Land Of Confusion

Chapters

Chapter 1: Falling To Pieces
Chapter 2: The Frayed Ends Of Sanity
Chapter 3: Necrophobic
Chapter 4: All Hope Is Gone

Chapter 1: Falling To Pieces

The warmth of Celestia’s morning sun enveloped the purple unicorn and her dragon assistant as the two made their way through Ponyville. With a piece of parchment in one of his claws and a quill in the other, the dragon was going over the checklist that the pony had complied for the day’s activities.

“So, remind me of what we have again today, Spike?” the pony asked as she turned to look at him.

“First on your list is breakfast at Sugar Cube Corner with Pinkie Pie, then you have your dress to pick up from Rarity, and lastly, we need to pick up some groceries,” Spike read the list aloud, “Got all that, Twilight?”

She nodded, “Breakfast, dress, groceries, got it. And we wouldn’t need to worry about the groceries if you didn’t go through the entire kitchen yesterday, eating everything in sight.”

“Hey, I’m a growing dragon! I need to eat!” Spike defended himself.

“Well, let’s just get some breakfast at the bakery,” Twilight giggled slightly at Spike’s reaction, “I have a good feeling about today. It seems so full of promise.”

Spike nodded in silence as the two made their way to Sugar Cube Corner. As they entered the establishment, they were greeted not only the ring of the door opening, but also by none other than the pink party pony herself, Pinkie Pie.

“Hiya Twilight and Spike! Come in, come in! What can I get ya?” Pinkie Pie greeted her friends with her bubbly voice from behind the counter.

Pinkie’s energy rubbed off onto Twilight, causing her to smile, “Hello, Pinkie. I would like a blueberry scone and Spike will a ruby muffin.”

“Make sure it’s extra big!” Spike added, “I’m really hungry!”

The pink earth pony giggled at the dragon’s comment, “Okie dokie! Please take a seat and I’ll get your order out as soon as possible!”

Twilight Sparkle and Spike did just that. The two found a small table amongst the busy bakery and sat down. Spike pulled the list and quill out again to look it over carefully. He spoke, “So, what kind of groceries should we get while we’re out today?”

“Well, some fruits and vegetables are definitely something we need around the library, and maybe some oats,” Twilight listed out a few items.

Spike scribbled Twilight’s words down on the parchment, “What about some baked goods? We can always get some muffins or cupcakes for later right here.”

The purple pony thought for a moment before replying, “Maybe later on after the rest of our errands.”

“I’ll make a note of it,” Spike said as he continued to write.

The ring of the front door caused both Twilight and Spike to look up to see who had entered. The figure who had just entered, however looked unusual to the two of them. It was a pale grey earth mare. Their coat, mane, and tail all seemed to be the same shade of color. Her eyes looked sunken into her head, cold and devoid of emotion, and one of her ears seemed to be missing half, as if it was torn off. Her movement seemed ridged and sluggish, almost as if dragging herself from one point to another.

“Hey Twilight, are you freaked out by that pony over there? Cause she’s really creepy looking….” Spike stated in a hushed whisper.

“Spike, that’s very rude to say. Still, I can understand why you said that….something about her seems….off….” Twilight scolded her dragon.

“That’s putting it lightly….”

Behind the counter, Pinkie Pie noticed the grey pony was approaching the counter. With her boundless enthusiasm, the pony welcomed her, “Hello! I’ve never seen you around Ponyville before! My name’s Pinkie Pie and I work her at Sugar Cube Corner! What can I get ya?”

The grey pony was silent. Her eyes were fixated on Pinkie Pie. She continued to move herself forward. Placing her hoof on the counter, she mumbled something incoherent.

Smiling, Pinkie Pie leaned forward, “What was that? I didn’t quite hear ya.”

She spoke the same unintelligible phrase, but this time it was louder, and seemed far more aggressive. In one fluid motion, the grey pony lunged herself forward and opened her mouth. Her teeth clamped down violently on to Pinkie Pie’s neck.

From afar, Twilight and Spike were watching the event unfold. “Pinkie!” the both shouted as they watched the grey mare bite down. Quickly rushing over to the scene, Spike tackled the grey earth pony, who released her jaw from the pink pony's neck. Twilight, on the other hoof, went to her fallen friend’s side.

“Pinkie Pie, are you alright?” Twilight Sparkle asked, moving her poofy pink mane so she could get a look at the bite mark on Pinkie’s neck.

“I’m fine….” the earth pony was breathing heavily from her position on the wooden floor. It was obvious she was lying. The wound was severe and it bothered the unicorn to just look at it.

“Let me get some bandages and wrap the wound. We’ll get you to Nurse Redheart right away,” looking around her, Twilight tried to find something that would help, “Spike, go find some bandages, quick!”

“Can do!” the dragon answered, leaving the grey pony he had just tackled.

“Twilight?” Pinkie mumbled, trying to lift her head up.

“I’m right here, Pinkie.”

“Twilight….I feel funny. Not ‘ha-ha’ funny, but ‘sicky’ funny….”

The purple pony swallowed nervously at what she just heard, “It’ll be okay….we’ll get you the help you need right away. I need those bandages, Spike!”

As if on cue, Spike appeared with the item in his claw, “Here you go. How is she doing?”

He didn’t get a response; Twilight was just focused on dressing the bite wound on Pinkie’s neck.

Pinkie mumbled, “I’m….I’m scared….” Her voice was detached and distressing.

Spike whispered into Twilight’s ear, “Has Pinkie Pie’s color always been that pale?”

The unicorn froze. Her assistant was right. Pinkie’s entire body color was changing. “Oh, no….this looks worse than I thought….”

A noise escaped from Pinkie’s mouth, something that neither Spike nor Twilight could understand.

