AMONG THE TROTTING DEAD

Twilight stared at her plate of waffles. To the outside world, it was just a normal plate of ordinary waffles. To her however, they were the most delectable things she had ever seen. Taking a bite, it confirmed her bias.

Her brothers rolled their eyes at her facial expression. “Enjoying your breakfast?” Shining smirked.

She blushed and swallowed. “Yes…” She laughed.

“Didn’t I tell you. I can make the best waffles.” Hooves laughed as he placed a scoop of batter in the waffle maker.

“Your point has been proven.” Rainbow Dash held up her hooves. While she was distracted, Scootaloo quickly stole a piece of waffle from her plate. Rumble and Thunderlane noticed her antics and held back a laugh.

“I’m just glad he found the stuff to make them!” Dinky cheered as she nearly shoved a whole waffle in her mouth. Derpy just shook her head as she watched her daughter consume her bite.

Dusk who sat at the same table as Dinky, Derpy, and Carrot Top, looked to his left and saw his sister Snowy taking small nibbles of her breakfast. “Sis?” Her dour demeanor cut deep like a knife. They had lost their parents, aunt and brother in such a short amount of time. “How’s your meal?” Snowy just shrugged her shoulders while she took several tiny bites of waffle on her fork.

Derpy noticed her mannerisms and let out a soft sigh. “She’ll be fine.” Derpy turned around and saw Rarity with a soft smile on her face. “With our support she’ll do just fine.” Rarity hummed as she sipped her tea. “She’s not alone.”

Lotus, who sat to Rarity’s right nodded as she tended to her sister, offering her a cup of orange juice. Aloe tried her best to put the straw in her mouth. After several tries, she managed to get hold and took several sips. Zipper who watched from across the table let out a sigh. “Is she going to recover?”

“Yes, but Keplar said that she might still have some motor issues for the rest of her life.” Willy replied as he sipped his coffee. Seeing Keplar entering the cafeteria, he smiled. “Speak of the devil.” He held up his cup in his hooves. “To our savior!” The rest of the ponies cheered for the unicorn.

Keplar stared at the lot, taken back by the praise. ‘You did save them…’ He held up a hoof. “Its not a big deal. I’m happy to help.” He smiled as he walked up to Hooves. “Waffles, is it?” He raised his brow at the plate of already cooked waffles.

“I thought we all deserved a treat.”

Keplar nodded as he took a plate and placed a single waffle on it. “I can’t disagree with that.” He sat down at Twilight’s table. The group stared at him as he prepped his meal. Feeling the gaze of a thousand suns, he looked up and studied the multitude of eyes each holding an array of emotions. Before he could answer, Applejack and Soarin stumbled into the cafeteria followed by Macintosh, Applebloom, and Zecora.

“Sorry we’re late!” Applebloom stated as she sat at an empty table. “These two took forever to get up!” She pointed a hoof at Applejack and Soarin who laid their heads on the table.

The group found their hangover quite amusing. “How’s the young couple doing this fine afternoon?” Thunderlane laughed.

Applejack groaned as she rested her head in her hooves. “Very funny.” She managed to say with an air of contempt. Applebloom and Macintosh rolled their eyes as they walked over to Hooves to fill their plates. Soarin gave a huff and laid his hooves over his head.

“Give them some coffee!” Marley laughed. “It will wake them right up!”

“That’s why we drink in moderation, dearies.” Rarity cooed.

The group laughed all except for Zipper who kept staring at Keplar. Feeling uneasy, Keplar coughed. “What do you want?”

Zipper remained silent for a minute. “I just want to know.” He finally spoke with a condescending laugh. “What the fuck is going on?”

The group stopped their chatter and turned their attention to the two. Many forgetting their happy moment, many eager to know the why and the how. Twilight felt a chill run down her back at the prospect of finally getting some concrete answers to questions that nipped at the back of her mind.

“What’s going on?” Keplar shrugged his shoulders before taking a bite. “That’s a question.” He shook his head.

The group looked at one another, unsure what to make of his comment. “You don’t know what’s going on?” Twilight asked.

Keplar poked at his meal. “That’s a question with a broad range of answers I could give.” He took a final bite of his breakfast.

“What do you know?” Rainbow Dash stared at him skeptically.

Keplar stared at his plate for a while. Shaking his head, he stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. “Come…” He looked back at the group. “I’ll show you.”

Entering the main control room, Keplar walked over to a computer pressed a button. The large screen flickered on. Typing away on the keyboard a file popped on screen. The group stared at the pictures and words on the screen. “Test subject twenty-one?” Twilight questioned.

