Twilight woke up after hearing a book fall off her bookshelf. She yawned and looked around her. The warning that Luna had put around the house hadn't gone off, so she wasn't worried. She stood up and walked to where she heard the sound. She found Luna looking through one of her books called Mary Trotter: The Pegasus Stone.

"You ever read that series, Princess?" Twilight asked.

"We never did have much time to read. The moon doesn't have a library with an array of texts." she replied. "Tell me, Miss Sparkle, what is this story's plot?"

Twilight chuckled at Luna's dialect. "It's about a Unicorn who is raised by Earth Ponies. She doesn't realize she's a Unicorn who can do magic and gets visited by a teacher at a school for gifted Unicorns. He tells her she can do many things that others can't. So he takes her to the school where she finds out she's actually part of a bigger historical event. She has to save the school in just her first year. But I'm not going to tell you everything. Read it and see if you like it. It's a very popular series." Twilight explained.

"We think we shall. Even back in Canterlot we didn't have an opportunity to read in the library. As royalty we have too many responsibilities that require our attention." she said.

"Here, take the other six books as well. We have kids with us, so we may need to stop at night so they can sleep. I hate having to slow us down by doing that, but I doubt we'll have a choice in the matter." Twilight said as she took the books off the shelf.

"Twilight? Can I ask you something?" Luna asked.

"Sure, Princess." she replied.

"Please, just call me Luna." Luna said.

Twilight looked at her with a smile. "Okay, Luna."

Luna looked at her. "What is your plan on keeping our group safe?"

"Well, I plan to have us all stick together, travel light, and move fast." she explained.

"And if you get caught by a horde?"

"I guess we'd have two options. Fight or run." Twilight said.

"What would you do at the first sign of an attack?" Twilight had to think about it for a moment. "And now you're dead." Luna said.

"What?"

"You hesitated. You can't hesitate once they've got you cornered. If you do, everypony you care about is dead." Luna said.

Twilight stood there. She's right. Hesitation means death. she thought. "So we need to always be on our hooves."

"You're in a field with a forest to your right and a lake to the left. There's a horde running in your direction behind you. What do you do?"

"Run to the forest."

"Why?" Luna inquired.

"Because we're faster than they are and have a better chance of surviving there than the water." Twilight explained.

"Good. Now you're cornered with a horde charging in front of you. You can either let them come and fight them off, or you could stop them with a rock slide to block their path, trapping you and your group on the opposite side. What do you do?"

"If I were in that position I would send the rocks on top of the horde, but leave a way for us to get out. It wouldn't do us much good if we were trapped." Twilight said.

"Smart thinking Miss Sparkle." Luna praised. She looked out the window and noticed the first rays of sunlight peering over the horizon. "It's morning. Time to wake everypony up."

Twilight and Luna began to wake them all up. Sweetie Belle yawned as Rarity stretched out her tired legs. "Come on Sweetie, it's time to get up. We've got a long journey ahead of us." Twilight said.

"Twilight, deary, before we go, I need to give myself a short mane curl. It'll only take a minute." Rarity said.

"Rarity, we ain't got time for that. The only reason we're going to the barn is so Ah can see the last of ma' family before we go. And besides, I do have some supplies that could come in handy while there. It's not far from the tunnel where the train leads into." Applejack said.

"But what about looking glamorous?" Rarity complained.

"We don't have time for looking spiffy! There are zombies running around outside, so the last thing you should care about is your mane." Rainbow said as she rubbed her eyes. Scootaloo was rubbing her eyes next to her and Fluttershy was walking around waking the others.

"Listen sugarcube. It's going to be rough. It'll be just like when we went camping with the little ones, just without your giant tent." Applejack said.

Rarity looked to Sweetie Belle and saw that Spike still had his tail wrapped around her hoof. She sighed. "Well fine. I guess I'll have to make due with more primitive procedures." she said. She picked Sweetie Belle and Spike up and placed them on her back.

"Is everypony ready?" Luna asked. "We need to arrive at Canterlot as soon as possible."

They all gathered their packs together and gathered near Twilight. She looked out the window and saw some ponies she recognized. Only, they weren't quite themselves. "Okay girls. When we leave this library, we need to be very quiet and very careful. I don't want one of them finding us and leading the rest of them to where we are."

"Don't worry, Twilight. You lead the way, an' we'll be sure to follow you." Applejack said.

