Before all of Equestria went to hell, I, a well trusted agent from Celestia's personal spy collection, was chosen for a very..... very special mission, of which I was suprised when I recieved it. "But... Princess Celestia! We've already established that Zecora is trusting! Do we really need this!?!?" I could not help but feel bad for the lonly zebra as she nodded.
"Our suspisions are rising again, it does appear that Zecora is brewing something out of normal lines. She has gone to extra lengths to pay with large cash to get some ingredients." The Princess had never sounded more serious in her life, so I could tell this was something that was to be taken literally, but I was still unbelieving of it.
"Princess... I understand that you have your own worries, but she's made large purchases befo-" the Princess cut him off, with a harsh tone.
"Has she ever before made a large purchase of magical waste?? NO! She has not at all, which means she IS up to something, and I am COMMANDING you to find this out!" He has never hhead her speak to him like this, and for once, as far as he'd seen, he saw anger behind that pokerface of hers.
He bowed, not wanting to take this any further. "As you wish, milady. I will report everything I find tonight at-" once again she cut him off, her tone this time was a bit more collected.
"A month.... one month I want you to watch her every move. Do not take your eyes off of this operation, do you hear me, liutennant?" He was a bit annoyed with the princesses relentless demands, but he nodded in response, knowing if he continued to argue, this would only get worse.
"All I request is to spend today with my family before I begin my m-" for the third time on ten minutes, she stopped me.... I found this to be peeving me quite severely.
"I'm sorry, and it pains me to say this, but I need you to leave to the hut immediately, and start your mission." I now knew this was something beyond my own comprehension, something I wouldn't understand until I saw this all for myself. I nodded, and backed out of the throne room, activating my stealth spell and making my way to the everfree forest. I passed several ponies on the was there, Vynil, Lyra, and several others. I never got a hello thanks to my being invisible, so I would move around them, moving so lightly, I wouldn't even leave hoofprints.
As I approached the hut, I could her talking. I slipped into the shadows, and leaned up against the huts wall, switching from a stealth spell to an enhanced hearing spell.
"You should not have come here. Celestia is starting to fear." I recognized the zebra mares voice as another one rang out.
"Zecora, I just need to know what all of this strange glowing is out here at night." I could barely hear the voice that was speaking, i hieghtened my spell, listening to the sweet voice of fluttershy. "It's been scaring the daylights out of all my animals, and I just needed to know what exactly you are making, i'm starting to worry."
Zecora's response was quick and angry. "This brew does NOT concern you, now, my friend, leave quickly, the sky turns a dark blue." Fluttershy looked out the window, the sky was darkening, it was time for her to get home and adress her poor little animals at the cottage.
"Okay Zecora, i'll trust you on this one... but please, try to tone it down... maybe?" Fluttershy was pushed out the door, and she left the forest, mumbling to herself, now I could foucus on Zecora. I reactivated my stealth spell, and moved to her window, gazing in. What I saw confused me, she was gone, and a door lay wide open, leading to some sort of basement.
I curiously lurched through the window, not making a sound, and crept down a staircase. As I moved, I saw a slight prurple glow, a green glow, and a red glow. I leaped the last few steps, my hooves clacking a little too loudly for my liking, but the distracted zebra didn't appear to notice. Or at least, that's what I thought. "Come out, spy, if you have quitions, i'll tell you why." This suprised me, she was going to tell me what this was all about, and I could satisfy Celestia's nerves.
I deactivated my stealth spell, and approached the zebra. "I apologize miss Zecora, the princess' orders, I was assigned to spy on-" this was starting to piss me off, quite well.
"I know who and why, but you need to know, more than I" stated the zebra, that accent was so... exotic.... anyway, she proceded to tell me the procedures of this, and the three large drums of magical waste. "I believe the dead may live again, and that the living can live to no end." This puzzled me, damn her rhyming.
"So... uhh... you can make a potion.... that can cause the dead to live, and give the living immortality?" This made almost no sense, but at least the magical waste had a purpose now. You see, magical waste is almost like slightly used, raw magic, that can be bent into potions and spells to make them better or stronger. Anyways, She nodded, staring into a small beaker that had combined fluids. She dripped three drops from each drum of the waste, and shook it slightly, placing it on a fire.
"So, is that everything you need? Or must I go to trial and plead." Even with her accent, I could hear the sarcasm, and it put me in a worse mood than I was already in.
"No, it's not, I still need to keep and eye on this... whole operation. I hate to put it that way, but if I show up with that tid bit of information, i'll get lashed, i'm sorry." This really did upset me that the zebra just openly told me her whole plan, even who her first subjects wanted to be, and the fact that I had to stay here and watch her was like adding insult to more insult.
