Meet Death With A Smile

" and who would that be?" Speaker asked Sunny, before walking into the doorway, " and if we are going to be peaceful, then there is no need for mysterousness," he stated as he lowered his machete.

Switchblade nodded "Pleasure to meet you, the name's Switchblade, I was a freelance guard and ex military before all this started."

Sunny poked her head outside of the room and looked over to the other two "Pssst Hey did one of you ponies lose a birdie?" She asked with a smile before it faded and she stepped back, behind them through grime covered windows she could make out the monsters but in a rather large groups in the main streets that the store sat on, but what scared her most was the small ones. Colts and fillies many she knew, bite marks and hoof prints littered some, one had half of the skin on her flank missing now only showing half a cutie mark, a cookie of some kind that gave away to black rotting flesh underneath. Many more crossed her sight with injures more gruesome and nightmare inducing then the last.

Quickly she ran back into the back room and hid behind the box of rotting vegetation hugging her doll tightly. She had known them, everyone of them from school,meet them on her many searches or just by running into them on the street. They had been ponies and now...now they were monsters. That thought scared her, what if her mommy was one of the monsters? What if she was out there?....what if she tried to eat her? It was with these thoughts that sparked the sounds of soft sobs to escape her lips.

"Why hello!" Calico waved at the filly who befriended her bird. "I see you've found my worthless bag of feathers! She's taken quite the shining to you, little miss. Whassa name, girl?"

The expression of fear that crossed the filly's face was not the answer she expected. Calico looked out into the street. "Well, thank you for the warning, girly. I almost near forgot my head." She whispered.

"Down. All ye. Now. And shut up." she commanded with a sharp hiss. She dropped, catlike on all fours and slunk behind a counter, away from the dead eyes that watched for anything with a pulse.

While there was always an ever present Zambe(a word she adopted from a zebra she knew in Manehattan) or two, the passing herd was one of the smaller ones she'd had the misfortune of running across, numbering about a score or so at a rough estimate. But twenty was a great deal many for a mare with a cutlass. Even with two strapping stallions with her.

Luckily, they hadn't seemed to attracted their attention. Worst case, Blastsides thought, was that they would have to make a hasty escape from this so called 'hideout'.

Even the bird seemed to be quieted by the command of the pirate-ess. "Don't fear sea... Best friend we have..." The bird quietly cooed. Still perched on the small pony's back, Eight the cockatiel nestled up to the mane of the pony, and found a nice little space. Eight liked nice little spaces. The bad things would not find Eight here.

Speaker watched as Calico hit the deck, wonder why, since he was out of the view of the entrance,,and decided to go to the back, and try to comfort Sunny.

 " Is anything wrong?" He asked, using the same tone he always used when his brother was feeling scared.

Switchblade followed the example done by the pony in front of him, silently crawling behind the counter in a way that should have been impossible due to his armor, he however, executed the movement with grace and subtlety.

Sunny sobbed and hiccups ,her tears hitting the dusty floor as she struggled to form her words. "T-The monsters,t-they are outside, they are all my friends.She said sobbing into his coat "I saw them all and if they are monsters that means they hurt ponies, I don't want to become a monster and end up hurting other ponies! I don't wanna eat anypony!" She says sobbing more.

Calico looked to the door the crying was coming from, at a lost."Keep a keen eye on the dead outside." Captain Blastsides patted Switchblade on the shoulder as she crept over to peek her head through the door.

"Good'en, lass!" She said brightly, but quietly. "I couldn't help but notice you speaks of cannibalism. Nasty business, tried it once. Ponies taste awful!" The cockatiel popped it's head out of Sunny's mane and cheeped. "Tastes like Chicken!"

