Undead Don’t Make For Good Coltfriends

by daOtterGuy

Undead Don’t Make For Good Protectors

“Goo. Dee. Moor. Ing.” Flash intoned.

“Morning, Flash!” Zephyr greeted as he trotted out of the kitchen and to Flash’s side. “How’s the cabin looking today?”

“Is. See. Cure.”

“Sure is, stud,” Zephyr jabbed Flash playfully in the side with a wing as he took his usual spot at Flash’s side.

It had been a while, or at least Zephyr thought it had been since Flash had first talked. He was speaking more and more every day, but still only in disjointed monosyllabic words. Zephyr, in a very rare exercise in patience, always gave Flash the time he needed to respond despite the long pauses between syllables. He’d also gotten very good at assembling the parts Flash spoke into his full response.

Flash also stuck close to Zephyr as much as possible. He would cover Zephyr with a wing when he shivered or when his breath hitched due to some horrid thought that passed through his mind. Zephyr didn’t know why he had these weird and sudden panic attacks, but Flash’s proximity helped and he was extremely grateful for it.

Their closeness had also brought forth the odd observation that Flash was very warm which went at odds with his ice zombie aesthetic. Something that Zephyr didn’t bother thinking too deeply about since there was no way a unqualified beautician was gonna figure out what was going on with Flash’s undead body.

They had also laid down together every time Zephyr needed to sleep, Flash’s wing wrapped protectively around him.

The regular patrols had, of course, continued with Zephyr’s constant babbling with it, now with the fun addition of infrequent, slow responses. The corpse room had also mostly been removed from the path since then with Flash checking in briefly every ten rotations. However, even during those times, should Zephyr call for him, Flash would immediately come shambling back from the room.

This was a good thing as far as Zephyr was concerned since he was pretty sure they were going steady and had no need for a second corpse in this relationship.

Both stallions sat down before the living room window, the table and lantern still untouched since the first day Zephyr had arrived. It was the end of the current patrol which meant Zephyr got to start his speech lessons with Flash.

“Okay, let’s try a fun one this time,” Zephyr said. “Say ‘Cuddle’.”

“Kuh. Do. Ull.” Flash intoned flatly.

“Close, but not quite there yet, stud. Let’s try again, but this time with the whole word. Repeat after me. Cuddle.”

“Kuh. Do. Ull.” Flash repeated.

“Cuddle.”

“Kuh. Do. Ull.”

“Cuddle,” Zephyr said again, overexaggerating his mouth movements and pronunciation.

“Cuh.” Flash’s face scrunched up the barest amount. “Dual.”

“Hey, you did it!” Zephyr cheered. “Well, not completely, but you got the last part down!”

A grunt. Zephyr interpreted it as excited agreement.

“That was great, but let’s try another one before we go back on patrol. So, repeat after—”

A loud crash interrupted their lesson causing Zephyr to jump with a yelp. Flash remained seated but slowly turned his head to look in the direction of the noise.

“What was that?!” Zephyr exclaimed.

Several wet ripping sounds echoed from deeper in the cabin setting Zephyr’s fur on edge. Silence followed then several heavy thumps as whatever made the initial sound began to approach the living room.

Flash stepped in front of Zephyr, placing a wing in front of him. Zephyr glanced toward Flash and noticed his eyes appeared more focused than before, the mist dissipating partially.

“Uh, you okay?” Zephyr asked.

His attention was then brought back to the problem at hoof when a low growl emanated from the other side of the room. Stepping around the corner, another zombie appeared. An earth pony stallion of similar size to Flash with pale brown fur and a paler brown mane. Like Flash, his fur was translucent but only around the skull and top of the neck. They gnashed their teeth together, a trial of saliva dripping from their mouth.

Flash growled in answer, baring his teeth at the intruder. Zephyr had never noticed before, but Flash’s teeth were sharp. He wasn’t worried, though, since it was Flash and he would never hurt him. Plus, this whole situation could be easily resolved with a few words from Zephyr. He had this.

“Okay, boys,” Zephyr said. “No need to get riled up.”

He pushed Flash’s wing out of the way, and, in an uncharacteristic display of speed, Flash whipped his head toward Zephyr, his aggressive expression faltering at Zephyr’s actions. He tried to drag Zephyr back with his wing but failed due to a rare display of nimbleness as Zephyr approached the salivating zombie.

“Hey, dude. Let’s chill. Parlay, ya know?” Zephyr greeted with a wide grin. “Look, I know you’re probably out of it, but I can fix you right up. See, me and Flash here have been doing this thing where—”

Zephyr’s reflexes proved better than his words as the zombie lunged toward his neck and he managed to push the zombie’s jaw back as he slammed into the floor.

“Okay, never mind! I don’t got this!” Zephyr cried out.

Roaring, Flash grabbed the zombie by the neck with his teeth and flung him against the wall. The zombie lifted itself off the ground, growling at Flash and Zephyr. Flash planted his hooves overtop of Zephyr, answering the threat with a snarl.

“Get. Back.” Flash commanded flatly.

“You got it, stud,” Zephyr replied shakily.

As the zombie lunged, Flash jumped forward to meet him as Zephyr scrambled away from them both. Both zombies devolved into a violent scuffle of teeth. The intruder managed to bite into Flash’s neck and shove him off before charging after Zephyr.

Screaming in panic, Zephyr tried to get away from him but was too late to avoid the zombie’s lunge. He sunk his teeth into Zephyr who tripped and fell hard onto the floor, his shoulder taking the brunt of the impact. A shallow bite bled from his barrel.

The zombie attempted to lunge at Zephyr again but was stopped by a freight train named Flash.

Red pumped from his heart as Flash roared at the assailant. It mixed with the frigid blue, causing his bones to be dyed in both colours. Zephyr noticed he seemed bigger than before, his teeth sharper as his heart pounded through his see through fur.

Both undead became embroiled in a vicious battle that ended quickly as Flash overpowered the other stallion and ripped into him with his teeth.

The zombie managed to get a few more wounds in before dropping to the floor dead with Flash standing overtop of him, panting heavily from the exertion.

Zephyr watched in rapt attention as Flash moved toward the fire, twinges of pain flaring from his own wound. Flash collapsed onto Zephyr’s blanket nest, dyeing the fabrics red and blue.

Uncertainty raced through Zephyr as he considered what to do. Did he grab medical supplies? Would they work on a zombie? Did he check on the other zombie to make sure it was dead? Could he even tell if he did? Should he go to Flash? Was it even safe to in his current state?

As his whirlwind of thoughts froze him in place, a single word managed to pierce through.

“Zephyr.” Flash called out.

Scrambling over to him, Zephyr landed next to Flash. “Hey, stud, what do you need?” He asked, a few errant tears falling from his eyes as he took in his wounds and heavy breaths. “H-how do I help?”

“Cuddle,” Flash intoned flatly.

Rolling Flash gently onto his side, Zephyr maneuvered himself to be in between his hooves. Flash pulled him in tightly, pressing Zephyr against the bulk of his chest as he wrapped him tightly up with his wings. Zephyr stared at Flash’s heart through his fur, the previously dormant organ pumping rhythmically in a semblance of a heartbeat.

He clung to Flash, hoping desperately for the best as Flash’s warmth lulled him to sleep.