> Manehattan Zombie Outbreak
>  by FxBlackJackx
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Outbreak
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sirens flared in all directions and panic was in every direction.

A glossy white earth pony was lost in the chaos, frustrated and desperate she galloped into a nearby alleyway in between a barber and a bakery. It seemed like just yesterday, Angelwhiskers had her whole life sorted out, she'd move in with her now deceased coltfriend and continue her job as a nurse in the Manehattan Central Hospital.
But today, she was crying into her golden mane in an alley way. She sobbed through the memories of her coltfriend, Safehaven, being EATEN by that thing that was once his mailpony.  It wasn't until the screams grew closer did she sink further into her alley, she desperately ran through the back streets until she reached the main road. 

That's when everything went black.





Angelwhiskers woke up to find herself staring at the ceiling. Dazed from her unconscious state, she moaned as she looked around at an unfamiliar room only to find one other pony sitting against the wall. The light brown earth pony tipped her royal blue hat in greetings, her sapphire eyes glistened in the florescent lighting and finally spoke.

"Hey hun, you passed out on the streets and ah carried you to this here sanctuary.  Ah'm Sapphire Stone, but you can call me Sapphire. Pleasure to meet you-"

"Angel. My name is Angelwhiskers.." The white pony finished her sentence.

"Well howdy partner, ah should warn you, zombies aint the right folk to be fainting near." Sapphire chuckled.

As if on que, Angel's golden eyes dilated at hearing the word 'zombies'. She heard about them in an old mares tale but believed it was just a crazy story. "Wha- what are you talking about? Where am I?" 

"You're in an apartment building off of Hoofen street, believe it or not but the folks made an emergency shelter here. Didn't expect zombies but ah'm not complaining. Golden Sentry almost wouldn't let me bring ya in here without having a full body search for bites." Sapphire answered tiredly, as she had just run several blocks with a mare on her back.

"Who's Golden Sentry? Are there other ponies who came here?" Angel was shaking, growing worried about the nearby future.

"Golden is the colt that saved us. Also not many ponies came, just Golden, Charcoal, you and ah. Not many ponies know about the sanctuary down here, Golden Sentry led me here after he saw that I was with ya. Suppose hes got somewhat of a soft-spot for strugglin' mares." Sapphire replied.

Two colts then came into the infirmary after hearing the mystery mare had awoken.
Golden Sentry was a khaki colored stallion with the same radiant eyes as Angel. His mane was in dissaray.
Charcoal on the other hoof had an ashy coat with smokey eyes. His mane was deep blue and long, he also looked unsettled.
They exchanged glances with one another before Golden Sentry spoke up.

"So Angelwhiskers, eh? Look. Charcoal and I put a lot on the line sticking our necks out for you two. So I don't wan't you doing something stupid while zombies are out there."

Charcoal nodded in silent agreement.

Sapphire spoke up to offer her rebuttal. "We won't cause any harm."

"Funny you say that.. Look there are several ponies struggling for survival out in the area. We need- expendable ponies out there to help anypony and bring them back here." Golden Sentry  lowered his muzzle in grief.

"Wha-what! You expect us to go back out there?! You have to be joking.. I'm no fighter, none the less a zombie killer!" Angel was astonished at such a request.

"Wouldn't you want them to do the same for you? Just like your friend here did for you?" Golden replied.

Sapphire sat quietly in the corner of the room. "Please Angel.. There are more ponies out there.. We can save them!"

"No, no this is a ridiculous request!" She hid her muzzle into her hooves.

"Just sleep on it, it's nearly 2 am. You can come back to me tomorrow morning." Golden finally said while he and Charcoal stepped out of the room.

"Come on hun, you're bunking with me tonight." Sapphire said as she let the white earth pony out of the room and into a small room with two beds and a lamp lying on the floor.

Angel lied down on her bed and watched Sapphire expertly toss her hat onto the end of her bed and jumped into it.
"So why'd you do it?"

"Why what?" Sapphire was confused as she settled into her cot.

"Why did you pick me up? On the streets?" Angel investigated.

"Ah dunno.. Just something in mah head told me to." Sapphire replied.

"Oh.. I don't mean to be rude, but you don't sound like you're from Manehatten." Angelwhiskers bit her lip for a moment waiting for the dark-brown maned mare to respond.

"Ah'm from Dodge Junction, the city that grows cherries all day? Ah just moved into Manehattan a few weeks ago." Sapphire replied.

"Why? Do you have family or something?" Angel asked her new friend.

"Nope, Ah just came to explore Equestria. Not much to do in Dodge anyway." Sapphire said with a broad look on her face.

"Well thank you so much Sapphire. For uh.. picking me up and all." Angelwhiskers said and Sapphire gave her a nod of acknowledgment. Angelwhiskers then felt exhaustion hit her like a brick wall and at that the two mares fell asleep quickly.





Sapphire Stone stirred awake first.
She yawned and stretched her legs and then perfectly kicked her hat onto her short mane. As much as she tried to keep herself together she was just as nervous as the white mare that lay across from her. However she was a rodeo champion in the mares rodeo challenges that were held back in Appleloosa awhile ago. She exited her bed as stealthy as she could and proceeded to go into the kitchen to see what was stored in the apartment. To her delight, Charcoal was already awake, cooking breakfast.

"Care to join me?" Charcoal had said for the first time Sapphire could recollect. She nodded in agreement and sat at a table for four and watched the colt slide a couple of slices of toast onto a second plate and walked over to where the mare had situated herself and served the plates of toast.

"So what's your story?.." Sapphire had asked while they ate.

"We may be dead by tonight so I'll tell you." Sapphire nearly choked on her food at hearing this. "Born and raised in Baltimare. Golden as well, after all we're fillyhood friends. We've done most things together, as a team. I think he's more in control but I don't mind, hes got a good sense of leadership." Charcoal paused for a moment to swallow his food. "We came to Manehattan for the usual: parties, mares, and excitement. Although it wasn't like that for very long, we started hearing the radiation explosions from the Crystal Empire up north. So we decided to become prepared for anything and set this safe haven up."

"Ah see." Sapphire listened to him speak as she enjoyed her food.

"And yourself?" Charcoal inquired to hear the country pony's story.

"Ah don't have much to tell. Rodeo champ down south, bucked cherry trees most of mah life. Moved to Manehattan because ah grew tired of the same ol' thing, ah wanted to see the bustlin' city."





Angelwhiskers awoke as Sapphire left the room. Resting in her cot for a moment she got to her hoofs, yawned and walked out the door to bump into Golden Sentry

"Oh, sorry.." Angel said worried she had angered him.

"It's fine, come with me I have to show you something." The large colt said as he led her down the hallway and into a room to the left. The room was filled with monitors and electrical equipment.

"What is this place?" Angel had asked the colt.

"This is the camera-room, I'm not going to let some innocent mare wander the streets without my guidance. Days before the outbreak in Manhattan, Charcoal and I set up everything we could think of." Golden had reassured the poor mare it was safe or at least, not suicide.

"How did you know zombies would infest Manhatten, why didn't you tell anypony?" Angel had a shocked expression thinking about her colt-friend, wondering if he could still be living rather than sprawled on the floor of his kitchen. 

She fought back tears as Golden replied. "We didn't know for sure. We just took a chance. Look, I just want you to know we'll be watching over you for a ten mile radius. We've broke into every camera possible we could find the past few days."

"Alright. I'll do it." The white earth pony finished her statement when Golden Sentry grinned and led her into the kitchen. 

Golden and Angel walked into the kitchen to be greeted by the two other ponies and be served by Charcoal. Sapphire Stone and Angelwhiskers exchanged friendly smiles as she sat next to the brown mare. Golden Sentry had rushed back out of the kitchen to only return with 3 walki-talkies and two saddlebags that clanked with gear inside of them. "Ready girls? The longer we wait the less ponies there are still surviving."

Angelwhiskers quickly ate her breakfast only to be given a quick briefing. Golden had sat down with a map that he pulled from one of the saddlebags. "Ok so here is the apartment, I've circled it in red for your convenience, you're welcome, and over here is the Super-Duper Market, only a few blocks down the road. Charcoal and I will also be informing you two along the way via walki-talkie. You two need to just get into the market and search for any SANE pony that you can convince to travel back with you to the apartment, there's a basement door in the back in which you'll be using permanently.  There is a nine millimeter pistol in each saddlebag, although use them as a last resort, we don't need to draw attention and we need to conserve ammo. Other than that, you two ponies have canteens and small knives. Any questions?"

Angel and Sapphire looked at each other and gulped down a struggling breath. 

"Ah think we're ready."
> The Super-Duper Market
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire took the first step out into the chilled air. It was freezing, warmth was the one thing she missed about Dodge Junction down south.
She shook off her memories when she heard a voice coming from her saddlebag, she quickly located the walki-talki.

"Girls, can you hear me?" Golden had said over the frequency.

"Yeah, Angel and ah hear ya, abit staticy, but we're good." Sapphire spoke into the device she held in her hoof.

"Ok, the market is only four blocks north of where we are, just stay safe." Golden had stated through his end.

At that, Sapphire returned the walki-talki into her saddlebag. 
Angelwhiskers asked "So what's the plan? How are we going to do this without causing a scene?"

Sapphire whispered to her companion "Lets travel along the back roads till we get to the intersection of Hoofen and Pegusi road."

Side by side the couple gingerly walked through the back alley ways, thankfully, the apartment building was on an intersection so it had alleys of its own. There wasn't much trouble, just the occasional rat skitter by and the distant groan and moan of undesirables. The two mares studied their surroundings; fire-escapes, dumpsters and the occasional intersection of alleyways. They reached Pegusi rode without too much of a problem and now all they had to do was hoof it across the street with the occasional dormant zombie along it.  Sapphire was out of ideas and considered the risk of sprinting.
"Any ideas hun?" She asked.

"Just one, follow me." Angel was searching for something along the ground. She had finally found what she was searching for and picked up a hoof-sized rock with her mouth.  She walked up to the border of the alley and hurled it as far as she possibly could. The rock skittered along the roads surface and stopped, followed by an eruption of groans. 
A zombified mare had walked right passed the white pony, only a foot or so away, however its intent was focused on the sound the rock had made. Angel got a full sensory description of the poor mare. She was grey with patches of her coat missing. She had large gashes along her flank and abdomen. The poor mare also wreaked of decaying flesh. It had a low pitched moan that made the two ponies shudder.
Angel felt a little light-headed at this mutilated mare, after all she was a nurse previously, she wasn't unfamiliar with horrific injuries. After she passed the alley, Angel turned to see Sapphire losing her breakfast behind a dumpster, it seems she had seen the zombie as well. After she had recovered they had to move quickly across the street without creating more stimulus to the zombies. There were about six or so encircling the rock when the two mares crossed the street silently. After they crossed the street and over short hedges, they galloped for the front doors of the Super-Duper Market. The mares let out a sigh of relief when the doors were unlocked and they let themselves in, only to be shocked at what they saw. The entire store was ransacked and destroyed on the inside. Shelves were knocked over and miscellaneous goods littered the floors.

"Oh my Celestia! Its only been one night!" Angel was frowning at the sight she'd come into.

"Ah know, It's crazy what ponies can do in a panic. We'd better take a look around. You ain't claustrophobic are ya?" Sapphire had replied.

Then the walki-talki went off. Golden Sentry's voice was heard from inside the saddlebags.

