Chapters It was a beautiful day at Ponyville. The weather ponies have done a great job at creating a very lovely day, by the order of our local princess, to welcome a visiting guest. None of us knew who was coming aside from Twilight, apparently it was a top secret that only the princesses knew. As Rarity and Pinkie helped to decorate the castle for our mystery guest, AJ and I were busy preparing a banquet for our guest.
Finally after many hours of hard work, the castle was fully prepared moments before our guests' arrival. Moments later Twilight greets our mystery guest at the door. He was like no pony I have ever seen before, standing twice as tall as Twilight, with two long horn much like that of a dragon's on his head, lion's claw for his front hooves, and scales all along his body, but the strangest thing of all was his mane, it changes color every time I looked. Twilight greets him as Prince AoBing of the Far East. And he bows his head in return. Prince AoBing and Twilight headed to the main throne room, as we were left with Aobing's guards. They look like normal ponies aside from having a lighter coat of fur. I offered them food, but they kindly declined. As Pinkie attempts to strike up a conversation with them, I decided to go check on Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
Fluttershy had offered a place in her cottage for our guest today, and Rainbow Dash was helping her clean up. When I arrive at the cottage, I found the two Pegasus had finished with their cleaning but are preoccupied with something else. I knock on the door twice, then open the door and let myself in. Rainbow dash turned around to greet me while Fluttershy remains focused on what she was doing. Before I could even open my mouth to ask, Rainbow Dashed explained to me that, they had finished cleaning around an hour ago, but as they were about to leave for the castle, they heard Angel coughing, and the cough soon spread among many other animals who were also under Fluttershy's care. Due to the sudden outbreak of what Fluttershy could only guess as the flu, Rainbow Dash and I decided to head back to the Castle, to inform Twilight that the cottage could no longer be able to host our guest for the night.
While the news did cause a small amount of distress on Twilight's part, I quickly reminded Twilight that we have a large castle able to house hundreds of ponies, but are only occupied by me and herself. Twilight quickly turned to asked AJ, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and myself to help prepare three rooms, While Twilight apologized and tries to explained to Prince AoBing the situation. To Twilight's surprise, Princess AoBing did not seem to mind at all; in fact, he expressed his approval for the new accommodation to Twilight with a very flirtatious tone. This caused Twilight to blush, Rarity to turn green with envy, and AJ to shake her head in disapproval all at once.
Aside from the last minute change of accommodation, the first day went by very smoothly. And despite the worry of AJ and the wild imagination of Rarity, the Prince was a true gentle colt and made no unwanted approaches on Twilight that night. The next morning we decided to bring our guest to the Sugar cube corner for breakfast. Our three guest looked at our simple breakfast with amazement, it was as if they had never seen a muffin in their life. The two guards that were with the Prince wanted to examine the food for poison but was waved off.
"So this… Muffin, was it? We do not have such strange food from where I came. Is there any specific way I should sample this delicacy?" the Prince picked up the muffin with his magic and looked at Twilight for an explanation.
"You just eat it, silly." Before the prince could even react, a voice appears out of nowhere, and the muffin was snatched out of the air and devoured by a pink ball of energy. As the guards move forward to seize the Pink mare who had stolen their Prince's food, the Prince waves them off and turn his glance at the pink mare himself.
"You are…. Pinkie, am I right? While I do not mind, it is poor manner, to steal another's food." The Prince smiled while Pinkie met his eyes. "While I do not mind the action, you have however taken my muffin. And now, I am without a breakfast. A compensation for the breakfast would be fair won't you agree?" The Prince charmingly asked for Pinkie to buy him a new muffin in replacement of the one she ate. But Pinkie just stared at him blankly.
"Please excuse my friend, she lacks a degree of social grace. I will get you another muffin right away." Twilight rush forward in an attempt to resolve the issue.
"Oh! You just wanted another muffin. Why didn't you just say that? Silly filly. While I do not have any Muffins on hooves, I do however have an assortment of cupcakes." Suddenly something in Pinkie's head clicked, and she spring to life. She dash into to backroom, then reappeared moments later, with a plate that has large varieties of Cupcakes on it. She place the plate on a table then dash back to the back room, and once again reappear moments later with another plate of cupcakes…….
In only a minute, the entire sugar cube corner was filled with plates of cupcakes. With Pinkie still does not seem to be stopping, I shot Twilight a look. After noticed my look, Twilight stopped Pinkie mid-dash, levitated her onto a chair and chained her down into the chair with magic.
"I am really sorry, Prince AoBing. Pinkie Pie is…… strange. Please forgive her actions, she means no harm." Twilight apologized to the Prince who is currently struck dumbfounded by the actions that he just witnessed.
"Your Friend is ……" the Prince regained his composure and looked for the right word. “Impressive. Her speed is far above myself and my guards," he finally found the word he was looking for, and to Twilight's surprise, he was more impressed by Pinkie than weirded out.
"If you think Pinkie is impressive, you haven't seen nothing yet." Twilight grabbed a cupcake from a nearby plate and bite down with a smirky grin.
After being teased by Twilight, the Prince could hardly wait to meet Rainbow Dash. But when he finally did, his excitement dimmed.
"Let me introduced to you, Rainbow Dash, the only pegasus who are able to pull off a Sonic Rainboom," Twilight introduced Rainbow Dash excitedly. Sadly the Prince did not share Twilight's excitement.
"I thought she'll be taller." The Prince looked at Rainbow Dash, clearly expecting more. While Twilight nervously plays with her tail, Rainbow Dash gave the Prince a smile and a wink then flew up into the sky. After reaching sufficient height, Rainbow Dash dives towards the ground, building up massive momentum and speed. And seconds before she hits the ground, she pulled a sharp 90 degrees turn, breaking the light barrier, shattering the light spectrum, and creating a massive rainbow color shock wave that sent the Prince's guards flying back, and the Prince left in awe.
"And this is why I'm awesome. But then again, were there ever any doubts." Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight and boasted. Twilight rolled her eyes, with a small smile on her face. Twilight then walked up to the prince, who stood there paralyzed with amazement. Twilight waved her hoof in front of his face, trying to snap him back, but was unsuccessful.
"Well, congratulation Rainbow Dash, you broke him," Twilight looked back at Rainbow Dash accusingly.
"Hey, it is not my fault I am so awesome. Next time, don't ask to see the Rainboom if you can't handle the awesomeness," Rainbow dash justified while still being full of herself. Both Twilight and I rolled our eyes.
"That was awesome!" before I or Twilight could react, we were pushed aside, as the Prince ran right up to Rainbow Dash. His eyes fill with wonders and he jumped up and down like an excited colt, which is a strange sight considering his size. Even Rainbow Dash was a little frightened by the sight, that she moved back a step despite all the attention she was getting. After only a moment, the Prince came back to his senses and stopped.Lowering his head letting his mane fall down to cover his face, attempting to hide his embarrassment. Rainbow Dash can't help but let out a small laugh at the Prince's reaction, but was soon stopped, when Twilight begins glaring at her, with a glance so sharp I could swear had caused physical cuts.