Keplar nodded his head. “Very few ponies ever saw this.” He moved the mouse cursor over to a file and clicked it. Inside was a single video file. “It was a rare opportunity to record it in action.” He opened the video file and it began to play. The video showed a front and side view of an FMRI scan of a pony’s brain, alongside a chart from an EEG scan as well.

The brain was lit up in an array of colors, showing off current activity. “What are we looking at?” Rarity asked.

“Brain activity,” Keplar sat in a swivel chair. “This is a pony’s life. This is what makes you, you.”

“Can you make sense?” Zipper sighed.

“They’re synapsis. Every thought, every emotion is an electrical signal traveling through the brain.” Keplar stared at the video file. “They determine what a pony says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death.”

“What is this, some type of vigil?” Shining asked as he stood closer to Keplar, his eyes never leaving the screen.

“Yes…” Keplar activated his magic. “Well, a recording of one.”

“This pony died?” Aloe softly asked as she leaned onto her sister for support.

Lotus sat her down in a chair beside them. “Who was it?”

Keplar stared at the sisters. “Somepony who was bitten, then infected. They volunteered to have us record it.” He clicked a button and the video skipped about four minutes ahead. The bright imaging in the brain, dimmed down sporadically. They could clearly see the pony from the imaging was jerking around as their brain was being taken over. “It invades the brain like meningitis or like cutie-pox.” The brain finally went black. “Then death.”

“Death?” Rainbow Dash tilted her brow. “Ponies I saw who were bitten turned really fast.”

“The resurrection times vary wildly.” Keplar sighed as he clicked another button. “It could be fifteen minutes to 30 seconds.” The video skipped ahead once more. “But all ponies infected will die, then comeback.” The video showed the lower portion of the brain where the brainstem connected to slowly lit up. “This patient was five minutes and seven seconds.”

“It reactivates the brain?” Derpy looked at Keplar with a raised brow.

“No, just the brainstem and the parts of the brain that control motor functions.”

“But they’re dead?” Twilight questioned.

Keplar pointed at the screen. “You tell me.”

Twilight stared at the screen. “Its nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark?” She shook her head. Even though she saw proof of the dead, it still made no sense. She had her own theory of how one turned. But the evidence of Sunny, Jiminy, and Dawn turning when they’ve died from other causes was starting to make more sense.

“What happens if you die without being bit?” Applejack asked, like she somehow knew what Twilight was thinking.

“What?” Keplar looked at her skeptically.

“We’ve seen three from our group turn without getting bit.” Applejack stated. “If what you’re saying is true, then it doesn’t matter how you die, you will always turn.” She pointed at the screen. Snowy flinched at her word's and buried her face in her hooves.

Keplar studied the filly’s mannerisms before staring at the group for a while. Suddenly he shook his head and laughed as he turned his attention back to the computer screen.

“What’s so funny doc?” Marley stared at the stallion skeptically.

“She already answered her own question.” Keplar opened a drawer of a nearby desk and pulled out a flask and took a swig of liquid.

Slowly his words began to sink in as the group looked at one another. Shock and fear clearly showing on their faces. “What?” Rarity laughed. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying?”

“We’re all infected?” Twilight stared at Keplar, confusion clearly consuming her thoughts. Everything she knew about magic and biology was shattered in an instant. Spike placed a hand on her shoulder. The group felt a chill wash over them as the realization sunk in.

“You’re lying?” Shining walked up to Keplar. “Tell me you’re lying?”

Keplar just stared at the stallion with heavy eyes. “You saw it for yourself. Did you not?” Shining stepped back and sat on the floor his mind mulling over the information once more.

“You have no idea what it is?” Carrot scoffed. “Do you?”

“It could be prions.” Keplar sighed. “Patristic, viral, fungal.” He scoffed. “Magical in origin.” He looked at the group. “I just don’t know.”

Getting control of her emotions, Twilight looked at Keplar with tear-stained eyes. “Is there anypony else? Other facilities?” She walked up to him. “Is Canterlot’s ECDC still operational?”

“Maybe?” Keplar sighed, he glanced at the timer on the wall.

“You don’t know?” Shining growled. “How can you not know?”

Keplar glared at the stallion. “Communications went down.” He shook his head. “I’ve been in the dark for over a month!”

Rarity shook her head. “So, it’s not just here. There is nothing left anywhere is there? Is that what you’re saying?” Keplar let his silence answer her question.