"Girls? Are you alright? We watched you get inside the market but we're having trouble loading the cameras in the market. I think somepony had broken or stolen them last night while we slept. Just be cautious, we don't know if any zombies infested the market or if it were just looters."

Angel reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her own transmitting device. "Yeah, we're fine. The entire place is a wreck."

"Just search for anypony still alive in there." Golden had replied.

Angel stuffed the walki-talki back into her saddlebag and looked a Sapphire. She was lost in thought somewhere, Angel couldn't tell.
"Ready?"

"Ready." Sapphire replied.

Angelwhiskers took the lead along the perimeter of the store. She was trying to avoid stepping on anything that'd make a crunching sound.
Sapphire trailed behind her by a few feet just to keep an eye out on their flanks. Angel reached a corner of the market quickly and turned the corner only to be faced by a decomposing stallion.

"SAPPHIRE!!" Angel had shrieked as the stallion toppled over her, trying to fight her resistance. 

Sapphire's heart dropped for a moment and sprinted straight for the struggling two. She barreled right into the zombified stallion which let Angel scurry away to safety, Sapphire's hat slide off of her mane and somewhere onto the floor. Sapphire was naturally skilled in wrestling, being a farm-pony and all. They rolled from side to side knocking over scented shampoos and other shower products. The brown mare had the zombie on top of her at this point. The zombified stallion's face was inches from her muzzle and his jaws chomped on air.  The stallion's drool was hanging from the side of his grotesque face. If Sapphires breakfast wasn't already gone, it was sure to be now. She felt her hind knees buckle, then bucked the stallion in the groan and she felt the pressure come off of her body as the zombie was thrown aside. She had no time to react when she pulled out her knife and stabbed it into the back of the pony's skull.

Sapphire fell to the ground into a ball of sadness. Tears were leaking from her face, she had just murdered a pony, a victim of a disease. She couldn't help but sob staring at the dead pony. 

Angelwhiskers said her silent blessings and quickly wrapped around Sapphire with her hooves. "It had to be done. I know killing isn't the easiest thing to do but you saved my life."

Sapphire was choking through her tears. "Ah-ah just killed a pony, who probably has family worrin' about him or somthin'."

Angel whispered to her friend. "The first time is always the hardest. Trust me."

Sapphire looked at Angel, her sapphire blue eyes had turned to a murky grey color through her tears. 
"Are you sayin' you've killed somepony before?"

Angel looked at Sapphire straight in the eyes. "Yes I have.  A couple of months ago somepony was carried into the hospital with a severe disease. Her name was Mintleaf, we used to be friends. The unicorn doctors couldn't even diagnose what had happened to her. Mint was found in a coma and my mentor had tried everything he could but her problem only grew worse. Then one day, he gave me a syringe and told me it was time for an important lesson. I-I was shocked, I couldn't kill my fillyhood friend. Not one part of my being could bring me to it. Until I looked at Mint's condition, she was suffering a fate worse than death. I did what I had to do. After I returned I exited the building in silence. I passed by Mint's mother who looked at me with hope in her expression, but quickly turned to grief after she saw my tears."

"Ah'm so sorry." The brown mare offered, then wiped away her tears.

"It had to be done." Angel reassured her.

They retrieved the knife covered in crimson liquid which was wiped away on a magazine they had found. The fight had caused a lot of commotion because the next moment a zombified filly was searching the area. It had come to the aisle the mares had fought in. Sapphire and Angel tensed up when they saw the filly come in their direction. Zombie or not, neither of them wanted to murder a filly.
The filly had come to the entrance and stopped for a moment. Angel's eyes lit up, the filly was blind! 
The decaying filly was missing her eyes, disturbing as it was, the mares couldn't have been more relieved. It continued to walk past the aisle and the mares payed little attention to it.

"Sweet Celestia, can this get any more worse?" The golden maned pony choked out.

"Don't jinx us so soon hun, lets finish our search." Sapphire replied.

A knock was heard on the entrance doors. It was more like several ponies banging on the door. The group out in front of the store must have heard the screams of Angelwhiskers.
The achromatic mare swallowed fear for a moment waiting for the door to open.
But it never opened.

"What's going on Sapphire?" Angel had asked.

The beige mare's expression quickly changed to laughter. "Ah think they can't open a pull door."

Angelwhiskers let out a sigh and watched the struggling ponies outside. "Well there goes our way out."

"It's fine, Ah'm sure there are others." Sapphire chuckled.

The two earth ponies continued to searched the rest of the market only to find broken or smashed containers and ripped papers. There wasn't much to be looted unless you were desperate.
They made way to the end of the market and found the employer's office. It was much cleaner in this room than the rest of the market.
They found the keys to the back door and other useless newspapers and files after searching. They left the room and exited the market into a back road for employees. Sapphire Stone pulled out her map and began to plan their return route.

"Ah think we can go along the back of these offices." Sapphire was drawing their route out with her hoof.

They needed to hurry back to the apartment before it got too dark out, it was nearly 7 pm. Sapphire led Angel throughout the few blocks. They came to Hoofen road and was moments away from their sanctuary.
Angel sprinted across the street to be watched over from Sapphire. After she was safely across, Sapphire ran across the road and they were greeted by Golden Sentry.





"No other pony in the market, huh, I was sure somepony would take refuge in the Super-Duper Market." Golden said with a dissappointed look.

"Hell of enough zombies were in there." Angel mumbled.

"Better luck tommorrow I hope." Golden said with a cheesy smile.

Sapphire and Angel groaned in displeasure. Which then gave Charcoal an unnaturally devilish idea he'd need to try out later but unfortunately it was late. 
The four earth ponies ate their food that Charcoal prepared earlier and went off to bed. Angel walked down the same hallway, followed by Sapphire and into her room. She jumped onto her cot and watched Sapphire climb into the other.
Angel paused for a moment in realization, then finally chuckled.

"We forgot your hat."
> A Disgusting Disguise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angelwhiskers awoke the next morning to see Sapphire already awake and sitting on the edge of her cot, swinging her legs and humming a song Angel couldn't recognize. 

"Hey lovely, sleep alright?" The chocolate mare asked when she saw her friend stir.

"Fine. So what crazy idea do you think Golden has in store for us today?" Angel said with a yawn.

"Ah dunno, ah needa get mah hat though." Sapphire grumbled. She didn't feel right without it, she felt exposed or naked without her head wear.

Angelwhiskers chuckled and sarcastically said "It's just a hat, maybe a bandanna or a nice feather would look fabulous."

"No! It has to be mah hat, mah grandma gave me that when ah was just a filly. Ah can't believe ah left it." Sapphire retaliated defensively.

"Oh Celestia, didn't  mean to offend you. We can go back for it while were out in the city today." The pale pony reassured her.





Golden sentry welcomed the girls to breakfast and briefed them while they ate. "Ok girls, Charcoal had informed me of something late last night that baffled me. When that mare passed by you on Pegusi road, the one that was distracted by the rock? Nice idea by the way Angel." He said with a wink in her direction.
"That zombie payed no attention to you, it was as if its intent was primary on the rock. Charcoal and I have come to the conclusion that if you two were to blend in, you'd be sort of invisible."

"Whaddya mean sorta?" Sapphire asked with a confused frown.

"Well.. If you were to act out, they could become suspicious and hostile." Golden replied.

"So wait, why are they peaceful now and won't attack on sight?" Angel quipped into the conversation.

Golden and Charcoal exchanged glances, followed by an approving nod from the ashy colt.

"Well you see.. We're going to disguise you as a zombie." Golden said nervously, afraid of an outburst from either of the two.

"And how do you plan on doin' that?" Sapphire said quite confused.

"We're going to cover you in entrails and rancid blood." Golden bit his lip.

"What! This can't be serious. Ya'll think that'll work?" Sapphire stammered, utterly baffled at the cream colored stallion. Angel had a similar reaction although she spilt her oatmeal onto the red tablecloth.

"With the research we have, yes. Atleast, we're nearly certain." Golden replied, not helping the mares anxiety.

"And if this doesn't work? What the hell are we supposed to do?" Angelwhiskers said with a hopeless face. 

"Improvise." Golden deadpanned. 

Angel knew there was no way to change the stallion's mind so she gradually accepted her fate.

"Can we at least travel to the Super-whateva market fer mah hat?" Sapphire asked.

"As long as it's quick, after that you two are going to the North Manehattan Elementary School. We need to scavenge anything in there, anything medicine based. Oh and keep a look out for survivors." Golden wrapped things up and cleared his spot while the two mares set up for a disgusting morning.





Angel and Sapphire sat alone near the basement door awaiting for Charcoal to return. Sapphire exhaled deeply and gazed over her surrondings not really focusing on anything in particular.

"Something wrong?" The white pony asked, kicking her gently to get her attention.

"Wa-was it really that obvious?" Sapphire asked feeling a little embarrassed about how easily somepony read her expression.

"Yeah, spill, what's wrong?" Angel said again with a slight grin.

"It's just.. Being at school fer the first time was just so durn difficult. Ah never imagined ah'd have to go back fer any reason." Sapphire explained without looking at her friend directly. She waved her hooves in displeasure and rubbed her eyes.

"Relax, it's just an ordinary building and all we're going to do is walk around in it." Angel said thinking to herself. Sapphire never really was exposed to society, she'd grown up on her cherry ranch down in Dodge Junction with who knows how few ponies. She didn't like to be high-class or always trying to impress anypony. She was just Sapphire Stone, country mare who decided to take a wild turn in scenery and ended up being a struggling survivor of an apocalypse a few short weeks later.
Angel had to feel slightly bad for her, she does however have a good heart, saving her life twice in all.

Charcoal walked down the concrete steps to be greeted by the two mares. He carried something in his mouth which reveled to be a small cross-bow.

"You really do have everything." Angel whispered and watched the mute stallion walk past her and unlock the bolts on the door.

Charcoal stepped out into the morning air and glanced around the alley. He then retrieved a small arrow and set it into place upon his weapon. He whistled into the alleyway quietly enough to beguile a single short zombified mare to walk around the corner of the apartment complex. He watched the mare rush after him at a jogging pace, he lifted his tool, clicked off the safety with his hoof, and squeezed onto the trigger. The bands released its tension and the arrow was propelled out of the weapon, it whistled through the air until it came into contact with the mare. The arrow shattered her nose and lodged itself halfway into her cerebellum.She dropped to the cold ground instantly. Satisfied, Charcoal set down his weapon and pulled out a beach towel from his backpack. Using the towel as a barrier, he dragged the mare by her hind legs until he returned into the basement, completely unbothered by his actions.





"Sweet Celestia, I wish it smelled better." Angel complained wincing at the putrid smell of decaying flesh.

"I don't,  the plan wouldn't work at all if it smelled like pineapple and strawberries." Golden chuckled at his own joke.

"Yeah, too bad." Angel grumbled to herself, obviously she didn't enjoy his humor.

"So are you ready to cut her open?!" Golden said with a large smile on his face.

"Forgive me if ah hold mah enthusiasm, ah also didn't like that body search you made us go through." Sapphire answered.

"We had to make sure you didn't obtain any open wounds, you don't want to know what would happen if we lathered you with this and it got into your body." Golden chuckled, he was obviously excited to see his two favorite mares walking around covered in zombie guts.

"Lets just get this over with, ok?" Angel frowned. She stared at the mare's broken face, she used to have a  pristine tangerine mane and her coat used to be a yellowish color. Upon further inspection her cutiemark were three orange slices.
She seemed familiar somewhere, somewhere high-society but she couldn't put her hoof on it.