"Don't worry, my Awesome has those effect on ponies, you are not the first." Rainbow Dash attempts to ease the Prince's embarrassment. While what Rainbow Dash said is not a lie, most of the ponies Rainbow Dash mentioned are fillies. But for the Prince, a full-grown stallion to act the way he did, it was definitely a rare sight. The Prince who is still embarrassed took a few step back and looked up only slightly. Seeing the situation, Twilight quickly walked up and attempt to ease the tension by suggesting we should go visit Fluttershy and her sick animal friends. Eager to get out of the awkward situation, The prince nodded.
As we approach the cottage, I soon noticed something was out of the ordinary. Usually, as ponies came close to the cottage, they would be greeted by the songs of birds, and the sight of animals roaming freely. But today, we were greeted by dead silence, and there were no animals in sight. As we drew closer to the cottage, a clear sign of concern also begins to surface on Twilight's face.
"Fluttershy are you home? We came with prince AoBing to visit you and your sick animal friends." I knocked on the cottage door and announced our presence. But unlike usually, when the door opens shortly followed by a warm greeting from our friend, the door remained locked, and I could not hear the steps of any Pony coming to open the door. I knocked on the door once again, but still no answers. I turned to face Twilight, who now is clearly concerned about her friend.
"Maybe she just went out, you know how sometimes Fluttershy and Rarity would head to the spa together." I quickly tried to cheer Twilight up. For a moment, Twilight's concern faded, but it quickly resurfaced, when a familiar voice called out to us from the way we came.
"Twilight, Spike, and Prince AoBing. I was not expecting to see you three here. Have you seen Fluttershy? We planned to go to the spa today, but I had been waiting at the spa for nearly an hour now. It is not like her to keep me waiting like that. I asked AJ and Pinkie if they had seen her, but they told me no." The white unicorn walked up to us with a concerning look that mirrors Twilight's. Twilight shook her head. Remembering she wasn't with Rainbow Dash neither. We turned our glances to the door, as fear filled our faces. I begin to beat on the door, hoping to knock the door down.
"Step back," a the Prince commanded. As I jumped back subconsciously, the Prince ran up and slam on to the door with all of his weight. The door hinges gave away to the weight and broke. We looked into the cottage, as the door and the Prince hits the ground. Laying on the floor, inside the Cottage was a yellow Pegasus with a hot pink mane.
Twilight paced in circles outside of the hospital room, as the Prince did his best to comfort the weeping Rarity, who blames herself for not having to notice her friend was missing sooner While I waited outside for the rest of our friends to arrive. Rainbow Dash was the first to arrived, followed by Pinkie Pie only moments later, and lastly, AJ arrived few minutes after that.
"What in tarnation happened to Fluttershy?" the orange mare walked up to me, decided to question the witness before entering the hospital. I tried to explained what had happened, but even I do not know what exactly had happened. She did not seem to be satisfied with the answer, but she did not give me a hard time. We enter the hospital together and headed up towards the room where the rest of our friends were waiting patiently.
"It was all my fault if only I had noticed she was missing sooner. I should had known something was amiss last night when she didn't come over, she always came over Monday night to help me groom Opal." As we approach, we could hear the crying from all the way down the hall.
"It wasn't your fault, it was mine. I shouldn't have left her alone with those animals. I should have stayed, maybe if I had, this wouldn't have happened." Now Rainbow Dash begins to shift the Blame on herself.
"My turn! It was my fault, because I should have known something was up when I went and deliver Muffin to her cottage this morning, and no pony came to answer the door." Pinkie in her own way also appears to be attempting at shifting the blame onto herself for what had happened to Fluttershy. But as always Pinkie seems to have place a lighter spin to a what is an otherwise grim situation.
"Are y'all done beating yourself up? If y'all ask me, we are all to blame. All of us were her friend, and yet none of us notice what happened until it was almost too late. So stop with the bellyaching, and just keep quiet for now. We don't want to make a scene now, do we?" AJ walked up with me, and with her usual tone, was able to snap every pony back from their emotional downward spiral. While Rarity continues to weep and Rainbow Dash continue punching the wall in frustration, the mood within the group had improved with the arrival of AJ.
"I talked with Spike outside, but he didn't seem to know anything. What did the doctors say?" AJ walked past the weeping Rarity towards Twilight who is still pacing in circles outside of the door.
"They couldn't find anything wrong with her. They picked up nothing with their tests, no internal nor external injuries, and I have personally confirmed there was no magics at work. As far they know, she should not be laying on that bed right now." Twilight stopped from pacing and faced AJ. Judging from her face It was clear that Twilight has been crying, and concerns have filled her face.
"Where is she!?" a thundering voice echoed down the hall. As we all turned towards the source of the voice, we saw a massive ball of pure chaos magic rapidly approaches like a hurricane.
After explaining everything to the angry Draconequus, we were fully expecting him to break down the door, and attempt to help Fluttershy himself. To our Surprise, Discord did not do anything. Instead, Discord's face grew serious as we explain the situation. Discord placed his talon on his chin for a moment, clearing pondering about something.
After pondering for a moment, Discord returned his talon to his side and walked towards Twilight. "Here, give a teaspoon of this potion to Fluttershy every day And don't stop even after she got better. Make sure she finished every last drop of this potion." Discord pulled a bottle out of thin air and handed it to Twilight. The bottle is filled with a yellow liquid, which judging from the looks on every pony's face, no pony can't tell what the liquid was. Discord once again reiterated for Fluttershy to finish every last drop before he disappeared into a puff of smoke. As the group turns their glance to the bottle, hope and doubt appeared on every pony's face.
"Can we trust him?" Rainbow Dash looked at the bottle of liquid suspiciously, then return her glance to every pony else.
"What other choice do we have? I reckon Discord cares about Fluttershy enough, that he, at least, won't try to harm her." AJ while also not convinced, are giving Discord the benefit of the doubt.
"Darling, this is Discord we are talking about, The Spirit of Chaos. The one who had turned us against our will on our first encounter with him, and had betrayed us only recently." Rarity also voices her concern and made an excellent point.
"I think we should give him a chance. He really does seem to care about Fluttershy, a lot." Pinkie with her usual optimism also voiced her opinion for Discord's defense. As the four mares argued, they could not come to an agreement. Then, suddenly they stopped and turn their glances to their fifth friend whom Discord gave the bottle to, and the one who hasn't said a word. They all turn their eyes on Twilight, who was standing next to them quietly.
As the four mares eagerly looked to Twilight for a decision, Twilight once again felt the weight of being a leader falling onto her back. While this was not the first time the role of making an important decision had befallen on her; this, however, was the first time she hesitated to make a choice. On one hoof, she saw how intimate Discord and Fluttershy has become, they were becoming much closer than friends, Fluttershy has become almost like a mother to Discord. Because of that, Twilight believed Discord are willing, if able, to help Fluttershy. But on the other hoof, Rarity was right, Discord has betrayed them before and broke Fluttershy's heart in the process. How can she be sure that, what she is going to be feeding her friends is Medicine and not poison?
"If I may, perhaps you could sample the potion to ensure its effect." The Prince who has been quiet, speak from behind the group and nearly made every pony jumped.
