The Dead Trot

Chapters

The Beginning
One Does Not Simply Travel to Canterlot...
The City of Filly
Reality Check
For the Record
Get Out Alive
Preparations
Execution and Epilogue

The Beginning

After his shift at the forge was over, Fletcher thought he'd drop by the library to ask Twilight how her "Raise the Dead" spell was coming along. The more he thought about it, though, the more it reminded him of the nightmare that was still reeling in his head like a sick, twisted, never-ending video tape. He shook the idea out of his mind. It was just a dream, he thought, But it is a strange coincidence that his dream would involve the undead while Twilight is working on a spell to raise the dead. Upon arriving at the library, a flood of anxiety began to flow through him, rocking him to his very core. Before he was able to knock, the door flew open into Fletcher's muzzle, revealing the lavender unicorn within.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Fletch, I didn't see you there," Twilight apologized, lending a hoof to help he friend.

Fletcher brushed her hoof away, rubbing where the door had slammed his nose. "It's okay, Twi'. I'm not hurt that bad."

"Well that's a relief," the unicorn sighed, almost as if a heavy weight were lifted off her shoulders. "I was just about to look for you. I know that you were interested in how my necromancy studies were going, so I was going to inform you that I've finally do it!" she squealed with glee, hopping up and down like Pinkie Pie after too much "sugar".

"What?" Fletcher asked, his heart now sinking rapidly as the vision he had now returned to him with a vengeance.

"I said I've done it! I've brought somepony back from the dead! Isn't it great?"

"Um...to be honest Twi'...um..." the lavender pony pulled him inside before he could finish. She brought him to the main area, the massive collection of books towered over the two ponies like a coliseum of literature. There, standing near the staircase, was Derpy. She seemed like her normal self, but something was...wrong. Fletcher felt an awful feeling in the pit of his gut that this would not end well.

"I've revived Derpy!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Derpy never died. Derpy is still delivering the mail," looking outside, they both saw the grey bubble-butted mail-mare looking back at them, then fly away with a wave.

"No, dummy, that's her twin sister, Ditzy Doo. Derpy died after Applejack got back from that rodeo in Canterlot, so Ditzy Doo took her place. So far, nopony has noticed the difference except those who were here since the beginning. Anyway, I have successfully brought her back to life." Twilight informed Fletcher, who clearly wasn't following her. He just stared at the resurrected pony in a combined look of shock.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Twilight broke into Fletcher's thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

"Oh, forgive me. I guess i just spaced out for a minute," Fletcher grinned sheepishly.

Twilight was about to let him have another lecture, when a fear-inducing howl came from Derpy. Her eyes rolled back into her head, baring her now pointed teeth, followed by a cringe-worthy neck snap as she rotated her head to look at the two ponies before her. Her gums began to bleed as her jagged teeth serrated them. Horrified, Twilight's eyes grew to size of dinner plates, her pupils shrunk down to the size of pins, and her mouth dropped open. Fletcher was horrified as well, but not for the same reasons as the latter pony. He knew now that what he had dreamed, was reality--or was becoming reality. Before he could react, Derpy darted out the library door into the town outside. Screams from the other townsfolk echoed from outside s they were attacked by the ravenous undead mare.

"What the hay just happened?" asked Twilight, still petrified.

"I'll explain later, follow me," Fletcher answered, motioning for Twilight to follow him. She quickly regained the use of her legs as she galloped behind the black colt to his shop. They ran past pony after pony, most in a state of panic, some crying, some laying on the ground, dead. They won't be that way for long, Fletcher thought. After reaching the blacksmith's shop, Fletcher forcefully opened the door that led inside. He closed the door, allowing for him and Twilight to talk in private.

"Fletch, what's going on? What's wrong with Derpy? Why is everypony screaming? Why-"

"Twi', just shut up for a minute, okay!" demanded Fletcher, his tone riddled with worry and anger.

"I'm sorry. This is just really frightening," she admitted.

"I know it is, but you need to listen to me and answer my questions. Do you understand?" asked the black colt, holding Twilight's face with his hooves now to get her attention.

"Yes, i understand," Twilight answered with a lot less worry now.

"Okay. Twilight, where did you learn that spell to raise the dead?" he asked.

"The princess taught it to me," she replied, answering with as calm of an attitude as she could.

"Why did she teach it to you?" Fletcher interrogated her, his voice growing increasingly uneasy.

"I'm not sure. She just said that it would help her usher in a new era of existance, and remove all of the impurities from Equestria."

Fletcher couldn't believe what he just heard. Remove the impurities? Would that mean what I think it means?

"Twilight, I think I know what's going on here, but it's going to sound completely insane. I think Princess Celestia taught you that spell so you could unknowingly end the entire pony race and replace them with undead cannibals." he stated matter-of-factly.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Did you get into Pinkie's sugar again?" she asked suspiciously.

"Think about it! What other reason would there be for the ruler of Equestria to teach you a spell so powerful? She doesn't want the blood to be on her hooves, so she thought that if she wouldn't do it, maybe she could trick somepony else into doing it. And who better than her own apprentice?" Fletcher ranted. His message must have been getting through to Twilight, her face was twisting from an expression of confusion into an expression of terror.

"You could be right. What do we do?" Twilight despaired.

"We need to get to Canterlot to see for ourselves," he informed the lavender unicorn.

"What about our friends?" Twilight inquired, growing uneasy from all of this talk of the dead rising.

"Yes, they can come with us, as long as they aren't infected," Fletcher said.

Before they left, Twilight had to know one more thing, "Fletch?" she asked.

"Yes?" Fletcher acknowledged, his speed of speech implying that they needed to get out ASAP.

"How do you know all of this?"

"I saw it in a dream," he answered, not sure if Twilight would still join him thinking that he was crazy. Luckily, though, this didn't affect Twilight's resolve to journey to Canterlot. Grabbing a few weapons from the shop, they dashed out to find their friends.

First, they galloped to Sugarcube Corner, where they found Pinkie Pie inside flinging cake at a now undead Mr. and Mrs. Cake.

"Pinkie, stop giving them cake!" Twilight shouted.

"I'm not giving them cake. I'm ASSAULTING them with cake!" Pinkie exclaimed as she threw a quite delicious looking dandelion cake at her attackers.

With a small sigh and a facehoof, Twilight gave one of the swords they had picked up to Fletcher. He took it in his mouth, ran towards the two zombified bakers, and sliced them apart, their bodys now just a heap of bloody, dacaying limbs on the floor.

"Wowy, Fletch! Where'd you learn to do that? Huh, huh, huh?"

"Pinkie, just come with us," Twilight ordered, her voice stern and almost cold.

"Okie dokie lokie," Pinkie replied with a cheerful grin. How she could find joy at a time like this, nopony will ever know.

Next, they hurried to Sweet Apple Acres. Arriving on the farm, they found Big Mac fighting off an undead Granny Smith. He was about to buck her to the moon, when she latched down on his hind leg with her fake teeth. Big Mac let out a yelp as he shook off Granny Smith and promptly crushing her skull with his powerful hoof.

"Big Mac, where's Applejack? Twilight asked.

Before he could answer, Applejack ran from the barn, and following her, was Applebloom, only she wasn't Applebloom, she was one of...them.

"We need to leave AJ, follow us!" Fletcher yelled.

"But, Applebloom and Big Mac-"

"It's too late for them! We need to move. NOW!" Twilight screamed, becoming increasingly agitated by their situation.

"Go, AJ," Big Mac joined in, "don't worry 'bout me. I'll be fine."

"Oh...fine, I'll go," AJ stated reluctantly.

As they left Sweet Apple Acres, Fletcher looked back as Big Mac twisted Applebloom's neck, promptly ending her suffering, then proceeded to find a pitchfork, tie it to the barn door, and gallop into it, killing him instantly. Fletcher made sure to turn back to the direction they were running quickly so AJ wouldn't look back, too.

After they had retrieved Spike from the library after Twilight had finally remembered that he existed, the group hustled over to Fluttershy's cottage. Upon entering said cottage, they found Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash curled up on her couch in a state of hysteria. Nearby on the floor at least half of Fluttershy's animal friends, dead. They showed signs that they had turned, and all of their heads were smashed in.

"Fluttershy, Dashie, follow us!" Pinkie giggled, bouncing up and down.

"Fluttershy is in no mood to move, guys," Dash informed, comforting her heart-broken friend.

"Look, it was either them or us, Fluttershy. I'm sorry that they had to die, but we need to live, so come with us," Twilight spoke in a calm voice despite the scene laying before them.

"Um...okay, I'll come," Fluttershy whispered, sobs still escaping her throat.

They were about to leave when Spike shouted, "We need to save Rarity!"

They rushed over to the boutique, only to find a zombie Rarity feeding on her helpless little sister. Sweetiebelle was far gone, but Rarity kept gorging herself on her dead sister's flesh. Spike and Fluttershy looked away in terror and disgust.

"Fletch, you know what to do," said Twilight, showing only a small amount of sadness as she spoke. At this, Fletcher took the sword and strolled over to Rarity. She let out a spine-chilling roar at the colt. A little shaken by the outburst, Fletcher promptly decapitated Rarity and Sweetiebelle. Sheathing the sword, he returned to stand by the others, tears streaming down all of their faces now. These were two of there dearest friends, and just like that, they were gone like an exhaled breath. Just as a rose by any other name smells just as sweet, a zombie by any other name still bites, so it was an understandable circumstance. Once they regained their composure, Twilight spoke, "Alright, we're ready to leave."

"Not just yet, Twi'. I've got one more pony I need to drop by," Fletcher informed, a sly grin crossing his muzzle.

After following Fletcher for a few minutes, they came to a small house built into a hillside just on the outskirts of Ponyville. Fletcher knocked harshly on the door.

"I know your in there, Tail Spin," he called.

A loud commotion came from inside, the sound of a glass object breaking followed by several locks on the door beginning to unlock. When the last of the locks had been opened, a Pegasus pony stepped out of the doorway.

"Oh hey, Fletch. What's shakin'?

He was about Fletcher's height, and his body was also about the same build, accept Fletcher had quite a bit more muscle than Tail Spin. His white and grey-splattered coat din't exactly match his red and yellow mane, but he apparently didn't care.

"Fletcher, who's this guy?" Rainbow Dash inquired, raising a brow at the pegasus.

"An old friend of mine," Fletcher answered, "we went to school together."

"Yeah, those were some good times. We were inseparable until I joined the Wonderbolts," Tail Spin added.

"You're in the Wonderbolts?" Dash asked.

"Yep. My stage name is Stratos. I'm sure you've heard of me."

"Wow! It is an honor to meet you! Can I get your autograph?" Dashes words were a waterfall of syllables spilling out of her mouth faster than anypony could comprehend.

"Dash, you can get your autograph later. But right now, we need to get serious," Fletcher reminded her.

With a huff, Dash pulled back, disappointed.

"So, what brings you to my neck of the woods, Fletch?" inquired Tail Spin.

"You need to follow us. The dead are coming back to life and I thought that you could help us."

"I don't know. I have to be at a practice for the Wonderbolts in, like, five minutes and-" he was cut off by Fletcher grabbing him and slamming him to the ground.

"Don't you get it?! We are ALL in grave danger! Get that through your tiny, self-centered brain!" Fletcher demanded, getting louder with every passing word.

