28 Days Laterby Captain Storm DashChaptersDay 1: ExposureDay 3: InfectionDay 15: EvacuationDay 8: EpidemicDay 1: ExposureDate: May 17, 2004 Time: 0800 hours Location: Ponyville Equine Research Facility Day One: Exposure A lone scientist covered in a bloody and sweat-stained lab coat stood in the middle of his laboratory. He stood alone amongst his work, mixing samples of blood and the nerve-calming agent his former colleague had been so desperate to help him create and deploy. "Bollocks, it was." he muttered to himself. He sighed at seeing that the particular strain of a deadly virus still had the same effects on the agent. It didn't matter how many times he tried altering it and the virus, Ebola. His test subjects were young foster foals who volunteered for his testing. They adored him for his kindness, generous application of anesthesia, and his father-like nature. Sadly, they were now driven to the point of madness by this despised disease. Their eyes were a striking pitchfork red. This was accompanied by blood oozing from their lips, their eyes, the nostrils, staining their already matted fur. Every attempt the messenger of knowledge made to inject them with something new, they lashed out, tried to bite him, to kill him. To... infect him. It bewildered him when he tried to decipher how this virus even worked. The unicorn was heart-broken. Everyday that a test subject was no longer able to be successfully restrained, he was forced by the government to put them down. Euthanasia usually couldn't be administered due to the thrashing of the test subjects. So, he would often be forced to either snap their neck with his magic (which he found a disgrace to himself, unicorns, and the test subjects alike), or to shoot them; firing a small projectile from a hoof-held firearm. It pained him every time, and some days he wished his partner hadn't left out of disgust at what the two had created. The scientist also knew that if this virus ever broke out of the perimeters of this lab, he would become responsible for the destruction of his nation. The scientist examined the small television that portrayed what the cameras viewed. No... something was wrong. Four screens were filled with nothing but static. Those four screens, which originally depicted the hallways leading to the lab entrance, were all but empty. He stole a final glance at the last camera shot. A group of ponies were congregated around one another. All three of them were pegasi, dressed head to hoof in black clothing. There were two stallions carrying crow bars followed by a mare with a camera. Oh, no. he thought, for he knew now he and his test subjects were doomed. No, not the test subjects. The Infected. he knew in an instant that these were Children's Rights radicals, who despised the use of foals as the bases of experiments. As the last screen went gray with static, he heard a loud banging at the door. He opened it gingerly, and suddenly found himself face down on the floor. "On yer hooves, ya runt!" The accent was very cockney, as if from the downtown regions of Buckingham. "Davenport, open de cages. Get these poor things outta here." The stallion, presumably the group's leader, delivered a sharp kick with his forehoof to the underbelly of the scientist. He then drew a hoof-gun, a Colt 1911, and put it to the head of the scientist. "I should kill you were ya lay, you monster." "No," the crippled stallion cried out. "You can't! You can't open the cages! They're infected!" Another kick came, along with an order to shut his mouth. "The children are infected?!" "Infected with what?" The leader said. The photographer took a few pictures of the conditions in the lab. To her dismay, it was quite clean and comfortable, which wouldn't help their case. The scientist ignored the leader and kept rambling. "I said, infected with what?!" The frightened stallion looked him in the eye at the same time the second male radical had opened a cage. "Rage." A loud, agonizing scream erupted from the radical as a beady-eyed foal jumped onto him and took a chunk out of his wing. "Get this fucker off me! Get 'im off!! Help!" he shrieked. The last word was followed by another bite, this time to the shoulder. The radical threw the child off of him and began to spasm violently. He turned over and vomited blood and stood, his eyes bloodshot and angry. A loud gunshot erupted from the leader's Colt, striking the child in the throat. However, the stallion did not realize that the shot should have been reserved for either the now infected stallion, or himself. The scientist kept screaming, "Just one drop! Just one drop is all it takes!! You've doomed us all, you stupid fool!!" Then, the now turned radical turned on the shouting scientist, chasing him across the lab. He flung himself onto the scientist, bringing him down, beating him senseless, and then taking a bite out of his shoulder. The scientist kicked the infected off and began coughing crimson blood. "Oh, shit! Get out! Get! Out!" Almost instantly, he turned on his hooves and flew for the door. He shot the glass and flew through it. However, he didn't see his infected partner when she leaped from behind him. She latched her teeth into his ankle, sinking them in without a moment's hesitation. "OH FUCK!!!" The children, along with the two radicals and the now infected scientist, drew the leader down out of the window and began beating him senseless as his transformation began. Before he could fully turn, the photographer tore out his throat and spit it onto the ground. A torrent of blood poured from his neck and onto the floor. Satisfied with their work, the group of about fifteen infected children and adults alike got up and began scanning the halls for an escape. They slammed doors and pounded on the windows until one finally broke. At long last, the new world was theirs to destroy. Day 3: InfectionDay 3: Infection Soarin calmly strolled down the road, avoiding oncoming traffic by flying over the cars and onto the other curb. He bumped into another pony and was suddenly swarmed with questions. "OhmygoshareyouSoarin?Canishakeyourhoofandgetyourautograph?Ihaveapictureofyouandapenandohmygosh! You are hot!" Looking down on the shorter mare, he saw a face he recognized. Her rainbow mane and tail were difficult to forget, much less those dazzling magenta eyes. He couldn't quite remember her name. It was on the tip of his tongue. All he could remember was... "Rainbow?" This elicited a gasp from the youth. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" She paused to breathe. "You remembered my name!" Soarin found this mildly offensive. It seemed that most ponies thought that celebrities would forget them after the meet their fans. "Yes," he nearly hissed through his teeth. "I remember you quite well." He smiled brightly as he recalled other memories regarding the rambunctious mare. "You won that junior flying competition! That was amazing!" Rainbow Dash beamed proudly. "Yeah, it was pretty awesome." She gave a cheeky smile. "But I could've done way better." "Oh could you?" Soarin cocked an eyebrow, as if doubting Rainbow's capabilities. However, he decided for a subject change. "Hey, wanna maybe to out for dinner sometime tonight?" Inside, Rainbow nearly exploded. On the outside, she tried to be as collected as possible. Even if it wasn't very much. "Yeah! Sure!" is what she would've said. Rather, her jaw dropped and she slowly nodded. Soarin couldn't help but chuckle at her awe. "Heh, okay then, cutie, see ya then!" He turned around and started trotting. Rainbow was simply dumbstruck by this stallion. "I don't believe it... He asked me out..." Her eyes began to widen as large as dinner plates. "And he called me 'cutie'?" She turned around on the sidewalk and began walking in the opposite direction as Soarin. While she was trotting along, she could hear the news channel opening ahead of her. She trotted up a few feet and saw several black tv's propped up by the television store's front window. They all had the daily news on. She decided that she would wait a moment to see what the newscaster had to say. "Two days ago, the Ponyville Equine Research Centre was broken into by three child's rights activists against the use of foals for equine experimentation. It is reported that the laboratory has become the sight of a bloody mess, as one foal has been found dead, and the other nine test subjects who had survived have all gone missing, along with Dr. Vid Mudrost, a Northern-Gryphon-born specialist who earned his degree in Buckingham. Here, we have a photograph." The screen flashed with a picture of a beige unicorn with glossy, black glasses. If