28 Days To Armageddon

There are some things that a pony should never hear. One is the low moaning sound of a fierce wind as it tears homes to pieces. Another is the stark cry of the timberwolf as it prowls the forest searching for its next meal. Yet a third is the orgasmic shout of a young pony’s parents as they make love, for it can be quite disconcerting to the foal. But the worst of all, and the one our subjects were tortured by all night long, is Fluttershy weeping. Her howls of agony were terrible, causing severe emotional pain in many of those who surrounded her. They tried and tried to get her to calm down, but all she could do was cry.

In her hooves lay the lifeless body of Angel Bunny. The claw marks on his flanks betrayed his attacker’s identity. His tail had been shredded, and his ears lopped off. He certainly looked as though he’d been through quite the traumatic experience. Now, he nestled in the forelegs of the pony who’d selflessly rescued him from the streets of Ponyville. His blood dried onto her hooves, thus representing the type of connection they’d always cherished. Sure, it hadn’t been a perfect relationship, but the rabbit had always been well cared for. In turn, he’d given Fluttershy all the love and life he could muster. His death hit everypony very hard, and most couldn’t bear to look at him or hear Fluttershy’s pained cries.

Unlike Applejack, however, the kind Pegasus did not call down curses on Twilight. Instead, she let out a mournful shriek, questioning the werepony’s motives. Unfortunately for the listeners, it was more horrifying than the farmer’s anger. This was a grief that had not turned into anything else. It was not transforming, as most types normally do. Anger, frustration, a depressed loneliness. Grief took many forms, but it did not seem that Fluttershy’s was moving forward. Instead, it was festering deep within her body, let out every now and then by a horrible wail and a shivering tremor.

“Why?” The pretty Pegasus asked the sky helplessly, “why would she do this to me?”

“She’s very sick,” the sergeant pointed out.

“But that’s no excuse to go about attacking everything we love!” Rainbow Dash suddenly thundered, “I mean, just look at this place! Fluttershy loved every inch of it, and now it’s all gone thanks to her!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snapped, grabbing the Pegasus by the face, “you mustn’t blame Twilight! She doesn’t know what she’s doing!”

“I…I…” Rainbow said before ripping herself away from Rarity. She bucked the air with her hind legs before walking over to Fluttershy. With her wings spread, she gathered her friend in as a mother gathers a hurt filly. Much to her friends’ happy shock, she began rubbing a tender hoof through the pink fields of Fluttershy’s mane. She bent down, gently nuzzling at the yellow fur and offering soft whispers of loving encouragement. None of them had ever seen Rainbow act in such an emotionally vulnerable manner. It was rather inspiring, and in that moment, everyone began feeling the slightest bit better.

Rainbow and Fluttershy slept side by side that night. Their friends took up shelter around them, unwilling to leave after seeing such a display of amiability and heart. The next day, they woke and began investigating the scene. It was difficult for Fluttershy, and there were times where she simply couldn’t take it anymore. So, the sergeant offered her extended breaks from the rubble of her cottage. She gladly took them, and Rainbow remained by her side, continuing to encourage the distraught mare.

It didn’t take long for the sergeant to declare the whole thing a product of Twilight’s apparent rampage. The pattern became evident to all involved, so he ordered security details placed around Twilight’s friends’ homes. Sugarcube Corner, Dash’s cloud home, even the Golden Oak Library itself were all put under strict surveillance. Nopony was allowed in or out without proper security clearance, and that was only given to the ponies who needed it. The sergeant knew that Twilight wasn’t the only one they were after. Whoever had violated Twilight’s body by feeding her the Lycantropy serum was the true source of this evil.

“Alright, everyone, listen up!” He called as the investigative team gathered together for their regular debriefing, “I assume that you all know exactly what’s going on. We are no longer just searching for our werepony friend. No, my ponies, we are looking for a true villain!”

“How do you figure?” Mist Dawn asked.

“Well, whomever gave Twilight Lycantropy in the first place is guilty of violating about 300 different Equestrian laws, including magical treason.”

The ponies all gasped. Magic treason had not been committed since the days of Nightmare Moon! In fact, the crime was so rare that the law against it was created when Celestia’s sister turned to the darkness within. The punishment for such a crime (described as “an unlawful act of magic usage that puts ponies and/or Equestria in danger”) was simple and direct: death by magical poisoning. Celestia had made it perfectly clear that whoever sought to commit such a deed must be willing to be put through it himself.

“So…in other words, we’re dealing with one sick bastard, aren’t we?” Rainbow asked.

“To put it mildly, yes,” the sergeant said, “but we don’t believe that this is a ‘bastard.’”

“A bitch?” Mist asked.

“Yes,” the sergeant said, rolling his eyes, “now, if we can dispense with the crass comments, we’ll continue. We have reason to believe that the pony who poisoned Twilight is female. We found traces of a feminine aura at Fluttershy’s cottage that doesn’t match Twilight, but does match another mare. Unfortunately, we don’t know who that mare is.”

“Do we have any leads, darling?” Rarity asked.

“At this point, no,” the sergeant said, “we have nothing. But we’ll keep searching until we do find something! I’m not calling this off, not when we’ve got so much riding on it. Hell, the very future of Equestria might be at stake! So, my friends, let us continue and not rest until the perpetrator has been brought to justice!”