A/N: I'm so sorry this took SO long. Besides school and developments within our studio, time has been very short. We have gotten new editors, an artist, and even a possible singer to join our studio. Basically, things have been BUSY.

As always we appreciate feedback on this chapter though, as that is what keep us running, and be sure to check out FIMfiction soon, for the new cover art for our story. We are always excepting new members to the studio that are at least a little productive! Anyways, ENJOY!

-Defeneing

Chapter 10:

In the morning, Nate continued to apologise to Fluttershy. He knew that she was hurt by his comment about it being weird to date ponies, but  he didn’t mean that he didn’t like it. He knew she was still upset, due to her ignoring him. He decided to try to clear his mind and go work on the spacecraft. It was now fit for their whole team, being now more space-shuttle shaped. The minor differences were that instead of thrusters on the back, there were zeppelin-esque fans, and instead of a small window for the pilot, huge windows on the front and sides. He was cleaning the magically assembled glass when Fluttershy stepped in.

“If I could interrupt for a moment, I mean, if that’s okay...” she started. Nate turned around, excited that she was talking to him again.

“Yes...?” he asked in a bright voice.

“About what you said... I- I-...” she looked away, stuttering terribly. ”I’m moving back into my room. If it’s awkward to you.”

“Oh....” Nate dropped his cleaning cloth. He left the shuttle behind and headed back into his room. He took in the sight of Fluttershy’s belongings in his room for another brief moment, committing it to memory. Finally he worked up the strength to pick up the first object. Her stuffed animal version of Angel, her pet bunny back in Equestria. He held himself together and gathered up the rest of Fluttershy’s things, then carried them into her room. Out of his love that he was hopelessly trying to deny, he moved his bed into there, as she didn’t have one. He went back to his room without a word and laid down on his cold floor (more like fell). He just stayed there, his face to the ground. After about an hour of thinking, brooding, and allowing his anger to culminate his eyes finally roamed from the floor to the sword that he kept in the corner of his room. Leaping to his feet, he grabbed the hilt and threw it as hard as he could into the floor. The dam finally broke. Once again he collapsed and started sobbing. He kept at it until he literally passed out, his years of pain flashing before his eyes repeatedly, until the new wound that had been left by Fluttershy rendered him unconscious.

Nate awoke feeling slightly better, and yet like he needed to talk to someone. Decidedly, he left his room in search of Evan. He seemed like a better fit to spill the beans to, rather than Bromley or one of the ponies. He walked outside of the establishment, and saw just the tip of Evan’s head and pick axe disappear into one of the mines they had dug out. Hurriedly, he ran after him. He caught up with the boy about twenty meters down into the passage. It was out of safely out of earshot of anyone else.

As soon as Evan’s full attention was on him, Nate began blathering almost nonsensically about what had happened between Fluttershy in him. After his little rant he began to walk backwards, towards the exit.

“But! I’m okay now. Thanks for listen-” Nate was cut off as he was spun around by Evan and a hard fist smashed into his eye, sending him down onto his derriere.

“Ha! No... It’s not going to be okay Nate,” Nate looked up at Evan through one eye, his other closed with his hand over it. “Thats a load of bullshit until you fix the shitty shit with your shit and stuff.” He was back to talking nonsense again. But something clicked in Nate. He got the point.

“Yeah, I have to go and... talk to Fluttershy about something,” Nate said, hurriedly leaving the tunnel. Evan smirked knowingly and shook his head, before hefting his pick axe and getting back to the methodical, mind numbing, and repetitive work. As Nate was leaving he could have sworn he heard Evan scream, “You shall burn in the pits of hell, Rock! For I shall vanquish thee to the unholy realm of Satan, where you will be punished for your impurities! Away with thee! RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

Nate searched for Fluttershy desperately, determined to find her. When he found her, he was out of breath, panting quietly. He had found her in his own room, the last place he would of expected her to be. She appeared to be picking up the last of her things, but was looking at him, startled from his entrance.

“Fluttershy...” he started, “every one's weird. Even back where I come from. I like weird. No, I love weird. I’m nothing without weird...” He exploded quickly. “Evan’s fucking weird as hell.” he thought to himself.

“Wh-what are you saying?” she stuttered, looking up at him.

“I think I’m saying something irrational but I don’t even care.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“I... I want you to move back in.”

“Well... sure. Yes, I mean. I mean yes.”

Nate smiled and hugged her. She didn’t question his black eye. She was just glad that he would let her back in after what happened. Her stuff was moved for a third time. There was still only one bed. Nate hesitated, but Fluttershy had forgiven him enough to go back to how everything was before. It was nightfall by the time they had finished moving her back in. She laid down. Nate looked at her and slowly climbed onto the bed, glancing over at her every so often. He was all the way in the bed and couldn't stay awake for very long. Everything was good and well again in that section. However on a different front, more problems had to be addressed.

Applejack was trying to calm Evan enough so that he would go bed. She had let her mouth slip a little bit, and he wasn’t letting it go.

“Now why on Earth would Nate tell you that? That’s none of his business. Well I suppose he has one too... But he doesn’t have mine!”

“He was just explainin’. Don’t be mad sugarcube. I was just askin ‘bout your kind.”

“I still feel like shit because of that whole fiasco.”

“Now, don’t be mad. Look, le’s just go to bed and I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning.” She said with a certain softness to her voice that usually reserved for when she needed to reassure Fluttershy.

“I don’t know...”

“Relax...” she said, not wanting to rile up her mate any more.

“I can’t believe you still want to sleep with me after what Nate explained.”

“Ah’ll sleep with you no matter what yall show me,” Evan smiled at his close friend’s honesty and promise. He then flung himself backwards against the wall, which he hit with a loud thud, and then landed on the bed. Applejack climbed onto the bed over him, curled up, and closed her eyes. Her tail suddenly went stiff and began poking him in the side. Evan was confused for a moment, before he remembered what Bromley had told him about ponies; “Soon,” he thought. Applejack promptly “Eeped” at the realization of her tail and imitated an apple while trying to hide it. She squirmed around for a bit,  then looked down, a little ashamed.

“It’s fine. That makes us equal I guess,” Evan chuckled.

