The Equestrian Apocalypse

by Pony_Craze

Rating: mature
Tags: Human, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Death, Sad, Thriller, Original Character, Trixie, Profanity, Adventure, Violence
Length: 145438

An unexpected zombie pony apocalypse breaks out in Equestria

Equestria falls to a mysterious illness that raises the dead. Devan, a human who was brought to Equestria, and his pony friends must fight to survive a growing number of zombie ponies as the widespread illness turns apocalyptic. Various groups of ponies with the potential to stop it fight their way to an unsure end.

Published 2023-05-07 17:20:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-06-30 17:26:02 UTC

Sick City

— Trixie Lulamoon —

With her saddlebags packed with notes and supplies, Trixie fastened the last strap over her shoulder to keep them snug. She took one last sip of her morning coffee before heading out of her room. The hotel she was staying at was surprisingly upper-class, situated in the heart of Manehatten. She had arrived here about a week ago, planning to spend another week continuing her magic acts and studying. Over the past few months, she had been perfecting her magic day and night, hoping to excel at her new acts and grow a bigger name for herself.

Her beloved grandfather, who passed away just a few weeks into her studies, served as inspiration for her to further her magic abilities. She and her family had known for a few months beforehand that he was getting ready to kick the bucket, but his heart disease took him faster than anypony had expected. Trixie was deeply saddened by his loss, so she used her study time to distract herself from it. As a result of doing this, she gained a renewed interest in studying magic, which helped her grow her knowledge significantly.

This morning, however, she canceled her morning study routine to visit the Manehatten hospital down the road. About a week ago, a new illness was detected raging throughout Manehatten. It did not take long for news to spread throughout the city, and many ponies were worried about a possible pandemic. While the symptoms of the illness were not found to be particularly menacing – most of the time being just a dry cough and occasional numbing sensations – it was highly contagious. Most ponies who went in for testing tested positive for it, including many who showed no symptoms at all. The reasoning behind it was unknown, causing science and doctor ponies throughout Equestria to work day and night trying to figure it out.

Trixie was particularly concerned about this new illness, and she could not figure out why. She assumed it might be from her grandfather’s recent death and the small bout of anxiety that had come along with it. Whatever the case was, her gut feeling told her this new illness would not turn out pretty. Over the past few nights, she had nightmares of mass death, seeing dead ponies laying throughout the streets of Manehatten. She would always wake up in the middle of the night, covered in a cold sweat, and immediately run to the window to check the city. Looking down from the hotel’s fifth-story window would always yield the same result: city streetlights glowing on the few ponies walking about in the nighttime.

She wanted to visit the hospital because she believed she might have something that could help with the illness. While she had little to no experience in medical science, she had grown new confidence in what she had learned, realizing just how powerful magic could be. While she was tossing and turning in bed last night, she recalled two spells she had recently learned. She realized that combining them may result in a sort-of medicinal effect that might help or even cure the sick ponies. It was very far-fetched that this would do anything, but she felt the need to do something to calm her mind. Even if she could just visit the sick ponies and make sense of their illness, that alone might put her mind at ease.

She sighed as she arrived at the hospital and entered the double doors. To her surprise, the check-in desk had no line, but the waiting room was still packed with dozens of ponies. She walked up to the desk and waited as the receptionist fumbled around with a growing mess of paperwork. With a quiet glow in her horn, Trixie used a silent magic spell to peer into the papers laid out on the desk. She observed a few names that had recently checked in before moving on to another paper. After a few seconds, she found a pony’s name with one checkmark beside it: Sugar Sweetstack. She had also seen a few names with two checkmarks, so she assumed one meant they were processed and put into a room, and two meant they had already been discharged.

“Excuse me …” she said.

The tired receptionist paused what she was doing and looked up at Trixie.

“How can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m here to visit Sugar Sweetstack please.”

“Sorry, we aren’t allowing visitors at this time.”

“No … it’s … hold on.”

Trixie had already prepared for this, knowing that it might not be easy to get inside with tensions about the illness so high. The receptionist watched as Trixie pulled a beige folder out of her saddlebag, as well as some kind of id card attached to a lanyard. Trixie opened the folder and laid it out on the top part of the desk, holding up the id card next to her face.

“Twinkle Lab, official science pony. I was sent on behalf of my organization on private matters. It is in regards to the new illness.”

The receptionist looked unamused, glancing back and forth between her and the documents. Trixie had worked hard last night to make the fake paperwork and id card look valid.

“I would think a science institution would have given us a heads-up …”

Trixie swallowed nervously.

“My apologies. Perhaps there was an issue with the letter they sent.”

“I’m sorry, but I need to see stronger proof.”

Bitch.

It took Trixie’s brain-to-mouth filter extra work not to blurt out at the receptionist. Trixie leaned in closer, putting her head over the desk. “Listen-” she whispered, “-this is a time-sensitive matter. I need to get in there. This sickness is dangerous and this visit is very important.”

“I understand, but I can’t allow that. You need to contact them or something. I'm sorry.”

The receptionist slid Trixie’s fake folder away and got back to shuffling her papers. Trixie leaned over the desk again.

“You don't understand,” she said quietly, “I need you to let me in now.”

An increasingly angry receptionist looked back up at her. “No. Please leave.”

Trixie bit her tongue and realized her plan had no chance of working now. She thought about trying her spell on a willing sick pony in the lobby, but without a proper diagnosis from the hospital, she realized it could be dangerous. Even on the right pony, it was probably dangerous, but Trixie was only willing to take so much of a chance. She also did not feel like risking a trip to jail if things went south in front of so many ponies.

"Okay... look," she whispered softly, "I'm not with some company. I am just somepony with an idea. Ponies have suffered from this already and I might know a way to stop it."

"Might?"

"...Y-yes ... it is not set in stone, but I believe it could work."

The receptionist looked at her funny. "Now I really can't let you in. I get you want to help but leave it to the professionals, please."

Before Trixie could retaliate, the receptionist ushered a waiting pony that had gotten in line behind her. Trixie huffed, fighting off her growing anger and defeatedly walked back toward the front doors. A few ponies in the crowded waiting area had overheard their argument and were now looking on in curiosity. She ignored them, continuing her walk of shame. She was confident that her disguise would have worked, but she had not expected to deal with such a stubborn receptionist. She wondered if there was a better method she could have used to get inside.

Diverting from the double doors, she decided to stop by the restrooms. All the stalls were occupied so she sat up next to the wall and waited. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, taking some breaths to calm herself down after getting worked up like that. When she opened them, she was staring at a large air conditioning vent in the ceiling. She noticed the eggcrate grate opening was wide enough to fit a pony. Devious and stubborn as she was, she began to ponder.

After a minute of thought, she decided she would sneak her way in using the vents. Thankfully for her, the grate was near the sinks and out of sight of the ponies occupying the stalls. With a quick look around, she warmed up her horn and shot the grate with the most basic of movement spells. The grate remained still. Thinking quickly, she warmed up a more advanced spell to loosen the screws that must have been holding it in place. Using these two together worked, pushing the grate up into the air duct.

Now came the hard part. The bathroom was small but the grate was still on the ceiling. With a trotting start, she jumped up, recoiled off the sink, and landed her forelegs in the duct. She shimmied her bottom half inside and set down the grate again just as a toilet flushed. After making sure the duct was clear and she was secure, she cautiously looked through the edge of the grate's square holes, watching as a bewildered pony walked up to the sink and looked around for whatever made the noise. Trixie sighed in relief as she watched the pony washed her hooves and leave. She then started to slowly edge her way through the narrow duct, careful not to scratch her saddlebags too much against its walls. She figured the duct support may not be rated for the weight of a pony, so she listened for any creak or noise that may alert her of a break incoming.

A few minutes of slow crawling later, she approached another grate and looked through it to see one of the hospital rooms. The room was dark and there was nopony in the messed-up bed. She jumped as the door swung open and a janitor pony turned the lights on. She watched as he quickly began tidying up the room. Shortly after, a nurse pony came flying in, quickly grabbing the old sheets and leaving.

How fast can they get the room ready? she wondered.

She decided to move on a minute later. Even if a sick pony showed up in the room, they would likely be accompanied by nurses and/or doctors for a while. The next room she spied on looked promising, hosting a lone stallion tossing around in his bed. As she thought about how to introduce herself, the room’s bathroom door opened and a mare came walking out. Trixie grew furious as the mare sat by his bedside and held his hoof.

No visitors, huh? Bitch.

The next room was occupied by a couple of nurses doing some kind of procedure on the patient, so she moved on to the next room. Inside it, there was a mare sleeping in her bed with the room semi-darkened and no visitors. Trixie waited a minute and listened to hear if anypony was in the bathroom, but there were no sounds in return. This was the one. She hoped that no doctor or nurse ponies were on the way to see this mare. She also hoped this mare was sick with the right illness. Otherwise, this encounter could become even more awkward than it already would be.

She used her magic to quietly unscrew the grate and carefully lowered it to the floor below. She jumped down as quietly as she could, standing still to listen and make sure nopony heard. The mare didn’t move. Trixie nervously approached her, realizing how odd this conversation was about to become. She approached her bedside nonetheless.

“Excuse me,” she said softly.

No response. Trixie shook her gently.

“Excuse me, miss.”

She looked on at the mare’s face and noticed something. There really was no response; the mare was not breathing. Trixie’s heart sunk to the floor, skipping many beats as it fell. She looked up at the heart rate monitor, noticing the flatline. There was also a bell icon in the lower corner that was crossed out, likely meaning the machine had been silenced.

As Trixie looked on in horror at the dead pony, she heard a rumble outside the door as if somepony was about to run in. Adrenaline started rushing through her veins as she darted towards the air duct before realizing the rumbling was getting quieter. While she listened for it again, there was a scream in the distance. Trixie looked back at the dead pony, unsure of what to do. There was clearly something going on outside. She also did not want to get caught up in some kind of police investigation claiming she murdered the pony.

She ran back to the mare's bedside and leaned her head against the mare’s chest, listening for a heartbeat despite what the monitor was saying. As she listened, she heard the mare take a slow, deep breath in as her chest grew. A shallow heartbeat started to beat against Trixie’s ear. Partially relieved, Trixie turned her attention back to the mare’s face when she realized how pale it had become.

“Miss … are … are you alright?” she asked.

The mare’s eyes slowly opened as she began to groan. Trixie noticed her eyes appeared very glazed over, with a suspicious white tint to them. Before she could make any more observations, the mare’s eyes lit up as she saw her. The pony groaned loudly before snapping her teeth and raising her head. As the mare started to dig her way out of the hospital bed, Trixie fell backward.

“No! Stop!”

Trixie warmed up a spell to knock her back as the mare slid out of the bed and started coming after her. Realizing there was no time left to act, she released it before it could charge completely. The spell halted the attacking pony but did not push her back nearly at all. Trixie got up quickly and galloped toward the room's door. She yanked it open just to find a similarly pale stallion in the hallway in front of her. The stallion noticed her immediately and groaned, lunging at the doorway.

Trixie slammed the door, but his body got in the way, causing blood to splatter out of his crushed leg. Realizing the mare was almost on top of her now, she ducked beneath her snapping jaw and made a break for the air duct. On the way, she pushed the rolling hospital food tray below the grate so she could reach. She jumped up on top of the sturdy tray before leaping up halfway into the grate. Her saddlebags weighed her down partially, but there was no time to take them off. She started to shimmy her way up, but before she could fully crawl in, one of them grabbed her right hind leg and started to pull. Trixie flailed to get inside the duct but started slipping, losing her grip on its metal floors.

Despite her rushing adrenaline, she focused intently on a newly learned water-based spell as she slipped further and further down. Her horn glowed as she began gathering nearby water sources, pulling water from the nearby bathroom’s bath spout and sink faucet. When the pony finally dragged her all the way out, she blasted the spell as she fell to the ground. Gallons of water rushed from around her and slammed into both the attackers, causing them to tumble back to the corner of the room. Trixie quickly shook the water from her hooves as she clumsily jumped up and into the duct, nearly slipping on the water she had just summoned. While probably not the best spell she could have come up with, the intensity of the situation had fogged her thinking. She took a second once she was secure again to ask herself:

What in Equestria is this? Were those zombies?? You have got to be joking! This has to be another nightmare.

She was going to need some more time to figure this out, but it did not seem time was on her side. The mare who grabbed her leg was now climbing into the duct after her. She looked back dumbfounded for a second before quickly scooting forwards. When she got close to one of the grates looking down on the previous hospital rooms, the lights in the hospital went out, causing the duct to become nearly pitch-black. Only a spoonful of light cast up through some of the grates laid out ahead of her. After she crossed a few of them, she realized she was quickly getting lost. The mare was now chasing her through the duct, so there was no time to stop and adjust her eyes to see into the dark rooms below.

She passed a few more grates before slamming her head on a duct wall. Her head started pounding just moments later, but there was no time for her to react. She shook it off swiftly and felt her way into the left turn the duct made before speeding up again. A few seconds later, she heard the mare make the same mistake. While Trixie might have been able to warm up a quick spell to help her here, she was too lost in panic to think straight. Her body was now in fight or flight mode, and being chased in these dark duct tunnels only enhanced this response.

While she scurried along the duct, a grate lit brighter than the others sat ahead. She started warming up the spell to unscrew it as she approached, speeding up in a frenzy of hope. But before she could get to it, the metal beneath her groaned for a split second before the floor of the duct burst open.

Trixie tumbled to the room below and smashed into a folding table with some kind of glass bottles on it. The table instantly snapped under her weight, sending her to the floor as its middle section caved in. Liquids from the bottles splashed all over her as their glass cracked all around her. Some of the liquids began burning her coat, but some of them were so cold that they gave parts of her body intense chills. Her horn was covered in a mixture of the hot and cold liquids, and she temporarily had no access to her magic.

She struggled to get out of the table’s debris as broken glass, bottles, and beakers slid down to her sides and surrounded her. Before she could get out of the way, the mare fell through the hole and landed on on top of her. She frantically pushed her off to her side before realizing the mare had stopped moving. After taking a few much-needed seconds to catch her breath, she looked over the pony to see her face had landed square on a broken glass bottle, with shards of glass penetrating her eye socket.

This sight combined with the unusual sensations she was starting to feel from the mystery liquids caused her to vomit on her other side. She started feeling a light-headed sensation overwhelm her as she slowly edged away from the puke traveling down the slanted table toward her. After a few seconds, her vision faded to black as she passed out.

Trixie blinked her eyes opened. The putrid smell of death filled her nostrils. Next to her was the corpse of the pony from before. It hadn't been a dream. She avoided looking at her as she took some deep breaths, trying to snap back to reality. There were no sounds coming from the duct above her. She wondered how long she was out, but the sight of marks on her foreleg from resting too long on the table was not a good sign. She looked around at the broken glass bottles and beakers surrounding her, remembering the liquid that had spilled all over her. She felt normal now, despite one of her forelegs being slightly wet. She looked normal too, so she hoped whatever had spilled on her did not have any effects on her.

As her senses returned to a relatively normal state, she realized how bad of a situation she was in. A zombie apocalypse? seemed to be breaking out now, and she was in the middle of a hospital full of sick ponies … in the busiest city in Equestria. She also wasn't aware of how bad it may be outside, as she was unaware of how long she was passed out. Regardless, she knew it was not safe to stay here. She wondered if the two zombie ponies she witnessed earlier were isolated incidents, but the power going out and the screams she heard were not a good sign. Thankfully, there was a single emergency light above this room's door which vaguely illuminated her surroundings.

She hesitantly stood up and tip-toed over the floor of glass, inevitably getting a few small cuts by the shards. It looked like she had fallen into some sort of science lab, as tables with glass beakers and science equipment were laid out around the rest of the room. Luckily, the table she fell on was what looked like a makeshift folding table as opposed to some of the sturdy marble countertops. Unluckily, she had become some kind of unplanned science experiment. The liquids from the broken bottles were soaked into her now, and despite her feeling normal, she still worried about what her body absorbed.

She eased her way around the room and ran to the door, putting her ear against it and listening to what was on the other side. She happened to see a fire escape map next to it that showed the nearest fire escape, which was conveniently right down the hall from the room she was in. She heard nothing through the door for a few seconds, so she slowly opened it. The hallway was dimly lit by emergency lights dotted throughout the ceiling. There was nothing but various hospital carts and wheelchairs lining it, and it sounded surprisingly empty. She made her way down the hall, toward the glowing red exit sign. The door opened to a stairwell that went up from her current ground floor, as well as another exit door that led outside. Her instincts took over when she saw the door, and she busted through it to escape the horrors she had seen.

The bright morning sun beat on her as she went through the doorway, and it took her vision a few seconds to adapt to the blinding rays. Outside, there was a small concrete clearing with paved lines. To her left, the hospital wall held a very wide, painted door with an awning, indicating a place that paramedic ponies dropped off ill patients. On the painted yellow lines in front of it, she noticed ... covered up bodies. Lined against the wall was around a dozen of these bodies, which were covered up with white sheets. Blood stains were speckled on the sheets as they laid eerily still.

Trixie was lost in the gruesome sight until she realized there were two upright, sick ponies trotting toward her from the alley, drawn in by the sound of the door flying open. She turned to run down the other alley until she saw another one rounding its corner and blocking her in. She frustratingly went back inside the fire exit door and slammed it shut.

The door started banging violently from the ponies outside. Luckily for her, it was a push door that swung outward, and the zombie ponies did not seem smart enough to pull on the handle outside. There was still the chance that a stray hoof could yank it open, so Trixie held it while she thought of a plan. As she did, loud steps came rushing down the stairwell above her. She started warming up a goo spell to trap the attacker as they came down the stairs, but she hesitated as the pony came into view. Vinyl Scratch’s bright white body came rushing around before stopping halfway at the sight of Trixie. She let out an audible sigh of relief when she realized Trixie wasn’t a zombie. Trixie gestured to the door.

“They might get in!”

“Hold on!” Vinyl yelled before turning and booking it back up the stairs.

“Hey!” Trixie shouted after her, “Vinyl!”

Trixie hesitated for a few seconds before abandoning the door and dashing up the stairs after her. She glanced back as she did to see the door start swinging in and out awkwardly before one of them managed to push their foreleg in. She lost sight as she turned the corner and ran up the rest of the first-floor stairs. When she got up and started turning to climb the next flight, she noticed Vinyl through the second-floor doorway and came to a stop. Vinyl was looking out of an opened window as her horn started to glow. She stopped when she noticed Trixie out of the corner of her eye.

“What are you doing?! The door!” Vinyl yelled.

“It’s too late, they’re coming up!”

“Okay! Follow!” Vinyl replied, turning and running back through the doorway. Trixie followed as they ran through a hallway with windows. She took a peek outside as they ran to find only a couple of zombie ponies making their way toward the building. They made a turn down a darker hallway and kept going. The hallway grew too dark for Trixie to see Vinyl stop, and she ended up running into the back of her and knocking them both down.

“Shit! Sorry!”

Trixie helped her up, looking back nervously for zombies. After she was up, Vinyl swung open a door to a patient room and ran in. She gestured for Trixie to do the same. Light from the window cast the room in a bright glow, unlike the other rooms. This room must have faced east, Trixie thought, because the rising sun was beaming through the curtains. The room was like the other patient rooms she had seen. There was a hospital bed on the right wall with medical equipment above it, a few chairs by the bedside, a food tray, and a small bathroom in the rear left corner. As Trixie looked around, Vinyl closed the door quietly.

“We need to secure it,” Vinyl said between breaths.

Trixie looked over the hospital bed as she caught her breath too.

“Let’s push the bed against the door,” she suggested.

The mares circled the bed and grabbed onto its side. Trixie kicked the foot lever below it that was holding it in place.

“Count of 3,” Vinyl said, “1 … 2 … 3!”

The bed rolled slowly across the room as the mares shoved it against the door. They were careful not to make a loud banging noise when doing so. The faint moan of a group of zombies started to leak through the door. After relocking the wheels, the mares backed up and started to regain the energy they lost during their gallop.

“How did you know this room was safe?” Trixie asked.

Vinyl paused for a second.

“… it was mine …”

Trixie looked up at her nervously. She returned a worried glance back. On the bed they had just rolled against the door, Trixie saw an abandoned hospital gown poking out from under the sheets. She sighed.

“Do you have it?”

Vinyl nodded defeatedly. Trixie thought about this, realizing they had already been in close contact with each other. She remembered that the ponies studying the new illness deemed it highly contagious. If Vinyl had it, she probably spread it to her already. If not, the zombie mare who grabbed her before had.

"I'm sorry," Vinyl told her.

"It's ... it's alright."

"So, what do we do now? Does it even matter? Are we just going to turn into one of them?"

"I don't know," Trixie replied, "but whatever happens, I'm not dying in this damn hospital."

Good Morning

— Devan White —

Sunshine cascaded through my bedroom. Frankly, it was probably the only way I would ever wake up. Multiple alarms never phased me, annoyingly. I rolled out of bed to start off the day, as today was the day I visited Twilight's castle to become another lab experiment. It was hard to blame her, as I stood out very much.

I am the only human there is, ever was, and maybe ever will be, in Equestria. I had been sent here by Princess Celestia with her amazing alicorn magic and energy to help the ponies of Equestria rebuild after an extremely rare mega-storm swept through and tore it apart. Originally, she had planned to bring more humans. However, she was concerned about Equestria's safety, so to be on the safe side, and as an experiment, she only brought one.

Me.

Princess Celestia had picked me specifically, partially by chance, and partially because I fit the bill. I was young, at my peak in terms of endurance, I already knew about Equestria through my own world, and I had always wanted to know what it felt like to be in a magical world such as this. I also wasn't an asshole ... according to her. I had not turned the offer down, because my life back on Earth was not exactly what it was cracked up to be. I felt much better in Equestria. I felt much … safer.

I thought again about what Twi might do with her experiment today. I was just oozing with excitement. It was not that I disliked Twi … she just happened to come off as a mad scientist sometimes. I could not recall a time when I felt safe sitting in her chair while she hooked me up with suspicious-looking wires. I even got electrocuted by accident once. Yeah, electrocuted. Regardless, Twi always accommodated me for my troubles, and she was a very good friend of mine, so my silly self kept agreeing to more and more experiments.

There was a knock at the door while on my way to my mini-kitchen. If I had to guess, that would be Derpy, my favorite mailmare. Upon opening the door, my hunch was correct.

“Murnin Diven,” she greeted.

I looked down and grabbed the mail from her mouth.

“Good morning, Derpy.”

These ponies stood roughly three-in-a-half to four feet tall when on all fours. I wasn’t huge, but standing at 5’10 made a noticeable height difference, with most of them only coming up to my abdomen. The only exceptions were alicorns like Princess Celestia, who stood slightly taller than me.

“How are you?” she asked.

“Pretty good, how 'bout yourself?”

I sifted through the mail while she and I caught up on what had happened since yesterday's delivery. Ever since Celestia brought me to Equestria, I grew a close bond with some of these ponies. Being a human didn't set me apart as much as I initially thought it would.

“... his relatives are pretty upset ...” she continued with her story.

Over the past week, an illness had spread in one of Manehattan's largest hospitals, and many ponies were growing concerned about its lethality. I had not followed the stories as much as some ponies, Twi included, but I didn't think much about it. Sickness can be cured, as long as you have people, or should I say, ponies, who care enough to do so.

“You … You aren't worried about it, are you Devan?” she asked.

“I'm not too concerned. I haven't read the newspapers much this week. It'll probably make its rounds the next few weeks before going away.”

She smiled, causing me to. “Well, I gotta go. See ya around, Devan.”

“Alright. See ya, Derpy.”

I shut the door and tossed the mail on the end table by my shoes. Strolling into the kitchen, I decided to have a snack over a big, fancy breakfast. Why? I felt extra lazy today. It was chill being a human in Equestria, but sometimes I did miss the benefits of being back home on Earth.

If only Equestria had a Waffle House ...

Whenever I stumbled upon a thought like that, I reminded myself how bad I had it back on Earth, as if I could afford it anyway. My broken past led me to very rough times, and thoughts about going back in the next couple of weeks bothered me. Initially, Celestia had brought me here under an 'experimental contract' that expired two months ago, when Equestria finished its storm relief efforts. When I met with her in her castle on expiration day, I pleaded for her to give me at least another month. Graciously, she had set me up with an extended 3-month stay, but the end of that seemed to be lingering around the corner. Twilight and I would have to talk it over with her before then.

As I grabbed chips from my little pantry, I clumsily bumped into the counter and knocked over my walkie-talkie. That walkie-talkie was one of only two in Equestria. Celestia had brought a pair of them in from Earth recently to see how well they worked. While magic did exist, she wanted to try something along the lines of real-time communication. She hoped this would be a step forward for Equestria, but she was very cautious about all of this as well.

Ponies only just found out about Earth when Celestia announced she was going there to find a human fit enough to help out with the storm. The funny thing about that is the fact that she had known about the existence of Earth and its universe for 21 years. This meant she knew about it throughout my entire 18 years of life. She was also wise enough not to disclose too much information about it, for fear of messing up all of Equestria. It was worthy enough to be kept secretive, and to this day, ponies still thought I had come from something equivalent to the 19th century. Nopony knew about all the innovations and man-made horrors from Earth, and they probably wouldn't for quite some time.

Interestingly enough, one of the only things to come from my world besides me and the walkie-talkie happened to be tools for landscaping. Magic and Earth ponies were able to landscape for themselves, but some equipment Celestia had seen on Earth apparently deemed useful enough to bring here. So, now Equestria had lawn mowers. Pretty random.

When the walkie-talkie fell out on the floor, its batteries were knocked out. I carefully slipped them back in before turning it on. I knew it was very important to Celestia that these walkie-talkies worked, so I made sure mine did. I panicked slightly when turning it on did nothing. After shaking it a few times, the green power LED turned on. Phew.

“Princess Celestia?” I spoke into it.

Quiet for thirty seconds.

“Celestia?” I repeated.

I waited nervously for a reply. After a few more seconds, the active LED turned on.

“Hello Devan, what is it?”

I let out a quick sigh of relief.

“Nothing. Sorry, Celestia. I just wanted to make sure my walkie-talkie worked.”

A few more seconds of silence.

“What do you mean Devan? Why wouldn’t it work?”

I could hear a sense of motherly tone in her response. It felt like I was about to be grounded.

“I dropped it. Sorry, princess. It works though.”

She tsk’d a few times before replying, “Be careful with it, Devan. Next time I might have to throw you in the dungeon.”

We laughed and talked a bit more before letting each other go. I set the walkie-talkie down very carefully. As I was grabbing my snack again, there was another knock at the door. Busy day. I just hoped it wasn’t an impatient Twi ready to drag me into her experiment chair. I still had an hour according to my watch. When I opened the door, I saw Pinkie Pie's face for a split second before being pounced on. I fell back on the floor and took a second to recover while the mare stood over me. I noticed her twitch aggressively.

"Devan! I need your help!!"

"Pinkie, Jesus! What's wrong??"

"I can explain on the way. Can you come with me to Zecora??"

"Zecora? Why?"

"Come on!" she exclaimed, grabbing my hand and practically ripping me off the floor as she twitched again. Whatever Pinkie was on about, it had to be serious. While she was full of energy most of the time, she usually was not as pushy. I stood up and quickly shut the door behind me as I ran beside her. I really did not want to go into the Everfree forest, especially this early in the day, but I had to help Pinkie.

"Will you tell me what's going on?" I asked.

She twitched again as we ran. "Devan, I have been having these strange twitches, You remember the twitches, right? The ones where I sense something is about to happen, I have been having them, the twitches."

"What about th-"

“Devan, something bad is about to happen, I have no idea what it could be because the twitches don’t follow a pattern I know, heck, it doesn’t follow a pattern at all, there’s no pattern! It’s driving me wonker bonkers, Devan, all I can sense is that something is about to happen, and it’s probably something bad! Bad!!”

"What do you think it is? And why are we going to Zecora??"

"I don't know, Devan! But I believe there is something she can do if I remember right."

The home Celestia had given me was very close to Sugarcube Corner, and subsequently nearby the Everfree forest. It only took us a few minutes of running to enter. I looked around at the dark trees and the intense amount of overgrown greenery. The path to Zecora’s hut wasn’t in bad shape though. I had not been through here in a while, but there was no doubt that it was at least twice as creepy as before for some reason. Thankfully Celestia’s sun had risen a bit and it wasn’t as dark. I looked over at Pinkie while we ran through the forest, and noticed a bandage wrapped around her hind leg.

“What is the bandage for? That’s not related, is it?” I asked.

"It, I, Ugh." Pinkie suddenly slowed to a stop. "Devan, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?? Please don't tell me it's bad."

She turned and unwrapped the bandage around her leg to show a bloody patch. It looked almost as if somebody had bit her. It wasn’t pretty in the slightest, and around it was a big purple bruise.

“Pinkie … what bit you?”

She sighed. “I was walking through an alley to get to the party shop across town. But this pale-looking pony came towards me. I thought he was just sick, so I went over to help him. But he grabbed ahold of my hind leg and sunk his teeth into it. I managed to get away, but I'm afraid of what this means.”

"Another pony bit you?? Are you serious?"

"Yes! Devan, it had to be a zombie! I didn't want to believe it but it has to be!"

"When?!"

"Earlier! Not even half an hour ago!"

I stopped and thought for a moment. A zombie? Did this mean some kind of zombie apocalypse was coming? In Equestria? It seemed far-fetched, even with all the crazy stuff that had happened in this universe. I really hoped magic would fix the problem. It had to, right?

"Pinkie, we have to get you help now! What if you turn?!"

"That's why we're going to Zecora!"

"What can Zecora do about this?"

"I believe she has something that can help, I know it is a stretch, maybe not a great time to go to through the forest now, and I'm sorry for putting you in danger, but I need your help in case things go south. We have to try at least!"

"Well shit, let's go then!" I yelled.

We ran through the forest again with a new speed to our steps. I wished Zecora's hut was closer than it was. Would she even be home? I guess that was something we would have to find out ourselves. Halfway to Zecora's hut, Pinkie slowed her pace and twitched a bit.

"Pinkie?"

"I-" she started, before slowly wobbling around for a moment, losing her balance, and falling to the ground.

"Pinkie! Come on, you're okay, we're almost there."

She looked up at me with a new fear in her eyes.

"Devan, my legs ... they're giving out on me!"

"Then I'll carry you! Come on, get on my back or something."

While Pinkie only stood at around three and a half feet tall, most of these ponies did carry some weight on them for their size. It was possible that I could carry her, but I would probably risk spraining a few muscles in the process. Zecora's hut was too far for me to attempt it.

"Devan, no, you might hurt yourself, Just go to Zecora and come back for me."

"No, Pinkie! I can't leave you here. What if you turn and wander off??"

"Devan. Devan..."

Her speech was slowing. I grew concerned to see her blinking slowly and growing tired.

"Come on, Pinkie."

She shut her eyes.

No.

I began to panic. Looking around, the forest seemed to snicker evilly. The trees swayed with the wind and clouds started forming overhead. Great timing, pegasi. Bending my knees, I tried to pick her up, but she was too heavy with her additional dead weight. I did not want to leave her here on her own, but feeling her body cool worried me. I wished to Celestia that somebody would arrive to help us, despite being in the middle of the forest. I wished for it to be a unicorn so they could use some kind of magic on her.

"Pinkie, please. You've got to wake up. We can still make it. Come on, Pinkie ..." I breathed deeply while looking at her motionless body. "Pinkie ..."

She started moving again. I was relieved for a split second until I realized how pale she had become in the past minute. I watched her chest’s up-and-down motion return as I scooted back. Was this it? Was she turning? I stood up and backed away a few paces, watching her squirm a bit. Only a few seconds later, her eyes opened. They looked at me, and I saw a new white glaze over them. She growled as she rolled to her belly.

Adrenaline burst through my veins as she leaped up a lot quicker than I would have imagined, and I took off toward Zecora's hut as she started to chase. My feet collided with the ground as I struggled to generate enough power to get the hell out of there. When Pinkie first mentioned zombies, I had not expected this level of speed. I was hoping more along the lines of slow and dumb.

Normally, I was able to keep a steady pace with ponies who were galloping, as long as it was not their full-on sprint. This was thanks to my size advantage over them. If they were my height, they would easily smoke me in any race. Even now, they would beat me most of the time. I was envious of their speed, especially in this situation. I looked behind me to see that I was gaining distance from her. Contrary to what I thought, she was moving at a clumsy trot, and I was very grateful for this.

After a minute of running, I lost sight of her. On my way to Zecora's hut, I prayed that magic could fix this. Magic had been stronger than anything I had ever seen, and there had to be a spell to get Pinkie back to normal. There had to.

Don't Open, Nobody Inside

— Devan —

There it was—Zecora's hut. I stopped briefly and held my knees while I caught my breath. I had lost Pinkie entirely to my knowledge, and I hoped she would eventually lose interest and go somewhere else. On the other hand, if Zecora really did have some kind of potion or magic cure that I assumed Pinkie was thinking about, maybe her following me was a good thing. I approached the door and knocked, also trying the doorknob. It was unfortunately locked.

After a minute, there was no response. I sighed heavily, hoping she was just asleep or using the restroom. I knocked on the door hard this time, making sure she could hear me. Another minute went by until I realized she may not be home. I then climbed over the base of the tree beside the steps to peer in the window beside the front door. The only light coming from inside was from a slight green glow of her big pot in the living room, which contained some bubbling green liquid. I sighed as I backed off from the tree. Wherever Zecora was, I did not have time to stick around and look for her. I also realized that while heading back, I would have to go past Pinkie. Now was not the time for me to get lost in the Everfree forest, so I had to stick to the only path I knew: the one we were on.

As I started heading back, Pinkie's outline showed up not far in the distance. She arrived faster than I thought, so I had to make my move now. As we closed in on each other, I veered to the left side of the path. She did the same. It hurt me to see her pale body and glazed-over eyes approach me with her clumsy trot. There were only a few seconds until we would meet, so I got my foot ready to juke her. This would have to go perfectly if I were to avoid getting nabbed. However, as I started to sidestep to the right, my foot slipped on what felt like mud.

I fell to the ground just in front of Pinkie. I desperately squirmed to avoid her, but failed to do so as she pounced on me. Her weight knocked my head back down as I struggled. I extended my arms to her chest in an attempt to hold her back as she snapped her teeth at me.

"Pinkie! No! Stop it! This isn't you!" I hollered, attempting to scoot back. It only took a few more seconds until she proved too strong, pushing herself down enough to sink her teeth into my left bicep. Pain radiated as I felt her saliva wash over it. I shoved her forcefully with my legs and free arm, eventually managing to unlock her teeth's grip. I rolled over on the path and scrambled to my feet, forced to kick her in the face as I got up to avoid another bite. Part of me knew it did not matter if I got away anymore, but my fight-or-flight senses were at their peak, sending my legs into overdrive as I fled from her. I turned back again after I had made some distance, seeing the same clumsy trot.

Damn it, Pinkie.

On my way back to Ponyville, I clenched my arm to stop the bleeding. This morning had gone south very quickly. A few tears escaped my eyes as I tried to come to grips with what was happening. I also tried to convince myself that everything would be alright. This was not a normal world. This was a magical world. Things as crazy as this had happened in the past, but the ponies of Equestria lived on to see another day. The same thing would happen here most likely. I hoped and prayed that magic could fix this quickly, before it got out of control.

I decided to return to my house while I jogged out of the Everfree forest. It was a relief to be out of those eerie woods, but on the way into Ponyville, a stray zombie was there to greet me. His presence did not matter to me. I needed to get back to my house to grab my walkie-talkie. I realized on my walk with Pinkie that I had left it at home, which wasn’t usually a big deal, but Celestia wanted me to carry it at all times if possible.

She was going to be pissed. Realistically, she would probably just be a bit upset, but Celestia intimidated me a bit. Maybe it was the fact that she stood at eye level with me and could maul me easily if she were rogue. That was a stupid thought, though, as she was one of the friendliest ponies I had met. Her presence alone seemed to have a comforting aura. I started wishing I was in her presence at the time.

The zombie pony that approached me was a bit slower than Pinkie had been. I was uncertain why, but I definitely wasn’t going to start questioning my luck. A quick zig zag maneuver gave me enough of a gap to run by him and continue my jog home. So far, this apocalypse did not seem terrible, but I imagined what it may look like if a larger group of them were to attack. The thought of being in a zombie apocalypse seemed a bit unreal, and my nerves started to tense a bit. It was a scary feeling, and my mind didn’t want to accept it. It would have to start, as everything seemed to be moving quickly now.

I finally entered Ponyville. I had been lucky not to see any more zombie ponies. Perhaps the ponies of Ponyville had started to gather at Twi’s castle. That would be the second place to go during an emergency of this magnitude, right after Town Hall. I planned on heading to the castle after grabbing my walkie-talkie. On my way, I noticed a white pony lying by a nearby house. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Nurse Snow. She was passed out on the doorstep with blood on her neck. Gently moving her head showed that she had been bitten. The bruise around her bite looked similar to Pinkie’s. I backed up, knowing now how quickly ponies could turn.

She had a saddlebag draped over her body. There was some gauze creeping out of one of its pockets. I looked down at my bite. Blood had been trickling down my arm, making it look a lot worse than it was. I needed to get it wrapped up before it got infected. As useless as it may turn out, maybe preventing infection would slow my rate of turning.

I hesitantly grabbed the visible gauze before backing up again. My eyes scanned her chest thoroughly before quickly reaching into her saddlebag and searching for a rag and some tape. Luckily, she had everything I needed in the saddlebag. “Thank you, Snow.” After giving myself some space from her, I took the rag and wiped my bite with some rubbing alcohol. It took a lot not to scream out in pain.

The pain subsided a few seconds later, so I took some of the gauze and applied it to the bite. I glanced back at Nurse Snow as I wrapped the gauze with tape, and noticed her chest starting to move. Her head fidgeted slightly. Crap. With the tape mostly holding the gauze in place, I stuffed the rest in my pockets and hurried away from her.

It took another few minutes to reach my house. When I reached for the door handle and pushed, it would not budge. That’s weird. It didn’t have a lock to it, as there wasn’t much of a reason for it in a town as friendly and safe as Ponyville. I pushed harder with no luck. A third push caused the door to crack open a bit before stopping. Somehow, it was barricaded. I heard steps inside before the door started pushing back on me.

“Hey! Stop it!” I yelled.

The door suddenly stopped pushing back. I heard Dash’s voice inside.

“Devan?”

“Dash! Let me in!”

"SHHHH!!!"

I looked around anxiously after realizing I was being too loud. I lowered my tone.

“Dash, let me in please …”

She grunted as she and somebody else started moving the furniture out of the doorway. Eventually, the door pulled open and I was greeted by Dash.

“Thank goodness.” She gave me a warm hug after shutting the door. Beside her was Flutters, who gave me an even bigger hug. After disconnecting, Dash raised her hoof and socked me in the shoulder. “Where were you?” She looked back at my other arm and saw the bandage. “And what is that?”

I clenched my shoulder.

“Ow … It’s … I was …”

I looked down. Was now a good time to tell them? What about Pinkie? I decided to keep it to myself, at least for now.

“It’s nothing. I cut myself by accident last night,” I answered.

Dash looked at me skeptically before continuing, “Okay. So where have you been?”

I sighed. “I was with Pinkie …”

They both looked on, their expressions turning frightful. They could tell from the look on my face that it was bad news. They exchanged a nervous glance with each other.

“is she …” Flutters muttered.

“… Yes …”

Dash facehoofed before turning back and pacing around my house. Flutters curled up on herself and cried softly, hiding her face behind her wings. I took a minute to come to terms with what had happened. Everything had changed drastically in two hours, and it wasn’t a good change.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Dash turned around. “How? What happened?”

“She was bitten before she came to visit me. She took me to the Everfree Fores-“

“The Everfree Forest?! At a time like this?” Dash exclaimed, “Why?!”

“She wanted to see Zecora! She thought maybe there was something she could do. She turned before we got there.”

“oh, my …” Flutters whispered.

A minute of silence as they took in this new information.

“Okay,” Dash spoke, “I’m sorry. Tensions are just high, y’know?”

“I understand. I’m sorry I had to tell you.”

“It’s fine. But we need to come up with a new game plan now. We were thinking of Twilight's castle. We just got pinned in here by a few of them while looking for you. I guess they wandered off already.”

“Pinned?” I asked, “What about the attic? You should be able to push out of those windows.”

They both exchanged nervous glances before Dash stepped forward. “Devan ... for some reason, we aren’t able to fly.” She bit her lips, obviously distraught from what she had said. Flutters put her hoof on Dash’s shoulder.

“it’s true," she added, "we don’t know why, but since last night, our flying has gotten worse and worse until we couldn’t even take off this morning.”

I looked at them, dumbfounded. “Really?”

They nodded defeatedly. Well, that’s just great, I thought. I looked at Flutter’s wing in curiosity. There was nothing unusual about its appearance, and no signs that it wouldn’t be able to function.

“And neither of you have any idea why?” I asked.

Flutters shook her head.

“as far as we know, it might be all pegasi. Dash knows of a few with the same problem, and so do I.”

Fuuuuck. This was some of the worst news possible at a time like this. This was the one time that pegasi needed to fly.

Dash looked up. “We don’t know if it's related to the outbreak that escaped Manehatten or not, but we have tried to fly countless times and it isn’t happening. Our wings have a numb sensation whenever we try, and they feel like a million pounds. They are practically glued to our damn sides. It is very frustrating.”

I rubbed my eyes, frustrated as well. “Okay. Well, I was going to head to Twi’s castle too. Are y’all okay walking there?”

Flutters grew a worried expression, but Dash thought about it and said, “We want to. We are just a bit … frazzled … from the mob that chased us in here. Let’s just be a bit more careful?”

“We could also take the outskirts of Ponyville to avoid them,” I suggested.

“Good idea.” Dash turned to Flutters. “It’ll be alright. We’ll have Devan by our side too.”

Flutters nodded worryingly. “okay …”

I smiled forcefully to ease Flutter’s tension and got a nervous smile back. “Before we go, I was stopping by here to grab my walkie. I forgot it when heading out with Pinkie.”

Flutters looked down and grabbed something lying beside her. She reached out her hoof to me with the walkie-talkie in it. “we can’t get it to work, Devan.”

I grabbed it from her and flipped it around. The batteries were still in there, so I assumed it was the same problem as before. After turning it on, I shook it, waiting to hear the static. A few shakes didn’t do it this time. “C’mon, you piece of junk.” More shakes did nothing. Now was not the time for these kinds of problems.

“Careful Devan-“

I shook it violently. Nothing. Stress from the morning got to me, and I raised it up before slamming it against the countertop. Thankfully, the batteries stayed in place, but it still didn’t turn on.

“Devan! Relax.”

Dash came up by my side and put her hoof against my back. I set the walkie-talkie down and put my hands on the table, defeated. Deep breaths…

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I know. It’s alright. We will get through this. Now, let’s get going to see Twilight.”

Locked

— Devan —

We edged our way through the bushes, peeking out every once in a while. We had made it to the outskirts of Ponyville, looping around until we could see the top of Twi’s castle.

“Almost there,” Dash whispered.

There were a couple of zombie ponies limping alongside houses in the distance. We figured smell might be a possible detection method they could use to find us, so we stayed low in the bushes and away from the wind. Thankfully, it was blowing toward us instead of them. Dash turned to me.

“Have you seen any of them gallop at all?”

I thought for a second before replying, "No. Pinkie was fast, but not galloping fast."

“Good. Hopefully, we can just keep outrunning them.”

We left the bushes briefly and started walking down the path that led to the castle. It only took another minute of walking before we got a better view of it. Sparkling in the morning sun, the crystally purple, gold, and blue colored castle rose high over the path ahead of us. On the golden staircase out front was a small group of ponies. After closer inspection, we quickly recognized them to be zombies, as they eagerly clawed at the golden front door. We silently shimmied into a nearby bush.

“Crap,” Dash muttered.

“Do you think Twi is in there?” I asked her.

“She has to be. I don’t think she was expecting any visitors today. Especially of the undead kind.”

“what do we do?” Flutters asked.

We all scanned the castle some more as we looked for a solution. Dash turned to me.

“Could you maybe lure them away and loop back around to us?”

“I might-“

“but what if some of them gallop?” Flutters interrupted, “we don’t know much about these … ponies … yet.”

“They aren’t ponies,” Dash said, “They are undead.”

“that’s so … vulgar though. do we have to call them that?” Flutters asked.

“But they are vulgar.”

“Trotters,” I spoke up, “We should call them trotters.”

Dash looked at me funny. “Really, Devan?”

“What?”

“That name is stupid. Why would we call them that? We might as well call them zombies.”

“I ... guess that works too.”

I backed away from the bush a bit and looked for anything we could use to distract them. There was a hand sized rock nearby that I thought might work. After grabbing the rock, I gestured to Dash and threw it off to the woods beside us. We could barely hear it thud from where we were. The zombie ponies didn’t even turn their heads.

“Damn.”

“wait,” Flutters said, “I have an idea.”

We looked over to see her staring up. After exchanging curious glances, Dash and I looked up to see a large crow in the tree next to the bush we were in. Before we could say anything, Flutters cupped her mouth and crowed at it. The crow cocked his head and looked down at us. Flutters crowed again, this time pointing toward the mob. The crow looked at the mob, then back at Flutters and nodded.

Wow.

I had seen Flutters work her ‘magic’ with animals before, but it was always cool to see. As we spectated, the crow moved toward the forest and sat atop the rock I had thrown. After adjusting his feet, he started flapping his wings violently and crowing loudly. There was no chance they couldn’t hear him, but would they go for him?

In front of the castle, a few of the zombie ponies started to turn their heads. After a few more seconds, some peeled away and started heading toward the crow. Then a few more, until the last zombie stopped scratching the door and started limping toward him. As they neared the bird, we made our move. In my peripheral vision, I saw the crow take flight and get up in the trees before continuing to mock the zombies.

“Amazing,” I remarked.

Flutters smiled. As we got to the door, the signs of scratch marks on it were evident. Dash tried to open it with no luck. After gently nudging it didn’t work, she glanced over at the mob. We saw the tail end of them disappear into the forest, still hearing the crowing softly. With the mob far enough away, Dash turned around and bucked the door. Nothing. She bucked it again without success. I tried kicking the door a few times myself, but it would not budge.

“Well shit.”

“Is there another entrance? Any fire exits?” I asked.

“Not that I know of,” Dash replied.

“Sounds like a safety violation.”

Dash rolled her eyes. As we looked up at the balconies and around the trunk of the castle, we heard a muffled voice from inside.

“What?!” Dash yelled, shoving her ear against the door. Flutters and I leaned in to hear too.

“Help! I’m trapped!” A mare yelled from inside.

Dash backed up and scanned the castle’s front wall.

“Damn it, how are we supposed to get in??”

I looked up. The deck above our heads was a good four or five stories up. I looked back over at the now-empty forest. There were sticks of various sizes laying on the ground around the trees.

“Makeshift ladder?” I suggested.

Dash looked up at the balconies before shooting an annoyed glance back at me. “Devan, I need you to stop being an idiot right now. That is way too high for a makeshift ladder.”

I raised my hands in surrender. “Sorry, I’m just spitting out ideas.”

“I know. If we were to make a ladder, it would have to somehow connect to those hanging ornaments.”

She pointed at the ropes hanging off the side of the big balcony to the left. Ornaments that were attached decoratively to the ropes swayed gently in the wind. Not only would it be complicated to get a ladder attached to the ropes, but the end of the ropes were still a good two to three stories up. I looked at one of the purple-stained windows on the front of the castle, just left of the front door.

“Oh duh! Why don’t we just break the glas-” I started.

“Devan-” Dash interrupted, “there’s a reason we didn’t mention that. The glass is reinforced, remember?”

I thought hard for a second about if I had been enlightened with this knowledge or not. “I don’t remember. Why the hell is it reinforced?” I looked down at Dash, waiting for an answer. She was staring intently at the glass now. “Dash?”

“Hold on.” She raised her hoof. “There’s a crack in the window …”

I looked back at the glass. It was purple-stained with streaks and little white star patterns, and near the bottom right corner of it was a slight crack. Before Flutters or I could say anything, Dash hopped over the stair’s railing and onto the purple rock below the window. She raised her hoof and pushed softly on the small part of glass below the crack.

“Guys! I can feel it giving way!”

Flutters and I hopped over the railing and joined her on the rock.

“Let’s all push on 3 …” Dash suggested.

We all set up in front of the window. As the two mares set their hooves against the bottom corners of it, I set my hands up higher.

“1 … 2 … 3!”

With all our might, we pushed the glass forward. I felt the weight of the glass fight back briefly before started to give way. After just a few seconds, the bottom half of the glass shattered, sending little shards flying inside. It also sent me flying through the window. I had not been paying close enough attention to how high I was pushing on it, so when it gave way, I tumbled over the bottom of the window. As I fell to the floor of the castle, I caught shards of glass in my hair and face. I hit the wooden floor inside with a comedically loud thud.

“Devan!” Flutters exclaimed.

Dash pushed her head cautiously through the window, avoiding the shards of glass left on the bottom part of the window. She looked down at me. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I'm fine ... I'm fine.”

I turned my body to look back up at them, but ended up rolling on glass bits and cutting my left elbow. The sudden stings also agitated my arm's bite.

“Ow, fuck!”

“Be careful!” Dash shouted.

I used my hands to carefully sweep aside some of the glass bits that I was now laying in so I could push myself up. When I stepped out of the glass puddle, Dash leaped over the remaining glass at the bottom of the window and tip-toed around the ones on the floor. Flutters followed her and accompanied me.

“Oh, thank goodness,” the mare inside spoke.

In front of the door beside us was Daisy, who was trapped under a bookshelf and one of the thrones from the main room that were wedged against the door. Thankfully, she didn’t appear hurt besides being smothered underneath the presumably heavy throne.

“Daisy! How did you get in there?” Dash asked.

“Long story, but please get me out of here! My legs hurt so bad.”

All three of us ran over and grabbed onto the throne above her. We coordinated once more and everybody lifted a side of the throne at the count of 3. While it was very heavy, the three of us were able to lift it just enough to pull it off of Daisy. The bookshelf was still laying across her hooves, books strewn about. We all set the throne down, wedged behind her, and pulled the bookshelf up enough for her to wriggle her hooves free.

“Oh sweet Celestia, thank you,” Daisy said, rolling over to lay on her back and sighing with relief.

Flutters sat beside her, observing her legs. While she wasn’t a doctor, I had come to realize in my stay that she was a good caretaker. She was great at taking care of animal injuries, and ponies were just … well … a different kind of ‘animal’ in this world.

I watched her until I felt Dash grab my arm. She gestured to my elbow.

“You’re bleeding.”

Sure enough, there was blood from the glass that started seeping out and making a mess of things. “Crap …” I looked around at the rest of my body, only finding more blood stains on my other arm. “Stupid glass.”

“We need to get you patched up,” Dash said, “Do you have any more gauze?”

“I do.”

I pulled out the extra gauze I got from Nurse Snow’s saddlebag, which Dash snatched from my hands. She also grabbed bandages from me and started dabbing the blood from my left arm. She sat me down by the door and started tending to the cuts. The bite I got from Pinkie was on my bicep, just above where she was working. I could feel its makeshift bandage loosening and noticed that the glass had cut a slice in it. Dash was intent on cleaning up the blood when I took my right arm and methodically grabbed hold of my bite’s bandage. Unfortunately, Dash noticed.

“You okay, Devan?”

“Yes,” I answered quickly.

She turned her attention toward the bite bandage and my hand covering it.

“Is that cut hurting you?”

“Just a little. It should be fine though.”

I tried to keep a convincing face when she looked up at me skeptically.

“I can rebandage it if you’d like,” she suggested, “and make sure that the wounds alright.”

“No, it’s fine. Promise.”

Dash caught on and shoved my right hand off the bandage before I could react. This caused the bandage to loosen more, rotating around my bicep and almost revealing the bite. I went to grab hold but Dash’s hoof stopped me.

“Devan, stop. Let me change it.”

Aw fuck it then.

This did not seem like the best time for them to learn, but I figured it also wasn’t honest to hide it any longer. Applejack would probably buck me in the face right now if she was here. Well, not literally, but it was still dishonest, and probably dangerous to hide it from them. Dash grabbed the bandage with her hoof and pulled it off with her teeth. I looked away beforehand and waited for her reaction.

“Not terrible. Does it really hurt that bad?” Dash asked.

What?

I looked down at Dash, then at the bite, but to my surprise, there was just a bruise and a few small gashes where her teeth marks used to be. The bite seemed to be fading away, with my skin taking back control of my arm. They could hardly be noticed as teeth marks anymore. Honestly, they looked like just a few minor cuts now.

“But …”

Dash looked at me awkwardly. “What, Devan? Why are you acting so weird?”

