d be expected to disarm a nuclear weapon.
And I didn’t want to be a hero.
I didn’t ask for this.
I didn’t want to be here.
I wanted to go home.
Those were the last thoughts in my head, before I faced complete vaporization; before death came and took me away. As the clock ticked down to the final second, I closed my eye and waited to be turned to carbon, along with the rest of Equestria.
Then I opened my eyes.
There, right in front of me, sat a suitcase with a digital clock built into it, flashing a constant red 0:00. I stared around the room, wondering if It was a hallucination. I turned behind me, only to see ponies again. Fifty-something soldiers, and the five Elements that were with me, along with Big Macintosh, Derpy Hooves, and Shining Armor and the fillies, as well as Spike, and hundreds of other ponies covering their faces in nervous anticipation. Slowly, they uncovered their eyes, letting out large heaves of relief as they caught a glimpse of the dead machine before them. I fell onto my back, hitting the concrete floor without a care in the world.
“Fuck my life.”
7:00 PM
So, I may have saved our asses, but it certainly didn’t make me feel any better: my mother was dead. My mother, the woman who had given me life, killed by Discord. I had friends back home, sure, but my family was dead, and, without them, I had very little else to live for. I slumped against the wall as the civilians began to walk around the room, some examing the dead bomb. I tried my best to hide my tears from all the people, but I just couldn’t. Five minutes of holding back such emotion only tore at me, and the world-on-your-shoulders feeling the bomb had hit me with sure as fuck didn’t help. Scootaloo, Dinky, and Applebloom, as well as several other children came around me to help me feel better, while a bunch of the adults simply stared at me.
I just wanted to go to sleep and wake up in my apartment.
“H-human, sir? My sister Twilight says that you... might be able to help with the zombie problem we’re dealing with here, and...”
“Go away before I blow your brains out. Can’t you see I want to be left the fuck alone?”
“I’m sorry, sir, it’s just that-”
At that moment, something in the back of my head snapped. I immediately jumped at Shining Armor, throwing him to the ground as I screamed into his face, my mechanized arm starting to choke him, and the skull kid’s wicked laugh filled the room.
“Listen, you stupid motherfucker, I’ve had enough of this shit! I want to go home! I don’t want to fight anymore! I don’t want to deal with ponies, or statues, or bombs, or zombies, or anything, ever again! If you so much as-”
“Nick! let him go!”
I threw Armor to the side as I let got of him, standing up, and breathing heavily.
“I WANT TO GO HOME!”
“Nick... we all know you do, but there’s nothing we can do about that right now, not even the princess. We don’t ask anything of you, and we don’t want to see you in these situations, but you have some kind of connection to BEN, and in order TO go home, it looks like you’re gonna have to stop him.”
“I. Don’t. Want. To. I wanna go home!”
“Does it look like you have a choice?” Dash asked, facehoofing herself. “You can be so stubborn sometimes, you-”
“What the fuck did you just call me, bitch?”
“Sir, watch your language! There are fillies and c-”
“I’LL SAY WHATEVER I GOD DAMN WELL PLEASE!”
---
“Oh no... not again...”
Nick’s eye, it was red again, and this time, he was armed better than ever. The man drew his recently-procured shotgun, pumping the weapon once, and backing into the wall. Nick didn’t deserve all the torment he had been put through, sure, but he didn’t have the right to take his anger out on others that had nothing to do with his predicament.
“Captain, the human’s got his weapon aimed at civilians! Orders!?”
“Take that bucker o-”
“STOP!”
“Twili, I’m not gonna let him hurt anypony if I can help it!”
“He’s just upset! Try talking to him!”
“Men, stand by.”
Nick’s eye bounced back and forth between the hundreds of others staring at him, changing the position of his weapon, aiming it at Flam, Cup, Fluttershy, Spitfire, and many others, in a rather confused state, sporadically bouncing between targets.
“Captain, I’m going to grab the weap-”
One shot echoed through the room, slamming the lone guard against the wall with an unrelenting force. Many ponies screamed in horror, and backed the farthest they could from the human, running to other portions of the shelter.
“Nobody’s touching me!”
“Oh Celestia, corporal Lamplight is dead! HE’S BUCKING DEAD!”
“Okay, that’s it, take him out!”
“NO!”
Out of the blue, Scootaloo jumped in front of the guards converging on Nick, and the man himself.
“Kid, get out of the way!”
