The Crimson Rage

Chapters

Chapter 1: "The Bite"
Chapter 2: "The Spread"
Chapter 3: "The Outbreak"
Chapter 4: "The Epidemic"
Chapter 5: "The Cure"
Chapter 6: "The Cascade"
Chapter 7: "The Dispersal"
(All Illustrations and Credits)

Chapter 1: "The Bite"

THE CRIMSON RAGE

By: Time Shield

(For chronological reference, this story takes place mid-way through Season 3 of MLP, which puts it after the reappearance of the Crystal Empire, but before Discord’s release.)

CHAPTER 1: “The Bite”

The afternoon sun shone brightly down upon Sweet Apple Acres, a deceptively beautiful day given the storm that swept through the orchard hours earlier. Normally, such activity is scheduled or controlled by the pegasi, but outside forces can occasionally cause a sudden weather event that they have little time to prevent or prepare for. The storm that hit was such an event, though luckily it was not too fierce of a storm, so the damage was minimal. It was only a few overturned carts and some fallen branches from the trees, an afternoon of cleanup work at best.

Applejack was attending to the cleanup, picking up branches and tossing them into a cart pulled by her brother, Big McIntosh. As she leaned down to pick up another branch, a familiar voice called out to her from above, “Hey, Applejack!” She looked up and spotted Rainbow Dash descending from the sky above the orchard. Rainbow stopped a few feet above the ground and hovered as she continued, “Just stopping by real quick to let you know, the wind’s settled down, and it should be clear weather from here on out.”

“I appreciate that, Rainbow,” Applejack said with a smile. “Couldn’t y’all have given us more of a heads-up though? It would’ve helped if we could’ve tied down a few things.”

Rainbow folded her front legs and replied, “C’mon, I let you know as soon as we knew. It’s ‘cause of those crazy breezes that come in from the Everfree Forest. No pony can predict those.”

Applejack nodded, “Alright, I know. Think you could lend us a hoof in the cleanup then?”

“In a bit,” Rainbow said, smiling confidently. “The Storm’s still moving towards Manehattan. I can beat it there and give ‘em a warning, then be back before you know it.” She realized suddenly that she needed to get started, and quickly added, “So yeah, gotta go! See you later!”

“Happy flyin’!” Applejack called out as Rainbow sped off into the sky, rapidly disappearing over the horizon. Leaning down, she picked up the branch and tossed it into the back of the cart. The pile of branches was already stacked pretty high, but it was nothing Big McIntosh couldn’t handle. “Let’s move on to the next row, Big Mac.”

Big McIntosh nodded in response, “Eeyup.”

As they moved around to the next row of apple trees, Applejack noticed another familiar shape bounding down the path; the family dog, Winona. She was carrying a smaller branch in her mouth, which she carried up to the edge of the cart and dropped in over the side. She looked at Applejack for approval, panting happily.

“Nice work, Winona!” Applejack said, to which Winona replied with a cheerful bark. Looking back at Big McIntosh, Applejack remarked, “Why, between the two of us and Winona here, I’ll bet we can get everything cleaned up before Rainbow even gets back.”

Big McIntosh looked over his shoulder at how much of the orchard was still left and thought about it. Finally, he said, “Well, maybe if…”

“I know,” Applejack interrupted. “Maybe if we had Apple Bloom’s help too, right?” Big McIntosh silently nodded, so she continued, “She should be gettin’ out o’ school soon. In the meantime, let’s get back to work.”

Winona sat quietly as the two of them were talking, but then got distracted by a butterfly that fluttered down the pathway. She watched it for a few moments, then bounded after it barking, which startled the butterfly and caused it to fly away faster. Before long, the chase began taking them completely out of the orchard.

“Winona! Come back!” Applejack called out, but the dog either didn’t hear her or was too focused on catching the butterfly. Noticing where they were heading, she shook her head, “Fool dog’s gonna go right into the Everfree if she keeps it up. Hey, Big Mac!”

Big McIntosh looked over, “Hm?”

“Can you go get Winona?” Applejack asked. “I’ll finish this row by myself ‘till you get back.”

“Eeyup,” Big McIntosh agreed, unhooking himself from the cart. He quickly ran down the path after Winona; sure enough, the butterfly passed out of the orchard grounds and into the more dense growth of the Everfree forest. Winona ran in after it, in pursuit.

Big McIntosh hesitated only briefly as he reached the edge of the forest. Almost no pony was comfortable travelling through it; rightly so, since it was a very unnatural place. Big Mac himself rarely set foot inside, but he was quite strong and figured he could handle anything the forest might throw at him. Without any further doubt, he confidently strode into the woods.

Twilight Sparkle walked through the center of Ponyville on her way out of town, watching the townsponies around her straightening up after the earlier storm. Flowerbeds and shrubs all over were in particularly bad shape, and there were collections of debris against the sides of buildings and in alleyways. However, overall the town was making good progress in restoring the town to its normal condition.

Two familiar figures behind her quickened their pace until they caught up with her. “Twilight!” Rarity called out, she and Pinkie Pie slowing their paces to walk alongside her. “I do hope the sudden storm didn’t do any permanent damage to the library.”

“No, it’s fine,” Twilight said. “That old tree’s sturdier than it looks. It’d take something a lot stronger than a simple storm to damage it. It’s one of the safest places to be in town during heavy weather.”

Pinkie Pie smiled, “I’ll say! Sugarcube Corner was rattling like a big jar full of candy corn during the storm. I thought the whole thing would just blow away, but then I realized that’d be really hard, ‘cause of all the cake and stuff inside weighing it down!”

“At least it’s better than the shape the Carousel Boutique was in,” Rarity lamented. “Ugh, it was horrid. That storm was a fright. But it’s all taken care of now.”

“You got it fixed up already?” Twilight asked. “That was fast.”

Nodding, Rarity replied, “Of course. You’d be surprised on just how motivating it can be to restore a work of art that’s been freshly defaced, dear. I just couldn’t stand to leave it that way.”

They reached the edge of town, and Twilight stopped for a moment, turning to the others and saying, “The library’s all in order as well, so I thought I’d check on Applejack. I don’t imagine the orchard made it through unharmed. Want to come?”

“Oh… thank you, but no,” Rarity said, shaking her head. “I was on my way to see Fluttershy, actually. The storm frightened poor Opalescence, and I can’t get her to come down from the top of the cabinets.”

Pinkie Pie shook her own head, “No can do either. I promised I’d help the Cakes clean up Sugarcube Corner.” She finished with a helpful smile.

“Uhh, but Pinkie…” Twilight started to say.

Cutting off Twilight with a gasp, Pinkie jumped and exclaimed, “I’m supposed to be helping the Cakes clean up Sugarcube Corner!” Without another word, she spun around and ran off back into town. Twilight smiled and shook her head slightly, before starting down the path to Sweet Apple Acres, while Rarity continued on her way towards Fluttershy’s house.

Big McIntosh was surrounded by the sounds of the Everfree Forest as he walked. Something about the ambience immediately set it apart from normal woods. It was subtle; the normal insect, bird and other animal sounds were different, more menacing and mysterious. Unusual magical creatures of all types lurked here, and despite his confidence, he found his eyes scanning the woods not only for Winona, but also for any sign of danger. Everything felt wrong here; even the dirt beneath his hooves didn’t crumble just right.

After a few minutes of walking with no sign of the dog, he paused and gave a whistle to call for her. There was no response, so he tried again, a little louder. After a moment he heard barking in the distance, and his face lit up. Running in the direction of the sound, he passed through some thick foliage before reaching a small clearing, spotting Winona at last. The dog was sitting on the ground, watching the butterfly she was chasing earlier land on a flower at the edge of the clearing.

He slowed his pace and walked up to the dog, but as he did so, the butterfly took off from the flower and started to head deeper into the forest. Winona jumped back to her feet as if to give chase again. Big McIntosh quickly lunged forward to try and grab her by the collar, but missed as she bounded off again into the woods. Giving a frustrated grunt, he got back to his hooves and prepared to run after the dog.

Before he could take a step, he froze suddenly at the sound of something buzzing nearby. It sounded similar to a fly or a bee, but like most things in the woods, something was off about it. Looking around, he spotted what was making the sound: a rather large insect, nearly eight inches long, that was hovering a few feet from him in the clearing. It looked vaguely like a mosquito, except it was a deep red color, and was much bigger of course. It hovered for a moment and then drifted closer to him. More annoyed than fearful, he waved his front leg to try and shoo it away. It dodged to the side and seemed to halt its approach for the time.

He turned his attention back to the woods where Winona ran off and was about to resume his pursuit, when he felt a bite on the skin of his back. Startled, he jumped a little and swatted at the fly, which was now sitting on his back. The fly detached itself and buzzed off into the woods, disappearing from view. Big McIntosh couldn’t get a good look at the welt it left on his back; he decided he didn’t have time to think about it and readied himself for pursuit again.

He only got one step before he noticed his vision starting to blur. Suddenly becoming unsteady on his legs, he wobbled for a moment and leaned up against the nearest tree to steady himself. He blinked his eyes, trying to clear them, but in the next moment they burned as if they were on fire. He tensed up and clenched his eyes, his mind becoming foggy as he lost focus on where he was, or who he was. Mere seconds later, he regained his footing and breathed heavily, opening his now red, bloodshot eyes, a low and unnatural growl building in his throat…

Applejack lifted another bundle of branches with her mouth, which she had tied up with a rope, dropping them into the cart. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and untied the rope, pulling it free from the bundle and slinging it over her shoulder to use again later. She glanced back towards the Everfree Forest in the distance and muttered to herself, “What in tarnation’s takin’ Big Mac so long?”

“Hellooo!” a voice called out, and she turned her attention back to the path in front of her, seeing Twilight Sparkle trotting in her direction. “Hey, Applejack!”

Smiling, Applejack nodded, “Howdy, Twilight. How are things back in town?”

“Not bad,” Twilight replied, “It could’ve been worse. We should have everything straightened up in the next hour or so.” She peered over at the cart full of branches and asked with some surprise, “Are you doing this all on your own?”

“Well, Big Mac was helpin’ me,” Applejack told her, “but Winona ran off into the forest, and he went after her.” She glanced back at the forest again, adding, “They’ve been gone an awful while now…”

Twilight looked concerned, “You’re worried, aren’t you? The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place, after all.”

Applejack shook her head with a laugh, “Naw. Big Mac can take care o’ himself.” She paused for a moment, cocking her head as she heard the faint sound of Winona barking, “In fact, that’s probably them right now.”

They both looked back at the Everfree Forest, waiting as Winona’s barking became louder until eventually the dog emerged from the woods. However, there was no sign of Big McIntosh anywhere, and they heard no pony else coming. Winona ran up to Applejack and sat on the ground, happily scratching the side of her head with her rear foot.

Applejack and Twilight shared a troubled glance before looking back at the woods. Twilight finally said, “I don’t know… maybe we should go look for him.”

“Yeah… maybe you’re right…” Applejack agreed. She looked at Winona and pointed at the barn back on the farm, “Winona, go on home now.” Winona followed orders and ran off towards the barn, while Twilight and Applejack started for the edge of the forest.

Upon crossing into it, the air almost immediately felt hotter and more humid, especially in the wake of the earlier storm. The general uneasiness was nothing unfamiliar to the two of them; they had gone into the Everfree many times in the past, more than either of them would have liked. Twilight looked around as they walked, calling out, “Big Mac? Big Mac, can you hear us? Where are you?”

There was no answer, and Applejack began to feel more worried as time passed. “Where could he be?” she wondered aloud.

“Look!” Twilight exclaimed, pointing off the path at some foliage. It had clearly been trampled earlier, and there were clear hoof marks in the dirt. “I think he went this way!”

Nodding, Applejack said, “Good eye, Twilight!” and quickly ran over to follow Big McIntosh’s tracks, with Twilight close behind. The tracks lead only a short distance further, before it emptied into a clearing. Near the far end of the clearing, they could see a shape hunkered over, partly sitting on the ground. It was trembling oddly, partly turned away and panting heavily, but as they got closer they could see it was unmistakably…

“Big Mac!” both Applejack and Twilight called out, relieved to find him.

At the sound of nearby voices, Big McIntosh’s head snapped up and spun to face the source. Rather than his usual friendly expression, however, his brow was furrowed angrily and his teeth were clenched. He looked at the two of them, staring intently with rage but without the dimmest flicker of recognition. In that instant, he started to climb back to his hooves.

“…Big Mac? What’s… what’s wrong?” Applejack asked hesitantly. He didn’t answer, but began to take steps forward. As he got closer, she saw the bright, unusual redness in his eyes and knew immediately something wasn’t right. “Your eyes…!”

“Look out!” Twilight called out sharply, quickly using her magic to push Applejack aside; she was so focused on Big McIntosh’s eyes that she didn’t notice he was charging straight at her. He missed her by a hair, whizzing past and slamming into a tree at the near edge of the clearing. He staggered for a moment, and then started looking around to get his bearings.

Wh-why did he attack me? Applejack thought… What happened to him? She didn’t have time to think further about it, because Big McIntosh recovered and started galloping towards Twilight. She gasped and quickly turned to run the opposite way along the edge of the clearing, but she couldn’t hope to outrun him for long. Applejack remembered the rope she was carrying from bundling the branches earlier and pulled it out, quickly forming a lasso with it. She swung it around, shouting, “Hang on, Twilight!”