“What was that, Pinkie?” Spike asked, looking over her.

Closing her eyes slowly, Pinkie Pie mumbled her statement again, “I said….I’m….sorr….” She didn’t finish her sentence.

Quietly looking over the pink pony, both Twilight and Spike were at a loss for words.

After a few moments of silence, Spike spoke, “Is she….is she….”

Twilight coldly answered, “I don’t feel a heartbeat.”

The two continued to look over their fallen friend in both sadness and confusion. However, both of them were badly startled as they saw her eyes open wide, causing them to jump back.

“Pi-Pinkie?” Twilight asked as she stood back up onto all four of her legs.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she slowly struggled to stand up. Her movement was stiff and clumsy.

Twilight repeated, “Pinkie Pie?”

Finally, opening her mouth, a moan escaped from Pinkie Pie. It was almost identical to what the grey pony had spoken.

“Uh….Twilight? I think we have a problem here….” Spike spoke as he tugged onto the purple pony’s tail.

“What do you mean?” Twilight didn’t take her eyes off Pinkie Pie.

“Remember that grey mare that bit Pinkie Pie? It looks like she’s biting everypony else….”

Twilight turned around to see a massive panic. Other ponies were being bitten by not only the same pony that bit Pinkie, but by others who seemed to have turned a pale color similar to what happened to Pinkie Pie.

“Oh no….no, no-no, no, no….” Twilight repeated over and over the same word as she was taking the scene in, “Spike, we need to go. Now.”

“Go where?”

“The library. And move fast, don’t stop for a second,” her words were heavy and full of authority.

“Right,” Spike hurried toward the door with Twilight right behind him.

As Spike opened the door for both him and Twilight, the unicorn turned around and looked at her friend Pinkie Pie, who appeared to be trying to follow them at her sluggish pace. She quietly spoke, “I’m so sorry….”

Pinkie seemed to groan something in response, but Twilight was already gone with Spike.

Twilight galloped quickly through Ponyville with Spike on her back. As they hurried home, they noticed that the occurrence they had witnessed in Sugar Cube Corner was not an isolated incident. In fact, it seemed as if there were more than just that one grey mare that seemed to be unusual. No matter where they looked, they noticed that the citizens of Ponyville were all being plagued by this strange event. The screams and cries for help only caused Twilight to gallop faster to the library.

Arriving home to the library, Twilight opened the door with her magic and closed it quickly behind her. “Lock the doors, Spike, I’ll get the windows. We can’t let anypony in, lest we suffer the same fate.”

Spike didn’t question the order, but he did question something else, “What exactly happened over there?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted in a panicky tone, “I don’t want to know. All I do know is that we are going to be safe from whatever this is….” She used her magic to lock each window she had in the main room of the library.

Spike went around to lock the doors, “It almost seems like that grey pony was a-“

“Don’t say that word,” the purple pony’s voice was firm and full of anger as her glare to the dragon was the same. She didn’t want to hear it.

Spike didn’t finish his statement. Instead, a frantic knocking at the front door broke the silence. Looking through the hole, Spike saw an orange mare with a red stallion. “It’s Applejack and Big Mac. Should I let them in?”

Twilight hesitated to answer. On her face, it could be easily told that she was weighing a number of options and outcomes in her head. She was interrupted, however by the loud voice of her friend, “Twilight, if yer in there, it’d be mighty neighborly of ya ta let us in!” Twilight then nodded to Spike to open the door.

Unlocking and opening up the door, Spike motioned to have the brother and sister hurry inside. The second that they made their way through the threshold, the dragon slammed the door shut and locked the door, almost catching Applejack’s tail between the gap.

Trotting up to the Apple siblings, Twilight noticed how they looked. Both of their hooves were coated in mud and on their backs were saddlebags that seemed to be stuffed. In one of their front hooves, they where both carrying something; in Applejack’s hoof was a shovel and in her brother’s hoof was a firearm.

Still panting, Applejack started to speak, “Thank ya, Twi and Spike….it seems we got ourselves a problem ‘round these parts. An’ here ah was hopin’ that Ponyville would be different than what happened on the farm.”

“On the farm?” Spike was curious.

Big Mac nodded, “Eeyup….some strange stuff happened.”

“Was it a grey pony biting others?” Twilight asked.

Applejack nodded, “How’d ya know? Don’t tell me it happened here too.” She got her answer from their expressions, “Oh mah….this is really bad….”

Twilight spoke up, “What happened on the farm?”

“It ain’t pretty….” the orange pony warned, “but long story short, some unicorn came outta nowhere while we were all workin’ an’ started bitin’ everypony on the farm. First a few of our farm helpers, then Applebloom….an’ ah woulda got bitten if it weren’t fer Caramel pushin’ me outta the way….” Applejack took her brown hat off her head as she thought about the incident.

“We were the only ones t’ get away….” Big Mac summed it up.

Spike pointed with his claw, “What’s with the firearm?”

Big Mac and Applejack both looked at each other in silence. Neither wanted to explain.

“We….we had ta fight back. After what they did….we had ta defend ourselves….” Applejack’s words were sorrowful as she tried to justify the actions taken, “We didn’t wanna hurt nopony….”

Big Mac placed a comforting hoof onto Applejack’s back.

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes widened, “Did you….did you have to….to your family….?”

Neither of the siblings spoke.

Spike broken the silence, “Please, have a seat. I’ll go get some tea.”

Trying her best to keep her composure, Applejack nodded, “Thank ya kindly….do ya know what’s happenin’ here, Twi?”

Twilight guided the two to the sofa where they sat. She shook her head, “I can’t say I understand this myself.”

Spike returned to the ponies with a metal tray holding some tea, “We saw it happen at Sugar Cube Corner. Some grey mare bit Pinkie Pie right on her neck.” The dragon pointed to the spot on his neck.