“Wait, are you...?” she said, looking back toward his feet. “Well, Ah hope you can be a pony soon,” she said sleepily. Evan questioned what in the name of all that is holy she could mean, before finally giving up and accepting facts. She wanted him to be a pony. The two finally fell asleep.

In the morning, there was a large wave of zombies approaching from three directions.

Unfortunately for Evan, he was practically comatose with how exhausted he was from last night. Nate was still sound asleep as well, perfectly content and sleeping with his Fluttershy. However, Bromley had decided to take the last watch that night, having been woken by Twilight after she finished the first watch. He eyed the approaching forces of doom. There were at least sixty zombies, he estimated. “Aww, Shit...” he sighed and jumped down off the roof. And the most retarded thing happened to him then; his lighter flew out of his pocket and hit the ground, exploding into flames in front of him, causing more zombies to begin rising from the ground to join the army already approaching. He narrowed his eyes angrily at his doomed luck. Bromley took one last swig of the water he kept attached at his belt and threw it on the ground in rage, the plastic breaking on impact and sending water flying everywhere. Everywhere, including the flames. There were now at least one hundred zombies. “I’m so screwed...”  He reached behind him for the sword Nate had constructed for him out of scrap metal, only to find it gone. “Oh fu-” His own mental thought was completely cut off as he heard a terrifying scream. The pony scream was obviously Rainbow Dash’s, and he ignored the crippled mess of humanoid undead and rushed towards his room. A few zombies hit the floor as he ran by, their slow senses unable to pick up on him. The door was open and inside somehow three zombies were surrounding his sky blue pony. Bromley snapped.

“If I die saving her... it’s worth it. Everything is worth it. Every bit of pain... Every bit of loneliness.. So long as she lives.”

Rainbow Dash looked at him, her eyes filled with fear, and his feet moved even faster as rage rolled up his body, overcoming his usual calculative mind. With an inhuman snarl he rushed forward and shoved his fist straight through the first zombie’s chest, then without pulling his arm out he spun and grabbed the next zombie, slamming it into the last zombie with a loud snap. He implanted his booted foot into both of the fallen zombie’s skulls at the same time, and tore his arm out of his makeshift shield. Adrenaline still pumping through him, his fingers grabbed onto the screaming zombie’s scalp, completely removing the head of the mangled creature in his rage. His eyes bled into crimson in his anger induced insanity and he spun to face the wave coming toward the door. They seemed to have finally caught on to the scent of blood. Much like the captain had. He reached down and picked up his blade which Nate had given him earlier (and he foolishly left behind) and slowly walked out of his room, closing the blood splattered door behind him. Rainbow Dash lay on the bed, still in shock from the close call she had moments before.

The waves of zombies had grown, and they were surging towards every sleeping being in the building. Bromley, half aware of what he was doing, ran out into the mess of them. Evan, who had awoken at the feeling of blood lust a few rooms down from his, soon stumbled sleepily to the entrance and watched Bromley.

“Oh. Right. That’s a pile of FUCK heading towards us.” He tried to clear the bleariness from his eyes and he approached the zombies with the Captain. Bromley looked behind him at Evan, eyes no longer red but their normal icy green.

“Evan.” He greeted. For some reason his arm was already covered in gore, but Evan ignored that and joined his captain. They stood still in front of the swarming mass still steadily flooding towards them. Bromley examined his odd sword, while Evan just shook his head slightly.

“That is indeed my name, and waking up is not fun.” Evan pointed out. To force himself to wake up he recited a few random lines that he remembered from past experiences. “How now brown cow. A bird in your face is just as bad as shit in your face. Don’t eat the blue moss. Moss in general is bad for you. I am bad at narcissism, but getting better at facepalming. Okay! Let’s do this! Or...” Bromley chuckled internally at the moss comment. He had told Evan that just a week after they had met. Evan continued, “There is a lot more of them then when I had my fun in the wasteland... I don’t think just the two of us will be able to do this. Let’s not do this.” Bromley thoughtfully nodded.

“But I have a few things calculated... We should be alright if we fight defensively. Just hold against them for a bit. No going berserk, okay?” Bromley hid his command in a nice request. Evan nodded and got into a defensive stance. Bromley followed suit and just in time as the first zombies walked into the corridor leading to their rooms. The hall was not wide enough for more than four zombies to fit side by side together, so thankfully it would be difficult for them to be overwhelmed. The first zombie went down with his head split in two by Bromley’s blade. Sliding the now wet blade out with the one arm he had used, he got back into his original stance. Evan took the next zombie, kicking its head into the wall and spraying its brains all over the side. He, like Bromley, got back into position.

Unfortunately the zombies appeared to be forcing their way in now though, and they were faced with three at the same time. Bromley completely removed ones head with a swipe, while Evan kicked one back then threw the last one to the floor in between Bromley and him. Bromley without even looking used his foot to eradicate it, while Evan flew forward and finished of the zombie he had previously kicked back with a rib splitting axe kick. He danced back to where he had been standing before, right as the next wave came.

“God, we’re gonna get butt fucked at this rate...” Evan mumbled as he narrowly avoided a claw to the face. He grabbed the hand connected to the finger and tugged the zombie closer so he could headbutt it. It seemed to be less durable than even the average zombie though, and brains and gore soon caked his head and face.

“FUCK!” Evan cursed loudly, using his arm to wipe the nastiness off his eyes and face. Bromley resisted chuckling at Evan while he dismembered one zombie before sliding his sword into it’s eye socket, sheathing it there. He slammed his fist into the next zombie’s face, shattering it’s skull and spreading it’s grey matter all over his hand. He unsheathed his sword shortly after and got back into position. But he had to take a step back as another zombie hurriedly lunged at him. They were losing ground already. At this point they were four feet back in their own house. Only sixteen more until they hit the back wall and they were screwed.

“Hey look! A door!” It happened to be the door to Evan’s room anyways, so it was fine to use. He began opening and closing it rhythmically. As the heavy metal plate smashed into zombies, they broke to pieces or fell back and toppled some of their comrades over. Suddenly though, his door hinge broke and the heavy door dropped over onto the zombies. Evan’s arm was sore at this point. Bromley stepped in and hacked through four zombies easily, in an attempt to recover ground. He was pushed back again though, more zombies crowding into the cramped space. Things were already beginning to look grim, and there were many more left.

