Friendship Is Manipulation: {PROJECT: Flood Control}

Chapters

Nagging Anxiety - Chapter 1
Panic - Chapter 2
The Hero's Rescue - Chapter 3
Déjà vu... - Chapter 4
The Hero's Gift - Chapter 5
PROJECT: Flood Control - Chapter 6
Intuition - Chapter 7
Hell Is Hot - Chapter 8
Field Experience - Chapter 9
Team Exercise - Chapter 10
PPAI, the One Thousandth Life - Chapter 11
War Games - Chapter 12
The Ville's Enigma - Chapter 13
Sadistic Sun - Chapter 14
Tension - Chapter 15
Suspended Vacation - Chapter 16
Showdown - Chapter 17
Enlightenment - Chapter 18
Overwhelming Reality - Chapter 19
Final Assessment, Pt. 1 - Chapter 20
Final Assessment, Pt 2 - Chapter 21
Twilight, Meet Diane - Chapter 22
Prologue of "Friendship is Manipulation"

Nagging Anxiety - Chapter 1

Is It Just Anxiety? - Chapter 1

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"... Every time I enjoy my friends’ company, I can’t help but feel like it’ll be the last time..."

>March 19, 3014, Iteration 0<
>Anthroville Park, 5:08 PM<

Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all sat on a large blanket on the field, talking and chatting their day away cheerfully.

All, but Fluttershy, who seemed to bite her lips nervously, as she stared off into the sky.

“Flutters.” Rainbow Dash called out. She was unresponsive. The others noticed as well, before Twilight chimed in quietly.

“She’s been awfully anxious lately…” Twilight said in a worried, hushed voice.

Rainbow Dash hummed quietly, before she decided it was time to talk about it.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash then yelled, waving. Fluttershy jumped with a small yelp, as her beady eyes darted to Rainbow Dash in alarm.

“P-please don’t yell like that Rainbow Dash… I almost had a heart attack!” Fluttershy said in soft detest, clutching her chest.

“What’s wrong, Fluttershy? You’ve been like this for almost two weeks now.” Rainbow Dash inquired.

“Like what? I’m not like anything. I’m totally fine.” Fluttershy stammered.

“We know you’re a scaredy cat, but c’mon, you’re never this edged up.” Rainbow Dash

“Sugarcube… Whatever’s wrong, you can tell us. We’re here for you.” Applejack said. The others nodded in agreement, all eyes on Fluttershy. She only looked back and forth between the 5, at a loss for words. She seemed to grow more uncomfortable.

“Is it because I didn’t let you have enough cake on my birthday yesterday?? Aww, y’know I’m sorry Fluttershy! There’s still more at the Sugarcube Corn-” Pinkie said, but was cut off by a groaning Twilight.

“Pinkie, your birthday was yesterday. She’s been like this for four days. It’s not the cake.” Twilight said. Pinkie sat down with a simple ‘oh’.

“It’s just that… It’s been three months, and they still haven’t found out a way to properly quarantine that parasite… What if it reaches here? What if it reaches Equestria…?” Fluttershy said, becoming more uneasy.

Pinkie’s excited demeanor seemed to disintegrate with Fluttershy’s statements. She became much more solemn, kneeling silently on the picnic blanket.

“Fluttershy, we talked about this. Princess Celestia is the most important ruler, on the most important planet, also being the planet that we live on, just as an FYI. They wouldn’t even let the parasite get within 3 planets’ range of here.” Twilight said with her matter-of-factly tone, and signature scoff.

Fluttershy seemed unconvinced, as her uneasy gazes turned back to the sunset sky, as if to watch the galactic kingdom Celestia ruled over very carefully, cautiously.

“Fluttershy, darling, there haven’t been any news reports on the parasite yet. Last we heard, it was being held at the edge of our galaxy by Princess Luna and her forces. We both know her and her squadrons are fierce combatants. Nothing would fell them.” Rarity reassured, her hands on Fluttershy’s shoulders.

“Something in me…” Fluttershy began, stroking her hair anxiously, as she watched the beautiful mix of colors of the sunset.

