Two chapters back, I asked all of you readers to suggest a name for our charred pony. The winning suggested name I chose was...
WESKER!
This name, as suggested by user Bluemane, will now be used from here on in to identify our charred pony. Thank you very much, Bluemane, and thank you all for reading the story so far.
Every pony is at the farm now. Tar Pony finds his son, but he can't prove to him that he is really his father. Plus, with his disgusting appearance right now, he's become a target for others in the group. What will happen to him? How will he prove to Alan that he has returned? And, is the group totally safe from the undead forces? Find out now!
The charred pony and his horde of Runners and Shamblers were traversing through the town, when he stopped. The other ponies, unaware of his sudden stop, continued lurching forward. The charred pony, however, looked carefully onto the ground. He blinked his blood red eyes constantly, and saw some kind of hoof prints on the ground. Intrigued, he slowly followed the trail, and the Shamblers looked on in both blankness and fascination. He followed the trail until he came across an apple on the ground. He picked it up, and knew it would curb his hunger. He devoured it noisily, and felt a sensation he hadn't felt before. Something had changed inside him, and he somehow became conscious of where he was. His eyes stopped glowing red, and his head began to flood with memories and knowledge.
My name... Wesker... CONNECT... I'm... I'm a unicorn... CONNECT... Unicorns can use magic... CONNECT... magic, like teleportation... CONNECT... I... I can use this power... CONNECT... I can use these ponies... CONNECT... no, I could use their appetite to control them... CONNECT... control them... to do my bidding! Yes... wipe out the ones still alive... and take over... with an army... at my command!
Wesker smiled dementedly, and turned to the Runners and Shamblers behind him. They all stared and gazed at him with their dark, glowing red eyes. He turned back to the prints on the ground, now aware what they were and why they were there. He followed the trail, and it suddenly stopped. He looked forward towards a forest of apple trees, with a dirt road leading through the middle towards a farmhouse in the distance. He grinned in satisfaction, though it didn't look like a grin with his lower jaw severed off. He turned to the Runners and Shamblers, and used his magic to send a message into each of their heads. He thought to them: All of you... eat the apples from the trees. It will satisfy your hunger at the moment... and when it does... follow me... into that building.
Almost by command, the Shamblers and Runners ambushed the trees, eating anything and everything around them. All that could be heard were the moans of the undead, followed by the loud crunching and gnawing noises from consuming their fill. After a few minutes, all the noise suddenly stopped, and the undead returned to Wesker. Their eyes stopped glowing red, and each of their eyes returned to the color they were before. They all seemed somehow more aware of their surroundings, and they stood in formation in front of Wesker. One of the Runners approached Wesker. "Whenever you are ready... we will attack... and feast!" he announced.
Wesker nodded, and knew he had their full support of the undead now.
...
Tar Pony was busy sitting and eating apples very calmly on the floor, when Rainbow Dash and the militia of foals, armored with pots and pans and wielding blades, charged at him. "What the...!?" Tar Pony said in shock before they knocked him over. They each used ropes to tie him up, and all of them pointed their bladed weapons at him.
Rainbow Dash turned towards Applejack. "We got him! What should we do with him?" she asked.
"Hey, Skittles… GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Tar Pony yelled.
Rainbow Dash's only response was to whack him in the face with the blunt edge of a machete she held in her wing. "Shut up or your head will get cut off next!" she warned angrily.
"Rainbow Dash, get off of him! He's not like the others… he's more equine than we once thought…" Applejack admitted.
"No way! What if he tries to eat us when we sleep?" Rainbow Dash argued.
"Rainbow, get off of him!" Applejack ordered sternly.
Rainbow Dash reluctantly got off, but not without a warning. "You even get near me or any of these ponies…" She then slashed the apples he had dropped on the floor in half. She then walked down into the cellar.
Dinky, seeing her mother again, ran up to her. "Mom! Mom! Oh, thank goodness you're safe!"
Derpy, noticing her daughter, ran up to her as well. "Dinky! My... my little muffin! You're safe, too!" They both embraced each other, and shed tears. A moment such as this was not to be taken lightly, and they couldn't believe they saw each other in good health. "Dinky, you didn't know how worried I was! Where were you?" Derpy demanded.
"I was in the library, until Alan and Draco saved us! Then we ran back here! I was wondering where you were!" Dinky sniffled, looking up with tears in her eyes.
