---/Audio recording, Year of Celestia 1021---
"This is Doctor Sterile Bandage, and I'm recording this final audio log to announce that we have failed.
We never had the time to warn everypony about it.
We never even had the time to quarantine or evacuate.
So by the time it hit... It was too late...
When the virus hit, it spread like wild fire, first it hit Fillydelphia. After 2 days symptoms were reported in Baltimare, Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Cloudsdale, Ponyville, Canterlot... It was everywhere! We didn't know where it came from. We didn't know who was infected or where those who were infected were. The virus appeared to be dormant until suddenly it wasn't! We couldn't-"
*Severe hacking coughs are heard*
"We couldn't control it. We couldn't treat or cure it. Hay, we didn't even know what it was, really...
All we knew was that it took 12 hours to incubate, and after those 12 hours it would spread through the system and feed on the nutrients in the blood stream and attack the organs like some kind of bioweapon.
Only, we know it wasn't the Griffins, or the Yak, or anypony else who made it...
Because they were all getting sick too...
We've lost all contact with the Griffins. Yakistan is in anarchy. The Dragons are dropping out of the sky like rocks. Zebrica is in complete chaos. And... And Equestria...
Over 80 percent of-"
*More hacking coughs followed by wheezing is heard*
"Over 80 percent of the combined population is dead. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, Foals, Mares, Stallions, all of them infected, all had died of total organ failure and systematic infection, combined with tumors and necrosis. And there was nothing we could do but watch...
With no Celestia or Luna to raise the sun or moon, both have been in the sky for 2 weeks now... The only way we can tell time is through our calendars and clocks. With very few Pegasi to control the weather, our research has slowed down to a crawl due to hazardous traveling conditions, disabling our ability to effectively communicate with other labs... Very few Unicorns and Earth Ponies remain... Either panicking or hiding out...
We haven't gotten reports from the Canterlot University in 3 days... At this point I'm certain they are all either in comas or dead.
Ponyville went dark a week ago. The few ponies we sent to check on them came back and reported that they were all dead, including Princess Twilight Sparkle, at that time the sole surviving Princess of Equestria.
All of them. Dead..."
*Even more hacking coughs*
"It won't be long before I join them... But before I do, I have to say this...
We tried everything. We ran more tests on this one virus than we have ever ran on anything else. But we could never find a weakness. We could never find a flaw. I don't know how but... Somehow it was perfect! Everything we tried didn't make a difference in Tartarus. It kept spreading, kept infecting, kept killing.
Eventually we started to infect the animals with it... Tried to find out how it worked... But they escaped and spread it across the entire ecosystem! By the time we realized what we had done over 30 manticores were found dead near the Everfree forest in Ponyville, all displaying symptoms of this bucking virus, along with thousands of other creatures in agony across the border.
Since the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, tried to help them, she was infected very quickly and, in theory, died within hours due to her weakened immune system and her organs shutting down... Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash, died after she literally slipped into a coma in mid air during flight and plummeted over a thousand hooves to her death... Element of Generosity, Rarity, is said to have died in her boutique while sheltering infected. As have Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and worst of all: Princess Twilight Sparkle. If we are correct, within a week Ponyville was gone...
We got scared... We needed more test subjects... But we had no animals to work with... So instead we started testing on the Celestia-Damned Foals.
We... We didn't have a choice. It was either use them or wait for the virus to kill us all... We just thought... Most of them, if not outright all of them, were orphans at that point, and we were so bucking desperate for test subjects that we infected them to monitor them... It didn't do us any good. We learned NOTHING new. And at what cost? Over a hundred foals in total agony. Fillies and Colts no older than 5 were writhing in agony on their beds... The pain I saw on their faces... Oh my Celestia... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... We were just so scared..."
*Uncontrollable sobbing is heard before another series of hacking coughs, followed by labored breathing*
"I'm the last one in this Hospital alive... The others died hours ago... I'm next, and I know it. I was infected 2 days ago... By my current condition, from past experience, I estimate I have only a few minutes left. Jewel... Oh Celestia... I... I'm sorry, Jewel... I never meant for this to happen to you or our unborn foal... I'm sorry I couldn't-"
*More coughing*
"Save-"
*Coughing*
"Yo-"
*Coughing suddenly becomes worse before a loud thud is heard, followed by the moans and labored breathing of the stallion in agony as his body is ravaged by the infection. As the recording progresses for the next few minutes, his breathing becomes more and more labored before it comes to a stop, which after several seconds leads to total heart failure and the brain shutting down. The recording continues another three hours before the device shuts down due to low battery.*
Equestria has fallen. Ponykind is extinct. Equis is doomed.
Author's Note
This is my very first piece of MLP Fanfiction. I went for a dark/tragedy route as an experiment, so criticism on how well I did it is welcome! This took me about 25-30 minutes to write, so it has seen zero editing, so pardon any grammar or spelling errors. Be sure to leave some feedback!
