Flash's Journal

by cesmaster644

19 & 20 A.I.

Flash's Journal

Days 19 & 20 After Infection

Written by cesmaster644

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all affiliated characters are copyright Hasbro, Lauren Faust, Studio B Productions... That should be everypony, right?

I do not claim ownership to anything but a few characters.

*****

19 A.I.

I'm going to skip ahead a little bit; I'll get into details in a second. Just so you know, we're in Ponyville now. We made it, safe and sound, all nine of us.

Okay, I guess I have some explaining to do.

Sorry for no entry for yesterday; we were quite busy, and only one interesting thing happened, so... I just decided to roll it into today, rather than try to write its own entry.

You see, yesterday, as we were making our way to Ponyville, we stopped at a rest area. Inside this rest area were two things: zombies, and a small group of ponies. Four, to be exact.

Fayth, Noteworthy, Octavia, and Strickland.

Apparently, we missed two things:

1. Strickland and Maple survived.

2. There were some disagreements in the group.

See...

*****

"Mother of Celestia, what is this?!" Flash burst out.

They were bloody, beaten, bound, gagged, and unconscious, but they seemed to have been involved in a pony-on-pony fight, not a fight with the living dead. There were no bite marks. No infected sections of skin. And they had been in this locked room for however long they’d been here. They were probably clean.

They were his friends - their friends, Vinyl and his. Fayth, Noteworthy, Octavia, and... somehow, Strickland. And they were here. But why? Why would they be separated from the rest? Why would they be tied up like that, locked in this room? How could Strickland even be here?

Vinyl asked Flash why he burst out like that; Flash, albeit somewhat hesitantly, explained. Vinyl took a step back in shock, just as confused. Things just didn’t make sense! For any clarification, however, they’d just have to wait.

Lyra, Bon Bon, and Terra all decided to let the couple sort out their problems alone and started setting up camp. They closed the door again and sealed it - from the inside - for the night. If they were staying there, then they would NOT be staying up to fight the zed. Bon Bon began cooking; Lyra and Terra began exploring.

The room wasn’t terribly big. Just enough for the staff that once worked their to relax and take a break. A fridge was on its side - the cord that powered it snapped. A small amount of blood was leaking out. Neither Lyra nor Terra wanted to know the source.

Cabinets and drawers covered one corner; all were flung open in what had probably once been a desperate attempt to find supplies. The floor was some sort of hardwood, from the looks of it. It had been scuffed up in what might have been the same fight Flash and Vinyl’s friends had been involved in. A couch was overturned on one side of the room. The whole room smelled like death and decay. It wasn’t very enjoyable at all, obviously, but it would have to do.

“Alright, well, let’s see if we can’t get that sofa upright and put at least somepony on it,” Flash directed.

*****

We waited for a good hour or so before they woke up. I swear, I was starting to think that they might have been dead.

But they weren’t dead. And they did wake up.

We’d already untied them and stuff, of course. We’re not stupid. Anyway, so they woke up, and...

*****

A muffled cry brought their attention to the two ponies still lying in the middle of the room. Noteworthy had awoken, and was struggling against his bonds. Lyra trotted over to him and used a simple cutting spell to free him - and the others. Strickland was still out cold.

“Thanks.” Noteworthy forced himself into a sitting position and rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought we were done in for sure.” As he spoke, he gestured to his fellows.

“No prob. But I think, right now, there’s a bit of a pressing issue. What are you doing here, bound and gagged, anyway?” Lyra replied.

“Yeah. We’ve been wondering that for quite some time,” Flash reaffirmed.

Noteworthy’s head seemed to spin, he turned so quickly. “F-F-Flash?! Vinyl!? No! There’s no way! You’re dead!”

Flash smirked. “I thought the same of him.” He gently prodded Strickland’s side, trying to get him to wake. “What happened, Noteworthy? How did you all end up like this?”

Noteworthy shook his head and rubbed his temples with his forehooves. “Not everypony agreed with Poniatowski about everything. It started off small. Some ponies wanted to stay in Stalliongrad longer, wait for you two. Others didn’t want to risk our safety waiting for ponies that may not come... when Strickland and Maple showed up, Poniatowski decided it was time to leave.” He sighed. “It was... stressful, at best. There was a lot of tension for quite some time. Like an elephant in the room, you know? It was bothering everyone, but... know one wanted to talk about it.”