“Hurry!” Twilight yelled.

Tossing it out in front of them, the loop of the rope landed on the ground just in front of Big McIntosh. As soon as he stepped into the loop, Applejack pulled tightly, snaring his rear leg. The only effect it had was to jerk her off her feet, dragging her across the forest ground as he ran. Surprised, she dug her hooves into the ground to try and slow him down.

Big McIntosh finally noticed he had been snared, and skidded to a halt. The sudden stop launched Applejack off the forest ground and over his head, passing over a large tree branch and leaving her swinging from the rope. Sensing an opportunity, Twilight turned around and jumped up towards Applejack, grabbing hold of the rope as well. Their combined weight pulled the rope downwards, hoisting Big McIntosh off the ground.

Applejack quickly tied the rope to a root on the ground while she had the chance, leaving Big McIntosh dangling upside down from his back leg in the rope. He angrily thrashed and growled, trying to get free, but could not. Twilight and Applejack took a moment to catch their breath, and then carefully approached him to get a better look.

“What in Equestria…?” Twilight said, studying him from a safe distance.

“His eyes,” Applejack said, a small amount of fear creeping into her voice. “What’s wrong with his eyes? Th-that ain’t natural…”

Twilight shook her head, “I don’t know. He looks... sick, or… or…”

“Brother, please, say somethin’!” Applejack pleaded, moving slightly closer, but then jumped back with a yelp as Big McIntosh violently growled and snapped his teeth at her, the lunge causing him to swing back the other way. She looked at Twilight and said, “It’s like he doesn’t even know me…”

Twilight frowned and said, “Applejack, keep an eye on him. I’ve got to get back to the library and see if I can find anything that can help us. Don’t let him down from that tree until we know what’s going on!”

“A-all right… but hurry,” Applejack said. Twilight nodded and started running as fast as she could out of the Everfree Forest. Applejack watched her leave, and then turned her attention back to Big McIntosh. He was still thrashing around and trying to get free from his upside-down snare, growling furiously like a wild animal. She sat down in the clearing, watching him uncomfortably and thinking, This just ain’t you, Big Mac… Whatever’s wrong with you, Twilight’s just gotta find the answer… she’s just gotta…

To Be Continued…

Chapter 2: "The Spread"

THE CRIMSON RAGE

By: Time Shield

CHAPTER 2: “The Spread”

The school bell rang at the schoolhouse, and moments later all of the children began to pour out from the door, heading off in different directions back to their homes. Three of them, however, walked together in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Sweetie Belle smiled as she walked and said, “All right! What’s on the list for today, Apple Bloom?”

“Well,” Apple Bloom replied, “the storm earlier was makin’ me think: what about we try getting’ our cutie marks in predictin’ the weather? That would be really useful to the town and such, ‘specially on a day like today. I don’t even think the town has anyone that can predict the weather.”

Scootaloo frowned and remarked, “That’s because the other pegasi schedule everything themselves. You don’t need to predict it when you’re making it.”

“Oh… right…” Apple Bloom said sheepishly.

Sweetie Bell looked back at the school as they walked, “I would’ve thought we’d get our cutie marks in cleaning things up, after all that help we gave Miss Cheerilee when the storm was over.”

“Yeah, but do you really want your special talent to be cleaning?” Apple Bloom asked.

Sweetie Belle reconsidered, and said, “I guess not.”

“C’mon, we’re Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Scootaloo insisted. “We can’t leave any stone unturned. In fact, I have a few ideas on what we can try today!”

“Really? Like what?” Sweetie Belle asked, brightening up.

Scootaloo jogged on ahead and said, “I’ll tell you all about it when we get to the clubhouse. Let’s go!” The three of them started running together, giggling.

As they ran, another pony came down the path, running very quickly past them in the opposite direction. Apple Bloom only got a glimpse as they passed each other, before the shape disappeared in a cloud of dust, racing back towards Ponyville. Surprised, she said to herself, “Twilight?”

“It was?” Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo nodded, “I think so. She was in a pretty big hurry…” She shrugged it off, and the three of them continued running off towards their clubhouse. With a whole afternoon of Crusading planned, they didn’t have any time to spare.

Twilight Sparkle slammed the door open to the library and called out, “Spike!” She looked around quickly and spotted Spike on the ladder, busy re-shelving some books. “There you are. Hurry, we’ve got an emergency!”

Spike quickly slid down the ladder and asked, “What is it?”

“I need your help finding me all the books on rare illnesses we have,” Twilight ordered. “Make sure to get that copy of ‘Perplexing Pony Plagues’ as well.”

“Got it,” Spike replied, and immediately moved the ladder over to a different bookshelf, climbing it. “What’s wrong? Is somepony sick?”

“I’ll explain in just a minute; for now, we have to work fast!” Twilight exclaimed, pulling books down from the shelf with her magic. She tossed books aside one at a time as she looked at their covers, “No… no… ugh, where could it be…?”

She looked up just in time to notice a book being dropped from above, and caught it with her magic. Spike looked down from the top of the ladder, “There’s ‘Perplexing Pony Plauges’! I’ll see if we have any more.”

“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said, carrying the book over to the table and putting it down. She opened it up and started turning pages fervently, “There’s got to be something in here that can help us…” She went through page after page of strange illnesses, quickly scanning the symptoms for anything that matched what Big McIntosh was experiencing. I see red, puffy eyes on some of these, she thought, but Big Mac’s were so bloodshot, they were almost glowing… and none of them say anything about becoming violent, hallucinating or anything else that could cause him to be acting the way he did…

A knock came from the front door; Spike set down the books he was going through and went to answer it, opening it up. He smiled and greeted, “Hey, Rarity, Fluttershy!”

“Spike,” Rarity said, nodding a greeting. She stepped in and looked concerned, asking, “Twilight, is something the matter? The two of us saw you running here in an awful hurry.” Fluttershy followed her in, nodding quietly in agreement with Rarity.

“I just came from Sweet Apple Acres,” Twilight told them. “Big McIntosh caught a disease while he was in the Everfree Forest, and I’m trying to find out what it was.”

“Oh, that’s terrible,” Fluttershy said, and then took an unsteady step backwards, “Do… do you think it’s contagious?”

Twilight didn’t pull her eyes up from the book as she spoke, “I don’t know, but we’ve got him held right now, and Applejack’s watching him. He’s not going anywhere.” She sighed in frustration, closing the book and hanging her head, “Nothing! I can’t find anything that matches the symptoms! Spike, are there any other books left we can try?”

“I think you already went through them all,” Spike told her.

“But if it’s not in your books,” Rarity asked, “then what shall we do?”

“Well…” Fluttershy suggested, “if he caught it in the Everfree Forest… um… maybe…”

Twilight raised her head with a gasp and said, “Of course! Maybe Zecora knows what it is!” She smiled and said, “Thanks, Fluttershy! I’ve got to get back down there right away!” She started for the door.

“We’re coming along,” Rarity insisted. “I can’t have you going in the Everfree alone.” Fluttershy didn’t say anything, but just looked away. Rarity nudged her, and she quickly smiled and nodded in agreement, though she didn’t look confident.

“Alright, then let’s go!” Twilight said, flinging open the door and running outside with the other two following close behind. She thought furiously as she ran, Zecora’s an expert in everything involving the Everfree Forest… If she doesn’t know what this is, no pony does…

Applejack sat in the clearing, her eyes fixed on Big McIntosh, who was still dangling from the tree. After a while of thrashing, he had stopped struggling and simply hung in place, eyes closed and giving the occasional low growl. The longer she watched him, the more it started to affect her; she thought, I… I just can’t stand to see Big Mac like this… Wh-what if there’s no cure? What if he’s like this forever? These thoughts caused tears to well up in her eyes, and she told him, “You’re gonna be okay… Trust me…” She glanced back at the path and whispered, “C’mon, Twilight… please…”

When she turned her attention back to Big McIntosh, his eyes had re-opened and were staring directly at her. That was the worst part to her: seeing her own brother staring at her with those terrible red eyes. He clenched his teeth and gave another growl, then suddenly started thrashing again, swinging heavily from side to side.

“Hey, you stop that now!” Applejack ordered. She got back to her feet and stood her ground firmly as she spoke, though fear was beginning to creep into her voice. “Y-you just hang tight, and Twilight will be back with a way to fix you up. Y’hear?”

Big McIntosh responded by letting out a loud howl and suddenly thrashing strongly, causing the swing to carry himself near the tree trunk. He slammed both of his front hooves into the tree, and the force of the tremor snapped the branch. It fell to the ground and he fell along with it. Applejack gasped and took an involuntary leap backwards.

Getting back to his hooves, Big McIntosh started to walk into the clearing, but stopped when the rope around his leg pulled taut, pinned down by the branch. With a frustrated grunt, he tugged at the rope with his rear leg, snapping the rope and freeing himself.

“N-now, Big Mac…” Applejack stammered, trying to hold her footing but growing nervous as he started moving towards her. She backed up, and her eyes quickly darted around the clearing, trying to find a good escape route or something she could use to defend herself with. “Just t-take it easy…”

With a roar, Big McIntosh leapt towards her, trying to tackle her. Without anything else to try, Applejack instinctively spun around and bucked hard with her rear legs, catching him in the chest and knocking him back. She panted from the exertion; bucking trees was one thing, but her brother was strong, and even that one hit took a lot out of her.

It didn’t knock him far, and he recovered quickly, charging again. She had no choice but to do the same thing, this time bracing herself more tightly for the hit. As he got close, she bucked her legs at him again. This time, however, he dodged to one side and responded by clamping his teeth down on one of her legs in the air.

Applejack cried out in surprise as Big McIntosh pulled her off of her feet and yanked her through the air in a half circle; he let go, flinging her against the side of a tree behind him. After the impact, she slumped down, pulling the bitten leg up to her chest and wincing from the pain. She forced an eye open to see what he was doing, and noticed that he was standing still, watching her. She was confused as to why he wasn’t attacking anymore, until she realized her vision was starting to blur…

Oh no… Applejack thought… No no no… She shook her head as her thoughts became a jumble and the heat coursing through her body began to rise. Her breathing quickened, and then rumbled as she reopened her now red, bloodshot eyes. A growl escaped from her throat and she got back to her feet, ignoring the bite on her leg as if it wasn’t even there. Big McIntosh turned his attention back to the woods and ran off, while Applejack did the same in the opposite direction…

Sweetie Belle carefully lifted a playing card with her teeth, moving it towards the giant tower of carefully arranged cards. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo held their breaths, watching from a safe distance. Cautiously wiping the sweat from her forehead, Sweetie Belle lowered the card and set it on top, then gingerly let go of it and backed away. The tower wobbled for a moment, then stopped. She exhaled in relief and settled back down atop the stack of crates she was standing on to reach the top.

“Nice one!” Apple Bloom called up.

Glancing back at her side, she said, “Still nothing. Are you sure this is really going to get me my cutie mark?”

“Sure I’m sure!” Scootaloo replied. “Just one more card and it’s yours!”

“Alright… here goes…” Sweetie Belle said, picking up the last card. The other two watched expectantly as she edged it closer to the top. She leaned out from the crates, trying to reach the last spot to lay the card, but a moment later the crates started to wobble.

Apple Bloom cringed and said, “Careful, careful!”

Just as the card reached the edge of the stack, Sweetie Belle began to totter. She spun her legs to try and regain her balance, but the stack of crates toppled, crashing into the tower of cards at the same time. She hopped free of the crates just in time to avoid collapsing with it. As the remains of the tower drifted down across the clubhouse, she took one last glance at her side, and then dropped her eyes, “Aww…”

“It’s okay,” Scootaloo told her. “That was still awesome!”

“Yeah, you got way further than we did!” Apple Bloom added.

Sweetie Belle lifted her head and smiled, “I guess you’re right.” She started picking up the cards as she asked, “So what’s next?”

Scootaloo pushed one of the crates over to the side of the clubhouse out of the way, and then said, “Well, I was thinking we could head over to swimming hole and see who can hold her breath the longest.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow, “Scootaloo, these are beginnin’ to sound more like contests than tryin’ to find our talents.”

“But that’s just it,” Scootaloo told them. “Rainbow Dash got her cutie mark because of a contest: the race she was in. Some competition may be just what we need to push ourselves that extra little bit!”

“That makes sense,” Sweetie Belle agreed.

“Sure,” Apple Bloom nodded. “In that case… last one to the swimmin’ hole’s a rotten apple!” She quickly ran out of the doorway to the clubhouse, and the other two giggled and followed her close behind.

They only made it out to the deck, however, as Apple Bloom suddenly came to a halt and held her front leg out to stop them. Scootaloo frowned, “What’s wrong?”

“Look!” Apple Bloom said, pointing off in the distance. They could see somepony coming up over the hill, and before long it became clear that it was Applejack, galloping in their direction. “What’s she in such a hurry for?”

“It’s like everypony’s in a hurry today,” Sweetie Belle said.

“She looks mad; I hope I didn’t do somethin’ wrong…” Apple Bloom remarked. She called out from the balcony, “Hey, Applejack!”

