The Equestrian Apocalypse

— Twilight —

The woods were getting thinner as they edged around Ponyville. Twilight kept them moving along the outskirts to hide from any stragglers from the station mob. Her plan mostly worked, as they had lost their tail and could now move at a trotting pace toward Sugarcube Corner. With Blaze's death fresh in her mind, she desperately hoped that both Pinkie and Devan were still home, as she did not want to think of any more friends falling victim to this disaster.

She also thought about Luna, bothered by the uncertainty of her death. While she had not seen it herself, Ty described it to her. The princess had fallen through the train car and was quickly covered by the roof and sections of wall that collapsed with her. She, Blaze, and Celestia could not see her in the rubble, and soon after, the zombie groups that had trapped them made their way on top of where she fell. In reality, she could not completely prove her death, but it seemed unlikely that anypony could survive such an ordeal, even Princess Luna.

She sighed, continuing to lead them toward the edge of the forest. A few houses were visible through the trees, and behind them, Sugarcube Corner. The trees got thinner until they eventually reached the end. The houses they passed looked abandoned, but it was hard to tell whether or not ponies were holed up in them. Though a lot had happened, this was still just the second day of the apocalypse. She hoped there would not be many more, but her faith was dwindling again. They continued past a few more houses, forced to ignore a laid-out pony along the way.

Ahead of them was Sugarcube Corner. The bright candy-painted store somehow looked less colorful than usual. However, the door out front looked normal. Twilight trotted up to it and motioned for the others to stand back as Spike readied his baseball bat by her side. She turned the doorknob a few times, but it wouldn’t open. It was likely that the Cakes had locked it, but it was not clear if anypony was still inside.

“Spike, watch my back. I’m going to bust the doorknob,“ Twilight warned him. Spike prepared his baseball bat beside her as she took the hatchet out of its holster. She lined up the hatchet with the doorknob carefully. With one hard swing, the hatchet broke off the doorknob and pushed the door forward slightly. She used a foreleg to push the door open, but a mare's scream filled the air, causing her to jump back. As the door slowly creaked open, she noticed a flash of Mrs. Cake’s light crimson tail running off toward the stairs.

“Mrs. Cake!“ she shouted, stepping through the doorway in an attempt to get her attention. “I’m not a zombie pony!”

Spike followed her inside to pursue Mrs. Cake. They both made their way up the few bottom steps of the stairs until Mr. Cake shouted down at them.

“GET OUT OF HERE! I’ll kill you!”

“Mr. Cake!” Twilight yelled, “It’s me, Twilight Sparkle! I’m not a zombie pony!”

She leaned her head around the corner of the stairs and looked up to see Mr. Cake staring down at her. He looked frazzled, with a pan gripped firmly in his front hoof. Mrs. Cake was nervously peeking around him, grasping a cutting knife of her own.

“Oh thank heavens,” Mr. Cake said, wiping his sweaty forehead with the pan.

“Are you two alright?” she asked them.

“We are okay,” Mrs. Cake answered, stepping up to her husband's side. “… despite nearly peeing ourselves. What about you dear?”

“I’m … okay …”

Mrs. Cake made her way down the stairs and noticed the others through the door frame.

“Why don’t you all come in and get settled? It’s dangerous out there.”

The others looked around before coming inside Sugarcube Corner with them. Inside, the bakery's shelves were stocked with its usual colorful candy and sweets. Their aroma filled the air pleasantly, contrasting the newly grotesque smells the apocalypse had to offer. Mrs. Cake and her husband, who followed her downstairs, both bowed when Princess Celestia walked in. The princess looked on disapprovingly.

“You don’t have to … not now …” she said as she walked off.

The cakes raised their heads and watched her confusingly. “Princess?” Mr. Cake called after her. Celestia continued walking to a quiet corner of the shop and sat alone. The Cakes both looked at Twilight worriedly and started bowing to her as well. When they got up, Mrs. Cake asked her, “What’s wrong with Princess Celestia?”

“She …” Twilight started. She took a moment to ponder the words to put together. “We lost Princess Luna ... and a royal guard … not very long ago.”

Their eyes widened at the news. Mr. Cake looked back and forth between her and Celestia. “Sh- she- she died?!”

Twilight nodded sadly. She described the scene to them, causing both of them to wince. She looked on at her poor mentor. Celestia had been eerily quiet the whole way here, and she could tell the princess was processing some tough emotions. Twilight shook her head and turned back to the Cakes.

“Is Pinkie Pie here by any chance?”

“I’m afraid not,” Mrs. Cake replied, “last we saw her was yesterday morning.”

“Do you know where she went?”

"No, unfortunately."

Twilight sighed before smiling timidly. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, hun. Is there anything we can do to help you?”

“No …” She started to think, turning to see a zombie pony through the window, trotting by in the distance. “Are you guys safe here? You don’t want to come with us?”

