The Equestrian Apocalypse

— Devan —

My heart raced. My legs were on fire. My arms were sore. My muscles begged me to stop, but I had to continue.

Behind me, Twilight laid quietly in a wooden cart meant for hauling fruits. We had found this cart full of pears and oranges not far from Rosemary Ave, when it became evident that she was losing her energy quickly. It had pretty long handles extending out of the front, meant for a pony to attach themselves via a yoke or rope. After some debating, I'd quickly dumped the fruits out and let down the wooden side-panel facing between the handles out front so she could make her way inside. The cart had plenty of room for her to lay diagonally on her stomach. The handles were also at a perfect height for me to hold them by my side as I booked it across town.

Stragglers littered the streets, but so far, I was able to outpace them. However, the streets were growing denser with them. I realized as I rounded a corner that I would have to start taking action. For a moment, I glanced back at Twilight. She laid in the cart, warily gazing back up at me with her hatchet strapped to her side.

In front of me were at least five zombie ponies. A few days ago, this sight would have caused me to freeze before sprinting the other way. Although that fear stuck with me, I knew it was no longer an option. I slowed the cart to a stop as the closest two on the street noticed me. I then raised my arm above my shoulder and pulled out my baseball bat. Even though I had picked up my Beretta before heading to Town Hall with Derpy, I couldn't risk firing it right now. The other streets around town probably held similar groupings of ponies, and if I fired it off, I'd essentially be ringing the dinner bell.

I realized as two more of them noticed us that I would need more than this damn bat. I turned around, just to find Twilight slowly picking herself up.

"Twilight, no!" I hollered, jogging toward her and pushing her back down.

"Devan!"

While she raised her head to glance back up at me, I grabbed the hatchet from her side and backed away.

"Devan, you can't take them all by yourself!"

I set my baseball bat against one of the cart's handles for a moment as I pulled off my backpack. I quickly pulled out a kitchen knife I had grabbed at the house on Rosemary Ave and held it with Twilight's hatchet. I glanced back at her, a smile protruding my lips.

"I can. Just stay here."

"Devan!"

I ignored her and turned back to the zombie ponies. I then took the kitchen knife and stuck its handle between my teeth for now. With my bat hanging from my left hand, and her hatchet in my right, I stepped forward. The five zombie ponies were spread out ever so slightly, with two groups of two and a single mare who was now the closest to me. She trotted forward as I broke into a sprint.

When the mare was a few pony lengths away, I slowed to a jog and flung my left arm back. Then, I used my whole body to swing the baseball bat forward. It collided with her head, throwing her face sideways before she tumbled to the ground beside me. I adjusted my right foot as I partly leapt over her, readying for the next two.

The stallion and mare both trotted in sync, side by side. I knew they'd be tough to take on together, so once again, I threw my left arm back. This time, I swung the bat forward and released it. The bat swung in violent circles as it flew toward them. The batting end then smacked the mare across her face. Surprisingly, the mare had seemed to notice she was in trouble when it grew closer, but her subtle sidestep did not stop the viscous whack from sending her to the ground. With her out of the way and the stallion drawing within range, I swung the hatchet, connecting it with his forehead. The stallion froze, and he dropped to the ground as I ripped the hatchet back.

I was growing happy with my victories until I noticed another mare joining the last two mares ahead. The three of them were relatively close, and by my judgement, I'd only have a mere second to deal with each one. I spat the knife from my mouth, catching it in my left hand as it fell.

Bring it on.

I rushed forward to meet them, dragging my right arm back in preparation of a swing. The wind was cut as I swung the hatchet forward, once again colliding the blade with the first mare's forehead and causing her to freeze. Immediately after, I reached my other forearm across my chest so the knife's blade pointed at the second mare. I threw my fist forward, connecting the blade to her forehead and stopping her as well. However, the third mare was lunging forward now, and both my weapons were dug inside the other two. As I started yanking the hatchet back, the mare opened her mouth and sunk her teeth in my exposed left forearm.