"Woah, there, Fletch. Chill out. 'Course I'll go with ya," the pegasus replied nonchalantly, still pinned down by Fletcher's hardened body.

"Thank you," Fletcher smiled, getting off of his friend, allowing him to stand back up, "we'll need all the help we can get."

"No prob, bro. What are friends for?"

Now that the group was fully assembled, they decided that they needed more supplies. Figuring that everywhere else was no longer safe, they scurried to Sugarcube Corner, surely there would be food and drink there. As they entered the bakery, they noticed that everything was still pretty much intact.

"Well, sure looks like none of those things didn't get in here," Spike remarked looking around.

They all began to search the building for anything useful, whether it be food, water, blunt objects, etc. Pinkie Pie was able to find a sack of flour, a dozen eggs, and a bag of "sugar" from Mr. Cake's "stash". The other ponies knew what it was, but didn't bother telling Pinkie. Why spoil he fun?

Nopony else was able to find anything that they really needed. They were about ready to leave when the rain began to fall. There was something odd about this rain, though, it looked...different. Twilight stuck her hoof out a window to catch a few drops. WHen she had accumulated a few she retracted her hoof to look at the droplets.

"It's...it's.......it's BLOOD!" she screamed in shock.

"Then, that must mean..." Tail Spin started.

"...that whatever this is, it's gotten to Cloudsdale," Dash finished.

Before any mourning could begin, a loud crash came from outside. Startled, everypony froze, paralyzed in fear. The crashing against the entrance of the shop continued, and over time, became stronger as more of the "things" from outside began slamming themselves against the door.

"Quick, we have to baracade the shop!" Twilight ordered.

Working as fast as they could, the team baracaded every single door and window of the store. The monsters outside were relentless, though, smashing and breaking the wooden planks that restricted them from their prey.

"What do we do?" panicked Fluttershy.

"We take out the trash," Fletcher said as he grabbed a sword from his saddlebag and stuck the blade outside a window through a crack in the baracade. The sound of steel puncturing skin could be heard as a long, drawn out moan passed the lips of the unfortunate soul outside as it collapsed. Dead.

The sight of this brought courage to the hearts of the other survivors, prompting them all to grab a tool of death and begin striking down the attackers from outside the walls of the bakery. One after another, the trotters were slain by the group of heavily armed ponies. Blood ws everywhere, both inside the store and out. The ponies no longer resembled their natural colors, but now all share the same shade of crimson on their coats created by the constant stream of blood created by the undead marauders.

After the moans ceased, everypony was silent for a minute, just to be sure that none of them were still alive. When there was no response, the living ponies started to leap for joy and laugh uncontrollably. Everypony was bursting at the seems with joy and happiness for multiple reasons, whether it was being alive, thankful that here were no more trotters outside the sweet shop, or that it was now safe to sleep, the ponies couldn't control their emotions. Fletcher ended up wrapping Twilight in a powerful embrace. Shocked by this,Twilight was hesitant to embrace him back, but considering the circumstance that they were under, she decided to return the gesture.

Everypony giggled and smirked at the sight of Twilight and Fletcher hugging, but they didn't care, it just felt so good to be alive. Once everypony had settled down for the night to get some sleep, or what little sleep that could be had at a time such as this, nearly everypony fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows, all except Twilight and Fletcher. Fletcher was wide awake, staring off into some dark abyss, falling deeper and deeper into a sort of hypnotic state of meditation. Twilight interrupted his train of thought.

"Hey, Fletch?" she asked shyly.

"Yeah?" questioned the black colt.

"I just wanted to say thanks, for what you did today. I never would have known about Celestia's true plans unless you showed up."

"No problem, Twi'. It's not that big of a deal," Fletcher replied.

"You saved my life. You saved all of our lives. I just want to say thank you, for everything."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, still partially caked with blood. By now, the blush on the colt's face couldn't be told apart from the blood.

With a sigh, Twilight rolled back over and fell asleep.

With a small grin, Fletcher reached over and stroked the lavender mare's mane gently as he thought. Well, what now? he thought laying back on his sleeping bag. Why would the princess do this? Why Twilight? Why us? All of these question bounced around in his head like rabbits until his own thoughts and ideas put him to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED...

One Does Not Simply Travel to Canterlot...

With the rays of the early morning sun peeking through the windows of Sugarcube Corner, the team awakened with cheerfulness, more or less. With a groan, Fletcher opened his eyes only to be blinded by the bright light shining directly in his eyes. He quickly shut them again, wanting to fall back asleep, but at this point, there wasn't really much purpose in trying anymore. He rolled over onto his side and fully opened his eyes to find a still sleeping Twilight curled up against him. A little shocked, he bolted onto his feet and cleared his throat.

"Good morning, everypony," he encouraged as everypony else was still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

"What's so good about it?" Tail Spin yawned. It looked as though he was already off to a bad start today.

"What's good is that we're alive and not with those things out there," Fletcher said as he shot Tail Spin a death look.

"Well, when you put it that way..." the pegasus submitted.

Fletcher grinned back at his friend, then spoke again, this time with more of an orderly tone.

"Now that we are all mostly awake, let's get down to business. Do we have everything we have everything we need to get to Canterlot without any major hassle?"

"Well, we have just 'bout everythin' that we might need if we run into any kinda trouble," Applejack informed, still trying to fully wake herself up.

"Twi', you're more of the organization type. Can you handle this?" Fletcher asked, a sheepish grin spreading across his muzzle.

"Gladly," Twilight yawned. She gave Fletcher a quick wink as she gained her footing.

"Before we leave, does anypony need to use the little pony's room?" she asked.

Nopony had to go to the bathroom, so everypony packed up what they could carry, then, with a deep breath, Twilight opened the front doors. The sight was almost too disgusting to behold. Severed limbs and bloody carcasses lay strewn about the surrounding area. Rotting corpses bloated almost to the point of exploding seemed to be everywhere, staring at the survivors with their cold, lifeless eyes. At the sight of this, Fluttershy unloaded the contents of her stomach all over the now crimson-stained grass. The sky was no longer blue, now it was a dull hue of grey, seeming to be looming over the crew as they marched towards the edge of Ponyville in the direction of Canterlot.

"This is so gross," Pinkie Pie groaned, accidentally stepping an a rotting body, cracking it's ribs.

"Just hang in there, Pink," Rainbow Dash encouraged. She didn't sound all too sure herself about the situation.

"Fletch, we weren't able to find enough food or water to take a one-way trip to Canterlot, we're going to have to find another major city to see if we can salvage anything," Tail Spin said.

"I know, that's why Twilight took the liberty of mapping out a route to Canterlot that will also take us through Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, and Trottingham," replied Fletcher.

"Do you think that those cities are infected, too?" inquired Spike, still sounding a little sleepy.

"I don't think the disease could have spread that far that fast," Fluttershy chimed in.

"Only one way ta find out," said Applejack.

The group had now reached the outskirts of Ponyville. Nopony wanted to say goodbye to the little town, not even Pinkie Pie. No tears were shed, for they had all been shed the night before. This entire ordeal was taking a toll on each of the pony's minds, some more than others.

As the group continued onward to Fillydelphia, the closest of the major cities, it occured to Pinkie Pie that they could all use some lunch. Everypony could get behind that idea, so they stopped and allowed Pinkie to whip up a delicious batch of stew.

"Eat up, everypony," Pinkie sang, happy that every member of the group was enjoying her stew.

"This is great, Pinkie Pie. What's in this stuff?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, just some of our friends I found laying around Ponyville," she chirped.

Immediately, every pony spat out the soup that they currently had in their mouths, if any at all. Horror was evident on every single face besides Pinkie's, who had put on a mask of disappointment.

"I thought you all liked it," Pinkie Pie whimpered, her hair starting to sink lower and begin to straighten.

"What the hay are you tryin' to do, Pink? Kill us?" Applejack questioned, rage seeming to brim to a boil in her tone.

"I just thought that if our friends were all dead, we might as well take a part of them with us," she pulled a severed hind leg out of her saddlebag, "this leg is from Mrs. Cake. If she wasn't coming with us, I thought that I would take a piece of her with us. Then, I got hungry during the night, and the only thing I could find was Mrs. Cake's corpse. I took a bite, and it tasted just like a birthday cake."

The pupils of every other pony in the clan had now shrunk to pinprick size while the eyes themselves were now like gigantic, white dinner plates, and their mouths hung open as Pinkie continued.

"It tasted so good that I wanted to share it with all of my friends. That's why I put Mrs. Cake's flank and kidneys into the soup you all ate. What's the big deal?"

"YOU ARE INSANE!" Tail Spin barked.

"Brother, you don't know the half of it," Rainbow Dash remarked, "you think this is bad? You don't want to know how she makes cupcakes."

"I most certainly not insane," Pinkie snapped, her hair now fully uncurled, hanging in front of her deadly gaze like a veil.

"You've really done it this time, Pinkie Pie," Twilight said, "I'm afraid we cannot take any risk of your mental instability being a liability on this journey. We won't just leave you here, but you'll have to be restrained if we're going to take you with us. Don't take it personally, I'm just doing what's best for the team."

The pink earth pony didn't take this comment well. Her nostrils flared, her eyes narrowed, and her once cute and perky voice had now become nearly demonic.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Twi'," she spoke with intensity.

"Fluttershy, git my rope," Applejack requested.

Fluttershy fetched Applejack's rope from her saddlebag and gave it over to the rancher pony. "Now Pinkie Pie, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, make yer choice."

"I always enjoyed the hard way of doing things," Pinkie chortled maniacally. With this, she galloped toward Applejack as quick as lightening and bucked her hard in the stomach. AJ fell over and began gasping for air. Fluttershy calmly trotted over to Pinkie, possibly to calm her down, but Pinkie intercepted her approach. She spun around and bit down angrily on the pegasus's neck. Fluttershy let out a cry of pain as the insane mare then proceeded to tear off the chuck of skin she had in her mouth. Pinkie swallowed the bloody mess in her maw as a beastly smile crossed her face.

"Ponies...taste...WONDERFUL!" she screamed the last word with all of her might, sending a chills down everypony's spines.

By this time, Applejack was back on her hooves, her rope firmly held in her jaws. She motioned for Rainbow Dash to subdue Pinkie Pie so she could rope her. Dash gladly flew towards the pink menace, no hesitation to do what was necessary. Pinkie Pie reared up on her hind legs, ready to pounce on the cyan pegasus approaching her at increasing velocity. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to collide with the earth pony, she instantly put on the brakes, swerved behind her friend, and held her hooves behind her back. Pinkie struggled to brake free from Dash's grasp, but Dash held strong. Applejack then tied the rope around Pinkie Pie, who was still trying to struggle. With Pinkie out of the way, focus could now be given to Fluttershy and her wound.

She was bleeding profusely with no signs of stopping. She squealed in fear and pain as she slowly started to drift away from consciousness. Everypony was by her side now, trying to reqain their composure and figure out how to save their now quickly-dying friend.

"We need to stop the bleeding," Twilight cried, "Fletch, apply pressure to the wound."

"On it," Fletcher replied as he pushed down on Fluttershy's neck.

"Hang in there, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash sobbed, looking at her long-time companion with a look of both compasion and concern.

"D-d-dash..." Fluttershy managed to utter, "make sure...that...someone takes care of the...animals for me...okay?" she cooed, her breathing growing calmer and calmer as she spoke.

"No, no your going to live," Dash argued, tears streaming down her face as she heard these words.