"Um, Twilight? Are you sure you know what we should be doing?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight sighed. "No. I don't know exactly what to do. This is a first. Something you don't find in history books. But I've been doing zombie research with the help of some survival book, and I think I've got it down to the basics. Plus, I've got someone who I'm sure can fill me in on what I missed." she said as she looked to Spike who had gotten off of Rarity's back and walked to her.

"What are you looking at me for?" he said.

"You're the only one I know who is an almost perfect expert on zombies. Since the infected ponies resemble those of zombies, I'm sure you'll be able to fill us all in on what we should and shouldn't do. Think you can do that?" she asked.

"Um, I guess so." he said as he twiddled his thumbs.

"What about me?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I'm a zombie fan too you know."

"Yes, but I wouldn't go around calling yourself that." Twilight said. "Ponies have died because of these 'zombies.' And Spike has a knack for remembering things that, no offense, you tend to forget."

"But I know how to kill them quickly."

"And you shouldn't be proud of that." Luna said. "Those ponies were your friends and neighbors. Killing them isn't going to be as easy as you think."

"She's right Rainbow. I had to kill Bon Bon last night." Twilight said. "It doesn't seem hard during the act. But afterwards, when you're plagued by their face in your dreams, that's when it becomes unbearable. Knowing you killed somepony is hard, Rainbow." Twilight closed her eyes as she saw Bon Bon appear in front of her again. "They never leave you." she whispered.

The group looked at her quietly. There was a scream outside and some crying. Luna looked out the window to see what happened. "They found a group hiding in the house across the street. We should go now, while they're distracted."

"And leave that other group there? They need our help!" Rainbow shouted.

"But we can't afford to let ourselves be seen by them. Even though the panic has died down, the infected are still out there." Luna snapped. "Our sister sent us here to keep you all safe on the journey to Canterlot. We can't allow you to risk your lives for them." she shouted.

"But Luna! They're dying! They need our help!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Hey! How about Rainbow flies the kids over to the farm? That way not all of us are in danger." Applejack said.

"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow cried out. "I'm not leaving these ponies behind!"

"Well somepony has to take them out of here!" Applejack shouted back.

"It's too late." one of the guards said as he looked back out the window. "They're all dead."

They were quiet for a few moments. "You can't be serious." Rarity said first. She ran over to the window and looked over to the house. She put a hoof over her mouth as Sweetie Belle let out a small squeak. "Oh my...It's barbaric!" she exclaimed.

"Get Sweetie and Spike away from the windows!" Twilight said. She didn't want the small ones to see too much of what was going on. Rarity quickly moved away and stood next to a trembling Fluttershy. Twilight looked to Luna. "We could have saved them." she said.

"Perhaps. But it was not worth our lives." she said cooly. "It wouldn't have changed anything."

"It would've changed for them! They could still be alive!" Twilight shouted. Luna looked at her confused. She had never been yelled at before, except her sister. "How many?"

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"How many died!? Were there fillies? Was it a family!?" Twilight shouted.

Luna looked at her perplexed. "Why does it matter?"

Twilight glared at her. "Because I want to know who you left behind."

Luna looked a bit hurt from the comment. "There was a stallion and a mare. Nopony else other than the infected."

Twilight let out a breath. She hated knowing that two ponies had died by their inaction, but was relieved that no fillies were there. "Luna, from now on we don't leave anypony behind unless there is a 100% chance that we won't survive. You got that?"

"It is out duty to protect you girls and you girls alone." Luna replied.

"Then in order to do that, you'll have to protect us while we save the others." she said as she turned to the others. "You girls ready? We need to get moving so we can reach Canterlot as soon as we can."

"Ah'm all set." Applejack said quietly.

"So are we." Rainbow Dash said as she put a hoof around Fluttershy and Scootaloo. "I got you both, okay?" she whispered to them.

"Well, I suppose that Sweetie and I are prepared for this adventure. You still got Smarty Pants with you Sweetie?" she asked.

"Mhm." she said as she pulled it out of the saddle bag that Rarity had. She gave him a tight squeeze and looked to Spike. "You'll be careful...right?"

"Pshaw! Of course I will. I'm a dragon remember?"