Scootaloo didn’t bother to abide by the trooper’s request. Instead, she turned around to face Nick, swallowing in fear. She didn’t know if she was going to be turned into a broken mess of flesh; the orange filly simply held onto faith that the human wouldn’t hurt her, that her own father figure, the one she had looked up to as a guide since this whole mess, wouldn’t hurt her.
“Dad... please, put the weapon away. We don’t want any more casualties, okay?” Scootaloo asked, trying to reason with the distraught and enraged humain, staring at the muzzle of the loaded weapon. “I love you. You know that, don’t you? don’t let your bad side come out again. Don’t let the thing that made you kill all those ponies break you. that’s not how a Juggalo lives.”
“What, by chance, is a ‘Juggalo’, dear?”
Scootaloo kept staring down the barrel of the gun, Nick’s finger literally poised upon the trigger.
“Dad... will you tell me why you’re so upset?”
The human said nothing for a moment, his tongue running along the edge of his lips, a cold bead of sweat falling from his brow, the weapon lowering only a few, barely noticeable centimeters.
“Because... BEN. He won’t leave me alone.”
“Does that make it right to go off on somepony?”
“N-no, but...”
“But nothing, dad. Remember the creed of the Juggalos? The thing you taught me? ‘Love does not hurt, nor does it seek to destroy. I too, shall not hurt or seek to destroy.’ Let’s calm down, okay?”
“I could smoke all three hundred of you right here...”
“Dude, everypony here has a weapon. Is that really smart?”
“But you won’t, I know that. BEN, the bomb, Applejack... it’s all a big stress on you, I know dad, but we aren’t out to hurt you. I know you want to go home, and we’ll try what we can to send you back, but we NEED your help.”
“I...”
“I promise. We’ll do our best to find you a way home, but you have to put your faith in us, okay?”
---
"DAMN THAT STUPID, ORANGE PEGASUS! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT!"
---
I heard the rambunctious scream of the skull kid fill the room as I felt consciousness slowly returning to me. After I had attempted to choke Shining Armor, I blacked out, and noticed I was aiming a loaded shotgun straight at Scootaloo’s head, my finger on the trigger. I immediately fell backwards, gawking at myself in fear, and dropped the weapon to the floor. I vaguely remember Scootaloo saying something about a promise these people would make to send me home, but that wasn’t what set me off in the first place. It was the death of my mother.
“It’s... it’s not about going home, it’s not about the bomb...”
“Then... what is it?” Applebloom asked, walking up to me to join her friend. I did nothing but slump against the wall again, trying to avoid eye contact with the hundreds of eyes piercing into my soul, as a handful of soldiers carefully scooped up the brains and skull fragments of their lost comrade.
“My mother. I just found out that Discord. Killed. My mother.”
The room fell dead silent, and the grand majority of gazes were now ones mostly comprised of sympathy, but I didn’t want that. I wanted to hold my mother again, and that was never going to happen.
“How do you know she’s dead?” Pinkie asked, walking up to me and putting a hoof on my knee, wiping my tears away with another.
“Because... I talked to her. I saw her...”
“You... saw your mother?” Rarity asked, a gaze of immense confusion running along her face.
“Yeah... she’s dead. She told me how Discord killed her in a car wreck...”
“So wait... are you saying... you see dead people? *snicker*”
“Spike!”
“Sorry, Twilight...”
“I... I see them, all of them. My parents, Sweetie Belle, Lyra, Soarin, Carrot, Flim... I see them every night, sometimes during the day. And they talk to me. You can’t hear them, but I certainly can. That’s what happens when YOU think I’m talking to myself - I’m talking with them.”
“So... you have a talent... an ability to see spirits? How does that work?”
“Twilight, can we just chalk it up to magic and leave it at that?”
“But... it’s nothing like magic - magic has a science behind it. I mean... we know ghosts exist, but... we can’t talk to them. It’s impossible.”
“We can’t either, and we’d classify it as magic or call it a ‘god given gift’ until we had an explanation.”
“So... um... how did it start?” Fluttershy tried to ask, looking to the others for some kind of answer to her own question. “I mean... when did you... you know, find out you could talk to spirits?”
