Morning was advancing towards the small chapel of the sun. Fluttershy was squatted by the safe room door, watching as the darkness cleared away from the sky and sunlight poured in. Holding her breath, she cocked a fearful ear to try to find the sounds of the dawn. But the tweeting of the birds she was so used to greeting every morning was absent. Instead, the orange sun brought only more silence to compound her already dismal night.

Twilight was turned away from the yellow pegasus, her hooves clopping across the wooden floor. Her lips were pursed in such a way that it seemed she was in perpetual contemplation. And she was, her worries replacing her precious sleep.

She and Rainbow Dash had a very late night. Dash, unlike her scholarly friend, managed to get a quick nap. Now, as the sun poked its dreary head up, so did she. Her first attempt to stand ended with her wincing from the pain in her wing. Her second try was much more successful, and she was able to find her footing. She too had dreams that night, but compared to the land of horrors outside, they were not worth remembering.

Cricking her neck, releasing tension she wasn't even aware of, Rainbow nudged a pink figure next to her while mumbling, "Yo Pinkie. Wake up!"

Pinkie mumbled something back, a noticeable grimace curling her lips. Paying no mind, Dash nudged her again and said, "C'mon Pinkie, I'm the one who's supposed to sleep in, remember?"

The pink mare's hazy eyes opened. She seemed confused for a moment, trying to focus on the spectrum of color that stood before her. After a few seconds, Pinkie broke into her signature hyperactive grin and said, "Oh, morning Dashie! Hope you slept well!"

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow uttered, automatically grabbing her shotgun. First the cyan pegasus turned towards Fluttershy. Her eyebrows cocked in absolute worry, and she said, "How're you feeling Flutters?"

"Fine," was the only answer that she got. Not sure of what to say next, Dash turned towards Twilight. The purple unicorn wore a satisfied grin, and she walked with a sort of relieved gait unlike the one she had seen yesterday. "Somepony looks happy. Have you…come up with something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Twilight started. She held a piece of paper in her hooves. Gathering the group together, she spread the paper out to reveal a small map of the surrounding area. On it were identifiable structures: Canterlot, Cloudsdale, The National Forest. All of which had red Xs crossed through them. Ponyville was also on the map, one of the few places circled.

"I found this downstairs in one of the cabinets," she said, not mentioning the corpse that still lay at the bottom of the ladder. "As you can see, it's got evacuation sites all over our immediate area. As we know, Ponyville had already been overrun by the infection. So that leaves this as our last hope."

Her hoof pointed towards a picture of a glowing Ferris wheel surrounded by a bright red circle. "Whistling Maple Amusement Park?" Dash asked.

"Whistling Maple! Oh I used to go there when I was a filly! They've got funnel cakes, cotton candy, kettle corn, everything!" Pinkie said.

"So…what? Now we can die there as adults," Dash uttered cynically.

"Dash, you really aren't helping. This is our last hope, so we're going to go whether you like it or not," Twilight answered.

"Sheesh, I was just joking," Dash defended. "If we're gonna go, let's leave now while the sun's out."

There was no further discussion. The quartet wordlessly gathered their supplies, choosing to exit through a window instead of going down to where the corpse was. There was a small overhang with a wooden ladder propped up against the side, allowing the group to jump down.

Fluttershy was the last to exit, and before that she looked at the gaping square hole in the floor. That hole which led down to an unspeakable horror. A horror which she had created. The blood, so much blood…

Heaving one more unsteady breath, the timid pony followed her friends. The symbol of the sun glistened on the rooftop, a companion to the burning ball of fire that floated in the sky, free of any magic that had previously controlled its course. The group was compelled to stare at the picture, which was now just another meaningless cutie mark from the flanks of the forsaken.

Dash said harshly, "Hey Twi', I've got an idea for your next letter to Celestia. Ahem… 'Dear Princess Celestia, BUCK YOU!"

Twilight felt the urge to say something back, but for now she just wanted to go as far away from Canterlot as possible.

xxx

12:00 AM. Eighteen hours. Almost a whole day of non-stop walking. A whole day of hoofing it along infested roads and over abandoned carts. They had covered quite a bit of mileage since leaving behind the demolished walls of Canterlot. Now they found themselves following a highway practically blocked off by carts and carriages.