As she ran, Applejack’s head swiveled up to face the clubhouse, and Apple Bloom suddenly noticed something strange about her. The anger she saw was already something out of the ordinary; she couldn’t remember anytime she had seen her that mad before. But now that she could see her eyes, even at this distance they looked so red and unnatural, not the usual green. Something told her that this wasn’t right, that it wasn’t her sister…

With a gasp, Apple Bloom turned to the others and said, “Raise the stairs, quickly!”

“What?!” Sweetie Belle said, confused; Scootaloo also didn’t seem to understand the order.

“Just do it!” Apple Bloom shouted. The two of them did what they were told and grabbed hold of the rope connected to the stairs, pulling on it and raising them. As they were about halfway up, Applejack reached the clubhouse and jumped, catching onto the edge of the rising stairs with her front legs. The added weight started to push the stairs back down, but Apple Bloom jumped onto the rope and joined the others in pulling down on it. The stairs began rising again, and Applejack tumbled from them, landing on her back.

“Apple Bloom, are you crazy?!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “That’s your sister!”

“That’s not my sister,” Apple Bloom replied, tying down the rope and going back to the edge to look down at where Applejack had fallen. “Something’s different about her, look!”

On the ground, Applejack shook her head from the drop, then opened her eyes and growled, getting back to her hooves and staring up at the clubhouse; she began circling it like a wolf. The three fillies backed away from the edge, and Sweetie Belle said, “M-maybe you’re right…”

Applejack suddenly jumped, trying to grab the edge of the deck, but couldn’t get a hold of it. All three of them yelped and ran back inside of the clubhouse. Scootaloo ran to a window to try and see where Applejack was, and said, “What do we do?!”

“I don’t know!” Apple Bloom shouted back. She looked around the clubhouse for an idea, until her eyes fell on the crates they were using earlier. She pushed one of the crates over to the window, and then started trying to lift it up to throw outside.

“Wait!” Sweetie Bell called out, grabbing hold of her. “If you try to throw that at her, she’ll just use it to climb up here!”

Apple Bloom let the box fall back to the clubhouse floor and said, “Do you have any other ideas? We can’t just stay here forever!”

Scootaloo watched Applejack circling the tree again, and she asked, “Are we sure it’s all that bad? She looks mad, but she wouldn’t hurt us… right?”

“I don’t wanna take that chance!” Apple Bloom shot back.

“Me either!” Sweetie Bell agreed.

“Fine,” Scootaloo said. She leaned closer to the window as she saw Applejack stop circling the tree, and she started backing away slowly from it. “What’s she… doing?”

Before anyone could give a response, Applejack charged the tree, turning around at the last second and bucking against the trunk hard. The entire clubhouse shook and creaked from the impact. All three of the fillies retreated to the center of the clubhouse with a shriek, huddling together. About five seconds passed, and then another impact shook the tree; the clubhouse creaked louder, and a loose board fell from the roof.

“She’s gonna bring the whole clubhouse down!!” Apple Bloom cried out. A third impact hit, and more parts of the clubhouse began to splinter. The three of them started to scream at the top of their lungs, hoping somepony would hear them.

Down below, Applejack growled and backed up from the tree again and was preparing to buck the tree a fourth time. Before she could begin her charge, she heard a sound of something moving through the air quickly and looked to see what it was. Before she could react, another pony slammed into her at great speed, ramming its head into her side and knocking her away from the tree, skidding across the ground.

Rainbow Dash hovered in place, shaking her head from the impact, and shouted, “What the hay’s going on, Applejack?” She didn’t receive a response, but instead, Applejack picked herself up and glared back at Rainbow, a growl building in her throat. Rainbow frowned and said, “If that’s the way it’s gonna be, then fine… C’mon!” Lowering her head, she prepared to do another flying charge…

“Rainbow Dash! Wait!” Scootaloo called out from the window. Rainbow looked up, and the filly continued, “Something’s wrong with her; be careful!”

Looking back, Rainbow tried to figure out what Scootaloo was talking about, and then noticed the redness in Applejack’s eyes. She didn’t know what to make of it, but didn’t have time to think about it, as Applejack suddenly charged again. Rainbow rapidly dodged to one side, and the charging pony skidded to a halt, spinning around and starting another charge.

Rainbow flew up to avoid this charge and called out to the clubhouse, “Do you have any rope in there?” She turned her attention back to Applejack in time to roll to the side, avoiding a leap from her.

“I think so!” Sweetie Belle replied, quickly rummaging through the contents of the clubhouse. Finding some rope, she threw it out the window, and Rainbow caught it before it hit the ground.

Applejack growled loudly and started circling where Rainbow was hovering, while Rainbow tried to tie the end into a loop as fast as she could. She wasn’t as good with a rope as Applejack was, but she knew she could make do with what she had. As Applejack charged one more time, Rainbow dropped the loop and let her run into it, managing to snare one of her front legs. Once that was done, she started flying in a circle as fast as she could, creating a small tornado that simultaneously lifted Applejack off of the ground and wound the rope around her. When Rainbow stopped, Applejack hit the ground, bound tightly by the rope.

Rainbow landed and took a moment to breathe. Above her, the three fillies came out of the clubhouse and looked over the railing to see what had happened. As Applejack continued to struggle with her binds, Rainbow looked back up at the three and said, “Now, can somepony tell me what’s going on?”

“Rainbow Dash!” a voice called out, and she turned to see more ponies coming along the path. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Fluttershy ran over quickly from the direction of Ponyville, stopping once they caught up with Rainbow. Twilight caught her breath and said, “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow told her. “I just flew back from Manehattan, and I saw A.J. trying to shake these three out of their clubhouse. She’s acting really weird!”

Rarity gasped, “You don’t think…”

“Oh no,” Twilight breathed, moving a little closer to get a good look at Applejack as she thrashed on the ground. Twilight could see the same redness in her eyes that she saw earlier in Big McIntosh’s. “Not you too!”

“I-If Applejack’s here,” Fluttershy said, “then… wh-where’s Big Mac?”

Twilight quickly scanned the area with her eyes, but didn’t see any sign of Big Mcintosh. “We can’t worry about that right now,” she finally said. “I don’t like the idea of him running loose, but if we’re going to have any chance to stop this, we need to get to Zecora at once!”

“Zecora?” Apple Bloom repeated. After a moment’s thought, she suddenly reacted in shock, “Wait, did somethin’ happen to Big Mac too?!”

Looking up at the clubhouse, Twilight said, “You three need to get somewhere safe. Go back into town and head for Sugarcube Corner.” She looked at the rest and added, “Get me a wagon from the farm. We’re taking Applejack with us.” Everypony nodded, and the three fillies lowered the clubhouse stairs so they could come down. Rarity and Fluttershy started back for the farm, while Rainbow stayed with Twilight to keep an eye on Applejack. I shouldn’t have left her, Twilight thought as she sadly watched Applejack struggle and growl. I should’ve stayed with her… Now Big Mac is loose, and Applejack’s infected… and if it spread once, it could spread again. I can only hope Zecora has a cure… otherwise…

To Be Continued…

Chapter 3: "The Outbreak"

THE CRIMSON RAGE

By: Time Shield

CHAPTER 3: “The Outbreak”

Big McIntosh wandered aimlessly through the Everfree Forest; he barely seemed to take note of his surroundings through his blurred, reddened vision. Due to the infection, he didn’t have any idea where he was going, but something forced him to press on anyway. The foliage steadily grew less and less dense, and eventually he emerged out into the normal, sparser woods that bordered the Everfree. Almost as if regaining a hazy sense of memory, he began to quicken his step, instinctively knowing that this way took him to more familiar grounds. His wandering had caused him not to exit back onto Sweet Apple Acres, but rather, close to a park on the outskirts of Ponyville…

The cart carrying Applejack rattled while Twilight Sparkle pulled it along the path, as she and the others charged quickly through the Everfree Forest. She had been this way enough times that she knew the fastest way to get to Zecora’s house. Regardless, she galloped as hard as she could in order to make that time as short as possible. Rarity managed to keep up, and both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew alongside the cart, keeping an eye on it. There was no conversation along the way; everypony was focused on getting there as fast as they could.

Before long, they pulled up to the location, coming upon the great tree that made up Zecora’s home. Twilight let go of the cart and stopped to catch her breath, then panted, “I’m going inside… *huff* *huff* …All of you, stay out here and watch Applejack… *huff* …Don’t let her get free, whatever you do!” The others nodded and kept circled around the cart.

“Oh, I do hope she’s home,” Fluttershy remarked.

Twilight ran to the front of the house and threw the door open. Zecora was indeed home; she was grinding the petals of a flower for one of her potion ingredients. Turning to face the door, she reacted first in surprise, but then smiled as she recognized Twilight. “Ah, a welcome sight you are to see,” Zecora told her, “but one should knock before entering my tree.”

“I know,” Twilight panted, still tired from the run, “but this is an emergency!”

“Tell me then, if so inclined: what has you in such a bind?” Zecora asked.

“It’s Applejack, and Big McIntosh,” Twilight explained. “They’re… sick, with some illness I’ve never seen before! Big Mac caught it here in the Everfree Forest, and now Applejack caught it too!”

Zecora nodded, “I have many ways to cure disease, from the pony plague to a common sneeze. But first, if I am to assess, I must know the symptoms they possess.” As she finished, she picked up the bowl of ground up flower petals in her mouth and walked over towards her cauldron in the center of the house.

“Well,” Twilight explained, “it’s like they’ve lost their minds! They’re all violent and attack anypony around them, and their eyes are all puffy and red. We brought Applejack with us…”

She was interrupted, as Zecora had frozen in place wide-eyed as soon as the description had finished, and the bowl dropped from her mouth in shock. It broke against the ground, covering the area with petal dust, but she didn’t seem to notice. She took a step backwards and muttered something fearfully under her breath in her native tongue, which Twilight didn’t understand.

Twilight exclaimed, “What? What is it?”

Stepping forward, Zecora finally found words and spoke, “Show me to her quick, Twilight! I must find out if my fears are right!” Twilight nodded and led her out the door and around the side of the tree. They came upon the others, still watching over the cart, and Applejack still trying in vain to free herself from the ropes. Zecora followed close behind and gave a sharp intake of breath as she saw the state Applejack was in. She looked visibly shaken, which seemed odd to Twilight; usually it felt like very little could frighten Zecora.

“What is it? Is it bad?” Rainbow Dash asked her urgently.

Zecora nodded, regaining her composure as she said, “This sickness I have seen before, but not for twenty years or more. A plague I witnessed at young age…” She narrowed her eyes and shuddered slightly at the memory as she continued, “…We knew it as ‘the Crimson Rage’…”

The others gasped, and Twilight pressed her to go on, “What happened?”

“When I was young, I used to roam the village that I called my home,” Zecora recounted, “I’d watch the others come and go, until that day, so long ago. A Crimson Fly—so large it was—flew in the village with a buzz. A villager it did attack, and bit him once upon the back. The Crimson Rage, it took hold quick… he bit another, and they got sick. It spread to half the village fast, and more and more the plague was passed. Our hopes to stop it fell astray… until finally, we found a way…”

“How?” Twilight asked.

Zecora explained, “The village elder mixed a brew, and filled up vials that we threw, releasing smoke of silver-gray that drove the Crimson Rage away.”

Rainbow’s expression brightened with relief, “All right!”

“And you know how to make it?” Rarity asked anxiously.

“I do recall the special blend,” Zecora nodded, “in case the need arose again. Not all the parts I have, but rather, some things we will need to gather.”

Twilight nodded confidently, “Just tell us what we need, and we’ll find it.” She finally began to feel optimistic about the situation, just knowing that a cure existed.

Zecora thought for a moment to go over the list, and then said, “A rabbit’s hair, as white as milk… a fabric spun of spider’s silk… but mostly, if we’re to succeed, a Crimson Fly is what we need.”

“A Crimson Fly?” Rainbow repeated. “Where in Equestria are we gonna find one of those?”

“We know Big Mac went into the Everfree Forest, and we found him later in a clearing with the Crimson Rage,” Twilight mused. “A Crimson Fly probably bit him while he was there. I’ll bet if we go back to that clearing and look around, we can find the fly and capture it!”

“I know I have a roll of cloth made out of spider silk in the boutique somewhere,” Rarity said. “I don’t use it very often really, but I do keep it around in case I’m feeling inspired.”

“And I suppose I can ask Angel Bunny for one of his hairs,” Fluttershy offered. “Should I go get it now?”

Shaking her head, Twilight said, “The fly first. It’ll take most of us together to find and catch it. The other items we can get in a jiffy once the fly’s caught.”

Fluttershy looked at the cart and asked, “What about Applejack?”

“There’s no way she’s going anywhere,” Rainbow insisted. “She won’t get out of that rope.”

“Not good enough,” Twilight said. “We thought the same thing about Big Mac, and he got free. We need at least two people guarding her if we leave her here. Zecora’s one.”

“Then I’m two”, Rarity volunteered. “But please, do hurry…” The others nodded and quickly followed Twilight off into the forest. Rarity glanced at Zecora, who gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back and returned her attention to the cart, just as a loud growl erupted from it. It shook a few times as Applejack tried futilely to get free again. Rarity cringed and looked back in the direction the others had run off, silently hoping that they make it back safely and quickly…

The doors to the schoolhouse opened, and Miss Cheerilee stepped out, taking a brief moment to admire the cleanliness of the school grounds. The children had pitched in earlier to clean things up after the storm, and they had done a wonderful job at it. All the children had left a while ago; Cheerilee stayed behind to finish up a few tasks before she headed off towards one of the parks on the edge of town. She wanted to collect wildflowers as part of a lesson she was going to give tomorrow.

