Blaze the Pony Tale

As night fell, Rainbow Dash snickered as she flew home. Everything was in place: She'd ordered boxes upon boxes of specially-made joke cookies and had switched them with the Filly Scout cookies that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had sold to every house in Ponyville. It'd cost her a pretty bit, but once she saw everypony with a rainbow mouth after eating the cookies tomorrow, it was going to be worth it!

Arriving at her cloud mansion, she entered and yelled, "Hey Soarin! I'm home! How was your day at the weather office?"

Her answer was silence, which confused her. Soarin was always home by the evening after working at the weather office, and he never went to bed without her. Looking around the living room, she noticed a folded piece of paper with her cutie-mark drawn on it. Picking it up, she saw it was a note and read it, "'Hey Dashie, sorry I'm not home, but something came up and I had to go check something out at the Weather Factory. Some experimental clouds are being produced and they requested some extra weather pony hooves for help in case anything is wrong.

"'Hopefully it's nothing, and I'll be home by tomorrow. I miss you already, my blue Angel, and wish you sweet dreams. Love, Soarin. P.S. Make sure to give Tank and Skye some nice lettuce and a kiwi before you go to bed.'

"Aw..." Rainbow Dash went to her fridge to get the lettuce and kiwi to feed the pets, "I don't know how I'm gonna get to sleep tonight..."

Rainbow then went to the corner of the living room where Tank and Skye's beds were, finding the tortoise and the feathered serpent snoozing. She smiled and left the lettuce and kiwi beside them for them to have as a treat when they woke up and took the time to gently pet Tank and Skye, being careful not to wake them up. But as she passed the window, she took notice of some unusual cloud cover outside. The clouds were dark, looking heavy with rainfall, only there was nothing pouring. Even stranger, she could have sworn she saw faint purple glowing here and there, but the more she stared, the darker it got.

"Huh... maybe I'm just seeing things," Rainbow shrugged, but she did wonder why these clouds were gathering so thickly over Ponyville when there wasn't a weather pegasus in the sky.

Could these be the experimental clouds Soarin had mentioned in his letter? Well, whatever the case, it would be there tomorrow to take care of. Entering her bedroom, Rainbow sighed at the sight of Soarin's empty side of the bed. They'd grown so much closer ever since Rainbow had invited Soarin to move in with her, and she could say without a care of sounding mushy that she loved him. Far more than she'd ever thought she could love someone who was not family or even a friend.

But then a shame crept up on her as she recollected her defeat-slash-victory today. Yes, she'd given up the Prank-Off but she'd managed to successfully prank Midnight after that smirking prince put her through all sorts of shenanigans, Especially the itching powder, urgh...!

Rainbow Dash didn't think her filly bits would ever be the same after that. I bet Soarin could've helped me with that, ohh! Some nookie would have been awesome after today.

Still, as much as she'd relished the look on Midnight's face when she'd gotten him with that joy-buzzer, there was a discomfort coming over her, a weight in the pit of her stomach. But before she could think on it further, the unmistakable boom of thunder derailed her train of thought and she gazed out the window again, just in time to see the clouds begin to pour with heavy rain.

Soar, I hope you'll be okay, Rainbow thought as she settled into bed. I'm gonna need some serious cuddle time after you get back...

When Rainbow Dash woke up, the weight she was feeling had not lifted as Rainbow stood at her doorway and saw the sky was still thick with cloud cover. The clouds spread all over Ponyville and even extended out past its town limits. The air hung heavy with moisture and without any sunshine, the day was rather depressing. Checking the clock, Rainbow saw it was actually half past noon, which surprised her.

My alarm clock didn't wake me, Rainbow thought as she went to her bedside table and looked at the clock, only to find it wasn't on at all. Huh, batteries must've run out again.

Even so, Rainbow Dash realized with disappointment that Soarin wasn't home yet. Plus, the heavy feeling she had was still weighing her down, on her shoulders and in the pit of her stomach. Something felt wrong...

Snap out of it, Rainbow Dash! the rainbow-maned pegasus thought to herself as she slapped her cheeks with her wings and stepped out her front door, Today's the day all of Ponyville will remember you as the greatest prankster ever!

By now, everypony would've had those Filly Scout cookies she'd replaced, and her little signature would be unmistakable. Taking a running start, Rainbow dived off the edge of her cloud lawn and glided down to Ponyville... only to find it oddly quiet. Landing in Town Square, Rainbow Dash was bewildered to see not a soul in sight and the only sounds she heard came from the heavy breeze and some unsecured shutters creaking on several windows.

"Where is everypony?" Rainbow muttered to herself, getting a weird feeling when she heard some distant hoofsteps. "Hello? Is somepony there?"

Rainbow looked down the street she'd heard those hoofsteps, but it sounded like they were going away. She followed after them, taking a turn that brought her to Stirrup Street... and gasped, "Wha- What happened here!?"

Windows were shattered, a wagon was overturned, strewing crates and barrels around it, the ground was covered with deep hoofprints, like there had been a panic or at the very least a wild dance though somehow Rainbow doubted it was the latter. But what she found most alarming... was the sight of blood. There were puddles of it, stains and splatters on the sides of houses, and upon taking a closer look at the dirt... Rainbow could see multiple trails of what looked as though several somethings had been dragged away.

"What's going on here...?!" Rainbow whispered to herself, deeply unnerved by this situation, "Where is everypony?!"