Twilight looked at her friends one last time. "I love you girls. Remember that." she said. She turned and slowly opened the library door. As she looked around she saw ponies with gaping bite wounds. One had his stomach hanging out and dragging behind him, leaving a dark, crimson trail of blood behind him. Twilight had to try her hardest not to vomit. "Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? Close your eyes, alright?"

Sweetie Belle nodded her head and hid her eyes behind Smarty Pants. Scootaloo looked to Rainbow Dash. "Don't worry, squirt. Even with your eyes covered, you're still brave." Scootaloo covered her eyes after giving Rainbow a nod.

"Keep her close." Twilight told Rainbow, who picked her up and placed her on her back, and walked out the door. The group followed with Luna's guards staying in the front. They walked silently through town, passing corpses, infected ponies, and whatever survivors were left, pillaging what they could find. Despite them being able to be seen, Twilight figured that if they moved slow enough and didn't make any fast movements, they could pass undetected. They passed Sugar Cube Corner and Twilight couldn't help but let a few tears fall down her cheeks. I'm so sorry Pinkie. she thought.

She quickly wiped them away and continued moving forward. "Is everypony okay back there?" she said, loud enough for them to hear her, but quietly enough as to not draw attention. She didn't believe that the infected could hear them, but she didn't want to take any chances.

We're doing fine, Twilight. How much further are we to the farm?" Rarity asked.

"Not very far." Applejack said. There was a groan from the right of the group and Fluttershy let out a squeal.

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow exclaimed quietly. "You need to be quiet. We don't know a lot about these zombies so we need to be careful."

"But they're so scary." Fluttershy whimpered.

"Look, you have me to keep you safe. I'm not going to let anything to you, Scoots, or anypony here." Rainbow said reassuringly. Fluttershy only let out a whimper.

They continued to the farm avoiding any big groups of hungry creatures. When they finally arrived, Applejack ran up to the barn door and started knocking. "Granny Smith! It's me! Applejack! Please open up. Ah need to see ya'!" she said. She started knocking harder when there was no response. "Granny!"

The door slowly creaked open, but not because somepony opened it. It only opened a few inches from the force of Applejack's knocking. She turned to her friends and ran inside. "Granny Smith! Where are ya?!" she shouted.

"Applejack!" Rarity shouted after her. "Wait for us!" She ran in with Sweetie Belle on her back, still holding onto Smarty Pants.

"Rarity!" Twilight called out. The rest followed them into the barn. She trailed Rarity out the back and into the apple orchards. Applejack was standing frozen in front of Rarity, who was trying to call her over.

"Applejack, deary. Please come back here. Don't go near her." she said.

"Rarity, what's going on?" Rainbow asked.

"Take Sweetie Belle, Rainbow!" she said. Rainbow flew over, leaving Scootaloo next to Fluttershy, who was trembling.

"Luna, what's going on?" Twilight asked as Rainbow returned with Sweetie Belle.

"We don't know. We think that it may be Granny Smith." she said.

"Applejack, please, come back here. She doesn't know who you are. She might bite you." Rarity said.

"But..it can't be. Ah saw her put up boards to protect the house and barn..." Applejack said. Twilight walked next to her and Rarity and finally saw what was going on. Granny Smith was in the middle of a horde of infected ponies, with a giant hole in her neck and a missing front leg.

"Applejack, let's get back to the barn. You said you had supplies there that you could grab." Twilight said. Applejack didn't respond. "We can't do anything for her now. I'm sorry, but we need to go."

"Jus'...jus' give me a second." she replied.

Twilight turned to Rarity. "Can you stay here and watch her? I don't want Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo seeing this. Having them help us gather more supplies will give them something to do instead of constantly having their eyes closed." she said.

"Of course, Twilight. I'll take Applejack back to the farm as soon as I can." Rarity replied.

The others went back to her house and began to gather food. "Hey, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo?" Twilight called to them. "Why don't you go sit over there with Fluttershy and begin on the coloring books. Maybe you guys could make a story to tell why we're out here."

The two fillies walked over to the table with the coloring books. "Come on Sweetie Belle! We need an awesome story to make this trip interesting." Scootaloo said.

"Maybe we could get our Cutie Marks in story telling!" Sweetie said happily.

Twilight couldn't help but smile. Even when the world is ending, they're still worried about knowing what their destinies are. Foal innocence. she thought. Rainbow was going through the pantry and shelves looking for whatever food she could. "Find anything?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing! It's like somepony came and emptied everything!" she said, angrily.

