Equestrian Infection

Equestrian Infection

Part 1: The Outbreak

By: Twisted Ink

"I don't know Twilight, I think I should stay," Spike argued as Twilight pushed him towards the door. "The train doesn't even leave until three..."

"If Princess Celestia wanted to see you, then there's no reason you shouldn't go. I just find it a bit odd she wouldn't say what for though. Oh well, you'll find out soon enough, just make sure to write! You've got everything right? Extra clothes, toothbrush, your blanket?" Twilight said, counting off on her hand.

"Y-yeah," Spike blushed at the last one; "I've got everything. I'll see you in a few days then, I guess. Bye Twilight!" He waved, walking out the door.

"Have fun Spike!" Twilight called out, waving as she shut it behind him

She walked through her castle, looking into the halls as she passed, wondering what she could take care of while Spike was away.

I could... No, already reorganized the library and cleaned it, polished the chairs in the map room, my clothes are clean... Hmm... All my friends are busy with their own things today too...

"I suppose I could lie down and re-read The Magnificent Magical Marvels of Equestria again... Maybe take a well-deserved nap even," she pondered aloud, stretching her wings and yawning.

She levitated the book from her library and floated it alongside her as she went into her bedroom, lying down and beginning to leaf through it.

Ahh... The floating islands of Pegathopolis... Nopony knows how they work, but I'll crack your secrets one day... She thought to herself, flying in place as she caressed the well-packed dirt of one of the islands.

She flew around them, her long pink shirt billowing in her breeze as she did, the air caressing her jeans as she examined the floating bit of land.

"Twilight," she heard from the direction of the island.

She looked over, seeing the dirt part in the shape of a mouth, "Did you just say my name?"

"Twilight, please, it's important!" The island begged.

"I uh... What?" She asked, rubbing the back of her neck out of confusion.

"Please wake up!" It urged her, floating closer.

She closed her eyes in disbelief, "Well fuck..." she whispered as she realized what was happening. When she next opened her eyes, she was sitting up in bed in the same clothes, her book on her lap and Rainbow Dash with her hands on her shoulders, shaking her. "I-I'm up! For the love of Celestia, s-stop."

Rainbow stopped and sighed, "About damn time! We need to get moving though."

She shook her head, waking herself up and getting to her feet, setting the book aside, "Why? What's happened? Has there been an attack?"

Rainbow stepped down from the bed, fixing her grey shirt in the process, "Did you seriously sleep through the earthquake that just rocked Ponyville?"

"Earthquake?!" She asked, astonished.

Did I really...? No, she's just messing with me...

"Come on Rainbow, stop fucking around and tell me why you're really here," she demanded, slightly grumpy.

"There was an explosion on the south side of the town that rocked the city, I'm not fucking around this time."

"What could've blown up?"

"The train did on its way to Canterlot; apparently there were no survivors... Yet ponies were seen running from the flames. It was super weird and I figured having the local Princess there checking it out would ease people's worries."

"I suppose so, but wh- What time is it?"

"It's 3:05, why does that matter?"

Twilight's coat ran pale purple, a very noticeable color difference for the alicorn, her knees shaking as well. All around her the world spun, he stomach churning as she felt a sickness composed of dread rising.

"Twilight, are you ok? You look like you did when Discord got to us..." Rainbow put an arm around her friend, helping support her.

"No... S-survivors?" She asked quietly.

"No, unless what I heard was wrong. Why? Wait, Spike was supposed to leave today... wasn’t he?" She asked, hoping for a no.

Twilight nodded slowly, "We need to go, now. I need to see it..."

Rainbow nodded, "I'm sure he'll be f-fine, he's a dragon after all..."

Twilight stayed silent, grabbing a dark blue jacket from her closet and rushing out. Rainbow sped after her, wasting no time in catching up to her fear stricken friend.

"Twilight," Rainbow tried to say, flying next to Twilight who had tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "It'll be ok, I promise..."

She shook her head, flying faster through the day made dark by the tower of smoke slowly rising in the distance. They kept going towards it, zipping between buildings and over the crowds of ponies on their way to check things out as well. With her tears trailing behind her, Twilight saw the flaming crater slowly come into view.

The tracks were ruined on both sides of the massive hole. Pieces of the train were tossed about, a majority of them in the bottom of the flaming pit it had created. Ponies were standing near, looking from a safe distance as if it were going to explode again. Twilight and Rainbow landed closer to the flames than anypony else, gazing into them at the wrecked train below. Rainbow put an arm around Twilight, holding her close.

"He..." she began before breaking down against her friend.

"I'm here for you Twilight... All your friends are..." Rainbow assured her quietly, wrapping her other arm around her and holding her in a tight hug, letting Twilight sob against her.

Twilight wiped her eyes, pulling away slowly and looking into the flames again when something caught her eye on the other side.

"Rainbow, th-there's somepony over there lying down... Maybe two actually... Y-you don't think it could be..." She rushed off without waiting for an answer. "SPIKE!"

Rainbow rubbed her own shoulder awkwardly, feeling even sorrier for Twilight before following her once more.

On the other side of the flames they saw a brown earth pony with a darker brown mane hunched over a grey pegasus with blonde hair, looking to be giving her mouth to mouth. They exchanged glances and nodded, moving over to help.

"Here, let me take it from here," Twilight told him, moving another step closer before stopping dead in her tracks.

The pony rose to his feet slowly, turning to face them. The first thing they noticed were his hands, the fingertips covered in red. His mouth and his shirt were similar, both his bared teeth and lips soaked in the liquid too. On the ground the mare lie still, her eyes as wide open as the hole in her throat, the ground around her blood-soaked.

"Wh-what the hell..." Rainbow whispered, taking a step back.

"T-Turner," Twilight cautiously said his name. "Wh-what are you doing?"

He snarled quietly, his head twitching every so often. Twilight took another step back and looked at Rainbow.

"We need to get hel-" she began before getting tackled to the ground by Rainbow a second before Time Turner had the chance to.

Rainbow got to her feet, balling her hands into fists, "If you wanna get her you're gonna have to take me first!"

The bloody Doctor rose again, turning towards her, his hands arched with the intent to claw. Rainbow went in to strike before getting knocked down by a gust of wind from behind her. Twilight watched the grey mare that caused it rise to her feet and immediately fly off faster than she'd seen anypony do before. She tried to stop her with a spell, but nothing worked or came from her horn, causing her to panic internally. It didn't last long as she slammed into a member of the crowd who had been watching the train burn, the impact knocking the other observers back, and beginning to tear the unlucky victim apart.

Twilight grabbed Rainbow and pulled her to her feet while Time Turner ran off, picking out his own victim too.

"Twilight, she... she was..." Rainbow stammered, visibly shaking.

"I know... Let's get back to the castle and quick. We need to find a way to contact Celestia!" She explained in a rush.

Rainbow stopped herself before she could say What about Spike? and just nodded, following her friend through the sky and over the panicking and fleeing crowd. They reached the castle within seconds, still hearing the screams off in the distance.

"We need to work quickly; we're looking for a spell book that contains teleportation spells. That'd be our best bet," she told Rainbow, sprinting into the library and throwing books off her shelf.

Rainbow walked in, looking on a shelf safe from Twilight's tossing, when not long into her search a nearby book began vibrating. "Uh, Twilight, this one’s shaking..."

"Shaking?" Twilight asked, half paying attention, "I really don't have time for these jokes..."

Rainbow rolled her eyes and opened the moving book, reading what she saw, Hey Princess, what's up?

"Twilight, the book wants to know what's up... Do you have a pen?"

She nodded and quickly tossed her one from her own pocket. Rainbow began writing back, the words above disappearing as she did.

Princess Twilight is a bit busy, this is Rainbow Dash. Who is this?

Her friend Sunset Shimmer. And I know a Rainbow Dash too! Not you... but... well... you.

Rainbow shook her head and began writing again.

Alright, you were one of Celestia's prized pupils once, how did you get messages to her?

I did it either by hand, or messenger. Twilight got lucky with her assistant Spike honestly... How is he? It has been a while since I've seen the cute little puppy.

Uhm... He's... Ok. He's as good as he can be, Rainbow wrote, bottling her own sadness, but things in Ponyville are really screwy right now.

How screwy we talking?

Train blew up, one pony ripping out another’s throat, then them getting up and attacking another one...

Uh... Do you guys need a hand?

Twilight snatched the book from Rainbow and began writing, No, we should be fine. I've just gotta get a message to Celestia and all should be good.

"Why did you do that?" Rainbow asked in an annoyed tone.

"Because, we don't know what's going on. If things come down to it, I'll reconsider it, but for now no." Twilight said, grabbing her Cutie Mark adorned satchel and draping it over herself, setting the book into the open pocket.