one examined it, they would see a distinct scar in the left side if his chin. "Mudrost, who had apparently grown very attached to his test subjects, was reported missing by his wife when he didn't come home yesterday evening." The anchor pony cleared his throat. "It is unsure whether or not any harmful diseases were released into the environment, and the whereabouts of the activists is unknown. I'm Mic the Microphone here with ya on Channel Four News!" The channel cut out into commercial breaks, and Rainbow turned to her left and continued trotting. Meanwhile, with Soarin, as he crossed another street, a reckless driver swerved on the street. A driver that Soarin did not notice in time. He glanced in the car's direction a second before it plowed into him. His body twisted over the top of the vehicle and struck the ground on the other side. He lied on his back, allowing the various ponies to see the few cuts along his torso. Several ponies gathered around him, all bearing looks of concern. His eyelids drifted downwards as more ponies enclosed themselves around him. Before they shut completely, he heard a call from the other side of the crowd, saying they they were a doctor. Voices eventually became dragged out, shapes becoming distorted. Everything went black. Rainbow arrived at her cloud house. She set her keys on the counter and plopped down onto her plush sofa. She let out a relived sigh as she reached for the Tv remote. She flipped on the power, and the TV flashed to life. "This just in, famous Wonderbolt member, Soarin, has just been the victim of a hit-and-run car crash! It is uncertain whether or not the hit was intentional. Doctors say he is in stable condition and has suffered only a mild concussion, but his family urges fans to stay away. Spitfire herself will speak on the matter. Coming up next on Channel Four." Rainbow sat wide-eyed in disbelief, slowly shaking her head at the anchor's words. She sprang from her position on the couch and speed out the door. Thankfully, since Ponyville was such a small town, there was only one hospital. Its location was stashed in Dash's memory since the first time she was sent there with a broken wing. On the way, she muttered to herself, "The hell is going on in this town?" After a minute or two of flying, she arrived at the hospital. Her hooves cracked against the pavement as she approached the large double doors. With a small shove, they gave way and allowed her inside the building. Dash glanced to the right and trotted up to the reception desk. "Hi, I'm here to see Soarin." The mare at the desk looked up sullen expression. "Soarin will not be having any other visitors other than family and friends." Rainbow felt something spark angrily inside her. "Yeah, well, I am his friend. He and I were supposed to go out for dinner until some jackass hit him with a car." "I'm sorry, ma'am, but unless someone can verify you and Soarin are friends, I cannot allow--" "Hey, Dash!" Both looked up as a familiar fiery mare walking over to the desk. "I take it you're here to see Soar, eh?" Rainbow looked up at her commanding officer from the Academy, Captain Spitfire, almost wanting to snap a salute. "Yes, ma'am..." She glared at the receptionist, then looked sweetly back at Spitfire. "I am." Spitfire laughed. "Great, come on. He's doing pretty well, but they had to put him under." Rainbow followed after Spitfire to the gray elevator. "So did you hear about that lab break-in?" "Yeah! I thought it was insane!" Rainbow looked up with a cocked eyebrow. "What if we actually do get a disease going around? It would be those activist's fault." Spitfire nodded in approval while the elevator climbed to the chosen floor. "Precisely. I'm surprised that we haven't already got something going. I just hope those test subjects didn't have anything contagious." The elevator doors opened and the two walked out into the waiting room. They approached a doctor, who blocked them from Soarin's room. "I'm sorry, ladies, Soarin is about to undergo some surgery. It appears his condition is worse than we thought. If you could wait here, we'd appreciate that." The two mares half-heartedly nodded and went to sit in front of a TV. Spitfire grabbed the remote and began flipping channels. "Let's see what the gossip is today," she mumbled. "--rioting in the streets of Hooves-town as ponies are breaking into homes, attacking other ponies, have over-turned a bus, and have killed already two civilians. Police forces and the SWAT team are having extreme difficulty controlling this outbreak of violence--" Spitfire changed the channel again. "--As if they're angry but for no apparent reason! Two civilians have been recorded dead already--" "--Riots in Hooves-town--" "Jeez, is there nothing on today?!" Spitfire growled. Rainbow sighed and out her hoof on Spitfire's. "Hey, calm down! It's just TV, it's not like it matters." Spitfire scoffed. "They could at least put on some cartoons..." Rainbow Dash laughed at her captain's childishness. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at Spitfire before speaking again. "Right, because you need mindless cartoons to entertain you..." "Everyone needs cartoons," Spitfire replied. "You're just too boring to see that." Rainbow punched her arm playfully, and got a harder punch back. "Ow... You're so mean," she said, curling her lip. Spitfire laughed and nodded. Rainbow stood from her less-than-comfortable chair. "Oh well, look at the time. It's late... I was going to go out with Soarin, but I guess not. See ya, Spits." Spitfire nodded and waved her hoof, "Uh huh! See ya!" Dash turned out the room and exited through the lift. That same, sickening, elevator feeling came over her, making her head spin. When the lift came to a stop, she trotted out, still a bit dizzy, and left through the sliding double doors, a sigh leaving her lips. Rainbow turned up the street and took off in a saddened flight to her home. Author's Note The infection has started, the world not entirely sure that this is indeed a viral outbreak from the Research Centre. Add this to your watch list and find out what happens! Day 15: EvacuationDay 15: Evacuation Two firm stallions stormed before her majesties, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight. The older and more senior of the two spoke first. "Your majesties," he took a bow and stood again. "We have news from Ponyville... The city has fallen to the infection. Police forces, even the military, couldn't stop it. It's too fast." He took another cautious step forward, his accomplice following suit. "Your highnesses, we sincerely believe that we must transport you to a different country, perhaps a colony of the Empire." There was a momentary pause. "For the time being, of course," finished the other. Lifting his helm from his head, he wiped back his sweaty mane and donned it again. Princess Celestia, the oldest and wisest of the three, nodded in agreement. "Yes," she said. "I completely agree. Let's take the chopper over the chariot this time 'round." She stood on her hooves, her fellow princesses doing the same. "I take it we're in agreement?" Both Luna and Twilight nodded, Luna speaking first. "Yes, sister. Though I would hate to leave our people in this time of need... Three cities have fallen victim to this virus. It is not a matter of 'if' it reaches Canterlot." She glanced grimly at the four before her. "It's a matter of 'when.' It is already certain the virus will strike. After all... It only takes one drop." She gulped softly and slightly moved her head about. "We don't know for certain that any of us are immune." "I understand completely what she means," Twilight said. "We could stay, fight, and be overrun, or we could flee and fight a different battle for these people. It seems cruel, yes, that we have to abandon them, but mark my words, sisters," she moved her eyes carefully back and forth. "We will ensure their survival." She cleared her throat and stood proudly. "I suggest we declare a national emergency, and a nation-wide evacuation, before this spreads any further. By my calculations, this plague will have ravaged the country in a month." Celestia nodded. "Yes, an evacuation is in order. Martial law shall be declared, ensuring that as many that can be evacuated will be, and that cities where the disease is rampant shall be placed under curfews with no light, so that the military can fight the infected at that time, and during the day. However," she coughed slightly, "daylight will be chance for survivors to either escape, or to scavenge and build their defenses. The military will be in control for the most part, but we will ensure