"It's...to late...for me...D-Dashie...I...I..." Fluttershy coughed up a spray of blood before finishing, "I love you. I...l love you all. I'll...miss you...especially you, Dash." She leaned upward and planted a kiss firmly on Rainbow Dash's mouth, then fell back to the ground. Her breathing had ceased, and her body lay limp on the crimson grass beneath her.

Rainbow Dash just stood there. A look of astonishment in her eyes. As the seconds ticked by, the look on her face changed from one of misery and fear to one of rage and blood-lust.

"You! You sick, twisted, heartless pig!" Dash shrieked as she ran towards the tied-up earth pony, who had put on a devious smile.

Dash reached the helpless Pinkie Pie and began beating her mercilessly. Her hooves were a blur as she struck the pink prisoner with all of her fury. A red stream was running from Pinkie's nose and mouth as Rainbow continued her onslaught. It had begun raining now, the gentle droplets of rain splashed against the ground and the ponies, washing away the scarlet river that had stained them all. Tail Spin dashed to Dashes side and yanked her away from the decimated pink psycho.

"Cut it out, Dash! She's had enough! Just stop!" Tail Spin ordered, only to have Dash turn on him and smack him upside his face, knocking him to the grass. Dash then proceeded to hammer away at the other pegasus, blood splattering all across her as she broke his nose with her powerful hooves.

"Quit it, RD," Applejack shouted over the sound of the rain. She grabbed a second rope and threw it around the cyan pegasus, and with a tight pull, utterly restrained the out-of-control mare.

"Let me GO! I need to give Pinkie Pie what's coming to her," Dash screamed, her words seething pure hatred as she struggled to break free, "SHE NEEDS TO PAY FOR WHAT SHE DID TO FLUTTERSHY!"

"Let it go, Dash. Fluttershy's dead, and there's no changing that, but that's no reason to kill one of your friends over it," Twilight affirmed, hoping that this would calm down Rainbow Dash.

"Pinkie Pie is NOT my friend, she is a complete PSYCHO!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"She's right, you know," Pinkie Pie chimed in, speaking in a soothing yet sinister voice, "I am a total nut-job. Although, I did have a reason for killing Fluttershy."

"And what's that?" Dash asked, her words were sharp enough to slice through stone.

"Check her saddlebag," Pinkie answered.

Fletcher walked over and opened Fluttershy's saddlebag, revealing a journal and a knife.

"Read it," Pinkie added.

Fletcher picked up the journal and began to read:

"Day 2: I can't take it anymore. I need to survive, but with everypony else, Dash's chance, as well as mine, are slim at best. I know about the lock-down of Canterlot, and I know that they only let two ponies into the city each day. I figure that with only Dash and I alive, we would be able to enter Canterlot, be safe from this plague, and she can finally be mine and mine alone forever. Once everypony is asleep, I'll slit their precious little throats and tell Dash that they all just committed suicide. She, of course, will believe me, and we can go straight to Canterlot and live out the rest of our days as a happy couple. I will strike the night we leave town. Talk to you later. -Fluttershy.

The book fell from Fletcher's hooves like a feather in the breeze. Nopony spoke. The only sound that could be heard was the pitter-patter of the rain as the water seemed to envelop the team in their own little world.

"That can't be right." Twilight picked up the now soggy journal and read exactly what was printed, with the same result.

"This can't be happening," said Dash, still slightly flustered, "this is Fluttershy we're talking about, she could never do anything like that."

"This ain't the first time she's lost her marbles," Applejack reminded, "remember at the Gala, she went completely nuts when those critters wouldn't be her friends."

"How does that count?" Dash asked.

"Look, the point is, Fluttershy was plotting to kill us," Tail Spin ended the debate between the two athletic mares, "but she's dead now, so the problem has been-" he was interrupted by a soft, low moan from behind him. He slowly turned around and to find Fluttershy standing directly behind him.

"'Shy, you're alive!" Dash rejoiced, nearly squealed with joy.

"No she's not," Fletcher retaliated, retrieving a sword from his saddlebag.

"Fletch, what are you doing with that thing?" Dash interrogated even though she already knew the answer.

"She's one of them, now. Either she officially dies, or we join her."

Rainbow Dash began to struggle for freedom again, the ropes hugging her like a constrictor. As the now undead Fluttershy looked around, Fletcher stepped toward her, his face expressionless. Fluttershy let out an ear-shattering moan just before Fletcher decapitated the poor filly. Fletcher then cleaned the blade and placed the sword back in his satchel.

"There was no other way, Dash. I apologize," Fletcher said with a solemn look. Dash finally calmed down enough for Applejack to untie her.

"Thank ya kindly, Pink. Without you, we wouldn't have know 'bout Fluttershy," said Applejack. When she was about to untie Pinkie, the pink earth pony shook her head.

"Don't untie me. I'll need to be in a bit," she told her companions.

"Why not?" Tail Spin asked, raising an eyebrow, but instantly wincing at the pain that his broken nose gave him for doing so.

"By eating the raw zombie flesh, I've become infected. The disease won't take effect until it passes through my digestive system, which should be any time now. You all ate the cooked flesh, though. Since it was cooked, it had very little of the virus within it, just enough so that you didn't become infected, but also enough that all of your bodies have built up an immunity to it."

"Where did you learn all of this?" Twilight inquired.

"Your library. I sneak in sometimes when I can't get to sleep," she grinned sheepishly.

"That aside, Fletcher, you know what needs to be done," said Pinkie Pie, her tone soft yet serious.

"Are you sure that your body won't build an immunity to the disease, too?" asked Twilight, obviously trying to avoid the inevitable.

"Unfortunately, no. This is the only way," the pink earth pony replied. "I'll miss you all, both in life and death."

Everypony was breaking down, now. Even Fletcher, who's emotional strength was greater than the almighty Rainbow Dash, was a complete wreck. Through sobs and hiccups, he raised the sword and brought it down on Pinkie's neck, slicing her head off in one clean sweep. At least she had a quick death, Fletcher thought to himself.

The group thought that maybe just standing in the rain for a while would wash away all of their sins and shame, but to no avail. They found a nearby cave that would make a good shelter for the night. They hauled all of their equipment into the small cavern, including the gear from Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, and tried to get some sleep.

Twilight awoke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. Great, another nightmare, she thought. She sat up as her eyes adjusted to the darkness and found Fletcher sitting next to her.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

"No," Twilight replied. She was going to give him a lecture on how nightmares are simply a figment of their imaginations and nothing more, but instead, she began to cry.

Fletcher noticed this and scooted closer to her. He held her there for a few minutes, letting the lavender unicorn sob on his should while he whispered comforting words in her ear.

"I just want to die, Fletch," she whimpered. At this, Fletcher grabbed her face and brought it close to his, their eyes level with each other.

"Twilight Sparkle! You are NOT going to die! I will personally make sure of that," he said, determined yet quiet enough not to wake the others.

"How do I know you're serious?" she inquired.

He then took Twilight's head in his hooves and planted his lips harshly against hers. This kiss only lasted for a couple seconds before the colt broke it.

"That's the only answer I could think of," he smiled, an embarrassed blush spread across his snout.

"I like your way with words," Twilight remarked, grinning slyly. She leaned forward and let her mouth connect with the blacksmith's once more, but this was not in desperation or anxiety, this was out of love. They both didn't know, in the wake of two of their best friend's death, how they could could be kissing each other passionately. That didn't bother them, though. All that mattered was the here and now, nothing more.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The City of Filly

Fletcher awoke to the sound of clanging metal. His eyes shot open to find Applejack running around a campfire with pots and pans. It seemed as though she was preparing breakfast. The smell of cinnamon and apples was prominent throughout the entire cavern, rousing everypony else from their restless slumbers. Fletcher's head was pounding. He rubbed his temples with his hooves, trying to make the intense throbbing go away, but with no luck. Defeated, he fell back and groaned as his head hit the hard cave floor like a ton of bricks. The black colt felt something moving steadily next to him. Turning his head to the side, he saw a still-sleeping Twilight. Then, the events from the night prior came back to him in a flash. He and Twilight, they'd...they'd...

"Oh sweet Celestia," he murmured, "what have I done?"

His whispers were apparently enough to wake up the sleeping purple mare. How the pots and pans clanging together didn't wake her, he would never know.

"Good morning," Twilight sighed, blinking herself awake.

"Twi'," Fletcher said, "do you have any idea what happened last night?"

"Well, now that you mention it..." the lavender unicorn pondered, her hoof rubbing her chin as she thought, "Oh yeah, didn't we-"

"So, you remember?" the colt asked in an urgent but hushed voice, so as not to let Applejack or the other ponies hear them.

"How could I not? That was crazy! I had no idea that...that...could be that good!" she whispered excitedly.

"No, it's not about that, it's about what happens now." His eyes were emotionless as he stared into Twilight's eyes with a worried yet cold look.

"What do you mean?" she asked him, her head tilting slightly to the side in confusion.

"I mean, what if you get pregnant. What then?" he asked, unsure of why Twilight wasn't taking this seriously.

"How can you get pregnant from playing chess?"

"Wait. What?" Fletcher was confused beyond words, now.

"Don't you remember? We had a few nice kisses, then I offered that we put ourselves to sleep by playing a nice, wholesome game of chess before bed," she explained, baffled at why Fletcher was asking.

"Oh," said the black pony, realizing that that was what happened the night prior.

"That's right. After thirty-seven straight losses, I guess I just needed a good dream,," he chuckled.

"A good dream, you say?" Twilight inquired, putting her hooves under her chin, like an eager child awaiting the moment that their parents begin reading them a bedtime story.

Fletcher opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a certain rancher calling out, "SOUPS ON, EVERYPONY!"

This immediately awakened Rainbow Dash and Tail Spin, causing them to jump from their sleeping bags. Once both of them realized that nopony was trying to murder them in their sleep, Tail Spin spoke.

"Well, you certainly got our attention. You could have just tapped us, though."

"That wouldn't 've been as dern near fun," Applejack smiled. She had clearly set out to scare the two awake, and as funny as it was at the time, it did seem a little cruel.

"That aside," Twilight said, standing up to seem a little more orderly, "we leave for Fillydelphia today."

"So soon?" Tail Spin yawned, still not fully awake.

"Of course, by the time we get to Canterlot, they may not be taking in civilians from the outside."

"We can't even mourn our losses?" Fletcher interrogated, suspicious of Twilight's haste to get to Canterlot.

"NO! WE NEED TO LEAVE, NOW!" Twilight shrieked, her voice echoed off the walls of the small cave, amplifying it's volume ten-fold.

"Okay, fine. But can we at least eat breakfast first?" Fletcher asked, a little shocked at Twilight's determination to leave as soon as they could.

"Fine," she caved in, "but as soon as we're done, we leave."

After quite the delicious breakfast of dried figs and Applejack's famous "Apple Brown Betty", the group packed their things and forged onward towards Fillydelphia.

After what seemed like hours, they came across what appeared to be a welcome sign. It said, "Welcome to Fillydelphia: Home of the Filly Cheese-Flower Sandwich!", but where it advertised the scrumptious sounding sandwich, a sloppy message was written in blood. Instead of the original message, it now said, "Welcome to Hell: Home of the Dead!"

This warning brought back memories of the dream Fletcher had had only nights before. His headache returned, this one more painful than the last. He groaned and rubbed his head with his hoof.

