Royal Flush Plaza, Fortune City: 68 Hours Until Military Arrives

The mall was buzzing with commotion. There was movement everywhere, but not the everyday people enjoying the adult playground movement. The worst zombie outbreak occurred, toppling the Willamette and Vegas outbreaks by a mile. The risen dead were shuffling around the Royal Flush Plaza, searching for the next living being to wander in and become their next meal. Inside one of the bathrooms, however, the place was empty, and nobody was in sight. Not even one of those zombies that thinks it's funny to hide in the toilet. On the furthest stall, there was a blinding blue light coming from within. After the light faded, the door slowly fell open, and out stumbled a girl, possibly around the age of 18. She was wearing a cyan blue t-shirt, a white and blue skirt, red tennis shoes, and a yellow backpack. The image on her t-shirt was a cloud with a rainbow colored lightening bolt, which complimented her rainbow colored hair.

"That Guardian guy didn't say anything about that portal hurting!" Rainbow Dash said. The portal she jumped through from Ponyville gave her a monster headache, but also made her feel weird all over her body. Almost as if it felt different. She put a hoof to her head, only to not feel a hoof. She opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. It looked much like the bathrooms back in Equestria, complete with stalls and a mirror. But what she saw in the mirror surprised her. She put her arms on the counter and saw her new form... a human girl. This transformation from a pegasus to this hairless, bipedal ape frightened her, she wanted to scream.

"No." Said a man. "Whatever you do, do not scream." Dash turned and saw another human standing by the doorway. He was wearing a red and black plaid shirt, blue jeans, and a black hood pulled over his eyes. The only thing she could make out was the fact the man had sharp teeth and pale skin.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Dash asked. "And what the hay happened to me?"

"The mastermind said you would be confused, so that is why I arrived." The man walked over and helped Dash onto her new feet. "You have been transformed into a human due to pegasi not existing in this world. As for me, I am a Watcher, one of the many servants of my master."

"You work for Guardian?"

"So that's the name my master has given you. There are so many, it's hard to keep track of. Anyway, I've been told to explain to you the events of this world, and your mission." Before either could say anything more, a low growling was heard in one of the bathroom stalls.

"What the buck was that?" Dash asked, shakily. Watcher turned to a nearby stall and knocked on it.

"Company." He continued to knock on all the stalls, until coming to the one right behind Dash. Before his gloved hand could touch the door, it flung open and this creature leaped out and wrapped it's hands around Watcher's throat! It looked like a human, except it's skin was grey, almost rotting, it's eyes were red, and it had a blood lust sense around it. Before the freakish being could bite, Watcher vanished in a puff of smoke, then reappeared behind the zombie and punched through it's chest, holding a grey heart in his hands. Watcher crushed the heart between his fingers and the zombie fell to the ground. Dash stood there, staring at the carnage, terrified.

"What was that?"

"That was a zombie. Once a normal human that was infected by either another zombie or an insect parasite. This plague has been tearing this world apart for a long time now, and you are in the middle of the worst outbreak of them all, Fortune City."

"You mean I'm in the middle of a place that's got more of those things?!"

"Yes. You're in the middle of a walking graveyard. Luckily, there is a Safe House nearby where you should go...."

"On it!" Dash said before sprinting towards the door. Not five seconds later did she run back into the room, shaking and sweating. "There's thousands of them!"

"You didn't even give me a chance to explain your mission and who you're supposed to meet with." He shook his head and wiped the blood off his sleeves. "Typical human stupidity." Watcher turned his head and sneered. "Oh wait, you just turned into a human from a winged pony. My apologies."

"Not cool." Dash said, giving off an angry look to the pale man.

"Sorry, I don't usually get to poke fun on the job. Anyway, your mission does not involve these zombies."

"Then what?"

"A ghost." Dash began to laugh hysterically.

"Ghosts aren't real! They're just an old pony's tale!"

"They're real in different universes. This one is particularly dangerous. Once a king from the land of Tyria, the Mad King Thorn was a demented lunatic who nearly destroyed his kingdom. He was executed and became the spirit of Halloween in his world. However, due to dimensional collapse in this universe and his world's Underworld, Thorn has broken loose before Halloween and will enter this world in three days. We can't let that happen."

"Why? 'Cause he'll destroy it and turn these zombies into slaves?"

"No, because he's an ass and he'll turn this city into a living nightmare. It will take a lot to clean up if he succeeds."

"Sounds like you guys have dealt with this guy a lot."

"You have no idea. So your mission is to wait three days in Fortune City, on the third day, shoot the Mad King with this," Watcher said, giving Dash a small laser gun. "And another Watcher will take you home." He reached into his pocket and pulled out two photos, one of a man with black hair in a suit with a camera, and another man with blonde hair in a yellow bike suit. "I'd recommend finding these two men, Frank West and Chuck Greene, both of which are expert zombie hunters. They'll keep you safe for the time being." And from behind his back, Watcher pulled out a large machete and handed it to Dash. "And this will be for protection. If you get bit by a zombie, you'll turn into one."