“Twilight, dear … I don’t believe anywhere is all that safe anymore. But we are somewhat safe here. We barricaded upstairs to keep the babies safe. Are you sure you don’t want to stay with us? Where are you going?”

“We’re going to check Devan’s house. After that, we are going to Sweet Apple Acres.”

“The farm?” Mr. Cake said, “That's smart. We hadn’t thought about that.” He exchanged a curious glance with his wife. “Buuuuut we should be okay here for now. Thank you, Princess.”

Twilight talked to the Cakes for a few minutes longer, accepting some sweets they all scoffed down. The couple insisted they could fix the front door she had rudely broken, so she gathered her group and made their way down the street to Devan’s house. It was a quiet walk, as nobody was very inclined to speak.

Similar to Sugarcube Corner, Devan’s house was equally normal looking. Twilight approached the door as her anxiety continued to grow slowly. She knocked on the front door a few times and waited. After a brief moment of no response, she tried again. She also tried opening the door herself but found it was locked. Her pessimism grew as the silence continued.

After more waiting, she wrapped around the side of the house, with Spike by her side, and peered through the living room window. The inside of the house hosted Devan’s furniture sitting quietly. There was nobody inside from what she could tell. Twilight beat her hoof on the ground angrily.

“Twilight, he might still be in there. Maybe he's just in the bathroom,” Spike suggested.

“Really, Spike?”

“I don’t know! He could be. Maybe he’s in the attic.”

“The fucking attic?!”

Spike backed away from the increasingly angry princess, but not before she yanked the baseball bat out of his claws.

“Twilight, no!” he yelled, shielding his face.

She swung the bat hard, colliding it with the windowpane. The blow was enough to bust the glass out, sending fragments flying inside. Spike peaked through his claws to see her stick her head through the broken window.

“Devan! You in the attic?! Huh?!” she yelled sarcastically, “you fucking genius!”

“Twilight!” Spike yelled, touching his claw to her shoulder. She brushed it off and started to walk away until they both heard a strange, muffled noise from inside. Her expression changed immediately as she stuck her head through the window again.

“Devan?!” she cried. She listened closely as she heard rustling coming from the attic above, and she turned back to Spike, unable to hide her shock. Her pessimism faded in the moment. They both ran back to the front door, where a curious Ty waited with Celestia.

“Did you see something?” she asked her.

“Heard something,” Twilight replied. She took her hatchet and quickly broke the doorknob as she had at Sugarcube Corner. The door would not budge immediately, so she rammed the blade into the edge of the door and applied pressure until it cracked open. She used her forelegs to bust the door open and rushed inside.

She knew the layout of Devan’s house relatively well, as she had visited him quite often since he was introduced to Ponyville. This knowledge led her to the hallway, which held the opening to the attic on the ceiling. The opening had been closed, so she bounced up on her hind legs and reached up for the hanging string that let it down. There was more rustling above her as she pulled the string down, pulling a ladder down behind her. Once it was down all the way, she circled the ladder and quickly made her way upstairs. Spike tried to warn her to be careful, but she was too tunnel-visioned on finding Devan.

The attic was dimly lit by two small windows, only providing some light on what she found. The front window was normal, but the second window, towards the back of the house, had been broken in. Beneath it, with one hind leg hanging inside the window frame above her, was Derpy. She looked back at Twilight with distraught golden eyes as she lay out on the attic floor.

“Twilight!” she cried, “Oh thank goodness. Please help me!”

Twilight climbed up fully into the attic and quickly scanned the rest of it. It was barren. She tried to hide her disappointment as she made her way over to Derpy. When she got closer, it was evident that Derpy had somehow gotten herself stuck in the window. Her hind leg was being pinched uncomfortably by the frame at the bottom of the window, and she noticed a small stream of dried blood that had trickled down her grey coat.

“Derpy, how did you get like this?” she asked her, grabbing her stuck leg for closer inspection. Spike ran up to her side and looked on.

“I flew in and got stuck. I don’t know how it got me.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Too looong! Since this morning!”

Twilight quit messing with her leg and looked at the cross-eyed pony.

“This morning? As in today?”

“Umm … yeah,” Derpy replied.

“You flew in?”

“Yes, Twilight.” Derpy spread her wings out, brushing Twilight slightly. She watched dumbfounded as the mare flapped her wings, attempting to pull herself out. However, her leg stayed in place.

“You can fly?!” she exclaimed.

“I can.”

“How?!”

“I … I don’t know. I know others can’t fly but I don’t know why.”

Twilight grabbed hold of Derpy’s wing, putting her eyeball up against it as she closely observed the feathers lining it. The wing looked completely normal, yet so did all of them. While her wings were heavy and effectively glued to her sides, the shape and look stayed the same.

“Twilight …” Spike called, “I don’t think you’re gonna find anything unusual …”

She sighed and let the wing go.

“Guys,” Derpy spoke, “please. It hurts!”

“Sorry!”

She reached back for her hatchet as Spike grabbed onto Derpy's hind leg.