“It was- It-“

Dash’s gaze grew concerned before her eyes suddenly lit up. “You were bit?!”

Shit.

Flutters looked over her shoulder, shifting her attention from Daisy to me.

"I- ... I was …”

“How?!” Dash interrogated.

“when?” Flutters joined in, “when were you bit?”

I sighed. “It was Pinkie. I couldn’t get away from her on time after she turned. I had to leave her in the Everfree forest …”

Dash shook her head. Flutters eyed me once more with sad blue eyes before turning back to Daisy. Maybe telling them wasn’t the best idea. Everything was happening so fast that even small decisions seemed really difficult to make. It was like we were living in fast forward now, and every second counted. Dash looked back at the bite. She leaned her head in closely to see the small cuts better. The remnants of a bite were still noticeable, and she could likely see them. She looked back up at me with a slight glare in her eyes.

“You just weren’t gonna tell us?”

There was a nervous silence as I searched for an answer.

“I was! It’s just … I didn’t know how. It all happened so quick.”

“Applejack would probably buck you in the face right about know,” she replied.

“I know, I know …”

Flutters got up after she was finished helping Daisy and trotted up to me. “Devan …” She placed her hoof on my shoulder. “we are your friends. you can trust us with anything, especially at a time like this. please don’t hesitate to let us know these things.”

I leaned forward and hugged her. “I won’t anymore. I'm sorry.”

Dash grabbed my arm again. “You’re still bleeding, Devan.” She pulled off the old bandage that had come loose and starting placing new gauze over the bite. “And none of that explains why it’s just going away. Do you feel any different?”

"Uh ... no ... no, I feel normal," I answered.

My body felt the exact same as before. There was just a new pain in my arm where she had bitten me. I had no fever, no headache, no upset stomach ... nothing. I was just as taken aback as they were.

“Maybe it’s because he’s human,” Flutters suggested, “and maybe it only affects ponies.”

She and Dash both exchanged curious glances before Dash spoke, “So ... maybe Griffons and dragons are immune too?”

Flutters nodded, rubbing her hoof below her chin in thought. Dash finished wrapping up my new bandage while Flutters hoofed her the supplies. Daisy was still laid out, now with some kind of wrap on her right leg. She listened on as they worked on me. After they finished, we all turned our attention to her.

Dash asked, “So what happened here? What’s the long story you were talking about?”

“I was with Twilight. And Spike, and a few other ponies here not too long ago,” Daisy answered.

Dash cocked her head in interest. “A…re they still here?”

“No, unfortunately. At least not to my knowledge.”

“where did they go?” Flutters asked.

“I don’t know. We had been talking with Twilight about heading to Canterlot, but that wasn't discussed a whole lot," she explained, eying me before continuing, "She had hoped you all would be here by then.”

I looked away, thinking about how the morning had played out so far and regretting not coming here first. Sure, Pinkie might have been on to something, but now that I thought about it, we should have discussed it with Twilight and planned it out better.

“To Canterlot?” Dash repeated.

“Yes. Twilight also talked about going to Sweet Apple Acres first if we did choose to leave there. She had a feeling Applejack would be delayed with her family. Supposedly Rarity was going to visit so she may be there as well.”

"Wait, wait, wait ..." I interrupted.

Daisy and the others looked up at me.

"Why would y'all want to go to Canterlot? I would think Twilight would make a plan here, sending messages back and forth with Celestia until she could figure out the magic. Is there not a spell that can cure these zombies?"

Daisy gulped as she averted her eyes from me for a moment. She thought of a response for a second before answering, "Devan ... Twilight and the other unicorns ... they're losing their ability to perform magic."

FUCK.

I beat my hands in the air and turned to pace. The little bit of hope I was holding onto was crashing down now. First, flight, and now magic? How the hell would we solve this now?? Dash and Flutters continued talking with Daisy, telling her their story of not being able to fly. It was becoming evident that everypony was losing their abilities now. I walked back up after pacing out some frustration.

“So … what happened here?” Dash asked her.

“We had to barricade ourselves in when some of … them … started trying to break down the door. But while we were in here, somepony turned. I tried to move the stuff to run out the front door, but I got squished. I don’t know if the others escaped or are hiding in one of the other rooms. Thankfully the … zombies … inside didn’t come for me under there.”

“my … that would have been terrible,” Flutters said.

Daisy nodded in agreement. “We need to check the rooms to see if they’re still here.”

“Agreed,” Dash said, galloping off to search the rooms.

“Wait!” Daisy shouted, “Be careful!” She glanced back at her wrapped leg and looked up at me and Flutters. “I’m going to sit here for a minute. I'll come join you.”

Flutters and I took after Dash, running down one of the long hallways to search the rooms. I looked down at Flutters.

“You think they’re still here?”

“I guess we’ll find out soon …”

We made our way past the main room. The cutie map table sat silently, not calling any of the mane 6 anywhere. It was a bit frightening to think that maybe even the overworld magic that controls the map thinks this problem is a lost cause. After clearing the empty first room, we checked the next room on the left. The stench had already made its way through the crack under the doorway as we heard a groan. I nervously grabbed my knife from my belt and held it up to the door.

“Behind you,” Dash said, placing her hoof on my back.

“wait,” Flutters interrupted, “we don’t have to kill ...”

I looked back at Flutters and was met with worried, googly eyes.

"I know, we just have to check …” I replied.

Flutters nodded slowly as I turned my attention back to the door. After turning the knob quietly, I slowly pushed the door open. The groaning stopped briefly as I peeked into the room. Blood was pooled around the corner of the room and some chairs were knocked out of place. It was clear there had been a fight in here. As I opened the door more, I saw a tan mare just standing, looking out of the window. From her grey hair and faint cutie mark, it looked to be Mayor Mare. There was another light blue mare pegasus digging with her forelegs at the other window in the room. Both of their bodies had an odd, pale color to them, so I hesitated a moment before talking.

“Mayor?” I asked softly.

She looked over her shoulder at me to reveal blood dripping from her neck. Part of her cheek was bitten off with another trail of blood leading down to her neck as well. She looked at me with mysteriously white, tinted eyes and groaned. The other pony did the same.

“Devan,” Dash said, grabbing onto my hip.

The two mares distracted me from her as I watched nervously. As they started to turn towards me, another head came right out from behind the door just finger-lengths away, scaring the living shit out of me. The pale stallion reached his hoof around the door as I slammed it shut, almost taking part of his hoof with it. I thanked my reflexes briefly as the pony started banging on the door. Dash looked up at me and shook her head.

“That was too close. We should have just knocked.”

“but, what if it isn’t a zombie pony and they think we are?” Flutters asked.

“We can call out as well,” Dash suggested.

“what if they can't speak?”

Dash sighed. “Fine. Why don’t we just quickly open the door, check, and close it?”

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

We checked the rest of the rooms this way but found nobody. While we were bummed, we also had not found any more zombie ponies or corpses. We also found two rooms with busted-out windows, which means anypony that was here likely escaped. After we checked the last room, I thought about Twilight. Ever since Celestia brought me to Equestria, Twi had grown a huge interest in me, wanting to study what, why, how, where, and who I was. We had become really close friends during my stay, and I started to worry deeply, hoping she was alright. Dash noticed this and placed her hoof on my hip to comfort me.

“She will be okay. I promise.”

I looked down at Dash and smiled. Suddenly, a ball of green mist appeared in front of us. Sparkles accompanied the mist and vanished as a note, a baseball bat, and what looked like a shoe box popped into existence, dropping to the floor. The bat rolled to my feet.

Princess Celestia.

She still had magic? I had gotten a couple of letters from her this way in the past, but if I remembered correctly, she used magic to send them. A newfound hope entered my mind as I picked up the letter and started reading.

Devan … I am sure you remember my Alicorn power, being that I got you here all the way from your universe. I am sending you this before my magic totally fades away, as I need you to protect Twilight and the others. I do not know how this will play out, Devan. And I am sorry if this decision does not sit right with you, but I find it necessary. Please use this stuff to protect yourself and the others, and make your way here to Canterlot, right away. We have guards and it is safe here. That way, we can buy ourselves time to figure this mess out. Stay safe, Devan.

– Celestia

I looked down at the box. Dash looked back up at me after observing it too.

“What does it say?”

“Hold on.”

After pushing aside the baseball bat, I leaned down and flipped off the top of the box. As I glanced inside, I could not believe what Princess Celestia was thinking.

On top of some other supplies was a pistol. A pistol. I was not very experienced in guns, but if I remembered correctly, this was a 9mm Beretta. It was a pretty gun, sure, but what??? Celestia wanted me to SHOOT them? I understood now that magic wasn't an option, but just blasting my neighbors in the face? I took a moment to pick up the new pistol, running my fingers over the deadly steel as I thought.

"What in Equestria is that?" Dash asked.

"Hang on. I'll explain it in a second."

There was also a holster for it in the box, so I carefully set the gun inside of it. In the rest of the box, Celestia had stuffed in what looked like a combat knife tucked inside a holster, few first-aid supplies, a flashlight, a lighter, and more ammo for the Beretta. As I stood up, I unclipped the walkie-talkie from my belt and fiddled with it. After impatiently messing with the dials and screws, the green LED finally lit up again.

Thank GOD.

I pushed the button to talk.

"Celestia!"

No response. I gave it a minute, awkwardly exchanging glances with the others as they waited for me.

"Celestia! Please!"

A crackling started. This time, it crackled a lot more than before. The static buzzed as I heard a muffled voice talk. After a moment, I made out some words.

"-you he-"

When the crackling stopped, I responded, "What??"

"-Devan," static "- come to Canterlot. I-" static "-y note, b-" static "-Twilight i-" static

I angrily shook the walkie-talkie to fix the reception, but the LED turned off. I stubbornly poked, picked, and prodded at the device before dropping it on the ground in a fit of rage. The batteries flew out of it and rolled away from us.

"Devan!" Dash exclaimed, "Calm down. It sounds like we ... don't really need it anymore anyways."

I took a deep breath. "Yeah ... I guess you're right. Let's get going."

Fly High Pegasi

— Trixie —

“Are you sure about this?” Trixie asked her.

Vinyl looked up from her contraption. “Hell yeah. It should help us enough.”

Trixie watched as she put the last piece of duct tape over the device. She had helped her rip off the hospital room’s intercom, and watched as she tore it apart, rewiring some kind of speaker ball. She looked at it curiously, unable to think of any spells in her mind that would make this thing work. Vinyl picked up the finished ball.

“You ready for this?”

“As ready as I can be …” she replied.

The groan from behind the hospital room’s door continued as they approached it. Trixie got into position beside the door while Vinyl readied herself in front. In the half-hour they had been stuck in the room, they had made an elaborate plan from the fire escape plan that was posted by the door to escape the growing mob of zombie ponies in the hospital. Vinyl lit up her horn. It glowed dimly as she prepared a shove spell to knock the pony outside back. Trixie looked back at her horn suspiciously.

“You good?”

“Yes,” Vinyl replied impatiently, “Go.”

Trixie opened the door fast and moved back. Vinyl released the spell. An oddly miniscule white orb flew from her to the doorway. The pony was barely pushed back before quickly resuming chase. Vinyl anxiously charged the spell again, but it had an even weaker effect. She jumped up on the hospital bed behind her and fell back as the pony advanced. Trixie lit up her horn and charged a similar pull spell. She released it, yanking the pony back and dropping her to the floor before she could start climbing over the bed for Vinyl. As she stood back up, Trixie shot her with a more energy-intensive freeze spell that froze her in place temporarily. She then used her magic to shut the door again.

“Vinyl!” Trixie huffed, “What was that?!”

Vinyl stood up on the other side of the bed with her glasses ajar and a worried expression on her face. She fixed her glasses before responding, “I … my … my magic …”

Trixie eyed her questionably. “Your horn was pretty dim.”

Vinyl lit up her horn again. It had an even dimmer glow to it this time.

“What about now?”

“Even dimmer …”

“It doesn’t feel right … I remember the spells, but it doesn’t feel right.”

“What does it feel like?”

“It feels like there’s this weird pressure holding its energy back.”

“That is really damn weird.”

Trixie lit up her horn, but she felt normal.

“Yours looks normal …” Vinyl mentioned.

Vinyl rounded the corner of the bed and readied another shove spell. Annoyed, she released it on Trixie. The weakened spell hit her, but the force was not enough to push her at all. Trixie felt as if the wind was blowing against her. She returned the same shove spell. This one sent Vinyl flying backward to the ground.

“Hey! I get it! Damn!” Vinyl said.

“Sorry, sorry …” Trixie replied, trotting forwards and helping her back up.

Vinyl thought for a second. “I wonder if it's the illness.”

“Might be.”

She looked at Trixie worryingly. “You might not have much longer with it.”

“Well,” Trixie sighed, “I will use it until it's done. Let’s hurry up then.”

Vinyl went to grab the speaker ball. “Fuck …”

“What?” Trixie asked.

“Do you know the spells I was going to use on this?”

“Spell … s?”

“Yes, I had a combination of two spells to make it work.”

“I can’t even think of one for that thing.”

“Shit.”

Vinyl ran to the window and looked outside. During the half an hour they had been trapped in here, the outside noise of the city had grown steadily quieter as the apocalyptic scenario showed its ugliness. To her surprise, she saw a pegasus stallion on the street below galloping away from two zombie mares. She watched, confused, as she knew he had plenty of room to take off.

“How’s it look out there?” Trixie asked her.

“Uh, not great ... but not terrible. Doesn't look like a raging apocalypse out there.”

“Well, in that case, we need to leave now. Otherwise, we might get trapped in here for longer than we can survive.”

“But without the discocom, we - I mean you - might not have enough magic energy to get us through.”

As badly as Trixie wanted to ask about the name, she replied, “Hey- I know of a wind tunnel spell I can use if things get too rough, okay? I know how to cast it to be pretty energy efficient.”

“Quick charge?” Vinyl asked.

'Quick charge' was unicorn speak for any spell a unicorn could charge in two seconds or less.

“Mmm …” Trixie replied questionably, “I mean, no, but it doesn’t take that long…”

“How long?”

“Four to five seconds.”

Vinyl winced lightly, envisioning whether or not that amount of time would be enough to get them out of a bad situation if they got into one. “I guess that’s okay … so, you ready?”

“Ready as I can be …”

Trixie opened the door and inspected the hallway. Toward the opposite end of where they had come from, a zombie mare was scratching on another hospital door under the glow of an emergency light. They both exchanged glances before galloping down the hall to help. Trixie warmed up her ice-trapping spell and hit the pony with it when they got close. She felt her magic energy draining, as she was releasing too many spells all at once.

“How long?” Vinyl asked her.

“90 seconds.”

“Damn, sister."

Novice unicorns could make freezing-type spells like the one she used last for only about ten to fifteen seconds. It took skill to learn even one minute of a movement-freezing spell like this. Trixie’s studying and practice was paying off already. They both pushed the frozen mare aside and tried to open the door to no avail. Vinyl knocked on the door.

“Hey, is anybody in there?”

Trixie glanced down both directions of the hallway to make sure it was still clear. She heard a bit of rustling until the door opened, revealing a blue-coat stallion pegasus with cyan and white streaked hair running down to his shoulders. He caught sight of the frozen zombie next to them and sighed with relief.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Dude,” Vinyl said, “You can open the windows here.”

“Oh no, really? DURRR.”

Vinyl smacked him. “Smart ass. Why didn’t you?”

“I am having trouble getting it open,” he replied.

As they spoke, Trixie noticed a glimmer down the hallway. She could vaguely make out the silhouette of a pony in the distance. She tuned her ears toward it, hearing a faint moan as it started coming down the hallway. She nervously shook Vinyl's shoulder and pushed her inside the room before carefully shutting the door.

"What? Another one?" Vinyl asked.

"Yes."

The stallion huffed, clearly agitated. He turned back to look at the window.

“We can help you get it open,” Vinyl offered, exchanging an understanding glance with Trixie.

“Are you sure?" he replied, "I can help you two get out of here.”

“No, the hospital is full of ‘em ..." she replied. Just then, they heard the pony Trixie saw trot up to the door. They kept very quiet as an odd silence filled the air outside it. Then, after a few seconds, the pony groaned and started banging on the door. Trixie sighed.

"See? This is the way out for us now,” Vinyl said, “DURRR.”

He stood there thinking about it for a minute. “I mean …”

“Come on, we don’t-” Vinyl started, until Trixie put up her hoof for her to stop.

“Are there any more zombie ponies out there?” she asked.

“I only saw two,” he answered, “chasing a pegasus …”

“What?”

“I saw him too,” Vinyl added.

“Why … why didn’t he fly off?” she asked.

The stallion shrugged. It was unusual for sure, but they didn't have much time to think about it. She followed the two of them as they trotted up to the window. She then used a basic spell to unhinge the stubborn window and opened it up. The crisp, autumn air entered the stuffy room through a satisfying breeze. The stallion’s wings opened up slightly as he took a deep breath of fresh air.

“Love it,” he commented.

“Okay,” Trixie said, “The plan is for you to go first. My friend here will follow you. I’ll help you lift her down using my magic, then I’ll come down last.”

“Alright. But then what?”

“My friend here, Vinyl, knows of a safe way to the train station using alleyways and smaller streets. It isn’t far from here,” she explained.

“Are the trains even working?” he asked.

“We don’t know. But it is our best bet right now. If they aren’t, we will continue to the edge of the city until we are free,” Trixie answered.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“That can’t be-” he started.

Trixie eyed him angrily, glowing her horn a menacing shade of blue.

“Alright, alright … geez,” he replied.

He jumped up and poked his head out of the window. Below it was a small hedgerow lining the walls and one of the small streets running behind the hospital. They were still clear of any ponies. Spreading out his wings briefly, he jumped out of the window and flapped them down. Trixie and Vinyl watched on as he did not flap them back up. The pegasus fell like a brick down the one-story drop and smacked the concrete street right beyond the hedgerow. They heard him cry out in pain below as they both stuck their heads out of the window to see. Despite being just the second story, there was still a decent sized drop. It was likely that he was screaming out because of a broken bone.

“Hey!” Vinyl shouted down at him, “Shut the fuck up!”

He refused to listen, whether intentionally or not. They watched soon after as a zombie stallion made his entrance down the street, trotting toward the noise.

“We gotta help him!” Vinyl insisted.

“I know, I will. We gotta find a way to get down to him though.”

She looked down at the hedgerow. While it could cushion their fall a little bit, the branches hiding inside would probably hurt. She started to summon a cloud spell that would cushion their fall just enough if timed right. It was a tricky spell to get right, but she figured it was worth the risk. However, the spell was interrupted when the glass from one of the windows below broke. Right below them, a zombie mare crawled her way out through the first-story window and started crawling over the hedgerow toward the stallion.

She started another freeze spell while she watched another zombie mare follow behind the first one. For the split-second of time allowed, she thought of the possibility that she could shoot a double-freeze spell to stop them both in time. It was too close to tell in this timeframe, so she shot the single spell at the first one and hoped the frozen one might get in the way of the following mare. Unfortunately, the other zombie crawled right beside her and fell off the hedgerow. She was almost done warming up another freeze spell when the pony got ahold of the pegasus and sunk her teeth in his hoof.

He yelled out, squirming in an attempt to free himself from the mare. Trixie shot the pony with the freeze spell, but it was ultimately too late. She was quickly running out of energy with these spells, and she could not continuously blast this zombie to keep her frozen. Amidst writhing around in pain, the pegasus looked up at them with fear in his eyes. He gestured with his front hoof for them to go. More zombie ponies were on their way when they saw another enter the street.

“Come on,” she said, pulling on Vinyl, “We gotta go.”

Vinyl beat on the window sill angrily. She stood at it for a few seconds before backing up and looking back at her.

"We’ll go for the fire escape plan again,” Trixie said, “he … will probably draw them away from it …”

A New Way To Die

— Twilight Sparkle —

“Slow down, Twilight!” Spike yelled, “I’m gonna die if I fall off at these speeds!”

Twilight kept her pace. “Quit being such a drama queen. We need to get there now.”

She ran alone, with Spike clinging to her back. Guilt coursed through her veins about not being able to help the other ponies at the castle. She hoped they made it out too, but her hopes weren’t very high at this point. She shed a tear, overwhelmed by all that had happened so far.

“But Twilight, you should conserve your energy in case we run across another zombie pony. Think about it!”

Twilight realized Spike’s logic made sense and slowed her pace a tad.

“Thank you,” Spike said, laying back down with his claws still gripping her back. She continued along the path with the castle still fresh in her mind.

Somepony screamed out. Twilight looked up from the Cutie Map and exchanged a frightened glance with Spike. They both hopped out of their seats and ran toward the commotion down the hallway. A few ponies stood around the sides, unsure of what to do. Down the long hallway laid an elegant red, swirl-decorated rug. Tall blue, double-paned windows lined the hall, along with crystal pillars rising to the tall ceiling. As they ran through it, a distraught Daisy rounded the corner at the end of the hallway and met up with them.

“Somepony turned! They’re onto Mayor!” she cried.

Spike turned his attention to Twilight, and both he and Daisy waited for her to do something. She froze for a moment, lost in thought, before looking back at Daisy.

“Go to the main room and tell the others to meet there too. We’ll be back. Come on, Spike!”

She then took off in a gallop to save Mayor. Spike stayed hot on her tail. As they rounded the corner to another hallway and closed in on the room she was in, they heard shouting. She let another pony rush past her and called for him to join Daisy. After that, she entered the doorway to the room Mayor was in, just to see her getting her neck bitten by a pale blue Sassaflash in the corner. The room was being used as a backup storage room, so there was not much stuff inside. However, the furniture and boxes that were inside were scattered and knocked over, indicating a bigger fight.

Twilight froze in terror as she watched Mayor frantically beat back on the pony. The grizzly sound of her yells mixed with the sound of Sassaflash ripping into her flesh echoed in her brain. She shook herself out of her daze and rushed into the room with them. Spike shouted behind her, but she could not hear him as she tunnel-visioned on the zombie mare. The mare had not noticed her, so she made her way to the outer wall beside them and swung around to set up a buck.

As she did, she noticed Spike running along the opposite end of the room. She tried not to get distracted for too long, but as she watched him to see what he was doing, another pony came trotting through the doorway. It only took a few seconds to realize the stallion was a zombie pony, and it only took him a few seconds to relocate Spike.

Twilight quickly threw her hind legs back in her buck, but she had not realized that Sassaflash had already brought Mayor to the ground. Her hind legs struck the air before setting right back down, nearly causing her to stumble. Now she had a choice to make, but only milliseconds to choose. She quickly abandoned Mayor and bolted across the room on an intercept course with the zombie stallion. Spike rounded the corner in front of her, and suddenly, she was facing a head-on situation.

She preemptively swung around again, setting up for another buck long in advance. She tucked her tail between her legs to avoid getting snagged as the zombie pony trotted toward her. Once he was within range, she sent energy shooting through her hind legs and bucked him right in the face. The stallion fell to the ground, giving both her and Spike enough time to run to the other side of the room.

“Twilight, we have to go!” Spike shouted.

She realized he was right. Mayor was not screaming out anymore, and the other stallion was quickly standing back up. With Spike by her side, they ran outside of the room, slamming the door shut behind them. Twilight sat against it and wiped her sweaty forehead. A few seconds later, the door banged violently behind her. Then Spike cried out again. She looked where he was pointing, just to see another zombie mare from the hall they had just come from. They could hear screams across the castle, and she was quickly realizing how bad their situation was becoming.

“Run!” she yelled at Spike. They both sprinted down the rest of the hallway as fast as they could. They then entered the last room and slammed the door shut.

“Quick!” Twi shouted, “We need to barricade the door!”

She pushed her back up against the door in preparation. As Spike ran to grab a chair, the pony banged violently on the door. She held steady against it but was shocked at the strength produced by the pony's blow. Another one sent the door open a few hairs. Twilight forcefully shoved it closed again.

“Hurry Spike!”

With sweat beading on his forehead, Spike hauled a chair over that he and Twilight shoved against the doorknob. After realizing it was secure, they both backed up.

“Now what?!” Spike asked her.

“I don’t know …” she replied, looking around anxiously for anything to help them.

Spike pointed at a broom in the corner of the room. “What about that? With enough force, that could knock him out.”

She thought for a moment before responding, “We might need to break it and use it as a makeshift spear …”

Spike looked up at her mortified. “But-“

“Spike. You saw what I saw.”

Spike looked down at his claws, wondering if he was in some fucked up dream. One moment, it was a peaceful morning. Then it was an apocalyptic nightmare. Equestria had been through some mean stuff, but this was another level. Violence to this degree usually never had to be used.

“O … okay …”

Twilight picked up the broom but hesitated. The room had a window they could break through, but like the front windows, these were also reinforced. After observing the broom, she thought of a trick she had learned from a book.

“Hold on.”

Spike watched her as she walked over to the window and put the broom handle against it. She specifically targeted the bottom right corner, only a few ear-lengths away from either side. With the broom in place, she grabbed hold of the other end and placed her horn through the brush of the broom, lining it up with the rest of the handle. She then turned her head sideways and backed up a step before throwing her head clockwise as she jabbed the broom forward against the glass. The pressure exerted through her horn swirled along the broom like some witch’s magic and smacked the glass with the handle, forming a crack.

“Wow!” Spike cheered, appalled by her trick.

She smiled softly, pulling the broom back and swinging hard at the window. It only took one swing for it to send glass flying outside, taking a good half of the window with it. Glass continued to shower the window sill for a few seconds.

“But what about the others?” Spike asked.

“Once we are out, we can loop around to the front and do the same thing to the front windows so the others can get out.”

“Okay.” Spike nodded, happy with her suggestion.

She threw the broom outside and watched the door as Spike jumped out. As he did, the chair gave way with one of the two back legs snapping as the door burst open. The zombie pony snarled as Twilight quickly bolted through the window. Outside, Spike was picking up the broom.

“Run Spike!” she yelled.

Spike looked up and saw the zombie pony coming toward the window she just jumped out of. The sight of it put a pep in his step as he ran after Twilight with the broom in his claw. They both darted around the corner of the castle and jumped up on the purple rock base near the front entrance. Spike nervously gave her the broom as she set herself up next to the staircase, ready to repeat what she had done to the first window. She again lined up her horn with the handle while Spike anxiously kept an eye out for their pursuer. As she got ready to jam the window, the zombie pony stumbled around the corner.

“Twilight!”

She jammed the broom into the window, making a similar crack as she had in the first. Before she was able to swing at the glass, the zombie pony jumped on the rock and leaped at them. Twi held the broom tight as she put it behind her shoulder and swung. The end of the broom handle whacked the zombie mare hard, knocking her off balance for a second. She tried again to swing at the window, but the pony started going for Spike, who was anxiously attempting to climb over the golden stair railing.

“Spike!”

Twilight batted the pony before she got to him, causing her to fall next to Spike. He finally stumbled over the railing, falling head over claws down the flight of stairs as Twilight ran down off the rocky castle base. As she turned around to fight, she noticed a group of zombie ponies coming from the other side of the castle.

“Spike, we gotta go!” she yelled. She leaned down and let Spike jump on her back. As the zombie pony got up, she took off for Applejack’s barn without looking back.

Without warning, Twilight came to a dead stop. This sent Spike hurtling over her shoulder, despite his grip, and crashing onto the ground in front of her. Before he had time to yell at her, she shoved a hoof in his face and gestured forward with her head. He looked over to see a white pony in the distance, slowly walking toward them. They couldn’t make out the details, but they saw her stop as well.

“Phew,” she sighed with relief, “looks like a living pony. Come on, Spike.”

Spike squinted toward the pony, still unsure. He reluctantly took off after Twilight, jogging to meet up with whoever it was. At first, the pony turned sideways, but she turned back around to face them as they got closer. When they were close enough, both Twilight and Spike realized who it was.

“Rarity!” Spike yelled.

Rarity started galloping to meet with them when she realized who it was too. She slowed as they approached but was unable to dodge Twilight’s quick hug.

“Twilight! Dear, are you alright?”

She kept her hooves locked around Rarity. “I am now.”

Rarity rested her head on her shoulder, rubbing her back while they hugged. When they finally let go, she was pounced on by Spike as well.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said.

“I’m glad you’re okay too.” She looked up at Twilight as they hugged. “Do you know where the others are?”

She shook her head. “We are headed to Applejack’s barn now. We were hoping to find at least you and her. Where were you headed?”

Rarity disconnected from Spike. “I was on my way to her barn too until this gruesome-looking pony attacked me. I could not get her off of my tail! What in Equestria is going on?”

Twilight sighed and shrugged defeatedly.

“A ... zombie apocalypse …”

“Are you being serious? How bad is it?”

She closed her eyes, trying not to think of the castle.

“It’s bad.”

Rarity glanced at both of them, reading their frightened expressions. “I thought about going to the castle … is there anybody there?”

Twilight and Spike looked at each other nervously before looking back at her.

“N- no …” Twilight started.

“Oh, it was horrible!” Spike cried out, “we saw a pony getting eaten! Eaten!! We barely made it out! I- it was - ah…”

He dropped down, trying to shake the memory from his head. His eyes opened up to tears flowing down his cheek as he started to grieve. Rarity looked on in disbelief.

“You saw- you saw what now?!”

She turned to Twilight but she was unable to answer too as fearful tears formed in her eyes.

“Oh you poor things …” She sat next to Spike and rubbed his back, still taken aback by what she heard. “Gosh … this is a lot more serious than I imagined.”

Twilight nodded as she wiped away her tears. “... This is going to be unlike anything we have ever faced …”

She watched Rarity nod along as her friend took this in. Rarity described her experience with one, but it did not come close to what they saw. She had only been chased by one, seeing its gruesome face as she ran.

“We need to go,” Twilight said, “We’ll get Applejack and make our way back to find others.”

Rarity thought for a second. Twilight read into her.

“I know,” she started, “but the barn isn’t far from here. We will get Sweetie Belle right after, I promise. We need to stick together right now.”

Unfortunately, the old schoolhouse that was down the road from Sweet Apple Acres had been wiped out in the mega-storm months ago. The community had voted on the new schoolhouse being partly across town, near the other side of Ponyville. Rarity sighed as she nodded along.

“Okay … Let’s go.”

Schools Out

— Applejack —

The barn stood tall against Celestia’s rising sun. Applejack stood near an apple tree, already done harvesting one long row of trees. She bucked the tree next to her with a mighty blow, sending apples careening into the buckets below. It was a good day so far, at least in her mind. She looked on at the barn in the distance with that familiar sense of pride and happiness she felt. It was always a pretty sight to see on mornings like this. That was part of the reason she got up so early all the time. Her peace was interrupted by Granny Smith hollerin’ from the house.

“Applejaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!”

AJ shook away her serenity as she started galloping for the house. Granny shouted her name again. As she got closer, she could start to make out Granny’s worried expression. She ran up and met her at the front door.

“What is it, Granny?! What’s the matter?”

“Zombieeeeeees!”

AJ squinted her eyes and cocked her head, wondering if Granny had finally lost it. “What in tarnation are you on about, Granny?”

“The radiooo! It said that Manehatten’s got them zombies! Living dead! Golly, I didn’t believe it at first either but it sounds real!”

AJ grew a new sense of fear. A zombie apocalypse? It seemed a bit unrealistic and unlikely that a zombie apocalypse would break out in Equestria, but AJ had seen some crazy stuff in the past. She thought a minute about the possibility.

“...A-are ya’ positive?” AJ asked nervously.

“Yes, dear. Why would I lie to ya?”

She was right. AJ cursed quietly to herself. Applebloom had already left for school. That damned school just had to be moved across town, didn't it? She thought about it more and realized that, thankfully, if there really was a big apocalypse starting, Manehatten was pretty far away. Ponyville had plenty of time to prepare for whatever happened.

“Applejack! Look!!!” Granny shouted, pointing her hoof toward the fields.

AJ looked back to see the shape of a pony in the distance. She squinted to see Big Mac, who had accompanied her for the morning harvest. He was galloping toward them, likely to have heard Granny’s hollerin' as well.

“Zombie!” Granny shouted.

“It’s just Big Mac!” AJ hissed.

“Oh… okay, sorry dear.”

Big Mac ran up to meet them. “What’s goin' on?”

“Granny said she heard about zombies on the radio. Some kinda zombie apocalypse, I guess?”

“That’s right,” Granny replied, “They said Manehatten is chaos … that it’s starting to fall apart!”

Big Mac looked at them dumbfounded. “What?”

“Come here,” Granny said, gesturing both of them inside. They made their way into the living room as static started filling the air.

“Darn!” Granny walked up and started adjusting the dials on the radio, but the static continued to play. “I swear-”

AJ placed a hoof on Granny’s shoulder. “It's okay. We believe you.” She turned to Big Mac. “We need to get Applebloom from school. Let me grab something real quick and we will head out, alright?”

Big Mac stared at the radio a few seconds longer, caught in a gaze.

“... Big Mac?”

He left his daze and looked at her worryingly. “... Eeyup …”

“Okay,” AJ replied suspiciously.

She side-hugged a worried Granny before heading upstairs to her room. She made her way inside and opened up her closet. After digging around the top shelf, she moved aside a box and felt with her hooves until she felt rope. She pulled out the lazily stored lasso and inspected it to make sure the knots were correct. She then wound it up into a smaller circle and set it on the ground. She set her hind legs in the circle and slid one of her hooves underneath the rope. Next, she tucked her tail between her legs and kicked the rope up around her hips. Once it slid to her midsection, she bent her foreleg to tighten it in place, making sure it was easily accessible for when she needed it.

Once it was set, she made her way back downstairs. As she started to head back to the living room, she stopped next to the kitchen. On one of the countertops was their knife block, with sharp kitchen knife handles sticking up out of it. She stopped and contemplated for a moment, wondering if she needed them. After some thought, she walked over and took out a knife. She pulled on one of the drawers and took out some tape as well, awkwardly taping it around her foreleg. She thought about what this implied, hoping not to have to use it. When she finally went back to the living room, she found Granny sat up in her rocking chair, but no Big Mac.

“Where is Big Mac?” she asked.

“He’s waiting outside, dear,” she answered.

AJ ran up to her and kissed her on the cheek. “We’ll be back soon. Just stay inside. And lock the doors!”

“I was fixin' to do that now.”

Granny got up and followed her to the door. AJ stepped out onto the porch and looked around to find no Big Mac. She turned back to Granny. “He said he was waiting?”

“He did,” Granny said.

AJ stepped off the porch and looked around, but still couldn't find Big Mac. She glanced back up at Granny and yelled at her to close the door before cursing to herself and taking off for the school.

Damn it, big brother.

She sprinted as fast as she could through the orchard, reaching the gate faster than she ever had before. She knew now that he had taken off without her because the gate was left ajar. When AJ caught up with him, she was going to kick his big ass to Manehatten herself. On her way to the school, a pony started crossing the path that laid out ahead of her. She thought nothing of it until he turned, revealing his torn up face. The pale color of his coat stood out, and the stallion opened his mouth wide in a groan.

Shoot.

It was real ... and it wasn't just Manehatten. She readied herself, reaching her foreleg down to loosen the lasso until she realized how slow he was moving. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but his trot was slow enough to where she could possibly avoid him. So instead, she set her foreleg back down and trotted toward him. When she got close, she quickly juked to the right side and bolted into a gallop. The pony lunged when they were within range, and to her surprise, he was able to snap his teeth onto her following tail. She was grinded to a stop as his resistance pulled her back.

She dug her hooves into the ground as she turned, before pulling hard on her backend to get him off. This only caused him to fall to the ground, with her tail still held firmly in his mouth. Another frantic tug only pulled him along the dirt. She quickly realized that she would have to use her knife to either cut part of her precious tail off, or … kill him.

As she fought back to keep him down and slithering on the ground, she reached down and used her mouth to pull the knife off of her. She felt the tape rip off her coat as she yanked the knife up and spit it into her front hoof. The knife glimmered in the sunlight as she rose it and looked the pony in the eyes. With one fell swoop, she sliced her tail in half. She immediately felt his resistance vanish, so while holding the knife in her hoof, she turned and took off.

While she got away from him, she realized just how agile these ponies were. She did not feel like risking an encounter with any more of them, so she made her way into the trees lining the path and went off-course a bit to stay hidden in the greenery. This route would take her a bit longer, which she greatly disliked, but she had no other safe choice. She taped the knife back on her foreleg and continued.

As she looped around the outskirts of Ponyville, halfway to the school, she heard a rustling up ahead. Despite not seeing what it was, she was taking no chances now. She tip-toed her way around some fallen leaves and quietly pressed herself into a sunken area of dirt next to a tree. Bushes and shrubbery covered her bright orange coat as she hid. There were no groans associated with the couple different steps she heard, but she remained quietly in place as they passed, fading off behind her.

She made it most of the way to the school before encountering another rustle in the bushes. This time, she was back on the path to the school. Before she could sneak away into the bushes on the other side of the path again, a pale zombie mare emerged from the bushes and took notice of her. The path they were on was not wide enough for AJ to safely go around this time. She was also too close to the school to risk running through the woods and luring the pony back with her.

AJ reached back and unloosened the lasso. She tucked in her shortened tail again and pushed her forelegs to stand upright briefly, allowing the rope to slide down her body and hit the ground. She then leaned down and bit into the stem before turning to face the pony again. The mare had made more distance than AJ had expected, and she was within close enough range already. AJ quickly threw her head sideways with the rope still in her mouth and ran to the side. When there was enough force to drag the lasso, she spun around, causing it to lift in the air. With one accurate toss, she managed to land it right in front of the mare's forelegs.

Just a second later, the mare stepped both of her forelegs right inside the loop as she continued pursuing her. AJ reacted swiftly, yanking the loop tight around her front hooves and causing the pony to fall. The clumsy mare kicked both of her legs in an attempt to get up, but when she did, AJ would pull on the rope and make her fall again. As she did this, AJ was starting to realize this probably wasn't the best tool to use. She nervously looked down at the knife, but she wasn't ready to use it yet. As much as she wanted to keep the lasso, she decided to leave it. While the mare was tied up, she easily ran past and continued toward the school.

When she approached the school, she noticed a few ponies huddled together by the left side of it. Most of them looked small, and she could tell they were fillies. She approached the group to find Applebloom with her crusader friends. They noticed her, but Applebloom was too covered in tears to say anything. Their teacher, Cheerilee, was kneeling over somepony. That somepony ... was Big Mac.

AJ ran up to the side of a teary-eyed Cheerilee. Big Mac was on the ground, blood leaking out from his neck. Another pale pony laid out behind him, dead, with a knife sticking out of its head. The blood from Big Mac's neck was coming out of a bite-shaped wound, and AJ instantly realized what this meant. She dropped to his side with her mouth hung open in shock. She made eye contact with Cheerilee, unable to speak. Big Mac coughed up blood, opening his eyes a squint and looking up at AJ. He too, was unable to speak as she grabbed his hoof. Tears started rushing down her face as she squeezed, watching his eyes close slowly.

A few minutes went by until Cheerilee shook her. AJ’s tears had stopped, but her blank stare glued to Big Mac’s once open eyes. AJ kept squeezing his hoof despite him no longer returning the pressure. His breathing had stopped, and his red coat had already started to grow pale. Big Mac was gone. Cheerilee shook her shoulder again. Her muffled voice started to enter AJ’s brain.

“Applejack!”

Blinking out of her trance, she turned to Cheerilee.

“Applejack, come on! We’ve got to go, he’s going to turn!”

Cheerilee tugged on her shoulder, pulling her off Big Mac. Nearby, the fillies were huddled together, clearly afraid and distraught. She shook her head and returned herself to reality.

“Alright, alright!” she exclaimed.

AJ shoved Cheerilee’s hoof away from her. She stood up and took a deep breath as she trotted up to the fillies with a nervous Cheerilee right behind her. They made eye contact again before realizing they were on the same page. AJ turned back to the girls.

“Come on girls, we have to go.”

She looked down at them, seeing the fright glowing in their eyes. Applebloom stepped forward and grabbed her front hoof tight. AJ felt her shaking and nearly lost it again. Instead, she put her other hoof on Applebloom’s head, petting her mane in an attempt to calm her.

“Shhh. Big sis is here.”

Cheerilee trotted up to the other two fillies and attempted to comfort them.

“Applejack ... fillies, we need to leave.”

Scootaloo turned to Cheerilee. “But the others! We need to find them!”

AJ looked back at Cheerilee questionably. She returned the stare and sighed.

“The other fillies … some of them ran when it was all going down,” she explained, “and some …” She looked at the school house before shaking her head and looking back at Scootaloo. “We don’t have time. I’m sorry. We need to go before he turns.”

“Can’t we move him somewhere?” Sweetie Belle asked, “or tie him up?”

“He’s too heavy,” AJ replied, “and too strong …”

“But,” Scootaloo joined, “all of us together could move him.”

AJ and Cheerilee exchanged glances once more and looked back at Big Mac. While they briefly pondered the possibility, they heard a quiet groan come from him. His coat was really pale now, and his foreleg attached to his bitten shoulder twitched.

“It’s too late!” AJ exclaimed, “Come on, we have to leave NOW!”

“Follow me!” Cheerilee yelled, galloping toward the path AJ had come.

AJ made sure all three fillies were accounted for as she took the rear of the pack, galloping from her undead brother. She wiped away forming tears and followed the others. She turned back one more time to see the school house fade in the distance as they escaped.

Loaded

— Twilight —

Twilight caught her breath, slowing down once more from the long trot they had been on. Ever since she and Spike had met up with Rarity, they made an effort to keep pace. She looked back to see them struggling for air as well. They happily slowed down with her and walked by her side.

“It’s not too much farther,” Rarity said.

Thank Celestia.

They were headed to the school now. When they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, they were met with just Granny Smith and Carrot Top. Granny had informed them that both Big Mac and Applejack ran for the schoolhouse to get the fillies. Twi had thanked her and made sure they were safe before leaving. Twi had faith they would be alright, as they locked themselves up in the barn, but she still had a bad feeling about leaving them there.

On the way, she thought about her brother. Before she ran out of magic this morning, she quickly sent him a letter, in fear of losing communication with him. However, she never got a return letter. She worried about him dearly, and her mind went into overdrive throughout their walk. She tried not to think about him, as she needed to focus on solving the problem here. This apocalypse was brewing quickly, offering her no time to think about other cities. It didn't help that he lived so far away.

She looked down the path as she caught her breath. There was a small hill ahead of them, and Rarity insisted the schoolhouse would be in view as they went over it. But as they continued, a pony’s head started emerging from the top of the hill. The purple outline of Cheerilee came into view as more heads appeared. Twilight’s group stopped as they watched Cheerilee, followed by fillies, rush over the hill. Behind them was Applejack. They all kept galloping over the hill, even after seeing them. Twilight noticed the glimmer of a knife reflecting off of AJ’s foreleg and an unusually short tail behind her. There was also blood on Cheerilee’s forelegs and front hooves.

“Good heavens, what are they running from?” Rarity asked.

“I don’t know,” Twilight replied, “but get ready.”

The other group slowed to a stop in front of Twilight. AJ wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said, running up to Twilight and hugging her quickly.

“What’s going on?” Twi asked.

“Listen, we need to leave. Big Mac-“ AJ started. Twi listened as she paused, seemingly dealing with grief before continuing, “-Big Mac is about to come. He turned into one of them already.”

Crap. Twilight gritted her teeth angrily. Far too many ponies were turning already, and she felt overwhelmingly defenseless with no magic. She hoped the others were managing okay, but this disaster had escalated far too quickly. She felt lucky that she was still normal, as she had already experienced the close call at the castle.

“Look, we need to use your barn while we figure this thing out. Is that okay with you?” Twi asked.

“Uh- of course it is, sugarcube. But … what about the castle?”

“The castle is not safe.”

“Awe shucks,” AJ replied. She took a moment to observe her before continuing, “Well … now hang on, Twilight, what about your magic? Don’t ya' know some spells that could help us out here?”

“I do … but I can’t use them. I can’t access my magic, and I don’t know why.”

“Son of a bitch,” AJ remarked.

“Applejack!” Cheerilee exclaimed, glancing at the fillies.

“I beg your pardon, but this is some deep shit we are in,” AJ replied.

Cheerilee sighed. “I know.” She met eyes with Twilight. “You all should head to the barn,” she suggested, “but I need to visit Zecora.”

Twilight observed her, looking at the blood on her front hooves. “Why?”

“A potential cure. I think I remember seeing a book about it at her place last time I visited. I need to make sure.”

“I think I know the book you’re talking about,” Twilight said, “but are you sure Zecora would have it?”

While she knew a lot about books, Twilight was not too knowledgeable about the one she was thinking of. If she remembered it correctly, the book Cheerilee was referencing was partly science and partly experimentation. Obviously, there had never been an actual zombie apocalypse in Equestria's history, but there was enough fiction about it to drive the curiosity of many science ponies. Even if the book was there, would the magic research inside even work? It was debatable.

“Yes, if I remember correctly.”

“Okay then. I just remember that she focuses on natural remedies and the like. I wouldn’t expect it there.”

“It’s worth a shot. I know what I saw. I will return to the barn once I find out.”

Twilight thought of the situation. She was afraid of Cheerilee’s idea, and how dangerous the Everfree forest could potentially be at a time like this. She didn’t want anypony else to risk their lives unless it was absolutely worth it. She looked around at Rarity, Spike, and AJ.

“One of us can go with you. It’ll be safer that way.”

“No, Twilight. I don’t want to split us up any more than this. I will be fine. The Everfree forest may be one of the safer places anyway. Think about it.”

Twilight realized she had a point. Nopony really lived in the Everfree forest. While stray zombie ponies may enter the forest, it might be safer than someplace like downtown Ponyville. As she thought some more, a familiar green mist filled the air in front of her. Sparkles accompanied it until a shoebox, a baseball bat, a body-length stick of some kind, and a letter appeared and fell to the ground. The bat rolled in front of Spike, and the broom-like stick rolled between him and Rarity.

“Oh wow,” he said, “she didn’t even go through me?”

Twilight looked down at the box. “I’m surprised she still has magic. Maybe everything will be okay.”

A newfound excitement entered Twilight’s mind as she considered the possibility that Celestia retained her magic somehow. As Spike picked up the bat to observe it, she opened up the letter and started reading.

Twilight … sorry to disappoint you, but no, I am running out of magic as well. I need you and Devan to come to Canterlot immediately. It is safe here, so we can work out how to beat this thing. I know it sounds crazy, but please use the stuff I sent in the box. Defend yourself. There may not be an end to this without you.

Celestia

With that, her excitement quickly faded away. Twilight set the letter down and hesitantly opened the shoebox before the others could question her. Inside it, there were saddlebags tucked beside a weirdly shaped black and yellow object tucked inside a holster. She pulled out the saddlebags and opened them. Inside of them was: a sharp, combat-style knife inside a holster meant to wrap around a pony’s foreleg, a flashlight, some medical supplies, and a hatchet. She quietly observed the stuff for a minute before returning to the box.

She recognized the shape of the object inside when she picked up the holster and pulled it out. It was gun-shaped, if she remembered right, but it did not look like one. The only reason she knew about guns was through hushed conversations with Devan. They were the primary invention that Celestia so hardly fought to keep secretive, but now she was just giving her one? When she realized this, she set it inside of the holster and dropped it back in the box. There was no way Princess Celestia really thought they should go to these extremes.

“What is this, sugarcube?” AJ asked, picking up the gun holster.

“Don’t!” Twilight exclaimed, reaching forward and accidentally grabbing the weird gun out of its holster instead of the holster itself. AJ held the holster in her hoof and looked at the gun in hers. She raised her head in suspicion before nodding slowly.

“Oh … is that one of them guns ya' mentioned?”

"SHHHHHHH!" Twilight exclaimed, looking over at Cheerilee.

Okay, maybe she wasn't the best at keeping secrets. It was still Devan's fault. She thought for a moment, realizing she might not need to keep it a secret anymore, seeing as Celestia was just hoofing them out now. She wondered if Devan had received a box like this too, and if she gave him a gun.

But, this wasn't a gun! What was it? After observing it a bit more, a lightbulb lit up in her head. Twilight suddenly remembered a conversation with Devan that described this gun. It was a taser! ... if she remembered the name correctly. She explained this to the others to the best of her ability before letting Spike hold it. He observed it and the way it fit in his claws.

"So, I just pull the trigger and ...?"

Spike, demonstrating no trigger discipline, accidentally pointed it at AJ and fired. Two thin lines shot out of it, and she vaguely saw two black dots land on AJ's shoulders. A buzzing sound immediately started radiating the air. Right after the dots connected with her, she seized uncontrollably. Twilight watched as her friend dropped the holster and fell over, spazzing for a second longer as Spike held down the trigger.

“Stop!” AJ yelled when it was over. She swiped at the dots, throwing them off of her as she stood up again. “You little twerp!”

She lunged for Spike, but stopped as he raised his claws in front of his face. “I’m sorry!”

Applejack sighed her anger away and looked back at Twilight. “So, she does want us to fight?”

“Well …” Twi spoke, “only if we have to. I really hope we don’t.”

AJ exchanged a glance with her. “Sugarcube, I hope we don’t too, but let’s be honest. We will have to.”

Twilight looked at the blood on Cheerilee's hooves and realized she was right. She had never been the violent type, but she was slowly understanding the need to be now. She took a moment to observe the rest of the stuff Celestia had sent. She pulled the hatchet out of the saddlebags, noticing there was a three-holed harness-like holster for it as well, buried underneath the rest of the supplies. After deciding this would be her weapon of choice, she took the holster and set it on the ground. AJ helped her slip it over her rear-end, tightening the two loops around the top of her hind legs as well as the main loop around her hip. The hatchet sat comfortably in the holster on her right side, and it was easy to access.

"Thank you," she told AJ.

"You're welcome."

She talked about the rest of the supplies with the others, and eventually, they all decided on who got what. Spike ended up with the taser, as his claws were the most efficient at pulling the trigger. He demonstrated that pretty well. He also got the baseball bat, as it was of the right size for him to hold comfortably over his shoulder. Rarity got the stick, which also had a strange method for carrying it. They helped her put on the two straps, one for her hip, and one for her chest. On the side of the straps was a flexible, connected fabric tube that could hold part of the stick on her side. Rarity also got the saddlebags, which she draped over the top of the stick holder. Finally, Twilight took the knife after Cheerilee refused to take it.

AJ looked over at Twilight after they were all settled. "So, did the letter say anythin' else? Or just to protect ourselves?"

"It did. New plan ... Canterlot. She wants us there as soon as possible, so that we can figure this thing out. She says it's safe there, so that's where we'll go."

Twilight observed their expressions, realizing not everyone seemed on board.

“Twilight,” Cheerilee said, setting a hoof on her shoulder, “I’m going to see Zecora. I’m sorry. Good luck out there.”

Before Twilight could respond, Cheerilee went up to the fillies and rubbed Applebloom’s head. The mare met eyes with AJ once more and nodded as she left for Zecora.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted. She ran up to her and detached the knife holster around her foreleg. She picked it up with her hoof and held it out in front of Cheerilee. “Take it. Just in case.”

“No, Twilight. You all ne-“

“NO. Take it, please. You might need it.” Twilight shoved the holster against her chest.

Cheerilee reluctantly took it and set it around her foreleg. “Thank you ...”

As Cheerilee set off, she was met with AJ’s gaze. “Twilight ...” she started, “... I’m sorry, but I need to get these fillies to safety. I can take them to my barn.”

“But Celestia said Canterlot-“

“No. Twilight,” AJ interrupted, “We don’t even know if the train is running, and it is a long journey without it. I know the barn will be safe. Please trust me.”

Twilight thought hard about her decision. As she did, a groaning came from over the hill. They looked over to see Big Mac slowly trotting above the ridge. They were out of time to think.

“We’ll be fine, Twilight. I promise.”

"Okay, okay ..." Twilight responded, rushing forwards and wrapping her hooves around her. AJ returned her hug forcefully.

“Thank ya', sugarcube. Be safe!” she said.

She watched nervously as AJ took off with the fillies and made sure Rarity and Spike were ready to go. They looked back at her and nodded. With one last glance at Big Mac behind them, she took a deep breath.

“Okay … Let’s go.”

A Royal Problem

— Princess Celestia —

“You’re kidding,” Princess Celestia remarked. She and Luna waited patiently on their thrones for the guard to tell them otherwise, but he just nervously glanced back.

“I’m afraid not. Sorry, Princess.”

Things were off to a very rough start in Canterlot. They had received information about a potential zombie apocalypse earlier this morning, yet within only an hour or two, it seemed to get out of hoof. Her guard just informed her that the main castle’s door had been breached, and the castle might not hold for much longer. On top of this, she learned of the slow vanishing of magic, even afflicting her and her sister. Somehow despite this, she was still able to raise the sun. Perhaps it was due to the nature of the magic and how special it was, but Celestia would not take this for granted. The sun had to be risen, and she was forever grateful that she was still able to raise it.