"Somethin' wrong, Fletch?" Applejack raised a brow at the blacksmith.

"No. Everything's alright," he lied through his teeth.

"Come on, everypony," Twilight ordered, "we don't have much time."

"Time for what?" Tail Spin asked suspiciously.

"Oh, uh, never mind," Twilight replied.

This was enough for the pegasus to believe, so with a shrug, he paid no more mind to the unicorn's odd comment.

"Well, better not keep those cannibals waiting," Fletcher took a step forward.

The rest of the group followed suit, walking into Celestia-knows-what kind of dangers and obstacles. The party trekked into the empty streets of Fillydelphia, surprised to find that it was worse off than Ponyville. Carts were turned over, houses were barred shut, and every single place of business seemed to be abandoned.

"Hey guys, check it out," Tail Spin said, pointing at a nearby building. It was a bar by the looks of it. A large sign was held above the front entrance that read, "The Trough".

"Could we maybe quick swing in and see if we can find any booze?" Tail Spin asked, his lips curling into a large grin.

"No. We need to keep moving!" Twilight declared.

"One drink couldn't hurt," Rainbow Dash chimed in.

"Well, I guess we could find something." Twilight wasn't feeling very assertive today, so, once again, she gave in to her friends' requests.

With sword in mouth, Fletcher stepped into the seemingly empty bar first. The others followed behind him, remembering to be cautious of their surroundings. The inside of the bar looked even worse than it did outside. Bar-stools were broken on the floor, panes of glass were shattered, and the jukebox lay in the corner of the main room, accumulating dust as time went by.

The team looked around for at least twenty minutes before Applejack came across the liquor cabinet. The ponies crowded around the large cabinet as Applejack bucked the door open. As the contents of the container came into view, everypony gasped. There, sitting in front of them, was the mother-load of alcohol. Liquors, wines, spirits, beers, ciders, ales - you name it, it was in there.

"Jackpot!" Rainbow Dash squealed, her tongue lolling out of her mouth at the sight of so much alcohol.

Before the team could dig into the massive assortment of liquor, they heard a clicking sound. They turned around to find a tan unicorn staring at them. His horn emanating a red aura that surrounded a peculiar metallic object floating in the air.

"Are you one of those things?" he asked the other ponies in a typical Fillydelphian accent.

"No. We're from Ponyville," Fletcher informed the unicorn.

"Well, you can talk. That's a good sign," he chuckled, "Who are you all, anyway?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," the lavender unicorn chirped, "and this is Applejack, Rainbow Dash,Tail Spin, and Fletcher." She pointed to each pony as she called their names.

"Gizmo's my name, and machines are my game!" he proudly proclaimed. His enthusiasm was, to say the least, a bit startling for the group. He quickly realized this and apologized.

"So you work with machines?" Dash inquired, her interest clearly peaked at the unicorn's claim.

"Follow me," Gizmo replied, motioning for the party to follow him. Since they didn't know anything else to do, they followed the new pony. As they trotted behind Gizmo across the bar, Fletcher studied him. His coat was a light tan, he had a long, straight blonde mane, and his cutie mark appeared to be a golden gear. I guess that's where he gets the name, he thought.

He approached a vault-type door. After entering a combination, the door opened. Gizmo took a few steps forward and flipped a switch that turned on the lights. Before the ponies lay a humongous chrome-colored room, containing several odd devices and many complicated mechanisms and machinery. With the new-found light, everypony now noticed that both of Gizmo's left-front leg and right-hind leg were mechanical.

"Welcome to my laboratory!" Gear Head exclaimed.

"Dude, what happened to your legs?" Tail Spin questioned, not taking even the slightest notice of the massive lab before him.

"Oh yeah. I lost them when I was just a foal. The doctors said that I would never walk again. But this mechanic in town said otherwise. He crafted me a pair of mechanical legs, and that's when I knew that I wanted to work with machines the rest of my life, my cutie mark proves it," he proudly lectured, showing off his cutie mark to the other ponies.

"This is huge!" Applejack exclaimed, her eyes wide with amazement, "how were ya able to fit this in a bar?"

"I was the manager; I was able to do whatever I pleased," he answered with a sly grin, "Anyway, I was going to ask you all what kind of protection you have against those undead ponies out there."

Fletcher pulled the swords out of his saddlebag and placed them on the floor.

"Swords. I see. A good weapon choice, indeed. Although a sword could not compare to my creations," the unicorn boasted.

"And what in the hay is that supposed ta mean?" Applejack interogated.

"Allow me to demonstrate." He strolled over to one of the pieces of metal sitting on a stand. His aura surrounded the object as it floated into the air.

"Observe." A load bang! erupted from the tiny piece of metal as a smaller piece of metal flew out and hit a sack of rice on the other side of the room. A small hole materialized as the projectile impacted and flew straight through.

"Whoa! What was that?!" Rainbow Dash asked, her face showing a mixture of awe and fear.

"I call it a gun!" Gizmo declared, "it's stronger than a crossbow, yet has at least twice the range!"

"How can non-unicorns use it?" Applejack asked, clearly intrigued by the idea.

He showed the group how to hold the handle in their mouths and pull back the trigger with their tongues. He also showed them different designs that had as his disposal; such as a large, back-mounted mechanism he called 'The Vulcan'. It had two rotating cylinders, and each cylinder had eight barrels. This weapon, according to Gizmo, was able to fire at a rate of 6,000 RPM. Applejack knew that this was the weapon for her. So, with much convincing, she received it from Gizmo. Tail Spin and Rainbow Dash both chose wing-mounted sub-machine guns; they we're relatively light weight, yet deadly. Twilight chose nothing, believing that she could defend herself with only her magic. Fletcher also chose nothing. The guns may have been deadlier, but taking a firearm over a good-old-fashioned sword would've been against his trade.

Once their weapons of war were selected, Rainbow Dash suggested that they finally dig into they large supply of alcohol. Twilight countered, but it was six against one, so Twi' lost by default. Spike was about to open a bottle of Applejack Daniels, when Twilight's magic surrounded him and cast him far away from the source of the liquor.

"Spike, you're a baby dragon. Babies can't drink," she stated matter-of-fact like.

"Fine," Spike huffed. He grabbed his blanket from Twilight's saddlebag, threw it in a corner away from the others, and fell asleep instantly.

"Let's get this party started!" Tail Spin exclaimed while popping open a bottle of champagne. Everypony but Twilight howled in agreement. Everypony was downing alcohol like a madmare - all except Twilight, who sat on a bar stool reading a book.

"Come on, Twi'," Fletcher said. He wasn't as wasted as the others, but he was beginning to slur his words, "jusht live a little. One drink, and you can call it quitsh."

"Oh, alright," Twilight said, defeated. She grabbed a mug of what appeared to be white dandelion wine and brought it to her lips. The cool liquid ran down her throat as she tilted the cup upwards. Once she had finished, she knew immediately that something was wrong. Wine didn't ever make her feel this tipsy. She picked up the bottle that the substance had came from to find that it wasn't wine, it was 140 proof apple vodka. Her head began to spin. Her thoughts raced. After this point she had no recollection of what happened until the next morning.

Reality Check

When Fletcher awoke, his head began to throb. Gingerly rubbing his temples with his hooves, he noticed Rainbow Dash huddled in a corner. She was rocking back and forth mumbling to herself.

"Come on everypony... smile, smile...smile. Fill my...heart up with...sunshine..."

"Rainbow, are you-" Fletcher stopped when he noticed the knife in the pegasus mare's hoof. With every pause in her mumbling, she made an incision on her wrists; they were completely unrecognizable from the amount of cuts and the freshly caked blood still seeming to ooze out with every motion Rainbow Dash made.

"Dear Celestia! What the hay are you doing?" Fletcher asked, unable to hide the panic in his voice.

Rainbow Dash slowly tilted her head towards the black stallion. He noticed that her pupils were dilated, and that her once bright cyan coat was now a pale brown from the loss of blood and the blood that had spilled upon her.

"They're dead," she whispered hoarsely, "they're both dead. My two best friends in the whole world. DEAD!"

She ceased cutting herself only to raise the knife and begin to approach Fletcher.

"Woah. Now, Rainbow Dash, just put the knife down. W-w-we can talk about this, r-right?"

"Oh, I'm afraid it's too late for that, murderer. You killed both of my friends, and now..." She licked the blade of the knife, causing a large laceration to form on her tongue, "YOU DIE WITH THEM!"

The crazed mare lunged at Fletcher, mouth frothing and eyes brimming with pure hatred. Fletcher dodged her initial assault, but his still present hangover drastically hindered his movement.

With every dodge he made of Rainbow's attacks, what little energy he had left drastically decreased. With one final lunged, Dash sunk home. The knife pierced through Fletcher's rib cage, causing him to cry out in agony. This caused the rest of the group to prematurely awaken from their drunken stupors.

"MURDERER!" Rainbow Dash screamed, "IT'S PAYBACK TIME!"

Rainbow Dash grabbed the blade from Fletcher's ribs and began stabbing him repeatedly. After ten seconds of the repeated brutality, Tail Spin sloppily threw Dash across the floor, away from his long-time friend.

"Dash! What the hay has gotten into you?!" Tail Spin yelled, anxiety rampant in his voice.

"Don't you dare interfere with his just deserts, pretty boy!" the crazed mare seethed.

Suddenly, a loud shot rang through the bar, and the side of Rainbow Dash's skull exploded into a grotesque pattern of blood and brain matter that splattered across the floor. By this time, everypony was awake and at full attention, staring at their freshly killed friend. Looking over, everypony spotted Gizmo, his magical aura surrounding a smoking gun. Tears began to well in the mechanic's eyes as the gun fell to the floor with a soft thud!

"Luna forgive me," he said, "I'm used to killing the undead ones, but...but that's the first live one that I've...I've..." Before he could finish, he vomited all over the now bloody floor.

The rest of the group crowded around the blue pegsus' motionless corpse. Nopony said a word; the room was as silent as the night is dark. They all stood there, staring at their slain comrade with expressionless gazes. They had all watched Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and all of their other friends die right in front of them; they simply had no more tears to cry. All that came from them after a while were dry sobs and empty weeping.

Twilight was in no mental condition to mourn, however, as she attempted to bandage up Fletcher's wound.

"This is pretty bad, Fletch, are you sure that you only need a bandage?" Twilight asked, her voice a mix of sadness and concern.

"I'll be fine, Twiley. I've had..." he cringed in pain as Twilight fastened the cloth around his chest, "...worse."

After disposing of the body and getting out what emotion the troop had left to give, there was no questioning the matter: they had to leave. After packing what supplies they could muster, they exited the alcoholic residence. Upon exiting said establishment, they spotted a few trotters wandering aimlessly through the streets. The living ponies were able to slaughter them with ease, considering that at any point, they could outrun them with breaking a sweat. Until, that is, they heard a low rumbling sound.

"Did y'all hear that?" asked Applejack.

Before anypony could answer, a nearby building exploded into a cloud of dust and debris. Coughing, the gang fanned the dust out of the air to see what had caused the damage. There, standing in front of them, was a huge, frothing, undead manticore.

"Oh you gotta be bucking kidding me!" flamed Tail Spin, sounding more irritated than frightened. The monstrosity before them roared with with terrible vigor as it charged towards the petrified ponies. Gizmo was the first to act. He lifted his pistol out of its holster on his flank with his magic and shot at the beast. The bullet hit the manticore directly in the shoulder, but it just kept charging closer and closer to the group of ponies.