She was certain she'd heard hoofsteps earlier and though she considered calling out again, Rainbow had this rising feeling of dread that told her to be quiet. So she perked her ears, listening for anything she could. She heard the creepy cold breeze blowing through town, the sound of a can rolling, and... What is that?

It sounded like... eating. Messy eating, with loud chewing and tearing and growly groaning.

Although warning bells were going off in her head, Rainbow followed the sound, approaching an alleyway between two houses, and she peered in. It was a little dark from the alley being so cloistered as well as the cloudy overcast. But Rainbow's sharp pegasus eyes allowed her to see what looked to be a foal's tail and little backside sticking out from behind a garbage can.

Then... she saw the foal's cutie-mark, a spinning wheel surrounded by a surging spiral of purple, blue, and yellow electricity, and the foal had an orange coat!

"Scootaloo? Squirt, is that you?!" Rainbow called, but she heard no answer but more eating sounds. She started walking over, saying, "C'mon, Scoots! Something really weird is going on and I think we- !!!!!!!"

It was Scootaloo. But not the Scootaloo Rainbow knew and loved. As soon as she stepped past the garbage can and could see her clearly, Rainbow was shocked in disbelieving horror to see Scootaloo... her coat pale, her mane and tail ragged, and her little wings mussed up. But it was the nasty bite mark on her withers that had congealed blood around it and what Scootaloo was eating.

It was Spike!

The little dragon laid there on the ground, his face frozen in horror, and his little belly a bloody torn mess that Scootaloo was chewing on when she pulled out what looked to be a loop of intestine before it snapped like a piece of taffy stretched too far and Scootaloo continued to chew... her face expressionless apart from her eating Spike's innards, her mouth bloody yet there was a telltale stain of rainbow colors, and her eyes were a disturbing milky white.

"Sc... Scootaloo?!" Rainbow uttered in abject horror, and apparently Scootaloo heard her.

The filly turned away from Spike's corpse and looked at Rainbow with those awful milky eyes, and in them Rainbow saw no recognition. No familiarity. No life. This... thing that had once been Scootaloo growled at her as it began lurching towards her, causing Rainbow to stumble back and fall on her ass as she started to hyperventilate in fear before her fight-or-flight instincts spurred her to take flight and take to the air.

Now that she was higher and directly over Ponyville, Rainbow Dash could finally see. There were more ponies out and about, but all of them were not right. She could see Ditzy and her little muffin Dizzy eating away at Doctor Whoooves. Comet Tail stumbling as he was missing part of his hind leg and looked like his throat had been ripped out. Cheerilee was bumping into a door over and over, as though she were trying to get into the house the door was in. Bulk Biceps was dragging himself as the back half of his body, along with a lot of the muscle of his upper body, looked to have been ripped (or eaten) away.

And every single one of them had their mouths stained with rainbow colors.

"What the buck happened to Ponyville?!" Rainbow Dash couldn't believe what she was seeing. "This- This can't be real!! It's... Twilight, Midnight!"

She looked to the Castle of Friendship, "They'll know what's going on!!"

She immediately flew to the castle, landing on the balcony and rushed to the door and frantically knocked as she whisper-shouted, "TWILIGHT! MIDNIGHT, OPEN UP!! IT'S RAINBOW DASH!!!"

Then... Rainbow could hear the telltale flapping of pegasi, but something about it sounded off. Uneven, haphazard, clumsy. She turned around and stifled a squealing gasp to see several pegasi, all looking as pale and bloody and... decaying as Scootaloo and the other ponies in Ponyville had been, especially those dead, milked over, empty eyes! The thought hadn't truly crossed her mind, but in this moment as these things that could only be undead were awkwardly flying towards her, all groaning and growling, snarling and slobbering, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but whisper, "...zombies!"

She recognized them: Open Skies, Blossomforth, Fluffy Clouds, Cloudchaser, to name a few, and there were too many. They were coming in from all sides and if she tried to fly away she would surely crash into one of them and one mistake could be her last! Rainbow's heart was racing, her mind faltering with uncertainty, her wings locking up-

*click*

-when she felt the doors open and she yelped as hooves pulled her inside and quickly shut the doors. Almost immediately, Rainbow began to panic and fight, only for a hoof to cover her mouth and she heard a soft yet urgent, "SSSSHHHHHHH... Calm down, Dash..."

!!!

Rainbow relaxed and was released, allowing her to turn around and see it was Thunderlane! Clad in his Harmonic Armor, the dark gray pegasus looked ragged and wary as he seemed to be checking her out. But before she could say anything, she heard loud bumps and thumps and they looked to see the zombie pegasi outside banging on the doors that led out to the balcony.

"Dash, were you bit?"

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash looked to Thunderlane, who had taken a few steps back from her.

"I said 'Did you get bit?'" Thunderlane raised his hoof and manifested his sword, Skystrike, looking ready for a fight, which unnerved Rainbow Dash.

"Wh- I... No! Thunder, what the buck is going on here?!" Rainbow Dash demanded answers. "What happened to Ponyville, what happened to everypony?! I-"

It was at that moment that Thunderlane invoked Skystrike's power, transforming the sword into its bow form and he took aim with his left foreleg, pulling back a nonexistent bowstring with his left wing yet conjuring an energy arrow, pointed straight at her, causing her to freeze up.