She had thought about Discord's powers, wondering if he retained any of his magic. Supposedly, if her keeping up with affairs was correct, he was supposed to be vacationing at The Crystal Empire with Cadence and Shining Armor now. She learned of this earlier in the week. Recently, when this whole thing started, she had exchanged a letter with the far-away princess before her magic started disappearing. The letter she got back disturbed her. Apparently, the empire was not immune to these new zombie ponies either. In fact, in the very short letter she got, the princess mentioned that events in the empire had started even before she rose the sun this morning. She explained her magic was dwindling quickly as well, and at the end of the letter, she wrote: Discord turned.

Celestia was shocked. She had not expected any of this. At the time, Canterlot was under no threat in general, despite a growing number of them appearing. She had already ordered a city-wide lockdown and dispatched guards to secure it, telling other ponies to lock themselves indoors until they could sort this out. It turned out the cards were not in their favor. Almost all of the guards she sent did not return. The one standing guard beside her throne was the only one who did, and he almost didn't make it. Too many ponies had fallen victim to this raging illness, and many of them roamed the streets of Canterlot, taking unsuspecting ponies with them.

As she realized the severity of the situation, she sent two more letters to Devan and Twilight. However, her draining magic caused a large delay in how fast she could send them. Sending the heavy boxes full of supplies also did not help. She worried that the letters would not arrive in time, but Devan was not answering his walkie-talkie anymore. Celestia had attempted this first, but many, many attempts were deemed unsuccessful. She was going to wring that boy a new one the next time she saw him.

She took a deep breath and thought for a moment. Suddenly, the walkie-talkie buzzed, as if Devan had heard her thoughts. She eagerly picked it up, waiting to hear from him. There was a bit of crackling on the other line for a good half-minute, but finally, she heard him speak.

"-Celestia! Please!"

The background static stopped, so she pushed the talk button on the side.

"Devan! Can you hear me?"

A second later, he responded, "What??"

"Listen, Devan. Do NOT come to Canterlot. I don't know if you received my note, but it is NOT safe! Stay with Twilight in Ponyville. Understood?"

She waited for a good thirty seconds, but there was no reply.

"Hello? Devan?"

More attempts to get his response fell short. She rubbed her face with her hoof in frustration as she set the walkie-talkie back down. She then returned her attention to their situation and looked over at a tired Luna.

“Do you have any ideas, sis?”

Luna tried to blink away her tiredness. Not only was she up longer than usual during the night, but she had been woken up not even an hour into her sleep. Celestia had thought about letting her rest, but she needed her right now. She had not expected the city to fall so quickly.

“No, unfortunately …”

Celestia warmed up her horn, checking roughly how much magic she had left. The faint glow was even fainter, and her magic energy made little of an appearance. She was almost out. Luna copied her but got the same results. She cursed the universe and the bad luck they were receiving. First, a mega-storm unheard of for thousands of years ravages Equestria, then a potential apocalypse less than half a year later? Was something trying to kill their beautiful world?

Celestia stood up on her throne and stretched her large, white body. She stepped down it and faced the standing guard. He looked back at her questionably.

“We must leave. Do you know of any safe places we can go?” Celestia asked him.

The guard, named Blaze, thought for a second. He had not heard of any safe places through his guard brothers or found any on his own deadly adventure. While they had not checked nearly every part of Canterlot, it was safe to say that most places were equally unsafe. Wherever they moved to, the mobs outside would likely follow until they inevitably broke through wherever they settled.

“Well?” she interrupted his thoughts, “is there a place?”

“Princess … I don’t believe so.”

They both turned to look at the front door in the distance, which shook from the growing mob outside. The two guards desperately held their bodies against it in an effort to stop them, but it looked more and more like a losing effort. With no possibilities listed, Celestia decided the best place they could be was out of Canterlot. She absolutely hated the idea of leaving ponies behind, trapped in their homes, but there was little she could do for them. She needed to live on to raise the sun, and if that meant fleeing the city, she would have to do it.

She thought about the train station. This chaos had erupted very quickly, which meant there was a chance the train was still waiting at the station for what was supposed to be the morning train ride to Ponyville. Taking the train seemed to be their best option. Celestia found it crucial to cut off Devan and Twilight before they tried to reach the distraught city. She needed them alive, which was also in their best interest. It was their best bet. She pointed at Blaze, then to the guards down the hall.

“Do any of you three have conductor experience?”

“Uh … maybe …” Blaze answered.

Princess Celestia threw him an angry stare.

“Uh- Sorry Princess- Yes, yes Princess … I do …”

“You do?”

“I … I have operated it with the conductor one time. It’s not much, but it was something.”

“Okay. Listen, we need to make it to the train station. Once we are there, you get in the train engine and get us out of the city. We make our way to Ponyville, slowly. We will discuss what to do once we are clear of this city. Understood?”

Guard Blaze opened his eyes wide and started to sweat. Celestia set a hoof on his shoulder.

“I know. Sounds crazy, but we need to move fast. Grab the other guards and meet us at this window.”

She pointed to the large stained-glass window beside them.

"Y-Yes, princess.”

Celestia hoofed her walkie-talkie to him and told him to hang onto it. Then, she and her sister waited by the window and watched him talk to the two remaining guards. As they abandoned the front door, Celestia turned her back on the window and bucked her long, powerful hind legs through it. The window buckled from her blow and shattered into a flurry of yellow glass shards. Her sun beamed through the now open window, illuminating the room bright yellow.

She looked out to find flat, maintained grass just a leg-length below. The grass continued for a few pony-lengths before ending at a tall white wall that rose slightly higher than she was now. This grass alley spanned the side of the castle, which appeared clear of zombie ponies. Checking behind her, she saw three tired and worried guard faces galloping up beside her sister.

“Let’s go,” she ordered.

Guard Blaze instinctively darted in front of her as she got ready to jump, and face-planted out on the grass below. He was a loyal one. Once clear, he picked up his spear again and ensured the grass alley remained clear. Celestia jumped down beside him and made her way down the alley while Luna and the other guards followed.

Everything was going well until a stray zombie pony from out front wandered around the corner and saw them. One of the other guards dashed in front of the group and whacked her with the handle of his spear. She moved once more, so he smacked it again. A few seconds later, the pony remained still.

Blaze joined the guard and moved toward the end of the alley, checking the situation around the corner. The alley widened on both sides with more grass, eventually turning into one part of the castle’s garden. Beyond the garden was the street that connected to the castle's main entrance, where the tail end of the zombie mob was currently. They saw a few zombie ponies trying to enter the side of the castle to their right. None of them were paying attention to the guards, so they both gestured to the princesses to come.

They were able to use some of the plants in the garden to conceal themselves as they slowly made their way toward the road. The fastest way to the station was to turn right and walk past the castle’s front entrance, but it was too risky an approach. They planned to take the princesses left, bringing them the long way around to avoid the mob out front.

The guards approached a small line of grass connecting the garden to the curb of the road and made their way out. The mob was in their line of sight now, and they watched it intently to ensure they were clear. As the guards set hoofs on the road, they turned their heads to the left and saw a small group of four zombie ponies meet their eyes. They came to a dead stop as the ponies started coming for them.

It was too late to turn back now. They heard the muffled sound of the castle's door crashing down inside, ending with a loud bang. Through the few windows to their right, they could see movement going from left to right. The mob was entering the throne room, and soon, they would find their way through the broken window.

The princesses were making their way out of the garden when the guards nodded in silent agreement. They readied their spears for a fight until more zombie ponies emerged from behind the group on the street. Four zombies turned into seven, and seven turned into a dozen after the reflection of their spears drew some of the mob’s stragglers' attention.

“What do we do?” The other guard asked, moving up to protect Celestia’s flank.

Amidst the panic, Blaze looked down at the street and got an idea. “Here!”

He aimed his spear at the corner of a ponyhole cover in the middle of the street, right in front of them. One of the other guards joined him. Both of them pushed down on their spears, which unseated the cover. When it was free, they both grabbed hold of either end and pulled it free. Blaze glanced into the sewer, but it was too dark to see anything. As he looked up and saw the zombie ponies surrounding them, he realized there was no other option, so he slipped into the sewer and splashed down. It was quieter in the tunnel, so he listened for any zombie ponies. After a few seconds, he found it to be clear.

“It’s cle-“ he started, until the other guard jumped down beside him.

Above ground, the last guard gestured for the princesses to go first so he could lead the rear. Celestia waved for Luna to go through. Although the hole was pretty wide, to accommodate a pony, the sisters were still pretty large comparatively. Luna had to wiggle her flank to make room for herself before falling below. The guards below quickly helped her up and out of the way.

Celestia’s turn. She sat down with her bottom hooves in the ponyhole and copied Luna’s wiggling as the hole squeezed tighter on her rump. However, the wiggling came to a stop when her flank got too wide. She looked up, panicked, as she watched the groups of zombie ponies close in on them. She desperately tried to continue wiggling, but she was stuck.

“Princess!” the guard beside her yelled, dropping his spear. He put his hooves on her lower back and pressed down as hard as he could. Celestia cried out in pain as her back muscles tensed from the pressure. The two guards below dropped their spears in the dark tunnel and reached up, each one grabbing one of her bottom hooves and pulling as hard as they could. The princess finally started to move again, slowly.

As he pushed, the guard above realized the time crunch. The closest zombie pony was now just a few pony lengths away. Reluctantly, he picked up his spear again and lunged forward to meet the pony. His royal guard instincts kicked in as he guided the spear straight through the pony’s eye and out, dropping her instantly.

Time slowed, and sound drowned out as he got in the zone. Passing Celestia, he jabbed the spear through another close pony. Blood spattered out, covering the street and the guard’s front hooves. As he got ready to jab another one, one from the opposite side jumped onto Celestia. She used her hooves to hold his teeth back, trying hard not to get bit. She warmed up her horn and timidly pushed the pony back a few steps with what little magic she could muster. This offered her enough time to grab the ponyhole cover beside her and roll the heavy circle in front of her to use as an overweight shield. The zombie pony returned with a vengeance, reaching over the cover with his hooves and flailing them in front of her. She felt her flank start to loosen a bit. Behind her, the guard struggled to fend off the oncoming zombies, backing up right next to Celestia.

Finally, with the guards and now Luna pulling, her flank finally managed to slip through. She lost grip of the ponyhole cover as her upper half began to fall through, and it fell back where it had previously sat. The light from outside went dim as the cover closed, allowing only a small amount of light through its handle holes.

On the street, the remaining zombies closed in on the guard. As he jabbed another with his spear, one in front of him leaped on him and knocked him down on top of the ponyhole cover. His guard helmet dislodged from his head and slowly rolled down the street. The others caught up with him and sunk their teeth into his neck and head as he struggled to fight back.

The four in the tunnel below helplessly listened to his screams as Blaze and the other guard felt around the shallow water to find their spears again. The screams continued, echoing through the tunnel. Drops of blood dripped through the handles of the cover above and fell onto Celestia's coat. Mortified, she trotted a few steps away from below the cover and backed herself against the tunnel wall.

“We need a flashlight,” Blaze said, finally finding his spear.

“Hang on,” Luna said, “I’ve got something.”

Using a tiny portion of her magic, her horn glowed as a light, strong enough for them to see a few pony-lengths ahead before fading. The sewer tunnel split into two directions.

“I know the way from here,” the other guard stated.

Luna looked at her sister, who was still in a state of shock from what had just happened. The screams had finally stopped, leaving just the groans of the mob outside. Blood flowed more consistently down the cover, quietly splashing in the water below.

“You ready?” she asked.

Celestia met eyes with her. She warily nodded.

“Lead the way,” Luna told the guard.

The group followed the guard until he stopped at a corner. Luna moved beside him so he could see around the corner, and they stood still for a second. Celestia watched them confusingly, waiting for them to continue. Instead, Luna called out, "Are you alright?"

Celestia moved beside her to see who she was talking to. Around the corner, a frazzled, aqua-colored mare pegasus was looking back at them. The mare caught sight of Celestia's bright white body, illuminated by Luna's dim light. Her expression softened from its shocked state as she swung her eyes from Luna to her.

"... princesses? ..."

Celestia rounded the corner in front of the others, since it was clear this mare was not a zombie. Blaze pushed his way beside her and watched carefully.

"Are you bitten?" she asked the mare.

"N- no ..."

"Good. Please come with us. We are ... evacuating ..."

The mare widened her eyes. "The castle too?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid. I am sorry, but we need to flee."

"Absolutely, princess. I can help you."

"I-" Celestia started. She was thrown off by the mare's quick approval. She had expected any citizens they ran into during their seemingly cowardice escape attempt to despise them and feel betrayed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Let's go."

"What is your name?" the leading guard stepped up and asked the mare.

"Typhoon. But you can call me Ty if it's easier."

"Well, it is nice to meet you Ty. Let's continue," Celestia said.

Besides a few rat scares, there were no more ponies in the sewer tunnels. They followed a path of tunnels that followed underneath streets to lead them to the station. Up ahead were two rays of sunlight, indicating another cover.

“This should be close to the station,” the guard pointed out.

“Let me check it out,” Blaze requested, moving up to the ladder that led up to the cover. He waited a moment for Luna to get behind him so she could illuminate the ladder’s steps.

He had to wait a moment before climbing, as the experience they just had was still fresh in his mind. The guard who died was a friend of his. Not real close, but not a stranger either. A brother in arms. His hooves shook as he climbed up the cold steps. The light through the handle holes grew brighter as he stopped at the top, listening for any groans on the streets above.

He heard one distant groan, but the sound came nowhere close to what they heard at the other ponyhole. Deeming it safe, Blaze used his tough royal helmet to push on the cover, slowly sticking his head above ground. He peered around for any mob of ponies but only found one zombie mare down the street. Next to the mare was the train station. Blaze pushed the cover aside, failing to keep it quiet as the heavy cover scraped along the road. The mare beside the station noticed, but she was far enough away to justify him climbing up out of the hole.

“It’s clear,” he announced down the hole, “throw up my spear!”

He backed up and watched as the spear flew through the hole and crashed on the ground beside it. Luna came up next because she knew she would have to help pull Celestia through the hole again. She looked around nervously as Blaze had, but also saw just the one pony by the station. They still had time to pull the others up.

Celestia climbed up and shimmied most of her body through until her hips, predictably, got lodged once more. Both Luna and Blaze grabbed onto a hoof as the guard below climbed up and pushed her flank with his head. Her hips slowly started moving again until she was free. The guard let go of her so he could defend them against the approaching zombie pony.

The pony lunged forward at Blaze, but her pale blue face turned red as he drove a spear through her forehead. He struggled to pull it out, and dropped it by his side when he did. He had been trained at the academy how to defend against threats, learning how to fight and use weapons. However, he had never had to use it. Most of the conflicts he settled for the princesses in the past involved mere pushing and shoving, and occasionally helping pull the aggressor out of the castle. He had hoped he never had to use the spear on a pony. But here he was.

They all made their way inside the station. Celestia’s sun shone through the station’s front window, illuminating the station’s royal blue walls. It also illuminated one body that was lying by one of the walls. A blood puddle sat underneath the pony’s head, and a puncture wound was visible on her forehead.

Celestia dropped her head and exhaled heavily, struggling to come to grips with this sudden reality. She lit up her horn again, but the magic grew even dimmer. She had almost run out, and when she eventually did, her hope would start to follow. She felt responsible for not acting quickly enough. Her sister set a hoof on her shoulder. No words had to be spoken.

The station’s large analog clock hung up high in between the two windows looking out on the platform. The second hand kept on ticking, echoing through the empty station. Outside the windows was an equally empty platform, and behind that, a sparkling Equestrian train.

On Foot and Hoof

— Devan —

The path to the station was empty, fortunately, but my mind was not. I held my baseball bat against my shoulder. There had also been a backpack for me at the bottom of the box, where we all stuffed the rest of the supplies in. The only exception was the combat knife, which Dash carried inside a holster strapped to her foreleg. Glancing down at my holstered pistol, I watched as the deadly steel glimmered in the sunlight. I really, really hoped I would not have to use it, but I was slowly realizing that I might have to soon. Celestia put it clearly: I needed to protect the others. It made sense, so I kept it tucked by my waist, ready to go if need be. I thought about Twilight and how Celestia had mentioned her in the note. I guess she thought we would be together by this point, and I was very disappointed that we weren’t.

The train station was in our sights now. Luckily, there was a passenger train with at least three cars parked out front. A few ponies were gathered outside on the station platform, and a conductor with a blue and white striped vest and conductor’s hat was leaning out of the train engine’s window. We realized the ponies were having a conversation with him. I checked out the ponies on the platform when we were close enough to make them out. I grew a sliver of hope for a second when I saw a purple pony in the crowd with wings. It quickly faded, however, when I noticed her mane and tail were blue and had a swept-back style.

When we got close, we heard hostile voices. The conductor shouted from his train engine at the ponies on the platform. Clearly, there was an argument going on. The others and I ran up the steps to the platform to hear what they were fighting about.

“We don’t know that!” shouted the conductor.

Dash moved up to join the conversation. “Know what?”

The conductor turned his attention to her. “That - I - that -” he stuttered, “Look. This train is not leaving the station until I get further notice from Canterlot.”

“further notice?” Flutters asked.

“Yes. I got word from Canterlot that I must keep this train here until further notice. I am not disobeying their orders.”

“How long ago was this?” I questioned.

The conductor checked his watch. “About half an hour now.”

“Well,” Dash said, “Princess Celestia sent us a letter, telling us to make our way to Canterlot quickly.”

The conductor looked at her, puzzled. He reached out his hoof. “Let me see, please.”

I grabbed the folded letter from my back pocket and handed it to him. He read it and gained a confused expression on his face. “When did she send you this?”

“Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes ago. We got here as fast as we could.”

He stared at the note for a few more seconds until a scream broke out from one of the train cars down the platform. Two mares rushed out of the fourth train car, followed by a trail of grey smoke. The conductor quickly hoofed me back the note, jumped out of his engine, and galloped down the platform to check his train. Dash, Flutters, and I exchanged glances before following him as the nervous onlookers from the platform backed away.

The conductor peeked his head in the car but backed off as a thick cloud of smoke billowed out of it. He shouted angrily as he grabbed a set of keys from his vest pocket. He then ran up to the station’s maintenance door. Flutters and I stopped as Dash snuck forward, creeping her head toward the window to see what had caught on fire. Whatever it was, it was spreading quickly.

“Dash, get out of there!” Flutters snarled.

“No!” the conductor yelled from behind us, struggling to unlock the maintenance door, “Get back!”

Dash started to back up when an explosion rocked the train car, sending her falling backward on the platform. Glass from the windows exploded, sending flying bits all it. She was struck by some of this glass, and Flutters and I were sprinkled with some of it.

“Dash!”

The fire took over a large chunk of the train car as Flutters and I grabbed ahold of Dash and pulled her back to safety. Dash started coughing, recovering from the blow.

“What the hell was that?!” I yelled back at the conductor.

He made his way out of the maintenance closet with a fire extinguisher in his hoof. “There are fuel cans stored in there!” he shouted, “... were stored!”

I leaned down next to Dash. Flutters helped me sit her up, patting her back supportively as she coughed up mucus. The conductor rushed up to the side of the train car, spraying the extinguisher through the busted windows. He could tell that it was not enough to stop the fire, so he stopped spraying for a moment and looked back at us.

“Hey!” he called, “There are some buckets inside the maintenance closet. There’s a small pond just past those trees.” He pointed past the train and slightly down the tracks to Canterlot. “Please help me!”

I checked on Dash again, but she seemed to be in no shape to help yet. There were small patches of blood on her face and neck, and there was pain written on her facial expression. I exchanged a glance with Flutters.

“you go,” she said, “i’ll look after her.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled as I briefly took off my backpack. After carefully sliding my bat inside the tall mesh pocket on the side, specifically meant to hold it, I flung the backpack back over my shoulders. A few of the onlookers had overheard the situation and trotted toward us.

“We can help too,” the light-purple pegasus I had seen earlier said. I could not think of her name off the top of my head, but I did know her.

“Okay, please hurry!” the conductor insisted, continuing to spray the train car.

The other ponies and I rushed into the maintenance closet. There were three buckets inside, one with a mop sticking out. The purple pegasus and I grabbed the empty buckets first and sprinted down the platform. As I passed the car on fire, I saw the conductor messing with something between the burning car and the one in front of it. His extinguisher lay on the ground in front of the blaze, dribbling its last drops out of the nozzle. The car was still fuming, with the escaping smoke slowly darkening to a blacker color. Now the train car behind it was starting to smoke as well as it’s roof caught the inferno’s growing heat.

I led the way to where the conductor had pointed with the purple mare and three others on my tail. I looked back while we ran to see two of them carrying plastic storage bins just a bit larger than our buckets. This made me gain a little more faith in our efforts.

The trees gave way to a sparkling blue pond. I came to a stop at the pond’s edge after nearly falling in and leaned down to grab a bucketful of water. The purple mare stopped next to me and did the same. While we did, I noticed two ponies coming out of the trees on the opposite side of the pond. Their pale bodies and traces of blood indicated their undead status.

“Careful,” I mentioned, elbowing the mare beside me as she stood up.

“I see them.”

I figured we had time to do one more run before having to deal with them. I planned on using my baseball bat to knock them out, so I did not have to kill them. For now, it stayed attached to my backpack so I could focus on carrying the bucket. I was careful not to let too much water spill on my way back. When I rounded the corner and approached the fire, I saw the conductor still in between the train cars. I noticed he was messing with the latch connecting them. He also looked to be having trouble with it.

I considered helping him but decided against it, so that I could take care of the zombie ponies by the pond. I aimed the water bucket for the window closest to the engine and splashed water through it. A grey cloud of smoke and mist billowed out of the window, indicating the water had hit its target. As I turned and hurried back to the pond, I was passed by the light purple mare, and then the others.

When I rounded the corner of trees again, I realized the zombie ponies had traveled farther than I expected them to. Now, they were making their way almost to where we had grabbed the first buckets of water. I dropped my bucket by my side and reached up my right hand, gripping the handle of my baseball bat. With one swift pull, I pulled it out of its mesh holder and set up for a swing.

The first mare came around the pond's edge and lunged forward, but she was halted when I whacked her across the face. She staggered, and another strong blow sent her to the ground, unmoving. The second one was a brown coat stallion who followed her lead. I raised my bat and took a step forward while I swung, but the soggy ground next to the pond caused me to lose my footing and slip. My aim was thrown off, and the bat grazed the stallion’s mane. He was unfazed by this and now close enough to jump on top of me. After swinging my fists up and punching him a few times, I was forced to flex my elbows to hold him back with my forearms. Slowly, he pressed his snapping teeth closer and closer to my neck.

I tried reaching for my gun, but releasing my right hand’s grip gave the pony enough leeway to press closer, biting his teeth just inches away from my face. Rolling him off was too risky, as he could bite me after I lost hold of him. And while bites did not seem to affect me, blood loss from them surely would. Either way, it was not proven that I was okay from Pinkie’s bite yet, so the risk was not worth it.

While I struggled, the pony and his weight were instantly pulled off of me as the purple mare bucked him hard with her rear legs, sending him into the water. This gave me enough space to get up on my knees and pick up my bat. I stood up quickly as he lunged a second time and, planting my feet firmly in the ground this time, I whacked him across the head. The blow sent him down to the ground and another made sure he stayed there.

“Thank you,” I told the mare.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, with the bucket still in her mouth. She turned to grab more water.

“Hey,” I interrupted her, “what’s your name again?”

“Cloudchaser. Yours?”

“Dev-“

“It was a joke, idiot,” she smiled, grabbing another bucket of water.

I smiled and followed her lead. The train was in sight as we ran around the trees, the fourth and fifth cars still producing flames. The conductor was no longer in between the cars. We heard a loud squeal and watched as the engine and first three cars detached from the blaze, slowly rolling down a dip just after the train station. It came to a slow stop a few car-lengths ahead. He must have just released some kind of brake, because steam was still not coming from the smokestack.

After splashing the car again, I saw the conductor run out from the train engine and begin circling the train cars that were still attached. He glanced at me before getting low behind the last car, inspecting the coupling that had detached the two cars. I turned to look back at the fifth car, which was now starting to spit out smoke through the creases of the windows as well. I also happened to see more zombie ponies approaching the end of the train.

They were still a distance away, but would probably need to be handled soon. I checked the platform and saw Dash shake her head next to Flutters. She was sitting up now, thankfully. I looked back at the conductor. He was on the other side of the train, inspecting the wheels.

“Hey!” I shouted, moving closer to talk to him, “should we just leave the burning cars?”

“No. Keep going. We might need them later.”

I looked back at the approaching zombie ponies. Cloudchaser was already running back to get more water, and the other ponies were tossing theirs on the fire. Judging by the distance, I assumed I could grab one more bucket before having to deal with them. I followed Cloud back to the pond and scooped another bucket with her. Rounding the corner of the trees again, I saw Flutters running with Dash along the platform, heading toward the detached front of the train. I kept running as I watched a pale maroon zombie mare follow them. When I got closer, I realized it wasn’t one of the ponies I had seen before. Those ponies were getting nervously close to the station now. I dropped my bucket and pulled out my baseball bat again to fight.

But as I approached between the separated cars, another zombie stallion came around the corner of the one on fire. When he saw me, he abandoned chasing the others and jumped off the platform in front of me. He crossed the tracks and continued toward me. When he was close, I set up the bat over my shoulder and swung once more, knocking the stallion to the ground. He squirmed to get up as another zombie mare turned the corner. I backed up to engage her when I felt a hoof on my leg.

“Dev-“

Instinctively, I turned around and swung the bat, thinking one had snuck up on me. Cloud nearly got the bat to her face, ducking just underneath it as I swung.

“Devan!” she shouted.

“Sorry!”

“We need to go!” She pulled on my leg, pulling me toward the front of the train. I saw the other zombie ponies moving along the side of the caboose now, close enough to join the two I was engaging. The groups were turning into a full-on mob as another one rounded the burning car.

I ran with Cloud up to the train engine. She kept going, but I stopped, noticing the conductor inside the engine. He was messing with the controls, attempting to get the train started. The ponies were too close to risk getting on the train, and there were too many of them coming. I knocked on the window, but he ignored me.

“Devan!” Cloud shouted, “come on!”

I reluctantly rejoined her and ran down the tracks. The other three ponies fighting the fire with us arrived too late, drawing a couple of the ponies that were chasing us to them. One of the live ones, who had a tan coat and blonde mane with pigtails down to her neck, was able to juke them and make her way toward us. The mare quickly caught up with us as we ran. The other two were forced to gallop back toward the pond to get away from them, disappearing behind the trees.

I looked around as we passed the front of the train engine and saw Dash and Flutters running on the opposite side of the tracks. We all met eyes and joined on the track, running for our lives.

Bloody Tracks

— Devan —

After a solid fifteen to twenty minutes of running, and galloping, we had finally made enough distance from the mob to slow down to a walking speed. All of us took in much-needed breaths as we continued down the track. The rising sun beamed down on us, but thankfully, the autumn weather felt nice. Despite my sweat, I felt quite cozy in my cargo pants and fleece jacket.

“Are we really doing this?” the new, tan mare asked me. I happened to be the target of this question, since I was unintentionally leading the pack. I looked over my shoulder at her.

“What? Walking?” I asked.

“No. Not fighting them …”

Dash joined in, “We don’t know how many are back there now. There could be even more. These things seem to group up a lot.”

“Well, why don’t we just wait and see?” she suggested, stopping on the tracks behind us.

“Suit yourself …” Dash carried on.

I stopped and looked back at her freckled face. She looked like a country mare, with a blonde hairstyle not very different from Applejack's. The only difference was the hair behind her head, which tied into two pigtails instead of AJ's ponytail. Her tail was also shorter and did not have a band near the end of it. The mare's cutie mark was a wrench and screwdriver in an X-shape, which looked pretty badass, at least to me. Dash eyed me as she walked up to my side, nudging me to keep moving.

“Come on," I pressed the mare, "Dash is right,"

She glanced at the gun on my hip, furrowing her brow curiously. She then eyed the bat I was holding against my shoulder as well as Dash's foreleg knife.

“Why not? We need that train,” she stressed.

“We don’t,” Cloud said.

“WE DO! It’s been half a day!” She started getting a kind of fire in her voice. “Look at what's already happened! If we walk, we won’t get there till tomorrow. Will there even be anythin' left by then?!”

We were all stopped now, still catching our breaths from the run. There was a slight curve in the tracks where we had come from, hiding the rest behind the trees of the forest on either side. I thought about the possibility of going back, but I worried that we wouldn’t be able to fend for ourselves. In reality, I could shoot my gun as they came, taking most of them out before they got close. However, I had never fired a gun before, and I knew it couldn’t be as easy as it looked. I looked back at the tan mare, who was already locking her bright blue eyes with mine.

“What’s your name?” I asked her.

“Spark,” she answered.

“Well, it is nice to meet you, Spa-”

“Devan,” Dash interrupted, “We don’t have the time.”

“Hold on, Dash. So, Spark … where were you planning to take the train to? Canterlot? Or somewhere else?”

“Canterlot,” she replied, “My dad is there.”

“That is where we are going. While it may take us until tomorrow, it will still be there. Celestia herself said it was safe there. We shouldn't risk getting bitten right now.”

Spark looked to the side, sucking on her teeth. She glanced around at the others, then down the tracks behind them. It was clear she was very hesitant about walking, but it looked like she was starting to understand the reasoning behind it. She sighed and looked back up at me.

“Alright then. Let’s keep going.”

“Shit,” Cloud cussed. She was looking down the tracks behind us, so I looked up to see what she was seeing. The zombie ponies were making their way around the bend now. They were still quite a distance away, but they had made decent progress closing the gap.

“Come on!” Dash yelled, taking the lead and galloping the other way. We all followed her, once again, running for our lives. We ran for another ten minutes until we encountered a tunnel ahead of us. The hill the tunnel ran through extended on either side of the track as far as we could see through the greenery. On either side of us, the forest had grown thicker the farther from Ponyville we got. With one arm, I slung my backpack in front of me and set my baseball bat back in its mesh. I then pulled out the flashlight inside before tossing the backpack over my shoulders again. We all exchanged nervous glances but were too out of breath to speak as we all entered the dark tunnel.

The tunnel was either too long or had a bend that prevented us from seeing light from the other end, so I turned the flashlight on to see. The flashlight Celestia had packed me was surprisingly strong, illuminating much of the tunnel right ahead of us. The tracks took up most of the narrow tunnel space, and the rough stone walls seemed to encapsulate us. Above, the tunnel arched in a looming pattern, and the echo of our steps crunching on the gravel below carried through it.

Despite being able to see now, we kept our speed to a light jog to prevent tripping on the rough tracks. Once again, I took the front of the pack since I had the light. I occasionally turned back to make sure the others were still following.

“Good gravy, how long's this damn tunnel?” Spark growled.

“Too damn long,” Dash agreed.

We continued jogging, and trotting, through it for a couple of minutes until a light appeared around the corner of a slight bend in the tracks. Thankfully, it looked like we only had a few minutes of jogging left until we were out of the increasingly creepy tunnel. We picked up our pace as the light grew slowly brighter. I then noticed the light grow dimmer. Shortly after, I started feeling weird vibrations through the tracks below.

I adjusted my eyes to see why when I noticed the light turn into a weird eclipse-like shape. Then, the previously silent echoes of the tunnel carried an eerie rumbling. We all stopped in our tracks as the light was quickly taken over by a smaller light, and the rumbling sound slowly grew louder with the vibrations.

“FUCK! It’s a fucking train!” Spark hollered.

It was a train. Why on planet Earth and Equestria combined was there a train headed this way? We were probably about halfway in the train tunnel already, and the the light of the train seemed to be moving very quickly. Too quickly to even attempt outrunning it. Even if we did, we would be met with zombie ponies at the other end. There was nowhere to escape. My veins ran hot as an unsettling fear ran through them.

“What do we do?!” Cloud shouted.

The tunnel was narrow, but it still offered a small amount of space on either side of the tracks. I shined my flashlight at the wall and pondered if we would be able to fit without getting hit. Dash caught on.

“Just get against the side! It’s our best bet!” she yelled.

I shined the light on the left wall as we all lined up against it, pressing our bodies against the cold stone. I took the front of the line and looked back to account for the others. When I felt my backpack brush the cold wall, I pulled it off and set it against the wall beside me to reduce my size. I held the flashlight by my side, pointing it at the floor to keep some part of the tunnel lit for us. Cloudchaser stood beside me, unintentionally brushing her mane against my hip as she pressed her left side against the wall.

The vibration was strong now, along with the rumbling that echoed through the tunnel. The light shone brighter and brighter until it lit all of us up. This train seemed to be moving quickly, so I hoped we wouldn’t have to stand like this for long. I sucked in my already flat gut and pressed as hard as I could when the deafening engine flew by my face. The wall had offered me very little breathing room as the car behind the train engine zipped by my face just a few feet away. The wind from the speeding train started to push against my left side as I held my breath against the wall.

I had used the trains in Ponyville quite a bit to get to and from Celestia in Canterlot. Not once in my stay had I witnessed any of the trains move this absurdly fast before. The wind associated with the train proved to be too much for my body to handle, causing me to lose my footing for a second. My body was pushed to the right, causing me to push against Cloud’s. I regained my footing soon after by using every ounce of my strength, but before I did, I heard Cloud scream out.

The last car finally passed just a second later. I exhaled deeply, relieved. I looked down by my side to see why Cloud had yelled. The light from my flashlight shone on the ground, illuminating my feet and her front half. My heart stopped as I saw blood, and I looked on the tracks beside her to see ... her detached front hoof. She raised what was left of her shaky front right foreleg and stared at it. I looked on mortified as she looked up at me, shock covering her face before she fell sideways and passed out.

“Cloud!!!” I screamed, dropping the flashlight as I unstuck myself from the wall and kneeled by her side. The flashlight shone down the tracks where the train was headed and illuminated the others. I looked up and quickly checked, but everybody else seemed to be okay.

“Awe shit!” Spark yelled, galloping beside me.

Flutters picked up the flashlight in her mouth as she and Dash joined us. Under her light, we rolled her over to get her right foreleg above her. Flutters messed around with the light before yelling, “there isn’t enough light for me to work here! we need to get her out!”

I looked down the tunnel again. We still had a ways to go. Looking back at Flutters, I saw the seriousness of her statement in her blue eyes alone. She was the only one out of us that could save Cloud, so it only made sense for us to follow her lead. I quickly stood up and tossed on my backpack again.

“We still have a ways to go!” Dash protested.

“It’s okay!” Spark yelled, “We can get her there. Both of us can carry her on our backs.”

Dash nervously agreed, and we all worked to set Cloud up across their backs. As Cloud's wounded foreleg hung over Dash’s left side, blood started dripping from her unsightly stub.

“Devan!” Flutters shouted, “hold her hoof!”

I grabbed ahold of her hoof and held it awkwardly in both of my hands as we started running toward the end of the tunnel. I used my left hand to cover it as my right one held it up, but her warm blood continued to flow onto my hand. I frantically pushed my hand against it, feeling the warm liquid slowly seep through my closed fingers.

Please, Cloud, please don’t do this to me.

We reached the end of the tunnel quickly, adjusting to Celestia’s bright sun as we rushed Cloud to the grass beside the track. Dash and Spark laid her out as I held onto her hoof. The sun shone brightly on her, revealing dots of blood on her chest and face. I let go of her hoof as Flutters pulled my backpack off of me to get to our first-aid supplies. Blood was oozing from Cloud's hoof, and both of my hands were now fully covered with it.

“Devan, get back,” Dash said, grabbing me by the armpit and pulling me away from her. Flutters took my place, and Spark got on the other side to help her as she dug into my bag. I stood up and turned around, taking a few steps away from them. I held my shaky red hands out in front of me, watching as blood droplets fell off of them. I couldn’t hear Dash behind me as I dropped to my knees, guilt quickly filling my soul.

“Devan!” Dash shouted, galloping to stand in front of me. I looked into her eyes, but she could sense my shock. She lowered her head as I lowered my gaze. “No, Devan, look at me.”

I looked into her eyes, fighting to see through the tears welling at the bottom of mine.

“Keep looking. Take some breaths.”

My chest expanded as I inhaled, listening to her advice. She guided me through some deep breaths that helped slow my rapidly beating heart. She then wrapped her hooves around me in a hug. I hesitantly returned it, keeping my blood-soaked palms off her coat.

“Thank you,” I said.

Crossroads

— Twilight —

As the train accelerated, Twilight took a second to reorganize herself and look for any maps or manuals the engine might have been hiding. She was startled when the door behind her opened. Rarity stuck her head through the doorway and caught sight of the bloody hatchet on her hip and dismembered hoof beside Twi. She winced and looked away, easing herself into the small engine room with her.

“I’m sorry,” Rarity said.

“I am too …”

The train was moving at a steady speed now, not taking very long to accelerate given the really small length of it now.

“Is Spike back there?” she asked.

“He is. We’re about to check the other train cars.”

“Oh sweet Celestia, I forgot about that! Do you need my help?”

“No, dear, you need to drive the train. I was just checking on you.”

Twilight made her way to the broken window and used her horn to sweep the bottom free from glass. She then leaned against it and let her front hooves and snout feel the cool wind. “I’m … okay.”

“I know this is even harder on you,” Rarity mentioned.

“How so?”

“You tend to take responsibility for things.”

“I have to.”

“You don’t,” Rarity insisted, “None of this is your fault. And you don’t have to fight this battle alone. We are all a part of this now, and we will come out victorious.”

Twilight sighed.

“This isn’t my fault, no. But what happened at the castle is.”

“Twilight, dear, don’t be so hard on yourself. Somepony turned, that was out of your control. I know you want to look back and ask yourself if you could have done anything differently, but we can’t reverse time. You did what you could to help. They know that too, whether or not they made it out.”

There was a few seconds of silence. Rarity set her hoof on her shoulder.

“We have to focus on now. You got the train running for goodness sake, that has to count for something. Even if ... I'm slightly terrified right now.”

Twilight turned her head and smiled warily. It was quickly replaced by worry.

“But what if Canterlot is falling apart? What if we show up too late? We could be riding to our deaths.”

She had been pretty shaken by what had happened at the castle. She was only partly relieved by Celestia’s letter as her anxiety was slowly building. Everything seemed uncertain now. For a pony as curious as herself, this was unacceptable. She wanted to find out who was alive, if Canterlot was okay, if her friends were okay, if Devan was okay ... She worried more and more as this nightmare continued.

“Twilight, dear. We will face it when we get there. Together. Whatever happens, we have to keep going. Somepony will end this, sooner or later. Let’s try our best to be the ones to do so.”

Twilight looked at her and smiled, given a new sense of hope. The moment was cut short when they heard a loud train horn out the window.

She stuck her head out the window fully to get a better look down the tracks ahead. Another train’s headlight shone brightly in the distance as the train laid on the horn again. “Fuck!” she yelled, sticking her head back inside the car. She frantically pulled down the emergency brake lever as Rarity peeked at what she was looking at. The window was only wide enough to fit one of their heads, so Rarity pulled back as Twilight stuck her head out of the window again.

The approaching train was barreling down the tracks, and Twilight realized no amount of braking would prevent the imminent collision. The trains were already mere seconds away from impact. Before Twilight could turn to warn Rarity, she felt hooves shove her bottom up, and her body started to fall out of the window. Wind buffeted against her as she tumbled out to the grass below, rolling over and over as her body slowed. As she rolled, a deafening boom rocked her eardrums before her mind faded to darkness.

Her forelegs radiated with new pain as she awoke. She felt cool grass underneath her as she slowly started to feel her body again. With her head laid against it, she opened her eyes to a blur. As they focused, she saw the train tracks beside her. She also saw the last car that had been on their train. The car looked off-center, and she slowly realized it was partially derailed, with its right set of wheels sitting in between the rails.

She rose her head and looked back to see the other train engine. The train engine she had been in was hidden behind it, and both of them sat halfway in the tracks. The other engine leaned at an angle with one set of its remaining wheels sitting on the grass behind her. The front half of it with the smoke stack was crumpled in on itself, and some of its dislodged wheels had rolled near the treeline. She noticed blood splattered on the shattered, heart-shaped window.

Her eyes lit up with shock as she realized Rarity and Spike were still somewhere in the mess. She hastily got up from the grass, ignoring the pain in her hooves as she ran in between the cars of her train to get to the other side. Behind her derailed engine was the less-severely derailed open train car. On the grass beside it, Spike was laid out. She panicked as she approached the dragon, but as she did, she saw him wriggling his body.

“Spike!” she cried, awkwardly trotting up to his side.

“I’m fin-“ he coughed, “I’m fine!”

Twilight helped him sit up. Besides a few scratches, he looked fine. She told him to stay still while she went to search for Rarity. The open car and engine had been squished together as they derailed, so she wasn’t able to access the door on the backside of the engine. Her derailed engine also tipped an an angle, so she was able to look up through the broken left window. Inside, Rarity was laying next to the dashboard. Panicked, she reached up and crawled her way through the busted window. The inside was splattered with blood that must have flown out of the conductor's hoof when the trains collided. She leaned over her friend.

“Rarity? …”

With her hoof, she turned Rarity’s limp head toward her, only to see blood trickle from her dented forehead. Her eyes remained shut, and she was no longer breathing.

“RARITY!” Twilight cried, sobbing uncontrollably as tears rushed from her misty eyes. She held her head against Rarity’s, succumbing to a sudden, overwhelming sense of grief. She struggled to come to grips of whether or not what she was experiencing was real as her friend's recent words floated inside her mind. Spike stubbornly joined her a minute later, and she watched him suffer a strong sense of grief as well. He burst out in tears beside her. Twilight turned and hugged him closely, dripping tears on his scaly back. It took her a couple more minutes of grieving until she could come back to her senses.

“Spike,” she called quietly, “... we need to go.”

She grabbed his claw with her hoof and gently tugged it while he mourned. The dragon stubbornly resisted, but he eventually surrendered and followed her out of the window. Still struggling to grasp the reality of what was happening, she shook thoughts from her head as she turned her attention to the train that had hit them. She pondered why there was a train coming this way, wondering if it was just here to collect evacuees, or if there was more to it.

The first car she could see past her derailed train was the third car. Behind that one was three more cars, meaning the train that struck them was twice as long. She glanced through the third car’s windows and saw a knocked-out light blue mare pegasus laying on one of the seats. She watched nervously as her chest moved up and down. Surprisingly, there was nopony else inside. She beat on the window, but the mare was out cold. Spike followed her to the next car, but just as they got ready to check its windows, a tall white pony stepped out from between the last two cars.

Princess Celestia?

Twilight took a second to observe her, seeing if what she saw was right. It really was Celestia. She was limping slightly and had a small amount of blood running down her left flank, but otherwise she appeared to be okay.

“Princess Celestia?” she called. The princess turned to her and opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't. Twilight galloped awkwardly on her aching hooves toward her and wrapped them around Celestia’s foreleg. Celestia returned the gesture by placing her other foreleg on Twilight's back.

"Twilight ... are ... are you alright, dear?"

Twilight refused to let go, weeping on her hoof. Celestia gave her the time to do so. As they disconnected, she saw Princess Luna step out of the car as well.

“What ... are you two doing here?” she asked them.

Celestia set a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight … I’m so sorry. That letter I sent you earlier ... it took too long to reach you.”

She looked back up at her with frightful eyes. “W- what ... what does that mean?”

Celestia sighed. “Canterlot is overrun. We were forced to flee as our castle was breached. I ... I am sorry.”

Twilight dropped her head in defeat, still struggling to get Rarity’s words out of it.

“Twilight," the princess continued, "Is anybody with you and Spike?”

“R- r-” she struggled, “-Rarity ...” Her lips quivered as she started breaking down again. Spike sat behind her, covered his eyes, and rocked himself back and forth. Celestia realized the extent of the train crash as she looked at the derailed train behind her. It was then that a royal guard crossed in between the train cars beside them and limped to meet them.

“Your majesties, I am so sorry!” he cried.

Celestia released her hoof from Twilight and turned to him.

“BLAZE! What the HELL was that?! Why were you going so fast? I ORDERED you to go SLOWLY.”

“I’m sorry, princess! I was, but I ... I let Drift operate it temporarily.”

“YOU DID WHAT?!!” she yelled.

Twilight looked up. She rarely saw Celestia get this angry. She watched as the princess fumed, stepping forward to stand tall over the guard.

“What in Equestria were you thinking? YOU were supposed to operate the train, not him.”

Blaze could not help but tremble underneath her glare, likely shaken by the crash as well. “P-please ... I’m sorry … I just needed a break ... please ....”

“Sister.” Luna trotted up beside Celestia. “Let him be. We are all pretty shaken up after Canterlot.”

Celestia reluctantly bowed her head before setting a hoof on the guard’s chest. “We will discuss this later. Where is Drift?”

“He’s … he’s dead …” Blaze uttered.

Celestia took her hoof off of him and cursed to herself. “What about Typhoon?”

“Is that the blue pegasus?” Twilight asked, wiping tears from her face.

"It is."

"I saw her. She's passed out in one of the cars."

Celestia sighed. “Alright ... let’s get her out.”

“We’re gonna have to break the windows ..." Blaze mentioned, “the ... the door to the car she’s in was jammed.”

“Guys,” Spike interrupted, “look!”

He pointed down the track that Celestia's train had come from. Twilight looked to see almost a dozen zombie ponies trotting toward them down the track. They must have followed Celestia’s train, but she was confused as to where they came from. There was no way these ponies were from Canterlot.

“Damn it,” Celestia said, “we have to hurry.”

The group followed Celestia to the side of the train car that Typhoon was in. Twilight looked inside to find her wiggling around on top of the seat inside. It looked like she was in pain. Celestia pressed her horn against the window beside her and cocked her head. As she cranked it in the opposite direction, she slowly pushed the tip of her horn against the glass. This corkscrew motion caused the glass to form a small crack. She then turned around and readied her hind legs before bucking the glass powerfully with them. The glass shattered loudly as her large hind legs violently smashed into the window. Inside, the mare covered her head as shards of glass sprinkled onto her.

“Typhoon!” Celestia called through the window, “are you alright?”

“My hoof ...” she replied, holding up her left foreleg.

“Come out. We have to go now.”

Celestia reached her hoof through the window. Ty grabbed hold with her good hoof. Twilight joined her, and with her help, they carefully pulled the mare out of the car. The group of zombies were getting close now, only a train length away. Celestia and Luna stood beside Ty as she stood on the grass, hopping away from the train. The mare tried to step on her wounded hoof, but grimaced as she quickly pulled it back up.

"It hurts bad. I don't know if I can walk."

"Hop on," Celestia said, leaning down so the mare could get on her back.

"Are- are you sure, princ-"

"NOW!"

Ty rushed on top of the princess's back and held on with her three good legs.

“Let's go!” Celestia ordered.

Twilight took one last look at Rarity through the window of her train engine before moving on. She grabbed her stick and saddlebags as they passed. She then galloped with the rest of the group down the tracks. It wasn’t until they had galloped for a minute when she remembered something. She came to an abrupt stop. “Wait!”

“What?!” Celestia hollered, stopping in front of her, “Twilight, we need to move!”

“There are more of them this way! I completely forgot. They chased us on the train.”

“How many?” the princess asked.

“At least six.”

Celestia huffed, looking around at the forest beside the tracks. It was dense, but not too dense for them to trot through. Luna looked over at her. “Why don’t we hide and let them pass?” she suggested.

Celestia weighed the option for a moment. “Yeah … okay. But let’s run for a minute until we are out of sight.”

Luna agreed, and they all galloped down the tracks for another minute. The zombie ponies behind them were still in their sight, but they were a safer distance now. They could only hope that they weren’t seen as they shimmied through the thick bushes beside the tracks. After backing away from the tracks a bit more, they managed to get really low in the thick bushes, laying themselves flat on the ground. Twilight watched through a less dense section of shrubs in front of her and waited.

“How long do we wait?” Blaze whispered.

“As long as it takes,” Celestia answered, “just shut up and stay still.”

From her vantage point, Twilight just barely saw the last car on her train. To her surprise, there were no zombie ponies between them and the train. She waited for another two minutes, but they never came. She then turned her head and looked down the tracks toward the station. The few zombies she had warned them about were approaching now. She shimmied back and waited, then watched anxiously as the six ponies passed.

Their pale-colored bodies trotted along the track. From pony to pony, the amount of blood on their coats, as well as bite marks and torn flesh, varied. One of the last ones even had her shoulder bone sticking out of her coat. She watched as the six seemingly stuck together as a group intentionally. However these zombies came to be, they had done so very efficiently. For a moment, she was fascinated by them. The scientist in her was awoken. She took a moment to observe their movement patterns and strange habits like raising and lowering their slobbering jaws occasionally. They were almost completely past them when a stallion at the rear of the pack lowered his head to the ground. She watched, intrigued, until she realized the pony was sniffing the ground. He turned while his nose worked, until he was facing them. He then rose his head and growled.

“Shit,” Celestia muttered.

“We can take him out quietly,” Luna reassured, “right Twilight?”

Twilight looked back at her hatchet. “I think so …” She watched as the pony approached, but regretfully, two more of them turned their heads and started following the sniffer. They had almost no time left to react as they all rustled the bushes getting up.

“Get to the station!” Celestia yelled, pausing for a moment so Ty could climb on her back. She and Luna then stood up and followed Blaze out of the bushes. Twilight and Spike followed closely behind. The sniffing zombie pony was close enough to leap on her as she jumped out of the bushes, so she was forced to slice his face with the hatchet. His cheek took the brunt of the cut, and he stumbled to the ground, giving her enough time to flee.

It took them another roughly fifteen minutes of running to reach the station. By now, the fire was out, and grey smoke rose high in the sky. Twilight noticed a hoofful of zombie ponies hovering around the station, likely drawn by the grey cloud.

“Do we go inside?” Blaze asked.

“Yes,” Celestia replied, “we need somewhere to hole up so we can recuperate.”

“Shouldn’t we try the hospital?” Spike asked.

“Not right now. We're not in a position to risk going into town, and using the outskirts would take us too long. Let’s give it some time.”

A zombie pony from the station noticed them and started to approach. He was blocking their way to the platform’s stairs, so Twilight took the lead. She pulled out Rarity’s stick from behind her and gripped it tightly with her teeth. When she arrived, she shoved the stick against his neck, pushing his head up to prevent his teeth from biting her. She was able to hold him up long enough for Blaze and the princesses to pass and climb up the stairs to the platform. Spike ran forwards and whacked the pony with his baseball bat. This only slightly phased him, but a second, more powerful hit sent the stallion to the ground. She and Spike then ran up the platform to find the others rushing into the station’s door. They followed suit and slammed the door shut behind them.

The station’s waiting room looked empty as far as they could tell. Only the restrooms were unclear. She noticed Blaze grab hold of a waiting bench from the lobby and went to help him. After they pushed it up against the door, she stood next to the window, peeking out of it to watch the few ponies pass by. Only a few seconds later, they started to bang on the door.

For the next minute, Twilight observed their situation. In the vaguely illuminated station, the others limped to chairs and other spots inside away from the front door. She took note of everypony's injuries and realized they might be in here for a while.

Sacrifice

— Trixie —

The rooms of the hospital remained dark with just the emergency lights in the hallway illuminating their path. Trixie followed Vinyl’s bright white body closely as they made their way down the set of stairs. These stairs were located on the opposite side of the hospital from where the pegasus had fallen victim to the growing mob outside. Once they got to the bottom, Vinyl slowly pushed the fire exit door open.

Outside it was a narrow alley, and to their immediate left was one of Manehatten's streets. They watched for a moment as a unicorn and pegasus mare galloped by. Trixie and Vinyl debated following them, but they decided to stick to their original plan of getting to the Manehatten train station. They cautiously made their way into the alley and stepped forward to look down the street. Surprisingly, it was emptier than they had imagined. The two mares were galloping toward a few scattered ponies throughout the streets. The other way was less clear, and they could see a few zombie ponies trotting their way.

Trixie pushed Vinyl back, and the two slid against the cold wall of the alley. They watched them pass and waited a moment before checking to see if it was clear. Down the street, there were more ponies who weren't following the mares. For a moment, Trixie thought they might be alive, but their awkward movement suggested otherwise. Along the street, there were carriages flipped over, and some crashed into the sides of the buildings, and various papers and other litter were scattered near the sidewalks. The city was quickly becoming a mess. But they were clear now, so the two took one last peek before crossing.

Immediately after crossing the street, they entered another alleyway. The darkness offered by the shady alley was ironically relieving at a time like this. This lasted briefly until they reached the next street. Both of them checked the corners, witnessing more zombie stragglers wandering down either side of them. They saw a living stallion far down the street gallop across it to the door of a business. A few seconds later, two zombie stallions came from where he did and chased him to the front door. They were stopped by the pony slamming it on them, and Trixie watched as the two beat on it to get in.