“Something in the back of my head just keeps on telling me that we shouldn’t be here, guys… Something’s telling me that we’re not safe here.” Fluttershy sighed, pulling her knees close and hugging them, as she breathed a deep sigh into her legs.

She felt guilty plaguing them with her recent feelings of extreme anxiety. They had been trying their best to calm her for over ten days now, but nothing was working, and she began to feel bad that her anxiety would ruin their time together.

“Fluttershy, just try ‘n relax, huh? You’ll be fine.” Rainbow Dash reassured, rubbing her back. Pinkie Pie stood, walking over to Fluttershy.

“Yeah, and no matter what, we’re all here for you! We’ll never leave your side!” Pinkie Pie supported, lifting Fluttershy out of her fetal position and forcing her into a hug. Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile, as she tumbled onto the ground with the eccentric Pinkie Pie.

After more of her playful rambling, Pinkie finally laid down next to Fluttershy, both staring at the setting sky.

After a while, the rest of the girls laid down as well.

Rarity yawned loudly.

“It’s been quite the day, so if you girls don’t mind, I’m gonna catch some under-the-sunset- shuteye. I hear it can do wonders for complexion!” Rarity said, closing her eyes.

“What complexion? You’re a marshmallow, sugarcube!” Applejack laughed. Rarity’s brows furrowed, as her eyes reopened.

“Why, you little-!”

Applejack stopped her by removing her hat and putting it over Rarity’s face, laying back again.

“Shush now, Rares. Just get some shuteye like you said.” Applejack chuckled.

With a small blush, Rarity tugged the hat back just a bit, before both closed their eyes.

“I think this is a perfect opportunity to brush up on my Sociology: Road To Dissecting Personality book!” Twilight giggled, as she began to reach for a book. She was quickly interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who grabbed her waist and pulled her close.

“I don’t think so. This is like, quality friendship time and stuff, so let’s try and enjoy it without the reading, huh? Besides, Celestia told you that reading ain’t due for like, another three weeks.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, holding Twilight close.

Twilight’s cheeks began to burn, as she could do nothing but stare down at the picnic blanket. Perhaps she could slack on her Friendship classes for now.

Fluttershy watched the two pairs of lovebirds interact. She knew they weren’t officially in a relationship or anything, but they may as well have been, in her opinion. They had such chemistry.

Getting her fill from admiring the two, Fluttershy turned over to Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be absorbed in her own world of thought, completely oblivious of the actions happening beside them. For her own sake, Fluttershy decided to focus on Pinkie Pie, rather than the other two couples.

She was, admittedly, a bit attached to Pinkie Pie; her constant exuberance helped her to battle through the anxiety she’d been diagnosed with ever since they received word of the ‘parasite’ three months ago.

Plus, despite her constant randomness and erratic-behavior, Pinkie Pie was a pretty sensible, heartfelt, kind, and interesting person. She sometimes sounded almost as intelligent as Twilight herself, and was clearly capable of more than just her silly behavior.

Though, lately, Fluttershy noticed that Pinkie Pie seemed to be almost forcibly hiding these traits; well, more like she was forcing her erratic, fun and silly behaviors over her normal ones. It made Fluttershy curious, as this was only a recent behavior.

While Fluttershy was deep in thought, she hadn’t noticed that Pinkie Pie began looking back at her. Fluttershy gave a small ‘eep!’, before she turned back to the sky, feeling her cheeks hot with embarrassment.

“Still worried about that parasite stuff, Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked, still staring directly at Fluttershy. She shifted closer to Fluttershy, so that they were only a few inches apart. Her tone seemed serious, which somewhat triggered caution in Fluttershy.

“Yeah… It’s like my body just won’t stop nagging…” Fluttershy said, turning to meet Pinkie Pie’s gaze.

As Fluttershy turned, further caution was triggered, as Pinkie Pie had the most solemn face she had ever seen her with.

“I feel like…” Pinkie Pie began. But as she stared into Fluttershy’s face, her entire sentence changed.

“No – we’ll be fine, Fluttershy. There’s no need to worry. Like I said, we’re here for you — I’m here for you.” Pinkie Pie said.

