Dead Equestria

Somewhere in Ponyville, a group of ponies sit in circle as a earth pony told them her story. They were listening at her, especially the another earth pony mare, who looked so depressed. She told them all she knew: from her first encounter with one of the monsters at a spa in a supposedly large peaceful city to how she got here with another survivor.

One of the members of the group, a pegasus wearing moderate cornflower blue uniform with very light yellow streaks. She wore a flight goggles which is perched on top of her head. She stood up “It seems our situation is more complicated than we thought as it would be” she told the others “If what she said is true, then we have to cancel our plans about going to Canterlot”

“Why not!?” Another earth pony mare stood up, along with her husband who was trying to make her sit “Canterlot has walls and the princesses live there!” she protested, earning a glare from another stallion.

“I'm sorry but didn't you think of why there are no signs of members of the EUP in town? I have scouted most of the area and I found nothing other than chaos” the pegasus in blue uniform said calmly. She turn to the other earth pony who told her own story of survival to the group “Thanks for telling your story, Kumiko. We learned more because of the information you brought to us”

The earth pony mare known as Kumiko bowed her head in respect “Dōitashimashite”

Everyone was gathered in the kitchen, including Dinky, who was looking at them with a teary look as she was being comforted by Derpy. They left Stormfeather inside the bathroom where he 'drown' his sorrows on the sink. Thunderlane guessed the pegasus was going to wash his face since he was covered in blood.

The atmosphere was heavy against them, every single of them was in sorrow. They have left Blossom Heart's body covered in a long blanket which is stained by the mare's blood.

“I can't believe one of us took a few lives” Amethyst muttered. She was hesitant to tell Derpy that she killed a pony when she and Thunderlane was out to find Rumble, and also the fact Dinky is with them. She didn't want to make her little sister think of her as a murderer, let alone hate her.

“This is getting more serious and serious” Thunderlane said as he look at each member of the group; from Amethyst all the way to Dinky “Blossom just turned on us and her friend right after we thought she's gone, and now she's died at the hooves of her said friend. All what is happening isn't normal”

“You don't say, everything happening throughout the day isn't normal at all” Amethyst said sarcastically “We really need more members or some kind of aid. We can't stay like this forever” Derpy nodded in agreement.

Dinky decided to spoke up “Big Sister, is Ms. Heart going to be alright?” she asked. Even it was a simple question, Amethyst struggled to find some kind of answer. She couldn't say to Dinky about Blossom's demise but Dinky saw the earth pony's said demise, lying has its own consequences.

“...N-No” she decided to tell the truth even if it hurts. Why lie if you couldn't revive the dead? Dinky's mouth hung open in disbelief. She was hugged by Derpy as she started to cry.

Thunderlane remember what Blossom said. She was begging for him to kill her but why did she attack him and his friends? It made no sense.

“Other than Princess Twilight and her friends, who do you guys think who survive this outbreak?” Derpy asked. Amethyst lifted an eyebrow at her.

“Outbreak?”

“Yeah, I heard that from Blossom” Derpy said “if this is an outbreak of some sort, that also means there are survivors scattered throughout the town”

“We haven't found a single living pony that doesn't attempt to attack us” Amethyst said.

“But haven't you guys try visiting the town hall or even Sugarcube Corner?” Thunderlane's ear perked up.

“No, not yet but I think visiting Sugarcube Corner sounds a good idea. It's a bakery” he said. This lifted the bad atmosphere a little as if a glimmer of light appeared in the middle of darkness.

“I'm going to think about that tomorrow. Celesria's sun is going down” Amethyst said, noticing the shadows slowly darkening the room.

Thunderlane lay on the floor of the playroom as he tried to take a nap. Everyone decided to take some rest after all what happened today. He could hear moans coming from the bedroom where Blossom's body lay. It seems Stormfeather decided to move so he could mourn for his friend, alone.

“So sad right?” His body shivered. He heard that voice again “Yet all you could do is help him kill his friend. I thought Wonderbolts care for their trainees' mental behavior”

“C-Can you please leave me alone?” Thunderlane curled into a ball as he shake in fear. It was here to torment him again.

“Is that how you act when in times of danger, hmmm?” the voice said “How pathetic. Wonderbolts should be brave even in times of distress, right? Why don't you go outside and kill 'them' all?”

“S-Shut up!”

If the unseen voice could frown, it only took form of the tone of its voice “You're suffering will increase as well as your guilt when I took the lives of one of your best friends. She's still alive but she will not last, I'm going to extinguish her 'little light' as I force you to watch”

“Shut up!” he put his hooves to his ears in an attempt to block out the voice. He wasn't going to let this voice humiliate him.