“Fuck,” Vinyl whispered, “These things are fucking scary.”

“Definitely,” Trixie replied.

“Hey!” a stallion's voice called behind them. Startled, Trixie immediately readied a quick-charge light spell and turned to the noise. Not far down the alley, a dark blue pegasus was quickly jogging toward them. Trixie released the spell, narrowly missing one of his eyes but making contact with the other. The spell was a sort of micro-flashbang, that could very briefly throw off a pony's ability to see.

“Ow …” the stallion said, rubbing the eye that was hit. “I’m not one of them!”

“Don’t sneak up on ponies like that!” Vinyl half-shouted, “And keep it down!”

The stallion continued walking toward them and crouched by their side. “Some shit, huh?”

Trixie kept her eyes locked on the pegasus, lighting up her horn again. He noticed this and scooted away from her, getting closer to Vinyl. Vinyl looked back at her, shielding the pegasus with her foreleg. “Trix, relax … he’s good.”

“How do you know?”

“Whoa,” the pegasus replied, raising his hooves in surrender, “Hey, I didn't mean to scare you guys. I’m sorry. It’s just nice to see other … normal … ponies.”

“We aren’t normal,” Trixie stated, “we’re sick with it.”

"Uh ... what?"

"We have the illness ..."

“Ah shit.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have come up to us!”

“Hey!” Vinyl interjected, “we don't know if you are sick or not, Trix.”

Trixie knew she was. Ever since they got ready to leave the hospital room, she started feeling those numbing waves Vinyl had described. She was also feeling feverish, which wasn’t listed as one of the illness’s symptoms. Whatever the case may be, she knew through the numbing sensations alone that she had it. She explained this to them briefly.

“Crap,” Vinyl replied.

“Well,” the pegasus spoke, “if you’ve been feeling it for this long, maybe you’ll be alright.”

"I doubt it."

The pegasus looked between both of them curiously. "What are your names?"

Before Trixie could reject his question, Vinyl spoke up.

"I'm Vinyl, this is my friend Trixie. What about you?"

“Split Stream.”

Vinyl looked down at Split’s cutie mark. It showed two swoops of transparent streaks and a tree blowing to the side. One streak went up and behind the tree, while the other curved down and in front of it. It looked as if they were two streams of wind dancing around the tree. “Interesting name,” she said, “and nice cutie mark.” Split smiled in reply. “Thanks, but that’s not all.”

They both watched as Split raised half of his left wing. When he turned his side to them, they could see his wing had somehow been split in half. The cut spanned the entire wing, stemming from where the wing met his back. The half closer to the sky raised as a normal pegasus wing would, but the other half barely moved off his side.

“Oh wow!” Vinyl said, “how’d you get that?”

“It was cut in-“ he started.

Trixie loudly cleared her throat. “Can you two flirt later?" she asked, "We’ve got bigger fish to fry here …”

“I was just asking him about his wing!” Vinyl protested, averting her eyes in embarrassment.

Trixie observed his strange-looking wing, trying to make sense of it. “Well, can you fly?” she asked him.

“QuIt FlIrTiNg WiTh HiM,” Vinyl mocked, bobbing her head around like a bobblehead. Trixie ignored her and waited for him to respond.

“I could before …” he replied.

“Before what?”

“You guys haven’t heard?”

“Heard WHAT?” Trixie replied, growing frustrated.

“Some of us have been losing our ability to fly,” he answered, “I tried to fly earlier this morning, but ended up walking to the hospital because my wings got really heavy. They are a bit numb too. Not sure if that’s related to the illness or not …”

Trixie exchanged a shaky glance with Vinyl. Now, what happened with the other pegasi they had seen made sense. She rubbed her face with her hoof in frustration. She wished she had known this information sooner.

Vinyl lit her horn dimly. “Same thing is happening with unicorns …”

“I …” Split started, “I know … my friend …”

He dropped his head, trying to shake off some unspoken memory. They could tell that this was not a story he wanted to share. Vinyl set her hoof on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok. I’m okay. Let’s just-“ He looked up at the mares. “Where are you guys headed?”

Vinyl briefly described their idea of heading to the train station, detailing the route they would take as the stallion grew more interested.

“That sounds like a good idea," he replied, "Getting out of this city is preferable. I can help you guys.”

Vinyl eyed Trixie as she stared suspiciously at the pegasus. She eyed her back, holding the same expression.

“Holy trust issues, Trix. Come on. We need all the help we can get.”

She looked back at Split briefly before stepping up to him. She lit her horn and pushed it close to his face. “If you try anything on either of us, I will destroy you. The laws of magic do not apply now.”

“Trix!” Vinyl called, stepping between them. “Come on, Trix. Don't be like this ... we can handle him.”

“Fine.”

The three ponies continued across the street when it was safe to do so and entered yet another alleyway. “This is the last alley,” Vinyl mentioned, “Should be on the left up here.” They trotted up to the end of the alley and checked their corners. On the right side of the street, there were only two zombie ponies wandering around in the distance. On the left side, however, the street was full of them. From sidewalk to sidewalk, a wall of bodies was huddled up together, shifting from side to side. One of the ponies near the outside of the group turned and started walking down the street toward them, so they stuck their heads back in the alley and shimmied against the wall.

“Fuck,” Split cursed.

“Would you shut the fuck up?” Trixie hissed, looking back down the alley past him. It was empty, besides some trash bins, litter, and a dumpster. Split moved his head from the wall and blocked her vision.

“What is your problem with me? We can’t keep going on like this.”

Trixie leaned her head more to look past him. “I don’t trust you. Now isn't the time for that. No hard feelings.”

Split sighed quietly, leaning his head back against the wall. “What do I need to gain it?”

“Just follow our lead and don’t do anything stupid. Then hopefully I can start to.”

“Alright … sheesh.”

Trixie turned to Vinyl, who was closest to the corner out of the three of them. “Is she still coming?” she asked. Vinyl very slowly eased her head around the corner. As Trixie waited for a response, the sound of glass shattering blared behind them. She turned back to see a recently formed debris field of glass and looked up to see a grey mare with a black mane hanging out of a window a few stories above them. “I'm sorry!” the mare yelled down, sticking her head back inside.

“Motherfucker!” Vinyl yelled.

“Come on!” Trixie exclaimed, passing the others and galloping back in the direction they had come from. They followed her down the alley until two zombie ponies made their appearance at the other end. She stopped to warm up a double stun spell. Two seconds later, in the middle of the spell being ready to go, she was pushed forward and lost her hoofing, causing her to tumble to the ground below. She quickly got up and started charging it as Split's voice yelled out an apology behind her.

This fucking idiot is going to get us killed!

In the drawn-out four seconds it took to recharge the spell, another two ponies entered the alley behind the attackers. Trixie hit the first two ponies and started warming up another one, struggling to calculate the time she had left. She was only a second in when she was interrupted again, this time by Vinyl.

“Trix, Trix!” Vinyl pulled at her, “Come on!”

Trixie was forced out of her concentration by Vinyl, turning back to see what she was talking about. The other side of the alley was being invaded by a large swath of zombie ponies as well. Trixie followed Vinyl toward them, watching as Split pushed the nearby dumpster below a metal awning hanging above a boarded-up door. Attached to the building beside them, it looked wide enough to fit two ponies and spanned roughly three pony lengths before ending. However, there was a gap between it and the top of the dumpster.

Split turned when the dumpster was in place and used his forelegs to help them climb on top of it. In turn, they both helped him up as the zombie ponies closed in. Once up, Trixie stood on her hind legs to reach the awning. She pulled herself up as the others pushed on her back hooves to help. The metal duct proved sturdy enough to support her, so she reached her hoof down and helped Vinyl up. Unfortunately, Vinyl slipped and fell on the awning beside her, banging her head and knocking her purple-tinted glasses off. The spectacles bounced between Trixie's legs before tumbling off the side of the awning and smacking on the ground. She then heard the metal beneath her groan slightly when Vinyl stood back up beside her.

For a second, she gazed back at the zombie ponies rushing down the alley behind Split. Time seemed to slow as she watched the closest one. The mare was pale blue with the typical glazed-over eyes they all seemed to have. She noticed one of the mare’s eyes was also blood-stained, filling the white around her iris a bright red color. Her mouth was open during her trot, showing bright white teeth that failed to hold back a few drops of drool. The mare’s body was splattered in blood, and one of her forelegs had a large slice of skin dangling from where it used to be attached. She looked at Split below her, shaken by the sight of the ponies gaining on him. There was a strange, unfamiliar voice that spoke inside her head.

Leave him.

What?

LEAVE him.

She tried to shake the voice, but it continued.

The awning will fall. You have to sacrifice him. Use your magic.

No …

One … simple … shove spell

No … no … no … no no no no no nonononono

She shook her head. In the side of her vision, she saw Vinyl’s white hoof reach down for the stallion. The zombie mare she had seen was closing in now, only a few pony-lengths away from getting ahold of his hind legs. Time still felt slowed as the voices echoed in her head.

Sacrifice.

NO!

SACRIFICE.

Trixie lit up her horn, warming up a shove spell. Split eyed her as he quickly grabbed hold of Vinyl’s hoof, offered no time to linger as the zombie mare closed in on his hind leg. He reached up his other hoof on the awning as Vinyl began to pull him up.

Trixie released the spell.

Bad Intentions

— Trixie —

The zombie mare’s face disappeared briefly as Trixie’s blue magic orb zipped toward Split and her. The mare stood upright on her hind legs behind the dumpster, reaching her forelegs above it. Her hoof was just a hoof-length away from snatching Split’s hind leg as Vinyl desperately tried to pull him up. Trixie watched Split close his eyes as her orb approached.

The orb then zipped beside his face, striking the zombie mare behind him square between the eyes. The force of her shove spell was strong enough to push the mare’s head back, causing her to lose balance and fall backward. She fell on top of the zombie stallion right behind her, giving her and Vinyl enough time to pull Split up on the awning with them.

The metal groaned louder this time as he tried lifting himself up beside her. A second later, the supports below them snapped, tipping the whole awning forty-five degrees. Split and Vinyl were able to steady themselves on the awning, but Trixie started slipping off the crooked platform. Her body started sliding over the edge until Split forcefully hooked his foreleg around her front hoof. She desperately clung onto the awning with her other foreleg as the sound of zombie ponies from below grew.

She looked down, hind legs dangling above the growing horde of zombie ponies. She curled them up to her belly to prevent the mob from grabbing them as they jumped up and down on their forelegs. She looked back up to see Vinyl balancing herself against a window not far above the awning they were on. Vinyl then started striking the window with her horn in an attempt to break the glass, unable to buck it due to the awning’s instability.

She looked up at Split, who had wedged one of his hind legs in the newly formed gap between the wall and awning. He was trying to wedge his other hind leg too, but it was proving difficult. He turned to look back at her.

“Just hold on, Trix! I got you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered through her fright.

She turned her attention back to Vinyl, who was struggling to break the window. She had managed to create a sizable crack in it, but it still would not give. Trixie shouted at her to stand aside while she readied a rather complex blast spell. After a stretched-out seven seconds, she released it toward the window, generating enough force to shatter the glass. Vinyl then began sweeping the remaining glass shards aside using her horn.

The spell she used required quite a lot of energy to perform, especially in a situation like this, where she was not afforded the ability to concentrate. Subsequently, her hold on Split’s foreleg as well as the edge of the awning weakened. He felt her grip loosen.

“No. Hold on to me, Trix,” he begged, “Please keep holding on.” His grip around her hoof tightened as he finally managed to wedge his other hind leg behind him. She began to feel even more feverish. Her body protested the energy, both magic and physical, that she was overusing. Between two long blinks, Vinyl’s bright white body appeared in front of her. She stuck one of her hind legs in the gap Split was using and offered her hoof out to her.

Trixie grabbed onto it, and all of them pulled to bring her over the ledge. When Trixie was halfway up, Vinyl repositioned herself with a hind leg through the window to ease her weight off the awning. Split was able to stand up, balancing himself on the part of the awning that used to connect to the wall. He and Vinyl continued pulling until she was all the way up, and they all made their way inside the building. Once inside, Trixie collapsed face-first on the dark room’s floor.

“Trix! Fuck, are you alright?” Vinyl asked.

Trixie breathed deeply in an attempt to calm herself as she fought off growing numbness waves. She felt a hoof on her back before Vinyl rolled her onto her side. The worried unicorn lifted up her head and set a hoof on her forehead. "Shit. I think you got a fever.”

Trixie looked up at the mare's fuscia-colored eyes as she looked up at Split, who was making his way around the dark room they were in. Beside her, she could vaguely make out a bed frame. Her eyes were still adjusting to the dark room when Split hit a light switch and blinded her.

After some mumbled cussing, she opened her eyes to see they were in an empty bedroom. The sounds of zombie moans and groans from the mob outside continued traveling through the open window, reminding her they were still in danger. The zombie ponies she had seen were not typically what a pony would expect in this seemingly unreal scenario. They were smarter than she expected. She processed this knowledge as she stood up.

“We need to get out of here,” she told Vinyl.

“I know, I know. Split and I will check the other rooms. Stay here.”

“No,” Trixie protested, “We need to get out of here.”

“Did you not see the mob, Trix?! Let us investigate this place. We will barricade this room shut if the other rooms are safe.”

She started to argue, but Vinyl left her to follow Split out of the bedroom door. She turned back to the broken window and eased her way to a stand, careful not to step on any of the glass bits scattered around the floor. Outside, the tilted awning stood underneath the window with its couple remaining metal supports desperately clinging onto the wall. The dumpster was only partially visible below it. Trixie was unnerved to see two zombie ponies had somehow made their way on top of the dumpster, and she watched them jump up on their hind legs, attempting to get a hold of it.

Despite still recovering her energy, she warmed up another blast spell. She released it another nine seconds later, targeting the awning supports beneath her. The blast spell ignited on two out of three of them, sending its anchor screws spitting out onto the mob below. The one remaining support proved to be strong enough to hold onto the awning, but the rest of it was sent pivoting down, swinging past the dumpster. The awning sent the two holding onto it tumbling off of the dumpster and to the ground below. She got a kick out of watching one of the zombie ponies in the alley get smacked to the ground by the heavy metal beams before it eventually hung perpendicular to the ground.

Trixie looked down at the slowly growing mob. Some of them were aggressively trying to figure out where her group had gone, turning their pale heads ever so often to see where to go next. The rest were eerily staring up at her, grunting and groaning as they bounced up and down on their forelegs. By looking at their faces alone, Trixie felt a primal urge rushing inside of her, telling her to run. She nervously gazed over the mob until she realized her vision was swooning. Stepping back, she lost her balance and fell sideways.

Her heartbeat had accelerated without her knowing, attempting to recoup her lost energy. She knew from her studies that this kind of energy depletion was not normal. It was likely that the new sickness intensifying inside her was the culprit. That was her thought, at least. Regardless, she lied there for a minute just listening to the distant sounds of the mob as her energy slowly came back. She started feeling sleepiness wash over her despite her body’s recovery efforts.

As she fought her increasingly heavy eyelids, muffled yelling from outside the room gained her attention. She could vaguely make out Vinyl’s voice before hearing rustling. With newfound adrenaline making its way through her veins, she stood up quickly and dizzily ran for the bedroom door. Outside of it was a small living area hosting a fair amount of seating. Beside it was an open kitchen area that was relatively clean. The front door between the two areas sat wide open, revealing wooden flooring. She made her way to the open front door, realizing they were in some kind of apartment building.

The rumbling continued, and Trixie heard the sound of a pot banging down the hallway. When she turned to look, a pot came bouncing down a set of stairs and settling on the hallway floor. There was more screaming, so she ran by the pot and made her way upstairs. She followed the rumbling up to the next floor. Down the hallway ahead of her, Split and Vinyl were now beating on a door to one of the apartments. Trixie made her way toward them.

“What’s going on??” she asked.

“It’s the bitch from the window!” Vinyl exclaimed, turning to yell through the door. “Open the door, bitch!”

“Trix, use your magic,” Split insisted.

Vinyl stood back as she lit her horn with yet another blast spell. She could feel her body calling out this time not to cast it, but getting inside seemed important enough to ignore it. After eight seconds, the spell released, blowing the door open. Her vision blurred, but once it returned, she looked inside to see the mare from before anxiously fiddling with one of the window’s latches. Before she could get it open, Vinyl tackled her to the ground. Split joined in a few seconds later, helping restrain her to the floor. Beside the window they had pulled her from, Trixie noticed a makeshift rope made from bedsheets that were tied together. She carefully trotted up beside them to get a view of the mare herself.

“Now what?” the mare huffed, still resisting their hold.

“Shut up!” Vinyl yelled, “Trix, can you hit her with a freeze spell?”

Trixie looked down at the mare, who now angrily stared back up at her. She gazed into her dark blue eyes for a few seconds longer before looking at Vinyl. “Is that necessary?”

“Trix, are you serious? She threw a mirror down at us so the mob would be distracted eating us while she escaped! This bitch is lucky she isn’t DEAD.”

Trixie stared at the mare again, who was still staring back at her. “Is this true?” she asked her.

“Trixie!” Vinyl shouted, appearing even angrier than the mare now.

“Did you hear that from her?!" Trixie interrogated, "Why are we being so aggressive?”

This only set the anger burning in Vinyl’s fuscia eyes to become brighter. “What happened to you not trusting ANYPONY? It’s pretty obvious what she intended, especially after she RAN the second she saw Split and me. Having a pot thrown at your face doesn’t make her look very innocent either!”

Split joined in. “She’s right, Trix. You said it yourself, now isn’t the time for trust. She did it, so let’s get her tied up while we figure out what to do, alright?”

Trixie sighed, looking back at the mare. Her anger had faded, and she stared back with nervous blue eyes. She believed the others. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe them at first, but she was starting to feel a bit sympathetic given all that had happened in the alley. Regardless, she warmed up a long freeze spell despite her body’s protest. She stared into the mare’s dark blue eyes as she released it.

Welcome to Canterlot

— Devan —

We all sat down once again. The city was right under, or rather, above our noses, but the walking trail was killing us. Cloud was walking on her own now, but it was already difficult tackling the mountain, even with both forelegs. The others had offered to carry her again, but carrying a pony on your back while trying to climb at what seemed like an increasingly steeper slope deemed very challenging.

I had asked them why we weren’t following the train tracks anymore. They reminded me that the tracks would start wrapping around the mountainside, and the typical tracks would turn into large wooden bridges without many places to step on. I, for one, did not want to play ‘ balance on the train tracks ’, where the punishment if you lost was falling down the side of the mountain. So we continued up the twisting, rocky path.

“Why don’t a few of us gallop ahead to see if the coast is clear?” Spark suggested.

“the coast should already be clear,” Flutters replied, looking back at Dash and me, “right?”

“Yes,” I said, “It hasn’t been long since Celestia sent that letter. She says it is safe there, and I don’t see how it couldn’t be.”

“They do have quite a few guards now,” Dash added.

“Alright alright, never mind,” Spark surrendered.

“Don’t worry,” Cloud said, setting a hoof on Spark’s shoulder. “You’ll see your dad soon.”

Celestia’s sun was still rising in the sky. It had not taken us as long as we expected, and we were set to arrive before noon. I looked up at her sun and started to wonder. From talks with Twilight, I had learned more about Celestia's ability to raise the sun. It took a special kind of magic to do so, so that had to mean that Celestia was either lying about losing her magic, or that she retained that special magic. I knew she wouldn't lie, especially at a time like this, so it must have been the latter. I was still curious.

“Hey, why doesn’t Celestia keep the sun up at a time like this anyway?” I asked.

“Energy,” Dash answered quickly, “It would be too exhausting for her to keep it up.”

“besides,” Flutters added, “it’s easier to rest at night. she knows we need it still.”

I nodded along. “Makes sense.”

“Let’s get back to it,” Cloud said, standing up.

We all stood back up and continued up the path. The wind was starting to pick up as we got higher until we eventually saw the path in front of us start to level out. We picked up pace briefly as we slowly climbed the ridge and saw Canterlot’s beautiful towers rise above it. I looked around to see smiling faces as we had finally made it. We could finally rest and start to figure out how to solve this new, massive problem.

“Hopefully they can let the drawbridge down for us,” Dash said.

The drawbridge that crossed the river flowing around Canterlot’s outer walls had been raised, which made sense at a time like this. However, there was no indication of guards in the windows of the towers that stood beside and above it. As we approached the river, I looked up at the waving flags, but still could not find anypony. The river and nearby waterfall to our right, which fed it, grew louder as we got closer to riverside. The others noticed the lack of guards as well.

“HEY!” Spark hollered across the river.

We waited for a minute, but there was no response. The only sound was the water below us. The water was not raging, but it fell into another, smaller waterfall by our left side. One wrong move would take us swimming off the edge of the mountain.

“what do we do?” Flutters asked.

We all exchanged unknowing glances, as we had not expected this outcome.

“HEY!” Spark hollered again, “HELP US!”

There were another few moments with no response. I leaned down by the river and stuck my fingers in the water, judging its flow rate. Despite looking calm, it was pushing on them more than I had expected. It was also a hell of a lot colder than I thought.

“We may have to cross,” Cloud mentioned.

Crap

“Well, now, why aren’t they guardin’ the gate?” Spark asked, “You'd think they'd want somepony to watch it, don't ya think?”

“Maybe they had to fortify further in the city,” I suggested, “This river would stop any of the undead from crossing, so they don’t really need to watch it.”

The others pondered this thought as we observed the moving water. I cautiously looked down to our left at the part of the river that curved before turning into a waterfall.

“You know, this is just a dangerous place for an entrance entirely,” I commented.

Cloud looked at me in contempt. “Really, Devan?”

I shrugged my shoulders before returning to the others. After another couple of minutes, it was clear that nopony was there to answer our calls. The others were starting to dip their hooves in to feel the water as well.

“It’s not too strong, but somebody should go with Cloud,” Dash suggested.

“Okay, who first then?” Spark asked.

“You can, if you want,” Dash said, “Then Fluttershy and I will help Cloud get across. Devan can bring up the rear.” She looked up at me. “Sound good?”

“Perfect.”

We all agreed on the plan, moving down the river a few pony-lengths to give us space from the waterfall. On the other side of the river, on the bank, the grass stood an arm's length above the waterline. This meant we would have to reach up after getting across and pull ourselves up. The bank did not look too intimidating from here, but Cloud would definitely need help climbing over it with a leg missing.

Spark then jumped in the water and kicked her hooves powerfully as she swam, making it all the way across while only getting pushed slightly to the left. She raised her forelegs up and grabbed the top of the bank, slowly pulling herself up on the edge. With a few kicks, she rolled over the top and stood up on the grass. She shook the water from her body and mane after standing up.

“How was it?!” Dash called across the river.

“It pushed!” she answered, “Just get ready to swim!”

“Get ready to pull her up!” Dash replied, gesturing to Cloud.

“Gotcha!”

Dash took Cloud’s left side and Flutters set up on the right. She looked back at me. “You ready?”

“As ready as I can be,” I replied.

I started getting nervous, but joined behind them as the three of them jumped in the water. As soon as I got in, I felt the pressure I had felt on my fingers earlier now push on my right side. I also felt like I had just taken a dip in the Arctic with water freezing my skin over. It was then that I realized the benefits of having a coat of fur.

We made our way across the freezing river, approaching the bank slightly left of where Spark had. She trotted toward us and reached down a hoof for Cloud. Cloud took it, and Spark started to pull her up. I kicked my feet against the current as I watched Cloud’s hips rise from the water. Right after they did, she somehow slipped, causing her to drop abruptly. This drop caused Spark to lose her footing and drop Cloud back into the water.

Dash, who was pushing her backside up, was pushed underwater by her weight. Flutters looked on helplessly as she lost grip of Cloud’s hoof and struggled against the current. For a second, my breaths stopped, until Dash’s head came back above the water. However, Cloud’s did not. Panicked, I looked around the water, but couldn’t find her. The longer I fought the current, the stronger it felt.

Cloud’s head finally popped up, but not in the same spot. She had lost the fight against the current for a moment and was now edging closer and closer to the waterfall. She was passing the lifted drawbridge now, and water was pushing her away from the bank and toward the curve that led to the waterfall I was just looking over. Water entered my mouth as I attempted to call out. Eventually, I quit my fight against the current and instead took sides, kicking my feet to catch up with Cloud.

“Devan!” Dash yelled from behind.

Despite Cloud’s intense kicking, she was still slowly losing the fight against a growing current. I was able to catch up to her right before the curve, where the current would grow far too powerful for anybody to beat. I grabbed her good foreleg with my hand and squeezed the absolute hell out of it as I swung my legs back around and started fighting the current with all the power I could muster. Cloud spit up water trying to say something. “N- No! Devan!”

Her body started moving down the bend, and I felt the current abruptly build as the river turned into a smaller, much more powerful one. The water was sending us downhill now, and I watched as the corner ahead gobbled us up and threw us around, sending us on the final stretch before the long waterfall. As we helplessly fought, I noticed rocks and a few trees hanging off the river bank to our right. Right before we approached the edge, I used my free arm and hooked it around the tree, flexing my elbow and locking it in a chokehold.

The tree moved slightly as the current pulled us. The weight from holding onto Cloud pulled against me, and my skin started ripping off my elbow pit. Frantically, Cloud and I kicked against the current, until I felt the weight loosen. I looked back to see her kicking on the rocks beside the trees, trying to get a hoofhold. After a few kicks, she finally planted a hoof on it to relieve pressure from the current. We were still stuck, however, but despite my palm turning red, I was not going to let go of her foreleg. When trying to think about what to do next, I looked up to see both Dash and Flutters climbing onto the small patch of grass in between the waterfalls, where the trees and rocks rested.

“Hold on!” Dash yelled, carefully trotting up to the tree.

Once Flutters caught up, she reached down and grabbed my chest while Dash grabbed Cloud. With their help, we all fought until Cloud and I were out of the water. I rolled over and laid on the rock next to the trees while I caught my breath. Flutters looked down at me and held my hand.

“my goodness, you’re freezing!”

I couldn’t find the energy to reply yet, so I just closed my eyes and rested. We all took a moment to do so until Cloud finally got up. I met eyes with her while I laid on the rock.

“See,” she said, smiling through her quick breaths, “Told you, asshole.”

I smiled as I blinked from Celestia’s bright sun.

“What?” Dash asked.

“Nothing,” I replied, still smiling.

“Thank you, Devan,” Cloud said.

Dash and Flutters helped me up. We all stood on the patch of grass, water flowing by both sides of us to a seemingly endless drop.

“Well shit,” Dash said, “What now?”

I looked down the river to see Spark by the gate now, looking back at us.

“HEY!” she hollered, “ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?”

“WE ARE!” Dash called.

“OKAY. WAIT THERE!”

We all exchanged confused glances as we watched Spark fiddle with the raised drawbridge. We then watched as she somehow started climbing the wall using the edge of the drawbridge. When she reached the top, she stopped, and we saw her back move around as she messed with something where the drawbridge met the wall. Suddenly, Spark fell down the wall and hit the ground a few pony-lengths below her. She fell on her hooves, seemingly unphased by it as she trotted back up to the wall.

“What in Equestria is she doing?” Dash asked.

“Whatever it is, that is one tough mare,” Cloud said.

When she fell, the top of the drawbridge had edged forward slightly, allowing a crack to form where it met the wall. We watched as she leaned in closer to it. She dug inside before turning from the wall with something shiny in her mouth. As she trotted up to the river bank, I realized it was one of the chains that held the drawbridge up. The other end was still attached to the top of the gate, coming out of the crack between it and the drawbridge. She then spit the chain out in her hoof, and turned sideways to us. With a powerful swing, she used her foreleg and launched the end of it across the river. The shiny chain splashed in the water in front of us, and Dash quickly grabbed the end of it before it could drift away from us.

"Awesome," she commented, jumping back in the water and pushing against the current as Spark reeled her in. Once she was up, Spark tossed the chain back. This time, both of them held onto it. I picked up the chain and started wrapping the end of it around Cloud's belly.

“Devan, I got i-”

“I know. I’m not taking any more chances.”

She looked at me and smiled defeatedly as I looped the chain around her two more times before handing her the end. I signaled to the others and they started to pull her in. We continued this a few more times until all of us were finally across the menacing river.

“Fuck that river,” I stated.

“Agreed,” Cloud said.

“now how do we get inside?” Flutters asked.

The gate and its walls stood high above our heads, with the drawbridge still stubbornly holding upright despite Spark ripping off one of its chains. She had noticed that the chains were loose and used a special technique with her teeth to rip off it's connection to the bridge itself. Honestly, this only made her look even more badass in my eyes, and I grew a new respect, partly out of fear, for her.

Dash looked up at me.

“What?” I asked her.

“Somebody has to climb over,” she said, “and you are the only one tall enough to get to that window.” She pointed to a window on one of the small drawbridge-sized towers right beside the gate. With a small jump, I could easily grab onto the ledge and pull myself through.

“Okay. What after that?”

She shrugged and turned to Spark and Cloud. “Are either of you familiar with Canterlot?”

They both shook their heads.

“Well,” Dash said, “I’m guessing the lever is in there somewhere. If you can find it, the drawbridge should come down.”

“Alright,” I replied. With one small jump, I grabbed hold of the window sill. I then used my feet to propel myself up and over. It was uncomfortably dark inside the small room, so I grabbed my flashlight from my soggy bag and shone it to reveal a door on the opposite wall. There was also a lever on the wall to my left that, I assumed, lowered the drawbridge. I stuck my head out of the window.

“Hey! I found it. Watch out!”

The others, already clear of the drawbridge, backed up a few steps more. I walked up to the large lever and pulled it down. There was a sound of chains moving briefly before stopping abruptly. I stuck my head out to see the drawbridge had barely moved. It had started to drop, but the remaining chain stayed tight, showing it got stuck. There was a little room, at least on the top half of the drawbridge, where a pony might be able to wiggle her way in. I looked down at Dash.

“Think you can make it through?”

“I don’t think so. Try it again.”

I pulled up on the lever, but it wouldn’t budge. Yanking on it again yielded the same result.

“It’s stuck!” I yelled, “Let me try the gate!”

No more levers were in this room, so I opened the door. Outside was a set of stairs that led back down to the ground behind the gate. A taller, wider tower stood to the right of the path ahead, watching over the backside of the main entrance. Its base stood tall, with many windows lining the outside. I tried to see inside, but Celestia's sun beamed on them, reflecting its light. After walking down the steps, I observed the gate. The purple wooden doors were almost as tall as the drawbridge behind it, towering over me at twice my height.

The first thing I noticed was the unevenness of the doors. The left door was wedged slightly against the top half of the right one. There were also three tall, cylindrical hinges connecting it to the tower I was just in, but the top one sat at an angle instead of straight like the rest of them. I tugged on the right door’s handle, but it would not budge. The left handle was the same way. Starting to get frustrated, I yanked hard on the left door until it unexpectedly pulled with me. I was sent to the ground after I lost grip of it, and a menacing creak sounded from above.

I started backing up on my ass, realizing the large door was coming loose. The tall door quickly got larger in my vision before landing straight on my left leg with a loud crash. I felt its very heavy weight crush my kneecap, causing me to cry out in pain. Blood began pumping through my thighs as the blunt pain seared through them. I attempted pulling my leg out despite the pain, but the door was so heavy that it would not budge. I was trapped.

“DEVAN!” Dash shouted behind the drawbridge.

It took a second for me to reply through the pain, “I'M OKAY! ... BUT I’M STUCK!”

“Fucking shit,” she muttered, “HANG ON!”

I grimaced from the pain shooting through my legs. Suddenly, a distant sound from down the path drew my attention. I looked down it, and saw something I really didn't want to see.

Fuck ...

Safe Here

— Devan —

“DASH!” I shouted, “HURRY!”

Two pale zombie unicorn mares had come around a corner not far down the path and were now trotting to meet me. I frantically tugged at my leg again, but the gate on top of it was far too heavy. My baseball bat had somehow slipped out of its mesh and rolled to my right side. I extended my arm out to grab it, but it was just out of my reach. I hesitantly pulled out my pistol for the first time and aimed down the street.

The two mares were much closer than I had expected and, by my rough estimate, only a few seconds away from getting to me and chewing my face off. Even if Dash and the others got to me in time, the mares would still need to be handled. I aimed the Beretta at the closer unicorn with shaky hands, struggling to get a good aim as they hobbled left-to-right slightly in that strange, zombie trot. Aiming as best I could, I fired it. The gun kicked back harder than I thought, throwing me off for a split second.

I looked back and saw both of the mares still coming for me. The one I shot at was slightly farther back, with a new hint of red coming from underneath her ear. I had grazed her. Still unsteady, I aimed at her again and fired twice. I kept the recoil under control this time as I watched the mare's head jolt back before she fell forwards. The other pale white unicorn was only a few pony-lengths away now as I switched my aim to her and fired again.

My inexperience was showing in full effect as the shot grazed her neck. One more shot flew past her as I waved the gun up in a desperate attempt to hit something but failed to do so. With her head just a pony-length away now, I finally lined up what looked like the perfect shot and pulled the trigger one last time.

Click

No bullet came out. Either the gun was already out of ammo somehow, or it jammed. Either way, it was too late to take another shot. The mare jumped on top of me, and as she did, I saw her blood start to trickle from her neck. I extended both of my arms out again, locking them against her chest to hold her back. Her force caused the gun to slip from my hands and fall behind me. I felt the full force of the mare’s strength as she bore down on me, snapping her teeth just a foot away from my face. I kept my arms locked and my hands pushing against her chest as we fought.-

With a bout of strength, I was able to push her off of me, causing her to fall to my left side. I frantically sat up and pivoted to my right as my leg held me in place. As I did, I caught a glimpse of a unicorn mare against the glass of the windowed building behind the gate. I thought it was another zombie pony at first, but a quick observation revealed it was a living pony. She watched on nervously as the zombie unicorn stood up and turned to attack me once more. I threw one desperate look at the mare through the window before quickly losing sight as the zombie mare jumped on me again.

The back of my head was shoved against the grass as I pushed against the unicorn’s chest. Her teeth were even closer now, and her saliva was dripping down on my cheek. My arms began shaking while my muscles slowly drained of their energy. I could tell this was a losing battle, and soon, the zombie unicorn would be munching on my face. I looked behind the zombie mare, able to see the top section of the stairs I had come down. Unfortunately, Dash and the others were still not there yet.

My mind started debating whether or not I should offer my forearm to the zombie so I could reach back with my other and feel for my pistol. But suddenly, the mare stopped fighting back. Blood dribbled from behind her ears and down onto me as her body froze. Her head was then jolted back briefly before slumping back down. With the strength I had left, I pushed her off to my left side again, unintentionally on top of my left arm.

Behind where the zombie mare had just been, on top of the fallen gate door, stood the unicorn I had seen in the window. She had a light pink coat stained with red blotches, a purple mane and tail, and bright blue eyes. She also held a colorful, two-sided axe in her hoof. The vibrant, rainbow axe's blade was head-sized and dripped blood below her.

Without speaking, she helped me shove the dead unicorn off of my left arm. She then jumped off the door and stood on my left side, observing my leg close up.

“Please help me!” I urged.

“Shush!” she hissed, still looking at my leg. “Okay, try to pull your leg out on 3 …” She dropped her axe beside us and grabbed hold of the door beside where my leg was crushed with her forelegs.

“1 … 2 … 3!”

I pulled with all my might, but the door’s weight had not loosened nearly enough for me to free it.

“Fucking hell," I spat, "What is this damn gate made out of?!”

“A special wood ...” she replied, looking down at me with nervous blue eyes.

“My friends are on the other side ... they can help you lift it!” I said.

“They need to hurry.”

“W- why?”

“The noise probably drew more of them!” she hissed.

Just then, I noticed movement in my peripheral vision. Down the path, another zombie mare and a zombie stallion turned the same corner the other two had. A third one accompanied them from the opposite side of the path.

“What the hell is this?!” I shouted.

She was about to shush me again before she turned and saw what I saw.

“Fuck!” she cursed.

I turned to look at the stairs again, but there was still no pony there.

“DASH!” I yelled, “HELP!”

“I’m sorry,” the unicorn said.

I turned back to see her picking up her axe.

“What?”

She raised it above her head, and I realized what she was about to do.

“NO!”

Her axe fell quickly, the air from the swing hitting my body as it cut through my pants. The blade sliced through the skin underneath, a hand-length above my left knee. Almost instantly, pain seared through my leg as the axe penetrated cleanly through it. The painful, crushing feeling evaporated as it was replaced with searing pain in my thigh. I tried to cry out, but the shock sucked the air from my body.

I looked over to see Dash on the top of the stairs, horrified, followed by Cloud. The unicorn hooked her bloody axe back on the strap over her back and bit her teeth into my shirt above my right shoulder. She started slowly dragging me away from the gate and turned to pull me toward the windowed building. I was basically dead weight as I writhed around in pain, fighting to hold on as stars crossed my eyesight.

She struggled to move me, huffing air through her snout and onto my shoulder blade. I held onto my severed thigh with both hands, struggling to watch as blood oozed out, leaving a trail as she slowly dragged me away from the gate. The rest of my leg sat under it, and seeing it almost caused me to puke. In front of the stairs, Dash and Cloud were now rushing up to us.

Without saying anything, Dash flew by us. Cloud, although appearing shocked, got beside the unicorn and bit into my shirt above my other shoulder. Both of them together were able to pull me away faster. Flutters and Spark came rushing out of the tower's door with equally terrified faces. After rushing down the stairs as well, Flutters ran over to grab my baseball bat, and Spark galloped to my front. She used her teeth to bite into my right leg’s ankle and picked it off the ground, relieving its extra weight and allowing the three of them to quickly rush me into the building.

In the corner of my eye, I could see the zombie ponies closing in. Dash gripped her knife in her teeth and jabbed one of the first zombie mares through the cheek, dropping her. She struggled to pull it out as Flutters passed her, briefly standing up and whacking the baseball bat. Farther down the path, even more of them were appearing from the corners, likely drawn by the noise the unicorn had mentioned.

I struggled to keep my eyes open as the sun got blocked out by an awning and then a doorway. Spark dropped my leg once we were inside and turned to run back outside. Cloud and the unicorn set me down as well. My head rested on the building’s white marble floor as my eyes adjusted to the room’s slightly less blinding light. Celestia's sun still beamed through the front windows, illuminating the room brightly and revealing tall, royal purple-colored walls with a few banners hanging down on either side. Stars continued dancing in my vision as Cloud and the unicorn entered it. Cloud's worried expression shifted from my leg to the unicorn.

“What the fuck did you do?!” she shouted.

“Hey! Don’t get mad at me! It HAD to be done!”

“We were almost here!” Cloud protested.

“SO WERE THEY!”

I raised my head slightly to see the others rushing through the door. Spark came in last and slammed it shut, hesitantly holding my pistol in her hoof. “There’s too many!” she shouted.

“Great,” the unicorn said.

“What in Equestria is this?!” Dash asked, galloping up to us. The others circled around, tensely observing my severed leg.

“You!” the unicorn shouted, pointing at Dash, “I have gauze in my bag upstairs. Get it quickly!”

Dash took no time to question her and rushed for the stairs. Spark set my gun down and followed her, and Flutters sat by my severed thigh. I was still too choked for air to speak as shock and adrenaline controlled my body.

“let me work on him,” Flutters said.

My head dropped back uncontrollably, and my eyeballs started shaking from side to side. I felt her pick up my leg as the unicorn said something to her. An uncomfortable ringing started in my ears, making it difficult to hear what was being said. The room’s ceiling was now spinning as Cloud’s head looked down at me.

“Devan,” she said, getting close. I felt her hoof sit on my shoulder. “Devan, stay with us.”

I blinked uncontrollably, struggling to stay awake through the pain. I was clenching my teeth hard, preventing me from even wanting to speak. I just looked into her purple eyes, struggling to hide the fear in my own.

“Keep them open," she said, "Just look at me.”

I felt my thigh moving and a new tightness forming right under where it met my hip. The added pain caused me to shut my eyes.

“Devan,” Cloud said.

I slowly opened them again, but my vision was quickly blurring. Cloud’s head was turning into two, then three, then four. I tried to blink them away with no luck. Slowly, my eyelids won the fight.

“Devan …”

Blackness engulfed me as sound stopped, and I finally passed out for good.

A Bad Brew

— Cheerilee —

The thick trees and luscious shrubbery of the Everfree forest fought against Celestia’s sunlight. This eerie forest seemed just as spooky in the day as it was in the night, and now seemed not an ideal time to be wandering through it. However, the trees swayed gently, and the bushes and vines held no undead ponies.

Cheerilee kept her head on a swivel regardless. She had finally made it here after getting held up in Ponyville. Not long after splitting from Twilight and Applejack by the schoolhouse, she had been chased into a nearby abandoned house by a small group of zombie ponies. She was forced to hole up for the night in the house’s attic after they broke in and cornered her in the upstairs hallway. After struggling to sleep through the night, she eventually awoke earlier this morning to quietness. The zombie ponies had abandoned their efforts and left the house entirely. Once the coast was clear, she made a break for the forest again.

Now here she was. She traveled solo on the path that led to Zecora’s hut. Before this mess started, she had visited Zecora a few times in the past. Learning about the creature and her differing culture intrigued Cheerilee. However, it had been a while since she last visited. She kept her faith, knowing that Zecora was always good company.

Her faith was tested when she noticed a silhouette down the path ahead of her. She stopped when she realized it was a pony, and they stumbled as they walked. She hesitantly unholstered the knife Twilight had given her, gripping the handle nervously in her mouth as the silhouette grew larger. Soon after, she could make out the pony’s shape. She noticed their puffy mane before a pale pink color started to emerge from the shadowy portion of the path they were walking on.

As they got closer, she realized who it was. Pinkie Pie. She sighed to herself, still hesitant about the knife in her mouth. Pinkie picked up her awkward walking pace to a trot as she was close enough to be seen clearly. Cheerilee understood what she had to do, but she was not willing to do it. She was not a violent type, but this event was testing her limits. She started thinking of alternatives.

While Pinkie was closing in, Cheerilee started trotting toward her, veering toward the left side of the path. Right before she got within leaping distance, Cheerilee pumped on the brakes and quickly reversed directions, galloping to the right. Pinkie also started braking, but this, combined with her already awkward trot, caused her to fall forwards. Cheerilee had almost slipped during her reversal, and she felt Pinkie’s flailing hoof graze her hind leg as she straightened out and took off.

The move worked despite her not being great athletically, so she thanked her smart thinking for preventing her from having to kill Pinkie. With a newfound energy, she galloped down the path. If she remembered correctly, she was getting close to Zecora’s hut now. On the way, she wondered what Pinkie Pie was doing out here, especially all by herself. She could not make sense of it as she approached what looked like the hut.

She only slowed down when she got close enough to notice the hut’s front door wide open. There was still candlelight glowing through it and the few front windows. She didn’t see Zecora anywhere around the outside or through the door, so she cautiously trotted up to the front steps. When she glanced inside, she saw the inside was very messy. The hut's floor was covered with laid-out pots, pans, and several various colored liquids. A few books had been knocked off the many shelves of the hut, adding to the mess. She also noticed a bit of blood staining on the door’s handle.

Zecora was nowhere to be found. Cheerilee gritted her teeth, realizing what this could mean. Something terrible had happened inside the hut, like a fight. She thought about Pinkie Pie and started to connect the dots when she heard a motion around the outside of the hut.

She backed out of the doorway and looked around the corner to see Zecora’s bright black and white body edge around. She quickly noticed her glazed-over eyes and pale-looking fur. She was forced to hurry back inside the hut before Zecora could pounce on her, but as she closed the door, Zecora managed to wedge half of her body inside. Cheerilee frantically pushed back, knowing her life depended on it, and ducked her head away from Zecora's snapping teeth.

With Zecora wedged in the doorway, she realized she could not stop her from entering. She would have to use the knife still in her mouth to stab Zecora once she backed away from the door, or make a break for it around the hut, hoping to juke her as she had with Pinkie. She struggled with the door, as Zecora’s slightly larger and stronger body fought against her. She had to make a choice quickly, as her energy was dwindling.

So she disconnected from the door. Swiftly turning toward the inside of the hut, she powered her hind legs up and bucked where she thought Zecora would be. Her back hooves connected with the edge of the door, as Zecora had fallen down through the doorway when she released it. After her hooves set back down, she bolted forward and around the cauldron in the center of the room, careful not to slip on the many spilled liquids on the floor. Zecora's body flung the door back open as she picked herself up again and continued the chase.

Cheerilee started circling the cauldron to get back to the door when Zecora switched up, circling the other way to meet her. She quickly reversed again, but Zecora also reversed. She started to side-step behind the cauldron, watching to see where the zebra would go. When Zecora finally stopped changing direction and came chasing around the left side of the pot, she galloped around the right side, just to slip on one of the books laying on the floor. She smacked the floor sideways, causing her knife to slip out of her mouth and bounce beside her. She struggled to get back up before Zecora caught up with her. As she desperately slid on the wooden floor, she felt her side rub against a weirdly cold liquid spilled out on it. Before she could rotate to a stand, Zecora pounced on her.

She reached up her foreleg just in time to forcefully kick the zebra's biting jaw away and locked her front hooves against her neck and shoulder blade to hold her back. The powerful zebra pushed back, and while they struggled, Zecora's body started tipping to her right side. She felt the zebra's grip loosening, so she charged up her muscles and forcefully pushed her off. Zecora's body was sent to her right side, where it collided with the cauldron. The force caused the heavy pot to tip backward, eventually tipping to the ground with a loud bang. She heard liquid from the pot spill out on the other side and caught a glimpse of some of it splashing beside the pot.

Zecora laid in front of the pot for a split-second before rotating to her hooves and cranking her head to look back at Cheerilee. Cheerilee rolled away to her hooves, but underneath one of her forelegs was yet another strange liquid. This one felt slippery, and in her quickened attempt to stand up, she slipped to the ground again. She noticed as Zecora jumped back on her that the cauldron was rolling on its side toward them. After rotating to her back, and with her forelegs extended out to block Zecora again, she wiggled to her left to get away from it. Eventually, the pot came to a stop beside them before slowly rolling back the other way.

She noticed the green liquid spilling out of it was puddling up and easing its way toward them. The liquid bubbled and fizzed as it took over the floor, and she could have sworn she saw a flame spit up from it. She could also hear it sizzling as it approached.

With no other options on the table, Cheerilee partly released her grip on Zecora, causing their heads to get closer. With one final burst of energy, she pushed out her legs once more, shoving Zecora to her right side, where the liquid was approaching. Zecora stumbled to the ground, and her face met the liquid, making an uncomfortable sizzling sound as if she had just touched a hot stove. The zebra flailed, picking up her pale head to reveal the liquid bubbling on the left side of her face.

Cheerilee finally had enough time to stand up. Zecora was briefly distracted by the sizzling on her face, so she held her breath and used her forelegs to push her head back down into the liquid. There were no shouts, no screams, no cries of pain. But the zebra flailed. With even more time allotted to her now, Cheerilee ran back to where she had dropped the knife and used her teeth to pick it up. She turned to see the stubborn zebra had already clumsily stood back up and was turning to face her. Now she had to act. No more avoiding confrontation.

She grimaced as she lunged for Zecora and jerked her head, jabbing the knife through her ear. She heard the sound of it squishing through the zebra's head, stopping her entirely. After jerking the knife free, she backed up as Zecora's body fell at her front hooves. She dropped the knife and took in some quick, much-needed breaths. It was finally over. Tears formed in her eyes as her adrenaline wore out, realizing what she had just done.

Her rest was short-lived when she noticed Pinkie Pie through the hut’s open door. With her adrenaline rushing back, she swiftly leaped over Zecora’s dead body and rushed to the door, slamming it shut in a new fit of rage. This new world was allowing her no time to think, and no time to rest. She was not ready to kill Pinkie, especially after being forced to kill Zecora. She needed time to recover, both physically and mentally.

She noticed one of the sticks that made up the doorway step’s railings had been shifted out of place, so she grabbed it with her foreleg and snapped the rest of it off. She then took the bendy stick and shoved it diagonally across the doorway, threading it through the horseshoe-shaped door handle. The stick was big enough to span the entire door, so she slowly shifted it to an angle with maximum resistance to provide extra stability.

Pinkie started banging against the door shortly after, causing her to back away. She watched the door and stick for a moment until she was confident enough that it would stay put. She then sat on the bottom of the front steps and looked back at Zecora. Tears fell from her eyes as she succumbed to the mental pressure. The world had changed so quickly, so ruthlessly, so horribly. Just yesterday, she started teaching fillies like any other day. But now here she was, killing ponies she knew in a twisted fight for survival.

After a few minutes of crying, Cheerilee wiped her tears and got up. She needed to find that cure book more than ever now. She scanned the room for what she remembered to be the cover. If she remembered correctly, it depicted a smiling green pony that was dressed up in zombie makeup. Little did its creators know something like this could actually happen. She started wondering if the cure would even work, as a zombie apocalypse had never came to be. She remembered that the book did have a scientific background, however, with science unicorns contributing to the potential scenario, despite its unlikeliness. It was a gamble, but it was worth the effort to find it.

She spent another few minutes picking up fallen books from the floor and checking them before tossing them in an empty corner. Slowly, the corner grew with useless books as she tossed and tossed. She eventually ran out of books on the floor and started looking through the shelves. Pulling out book after book, she continued to toss them to the pile until she was all out. She angrily punched the last shelf as she came to terms that she was wrong.

Now what?

She turned to Zecora’s body, seeing blood from her head seeping into the mysterious liquid. She had fallen halfway into the liquid, and her bottom half was steadily bubbling. Was the liquid eroding her? Cheerilee realized how grotesque it was and trotted over to pull Zecora out of it. It was the least she could do for the poor zebra.

After she pulled her out of it, she realized Zecora had fallen on top of a book. The book was opened upside down, with the cover and back facing the ceiling. She pulled Zecora off of it, noticing that. damned. smiling. pony. She had found it. It did exist! A smile grew on her face as she stepped over Zecora to get it. But when she leaned down to pick it up, she realized the green liquid bubbling on the cover’s top corner. She hesitantly picked it up and flipped it over, noticing very formally written magic language on the pages. However, there was something else.

Half of the page was bubbled over.

How the Mighty Fall

— Twilight —

Three. There were three now. Twilight kept her eyes glued between the two table legs they had fastened against the station’s window. She watched as the three zombie ponies lumbered beside the other side of the wall, scratching occasionally to get in. She heard Celestia move up behind her.

“How many?” she asked.

“Three. Only three.”

“Okay. Are you willing to start now?”

“I am.”

They had been trapped in this station for a whole day now. She had hoped all of the zombie ponies would have left by now. While most of them did, a few still lingered around. Overnight, some of them started to peel off as the others rested.

She thought about last night.

Twilight laid on the wooden floor, staring across the dark room at the barricaded door to the station. It consistently shook from the zombies outside relentlessly pushing and occasionally banging on it. They were like hound dogs who never slept. She tried to make logic of these new sick ponies, but she was struggling to figure them out. It wasn’t as simple as mixing some chemicals in a beaker to see what would happen. And as eager as she was to chain one of them up and study them, she deemed that idea very dangerous. It was all about survival now.

From her estimates, the zombies had been off-and-on assaulting the door for the past ten hours. By now, she was ready to bash the bastards' skulls in herself. She had to stop and remind herself that these used to be regular ponies, and like her, they had not wanted this for them.

She looked over at Celestia, who laid on the floor beside her, between her and one of the station walls. The princess was asleep with her head resting on her forelegs, sleeping as peacefully as she could on this cold, hard floor. She and Twilight had gotten into it not long before her sun set. Celestia had brought up this idea of sleeping and staying overnight at the station, insisting they needed it after getting so banged up from the train crash. While Twilight’s muscles ached painfully now, she still did not agree. She wanted to try their luck at the hospital, because even if no ponies were holed up there, at least they would have beds to sleep on. Celestia considered her point but did not like the risk involved, as they had been surrounded by over a dozen of the undead. So here they were.

Before their debate, Celestia explained more about what happened in Canterlot. She also told her about the letters she sent and received from Princess Cadence and her brother Shining. Twilight felt a bit of closure hearing from the princess that the empire was doing much better than Ponyville and Canterlot. According to the letters Celestia received, their royal guards had much more success fending off the ponies, allowing Cadence and Shining to barricade inside their castle safe and sound. Twilight mentioned Discord, knowing he had planned a trip there, but Celestia told her that his magic wasn’t working either. Regardless, she said he was holed up with her brother, so they were all safe, at least. Now she could focus on Ponyville without worrying so much about him and Cadence.

