Light Up the Darkness

     Fluttershy exited a dark SUV and walked over to a tall pony. His coat was a shade of dark blue. He was standing at the rear of a van with the label “EDC”; it stood for Equestrian disease control. Fluttershy stopped in front of the pony and asked “Now what did I get called half way across the country for?” The pony’s pleasant daydream was interrupted when he heard this. “Are you the animal disease specialist?” he asked. “Yes,” replied Fluttershy.

     The pony turned to the van and opened the door. As he leaned into it Fluttershy noticed something; his cutie mark was a biohazard symbol. As she stared at it the pony turned back to her, wielding two biosafety level four suits. “You’re going to need one of these where were going.” “BSL4?” Fluttershy asked with a concerned tone. “Yeah, it’s bad. You’ll learn more once you’re inside.” As he closed the rear door of the van, Fluttershy saw that the veterinary office they were about to enter was completely covered in plastic sheeting, there were also several armed guards encircling the animal hospital. Each of them was wearing a NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) suit with a gasmask. “Wow, this must be really serious,” Fluttershy remarked, with fear easily noticeable in her voice. “We don’t know too much right now, and I can’t tell you anymore while people are around,” the pony said as his eyes tracked two passing mares.

    Fluttershy then extended a hoof and took one of the suits. She would have normally said thank you, but she didn’t want to thank anyone for what she was about to see.

     The pony extended a gloved hoof and opened a zipper in the plastic sheeting. “This is decon one,” he remarked. Fluttershy looked around the white room, through the lens of her suit, and saw a large shower head in the center of the ceiling, the plastic floor was speckled with a light dusting of bleach, and there were several PVC pipes lining the walls.

      The pony in front of Fluttershy outstretched a hoof and unzipped a second set of plastic sheeting. “Well this is it,” he said as he gestured for Fluttershy to enter. It was difficult to see inside, so she flicked a switch on the side of her helmet. When she did this two lights on either side of her head illuminated the room. “That’s better,” she said to herself.

     Fluttershy then heard the zipper closing behind her and, seconds later, a shower kicked on. She took in a deep breath and walked into the animal hospital’s lobby. As she looked she noticed something that seemed odd to her; there wasn’t a single guard to be seen. She assumed that a gasmask and NBC suit wasn’t safe enough, but if that was the case what in god’s name was in this place.

     As she gazed around the room a pony, wearing the same suit she was, walked out of a hall way. He noticed the light emanating from her helmet and looked over to her. “Ah, you must be Miss. Fluttershy, he said in a very proper voice. Fluttershy assumed he was from Canterlot, obviously due to his accent and because Canterlot was where the EDC headquarters was located. “What’s a big wig like him doing here?” she thought to herself. “Well?” he asked. “Wh- What? Oh, I’m sorry, I’m just a little blown away by your set up here. Yes, I am Miss. Fluttershy,” she answered. “Splendid,” he replied, “Now if you’ll please follow me.” The pony turned away only to turn back once more. “I’m Dr. Shannon by the way.” Fluttershy smiled and nodded slightly, then she replied “I would shake your hoof, but” she looked down at her suit as she continued “I don’t think that’s the best idea here.” Dr. Shannon smiled slightly and turned to walk back down the dimly lit hallway. Fluttershy quickly trotted up next to him and asked “So what’s all of this about?” “You’re familiar with the rabies virus, correct?” “Yes,” “Well we believe this virus has mutated.” “How bad?” just as Fluttershy asked that Dr. Shannon stopped at a wooden door. “This bad,” he answered as he opened it. The second Dr. Shannon opened the door, just a crack; she could hear the screams and screeches of several dogs and cats. Once it was completely opened, she could see it; there was a dead dog in the center of the room, and all around it were rabid animals in cages. They were trying to get out and attack the first thing that moved. “Oh my god,” said Fluttershy. “We believe they were exposed yesterday. The vet that owns the place-“ Fluttershy cut in there, “What! Yesterday?!” she exclaimed. “Yes, yesterday. Now as I was saying, the pony who owns the clinic told one of the other vets he wasn’t feeling well, after seeing that dog there.” Dr. Shannon pointed his hoof to the dog in the middle of the room. It still had foam dripping from its mouth. “Now this dog was brought in to be put down, because he was starting to show the early symptoms of rabies. Within six hours the later stages were beginning.” “That’s impossible,” Fluttershy interrupted, “Rabies takes weeks for the first symptoms to show, even in dogs.” Dr. Shannon nodded and replied “Yes, but we believe this is a mutant strain. The incubation period is anywhere between six and twenty four hours.” Fluttershy’s mouth dropped. Despite this Dr. Shannon continued “Now, the vet went home and so did the owner. We sent a few disease response teams to their house and,” Dr. Shannon paused for a moment but soon continued, “They were attacked by these individuals. All were bitten. As of now all of them are in ICU and exhibiting symptoms. Because this is in fact pony to pony transmission, we’ve declared a phase four pandemic alert.” “My god,” replied Fluttershy. Dr. Shannon looked over to a squealing dog that was securely locked up in its cage. Its eyes were blood shot and extremely dilated. Foam poured from its mouth and pooled onto the floor of the cage. The dog’s cote was bloody, most likely from trying to escape. Dr. Shannon took his gaze off of it and looked to Fluttershy. “The scariest part isn’t the incubation period. This virus is airborne.” Fluttershy could feel the blood leave her face after hearing those words. “Wh-What?” she managed to say with a fearful stutter. “None of these animals had any contact with one another, this means it’s airborne,” Dr. Shannon concluded.