“Pinkie?” Big Mac spoke.

Twilight sadly nodded, “I felt her heart stop….and then her eyes opened. It….was surreal. I literally saw Pinkie Pie come back to life. But it wasn’t her….it was more of a shell of her former self.”

“Same thing happened ta us….” Applejack thought aloud.

The stillness of the entire library was broken by a heavy pounding on the window. This caused everypony to jump a little.

“We’re you followed by them?” Twilight’s tone was full of panic.

“Ah don’t think we were….” Applejack stated.

The pounding continued, this time accompanied with a muffled voice, “Twilight! Up here, you egghead!”

All of the heads turned to the balcony window on the second floor of the library. A blue pegasus was on the other side. “Rainbow Dash?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Let me in, it’s getting really weird out here!” her voice was loud and troubling.

Without wasting time, Twilight used her magic to unlock and open the window to let the pegasus in. She closed and locked it as soon as Dash got through. The blue pony then joined the others.

“Anypony wanna tell me what’s going on out there? It’s insane!” Rainbow Dash almost shouted her statement, obviously bothered by the unfolding event.

“Are you okay? Did somepony bite you?” Spike asked, looking all over Rainbow Dash’s body for evidence of attack.

This bothered Rainbow Dash, “Hey, what are ya doing?” The pegasus shoved Spike away, “Please, no pony can catch me, much less bite me. Besides, even if one of those weirdos wanted to dance with me, I have this to protect me!” Rainbow pulled out a metal pipe to show the others.

“Have ya hadta use it?” Big Mac asked, looking at the two feet of metal on the pegasus’ hoof.

“Not yet, but I’ll be ready. So it’s happening here too? I thought it was only in Cloudsdale,” Dash asked.

“It happened at Sugar Cube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres as far as we know, but whatever it is, it looks like it’s spreading….” Twilight explained.

Applejack added on, “It got all the farm….got Pinkie Pie….”

“Well, it’s obvious we need some back up!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “Twilight, can’t ya ask Princess Celestia to help us out?”

“That’s a great idea….Spike, take a letter,” Twilight instructed.

“Already on it,” the dragon stated as he scribbled quickly onto a piece of parchment. He wrote out the predicament that seemed to be engulfing Ponyville. In no time, he had finished his letter and lit it on fire to send it off.

“An’ now ta wait….” Applejack spoke in a very bleak tone. This created an uneasy atmosphere between the five in the library.

“Does anyone know about Rarity, Fluttershy, or anypony else?” Twilight asked aloud. She honestly didn’t want to know the answer if it was grim.

Rainbow Dash sighed, “When I flew by, I saw the Carousel Boutique, and….the door was left open.”

“Goodness….” the unicorn uttered as she imagined what might have happened.

“What ‘bout Miss Fluttershy?” Big Mac asked out.

Dash shrugged, “I haven’t seen her.” Everypony else had the same answer.

“Ah would guess she would have the same response as us right ‘bout now,” Applejack stated.

“Let’s hope….” Spike muttered quietly, not wanting to think of the worse case scenarios.

“The Ponyville Sqaure is full of them….I saw it when I flew over here. It seems everything is falling to pieces,” Rainbow Dash stated, immediately regretting that she had said it.

No one responded to Dash. Instead, each one was lost in their own thoughts, trying to piece together what was happening during this strange day. However, they were all brought back to reality with a reply to the letter that Spike had sent. Burping out the scroll, Spike opened the letter up to read it.

“What does it say, Spike?” Twilight asked, edging on and with a prayer for hope written on her face.

The dragon was silent as he looked at the parchment.

The orange pony called out, “Spike, what’s on it?”

Spike turned the letter around to show the ponies. On the parchment, there was only a fresh red patch of liquid. It dripped off the letter and onto the floor.

“No….this can’t be….this can’t be happening….”

Chapter 2: The Frayed Ends Of Sanity

“This can’t be real….this is just a bad dream….it has to be some sort of bad dream, right?” Twilight Sparkle mumbled to herself over and over.

Spike was shaking her, “Twilight, get a hold of yourself.”

“Yeah, egghead, we can’t just pretend this isn’t happening. This is plain and real,” Rainbow Dash added with her stern statement.

“Give her some space, the poor gal is havin’ some sort of panic attack,” Applejack said as she pushed Dash and Spike away from the purple unicorn.

Twilight continued her dazed speech, “This….This I just some bad dream….”

“Sorry, sugarcube, but this ain’t a dream. All of us need ta accept it so we can deal with other things, ya got that, Twi?” Applejack calmly spoke to her friend.

“But….it can’t be….this can’t be real….” the unicorn replied, finally out of her trance.

Spike spoke up, “We have to accept it. The ponies we knew are gone, including the princess. They’re all zo-“

“No!” Twilight shouted in anger, “Don’t you dare use that word!”

This puzzled the Apple siblings and Rainbow Dash. “What word?” Dash asked, “Zombie?”

Twilight’s temper grew, “THAT! Do not use that word! I refuse to listen to something so idiotic like that! It can’t be real!”

“Then how in Celestia’s holy name do you explain what’s going on out there?” Rainbow Dash shouted back.

“It could be a number of things! All with scientific explanations!” Twilight’s voice was growing louder and with more rage.

Spike finally lost his own temper and unleashed it right back at the unicorn, “What about Pinkie Pie, huh? She died and came back to life right in front of your eyes! You want to explain how that happened?”

The dragon’s yelling reached the purple pony. Her anger turned into sorrow. Taking a deep breath, she began to sob. “I’m….I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Big Mac….I’m sorry Pinkie….”