“Wait, wait, wait, Strickland and Maple? If they made it out, what about Sheridan?” Flash’s brow quickly furrowed, making his concern obvious to everypony.

Noteworthy closed his eyes. His head lowered. “I... I... ask Strickland.”

“Noteworthy.” Flash closed his own eyes and drew a breath, trying to maintain some semblance of calm. “What happened to him?”

“Just... ask Strickland. I wasn’t there, I don-”

“Noteworthy, please... what happened?” Vinyl was speaking now.

“He’s dead, alright? I don’t know the details. No one asked. Poniatowski probably did eventually, but no one openly asked.” Noteworthy looked about ready to start crying. “Geeze, it was just as bad as Lionhart! Except we didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye properly! Why does everypony have to die, Flash? In this... this hell of a world! Why can’t we save everypony?!”

Flash place a hoof on Noteworthy’s shoulder. “Alright... Shhh, calm down. I’m sorry for pushing you, I just-”

“Just...” Noteworthy cleared his eyes with the wipe of a forehoof, slowly regaining himself, “don’t worry about it.”

“... Well, what happened next?”

Fayth and Octavia - who had been on the couch together - were awake now. Fayth was silently raising herself to her hooves and inspecting her fellows’ injuries. Octavia and Vinyl were talking to and embracing each other.

“So,” Noteworthy continued, “we left. Everypony agreed that, if we were going to go, we might as well head north, to Ponyville. Though the population’s large enough that, if there was an outbreak, it would not be fun to clean up, it is relatively isolated and should have plenty of food supply and room to grow.

“Well, we were on our way when we stopped by here. It was midday. Before we got here, this place was relatively-”

“Sane,” Fayth inserted.

“Yeah. There were a few survivors, holed up in here, out of the reach of the undead outside. When we showed up, they let us in. We told them where we were going, and we offered to take them with us. They declined. We stayed a day or two; when we went to leave, they accused Berry of trying to steal some food. There was a fight. I was outside, with a few others; I didn’t see much specific. We heard the fridge fall... and when we went inside, one of our hosts was gone, the others struggling against Poniatowski and Ace and...” Noteworthy shook his head again.

“The fight eventually ended. We buried our once-hosts. Then we fought amongst ourselves. Poniatowski and her supporters claimed it was all self-defense, that they didn’t mean to kill our hosts.

“We claimed that Poniatowski handled the situation poorly, and got out of hand. We basically accused them of murder. Things got worse... and... we ended up getting beaten up and gagged. We’ve been here since.”

Flash hung his head. “I’m sorry. If I’d known what would happen... I wouldn’t have ever appointed her leader-”

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Fayth inserted. “You couldn’t have known.”

“Thanks, Fayth...” Flash nodded. “Well, I’m sure you guys are starving... Bon Bon, how’s dinner coming?”

“Ten more minutes,” Bon Bon replied.

*****

Strickland woke up with the smell of Bon Bon’s soup, and finally joined the group around the “dinner floor”.

“How-?” he began.

“Barely,” Flash replied.

“Fair enough.”

“You?”

“Same.”

“... Sheridan?”

Strickland looked away. “Dead.”

“I know. What happened?”

“We... the three of us, we decided to get out through the back door while we could. We went up onto the roof. Sheridan... he stayed on the bottom, to help us up.”

“He didn’t get up in time?”

Strickland shook his head no. “Maple and I did our best to keep them from tearing him limb from limb. Eventually... we just had to kill him. For his own good.”

Flash nodded. “I understand. How’d you get back?”

“We waited it out. Any pegasi that lumbered through the air towards us, we took down. Eventually, after picking some off, we just jumped off the roof and ran for our lives. We lost them. We were in town - not without our fair share of scratches and bruises - by noon the next day.”

Flash thought it through for a moment. “Well... two out of three isn’t bad. Glad at least you two did make it out. Now, come on. Dig in.”

*****

After dinner, we slept through the night. The next morning, we took our leave and headed into Ponyville.

Well, not Ponyville proper. We’re staying in a small cottage, about a mile out of town, right now. We’ll explore town for survivors later tomorrow. And that brings us here.

