Rainbow Dash got up at the crack of dawn. For the past week, she'd been reminding herself to get a mane-cut from somepony, but she always forgot until she was lying down for bed. It was all over the place. Stretching her legs and wings, she slid down the ladder to get breakfast, careful not to wake Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie and Rarity in the bunk below her.

Twilight was already awake, coffee made and ready on the kitchen table. Five mugs. Rainbow's heart stopped for a minute. Applejack's missing cup still bothered her, even though it had been long since she was gone. About two weeks. She was the one who had to shoot her, too. Applejack got bit, and Applebloom couldn't bring herself to finish off her own sister. "Morning." Twilight said quietly, shaking Rainbow from her thoughts.

"Mornin'. We going on a run today?" Dash asked, sitting next to Twilight at the kitchen table. Twilight's gun was taken apart and spread around the table.

Everypony needs a manecut, Rainbow Dash observed. Twilight had resorted to putting her hair in a bun, bangs still long and in her face. Rarity's curls were, well, not really curls, having grown out and just becoming wavy, and Pinkie's mane was too frizzy to even bother with. Fluttershy just tucked her bangs behind her ears. Rainbow grabbed her coffee.

"Me, you, and Fluttershy are going this time." Twilight responded, going back to counting her bullets. "I'm sure we'll be fine if we run into a few trotters. Wake Fluttershy up." Rainbow took a sip and returned to the bedroom. Fluttershy was already sitting up, rubbing her eyes with her hooves. Rainbow Dash smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Morning, beautiful." Rainbow said casually, earning a blush from Fluttershy.

"Ooooo." Pinkie chided, and Rainbow blew a raspberry at her. Pinkie giggle-snorted and returned it. Fluttershy joined in too. All three ponies were in a fierce raspberry battle. They got louder and louder as time went on.

"Can you three fillies shut up?" Rarity whispered angrily, getting up and stretching. Spike was still asleep in his and Twilight's bunk. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were snoring in theirs. Fluttershy blew one last raspberry, which Rarity blew right back. The four mares started giggling uncontrollably. Twilight came into the room, levitating coffee cups to everypony.

"Are you guys done? Can we go?" She asked tiredly, getting four raspberries in return. She smiled. "Alright. Breakfast first." Twilight returned to the kitchen, shaking her head.

Breakfast was the last of the canned food before it spoiled, which everypony gulped down. They said goodbye and Twilight kissed Spike on the forehead before leaving. It was pleasantly warm outside, a bright sunny day with only a few clouds in the sky. Rainbow made a mental note of how many there were so she could water the crops later. The group headed out of Twilight's kingdom, towards the makeshift gate. Rarity closed the gate for them and told them to be careful.

Rainbow Dash looked back. Twilight's kingdom had become a safety zone. The crystal was trotter proof. The chicken wire fence surrounding the kingdom and the farm was three ponies high. Sometimes on night watch, Twilight would make it an electric fence with her magic so she could focus on her plans. Food distribution, supplies, ammo. Other times she'd read books on survival strategies. Setting sprained hooves, keeping warm if you get trapped outside, stuff like that.

In the morning, the kingdom looked welcoming. The kingdom was creepy at night, the only lights from windows and lanterns spread around frequented areas. Mostly it was dark and unfamiliar hallways, and everypony stuck to the bedroom, the game room, or the kitchen before bedtime. The only games Twilight had were board games. Or, you could read a book alone. Dash preferred being outside, where there was action and she could spread her wings.

"So, what sector are we going in?" Rainbow asked when the groups silence got awkward.

Twilight shushed her with a wing. The remains of Ponyville were unsettling. Once a noisy place with cluttered streets and friendly ponies, Ponyville had become a ghost town. The heavy silence was only broken by hooves on the weathered roads. Many houses were charred remains or boarded up. Twilight raised her gun and Rainbow held her crossbow tight in her mouth. Fluttershy had her machete. They went to the nearest uncleared area, the houses near Sugarcube Corner. All of the doors were boarded up, but Rainbow Dash could easily buck them  in.

The first house was empty, a couple boxes and cans turning up in the shelves. Any gems Spike could eat were taken. Fluttershy felt guilty at this blatant stealing, but of course, the world was different now.

The second house had one trotter pony in the living room which Rainbow took care of easily. He was slow, being trapped in the house with nothing to eat. There were water bottles and some basic supplies. Rainbow found a hair tie in the bathroom and put her mane up in a pony tail, taking a few extra for the road.

The third house was already opened. Twilight gave the wing signal for 'be on alert', sneaking into the building. No trotters on the first floor. Cabinets and drawers were opened and searched through. Strange noises were coming from the upstairs bedroom. Sounded like...snoring. Twilight levitated her gun and started to count down to three with shakes of her hoof.

One.

Rainbow pushed in front of the two.

Two.

She put her back legs towards the door, bracing herself. Fluttershy took a step back.

Three.

Rainbow bucked the door open.

It was a bedroom, also empty, but a pony was curled up on the bed. Fluttershy dropped her weapon immediately.

The sleeping pony lifted his head, shaking a mop of black hair out. He was a reddish-brown earth pony. He had distinct freckles and yawned, keeping his eyes closed as he moved his hoof to reach for something-what? A gun?

Nope, glasses, which he shoved on his face. He rolled over onto his back, stretching. He had a gray unzipped hoodie and a black shirt with red writing under it. He rolled back over onto his side. He was a blank flank.

Freckles? Earth pony? Rainbow was reminded of Applejack and put her crossbow away. He looked young.

"Good morning, home intruders! Then again, this isn't my home either." He sat up fully, staring at the three mares.

