Earl glanced towards the window upon waking up and let Celestia's sun shower him in warmth. Today, was the first day without danger, and he enjoyed it. As Twilight finished writing her own note, she turned to Earl.

"Alright, it's finished." She said with a smile.

Earl returned her bright smile and trotted over to the desk. When he had reached it, Twilight levitated the note before him, allowing him to read it.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Over the last few days, I learned a very powerful lesson. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, or, in some cases, what you've done in the past. Love and friendship knows no boundaries, and we should accept everypony, and everything for who and what they are.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

Earl nodded and smiled. The grey unicorn could've sworn that was covered in another episode, but shrugged it off regardless.

"Just one more thing..." Earl said, levitating a quill.

Twilight watched as Earl etched the words "Thank you" on the paper, followed by his signature. The purple mare nodded solemnly as the grey unicorn glanced towards her. She rolled the paper and left in on her desk for Spike to send later. As she walked over to grab her saddlebags, she turned to Earl once more.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked.

Earl nodded.

"It needs to be done." He said.

Twilight smiled, she knew going there would be a tough decision, but it was the right one on his behalf. He had witnessed her death, and know it was time to pay his last respects. Without another word, the two left the tree house and began making their way down Ponyville. This time, Earl let the warming colors become new to him again. It helped calm him for the task he was about to complete. The grey unicorn glanced down to his own saddlebags one more time, mentally reassuring himself that he had brought the note and his bat. He shrugged upon thinking about the blotch of black ink that covered one spot of the note.

It didn't land anywhere important...

As the two walked, they were greeted by various ponies. Offering further congratulations or just a simple warm and inviting 'hello'. This was nothing that Earl had ever experienced. On earth, everybody had always been too busy to stop and say hello to their fellow neighbors or townsfolk. It was then the memories of home worked their way into his thoughts. He stopped walking for a moment, closed his eyes, and shook his head.

No. I'm here now. He thought.

Twilight raised an eyebrow but just chalked it up to nerves as the two began walking again. After a short while, Twilight and Earl passed one of the many restaurants in Ponyville. To his surprise, he found Big Macintosh and Fluttershy sitting across from eachother at one of the various tables outside. The yellow pegasus instantly recognized the two and gave the a shy wave, causing Macintosh to turn around and look. Earl returned the wave and nodded towards Mac, who smirked and gave him a nod, as if to say thanks.

As the two neared the outskirts of Ponyville, Earl was greeted by the ghastly sight of the massive crater he had created. He stumbled over his hooves for a moment and nearly fell over, still staring at the destroyed forest. Twilight quickly noticed his actions.

"We can go back..." She said.

Earl shook his head and regained his balance. With a few more steps, they were finally in front of where the entrance to the Everfree used to be.

"I... did this." He said aloud in disbelief.

Earl shook his head.

"I fucking did this..."

Without another word Earl reached into his saddlebag with his mouth and picked out the large black bat that had been protruding from it. Levitating it from his lips, he walked closer to the entrance and dug a small hole with his hoof. After he assumed the hole would be deep enough, he stabbed the blunt end of the baseball bat into the ground with as much force as he could muster, causing Twilight to flinch and stumble backwards a few inches. Earl then reached in his sack for the note he had written and unfolded it. Tears fell slowly from his face as he read the words etched on the tattered paper. He slowly placed it on the ground, making sure it was secure.

Earl closed his eyes, holding back further tears, and held a moment of silence for everything that had died in this infection.

His mother

His father

His friends

His family

Everybody...

Twilight made her way over to him and layed a comforting hoof on his shoulder.

"Earl." She said softly.

The grey unicorn looked up into her deep purple eyes.

"It's over." The purple mare continued.

Earl wrapped his hooves around her once more, grasping her tightly, leaking tears onto her shoulder. He couldn't believe it, he had survived the zombie apocalypse. He had gone up against immeasurable odds, and due to a stroke of sheer luck, he made it out alive. Upon pulling away from the hug, he stared into Twilight's eyes for a moment.

"Thanks..." He said.

Twilight nodded and smiled.

"We should uhh.. get out of here." Earl said, growing weary of looking at his destruction.

The mare glanced towards the forest and then quickly back to him, with a second nod.

Without another word, the two made their way back to Ponyville, ready to resume their lives, free of an infection...