Undead Equestria

by MaskedxMaestro

Chapter 2

Ponyville didn’t feel the same as they walked to Sweet Apple Acres. Given any other day, Twilight would have felt happy to make her way to her friend’s family farm, but this journey was nerve-racking to say the least. Every time she stepped forward, Twilight would look around nervously to see if anyone, or anything was watching them. And to make matters worse, Rainbow insisted upon everypony staying silent the entire trip (in effort to avoid any potential zompony complications), which made Twilight’s incessant need to ask questions torture.

“Girls, can you at least tell me who has survived?” she whispered. Twilight knew she would see soon enough, but it was concerning her that someone she knew could already be gone.

Rainbow Dash, who thought it best to fly above them to check for danger, glared down at her and motioned for her to zip her lips. Rarity, however, who was walking beside Twilight, took pity on her.

“Well, Twilight,” she began in a hushed tone as Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at them. “Applejack and the rest of her family have all gathered there and are taking precautions to help everyone survive. The Cakes are there also, helping Cheerilee with the fillies and colts. And actually, I believe Zecora is there helping them too.”

“Zecora?” Twilight asked. “From Everfree forest?”
 “Yes.” Rarity explained. “And last but not least there is Thunderlane and Blossomforth.”

Twilight stared at her friend in astonishment. “That’s all the ponies that have survived?!”

“No, no, Twilight. Remember I said that most ponies have gone to Canterlot for safety. It’s just that a few of us have chosen to stay behind here in an effort to look for others.”

“What about Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? Is Spike okay?”

Rarity didn’t answer. At least not at first. Instead she continued walking with no clear expression. But finally she turned to Twilight, worry now etched upon her face.

“I don’t know.” she said. “Spike has gone to Canterlot but the others...”

Twilight didn’t respond, choosing to watch the ground as they walked rather than to comment on the inevitable. There was no proof saying that they were gone for good, but in this new world of darkness where else could they be?

Sweet Apple Acres slowly came into view. Everything seemed the same, nothing was broken down or damaged in anyway. Rather than appearing bright and cheery as usual, however, the barn looked dark and desolate. The windows were all shut and no light could be seen between the cracks of the wood. Twilight considered the idea that she was projecting her emotions into making the barn seem spooky, but whether or not it was her emotions or the shadows, Sweet Apple Acres wasn’t looking so sweet.

Upon getting closer to the farm, Twilight noticed that the front yard seemed different. There were strange lumps lying about in the grass and dirt which she found quite peculiar.

“What are-” Twilight began to ask but she was interrupted by her own realization.

They were bodies.

There must have been a dozen of them or so. All of them were ponies, littered across the ground with sprawled limbs and decaying bodies. Twilight resisted a squeal as she looked at each one, stopping in her tracks from shock. Rainbow Dash and Rarity didn’t seem to be bothered by the macabre view, but they stopped anyway, looking back at Twilight with sad expressions. They exchanged worried looks as they came closer to their friend, but Twilight didn’t take notice of their concern. Instead she continued to gape at the dead before her. Were they ponies she knew? She was afraid to look too close incase she recognized anyone and yet she couldn’t pull her eyes away. The bodies were further along in the decaying process, as though they had been dead for a long time.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash each stood on one side of Twilight, putting an arm around her. They gave her a nudge, which Twilight at first resisted by refusing to move, but finally they slowly guided her through the field of death, allowing time for Twilight to simultaneously shudder and tense up with each passing body.

A tear ran down Twilight’s cheek as she looked at each one. Her first thought was wondering what had happened here. How were these ponies killed? Were they killed at all? Were they dead monsters left to rot or innocent victims? Could the monsters even be killed? She didn’t recognize any of them. Who were they and where did they come from? Endless questions poured into her brain and the more she thought about them the more she realized that she knew hardly anything about zomponies at all. With no books having been written on them (aside from fictitious stories, anyway), how was she to judge their actions? The only thing she knew about zomponies was that they were the dead come alive, and had a knack for eating anything in their path. How they acted, what specifically they ate, or where they originated from, was all a mystery to her. Could she trust the little information she had or would she need to start from scratch?