Spike placed a claw to comfort Twilight as she wept into her hooves. He closed his own eyes, fighting his own tears, knowing full well it would only make things worse.

“I’d do anything to go back to help her….to stop that grey mare from….” Twilight was unable to finish her sentence as she continued to cry.

“We did everything we could, you know that….” Spike spoke softly.

Applejack interjected, “Ah know Pinkie wouldn’t want ya ta beat yerself up, Twi. Ya have ta just keep goin’.”

“Yeah, this is Pinkie we’re talkin’ about. She’d hate to see us like this,” Rainbow added, quietly praying she won’t make matters worse as she spoke.

The purple unicorn finally raised her head up out of her hooves and spoke up, “But why would we keep going? This has happened not only here but in Cloudsdale as well, and who knows what’s going on in Canterlot. This is just too much….”

Spike removed his claw from Twilight and looked toward the other ponies. The dragon’s expression was stern, “Alright, it’s obvious we’re going to be here for a while, so I think we need to see what we have around the library and on ourselves that we can make use of. We need to see what we prepare for the worst here,” the tone of Spike’s voice was that of a first officer filling in for the captain.

Spikes take-charge attitude was met with agreement.

“Keep an eye out fer things that can be used fer defense and fer food,” Big Mac added.

“Good thinking, Big Mac,” Rainbow Dash stated as she flew up to the second floor.

A few minutes passed as Spike, Rainbow Dash and the Apple siblings ransacked the entire library. Bring the most important finds into the common room, where Twilight was still sitting in her depression, they looked at what they had.

“Okay, not exactly much ta work with,” Applejack stated as she looked down at their supplies.

On the large center table, there laid a number of items in three categories: weapons, defense, and food.

“For weapons, we have Rainbow Dash’s pipe, a shovel, a rifle with about twenty rounds or so, pots and pans, and a few small knives from the kitchen,” Spike looked down at the pile. For defense, we have a few doorstops, some loose bricks Applejack found, and a book of matches. And for food, we have a box of oats, some apples from the farm, and a few glass jars of cooking oil.”

“How long does this gotta last us?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Till we’re rescued, 'til we’re turned into zombies, or 'til we die, whichever of those comes first,” Applejack coldly stated.

“Okay, now that we know what we have, we need to prepare for the worst: if those things break in here,” Spike instructed. He looked out a window from where he was and saw a few turned ponies slowly drudging around aimlessly.

Big Mac spoke, “We can block their way in with somethin’ big like the sofa.”

“And we all need some sort of weapon to fight them off, right?” Dash asked, picking up her pipe from off the table.

Spike nodded as he picked up a pan with one of his claws. With the other, he placed a pot on his head. Shuffling it around for it to fit well on his head, he looked to the Apple siblings who both picked up the item that entered the library with. “So, that leaves….Twilight….” he turned around to see the unicorn finally coming around.

“I don’t need one….” her voice was calm compared to what it had been previously, “I have my magic to use.”

“Feelin’ better, sugarcube?” the orange pony inquired.

Twilight nodded. However, she didn’t let the subject be herself as she got off of the sofa, “If we’re going to be fighting these….things, we should figure out what would be best against them.”

“What do ya mean?” Dash asked.

Twilight’s composure was completely different, “According to the mythology, if you will, the best way to deal with the attackers is by removing the head or destroying the brain. Simply put, keep your attacks limited to that area and do not spend more time that would need on such. Is that clear?” She got a nod of understanding from each. “Hopefully….it won’t come to that.”

“We still got ourselves quite the problem, Twi,” Applejack pointed at the small amount of food they had with her hoof, “An’ while ah’m not sure ‘bout the rest of ya, but ah’m thinkin’ this won’t last us until tomorra.”

Chapter 3: Necrophobic

“You have a point, Applejack,” Twilight acknowledged the problem they faced, “We barely have enough food to last us the day.”

“So what’s the plan?” Spike asked, staring at the few items of food that laid on the table.

Twilight didn’t reply. She started off blankly, trying her hardest to think of an answer. The expression on her face was bitter as she continued to form ideas in her head. Each idea in her head, however, failed quickly. The unicorn finally admitted to the others, “I don’t know….”

“Beg pardon?” Big Mac asked with surprise.

Spike added, “What? I know you have a plan, Twilight. You gotta have one, you always do.”

“Well, I don’t for once!” the purple pony angrily announced as her hoof slammed down onto the table. She shot a venomous glare at her dragon assistant. When she realized what she was doing, her expression returned it’s calm and collected state. “I don’t have a plan,” she restated with soft words.

Applejack spoke, “So we’re jus’ gonna wait it out in here til we starve? Not exactly the way ah was expectin’ to go out….”

There was no reply to the orange mare’s statement. Instead, a grim silence rested between the five survivors that were stationed around the table. The only audible sound was a faint moaning of a few infected ponies outside.

Raising her head up, the blue pegasus spoke up, “Wait, I got it!”

This sudden statement caught the other’s attention. “Got what?” Spike inquired.

“Hello? I got these babies!” Rainbow Dash pointed to her outspreaded wings as they moved, “I can go out to get us food.”

“Rainbow Dash, that’s reckless and dangerous,” Twilight was sounding like a mother.

“Two things, egghead. First off, I’m the fast pony in Ponyville. No pony can catch me. And two, it’s not like I plan on staying out there forever. I just go out get a few things for food and come right back in. Piece of cake.”

Applejack nodded, “She’s got herself a point, an’ a darned good one at that.”

“Ah second that,” the stallion agreed.

“Are you really sure about this, Rainbow?” Twilight fixed her eyesight on the pegasus.

“Totally. What have we got to lose?” her reply was nonchalant and almost carefree.

“Well, your life for one! And what if something happens to you, Celestia forbid, or if you're bit?” Twilight started to list out concerns.

