The Best For You

by Can-dees_Murder_Weapon

4 Months after Savannah

A few hours have passed since they came across that bearded man, deeper into the city who told them about the community "Wellington". For the first time, in a while, the mare had felt hope. The past few months were all about surviving the day, scrounging, scavenging and moving from one place to another. It wasn't much of a life for the seamstress.

Essentially, all they were truly doing was existing and although she agreed to search for a community, she also highly doubted that they would actually find one that was stable... or even still standing.

Everything she had done up to this point was all for Clementine, so she could provide somewhat of a life for the child. Even if that "life" was just surviving. She couldn't just abandon the child, she couldn't even if she wanted to! It would've brought great shame to Lee's memory. Once she heard about Wellington, it was the perfect place for the child and maybe the mare could build some sort of a life for herself there too.

The sun had fallen over the horizon hours ago. The mare had been using her horn to provide light for the bookstore they had come across, just by the edge of the city. A store called "Tony's books n' more!".

Rarity cleared the walnut table, lowering the thick atlas onto it with her magic. She flipped open the book and began skimming through the pages. "Okay, Ohio... Ohio... where is it..." the mare muttered to herself as she flipped through the pages of the book, frowning at the strange map. It was all alien to her, the continents, countries, states. It felt satisfying to finally be able to see the world fully, she had no clue that it was this big. "He said Ohio was up... n-north, correct?" The mare asked, her eyes still focused on the page, taking in the contents.

"Yeah, he did. He said there was a community called Wellington." Clementine replied, sitting on a chair with her elbows propped up on the table.

The mare sighed. "Okay then... hmm-oh! Look! South Carolina!" She pointed at the state on the map, allowing the child to see. "He said it was north so..." She trailed off as she further scanned the map. "Oh...kay-oh! Look! Ohio!" The mare cheered in triumph.

"That's pretty far." Clementine frowned as she leaned over to look at the map.

"Hmm?" The mare stopped before taking another look at the atlas. "Oh... oh my, you're right. That is quite... far. It's practically on the other side of the country."

The child looked at the mare. "So, are we not going there now?"

"What? Oh, no-no. We're still going there! Don't be daft! It's just that..." Rarity paused for a moment, sighing. "It could take months just to get there, maybe even a whole year."

"At least we know where we're going now." The child said as she looked at the mare with a reaffirming smile.

"Hmm, I suppose that's... something to be happy about. Just more walking..." she glanced back at the map, annoyed at how far the two states were. "Hopefully, it won't take too long to get there."

---

1 Month Later...

The mare begrudgingly strolled along the road, Clementine following beside her. It's been one month since they left the city, "Manning".

Of course, the trip wasn't going to be quick...

They've only arrived in North Carolina a few weeks ago and even then, they still had a couple more states to cross.

It could be worse, one of them could've gotten injured. They would've had to look for supplies, medicine, antibiotics to make sure an infection wouldn't form.

They had just left a town known as "Spencer". It was getting late, the sun had already begun it's descent over the horizon to make way for nightfall.

"Why didn't we stay in the town? I thought it was dangerous travelling in the dark." Clementine inquired with a frown as she looked at the darkening sky.

"I wanna catch as much ground as possible." The mare casually answered. "Besides, we're more than capable of handling ourselves."

"But we'll need sleep, aren't you tired?"

"Nope. Why? Are you?" The mare asked, turning to look at the child.

"N-no, I'm just... being prepared..." The child suddenly felt the strong urge to yawn and she clenched her teeth in an attempt to stop it.

Rarity saw through her lie and sighed. "If we find a house or somewhere to stay at, we'll take that. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Uh-huh, that sounds good."

"Good, because I'd rather not go back to that town."

The two of them continued down the road of North Carolina and the sun was quickly falling over the horizon. As the mare was walking, in the distance, she swore she heard a roar in the distance. One that sounded familiar, a type of machinery.

She frowned, feeling her nerves heighten and she turned to see a set of headlights in the distance. Lights that grew bigger by the second.