Golden Sentry handed Angel a set of goggles and he put his own on quickly. Then he took a knife in his mouth and delicately set it onto her abdomen. He pierced through her coat and skin and led the serrated blade travel through her belly.
Angel winced at the sounds of tearing but watched Golden proceed.
Sapphire was no where to be found in the room, the poor mare must have exited previously to avoid the gruesome scene. The orange maned zombie was finally ripped down to her waist and Golden Sentry nearly threw up at the sight of intestines and other unfamiliar organs slide out from her belly.

"Sapphire! We're ready for you." Golden called out. 

"Sweet Celestia, save me." Sapphire mumbled and she slowly walked to her fate, she put on the goggles Golden had provided earlier and squeezed her eyes closed.

Angel and Golden scooped up whatever they touched first and set it onto Sapphire's flank. She yelped and immediately subconsciously drop-kicked herself. "Ah've been through worse..." She said trying to maintain the shatters of dignity she still maintained.

"This is beyond disgusting." Angel complained as she lathered her friend in guts and entrails. 

The desperate mare sat petrified as she was practically dripping with blood. She lifted an eyelid and glanced at Golden, giving him a mute question to as if it was over. Golden then beckoned to Angelwhiskers. She sighed and let the two ponies lather her with the zombie's insides.
Her beautiful white coat might as well be pink and stained at this point and she wore an intestine around her neck, courtesy of Golden Sentry. Her golden mane was now brown and smothered with blood.

"Remember girls, you only look and smell like the undead outside. Try not to make too much noise or quick motions. The school is a few blocks further north than the market, so grab your hat and proceed to the school. We'll be keeping an eye on the security cameras along the road and school." Golden said as he retrieved the two saddlebags and helped throw them onto their flanks.

"Oh I hope this works." Angel tensed up and stepped out into the back alley.
Sapphire and Angel, completely covered in the putrid internals of a zombie, shuffled down into the street. The two mares watched a small dormant aqua blue zombie stare at the two disguised ponies walk by.

"Dear Luna, thank you so much." Angel whispered to no one in particular. As long as the ponies remained "undead", they shouldn't have a problem until they arrived at the market.
Angel leading, she shuffled past an obese purple mare, her zombified muzzle was ripped and torn to shreds. 
When the two mares reached Pegusi road, they noticed the group of zombies were still at the door. Angel laughed at the thought they couldn't open a door. She received an immediate kick from Sapphire to stay focused, their "performance" was starting to cause a scene so they ceased the noise and continued to the back door. They pushed the big green door open with a small clank of metals, they let themselves in and shut the door behind them. Sapphire immediately took off sprinting, she hurdled an empty display and rushed to the corner of the market in which she had her wrestling match with the zombified colt. She reached the corner and looked around, she stepped over the dead colt, which somehow smelt worse than a living zombie. Sapphire found her aqua hat lying underneath a pile of newspaper. She lifted it up with her mouth and threw it onto her head, shampoo seeped into her mane and she swore to herself. She quickly got over it and galloped back over to Angel, nearly tumbling over the small filly they saw yesterday. She reached Angel in a few moments, trying to regain her composure and trying to look as little winded as possible when Sapphire approached the other mare.

"Ah got it." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, but why the hell did you run off? We're a team remember?" Angel sat displeased. 

"Oh, Ah just thought it was no big deal. We already been through the market." Sapphire said, her ears flattened in guilt.

"Just don't run off again." Angel retorted and turned around to open the exit to the backstreet.

"Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't know you'd be upset." The not-so-brown mare said.

"Come on, lets just hurry up." Angel said looking over her map. "We should be able to walk down the street and enter the school's front doors. It's about two more blocks north." 

"Alright, lead the way sunshine." Sapphire said, Angel had glared at her friend for that nickname. She just straight out didn't like it. 
The duo then walked back into the streets only to be greeted by the turn of heads. They both in unison let out a sigh when the zombies didn't rush after them. Angel shuffled down the street and occasionally took a rough step for good measures. She felt like an idiot walking like this, however it was pretty comical to Golden laughing his tail off sitting safely in the camera room. 
One block away from the school and Sapphire grew nervous. There was an unreasonable amount of zombies around the area. She swallowed her fear and continued to shuffle past the herd of drooling monstrosities.
They made it to the school's front doors but they were still in a large amount of zombies. Angel casually pushed on the doors and swore, they wouldn't budge. It was locked from the inside and they had to find a new way into the school. 

Golden was flipping through the cameras and found another set of double doors on the east side of the school but he didn't dare try to communicate with Angel just yet, that would guarantee suicide.

Angel and Sapphire climbed over a six foot fence and landed on their hooves. Now that caused a lot of attention because a zombified mare had lumbered over to the other side of the fence and glared at them through the fence holes, she was groaning and summoning her friends to join her. 
Angel looked back at the group and gave a rough thought about how they would return to the apartment. After circling nearly half of the school, they came to a single door. It was brown and the metal hinges were orange. Sapphire yanked the door knob to hear several cracks and the door to swing open.
Angel smiled and gave her friend a bro-hoof, delighted she strolled in and walked around the area, they were in an auditorium.  The stage lights were still gleaming onto the sage as if somepony didn't turn them off one night, the room was devoid of zombies fortunately. They climbed the steps to the back row of seats and exited the auditorium, making a mental note where to come to upon leaving.

"Where do you suppose searching first, Saph? Angel asked turning her head to meet her friend.

"Ah guess the clinic would be smart fer medicines." She answered.

Angel reached into her saddle-bag and retrieved her walki-talki, but before she could speak into it, Golden was already watching them through the cameras and spoke first. "Yeah? What's up Angel?"

Startled, she nearly dropped it but held onto it tightly with her teeth. It tasted metallic and she spat out the taste. "Oh uhm, do you know where the clinic is?" Angel asked.

"No, but I see a map along the hallway to your right." Golden said and hung up.

"Great, we have to do everything ourselves." She whispered to herself and walked up to the map. She studied the map trying to grasp every detail. The auditorium was in hallway 04 and the clinic was in hallway 01. It didn't seem to complicated to get there and back and she began to walk into the direction of hallway 01 with Sapphire following close behind.
She trotted down the hallway, not a zombie in sight. It was kind of creepy though, with all of the lights turned off, she was walking into very dim lighting. Sapphire hated this place, she looked into one of the classrooms and saw perfectly neat desks all in order. It give her chills down her spin but hurried to catch up to Angelwhiskers.

"Are we going in the right direction?" Sapphire asked the pinkish mare, her entrail necklace twisted as she turned her head.

"Yes I believe so." She answered her friend, Sapphire looked hideous, her coat was rough with blood, her mane was ragged and her hat was drenched in smelly shampoo.
It smelled like pineapples and strawberries, she laughed at her discovery and quickly shut up when Sapphire gave her a confused look.

"What's so funny?" Sapphire asked.

"Just have to taunt Golden later when we get back to the apartment." The pinkish earth pony replied.

They turned the corner into hallway 01, the clinic was just up ahead. Sapphire opened the door and stepped inside only to be greeted by a broom swung at her face. She was knocked off her feet and slammed into the ground. A small stallion in a janitors outfit clenched a broom in his mouth and prepared for Angel.

"Oh dear Luna! You smacked her!"
Angel cried out.

"What-wait did you just speak?" A raspy voice yelled, quite confused.

"We're not zombies dude." Angel said as she bent over to Sapphire and helped her up.

"Well pardon me but what in Equestria happened to you two?" The janitor asked eyeing the intestine necklace Angel wore.

"It's just a disguise, we used to get passed the zombies." Angel said, her focus on Sapphire's face.

"Ouch, that kindah hurt ya know." Sapphire mumbled loud enough for the stranger to understand.

"Well when I see zombies, I come out swinging. I promised this little filly I'd guard her while this whole panic blew over. He scratched the back of his head with a hoof. He was an olive green stallion with brown eyes.  His short ruffled mane was a darker shade of blue. "Name's Washboard. And yourselves?"

"I'm Angelwhiskers and that's Sapphire Stone." Angel replied "We came to scavenge any medical supplies and we're supposed to offer a safe house down the street if you want to join us."

"Well i'd be delighted, I have to go get the little filly though." Washboard said with a grin. 

"The more the merrier." Angel replied and followed the olive stallion down the hallway. He was really short, maybe an inch taller than Sapphire, who was a reasonable size for a young mare.  
"So if you don't mind me askin', what were you doin' separated from your lil filly?" Sapphire asked.

"Oh she's not my filly, and she hit her head on the corner of a desk, I went to go get any pain killers I could find. And the school is quite safe, all the entrances are closed up and I killed every zombie in here previously-wait.." He stopped dead in his tracks. "How'd you two get in here?" 

"The back door wasn't exactly as sturdy as an oak tree." Sapphire answered the disgruntled stallion.

"After we get the girl can we hurry and leave?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah sure, there wasn't anypony out back there when we were outside, if that's why you're so nervous." Angel said trying to reassure the stallion it was safe.

They approached another set of double doors and Washboard opened them.
Sitting along one of the tables was an orangish-brown filly with ruby red bangs. She had a bruise over her right eye and looked up at the janitor.

Washboard hollered over to her that they were going to someplace safe and that these mares were going to lead them to it.

As they neared her she eyed the two mares intently. 
Sapphire sat across from her and politely asked "What's your name lil filly?"

She blew her bangs out of her face and spoke in a heavy bronx accent "Babs. Babs Seed."
> School Pains
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well howdy miss Seed!" Sapphire said delighted to be with the young filly.

"Uh hey. Can you explain why you're here?" Babs said nervously.

Babs was quite nervous to speak with Sapphire, after all her life drastically changed in a matter of moments a few days ago.

"Mah friend and ah are going to help you and Washboard. You're gunna be escorted to our safe house down the road." Sapphire said with a smile.

"Oh alright, so uhm.. What happened? Why did everypony go insane?" Babs said. "And when are we leaving?"

"I dunno, something about a sickness, just stay away from everypony you don't recognize. We should be leavin' quite soon, just waitin' on Angel and Washboard to finish their conversation and we can get to it." Sapphire spoke with a calming and reassuring voice.

"Alright." Babs said.

"So hey, why are you the only filly in the school?" Sapphire said with realization.

"I uh was here for tutoring. Mrs Clearwater was helping me. As I was leaving I saw somepony in the courtyard and he didn't look to good. He was one of our teachers but he didn't sound the same, so I hurried back in here and bumped into the janitor. He made me say here in the cafeteria, I didn't protest because what he said sounded urgent. Washboard and I were going to stay here till things blew over."

"Oh my goodness, ah'm sorry lil filly." Sapphire gasped.

"Eh, he's been taking care of me, but I don't know what my parents are doing and why nopony showed up for school today, it's monday." Babs said worriedly. 

That poor filly, what happened to her parents? I hope they're fine, for her sake. Sapphire thought, she refused to think of the worst.





Angel and Washboard remained near the door of the cafeteria to speak to each other privately.

"So you've protected Babs all this time?" Angel asked the olive earth pony.

"Yes, I found her on the night of the outbreak and kept her with me since then."

"And you've killed zombies previously?" Angel asked even further.

"Yes. A few actually. After I lead the filly to safety, I went through the entire school to make sure it was safe." Washboard replied.

"Killing doesn't bother you?" Angel said surprised.

"I didn't say that, but I used to be in the Manehatten police department! I'm not a stranger to a rough fight." Washboard replied.