some liberty. I know this is a risk," she said, "but it's necessary." All three agreed, and instantly the three made a national address. All citizens were to remain in their home at night, the power to be cut during those dark hours, and no sound to be made, no movement. Anyone not in a home already would be shot on sight. This would not include those breaking into homes. Military, of course, were an exception, unless they were infected. Celestia had also installed a "Code Red." Military leaders in the affected cities would go along stages of control. Stage one was moderate control, only infected to be shot. Stage two was moderate loss of control. All living things other than military were to be shot on sight. Stage three was complete loss of control-- military forces were to pull out, and F-16s were to fly over the city and drop napalm in the streets and to destroy the city completely. Anyone trapped in the city was, unfortunately, doomed. It was a grim broadcast indeed. But Celestia was hopeful that it would come to help. After a conference with her best military leaders, she took a moment to retreat to her quarters. She gently lay on her bed, the sheets and mattress sinking under her weight. A knock, a rap-rap-rapping came at the door. "Come in," she sighed. It was Twilight who entered. "Dear Twilight, what is it?" Twilight gulped softly and spoke rather nervously. "My friends, Celestia... I haven't spoken to them in a week. I'm afraid they may be in grave danger." "Relax," Celestia gently replied. She sat up on her bed, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder to comfort her. "I'm sure your friends will be fine. They have each other, and I have seen them fight. They will know to evacuate, and it's certain that we should see them at least in one of the refugee camps." Twilight shook her head adamantly. "But what if they don't make it? What if we lose one, or two, or all? Then what? There will be no elements of harmony! The country will be forever defenseless, and we may never--" "Twilight, relax!" Celestia pleaded. "You're doing your thing!" "My thing?" Twilight tilted her head in curiosity. "Yes, the thing! Where you start getting paranoid and everything only gets worse! I'm certain that everything will be fine." Celestia cleared her throat and spoke firmly. "Even if we do lose an element, there's something you should know: the elements will find a new pony, one just as compatible or more compatible with the said element." She thought for a moment, before listing and example. "for instance, if we lost, say, Rainbow Dash, there is easily another Pegasus that I know of who could take her place." "Who, Princess?" "Her brother, Storm." "Captain Dash! Captain Dash!" A brown-coated soldier in a digital-camouflage uniform burst into an officer's tent, nearly out of breath, a pair of weathered glasses barely being held on his face. "What is it, sergeant?" Another similarly uniformed stallion, who's coat was a greyish-blue, eyes of deep sapphire, and a mane colored like a storm cloud, tipped with rainbow locks, looked up from his portable desk, parts to a Five seveN being littered about it as he cleansed the weapon. He rubbed at his shoulder to get out a knot in his muscle, his hoof gliding over his two proudly displayed "Ranger" and "Alpha Force" patches. The officer, holding a lit cigar in between his teeth, glared slightly and cocked his eyebrow at the aforementioned sergeant. "We have a special guest who wants to see you." The captain chuckled. "And who might that be?" "Princess Luna, sir." Captain Rainbow Storm Dash immediately stood up at the mention of the princess he cared and adore so much, the cigar nearly falling from his mouth. "Take me right to her," he said. The sergeant trotted out, Dash following suit. "Storm!" A feminine cry of relief and joy came from Dash's front and center. He looked up and beamed. "Oh my gosh, Luna!" He quickly embraced the slightly taller alicorn, smiling warmly. "I thought I'd never see you again..." "Things are different now, my old friend." She stepped back from the embrace, her smile still holding. "Yeah, I know, I'm old... Not as old as you, but hey! I turned another thirty years last we met!" Luna, shaking her head and chuckling almost in disbelief, said, "Have the years truly gone by so fast, friend?" "Indeed they have. Say, how's my little sister doing? I haven't seen her since I got stuck in the thirteenth century, don't know if her birthdate is still the same." He looked her in the eye curiously, to which he saw her expression turn grim. "Storm, no one has seen your sister for a week. She was one of the many in Ponyville when it fell. Whether or not she is still alive is not yet determined. But we have other matters to discuss, regarding Equestria." She turned on her hooves and began trotting away from Storm's tent. "About what?" Storm questioned. Luna pointed to a medium-sized military-style helicopter. "Come with me. I will explain it on the chopper. We will return to your camp later." Storm sighed and followed his friend onto the helicopter, seating himself next to her as the rotors turned and the engine grew louder. "Where we going?" He asked. "You will see." "You know," Storm said, his voice growing louder of the engine as he and Luna donned their headsets. "I was technically two years old when we first met! Those times starting from exactly 1400 to 1981, I was in negative years! Imagine being negative 600 years old!" "I don't believe I can fathom it, as all I've known is my true age. I've never travelled back in time similar to geniuses like you, but I know I living forever all too well." Her voice as well grew, something she was accustomed to. "Well, at least you can die if someone shoots you. I'm stuck forever 27." He sighed and shook his head. "Hah! At least you're still in your twenties, a decent age if I say so! Very lively age, much less feeling toward responsibility! I know many ponies in their mid-twenties who 'get around easily,' so the saying goes." Storm chuckled at Luna's quote. "Yeah," he said, "that's me! Getting around, being damn reckless! Those were the days, Luna... "Those were the days." The chopper drowned out the rest of their sounds as it carried them over a small canyon, complete with glacier lines and a river at the bottom. Storm noted to visit this place sometime. It may prove adventurous. Author's Note My suggestion for when Storm appears: Start listening to Fortunate Son by Creedance Clearwater Revival. Good song, perfect moment. Day 8: Epidemic"Officials have reported that what had originally been thought of as an outbreak of riots and violence, is in-fact an outbreak of a virus that had been dubbed by Dr. Vid Mudrost as 'rage'! The Center For Disease Control has issued notices that the infected are easily recognisable by their telltale blood-shot eyes, red irises, and blood dripping from every facial orifice. CDC officials have issued that under no circumstances are civilians to come in contact with the infected. You have been warned to avoid them at all costs, and if need be, to defend yourself from the infected with deadly force, by the order of Princess Celestia." Day 8: Epidemic Rainbow has been barricaded away in Twilight's library for two days, ever since the Apple Family had gone missing and her house had been attacked by other pegasi looking for shelter. Twilight was in Canterlot with Spike on a conference with Princess Celestia; the purple alicorn was royalty after all. After a few moments of silence, she heard banging against the door. It was irregular. It wasn't knocking, but it sound as if somepony was slamming their body against the door. After a few shrieks and angry shouts, she took out a Glock 17 from its case. She hoped that she wouldn't have to use it, but it seemed that she had no other choice. It was either stay alive, or go wherever one goes when they get beaten to a pulp. Her hooves shook as she loaded the clip. She kept the firearm ready in her hooves. It lightly rattled as her forelegs shook. For a few seconds, all was well. However, that was short lived when a crack sped across a living room window. The first level was no longer safe. Rainbow Dash scuttled up to the observatory. With a swift flick of her hoof, the door was locked. She ran across the room and huddled in a dark, dusty corner between a desk and the wall. Perking her ears, she heard the telltale sound of glass shattering. An in-equine yowl filled the air just below her. Her frantic breathing felt hot against her cyan coat, her eyes where limericks in size. The scream sent a chilling torrent down her spine. Just as she thought it couldn't