I sighed, looking down to the floor, then back up to the many others around the room. The only difference here, I didn’t just see the living. My mother was standing there, her hair, bunned in the back, wearing a KU tee and jeans, and my father, a fourty-nine year old man, with a quickly receeding hairline. His face had a long, thick scar on the left that dug half an inch inwards, and many more small scars around that. His left eye, like mine, was covered with a standard black patch, and his left arm, a plastic prostetic, and dressed in his ceremonial Marine Corps attire. My father took my mother by the shoulder, leaning his head onto her, right in front of the others, who simply stared at me, not even acknowliging their existence. Then, another figure stared to fade into my vision. Like my parents, this figure was a solid shade of sky blue, its features nothing more than pencil-thin black outlines. This third figure was a pony, a small filly. A unicorn that was torn apart at the somach, her entrails dangling loosely out of her body. From inside of her body, I could see her heart and lungs operating, which ran a deathly cold chill down my spine. She didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her injuries, though (and why would she? She was dead.), gently running the side of her face on my father’s pant leg like a small kitten. Sweetie Belle’s ghost was back. My mother extended her arm out, as if to let me touch her, and I hesitantly brought my own outwards, only to see her fade away as my fingers reached the blue outline.
“It... it started with BEN, I think. You see...” I began, standing up and putting my shotgun on the table in the center of the room, as I picked up the dead body I had created, trying to help clean up the mess as I lectured. “...for those who don’t know, I came here, thanks to this statue that’s been torturing your world. This statue, is, in honest truth, the spirit of a child whose father drowned him to death. Now, I know that alone, is a horrible thing to experience, or even fathom, but that kind of thing is an unfortunate reality for humans. When I got into college, my friend gave me an old game system I used to play with as a kid. Going around town, looking for old games, I ran across one of my favorites. It was a bit messed up, and had a lot of glitches and whatnot, but then I started getting harassed by this statue, which for all of you, was part of the game. Eventually, the game, and other machines, started talking to me. None of my friends beleived me, or noticed what was going on, so I was left all alone to deal with the problem. Two years later, he sends me here, and I have no idea how he did it. All I get is, he’s angry at me, and is taking it out on all of you. Later...”
I continued into my lecture, giving the town the history of my family and what had happened with my father in the war, then covered his death, slowly moving into the events that had happened since I got here.
“...So, I got out of the hospital, and had constant nightmares about killing Mrs. Cake’s husband in cold blood. An image, and the voice of Sweetie Belle told me to stop your drink mixing operation, Flam, and soon after, every day I would catch glimpses of her, or hear her. I would hear the voice of my own father, which I didn’t know it was him until I tried speaking to the voice. You can’t see any of the dead here, but trust me, they’re with us now, everyone, and they want to see this world return to peace.”
“How do we know you’re not just a crazy loon making this up?” a pony in the back of the bunker yelled over the crowd.
Great. I was gonna get thrown in a nuthouse.
“Look, can we just say... I like, have a cutie mark in ghost hunting or something? I don’t know how it works, it’s a fucking curse. Do you think I want this? Does it look like I want to be here and have to put up with this shit? I just wanna leave, man.
“Well then, do we have a plan, sir?” Armor abruptly asked, throwing away the rest of the skull fragments. I wiped my tears and collected myself, drawing a handful of deep breaths. Shining Armor was right. Now was a time for action, not words. We needed to get this problem solved, and I needed to get myself together.
8:00 PM
Slamming down a map of Ponyville on the table, I took a look at things from a bird’s eye view, trying to formulate the best tactical plan I could. The only experience in troop leadership I had was Command & Conquer, so I wasn’t expecting to do well at all - people WERE going to die. Right now, it was about minimizing casualties.
“Okay people, listen up! Right now, we are located under Ponyville town hall. A government quarintine for the town was supposedly set up a few hours ago to prevent the spread of infection, but it’s unknown if that barrier was ever erected, breached, or if it’s still standing. There is a known sewer system that runs through Ponyville that we COULD use to evacuate civilians to saftey, although it’s likely roaming with dead. Cloudsdale was recently destroyed in a massive explosion, so we’ll have next to no aerial support, unless Spitfire here can spare a few extra troops. I hear your Wonderbolts force has disbanded due to economic reasons, captain, but it looks llike we’ll need the skills of any surviving member in this operation. Dash, you’re on point.
“Yes sir! Wow, a chance to fly with the Wonderbolts! Finally!”
“Pull yourself together, Rainbow! This isn’t a time for your fantasy daydreams!
“Oh- uh, sorry.”
“Scootaloo, I hate to put you in the line of fire here, but we need your medical skills. Any other doctors or nurses, step forward now. ...Good; we’ll certainly need you. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight, I need you to all to get to keeping tabs on civilians. Everyone who has no military or medical background, line up against this wall back here, children five or older, the wall to the left. Fluttershy and Pinkie, take roster for the children, Rarity and Twi, the adults. I want names and occupations, so we may best utilize your skills. Ponies with live children under five years of age, form a group at the table here. All ponies with military or Wonderbolt background, line up on the wall by the door!”