"Hold it still," she told him, "I'm going to break the frame."

She raised her hatchet carefully and swung it down against the wooden frame. One blow was all it took to exert enough pressure to snap the frame, which sent Derpy’s leg falling inside.

“Oh thank you!” Derpy said, rolling on her back and closing her eyes. Her moment of peace was interrupted when Twilight trotted to her side and leaned over her, shaking her gently.

“Derpy, have you seen Devan?”

The mare opened her crossed eyes again. “No, Twilight. I’m sorry. I came here looking for him too, but I guess he wasn’t here. Last I saw him was yesterday morning.”

“What were you doing?”

“Delivering his mail. We talked a bit but then said goodbye.”

“He didn’t talk about where he might go or anything like that?”

“No. I mean, he mentioned he was going to see you for an experiment, but I checked your castle too. By then, you had already gone, and he wasn't there either. I’m sorry.”

Twilight sighed, taking a few moments to think as she tried to shake her memory of the castle. She noticed Ty's head poking above the attic’s opening.

“Princess, can you come here?”

She approached the pegasus. “What is it?”

“There are a few of them outside so we all came in. It looks like they followed us. They are at the front now.”

Twilight huffed. They could not get a break to save their lives. Celestia’s sun was steadily falling, and the group was still not in good shape. Not only that, but the weather outside had turned to overcast. It wasn't raining yet, but the clouds blocked their view from looking for Luna's moon, potentially finding out if she was alive or not.

She helped Derpy up, and they all made their way down to Devan’s living room, where the others were gathered. They had already taken the time to disconnect Devan's fridge and set it up in front of the window she busted. Celestia looked out of the other living room window longingly until Twilight approached her.

“Devan isn’t here,” she announced.

Celestia sulked before looking out of the window again. She could see the despair on her face. The princess looked to be quickly losing faith in their situation as well, so she set a hoof on her shoulder. “Can we talk separately?”

The princess turned to face her. Her sorrowful eyes met hers for a moment before nodding. Twilight led her into Devan’s bedroom and shutt the door behind them. Dimly lit by the window above his bed, Devan's room looked the same as it always had, with the bedsheets on his bed still strewn to the side as Twilight sat on them. Celestia sat by the bedside.

“What are we going to do now?” Twilight asked her.

Celestia closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “Twilight, I do not know. We will stick to the plan as best we can and make it to the farm when we are able. We need to think while we have the opportunity, so no more of us ... die ...”

Twilight took a second to do so. She sat in silence with the princess for a moment, trying to figure out what was best for them now. Blaze and Luna's sudden, back-to-back deaths haunted her, and it all still felt so surreal. She thought about the rest of her friends. Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy. Where was everybody? She knew it wasn't a longshot that they'd all ended up at AJ's farm, but she held a lot of uncertainty. She thought about Devan again.

“You’ve never told me what will happen …”

Celestia looked up at her confusingly. “When what will happen?”

“When Devan ... dies.”

“Twilight …” she replied, “... I never had to think about that. He wasn’t supposed to die. I don’t want to think that he is dead.”

“I don’t either!” Twilight retaliated, “But everybody else is! I want to find him before he does! I need to!”

Celestia worryingly eyed her. “Twilight, I know you are upset. I know Devan and you were really close, but we have to think about ourselves too.”

"I'm trying! It's just ..." she sighed, "... I don't know. He hasn't been through anything like this. We haven't either, but still, we've been through some difficult stuff. I just don't want him to die. But I'm afraid that he will ... and I'm afraid of what that means. I mean, if he gets bitten, will he even turn?? Or will he just succumb to the fever and die?? At least the others have the chance of coming back ... as one of those ... FUCKING ... things!" she exclaimed, beating her hoof on the bedframe.

"Twilight ..."

"I'm just saying! What if he does die? You said you don't even know what will happen?! That isn't good!! What if that affects us somehow?"

“Twilight, please calm down. It’s not that I don’t know what will happen. I am just not completely certain, as it is not something I can test for really. Not ethically at least …”

“You mean experimenting?”

“Well, yes. Bringing a human here and just … killing … them. To see what happens …” Celestia explained, cringing at the thought.

“So what will happen?”

“From what logic I can make sense of, he will likely be returned to his universe. Either that, or he could just die outright, never to exist in either again. I-” Celestia stopped after she noticed that sentence had struck Twilight. Her purple eyes drained a few forming tears as she struggled to fight them off. Celestia reached out her hoof, and when Twilight stepped forward off the bed, she wrapped it around her head, pulling her softly against her chest. The floodgates opened as Twilight began to grieve. The overwhelming events of what happened crashed onto her as the tears fell down Celestia’s bright white coat.

Celestia allowed her the few minutes of grieving she needed, as she quietly grieved for her sister as well. They both wiped their eyes dry after disconnecting and sat in a moment of silence.

“I think we should stay here for the night,” Celestia suggested.

Twilight sniffed away the rest of her tears. "Okay."