Manulus Mortemby Discord97ChaptersDoubtsEmpty RoadsManulus and MortemDoubtsAuthor's Note Hello and Thank You, Here we are again, however, this time we are stepping into another world of mine. One that is much different than the Alien Universe that most will be used to seeing from me. Today we step into the world of, Manulus Mortem. This story was attempted YEARS ago by me and my brother. It never really made it but now I think it is time for ME to give it another go and publish it again. Improved, Improvised, and more my own. Enjoy! I have always been short with beginnings Doubts "Starlight!! Come Back!!" Twilight reaches out as her student bolts from the castle towards the street. Twilight stomps a hoof in frustration as she attempts to catch her student. The alicorn leaps through the castle doors before they close completely, however, a bright light completely blinds the princess as she looks for her student. Using her wing to cover her eyes from the light, Twilight's ears twitch as tires of a large wooden wagon squeal on the rock roads of Ponyville. "Look Out!! Dear Celestia!!!" A stallion screams out and the wagon squeals louder before smashing hard against who the stallion was screaming out too. Twilight gasps uncovering her eyes to see the accident that has occurred only moments after her student fled the castle. The Wagon sits crooked by the side of the road and the stallion falls frantically from the seat trying to get to the pony he had hit with his ride. Stumbling on his hooves he reaches her, the mare he has unluckily hit with his wagon is the student of Princess Twilight Sparkle. The stallion shakes his head, scared for the mares life and in doubt that this is really happening to him. Twilight sucks back tears and covers her mouth with one hoof, the alicorn can feel the cry coming and it is to much for her to keep in. Opening her wings she quickly flies over to the downed Unicorn, student ... her friend. Twilight almost crashes on landing, tripping over rubble from the broken tire of the wagon but she gracefully flaps her wings to keep herself up straight arriving to the side of Starlight Glimmer. "Starlight!! I told you to come back!!!" Twilight screams, shoving her face down into her friends side crying into the unicorn's fur. This couldn't be happening, but it is ..."STARLIGHT!!!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. The intense feeling of thirst and hunger come over Starlight Glimmer as her eyes open. Looking around at the hospital bed she is laying in the blankets are beginning to form patches of mold. Using her magic the unicorn rips the blanket off of herself and she proceeds to try and stand. Removing the blanket using all the energy she really has, Starlight falls to the floor as soon as her hooves touch the cold floor. Her body smashing onto the hard ground knocking the wind from her lungs causing her to gasp. "Help ... Nurse, Anypony?" Starlight says weakly as she is unable to stand after the fall. Laying on the floor waiting for help she begins to realize that something is very wrong. The windows in the room are smashed, however, there is not enough glass on the floor for it to mean something broke it from the outside. "NURSE!!!" She screams again but now she tries to pull herself to a stand. The unicorn hardly moves quickly afraid of falling down again. Reaching the door discovering it is locked, her horn glows again using all available energy to focus on the doorknob. With a powerful tug on the knob she rips it from the door and the door now 'unlocked'. Starlight stumbles through her doorway , so weak she almost rams her face onto the wall just outside her door. There isn't a sound except for her own hooves scrapping on the unswept floors of the hallway, there are no nurses or other patients in the hallway as the unicorn looks to her right and left to see what is going on. "Hello!? Anypony!" Starlight calls out but the only response is her own voice echoing back at her from the empty building. She makes her way down the hallway her body building up energy the more she moves around, walking down the hallway she looks in some of the open doors to see in other patients rooms but each one is empty and she finds nothing. "What is going on here? What even happened to me ... to get here?" Starlight rubs her head as she carefully walks down the stairwell. Her memory of the accident being blurred so much she is unsure if she was even in an accident anymore. The unicorn pushes her whole body up against the exit in the stairwell immediately she is blinded by the sunlight. She closes her eyes and trips over her own hooves stepping outside into the world. Falling to the ground again her eyes are forced open by the pain of hitting hard stone below. As her eyes adjust she thinks she can see a pony standing before her but as her eyes adjust to the light, it is nothing more than a garbage can. The world outside the hospital is different, it is worse than the nothing she saw inside. There isn't anypony in immediate view, mugshots of ponies plaster the wall outside the hospital, letters and other gifts lay all around the ground of the exit of the building as if the hospital itself was being treated like one giant gravestone. Getting up to look at all the images on the wall she is even able to find a picture of herself squeezed among the hundreds that were here. Starlight places a hoof on the picture of herself, not for long though as the the idea of what she is seeing makes her feel ill. "Hello!? Is there anypony here!?" Starlight screams out so loud her weak body almost collapses again. "WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!!" She screams louder and tears squeeze through her closed eyes, the thought of being on that wall. Some pony was thinking about her, what has happened to everypony? ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Starlight uses her magic to throw a heavy stone through the window smashing the glass and this article before she can read it. The thought of getting something to drink clouding discovering what happened to everypony. She climbs through the storefront's new entrance she created and nearly trips on the spilled cans and other debris cluttering the store floor. The first drink she can see is levitated up from the floor and to her lips for a sip as she cracks open the soda she found. The fizz of the carbonated drink is refreshing, she almost forgets about the loneliness she is being consumed by having still seen nopony sense she started walking to get to Friendship Castle. Starlight collects what she can, including a saddlebag to hold the food and drinks. Newspapers litter the roadside left behind by those who are nowhere to be found. Talking about death in Equestria. Starlight finally builds the courage to pick one of them up while she walks the road towards the Friendship Castle. The article seems pretty average to the regular Ponyville Daily. "I don't understand ... where could everypony have gone?" Starlight mumbles and uses her magic to pull more papers from the ground. "There has to be a reason for this!!" Her voice echoes through out the town, no voice but her own. The newspapers start to explain it all. "Manulus ... What?" Starlight's eyes widen and she stops before the doors of the Castle. The large doors broken enough that she wouldn't have to open them to step inside the structure. Starlight reads the papers as she enters the dark rooms of the Castle. Tears forming in her eyes , she lets her body fall back to sit on a couch to take in everything. New Virus Threatens Canterlot Canterlot Press Local Daycare Burned, Fillies Blamed For Manulus Ponyville Daily Princess of Friendship Infected? Ponyville Daily Manulus Kills, End of Times!! Equestria Official "Dear Celestia, this isn't real!! This is all a dream!!" Starlight throws the papers away, having seen enough but she still feels a thirst for answers. "TWILIGHT! RAINBOW!! EVERYPONY!!!" Starlight cries out looking up at the crystal ceiling of the castle and the tears roll from her eyes to the couch. "Oh Celestia ... how could something like this happen. These things can't just happen!?" "Yet it happened ... Starlight Glimmer" A familiar voice comes from the doorway to the castle. This being the first voice the unicorn has heard sense she woke from her coma. Starlight looks forward to see who the visitor was and to understand why it sounded so familiar to her. "I was afraid that one day you would wake up. I hoped you would die in your coma once everypony left me" Spike stands at the door, leaning against the frame, he doesn't look happy to see the unicorn. Starlight can't help but feel hurt after hearing what he had to say. Though after reading the articles ... she needs to know why. Empty RoadsAuthor's Note Welcome to the second Chapter to Manulus Mortem!! Not much to share when it comes to this chapter, however, there is one memory sequence. The Memory Will Be In Purple Empty Roads Spike shoves his claws into a can of Vegioli , the tin tearing open as he peels it back. The dragon sticks out his tongue before throwing it aside. The can flies over Starlight Glimmer's head, she ducks to avoid taking the can to the face. The Unicorn has been following the small dragon around the abandoned castle for what feels like nearly half an hour. Each Question the mare throws at the once happy lad going completely ignored. "Spike? Do I need to wear a mask to protect myself?" Starlight questioning her safety, now knowing because of the papers that some kind of plague is to blame for absence of life. "How does it spread?" Starlight struggles to walk through the room, the floor littered with empty cans, boxes, and broken furniture debris. As her hooves move cans tumble around creating loud clanging making it hard for the unicorn to even hear her own question. Spike tosses another can back and it smacks into the wall behind him splattering the contents inside onto the ground. The smell of peaches now floating in the air giving Starlight mixed feelings, however, Spike still remains silent. Spike picking up another can of food from the floor, tearing it open with his claws. The contents is a strange mixture of Vegioli and Spaghetti-OS. The dragon tilts his head back taking a big gulp drinking down the solid food like it is water. "Are you drinking that!?" Starlight stumbles coming to a stop at Spikes side, tilting her head to read the faded label of Vegioli. "You are really drinking Vegiolie, Spike!?" "Starlight ..." Spike tosses the can over his head and slowly turns to look over at the Unicorn. "I am a dragon ... I ate gems for more than half of my life. Drinking this feels easier than eating solid stones" "NOW YOU SAY SOMETH" - Starlight stops as Spike shakes one finger in her face. The Dragon gets up and sets an empty can on top of the mares head. "I just wanted to have my questions answered" "It isn't airborne, Starlight. You won't be needing a mask" Spike slides down a small pile of cans towards the exit and walks out the open door with a faint smile. "You don't even know what Manulus can do, being paranoid is worse than the plague" "It is not knowing that scares me more ... were you always this messy? I don't remember you being this messy!" Starlight walks through the garbage and follows spike leaving behind wet hoof prints on the floor, "Gross!! My hooves are wet from who knows what" "I have been this messy sense ..." Spike taps a talon on his chin and then shrugs walking to the main entrance of Friendship Castle to look out at the empty world. "Once Manulus took its course. Why should I keep the place clean?" Starlight looks outside at Ponyville, the once busy market now left behind. The food that used to fill the shelves are now empty to never be filled again. Posters are stamped on the side of the structures, talking about the plague. Spike lightly pats Starlight on the leg before he steps outside into the streets outside. The unicorn watches only for a moment before following him to the market. The posters are all about the plague and it's symptoms, what everypony was and is suppose to look out for to know if they or somepony else was infected with Manulus. "This is where you should start, Starlight" Spike lets out a deep breath and begins carving his name into the side of one of the structures with his claw. "It will help you more than it helped the ponies of Ponyville, I mean obviously but if anypony would like to object. You can be my guest ..." Starlight's ears pin back and she moves closer to the faded posters to look at what information there is to know. The mare is hesitant but not knowing what she is truly dealing with is more scary right now. Spike digs his claw deeper into the wood before ripping it from the structure, he mumbles something under his breath. Focusing on the poster Starlight begins reading what the poster has to say. The words are faded but not enough to make it unreadable. MANULUS SYMPTOMS ARE YOU INFECTED Welcome to Ponyville, in order to keep this safezone safe. Please read this poster daily and report any signs of infection within the zone. Do it for your families, Do it for yourself, and Do it for the community! Report ALL signs of Manulus Immediately! MINOR SYMPTOMS, MUST ADDRESS Nausea, Chafing Hooves, Uncontrollable Crying, and Minor Redness in Eyes. MAJOR SYMPTOMS, ADDRESS IMMEDIATELY Bloody Eyes, Projectile Vomiting Blood, Deep Lesions, Temporary Blindness, Light Sensitive Skin, and Fur/ Mane Loss REMEMBER THAT IT IS UP TO YOU TO KEEP THE ZONE SAFE FROM MANULUS, WITHOUT YOU THIS PLACE, LIKE MOST OF OUR WORLD WILL BECOME INFECTED. KEEP MANULUS OUT AND PREVENT MORTEM. Starlight steps away with wide eyes and she almost backs up into Spike knocking him to the ground. She bites her lower lip as stress begins to build up inside of her. Safe Zone? Looking around it becomes clear that the posters were not enough to keep Manulus out, for how long has Spike been the only one left after the zone was clearly compromised? The only remaining question is, how did Manulus get in with so many posters posted? Who in the right mind would let something with these extreme symptoms get inside? "We need to head back -" Spike is picked up by Starlight's magic being lifted face to face with the mare. In her eyes are more questions about Manulus. Spike's eyes widen and he cannot move, speechless from suddenly being yanked from the ground. "We have time to talk about this, Spike. If anypony else objects they can let me know" Starlight says in reference to his statement made from earlier. " How does something like this -" Starlight lets go of Spike as he burps out fire to cause her to let go of him. "Nopony can object because EVERYPONY is dead!!" Spike looks to the sky as the sun begins to set, looking back at the castle. The dragon closes his eyes and huffs out angry puffs of smoke from his nostrils, clenching his fists holding back a scream. "We need to be inside I will explain-" "You