"I see, well thank you for sharing your story. We'll make sure you and the filly make it back to the apartment safely. Angel replied.
"Oh, let me call Golden, he's kinda the pony in charge of things around here.

"Oh, go ahead." Washboard said.

After a moment of fumbling with the walki-talki, she heard the static cease and then she spoke into it.

"Golden? Golden, are you there?" Angel spoke into her walki-talki.

A moment after she heard a reply over the frequency. "Yeah, I'm here, anything new?" 

"Hey Golden, we couldn't find any medicine in the clinic but we met two other ponies taking refuge in the school." She told him with a smile.

"Oh great, hurry back and we'll have dinner with them." Golden said happily as he hung up.

"Ok, now that is out of the way, are you ready to go?" Angel said with a happy smile.

"Yes, yes, let's please." Washboard said returning the grin.

Angel came trotting down the isle and beckoned over to the group.
"Are you girls ready or what? I called Golden Sentry and informed him on who we've found and he seemed excited."

"Yeah, sure Angel. Be there in a sec." Sapphire replied to her question.

Sapphire and Babs got to their hooves. Babs nearly toppled over and fell against a chair for support. 
Letting out a small cry and wince, she then held her head in her hoof.

"It hurts.." Babs said with her eyes squeezed together. She rubbed her forehead in pain.

"Oh my-" Sapphire gasped and ran around the rectangular table to meet the filly. She sat Babs down on the closet chair and examined her once more.
Gingerly, Sapphire brushed away the crimson mane to see the problem. Babes had an apple-sized bruise above her right eyebrow. It was a disgusting blue color that contrasted her brownish-orange coat. 
"This ain't lookin' too purty." Sapphire said with a frown. "Come on, hop on." She said and squatted down to let her belly touch the ground.
Babs opened her eyes and winced. She slowly stepped onto the mare, she felt blood soaked into her hooves.

"Ew." Babs said disgusted and looked at her right hoof to inspect the grotesque liquid. She slowly lowered herself onto Sapphires back until she was lying on her belly. It seemed as if she entered a chilled pool. 

Sapphire extended her knees and slowly walked between the tables while Babs got a sense of balance.

They joined the two earth ponies momentarily and with a nod of readiness, Washboard escorted them out of the room. They were back in hallway 01 and Washboard said they were going back to the back doors to exit. They casually walked down the elementary school hallway. Washboard knew the school almost instinctively and led them down each corridor.

"Ok girls, the auditorium is just another turn." Washboard said pointing his muzzle in the direction.

As he reached the corner and banked the turn he froze.
Standing in between the group of survivors and the auditorium was a group, no herd of drooling zombies, about thirty feet away. It felt like time had slowed down and every zombie turned its head in there direction. Washboard gasped and each pony's eyes dilated four times their original size. 

"GO GO GO THAT WAY!" He shouted panicking, turning directions.

Each pony reared themselves around and galloped down the hall in which they came from. Zombies poured out from the hallway turn behind them, running after their delectable treats.

Babs was breathing rapidly in short amounts. She was hyperventilating, nearly strangling Sapphire as they sprinted down the corridor. She shut her eyes and buried her muzzle into Sapphire's neck helplessly.
It was more than a herd of a hundred zombies chasing them, each one letting out a low pitched moan and that made Babs's condition much worse.
Angel was in the lead of the group with Sapphire and Babs close behind. Washboard wasn't too far behind either.
Angel exploded around a corner of the hallway and began to gallop down the next low-lit corridor.
She passed door after door and quickly came to a set of double doors at the end. Ramming into the door, she pushed on it waiting for it to open and her heart skipped a beat when she realized it was locked.

"I've got the keys, give me a second." Washboard hollered down to Angel. He skidded to a halt besides the two mares and pulled out his key ring. There were hundreds of keys as he fumbled through them. The sound of death was nearing the center of the hallway. Washboard struggled with the keys and stuck one into the lock, he twisted the stationary key and cursed. He yanked it out and examined his key ring once more.

"Come on, come on." Angel rushed the stallion. She was beginning to see the  faces of the zombies rushing down the hall toward them at a frightening pace.
Washboard's second attempt was much more successful and he pushed on the door. The four ponies threw the door open and were greeted by sunlight. They were in the courtyard, and the front doors were a taunting one hundred yards away. 
Before the hallway doors fully closed it was pushed open by the leading zombie. His body halted the door from closing and he struggled through it. Succeeding, the zombified stallion opened the door and ran into the courtyard directly at the fleeing survivors. The door was caught by the second leading pony, and the next and the next as they piled over each other to get through the confined entry. Washboard opened the front doors of the school and held it open for the two mares and filly to squeeze through. After Sapphire and Babs made it through, Washboard threw himself into the door in an attempt to close it. He felt the resistance of the zombified stallion and he knew he needed to shut it soon or he'd have to fight the rest of the horde as well, which would inevitable be a failure. 
Angelwhiskers turned around to see Washboard struggling. She bit her lip and rushed over to rescue him. She slammed into the door knocking the zombie back and the door clicked to a close.

She huffed and took a deep breath. "Come on Washboard, let's hurry up."

Washboard nodded and followed the white mare into the zombiless front entrance. There were a few carriages and wagons dotting around the parking lot but not a zombie in sight. 
Babs was nearly covered in the blood that rested on Sapphire. Her coat soaked up a lot blood from of Sapphire's damp coat and mane. She had a roaring headache and felt exhausted, yet she was thankful to have a strong pony carry her. 

"Angel, How are we getting home?" Sapphire asked.

Home.. That's where Angel wanted to be right now more than ever. Tucked away from the creatures and problems of society, she felt exhausted and worn out but as a leader, she knew she couldn't show it.

"Uh, aren't there back streets along Pegasi road? Angel asked.

"Yeah but the closest entrance is half a block away." Sapphire frowned.

"It's worth a try." Angel said.
She repeated those words over in her head. 

She lead the group across the parking lot and into the main streets, there wasn't any zombies in the streets.
They must have followed us into the school. Angelwhiskers thought to herself.
She crossed the street and stepped up onto the sidewalk and proceeded south towards the apartment. She came into the alley way in which Sapphire had discussed and led them down the trail. 
It was a regular alley, nothing too exciting. After a short trek Washboard took the lead. He was familiar with the town and where Hoofen street was, so he had no problem guiding.

He calmly walked down the alley and the next moment, he was shocked at what he faced. Just around the turn, four zombified ponies were standing there, almost waiting for him to be ambushed. The zombies knocked the helpless olive stallion over and a zombie bit into his neck, piercing any kind of protection.
Washboard yelled in surprise and agony, maroon liquid seeped from his uniforms grey collar. 
Angelwhiskers pupils grew with surprise and confusion, she couldn't move, she was paralyzed at the sight. Sapphire was wide-mouthed with terror and astonishment, somehow Babs was in an unconscious state, she must have been exhausted previously. Washboard's head turned to the survivors and his eyes looked towards Angel. He whispered something to her, his mouth taking the form of "Help". Then the olive pony stopped struggling and the four zombies towered over him, ripping at his uniform and his coat. It was the worst thing either of the mares have witnessed.
The mares just stood there, horrified at the sight. 

"Bastards.." Angel whispered to herself. 
She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a black solid object.
It was her nine millimeter pistol and she held it in her mouth. There was a blazing hatred in her eyes, a wild fire dancing in her eyes. 

"BASTARDS!" Angel screamed ferociously as she pulled on the trigger as much as her mouth would let her. Each bullet left an ear splitting crack and a blood squirting hole in one of the zombies. Even though the four zombies were dead and littered with bullets, she continued to fire the rest of her clip until it clicked a few times without a response.  

That's it. She witnessed her friend wretched from her again in just mere moments. First Mint leaf, then Safehaven, and now Washboard.

And that is the reality of danger.
> Saviors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angels stood in the middle of the alley, as if she was paralyzed. She realized her error and what danger she put herself and Sapphire in, for she had announced to every zombie for the next several blocks that she was here. She just couldn't help her mental breakdown, it's mind-twisting to see a pony die that gruesome death. She studied her surroundings, several zombies ran after their exact location, with the intent to feast. Most of the zombies were coming from the south, the direction of the apartment. Angel and Sapphire were hopelessly severed from Golden Sentry.

Crack!

The leading zombified pegasus was thrown off her hooves and her blood splattered the scenery and other zombies. It was a bullet, but not from either of the mares.

Angel shook out of her dazed state and searched for her protector.
She noticed a stallion in window about ten stories up with a beautiful wooden rifle.
He looked down into the ally and his voice bellowed with urgency.

"THIS WAY FOOLS!"

He waved his red hoof towards a door way several stories beneath him. He lifted up his zombie-bane and released another deadly projectile from his weapon. The bullet circulated through the air until it destroyed a unicorns nose. The bullet traveled at such a momentum it exited the zombie's skull and clanked to the ground.

Angel and Sapphire sprinted through the alleyway and came to the designated door. Angel slammed her body against the metal door causing it to fly open.
She glanced around her surroundings, she was in a large lobby with papers thrown across the room. There was a large crescent shaped table that sat in the middle of the room, facing the main doors. The walls were painted a cozy maroon and the lights emulated a soft glow.

"Any ideas Saph?" Angel asked urgently.

"Ah reckon we go up." Sapphire replied searching frantically for the stairwell.

Zombies poured in from the alleyway and clustered into the lobby door. The distant cracks of bullets still echoed throughout the back alleys.
Sapphire finally found a sign that directed her towards the stairs, she called to Angel who rushed over to the newly found stairwell. Angelwhiskers took notice of a sign a sign that said C1 and she made note that it was about to become forsaken. She then dashed up the stairs, two steps at a time with Sapphire close behind her. The zombies chased after the two mares about a floor or two beneath them,
Floor six, Angel could feel pain within her chest, she knew this wasn't the time to take a break so she struggled through her cramp.
Floor ten, a muscular earth pony stallion opened the door and beckoned the mares inside. He was blonde, with a short white mane and a shaggy beard. He rushed them inside and slammed the door shut. The three ponies backed away from the door, more at ease and waited for a response from the door. A large bang was heard on the other side of the door followed by more slamming noises. The wooden door cracked and the hinges bent.
A another stallion rushed around the hallway intersection, he had a dusty brown coat and a yellow mane shaped into a fohawk. He held a weapon lock in grasp in between his teeth and a large blade strapped to his flank. Angel realized what the stallion held, he held a broom, but with an ordinary kitchen knife secured onto it with several layers of duct tape, this clever stallion created a homemade spear. He neared the group, sweat trickled down his brow and he offered his blade to his companion. The muscular pony took the dagger shaped blade from the rear of his friend and shifted it around to where he held it comfortably within his jaws.
A large crash came from the doorway and splinters were thrown in all directions. Angel shielded her face with her hoof and she felt the dull wooden shards bounce off her foreleg.
The two stallions rushed the oncoming zombies as if they were prepared for this moment all of their lives. The skinner stallion slashed his spear at a unicorn's face and created a red laceration along its muzzle. He readjusted and thrusted his spear deep into the unicorns open mouth. The muscular colt didn't stop running and tackled the closest zombie knocking it over. Within moments he stabbed his blade into the forehead of the earthpony. He grunted and ripped his knife out to face the next pony.
The muscular pony turned around and gave a command to the mares who stood, gawking at the scene.

"Run that way! Tiki will meet up with you!" His voice bellowed throughout the office hallway. Then he returned to knock down a zombified stallion to the ground.