The barn door was just before them. Rainbow Dash flew ahead, rose up to one of the upper windows and pulled back the wood that had been covering it to get inside. Rarity and Twilight were left to wait patiently. Just as the barn door creaked opened, Twilight took one last look behind her, and then stepped inside.

Inside the barn, everything was pitch black. Twilight couldn’t see an inch in front of her nose. The only thing she could hear was her own loud heartbeat, pumping through her ears. She froze, not knowing what she’d bump into if she attempted to walk forward. After a moment of silence, a voice with a deep southern accent spoke out.

“Lanterns, everypony.”

A flickering sound crackled and instantly light filled the barn. Applejack, an orange mare with straw colored hair and a brown cowboy hat stood in front of Twilight and Rarity, a mixed expression of happiness and sadness upon her face. Twilight would have returned the smile had she not needed a moment to take in her surroundings. Looking around, she saw a great number of Apple Family relatives holding lanterns either on the ground or on the second level of the barn. Some she recognized, such as Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Braeburn. Others were clearly extended family, some she even thought looked familiar from when she first came to Ponyville, but their names escaped her memory at the moment.

The barn looked relatively the same as she remembered aside from one major thing. Haphazardly sewn blankets were covering the walls. Twilight was at first confused at this discovery but after putting two and two together from how the lanterns were only turned on after she was inside the barn, she knew straight away that they were being used to block any light from reaching outside through the wood crevices. Aside from that, however, the piles of hay, food storage off to one corner (not including the secondary storage that she knew was hidden in the floor boards), miscellaneous tools for farming, and individual fenced in areas were all the same.

Speaking of fenced in areas, Twilight caught the sight of multiple pairs of eyes looking back at her from inside one of the pens. Upon closer inspection she realized it was Cheerilee, the Cakes, and Zecora, who were all standing protectively among a small crowd of younger ponies. Briefly she reflected on how efficient of a decision this was, to keep all the younger ponies in one area but she brushed her thoughts away and focused on figuring out who she might recognize from the younger ones. Apple Bloom, Scootoloo and Sweetie Belle were there, but names of the other fillies and colts were not remembered. They were most certainly from Ponyville for she remembered walking by the school a few times and seeing them play outside, but the sudden memory caused her to frown. Where were their parents?

Looking up at the rafters Twilight noticed Thunderlane and Blossomforth. They appeared to be keeping watch by the uppermost windows of the barn, but now that light filled the room, they dared not open them to check.

“Twilight.” Applejack said with a smile. “You’re all right.”

Twilight nodded, unable to speak for she felt that if she did, she might cry again. She was so grateful to see them all alive and well.

“What was that screaming we heard?” Applejack asked, looking to Rainbow and Rarity.

“Oh, that...” Rarity began, looking at the ground. “It was... Twilight... She, ah... saw Ditzy Doo and...”

Applejack nodded solemnly, understanding enough of the story to know what had happened. Granny Smith, an old green mare with a graying mane appeared behind her, a lantern in her mouth. She sat the lantern down on the floor beside her and then spoke with an old high-pitched voice.

“You alright, Twilight?” she asked. The old mare’s eyes seemed to twinkle in the lantern light.

“Yes, I’m alright.” she answered, unsure if her own words were the truth.

“Good. We’ve got plenty of room fer ya here. Why don’tcha rest up and we can explain what’s been happening around here in the mornin’?”

Twilight bowed her head to the old mare, always having admired Granny Smith’s wise words.

“That’s very kind of you.” she said. “But actually, I’d really like to get an explanation now. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep without one.”

“Can’t blame ya fer that.” Granny Smith said, trading a glance with her grandchild, Applejack, who returned a chuckle.

“Twilight, you always were one fer asking questions.” the orange mare giggled, turning around to face the center of the barn. “Why don’t you come down to the middle and we’ll fill you in.”