“I'm not outside, Thunderlane. I'm inside your mind. Even if you try covering your ears it will never work. I can read your thoughts, your emotions, your memories, and your secrets. Nothing in you is safe from me. I will come back to give you more pain until you break, until you lose the will to live” the voice let out a sinister laugh before slowly fading poor Thunderlane.

Once he finally realized the voice leave him alone, he let his body relax, and took his hooves off his equine ears. He lazily stared at the floor. Consciousness finally left him.

Thunderlane lifted his head when he felt something nudge him. He opened his eyes to see himself standing... Outside.

He panicked and glance around him, only to see ponies walking around. He could recognize most of them: Lyra walking along with Bon Bon, Writer talking to Written Script, Big Macintosh hauling a cart full of apples, and Roseluck casually strolling.

“What's the matter, Thunderlane?” he glanced in surprise, only to meet the face of a friend.

“Windy?” he uttered her name, to which she lifted an eyebrow in confusion.

“You look as if you just seen a ghost” she told him. Thunderlane blinked in realization that he was acting weird right in front of his friend. And in public of all places.

“Oops, Sorry” he shook his head like a a dog trying to get rid of lice from its body “What are you saying again?”

“I'm talking about heading to Sugarcube Corner so Pinkie can teach me how to bake cakes” Windy said. He just realized she wasn't wearing her Wonderbolt uniform which gave him deja vu. Why is this conversation remind him of something? He snorted in amusement as Windy's eyes sparkled in excitement. He knew what her real intention was is to find out how to bake a blueberry cheesecake for herself. He and Windy walk pass Sweet Cream Scoops, who was selling ice cream to a group of foals one of them was Rumble, who had his back turned at his brother and his friend. They are being accompanied by their teacher, Cherilee. Windy looks back at him “Do you plan to join me? I know you're a good cook but I doubt you could bake cakes”

“Nah, I'm good” he said. He didn't like or hate cakes. He was just in the middle. He knew eating too much cake would give him diabetes or probably give him stomach pain.

“Oh, come on, Thunderlane, you need it so you can teach Rumble how to bake one” Windy playfully hit his side with a playful smile. He rolled his eyes.

“Fine, but I'll be blaming you if he got stomach ache after eating much cake” he deadpanned at her “and you're going to pay the hospital bill for me”

“Aww, but my boss still hasn't give me my salary!” Windy said as she gave him a fake pout.

“Salary?” Thunderlane parroted. He didn't remember Spitfire giving bits to any members of the acrobatic team nor the academy's staff.

“I'm still working for the weather pegasi silly” Windy told him “I'm a multitasker”

“I can't imagine how you could perform such feat while pushing a cloud like a boastful pegasus you are” he narrowed his eyes and gave her a jeering look.

“Hey, that's so painful you know that!” Windy exclaimed. He laughed at her reaction, mainly because the face she make.

“Relax, its just a woke, Windy” he told her. Windy blinked. Both of them burst into fit of laughter, gaining the attention of the flower ponies nearby.

“Thunderlane, Windy Breeze!” the two Wonderbolts froze when they heard a familiar voice coming above them. They look up to see Blaze, looking down at them with her eyes. She touch down a few feet from them and casually approach them “Why are guys still here? You need to show up at the practice”

“Sorry, Blaze but I told Spitfire that me and Thunderlane are having a day off” Windy told her.

“You did?” Blaze furled her wings to her sides in surprise “you aren't lying, aren't you?”

“Definitely not lying” Windy put a hoof to her blue mane, pulling out a parchment. She hand it over to Blaze who unfurl the paper before reading what it said there.

“Dear Spitfire,” Blaze started “We can't attend the practice because I have scheduled a meeting with Pinkie Pie today so she can touch me how to bake blueberry cheesecakes. Sincerely, Windy Breeze” the yellow Pegasus mare very identical to Spitfire lowered the parchment to give them a look and utter one word at the pony who wrote the excuse letter, which has Spitfire's signature written on the down left of the paper “Really?”

“Do you expect me to write a letter about being injured?” Windy smiled sheepishly.

“No, but-” Blaze was about retort at her when they heard a sickening thud from somewhere which is followed by a scream.

“What in the hay!?” Windy exclaimed just as Blaze turn tail and flew to where the source of the scream came from. She, and Thunderlane followed Blaze.

After galloping around the corner of a house, they found Blaze, talking to Cherry Berry. On the wall beside them was covered in blood, to which Windy gasped in horror. To their relief, Cherry didn't seem to be injured. This made Thunderlane wonder why he had the feeling that he already seen this. He guessed the owner of the blood on the wall is hidden by Blaze so he, and Windy move to look at it.

To their surprise it was just a blue Jay, it's head covered in blood as it lay there near Cherry, presumably dead. Cherry stood up as she talked with Blaze, who was very concerned of her.

