Chapter 17-Hollyhoof Undead:Take 1

HollyHoof Undead: Take One

In the cool night air if you had the eyes for it you might be able to make out the outlines of shambling shapes far of in the trees or perhaps the wafting stench of death on the breeze, that signaled the disaster that was to come. However for most of the ponivilians trapped inside until daybreak it was a night like any other, a night as plain and ordinary as the one before giving no indications of it being otherwise. For two mares resting inside a simple run-of-the-mill home, this night was as dull and uneventful as a night could be in a Discord cursed town such as Ponyville. Ironically as if foreshadowing the struggles to come, it was on a night like this that the two sisters, Lyra and Bon Bon would find themselves in an argument over the very reason for the trouble to follow.

“LYYYYYRRRRRAAAAAAA!” a loud and offending voice rumbles from the simple house’s second story.

Flinching up from her copy of ‘humans and other mythical creatures monthly’ the mint green mare knows that tone of voice coming from her sister Bon Bon can only mean one thing. Or rather two things, trouble for her and most likely a very long lecture. Unwilling to endure either Lyra pulls herself up from a stationary position in a flash as she throws herself behind the couch taking refuge in the crawl space between the couch and the living room wall. With the wall behind her and her back to the couch Lyra prays to whatever gods may hear her cry that her sister will conveniently forget to look for her in the most expected of hiding places.

 “LYRA!” Bon Bon’s voice echoes down the stairs “You had better not be hiding behind the couch again! Stay right there I’m coming down!”

‘Crab apples.’ Lyra thinks to herself. ‘Maybe under the sink? I doubt she’ll be angry enough to give a really thorough search this time’

In her heart of hearts Lyra prays that her hopes will prove true. However the loud thumping of her sister’s hooves as she storms down the stairs tells the green mare that her hopes are pure fantasy.

Lyra gulps heavily ‘then again maybe if I come out and own up to my mistakes she’ll go easy on me this time. For whatever it was that I did this time.’

The sound of hammering hoofsteps comes to an abrupt stop as Lyra can practically feel the earth pony’s gaze as she cowers in her makeshift hiding place. “Lyra I see you hiding behind the couch! Get out here!”

Knowing her goose is metaphorically cooked, the pony sheepishly pulls herself out from behind the couch and right into the piercing gaze of the cream colored mare. Lyra’s eyes widen and try to evade the gaze for the mare before her, however the tapping of Bon Bon’s hoof speaks volumes to the fact that no matter what she says she is in real hot water this time.

But then again Lyra Heartstrings was never one to back off and not try every option. “Ok now before you lay into me let me be the first to say that I love you and care deeply for you. And that no matter what you say or that I have done I will always love you with all of my heart.”

Lyra smiles with a grin that could break her jaw as she hopes her ‘sincere’ words will somehow lighten her looming punishment. A hope that is instantly dashed as her sister fails to budge even an inch her anger remaining despite Lyra’s honeyed words.

Bon Bon rolls her eyes “Nice try Lyra Heartstrings.” Lyra flinches from the use of her middle name knowing it’s usage can never be good. “But buttering me up won’t help you this time. You are in SERIOUS hot water this time. Though I doubt you even know why you are in trouble to begin with.”

Lyra sweats “Sure I do! It’s………uuuuuhhhhhhhh……… give me a second here……..Laundry?”

“No Lyra you took care of the laundry yesterday. In fact you actually did it without me having to nag you more than three times, very good job.”

“Uh…. Thanks Bonnie!”

“NO Lyra this is much more serious.” Bon Bon reaches over onto her back taking a large brown box off of her back and throwing it to the floor.

Lyra’s reaction is as surprised as her words are incriminating. “My Miracle Stones! I…. uh I mean my rock collection that I uh……”

“Once again nice try Lyra.” Bon Bon advances on the mint unicorn who falls to her rump as her sister closes the distance between her and the incriminating stones. “I know for a fact that you have been doing your little ‘stand team ups’ and gathering these stones even after you PROMISED me not to.”

Lyra sweats profusely in a blind panic, her secret that she hoped to never be revealed had been so suddenly blown wide open by the one pony she tried to keep it a secret from. “Oh.” Lyra taps her hooves together as she tries to vainly think up a way out of her situation. “Well that’s because i….. Um. Well it’s a funny story really.”

“It’s a story I’m not in the mood to hear.” Bon Bon replies, the room growing ten degrees colder from the sound of her voice alone. “Do you know why going after these stones is a horrible idea? Do you even remember promising me that you weren’t going to involve yourself in anything dangerous like this?”

“But Bonnie!” Lyra counters. “The stones aren’t dangerous at all! They just attract dangerous ponies is all…..”

“Exactly.” Bon Bon states “These stones attract trouble like no pony’s business, there’s no point in gathering them especially if the pony who is gathering them is prone to making disasters in the first place!”

“But they aren’t useless! They can help ponies Bonnie, Applejack’s sister Applebloom was cured because of them, and Carrot Top woke up from them too!” Lyra looks her sister in the eye leaning closer to her sister in an effort to defy her logic with her own passion and conviction. “I made lots of great friends thanks to them like Twilight and Derpy and Vinyl Scratch (and I guess Octavia? I don’t know how that works….) anyways I went through so much trouble to get those stones to just give them up! You can’t just…...”

“But NOTHING Lyra!” Bon Bon shouts as she slams her hoof into the ground silencing any further argument from the mint green mare. “These stones are dangerous. Did you forget what happened when you got a hold on one in the first place? You practically beat Applejack to within an inch of her life!”

Lyra blinks “Wait… how did you know about….”

“Oh please Lyra.” Bon Bon rolls her eyes yet again “Do you really think that I’m that dense? I knew that something was up then so I went by Twilight’s later and got the full story of your little ‘quest’ out of her. And let’s not forget that time when you fought that gryphon chief!”

Lyra manages to stand on her hooves at the mention of the accursed chief and his stand power. It had taken her three of Bon Bon’s home cooked meals to recover from that catastrophe. “That guy was dirty from the start Bonnie!” Lyra states with conviction as she tries to recover some ground. “He was trying to drive you out of business for crying out loud. And I could have beaten him if he hadn’t gotten the drop on me! And besides didn’t we help that pony Dar….. Dare something? I can totally handle myself in a scrap! That one time was just a fluke!”

Bon Bon’s gaze burns with such anger that Lyra can’t help but feel threatened by it. Yet the unicorn stands resolute against her sister neither one of them willing to back down in the face of the other’s arguments. However eventually one does give in, and with a defeated and sorrowful downward gaze Bon Bon sighs with a sudden drastic change in mood. “One fluke is all it would take Lyra.” Bon bon comments dryly as she looks sadly into Bon Bon’s eyes. “In something as risky as combat it all comes down to a single move Lyra. If you make one mistake or misread one attack, then you die. One mistake is all it would take and…. And I would lose you forever Lyra.”

With a look of brazen determination the mare picks up the box of stones and throws it on her back as she levels a gaze that frightens even Lyra. “And I can’t have that. That’s why I’m taking these stones to Twilight’s first thing tomorrow.”

Turning her back on her sister Bon Bon trots up the stairs as a dumbstruck Lyra is left watching her flank as she trots up ahead of her. Suddenly just as Bon Bon reaches the top Lyra’s senses return as she chases after her sister. “B-Bonnie! Wait!’ Lyra runs after her practically flying up the stairs to their house to keep her sister from escaping from closing herself off from her. Yet just as she reaches the top of the stairs the door to her sister’s room slams shut sealing Bon Bon off from the outside world. “Bonnie Wait!”

Lyra knocks furiously on her sister’s door eager to establish any kind of connection with her as her sister begins once again to close herself off. “Bonnie let me in we have to talk about this!”

Lyra ceases knocking as she holds her ear against the door hoping for any sign of life from her sister, hoping for a message from somepony she loves. “Go away Lyra!” A muffled cry issues out from behind the door. “My decision is final I’m not letting you keep those miracle stones or whatever you call them so just stop trying!”

“I don’t care about those strange stones! Bonnie just listen.” Lyra takes in a deep breath before her sister’s door as she prepares to bare her heart and soul to the mare who is currently hiding behind the door in front of her. “I know that your time in the Royal Guard had a big impact on you and all you want to do is protect me from danger, I understand that. And I’ll admit it Bonnie, I screw up a lot, and I know that I’ve always been inconveniencing you with all of my crazy beliefs and antics. But not once did you ever regret becoming my sister and never once did you leave me hanging Bonnie.”

“……….”

“I just thought, you know, that gathering might make you more proud of me, that it might make me more worthy of being your sister. You’re always protecting me I just thought….. I thought that by collecting the stones and keeping them safe that I could protect the ponies of this town too. I thought that if I was more like you that…… that you’d be proud of me for once……”

“……….”

“But I realize now that nothing I do could make me any more worthy of being your sister, or of having such good friends that I’ve gotten so far thanks to this messed up journey” Lyra paws at the door with her hoof “So please open up, I don’t care about power of what others think. I just want to make you happy Bonnie, I just don’t want to see you sad. So please don’t close yourself off again…..”