Fluttershy stared on curiously. It was that weird side that Pinkie Pie had been repressing, showing all over again.

“Hmm…” Fluttershy said, feeling her anxiety start to flare up from Pinkie’s strange behavior.

As if on cue, Pinkie perked right back up, and pulled Fluttershy to her.

“But no time for worrying, we’ve gotta nap like everyone else, or we’ll be all out of juice for the wake-up party!” Pinkie Pie said with enthusiasm.

“But I’m not tired…” Fluttershy said softly. Her anxiety had woken her up, truthfully.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t nap! Look, it’s easy, just put your head down and close your eyes!” Pinkie Pie said, as she put her head down next to Fluttershy’s.

She then hugged Fluttershy’s body.

“It helps if you have a body pillow, too! If you don’t mind, I’ll use you this time.” Pinkie Pie said with her huge smile, as she hugged Fluttershy tight, nearly squeezing the life out of Fluttershy.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but blush by the sudden close proximity. She slowly and weakly brought her hands just over Pinkie’s shoulders.

“Don’t be shy. I’m just a pillow.” Pinkie chuckled, her eyes closed, as her breathing softened.

Making herself comfortable, Fluttershy began to close her eyes, too. After a few seconds, she, like the rest of them, fell into a short slumber.

As Pinkie felt Fluttershy’s body soften in her arms, she let her mind wander. She looked past Fluttershy’s hair into the darkening sky, not daring to move. She didn’t want to wake Fluttershy, who had not been receiving much sleep these last counting days.

Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but think of what she really wanted to say to Fluttershy:

"...Every time I enjoy my friends’ company, I can’t help but feel like it’ll be the last time..."

Pinkie Pie only closed her eyes once more, trying to quell the sinking feeling in her gut. She would force herself to sleep, and take her own advice of "not needing to worry" —

However, she couldn't help that she felt like this would be her final enjoyable nap. Her arms around Fluttershy tightened.

Panic - Chapter 2

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"... Everything it touched, everyone it saw... gone! ..."

>March 19, 3015<
>Anthroville Park, 7:37 PM<

All but two of the girls slept peacefully under the moonlit sky. Fluttershy sat, watching the starry skies.

However, there was an unnatural stillness and calmness in their town that aroused Fluttershy’s anxiousness.

Unbeknownst to her, Pinkie Pie was laying down silently, staring at the skies as well. Fluttershy had assumed she was sleeping like the rest.

Fluttershy observed her surroundings with great anxiety. Something in her didn’t sit right, and it was preventing her from getting any type of sleep or relaxation. And, she couldn’t just bother the others either, not when they were all sleeping so peacefully.

She thought back to yesterday, March 18, Pinkie’s birthday party, as her eyes swept over the streets of Anthroville.

For a few minutes, the fun memories of them throwing the town-wide party calmed her. But as she kept looking over the unnaturally still and quiet streets, she noticed something as a thought clicked in her mind.

She brought her hands up to her hair, as cold sweat began to form over her forehead, resisting the urge to simply scream. Her pupils dilated, and her breathing sharpened.

With no words, and quick movement, Pinkie Pie arose, and put her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. The loud shifting of the sudden movement seemed to stir the others, as they yawned and got up themselves.

“Something keeping you up, Flutters?” Rainbow Dash asked with a yawn. Fluttershy observed her briefly, before her eyes darted back to the streets.

“Something’s off.” Fluttershy said with a level of sureness that sparked a degree of alarm in the others.

“Now that you mention it… It’s awfully quiet. The town isn’t usually all asleep at once.” Applejack stated, fingers on her chin as she looked around the quiet city surrounding the park they were in.

“What’s on your mind, Fluttershy? What’s worrying you now?” Rarity asked, concerned.

“… Pinkie Pie’s birthday was yesterday…” Fluttershy said softly through her excited breaths, as her anxious, beady eyes pierced the empty streets and darkness.

Everybody, save for Pinkie Pie, was confused, and looked at the paranoid Fluttershy strangely. Suddenly, Twilight gasped with realization. Pinkie Pie simply looked around feverishly, as if observing their environment, scanning for something.