get any worse, she heard more screams. This time, there were more than one. At least three of the infected were standing below her To her terror, there was banging a giant the door of the observatory. It rang through her ears, the pounding was loud, hard. The rapping against the door grew stronger. She hoped, pleaded that it would go away. Rainbow sighed in relief when it did. She knew that it would eventually think that there wasn't anything in the room. She began to push herself off the dusty floor. Just as she reached her full height, a loud slam emanated from the weakened door. The infected had tried to desperately open the door by using its full force. She plopped her rear back down on the floor, barely withholding a sneeze. When a minute of silence passed, Dash realized that the infected must have been drawn away by the shots of gunfire and the few screeches that remained. She dared open the trap door, peering down into the second floor level. Her hooves gently guided her down the stairs, one step at a time. When she finally made it back down to the first floor, she grabbed the ammo she left behind and tossed them into her saddlebags that were resting against a stack of toppled books. After she buckled the bags, she slung them onto her back and galloped out the back door. As she distanced herself away from the house, she bolted into the sky. She climbed up, enjoying her newfound freedom. CRACK!! A crisp, sharp shot echoed through the streets. Rainbow Dash felt a bullet pierce her left wing. She went down, a twenty foot drop, landing on her side. She felt at least two ribs crack, and gave a scream of pain. "Gah! Shit!!" She struggled to hold herself up as the crimson life line of her body dripped from her wound. The bullet had torn through her wing, that was obvious. She slowly pivoted around till she could reach her saddlebags. When she did, she opened it and stuck her head inside. Rainbow's head retreated from it with a bag of peroxide salts clenched between her teeth. She spit the bag out onto her hoof carefully after she ripped the top off. She scanned the area around her body. With a seconds search, she found a newly broken stick. Taking it carefully in her mouth, she looked back to the bag resting on her hoof. Realizing that she couldn't pour it with a stick in her mouth, she spat it out and grasped the bag. Figuring that it would be better to get it all done at once, she dumped all of it on the gaping hole in her shoulder. To be blunt, it burned. She felt like Celestia condensed the sun into a small ball and played pingpong with her shoulder, the sun being the being the little plastic ball. Rainbow gritted her teeth against the pain, holding out screams of her own. As the agonizing pain continued, she managed to sift around in her saddlebags and fished out a ACE bandage and some gauze. She placed sterile, snow white gauze over both sides of the wound, wrapped the bandage twice around her wing, and made her best attempts to wind its beige length around her torso to hold her wings to her body. She knew this wound would greatly hinder her ability to travel, but she assured herself that at this point, survival was the main goal. She bent down to pick up the machete she had packed, seeing that it was now a friend. She glanced left, right, behind her, before turning to a backroad behind Twilight's library. The dirt road eventually lead her to a pharmacy, a place that she need to enter. Using her common sense, she knew that her little wrap up wasn't going to be good enough. She would definitely need a better kind of painkillers as well. Hopefully, the pharmacy still had some stock left. Rainbow heard screams and deathly shouts to her right, coming from the streets. She ignored it, focusing on her own safety. She looked over to the back entrance of the pharmacy, running towards it. She drew her Glock and tried the handle; surprisingly open. She holstered the firearm and trotted in carefully, her machete still out and primed. She gently closed the door behind her, locking it. Dash reached for a light switch, and instantly wished she hadn't-- something in the room, behind the counter, growled fiercely. It jumped at over the counter and sprang at her, beady eyed and bloodthirsty. It jumped at her from over the counter, and she slashed at it with her blade, catching it across the chest. It suffered a rather serious wound, but rather than bother with self-preservation, it leaped up again and charged. She then brought the machete down to bear on its skull, a sickening crunch and a splatter echoing through the shop. It sank down, and she used her hoof to draw the blade from the head. She wiped it on the body and slid it into its sheath by her hip. She shuddered as she realized what she had done. Ignoring that thought for now, her eyes looked over the counter. Rainbow was overjoyed. There stood a shelf devoted to pain medication. Normally, she'd expect the place to be alphabetically organised, but this was not the case. It was organised by genre, thank goodness for that. She hopped he counter and instantly made a grab for the bottle labeled "Codeine." She instantly knew how well this worked, so she grabbed a styrofoam cup of water from the nearby spigot, emptied a single pill into her hoof, and swallowed the two together. Capping the bottle and tossing it in her bags, she snatched up another bottle as well, and also noticed something that amused her in the non-prescription section of the store: a box of fifteen condoms. She chuckled at the thought and tossed the small box in her bag anyways, just to spur the moment. Rainbow turned around and left out the back door, closing it gently. Trotting down the road, she had one more place to stop: the gun store. She knew that this store would either be devoid, or stocked full with an unfriendly guard at the entrance. It wasn't guns she wanted so much as ammunition and a flash/sound suppressor. By the time she arrived at the back entrance to the store, she was indeed shocked again; somepony left the back door open. She gently paced in, this time with her Glock drawn. She peered around one corner, then the next, before approaching the main section of the store. Her first prediction was more accurate then the second. Somepony took several guns, a few boxes of ammo, shot the front desk clerk, and ran. She covered her snout with a hoof at the stench, then overcame it as her eyes met the accessories table. She grabbed a suppressor and searched for any clips of ammo. After she found several boxes of the precise kind, she took two. She then picked up the Glock clips. She saw the store had been barred on the windows and doors; only natural, who wouldn't come in search for weapons? Upon finishing loading her last 17-round clip, she stuffed two more boxes of rounds and the seven spare clips into her bags. She decided to take the risk and darted out into the streets. Nearly immediately, she wished she hadn't. Two infected, clearly ticked and aggravated, paused for a moment, stared at her, and then made a mad dash for her. She turned on her hooves and began galloping hard. They were on her tail, drawing in quickly. Her breathing was hard, but she managed to stay ahead of them. One advance quickly, effectively taking her by surprise. In that moment, when it nearly caught her, someone shot it. She stopped, another round flying past her and striking the other. Looking around, she saw nopony. After a few more seconds of searching, she saw Applejack and her little sister's friend, Sweetie Belle. Dash grinned happily, showing her pearly whites. "Howdy there, sugar-cube." Running into the building she was stationed on top of and climbing out onto the rooftop, Rainbow was eager for an embrace with her close friend. "Oh my gosh, where were you?" Applejack smiled, eager to answer. "Well, Macintosh was goin' off to the AGT Army, so we went to go drop 'im off. We come back, an' all hell as broken loose." She almost let go a tear as she continued. "They took Apple Bloom an' Granny Smith... Beat 'em to death right in front o' me..." Rainbow Dash, shaking her head, hugged her friend tight. "I'm so sorry, AJ.." "Don't be. I killed the sons o' bitches. Now it's just me an' Sweetie Belle. They got Rares too, and Pinkie Pie an' her boyfriend done run off with the Cakes. You already know about Twi, and Fluttershy, well..." She looked down. "She's one of them... I couldn't bring myself to put her down, I just ran." Rainbow shook her head. "AJ, it's okay. Just be glad we still have each other. We can do this." She looked at her friend with promise shining in her magenta eyes. "You, me, and Sweetie against the world." Author's Note And enter Applejack and Sweetie.