“Keplar?” Willy spoke up. “I know this has been taxing for all of us, and I hate to ask one more question, but that clock has been counting down.” He pointed at the large numbers on the screen in red lettering that read out, forty-five minutes and, seven seconds. “What happens when it reaches zero?”

Keplar kept silent for a few seconds. “The facilities generators run out of fuel.” He finished off his flask and step away from the computer after shutting if off.

“What happens after the generators run out?” Thunderlane asked as Keplar left the control room. Keplar kept silent as he walked up the stairs towards the dormitory. The group looked at one another as dread began to take hold.

Shining, Zipper, Soarin, and Thunderlane ran down the stairs to the generators. “Why did Keplar just clam up like that?” Zipper growled as they got the bottom of the stairs and trotted down the dimly lit hall.

“Not sure.” Soarin huffed.

“Well, what’s wrong with him.” Thunderlane asked.

Shining stopped at a map on the wall. Seeing the generator room, he nodded his head in the direction. “Lets just focus on the fuel situation.”

Entering the generator room, they saw a large number of fuel barrels spread throughout the room. “Check them.” Soarin stated as he and Thunderlane went one way and Shining and Zipper went another way. Hearing a low chugging, Shining and Zipper walked up to a row of generators and stood in front of the only one that was running. Staring at the display, he saw the fuel gauge meter was kissing the empty marker.

The lights turned off.

“EMERGENCY LIGHTS ACTVIATED!”

“What the hell!” Shining growled.

“Did you turn off the lights?” Soarin asked as he and Thunderlane walked up them.

“No. Just went out.” Shining huffed. “Found anything?”

“No, just a bunch of empty barrels, more than I can count.”

“Shit!” Zipper growled. “It can’t be down to just that one?”

Shining glared at the fuel gauge.

Dinky stared at the book in her lap. She had a flat expression on her face. She tried reading the letters on the page, but her mind was lost. ‘We’re all infected?’ She shivered at that thought. How could one be infected but not show any symptoms. ‘We’re carriers.’ She remembered what Hooves had said to the group. ‘That’s what Keplar meant.’

Getting frustrated at the blur of letterings on the page she closed her book and let out a sigh. “What are you doing mother?” She asked as she noticed her mother holding a hoof to an air vent. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh… Nothing.” Derpy kept her eyes on the air vent. “Its just the air shut off.” She looked at her daughter and smiled. Receiving a smile from her daughter, she looked to her right and saw Dusk reading a book to his sister. Derpy smiled, maybe they would recover and be able to get back on their hooves, she thought.

Keplar sat in a small office that overlooked the control room. He held back his emotions as he stared at a picture of a mare who smiled right back. Letting out a troubled sigh, he wiped his eyes. “I did the best I could, with what little time I had.” He smiled at the picture. “I hope you can be proud of me.” He kissed the picture and slowly sat it down on the desk. He stood up and stared at himself in the mirror. “We think there is going to be more time,” The main lights shut off forcing the emergency light to kick in. “Then it runs out…”

Stepped out of his room Keplar saw most of Twilight’s group standing outside their rooms.

“Why is the air off?” Derpy asked.

“And our lights in our room?” Rarity asked.

“Energy is being prioritize.” Keplar stated as he walked calmly past the group.

“Air and lights are not a priority?” Willy asked as he stared at Keplar confusion clearly on his face. The lights in the hall turned off and the floor emergency lights turned on.

“The building is shutting itself down.” Keplar said in a monotone voice as he turned the corner and walked down another flight of stairs.

“How the hell can a building do that?” Marley asked as he limped after the doctor. “Hey, I’m asking you!” He huffed from the discomfort of his walk. “How can it?”

“You’d be surprised.” Keplar kept walking. Twilight and her group followed the doctor to the control room. By that time, Shining, Zipper, Soarin, and Thunderlane came back from the generator room.

“Soarin!” Applejack shouted.

Soarin held up a hoof as he picked up his pace to match Keplar’s. “Keplar, what is happening?”

“The building in going into shutdown.” Keplar sighed. “It’s diverting all power to the main control panel that runs this whole facility until the possible last second as we approach the half hour mark.” He pointed at the timer on the main screen. “Right on time.” Before he stepped up to the main computer, he stopped and turned around. “It was the River Republic.” He stared directly at Twilight.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“They were the last ones to hold out until the very end.” Keplar took a flask out from his lab coats pocket. “While we were barricading the door and committing suicide. They stayed in the labs until the very end.” He stared at the floor. “They thought they were close to a solution.”

“What happened?” Applejack asked.