Angel and Sapphire turned directions and hoofed it down the hallway. The patterns on the carpet made her a little dizzy, interwoven circles into other circular shapes. There were sections of office buildings along each intersection and the walls were painted a dark violet color. She was nearing the hallway and was forced to turn directions. She rounded the corner and founded a pegasus flying halfway down the hallway towards them. His red wings shifted the air underneath him so he gently came to a halt in front of them. He had a short brown mane and a golden muzzle. His muzzle faded into a darker shade of gold until it blended into his red coat at his eye level. His light green eyes flickered in the light. He had a golden guideline along the tip of his wings, almost as if it was a bar and his red feathers were the curtain. He had a beautifully carved wooden rifle strapped to his side secured by a black strap.

"You're Mickey?" Angel asked the stranger. "You're the one who saved us?"

"I'd prefer Tiki if you don't mind. And yes I have, I'm glad you remembered. Come on it's not safe yet, follow me." The crimson pegasus said in reassuring voice and he kicked off the ground and flew the direction he arrived from.

"Nice to meet you too." Angel whispered to herself.

"Come on love, let's not fall behind now." Sapphire said taking the lead.

They rushed after pegasus down the violet hallways.
The mares chased Tiki down each corner until reaching a stairwell. This stairwell had a marked sign that said B10. Tiki bounced off the floor and flew up the empty space In between the flight of stairs. He stopped and hovered at floor twelve for the two mares.
Angel's hooves were aching by time she climbed the concrete stairs. Tiki opened the door and allowed the two mares into the room.  It resembled a break room, a large one at that, several couches and in another room; a kitchen with tables and everything. The couches really called out to her, beckoning her to come and crash into slumber. The walls were a light green and a television was turned on to the Equestrian-news.

"So tell me what you were doing down there in the alleys." Tiki's voiced demanded over her shoulder.

"I-I was avenging a friend.." Angel said hesitantly.

"That was foolish of you. The dead are dead, what did you imagine you'd accomplish by attracting the entire city here?"

"I don't know, I was frustrated.. Do you have a bed? Our filly needs to rest." Angel asked.

"Couch should do." Tiki said pointing to the dark brown couch. Sapphire walked over to the couch and gently set Babs down on the cracked leather surface. She set her head on the arm of the couch and then set her right hoof on her back and stretched to align her spine back into its original position. As Sapphire walked back to the group she heard footsteps from outside the break room.
The two unnamed colts entered the room, splattered with blood, each with weapon placed at their sides.

"How'd it go?" Tiki asked his companions hugging both of them.

The skinnier colt responded first. "Good, thinned them out but there are still a lot wondering the tenth floor."

"That's still good news to me." Tiki responded and turned to face Angel and Sapphire. "Girls, this is Snakes." The skinny dusty colt made eye contact with Angel. "And that's Titan." He muscular colt spoke up to greet the mares.

"Pleasure to meet you. Uhm who are you?"

Sapphire responded. "Ah'm Sapphire, and that's my compadre Angelwhiskers." She smiled and tilted her head at the couch. "And that's Babs over there."

"Titan, why don't you show them to the bedroom?" Tiki gestured.

"Sure." He then turned to the mares, "I don't suppose you plan on sleeping elsewhere." Then he lead Angel and Sapphire out into a nearby doorway.

Once they were out of earshot Snakes turned to Tiki, with suns blazing within his pupils. "Why did we help them?! They could have gotten us killed!"

"They had a filly.. I couldn't watch them die."

"You know what happens when we trust strangers."

"I didn't say I trust them, and I won't after what happened to your sister."

"I loved Piper. I can't watch another pony close to me die."

"I'll make sure we're safe."





Titan led the two mares into a large room. The room was filled with stuff; several mattresses on the ground, a broken-into vending machine, a refrigerator, and other cardboard boxes.

"You two can take any bed." He said and retrieved two extra blankets from one of the unopened boxes.

"Thanks Titan." Sapphire said and crawled over to a bed.

"The other two and I will be in the other room, try not to do anything stupid." Titan instructed.

"One question" Angel spoke up before Titan exited.

"Yeah?"

"Who are you three."

"No pony important."
And he exited the room and flicked the lights off.

Angel crawled into a random bed, lied down, and set her head on her pillow. She fell asleep quite quickly and dreams soon followed her mind.





Angelwhiskers could feel herself in a bed, more comfortable than before. She opened her eyes and saw her coltfriend, Safehaven lying beside her. She knew it was a dream but she enjoyed it anyway. His touch enlivened her senses and she nuzzled into his chest. For once she felt tranquil. A few moments passed when she could feel a rush of frosty air blow into her mane. She opened her eyes again and she took a moment to process where she was. She got to her hooves and scanned the area. It was Times-Square! But something felt odd, every light around her was turned off. An eerie sight to see in anyplace in Manehattan. She concentrated on her surroundings and was taken aback at the fog around the roads. Several zombified ponies rushed towards her, the combinations of howls and moans immobilized her. Even if she wanted to run she was surrounded by hordes of undead. They reached closer to her and she let out a panicking scream as they knocked her over onto the black road.

Everything went grey and she woke up heaving. Her stomach pounded and her body purged her stomach. She rushed out of bed and scurried to the sink. She emptied her mouth and stomach of everything it contained. She felt like she was hungover without alcohol.

"What the hay Angel? What's wrong?" Sapphire said urgently.

"Uhm.. Uh nightmares I guess."

"Oh.. Well you can sleep with me if you'd like. Only if you promise nota' puke on me." Sapphire said and chuckled to herself.

Angel stuck her head underneath the faucet and rinsed out her mouth with the tap. "Yeah, no problem."

"It was only ah nightmare sunshine."
> The Quarantine Zone 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel woke up early in the morning, she managed to avoid her nightmares within her previous sleep. She rolled out of her blanket and got to her hooves. She inhaled deeply and gently shook Sapphire.

"Hey hun, what time is it?" Sapphire said with a yawn and sat upright.

"Early enough. But if it wasn't for Tiki, we might have never lived to see today." Angel replied.

"Ah know. Have ya spoken with Golden Sentry yet?"

"Uhm no, no I haven't. At least not yet."

"We probably need to check in."

Angel walked back to her original mattress and retrieved her saddlebag. She picked it up within her teeth and came back to situate herself next to Sapphire. Angel sat on the foot of the bed and stretched out her hind legs. She reached into her bag and pulled out her walki-talki. She manipulated it to where it was usable and applied light pressure to the protruding button along the side of the device.

"Golden? Are you awake?"

After a moment a voice replied, Golden's sleek voice was changed to a noticeably relieved tone.

"Angel? Sweet Celestia! Where have you been?!"

"Away; we've gotten into slight trouble last night. We took refuge in an office building off of Pegasi Road. And we've meet a few people here."

"Will you bring them back?"

"I'll ask although they seem pretty set up here."

"Ok, please stay safe Angel. Tell Sapphire I said the same."

"You too Golden."

Angel took a deep breath and returned the walki-talki back to its original place within her bag. She turned to see Sapphire relaxed sitting in her bed. She then spoke up to Angel.

"So, why don't we say hi to the neighbors?"

"Sounds good." Angel replied.

They both got up out of bed, settled their saddlebags on eachothers flank, and proceeded out into the main office room.
The two mares walked into a large rectangular room adjacent to the break room. Snakes was already awake in a recliner conversing casually about school. He was speaking with Babs, she had awoken and seemed to have met one of the strangers. She seemed relax in her tone so she must have been acquainted with the strangers for quite awhile. As Angel and Sapphire approached they interrupted the conversation.

"Uhm, good morning. Snakes, was it?" Angel said awkwardly.

"Yeah that's me." The dusty colt replied.

"So do you have a plan or something?"

"You should speak with Tiki about that."

"Where is he?"

"Sleeping. I'll wake him." Snakes said as he rose from his chair and walked past the mares. He had a knife across his flank that he didn't try to hide. The intricate leather pattern along the sheath intrigued Angel. It was complicatedly laced with two colors creating a vortex of the lighter and darker shading. He exited the area and entered into another unfamiliar door.

"Hey gals, how've you all been? Did Washboard not wake up with you?" Babs said in her bronx accent. Her eyes shined with innocence.

"Uhm, he ah, had to go." Sapphire said nervously and she scratched the back of her head.

"He's dead, ain't he?" Babs said rhetorically and lowered her head in grief.

Angel nor Sapphire dared to admit it, even though Babs wasn't blind.
Angel stepped forward and sat down next to Babs. The white pony put her hoof around the filly and hugged her.

"He saved our lives, he took the lead and took the sacrifice." Angel whispered to her.

After a long moment, Tiki entered the room with an ice pack over his head.

"What's with the ice?" Sapphire asked the red pegasus.

"Oh this? Just a little hungover. It's no big deal. So is there a reason Snakes summoned me here? Or have I been tricked to get out of bed?" The crimson pegasus responded.

Angel spoke up to answer his question.

"Yeah, do you have a plan? Or would you like to come to our safe house?"

"Oh, aren't you a silly filly, we're preparing to depart and head to the quarantine zone."

"Q-quarantine zone?"

"Yeah haven't you heard? Princess Luna set up her lunar guards around the outskirts of Manehattan." Tiki said as he reached for the tv remote and flicked it onto the Equestrian News.

A purple mare with a white mane in a bun was speaking behind her table. Sure enough, she was talking about the zombie outbreak and all of the cities that have been discovered with the virus; the entire crystal empire, Bostallion, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Baltimare, and several other large cities were listed. Canterlot was under strict lockdown; no pony in or out can pass the royal guard sentries and barricades. Luna's lunar guards were ordered to surrounded major roads exiting the infected cities and to aid any pony not infected.

"That's were we are going, and I'd rather die next to my friends than to fly away cowardly."

"Can.. we come with you?" Angel asked nervously.

"Oh absolutely not. We can't allow anymore to travel with us." Tiki replied shaking his head.

Angel's heart sank and her eyes filled with sorrow.
The open door behind Tiki was occupied and Titan was leaning against the doorframe.

"Come on Tiki, just let them follow us." Titan said waving his hoof.

Tiki's lime green eyes filled with disapproval and he swung around to meet his friend face to face. Whispering to him enough for only Titan to understand.

"It's several miles till the quarantine zone, it's not safe."

"It's not safe here either Tiki." Titan responded.

"In times like these, you can't show compassion because that's when ponies walk all over you like a doormat. They use you for their own benefit, Angel and Sapphire are lucky I saved them."

"Just give them a chance. They're grateful ponies and they offered us a safehouse. Seems pretty heroic to me."

Tiki closed his eyes and pondered his will for survival and compassion. "Fine.. They can come, and we might as well allow anypony else to follow the train as well."

"Hear that girls? Invites are open." Titan said louder for the mares to understand.

Angel's heart lifted and she exhaled in relief. "Thank you."

Tiki and Titan murmured something about Snakes and left the room leaving the three girls alone.

"Golden and Charcoal should be happy. Don't you think?" Angel said.

"Yeah, let's call em, have em pack up early before we leave." Sapphire replied.

Angel rooted into her saddlebag and retrieved her walki-talki. She fumbled with it and called her friends.

"Golden guess what!" Angel said. No reply came back to her. "Golden?"

"Hey little trouble here, what do you need?" The familiar voice said through the wavelengths.

"The four of us are going with the group we met. There is a quarantine zone on the outskirts of Manehattan, pack your bags, we'll pick you up soon." Angel said excitedly.

