OCTAVIA
"Flayer at 6 o'clock!" I shouted, whirling around, cello in hoof. I drew my bow across the strings as a record coated in blue flames smashed into the half-pony behind me. Flames leaped from my bow until I had a whip made of pure fire in my hoof. I swung it over Vinyl's head and it snapped right into a Flayer's empty eye socket.
The creature burst into flames, shrieking in pain until nothing was left of it but ashes. One hit. It must have been newly turned and I thanked my lucky stars it hadn't been somepony I knew.
I'm Octavia, former musician of the Canterlot Court. Vinyl Scratch, my best friend, used to be a DJ at any and every event. Lyra always dreamed of being a performer with me, but she never will be now. Because the Equestria we live in is not the Equestria most people know. It's a barren wasteland, devoid of all sentient beings except for the very few who have survived the outbreak.
Flayers. The scum of Equestria. Hell-demons. My friends. Me. Everypony becomes one when they die eventually. Their flesh melts off their bones and they become half pony half skeletons. The longer they exist, the stronger they become, so it's best to kill them when they've first turned. But how do you kill somepony you just knew, had talked to less than a minute before? It's not easy. However, you don't have a choice. Give them a chance and they will kill you. They won't eat you or anything like that; they don't need to feed, they simply have some primal drive to murder, to taste blood. The only thing that can even come close to destroying them is fire. Needless to say, we've had to adjust.
"Lyra, where's the rest of the group?" I asked, letting the flames on my bow burn out. I nodded to Vinyl and my instrument disappeared in a flash of blue light.
Lyra looked back the way we had just come, at a small hill now littered with Flayer corpses. "They're just coming", she assured me.
The first to top the hill was Bon Bon. Her eyes scanned the clearing, relief filling them when they lit on Lyra. The pale yellow earth pony launched herself downwards, tackle-hugging her shocked marefriend. "I hate not being able to help you guys", she said, nuzzling Lyra.
As the two reunited Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle trotted up and over the hill, Pipsqueak right behind them. The four teenage ponies huddled around the others, Pipsqueak and Scootaloo both asking questions about the fight.
"Not now. We'll fill you all in on the details later", I said roughly, breaking in on the conversation. "Bon Bon, thank you for watching over the kids again. We all appreciate it."
Scootaloo snorted. "We're not kids. Not anymore. I don't see why you don't let us fight!" she pouted.
"Yeah", Bon Bon agreed. "They're plenty old enough to see some action, and I want to fight too, not just hang back and watch!"
I closed my eyes, praying to Celestia for patience. When I opened them, I fixed both the protestors with a cold glare. "Scootaloo, have you ever willingly tried to murder something that could have potentially been someone you knew? Have you ever tried to rip what little life was left away from a pony that used to be just what you are now?" I pointed with on of my hooves to one of the numerous corpses. "What if that had been Rainbow Dash? Could you have put your heart and soul into ruthlessly striking her down?"
Scootaloo shrank back slightly, chastised. "No. But it couldn't have even been Dash anyways", she muttered sulkily.
I sighed, nodding. After all, she was right. The Elements of Harmony had been called to Canterlot at the start of the outbreak, my beloved him becoming quarantined. Nopony got in or out, to protect the important ponies. Unfortunately, I had chosen that time to make my annual visit to Ponyville, and had thus been locked out of my very own home. I steeled myself, knowing we had to get there, to Canterlot. If we had any hope of surviving and finding out how all this had started, we would find the answers there.
"Bon Bon", I said, turning my glare on her this time. "Do you not think that our young, our future are not worth protecting? Do you think the job of keeping any last shred of ponykind alive is not important enough?"
The mare shook her head slowly, eyes downcast. "No. But it's not fair! You and Lyra and Vinyl are all risking your lives. Why should I be the one to be spared? It isn't fair", she repeated.
I gently laid a hoof on her shoulder, staring into her eyes. "This life isn't fair for any of us", I whispered. "And I'm sorry, truly I am, but you've tried your hoof at fighting. It just didn't work out." I wasn't blaming her for that, of course. She had no weapon, nothing to be modified into a weapon, and hooves can only do so much to a Flayer. I turned to Pipsqueak. "Which way now?"
The colt closed his eyes, presumably focusing on Canterlot. He had an innate sense of direction, which was probably how he had earned his compass cutie mark. His eyes slid open and he pointed to an angle slightly north of where we were standing. "That way. I'm sure of it." He began to plod off in that direction.
Scootaloo leaped after him, her own scooter cutie mark useless in these times. I felt bad for, to tell the truth. She was so headstrong, and she deserved much better than what she was getting. Apple Bloom trailed listlessly after them. She had earned a cutie mark in construction: an apple over-crossed by a wrench and a hammer. Her inventions had gotten us out of a few tight spots, but she seemed constantly depressed and I worried about her. Sweetie Belle followed after them perkily. Out of all of us, she seemed the least affected by the total change of her surroundings, and none of us quite knew why. She sported a heart as her cutie mark, a tribute to her nursing ability. Fixing us up from Flayer wounds was a constant drag on her, I knew. We got wounded a lot.
Lyra and Bon Bon walked close beside each other, heads bent as they talked together.
Vinyl joined me and we brought up the rear, both of us keeping our ears pricked, straining for any signs of Flayers. She kept sneaking glances at me and I sighed, realizing I would have to confront her. "Vinyl," I began, searching for words, "I know that you want to pursue a... relationship, but I don't feel that that would be the best idea given our current situation."
"Yeah, it's cool", she said, shrugging. "I mean, Lyra and Bon Bon have got it going on, but if you're not up to it, that's fine", she told me, giving me a friendly smile.
I pulled back in indignation, staring down my nose at her. "Oh, please, Vinyl, I can take on a horde of Flayers with on hoof tied behind my back. I could most certainly handle a relationship", I scoffed.
She arched an eyebrow at me. "Oh, yeah? Then what're you scared of?"
"Absolutely nothing", I retorted, speeding up slightly and passing her. Inwardly, I was fuming. How dare she accuse me of being a coward? Me! The pony who had formed our small band and kept us alive for all this time. I sighed, though, because she was right. Half-skeleton half-pony army coming straight for me with nothing but murder on their minds? I could take that with a smile. One white mare with blue mane and awesome DJ-ing skills? My legs turned to jelly at the very thought.
To my relief, Vinyl let me have a spot to myself, not catching up to me. Thoughts tumbled around my head like marbles as I quickened my pace, trying to reach the front of the pack. What had started this disease? Would we ever get to Canterlot? But the most chilling thought of all was: If we do, how many of us will there even be?