It was pretty empty when she got there; most of the ponies in town were no doubt still cleaning up after the storm as well. It was also very quiet, aside from the sounds of birds in the nearby trees. The lack of anypony else around did make the park feel a little lonely, but she would only be here for a short while anyway. Humming to herself, she set down the basket she was carrying and started to pick the flowers.

A snapping twig from the nearby bushes alerted her for a moment, and she looked to see where it had come from. There was no further movement, so she shrugged and went back to picking. She was startled when she heard the rustling of leaves, so she dropped the flowers she had just picked and called out curiously, “Hello? Is somepony there?”

There was no response at first, but in the next instant, a large shape hurled itself from the bushes. She only had an instant to recognize it as Big McIntosh, letting out a terrified yelp as he clamped down suddenly with his teeth…

“…and so we came straight here,” Sweetie Belle said, completing her recount of the events at the clubhouse. She, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sat at a table in Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie, explaining the situation and why they were hiding out here as Twilight Sparkle had told them to do.

They half expected Pinkie to not believe the story, but after listening to it, she looked worried and asked, “Is Applejack all right?”

“I don’t know,” Apple Bloom said, lowering her eyes. “I sure hope she will be...”

Mrs. Cake walked over to the table and said comfortingly, “I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s in good hooves with her friends after all. In the meantime, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Cake,” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah! No pony’s getting through that door,” Pinkie declared, pointing at the shop entrance, “and if they do, they’ll have to deal with me!”

“Now, Pinkie, you don’t have to sto--…” Mrs. Cake started to say.

She was interrupted by the door opening, and one of the townsponies started to walk inside. Pinkie immediately ran to the door and yelled, “You can’t come in! Go away!” The pony at the door backed up out of the shop in surprise, and Pinkie cheerfully added, “Thank you, come again!” as she slammed the door shut.

Mrs. Cake frowned, “Pinkie Pie!”

“What? He looked suspicious!” Pinkie explained.

Back at the table, Sweetie Belle looked over at Apple Bloom and said, “Don’t worry about Applejack and Big Mac. Twilight was going to see Zecora, remember? She’ll know what to do.”

“I guess you’re right,” Apple Bloom said, forcing a smile. “If anypony can get them back to normal, Zecora can.” While she had confidence in Zecora, Apple Bloom still couldn’t help but worry about her siblings. I wish I knew what was going on out there, she thought.

“This is it,” Twilight Sparkle said as she and the others emerged from the thick foliage into the clearing from earlier. “This is where we found Big Mac with the Crimson Rage.” It wasn’t that long ago, but with all that had happened in such a short time, it felt like it had been ages. She spotted the branch that Big McIntosh had been tied up from, except now it had snapped off and collapsed to the ground. No doubt how he got free, Twilight figured.

Fluttershy, still apprehensive about having to leave the main path, kept darting her eyes from side to side nervously, “Y-you really think we’ll find the fly near here?”

“I think it’s as good a place as any to start the search,” Twilight answered.

Rainbow Dash began to circle around the edge of the clearing, brushing her legs through the bushes and thick growth, saying, “If it’s here, I’ll find it.” After a few more moments of searching, she tried kicking the trunk of one of the trees.

“Good idea,” Twilight said. “If it’s hiding, that should scare it out.” Experimentally, she took hold of a few bushes using her magic and rattled them as well. A few small insects shook loose, but nothing that they were looking for.

“Oh…” Fluttershy said softly, trying to keep an eye on everything at once and having a hard time of it, “...if it is here, I don’t want it to sneak up on anypony... It could still bite, after all…”

Rainbow gave a short laugh and said proudly, “I’d like to see it try and sneak up on me! I’ve got eyes in the back of my head.”

“But not literally,” Twilight cautioned. “Just be careful up there.”

”Aw, c’mon, you at least have to admit my eyes are pretty sharp,” Rainbow boasted, “Right, Fluttershy?”

She didn’t answer; she had stopped looking around the clearing and was staring back at Rainbow with her eyes widened in shock. She stammered, unable to get the words out, “B--… be--… be--…!”

“What?” Rainbow said, confused.

Fluttershy finally found her voice and cried out, “Behind you!!” Rainbow didn’t even need to turn around, as she felt something land in her mane on the back of her head at the same time as the shout. Startled, she dived towards the ground, shaking her head wildly to try and get it off of her. It didn’t have a good enough grip and let go, buzzing as it recovered.

Rainbow pulled out of the dive and ran her hooves through her mane frantically, “Is it out? Did I get it out?!”

Twilight watched the shape as it hovered in the middle of the clearing. Now that she could get a good look at its size and deep red color, she could see that it fit the description of the Crimson Fly they were looking for. It was a frightening sight but, at the same time, a welcome one. Finding it meant they were one step closer to obtaining the cure.

The fly started to return back the way it came, and Twilight called out, “Don’t let it get away!”

Rainbow gritted her teeth and quickly flew to the edge of the line of trees. Its path cut off, the fly changed its direction and headed towards the trees on the opposite side. Fluttershy was in its way, and she held her hooves out to each side as if to block, although she looked unsure if she could truly hold her ground against it. The fly must have picked up on this as well, because after only a moment’s hesitation, it flew directly for her. Twilight tried to think of something fast that she could do to help from where she was on the ground, and started getting ready to cast a spell, her horn glowing and her eyes shutting as she concentrated…

“Wait, look!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Twilight opened her eyes and noticed the Crimson Fly hovering near the light of her horn, circling slowly. Startled at it being nearby, her spell was interrupted and her horn stopped glowing; the fly shook its head as if to clear it, and then started moving away again towards the forest.

Twilight gasped, “I’ve got it!” She cast another spell, but this time it was just a simple light spell. Her horn glowed more brightly that it was previously, and almost immediately the fly was mesmerized by it, hovering nearby and circling slowly once again. She smiled and commented, “Just like a moth to a candle flame.”

“All right!” Rainbow congratulated, “Nice going, Twilight!”

“Let’s get it back to Zecora’s,” Twilight said. “Keep alongside it, in case it tries to escape again.” Rainbow and Fluttershy nodded, flying up next to Twilight. She began trotting carefully back in the direction of Zecora’s house, and the fly lazily followed and circled the horn, still entranced by the light. We just have to get it back safely, Twilight thought, and then it’s just a few more simple items after that. How hard could that be, compared to this?

Near the edge of town, ponies began to return to the park, having finished up the storm cleanup. Some were there for a picnic, and others to play or enjoy the scenery. At first, it was nothing out of the ordinary, although some of them may have thought it was odd when they found a basket of wildflowers dropped on the ground, or had questioned about what might have caused the nearby bushes to become trampled. Even those that had, they wouldn’t have been able to wonder about it for long due to the events that followed. A cry of alarm from a small group setting up a picnic nearby drew the attention of the rest of the park-goers, bringing them closer to see what the matter was. They had not seen what had transpired, and had no idea they were in any danger. Curiosity turned to confusion upon seeing the infected Big McIntosh and Cheerilee, and then to panic as the newly infected picnickers charged the crowd. Ponies ran in every direction trying to get away; some were successful, but others were rapidly run down. Within minutes, half of the park-goers had fled back into Ponyville, while the other half pursued them, their combined growls growing in volume and overpowering the shouts for help…

To Be Continued…

Chapter 4: "The Epidemic"

THE CRIMSON RAGE

By: Time Shield

CHAPTER 4: “The Epidemic”

The Crimson Fly buzzed around inside of the large glass container that served as its new home; it wasn’t a jar so much as a large fishbowl, but it was the only thing they had that was big enough to hold it. The fishbowl sat upon a table within Zecora’s home, the top covered with a porous cloth to allow air inside and secured around the edges. Twilight Sparkle watched expectantly as Zecora examined the fly from different sides of the glass, studying it carefully. Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash waited off to the side for her assessment as well.

Finally, Zecora spoke, “This is indeed the fly we sought; I am quite pleased it has been caught.”

“Awesome,” Rainbow said. “So what now?”

“Now,” Zecora continued, “a simple cotton swab upon its back will do the job.” She picked up a stick from the table with a cotton ball at the end of it, holding the end stick in her teeth. She nodded over to Twilight, who used her magic to open the seal on the fishbowl just enough so that Zecora could reach in with the cotton ball. It brushed against the fly’s back between the wings, and when she withdrew it, there was a reddish, sticky substance stuck to the cotton.

“Eeugh... revolting!” Rarity said, cringing as she watched.

Twilight sealed the fishbowl again, and the fly resumed buzzing around its interior. She asked, “All that’s left is to get those two missing ingredients for the cure: the white rabbit hair and the spider silk cloth, right?”

Zecora nodded, and she carefully carried the cotton ball over to the cauldron in the center of the room where she had started brewing the new potion. She dunked the end of the cotton ball into the concoction and stirred with the stick, the colors of the liquid changing from its previous violet shade to a dark red.

“Okay… I’ll fly home and get Angel Bunny,” Fluttershy told them.

“Rainbow, go along with her,” Twilight instructed, to which Rainbow nodded. Twilight turned to Rarity and asked, “Should I stay here while you get the spider silk? I still don’t feel comfortable leaving Applejack here with only Zecora watching her.”

“Actually, I think we can both go,” Rarity replied. “While you three were off looking for the fly, Zecora had an idea for making it easier to keep an eye on poor Applejack.” She gestured over to a corner of the house, where Applejack was leaning up against the wall, still tied up. Instead of thrashing and trying to get free, however, she appeared to be sleeping.

“Oh, a sleep potion, of course!” Twilight exclaimed. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Zecora finished stirring the potion and placed the stick on the table. She said to the others, “I will be fine here on my own; it is you, I feel, who should not be alone.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow said. “Let’s do this!” The four of them nodded in agreement and exited Zecora’s home; Twilight and Rarity hurried down the path, while Rainbow and Fluttershy took to the sky to fly out above the Forest. Zecora watched them leave, and then returned to the cauldron, putting in the next ingredients into the potion. The cure was almost complete, and it would be ready for the final ingredients by the time they got back.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo continued to sit at the table in Sugarcube Corner and watch Apple Bloom, who was pacing in circles, still worried about her brother and sister. “C’mon,” Scootaloo insisted. “Just take a seat and relax. They’ll be back soon, really.”

Apple Bloom refused and said with a frown, “I can’t relax. It’s been hours! What’s takin’ ‘em so long? Maybe I should go out and look for ‘em…”

“Twilight said to stay here,” Sweetie Belle told her.

“For how long?” Apple Bloom asked. “How long before they could be getting’ in even bigger trouble? What if they need our help?”

Scootaloo shook her head, “Hey, I’m with you. I don’t like just sitting around doing nothing either. But it could be dangerous!” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.

“I bet that’s not what Rainbow Dash would say,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

After a stunned moment, Scootaloo narrowed her eyes and said, “Of course not, but that’s Rainbow Dash. She can handle anything! We’re just…” She hesitated and sighed, “We’re still just three fillies. What can we hope to do?”

“I guess,” Apple Bloom conceded, “but I just don’t see how you can expect me to relax at a time like this!”

“Why not? Pinkie Pie is,” Sweetie Belle said, pointing over by the door. Pinkie Pie had been sitting next to it keeping watch, but had ended up falling asleep, even though she was still in her sitting position.

Frustrated, Apple Bloom sat back down in the seat next to the table and said, “You just don’t understand! Sweetie Belle, how would you feel if it were Rarity instead? You’d wanna do whatever you could to help her, wouldn’t you?”

Sweetie Belle lowered her eyes a bit and admitted, “Y-yes…”

“And while we’re all just sittin’ here,” Apple Bloom went on, “that could be happenin’ right now!”

Mrs. Cake overheard the conversation and came over to the table to interject, “Well, the shop’s still the safest place for you right now. I couldn’t let you go running off into danger, especially not after the trust Twilight Sparkle’s put in us to keep you safe.”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it as she became aware of a distant rumbling sound. The others heard it as well, and Pinkie Pie was shaken out of her nap, looking around in confusion. Apple Bloom grew uneasy and asked, “Wh-what’s that?”

Pinkie walked over to the door and opened it to look out. She gasped as she saw a big crowd of ponies running into town from the distance. They looked like they were running from something, and before long she could see that it looked like they were trying to get away from a second group of ponies. There were cries of help mixed with angry growls rolling in from the commotion. Even Pinkie was able to realize what was going on, and she quickly jumped back inside and closed the door.

“What is it? Who's out there?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“N-no pony,” Pinkie lied, forcing a smile. She quickly ran to the other side of the shelf next to the door and pushed on it, sliding it in front of the door. The instant she had it in place, something slammed against the doorway, trying to force it open, but was blocked by the shelf.

Mrs. Cake exclaimed, “What in the world?!”

“Okay,” Pinkie admitted, bracing herself against the shelf, “it isn't no pony; it’s everypony! Or at least it looks like everypony!”

The three fillies ran up to a window in the shop to peek out of it, and they saw the large crowd of ponies struggling out in the street. As they watched, one of the ponies appeared at the window and started bashing its hooves against it. The fillies fell back with a cry of alarm.

“Look, his eyes!” Apple Bloom said, pointing at the window. “It’s just like Applejack!”