"Sadly that is not an option. Discord made it abundantly clear that Fluttershy needs to take every last drop to recover." I stepped in to remind them the exact words Discord used, as Twilight nodded in agreement. Twilight understand that if Discord was telling the truth, that little detail could be important, consider how he reiterated that one specific detail.
After careful consideration, Twilight came to the conclusion that it was a risk she is willing to take. Twilight handed the potion Discord had given her to the nurses who has been taking care of Fluttershy and told them the precise instruction Discord had given her. After a few questioning looks from the nurses, the nurses decided it was best to not questioned a Princess' orders. With a few quick preparation, a nurse took a teaspoon full of medicine from the bottle, then carefully helped the unconscious Fluttershy sit upright, and place the teaspoon in Fluttershy's mouth.
"By Celestia's Mane!" The Nurse dropped the teaspoon and nearly knocked a flow vases off the table, as she quickly jumped back. The instant the medicine entered Fluttershy's mouth, her eye shot open and begins to cough violently. As the five mares and I watch in horror outside of the door, cursing our foolishness for believing in Discord; Fluttershy's cough grew more and more violently. In only a matter seconds, Blood begins to come out of her mouth, and she begins to flail her hooves around struggling from the pain. As the nurse try to get close and calm Fluttershy down, she was knocked back to the ground by Fluttershy's flailing hooves. Seeing what had happened, Twilight, AJ, and Rainbow Dash Leap into action, bursting open the door, and ran up towards Fluttershy's bed, the plan was for AJ and Rainbow Dash to tried and hold Fluttershy down while Twilight attempts to exact the poison from Fluttershy. But before the three mares could reach Fluttershy, Fluttershy fell back onto the bed and stopped moving.
"NO!" as Twilight screamed out in horror. As all five mares looked upon their friend who lays on the bed motionlessly. A mix emotion of betrayal, disbelieves, sadness and rage fill the face of the five mares as tears flowed down their muzzles.
"He will pay for this!" Rainbow Dash turn towards the door, fully ready to go hunt down and brutally murder Discord. Followed by AJ who are just as enraged.
"Who will pay? And why are you all crying." A familiar soft voice behind them stopped AJ and Rainbow Dash dead in their tracks.
Whatever the medicine Discord gave us was, it worked like a charm. Fluttershy made a full recovery, although the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with Fluttershy in the first place. The medicine still made Fluttershy spit out blood every time she took it, but it caused no permanent damage, and all of us had agreed it was a small price to pay for her health.
Despite the Protests of Fluttershy herself, she was kept in the hospital for observation until the doctor can be sure she won’t fall into a coma once again. During Fluttershy’s absent, AJ was tasked to take care of the animals.
The next day, when AJ and I went to check on the Animals, we found the cottage door back in place, and the door still locked. After exchanging a curious look, AJ once again knocked the door down. As the door hits the ground, we were shocked by what we saw. We found corpses of dead animals littered inside the cottage, and at the center of the room were Fluttershy's pet, Angel bunny. The sight made me sick in the stomach, and I quickly lost my breakfast to the flowers outside of the cottage.
“Did you forgot to mention all the critters were dead?” AJ turned her glance to me.
“Maybe?” I replied, not sure what to say since I honest can’t recall if those animals were there the day before. When we saw Fluttershy laying on the floor, we were too busy rushing her to the hospital to really think about anything else. AJ clearly did not believe my word and raised an eyebrow. I tried desperately to convince AJ I really don’t remember, but it was no use.
“No point in worrying about it now, they are deader than apples sucked up by vampire fruit bats,” AJ while still doubts my words, decided it was not worth the trouble of confronting me further. She told me to go find a shovel so we could bury the corpses as she tries to come up with a story to break the news to Fluttershy gently. Finding a shovel proved to be a difficult task, Fluttershy usually just ask her animal friends for help if she needed anything dug, because of that she never saw a reason to get a shovel. After failing to find a shovel for another ten minutes, I decided it would be easier to just dig with my claws. As I worked at ripping the ground apart, I suddenly felt a burning sensation rising from my stomach. Expecting to lose the rest of my breakfast, I move to the side and let out what was pushing up against my throat. Then a letter appeared.
I pushed open the castle door, holding a letter with the seal of a crescent moon in my claw.
“Twilight!” I yelled. My voice echoes through the empty castle. While I hated the emptiness of the castle, I had to admit the silence help me find Twilight much quicker, since the echoes usually reach Twilight no matter which room she was in. Moments later, Twilight appeared right in front of me.
“Spike? I thought you were going to help Apple Jack with the animals,” Twilight looked at me. I looked away for a moment, trying to think of a way to tell Twilight what I saw, but then I remembered I came back for a reason. I handed Twilight the letter, as she looked at the seal with confusion.
“It is from Princess Luna, why would she send me a letter?” Twilight took the letter as she looked to me for an answer. I shrugged. Twilight quickly open the letter and read it out loud.
Dear Princess Twilight.
It appears that there is an urgent matter that requires our attention immediately. We ask that you will come to Canterlot at once. We have already informed Cadence and she will be joining us also. Make haste at once, we do not wish to be kept waiting.
The Princess of the Night, Luna
“Oh, it sounds bad.” I looked to Twilight, really don’t like how the letter sounds. Twilight, however, appear to have another matter that is preoccupying her thoughts.
“What should I do? I know Princess Luna had summoned me, but I can’t just leave Prince AoBing alone in Ponyvile.” Twilight looks to me for advice.
“Oh don’t worry about me, I won’t perish from you leaving my side. Although the hours unable to look upon your cute face would be very hard to bare, but I’ll survive.” The Prince who has been eavesdropping entered the room with a smile that sure to have charmed many mares in the past. I rolled my eyes at his words but was grateful he was so reasonable with this situation.
Twilight had left for nearly a week now. While the daily letter Twilight sent me lets me know she is safe, I am beginning to wondering what is keeping Twilight from coming home. During Twilight’s absent, Prince AoBing has become well acquainted with our local Pink party mare and has been spending a lot of time in sugar cube corner. AJ and Rarity had told Fluttershy what happened at the cottage, and Fluttershy is not taking the news well. Aside from Discord’s potion, Fluttershy hasn’t eaten anything for the past few days. Despite the attempts from Pinkie to cheered her up, Fluttershy remains depressed over the loss of her pet and animal friends.
I jumped, and nearly dropping my bloom, as the front gate of the castle slammed opened. Standing at the door was a white unicorn who has a mane that is mostly dark blue.
“Shining Armor? What are you doing here?” I looked at him with confusion. He looked around, searching for something or some pony. When he could not find what he was looking for, he turned to me.
“Where is Prince AoBing?” he looked at me intensely. I backed off a step and told him that the Prince has been spending a lot of time in Sugar cube corner with Pinkie. Hearing that, Shining Armor walked out of the door and headed towards sugar cube corner.