"Move over, tech-face," Applejack commanded, "I'll take this critter down!"

She started the heavy Vulcan on her back with a swift kick to the starting mechanism. The air became filled with the sound of .50 caliber bullets being fired and shells clanging on the ground. The blood was a river flowing from the multiple bullet wounds on the manticore, but it acted as if the small projectiles were nothing more than a bee sting. A clicking sound from the massive back-mounted killing-machine didn't exactly reassure the group's hopes.

"Brace yourselves!" cried Gizmo as the ferocious beast plowed through the ranks of survivors like bowling pins. As the survivors landed strewn about the road, the monster before them roared with beastly vigor. As the team tried to regain their composure, the manticore charged again, this time at Twilight.

"Twilight! NO!" screamed Fletcher as he tried to gallop to her side to defend her, but gritted his teeth at the pain that shot up from the stab wound in his ribs. The monstrosity was getting closer now. Faster and faster it ran. Twilight braced for the cold sting of it's teeth in her flesh.

But nothing happened. The manticore's ferocious bite could still be heard ripping through something, though it wasn't Twilight. She slowly opened one eye to see what poor thing was at the end of the creature's assault. What she saw, she would never be able to forget. The manticore was ripping Spike apart; limb from limb, piece by piece, with Spike screaming in agony all the while. His pleas for help faded into a muted gurgle as he began to essentially drown in his own blood.

Tail Spin regained his balance and bounded into the air, unfurling his wings. Making a quick u-turn, he landed on the back of the manticore's neck.

"Yippee kiyay, motherbucker!" he shouted as he shot the beast in the back of the head with his wing-mounted guns. The creature gave one last cry before falling upon the crimson street: dead.

Before everypony could grasp the entirety of what had occurred, Twilight galloped over to Spike's barely recognizable corpse. As the purple unicorn got closer to her assistant's body, she realized just how badly he was injured. One of his eyes was missing, the other torn to shreds; all four of his limbs were mangled into impossible angles and positions. The worst part, however, was the gaping orifice in his abdomen revealing all that it contained; his intestines were strewn about him in a bloody pile emanating from said orifice.

Twilight vomited at the atrocious sight before her, but she still rushed to his side. Holding Spike's pitiful little body in her arms, the unicorn asked with tears flowing from her eyes, "Spike? Are you...are you there?"

There was no answer. The only sound that could be heard was the wind whistling through the abandoned suburbs.

Finally, Gizmo broke the silence, "Twilight, there's nothing more we can do for him. We need to leave. Now."

"Fine," the purple mare replied as she put down the mutilated dragon and began trotting behind the others. What the rest of the group didn't realize, however, was the evil grin that spread across Twilight's face as her eyes began to twitch maniacally.

"So where are we headed, anyway?" Gizmo asked.

"Our original plan was to go to Canterlot to get help from the princess, and I suppose Twilight wants us to stick to that plan," Fletcher answered.

"Wait. Canterlot? Why would you want to go there?" asked the bronze unicorn, dumbfounded by the response he had received.

"That's where the princess is, and I recon we can get some advice er help er somethin' from her," Applejack said, not sounding too confident that what she said was entirely true.

"No no no. What I mean is, why would you want to go where those things are the most rampant?"

"What are you saying?" Fletcher inquired, suspicion heavy in his tone.

"Listen. I was able to keep the TV in the bar going with my magic. Unfortunately, the only channel I could get it to was Clops News. You know how Clops News always bashes the government and the monarchy, right? Well, they had legitimate proof that these things originated in Canterlot, and by Celestia's decree, everypony was to leave the city, infected or not."

"You know nopony takes Clops News seriously, right, tech-face?" Tail Spin remarked, attempting to be humerus, but ended up sounding a lot more serious than she meant to be.

"All I'm trying to tell you is that I think with Twilight wanting us to go to Canterlot, I don't think she's as trustworthy as she seems," Gizmo hoarsely whispered to the others.

Fletcher swiftly grabbed Gear Head and pinned him against a nearby rock.

"The buck did you say?!"

"Think about it, Fletcher. Do you honestly think that in a crisis like this that news stations would make this stuff up? For Luna's sake, open your eyes! Your marefriend is obviously leading us into a trap!"

The blacksmith gave the engineer a powerful punch across the muzzle and a jab to the stomach. Gizmo cried out as he fell to the ground and curled into a fetal position.

"Don't you EVER talk about Twilight like that again! DO YOU BUCKING HEAR ME?!"

"He's right, you know," cooed a soft yet firm voice from behind them.

The ponies turned around to find not Twilight (who had been lagging behind since the incident in Fillydelphia a few hours before), but Princes Celestia; her eyes narrowed into slits and a wolfish smile on her snout. Standing next to her with a blank expression plastered on her face was Twilight Sparkle.

"Your highness! What are y'all doin' here? Shouldn't ya be in Canterlot?" asked Applejack.

"You impudent foals just don't get it, do you? My faithful student here played you all like a game of solitaire. All she had to do was get you to Canterlot without any of you finding out the truth, but since mech-brain here spilled the royal beans, I had to step in to make sure things went...according to plan."

The princess let out a maniac laugh that would've petrified even the most hardened stallions in their tracks.

Fletcher couldn't believe what he had heard. He and Twilight had known each other for years. After all that, she couldn't just throw that all away...could she?

With his head lowered, the blacksmith pony spoke, "Is all of that true, Twiley?"

A smirk appeared on Twilight's expression. "Yes. It's all true. No hard fealings, Fletchy. I did like you, but I like serving my princess and becoming immortal even more."

"You...you... you heartless BITCH!" screamed Fletcher, "WHAT THE HAY DID YOU DO TO TWILIGHT!?"

"I haven't done anything to her, stupid. She agreed to help me in my conquest because in return, she could take my sister's place on the royal throne."

"I don't think Luna will take to kindly to that idea," Applejack remarked.

"Oh, she won't be a problem anymore. You know that manticore you fought in Fillydelphia? I used a polymorphic spell on my sister, turning her into a manticore. Then, I had her infected with the virus and transported her to your location. I am so clever and devious, aren't I?"

As the ponies attempted to understand the severity of what they had heard, Celestia's horn began to glow; the green aura surrounding the party in a swirling torrent of magic.

Fletcher saw the magic swirling faster and faster. It was as if they were in the eye of a magical tornado. With a small poof, they were gone. Just as what was left of the swirling dust and debris died down, the sun set, signaling the end of the day.

For the Record

"Wakey wakey, my little prisoners!"

Fletcher's eyes shot open as a stern voice boomed in his ears. He awoke to find himself and his other companions all locked in cages barely large enough to contain them.

"Ah, good. I hope you all had a pleasant nap."

"Who are you? Where the hay are we?" Fletcher asked angrily.

A bright light flickered on as the perpetrator flipped the switch. It was the princess. Her pupils the size of needle-points and her face contorted into a devilish grin. The room surrounding their cells wasn't much to look at. All there was were some sharp looking instruments on a crude wooden table accompanied with multiple veils of various liquids. The walls were solid concrete with pictures of ponies plastered everywhere; various parts of said pictures were cut out.

"I'll check on you all tomorrow morning. In the meantime, my protege will fill you in on any questions you may have. Don't go anywhere. Hahaha!" Princess Celestia roared with laughter as she exited the room, shutting the door behind her.

Fletcher leaned back against the cage bars. Dammit, he thought to himself, How didn't I see it? She played me like a sucker the whole time. How could I be so stupid?!

He punched the bars with his hoof, sending a wave of pain shooting up his leg. He grimaced, sucking air in through clenched teeth as not to let out a scream.

"Hey, Fletch, you alright?" Tail Spin asked from his cage just to the right of Fletcher's. Noticing this, the blacksmith pony revealed a small smile; at least he had a friend nearby to talk to.

"Yeah. I'm fine. You?"

"Fine, I guess," the pegasus replied, "I may be in a cage, but at least I can still flap my wings."

"Okay, so if we're both here, then the others must be, too," said Fletcher, "HEY APPLEJACK, GIZMO! YOU HERE?"

"Yes. I'm here," answered the bronze unicorn technician.

"Right as rain over here," Applejack called.

"Well, I guess we're all okay then," Fletcher declared, halfheartedly. He was about to continue when a soft voice came from across the dimly-lit room.

"Applejack? Is that you?" The voice sounded quite hoarse, but with that accent there was no mistaking who it was.

"RARITY?! What in the hay are you doin' here? We saw ya zombified back in Ponyville," Applejack said, skeptical that the voice came from her long-time friend.

"Oh no, darling. That wasn't me. I was just minding my own business during my fashion tour in Clopenhagen, when those flesh-eating ruffians tried to kill me. I was able to barely escape with my life, and after that incident, I knew that it was time to go home. I arrived back in Ponyville only to find it in shambles. When I went to ask Twilight what was going on, a note on the door said that you had all departed for Canterlot. I wanted to make sure that little Sweetie Belle was okay, but when I got home I.....I..."

Rarity broke into uncontrollable sobs and cries as she recalled finding her sister's corpse: mutilated almost beyond recognition. She attempted to regain her composure and continue her story.

"After...after I realized that she had to be d-dead, I buried her outside the tree house that she and her friends liked to...to meet and socialize in. I said my painful goodbyes and...left for Canterlot. After about a day of traveling, my hooves were just too tired to go on, anymore. I stopped for a quick spot of water in a nearby brook, and the next thing I know, I'm stuck in this ugly cage in this tacky room."

"If that wasn't you, then...who was it?" Fletcher pondered.

"Cadence." A soft voice spoke from the doorway.

Everypony turned to look at Twilight Sparkle slowly striding into the room with a smirk on her muzzle.

"Ya mean the princess?" Applejack asked sounding a little concerned.

"No, the sandwich. OF COURSE THE PRINCESS YOU HILLFILLY REDFLANK TRASH!" Twilight yelled at the apple farmer. Applejack cowered in fear, even though Twilight was a good ten feet away.

"What are you saying?" Gizmo inquired, fear obvious in his expression, as well.

"I'm SAYING that Luna wasn't the only one who got transformed by the princess and infected with the virus. Of course, my brother found out and tried to stop Celestia. After he refused her offer at immortality with her and myself, we had no choice but to throw him into the underground caverns beneath Canterlot, where he will wander aimlessly to his death."

"You won't get away with this, Twi," Fletcher seethed.

"Oh yeah? And who's going to stop us? Everypony who could have stopped us is now dead. Nopony can save you, and nopony will. Accept that."

With a flick of her tail, the purple unicorn turned around and walked out of the room, giggling to herself. The room was silent. After what everypony had just heard from their once-friend, not a single word was spoken. After all, what could they have said?

Fletcher's eyes burst open as agonizing pain shot through his skull like a bolt of lightning. Compared to the headaches that he had endured in the past few days, this was the worst one yet. He was groaning in torment as the pain became worse by the second. His head felt like it was about to explode; he began writhing on the floor of his cage, causing the wound in his chest to reopen and begin to bleed once more.

He knew who was causing this. With the combination of pain from his headache and reopened laceration, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "JUST KILL ME YOU SICK, TWISTED UNICORN!"

Just as suddenly as the pain in his head had arrived, it departed entirely. With the departure of the headache, however, came a soft, calm voice that he knew all too well.

