Rested up and weapons readied we had left that old cellar within a few hours. Vinyl stated it was important we got some rest so we'd be in top form. She stressed the importance of keeping the upper hoof on our enemies.

They moved very sluggishly most of the time, and very much like zombies. In fact, Vinyl and I had been jokingly calling them "zombies" for a while now and eventually the name stuck.

Moving through the city was no easy task. We could rush through the hordes, but a more defensible strategy was to keep in the shadows as much as possible and to use the back alleys and the service networks where we were less likely to get surrounded. If we kept our heads down, we hoped that we’d actually be able to sneak into the archives undetected; though having a device that turned us invisible would still have been much appreciated.

Vinyl halted us both and pressed her back to a wall as she peered around a corner. I did the same and waited for her word.

"Shit..." She was speaking in a low volume.

Cursing usually was a bad sign.

"What is it?" I tried to peek over her shoulder to no avail.

"There are tons of them... At least 50... There's no way we'll be able to sneak past them..." She growled a bit in annoyance.

I blinked.

"50? Seriously?"

She nodded and drew her blade.

"You can't be serious... We can't fight that many..." I pressed back up against the wall as I tried to talk her out of what she was clearly planning when she got her sword ready.

"No other way around them, so we will have to go through them. Rip them apart and then make a run for the shopping mall there." She jerked her head to signal what direction she was suggesting.

I sighed and got my weapon prepared. I wasn't thrilled about this plan, but it was obvious that Vinyl was already set on it. Not to mention it didn't appear as if we had much time to devise a better plan, the longer we sat there, the greater the chance of one of them noticing us.

With a deep breath I waited for her order.

Vinyl held her hoof out to give me the signal. Then with a forward gesture she bolted from the wall and darted towards the horde. I gave chase only seconds later with the motor of my blade whirring and hissing as it craved the flesh of any who were dumb enough to stand in our way.

When I came out into the open, Vinyl was already hacking them to pieces with ease. Her blades were sharp enough to cleave them apart liked old meat, then again that's all they really were at this point; old meat. I still questioned why their bodies appeared to be in the advanced stages of decomposition, but I suppose it was a question that would have to wait until later.

One of them leaped through the sky to pounce on me only to land his stomach onto my blade which tore him to shreds with ease. The chainsaw blade's new diamond edges really made ripping through flesh a simple task; it even hacked through bone with no issues.

"Remind me to thank Pinkamena." I called out to Vinyl as I fended another two off.

She swung her left hoof blade and a group jumped back to avoid her swing. All of them had the crazed look that rivaled the savages. They weren't about to be discouraged just because we had weapons. "There's too many of them." Vinyl commented.

She was right, we could keep them back for a few minutes, but eventually they'd overwhelm us and even with bullets we wouldn't be able to take many of them down.

Vinyl pushed through the crowd and brought us both to an old brick wall. She sighed and put her back to the wall and drew both of her front blades. "We make our stand here. If I'm going to die, I want to see the fucker's face when he does it."

She certainly knew how to give a pep talk.

"So what now?" I stood with my weapon ready to slice.

"We go down with the best of them, kid." Vinyl didn't seem moved by the situation at all, almost if she was ready to die at the drop of a hat. It was obvious that Vinyl Scratch did not fear death.

Ready to meet our fate we watched as the horde raced towards us. Vinyl was actually reciting some kind of prayer as we stood. I didn't take her for a religious type, but I listened nonetheless. "We on this day give thanks for the pleasures of life. Your will be done, peace is with us, we go gladly to the final resting place. We accept your embrace; we give ourselves to you entirely. You whom have given us all we have, we return to you. We give you our faith, and pray that you give us your blessing..." She was rambling as we stood.

Her prayer seemed to tune out everything to me, so much that we didn't even hear the gunfire that reigned through the skies. Before us, a stray bullet penetrated three skulls in a single shot, followed by another. Laughter roared through the airs followed by a warning in some kind of accent. "Mates, get down. I'm about to open the gate to Hell on them!" Sure enough before we even had a chance to react a bottle of whiskey was tossed in front of us, and ignited instantly. The sound of zombies burning and screaming echoed through all of Cloudsdale.

More precise gunshots rang as a few within the horde tried to brave the fire and come towards us anyways; followed by amused laughter. "I can cure what ails ye'." The voice called out.

Another loud boom or two and he was calling out to our foes again. "Death is your freedom!"

Finally the horde began to retreat. Once the fire died down we could hear the voice of our savior again. "Hold on, mates. I'm comin' down."

With a jump, a young griffon landed in front of us. His crown decorated with messy brown feathers and a simple white marking across his left eye. Interestingly enough he bore a holy symbol on a silver chain around his neck. It was interesting that he could find peace with deities while he was in a place like this, then again it probably was the only way he could keep his sanity.

