Undead Equestria

by MaskedxMaestro

Chapter 5

Getting the Elements of Harmony would be no easy task. Or rather, Twilight thought, getting the ponies needed to complete the Elements of Harmony would be no easy task. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie both were no where to be found, and as Twilight soon learned, figuring out where to go to find them would be just as difficult as it is to paint in the dark. And to make matters worse, everypony knew that splitting up into multiple groups to search more than one location at a time would be a very bad idea. After a long debate, it was decided that a small search party would be gathered, while the rest of the ponies stayed at the barn.

“If we split up, we’re dead.” Braeburn said to everypony. “It only makes sense to send a few out.”

“He’s right.” agreed Twilight Sparkle, who was looking at a map of Equestria that was lying flat upon a crate. “I would think three to five ponies would do. If everypony is alright with that, I would like to volunteer to be a part of it. Does anyone disagree?”

No one raised a voice while a few shook their heads.

“Rainbow Dash, will you join me?”

“Most definitely!” Rainbow Dash said with confidence, swooping down from the rafters of the barn. She landed next to Twilight and put a light blue hoof upon the crate. The pegasus turned to look around the barn at each pony individually. “Who else is with us?”

Many ponies shuffled their feet uncomfortably. It appeared as though that while each and every pony was willing to help if forced, it was a different situation entirely when a choice was given. Twilight frowned, understanding the hesitation in the crowd. This was a quest filled with a high level of danger, and no pony was willing to leave the safety of the barn after having experienced the zomponies face to face in the battle the night before.

“I am.” said a sudden and unexpected voice. Each pony turned to look at Applejack, who was stepping out of her shadowed corner towards the middle of the room. “For Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie’s sake, but also for Rarity.”

For a moment, no one spoke. They stared at the orange mare with confusion and worry. It was a painful understanding that most of the ponies in the room were unsure of sending Applejack out now that everyone had been filled in on what had truly happened with Sweetie Belle. While the battle of the night prior had shaken everyone to its core, it was obvious by now that the farm pony still needed some time to heal over her unfortunate accident. Everypony looked between Applejack and Twilight with uncertainty but the orange mare didn’t take her eyes off of Twilight, waiting for permission with a determined stare to join the search party. Despite the crowd’s worried glances, however, Twilight nodded, confident that Applejack wouldn’t let them down.

Big Mac stepped forward and stood beside his sister.

“Joining us too?” Applejack asked, looking up at Big Mac with gratitude.

“Eeyup.”

Applejack smiled sadly, bowing her head slightly to touch manes with her brother. Big Mac returned the gesture, a small moment of comfort well needed.

“Well,” Applejack said, tilting her head back to look at Twilight. “Where to?”

Twilight looked down at the map before raising her head to look around.

“Does anypony have any clues as to where Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy might be?” she asked.

Immediately ponies began to whisper and talk amongst themselves to see who might have any information. Many phrases of, “Where would they have gone?” or “I haven’t seen them.” were heard. Even the Cake family were unsure as to where Pinkie Pie might have gone despite living in the same house. They claimed she wasn’t home during the time they escaped to the barn. Just when Twilight began to believe there was little hope of an easy search-and-rescue, Zecora suddenly spoke up.

“A blur of yellow and pink I saw when I left my forest hut. Whether pony or animal I’m afraid I don’t know what. But one thing is for sure that I know without a doubt, it ran into the forest with a very big scream and shout.”

Reflecting on this new information, Twilight stared at the floor in puzzlement with a hoof against her chin. It sounded like Fluttershy. The colors matched her description at least, but why would she run into the Everfree Forest? Her shy and quiet friend was always afraid of the darkness and the tall trees that existed there. To find safety there was strange... or was it?

“It has to be Fluttershy.” Twilight confirmed. “If the town was uninhabitable, she’d either follow her pony friends or go with her animals. Clearly no pony was able to find her or at least not any of us, so there’s no doubt her woodland friends would help her. Animals are not about to go seek out another city, but rather find an environment outside that would shelter them. The Everfree Forest is dangerous, but not to those that know it well. Fluttershy must have been following her animal friends to hide there.”

“That makes sense to me,” Applejack said. “But the Everfree Forest is a big place.” 


“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash agreed. “There’s no way we could search the entire forest without wasting a lot of time.”

