Beating an Undead Pony

“This is a waste of time.” Though she wasn’t hit again, Gilda was expecting it. Rather the ponies and the young dragon just ignored her as they loaded Pinkie into a pegasus chariot.

“No its not. Zecora has remidies that should be able to save Pinkie’s life.” Twilight replied. She turned her attention to Spike. “Good job finding this chariot garage, Spike.”

Spike looked aroud the mostly empty garage. "Yeah, be glad I found one that had a chariot left."

“Pinkie…”

“Pie….”

Rarity picked up the Cake Twins in her forehooves. Before the foals could start crying again, she gently rocked the twins back and forth. “Shhh. It’s ok dearies. Pinkie Pie will be getting help soon.”

Rainbow Dash was helping Twilight put one of the harnesses for the chariot on her back, having already strapped herself into the other. “Since when were you good with kids, Rarity?” She asked.

Rarity looked back up, still rubbing Pound’s forehead. “You could say I have had practice. With Sweetie Belle. Mother and Father believed I owed them for all the trouble I gave them as a filly, so I raised her as much as them.”

Fluttershy noticed Pinkie trying to move around in the chariot. “Pinkie, try not to move. Your stitches might come loose….”

“I want…. to…. see…. My kids….”

“Somehow I doubt you will again.” Gilda stated. She looked over at Rainbow Dash. Somehow she knew exactly what her former friend was going to say but decided to just let her say it.

“Gilda just shut up. You’ll regret it.”

Gilda scoffed. She wasn’t afraid of a pony, any pony, much less one that, as far as she was concerned, was going to only last a little while longer. “Why? I’m telling you what you should already know. She’s gonna die.”

The Cake Twins let out dual cries. This time the wailing was louder than before. Loud enough for Applejack, who was standing guard outside, to hear. “Will ya’ll quiet those foals down! Can’t have those varmits findin’ us!”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash pulled the chariot out of the garage. “Get in.” Rainbow Dash ordered. As the rest of the ponies and Spike piled into the chariot with Pinkie, Rainbow Dash found herself hesitating.

“Rainbow?” Twilight gulped. The look on her friend’s face was one Rainbow Dash didn’t show very often. The word “heartbroken” was written all over her. “I’m sorry. I know you grew up here. If you need anything I’m here.” She promised.

“Hey Dash!”

Rainbow Dash looked at Gilda, who gave her wings a flap. “What she said.”

Rainbow Dash was stunned. After what happened when Gilda visited Ponyville she hadn’t expected Gilda to say anything particularly pleasant again. “I-I-I, thanks. Gilda.” She stuttered in surprise.

Gilda shrugged. “Don’t go soft on me now. You’ve spent enough time among dweebs as is.”

Some never change. “Alright. I’m ready. Twilight, we’ll have to take off at a running start.” Twilight nodded back. She and Rainbow Dash darted towards the cloudy streets, Rainbow Dash directing the chariot towards the edge of Cloudsdale. Gilda flew overhead, motioning over to Rainbow Dash.

“What are you doing wasting your time down there!” She exclaimed. Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, trying to keep up the pace.

“Just trust me, Twilight. We aren’t exactly flying down.” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. Without a chance to respond, Twilight was pushed into the chariot as it reached the edge of the clouds. “We’re taking the fast way!”

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

The screams of everypony inside the chariot rang out as it toppled down to the surface faster and faster. “Dash you idiot.” Gilda muttered to herself.

The force of the chariot falling was forcing Rainbow Dash against the front of it.

“This was a terrible idea!” Spike exclaimed.

Rarity was holding onto the Cake Twins as tightly as she could, while Fluttershy was clinging onto her seat for dear life. “Rainbow! What were you thinking!”

“Just trust me! I’m not gonna let you fall!”

Pinkie struggled to open her eyes. Her mouth was open but Applejack couldn’t hear what she was trying to say. “What? What is it?”