Day 1: ExposureDate: May 17, 2004 Time: 0800 hours Location: Ponyville Equine Research Facility Day One: Exposure A lone scientist covered in a bloody and sweat-stained lab coat stood in the middle of his laboratory. He stood alone amongst his work, mixing samples of blood and the nerve-calming agent his former colleague had been so desperate to help him create and deploy. "Bollocks, it was." he muttered to himself. He sighed at seeing that the particular strain of a deadly virus still had the same effects on the agent. It didn't matter how many times he tried altering it and the virus, Ebola. His test subjects were young foster foals who volunteered for his testing. They adored him for his kindness, generous application of anesthesia, and his father-like nature. Sadly, they were now driven to the point of madness by this despised disease. Their eyes were a striking pitchfork red. This was accompanied by blood oozing from their lips, their eyes, the nostrils, staining their already matted fur. Every attempt the messenger of knowledge made to inject them with something new, they lashed out, tried to bite him, to kill him. To... infect him. It bewildered him when he tried to decipher how this virus even worked. The unicorn was heart-broken. Everyday that a test subject was no longer able to be successfully restrained, he was forced by the government to put them down. Euthanasia usually couldn't be administered due to the thrashing of the test subjects. So, he would often be forced to either snap their neck with his magic (which he found a disgrace to himself, unicorns, and the test subjects alike), or to shoot them; firing a small projectile from a hoof-held firearm. It pained him every time, and some days he wished his partner hadn't left out of disgust at what the two had created. The scientist also knew that if this virus ever broke out of the perimeters of this lab, he would become responsible for the destruction of his nation. The scientist examined the small television that portrayed what the cameras viewed. No... something was wrong. Four screens were filled with nothing but static. Those four screens, which originally depicted the hallways leading to the lab entrance, were all but empty. He stole a final glance at the last camera shot. A group of ponies were congregated around one another. All three of them were pegasi, dressed head to hoof in black clothing. There were two stallions carrying crow bars followed by a mare with a camera. Oh, no. he thought, for he knew now he and his test subjects were doomed. No, not the test subjects. The Infected. he knew in an instant that these were Children's Rights radicals, who despised the use of foals as the bases of experiments. As the last screen went gray with static, he heard a loud banging at the door. He opened it gingerly, and suddenly found himself face down on the floor. "On yer hooves, ya runt!" The accent was very cockney, as if from the downtown regions of Buckingham. "Davenport, open de cages. Get these poor things outta here." The stallion, presumably the group's leader, delivered a sharp kick with his forehoof to the underbelly of the scientist. He then drew a hoof-gun, a Colt 1911, and put it to the head of the scientist. "I should kill you were ya lay, you monster." "No," the crippled stallion cried out. "You can't! You can't open the cages! They're infected!" Another kick came, along with an order to shut his mouth. "The children are infected?!" "Infected with what?" The leader said. The photographer took a few pictures of the conditions in the lab. To her dismay, it was quite clean and comfortable, which wouldn't help their case. The scientist ignored the leader and kept rambling. "I said, infected with what?!" The frightened stallion looked him in the eye at the same time the second male radical had opened a cage. "Rage." A loud, agonizing scream erupted from the radical as a beady-eyed foal jumped onto him and took a chunk out of his wing. "Get this fucker off me! Get 'im off!! Help!" he shrieked. The last word was followed by another bite, this time to the shoulder. The radical threw the child off of him and began to spasm violently. He turned over and vomited blood and stood, his eyes bloodshot and angry. A loud gunshot erupted from the leader's Colt, striking the child in the throat. However, the stallion did not realize that the shot should have been reserved for either the now infected stallion, or himself. The scientist kept screaming, "Just one drop! Just one drop is all it takes!! You've doomed us all, you stupid fool!!" Then, the now turned radical turned on the shouting scientist, chasing him across the lab. He flung himself onto the scientist, bringing him down, beating him senseless, and then taking a bite out of his shoulder. The scientist kicked the infected off and began coughing crimson blood. "Oh, shit! Get out! Get! Out!" Almost instantly, he turned on his hooves and flew for the door. He shot the glass and flew through it. However, he didn't see his infected partner when she leaped from behind him. She latched her teeth into his ankle, sinking them in without a moment's hesitation. "OH FUCK!!!" The children, along with the two radicals and the now infected scientist, drew the leader down out of the window and began beating him senseless as his transformation began. Before he could fully turn, the photographer tore out his throat and spit it onto the ground. A torrent of blood poured from his neck and onto the floor. Satisfied with their work, the group of about fifteen infected children and adults alike got up and began scanning the halls for an escape. They slammed doors and pounded on the windows until one finally broke. At long last, the new world was theirs to destroy.
Day 3: InfectionDay 3: Infection Soarin calmly strolled down the road, avoiding oncoming traffic by flying over the cars and onto the other curb. He bumped into another pony and was suddenly swarmed with questions. "OhmygoshareyouSoarin?Canishakeyourhoofandgetyourautograph?Ihaveapictureofyouandapenandohmygosh! You are hot!" Looking down on the shorter mare, he saw a face he recognized. Her rainbow mane and tail were difficult to forget, much less those dazzling magenta eyes. He couldn't quite remember her name. It was on the tip of his tongue. All he could remember was... "Rainbow?" This elicited a gasp from the youth. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" She paused to breathe. "You remembered my name!" Soarin found this mildly offensive. It seemed that most ponies thought that celebrities would forget them after the meet their fans. "Yes," he nearly hissed through his teeth. "I remember you quite well." He smiled brightly as he recalled other memories regarding the rambunctious mare. "You won that junior flying competition! That was amazing!" Rainbow Dash beamed proudly. "Yeah, it was pretty awesome." She gave a cheeky smile. "But I could've done way better." "Oh could you?" Soarin cocked an eyebrow, as if doubting Rainbow's capabilities. However, he decided for a subject change. "Hey, wanna maybe to out for dinner sometime tonight?" Inside, Rainbow nearly exploded. On the outside, she tried to be as collected as possible. Even if it wasn't very much. "Yeah! Sure!" is what she would've said. Rather, her jaw dropped and she slowly nodded. Soarin couldn't help but chuckle at her awe. "Heh, okay then, cutie, see ya then!" He turned around and started trotting. Rainbow was simply dumbstruck by this stallion. "I don't believe it... He asked me out..." Her eyes began to widen as large as dinner plates. "And he called me 'cutie'?" She turned around on the sidewalk and began walking in the opposite direction as Soarin. While she was trotting along, she could hear the news channel opening ahead of her. She trotted up a few feet and saw several black tv's propped up by the television store's front window. They all had the daily news on. She decided that she would wait a moment to see what the newscaster had to say. "Two days ago, the Ponyville Equine Research Centre was broken into by three child's rights activists against the use of foals for equine experimentation. It is reported that the laboratory has become the sight of a bloody mess, as one foal has been found dead, and the other nine test subjects who had survived have all gone missing, along with Dr. Vid Mudrost, a Northern-Gryphon-born specialist who earned his degree in Buckingham. Here, we have a photograph." The screen flashed with a picture of a beige unicorn with glossy, black glasses. If one examined it, they would see a distinct scar in