“Same thing that’s happening here. The power grid… What’s left of it can’t keep this building running. So, generators kicked in and now… Well, we’re out of juice.” Keplar laughed. “You know we run on fossil fuels!” He scoffed as he shook his head. “And don’t get me started on our mana batteries.” He laughed. “So much for the industrial might of Equestria!” He walked over to his computer.

Zipper got upset and followed the doctor. “Let me tell you something!”

“Zipper, stop!” Soarin looked at the others. “Everypony grab your stuff we’re getting out of here!” The group nodded and as the abled bodied ran to the dormitory. But before they could run, the alarms blared out.

“THIRTY MINUETS TO DECONTAMINATION!”

Keplar quickly swiped his card and pressed a few buttons. A large metal door quickly rose up from the ground and sealed the only entrance into the control room.

“Did he just lock us in?” Aloe’s voice cracked as fear began to take hold. Her already weak limbs gave out, forcing her to hold onto her sister. Lotus caught her and gently laid her on the floor.

Keplar sat in front of a camera and turned it on. “We’re in the thirty-minute window, I am recording…” Before he could finish. Zipper grabbed him and threw a punch, but it was his only one as Shining and Thunderlane held him back.

“Keplar, open that door!” Applejack spat as she pointed at the door.

Keplar held a hoof to his cheek as he sat against one of the desk’s. “There is no point everything is locked topside alongside the emergency exits.”

“Well, do something!” Rainbow Dash pleaded.

“I can’t, that’s something the computer controls.” Keplar stood up and sat in his chair. “I told you, once those front doors close there is no opening them!” He pointed at the group. “You heard me say that!” The group looked at one another with dread showing on their faces. “It's better this way.” Keplar sighed.

“What is?” Soarin growled. “What happens when the time runs out?” Keplar looked down and didn’t answer which caused Shining to kick the chair. “What happens when…”

“DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE IS!” Keplar shouted. “We protected ponies from very nasty stuff! Weaponized Cutie-pox! Poison Joke that can wipe out half the country!” He glared at the group. “Stuff you don’t want to get out! EVER!”

“That’s stuff is here?” Twilight felt sick to her stomach.

“A lie to protect the masses.” Keplar let out a heavy sigh.

“The timer?” Shining watched his sister fall to the floor. “What happens?”

“In the event of a catastrophic power failure…” Keplar adjusted his lab coat. “In a war for example. F.A.E.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out.”

“F.A.E.s?” Some in the group asked.

Twilight felt a chill wash across her back. Her mind jumped to a memory of her friend Moon Dancer doing a report on a chemical similar in make-up back in high school. She cringed as the memory of her getting into a moral argument with her friend about perusing such studies… ‘So long ago’. She lifted her head from the ground. “F.A.E.s is a fuel-air explosive.”

“What the hell is that?” Thunderlane asked.

Shining turned his gaze from his sister to Keplar. “You’re shitting me… An aerosol bomb?”

“What does it do?” Rarity asked.

“It sets the air on fire.” Twilight felt sick.

Shining ran a hoof through his mane. “Shit!” He ran up to the door and pushed his shoulder into it. Zipper grabbed an ax and swung with all his might. But nothing happened. Frowning, Shining activated his horn but his teleportation spell fizzled out.

Keplar looked at Zipper. “That door is made to withstand a magical plasma ball.” He looked at Shining. "And there is a magical distortion field in this room."

“Well, your head ain’t!” Zipper spat as he charged Keplar.

Soarin and Macintosh held him back. “Brother! Enough!” Marley huffed.

“You know what this thing does to ponies!” Kepler leaned back in his seat. “You really want this for your sister?” He pointed at Applejack.

“I don’t want this!” She spat.

“But you do want this?” Keplar tilted his head. “Last night, you and your colt-friend said it was just a matter of time before everypony you loved was dead.”

Applebloom stared at her sister with horrified eyes. “What?”

“You really said that?” Rarity tilted her head.

Shining started at the farm pony with a dull expression. Applejack looked at the faces around her and felt shame, but she quickly took hold of her emotions and looked at Keplar with harsh eyes. “I have doubts, but I’m still hopeful there is way out of this.”

“The was never any hope!” Keplar scoffed.

“There is always hope.” Twilight stood up for Applejack. “Celestia always taught me that!”

“Where is she now?” Keplar stared at her.

“Is every ECDC failing all at once?” Willy asked.

Keplar stared at the clock and saw it had twenty-four minutes left. “Yes…” The timer doesn’t start until the one under Canterlot Castle is out of power.”