"Oh my aching hooves," Dash complained. "I don't know how you guys do it."

The quartet was undoubtedly tired, not having a moment's rest since their departure. But now, hanging above the road highlighted with neon lights was a billboard reading Whistling Maple Amusement Park.

Fluttershy was about to step forward when she was stopped by Rainbow Dash. "Hey Fluttershy. Why don't you…stay back here with Twilight while me n' Pinkie make sure the place is clear."

With a benevolent nod, Fluttershy shrank back while her friends moved on. She found herself maintaining her polite demeanor, replying to Twilight's meaningless conversation with her own quiet, almost robotic answers. But, not surprisingly, all was not well with the timid pony.

The events of last night were still fresh in her mind. But it wasn't just the image of the headless pony brooding in her memory causing her distress. Fluttershy listened to the seemingly far-off gunshots of her friends while she and Twilight waited. And for some reason, she wanted to be with them. She yearned to follow her brave friends, if not to shoot, then to provide some kind of support. But being separated only made her feel more helpless, more useless.

This was basically how the last twelve hours had gone. Fluttershy had endured her friends' generous, yet misguided offers. She made a mental note that she would tell them off when Dash and Pinkie got back.

But before she knew it, the two were hopping over the carts, wiping blood off their hooves. Well, perhaps I'll tell them next time, Fluttershy thought. Joining her friends, the group continued down the highway, towards the amusement park.

The survivors came to a small overpass where the road passed underneath. "Hey girls," Rainbow said. "It looks like there's spotlights over at Whistling Maple." The colorful pegasus directed their attention to the darkened sky where, sure enough, faint beams of light cut through. "That means somepony's there, right?"

"Let's hope so," Twilight uttered.

Unfortunately, the road was completely blocked off by a concrete barrier. Rainbow Dash attempted to kick at the obstruction, but the barrier remained completely immovable. Next to them was the Whistling Maple Motel, completely fenced off. Inside, the group could spy dark figures wandering around the parking lot. But seeing as though the road was blocked off, the motel was the only route left.

Up on the overpass, the billboard for the motel came dangerously close the road. The board formed a convenient bridge over the chain-link fence that separated the zombies from the outside. Realizing this was the only way into the motel, Fluttershy said quietly, "I think we can get across with that."

"Nice thinking, Fluttershy!" Pinkie replied as the group trotted up the overpass, moving as one.

The yellow pegasus was about to climb up when Twilight said, "Here, let me go up first." Holding her tongue, Fluttershy had no choice but to move timidly out of the way while her friends passed.

Twilight's offer was unnecessary, since the billboard had nothing but the remains of some pony who had made it his last stand. From the perch, the group was able to survey the rest of the complex.

The motel, at the very least, still had lights on. But the old fluorescent lighting gave the place an eerie glow, compounded with the diminutive light of the glowing moon. Some of the rooms were boarded up, while others looked like the infected had managed to claw their way in. In the corner was an open pool area, seemingly devoid of any infected presence. The survivors also noticed a few cars, crushed and rolled over like they were made of clay. Dash, reading the minds of her friends, said, "Jeez. What do you think did this?"

With some creative hopping across rooftops, ladders, and tables, the survivors found themselves in the parking lot. The quartet decided to check the pool area to see if any supplies were left. But when they entered, the ponies recoiled at what they saw. The pool was drained empty of water. In its place were numerous dead bodies, blackened and charred. The smell of scum, burnt flesh, and gasoline filled the air. And scattered around the pool area were gas canisters, some still full with the flammable fluid.

"Woah. Looks like whoever was here before us left a parting gift," Pinkie said, retracting from the charred container of death.

"Maybe he's in there somewhere," Dash answered grimly.

Realizing the pool area served no purpose, the group proceeded on. They planned to bypass the roadblock by passing through the motel rooms, coming out on the other side of the road. However, the sound of groaning infected emanated from the closed off rooms. Realizing this, Dash, by now becoming an involuntary reaction, said, "Let's go make sure the place is safe. 'Shy, how 'bout you and Pinkie stay back?" Without an answer, the blue pegasus began to eagerly go on ahead.