After organizing as many people into teams as possible, I turned my attention to Shining Armor, who was standing at the table with the map. He looked at me, and I looked at him, examining the red marks around his neck. I’m thankful he didn’t vaporize me with a spell.
“Captain, I would very much appreciate if you could spare a few extra men on our behalf, about ten.” I said, looking to the map, and sitting on the table, next to my shotgun. “Listen, people, this is what we’re going to do: I, ten to fifteen good soldiers, three medical personnel, and two individuals to serve as scouting units will confront the dead right outside of the building. Once the exit is clear, I want Rainbow Dash and all available Wonderbolts to form an armed evacuation convoy. Each Wonderbolt shall carry whom they can. As soon as we clear the area, My newly formed team shall head outwards into town, with these newly procured weapons, and search for any remaining survivors. I want all remaining troops to stay here and protect the convoy as they make their rounds back and forth between this evac point and Canterlot. Understood? Any civilians willing to volunteer in rescue operations or defense, step forward with these soldiers now!”
The various soldiers and a few citizens lined up, stomping one hoof down together, and brought their right forehooves up to their heads, all sounding off at once.
“Sir, yes sir!”
---
Shining Armor couldn’t do anything other than stare in disbelief and anger at the ravaged human standing before him. He knew not the speed of the human aging process, but if he had to guess, the man had to be at least fifteen years younger than he, and, despite having many weapons, and clearly, sufficent training in what he was encumbered with, it was uncertain if this human had any former military leadership background. Still, the human seemed compitent in himself, and clearly felt like he knew what to do, almost as if some kind of force was guiding him. Though the kid had said he could ‘see spirits’, captain Armor could do nothing but scoff at such a thought, and for certain, he didn’t like the concept of a civilian giving orders to his own men, bringing a hoof up to massage the sore, red marks the human’s false arm had left around his neck.
“Twili, I really don’t like him micromanaging MY troops.”
“Look, he says he can help, let him. I’m... pretty sure he knows what he’s doing.
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it. If he gets my men killed, he’s going to die, end of story.”
---
I looked around the room, checking to see everyone was understanding my intent. I wasn’t going to lose men if at all possible, and-
*BURP*
I turned to the abrupt noise, only to see Spike standing in front of a letter on the ground, rolled up in its traditional parchment. Though one thing was off - a small note hanging from the seal, which had ‘Nicholas’ scrawled over it. I opened the letter and began to read.
Nicholas,
Before I go to confront my sister, I would like to request something of you. As you know, I have appointed you to aid the citizens of Ponyville in their hour of need. As I will not be able to assist you while handling my sister, I formally request that, upon completion of your mission, you file with me a report of the events there, including evacuation numbers, cost of any damages the town may or may not sustain, and any losses. In short, I would appreciate a formal military report of the events here. Once completed, I shall give you and Twilight’s friends further instructions. Good luck, and stay safe.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
I stared at the parchment for a few moments more, before simply nodding at it and handing the paper to Twilight, who organized it away in her saddlebags. Back to the plan.
“...So, after we finish our second sweep of the town, and ensure all ciivies and military personnel have been safely evacuated to the city of Canterlot, my original team and I shall break from the town, and head into Everfree Forest. From there-”
Murmurs of discontent filled the room. Ponies were scared of Everfree, that I knew, but I would have called Everfree home - the open wild. The world of the Everfree was, at least remotely, similar to the human world, what with its self-sufficent wildlife and self-maintained weather patterns. The only difference, the wildlife was far more dangerous than anything that our world had to offer. I tried to bring the morale back up, getting all the bad shit out of the way first.
“Look, people, we're going to have to kill. Yes, kill. The living dead are not your friends or family. There are three basic rules to know when dealing with the dead! One, they will stop at nothing to kill you. Aim for the head, shoot twice. Two, always keep your distance. Three...”
I stopped, and took a deep breath, sweat running along my head. Here came the big one.
“...the zombie coming for you MAY be somebody you knew. This thing is NOT your friend. It is not your brother, sister, husband, wife, aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin, or work colleague. That thing is going to try and kill you. Do NOT give it the chance. DO NOT GET COLD HOOVES! Are we clear!?”