“………”

“….uh Bonnie? Are you alright in there?” Lyra confused at Bon Bon’s sudden silence knocks once more on the door only to find it opening at her touch.

The door cracks open from the unicorn’s pawing the silent sound of the door creaking echoing eerily through the hallway. “Uh… Bonnie? Did you forget to lock the door? Can I come in?”

No response comes from inside, the silence becoming more uncomfortable by the second as Lyra looks at the slowly opening door before her. The darkness of the room distracts her from her current concerns as she trots headlong into the dark. Yet what is by far more distracting is the coppery smell that seemingly fills every crevice of the room. “Belch Bonnie did you put on perfume or something? It smells awful in here!” the mare’s hoof steps in something wet, the hairs on her neck standing on end as she makes out a shape in the ambient darkness of the room. All of a sudden Lyra’s heart skips a beat as she realizes that she is not alone in the room and the shape before her is anything but her Bonnie.

“What a touching scene.” A dark and terrible voice originates from the shadows. “I can almost feel a tear or two welling up inside of me.” The dark voice laughs “Almost.”

Lyra gapes as her flailing mind struggles to take note of the scene before her. A dark grey stallion with what looks like a red stone sticking out of his skull sits straightening his dark pinstripe suit. Cleaning the drops of blood out of his dark coat as if it were an act as natural as brushing his teeth the stallion stares uncaringly at the mare before him with beady green eyes. In his aura sits the entire box of stones that she spent months gathering sits in just outside his field of vision as she stallion’s dark purple aura seems to stifle the stone’s natural radiance. However it is what or rather who the stallion has chosen to sit on that occupies the mare’s attention. For under the stallion’s offensive rump, her breath shallow and ragged from loss of blood is her sister Bon Bon.

“To tell you the truth…” The stallion resumes as he faces the stunned unicorn mare. “I am quite surprised that a no pony like you would come to possess so many corpse parts. Then again I suppose that is why you were at the top of the Traitor’s list. Or perhaps it was mere luck.”

“BONNIE!” the unicorn shouts her horn blazing golden with magic as she teach clench. “Get off of her you creep! Or so help me I’ll KILL you!”

“So you aim to kill me?” The stallion polishes his hooves as he sits on the bleeding body of Lyra’s sister. “An understandable gesture certainly. Though if I were you I would hold true to the cream pony’s wisdom little one. One mistake, one move can decide a battle. Therefore if you were to attack me…” The stallion levels his malevolent gaze his very stare freezing Lyra’s blood in her skin. “…. I would make it count.”

For a moment Lyra only stares at the beast before her, his eyes devoid of any spark of warmth as she feels like her world is spiraling out of her control. However it only takes one ragged breath from the injured mare resting beneath the monster’s flank to reinstall an undaunted purpose into the mare. Overwhelming her fear, her terror is the simple fact that her sister needs her and with that the mint green mare manifests her spider like stand as she growls at the dark figure.

“MONSTER!” Lyra calls out as she jumps at the unicorn her teeth bared and her stand’s multiple arms preparing to strangle the stallion sitting on her sister’s prone body. Yet in the space of a second the beast disappears causing the mare to land on top of her sister. Swiveling her head around her in a full three hundred and sixty degrees the mare searches for sign of the stallion, dumbfounded that any pony can disappear that quickly. However her sister’s breath from beneath her causes her to push any other concerns out of her mind as she focuses exclusively on the one thing she cares about more than anything in the world. Using her stand to create a protective cradle of arms around her Lyra looks down to her sister pouring what little healing magic she knows towards closing the gaping wound in her chest.

“Don’t worry Bonnie.” Lyra assures her unconscious sister beneath her as she pours more magic into healing her sister’s profuse wounds. “It’s not that deep, I’ll get you out of here now just hold on…...”

MUDA!!

Lyra doesn’t even have the chance to finish as a dark hoof falls over her head smashing her exposed face into the ground beneath her. Lyra’s muzzle breaks from the force of the blow as the wooden floor buckles and shatters from the single blow, and in less time than it takes to blink the mint green unicorn is out cold. Sneering at the prone bleeding from beneath him Sombra reaches into his coat pocket for a white handkerchief as he stares down in contempt at the mare.

The stallion wipes the blood from his hoof with his pocket handkerchief as his simple eloquent voice calls out to the mare on the borders of dreams and death. “As I said before, one mistake decides a battle. You made the mistake of checking on your fiend when you should have been more concerned for your own well being.”

“Had you made an effort to defend yourself this battle would not have been decided so quickly.” Wiping the blood off of his hoof the stallion quickly incinerates the cloth erasing its presence and any trace of blood. “And here I expected a decent fight, how foalish of me to expect anything resembling a challenge from you.”

Watching as the mare beneath him fades out of this world the stallion glances back to the box full of stones. Part of him regretted the fact that he had to be seen by these two ponies, however he had succeeded in his task and for now that outweighed his paranoia about being seen. Sombra stands over the prone bodies of his foes, a small smile of twisted joy crossing his face as he savors the acquisition of the fragments of the holy corpse. With practiced measure he levitates the box with the fragments of Corpse into his deep satchel knowing that before the night is through he will have far more pieces to collect. The sound of screams and violence finally crosses over to the bosses’ threshold of hearing; causing his smile to expand even further at the thought of his night’s work is just beginning.

Looking out the window of the small house with almost detached concern Sombra watches as his well-planned distraction begins to take shape. Ponies with black splotches over their bodies writhe about as sharp japs snap and bite at any that come close, hordes of zombies pour out of the woods on the outskirts of town and well timed fires planned ahead of time come to life.

“10:16, Right on time. Now while Noteworthy and Carmel distract the guards and the rest of the populace I can slip in and recover the corpse at my leisure.” Looking back on the heavily bleeding body of the mint green unicorn the green eyed monster smirks in his moment of triumph.

“You fight well for a common stand user, but as I said before little one, those that dare to cross me and my plans are…….”

…………….

“…….Finished!” Twilight shouts to herself as she gracefully flips the back cover of the book closed. Smiling at another successful read Twilight holds the book she was reading ‘Indiana Colt and the Chamber of One thousand Snakes’ up with her hooves. “Wow that was a great read. I don’t know what those reviewers were thinking that was Indiana’s best adventure yet! Who knew that you could overcome your phobia of snakes by jumping into a pool seven feet deep of poisonous reptiles? This book is going right up in the recommended reading section!”

Twilight looks around her at the stark, Spartan arrangements of her cell, the bare stone walls and nearly empty bed beneath her before recalling her predicament. “Oh, right. I’m in jail……” the unicorn’s cheery mood is lost as her ears fall. “Well at least Shining and Zecora are working to get me out of here, and if I know Zecora’s skill with paperwork this shouldn’t take too long.”

“After all….” The unicorn laughs as she prepares the utter a phrase.

She opens her mouth to utter a phrase that could never end in something good.

A single phrase that has made fools of righteous and evil alike with its cruel indifference.

A single phrase whose irony can sink ships and drive learned ponies into madness with its ability to incite mass disaster and destruction. “….what could possibly go wrong?”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIII!!!!”

The unicorn’s mane stands on end at the piercing scream that echoes through the whole of the center it’s sound chilling the unicorn’s bones and causing her hair to stand on end. “what is that?!” the unicorn flails her head about the cell looking for any sign of danger her mind working overtime to determine the source of the threat. Her ears swivel about as the unicorn hears faint sounds echoing through her cell originating no doubt from the police station proper.

“Is that…. Is that screaming?” Twilight hops tentatively from her bunk over to the door. Hearing more loud and unnecessary noises the unicorn gulps before placing her ear against the door crack listening for the sounds that are currently putting the normally calm and collected unicorn on edge.

Listening from the crack of the door Twilight can just barely make out the sound of muffled cries and sounds of bodies clashing against one another. The sounds appear distorted, echoed but are none the less terrifying to the little purple unicorn. Pressing her ear further against the door the mare listens eve more intently for signs of happening outside the six by five cell.

“What in Equestria is happe….”

WHACK!

The door swings open with a force sending the purple librarian sprawling on her back her eyes rolling in her head. Struck dizzy by the blow all the unicorn can do for the moment Is mutter curses under her breath at the coincidental attack of fate.“Ughhhhh what is it with me and doors? Did I spite the god of doors or something when I was little or am I just the but of some cosmic joke?”

Twilight’s head begins to spin even more frantically both from the impact of the door and the chaotic situation that she has become unintentionally enraptured in. Yet the unicorn shakes her head rapidly and rights herself just as quickly as her disoriented senses take measure of the world around her. Standing in the middle of the hallway leaning against the doorframe of her cell her brother Shining armor catches his breath. With sharp focused eyes he looks to the unicorn within the cell with a mixture of concern and worry and even more worrying his armor is missing its golden helm and is covered in dark black marks of what looks to be dried blood.