“It’s the only clue we have.” Twilight explained. “We need to at least try. You’re right about not be able to search the entire forest, but how about looking in a small section? How about we go as far as Zecora’s Hut and then return back to Ponyville and if we haven’t found her by then, we’ll assume she’s not there.” Twilight turned to Zecora and tilted her head upward while looking at the zebra.

“If you are going to my hut,” responded Zecora. “ Then a guide you will need. Allow me to join the party, and I will gladly lead.”

Twilight smiled and nodded her head. “Great. Then it’s best that we leave as soon as possible.” The purple unicorn folded up the map before her and tucked it away while Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Big Mac, and Zecora began to scour the barn for any necessary items they might need for the trip.

The Apple Family barn proved to be more fruitful than expected when it came to travel accessories. Each pony was able to fasten a saddle-bag upon their backs with various items such as rope, flint, or lanterns. And with Granny Smith pointing out the trap door to the cellar, the rescue party was able to add hay and apples to the mixture. Twilight couldn’t help but lose herself to her thoughts as she took the jars of preserved fruit from the oldest member of the Apple Family. Would this be the last time she laid eyes upon the silver-haired mare? Would this be the last time she saw anyone that they’d be leaving behind in the barn? Memories flooded her mind as she stared into the eyes of her old friend. Memories of the first day she came to Ponyville, where she first met the entire Apple Family. Who could forget the happy celebratory attitude they all had when they forced her to eat all those apple related foods? Foods that had filled her stomach so full that she was willing to bet she was still digesting it. And now the Apple Family was doing it again. Handing her jars of preserved apples for their journey, with a hopeful smile on the old mare’s face. That cracked smile that had once brought Twilight so much happiness to see, now only filled her with dread. She didn’t want to admit it, but the returning smile she gave to Granny Smith was a forced one, and she had to fight back tears over the green mare’s optimism.

“Thank you.” Twilight said, unable to say anything else. She bit her lip, put the jars into her saddle-bag, and turned to the group that were all ready to go. They stood by the door looking back at her, and as Twilight locked eyes with each of them, she was startled. For each of them held the same hopeful smile that Granny Smith had held just before. Strong and confusing emotion filled Twilight’s stomach as she stared at each ponies’ expression. Whether it was the Apple Family optimism that had flowed out into the room as soon as Granny Smith smiled, or else Twilight was unable to see the hope that had always been there, the purple mare was never the less able to find that lost sense of faith that had disappeared the moment Sweetie Belle met her end.

Tears threatened to escape, but Twilight was able to hold them back long enough to step forward and join the search party by the door. Looking back at the ponies that would be left behind, Twilight gave an honest smile, one that seemed to gleam in the darkness of the barn. A trusting smile. One of hope, faith, and everything that was needed to secure the ponies with the thought of a promising future.

“We’ll see you when you get back!” An Apple family member called out from the back of the group.

“Good luck!” Another rang out.

“Go get her!”

“I know you won’t let us down!”

“WAIT!!!”

The party stopped dead in their tracks and they all twisted their heads to see who had shouted so loudly. Twilight’s heart beat fast, the immediate shot of adrenaline in her system no doubt an instinctual reaction she had learned from needing to constantly be on her hooves. She scanned the barn to see who had spoken but it appeared as though even the ponies in the barn were confused as they looked around for the source of the voice.

Suddenly, two small fillies popped out from the crowd. It was Apple Bloom, Applejack’s yellow bodied and red haired younger sister, and Scootaloo, a young orange with purple mane pony. Both were Sweetie Belle’s best friends and school companions.

“We want to come too!” Apple Bloom said. Her voice was confident but the rest of the barn did not share her bravery. The crowd behind them were too stunned to speak and they looked to the search party with gaped mouths to see their response.

Twilight shifted between her hooves uncomfortably. But before she could speak, Scootaloo piped up.

“We don’t want to stand by and be useless! We want to help!”

“Girls, I...” Twilight began. “I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say that we appreciate your willingness to help, but... It’s really not safe out there. And-”

“That’s not fair!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Sweetie Belle is dead and we have to just stand by and let more of our friends die?!”

Immediately a chill ran through the room. Everypony appeared uncomfortable at the words spoken by the young filly. While they all had been very much aware of the reality of the situation, hearing a pony so young speak so bluntly about it seemed to make the whole thing worse. Still, the fillies had a point to be upset. And it was difficult to find the words to explain why they couldn’t join the party without accidentally insulting them.

“Apple Bloom, you can’t come with us.”