“What just happened?” Windy gaze at the dead bird, looking at its broken wing and the skull.

“I don't know” he said. Then they heard another scream and a thud. Everyone turn their head at the direction of the scream.

Flying in the sky is a massive flock of birds of many kinds, flying in low altitude, some of them crashing to a 2 storey house. Ponies began to take shelter inside their houses, some decided to gallop away from the flock as soon as possible.

Windy finally spoke up “It's raining birds!”

“Everypony run and find cover!” Blaze told them. One of the birds narrowly missed Cherry, who shrieked as blood was splattered on her face after the bird slammed head first at the wall behind her. Thunderlane was unfortunate as one bird was good enough to hit him, I'm paling his left eye with its beak and sending him falling to the ground.

He snapped his eyes open. What he first seen was the wooden ceiling “It was all just a dream... a memory” he said to himself. He stood up. The playroom was covered in darkness, but he could still hear the moans outside. He woke up in the middle of the night. He let out a sigh. He lay on the ground again slept.

The next day, He woke up and dragged his hindleg when he went downstairs. Everyone except Stormfeather was already there, sitting around the table. Derpy was reading a book with one muffin on her right hoof, Amethyst drinking cider, and Dinky drinking a bowl of soup with a slurp.

“Morning everypony”

Amethyst lowered her cup “Morning, Thunderlane” she said casually before taking a sip of her cider.

“Sleep well?” Thunderlane asked.

“Not really. I got a weird nightmare about those... things, tearing me apart” she grimaced and put down her cup “How about you?”

“Just the same as you”

“I think Princess Luna is very busy that she can't even help us get rid of our nightmares” Derpy spoke up “both me and Dinky had our own nightmares. I think Stormfeather also got his own as well”

“Poor guy” Thunderlane said before turning to Amethyst “Have any plans?”

Amethyst took one last sip of her cider before putting her now empty cup on the table “Yes,” she said “We'll be visiting Sugarcube Corner”

“Great, now we can find Pinkie Pie” Thunderlane joked.

“If she was still there, then I'll be happy to add her to our group” Amethyst said “Go and eat your own breakfast. We'll be leaving when it's bright outside”

After Thunderlane ate his breakfast, and took a bath, he and Amethyst immediately readied themselves before leaving their safehouse. There were only a couple of 'ponies' wondering aimlessly so they didn't have any a lot of problems traversing the street of their hometown. They were silent for most of their journey, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention from their hostile neighbors. Ponyville was silent, save for the couple of moans they could hear not far away.

While walking, a stray poster flew right into Thunderlane's face. Amethyst took it off his face using her magic and read it.

“Missing: Trot Smiles, last seen: Ponyville Park” she read.

“It seems there are few ponies who started to go missing before all of this could happen” Thunderlane mused as he look around their surroundings, making sure no 'pony' will sneak up at them while they are talking.

“Maybe 'they' took them” Amethyst thought, earning a look of confusion from Thunderlane.

“Who?”

“The ones that are interested on attacking us” Amethyst told him. Walking over a shards of glass from a broken window, she change the subject of their conversation “When all this is over, I will move to Fillydelphia and buy an apartment. Living in high places makes it more hard for tragedy to reach you”

“Great idea. I think I should be moving back to Cloudsdale once I find Rumble” Thunderlane said “Do you have a family living in town?”

“Nope, its just me and Dinky. Our family live in Canterlot” Amethyst said proudly.

“I'm still wondering why most of Ponyville's unicorn Ponyville are mostly from Canterlot? Most of your kind aren't snobs” Amethyst gave him a stink look.

“I might have disliked the high class ponies there, but i'm still offended by that” she told him.

“Sorry” Thunderlane said with a sheepish look.

They became silent ever since their small conversation. They would occasionally find 1 to 2 corpses in the street, already rotting, and giving out bad odor. The two felt sympathy for the owners of the bodies. They promised they will bury the bodies once its over. Thunderlane was a little curious to why they haven't encounter even a single pony. Maybe Lady luck is on their side? They would glance around to check if they're the only ones on the street.

“I wonder where did they went?” Thunderlane said, taking note of the empty Cafe, it's tables scattered around the place with small pool of dry blood covering the ground.

“I don't know and I don't want to know” Amethyst examined the Cafe. She could see anything inside the building, only she could see was darkness, but she could make it some figures slowly walking around inside “I could see some shadows but I think we should ignore whoever is inside. Chance of hostility are high”

“Smart” Thunderlane complimented her, giving the cafe one last look before leaving it alone as well as its occupants inside. They were several meters away from the Cafe when they heard a lot of moans. Amethyst and Thunderlane stopped before uttering one word “Horseapples”

There it was, Sugarcube Corner, surrounded by a crowd of 'them'.