I stumbled backward, but kept my footing as I yanked out the hatchet. Despite letting go of the knife and attempting to pull my arm back, she held on, her teeth growing stronger. I sucked in my pain as I threw my hatchet back once more, and swung one last time. Like the others, it connected with her head, dropping her instantly. My arm stabbing with new pain, I stepped back and swiveled my head around. Everypony was down. Twilight was back beside the cart, starting to walk toward me. I gestured for her stubborn ass to get back inside and, ignoring my new pain, I threw on my backpack again, grabbed the handles, and continued.

The rest of the way was emptier than I thought, but there were still stragglers roaming the streets. The sound of the cart's wheels racing along the ground had drawn a few more of them, forcing me to stop from time to time and down them with Twilight’s hatchet. I grew angrier each time, as every second I spent fighting them was another second wasted from getting her to the train station. I was also growing guilty about my use of lethal force, seeing as there was a cure right in front of us now. But keeping Twilight safe was more important, for everybody involved. Regardless, for the staggered ponies, I still tried using non-lethal force. As they attacked, I used the blunt end of the hatchet and beat them down, hoping that I did not use too much force in beating them temporarily unconscious.

Thankfully, I did not have to deal with every straggler I could see. Far-away zombie ponies did not seem to notice me, as it was too dark outside for them to see me. I glanced up at Luna’s gibbous moon and sighed, hoping that she would not end up like her sister. Given how much the streets had calmed from the outrageous horde, Redheart and Doc had likely made their escape by now. I quietly prayed that they would make it as I continued through the unsettling dark streets.

It took just a few more minutes of running to reach the train station. Memories of the train fire ran through my head when I saw the charred remains of the cars, including the set aside debris from when we saved Princess Luna. On the tracks behind the train, I slowly edged the cart over one set of rails. The rocky ground in between shook the cart slightly, so I took it slow as I eased the cart over the other set of rails. Now we were on the side that extended out to the pond. Toward the left side of the pond, there were a few scattered trees, but it was mostly grassy plains. I could tell the horde had gone through, because branches and leaves were scattered all around the ground leading over the hill.

The grassy hillside shone dimly in Luna’s moonlight as we stood next to the tracks. I looked back to see Twilight curled up and looking down at her front hooves, struggling to keep her eyes open. Her chest rose and fell slowly with her breaths. I started to worry, wondering if Derpy could get Trixie back in time. It was unlikely she would be able to carry her in the air for such a far distance, but we hoped she'd be able to carry her over the horde following her at least. After pacing and grinding my teeth for a moment, I grabbed the handles again and continued toward the hillside.

“Devan, where are you going?” Twilight tiredly asked me.

“Just a bit farther. We’ll meet up with them faster.”

“Devan …”

“Please, Twilight. Just rest. It’s okay.”

I continued pulling her up the hillside. A cold wind blew through when we reached the top, but after settling, I gazed down the other side. The hill provided a long line of sight, but I still could not see Trixie’s blue forcefield or any of the horde. I sighed, turning back to look at the station and wondering if it made any sense to continue down the hill. The last thing I needed was to unknowingly pass them on their way back and effectively screw up our chance at saving the world. The pressure was mounting on my shoulders, so I set the cart down and nervously waited.

“Thank you, Devan.”

I turned around to her. She was still curled up, leaving enough space for me to sit on the edge of the cart next to her. She gazed up at me, but her purple eyes looked drained. I squeezed her hooves, unintentionally shaking them slightly.

“I’m sorry …” she said, “... if I end up dying.”

“You won’t, Twilight. Please stay with me. They are almost here, I promise.”

“I don’t know … everything is kinda blurring.”

“You’re just tired. But you have to fight against it right now. Not for long. Soon, Trixie will rush up here with Derpy and you won’t have to worry anymore. After this, you can sleep however long you want.”

She smiled weakly, squeezing back on my hands. She lowered her tone to a whisper.

“It’ll be okay. Cheerilee saw what I wrote … maybe ... maybe she remembered the whole page, but … you guys will figure it out if I don’t make it.”

“Twilight, you’re just delirious. They will be here soon. Please fight back until they are. All you have to do is stay awake. Just a few more minutes, hopefully. Please.”

She blinked slowly, clearly fighting a hard fight against her tiredness. She maintained her eye contact regardless, staring deeply into mine with a sense of compassion in hers. For a minute, we kept our gaze, until her eyelids slowly fell. Starting to panic, I shook her hooves violently for a moment. This caused her to blink them open again.

