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Description
'Please be okay...'

I can't help but repeat the thought over and over in my head as I dab the reddened cloth over Spike's swollen arm. The four claw marks on the forearm are an angry red and are painful to even look at, little specks of dirt visible in the jagged laterations. I bite my lip as I make them bleed a little (I had to if I want them cleaner), cutting away dead skin and shredded scales with the small pair of scizzors I managed to find.

'Please be okay...'

His wound shouldn't be looking like this... it should have begun to heal by now. But it hasn't, still a shade of red that isn't considered healthy and swollen, the skin around the injury very warm to the touch. It's not only that; the baby dragon is experiencing a fever. I don't even have to touch him to feel his increased body heat; he's warmer than he should be, even with him being a dragon. He's been having bouts of dizziness and his little heart is beating a bit too fast; I can even hear it right now.

That's not good. I remember reading a book about this once.... he's exibiting signs of wound infection.

'Please be okay...'

It's... it's my fault. I wasn't fast enough to get the zombie... thing off of him. I stopped the undead pony from biting him, yes, but that didn't stop it from lashing his sharpened, jagged nails across the little dragon's arm. It hurts to remember the look of terror and pain in his eyes before I got to him, that look of realization that the worst could, and very well might, happen. I don't ever want to see that look on him again. Ever.

Shaking my head, I finish cleaning the wound the best I could with the water from our half-empty water bottle, drying it carefully before gently rubbing the last of the antiseptic ointment on. I rap the last of our clean bandages around the wound gently but firmly, sighing as I gave the dressed injury one more look-over.

"Okay, Spike. I'm all done for now." I tell the half-asleep hatchling, watching him wince a bit as he drew his arm back to his chest. He gave me a look of worry, despite the light haze I see in them. He must be getting dizzy again...

"What about you?" He asked, unfocused eyes darting haphazardly to the dark red stain at the side of my hoodie. I sigh a little bit.

"We don't have anymore bandages, nor the items necessary to clean it properly. I'll have to go and look for more, for both you and myself, but for now I'll be fine." It's true, to an extent. I'm not as suseptable to infection like Spike was, partly because of my stronger immune system and partly because my magic. My magic makes me a faster healer than most, but even then, I need to keep cleaning the wound until it can heal properly without the magical aid. Otherwise my body will utilize my magic for the purpose of fighting off the infection and attempting to heal my wounds.

I may be powerful and have vast magical potential, but healing injuries, even my own, takes a lot out of it, leaving me with only reserves to use when casting spells. A position I can't afford now.

"Oh... okay..." Spike says quietly, snapping my attention back to him. I give him a small, reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, Spike. Besides, you need your rest. Go ahead and sleep; I'll keep watch."

The baby dragon didn't say anything as he climbs into my lap, curling up and huddling as close to me as possible. He's asleep before he lies his head on my knee. I feel a sigh bubble in my chest and I force it down; I've been doing that a lot lately. I opt to grunt instead, pushing the tattered backpack aside and grasping the middle of my crowbar in preparation for my watch. Another night without sleep, it seems.

It's been... what? Two days since I last slept longer than thirty minutes, an hour at most.

Jeez.... I'm very tired now. My body hurts, my wounds hurt moreso and my thoughts blur into each other time and again. I see the edges of my vision blue a bit darker, but I shake it away with a snort, gritting my teeth.

I must've been more weakened than I originally thought...

But I won't fall asleep now. I can't, not when I have to make sure Spike is secure and protected.

'Please be okay...'

I break my vigil to look down at the slumbering dragon as he mumbles incoherently, shifting until he presses further into my lap. I faintly catch "Twi..." from his slurring voice before he finally settles, and I feel something in my chest solidify and liquify at the same time... even though that's scientifically impossible. Then again, maybe it's not. I mean, we DO have zombies stumbling about...

He's so young, too young to be witnessing death and the unspeakable horrors we've faced first hand, and while he puts a brave face on and tries to help, I know he's scared deep down. I see it when he tries to hide his terrified, nearly grateful tears after I... kill one of the undead. I held witness to it first hand and directly not even two days ago.