“You said the timer doesn’t start until the fuel runs out.” Zecora stared at the stallion with a raised brow.

“It does.” The timer starts once the signal from Canterlot dies out. Then it calculates what fuel is remaining in the generators.” He laid his head in his hooves. “If I had more barrels, then we would have more time.”

“Couldn’t you hornies make more fuel with your magic?” Zipper scoffed. Rarity and Twilight jerked at the racial remark. Shining just stared at earth pony. Marley rolled his eyes at his brother’s remarks. The rest just felt uncomfortable.

Kepler stared at the irate earth pony. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He laughed a hearty laugh. “Fuck, I should’ve. Then I would’ve been dead long before you all showed up!”

“Enough!” Macintosh stood in between the two. He glared at Keplar, staring him down with a might of a thousand suns.

“You can’t just keep us here!” Derpy cried as she held onto her daughter, Snowy and Dusk.

“This is easier for all of us.” Keplar turned his gaze to her and away from the large red stallion glaring daggers at him. “A quick painless death versus a long one out there.” Aloe stared at him. Her soft eyes fixated on his relaxed body posture.

The sounds of a shotgun cocking filled the air. Before anyone could make heads or tails, Rainbow Dash pointed the shotgun at Keplar. “Dash don’t do this!” Thunderlane shouted as he pulled on her shoulders. Scootaloo and Rumble cowered as they watched the scene unfold.

“Open that damn door or I’ll blow your head clean off!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Dash don’t!” Thunderlane pleaded.

“You listen to him, Rainbow Dash!” Soarin hissed as he pulled on her shoulder.

Rainbow Dash growled as she shoved the shotgun in Keplar’s face. “If you kill him then we all die!” Thunderlane pleaded. Hearing Scootaloo’s cries. Rainbow Dash hissed as she aimed the shotgun to her right and unloaded several rounds into random computers.

Before she could shoot off another round, Shining grabbed the shotgun with his magic and hit her with the butt of the gun. “You done?” He growled.

Rainbow Dash looked up at the unicorn with tear-stained eyes. “Yeah… I guess we’re done…” She sent a glare Keplar’s way. “The asshole should’ve let us die out there.” She spat out some blood that was in her mouth. “Sick bastard!” Keplar just stared at the floor, unwilling to match her gaze.

Twilight stared at him, studying his posture. “I think you’re lying.”

“What?” Keplar looked up.

“About no hope.” She sat in front of him. “If that was true, you’d have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. But you didn’t. Why?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Keplar sighed.

“It does!” She huffed. “You stayed, while others ran, why?”

“Not by choice!” He answered. “And not because I wanted to…” He leaned forward close to her face. “Because I made a promise,” He pointed at the screen. “To her! My Wife!”

“Test subject twenty-one was your wife?” Lotus titled her head.

“She begged me to keep going as long as I could.” Keplar flopped his hooves into his lap. “How could I say no. She was dying…” He pounded the desk beside him. “It should’ve been me on that table, not her! I wouldn’t have mattered to anypony. She was great loss to the world!” He shook his head. “Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field she was a Star Swirl!” He laid back in his seat. “I’m just Keplar. Head Manager…” He stared at Twilight with heavy eyes. “She could’ve done something about this.”

Twilight stared right back. “Maybe, but your wife didn’t have a choice, you do. That’s all we’re asking, a choice, a chance to fix what’s broken, to not give up, for as long as we can.”

Keplar stared at her for a little longer. Eventually he sighed and turned around in his chair. Swiping his card, he pressed a few more buttons. “I told you topside is locked down. I can’t open those.” The large metal door dropped down with a thud.

Many in the group eyes lit up as they rushed to the doors. “Come on, lets go!” Hooves shouted as he waved for the others to follow.

“There’s your chance, take it.” Keplar sighed.

“We’re grateful!” Twilight smiled.

“The day will come when you won’t be.” Keplar’s tone was dull as he stared at them.

“Come on we have ten-minutes!” Spike shouted.

Twilight and Applejack looked at him for a few more seconds, pondering his words, but hearing the other’s shouting, they let go of that thought as they gave him a nod and followed the others out. Lotus not far behind, felt a chill wash over her as she felt her sister push her away. “Sis?” She looked back at her sister. “We need to go!”

“I’m staying!” Aloe sat on the floor.

“No, you’re not!” Lotus spat. “You’re coming with me!”

“Just to die out there!” Aloe glared at her sister. “Like he said. We’ll all die a slow painful death.” She shivered. “We had so many close calls.” She lowered her head until her chin rested on her chest. “I want a painless death.”