"Slowly turn around, and no sudden movements..." Thunderlane ordered, his tone and expression inarguable.

"Thunderlane...!" Rainbow Dash was shocked that Thunderlane, her friend, her rival, the brother she never had, could point an arrow at her!

"I won't ask again, turn around slowly..." Thunderlane ordered, the energy arrow beginning to crackle with electricity.

Gulping, Rainbow Dash did as he asked and slowly turned around, noticing that Thunderlane seemed to be examining her. When she completely turned around and was facing him again, Thunderlane seemed to relax, and Skystrike vanished like dying embers as he sighed.

"Sorry, Dash... I had to make sure you weren't bitten," he apologized, sounding regretful.

"Thunder... what the buck is going on here?!" Rainbow demanded, getting up in Thunderlane's face, "Ponyville- Everypony- ZOMBIES!!! And you go and pull this crap on me?!"

"I'm sorry, Dash, just let me explain," Thunderlane apologized as he gestured Rainbow Dash to follow him.

She huffed with her ruffled feathers but did so, and as they ventured into the castle hallway, Thunderlane explained, "It came out of nowhere and by the time anypony realized what was going on, it was already too late..."

"Too late for what, Thunder? What the hell is going on?!" Rainbow demanded with a stomp of her hoof as they made their way into the grand hall and stepped down the stairs.

"It's exactly what it looks like, Dash," Thunderlane said as they reached the ground floor and he gave her a bleak look, "A zombie outbreak."

"But- That's..." Rainbow wanted to argue, to protest, but she'd seen it with her own eyes, and a wave of horror washed over her as she felt her heart break at the memory of seeing, "...Scootaloo! And Spike!"

"Not just them," Thunderlane nodded woefully as he led her to the throne room, "practically everypony in town is infected, dead, or in hiding."

They approached the Map and sat in their thrones before Thunderlane brought up a holographic display of Ponyville, which also included the scary dark purple clouds overhead, along with what appeared to be a massive transparent dome over the whole town, making Ponyville look like a snow globe.
"We're not entirely certain why, but we believe these clouds have something to do with the outbreak. Once Twilight reported the incident to Princess Celestia, a quarantine was established. That's why that dome is covering Ponyville."

"What's that mean? Where is Twilight? Any everypony else?!" Rainbow demanded.

"Nopony is allowed to enter or leave Ponyville," Thunderlane said grimly, "because whatever is causing this must be prevented from spreading the infection to the rest of Equestria or even the whole world! Twilight was summoned to Canterlot before the quarantine was officially established in order to help figure out a cure or a means to quell the plague. As for the rest of our friends..."

Thunderlane shook his head, "I have no idea... and without Spike, we can't send or receive communication from the outside."

"...How did all this happen, Thundy?" Thunderlane looked to his rival and saw how crestfallen she was as Rainbow began to tear up, "When I fell asleep last night, everything was fine... and then I wake up into this- this... nightmare."

"...Like I said," Thunderlane looked away, "it happened so fast. The purple clouds blocked the morning sun, so a lot of ponies slept in. When they woke up and stepped out, they never saw it coming. The infected had succumbed and become zombies and they were on the rest of Ponyville before they realized what was happening. Because of the rain and thunder, nopony could hear the screams until after the weather started to let up."

"That's awful..." Rainbow looked at the images of the clouds over Ponyville and remembered, "Wait... Soarin! He left for the Weather Factory yesterday, he left a note saying some weird clouds were being produced and they needed some extra hooves in case of emergency!"

"That probably explains it..." Thunderlane considered, "whatever those purple clouds are, they must somehow be the cause or at least part of the reason of the zombie outbreak. But if that's the case..."

Thunderlane paused as horror dawned upon his face, Rainbow urging, "What, Thunder?! If that's the case what?!"

"...We're already infected!" Thunderlane said softly in barely-contained horror, "Dash, whatever this is, it must be from those clouds and since it rained and the air outside is still rich with moisture, then odds are we're infected too! Along with anypony else who's managed to stay safe!"

"But then... why aren't we turning into zombies too?" asked Rainbow, giving herself a quick look-over.

"Hmm, I guess there's more to it than just breathing it in?" guessed Thunderlane with a baffled shrug, "Maybe the infection takes longer or... it needs something else, but when the zombies bite you, the infection is quick. You feel sick, then you feel tired and after you fall asleep, you wake up as one of them! I saw so many of our friends and neighbors..."

Thunderlane hanged his head in sorrow as he whispered, "Rumble..."

Rainbow felt her heart break, Rumble too?

She furrowed her brows and raised her wings, "We have to get out there and help anypony who's still okay!"

"Wh-wha...?" Thunderlane looked at Rainbow Dash, as she studied the image of Ponyville.

"We can't just leave them out there at the mercy of the zombies," Rainbow decided, "we have to find them, help them and get them here to the castle where they'll be safe. Even if we can't escape Ponyville, we need to save as many lives as we can."

"That won't be easy, Dash, because as I know you saw, the pegasi who become zombies still remember how to fly," Thunderlane brought up, "they're not fast or graceful, but if they surround you you're in real trouble."

"Then I'm just gonna have to be faster and always on guard," Rainbow Dash folded her forelegs, to Thunderlane's bewilderment, "I'll distract the zombies, you search for survivors."