“I want you to know Bromley, I’m the one who pissed on your lizard.” Bromley gave a “da fuq?” face before realizing Evan was laughing. Bromley had never even owned a lizard. Evan split a zombie skull and took another wasted step backwards. “Can we like, start moving forwards now? I don’t usually have to lean back in fights and I don’t like this. Out of my element man.” Bromley held off a couple before implanting his sword in one, which he promptly ripped out straight after. Of course the only thing he ripped out was the hilt, deeming it useless. Glaring for a brief moment at it, he slammed the hilt into the other zombie’s eye, killing it. He finally got a chance to reply to Evan.

“Well here is the issue Evan. If we do step forward AT ALL, we get out there in the open, where we get surrounded. Now, as much as I would love to go berserk on these bastards with you, we probably won’t live through it this time.” Bromley calmly explained.

“And what exactly is the problem with that? I mean, sure we would leave this whole place almost defenseless, but who cares? Oh god, can you imagine Nate and Coffee trying to defend these ponies?” Bromley grinned a bit at the thought, defensively kicking a zombie away at the same time Evan did.

“Welllll, how about I put it this way: Applejack.” Evan stopped moving.

“Oh hell no! Not my pony you fucking assholes!” Evan had a small spurt of rage before realizing that that wasn’t his niche. That was Bromley’s, and his alone. He also realized it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do when they weren’t supposed to push forward. He planted his feet back onto the floor, stepping off the door, and readied himself yet again. Bromley did as well, though this time they both looked a bit more serious.

“Evan.” Bromley said in an almost duty filled voice.

“Bromley.” Evan returned the comment.

“Today is a good day to die.” They both said loudly, before punishing the continuous horde of zombies. Blood spattered, limbs practically dissolved, and the captain and his second hand fought for their friends.

“Why the hell didn’t they wake me up?” Josh questioned in an annoyed voice as he left his room only to find blood absolutely everywhere. He found the source of it; two battered and exhausted idiots (one of which happened to be his leader) holding up a position at the mid-way point of the hall way. Bodies were everywhere, and the still incoming zombies would stumble over their already fallen companions in an effort to reach the two cocky defenders. Josh retreated back into his room to find the long metal pipe Coffee had previously used while in his human form. Josh hefted it up, and then twirled it deftly between his fingers. It had been a while, but it was about time he got back into the action. As he emerged from his room back into the hallway, he suddenly gave a very uncharacteristic yell.

“CHARGE!” At that Josh ran as fast as he could forward, using the metal rod to pole vault himself into the middle of the horde. Hopefully he would be followed.

An invigorating war cry from behind caused Bromley to turn and see Josh pulling an Evan. He was acting just as retarded, launching himself straight into the enemy.

“You idiot...” Bromley mumbled before he threw caution to the wind and forced his tired muscles on. Into the flood he ran, tearing through the first zombie and then the second in a mere instant in an attempt to catch up with a hopefully still alive Josh. Evan was right in tune with his captain, slamming into the fray and pushing back the zombies on his side of the hall way. He crushed one to death with this, practically melding its body with the undead behind it. He ducked low suddenly, his sixth sense telling him to do so. Just as he did, Josh’s now intestine covered rod flew over his head. Bromley himself almost experienced the same thing, but he grabbed a hold of the metal and leaped over it like he would hop over a fence back on Earth. Once his feet hit the floor again, he was on the next zombie, his fist cracking open yet another rotting skull.

Josh was busy swinging the rod around in wide sweeps, making sure to keep the zombies far away from him. Occasionally he would stab or whack for a killing blow, but his main objective at the moment was to push the zombie horde. The outside was close, and he kept pushing, the two men beside him killing or shoving back any of the monsters he didn’t.

Bromley meanwhile was inwardly worrying. Josh may have completely removed the zombies from their home, but they had lost their defensive position. He saw the outside world approaching quickly, and they broke from their entrance with a yell of victory. It was short lived though. They had pushed out of their shelter, only to find themselves completely surrounded by the undead.

“Fuck me...” Josh said to himself, mentally face-palming.

Twilight had stayed in her room for as long as she could. She had woken up to a loud cry of “charge!” and she had obediently stayed in the room like the Captain had said to do in a situation like this. At the moment though, she couldn’t hear anything from outside, not even the sound of a metal pipe jarring when it made contact with bone. She nervously approached the door, before opening it with magic and peeking her head out. Fear shot up her spine. The battle was still going, and it looked like a losing one. The corridor leading to the exit was piled at least two high all the way through with corpses. At the entrance of the home though, it was much worse. A wall surrounding Josh Evan and Bromley that was made of the bodies was steadily rising higher, as zombies piled onto the fatigued warriors. Never before had she seen Evan look so stone faced. He was even more serious than the first time he had shown his power. It was almost as if he knew he was fighting to the end. Bromley, looked solemn, despite his constantly moving fists. Josh was panting lightly, the veins in his forearms showing as he put in as much effort as possible to fight the zombies. His still weak legs shook beneath him, but he fought on. Twilight stood there for almost three full minutes, watching the three in their supposed final moments. And then it seemed as if all three fell at the same time. Josh’s legs gave out, Bromley punched a zombie, but found that he didn’t kill it and was being dragged by his own arm into the horde, and Evan dislocated his shoulder with an abusive punch, dropping to the ground with a yell. It was their final moments, that spurred her first.

“A single miscalculation dominoes into a death sentence...” Bromley thought with slight annoyance. He closed his eyes as his body tumbled into the death pit, hoping for a fast death.

“Of all the stupid stuff I’ve done...” Evan clutched his arm, trying fruitlessly to shove it back into place.

“I should of known... The captain doesn’t hold for no reason...” Josh berated himself. His vision was blurring away steadily as his energy ran out.

“What in the name of Celestia are they thinking? I have to help them...” thought Twilight. She would not watch another one of her friends die with her standing close by! Not again! Her horn burst to light, along with her eyes as she activated her magic. She concentrated as hard as she could.

“Well... That was a pretty fast death. Damn, I didn’t feel any pain at all.” Bromley felt weightless. Was he in heaven? His body felt so light... So free. And then everything went to hell as Twilight dropped him on the ground from eight feet in the air.

“Fuck...” He breathed out, opening his eyes only to be greeted by the rosy eyes of Rainbow Dash glaring at him.