He gave a smile as he holstered his weapon. It was clearly made specifically for griffons as the design kept claws in mind. "Bloody hell, I ain't seen travelers in these parts for some time. The clouds usually keep everyone out, and if that don't, then the fuckin' mutants sure do."

Vinyl scoffed and retracted her two blades as she let her front hooves rest on the ground. "I've handled worse."

The griffon seemed to admire her vigor as he gave an approving claw gesture. "Aye. Name's Eagle by the way. Who might you two be?"

"Flare." I looked to Vinyl half expecting her not to give a proper answer.

She looked back to me before answering his question. "Lt. Vinyl Scratch."

He nodded and approached. "Ahhhh, military blokes then? What could the Equestrian military want with a dump like Cloudsdale. Ain’t nothin’ here but the dead, and you two don’t look like you’ve come to die."

"Classified." Vinyl's retort was quick. It was clear she was already annoyed with Eagle. Sometimes I questioned if she was capable of liking anypony...

"Fair 'nuff. Though you'll probably need me to get through the city. Lot of the main paths are blocked off, so I have alternate routes I went and made to get around. Nobody knows this city better than me." He puffed out his chest proudly as he boasted his knowledge. Vinyl just sighed and shook her head as she began to walk away.

Deciding to accept the free help I came closer and kept my tone quiet so Vinyl wouldn't hear. "We're looking for the archives... And... An element of harmony..."

Eagle nodded as if he finally got it. "Well I can take you both to the archives."

Vinyl turned around as she heard those words. "Really now...?" Her interest suddenly returned.

"Aye, but only if you're looking to shorten your lives. The archives are protected by a mighty beast with tremendous power." He stretched his legs as he spoke, trying to limber up.

"The good news just keeps rolling in..." I sighed.

Vinyl chuckled. "Bring it on; I'll have quite a story to tell when I get back then. On top of the unbelievable story I already have to share."

Eagle smirked and nudged my shoulder. "Your girlfriend is quite the beast, ain't she?"

Before I had the chance to correct him Vinyl's face lit up from the praise. Her ego was only matched by her blood thirst. "You say it because you know it's true. There isn't another pony put there fiercer or more badass than me."

"Can you help us reach the archives?" I interrupted, not wanting to stay any longer than we needed to, though these two looked like they were flirting with each other already.

Eagle gave us both a look over and then nodded. "Aye, I'll take ya lads there, but you'll have to brave the coliseum. I don't go there anymore... It's protected by that beast I told you about. But it’s the only path to the archives that still works. The rest are blocked off unless you have wings, and even then... Well let's just say you won't be making it back if you choose to go those ways..."

Vinyl made and advance with a boastful step. "You're telling this to the mare who has slain three dragons at once."

Eagle's expression became more serious. "This ain't like no dragon that's for sure, love..."

"Good, I was looking for something to top that story anyways." Vinyl seemed more interested in the challenge than her own safety, or mine for that matter. It's no wonder she isn't allowed in active combat anymore.

We had been trotting through an escape route that Eagle apparently had made some time ago to get to the coliseum faster. He had tunnels and pathways all over the city apparently. Vinyl played tail guard this time. With Eagle's marksmanship up front and Vinyl's... Well Vinylness, in back I'd wager we made a formidable team.

I decided to strike up conversation to break the awkwardness. "When did you make this tunnel?"

Eagle kept his attention in front of him. "Eh, probably 'bout two years ago now. Hard to remember sometimes."

Two years? Had he been here that long?

"Are you the only normal life here?" I asked.

He nodded. "Just me and the mutants."

I preferred the term zombies, but I wasn't about to argue terminology with him, or his bad grammar for that matter. "How do you manage to survive with them?"

He laughed. "They ain't so bright in case you didn't notice. Advanced mutation has caused most of their brains to decompose. They're easy to trick."

"How long have you been here?" Vinyl finally chimed in.

"Six years." He replied very plainly.

"During the-" He cut me off and finished my sentence.

"Apocalypse, yeah."

"Not to be one to criticize your home, as I’m sure it’s lovely in the Summertime, but why have you stayed here all this time?" Vinyl spend up a bit so she could hear him better.

He took a deep breath then reached in his jacket pocket and retrieved a cigarette. Vinyl rushed up to him and offered a light which he accepted with a wink. The thought of a romance between the two of them was mildly disturbing.

Vinyl pulled out a smoke of her own and lit it with his. The two took a long drag before she slowed down to get back to being the rear guard.

"Well..." He started as he took another toke. "I came from Trottingham, I'm a salesman, so I travel Equestria a lot. I was going on vacation so I could come back here to visit my fiance."

I already knew where this story was going. "But, the war took her from me. When that black mist hit, I ducked and covered. I was fortunate enough to survive without infection... They however..." I didn't like how he said "they."