Everypony gathered closer together. As Twilight laid down on a square of hay near the middle of the room, she looked around at the ponies she knew and nodded to each. Candlelight from the lanterns flickered, causing long shadows to appear everywhere. On any other night, the barn would have felt like a fun sleep over among friends, but now it was only a safehouse, used to protect them from the dangers of the outside world. The feeling was ominous, despite Twilight not properly understandably what exactly they were to fear. No one spoke a word. Rarity and Rainbow Dash gathered beside Twilight, both watching Applejack as she took center stage in the middle of everypony.

“Alright.” Applejack started. “Why don’t I start with the big question? What happened these past two weeks while you were out.”

Twilight nodded. Finally her questions would be answered and her mind could have clear space to work with.

“Two weeks ago, everything in Ponyville was normal. It was the middle of the day, and everypony was workin’ or playin’. Then a large flash of light came from the direction of Canterlot. It was so bright that fer a few minutes everypony was blinded. It seemed to fill every space, even inside the buildings. Once the light had gone, everypony was confused. Nothing had appeared to change, it was just a strange phenomenon of light. Eventually, things calmed down and fer the rest of the day nothing happened out of the ordinary. But then that night, ponies were attacked. The undead had risen straight out of their graves and began to come after Ponyville. Only a few were killed before others figured out what was happening.”

Twilight gulped at the word “killed”. She had heard Rainbow Dash use that word earlier but given her confusion at the time it made sense that she overlooked it. Instinctively, she looked around at the others to see if they had reacted the same way but none of them appeared to do so. She shrunk at the thought of her reaction being out of the ordinary and decided to stay quiet, despite her urge to ask how it was that ponies were being killed.

“...Most packed their bags and fled for Canterlot, hoping Celestia would protect them.” continued Applejack. “Others stayed to fight and some ended up changin’ into the very monsters they were trying to get rid of.”

“Wait.” Twilight said, this time unable to control herself from interrupting. “Change into the monsters? What do you mean?”

Rainbow Dash decided to take over talking for Applejack.

“From what we’ve seen, zomponies try to eat you. They’ll tear out your skin and break your bones-”

“Rainbow!” Rarity yelled.

“-just to, okay fine. I won’t be as graphic. They bite. When you’re bitten, you change into one of them yourselves. That’s it. When Rarity and I were protecting you inside Golden Oak Library, we were to forced to watch as zomponies attacked innocent ponies. I tried to save as many as I could but there were way too many.”

Twilight blinked. Her heart rate beat faster as the images filled her mind but she choked them down. She couldn’t let her emotions get the best of her. This was important information to know and the more information she had, the better she’d be able to help. Even if the information was hard to take. Still, the images plagued her and she tried to remember if she had seen bite marks on the bodies outside. There were none that she recalled, but was she really expected to take note of such a thing while staring at such a horrifying thing? She took a moment to relax herself, then spoke.

“Okay.” she said in response to Rainbow, nodding her head. “So they live to feed on ponies, but they also change you into one of them at the same time. Do the zomponies retain any kind of conscious from their previous state or are they mindless?”

“It appears to be mindless.” Applejack said.

“I... see...” Twilight said. Now that she knew more about the zomponies she almost wished that she hadn’t asked. Not only were they undead monsters that craved food, that food was them. Here she had assumed that these monsters were simply starving for normal food and would do anything to get to it, including killing everything in its path. But now she knew that it wasn’t just a matter of getting out of the way in order for the zomponies to get to the real target. They themselves were the target. She swallowed hard, unsure if she wanted to continue questioning. But she knew she had to. It was the only way for her to ease her mind.

“So why are you all here and not in Canterlot? And why is the entire Apple Family here instead of just the ones from Ponyville?”

“I can answer that one.” Granny Smith said, stepping forward. “It has been a tradition in our family fer generations that whenever there is an emergency crisis, every member of the Apple Family is to come ta Sweet Apple Acres and gather at the barn.”