"Dash, no!" Thunderlane protested, "Look, you're fast, faster than any pegasus I know. But you can't outfly a horde of zombies for long. Let me do it, I'm an endurance flier, I can outfly you when it comes to stamina and you know it."

"But Thunder-"

"And... you can search for survivors way faster than me and get away if you encounter any zombies in tight situations," added Thunderlane, and as much as it stuck in her craw Rainbow Dash couldn't deny it made sense.

"But... what was I thinking- Thunder, maybe we shouldn't split up after all," Rainbow argued, "Isn't that the number one rule for these kind of situations?"

"You're thinking about scary movies, Dash," Thunderlane deadpanned before taking a deep breath, "Look, there's a good chance one or even both of us will get turned into a zombie if we go through with this plan, but if it works and we can get some more survivors here into the castle, then you're right. We gotta go for it!"

Rainbow mentally chewed on it before nodding and put her game face on, "So what's the plan?"

"I don't like this plan..." Rainbow Dash had quietly and sneakily flown to the Ponyville Clocktower, to have a good view of town and monitor the zombies. Every zombie she saw was a stab to her heart because she knew almost every face in Ponyville and a lot of their names.

"Dash, come in, You read me?" The disc-shaped device Rainbow was carrying was vibrating and set at low volume.

Thunderlane had suggested they use these communication devices called Communechoes, or Echoms for short. They were invented by Midnight and used magic to transmit sound waves that couldn't be scrambled, intercepted, and could even transmit to Echoms located underground on through solid rock.

Groaning, Rainbow answered, "I read you, Thunder. In position."

"Excellent. Now, just like we planned, I'm gonna set off some firecrackers that will draw the zombies away from your position," explained Thunderlane through the Echom. "After they clear out, search for survivors as quickly and quietly as you can.

"Avoid the zombies as best you can and make sure any survivors you find are not infected. Don't gather too many if you find them; smaller groups will be less risky and easier to get to the castle."

"And you watch your back," Rainbow Dash responded, concerned but kept her voice sounding strong and firm. Even so, she couldn't help feeling her heart waver, "And Thunder?"

"Yeah, Dash?"

Dash paused, uncertain of what to say despite her feelings welling up. This was not the time to be sentimental. She took a deep breath and gave it a thought before saying, "If any of those undead geeks give you trouble, you give them Haydes. Got it?!"

"Heheh, copy that, Dashie," Thunderlane answered, sounding cocky and touched at the same time before the Echom buzzed with static that signaled he'd ended the communication.

And so Rainbow Dash was left to sit in the clock tower and wait. The plan, as Thunderlane had repeated, was for him to use firecrackers to draw any zombies away from the area Rainbow Dash was going to search for survivors. He'd told her repeatedly to listen for the firecrackers and then wait for the zombies to follow the sound. Every ten minutes, he'd light more firecrackers to lure the undead away.

She wasn't kept waiting long. The loud and snappy pops and cracks of firecrackers rang out and slowly but surely did the zombies all take notice. They turned towards the direction the heard the noise coming from and started shambling that way. Rainbow didn't dare contact Thunderlane to let him know the zombies were coming his way because she feared she might give away his position. Patiently she waited, aggravating as it was, thinking, C'mon you walking maggot hotels, get going!

Eventually, the zombies cleared out of the area though Rainbow waited a little longer... when she felt her Echom vibrate and then heard more firecrackers.

"The signal!" she whispered before she took flight.

Thunderlane had told her that after the first firecrackers, he would contact her through the Echom's vibrating function but told her not to answer. After doing so, he'd light more firecrackers further away from the center of town.

Slowly and as quietly as she could, Rainbow landed in the middle of Town Square, taking notice of Town Hall, the fountain, the nearby Day Spa, the Joke Shop, and looking down the streets she knew so well she saw Sugarcube Corner, the marketplace, Café Hay, and not a zombie in sight. Thunderlane's distractions were working, but that only applied to any zombies outside. She'd have to be careful of any zombies still lingering indoors.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow thought, Okay... let's try Town Hall first.

She tippy-hooved over to Town Hall (wearing woolen socks so her hooves wouldn't make clip-clop sounds on the ground), and carefully peered inside. She was dismayed to see Mayor Mare wandering aimlessly inside, her eyes milky and glazed over... and her mouth stained rainbow.

Huh, I've noticed other zombies with those, Rainbow thought. It seemed that some of the locals had eaten her joke cookies before they'd been infected. Come to think of it... Mayor Mare doesn't look like she has a bite mark on her.

Although she was curious, considering the zombie mayor was relatively placid, Rainbow suspected there were no survivors in Town Hall. The zombie mayor would be trying to get them if there were any. So she moved on. She went building to building, only entering if she didn't see any zombies inside and was fairly certain it was safe. Every so often, she'd get the vibration alert from her Echom, letting her known Thunderlane was okay and continuing to distract the horde.

It got worse and worse and Rainbow saw more familiar faces, which sadly included Faerie Tail, Double Diamond, the Cake Family, Mulia and Cranky, Granny Smith, and she wasn't finding survivors hiding or hunkering down either.

After checking what must have been the nineteenth place she'd tried, Rainbow was starting to lose hope.

This is awful! Rainbow thought as she hid in a ran barrel behind Lyra, Bon Bon, and Noteworthy's house (the trio had all been zombified, though only Noteworthy had a rainbow stained mouth while Lyra and Bon bon both had bite marks), peering through a hole to make sure the coast was clear before she slowly poked her head out of the top.
I haven't found any survivors, just more zombies!