Everypony’s trying to get rest; they deserve it. I’m just glad that we’re somewhat together again. Though... I have to admit, I’m scared of meeting up with the rest of the group in town tomorrow. I don’t know how that will play out. Oh well. Not much choice.

List update.

Current:

1. Flash

2. Vinyl Scratch

3. Lyra Heartstrings

4. Bon Bon

5. Terra Cotta

6. Fayth (injured)

7. Noteworthy (injured)

8. Octavia (injured)

9. Strickland (injured)

Camp Settlers (Location unknown):

1. Poniatowski

2. Berry Punch

3. Golden Harvest

4. Ace

5. Armstrong

6. Maple (recovery status unknown)

Deceased or status unknown:

1. Lionhart (deceased)

2. Sheridan (deceased)

Night, journal!

20 A.I.

The clopping of their hooves against the cobblestone streets echoed dully through the ghost of a town. Loose papers drifted lazily about on a gentle breeze. The lack of birds sang volumes.

“Horsefeathers. They couldn’t have taken down all of Ponyville, could they?” Lyra muttered.

“I doubt it... I’m sure everypony’s just... bunkered down. Right?” Bon Bon turned to look at Flash as she spoke.

“Yeah...” Flash seemed distracted, busy staring at scenery and not bothering to look anypony in the eye, “bunkered down....”

"Oh!" Bon Bon cheered. "Sugarcube Corner is just up ahead an on the left. It's the local bakery; if there's any food left in town, it'll be there."

Knowing that Bon Bon lived in Ponyville, Flash nodded and guided the group that direction. As Flash took the lead, Bon Bon let herself fall to the back - not without Lyra noticing.

"You okay, sis?" Lyra asked, pulling up next to Bon Bon.

Bon Bon looked away. "I... I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Of everypony being dead. All my friends in town... I haven't seen a soul that wasn't in our group since we arrived. I'm afraid that...."

"We won't see any of them?"

Bon Bon turned her head back, tears brimming in her eyes. "That we'll see them all, and we'll have to kill them."

Lyra wrapped a foreleg around her sister's neck, pressing their heads together. "Hey. The Elements of Harmony live here, right? I'm sure they can't have let everypony die. If anypony could save your friends... it's them. They've stocked up someplace and are living it up right now. We just have to find them."

"... Thanks, sis."

“Hey, you two! Come on!” Flash called from around a corner. “We’re not going to wait all day.”

“Sorry,” they both replied.

With that, the group entered what had once been the most famous bakery that side of Canterlot.

The building was a mess; frosting, old order forms, broken cook gear, and other random junk was scattered about in what had probably been a panic to gather materials during the initial epidemic.

“Right... so... spread out. Lyra, Bon Bon, Terra, go upstairs and see what you can find.” Flash gestured towards the stairwell. Though the rail had been broken, the steps were still usable. “Everypony else, search down here.”

The ponies all nodded and set off to work.

With the exceptions of Flash and Vinyl, of course. Flash, because he was standing watch at the doorway for zombies; Vinyl, because, well, she was blind. She stood at his side, silent and still.

Flash sighed. It had been quite some time since he’d spent time with just her. They’d been busy - and he was sure they both knew that, but....

It would just be nice for them to be able to not have to worry about stuff and just relax together. But life was cruel, and they probably wouldn’t get such a chance.

A sudden feeling - a warm sensation - pressed against his neck. He tilted his head to look. Vinyl was resting her head there. He smiled and pressed his muzzle to her horn.

Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.

*****

They disembarked from the bakery; nothing had been left to raid.

And, yet, for all the thorough pillaging that had been done in Ponyville, still no soul could be found. No raiding parties. No survivors. No Poniatowski. Only...

“... moaning?” Vinyl heard it before the others.

“Yeah, moaning. I hear it too,” Octavia said.

“I think it’s coming from over there,” Strickland suggested, pointing to what Bon Bon identified as the local spa.

“Yeah, Aloe and Lotus run this fantastic spa, and...” Bon Bon didn’t finish her sentence. While nothing physically stopped her, the thought of her friends’ deaths reentered her mind, and she cut herself off. Lyra understood what Bon Bon was feeling and quickly embraced her sister.

“Well, let’s check it out,” Flash said, marching forward with an air of determination.

But no pony followed.

Reaching the door, he turned to see his lack of support. “Oh, come on, guys, what are you waiting for?”