“Please …”

When she looked like she was about to shut them again, I heard an oddly familiar sound in the distance. I reluctantly disconnected from Twilight and stood up off the cart, walking a few steps to the top of the hill for a clearer view. In the distance, a fast-moving shadow was speeding toward us, vaguely illuminated by the moonlight. I heard the distant sound of a motorcycle as it approached.

Oh … my … god …

There was also a shadowy outline of Derpy as she flew over the object, and when they neared the bottom of the hill I was on, I could make out two ponies riding on top of a motorcycle. Both of them were hauling ass across the grassy plains below. It was then that I noticed the pony riding on the back of the motorcycle was Trixie, and the one driving it was …

Spark?!

When I realized what I saw was real, my heart sprung with a mixture of joy and pounding adrenaline. I sprinted the few steps back to the cart and flung my backpack off, quickly unzipping the main bag open and pulling out the folder with the cure. Twilight was blinking fast and slowly eased herself up before falling back down on her front hooves. She sighed, drained of energy, but the others were here now.

As they approached, I waved my arms frantically, despite them probably already seeing my lengthy self. Derpy set herself down next to the cart, and Spark drifted the motorcycle to a stop right in front of us. Trixie hurriedly hopped off, rubbing her ears profusely from the noise of the motorcycle.

“Thank god! Here’s the cure! We’re missing one of her pages, but she can tell you- fill in the gaps you know?! We gotta hurry, she’s almost out!”

“Gotcha!” Trixie called, grabbing the folder from me and setting it down on the cart. I watched for a moment as she spread out the pages where I had sat. I leaned down and handed her Twilight’s flashlight so she could read it better. As she read through them, I looked up to see stragglers coming from the nearby station. They were likely drawn in by the sound of Spark’s motorcycle, so I turned back to look at her. Her motorcycle was astonishing. Seeing the various parts put together into something so wicked was an amazing feat to witness, and part of me wondered if she even knew what she had built.

“Well!” Spark shouted, “Guess I oughta take care of that!”

“Thank you!” I hollered back, running up and wrapping my arms around the mare. She returned the hug, careful not to tip over the noisy bike. When we disconnected, she set her hooves back on the shifters and smiled back at me.

“See you at the hospital!” she shouted, before taking off for the train station. Derpy also saluted cutely before sticking her tongue out and taking off to assist her in the air.

I turned back to Trixie, who was now leaning over the cart, shaking Twilight with her hoof. I ran back just to see Twilight was out cold already. Trixie looked over at me with nervousness painted on her face.

“Well? Did- Did she tell you? Do you know the spell now?” I asked anxiously.

“She only got through, like, I think ... three quarters? ... of the page. There’s still a part missing!”

No. Come on, Twilight. I joined her in the frantic attempt of shaking Twilight awake, but she was not budging. We both called her name, but there was no reply. I saw her chest rise with one last breath before it settled to an ominous rest.

“No!!” I cried.

Trixie was shaking now, frantically scanning through the pages on the cart.

“Trix, come on, you can fill in the gap, right?”

“I … I can try …”

“Okay, good! That’s all you can do,” I said, setting my left hand on her back. “You got this, Trix. I believe in you.”

“ShhhhhHUSH!”

I raised my hands in surrender and backed up while she tried to focus. It was quiet now, besides the distant sound of Spark revving her makeshift motorcycle. I wanted to reassure Trix and make her feel more at ease, as we still had a chance, but my anxiety was building as well. The pages I had seen with Twilight’s writing didn't seem that full of words, but one-quarter of a page left a little to the imagination. I guess I can’t really speak, because that one quarter could potentially mean a huge gap in terms of magic language.

I watched as Trixie backed up and stared at Twilight’s still body. Even now, only a minute later, she was starting to pale. Part of me was scared to see zombified Twilight, but part of me was happy that she was coming back at least. It was a very strange feeling. As long as Trixie got this right, this could be the end of it all …

“Are you ready?” I asked her.

She stood still for a second before looking over her shoulder at me.

“You think I should try it already? I’m not sure if we should wait … or …”

“Try it. You can always try again when she gets up, right?”