As it got closer, the mare was able to make out a vehicle. It appeared to be a pickup truck with a set of clearance lights on the roof.

"Oh, wonderful," the mare scorned.

"Hm, what?" The child frowned seeing the mare's expression before taking a glance to see what she was looking at. She gasped and turned back. "Rarity! There's a car coming!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, I see that." The mare stopped in her tracks, laying a reassuring hoof on the child's shoulder. "Just relax darling, if anything happens we'll take care of it. Like always." She offered a smile.

Clementine returned it and nodded. "Okay, we should be careful though."

Rarity then turned around, her eyes locking onto the vehicle, watching it get closer. Her guard was up, as it usually was but it somehow managed to increase in size.

The truck then began to slow down, homing in on them before finally pulling over.

She got a clear view of who was in the truck. There appeared to be only one man in the vehicle. He looked to be in his late thirties, wearing a hat and a denim jacket with a hoodie under it.

They both maintained eye contact for a few moments. Rarity kept her glare on the man, her magic prepped. Suddenly, he pressed something and the window to the passenger seat began to wind down.

"Are you real or am I just havin' a real messed up dream!?" The man shouted from his car.

He was about to continue but was cut off by Rarity. "I assure you that this, very much real."

"Now that is the most weirdest goddamn thing I've ever seen in the apocalypse... by far."

The mare frowned, glancing at Clementine who looked just as cautious as she did. She then looked back up at the man.

"So you got a kid with you, huh... is she yours?"

"No, she is not." Rarity grimaced at the stupidity of that question.

"Ah, so you kidnapped her then?"

"No, I did not!" The mare nearly shouted.

"Okay, okay. Just askin'." He waved her off, Rarity kept her glare on him. "So, where are you guys headed?"

"Frankly, that's none of your concern."

"O...kay. What's your name then?"

"Neither is that." The mare simply concluded. She wasn't going to give this man any detail about herself, it didn't concern him at all.

"Oh come on, you won't even tell me your name? You gotta give me something to work off of here."

"Actually, I don't. Why are you still here?"

"Because you're the first fucking unicorn I've ever seen in my life and I saw that you had a kid with you so I just thought to see if you guys needed any help."

"Oh well, your 'concern' is appreciated but we are perfectly fine on our own." Rarity said with an icy tone.

"Are you sure about that?" The man threw her an incredulous look, before cocking his head toward the sun. "'Cause it's gettin' dark out, you sure you wanna be out here in the woods?"

The mare didn't respond for a moment. She couldn't trust him, that much was certain but he had a truck. With that, they'd be able to get to Ohio in probably less than a month! She hated being on the road, walking on a daily basis but with a vehicle, they wouldn't have to. They could rest while still travelling.

But of course, she knew nothing about this man. He seemed relaxed for someone who was seeing a unicorn for the first time. He could be a complete maniac just like the St. Johns, or worse...

It was getting dark, the sun was nearly gone and they were in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps she could fetch a ride... just this once.

She had magic and if the man were to try something, anything... she would effortlessly take him out. She had the element of surprise and her bowie knife, he'd be as good as dead before he even get to do anything.

"Where are you headed?" The mare inquired.

"Anywhere. Where the wind takes me." He casually answered.

"Okay... can you take us to Ohio?"

The man's eyes widened. "Ohio? That's like... a day's worth a drive from here!" He exclaimed.

Rarity had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Are you able to take us there or not?"

"Sure I can, it's just... what the hell's in Ohio?"

"We heard that there was a community there, called 'Wellington'."

"Ah, I see. You guys wanna get there then?"

The mare nodded. "That is correct."

He sighed. "Alright then, get in."

The mare went to go open the door but stopped when she felt a set of urgent taps on her back. She turned around to face the child who had a troubled look on her face. "What is it?"

"What are we doing? Why are we getting in his car?" The child whispered. The car's engine was still on, allowing her to talk without the man being able to eavesdrop.