Rainbow Dash stared right back at the purple mare, “And what if I don’t go? You think those apples and oats will last us? If you ask me, we have to do something.”

Twilight quickly replied “But we are safe in here.”

“Yeah, safe and hungry. Don’t think I haven’t heard your gut. I’m hungry, you’re hungry, all of us are. If we don’t do something, we might as well be sealing our fate.”

The unicorn was silent. Taking a deep breath, she realized that her friend was right. “There’s no talking you out of this, is there, Rainbow Dash?”

A smirk appeared on the blue pony’s face, “My mind’s made up.”

“Then we need to prepare for this properly,” Twilight explained.

After about an hour of planning out the task, the five gathered around the central table yet again to review.

“Okay, let’s go over this again from the top,” Twilight Sparkle spoke, “Spike?”

“Right. I start off by unlocking and opening the balcony window for Rainbow to fly out of. As soon as she’s out, I close the window and lock it up.”

“Which means it’s up to me to fly out and find food,” Rainbow Dash continued along, “I go to the market square, Sugar Cube Corner, whatever.”

Twilight nodded, “Correct. Just get what you can and put it in the saddlebag. Don’t be picky or anything like that, we don’t have that luxury.”

“Then I fly back as soon as I can, letting you know I’m on my way,” Dash continued, “this time to the side window over there.” She raised a hoof to point to the smaller first-story window on the opposite side of the balcony.

“Right, because they’ll realize they can get in from up there,” Spike spoke up.

“Which is why we are blocking that window with the mattress right away,” Twilight added.

“If ya can’t get in through that window fer whatever reason, let us know Rainbow, so Big Mac and ah can get another open an’ close it up right away,” Applejack stated.

“Right,” the pegasus nodded.

Twilight got Rainbow’s attention, “Are you sure I can’t convince you to wear something protective just in case? We can give you some sort of armor to protect you.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head, “No can do. If you want me to be quick, I can’t go around and have something weighing me down.” She stood up onto all fours as she started to trot over, “Besides, I told ya, those things won’t be able to catch me.”

The unicorn still wasn’t convinced, but she trusted her friend’s judgment.

Spike made his way up to the balcony window. Looking out of the glass, he saw a larger number of infected ponies. He shivered greatly at the sight. “Ready?”

After adjusting the saddlebag on her back to fit with more comfort, the blue pegasus nodded, “Let’s do this.”

“Celestiaspeed out there,” was the last thing Spike said before he unlocked the window.

With it open, Rainbow Dash bolted off and flew towards the town. She flew quickly past a few infected pegasi ponies. They turned their attention to where she had come from and started to move toward the library.

“Spike, close it now!” Twilight ordered. The dragon was quick to oblige. He moved away from the window as the unicorn was using her magic to place he mattress up against the window. “There, that’ll help keep them out. Let’s just hope Rainbow Dash makes it back unharmed.”

The purple and green dragon was visibly shaken, “There were so many of them….so many of those z-”

“Don’t say it,” the unicorn’s voice was firm. She quickly turned here attention to the Apple siblings, “Alright, let’s get ready to open the window and drop the bookcase in front of it as soon as Rainbow gets back.”

“Can do, Twilight,” Applejack nodded as she and her brother hurried over to the planned window.

The remaining four waited in a tense atmosphere for the pegasus to return.

“It’s the waitin’ that kills….” the orange mare thought aloud.

Her brother nodded in agreement, “Eeyup.”

Silence encompassed the entire library. The only sound was the faint sound of moaning again, but it sounded louder now.

“Please tell me I’m just imagining that the moaning from outside is getting louder….” Spike pleaded.

“Ah wish ah could, Spike, but ah hear it, too….they’re getting closer….” Applejack carefully peered out the window, in an effort to not be seen. The infected seemed to be informing each other about the hiding place of the four ponies and the dragon.

Twilight was starting to breathe heavily, panicking with each breath. However, she refused to let her words reflect it, “We’ll be safe. The second Rainbow Dash returns, we’ll seal the library up and none of the infected will get to us.”

The stillness returned to the library. Each waited uncomfortably for a sign of Rainbow Dash’s return. They exchanged uncertain glances to each other, silently trying to reassure one another. However, the sound of the hordes outside did not help.

Thankfully to those in the library, a familiar voice called out, “I’m back!”

“Rainbow! Can you get in through the window?” Twilight shouted out, hoping her friend could hear.

“Yeah, I should be able to get through. But I should tell ya, there’s a lot of these zombie ponies around the tree,” Rainbow called back.

This caught Spike’s attention, “R-Really? How many?”

“Nuts if I know. Math was never my best subject, shorty. Alright, heading to the window, ready?” the pegasus asked.

“Window’s unlocked, ready when you are, Rainbow!” Applejack shouted.

Dash shouted one last time, “Going in-OUCH!”

The scream of pain grabbed everypony’s attention. “Rainbow Dash?” Twilight called.

The response the unicorn received was a statement of profanity followed by a curse at herself, “Dang it, we got a problem.”

“Never mind that now, just get back inside!” Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs to Rainbow Dash.

A few seconds later, Rainbow Dash did return in, but instead of flying through the planned window where Big Mac and Applejack were ready to seal it off, she flew through a window next to it. She crashed through the window, shattering the glass and the wooden pane and landing on the floor. Glass and wounds covered her front limbs as well as her head. She grunted a few times as she tried to pull herself up off the floor and onto her own hooves.

Twilight rushed to the blue pony’s side, “Rainbow Dash! What happened?” Instead of waiting for a response, the unicorn started to bark orders, “Applejack, Big Mac, seal up the window with anything you can! Spike, help me get Rainbow Dash someplace else.”