“Shining?” Twilight asks “Shining what in Equestria is going on? What is happening out there?”

“I’ll explain later.” Reaching over with his teeth Shining grabs the cuff on her neck and drags her out of the room in a way a lioness might hold their cubs. Dropping her in the middle of the hallway with urgency Shining looks back and forth down the hall before turning back to his sister. “Keep close to me. Don’t make a noise and don’t you dare run off. Got it Twilly?”

To the best of her ability Twilight suppresses her own curiosity awed by her brother’s command. Or perhaps it is the fear in his eyes has deprived her of any desire to know what is troubling him or what the sound of the wretched noises are. Either way Twilight nods curtly causing Shining armor to quickly dash to a nearby corner checking for any signs of trouble before waving for Twilight to follow.

“All right so far so good” Shining looks around his senses on edge. “So first thing’s first we get you to the center of the Station where everypony else is making a barricade, then we go up and reinforce the second floor to prevent any intrusions up there. And from there we make our next move.” Shining looks down the next corner as Twilight follows close on his heels. “Sounds simple enough and if we can make some adequate defenses we may be able to hold out until……”

Coming to the stop of the hall before them both ponies stare at the scene before them as Twilight realizes now where the awful din was coming from. “Celestia preserve us….” Twilight mutters under her breath staring at the battle raging before her.

To Twilight’s credit she could hold her nerves pretty well, and though she detested violence she could hold her stomach and fight if the lives of those she cared about were in the crossfire. However to see an entire police station filled with the undead and plague ridden victims fighting to the bloody death against trained stand users of the royal guards in such enclosed spaces was far too much for the poor unicorn’s nerves. The wails of the dead, the crunching sound of biting flesh and the screams of the battle before her overload the petite unicorn’s senses in a matter of milliseconds as the shell shocked unicorn stares unable to tear herself away from the scene before her. She watches as Zecora bashes another of the slobbering infected monsters with yardstick knocking the pony out as the creature continues to lurch forward at the soldiers of the Royal guard. All around the normally peaceful office setting the Solar guards fight with stand and spear alike against rounds and rounds of advancing undead and infected pour from every opening and crevice in the building.

“Great, it’s gotten even worse!” the stallion shouts as Twilight watches the scene of violence unfolding horror as guards and corpses alike fight a gruesome war of attrition.

Realizing his sister’s distress the white stallion turns over to his sister, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight you wait here and don’t you dare move.” With a resolute glance the captain of the guard looks over to the fray his eyes igniting with a fierce desire to protect that comes to him when ponies someone cares about are suddenly thrusted into harm’s way “I’ve got to go and thin their numbers.”

Without even giving her time for an argument the pony leaps into the fray protecting endangered allies with his bubbles while attacking with his magic turning zombies into piles of dust with every flick of his horn. “How did they get in here?!” Shining shouts out to the troops. “I thought that I gave orders to lock down the building?!”

“I’m sorry captain Armor!” a white and blue maned Pegasus shouts over the din as an infected maw on his arm bites deep into his shoulder again. Screaming out in pain the stallion never the less answers. “T-There were ponies crying for help. Asking us to save them from the advancing horde, but when we opened the door, these black jawed things swarmed us!” The stallion screams again as a deep black blotch pops out of his shoulder “H-How were we supposed to know that they could mimic voices? We thought there were only one enemy, those walking corpses. YEAGHA!”

Shining blasts the guard unconscious sparing him any further pain as the black mouths on him grow and expand by the second. “Well apparently there are two stand users now. One that creates mass numbers of undead and one that causes these sores that control ponies to appear from physical contact.” Moving in a swift and fluid motion the captain of the guard leaps through the air dodging as the previous unconscious guard lurches at him.

“Switch to using Anti-Stand collars on the infected ponies, they’re still alive! Waste the undead!” Shining shouts over the fray as he turns to cover the Zebra behind him. “Zecora?” Shining bucks off another of the infected off of him simultaneously placing another anti Stand collar over the light blue Pegasus. “Any thoughts?”

“Though I should like to make a stand here, I am no good without a stand I fear. And though beating one is a breeze, against such numbers it is nothing to sneeze.” Interrupting her poise a large bulky zombie slobbers over the Zebra’s back earning it a stern smack from the zebra’s hooves. ”And as they surround us from the rear, their numbers multiply like a forest of trees.”

Shining takes a moment of reprieve from the combat around him to survey how his troops are doing as he takes in their desperate situation. Already half of his guard has been incapacitated either by the infection that takes them over and turns them against their allies or their fatal wounds inflicted on them by the horde. At this rate they will be wiped out in a matter of minutes no matter how well trained they are. For mindless bodies they knew exactly how and where to attack them where they were weakest. Shining grimaces as he realizes grudgingly that a good offense won’t win them this battle, and against such numbers there is only one real solution. “FALL BACK!” shining shouts over the fray “Fall back to the second level! I’ll cover you all! FALL BACK!”

Responding to their superior’s command with rapid effectiveness the guard backs off as Shining’s barriers push and prod the horde back away from the retreating troops. “Twilight!” The captain calls out as he batters away the horde with his magic “That means you too! Get up there!” with speed spurred on by copious amounts of adrenaline and fear the guards and personnel pile into the stairway to escape the bellowing and screaming swarm behind them, each and every one of the monsters calling out of their blood. Finally the rest of the survivors make it up the narrow stairway, as Shining teleports over to the only flight of stairs that leads to the upper levels. Smiling cockily as the wall of flesh closes in around him shining conjures up a dark purple bubble around the doorway as he smiles triumphantly. “Sorry guys but dinner’s canceled. I’ve got other plans.”

The horde slams itself against the wall of the bubble with monumental force however the unbreakable sphere holds, its shiny surface not even cracking under the strain of hundreds of hooves smashing into it. Smiling in contentment the captain turns away from the wall behind them as he trots up the stairs. “And to any of my men that have been captured by this infection that is controlling you.” Shining states as he turns back around to face his men his eyes filled with an honest glint. “Don’t worry I give you my word that I’ll save you all.”

The few infected can only stare vacantly through the translucent barrier their eyes revealing the relief and hope given by the assuring words of their Captain as the resolute stallion torts back up the stairs. With a heavier heart than when he began his climb the solder trots up the stairway with a steely calm knowing very well that his own words were a complete and utter lie. There was no certainty that he could save any of them, it might come down to him being forced to kill his own men in cold blood if he wanted to save the town and the corpse. As a pony he wanted to give any pony he could the blessing of hope, however as an orphan he knew that life could be far too cruel to just ponies. But overall he knew that as a soldier he was required to protect his country and the ponies of his country to the death if necessary.  And so as the captain trotted slowly up the stairs he burned his compassion from his heart as he prepared to once again make a weighty sacrifice for the safety of his country.

Coming to the top of the stairs the captain of the guard looks upon his tired troops as they all catch their breath. Scanning the plain and open upstairs for any sign of a break in or possible area where the enemy can attack, Shining Armor takes a full gander of the situation in seconds, and as far as he can tell it is not good. The upstairs offices of the building were designed to hold onto files not hold off enemies and the wide open area fenced off by plate glass only serve to convey to the survivors that this building was not designed to hold off a siege. The hallways that spread out from the center room gives the building a parallel aesthetic design that causes the troops to divide themselves into separate clusters as their nervous eyes shift back and forth for any signs of danger. Office tables have become makeshift beds for those with critical damage as battlefield medics provide what first aid they can to stabilize the injured. The glass windows resound with sporadic thumps as undead pegisi pound against the windows yet the iron bars holding the frames shut show no signs of bending to their rotted strength as the corpses and infected continue to pound away.

However more pressing to the stallion is the condition of his men, as well as the condition of the few police officers and white collar government agents like Zecora unused to the levels of stress and fear that they are now being exposed to. Shining watches in worry as the ponies that remain take deep calming breaths as they vainly attempt to drown out the screaming and violence that seems to rage around them. ‘they look tired’ the captain thinks to himself as he takes note of the condition of his men as his gaze settles on his frightened sister and Zecora both looking genuinely terrified despite their best attempts to keep their own fear from overwhelming them. ‘they all look tired’ Shining corrects himself ‘and from what I’ve seen the night is just beginning.’

“Shining?” Twilight asks with a twinge of fear as she approaches her brother “What’s going on? Are those…. Things going to follow us up here?”

Shining shakes his head clearing away any thoughts of duty and danger for the moment as he makes a sincere gesture to comfort his little sister. “Don’t worry Twilly, I placed one of my Bastion’s bubbles over the only doorway so they’re not coming up from below. And the windows are enchanted to resist enough strength to resist pegisi smashing into them so our sides are secure. And I had already placed troops on the third floor to keep our landing zone safe so we’re safe up here for now.”

Shining places his hoof over his sister’s shoulder stilling her shivering body with a warm comforting embrace that instantly calms the frightened unicorn down.  “But if you’ll excuse me, your handsomely good looking brother….” Shining smiles as he straightens his armor “…still has a job to do.” Trotting over to a nearby troop Shining armor puts on his best commander face. “Solder, status report on the double!”