"Well, it doesn't surprise me. A farm has a lot of food and supplie that are ripe for taking in a situation like this." Luna said. She walked over to a closet and was surprised by what she found. "Twilight, come here. I think you need to see this."

She walked over and instantly knew what was wrong. "I knew on a farm there were a lot of tools that were dangerous, but I didn't think they'd go that far to keep them protected." she said as she stated at the array of machetes laced with locks. They weren't ordinary locks though. These were high grade locks that could only be bought in Canterlot. "These will make any intruder cringe trying to break them free."

"There has to be a key somewhere." Luna said. "They're protected by magic against magic, and we don't have the brute force to break them."

"We'll wait for Applejack to get back to get them." Twilight said. "I have a feeling these are the supplies she was talking about."

Rarity walked in with her head low. "Hey rarity. Where's AJ?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh, she's still out there. She's finishing something." she said.

"What's she trying to finish? There aren't any apples out there for her to harvest." she asked.

"She's not trying to harvest, darling. She's...finishing one last chore here before we leave." she said, glancing to her sister.

"What?" Rainbow asked.

"Rainbow, leave it." Twilight said. She had a good idea what Applejack was doing. Granny Smith is her last family member left here. She doesn't want her to be suffering and like those things. She's cleaning up her farm. The Apple family is losing its oldest member, for good.

She looked out the window and saw Applejack walking back, with blood on her back hooves. She didnt say anything when she entered. She walked upstairs, grabbed a key, and came back down. She unlocked the locks and started handing them out to her friends. "Be careful when using these here tools. If they chip, we can't fix 'em, and they won't do as good of a job."

"Umm...what job exactly are they supposed to do?" Fluttershy asked.

"Kill. Aim fer the head." Applejack said as she gave her a small axe.

"What?!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Oh no no no. I couldn't possibly do that!"

"I'm sorry Fluttershy, but you'll need to learn to." Applejack said. "At least take it for yer own protection."

Fluttershy gingerly took the axe and looked at it scared. "Don't worry. You won't have to use it. I'm here to protect you, remember?" Rainbow said reassuringly. Fluttershy nodded her head and leaned against her.

"We have five minutes before we should start heading out again." Luna said. "Applejack, if there's anything else you need here, now would be the time to get ahold of it."

"Ah'll be back. Ah want to get some photos before we leave." she said as she walked back up the stairs.

"Will she be alright?" Twilight asked.

"I do sincerely hope so. She's worrying me and that's no good on my complexion." Rarity said as she looked up the stairs. "But Applejack is a strong pony. I'm sure she'll be quite all right."

As the girls waited for Applejack to return, there was a scratching sound coming from the front door. One of Luna's guards walked over to a window and peered through it. "Your highness, there's a pony at the front door with a glazed look in his eye and a big bite wound from his neck. This place will be compromised soon." he said.

"We need to hurry. If there's one, it won't take long for others to follow." Luna said.

"Applejack, let's go! They're outside." Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Rarity, how many were out back when you left?" Twilight asked.

"Not more than two dozen if I recall correctly."

"Luna, do you think we'd be able to fight them off and get to the tunnel safely?" Twilight asked.

"If we don't stall and keep moving, yes. We should be fine. Thou had better have a good plan for keeping those creatures away from us." she replied.

"I do. I don't know if Applejack will like it though." Twilight said as Applejack walked back down. She had a small pack sitting on her back.

"What won't Ah like?" she asked.

"Well... In order to get away from them, we need a distraction. Something big that will draw them away from us. And the biggest thing we have now, is your barn." Twilight said.

Applejack nodded her head. "Ah understand. We settin' this place ablaze then?"

Twilight was a little surprised that she took the idea without a second thought. "Um, yes. When it falls, it should make a loud enough noise to attract a majority of them to the barn. It'll draw them away from town, allowing other ponies to escape as well. We might have a few of the infected to deal with through the orchards, but other than that, we should be clear."

"Sounds good. In all honesty, Ah didn't wan' this place around if ma family wasn't runnin' it. Now that Ah'm all that's left, Ah'll be able to put it to good use one last time." she said. "An' don' worry. Ah already have all Ah need."

Twilight nodded her head. "I'm sorry about your Granny Smith. She was always a nice pony to have around."