"Fletcher. I need to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you, Twilight."

Twilight's voice continued to plead in his mind, "I can explain everything. Just listen to me!"

Fletcher let out a huff, and with a scowl on his face, he closed his eyes and spoke to the voice of the unicorn in his head, "I'm listening."

"Okay," Twilight sighed, relieved that she wouldn't have to fight for Fletcher to listen, "First off, the headaches. I'm sorry about those. It's the only way for me to privately communicate with you. If you were a unicorn, it wouldn't hurt you."

"But why did you need to talk to me through telepathy? Why not in a secluded area?"

"Celestia is a GOD, remember? She hears all and sees all. The only way for me to communicate with you without the princess snooping on us was through telepathy."

"Then why have you never spoken to me through my thoughts before? All of the other times I just got a migraine."

"Before all of this started, Celestia was a wreck. After Queen Chrysalis defeated her, she began to feel that everypony was doubting her divinity and leadership, including me. A week or two ago, she called me to Canterlot for what she said was "royal business". She stripped me of most of my powers, and refused to give them back until I aided her in her nefarious plot. I did have enough power to send you that dream, however. It wasn't coincidence, Fletch, it was a warning."

It took Fletcher a minute to absorb this before he broke the silence, "So, you caused me to have that dream?"

Twilight's voice continued, "Yes. I was trying to warn you of Celestia's plot to end all living creatures in Equestria."

"Why would she do that, though?" Fletcher asked, finally realizing the severity of the situation.

"After Shining Armor and Cadence were wed, Celestia became...unstable. She couldn't accept the fact that she wasn't the mightiest being in all of existence. She knew that with her defeat at the hooves of Queen Chrysalis, came talk of rebellion and revolt to overthrow her for no longer being a strong, fit ruler. She told me that if her subjects wouldn't love her, then she'd make them love her. Apparently, that meant killing them and brainwashing them to become mindless zombies unconditionally loyal to her."

This was a revelation to the blacksmith pony. He knew that there was definitely something wrong with the princess, but this was just insane.

"How do we stop her?" Fletcher asked.

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Twilight's voice replied, "but I'm going to need everypony's help on this one."

"You can't use the Elements of Harmony, though. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow are dead. How can we stop her without the Elements?"

"Trust me. I have everything under--Oh no!"

"Twilight? What's wrong?" Fletcher asked.

"She found me. Please, Celestia...No! I can explain!"

From some place far beyond the cell room, Fletcher heard a scream that sounded like it came from Twilight. Since he didn't hear the scream in his thoughts, he figured his telecommunication with Twilight must have been cut off by the princess. Fletcher cursed under his breath, and waited eagerly for Twilight to contact him again.

Moments later, he was contacted again, but not by Twilight. Celestia burst through the door, seething with rage.

"It seems as though my subjects are attempting to undermine my authority. Well..." she paused as she promptly opened Fletcher's cage and threw him out onto the concrete floor, "...I WON'T HAVE IT!"

The goddess began to mercilessly beat the helpless blacksmith into the floor. By this time, all of the other inmates were well awake, forced to watch in horror as their friend was decimated before them. The flurry of blows from the princess lasted for what seemed like hours, but was most likely only a few minutes. She noticed the wound in Fletcher's chest, and a demonic grin crept slowly across her muzzle.

Picking up the battered stallion with her magic, she plopped him onto the table next to all of the sharp instruments. Fletcher convulsed and began to hack up blood as the princess levitated a scalpel over him. She sliced through the bandages that concealed the laceration, then she chucked the knife aside.

"Now then," Celestia said, glaring at her victim, "Let's see how you like this!"

She grabbed some embalming salt from across the table and hovered it over Fletcher's wound. With a few quick shakes, the salt fell onto the cut. Fletcher gritted his teeth as Celestia's magic began to reopen the wound and shake in more salt, not only causing it to bleed again, but it added to the constant sting of the salt.

"Before I send you to your certain demise like your marefriend and her brother, allow me to fix this for you."

Celestia grabbed a small metal pole from across the room. She concentrated her magic on the pole, causing it to heat up from grey to white hot.

"Please no," Fletcher whimpered, coughing up more blood to his right.

"This is only part of your punishment, knave!" Celestia raged as she lowered the blazing-hot pipe to Fletcher's wound. Fletcher couln't help but to scream in anguish as the hot metal burned his coat and skin. He began to squirm, wriggling to get away, but Celestia's magic held him in place. Once the wound was seared shut, the goddess threw the blacksmith off the table and back onto the floor.

"Now for the grand finale," Celestia smirked.

Her horn began to glow once more, and circles of green flame surrounded everypony in the group. One by one, the circles of green flames became domes of fiery magic that dragged them beneath the ground.

"What the hay have you done to them you monster?!" Fletcher managed to hoarsely whisper, despite his condition.

"Why, I've sent them to the caves beneath Canterlot, of course, "Celestia chuckled, "The same place I sent Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle for betraying me."

Fletcher managed to barely stand up on his feet and raised a hoof in the princesses direction, "Before I die, I WILL see you dead. That's not a wish, that's a promise."

"We'll see about that," the princess snickered, "Nopony can escape the Canterlot Caverns."

With that, the magical fire surrounding Fletcher formed a dome and slowly pulled him beneath the floor.

Get Out Alive

With a loud thump, Fletcher landed on the rocky floor of the caverns. After the beating and burns he had received from Celestia, his hard landing only added to the agony. Writhing in torment for a few minutes, he gained the strength to rise to his feet and survey his surroundings. All there was to look at were the various gems and minerals covering the rocky walls.

Okay, time to find the others, he thought. He began to trot down the nearest passage, cringing every so often as waves of pain rocked his body. It was quite dark in the passage; Fletcher often bumped into the walls as he trekked onward to find his comrades.

After about an hour of hitting his snout repeatedly against solid rock and tripping over himself in the dark, all hope seemed lost. Dammit, I'll never find them, he thought to himself. Is this going to be my fate? Endlessly wandering these caverns in a fruitless attempt to find my friends and take down a god? A *GOD*?

Then, Fletcher did something that he never thought he was capable of: he began to cry. Despair swept over him like a tidal wave, rocking him to his very core. At this point, he was sure that he'd never see his friends again. Never see daylight again. Never see Twilight's beautiful face again.

"HELP!"

A cry of distress blasted through the corridors of the cave. Without a moment to think, Fletcher already knew who the culprit was: Twilight Sparkle.

Getting back onto his feet, Fletcher galloped in the direction of the scream. He was encumbered by his injuries, but as long as he still had breath in him, he wouldn't abandon those he had come to care so much about over the past few days.

Still stumbling an falling in the blackness, Fletcher followed the sound of Twilight's continuing shrieks. After a few minutes, Fletcher saw a faint purple light near the end of the tunnel. Gathering what strength he had left to muster, he barreled towards the luminous, violet aura. Drawing closer and closer, the blacksmith was able to make out Twilight's figure; her hair was somewhat frizzled and she was standing over a unicorn stallion with blue hair and a white coat.

"Twilight! What's wrong?" Fletcher asked urgently, "and who's this?"

"Fletcher, thank Equestria you're here! This my brother, Shining Armor. He's badly injured and we need to move him now before more of those things show up."

It took Fletcher a moment to comprehend what Twilight had just told him, "You mean those....things are down here too?!"

Before Twilight could respond, a loud howl echoed through the caves as a few zombie ponies could be heard drawing nearer.

"Oh Celestia, here they come again!" Twilight exclaimed, shielding her brother with her body, "Fletch, keep them away from my brother. He's the only one who can get us out of here."

"Whatever you say, Twi. You're the smart one."

The earth pony stallion prepared himself for the impending undead ponies. Fighting off only a few of them would serve no problem, but since he no longer had his sword and was badly injured, it would prove to be a much more difficult task. The zombie's moans increased in volume as they drew nearer.

Two rotting figures stepped into the purple light of Twilight's aura, their eyes absent of all signs of life except for hunger. They charged the injured stallion. Dodging the undead attacker, he was able to land a solid buck to the zombie's skull, crushing it. The pain from Fletcher's injuries returned in full force. Gritting his teeth, Fletcher struggled to stay standing as the second zombie advanced towards him.

"Yeehaw!"

An orange earth pony charged out of the blackness and delivered a swift buck to the undead marauder's torso. She was followed by a bronze unicorn.

"Applejack! Gizmo! You're okay!" Twilight beamed.

"Ya didn't think some facy schmancy cave would be enough ta kill us, did ya?" Applejack asked mockingly.

The reunion was cut short by the figures of two other ponies drawing nearer from the other direction. The group prepared themselves for another fight, only to find that instead of zombies, it was only Rarity and Tail Spin.

"Oh thank heavens we found you all!" Rarity exclaimed, "I was become quite tired of this one's constant ramblings of how we were both going to die and how we would never get out of this dreadful place."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Fletcher remarked, wincing in pain as he chuckled.

Tail Spin scowled at the black earth stallion, "Sometimes, Fletch, I wonder how we're still friends."

A distant groan from some undead assailant brought the group back to reality and out of their little universe of small-talk.

"Alright everypony, listen up! This is my brother, Shining Armor, " Twilight motioned to the white unicorn stallion laying at her feet, "He's the only one who can get us out of these caves in one piece. Unfortunately, after spending a few weeks down here while creating a protective shield for himself has worn him out. Now, he has taken the liberty of telling me the correct route to take in order to find the exit, but he can't stand on his own. We need to carry him out with us."

After a moment of silence, Twilight continued to her main point, "So Fletcher and AJ, since you two are the strongest, you're going to carry him."

Neither of the two earth ponies saw any problem with this, so they allowed Twilight to place Shining Armor across their backs with her magic. After recovering what strength they could, and a full half-hour of convincing Rarity that they can't take any of the gems lodged in the wall, the group set off; Twilight leading the way and the duo of earth ponies in back carrying Shining Armor.

An hour had passed since the band of ponies had set forth to find a way out of the Canterlot Caverns. Nopony had said a word since then.

"Psst. Hey, Fletch," Applejack whispered.

"Yeah, what is it AJ?" Fletcher asked, still limping from the pain his injuries were still causing him.

"Ah couldn't help but notice over the past few days that y'all got a soft spot fer Twilight." A smirk crossed Applejack's muzzle.

Fletcher's face turned from its usual black to a bright crimson in a matter of seconds. "N-no," he whispered back, "I just think she's kinda...interesting."

"Is that why you two were lockin' lips a few nights ago?" Applejack asked, trying to keep her laughter as quiet as possible she possibly could.

"I...I uh...well, uh..." Fletcher stammered.

"Admit it, Fletch. You like her."

After a few moments of fighting an internal war, the blacksmith sighed, "Okay. Fine. I like her. Are you happy now?"

"Very," Applejack replied, smiling to herself.

"But..." Fletcher continued, "...I know that you have a thing for that Gizmo guy."

This observation clearly caught AJ off guard.

"N-n-no I don't! I don't have a thing fer him," Applejack retaliated, her eyes darting from left to right nervously.

Fletcher chuckled a little, causing his pain to intensify for a few moments before he carried on, "Applejack, you're the element of honesty. You're a terrible liar."

Applejack took a long look at the unicorn stallion ahead of her then turned back to Fletcher, "Oh, alright. Ya got me. Ah guess ah do sorta like him."

"Yeah. I could tell by the way you were staring at him for the past hour. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"Was it that obvious?" asked Applejack.