“SIR! We have forty five present and accounted for here Captain.” A nearby guard salutes. “seven office employees brought from canterlot to assist in the filing and investigate the charges. Five officers of the law who occupied the station previously and the prisoner. In addition to our remaining thirty two uninfected and combat ready troops including yourself of course.”

Shining smacks his lips as he struggles to process the fact that out of his entire platoon of one hundred he only has a third of them left. “Thirty two? What about Lightning Dust and her scouting squad of twenty? Shouldn’t they have made it back by now?”

The trooper doesn’t even need to respond this time his vacant silence painting an entire picture for him. “I-I see.” Shining states. “Then it’s up to us.”

“U-Us?!” the guard shouts “But what about our reinforcements? What about Celestia?”

“Celestia’s spotted Nightmare moon.” All the heads in the room turn to the new arrival an orange Pegasus with a dark blue mane trots over to the group. Multiple levels of surprise cross their faces as the Pegasus snaps a sharp salute to his captain. “I had to leave in a hurry to tell you but it’s been confirmed Nightmare Moon has been hiding in the Crystal mines underneath Canterlot right under our very muzzles.”

“Flash Sentry!” Shining exclaims. “About time! Is Celestia on her way? You Told her about how much of the corpse we’re holding right?”

“Well yes and no.” Flash salutes. “Celestia knows about the Corpse but I just jumped back and I had no idea what was going on till I looked out the window. And with Nightmare Moon’s location being discovered she’s trusting you to insure its delivery to Canterlot while the Princess handles Nightmare Moon.”

Shining sighs heavily as he comforts his dashed hopes. “Of course she does, now of all times when we need her most she just had to get word of Nightmare Moon. Does she at least know our situation?”

Flash hangs his head “No Captain. It took me a while to jump here from Canterlot so last time I checked, nopony else has any idea of what’s going on outside of Ponyville.”

Shining turns back to the orange Pegasus. “What about scrying pools? Can we get in contact with the local barracks in canterlot? Can you jump back and inform them of our situation?”

Flash rubs the back of his neck “Well…… uhhhhhhhh about that………”

Shining sighs once again his hopes getting more distant by the second. “Figures, we’re in a right death trap this time. And with Nightmare moon appearing in Canterlot’s Crystal mines we don’t stand much of a chance of getting reinforcements any time soon.”

“Nightmare Moon in canterlot? B-But that can’t be right!” Twilight shouts drawing the attention of every pony in the room “That has got to be a mistake, Princess Luna wasn’t anywhere near Canterlot! Princess Celestia’s in danger, we have to warn her!” Twilight states her concerns now focused on the danger to her mentor rather than herself.

Now all the attention in the room is focused on the unicorn and her sudden outburst, the unicorn’s face growing red from a combination of embarrassment and nervousness. “Um Twily?” Shining armor asks “I know you’re a know it all and all, but how would you even know that?”

“Well Um…..”

“How does she know that?” a bright yellow Pegasus shouts as he points his hoof towards the unicorn “I’ll tell you how she knows that! It’s because she’s the traitor! She’s the one who lead this accursed army of the dead here! She’s in league with that witch from the moon!!”

 The guard trots around the unicorn as his hoof steps signal his malevolent intentions. “How else would she know where that Monster is? How else would reports of our movements leak out to our enemies? And what else is this attack but a jailbreak?!” The guard shouts as he points accusatory at the now frightened librarian his booming voice rallying others to his cause “She’s working for the enemy just like the reports said!”

“Nightmare moon… I mean Luna is not a monster!” Twilight takes to her hooves in an effort to defend herself “She’s just trying to make up with her sister, she doesn’t want to harm any pony!”

“And she’s defending the monster!” The guard exclaims earning small mutters of agreement from the crowd as they begin to suspect Twilight Sparkle’s actions even more. “What did I tell you? She’s the Traitor!”

“That’s enough Solder.” Shining says with the thinnest hint of a threat “Stand down.”

Voices in the crowd begin to murmur along with the nameless soldier as he continues to pile more blame on the hapless purple unicorn. “I’ll bet my bottom bit this whole attack is an attempt to free her from imprisonment! We should finish her off before she has the chance to..…”

“I said ENOUGH!” the captain of the guard shouts with the force of a thunderclap all voices in the room grows silent. “Now I can understand you’re scared Right Bolt, but I think you’ve said enough.”

“And I think…” The stallion continues “That your judgment is impaired because the traitor just happens to be your sister! You have no right to speak in her defense, your judgment is clearly biased.”

“And I say,” Shining points his glowing horn at the guard before him “That my shield is the only thing keeping those monsters below at bay. So I would watch what you say to a superior officer.”

“And I say,” the guard replies as he presses his forehead against the unicorn stallion in front of him “That you’re in no position to make a decision about this matter! Twilight Sparkle is the Traitor and if we don’t act now she’s going to get away!!”

“Just Get rid of her!” a voice from the crowd cries “She’s the reason for this attack! Maybe they’ll go way if we hoof her over to them!”

“The evidence is solid and this attack proves it! She has to be the traitor!”

“I say we put it to a vote!” A guard cries out “Whether to give this traitor up to this mob or to execute her ourselves.”

The accusatory stallion nods with affirmation. “Now that’s a democratic and impartial decision. Let’s all raise our hooves and put it to a vote.” The stallion grins as he stares evilly at the cowering lavender unicorn hiding behind her brother. “If you want to make sure that this traitor doesn’t escape to pal around with her zombie friends outside, raise your……”

BBZZZZZZZZTTTTT!!

“……EEEERRRRRAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!”

In a flash of lightning the stallion’s coat ripples with static electricity frying him from the inside out as his skeleton is illuminated for all to see. Then in less time than it takes to blink the light ceases leaving a singed solder smoking from his ears as he falls unceremoniously to the floor. Every pony in the group suddenly silences themselves and backs away from the accusatory stallion as his body twitches and spasms from the jolt he received.

Smiling with a cocky and self-righteous grin a light green mare steps out into the crowd her yellow two toned mane rippling from the electricity coursing through her body. “And MY vote goes towards kicking the flank of any pony that dares to threaten a superior officer. Now who else wants to vote?” the entire crowd hushes up as each and every stallion backs away from the mare who is cracking her hooves ready to roast her opposition. “Humph and you call yourselves stallions.”

“Lightning Dust!” Shining armor shouts.

“What?” The mare looks back at the smoldering stallion groaning behind her “I left him alive! And he was going to usurp your command! That’s a charge of treason right there, I had every right to…..”

“Oh him?” Stallion points to the stallion “Forget him, he got what he deserved for threatening my sister and trying to usurp my command. I’m far more concerned about you! What happened to your hoof? Are you bleeding?”

Lightning looks to her bloodied bandaged hoof as if she had forgotten her own life threatening injury. “Eh it’s just a scratch, so what’s going on here? Where are our reinforcements?”

“They’re on standby.” Shining responds rolling his eyes “Apparently they haven’t gotten word that there’s an emergency. No doubt the traitor’s handiwork.”

Flash sentry trots up to the two ponies “I can fly over there and let them know we’re in need of some backup.” He salutes eager to help.

“That depends, Can you ‘flash’ over there cadet? Because anything slower than a teleport won’t reach us in time.” Shining asks skeptically, arching his eyebrow.

“Well….” The stallion’s ears fall down “……no, I placed my marks the royal palace so that I could inform her highness but she’s not there right now. I could ‘flash’ over there and but the number of marks I have are limited and they need to be in a certain range. I had to place my marks at mile increments and jump from mark to mark to make it her and back so it’s a one way trip. Plus my marks only work once before they fade out so I’d have to……..”

Lightning sighs heavily “You could have just said ‘no’ Flash, we didn’t need the whole nine yards on your stand power.”

“It’s probably better off that you can’t jump over there.” Shining continues in an attempt to brighten the trooper up “I need you to locate the enemy who is causing the attack so we can eliminate them and end the stand power. Your stand is the fastest out of our entire platoon, so place your marks and scan over the town so that we can…..”

“Taken care of captain.” Lightning finishes Shining Armor’s sentence with a grin. “I’ve already encountered the enemy and their stands. And it’s just like you suspected, they want to wipe out the entire town and get the corpse.”

Lightning gestures to a small figure obscured by the shadows behind her. “In fact I’ve brought some pony that has already come into contact with them and can brief us on their stand powers and abilities.”

“Really?” Shining asks his eyes expanding in his skull “You met another trouper that could hold their own against whomever is using this stand power?”

Barely able to suppress her own snickering the light green Pegasus nods once placing a hoof on her mouth to suppress a fit of giggles. “Well then that’s perfect!” Shining states “Bring him forward I’ll be sure to give him a proper recommendation to the Princess. Heck if his information is good he may even get a medal, or at least a promotion!”