The Apple siblings quickly stacked a few pieces of furniture in front of the open window. A few pale colored hooves tried to reach in at both of them. However, Applejack shouted angrily at them as she hit them with whatever she had in their hooves. They quickly got it up before any of the infected could enter.

As Twilight and Spike were pulling Rainbow away from the window, they noticed the saddlebag was missing from off her back. They set her down on the floor near the central table.

“What happened?” Spike asked as looked down at the pegasus.

Raising a hoof up to her head to brush against her mane, she gave a weak laugh, “I screwed up, big time….”

Twilight was puzzled, “What do you mean?”

“There were a lot. A ton of those zombie ponies out there….surrounding the library,” Rainbow explained, “Unicorns, earth ponies, pegasi, even some griffins and donkeys. This thing is spreading to every species….”

“Did ya get food?” Applejack asked.

Again, she gave a laugh, “I got it, that wasn’t the problem….”

“Then what was?” Spike edged on.

Sitting up, Rainbow Dash spread opened her wings. On the top of her left wing, a bite mark was visible. Each viewer of her wing winced as they saw her wound. “I was bit….hard, by one of those pegasus out there. It messed up my focus and, well….it’s obvious that this is my bad,” she winced in pain.

“You’ve….been bitten….” Twilight mumbled repeatedly, “you’ve been bitten, Rainbow….”

“Don’t worry….I’ll be fine….” she lied.

“But you’re going to turn into one of them! A-And you’ll….” the dragon couldn’t finish the statement.

“I’ll die, I know….” Rainbow added softly as she laid back down on the floor. Despite her predicament, she still had a content smile on her face, “Ya know, I’ve always been afraid of one thing….and that was dying. Yet, I can’t help but laugh.”

“But….why are ya? Ya’ve been bitten, an’ ya know that means you’ll end up like one of them,” Applejack asked, stressing the urgency of what has happened.

The blue pony took a deep breath, “I know, but….it’s weird. With all of this stuff going on, I guess I kind am at peace with dying. Ya know, like I’m accepting it or whatever.”

“Miss Rainbow Dash, that’s a really grim thing ta say,” Big Mac remarked.

“Heh, I know it is,” a smile was still on Rainbow’ face, despite the pain she was in, “Can I ask for one last request?”

Twilight was the one speak up, “Of course, what is it?”

“I would like one of you to stop me from becoming one of those zombies.”

This statement shocked the others.

“You can’t be serious about this, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight’s voice was one of horror.

“That’s just wrong! You can’t ask that!” Spike shouted.

Rainbow Dash sat up again, her coat was beginning to turn pale, “Why not? I’m going to die soon anyway….why not have it on my terms?”

The unicorn was surprised with this response, “I never thought of it like that. But….but I can’t imagine doing anything like that, Rainbow….even as a last request….”

A voice interrupted, “Ah’ll do it….”

All the heads turned to see where the voice came from. It was from the orange mare whose eyes were hidden by her brown hat.

“A-Applejack?” the red stallion looked at his sister.

“Ah’ll do it, if that’s what ya really want, Rainbow….” she restated.

Dash smiled a bit, her coat continuing to change color, “Thanks, AJ. I knew I could rely on you to do it….”

“You sure about this, Dash?” Spike asked, still in disbelief.

“Don’t got much of a choice. And I’m sure none of us want me to come back and hurt ya all,” Dash confirmed.

Applejack grabbed the firearm from off the table. Loading a round inside the chamber in silence, she looked at Rainbow sitting before her. The weapon was shaking in her hooves. While wanting to fulfill her friend’s wish, it wasn’t easy for her to come to terms with it.

Bring her hoof up to her forehead, Rainbow Dash pointed, “Aim it right here….one clean shot should do it, just like it those old zombie films….” The dark words were accompanied with a sly smirk on her face.

Spike moved away towards Twilight, who wrapped her hooves around him. Big Mac also backed away, giving the two plenty of space.

The earth pony raised the weapon up, aiming it at Rainbow’s head. Steadying the gun, she spoke, “Alright….here it goes….”

“Thanks, everypony….” the pegasus struggled to speak, “it’s been fun….” Rainbow finally closed her eyes. Her breathing stopped and her body sat motionless on the library floor.

Despite seeing Dash pass away before her eyes, Applejack couldn’t pull the trigger, “Ah….can’t do it….”

The second she stopped talking, the eyes of the pegasus opened again. Devoid of emotion and life, they stared down the barrel of the rifle. The jaw opened and a sound came forth: a tired and detached moan.

Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, Applejack pulled the trigger. The bullet struck directly in the pegasus’ head, causing the body to fall lifelessly to the wooden floor with a thud.

Chapter 4: All Hope Is Gone

The four survivors looked down at the corpse of their friend in silence. Seeing what she had done, Applejack threw the firearm down to the floor where it slid away from them. She was panting as she looked at Dash’s now lifeless body, still coming to terms with what she had just done.

Spike moved away from the group and came back with the quilt from his own bed. Opening it up and spreading it out, the dragon laid the blanket over the pegasus. It covered the blue pony, protecting her from the continuing stares by them all and giving the dead some respect.

They still stood in silence, with the sounds of the outside infected being the only thing that they could hear. It became too much for one, who spoke up.

“Well, we gave Rainbow her last request, I guess we can take solace in that,” Twilight spoke in a revered tone.

Applejack whipped her head around to give the unicorn a harsh glare, “Are ya really gonna say somethin’ like that? Rainbow Dash just turned into one of those things right before us an’ that’s all ya hafta say?”

Twilight was a bit caught off guard by what the orange pony said, “What do you mean? We were able to help Rainbow by giving her last wish, were we not?”