“Flash, there’s zombies in there,” Strickland said.

“Lots of them, from the sound of it,” Noteworthy continued.

“And they haven’t come to eat us yet,” Terra threw in.

“So they must be trapped inside,” Lyra kept the thought rolling.

“And, therefore, why would we bother letting them out?” Flash ended the thought himself. “Alright, guys, I guess you’re right, let’s just leave it alo-”

“Yer darn tootin’ they’re right!” a voice, thick with a Southern accent, called out. “Whater y’all thinkin’, tryin’ ta let them zombies loose?”

The source of the voice was an Earth pony, orange in color, with a long, golden mane and a cowpony hat to top it off. She was accompanied by a cyan pegasus - also a mare - whose rainbow-colored mane fluttered over her shoulder.

Behind him, a few of the ponies - like Bon Bon - were beginning to realize just who they were talking to. Though they seemed familiar, Flash couldn’t quite place these two mares.

“Yeah!” The pegasus, her voice cracking slightly, resounded. “Are you spies? Why would you want to let those zombies free, huh?!” The pegasus flew into Flash’s face to stare him down. Flash, in the up-close moment, realized that she had a baseball bat strapped to her back - as did the Earth pony.

“Uh, Rainbow, spies fer who, exactly?” the first mare asked.

Rainbow. Wheels were beginning to turn in Flash’s head. He knew he should know that name from somewhere, but....

Rainbow backed off a little. “Uh... The zombies! Yeah! I bet they’re working with the zombies to set ‘em free and let ‘em ruin our whole defenses!”

The first mare facehoofed. “Oh, Rainbow.... How in the world would they even talk to tha zombies to set that up? And why would they want that in the first place? I’m sure these nice pony folk were just tellin’ this’n to think for a second and not make a simple mistake. Am I right, pony folk?”

Everypony nodded in reply.

“That settles it, then,” the first mare declared with a triumphant smirk.

Rainbow frowned. Though she didn’t like losing... she had. “Fine. I guess you’re right,” she said before flying to the first mare’s side.

The first mare turned her attention to the whole group. “Anywho, mah name’s Applejack. This here’s mah friend Rainbow Dash. We consider ourselves tha leaders round here, so, when we heard all the commotion y’all were making, we came a-running. After that last group that came through here the other day, we wanted to make sure we met you first.”

*****

So, Journal, we got to meet the population of Ponyville. The Elements of Harmony themselves - Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy - were in charge, leading the survivors over at Applejack’s farm. Sweet Apple Acres, it’s called.

They’ve cleared out the undead from Ponyville. A few hasecond-death-blows to the head. Most of them are stored in the spa. Twilight Sparkle - the other Element, who is apparently still stuck in Canterlot - said she might have a cure, so don’t kill any more ponies if possible.

Most everypony spent the day with the Ponyville ponies; learning, making friends, and relaxing. Things are pretty easy around here. They just live. I spent almost all day with Applejack, bucking trees and learning what she knew about this. Apparently, she and Twilight have been keeping in contact. The whole epidemic started during the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, when one of Princess Luna’s experiments went wrong and infected some of her staff - who then infected the party guests in Canterlot, who then infected each other, who then fled home, thinking that they were uninfected, and infected their families, and....

It doesn’t get any better from there.

However, AJ says that Poniatowski and her group did come through here - demanding supplies and safe haven. AJ said she wouldn’t give it to such rude ponies, and told them to look west - towards Appleloosa - where somepony might be stupid, scared, or wealthy enough to give them what they want. So they did.

I know that I need to go find them and fix the mess Poniatowski’s made. But... everything’s perfect here. I can’t take this away from my group. Not yet. But by the end of the week, I think, we’ll head out.

I think I’ll give them the chance to choose to stay, if they want to.

Alright, I think that’s it. There’s too many ponies here for me to list yet.

Vinyl’s calling me - she wants to talk about something... I guess it’s bedtime, Journal!

Comments

[Spitfire8a]

BUCK YA THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!

You dont know how long i have been waiting for them to appear.

Sweet update. You just made my day.

[Da Dr P3PP3R]

I gotta tell ya.
I was a little skeptical at the beginning, but heck this is so far one of the best fanfics I've read! Keep up the good work.

[RBDGabe]

I want MOARRRRRRRRRRR! Please?