“Help Gummy….”

“What?” Applejack was quickly answered, as the small alligator was flung out of Pinkie’s mane, the speed of the chariot falling being much faster than Gummy’s speed. “Get that alligator!”

Twilight and Fluttershy reached out to grab Gummy, though Fluttershy had to stop, lest she loose her grip on the chariot’s railing. Twilight managed to ensnare Gummy with her magic, but because of how fast the chariot was falling, she ultimately lost the range of her spell.

“Gummy….”

Fluttershy slammed her watery eyes shut. I’m sorry, Pinkie.

Rainbow Dash struggled to turn her neck against the chariot, though she couldn’t get a good view of the others. “Twilight! Get ready!”

“To do what!”

“Just fly up!”

Twilight had a feeling as to what Rainbow Dash was planning, and she didn’t like it. “Rainbow if you’re thinking what I think you are…”

“Oh yes! Get ready!” Rainbow Dash called back. She looked down. The surface was only a few thousand feet down. At the angle the group was falling, Rainbow Dash figured they would land in one of the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. “On three! One!” Rainbow Dash shifted her body upward. “Two!” She looked up and started flapping her wings against the side of the chariot. “Three!”

Right of the back, Rainbow Dash knew her plan wasn’t perfect. In hindsight she probably wouldn’t have done it, but there was nothing she could do about it now. As she and Twilight flew upward, the whiplash snapped the chariot in two. Applejack, Rarity, and Spike were able to hold on, but Fluttershy and Pinkie continued falling with the lower half of the chariot.

“Pinkie!” Twilight screamed.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash called out. “Fly!”

Fluttershy flapped her wings as fast as she could, allowing her to stay in the air. But Pinkie kept falling, hitting her back against the roof of Applejack’s house, and sliding ten feet down to the ground, missing a wagon of hay, instead hitting her head on a stone. “PINKIE!”

The remaining half of the chariot landed on the ground with a thud, the others lepping out to Pinkie’s side before they could catch their bearings. Rarity held a hoof to Pinkie’s neck. “S-she’s not breathing.”

“SHUT UP! YES SHE IS!” Rainbow Dash roared, holding Pinkie over her shoulder. “Zecora can do something.”

“That looked like it hurt….” Fluttershy began to mutter, but Rainbow Dash reached her neck over to Fluttershy, mere inches from her face.

“She’s gonna be fine! Besides it’s Pinkie we’re talking about here. She’s tough. Pies are tougher than rocks.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings. A zombie pony had noticed the group, and was slowly trotting towards them.

Twilight closed her eyes. She wasn’t a medical expert, but the amount of trauma Pinkie endured had to be life threatening. “Lets just get her back to town.”

Zecora was meditating. She had brought most of her herbs, potions and trinkets from her home in the Everfree to her quarters in the castle. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t quite the same, it wasn’t the first time she had to pack up everything and leave.

“It would seem that something is very wrong.” She took a breath, feeling the bad vibes of most of the survivors in Ponyville. “Something has happened that does not belong.”

“Zecora!”

Zecora turned her head to the door. Rainbow Dash smashed the door to pieces as she flew in. “Zecora! Pinkie’s hurt! Do something!”

Zecora got out of the way as Rainbow Dash set Pinkie on Zecora’s bed. Zecora examined Pinkie’s neck wound. The crude stitches were already starting to fall out. She touched Pinkie’s neck, feeling broken bones.

“Zecora!” Rainbow Dash stomped her hooves against the ground. Zecora glared back.

“Quite severe indeed, I will see what I can do for your friend. I suggest you stay back, lest my attempts to heal her come a premature end.” Zecora reassured. She gently pushed her hooves against Rainbow Dash, pushing her into the corridor outside.

“Oh no you don’t! I am not leaving a friend’s side again!” Rainbow Dash argued, but Zecora jabbed Rainbow Dash in the ribs, flooring her.