"Just awful. Wouldn't wish the stuff on my worse enemy (I'd wish something much worse)." Her voice dropped to a softer tone. "Not a pony will be harmed today. That's a captain's promise. But to keep that promise you must help me. A captain is only as good as her crew, Aye? So look at little Eight there in your mane! Quiet as a mouse, and just as hidden. We are going to let those big bad monsters walk right past us, and they won't even know that we were here." Calico exhaled a reassuring smile. Children. This was a world that was not kind to children. Calico lifted the filly's head with a hoof, and she stared into the child's eyes. "Trust you're captain: and they'll never steer you wrong. On my honor." She sucked in air through her teeth. "What little I have left~"

The Zambi outside were very slowly shuffling past the store, a few stared with dead eyes into the grimy windows, but didn't seem to notice much of anything.

"She's right, nopony shall be harmed today," Speaker told Sunny, before finally going on the ground.

Switchblade glanced around the corner of the counter, watching the horde pass. He crouched back behind the counter and waited for them to pass.

Sunny sniffed softly as she rubbed her eyes with a hoof. She must of looked like a crybaby, she was supposed to be a big pony now I mean shes six now for crying out loud. She nodded and zipped her lips closed. The herd was almost past by this time and all seemed in the clear when suddenly a scraping sound could be heard and it seemed to be coring from the back door,sunny stood up slowly and took a step forward and that when the door slid open just enough for the glowing red eye of an old friend to stare right at her.

Suddenly Sunny rushed forward slamming her hooves onto the door closing. That only seemed to piss the monster on the other side off. It rose up and slammed it rotting front hooves into the door causing the door to groan and give a bit. It seems this door was rather old and from the force of zomponies blows it wouldn't hold even with Sunny's earth pony strength.

It also didn't help that the echos from the metal door being hit drew some unwanted attention from the main street. Slowly a large amount of the herd turned and started making their way towards the front of the store.
(sorry it took so long everypony been sick last few days)

Speaker noticed the horde change its attention to the store." Everyone, use the side entrance, there is no way we could take the whole hoarde." Speaker said, before taking his machete and running towards the side entrance.

Switchblade looked behind him at the group, then at the approaching horde "You're right, you guys should get going if you're to get out while they are distracted." he said to Speaker, drawing his scimitar and moving to go in the opposite direction to the others.

The second the evil little monster started to slam against Sunny's small frame, Calico swiftly picked Sunny up and set her on her back, and shoved a heavy cabinet into place in front of the door. "Didn't think we'd be staying anywho." She shrugged as she bolted out of the storage room.

" Everyone, use the side entrance, there is no way we could take the whole hoarde."

"Excellent well!" Blastsides beamed.

"You're right, you guys should get going if you're to get out while they are distracted."

"Not so well." Blastides scowled. "Heroic sacrifices don't happen until the story is near over, Sir. So kindly don't be a fool and come along, strapping stallion like yourself would be much nicer to have in one piece." She hooked a hoof under Switchblades' leg and started to drag him behind her, after Speaker. "Methinks thy looks do not become thy intellect, Sirrah. T'would be a shame if so pretty a petty stallion pettily dies a pretty death, yes?" She glanced behind her shoulder at Switchblade. "Now, let us go with due haste." She wrapped her tail about Switchblade's hoof and took her other hoof into her coat, withdrawing a double barreled flintlock pistol.

Sunny squeaks as she was picked up grabbing her doll before it was left behind. She watched as they made their way out the zombies starting to breaking in. Shards of glass sticking into their flesh thick blood dripped in thick globs onto the floor,it had long since turned black the smell flew in like a flood as they pushed in knocking down some and trampling them in haste once they smelled the scent of prey.

Once they were out Sunny looked around "There's alleyways down that way it would be a lot safer then the main streets....we could go to my house its really safe and its on the outskirts and you guys are welcome to stay..."

"Well we have no other place to go," Speaker said, as the horde started to come around the sides, "and if we are going we better go fast."

Switchblade arrived behind the pair "Might as well; no other options seem to be available, lead the way please." he said, drawing his scimitar to head height.

Despite the ravenous horde attempting to eat them, Calico was pleased, almost proud of the general agreeableness of her compatriots. Her thoughts briefly went to those who she saw with less coordination.