But seeing her friend show no concern (or too much concern) for her safety made Fluttershy bite her lip once again. Finally, the yellow pegasus couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" Dash replied innocently.

"Stop doing this for me."

"What are you-?"

"Don't do it, Dash. Don't pretend. It's because of what happened at the church isn't it? It's because you girls don't want me to get hurt, right? It's because… I can't do this!" Her voice was becoming uncharacteristically hard and was beginning to quiver.

Twilight began, "Fluttershy, please-,"

"You think I can't handle killing other ponies, right? And so you're doing all this so I don't have to. You think, you think I'm useless! And you know what? It's true!" Now her voice, although remaining only a whisper, seemed to be more terrifying than any scream the horde could make. Her eyes were turned away from the others, tears beginning their descent down her cheek.

"I can't do this. I…I just can't. Just look at me, I'm a mess! I can't even bring myself to look at anything! And the birds…the birds…silence…blood…and the dreams…"

Leaning against the wall, she sobbed, "I'm just going to slow you girls down, and I can't let myself do that to you. So…so just go. Leave me alone. Leave useless old good-for-nothing Fluttershy alone. I won't hold anything against you. Only myself." The pony sank to the ground silently weeping, leaving the ultimatum dangling in the air. It was an earth-shattering, forbidden outcry against the horrors of the new, terrible world. Fluttershy, it seemed, had enough.

But the quiet pony looked up to see Dash glaring down upon her with unmoving eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for Rainbow?" she asked.

The pegasus's face remained hardy and stern, answering stolidly, "I'm waiting for you."

"W-what?"

"We are not going to go without you. We're friends until the end Fluttershy, and we aren't gonna leave anypony behind. You don't realize just how important you are to us. Without you, this wing would have made me as good as dead. Without you, that Smoker would have squeezed the life outta me!"

"And you fixed my horn," Twi' piped.

"And you found us these supplies! See Fluttershy, you are helpful, even without fighting!" Pinkie added.

"So? Are you comin' or what? Because we can wait here all da-."

Her sentence was interrupted when the wall next to them suddenly became rubble. Plaster went flying outwards while the quartet stumbled away from the gaping hole. The dust cleared, followed by a deep guttural cry that was nothing like anything they had seen before. There in the clearing was a terrible, horrible abomination. The thing was practically composed of bloated muscle, encompassing its body and making it much bigger than the size of a regular pony. Its blue fur was stretched across, revealing the pink flesh underneath. And the head was almost buried underneath the masses of muscle, leaving enough room for the monster to roar with pure, instinctive rage. But among the hardened, mutated pieces of flesh, the ponies could see a set of horns protruding from its head. Sucked into the arm were what looked like fingers.

"What the hell is that thing?" Rainbow questioned.

"Is that-?" Pinkie started to say. Fluttershy immediately stood back up as the monster took shape. To her, the figure was unquestionable. The monstrosity was someone she had known all too well.

It was Iron Will in the flesh. Well, zombified flesh anyway. And now that he was finished roaring, he charged straight towards the group, hobbling on his hands like a gorilla.

Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow opened fire on the monster. But Iron Will was resilient, and every bullet only made him angrier. He/it charged forward, ignoring the sharp pieces of metal lodging themselves into his/its mutated flesh.

But Fluttershy began to back away as her friends were shooting. The trembling of her legs overcame her as she stared at the white eyes of her former "mentor". Finally, since the bullets seemed to do any harm, Twilight Sparkle commanded, "Run! Keep running!"

They didn't get very far. The hulking figure tore a sizable chuck from the ground and hurled it at the survivors. Twilight's horn lit up as she feebly tried to conjure up a shield. But it wasn't enough to withstand the force, and the slab of pavement sent the three crashing to the sidewalk. Then, Iron Will punched one of the wrecked cars, launching it towards Fluttershy as she was galloping away.

As she watched the mangled piece of metal flew through the air, everything around Fluttershy stopped. It seemed as though she was detached from time itself, locked in the confines of her own memories. As it would happen, she saw her life flash before her eyes. She seemed to wander through memories from Ponyville to the present, culminating into the echoing sound of Dash's voice. "You don't know just how important you are…"

As Dash's voice receded back into her subconscious, time began to speed up again. The car crashed down, narrowly missing the yellow pegasus while separating her further from her friends. She witnessed them struggle to regain their footing as the behemoth charged relentlessly towards them. And in that moment, something inside her clicked.