"Don't worry, I have this under control." The mare whispered back.

"But I thought we weren't-"

"Are you guys comin'!? I ain't gonna wait around here all day. Come on, scoot!" The man called out, unknowingly interrupting the child.

"Just hold on a minute!" Rarity glanced back at the child. "We'll be fine. If he tries anything, I'll deal with him. Now, come on." The mare nudged the child forward before opening the door to the passenger seat and climbing in.

Clementine got in the back seat and the man accelerated on down the road.

He pushed a button on the settings and music began to play. Rarity frowned at the built-in radio. "That device can play music?" She can't seem to recall Kenny's R.V. being able to play music.

"Sure can!" The man said with a smile. He pulled out a bottle, taking a swig of it. "Name's Nate by the way, not that you care." Rarity kept her glare on the man. "You gonna tell me yours or are you gonna continue actin' like an asshole?"

The mare scoffed. "It's Rarity and I'd prefer it if you refrained from using profanity."

"Seriously?" The man threw the mare an incredulous look. "This is the fuckin' apocalypse, who cares?" He casually said. He then looked in the rearview mirror, at Clementine. "What's your name kid?" He asked, trying too hard to sound friendly.

"C-clem... Clementine," The child reluctantly answered.

"Ah, like the fruit then. So what's your story?" Nate directed his question at the mare.

"Story?"

"Yeah, story! Like, how the hell did you get here? How'd you learn to talk? Why do you have a kid with you? Surely, you didn't just appear out of nowhere."

Rarity couldn't help but chuckle at the last assumption, a small grin etching onto her mouth. "Actually, that's exactly what happened."

"You appeared outta fuckin' nowhere?" The man exclaimed.

The mare rolled her eyes, sighing inwardly at the vulgar language. "Teleported... is more accurate."

"So you got transported? From where? Your home? That sucks. How was it like back there?"

"It was good... definitely better than here, that is." The mare wondered what was going on back in Equestria if anything happened while they were gone. If anypony even cared about where they were. She merely wondered, she no longer cared. She gave up hope of ever getting home a long time ago.

Nate took another swig from his drink before offering it to her. She eyed the bottle in his hands, reading the label. "Parsen's Whiskey".

"What is that?" She inquired.

"It's whiskey? You gonna have some or no?"

"No, I'd rather not."

"Fine, whatever. You still gotta tell me how you ended up with that kid." He took another swig.

Rarity sighed, pausing for a few moments. She didn't have much of a choice, he was giving them a ride and they needed it. The least she could do was tell him how she ended up here, he couldn't use that information against her. Worst case scenario, they get into a physical altercation with him ending up dead. Morbid, but it kept her alive. "Me and my friends arrived here... m-maybe a year ago now."

"Your friends? Wait, there's more of you?"

She ignored him and continued. "We arrived here probably a year ago. We found... a group and they took us in, protected us, looked out for us..." The mare trailed off, pausing for a moment, recalling the previous events. "We came across a city called 'Savannah' and I got lost... that was months... a few months ago."

"And how did you end up with the kid?" Nate casually asked.

Rarity sighed. "I found them walking among in a herd full of walkers."

"What!? Seriously?"

"Yes. If you..." The mare gulped. "Cover yourself in... t-their organs, it supposedly... masks your scent so they don't attack you." She felt sick as she recalled back to the moment she doused herself in walker guts.

"That's rad." He concluded.

"Oh please... it's unpleasant."

"Hmm, sounds like you need a drink." He simply stated.

"No, I do not need a drink." The mare once again declined.

"Oh come on! You gotta lighten up, you're depressed as all hell!" Nate gave her a light-hearted tap causing her to recoil against the door.

"And who says I am depressed?"

"You do, I can hear it in that tone of yours." The man took a sip from his bottle before offering it to her. "Here ya go."

Rarity frowned at the bottle in his hands, contemplating her decision. Surely, it couldn't hurt to have one sip... how bad could it taste? She highly doubted that it was poisoned, considering he'd been drinking out of it. She sighed before taking the bottle from him with her hooves.

