Author's Note

This is another spinoff chapter that takes the POV of non-main characters, as in situations like this there's a lot going on at one time. Chapters 3, 3. this one, and a few others in the works are all meant to be happening at one time, the events of the glitches invasion documented from many different characters POV. Here you'll find the plight of the human Mane Six, now finding themselves trapped, the mirror having been corrupted. Can they make it out? Or does their story end here?

Chapter 3.30: Through the Portal

Part 1: QU13T

It was a quiet evening in late October, and like Sunset had been the previous night, Twilight found herself laying on her bed, covered up with a math workbook, used sheets of paper, and other educational items strewn about the room.

Hearing a knock at the door, she got up to go see who it was, but also like Sunset, she wondered who could be visiting this late, their movie night had been 2 days ago, and as far as she knew no one was scheduled to visit. Still, not wanting to be rude in case it was one of her friends, she opened the door.

And screamed.

She was half right, whatever she was looking at was her friend, but a twisted abomination of one.

What she was looking at was Flash, his neck bent at a ninety-degree angle, as well as having no pupils, his eyes just white voids, a strange black glitch-like substance dripping from his mouth like a rabid dog.

"FLASH!" She yelled, "What-what happened to you?!" She said, having fallen on her back and now crawling as fast away as she could while trying to stand up at the same time. In response, the only thing that came out of Flash's mouth was distorted nonsense, like a heavily corrupted audio file.

"What-what are you doing?!" She said in response to her friend extending his arms out towards her. Thinking on her feet, she pivoted, before thrusting all her weight backward then forwards in one motion, the force propelling her feet straight into Flash's stomach, sending him flying out the door.

Now on her feet, Twilight fumbled, trying to get to the door and lock it before he could come back. She had barely gotten it shut and locked before he began banging on the door with such ferocity and strength that she feared it would come down any moment. Not wanting to find out, she ran, flinging a window on the other side of the room open before silently climbing out so that Flash wouldn't hear. It hadn't even been a moment before she heard the door come down, the sound of wood splintering echoing around her. Stumbling, she got to her feet and then ran, hoping to find some cover and her friends. Hiding in some bushes, she poured through her pockets, withdrawing her phone so that she could call each of her friends. Before she could though, she received a call from Rainbow Dash. Making sure her ringer was off before she picked up, she put the phone to her ear, but before she could say a word, Rainbow had already started talking.

"Have you seen what's happening?!" She said, her voice very panicked and panting like she had just run a marathon.

"Depends on what you mean by that." Twilight replied, her voice very shaky.

"I- I don't know! Everyones gone crazy or something! They all have no pupils, and they stalk around like zombies!"

"Have you seen any of our friends?!"

"No! That's what I called you for! None of them are picking up! And worse still, there's some kind of black goo everywhere!"

"DON" T TOUCH IT!" Twilight sputtered, I- I mean I think that's what's causing this."

"It wouldn't take a detective to figure that out! Everyone and everything is covered in it!" She said, followed by a scream and what sounded like Rainbow going into a full sprint again. "Oh god, they found me! At this, Twilight found her stomach dropping even further than it already had, thankfully though, Rainbow was the fastest person she knew, so if anyone could survive, it was her.

"Just hang on! We need to meet up somewhere!"

"O-Okay, let's meet at the high school in about an hour, we may be able to use the portal, but I'm not leaving without the others, be careful please!" She said, the sound of wind roaring through the speaker from whatever Rainbow was running from.

"Alright, stay safe." Twilight said before Rainbow hung up.

"O-Okay Twilight, you can do this, just find your friends and get to the portal, can't be that hard right?" She found saying to herself as a pep talk. Peeking her head out of the bushes, she took a quick look around to make sure none of those things were anywhere before silently jogging out of her cover.

Part 2: L0ST

For the first time in a long while, Rainbow found herself tiring out, the seemingly endless chase between her and the things following her taking its toll. "This doesn't make sense!" She thought to herself, "How are they keeping up with me? No one kept up with me before!" She thought before looking back at her pursuers. They mainly consisted of her former classmates, the ones she could recognize as Snips, Snails, Wallflower, Derpy, and...