“What are we gonna do?!” Scootaloo shouted.

Pinkie looked around at the others, the three fillies beginning to panic and Mrs. Cake backing up away from the door towards the counter. Mr. Cake came downstairs to see what the ruckus was about, and he was carrying their babies, Pound and Pumpkin. Pinkie realized the door wouldn’t hold for very long and they had to get out of there; even now it was beginning to splinter from the impacts, and the windows were beginning to crack.

“The back door!” Pinkie finally said to them. “Go!”

The Cakes nodded and motioned for the fillies to follow them. Everypony moved towards the back of the shop, but Pinkie only went as far as the counter before she stopped. Mr. Cake looked confused and said, “Pinkie, come on, we’ve all got to get out of here!”

Shaking her head, Pinkie’s voice became serious as she said, “I’ll cover your escape. Get everypony to safety.”

“But…” Mrs. Cake started to say.

“Hurry!” Pinkie yelled, and they reluctantly retreated for the back door. In the meantime, Pinkie looked around at the shelves of pastries around the shop, and the open door of the kitchen. Furrowing her brow, she started collecting everything she could while the ponies outside continued to pound away at the door. She put on a pair of saddlebags, filling them with spoons and jars, and threw a sash over her shoulder like a bandolier, lining it with cupcakes. She tucked a rolling pin behind the sash and finally put a mixing bowl on her head as a helmet. Returning to the counter, she sat upright with a cake on each of her front hooves, staring intently at the door and waiting. As the door began to break open and the window shattered, she said matter-of-factly, “We’re closed…”

Twilight Sparkle and Rarity reached the edge of Ponyville, but as they approached, they could immediately tell something was wrong. There was panic everywhere, with ponies chasing each other on the road. People were slamming doors and windows shut, while others were pounding at them, trying to gain entrance. Twilight knew immediately what had happened and realized that her worst fear had come to pass…

“Big Mac!” Twilight exclaimed. “He must have given the Crimson Rage to other ponies!” She motioned for Rarity to follow her, as they took cover behind some bushes to avoid being seen.

“It’s horrifying!” Rarity watched the skirmish in town from their relatively safe position. “How ever did this pass around so quickly?”

Twilight frowned, “Infection takes only seconds; in a crowd, it’ll spread like wildfire.”

“At least we don’t have to go through the middle of town to get to the boutique,” Rarity remarked. “But even so, do you think we have any chance to make it there unseen?”

“We have to try,” Twilight insisted. “It’s the only way.” She gestured for Rarity to follow, and they moved quickly to another set of bushes. Jumping from hiding spot to hiding spot would be the only way they might be successful. It was difficult, not only because of trying to remain unseen and unheard, but also having to witness the havoc going on around them. A few infected ponies successfully battered down a door and charged inside, and Twilight had to do her best to ignore it and stay focused on the task at hand. She desperately wanted to go and help whoever was inside, but she knew she would be helping them more if they could finish the cure.

They finally reached the Carousel Boutique and managed to slip inside without drawing attention to themselves. Once inside, Rarity began searching for the spider silk cloth, while Twilight watched the front door. Hurry, Rarity, she thought… Somepony’s bound to notice us here if we take too long…

The area around Fluttershy’s cottage seemed to be quiet as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash descended towards the small house. Rainbow glanced behind herself nervously as she was flying and said, “Alright, we’re here… let’s get in, get the rabbit, and go.”

Noticing how jumpy Rainbow seemed, Fluttershy asked her, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Rainbow answered, “but I could swear I saw somepony following us a second ago…” She looked around and added, “Could’ve just been my imagination.”

“Oh… okay…” Fluttershy nodded, beginning to feel nervous as well. She landed and opened the door to her cottage, stepping inside and calling out, “Angel?”

The bunny was lying on a couch inside, taking a nap. He stretched and yawned, and then looked over at Fluttershy, rubbing one of his eyes with his paw. Fluttershy walked over to the couch and said, “I’m so sorry to wake up you from your nap, Angel, but we need your help, and we really, really need to go as soon as we can.”

While Fluttershy was talking, Rainbow stood in the doorway and looked back outside, still not shaking the feeling of being watched. She was just about to dismiss it as being paranoia, when suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she spotted movement. Looking towards the nearest group of trees, she saw five shapes emerge from the woods. They were running fast towards the cottage, and now that she knew what to look for, Rainbow could see instantly that they were infected with the Crimson Rage.

With a gasp, she quickly stepped inside and slammed the cottage door shut, bracing her back against it. The action startled Fluttershy, and she flew into the air in fright. “They’re here!” Rainbow exclaimed, and looked around the cottage for something to use in blocking the door, her eyes stopping on the couch. She shouted, “Quick! Push that couch over here!”

Fluttershy did as instructed and landed again, pushing the couch with her head until it was up against the door. Angel hopped off the couch and over to Fluttershy, who picked him up and flew into the air. Rainbow moved away from the door once it was properly blocked, and flew up next to Fluttershy; both of them watched the door in silence.

A heavy thud reverberated as one of the ponies outside rammed into the door. Fluttershy yelped and turned to Rainbow, saying “B-but I thought… I thought it was just Applejack and Big Mac…?”

“Whatever the reason, we can’t stay here,” Rainbow said, as more impacts struck the front door. She looked up at one of the higher windows in the cottage, which was currently open. Pointing at it, she said, “There! We’re gonna make a run for it, alright?”

Fluttershy looked terrified, “B-but I… I don’t know if I can…” She looked down at Angel in her arms, realizing how important it was that they make it back. Taking a deep breath, she said, “No, I have to. They’re all counting on us!”

“That’s the spirit!” Rainbow said with a smile. “Are you ready?”

“One more thing,” Fluttershy said, and flew over to Rainbow, holding out the bunny and offering him to her. “Here… you hold onto Angel.”

Rainbow was confused and said, “But…”

“You’re faster than me, so you can get him there quicker,” Fluttershy explained. “Don’t worry about me; I’ll be right behind you.”

Nodding, Rainbow took Angel from her as instructed. The bunny looked back at Fluttershy with a worried expression, but Fluttershy gave him a reassuring smile. Rainbow said, “Okay, ready now?”

“Ready,” Fluttershy said with a nod.

Both of them prepared themselves, fixing the attention on the window, and Rainbow said, “On the count of three! One…” She didn’t get further in the count, because at that moment, the door broke open, and all five of the infected ponies outside charged in, taking them by surprise. Two of them leapt for Fluttershy, while the other three went after Rainbow. With a cry of fear, Fluttershy was tackled and pinned to the ground.

Rainbow, still with Angel gripped in her front legs, dodged upward to avoid the first infected pony that reached her, and then came down with a kick against the pony’s head, knocking him out cold. The other two jumped towards her at the same time, but she ducked under it, causing the two ponies to collide with each other. They fell to the ground, stunned from the impact.

Another panicked cry came from Fluttershy as she attempted to shake the other two infected ponies off. Rainbow shouted, “Fluttershy!” and immediately flew towards them feet first. She kicked one of them off, then spun around and bucked her legs against the other. Both of them hit the wall and slumped to the ground, unconscious. Rainbow turned her attention back to Fluttershy and asked, “Are you all right?”

Fluttershy didn’t answer; she was staring wide-eyed in silent horror at her front leg, breathing rapidly in her panic. Shocked, Rainbow saw what she was looking at: the unmistakable imprints of teeth marks. Fluttershy looked teary-eyed up at Rainbow, and through her gasps she pleaded, “…H-help… m--… mee…” Rainbow could see the redness in her eyes that began to spread in gradually from the sides…

“N-no…!” Rainbow stammered, “No!”

Fluttershy’s expression began to change, and her breathing became harsher, a growl slowly surfacing. Angel poked at the side of Rainbow’s head to get her attention, and then pointed urgently at the escape window. Rainbow realized she didn’t have a choice; she had to flee while she had the chance. Without wasting a further moment, she sped out of the cottage through the window, carrying Angel off into the sky and leaving Fluttershy behind in the cottage. Behind her, she could hear the sound of Fluttershy crying out with an animalistic howl, but Rainbow focused on the flight in front of her without looking back, fighting tears as she whispered, “S-sorry…”

“Found it!” Rarity called out from upstairs at the boutique. She emerged from one of the rooms carrying a roll of cloth with her magic, the white fabric shimmering with an unusual pattern. As she came downstairs to rejoin Twilight, she said, “I knew I still had it around; I just never thought I would be using it for something like this. I’m all ready to go if you are, darling.”

Twilight didn’t answer at first, and Rarity was about to inquire, until she noticed Twilight was concentrating heavily on the front door. Both the door and her horn were glowing, and Rarity realized she was holding it shut. That’s when she noticed the sounds of pounding against the door.

Finally speaking up, Twilight managed to say through clenched teeth, “H-hold the door for me, please…” Rarity quickly complied, using her own magic to hold the door as Twilight had been doing. Twilight released her own grip and started using her magic to slide some cabinets over, setting them up as a barricade. Once the door was sufficiently blocked, Rarity released her hold on it, breathing out in relief.

“Thanks,” Twilight said, catching her own breath. “I think we’re surrounded…”

Rarity exclaimed, “Oh no… what shall we do now?! Surely there must be another way out…”

Shaking her head, Twilight said, “I had to use everything to keep that door shut. I can’t gather enough magic to teleport both of us. So unless you think we can jump from one of the upstairs window and still get away from everypony outside, I don’t know what else to do.” She looked defeated.

Rarity looked around, trying to see if there was anything that could help, but then suddenly noted something that Twilight had said. She asked, “You don’t have enough magic left to teleport both of us. Are you still able to teleport yourself?”

“Yes, I suppose I…” Twilight started to say, but then stopped as she realized what Rarity was getting at. “No, out of the question. I’m not leaving you here, Rarity!”

“But you must,” Rarity demanded, levitating the roll of cloth over to Twilight. “If we don’t get this to Zecora, there won’t be a cure, and this whole effort will be in vain!”

Twilight shook her head “Exactly, if we don’t get this to Zecora. I can’t leave you behind!”

“I’ll be fine,” Rarity said with confidence that she didn’t feel. “I’ll find a place to hide where they shan’t find me. Trust me.” Twilight hesitated, but reluctantly realized that Rarity was right. The cure was the most important thing right now. Picking up the roll of cloth with her magic, she locked eyes with Rarity one more time, who gave a firm nod and a smile. She gathered what little magic she had remaining and teleported from the boutique.

She appeared some distance away from the building, thankfully in an area with no pony else around. Her horn sputtered as her magic failed, and the roll of cloth dropped to the ground. Picking it up in her mouth, she looked back at the boutique and saw Rarity through one of the windows, running upstairs to find a place to hide. Strengthening her resolve, she ran back for the Everfree Forest to deliver the cloth. Rarity, don’t let them find you, Twilight thought as she ran… Do whatever you can to stay safe until we get back…

To Be Continued…

Chapter 5: "The Cure"

THE CRIMSON RAGE

By: Time Shield

CHAPTER 5: “The Cure”

In a cave not far from Ponyville, a lone light flickered, barely visible from outside, especially in the daylight. Within, a candle sat in the center of the cave, softly illuminating the occupants surrounding it. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stared wistfully into the candle flame; Mr. and Mrs. Cake were also nearby, each holding one of their children. It felt to them like a stroke of luck that they managed to flee town without being spotted by any of the infected, but now that they were safe for the time being, things had quieted down. There had been no conversation since arriving at the cave, only thoughtful silence.

After a long time had passed, it was finally Sweetie Bell that spoke up with the question that all of them had been thinking, “I wonder if… if Pinkie Pie made it out...”

There was another moment of silence, before Mrs. Cake said, “Well… if anypony could pull through, I know she could.”

“Yeah,” Mr. Cake agreed. “The things Pinkie’s capable of when she got her mind set on something… I know she’ll be all right!”

More silence followed, and eventually Scootaloo fidgeted and said, “So… I wonder if she really made it out…” There was no answer this time, because none of them really had one. As much as they wanted to believe Pinkie Pie was okay, the reality was, it looked pretty hopeless.

Apple Bloom didn’t say anything during all of this, but just continued to stare into the candle flame. Like the others, she was worried for Pinkie, but a more pressing thought was on her mind: she was waiting for an opportunity to slip away when no pony was watching, so she could run off back to town. She knew there was no way they would let her go off on her own, and she didn’t want to put them at risk as well. More than anything, she wanted to know what was going on, and whether or not there was a solution in sight; she just couldn’t stand not knowing.

Twilight Sparkle slowed down to catch her breath as she approached the edge of the Everfree Forest. It wasn’t much further now, and she figured she could take it easy for just a bit to regain her strength. There was no sign of anypony else around, and she wanted to make sure she would be able to sprint again if necessary. Her magic was already returning, so she used her horn to pick up the cloth again.

“Twilight!” a voice called out from above. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash descending towards her, with Angel Bunny cradled in her front legs. She stopped to hover a little above the ground, then glanced around, “Where’s Rarity?”

“I… I had to leave her at the Boutique,” Twilight told her. “She was trapped… but she was still okay when I left. We’ll go back to get her soon, I promise.”