I see it when he stops and freezes when he hears something, just as expectant as I am for another creature to lung from out of nowhere in an attempt to devour our flesh. I see it when he sleeps, burrowing as close to me as physically possible, just like he's doing now. I've become his anchor, of sorts; I keep him close, I keep him warm, I fight and kill the existing incarnations of his nightmares before they become more real.

So no. I won't fall asleep. Not yet. Maybe a little later, when the night wears on to the wee hours of the approaching dawn. But until then I'll remain awake and keep up my vigil. With one last look at the dragon, I ignore the painful twinge I feel and lean forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Spike's forehead.

"Please be okay..."
---

My Zombie-based themes of "What If...", featuring the Mane 6 and possibly a few other characters too (I'm seriously lookin' at drawing some Derpy too. o3o). Each word each individual character has is something that could sum them up easily, but every word used with each character describes only a few traits all of them have. With each of these traits mashed together, they make a survival group that has a good chance of surviving the horrors they must face.

Twilight Sparkle is Diligent.

She pours her heart out in everything she does to ensure as safe as an environment as possible for her friends, whether it be planning a scavenging trip in an infected-infested city or leading the group from point A to point B safely through genius strategy. Diligent ally, diligent leader, diligent friend.

So I'm sorry for posting up another sketch, but I just couldn't help it! D: With an idea and a story to go with it, you wouldn't believe how fast inspiration hits ya. ^3^ So this is one of those inspired images I got out of no where... and it was a lot of fun to draw. >.> But yeah; story, inspiration... I may even attempt to write some of it with each of the pics I draw, just of the hell of it. o3o
------

-Related images-

Fluttershy- Brave

Twilight Sparkle- Diligent (here)

Applejack- Protective

Rarity- Viligant

Pinkie Pie- Resourceful

Rainbow Dash- Reliable
-----

-War Themed-

Twi and Spike- Warbound

Mane 6- War Portraits

Description
'Please be okay...'

I can't help but repeat the thought over and over in my head as I dab the reddened cloth over Spike's swollen arm. The four claw marks on the forearm are an angry red and are painful to even look at, little specks of dirt visible in the jagged laterations. I bite my lip as I make them bleed a little (I had to if I want them cleaner), cutting away dead skin and shredded scales with the small pair of scizzors I managed to find.

'Please be okay...'

His wound shouldn't be looking like this... it should have begun to heal by now. But it hasn't, still a shade of red that isn't considered healthy and swollen, the skin around the injury very warm to the touch. It's not only that; the baby dragon is experiencing a fever. I don't even have to touch him to feel his increased body heat; he's warmer than he should be, even with him being a dragon. He's been having bouts of dizziness and his little heart is beating a bit too fast; I can even hear it right now.

That's not good. I remember reading a book about this once.... he's exibiting signs of wound infection.

'Please be okay...'

It's... it's my fault. I wasn't fast enough to get the zombie... thing off of him. I stopped the undead pony from biting him, yes, but that didn't stop it from lashing his sharpened, jagged nails across the little dragon's arm. It hurts to remember the look of terror and pain in his eyes before I got to him, that look of realization that the worst could, and very well might, happen. I don't ever want to see that look on him again. Ever.

Shaking my head, I finish cleaning the wound the best I could with the water from our half-empty water bottle, drying it carefully before gently rubbing the last of the antiseptic ointment on. I rap the last of our clean bandages around the wound gently but firmly, sighing as I gave the dressed injury one more look-over.

"Okay, Spike. I'm all done for now." I tell the half-asleep hatchling, watching him wince a bit as he drew his arm back to his chest. He gave me a look of worry, despite the light haze I see in them. He must be getting dizzy again...

"What about you?" He asked, unfocused eyes darting haphazardly to the dark red stain at the side of my hoodie. I sigh a little bit.