"I looked for you everywhere, even under the plates!" Derpy said sincerely, and the others looked at her with confusion.
"Mom! You know I wouldn't be hiding under plates!" Dinky scolded, still embracing Derpy.
"You never know, Dinky! You're wearing a pot right now!" Derpy pointed out, motioning to the pot Dinky wore as a helmet. She nodded in conception, and apologized for her thoughtlessness.
"Excuse me, Dinky… where are Alan and Draco?" Tar Pony asked.
She turned to the Shambler, lowered her head and ears, and whimpered softly. Derpy reassured her that he was friendly, and Dinky answered him nervously. "They're... they're down in the cellar."
Leon looked at himself, and knew he couldn't use magic or flying to prove his identity. Tar was very difficult to wash off, and he was going to be stuck as Tar Pony for some time. "Can you bring them up? I need to speak with them."
She looked at her mother, who nodded in agreement. Dinky then went down, and after a few seconds, Alan and Draco came up, wearing their own set of makeshift armor. "OK, Applejack, what is this about?" Draco asked impatiently. They both tried to ignore the Tar Pony, but his rotten appearance and grotesque smell was standing out so much, that he couldn't be ignored. "Um… what… is… this… about?" Draco repeated more slowly, staring at Tar Pony.
"I called y'all up here to introduce you to Tar Pony! Be nice you two, he's very shy," Applejack said, teasing Tar Pony a bit, to which he glared at her.
"Um… Applejack?" Alan asked.
"Yes, Alan?" she responded, raising her eyebrow.
"Why are you keeping a Shambler in the house? More importantly, why is it not dead?" Alan asked.
Leon was hurt that his son wanted him dead, but then realized he didn't know it was really him. "You know, I can completely understand everything you say. That hurts," Tar Pony said sadly.
Draco looked with surprise at Tar Pony. "You heard that too, right Alan? He spoke perfectly?" asked Draco. Tar Pony noted his voice sounded extremely relaxed and laidback considering the circumstances.
"Draco, you sound stoned. You better not have been around Alan, or I swear I will kick your ass!" Tar Pony warned.
"Great… ten seconds in and the Shambler is already a fucking douchebag. Reminds me of…" Draco stopped for a moment, and face palmed himself. "Oh… wait a minute… Tar Pony, I may need to see you later, after I kick my own ass for a good thirty minutes," Draco said with the realization, heading down into the cellar.
Tar Pony then turned to Alan and approached him. Alan backed away in fear, lowered his ears, and was cornered by Tar Pony. "Um… you're getting too close… Applejack!" Alan yelled.
"Um… maybe now is not the best time, Tar Pony. Remember…?" Applejack said, indicating the muck that covered Leon from head to hoof.
"Oh, right… this isn't rotting flesh… it's tar!" he explained happily. Suddenly, his ears twitched a bit, and his eyes went wide, flashing red. "AH!" he shouted. "NO! Don't... don't come any closer! The pain… it… hurts! They're coming… for brains!"
Applejack, upon hearing this, grabbed the shotgun from the wall, and loaded it with two shells. "Who's coming? The Shamblers, the Runners… who is it?" she asked.
"AH!" Tar Pony said as he grasped his head and fell to the ground. "Lots of them… are crying out in bloodlust! It... hurts! I… I can't think right!" he said painfully. He got up, and slammed himself into the wall. He was groaning, neighing, whinnying, and shouting in pain, and he began to moan like a Shambler. "Brains… NO! Live… brains… NO! MUST… STAY… EQUINE! RESTRAIN ME! HURRY!" he yelled out.
Immediately, Fluttershy and Applejack tied Tar Pony up in the chain and tied the chains to the kitchen. Tar Pony was now lashing out everywhere, rearing up, bucking with his hind legs, and he looked at every pony with glass eyes. After a while, Tar Pony stopped thrashing, and sat down calmly. "They're… outside… calling for… blood…" he said calmly, not looking at them.
Applejack looked out the window, and saw that Tar Pony was correct. There were over twenty Shamblers grouped outside, and they all headed slowly towards the farmhouse. She loaded two shells into the shotgun, and readied herself. "Alan, get Rainbow Dash up here. Draco, get ready to rain down some fire. Fluttershy, Derpy, get the foals and when I tell you, leave through the other cellar door. Let's go!" she ordered.