"Leave? Uh yeah! I like that, okie dokie, hurry up."

"Is something wrong?"

"Just zombies being zombies, gotta go."

Angel set down her walki-talki confused. "Okay, that was a little odd."

The three stallions came back into the break room, they each wore large saddlebags with various other stuff attached. They each had a roll out sleeping mat tucked ontop of the bags. Snakes had his spear in his mouth and angled it where it was out of the way. Tiki had his rifle slung over his right shoulder and small throwing knives along his torso. Titan had a large machete across his abdomen which had only the grip protruding from the sheath.

"Are you ready?" Tiki asked.

"No, our crew is in an apartment building on Hoofen Street." Angel replied.

"Crew of how many?" Tiki asked suspiciously.

"Just two colts." Angel reassured him.

"Fine, we can get them." Tiki said and turned to lead the group out of the office room.

Angelwhiskers followed the group of ponies out the room and into a short hallway. The walls had several doors lined upright against the surface of the wall. She continued to follow the three stallions with Sapphire and Babs close behind her. They reached the end of the hallway and proceeded through the maze of rooms until they reached a stairwell. The walls read "A12" in bright red letters. Tiki leading, they marched down the stairs. The order was Tiki, Titan, Snakes, Angel, Babs, and Sapphire bringing up the rear.
Level 8; Angel heard the unmistakable noise of a zombie; its low growl echoed from down below. Each pony froze in realization, except for Tiki.

"I've got this one gents." He said quietly and proceeded down to level 7 to introduce himself. A royal blue pegasus was standing awaiting for food. His coat was roughly fading to grey and his black mane was twisted and patches of hair was missing. He gnarled his teeth at the sight of the crimson pegasus.
"Come here Babe." He mocked the zombie. The blue zombie sprinted up the stairs to Tiki. The red pegasus grinned and prepared for an easy kill. He raised his hoof to shield himself from the zombie's weight being thrown onto him. In one swift motion Tiki spun the zombie around with his left hoof and left wing and knocked the zombie over the railing. The zombified pegasus fell backwards over into the empty space within the stairwell. It fell one story and it's waist took the impact of the guide rail. With a loud thud it continued to slide off and into the emptiness of the stairwell.

"Hell yeah!" Titan exclaimed.

"Come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover before dark." Tiki said as if it was nothing.

The six ponies continued their journey down the stairs, Angel swallowed nervousness down and didn't miss a step as she followed Snakes. His yellow mane bounced with each step and his muscles tensed with each motion. His flank was defined and quite alluring to her. She felt a sudden redness rush over her face and she attempted to forget her daydream.
They reached the first floor and Tiki opened the door. As he opened it he was faced with nine zombies within the office lobby. Tiki's green eyes lit up and he made a grunt that showed his distress. He carefully closed the door and quietly backed away.

"I can only see nine, we can take them easily guys." The reddened pegasus whispered.

"No, it's too dangerous, there are too many obstacles to know for sure." Snakes whispered to reply.
"Let's find a window on level 2."

"Yeah seems fine to me." Tiki replied and passed between each stallion than mare. He led the group up to stair level 2 and entered through the iron doors. He walked down the short hallway and small room of office supplies. He pushed down the window blinds to peer out of the window. There was a dumpster right underneath them; about a four foot drop.
Tiki slid the window open carefully and stepped out into the air. He extended his wings to avoid falling but the weight of his saddlebags lowered him down.
One by one each pony lowered themselves out of the window and gently on the dumpster. Babs jumped without a care and slid off the dumpster like a professional.

"Alright Angel, show us the way." Tiki said allowing her to the front.

Angel took the lead of the group, she began to work out where she was exactly. She was on an alley way right off of Steller Street, the road connecting Hoofen and Pegasi Road. She began to walk south, towards the apartment building, and reached the intersection in less than a minute.
A few zombies lurked around the entrance and the road. Just two mares and a stallion.

"Ok, I'll take the mare that's secluded from the other two. You guys think you can handle the others?" Angel said devising a plan.

"Easily." Titan boasted.

Angel retrieved her knife from her saddlebag and stepped out onto the blackened road. The zombified mare swung her head and growled at her. Her eyes were glazed over and her corneas were yellow. It ran towards Angel, who took no haste and knocked it over with her shoulder. She embedded the knife into the temple of the zombified earthpony.
The other two were already dead from Titan and Tiki.

"Easily done guys." Tiki said grinning.

"The door is in the back." Angel said and proceeded to the corner of the house.  Each brown brick stacked on top of each other were lined for several feet. She rounded the corner and walked up to the basement doors. She pulled the latch downwards and the metals cracked and allowed her inside. Each pony followed the white earthpony into the basement. There were the same boxes stacked ontop of each other that never moved.

"Golden?! Charcoal?!" Angel shouted through the apartment stairs.

"Hey Angel, up here!" Golden responded from upstairs.

Angel walked up the stairs and looked around. She was astonished at her surroundings; three zombified ponies lie on the floor dead but she didn't recognize any of them. She carefully stepped over them and walked into the kitchen.
Golden and Charcoal were in the kitchen/dining room. Golden Sentry had his hind hooves up on the table.

"I brought our friends Golden." Angel said excitedly.

Tiki rounded the corner and made eye contact with Golden.

"Golden Sentry!" He exclaimed happily.

"Tiki? Sweet Celestia, you bastard! How the hell are you?" Golden replied with a shift in tone.

"How's anypony in zombie apocalypse?" Tiki joked.

"Sorry to intrude but ah'm guessing ya'll know each other?" Sapphire asked.

"Oh yeah sorry, Tiki and I were mates way back." Golden replied.

"Oh how nice." Sapphire said while stepping back to relax in a chair.

"So I heard we're going somewhere?" Golden asked his crimson friend.

"There's zones of lunar guards set around the city. Survivors are recommended to meet up there." Tiki explained.

"Alright best not to delay I suppose. How far is it?"

"It's uh, seventeen miles till the closest one."

Golden exhaled in distress. "Alright let's start our way."

Golden sat up and retrieved his saddlebag out from under the table. Then he reached out and collected his double-barrel shotgun that was leaning against the wall. He slung it over his neck and walked out of the kitchen. Charcoal did the same except he retrieved his wooden crossbow and a leather quiver.
Everypony walked back out into the basement and out the door into the alleyway. She felt the exchange of temperatures as the breeze blew past her muzzle. Tiki was leading once more, he was the only pegasus in the group and knew his way around the city the best. Angel decided to catch up with Snakes and speak with him.

"So, how'd you come up with your pole weapon? It's pretty impressive."
She innocently asked.

"My father, why?" The dusty colt responded.

"Oh, no reason." Angel replied, when in reality she just wanted an excuse to talk with him.

"It saved my life plenty of times." Snakes said and laughed.

"Yeah, this whole thing is kind of mind blowing." Angel said as she pushed her golden hair out of her face.

"Tell me about it." Snakes joked.

She couldn't explain it but she kind of liked him. Maybe it was because of his body tone, or personality, or because he was nice to Babs this morning.

"So how did you meet Tiki and Titan?" Angel asked.

"It was a long time ago, I can't remember." Snakes replied shaking away discontent.
"And yourself?"

"What?"

"How did you meet Sapphire and Golden?"

"Oh, uhm, by fate."

"That's gotten you this far?"

"Yeah.."

"You're quite lucky Angelwhiskers."

"How's that?"

"Some strangers take advantage for their own benefit, while the others are left behind."

"I can assure you, we're loyal even after death."

Snakes slowed down a little and casually walked closer towards Angel. After a moment, they were side by side following Golden and Tiki.

"It's not everyday I find another pony I can trust." Snakes whispered.

"Oh yeah, it's my pleasure" Angel beamed.

"Have you lost somepony close to you?" Snakes said under his breath.

"Yeah, my coltfriend. First night of the outbreak. Before Sapphire, he was the closest pony to me." She exhaled in depression. "How about you?"

"Yeah, my sister, Piper. She died a few days ago."

"Oh I'm sorry. May I ask what happened to her?"

"She was bitten when Frostburn abandoned her. The five of us were split up, Piper and Frost ran upstairs while Tiki, Titan, and I went downstairs. From what I know, Piper held the door shut against zombies and Frost abandoned her while she struggled. We never found or seen Frost since then. I'm part pegasus, although Piper inherited the full pegasi genes and she flew away after she was bitten. We returned to her too late and she was already half-gone." Snakes said and winced at the flood of emotions.

"Oh, I'm so sorry" Angel said in grief.

Tiki turned the corner of an intersection and quickly rushed back frightened. He lifted his left hoof up to his muzzle to silence everypony.

"We've got a few zombies, guys. Let's see if we can't sneak past a few of them." He whispered.
In a single file line, each pony hurriedly ran across the street. Tiki gave a wave and a halt of his wing to signal when to cross the street. Every pony crossed the street quickly and quietly then continued the silence. Tiki continued the trek along the streets, alternating killing zombies with Titan and Charcoal.

"Allow me the next one?" Sapphire asked Tiki.

Tiki looked quite surprised but allowed her without question.
"Be my guest." He said in a whisper.

A minutes pasted and several zombies spotted the group and lumbered towards them. There was about eleven spread out amongst themselves. Tiki, Titan, Charcoal and Sapphire stepped up and readied themselves. Sapphire swallowed her fear and held her knife closely.
Charcoal released arrows into the group killing two mares; a pegasus and an earth pony, before the rest of the group came too close. Tiki and Titan quickly stabbed and killed seven zombies and backed away quickly. Sapphire watched the two zombies near her and she felt her adrenaline course through her veins. With the force of a country pony, she knocked over the first zombie and stuck her blade into its cheek. She tugged on the blade and it slowly slid out of the face of the discolored pony. She whipped around and slashed her knife at the last zombie in the short street. She made slight contact with its neck and blood seeped from its coat. She readjusted and thrusted her knife into the forehead of the graying zombified colt.

"Nice work girl." Titan said with an approving smile.

"Thanks." Sapphire said recovering from her nervousness. Perhaps she wasn't afraid of the zombie itself, but afraid of failure in front of the group.

"We should continue moving." Tiki said quietly and quickly moved back to the edge of the road.

The amount of encounters were beginning to become much more frequent and Golden stepped in to help defend themselves. Golden had a large survival knife that was serrated along one edge. Angel and Snakes didn't draw their weapons but remained alert. Angel watched Golden Sentry drag a zombie away and viciously stomp on its skull. The bones caved in and splinters of bone cracked. Angel's expression was wide with both fear and awe from her friend.
The quantity of zombies increased as they moved further from the apartment and they were forced to take shelter. They sought refuge into a nearby auto-repair shop, Titan and Charcoal lifted the garage door. The garage door wasn't too heavy but they had to leave it on their shoulders while everypony retreated into the workshop. After Angel and Sapphire slipped in, they let the door slam shut.
Babs was the first to scream, a live, zombified earthpony hung from a noose that was tethered to the metal railings. He spun gently from his movement, he wore a grey uniform which had two patches of metal wrenches. Angel looked away at the unfortunate soul and found a note tapped underneath him.

"Hey guys, check this out." Angel said and ripped the paper from the tap.

To whomever is reading this,
My name is Metalhoof, I'm the mechanic here. I've come to the unfortunate event that I am infected with the curse. The bite has caused soreness and blood clots around the wound. Eventually numbness and pure torture. If you're reading this, I've turned already and have taken my life.
Be careful with those demons.

"Didn't know enough to put a bullet in his brain." Titan said resentfully.