"Thanks Twi. Now let's make this barn glow like Canterlot after New Years." They went around gathering whatever flammable thing they could and placed it inside the barn.

"Who's going to light it?" Scootaloo asked after they finished.

"Ah will be, sugarcube. It's ma barn, and Ah should be the one who leaves it." Applejack said.

"But will you be able to get back in time? As soon as you light it, they'll be on top of you in an instant." Fluttershy asked.

"Ah'm fast. Plus, if anyone of them rotten zombies comes near me, Ah've got a strong kick that'll knock the virus right outta them."

"But you could get bit! Then you'd be on of them!" Rarity exclaimed.

"If Ah go down, Ah'm going to go down fightin.' They've taken everything from me. All Ah got left is y'all. Ah'm not losing you too." she said.

"Just be sure you run fast on your way back." Rainbow said as she looked out the window. "We've got more coming to the front. We need to leave now."

"Right. Girls, pack your things." Rarity said to the fillies. They put the coloring books back in the packs and walked over to the group.

"Rainbow Dash, can you carry both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in the air? I want them to be as far away from the ground as possible." Twilight asked.

"Yep. It'll be easy." she said proudly.

"Fluttershy, stay close to Rainbow. Luna and I will lead the front. It's a straight dash to the tunnels." Twilight said.

"I'll have our guards trail in the back and cover us from any that try to follow us." Luna said.

" A'right. Y'all go ahead. Ah'm gonna light this place up, and when Ah do, it's gonna go fast." Applejack said hastily. They left her to the barn and dashed out the back. It didn't take long before they were attacked by a green haired pony. Luna kicked it in the head, killing it instantly.

"Run!" she shouted. They ran hard for the tunnels, putting as much distance between them and the barn. Twilight turned her head, expecting to see a barn in flames. It was still standing, though.

"Why hasn't she lit it yet?" she said to herself. They didn't stop though. They closed in on the tunnels and ran in.

"Were we followed? Did everypony make it?" Luna asked.

"We're all here. I don't think we were followed, but as long as the barn is distracting them, we'll be fine." Rainbow said.

"But that's the thing. The barn isn't burning..." Twilight said, frightened.

"What ever do you mean?" Rarity asked. "Applejack said she'd light it so those barbarians would be distracted."

"But I don't see any smoke. If there was a fire, there should be smoke right?" Twilight asked.

"She's right. Something must have gone wrong." Rainbow said.

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Applejack is going to be okay...right?"

"Shh, of course she will Sweetie Belle." Rarity said. She looked to Twilight with that same question in her eyes.

"Applejack's a strong pony. I'm sure she'll make it." she said, trying to be believable. She looked back to the orchard and squinted, hoping to see the tiniest bit of smoke. There was nothing.

"What...what are we going to do?" Fluttershy asked.

"We're waiting here, obviously!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "We can't just leave without her."

"We'll wait until the sun sets beyond the horizon." Luna said. "If she's not with us then, it's assumed she succumbed to the horde."

"Wait, you want us to ditch her? What if she's injured and just can't move fast enough? What if she just got bit and is losing blood? We need to find her!" Rainbow shouted.

"If she's been bitten as you said, it would be best if she was dead. You don't want to have to see her turn into one of them and you have to kill her, now would you?" she replied.

Rainbow closed her mouth and groaned. "Hey, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, why don't you finish some more of this coloring book?" Twilight said.

"I don't want to color anymore." Scootaloo said.

"Well it's a good thing I grabbed some of these." Twilight said, pulling out Marey Potter. "How about you girls read these?" she asked. "They're full of adventure, deception, and there's a love story in there." she said with a smile.

"Love story?" Spike asked. "I don't want to read a love story. That's stuff's gross."

Twilight giggled. "There's a lot more adventure than the love story. Princess Luna?" she asked.

"Yes, Twilight?" she replied, walking over to her.

"Do you think you could read this story to the girls and Spike? They need somepony who can really deliver a story with their voice, and, to be honest, mine doesn't really work so well." she said.

"Are you complimenting us Twilight?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course!" Twilight replied. "Only you could deliver that story perfectly. And besides, I thought you wanted to read it too?"

"Well...We don't know." Luna said carefully.

"Pleeaase??" Sweetie Belle asked with big eyes.

"Well...Okay. We shall read this story to you three." Luna said.

