Colors Fade

by BombShelter

Rating: teen
Tags: Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Thriller, Horror, Scootaloo, Shining Armor, Alternate Universe, Sad
Length: 1720

Violence, abandonment, death. All things that most would fear. But fears were meant to be overcome.

It all started, or ended really, about two months ago. They came in the night, an unrelenting force that wanted nothing but to watch us suffer.

They took everything from us, including those close to our hearts. Now those same ponies are trying to destroy the very things they wanted to protect. What little we have left, we protect with our lives.

I had one thing left, but now... she's gone.

Published 2016-04-19 21:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-04-19 21:50:01 UTC

Bloodshed

They came two months ago, silent killers in the night. None of us could have predicted it, not even the princesses themselves. It only took a matter of hours before a good chunk of the population was wiped out. They weren't necessarily gone, though I kinda wish they were. In fact they never left, only... changed. They aren't themselves anymore.

I don't even know what to call it. A curse, maybe a cruel joke, or most likely it's some disease come to rid the world of all of us. None of us know how it first started, or who the first pony was to get infected, but whatever did it, knew what it was doing. Ponies suddenly turning into walking corpses isn't normal, not by any standards. They bite you, infect your blood and turn you into one of them. It's sickening, and I've watched it happen more times than any mare should ever have to.

Those who survived were mainly the pegasi and unicorns. They could fly, use magic, giving them a chance to actually get away. The earth ponies weren't so lucky... They had strength sure, but that doesn't do much good when you're surrounded by a horde of those things.

They took my friends, they took everything I ever loved. Now, they're going to pay...

"She's been gone for a week Rainbow, I think it's time we moved on! It's obvious what happened."

"You don't know that she's dead Armor! Remember how much you freaked out when Twilight went missing? You still mumble stuff about her in your sleep!"

"You're so stubborn Rainbow Dash. Twilight is the only reason I came down to this town. Now I'm stuck here with you!"

"Would you two stop yelling?" Rarity hisses at us, getting our attention. "There could be some out there."

"Sorry. Spike, did you see anything up there?" I ask as Spike climbs down from the top floor of the barn. We'd cut a hole in top for Spike to watch out for anything approaching. Normally he would watch for those creatures, but now he has something far more important to watch for.

"No, sorry Rainbow..." He says as he scratches the back of his head.

"Damn it..." I whisper to myself, kicking the ground. "Where is she?"

"Darling, I'm sure Scootaloo is fine. She's strong, just like you." Rarity says as she approaches me, her coat looking extra dirty today.

"But she can't fly, and she's just a filly! She could be hurt, or captured, or-"

"Give it a rest Rainbow! I'm sorry, I really am, but I think she might be gone." Shining Armor says, giving me a sympathetic look.

"Stop that." Rarity says with an angry tone, getting directly in Armor's face. "Our friends our dead, and we know that only because we saw it happen. Applejack died saving me, and I know that because I saw it happen! Scootaloo is out there sure, but we don't know that she's dead, or even hurt for that matter."

"That's what I've been trying to tell him for the last six days!" I say, pointing a hoof at Armor. "Look, I'm going out there, and I'm going to find her."

"Rainbow it isn't safe." Spike says with a worried tone. "Those things, they'll tear you apart!"

"Look who you're talking to Spike. I'm Rainbow Dash. Nothing can catch me."

"But-"

"But nothing. Look guys, I'm going out there whether you like it or not." I say while grabbing a knife from the makeshift weapons shelf we created. I slide it into the holder that Rarity made around my foreleg. It slides in smoothly, the handle poking out of the top for easy access.

"Are you sure about this?" Rarity asks, opening the barn door with her magic.

"More sure than I've ever been. If any of you come looking for me and get yourselves killed, I'll find you and kill you again myself." I say sternly before trotting out of the barn. Best to only fly during emergencies. Those things don't have the greatest eyesight, but they can definitely see my mane from the ground if I'm flying. It'll draw them towards wherever I go like a magnet.

The dirt crunches under my hooves as I slowly make my way back towards town where most of the creatures wander around aimlessly, searching for their next meal.

The evening sky casts an eerie glow over the town, which doesn't help the tinge of nervousness I feel in my stomach. The nervousness is replace by confidence and ambition as I remember that Scootaloo is missing.

