Darkness Falls

As my friends and I trotted through the woods while carrying the traumatised pegasus, we noticed the evidently corrupted trees around us becoming progressively lighter and more colourful. With an excited jump, I realised that we were nearing Ponyville itself.

There came a groan from Fluttershy's direction, as she was carried by Twilight and Rarity's magical aura. They had formed a sort of honour guard for her, and as such were leading our small group at the front with Flutters' behind them and myself taking up their rear. There was a time in the days before the dawning of almost eternal night that I would have been grateful to have the opportunity of spending this long a time staring at the backsides of Twilight and Rarity, though in the last few hours, I had found myself staring at Fluttershy's steadily deteriorating form.

I didn't know how, or why, but that black slime was obviously affecting her – my  friends' unicorn magic had cleaned it off, but it must have seeped into her body. Her skin was visibly darkening and losing its colour; the hair of her mane appeared to be falling out; and

"Twilight!" I said, louder than I had meant to.

"What is it, Dash?" She answered, surprised.

"I think there's something wrong with Fluttershy. She's looking pretty bad right here."

"Hmm..." Twilight seemed to lose herself in thought for a few seconds, before she snapped back to reality and those stunning eyes lit up with the horror of rememberance: "Corruption!"

"What?" I knew the trees around her house looked wrong, but surely Flutters' couldn't seriously have contracted the same illness?

"She's been corrupted by the ichor of the ancient ones!" Twilight was now pacing in a circle, lost in her own memory. "I read something about this in one of the books Celestia had been reading. Until now I thought it was just a scary story meant to scare fillies and colts, but if it's real then..."

Rarity took the opportunity to interject over Twilight's frenzied talking: "Darling, if you are implying that Fluttershy has contracted some form of magic-based sickness, then surely it is our duty as the only magic users in close proximity to cleanse her of this taint?"

"...something must be done to-"

"TWILIGHT!"

"Sorry, yes, I hear you, Rarity. We must cleanse Fluttershy of the taint, or else she'll slowly become one of those creatures that Rainbow Dash and Applejack encountered in Fluttershy's house, but it's not that simple. We need a powerful alicorn to..."

I sat down and did a double-take, I couldn't believe what I just heard.

Fluttershy.

MY Fluttershy. OUR Fluttershy. Might turn into one of those monsters?

"...and even if that worked, we'd still have to take 'shy to a healer and rehabilitate her. There's no guarantee she'd get back her colour if we wait too long though, so I'd say it's best that we-"

That was as far as Twilight got before mine and my friends' bodies all became a multicoloured blur as I propelled them into the wild blue yonder, breaking the sound barrier in ten seconds flat.

Report of Military Engagement near Everfree Forest

To: Acting Supreme Commander Luna

From: Captain Flesh Ripper

At approximately 12.01 today, a disorganised force of hostile entities attacked our training camp on the edge of the Everfree Forest. The unknown hostiles were coloured black, appeared to be heavily deformed equines, and utilised a loud howl in an apparent effort to demoralise our forces, as if their appearance was not enough.

A number of these entities infiltrated the camp before being sighted by cadet lookouts, at which point they became extremely hostile and attacked with neither rhyme nor reason. Approximately fifty Guardsponies and associated personnel (at least twenty-nine stallions, fifteen mares, four colts, one filly, and one foal) were brutally slain in the ensuing fighting. I will spare you the specific details of their deaths, but suffice it to say there is a reason I can only give you an approximate number of casualties.

The 1st Legion were eventually able to beat them back, and several of the Guard succumbed to a berserker rage due to the sight of fallen comrades that has not been seen in centuries. Several of those in-training at the time of the attack have been  heavily traumatised by what they have seen, and therefore may not be fit for further duty. I request that you send forth a detachment of Nightmares to reinforce my position against further attacks and heal the minds and bodies of those under my command.

Defending Garrison: 1st Legion, Lunar Republican Guard

Strength: 1000

Attacking Force: Unknown

Strength: Unknown

Allied Casualties: 5%

Enemy Casualties: N/A

Further notes: 1. There is a black slime present on the ground wherever those creatures tread.

1. A number of survivors have expressed physical pain originating from skin lesions where they touched this slime.

MESSAGE BEGINS

Deployment Orders

From: Princess Luna

To: Chimera Unit

An extreme threat to Equestria has been encountered by our own Republican Guard at the Everfree Training Camp. Veteran soldiers, cadets and foals alike have been murdered in cold blood by these monstrosities. As many of your mares had been inducted into the Guard there in the years prior to Nightmare selection, I feel you are the best unit to send as support.

You know their commanders, you know the terrain, you know their defences, and you are already well known to them.

The accompanying package my courier has given you contains all pertinent information relating to these hostile creatures. I trust you will all study it well, and develop appropriate countermeasures against them.

Your objectives are twofold:

1. Secure the area and capture any stragglers you might find. Captured entities are to be imprisoned, and I am to be notified of their location.

2. Have your embedded medicorns heal the minds and bodies of the Guard that were in close contact with the creatures. Their own medicorns are having trouble adapting their magic to the wounds, and your enhanced magical abilities should be able to bypass whatever problems present themselves.