"Yay!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exclaimed. Luna walked over to the corner of the cave and sat down with the book as the three young ones nestled into her wings. Twilight saw that Luna was a little uncomfortable with this interaction. It was obvious she hadn't been around children often and didn't know how to act around them.

She'll learn soon enough. Twilight thought with a smile. She walked over to Rarity who stood by the cave entrance. She was staring out to the orchard, hoping to see some sign of Applejack or the fire. "You okay, Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"Hm?" Rarity asked, not fully aware of what was asked of her as she continued to stare out.

"I asked if you were alright?" Twilight said, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"Oh. Oh yes, I'm fine. I'm just worried that's all deary." she said nervously.

"I understand. Applejack's a strong mare though. She'll get through it. Even if she wasn't able to set the barn on fire, I'm sure she got away." Twilight said reassuringly.

"I sure hope so." Rarity replied quietly, a small tear running down her face.

Twilight wiped the tear away from her friends face. It hurt her knowing what Rarity was feeling. The anxiety of not knowing when or if the one you cared about most would ever be returning. At least Rarity had some hope. There was none for Twilight. She knew that the pony she cared about more than anything wasn't coming back. She forced the thought out of her head. She had to focus on her friends here and make sure they would be okay.

"You really care about her, don't you." Twilight asked. Rarity only nodded her head. "Why don't you tell me about what you two did?"

"Like what?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know. Anything you want to talk about." she replied.

"Well, a few weeks ago she took me to a rodeo round up. I'm not a big fan of them, but I went with her since she loved them." Rarity said. A smile began to form on her face. "What I didn't know was that they took ponies from the crowd and made them participate. And guess who got picked?"

"You did?" Twilight answered with wide eyes.

"Oh yes. It was a dual rodeo challenge and the spotlight landed directly on top of both Applejack and I. She was shouting and was all excited, but I was more on the tentative side of things. I didn't want to get dirty or anything, but she forced me up onto the stage anyways."

"It was a six legged race. While running, we had to balance an egg on a spoon in our mouths. And that was just the first part of it. After we completed that part, we had to crawl through mud, still tied together, and reach the third and final ordeal. They untied us there, but they didn't give us a chance to get cleaned up. It was horrifying being covered in that much mud."

"But you did it anyways. For Applejack." Twilight said.

"Of course darling! I wasn't going to let her down and not do something she adored. It would be uncouth of me." she said. "After they untied us, and this is the weird part, Spike jumped on her back. It was just like the buck contest that Applejack had competed in with Rainbow Dash."

"Wait, Spike was there?" Twilight asked surprised. "He never said anything about going to a rodeo."

"Well I think he didn't want to get in trouble with you for being out of town at his age." Rarity said. "Anyways, he had a firm grip on her and would not let go. It was actually pretty amusing to see Applejack have trouble with such a little guy. It took her about a minute to get him off. I guess he learned a lot since last time." she said.

"Then it was my turn. Now I had never done this in my entire life. I didn't even know what to do. All she told me was to put my weight on my front hooves and kick my back legs out. It must have been a decent one since he soared through the air after I attempted it."

Twilight laughed to herself. Spike's little crush on her must have been what did that.

"Applejack was laughing and gave me a hug, congratulating me. The crowd was cheering and whistling and I even got a beautiful bouquet of flowers. They were gorgeous." Rarity said. "Turns out that she was the one who had them give me the flowers. She knew that I disliked those activities so it was her way of saying thank you. That and..." she trailed off.

"What?" Twilight asked.

"It was also the day she asked me to be her marefriend." Rarity said blushing.

"And did you accept?" Twilight asked. She had a good feeling that Rarity had, but she wanted to be sure.

"Why of course! She's an amazing pony who has a big heart." she said smiling. "What's funny is that I actually had a lot of fun while I was there. Despite being riddled with dirt and mud, it was a very enjoyable experience. I'd happily go with her again."

"You must really love her." Twilight said.

"I do. She's one of the most dependable ponies I've ever met. Her heart is bigger than I could have ever imagined." she said. "You know, she always thought that I was the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. But I don't feel like that. I put on fashionable clothes and make myself look this way. I've always admired the ponies who had a natural beauty, where they didn't need anything to help them. It's something I wish I could have that Applejack does."

Twilight thought about what Rarity was telling her. Twilight knew where she was coming from and understood what it felt like to have to try to make yourself look presentable. "Have you told her about that?" she asked.