While they talked, Twilight mentioned Cheerilee leaving to see Zecora for a possible cure book. Celestia also remembered what book she was referencing, but it was unclear how many copies there actually were, and if the supposed magic research behind it would even work. She also agreed that the book being in Zecora’s hut seemed unlikely. Even if the cure was in there, and it somehow worked, what good would the book be without magic? From what it looked like, no unicorn held onto any magic anymore. Even the alicorns lost it. Whatever the case was, she hoped Cheerilee had found what she was looking for and was safe at Applejack’s barn now.

She looked to her other side, where the new pegasus, Typhoon, lay. She had not expected the mare to be looking back at her. Ty’s ocean-blue eyes observed her closely. She could not help but notice the mare’s messy mane. Its style, at least from yesterday, reminded her of Rainbow Dash. The only difference was that Ty’s mane was light blue with a white streak in the middle.

“Hi, Princess,” Ty whispered, smiling.

Twilight smiled back wryly. From what she could tell, Ty did not seem to understand the severity of the situation at hoof. They were trapped inside by zombies from what appeared to be a nationwide apocalypse, and she instead worried more about retaining somewhat proper etiquette when conversing with the three princesses she was surrounded by. She looked away from the confusing pegasus.

“Are you alright, your Highness?” Ty asked.

“Please, stop with the royalty speak …” she requested.

“Sorry, your Highn- … uh … I mean Twilight. Are you alright?”

“I am. Go to sleep.”

“After you.”

Twilight looked back at the mare and struggled to hide her annoyance. Ty caught on to this. “Would you like to talk?” she offered.

“Talk about what? Everything is pretty clear. We need to get out of here first thing in the morning. So go to sleep.” She looked away again until Ty spoke.

“I’m sorry about your friend.”

“Don’t. Talk. About. Her. Just go to sleep. That’s an order from a princess, since you still care about that.”

She noticed the sad, worried expression in Ty’s eyes. She averted hers and turned her head toward Celestia as her anger started morphing into sadness. She heard a slight shuffling beside her until the mare’s hoof rested on her back. Twilight turned to argue but lost her battle against her forming tears. She took another moment to grieve over Rarity, not realizing she wasn’t over it yet.

“We’ll get through this. I know we’ll win,” Ty said.

Twilight sighed. “Your optimism is nice to hear, but I’m struggling to share it with you.”

“I know. Probably been cooped up in here too long. Need some fresh air for that brain of yours, Princess.” Ty playfully tapped the side of Twi’s head.

“Well, that, and everything that’s happened. How can you be so optimistic with things falling apart around you? I’m not throwing in the towel by any means, but it is hard to stay cheerful about everything when you keep getting pelted by bricks of crap.”

“I’ve always been a bit optimistic. That’s what my parents said, at least. I don’t know why. I guess … why not? Why be negative when you could be positive, even if you were off sometimes?”

“You are royally off this time.”

“So be it. I’ll die happy. Especially if I do so for any of you, your Highness.” Ty smiled.

Twilight gazed at the mare, befuddled. “I don’t understand you. I really don’t,” she stated, “the world is falling apart, but here you are, treating us like princesses still. I know we are royalty, but does that really matter now?”

“It does to me. I get it … I know the world is falling apart. I’m not denying that. You should have seen what I saw back in Canterlot. But despite all of this, I can’t just throw away what the world was. Then who would I be? You know, before all this, I spent a great part of my life trying to become one of the best flyers in Equestria. You know why? Because I was hoping to get a chance to fly for the Wonderbolts one day, and I wanted to soar with them across the sky above Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and you, making Canterlot, and Equestria, proud. I will hold onto that dream, even now, as I try my best to protect you three until this nightmare ends. With Blaze’s help, I know we will be all right. We will beat this thing, I know it. It’s just a matter of time.”

Twilight sighed. “That is sweet. I just hope you are right.”

“I am. Now let’s rest. Big day tomorrow.”

She took a breath, hoping they would make it out of this unscathed. She worried, since nothing seemed to be going to plan, but she held onto a bit of hope, partially inspired by Ty. She was living. She was breathing. As long as her brain was functional, she could come up with something eventually. She just hoped it would come to her soon.

Yesterday, they had settled on a plan. As much as they wanted to check the hospital, they realized there were bigger priorities and opportunities on the table. After they got past the undead outside, they would make their way south towards Sweet Apple Acres, where AJ was likely holed up with the fillies, as she promised to Twilight yesterday. Sugarcube Corner was between them and the farm, so they could stop by there to check for Pinkie Pie. They could also check on Devan’s house not far from it.

Celestia's group, on their way from Canterlot, had not seen Devan or anypony else before the trains collided. Twilight hoped that Devan had seen the missing train engine from the station and went back to his house, or better yet, AJ's barn. She worried about him. She did not want to think he was dead already. The sooner she could get to him, the better. Hopefully, him and the others were at AJ’s barn, patiently awaiting their arrival.

“On your signal,” Celestia told her, before getting back into place in front of the door.

The plan to escape was simple. Yesterday, they found out that the side window to the station was sealed shut. The only logical way out was the front door beside the window she was at. There were only three ponies on the platform, so Spike and Blaze stood at the side-window with their baseball bat and spear. If they beat on the window hard enough, and the others were dead quiet, the noise would eventually lure the ponies off the platform. Celestia, Luna, and Ty stood by the bench barricading the door, ready to pull it back so they could escape. Simple.

“Go!” shouted Twilight, ducking below the window.

Blaze and Spike took turns beating the window as she listened intently to the muffled groans outside. As badly as she wanted to peer through the window to watch them leave, she knew it was not worth the risk of being seen. So she waited as the others beat the window, faintly hearing the groans outside grow.

As they bashed the window, she turned to watch them. She saw Blaze swing the blunt end of his spear forward, whacking across the windowpane. She noticed the glass instantly change, forming a crystallized, head-shaped crack from the center all the way to its right side. He also saw this, but before Spike could halt his swing, the dragon swung at the window and bashed the glass hard enough for it to shatter. The pieces of glass flew out of the window as he scaredly pulled his baseball bat back, observing the damage.

“Well, that works …” Blaze said across the room. Him and Spike stuck their heads out of the window and began calling out to the platform ponies, who Twilight could hear fading away from the front window. Or so she thought. She lost her battle and stuck her head up to see through the planks, just to see a zombie mare gazing back at her. For a moment, it almost looked like the mare was lost in thought, and she almost mistook her for a normal pony. Her glazed eyes said otherwise as she growled and beat on the window again.

Crap

She ducked her head again, hoping Blaze and Spike’s calls would lure her over quick enough.

“Whoahaoaowoahoah!-” Spike called.

She looked back over to see both him and Blaze dancing their way back inside. Black quickly picked up his spear again, and Spike searched around for a second before picking up a chair and moving back toward the window.

“Spike! What’s going on?!”

“There’s more coming!” he shouted, raising the chair to block part of the window.

“How many?!”

“A crapfest!” he answered.

“It’s another damn mob! Help!!” Blaze yelled, readying his spear in front of the window.

Both Celestia and Ty abandoned their positions at the door and galloped across the station to help them. After grabbing another chair, Celestia made her way beside Blaze and blocked the window. The four of them managed to block the window enough just as grizzly, bloody faces of the undead appeared on the other side. Any of the zombies who managed to poke their head or hooves inside were shoved right back by the others guarding it.

Twilight turned back to look out of the front window. The mare was still there, but she was just one pony. With the other station window now broken, they needed to get out of there now. She galloped over to Luna, and with her help, they moved the bench away from the door. She held her hatchet up as she grabbed the door’s handle, ready to take out the mare outside.

“Let’s go!!!” she shouted back at the others and swung the door open.

The mare quickly lunged for her, but one hatchet swing to her head stopped the pony. She then set the hatchet’s handle in her mouth and made a sharp right outside of the door and started leading the others down the platform and away from the mob at the side-window. She noticed as she ran along the platform that the smoky train had shifted overnight. The front, detached train car now sat near the end of the platform itself as it had slowly rolled forward.

As she closed in on the stairs of the platform, she came to an abrupt stop. At the base of the steps below was another hoofful of unexpected zombie ponies. She recognized one of them, who was apart of the group she thought had peeled off overnight. The group was still there, moseying around the outside of the station. They noticed her as both she and Spike stopped by the edge of the platform.

Damn it!

The first pony trotted up the stairs, just to get roundhouse bucked by Twilight. She thought about spitting out her hatchet to fight, but the quick ponies overwhelmed her senses, and she could count at least four of them grouped closely together. It wasn’t worth the risk, so she turned around and weighed the risks of leaving through the other side of the platform. As she turned, she saw everypony had made it out. She also saw a pale head sticking above the platform ahead before rising as the zombie climbed the steps. Now, they were effectively being trapped into a tunnel.

“Twilight!” Celestia shouted, “Here!”

With little time to think, Twilight turned to her mentor and saw her pointing a hoof at the burnt train. The second train car beside the platform was burnt to a crisp, with the walls and roof caved in. Instead of the smoky pyramid shape the first car made, it made more of a wedge shape, showing a potential ramp to the top of the lesser-caved-in car behind it. While it looked unsafe to attempt climbing it, they had no other choice. She followed Celestia off the platform and used her hooves to take short, quick steps to check for weak points as she used the caved-in wall to climb up the car. The remaining four cars and caboose steadily grew less damaged as the fire had not affected them as severely.

Twilight carefully jumped onto the next car and looked back briefly to see everybody else still following them as Blaze and Luna helped Ty climb up. The mob from the side-window was now climbing onto the other side of the train platform, so she hurried forward to make room for the others to get up. She continued looking for weak points as she jumped the next two cars. Behind her, Blaze made up the rear of the pack now, but was slowly overtaking Luna as the princess cautiously shifted her extra weight over the unstable roofs.

Twilight glanced over the edge of the train car, making sure there were no stray zombie ponies on the other side of the train as she hopped on the last car before the caboose. There was a bit of a drop on the other side, but she planned to lead the others down and make a break for it.

“Off the side!” she told Celestia, “We can break free from there!”

The princess nodded, but as she went to assist her off the edge, they heard a shout behind them. When she turned around to see who yelled, she heard a loud crashing noise and caught sight of the top half of Luna’s body as she fell through the roof of the car two cars behind them. Blaze was also on the car, but he saved himself from falling down by reaching out his forelegs and grasping the edge of it. A cloud of gray dust shot up from the car, obscuring vision from the rest of the train. Ty, who was on the car in front of them, turned and ran up to the edge to help Blaze.

“SISTER!” Celestia shouted, rushing over the gap between their two cars and joining her. Both the princess and Ty were able to drag him on top of the car before gazing over the edge, trying to locate Luna through the dust cloud. Twilight was about to join them until she realized they were putting a lot of weight onto one damaged train car, so she and Spike stayed back. She moved to the edge of the roof and looked down at the groups of zombie ponies clashing together on the platform. Some of them jumped up and down on their hind legs to get to them, but she saw a few of them through the dust make their way up the smoky cars they had climbed. She felt the car underneath her shifting, realizing they needed to get off this train.

“Celestia!” she called, “We have to go!”

After a few seconds, Blaze and Ty were able to pull the resisting princess away and trotted with her to the other edge of their train car. As they did, Twilight heard a metallic groan before seeing the roof of theirs start to cave in as well. The car’s wall opposite of the station sank, causing the three to stumble from their hooves as the roof slanted. As the wall continued to cave in, the roof slanted more and more until they were sent tumbling down the side of the car to the grass below.

“Celestia!!” Twilight cried, turning to Spike, “Help me down! Then follow!”

Twilight approached the edge of her train car, and with Spike’s help, she lowered down the side of it. Once they guaranteed her the shortest fall, she let go and fell to the grass below, her hooves easily taking the brunt of the shock. After quickly situating herself, she instinctively tried to lift her wings to catch Spike in them as he fell. She had forgotten that they were nonfunctional and practically glued to her sides. Instead, she raised up her forelegs and slowed Spike down as he fell through them.

On the grass beside them, the three ponies were shaking themselves off as they stood back up. Twilight exchanged a glance with Celestia when she was on her hooves, seeing the tears and shock in her eyes. The tall princess oriented herself again before leaning down and ordering Ty to get on her back. As she did, a zombie mare started squeezing her way between two of the burnt train cars.

With Ty on Celestia’s back, they were forced to leave Luna. Twilight shivered at the thought of the mob overrunning the collapsed train car she was in. But they themselves needed to survive, so they ran south, hoping to make it to Sugarcube Corner without many hungry followers.

Ashes Ashes

— Twilight —

“Quit squirming!!” Celestia shouted.

“Sorry, Princess!”

Twilight looked over to see Ty struggling to hold onto her back. They had not run far from the station, making their way toward Sugarcube Corner using the edge of Ponyville. As they ran between the tree line of a sparse forest and the backs of some of Ponyville’s outermost houses, it was clear Ty was slowing her down. She slowed to run beside her mentor.

“Celestia, let me and Blaze take her,” she offered.

“No, I-“ she started, until Ty slowly started tipping off. Celestia started side-stepping at her weight, and while Twilight sidestepped as well to avoid her, she could not evade Ty in time. The pegasus fell on top of her, causing her to stumble forward into the ground. Her weight quickly subsided as Ty rolled off of her.

“Sorry Sorry!” she exclaimed, “this damned forsaken pity curse of a burdening hoof!”

Celestia turned around to face them. “Are you two alright?”

“I'm ... okay,” Twilight whimpered.

Celestia helped Ty stand up again. Twilight glanced behind them to see that some of the group from the station were still on their tail, clumsily trotting toward them. There were not as many now, but these ponies seemed eager to get them. They really were hound dogs.

“Get back on,” Celestia ordered Ty, laying down on her hooves so she could hop up again.

“No, Princess. No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m slowing you down. Just … just leave without me. I’ll be okay.”

“Typhoon,” Twilight said, “you cannot be serious.”

“I am. I can get them off of you. Just go.”

Twilight observed the mare, sensing her seriousness. She looked up at Celestia, who was gazing back at their pursuers.

“No,” Celestia said, “we don’t have to.”

The princess turned to her with a confident new glare in her eyes. “We will fight them.”

“WHOA!” Spike hollered, “are you sure?? There’s like a dozen of them! And only …” he counted, “5 of us! 4 without Ty’s help!”

“Without my help? I may be crippled, but I’m ready to bash some heads in!” Ty objected.

“She’s right. We can beat them,” Blaze said.

Twilight pulled out her hatchet and held it in her hoof. She observed the others as they prepared for the fight too. Spike gave Ty his taser so she would have something to help them with, she had her hatchet, Blaze had his spear, Spike had his baseball bat, and Celestia had her large horn and powerful hind legs. The group lined up side-by-side, with her on one end and Blaze on the other. Celestia took the middle as Spike and Ty held positions at her flanks. They were ready to fight.

Their pursuers trotted forward. Twilight counted them. Nine so far. The first three were mares who were spread out enough to allow for thinking in between taking them down. However, the remaining six were more closely grouped up.

“Spread out a bit,” Celestia called.

The group spread another pony-length from each other, forming an arch. Twilight got ready as the first attacker was moving toward her. She held up the hatchet, and at the last second, she jumped up on her hind legs and used both of her forelegs to tightly grip it as she swung. She used a trick with it, however. Instead of swinging the blade toward the attacker, she swung the blunt end of it toward her. When it made contact, instead of digging through the pony’s skin, its blow simply knocked the mare unconscious. Twilight hoped this would save her, as she still did not want to kill these ponies. If push came to shove though, she would do it.

She observed the pony while Blaze knocked out the second attacker. The pony’s chest continued moving, but she was out. Twilight would keep an eye on her in case she happened to reenter the conscious realm before the battle was over.

The third attacker was bucked hard by Celestia. The blow sent so much force that she felt the ground vibrate lightly through her hooves. Whether unconscious or flat-out dead, the mare was sent to the ground where she laid. Six remained. Twi backed up a step as they were bunched closer together. Two of them had their eye on her, so she would have to make the first KO quickly. It was only when they were a few pony-lengths away that she realized she could not risk using the blunt end here.

She regretfully eyed the first mare, who gazed back at her with those same glossed-over eyes. Despite her paleness, the beautiful mare’s olive coat glistened in the sunlight as her curly red hair fell messily above her bright blue eyes. Twilight blinked at the last second as her hatchet made contact with the mare’s head, sending enough force through it to break her skull and stop her instantly. It was then that Twi realized the hatchet had gone too far. She tried to yank it out as the mare fell, but it was lodged into her forehead. Twilight backed up as the second attacker lunged at her.

As he did, Spike’s baseball bat came into her vision before connecting with the stallion’s head. The blow sent him to the ground where he squirmed. Before she could intervene, Spike ran in front of her and swung it again, stopping the attacker for good. Twilight was about to comment on Spike preparing a third swing when she heard Celestia shout.

When she looked aside, she noticed the princess backing up toward the remaining attackers. She then saw another zombie mare who had snuck up behind them, held back by one of Celestia’s forelegs. The mare bit the air anxiously in an attempt to get a bite of the hoof Celestia had planted on her forehead. The princess slowly backing up only made this more difficult. Twilight leaned down, and with one foreleg pushing against the downed zombie mare's head, she dislodged her stuck hatchet. As it unstuck, one of the remaining attackers lunged for her.

She backed up quickly to get distance before swinging the hatchet and slicing the pony’s face with it. After the hatchet recoiled, she swung it again and landed another blow on the pony’s forehead, careful not to dig it too deep this time. As she pulled it out, she looked up to see another pony in front of Celestia. Twilight realized they were being surrounded when she noticed more of them approaching from their rear.

Beside Celestia, Ty had sprung into action, as well as Blaze. After Ty tased the mare pushing against Celestia, causing her to drop to the ground, she helped the princess take out two more of the surprise attackers. However, they did not notice one of the zombies from the initial mob lunging toward the princess’s hind legs. Twilight started to move when Blaze’s spear connected through the pony’s head. Despite this, another zombie stallion followed the first, also gunning for her hind legs. Twilight could not get there in time, but Blaze was ready. Not offered enough time to pull back his spear for another stab, he dropped it and sprung forward, using his body to tackle the stallion. Yet another zombie mare from the original group hurried toward Celestia’s hind legs until she noticed Blaze fighting with the attacker on the ground below.

Twilight approached them, but she was too late. The stallion Blaze was wrestling distracted him from the other mare, who leaped forward and sunk her teeth into his exposed neck. As Blaze squirmed to confront her, the other stallion bit into his foreleg. Now, Twilight was in range. She swung the hatchet furiously at the mare’s head, who froze when it contacted. Her teeth were still ingrained in Blaze’s neck as she pulled it out.

While she was focused on getting the zombies off of Blaze, she had not noticed two more attackers moving close to her. After catching a glimpse of them, she instinctively backed up a few steps. The first mare rerouted for Blaze, and the other lunged for her. She did not have time to swing the hatchet, so she instead ducked to the right, narrowly missing the pony’s slobbering mouth shooting forward. The pony skidded past, giving her enough time to turn around and swing the hatchet into their skull as well.

She glanced back quickly at Celestia and the others, who were finishing with the last of the surprise zombies. She then focused on Blaze, who had the one mare laying motionless next to him, but was still wrestling with two of them. He was losing. As they both gnawed on him, she ran forwards and swung her hatchet. She managed to take out the stallion with a blow to the back of her head. The other mare was pulled off by Ty before getting bucked unconscious by Celestia.

The final attacker was finally knocked out by Spike. Twilight scanned their surroundings, confirming that all of the zombies were down. She then helped the others pull the stallion off of Blaze, who writhed around on the ground. His armor had not helped him, as the zombies targeted any exposed fur they could find. He held his neck with his hoof, unable to stop his blood from spitting out. His other hoof leaked violently as well, and a dark red blood puddle was forming underneath him. The stallion locked a fearful gaze with Twilight.

“P … guh … Pl- Please …” he choked. Blood gurgled out of his neck, which was now dribbling out of his mouth as well.

Twilight looked up at Celestia. The princess gazed at him for a second before wincing her eyes shut, shaking her head from side to side in despair. Spike and Ty watched from a bit farther away, but Spike had to turn around as the sight was too much for him. Ty awkwardly trotted up to his side with tears rolling down her cheek.

“I’m so sorry, Blaze! I’m sorry! I’m sorry …”

“Ga … chu …” The stallion spit up more blood before finally getting a word out. “Don’t …”

“What?” Ty leaned down, setting a hoof on his shoulder.

“Guys!” Spike called. Twilight looked up again to see what he was warning about. In the distance, where the first attackers had come from, was another small zombie pony group trotting towards them. She growled furiously to herself.

When will we catch a fucking break? Sweet Celestia, I am sick of this crap!

She looked back at Blaze to see that he saw them too, despite being laid out on the ground. He looked back at her with fear still shimmering in his dark green eyes.

“Pssh … guh. Twi … light ... Kill … me, ugh, please …”

Twilight’s eyes widened at his request. She exchanged a scared glance with the others before responding, “Blaze, no. We can’t do that.”

“PSH, Gah … PLEASE. Don’t … guh … Don’t let them- get … aah … me!”

The zombie ponies were approaching now. They only had half a minute at best now to decide. Twilight, overwhelmed, looking down at her bloody hatchet lying in her hoof, looked up to Celestia. As she did, the princess grabbed the hatchet out of her hoof. Before she could work up the will to respond, Celestia stepped next to Blaze.

"I'm sorry its come to this," she said, "Thank you for your sacrifice. Rest easy, warrior."

A couple tears ran down the princess's cheek as she rose the hatchet and swung.

Sugarcube Corner

— 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."

The Candy Shop

— Devan —

Muffled voices filled my ears as I slowly regained feeling in my body. I winced as an uncomfortable pang returned through my leg. Despite the pain, my nose started picking up whiffs of sweetness. It was a smell I could not familiarize myself with for some reason, but it was sweet. Very sweet. I slowly opened my eyelids to see a blurry pink ceiling above me. Underneath me, I felt the cold, hard feeling of a tiled floor. My head was the only thing resting on something soft. I then turned my head to the right to see Cloud sitting against a wall beside me. She was focused on a different part of the room until I got forced into a coughing fit.

“Devan!” she exclaimed, now hanging over me. “Are you alright?”

It took me a few seconds to get over it and respond. “I … think so.” I slowly raised my head. There was a long aisle in front of me, and on the shelves on either side, there were various creative displays of what looked like candies. Lots of candies. The vibrant-colored sweets matched the bright pink and white tiled floor, making it evident we were in some kind of jolly candy shop. Down the aisle was another aisle, then what looked like a counter against the opposite wall.

I looked to my left. A few more aisles were lined up beside the ones in front of me. Behind the last one stood a wall with windows starting at knee height and rising all the way to the tall ceiling. Celestia’s sun shined through them, illuminating the already colorful shop. The base of the wall underneath the windows was a purple color, and in front of it sat Flutters and Spark. When they overheard Cloud and me, they quit conversing and turned to us. Flutters stood up and trotted up to my side.

“devan, thank goodness,” she said, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling okay …”

She looked down and observed my leg. I followed her eyes and gasped at the sight. Part of me forgot my leg was chopped off before I passed out. The stump of my left thigh was now wrapped in a tightly wound ball of gauze. There was still a hint of blood peeking through the bottom part of the gauze, but it was not pouring out as I had remembered before. The belt from my pants had been taken off and wrapped around my thigh, but it hung loosely at the moment. I closed my eyes and laid my head back, trying to overcome a new sense of shock.

“just relax,” Flutters said, “i was able to fold some of your skin over it and wrap it up tight. it looks bad, but its much better now, i promise.”

I opened my eyes again and looked at her. “Thank you.”

She smiled and dug into a new saddlebag lying beside me. My backpack, with my baseball bat still in its mesh, sat beside it. After pulling out a thermometer, she set it in my mouth and waited. Once it beeped, she pulled it out and looked at it. Her smile quickly turned to a frown.

“What? Is it bad?” I asked.

“you’re burning up. we need to get you medicine,” she answered.

“W- what about the antibiotics in his bag?” Cloud asked her.

She looked up and bit her lip. “we used the last ones when you lost yours,” Flutters gestured to Cloud’s still-bandaged hoof. “i’m sorry …”

Cloud cursed and closed her eyes.

“It can just go away on its own, can’t it?” I asked.

“devan … this thermometer works fine. it's reading you at nearly 103°F.”

“How … how bad is that?”

“dangerously bad. let me check again though. you don’t look as bad as it says,” she mentioned.

She stuck the thermometer back in my mouth and repeated the process. Her expression stayed the same. “dang it.” She defeatedly put the thermometer back. Down the aisles ahead of me, I saw Dash and the unicorn appear in front of the counter. They noticed us as well and came trotting up to see.

“How is he?” Dash asked Flutters.

“he’s burning up. he needs medicine.”

“Crap.”

Everybody turned their attention to the pink unicorn. She shifted her eyes between us before responding, “I don’t have anything, I’m sorry.”

“Do you know if any place around here does?” Dash asked her.

“Well, there’s a clinic a few blocks away from here ...”

“Take me there,” Cloud spoke, standing up beside her.

“It- It’s locked up, last I checked. I don’t know if we can even get to the medicine inside.”

Spark stood up when she noticed the group coming together and trotted up to us, standing beside Flutters. She overheard most of the conversation and pointed her tan hoof at Cloud. “Even if we can, you still need to rest. I can go with her.”

Cloud got ready to retaliate when I sat up on my elbows and interrupted all of them. “Where the hell are we? This doesn’t look like that other building.”

Everypony’s eyes turned to me, including the unicorn’s bright blue ones. I noticed her cutie mark, which was two overlapping candy canes shaped together to form a heart, with a bowtie candy on top of where they crossed on the bottom. She also had that same colorful axe from before strapped on her back.

“We’re in my candy shop,” she said, “That other place got overrun. We had to move you here after you passed out.”

She looked down at my stump regretfully.

“Overrun?”

“Yes.”

“H … how?”

She sighed. “I told your friends already, but … Canterlot is not what you think it is.”

“W- what?”

“Canterlot fell apart yesterday. Anything that was still left of it fell overnight and this morning. There are still some of us here, but I think anypony still alive is holed up in their own places. I don’t know how long that can last …”

“But- but the princesses! The letter!”

“I know, I know, your friends told me everything. But it’s too late. The castle is overrun.”

My eyes lit up with fear. “They’re dead??”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“H- how would that even-”

“devan,” Flutters interrupted, “we need to get you medicine now. we will figure everything else out later.”

My vision shook briefly. Despite just waking up, I still felt drowsiness washing over me. She was right. My head felt like it was burning. As I took some deep breaths, Flutters looked over at the unicorn.

“can you take me to the clinic?”

“I can …”

Spark raised her hoof in protest, but Flutters held her own in front of her. “you need to stay here with them … in case anything happens … please.”

Spark lowered her hoof and reluctantly nodded.

"Hold on," Dash spoke up, "Spark can stay here, yeah, but I think you should too."

"but ..."

Dash rose her front hoof now. "Candy knows where it is and I can assist her. Both of us can go in and out, quick. If you just tell us what to get, we can get it ... maybe not 10 seconds flat ... but we can get it quick. Is that alright with you?"

Fluttershy took a second to ponder before nodding as well. We then said our goodbyes as the unicorn left with Dash, disappearing behind the shelves. The soft surface beneath my head turned out to be a pillow, so I laid my head back down on it and stared at the ceiling, trying to calm my racing thoughts. The princesses … dead? What could that possibly mean? How was Celestia’s sun still up if she was dead? What would happen when it went down? What would happen to me? I had so many new, burning questions swirling around my mind, but they paused when Cloud hung her head over me again.

“Please get some rest, Devan. We’ll wake you up when the others get back with your medicine.”

I looked up at her worryingly. “I don’t know if I can now.”

“You can, just try.”

I closed my eyes briefly before opening them again. “So the unicorn's name is Candy?”

“Haha, yeah, fitting enough. Her name's Candy Sweet.”

I added her name to my jumbled memory as I closed my eyes, trying hard to rest. The pain soaring through my leg, combined with the added anxiety of learning the whole plan was screwed, made it very difficult. It was not until Cloud started rubbing my shoulder that I could relax enough to think about sleeping. After a few minutes, her shoulder rubbing outweighed the pain in my leg and helped me doze off again.

The sound of glass breaking ripped me from my sleep, and I opened my eyes to the pink ceiling again. My heart started beating quickly from shock as I rose my head from the pillow. The room was even brighter now, as Celestia’s sun was beaming through the windows. I blinked my eyes to adjust to the blinding light. I glanced around me, but nopony was there. Near the end of the aisles in front of me, I saw Cloud round the corner and leave my sight.

“Cloud!” I yelled, sitting all the way up. My leg continued its relentless pain spreading as I scooted up against the pillow. My backpack, with baseball bat attached, sat up against the wall beside me, but the saddlebag Flutters used was still gone. “Cloud!” I yelled again. Fear was growing as I wondered if they were leaving me. I then heard a commotion in the front of the shop that I could not see. I heard footsteps a few aisles to my left until the glass windows to my left shattered. The familiar groan of the mobs I had seen grew, and I realized I was in trouble.

As I tried to fight the pain and scoot away from the windows, a pony came around the shelves next to it. Fear zapped through me for a moment until I realized it was Cloud. Behind her, Spark came rushing around the corner.

“Devan! We gotta get you upstairs!” Cloud hollered.

Before I could question her, she bit into my shirt’s collar and dragged me away from the windows. Behind us, Spark bit into the top handle of my backpack and followed us. As we passed between the wall and the candy-filled aisles, another pony came around the corner behind Spark. It took a moment for me to notice their blood-stained face and crooked, hanging jaw. I started to yell out to her, but a sharp pain cut through my leg as I was dragged, taking my breath away. It didn’t matter anyway, because the country mare set her front hooves firmly on the tiled floor before blasting the pony with her hind legs. The zombie mare was sent flying to the ground behind her, and even as we approached the corner of the shop, she laid still. That had to be one of the most powerful bucks I had ever seen, coming toe to toe with AJ.

I helplessly slid on the tiled floor below as Cloud rounded the corner. Right after we did, I felt her rounding another one. As we passed an archway, the bright light of the shop was replaced by a darker room. I was able to crane my head to see over my shoulder, realizing we were in a stairwell. After turning one more time, Cloud started climbing the stairs, but our movement stopped quickly as she struggled to drag my weight up. When Spark rounded the corner and noticed this, the mare dropped my backpack and bit into my good leg as she had before.

The dark stairwell brightened as we approached the top, and I noticed another pony enter it below. As we closed in on what should have been the top steps, I felt Cloud’s teeth bear down on my shoulder as she tripped. Before I knew it, her pulling sensation disappeared. Despite Spark attempting to catch me, gravity overcame me, and I started tumbling down. My pain only worsened as I bounced down the stairs, taking Spark with me. Both of our bodies crashed into the pony.

I struggled to stand up when I realized it was Dash who we collided with. She shook her head and hissed, helping Spark stand up before biting into my shirt’s collar as Cloud had done. The faint groaning from outside was growing, and I could hear lots of steps across the shop. As Spark bit into my leg again, Flutters came into view through the archway. Despite already carrying her new saddlebags over her back, she leaned down and grabbed my backpack with her teeth and quickly followed us up. I felt another set of teeth over my other shoulder halfway up, and below, another mare and stallion came through the archway.

Just before we reached the top, I noticed more ponies enter the stairwell. The groans grew quickly, indicating they were zombie ponies. The others finally dragged me around another corner and through the upstairs archway. After pulling me to a corner a few pony-lengths away from the archway, the two mares dropped me and rushed towards it.

This room was similar to the first floor. Aisles of colorful candy-filled shelves lined it, and the color patterns were the same. To my left, Celestia’s sun beamed through the upstairs windows and down the aisles to us. I turned back to the archway and saw Candy bolt through it, followed by a living, armored red-coat stallion.

Within a few short seconds, Candy led the mares and stallion to a candy-filled shelf in front of the archway. As Spark, Dash, and the new stallion grabbed the corners of the shelf, she grabbed a large bag of colorful candies off of it and used her teeth to tear it open. She then hucked the bag through the archway, and I could hear dozens of tiny candies scattering out of sight. The growing groans were also accompanied by new bangs and thuds as the improvised grenade sent candies bouncing down the stairwell. This gave her enough time to help the others lug the heavy shelf to the archway. They dropped it at an angle to block it and, just seconds later, the groans returned and the zombie ponies started banging against it from the other side. The new stallion held the shelf in place as the others grabbed another shelf and dropped it against the first, ensuring we had a little more protection. The shelves still shook from the growing mob pushing against it.

“It's not going to hold forever, we gotta go!” Candy exclaimed.

"WHERE?!" Spark cried.

Candy turned to Dash and the stallion, "You two watch the shelf! You-" She pointed back at Spark, "-come with me!”

The two mares left Dash and the stallion to watch it while they disappeared behind the aisles. Cloud quickly followed them, leaving just Flutters in front of me. She spat out my backpack and tossed off her saddlebags beside me.

“devan, reach out your hand.”

I reached out my hand as she pulled out a pill bottle, unscrewed the cap, and carefully emptied two pills into it.

“take them now.”

I hesitantly cupped the pills into my mouth as she reached into my bag and grabbed out a water bottle. After swinging the pills down with it, I took a deep breath and stared into her comforting blue eyes for a moment to calm down. We then heard glass break to our left. Above the corner down the last aisle from us, I noticed glass shards from the window sprinkling the floor. Part of Spark’s tan body was visible past the shelf, setting her back hooves down again. Shortly after the window broke, she rounded the corner and galloped down the aisle toward us. She was followed by Cloud, and the two mares galloped up to my side.

“Are you good to move?” Cloud asked me.

“Y- yes …”

“We need to stand you up.”

Oh boy.

Cloud and Spark both guided me to a slow stand. I pushed down harder than I would have liked on the mares’ shoulders, struggling to overcome the instability. Eventually, I was stable enough to hop on my leg, using just Cloud, on my left, as support. My words from the train tracks echoed in my head as I realized that I was a damn burden now. As I tried to shake them away, Cloud led me down the aisle.

When we reached the broken window, I saw Candy using her horn to clear any remaining glass shards. The window was only one section of a long, room-spanning window overlooking Canterlot rooftops. Spark had busted the section nearest to the wall to my left. Outside it, a section of roof spanned out just underneath it. There was just enough room to fit a few ponies before it stopped and turned into a gutter, giving us just enough space to jump out onto it.

“Where are we going?!” I asked Candy.

“Out!” she shouted.

Candy yelled for the others to come, and they all nervously lined up behind us. The roof outside was only a foot below the windowsill, but I still worried if I could make it out safely with one leg. Spark passed us and climbed out first. Candy climbed out next, and they both backed away to allow for space.

“Get Devan out!” Candy said, “We can help him.”

I nervously looked out the window at them. "Are y'all sure?"

"Yes, just come on out, there's no time," Spark replied.

Cloud nudged me. “I can help you too, just be careful.”

I bit my lip nervously as I limped up to the window. Spark walked up to the left edge of it and reached a hoof in. Candy was straight ahead, ready to grab ahold of me when I came out. With my left hand, I grabbed Spark’s hoof. I used the other to carefully press on the windowsill as I slowly eased my stump over it. With Cloud’s help, I moved my good leg over next. Candy grabbed ahold of my right hand and they pulled me all the way out of the window.

I balanced myself on my one foot until I felt a shingle below me move, causing me to slip, which sent me tumbling below the window. The roof was relatively flat, but it was slanted enough that I started sliding. Spark and Candy desperately pulled back, but as they did, Spark lost her back hoofhold when another shingle slid out of place underneath her. I felt my leg roll over the gutter as Cloud grabbed hold of Spark’s hind leg through the window. Both Spark and Candy clenched my hands tightly as my chest rolled over the gutter, leaving me hanging over the edge by my armpits.

I looked down over my shoulder to see a few groups of pale zombie ponies in the streets below, now anxiously flailing their hooves up to grab my leg. I bent my knee and pulled it up to prevent them from doing so as I looked back at the others. Candy was holding onto my right hand with both of her front hooves now, struggling to keep herself up with her hind legs. Spark was holding on as well but was having trouble standing back up under my weight. I tried kicking my way up, but with one leg, I didn’t have the strength to get over the ledge myself.

Dash came into view above Spark, trotting out on the roof and getting beside Candy. She grabbed ahold of her waist and started pulling as well. My chest painfully rubbed against the edge of the roof as they all pulled me up. However, their pulls were unbalanced, meaning I pulled back a lot harder on Spark’s hoof. As my chest came over, the pull was enough to make Cloud lose her grip on Spark, causing her to fall down on the roof to my left. I watched helplessly as she tumbled off the edge, and her hoof was ripped from my grasp as she fell to the growing mob below.

Her fall pulled me down, dragging my chest back over the edge and causing me to struggle once more as I grabbed onto the ledge. I could hear the mob’s groans below grow as Cloud rushed out of the window and grabbed my other hand. The stallion came out as well, pulling on her. All of them together pulled me up and away from the ledge.

“Spark!” I cried.

The others held me back from going back to the ledge to see. There were no screams, no cries for help, just groans from the mob below.

“Fucking shit,” Candy cursed, still catching her breath as she glanced back at the window. “Come on, we need to keep moving.”

Flutters was the last one out with my backpack clenched in her teeth. After the others pulled me up to a flatter part of the roof, she warily hoofed it to me and helped me put it back on. Cloud then helped me to a shaky stand again. She and I locked sorrowful eyes as we followed Candy along the rooftops.

Canterlot Express

— Devan —

All of us sat on the Canterlot roof. It was time for a break. Candy’s shop was in a densely packed area in the heart of Canterlot, so we were able to travel a few blocks away from it, only having to cross one sketchy alleyway drop. We were able to use a balcony to jump it, and the others helped me with no problem this time … fortunately. I tried to settle my growing headache as I avoided thinking about Spark. We had finally lost somepony, and it was just as awful as I had expected. I cursed my luck, angry at the recent events, especially at my new disability.

Cloud sat by my side for support. She sat quietly like the rest of us. It was becoming clear to me that our relationship had grown significantly since the train station. She was a close friend now, similar to Dash and Flutters. It was intriguing, since I'd spent months getting to know Dash and Flutters while only knowing Cloud for a few days now. I guess saving each other can work wonders for a friendship. I just wished I could have somehow saved Spark. Maybe, I should have just let go. Maybe that would have been for the best. I watched Celestia’s evening sun hanging over the horizon as I thought about everything.

“I- I need to say something,” the stallion spoke up. When we first sat on the roof, we learned his name was Kings Heart. He had been a royal guard for just a few months before today and was sent by her to help protect this sector of Canterlot. After the city fell, he found himself trapped in a store not far from Candy’s. From what Dash told me, they had seen him after getting pills from the clinic. He called out for them to help, so they helped him escape from the shop. However, this drew the mob all the way back to the candy shop.

“What is it?” Dash asked him.

King looked around at us nervously. He met eyes with me before closing his and shaking his head. “Nevermind.”

“No. No nevermind. What is it?” Dash pushed.

He sighed. “I’m … bitten.” He turned his side to us, trying to show us his bite. It was difficult to see, as his blood almost perfectly matched his fur color. But after pointing it out, I noticed the teeth marks protruding into his side, near his hip.

“You were bit? Are you kidding me?” Candy asked.

“You were bit?” Dash repeated, a sense of malice seeping into her words.

“Y- yes, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Dash replied, growing tense as she shoved him with her forelegs, sending him on his back.

Candy stood up and trotted by Dash’s side. “When?”

“It was before the shop …”

“You little shi-” Dash swung her foreleg back, but was stopped by Candy.

“We lost Spark cause of him!” Dash shouted, “Least he can get is a few punches!”

“I know, I know,” Candy said, “Just back off for now.”

Dash listened as Candy walked up to the stallion's side and held out her hoof to help him up. After she helped him sit up, she swung her hoof back and socked him across the jaw, sending him back on the roof again.

“You little shit! Why didn’t you tell us?!”

“I’m sorry! It all happened so quick!! I didn't want you two to help me, but I was in a panic! Those things ... they're terrifying!"

Dash wasn't listening and instead wound up her hoof to punch him as well. The stallion rose his front hooves to cover his face. "I'm SORRY! I'm sorry about your friend! If I could take it all back, I would! I didn't want this! I didn't want ANY of this!"

“Girls!” Flutters exclaimed, “Enough! ... there’s too much violence going around as it is. let him be.”

The two mares reluctantly backed off. Dash huffed before returning to her previous spot. Candy shook her head and came to sit on my other side. “I’m sorry about your friend, dear."

“It’s ... thank you,” I replied, blinking slowly, “let’s just … just ... move on.”

I noticed her look over at me despite me staring off in the distance. My eyes were squinted as my headache was turning into a migraine. My skin felt more and more like a furnace, and I had an intense urge to vomit now. My fever clearly had not broken yet, and my body was struggling against it. I felt Candy touch her hoof against my arm.

“Sweet Celestia, you are burning up!” she commented, turning to Flutters, “Did you give him the pills yet?”

“I did,” she replied, standing up to come and see me. She sat in front of me and dug into her saddlebags for the thermometer. After sticking it in my mouth, she pulled it back out and looked at it for a solid couple seconds. Her expression while reading it worried me. “you … you got worse …”

“What do we do?” Cloud asked her, a look of concern growing on her face.

“the antibiotics might not have kicked in yet. he might need to see a doctor, there may be something else going on here.”

Candy looked at her confusingly. “I thought you were a doctor?”

“no no … i’m just a veterinarian. there’s only so much i can do. plus …” she said, looking at me.

“What?” Candy asked.

“we … i … i don’t know a lot about humans,” she spoke softly.

“Would a doctor know any more than you?” Candy inquired, “You probably know more about him than a lot of ponies, right?”

“maybe,” Flutters said, “but doctors know more about ponies than i do. he’s closer to a pony than most of the other animals.”

“He is?”

“yes.”

“Hey,” I said, “If I had ... my other leg, I could ... I could walk on all fours. That’s close ... close enough, right?” I chuckled lightly to myself, trying to ignore my growing pain. The others looked back at me awkwardly.

“Oh no, he’s getting delirious,” Cloud said.

I smiled as my eyes closed, not realizing I was falling backward. My head smacked the roof, only growing my headache. I slowly rolled on my side and stopped, as I had grown tired.

“we need to get him to a doctor,” Flutters said.

“At a time like this?” Candy replied.

Dash joined the conversation again. “Is Canterlot really done for? Like, fully? We can’t even check the hospital?”

“I suppose we could check the hospital,” Candy said.

“No,” King interrupted, “The Canterlot Hospital is a no-go. I passed by there yesterday. It was an eat-your-face-off hotspot. Nopony will be there, not the ones you want to see.”

“Then what do YOU suggest?!” Dash shouted, trotting up to him again.

“Hey, hey, please …” he said as he backed up from her, “I ... do have a suggestion.”

“Go on.”

“You’re not going to like it …”

“I don’t like you right now. Might as well spit it out,” Dash threatened.

“I know a doctor in Manehatte-”

“No! Are you fucking crazy?” Dash cut in, “Manehatten is where this started! If Canterlot fell, there’s no way Manehatten didn’t fall.”

“Manehatten is way too far,” Cloud added, “It would take us a whole day of walking to get there. We can’t put him through that.”

“It’s not,” King said, “I know a quicker way.”

“What? The train?” Dash asked.

“No. I mean … we could check if there’s a train still at the station. But if there isn’t, I know where they store the rail carts they use to maintain the tracks.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

Candy got up. “I know, too. One of the conductors was a regular at my shop. The carts are stored in a shed by the railyard.”

“It’s more of a railyard building,” King mentioned.

“Shut the fuck up,” Candy replied.

“Still!” Dash exclaimed, “Manehatten cannot be safe. We get there, and then what? Let the mob jump us?”

"Listen, I can explain ..." King said, "There's a whole lot to be unsure about right now, but I'm not stupid enough to suggest riding into a damn horde. From-"

"Sounds like you are," Dash interrupted.

"FROM WHAT-" King continued, "-I have heard, at least before getting trapped, rumor has it that the Manehatten police force was setting up a safe zone. My doctor, and his clinic, are in that supposed safe zone, which is why I suggested it. That's all."

At this point, the conversation was bothering me enough to attempt sitting up. I pushed down with my arms but only got far enough to lean on my elbow. I glanced at the others as I tried to ignore my pounding head.

"Guys ... please," I said, "It's not worth it. If I die, I die. Don't risk your lives for me."

"devan ..." Flutters replied, scooting over and setting a hoof on my leg. She looked like she was about to say more, but she struggled as a saddening expression filled her face. On my other side, Cloud held a similar look before averting her eyes. I felt a bit of resentment from my words after seeing the others' reactions, but my guilt was still overshadowing my mind.

“We don’t have to go to Manehatten,” Candy said, “We can just use the carts to go back to Ponyville.” She looked around, remembering that we had come from Ponyville. “... or … maybe not.”

“No, you’re right,” Dash remarked, “Ponyville Hospital might be our best shot. It’s not far from the train station, and there might be ponies holed up there.”

“yes, that sounds better,” Flutters said, looking back down at me. I was still dazed by my sickness, struggling to keep my head up as I leaned on the roof. “we need to hurry.”

Finally.

I think ...

I observed my pistol as I sat on the edge of the train station's platform, trying to figure out if I had cleared the jam or not. The others had not messed with it while I was passed out, reasonably so, so it was up to me to find out what happened back at that damn gate. When I unloaded the magazine inside it, I had to yank the thing out forcefully. After fiddling with it, it seemed to be back to normal. It was a shame that I couldn't test it, seeing as though that would put us in immediate danger. Or ... maybe we were already were.

Needless to say, we had not found any trains at the station. So instead, the others followed Candy and King to the so-called shed that stored the rail carts, not far from the station. I kept my eyes as peeled as I could, swiveling my head back and forth to check all the various corners of the station and nearby buildings. While the others weren’t going far, they were still out of sight. Apparently, the carts they had mentioned were heavy, so they decided to all go to grab them.

It had not taken us long to journey to the station. Thankfully, my fever improved on the way there. The others agreed that I still needed to get checked out, and there wasn’t much of a reason to stick around Canterlot with the state it was in. Ponyville was bad too, but at least for it, there seemed to be life amongst the dead. This place already looked like a ghost town. I turned to look at the station, observing the many glass windows and large clock which hung above them. The hands ticked on, showing it was close to seven o’clock. Celestia’s sun was slowly setting over the horizon, shining bright against the station.

I turned around again to see the four mares each holding a corner of a large train cart as they carried it over. It was bigger than I thought, spanning the width of the track itself and around three pony-lengths long. It was a simple cart; just a flat black surface with very short, hand-sized sideboards to hold equipment inside, and an arm-length handle attached to the front, sitting at an angle to allow the pony sitting on the cart to control it. It looked as if one of the carts could hold all of us, but it would be cramped and uncomfortable given how far we were planning to go. I watched as they eased the cart on top of the track next to me, struggling to drop it into place. They bickered with each other as they tried to work together to set it properly, but eventually ditched it temporarily as they ran to grab another one.

As they disappeared behind a nearby building, I heard a rustling around the corner of the station. I looked down the track and raised my gun, my heart starting to beat as I did not want to risk using it. After a few more seconds of rustling, a tan-colored pony came galloping around the corner before coming to an abrupt stop. Through the sights of my gun, I gasped as I saw Spark’s face. There was blood splattered all over her tan coat of fur, but other than that, she looked normal. Her face lit up as well when she saw me. The mare made her way up the platform stairs, colliding with me in a violent hug that knocked me over. Still, I tried to reason with what I was seeing, wondering if I had passed out at some point and was dreaming now.

“Oh my god ... are you alright?!!” I looked at the blood on her fur as we disconnected, but I didn’t notice any kind of scratches or bite marks. Most of the blood was just patches and dots.

“Shoot yeah! I wasn’t bit. 'least, I don't think I was.”

I helped the mare check herself regardless, looking up and down anxiously for any bites or scratches. It didn't take us long to realize there were none. I was appalled.

“How the fuck did you manage that?”

“I got lucky. Found a path along the wall after I fell n' bucked the piss outta any of ‘em who got too close.”

"Holy shit," I commented, eying her up and down with newfound respect. It was when I met her green-colored eyes that I looked away, shaking my head. "I'm so ... sorry, Spark ..."

“No need. It wasn’t your fault.”

"It was ... I-"

"Ah ah ah ... don't start. I already heard from Cloud how ya take responsibility. If it was anything, it was those stupid ass shingles. Crusty pieces of junk looked like they needed to be redone years ago."

“But still ... I pulled you down ...”

“You were hangin' off a damn roof, Devan, 'course you were gonna pull.” She rose her front hoof and socked me in the shoulder, hard. I grabbed hold of it as it started to throb.

“Damn, woman. I mean … mare? Or … never mind.”

She smiled. “Sorry.”

“How did you find us here?” I asked her.

"Mmm, well, I think fate's keepin' us together. I was mostly just runnin' from the mob, but I figured if y'all were going anywhere, it'd probably be somewhere to get outta this mess."

"We ... we are ... I'm sorry we were gonna leave you ..."

"Again, not your fault. Y'all thought I was ... gone ... it's fine. I probably woulda just got outta here myself anyway."

"Well, I'm glad you're back," I replied, smiling, before remembering why she was here. "Hang on ... what about your dad? I thought you came here for him."

Her expression quickly sunk, and her green eyes seemed to darken with sadness. She dropped her head and sighed.

"My pops lived near the castle ..." she said, taking another breath. "When you were passed out, Candy came with me to check it out. We used the rooftops, since the streets ..." she paused. "... It ... was safer. When we got close, I could make out his townhouse. It ..." she stopped, visibly distressed by her words. "He's gone ..."

I rose my hand, setting it on her shoulder as she fought back tears.

"I'm sorry, Spark ..."

She sniffed, shaking away her thoughts.

"Thank you. It's okay. I've got y'all now. Speaking of ... where is everyone?"

“They're getting these rail carts, since there's no train.”

I pointed to the one on the track. She looked down at it and cocked her head, noticing it was uneven. I watched as she hopped down from the platform and ducked her head to look underneath it. She then grabbed hold of the corner that was sinking down between the tracks and lifted it up. With a single motion, she yanked the whole cart over and set her corner back down. The cart sat on the track, this time perfectly even. She brushed her hooves against her chest before turning to me again.

“You scare the shit out of me,” I told her.

She smiled before jumping back onto the platform with me. “Good. But we needa go soon. I backtracked a bit before comin' here, but I think that mob's followin' me still.”

“Crap. Do you know how far away they are?” I asked.

“Don't know for sure. We have a minute or two at least. Where's the others?”

“That way,” I answered, pointing to the building they had disappeared behind.

“Be right back,” she said, rushing behind the building after them.

After another minute passed, I started to hear distant groans behind the station. I realized I should probably get ready for when the others came back and used my hands to ease myself down on the tracks. I then used my arms to lift my leg up and crawled my way inside. When inside, I scooted to the right side of the cart, allowing room for the others to hop on and get going immediately. I kept my eyes glued to the corner Spark had come from, waiting for the mob’s arrival. Thankfully, I heard the others come around the building on the other side of the tracks and looked to see them carrying the other cart.

As they moved to set it up behind my cart, a zombie stallion came into view around the corner of the station ahead. I raised my gun up and lined him in its sights. Pulling the trigger released a bullet that traveled right on target, dropping him. Another one followed his lead, and another.

“Guys! We have to go!” I yelled over my shoulder. The mob was now pushing us, and they would soon be piling on the tracks in front of us. I fired another shot, taking the second pony who had rounded the corner. The others squabbled behind me before King and Spark both jumped onto my cart. Spark got into position in front of the lever, ready to make this thing move however it was supposed to move. King eyed the mob before eying Spark and me, and before I could say anything, he jumped back off the cart and ran ahead of us.

“Hey!” Spark shouted after him.

“Just go!” he shouted back.

Candy jumped onto the cart and scooted beside me. The mob was now rounding the corner, so Spark pushed something on the lever. I heard a lawn-mower-like engine start underneath us, and the cart started to move forward. I looked behind us as I heard the other cart’s engine start too. Dash, Flutters, and Cloud had jumped on it, and Dash was working the lever as their cart started moving as well. I turned back to see King was not passing the mob around the corner ... he was running straight into it. As our cart got closer, we saw him collide with two zombie mares, slowly shoving them back against more of the mob as they turned their attention from the railroad to him.

Our cart passed the corner, and I watched as the mob overcame him. I caught a glimpse of his face as he gritted his teeth and threw his hooves forward, motioning us to go as the mob bit into him. His distraction alone allowed our carts to pass by with no troubles, and Spark accelerated us away from the cursed city. The sound of the mob was replaced by the wind and the cart's wheels rolling beneath us.

“Geez ... brave soul ...” Spark commented.

Candy sighed, looking back at the grizzly scene we were departing. “Yes ... yes, he is ...”