Twilight nodded. That made sense. Plenty of ponyfolk had set up family plans for extreme situations. Still, though, Ponyville was not exactly the safest place to be right now. “I understand that Sweet Apple Acres was the agreed location to meet.” she said, thinking her thoughts out loud. “But why continue to stay here if it isn’t safe now that you’ve all regrouped?” This time Braeburn took over.

“Because we’re still waiting on more family members to show up.” he said. “Not every city was attacked right away but it’s been slowly making its way throughout Equestria and with each day that passes, more family members arrive with more information as to what’s going on.”

“Plus Canterlot might not be the safest place to be right now.” Applejack added. “The cities that were attacked first were the ones closest to Canterlot, which could mean that that’s where it all started.”

“I see.” Twilight said quietly, putting a hoof to her lip in contemplation. Her eyes drifted down to the lantern in the center of the huddled ponies and the light flickered silently. She tried to repeat the information through her mind in order to remember it all. Two weeks ago everything was normal until a blinding flash appeared on the horizon. Ponies began to rise from their graves and infect others. Most everypony fled to Canterlot for safety but not all. It was possible that the zomponies had first arisen in Canterlot with a potential link to the bright light that had appeared but they didn’t know any of this until more evidence appeared which is why most everypony fled to Canterlot in the first place. Plus it’s just a theory anyway. But wait. Why doesn’t she remember any of this?

“So then what happened to me while all of this was happening?”

The room remained quiet. The awkward silence made Twilight uncomfortable as she looked around. Each pony turned their gaze away from her and some embarrassingly looked at the ground to avoid her eyes. Confused, Twilight looked towards the fenced-in pen in the back of the barn but even the Cakes and Cheerilee nervously shifted in their places. Were they hiding something? But why? What made them nervous? It was a moment before Rarity piped up.

“Uh, well, Twilight, you were in Canterlot before all this started. Princess Celestia had invited you on urgent royal business. Rainbow Dash, Spike and I decided to go with you while Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy were too busy to go. When we arrived, the three of us enjoyed some time in the city while you had a private meeting with the Princess. The light came out of nowhere while we were in the middle of our lunch. Oh, it was such a fabulous lunch! French cuisine on the back porch of Canterlot’s very own La Petite Mare! Can you imagine? Me, on the balcony of La Petite Mare for all to see! Why, it was-”

“Rarity.” Applejack interrupted bluntly with an annoyed expression.

“O-oh, yes, sorry. Where was I? Yes. We thought perhaps the light had to do with you, what with you knowing magic spells and all, but when we rushed back to the castle, we were told it had nothing to do with you. It did, however, distract you from whatever it was you were actually doing and the spell you were conducting backfired and knocked you unconscious. Princess Celestia instructed us to rush you back to Ponyville and wait with you in your library no matter what happened outside and wait for you to wake up. In the meantime she would find out where the light came from. Now technically we didn’t follow that last rule since Rainbow Dash was helping fight and also relayed messages back and forth between everypony here at the barn and Spike and I back at the library, but regardless of that point here we are now.”

“So you’re saying that I just so happened to be knocked unconscious at a pivotal moment right before an outbreak of crazy terrifying pony-eating creatures by my own spell? Well, that’s just great.” Twilight muttered, embarrassed at herself even if she had no memory of the incident. “When did Spike go to Canterlot?”

“About a week ago.” Rainbow Dash said. “He ran out the door after yelling something about needing to talk to Princess Celestia.”

Twilight’s brain was full of mystery. While most of her questions had been answered she still felt as though there were some important missing holes. Where did the light come from? Was it coincidental or did it have significance to the zompony uprise? Why had Spike gone back to talk to the Princess? Did Celestia secretly know what the light was but she didn’t want to cause panic and as such sent everypony back to Ponyville while Twilight healed? That would certainly explain why Spike had gone back to Canterlot. Perhaps he wasn’t sure how long it would take for Twilight to heal and so he took it upon himself to ask the Princess himself. Twilight smiled to herself as she thought of her small friend being so brave and forward thinking. If that’s what he was doing then he was very smart to have made that decision on his own. Still, though, the questions weren’t answered yet and Spike hadn’t returned which meant either Celestia didn’t have any answers, or else he...