Rainbow grumbled quietly, crossing her arms and turning away, "I mean, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra unicorn..."

"You can meet her another time Rainbow, I promise that. Besides, another unicorn wouldn't do much. My magics been dead since we saw Time Turner... Something strong is keeping me from casting it."

"Then why did we come here looking for a spell?!" Rainbow asked in disbelief.

"I-I don't know, ok? I don't fucking know!” Twilight said, lowering herself to the ground slowly.

"Hey, Twi', I'm sorry... Let's just get this figured out, alright?"

She nodded and stood up again, reaching into her satchel and pulling out another one, "Stop leaving your stuff here and we have a deal," she told her, handing her the satchel with a teary eyed smile.

"There's the Twilight I know!" She cheered, walking out of the library and to the front door of the castle.

She nodded quickly and followed, "Now let's get out there, find our friends and go get help!"

She opened the door, a light blue stallion right on the other side, drenched in blood and facing them. She immediately shut the doors again, turning and facing Rainbow as they heard the pony slam into the doors.

"Any other doors outta here?"

"I've got windows, so maybe we could fly?" Twilight suggested.

Rainbow shook her head, "We both saw what the other..." she struggled for a term to use, "Fucked up Pegasus did... Even I can't go that fast."

"There's only one out there, maybe we can push through then?"

"I think we might have to fight our way out Twilight..." she nodded towards the door where some more banging could be heard. “Just give me something to use and I can."

Twilight nodded, running down to her room and coming back with a blue metal bat, "I'm hoping this is the last of your stuff, Rainbow," she scolded in a joking tone.

She grabbed it and smiled at Twilight, "It's probably not but whatever, just open the door and let me at them."

"Are you sure? There might be another way without hurting them..."

"Twilight, Time Turner ripped out a mare's throat... She got up and attacked another pony! Listen to those screams outside! Everypony is in trouble and they're getting fewer and fewer in number. Those things, whatever they are, they grow with each one they get!"

"Fine, fine... I just... Do whatever you need," she told her, grabbing the handle of the shaking door, trying to ignore the cries for help coming from the panicked city outside.

Rainbow got her bat ready to swing as Twilight twisted the knob, letting in...

"Rarity?" Twilight called out in confusion.

Rainbow swung hard, Rarity ducking just in time, "RAINBOW!" She shrieked, dropping to the ground.

"Rarity, what are you... Those things were out there..." Rainbow began.

"They chased after some poor stallion who tried to slip past them... I don't know how far he made it but it was far enough away from here. You lot opened the door right in time," she explained, standing up and fixing her satchel and yellow skirt, setting her large knife aside as she did.

"Why do you have that?" Rainbow asked, pointing at the clean knife.

"The same reason you have a bat and she has... nothing?"

"I've got a book!" Twilight defended, holding up the diary from her bag. "It's heavy enough to do some damage I guess."

Rarity and Rainbow exchanged glance before laughing quietly, "A book? To defend yourself? We've got your back Twi'!" Rainbow jested, getting a growl from Twilight.

"All joking aside, can either of you two fill me in on what you know?" Rarity asked, looking at them both.

A quick explanation later, leaving out Spike’s fate for now as Twilight and Rainbow quietly agreed upon, Rarity sat there frightened.

"I'm certainly glad I grabbed this then... I thought there was just a riot or something at first, but from what I saw getting here backed up by what you told me... Well, it's quite alarming."

"Yeah, but for now, we just gotta go find the other three and get to Celestia..." Rainbow told her.

"Well, Pinkie would probably be at Sugarcube Corner, setting up a party for these things knowing her. Applejack lives far enough away that she probably hasn't been affected yet... Of course with this being a school day, Applebloom probably filled her in... I hate to think Fluttershy is out here with those things, so hopefully she's locked up at home..." Rarity assumed aloud.

"Well," Twilight said, holding her book in one hand, "Let's get going to Sugarcube Corner then and find Pinkie Pie..."

The other two nodded, Rainbow leading the way outside, "We'll need to be quick though, the day is already half over..."

"I'd never be able to deal with these things at night..." Rarity said with a shiver.

"Please, you won't deal with them in the day at fear of ruining your outfit," Rainbow jested.

"Hmph, let's see you wear something slightly braggable and then we'll talk."

Rainbow growled, looking around before moving into a nearby alleyway, "Where's Sugarcube Corner from here?"

"Uhm, I think it’s closer to town hall in the center..." Twilight said as she thought.

"Looks like we have a hell of a long way to go then..." Rainbow said, peeking around a corner. "Doesn't look like anypony is left over here... Alive or dead," she said, pointing at the blood streaking along the ground ahead of them.

"This started nearby, it makes sense that everypony would've fled deeper into town... And with the living ones going, the dead ones would follow..."

"How long until we have a more even spread then?" Rarity asked, letting her guard down some as they walked out into the open.

"Well, once they start getting caught up, some people will hide and some will come back... So tomorrow at the latest..." A loud shriek overthrew the screams in the distance, "Ten minutes at the earliest?" Twilight told them with a nervous laugh.

"Well, let's pick up the pace then," Rainbow told them, beginning to jog. "You know, seeing Time Turner like that was a bit weird..."

"I'd hope so; it's not every day you see someone go feral like that..." Twilight said, trying to keep up.

"No, not even that... He was one of the closest ones to that explosion when it happened. He was the one that told me what happened and said we needed to get help..."

"Probably just a coincidence honestly... Of course there's always the possibili-"

Twilight was cut off as they were about to exit another alleyway, nearly running directly into another mare. Rainbow immediately brought out her bat, ready to strike.

"No please don't!" Cheerilee yelled out.

"Sorry, she's in a bat habit," Rarity told her.

"I'm not saving you if anything happens," Rainbow told her, wiping the smirk off her face. "Where are you going and why the rush?"

"Shh! Not here, follow me!" Cheerilee told them, darting into the nearest house.

They followed her in, finding the place empty as Cheerilee made sure the door was shut and the windows had the curtains pulled.

"We should be safe here, for now. Just keep your voices low." She explained quietly, sitting on a sofa in the dark room.

"How'd you know the place was empty?" Twilight asked in worry.

"Let's just say the occupant was the reason I was running..." she told them, catching her breath.

"It's a good thing you found us and not one of the things out there... What did you call them Twilight? Feral?" Rarity asked, sitting across from Cheerilee.

Twilight nodded, looking to Cheerilee, "Is everything ok?"

She shook her head no, "I... I don't know... First there was the explosion, then the incident at school... Now this..."

Rarity perked up, "What happened there? Is Sweetie Belle ok?"

"When the explosion happened, my students ran outside to satisfy their curiosity. On the way out though, somepony ran by screaming and scratched one of my students pretty badly... I brought them back in and did my best to help while we waited on the nurse to come over... Your sister and her two friends wanted to help, thought they'd get medical Cutie Marks... That stopped though when the injured student bit Applebloom though and began attacking other students. Twist got scratched, Silver Spoon got bit too, and I’m not sure who all got it though... So many of them got injured, luckily not as bad, so I sent them home. I restrained the injured student the best I could while everyone fled, but when I realized what they'd become I ran too... I tried to be a good teacher and protect my students, b-but I couldn't do it... They got hurt because of me... My fault, all my fault... My fault... My fault..." Cheerilee continued, rocking in place.

"What about Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked, angrily shaking the crazed teacher, her knife pointed at her neck.

Cheerilee snapped out of it enough to talk, "Her and Scootaloo helped Applebloom home... That's all I know."

Rarity sighed, setting her knife down and sitting aside, "Thank goodness... They're safe all the way out there on the farm... I'm just glad Applebloom only got bit."

All three of them jumped up immediately, "We need to get to Sweet Apple Acres now!" Twilight screamed, running for the door.

"My fault... Worthless teacher... Students hurt..." Cheerilee went back to whispering as they ran out. "No way out..."

"Is she going to be ok?" Rainbow asked as they ran towards the farm.

"I hope so," Rarity said, balling her fists and stopping in place, "I left my knife! I'm going back, it's an antique!"

The other two stopped, irritated as they followed Rarity back. Rarity went back into the house alone, stopping in place at the sight. Cheerilee lie on the couch, the knife to her throat as she whispered on and on.

"I'm a failure..." she whispered before sliding it across in one quick motion.

Rarity lunged to stop her, not making it in time as blood sprayed out a bit, speckling her skirt and shirt. She froze in place, her hand outstretched for the knife still. After a few seconds, she took a breath and reached into her satchel, pulling a handkerchief out and wiping her face off. She then pulled the knife from Cheerilee gently, wiping the handle and her own hands off too. She turned, walking out of the house and shutting the door behind her.

"Took you long enough," Rainbow said, barely glancing at Rarity. "Now let’s go!"