"See!? There ya go!" He offered useless words of encouragement.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes before taking a nip at the bottle. Shortly after, her tongue burned with the putrid liquid and her eyes began to water. Her throat felt misty causing her to cough and she handed the bottle back to him. "W-what the f-fuck is that!?" She sputtered in between coughs.

"Woah! What happened to holdin' back on the profanities!?"

"Oh s-shut u-up!" The mare retorted.

"To answer your previous question, It's whiskey. It'll help ya relax, take the edge off!" He brightly said as he took a sip from the bottle.

"I-I don't u-understand why you would continue to drink such a revolting beverage!" She said, irritated. Her throat still burned from the aftertaste of the drink and the man began laughing.

"A-are you okay, Rarity?" Clementine interjected, leaning closer to the front seats.

"She's fine, just a lightweight!" The man answered.

"I am not-ugh! I am fine, dear. It's just that the drink was absolutely awful!"

"Hey kid, want a drink!?" He held up the bottle to the rearview mirror.

"No, she will not!" Rarity yelled only to have the man laugh harder, nearly wheezing. She rolled her eyes before leaning against the door, watching the trees pass by them. "This is going to be dreadful..."

---

The sun went down hours ago. They had been travelling on the road within that time. Nate and Rarity mainly spent their time chatting with one another. Well mostly Nate, the mare would merely respond to his questions, ever rarely asking any herself.

Clementine fell asleep hours ago, the mare decided to stay awake to watch over her. Not that she would be able to sleep anyway, she still didn't trust this man. He hadn't done anything... yet, so that was something to be grateful for. Although everything else about him was irksome. Sometimes teasing her from time to time or simply just not shutting up.

The headlight was on, revealing most of the road. The other headlight, the right one, had been busted. Rarity had asked what happened and Nate told her that he had a "run-in" with some people who shot it.

They were coming up on a gas station to their right, it was uncertain if anyone or anything was there. Nate drove into the parking lot, further away from the gas pumps and switched off the ignition.

Rarity frowned at the man. "Why are we stopping?" She inquired with caution.

He flounced his arms at the mare, half of his face grimacing. "To look for supplies? Hey, maybe if we're lucky, we can get some more whiskey?"

An obvious fake laugh fell from the mare's lips. "Yeah... no."

Suddenly, the window beside her shattered and her heart jumped into her throat.

"Oh shit! Get the fuck out!" Nate threw open the doors and ducked out of the car. Rarity immediately dipped her head below, her face touching the leather of the seat and gunshots were suddenly being fired.

"Rarity? W-what's goi-"

"Clementine, keep your head down!" The mare pushed the child's head against the chair with her magic.

"Rarity! What the fuck are you doing!?" She heard Nate's voice from outside.

"Nate, shut up! For the love of Celestia just shut up!" Rarity screamed. "Clementine, I need you to stay put, Okay!? Do not and I mean do not, poke your head up at all! Do you understand me!? I will come to get you when this is all over but for now, I need you to stay put, understand!?" The child silently nodded, trembling. "Okay, don't worry I will come get when this is over okay? You'll be fine."

Rarity then proceeded to put up a magic barrier, blocking the outside of her door. She opened it, hearing the bullet reflect off of the shield she put up. An image of her and Twilight on the farm, deflecting the arrows flashed through her mind.

She carefully climbed out of the truck, the bullets continuing to ricochet off the shield. She felt her chest pumping violently. She began walking around to the other side of the truck, making sure the magical barrier was aligned with her. One mistake could be her last mistake. She crossed the corner of the truck and jogged around to find Nate who had a pistol in hand.

"There you are! Did ya get a good look at him?" He casually asked.

"Uh-no. Sorry, but I was too busy trying to get out of the truck!" Rarity yelled.

"Ya sure took your time doin' it."

Rarity's eyes widened. "By Celestia's mane, please tell me you're joking? I was being shot at!"