All of the ponies, and dragon, did what they were told. Rainbow Dash came up armed with two machetes held in her wings, along with Alan, who had a circular saw. "What do you need us to do?" asked Rainbow.
"I need you to help me thin out their numbers. Alan, you stay down in the cellar, and listen to Fluttershy and Derpy," Applejack explained.
"What? No way! I'm gonna help out Rainbow Dash with the Shamblers!" he announced.
"That's not a request, Alan. Go down there, now!" Applejack ordered.
Alan reluctantly headed down the steps, but snuck back in when no pony noticed.
Rainbow Dash headed outside, and Tar Pony got Applejack's attention. "Applejack, let me go out there, too. I can… thin out… their numbers…" he said painfully.
"I don't know… weren't you just bucking like a bronco right now?" she asked.
"Yes, but it wasn't because of hunger. It was the cry of others that caused me to howl, and I need to end their bloodshed," he said sadly. In his previous life, Leon respected all life, and would always show mercy to his foes. Only when there was no other option would he reluctantly end a life, and even then he would regret doing so.
She thought about it. "OK, can't argue with ya there." Applejack untied Tar Pony, and he stumbled a bit before he stood upright. He then left outside as well, and joined Rainbow Dash in the defense of Sweet Apple Acres.
…
Tar Pony approached Rainbow Dash, and she raised one of her knives at him. "Back off, Tar! I thought I made it clear that you were dead if you got near me!" she warned him.
"Rainbow Dash, calm down! It's me… Leon. Remember me, when I first moved here, and we celebrated Derpy Day?" Tar Pony asked.
"What? Leon? How… how are you still alive?" she asked in disbelief.
"Technically, I'm not. But that doesn't mean I'm not as equine as I was, and what the pony inside me is saying is to help others, no matter the risk. Let me help you, Rainbow, so that your life is safe," Tar Pony pleaded.
She thought it over deeply, and then handed him a machete, and told him what happened the day before the spread. "Your son went to visit you. I felt bad for him, but it provided a sense of good memories. Did you happen to see him as yourself after so long?" she asked.
"No… he sees me as a monster… like all of you did," Leon said sadly. Tears shed from his eyes, and Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on his shoulder.
"You're not a monster… you're a hero to him... to all of us. He really misses you, he just doesn't know it's you," She then turned to the group of Shamblers, who were now waiting for them to finish. They stumbled towards them, and Rainbow pulled out the Walkman. "If we're gonna fight, we need some fighting music!" she announced. She turned on the Walkman, and "Partytime" began to play.
Leon, considering his appearance as Tar Pony and the song that played, looked to the Barrier. "I get it... I get it... just get on with it!" he said. He then turned towards the horde, and raised his knife. Both ponies charged yelling at the top of their lungs.
Tar Pony and Rainbow Dash began slashing at the Shamblers, and decapitated two of them on the spot. They then slashed back and forth, sending some limbs and heads flying away from their previous hosts. Tar Pony used his blade to pierce a Shambler through its eye, and pulled it out as the Shambler fell over bleeding. Rainbow used her blade to slash down on a Shambler's head, opening it widely and revealing the Shambler's inner skull and brain, which bled out profusely. She kicked the corpse away from her, where it lay forming a fresh pool of blood.
The two ponies then faced away from each other, but stood close together. The Shamblers encircled them, but Rainbow and Tar Pony anticipated this. She wrapped her wings with his, and they both stuck out their blades. They then began to spin incredibly fast, slashing many Shamblers and sending blood and gore flying in all directions. It was a bloodbath, sending a shower of blood onto the ground and into the air. Much of it landed on Rainbow and Tar, but they didn't mind at all.
The two continued to spin, until the blood stopped flying. They stopped spinning, and much of the Shamblers lay in a pile of dismembered limbs and organs, all in a giant pool of blood that flooded the ground. Blood dripped from both of the ponies and their blades, and the two turned to the next wave of Shamblers. Runners had now made their way into the clearing as well, but ran past the two ponies and went towards the farmhouse instead. The two ponies ignored the Runners, and focused on the next onslaught of Shamblers.
The reason I changed the rating to M was because from this chapter onwards, everything gets extremely violent. Make sure to look under the M rating for it. Thanks for reading the chapter, and find out what happens to the group next week!