the left side if his chin. "Mudrost, who had apparently grown very attached to his test subjects, was reported missing by his wife when he didn't come home yesterday evening." The anchor pony cleared his throat. "It is unsure whether or not any harmful diseases were released into the environment, and the whereabouts of the activists is unknown. I'm Mic the Microphone here with ya on Channel Four News!" The channel cut out into commercial breaks, and Rainbow turned to her left and continued trotting. Meanwhile, with Soarin, as he crossed another street, a reckless driver swerved on the street. A driver that Soarin did not notice in time. He glanced in the car's direction a second before it plowed into him. His body twisted over the top of the vehicle and struck the ground on the other side. He lied on his back, allowing the various ponies to see the few cuts along his torso. Several ponies gathered around him, all bearing looks of concern. His eyelids drifted downwards as more ponies enclosed themselves around him. Before they shut completely, he heard a call from the other side of the crowd, saying they they were a doctor. Voices eventually became dragged out, shapes becoming distorted. Everything went black. Rainbow arrived at her cloud house. She set her keys on the counter and plopped down onto her plush sofa. She let out a relived sigh as she reached for the Tv remote. She flipped on the power, and the TV flashed to life. "This just in, famous Wonderbolt member, Soarin, has just been the victim of a hit-and-run car crash! It is uncertain whether or not the hit was intentional. Doctors say he is in stable condition and has suffered only a mild concussion, but his family urges fans to stay away. Spitfire herself will speak on the matter. Coming up next on Channel Four." Rainbow sat wide-eyed in disbelief, slowly shaking her head at the anchor's words. She sprang from her position on the couch and speed out the door. Thankfully, since Ponyville was such a small town, there was only one hospital. Its location was stashed in Dash's memory since the first time she was sent there with a broken wing. On the way, she muttered to herself, "The hell is going on in this town?" After a minute or two of flying, she arrived at the hospital. Her hooves cracked against the pavement as she approached the large double doors. With a small shove, they gave way and allowed her inside the building. Dash glanced to the right and trotted up to the reception desk. "Hi, I'm here to see Soarin." The mare at the desk looked up sullen expression. "Soarin will not be having any other visitors other than family and friends." Rainbow felt something spark angrily inside her. "Yeah, well, I am his friend. He and I were supposed to go out for dinner until some jackass hit him with a car." "I'm sorry, ma'am, but unless someone can verify you and Soarin are friends, I cannot allow--" "Hey, Dash!" Both looked up as a familiar fiery mare walking over to the desk. "I take it you're here to see Soar, eh?" Rainbow looked up at her commanding officer from the Academy, Captain Spitfire, almost wanting to snap a salute. "Yes, ma'am..." She glared at the receptionist, then looked sweetly back at Spitfire. "I am." Spitfire laughed. "Great, come on. He's doing pretty well, but they had to put him under." Rainbow followed after Spitfire to the gray elevator. "So did you hear about that lab break-in?" "Yeah! I thought it was insane!" Rainbow looked up with a cocked eyebrow. "What if we actually do get a disease going around? It would be those activist's fault." Spitfire nodded in approval while the elevator climbed to the chosen floor. "Precisely. I'm surprised that we haven't already got something going. I just hope those test subjects didn't have anything contagious." The elevator doors opened and the two walked out into the waiting room. They approached a doctor, who blocked them from Soarin's room. "I'm sorry, ladies, Soarin is about to undergo some surgery. It appears his condition is worse than we thought. If you could wait here, we'd appreciate that." The two mares half-heartedly nodded and went to sit in front of a TV. Spitfire grabbed the remote and began flipping channels. "Let's see what the gossip is today," she mumbled. "--rioting in the streets of Hooves-town as ponies are breaking into homes, attacking other ponies, have over-turned a bus, and have killed already two civilians. Police forces and the SWAT team are having extreme difficulty controlling this outbreak of violence--" Spitfire changed the channel again. "--As if they're angry but for no apparent reason! Two civilians have been recorded dead already--" "--Riots in Hooves-town--" "Jeez, is there nothing on today?!" Spitfire growled. Rainbow sighed and out her hoof on Spitfire's. "Hey, calm down! It's just TV, it's not like it matters." Spitfire scoffed. "They could at least put on some cartoons..." Rainbow Dash laughed at her captain's childishness. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at Spitfire before speaking again. "Right, because you need mindless cartoons to entertain you..." "Everyone needs cartoons," Spitfire replied. "You're just too boring to see that." Rainbow punched her arm playfully, and got a harder punch back. "Ow... You're so mean," she said, curling her lip. Spitfire laughed and nodded. Rainbow stood from her less-than-comfortable chair. "Oh well, look at the time. It's late... I was going to go out with Soarin, but I guess not. See ya, Spits." Spitfire nodded and waved her hoof, "Uh huh! See ya!" Dash turned out the room and exited through the lift. That same, sickening, elevator feeling came over her, making her head spin. When the lift came to a stop, she trotted out, still a bit dizzy, and left through the sliding double doors, a sigh leaving her lips. Rainbow turned up the street and took off in a saddened flight to her home. Author's Note The infection has started, the world not entirely sure that this is indeed a viral outbreak from the Research Centre. Add this to your watch list and find out what happens!
Day 15: EvacuationDay 15: Evacuation Two firm stallions stormed before her majesties, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight. The older and more senior of the two spoke first. "Your majesties," he took a bow and stood again. "We have news from Ponyville... The city has fallen to the infection. Police forces, even the military, couldn't stop it. It's too fast." He took another cautious step forward, his accomplice following suit. "Your highnesses, we sincerely believe that we must transport you to a different country, perhaps a colony of the Empire." There was a momentary pause. "For the time being, of course," finished the other. Lifting his helm from his head, he wiped back his sweaty mane and donned it again. Princess Celestia, the oldest and wisest of the three, nodded in agreement. "Yes," she said. "I completely agree. Let's take the chopper over the chariot this time 'round." She stood on her hooves, her fellow princesses doing the same. "I take it we're in agreement?" Both Luna and Twilight nodded, Luna speaking first. "Yes, sister. Though I would hate to leave our people in this time of need... Three cities have fallen victim to this virus. It is not a matter of 'if' it reaches Canterlot." She glanced grimly at the four before her. "It's a matter of 'when.' It is already certain the virus will strike. After all... It only takes one drop." She gulped softly and slightly moved her head about. "We don't know for certain that any of us are immune." "I understand completely what she means," Twilight said. "We could stay, fight, and be overrun, or we could flee and fight a different battle for these people. It seems cruel, yes, that we have to abandon them, but mark my words, sisters," she moved her eyes carefully back and forth. "We will ensure their survival." She cleared her throat and stood proudly. "I suggest we declare a national emergency, and a nation-wide evacuation, before this spreads any further. By my calculations, this plague will have ravaged the country in a month." Celestia nodded. "Yes, an evacuation is in order. Martial law shall be declared, ensuring that as many that can be evacuated will be, and that cities where the disease is rampant shall be placed under curfews with no light, so that the military can fight the infected at that time, and during the day. However," she coughed slightly, "daylight will be chance for survivors to either escape, or to scavenge and build their defenses. The military will be in control for the most part, but we will ensure some liberty. I know this is a risk," she said, "but