Some in the back of the group looked on with horror. Lotus waved them to go, however Willy stayed behind and stared at the two. Feeling her emotions boiling, she sat beside her sister. “Okay, you win. I’m staying.”

Aloe stared at her sister. “Don’t do this to me…”

“Well, don’t do this to me!” Lotus spat. “If you’re staying, I’m staying.”

“Same…” Willy sat beside them. “Lets all take the coward’s way out.” He glared at Keplar. Keplar couldn’t look at the stallion directly.

“No… No… No…” Aloe placed her hooves over her head. “You can’t do this!”

“Too bad, we are!” Willy shrugged his shoulders. “See, you don’t get to do that. To… to come into somepony’s life, make them care and then just check out. I’m… We’re staying. The matter is settled.” Aloe looked at them with heavy tear-stained eyes.

Getting to the top floor, Twilight and the other’s ran up to doors. Seeing the metal doors were still shut. The others looked around in a panic. Seeing the second story windows were not covered up, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “We can go out through them!” She pointed at them.

They quickly ran up the stairs and ran across the balcony up to the windows. Placing her hooves on the glass, Twilight looked out and saw the sun was starting to dip past the horizon. Squinting her eyes, she glared at the twilight lit ground and saw a sparse number of dead roaming about. “Looks like we’re going to have to smash it?” Spike asked.

Twilight looked back at him and nodded. “Not sure we can get through it.”

“Stand back.” Shining charged up his horn and fired a beam of plasma. The beam washed over the glass. Stopping his magic, he and the others saw that he only cut half way through it. “Twilight, Rarity!” Shining charged his horn once again. Rarity and Twilight nodded as they charged up their horns.

Combining their magic, Shining fired another beam at the glass. Finally, it gave way and shattered into a billion pieces. Once the chaotic waterfall of glass had stopped, they looked out the window at the ground below. “That’s a fucking drop.” Marley grumbled.

Looking to her left, Rainbow Dash saw that the awning over the front doors gradually tapered down to the ground. Though it narrowed significantly, it was the only path to get everyone out without having to make multiple trips. “We climb down that!”

Twilight looked at where she was pointing. “That?” She stared at the gutter and one-foot circumference beam that curved its way to the ground floor.

“Yes, the ones that can fly and carry somepony will do so. Ones that can teleport do so, the rest will climb down.” Rainbow Dash took the lead.

“You heard her, go!” Zipper motioned everyone to follow.

“What about Lotus, Aloe, and Willy?” Applebloom asked.

“They’ll make it!” Applejack stated.

“Are you sure?” Applebloom tilted her head. Applejack nodded as she helped her sister climb down the gutter. Stepping onto the cobblestone laid lot of the ECDC, the full extent of the damage hidden by the prior night came into full view. Military and civilian ponies laid scattered around the building. Barricades with machine guns and a variety of vehicles dotted their surroundings.

“The fuck…” Shining stared in disbelief.

“We need to get a ride out of here!” Marley yelled as he saw a small group of trotters making their way towards them. Wasting no time, they ran up to a military transport wagon. Jumping into the truck, Zipper laid down under the dash and scanned the wires underneath. “Light!” Twilight activated her horn and poked her head into the cab. “Thanks!” Zipper grumbled as he worked.

“Cover him!” Shining drew out his lever-action rifle. The ones who had guns drew out their weapons, while others drew out their hoof/mouth held weapons.

Hearing the roar of the putter wagon, Zipper laughed. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“But what about the others?” Derpy asked.

“They’ll be here.” Twilight reassured her.

“We need to get going, Twily.”

“We are going to wait!” Twilight glared at her brother. Shining puckered his lips as he stared into her determined eyes.

“There they are!” Sweetie Belle screamed.

Seeing them struggling to climb down, Twilight activated her horn. Appearing in front if them, she grabbed onto Aloe and Lotus and teleported as close as she could to the wagon. Flopping on the ground she let out a groan as her horn sparked from the action. Thunderlane flew beside her and dropped Willy gently onto the pavement. “Get up!” He offered her a hoof.

Standing up, they piled into the wagon. Glaring at the hoard approaching through the rearview mirror, Zipper frowned and shifted the vehicle into gear. Slamming the petal with his hoof, the wagon drove down the road to places unknown.

Alone, Keplar stared at the photo of his wife.

“SIXITY-SECONDS TO DECONTAMINATION!”