“You reckless... grr... BUCKING piece of... HOLY HAY ... DEAR CELESTIA HELP ME NOT KILL YOU!” Rainbow Dash slammed her hoofs into his chest, and Bromley gasped out the last of the air in his lungs.

“I-I’m sorry...” Bromley gasped out, his ribs screaming. The damn pony was strong! “I will be mo... more careful.. Fuckgetoffmeplease.” He breathed out as quickly as he could, and  Rainbow Dash stepped off him immediately, nuzzling his neck shortly after. Bromley attempted to not black out.

“Zombies... Dead...” Bromley shakily rolled onto his hands and knees, but Rainbow Dash gently kicked him in the side, making him roll back over.

“No way. You already took out like a hundred of them on your own...” Rainbow Dash glared at him, annoyed.

“87...” Bromley wheezed out.

“Hey! I think that popped my shoulder back into place! Woo! Way to go pony! Ah god. No... wait... That didn’t help at all!” Evan glared at his arm. He had landed the same way as Bromley, having been tugged out of a mob about to feast on him. He started flinging his arm around as much as it would go in an attempt to relocate his shoulder.

“You should stop doing that before you cause any more damage to yourself. Evan, stop!” Twilight exclaimed. He just kept flinging his dislodged arm around wildly. Twilight began stepping closer. She put up her hooves to try and grapple with him and then found herself a little farther aways with a burning sting on her cheek.

“Just bitch slapped a pony... Sorry Twi! I really did not mean to make you my whore. I got Applejack for that.” Evan stopped flinging his arm around. He began walking towards the zombies again, limping a bit. Suddenly he flew back all the way into the wall behind Twilight. Where Evan used to be stood Applejack.

“Now ya call me your bitch agin and Ah swear to Celestia, you won't never buck nothing ever again with them legs. Y’hear?” Evan had no reply, seeing as not only was his face embedded in the wall, but he seemed to be unconscious.

Nate heard the screaming and was outside. He would of been even quicker, but Fluttershy was on his chest previously. He had left his sword inside, but he didn’t care as he ran towards a glowing Twilight. Besides him ran Coffee, the unicorn’s own horn lit up bright yellow, like a firefly. Nate ran past the door Evan had previously knocked over, he noticed a piece of the scrap metal that had broken off it. He gripped it, tore it from the door and ran towards Twilight again, who was currently starting to get flanked by zombies as she lifted the three humans that were at the entrance getting swarmed. One zombie dropped lower to take a bite out of Twilight’s neck, but Nate was faster, removing the zombie’s head from its body. Nate placed himself in front of the concentrating pony, ignoring the rest of the inhabitants of the shelter that were running out. Coffee lunged ahead, his glowing horn suddenly spewing bright blasts of energy sporadically. The energy tore through zombies much like a shotgun would, ripping through the mottled flesh easily and killing them quickly. The zombie lines began dropping, but it was obvious Coffee couldn’t keep it up for long. Rainbow Dash was currently tending to Bromley, and Applejack was busy berating Evan, despite him being unconscious. Nate decided he had to do something.

Despite his hate of blood and gore, Nate still had the balls of steel that everyone on Bromley’s crew had. No member was afraid to give up their life for their friends. Nate headed into battle to join Coffee, picking up the rod that Josh had dropped when he fell to the zombies. He swung it with ease, breaking one zombie in two practically with a hard hit. Coffee kept firing, though his coat was covered in a light layer of sweat because of the tiredness he was beginning to experience. Two people can’t hold the line though. Nate suddenly felt clawed hands on his shoulder, and he turned, eyes wide. He watched as a zombie screamed at him before launching it’s open mouthed face at him. He saw the fangs swiftly approaching and could do nothing. It was suddenly thrown onto the ground roughly, an angry Fluttershy landing on its chest and swiftly bucking it’s face into a bloody pulp in two kicks. Nate had to refocus his attention on killing the zombies again, though inside he was amazed she had the courage to even attempt saving him.

Coffee encountered a similar situation, but suddenly three of the zombies exploded in a confetti filled blast, blood covered streamers and colorful paper flying everywhere. The now sparkly corpses didn’t rise, and Coffee turned for a brief second to see Pinkie Pie behind an odd cannon.

“I never go anywhere without my party cannon.” She said sweetly, then fired again.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack entered the battle shortly after, Applejack applying the skill she had learned from Evan to completely ruin the zombie bodies while Rainbow Dash rained down kicks on the zombies’ heads from above. She would swoop down in a blue blur, then a head would explode from one of her powerful kicks shortly after.

The still conscious crew members held the line valiantly, killing the last of the zombies with amazing team work. Applejack, Coffee, and Nate held the line in the exact places Bromley, Josh, and Evan had been in earlier, while Rainbow Dash provided aerial support. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, barraged the enemy with artillery while Fluttershy guarded the unconscious bodies of her comrades. After a few minutes, the fight was over. Everypony (and Nate) stood victorious. Nate suddenly stabbed the metal staff that everyone had been using deep into a pile of bodies, impaling four corpses and raising the rod up in the air like a flag.

At that, everyone whooped and hollered, happy to be alive. Twilight checked over Josh Bromley and Evan and confirmed they were perfectly alright. She carried off Josh to her chambers to check on his body's condition. He had pushed himself ridiculously hard. Rainbow Dash laid down on Bromley’s chest, attempting to comfort herself. She had almost lost him. Applejack pulled Evan off of the wall and hoisted him onto her back, carrying him back to their room.

Nate started pushing the bodies into the huge tunnel they designated for dead zombie pushing. He was tired, but he was the only one awake. He had work to do. Once the remains were clear, Nate looked over at Rainbow Dash. She was asleep now, exhausted from the earlier battle. Obviously it wasn’t a very good sleep, as she occasionally trembled. He sighed and rubbed the sweat off his forehead. He spied Fluttershy, who was blankly staring at him, as if she didn’t actually see him. He set down the shovel he had used to remove the corpses from the home and approached the cream coated Mare. Kneeling, he stared her in the eyes. She seemed to look through him, almost behind him. He shook his hand in front of her face and she finally seemed to zone back into reality.

“Hey.” Nate said evenly, keeping his voice carefully neutral. He understood what she was currently thinking about. Her first kill.