“Please leave me to my work, there is much to do. If there are any changes, I will send Applebloom to summon you.” Zecora trotted back into her quarters. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, looking at Pinkie’s unmoving form.

This isn’t my fault! It’s not my fault! I didn’t do this to Pinkie! Rainbow Dash kept repeating to herself, stomping down the hallway. She punched a suit of armor, knocking it to pieces in rage. “Gilda. Why didn’t you look where you were pointing those freaking talons of yours!”

“Did I hear that right?” A familiar voice said. Rainbow Dash turned around to see her father approaching. “Gilda’s here? Seems like only yesterday the two of you were playing together in my back yard….”

“Shut up Dad! I’m not in the mood!” Rainbow Dash didn’t care that she had just snapped at her father, something she normally would never do. She continued to angrily walk down the corridor with Rainbow Dad following.

“What happened, Dashie? Maybe I can help?” Rainbow Dad asked. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. She could hear the sounds of hooves against the crystal floors. As she expected, Twilight and the others were running up the nearby stair well.

“Rainbow, what happened?” Fluttershy asked, gasping for breath.

“You flew so fast we couldn’t keep up.” Twilight noted. “Is Pinkie….”

Rainbow Dash stopped Twilight by shoving her hoof in Twilight’s mouth. “Zecora’s got her. Now would you please get my dad off my back?”

“Dashie, what happened out there? I heard about your falling out with Gilda but…” Rainbow Dad started to say, but his daughter was quick to respond.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight. “Please distract him or something. Get another pony ride from him or something I don’t care.” Rainbow Dash pushed past Spike and Rarity, slamming her hooves on the stairs with each step.

“Goodness heavens. Rainbow has never been this angry before.” Rarity pointed out.

“Well…she did take it pretty hard when she was kicked out of Flight School.” Rainbow Dad noted. “She wouldn’t come out of her room for days.”

“That’s not anger, that’s grief.” Rarity corrected. This was a topic that she was quite familiar with, Rarity having come to terms with the fact she was quite the drama queen herself. “There’s quite a difference. Staying in one’s room for extended periods of time is not rage, it’s wallowing in self-pity. Now rage would detail….”

“We’ll talk later squirt.”

Rarity stopped. Everypony and Spike turned around to hear Rainbow Dash further down the stair well. Scootaloo’s voice emerged from the stair well next.

“But Rainbow Dash we need you!”

“Get one of the others. I have to kick a certain griffon’s butt.”

“But Rainbow Dash!”

“We’ll talk later squirt! Good bye!”

The group exchanged uneasy glances. Rainbow Dash had always given Scootaloo the time of day, so to hear her just dismiss the young filly was unnerving.

“Way to make chills run up mah back.” Applejack said to nopony in particular.

Scootaloo ran up the stairs. She rubbed her eyes to hide the tears from the others. “Princess Twilight! We need you!”

“What, what’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“Somepony’s killed Rumble!”

Thunderlane sat in the center of his living room, staring at the remains of his little brother smeared all over the apholstry. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were staring out the window in the hopes of avoiding eye contact.

“I told you fillies to just leave me alone.”

“We can’t do that. We knew Rumble too.” Sweetie Belle insisted. “My sister and her friends can fix this.”

“Fix this? How does somepony fix this!” Thunderlane’s tears began to mix in with Rumble’s blood. “You can’t! No pony can!”

Applebloom looked out the window again. She could see Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy approaching. “Just hang in thar. Here they come now.” She looked over at Sweetie Belle. “Don’t say anything.”

I told you Scootaloo would find somepony. Sweetie Belle thought to herself with a smirk.

The group trotted inside, though Spike took one look at Rumble’s remains, and bolted back outside to puke. Fluttershy likewise stumbled back, slamming her hooves over her eyes. Rarity put a hoof around Fluttershy to comfort her. “You don’t have to look.”

“Thank you.” Fluttershy muttered.

