Chapters Next
Close
Chapter 1: The Undead Rising3,573 words
Chapter 2: Starved for Help5,538 words
Chapter 3: A Hasty Defense4,789 words
Chapter 4: A Safe Haven6,044 words
Chapter 5: The Grand Escape3,845 words

Chapter 1: The Undead Rising

In Fillydelphia, it was a calm morning. Chris looked out through the window, and saw the sun. Sun rays gently stroked his mane, and the cool wind touched his warm face. A morning like any other.

Chris went on in the bathroom, taking a shower. The water was colder. His neighbor must’ve used it all up. He’ll have to consult with the landlord again. After taking the shower he went on to brush his teeth. He was low on toothpaste and had left himself a reminder to buy more toothpaste.

Chris had planned to take a walk, straighten his mind a bit. But before that, he took a note, scribbled something on it, and stuck a knife with the note stuck on it, to the landlords gate. The note said: “Bitch used up all the hot water again, solve it!”

In some way, Chris was the landlord. He did pay rent and everything, but he was the one who supervised everyone in his building. He has always been that way. Ever since his parents left him at flight camp, he had learned to take care of himself. He was the “main dog” at flight camp as well. His early talents helped him progress far, and finish flight school early. But other than that he hasn’t progressed far. He always had a temper. You could say that it was always his way, or the high way.

Chris went outside, his hooves touching the cold cement that covered the ground, and the smell of a nearby factory, crawling up his nostrils, the same homeless ponies asking him for a few bits, but him rejecting them, as it always is. Fillydelphia was cold this time of year, but it was nothing to him. He fought Lunar wars on Equestria’s Northern Poles.

He arrived at the market, the smell of fresh fruits was enchanting and he simply had to get some.

“Can I help you sir?” The vendor asked

“Yeah, I’ll take two oranges and 2 bananas”

“That’ll be 4 bits sir!”

Chris pulled out a small linen bag out of his pouch, and took out four bits.

“Thank you kindly sir!” The vendor said

The market was the nicest place in Fillydelphia, colorful flowers could always be seen in the corner of your eye, and the smell of fresh bread was astonishing. I guess you could call it a swapmeet.

Stopping at the flower store, Chris saw the most beautiful rose he had ever seen. A white rose, white as an angel’s wings, white as Princess Celestia. He simply had to have one.
“Hey sir, could I get that rose over there? Specially wrapped?”

“Why of course sir! What is the occasion, if I may ask?”

“Well, there’s this girl I’m kinda sweet on, her name’s Rose. She’s only in town for a few days..”

“Here you go sir, twelve bits!”

“Yeah, here’s the money.”

“Good luck with the lady sir!” The flowerpony gave him a little smile and Chris went on

Chris was going back home. Even if it was a small walk, it sure tired him. He has been suffering from insomnia lately, memories from the Lunar War kept piling up. He was Major-General in the Lunar war, commanding thousands of battalions over the northern part of Equestria. He got into battles often, and had always been victorious with his trademark weapon, the Dragon Knife.

His Dragon Knife was carved from a Dragon’s Tooth. The dragon being Discord himself. It was enchanted, and legend has it that every pony killed with that knife is stored inside it, further boosting it’s potential.

Chris got home, checked his door. There was a note on it, saying:

Took care of the water problem,
Brae

Chris chuckled, and went inside his apartment. There wasn’t much to do. His apartment was nothing so special. A TV, sofa, kitchen and a small balcony. But lunch had not been prepared. Chris really wasn’t in the mood for cooking something, so he pulled out the nearest box he could find in his cupboard.

“Applejacks, eh? Must be a new brand.... ‘Apple flavoured!’ You don’t say?”

He sat on the sofa, turning on his TV. There was nothing special on it, but there was always the news.

“The situation on the Northern Front has been neutralised, and Discord’s forces no longer pose a threat, as he has been turned to stone, and is put on display at the Canterlot gardens”

Chris rolled his eyes. The Lunar War was the last thing he wanted to hear, although the next thing caught his attention.

“Las Pegasus crisis, a series of riots have broken out in the city, authorities can’t handle it, and the city is currently closed off to all visitors. Reports from within the city say that the local ponies have turned to cannibalism and the local forces are doing everything they can to contain it”
Seeing screenshots from the city was disturbing. Ponies feasting on one another, and killing the policeponies. Things were mad in that city.

“Well, I’ll be...” Chris muttered to himself. He then thought it was time to call Rose to arrange a date!

As Chris put his hoof out to type on the phone he typed in her number: 353-7673-332
Oddly enough, the middle numbers spelled Rose.