Twilight rushed to her side, "Rarity is that...?"

She nodded silently, "C-can we just go get my sister?"

Rainbow looked back, realizing Rarity's appearance had changed. She looked at Twilight and received a nod, already assuming what happened.

"She snapped... So quickly... And just ended it..." Rarity stammered out, stumbling as she walked. "W-we're stronger than that, right?"

"Of course we are Rare," Rainbow assured her, “Now let's go; we're losing enough time as it is..."

She nodded, swallowing slowly and wiping her knife against her skirt, throwing the ruined handkerchief away. She stowed it in the side of her satchel for easy access and began running in the direction they had been.

As they ran, the screams grew louder and louder, leaving them unsure if they were getting closer to them or if the screams were coming towards them. After a while more of running through the seemingly empty town, they slowed down and began walking again, staying close to buildings just in case.

"Pinkie Pie is super close to us now; the Town Hall is maybe a block away. Do we still go straight for AJ or get Pinkie while we're nearby?" Twilight asked them quietly.

"We might have to come back through... Getting to AJ with 4 of us would just be a lot harder, especially with Pinkie. She'll just attract the Ferals to us a lot more." Rainbow explained.

"Yes, but what if we're too late on our return?" Rarity asked.

"If we go get her now we might be too late for any of them at Sweet Apple Acres," Rainbow said, hoping to scare Rarity into siding with her.

She swallowed, balling her hands into fists, "Sweetie Belle is strong enough to last another minute or two, plus Applejack is there. Let's go get Pinkie Pie."

Twilight nodded and took point, moving quickly but carefully across the street, ducking next to Town Hall. She stopped, listening for any sounds among the quiet evening.

"Do you girls hear that?" She asked the others.

"I don't hear anything," Rarity said.

Rainbow nodded, realizing what Twilight meant, "Exactly... Nothing. Where did the screaming and yelling go?"

"I think things are about to get worse... If nopony is screaming, those things are going to start wandering through the town looking for more people..." Twilight said, peeking around the corner. "Sugarcube Corner is right down here, let's go!"

Twilight broke into a dead sprint, Rainbow and Rarity only inches behind. She threw open the doors to the pastry shop, rushing into the darkness with the other two. They slammed the door shut, keeping their backs against it just in case.

"Why's it so dark?" Rarity asked, unable to see much in the blackened pastry shop.

"They might be closed... but even then, it wouldn't be this early..." Twilight said.

They felt their way around, finding the staircase leading to Pinkie's room. Rainbow took lead, her bat ready as they stepped into the hallway. She moved towards Pinkie's door, trying the handle.

"It's locked..."

"Well then... Knock on it!" Rarity ordered her.

Rainbow tapped the door with her knuckles, getting no response. She shrugged and began walking away when Rarity grabbed her by the shoulder and pointed at the door. Rainbow sighed and rolled her eyes, banging on the door.

"Pinkie, open up!"

"You're not one of the ponies who threw the party downstairs are you?" Pinkie asked in a cheerful tone from the other side.

"What party?" Twilight asked, "It was pitch black downstairs."

"Well, some ponies ran in screaming, other ponies running after them and trying to give them hugs, but they had really sharp teeth that hurt. They even gave Mr. and Mrs. Cake hugs!"

They exchanged terrified glances, Rainbow making a biting motion and pointing at the door with a shrug. Rarity shook her head and pushed Rainbow away.

"Pinkie dear, you didn't get bit too did you...?" Rarity asked worriedly.

"Nope! But everything went dark for a bit when I watched them give their hugs. When I woke up, I was here in my room!"

"Could you let us in maybe?" Rainbow asked irritated.

"Okie dokie lokie!" She said, pulling the door open.

The first thing they saw was her blood covered pink dress, various now-red candies decorating the odd choice of wear. Her face was clean and her hands seemed normal and her hair was at its poofiest. They stayed outside, looking through the door frame at her, unsure whether to enter it not.

"Pinkie... You're covered in..." Twilight began.

"Jam! Duh. It must've been some party because when I came to it was all over me... Those ponies were covered in it too!" Pinkie bounced in place happily, a flicker going through her eyes for a split second.

Rainbow pulled Twilight close to her, whispering in her ear, "She can't be serious right? Even she knows what blood and death are, right?"

Rarity moved over too, getting in on the partial huddle, "I daresay I'm getting worried... Cheerilee snapped like a twig, Pinkie is already... Pinkie Pie..."

"Let's just take it from here, and assume she's not more of a nut than usual..." Twilight said with a nod.

"I can hear everything you're saying, you dumbasses know that right?" Pinkie asked, her tone hatefully monotone.

They turned back, coming face to face with Pinkie, except it wasn't her. Her hair hung straight down, her mouth turned into a grimace with her overall color seemingly darker. She stood there facing them, a large pink gun in one hand with a large modified chamber.

Rainbow shook her head in disbelief, "Not doing this shit again, I'll go get mauled instead," she declared, walking back the way they came.

Rarity grabbed her, pulling her back towards them, "No you don't! Now Pinkie dear..." she began.

"Pinkamena, get it right or leave. See the hair? I care about myself, Pinkie doesn't," she snarled, stepping toward them and raising the gun slowly.

"Alright Pinkamena, tell us what happened here... Mainly how Pinkie escaped..."

"WE, thank you, escaped because of me. I shoved those things back... I grabbed the gun the Cakes kept behind the counter, fired off a few rounds at them all, and ran. I don't know if they hit, I don't care... We made it, the end. Now you're here."

"Pinkie doesn't see that that way though..."

"You think she would admit that? Hell, normally I'm dormant as fuck inside her, but it screwed with her bad enough to call me out this far."

"Well, what's up with the gun? It doesn't look normal..." Twilight realized aloud.

"Good eye; when we got up here I messed with it using what she had around here and made it more suitable for her. As much party shit as she has in her endless pockets, fireworks are in good number compared to actual bullets so, now it launches those. Small ones at least. Call it my Party Pistol if you will."

"Alright, can we go? My sister might be in trouble!" Rarity said, motioning towards the door.

"Why the rush Rarity?" Pinkie asked delightfully.

"Just come on," Rainbow said with a sigh, grabbing Pinkie by the hand and pulling her along.

Twilight set her hand on her face, growling in irritation, "Even in a crisis, I still deal with everyone's shenanigans."

Except now... There's one less source of them... She sniffled, holding back a tear. It's ok Twilight; he wouldn't want you to dwell on him... Just keep going, for Spike!

She raised her head with a determined smile, "Let's do this!"

"Yeah, hey, egghead, let's go," Rainbow said, already going down the stairs.

Twilight blushed and rushed after them. As they descended, Rarity sighed in disgust.

"I can barely see where I'm going... Is there any light down here?" She said, the dark lower floor of the bakery proving difficult to navigate.

"There's a switch right her- What the?!" She exclaimed when the second her hand found a light switch, another hand fell atop hers, stopping her from flipping it.

Pinkamena's voice drew over her ear slowly, "It's best you don't see down here... The floors are scarlet, I'm not sure if there are bodies down there to call a source though..."

Rainbow nodded in the dark, making her way along the wall and to the door, "Let's just go..."

They walked out, Pinkie back into control and suddenly adorned with her satchel.

Rarity looked at her quizzically, "When did you... Never mind..."

"Let's get moving," Twilight said, moving in the direction of Applejack's farm. "Just watch your tails and stay quie-"

Twilight was cut off as she was brought to the ground by an unknown assailant. She held her book up in front of her face, defending herself the best she could. Rainbow moved quickly the second she saw the green blur hit into her friend. She lifted her bat, watching the unicorn claw at the book at a rapid pace. It shrieked while it did, its tattered clothes billowing in the wind it was kicking up.

Rainbow swung, sending the bat directly into the feral mare's face, knocking her off Twilight and onto her back. She screeched out, arching her back and moving her claws underneath her to get up. Rainbow brought the bat down again, directly in the center of her face. She kept slamming down repeatedly; long after the head was crushed in. Blood splattered across her as she spoke quietly.

"Stay... the... hell... off... my... friends!" She called out, finally lifting the now bloody bat onto her shoulder and standing in place, breathing heavily.

They all stood, save for Twilight, watching Rainbow Dash in fear. When she finished, none of them said a word and followed her as she continued on her way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Rarity looked at Twilight, widening her eyes and nodding towards Rainbow. Twilight shrugged, nodding towards Pinkie who was skipping happily, unscathed by the events.

They continued moving in silence, ducking into alleys anytime they heard a sound. The occasional pony would hide behind their curtains, unsure whether the four bloody wanderers were out for more blood or for another purpose. They saw the moving curtains, trying the doors and windows, looking for solace or aid but to no avail.