“Hi...” She replied in a squeaky voice, her glassy eyes unfocused. Nate gently ran his hand down over her cheek. Unintentionally Fluttershy leaned into his warm hand.

“... Thank you.” He said sincerely. Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded, a light blush covering her cheeks.

“... Yeah. That thing... Wasn’t really alive was it?” Nate shook his head in confirmation.

“Mhmm. It wasn’t alive at all. It was dead long ago, and it just happened to turn into a monster. You helped it. You prevented its body from becoming desecrated. You honored the life that used to be in it.” Nate explained sagely, hoping that his words would keep her calm. She seemed to relax a little, in fact look a little proud. That was good.

“I’m.. I’m going to go lay down. Thank you Nate.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek before trotting away. Nate avoided the way his stomach “fluttered” around, and then stood and went to go get a drink of water. He was so drained, both physically and mentally. If he couldn’t go rest, he could at least refresh himself with some water. There was still work to do.

Coffee’s horn actually hurt. He could hardly believe it was even possible, but his horn ached, like he had pulled a muscle in it or something. It was similar to a headache, but it seemed to make his entire body scream at him to go lay down. He had left Nate to clean things up, and had retreated back to his room, Pinkie close behind.

“Are you okay Coffee?!” Her voice was loud, grating on his poor nerves.

“No Pinkie. I accidentally my everything.” He groaned. It seemed to make the pink pony lower her voice, as her next words were in a whisper.

“Oh sorry.... Hey, um... Did I do a good job?” Coffee nodded despite his headache.

“Yeah... You did great. Thanks for saving me.” Pinkie smiled hugely at the gratitude shown to her, then went and curled up against her coltfriend’s back.

“No problem hun! You can count on me!” She said loudly in her mate’s ear.

“Please be quiet...” Coffee pleaded.

Bromley awoke with the feeling of a thousand muscle cramps and like ten thousand grown men had just shit, pissed, and died on him. But at the same time, he felt a wonderful mare laying on him that seemed to be nuzzled deep into his neck. His horrible, rancid smelling neck. With a groan he moved his arm. Every single joint that existed in that particular arm gave a horrifying popping sound, which felt absolutely fantastic to his stiff body.

His fingers laced gently through the rainbow mane, spread across his chest and he felt even worse for messing it up with the gore covering his hand. And then he realized there was already chunks of flesh lodged deeply in her hair.

“Why is there zombie casserole in your hair?” He asked calmly. The previously sleeping pony shot up on his chest, making him wince in pain.

“Oh my gosh you’re okay.” She shot down, and before Bromley could protest she attached her pony lips to his human ones. After the initial surprise, he gingerly kissed her back, stroking her cheek with one hand comfortingly as he did so. She pulled back, blushing heavily.

“Um... Anyway... We totally killed the rest of the zombies.” She said like nothing had happened. Bromley raised an eyebrow.

“We?”

“Yeah. Coffee, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Nate, and even Fluttershy! They all helped me destroy the last of the zombies. I took out about half.” She held up a blood stained hoof, looking proud of herself.

“Really now?” Bromley asked with a smirk, his deep tone laced with playfulness.

“Yep! All me.” She said back, grinning like an idiot. At that they both laughed then abruptly stopped. Bromley stated what they were both thinking.

“I smell like shit.”

Rainbow Dash giggled a little at that, a cute smile appearing across her face.

“Me too.” Bromley wisely didn’t agree or disagree. Rainbow Dash let him up, saying she was going to sleep on the roof, and he walked over to Nate who was tiredly shoveling the last of the dead bodies into the dead hole they had created.

“Ey’ Nate...” He greeted him carefully. Nathaniel turned to face him, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Oh. You’re awake. Good. You’re okay...?” He questioned Bromley.

“Yeah. I might of cracked a rib or something. And I don’t think there is a part of me that isn’t bruised, but other then that I’m okay.” Bromley replied, grimacing as he peeled some dried flesh off of his shoulder.

“Anyway... I don’t think we’ve gotten gored up this bad before. Evan is the same. We should arrange for a bath.” Bromley stilled at that, his heart rate picking up again.

“... A bath? Singular?” Nathaniel shrugged.

“Why not? Not like they’re humans.” Bromley’s eye twitched at that.

“But they are still girls. With personalities like humans. And they are going to be wet. Around us. With our naked bodies.” Bromley explained to Nate, clarifying things slowly.

“... Oh... Well we can run... Two.” Nathaniel decided. Bromley nodded in agreement.

“Alright. I’ll get to work on digging some shallow holes. You keep putting away these bodies and...” Bromley peeled his shirt off his head, handing it to Nate who stared at it like it had been up Satan’s ass. “I think you can just wash some of our clothes. Save the pants and stuff for later, I’m sure we can get to that ourselves.” Bromley walked off, his eye twitching each time his jeans gave a squelching sound from the blood and guts soaking into them.

Bromley decided to put the two water holes at about a sixty feet difference. While he would be able to hear the ponies because his hearing was trained to be ridiculously powerful, no other human would hear them, and the ponies wouldn’t be able to hear the humans. He dug each trench to be about three feet deep with a wide enough circumference on one to house all the girls and a slightly smaller one for the boys. With a grunt he sat down after, exhausted again.

He fell back asleep, the hot sun warming his shirtless chest.

That is how Nathaniel found Bromley a few hours later. He had dragged all the ponies with him, and a limping Josh who had recently awoken. An unconscious Evan also came along, slung over Applejack’s back. Bromley awoke as soon as Nate’s footsteps became audible, and got to his feet.

“Well, the larger one is for you girls... And of course that leaves the guys the smaller one. Now, how do we get water in here?” Nate sighed.

“We should dig down a little further in a separate hole for water, then use buckets to drag it over.” Bromley nodded, picking up the shovel again. With the help of Josh and Nathaniel, a third hole was finished in minutes, bubbling with water. Nate ran to get buckets while Bromley took a much needed drink.

Nate returned with buckets in record time, and soon with the ponies’ help the bathing holes were full of water. Bromley poured his last bucket on Evan’s face, who sputtered to wakefulness.

“You asshole!” He glared up at his captain, who just shrugged, dropping the bucket on the ground.