need to, Spike" Starlight takes a deep breath, however, unlike spike she doesn't bottle up her anger. That never did her any good in the past. "I know everypony is gone and I just don't wanna be like them. I don't have anypony else!! Twilight, Trixie, Pinkie ... I just have you, Spike. You are the only one who can help me - prevent me from becoming like them" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Spike closes the door to his bedroom and turns on a lantern hanging by the door, making sure it is dim as if to keep himself from being spotting from the outside. Starlight sits by the bed waiting for the dragon to tell his story, she raises a brow as the dragon dims the light. The room is still very dark even with light of a flame, Spike moves a talon over his mouth motioning her to keep quiet and he takes a seat next to the unicorn. "Yes ... this was a safe place but it didn't last. Ponies think they can control the inevitable by putting up a wall" Spike closes his eyes shifting through memories. His lips clench up as he remembers the night when the remaining ponies in the zone ... disappeared. "T-Twilight-" "Twilight!! Please be quiet!!!" Spike falls to the floor running to the side of the Alicorn. Tears filling his eyes as the mare begins to cry uncontrollably, blood dripping down in her tears. "PLEASE!! Stop Crying!!!" Twilight lays on the floor in tears with spike at her side, pieces of her fur sticking to the dragons claws as it easily rubbed off of her. Loud knocking from outside as the ponies from the zone are eager to get inside, to take care of the princess, the door is locked to prevent them from reaching her. "Spike - Let us inside!!" A stallion hollers with all his breath, ramming his whole body up against the large castle doors. "You are making a huge mistake!! Soon it will be to late!!!" The banging continues as the stallion is aided by many as they ram up against the doors to try and break it down. "There has to be another -" Spike pulls away from Twilight as she sits up suddenly, opening her mouth as blood shoots from her mouth as she begins to puke onto the castle floor. "Twilight!! Please!!!" Spike backs away to not let the infected blood get near him. Twilight hears the dragon moving away and once the puking comes to a stop for awhile, the alicorn looks around frantically for him, even though he is only a few feet away. "SPIKE, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!!" Twilight looks around, blinded by Manulus and is now unable to see the ones she loves during these symptoms. "Where are you!!!" Twilight screams and begins to gagging until the vomiting returns, the clotted blood spatting onto the floor sticking under her chin and hooves. "I am right here -" Spike jumps as a loud crack echoes from the front door, the ponies outside are making progress on the front doors. "There has to be another way, Twilight!! You can fight this-" "I CAN'T DO THIS-" Twilight screams and it only causes her to vomit more, harder than before she falls to the ground and lays in the blood pool she has created through vomiting. Once stopped she takes deep breaths, clinging on as hard as anypony has when going through this stage. "S-Spike ... I don't wanna -" "You won't -" Spike hears a loud crack again and one of the ponies screams into the hallway to spike. The voice is full of fear, warning him of the inevitable. "She will and you know it!! Do it child!! END IT BEFORE IT SPREADS!!" The stallion screams louder as he tries to squeeze in, however, is too big to do so yet. Spike stomps his foot as he looks to his sister, laying in the puddle of blood. "T-Twilight- " Spike picks up the fire poker, the only tool available at the time. The tool shakes in the grip of his claws, looking over at the once strong princess. Twilight doesn't move as her energy begins to fade, she is still alive and that scares Spike. "I AM SORRY, TWILIGHT!!" -- Spike's eyes open and he looks to a locked closet when suddenly the sound of something pressing up against the door from the inside can be heard. Starlight jumps from her seat looking over to the closed closet door, however, she feels Spikes claws grab hold of her causing her to trip falling to the floor. The fall is sudden enough to cause her to loose the air in her lungs, being stunned by having the air pulled from her lungs in a gasp. "Fuck- Spike ... What the" Starlight struggles to speak trying to catch her breath after being tripped up. "What happened? If you killed her" Starlight can only assume that from the story told so far, Spike must have had to do the unthinkable and kill his sister to prevent her from spreading Manulus any further than she was doing with the excessive blood puking. Tears fill Starlight's eyes thinking about it, Twilight suffering from this painful death. "Starlight ..." Spike says softly, the creaking from the closet becoming louder than before as if somepony was trapped on the other side trying to get out. "I didn't kill, Twilight ... I couldn't kill my sister. I wasn't strong enough to put her out of her misery and because of that. Everypony else suffered after her" Manulus and MortemAuthor's Note Chapter is shorter than I had hoped it to be. With this big reveal so early in the story already, however, it will be clear that this couldn't be kept a secret from Starlight forever considering the nature of the situation. Enjoy Manulus and Mortem The door rattles and bangs and the sound wakes Starlight from her sleep. When did she fall asleep and how could she after Spike's story. A floor below her she can hear Spike talking, however, somepony is responding to him. Slowly and carefully Starlight moves to the exit of Spike's room to better hear what was going on. The voices are muffled, getting clearer as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. She takes a deep breath peaking around the corner to see who else was now in the castle with them. "You should have waited until morning-" Spike claws at his own arms and he paces back and fourth, with what little light that is shinning in the room. Anypony could see he wasn't looking well, not like this morning. "I can't live in this world much longer" "I can only do so much on my own, Spike" A mare whispers from the darkness, trying to be as quiet as possible. She steps into view where Starlight can now see her. The mare has a Green Fur Color and Brown Mane, the look on her face looks mostly annoyed. "Where is she? The Coma Girl you were talking about" "She is upstairs ... with, Twilight" Spike gulps, the mention of the alicorn's name brings chills down Starlight's neck. "I didn't think Twilight would make any noise tonight. I think Starlight heard it too" Spike scratches his claws together, they had Twilight ... Sick ... Dying. Locked away in a closet, this is how it seems to Starlight Glimmer. "Twilight! I am coming!!" Starlight screams and stumbles turning around to run back up the stairs. Using her magic to move something heavy in the way so that Spike and the mare couldn't catch up. "I am on my way, Twi!!" Spike and the mare break into sprint to get to the stairs, frantically they both move the heavy piece of furniture out of the way so they could climb the stairs to catch up to Starlight Glimmer. The mare is much faster than Spike, however, the door to Spike's room slams shut as Starlight quickly slams it shut and locks it behind her. Spike slams up against the door using his claws to start scratching at the weak lock to try