"They?" Vinyl asked the question that I wanted to avoid.

"Her and my daughter." He grew rather quiet. "Turned them into one of these mutants and I had no choice but to cure them of their affliction."

"A bullet to the brain." Vinyl said to the both of us, already figuring it out.

Eagle had a slow nod as he took a deep inhale of his cigarette. "Yup. And since there's no bringing them back, I ain't got much else to live for besides purging this infection."

That part had my interest the most. "What do you mean when you say infection? These things aren't zombies?"

He shook his head and laughed. "You sure have an imagination, mate. Nah, they're mutants from extreme exposure to darkness. Their hearts were too strong to be taken, yet the darkness grows on them anyways. It influences them, but it does not control them. As the saying goes; there is evil among them, not within them. However the long years of decomposing and hunger drive them to be less than sociable as you’ve noticed."

"Wait... That sounds like the plague... But the plague doesn't look anything like this..." Vinyl returned to the conversation with some confusion.

"I ain't got a clue what you're on about, love. Remember, I haven't left this city in years." Eagle replied.

Vinyl simply nodded and returned to covering our backs. I suppose her interest in the subject wasn't that great.

"Fuck." Eagle cursed as he put out his cancer stick. He pushed himself up against the wall and gestured for us to do the same. Sure enough, Vinyl and I were hugging the wall with him as he peeked around the corner. "There's a ton of the buggers... If we try and force through them, they'll overwhelm us for sure..." He grunted with annoyance.

He looked around and smiled as he looked up. "I got a plan. But you two are going to have to be the bait."

I really didn’t like any plan that used me as bait. However I guess Vinyl didn't mind. "Tell us what to do, chief." She said.

"Right, I can fly up there and use the buildings to move around up high. I can pick them off from up there. You two can lure them in so I can get better shots. I'll meet you at the coliseum." He explained as his mighty wings spread. Before I had a chance to share how I actually felt about this plan he had already begun to ascend.

Vinyl just grinned as she drew a single blade. "Hey retards!" She called out to the horde as she jumped into the open. "Fresh meat, right here! Come get it!"

Sure enough, they started coming as promised, Eagle's powerful rifle began blowing them to pieces. A single shot from that thing not only decapitated, but tore the body into pieces. I imagined the kick back on that weapon was very high.

With another shot we could hear him deliver prayers to the fallen as he bolted to the next building. "Your suffering ends, she guides you to a better place!"

He fired another round as Vinyl and I rushed into the crowd with weapons drawn. We could still hear Eagle calling from the balconies around us. "Thy kingdom, come!"

He delivered another few blasts taking down several in a single shot as Vinyl and I began to hack and slash at any that got too close. "Be strong, friends. We've stirred up the hive!" He laughed as we heard a loud call from the distance. Tuning to see it, there was an onslaught of mutants heading towards us at top speed. Vinyl hung her mouth open, causing her cigarette to fall out of it. "Sweet Luna..." She said.

Eagle laughed maniacally as he hurled another Molotov into the distance, blocking the path between us and our foes with a wall of fire. "Let the flames cleanse you!" He called out to them.

The fire was not enough to stop them entirely, as many just rushed right through it. Eagle sniped off any who actually made it to the other side of his fire barrier not completely charred. "Let us go now, friends. To the coliseum while they are at bay. It's just up ahead; I'll take the high path."

Sure enough we galloped as fast as our hooves would go. The sooner we faced this beast, the sooner this nightmare could finally end.

The coliseum was even larger inside than it was outside, or at least that's how it felt anyway. Years of poor maintenance however had not been good to this place. Most of the structure was covered in filth and the same blackish green residue that the rest of Cloudsdale was covered in.

"It fucking stinks in here..." Vinyl lit another cigarette and waved the match about futilely trying to mask the odor. "Smells like something died." That was an accurate assessment.

"Let's just hurry before that thing snows up..." I commented trying to get her to keep moving.

"I wanna see this thing. I came all the way here; I want to spill some blood." She protested.

"Are you serious? You're going to risk our lives just for the joy of fighting this thing?" I should have partially expected this.

"Hey, fuck you. I can take down any mother fucker they throw my way. Got that? I'm still in charge of you, maggot." She growled.

Eagle interrupted the two of us as he came running down the seated area. "Friends, bring your attention forward..."

Vinyl and I turned around and sure enough Vinyl's mouth hung open. That was the second cigarette she lost today.

"Make your peace with the heavens now... She stirs." He pointed to the creature rising in the center of the stadium.

"Dear Celestia..." I uttered.

"Actually... I think that might be your dear Celestia..." Vinyl points to the golden neck piece around the rising creature. Black tendrils hung off of its body as it flapped its mighty decaying wings. Its boney figure vaguely resembled what it once was. Vinyl wads right, it was her; Princess Celestia.