A part of Rainbow wanted to think her fruitless search might be a good thing, that the survivors were hiding themselves so well, thus safely avoiding the zombies. But she could shake her feelings of dread. A few times while she'd searched somepony's home she'd dared to whisper-shout if anypony was there and needed help. She'd had a close-call when she'd heard what was unmistakably a zombie pounding at the basement door. As she'd left that house, she'd noticed an opened box of her joke cookies and crumbs on the floor.

Recalling Thunderlane's words, this outbreak had come out of nowhere and despite what little evidence there was, Rainbow was starting to wonder if the purple clouds above were truly responsible for whatever was going.

"Thunderlane thinks the clouds are the cause, but if they were," Rainbow wondered aloud, "would he and I already be craving flesh and everything?"

...

...

...

!!!

Thunderlane! Rainbow thought in alarm as she realized she hadn't heard from Thunderlane in a long while, His last signal must have been... Urgh, when was it?!

She puzzled it over but Rainbow just couldn't remember, only that it was during her search. She reached to her saddlebag and pulled out the Echom, thinking, If he hasn't signaled me... well, the area still seems kinda zombie-free. Maybe he just forgot? No, no, Thunderlane's always on time and really responsible, no way he'd forget to signal me in this situation!

But if Thunder's not signalling me... something must be wrong!

Rainbow wanted to believe Thunderlane could get himself out of a dodgy situation, And... if he needed my help, he'd call me! Yeah, he-he's gotta be fine!

As much as Rainbow wanted to call Thunderlane herself, she hesitated, What if he's hiding and I give him away?

*Thump*

"EEP!" Rainbow ducked back into the barrel, having heard a light thump sound. A few moments later, she heard another and this time she realized something had hit the barrel she was hiding in. Something small, "Like...Ow!"

Rainbow felt something small but hard hit her on the head and she saw that it was a little rock. Did zombies throw rocks? Rainbow didn't think so, they weren't supposed to be smart enough to do even simple tasks like that.

"Psst! Rainbow Dash!!"

Rainbow stifled a gasp and looked around before finally noticing, in the house across the street, an open window with a hoof waving before it lowered and a face popped up.

"Chip Mint?" Rainbow recognized the colt. She volunteered every once in a while to give lessons and safety tips to the pegasus foals over at Cheerilee's Schoolhouse, and Chip Mint was one of her star pupils.

"Hurry! Get in here before they come back!" Chip Mint whisper-shouted before closing the window.

A few moments later, Rainbow heard a click in the door of the house Chip Mint was in and every so slightly did it open. Looking around, she saw that the coast was clear and didn't waste a second as she zoomed in, but made sure to softly close the door and lock it behind her. She turned around to find a relieved-looking Chip Mint gazing up at her and Rainbwo said, "Chip, are you okay?"

"Uh-huh, I'm really glad to see you, Rainbow," Chip smiled up at the mare, "I wasn't sure if there was anyone else still... you know."

"Yeah, are you alone?" asked Rainbow.

"No, I'm keeping lookout for my cousin, Caramel," Chip Mint replied, "we've been taking turns sleeping and keeping lookout. We almost got caught by those... those things and barely managed to get away! After we lost them, we hunkered down in here. Caramel was up really late, keeping watch, so this morning I took over so he could get some rest."

"Where is he?" asked Rainbow.

"In the bedroom upstairs," Chip led the way and Rainbow followed.

He led her to a bedroom and inside, they found Caramel who was already beginning to wake. It was when he noticed Rainbow that he froze up until Chip hopped onto the bed and said, "Caramel, it's okay! Rainbow's here to help us! Right, Rainbow?"

"You bet, little buddy," Rainbow assured before coming over to sit on the bed next to the stallion and colt, "Great job staying safe, Caramel, and for taking care of your cousin too!"

"Uh, thanks, Rainbow Dash," Caramel finally woke up but Rainbow noticed Caramel didn't look so good as he groaned a little and his eyes seemed a little red.

"Uh, you okay, Caramel? Did you get enough sleep?" Rainbow asked.

"Uh, it's... just been really-really stressful, RD," Caramel moaned as he stretched a bit, the blanket falling off to reveal a bandage wrapped around Caramel's fetlock.

"Oh, what happened there, Caramel?" Rainbow pointed to the bandage and Caramel seemed to hesitate.

"Uh... I... cut myself on a piece of broken glass," Caramel said slowly, "things got super crazy and scary when it all went down, I didn't even notice it until later. But no worries, I took care of it."

"So Rainbow, do you have any idea of what we should do?" asked Chip Mint. "Earlier, I heard some loud noises and then the zombies all went away, but since that big dome is all over Ponyville, I'm pretty sure they'll come back."

"Ponyville's under quarantine," Rainbow explained how she'd run into Thunderlane at the Castle of Friendship and learned of all that had happened from him. She went on about the plan for Thunderlane to distract the zombies while Rainbow searched for survivors and take them to the Castle where it would be safer.
"So once I do a check to make sure it's clear out, we'll take off and get to the Castle as quickly as we can."

"You should take Chip Mint and just fly there," Caramel suggested, sounding a little congested before he cleared his throat, "once he's safe you could come back for me."