Though some were hesitant, many simply nodded. I gathered my team together, and went upstairs. Drawing my shotgun, and making sure the chamber was full by loading a few spare shells, as well as reloading my pistol and crossbow, I carefully set my hand on the door, and swung it open, only to be attacked by a zombie. One shot to the head, and the creature fell backwards, its brains flying in every direction. I took a step outwards, crouching down and giving orders for soldiers to set up and fortify the exit. One fireteam went outwards into the town, grabbing some fallen debris, and dragging it back. It was a sizable chunk of concrete, which which stood three feet tall, and arched around in a slight curve, extending outwards around thirty feet. I got up to assist those carrying it, forming a small blockade that covered the front end of the structure. Three men went back inside and returned with furniture to reinforce the barricade, and another flew up to the balcony to keep watch. After reinforcing our position and readying for combat, I climbed to the top floor, Twilight’s binoculars in my hand, and scoped the area out. Dead were everywhere, but some distance away. It was time to move out, and start searching for survivors while we loaded the ones here up for escape. After preparing my squadron to move out, the remaining troops came to reinforce our abandoned position, and our escape convoy prepared for takeoff, loading up the first batch of survivors, which began with lone children and elderly. As they prepared and readied the civilian evac point, our group set out. Another zombie came at us, and I took aim at the beast. Time to show BEN who he’s fucking with.
9:00 PM-5:00 AM
Mission Objectives
1: Fortify position and create a viable evac point
2: Send rescue parties into town in search of any remaining survivors
3: Minimize collateral damage
4: Evacuate safehouse survivors to Canterlot
5: Escort remaining Elements and company to and through Everfree Forest
Total survivors in Ponyville safehouse: 361
Rescue sweep #1: southwestern town
This area, looking back, was probably the easiest to clear. Dead here were few and far between, and this part of town was home to most of the population’s housing. Clearing bulding by building, block by block, we racked up somewhere close to a good hundred and fourty x zombie kills, and rescued twenty one survivors. Not a bad start for our rescue mission, though we did lose one soldier to a bite, to which he immediately requested he be shot in the head. Rest your soul, soldier, you did well.
Survivor drop-off: stop #1
The town hall had been hit pretty hard. While we were out, Spitfire was bit in the hoof, and we lost five men in defense of the evac point, two of which were untrained civilians, Caramel and Hugh Jelly. So far so good. Rest in peace, all of you.
Operation phase #1 tally
Survivors brought to evac: 20
Survivors lost: 7
Survivors evacuated to Canterlot: 55
Total survivors in Ponyville safehouse: 319
Confirmed kills: 140+
Town damages: 400 bits
Rescue sweep #2: business district
This place was torture. With few houses and large cover sparse, we were left wide open for zombie attack. Much collateral damage had been done to the area, destroying crucial economical facilities for Ponyville, namely, its food market. Nurse Redheart, our leading field medic was killed in a crossfire when zombies ambushed us, causing our team to scatter. Lots of good men were lost in this part of the operation, which consisted of nearly all royal guards that had accompanied us. Survivors here were few, but we managed to save a handful. I wish it had gone better. At least we managed to stop by Bon Bon and Lyra’s house down this way, and resupply ourselves, though the losses were horrible.
Survivor drop-off: stop #2
Out for two hours this time, we came back to find that we had been smashed in. Our defensive wall had been breached, and zombies had run rampant through the safe house. Though we managed to clear the dead from the area, we lost many, MANY people. Stopped by to pick up spare combat-ready civilians for another rescue mission.
Operation phase #2 tally
Survivors brought to evac: 35
Survivors lost: 73
Survivors evacuated to Canterlot: 104
Total survivors in Ponyville safe house: 177
Confirmed kills: 400+
Town damages: 3250 bits
Rescue sweep #3: plaza and entertainment district, quarantine zone, and outlying structures
Not nearly as bad as the shopping district, but still, no walk in the park. I almost bit it when we stepped into the bowling alley, but Scootaloo saved my life by taking the beast out before it had a chance. Yes, she insisted she come with me on the rescue sweeps, even though I keep telling her to stay in the safehouse, and frankly, without her, I probably would have died in the first sweep. Picked up a bunch of survivors here, but as a result, had a lot of dead to contend with. No casualties either, though we’re starting to run low on ammunition. Good thing I have a sword and knife. Saved ten children and six teachers from the schoolhouse, fifty people trapped in the hospital, and four at the train station. Was a very successful run.
Survivor drop-off: stop #3
Had to hold the line for a good thirty minutes once we got back. Got assaulted by another wave of living dead. No casualties, which made everything all the better. Looks like we wiped most of the dead out.