"Figures nopony would let us in..." Rainbow grumbled.

"Well, with what's happening, would you?" Twilight asked, giving Rainbow a mocking tone.

"Well, no... But..." She stammered, looking for a reason.

"We could always bust in..." Pinkamena suggested with a chuckle.

"You go back where you belong and hush!" Rarity scolded, smacking her shoulder.

They kept moving, the path to the farm just ahead now, fencing on either side as the apple tree fields began.

"We made it... Not much longer now, but it's all out in the open," Twilight said, sitting on a fence and opening her book.

Ponyville is falling apart. Ponies are feral, killing and infecting one another. Dubbed the bad ones Ferals for now. Pegasi are the worst, and quickest. Unicorns seem sneaky, had a close call with one and well... Rainbow took care of that. Haven't experienced much with earth ponies, but I can only imagine they'd be stronger. Hoping that's all there is though.

Pinkie is safe, split between her and Pinkamena though... Not sure if you've dealt with that other side of hers or not. Rarity's good too. Getting AJ now and then Fluttershy. Stay on your toes; we may end up needing you. No promises though. Twilight out.

"Writing a novel, Twilight?" Rainbow asked.

"Updating Sunset, sorry. Let's go get AJ," she told them, standing up.

"Actually, here comes Applejack now!" Pinkie squealed, pointing at the silhouette coming towards them from the path.

"Why's she walking so weird?" Rainbow asked, noticing the slow pace of their faraway friend.

"I'm not sure... Maybe she's- APPLEJACK!" Twilight screamed, watching her fall to the ground.

"Well, duh she's Applejack!" Pinkie giggled, unaware of the situation as the other 3 raced down the path to the fallen mare.

Rainbow got there first, lifting Applejack up into a sitting position before immediately pulling away, her hands and arms now red.

"AJ, what the hell?!" She said, looking at herself in a horrified gaze. "Are you hurt?"

The orange earth pony shook her head, keeping her gaze away from the others, "Not physically..."

"What do you mean by that?" Rarity asked, taking a step back.

Applejack reached down next to her, grabbing an axe with fresh blood on it and tossing it towards them, "Y'all can assume I suppose..."

Twilight moved over, setting her hand on Applejack's shoulder, "Come on, let's get somewhere safe and talk about this."

AJ nodded, climbing to her feet, her red t-shirt still showing faint traces of the original green color, her jeans covered in the same shade of red as well. As if to form a trio, the axe at her side was adorned with the color as well, from handle to end. She grabbed it and put it into the bag on her back, keeping the handle out enough to quickly get to. She walked past all of them, including Pinkie who finally came over, and kept moving towards town. Rainbow flew up next to her, looking at her.

"Uh, Applejack, where are you going?" Rainbow asked.

Applejack stopped in place, realizing she had no clue, "Sorry, my head is just a bit muddled right now... Lead the way girls."

Where's everypony else...? Twilight wondered, avoiding what she thought might be the answer.

Rainbow led them forward, noticing a few ponies aimlessly roaming ahead of them.

"About time we saw some more... I was starting to worry..." She whispered aloud.

"At least it means they're still in Ponyville, but I think it's best we get Fluttershy and get out of town quickly. They're only going to grow in number from here. We've been lucky thus far to see so few... That'll change if we stick around..." Twilight explained to the group. "Just look for an unlocked door so we can rest for a bit and fill Applejack in."

The group moved down a side street to avoid the Ferals that were ahead. They began trying every door they came to, finding a majority of them locked. Twilight found one that wasn't and pushed it open, immediately facing the back of one of the creatures they were trying to avoid. She quickly shut the door again, hearing it snarl and cry out quietly against the door. She shook her head at the others, holding up four of her fingers to dissuade Rainbow from trying to clear the house out.

The more she thinks are there, the less cocky she'll be about it...

Finally they heard Applejack yell out, followed by the splintering of wood. They looked over, watching her break down a door with her axe.

"I like her style..." Pinkamena told Twilight quietly.

"Can you hush?" She growled back.

"Huh, what'd I do?" Pinkie asked in response.

Twilight sighed angrily, going over to her friend who had just passed through the now empty doorframe, the rest of the group close behind her. Applejack was already in the process of scooting a nearby bookcase towards the vacant doorframe. Twilight and Rainbow moved over, giving her a hand and blocking off the fresh hole.

"Now will you tell us what the hay happened instead of being Miss Silent Doorbreaker?" Rainbow asked with her irritation apparent.

Applejack glared at Rainbow, beginning to raise her axe only to have Twilight stop her immediately. “Now is not the time to kill her… Maybe later though,” she suggested, shooting a glare at the hostile pegasus.

"Why the hell would it matter anyway? Wouldn't be the first head ah've split today..." Applejack whispered, setting the axe aside.

Twilight carefully stepped back, "O-one more time?"

"It all started earlier today... Ah had been out in the orchard bucking trees and pickin' apples as usual when ah saw Applebloom bein' carried by Scoots and Sweetie, looked like she'd been bitten on her upper arm so naturally I helped get her inside. Big Mac and Granny took a look at her and ah left the five of them alone to go get some medical supplies..." Applejack paused, looking at the axe in her hands.

"Go on..." Rarity said, obviously curious.

"This axe has been around since Granny Smith was a young mare... It's the family Appleaxe... It wasn't often we had a dead or dying tree, but when we did we'd use it... It's always nothing short of being as sharp as possible for that reason..." Applejack continued, entranced by the weapon.

Rainbow snapped her fingers, "Hellooooo?"

"Yeah, tick her off a bit more... I'd love to see some more bloodshed around here," Pinkamena snickered. "I'll be sure to tie your severed head to my belt when she kills ya."

Applejack ignored them, "When ah came back, Granny was torn to pieces and the other four turned to me, death in their eyes and blood on their mouths... Ah cut down two Apples today... As well as two others..."

Behind them came the thud of Rarity falling down, followed by Rainbow stumbling and catching herself, "Y-you... Scootaloo is..."

AJ only nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Applejack, are you ok?" Twilight asked.

She nodded, setting the axe on the floor, "They were already dead... I just made sure they weren't used like puppets anymore... I suggest we all save our grieving for later and focus on finding Fluttershy and getting out of here."

"Duh! Then we can throw a party when we find her!" Pinkie cheered, firing off a firework round into the ceiling.

The firework snapped when it hit, sending small flares in all directions, igniting the wood above them.

"Oopsie!" Pinkie giggled as it began to spread.

"PINKIE! YOU IDIOT!" Rainbow yelled, rushing towards the bookcase and beginning to clear their way out.

The others gave her a hand, stumbling out into the street. They turned back towards the house, watching the window slowly begin to flicker yellow from the fire within. Twilight sighed, turning and making her way further on down the street.

"Dear, where are you going?" Rarity asked, concerned for her.

"I’m going to find Fluttershy. We don't have time to roast marshmallows..." she said angrily.

Pinkie slowly hid her bag of marshmallows as she rushed over, "Let's go get her then! There’s nothing fun about a friend being left out."

They all followed Twilight, continuing their alley ducking and swift moving, avoiding any Ferals they saw roaming about.

"Twilight," Rainbow whispered as they hid once more.

"What?" She replied, stopping in the alley next to a door.

"Are these things really this stupid or are they just screwing with us? Something smart enough to infect others like it has shouldn’t be this dumb acting…"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?! Why don’t you go ask one?"

"You're smart though. You probably already have a checklist made about these things!"

"N-no I don't!" She began raising her voice, a deep blush appearing on her cheeks.

"You so do! Don't lie to me."

"Ya did have some kinda paper you were lookin' at a few seconds ago..." Applejack cut in.

"Ok. Maybe I made one on the way here, but is that a problem with any of you?"

Rarity shook her head, taking a step back and bumping into something. "Sorry Pinkie," she whispered, stepping a few feet ahead.

Pinkie popped up in her face, causing her to let out a small shriek, "For what Rarity? Ohh who's that?" Pinkie asked, pointing behind her.

Rarity shook her head, already putting together that if she hadn't bumped into Pinkie she bumped into somebody else. She peeked back, the grey Feral just standing there staring at them. Its clothes looked shredded, blood covering both those and their mouth. The hands were lazily arched like the others, ready to strike. The worst part of its appearance was the chunk of flesh missing from its left shoulder, the ripped flesh dangling from the wound, a small trickle of blood leaking from it.

"Back away slowly; maybe it doesn't realize we're food..." Rarity told the rest.

They kept backing away, the Feral just watching them as they did. After a few more feet of distance were created, they turned to run. Twilight went first, immediately cut off by a sickly green burst of magic, followed by a maroon unicorn appearing in front of her.

"IT TELEPORTED?!" She shrieked out loud, finding her own magic still failing.