With that, we followed the tracks out of the city and started making our way down the mountain.

Ride or Die

— Devan —

The ride became peaceful as we slowly made our way along the railroad tracks right outside Canterlot. The wind from the mountain blew against my face, helping to relieve the heat from my now mild fever. We were moving at horse-carriage speeds now, not too fast but still moving along. Spark was operating the cart carefully, and she supposedly had experience driving one of these things. She mentioned her mechanical background, even working on the trains that ran this track a few times. We were lucky to have her at a time like this, and I was happy she had survived the nasty incident at Canterlot.

Candy sat beside me as I sat up on the cart, using my arms to hold myself up. She felt her hoof against my arm again before turning to Spark. “Can we go any faster? He is still burning up.”

“I’m afraid this is fast as we can go 'til we're down the mountain,” Spark replied.

“How come?”

“It’s unsafe,” she replied, “The track down the mountain is pretty curvy. We'd be riskin' derailment if we sped up. Plus, I wasn’t able to inspect the brakes of these carts before we got chased off. I'd imagine they're fine, but we don’t wanna put too much pressure on 'em.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Candy said, resting her hoof on my thigh. “You should lay down. We can use your backpack as a makeshift pillow.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she threw a glare that stopped me. She helped me pull off my backpack and gently laid my head down on it. The cart shook mildly as we traveled along the unsteady track, rocking me gently on the backpack. As she sat above me, I locked eyes with her.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Of course, dear.”

“And thank you for this,” I replied, gesturing to my leg. She eyed me confusingly, trying to gauge any sarcasm. I smiled. “Seriously. You saved me.”

“Devan,” she replied gently, “you’re still sick because of it. Don’t thank me … not yet at least.”

“I’ll survive. I promise.”

She smiled back timidly. I looked up at the darkening sky and towering mountaintop, taking in the beauty of this world. The peace was interrupted when Spark cussed. As I raised my head to see, she turned around and gestured back at Dash’s cart behind us to stop. The brakes were applied, and I sat up to see what was happening. It was then that I noticed we were entering a bridge that rose high along the mountainside. Over the edge of the cart, the mountain was giving way to an incredibly daunting drop. That was not the reason that Spark stopped; She stopped because the bridge ahead of us stopped. A section toward the middle of it was missing, and the rails curved down before ending abruptly. There was a solid train-sized gap ahead, and the rail on the other side dangled above the steep, steep drop.

“Son of a bitch,” Spark commented. She turned back to me, then the others in the other cart, but they could see it too.

“Damn it,” Candy said, “Is there another route to Ponyville?”

“Not from this high up, no …” Spark answered. She was right. I had taken the train to Canterlot many times, and there was only one way to Ponyville. There was a backup section through the mountainsides if I remembered right, but it did not span far, and it had to be after this bridge.

"Wait a minute," I called, "What about the other train? The one that took Cloud's hoof. Where the hell did that one come from if the bridge is out?"

"Maybe it collapsed earlier today," Spark suggested.

"That is likely," Candy replied, "From what you guys told me, about how fast the train flew by you, maybe it was what caused it to collapse in the first place."

"Hang on!" I exclaimed, "The princesses! What if they were on the train?!"

Spark's eyes lit up, but Candy looked aside, deep in thought.

"Hold up," she said, "That is possible, but the train station is across town from the castle. I know they have guards, but them making it across town with all of the chaos that happened yesterday ... that's a stretch. Not ruling it out, but I'm just saying."

She had a point. We pondered for a few seconds before returning our attention to our situation.

"Well ... what now?" Spark asked.

Candy sighed. "We may have to make the trek to Manehatten ..."

“Do ya think that’s the best move?” Spark asked her, “honestly?”

“What other choice do we have?” she said, pointing her hoof at me. “He needs a doctor. The yellow pegasus said it. Even if he didn't, we can't go back to Canterlot, and we don't even have a sliver of intel on other cities like Baltimare.”

“Is there no other way?” I asked, “Can we not go around? Maybe roll the carts down?”

“Devan,” Spark said, “These carts are built for the track. Rollin' them down could work, but they will prolly get caught up in the terrain, or worse, roll to uncontrollable speeds. I know you saw me move one, but they are still heavy. We need to stick to the rail.”

As she talked, Dash shimmied the other cart forwards. It slowly bumped into the back of ours, moving us an inch. “Hey,” she spoke over the idling engines below us, “what’s the plan?”

Candy turned around and pointed at Flutters. “You said he needs a doctor, right?”

Flutters looked at me briefly before nodding.

“So,” Candy continued, “King mentioned the doctor in Manehatten. I know we agreed that isn't the best ... but we don't really have a choice." She took a moment to pause, glancing back and forth between all of us and noticing the others' disapproving faces. "Look, I know it sounds risky, but what other option do we have? We can't go back to Canterlot, and getting around this ..." She pointed to the bridge. "... would be even harder than sticking to the track to Manehatten. The clinic he mentioned was on the outskirts, away from downtown. Even if he was wrong about the safe zone, and there is a mob, we can always backtrack ... or fight our way through ..." She glanced down at me worryingly. "Regardless, we have to try ..."

The others nodded along, slowly accepting of the plan. While I didn’t think it was the best play, she did make sense. I wasn’t really in a position to argue anyway, as my fever and headache were defiantly sticking around. I worried about how much longer my body could hold this heat. I laid my head back down as the others started reversing the carts away from the bridge. It didn’t take long to make it back to the split, and I looked back to see Dash hop off her cart to pull the lever beside the tracks. The track switched to the Manehatten rail, and after she was back on, we slowly made our way along it.

We coasted along as the track descended quicker, following the steep mountain down. The sound of the engine weakened as it was replaced by the wind. The cart was rolling along a bit faster now, causing me to sit back up so I could enjoy the ride. As the track got steeper and started curving again, I could feel Spark apply the brakes to ease our acceleration and keep us at a safe speed. I watched as the track took a left turn, bending around the mountainside. From how high up we were, I could see really far on the horizon. As we rounded the corner, I took in the breathtaking new view. Celestia’s sun shone beautifully, setting over the horizon in a red-orange glow. Distant, smaller mountains and hills rose all around, and vibrant forests and plains sprawled as far as my eyes could see. I squinted, trying to make out Ponyville in the distance.

“It’s so pretty,” I commented.

“It is,” Candy agreed.

For the next few minutes, we coasted down the mountain. Spark never had to give the cart power to accelerate as we made our way down. We were getting closer to the bottom now, and ahead of us was another left bend. Behind us, I heard Dash shout something, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying over wind taking hold of my ears. Only a second later, my head was jolted back as their cart collided with ours. I looked back to see a panicked Dash messing with the control lever.

“OUR BRAKES!” she yelled, “I CAN'T BRAKE!”

The sounds of our wheels scraping the rail grew as Spark pushed hard on our own brakes in an attempt to slow us down. Despite this, the weight of Dash’s cart started accelerating us even faster now. The wind against our faces grew as Spark fiddled with the brakes and turned around. “NOTHING?!” she cried.

We watched as Dash jammed on the lever with no luck. She shook her head nervously. “NO!”

Our carts entered the bend now, and I felt g-forces pulling aggressively at my body. Candy grabbed my arm and pulled as my body slid right, causing me to lean over the edge. The steep mountainside filled my vision as I fought against it, using my right hand to push violently against the cart’s small sidewall. The bend finally straightened out, giving me time to scoot back over, but there was another one just ahead of us. Candy continued clinging to my arm as I squeezed my left hand around her hind leg beside me and my right hand against the cart's sideboard. We helplessly held on as the cart continued accelerating toward it.

“Brace!” Spark shouted before we entered the bend. It only took another second to realize we were going way too fast to make this left turn. As the cart tried to round it, too much force was applied on the right side, and even more powerful g-forces pulled at my body. While it was pulled, there was a squeal as I felt the cart lift. Within mere seconds, the cart quit following the track and continued forward as it tilted. For a second, we bounced around on top of the cart as it derailed, riding over the mountainside.

The cart continued to tilt until we all were simultaneously flung off. Candy and I lost grip of each other as our bodies tumbled down the rocky mountainside, rolling over and over the rough terrain uncontrollably. My body was sent airborne briefly before smacking back against the rough terrain, sending a pang of pain rushing through my side. I continued rolling for another second before getting sent airborne again. At this point, I saw the mountainside form into a cliff we were plummeting off of now. As I fell, I saw trees and a river below us grow in my vision. My heart stopped beating, and for a split second, I realized this could be it.

My body continued to freefall for another couple seconds. The wind grew as I accelerated, and any second now, I would splat to my death. But after a few seconds, a harsh pain filled my leg as I smashed into a cold surface. Instead of blacking out to nothing, I felt my body continue as I splashed down into water. It took me a few seconds to reorient myself as I realized I was underwater. With new pain stabbing at my leg and side, I waved my arms in the cold, dark water.

I had sunk a few body lengths down, so it took me a lot of flailing and kicking in an attempt to resurface. Missing a leg really affected my ability to swim upward. The water grew a tad bit brighter as I approached the surface, and I noticed Candy’s light pink body above me. I was nearly out of breath as my head emerged above the surface next to her. I gulped violently for air as I struggled to keep myself above the water. She was trying to catch her breath as well as she kicked against it too. We had fallen into a river, but the current was much lighter than the Canterlot one.

“Ca-!” I called before water entered my mouth. “-Candy!”

She turned to see me, blinking the water out of her eyes as she caught her breath. “Devan!” She winced as she kicked against the water, looking around us. “Come on!” she shouted, motioning to the side of the river. Despite barely keeping my mouth above the surface, I swiveled around to find Spark. Once I saw her head break the surface, I called her to follow us before I followed Candy, my body quickly exhausting of its energy. My foot struck ground beneath the water as we got closer, and I used it to help hop myself up to the surface. When I was finally free of the water, I collapsed on the grass and closed my eyes to rest for a minute. I heard Candy coughing up water beside me and Spark splashing in the water behind me.

“Fuckin' shit!” I heard Spark exclaim as water splashed beside me. I opened my eyes and looked to my right to see her lie out on the grass next to me. It took a minute of rest before I could push myself up, only to collapse again. I rolled over on my back, unintentionally brushing against Spark’s wet fur. The coldness caused me to scoot back over and give her space.

I looked up to the sky, seeing the cliffside we had just fallen from, as well as the mountain rising high above it. My head beat ferociously as a coughing fit overcame me. I was finally able to sit up, but the fit continued. Spark rolled onto her side beside me and reached her front hoof out to beat on my back as I did. When she did, my cough got deeper until vomit flew out uncontrollably, showering my stump as well as part of her body.

“Guh!! Damn it, ya’ fucker!” Spark hissed, backing away from me. She slowly pushed herself up to a stand and turned around to reenter the water. My coughing fit finally came to a stop as I rubbed the vomit off my lips, leaning on my other hand to stay upright.

“Sorry!”

When Spark got out of the water, she took a few steps away from me before shaking her fur dry. On my other side, Candy struggled to stand up, shaking her right foreleg lightly.

“Candy? Are you alright?”

“I think so. It’s just my hoof.”

I looked down the river and noticed our cart had landed on the other side of the river, half of it submerged. My backpack had smacked the ground next to it, and my baseball bat rolled to the river's edge with the batting end bobbing on the water's surface. Candy’s battle axe had also fallen on the riverside behind my bat. However, I couldn’t see the other cart or any of the others.

“Where are the others?!” I cried, “Did either of you see them?”

“I don’t think they derailed,” Spark said, “I didn’t see them or their cart on the way down.”

I breathed out half a sigh of relief. From what I could tell before we were flung, and judging by how far we fell, there wasn’t much mountain left for them to potentially fly off of. I hoped they coasted down the rest of the way with no problems.

We all took a few minutes to rest and attempt to dry off. It was easier for them, as they just needed to shake the water off their fur. Candy generously tried to help me dry off by brushing her hooves against my clothes to absorb the water, but my shirt, pants, and jacket were soaked. The damp clothes were uncomfortable, but they did feel kind of nice against my burning skin. However, the new pains from tumbling down the mountain and slamming against the water only accentuated my headache and fever. Celestia’s sun was setting as well, and the cold of the growing darkness drove goosebumps along my skin.

“We need to get moving,” Candy said.

“How?” I asked.

“The cart,” Spark mentioned, “It still looks intact from here.”

“But you said-“

“I know ... they’re heavy. Candy and I should still be able to pull it.”

We all looked down at the river. Part of me wanted to stay out of water forever now. But the cart was on the other side, so I hesitantly swam across with Spark’s help. She was also able to assist Candy, who was still having trouble with her front hoof. I sat up on my elbows, still resenting that I was missing a leg.

Candy and Spark got into position behind the cart, getting ready to pull it out of the river. As they readied themselves, I angrily hobbled in between them, sat down behind it, and grabbed onto it to help. After a short debate, the three of us managed to pull the heavy cart out of the water. Once it was out, Spark inspected the wheels and frame thoroughly. It was hard for her to tell if it would sit right on the track, but she told us that it looked promising.

After setting our stuff back on top of the cart, we all got behind it again, pushing the cart along the grassy riverside. Spark mentioned that the river eventually led to the tracks again, and even though it was slightly farther, it beat having to haul the cart over the rough, jagged terrain of the forest along the mountainside. After some pushing, I finally backed off after Candy hissed at me to do so. As they pushed, I found a stick tall enough to use as a makeshift crutch and used it to follow them along. The cart was heavy, forcing them to rest every so often, and by half an hour in, neither of them could seem to catch their breath.

After roughly an hour of pushing, we finally caught sight of the tracks again, with a railroad bridge running over the river we were following. With a final burst of energy, the mares shoved the cart beside the tracks and took a moment to rest. I glanced both ways down the track as the others carefully set the heavy cart back on it. However, there was no sign of the other cart. The track we had come across was relatively straight, so I was able to see far. I chalked it up to the darkness of the night until I caught sight of something strange. To our left, the distant tunnel that led up the first portion of the mountain had a weird grey tint to it.

“Do y’all see that?” I asked them after they finished setting the cart down. Candy trotted beside me and looked.

“See what? The grey reflection?”

“Yes! What is that?”

The cart’s engine started abruptly. I turned to see Spark messing with the control lever, inspecting it to make sure it was still in good condition. She turned back to us. “Why don’t we go see for ourselves?”

Candy helped me climb back onto the cart. Once we were settled again, Spark slowly reversed us down the track. As she did, I dug into my backpack and grabbed my flashlight. After observing it briefly, I flipped the switch to turn it on. Thankfully it did, so I pointed it behind us to see what the grey reflection was. As we neared the tunnel entrance, it became clearer what we were seeing.

Rocks.

Large gray rocks covered almost all of the entrance to the tunnel, piling outward and filling in the hole in the mountain as if nature was taking itself back.

I wanted to cuss, but I was in a state of ... shock? panic? I did not know how to react to this as it was not clear what it meant. I could not recall this section of track, as I had not visited Manehatten often during my stay. However, if it was like the other entrances in the mountain, it meant that Dash's cart had careened at a downward slope straight toward this blockage.

"no ..." I whimpered.

Spark did not share my sudden grief. Instead, she jumped off the cart and started climbing the base of the rocks.

"Spark!" Candy yelled, "What in Equestria are you doing? You might hurt yourself!"

Spark turned back to us before pointing at what looked like a hole in the upper left corner of the blockage. "There's a hole! I might be able to see inside!"

Candy looked back at me. "Devan, stay here. You probably shouldn't be looking anyway ... just in case ..." She grabbed the flashlight from my hand, hopped off the cart, and followed Spark up the pile of rocks. I was still in denial, not wanting to think about what could have happened to the others. As my breathing intensified, Spark shouted names through the hole.

"Rainbow! Cloud! Fluttershy!"

I assumed she was calling out to see if they were in there until she said, "Hey! Up here!"

There was a muffled yell from inside that perked my ears. Spark yelled back. "Are you alright?!"

"Are they in there?!" I shouted at Candy. Spark had taken her flashlight and was pointing it through the hole she was yelling through. Candy was trying to peek through the hole, but there was hardly enough room for one pony.

Instead, Spark turned and answered, "They are!"

My heart accelerated as I threw my leg off the side of the cart and stuck my stick in the ground. Using it to stand up, I hobbled just in front of the stone blockage. I realized the stick would cause me more problems than it was worth, so I tossed it back in front of the cart and instead chose to start half-climbing up the rocks with my hands and one good leg. Candy noticed me as I started climbing the base of the rocks and backtracked to meet me.

"Devan, stop it! You stubborn, crippled fuck, you're going to get yourself hurt!"

She set her foreleg against my shoulder to hold me back.

"STOP!" I exclaimed, "I need to see them!"

"We've got it. Just go back to the cart."

"No!"

"DEVAN! Please. Your body is far too sick to be doing this. I don't want your fever to kill you now. We still have a ways to go until we get to Manehatten."

I gazed into her blue eyes, struggling to fight my stubbornness as she spoke again.

"Please."

My heart was racing still, not showing any signs of slowing. The throbbing in my head was becoming prevalent again. I breathed deeply, trying to overcome my symptoms, but the fever was returning back to its severity. Maybe she was right. My stubborn ass was going to get me killed if I did not start being careful.

"Fine ... maybe you're right ..."

"Thank you. Let me help you," Candy replied. She assisted me back onto the cart and laid me down, allowing me to see the newly dark sky and Luna's bright stars. By the time I was settled again, Spark came down from the rocks.

"They're okay," she reported, "The cart smacked into the rocks, so they are a bit shaken up. But none of them have any massive injuries."

I looked back at them, growing nauseous from my ambitious adventure up the few small rocks. "How are they going to get out?"

"The rocks are stuck in there tight. I couldn't get 'em to budge. They said they'll make their way back up soon as they feel better. It might take 'em a while though ... and their cart is probably done for. They won't be able to pull that heavy piece of crap up the slope anyway. Even if they do, the front end is smashed up good ... and its brakes failed. We have ta somehow fit everybody on this cart."

"Spark," Candy said, gesturing to me with her hoof. "I don't know if we can wait for them to go around ..."

Spark frowned briefly before jumping on the cart beside me to feel my forehead herself. Her worried expression was enough to tell me I was really in bad shape. I continued deep breathing, as it was my only defense at the moment.

"Should we really leave without 'em?" Spark asked.

I shook my head slowly to prevent my head from pounding any fiercer.

"Devan," Candy said, "We will let them know first, but I think we have to ..."

I cussed to myself after realizing she might have a point. After not really being given a choice by the two mares, Spark hopped off again to discuss with the others trapped inside. She came back down a minute later and explained their talk. The others, especially Flutters, agreed with them: Spark and Candy needed to take me to the clinic now. Dash's group would make their way out and instead head back to Ponyville.

The cart accelerated away from the mountain a minute later. I rocked on top of it, struggling to manage my growing emotions. I hoped that the others would be alright, but leaving them at a time like this sent fear and bad thoughts rushing through me. I shook them away with the rocking of the train cart as it made its way along the tracks, slowly drifting to sleep beside Candy.

Day Gone Bye

— Trixie —

Trixie gazed out of the third-story window. Celestia’s sun was making its way down as the windows across the street reflected its orange glare. Below her, the train station horde was very slowly dispersing. She had hoped most, if not all, of them would have cleared out by now so they could make their way down the street and check for trains. However, she noticed from time to time that a few stragglers would appear and join in the fuss. The city seemed to be an endless trap of zombie ponies, and the sooner they could leave, the better.

She looked down the street towards the train station. It sat elegantly in the center of the block, hosting a wide flight of stairs out front. She took note of two bodies laying on them, cringing as she saw what looked like an intestine laying beside one. Since yesterday, and especially overnight, the city had gone from terrible — to unbelievably terrible — to outright collapse.

She looked back inside at Misty. That was the name of the mare who had done them wrong. She was laid out, asleep, next to the couch the others had dragged into the room. She was hogtied using the rope of sheets she had tried to escape with. Trixie, Vinyl, and Split had all worked together to tie her up after Trixie hit her with the freeze spell, but they struggled to figure out what to do with her. The mare persisted that they let her go, but the group had enough reason to keep her tied up for their own safety. For the past twenty-four hours, they took turns keeping an eye on her until they could come up with a new plan.

Yesterday, after debating whether to take their chances of an escape, they were forced to stay the night when Trixie fell ill. While her illness intensified through the day, Split and Vinyl swept through the apartment building. They worked together to barricade the staircase after looting the second floor, deeming the floor itself a threat as zombie ponies continued trying to get through the window they had busted. The third and last floor they were settled in now had three other apartments, two to each side of the hallway. The one across from theirs was completely empty, and the other two had been abandoned. Despite this, Split and Vinyl managed to stock up on food and supplies. Importantly, they had found antibiotics Trixie could use to fight her supposed infection.

Fortunately for them, Vinyl lost the symptoms of the zombie illness. Split, so far, did not show any symptoms either. But for Trixie, the illness continued along with symptoms from other illnesses. All together yesterday, she had numbing waves travel through her body, an on-and-off headache, waves of nausea, what felt like a low-grade fever, and bouts of coughing. After taking the antibiotics the others had found, she was feeling a lot better this evening despite continued symptoms.

Not only was she feeling better, but her magic still had not faded. Vinyl's magic was practically depleted, and the poor unicorn could barely even pick up a piece of paper with it. Even Misty told them about the few other living unicorns she had come across yesterday, describing that the fading of magic was a widespread problem. From what it looked like, nopony had magic anymore, except for Trixie. As they were pondering yesterday, she had a sudden realization when thinking about her hospital adventure.

The beakers ...

From the science lab! She remembered the strange lab, and the beakers on the table she had fallen on. She remembered the liquids from them spilling all over her, soaking into her, and the very odd feeling she felt in her horn when they did. Her body had completely absorbed them by the time she woke up from passing out. This worried her still, but the liquids causing her to retain her magic was nothing short of a miracle. The group wondered what was in the liquids, which caused them to ponder the idea of going back to the hospital to research.

There were reasons against this, however. It was very risky. The city had fallen swiftly over the past day, and backtracking the few blocks away from the train station would prove even riskier than yesterday. Even without the mob outside, they could not guarantee their safety rushing back. If they did get trapped again, it would be even harder to escape. And if they did find the liquids, then what? None of them were well-versed in medicine or medical science, so any liquids they found would seem foreign. It also wasn't proved if the liquids were related to a cure, as Trixie had still fallen ill to the virus.

Not long ago, she sat down with Vinyl 1-on-1 to discuss their plans. During their talk, they agreed that they still needed to flee the city, and heading to Canterlot was probably their best bet. The falling city alone created enough incentive to flee, and Trixie retaining her magic only accentuated this. She hoped she could find Princess Celestia in Canterlot and get the opportunity to talk with her. Hopefully, the princess would be able to guide her and use her to fix the disaster through some kind of cure. If there was a spell that could cure these zombie ponies, Trixie would stop at nothing to learn it and spread it through Equestria. She started thinking that maybe she was the one to stop this thing. Maybe the intense studying she had been doing had a purpose, and she was the chosen one.

She gazed outside again, wondering if she was well enough to fight through the mob. Her sightseeing was interrupted by Vinyl, who had been ‘clearing’ the rest of the apartment with Split just a minute ago.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I am,” Trixie protested.

Vinyl observed her standing up against the window on two legs. Trixie set her forelegs down and looked around inconspicuously as she walked up beside her. “How’s it looking?”

“Like shit.”

She did not need to describe it. Vinyl looked below at the busy street mob, realizing it had not cleared much since yesterday. She sighed at the dismal view before turning back to her. “Well, we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so why don’t you lay down?”

“I feel fine,” Trixie scoffed. Like clockwork, she suddenly burst into a coughing fit.

“See?” Vinyl shot back, “Get back in bed. The station will still be there when you feel better.”

Vinyl grabbed her shoulder and tried to pull her from the window, but Trixie retaliated. “No! The station-“ she started, interrupted by more coughing, “-the station will be there, but what about the train?”

“We don’t even know if the train is still in there! Come on, Trix, we gotta plan this right.”

She averted her eyes to look out the window again. “Listen … I will rest, okay? Just for a little bit though. We need to get a move on.”

“And how soon are you thinking, exactly?”

“We can go for it tonight.”

“Pssht,” Vinyl spat, “By the looks of you, you won’t be able to get downstairs.”

Trixie was quickly losing the little bit of patience she was trying to hold onto. She warmed up a shove spell but hesitated, ultimately canceling it. Vinyl noticed the gesture.

“Come on, Trix. Don’t be a tyrant. We’re in this together. I just want what is best for you.”

“I know, I know ... sorry.”

“Oh hey, before I forget, I got you something,” Vinyl replied, walking off to a bag by the bedroom door. Trixie watched her pull out a dark chocolate candy bar, her favorite kind. She had mentioned it back at the hospital and was flattered that Vinyl remembered. She happily took the bar from her.

“So, did you find this when sneaking out with Split last night?”

Trixie grinned as Vinyl’s cheeks burned bright red. Clearly, Vinyl wasn’t aware she had been caught.

“N- no! I mean … yes … we were scavenging …”

“Uh-huh,” Trixie replied sarcastically, “Anyway, thank you for this. I love these things.”

“You’re welcome.” Vinyl laughed nervously, turning to see Misty. The gray pony was moving around in her sleep now. She was likely interrupted from her rest by the two raising their voices. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and raised her head to look at them. She noticed their blank stares.

“What?” she hissed.

Vinyl turned back to Trixie to avoid conflict as the two had not gotten along at all the past day. Trixie was not a fan of the mare either, but she could tolerate her a lot more than her or Split. From the few small conversations they had with the mare, she seemed aggressive and moody. Whatever her problem was, she was not very comforting to talk to, especially now.

“Musical bitch,” the mare jeered, before curling up with her tied legs again.

Vinyl turned to confront her, but Trixie set a hoof on her shoulder. “Let me try to talk to her,” she whispered in her ear. Vinyl returned an unapproving face, seemingly disgusted by the idea. Eventually, she reluctantly nodded and backed off.

“Hey,” Trixie said, stepping up beside the mare. This was only the second time Trixie had tried talking with her one on one, and the first time only lasted a couple of sentences. She hoped for more this time, but the mare ignored her. Agitated by her rudeness, Trixie leaned in close to Misty’s ear. “I said hey.”

The mare slowly turned, annoyed by Trixie’s direct approach. She leaned in close enough for their foreheads to almost touch. “Go away.”

“What is your problem?” Trixie asked.

“Are you serious? Look at me. You blind or somethin? If you wanna fix the problem, let me fucking go.”

“Go where? You want us to throw you to the mob?”

“No, but I can distract them. I could get you morons out of here too.”

“Oh, how nice of you,” Trixie scoffed, “Especially after practically feeding us to them.”

“I didn’t WANT to. I already TOLD you.”

The mare had described in detail why she did what she did yesterday. After she was trapped in her apartment by stragglers of the nearby train station mob, she planned the distraction she used in the alley. Originally, she did not expect Trixie and them to be there, but she decided they would only help distract the mob. This desperation was caused by worry about her sister, who had the zombie illness. The night before the outbreak, Misty helped her get to the hospital. They admitted her for an overnight stay, and Misty believed she was still trapped there. While Trixie and Vinyl insisted the hospital was not safe, the mare refused to abandon her plan to go and check it.

“Look, we will let you go. But not now. Once it's safe, we will go our separate ways.”

“Like shit!” Vinyl objected, “How do we know the bitch won’t just follow us? Once it's safe, we will loosen her ties and get out of here. That’s it.”

“Vinyl, please. There are three of us. We can hold onto our knives and go after she leaves.”

Vinyl was growing frustrated. She shook her head. “We will talk this over once we are getting ready to leave. By the looks of it, that isn’t anytime soon.”

Trixie started to argue back until another coughing fit interrupted her. She turned her back to them in an attempt not to spread whatever illnesses she was battling. After the fit would not stop, Vinyl stepped up and beat on her back with her hoof. It finally ended a few seconds later.

“Come on, Trix. You need to rest.”

“I know. But listen.” Trixie turned to Vinyl. “It’s what? 6, 7? I’ll go to sleep now if you promise to wake me up around 10.”

“What the fuck for?” Vinyl retaliated.

“You saw it last night. The mob nearly halved before that whole … incident … this morning.”

The morning incident Trixie was describing was them being awoken by a mare’s shouts right before Celestia’s sun rose. Split and Vinyl had gone to investigate the ruckus while Trixie annoyingly stayed back. The screams stopped, and when the two returned, they told her it was a mare in the alleyway. She had fallen victim to the mob and returned it to the size it was when they first broke in here.

“So? Even if the mob halves again, there are still too many. We might as well wait until tomorrow morning,” Vinyl pressed.

“No. We can use the dark of the night to get to the station.”

“Trix,” she huffed, “Gah- You are one stubborn ass mare, you know that?”

“I am aware.”

“Fine then. I will wake you up around 10. We can assess and then go back to bed.”

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Trixie replied, heading back to the room’s twin-sized bed. Easing onto the comfortable mattress, Trixie slowly fell into whatever anxiety-riddled sleep she could manage.

Midnight Train

— Trixie —

Trixie was awoken when somepony shook her. She slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the dark room. Expecting to see Vinyl’s bright white face, she was surprised to see Misty's above her. Before she could scream out, the gray mare shoved her hoof against Trixie’s snout, covering up her mouth. She looked over at the couch on the other side of the room to see Vinyl passed out on top of Split.

“Shhhhh,” Misty whispered, “I’m not here to hurt you.”

The mare hesitated before raising her hoof slightly, allowing her to speak.

“What are you doing??” Trixie whispered, “If they wake up, they might actually kill you.”

“Doubt they can. But, they won’t wake up ... right??” Misty insisted, pressing her face close to hers to intimidate her. Trixie ignored the gesture, knowing she could easily overpower her using magic, as long as the mare didn’t retaliate by strangling her horn with enough pressure to block it. If she did, well, Trixie still had a mouth.

“What do you want?” Trixie asked.

“Come with me. I’m going to make a break for it.”

“There’s no way you'll make it.”

“I will. The mob outside is smaller now. I just need to use the alley to distract them and we are golden.”

“I-” Trixie started, glancing back over at Vinyl. “I can’t leave them. They mean too much to me now.”

“Oh come on. They are holding you back. They want to just stay here, meandering around this apartment floor until the world magically recovers. I know you don’t want that, and neither do I. Plus,” she said, using her hoof to slowly rub Trixie’s horn, making her uncomfortable. “You still have magic. You can help me save my sister. I know you think that’s a bad idea, but I will help you. Come on, what do you say?”

Despite having a bit of jealousy over Vinyl and Split's sudden relationship, she was not mutually interested in Misty's flirtatious gestures. While she disagreed with Vinyl on a lot of things, she could not abandon her in this. They had grown a friendship, and she did not take it for granted. Besides, she had much more important things to do than mess around in this dangerous city trying to save other ponies.

“No. Just go. I won’t say anything.”

The mare frowned, but eventually backed away from her. “Fine. You’re missing your chance though.”

“So be it. Good luck.”

Misty stared at her for a solid bit of time. “Thank you. I hope you get through to these idiots,” she said, picking up the rope of sheets in her mouth and sneaking out of the room. Trixie tried listening in for the next few minutes, but she only managed to hear a distant glass breaking before silence filled the room again. She looked back at Split and Vinyl, who were unphased by it. She waited another couple of minutes before throwing her hind legs over the side of the bed.

“VINYL!” she shouted. The unicorn jolted, nearly falling off the couch as she sat up next to Split.

“Fuck me! I’m awake!” Vinyl replied, waking him up in the process.

“Where’s Misty?!” Trixie yelled, pointing to where she used to be tied up.

“Shit!” Vinyl exclaimed, leaping off the couch and quickly scanning the rest of the bedroom. When it was clear Misty was not with them anymore, both she and Split ran out of the bedroom door to find her. Trixie quietly smiled to herself as she eased out of bed and trotted up to the window.

The outside was dark, as the power in the city had fully gone out last night, but she could vaguely see the streets thanks to Luna’s moonlight. Below her, only a few zombie ponies were moseying around. She looked down the street toward the station, but it looked barren now. Looking down the other side of the street, she faintly noticed the outline of a pony galloping away. A growing mob spilled out of the alley behind her, starting to give chase. She realized the pony was Misty. She actually did escape, also taking the mob with her. Trixie hoped for her sake that she made it to the hospital safely, but she remained skeptical. Nonetheless, she grabbed her saddlebags from against the wall and slung them over her shoulders when Vinyl came rushing in.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Look outside,” Trixie replied, pointing at the window. “The mob is almost gone. Now is our chance!”

Vinyl trotted up to the window to see what she was referring to. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit indeed. Let’s grab our stuff and go.”

Vinyl hesitated, but Trixie saw the realization in her eyes. There was no better time than now to make their escape. She hoped that a train would still be there. While she knew nothing about operating trains, Vinyl did have a small bit of knowledge. That was enough to pursue it at a time as desperate as this. Vinyl also mentioned that, from what she knew, conductors sometimes left manuals in the train engines about how to operate them. So even if there was an abandoned train, they were still good to go.

The two unicorns rushed out of the room after Vinyl grabbed her own saddlebags. They met with Split in the hallway and waited for him to get his things after Vinyl described the situation. The three ponies continued to the stairway, which was still mostly barricaded with furniture. Vinyl used a flashlight she had found to illuminate the mess, noticing the small gap above the barricade that Misty must have used to escape. One by one they crawled through it, careful not to shift any of the furniture. They slowly made their way down to the second floor, where Trixie noticed the broken window at the end of the hallway.

Like the third floor, this one also had 4 apartments with 2 on either side. The first one on the left was the one they had busted into from the alley. The group galloped down the short hallway before approaching the window Misty had broken. Attached to the frame was the makeshift rope, still dangling to the ground below. Luna’s moonlight did not reveal many zombie ponies on the street below.

“Who’s first?” Trixie asked.

“I’ll go,” Split replied, easing his bigger body through the window. Once he was through, he grabbed the rope and slowly rappelled himself down. He was on the once-busy street now, so the two mares quickly made their way down as well.

As they galloped down the street, Trixie only had to use one freeze spell on a zombie pony who got too close to them. There were more of them down either side of the street, but the darkness seemed to be working in their favor. Trixie wondered just how powerful these ponies’ eyesights were, given the typical glazed-over eyes she saw in all of them. Regardless, the ponies seemed to have a harder time seeing them as they trotted through the shadows of the tall buildings above.

This helped them immensely as they made it to the train station, galloping past the two corpses as they rushed up the stairs. The doors of the station sat in the darkness in front of them. As they neared the top of the stairs, Trixie fired a simple quick-charge spell to bust one of the front doors open. They came to a stop when it wouldn't budge. Trixie annoyingly charged a more powerful blast spell and shot it again. Despite the blast hitting the door dead-center, it still wouldn’t budge. The group looked around nervously for any zombie ponies who may have heard it, but none of the visible ones had.

“Shit,” Vinyl cursed, pulling out her flashlight again. She flicked it on and shined it on the doors. While they were opaque, showing just their green wooden exterior, they noticed the door Trixie had shot was slightly ajar now, with a slight crack revealing a dark interior. Split tried bucking it open, but it wouldn't budge any farther. He glanced back at Trixie.

“Hit it again maybe?” he suggested.

“I don’t think that will have a big effect,” Vinyl replied.

“Can’t she just make an even bigger blast?” he asked.

“That would be even noisier. Besides, that would take too much energy from her. What if there are zombie ponies inside? She needs to conserve her mana, especially since she hasn't fully recovered yet. Look at her, those spells alone exhausted her.”

Trixie looked up, trying to hide her quickened breaths. “Nuh-uh.”

“Uh-huh. We need to find another way in,” Vinyl stated.

The three of them looked around the dark entrance. Vinyl carefully used her flashlight to illuminate the sidewalk without drawing attention from nearby zombie ponies. Near the bottom of the stairs, where the sidewalk met the road, laid a knocked-over green street lamp. Somehow, it had cracked near its base, leaving a roughly three to four pony-length metal pole. At the end of it, the three glass domes covering the lightbulbs inside had smashed open. The lightbulbs inside were busted as well, with just sharp glass shards remaining.

“There,” Vinyl said, “We can use that to bust the door down. Medieval style.”

"Won't that make a lot of noise too?" Split asked.

"You got a better idea?"

The stallion shrugged, eventually accepting her idea and following them down the steps to pick it up. The three of them coordinated their lift, with Split holding the top end just beneath the lights and the mares holding onto either side of the base. After Vinyl counted down, Trixie used a bit of her magic to help them lift the heavy light pole up the stairs, struggling to ignore the corpse with its guts pulled out beside her.

As they rushed forward, the pole collided violently with the ajar door. They were all knocked back in return, dropping the pole, but their force was strong enough to wedge the door open enough for a pony to fit in. Vinyl stood up and took the lead, using her flashlight to check the inside. They did not have much time to mosey around, as a few zombie ponies on the street had heard the commotion and were now trotting to come and join them. Knowing this, Vinyl hurried inside and waved the others in when she knew it was relatively safe.

Inside, the tall walls of the elegant station towered over them. The front desk and its red queue ropes sat empty with most of the poles to the queue knocked over. The benches on either side of the large room also hosted nopony. Starting to feel a wave of pessimism, Trixie made her way past Vinyl and started trotting toward the other end of the building where the tracks were.

“Trixie, wait up!” Vinyl huffed, galloping to catch up to the stubborn mare. As they approached the doors to the tracks outside, she shone her flashlight on the windows beside them. The light from her flashlight was too bright, reflecting off its light and preventing them from seeing out. Therefore, Trixie opened the door slowly, listening for any sounds on the station platform. There were only a few distant groans.

She eased her way through the door, followed by Vinyl. When Vinyl was through, she lifted her flashlight and shone it down the platform. On the set of train tracks closest to them, a typical passenger train sat idle. There seemed to be nopony on it as she turned the light toward the front of the train where the groans were coming from. Outside of the train’s engine, three zombie ponies were huddled close together, taking turns beating on the window. They were so focused on whatever was inside that they ignored Vinyl’s flashlight.

“Conductor?” Split whispered.

“That would be miraculous,” Trixie commented, slowly moving towards the zombie ponies. She took note of the platform’s layout, noticing an open door behind them. She also noticed a fire extinguisher against the wall beside it and got an idea. “Hang on,” she told the others, “I’m going to distract them.”

After moving a bit closer in order to conserve her magic energy, she used her magic to ease the door open fully and waited for a few seconds. If anypony happened to be in the room, she wanted to give them reasonable forewarning before absolutely screwing them over. There was no response in return, so she used her magic to pull out the fire extinguisher. Hovering it in front of the door, she shook it aggressively before pulling the nozzle out and bashing it against the ground. This caused the desired effect of an uncontrollable spray, and the screeching sound of water rushing out caught the attention of all three zombie ponies. She smiled as the ponies turned and trotted toward the extinguisher, which she held onto despite the nozzle flailing around on the floor. Once they were close enough, she tossed it inside. One by one, the dopey ponies ran in, followed by Trixie slamming the door shut on them.

“Bravo!” Split called from behind.

Before the group could make it inside the train engine, a frenzied conductor hopped out of it. “Oh thank you! Thank you! I’ve been stuck in there for too long.”

“Stuck?” Vinyl asked, shining the light on him. His orange coat of fur around his vest and brown mane peeking underneath his conductor hat showed a few blood splotches, but from what they could tell, he looked normal. He squinted his eyes and cocked his head in return.

“Yes. I got trapped by them while everypony else escaped.”

“Escaped?” Split asked.

“They used the tracks.” The conductor pointed ahead of the train. “I was about to follow them but got cornered in my train engine.”

“Who was with you?” Vinyl continued the interrogation.

“Shit, a lot of ponies. Some came and left but I was with a large group when we were ambushed.”

“How long ago was that?” Trixie added.

“It’s been a while.” The conductor looked up at the analog clock hanging up high on the station’s wall, which read a few minutes past 11. Vinyl shined her light on it so he could see. “Thank you. Yes, it’s been quite a while. I’ve been trapped since this afternoon.”

Vinyl started asking another question before the conductor stopped her. “Hey, give me a minute, will you? I need to pee really damn bad. Just wait here.”

The group waited briefly as the Vinyl gave him his flashlight so he could do his business in the station’s bathroom. He returned with a look of relief on his face before hoofing the light back to Vinyl. “Thanks. What were you going to ask?”

“So, why did you not take the train?” Vinyl asked him.

“I was told to leave the train here by Celestia herself, yesterday morning. Haven’t heard from her since. I hope she’s alright, given the circumstances.”

The group exchanged nervous glances, trying to figure out why Celestia would want to keep the train here, in this mess. Trixie grew nervous at the implications of this. Was something awry in Canterlot? She felt a stronger urge to get a move on to see for herself.

"She really told you to leave the train? Did she explain why?" Trixie asked.

"I think it was a lockdown effort. Probably didn't want these ... things ... to spread to other cities."

"Well, we aren't those things. Can you take us to Canterlot?"

"No can do," the conductor answered.

Before Trixie could respond, Vinyl butted in.

"Hang on. You don't understand. My friend here," she said, setting a hoof on her shoulder. "She still has her magic, due to ... an incident. Nopony else we have seen does."

The conductor turned to Trixie and eyed her horn briefly. “Well, aren’t you lucky?”

"I am. So, let's go. The city is collapsing."

“She’s right,” Vinyl added, “Let’s all get on your train and get outta here while we have the chance. I’m sure Celestia will understand when we get there.”

“I can't do that,” the conductor stated.

“... And why is that?” Vinyl asked.

“My son is out there. I need to find him. Besides, I can’t disobey orders from the princess.”

“You don’t understand,” Vinyl pressed, “It’s a shitshow out there. You will die looking for him.”

“Then I will take my chances.”

"Bro," Split joined in, "Don't. It's not worth it."

"It's my son. I have to."

“NO!” Trixie retaliated, “Please. We need you. Your son might be fine. What part of town is he in?”

“He’s not fine. He got the illness a few days ago. He’s at the hospital now.”

Trixie winced before she could stop herself. The conductor noticed the gesture. “What?”

Split cut in, “Your son is dead, bro. I’m sorry.”

“Split!” Vinyl shouted, slapping the stallion. “You moron!”

She turned back to the conductor. “I’m sorry. Don't mind him, he's just an idiot. As my other friend said, your son might be alright. The hospital had some of them but it wasn’t as bad as the rest of the city.”

Trixie exchanged a glance with Vinyl and went along with her lie. “Yes, they were barricading the hospital when we left there. I’m guessing your son is still in there.”

“Then why'd you leave? I don't believe either of you. I need to see him myself.”

“You don’t. Don’t risk your life if you don’t have to. Getting to Canterlot is much more important right now, for everypony involved. I need to see Celestia.”

“Why?”

“My magic! Have you not been listening? She could have a cure, or somepony important there might. I need to use this magic to our advantage while I still have it.”

“I don't care. The answer is no,” the conductor replied, turning toward the door as he walked past them.

“Wait!” Vinyl called, “is there a manual in there at least?”

The conductor turned his head and talked over his shoulder. “Unfortunately, no. I told those idiots to print a new copy but they never got to it. Sorry.”

Both Trixie and Vinyl ran up to his sides as he started walking off again. “Just wait!” Vinyl exclaimed, “Can you tell me how to start it or something? Please?”

“No, it’s too complicated. I need to go,” he replied, continued his walk toward the station doors. Trixie trotted forward and stood in his way.

“Move. I’m not taking you to Canterlot.”

“You are.”

Trixie lit up her horn, causing the conductor to halt. He was startled as she brightened it, causing him to back up a few paces. “No!” he protested, “Don’t! Just get out of my way! You can find another damn way to get there.”

"We found our way," she said, warming up a shove spell.

"No!"

Trixie shot him with the powerful shove spell, sending him to the ground beside Vinyl.

“It will only get worse for you, believe me. I can do so, so much more. Don’t make me hurt you.”

The conductor leaned on his foreleg, cautious of standing back up as he glared back at her.

“You fucking monster! What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing!! Just take us to Canterlot! NOW!” she exclaimed, “You can come back for your kid after. He will still be here.”

He stood up, getting ready to protest, until she lit her horn up again, causing him to flinch.

“Fucks sake! Fine … fine! You crazy bitch!”

They followed him back to his train. Trixie stood at the doorway of the train engine, making sure the only thing he was doing was getting the train started. The now shaky stallion was pulling levers and checking gauges on his dashboard. The train fired up, taking a few minutes to ‘warm up’ by his description. Eventually, they started to accelerate slowly. The conductor looked back at her once they were getting up to speed.

“There. Happy now?”

“I am. Even if you aren’t, this is good for your son too. Even if he was somehow bit and is one of them now, I may have the ability to change him back. I get it, he’s your son, but this is leagues more important right now.”

“Honestly ... screw you,” he hissed, sighing as she checked his gauges.

“Keep talking.”

Trixie walked up beside the conductor to see what he saw. The start of the train ride was pretty rough, as the conductor had to cross many streets. Every so often, a zombie pony would wander onto the track in front of them. Trixie was baffled to see a few of the zombie ponies who noticed them scurry out of the train’s path. She was noticing more and more that these zombie ponies were not the dumb, brain-eating, walking corpses one would find in a book of fiction. At times, these were some eerily smart ponies. It was becoming clearer to her how the illness had practically destroyed the city in such a short period of time.

It took them a few minutes to get out of downtown Manehatten, and as they did, the conductor continued upping their speed. Trixie was happy to see the skyscrapers turn into smaller shops, then into more spread-out buildings as yards and areas of forest took over the bustling streets. As it did, the conductor pushed their speed over the normal for usual rides. Trixie continued looking out the engine’s side window, not aware of the threat looming behind her.

In a quick second, her head was shoved violently against the glass she was looking out of. Pain seared through her forehead as she fell below the window. Before she could retaliate, the conductor grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up quickly. She blinked her eyes, noticing the crack that had formed where her face met the window. Again, her head was sent forward, before she could react. This time, the glass shattered, sending her head out of the window. Mustering up all the strength she could, she used her forelegs to push against the wall below the window. When she realized the conductor behind her was grabbing onto her hind legs, she pulled her head back inside with the help of her forelegs and purposefully dropped herself to the floor. Her head pounded as she squirmed, kicking her hind legs hard enough to stall the conductor. Eventually, he gave up on grabbing them and instead got on top of her, using his hooves to grab and squeeze her horn.

“You will not stop me from seeing my boy!” he yelled.

“Stop!” Trixie pleaded, attempting to warm up a spell. His strong hoofhold prevented her from trying to cast even the most minor spells, so she continued to squirm.

The conductor then wrapped his hind legs around her hips, pushing close as he rolled her on top of him. Trixie did not know how to fight, much less this kind of wrestling. Without her magic, she was helpless as the conductor used his powerful hind legs to kick her backward. She was sent tumbling through the engine’s open door, desperately reaching out and grabbing onto the edge of the doorway of the train car behind it, while also wrapping one of her hind legs around the engine's door to prevent falling between them. Her body hung down as her belly vibrated on top of the coupling connecting the cars below. The fast-moving ground filled her peripheral vision as she struggled to hold herself above the coupling. She caught glimpse of Vinyl through the open door of the next car, who rushed to the edge to help.

Without speaking, Vinyl reached out her hoof and grabbed Trixie by the neck. She pulled it up, attempting to help her not fall through the cracks. The conductor grabbed hold of Trixie’s other hind leg, despite her frantically kicking it. He then pushed it out of the car as she struggled to keep her other hind leg inside for support. As Vinyl and the conductor fought for her, Trixie saw a large flash of dark blue whiz above her, right before the grip of her hind leg was released. She used this opportunity to push herself up on the coupling, and with Vinyl’s help, pull herself into the other train car. She promptly collapsed to the floor and rolled over to see Split now wrestling with the conductor. The two of them tussled, slamming each other against the walls of the engine. Right as Vinyl prepared to rush in to help him, the two stallions crashed against the side of the engine with the broken window, causing the conductor's body to fly out.

She and Vinyl peered through the doorways at Split, who slowly came down from his adrenaline high. The stallion took a moment to catch his breaths, gazing out the broken window before rushing up to it to look outside.

After the mares took a moment to ground themselves, Vinyl turned back to her. Trixie rubbed her head as it pounded furiously, feeling a migraine quickly erupting inside.

“Trix ... shit, are you alright?” Vinyl asked, standing over to inspect her.

Trixie groaned for a moment. “Aah ... I ... I think so ... ”

“You little rockstar. Let me get you some pain reliever.”

Vinyl threw off her saddlebags and dug into them as a frazzled Split made his way into the train car with them.

“Trix! Shit, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine …” she answered, still rubbing her head.

“I … I’m sorry you guys … I tried to stop him, but … I didn’t mean for him to fly out! I … I …”

“Babe …” Vinyl replied, raising her hoof. “It’s alright. Just go back in there and pull the emergency lever if we look like we’re gonna run into something. I’ll be there in a sec.”

The stallion’s nervousness subsided as he smiled. “Thank you.”

He made his way back to the engine as Vinyl gave her the pain relievers and laid her back on the car’s floor. She thanked her, taking some deep breaths to slow her rapid heart rate. Despite her raging new headache, she felt okay overall. Vinyl still checked her over thoroughly.

“I’m sorry that happened, Trix. We shouldn't have trusted him. Don’t worry, though. I can try to operate the train from here … it was mostly starting it up that I was unsure of. I’ll get Split to come and lie you down on one of the seats.”

“Thank you,” Trixie replied.

Vinyl made her way to the engine, and soon, they would be out of this cursed city, and instead, arriving at Canterlot's pearly gates.

Sweet Dreams

— Devan —

The subtle wind from the cart ride as well as the sound of the cart traveling along the tracks stopped. The pitch black offered by sleep arrived as I finally calmed down enough to fall into it. The quiet, mysteriously natural time travel was suddenly interrupted as I appeared somewhere else. As in most dreams, I did not need to open my eyes. I just appeared, seemingly snapping out of a dazed state and regaining a lost consciousness.

I appeared in a dark train car and immediately noticed the eerily real feeling not typical of my normal dreams. Beneath me, my stump laid on the seat. Even the dream world could not provide me with a replacement. I raised my hands out in front of me, moving my fingers back and forth. The very real feeling confused my brain into thinking I had somehow woken up here. I shook off the thought, as it did not make any sense.

The train car was dark and empty. I was sitting on one of the seats toward the middle of the car. I turned to look outside the train's window beside me, where the dark forest was steadily moving by. The passing grass and green of the forest were slightly lit by moonlight, and I was lost in a daze for a moment by the calming vision. My hypnosis was interrupted when I noticed a pony approaching by the side of the tracks. As the pony passed by, slowly walking on the stretch of grass in between the tracks and forest, I focused on them. I then realized when I saw its face that it was a zombie mare, slowly trotting along. I watched her pass by until I could not see her anymore.

“Devan,” a familiar mare’s voice called out.

Startled, I turned back to see Princess Luna sitting on the seat across from me. Her star-speckled mane laid flatter than it usually did, missing the typical flow pattern it followed. Other differences from her normal appearance screamed out the moment I saw her. On one of her cheeks was a wide red scratch mark. The mark looked odd, as no blood flowed from it despite looking deep enough to do so. One of her ears was also pointed down, still attached but hanging alongside her other cheek. The last difference was her foreleg, which was twisted inward near the bottom by her hoof. She carried a tired expression through bags under her otherwise bright blue eyes.

“Luna!! What happened to you?!” I cried. I scooted forward in the seat, reaching out to grab her shoulder. But as I did, my hand phased through her body.

“Devan … that’s not how dreams work.”

I pulled my hand back and defeatedly scooted back on the bench. The princess’s appearance worried me greatly, but it seemed there was nothing I could do about it. Not in this dream, at least.

“Are you okay??” I asked.

“I … could be better, but this isn’t about me.”

“What’s this about?”

“Devan …” the princess said, sighing deeply, “I have a very important decision for you to make.”

Her serious tone carried a lot of weight with it. I noticed her eying my missing leg, but she didn't seem phased by it. So ... she knew about it? Anxiety began seeping through me as I pondered what decisions she was about to ask of me.

“I tried to reach you earlier, but your dream states weren’t compatible. I’m guessing you were merely napping, but regardless, that's when I found out about your leg. It wasn't supposed to be ... this ... decision, but ...”

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“As you know from Celestia’s letter, we alicorns are losing our magic as well … unfortunately. However, I still have some of my magic left. I don’t have much, but it’s enough for what I am about to ask of you.”

She waited briefly in case I had anything to say. I did not, so she continued.

“Princess Celestia spent part of your stay teaching me of your world. With her magic, she was able to send me there, as well as bring me back. She deemed it crucial that I learn about it, and in the process … she taught me something very important.”

I took a deep breath, starting to map out the possibilities of what she might say. She also took a deep breath before continuing.

