"In a world where I feel so small, I can't stop thinking big." Twilight sang happily as Earl walked over to his dresser.

After securing the gun to his leg, he began air guitaring and making various sounds with his mouth. Twilight fell to the floor and began laughing, but Earl simply shrugged and continued.

"I'm still just wondering how the music plays from that thing, and how they got all of those songs on there..." Twilight said, catching the breath from her laugh.

Earl shook his head and smiled.

"Before the infection, this place was pretty cool." Earl laughed. "I thought I told you that."

Twilight simply shrugged and returned to her hooves. The human continued gathering various items, ending with his baseball bat as he approached the door.

"Come on." He said, as he began opening the locks.

Twilight's expression quickly flipped to worried.

"We're going out there?" She asked, in a slightly choked tone.

"Yeah, we need to try something."

The last lock clicked loudly and Earl held it open for the purple unicorn.

"I've got your back, Trust me." He said with a smile.

Twilight forced one back and walked out of the room.

Ever since Twilight had levitated the water pitcher out of his hand, Earl had thought about her magic. What it could do to help him, how he could benefit from it. But, one of his primary thoughts was how she could use it to get back home. The human examined the desolate houses as the two friends strolled down the block.

She definitely doesn't belong here, especially with these freaks. He thought.

"I know, I know for sure.... That life is beautiful around the world..." Twilight sang quietly as the two walked down the empty street.

"I didn't know you'd like them too." Earl said, slightly surprised at the tune.

"Hmm?" She said, raising her head to him as she walked.

"Well, I don't know. I just expected you would hate half of the music I showed you."

"No I thought it was all... Entertaining." She said, after searching for the correct term.

"Even Jerry Was A Racecar Driver?"

Twilight shifted her head to the left.

"That one was a bit strange..." She said nervously.

"Ehh, that's why I like it, they're not afraid to..." Earl looked around for a moment.

Twilight had stopped walking.

"Hey, Twi, c'mon. We've got to... oh" Earl said, walking back towards her.

The purple unicorn was staring wide-eyed at a pair of arms dangling from a nearby trashcan. Both looked small, like a child's, and one of the limp limbs was carrying a small stuffed animal. Earl knelled down next to her.

"Hey, look at me." He said calmly.

Twilight broke her stare and quickly looked towards the human, tears nearly flowing from her eyes.

"What I have in mind can get you away from all of this." He continued. "OK?"

She quickly wiped her eyes and nodded her head.

"OK."

With that, the two continued down the road.

Earl had grown accustom to consoling the pony on a regular basis. He had come to understand that horrors such as the ones now experienced in this world, were not even part of the deepest, darkest nightmares in Equestria. The human was surprised at how she reacted to all of the changes, but was nevertheless glad that she had manage to keep sanity.

Earl rounded the final corner on his block and approached a large chain-link fence.

"Keep a lookout." Earl said.

Twilight nodded and the human continued on his short path. Upon reaching it, he found that a large padlock had sealed their destination shut, which Earl had expected. He withdrew his bat out of the makeshift holder attached to his bis back and began furiously smacking the device that lie between him and the inside of the gate. After a few swings, he became slightly exhausted. Breathing heavily, he re-sheathed his bat and instead pulled the gun out of it's holster on his leg. He turned towards Twilight.

"Cover your ears." He said sternly.

The purple unicorn obliged and soon after a loud Bang! followed by a flash of light erupted from Earl's hand.

"What was that?!" Twilight shouted, retracting her hooves from her ringing ears.

"A gun." Earl replied, kicking the gate open.

He motioned for her to follow and after she regained her hearing abilities, she obliged again.

"This looks like an open field." Twilight said, confused.

It was an open field.

"This is an open field."

It was clearly an open field.

"Why are we in an open field?"

Even the field would have been annoyed by this conversation, had it been alive.

Earl sighed loudly.

"We need to get you home Twi." he said after a few moments.

A confused expression quickly shot across the mare's face.

"As much as I enjoy you being here, we need to try and get you home." He continued.

"But you said you could protect me..." She said, worriedly.

"And if I can't?" He shot back, "I don't want to watch you die. That would be too much for me."

Twilight looked down at the ground and prodded at the exposed dirt.

"So you're getting rid of me?" She asked, in a slightly choked tone.

Earl face-palmed quickly and walked over to Twilight, knelling next to her yet again.

"Two months ago if I would have found you, I would have kept you and we would have been amazing friends." He said, slightly wincing at his sudden corniness.

Twilight looked back up and smiled weakly.

"But, right now, you can't be here. It's way to dangerous for you." Earl continued.

Twilight swallowed weakly.

"Alright, but what are we doing here?" She asked.

Earl sighed.

"I need you to try the spell again."

Twilight's expression quickly changed to sadness.

"I told you, I could barely do it last time."

She looked down again.

"Twi. Come on. Look at me." He said, trying to cheer her.

Twilight looked up and met his eyes.

"Think about home... think about Spike, your friends, the elements, the princess. They need you."

The mare's expression changed yet again, but now it was determined.

"Alright, stand back." She said, turning away from Earl and focusing her attention on one spot in the field.

"I'll stand guard, you'll be completely safe." Earl said raising his gun and turning around.

Earl stood and watched the road for a few moments, slightly saddened by having to let her go.

It's for the greater good... He thought to himself.

His thoughts were soon broken as an extremely bright white light, followed by a loud unidentifiable noise, erupted behind him. He swiftly turned around and found Twilight's horn as the source for the sudden outbreak of unexplainable energy. The bright white light was shining high through the cloud cover, bathing the ground in a bright glow. This light could be seen from miles away.

Miles away.

Miles away.

Oh, shit. Earl thought.