In The End

Shadow stared straight ahead at the room before him. It was like looking through a window. Everyone he knew stood In a line waiting. For what he could not say, but there they stood, night shade, quantum, Noi, applejack, applebloom, rose bud, sonata, and wintergreen. He watched curiously. Then suddenly applejack's eyes widened and her chest was ripped open by some unseen force. She reached out with a hand and staggered forward before falling and splatter blood across the floor. Noi looked curiously at her and her neck suddenly twisted and with a sickening snap she fell limp and sprawled out of the ground dead as well. Sonata grunted as an arrow pierced her chest and she fell over." NO!" Shadow slams his fist against the glass in front of him but it doesn't give. After sonata fell quantum state head exploded as if hit by a shotgun at point blank range. Applebloom's throat was torn out and she gasped for breath as she choked on her own blood. Night shade turned as if to combat something but her head was suddenly decapitated from her shoulders. Her body spammed and fell with a thud and twitched uncontrollably. Rose Bud looked sadly at shadow and reached out before she began coughing up blood. Bruises blossomed across her body as if she was being beaten. She fell over on the ground and a pool of blood formed around her head. Wintergreen looked at shadow with a sad expression before blood blossomed in the center of her chest and a large bullet wound appears. She sheds a tear before falling over with a thud. Shadow slides down the glass and puts his face in his hands. Out of the darkness he heard footsteps and looks up to see Sunset Shimmer kneeling in front of him. He shakes his head.

"This isn't real!" He mutters angrily.

She smiles." This is as real as you want it to be." She
Takes his hand and holds it. She sighs." You can't hide this from them forever shadow......" She looks at him sadly.

"W-what? What are you talking....." She cuts him off.

"Shadow we both know what's happened to you.......if you don't tell them now they will not trust you in the future...." She lets go of his hand and stands." But if you do tell them, you may yet preserve the friends you've made." She smiles." Now wake up shadow......." She holds it her hand." You have to get back to the real world."

He slowly takes her hand and stands. He is suddenly not gripping her hand anymore. He stares around the room as it darkens, and he feels a terrifying presence with him. He hears a laugh before he tumbles into nothingness. Shadow awakens with a jerk. He finds himself in the Apple family's basement again this time a woman stood nearby monitoring him as he sat up. She began scribbling on a notepad as shadow stares at her. She stood and walked carefully over to him before waving a hand near his face.

"What are you doing?" He asks making her jump as if she didn't expect him to speak.

"Incredible! It can speak!" She says turning to a figure in the dark.

"I am not an it." Shadow says glaring at her.

She smiles ." Of course."

"What are you?" A familiar voice asks. Applejack steps forward from the darkened corner of the room:

"It was failed to mention huh? I'm immune." He says standing up.

"No you aren't. You are far from it." Applejack says nodding to the woman.

"I'm nurse redheart. I was a physician in ponyville before. I've been studying this virus for 6 years and I've never seen anything like you before. The virus is inside of you there is no doubt about that but it isn't reacting normally to your cells. When someone is infected the virus feeds on your living cells, using the existing DNA to replicate itself. The reason the infected seek out flesh is because at a certain point, your body no longer has the cells to sustain the virus. When they consume flesh the virus uses the DNA to continue the replication process. In you however, the virus is only using blood cells to replicate itself. Your heart itself has been completely destroyed by the infection but this virus seems to have found a way to keep your blood circulating. The only problem is that your body can't reproduce blood cells fast enough without your heart. If the strain of virus in you doesn't have enough new cells to sustain itself it will spread to your brain and you'll end up as just another mindless corpse. In other words you have to give the virus new cells." She finishes and points to a blood bag hooked up to his arm." As you can see the virus replicates itself so fast your healing rate has doubled. You have recovered in a matter of days what many people take months to recover from. Don't be fooled this virus is not helping you. The healing is a by product of the replication process. Your immune system is somehow still intact and it's working in overdrive and it's working with the virus instead of fighting it." She finishes.

"And how did this happen?" He raise an eyebrow and looks at the blood bag.

"We dont know exactly." The nurse says shaking her head.

"We should kill you right here.....but you can be of use." Applejack says handing another stack of clothes." Try not to ruin these too."

"I have to leave." He says taking the clothes." I'm wasting time being here." He says standing up."

"You need to recover, you lost a lot of blood." The nurse says trying to step in his way. Shadow pushed past her and reaches the stairs just as he hear a gun cock behind him. He stops dead and turns to find Applejack pointing his gun at him.

"You are not leaving, not yet." She says.

He sighs." What do you want from me?!" He asks.

"I want you to stay here so we can figure out how you work." She says taking a step closer.

"I have to go Applejack, there's someone out there that needs me. And if I don't find her soon......" He stops not wanting to think about it.

"I honestly don't care." She says chuckling.