"If you must, you can stay with me, but try not to be a pesky flea" I understood what this meant, don't get in her way, don't annoy her, excetra, excetra. "Understood?" I nodded, and smiled thankfully.
The first week was the same old thing. Zecora would throw in a mixture of ingredients, then try a combination of the magical waste, and chant for a few minutes, if something happened, it wasn't good, and if something didn't happen, she'd try a new combination of things. This would resume over and over for a very long time, till eventually, even I had lost my own patients with this. "Zecora, this seems to be a lost cause. Why bother to even try?" I pressed, hoping for an answer.
"I try so others do not have to mourn or cry, do you think of me pulling something sly?" This acusation had pushed me a little.
"Of course not, I just need to know, don't you know the recipie for this if you know the ingredients?" Her response startled me slightly.
"I know the ingredients that are required, but I do not know the order in which this potion desires, do not grow so restless and dire, your patients is worse than trying to balance on a wire!" She chuckled, which broke out into a lughing fit. This told me she had not heard very many jokes in her lifetime. I walked over to a mirror in the hut, my sleek blue coat looked dirty, and my white mane looked ruffled and untreated.
"Hey, Zecora?" I asked. "you gotta place I can wash up? I'ts been about a week..." She nodded, and pointet to the basement.
"First room on your right, careful, if you get lost, you'd be down there all night."
"THANKS!" I shouted back, making my way back down to the basement, and entering the room on the right. It was really wierd, there was a hole with water dug in the corner, and a small water stream fell from the far left wall. As I showered, Zecora entered the room, making me stumble.
"Oh, please" she stated "don't be such a filly, you don't ever wear garments above your knees!" At that, she was right I couldn't deny it. "Besides" she started again "it is my home, I can come and go if I need" she grabbed a strange plant that sat on the floor, and exited, leaving me to wash myself.
As I moved slitlently back up stairs, I heard Zecora shout exitedly. "SUCESS! Now, I can foucus on the rest" I moved quickly up, and saw the beaker bubbling slowly.
"What happened?" I asked, staring at the beaker.
"My potion is finally ready, but in order to use it, the moon must steady."
This, I understood, it meant that she needed a full moon, and her six test subjects, the full moon would take the rest of the month, and then I could go home.
As time passed, Zecora would always keep the potion hot, and at the end of the month, on my final day here, and the day of the full moon, Zecora called for the aid of the elements spirits, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle. All of which arrived that night, and Zecora poured six cups of the potion handing it to them. I observed in my invisible state, watching closely. They all drank it quikcly, and placed the cups down, nothing happened for several hours.
I watched in horrer as the potion took affect, each of the mares' pupils had shrak to a small dot, and the all moaned, hungrily. Zecora smiled, and spoke in that zebra language of hers, and each of the sickened mares turned to look at my invisible position, and shambled toward it weakly. My spell faded, and Zecora laughed, and as she did, I swore one of the mares thried to bite me, her teeth missed, and I ran for the door, but Zecora stood there, smiling as the six moaning, hungry mares walked toward me. I pushed her out of the way and shouldered through the doorway, running as fast as I could toward canterlot once more. Seeking safety.
Chapter one: Two Years Later
It has been two years since then. If you're wondering 'well why didn't everypony just run like you did???' Not everypony was awake when this happened. Not everypony was able to run, nopony was able to hold out for long against this all. Well, nopony but us at canterlot, armed with spears, and bows, we were an amy versus an army, an army veresus a never ending enemy, but all of us had one objective. Keep the last standing princess alive. Luna.
If you're thinking of how Celestia died, let me explain. When I reported back to Celestia with the news of the zombiefied harmony elements, she had fled the castle in the middle of the night to try and save that quaint little town called ponyville. But when she'd gotten there, the place was already swamped, everyone had been turned. She faught a brave fight with he magic, even trie fliyng away, but a pegasus brought her down, munching at her wing. After that, no one left the castle, the safety of out weapons, and the realization of this threat.
"Juniper! Report!" Shouted Luna, emberassingly enough, to me. Yes, that was my name, Juniper....
"Yes, ma'am. There are signs of the dead up to two miles from the castle, as far as if Zecora is still behind all of this, we have no idea. All we really know is that they are still coming after us, and saddle arabia has stopped wrighting back. So that's another sunken city..." I watched as Luna shed a single tear, definately not as good at that as her sister, I thought, but it made sense, she has a rather "speacial" friend who lived there, as did some palace gaurds.
"W-well" I could hear her shudder, and this saddened me a bit. "I want a scouting group sent to sa-" now it was my turn to interrupt.
"Princess Luna! We cannot do this! We have already confirmed pegasus infected in the immediate area, if we send any scouts or spies, we get more dead gaurds! the best we can do is hold out here." The princess gave an understanding look, she knew her sister would do the same, but would still try to find a solution. I figured as much when she said this to me.