“Oh my Celestia… Fluttershy’s right! Pinkie Pie’s birthday was yesterday!” Twilight gasped, as she stood, observing the unnaturally still streets along with Pinkie Pie.

“Twi, what’s going on? Fill us in.” Rainbow Dash urged, an uncomfortable feeling in her gut from the sense of alarm.

Twilight shook her head, looking back at the group.

“Think: aren’t Pinkie’s most trivial parties usually filled with excitement and mess? Mess!” Twilight emphasized.

Gears began to turn in the heads of the confused girls, as their faces twisted in thought.

“Who’s usually stuck cleaning those huge messes her parties leave behind? Especially ones hosted in public places, like the town hall, or say, the streets?” Twilight asked.

As she said that, things clicked immediately, as the group entered a state of alarm. It seemed so extremely silly now that they had missed it. Something so blatantly obvious!

“The officers and Royal Guards that Celestia sends to maintain Anthroville! They’d be here, cleaning still…” Rarity gasped softly.

“And with a party that huge, they’d be cleaning to next Friday…” Applejack said lowly.

“They’re not here… And they’re certainly not off-duty… There’s never a shift where there aren’t patrols around.” Rainbow Dash added in.

The girls were quiet, observing their surroundings in a silent state of alarm. All of them now shared some degree of dread, watching as party gimmicks and streamers and ribbons blew across the empty streets.

“Should we… Should we go home…? Maybe it’s not safe out here…” Rainbow Dash suggested.

Pinkie Pie was the quietest of the group. She had not uttered any words. She simply followed along, staying by her friends’ sides.

Suddenly, they heard small footsteps rushing towards them through the park’s grass. In an instant, a green blur tackled Twilight to the ground, startling everyone as they yelped.

The figure put a hand over Twilight’s mouth, shushing her.

“Shh!”

“Spike…!?” Twilight whispered harshly. “The heck is wrong with you, running up on me like that in the night!?” Twilight scolded.

The small boy, an adopted little brother, was only a few years younger than her and the rest of the group.

The others calmed down, as they realized it was Spike.

Twilight was immediately softened by the look of pure-terror and fear in Spike’s being. He was shivering on a particularly warm day, and had dried tears all over his face.

“Spike? Spike! What’s wrong??” Twilight asked.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Twilight! W-we’ve gotta go! Quick, before they find us, too!” Spike cried frantically, pulling Twilight with desperate strength and urgency.

While the entire group ran, following Spike, the girls questioned Spike, needing some sort of confirmation, perhaps to ease the sickening pit in their stomachs.

“What happened, Spikey?” Rarity questioned, as they ran through the park.

“I-I dunno which way, or what direction, but… it came, and it wiped them out. Everything it touched, everyone it saw… gone! Not gone, but ‘gone’! Oh god, we have to go, we have to go!” Spike cried, as he ran.

“Who? Who’s gone?” Fluttershy asked.

“Everyone! Everyone…” Spike cried, rubbing his eyes as they ran.

“I saw them slaughtered, by our own guards! Executed! I-… I didn’t even know blood could be that color!” Spike cried further.

They stopped, the shock and dread pausing them.

“Spike, slow down… Tell us the story.” Twilight said, as their breathing sharpened from the running. They stood on the outskirts of the park, just within the western end of the city.

“It’s here, guys! I can’t believe it, but the parasite is he-,”

*BOOM!*

A heavy explosion erupted from around the corner, as a large orange glow could be seen. Unsettling screeches of unknown nature were heard, as bullets were heard firing off.

“Here, too!? Guys, we’ve gotta-”

Spike was interrupted by another unsettling screech, as movement could be heard closing in around the corner. However, as they heard a few more bullets fly off, all movement stopped.

All seven of the witnesses were silent, not daring to step even an inch closer to the corner to examine the situation.

Sharing understood glances and nods, the group silently agreed to follow Spike to an area of relative safety, creeping away in as silent of a run as possible.

After several minutes of rushing, the seven found themselves at a dead-end: there seemed to be a battle blazing behind them, and every direction they headed towards shortly ran into only more assumed conflict.