Rainbow unfurled her wings, getting ready to fly over them when she saw the pegasus floating quietly above them. "This was a fucking ambush..."

Twilight readied her book, watching as more joined on either side, "We... We have to fight them..."

The others nodded, knowing the odds were stacked heavily against them. "Let's do what we can... If we can kill enough of them we might be able to force our way through," Pinkamena told them, making sure the gun was ready.

Applejack handed her axe to Rainbow, trying to push the door next to them open. "Use that, I'll see if I can't get this door open."

"We need all of us fighting or else there's definitely no chance," Pinkamena snarled.

"There are about twenty of them on either side, it won't work!" Applejack told her.

"Farm girl can count higher than apple? Surprised me... We can take them though." Pinkamena mocked.

"Ah don't have time for your psychotic ass, ah'm gonna get us out of here without losing any of us," Applejack growled back.

"Over my dead body you're going to try that," Pinkamena warned, aiming her gun at Applejack.

Applejack took back her axe, moving towards the straight-maned mare, "Is that a threat?"

"Hey... We kinda don't have time for this," Rainbow awkwardly interjected, pointing all around them.

It's like they're waiting for us to make the first move... Twilight realized in her head.

"Why don't we uhm, let Twilight decide, quickly I might add," Rarity suggested.

She snapped from her thoughts, the other four staring at her, "Uh... If we fight there's a big chance we'll die."

"Of course," Pinkamena said, rolling her eyes.

"If you try to get that door open there's a strong chance it’s barred or something; it's also metal so your axe wouldn't work..."

"Yer takin' her side?"

"I'm taking neither side!" Twilight shouted back.

"Quiet down Twilight, they're getting impatient," Rarity warned, the Ferals closing in around them tighter.

"Do those firework bullets explode on impact or do they pierce?" Twilight asked Pinkamena.

She already knew the idea, putting the muzzle to the keyhole and pulling the trigger, leaving a clean hole in the door where she'd had the gun. "There's your answer."

The grey Feral began screaming not long after the first, beginning a steady walk towards them.

"Applejack, kick the fuck out of that door!" Pinkamena commanded, shooting around the doorknob a few more times before turning towards the approaching creatures.

They closed in quicker when Applejack began kicking. Twilight swung the book at the nearest one, knocking it back a bit before it lunged at her. Rainbow swung the bat, knocking it away.

"A fucking book..." she grumbled as she pulled Rarity over to help her defend that side.

Pinkamena began firing into the crowd on her side, aiming high and low, working to hit the closest ones hard in an effort to get the rest to back away. She laughed quietly the whole time, her bloodlust growing bit by bit as they fell in front of her. As her laughter grew, the panic on Rainbow's side did too. She kept swinging, trying to kill them as Rarity slashed at any that got too close.

Twilight moved over next to Applejack, "Any way this can go a bit quicker?" She asked nervously.

"You tell me smarty pants," she growled, kicking the door below the knob again.

Twilight looked it over, seeing the beat area around the door knob, the hole still glowing red. She looked over the hinges, seeing if they could be loosened at all.

Wait... I can see the hinges… Maybe the door...

She grabbed the knob, shoving Applejack aside, and pulled the door open.

AJ looked away embarrassed, "Don't tell the others..."

"Let's go! Everypony through!" Twilight shouted, holding the door open for the other four before going in and slamming it shut behind her.

She slid to the ground on the other side, immediately getting up when she heard the shrieks and banging from the other side. She looked around, her eyes adjusting, the area slowly coming into view. They had made it into a theater, the projector above still running a blank white image, helping light the room.

"It was a fire door...? So why was it locked?" Rarity asked aloud.

Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances before Twilight spoke up, "Doesn't matter now. Let’s get going. Fluttershy isn't far from here, and with night coming quick, we're almost out of light. It'll be a lot more dangerous getting out once the sun goes down."

"Then why wouldn't we stay here until day? Or at Fluttershy's cottage for Celestia's sake?!" Rainbow asked loudly.

"Keep your voice down!" Twilight reprimanded, "Besides, the quicker we get out the quicker we're safe..."

“Safe from what? These things can just as easily get to wherever we do if not quicker than us. You’ve seen how fast those pegasi are, we can’t even hear the fucking unicorns’ teleporting, and if the earth ponies follow suit, we’re fucked if they get us!” Rainbow tried to argue, sitting in one of the theater chairs.

“Which is precisely why we need to get outta’ this town as quickly as we can. If we’re lucky, they won’t be anywhere else and we can get the princesses to help!” Applejack added, standing over her.

“Something of this caliber would’ve raised an alert from them immediately! Canterlot isn’t that far away, surely the explosion alone would’ve been seen or felt from there by somepony!” Rarity yelled at Applejack.

“Maybe they know what's going on and they’ve left us for dead…” Pinkamena grumbled with her back to the group.

“They wouldn’t do that…” Twilight told her, taking a step in her direction.

Pinkamena turned to face her, her own arms crossed, “Wouldn’t they? I mean, come on, your magic doesn’t work when this starts? Does yours work?” She asked, pointing at Rarity.

Rarity focused, unable to call anything forth, “I never even thought about it…”

“Who would have the power to stop the magic of other unicorns? An entire city would take a powerful pony… Maybe even two…” Pinkamena continued, “Open your eyes Twilight, something weird is going on aside from the undead attacking us. Train explodes; magic stops working for you all; ponies are getting physically altered? Fishy as could be.”

“L-look, let’s just focus on getting out of here before jumping to conclusions…” Twilight demanded, starting to shake. “Then we can find out what’s going on.”

“C’mon then, Fluttershy’s house isn’t too much farther from here. Let’s check the lobby and get out of here if it’s safe,” Applejack suggested, walking out of the screening room.

The view through the front windows showed them an empty street in the evening light. She peeked right and left the best she could, seeing the emptiness continue on both sides. She could see the path to the cottage on the left end of the road, a beacon amidst it all.

"It's completely clear..." she said cautiously.

"Everywhere else we’ve been to had something though... This is getting weirder," Rarity pondered aloud.

"Maybe they all went to go have fun somewhere else. I hear there are great places to grab a bite on the other side of town!" Pinkie joked, back to her usually giggling self.

"Well... Wherever they are, it's not here so we might be good for now," Twilight told them.

Rainbow walked in from the screening room, "They're completely gone from the alley. I looked through the hole and even opened the door..."

"Maybe something or someone lured them away," Twilight suggested, "Instead of waiting on them to return, let's get moving."

Twilight opened the doors and ran out, jogging down the street. She looked back and saw the others, especially Rainbow Dash, catching up quickly. Not too far off in the distance, the familiar shrieking of their previous pursuers could be heard, seeming to find new prey to hunt. They ignored it, continuing on their way as the path left the city a bit, curving to the bridge in front of Fluttershy's cottage.

Pinkamena stopped at the bridge, refusing to take a step onto it, "Somethings wrong..." she called to the others who were already past it.

"No shit, a lot of things are kinda wrong today," Rainbow replied, stopping in her tracks, "Now come on. Let's get her and go."

Pinkamena sighed and forced herself forward, meeting with the group at the base of the steps to the animal caretaker's cottage. She stood back, letting the others start the ascent. Twilight reached the top first, seeing the door cracked open.

"You're really going to ignore the deranged mare with two personalities when she tells you something seems off? To her of all people?" Pinkamena tried to argue, "I'm telling you, we shouldn't go in there. I can feel the evil radiating off this fucking place."

Twilight looked at the others, wondering what to do until Rainbow Dash shoved her aside, "Weapons ready, we're going in."

"Are you sure? I mean, Pinki-… Pinkamena here has a good point dear," Rarity told her. "Her door is open, what if she's... You know..."

"I'd rather kill her mahself than risk leaving her for dead," Applejack countered, "Open it Rainbow."

"The blood is on your hands," Pinkamena warned them, her mane immediately poofing back up, "We're already at Fluttershy's?! This calls for a party!"

Twilight and Rarity frowned at each other, questioning if they were doing the right thing. Rainbow and Applejack shoved the door open, rushing inside with the other 3 close behind. Twilight shut the door behind them, unprepared for the sight ahead.

The floor was covered in numerous rustic stains, fur and feathers atop all of it. Furniture was upturned and cages were torn open, all of it with Fluttershy sitting in the middle. Her pink tank-top was adorned with splotches of scarlet, her pants had been shredded from the knees down, with no visible damage to the leg underneath. In her arms rested her rabbit Angel, snarling and clawing at the ceiling while she cradled him. His fur was missing in spots and foam coated the corners of his mouth as well as the same scarlet color from Fluttershy's shirt.

"I-is he one of them?" Rarity whispered to Twilight.