“Devan. I can cure your missing leg, using your body’s DNA to graft a new one just like before.
Or
I can send you back to the safety of your own world.”

There was silence for a moment as I soaked this in. This was a huge decision, and even my young, naïve self understood that. I pondered for a minute, trying to make sense of the question she asked me. After a minute, I spoke up again.

“I ... want-”

“Devan,” she interrupted, “We have some time. I really need you to think this through, carefully. This is a life-or-death decision you are making now. Please consider all the possibilities thoroughly.”

I dropped my head slightly, clasping my hands together and covering my nose and mouth to think. My thought process already seemed made up though. I did not understand why Luna was pushing this as such a difficult decision. The answer, to me, was clear: Fix my leg so I can help my friends beat this thing. Why would I want to go back now? I thought about how much of a burden I had become, but ... if she gave me my leg back?? That would be game-changing. On top of that, I seemed to be immune to this virus. That had to count for something. I knew that death was still a big concern, but I felt the need to be here despite it. I opened my eyes and looked back up at the princess.

“What possibilities?”

“There are many possible outcomes that come from either choice, Devan. If you choose to leave, we may never see you again. This world could remain in its apocalyptic state, or worse, end outright if nopony is alive to raise the sun. But if we do end this without you here, Celestia could live on to bring you back. It would have to be her, as she is the only one who can bring you here. If she dies, nopony else can do so. She only taught me how to send you back.”

The thought of Celestia bringing me back had never crossed my mind. Luna continued.

“On the other hoof, if you choose to stay, you are risking your life. This applies to both this universe and your own. We do not know for certain what happens in the event of your death. Celestia believes you will be sent back to your world, but not even she can rule out the possibility of you dying outright. Also ...”

She sighed. I leaned forward, growing curious.

“Celestia and I are the only ones who know how to get to your universe. If she and I both die before our magic is restored, you will be stuck here. Forever.”

This thought didn't strike me as hard, as that didn't sound all that bad. Regardless, it still sent a chill down my spine. Continuing my thought process, I tried to realize the consequences she had mentioned. My clear decision was not as clear as it seemed. While my life on Earth was far from great, I did not want to die, especially if I could have avoided it and come back to Equestria. The new question became:

How useful am I in stopping this apocalypse?

Did my friends need my help to stop it? Even if they didn’t, could I live with myself once I was sent back to Earth? Death almost seemed like the better option, as opposed to living with constant, anxiety-riddling uncertainty. I may just end up living the rest of my life on Earth not knowing that all my friends died. And maybe there was a situation I would have ended up in that would have saved somepony from dying, like Candy, or Spark, or Cloud, Dash, Flutters, maybe even Twilight. This rush of uncertainty brought a new wave of fear over me. With my hands still cupping my nose and mouth, I couldn't stop tears from rushing out.

“I’m so sorry to put you through this, Devan,” Luna spoke softly.

I wanted to respond, but my tears continued flowing a minute longer. Eventually, I came to grips with myself, wiping my eyes and looking up at the princess. She continued.

“I want to thank you, Devan. You have done so much for all of us, taking on the hard challenge of helping us rebuild, and working selflessly, even in a time like this. You have made some difficult life choices, and I know that is tough, especially for a young boy like you. If I could make it easier for you, I would. I want you to know that I am proud of you.”

Aaand I burst into tears again. The princess’s motherly tone flooded my brain with an overwhelming comfort I had not felt in a very long time. It took me another minute of crying and a few minutes of sitting in silence with the princess to recuperate. I stared out of the train window, appreciating the calmness of the nighttime ride. Still, the decision loomed inside of my head.

“I- I just want everybody to live,” I spoke my thoughts out loud, “I want them to live so I can be happy here.”

“I know, Devan. I want that too. But unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that. There is a heavy risk with every move we make now. That is why it is very important that you choose carefully.”

I looked out at the passing trees, memories of my past beginning to play in my head. Dark, choppy images of my teenage life before I was sent here appeared, causing me discomfort. Past trauma, sprinkled with a few soft, welcoming memories, before returning to the pain. Then, the memories morphed to after Celestia brought me here. Good memories.

My first time meeting Twilight. My first party with Pinkie Pie. Goofy memories. Somehow knocking over the bucket when bobbing for apples at a party with her and AJ. Getting pied on my surprise birthday party. Tumbling on the ground after falling off of Dash when she tried to fly with me on her back. Fluttershy showing me her 'animal' magic, pranking me with a butterfly attack. Teaming up with Spike and invading Rarity's boutique, trying on clothes meant for ponies. So many memories, one after the other.

One of them stood out.

“Twilight!” I yelled, running up the grassy field.

The alicorn was sitting up against a tree on the hillside reading a book. She looked up from it and smiled when she saw me. “Devan! How are you?”

When I approached the picnic blanket lying underneath her, I bent over, putting my hands on my knees. I raised my finger, telling her to wait for a second while I caught my breath. My watch read 7:22, over twenty minutes late from when we were supposed to meet.

“I’m sorry, Twi. I lost track of time.”

“That’s okay! Come sit, I’ve got your sandwich here,” she replied, opening her picnic basket as I took off my backpack and sat down beside her. She hoofed me a cheese sandwich she made for me, topped off with lettuce and tomatoes. She then took out her less appealing daisy sandwich, which she described as ‘so much better than a typical cheese’. I preferred the former, by a lot.

We both bit into our sandwiches, taking in the beauty of Celestia’s sunset. This was the first time she'd brought me to this spot, and I was grateful she did. The horizon glowed a light red as the sun slowly dropped over the rolling fields and forests. Mountain peaks in the distance shimmered under the light. Equestria really was a beautiful world to behold.

“So,” I said in between bites, “What is the experiment you wanted to run after this?”

“This is the experiment.”

I looked back at her before observing my surroundings. There were no wires, no devices attached to my brain, and no blinding lights being flashed in my eyeballs. I squinted my eyes at her, suspicious and confused.

“I promise,” she insisted.

“Well, in that case, this is the best experiment I have ever been a part of! I like this one a lot.”

She smiled. “I thought you might.”

“Wait,” I said, holding my sandwich out to inspect it. “Did you do something to this?”

“No …” she said, with a suspicious slur in her voice. I sniffed the sandwich and opened up the top slice of bread. Inside, hidden underneath the tomato, was a small daisy. I picked it out and held it up to make sure I saw it right. I looked back at her in dramatic disgust. “Really?”

“Oh come on!” she said, “they are delicious!”

“No way!” I exclaimed, tossing the daisy on the grass beside the blanket. She then used her magic to pull another daisy out of her own sandwich. I caught her doing so and pressed my lips together, shaking my head dramatically. She took the daisy and made it dance in front of my face. “You know you want it!”

I sat up on my knees and swatted at the daisy with my free hand, but she was too quick. I raised my knees and reached up as she lifted it above my head, continuing the assault. This caused me to lose my balance and accidentally drop my sandwich on the blanket while I fell backward, my legs sweeping out in front of me. She let the daisy fall on my lap as she couldn’t stop a fit of laughter. When I sat back up, I grabbed the little daisy and threw it at her before succumbing to the laughter myself.

The memory faded. The passing trees continued. I looked back at Luna, who sat patiently across from me.

“I’ve made my decision.”

Nowhere Safe

— Devan —

The inside of the train was still dark as I looked down, admiring the new leg Luna just gave me. A tear rolled down my cheek as I realized my decision was final. I had to make the most of it now. When I looked back up, she was already gone. A slight tickling sensation fluttered up and down my new leg as the rest of my body figured out what had happened. Despite still being in the dream, I could feel all of the weird feelings in my leg as if I was awake.

The train horn sounded in the distance. I looked around, but the train car was still empty. Outside the window, I noticed the trees and grass were moving faster. The train horn blew again. I could feel an acceleration through my body as I was pushed against the back of my seat. The trees started flying by, and the train car bounced unsteadily. The train horn blew louder now. The shaky train car reminded me of the cart ride down the mountain before we derailed. I grew anxious as my body started pulling to the side, despite the train continuing forward. It was then that my face was smacked hard by an invisible entity, causing me to close my eyes.

I reopened them to see a patchy night sky, feeling the cold of the rail cart from before against my back. My cheek burned as I looked over to see Candy pulling my arm and Spark tugging on my new leg.

“DEVAN! MOVE!!” Candy shouted.

I tried to sit up as they pulled me along the cart. My heart stopped when I looked down the track. Ahead, not very far away, three very bright lights were approaching rapidly. I heard an intense whining sound alongside the growing rumble of a train engine. With both Spark and Candy pulling at me, I kicked my other leg, propelling me off the side of the cart. Once down, they helped pull me back even farther. I collapsed on the cold grass as I heard the train whiz behind me and crash into the cart. The whining sound grew louder as the cars passed us. I looked over to see the cart being pushed down the track and watched as the train slowly came to a stop in the distance.

“Sweet Celestia,” Spark said.

“No shit,” Candy replied. She turned to me, looking me over. “Are you alright, Devan?”

“I- I ... Give me a sec.”

“I’m sick a' damn trains,” Spark commented.

“Me too,” I replied, rolling on my back and sitting up. I looked down to see my regrown leg and reached down to feel it. The tickling sensation had stopped, and there was no more pain troubling where my stump used to be. Spark turned to look at it as well.

“How in blue blazes did your leg just grow back?” she asked, “Is that just ... somethin’ y’all humans do?”

“No … no, it’s not.”

“Then what happened?” Candy questioned, “It almost looked like magic …”

“It was. Luna did it. She came to me in my dream and fixed it.”

“Wait, so Princess Luna is alive?” she responded, “and she still has magic?!”

“She is. And no, she doesn’t … unfortunately. She had some magic left, but … she decided to use it to fix my leg. I was so caught up in the dream that I didn’t get to ask her where her and Celestia were.”

“It wouldn’t matter,” Candy replied, “She can’t give you that information. It’s one of the dream rules.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes. Doesn’t matter how bad of a situation a pony is in, she cannot break dream rules.”

“That explains why she didn’t mention how she looked. She looked torn up … as if a mob attacked her …” I said, beginning to ponder what her appearance meant.

“That is interesting to note. But it still doesn’t really help us. Given she is alive, it probably means she escaped the castle. She could be anywhere though.”

Candy looked down at my leg and observed me for a few more seconds before setting a hoof on my forehead. She grew a surprised expression on her face before removing it. “Devan, your fever! It’s gone!”

“So, we don’t have ta go to Manehatten anymore, then?” Spark asked.

“I … I guess not,” Candy answered.

“We need to go back for the others. Catch them on their way to Ponyville,” I said.

“We will," she promised.

The two mares looked on at my leg for a second before returning their attention to the stopped train. It was hard to see in the dead of night, as its tail lights had been busted out. Still, we saw the train’s bright front lights illuminate its surroundings a few train lengths ahead. The train that had collided with our cart was a typical Equestrian train that was hauling ten cars and a caboose. It was a bit more sizable than the other trains we encountered, and I wondered how many ponies were on this one.

“Guess we oughta see who it is ...” Spark said, turning to me. "At least they stopped this time, huh?"

"I guess that's a plus."

"Who do y'all think it is?" she asked.

Candy stood up and brushed her hooves off against the grass. "It’s probably just a bunch of evacuees from Manehatten.”

“Alright, let’s just be careful,” Spark replied.

The mares helped me stand up. I swung my new leg around as I readapted to it. Luna had done such a good job that it was almost like my leg was never cut off. If I wanted to, I could chalk it up to, ironically, some weird dream. I wondered if the rest of my leg was still sitting underneath Canterlot’s gate, cringing at the thought that somepony, later on, would be unfortunate enough to find it.

Once I was situated, I followed the mares toward the train. As we approached, a bright white pony hopped out of the train beside a darker pony. Another bigger pony followed. We started passing the caboose when I could tell who it was. The bright white pony was Vinyl Scratch, the DJ pony, who was missing her signature glasses. Beside her was Trixie, the magic one. There was also another dark blue stallion pegasus I was not familiar with. Once we got close enough, they too stepped forwards until we were within talking distance.

“Sweet Celestia, are you guys alright?!” Vinyl yelled, “I tried to stop the train in time, but it wasn’t having it.”

“We’re okay,” Candy spoke for us.

Both Trixie and Vinyl looked up at me curiously. Despite being in Equestria for a while now, and most ponies hearing about my existence, I still stood out to most of them. It was almost like being a worldwide celebrity, but nobody could quite figure out if they actually liked you or not.

“Where were you guys headed?” the pegasus asked us.

“We were going to Manehatten,” Candy answered.

“No,” Vinyl said, “it’s a shitshow. I wouldn’t go there if I were you.”

"So … there's no safe zone?"

"Safe zone?" Trixie repeated, glancing at the others. "If there was a safe zone, it wasn't all that safe."

"Yeah," the stallion joined, "There ain't a safe zone in sight. That city is done for."

"That bastard," Candy replied, shaking her head. "Well, that's alright. We don't need to go there anymore anyway."

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“We- ah, how do I even explain this?” Candy asked, looking up at me.

“I, uh, I guess I can … briefly,” I offered, “Long story short, my leg got cut off in Canterlot after I got trapped under the front gates. I got sick from it and the only real solution we had was to see a doctor in Manehattan, in the supposed 'safe' zone we were told of.”

The mares looked at me dumbfounded, struggling to understand my story. They exchanged a confused glance with each other before looking me up and down.

“You what?” Trixie asked.

“How did you get stuck?” Vinyl added.

“We were trying to enter Canterlot, but the gate fell on me in the process.”

Trixie eyed me confusingly. “They ... didn’t let you in?”

“I ...”

Oh boy. I realized they were in the same mindset me and the others had been in earlier, thinking that Canterlot would be some sort of safe haven.

“ … Are y’all headed to Canterlot?”

“Well, duh. That’s where the track goes. Why?”

I exchanged a glance with Candy before she took over for me.

“I’m afraid Canterlot is done for. We barely made it out of there alive.”

Trixie raised her forelegs before stomping them forcefully on the ground. “FUCK!” she exclaimed, turning away from us to pace.

“Like, fully done for?” Vinyl asked, “Like game over?”

“Yes.”

Vinyl facehoofed as she took in this information. She looked back up at me a few moments later, eyeing my leg suspiciously. “You said you got your leg cut off? How did it come back then? Is that normal for … um … humans?”

“It isn’t. Princess Luna came to me in a dream and fixed it with magic. She had just enough to fix it,” I explained again.

“So Luna is alive then?” Vinyl questioned me curiously, looking up at the cloudy sky temporarily blocking the moon.

“Has to be. With how bad Canterlot was, I don’t know how, but she is.”

Vinyl nodded slowly, thinking about this as I looked over at Trixie. She had her back to us, rubbing a hoof under her chin as if she was deep in thought. Candy spoke again.

“Is there a reason you all were headed to Canterlot? Or were you just trying to get out of the city?”

“Well, we did wanna get outta the city, yeah, but Trixie still has her magic,” Vinyl explained.

My eyes lit up when I heard this news. “SHE DOES?! Does she know a cure??”

“Well ... she has magic, but we don’t know about a cure. We were hoping to see the princesses in case they could guide her or something. But if they aren’t in Canterlot … I don’t know what the next move is.”

“We do,” I spoke up. Everypony’s eyes turned to look at me, including Trixie from a distance. “Ponyville. We were originally headed to the Ponyville Hospital, but the bridge was out. That's why we were heading to Manehatten. We were with others earlier before being separated. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Cloudchaser. We were in a rush because of my fever, so we had to leave without them. They are headed to Ponyville now. There are a few more obstacles ahead, but once Trixie helps us clear them, we are good to continue. The only reason we left Ponyville was because of a letter we got from Celestia asking us to go to Canterlot. I guess she spoke too soon. Ponyville was dangerous too, but not like Canterlot. There are probably ponies still alive there, and Twilight might still be there as well.”

“Devan …” Candy said, “You’re being a bit ambitious, dear. I don’t know if her magic alone could fix that messed up bridge …”

Trixie walked up to join our conversation again. “I probably could, but … I’m still curious about Canterlot. How do you know the princesses aren’t still locked up in their castle?”

“I know they aren’t,” Candy replied, “I went by there not long after this thing started. I had to get on rooftops to avoid zombie ponies, and from the vantage point I got, I saw the front doors were busted in. The only royal guards I saw were zombies.”

“The front, front door? You know their thrones are in a separate room of the castle, right?”

“Of course I know that. I live in damn Canterlot. But if the mob could bust through the front door, there is no way the separate rooms of the castle did not follow.”

“Then how is Luna alive??”

“She must have gotten out of the castle somehow,” Candy emphasized.

“How though? If the mob was strong enough to get through the front door, there is no way the princesses could have gotten through them, even if they had the whole royal guard protecting them.”

“I’ll admit it is a bit of a stretch, but she must have made it out.”

“Maybe not. They could have some kind of underground shelter, or maybe they barricaded in a part of the castle we don’t know about,” Trixie suggested.

Candy sighed. “Look, regardless of whether they made it out or not, we can’t risk going back there for them-”

“And why the fuck not?”

“It’s a shitshow! I already told you, we barely made it out of there! A royal guard died so we could escape!” Candy answered, her voice growing.

“We can help you!” Trixie argued, “I’ve got magic to do so!”

“There are too many!” Candy hissed.

“There’s too many EVERYWHERE!”

“Girls! Girls! Please …” Vinyl said, stepping between them, “Let’s just chill for a minute.”

Candy sighed, sitting down on the grass beside me and rubbing her forehead with her hoof. I crossed my arms, trying to think about our options. I was leaning more towards heading back to Ponyville, as I wanted to rejoin the others, but Trixie seemed adamant about trying Canterlot. From what I had seen, I really did not like our chances in Canterlot. However, the magic I had seen before this mess started was intriguing to me. Twilight herself showed me some amazing stuff. While she was a very powerful alicorn, even regular unicorns like Rarity still impressed me.

“I don’t know, Candy,” I said, “Maybe we should do a quick sweep of the castle, just in case.”

Candy looked up, side-eyeing me disapprovingly. She thought for another moment before replying, “We still have some time before we have to make a decision. Why don’t we all get on your train and get headed to Canterlot mountain?”

“That works,” Vinyl said, elbowing Trixie with her foreleg, “right?”

“Fine. We will discuss this on the way.”

After the six of us worked to remove the cart, using Trixie’s magic to help unwedge the bent front end, we all hopped in the spacious front train car and sat down while Spark and Vinyl worked to get the train moving again. As we started talking about the trip, we heard an audible bang before the quiet rumble of the engine stopped. We then heard Vinyl’s voice.

“Mother-“

Last Stop

— Devan —

“-fucker.”

I tried keeping the flashlight steady on the opened engine block. Both Vinyl and Spark were hovering over it, trying to see what caused it to blow.

“I think it's the regulator valve,” Spark told her.

Vinyl backed up so Spark could get a closer look inside. “I’m not gonna pretend I know what you’re talking about. Do you think you can fix it?”

“Hmm, I might be able to. I need the right tools though.”

“What kind?”

“The train has its own set, usually they store 'em in the caboose, if you could check.”

“On it!” Vinyl stated before taking off down the tracks. I watched her for a second and noticed my eyes were getting a bit fuzzy. I yawned as tiredness was taking over yet again.

“Devan!” Spark shouted.

I looked back, realizing I was pointing the light at the wheels below the engine now. “Sorry!” I said, raising the light back up. I saw Candy look up at me in my peripheral vision. She reached up with a foreleg and rested it on my hand.

“Devan, why don’t you go lay down? This might take them a while.”

“Okay …”

I was too tired to retaliate, handing her the flashlight and making my way back to the second train car. I opened the door between the cars and walked inside. Closing the door offered a cozy, quiet space that was already lulling me to sleep. I walked past a few and sat down on the second bench before kicking my feet up on it. With my head close to the aisle, I bent my legs slightly to accommodate my oversized height. The quiet train car allowed me to fall asleep easily, as expected, with the quiet darkness of it taking over.

“Devan,” I heard Candy’s voice. I slowly opened my eyes, adjusting to a new, weird sense of movement. When I oriented myself, I realized the train was slowly accelerating now. The train car was still dark, and I looked outside the window to see a dark, cloudy sky that was slowly getting brighter. I would have checked my watch to see what time it was, but I realized earlier on the cart ride that I had lost it in our plunge off the mountain. Regardless, I knew I had slept for a lot longer than I'd planned to. Dawn was arriving soon, and with it, the third day of this shitshow.

I looked up to see Candy above me in the aisle, and I noticed Trixie lying on her stomach on the bench across from me. She had her head resting on her forelegs, looking up with one eye open at Candy as if she had been awoken too.

“I’m up,” I replied, sitting up on the bench.

“No, you can sleep. I just wanted you to know we’re moving again.”

“Oh ... okay ...” I replied, "Do you know what time it is?"

"The train engine's clock said about ten to 6. Whether or not that's right, I don't know."

"Geez ... how long was I out?"

"You've been out for a while, dear. We just now started moving though. The engine was a hot mess, and on top of that, the tools from the caboose weren't the right set for the problem at hoof. We debated resting along with you and giving up the train so we could walk in the morning, but Spark insisted that she could fix it. It took her a while, but she got it."

"Is ... is she alright? She hasn't slept in forever. Actually, now that I mention it, neither have you!"

"I did get some rest in. We've all been taking turns. Spark did get an hour in too."

"Y'all need more like 12 after what we've been through."

Candy smiled. "You're sweet, Devan, but we're okay. I promise."

"If you say so ..." I replied, shifting in my seat and stretching out my arms and back.

"We'll be in the first car if you need us," she said.

She side-eyed Trixie before turning around and leaving the car. I looked across the aisle at her, who returned my stare.

“Your friend’s a bitch,” she sneered.

“Oh come on ... she is not. Y'all just don't get along.”

“Yeahhh ... she's a bitch.”

“You’re a bitch.”

Trixie looked back, a tiny smile entering her lips. “I can be. But that’s bold coming from someone with no magic defense.”

"Yeah, whatever ..." I replied, looking out my window at the dark forest.

"So," Trixie said from behind, "You still think we should check out the castle, right?"

Oh for fucks sake.

I turned back to Trixie annoyingly until I saw a hopeful glimmer in her purple eyes, reminding me of Twilight, causing me to stop and sigh.

“Trixie, please. We really should consider skipping Canterlot until we get more ponies or something.”

Her smile faded. “Not you too. You’re the one that backtracked and suggested trying. I was hoping you would stick to that opinion. Even Vinyl and Split were hard to convince.”

“Look, I’m sorry everybody is against your idea. I see why you're so adamant about it, but personally, I just want you and your magic to stay safe. If you saw what we saw at Canterlot, you wouldn’t be so keen on trying it.”

“Your group didn’t experience Manehatten. We saw some shit.”

“Like what? Mobs? We have seen them grouped up too.”

“Try a hundred of them! Shithead,” she huffed, averting her eyes.

“I- okay ...” I replied, realizing the mobs I saw were substantially smaller than what she was mentioning. The biggest mob I had seen was the Canterlot mob, and that was only a couple dozen. I couldn’t even imagine one hundred. “... I’m sorry.”

“Honestly ... if my group got out of Manehatten, I don’t see how all of us couldn’t handle Canterlot. You didn’t see mobs that big, right?”

“N- no. Candy mentioned the big mob at the castle, but I haven’t seen one that big.”

“Good. Then it’ll be fine, trust me. You all have me on your side now. We’ll go to Canterlot after we get the others to stop doubting themselves.”

“Jesus. You are one stubborn ass mare.”

She smiled and lit up her horn. It had been a long time since I saw magic, so I looked on in muted fascination. A second later, my face was smacked by a quick-moving orb, throwing my head sideways. I turned back to Trixie just to find her pretending to be asleep again.

I decided that I was rested enough now to get up, so I stretched my arms above my head. I scooted to the end of the bench, where somepony had set my backpack. The baseball bat, that I hadn't used in forever, was still attached to the side with the hitting end tucked inside the tight netting. I noticed Trixie opening her eyes again as I stood up and grabbed the backpack. Thinking of the sudden magic attack she had just unleashed on me, I held back a smirk as I awkwardly flung the backpack on my back, intentionally whacking her forehead and horn in the process.

“Oops, my bad,” I said as I put my other arm in. I looked down at Trixie, expecting retaliation. Instead, she stood up on the bench and stretched out her back before hopping into the aisle behind me.

“Come on, you tall asshole, let’s convince the others,” she said, pressing her head against my lower back to push me.

Instead of arguing with her, I continued through the car until we were at the door of the first car behind the engine. Inside, the benches had been rearranged against the wall, making it look like a subway car. On the left side were Vinyl and Split, sitting across from Candy. I could see part of Spark’s tan body through the doors to the engine. All three of the ponies in the car looked up at me until Trixie barged her way to stand beside me.

“Devan thinks we should check out Canterlot still,” she stated.

“Oh, yeah?” Candy replied, “What magic did you threaten him with?”

“None. His opinion, not mine,” Trixie answered calmly.

I did not feel up to this battle, even after getting rested. Instead of joining in the conversation, I decided to sit on the bench next to Candy. There was enough room to fit with my backpack still on, so I leaned against it and crossed my arms. Both Candy and Trixie were staring at me demandingly. After a few seconds, I felt pressured to speak.

“Look, why don’t we just go to the railway gate and see what we see? We can take this a step at a time you know …”

“But Devan,” Candy said, setting a hoof on my thigh. “It may take some time to reverse the train out if we have problems. If we do spot a mob, it may be too late.”

Trixie stepped forwards, her chest almost touching my other thigh. She eyed me before glaring at Candy. “It won’t be. We can hold them off if that happens. Right, Devan?” she asked, her purple eyes still glued on Candy.

Before I had a chance to respond, Candy shot back, “Why, oh why are we wanting to risk it? What good comes from this? Even if we find them, what if they can't do anything either? How do you plan to find them anyway?! We have a better chance of finding the princesses in fucking Cloudsdale.”

Trixie squinted her eyes. “Then go there and look for them,” she instigated.

“Trix,” Vinyl called, stepping up to us, “Please. Why don’t we just reconsider?”

Trixie closed her eyes and huffed, clearly agitated at the thought of everybody going against her. I started to say something until the train started accelerating from its steady speed. A few seconds later, the same damn bang emanated from the engine.

“Not again,” Vinyl sighed, turning to make her way back to the engine. The train started to decelerate as Spark burst the car’s door open.

“MOB!” she screamed, “WE’RE HEADED RIGHT FOR 'EM!”

“Are you serious?!” Vinyl responded.

“Yes! And the engine busted again! We gotta go!”

“Can we not stay in a car?” Split suggested.

"There's too many of 'em!"

"How many?" he pushed.

"TOO MANY! DOZENS!!!"

While the two of them bickered, Trixie rushed across the aisle to a window beside Split, using her magic to lower it and stick her head out to see. Beside me, Candy turned to the window behind us and lowered it with her hooves, glancing out to see for herself.

"How's it look?" I asked her. Before she could answer me, she pulled her head back in quickly. New bangs rattled the front and sides of the car as I saw glimpses of pony outlines moving by the windows.

"A fuckton!" she exclaimed, rushing to the corner to grab her battle axe. The others stopped bickering and followed suit. It was clear we needed to go now. I stood up and unstrapped the top part of my Beretta’s holster to make it easier to pull out when I needed it. I also pulled out my baseball bat, hoping it would be the only thing I would have to use, if at all. When doing so, the lighter Celestia had packed me dropped out of my bag. I picked it up, thinking of ways I could use it to help us get past the mob outside.

"LISTEN UP!" Trixie exclaimed, "I’m going to shoot off a wind tunnel spell towards the forest on the left. We'll all follow it out. Got it?!” she commanded the others.

“Sounds good! Everypony against the door!” Candy ordered. I followed the others to the door behind the engine and looked back to see Trixie partially sticking her head out the window. Her horn glowed a brighter and brighter blue as she charged the spell. I looked on with awe, thanking our lucky stars that we had a unicorn capable of magic now. As she charged it up, I watched her head jerk to the side, bringing her horn with it. When her head recoiled back, the spell was released in a bright blue flash of light.

The train was almost stopped now, so Spark threw the door open again and the others bolted out one by one. Before it was my turn, I heard Trixie yell, “Wait! Misfire!” over the groans of a very large mob outside growing. I turned to see her holding a hoof to her head.

“What?!” I hollered.

“Just go!” Trixie yelled, jumping off the bench and chasing after me.

“Hey! I’m gonna toss this in the engine! Can you make it burn faster or something?” I called, holding up the lighter in my one hand. The train was apparently done for anyway, so I thought it might make for a good distraction from the zombie ponies outside. Whether or not a fire would lure them away was debatable, but I believed it was worth it, as we wouldn't really need the lighter anyway since Trixie was with us now.

"Okay!" she replied, "I’ll hit it with an ignition spell!”

Great.

I sped out of the door and took a sharp turn to exit between the cars. Outside, the light blue tint of Trixie's powerful wind tunnel spell illuminated the pale, bloody zombie ponies scattered about. All of them eagerly fought to push into the corridor she made, but it was too powerful for them to cross. Any of them that got so much as a head inside the flashy blue wall of wind was quickly blown along before getting tossed back out. While gazing at the corridor she made, I realized what she meant by misfire. Instead of the two-pony-wide tunnel leading toward the forest as planned, the tunnel led straight down the tracks ahead of the train engine. Despite this, the others were galloping down it, passing the engine now.

“Wait!” I yelled over the roar of the spell’s wind. They could not hear me from this distance.

“There’s no time!” Trixie replied, “Ten seconds!”

I panicked, not aware that there was such a short time limit. With the train engine beside us, I pulled my arm back and chucked the lighter, attempting to toss it in the smokestack. When it started bouncing on the top rung, a blue orb flew up to meet it. The orb hit the lighter, igniting it in a bright orange glow that illuminated the smokestack. However, the glow was followed by an even bigger one as flames shot out of the smokestack. As they did, a bright flash came from the engine as an explosion erupted inside of it. The blast's shockwave flung both of us to the ground, right on the outer edge of Trixie’s tunnel. A big fireball rose above the engine as the heat from its blast fried my exposed hands and face. Alongside this, the wind at the edge of the tunnel buffeted against me.

I squirmed on the ground, attempting to recover quickly from the shock. The sounds of the mob entered my ear as the ponies struggled to reach through the powerful winds that were now slowly starting to move my body along. Trixie had fallen next to me, the wind pushing her body against mine. Using all the strength I could muster, I pulled myself back into the tunnel with both of my legs. The heat from the new engine fire was intense, but it was worth not being eaten alive. I used my hands to get back up, picking up my baseball bat again.

Next to me, Trixie stood up as well. The second we were up, the dim light from the spell faded as the powerful sound of its wind softened.

“Cover me!” Trixie yelled, lighting her horn up with, presumably, another wind tunnel spell. She was facing the front of the train, aiming in the direction she had accidentally shot the other one. Behind her, a few zombie ponies were making their way forward again. I readied my baseball bat.

The first pony was one from behind. I swung the bat hard, whacking him across the face. His glazed eyes shut as his body fell sideways. The mob was rushing us now, so I charged up another swing over my non-dominant shoulder and swung it against another mare's face. I stepped forward as I swung again from the right shoulder, hitting a third one. As I did, I noticed Trixie was getting closed in on by two ponies from the side. I realized that the bat was not fast enough to hold them all off, and while I wanted to reach for my gun, there was no time left. Trixie’s spell had to be close to finished, so with the bat tightly gripped in my hands, I dove down against Trixie’s left side.

As I fell beside her, one of the pony’s teeth, intended for Trixie, instead made contact with my chest. I could feel the other pony’s head knock into my thighs. When I hit the ground, they decided to continue their assault on me. The first biter strengthened her teeth's grip on my chest while the other tried biting my leg. I kicked my legs out, raising my left knee to my chest before slamming the bottom of my shoe against her face.

With my bat still gripped in my right hand against the ground, I rose my left and pushed back on the first mare's face, failing to get her off of me. The pale, beige-colored mare threw a glazed-over stare at me for a moment before returning her attention to my chest and shaking her head like a dog to pull me toward her. While she had some strength on her, I was in enough of a panic that adrenaline had me pulling back harder. As I scooted back, she loosened her bite briefly, causing me to fall back as her teeth were unclenched from my chest. When I did, I unintentionally pushed up against Trixie’s side. I felt her body shift as mine forced her sideways, nearly causing her to lose balance.

A moment later, a bright blue flash lit up the mob right in front of me. With it, a very powerful wind blew over my head and smacked the two attacking mares away. I watched them get tumble over the grass before getting tossed to the side of the forming tunnel, as if a tornado had blown in. Shortly after, I got smacked with residual wind as the tunnel solidified. It pushed me forward, but it was only strong enough to shove me to the ground beside Trixie. When I pushed myself up, I realized the tunnel was headed straight for the forest, beside the tracks, as opposed to where the others were heading.

“Mi- misfir - miss,” Trixie stuttered. I turned back after standing up to see her soaked of energy. She lit up her horn slowly, pointing it toward the front of the train where the previous tunnel had been.

“Trixie, come on! Let’s just go!” I yelled over the wind circling us. She didn’t listen at first, so I grabbed her by the ear and pulled on it. This threw off her aim, so she reluctantly dimmed her horn and ran beside me as we made our way down the tunnel.

“5 ...” she said as we ran.

I was about to ask her what it meant when the light from the spell dimmed again. This time, the tunnel lasted in a much shorter time frame. As it disappeared, I realized there were two more zombie ponies in range to get us before we were in the forest. I swung my baseball bat yet again, socking the closer one across the head and dropping her. As I got ready to recoil it back, Trixie dropped the other pony with a buck. The path to the forest was clear now, so we bolted into the tree line. The left side of my chest stung as stabbing pain flowed through it. I felt a raindrop fall against my cheek as we made our way through the dark forest and away from the sudden mob.

Author's Note

Hey y'all! Hope you're enjoying the book so far. For anybody keeping up with this story as its posted, I may be publishing the next chapters a bit less frequently (nothing serious, probably every other day or two). The daily chapter release worked well to give me time to make my final edits, but my life has gotten busy so I've fallen a bit behind. Regardless, thank y'all for reading through my story so far! I didn't expect this much engagement, and it is refreshing to see. Have a good rest of your day!

No Direction

— Devan —

The overcast gray sky was raining down on us now. Both Trixie and I were already getting drenched by it as we continued alongside the river. The Foal Mountain range stood tall beside us as we ran along the trees beside its base. We could also see Canterlot Mountain across the river, rising above the forest on the other side. The valley we were in was wide, seemingly ending ahead of us as we moved farther away from Canterlot Mountain. I noticed Trixie constantly turning her head toward the mountain and river, obviously gauging the right moment to cross. It had been raining for some time now, so the river was moving pretty fast. The stretch of it that we were running alongside was particularly wide.

Trixie slowed and looked up at me. Her eyes showed a sense of distress as she watched me clutching my chest. I followed her eyes and lifted my hand off my jacket. While we were running, blood seeped out of the wound and covered my hand in an uncomfortable shade of red. I realized bandaging it up to stop the bleeding could not wait any longer. I slowed down to a stop, and Trixie followed.

“Devan …” she said, stomping her hooves on the ground. "Fucking shit. That was fucking stupid! Why did we do that? We should have just fucking run! DAMN IT!”

“Trixie, relax. It was the heat of the moment, okay? Can't blame us for not thinking straight."

I took off my backpack and set it beside me. Trixie stared back at me quietly, trying to figure out what I was doing.

"Can you help me wrap this up?” I asked, gesturing to my chest.

“Wrap it up? I mean, we could, but is there really a reason to?”

I looked down at her and remembered she was not aware of my supposed immunity. I then started second-guessing myself, wondering if I should have taken this risk. However, if Pinkie's bite went away, I figured this one should also. I still wondered if I really was immune, or just to a certain extent. Pinkie had bitten my arm, while the attacker from the mob bit straight into my chest, right where my ribcage sat. It seemed as though my body was warming up, but with a wound this size, that seemed typical, regardless of the existence of a wicked zombie virus. Either way, it was too late to do anything about it now.

“Trixie, I am immune. As far as I know, at least. I was bit on day one, and the bite healed.”

She looked back at me with a new glimmer of hope in her eyes after taking this information in. “Oh, thank Celestia. Let’s get you patched up quickly then.”

I reluctantly set my knees on the wet ground as I pulled the backpack toward me and unzipped the smaller compartment. Inside was the gauze bandage and a few washcloths the others collected back at the clinic. I picked up the washcloth and alcohol just to have them snatched by Trixie.

“Take your clothes off. I’ll get this set up,” she said.

“Gotcha,” I replied, pulling my arms out of my jacket. It was more difficult than usual, as the jacket had been soaked from the growing rain. My shirt underneath was also wet, so I fought to pull it off as well. After I did, I noticed a crescent-shaped line of blood that was slowly dripping down to my pants. The bite felt painful, but I had not expected it to look so bad. I looked back up at Trixie, who was setting aside the alcohol and stepping up to me. The washcloth hovered in front of her, illuminated faintly by the blue glow of her magic. She eyed me warily.

“Just hold still, this is gonna hurt.”

I took in a deep breath as she moved the cloth to my wound. The coldness shocked me briefly, but it was replaced almost instantly with a very sharp, stinging pain searing through my chest. I could not help but pull my chest back as the pain proved too much. Instead of pulling the cloth away, Trixie followed my movement and kept the washcloth on my chest. I tried to cry out for her to stop, but the pain temporarily took my breath away. I backed up, raising my knees in an attempt to get away from the torture. The slippery ground caused my feet to slip under me, and I was sent falling backward. The cold, wet ground shocked the exposed skin of my back, but I was too focused on stopping the pain.

“Devan, stop fighting!” Trixie begged. With the cloth still to my chest, she jumped on top of me and grabbed it with her hoof. She set her free hoof on my shoulder blade and set her hind legs on top of my thighs to stop my movement. For another few seconds, she rubbed the wound as I squirmed underneath her, reaching up and grabbing her forelegs. She finally finished abusing me with the cloth, pulling away from my grasp.

“Get up,” she said, stepping off of me.

My chest ached, throbbing with the painful, stinging sensation brought about by the alcohol.

“Jesus!” I cried, clenching my wound as I slowly sat up. “What the hell, Trixie?!”

“You forced my hoof, I am sorry.”

My back was uncomfortably soaked now. I watched as Trixie grabbed the dry washcloth and gauze bandage. She was moving quickly, as the rain was starting to drench everything exposed. It only took her a few moments with the dry cloth to dry off the wound. After observing how quickly the rain was wetting everything, she lit up her horn. I looked at it, wondering what kind of magic she was brewing. Six seconds later, she released the spell in a bright blue flash. I felt hot air circle my body, as if several blow dryers were surrounding and blowing my skin on full blast. This continued for a few seconds, but that was enough time for the spell to dry up my exposed skin. Right after it ended, Trixie quickly wrapped the wound with the gauze bandage.

“Thank you,” I said once she finished.

“Get dressed. We need to find the others and get to Canterlot.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“I am.”

I held off my retaliation so I could reluctantly put my wet shirt and jacket back on. It was then that I realized she had extended the spell to my shirt, which was only partially damp from the growing raindrops. After quickly throwing it on, I reluctantly threw on my wet jacket as well. The only comforting part of it was the jacket’s hood, which I threw on to further block out the rain. I took my backpack from Trixie’s impatient hooves and slung it back over my shoulder, gazing behind her at the river. The rain caused it to grow slightly, raging fiercer than the one back at Canterlot had. Along with its violent appearance, it was the same river that Spark, Candy, and I had fallen into earlier, so I knew it could also be deep at this section.

“Trixie, we cannot cross that right now,” I argued.

“We will. It will be fine.”

“No. Let’s keep walking. We can cross when it narrows, closer to Ponyville, or when the rain dies down. Please, Trixie.”

“No, Devan. We are going to Canterlot. Like it or not, that mishap sent the others that way. We cannot stall now. We need to get moving.”

"What the fuck was that mishap about anyway? Did you do that intentionally?"

"I SAID IT WAS A MISFIRE, YOU FUCKFACE!"

"HOW?? How did you shoot it the wrong way?"

"I WAS HIT! My head got smacked by some flying object when I was leaning out the window. I don't know if the mob threw something at me or what, but they sure timed it fucking right!" she hissed.

"Well shit. Regardless, we have to move on."

"No the fuck we don't. Don't you want to find your friends too? Your little lover unicorn?"

I was growing agitated now. "Of course I do! And we aren't damn lovers! She's just a sweet pony. You would know that too, if you weren't such a bitch!"

"Fuck you, Devan."

I sighed. "Look, Trixie, I want to find the others too, I do ... but there's no way we'll find them out here. Besides, it's too risky with the mob. Whether or not they look for us, they'll eventually make their way around the mountain and head back to Ponyville. That's where we'll meet them."

"Fucking quitter."

The stubborn mare was really getting on my nerves now. She was facing the river now, not even facing me as we argued.

“Trixie …” I grumbled.

“Shut up.”

“Trixie!” I hollered, reaching down and setting a hand on her back. “Forget about Canterlot! Did you not see the fucking mob?! They came from Canterlot! Let’s take our leave and go to Ponyville.”

“Get off of me,” she demanded, moving away from my hand but keeping her eyes on the river.

"Trixie! Just look at me!" I yelled.

After a moment of hesitation, she angrily glanced up at me.

"Do you not understand your situation, Trix?"

"Don't call me that. You haven't earned the right to nickname me."

"Whatever, Trixie. But do you? What you said earlier ... about taking risks. I agree, but we can't take such big risks right now."

"And why is that?"

"YOU! Trixie, you, as far as we know, are the ONLY pony with magic left. Do you know how big that is? Like it or not, you have become the most important pony in this whole fucking world! We need to keep you safe. I need to keep you safe. So please just listen to what I say."

The mare's expression softened. She looked away and gritted her teeth, staring blankly in the distance while she thought for a moment. She then shook her head, turned back to the river, and began lighting her horn to cast another spell.

I had had enough. While she was fixated on the water, I took both of my hands and strangled her horn. The blue light faded as I did. She started flailing her head around, so I used my bigger body to knock her sideways to the ground. This caused me to lose grip of her horn, but I quickly regained it and squeezed hard in an attempt to stop her magic. She finally quit resisting me, and there was a moment of silence as she furiously side-eyed me from the ground.

“Let ... go ... of my ... FUCKING horn,” she hissed.

“NO. Just LISTEN!”

“You know, once you let go, I’m shoving your face straight in the river, right? I won't drown you, but I'll make you wish I fucking did.”

Her threats made their mark on me, causing me to grow a bit anxious as I realized I put myself into a pretty ominous situation.

“No ... Trixie, don’t. Just listen to me, please. I just needed to get through to you, okay? I’m sorry. But please listen. We cannot go to Canterlot right now. I don't mind going to Canterlot with you later ... maybe even if it's just us, but not. right. now."

I looked up at the river, trying to recall my Equestrian geography. "Now ... if we follow this river, it leads to the Everfree forest, right?”

She huffed. “It splits into two. One part goes to the ocean, and one part goes to the forest.”

“Well, we will follow the one to the forest. We'll be more protected against the rain, too. Which, that brings up a point … Canterlot Mountain would be a real bitch to climb right now. We would just slip over ourselves. So, we make our way to the forest and go to Ponyville, okay? Please, Trixie.”

She averted her eyes, looking out at the river beside us. There was nothing but the sound of rain and the flowing river as she thought about what I said. She then looked back at me with slightly less glare in her eyes.

“Alright, listen,” she said, “We’ll make a truce, okay? Let go of my horn.”

“Tell me the truce first.”

She huffed again. “Fine ... we will go to Canterlot later. But I still want to cross the river now.”

“How come?”

“We will need to eventually, and I don’t think it gets much thinner downstream.”

“Then what?”

She sighed defeatedly. “We’ll go to Ponyville …”

I sighed with relief as I released her horn. I finally won the battle over Trixie. This victory was deemed short as I looked back down to see her glowing horn. A second later, a bright blue flash erupted before an orb smacked my face, sending me backward onto the cold grass beside her.

“Asshole,” she commented as she stood up again. I shook off the blow and sat back up.

“So, how do you plan on us getting across?”

“Water spell. It’s pretty complex, but I think I can manage.”

“Wait. Before you just blast it off, can you explain it to me first, please?”

“I was going to …” she said unconvincingly, “So, the spell will form a cold layer on top of the water flow and turn it to ice very briefly. I know of an atmospheric workaround that will also weaken the slipperiness of the ice, but we should still take caution not to slip. Since the water is moving pretty fast, there might also be some water that climbs over top of the ice after it is made. So we move quick, carefully, and get across, got it?”

“Yeah. That is pretty badass. How long do we have until the ice melts?”

“It will vanish, not melt. The longest I can hold it for is around four seconds per section.”

“Oh damn.”

“Come on, don’t think about it. You ready?”

“Ready.”

Trixie and I walked to the very edge of the river. I stood behind her, ready to follow her once the ice was set. She lit up her horn again, warming up the powerful spell. It took a solid eight to ten seconds until she released it. In front of us, the water glowed briefly as her spell quickly used the very top layer of it to form a line of ice just wide enough for us to cross. She started trotting along it, so I followed suit. I noticed water pushing over some parts of the ice as the river continued to rage. Another thing I noticed was how slippery the ice was. Perhaps it was the fact that I had not experienced walking on normal ice in years, but it seemed just as slippery as it looked. I focused on balancing myself on it as I walked along, keeping my eyes focused solely on where my feet were about to go.

While I focused, I heard Trixie holler something when we were halfway across and looked up. In my peripheral vision, a flash of brown interrupted the blue of the river right before a large tree branch floating on the water collided with both of us. The slipperiness of the ice helped the branch knock us off and into the cold water. My body rushed to adapt to the new wave of cold as my head was thrown underwater. I fought the blindness for a few seconds, struggling to overcome the powerful river’s tug. I felt my body start to pull quickly along the water.

I was finally able to surface a few seconds later. I coughed up water and pushed hard with my legs to stay afloat. As I scanned the water, a wet, blue mane popped out ahead of me. I saw Trixie kicking furiously with her legs as well as she struggled to see with wet hair covering her eyes. I called out to her as we were dragged, causing her to turn. She shook her head to get the hair away from her eyes before finally seeing me. The branch that had struck us was beside her, and she had to briefly go underwater to let the tail end of it pass. When she resurfaced, I saw her glow her horn while she looked toward the other side of the river.

Preparing for whatever spell she might use, I caught a glimpse of grey ahead of us. I realized in fear that it was a collection of sharp rocks. We were moving too fast for me to warn her, and I watched helplessly as her body slammed into one of the bigger ones. The force of the blow sent her head underwater for a second as the water pushed her around it. I got ready to receive the same blow, kicking my legs against the current in an attempt to mitigate it. The rock approached quickly, and with extended hands, I took the blow with much less force than Trixie had. I immediately felt the current push me against the rock, but it was big enough to hold onto. It was also long enough to fit a pony or two, so I climbed against it, fighting the current trying to push me around it.

After slipping a few times, I finally got my chest up on the side of the rock. Throughout the endeavor, my backpack stayed glued to my back. I glanced down the river to try to find Trixie again, but the water in the river and the rain pouring down made it difficult. I took a few breaths to slow my beating heart, but anxiety was taking hold of me. After a few moments of rest, I eyed the river bank. Beside me were more rocks, albeit smaller than this one, that led to the other side of the river. My baseball bat floated on the water, drifting behind two of them. I carefully navigated the tops of these rocks so I wouldn't slip, and managed to grab it before it could get sucked down the river. It took a bit of patience, which I did not have, to get across the remaining rocks. I was rewarded though when I managed to step foot on the river bank. After setting my bat in its mesh again, I wasted no time and began sprinting alongside the river in a desperate attempt to find Trixie.

Beautiful World

— Devan —

The rain was finally beginning to settle. Yet my face remained wet as I scanned every part of the river. My lungs cried out for me to stop, but I kept running regardless. I cursed the fact that Trixie was blue, effectively camouflaging herself in the water. Another fear I had was that I somehow missed her, even though the river was moving at the same pace I was. It did not help that I had to slow down to catch my breath occasionally.

When I glanced ahead, I noticed the small strip of grass on the riverbank widened, allowing for a small clearing. I then noticed more rocks at the edge of the river, similar to the ones Trixie and I had slammed into. One of them had a weird blue shape on top of it. As I closed in, I realized the blue shape was a beached Trixie. I sped up into one last sprint to catch up to her.

When I stopped at the river bank, Trixie was partly laid out on top of the rock, with just one of her hind legs being tugged by the water. The river was not as fierce at this section as it was when we were launched into it, so she seemed to be safe from being swept back into it. However, the rock she was on was not on the riverbank. There was another smaller rock between it and her, and if I were to pull her out, I would have to rely on this rock to help me. She looked passed out, but I could not tell for sure as her face was pointing in the opposite direction.

“Trixie! Can you hear me?!” I called.

No response. I grew nervous, hoping she was just dazed or passed out. After calling out again and getting no reply, I carefully stepped onto the rock between us. It was slippery due to the river and earlier downfall, but I was able to steady myself on top of it due to its flat nature. The rocks were just a hand length apart, so I crouched down and reached over to grab one of her forelegs, tugging on it to see if she would respond.

“Trixie, please.”

After a few seconds, I came up with a plan. I assumed Trixie would be a bit heavy to pull off the rock by myself, and it would be hard to prevent her from getting stuck in between the rocks where water flowed. Instead, I would shove her off the rock and back into the river while holding her tightly. Not far down the river was another rock next to the bank. I figured I could use the current of the water to help push both of us towards it and use it to pull her out of the water. The plan sounded ridiculous in my head, but I did not know any better choice rather than waiting and hoping more debris would not come and knock us off these rocks.

I set my legs back in the water behind her as I pushed her other hind leg in, and the current quickly swept her off. Reacting just as quickly, I wrapped both of my arms around Trixie once we were in the water, immediately submerging. I was able to hold onto her by the chest, but it took loads of my strength. I kicked my feet powerfully to propel us back up, and once we resurfaced, I could see the rock ahead. Adjusting my feet against the current, I kicked them hard again to guide us toward the bank, and eventually, we smacked into the rock.

The rock held us from continuing any farther, so I took a moment to relax before using my strength once more to drag Trixie out of the water. As I set her up on the grass of the clearing on the riverside, I noticed blood seeping from her nostril. I set my ear next to her snout, listening for what I hoped would be her breaths. However, there were none. I took a deep breath, as there was still hope.

Back on Earth, when I was sixteen, I had a brief interest in becoming a lifeguard to make a bit of money, in the hopes of improving my life. I went as far as getting trained in CPR and rescue breathing but never made it to the lifeguard chair. Back then, I thought I was a massive failure. I thought I'd wasted my time for nothing, but now, I realized it might have been one of the most important decisions I ever made. I tried to remember the process, as it had been a few years since my training. From what I remembered, this situation called for rescue breathing.

For a moment, I wondered if my training extended to ponies. I hoped it was the same process as my human training, but I got a bit thrown off when tilting her chin up. Her mouth was already above her forehead, so whether or not the tilt was necessary was up for debate. I did it anyway, as that was how I was trained, and opened her mouth slightly. I then touched my lips to hers and blew a short, one-second breath, followed by another. When I disconnected, I saw her chest move up. This meant it was working, so I connected again and blew a gentle breath into her lungs. Her chest moved again, so I blew two more short breaths into her and set up for compressions. I could not remember the number I needed to do off the top of my head, but it did not matter. Around ten compressions in, she started coughing. My first aid had worked, and I thanked my lucky stars as I rolled her head to the side so she could cough up any water still trapped in her lungs.

She continued this wicked coughing fit for the next minute, spitting out the stuck water. I knelt beside her, checking for any other injuries besides the scratches she acquired on her downstream trip. The rain had fully stopped now, and Celestia’s sun poked through the holes forming in the cloud layer above us. After Trixie’s coughing subsided, she laid her head back down and opened her eyes to the sky. I was relieved to see her normal purple irises unglazed.

“Trix, thank god. Are you alright?”

She blinked at the new rays of sunlight before looking back at me. Her wet mane laid flat over her forehead and on the ground beside her.

“I ... am …” she muttered, still gaining her breaths back.

Full of newfound happiness, I shoved both of my arms underneath her in a tight hug. She weakly returned it as her energy was yet to recover. When we disconnected, she rolled to lay on her side as she recuperated. Her tired eyes glanced up at me.

"Thank you, Devan."

"Of course, Trixie."

"I'm ... I'm sorry about earlier ... I just got a little heated ..."

I failed to hold back a smile. "Yeah you did ... ya massive bitch."

A tired smirk grew on her face. "Yeah, screw you too ..."

"I'm sorry too. We made our truce though. And we did make it across the river ... eventually."

We both snickered and made small talk while she recovered. As we did, I looked up at the sky. Beautiful rays of morning sunlight beamed through holes in the dissipating clouds. The river was settling even more now that the rain was finished.