Sunset?!

Even with her disfigurations, Rainbow could tell it was her. She was more towards the back, seeming to be fused at the leg to someone she didn't recognize. As much as she would've loved to mourn the loss of her friend, she'd have to outrun her first.

"If I can't outrun them, then I'm gonna have to lose them." She said to herself before turning into a more suburban area of the neighborhood she was in, using fences, chairs, cars, anything she could to lose them. Her athleticism proved to be very useful, as without it she'd have already been caught. To her surprise, her attackers didn't face any of the physical limitations she had, more or less just brute forcing their way through whatever she went past, showing no signs of injury no matter what it was they went through.

"Come on, come on!" Rainbow said under her breath before putting on one last burst of speed, the last of her adrenaline being used up. Looking ahead, she saw what she thought would be her saving grace. Ahead of her was a tall brick wall that was part of one of the more expensive-looking houses. She hadn't ever vaulted over something that high before, but she had no choice if she didn't want to die. Speeding up, she put everything she had into the jump, barely making it high enough to grab the ledge. Pulling herself over, she looked down before jumping, and fortunately, her pursuers were unable to get to her. She would have taunted them, but she had no time for that, especially not now, so jumping down, she continued at a jog, hoping to find more of their friends before getting to the portal.

Part 3: T0G3TH3R

"Stay behind me!" Applejack cried towards a crying Apple bloom, neither of them had any idea what was happening, and despite her best attempts to stay strong for her baby sister, she wanted to cry as well, but that could wait, the only thing that mattered at the moment was staying alive. Despite her strength, she still had a very hard time getting the barn doors shut, her corrupted family members trying to get in, as well as a few randoms, all of them having been corrupted. Finally getting the doors closed, she turned to face everyone who was there. By pure chance, the rest of the ones unaccounted for by Twilight and Rainbow happened to be with her when it all began. The crusaders had been having a sleepover to study for the same upcoming tests as Sunset and Twilight, Fluttershy had wanted to play with the animals on the farm, and Rarity had been perfecting a new line of country-themed youth clothes and wanted to use the crusaders as guinea pigs. Because of this, they had all been in one place when the invasion started, the darkness sweeping over the city like a tsunami, instantly taking whatever and whoever had happened to be there at the wrong time. It had come from the portal that Sunset had gone through the night before, and was now spreading in a circular motion through the land. However they didn't know that Sunset had already gone through, so to everyone except Rainbow, she was MIA.

"Alright, is anyone hurt?' AJ asked.

"I-I don't think so, emotionally yes very much, but not physically." Rarity replied, looking around at the barn they were in. The crusaders, as well as Fluttershy, were all collectively crying in a corner, the sound drowned out by the pounding of those outside.

Looking around the vast room for another way out, AJ found that there was none, that didn't mean they couldn't make a way out, after all, other than the doors most of it was just plain wood slabs, nothing they couldn't break through. Grabbing a shovel, AJ went to one of the weaker portions of the wall and started breaking it down. She'd have to work fast or else they'd be heard.

Also looking around, Rarity found something most unexpected...

A shotgun.

Admittedly, firearms weren't something any of them had ever really paid mind to as they'd never needed it, magic had been more than enough to solve their problems so far, but there was also the fact that well... If you stopped a villian with a gun rather than magic you can imagine how that'd go. There was also the issue of none of them besides AJ knowing how to use one. But seeing their current situation they'd just have to learn.

Rarity inspected it for a second, until then she'd never really been hands-on with one. Pulling the pump back, she watched as a shell ejected from the breech, before loading a new one when she repeated the motion. They didn't know if guns would be any use to them, but it couldn't hurt to try.

"Come on ya'll, we're getting out of here," Aj said while breaking down the last piece of wood so they could get through. "Whoa, Rarity, are you sure you can use that thing?" She questioned, motioning to the life-ender in Rarity's hands.