Rainbow nodded, “All right…”

Twilight looked up at the sky where Rainbow had been flying from, and asked, “What about Fluttershy?” Rainbow didn’t answer; she just bit her lip sadly and avoided eye contact. Twilight saw the forlorn expression on Angel’s face as well, and realized what had happened. She lowered her eyes and said, “Oh… I-I see…”

“I tried to get her out of there; I really did,” Rainbow told her, “but they bit her… and…”

Twilight nodded, realizing how terrible that must have been to see Fluttershy become infected right in front of her. She said, “I know you did everything you could. It’s not your fault.”

“Listen,” Rainbow said, straightening herself up, “it’s okay, because when we get the cure, we can change her back, right?”

Twilight nodded, “Right! Let’s get to Zecora’s, right away, the sooner the better!” The two continued together into the Everfree Forest. Despite everything that had happened, just knowing that the last two components they needed for the cure were obtained made her feel better. The end of the ordeal was finally in sight.

The front door to the Carousel Boutique continued to hold as the infected ponies outside smashed against it repeatedly, but it wouldn’t hold for long. Rarity had fled upstairs to her bedroom and looked around for a place to hide, eventually settling on a wardrobe. She climbed into it and shut the door behind her, then curled up into the corner and waited silently. As she did, she could hear the strikes against the front door reverberating through the boutique.

Before long, she heard a much louder crash, a sign that they made it inside; it was followed by the sounds of at least a couple dozen hooves against the ground as they entered. She could hear them all running back and forth downstairs, obviously searching for her. Give up, she thought, as if hoping her thoughts would influence them somehow... Give up… no pony’s here… just give up, turn around and run out…

The steps seemed to slow down only briefly, until several sets of hooves started running upstairs. With a gasp, she sat as still as she could, though her breathing was quickening. One of them clearly entered her room, and she covered her mouth, trying to force herself not to make a sound. She couldn’t help trembling in fear however.

Whatever pony it was that entered her room had stopped. There were no other sounds of movement, and Rarity realized that it was standing still… just standing in the doorway, the only sound that of a strained, labored breathing. It was maddening, not knowing what the pony was doing. Just leave, she thought… Please, just go away… please leave, please leave, please leave… She very barely prevented herself from crying out when she heard the steps again, moving slowly in her direction instead of out of the room. No, please… turn around… turn around turn around turn around turn around turn around…

Another moment of silence followed, and then she heard the heavy sound of a hoof slamming against the wardrobe door. A yelp erupted from her due to the surprise, and it was followed by more pounding. The door was not designed to hold up against this kind of abuse, and it splintered easily. She could see the face of an earth pony with the indicative redness in the mare’s eyes glaring in at her. She let out a piercing scream as the infected pony battered the rest of the way in, baring her teeth and attacking…

Zecora tore a sheet of cloth from the roll of spider silk, carefully dropping it into the cauldron while Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash looked on. As it touched the liquid and was saturated, it seemed to dissolve into it, but retained its unique woven pattern across the surface. The redness of the liquid turned to a bright gray, almost silver. She smiled, as it was reacting exactly as she had hoped. She turned to Angel Bunny, sitting over on the nearby table, and nodded to him.

Angel hopped off the table onto the edge of the cauldron to take a look inside, and then glanced at everypony else. Twilight gave him an affirming smile. Sighing a bit, he braced himself as he reached up and plucked a hair from the top of his head, wincing in pain. He forced a smile and handed it over to Zecora as he used his other paw to wipe a tear from his eye.

Taking the hair, Zecora dropped it into the cauldron. The liquid began to froth and bubble as it came in contact with the hair. After a few seconds, the bubbling settled back down again, and the liquid had gained an entrancing glitter to it. With a triumphant smile, she told the others, “You’ve all done well; I’m quite impressed. The cure is ready for a test.”

A growl erupted unexpectedly from the side of the house, causing Angel to jump in surprise and hop back to the table. The others looked over and saw that Applejack was awake again, and she was trying to get free. “No time to lose,” Twilight said, using her magic to pick up a glass vial from the table. She dipped it into the cauldron and quickly put a stopper on the end. Inside the vial, the cure sparkled, like liquid silver.

She glanced at Zecora and asked, “So now, I just throw it on the ground next to her?” Zecora nodded, and she looked back at Applejack, watching her struggling against the ropes, her reddened eyes glaring in hatred at them. Without further ado, she tossed the vial down on the ground, and it shattered, releasing a cloud of silver gas upon impact. Applejack was obscured within the cloud, but she had stopped growling and started coughing instead. Everypony watched anxiously.

As the cloud dissipated, Applejack became visible again; she was looking around in confusion, trying to clear her head. “Wh-wha… what happened? What am I doin’ here…” she managed to say, then gasped and became more alert, shouting, “Big Mac! He got loose! Where is he?!” She looked at the others with widened eyes, and they could see quite clearly that the redness was gone, and the original green was visible.

Twilight and Rainbow let out a cheer and rushed over to her, embracing her tightly from both sides. Rainbow exclaimed, “Applejack! You’re okay!”

“Well, o’ course I am,” she said, looking down at her binds. “Somepony mind tellin’ me why in blazes I’m all roped up?”

Smiling, Twilight used her magic to untie the rope and loosen it. “Let’s just say you weren’t yourself for a while.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow added, helping with the rope. “Glad to have you back, A.J.”

Now free from the rope, Applejack dusted herself off and said, “Well all right. Can y’all fill me in on what I missed then? What happened with Big Mac?”

“Sure thing,” Twilight answered. “It’s like this…” She started going over everything that had happened since she had left Applejack and Big McIntosh in the clearing earlier. As she explained the details, she couldn’t help but feel elated at the cure being completed. Now that they had it, and had a successful test, they could turn the tide of the outbreak and hopefully get everypony well again…

As the sun began to slowly set, the occupants of the cave curled up to get some rest on the few blankets they had brought with them. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were able to set a place for Pound and Pumpkin between then, and they had fallen asleep quickly, especially after the strain of events that day. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were each on a separate blanket, asleep as well, the sounds of their breathing mixing with the rest of the ponies there.

Before long, Apple Bloom opened one eye and looked around at everypony else, making sure they were asleep. She carefully got back to her hooves and walked as stealthy as possible, moving to the entrance of the cave. Once she was safely outside and knew she hadn’t been followed, she broke into a run, heading back for Ponyville.

Now that it was getting dark, she figured she would be able to move around easily and be harder to spot. As she approached the outskirts of town however, she could hear the growls from the infected carrying through the air, and she began to lose some of her confidence. Obviously this meant the infected ponies were still actively searching for others. She wondered who was even left, since she could see even from this distance that there were fewer lights in town than she would have expected for the early evening.

A chill ran down her spine as she realized that all it would take is one of them to spot her, and she’d be swarmed. She was a fast runner, but she was just a filly, and she knew she would never be able to outrun a full grown pony. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, Apple Bloom thought… Maybe I should just go back… Whether it was foolishness, stubbornness, or just a gut feeling, she ignored the voice of common sense within her and pressed herself onwards.

Before long, she realized she had to start staying out of sight. She could see the infected running back and forth through the streets, some of them still working on breaking down the sturdiest doors, and others prowling like packs of wolves. She crawled up to a group of bushes and stayed concealed, poking her head out just a bit to get a better look. Some of the faces that she saw were familiar from town, but there was no sign of either Applejack or Big Mac…

As she was watching, something suddenly covered her mouth as she was grabbed from behind, stifling the cry of surprise she nearly let out. She was only in a panic for a second before a voice whispered, “Shhhhhh...” Her eyes darted over to see who it was, and the voice continued in a hushed tone, “It’s all right… Just try be quiet…”

“Spike?” Apple Bloom whispered. It was indeed the dragon, having taken refuge in the same group of bushes as she had. She breathed a sigh of relief, and then added, “Don’t scare me like that! I thought you were… you were one o’…”

Spike released her and went back deeper into the bush, apologizing, “I’m so sorry, Apple Bloom. I just didn’t want to blurt something out and startle you, ‘cause they might’ve heard us!”

“Do y’know what’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom asked. “Where’s Twilight? Are Applejack and Big Mac are okay?”

“I don’t know,” Spike replied. “I haven’t seen Twilight since she came to the library earlier. I kept looking for more books like she wanted me to. But then, there was a commotion outside, and I ran upstairs to look out of the window, and that’s when I saw… well, all of that!” He motioned towards the town.

“What did you do then?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I climbed out from the window and down the back of the tree,” Spike told her. “Then I sneaked out of town and waited here.”

“All by yourself?”

“Yeah.” He frowned, “At least I didn’t leave anything behind; I couldn’t find any more books that might have something about the disease. Some help I turned out to be…”

“Same here,” Apple Bloom admitted. “I came back thinkin’ I could do somethin’ to help, but I think it was a bad idea. They were right; I’m just puttin’ myself in danger again. Ain’t no pony else out here to help us either.” She stared at the ground in silence, but then suddenly brightened up as a thought occurred to her. “Wait! There is somepony who can help us!”

Spike was confused, “Who?”

“Princess Celestia! You can write a letter and send it to her!” Apple Bloom suggested.

Shaking his head, Spike said, “I didn’t have time to take anything with me from the library. I don’t have anything to write the letter. No paper, no quill, no ink… nothing.”

Apple Bloom looked crestfallen, but then asked hopefully, “Do y’think we could get some from town?”

“No way,” Spike said, looking nervous at the thought of setting foot back in town. “Too dangerous! We’ll never make it!”

“It could be our only chance!” Apple Bloom insisted. “We’ve gotta do what we can! C’mon!”

Spike glanced back into Ponyville, and then back to Apple Bloom. He weighed the options and realized that the filly was right; this might be the only way either of them would have of helping out. He swallowed once and said, “O-okay, I guess… but I’ve still got a bad feeling about this…”

“…and that’s everything,” Twilight Sparkle said, completing her explanation. Zecora and Rainbow Dash were busy filling dozens of vials with the cure from the cauldron, putting them into bags for the four of them to carry.

Applejack had listened to the whole story, and after it was done, she took a seat on the ground, trying to wrap her head around everything she had just been told. She said, “That’s awful… just awful…"

“Yeah, but we have the cure now,” Rainbow reminded her. “We can get everypony back. Speaking of which…” She looked over at Twilight and asked, “We thought it was just a couple of ponies before. How are we gonna get it to the whole town?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “This should be way more than what we need, but it can still only be delivered in small shots. If we try to use a lot of it, it’ll just dissipate and be wasted.”

“Perhaps the way we need to try,” Zecora suggested, glancing over at Rainbow, “lies in the skills of pegasi.”

“Huh?” Rainbow said.

Twilight smiled suddenly, “That’s it!” She turned to Rainbow and said, “Dash, when we release the cure, you can whip up a small windstorm to hold it! Then you just guide it through town and cure anypony with the Crimson Rage you come across! What do you think?”

“It could work,” Rainbow said, thinking about it. “I’d say we’d have a better chance if we had more pegasi. But I’m sure I can get a good strong wind going on my own if I need to.”

“Great!” Twilight exclaimed. She turned to the others and said, “All right… We have the cure, and we have a plan. Everypony grab as many vials as you can carry. It’s time to take Ponyville back!” She was met by shouts of agreement from everypony, and they all started loading up the bags containing the cure. Before long, they were ready to set forth, and the four of them started down the trail through the Everfree, heading back for town.

To Be Continued…

Chapter 6: "The Cascade"

THE CRIMSON RAGE

By: Time Shield

CHAPTER 6: “The Cascade”

The group emerged from the Everfree Forest, travelled along the road leading into Ponyville and slowing their pace slightly so they could take better note of their surroundings. Rainbow Dash in particular kept her front hooves near her bags, ready to pull out vials of the cure at the slightest sign of trouble. If any of the infected ponies were to get the drop on them, all of their efforts up to now could prove to be useless. Of all of them, only Zecora seemed to have a calm composure, but Twilight Sparkle could tell she was still aware of everything going on around her.

“So, just going over the plan once more,” Rainbow called down to Twilight, “we’ll try and make it to the center of town. You’re going to release as much of the cure as you can, and then I whip up a wind to keep it from drifting away.”

Twilight nodded, still watching the road for signs of danger. She explained, “We have to do this from the middle of town if we want any hope of getting enough coverage with it.”

“Got it!” Rainbow said.

As they continued towards town, it was gradually getting much darker. The sun had disappeared completely over the horizon, and soon it was only the light of the moon that was keeping the way visible. Still, it seemed darker than usual, and it became apparent as they got closer to town that this was because the town itself had very few lights. Usually there were some street lamps that helped show the way; without them, it just didn’t seem like the same Ponyville they’ve known.

“Anypony else feelin’ a little, uh… edgey here?” Applejack asked. “It feels like we’re bein’ watched…”

“Can’t be,” Twilight told her. “From my experience, if they see you, they don’t watch; they just rush you.”

Applejack pulled her hat down slightly as she walked and said, “Y-you ain’t exactly fillin’ me with confidence, Twi.”

“The brave are those who still have fear, but have courage enough to persevere,” Zecora pointed out.

Sighing, Applejack said, “Yeah, that’s true enough. I shouldn’t be frettin’ so much. We’ve got the cure, after all…”

“Shhh!” Rainbow hushed abruptly. The others looked up at her to see that she had already removed two vials from her bags. She hissed quietly at them, “Listen…” They stopped and listened carefully, and they began to hear the low sounds of growling getting closer. There was an echo, so it was difficult to tell which direction it was coming from. Twilight immediately pulled two vials out of her bags using her magic, levitating them at her sides as she tried to listen more intently. Zecora followed suit, reaching back and pulling a vial out and holding it in her teeth.