They decided they needed to play the waiting game, all ducking behind a building, and frantically keeping an eye out for any approaching figure, not sure who, or what, they should be looking out for.

“Now, Spike…” Twilight began, trying her hardest to catch her breath.

“Tell u-”

“Spike!” Fluttershy interrupted, frantically grabbing Spike by his shoulders. Spike urged her to be more quiet, afraid that they might be heard.

“Did you say, the parasite!?” Fluttershy squeaked out as quietly as she could with her level of alarm.

Spike could only nod.

“Applebloom — the farm, did you see it?” Applejack asked.

Spike nodded slowly, his eyes softening in the moonlight.

“Well?”

“It’s decimated… I’m sorry, ‘Jack.”

Applejack’s arms fell to her side lifelessly, and her eyes seemed to sink into her skull.

“Everything’s either destroyed from battle, or from the Royal Guards trying to ‘cleanse’ the area! They almost shot me, Twi, me! Do I look infected to you?!” Spike cried, hugging Twilight, as tears wet her shirt.

Twilight held Spike, as the six girls glanced between each other, all at a similar loss of what to do next.

“Hold on, guys… do you hear that?” Rainbow Dash asked, as she stepped forward, listening.

“Hear what…?” Twilight asked, as Spike released himself from her, wanting to be alert as well.

“Exactly… Everything’s quiet…” Rainbow Dash asked, their voices hushed.

They were all silent, simply observing, none making a deciding move.

“Well, this means there’s two outcomes: the parasite’s won, and is looking for more prey, or the Royal Guards won, and they’re sweeping the areas.” Twilight finally spoke up.

“We should get to somewhere where there’s light, then. The Guards can see us clearly, so that we’re not infected, and we should be able to see anything coming towards us with a fair bit of ease, as well. It’ll help us decide where we can run.” Pinkie Pie chimed in. All eyes laid on her, the unexpected intelligence catching them off guard.

Fluttershy looked up: Pinkie Pie wasn’t hiding her solemnity this time, like she usually would. She seemed all business, and the usual exuberance was nonexistent.

“But, there’s three major problems with this,” Pinkie Pie continued, the attention prompting her to do so.

“One, the Guard may shoot us out of fear for us having been infected; two, the parasite is an unusually hushed topic, so we have little information on how it spreads, how fast it can move, and how to defeat it, as well as other useful intelligence; third, if the parasite is an intelligent life, that light won’t help us — they’ll simply ambush us instead.” Pinkie Pie stated, holding up three fingers.

“I don’t know where this Pinkie Pie was hiding, but gee whiz I like her! I say we go with that idea.” Applejack stated.

The others quickly agreed, save for Twilight, who watched her strangely, before agreeing herself.

As the seven rushed for a nearby streetlight that lit an entire intersection, passing several buildings riddled with bullet-holes, absolutely atrocious odors, and strange, thick, crimson and shades-of-green liquids, one thing became horrifyingly clear:

Fluttershy’s feelings of anxiety had been confirmed — the parasite was here, and it would swallow their entire town.

Author's Note

Okay, this should be the last short chapter for at least a few chapters, but we'll see.

The Hero's Rescue - Chapter 3

Unworthy Rescue - Chapter 3

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"... O-Oh, Celestia…! That thing’s eating him alive! ..."

>March 19, 3015<
>Anthroville Park, 7:53 PM<

The seven reached the nearest streetlight and stood, the one haven of light in a slew of sickening darkness.

All were silent, focused on the unmoving, still darkness surrounding them. Their sharp and ragged breaths calmed, and they put their ears to work, too.

Finally, footsteps were heard, as a figure rose from the shadows, appearing into the streetlight.

A single boot stepped firmly into the streetlight. Armored, and golden, just like that of a Royal Guard’s.

“Help!” Fluttershy yelled instantaneously rushing forward for the guard. However, Pinkie Pie, with lightning quick reflexes snatched Fluttershy’s arm back, staring the figure down.

“S-she’s right… He’s…!” Fluttershy gasped, her hands now over her gaping mouth.