it's necessary." All three agreed, and instantly the three made a national address. All citizens were to remain in their home at night, the power to be cut during those dark hours, and no sound to be made, no movement. Anyone not in a home already would be shot on sight. This would not include those breaking into homes. Military, of course, were an exception, unless they were infected. Celestia had also installed a "Code Red." Military leaders in the affected cities would go along stages of control. Stage one was moderate control, only infected to be shot. Stage two was moderate loss of control. All living things other than military were to be shot on sight. Stage three was complete loss of control-- military forces were to pull out, and F-16s were to fly over the city and drop napalm in the streets and to destroy the city completely. Anyone trapped in the city was, unfortunately, doomed. It was a grim broadcast indeed. But Celestia was hopeful that it would come to help. After a conference with her best military leaders, she took a moment to retreat to her quarters. She gently lay on her bed, the sheets and mattress sinking under her weight. A knock, a rap-rap-rapping came at the door. "Come in," she sighed. It was Twilight who entered. "Dear Twilight, what is it?" Twilight gulped softly and spoke rather nervously. "My friends, Celestia... I haven't spoken to them in a week. I'm afraid they may be in grave danger." "Relax," Celestia gently replied. She sat up on her bed, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder to comfort her. "I'm sure your friends will be fine. They have each other, and I have seen them fight. They will know to evacuate, and it's certain that we should see them at least in one of the refugee camps." Twilight shook her head adamantly. "But what if they don't make it? What if we lose one, or two, or all? Then what? There will be no elements of harmony! The country will be forever defenseless, and we may never--" "Twilight, relax!" Celestia pleaded. "You're doing your thing!" "My thing?" Twilight tilted her head in curiosity. "Yes, the thing! Where you start getting paranoid and everything only gets worse! I'm certain that everything will be fine." Celestia cleared her throat and spoke firmly. "Even if we do lose an element, there's something you should know: the elements will find a new pony, one just as compatible or more compatible with the said element." She thought for a moment, before listing and example. "for instance, if we lost, say, Rainbow Dash, there is easily another Pegasus that I know of who could take her place." "Who, Princess?" "Her brother, Storm." "Captain Dash! Captain Dash!" A brown-coated soldier in a digital-camouflage uniform burst into an officer's tent, nearly out of breath, a pair of weathered glasses barely being held on his face. "What is it, sergeant?" Another similarly uniformed stallion, who's coat was a greyish-blue, eyes of deep sapphire, and a mane colored like a storm cloud, tipped with rainbow locks, looked up from his portable desk, parts to a Five seveN being littered about it as he cleansed the weapon. He rubbed at his shoulder to get out a knot in his muscle, his hoof gliding over his two proudly displayed "Ranger" and "Alpha Force" patches. The officer, holding a lit cigar in between his teeth, glared slightly and cocked his eyebrow at the aforementioned sergeant. "We have a special guest who wants to see you." The captain chuckled. "And who might that be?" "Princess Luna, sir." Captain Rainbow Storm Dash immediately stood up at the mention of the princess he cared and adore so much, the cigar nearly falling from his mouth. "Take me right to her," he said. The sergeant trotted out, Dash following suit. "Storm!" A feminine cry of relief and joy came from Dash's front and center. He looked up and beamed. "Oh my gosh, Luna!" He quickly embraced the slightly taller alicorn, smiling warmly. "I thought I'd never see you again..." "Things are different now, my old friend." She stepped back from the embrace, her smile still holding. "Yeah, I know, I'm old... Not as old as you, but hey! I turned another thirty years last we met!" Luna, shaking her head and chuckling almost in disbelief, said, "Have the years truly gone by so fast, friend?" "Indeed they have. Say, how's my little sister doing? I haven't seen her since I got stuck in the thirteenth century, don't know if her birthdate is still the same." He looked her in the eye curiously, to which he saw her expression turn grim. "Storm, no one has seen your sister for a week. She was one of the many in Ponyville when it fell. Whether or not she is still alive is not yet determined. But we have other matters to discuss, regarding Equestria." She turned on her hooves and began trotting away from Storm's tent. "About what?" Storm questioned. Luna pointed to a medium-sized military-style helicopter. "Come with me. I will explain it on the chopper. We will return to your camp later." Storm sighed and followed his friend onto the helicopter, seating himself next to her as the rotors turned and the engine grew louder. "Where we going?" He asked. "You will see." "You know," Storm said, his voice growing louder of the engine as he and Luna donned their headsets. "I was technically two years old when we first met! Those times starting from exactly 1400 to 1981, I was in negative years! Imagine being negative 600 years old!" "I don't believe I can fathom it, as all I've known is my true age. I've never travelled back in time similar to geniuses like you, but I know I living forever all too well." Her voice as well grew, something she was accustomed to. "Well, at least you can die if someone shoots you. I'm stuck forever 27." He sighed and shook his head. "Hah! At least you're still in your twenties, a decent age if I say so! Very lively age, much less feeling toward responsibility! I know many ponies in their mid-twenties who 'get around easily,' so the saying goes." Storm chuckled at Luna's quote. "Yeah," he said, "that's me! Getting around, being damn reckless! Those were the days, Luna... "Those were the days." The chopper drowned out the rest of their sounds as it carried them over a small canyon, complete with glacier lines and a river at the bottom. Storm noted to visit this place sometime. It may prove adventurous. Author's Note My suggestion for when Storm appears: Start listening to Fortunate Son by Creedance Clearwater Revival. Good song, perfect moment.
Day 8: Epidemic"Officials have reported that what had originally been thought of as an outbreak of riots and violence, is in-fact an outbreak of a virus that had been dubbed by Dr. Vid Mudrost as 'rage'! The Center For Disease Control has issued notices that the infected are easily recognisable by their telltale blood-shot eyes, red irises, and blood dripping from every facial orifice. CDC officials have issued that under no circumstances are civilians to come in contact with the infected. You have been warned to avoid them at all costs, and if need be, to defend yourself from the infected with deadly force, by the order of Princess Celestia." Day 8: Epidemic Rainbow has been barricaded away in Twilight's library for two days, ever since the Apple Family had gone missing and her house had been attacked by other pegasi looking for shelter. Twilight was in Canterlot with Spike on a conference with Princess Celestia; the purple alicorn was royalty after all. After a few moments of silence, she heard banging against the door. It was irregular. It wasn't knocking, but it sound as if somepony was slamming their body against the door. After a few shrieks and angry shouts, she took out a Glock 17 from its case. She hoped that she wouldn't have to use it, but it seemed that she had no other choice. It was either stay alive, or go wherever one goes when they get beaten to a pulp. Her hooves shook as she loaded the clip. She kept the firearm ready in her hooves. It lightly rattled as her forelegs shook. For a few seconds, all was well. However, that was short lived when a crack sped across a living room window. The first level was no longer safe. Rainbow Dash scuttled up to the observatory. With a swift flick of her hoof, the door was locked. She ran across the room and huddled in a dark, dusty corner between a desk and the wall. Perking her ears, she heard the telltale sound of glass shattering. An in-equine yowl filled the air just below her. Her frantic breathing felt hot against her cyan coat, her eyes where limericks in size. The scream sent a chilling torrent down her spine. Just as she thought it couldn't get any worse, she heard more screams. This time, there