“We have to get her out.”
“What why? There’s nothing wrong with her!”
“You can see it all over her. We have to get her out now.”
A dim purple aura illuminated the room just enough to make out the two figures in front of the unicorn. Rainbow Dash shuddered as she looked at the pink earth pony huddled in the corner of the room.
“There’s not much time,” Twilight continued, “we have to get her out before it’s too late.”
“You don’t know that she’s infected!” Dash squeaked.
“She’s showing all the signs, we can’t be too careful. We haven’t come this far just to let it all end with a simple mistake.”
“But she’s our friend! We can’t do this to her!”
“We have to do what we can to survive! You saw what it did to Rarity and Fluttershy!”
“But…” Dash tried to find any argument but it was useless - Twilight was right.
“I don’t want to do this anymore than you do but it’s the only chance we have to survive.”
Dash let out a long drawn-out sigh as she looked to Pinkie who was starting to shiver in the corner. She probably didn’t even know what was going on right now or what was about to happen.
“Are you absolutely sure she’s infected? She’s our friend. We at least owe her enough to be absolutely sure before we do anything.”
“I’m sure,” the unicorn spoke dryly. “Look at her coat and mane - she has spores all over her. And look - her eyes are starting to dry out even now.”
“But it takes time before she becomes contagious. Maybe we can wait for a cure or take her along until – “
“No.” Twilight said definitively. “We put her outside now before it gets any worse.”
The pony in the corner let out a wrenching gasp, causing the two mares in the center of the room to jump.
“NOW RAINBOW! WE HAVE TO GET HER OUT NOW!” the unicorn’s light bobbed up and down, throwing shadows across the room as her voice grew urgent.
“But it’s not safe out there! How are we going to get her out?” Dash trembled looking back at Pinkie again.
“You’re the fastest one. You can get out there and put her next to something she can climb and get back before anything happens.”
“You can teleport! I think you should just teleport her out there and then teleport back.”
“I can’t teleport any other ponies besides myself and I certainly can’t teleport more than one pony at a time.”
“It’s Pinkie Pie, I’ve seen you teleport Pinkie before.”
“That was an accident. I didn’t know what I was doing or how it was even possible.”
The wind suddenly picked up outside, shaking the sealed room with systematic gusts. It was completely silent as the two listened expectantly for any noise besides the howling and whistling of the wind running through the cracks.
“As soon as the wind dies down you have to take her out.”
Dash looked to the figure huddled in the corner again.
“Pinkie?” she spoke in a calm soothing voice. “Pinkie? Are you okay? Are you feeling alright?”
The earth pony didn’t even acknowledge the pegasus as she continued to stare blankly into the center of the room. Streaks of yellow had already started to grow around the edges of her eyes.
“It’s no use Dash. She’s already too far gone.” Twilight sighed turning her light away from the depressing spectacle in the corner before extinguishing it completely.
The two mares sat in the dark silently as they waited for the wind to stop. Each had their own grim thoughts of the fates that they would eventually have to endure. They were quite possibly the only ones left in Equestria.
“Why did this happen?” the pegasus’s raspy voice suddenly broke the silence.
“It’s nature,” Twilight replied simply. “There were too many of us so it was an easy way to thin the population.”
“But it’s completely wiping everypony out, we’re going extinct.” Dash tried to control the sobs that were beginning to well in her throat.
“I guess it was just too effective.” Twilight shrugged in the darkness.
“How can you say that? Our friends are gone! Everypony we ever knew is gone! They’re all gone! They’re not coming back!”
“Calm down Dash, there’s nothing we can do at this point. All we can do is try to survive and hope that it’ll end soon.”
“Well what happens when I get infected? Are you just going to throw me outside too?” the gentle pat of tears hitting the wooden floor resonated around the room.
Twilight paused for several moments before speaking.
“Yes. Yes I would.”
The multicolored pegasus knew it was coming but still sat speechless at the heartlessness of her friend. The room was silent again as they both continued to wait in the dark for the wind to stop. Nothing could be heard outside - not the familiar clopping of hooves on the cobblestone paths or the conversations between ponies as they passed by. There was only the wind and the rustling of the debris.
“Time is running out. We need to do something now.”
The wind began to ebb away as she spoke.
“Perfect. Go now Dash. We can’t stall any longer.”
Twilight’s horn glowed again with the faint purple light. Dash shivered as the light slowly spanned across the room, pausing just before it got to the corner where Pinkie was.
“What are you waiting for?” Dash shot a concerned glance at the unicorn.
“I don’t know.” Twilight’s voice shook as she stared into the dark corner.
“We can’t keep waiting. If we’re going to do this then let’s do this.” Dash said stubbornly.
“Fine.” Twilight extended her light further out despite the horrific images of her friend that flooded her mind. She shut her eyes tightly as she reached out further waiting for Dash’s reaction.
“Twilight it’s too late! It’s already started! We have to get her out now!”
Twilight sobbed beneath her closed eyes. It was just as she had feared. She just didn’t know if she had the strength to open her eyes and face it.
“Twilight help me! It’s growing! I can’t move her by myself! Please Twilight! HELP ME!” Dash screamed at the sobbing unicorn in the center of the room.
A sickening crack silenced the unicorn’s sobs, forcing her to look at the horrific scene in the corner. Rainbow Dash had since stopped pulling on the hollow carcass that was anchored to the floor and walls by a dried yellow secretion. The pink mare’s eyes were completely covered in yellow and her skin was deathly dry. There was no breathing or shivering. The only movement came from the long black pole that slowly grew from the back of her head. Twilight could see the fissure that had split her friend’s skull in two. That’s what the crack had been.
“Twilight! Listen to me! We have to move her outside now! You said yourself that we needed to do whatever we could to survive! Help me move her!” Dash’s yells fell on deaf ears as Twilight stood staring at what was once her friend.
“I can’t do this anymore Dash. I just can’t.”
“Please Twilight! I don’t want to end up like her!” Splintering cracks could be heard as the pegasus desperately pulled at the body while Twilight continued to look on silently. The pole continued to climb upwards towards the ceiling from the back of their friend’s skull.
“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash.”
The pink earth pony’s body gave a violent shudder as a red bulb quickly developed at the end of the long pole and burst, spewing yellow flakes into the air. Dash recoiled in horror and let out an ear shattering scream as she tried to flee from the tiny floating particles. It was no use, her coat was already covered in the spores and more were collecting every second as they gently wafted down towards the floor.
“Twilight move!” Dash called out to the still motionless unicorn at the center of the room as she rushed for the door.
“It’s too late.” Twilight sighed accepting her fate.
Dash rushed past her, throwing open the door before stumbling back with a gasp. The world outside was coated in yellow fur that blanketed every building and rock as far as the eye could see. The sickening scene of hollow bodied ponies clinging to the tops of light posts and buildings with long poles extending from the back of their skulls haunted every direction. Both mares sighed as Dash closed the door.
The dim lavender glow faded away as the gentle pat of yellow tears hitting the floor echoed about the room.