“Which way is it?” Twilight said, glancing around worriedly. “I can’t tell…”

Applejack lowered her head and pressed her ear against the ground to listen. After a second, her eyes widened, and she whispered, “Tarnation…!” Lifting her head, she shouted loudly to the others, “They’re comin’ from everywhere!”

Sure enough, infected ponies became visible in the moonlight, charging in from all directions. Twilight immediately used her magic to fling her two vials at the ground just in front of the closest ponies. The silver smoke erupted just as it had before. Zecora and Applejack quickly did the same, each striking down a vial. Up above, with a much better view of the area, Rainbow tossed her own two vials down at any that didn’t look like they were caught in the initial clouds. The infected ponies had ceased charging and stumbled more slowly out of the clouds, coughing from being in them.

The clouds dissipated within seconds. One of the nearest ponies affected by it opened his eyes and blinked, no longer showing signs of the Crimson Rage. He shook his head and muttered, “Ughh… wh-where…” Other ponies looked similarly disoriented, and appeared to be free of the disease as well.

“Yes!” Rainbow exclaimed. “It’s working!”

Twilight smiled up at Rainbow, but then her expression changed as she called out to her, “Pegasi! Behind you!” Rainbow turned around and noticed several infected pegasi coming up over the treetops, snarling as they approached quickly. They could fly much faster than the ponies on the ground could run, so it didn’t give Rainbow much time to react. She spun around to face them and flew upwards to dodge, quickly pulling two more vials out in the same motion and throwing them at the two pegasi she just dodged. They struck directly and created clouds of the cure around them. The two pegasi caught by this coughed as the cure moved through their system, but the other pegasi had been missed, and began to approach.

Twilight quickly used her magic to levitate more vials out of her bag, but sent them straight upwards, stopping in the remaining pegasi’s paths. Exerting slightly, she gripped it more tightly with her magic, causing the fragile glass to shatter and release the clouds. Now in their way, they plunged through the clouds, wheezing as they reached the other side.

There were more behind, and some of them changed their angles, diving towards the ground. Twilight, Zecora and Applejack readied themselves for the attack, but then suddenly realized the pegasi had other targets: the ponies on the ground that had just been cured. “Look out!” Applejack shouted towards them, but they were still too disoriented from their recovery and were tackled by the pegasi.

Using her magic, Twilight pulled several vials out and launched them towards the groups of struggling ponies in rapid succession. She could see just before impact that the ponies had been bitten again, their eyes showing the Crimson Rage returning. Once the cloud from her shots billowed forth, she couldn’t see them anymore, but the coughing told her it was working. However, as soon as the cloud dissipated, more infected ponies arrived from the road and swarmed them again.

“This isn’t working!” Twilight called out to the others, backing up from the group. “They’re re-infecting each other too fast! We can’t keep using the cure over and over on them, or there won’t be enough for the rest of Ponyville!”

“Then we’ve gotta get there fast, and get that plan o’ yours into full swing,” Applejack said. She noticed a pegasus flying out from commotion and taking to the air again, heading for Rainbow, but she was distracted throwing vials at the ponies that were already in the air. She shouted out, “Dash, look out!”

“Huh?” Rainbow said, looking back over her shoulder. Before she could dodge, the pegasus slammed into her back, causing her to drop the bags containing the vials. Thinking quickly, Twilight cast another levitation spell and caught the bags just before they smashed against the ground. Rainbow spiraled out of control from the hit for a moment before recovering, but winced as she flexed her wing; it had been hurt from the impact.

More pegasi surrounded her, and she didn’t have any choice but to try and escape. Clenching her teeth, she flew quickly off in the direction of Ponyville. Twilight tried to shout out, “Not that way! This way!” but Rainbow was out of earshot before she could do it. She fretted, “No! She should’ve stayed with us! We need her for the plan!”

“At least she’s headin’ in the right direction, which is where we should be goin’!” Applejack told her, starting to run towards Ponyville as well. The other two followed close behind.

“But if she gets caught,” Twilight said, “then we can’t spread the cure!”

Zecora said, “She may not escape, I do agree… It’s best if we have a plan B.” Twilight realized Zecora was right and started thinking furiously, trying to come up with another way that the cure could be spread across an entire town. Hitting everypony at once is the only way they can be assured that the infection won’t just start right up again. There has to be something we can do, Twilight thought, some other way… think, think…

Rainbow Dash had distanced herself quickly from the others, trying as hard as she could to keep ahead of the pegasi that were chasing her. Her injured wing didn’t help, but as she flexed it during the flight, she could tell it wasn’t too bad. It was just pulled a bit, nothing that won’t go away in a few minutes. The problem was, it was slowing her down, and she was afraid she wouldn’t have a few minutes at this rate.

Reaching a stand of trees, she quickly darted between them and tried to shake the pursuers off her tail, but they were relentless, and getting closer with each passing second. “Can’t… let them… catch me….!” Rainbow grunted, trying her hardest to get back up to her full speed and ignoring the pain in her wing.

She turned another bend and ducked behind a particularly large tree. Taking a gamble that they would expect her to keep going, she rounded the trunk and came to a stop out of sight. Nervously she waited, but didn’t have long to wait; she could hear the rustle of leaves as the pegasi darted past the tree. Yes! she thought. I did it!

After waiting a few more seconds to make sure they had all gone away, she carefully turned and started getting ready to fly back to meet up with the others again. As soon as she turned, she froze in her tracks, as there was still one more infected pegasus nearby, glaring at her. Even in the moonlight, she recognized her instantly.

“Fluttershy, wait…!” Rainbow tried to say, but in the next moment she was pinned against the tree. Fluttershy snapped at her angrily, and she tried to do everything she could to keep her away. “It’s me, Fluttershy, it’s me!” she shouted, desperately trying to get through to her. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she braced them against Fluttershy and prepared to kick; just as she did, she felt a bite in her foreleg and cried out even as the kick pushed them apart.

Freed, Rainbow slid down the tree trunk and looked in terror at the bite on her leg. “No no no no no no no…” she repeated, and as seconds passed, she felt the heat spreading from the bite, flowing through her foreleg like her blood was on fire. Her vision became blurry and started to redden.

Clenching her eyes shut, her mind screamed at herself. No! she thought. You can’t let it take you over! You’re the Element of Loyalty, for pony’s sake! There’s no way you can be turned against your friends! You can do this… resist it… resist it! She gripped the sides of her head with her hooves, clenching her teeth and yelling at the top of her lungs, pushing everything she had into keeping her mind intact.

As her scream lost strength and faded, her hooves trembled and came down from her head; she panted, trying to catch her breath. Her breathing became rougher, more pained, and her brow furrowed tightly as she struggled to open her eyes. When she finally got them open, she cast her reddened, bloodshot stare up towards the sky and let out a loud, primal howl of fury…

Twilight Sparkle and the others continued to gallop towards Ponyville. They were almost to town and had thus far outpaced the infected ponies that were after them, but it wouldn’t be long before they reached the edge of town, at which point they would be caught between two groups of infected. She spoke up as they drew near, “Okay, “I’ve thought of a backup plan, but I don’t know if it’ll work…”

Applejack ran alongside her and said, “I knew you’d find a way. What is it?”

“Well,” Twilight explained, “the problem with the cure is that without some kind of force holding the gas together, it scatters until it disappears into the air. Since we might have lost our way to hold it so it can be moved around, our only other option is to get all the infected ponies together.”

“So instead of holdin’ the gas in one place,” Applejack said, understanding, “we just have to hold everypony else in one place.”

Zecora nodded, “A risky move for us to make, but one we’ll surely need to take. May I suggest it would be wise to use Town Hall due to its size?”

“Perfect!” Twilight agreed. “Now we just need to find a way to lure them there.”

“I don’t think that’ll be hard,” Applejack said, glancing back over her shoulder at the group of infected ponies following them in the distance. “We just need to make a lotta noise, and… I-I guess hold out ‘till they all get there. How are we even gonna do that?”

Twilight shook her head, “I don’t know… Honestly, I’m just making this up as I go. Best case scenario, Rainbow Dash meets us there and we’re fine with the original plan. Worst case, we’ll just have to do our best and hope it’s enough.”

As they entered town, the infected ponies on the street started glancing around in their direction. They growled and joined the chase; thankfully there didn’t seem to be many of them along the street they were travelling, and what few there were, they could run past before drawing their attention. Some of them came close to reaching them from the sides, but Applejack and Zecora responded by quickly dropping vials of the cure to cover their path. It cured the few ponies that passed through it, but unfortunately, as before they were re-infected seconds later by the rest.

There was still no sign of Rainbow as they reached the large structure of Town Hall. Since there had been large gatherings here in the past, it was certainly large enough to hold everypony in town. As they ran up to the front door, Twilight noticed the front doors were broken off their hinges, which was an unexpected factor; it would make it difficult to keep the infected ponies contained here.

Once inside, they headed for the upper balcony. Aside from flying, which would still be a problem with the pegasi, there was only one stairway up to the balcony, so it would be at least a little easier to defend from it. They made to the base of the stairs that led to the upper level and had only climbed a few steps when they were startled by a shape in the shadows at the top of the stairs. It pounced towards them, and mid-pounce, Twilight could see that it was the mayor of Ponyville.

Zecora abruptly nudged Twilight to the side, causing the mayor to miss her and strike the zebra instead. They both tumbled down to the base of the stairs; before Zecora could get back up, the other ponies from outside closed in. In shock, Twilight and Applejack were about to go and help her, but instead, Zecora pulled the bags from her back and threw those in their direction, shouting with desperation, “Do not come down; just save the town!”

Applejack exclaimed, “Zecora!”

Twilight caught the bags with her magic and said, “No time! We’ve got to get the plan going like she said!” The two of them reluctantly pressed onward, running up the stairs as a growl from Zecora marked her infection.

“This ain’t gonna work!” Applejack said, the truth of the situation dawning on her. “It just ain’t! There’s no way the two of us alone can hold off the whole town…”

“We have to try!” Twilight insisted.

They reached the top balcony, and Applejack immediately turned around, tossing some vials down to create a barrier, preventing them from approaching. What it mostly did was cure a few ponies and give the two of them momentary distraction as the crowd went for the newly cured ones instead. Twilight put all the bags down on the balcony, six bags in total combined from hers, Rainbow’s and Zecora’s. Applejack added hers to the stack and said, “So? Set it all off!”

“We don’t have everypony here yet,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “The building’s barely filling up down there. We only get one shot at this, and if we don’t get everypony…”

“If we don’t do it now, we won’t get a chance at all!” Applejack argued.

Before Twilight could reply, a blur flew in from below, striking Applejack and tumbling her to the ground. Twilight recognized it as Rainbow Dash and gasped as Applejack was pinned and immediately bitten by her. “No!!” Twilight yelled, trying to levitate another vial to strike them. As she did, another pegasus grabbed her from behind; the action caused her to accidentally throw the vial in the wrong direction, and it passed through an open window, falling into the bushes outside.

She tried to get free and prepared to teleport, when a pair of teeth bit down on her shoulder, disrupting her concentration and causing her to cry out. The moment this happened, she knew it would be over in seconds; after that, there would be no pony left who knew anything about the cure. With her final moments, she reached out with her magic, trying to pick up the bags so she could drop them and set it off. Please, she thought, please… don’t let it end this way... I can still… do it… Her vision grew fuzzy, and she just couldn’t focus her magic, the levitation spell sputtering and failing. The growls of the other infected ponies filled her ears, and her last rational thought before the Crimson Rage took over was the realization that it wasn’t just Ponyville, but all of Equestria that was now doomed…

To Be Continued…

Chapter 7: "The Dispersal"

THE CRIMSON RAGE

By: Time Shield

CHAPTER 7: “The Dispersal”

The night skies hung over the seemingly deserted town of Ponyville. It was far from silent, as the growls and shouts of the infected seemed ever present in the air, and there were also those who continued to roam the streets, still prowling for more healthy bodies to infect. When it came to intelligence and rationality, however, the town was devoid of it, the empty husks of the buildings being the only sign that there was a civilization to begin with.

Nevertheless, hope was not completely gone. The last two uninfected bodies in Ponyville were small enough to slip into the town unnoticed and carefully sneaked from building to building, hiding from the infected. It took an hour for them to make it partway through town this way, waiting patiently for the right time to take their next move.

Reaching the side of another building, Spike and Apple Bloom moved around to the front, staying concealed in a flowerbed. Apple Bloom poked her head out of the flowers just for a moment to get a look around, lowering back down for a moment while another one of the infected ran by. Once it was safe, she moved over to the window and braced herself as Spike climbed up on her back.

Apple Bloom whispered, “How’s it look?”

“No good,” Spike whispered back, still looking through the window. “I see some of them in there. Just kind of pacing around, like the others.”

She let Spike back down and they took cover in the flowers again. She was frustrated but kept her voice down as she said, “Ain’t we ever gonna find one empty buildin’ in this town?”

“It has to be empty,” Spike reminded her. “If there’s even one of them in there, it’s one too many.”