I trust you to carry out your duty for all ponies of Equestria. Remember that you are not merely my razor sharp spear as you were a millennia ago, ready to strike at my enemies without mercy – you are now also my wide open arms, deliverers of peace and harmony to all!

MESSAGE ENDS

We reached the centre of Ponyville in less than fifteen seconds, and then overshot it by three hundred metres.

My bad.

Still, now we were back in front of Twilight's Treehouse Library, and after Twilight recovered from her flight sickness, she could heal Flutters' and everything would be alright. I hoped.

"You guys okay there?"

Stupid question really. Their eyes were rolling in dazed circles, and Rarity looked as though she was about to...yeah, she threw up.

"Listen, I'm gonna go tell the Mayor about what we saw. I'll meet you guys back here when I get back."

No response yet, but I needed to get this information delivered, so I left my friends in their pile and flew on toward the Mayor's office.

"OHDASHDASHDASHDASHDASHDASHDASHDASHDASHDASHDASHINEEDTOTALKTOYOURIGHTNOWIT'STOTALLYURGENTANDSTUFF!"

Pinkie. As excitable as usual.

Well, two more minutes couldn't hurt. Better find out what she wants.

I flew down to the pink, bouncing pony and as soon as I got in range, I noticed her characteristic ecstatic smile was gone, in its place was a look of worry and fear, accompanied by a single tear streaming down her reddened face. I couldn't remember the last time I'd see Pinkie crying out of anything except happiness, yet here she was

"IT'S APPLEJA-HA-HAAAACK!" Pinkie began to sob uncontrollably.

"Shegotbackfromsweetappleacres-andshehadapplebloomandbigmacwithher-andshewanted-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold up Pinkie, I can't understand a word you're saying."

I moved around to her side and embraced her with my left arm and wing. She really was broken up about something to do with Applejack. I just begged it didn't have anything to do with what we'd seen in the woods – yet I couldn't lie to myself well enough to shake the inevitable truth from my mind.

Pinkie eventually calmed down enough to talk normally, and spoke: "It's Applejack. She came to Sugarcube Corner with Big Mac and Applebloom, but no Granny Smith!"

"So? Granny Smith has a bad hip, you know she doesn't go out much."

"Yeah, but this time is different! Applebloom said she got bitten by a monster and was turning into one – so they left her to die!" Pinkie reverted to inconsolable sobbing.

So these things were already here. Already attacking ponies. Already spreading their taint wherever they went. Buck.

"Applebloom and Big Mac are staying at Sugarcube Corner with the Cakes, but Applejack said she was going to tell the Mayor about what she saw. I thought I'd go find you guys and...and..." she trailed off.

"Pinkie, don't worry." I reassured her in a comforting but stern voice: "The others are back at Twilight's house looking after Fluttershy. Go back to them. I'll find Applejack and bring her back there too, then we can decide what to do about this with all of us there."

Shaking, and with my wing still tightly wrapped around her as far as it could, Pinkie Pie looked up and nodded, then ran off into the night.

Less than three houses away from Mayor Mare's place, I heard a shouting match developing between her and a familiar accented earth pony accompanied by loud crashes and bangs. I raced the last thirty metres to her front door and barreled into her front room.

"-there is no way I'm evacuating an entire town over an old ponytale!"

"If ya'll would just take a trip on up ta mah former home, ya'll could see fer yerself! There's evil gunk everwhere!"

"There is no way you're dragging me into this obvious prank!" Mayor Mare screamed at the top of her lungs, surprising even me with the volume of her voice. A moment passed while she attempted to calm herself. When the atmosphere had cooled off somewhat, she continued: "It is the early morning and you come to me with this nonsense about creatures of darkness and monsters from the depths of Tartarus. The very idea that you would speak such horrific things about pertaining to your own Granny Smith beggars belief. Now, leave my home and we'll continue this discussion in the morning."

With that, Mayor Mare fixed AJ with a glare that oozed venom.

"Ah can tell ya'll are tahred, but this here situation is darn pressin'! We can't just leave this until mornin'.

"I REFUSE to entertain your wild imagination until I get my rest. Now OUT!"

"Yeah, yeah." Applejack dropped her voice to an almost imperceptible whisper as she left with me: "Stupid foal-fiddler..."

As we got out of Mare's hearing range, I scolded Applejack: "AJ, you called me out for saying buck, why the heck are you callin' Mayor Mare...that?"

"Because!" AJ said, louder than she had evidently intended to, "That darn fool dam might be condemnin' all these folks here to...to what...to what Angel an' Granny Smith had..." she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes.

"Listen AJ," I fixed her with a stare, "the girls are back at Twilight's place, we're gonna figure out what to do with or without Mare's help."

"Well we'd better figure it out fast, 'cos them there monster-things ain't gon' wait for us to get ever'one outta here."

"You think you can keep up?"

"Ya'll couldn' catch me on a good day, sugarcube, and sure as hell this ain't a good one."

She took off at a gallop back toward the library, leaving me literally in the dust that she'd kicked up. In the hope that some good-old physical competition would ease the stress on both our minds, I jumped into flight and sped into the night after her.