"Honestly, not really darling, it would probably be better if you used it." Rarity said, handing it to AJ.

"Come on, we gotta get outta here."

"You're gonna need to get them first," Rarity said before gesturing to the CMCs and Fluttershy, who was still in that same corner.

"Fine, keep a watch" AJ replied before heading over, kneeling in front of the four of them, taking her hat off and holding it in front of her "Look yall, I know yer scared, we all are." She paused, "But if we all wanna live to see another day we're gonna need to get out of here." She paused again, "If not for me, do it for your friends." She waited, watching as the four of them slowly picked themselves up.

"Yer right," Applebloom said, her face still red and puffy "Let's go find our friends."

They all gathered near the hole AJ had made, peering out to make sure none of those things were around.

"Okay ya'll, we're gonna need a way to sneak on outta here to start looking for our friends, any ideas?"

Instead of answering with words, Fluttershy walked up to them, covered head to toe in the assorted brush, leaves, hay, etc.

"Just what are you doing looking like that?" AJ asked.

"What, you said you wanted to sneak? Besides, I thought it would be a good idea to take a page out of the book of my chameleons."

"That's- actually not a bad idea," AJ replied.

"Aww, I don't wanna cover myself in dirt!" Rarity quietly cried out.

"Really? We're in the middle of an apocalypse and you're worried about that?" Applebloom said, giving Rarity a "really" look.

"Fine," She said, crossing her arms, meanwhile the others had already started to cover themselves using whatever they could find. Eventually, she joined in as well, just very reluctantly.

Making their way outside, they saw no one as far as the eye could see, the landscape dotted with patches of the dark substance, some moving, some not. Despite this, they still kept a low profile, moving slowly until they got to the woods.

"Does anybody have their cell phone?" AJ asked, breaking their 5-minute silence. They all searched their pockets, Scootaloo eventually coming up with hers. With shaking fingers, AJ dialed Twilight.

Making her way through town, Twilight was heading for the high school where she had agreed to meet Rainbow, who after their call she hadn't heard from since. She didn't want to call in case she was hiding from something, but at the same, it killed her not knowing if her friends were okay or not. Her prayers had been answered, her phone started to buzz in her pocket. Looking at the number, she saw that it was Scootaloo, so she wasted no time picking it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Twilight, this is AJ, thank goodness you're okay."

"If you're who I'm talking to, what are you doing with Scootaloo's phone?"

"Oh, the crusaders, Rarity, Fluttershy and I are all in a group, we were together when everything went to hell."

"Oh thank god, I was so worried that you hadn't made it."

"Nope, we're good."

"Hi, Twilight!" Applebloom interjected from AJ's end.

"Be quiet!" She heard AJ shout at her younger sister.

"Any idea where Rainbow is?"

"Not really, I called her about an hour ago, she picked up but had to start running from something and hung up."

"Oh jeez, I hope she's okay"

"She should be, no one can run faster than her, before she hung up she said to meet her at the high school so we could use the portal."

"What about Sunset?"

"No word from her, I've called 4 times now and got nothing."

"Hmm, well I don't wanna be leaving without her."

"That's what Rainbow said before she hung up, I hope she found her."

"Welp, only time will tell, see you at the high school." AJ said before hanging up. The conversation had left Twilight both hopeful and afraid. All of her friends were okay except Sunset. For a brief moment, Twilight questioned if Sunset had already taken the portal, but quickly shoved the thought out of her head. "No," she thought, "Sunset would never leave us."

"Would she??"

Twilight was interrupted from her thoughts by a building that stood in front of her. "Gun Store" it said. She stopped for a moment, debating whether or not to take any. It had been quiet ever since the invasion began, so it wasn't like she'd be stealing. But then again, she didn't know how to use one either. Sure, she'd read and learned plenty about them over the years, but it was one thing to see a gun on paper and another when you're actually holding one.