"No. I'm afraid if I do she might be insulted or something that I view her as somepony who doesn't try to look pretty." Rarity said with her head low. "I'm afraid I could lose her. Like I'm about to now."

"It's not a bad thing. You are giving her a compliment by saying that she is beautiful when she doesn't put on fancy clothes or does anything fashionable. And Applejack is the most dependable pony here. She will come, even if she's fighting a horde on her way." Twilight said. "I can tell that she loves you, just by the way you two act, and if I know Applejack, she won't leave her loved ones. Not unless she is forced to."

Rarity nodded her head and looked back out to the orchards. "Thanks Twilight. I've never really told anypony about us. But it was nice to tell a friend that." she said. She gave Twilight a hug, a tear running down her cheek. "Now, you should go to Luna and figure out what we need to do. Because as soon as Applejack comes back, we need to get to Canterlot and fix this."

"We will." Twilight said. They released each other from the hug and Twilight left to go back to the cave.

She passed Rainbow Dash who had a sleeping Fluttershy nestled in her wings. "Hey Rainbow." Twilight said.

"Hey, Twi." she replied. "What's up?"

"Just got done talking to Rarity. She's worried about Applejack." she said.

"We all are." Rainbow said as she ran a hoof through Fluttershy's mane. "Do you really think that she'll make it?"

Twilight had been calculating the odds of Applejack surviving, and they did not end up in her favor. "Well...I think she has a chance. If she's fast and heads straight to us."

"Yeah. Well, I guess a chance is better than no chance, right?" Rainbow asked.

"Right." Twilight replied.

Fluttershy gave a slight whimper as she encountered something in her dreams. "Hey, I'm here Fluttershy. Don't worry. I got you." Rainbow whispered to her, tightening her wing around her.

"How's she doing?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy was the most timid of them all, and this had to be really scary, especially for her.

"She's holding up. A few nightmares here and there, but she seems to be huffing through it. She's stronger than I think ponies give her credit for." Rainbow said.

"I'm glad to hear that. What about you?" she asked.

"Twilight, come on. It's me you're talking about. Nothing scares me." she bragged.

Twilight smiled. Typical Rainbow Dash. she thought. "Well I'm happy both of you are alright. Hopefully AJ will be here soon and we can get moving to Canterlot."

"The sooner the better." Rainbow said, putting another wing around Fluttershy.

Twilight walked over to a corner by herself. She grabbed her saddle bag and took one of the pictures from it. She sighed as she saw the picture of the pony she missed the most. It wasn't her parents or any family of hers, but a friend. A friend who she cared deeply for and would have tried her hardest to protect if she had the chance.

The image of her being bitten and torn apart by those creatures flashed through her mind. She tried to shake her head but couldn't. Her mangled, bloody body laid on the ground as ponies ran in every direction, not worrying about who had just been killed, only that they needed to get out quickly.

She cursed them and herself for not trying to help Pinkie. She wanted to help, but couldn't move from the sudden shock of the attack, and by the time she could move, it was too late. She saw her, lying in a pool of her own blood as she reached out for somepony to help her. But none did. They only looked out for themselves. Just like she had.

She was thrust out of her flashback when Luna let out a low voice, making the three she had nestled close to her laugh. "You're a Unicorn, Marey."

Twilight smiled, remembering the synopsis. A Unicorn is raised by Earth Ponies who have never treated her right. By hiding the fact she is a Unicorn through a magic spell, they treat like she is lower than them. But when a large Unicorn with a scraggly beard tells her the truth about herself, she will be put to the test during her first year as dark forces start to move.

It was a popular book that she had read many times. It helped keep her mind off of Pinkie Pie. She placed it back in her bag and laid her head down. Right now, they were safe. The guards would warn them if something was amiss and they had to leave. Twilight knew Rarity wasn't going to go anywhere until Applejack returned, and Rainbow Dash wasn't going to leave Fluttershy.

She sighed. Everypony has somepony... she thought. She closed her eyes, dreaming back to the days that she and Pinkie Pie had, just weeks before she died.

Author's Notes:

I have a proposition for you guys, the readers. If you guys want, at the end of each chapter I will have a choice that you the readers can make. The choices will vary from saving ponies or leaving them, to going into a shop or not. Each action will change how the story progresses and the story's outcome. If this is something you guys would be interested in, let me know in the comments below.