Four Years Later

     Fluttershy’s eyes slowly opened as the alarm clock, next to her bed, began to sound. “God I hate dreams like that, I don’t need to live it twice,” she said to herself as she hit a button on the small clock. When she did this the noise ceased. Fluttershy looked around the room to see Angel at the foot of her bed. So she softly ruffled the sheets to awaken him. The little bunny was shaken slightly, but her actions were not enough to wake him up. Fluttershy then lifted the sheets, almost knocking Angel off of the bed and said “Get up sleepy,”

     Angel shot her an angry look and hopped off the bed. “Don’t give me that,” she said, “You know what today is.” Angel stopped, just before exiting the room, when he heard those words. It was almost as if what Fluttershy had said paralyzed him. The little bunny’s face was frozen with fear. Angel slowly turned to face Fluttershy so she’d know just how afraid he was. She didn’t even have to see it to know he was scared. “Ok,” Fluttershy responded, “You can stay, I’ll do it myself. Are you happy now?” The little bunny nodded his head very quickly, and repeatedly, to answer. Fluttershy rolled her eyes at him and said “Fine.”

     Fluttershy walked over to a large cabinet, by the front door, and opened its wooden doors. Inside were several guns; most were automatic rifles, others were combat style shotguns, and even a few hunting rifles. She reached out a hoof and took an M-4 machine gun. As she held it she reached her hoof underneath it, slid out the clip, and looked at the top of it. It was completely full of bullets. She then placed the clip back into the gun. There was a metallic click when she did this.

     Fluttershy slid one hoof through the sling of the gun and positioned the firearm onto her back. After she’d made a few adjustments to the strap, she looked back into the main room of her house. Angel was sitting there just watching her. “Are you sure you don’t want to come? It’s not like I won’t need your help or anything,” she suggested, in a feeble effort. Her only answer was a quick, almost violent, side to side shaking of the white bunny’s head. Fluttershy just sighed and turned to the steel door. It looked like the type of door you’d find on a bomb shelter. There was a large assortment of locks, bolts, and even a few iron beams laid across it. She started with the beams. One by one she’d slid them out of their supports. Next she unlocked the many deadbolt locks that lined the door’s side. Lastly she slid the large iron bolts, which jetted into the steel doorframe, out of place. It took her a good minute and a half, but she finally opened the door.

     The light was so bright it was all she could see for a moment, but after a few seconds her eyes adjusted. Outside her house was an over grown yard, cracked streets with grass protruding through it, and a few cars and trucks overturned in it.

     Fluttershy looked back into the house one more time and closed the door. She sighed and walked out to the street, to the only car that wasn’t destroyed. It was a large dark blue SUV. Fluttershy opened the driver’s side door and climbed in. The first thing she did was take off her gun and lay it in the passenger seat. She then reached out a hoof to the keys, which were already in the transmission, but before she turned them she looked back at her home. Her house was a fortress. The windows were covered with steel grates that had a small slit in them for looking outside and shooting, the door was a three inch thick block of solid steel that could withstand a rocket launcher, and along the roof was a series of retina burning flood lights. Nothing could possibly ever break into that place.

      Fluttershy broke her gaze away from the house and looked to the steering weal of the vehicle she was in. She then turned the keys and the SUV started right up. Fluttershy put it in drive and pressed her hoof against the gas pedal.

     As she drove down the empty street she looked around at the several vacant houses she passed. Some had boarded up windows; some had broken windows. It was something like what you’d expect to see after a hurricane, but one thing was missing; the ponies. As Fluttershy drove along she passed an over turned car, but something inside of it caught her eye. There was a dead pony still trapped in their seat belt. It looked like it had been there for a few years. Oddly though, considering Fluttershy’s old attitude, she didn’t care. She’d been through too much to still care about the dead the way she used to. So she just continued to drive past it without giving it a second thought.