“And then, she Blasted him with a magical laser beam,” Pinkie jumped into the air gesturing a large explosion. Shining Armor and I walked in, just as Pinkie landed back on the ground. The Prince who is sitting next to Pinkie, seem to be fully absorbed by the story; and the two guards that were with the Prince were sitting at the table next to him, making sure he is safe while enjoying some cupcakes and tea. Shining Armor walked right up to the Prince, which cause the two guard to get up.
“Excuse me, Prince AoBing?” Shining Armor asked politely, seeing their Prince appears to be in no danger, the two guards sat back down.
“Shining Armor! What are you doing here?” Pinkie finally noticed Shining Armor and broke away from her story.
“Yes, I am Prince AoBing. Now what is it that you want?” the Prince turned to Shining Armor clearly seemed a bit annoyed.
“May I have a word with you In private?” Shining Armor asked.
“Sorry, I am busy. Come back later.” the Prince brushed Shining Armor off and turn his attention back to Pinkie. “You were telling me how Twilight shot him with a magical laser, what happen then?”
“But I insist.” Shining Armor places his hoof on the Prince's side and insisted.
“Are you deaf? I said I am busy,” the Prince didn’t move, but the anger in his voice was clear. Before any pony could tell what had happened, Shining Armor were sent flying out of the building leaving a pony size hole in the wall. I ran outside after Shining Armor and was shocked to find Shining Armor went through the walls of five more buildings in a line from sugar cube corner.
“I think you should have left him alone.” I walked up to Shining Armor, who miraculously not only survived but were still conscious.
While Shining Armor survived the encounter, which he credited it to his royal guard training, sadly his bones did not. He was placed in a full body cast, and will be staying in it, for weeks to come.
“I am sorry. I didn’t know my own strength,” the Prince apologized. But despite his apologies, sending a pony to the hospital with nearly every bone in their body broken is not something a pony could just make up for with apologies. Luckily for the Prince, Shining Armor didn’t press charges, and the Prince agreed to pay for all the repairs and hospital bills, along with agreeing to owe Shining Armor an unconditional favor, the incident were swept under the rug.
“Seeing as you sent me to the hospital, can I please have that talk now? Oh, and before you ask, this is not the favor you owed me,” Shining Armor angrily demand. The Prince nodded, although he still do not seem willing. I walked out of the room and left those two to talk.
As I walked out, I ran into Pinkie who was walking down the hall,“one hell of a jealous colt friend you got there Pinkie.” Pinkie paused for a moment, trying to process what I just said. Then her face turned from pink to red when she realize what I was implying.
“We were just Friends,” Pinkie denied. I tried to do the eyebrow raise that AJ was famous for, but was not as effective.
“He nearly lives at Sugar cube corner every day now, and he just sends another stallion flying through five buildings for taking your attention away from him!” When the eyebrow raise didn’t work, I returned to confronting her with facts.
“He just really liked stories of our adventures. He came every day asking me to tell him about adventures we been on. Also, I had tended to other ponies before, both Stallions and mares alike while he was present, and Shining Armor was the first to get send flying,” Pinkie explained.
“Why are you here then, if not waiting for him?” I asked accusingly.
Pinkie pointed to the basket she was carrying, “I am here to visit, Fluttershy, our friend who refused to eat. I thought maybe I could cheer her up with some new cupcakes I made. So if you would stop accusing me of adultery, I should be on my way,” Pinkie replied. Pinkie walked towards Fluttershy’s room, as I followed behind.
It has been over a month since Twilight received the letter from Luna. While the letter from Twilight arrives daily, I can't help but become very worry why she hasn't come home. After the incident, the Prince was no longer able to stay in Sugar cube corner, due to he was scaring off all the customers.
Pinkie wasn't kidding about his interest in stories. Due to he could no longer stay in sugar cube corner to listen to Pinkie telling stories, he now turned his obsession towards me. I can't so much as leaving my room without him following me everywhere anymore.
"Would you please stop following me!" I finally snapped. The two guard stepped forward, wanted to make me pay for my insolence but were waved to back off just as soon as they approached.
"Come on my dragon friend, surely we could come to an agreement," the Prince pulled out a large ruby and waved it in front of me, tempting me. Looking at the large ruby glimmering in the sun, I finally gave into my natural instincts.
"Very well, I'll tell you the story of how Twilight fended off an Ursa minor tonight." the Prince smiled victoriously and toss me the ruby.
"Where are we going anyway?" The Prince asked, after realizing where we were. I looked at him with disbelieve, since he had followed me all the way to the hospital, without knowing where we were heading. I pointed to the hospital up the hill, and finally, it clicked in his head.
Pinkie and Rarity were already in the room when we arrived. Fluttershy finally agreed to intake a small amount of food, after Rarity threatens to stop eating if Fluttershy won't won't. But despite not eating for nearly two weeks, and eating only bare minimum, Fluttershy did not lose any weight. In fact, she appears to have gained some weight.
"Prince AoBing, it is very nice to see you," Fluttershy saw the Prince and greeted him with a soft voice.
"And you look as lovely as always, fair Fluttershy," the Prince responded with a nod.
"So, Prince AoBing. How long do you plan to stay in Ponyvile? Surely you have more pressing matters to attend to at your homeland," Rarity asked the Prince a question that has been on many ponies' minds. The question made the Prince paused for a moment, carefully considering his words.
"Unlike Equestria, my father, the king, rules our land. My eight brothers and I, we are free to act as we wish. My eldest brother prefers politics, which is why he remains by my father's side. Whereas I enjoy exploring the world and are tasked as an ambassador. But returning to your original question. I plan to stay until Princess Twilight returns, but if any pony finds my presence here unwanted, I am happy to leave at any time," the Prince gracefully explained.
"You are welcome to stay, of course, it is just that many ponies have become... worried due to your presence," Rarity tries to pick her words carefully. "I know you mean ponies no harm; but with your claws, magical abilities and even just the way you look, you just appear..."
"Horrifyingly intimidating to the point of giving ponies nightmares," Pinkie yelled out the words before Rarity could come up with better ones.
"I see," the Prince lower his head slightly, the usual cheerful tone disappeared from his voice. I quickly nudged Pinkie for her to fix the mess she caused. But honestly, what Pinkie said was true. After sending Shining Armor through five buildings, ponies in Ponyvile began to keep their distance from the Prince. If not for the fact he lives at the castle and are now stalking me, I would also consider staying away from him.
"But although you are horrifyingly intimidating to the point of giving ponies nightmares, you are not bad. You just different." Pinkie continued. The Prince lifted his head slightly, looking at the three mares who are looking at him, with no fear in their eyes. Moments later, the mood of the room was destroyed when a white unicorn who recently gotten out of his full body cast ran into the room.
As the eyes of every pony in the room falls on Shining Armor, he Announced with a loud voice "Twili is back."
As the castle door opens, Twilight along with Cadence stands in the castle hall.
"Twilight! I missed you." I jumped on Twilight, hugging her. Our friends quickly walked up, asking Twilight what had happened, and how they could help. Twilight looks at her friends then shakes her head.