At this the jab green Pegasus can no longer hold back the torrent of laughter that has been bubbling up inside her, her laughter pouring out with intensity that is mystifying the stallion. Suddenly the stallion feels a gentle tug on the side of his uniform as he turns to face the stimulus. Facing him is practically the most adorable filly that he has ever seen, her cute red hair done up in a perfect bow and her wide open eyes encompassing about seventy percent of her face.

“Well hello there little filly! I’m glad to see that you’re safe and everything but if you don’t mind could you step off to the side for a moment. Lightning dust is about to…..”

Shining armor’s mind reboots as he puts all the information together from years of training. That filly wasn’t there before, he did a sweep of the room so she had to have arrived around the same time as Lightning Dust. Meaning the filly would have to have arrived with Lightning Dust. That and his subordinate’s response lead to only one solid conclusion.

“Seriously Lightning?”

Lightning continues to smile as she snickers under her breath.

“You’re kidding right?” Shining armor asks.

Lightning dust snickers even more.

“Lightning Dust, please tell me this is an elaborate joke.”

Lightning dust begins to chortle under her breath.

“……you’re serious?”

Clearing her throat the mare tries her best to snap a proper salute as she breaks out into an ear to ear smile. “YES SIR!”

“This… filly… came into contact with the enemy? An enemy that defeated almost half our royal guard? And she survived?” Shining asks curiously

“Came into contact? Pfht! This filly fought both of them to a standstill captain!” Lightning continues to heap on her praise as the filly beams puffing out her chest at word of her accomplishments “In fact I think this little filly is about the best guard we’ve had in…. ohwhoamikidingican’ttakethisanymore BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

As Lightning dust falls to her back her hooves waving in the air from her own joke Shining armor takes another clear look at the yellow filly before him. With a narrow careful gaze the unicorn looks the yellow filly square in the eyes his discerning gaze picking the pony apart from the inside out. The room grows silent as she stallion stares down the little filly with the intensity only a guard captain could muster. Finally after what seemed like an eternity for the filly under such intense scrutiny the stallion nods affirmatively. “All right then!” Shining says cheerfully “I’m not the kind of pony willing to waste another second on idle conversation when an enemy is knocking on our doorstep. Applesnack can you tell us….”

“Applebloom!”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Mah name! it’s Applebloom not Applesnack!”

Shining scratches his head “But I thought that Twilight’s friend was Applesnack. Granted you’re a bit younger than I figured but you seem like a nice filly….”

Applebloom face hooves “APPLEJACK is mah sis. She’s Twilight’s friend. Ah’m Applebloom.”

“Oh…………….. are you sure?” Shining armor asks.

“YES.” Applebloom stares at the stallion ahead of her with a deadpan expression “Ah’m sure mah name is Applebloom.”

“…….so you and my sister aren’t friends?”

“Yes!” Applebloom shouts “Well… No…… Well……. Ah think we are….. but…..”

“OH in the name of Celestia Just get on with it!” Zecora shouts

“Yes get on with it!” Lightning dust shouts

“YEAH GET ON WITH IT!!!” The guards shout in a deafening chorus.

“But….” Shining argues

“GET ON WITH IT SHINEY!!!” Twilight shouts.

Signing in defeat the stallion turns back to the filly “All right Applebloom can you tell us what these two stand users look like and what their powers are? Can you do that?”

“Well.” The filly taps her chin with her hoof as she recalls the encounter with the two villainous stallion who nearly killed her not a few minutes ago. “There’s this one guy he’s a big bully! He’s the light brown one with a dark brown mane.” Applebloom holds her hoof up to about Shining’s back height “He’s about this big an he’s got a horrible attitude. He’s got a cutie mark of three horseshoes and has this dirty brown suit on. And even worse he talks like a drummed out gangster from one of those old timey movies!”

“And……” Shining waves his hoof urging the filly on.

“And there was this other guy!” Applebloom continues “HE was like this voodoo priest type. He had all these fancy black clothes and talked all smart like! He was big an blue an he had this strange title or somthin like he was a priest. An to top it off he wouldn’t stop talking about purification through death or hogwash like that.”

Shining Armor rubs the bridge of his muzzle “I meant what are their stand powers. The details about their appearance are nice but what I really need to know are what their stand powers are.”

Applebloom blinks in realization “Oh right well that first guy, Horseshoes er somthin controls those gaping maws er somthin. If he touches you or if any of those black mouths bite ya then a big sharp toothed may pops out of yer skin and controls you!”

“So.” Flash rubs his chin “That’s the guy that controls the ponies with his power. Is there a way to remove the maws? Maybe get rid of them?”

“Ah-Ah don’t know.” The filly looks at her own hooves downcast “He said…. He said that only killing the pony would remove em …..”

“And you believed him?” Lightning dust spits off the side almost hitting another of her men “That’s bull! I removed mine!” Lighting Dust extends her injured hoof the blood dripping down the bandage as shining suddenly understands the origins of Lighting’s injuries.

Shining Armor rolls his eyes. “I doubt it’ a viable strategy to rip the enemy’s stand off our bodies Lightning.” Shining states dryly as he turns back to the filly Applebloom. “But Lightning’s right about one thing there must be a way to remove these sores that Horseshoes isn’t saying. So we’ll beat him unconscious and hope that does the trick and if that doesn’t work we’ll simply force him to get rid of them. What about the other one Applebloom?”

“That other guy was real creepy an stuff.” Applebloom continues without any hesitance. “He brought the dead back to life an he…. He brought back…..”

“He brought back some of the dead from the cemeteries.” Lightning finishes for the filly. Turning over to the yellow crusader she places a gentle wing on her back “There nothing to be scared of captain they’re just corpses that we can put back in the dirt. However what is a big concern is that there seems to be no limit on the number of dead he can reanimate, and given the size of the town we’re talking number of corpses in the thousands.”

Shining nods as the filly snuggles deeper into the light green Pegasus’s down feathers greatly comforted by the light green mare’s concern. “Well at least we know who our enemies are now.” With a condescending look Shining turns back to the rest of his men “Do you hear that? Despite your ‘democracy’ Twilight was innocent of your accusations. If you had hooved Twilight over to the monsters at our doorstep the attack would not have stopped and you would no doubt have died as well.”

Every soldier and pony looks down at their hooves as they recount their shameful actions. Shining taps his hooves impatiently “Well what do you have to say?”

The troops look at each other before responding in one pitiable voice “We’re sorry Twilly.”

Shining Nods “Good now that we know the particulars….” Shining looks over at his men “AND we’ve given a proper apology, we can develop a plan to take these guys out. Flash, can you use your stand to take me and a select group to fight the enemy?”

“Sorry captain but that’s not going to fly.” Lightning salutes as she trots over to the stallion “You aren’t going anywhere, we need you to protect the corpse with your Bastion.” The mare looks down the flight of stairs flinching as the sounds coming from the first floor. “That and if you leave the barrier downstairs then the entire station will be overrun.”

Shining sighs as his heroic plan to save the day are once again dashed by logic “Lightning……. You’re right I can’t leave. If the corpse falls into enemy hooves then I shudder to think what could happen. Then perhaps you can?”

“Uhhhhhh about that Captain Armor…..” Lighting rubs her injured hoof sorely.

“What is it Lighting?” Shining looks down at the mare’s blood soaked bandage. “Your hoof? I’ll admit that it looks bad but you’ve never backed down from a fight!”

“What? Oh my injuries?” Lighting looks down at her hoof as she continues. “Well I admit that I did lose a lot of blood but that’s not why I’m not rushing over there to kick their flanks. They know my stand power Captain and to tell you the truth I barely made it out of there to begin with. If I lead an attack with them already knowing my ability I’ll probably be the one getting knocked on my flank.”

“B-But it has to be you Lightning! No pony else has the experience and technique to lead an assault.” Shining waves his hoof around the police station “And it’s not like we have another team on standby! Look I know that it’s dangerous but it has to be you. Zecora doesn’t have a stand and Flash is too inexperienced to lead. ”

“And I’m just saying, Captain.” Lightning reiterates “That going up against a pony that knows our stand powers and their respective weaknesses is a recipe for disaster. And if these guys know my power, odds are they know the stand abilities of our entire unit.”

“Well you’ll have to risk it Lightning.” Shining states sternly “There’s nopony else that can take down these enemies and I don’t see anypony else volunteering.”

“……I’ll do it.”

All eyes in the room turn towards the small and slightly meek voice that seems to cut through the silence to find a very tense Twilight Sparkle sitting there with her hoof raised.

“I-I-I mean we could do it. Me and my friends that is, you said that you didn’t have another team lying around but that’s not really true. I mean me and my friends are more a group than a team….” The unicorn blushes as she tries to put her makeshift idea together “But you said you needed a team a stand users and well, we’ve managed to beat down every stand user that has tried to defeat us so in terms of experience….”

“NO.” Shining interjects “Absolutely no.”