“I … I can … I’m just trying to manage my mana here, you know? That forcefield spell took a lot of energy to keep going for so long. I can't wear my energy thin now.”

“Oh … alright. Well, it is up to you then.”

I waited anxiously for the next thirty seconds, watching Twilight’s pale body closely for any movement. I debated holding her back so Trixie had a clear shot, but given the nature of the spell, it was probably safer to not physically touch her when it hit. Trixie mentioned that Twilight's alteration of the spell deemed it a bit more dangerous to anybody in physical contact. The logic also suggested that if she was alone in her new, 'natural' zombie state, it would more reliably take her out of it. So for efficiency sake, we stayed back.

Trixie then lit up her horn, a lot slower than she usually did. I was curious as to why this was, but continued to watch as her horn grew brighter and brighter. This spell was clearly very powerful, as her horn sparkled with light for a solid fifteen to twenty seconds. I assumed it was taking this long because it was her first time trying this new, altered version of the spell.

After twenty or so seconds, there was a subtle flash as a blue orb quickly flew into Twilight’s body. The orb dissipated on contact, sending a wave of blue throughout her. There was an eerie silence after it vanished. Both Trixie and I watched on in anticipation, but her unfamiliar pale tone remained. I sighed for a second, hoping Trixie had a backup idea.

Suddenly, Twilight’s chest rose as the mare took a deep breath in.

Did she do it?

I watched on, hoping to see Twilight’s bright purple eyes open again. For the next minute, she breathed slowly. Trixie carefully stepped forward to glance at one of the pages again, and when she did, Twilight’s eyes opened. However, there was an ominous white glaze to them.

“TRIXIE LOOK OUT!” I shouted.

It was too late. Twilight caught sight of the mare, and with a sudden, unexpected burst of energy, she stood up. Trixie backed away when she realized, but could not avoid her as the alicorn leapt off the cart on top of her. She kicked back furiously, using all four of her legs to kick Twilight’s snapping jaws away.

I tried to spring into action quickly, but Trixie had fallen between the handles of the cart and was in an awkward position for me to help. So instead, I methodically stepped beside them and snaked my hands underneath Twilight’s jaw. In another motion, I clasped her throat tightly before pushing up on the blood-thirsty mare. With Trixie’s kicks assisting me, I was able to shove Twilight off of her.

As I did, her pale body made contact with the cart’s right handle, causing the cart to tip. She fell above the handle, and as the cart tipped, sending my backpack to the ground and papers flying around us, the other handle connected with the top of my back and sent me falling to the ground as well. Trixie, below, was able to scoot away from us as we fell. As Twilight hit with the ground, I lost my grip on her neck. My hands flew to the sides of her head, slapping the ground below to prevent me from face-planting directly on top of her. Underneath me, she raised her head before I could recover, and sunk her teeth into the front of my shoulder. I tried to peel her off, but the mare clenched on tightly, wrapping her jaw to clutch the whole shoulder in it. What energy I had left after the run across town was quickly sapping as I rolled over in an attempt to escape her jaws.

However, this only led to my weight being shifted off of her and hers being shifted onto me as she got above me and strengthened her bite. The handle below me uncomfortably dug into my back as I fought. She was then pushed off of me when Trixie bucked her hard toward the knocked-over cart beside us. Blood started leaking from both the front and back of my shoulder as I started using my arms to sit back up. Before I could, Twilight rebounded above me and stepped a foreleg forcefully on my chest as she tried to leap over to get Trixie again. That's when I noticed just how freakishly fast, and strong, she was. A memory of Pinkie Pie flashed in my head, and I realized with horror that we were fighting a similarly strengthened Twilight now.

As she moved above me, and as her hind leg came over, I locked my arms tightly around it. This caused her to trip, falling just short of Trixie. The furious mare powerfully tried to pull away for a second, but once she figured out I was holding on too tightly, she turned back to me. I quickly unlocked my arms and threw my right arm up as she lunged again, faster than even Pinkie had. While it blocked her attack, she instead bit her teeth into my forearm. Pain radiated through it as her teeth bit down harder, creating a similar pain to my wounded left forearm. I tried to pull it back from her, but she held onto it as if it were a chew toy.

As I struggled, I saw Trixie’s horn light up in the corner of my eye.