Twilight looked back to see who had spoken and watched as Applejack stepped forward. Her face reflected a no-nonsense attitude and her voice was frank.

“Why not?” Apple Bloom spat, spreading her legs slightly apart as though instinctively readying to fight.

“You’re too young.”

“We are not!” Apple Bloom fought. Her eyes furrowed in anger and she dared not take her stare away from her older sister. Her defiance was not, however, equally shared by Scootaloo as it once had been. She seemed to shrink slightly as Applejack stepped closer to them.

“You’re staying here.” The orange mare said, her business-like attitude refusing to crack.

“We don’t want to! We want to defend everypony! We want to defend Sweetie Belle!”

“Well, you can’t. You’re not going anywhere.”

“Just let me do this!”
 “No!”

The spat continued, both sisters raising their voices with each passing sentence. Most of the ponies around them were too anxious to intervene and even Twilight was too in shock to speak up. But eventually, after a moment or two longer of the girls throwing words at each other, Granny Smith stepped forward to put her hooves gently around Apple Bloom.

“No!” Apple Bloom yelled, attempting to push the old mare away. The little one squirmed frantically while Scootaloo, whose expression bent into discomfort and awkwardness, backed away nervously.

“No, you can’t just keep us here! We have to defend her!”

The stronger Apple Bloom wiggled, however, the more her voice began to crack. The strain was beginning to take its toll on her already stressed body and she began to shake from nerves. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes as she continued to shout for her right to join the party. Granny Smith was struggling to hold her still and eventually Braeburn came forward to help pull her back.

“You have to stay here.” Applejack said with finality, her voice returning to a calm state now that her younger sister was being restrained. Apple Bloom, meanwhile, ceased her shouting and kicking and began to cry, lowering her head to face the ground. The older sister turned away, ready to walk out the door once more. Twilight attempted to meet her eyes but the orange mare refused to look anywhere else but forward.

“I hate you.”

Applejack stopped walking but she didn’t turn around. The entire barn perked up at the words and they looked between the two sisters with shock. Twilight stared wide eyed at Apple Bloom and she turned to look at Applejack with concern. The orange mare wasn’t moving.

“I hate you.” Apple Bloom repeated, this time raising her head to look at her older sister with anger in her eyes. “Sweetie Belle is gone because of you and I hate you!”

The crowd spoke not a word as all eyes laid on Applejack. Apple Bloom continued to cry but she tried in earnest to refrain from breaking down. Her anger fueled her hatred and Twilight swore she could feel the burn from the filly’s glare, even if the emotion wasn’t meant for her.

Tension filled the air. It was up to Applejack to break it but the orange mare wasn’t moving. Twilight wondered if her friend might be too shaken to respond and it suddenly occurred to her that perhaps she could ease her friend’s pain by putting a hoof on her shoulder. But as Twilight stepped forward to do so, Applejack suddenly moved forward and avoided her friend’s touch.

“Move on, everypony.” she said matter-of-factly, refusing to look back. Twilight hesitated, slightly perturbed by Applejack’s refusal of comfort. Her shoulders sunk and she looked at the ground briefly in sadness while the rest of the party moved to follow the orange mare. Giving herself a moment to recover, Twilight raised her head to catch up with the rest of the group. She gave one glance back at the barn, where upon Granny Smith could just be seen nodding her head a single time in the sliver of the closing doors before her view was shut out completely. As she caught up with the search party, Twilight’s eyes trailed up to where Applejack led in front. The purple unicorn was at first strongly motivated by her friend’s strength but she couldn't break her eyes away from her friend’s face. The farm pony walked with her head held high and her movement undaunted.

But the sunlight reflected the tears on her cheeks.

Comments

[MaskedxMaestro]

2879434
Thank you very much!! I truly appreciate you saying that.

[ThyPrincessOfTheNight]

The spacing was really weird in this chapter but great as always. You always express emotion so well.

[MaskedxMaestro]

2938984

Do explain what you mean by weird spacing. I would really like to improve in any way I can on the story. :)

And thank you for saying that. Sometimes I get so lost in writing that I feel like I'm straying too far from the plot line.

[ThyPrincessOfTheNight]

2939690
The fact that paragraphs just start halfway through the previous one? Does it not show up on your copy? If not maybe log out and look at it? It made it difficult to read properly.

[MaskedxMaestro]

2940737

Shoot, yes. I see what you mean now. I upload this story to multiple websites and on other ones they require you to do that. I will fix it as soon as I can.