“Shining! You said yourself the longer this stand power is active then the more ponies suffer!” Twilight gestures out the window with a free hoof as she pleads with her brother. “Me and my friends may not have formal training but we have teamwork, friendship and a desire to protect the ponies we love, just like you do! We can’t afford to be divided and let our biases affect our judgment Shining. We have to use everything at our disposal if we are to save the corpse and the town.”

“Twi’s right!” Applebloom squeaks as she rushes over to Twilight’s side “Ah don’t know anything about a corpse er whatever yer talking about. Ah have ta save mah sister an I don’t care what yawl say, Ah’m helpin too!”

Shining looks at his sister her iron fixed gaze letting him know that she is not going to budge an inch. As if seeking sound advice he glances over to Zecora silently praying that she can back him up. “If Twilight deer is so resolved, then let her gather her friends which have been dissolved. She can then bring the fight to our enemy, and allow us to seize victory.”

Lightning nods with Zecora's logic “I think the paper pusher is right this time captain. If her friends are capable of giving us this much trouble than they’re certainly capable of handling their own.” Lightning despite the desperate situation manages a cocky grin. “Plus if your sister is half as good a fighter as you are then they’ll be able to bring these guys down before they overrun the town. And you DID say yourself that time is of the essence.”

Despite the votes of confidence for his sister, or perhaps because it, Shining is noticeably worried.  His gaze levels with his sister in his best intimidating guard stare, yet the mare stands resolute. Their eyes match as each pony tries their best to try to keep the other from making what is in their mind a dangerous mistake. Twilight trusting in the strength and power of her friends and Shining armor trying to keep his only family as far out of harm’s way as physically possible. Both look like neither will surrender as they stare at each other in an attempt to physically sway the other with their mere presence.

“I can do this Shiny.” Twilight states her voice softening “Please.”

Shining looks at his sister as her plea echoes through the now silent room. Shining gives one last attempt to steer the mare away from her course of action before hanging his head in defeat. “You really don’t play fair do you Twily.” Shining chuckles as his horn illuminates, suddenly the mare flinches as she feels the Anti-stand collar fall off of her neck landing on the floor with a loud clank.

Twilight rubs her sore neck as she massages warm blood back into her now exposed coat.  The mare looks back at her brother with a look of both bewilderment and thanks as Shining Armor looks warily into his sister’s eyes “Just don’t make me regret this, okay Twily?” Shining Armor says. “No matter what, you survive, and that’s an order. Got it?”

Twilight snaps into a sharp playful salute as she makes it clear that she has no intention of dying here. Her posture, her bearing, each give her brother an image of a responsible and capable mare that can handle herself, a mare that can defeat any obstacle thrown at her and come out on top. And despite his own silent fears Shining can’t help but smile as he looks at the mare before him not as his sister that needs to be coddled but her own pony that is every bit his equal. Shining salutes back with a smile as they share a wordless moment together each of them ready to do their part to save the world.

‘She really has grown up’ Shining thinks to himself as he turns to face the rest of his soldiers that are patiently awaiting their orders. “Alright everypony!” Shining rises his booming voice to the rest of his men “Here’s the plan!”

“Lightning.” The mare salutes as Shining places his hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “Take what solders you can and slow down the enemy’s advance in the town proper. Protect as many of the ponies of this town as you are able and get the ones that you can’t to safety.”

“Flash.” The orange Pegasus salutes “Help Twilight get her team together by using your Flashpoint. Once you have dropped her off to eliminate the enemy, fly as fast as your wings are able to Canterlot. Get the Princess and get reinforcements, come back as fast as you can.”

“I’ll stay behind with our vanguard to protect the corpse and the police station while drawing the enemy’s fire.” Shining looks around the room as he taps his hoof on the ground. “Between my Bastion and the sturdy nature of the building it shouldn’t be too hard to defend this place. Besides no pony but me knows the exact position of the corpse, so even if we are overrun it won’t be taken.”

“Zecora I want you on the com table.” Shining nods to the zebra mare “Try and get in touch with any of our guards in the surrounding towns. There may be stand agents in calling distance that can lend a helping hoof. But more importantly try and get word to Canterlot to tell them everything that’s going on.”

Finally he turns to his sister “Twilight…..”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Twilight smirks as she turns to Flash sentry behind her. “I’ll get my friends and save the town. You just stay here and….”

Twilight turns to leave only to find a strong gentle hoof on her shoulder. Turning back behind her Twilight comes face to face with her brother his loving genuine face. “Go Twilight.” Shining smiles affirmatively “Go and change the world, don’t worry about me and the others. Your Brother is a lot stronger than you know.”

Before Twilight can respond she finds herself gripped in a tight hug as Flash sentry throws Applebloom on his back. “Hold on everypony I’m teleporting us out now!”

With no time to even respond Twilight watches tearfully as space begins to fold around her, her vision clouding in the eather as she watches her brother fade out. Unwilling to let her brother’s words go unanswered she extends her hoof and calls out “Shiny! Wa-“

…………

“-it. Hunh?” Twilight looks around finding her once again in the center room of a room that is unmistakably familiar to her. The rows and rows of books, the center table and the peaceful quiet all tell Twilight that they have arrived almost instantly back in her library. However the peaceful silence that normally fills the library quickly finds itself replaced with a ere calm as Twilight quickly becomes aware that the library in question is  devoid of any pony save her, Flash sentry and little Applebloom.

Looking around the dark and empty space Twilight takes in the immense contrast between her own current situation and the situation at the war-torn police station miles away as she sighs heavily “Great, you could have at least let me say goodbye.”

Twilight looks around and ignites her horn the dark and empty library as she prepares to reignite the candles in the room. However the sounds of the horde off in the distance dash the mare’s plans, from the sound of it the army that is attacking the police center is a ways off however it’s best not to draw any stragglers or random groups of the enemy to their doorstep. Casting a small personal light spell Twilight looks around determining all her protective wards and locks are still in place, satisfied that Trixie and her friends would be sufficiently safe if the enemy decided to attack them here. “But I have to admit you got us here fast. Not many ponies could pull off an even a pre programmed teleportation so easily. Why do you even have a teleportation mark in the library of all places?” Twilight asks off-hoofedly as she scans the library for signs of her friends.

Flash rubs the back of his neck “Well I may have borrowed a book from Trixie to read and not returned it yet. Besides Trixie was our informant so I kept a mark here in case we needed to reach her.”

Twilight suddenly snaps to attention her current quest forgotten in a rising tide of terror that the undead could not produce “Trixie! I completely forgot, I told her to watch the library!” Grabbing the stallion the mare shakes him violently in a blind panic. “Quick, did she change the library over to the dewey decimal system? Answer me! The fate of hundreds of innocent books depends on it! TELL ME!!”

Flailing about as the mare continues to shake him Flash barely manages to stutter out the answer “N-N-No Sh-h-he said that she did-d-d-dn’t have t-t-t-time.”

Dropping the stallion on the floor like a sack of potatoes the mare wipes her brow of sweat “Whew! That’s a relief. If she had really had gone against my will and established her abhorrent system, not even seventeen cups of coffee could have saved her.” Twilight grips Flash’s collar menacingly. “And by that I mean that SOMEPONY would have RUED the day they were BORN!!”

Flash Sentry’s coat stands on end as a dark and cruel fire ignites in the mare’s eyes only for it to be extinguished a moment later. “All right then, that’s one worry down.” Twilight says as she tosses Flash Sentry backwards, looking around for signs of her friends. “Now all we have to do is get the others and get over to where those ponies Horseshoes and Noteworthy are. That shouldn’t be so hard.”

“Uh, Twi where is everypony?” Applebloom asks as she looks around the empty foyer “didn’t yawl say that all yer friends were waitin for us here?”

Twilight’s attention snaps away from the stallion as her vision pans around the room, and sure enough she finds the library almost completely abandoned.

“Come ta think of it…” Applebloom taps her chin “Applejack came home so maybe the others left too?”

Twilight groans heavily “Great I give Trixie one task and she blows it. Well at least she didn’t rearrange the library while I was gone.” Twilight begins to trot up the stairs turning back only to address the others a moment later. “Come on Applebloom Trixie’s probably upstairs. Flash you watch the door, the last thing we need is a horde of zombies coming in from all sides.”

With practiced focus Twilight looks around the upstairs hallway for any sign of the mare, and coming to the door to the blue show mare’s room Twilight jostles the handle to find the door is locked firmly from the inside. “Oh for crying out loud.”

Twilight knocks on the closed door. “Trixie? Where are you?!” Twilight demands as she knocks more furiously “Why isn’t any pony here? Where are the others?! You were supposed to keep them here if we needed anything, where are the rest of my friends?”

However despite her heavy knocking the door remains firmly closed, unyielding to the purple unicorn’s inquiries. Looking at the locked door with no small amount of frustration the mare stares at the door with a look that could scorch wood. “URGH! I don’t have time for this.” Grabbing the yellow filly to her side Twilight calls upon her inner reserves of magic as she and the filly disappear in a flash of light only to reappear on the other side of the locked door. “All right we’re in. Now where are you Trixie? This is the only locked door in the library and she has nowhere else to go so she must be here somewhere.”