“Hello?”

“Hi Rose, Chris here.”

“Hi Chris! How are you?”

“Good. I just wanted to ask if you’re up for a date tonight. We could maybe grab some dinner...?”

“I’d love to! Pick me up from my place at 8 o’ clock!”

“Awesome, i’ll be there.”

Chris hung up the phone, it was time to get dressed.

Carefully putting on mane gel on his mane and dressing up in his finest leather jacket. It was his father’s, carefully hoof-stitched. And as always, he brought his knife, in case of emergency. Or cutlary loss....

He went to wash his hooves from the mane gel, but he noticed the water was out. There was only one pony to blame for this!

“That bitch....”

Chris angrily marched down the stairs and scribbled a note: “Listen up Lyra! If you switch off the water again, you’ll have more to worry about than gaining head injuries trying to walk on two hooves!” He sealed the note, with a knife.

It was the time. Chris went out. Something was not right. The streets were empty, and screams could be heard here and there. Although this was nothing unusual for Fillydelphia, the screams were more consistent. Chris arrived at Rose’s apartment, and knocked on her door. Nopony answered.

“Rose? Are you in there?”

After some time, Chris gave up. Thinking he was stood up, he put his white rose back in the jacket, and headed out to the nearby backstreet for a smoke.

The backstreet was dark, lights must’ve gone out for the city. Strange noises could be heard from the very end of the backstreet.

“I-is someone there?”

The noises suddenly went out.

“If you’re here to mug me, you should know I have no money on me!”

Slight shuffling could be heard.

“Alright, I’m tired of this!”

Chris tossed his lighter at the very back of the street only to see Rose.

“Rose! Oh there you are! I’ve been looking for you, I thought you stood me up!”

As Chris reached to put a hoof on her shoulder she quickly turned around and looked him in the eyes, with pony flesh sticking out of her mouth.

“Rose? W-what the hell?!”

Rose slowly turned around and started shuffling towards Chris.

“Rose, what the hell are you doing? Answer me!”

But Rose remained quiet. After some time she let out a terrifying growl, and leaped forward. In the heat of the moment, Chris pulled out his knife, and stabbed her in the face.

“Rose.... Rose? ROSEEEEEEEE!”

Chris stood over her dead body, but soon after that, the corpse she was eating came to life. Chris was prepared for this one too, but as he looked back, he could see a whole horde behind him.

Chris was cornered, he had nowhere to go, or he would end up like one of...THOSE . So he quickly flew up on the building, but it was not over yet. Buildings were flooded with those creatures, emerging from emergency escapes, and giving chase to other ponies.

“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!”
A pony could be seen falling off a ledge, screaming as he fell to his doom. One pony was on top of a car, being pulled down by those things, and then chewed to his death.

Chaos reigned. You could see smoke in the city, cars crashing everywhere.

Creatures came out from the roof exit, giving chase to Chris. That elevation hurt his wing pretty badly, so he couldn’t fly anymore. In the crowd of the creatures he noticed a unicorn. After a few seconds the unicorn filled up with excess magic, and just exploded. Guts were flying everywhere!

Chris kept jumping up and down on buildings, trying to escape the creatures, more coming every second.

In the distance, Chris spotted a hardware shop. It was quite small, and it looked like it could sustain those creatures.

Chris jumped off the building, quickly opening the door. In there were a few creatures, one of those being an earth pony who’s name tag said: Hi! My name is Joe!

“Hi Joe!” Chris stabbed him in the heart, and the zombie quickly fell down.

“Sweet Luna... How did this happen? Rose....”

Creatures came knocking on his door, trying to break it down, but Chris supported it with a wooden beam. Creatures howled at Chris, looking at him like he is fresh food.

As Chris relaxed, strange noises could be heard. That creature was alive.

“You don’t die easily, do ya Joe?” Chris gave him a few stabs in his hooves, and stabbed him once in his stomach.

“Why don’t you die?!”

And then, like a flash, a gunshot was heard. A dark figure looking through the ceiling hatch.

“Come with me, if you want to live”

Chris had no choice, as the creatures were already breaching the gates of the store.

“Always.... Aim for the head...” The mysterious pony said.

“Who are you?” Chris asked

“No time. You wanna live, we go, now! Hollow, you ready or what?!”

“Yeah yeah, I’m on it.” Another voice said, as a cloaked figure jumped down and forced Chris through, before jumping back up themselves and shutting it behind them. “Damn, you’re heavy, you know that?”

“Don’t comment on my weight now! We’re about to be swarmed, where do we go!?”