Twilight shuddered at the thought. She wasn’t going to think that way if she could help it. She returned to her previous thoughts and repeated the questions in her mind. But these mysteries only led to more issues that couldn’t be solved yet. Where were her friends? Could the zompony uprise be stopped? Would everything go back to normal? She bit her lip.

“So I went to Canterlot on royal business.” she said, repeating back the story out loud so that she would better remember it. “There was a flash of light before the zomponies-”

“Oh, not you too.” Rarity whined. “That horrible word!”

“They’re zomponies, Rarity! That’s what they’re called! They’re not our friends anymore!” Rainbow yelled. Rarity huffed and crossed her hooves while Twilight continued.

“...Most everypony ran off to Canterlot for safety but you all stayed here. At the same time I was brought back home until I woke up.” Twilight looked around at everypony before her.

“Sounds about right.” Appleack said, nodding.

“So I understand why the Apple Family is here. But what about you, Cheerilee? Or Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Why are you all choosing to stay here? Even if it’s where the outbreak started, wouldn’t Canterlot be safer? The Princess could surely protect you and besides, everypony else has gone there.”

They stared at the floor and at each other. Twilight looked around, confused at their sadness. Finally Cheerilee, the dark magenta pony with the light pink hair, spoke up.

“It’s our home.” she said with pleading eyes.

Twilight lowered her head in shame. She shouldn’t have asked such a silly question. Of course they would want to stay. She stared around the barn at each individual pony, wishing for a way to help them. They all shared the same gloomy look and distance in their eyes. She didn’t have to ask if they were all thinking the same thing, asking themselves the same questions. Of course they were. Why did this happen? What would become of their home? When would this nightmare end? Twilight looked at the fillies and colts still grouped together in one of the pens with a pained expression. She opened her mouth to ask where their parents were, but she quickly stopped herself. Had they been left here while they ran off to Canterlot? Or worse, were they..?

“Twilight,” Applejack said suddenly, snapping back her attention. “I hope that brought ya up ta speed with things.”
 “Thank you.” Twilight said. “It certainly did. What’s the next step? Do we have a plan?”

“For now we haven’t been doing much besides surviving and having rescue missions. We’ve got blankets over the walls to block out the light. Blossomforth and Thunderlane have been keeping watch for any signs of danger. Big Mac and I have been taking daily trips out to the orchards to gather apples for everypony to eat. Braeburn has been teaching everypony to buck for survival techniques.”

“To buck? What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Here, look.” Applejack said, taking one of the lanterns and shining the light behind her inside one of the pens. Inside were crudely sewn burlap sacks filled with hay that Twilight hadn’t noticed before. Red targets were painted upon them. “We’ve been teaching everypony how to buck like we do when we’re harvesting apples. That way everypony gains some muscle in case they have to... well... fight...”

Twilight blinked, staring at the sacks and then looking up at Applejack.

“Is that how the ponies outside died?” she asked quietly. “You fought them?”
Applejack nodded. Twilight’s expression turned to a look of shock when she realized what that meant. There was no other explanation for where the bodies outside had come from. The idea caused her to swallow, the same as her reaction to the word “killed” from before. It meant her friends had taken lives, most of them being ponies they once knew. A pain struck her heart and she felt like crying.

“Those ponies out there were our ancestors.” Granny Smith cut in. Twilight turned away from the target sacks to look at the green mare. “My own mother and father were among ‘em. Buried here on the farm, they was. Tried to attack the barn in the middle of the night two days ago.”

Twilight was taken aback by Granny Smith’s ability to stay calm when talking about such a serious situation. The very idea of something like that having happened was horrible yet all of this had been occurring while she was still unconscious. How much pain had the Apple Family gone through when the bodies of generations past had to be taken down? What was going through their minds when they had to look into the faces of those they once knew? She couldn’t imagine it.

“I...” Twilight began to say, but she had no response. What do you say to somepony after hearing such a thing? Granny Smith returned a soft smile and put a hoof to Twilight’s shoulder, a nonverbal way of communicating that she didn’t need to say anything.