were more than one. At least three of the infected were standing below her To her terror, there was banging a giant the door of the observatory. It rang through her ears, the pounding was loud, hard. The rapping against the door grew stronger. She hoped, pleaded that it would go away. Rainbow sighed in relief when it did. She knew that it would eventually think that there wasn't anything in the room. She began to push herself off the dusty floor. Just as she reached her full height, a loud slam emanated from the weakened door. The infected had tried to desperately open the door by using its full force. She plopped her rear back down on the floor, barely withholding a sneeze. When a minute of silence passed, Dash realized that the infected must have been drawn away by the shots of gunfire and the few screeches that remained. She dared open the trap door, peering down into the second floor level. Her hooves gently guided her down the stairs, one step at a time. When she finally made it back down to the first floor, she grabbed the ammo she left behind and tossed them into her saddlebags that were resting against a stack of toppled books. After she buckled the bags, she slung them onto her back and galloped out the back door. As she distanced herself away from the house, she bolted into the sky. She climbed up, enjoying her newfound freedom. CRACK!! A crisp, sharp shot echoed through the streets. Rainbow Dash felt a bullet pierce her left wing. She went down, a twenty foot drop, landing on her side. She felt at least two ribs crack, and gave a scream of pain. "Gah! Shit!!" She struggled to hold herself up as the crimson life line of her body dripped from her wound. The bullet had torn through her wing, that was obvious. She slowly pivoted around till she could reach her saddlebags. When she did, she opened it and stuck her head inside. Rainbow's head retreated from it with a bag of peroxide salts clenched between her teeth. She spit the bag out onto her hoof carefully after she ripped the top off. She scanned the area around her body. With a seconds search, she found a newly broken stick. Taking it carefully in her mouth, she looked back to the bag resting on her hoof. Realizing that she couldn't pour it with a stick in her mouth, she spat it out and grasped the bag. Figuring that it would be better to get it all done at once, she dumped all of it on the gaping hole in her shoulder. To be blunt, it burned. She felt like Celestia condensed the sun into a small ball and played pingpong with her shoulder, the sun being the being the little plastic ball. Rainbow gritted her teeth against the pain, holding out screams of her own. As the agonizing pain continued, she managed to sift around in her saddlebags and fished out a ACE bandage and some gauze. She placed sterile, snow white gauze over both sides of the wound, wrapped the bandage twice around her wing, and made her best attempts to wind its beige length around her torso to hold her wings to her body. She knew this wound would greatly hinder her ability to travel, but she assured herself that at this point, survival was the main goal. She bent down to pick up the machete she had packed, seeing that it was now a friend. She glanced left, right, behind her, before turning to a backroad behind Twilight's library. The dirt road eventually lead her to a pharmacy, a place that she need to enter. Using her common sense, she knew that her little wrap up wasn't going to be good enough. She would definitely need a better kind of painkillers as well. Hopefully, the pharmacy still had some stock left. Rainbow heard screams and deathly shouts to her right, coming from the streets. She ignored it, focusing on her own safety. She looked over to the back entrance of the pharmacy, running towards it. She drew her Glock and tried the handle; surprisingly open. She holstered the firearm and trotted in carefully, her machete still out and primed. She gently closed the door behind her, locking it. Dash reached for a light switch, and instantly wished she hadn't-- something in the room, behind the counter, growled fiercely. It jumped at over the counter and sprang at her, beady eyed and bloodthirsty. It jumped at her from over the counter, and she slashed at it with her blade, catching it across the chest. It suffered a rather serious wound, but rather than bother with self-preservation, it leaped up again and charged. She then brought the machete down to bear on its skull, a sickening crunch and a splatter echoing through the shop. It sank down, and she used her hoof to draw the blade from the head. She wiped it on the body and slid it into its sheath by her hip. She shuddered as she realized what she had done. Ignoring that thought for now, her eyes looked over the counter. Rainbow was overjoyed. There stood a shelf devoted to pain medication. Normally, she'd expect the place to be alphabetically organised, but this was not the case. It was organised by genre, thank goodness for that. She hopped he counter and instantly made a grab for the bottle labeled "Codeine." She instantly knew how well this worked, so she grabbed a styrofoam cup of water from the nearby spigot, emptied a single pill into her hoof, and swallowed the two together. Capping the bottle and tossing it in her bags, she snatched up another bottle as well, and also noticed something that amused her in the non-prescription section of the store: a box of fifteen condoms. She chuckled at the thought and tossed the small box in her bag anyways, just to spur the moment. Rainbow turned around and left out the back door, closing it gently. Trotting down the road, she had one more place to stop: the gun store. She knew that this store would either be devoid, or stocked full with an unfriendly guard at the entrance. It wasn't guns she wanted so much as ammunition and a flash/sound suppressor. By the time she arrived at the back entrance to the store, she was indeed shocked again; somepony left the back door open. She gently paced in, this time with her Glock drawn. She peered around one corner, then the next, before approaching the main section of the store. Her first prediction was more accurate then the second. Somepony took several guns, a few boxes of ammo, shot the front desk clerk, and ran. She covered her snout with a hoof at the stench, then overcame it as her eyes met the accessories table. She grabbed a suppressor and searched for any clips of ammo. After she found several boxes of the precise kind, she took two. She then picked up the Glock clips. She saw the store had been barred on the windows and doors; only natural, who wouldn't come in search for weapons? Upon finishing loading her last 17-round clip, she stuffed two more boxes of rounds and the seven spare clips into her bags. She decided to take the risk and darted out into the streets. Nearly immediately, she wished she hadn't. Two infected, clearly ticked and aggravated, paused for a moment, stared at her, and then made a mad dash for her. She turned on her hooves and began galloping hard. They were on her tail, drawing in quickly. Her breathing was hard, but she managed to stay ahead of them. One advance quickly, effectively taking her by surprise. In that moment, when it nearly caught her, someone shot it. She stopped, another round flying past her and striking the other. Looking around, she saw nopony. After a few more seconds of searching, she saw Applejack and her little sister's friend, Sweetie Belle. Dash grinned happily, showing her pearly whites. "Howdy there, sugar-cube." Running into the building she was stationed on top of and climbing out onto the rooftop, Rainbow was eager for an embrace with her close friend. "Oh my gosh, where were you?" Applejack smiled, eager to answer. "Well, Macintosh was goin' off to the AGT Army, so we went to go drop 'im off. We come back, an' all hell as broken loose." She almost let go a tear as she continued. "They took Apple Bloom an' Granny Smith... Beat 'em to death right in front o' me..." Rainbow Dash, shaking her head, hugged her friend tight. "I'm so sorry, AJ.." "Don't be. I killed the sons o' bitches. Now it's just me an' Sweetie Belle. They got Rares too, and Pinkie Pie an' her boyfriend done run off with the Cakes. You already know about Twi, and Fluttershy, well..." She looked down. "She's one of them... I couldn't bring myself to put her down, I just ran." Rainbow shook her head. "AJ, it's okay. Just be glad we still have each other. We can do this." She looked at her friend with promise shining in her magenta eyes. "You, me, and Sweetie against the world." Author's Note And enter Applejack and Sweetie.