"Nuh-uh! I'm not leaving you, Caramel," Chip Mint gave his cousin a hug, "we'll all get to the castle together!"

"Chip's right, we don't leave a pony behind," Rainbow agreed, "it's too risky to leave you behind, Caramel."

"Well, okay," Caramel gulped, "but is this really a good idea?"

"Maybe not, but it's the only one we've got, so hang tight," Rainbow went to check outside, looking out a window.

To her relief, the coast seemed to still be clear, Not a zombie in sight... and still nothing from Thunderlane!

Rainbow was really starting to get worried, but she was too afraid of contacting Thunderlane and giving him away to any zombies he might be hiding from. She would just have to trust in him and have faith that their plan would work. Hopefully, they'd be back in the castle soon, with Caramel and Chip Mint safe and sound.

She went back to them and said, "It looks clear, but the moment we step out we have to be as quick and quiet as we can."

"That's why I found these socks," Chip Mint pointed out Caramel's, which he'd already put on. "They'll muffle our hoofsteps."

"Are you sure about this, Rainbow Dash?" asked Caramel, sounding nervous. "You and Chip can-"

"We already agreed, Caramel," Rainbow cut him off.
"Yeah, no pony left behind," agreed Chip.

Caramel couldn't help smiling at his little cousin before taking a deep breath, "Okay! Let's do this."

The sneak back to the Castle of Friendship took a long while since the house Caramel and Chip Mint had been hiding in was over a dozen blocks away. Rainbow would scout ahead, making sure the route was clear before signalling her companions to follow her. A few times they saw a zombie wandering by itself and there'd been only one close call when Caramel had tripped and almost given them away, but luckily Rainbow had grabbed a pebble and thrown it into a garbage can down the way, misdirecting the zombie (who had once been Doughnut Joe).

After nearly an hour of sneaking through Ponyville, the trio were looking around a corner and down a street, at the end of which began the path that led straight to the Castle of Friendship!

"Okay, it's a straight path to the castle," Rainbow whispered to her two charges, "once we make it inside you guys will be safe."

"How far is it from here?" asked Caramel reluctantly.

"Um..." Rainbow took another peek, her keen pegasus eyes allowing her to gauge the distance quite accurately. Which of course caused her to wince as she lamely answered, "About... five furlongs, give or take a few pony-lengths?"

"Five furlongs?!" Caramel groaned into his hooves.

"Uh.... how long is five furlongs?" Chip Mint asked the million Bit question.

"Three-thousand-and-three-hundred hooves," explained Rainbow Dash, "it's the minimum distance of a professional racing track on the ground."

"And we'll be out in the open once for any zombie to see!" Caramel fretted, "I have a good gait when I gallop, Rainbow, but-"

"There's no buts about it, Caramel," Rainbow Dash stated, "Besides, the zombies are clumsy and don't run as fast as they normally would. We have a good chance of making it to the castle safely."

"Just take Chip to the castle, I'll be-" Caramel tried to argue, only for a distant scream to catch their ears. Along with what sounded like a stampede and what was unmistakably the uproar of the undead!

The three of them peered around the corner again and Rainbow stifled a gasp to see, "Thunder!"

It was Thunderlane. His wing hung uselessly, looking injured and bleeding, as he was running towards the castle, looking desperate and even sounding terrified. The reason why became obvious as a horde of zombies soon appeared from behind a distant row of houses, all shambling and moving with surprising speed although several kept tripping, but they got themselves back up and in pursuit of Thunderlane in no time at all.

Taking the Echom, Rainbow Dash contact, "Thunder! Come in! I see you!"

"Dash?! Dash, help me! I don't think I'm gonna- OW!!" Rainbow Dash gasped again as she saw Thunderlane trip and stumble head over tail a few pony lengths because of how fast he'd been running.

The horde was closing in and several zombie pegasi were taking flight, albeit clumsily yet they'd be on him in moments.

"NO!!" Rainbow shouted and was about to jump out and launch herself into the air, only for Caramel to jump on her and hold her down, "LEMME GO, CARAMEL!! HE'S-"

"It's too late, Rainbow!" Caramel said, sounding apologetic but holding firm, "There's nothing we can do!!"

"RAINBOOOOWW!! HEEELLLLP MEEEEEEEEEAAAAUUAUAUGUGHHHH!!!!!" Thunderlane continued to scream through the Echom, and Rainbow Dash began to sob as she saw the horde pile onto the poor stallion, groaning and snarling as they began to feast on fresh meat. Feathers flew and there was a spray of blood as Thunderlane continued to scream.

He didn't scream for long.

Rainbow felt the tears trail down her cheeks as she thought, This... this can't be happening! He- He can't- Thunder!

"Rrrrraaaggghhhh..." The three ponies all froze up and slowly looked towards the roof of the house they were hiding behind, and saw a zombified Flitter leering down at them, her saliva beginning to dribble.

"...Run!" Caramel whispered in abject horror.

Tears and grieving were not a luxury she could afford right now as Rainbow Dash stood up after Caramel got off her, and she led him and Chip Mint down the alley behind the house as Flitter dropped down, letting out a loud and hungry snarl. This unfortunately alerted some nearby zombies, who likewise began to make vicious growls and groans, alerting even more.

The sounds of shambly steps and flustered flaps accompanied the growls and groans as the three survivors hurried through the alleyway, desperate to put as much distance between the monsters coming for them as possible.