“Simple. We go up, and out!”

“But, I can’t fly, my wing’s hurt bad!” Chris said, pointing at his wing.

“You don’t need to, just hang on to me or Hollow.” The pony said, placing a hoof on Chris, who watched with a mix of amazement and horror as the pony suddenly grew wings, while their horn retracted into their head. “So, you wanna live or die?”

“What the hell are you?!”

“Simple answer, I don’t know anymore.” The pony replied sadly. “Now hold on!” he commanded, lifting Chris onto his companion’s back.

“Get me out of here, and the pies are on me!”

“I’ll hold you to that.” he joked, kicking a hole in the wall nearby and diving through it, followed by the cloaked figure, whose wings made a distinct buzzing sound.

“Holy crap... You’re a changeling? I fought against your kind in the Lunar War... Your kind killed thousand of my men.... Give me one good reason, why I shouldn’t cut you down where you stand!”

“Because if you so much as harm a single hair on my sister’s head, I’ll make you beg for death.” The pony replied darkly. “She’s the only family I’ve got, and I’ll be damned if I let your stupid prejudices get her killed.”

Chris was humiliated by that comment. His face turned red as he held on to the hooded pony. “Just... Fly....”

“No worries. Besides, neither of us were involved in the war.” he said almost too quietly to hear.

“Oh god damn... It’s a horned one-hit wonder! It’s gonna blow this place up!”

“A what?” The still unnamed pony asked confusedly, looking to the ground below.

“Well, see that unicorn right over there? That sumbitch is gonna blow up. Probably from all the unused magic. I suggest you fly unless you wanna be.... Whatever the hell you are, peices.”

“You got it. One ticket out of here, air Knight style!” He laughed, picking up the pace considerably, the changeling, Hollow, keeping up with him easily.

As they all looked down, the only thing they could see is a massive explosion. But it wasn’t a regular explosion, instead it sent out deadly shockwaves that would cripple anyone near them.

“What did I tell you?” Chris looked at the mysterious pony.

They all noticed a magic barrier around the city.

“Oh crap, how are you gonna fly through that?! You’ll get bounced off! You got some ground vehicles?”

“Like I said, no worries. Hollow, ready?” the pony asked.

“Anytime, Knight. Hey, whatsyourname. Wanna know what it’s like to teleport through shadows?” Hollow asked with a grin, showing off her fangs.

“Is this the part where you turn cannibal like all those others?” Chris asked with a worried face.

“Ha. Good one. Changelings are immune to this thing for some reason, at least I think so. I got bit by one of these years ago and I haven’t changed a bit.” She replied, suddenly taking a nose dive in response to the one she called Knight, who had already descended and was heading straight towards a wall.

“Oh crap! Oh no, no, no, no, no!” At this point, Chris passed out.

As Chris slowly came to, he noticed his knife was missing, as instinct, that is the first thing he reached for.

He slowly look around, still shaken up from the nosedive. That is the last thing he remembers. He wanted answers.

“Hello? Is anypony there?” Chris asked, looking around, still a little dizzy.

“Yeah, we’re here. You’re safe, for the time being.” A familiar voice said.

“You.... Ungh.... What happened?”

“Shadow-walking. One of Knight’s more interesting abilities. It’s one of the few he’s been able to use since he was a colt. Before everything he and I went through” The voice continued, as a now uncloaked changeling emerged from the shadow under a nearby tree.

“Wait... I know you... You were in Las Pegasus... I saw you on the video!” Chris muttered.

“What video? And what do you mean I was in Las Pegasus?” She asked in confusion.

“The Las Pegasus outbreak... That’s what they’re calling it right? Where the cannibalism started? I saw you there, flying over the city.... Agh... Celestia, the pain...”

“First, don’t curse in front of a lady. Two, that pain was a lot worse than it is now. I had to absorb most of it to keep you from dying on us.”

“Heh... Never thought I’d be saying this to a changeling but... Thanks...Ugh...So... What’s your story?” Chris asked.

“That’s for Knight to tell, not me.” Hollow replied sternly. “And you’re welcome. Now, our first stop is Canterlot. Knight keeps saying that something is drawing him there. Unless of course, you have a better idea of where we should go first.”

“Canterlot? Ugh... Sure, we can go there... If we pass through Ponyville first.... I have family and friends there, we could see if they’re alive...”

“I have friends there too...” Another voice said as Knight appeared, literally out of nowhere. “Let me ask, who do you have back there?”

“My mother.... She’s.... A strong pony... Runs a farm up there, called Sweet Apple Acres, I think...”