"To the Foal's house then, do we have an accord? Good." She trotted at a brisk pace to the side door and kicked it open, ignoring the Zambe that had begun to pour into the store. "We leave, la." She took point with the foal on her back.

As predicted, the alley was practically clear, except for a pair of the undead. These ones seemed particularly fresh, for whatever reason. The particulars bored Blastsides. She stowed her pistol and withdrew her cutlass.

Before the two turned, she woved the blade under one, slitting the front leg of one. She used the momentum of her first strike to cleave into the skull of the second. Although her blade did not cut too deep, the weight of it caved in the monster's head.

Calico immediately took off down the alley, She was breathing heavily for a moment but she wasn't tired. She took a deep breath, continuing to trot with a purpose.

"Come along, boys! Alright lass, where to now? On the edge of town, you said?"

Sunny was shocked by the lack of effort it took to put down the two Creatures,it saddened her to see the ponies life taken for them..to see them dead but still walking around...or at lest she hoped they were. The thought of them still conscious almost made her cry....almost.

"Yeah just follow the arrows" She says pointing to a bright pink pink chalk drawing of an arrow on the wall as they pass.It just so happened that she had chalk with her and had been making marks to make sure she could find her way home...it just so happened that the chalk was a bright color that stood out.

It was good that it was because there were so many twists and turns one could easily get lost. Sunny also helped from her view on top Calico back she could see farther down the alley and stirred them away from a few sudden deaths.

Soon her house came in view windows boarded and dark a white picked fence surronding a small garden but it looked as if most had been trampled into mush or uprooted. The strange thing about this house was the shutters and door. With dark red shutters and blue door it stood out against the white siding.

Once they reached the front door sunny jumped down to buck the door open but stopped when she remembered she had the key. Reaching up she pulled a strange purple key from her bow how she kept it there she would never tell.

With a clock and a turn of the knob she opened the door and quickly hurried everypony inside before looking out seeing small dots on the horizon before closing and locking the door.

Turning back she looked at the group,they were all dirty and ragged but alive. "Is everypony here..?" She asks making sure she still had her dolly. She then listened for any hoofsteps hoping her mother might have returned finally but silence was the only thing to greet her.

"I'm here," Speaker said taking in the house, before starting to dig in his bag, "Hah, I found it, he said as he held up a glass bottle with a clear liquid inside.

Switchblade looked casually down at his armor before freezing in place; there was a set off teeth marks on his thick leather shirt "Oh jeez, no!" he said, quickly removing the shirt and checking, the leather had stopped the bite from passing through "Oh thank Celestia, thank Luna, thank any deity for this luck." he said in relief.

"That certainly doesn't get any easier..." Calico knelt for a moment to collect herself, before standing back up and looking around the house. She grinned at Sunny. "You are a clever little miss, aren't you? I couldn't of think of more Golden Bridge out of there."

"Hah, I found it,"

"What is it?" Calico eyed the bottle, curious.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Sir Heroics have a small panic attack. She didn't speak, but watched. She breathed a little sigh as he did. Her hoof slid out of her coat pocket.

"I take it we all are whole and accounted for?" She was about to continue, when her stomach decided to imitate a whale's mating call. "I. Euh. You wouldn't happen to have any provisions, would you?" She grinned hopefully at her companions.

Sunny smiles at the praise feeling she happy she helped her new friends. She took some steps backwhen the Switchblade started to panic but was once again happy seeing he wasnt hurt before turning back to Calico "I found some things before we had to leave." She says as she digs though her bags pulling out the apple,large box of animal crackers, Two jars of pickles and a can of peas. "Ponies always seem to miss things when in a hurry"

"I also had packed provisions in my saddle bag, just in case I had to ditch at anytime, though they are mostly alcoholic, like this one." Speaker said, turning the bottle so the faded Vodka label was showing, "but of course I have about a weeks worth of food in here to.

Switchblade shrugged "I travel light, I only have about a day's worth of food if we share, but I do have these." he said, showing two large medikits.