It was about a week ago. I was out in the orchard picking apples to refill our food supply. Scoot was with me, helping me to catch any fallen apples that happened to escape my grasp.

Neither of us saw them coming. There must have been ten of them, all looking like they'd been ground up. It was a horrifying sight for both of us. They came from all directions, surrounding us. I couldn't fly away at the time, my wing was hurt. So, we ran. Somewhere along the way, we got split up. I made it back to the barn, but when I turned around, Scootaloo was gone. That was the last time I saw her...

So now, here I am trudging into town, looking for somepony who might not even be alive. I'd like to thing she is, but the odds aren't really in her favor. Maybe if she could just fly, she'd be fine...

As I enter the town, I grab the knife in my mouth, pulling it from the sheath on my foreleg. The handle has a bitter taste to it, but it's the only thing that'll take these things down.

The brain, that's what has to be destroyed. They just won't go down unless something slices, crushes, or pierces their brains. It's gruesome, but it's the only way to stay alive at this point.

Two creatures slowly stumble around in the street around the corner, both letting out hellish moans of agony. Their appearances make me sick, causing me to gag a bit on my own bile.

Another thing about these things, is that they have incredible hearing. That applies to being able to hear a pony gag from several yards away.

Both of the creatures slowly start stumbling towards me, and I know I have to take action before they attract others. I quickly lunge at the closest one, driving the knife into it's head. Blood splatters against my face, and I shut my eyes with great force as to keep the blood from getting in them. It smells putrid, but there's no luxury in the apocalypse.

The creature falls, taking the knife with it. I reach down, grabbing the knife just in time to bring it up into the chin of the second creature. It does take the thing down, apparently not making it to the brain.

The creature stumbles onto me, and causes me to fall on my side. I cry out in pain as I feel my wing twist in an unnatural way, pain shooting through my body. I let out a scream, tears filling my eyes. Adrenaline courses through me, and I put all of my strength into pushing my forelegs against the creature's chest.

I push the thing over, and grab the knife by wrapping my hoof around the handle. I jump onto the creature, plunging my knife into it several times. Blood splatters everywhere.

I fall off of the thing, wiping tears from my eyes. You never really get used to this kind of stuff, no matter how much you do it. It still affects me just as much as it did the first time I killed one.

I pull the knife out of the creature, and slide it back into the sheath. I brush my mane out of my face, only for my heart to freeze in my chest. Down the street are what looks like at least forty to fifty creatures, all with their eyes on me.

"No no no..." I whisper to myself, turning around to run. I turn around, but there are even more creatures behind me. They're surrounding me from all sides, and I have no escape route. My wing is at the least sprained, probably broken, and there isn't even an ally to run to. How did I not see any of these things? They must have been drawn in by the sound of my screaming when I fell on my wing.

I start trotting around, searching for any escape. I spot a house with it's door open, and make a mad dash for the entrance. Just as I get inside, the horde reaches the door. I slam it shut, locking it from the inside. The sound of hooves pounding against wood and groans fills the house. I sit on my haunches, staring at the door as it bulges inwards, but still holding strong.

My ears perk up as I hear a high-pitched growl from behind me, across the room. I quickly turn around, pointing my knife in the direction of the sound. In the corner, in the dark, is the outline of either a filly or a colt, though it's too dark to tell. Hope fills my body, and I slowly start walking towards it.

"S-Scoot?" I whisper, hoping to Celestia that it is her. I stop in my tracks as the figure starts stumbling towards me, walking further into the light. I get a good glimpse of the pony, and stumble backwards, tears filling my eyes. The pony is a little orange filly with a tattered purple mane, bites and scratches covering her body.

"Scoot..." I say quietly as the tears start to flow. "Why?"

She growls as she slowly stumbles towards me, and the knife shakes in my hoof. I look down at it, watching the fading sunlight of the evening reflect off of the crimson blood still on it.

"I don't want to." I choke out. "I don't want to!"

Only a yard or two away now, still getting closer.

"Please, no!"

Right in front of me now.

"I'm sorry!"

The sound of steel screeching against bone fills the house, and the last bit of my heart fades away.