     As she turned onto Pastry road she saw a “condemned” home, as they called them. It was covered in plastic sheeting with a bright orange label on it that read “Quarantined by The EDC.” The plastic had fallen off in several places and most of it had been ripped to shreds. Fluttershy slowed the SUV and stared at it. She thought for a moment and stopped the vehicle completely. “I bet no one’s checked that place,” she thought to herself. So Fluttershy shifted the SUV into reverse and pulled up next to the house. The yard she drove through was a jungle of dead grass. It was at least three feet tall. “God I hope they have something,” she thought.

     Fluttershy cautiously opened the door and looked at the sea of weeds. She then leaned over to the passenger seat and grasped her gun. Fluttershy laid it in her lap and switched the safety off. Then she reached behind her seat and grasped a small leather bag. She put the bag over her shoulder and pulled the gun in. Fluttershy took in a deep breath and said “Ok, here we go.”

     Fluttershy held the M-4 pointed directly in front of her, with her hoof on the trigger. As she approached the house the sheets of plastic blew in the wind like flags. The grass around her was rubbing against her legs and thighs as she walked through it. Despite this feeling very uncomfortable and unpleasant, it was the least of her worries.

     Fluttershy now stood at the front door of the house. It was covered by a sheet of clear-white plastic, and underneath the sheet was a bright orange slip of paper. The paper read “Quarantine Notice NO. 9237.” She assumed it would be dark inside, so she turned on the flashlight, which was mounted to her gun. Fluttershy stood there for a moment, trying to build up enough courage to enter. She was just so afraid of what laid behind this door. Then suddenly she ripped down the sheet of plastic and burst through it. She quickly looked back and forth with her gun pointing where ever she looked. Fluttershy could feel her heart racing, but there was, seemingly, nothing for her to fear. Despite this, she had no intentions of lowering her weapon.

     The air inside of the house smelled stale. Everything around the house was covered in at least some dust, but not as much as you’d expect. As Fluttershy looked around she saw two large body bags and one small bag next to the door. Each was marked with an orange biohazard symbol. “I guess this was one of the last condemned houses,” she thought to herself.

     Fluttershy slowly, and extremely cautiously, made her way to the kitchen, with the flashlight on her gun illuminating the way. “So far so good,” she thought to herself. As she stepped onto the cool tile she heard her hoofstep. The noise caused her to clinch the gun, but she didn’t have a choice; she needed to get what she could. So she quickly walked over to the cabinet. Each step she heard seemed to echo in her mind. Fluttershy outstretched a hoof to the small wooden door and opened it. “Oh thank god,” she thought to herself as she peered into it. There before her were several cans of food. There was at least thirty. Quickly, Fluttershy placed one into her bag and then another. After repeating this several more times, the cabinet was empty. Then just as she closed her bag she heard something; something that sent a chill shooting straight down her spine. It was the low growl of an infected pony.

     Fluttershy quickly turned around to see a small pony behind her. It was in the corner of the room sleeping, well at least it was. When the beam of light struck its face the pony instantly jumped up and shrieked at her. Then it lunged forward, with foam spewing from its mouth. Fluttershy didn’t hesitate to kill it, so she held the trigger down and shot three rounds into the filly. It instantly hit the ground, but something else happened as well. Unknown to Fluttershy, there was a hive of at least eight of these things just around the corner and when those shots rang out they were all awaken. Suddenly they let out an ear piercing howl and started sprinting in her direction.

     Fluttershy was in a panic. She turned and ran as fast as she could to where she entered. She could hear the hoofsteps and cries getting closer and closer to her. She didn’t want to shoot because she didn’t want to turn around. She had to escape, not fight. Fluttershy turned a corner to see one of the infected ponies scream at her. Since this one was in front of her she lifted the gun and shot it once through the head. Blood splattered onto the walls around it. Unfortunately when she did this it only seemed to infuriate the infected that were already gaining on her. She swore she could feel their breath on the back of her neck as she galloped away. After what seemed like forever, she finally saw it; the door was only a few steps away. Then suddenly she felt a hoof reach out to pull her back. The yellow Pegasus tripped, along with the infected pony, but when she did they slid into the light of the door. The infected pony that had pulled her back immediately jumped out of the light and screeched in pain. Her gun, however, was lying in the center of the dark room, with infected all around it. Fluttershy didn’t care about the gun; all she cared about was getting out of the house. So the yellow Pegasus leapt up and ran into the yard.

     Fluttershy could still hear their shrieks and cries as she ran for her vehicle. She wasted no time and jumped into the driver’s seat. Within three seconds she started the SUV and gassed it. She flew out of the yard and onto the road. Fluttershy kept going faster and faster down the streets, still full of adrenalin. She then opened the glove box and was looking her pistol when suddenly, out of nowhere, a deer leapt in front of her. She immediately swerved, trying not to hit it, but went into a ditch, causing the SUV to flip. The vehicle rolled over three times before finally coming to a stop, on its side.