"Honestly, yes."

"Aw, shucks. I guess Ah'm not one fer subtlety. Don't tell him, though. Please don't tell him!" Applejack pleaded.

Fletcher patted the rancher and the shoulder, "My lips are sealed," he said, smiling.

"Thanks, Fletcher. Yer a good friend," said AJ.

"No problem."

After what seemed like an eternity of walking aimlessly through the caves, Twilight called out, "I see light, you guys! I see light!"

From hearing this wonderful news, every pony in the group made a mad dash for the exit. The sound of hoofsteps was almost deafening. Freedom was so close to them now. They grew nearer and nearer to finally seeing the light of day again.

Twilight was the first to break free of the dark, rocky prison. She was followed by Rarity, Tail Spin, Gizmo, and the the team of Fletcher and Applejack, respectively.

Fletcher looked around and realized that they weren't even in Canterlot anymore. They were in the Everfree Forest. The skies were as black as pitch and the air carried a musky scent that could only be compared to that of a swamp.

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?" asked Tail Spin.

"We need to figure out a way to defeat Celestia without the Elements of Harmony," Twilight informed everypony present.

"How about I just go in there and kick her ass! I'm not scared of anything!" Tail Spin bragged, much to the annoyance of everypony else.

A load moan in the distance pierced the air, causing the naive pegasus to scream like a little filly and fly into the nearest tree, clinging to it for dear life.

"Does anypony have any real ideas?" Fletcher asked, rolling his eyes.

Twilight pondered this for a moment before a light bulb went off in her brain, "I know somepony who could help. Follow me."

Preparations

The group stopped outside a small hut surrounded by murky swamp water. The air was thick with the scent of mud and moist vegetation. From inside the hut, a lone voice could be heard softly humming to nopony in particular.

"Ew. Couldn't we have at least gotten some boots or something? This mud is getting all over my hooves," Rarity complained.

"Rarity, if we wanted you to whine, we would've asked you for some cheese first," Tail Spin remarked, cracking up at his own joke.

The fashonista gave him a swift smack to the back of his head, causing him to stop laughing.

"Ow! I didn't mean it!"

Rarity huffed in agitation, not believing what the pegasus had told her.

"Enough you two! This is serious business," Twilight said.

Tail Spin and Rarity glared at each other before turning to face the door to the hut again. Twilight walked towards the door and gave it a few taps with her hoof. Whoever was humming inside had ceased to do so. A second later the door opened and a teal-eyed zebra came into view.

"Why hello everypony. What brings you to my home at this hour?" the zebra asked.

Twilight's expression changed from one of urgency to one of bewilderment, "Um, Zecora? Why didn't you rhyme just now?"

"Yeah...about that..." said the zebra, a sheepish smile plastered on her muzzle, "The whole "rhyming" business was caused by extended exposure to those Poison Joke plants. I'm sure you remember them." The sheepish smile was replaced with a sly one. Twilight blushed as she remembered her "encounter" with the Poison Joke. She shuddered at the thought.

"Anyway, how can I help you?"

Twilight regained her composure and spoke. "We need a safe place to stay for a while. My brother is exhausted and our friend here is badly injured." She motioned towards the blacksmith pony standing nearby.

The zebra rubbed her chin as she silently pondered a solution. "Were you followed by any of those monsters?"

"I don't think so," Fletcher replied, blinking away the pain that was sweeping over him.

"Come in."

As the team entered the small-but-sizable hut, they noticed multiple vials and flasks lining numerous shelves upon the wall; the contents of the containers varied in an abundance of colors and hues. Tribal masks lay below the shelves, greeting the ponies as they took a small tour of their temporary abode.

"I believe I have a brew somewhere that can help both your brother and your coltfriend, Twilight," Zecora said.

Twilight's face flushed bright red as she snapped back at the zebra. "He's not my coltfriend! Why does everypony think that?!"

"Touchy today, aren't we?" Zecora remarked, snickering at Twilight Sparkle while she rummaged through her various potions and elixirs, searching for the correct one.

Zecora selected two vials, one filled with a blue liquid, and the other filled with a brownish concoction. She handed the blue liquid to Twilight. "Give this to your brother. His strength with return and he'll be back to normal in no time."

Fletcher and Applejack set Shining Armor on the floor of the hut, taking an excruciatingly heavy load off both of their backs. Zecora handed the vial of brown liquid to Fletcher. "This shall ease the pain and heal you right up."

Fletcher shakily brought the vial to his mouth and downed the solution in one gulp. It tasted horrid, but Fletcher noticed an immediate improvement in his muscles and joints; the pain was completely gone. He felt like a million bits!

At the same time, Twilight tipped the vial filled with the blue concoction down her brother's throat. When the substance was gone, the unicorn stallion opened his eyes, blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"Ugh. Twiley? Where am I?" he groaned.

"We're at a friend's house. Everything is going to be fine." She softly petted her brother's mane to calm his senses.

"Thanks, Twiley," said Shining Armor, grinning at his sister.

After Shining Armor got back onto his hooves, Twilight filled him in on everything that had happened and who everypony had hadn't seen before was. The group continued to chatter softly as Zecora brewed tea for them in the kitchen.

"So you were the one who supplied Canterlot with all of it's arms and armaments?" Shining Armor asked.

"Yeah, that was me," Fletcher responded.

"Well, I can honestly say that you are one gifted blacksmith, Fletcher," the unicorn complimented.

"It's a gift," said Fletcher, shrugging.

Zecora interrupted the conversation to set down a platter of tea cups accompanied by a tea pot filled to the brim with the warm, steamy goodness. The zebra yawned and stretched; this whole ordeal must have taken it's toll on everypony, including the witch doctor, herself.

"I'm heading for bed, everypony. Stay up as late as you wish. If you get tired, there are spare bedrooms on the second floor," she announced, trotting into her bedroom and shutting the door behind her. The other ponies continued their conversation.

"Gizmo, from what I hear, it sounds like you have a knack for machines," Shining Armor said turning to the other unicorn stallion.

"Yes, sir. I had created some astounding new tools, but when the princess captured us, she took all of our weapons away."

"Don't worry. We'll get them back," Shining Armor added, trying to reassure the other unicorn.

Tail Spin was muzzle deep in his tea cup by this point, slurping down cup after cup of tea while the others sat there gawking.

"So, uh, Tail Spin. How exactly did you and Fletcher become acquainted?" asked Shining Armor, sounding a little unsure of whether he should be fearful of the pegasus' disgusting manners.

"Huh?" Tail Spin asked with a mouthful of tea. He quickly swallowed and replied, "Oh yeah! Me and him go way back! It all started a about ten years ago when I moved to Ponyville from Las Pegasus. Since I was just a foal, I didn't see the point in moving from a huge city to a small town. I missed my friends back in Sin City, and I wanted to go back."

The pegasus continued after another gulp of tea ran down his gullet. "I was always picked on because I was always thought of as the "new foal" in town. One day, when I was being bullied by a few snobby-rich ponies, this pony stood up for me," he motioned towards Fletcher, then continued his tale, "After that, we were best friends. After I was accepted into the Wonderbolts, though, I never saw him much. I still lived in Ponyville, but I was hardly ever around."

The pegasus took another gulp of tea before finally setting down his cup. "I haven't been a really good friend."

"It's fine. We're all together now, aren't we?" Fletcher added.

"True."

The room fell into an awkward silence for a few moments. Shining Armor broke the silence, "So. What's the plan?"

"We stay here and rest up for the night. Tomorrow, we take down the princess," Twilight informed him.

"It would be a lot easier if I had my sword," Fletcher added.

"Don't you worry about swords, Fletcher. I still have my captain's sword in my chambers in the castle," Shining Armor told the blacksmith pony.

"You mean THE captain's sword?!" Fletcher asked in excitement, "That was the finest blade I ever crafted! You still have it?"

"Of course. It was made for the captain of the Royal Guard."

This pleased Fletcher, but after a few moments of happiness came a grim realization," Wait. How are we going to get it? Celestia will be on us like a hawk."

"The rest of us will distract her while you and my brother retrieve the sword. Once you have it, find us. Together, we can take this bitch down!" Twilight declared.

The other ponies raised their hooves in agreement.

"HOORAH!"

A few hours later, everypony was asleep. Whether it be on the floor, on the couch, or in guest bedrooms, everypony was out cold except for Fletcher and Twilight. The two of them were exchanging bouts of small talk and life stories. With a loud yawn, Twilight Sparkle began to trot towards the stairs proceeding to the second floor.

"Well, goodnight Fletcher. See you in the morning," the unicorn said as she continued to drowsily travel up the stairway. Suddenly, Fletcher stood p and trotted to the base of the stairway just as Twilight was nearing the top.

"Will you marry me? When this whole thing is over?" he asked.

This question caught Twilight completely off-guard. Marriage? Her?

Fletcher continued, "I'd make a...good husband."

Hesitantly, Twilight turned around to meet the eyes of her suitor, "I know you would, Fletcher. I know you would."

"But...you won't...marry me," Fletcher added.

"You wouldn't want to marry me, Fletch. Not after all that I've done."

Fletcher continued, his voice serious, "I may not be a smart stallion, but I know what love is." With this, he turned around and stomped into a guest bedroom on the ground floor, closing the door behind him.

On the outside, Twilight remained calm, on the inside, however, a full fledged war had broken out. How could you say that to him?! He loves you!

Twilight continued this internal conflict until she had reached her destination: a bedroom on the second floor. She flopped onto the bed with a huff. You idiot! Talk to him! Do something!

After a minute or two of pondering solutions to the situation, Twilight had an idea.

Fletcher lay in bed, gazing at the ceiling in an attempt to drive away his thoughts of embarrassment and rage. Dammit! I knew this would happen, he thought to himself. His door creaked open as Twilight Sparkle stepped into the room. She had a sympathetic look on her face as she climbed onto the bed. She maneuvered herself until she was looming over the Earth pony settled beneath her.

"Fletch, I do love you." Twilight proceeded to lean in and lock Fletcher in a deep, passionate kiss. The blacksmith pony hesitated for a moment, but soon did the same. What negative feelings between the two of them remained were washed away as a night to remember blossomed in the pale moonlight.

"Is everything ready?" Twilight Sparkle asked. It was the following morning, and everypony was awake and alert. Everypony knew the battle plan, and everypony was ready.

"Ready, sis," Shining Armor declared.

"Alright then. Open the portal!"

A violet aura began to emanate from Shining Armor's horn as he began to cast his spell. As the portal began to take form, everypony said their thanks and goodbyes to Zecora.

"Good luck, everypony," the zebra said, fighting back tears, "May the spirits be with you!"

The city of Canterlot--or what remained of it, began to appear in the aura of the now-completed portal.

"Ready?" Shining Armor shouted as the raging winds howled from the portal's entrance. Twilight glanced at Fletcher. Applejack glanced at Gizmo. Rarity glanced at Tail Spin.

"Ready!" they all said in unison.

"Then let's go!"

The posse of ponies jumped through the portal to Canterlot, the violent winds licking at their manes as they traveled through space and time to their final destination.

Execution and Epilogue

The group landed on the front steps of the castle with an audible thud. The stone steps did little to cushion their landing. One by one, the ponies stood back up and dusted themselves off. Their attention quickly turned to the ruined citadel before them. What once was the most glorious structure in all of Equestria was now reduced to nothing more than eroding bricks and chipping paint. Rarity would have made a comment about how it was a crime against fabulousness, but she knew that now was not exactly the best time.