They came out to an open street and looked around, Chip Mint sounding scared as he asked, "Rainbow! Wh-whaddoo we do?! The castle's the way we came and there's too many zombies between it and us!"

"Uh, we... we'll hide innnnnn..." Rainbow drawled as she looked around, desperate for a solution when her eyes fell upon, "Sugarcube Corner! Pinkie Pie has a secret party-planning cave beneath it!"

"Of course she does," Caramel commented as they quickly galloped towards the bakery, zombies starting to appear from alleyways, corners, and in the air.

The three of them skidded to a halt at the front door as Rainbow looked for the spare key, Caramel panting, Chip Mint whimpering, and the sounds of the horde growing louder as they were beginning to close in from all sides.

"Rainbow...!" Chip Mint whimpered with rising urgency.

"Aha! There you are!" Rainbow Dash had forgotten Pinkie Pie kept her spare key hidden under a potted flower set among the flower garden in front of the bakery.

She quickly unlocked the door, urged Caramel and Chip inside, and shut the door behind them, locking it, "No time to lose, quick! Start barricading the door and find me a hammer, nails, and anything we can nail over the windows!"

"But what about the party-planning cave?" asked Chip anxiously.

"If we delay them, it'll be harder for them to get inside, go!" Rainbow ordered.

She and Caramel took all the tables that weren't bolted to the floor, along with their chairs, and threw them in front of the door while Chip Mint searched around for a hammer and nails. As they finished barricading the door, Rainbow noticed Caramel was panting and not looking so hot.

"Caramel, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... i think... it's all this crazy getting to me," Caramel waved off the concern but he was honestly looking sick. He was even shivering. "I'm just... trying not to be scared stiff!"

Rainbow reached over, placing her hoof on Caramel and kindly said, "We'll get through this, somehow."

Caramel smiled though it was doubtful and hesitant. "Guys!"

They looked to see Chip Mint come back, "I couldn't find a hammer or nails!"

Groaning, Rainbow Dash said, "We'll just have to find something else to cover the windows."

The sound of breaking glass and some groans growing louder kiboshed that idea and they all flinched before Rainbow said, "Never mind! We'll just have to chance it. To the party cave!"

Rainbow Dash hurried to the banister and tried to open the secret compartment, only for nothing to give way. The undead groans grew louder and Caramel and Chip Mint were fretting anxiously, when Rainbow Dash suddenly remembered, "Omigosh! The switch to open the Party Cave isn't down here... it's up in Pinkie's loft!!"

"Up the stairs, up the stairs!!" Caramel urged and they hurried up the stairs, no longer caring about being quiet or sneaky.

They came to the door to Pinkie's loft and barged in, only for Rainbow to slip and fall flat on her face, which was cushioned by a box with something crumbly inside. Caramel closed the door behind them, groaning as he held his head in pain. But this went unnoticed by Rainbow and Chip Mint as they looked around and saw the floor was covered with boxes and crumbs of...

"Filly Guide cookies?" Chip Mint looked at the box in confusion when they heard some noisy munching.

They looked towards the bed in the middle of the room, and over it they saw a familiar dark pink curl bobbing and heard those munchy sounds denote a sloppy eater. Chip was about to take a closer look only to see Rainbow's wing gesture him to stay put as she ever so slowly approached the bed, moving around the foot of it to see...

"...Pinkie Pie?"

It looked like Pinkie Pie, sitting on the floor beside her bed, hunched over, obviously eating something, when she seemed to stop. She slowly raised her head and turned to Rainbow Dash, her eyes glazed and milky, groaning as crumbs and drool dribbled from her rainbow-stained mouth, to Rainbow's horror-

"AAAAUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!!"

Rainbow froze and cried out in horror to see Caramel holding the struggling Chip Mint as the stallion was biting into the colt's neck, blood already trailing from the poor foal's wound, his screams of agony quickly softening into whimpers as his eyes rolled up and he slumped in Caramel's hold, the stallion pulling his mouthful away, ripping out skin and flesh as he glared at Rainbow and she saw the bandage on Caramel's fetlock had come loose... revealing a bite mark!

Rainbow finally screamed as she tried to distance herself from Pinkie and Caramel, only for her rump to bump into the wall just as the door was forced open and in ambled more zombies... including a zombified Midnight!

Thoughts and desperation ran through Rainbow's mind a million miles an hour as she tried to think of a way out of this, logic asserting itself to try and understand how - why - this was happening!

Then... the evidence and clues somehow made themselves known in Rainbow's mind as it began to connect the dots:

She'd seen so many ponies turned to zombies, but she'd also noticed a lot of those zombies had had rainbow-stained mouths, obviously meaning they'd eaten her joke cookies.

Then she'd noticed there had been zombies without the rainbow-stained mouths but somewhere on their bodies there'd been a bite mark or wound of sorts.

None of the rainbow-stained zombies appeared to have had a bite mark on them anywhere.

Joke cookies + rainbow-stained mouths - bite marks... Rainbow thought even as the zombies, zombified Midnight at the front, were closing in on her... then it finally dawned on her!

"I... I did this!" Rainbow said aloud, "My joke cookies... they somehow turned those of you who ate them into zombies, and you attacked those who didn't eat them and infected them! This- this is my fault!"

