The Equestrian Apocalypse

— Cloudchaser —

Firmly pushing on the gauze pads, Cloudchaser worryingly glanced across Fluttershy and met eyes with Cheerilee. The two of them had been fighting to keep her from losing too much blood, but the murky red liquid continued to ooze out. She was surrounded by gauze pads, soaked dark red and leaking their contents onto the wooden balcony below them. There was also a blood trail she could not help but notice from when they dragged her dismembered hoof off the balcony.

The two of them peered over at Spike and the fillies. Now, they were sitting together against the wall away from her hoof, and the dragon was moving his claws around, gazing left and right at the fillies. She noticed Cheerilee smile warily, as the dragon had spent their entire time here keeping the poor fillies preoccupied with what looked like a story, allowing them time to care for Fluttershy. Cloud then peered over the edge of the balcony, seeing Typhoon carefully guarding the bottom of the stairs.

Outside, stragglers from the mob had made their appearance, but after Twilight and Rainbow Dash left, only a few of them stuck around to relentlessly bang on the front doors. Even if they got in, Ty was ready to take them out.

She looked back down at Fluttershy, who laid on her side so the severed hoof remained somewhat above her heart. She noticed the mare’s slitted eyes slowly blinking, realizing it would not be long until she fell asleep on them. While she did not know what this would mean for her, Cheerilee had mentioned that it was best for them to keep her awake. So she gently shook the mare.

“Fluttershy, please don’t close your eyes. They’ll be back soon,” she said.

The gentle mare’s blue iris gazed up at her, still occasionally overcome by her heavy eyelids.

“i’m sorry …” she whimpered.

“No … no, don’t be sorry. It’s okay. You’re still here. Just keep them open.”

The mare closed her eyes for a few seconds longer than she would have liked. She shook her again, causing them to reopen.

“Fluttershy, please.”

That blue iris stabbed her again.

“please tell twilight … that i’m sorry.”

“Fluttershy,” Cheerilee said, scooting even closer to her. “Please don’t give up yet.”

“i … i don’t know how long i can hold on … i’m sorry …”

Cloud eyed Cheerilee again, a sense of urgency passing between them. She released her hoof from Flutter’s stump, turning it to reveal the blood stain only growing on her fur. The gauze pads she had on were soaked like the rest, but they had nothing else left. She cursed to herself, hoping that the others would be back soon.

She felt guilt wash over her, wondering if she should have even suggested the idea of cutting off her leg. She understood their situation, but what if magic wasn’t fully gone? What if Twilight could return magic before Equestria got too cold? This uncertainty bothered her to the core, causing her to look down at her own severed leg.

Maybe Fluttershy would be okay. She remembered that she herself passed out long before the others, including dear Fluttershy, could even work on hers. Maybe she would just fall into a coma, awaiting proper medical attention to wake back up. She eyed Cheerilee one more time as she used her good front hoof to grab Fluttershy’s. The mare looked up at her again, gently squeezing back.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. You’ll make it through this.”

She saw a faint tear well up in the mare’s eye before slowly creeping past her snout.

“you need to be there,” she said, “for them. for her.”

Cloud started to respond, but her emotions were creeping up on her. The mare continued.

“all of you do. please.”

“Fluttershy …” Cloud said, holding onto tears swelling in her own eyes. She sniffed them back and shook her head. “We will, okay? Just hang on.”

A soft smile entered the mare’s snout.

“thank you,” she said.

Her blue eyes blinked again, and soon after, they closed. Cloud felt her grip weaken and stubbornly shook her again to no avail. She exchanged a fearful glance with Cheerilee, who also tried to wake her. She set her good front hoof back on her stump, even though it didn’t seem to be helping anymore.

“Is there anything you can do?” she asked Cheerilee.

“Not without more medical supplies, I’m afraid.”

Cheerilee gazed around the empty town hall, but all it hosted was a bunch of empty, wooden chairs and hanging flags that they wouldn’t be able to reach. They both looked around until they heard Fluttershy take a deep breath, only to stop. There was no exhale, and on top of that, the mare’s chest had stopped moving.

“Fuck!” Cheerilee exclaimed, leaning over her and listening for a heartbeat.

Cloud watched as the teacher examined her, checking for vital signs. After she was finished, she looked up at her. “Let me roll her over. Keep holding her stump. I’m going to try CPR.”

Cloud followed along as Cheerilee rolled her over and started pushing down on her chest. She could feel more pressure coming from her severed leg, and felt a small amount of warmth from more blood seeping out. She held on tighter, wishing she had both of her forelegs still to squeeze back on. Nevertheless, she held on as tight as she could until she saw Fluttershy’s chest rise with Cheerilee’s breath.

“It’s working!” Cloud exclaimed.

Cheerilee shot her a half-smile as she leaned over Fluttershy to blow another breath in. As she did, she felt Fluttershy’s stump twitch. When she looked down to confirm it was her, she heard Cheerilee screech. Looking back up, she saw Fluttershy’s forelegs wrap around the teacher before she could back away, and she heard a groan cry out. She could see a new glazed white tint in the mare’s eyes as she snapped her jaws at Cheerilee, and within just a few seconds, she realized she had turned.

Dropping her stump, Cloud quickly grabbed her other hind leg and began pulling back. She started dragging the mare slowly, but this was enough to give Cheerilee the leverage to break out of her headlock, staggering backward on her tush. Cloud continued pulling a second longer before letting go, backing away from the new pale Fluttershy. She felt a cold tinge on her back as she brushed the railing of the balcony.

She expected Fluttershy to lunge for Cheerilee again, but instead, the pegasus swiveled her head back and looked directly into her eyes for a quick moment. The mare she had just been talking to was gone, replaced by the same wicked, pale, glossed-over monsters they had been fighting this whole time. Before she could react, Fluttershy stood up. The mare was blocking her escape from either side of the circular balcony, so she had to act fast.

As Fluttershy lunged for her, she ducked down, diving underneath her teeth in an attempt to slide past her. She felt the mare's fur brush past and heard the snapping of wood as Fluttershy collided with the railing of the balcony. Sprinting a few steps forward, Cloud stopped and turned around to confront the mare. But she wasn’t there anymore. A split second later, she heard a thud downstairs that eerily echoed through the empty hall.

Realizing Fluttershy had fallen off, she darted up to the edge and peered down to see. Below, Fluttershy’s pale body laid on the wooden floor, away from the seating area. She was no longer moving, and when Cloud squinted her eyes, she saw blood seeping on the wood beneath her. She could see Ty at the bottom of the stairs nearby, frantically batting her eyes between her and Fluttershy before she made her way over to where she had fallen.

“Fluttershy!!!” Cloud cried.

Both she and Cheerilee sprinted off the balcony and made their way along the circular path looping around the building. They called for Spike to move the fillies farther along the wall to obstruct any potential view before they rushed down the stairs and joined Typhoon at the mare’s side.

Her pale body remained still as they all surrounded her, and when they rolled her over, they realized she was gone for good.

Cloud sat back on her hind legs, raising her head away as she took a deep breath to calm down. As she did, she saw a shimmer through the upstairs windows. She gazed on for another few seconds until she saw a pony's body glide across, dipping down above the stragglers at the front door before circling away. Some of the banging outside settled.

Derpy was back.