"Everypony know the plan?" asked Shining Armor. The rest of the group nodded.

"Let's do this!" Tail Spin exclaimed, charging through the front doors of the palace. Everypony just stared, awestruck at the fact that the pegasus had rushed in so carelessly.

"Let's git a move on, then," Applejack declared.

The other ponies followed suit of their reckless comrade, charging down the long corridor towards Celestia's throne room. When they came to an intersection, however, Shining Armor and Fletcher took a sharp right -- towards the Royal Armory. Twilight, AJ, Gizmo, and Rarity stayed their course, bursting into the throne room just in time to see Celestia send Tail Spin flying towards them like a speeding bullet. Before hitting the others, Tail Spin crashed into the stone floor, sliding several feet before coming to a stop in front of Rarity.

"You idiot! What the hay were you thinking?" Rarity asked, a look of anger and concern on her face.

"That's a good question," the battered pegasus admitted while wiping away the blood now streaming out of his mouth, "Let me get back to you on that one." With that, he collapsed on the floor.

"Is he going to be alright?" inquired Rarity, picking up the pegasus with her magic and dropping him behind the others.

"He'll be fine," Gear Head assured her, "It wasn't a fast or far enough fall to cause that much damage."

Twilight was able to take this opportunity to survey her surroundings. Celestia was perched on her royal throne. Located by her sides were multitudes of undead ponies; they were just standing there, as if waiting for a command.

"Your time has come, Celestia!" Twilight proudly declared.

"My once-prized pupil, did you honestly believe you and your friends would be enough to defeat me? Without the Elements of Harmony, you're nothing! NOTHING!"

The princess spat her venomous words at the lavender unicorn in a fit of rage that would have caused even the most hardened stallion to cower. Every fiber of her seething anger and hatred that had built up since her defeat at the hooves of Queen Chrysalis became disturbingly visible to the group of renegade equines standing before her.

"Enough of this foolishness! It's time you all paid the price for your insolence!" The princess raised her hoof skyward, then redirected it in the direction of of the living ponies. "KILL THEM!"

"Are you sure you know where the armory is?" Fletcher asked as the duo galloped to where Shining Armor believed the Captain's Sword was located.

"I'm the captain of the Royal Guard. I think I would know where the armory is," the unicorn huffed. The two stallions stopped in their tracks once they came across the a door that read, "Royal Armory: Authorized Members Only."

After they both caught their breath after galloping for so long, Fletcher opened the door. He couldn't believe what he saw! Sitting before him was smorgasbord for weapons and armor of all shapes and sizes (most of which had had made himself).

"Take what you want, just make it quick," Shining Armor said flatly.

Fletcher knew that something wasn't right with the other stallion. He hadn't shown any emotion in anything he said the entire day. "Okay, what's wrong?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting really weird today. I just want to know what your problem is." As he spoke, Fletcher rummaged around, looking for the Captain's Sword.

"I...I just don't think that using Twilight as a distraction was a good idea."

"I like it about as much as you do, but she insisted. Listen, I love her as much as you do. If something happened to her, I would never forgive myself, and I'm sure you could say the same." Fletcher said as he pulled a set of armor out of the pile of arms and armaments.

"You're right," Shining Armor confessed, "So if we don't want her to get hurt, we need to get our tails in gear and hury up!"

"Trying," Fletcher said as he scoured the room for the blade he was searching for.

"Looking for this?" Shining Armor asked, pointing his hoof at the sword that was sitting on a pedestal near the armor racks. With a small blush, Fletcher trotted over and picked up the sword in his mouth. He attempted to hand it over to the unicorn stallion, but he was pushed away. "You take it. I'm not sure how to use swords; I mostly carry them just for show."

Without a question, Fletcher sheathed the sword on his front leg and dawned the set of leather armor he had found. Shining Armor, however, put on his Guard Master's armor that was hanging on the largest of the armor racks.

"Alright, let's go help Twilight!" Fletcher declared.

Shining Armor nodded in agreement as the two of them dashed out of the room and down the coridor towards the throne room.

"There's so many of them!" Twilight shouted as she incinerated two undead in a magical inferno.

"Yer tellin' me!" Applejack exclaimed in agreement, bucking and undead marauder's jaw clean off.

Whenever one of the ponies took out of of the zombies, Celestia would poof up two more to take it's place. For every step forward they took, they got sent two steps back. Celestia sat on her throne, laughing maniacally as this spectacle unfolded before her.

Shining Armor and Fletcher burst through the doors, ready for battle. This provided a slight morale boost for the others, giving them just a sliver of hope that they might actually succeed.

"Fletcher," Shining Armor said, "I can cast a spell that will send all of these things flying. I just need time to charge it. Can you keep them off me for a few minutes?"

"Got it!" Fletcher exclaimed, drawing his sword from it's sheath. A violet aura began to form around Shining Armor's horn as he began to charge his spell. Some of the undead seemed to notice this and bolted in his direction, taking some of the load off the other ponies. Fletcher intercepted their attacks with a flurry of slashes and swipes of his sword. The attackers dropped dead, their bodies ridden with lacerations and cuts.

This continued for several minutes until Shining Armor shouted, "It's ready when everypony else is."

"Let 'er rip!" Fletcher exclaimed, dicing another trotter to pieces.

For a moment, the aura around the unicorn's horn disappeared. This void was soon filled with the sound of a massive explosion and a giant violet bubble beginning to expand from his horn. The bubble grew larger with every passing second, sparing the ponies, but flinging the undead into the grey Equestrian sky. Soon, the entire castle was surrounded in a magical force-field.

Celestia was fuming. She sprang out of her chair like a frog and attempted to summon more of her minions, but nothing happened. The expression on her face turned from one of anger to one of almost demonic evil. She knew that within this shield, she was unable to conjure more of her minions, and she was sure that Shining Armor was smart enough to add a little something to the field to prevent her from escaping.

Celestia bounded towards Twilight, knocking her over. She firmly placed a hoof on Twilight's temple, as if to squash her head like a grape. The others dashed to her rescue, only to be struck by a bolt of lightning from the princess' horn. Fletcher was the first to recover. After regaining his vigor, the blacksmith galloped toward the princess, sword raised and eyes ablaze.

"Now my prized pupil," Celestia cooed, tightening her squeeze on the unicorn's head, "It's time for you to meet your friends in Tartarus!"

Fletcher raced towards the princess. He had only one shot at killing her once and for all. He leaped into the air, ready to strike Celestia down. The princess felt a presence from behind her. A murderous grin crossed her face as she spun around just in time to impale the earth pony on her horn. Fletcher's yellow eyes grew wide with shock and horror as he looked down at the horn now piercing through his body. Celestia lowered her head so that the blacksmith slid off and plopped onto the floor. Blood began to flow like water from the gaping hole in Fletcher's torso.

"NO!" Twilight cried, her eyes not believing the horror she had just witnessed. Celetia began to cackle maniacally at the bleeding earth pony and the crying unicorn; their agony and suffering gave her sick pleasure.

"You..." Twilight mumbled.

"Pardon, worm?" Celestia asked.

"...you heartless, motherless, cowardly, sick, twisted, BITCH!"

Twilight turned to look Celestia dead in the face. The unicorn's eyes began to glow white as they did whenever she had used the Elements of Harmony. Suddenly, the white light from Twilight's eyes burst from their sockets, slamming against the tyrant princess. At this, Celestia let go of Twilight's head and backed away, staring at herself as she began to disintegrate.

"No. No. NOOOOOOO!" the princess screamed as she began to fade into nothing more than a pile of ash.

"What's happening to me?!"

"Something that should have happened a long time ago," Twilight snickered.

Celestia continued to scream until her entire body had become a giant pile of ash.

The unicorn's festivities would have to wait, however. She rushed to Fletcher's side, tears welling in her eyes like pools, once more.

"T...T...Twilight..." Fletcher managed to utter.

"I'm here, Fletch. It's okay. You're going to be okay."

Fletcher let out a single chuckle, then said, "No. No this is...bad. I'm...not going to...make it, Twiley."

"Don't say that. Don't you dare say that. You're going to live," Twilight tried to say without the oceans in her eyes overflowing, but with no luck. Her tears landed on her dying lovers body like the raindrops of a spring shower. Fletcher reached up and held Twilight's hoof in his own.

"Twi'. I love...you. No matter...what happens, I will...always love...you."

Twilight couldn't control her sobs at this point. "No. Nononono don't you say that! I can help you. I can-."

Fletcher raised his hoof to Twilight's mouth to stop her then whispered, "Twi', you talk to much."

The two came together in a passionate kiss. Whatever feelings were left unsaid or were too unfathomably deep to express through words were shared through that kiss.

After a minute of locking lips, Fletcher broke away and coughed up a sizable amount of blood. "T...Twilight," he said.

"Yes?" the unicorn replied, tears still streaming from her eyes.

"Thanks. For...everything."

With that, Fletcher body went limp. His heart stopped beating. He was dead.

Twilight broke out into uncontrollable shrieks and wails as she hugged the body of her dead lover. By this point, everypony else was awake and by her side, sharing in her sorrow.

The funeral was short. Few words were said about the brave blacksmith. Few words could express the pain and the sadness raging inside of everypony who knew him. Twilight, of course, was the most upset. They buried him in from of his forge in Ponyville, as he would've wanted.

Shortly after the impromptu service, Applejack trotted up to Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm mighty sorry fer yer loss. He'll live on in us all, though."

"More than you know," Twilight replied, wiping a tear from her eye and rubbing her tummy in a gentle manner.

Epilogue

"Mommy, mommy! I got my cutie mark!" exclaimed a colt as he bounded towards his mother.

"That's great, honey!" the lavender unicorn replied, picking up her foal and twirling around with him in her arms.

"What is it?"

"It's a quill and parchment, er, something. At least, that's what Uncle Shining Armor said," explained the colt.

"Well, Arcane, I'm very proud of you. Your father would be proud, too."

Arcane beamed at his mother with his yellow eyes. His blue coat seemed to glisten in the sun, and the wind blew through his purple mane.

"I'm guessing you were blowing off your farm duties to write again. Is that how you earned that?" asked Twilight, raising a brow at her foal.

"I'm sorry, momma. I didn't mean to leave Mrs. Applejack with the farm work, but I just couldn't help it. I-" Twilight placed a hoof over the young ponies mouth to silence him.

"Was it the machine again?"

Shooing his mother's hoof away, the foal regained his voice. "Yes. That harvester that Mr. Gizmo built is just really scary. I know that with their own foal to take care of that they needed a better way to harvest the crops, but does it really need to look so scary?" Arcane asked.

"It's okay, little one," Twilight cooed as she embraced her child in a reassuring hug. "Since the farm doesn't suit you, go help Rarity and Tail Spin with their preparations. Rarity's foal could be born any day now."

With a tiny smile, the little unicorn galloped off to help the expecting parents. After Arcane had left, Twilight stared into the sky and smiled. After everything that had happened - no matter how horrible - nothing could compare to the joy that she now shared with her friends and family. Nothing in the world.

A/N: Okay, I know the ending is quite rushed. I would've tried to rewrite it so as not to be rushed, but I have absolutely no idea how to accomplish this. Frankly, I just wanted to get this project out of the way so I could move on to better stories.