Twilight cleared her throat, lowering her gun. "Well, good morning. My name is Twilight Sparkle-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know who you guys are! You're the Elements of Harmony! Well, just three of them. Princess Twilight Sparkle, magic, Rainbow Dash, loyalty, and--" The colt couldn't hold a squeal. "Fluttershy, kindness!" Fluttershy blushed.

An awkward silence. "Oh, yeah. I'm Ray." He put a hoof to his chest.

"Have you been surviving on your own this whole time?" Fluttershy asked. Ray nodded, proudly.

"I came here from Chicahoof, on a school field trip. Then all hell broke loose and I've been sneaking around ever since."

Twilight exchanged glances with her friends. "Well, you're welcome to stay with us. The more the merrier."

"Really? I can? No joke?" He grinned and stood up, bouncing with excitement. Then he remembered his manners.  "I uh, thank you, I would love that!"

The trot back home was in awkward silence, Rainbow Dash and Twilight bickering quietly. Every so often they would look over their shoulder at Ray, and then resume arguing. Only snippets of what they said could be heard.

"He's just another mouth to feed!"

"He's young! A year or two older then Sweetie Belle and Applebloom!"

"So?"

"So? We couldn't of just left him behind! He wouldn't of survived on his own with no weapon!"

"Really? 'Cause he looks pretty well-fed to me."

Fluttershy trotted next to Ray to make casual conversation.

"So, you're really from Chicahoof? I heard its beautiful there."

He nodded. "Cold, and there's a lot of violence, but generally its a wonderful city. Born and raised there."

"I think you already know where I'm from." She said. "So, how old are you exactly? If you don't mind telling me."

"14."

Fluttershy squeaked internally. He was four years younger then the rest of them. And two years older then Applebloom or Sweetie Belle.

"Don't worry, I'm not about to talk about how much I hate my parents or cry about mares or something."

That made Fluttershy laugh.

"We're here." Twilight said, stopping at the gates.

"They're here." Spike said, looking out the window, pausing their card game. "Hey, they've got a pony with them."

"What?" Pinkie gasped. She jumped up onto the table, knocking all the cards over. "Its time for a Ponyville welcome, girls! And Spike!"

Pinkie had no party supplies, but she still managed to find a couple balloons stuck in her mane to blow up and hang. Sweetie Belle and Rarity hung up a "Welcome, survivors!" banner.

Spike looked out the window, reporting what he saw to Applebloom. "A colt. Earth pony. Hey, he's a blank flank! Looks kinda young, too." Applebloom was hopeful for once.

Rarity went to open the gate, greeted by Twilight's sad expression. "What's wrong?"

"We got some food, water, and band-aids, and we found this pony." Twilight sighed, falling into step with Rarity.

"What's so bad about that?" She asked.

"Well...he's so...young. 14. He's so far away from home. Came here on a field trip to Ponyville and never left."

"I can't imagine what he's seen and been through." Rarity said quietly, understanding Twilight.

Twilight and Rarity quietly filed in, followed by Fluttershy and Rainbow, then finally Ray.

"SURPRISE!" Pinkie screamed, the lights turned on, and confetti filled the air. He jumped, accidentally inhaling a few confetti pieces and coughing violently.

"Welcome, survivors." Dash read out loud over Ray's near death experience, snorting. "What, you expected there to be dead ponies?" Pinkie shook her head. Twilight smacked her hoof into his back and the murderous confetti pieces fell to the ground.

"I planned this in the five minutes you took walking back! I saw the new pony and I thought we should give him a Ponyville welcome because I've never seen him around before and that means he's not from Ponyville and he didn't get a welcoming party!" Pinkie managed to say in one breath. Spike was sweeping up the fallen confetti, and the other ponies were shaking it out of their manes.

"Better late then never, I suppose."

The ponies enjoyed some of the extra snacks Twilight brought back, played board games, and had a good night. Ray had a good sense of humor, even though he stayed quiet most of the time. Who could blame him? They were practically celebrities. Ray was fine with sleeping on the floor, which made Twilight's life that much easier.

Twilight took first watch. She would wake Rarity up in an hour. In the meantime, she was writing new supply plans for the new pony. The age gap was difficult to work through. He was four years younger then Twilight and her friends (excluding Fluttershy, who was 19). Twilight scrunched her muzzle. Ray could be classified as one of the kids and be first priority with meals and such. He was old enough to work and help at the same time, though. He could carry a weapon!

The front door carefully swung open and Twilight turned around, finding Ray with his hoof on the doorknob. "Hey." He said quietly, sitting next to Twilight on the steps.

"Can't sleep?" She asked. Ray nodded. "Nopony can nowadays." She looked back at her notepad and pencil she was levitating. The quiet wasn't awkward. Normal, really.

Ray cleared his throat. "I uh, I come from Chicacolt. You know that. I know its really far away, but I was wondering if we could ever...check there for my family and friends." He swallowed. "I...just want to know what happened to them. Dead or alive. Stop their suffering, if that's how it is."

Twilight bit the inside of her cheek, weighing the outcomes. It would allow them to find out what happened to the rest of the world, and possibly find more survivors on the way, but...Ponyville was home. "We'll go after we clear out Ponyville. Okay?" She put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. He nodded.

"Yeah, sounds great! Thanks, Princess." He got to his hooves, grinning from ear to ear.

"Just Twilight is fine." She smiled back.

"Okay, Just Twilight." He laughed to himself, going back inside.

Twilight remained smiling for her entire watch. Next Chapter: Month Two, Day Three Estimated time remaining: 15 Minutes