Dash gave the man a nod, and steadily walking on her new two legs, she heard footsteps rapidly approaching. She turned to say something else to the Watcher, but he was gone without a trace. She turned back to the doorway, the footsteps approaching closer, clutching the blade between her hands. As the footsteps loomed in closer, she raised the machete over her head and swung.

Three Minutes Earlier

Things were manic after the zombies broke free. People died, others went insane, and now there's a bunker full of survivors cut off from the rest of the city. Those who were still inside the Safe House felt to stay that way, but two men wanted to help others and learn the truth. Chuck Greene was a Terror is Reality Champion, framed for starting the outbreak, now trying to clear his name and save his daughter. Frank West reported the initial zombie attacks from Willamette, now trying to find the truth behind the current outbreak. The two met in person after dealing with an angry Tiger Tamer named Ted and his tiger, Snowflake. The two agreed to help each other out, if only to help themselves and others.

At the moment, Chuck and Frank were guiding a small group of survivors, the Dawkins couple, the pharmacist Denyce, an assistant named Larry, and the now tame Snowflake the Tiger. Everyone was holed up in the Man's Sports Wear store while Chuck and Frank cleared the way. Actually, Frank wanted to take photos of some zombies wearing Servbot masks while Chuck made some weapons.

"Front cover material for sure." Frank said, snapping another photo. Chuck emerged from the Maintenance Room, holding a Spiked Bat in one hand and Knife Gloves in the other.

"You got you're pictures?" Chuck asked. He didn't really care for Frank's reporter nature, it just got in the way. Frank slung the camera around his neck and nodded.

"I call the gloves." Frank said, slipping the wolverine-like boxing gloves on his hands.

"Did Stacey call at all? Or does Katey need her Zombrex yet?"

"Relax, big guy. I've got two Zombrex shots right here. One for me, and one for your daughter." Chuck gave a relieved sigh. He cared for his daughter so much, even if it mean risking his life to try and save hers. "Actually, I heard something from the Ladies Bathroom nearby. Two people talking. Could be the guys who framed you or some more survivors." Chuck nodded and the two embarked for the bathroom (no weird jokes about that). As the two approached the room, they could hear a man's voice talking.

"And this will be for protection. If you get bit by a zombie, you'll turn into one." He said. Frank and Chuck crept forward, and could also hear the sounds of steady footsteps. Frank stuck his head through the doorway, and saw a girl in a blue t-shirt and rainbow colored hair holding a machete over her head poised to strike. Frank quickly leaped out of the way before the girl could strike.

"Hey, take it easy!" Frank shouted. "I'm not infected!" The girl put down her machete and looked at Frank, as if she had never seen another human being before. Chuck popped up from behind Frank and walked over to the frightened girl.

"Relax, and just tell us what's wrong." Chuck said, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl dropped the machete and got on her knees.

"I don't know." She said. "Things have been weird lately, and with these zombie things... I just don't know."

"Well, we can take you to a Safe House, and things will sort themselves out." Frank said. He held out his hand, helping the girl onto her feet.

"Thanks, misters." She said. "What're your names?"

"Name's Frank West," Frank said. "That's Chuck Greene over there. We're here to set things right." The girl's eyes widened.

"Just like that Watcher dude said...." She said.

"Who?" Chuck asked. The girl shook her head and smiled.

"Never mind. I'm Dash, Rainbow Dash." Frank and Chuck gave confused looks.

That would explain the hair color, I guess. Frank thought.

"So let's get going!" Chuck said. Frank and Chuck started out the door, but heard Dash stumble from behind.

"Umm... this kinda sounds uncool, but I'm not used to these legs yet." She started blushing. "Could one of you carry me?" Chuck rolled his eyes, another girl needed to be carried by a 'strong man'. He looked at Frank, hoping to pass the torch to him.

"I've got Knife Gloves on, and I need to have free hands for my camera." Chuck rolled his eyes again, and had the girl climb on his back. He hadn't done this since Katey was younger.

"You get the other survivors to the Safe House, I'll escort this girl along shortly." Frank nodded and ran out the door. Chuck soon followed, meeting up with the other survivors, and then to the vent access. After a little bit of climbing around the small vents, everyone ended up in the Safe House, where everyone was waiting. A security officer stepped up and talked to Frank.

"It must've been risky trying to save them," Sullivan said. "I bet they're grateful."

"Hey, I've done this before, pal." Frank said. "It's nothing to hard."

"Did Stacey pick up anything?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, she want's to talk to you, the outbreak's on the news." Frank and Chuck nodded and ran off to the Security Room, whereas the mysterious girl, Rainbow Dash, was hiding out in a storage room, trying to learn how her new body would function. This was going to be a LONG three days.... Next Chapter: Chapter Two: What's the Scoop? Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 33 Minutes