“No, we didn’t do nothin’,” Applejack stressed her words, “Ah was the one that pulled the trigger, an’ ah couldn’t even do that much. Ya’ll saw that ah waited….ah hesitated in doin’ it. Ah jus’ couldn’t do it ta her. If havin’ ta do the same ta mah lil’ sister wasn't enough already, ah also had ta pull the trigger on mah best friend.” Applejack’s passionate statement was met with sympatric stares from everypony. “After everythin’ ah did today, ah’m doubtin’ things are gonna get better….ah’m losin’ hope here….”

“Applejack….I’m sorry….” Twilight replied meekly, “I can’t even imagine what you had to do….I can’t fathom what you’re going through, I apologize….”

The orange mare looked toward her brother first and then to the purple unicorn, “It’s fine….ah’m not expectin’ ya ta understand….but it jus’ makin’ me doubt.”

“Don’t say that, Applejack,” the dragon spoke up, “we can still get through this, I just know it.”

Spike’s optimism was not met by the others. Instead, the reply to his words was a loud sound of cracking of wood and glass. Turning to find the source, they saw that a few of the infected were attempting to get through the broken window. Their moaning grew deafening as they pushed each other to make their way through. At different windows around the library, the infected ponies were breaking their way into the building.

“They’re getting through!” Spike shouted in horror.

In one fluid motion, Big Mac picked up the firearm from off the floor. Grabbing a round of ammunition from the table, he loaded it into the chamber and aimed it right at one of the intruders. The stallion pulled the trigger, hitting one square in it’s head and dropping it where it stood. “We need a plan, Miss Sparkle….” he opened up chamber up and the expended shell popped out.

“I know, I know….give me a second!” the unicorn panicked.

“We ain’t got a second ta spare, Twi!” Applejack hurried to her pick up her shovel from the table, “The sooner, the better!”

The purple pony closed her eyes tightly, trying to think of a solution to their problem. However, the stress of the situation was not helping her, “Think, Twilight, think!”

“Watch out, Twilight!” her assistant cried out. As Twilight opened her eyes, she saw an infected pony trotting closer to her. The mouth of the pony was wide open and it was making an otherworldly sound. Gasping, the unicorn froze in fear. Thankfully for her, Spike rushed to her side. Headbutting the infected pony with the upside-down pot on his head, the dragon pushed it away from Twilight. Then, with Rainbow Dash’s metal pipe in his claws, he swung at the pony, knocking it back and toward the others.

The violent act stunned Twilight, “Spike….”

“To save time, let’s just say I had to do what I had to do. There was no way I was going to let you become a zombie,” the small dragon gave a devious smile to Twilight, “if you want to yell at me for doing that, save it for later.”

Applejack shouted to the two, “If ya’ll are done havin’ a family moment, we could use some more help pushin’ these things outta here!”

Spike swung again at an infected, “I think getting these things out of the library is out of the question now. How about we hide out somewhere?”

“That’s it!” Twilight shouted. Using her magic, she shot a few pulses of energy from her horn at the infected, “We might not be able to completely push these things back, but we can hide out in the basement! Even better, we can use the small window in there to get out of here and find others.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Spike replied as he started to back up towards the basement door.

“And I got another idea. Applejack, with me, Big Mac and Spike, keep fending them off,” Twilight instructed.

The orange mare and Twilight both trotted to the center table in the main room, “What’cha thinkin’?” Applejack asked.

Using her magic, Twilight levitated one of the jars of cooking oil. She uncorked to top and took a sniff of the liquid, “Perfect. We’re going to start a fire. With some luck, the fire should keep the infected away from us.”

“Sounds like a long shot ta me,” Applejack admitted, “but we certainly got ourselves enough fuel fer this fire.” She took a quick look at the books that lined the shelves of the library.

Placing the glass jar of oil back on the table, Twilight used her magic to pick up the matches. “It kills me to do something this, but if we don’t….well let’s just hope it does work. Now, just break open those jars when I give the signal.”

“Can do, just make it soon, will ya,” the orange mare stated.

A deep voice loudly cried out, “Runnin’ low on rounds here….if we’re gonna do somethin’ have it be soon, please….”

“I hear that, Big Mac, it’s getting a bit tricky over here too!” Spike agreed, “Hurry up, Twilight!”

“Okay listen up! As soon as I strike the match, I want you all to get down to the basement, we should be safe down there from the infected and the fire,” Twilight announced as she levitated the matchbook and a single match.

Spike shouted back, “Are you sure about this?”

“Nope,” Twilight admitted, “but it’s the best option we got! Applejack now!”

Using her shovel, Applejack smashed all of jars of oil. The liquid flew out and splattered everywhere, including onto a few of the infected ponies.

Taking in a deep breath, the unicorn struck the match against the booklet, lighting it up, “Get to basement, now!” Using her magic, she tossed the match into the puddles of oil. The flames grew and were quick to spread around the library.

A few of the infected ponies were torched immediately. However, it didn’t seem to bother them more than just a minor nuisance. The fire still made the infected cautious causing them to back up.

Applejack and Spike wasted no time to hurry to the basement door. They entered in and rapidly went down the stairs, fleeing from the flames.

“Big Mac, go!” Twilight urged as she rushed to the door.

Without losing his focus on the infected in front of him, he replied, “No can do, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight didn’t understand, “What are you talking ab-“ She stopped herself. Looking at Big Mac’s coat, she noticed it was a paler color than before. On his front left limb, there was a bite mark. “Big Mac, you were….”

“Ah didn’t wanna be a bother….” he stated as he used the butt of his rifle to hit a few infected ponies back. “Now, get downstairs, Miss Sparkle….”

Twilight used her magic again to knock back a few infected ponies, “I can’t leave you to die alone….and I can’t leave these books to their fate like this….so no, I’m not leaving.”