"Alright, look I might've been a bit insensitive about that and I apologize but we need to figure this out! So just take a breather and relax, okay?" Nate's voice was calm, casual as if they weren't being fired at. Oddly, it was enough to cool down her nerves.

The mare paused for a few moments. The gunman was still shooting at the truck and having no luck hitting any of them. She sighed. "Okay, what do you suppose we do?"

"Well, first of all, we need to figure out where this asshole is and once we do that we'll fuckin' get 'em! Just take a quick glance, got it?"

She nodded, slightly extending her legs and getting ready to scout out the shooter. She took in a quick inhale before poking her head and seeing a muzzle flash by the windows of the gas station. She immediately dipped her head back down.

"Did you see him?"

"Yes, he was inside the station."

"Good, see? That wasn't so bad now, was it? We just gotta figure out how to get over there..." Nate trailed off as he poked his head around the corner of the truck seeing the back entrance to the station. "Bingo!" He turned to face the mare again. "We can get around back, we just gotta move the truck."

"The truck? How are we supposed to do that!?" The mare exclaimed.

"By pushing it?" Nate opened the car door and fiddled with something inside it.

As he did that, the mare saw a vehicle sitting stationary, a few distances away giving her an idea. "Hey, Nate! I have an idea but I need you to trust me!"

He slammed the door shut before looking at her. "Trust you? Okay, what's your brilliant idea?"

"You see that car? Over there? I need you to run to it."

He took a quick glance at the car she was talking about. "You need me to run to that car without cover? Have you lost your mind?"

"What? No! I need you to trust me, just run over to it. You'll be fine."

"Oh, I see what this is. You're trying to get me killed, aren't you?"

"What!? No!" Rarity groaned, grasping at her face. "Let me show you!" She didn't give him any time to respond. She ran over to the car, quickly manifesting a barrier to keep her safe. A few bullets found their way onto the shield but ultimately, she came out unscathed.

Eventually, she made her way over to the other car and turned around at the man. "You see, Nate!? Are you coming or not!? I'll cover you!"

A few moments pass and he took off running. The mare quickly manifested the barrier back up, keeping him covered and he made it over to her unharmed.

"What the hell was that!? Was... that fuckin' magic!?" Nate exclaimed a look of shock on his face.

If this were any other situation, Rarity would've been eager to show off but in this circumstance; she wanted this shooter dealt with. "Why yes, it is but right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to."

"Goddamn! Now, this is what I'm talking about! So what? Just do the same thing!?"

"Mhm! Just hang on a minute!" She paused, letting a few gunshots fly through before taking off into a full sprint. Nate took off immediately as she did, matching his speed with his.

They made it to the corner of the gas station where a large tanker was parked, most likely out of commission. Rarity then turned to Nate. "Well, so far so good." The mare then began to feel anger coursing through her, now that she was out of the line of fire. She was almost killed, Clementine was almost killed.

If it wasn't for this filthy parasprite of a shooter, Rarity wouldn't have needed to leave her behind in the truck. It was too dangerous for the child to be out in the open, it was safer for her to be in the vehicle while she dealt with this mysterious shooter. Lethally, as the shooter rightfully deserved.

"Now that was badass! Good to see that you're finally loosening up!"

"Sure. Now, what are we doing about this... fiend?" She inquired, already planning ways to take out the threat.

"There could be an opening round back, come on." Nate and Rarity began walking over to a fence that blocked off the back entrance. Not wanting to waste any more time, they decided to climb over it.

---

Rarity had some trouble climbing over the gate but she managed nonetheless. "Let's just get in there and finish this vermin off." She said, feeling her anger flare-up. The adrenaline from being shot at had mostly dissipated. She couldn't care any less about why the shooter almost killed them.

The fact is, they tried to and it was only fair to do the same...