Twilight’s eyes once again scan over the room around her taking in the chaotic organization that Trixie has utilized in order to instill some haphazard method of order in Twilight’s previously pristine guest bedroom.  Scanning over the piles of junk that Trixie seems to have found all over ponyville to use for her tricks, Twilight finds her senses overloaded by piles of glistening scrap metal, unopened boxes with exotic labels and piles upon piles of books resting on the floor without any organization whatsoever. Her trained eyes glance over each and every item in the room from jars of glitter to piles of colored wood as the mare mentally catalogues and identifies every single item in rapid succession. With all the skill and perceptive abilities of a mare with an IQ over 180 she glances over the room only to find no trace of the mare if illusions, surely Trixie must be a master of disguise.

“Uh Twi?” Applebloom nudges the unicorn pointing to a shaking mass of blankets sitting on the top of the queen sized bed. “Yawl didn’t get some new vibrating blanket did ya?”

“Of course not Applebloom!” Twilight states condescendingly “Vibrating blankets won’t arrive until Thursday! Now help me find…..”

Or she could have just been hiding under the blanket in the first place any ordinary pony would look. Twilight tears her eyes away from the distracting clutter to stare at the shaking pile of blankets on Trixie’s bed straining her ears to hear distorted muttering coming from under the thin sheets.

“S-stay away” a small and meek voice cries out from underneath a shaking pile of blankets sitting on the bed.

Trotting over softly as a ghost to the shaking sheets Twilight gently prods the mass of blankets in hopes of eliciting a response from whatever is hiding under Trixie’s blankets. “Um Hello?”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!”

In an explosion of the most high pitched and fillish scream imaginable the blue showmare leaps out from under the covers clinging to the ceiling fan for dear life. Scrambling to put herself as far away from the intruders as possible Trixie cries out as she clutches her eyes as tight as possible. “G-G-Go away! Don’t eat Trixie’s beautiful Brains! J-Just leave me alone!”

Rolling her eyes at Trixie’s cowardly behavior Twilight calls out from the floor “Trixie! This is no time for shenanigans!” Twilight glances at the mare’s crumpled sheets “And why were you hiding under the covers in the first place? There are ponies that need help, don’t you know what’s going on!?”

Trixie’s eyes widen as she immediately recognizes the sound of that voice. Looking down she sees not a group of zombies but a little filly and a mare whom she knows very well. “Twilight! And unnamed filly #4!” the mare cries out as she drops unceremoniously from her perch “I was just… I mean Trixie was just… um Waiting for you to arrive and I was…. Uh securing the most defendable position waiting for you to arrive and……”

Trixie prepares to continue her fibbing however the skeptical look on the purple unicorn’s face lets her know her story is getting her nowhere “…You’re not buying any of this are you?” Trixie asks.

Twilight shakes her head ‘no’ confirming Trixie’s fears causing the great and powerful Trixie to sag noticeably in embarrassment. “Figured.”

“Don’t worry Trixie!” Applebloom pipes up “Twi’s here now and we’ve got this big plan goin on! Yawl don’t have to be scared of some dried up zombies!”

“Don’t worry!?” Trixie shouts as she straightens out her disheveled mane “Well in case you needed glasses little filly, the town is under attack by a horde of the undead that want t-t-to eat our b-b-brains!” Trixie stutters in fear as she gestures out the window “This is the perfect time to worry!”

Twilight places a reassuring hoof on Trixie’s shoulder calming the near hysterical mare down. “I know Trixie, I know that things look bad now. But we have a plan now all we need to do is get the girls together and defeat the stand users that are responsible for this disaster.” Twilight pans the room as if searching for a sign “By the way where are our friends? They went to the library with you so I thought that they would be hiding here with you.”

“Them?” Trixie gasps with exasperation as she strikes the most offended look that she can muster. “Those traitors don’t care one lick about Trixie, so why should she care about them? They think of Trixie as garbage and left her to face the consequences of disobeying the direct order of Captain Armor! That’s a court marshaling offense Twilight, I can’t be court martialed! I’ll be sent back to….” Trixie gulps “…..Junior Boot Camp!!”

With a slap from her hoof The showmare knocks’ Twilight’s hoof off of her shoulder crossing her arms in a grumpy pout. “So what if I kept some secrets? So what if I reported their movements to my superiors? Trixie is a Great and Powerful Stand Agent empowered by Celestia herself! If those ingrates really cared about Trixie they should respect her as such.”

To Twilight’s great dismay Trixie begins to literally turn about as she turns her back on Twilight’s pleas for help. “And they expect me to help now that they are in trouble? Give one reason Trixie should bail those hayseeds out now that they need my help!”

“Trixie!” Twilight gasps at the show mare’s sudden profession “How could you say that? Those are our friends we’re talking about.”

“And as I said before Twi-Bright.” Trixie sneers “Trixie has no Friends.”

The silence that fills the room could “Besides did you see outside? Trixie isn’t going out there! There are z-z-zombies out there! Not that Trixie is afraid of zombies or anything, it’s just that…… well Trixie has to secure this very defensible position under the bed! Yes that is a perfectly reasonable explanation!”

Applebloom the pony that should be most offended by Trixie’s stubborn decision to abandon her sister to a horrible fate only looks back at the show mare with a teary eyed expression. “Trixie….”

Trixie though obviously listening to the filly remains with her back to the two ponies, her will and stubbornness unaffected by Applebloom’s pleas.

“Ah know that mah sis and her friends aren’t always nice ta you, an ah have no idea what yawl are fightn over.” Applebloom sniffles in a such a way not even Trixie can tell whether it is part of the yellow filly’s act or a genuine demonstration of her sorrows. “But yawl can’t just leave em alone. Yer a stand agent! Yawl swore an oath ta protect everypony even those ya don’t like, no matter what the situation is.”

 “Mah…..” Applebloom looks down her body shaking from fear. “Mah parents were brought out of the grave by that unicorn Noteworthy. Ah… ah barely even remember mah parents, an he dug em up and made them almost kill me. Yer not the only one whose afraid……Ah’m scared too……”

Trixie’s normally steadfast demeanor instantly dissolves under the filly’s confession. With painful slowness the mare turns around as the full grown mare abandons her pride to watch the tears of the little filly pitter patter against the floor.

“Yer… yer so strong Trixie…. Please mah sis needs yer help….. Twi needs your help…. All of Ponyville needs ya. So Please.” Applebloom’s teary eyes straight into Trixie’s soul “Please help me……”

Trixie pulls her gaze away from the filly to the window outside, and all the horrors and terrors that are consuming the town as she sits there safe hiding like a coward. Pulling her gaze away from the window he locks gazes with Twilight who is asking her to go out into that terrible situation to save ponies who abandoned her at the drop of her magnificent hat. Then she looks back to the filly, a filly whom she doesn’t even know who is asking her to risk her life to save her hayseed of a sister from the hordes of Zombies that are running rampant outside. Trixie sighs knowing deep down, despite her reluctance there is really only once choice she has to make. With a heavy heart Trixie gives in

 “Very well little farm filly.” Trixie straightens her hat as her cocky grin returns “Trixie will ‘mare up’ and face down this horde. If only to show that not even an army of the undead can face down the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Twilight smiles at the mare’s sudden change of heart as she extends her hoof to the cross armed mare in a gesture of camaraderie.  The showmare looks at the unicorn’s hoof for a second before grasping it firmly in a truce. “Just let me make this clear Twilight, we are not friends, Trixie is just doing her job and nothing more. Do not mistake Trixie’s duty for altruism.”

“YES!” Applebloom hoof pumps in the air as the two mares look at the excited filly with wide eyes. Her act over the filly laughs out loud wiping the crocodile tears from her eyes “Another point fer the filly! Take that Diamond Tiara! Ah can speak real good, ah just choose not to speak all fancy like yawl do all the time.”

Both the adults look on as the previously sobbing filly giggles to herself, both of them realizing that they have both been duped by a filly. “Well Trixie, fer a showmare yawl are pretty good at being suckered! If yawl were mah sis ya would have seen through mah whole ‘mah parents are dead’ thing ages ago. Sides, everypony knows an Apple doesn’t cry!”

“Pft!” Trixie waves her hoof dismissively breaking her grasp on the purple librarian’s hoof “Your pathetic oration skills had nothing to do with it hayseed. It was your annoying stare that changed Trixie’s mighty mind. Those class four cutesy eyes would have slain a grumpy dragon and charmed him out of his horde!”

Trixie clears her throat as a blush crosses her muzzle “Plus it would be unprofessional of Trixie to leave Twilight and her friends to die, even if they did deserve it….”

“What was that Trixie?” Twilight asks with a slight grin.

“Nothing!” Trixie fumbles with her words “I mean, Trixie meant her associates! Trixie would never call such losers her friends! It was a slip up. Nothing more.”