“Beg pardon?” Big Mac’s face was full of surprise.

“They say that the captain always go down with their ship….I guess that holds true for me as a librarian,” Twilight gave a smile, despite her words being dismal and bleak.

The words seemed to touch the red stallion, “Then the least we can do is buy some time fer Applejack an’ Spike.”

Twilight nodded used her magic to close the basement door and locking it.

This got the attention of Applejack and Spike who rushed back up. Despite attempting to open up the door, it was sealed.

“Twilight, what are you doing! Open up!” Spike turned the doorknob back and forth in a futile attempt to get it open.

Applejack slammed her hooves against the door, “Get down here, both of ya! It’s not too late!”

The unicorn shouted back despite smoke hurting her lungs, “This is it for both of us out here. Big Mac was bitten and me….I’m staying with the books.”

“You can’t be serious, Twilight! You can still make it!” the dragon yelled in anger as he pounded his claws against the door.

The flames in the library grew. Twilight wasn’t going to bother wasting more time on the subject, “Applejack, take Spike down to the window and both of you get out of here!”

“Understood! Come on, Spike!” In one motion, Applejack put the dragon on her back and galloped down the stairs. He protested the entire way.

Twilight hit a few more infected with her magical energy as she sighed, “It’s in their hooves now.”

“Miss Sparkle? Ah wanna let ya know ah’m honored that yer stayin’ with me durin’ this.” Big Mac gave a warm smile. His coat grew more pale with each passing minute.

The unicorn smiled back, “The honor is all mine.”

In the basement, Applejack was trotting quickly with Spike on her back. However, the dragon was not happy with what was going on.

“Come on, let’s go back! Twilight and Big Mac might still be okay!” the dragon pleaded with Applejack.

The orange mare didn’t reply. Instead, she continued her gallop toward the small basement window.

“Applejack, please! They’ll be alright if we go back up and help them! We can save them!” he continued.

“Or we make things worse an’ get ourselves in trouble along with them!” Applejack finally replied, stopping below the window. She looked up to see it was higher than she expected. Spike would need to stand on her back if they were to have a change to get it open.

“But we don’t know if we don’t try!” Spike continued.

Applejack had enough. She bucked the dragon off her back and looked down at him. “Ah know what will happen if we try. An’ as much as it hurts ta say, they’re gone. Mah brother and Twi gave us a chance ta get outta here an’ we gotta take it.” Her words were stern at first, but grew sorrowful as she continued, “Ah don’t want ta believe that they’re gone, but ah know it’s true. Jus’ like all the ponies back on the farm….Granny Smith….Applebloom….ah wish this was all just some nightmare an’ wake up….but it’s not. An’ we gotta get outta here.”

Standing up, Spike agreed, “Right, we need to get out of here and find others.”

The orange mare raised her hoof up towards the dragon, “Together.”

Spike nodded and met her hoof with his claw, “Together.”

Climbing back on Applejack, Spike stood on top of her to try and open the window. He was shocked to find that it refused to open.

“It’s stuck!”

“Ya gotta be kiddin’ me!”

Spike pounded and even punched on the glass, but it would not budge, “This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening!”

For a few tense-filled minutes, Spike stood on top of the mare’s back, trying to get the window open, but to no avail.

Defeated, Spike hopped off the orange pony’s back and sat on the floor. “That’s it….” he mumbled, “game over. We got so close….but for nothing….”

Applejack also sat down, her shovel still in her hooves. She didn’t say anything, but her face was just as beat up as the dragon’s.

“Everything we did….pointless. The fighting back, the attempt to get food, the fire, all of it a waste,” he continued his muttering. “Big Mac, Rainbow Dash, Twilight….everypony gone.”

The orange pony spoke softly, “At least we tried.”

Spike turned to the mare sitting next to him, “Huh?”

“Ah’m sayin’ at least we tried. We never woulda gotten this far if we didn’t try and havin’ some hope that we would get through this,” Applejack mused slightly.

“Sure, but all hope is gone now,” Spike grimly stated as he took the pot off his head.

“Hey now, just ‘cause we might not have some hope in this situation doesn’t mean we can’t give ourselves a pat on the back. In fact, ah think we did quite a bang-up job lastin’ this long,” Applejack tried to give a little cheer to the small dragon, “An’ who woulda thought a small runt like yerself would take charge when Twi was actin’ all crazy? Ya got yerself a lotta courage in that small body of yers.”

A small smile appeared on Spike’s face, “Well, I think we all deserve some credit for surviving today. Still, some terrifying day it’s been.”

Applejack nodded as she sighed heavily, “That it has, Spike, that it has.”

The two sat quietly together as they heard the both infected ponies and the raging fire upstairs. Both of them were hungry, exhausted, and beaten up from their fighting. There panting was the only sound that they would make for a solid ten minutes, echoing through the basement.

Using the metal pipe he used as a weapon to help him up, Spike stood up and turned to the orange mare, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to stay down here, waiting to die.”

“Ah can agree with that,” Applejack said as she looked at the dragon as he adjusted the metal pot on his head.

“So, how about we go upstairs, break down that door and see if we can’t take out a few of those zombies before they get us?” Spike smiled as he extended claw to the mare.

Returning the smile, Applejack took the dragon’s claw and got up to her hooves. “Sounds like quite a fine way to go out, mah fine, scaly friend.”

The two climbed back up the stairs to the door that Twilight had locked on them. With one strong buck of her hind legs, Applejack toppled the door. On the other side, the flames continued to rage with a number of infected ponies staring at them with their cold, emotionless eyes.

Applejack and Spike looked at each other, weapons ready, and gave a smirk and a nod to each other. With a battle cry, both of them rushed forward to their fate.

END