"Prince AoBing? Did my husband not inform you of the situation?" Cadence saw the Prince walking into the door. The Prince Shrugged. Cadence turns to her husband, Shining Armor, with an accusing look. Shining Armor explained that he has informed the Prince of the situation, but the Prince decided to stay. "you chose to stay?" Cadence turned her glance back to the Prince. The Prince shrugged once again.
"Can some pony please explain to me what is going on?" I looked to Twilight. Twilight thought for a moment but finally gave in.
"There was an illness that had swept across Equestria, bed bonding many ponies. Even Celestia had fallen ill. Luna called upon us to investigate the cause of the outbreak, and put a stop to the illness," Twilight explained. A sense of dread fills the room, at the mention of a possible pandemic. "Unfortunately, Cadence and I were unsuccessful in locating the source. However I have found a solution," Twilight continued. The atmosphere in the room quickly lightened up with Twilight's words.
"That is great, Sugar cube. Now where is this solution?" AJ asked. As Rainbow Dash eagerly looks at Twilight, waits to hear about their new quest.
"See, here is the thing. The illness was identical to what happened with Fluttershy," Twilight explained. But judging from the way Cadence and Twilight looked, it appears there were more. "However, while I know the solution; I have no idea the components for making the potion. And to make matters worse, Discord had gone missing." in only an instant Twilight's words shattered the optimism on every pony's face.
In the next week, while Twilight Attempted desperately at replicating the potion, Rarity was told to help create and distribute protection suits for the medical staff so they would not be infected while trying to treat the ponies. I have been sending letters to the officials of every city in Equestria, instruction them to set up a quarantine area, and for them to announced to the public our current situation while trying to keep panic to a minimum, by the order of Twilight. While some pony did panic from the mention of a pandemic, luckily they were only a minority.
"Any luck?" I asked as I entered the lab to bring Twilight dinner. Twilight lets out a frustrated growl, as she threw a flask onto the ground. "You should take a break. I made tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich," I placed the plate with food on her table.
"How can I eat at a time like this? How can you eat at a time like this? There are hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of ponies out there in a coma! I have to figure out how the potion is made," Twilight Snapped.
"Twilight, you need a break. All the stress are starting to affect your head," I tried to talk some sense into Twilight, but it had no effect.
"You look horrible, my love. If you keep this up, I may end up falling for another mare." the Prince walks in jokingly teasing at Twilight. Twilight threw a flask at him, but he dodged gracefully. "No need to get violent, you know my eyes are only set on you," the Prince countered flirtatiously. As magic begins to build up around Twilight's horn, I pulled the Prince out of the room before magic bolts start flying.
"And stay out!" Twilight yelled as the door slammed shut. I gave the Prince a disappointing look, as he brushed it off with a smile.
"So seeing as we are both exiled from the room, how about a story?" The Prince looks at me like a colt anticipating a bedtime story.
"Fine." as I agreed, I felt a burning sensation rushing up my throat. In only a moment, piles of letters were littered across the room.
The situation soon turned from bad to worst, when the infected ponies began to die by the dozens. With the rapid death rate, Twilight pushed herself even harder. Locking herself in the lab, she hasn't had food nor sleep for days now. While Twilight runs herself to the ground, letters of riots from all across Equestria came in every other minute. I would had been overwhelmed, if not for the Prince. Able to making decisions on the spot, as well as able to calm the crowd, he proved to be a good leader despite his many other flaws.
A week went by in a flash. The streams of letters slowed down, thanks to the fact the Prince was able to make decisions to deal with the problems in time. Twilight remains locked in her lab, I would had assumed she passed out, if not for the occasional screams of frustration.
"I think we should break the door down," the Prince suggested, "she has been in there for over a week, with no food nor sleep. How is she still going?" The Prince was both worried and impressed at the same time. After seeing him working diligently at helping with the current crisis, I almost forgot how much of a dork he was.
"If you wish to break the door down, you are on your own." I took a step back, remember being hit by magic bolts, the last time I interpreted Twilight. The Prince looked at me with amusement, expecting a story. But to his disappointed, I did not want to relive the experience.
"We had to do something. Despite being an alicorn, she still needs to eat," The Prince countered. With a running start, he slammed on the door, the door remains in place, thanks to magical shield. "Oh, you think this will stop me?" Magic gathered around the Prince's horns, as a massive ball of energy ball formed.The energy ball was then compressed into a dense orb no bigger than an apple. The Prince send the condensed energy orb at the door, and in a flash, the door was disintegrated.
Inside the room lays Twilight on the ground, moving flasks around with her muzzle, don't even have the strength to get up.
"Twilight, love, You can punish me however you want later, but you need rest and food right now." The Prince walked towards Twilight.
"I can't! I have to do this! Every pony is counting on me!" Twilight attempts to move backward while mustering up enough magic to let out a pathetic bolt of magic, trying to push the Prince back. The Prince didn't dodge, and the bolt hit him right on the head. The hit did nothing, as the Prince continued moving. By the time the Prince reached Twilight, she was too tired to even protest anymore. As soon as the Prince placed Twilight on his back, Twilight nearly instantly felt asleep.
The Prince left the sleeping Twilight on her bed. While I left some soup and sandwiches that I made for her, in her room.
"Good job, lover boy. You have earned some major points in my book." I Smiled at the Prince, but he didn't smile back.
"That was not funny. You let her worked herself to the ground." The Prince's voice was both serious and angry while being quiet, so he don't wake Twilight. His words cold as ice sends a chill down my spine.
"It is fine, she always does that," I tried to defend myself.
"Shut up!" I felt the ground shake with the Prince's words. He turned his head backed at me only slightly, but I can see clearly his usual blue eyes had become dragon like and blood red. "I don't care if she always does that. I care you did not even tried to help her," the Prince said. His word was like a knife aiming for my heart. The Prince gave me one final glance before heading back to his room, without even asking for a story.
As I lay in my bed, the full force of the Prince's words hit me. Back when it was just Twilight and me, I would had attempted to break down the door days ago without a second thought. But ever since we came to Ponyvile, Twilight has made other Friends, and slowly, I begin to shift the task of looking after Twilight onto other ponies. While Twilight had always pushed herself very hard, I was always there to help her. When did I grow so callused? While I was focusing on my thoughts, I heard Some pony knocking on my door.
When I went to open the door, I found the Prince was standing outside the door. "Spike, Have I woke you up?" The Prince asked.
"No, I was awake. Was there anything you need? Prince ABing," I replied.
"I am here to Apologize for earlier today. I know you care deeply for Twilight also, I am sorry I got so angry with you," The Prince apologized. Another thing I have learned about the Prince is, he apologize for nearly everything. While not a bad habit, it is very strange considering who he is.
"You were right to be angry. I should have tried to help, but I didn't. It was my negligence, and Twilight Suffered for it." I lowered my head, admitting my mistakes. "I am Glad you were here. If not for you, Twilight would still be in that lab." I thanked the Prince once again. And we exchanged a smile. Suddenly another letter came in the form of fire, as the letter materialized, one thing caught our eyes. The letter has a crested moon seal.
"We have to wake her up. This letter could be important." I moved towards the door but was pulled back by a magical force.