In her blurred vision, Twilight could see the blue flesh of Iron Will rampaging towards them. She reached down towards her gun, only to find that it was launched a few feet away. When she saw the monster advancing and letting out fierce, angry roars, Twilight couldn't help but fear for her life. But just as Iron Will's blurry arm came up to strike, the sound of a gunshot rang out. The shot struck his arm, causing him to halt his attack. "Hey you…you…ugly creature. Over here!"

The giant, blue creature turned towards the tiny, feeble pegasus. Although her heart was ready to beat right out of her chest, Fluttershy managed to stare down the white eyes of her infected foe. She shot another bullet, hitting Iron Will right in the chest. This shot set off the beast, causing him to charge towards Fluttershy with a booming yell.

And as the Tank ran towards her, she ran away. There was no more thoughts, no more second-guesses. Her hooves were machines with a mind of their own, pumping on as she ran towards the pool area. Uncontrollable and unstoppable, Fluttershy let her muscles do the work.

Finally she found herself dashing into the pool area with the Tank not far behind. Picking up one of the gas cans in her teeth, she galloped into the pool, trampling over the burnt corpses. She ignored the sound of crunching flesh as she spread the flammable liquid all over the ground, leaving just a tiny bit left in the can. Finally, she put the container next to her hooves and readied her pistol. For some reason, her hooves were no longer trembling as she held the revolver. She couldn't tell if it was because she wasn't afraid, or if it was because she was holding it so tight.

But the pegasus had no time to wonder about such trivial thoughts. At that moment, the blue behemoth trudged into the area. For a moment, the two foes stared at each other in apprehension. It was a reunion of two enemies, except this time, one of them was going to end up dead. All the timid pony could think was, I've only one shot at this…

Then the monster let out his battle cry, echoing throughout the abandoned motel. Then he charged into the pool, crushing the bodies underneath him, the tiny pony in his sights. Although pool was only a few yards across, it seemed more like miles to Fluttershy. He was getting closer. A silent countdown began in her head. Four…three…two…

When the Tank's arm was only a few inches away, she whipped her gun towards the gas can near her hooves. Then, closing her eyes, Fluttershy spread her wings and pulled the trigger. With the grace and beauty of a ballet dancer, she jumped backwards. Using her wings to propel herself, the pony began to do a backflip over the deep edge of the pool. As she reached the bottom of her flip, she could see the flames dancing beneath her; feel the heat singe the tips of her pink, flowing mane. Finally, she felt the impact of the floor on her side, the landing not as graceful as her dance in the air. But a few scratched were certainly much better than what Iron Will was facing.

The flames engulfed the hulking zombie. His arms began to flail, and his grunts turned into agonizing screams. However, in his dying rage, the monster began to charge out of the raging inferno, towards Fluttershy. The timid pony began to backpedal into the parking lot before stumbling over. She watched the flaming demon hurtle closer and closer, the heat of death slowly encroaching her every being. But just before Iron Will could lay a finger on her, his knees began to buckle. Letting out one final death cry, the Tank crumpled down in a pile of burning, dead flesh.

Fluttershy was breathing heavily, the magnitude of the event slowly taking hold of her body. But before she could begin to shiver, she found herself surrounded by her friends.

"That was so amazing Fluttershy! That flip…I can't believe you took that thing down by yourself!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"You were so brave out there!" Twilight Sparkle commented.

"That was quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen! I told you you weren't useless!" Rainbow Dash finished, a huge grin plastered on her face.

Hearing this, Fluttershy looked back at the place where the charred corpse of Iron Will laid. The memory of his visit to Ponyville came back to her, and how he had inadvertently taught her a valuable lesson that day. She couldn't help but realize just how similar these two circumstances were.

Under her breath, she said a small, "Thank you." For even in death, Iron Will had done it again.

Just wanted to say, most of this story is also available on FimFiction. That is the primary upload site for me now, so I encourage y'all to check me out there.