"He almost looks rabid... If it weren't for the fur and blood, there'd be no way to tell it one or the other," she whispered back. "Should we go?" She asked the group silently.

"O-oh... Hello everypony... What brings you here?" Fluttershy asked, looking up at them. "Sorry about Angel, he's being a cranky bunny and won't go to sleep..."

"I'm sorry Fluttershy," Pinkamena said aloud, walking towards her briskly, her knee-high black boots making every step audible.

"When did she change shoes?!" Rainbow asked aloud.

"It's Pinkie, stop questionin'- WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YA DOIN!?" Applejack yelled as Pinkamena pointed the gun right between Fluttershy's eyes at point-blank range, causing her to freeze in place, staring at the gun.

"What needs done. If she's not infected then I'm not a lunatic. You see that fucking thing she's holding don't you?" She tried to explain.

"W-we don't know that!" Twilight screamed moving towards the two psychopaths.

Pinkamena looked at Twilight, a tear forming in her eye, "No chances," she told her, pulling the trigger.

Click

"What?" Pinkamena asked at the lack of gunshot.

Click

Click Click

Click Click Click click click

She checked the gun again, spinning the massive cylinder on it, "Empty... right..." She laughed quietly, walking a few steps away. "Check her while I reload and if she's even at risk of turning, I'm stopping it."

Twilight looked the still-frozen Fluttershy over, avoiding Angel's bite as she did. "She's clean."

"Twilight, what's going on?" Fluttershy whispered.

"A lot... Mainly ponies coming back from death and attacking those who aren't like them.

"I know a-about those... One tried to get in and Angel fought him off by biting him. But then he started biting the other animals and then they all started fighting so I sent them out back. They're still there while I calm Angel down," she explained, rubbing the rabbit's stomach.

The group exchanged horrified glances, unsure what to do.

"F-Fluttershy dear... You need to put Angel down an-" Rarity began.

"No! I-I won't put him down!" She retaliated, clutching him closer, causing him to snarl at the group. "See? He only attacks those monsters and he wants to attack you! Y-you're all no different from them are you!?" Her voice rose, more anger seeping into it with each syllable. "Why don't you all go away!?"

Pinkamena snapped the cylinder back into the gun and pointed it at Fluttershy, "Ok, I'm killing her! We only need one crazy one here."

Fluttershy snapped her head in Pinkamena's direction, locking eyes with her, staring deep into her twisted soul, "You're not killing anyone but yourself."

Pinkamena found herself unable to look away or pull the trigger. Her eyes remained locked as her hands slowly turned, the gun now pointing at the underside of her mouth, "Wh-what the hell are you doing?" She stammered, fear encasing her.

"I'm not doing a thing..." Fluttershy told her, a smirk appearing on her face. "It's all you now..."

"Someone fucking stop her!" Pinkamena pleaded, her finger beginning to hug the trigger, "NOW!"

Twilight reacted first, doing the only thing she could think of and throwing her book at Fluttershy, nailing her in the side of the head. She recoiled, breaking her gaze with Pinkamena who fell to the ground panting. She turned towards the group, looking at them all.

"You're all monsters... Inside and out... You're all NO DIFFERENT THAN THEM!" She screeched at them, turning and sprinting out the back of her house, Angel still in her arms.

They rushed to the collapsed Pinkamena who looked up and smiled weakly, "I-I think I'm gonna hide away for a bit..." Her hair immediately poofed up before they could say anything, Pinkie obviously back in control.

"Come on, we gotta get after that poor girl. There's no telling what she's got herself into," Applejack reminded them.

"That wasn't Fluttershy... I don't know what that was but it felt wrong... And seeing her do that to Pinkamena... We need to subdue her somehow," Twilight told them.

"If anyone can catch up to her it's me, so let's go," Rainbow told them, following the way Fluttershy went.

Rarity helped Pinkie to her feet, following after Rainbow and the others, stashing her knife in her bag as she did.

Just in case I fail to avoid eye contact...

They ran outside where Rainbow had stopped right outside the doorway to the fenced-in field behind the cottage. Above, the sky was darkening, clouds covering the sky as the sun began to set. Ahead of them, only a few yards away, stood Fluttershy facing them.

"What's she doing?" Rainbow asked.

"She wants us to come to her... I say we oblige," Rarity suggested, taking a step forward.

A deer slowly came into view next to Fluttershy, followed by a few more, each in the same state as Angel. Twilight moved next to her, readying her book. As if to compliment, a few beavers joined Fluttershy as well. Rainbow and Applejack stepped up, wolves and geese following their lead. Lastly came Pinkie, followed by a bear on the opposite side.

"She has an army...?" Rainbow asked in disbelief.

"I guess... I really don't want to kill any animals though..." Twilight whispered in reply.

"We don't have much of a choice sug'" Applejack informed her.

"Maybe if we can take out Fluttershy, the animals will stop?" Rarity asked, pulling her knife out again.

"They won't let us get to her without a fight! There'd be no fun in that," Pinkie told them, bouncing in place.

"They have a bear! We have small weapons... AND A BOOK!" Rainbow quietly yelled at Twilight.

"Must you keep reminding me? At least I didn't try to punch them to death!" Twilight countered.

"There's no time to bicker y'all, it's huntin' season," Applejack said with a smile.

The others looked at her in disgust, "I hope you get bitten for saying that," Rainbow told her.

"Fuck off," she replied, moving towards the opposing animals. "Which one of y'all wants to be first?" She asked, putting the axe over her shoulder.

One of the deer volunteered, lowering its head and snarling, charging at the orange apple-farmer. Applejack raised her axe high, piercing the head of the deer before its antlers could pierce her. The axe sunk in with a sickening crunch, splattering her with blood.

She put her foot on the dead deer's face, pulling the axe from it, "That's one of y'all... Anyone else?"

Fluttershy stepped back, waving her hand forward, causing the rest of the animals to charge. Applejack led the charge for their side, swinging her axe at the first creature to reach her. The goose's head was taken clean off as the others moved in. Twilight did her best, batting back lunging beavers and trying to smash them while Rainbow swung at a flock of geese attacking her. Every hit she thought connected only ended with the goose leaning its head all the way back, moving with the bat unscathed.

"Fucking... Stop it you damn hell birds!" She growled angrily, swinging downward on one, causing it to honk loudly and back up.

Rarity dealt with the deer, sidestepping their charges the best she could. She nearly tripped on one dodge, throwing out her knife-wielding hand for balance. The blade stabbed directly into the charging stag, slicing its side open as it continued moving, collapsing to the ground dead after it finished.

"Wh-who else wants some?" Rarity asked, trying to be intimidating as she pointed the blood-dripping knife at her attackers.

Pinkie went directly for Fluttershy, bouncing off the approaching wolves and making a clean dash at her insane friend. As she leapt, her mane was pulled back, forcing her flat onto her back.

"Oww... What'd ya do that for?" She asked the bear looking down at her.

It simply roared in response, raising its claw at her. She quickly fired once, causing it to drop its arm, the paw now singed and slightly wounded. She took the small break she had and stood up, turning and facing it.

"Party time! How about we start with some dancing?" She asked aloud, grabbing its paw with her right hand, temporarily holstering her gun.

She spun the bear clockwise and on the third revolution she brought her left fist as hard as she could into the unsuspecting jaw. The bear opened its mouth to groan in pain as it recovered, giving Pinkie enough time to pull the gun from her hip and plant the barrel in it. Her free hand held the underside of its chin as she performed a front flip, keeping her hands tight on the bear's face. She fired off as many shots as she could down its throat, forcing random holes to blow out of it. On the descent, she brought the head all the way back, the neck audibly snapping as she let go and landed on her boots, her mane now flat. She turned, walking again towards Fluttershy.

Rarity faced the last two stags, stabbing one of them as it went by. She tackled the other, bringing it down beneath her as she began repeatedly stabbing it. Twilight knocked another beaver off, stopping it repeatedly until it stopped moving. She grabbed the last one as it lunged, slamming it to the ground over and over. Rainbow threw down her bat, grabbing one of the last 3 geese by its neck and swinging it at the others, beating them to death and beyond. Applejack meanwhile took on the wolves Pinkie left behind, swinging her axe like a golf club at the trio, sinking the blade into one and sending it flying. She looked at the other two as they began backing off, running after them as they tried to flee.

Rainbow looked at the mass of feathers and blood in her hands and threw it down, grabbing her bat, "I need more blood..." she whispered aloud, seeing Rarity nearby.

Rarity pulled her knife out of the deer, standing and moving towards Rainbow, "Kill..." she whispered.

Twilight saw Rainbow's back to her and made her move, "Let's see how good of a weapon a book is when it's 4 inches in your skull," she called out.

Applejack watched them all approach one another, releasing the headless wolf from her grip, "Ah can send them somewhere better," she whispered, readying her axe.