Twilight chuckles softly at Trixie’s antics as the crucial issue comes to mind “By the way Trixie where are the rest of the girls? We really need to get them together if we’re to get on with our plan.”

“Yeah!” Applebloom perks up “Where are the girls? They said they would arrive back at the library ages ago with their sleepin bags an stuff.”

“They were going to come back?” Trixie asks in surprise before quickly reverting back to her cocky egotistical self. “I mean of course they would return! No pony can stay away from the Great and Powerful Trixie’s unstoppable charisma for long! I knew that those fools would come groveling back to me sooner or later! They just went off to get their sleeping bags so that they could obey Trixie’s’ command to sleep here for the night. How could Trixie have been so foolish?”

“No, no not those girls!” Applebloom corrects the confused showmare “Ah mean Scootaloo an Sweetie Belle! They were supposed to arrive here for our sleepover ages ago! We planned out the whole thing so that we would all arrive in the library the night yawl returned.”

The hairs on the two mares’ coats stand on end as a horrible thought crosses their minds simultaneously. With a sickening gulp Twilight clears her throat as she turns to the filly. “Applebloom…. So you’re saying that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are walking here, Tonight, In the dark, and completely and utterly without any form of adult supervision?”

“Well sure!” Applebloom smiles oblivious to how wrong twilight’s words sound “The library’s all big an empty an perfect fer all those nighttime activities, so we all agreed to meet here for our sleepover! Pretty good idea hunh?”

“Yes Hayseed.” Trixie states with a dangerous mixture of fear and anger in her voice. “That was a very clever idea to use the abode of a pony for a sleepover, WITHOUT asking them if it was okay.”

“Um Trixie? Technically the Library is my….”

“But you left out one teeny tiny piece of information.” Trixie throws her hoof to point out her window to the raging fires outside. “The entire town is under attack from a zombie horde! Do you KNOW what that means?!”

The filly taps her chin for a few seconds as she computes this new piece of information into her tiny filly brain “….Cutie Mark Crusaders Zombie Slayers?”

Trixie face hooves. “NO! It means that your little filly friends are out there, walking the streets while the entire city is under attack!!”

Applebloom immediately snaps to attention as every potential horrible outcome crosses her mind in an instant. With a great deal of fear the filly recognizes the immense level of danger that her friends are currently exposed to by an indirect result of her plans. “Th-Then we’ve gotta save them! They could be anywhere! We gotta go out there and find them!”

“Hence our dilemma.” Trixie looks out the window as she looks nervously at the scene of carnage growing ever closer across the horizon “Stop the stand users and save the town.” The mare looks back to the filly picturing the faces of two little fillies in deathly danger. “Or try to save as many lives from the Stand Attack as possible.”

The room becomes dead silent, and were this a strictly comedy fan-fic the writer might use this opportunity to write some bad pun about it being as dead silent as the undead outside.

However the far off screams that barely reach the cusp of the three ponies’ hearing tells them that this situation is not a laughing matter. Innocent ponies are dying at this very moment and the ponies that stand a chance to stop it are trapped in a moral deadlock. Either choice that they make will result in lives lost and the danger that Applebloom’s friends are potentially undergoing makes the situation all the more real. Thus the three ponies sit around waiting for the first pony to make their point, to deliver their first blow in a debate for the lives of the town’s ponies.

A debate that is sidestepped entirely by the bravery of a small yellow filly. “A-Ah’ll go…” two pairs of eyes turn to Applebloom as she clenches her hooves and straightens her body. “Ah’ll go help mah friends, ya have ta go save the town.”

“Applebloom….” Twilight recovers from her stunned state with a curt shake of her head. “I-I can’t allow that, I know that you want to save your friends but…..”

“Let me guess…” Applebloom cuts the mare off “….. but ah’m just a filly right? Yawl can’t let me save mah friends cause ah’m too little right? Well you can just ferget about that Twilight!” Applebloom leaps to her hooves “Well guess what? Yeah ah’m a filly! Yes ah’m little but ah can still do great things, an right now mah friends need mah help!”

“Ah can do this Twi.” Applebloom states her voice softening “Please. Please let me save mah friends.”

“Applebloom……” Twilight cringes on the inside a she suddenly realizes in a small way how hard it was for her brother to agree to let her go. “I know that you mean well and that you are already strong, just like your sister. But you can’t go alone even if your power can defend you.”

Applebloom’s previously unquenchable resolve begins to fade a little as the door opens up behind her. Standing in the doorway a strong curt stallion salutes. “Well then if she can’t go alone then I’ll just take her myself.”

Applebloom immediately perks up as Twilight responds “Flash? Were you listening in on us? Who’s watching the door?”

“Please Twilight.” Flash sighs “I’m in the army and I know when I’m being given a bum job whose only purpose is to get a solder out of the way. Besides from the high pitched scream I heard had me bolting up the stairs with all the haste I could muster. I mean it’s not like I could let you die or something. What was all that screaming about anyways?”

Trixie blushes profusely as she remembers her previous outburst while simultaneously giving the purple librarian the universal stare for ‘tell and you die’. “Um sorry Flash.” Twilight rubs her hoof “I uh…… saw a mouse…..”

“A mouse? Seriously?” Flash scoffs “You are fighting a zombie horde and a mouse scares you? I mean come on what’s a mouse going to do?”

“You would be surprised what a mouse could do.” Twilight glares at the solder “Or rather what three mice can do.”

“Oh right, Turnip Truck.” Flash remembers the reports of the trouble the three mice gave Twilight’s Library.  “Well fortunately he’s still locked up tight in the Canterlot’s holding cells so there’s no chance of him aiding in this attack.”

 “In any case…” Trixie gets to her hooves  while turning towards the purple mare with all trace of humor replaced with serious determination. “All of the hayseeds left for their own homes almost as soon as we arrived for…... Reasons.” Trixie admits shamefully. “But if Trixie has learned anything it’s that they are too tough to die. Trixie believes that they will be ready to fight if we can reach them.”

Twilight taps her horn proudly “It’ll be difficult but I think that I can teleport us to each house to gather our team. I’m familiar enough with their houses to succeed in a teleport, the only issue will be teleporting so many ponies at once.” Twilight straightens out. “It’ll tire me out but I think that I can do it.”

“That’s probably for the best.” Flash brushes his blue mane “Meanwhile I’ll take Applebloom and hopefully we can find her friends as well as save as many ponies as we can. Then as soon as they are safe I can head out to get reinforcements.”

Twilight nods “Then we have a new plan. Me and Trixie will gather up the girls while Applebloom….... gathers up the girls.”

Applebloom nods curtly “Sounds like a plan! I just hope yawl don’t have too much trouble with Horseshoes an that nasty priest guy!” Applebloom’s face suddenly looks back at the two adults “Are yawl sure you’ll be all right?”

Both mares look at each other as they individually suppress their own doubts to put on a confident face. “Of course Applebloom, those two may be tough but I’m no bookworm. And if Rainbow Dash gets her hooves on them, well let’s just say it’ll be over in ten seconds flat.”

“Twilight is right hayseed there is nothing to fear.” Trixie raises her hooves to the heavens with dramatic flair “After all she’ll be with the great and powerful Trixie! And everypony knows that the great and powerful Trixie cannot be defeated.”

Before the filly can even protest she finds herself thrown up on the back of another pegisi as Flash sentry crosses his face in concentration. “All right then Hold on Tight Applebloom. I’ll take us close to the residential district where all this disaster is heading. Hopefully we can find Lightning and get your friends to the safety of the town hall.”

Flash’s outline begins to crackle with static as the filly’s head swivels around to take in. “Wait a second, where are we….”

The air around the two ponies crackles and finally pops as the two vanish into thin air leaving behind a faint smell of ozone and electrified air. The two mares gape at their new Afros that have become charged with static electricity as they quickly flail about to brush their manes back to its previous mane styles. Finally after smoothing out her poofy mane Twilight whistles in surprise.

“Wow.” Twilight blinks repeatedly “That guy’s got to learn to slow down once a while and let ponies finish their sentences.”

“Forget about the filly, if half of what Trixie hears is true she can handle herself.” Trixie grunts as she straightens out her electrified hairdo. “What about our mission? Does the Bookworm think that we can take these stand users out? They seem to have quite a combination going for them.”

“All we know for sure is that our enemies are well organized and possess shrewd tactics capable of overwhelming an entire town’s defenses in under an hour. I know that we’re strong together but these guys are on a whole different level.” Twilight looks out the window with a concerned look on her face as she now tries to be brave for the mare in front of her. “But I know that together there is no obstacle that we can’t overcome. The entire town is depending on us after all. There is no room for failure this time.”

Trixie as if sensing the Librarian’s worry nods affirmatively as both mares bolster the other’s confidence. With their plan in place and their counter attack under way only now does Twilight glance out the window the catch a glimpse of the destruction awaiting her. “One power controls the living and the other controls the dead, these two stand users must be a frightfully competent and impressive team…….”