The figure finally stepped into full view of the streetlight and what stood before the seven friends appalled them all:

A violent, inhumane twist and blend of human matter and bone somehow standing before them on a bloody lower half. The neck and head of whatever poor soul was struck by this thing was pushed back, and extended, was the head of whatever ravaged the body and took control of it. The skin glowed an unpleasant dull and plague-like green.

It — the creature — gushed and bled mixes of green and crimson, an unsightly, surreal, and intoxicating view.

“W-w-w-what the--...!?” Applejack stammered, watching the lifeform take another step toward the seven.

“I-I don’t want to…!” Fluttershy cried, backing up and falling on her butt, scooching next to the others.

As the creature stared at all of them for another few seconds, it reared its head towards the sky, and let out a menacing, high-pitched screech that was sure to have been heard by all of Anthroville.

“I dunno about you guys!” Applejack began, as she swiftly bent over and picked up a large, sharp piece of debris, slugging her arm back.

“But I sure as heck don’t like that sound it just made!” Applejack yelled, as she beamed the rock at the head of the disfigured lifeform before them.

“Run!” Applejack barked, as she turned the opposite direction, dashing through the dark. All but Fluttershy followed suit, still shocked and off her feet.

Pinkie Pie rushed back, and threw another piece of debris at the lifeform before snatching Fluttershy’s wrist and forcing her up, both dashing madly into the darkness to catch up with the others before the pursuer could recover and ensue.

The seven scrambled through streets and alleyways as snarls and growls of all forms and types surrounded them, and seemingly closed in.

“T-Twi…!” Spike wheezed, running as fast as he could.

“D-don’t think… we’re… outrunning…!” Spike wheezed, his body sweaty and tired.

“They’re going wild over here!”

All of the seven paused briefly, looking beyond the slew of buildings in the complex they were running through.

A human voice had been heard! Moreso, a rather authoritative one!

“Guards!” Twilight shouted with hope. As she did, however, from their right, they heard an unsettlingly close snarl.

Turning, their eyes confirmed their fears — another twisted lifeform stood opposite them. As they backed up one step, the creature stepped two forward.

Worse, they could hear more closing in.

“AAAHHHHH!!!!!” Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs into the sky, knowing not what else to do but alert the others of their position. A gamble to see who was closer — the Guards, or the parasite.

The being before them, being set off by the sudden shriek, dashed forward, directly for Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie, eyes wide, instinctively jumped back, and thankfully, the much larger being crashed into the dense, disabled streetlight Pinkie Pie had been standing beside.

“Quick!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, quickly recovering as all dashed the opposite direction, ignoring the oncoming slew of parasitic cries they heard.

“I think they’re over here!!!”

The seven heard another yell, driving passion into their being. They were just a few more streets down, if anything. There was a chance, they thought!

“G-guys…!” Spike wheezed.

“I-I’m…!” he coughed, slowing down significantly.

“Spike, there’s no time!” Twilight snapped, harshly urging him to speed up.

Dissatisfied with Spike’s lagging, Twilight grabbed his arm, and continued running, pulling him along as best she could.

“Just a little longer, Spike!” Twilight stated.

“We’re over here!!!” Applejack shouted at the top of her lungs, as the cries behind the seven excited even further.

However, as the last of the group was running past one building, a large, bulbous looking creature shot out at Twilight and Spike, sending the two skidding across the cement.

It was not larger than any standing bipedal, but was still considerably large, and looked to be roughly 3 feet in size.

It ‘stood’ and maneuvered on several tentacles it had whipping about beneath it.

“Spike, Twi!” Rainbow Dash yelled, stopping briefly. As both looked up, the creature had chosen it’s prey, and hopped straight toward Spike.

As several of its tentacles wrapped around Spike’s arms, it lifted its body, showing more tentacles looming over Spike.

“G-gahh!” Spike choked and struggled, fighting back the tentacles that shot down and began to strangle his neck.

Before Twilight could even react, all Twilight heard was a small yelp from beneath the bulbous creature, and watched as several of its tentacles slithered and writhed inside of Spike’s body, who reacted violently to the invasion with a disturbing sequence of twitches and gargles.