Twilight looked at Granny Smith with pity and tried to come to terms with what she had missed. So much had happened without her. Yet through all of this tragedy, all of these ponies were remarkably held together. How could they have accepted this new way of living so quickly? Perhaps she wasn’t thinking on the right train of thought. After all, it had been two weeks for them. And they hadn’t really accepted it, per se, so much as done what they had to to survive. For her, she was only just learning of the situation today. And even then, they had had a gradual way of learning how to handle everything where as she was being slammed with it all in a matter of an hour. Would she not have done the same thing had she been in their shoes? It was natural pony instinct to do what you can in any kind of emergency to survive. Certainly she would have fought back as well, even if it was painful or hard to do.

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded. She took a moment before letting out a breath of air and opening her eyes in order to speak.

“So, they can be killed?” Twilight asked, looking back at Applejack. She was surprised at herself for being able to say the word so easily but then again, once her mind switched from terrified filly to calm and effective leader, she was able to look past her discomfort for the good of all.

“Yes. Only if you buck ‘em hard in the head, though.” she said. “Anywhere else and they’ll just keep moving.”

Twilight nodded, trying to figure out if she was happy to hear that there was a way to overcome them. Now that she had been caught up, there was no choice but to make efforts for survival and potentially killing an undead pony in the process. Could she do that? Could she make herself perform such a horrid act? There was a way to survive, that was for sure, but at what cost? Using the barn for protection and killing only those that came near... it could work. But would she be willing to face a dead friend and kill them? The ponies around her had already been doing so for at least a week. Surely she could defend herself if the time came? A new headache started to form. Here she was asking questions and plotting as though they were planning a battle during war. Strategizing on the best way to kill an innocent pony? She felt sick to her stomach. Imagining being thrust into a life or death situation where she would be forced to kill a friend wasn’t something she ever dreamed she’d be doing. When would she wake up from this horrible nightmare?

“Twilight,” Applejack said in a kind voice, touching a hoof against her friend’s. “I think we should all hit the hay. We can talk more about this in the mornin’.”

Twilight sighed but knew her friend’s idea was the best decision for the time being. There was still a lot to talk about but they couldn’t do much if they were tired. And perhaps she would feel better if she could have some time to think things through. She always felt better after she gave herself time to process things. That being said, she wasn’t sure how well she would sleep tonight.

A few minutes later and lanterns were being slowly extinguished one by one. There was the sound of rustling hay as they all turned and flopped over in the spot they had decided was theirs. The fillies and colts all cuddled in one giant heap as Cheerilee, Zecora, and the Cake family surrounded them from all sides. Blossomforth lay stretched across one of the rafter beams as Thunderlane took the first nightly watch. The Apple family all curled themselves up in their own respective corners while Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all joined together in the same pen to sleep. The four ponies laid together in a group, using each other’s warmth as a sub-conscious form of safety. They may not know whether or not they’d survive through the next day, but at least they had each other tonight. As everypony quieted and calmly dozed, Twilight tapped her three friend’s hooves gently.

“We’ll find Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, right?” she asked. Her friends all gazed back with the same sad eyes.

“I hope so, Twilight.” Applejack said as Rarity nodded. “I hope so.”

In the inky darkness of the barn, not a peep was made aside from the voices in their own minds. All the ponies tried desperately to sleep, despite the danger that lurked and waited outside. Little did they know that Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow were not the only newcomers to the barn.

Something had followed them.

And it had brought friends.

Comments

[Perteks]

Something had followed them. And it had brought friends.

Wiwona and other zombi pets! XD

[MaskedxMaestro]

2278858

I guess you'll have to find out!!

[Perteks]

2279036
Maybe ZombieShy?
fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/351/f/8/my_creepy_pony___zombie_fluttershy_by_akikodestroyer-d4wlz8d.jpg

[taimu]

so is this a cross with 28 days later or maybe dawn of the dead.
2279077 zombieshy still adorable now with a dash of funny/creepy