Kissing the photo on the computer screen, he imagined the heat it gave off as his wife’s lips. “I love you…”

Standing on the gravel covered roof of a building alongsidea river, one of many rivers formed from the glacier on the mountain, Pinkie scanned the lower portion of Canterlot’s outskirts through the twilight that consumed the night sky. Frowning at the buildings’ dark silhouettes, she turned her gaze to the castle in the distance. It stood majestically in the final glow from the setting sun atop the mountain it sat upon. A perfect place for a diarchy to look upon their subjects, safe and sound from all the bullshit. Feeling a cold breeze, her fur stood on end. “Seeing anything out of the blue?” Copper asked.

“No…” She sighed. “Not after we came upon the train.”

Copper hummed softly as he sat beside her. “You were about to have a heart attack when we came upon it.”

“I thought they were dead…” She looked down at her hooves.

“True, we did find Dawn.” Copper laid a foreleg over her. “But they weren’t there. They have to be alive.”

“I know… Think positive…” Pinkie looked at him. “I’m just tired. It’s hard to think straight sometimes.”

“We have been traveling non-stop have we.” Copper pulled her closer. Causing her to blush.

“Almost four days’ worth will do that.” Limestone sighed as she rested on a matt she had laid out onto of the gravel. “Small naps were not enough.”

“We all took turns driving and now we’re here.” Spitfire flapped her wings as she exited the stairwell. “Though, we’re going to have to find more gas before we leave. “I say we rest. We’ll start in the morning.”

“Whose taking watch?” One of her Wonderbolts asked.

“I’ll take watch.” Maud raised her hoof. “You two get some rest.” She pointed at Pinkie and Copper. “You too.” She pointed Blaze.

“Sure.” He laid where her stood. “Won’t hear me complaining…” Hearing a massive explosion, they all looked towards the west and saw a fireball towering over some of the large skyscrapers that were thirty-stories tall. “The hell?” Blaze sat up. “What is that?”

“Something not good.” Granite looked at Pinkie. “You think its them?”

Pinkie stared at the fireball as it rose into the sky. “I have a feeling.”

“What kind?” Copper looked into her eyes as she kept staring at the ball of fire.

“Its them.” Pinkie looked at Copper.

“Get the flare.” Spitfire yelled.

“Even if it is them.” Blaze gave her a skeptical look. “Will they see it?”

“They will.” Spitfire took the flare gun and fired it with her mouth. The flare rocketed into the sky. Getting to the desired height it erupted into a bright green glow.

“When do you think it will go off?” Rarity asked as they drove away from the ECDC.

“Not sure but we need to be far away as possible…”

A bright ball of light shined behind them. Before any of them could react, a shockwave washed over them. Zipper growled as he temporally lost control of the wagon. Grabbing the steering wheel, he corrected its momentum and stopped the truck.

The group looked back at the massive fire ball as it rose up into the sky. “Well shit…” Thunderlane spoke with a gasp. “That would’ve been us.”

“Y-Yeah…” Twilight swallowed her fears.

“Where do we go now?” Derpy asked as she held her daughter close.

“He said the ECDC facility under the castle fell.” Carrot swallowed her emotions. “Does that mean the princesses are dead?”

Shining studied the defeated expression on the group’s faces. Turning to his sister, he saw her staring up at him. Unsure of what to do herself. “We’ll figure it out.” He looked through the open flaps of the canvas that covered the back of the putter wagon. “One of these buildings will have to do for…” Seeing a bright green light in the sky, his mouth hung open as he watched it soar up into the sky. “A flare…”

“What?” Twilight asked as she looked through the open flap. Seeing the green flare slowly falling back down. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Who could be firing that?” Hooves asked.

“Pinkie!” Applejack gasped. “It has to be!”

“That crazy pony!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “She chased after us!”

“Are you sure?” Zipper stared at them. “Highly doubt it.”

“You don’t know Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash smirked.

Twilight stared at her brother, trying to make out what he was thinking. “Brother?”

Shining let out a sigh as he rested his forehead against the canvas. “Where else can we go.” He said softly.

“You can trust her.” Twilight laid a hoof on his shoulder.

“I know…” He smiled at her. “Marley?” He poked his head through the window that lead into the wagons’ cab. “There should be a flare gun in the glovebox. “Every military vehicle is equipped with them.” Marely press the button and the door for the glovebox fell forward. Peering inside he saw a red orange colored gun and handed it to him. Stepping out of the back of the wagon, Shining lifted it over his head with his magic as he pulled the trigger.

A bright hue of red washed over them.