"We don't have anymore bandages, nor the items necessary to clean it properly. I'll have to go and look for more, for both you and myself, but for now I'll be fine." It's true, to an extent. I'm not as suseptable to infection like Spike was, partly because of my stronger immune system and partly because my magic. My magic makes me a faster healer than most, but even then, I need to keep cleaning the wound until it can heal properly without the magical aid. Otherwise my body will utilize my magic for the purpose of fighting off the infection and attempting to heal my wounds.

I may be powerful and have vast magical potential, but healing injuries, even my own, takes a lot out of it, leaving me with only reserves to use when casting spells. A position I can't afford now.

"Oh... okay..." Spike says quietly, snapping my attention back to him. I give him a small, reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, Spike. Besides, you need your rest. Go ahead and sleep; I'll keep watch."

The baby dragon didn't say anything as he climbs into my lap, curling up and huddling as close to me as possible. He's asleep before he lies his head on my knee. I feel a sigh bubble in my chest and I force it down; I've been doing that a lot lately. I opt to grunt instead, pushing the tattered backpack aside and grasping the middle of my crowbar in preparation for my watch. Another night without sleep, it seems.

It's been... what? Two days since I last slept longer than thirty minutes, an hour at most.

Jeez.... I'm very tired now. My body hurts, my wounds hurt moreso and my thoughts blur into each other time and again. I see the edges of my vision blue a bit darker, but I shake it away with a snort, gritting my teeth.

I must've been more weakened than I originally thought...

But I won't fall asleep now. I can't, not when I have to make sure Spike is secure and protected.

'Please be okay...'

I break my vigil to look down at the slumbering dragon as he mumbles incoherently, shifting until he presses further into my lap. I faintly catch "Twi..." from his slurring voice before he finally settles, and I feel something in my chest solidify and liquify at the same time... even though that's scientifically impossible. Then again, maybe it's not. I mean, we DO have zombies stumbling about...

He's so young, too young to be witnessing death and the unspeakable horrors we've faced first hand, and while he puts a brave face on and tries to help, I know he's scared deep down. I see it when he tries to hide his terrified, nearly grateful tears after I... kill one of the undead. I held witness to it first hand and directly not even two days ago.

I see it when he stops and freezes when he hears something, just as expectant as I am for another creature to lung from out of nowhere in an attempt to devour our flesh. I see it when he sleeps, burrowing as close to me as physically possible, just like he's doing now. I've become his anchor, of sorts; I keep him close, I keep him warm, I fight and kill the existing incarnations of his nightmares before they become more real.

So no. I won't fall asleep. Not yet. Maybe a little later, when the night wears on to the wee hours of the approaching dawn. But until then I'll remain awake and keep up my vigil. With one last look at the dragon, I ignore the painful twinge I feel and lean forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Spike's forehead.

"Please be okay..."
---

My Zombie-based themes of "What If...", featuring the Mane 6 and possibly a few other characters too (I'm seriously lookin' at drawing some Derpy too. o3o). Each word each individual character has is something that could sum them up easily, but every word used with each character describes only a few traits all of them have. With each of these traits mashed together, they make a survival group that has a good chance of surviving the horrors they must face.

Twilight Sparkle is Diligent.

She pours her heart out in everything she does to ensure as safe as an environment as possible for her friends, whether it be planning a scavenging trip in an infected-infested city or leading the group from point A to point B safely through genius strategy. Diligent ally, diligent leader, diligent friend.

So I'm sorry for posting up another sketch, but I just couldn't help it! D: With an idea and a story to go with it, you wouldn't believe how fast inspiration hits ya. ^3^ So this is one of those inspired images I got out of no where... and it was a lot of fun to draw. >.> But yeah; story, inspiration... I may even attempt to write some of it with each of the pics I draw, just of the hell of it. o3o
------

-Related images-

Fluttershy- Brave

Twilight Sparkle- Diligent (here)

Applejack- Protective

Rarity- Viligant

Pinkie Pie- Resourceful

Rainbow Dash- Reliable
-----

-War Themed-

Twi and Spike- Warbound

Mane 6- War Portraits