“Never claimed I wasn’t, dear friend.”

“I just realized... I spend a lot of time unconscious.”

The boys stripped down to their boxers and sat down in the lukewarm water. Bromley relaxed on the side tiredly, while Nate attempted to float in the middle of the pool. Josh was almost asleep in his little corner of the pool, while Evan suddenly sent a wave of water over to Bromley, who almost snorted it all up his nose. After a few coughs and gags Bromley glared up at his pilot.

“Come here you little bastard.” Bromley made a move to get up, but Evan screamed at him.

“I will never do that again if you don’t touch me!” Evan put up his hands defensively.

“If you ever splash me again I will rain down hell fire on your soul.” Bromley threatened a final time before laying his head back again.

Everyone was washing up, tired of just relaxing. Josh pushed his head under the water, coming out a few seconds later after rinsing through his hair thoroughly. Out of his messy brown hair, a lump of flesh that sort of looked like a kidney floated to the top of the water. Nate just stared at it, not saying a word.

“... Never speak of this.” Josh said in a montone, tossing the organ far away from the pool. Bromley felt refreshed and decided to get out. First though, he looked over in the ponies direction. His eyes widened and he nudged Evan before pointing over at the other pool. Evan was soon spell bound. Nate, seeing them both staring towards the ponies, automatically turned to look in that direction as well.

There was more splashing than necessary, but the raining droplets only accented their bodies. Bromley couldn’t keep his eyes from staring at Rainbow Dash’s flank and slender sides, memorizing her figure expertly. Eventually his eyes trailed up to her wet hair, currently hiding half of her face. As the ponies came out of the water they shook off their mane. Applejack twisted hers like someone would twist a towel in an effort to wring out the water. She stepped out first and Evan resisted drooling. Nate stared directly at Fluttershy’s face and saw how she whipped her hair around, letting the water fly away from the pink mane. Coffee now sat there, entranced as Pinkie Pie’s normally curly hair stuck to her back in long strands, her pink fur glistening in the sunlight. All of the men were enjoying the sight until the ponies finally finished getting dry. Just as the girls were about to leave for the house, Evan called out;

“You’re very sexy!” All the ponies turned their heads and saw Bromley holding Evan by his neck underwater.

“I’m going to kill you!” Bromley raged, before intelligently . Nate, Josh, and Coffee averted their eyes from the ponies and tried desperately to submerge themselves. Once the ponies had re-entered the house, Coffee stepped out of the water and went for the door. Josh and Nate went off to fill another hole with water to wash clothes with.

Nate began washing Bromley’s clothes. All of Bromley’s clothes were so dirty that he couldn’t even put them on to help wash clothes. They were coated with disgusting chunks of dried flesh. He was restrained to his quarters after he got out of the water, until his clothes were clean. Of course, it was also Rainbow Dash’s room, and no one could really keep her from walking on in if she felt like it. She did consider it, but decided to keep Bromley’s dignity intact and sit outside. She did, however, request to bring his clothes in.

When this did occur, she silently opened the door, his clothes over her back. He was covered from the bottom down by a blanket that had previously been on the bed. She was still curious as to what it looked like, so she closed the door behind her, in case she did anything... irrational. She approached him slowly, letting his clothes slide off her back onto the floor. She lifted his pants up and acted as though she were giving it to him, but dropped it.  Bromley had bent down to pick up the clothes, and was planning on using his now clean clothes to cover himself. She surprised him and he let go completely of the blanket around his waist. Instead of staring at what was nearest her head (his “head”), she flew up into the air and put her front hooves on Bromley’s shoulders. She gave a him a long kiss. Her tongue licked at his lips gently, but Bromley was still recovering from the horse mouth coming extremely close to his balls. She didn’t mind. He was safe. And home. And naked! She realized the latter at the last second and fled, but not without seeing what... “colt parts” looked like. She and Applejack had an interesting conversation about that a little later.

Bromley sighed to himself, willing his totally unmanly blush to go away. Did that just happen? Was he really three inches away from a little horsey blow-job? He dressed quickly and went outside. He was happy Rainbow Dash wasn’t as terrified of him as he suspected she would be after witnessing his darker side, even if it was just for a few seconds. He had come dangerously close to snapping.

Evan was in his quarters, kneeling in a corner. Applejack woke up only to hear him finish what he was doing. He said quietly and almost in a deep growl, “Forgive me lord, for I have slaughtered” to the corner. With that he got up and checked on the now “asleep” pony in his bed. He kissed her on the head. She stayed still and waited for what Evan was going to do next. She heard a roar and a sudden thud mixed with a loud crack. Then;

“Mother of god! Oh sweet Jesus that hurt. Oh... Thank you wall.” Evan had just fixed his arm by ramming it into the wall. Applejack still laid still, despite the odd noises. Evan set off for his destination; Bromley’s room. He was not happy that he had almost died in the last fight. It all came down to the fact that Bromley and him had not been able to hold on their own. Evan felt like he needed to redeem himself, and he was sure Bromley felt the same way. It was almost like an itch on his back in the place that he couldn’t reach. Without release for his anger, Bromley might start acting oddly. Evan got ready to put his plan into play.

His captain was still in the process of dressing himself so Evan was forced to wait patiently by the door. The man opened it up and Evan grabbed him by the neck with his forearm and hand. He swung Bromley under his arm and ran with him out to the open space in front of the house. “Spar with me!” he shouted. Nate went into the lab, ignoring the two oddities. Rainbow Dash, confused by the muffled scream of Evan’s, flew down and noticed Bromley indifferently staring at the ground as he was tugged along by Evan. She watched as Applejack trotted out of Evan’s room, following the two boys quietly. Setting him down, Evan stood about five feet away from Bromley. Bromley sighed and reached into his pockets to pull out his gloves which he calmly tugged on. It was pretty ironic, seeing as the guy who he was going to punch in the face had given him these amazing things.

“Evan... I hope you know what you’re getting into. I’m a little angry at the moment, and although I may have a broken rib or two, I’m still gonna kick your ass.” Bromley’s still tired eyes narrowed and he got into a professional fighting stance, something that hadn’t been necessary since their arrival.