Apple Bloom was going to say something else about eventually having to take the chance, but decided not to. In truth, she probably wouldn’t take that chance anyway; the situation was frightening her much more than she let on. She knew she had to be strong if she ever wanted to see her brother and sister again, but it wasn’t easy. She finally just sighed and said, “All right… what’s next?”

Spike looked around at the nearest buildings and pointed, “There! Town Hall… The Mayor keeps a lot of paper in her office.”

“But it’s huge!” Apple Bloom protested. “There’s no way it’ll be empty!”

“Maybe not, but it’s worth a shot,” Spike said. He started creeping through the flowerbed towards the side closest to Town Hall; Apple Bloom bit her lip and followed silently.

After another long, patient wait, they had an opportunity to cross without being seen, and did so as quickly as they could. For a moment, a sharp growl from one of the nearby infected ponies made them afraid that they might have been spotted. Sliding into some bushes next to the building, Spike turned to look back fearfully, but was relieved when he realized the pony that made the growl was facing the other way and hadn’t noticed them.

Spike wiped sweat from his forehead, then prepared to step deeper into the bushes to join Apple Bloom. He paused when he nearly bumped into something suspended in the leaves of the bush, something shiny that stood out even in the dim light. He plucked it from the leaves and looked closely at the object, which appeared to be some sort of tiny glass bottle containing a shiny, silver liquid.

“What’s that?” Apple Bloom asked from her hiding position deeper in the bushes.

“I don’t know,” Spike said, turning the bottle over and examining it. “Somepony must’ve dropped it.” He moved over to join Apple Bloom in her hiding place.

Looking at the bottle, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but feel like she had seen a bottle like that before. It hit her suddenly, and without speaking too loudly to give away their position, she exclaimed, “Zecora keeps a bunch o’ bottles just like that! I saw those once when I was over helpin’ her brew some potions a few weeks ago…”

“Neat,” Spike said, holding it up to try and get a better look at the contents. “Do you think it’s some kind of potion then?”

“If it is,” Apple Bloom replied, “then I dunno why it’d be so small.”

Shrugging, Spike kept the tiny bottle held in his palm and said, “Well, never mind that for now. Let’s get back to checking out Town Hall…” With Apple Bloom close behind, he inched along the side of the building over to the window, which was low enough for them both to see through. They peeked inside to see the large gathering area of Town Hall, and it had more of the infected ponies everywhere.

“Look!” Apple Bloom suddenly said, pointing into the group of ponies. She sounded horrified, and Spike soon realized why: inside where she was pointing, he recognized one of the shapes moving through the group…

“T-Twilight!” Spike exclaimed. “Oh no!!” Even in the dim light inside Town Hall, there was no mistaking Twilight Sparkle, and even less so that she wasn’t herself, with the same red, angry eyes that all the other infected ponies had.

They began to back away from the scene presented by the window, when another sharp growl came from behind them. Spike hoped it was just another random growl that wasn’t directed at them, but his hope disappeared as he saw a pegasus flapping in the air near the building, its red eyes locked directly on them. With only a second to react, Spike yelled, “Run!!” and both he and Apple Bloom darted quickly through the bushes around the side of the building, heading for cover behind it.

They didn’t get very far, however, because the pegasus dived down in front of them in an instant. It moved extremely fast, and Apple Bloom’s heart sank as she realized only one pegasus was that fast. “Rainbow!” she cried out in fear, stepping backwards. “P-please, don’t!”

Rainbow Dash obviously didn’t listen as she flew towards her, growling. Spike did the last thing he could think of to protect Apple Bloom: he jumped and swiftly grabbed her around the torso, pinning her wings to her side. The two of them fell into the bushes in a tangle, and Rainbow twisted from side to side, trying either to shake off the dragon or to bite him. One of her snaps nearly got his arm, which he pulled away just in time, but it caused him to lose hold of the bottle he was still clutching.

It fell to the ground and broke on impact, releasing a cloud of silver gas around them. All three of them coughed and couldn’t see a thing. Spike ended up releasing Rainbow to rub his eyes and get his bearings, but as the gas cleared, he noticed Rainbow was doing the same. He was about to grab Apple Bloom and run when he noticed something had changed about Rainbow; she was blinking and trying to get her bearings, and the redness in her eyes was gone.

Apple Bloom noticed it too, and cautiously edged closer, whispering, “R-Rainbow…?”

Rainbow squinted at them and finally spoke up, “Apple Bloom? Is that you?”

“You’re okay!” Spike exclaimed, extremely relieved. He and Apple Bloom practically threw themselves into a hug around Rainbow, who was still too disoriented to care. “What happened?” Spike asked.

“I-I was…” Rainbow said, trying to remember, then gasped and said more urgently, “Twilight! Zecora! Applejack! Where are they?!”

“Twi’s in there, but she’s one o’ them now,” Apple Bloom said, pointing sadly at City Hall. “We dunno where Zecora or Applejack are.”

“Oh no,” Rainbow said, distressed, “No no no… this is really bad!” She put her hooves on the sides of her head as she tried desperately to think of what to do next, saying, “We were gonna fix everything…”

Apple Bloom look confused, “Fix? How?”

Rainbow quickly explained, “Don’t you see? We had the cure! We had it, and we were gonna release it in town so I could make some wind to carry it around to everypony! But then I… I got bit…”

“The cure?” Spike asked, but then he figured out what she was saying and said, “Oh! That bottle I found! That’s what cured you, didn’t it?”

“It must’ve been,” Rainbow agreed. “We’ve gotta find the rest! We had a bunch of ‘em!”

Spike looked around the bush to see if there was anything else in the bushes, but couldn’t find anything. “This is where I found the bottle, but the rest aren’t here,” he said.

“Maybe that one was dropped?” Apple Bloom offered helpfully.

“Dropped?” Rainbow repeated. She looked up at Town Hall and noticed an open window up above. Looking around quickly to make sure no pony else was watching, she flew up to the window to look inside, and smiled at what she saw: the center of the balcony inside had a pile of all the bags containing the vials. Fortunately, there was no pony else on the balcony. “Jackpot!” she exclaimed, and flew inside through the window.

Making a few trips, Rainbow delivered the bags down to the others two at a time, until finally all eight bags were collected. “That’s a lot,” Apple Bloom remarked. “Think it’ll be enough though?”

“Definitely,” Rainbow said with a confident nod.

Spike grinned, “All right! We’ve got this! We just need to…” He was interrupted by the sound of multiple growls nearby, and in shock he realized that one of the roaming groups of infected had spotted them. They were growling loud enough that it started to attract more attention.

“Go, go, go!” Rainbow shouted, scooping up four of the bags, while Spike and Apple Bloom each grabbed two. They sped away from City Hall, the sound of hooves galloping behind them as the infected were in pursuit. They had a bit of a lead, but not much, and the bags only weighed them down. “Center of town,” Rainbow ordered, “quick!”

It wasn’t far to go to reach the dead center of town, but the commotion was attracting them from everywhere. When they finally got to where they needed to go, Apple Bloom and Spike tossed their bags over to Rainbow so she could bring them into the air; Rainbow struggled to fly with the additional weight but managed to raise herself up higher. Thinking fast, she pulled a few vials out and dropped them in a circle around the others to protect them, and sure enough, it forced the closest ones to stop their approach as the cure did its work. She knew it wouldn’t last long with the rest there to re-infect them, but it would still buy them the time they needed.

As Rainbow gained air, another problem arose. She could see the shapes of pegasi taking to the air and flying towards her, and as weighed down as she was, she realized she couldn’t hope to dodge or react fast enough to throw more vials at them. It occurred to her that their attempt might be in vain after all, and braced herself against the incoming assault…

It never came, because something flew through the air, striking the closest pegasus and knocking it off-course, causing it to spiral out of control away from her. More of the odd projectiles whizzed through the air, each of them striking a different pegasus. Blinking, Rainbow tried to make sense of what she was seeing, until she realized that the objects being thrown were cupcakes. She looked down and grinned as she saw the source of the onslaught.

Pinkie Pie was perched on the branch of one of the trees not far from Sugarcube Corner, which she had obviously been using as a hiding place. A mixing bowl with a large crack in it covered the top of her head, and there was a slightly torn sash still slung around her shoulder. She had frosting splattered over her face and body in different places, a sign of the struggle she had been through earlier. She was pulling more cupcakes from the saddlebags at her side, and her face was a mask of determination as she continued throwing them at any pegasi that got too close to Rainbow. She didn’t say anything, but gave Rainbow a small smile and nod.

“Way to go, Pinkie Pie!” Spike called out from the ground, and Apple Bloom cheered as well. Rainbow, now with the extra time she needed, rose up the rest of the way she needed to go. She pulled off the bags and dropped them; as they fell, she prepped herself to create the wind that was needed.

The bags struck the ground, shattering all of the vials inside. An enormous cloud of silver erupted and started to spread outwards from the center, and at that instant, Rainbow shot into action. She sped in a circle around the perimeter of the cloud, shaping and drawing the cure back towards the center. As she flew faster and faster, the cloud became almost like a tornado, swirling around in a bright, sparkly silver funnel.

The cure washed over the ponies on the ground, including all of the pegasi that had just been knocked out of the air. As they regained their senses and looked up at Rainbow keeping the cure together, several of them took to the air and joined her, spinning around and helping to increase the size of the funnel. It began to grow and pass through more of the town, the gas seeping through all of the open doors and windows and reaching everypony as it grew, heading outwards like a wave. Rainbow noticed the extra help she was receiving and gave a quick salute of thanks to them, then brightened even further as she recognized somepony else that had also joined in. Fluttershy flew up alongside Rainbow and smiled, doing her best to help push the winds further.

Before long, the cure had washed over all of Ponyville, restoring all of the townsponies back to health. It eventually grew beyond its limits to stay together, and the cloud finally dissipated, vanishing into the night air. The pegasi stopped their circling and the winds died back down again. There were a few moments of silence, no longer the growls of the infected echoing through the streets, until down below, the cured residents of Ponyville let out a combined cheer for their rescuers. Rainbow and Fluttershy flew down and rejoined Spike and Applejack, huddling together in a congratulatory hug. The crowd parted to let others through to join them, coming from different directions: Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Big McIntosh and Twilight Sparkle all joined in the huddle, while Zecora stood to the side, watching proudly.

As the sun rose on a new day, a quick count was made to verify that everypony was accounted for, and that no pony was still infected. Thankfully, the infection hadn’t left the borders of Ponyville again once Big McIntosh had carried it into town. The infection was completely eradicated, but Zecora provided some more of the cure to the town, just in case somepony was missed. The townsponies got to work repairing the damage to the town; compared to the storm the day before, this was a lot more work and would probably occupy them for a few days to come.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake were fixing up Sugarcube Corner, which was in as bad a shape inside as it was outside. There was cake and frosting splattered everywhere, and Pinkie Pie was lending a hoof cleaning it from the walls. It was only fair, she had said, since she was the one who had made the mess in the first place.

Inside the library, Twilight Sparkle and Spike were getting things back into order; the front door hadn’t been fixed yet, so the remains of it were sitting open. Applejack poked her head in, and then walked inside followed closely by Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh; she said, “Howdy, Twilight. How’s the cleanup goin’?”

“Not bad,” Twilight replied, putting some fallen books back up on their shelves. “All things considered though, it could’ve been a lot worse, and almost was.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom agreed, lowering her head slightly. “Things were really scary there for a while. I was so worried that I wouldn’t see any of y’all again…” She brightened and continued, “But I’m glad I did come back to town. I was able to help out after all!”

Applejack nodded and said, “You were a big help, little sis. That mighta been the craziest, most reckless thing you and Spike ever did, tryin’ to sneak back into town with all those infected ponies about… but I’d be lyin’ if I said I weren’t proud o’ y’all for doin’ it.”

“Eeyup,” Big McIntosh agreed.

“Aww, it was nothing,” Spike said, blushing slightly. “Just doing my job as an upstanding citizen of Ponyville, that’s all.”

“Don’t be so modest,” Twilight told him. “No pony else knew the cure; who knows what would have happened if it had spread out of Ponyville and into other towns?”

“I don’t even wanna think about it,” Applejack admitted, “and I’m mighty glad I won’t have to.”

Finishing the shelving, Twilight said, “We really need to wind down and relax after all that has happened. After the cleanup is done, I think this calls for a celebration.” She laughed a little as she added, “Once Sugarcube Corner is back to normal too, I mean.”

“Sounds good to me!” Apple Bloom said with a smile.

“Me too,” Applejack nodded, and Big McIntosh simply nodded.

Twilight smiled, “Great! One more thing… Spike, take a letter, if you would please…” Spike nodded and grabbed a scroll and quill, writing down as Twilight spoke:

Dear Princess Celestia,

We have just made it through one of the most terrifying ordeals here in Ponyville, a threat that spread through the town, literally turning friends into foes. The bonds of friendship are what keep us together, and having those bonds torn away from us so forcefully made me realize all the more how terrible it would be if we ever lost them for good. But it also told me that that would never come to pass. Even when our most trusted friends were turned against us, we never gave up on them; even when it looked hopeless, there were those who continued onward, who pushed aside their fears and doubts to save their friends. I learned that nothing can break these bonds forever, and that when things are the darkest, it is the friendships we’ve made that will ultimately pull us back into the light.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

THE END

(All Illustrations and Credits)

Story by: Time Shield
Illustrations by: Dilarus