Pinkamena approached Fluttershy, firing her gun at the pegasus' feet, "Dance for me puppet," she called out, continuing to shoot.

Fluttershy smirked without a word, taking another step back and watching behind Pinkamena as her plan unfolded. Pinkamena noticed her distraction, using that as enough to close the gap. She reached out, grabbing Fluttershy by the neck and squeezing, her gun pressed to her temple.

"Go ahead... Kill me... You're already too late to save your friends. What's one less to another psychopath?" Fluttershy growled, feeling her air cut off.

Pinkamena held tight, keeping her gaze from Fluttershy's eyes as she flipped the pistol in her hands, nailing the deranged mare in her temple with the butt of it. The second she fell unconscious, the bloodthirsty ponies behind her dropped, their weapons falling one second before they could cause harm to the others. Angel immediately began hopping off, trying to escape but found himself held by the ears.

"I bet you caused this, didn't you?" Pinkamena asked with a chuckle. "I can practically feel the evil coming off of you. What's up with that little cottontail? Why don't we cage you up somewhere nice inside?" She walked across the bloody battlefield, going to find a small cage for their prisoner.

Fluttershy woke up in her house, unable to move her arms or legs. She looked around, finding herself in a chair with all her friends staring at her. The state of her house caused her to gasp, followed by the intense pain of her growing headache.

"Where... What are you all doing?" She asked, still disoriented.

Twilight stepped forward, looking into her eyes, "She seems normal."

"Yeah? She seemed normal when we walked in. Then she about made me shoot myself," Pinkamena reminded her.

Rainbow looked around, "How can we be sure she's her?"

Rarity walked up close, pressing her nose to Fluttershy's and whispering, "Boo!"

Fluttershy screamed and recoiled hard enough to knock her chair back.

"She's Fluttershy alright," Applejack declared, "But what was causin' her to be so evil?"

"Angel was," both Twilight and Pinkamena said simultaneously.

"From what Pinkamena said about holding Angel," Twilight continued, "He had enough of an influence over Fluttershy to make her act like she was infected without being, sort of an indirect infection, as well as amplify her abilities beyond that of normal, hence why the stare was so effective. That, coupled with how close they are, only helped to work both ways. Angel acted as an amplifier for her abilities with animals and other things; all the while he was corrupting her.

His amplification and infection worked together, causing Fluttershy to be able to go as far as influencing us into wanting to kill each other. It didn't work on Pinkamena for reason of mental instability, no offense, and Pinkie already getting affected. What she did to that bear was bad, and not her. When Pinkamena knocked out Fluttershy, Angel became nothing but an infected rabbit. Which is why we kept him locked in the cage now," she explained.

"Why exactly didn't we kill him?" Rainbow asked, sitting on the overturned sofa.

"K-kill Angel?!" Fluttershy stammered, tears welling in her eyes.

"Because, if we can get him on our side, Fluttershy might become a ton more useful," Twilight told her.

"I left him in the bedroom, go grab him and let's get to work," Pinkamena told Twilight.

She nodded, walking upstairs into the room where Angel was. On the bed sat an open and empty cage, forcing Twilight to shut the door behind her.

"I don't want to hurt you... Just come out and it'll be ok," she pleaded quietly.

Angel hopped from under the bed, looking up at her, holding his paws out. Twilight bent down, smiling at him and picking up the corrupted rabbit gently. He immediately sunk his teeth into her left palm, causing her to begin to yelp. She closed her mouth tight, throwing him into the cage and locking it as tightly as she could. Angel snarled at her, hitting at the door.

"Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck," she quickly forced out, "It's fine. You don't know how it's spread. He's a rabbit too, so it won't even affect you!" She beggingly assured herself.

She immediately flung open the bedside drawers, looking for and finding a pink pair of gloves. She slipped them on quickly, forcing the bitten hand into her pocket and grabbing the cage.

Please Celestia, don't let this be it.

"Here's the little fella," she told the others, handing it to Pinkamena.

"What took so long?" She asked.

"Nothing?" Twilight asked in false confusion.

"Alright. Now Angel, I have a proposition," she began, looking in the cage, "You work WITH us and you live, or you choose not to and I blow off that head right here and now. Your choice. Oh, and before I forget," she said, pulling a padlock out of her bag and snapping it to the cage door, "Double locked to be safe. Now, what's your choice?"

Angel shook his head yes quickly, knowing the threat was real.

Rarity bent down, cutting Fluttershy from her chair and pulling her to her feet, "Go grab your shoulder bag dear, I'm going to make a quick modification."

Fluttershy scurried away, returning quickly with the butterfly adorned bag over her shoulder, "Here you go... Just be careful."

"It will only take a second!" Rarity pulled a needle and thread from her bag and cut the bag's strap in a clean line, letting it fall to the floor. From there she fed one end through the handle atop Angel's cage and proceeded to sew the strap back together. "There! Now this cage will be a bit easier to carry."

"O-oh! Thank you Rarity, tell her thank you Angel," she whispered to the undead rabbit in the cage dangling against her hip.

Angel snarled in response, refusing to look at any of them.

"It really doesn't bother you that he's... You know... Dead?" Applejack asked.

She shook her head, "I know that it should but for some reason it j-just doesn't seem that big of a deal. He's still the same old Angel either way and that's what counts!"

Rainbow Dash sighed audibly, "Can we get going? I'd like to leave this hell hole eventually! It's already night time too so the quicker the better."

"Are you insane?" Pinkamena asked, "They'll be almost impossible to defend against at night. We're better off waiting until dawn."

"As if!" Rainbow retorted, "We could slip by easier in the dark. The chances of us getting spotted go down immensely."

Twilight felt her stomach churn, a tingling sensation spreading from her bitten palm, "W-we need to go now," she told them, moving towards the door.

Pinkamena scoffed, her hair poofing once more as Pinkie looked around, "Anyone else keep blacking out?"

Twilight threw the door open, the tingling in her stomach intensifying, "Follow me!"

She ran outside, making a mad dash for the other end of town, heading towards the large crater where her trusted assistant was cremated. She didn't look back, not caring if her friends were with her, only caring that she made it to the Princess in time to be helped.

The others watched her go, staring in fear and worry. The undead townsponies gathered behind her as she ran, doing their best to catch her as they sprinted along. The group looked at each other and nodded, joining the chase. Rainbow bent down, grabbing a rock and tossing it up, hitting it with her bat towards the crowd.

"Hey uglies, come and get it!" She called out, taunting them.

Half the group turned, sprinting and flying towards them. They were barely visible in the darkness, save for the dim red glow in their eyes. A unicorn teleported right in front of her, immediately receiving a bat to the temple. They continued running, knocking back the attackers as they ran after their friend, quickly leaving them behind.

"Why is she running like this?" Rarity asked aloud, doing her best to keep pace.

"Ah don't know but we're sure gonna find out!" Applejack told them angrily.

"Did anyone else notice she had on my gloves?" Fluttershy asked, being swiftly ignored.

They finally caught up with her as she reached the outskirts of town, running a path parallel to the train tracks that were now to their right. They passed the last house, Twilight beaming in excitement as she fought off the tingling turning to pain.

"We're home free!" She screamed, running past the still smoking crater.

Behind them the city seemed to howl in the night, fires lighting it in some places while street lights continued in others. Ahead of them was the path to Canterlot and maybe a way to get help.

Maybe even a cure...

"Let's do thi-" she began to cheer before getting thrown back a few feet.

The others had no time to react, facing the same fate and landing next to her.

"N-now what in the hell was that?" Applejack asked aloud.

Twilight lied there, already knowing what kept them back. "It's an invisible barrier only capable of being done by the Royal Guard... Mainly only for when there are riots or a threat that needs contained..."

The others exchanged glances, immediately looking forward towards the sound of footsteps.

Ahead of them stood a grey pegasus wearing a white uniform, adorned with medals, almost invisible in the darkness. "Right you are Princess Sparkle. Now all of you at your feet to be checked," he commanded them in a raspy voice.

They stood, keeping a few feet away from the strange guard in front of them.

"Who are you? As a part of the Royal Order over Canterlot I have a right to bypass these barriers as well as a right to know what is going on," Twilight said, confident in her knowledge of her power and status.

"Well, since you're deciding to be difficult, I guess I'll address the first one," he said, stepping to the side and revealing another, much less confident looking, unicorn soldier behind him.

This one had a brown coat as well as a more disheveled looking grey uniform. He worked to stay close to the one in charge, practically shaking.