Applejack cocked her jaw, and took her hat off. “Ah’m sorry, Thunderlane.” Applejack was the first one to apporoach, putting a hoof on Thunderlane’s shoulder. The grieving stallion pushed Applejack away.

“Please just leave me alone.” He repeated.

Twilight turned her attention to the fillies. “Applebloom, what happened here? Did any zombies get in?” She asked. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle started talking over each other. Twilight groaned, unable to make out what either filly was saying. “One at a time. Please.”

Sweetie Belle nodded back. “Rumble said he needed to go check on something in his house. That it looked clear to move around town.”

“Which it was, Ah swear!” Applebloom added. Applejack put her hat back on.

“We believe ya, sugarcube. It just ain’t easy to look at.” The elder Apple Sister replied. “This don’t look like anythang a trotter would do.”

“Go away.” Thunderlane muttered under his breath.

“A’m just sayin’ this don’t look like they tried to eat him. Trampled more likely.” Applejack noted. Spike re-entered the living room, rubbing his chin.

“What kind of zombie doesn’t try to eat ponies?” He asked. Thunderlane stomped his hooves.

“It wasn’t one of those zombies!” He spun around, standing face to face with Twilight. “It was one of those Neighsayers YOU brought into town!” Twilight winced at the thought.

Spike pushed his way between Twilight and Thunderlane. “Oh hold up. Don’t go yelling at her for something you can’t prove.” He argued.

“Well who else could it have been?”

Fluttershy took a step forward. “Um, can I say something?” Twilight and Thunderlane glanced over at Fluttershy. “M-maybe we should bury Rumble instead of fighting.”

Thunderlane slumped back down to the ground. “You’re right. Just…. Just give me a minute.” Thunderlane collapsed in front of Rumble’s remains. “I’m sorry little bro.”

Rarity held Sweetie Belle close. “Stay with me, Sweetie.”

Rainbow Dash was getting tired from flying around at top speed for hours, but she refused to stop. “GILDA! I KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE!” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings hard, her sides feeling sour from so much of it. “GILDA!”

“Dash!”

Rainbow Dash raised her head. A familiar brown figure was flying down towards her. “You’re here. Good.” Rainbow Dash said, pounding her forehooves together. Gilda hovered overhead, a condescending look all over her face. One of her talons was clenched tight.

“You’ve been looking for me haven’t you?”

“Cut it out Gilda! We’re going to Ponyville, and you are going to make up for what you did!”

Gilda folded her talons. “Don’t look at me, I’m not the one who practically threw her off Cloudsdale.”

Rainbow Dash’s blood was boiling. Her teeth clenched so tight her gums were starting to bleed. “Gilda. Pinkie might die. How can you not care?”

“Because we are all going to die. Why should any of your friends be any different?” Gilda closed her eyes. “What’s it going to take to get you to realize that?”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t contain her rage any more, tackling Gilda, forcing her downward towards the surface. “Gilda! You maniac!”

Gilda grabbed Rainbow Dash’s face with her free talon. “You attacked me!” She squaked back. Rainbow Dash kicked Gilda in the chest as hard as she could, making the griffon fall faster, hitting the grassy plains.

YOU did that to Pinkie! Not Me! Rainbow Dash’s punches were getting weaker and she knew it. “Now get up!”

Gilda touched her now broken beak. “Glad you got that out of your system, Dash?” Gilda muttered. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “I did deserve a smack down don’t you think?”

“Y-yeah. Yeah you did.”

“You may spend more time with pony dweebs than should…” Gilda rose to her talons and paws. “But you’re still the Dash I know.”

“No.” Rainbow Dash hovered in the air over Gilda. “I’m not the same pony I was back in the Junior Speedsters. I stick by my friends, and I don’t care what other ponies or griffon’s think about it.”

Gilda smirked. “Well. If you don’t care, then you be the one who gives her this.” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes wide.