The group stared longingly into the sky where the green flare was. Several minutes passed, causing many in the group to get antsy. “Do you see anything?” Carrot asked. Before Shining could answer four silhouettes showed in the sky. Their hearts skipped a beat as they watch them approach. Shining, Soarin and Applejack raised their guns, but as the figures came into the light and into focus, Rainbow Dash’s and Soarin’s jaws dropped. “Spitfire!” Rainbow Dash gasped.

“The one and only!” She smiled. She caught herself as Soarin and Rainbow Dash hugged her. “Woah, lets save the hugs for when we’re back at basecamp.”

“Are you with Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

Spitfire shook her head with a wide grin on her face. “She’s the one that told me about your excursion to Canterlot…” She turned around and stared at the raging inferno behind her. “What happed over there?”

“It’s a quite a story.” Applejack replied with a heavy sigh.

“I’ll bite.”

The crackling of fire within the brick constructed fireplace filled the air. Its glow illuminated the far corners of the hotel lobby the group were in. Adding an calming aura that was sorely needed as the ponies stewed with the knowledge of a terrible truth.

Pinkie sat left of the fireplace. She looked into her cup and stared at her reflection. Her eyes deceived her thoughts. She was happy to have found her friends once more. But knowing a horrible truth ate away at her mind. “We’re all infected?”

Twilight watched her friend mess with her cup. “Yes…” She looked down at her lap. “It doesn’t matter how you die. You’ll turn into one of those things.”

Limestone held onto Granite as she stared into the fire. “He didn’t give a reason why this happened?” She turned her gaze to Twilight. Twilight shook her head. Limestone’s ears fell back as she turned her eyes back to the fire. Maud stared at her sisters. She hated seeing the despair in their eyes, but she didn’t know what to do.

“Well, it’s obvious.” Blaze let out a huff.

“What’s obvious?” Shining gave the stallion a dull glare.

“This is our extinction level event.” Blaze returned the glare. “I don’t know if you all believe it but I do.”

Applejack shook her head. “I don’t doubt that, but I’m not going to let that stop me from living my life.”

“To do what?” Blaze crossed his forelegs. “Die later on?”

“We’re all going to die, trotters or not.” Applejack replied. “At least I know I lived a life.”

Blaze rubbed his eyes. “Fuck, me!” He headed out of room. “I need a smoke!”

“I’ll join you.” A Wonderbolt sitting by the door followed him out.

Twilight watched the door close as they left. Shivering, she looked down at her cup. “Where are you based out of?”

Spitfire readjusted her wings. “We’re based out of Iron’s Ridge.” She looked at the unicorn. “We’re starting to wall off a portion of the town. Picking the taller building to be our watchtowers.”

“Smart.” Soarin smirked.

“Is it safe?” Rarity asked.

“Sort of.” Spitfire’s shoulders slumped. “We cleared out most of the trotters. But a herd came through once. As well as a group of bandits.” She drank her water. “That’s why we’re building the wall.”

“Are we allowed to move in?” Derpy wondered.

“Of course.” Spitfire smiled. “We need the ponypower.”

Shining felt a chill run down his back. Standing up he walked out of the room. “Where is he going?” Spike looked at Twilight. Twilight stared at the door, her mind wandering through a thousand thoughts.

Stepping into one of the hotel rooms, Twilight scanned the semi-tattered state it was in. Ignoring the mess, she turned her attention to the sliding glass door and saw her brother leaning on the balcony’s railing. Slowly opening the sliding glass door, she stood beside her brother and copied his pose. “You alright?”

“What do you think?” He sighed.

Twilight stared at her brother for some time. “Still thinking of Canterlot?”

“Aren’t you?” He answered her question with a question of his own.

Twilight tapped her hoof on the railing. “I am.” She sighed. “Thinking of our parents. Of Cadance. Of the princesses.” She looked at her brother. “It’s just we had so many close calls.”

“I know…” Shining sighed. “I just miss them so much.”

Twilight looked up at the night sky, watching the stars twinkle about. Her mind wandered like always. Smiling, she placed a hoof on her brother’s. “I’ll go with you. To Canterlot.” She kept staring at the stars. “You helped me look for Fluttershy and Zecora in the Everfree.” She looked at her brother. “I can return the favor.”

Shining smiled as he patted her on the head. “Sounds like a plan, but I’m not sure about the others?”

“We’ll deal with it in the morning.” Twilight rested her head against her brother. “Let’s get some rest…” A distant explosion caught their attention, looking towards the mountain, they saw a portion of the castle had erupted into flames. Soon the sounds of the explosion filled their ears. “Oh no…”