"Do you really want me to take that gun from you? I don't want to hurt anybody but I will if you make me." He says also taking a step. Applejack backs away.

"Stop! Take one more step and I swear!" She says leveling the gun.

"I don't think you will." He says moving closer. Applejack backs against the wall and her hands begin shaking.

Applejack closes her eyes and pulls the trigger sending a round through Shadow's chest. Shadow takes the opportunity to grab the gun from her and take out the magazine. He pops the bullet in the chamber and hands it back to a dumbfounded applejack who takes it and shakes her head.

"Why do you need my help?" Shadow asks stepping back and leaning against the cold metal operation table behind him.

"The truth is." She sighs and rubs her temples.

"We don't need you anymore.......those dead folk by that tree house had broken in three days ago and we needed to find em before someone got hurt. You and your friends can leave whenever you feel like it. My brother will give you a car and all your weapons back." She says walking out of the room and leaving him with the nurse.

"There is something you'll have to do." The nurse says stepping forward.

"What do you mean?" He asks walking to the bed he was laying on and picking up the clothing applejack had left for him.

"That hunger your feeling needs to be sated or else you could end up hurting someone." She says walking to a large refrigerator in the corner of the basement next to a Counter and a sink." I reccommend that at least every week you replenish the amount of cells the virus needs to consume so you don't end up decomposing." She looks at shadow who looks back with a confused look on his face. She sighs and takes out a box with a cross on it." You need to give the virus something to eat so you don't fall apart." She pops open the case and shows him bags of blood." What you need to do is go somewhere away from your freinds, at least a mile away and slit your wrists to let the used blood drain out. Then either consume this or take it by injection." She says closing the box and handing it to him.

"This isn't going to fun. What happens when I run out?" He asks. She looks away.

"You'll have to find a "donor"." She says walking back to the fridge and closing it. Shadow sighs and walks up the stairs and out of the basement. After quickly changing into the clothes, he makes his way back to where his friends were camped out and walked over to them. He leaned down and looked at the other 8 people sitting around the campfire.

"What's the plan?" Rose Bud asks trying to catch a glance from him.

"The plan is I'm going to find her while you, Noi, and you two stay here." Shadow says.

"And us?" Night shade asks as she sheaths her swords which she had been sharpening.

"What about you? Thanks for your help but I can't ask you to risk your life for someone you don't know chasing after a girl who may or may not be already dead." He says looking at them.

They grow silent and shadow stands." I'm moving out, every second I waste here is another second sunset shimmer could be being beaten or worse." He grabs the bag with his personal belongings in it and steps into a nearby tool shed to change into his apparel. After strapping the leather armor and slipping on his now blood stained hoodie, shadow reaches I tot he bag and clips his knife and holsters his gun. He steps outside to find the zebra girl standing ther with the assault rifle he used in the slaver camp.

"This is an imperial zebra Assault rifle. The best you can get around here. I suggest you take it and use it in your travels." She says holding it out to him

"You should take it I already have a gun." He says trying to step around her but he finds his path blocked as she steps in front of him and places a hand on his chest.

"A handgun can only get you so far. If you find the right components you can create a scope and have a ranged automatic weapon. Take it." She press the rifle to his chest and he takes it.

"Thank you." He says strapping the rifle to his back. She smiles and steps back.

"Maybe we'll meet again someday?" She says walking with him as he sets off towards the farmhouse.

"I doubt it but you can dream I guess." He says walking into the house." Applejack?" He calls out.

"Right here." She says walking down the stairs." Your car is ready and we gave you some water and food for your journey." She says reaching up to her neck and unclipping a necklace with a white stone laid into it. She tosses it at shadow who catches it and raises his eyebrow at her." Something to remember me by." She smiles at him and leads him out of the house and to the front gayer where a van was waiting.

"Why a van?" He asks opening the back and setting his pack down in it.

"You all aren't going to fit in a car." Applejack says simply.

"What do you mean all of us?" He walks to the front of the van and opens the door to find quantum sitting in the drivers seat.

"I already called it. I'm driving." He says with a smile.

" I told you......" He is cut off.

"Blah blah blah I have to find my girlfriend alone blah blah blah I don't need help blah responsibility." He mocks." We get it your some lone wolf hero type asshole. But shit if I let you go alone I wouldn't get to put some shells inside some slavers, now would I?" He smiles." Besides even if you are some superhuman you can still die from head trauma, and these slaver caravans are loaded to the teeth with high powered weapons and explosives, and your gonna need someone to pick you up off your ass when you get blown up."

Shadow smiles at quantum Ans the rest of the girls in the back." As long as your offering." He opens the back door and sits down next to Wintergreen.

"So where are we headed? Quantum asks looking in the rear view mirror.

"Fillydelphia." Shadow says grimacing from the bullet wound which had left him sore.

"Slaver central it is then." Quantum says as they take off down the road and speed toward fillydelphia