Operation phase #3 tally
Survivors brought to evac: 116
Survivors lost: 0
Survivors evacuated to Canterlot: 97
Total survivors in Ponyville safe house: 196
Confirmed kills: 430+
Town damages: 1700 bits
Finishing evacuations, we prepared to leave the town, taking one final tally once everyone was sent off to Canterlot. I finished writing up the report, still sitting in the safehouse, its errie emptiness, and rotting corpses (from the break-in) racking my nerves, my crew standing around me. I grabbed my things, and took an equipment check. A lot of weapons were empty or broken, so there was no hope of salvaging parts or ammunition - what I had with me was what I had with me, which included the following:
One broadsword, carbon-fiber stainless steel, razor-sharp edge
One dull iron chef’s knife, with wooden grip
HTC MyTouch 4G Slide smartphone, with flashlight and camera, fifteen percent battery life
Crossbow with eight bolts, five in the chamber
Music CD
Journal
Encased Associate's degree, with cracked glass, and torn edge
Remington 870 shotgun with five shells
Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun with twenty four bullets; one spare clip, plus ten rounds loaded
wallet with student ID, driver’s license, carry license, credit card, fifty six dollars, and twenty bits
I sat there, looking at my friends who were in the bunker with me. Rarity had fainted not too long after the battle started, and Fluttershy was traumatized, hugging herself in a corner and rocking back and forth, under the supervision of Dash and Scootaloo. Big Mac was hugging his baby sister, and Dinky, her mother. Twilight and Spike were talking, looking at the few bodies that littered the concrete floor, and Pinkie was torn apart at the seams, looking at the scene with a blank stare, her brain unable to process what had happened in the past eight hours. I wouldn’t blame any of them. This battle was pure hell, and left me feeling even worse. It wasn’t about all the ponies we saved...
It was about the thousands we couldn’t that bothered me. The worst part of it was, this war was far from over. More deaths were on the way. But that was something I was willing to go through to get Applejack back. Not for me, but for her friends and family. I took one last look at the faded parchment on the table below me, and one thought ran through my head.
"Celestia is NOT going to like this report..."
Dear Princess Celestia,
As per your request, I hereby send you a military report of the events that have transpired in Ponyville over the past few hours. I see the moon is still getting closer to the planet’s surface - with all due respect, hurry up and deal with your sister, please!
Operation: Bloody Hooves
Objectives
1: Fortify position and create a viable evac point - COMPLETED
2: Send rescue parties into town in search of any remaining survivors - COMPLETED
3: Minimize collateral damage - COMPLETED
4: Evacuate safehouse survivors to Canterlot - COMPLETED
5: Escort remaining Elements and company to and through Everfree Forest - COMPLETEDMission Stats
Survivor total: 533
Casualties: 80
Survivors MIA: 1
Survivors evacuated: 440
Survivors remaining in town: 12
Zombie kills: 970+
City damages: 5350 bitsMission status: SUCCESSFUL
“Spike, send this off, will you?”
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If you ever make another story based on a creepypasta, here is a word of advice: Stick to the roots.
BEN DROWNED was a paranormal, psychological thriller based around the mental torture and encounters Jadusable went through. Here, it is kindof overkill with all the over-the-top moments and unnecessary violence. I still like your story and I'll continue reading until the end comes.
Hope that helps
1226790 Listen to me, it will be explained. I promise. I wanted it, while being a crossover, to be original.
1226871
I'm sorry
1226909 No, I appreciate the criticisim, man :) I really do. I love the BEN DROWNED pasta as much as the next fan, but I wanted to put my own unique twist on it. I'll be completely honest, I was going brain dead for this portion, and needed a quick action sequence. I PROMISE you, it will not be like this for the rest of the fic. Please though, I promise you that I'll give my readers what they want.
I'm sorry if it seems I snapped at you. I'm doing everything here for a reason. In truth, I needed a way to handle the zombies without drawing it out too much. I was running out of ideas, and has a big window of 'moon time' to use. I needed to explain where the guns came from, and because of that, decided to put it to use for the zombie problem.
This was a filler chapter, I know. I apologize.
Don't think I don't care about the BEN fans
1226980 BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNS!
Knee Deep in the Dead: COMPLETED
Continuing to next episode...
This is as messed up as a creepy pasta.
...Now I want to write a creepy pasta fic...
OH MY GOD, IDEA! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra.png
1281630 Let me know when you start it, I'd love to read. Also, glad you like.
1282449 I already have the concept thought up!