Zombie Midnight was now standing right in front of Rainbow, leering down at her with an empty yet hungry look, his mouth, stained not rainbow but red, opened to reveal his terrible fangs, blade-like incisors that were poised to rip into the living flesh right in front of them.

"No! Midnight, stop!" Rainbow pressed her back against the wall as Midnight moved in on her and she fruitlessly tried to push him back, "I never meant for this to happen! It was just a prank! It was supposed to be funny, but this- This isn't funny at all!!!"

Midnight pushed Rainbow's hoof away, raising his hooves to hold her by the shoulders and snarling like a rabid animal as Rainbow clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the end...

"Gotcha!"

!!!

Rainbow's eyes popped open as she felt Midnight let her go and step back, a horseapple-eating grin not just on his face but on the face of every zombie present, who'd all stopped groaning, growling and snarling as they all began to laugh at the stupefied look on Rainbow's face and wiped away the rainbow or red stains on their mouths. Midnight's horn lit up and the dreary atmosphere and bleak light quickly brightened up in the loft, replacing the feeling of doom with a sense of bamboozled relief as Rainbow stood up and gaoed at everypony.

"Wait- What's happening?!"

"Oh, just taking a moment to enjoy pranking the prankster," answered the voice of Blueblood as he squeezed past a few of the ponies present and levitated a device, "Did you like the special effects? The fog machiens I set up in the clouds were a nice touch, especially with the phosphorous to give them that subtle purple glow."

"Heheh, yeah," agreed Thunderlane as he appeared in a window, "How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine, Dash?"

"So- Wait... you're not infected with a plague that turns you into an undead creep with a craving flesh?!" Rainbow flabbergasted.

"Of course not, silly!" Pinkie answered with a jokey elbow to Rainbow's side before everyone took a quick inhale and let out a triumphant:

"GOTCHA!!!"

"This... it was all... a PRANK?!" Rainbow couldn't believe this.

"Eeyup, an' you can thank Midnight n' Pinkie for it," Big Mac gave the alicorn and party pony some props, as did several others.

"After ya told her about yer plan t' prank th' whole town," Applejack spoke up, "she an' Midnight got everypony t'gether t' come up wit' a way t' turn th' tables on you."

"Aw shucks, it was nothin'!"
"Yeah, it was just a few special effects, make-up, magical illusions..."

"Wow-how! You shoulda seen the look on your face!" Chip Mint laughed as he rose up above the others to point at Rainbow, Caramel coming up under neath him as the earth pony reared up.
"Oh yeah, it was priceless!" he added. "The funniest thing I'd ever seen!"

"Wh- ugh! I don't think it was funny!" Rainbow disputed indignantly, "And I'm the one who got pranked, I was terrified! I thought that I... I thought I'd accidentally started a real outbreak of zombies! You-you can't ust go around-"

"Pranking whoever you feel like?"
"Without thinking about how it might make them feel?"
"Or if they'd even enjoy it?"
"Or think it's funny?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow suddenly had an epiphany and felt her hot air deflate a bit, "Oh.... I see what you did there."

"Pranks can be a lot of fun when everypony has a good time," said Pinkie Pie.

"But you needed to see what it's like when they don't," added Midnight. "Not only that, your pranking me after you'd forfeited the Prank Off the other day wasn't proving yourself a good prankster but a sore loser and unworthy of respect. So me and Pinkie decided you needed to see how it felt to experience a prank that wasn't funny to you."

"Like how it wasn't funny when you made Belle and Sandow cry," agreed Fluttershy.
"And it wasn't funny when you made me bite that brick you switched my hayburger with," added Carrot Cake, "Colgate told me I was lucky I didn't break a tooth!"
"And it wasn't funny when you filled my accordion with cheeze whiz," said Cheese Sandwich in a surprisignly stern voice. "I love that accordion and what you did nearly ruined it to the point where it might not have worked anymore!"
"An' it weren't funny when you put tha' boulder on muh wagon," Big Mac brought up, "Ah coulda gotten hurt from tha' thing draggin' me down tha' hill."

Sighing woefully, Rainbow apologized, "I'm sorry, everypony. I really wasn't considering the feelings of everypony I pranked or what else could have happend because of those pranks."

"Well, as long as you learned your lesson, angel." Rainbow felt her feathers ruffle as she looked to another window and saw Soarin giving her a smirk and raised brow.

"Soarin?! You were in on this too?!"

"Yeah," Soarin squeezed in and went over to give Rainbow a kiss on the brow, "Midnight told me how you were acting and what you were doing, and I had to agree you were due for a little comeuppance. So me and the Weather Ponies set up those clouds and put Blueblood's fog machines with the phosphorous in them to make them dark and glowy. That way, Ponyville would be grim and scary, a perfect setup and background for this whole prank!"

"...That... was..." Rainbow reached up to grab Soarin by the shoulders, "AWESOME!! The setup, the execution- You all set up an amazing prank!"

Soarin mentally phew'd and said, "Well, glad there's no hard feelings and as long as you-"

"I'm gonna have to work extra hard to top it!" Rainbow interupted with an evil plotting look, causing everypony to gape at her with trepidation. "Gotcha!"

And just like that, it was over as everypony enjoyed a good long laugh of amusement and relief while Rainbow pulled Soarin over to whisper into his ear, "But if you want my forgiveness, you'd better be ready for some rough make-up sex tonight..."

Soarin gulped, unsure whether he should look forward to tonight or be flying for his life.