"I am Commander Bloc, and this poor excuse for a soldier is Lieutenant Kade, we are members of Celestia's Black Suns, and how he ever made it that high is beyond me. For your third question, we know what's going on. You don't get to. This is now deemed a black site. Ponyville is closed off to all with no information being released to the public whether in or outside the quarantine. As for the second one, you don't. You stay unless we find you're not infected or carrying the infection! Now. Step forward and please leave the rabbit behind, I'd rather not have to use my gun right now," he said, reaching for the Famas strapped to his back. "Get up here and scan them Kade, now!" He barked, causing the unicorn to leap.

He moved forward, doing a nervous half wave at them before closing his eyes and focusing, his magic first enclosing Twilight. She panicked, fidgeting around as she began to glow. Soon she was let down, the process moving through all of her friends one by one. After he finished, he fell down exhausted, panting quickly.

"He's never failed to tell apart carriers versus infected in any diseases known to our kind," Bloc told them, kicking Kade in the side, "Get your ass up and tell me what you found."

Kade stood slowly, looking between the group and his Commander, "1 infected and 5 carriers."

Twilight's stomach dropped, looking at her friends in shock, "One of us is..." she said in a false surprise.

They all backed away from one another in fear.

"Well, talk about a party killer," Bloc said with a laugh, "Now get up here so Kade can brand your hands. Try to run and I will shoot," he directed, clicking his safety off. "Right hands only through the barrier."

They walked up, each of them shaking and nervously looking back and forth at their friends. Twilight slipped the glove off her right hand, letting it fall to the ground as Rainbow watched. Rainbow's eyes went wide as she put her hand through. Kade began marking their hands with a black sun, mimicking Celestia's Cutie Mark, starting with Rainbow and beginning to move down the line, going to Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and ending with Twilight.

The second Rainbow was stamped, she retracted her hand and walked towards Twilight. The others watched her go, all equally confused. Twilight turned last, everything seeming to slow down as she watched her friend approach her and grab her left wrist. She fought back and tried to pull her right hand out to use it, finding it in Kade's grasp as he tried to mark her. She swung at Rainbow with her left hand, trying to shake off her grip. Rainbow kept fighting, eventually grabbing the back of Twilight's neck and holding her against the barrier.

Twilight cried in pain as the repulsive force of the shield kept rocking through her body all the while Rainbow was yanking the glove off of her. The second it was off, Rainbow gasped. The bite on her palm was red, spreading out along her hand and disappearing as it trailed down her wrist. Twilight took the split second Rainbow was surprised to knock an elbow into her nose, knocking her back. She yanked her right hand back as it was branded, pulling Kade's hand through as well and immediately lunging down, biting his wrist gently.

Bloc yelled at her to get off, firing into the air a few times. She let go, taking a step back, "I'm the infected one... Thank that fucking rabbit for that. But now I believe you have an infected soldier Commander Bloc."

He looked at Kade, immediately planting a boot to his back and forcing him into the quarantine, "Yeah? Guess he's your problem now you fucking freak." He turned, walking away from them.

Kade immediately backed away from Twilight, only to get tugged back, "Don't try to get away. I brought you in here to give us answers and I didn't even break your skin so you're not infected."

Rainbow smacked Twilight in the back of your head, "But you are! Why didn't you tell us! We would have amputated it or something!"

"She hasn't turned yet, so maybe she's stronger than the others. Didn't you say that one mare turned in seconds?" Pinkamena asked, the gun in her hand.

"Yeah, she did... But maybe being an alicorn helps?" Twilight asked.

Pinkamena holstered the gun again, "When you turn, I won't kill you... but I won't keep you around either." Her mane immediately poofed when the awkward topic came to light.

"But... maybe I won't turn... I couldn't bare one of you having to kill me..." she whispered to herself, trying to ignore the growing pain within.

"I'll kill you for that elbow you gave me..." Rainbow jested. "But we're all carriers of this shit so there's no way out."

"Hold on a second. Are we all just gonna ignore the situation? Twilight's gonna turn into one of them things we've been fighting. Friend or not, this isn't good and we need to deal with it soon," Applejack told them, trying to knock some sense into them.

Rainbow nodded in agreement, "Look... Just... When it comes to it, I will deal with it. Ok?"

Twilight looked at Rainbow, hurt but understanding, "Can I just get some answers... Before it happens?"

Kade looked at the mares around him, swallowing hard, "W-well... It's been a classified project for a long while now... The part of the castle that deals with the morale has been experimenting with enchanting certain mixtures, trying to use them on the populace in a way to keep citizen happiness up regardless. For the most part, its worked but... There have been a few instances where some side effects have occurred. We had a couple train cars come back rabid and well, undead, as well as some other outcomes. The undead one here is sorta our group's specialty. But we always prepped a quarantine team to stop the train mid-trip and clean things up. This time, something weird happened and well... We couldn't contain what happened, especially this quickly out the gate..."

"Did the Princesses know?" Twilight asked quietly.

"What does that matter dear?" Rarity asked.

"Did Celestia and Luna fucking know?" She asked again angrily.

He sighed quietly, "I'll be killed for this by my superiors but yes... In fact, they ordered the train that went up to be specifically tested... They had a very weird interest in it."

Twilight felt something in her mind snap, just an instant before Rainbow realized what that meant, "They... They used Spike as a test subject?" Rainbow asked aloud as Twilight sat there, shivering in anger.

"Whatever you want to believe. I don't know the details about it..." Kade told them uncaringly.

"Wait... Sp-Spike is..." Fluttershy whimpered as she realized what that meant.

Twilight shrieked aloud, her cry mimicking that of the undead as she lunged at Kade, grabbing his throat with her left hand, the other balled into a fist and being repeatedly rammed into his face. "THEY TOOK MY CLOSEST FRIEND FROM ME FOR SOME STUPID LITTLE EXPERIMENT?!" She screamed as blood splattered across her face and fist. Kade's heart stopped long before Twilight's fist did.

The others turned away, not about to stop her in what they felt was a justified act. When they finally heard the wet slams stop and Twilight's huffing turn into crying, they turned back. Rainbow was the first to console her as the others joined hesitantly. She looked up at them, giving them a weak bloody smile.

"You... you know... Today has been g-g-great... First Spike dies... Then the town gets overrun with an infection... Then I get infected... Then the Royal fucking Guard is barricading the place... and to top it all off, I realized that I was a total idiot for thinking that because I was in a rank equal to that, or damn near it, of Celestia and Luna, that it would actually fucking mean something and they wouldn't use my friends or I for their twisted acts. But, hey, fuck me right? FUCK. ME. Just... All of you... Go hide in the castle and try to figure a way out... Rainbow, can you knock me out? I don't want to be awake when it happens..."

"Sug', you sure you're not overreactin' a bit here?" Applejack asked, a tear coming to her eye.

"It's been growing inside me since I was bitten... I feel a deep pain and a lust for blood slowly beginning to consume me and drown out my conscious self... Please... Don't make me continue to suffer..."

"At least allow us our goodbyes..." Fluttershy pleaded, tears flowing down her eyes.

"Haven't I?" She asked, looking at the ground.

"Why the hell should we let you live?" Pinkamena growled, a tear in her eyes. "Why can't I just pop one in you now? Instead of later?"

"Could you live with that on your consciousnesses?"

"A hell of a lot more than letting you suffer..."

"Please... Let Rainbow do this..."

"Let's go girls..." Rarity told the others with a sniffle. "Goodbye... T-Twilight..." They ran off, save for Rainbow, not looking back.

"Goodbye... All of you..." she knelt to the ground, clutching her stomach. "Now... Can we do this before it becomes too much?"

"Alright Twi'," Rainbow began, raising her bat. "Kinda fitting... It ends how it began... Us two... I'll miss you kiddo..."

"We'll meet again someday... Don't worry," she told her, tears streaming from both their eyes.

"Yeah... We will... I can't wait for the day... Goodbye Twilight..."

"Goodbye Rainbow..." she said before the bat struck her, sending her to the ground unconscious. Rainbow took a last look before running off towards the others.

Off deep in the city, a group of survivors sat around a lit fireplace, the smoke blending in with the night. They had the shades drawn and the door barricaded as they huddled together. One of them sat apart from the rest.

"Where were you when it all began?" One asked the group, curious and wishing the silence gone.

"I was shopping at the time... My husband was near the initial attack and well..." she trailed off, her flowing tears telling the rest of her tale.

"How about you?" Another asked the first one.

"I was taking my daughter here out to lunch. Glad I did too, after what happened at the school," he told them quietly, clutching her close.

"What about him?" Another asked, pointing at the loner in the corner. "He's not made a peep since coming here."

The darkened stranger looked up at the group, his eyes examining them all quickly. He stayed still, wearing dark jeans and a navy blue hoodie with the hood up, nearly invisible without the firelight. He rose to his feet, moving a bit closer.

"Me? I was on that goddamn train where this all began..." He told them quietly.

End Part 1