Night had fallen. The Ponyville, Applelossa, Dodge Junction survivors and Neighsayers had gathered outside Ponyville. Grave markers were dotting the landscape. Thunderlane stood before Rumble’s marker without making a sound. Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were in front of the crowd.

“We should say something.” Rarity pointed out. Applejack shook her head.

“Let him grieve.” Applejack interrupted. “We all need it.” Rarity wanted to argue, but was stopped when Flitter pushed her way past the two.

“Excuse me.” She muttered. Instead of going to Thunderlane, Flitter instead moved over to her sister’s marker. “Hey Cloudchaser. I’ve missed you so much.”

Spike looked around at the other markers, until his line of sight reached the Mayor’s marker. “Twilight. When we were in Town hall before….”

“I meant it Spike. This is NOT going to happen to you. I won’t let it.” Twilight snapped. She turned her attention to the rest of the ponies in the crowd. She could see Rainbow Dad was one of the on lookers. “There you are.”

“Is something wrong, your majesty?” He asked.

“Could you gather the ponies from the dungeon in the Castle’s Mane Hall? I want to talk to all of you.” Twilight took a breath. Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“Sure thing, your majesty. Might take a while.” Rainbow Dad headed off, pushing his way deeper into the crowd.

“Twilight, yer not seriously considerin’ what Thunderlane said?” Applejack didn’t like the idea of throwing acusations around with no proof.

“I just want to talk to them. I want know their side of things.” Twilight was quick to respond. “Lets go check on Pinkie.

Zecora applied a green goo to Pinkie’s neck before applying bandages. She could hear hoof steps clanging against the floor in the corridor outside. “It seems you have company on its way. I’m not convinced I should keep them at bay.” She said to herself. Twilight’s group appeared in the doorway.

“Zecora how’s Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked. Zecora stepped out of the way, revealing Pinkie lying on her bed with herbs of various colors covering wounds all over her body. “Pinkie!” Fluttershy ran over to Pinkie’s side. As the others gathered, a smile appeared on Pinkie’s face.

“She knows that she is surrounded by her friends, clearly her belief in you never ends.” Zecora noted.

“I don’t think I follow.” Spike replied.

“She means Pinkie knew we’d be here for her.” Twilight explained.

“Good.” A raspy voice replied. Applejack and Rarity turned around. Rainbow Dash and Gilda were holding each other up as they made their way in.

“Rainbow Dash. Just where have you been? You look awful.” Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“Eh, Gilda and I were roughing each other up. Kind of needed it.” Rainbow Dash looked at Gilda, who was avoiding eye contact. “Hey, look at me, you agreed to this.”

“Yeah, I did. And I’m already starting to regret it.” Gilda turned her attention to Pinkie. “Hey, Pinkie Pie.” She snapped. “Look who I got.” Gilda unclenched her talon. Pinkie’s eyes opened wide. Gummy held in Gilda’s talon, his wall-eyed stare unchanged.

Applejack tipped her hat to Gilda. “Well would ya look at that? Ya found the little guy.”

“Gummy.” Pinkie muttered. Gilda set the little alligator by Pinkie’s side.

“Yeah, the little pest wrapped his little mouth around my head when you lost him. Would have just tossed him aside….but I figured you would want it back.” Gilda said nonchalantly.

“Thanks, Gilda.” Pinkie said weakly. Gilda looked away.

“Don’t mind her.” Rainbow Dash said. “Gilda has a sick stuck up her tail like you wouldn’t believe.”

Zecora’s ears perked up. “You will have to forgive my interruption, but we have another guest. One whose arrival will certainly be for the best.” Pinkie tilted her head down to get a better view of a familiar grey coated, purple maned pony wearing a plain dress.

“Maud.”

Pinkie’s older sister trotted past Rainbow Dash and Gilda. “Pinkie, your alive.” She said in her usual monitone voice. “I’ve been worried about you.”

Applejack smiled. That’s a good older sister all right. She thought to herself.