“Wait...your mom? Who’s your mom?” Knight asked curiously.

“Last, I heard, down there they were callin’ her Granny Smith..” Chris said with a worried face.

“So, you’re Applejack’s father?” Knight inquired.

“Yeah... That would be her....” Chris pulled out a small medallion with a picture of a young filly and stallion in it. “That’s them...”

“AJ sure looked cute back then, huh. So did Mac.” Knight said with a smile on his face. “And if I know those two as well as I think I do, they’re just fine, and no worries, I’m sure Applebloom is fine too.”

“If you don’t mind, I got some questions...” Chris said.

“Ask away. But if I say drop it, you drop it until I say otherwise, alright.” Knight sternly replied.

“Alright... Agh.... What were those things?! Why were they feasting on each other?”

“They were ponies infected with a virus created by Discord’s Research and Development Division.” Knight said. “He had his scientists try to create living weapons through various experiments, and those are one of the results.”

“Discord, huh? Last I heard, he was turned to stone and shipped off to Canterlot gardens.... World is mysterious that way eh?”

“How long has it been since he was sealed away again?” Knight asked.

“I saw it on TV this morning... How can this be?!” Chris looked horrified.

“What? What did you see?!”

“Discord being sealed away in stone after.... Agh.... Sweet Celestia.... After the Lunar War situation was defused... Ceremony was this morning..” Chris replied.

“So...it was recent...guess that was why riots started in the facility, huh Hollow?” Knight mused, before turning wide-eyed upon realizing what he had said.

“What facility?” Chris asked.

“That’s one of those things, I suggest you forget about it.” Knight replied, almost sadly.

“How about... Hnng.... A trade..? For information?”

“What kind of trade?” Hollow asked suspiciously, almost startling Chris, who had forgotten about her.

“This... Is the Dragon Knife...” Chris pulled out a knife from his sheath, “It is made from... Discord’s tooth... See this gem right here?” Chris asked, pointing to an amethyst engraved in the blade. “I killed seven hundred and fifty thousand changelings with this knife in the war... Legend has it that Changelings can look inside the stone to talk with their fallen comrades... How about it Hollow?”

“That’s....that’s a soul gem...” She said in almost a whisper. “So, it’s true...but...using it...it’s taboo...”

“Is that what you think?.. Heh... Let me ask you something... Were your family members in this war? Father? Mother? Brother? You can talk to them right here, free of charge. All I want, is information...”

“My family were all killed a long time ago, by Discord’s forces...the day I was....” She trailed off, shedding a tear.

“I’m sorry if this is a sore topic... Look, if you want, I can give you the soul gem as a memento... Something to remember your people by...After all, i’m done collecting souls...”

She stared at Chris, shocked. “A-are you sure? You really mean it?”

“Yeah, it’s yours to keep....Just, take good care of it... This is... Discord’s eye....”

Chris popped the gem out with a swift strike and handed it to Hollow, who took it with a shaky hoof. “Thank you...”

“Maybe this will finally relieve me of the nightmares.... Now, care to share this facility business?”

Knight looked to Hollow, who nodded slowly. “Alright. But, understand, it’s...painful, to talk about.”

“I understand... I’m just interested in this because my family’s life could be in danger... You understand, right?”

“I understand.” He said. “Ok, the first thing you need to know is that I grew up in the Everfree Forest, in a small cabin. I lived there since I was five. Six years ago, there was an incident, and my parents and younger sister were killed. And I was taken by two cloaked ponies to some facility outside Las Pegasus.” He started to take deep breaths. “They locked me in a cell with Hollow here, and every once in a while they’d take one of us for their sick experiments, trying to turn us into living weapons. After each one, they’d...they’d...”

“It’s alright.. You don’t have to tell me everything now....”

In the distance, growls could be heard, bushes were being shaken.

“You hear that? We gotta go, get to Ponyville...”

Chris reached to the pocket of his leather jacket to find a note that said:

Chris, don’t forget to purchase more toothpaste,
Past Chris

Chris gave a little chuckle, remembering this morning.

“We gonna go?” Chris asked.

“Y-yeah.” Knight said, a little shaky. “And by the way, we never told you our whole names, did we? I’m Rising Knight, and this is Hollow Armour.” He gestured to Hollow, who smiled weakly and went back to staring at the gem.

“I’m Chris... A pleasure... Agh... Say, could we get some medicine? My wing’s hurtin’ bad...”

And so the three of them departed on their way to Canterlot, unaware of the dangers....

THAT LURK AHEAD.

1,212 views

Chapters Next