Whoever it was that fired at them was going to be dealt with. One way or another, there was no chances, no risks... not anymore. Clementine could have died! She lost the element of surprise with Nate, he now knew she had magic but it didn't matter. Dealing with that shooter was way more significant than worrying about what Nate would do.

"Now you're gettin' it, come on," Nate commented.

They continued around the back, a small parking lot with a fence set up around it. As they continued, a walker was lying on the ground, a screwdriver lodged into it's eyeball. It appeared to be a law enforcement officer. The mare didn't pay it no mind.

She pulled out her knife and plunged it into the walker's temple.

"So you can levitate shit too?" Nate asked, his arms folded.

She pulled out the knife, flicking it a few times. She blatantly ignored him, there was no need to point out the obvious.

They came across a door that presumably led into the station. Nate stopped the mare. "Alright, we gotta stay as quiet as possible so we can sneak up on this guy." He said in a hushed tone.

"Okay, shall we?"

Nate gently pushed open the door, quietly and slowly moving in. The mare followed after him, they appeared to have entered a kitchen. There was a counter and they both silently took cover by it.

Rarity slowly peeked her head over the counter, only seeing one person over by the windows. They were boarded up, terrible effort too. Plenty of gaps. "There's only one." She mouthed to Nate.

They moved over to a set of two doors that led out into the cafeteria. "You got magic right?" Nate whispered.

"Yes, why?"

"Can you use magic on that guy?"

"Yes, I most certainly can." She silently opened the doors and left the kitchen. She saw a person by the window, holding a rifle with a scope in his hands. The mare snatched the gun from his grasp, tossed it aside with her magic and shoved him against the wall creating a loud bang.

"WALT!" A feminine voice cried out before groaning.

"GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE, YA MONSTERS!" The stranger shouted. It was an old man, balding and dressed in formal attire. He had a woman with him, appeared to be the same age and had a wound that she was clutching to. Rarity ruled her out as a wife.

"Monsters!?" The mare exclaimed, her anger flaring up.

"STAY THE FUCK AWAY, YOU FREAK!"

"Woah, chill out grandpa!" Nate interjected, coming up beside Rarity.

"I told you to stay the fuck away from here! Think you c-can just l-leave your mask at home a-and now you're with this fuckin' freak!"

"I am not a freak, you incompetent wretch!" Rarity retorted. "And secondly, we have never been here before. YOU were the one who tried to kill us first!"

"Exactly what I'm saying!" Nate added. "You were the one who tried to kill us for no goddamn reason, if anything we should take you out for that." He pulled out his pistol, aiming it at the old man.

"Please just get the fuck outta here!" He then turned to Rarity, his eyes pleading with her's. "Please leave us alone!"

Rarity couldn't find it in her to feel sympathy for them, not even for his wounded wife. As far as she was concerned, they were merely cockroaches that bit off more than they could chew. They started it, there is no room for mercy. Not in this world...

The mare could only scoff at his insolent begging as if he had any right to. "You act as if that's going to help as if I should be compelled to feel anything for you after what you tried to do, what you could still do!" Rarity roared, staring daggers into the old man's eyes.

"What do ya say, Rarity? Should we just kill these folks and take all their stuff?" Nate had a crazed look in his eye, his finger looked ready to pull the trigger.

Consumed and driven by anger, Rarity, who was once known as the proud element of generosity. Prideful and elegant, glared into the man's soul and gave her answer.

"Do as you please."

Nate drew on the old man, pulling the trigger instantly. The woman let out a shriek but was instantaneously shot dead. He holstered his pistol, putting it back in his pants and walking over to the kitchen. "Alright! Looks like got ourselves some goodies!"

The mare stared at the dead couple for a few moments,

They deserved it...

They fired first...

We ended it...

Their fault. Not her's. What if someone else came along? What if someone else had been killed by them? Some unfortunate soul could've lost their lives to this man, it was safer for anyone who would pass by here. One less scumbag in the world was perfectly fine with the seamstress.

Not sparing another second staring at their bodies, the mare turned and followed Nate into the kitchen. "We most certainly do."