Tiki outstretched his wings and bounced up to Metalhoof. Tiki remained in the air observing the zombie, pulled a throwing knife out of the leather sleeve and flung it into the head of the mechanic. The blade pierced its cheek bone and lodged itself into his brain. He ceased his movement and his legs fell to his sides.

"Euthanasia at its highest." Tiki said and cut the noose.
The dead zombie crashed into the ground with a thud. Tiki retrieved his knife and slid the body underneath the garage door.
> The White Stripes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Angel woke up with her cheek pressed onto the cement. Her body was wrapped in her cyan bed sheet and her mane roughly flayed in any direction. Her bones felt as if they had been misplaced because she slept on the floor. Her entire body ached yet she felt rested. She opened her eyes and let light pour into her vision. Her ears perked up and she heard hushed voices somewhere behind her. Angelwhiskers stretched her body and rolled onto her hooves. She peered around the room and found Titan and Charcoal idly chatting. She couldn't tell what they were talking about and quite frankly she didn't care. She pushed herself to her saddlebag over in the corner of the room. She stepped over Sapphire, who was resting, mummified within a pinkish bed sheet. Her Stetson lie by her side and she periodically had an adorable snore. When Angel reached her saddlebag she dug around to find a small brown bag. She slid out two cold pieces of toast and bit down on a corner. The slightly burnt corner crumbed away onto her tongue and she bit into her food again before she could swallow her original bite. She scarfed down her food and took a sip of water from her canteen. It was a small curved canteen with a green pouch that encased the metal. She washed the burnt taste away from her mouth and swallowed her warm water. She was grateful of the liquids temperature because by Celestia, It was FREEZING. The warm water rushed down her throat and soothed her frosty internal temperature. Angel slowly walked back to her messy bed sheet and bit the corner. She threw it over her body and tucked it around her neck to create a makeshift robe. The cyan cloth draped lightly over her eyes and was fastened tightly around her neck. The sheet lazily hung over her abdomen and her mane was pressed tightly against her body. It was still cold underneath her blanket robe but it helped a little bit. After a few minutes of doing nothing, her other friends began to rise up. Each pony had a different reaction to the cold, some swore, others weren't phased as much. Then she rooted around in her saddlebag, pulling out her knife. It was encased in a black sheath with straps around it. Curiously, she fastened her knife around her foreleg. It felt comfortable and it didn't restrict movement. "This should be easier to get to rather than in my bag" Angel thought silently. Afterwards she peaked out of the repair-shop's window. It snowed really heavily last night and white flakes piled nearly seven inches in height. Angelwhiskers thought to herself; the Manehatten weather patrol was probably absent yesterday night due to the epidemic. There was a freak snow storm last night and everypony slept through it. Angel stared though the window, idly following one particular snowflake gracefully land onto the layers of snow. She accidentally fogged up her window and that made her abandon her view. She turned her ears back on and listened to everypony talk. Tiki was talking about a clothing store and complaining about how bucking cold it was. Babs ate dry cereal with her back towards everypony and Sapphire continued to snore unaware of reality around her. Angel laughed and thought how pretty she looked anyway. Angel poked her with her hoof and didn't receive a reaction from the sleeping pony. She jabbed her hoof a little harder and Sapphire sprung up surprised.

"What in tarnation are you doing  sunshine?" Sapphire questioned, dazed from her yank into reality.

Angel laughed and replied "it's morning Saph, want some food!?"

Sapphire smiled and nodded her head. She then tried to hid from the cold underneath her bubblegum sheet. Angel retrieved two more slices of toast and offered the burnt excuses for toast to Sapphire. After Sapphire swallowed her slices Tiki looked around to make sure nopony was busy.

"Everypony ready to go? We've got to go to the greenhouse to collect somethings before we continue to the quarantine zones." Tiki decided.

Each pony gave a nod of approval and followed Tiki to the front doors of the repair shop. He turned the nob and pushed on the door. The nob moved but the door refused to move.

"There's too much snow." Angel guessed. "We've got to find a different way out."

Tiki grunted in distress and returned to the back room. He and Titan lifted the garage door up and onto their shoulders. Angel was right, snow was piled around the building. Stepping onto the snow Angel's hooves sunk down within the snow and her breath became visible. A gale of wind brushed past her and made her bed sheet cowl flap unceremoniously.

"Let's go to the clothing store guys." Tiki said trudging through the snow.

Not more than five hundred feet away was a sign that read "Discount Clothing". It was a secondhand shop but she didn't mind if she found something warm soon. When Tiki walked up the door he took notice of the sign the said "pull". He pondered weather to dig out the snow surrounding the door or just to break the glass. After a quick moment, he became bored and spun himself around. His legs retracted and he bucked the glass door. It shattered around his hooves and bits of glass dropped onto the floor.

"Watch your step guys." Tiki muttered without turning his head. He fluttered his wings and lazily flew over the glass and into the building.

Angel however slid her hoof around to create a clear pathway. After she was satisfied she stepped inside and looked around. Racks of clothing and accessories lined the store, each different sizes and shapes. She grinned and selected a rack the read "winter clothing". She pushed past several jackets of various designs and colors. She detested the esthetics of each jacket until she landed on a cyan jacket. It was a a zippable hoodie with pockets on rather side of the front. The cyan was complimented with white swirls laced into the back of the jacket. Angel tugged away her makeshift cowl and threw her newfound jacket over her body. The soft inside texture made her coat soothe in warmth. Angel zipped up her hoodie and looked around for the others.
Sapphire wore a large brown pancho. It had royal blue and black  patterns along the back. Her hair loosely rested down her shoulder and she seemed satisfied with her pancho.
Golden Sentry and Charcoal found two robes, each similar in design but contrasted colors. The robes draped down their flanks and they tightened around their necks. Golden's robe was blackened and Charcoal's robe was a light grey color. Babs wore a filly sized coat that was yellow in  color. Tiki wore a black hoodie that had imprints of red pony skulls along the entire surface. Tiki threw up his hood and zipped up the jacket to his neck. Titan liked a pitch black jacket. He set it along the ground and delicately ripped the sleeves off. Satisfied, Titan threw his sleeveless jacket over his head. Snakes wore a brown thin jacket that seemed snug around his body. He also wore a colorless hat which the brim pointed upwards. Angel had to admit, he was pretty attractive. When the commotion died down, they began to regroup by the entrance of the store. With every step, Angelwhiskers felt her white coat rub against her clothing and she enjoyed every warm moment. When everypony was ready to depart, Tiki circled around to the broken door. He stepped out into the icy world once more and readjusted to the temperature. As Angel poked her head out she flinched from the breeze on her face. Her clothes were helpful but they didn't work as well she hoped. She ran a hoof over her legs to create heat from friction which helped warm her bare legs. As everypony came out of the store, Tiki began a slow pace. Angel felt her hooves sink down within the snow, which became extremely annoying. Tiki unfurled his wings and fluttered inches above the snow and ice. They walked down they snowy streets searching for any signs of zombies. Angel's guard was relaxed because she could see several blocks. If zombies were to appear, she'd discern them. However she jumped when Sapphire let out a scream.

"In the snow! They're under the snow!"

Panic struck as Angel searched frantically for any signs of entombed zombies. A zombified mare was covered in snow and was struggling to release herself from her snowy grave. Muffled by the snow, a few other zombies began to disturb the surface and climb out of the snow. The living pony commotion must have convinced docile zombies to struggle out.
Golden sentry stomped on the mare's skull and crushed it beneath his force. Crimson splattered and stained the white city as well as Angel's face.

"Let's go!" Golden cried out.

Everypony broke into a scramble searching for the correct direction or for the crimson pegasus. He fluttered above ground slowly leading the group. His saddlebag weighed him down as he tried exerted a lot of force to stay above the surface. Angelwhiskers sprinted towards the red pegasus along with Sapphire. Mere seconds later she felt a force tug on her tail and she was thrown into the snow. Sputtering out snow she coiled around to see what had caught her. A zombified stallion was found buried underneath the snow. He grinded her tail in between her teeth and it became excruciating pain for Angel. She grabbed her knife from her foreleg and stabbed the zombie in it's temple. It died, however it's teeth was latched on in an everlasting death grip. Angel searched around for what to do. There were zombies struggling in the snow and she seemed safe for a few moments.
Sapphire noticed Angel's absence and twisted her neck to look for her. She gasped and changed directions towards Angelwhiskers. Angel felt relieved when she saw Sapphire return to her. Sapphire skidded to a halt and examined the problem. She pulled out her own knife and began to saw at the zombie's jaws. It's jaw cracked a few times but never broke open. Angel swore a curse and took her own knife on preparation. She positioned the knife as close to the zombie as she could and in one swift cut, she cut her own tail in two. Each fiber was detached and then Angel and Sapphire fled the area.
Zombie's in the snow reminded Angel of the chubby filly on the playground, so they easily outmaneuvered them all. She and Sapphire weaved In between zombies tried to catch up with the group. They were about a hundred and fifty yards away and each pony hustled down the streets. Tiki was above ground with Babs on his back. He was struggling to stay up, he was half exhausted with his overstuffed saddlebag, his rifle, and a small filly. His flying was unstable and Babs held tightly onto Tiki's neck. The four other stallions raced underneath him, running in odd paths as they avoided zombie landmines.
Angelwhiskers and Sapphire maintained long strides and swiftly hopped down the street to avoid as much time on the snow. There was an abundance of zombies in every direction and the girl's anxiety began increasing. Angel felt her heart pump quicker and quicker until it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She tried to asses the problem by breathing. Back in the hospital, if a patient required to practice breathing without an oxygen tank, she would recommended a certain method; in through your nose and out through your mouth. She kept those words in her head as she struggled to perform the method and avoid zombies around her. She Inhaled through her nose and roughly exhaled through her mouth.  They swerved left and right between snow pits and they eventually caught up to the group. Each pony scrambled down the streets until Tiki couldn't fly anymore. He was utterly exhausted and crash landed into the snow. Babs hopped off Tiki and nudged the crimson pegasus. He was breathing heavily and the snow covered his body. Titan and Snakes ran for Tiki and propped him up between themselves. They supported him as Tiki limped along beside them. They had to take shelter soon so Titan began searching for any shelter that seemed safe. Titan guided the ponies into a warehouse along the street. They were near the Hoofsun river it was expected to be a boating warehouse or something similar. The windows were boarded with wooden 2x4's and the door was chained with a thick iron lock. Golden Sentry swung his shotgun to his side and positioned it in between his shoulder. He pulled the trigger and blew the lock off at point blank range. The lock broke and the chain fell to the floor. Titan pushed Tiki's weight onto Snakes and started digging away the snow that blocked the doorway. Titan flung the chain behind him and pulled the snow out from doorway. Sapphire made herself useful and helped Titan dig out the snow while Golden and Charcoal killed zombies. Angel and Snakes were tending to Tiki to make sure he didn't fall asleep from exhaustion. The booming sound of Golden's shotgun made Angel jump every time it shot. The door eventually became cleared and Titan pushed the door open. Each pony rushed into the doorway and Titan slammed the door shut.
It was dark...

"Can you guys find the lights?" Angel asked, blindly feeling her way around the room.

"No." Everypony except Tiki said out of unison.

Angel walked into the center of the room, or what she thought was the opposite direction of the wall. She stumbled into a celling chain and a smile spread on her face. She pulled the chain down and a single light flicked on.