Twilight picked herself up violently, slightly hunched and holding her stomach as she felt sick, running over to the others as best she could.

“O-Oh, Celestia…! That thing’s eating him alive!” Applejack said in a low, harsh breath, removing her straw hat and holding it to her chest, a mix of a wince and grimace on her face.

“W-we’ve got to…!” Twilight said, taking a single, weak, fear-filled step over to Spike and the creature that was slithering into his body.

One of her arms was slung around her stomach, and the other around her mouth, to keep from throwing up. Her eyes shone, and water grew at the bottom.

Rainbow Dash grabbed Twilight’s wrist.

“What can we do?” Rainbow Dash asked, as the six of them watched in a pained silence. Finally, the twisted lifeform that the creature had turned Spike into turned to face the six, twitching erratically.

“This isn’t good. Twi, are you ready to go?” Pinkie Pie asked, standing in front of the five.

From the corner of her eye, Pinkie Pie could see Twilight nodded. However, as she turned back, she realized, that the newly infected Spike was already halfway towards her, with a much less mature-sounding screech.

“I won’t make it in time…!” Pinkie Pie thought to herself, as she just barely turned and raised her arms in defense.

The creature, probably getting used to its host, sloppily bounced over Pinkie Pie’s forearms, but landed agilely behind Pinkie Pie, immediately leaping for the five behind her.

Time seemed to slow down to a near stop for Pinkie Pie, as she felt the creature zoom past on behind her.

She could think a thousand things, but nothing would push her body to react fast enough to stop that thing.

Pinkie Pie had just begun to turn back around again to dash after the creature, when as she finally turned, she saw a majestic flow of multi-colored hair, in what seemed to be ceremonial Royal Guard armor. In her hands was a very segmented rifle that looked handcrafted and seemed to have many parts. The darkness of the streets, as well as the reflection of light from the little that was there, covered her face ominously. All that could be made out in the eerie lighting were two glowing, piercing, and cold magenta beads.

*BOOM!*

In the instant that she appeared, seemingly out of thin air, a single bullet flew past, decimating the creature after Pinkie Pie’s five friends with a small-scale explosion on impact.

“Y-You saved--”

Pinkie Pie cut herself off, being surprised by the direct stare the woman gave her, along with a small smirk.

“Come on now, you know better than that,” the woman stated, now aiming the rifle directly at Pinkie Pie.

She could not help but freeze. Pinkie’s muscles tensed, and she nearly made a split-second decision, feeling her body begin to move forward.

However, just as she began to move even a millimeter…
*BOOM!*

Just through the arch of her hair, the bullet flew above Pinkie’s head, and hit another twisted lifeform to her adjacent side, within the shadow of the buildings.

Before Pinkie Pie could process anything further, the armored woman dashed forward. Although Pinkie Pie could barely see it, she felt as if the woman had been smiling intently at her going on past.

Pinkie turned just in time to watch the woman dice the still-active creature’s body apart with a rather short blade she pulled from her thigh.

“Guards! To me! Let us cleanse the parasite, and rescue the uninfected! Keep these citizens safe!” The woman barked, rushing out into the darkness. Seconds after, a small squadron of golden armored soldiers filtered through.

“W-we’re saved!” Rainbow Dash said with great relief, watching as the squadron rushed past them, making relatively quick work of the parasitic infection.

“... But… our friends, our family -- we’ve already lost so much…” Twilight stated, staring down at the mess that was once her companion, Spike.

Rarity’s boutique and Sweetie Belle, Applejack’s farm and apple family, Pinkie Pie’s work at sugarcube corner, and not to mention the family she worked with there -- the list went on.

“Sorry to break the moment, girls, but I was instructed to bring you to a secure facility for decontamination and possible relocation.”

The girls, broken from their depressed trance of realizing their loss, snapped their attention forward to the voice interrupting them -- a single Royal Guard armed with a rifle and sword on his waist. His gear looked much inferior to that of the hero who had saved them.

“The Princess fears for your safety within this city, despite her being more than able to handle an outbreak of this scale,” he said, quickly bowing on a knee as he finished.