and pry it off the door. "Starlight - Don't do this!" Spike claws frantically at the door's lock, doing everything he can to get the door open. "You are making a mistake!!" Spike backs up and begins to slam his body against the door, "Krystal!! Help me get this damn thing open" "How could you do this Spike!!?? What is wrong with you?" Starlight, confused turns to look at the door as she backs her way up to the closet door. "This is your sister and my teacher!! You locked her in a closet!!! Cause she is sick!?" "I did what I had too do and now I need you to do the same-" Spike claws at the door, the dust from the wood getting in his eyes forcing him to stop for a moment. "Open this door and let me explain" "I can't do that - You had your chance and it is over, Spike" Starlight turns away from the door and focuses on the closet door, which has stopped rattling at this point. "Twilight? It's me ... Starlight" The unicorn unlocks the closet door using her magic, pulling it open. "Starlight Please ..." Spike begs from the other side of the door, sounds from his side become louder as him and the mare move stuff around to ram the door in. Facing the corner of the opened closet, the outline of a mare huddled in the corner is clearly visible and with the little light available in the room. The fur color of Twilight Sparkle is also visible, Starlight moves a bit closer concerned that Twilight hasn't responded yet to the door opening. The alicorn remains motionless as Starlight gets closer to reach out to the motionless body of the Alicorn. Spike's door cracks as Spike and Krystal use something heavy like a ram to bust the door, with the first crack the ear of the huddled body twitches. "Twilight? Are you- " Starlight freezes once the second ram on the door knocks the lantern on it's hanger enough to show a bit more of what was inside the closet. With the third blow on the door knocking it open, the once motionless body leaps forward with speed knocking down Starlight Glimmer. Clumps of Lavender colored fur falls all over Starlight Glimmer's body and face. Spike backs away as what used to be his sister stares him down in the darkness. Krystal almost falls back down the stairs as soon as Twilight Sparkle begins aggressively sniffing around the room, permanently blinded from the effects of Manulus. "She has become a Mortem!! She survived Manulus!!" Krystal yelps and falls onto her back and tumbles down the stairwell. The sudden scream sets off the Mortem Twilight Sparkle. What used to be Twilight sparkle is now replaced with something almost unreal. The creature screams after hearing Krystal's voice, the voice of the creature only sharing a trace of resemblance to Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes covered by a layer of newly grown flesh, black veins spread from there down her neck and through out her changed body. The Mortem's ears are longer than a normal pony, it's entire body fur less, looking into it's mouth jagged teeth are revealed filling most of the space. The creature screams out again towards Spike and as it screams a long tongue wiggles from it's mouth like a whip ready to strike. Starlight looks up from the ground at what Twilight has become and the sight of it forces her to keep quiet. Scared to see what would happen if she was spotted. Spike freezes in place and the creature moves in closer , the tongue hanging from it's mouth swaying side to side dripping with a blood and saliva mixture. Krystal groans at the bottom of the stairwell which catches the attention of the blind creature. Spike closes his eyes knowing more than anypony what would happen, one tear drips down his face. "Twilight I am over- "Spike is stopped before he can finish as the tongue of the creature whips around his neck like a lasso. "Starlight!! Krystal!! Get out of here-" Spike feels the jagged teeth rip into his neck as the creature chomps down into him, the blood gushing down onto the floor. Starlight gets up to attempt and stop anything else from happening but the tail from the creature smacks into her knocking the unicorn backwards and tossing her through the window of Spike's room. The last sound the mare hears is the ripping of the flesh and veins as they are chewed from the small dragons body. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "Get up Coma!! GET UP!" Krystal stands above Starlight, tugging at her hooves and frantically trying to get the mare on her hooves. "I will leave you!! COMA!" Starlight opens her eyes and she is laying outside the Castle, the sound of the creature screaming out from inside is enough to get her up on her hooves faster than Krystal could pull her up. Krystal is already moving to get away from the castle before Starlight even begins moving to follow. The creature screams louder almost as if calling for help, the faint resemblance to who it once was is chilling. The voice of Twilight Sparkle barely audible as if crying out to have her suffering be over. "What about Spike!! That thing is still- " Starlight stops when Krystal turns around with tears in her eyes. Spike clearly having a big effect on this mare. "I'm sorry ..." "Spike is dead because you can't listen!! The only thing worse than Manulus, Is Mortem!!" Krystal uses her hind hooves to kick open a door of a nearby home. "Which we have to hide from! Get inside!!" Starlight enters the building, everything inside setup as if nopony ever left, plates left out on the table waiting for a serving of food for dinner. Krystal ruins this quickly and pushes over the table and moves other items over to the door to keep anything from getting inside. Starlight gasps and dodges incoming objects that are being tossed around as Krystal frantically tries and protect herself. "More of those things are coming!! With the one at the castle screaming like that" Krystal tears up which makes it harder for her to move items. The sadness taking over causing her to be weaker than normal. "We just have to make it through the night ... Then we can get out of here" "What are those things!? What makes you think they won't stay?" Starlight gulps using her magic to help Krystal move items in front of the doorway. "How does something- " "That is a Mortem, Plan B" Krystal sniffles trying to keep herself together. "After some ponies began surviving the symptoms of Manulus. The virus would start attacking the DNA, Changing it!! They would become what you saw moments ago. Clouded, Infected, Wiling to Spread Manulus to those who don't have it already" A loud crash against the side of the building from all corners outside begin as the Mortems outside start investigating the noise of the two mares moving the furniture around. The noises of the creatures cause Starlight to cover her ears to try and ignore that it sounded like somepony faintly calling out for help while being consumed by a monsters growl. One of the windows of the house shatter and a long tongue slip inside whipping at the air and despite the glass cutting at the flesh of the tongue it doesn't leave the window. Krystal gets down on the ground crawling under a nearby table covering her ears from the voices as well. The creatures scream and slam up against the structure ripping at the wood with their jagged teeth , Starlight closes her eyes and begins to pray for her life. "Please don't let this be the end .. not before I even get to start" Starlight sniffles and the sound of the creatures becoming louder. "I am sorry Spike and I should have listened. Don't let this be how it ends"
DoubtsAuthor's Note Hello and Thank You, Here we are again, however, this time we are stepping into another world of mine. One that is much different than the Alien Universe that most will be used to seeing from me. Today we step into the world of, Manulus Mortem. This story was attempted YEARS ago by me and my brother. It never really made it but now I think it is time for ME to give it another go and publish it again. Improved, Improvised, and more my own. Enjoy! I have always been short with beginnings Doubts "Starlight!! Come Back!!" Twilight reaches out as her student bolts from the castle towards the street. Twilight stomps a hoof in frustration as she attempts to catch her student. The alicorn leaps through the castle doors before they close completely, however, a bright light completely blinds the princess as she looks for her student. Using her wing to cover her eyes from the light, Twilight's ears twitch as tires of a large wooden wagon squeal on the rock roads of Ponyville. "Look Out!! Dear Celestia!!!" A stallion screams out and the wagon squeals louder before smashing hard against who the stallion was screaming out too. Twilight gasps uncovering her eyes to see the accident that has occurred only moments after her student fled the castle. The Wagon sits crooked by the side of the road and the stallion falls frantically from the seat trying to get to the pony he had hit with his ride. Stumbling on his hooves he reaches her, the mare he has unluckily hit with his wagon is the student of Princess Twilight Sparkle. The stallion shakes his head, scared for the mares life and in doubt that this is really happening to him. Twilight sucks back tears and covers her mouth with one hoof, the alicorn can feel the cry coming and it is to much for her to keep in. Opening her wings she quickly flies over to the downed Unicorn, student ... her friend. Twilight almost crashes on landing, tripping over rubble from the broken tire of the wagon but she gracefully flaps her wings to keep herself up straight arriving to the side of Starlight Glimmer. "Starlight!! I told you to come back!!!" Twilight screams, shoving her face down into her friends side crying into the unicorn's fur. This couldn't be happening, but it is ..."STARLIGHT!!!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. The intense feeling of thirst and hunger come over Starlight Glimmer as her eyes open. Looking around at the hospital bed she is laying in the blankets are beginning to form patches of mold. Using her magic the unicorn rips the blanket off of herself and she proceeds to try and stand. Removing the blanket using all the energy she really has, Starlight falls to the floor as soon as her hooves touch the cold floor. Her body smashing onto the hard ground knocking the wind from her lungs causing her to gasp. "Help ... Nurse, Anypony?" Starlight says weakly as she is unable to stand after the fall. Laying on the floor waiting for help she begins to realize that something is very wrong. The windows in the room are smashed, however, there is not enough glass on the floor for it to mean something broke it from the outside. "NURSE!!!" She screams again but now she tries to pull herself to a stand. The unicorn hardly moves quickly afraid of falling down again. Reaching the door discovering it is locked, her horn glows again using all available energy to focus on the doorknob. With a powerful tug on the knob she rips it from the door and the door now 'unlocked'. Starlight stumbles through her doorway , so weak she almost rams her face onto the wall just outside her door. There isn't a sound except for her own hooves scrapping on the unswept floors of the hallway, there are no nurses or other patients in the hallway as the unicorn looks to her right and left to see what is going on. "Hello!? Anypony!" Starlight calls out but the only response is her own voice echoing back at her from the empty building. She makes her way down the hallway her body building up energy the more she moves around, walking down the hallway she looks in some of the open doors to see in other patients rooms but each one is empty and she finds nothing. "What is going on here? What even happened to me ... to get here?" Starlight rubs her head as she carefully walks down the stairwell. Her memory of the accident being blurred so much she is unsure if she was even in an accident anymore. The unicorn pushes her whole body up against the exit in the stairwell immediately she is blinded by the sunlight. She closes her eyes and trips over her own hooves stepping outside into the world. Falling to the ground again her eyes are forced open by the pain of hitting hard stone below. As her eyes adjust she thinks she can see a pony standing before her but as her eyes adjust to the light, it is nothing more than a garbage can. The world outside the hospital is different, it is worse than the nothing she saw inside. There isn't anypony in immediate view, mugshots of ponies plaster the wall outside the hospital, letters and other gifts lay all around the ground of the exit of the building as if the hospital itself was being treated like one giant gravestone. Getting up to look at all the images on the wall she is even able to find a picture of herself squeezed among the hundreds that were here. Starlight places a hoof on the picture of herself, not for long though as the the idea of what she is seeing makes her feel ill. "Hello!? Is there anypony here!?" Starlight screams out so loud her weak body almost collapses again. "WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!!" She screams louder and tears squeeze through her closed eyes, the thought of being on that wall. Some pony was thinking about her, what has happened to everypony? ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Starlight uses her magic to throw a heavy stone through the window smashing the glass and this article before she can read it. The thought of getting something to drink clouding discovering what happened to everypony. She climbs through the storefront's new entrance she created and nearly trips on the spilled cans and other debris cluttering the store floor. The first drink she can see is levitated up from the floor and to her lips for a sip as she cracks open the soda she found. The fizz of the carbonated drink is refreshing, she almost forgets about the loneliness she is being consumed by having still seen nopony sense she started walking to get to Friendship Castle. Starlight collects what she can, including a saddlebag to hold the food and drinks. Newspapers litter the roadside left behind by those who are nowhere to be found. Talking about death in Equestria. Starlight finally builds the courage to pick one of them up while she walks the road towards the Friendship Castle. The article seems pretty average to the regular Ponyville Daily. "I don't understand ... where could everypony have gone?" Starlight mumbles and uses her magic to pull more papers from the ground. "There has to be a reason for this!!" Her voice echoes through out the town, no voice but her own. The newspapers start to explain it all. "Manulus ... What?" Starlight's eyes widen and she stops before the doors of the Castle. The large doors broken enough that she wouldn't have to open them to step inside the structure. Starlight reads the papers as she enters the dark rooms of the Castle. Tears forming in her eyes , she lets her body fall back to sit on a couch to take in everything. New Virus Threatens Canterlot Canterlot Press Local Daycare Burned, Fillies Blamed For Manulus Ponyville Daily Princess of Friendship Infected? Ponyville Daily Manulus Kills, End of Times!! Equestria Official "Dear Celestia, this isn't real!! This is all a dream!!" Starlight throws the papers away, having seen enough but she still feels a thirst for answers. "TWILIGHT! RAINBOW!! EVERYPONY!!!" Starlight cries out looking up at the crystal ceiling of the castle and the tears roll from her eyes to the couch. "Oh Celestia ... how could something like this happen. These things can't just happen!?" "Yet it happened ... Starlight Glimmer" A familiar voice comes from the doorway to the castle. This being the first voice the unicorn has heard sense she woke from her coma. Starlight looks forward to see who the visitor was and to understand why it sounded so familiar to her. "I was afraid that one day you would wake up. I hoped you would die in your coma once everypony left me" Spike stands at the door, leaning against the frame, he doesn't look happy to see the unicorn. Starlight can't help but feel hurt after hearing what he had to say. Though after reading the articles ... she needs to know why.
Empty RoadsAuthor's Note Welcome to the second Chapter to Manulus Mortem!! Not much to share when it comes to this chapter, however, there is one memory sequence. The Memory Will Be In Purple Empty Roads Spike shoves his claws into a can of Vegioli , the tin tearing open as he peels it back. The dragon sticks out his tongue before throwing it aside. The can flies over Starlight Glimmer's head, she ducks to avoid taking the can to the face. The Unicorn has been following the small dragon around the abandoned castle for what feels like nearly half an hour. Each Question the mare throws at the once happy lad going completely ignored. "Spike? Do I need to wear a mask to protect myself?" Starlight questioning her safety, now knowing because of the papers that some kind of plague is to blame for absence of life. "How does it spread?" Starlight struggles to walk through the room, the floor littered with empty cans, boxes, and broken furniture debris. As her hooves move cans tumble around creating loud clanging making it hard for the unicorn to even hear her own question. Spike tosses another can back and it smacks into the wall behind him splattering the contents inside onto the ground. The smell of peaches now floating in the air giving Starlight mixed feelings, however, Spike still remains silent. Spike picking up another can of food from the floor, tearing it open with his claws. The contents is a strange mixture of Vegioli and Spaghetti-OS. The dragon tilts his head back taking a big gulp drinking down the solid food like it is water. "Are you drinking that!?" Starlight stumbles coming to a stop at Spikes side, tilting her head to read the faded label of Vegioli. "You are really drinking Vegiolie, Spike!?" "Starlight ..." Spike tosses the can over his head and slowly turns to look over at the Unicorn. "I am a dragon ... I ate gems for more than half of my life. Drinking this feels easier than eating solid stones" "NOW YOU SAY SOMETH" - Starlight stops as Spike shakes one finger in her face. The Dragon gets up and sets an empty can on top of the mares head. "I just wanted to have my questions answered" "It isn't airborne, Starlight. You won't be needing a mask" Spike slides down a small pile of cans towards the exit and walks out the open door with a faint smile. "You don't even know what Manulus can do, being paranoid is worse than the plague" "It is not knowing that scares me more ... were you always this messy? I don't remember you being this messy!" Starlight walks through the garbage and follows spike leaving behind wet hoof prints on the floor, "Gross!! My hooves are wet from who knows what" "I have been this messy sense ..." Spike taps a talon on his chin and then shrugs walking to the main entrance of Friendship Castle to look out at the empty world. "Once Manulus took its course. Why should I keep the place clean?" Starlight looks outside at Ponyville, the once busy market now left behind. The food that used to fill the shelves are now empty to never be filled again. Posters are stamped on the side of the structures, talking about the plague. Spike lightly pats Starlight on the leg before he steps outside into the streets outside. The unicorn watches only for a moment before following him to the market. The posters are all about the plague and it's symptoms, what everypony was and is suppose to look out for to know if they or somepony else was infected with Manulus. "This is where you should start, Starlight" Spike lets out a deep breath and begins carving his name into the side of one of the structures with his claw. "It will help you more than it helped the ponies of Ponyville, I mean obviously but if anypony would like to object. You can be my guest ..." Starlight's ears pin back and she moves closer to the faded posters to look at what information there is to know. The mare is hesitant but not knowing what she is truly dealing with is more scary right now. Spike digs his claw deeper into the wood before ripping it from the structure, he mumbles something under his breath. Focusing on the poster Starlight begins reading what the poster has to say. The words are faded but not enough to make it unreadable. MANULUS SYMPTOMS ARE YOU INFECTED Welcome to Ponyville, in order to keep this safezone safe. Please read this poster daily and report any signs of infection within the zone. Do it for your families, Do it for yourself, and Do it for the community! Report ALL signs of Manulus Immediately! MINOR SYMPTOMS, MUST ADDRESS Nausea, Chafing Hooves, Uncontrollable Crying, and Minor Redness in Eyes. MAJOR SYMPTOMS, ADDRESS IMMEDIATELY Bloody Eyes, Projectile Vomiting Blood, Deep Lesions, Temporary Blindness, Light Sensitive Skin, and Fur/ Mane Loss REMEMBER THAT IT IS UP TO YOU TO KEEP THE ZONE SAFE FROM MANULUS, WITHOUT YOU THIS PLACE, LIKE MOST OF OUR WORLD WILL BECOME INFECTED. KEEP MANULUS OUT AND PREVENT MORTEM. Starlight steps away with wide eyes and she almost backs up into Spike knocking him to the ground. She bites her lower lip as stress begins to build up inside of her. Safe Zone? Looking around it becomes clear that the posters were not enough to keep Manulus out, for how long has Spike been the only one left after the zone was clearly compromised? The only remaining question is, how did Manulus get in with so many posters posted? Who in the right mind would let something with these extreme symptoms get inside? "We need to head back -" Spike is picked up by Starlight's magic being lifted face to face with the mare. In her eyes are more questions about Manulus. Spike's eyes widen and he cannot move, speechless from suddenly being yanked from the ground. "We have time to talk about this, Spike. If anypony else objects they can let me know" Starlight says in reference to his statement made from earlier. " How does something like this -" Starlight lets go of Spike as he burps out fire to cause her to let go of him. "Nopony can object because EVERYPONY is dead!!" Spike looks to the sky as the sun begins to set, looking back at the castle. The dragon closes his eyes and huffs out angry puffs of smoke from his nostrils, clenching his fists holding back a scream. "We need to be inside I will explain-" "You need to, Spike" Starlight takes a deep breath, however, unlike spike she doesn't bottle up her anger. That never did her any good in the past. "I know everypony is gone and I just don't wanna be like them. I don't have anypony else!! Twilight, Trixie, Pinkie ... I just have you, Spike. You are the only one who can help me - prevent me from becoming like them" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Spike closes the door to his bedroom and turns on a lantern hanging by the door, making sure it is dim as if to keep himself from being spotting from the outside. Starlight sits by the bed waiting for the dragon to tell his story, she raises a brow as the dragon dims the light. The room is still very dark even with light of a flame, Spike moves a talon over his mouth motioning her to keep quiet and he takes a seat next to the unicorn. "Yes ... this was a safe place but it didn't last. Ponies think they can control the inevitable by putting up a wall" Spike closes his eyes shifting through memories. His lips clench up as he remembers the night when the remaining ponies in the zone ... disappeared. "T-Twilight-" "Twilight!! Please be quiet!!!" Spike falls to the floor running to the side of the Alicorn. Tears filling his eyes as the mare begins to cry uncontrollably, blood dripping down in her tears. "PLEASE!! Stop Crying!!!" Twilight lays on the floor in tears with spike at her side, pieces of her fur sticking to the dragons claws as it easily rubbed off of her. Loud knocking from outside as the ponies from the zone are eager to get inside, to take care of the princess, the door is locked to prevent them from reaching her. "Spike - Let us inside!!" A stallion hollers with all his breath, ramming his whole body up against the large castle doors. "You are making a huge mistake!! Soon it will be to late!!!" The banging continues as the stallion is aided by many as they ram up against the doors to try and break it down. "There has to be another -" Spike pulls away from Twilight as she sits up suddenly, opening her mouth as blood shoots from her mouth as she begins to puke onto the castle floor. "Twilight!! Please!!!" Spike backs away to not let the infected blood get near him. Twilight hears the dragon moving away and once the puking comes to a stop for awhile, the alicorn looks around frantically for him, even though he is only a few feet away. "SPIKE, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!!" Twilight looks around, blinded by Manulus and is now unable to see the ones she loves during these symptoms. "Where are you!!!" Twilight screams and begins to gagging until the vomiting returns, the clotted blood spatting onto the floor sticking under her chin and hooves. "I am right here -" Spike jumps as a loud crack echoes from the front door, the ponies outside are making progress on the front doors. "There has to be another way, Twilight!! You can fight this-" "I CAN'T DO THIS-" Twilight screams and it only causes her to vomit more, harder than before she falls to the ground and lays in the blood pool she has created through vomiting. Once stopped she takes deep breaths, clinging on as hard as anypony has when going through this stage. "S-Spike ... I don't wanna -" "You won't -" Spike hears a loud crack again and one of the ponies screams into the hallway to spike. The voice is full of fear, warning him of the inevitable. "She will and you know it!! Do it child!! END IT BEFORE IT SPREADS!!" The stallion screams louder as he tries to squeeze in, however, is too big to do so yet. Spike stomps his foot as he looks to his sister, laying in the puddle of blood. "T-Twilight- " Spike picks up the fire poker, the only tool available at the time. The tool shakes in the grip of his claws, looking over at the once strong princess. Twilight doesn't move as her energy begins to fade, she is still alive and that scares Spike. "I AM SORRY, TWILIGHT!!" -- Spike's eyes open and he looks to a locked closet when suddenly the sound of something pressing up against the door from the inside can be heard. Starlight jumps from her seat looking over to the closed closet door, however, she feels Spikes claws grab hold of her causing her to trip falling to the floor. The fall is sudden enough to cause her to loose the air in her lungs, being stunned by having the air pulled from her lungs in a gasp. "Fuck- Spike ... What the" Starlight struggles to speak trying to catch her breath after being tripped up. "What happened? If you killed her" Starlight can only assume that from the story told so far, Spike must have had to do the unthinkable and kill his sister to prevent her from spreading Manulus any further than she was doing with the excessive blood puking. Tears fill Starlight's eyes thinking about it, Twilight suffering from this painful death. "Starlight ..." Spike says softly, the creaking from the closet becoming louder than before as if somepony was trapped on the other side trying to get out. "I didn't kill, Twilight ... I couldn't kill my sister. I wasn't strong enough to put her out of her misery and because of that. Everypony else suffered after her"
Manulus and MortemAuthor's Note Chapter is shorter than I had hoped it to be. With this big reveal so early in the story already, however, it will be clear that this couldn't be kept a secret from Starlight forever considering the nature of the situation. Enjoy Manulus and Mortem The door rattles and bangs and the sound wakes Starlight from her sleep. When did she fall asleep and how could she after Spike's story. A floor below her she can hear Spike talking, however, somepony is responding to him. Slowly and carefully Starlight moves to the exit of Spike's room to better hear what was going on. The voices are muffled, getting clearer as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. She takes a deep breath peaking around the corner to see who else was now in the castle with them. "You should have waited until morning-" Spike claws at his own arms and he paces back and fourth, with what little light that is shinning in the room. Anypony could see he wasn't looking well, not like this morning. "I can't live in this world much longer" "I can only do so much on my own, Spike" A mare whispers from the darkness, trying to be as quiet as possible. She steps into view where Starlight can now see her. The mare has a Green Fur Color and Brown Mane, the look on her face looks mostly annoyed. "Where is she? The Coma Girl you were talking about" "She is upstairs ... with, Twilight" Spike gulps, the mention of the alicorn's name brings chills down Starlight's neck. "I didn't think Twilight would make any noise tonight. I think Starlight heard it too" Spike scratches his claws together, they had Twilight ... Sick ... Dying. Locked away in a closet, this is how it seems to Starlight Glimmer. "Twilight! I am coming!!" Starlight screams and stumbles turning around to run back up the stairs. Using her magic to move something heavy in the way so that Spike and the mare couldn't catch up. "I am on my way, Twi!!" Spike and the mare break into sprint to get to the stairs, frantically they both move the heavy piece of furniture out of the way so they could climb the stairs to catch up to Starlight Glimmer. The mare is much faster than Spike, however, the door to Spike's room slams shut as Starlight quickly slams it shut and locks it behind her. Spike slams up against the door using his claws to start scratching at the weak lock to try and pry it off the door. "Starlight - Don't do this!" Spike claws frantically at the door's lock, doing everything he can to get the door open. "You are making a mistake!!" Spike backs up and begins to slam his body against the door, "Krystal!! Help me get this damn thing open" "How could you do this Spike!!?? What is wrong with you?" Starlight, confused turns to look at the door as she backs her way up to the closet door. "This is your sister and my teacher!! You locked her in a closet!!! Cause she is sick!?" "I did what I had too do and now I need you to do the same-" Spike claws at the door, the dust from the wood getting in his eyes forcing him to stop for a moment. "Open this door and let me explain" "I can't do that - You had your chance and it is over, Spike" Starlight turns away from the door and focuses on the closet door, which has stopped rattling at this point. "Twilight? It's me ... Starlight" The unicorn unlocks the closet door using her magic, pulling it open. "Starlight Please ..." Spike begs from the other side of the door, sounds from his side become louder as him and the mare move stuff around to ram the door in. Facing the corner of the opened closet, the outline of a mare huddled in the corner is clearly visible and with the little light available in the room. The fur color of Twilight Sparkle is also visible, Starlight moves a bit closer concerned that Twilight hasn't responded yet to the door opening. The alicorn remains motionless as Starlight gets closer to reach out to the motionless body of the Alicorn. Spike's door cracks as Spike and Krystal use something heavy like a ram to bust the door, with the first crack the ear of the huddled body twitches. "Twilight? Are you- " Starlight freezes once the second ram on the door knocks the lantern on it's hanger enough to show a bit more of what was inside the closet. With the third blow on the door knocking it open, the once motionless body leaps forward with speed knocking down Starlight Glimmer. Clumps of Lavender colored fur falls all over Starlight Glimmer's body and face. Spike backs away as what used to be his sister stares him down in the darkness. Krystal almost falls back down the stairs as soon as Twilight Sparkle begins aggressively sniffing around the room, permanently blinded from the effects of Manulus. "She has become a Mortem!! She survived Manulus!!" Krystal yelps and falls onto her back and tumbles down the stairwell. The sudden scream sets off the Mortem Twilight Sparkle. What used to be Twilight sparkle is now replaced with something almost unreal. The creature screams after hearing Krystal's voice, the voice of the creature only sharing a trace of resemblance to Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes covered by a layer of newly grown flesh, black veins spread from there down her neck and through out her changed body. The Mortem's ears are longer than a normal pony, it's entire body fur less, looking into it's mouth jagged teeth are revealed filling most of the space. The creature screams out again towards Spike and as it screams a long tongue wiggles from it's mouth like a whip ready to strike. Starlight looks up from the ground at what Twilight has become and the sight of it forces her to keep quiet. Scared to see what would happen if she was spotted. Spike freezes in place and the creature moves in closer , the tongue hanging from it's mouth swaying side to side dripping with a blood and saliva mixture. Krystal groans at the bottom of the stairwell which catches the attention of the blind creature. Spike closes his eyes knowing more than anypony what would happen, one tear drips down his face. "Twilight I am over- "Spike is stopped before he can finish as the tongue of the creature whips around his neck like a lasso. "Starlight!! Krystal!! Get out of here-" Spike feels the jagged teeth rip into his neck as the creature chomps down into him, the blood gushing down onto the floor. Starlight gets up to attempt and stop anything else from happening but the tail from the creature smacks into her knocking the unicorn backwards and tossing her through the window of Spike's room. The last sound the mare hears is the ripping of the flesh and veins as they are chewed from the small dragons body. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "Get up Coma!! GET UP!" Krystal stands above Starlight, tugging at her hooves and frantically trying to get the mare on her hooves. "I will leave you!! COMA!" Starlight opens her eyes and she is laying outside the Castle, the sound of the creature screaming out from inside is enough to get her up on her hooves faster than Krystal could pull her up. Krystal is already moving to get away from the castle before Starlight even begins moving to follow. The creature screams louder almost as if calling for help, the faint resemblance to who it once was is chilling. The voice of Twilight Sparkle barely audible as if crying out to have her suffering be over. "What about Spike!! That thing is still- " Starlight stops when Krystal turns around with tears in her eyes. Spike clearly having a big effect on this mare. "I'm sorry ..." "Spike is dead because you can't listen!! The only thing worse than Manulus, Is Mortem!!" Krystal uses her hind hooves to kick open a door of a nearby home. "Which we have to hide from! Get inside!!" Starlight enters the building, everything inside setup as if nopony ever left, plates left out on the table waiting for a serving of food for dinner. Krystal ruins this quickly and pushes over the table and moves other items over to the door to keep anything from getting inside. Starlight gasps and dodges incoming objects that are being tossed around as Krystal frantically tries and protect herself. "More of those things are coming!! With the one at the castle screaming like that" Krystal tears up which makes it harder for her to move items. The sadness taking over causing her to be weaker than normal. "We just have to make it through the night ... Then we can get out of here" "What are those things!? What makes you think they won't stay?" Starlight gulps using her magic to help Krystal move items in front of the doorway. "How does something- " "That is a Mortem, Plan B" Krystal sniffles trying to keep herself together. "After some ponies began surviving the symptoms of Manulus. The virus would start attacking the DNA, Changing it!! They would become what you saw moments ago. Clouded, Infected, Wiling to Spread Manulus to those who don't have it already" A loud crash against the side of the building from all corners outside begin as the Mortems outside start investigating the noise of the two mares moving the furniture around. The noises of the creatures cause Starlight to cover her ears to try and ignore that it sounded like somepony faintly calling out for help while being consumed by a monsters growl. One of the windows of the house shatter and a long tongue slip inside whipping at the air and despite the glass cutting at the flesh of the tongue it doesn't leave the window. Krystal gets down on the ground crawling under a nearby table covering her ears from the voices as well. The creatures scream and slam up against the structure ripping at the wood with their jagged teeth , Starlight closes her eyes and begins to pray for her life. "Please don't let this be the end .. not before I even get to start" Starlight sniffles and the sound of the creatures becoming louder. "I am sorry Spike and I should have listened. Don't let this be how it ends"