The room was much larger than she expected, the walls were about twenty feet tall. She guessed the room was nearly a thousand feet in width and length. Boxes and wood were set around the room. Mostly shipping boxes and hay but they stacked up to nearly twelve feet. The single lightbulb illuminated only a small circle which dimmed quickly around the edges.
Her heart became more relaxed and she rubbed the frost from her face away on her sleeve. Angel turned to see Tiki sleeping on a bale of hay and Sapphire blocking the door with a crate. The crates varied in size and shape, some could contain several ponies with spare room.
Angelwhiskers sat along a crate that was deeper into the room. She sat silently with her thoughts jumbled in her head. She heard hoof steps from behind her and her ears perked up. She head the muffled hoofsteps again and she sprung up to her hooves. She knew some pony else was in the room. She scanned the area searching for zombies that would appear around the corner. Her quick spring alerted the group and they all scanned the pathways around the shipments. Angel didn't hear moaning and she became increasingly worried. She drew her knife and slowly approached the center of the room. The light dimmed around her and she relied on it for sight. She couldn't find any zombies around her and she came back to the group. A mere second later, an arrow with black feathers skimmed the air and shattered the lone lightbulb. The glass fell to the floor and the room went dark again. Several brisk hoof steeps confused her and a wail was heard from Babs, screaming about being assaulted. Her voice became muffled and soon trailed off.

"Who's there?!" Angel shouted fearfully.

A hushed voice was hear from above them. "We are followers of The White Strips."

Angel felt so stupid. She never even imagined to look above her, on the cargo containers.

Titan reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a flashlight. He clicked it on and shined it onto the cargo container. Eight robbed zebras stood above them, each holding strung bows. In the center of the zebras stood Babs with a burlap sack over her head.

"What do you want with us?" Angel asked nervously.

"We want your bags. EMPTY THEM." The lead zebra bellowed.

"We will not!" Tiki said exhausted. He struggled to move but his voice was powerful and intimidating.

"Then we will take them and your lives. Will you submit?" The zebra announced.

A gunshot was heard behind Angel. Golden held his shotgun up towards the ceiling and he hollered at the fleeing zebras. "Not a chance."

The zebras returned in different positions and shot arrows at each pony. Fortunately, none made contact and the group was forced to split up around the room. Angel swallowed her fear and ran into the room with Sapphire behind her.  She watched Golden and Charcoal run one way, Snakes another, and Titan and Tiki a different way.
The room was a maze. A gloomy unlit maze. Angel clenched her knife within her teeth and Sapphire held her nine millimeter pistol.

"Are you ok with this Sapphire?" Angel asked.

"Yes." Sapphire replied.

"With killing zebras?" Angel asked for clarification.

"It's them or us. And I want Babs back." Sapphire declared and walked forward.

Angel listened for hoofsteps and  tried to follow them. Angelwhiskers and Sapphire searched the area, taking great caution. They moved from corner to corner around boxes and frequently searched the top of the boxes.
An arrow flew so rapidly towards Angel, it felt as if it materialized a few feet from her face. It caught her jacket hood and ripped through the material. She felt petrified at the zebra's ability to see in darkness. Or perhaps their hearing. Angel and Sapphire rushed to a nearby opening and silently held their breath.

The lights all came on at once.

"Oh thank Celestia, one of the other groups must have found the circuits." Sapphire whispered.

Gunshots were heard in the distance and a piercing scream filled the still air. Angel and Sapphire raced to the location of the shriek. They weaved along the boxes and jumped over a lengthy box. A zebra was found lying in her blood. She had an arrow lodged into her shoulder and she lie silently. Her white stripes were soaked in her maroon blood. Angel searched around for Charcoal, with no luck. They were already gone. Angel searched around throughout the building, relying mostly on her ears. She walked down the paths and searched around the corners of the containers. She found Snakes down a long pathway in conflict with a male zebra. The zebra held a long lance, perfect for a duel with Snakes's spear. Snakes coiled around to attack and a slash from a lance sliced his face. He turned back to the zebra, quite pissed off. He parried the lance downwards and stomped on the wooden pole. It split underneath his hoof and he stuck his own spear into the zebra's chest. He crashed to the ground and Snakes wrenched his spear out from his body. The zebra's blood seeped out of it's body and it began to struggle breathing. Snakes had hit the zebra in one of the lungs and each breath he took he wheezed in agony.

"You guys are bastards." Snakes muttered and pushed the last breath out of the zebra with his hoof.

Angel and Sapphire, after a long sprint finally reached Snakes. He had a long scar across his lip that lazily leaked blood.

"What happened?" Angel asked tenderly.

"I found the circuit braker along the walls, and then this guy ambushed me." Snakes replied as if it was nothing.





Tiki abandoned his saddlebag near the entrance of the warehouse. This was so he could move a bit faster and keep up with Titan.
The two stallions split off into a direction away from the group and chased into the darkness.
They ran along the side of the containers and crates as quiet as they could. Both ponies had their weapons drawn and anger in their expression.
After some walking they heard the wail of the zebra that Charcoal and Golden killed. Tiki and Titan both smirked and continued to wander in an utterly random direction.  They came to a semi-open clearing, there was a few broken crates that led up to the upper layers of the containers. There were three pathways; two along the ground and another onto the upper layer. One container directly faced the two stallions and the lock hung on the chain. The chain was orange with rust and it was corroding away.

A lone zebra confronted the two with a machete in his mouth. His mane was smoothed down and his golden earrings aligned together on his ears.
Tiki readied his own knife as well, his rifle was too bulky to handle in close combat. The zebra charged the two stallions and swung at Titan. The muscular stallion jumped out to the side to avoid the blade. He stepped up with his machete and swung at the zebra. He easily blocked it and lunged at Tiki, who fluttered out of the way. The two stallions kept their distance and tried to get on either side of the zebra. The zebra took a side step at Tiki and swung his machete, the moment his back was exposed, Titan barreled into the zebra, knocking them both to the ground. Tiki lunged for the zebra's throat while Titan held his legs. The zebra kicked Titan away and rolled away from Tiki. Both stallions were surprised at the zebra's sheer strength that was strong enough to knock Titan over. The zebra pounced on Tiki, ready to slide his machete through his neck. Tiki's crimson wings fluttered in desperation and panic set in on his expression. Titan had dropped his machete but inevitably charged for his comrade.

"You will not hurt him!" Titan roared.

Titan tackled the zebra off of Tiki and rolled around the floor, teeth gnarling at one another. The two barreled around until Titans head collided into the cargo container. The contact made Titan dazed and the snarling zebra took advantage. The zebra's machete punctured Titan's coat and flesh right above heart. The zebra dug it further into his body until the blood spilled out. Titan snarled at the zebra, his sly grin on his face made Titan furious but he didn't show his frustration. He looked over at Tiki who was seething with rage. He stood on his leg awkwardly yet his rage kept him up. Titan smirked and said to his friend.

"See you in heaven buddy."

Titan's head fell to the ground.
Tiki's rage was infuriating, as if his bones were made of fire. He pulled out his rifle and pointed it towards the zebra. He didn't aim, just squeezed the trigger. The bullet spun through the air and tore through the zebra's foreleg. The bullet came into a direct collision with the gleaming silver lock on the container. It cracked and fell to the floor.
Tiki began to pull on the bolt action rifle until he noticed the container doors swing open. At least twenty zombified ponies were trapped inside and sprung out at the nearest live food; the zebra. The zebra couldn't scurry away, his leg was too injured too move. The bloodied zombies dropped down to the screaming zebra and bit animalisticly into him. They ripped his white and black coat away from his possession and he screamed in agony. The entire mob of zombies couldn't reach the zebra and turned to Tiki, who stood about ten feet away.

"Go to hell." Tiki said loathing the zebra gang.

He ran away before he could watch the lights fade away from the zebra. He hobbled onto the broken crate and climbed onto the containers. Tears lightly slid down his muzzle, grief sunk into his stomach. He already missed Titan by his side. He grieved for a minute or two and he made himself continue walking. He kept his mind away from Titan for the time being, grieving would need to come later because the zebra gang was still a threat. He wondered why there were zombies within the metal containers. "Could the zebras have put them there?" He wondered. His hoof steeps clanked along the sheet metal as he followed down width of the container.
The lights flashed on nearly blinding the stallion. The transition was painful to his eyes and he shielded them underneath his wing. For a moment he blinked a few times and set his wing back by his side. Without the darkness obscuring his vision he could take notice of the surprising size of the building. One wall of the building differed from the rest of the walls, it was a huge garage. Tiki forgot he was on a harbor rather than a landlocked building. "That's why there's so many containers." He thought to himself. He walked along the containers and at a gap, plywood created a makeshift bridge. He walked along listening to the hushed clanking of metal. He sat along the corner of a cargo container about fifteen feet up watching Snakes battle a zebra with a lance. He noticed a white mare and beige mare down the pathway approaching them quickly. Tiki watched Snakes parry and snap the wooden lace into two and stick the zebra with his own spear. Satisfaction crept into Tiki's emotions and he fluttered down to Snakes and the two mares.

Angelwhiskers looked up to see the crimson pegasus float down towards them. She smiled and greeted him.

"Hey Tiki, no luck finding Babs?"

"Unfortunately no, and I lost Titan.." Tiki's voiced trailed off.

"Oh, no worries, we'll regroup with everpony else soon." Angel replied innocently, also thinking of Golden and Charcoal.

"We'll regroup with him in the afterlife." His voice was hushed and hurt.

After everypony comprehended what he said, Snakes lost his grip on his broom and and clanked to the ground. Angel's expression quickly readjusted solemnly and Sapphire took off her hat.

"Oh, Ah'm so sorry Tiki. Ah don't know what to say." Sapphire said trying to offer sympathy.

Snakes leaned onto one of the cargo containers and slammed his hoof into the sheet metal out of frustration. From within the container a slam was heard back, as if bodies were being thrown against the inside walls. Snakes was caught off guard and fell to his flank.

"Oh yeah, and there are zombies inside the containers." Tiki said pointing it out nonchalantly.

Snakes stood back up and lifted his spear from the ground.

"He was our best friend. He won't be forgotten." Snakes muttered.

The ponies began to wander back into the labyrinth of containers and began the search for Golden and Charcoal as well. They prowled around for what seemed like hours until the grinding of gears made the ponies halt. It was really loud and Tiki knew exactly what it was.

"No.. No bucking way." Tiki said determined and kicked off the ground. 

He flew up to the ceiling and looked at the fourth wall. The crashing of waves splashed the harbor as the wall elevated. Tiki cracked his legs and took off for the door. His wings could hardly keep up with him as he flew at nearly 14 wing power. Rage perpetuated his speed. He watched a diminutive boat propel out of the harbor and around the corner into the Hoofsun river. He noticed Golden Sentry and Charcoal standing along the edge of the harbor. Blood soaked their coats but they seemed devoid of traumatic injuries. Golden made eye contact as the scarlet pegasus soared out into the open air. He banked directions and sped towards the fleeing boat. He counted four zebras and Babs. As he neared the boat the zebras prepared for him and shot arrows at the flying pegasus. He narrowly avoided the first arrow, but with three deadly assassins shooting at him would be much harder. He swerved around the second arrow and the third clipped his wing. Tiki lost both his balance and momentum then crashed into the Hoofsun. He sunk into the freezing water and he squeezed his eyes in frustration and desperation. His right wing and his right hind leg seared with pain as he let himself float back up to the surface.
He spit out the salty water and began to tred water only feeling misery and remorse.