"Do you know what she put in this elixer?" Pressed the princess.
"I.... uhh"
"DO NOT FOOL AROUND!!" she screamed this too me, looking at me with renewed anger.
"I did recongnize the ingredients she used, but I don't know the order she put them in."
"YOU WILL GO DOWN TO THE LAB AND MAKE A VACCINE!" This was impossible, and I told her so, I told her she was crazy to suggest that, and that has pushed to too far for her. "My sister died out there" she suggested. "If we do not find a vaccine, Equestria will plunge into deadness for much more than two years, and what is Celestia finds us at the castle, then what?" She was so right about this, and I never knew it, unicorn zombies could still use thier magic, Alircorn zombies could probably cast devostating spells.
I went down to the lab, and told the scientists the ingrdients used, and to try to make a vaccine. Then I was commanded to go to the civilians quarters and make conversation. Likely Luna's revenge for me interrupting her, because I caught the smirk she made as I turned. Anyway, as I made my way there, I stopped once more my the lab, they were still throwing stuff together. I chuckled slightly, resuming my little trip to civil quarters.
When I walked in, I was barraged with questions, Octavia pushed and shoved her way to the font of the crowd. "Have you found anything on Vynil?" This question suprised me, she'd been asking it for two years, over and over, by now, Vynil was certainly dead but how could I just break that to the poor mare, I motioned to talk to her alone. When we made it away from the mob, I started.
"Octavia..... look, it's been two years.... I last saw Vynil in ponyville, there is no way she's held out for two years...." It waas the truth, and as soon as it was spoken, the mare broke out in tears and... hugged me?
"I-I know..." she stated, this blew my mind. "But I just don't want to believe it okay, Vynil is all i've got left in this world, and it's better to assume that she's alive than to know that she's.... she's...." I patted the mares mane. Smiling and making my way back out to the crowd.
"ATTENTION EVERYONE" I started, getting all of thier undivided attention. "I am happy to inform that are boys in the lab are trying to somehow reverse-engineer a vaccine, it may take a while, but we're working for it!" This recieved a few cheers, and a few grunts of anger, when the pony known as... holy- it was...
The orange and purple pegasus flew up with her tinsy wings, and poked me in the chest. "They have been looking for a vaccine for how long now? TWO YEARS YOU SAY? oh my, how do they think this one is right!?!?" She was right there, but...... we could still do it...
"LISTEN Scootaloo, It's about time you stopped being so negative because Rainbow Dash died" the other voice was also that of a filly, I realized this was Sweetie Belle.
I asked the two fillies how they got here. They told me this whole story of watching Applebloom get torn apart, then running as fast as thier little legs could carry them to the canterlot stronghold, the castle. I apologized to both fillies, only recieving a thank you from Sweetie Belle. I left the citizens quarters. I hated my depressing trips there, to see all of those saddened ponies. As I reentered the throne room to talk to Princess Luna, I found her crying as well.
All these crying ponies got on my nerves, who next, me? I tried to talk to the princess, but she just sat there, crying. I was sick of it all, I went out to the balcony, and smelled the air. It smelled rotten, disgusting, decayed. The horde was drawing closer, I could tell they were olnt a mile away from canterlot, they moves slow, but they moved in mass. Shabling, drooling corpses. This brought my mind to the six mares of the elements, I wondered where they were, was Zecora still on control? Or did it all fall apart around her and she was eaten alive.
I had to go inside, the smell was too much. I didn't understand how it was getting so much stronger, so fast, when I saw something I didn't wanna see. I saw one of them, the infected. It was munching only a palace gaurd. I shoved my spear in it's head, and looked down at the fallen gaurd. I stabbed the corpse in his head as well, my horn glowing only slightly as I removed the spear, and went into the ain castle. The lab boys were standing there.
"We... uhh.... one of out test subjects escaped...." explained the lead scientist, nervously laughing.
"You just cost a gaurd his life... NEVER let that happen again." They all bowed, and left the room. I guessed we were just lucky they didn't get Luna... who was... missing out of her chair.... of course, my luck, the princess was gone, and I had to alert all gaurds. My horn gowed once more, on my throat, making my voice much louder. "ATTENTION ALL PALACE GAURDS, Princess Luna has left the trone room, if you see her plase return her there, prevent her from fighing, use force of nessicary." He hated to say that, "use force" who was going to hold a spear to a princess.
Luna slowly entered the room, looking at the floor. "Hello, princess" I greeted, acting as if nothing happened. "Anything special to report from your little walk thorugh the castle?" Her response was depressing.
"It's worse than ever in the civil quarters. Everyone is angry and sad.... I didn't know that it would get this bad... this..... subconsious. I can't do anything to stop this all..... nothing... i'm useless... that's what everyone always said.
"That's not true" I said "You are out last stand."