Walking inside, Twilight took a moment to analyze the walls in front of her, all of the walls were lined with guns, everything from small handguns to large shotguns and rifles. She spent a few more minutes deciding which to take. Handguns were portable and the easiest to use, but they lacked the stopping power that might be needed. Shotguns packed a huge punch, and you didn't really need to aim, more so just point it in that general direction, but they were also the loudest and couldn't be silenced, so that would attract unwanted attention. Rifles were great for precise fire at range but that was also the problem, you had to be precise, and that isn't ideal for a novice. Ultimately, Twilight decided to just take a few of each, because why not? She walked out of the store with 2 handguns, each strapped to one side of her waist and with silencers on them for stealth. In her hands she carried a shotgun. Being in a tight city space she wouldn't have the liberty of lining up a shot in a pinch. On her back were a rifle and another shotgun, so that 2 of her friends could be strapped to an extent too. She made her way through town, getting closer to the school by the second. She levitated the shotgun in front of her, levitating shells into it before pulling the pump back to cock it. It was hard to explain but she derived great joy from it, the sound of the pump echoing through the alleyway she was in.

Walking past another store, she saw herself in the reflection of the window. As funny as it sounds, she actually digged the look, it gave her a much more badass vibe, the dull colors of the firearms she was carrying a stark contrast to her usual brightly colored clothes. However, this also allowed her to spot the corrupted Bon-Bon moving towards her, her eyes blanked out like everyone else's, her arms dragging by her sides, mouth agape to an unnatural extent. Turning around, Twilight whipped one of her silenced pistols out, putting a bullet directly between Bon Bon's eyes. She crumpled, her body glitching out from the impact. Twilight realized that bullets did not kill them, Bon Bon's body beginning to stir again after only 10 seconds. It did, however, slow her down a great deal, her body now almost incapable of moving for a brief time. Twilight took the chance, sprinting as silently as she could away from her former classmate. back on her route to the school.

Part 4: D3aD H0p3

Over the next few hours, the 3 groups made their way towards the portal, their only hope of leaving this place and getting to Equestria, which they all dearly hoped hadn't already been taken over by whatever this substance that invaded was.

Rainbow was the first to arrive, being the fastest of the group, followed by AJ and her group, then finally Twilight. Now that they were all together, they all walked toward the portal.

And immediately lost almost all hope.

The portal was completely covered, in fact, that was an understatement, it seemed to have been where the stuff had come from, the surrounding area being much more corrupted than any other part of the city. And worse still, Sunset was still nowhere to be found. For a while they all stood there, mouths agape, watching as their only path of escape, and one of their friends seemed to fade right in front of them.

"No, no no no NO!" Twilight cried, getting as close to the portal as she could without touching the black substance.

"Now come on ya'll, I'm sure we can figure another way out of this," AJ said, although her words didn't sound very genuine.

"Where's Sunset?!" Twilight asked, looking at the group with wide eyes.

"Yeah... About that" Rainbow said.

"What happened?!" Twilight said, looking as if she'd kill Rainbow if she didn't answer her.

"You remember when I was getting chased and had to hang up?" She started. "Well, I looked behind me while I was running and... She was one of them." With this they again all went silent, taking in the harsh reality of not all of them making it. Most of them started to cry, others just stood in solemn acceptance. Regaining her composure, Twilight looked up.

"We need to find another way out of here."

"But how? The portal's done fur'!" Aj replied.

"Well... What if I told you there was more than one portal?"

Although it had taken a while, the six of them had eventually found a boat, having retraced their steps and heading to the dock they had made that cruise on that ended up being more loose equestrian magic, and made it to the second portal location.

"Uhh, r' you sure 'bout this?" Aj asked.

"Well, it's not like we have any other options," Twilight replied, staring down at the quicksand below them.

"I'll go first" Rainbow volunteered, taking a few steps into the quicksand, it starting to pull her under.

One by one, they each walked in, all hoping that Equestria had fared better than they had...