The Last of Equestria

“This Dr. Pearl Moon again. This will be my final entry. I've been bitten by one of those things. I'm going to record my thoughts and then commit suicide. I'm not turning into one of those things. I hate to leave Phantasia alone like this, but hopefully she'll understand.

Twenty years later, everypony is either dying, dead or one of those things out there. All my coworkers are dead except for Phantasia. We've kept each other alive and going. We've been careful, but yet, somehow we managed to get ambushed by a pack of those things, Clickers I think they're being called. Phantasia was cornered by two of them while she was trying to reload her pistol. I jumped in front of her and managed to keep them off until she reloaded. In the process, I was bitten. Nipped rather, but still caused a wound. I didn't tell Phantasia. I didn't want to cause her to panic or worry. Of course, this is probably going to make things worse than they would've been if I had told her, but it's too late now.

Everypony we’ve come across has either been turned into one of those things or they've been killed by them. If only Dr. Brown would've listened to Phantasia, this could've been avoided. If only we hadn't kept quiet…

*Groan* *Sigh*

Now Equestria has been flipped upside down and overrun with those things. Perhaps it's a combination of sheer curiosity and my scientific duty, but I've studied those creatures out there. 'Infected’ is what I believe they're being called as a whole. From what I gathered, there are five stages of infection.

Those in the first stages of infection have been given the term 'Runners’. Aggressive and fast, they retain their strength, motor skills, and senses. As stated in previous recordings, cognitive abilities have gone to shit, rendering their ability to think and talk completely useless. Their most notable assets are their strength and ability to run long distances without tiring or giving up. As far as killing them goes, anything seems to work. Stabbing, shooting, choking out… it all works.

*Groan* *Hiss* *Sigh*
God, it's getting worse. I need to hurry this up…

The second stage of infection turns the Runners into 'Stalkers’. Fungal plates now grow from the host's head, partially blinding them. Due to this, they're considerably slower than a Runner, but otherwise retain all other traits.

After some time, Stalkers progress into the next stage of infection: Clickers. The fungal plates have now grown to the point that it causes total blindness in the host. Because they are blind, they use clicks presumably to see in a form echolocation and have exceptionally high hearing. They are vastly slower than Stalkers but are equally as strong. The fungal plates act as a protective barrier, so they're hard to take out.

Those afflicted and at the Clicker stage remain that way for a exceptionally long time. I believe it to be about six years after becoming a Clicker that they move into the next stage: Lurkers. Because of the growth of the fungal plates, their bodies have swollen and increased in size. Because of this, they are extremely slow but very strong. They tend to stay in one place, usually somewhere dark, and project vile at their prey. If hit, the vile could very well spread the infection to the victim or kill them entirely. If one comes too close, the Lurker will grab ahold of you and either bite you or completely crush your body. Oh, also, they're still blind and very hard to kill. A Molotov or two seems to do them in, though.

Those who become Lurkers remain in that stage for another four years or so before turning into a 'Bloater’. As the term hopefully suggests, the body of a Lurker becomes extremely swollen and bloated, so much so that they mostly remain stationary. They have been known to roam occasionally, but much like the Lurker, a Bloater is very slow. Similar to the previous stage, a Bloater will project vile at it's prey. The area of effect of this projectile vomit is significantly bigger than that of a Lurker’s, so watch out. Bloaters are extremely hard to kill, but they seem to have a weaknesses to fire. If you come across one and wish to fight it, throw a couple of Molotovs at it's hooves. That should do it in. If not, aim for the back of the head.

Okay, that's it. That's all I've got. I can't take this pain any longer. Phantasia, I'm sorry to do this to you. Keep going for me though, okay? Keep fighting for a cure. I know you can do it.

*Groan* *Sigh*

I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Goodbye.”