Please be a freeze spell please be a freeze spell please be a freeze spell.

A flash entered the corner of my eye and Trixie's spell collided with Twilight. However, instead of ice flowing over her and freezing her, a brief mist sparkled around her. Tiny, scattered water droplets hit the ground as she continued fighting. The spell had no effect. Despite this, Twilight was still surprised by the spell, causing her to slightly loosen her teeth's grip. This allowed me the opportunity of ripping my arm back from her.

My freedom lasted mere milliseconds as she ferociously gazed back at me. She immediately fought her way back on top of me before I could scoot away, and we found ourselves in another stalemate as I used the last of my strength to hold her off. Warm blood continued trickling from my shoulder and arms, and it only felt warmer as my adrenaline raced at maximum speed. I glanced over at Trixie, who was rushing up to buck her again. At least, that is what I thought she was doing. Instead, she passed behind us and stopped beside the tipped over cart. Despite my struggle, I heard my fallen backpack rustling for a moment until I realized what she was doing.

“TRIX! NO!”

I leaned my head back to see that I had guessed right. Trixie was coming at us with the kitchen knife I had stored back in my bag after the fight. As she raised the knife, clearly aiming for Twilight, I mustered up a surge of strength and rolled Twilight to my left side. The knife sliced the air above me as she had no time to react. Trixie looked down at me with a shocked expression before backing off as Twilight detached from me and stood up quickly, clearly still aching to get a bite out of her. As the mare started to rush away, I wrapped my arms around her hind legs again and pulled her down. She angrily pushed herself back up and turned for me again. Right before she was on top of me, I managed to shout out to Trixie.

“TRIX!! TRY AGAIN!”

I could vaguely see her appalled expression as Twilight jumped on top of me. My strength was waning quickly, and my adrenaline could only keep me going for so long. I shot her a desperate look.

“PLEASE!!”

The mare took no more time to hesitate, glowing her horn that familiar blue glow. It didn't matter if the spell wasn't as effective, or if I got hurt in the process. I needed her to try again.

As her horn grew brighter, my arms finally gave out. Twilight snapped her jaw on my neck, sinking her teeth in my skin. Blood splattered out on my ear and shoulder as she cut deeper. I grasped at her own shoulder and neck in a desperate attempt to push her off, but it wasn’t happening this time. She shook her head slightly as her teeth sunk deep into my skin. As my energy drained away, I saw a bright flash before a bright blue wave rushed over me and seemingly outlining Twilight at the same time. I felt a quick shock, as if someone had hit me with a taser. Then, suddenly, the mare stopped, and her teeth relaxed.

Caught up in my adrenaline, I wasn't sure what just happened, so I weakly pushed Twilight away from my neck. Her teeth gently scraped it as she fell to my side and rolled an arm-length away from me. Blood oozed out of my neck as pain stabbed through it, flashing through my nearby chest and shoulders. Even though my blood was practically gushing now, my heart stopped at the sudden thought that Trixie may have somehow just killed her.

With my shaky left hand, I clenched my neck. The warm blood immediately drained to my hand as I gasped for air, a new liquid seeming to flow up and down my esophagus. Next to me, I noticed Twilight’s paleness had slowly faded. I raised my head off the ground slightly and watched as she shook her head and slowly rolled herself onto her stomach. She blinked her eyes open, observing the grass below her before looking over at me.

Her beautiful, purple irises had no white tint to them anymore, and while she did have some of my blood on her snout and dripping from her mouth, she looked completely normal again. Trixie had done it.

I opened my mouth in a wide smile, choking on what felt like blood rushing down my esophagus. She stared back, and I saw her expression slowly morph to horror as she stood up. She set a hoof to her dripping mouth, extending it in front of her to see my blood on it. Her eyes widening, she looked back at the cart and her surroundings before catching sight of Trixie nearby, who looked back with horror. Trixie and I exchanged a glance, causing me to smile more. My blood bubbled in my esophagus as I struggled to speak out.

“Y- y … you … d- di- did it!”

Twilight rushed up to my side, holding the same terrified look as she watched me gurgling on my own blood. I felt a growing weakness flow through my body as my head gently fell back to the ground.

“DEVAN!!! NOOOO!!!"