“Yes, this is what I want!” Evan grinned triumphantly, and settled into his own ready-to-kick-this-guy’s-ass stance. “And what you need,” he thought. Nate poked his head out and watched from the sidelines for a few seconds, before ducking back inside his lab. He work on space craft quietly in his lab, trying to block out that he had no partner to work with. Fluttershy was diddling around, not doing anything in particular.

Rainbow Dash nervously settled down on the ground near the makeshift arena, wondering how serious her colt was. She was still seriously worried about his physical condition, and now even his mental state. His strange eyes and pure anger kept flashing in her mind, making her shudder. Coffee and Pinkie suddenly bounded out the door and through the arena, happy as any two ponies could be. The fighters stared at the two animals for a second then their eyes returned to each other. Suddenly Bromley smirked and called out just loud enough for everyone in the radius to hear;

“Challenge accepted, bitch.”  Evan stood up out of his stance and walked over to Bromley who remained as tense as before. He expected nothing less than something strange from his overly eccentric friend. He hoisted his fist behind him dramatically and threw it straight at the man he called his captain. Bromley’s hand shot up and with a loud smack the fist was caught in the man grasp. Evan smiled and spun away from the arm that was caught. It held tight and Evan flung himself towards his friend with his full body. With a grunt Bromley lurched back, avoiding the body successfully, but twisting a muscle in his thigh in the process. With an unamused sound he slammed his foot into his annoying friend’s kidney while he was down, not afraid to play dirty. Evan was winded for only a second, before his hoarse laugh erupted from his mouth. Bromley hurt a hell of alot more than any zombie ever could, but he didn’t care. Evan spun after he was hit, then used his hand to get to his feet instantly. As he shot up he smashed his foot forward, almost hitting Bromley’s crotch. Bromley stared down at the foot before Evan spoke up. “You’re going to need those. I forgot.” Rainbow Dash glared darkly at him. Bromley realized that he was being made a fool. He felt his anger growing again, but he carefully controlled himself. He now understood Evan’s plan, and he needed to put a stop to it before it got too far. He would knock him out before he lost himself. Evan stepped backwards two feet, beckoning his adversary. Bromley shot forward, faster than even Evan had ever seen him move. Rainbow Dash resisted gasping at the speed, and she blinked confusedly as Bromley actually stood still in front of Evan’s face, speaking too quietly for her to hear. Evan was expecting to feel his face cave in, but instead Bromley just whispered in his ear.

“I know what you’re trying to do.” Bromley growled lowly.

“I know what I’m trying to do!” Evan replied a little louder, then jabbed his fingers into Bromley’s side, exactly where he had seen the darkest bruise from the battle. Bromley felt his eyes bleed into red, his vision turning into a bloody haze.

With that Bromley threw what was known to his friends as the “NOPE” fist, and Evan flew about five feet backward as it connected with his right eyeball, then flew back even further as his back ground against the red planet’s floor. He hadn’t even made an effort to dodge it. He now lay there on the ground. Applejack was tense, her teeth grinding together audibly as the boy didn’t get up. Bromley stood still, his eyes reverting back to normal. He let out a heavy sigh, turning to leave. Then the  laughing came from him. Evan slammed his fists into the ground and leaped forward, sending himself flying towards his friend with open hands. Bromley’s eyes widened, and he turned just in time. He shot his own arms up and caught him, flipping backwards and pinning the smaller boy beneath him.

“God damn it, stop it Evan!” He said loudly. Evan grinned, shaking his head. Evan used his back muscles to pile drive his head into Bromley’s chest, reigniting the intense pain Bromley felt from his cracked ribs. Bromley roared, his eyes once again transforming into their red. He pulled back his arm, this time in a hooking manner, and launched it towards the little douche bag who kept screwing with him. Before it connected and as it was being prepped, Evan asked the most important question of the year.

“How much will make you happy?” He took the blow, feeling his jaw pop out in one hit, and his cheek break. Evan resisted blacking out, and using his full willpower rammed his now bleeding hands into ground, launching the much heavier boy off of him. He stumbled onto his feet. Turning to face his friend, then spitting a bit of blood onto the ground next to him, he spoke again.

“All you do is drown yourself in your hardships. All you do is rot slowly in your own mind. You’ve done it for years. You take it out with rage, at every opportunity it can get. I want to know how much will make you happy. I knew the zombies weren’t enough. They’re so easy these days. I felt as though you needed help from a friend. Someone who’s always been there for you.” Bromley stood his ground, his chest burning and his vision a foggy mess. He didn’t attack though, and Evan took that as a sign to continue. “How much will make you feel better?” The point was hard to get across because of the laughing that appeared in the middle of the tiny rant. Bromley sneered at the boy standing across from him, his words barely ringing in his mind. Evan had pushed him too far. His eyes showed his vicious insanity, which was normally so much more hidden from the world. Rainbow Dash whimpered in the back of her throat, and trembled as she viewed her colt in a new light. Applejack was even tenser, ready to rush forward to help her mate. But what in the name of Celestia was Evan doing?

“It will never be enough Evan... I could kill ten thousand zombies and I wouldn’t be satisfied. I could fight ten thousand Evans, and kill them all before I’d be satisfied.” Bromley held his agonizing chest with one hand, the pain fueling the fire of his rage.

“How about kill one? One that didn’t put up a fight? Would you kill a completely defenseless friend?” Bromley’s eye twitched one last time. And then he showed the world his true colors. He rushed towards the figure with its hands in it pockets. He smashed into its chest sending it flying and sprawling over the ground.

“You know, I would! I really would. Because he has no concern for what happens to him, and he’s an idiot. And he couldn’t leave his friend’s dark side alone!” Evan stood, shoved his hands back in its pockets gave a slight chuckle and looked on expectantly. Bromley charged again and instead of sending the skinny boy flying, he picked up the standing figure by the throat with one hand, hoisting him into the air.

“I. Hate. You.” Bromley whispered, his crimson stained eyes glaring up at his friend’s.Their dark salute was shadowed by the sun, and soon Evan went limp. With a howl of frustration Bromley dropped the still figure to the ground. His eyes faded back into their normal hue once again, and his chest let him know he had overexerted himself. He collapsed next to Evan and screamed again, curling into a ball as agony overtook him. Applejack sat there, hot tears streaming down her face. She got to her feet, and began to walk slowly towards the still forms of the boys. Rainbow Dash still sat there though, fear racing through her.