"The letter can wait, she needs her sleep." The Prince yanked me back, as he stood between me and the door. I tried to protest, but seeing how the Prince had no intention on moving, I threw my hands up into the air in surrender. The Prince Cracked a smile for his victory. Knowing with the Prince guarding the door, there is no way I could wake Twilight, I decided to inspect the letter.
The situation had gotten worst. Dead are no longer separate from the living, all the dead had begin to rise. We now declare a state of emergency. You are to report to Canterlot by sunrise, which is in about an hour. We shall speak further upon your arrival.
Temperory ruling Princess, Luna.
I nearly drop the letter upon reading its content. The phrase "The dead had begin to rise" especially caught my eyes. What could Princess Luna mean by the dead had begun to rise? While the question still lingers within my mind, I had a more important task. Now the question is, How will I get past the Prince?
"Help! I got caught in an avalanche of books!" I screamed at the top of my lung inside the library. moments later, I heard hooves steps quickly approaches the door. As the door slams open, I quickly jumped to the side and hid behind the door. A large Stallion charged into the room, concerned over my safety. As he Digs through the mountain of books I purposely let drop from three bookshelves, I slip out of the door the shut and locked the door.
"What is the meaning of this!?" a loud and angry scream came from behind the door.
"Sorry Prince, but I had to show Twilight the letter. It is a royal order. Oh, and before you try to incinerate or break the door down, Twilight had placed a triple seal barrier spell on the library. After losing her last Library, she was not taking any chances."
"Open the door now!" I walked away, as the loud angry scream continues.
I walked up to the door and open the door slowly. As I looked inside the room expecting to see Twilight in her bed, still sleeping. I was surprised to find the bed empty. I sighed, then walked towards the lab. As expected, Twilight was back at work, after barely getting any sleep.
"You really need to stop." I walked in. Twilight's head popped up for a moment. But after seeing the Prince wasn't with me, she went right back to work. "I am serious, you need to stop. Luna called for you." I walked up to Twilight and handed her the letter. Twilight looked at me for a moment, evaluating if I were lying. After concluding I was telling the truth, she took the letter with her magic.
"Spike take a note," Twilight ordered. I quickly pulled out a paper and a quill, waiting for Twilight's words. "Dear Princess Luna. I am afraid I could not Meet you at Canterlot, for I still have important matters to attend to. I hope that you would understand, and keep me up to date on the situation with letters. Once again, my deepest apologies. Princess of magic, Twilight Sparkle."
"Are you sure you want to be doing this? It is an order from the Princess." I looked at Twilight, can't believe she is actually going against Princess Luna's order.
"Princess Luna is a Princess, but so am I. While I am sure Princess Luna had important reasons to call me to Canterlot. I feel my task here is more important. And because of that, I choose to invoke my right as a Princess to act as I see fit," Twilight replied. I wanted to argue, but realized Twilight won't listen, so I finished writing the letter and send it off. Moments later, a letter appeared in a ball of fire. I handed the letter to Twilight, and she quickly read it out loud.
Dear Princess, Twilight.
Princess Luna.
"What did she mean the dead had taken Canterlot?" I asked. But before Twilight could answer, we heard a loud scream from the street.
As we looked out the window, we were shocked by what we saw. Ponies were being assaulted on the streets, the road painted red with blood and ponies that were once dead now roams the streets. In the middle of the street were a white unicorn who were cornered by three undead ponies.
"Stay back! You ruffian, stay back!" Rarity attempted to defend herself with a broom that she found but the undead ponies continue moving towards her. "Help!" She Screams after unable to stop them from advancing. Just as the three undead ponies about to reach her, a loud kaboom, sent the three ponies flying.
"This way!" Pinkie signals Rarity towards sugar cube corner. As Rarity ran to safety, Pinkie shot any undead ponies that were coming after Rarity. Similarily AJ and Rainbow Dash were also helping ponies to get to sugar cube corner safely.
"We have to help them," Twilight said. She took flight and begin zapping dead ponies, freezing them. However, despite their efforts, there were simply way too many undead ponies around, and many ponies are still being ripped limb from limb. Realizing they need all the help they can get, I ran towards the library, praying I don't get smitten the second I opens the door.
As I open the library door, my life flashed before my eyes. I smiled, attempting to lighten the mood, but it did not work.
"You have three seconds to convince me not to smite you where you stand. And it starts now," the Prince said angrily.
"Twilight needs your help right now," I replied quickly. While the Prince is still angry, he did spare my life, for now. I followed him all the way down the stairs, to the front door. Many ponies had taken shelter in the castle since Sugar cube corner was filled. The Prince comforted the ponies, before heading out to aid Twilight and the others. I helped to provide anything the ponies needed, which mostly consisted of blankets and hot cider. Finally, the door opens, and AJ walks in.
"Did you guys win?" I looked to AJ anticipating of good news. AJ Tilted her hat to cover her face and walked passed me, As AJ gone by, I saw a bloody red ribbon sticking out of AJ's saddle bag. Pinkie came in next, followed by Rainbow Dash. Pinkie did not have her usual smile while Rainbow Dash's hooves were covered in blood. It was clear they had fought hard, but still they were unable to save the majority of the ponies. I quickly brought a cup of cider for them, but they all turn it down. Twilight and the Prince was the last to step through the door.
"The dead had retreated, for now. I suggest every pony should head home and lock their doors. I and Princess Twilight shall figure out a permanent solution. But for now, we need every pony to remain calm." The Prince attempts to calm the crowd, but most ponies were still in panic from what had just occurred. "I know all of you are scared, I am also. But please have faith in us," the Prince Continued. Tried as he may, After seeing what had happened, fear had taken deep roots in every ponies' heart. As we look back out into the street littered with corpses and a river of blood. Every pony knew the end is here.
The group was surprisingly welcoming, and we decided to travel with them. The group consisted of four members, a large earth pony stallion who is referred to as General Hoovestrong, a young pegasus filly with metal prostatic wing name Metal Cloud, and a pair of young Unicorn couple name Nightlight, and Nyonflare.
The group originally came from a small town name Albaneigh. When the undead began to raise, they escaped their home and headed for Canterlot, hoping to find safe haven. Unfortunately, when they arrive, instead of finding the haven they seek, they were greeted by hoards of the undead. Many within their group died, Metal Cloud's parents included. They are now heading for GriffinStone, following a rumor of a sanctuary established there.
We stopped for the night at an abandoned farm, most of the food had either rotted or been scavenged. Luckily we bought plenty for every ponies.
"What are you? Are you a Unicorn?" Metal Cloud climbed onto AoBing's back and begin poking at his horns.
"I suppose you could say that. Although the correct term would be a Qilin," AoBing replies with a smile. Metal Cloud quickly jump off AoBing and hid behind me, after seeing the sharp teethes that was shown the with smile. "Don't worry little one, I mean you no harm," AoBing tries to console the filly. But MetalCloud only got more frighten as AoBing steps forward.