“But, for the sake of not having intelligence fall into the wrong hands, I must ask that you allow me to dull your senses,” the soldier stated.

The girls looked between each other.

Fluttershy was still incredibly paranoid and shaken by anxiety; Rarity was paler than her already incredibly pale complexion; Rainbow Dash seemed to have lost her usual edge and confidence; Twilight was stricken with grief at the loss of her greatest companion; Applejack was much the same as Twilight, grieving for the loss of her farm and family; Pinkie Pie was… oddly unreadable -- she had an incredibly solemn face, the type that a mercenary or important pawn was trained to have -- one that seemed… unphased.

The guard stayed bowed, not worrying one bit of the battle blazing on behind him. The girls all stayed silent for several seconds. Finally, one spoke up.

“Do it. What choice do we have? There’s nothing here for us any longer.” Pinkie Pie stated, stepping forward.

“You guys with me on this?” Pinkie Pie asked. The others looked bewildered, still torn between abandoning their home for safety, or staying in hopes that some of their home remained.

However, the silence caused Pinkie Pie to turn her glance back towards the five, and despite the solemn, unchanged face of Pinkie Pie, there was one sure characteristic of her features that not even she could hide from them.

Her eyes were ever-so-slightly squinted, and shone with a burning, angry glaze. Bury it all she wanted, the rage and grief in her eyes shone like a beacon to the eyes of her companions.

“I’m with you.” Applejack said, being the first to speak up, immediately resonating with the anger she felt.

Soon after, the other four agreed, not wanting to be separated, and wanting to move forward from the tragedy they experienced this night, despite not quite knowing how. But, they knew that something, was better than waiting around for nothing.

“I’m glad you guys came around. Here, take these pills,” the guard began, fishing around inside of his armor, before pulling out in his hand a small capsule.

“Pills? Of what sort?” Twilight asked, her caution and curiosity being slightly aroused.

“The kind that will disable your senses. Your ability to feel, taste, hear, see, and smell. It is imperative that your memory has no chances to recreate any type of path to the quarters where the Princess wants you,” the guard stated.

“Then, we will basically become unconscious?” Twilight asked.

“Heh… not quite. The science behind it is something only a seasoned combatant can physically understand. But, I can hear that the fight is slowing, which means I should already have you all prepped before the Princess comes back and scolds me for my tardiness,” the guard said, looking back nervously.

“Wait, that was THE Princess Celestia? The equally intelligent and powerful princess of the Sun, and ruler of this entire planetary system!?” Twilight shrieked in a bit of a fangirl moment, forgetting for just a brief second, her grief.

“Goodness, you make me sound like a God…”

Twilight shivered with fear, as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and an incredibly ferocious aura behind her.

“Soldier, I thought I said to have this situation wrapped up before we finished.” Princess Celestia stated, walking around Twilight, now standing between the guard and the six girls, who could only watch, feeling inferior to the two veterans before them.

“My apologies, ma’am,” the soldier apologized, swiftly bowing on a single knee before her.

“At ease. The transportation is still enroute. You avoid punishment, this time.” Princess Celestia stated officially.

The soldier breathed a sigh of great relief, as if dodging a bullet.

“Now, get them prepped before I reconsider. Or, perhaps I should, you’re in need of more trai-”

“On it, ma’am!” The guard interrupted fearfully, quickly placing a pill in each of the girls’ hands.

As the girls swallowed the pill, within seconds, they could feel their entire body go numb -- first, they stopped feeling all sensations; there was no heat, no coldness, nothing -- then, went their hearing, followed by their taste and smell. Finally, their vision, despite their eyes remaining open, began to fade to black.

It was impossible to even know whether they were standing, or already being moved. They all simply tried their best to not move a single inch, fearing that they would interrupt the guards’ actions.

“Should’ve asked how long it lasts…” Pinkie Pie thought in disappointment, now realizing that she would have to be alone with her own thoughts for a potentially long time, not knowing when it would end.

Author's Note

Been wayyyy too long since I've updated this. Lot less time nowadays though, still adjusting to an adult life. Oh well, hope y'all enjoyed! R&R to make an author's day! :pinkiesmile: :heart: