Sunset

The factory was dimly lit, musty, and smelled of metal and damp fabric. Rain was beating hard against the glass windows which let very little light into the upper rooms of the dreadful factory. The factory sat outside Ponyville, and the commute was thirty minutes to and from. Benches were everywhere, and sweaty ponies sat on stools near them, working on guns, cannons, and other artillery. Even though this factory did not perform the act of massacring colorful ponies, the factory was dubbed ‘The Rainbow Factory”. It was a gun and blacksmithing sweatshop. Everypony with some knowledge of guns were brought to the factory, some ponies volunteered and some were drafted in. It was a depressing place to work, and some knew that feeling more than others.

Near a window, sat a frazzled and very exhausted Brownie Button. He was working on putting together a long rifle, a gun he knew how to make using muscle memory. Brownie wasn’t normally the healthiest and most-in-shape unicorn out there, but in the past few months, the commute was longer and harder. For one, He was constantly tired, and every morning a wave of nausea greeted him. It was unusual but he never brought it up to Goldie Sugar, for she was busy all the time after her being drafted into the army. He barely saw her at all anymore, and it made his heart heavy when he wasn't with her. Poor Goldie had said the same thing. Both ponies wished for the war to end soon.

“I hope it ends, I need it to end,” Brownie mumbled under his breath, putting the finishing touches on the weapon. He had to forgo his normal signature carved onto the barrel like he always did. With war, no one cared who the gun came from. The stallion just wished it luck and placed it in a box to be sent to wherever.

Brownie, after leaving his gun with a pony incharge of shipping, trotted over to another pony who was working on parts. He grabbed some of the completed parts and checked off a few things on a list of his. He then started to assemble another long rifle. A boring process. A pony's art turned into a ponies chains.

He started placing the parts into their places when he felt a sudden flutter in his abdomen. It was a strange feeling, alien at most. And what didn’t help was all those alien movies he watched with Goldie, the ones with the alien coming out of a ponies chest.

Brownies mind was whirling ,trying to think of what was making his belly feel all fluttery. Like a butterfly in his stomach, or Fluttershy. His mind was a quack doctor. It said things like ‘tumor’, ‘cancer’, ‘brain cancer’, and the popular ‘instant death’. But then his brain said a terrible something that sounded more genuine than the rest.

And the stallion freaked out.

The flutters mixed with the nausea and weakness put a strange and scary image in his mind. But Brownie decided that he may need a real diagnosis.

He had another pony get to work on the long rifle, and he left to tell the manager he was going off work for a bit. He got excused early for “medical reasons” and he went to see a doctor, one of the few in Ponyville.

That is, Button thought with a shutter, if there's even one left in town.

For some reason, Ponyville was frantic. Ponies were sacking stores and places, trying to find things to survive the apocalypse. Brownie trotted past them all, trying to not get sucked into all the drama and chaos going on around him. He watched a mare break a window of a bakery, and then get pulled away by a police pony. The police pony was holding the mare with his magic, alongside a taser he was using on a changeling who was mugging a pegasus.

But Brownie Button had a mission. He just kept trotting to the doctor's office, but then he realized the office was going to be packed to the roof. Or the doctor would be gone, and the office ransacked.

Brownie found himself trotting into the Everfree Forest on a whim. He had a friendship with a strange shaman zebra, who he knew would give him a second opinion and rhymes worth a million bits. He wandered into the forest, hoping the friend of all Ponyville would be there.

The forest was even darker than it used to be, and a bit more spooky. Well, Brownie Button always thought it was spooky. But now it was a lot more spooky. Brownie pulled a handgun out of his leather saddlebags using his golden tinted magic. He brought it up to his side, ready for anything. He knew of the dangers around him, and it made his stomach churn nervously. He heard the stories of Timberwolves and the other creatures that live in the forest. In a swift pull, he clicked the handgun from safety to active.

The trees rustled with the breeze and soft rains that fell. It was cool and nice, which felt good to Brownie Buttons sweaty coat. He looked out into the darkness and saw the faint outline of a mud and tree hut, the home of Zecora.

“The friendly Ponyville shaman,” He smiled, and galloped to the hut. He knocked on the wooden door with his red hoof.

“Zecora! I could use your assistance!” Brownie Button stated, his voice a nervous baritone.

The door opened with a creek, and Button was greeted by the comforting face of Zecora, “Come in, Brownie Button, I have made a bunch of sweets so you can be a glutton.” She said, pulling Brownie Button into the hut.

Brownie cringed when Zecora said “glutton”, but he forgot about it when he saw a massive array of treats on a table in Zecora's hut. There were all types of sweets littered about, and Brownie recognized some of Goldie’s favorites. She must've taught Zecora a few recipes, since the two shared knowledge in baking and aromatherapy.

“So, what's with the treats Zecora?” Brownie Button asked, a little skeptical.

“Oh, a party I am having, and the treats are for the planning,” Zecora said, pulling a batch of rainbow cupcakes out of a stone oven. Brownie cringed at the urban myth involving Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash that popped to his brain. He needed to have a talk with Goldie about her part in the spread of such outrageous stories.

“Aren’t you doing anything for the war, Miss? I don’t think right now is the time for treats…” Brownie said with his jaw clenching.

“This party is for going away, for I have no reason to stay. The front lines need me, as you can see.” Zecora said, gesturing to a uniform sitting on a bench. It was pale blue with gold streaks and looked as if it were made of silk and chainmail. He remembered how much more advanced the Zebra nations where. That also made them amazing allies to Equestria.

“To help my people is simple. To go to war is more.” Zecora continued, pouring Brownie Button a glass of tea. Brownie sniffed it and took a sip. He wasn’t much of a tea drinker, but he always accepted the herbal remedy teas Zecora gave him. It made his achy body feel a little better. He smiled and sipped at the tea.

“Now, no more of me speaking, now you reveal what you are thinking…” Zecora said, standing over a cauldron in the middle of her room.

Brownie trotted up to Zecora, and peered into the cauldron, “That was a question I hoped you would answer. What is going on with me?” He asked,looking up from the cauldron, then looking Zecora dead in the eye.

“Well, what are you feeling? I need to know for the dealings.” Zecora rhymed, giving Brownie Button a skeptical look.

“Well, hungry, but nauseous…” Brownie said, cautiously, “tired all the time, and now I’m feeling like a butterfly or something is inside me,” Zecora looked him over and smiled.

“Well, from what you said, and your symptoms its lead, I have the answer you seek, but it’s not for the meek,” Zecora said, with a smile as she looked over Brownie again. Brownie Button cringed inwardly, afraid of what she was going to say. A parasite? A disease? an organic chip in your brain that can control you if activated by an order, preferably order 66?

“Well come on, tell me Zecora… tell me!” Brownie Button pleaded nervously.

“The thing causing all this excitement is that you are pregnant.”