"Quit while ya ahead. He'll warm up to you eventually, but right now just give him some space." General Hoovestong stopped AoBing, by placing a hoof on him. AoBing thought for a moment, but finally agreed, and moved back. "I have to admit, I was surprised to find an Alicorn, a Dragon and a Qilin on the side of the road. May I ask where you three came, and where you three plans to go?" We looked at each other, unsure of future plans. "No matter, if you three so wishes, you three could travel with us." General Hoovestong smiles.
"We would be honored,“ Twilight thanked the General.
”So how did you three ended up together?" Nyon Flare asked, curious of how the three creatures of legends ended up on the side of the road. While Twilight tried to tell the story, she was cut off by AoBing. AoBing told a story of tears and blood, saying how he and Twilight felt in love when he came to this beautiful land, and planned to run away together only to run into the zombie outbreak, during this time they found me who's mother were rip limb from limb by the zombies trying to protect me. They rescued me, and we traveled together ever since. While Metal Cloud and Nyon Light listens to AoBing's crazy story, I saw Nightlight rolling him eyes and General Hoovestrong wearing a knowing smile out of the corner of my eyes.
" ...We stood our ground, and ready to protect the weak and defenseless baby, when we saw you guys" AoBing Finished the story, Metal Cloud now no longer appear to be afraid of AoBing claps while General Hoovestrong just smiles at the corner.
"Who knew you were so good at making up stories, lover boy," I walked up and whispered into his ears.
"Well, I heard enough stories, it's only natural I'm good at telling them. right? our weak and defenseless baby," AoBing countered with a smirk. Twilight shake her head in disapproval in the corner as Nightlight walked up to her for the real story.
We rested at the farm that night, and before daybreak, we returned back on the road. Metal Cloud rides on the back of General Hoovestrong as they talk and laugh between themselves, a sight that reminded me of Twilight and me before this all happened.
Suddenly, we were stopped by a loud voice saying, "Hand over all the supplies and every pony walks away unharmed." Unicorns with their horns fully lit walked out of the trees and moved towards us. Their apparent leader is a Gray Unicorn without an ear. Twilight and AoBing was ready to fight back, but General Hoovestrong waved them down.
"While I have no doubt you two can hold your own, and I may also be able to take out a few of them myself. the Two squirts and lovebirds over there can't. We can find more supplies, we can't undo any injuries." General Hoovestrong unloaded most of the supplies on the caravan and ask the mugger to let us keep a small portion, for us to survived on. The leading unicorn thought for a moment but refused. He demanded that we hand over all our supplies. General Hoovestrong sighed, and in a split second, Nightlight, NyonFlare, Metal cloud and I was surrounded by a magical barrier that protected us. "Good, you understood my hints." General Hoovestrong smiled, as the gray unicorn realized what had just happened. But before anyone of the unicorn could unleash their spell, the ground beneath them shook, and every unicorn felt to the ground, spells flying into the air.
“Stay down, if you know what is good for you," A thundering voice that sent chills down my own spine echoed. AoBing's eye once again gone red, and his horns fully charged. All of the unicorns were trampling on the ground, not one dare to got up. none but the gray unicorn.
"Oh, I am so scared. What you going to do, kill me? You are all bark and no bites, give me your best shot." The gray unicorn Stood before AoBing and with a lit horn. but before magic could even leave his horn, AoBing moved before him. In one swift motion, AoBing swept the Gray unicorn off his hooves and pinned him to the ground using magic.
AoBing walked up to the gray unicorn, placing his claws on his neck, and slowly drag it down his neck. Then looked him in the eye， “Kill you? Now that is a thought, but not one that will send a message. And if a message isn't sent, there will be more that comes." What happened next, shocked every pony, AoBing lifted his back hoof, then stomped down on the gray unicorn's horn, shattering it. The gray unicorn lets out a scream of agony, but AoBing wasn't done. Each one of the Gray unicorn's legs begins to bend, and before any pony could stop him, a loud cracking sound echoed across the air, AoBing had broken all four of the gray unicorn's leg. "Death is swift, Death only hurts for a moment before it all ends. If you dare to cross me, I'll make sure you'll wish I'd killed you," AoBing looked at the now horrified and in agony unicorn in the eye and smiled. AoBing then turns back to the rest of the unicorns and said, "Take him back, while his corn won't heal, if treated soon, he should be able to walk again in about a month. Now take the message and spread it, this group is under my protection, and any pony who comes will end up worst than him." With that, the unicorns got up and ran off carrying the gray unicorn with them.
"WHY!?" Twilight jumped on AoBing, demanding for him to explain himself. But she was pulled off of AoBing by General Hoovestrong. AoBing silently got up and walked towards the caravan, as the barrier around us came down. "He didn't have to do that. We could have just beaten them. There was no need for such brutality." Twilight screams at AoBing who is reloading the supplies back on the caravan. Metal Cloud displayed a mix emotion of shock, angry, fear and concern. While the unicorn couple remained stunned by what they had just witness.
"Stop Princess," General Hoovestrong stopped Twilight. "He did what must be done. If we had just taken them down, they would have regrouped and took revenge. And we won't be able to protect those four if they have. He installed fear into their heart, and they won't come again. If the gray pony hasn't got back up, perhaps it could had gone better, but the pony did, and he had to make sure the seeds of fear do not leave their heart." General Hoovestrong tried to explain for AoBing, but Twilight wasn't listening. She walked up to AoBing and hit him on the muzzle with her hooves, as an Alicorn, Twilight has the strength of an earth pony, and the hit drew blood. But AoBing continues to reload the supplies while blood drips down his muzzle. Twilight hit AoBing over and over again, demanding for him to defend himself, explain himself, but all he did was continue reloading in silence, and more blood drips down.
Finally, after reloading everything, AoBing said quietly "Let's go, we need to find shelter before it gets dark.
In the following week, the dead attacked Ponyvile nearly every day, causing many casualties that added to their number each time. Despite the Prince's effort to calm the crowd, fear had taken roots, and Ponies begin to left Ponyvile hoping to find their own sanctuary.
Fluttershy disappeared few days after the first attack. Many ponies speculated that she died, but since her body were never found, nor did she appeared among the dead, no ponies could confirm her death. Rainbow Dash Decided to head for Griffonston, hoping the dead hasn't reach that far and maybe she could save Gilda. Rarity Stayed in her boutique, until one night when the dead wasn't roaming the road, she took the chance and run away as well. Pinkie was one of the last few ponies to leave Ponyvile. When the Cakes finally decided to leave, Pinkie went with them to protect them. After losing her family to the dead, AJ barricaded herself in sweet apple acre. Even after cutting down dozens of apple tree to create the barricade, there were still more than enough apple trees around to provide for her.
"Do you realize how crazy this plan is?" I looked to Twilight. Twilight had decided to capture one of the risen ponies for experimentations, despite both Prince AoBing and my Protest.
"There must be some kind of magic at work, but what pony can cast such a large scale master level necromancy spell? If we capture of them, I could attempt at figuring out who and how they did this. Then I can finally fix this," Twilight Argued. "Besides, I am the one being the bait, why are you complaining?"
"I don't know what is crazier, the fact that you are using yourself as bait to capture one of those killing machine, or that you actually think your plan will work." Prince AoBing Shakes his head disapprovingly. "Surely there must be another way." Twilight thought for a moment but shake her head. Both the Prince and I made one last attempt to convince Twilight out of her crazy plan, it did no good.