“I can’t kill you, you fuckin’ idiot!” With a grunt of pain Bromley uncurled and smashed his fist into the boy’s chest, making him buck up in the air with a strangled gasp before he began coughing loudly, desperate for air. Eventually the pilot got the oxygen he needed and sat up.

“I knew you couldn’t do it. But I really hope this helped. Maybe you might actually get to use those balls. Know that I’ll always be there for you, and if you needed to kill me to keep living as happy as you are, then so be it. And I know you don’t actually hate me. Also, Chuck Testa.” Evan got up and walked away, limping slightly, grasping his bruised throat in his calloused hands. He left the broken figure behind him. Evan felt that he had to break open that shell, and so he did. He nodded at Rainbow Dash, and the worried pony almost sonic Rainboomed to her colt, taking the head bob as a sign that it was fine.

Evan stopped on his way to wherever he was going (he hadn’t decided yet) and gave Applejack a long hug.

“Were you worried babe?” Applejack nodded and Evan hugged her tighter. “Are you still mad at me?” She shook her head. “Well we have to fix that!” He stole her hat and ran away with it atop his head. His chuckles (that were hoarse and sounded more like dying animals) could be heard across the complex as he played the game with his mate. To him, nothing before the embrace had ever transpired.

An explosion was heard from Nate’s lab. Fluttershy immediately burst into tears and ran toward it. Twilight looked up and started walking toward the site nervously, in case another explosion went off. Nate pushed through the door of his lab that lead outside, half of his facial skin burnt to a crisp and part of his skull visible. Various bits of flaming hair and skin fluttered away after every step. He limped forwards, one of his legs bending awkwardly. He walked in a straight line until his unnaturally concave leg gave out, an audible crack sickeningly sounding. He slammed his fist on the ground in frustration, soon trying to get up again, but to no avail. He went unconscious from shock shortly thereafter. Fluttershy approached him, her eyes watering profusely, and began to drag him into their room. She had her mouth on his charred collar, the scent of burning flesh stinging her nose and eyes. She furiously tugged to lift him, and soon laid him out on the bed.

Josh, meanwhile, desperately attempted to put out the fire with the help of Coffee. Pinkie Pie went to join Fluttershy to comfort her. The fire in the lab seemed to be caused by an engine experiment. All the work Nate had put into his space craft was destroyed. Decimated. The only things that really remained of the craft was the blackened shell. Coffee and Josh cooled the room as much as they could with a mixture of magic (that Coffee had been learning from Twilight) and water.

She sat, waiting for anything. A breath. A heartbeat. A blink. Anything. She laid her head on his chest and sobbed. Fluttershy cried for a minute or two before she noticed that her tears were running onto his neck and pooling near his adam’s apple. She wiped it away with her foreleg, tears still gently sliding down her yellow cheeks, then laid her head back down. Pinkie Pie looked on, choking back a few tears herself. Twilight was at the entrance to the room, and was looking at the scene with a stone face. Suddenly the chest Fluttershy was crying on was moving. Nate eventually started coughing, verifying that he was indeed laughing. She had tickled him back to life with her tears, for the time being. She called for Twilight, who then hurried into their room. No one was really sure what had happened to them. Evan was standing in the actual doorway with the now solemn Applejack, who was currently nuzzling against his leg reassuringly, her hat was still resting atop his head. Evan looked indifferent, almost like the Captain.

“Can you do it yet?” asked Fluttershy, braver now than ever.

“I can try,” replied Twilight. She put her horn to Nate’s chest. He stopped breathing and light lifted out of his chest. It seemed to be attached to the tip of her horn. She put it down on the ground. It turned into a glowing white foal. At that everyone gasped, even Evan. There were no features but it soon grew. It gained glasses and a frown. The lip piercings were still there, but the hands and feet were hooves. Nate was a pony. Or, as one’s name changes as their body does, Dusk Swirl. His coat was purple. His eyes were pink. He had a sharp horn, a white patch in his coat at the horn’s base. He had a short purple and white tail, and a purple and white striped mane. His cutie mark was a blue pickaxe.

While everyone else was rejoicing at Dusk’s new body and his new given life, Bromley still sat in the clearing. Rainbow Dash slowly approached him. “Stay back Dashie... I’m sane... but..t” he said sadly, eyes tearing up hugely as his tear ducts stretched themselves out. He hadn’t cried in years.

“After what I just saw, I’m not so sure. Albeit, he did get up and walk away, but how did he know how to trip your trigger like that? Why did you almost kill him? He might die of bleeding later!” Rainbow Dash’s voice grew louder and more escalated. Bromley broke down again and was silent as more tears dripped down his face. Rainbow Dash finally saw what had transpired. Bromley had relied on Evan his whole life as the one place he couldn’t be angry. But Evan had drove him mercilessly to throw all of that away. Rainbow Dash went the last few feet to her one and only mate. “There there. It’s going to be ok. I’ll take care of you.”

“You don’t want me to be near you! Look at what I just did to my friend. My own crew member! I’ve known him for years and you for maybe a couple months. How could I not hurt you worse than him? Do the math!” With a determined grunt Bromley stood up on shaky feet and headed off in the opposite direction of the house. The tears were gone, and his calculative brain began to take the safest path of action. He couldn’t be near anyone right now, that much was certain to him. He needed to go find someplace to hide away. Some place where he would never hurt anyone who mattered ever again. His instincts informed him of something following him. He turned to find Rainbow Dash rushing toward him and prepared himself for what he had to do next. His hand struck out expertly, hitting a nerve point in her neck. He caught her limp form, inches away from the ground and slowly settled her there.

“I’m sorry...” He leaned down, kissed her pony cheek one last time. His shakes were gone, his body running in full capacity once again. After strapping his gloves on tighter, he walked over to where Nate had previously stuck their swords into the ground after cleaning them. Picking up two of the blades, he looked them over, deeming them sharm enough. He silently crept to his room and found two belts he wasn’t using. He made a sort of sheath that would allow him to carry his swords on his back, and he left the complex in a strange direction, determined to be forever lost in this world before he killed someone. However, the soft, salt, sand-like ground left imprints of where he had stepped, making it clearly visible of the direction he had traveled. Maybe his subconscious wanted him to be found.