Twilight opened the front gate wide, and the stench of blood and rotting flesh assaulted us. The stench was so bad, I could hardly hold back what little food I had eaten. Twilight and Prince AoBing surprisingly was not affected by the stench nor the sight of disembodied limbs, torsos and heads scattered across the land. Many of the houses had been boarded up, and few appear to have been broken into by either the undead or normal ponies scavenging for whatever they can find. Twilight walked out of the door and launched a large magical bolt into the air, which exploded few hundred feet above us making a loud explosion. Just as Twilight had planned, the explosion caught the attention of many undead nearby. As they advanced towards us, surprisingly rapidly. Twilight moved back towards the castle. Just as she was about to reach the door, a shadow jumped out of the bush nearby, onto Twilight, knocking her to the ground. Twilight struggles to fight off the undead stallion now on top of her, as AoBing quickly ran out to help Twilight. As Twilight continue to struggle, the undead stallion used his weight advantage to pin Twilight to the ground, while he attempts to take a bite out of Twilight's neck ensuring a kill. AoBing charges in aiming to knock the stallion off Twilight, sadly the stallion saw him coming and dodged the incoming strike. After missing the target, AoBing quickly lost his balance due to the momentum of his charge and felt to the ground. As AoBing attempts to get up, the other undead that was drawn here has nearly arrived. With AoBing still getting back on his feets, Twilight Pin on the ground, and the arrival of countless undead ponies; There was no time to think. I quickly grab a broom and charged towards Twilight. As I swing at the undead Stallion wildly, I managed to land one or two good hits, while it wasn't enough to knock the stallion off, it was enough to distract him enough for Twilight to let out a decent magic bolt, which dazed him. AoBing who finally got up, kicked the stallion off Twilight and picked me up with his magic and set me on his back. AoBing and Twilight sprinted back towards the castle while letting out a few spells to slow down the undead ponies. As we enter the castle, I quickly jumped off AoBing's back and begin moving objects towards the door to hold the door against the mob. As the undead ponies slams against the door, Twilight and AoBing held the door with every bit of magic they could muster. Finally after what felt like an eternity, the assault subsided.
"Love, please don't ever do this again." Prince AoBing let out a sigh of relief after ensuring every pony was safe.
"But I didn't capture one. We have to do this again tomorrow," Twilight announced.
"No, we won't! We nearly died out there," Prince AoBing rejected. "We may have gotten lucky this time, but we would be wise not to tempt fate once again." Twilight while still unwilling, finally gave in. Prince AoBing stayed with Twilight while I headed to the kitchen to make dinner with what little food Prince AoBing had gathered in the city.
We manage to keep Twilight from re-attempting her insane plan for nearly two days. But on the third day, she finally made the ultimatum of either we help her, or she'll do it alone. Not wanting Twilight to get herself eaten, we finally agreed to help. This time, Prince AoBing took the role of the bait. Once again a Magical firework signal the start of the hunt for the undead ponies. Luckily, this time, there were no ambushes, and Prince AoBing were able to get back without any problem. As the mob of undead Ponies quickly approaches, Twilight and AoBing pushed undead ponies back, letting only a single undead earth pony to enter the castle before slamming the door shut with magic. After stunning the isolated subject, Prince AoBing chopped the subject's limbs off, tied up the subject's muzzle, and sewing the muzzle shut. After subject could not harm Twilight in any way, Prince AoBing finally agreed to send the amputated earth pony to Twilight for examination.
The situation for us is getting worst, as the food source runs low in the castle. While the giant crystal castle provides more the sufficient for a food supply for me, Prine AoBing and Twilight on the other hand, still need hay and vegetables. That being said, Twilight hasn’t eaten for days, she became nearly obsessed with the study of the undead.Ever since we brought the subject into the lab, Twilight hasn’t left the lab for nearly a week, all the food I left outside the door are still untouched. I would had assumed the worst if not for the endless research notes coming through the bottom of the door.
“Twi, I really think you should get something to eat, this can’t be good for your health.” And as usual, no replies. I keep on knocking on the door, but all I got was another page of note passed through the bottom of the door. I persisted on knocking, but still no response. After knocking for another minute, I finally gave up. I picked up the notes and place it on top of the rest neatly.
After dinner, I was walking down the hall back to my room, when I heard a door slammed open. I turn around, grabbing the closest thing I can find, which was a bloom, and charge towards the sound. Fully expecting the subject had somehow found a way to attacked Twilight, I ran head first, right into Twilight who was coming down the hall.
“Spike, I know you are happy to see me, but there is no reason to run into me like that.” Twilight had lost even more weight. But aside from that, she looks surprisingly good, with a blood-stained apron, her mane tied back into a knot, a little bit of blood had splashed on her coat and mane. She looked at me and let out a small smile.
“Good to see you finally came out, Twi. I’ll go and prepare food and a bath right away.” As I turn around, ready to run off preparing, I felt a magical force holding me back. I looked back and saw a purple magical aura holding my tail.
“Spike, we don’t have time for a bath. And while some food maybe good, I fear we may not have time for that either.” Twilight grew serious, which is definitely not a good sign.
“Judging by what you just said, I am guessing you learned something from your autopsy?” I looked at Twi, hoping for an answer, but as I finished my last word, I heard a noise coming from the lab.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call that an autopsy, but I did learn something. And we have to leave tonight,” Twilight said. She told me to inform the Prince that we are leaving and to pack everything we need. Furthermore, she instructed that I should pack as much food as we could carry without weighing us down. While I still have many questions, I decided it is better to just follow Twilight's order.
Under Twilight's order, Both the Prince and I ran around the castle, packing anything we would need. It was too bad Prince AoBing sent his guards away at the start of the outbreak, wishing to inform his father and brother of the situation. Otherwise, they could have helped us carry more stuff.
"Come on boys, we need to hurry," Twilight steps in. She now has a saddlebag on her back, with small bits of blood still in her mane. "Hurry up, we have to leave. now!" her voice grew. Prince AoBing was about to make a joke to lighten the situation but quickly decided otherwise, realizing it may not have been the best time. We grab the bags, we had packed and followed Twilight out of the door.
Suprisingly there was hardly any undead out on the streets, and the few that we saw seems preoccupied. We move quietly and swiftly across the streets, dodging into the shadow, from the smallest sounds. Twilight lead the way while the Prince watches the rear. We quickly approached the edges of Ponyvile. While the Prince and I let out a sigh of relief, Twilight remained focused.
"I think we are safe," I whispered. As soon as my words ended, a loud rumbling sound came from behind. We didn't bother to look back and went into a sprint. The sound approaches quickly, as we ran as fast as our legs would take us. As we ran for our life, suddenly a rock appeared before my foot, and I tripped. As I struggle to get up, the sound approaches rapidly.
"Leave me! Save yourselves!" I yelled, attempting to make my last moment heroic. Sadly they did not listen. They stood their ground and prepares for the incoming foe, but to our surprise, what we saw was a large cart.