I turned back to see a slight breeze wisp through the clearing. A handful of flowers speckled about the clearing danced in the wind, shaking their wet petals dry. I closed my eyes and breathed in, listening to the sound of the calming river, the gentle wind, and the morning birds in the distance. I found a moment of peace in this nightmare, and my mind was soaking in every little detail.

“This world …” I said, “It’s so beautiful …”

With my eyes still closed, I heard Trixie respond, “It can be. I bet you wish you were back home, though ... with everything going on.”

I opened my eyes and glanced back at a sat-up Trixie.

“I don’t,” I replied.

“Really? You might say that, but I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to go back. I think most ponies would choose that if the roles were reversed.”

“I’m not just saying it, Trix. My dream with Luna …”

I stopped myself, wondering if the colossal decision I made was worth revealing. She eyed me curiously.

“What about it?”

I sighed. “She didn't just fix my leg. She gave me a choice with the magic she had left. Either fix my leg, or return to my world. I chose my leg.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

“I am. I want to be here. I need to.”

“Why?”

“I can’t live with not knowing what happens. I don’t want to live a life wondering if all of my friends died. I can’t do that to myself.”

“But your world … don’t you have friends there too?”

Now I really had to think about revealing any more information to her. I looked deep into her curious eyes, but I felt a sense of trust I had only ever felt with Twilight. It was weird, considering we were just fighting just an hour ago.

“A few,” I answered, “Just a couple. Sure, I miss em, and they're probably wondering where I ran off to, but they aren't as close as someone like Twilight or you.”

“Awe,” she commented, smiling. There was a moment of silence before she continued. “I don’t mean to be nosey, but what about your family?”

This struck me. I looked away and back at the river, trying to settle the memories coming back to haunt me. She noticed my expression. Despite the pain, I felt the need to share the truth with her.

“Can you promise to keep this a secret? Only Twilight knows of my past.”

“I can, as long as you're okay sharing it.”

"I am."

I took a deep breath and continued gazing at the river. “I’m an orphan. My mother and sister died in a ca- uh ... uhm … in an accident when I was young. I went back to my father, who raised me alone for a while, but ... he … he died as well ... after falling ill ...” I struggled to recall the story. “I had no more family to go to … so I was sent to an orphanage. So … no … no family.”

I avoided eye contact with her like it was the plague. The river was a strong distraction, helping me to avoid it. Only in my peripherals did I see her scoot closer to my side, setting one hoof on my thigh as she leaned her body against mine.

“I’m so sorry, Devan.”

A tear rolled down my eye as I pressed my lips together, sucking the sadness back inside. Trixie’s cold, wet body didn’t even bother me now. I instead wrapped my arm around her and enjoyed the view of the river. It was calming, sitting in such a peaceful meadow with her, able to ignore all of the horrors going on around us. Even if it was just for a moment.

“Thank you. I’m happy you’re here with me.”

“I am too,” she replied, “So ... to Canterlot?”

We laughed together, enjoying our last bit of peace before we had to move on.

Apple Sanctuary

— Twilight —

The barn stood tall in front of Twilight and her group.

They finally made it.

Twilight gazed at the spectacle. The entrance arch that stood in front of the barn had an improvised fence built into it with barbed wire looping the top. A sizable portion of the white picket fence spanning the front also had this new barbed wire topping. Every other white wooden post along the fence had a makeshift, unpainted wooden log support that leaned at a forty-five-degree angle, attaching at the ground and near the top of the post.

As Twilight approached the arch, she noticed every window in the barn was boarded shut from the outside, even the ones on the second story. The second-story window right above the barricaded front barn door also had what appeared to be a small hole carved out of it. A more noticeable hole like this was seen on the top window of the cupola. Twilight looked back down when the reinforced side door to the barn swung open.

She and the others took caution when it did, until they saw a vibrant Rainbow Dash rush out and turn toward them. Twilight beamed at her sight, accidentally leaning into the barbed wire in front of her and getting scratched.

“RAINBOW DASH!”

The colorful mare galloped toward the gate, wrestling with the makeshift lock until it swung open. She eyed her and Princess Celestia eagerly, but couldn't resist colliding with Twilight in a tight hug. Twilight squeezed tightly back, holding onto her long enough to not see Fluttershy and Applejack galloping up to them. When she opened her eyes, their presence sent a wave of happiness flooding over her. They too joined, combining into a heartfelt group hug. Once they finally broke up, the three of them took a moment to bow to the princesses. Twilight shed a tear as she looked between them all.

“I’m so happy to see you all!” she exclaimed.

“We are too, sugarcube. I’ve been worried sick thinkin’ bout y’all,” AJ replied. Her and Dash both gazed up at Celestia with a hint of curiosity entering their eyes.

"So, you did escape Canterlot?" Dash asked.

The princess slowly nodded, her face not as bright with excitement as them. AJ noticed this, her smile slowly fading as she observed their group. She looked at the princess again, Spike, Derpy, and Ty, even rounding her head to look behind Celestia's tall body. She hesitantly eyed Twilight.

“Where …” she started, “where … is Rarity? I thought she went with you …”

Twilight bit her lips, reminded of her friend’s demise. Rarity’s face flooded her mind, first dead, then live, and she looked away from AJ to prevent crying yet again.

“She ... she died.”

The others' expressions dropped as well.

“What do you mean by that?” Dash asked.

Twilight was struggling to keep the floodgates closed, so Celestia responded for her, “Our trains crashed. I tried to send Twilight another letter to not come to Canterlot, but my draining magic caused it to fall short. It was too late for either of the trains to stop, so they collided with one another. Rarity died saving Twilight’s life.”

The floodgates failed, and Twilight sniffed as tears flooded her face again.

“Oh, sugarcube,” AJ said, wrapping her foreleg around her.

“she saved twilight?” Fluttershy asked, “how?”

Twilight wiped her tears.

“She shoved me out. We were both in the train engine at the time, but I was hanging out of the window to see. So she pushed me out, right before the trains collided.”

“Damn,” Dash replied.

“I’m so sorry, sugarcube. We’re gonna have to make time to mourn. But for now, why don’t we get y’all settled in? I can grab y’all a plate to eat. Y’all look like ya need it.”

“That would be great,” Celestia answered.

Twilight looked back at the barn before meeting eyes with AJ.

“Is Pinkie or Devan here with you?” she stressed.

AJ sighed heavily, glancing back at Dash and Fluttershy. Her reaction caused Twilight’s heart to skip a beat.

“Don't ... don't ... no-” she started, dropping her head and holding it with her front hoof.

“Twilight, relax,” Dash said, “We can tell you inside the barn, okay?"

"O ... okay ..."

AJ led Twilight and her group inside the barn, guiding her to a seat at their dining room table. Spike and Celestia sat by her sides while AJ, Dash, and Flutters sat around it. AJ took a deep breath before starting their story.

"So, sugarcube, besides y'all, we have a few more ponies here. There's of course me, Dash, and Fluttershy, along with the fillies, Carrot Top, Cloudchaser, and Cheerilee."

Twilight listened to the names, pausing for a second after she was done. She remembered coming here the first day of the apocalypse and leaving Carrot Top with Granny Smith, since AJ had rushed off to the school.

"What ... what about Granny Smith?"

AJ quickly averted her eyes and bit her lip. Dash reached over and rubbed her back as she rocked in her chair.

"Oh, AJ ... I'm sorry."

It took a minute for AJ to gain the courage to speak again. Twilight and the others offered her this silence.

"Thank ya, sugarcube. She ... she wasn't cut out for this new world anyway. She's at peace now."

She sniffed, struggling not to get upset. She shot a glance at Dash. "Just tell her the story," she said, dropping her hat over her eyes and continuing to rock herself. Dash patted her back a few times before setting her hooves on the table.

"Listen, Twilight. Fluttershy and I were with Devan. We saw him at the start, but we got detached from each other yesterday. We were taking him to Manehatten when-"

“MANEHATTEN?!” Twilight interrupted.

“Yes! Just wait, Twilight. I can explain.”

Dash went in-depth with her story, starting from the train station. Celestia winced when she found out her train had ripped off part of Cloud’s foreleg. As Dash continued, she explained their day at Canterlot and Devan’s leg getting chopped off. She explained escaping Canterlot, and the other cart derailing off the mountain.

After Dash’s group had crashed, and after conversing with Candy and Spark through the hole in the blocking, they miraculously got their maintenance railway cart to start up again. Despite its front end getting caved in from the collision, the small motor was located underneath the center of the cart, meaning it was not as badly damaged.

Dash, Flutters, and Cloud had made the conscious decision to reverse their way back up to a clear section of track they had passed after Spark’s cart derailed. The section was flat, with a less-than-popular hiking trail crossing it. The three then lifted the heavy cart off of the tracks and rolled it down in an attempt to get back to the train tracks to catch up with Spark and the others. However, they lost control of the cart as it rolled down. The path it followed ended up wrapping around the bottom of the mountain and toward the track to Ponyville.

They had told Spark and Candy that they were headed back to Ponyville anyway, so instead of going through the trouble of trying to push the cart back around the mountain, they pushed it to the closer Ponyville track and made their way back using the rail. It would have taken them too long, and wasted their energy, to round the mountain to catch Spark’s group anyway.

After Dash finished her story, the fillies came rushing down the hallway. Twilight cringed at the sight of Sweetie Belle, already upset at the fact that she had to tell her too. The fillies ran up to her and Celestia and hugged them closely. When Sweetie Belle disconnected, she looked around, as AJ had, for her big sister. When she looked up at Twilight, who could not hide her disappointed expression, her face filled with fear. Before she could console the filly, AJ stepped up and ushered Sweetie Belle aside.

“I got this, sugarcube,” AJ told her.

While AJ led Sweetie to another room of the barn house, Celestia stood up and followed them. The rest of them sat in silence for a moment, trying not to listen to the distant cries down the hall. Dash sighed.

"As AJ mentioned earlier, Cheerilee did make it back. We've got good news, but we've got bad news."

"W- what? You have both?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, Twilight. She found what she was looking for, but she also found Pinkie Pie ..."

Twilight sighed. With all the less than ideal news being spread around, she wasn't keen on receiving any more.

"Is ... is she dead?"

"Depends how you look at it, Twilight. She's in the Everfree Forest right now, as one of ... them."

"Fuck," she cursed, holding her forehead with her hooves.

"Hey, at least she's still breathing, you know? Hopefully she stays in there so she won't get killed by other ponies trying to survive."

"Y ... yeah ... hopefully ..." she replied, "So ... Cheerilee found what she was looking for?"

Dash suddenly smiled. "Oh yeah she did! Lemme grab her!" she exclaimed, standing up and rushing out of the dining room. A spark of anticipation found its way to Twilight’s brain. She looked over at Fluttershy, who returned a similar smile.

A minute later, Dash came back with Cheerilee, who was carrying a saddlebag in her mouth. When she approached the table, she set it down and dug into it, pulling out a hoofful of papers. She eagerly set them down in front of Twilight.

“I found the cure!” she stated, spreading out the papers in a more readable fashion. The familiar magic language caught Twilight’s attention immediately, who turned some of the crooked papers to read it better.

“The book was in Zecora’s hut,” she continued, “I made this hoof-written copy of it. The original book got soaked in one of her brews, so I had to improvise …”

She leaned forward to glance at the papers, hovering her hoof over them as she attempted to find the section she had improvised. After a little bit of searching, Twilight pointed to one of them. “This one?”

Cheerilee double-checked the page before answering, “Yes! Geez, Twilight. Did you read the whole thing already?”

“Not yet. But I can tell, because this section is off. The logic here would not work in a spell.”

“Shoot,” Cheerilee replied, “I was afraid I might be off. I may be a teacher, but I’m not specialized in magic. Kinda hard as an Earth pony … but regardless, do you know what it should be?”

Twilight continued observing the sophisticated, non-simplified spell. She was picking up on it quickly, but she struggled for a moment at the gap of knowledge.

“Do you have an empty sheet of paper and a quill?” she asked Cheerilee.

Without speaking, Cheerilee quickly trotted back and dug through her saddlebag. She pulled out a few blank pieces of paper and set them in front of Twilight. She also set down a quill and uncapped a bottle of ink next to her. With these tools, Twilight awkwardly grabbed the quill in her front hoof, regretting her lack of magic. She dipped it in the ink and attempted sketching her own magic, which she struggled with at first, as she was accustomed to using her magic to write. She scribbled out her first sketch before continuing, writing on the couple of other pages. The others gazed on with interest until a few minutes went by. Twilight reread what she wrote two more times until hitting the table with her hoof excitedly.

“That’s it! I believe this spell should work.”

She and the others celebrated briefly, before excitement throughout the room quickly faded away. Sure, the spell was fixed, but nopony had magic anymore.

Well, damn, she thought.

While it was disheartening that the spell might be useless, she was happy there was one nonetheless. She started thinking about the next plan of attack, which involved figuring out why their magic was being blocked, and if there was a way to bring it back. If she could figure out a way to even temporarily bring her magic back, there was a chance that she could stop this nightmare. She gazed around the spacious barn house, happy that they had finally found a place they could stay while she figured everything out.

Hope

— Twilight —

Celestia’s sun beamed above her. The rows of apple trees offered little shade from the high sun, but the cooling autumn weather made it unnecessary. Regardless, their presence offered a sort of comfort from the nightmare that was happening. Twilight was happy they had made it here, as the lonesome farm granted a new sense of safety for her and everypony else. Still, she felt anxious.

She looked back at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, both of them similarly taking a break from apple harvesting. She set her saddle buckets down to join them. Dash, leaning against their tree, nodded as she scoffed into her apple. AJ, also with a mouth full of apple, grabbed one from a bucket by the tree and tossed it to her. She happily accepted.

“You okay, sugarcube? You still look stressed.”

Twilight swallowed what she chewed.

“I … I am. I don’t know, I’m just worried.”

“Makes sense. I don’t blame you, but I wish I could make ya feel more at ease.”

Rainbow Dash finished her apple, tossing the core aside.

“Come on, Twilight. Look around. We’re at Sweet Apple Acres. This is the best place we could be right now. There’s plenty of food, we’re away from others, and we’ve even got fences! Both you and I know how to take on groups of them, and with the barn, there’s no way we can’t fend for ourselves. This is a damn safe haven!”

Twilight hesitantly half-smiled, partially relieved by her words. AJ wasn’t as convinced.

“Dash, I know this place seems like a fortress, but I reckon we aren’t there yet. Without … without …” AJ stuttered, looking off into the distance briefly. “Without Big Mac, I haven’t been able to fortify damn near as much as I done wanted to. Carrot and the fillies have helped me a lot in takin’ care of the fences, but I … I gotta be honest, I’m a bit nervous myself.”

AJ had her reasons to be skeptical. Earlier this morning, she had mentioned in as much detail as she was comfortable to give how Granny had perished, from Carrot’s perspective. Despite both of them shutting the door and staying inside, a few stray zombie stallions had wandered onto the farm. The stallions were sniffing around the carrot fields when poor Granny mistook the convincing ponies for live ones and went out on the porch. By the time she realized they weren’t, she was unable to get back inside fast enough. She had almost closed the door when they powered through it and tore into her.

AJ had grown uncomfortable telling the story, so that’s where she ended off. They learned more later, through Carrot, that she had killed Granny herself after barely managing to take out both of the undead stallions. The two stallions had ripped into Granny, and she was in so much pain that she begged Carrot to end it. AJ and the fillies arrived at the gruesome scene not long after.

She also experienced some close calls the past couple days. Just yesterday, when Carrot and her were working on the back of the barn, a small group of zombie ponies snuck up on them. The group had broken through the front fence, despite the barbed wire, and created a hole in it. The surprise mob nearly took out Carrot and her, and she was pretty shaken from it.

Dash frowned disapprovingly at AJ’s pessimistic take.

“Oh come on, AJ! Have some faith. You’ve done an awesome job so far! Give yourself some credit.”

Dash stepped beside AJ and patted her back, causing her to smile faintly.

“I … guess you may be right. Thank ya, sugarcube.”

“And think about it!” Dash continued, “There’s how many of us now? If a group as large as the train station mobs we’ve seen come rolling through, heck, we each get one a pop! Easy!”

Twilight pondered the thought. They did have the safety of the barn, as well as safety in numbers. It’s not that she hadn’t thought about this. Given all the events that had happened to her group the past few days, she was just uncertain when it came to their safety. Nonetheless, she smiled at Dash’s hopefulness.

“Yes, we do have safety in numbers, which is nice,” she said, her smile fading. “... but we need to think about how to handle future mobs like that. We can’t just keep slaughtering the rest of Ponyville. I know it's come to those means, especially since yesterday, but we have a cure now. We gotta try our best to spare these ponies, so that we can save them later.”

Dash rose a hoof to her chin, gazing up at the apple trees as she thought about what she said.

“We could start wrangling them up, maybe putting them somewhere? We've got Derpy to help us in the air, too,” she suggested, glancing at AJ.

They did have Derpy as well. Obviously, once they were settled in Devan's house last night, Twilight had given Derpy no time to herself. She immediately set her aside and started the "interrogation". Derpy mentioned how she thought she retained her flight, and by Twilight's standards, she was inclined to believe her.

Apparently, a few days before this apocalypse began, Derpy worked with a mysterious package at the post office. The box had been transported from Manehatten to Ponyville, intended for a local researcher. It had gotten mangled up during its travels, so it wasn't in the best shape. While curious, Derpy wasn't one to commit federal crimes — from her words at least — so she handled the box like any other. However, she noticed a bent-up corner of the box was dripping with some strange blue liquid. When she raised it above her head to see better, the bottom fell out, spilling the mysterious liquid all over her. Her body felt strange sensations from the liquid, and her wings buzzed weirdly for the next couple of minutes.

Nothing else out of the ordinary had happened to Derpy Hooves, so Twilight concluded that this liquid must have somehow made her immune to losing the ability to fly. It made sense, as the liquid originated from "The Little Labs Science Institute". Upon learning this, she bombarded the pegasus with questions about what she did with the box, what she did with the liquid, if there were any more liquids set aside at the post office, if they got any more packages from the institute, where it was meant to go, where it actually went, what part of town it got sent to, and more.

Unfortunately, Derpy didn't have much to go off of. She had taken care of the mishap, repackaging any unspilled liquid with a notice letter to both the institute and intended research pony. She could not recall where the package was sent, as she was not the one who delivered it. The address had stuck in her head for ... maybe a few minutes? Derpy had handled so much mail since the sickness started spreading that it was hard for her to remember any kind of address. With this, Twilight made a mental note to visit the post office in the coming days, once they were more settled in. She was happy they had Derpy's flight ability nonetheless.

AJ took a second to think as well. “We could … but it depends on how fast they come at us. We got some rope in the barn, but probably only enough for a hoofful of ‘em. If a mob comes, we’d be better off haulin’ them away or somethin’. We could make some more makeshift rope outta our haybales over time too.”

They both looked to Twilight, waiting to hear her thoughts. She hadn’t thought much about non-lethal measures the past day, given how fiercely they were attacked. However, with a group their size, she could see potential in ‘capturing’ stray zombie ponies that wandered onto the farm. Given enough time, this would also help the situation of Ponyville. Eventually, they would have enough ponies locked up to justify moving freely throughout town. The only question was: where? Where would they store them?

“Shoot,” AJ commented.

Twilight looked back up at her, following her eyes to a pink pony with a bushy mane in the distance, walking past a row of apple trees. Her heart paused for a moment, wondering if Pinkie had finally made it out of the Everfree. When she squinted her eyes from the bright afternoon sun, she noticed a green mane instead of Pinkie's pink one. Letting out a sigh of relief, she observed the mare’s clumsy, limpish walk. While she had not noticed them, she was still headed toward the barn.

Dash sighed. “Well, shit, do we start our new non-lethal strat now?”

Twilight glanced at AJ, who nodded back. It would have to be them for now, as they had sent Derpy patrolling the other side of the farm, keeping an eye on the nearby Everfree Forest.

“Can y’all distract them while I go grab some rope?” AJ asked.

“On it!” Dash answered.

Twilight followed Dash through a few rows of apple trees, plotting a path behind the zombie mare. As they got closer, she grew familiar with the mare’s green mane. When they crossed the second row, the mare picked up on them and turned to face them.

It was Daisy.

As Daisy broke out into that familiar trot, Twilight sighed to herself. She pushed back memories of the castle so she could stay on task.

Since it was just Daisy, both she and Dash easily rounded her, leading her away from the barn. They then looped around and started to circle the poor mare. After a minute of circling, AJ came galloping down the row of trees with a rope wrapped around her waist. Before she got too close, she took the rope and tied one end of it to an apple tree. She had already tied a noose onto it, so with the other end firmly tied to the tree, she picked up the middle section with her hoof. She used it to whip the noose around her head like a normal lasso.

“Bring her closer!!” she called to them.

Both Dash and Twilight veered the mare toward AJ. When they passed by her, AJ tossed the other end, which landed square over her neck. AJ followed them past the tree. Right after crossing the next, they saw the noose tighten around Daisy’s neck, bringing her to a quick halt.

They all stopped, watching the mare struggle with her new collar. For a moment, they all shared smiles, until they saw Daisy drop to her knees.

Shit!

Twilight hesitantly followed AJ as they crept forward to the mare, who had her mouth open as if she was choking. She had stopped groaning entirely, and her pale face was starting to blush. Despite this, the mare started clawing the air between them, her glazed-over eyes peering into her. This was something they hadn’t experienced yet. Staring straight into the face of danger, not needing to think quickly about swinging a weapon.

She gazed back into Daisy’s eyes, searching for the pony she once knew. But she wasn’t there. The rabid pony could not communicate, especially with a noose around her neck, and it seemed the only thing she wanted was to take her too.

She and AJ stood within a pony length from the mare, not willing to risk getting any closer. They helplessly watched her choke until she slowly stopped moving. Her glazed eyes shut, and after a few seconds, AJ closed in on her.

“AJ!”

AJ set her hooves on Daisy, untightening the noose. The mare did not move.

“It’s alright, sugarcube. I’m just gonna tie her up better,” she replied, “Can you two help me?”

Twilight exchanged a nervous glance with Dash before helping AJ move the mare against the tree. It was uncertain how long they had left until she woke back up, so all they could do was tie her to it for now. AJ made sure the triple-wrapped lasso around Daisy’s waist and the tree was tight enough before backing away. The three of them looked on at the mare, whose head hung over her chest.

As they waited to see if she would come back, Twilight felt a wave of emotion flow over her. Still peering at the mare, a few tears found their way down her cheeks. The others didn’t notice until she unintentionally sniffed.

“Awe, sugarcube,” AJ said, wrapping her foreleg around the back of her neck. “It’s okay.”

“Yeah, Twilight,” Dash joined, moving to her other side. “This is a win for us. Once she wakes up, you can observe her until your brain goes numb. Wait … uh … maybe don’t observe her that long …”

The three of them laughed.

“I guess you’re right. Hopefully I can find out more about them.”

Twilight sighed, hoping she could. There was no telling what she would find out, or if she would even find anything. She quietly hoped that she would, so they could prevent anypony else from dying.

Like No Other

— Spark —

Spark followed Vinyl and Split through the woods. The group was mostly silent as they partially backtracked in the hopes of running across Trixie and Devan. They edged along the forest, moving away from the Canterlot mountain now, as they looked for the river they crossed earlier. The rain had settled not long ago, so Celestia’s early morning sun beamed down through the gaps in the clouds and lit up the forest from time to time.

They knew they were risking their lives here, but all of them understood Trixie’s importance. There was a chance she made it out, especially since Candy and Vinyl had seen the faint blue glow of what they hoped was another wind spell, so they went for it. In an effort to promote their safety, they chose this path specifically, hoping they would pass the train mob that was once chasing them.

Even though the three of them were lucky to make it out of that disaster, losing Candy dealt a sizable blow to their morale. Regardless, they were happy to be alive. They just hoped the same could be said for Trixie and Devan. As they made their way along, Vinyl could not help but notice her troubled expression. She slowed, allowing Split to take the lead, so she could walk beside her.

“Hey, girl, you alright?”

“I am. I’m just sad about Candy.”

“So you two were close?”

She sighed. “Close enough ...”

The Canterlot roofs glistened in the afternoon sunlight. Below, scattered, eager ponies roamed the desolate streets. Some of them had caught sight of her and Candy, following them in hopes of a free meal once they fell. It wasn’t happening though. The two agile mares navigated through the slanted, pointy, or downright flat roofs. They carefully leaped over the alleys they could comfortably cross, and took caution in avoiding the wider ones.

They were almost there. Ahead, the princess’s castle spires rose tall above the nearby buildings of Canterlot. She gazed up at them, wondering just how a city as majestic looking as this could fall so quickly.

Her pops had moved here years ago to pursue work, leaving younger her with her mama until she was old enough to live on her own. As much as she loved her pops, she never had the desire to move to royal Canterlot. She was country by heart, and she found herself unable to leave the outskirts of Ponyville until … this happened. She sighed, hoping her pops was at least boarded up in his townhouse with his neighbors.

She glanced at Candy ahead of her. The candy-colored mare had mentioned over and over as they traversed the rooftops about how dangerous this pursuit was. However, when Spark asked if they should go back, Candy told her to brush the thought aside. She knew how much her pops meant to her, so she was determined to lead her there.

Funny enough, her pops apparently visited Candy’s shop from time to time, buying the same damn peppermints she recalled as a filly. She happily accepted some of them from Candy before they left the shop, hoping to find her pops to make his day. But as they made their way closer to the castle, she grew more and more worried. Distant sounds of groans filled the city, and every time she gazed over the edge of the rooftops, there was always one of those damned ponies walking about.

After jumping across another small alley, they were finally there. She could see the rooftop of his building now, but it looked the same. To their right side, down the street from his townhouse, was the towering front of Celestia and Luna’s castle. The two of them crouched down as they approached the edge of the rooftop.

On the street below them, there were dozens of ponies meandering around. It only took a second of observation to realize they were all undead, gently moaning and groaning as they sniffed around for a meal. Spark took a minute to observe them, watching some of them walk down the sidewalk as if they were normal. A few of them swiveled their heads around from time to time before dropping them and sniffing the ground.

One mare, who was gazing left and right in the middle of the street, caught sight of her and suddenly looked up with those glazed-over eyes. Spark gazed back down at her, watching the mare gently raise her bloody jaw. For a few uncomfortable seconds, the mare watched her, before dropping her jaw again and making her way to the sidewalk right underneath them. Spark shivered as she backed up a step, hoping to stay out of her vision.

“Yeah, pretty scary stuff,” Candy commented.

“Tell me about it.”

The two of them looked across the street at her pop’s townhouse. The first thing that caught her attention was the few boarded-up windows on the third floor across from them. However, as her gaze shifted downward, the building looked worse. Two of the second-floor windows were busted open, and she could see blood reflecting off the shards of glass left behind. She shifted her eyes to the front doors of the homes. There were five of them in total, with small stairs leading up to them. Three of the five were wide open, and one of them … was her pops home. On top of this, she noticed red stains leading out of it.

For a moment, she stood still, trying to figure out whether reality was real or not. As her mind slowly connected the dots, she backed away fearfully, tears forming under her eyes. She was never one to cry, but her emotions overwhelmed her in the moment. As she backed up, Candy turned back to her.

“Spark, hey …”

Tears gushed out of her face as she laid down on the roof, her forelegs starting to shake. Candy rushed up to her, setting a hoof on her back.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, rubbing her back as she sat down beside her. “Just let it out, darling.”

She did. Her eyes were drained of tears as she mourned for her pops. Whether or not he was dead or undead didn’t matter, as she saw both as a loss. It was even worse not knowing. She struggled to fight back thoughts of what might have happened. Visions of him getting attacked at his home flooded in before she could stop them, extending her grief.

The only thing comforting her was Candy, who continued gently rubbing her back as she shushed in her ear. Despite her breaking down, she still felt like she was being a big ‘ol baby. She took a few deep breaths to relax and sat back up beside Candy. Before she could do anything, the mare wiped her eyes for her.

“Are you alright now?”

She sighed. “I am. I’m sorry.”

“Nonsense, dear. I’d be pretty upset too. Damn near cried for you.”

Spark gazed back at her bright blue eyes.

“What about your family? Shouldn’t you be upset too?”

“I mean, I could be. I’m worried about them, sure, but my parents live in the Crystal Empire. Not much I can do about it. I just hope the Empire is doing better than we are.”

“I hope so too.”

The mares sat in silence for a minute, listening to the breeze and distant zombie groans of the city.

“You good to head back, or do you need some more time?” Candy asked.

“Yeah … yeah, we can head back now.”

“Okay, just let me know if you need to stop,” Candy replied, standing up and briefly rubbing Spark’s mane.

“Thank you.”

A morning breeze rustled the leaves above them.

“I’m sorry she turned,” Vinyl said, “Hopefully Trix can turn her back eventually.”

“I hope so.”

The group continued, scanning the trees around them for a flash of blue or a large, lengthy figure walking around. Whether or not they found them, the group had settled on a plan for after.

Applejack’s farm.

Spark discussed with the others the farm’s potential. She and Applejack happened to be friends from long ago when they used to be neighbors. She was invited to parties and gatherings with the Apple family many times in the past, so she knew her well. She knew her well enough to know that AJ was probably holed up with her family, turning the farm into some kind of fortress. That’s what she predicted anyway. Regardless of how AJ was running it, the farm provided safety away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Ponyville. It was worth a shot. Needless to say, none of them wanted to climb up to Canterlot, whether or not Trixie wanted them to.

As Celestia’s morning sunlight emerged from the clouds, Spark could make out the shapes of zombie ponies to their distant left. They must have been part of the train mob, so she kept a sharp eye on the shadows to assess how many she encountered. There were only about ten of them from her count, as opposed to the dozens they had fought at the train. This amount was small enough to justify continuing.

So they did, climbing a slight incline on the forest floor. Ahead of them, the forest stopped and transitioned into an empty, grassy hill. Spark followed Split to the edge of the hill, which offered a surprisingly beautiful view. She was taken aback by the sight of Foal Mountain, rising high over the distant tree line and sweeping plains. They had run across some of these plains with Candy earlier, when it was dark, but seeing it now showed the distance they had traveled. Closer to the left of the plains, near the bottom of Canterlot Mountain, showed an unexpected, daunting view. Spark gazed upon it.

“Sweet. Baby. Jesus.”

Right below them, covering the sweeping plains leading to Canterlot, all the way to the distant train tracks, was a sea of movement. While they could not make out the faces yet, they knew the movement had to be ponies. Undead ponies. Not the mobs they had encountered previously, or small gatherings like they were used to. There were ... hundreds ... of zombie ponies. The leading portions of the horde were passing in front of Canterlot Mountain now. Soon, they would be back on the railroad tracks, which would lead them …

Straight into Ponyville.

“Holy fucking shit,” Split commented.

“I- There- There’s too many to count!” Vinyl added.

"Where did they even come from?!" Spark cried.

Vinyl widened her eyes as a thought entered her mind. "Manehatten! THE TRAIN!! It must have lured them here!"

“Well shit," Split replied, "What do we do?”

“We need to draw them away! They will destroy Ponyville!” Spark exclaimed.

“DRAW THEM AWAY?!” Split exclaimed.

“YES!” Vinyl agreed, “We have to try!”

“Okay, maybe I’m batshit insane or something, but DO YOU TWO NOT SEE WHAT I SEE?!”

"THAT'S OUR HOME!" Vinyl argued, pointing in the direction of Ponyville.

"I-" Split started, taken aback by her passionate reply.

"She's right," Spark said, "We can't just let 'em mow through our home! That's where the others are headed. Maybe Trixie and Devan too! There is still life in Ponyville. We gotta do something!"

Split glanced between the two mares, slowly understanding their thought processes. While he was not as passionate as them, having visited Ponyville just once in his lifetime as a Manehatten resident, he still cared about others, especially Vinyl. He looked back at the immense horde moving just in front of them, seeing vague clouds of dust being kicked up from their trot. He was taken aback by the view again, trying to realize just how deadly this absurdly sized swarm was.

"Look," he responded, "I'm with you two. I don't want Ponyville to fall either, but can we really prevent that? How?"

"I have an idea," Vinyl stated.

"I do too," Spark added.

"You two realize the severity of this, right? We can try, but there is a huge chance we'll all die doing so. I'm willing to make that sacrifice, for you two, but are you?"

"We are," Vinyl declared, standing tall beside Spark.

"Come on!" Spark yelled, turning around and galloping away from the ridge. The horde was closing in on them, as well as Ponyville, so they had no choice but to race it back. Split and Vinyl quickly joined her as they knew this too. They eyed each other anxiously as they raced back for Ponyville. Spark had an idea of how to draw the mob away, and so did Vinyl, but they had to get there first. She wondered if they would make it there in time.

Pity Party

— Devan —

The creepy Everfree forest loomed above us as we made our way through it. Trixie and I had reached the river split relatively quickly, as she had floated quite a distance downstream. On our journey to the forest, we passed by a bridge that Trixie said led to Dodge City. We both considered the passing idea of crossing it and spending time in the city to figure things out, but we both agreed it was not that great of a plan. While the city could provide temporary protection, located in an inconspicuous location away from big towns, Trixie would not be able to read or learn very much in the pursuit of a cure. We also hoped to find Candy and the others back in Ponyville.

So, we traveled along the narrowing river, catching a glimpse of Rambling Rock Ridge behind a small section of forest. Eventually, we made our way here, into the heart of the Everfree forest. Both Trixie and I were keeping a very strong focus on our direction because neither of us wanted to end up lost in this eerie forest, especially at a time like this.

Despite the clouds from earlier clearing, a sprinkle of rain began again as more clouds returned above us. The Everfree forest provided us a bit of shelter from it, but getting caught in the rain was getting tiresome. After traversing the thick, viny trees and dense shrubbery, we stumbled across one of the main paths through the Everfree forest. It looked similar to the one that led to Zecora’s hut, and Trixie agreed that it was likely the same one. That is when the memory of Pinkie Pie struck me.

“Trix, wait,” I said, stopping on the path.

She stopped as well. “What?”

“We should stop by Zecora’s hut.”

“Why is that? We would be backtracking, you know.”

“I know, but it was here that I got bit. By Pinkie Pie.”

She paused, alarmed by this information.

“You were bit … here?”

I sighed. “Yes.”

She eyed me suspiciously.

“Hold on. You've got some confusing ass stories, Devan. What in Equestria were you two doing in the Everfree forest?”

“She brought me here. That’s when I learned she was bit, and about the apocalypse. She said Zecora might have something, or so she thought. I don’t know, I never got to check. Pinkie turned on the way and when I went myself, Zecora wasn’t home.”

“Crap,” Trixie replied, rubbing her face with her hoof. “Do you know if any more of Twilight's friends got bitten?”

“I … I don’t know. I haven’t even seen Twilight, or Applejack, or Rarity. I was with Dash and Fluttershy, but now we’re separated … again.”

“Yeah ...” she said defeatedly, “a lot of that going around.”

“So can we please check Zecora’s hut? I want to at least see what Pinkie might have been mentioning.”

Trixie took a second to think about my proposal before agreeing to it. With that, we both turned around and headed to Zecora’s hut. I hoped that Zecora would be home now, and I hoped Pinkie was right about her having something to help. Maybe there was even some kind of cure there that Trixie could use to fix the world. It seemed unlikely, but it was worth the detour anyway. In a few short minutes of walking, we reached her hut. I started to worry as there was still no light emitting through the few windows out front.

In spite of this, I knocked on the front door. Trixie and I waited nervously as there was no response. Instead of knocking again, I tried the doorknob and found it was unlocked this time. The door squeaked open to a sight that I was not prepared to see.

Zecora’s motionless body was laid out on the floor beside a tipped-over pot, and she had flies buzzing around her corpse. Her head had what looked like a puncture wound and a small, red puddle of blood on the floor underneath. Her body appeared pale, but it was unclear whether this was from her dying or if she had somehow become a zombie zebra.

Green liquid from the pot was spilled out beside her, occasionally bubbling on the wooden floor. Also on the floor were a few books and broken bottles. A couple messy piles of books were in an empty corner of the room, and overall, the room was a complete mess. There was obviously a struggle here, which, regrettably, resulted in Zecora's death. I stepped back from the door to get a whiff of fresh air after abruptly gagging when my nostrils caught the scent of her lifeless body. I heard Trixie sigh before looking back at me.

“Well?” she asked, “Do you still want to check?”

“I think it would be for the best … but we need to … extract her,” I answered.

“We do.”

In typical Trixie fashion, she hit my nose with a spell when I was not looking. The death smell that I was actively trying to rid of vanished as my nostrils filled with a growing rose scent. When I looked up, her nostrils had a slight blue glow to them, indicating she had used the same spell on herself. She gestured to the door, so I followed her inside to the daunting scene and flung my backpack beside the door.

I carefully avoided stepping into the corrosive-looking green liquid as I stepped in front of Zecora and grabbed her forelegs. Trixie grabbed her hind legs, and, with the help of her magic, we lifted her off the ground and moved her outside of the hut. We laid her body out a few tree-lengths away from her hut and left her corpse to decay in peace, regretting the pitter patter of the rain occasionally hitting it. However, neither of us had a shovel to bury her, and it would probably take too much of our time anyway.

When we reentered the hut, Trixie immediately began using her magic to sort through the book piles. I went to a different part of the hut and examined some of the books sprinkled on the floor. That is when I noticed an opened book with written-on papers scattered across a desk by the wall.

Upon taking a closer look at the papers, I saw what looked like magic writing, along with sketches. I knew it was probably magic language, as Twilight had shown me some in the past. Despite knowing about it, I could not read it, unfortunately. It was a special language not understood by all, and if someone wanted to learn it, they needed to spend a lot of time studying it, like any other language.

The book was opened to a page with similar magic language, and part of it was shriveled up with odd, solid bubbles formed in its burnt brown appearance. I looked back at the spilled pot, noticing similar-looking bubbles popping from time to time. Connecting the dots, I understood that the book had been a victim of the strange stew. This caused me to ponder:

Who picked this book off the floor?

I then carefully picked the book up and flipped it over to see the cover. On it was a smiling, green pony that was dressed up as a zombie. I looked on at the unexpected pony for a second longer before turning back to Trixie, who was still searching through the other scattered books.

“Trixie, look!”

I showed her the book in my hand, which made her drop the books she was looking at and gallop over to me. She snatched the book from me and quickly flipped to the first page. From my view, I noticed English words written on the first page, so I leaned down and read over her shoulder.

If anypony stumbles across this, I tried to finish the bubbled-over part of the spell. Just our luck that one of the most important parts of the spell fell into that stupid bubbling stew, right? Anyway, I tried my best using what I know to finish it using the papers I’ll leave on the table. If they aren’t there, I also squeezed in my sketches on the two blank pages at the end of this book. I am not the most knowledgeable in magic, so it might not be right, but hopefully, it will give whoever finds this the right idea.

I do wonder if any of this really matters, honestly, but maybe unicorn magic will return one day, or maybe there are still unaffected unicorns that have it out there. If you have magic, or know somepony who does, send them this IMMEDIATELY. That should be obvious to you, but I must emphasize how important it is. I hoofwrote a copy of this book that I took with me, so hopefully, I can find a unicorn that has magic if this is never found. Whatever you do, do not lose hope.

- Cheerilee

After I finished reading, a smile lit up my face.

We found it!

I thanked Cheerilee in my head as I struggled not to get too excited. I turned to Trixie and put a hand on her shoulder as she flipped the page.

“This is fantastic!!” I exclaimed.

“Shhhhh,” she hissed, focusing intently on the next page. The following pages had a mix of English and magic language, but I read with her the best I could in case there was useful knowledge for me to gain. She aggressively flipped through the remaining pages, taking note of the papers on the table when we reached the few corroded pages. Around that time, the pages started using mainly magic language with a little English sprinkled in, so I stopped reading.

I instead walked around the hut, trying to make sense of the skirmish that happened. Cheerilee had not mentioned Zecora at all during the note, but she had to have been involved with her, right? As I pondered, observing the rest of the hut, I noticed a flash of pink through the front door we had left open.

No ...

It was Pinkie Pie. Again. It took me a moment to realize with horror that it was her, and she was now trotting toward it. Acting quickly, I rounded the pot and jumped over the spilled liquid in a rush to the door. She was just pony-lengths away when I reached it and slammed it shut. Knowing just how powerful some of these zombie ponies could be, I then turned around and shoved my back against the door so she could not knock it down. I turned to see Trixie staring at me questionably until Pinkie banged on the door behind me.

“Help!! It’s Pinkie!” I yelled.

Trixie set down the book carefully before summoning a spell. I could tell it was powerful, because of how bright her horn became, and the time it took for her to charge it up. After some time, the pot in the middle of the room grew a magic blue field around it. Slowly, Trixie used her magic to lift it up and spilled the rest of its contents on a bare section of the floor. She then started lugging it toward me, and when the pot was within an arm-length from me, I hopped aside to prevent being squished. Finally, she used the few stairs leading up to the door to lay the heavy pot against it. Pinkie’s banging and growling continued, but the pot proved strong enough to barricade the door.

“Good going, Trix," I commented, catching my adrenaline-driven breaths. "... can you use the spell on her?”

“I can try, but let me finish the book. I don’t know if Cheerilee’s logic makes sense just yet.”

Crap.

I sat next to the pot as she finished the book, watching to make sure it would hold. After she was done, I got into position on the other side of it.

“No,” she said, “This spell will take me some time to charge, since it's my first time trying it.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“The window.”

She pointed to the window above Zecora’s bed, which was an open design with two sticks in a cross-shape in the middle of it. I looked at the window and tried to imagine if the four open corners would be small enough to keep Pinkie from entering. It was a bit too close to tell, but they did appear small enough. After some hesitation, I agreed to help her lure Pinkie over. Jumping on the bed, we both hollered out for Pinkie. It took a minute, but eventually, the banging at the front door ceased.

Trixie and I hopped back off the bed. As we heard Pinkie’s hoofsteps closing in around the side of the hut, Trixie charged her horn. Pinkie’s pale face then appeared through the window, and she took no time in recognizing us. Immediately, she threw her hooves through the gaps in the window in an attempt to reach us. As she struggled to get in, Trixie released the spell.

For a moment, Pinkie’s body flashed blue as Trixie’s blue orb hit her. A blue wave flowed over Pinkie, and I noticed an ominous red glint flash in her pale eyes. It was only a second later that we both realized the spell had not worked. Pinkie continued trying to dig her way inside, her forelegs clawing even harder than before. Distraught from the failure, I looked aside to see Trixie rush back to the desk and frantically flip through the pages again. Then, a loud snapping sound came from the window. I turned back to see the sticks had snapped and fell on the bed underneath, and Pinkie was now wriggling her way through the now-open window.

“TRIX!” I yelled, watching helplessly as Pinkie made her way inside, dropping on the bed. I realized with horror that our only other way out besides the window was the door, which was barricaded now. Knowing this, I sprinted back to my bag and pulled out my baseball bat. Pinkie was gunning for Trixie now, so I rushed in between them and whacked her with the bat.

Shockingly, the powerful blow only caused her to stumble sideways, far from knocking her out as intended. I moved away from Trixie, thankfully gaining Pinkie's attention.

“Try it again!” I yelled. I noticed as I shuffled across the room that Trixie had prepared herself with a knife handle firmly gripped between her teeth. She stared at me doubtfully, but eventually lit up her horn again.

Despite the hut being as small as it was, I was still flabbergasted at how quickly Pinkie was moving. She was damn near galloping now. When she lunged, I juked her to avoid getting bitten again. I then used all the stamina I could to shuffle-step behind her as she turned around for me. Now, she was in-between Trixie and me. My moves worked, as they granted enough time for Trixie to warm up the spell again. She released it, but again it had no effect.

There wasn't much room on either side of me to try and juke Pinkie again, so I raised my bat over my shoulder. There was little time allotted in charging up a swing, so I swung less powerfully than I hoped to. The bat smacked her face again, but barely phased her. As before, she managed to lunge forward. I tried side-stepping out of the way, but she moved too quickly, her jaw catching part of my thigh. Her teeth made contact with my skin, and she bit into me.

Her bite was surprisingly strong, causing me to slip to the ground as I tried to peel away from her. Before long, I was back in the same damn position I was in with her before, laid out on the ground and pushing on her chest and forehead to keep her snapping jaw back. I struggled as she pushed back on me, proving a lot stronger than she once looked. She was a lot stronger than the other ponies I had struggled with, herself included, and a lot faster. I started wondering if Trixie's spell might have had the opposite effect.

Regardless, I hoped Trixie’s third spell attempt would somehow work. But instead of another flash of blue light, I saw part of Trixie’s mane behind Pinkie’s head. Pinkie’s facial expression then suddenly froze. Lit up by Trixie’s magical blue aura, her head was pulled slowly to the ground beside me, revealing Trixie standing behind her with a bloody knife in her mouth.

I looked back and forth between them in shock, watching blood begin to seep from Pinkie’s head.

“TRIXIE! WHAT DID YOU DO?!” I exclaimed.

Trixie’s expression changed from shock to anger as she spat out the knife on the floor beside me.

“WHAT DID I DO?! SHE WAS GOING TO KILL YOU!”

“I HAD HER! You should have tried the spell again!”

“IT WOULDN’T WORK!! DID YOU NOT SEE HER?! I think my spell made her STRONGER! She was going to TEAR you to PIECES!”

I tried to overcome the shock upon realizing what just happened.

“YOU JUST KILLED PINKIE!!”

“I HAD TO, DEVAN!! You can't just keep throwing yourself to the undead!! You may be immune, but you still BLEED! What if she bit your fucking neck?! You think you can just live without a jugular vein?!”

Filled with a new wave of uncontrollable anger mixed with grief, I sat up and shoved Trixie hard. Her hooves slipped as she fell backward, since she was unprepared for it. As she hit the floor, I dug my face into my sweaty palms. When I finally opened them again, I realized I had shoved Trixie close enough to the bubbling liquid for her front hoof to slip in it. She backed away and frantically shook her hoof in an attempt to rid of it. My racing emotions were now overcome with a new smacking sense of guilt.

“Oh my god! Trix! Are you okay?” I exclaimed, sitting up on my knees and scooting over to her.

“You moron,” she whimpered, still shaking her hoof.

“I'm so sorry, Trix. Please let me see,” I said, grabbing her affected hoof before she could retaliate.

She was able to shake most of the liquid off, but her hoof was growing red with irritation. I let it go and ran over to my bag, grabbing water and a washcloth from my bag. After I soaked the cloth, I hurried back and kneeled beside her. She eyed me nervously before allowing me to gently cover her hoof with the cloth.

“I’m sorry, Trix. I didn't mean for that to happen,” I apologized.

She sighed. “I had to kill her, okay? I'm sorry too. I didn't want to, but I didn't want you to die either.”

It was clear our stubborn tendencies were clashing with one another, so to prevent more argument, I kept quiet. I didn't want to admit that I understood her logic.

I tried to avoid Pinkie’s lifeless body next to us as I finished up with her hoof. When I was done, I sat on my knees and set a hand against my head while I processed my grief. Trixie leaned forward and set her hoof on my knee.

“Devan ... your leg ...” she mentioned.

Despite the pain, my adrenaline caused me to forget about it already. "Shit."

"It's okay. Let me help you."

Trying to ignore the pain pulsing through my legs, I stood up and unbuckled my belt. The bite, similar to the one Pinkie made on my arm, was on the side of my thigh this time. I pulled my pants down to my knees, feeling exposed as I sat back down on the floor and twisted slightly to see it. It was bleeding more profusely than the other bites I had gotten, but it didn't appear too deep. Trixie helped me thoroughly clean it and wrapped it up with the gauze in my bag, making sure it was tight. She sat quietly beside it, turning to me when she was done.

"Like I said, Devan, you have to stop getting bitten."

"I wasn't trying to. She came at me too fast."

Trixie glanced over at Pinkie and sighed.

"Yeah, I think that was on me. I tried to workaround Cheerilee's logic, but I think it created an unintended side-effect. I saw how fast she was moving too ..." she said, taking a deep breath and dropping her head defeatedly. "fucking shit."

"Hey ..." I replied, setting a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault."

"I know, I know. But I could have sworn my logic would work!" she replied frustratingly.

"It's okay, Trix. You can work out the logic again and we'll just keep trying."

She sighed. "I don't know ..."

"Trixie, I know you can. I don't care if you don't believe in yourself right now. I do. And so should you, ya stubborn bitch."

She looked up, failing to hide a smile.

"Thanks, Devan. I'll keep working at it."

After we were both patched up, she removed the pot from the door before she and I worked together to pull Pinkie out of the hut, just like we had with Zecora. We laid her out next to Zecora, her unmoving face getting gently patted from raindrops in the steady rainfall. I took a moment to grieve. What started out as a moment of intense new hope from finding the spell quickly turned into despair. I thought back to the first day of the apocalypse, remembering our interaction vividly.

Curse this fucking plague.

It was like this wonderful world was stabbing me in the back, over and over again. And it had all started by taking away the best source of happiness Ponyville had. I wished things were different, and that Pinkie had never gotten bitten. I realized I could use her presence now more than ever.

But it was not meant to be. While we could not save Pinkie, I thought back to the book, realizing we could still save others. This only brought me more tears, and I quietly wished for Pinkie to rest in peace now. After some time of mourning, Trixie shook me.

“Come on, Devan. Let's go inside and rest.”

"Now??"

"Yes. We've been through a lot this morning. I know you already rested a bit, but I'm still exhausted. Especially after that damn near death experience. I also spent a lot of time helping Spark fix that damn train this morning. Regardless, let's at least get out of this damn rain for now. I know we just found something great, but we're going to need rest if we're gonna do anything about it."

"Fine," I huffed.

We both made our way back inside, shutting the door behind us this time. Trixie once again used that blow-drying spell on both of us, drying us off from the rain. She was gracious enough to use it on me twice, effectively drying my clothes for the first time in what seemed like forever. If I had to so much as wade in another body of water, I'd probably kill someone. I thanked her, appreciating the new comfortable dryness and warmth my body was eager for.

Inside, I noticed the sticks from the window sitting on Zecora's bed. When I got up on the bed and started trying to set them back in the window for safety, I was knocked aside by that familiar blue flash of Trixie's magic. I then watched as an assortment of glass bits from the smashed bottles around the hut drifted in the air past me. With a blue glow surrounding them, they were carefully arranged in the window like some kind of puzzle. After the last piece was put in its place, and the window was fully covered, the center flashed blue as a shockwave of light appeared and traveled to all sides of the circular window. Once the shockwave reached the edge, the glass sparkled one last time as if to signify its rigidity.

"There," Trixie said behind me.

I took in the unexpected beauty of the window's shattered glass appearance, reminiscent of church windows from Earth, as I rolled to my back to lie down. I was surprised to see Trixie jump over me despite the bed's narrowness. She dug her hooves into the blanket beside me before laying out on her stomach, brushing against my side with her warm coat of fur.

"You could have just said you wanted the bed ..." I said.

"We can both fit. Shut up and rest."

She was right. As much as I squirmed in my sleep, her warm body might keep me still as we napped. I didn't want to admit how comfortable I felt either.

"Alright, just don't kick me off."

New Moon

— Devan —

I woke up on the cold, hard floor of Zecora’s hut. The typical feeling of a well-rested nap flooded over me as I stretched regardless. Tiredness slowly exited my mind while I sat up, relieved to have another moment of rest after everything that had happened since last night. On the bed was Trixie, with her hooves laid out on my side of it. I shook my head as I stood up, wondering how long ago she had kicked me off. I felt the desire to maliciously pull her off as well, until I realized just how peaceful she looked.

So instead, I quietly walked out the front door and sat down on the steps out front. The rain had stopped yet again, and the dark forest let in just a little bit of Celestia’s evening sunlight. I gazed up at the dense treetops, admiring the rays of light poking through them. Perhaps the recurring closeness of death was haunting me to take none of my time for granted, causing me to constantly take in the beauty of this world every chance I could get.

However, my mind was still sad. We had lost the others. Pinkie Pie was dead. Zecora was dead. More ponies were dead, in this otherwise magical world. A few tears fell down my cheeks as I feared whether or not my friends were alive. If I found out that Twilight died, I don’t believe I could live with myself anymore. I then thought about Trixie and my growing bond with her. How would I manage if she died in front of me? What would I do? I struggled with these thoughts, but they gave me motivation to keep her safe.

While I danced with my thoughts, I started hearing hoofsteps inside. They were quick, and growing louder, until I turned around to see the door behind me swing open. A frazzled Trixie stopped in the doorway when she saw me and took a deep breath.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Damn it, Devan. Nothing.”

“Didn’t really look like that …”

“Look,” she replied, shaking her head. “Just forget it. Are you fully rested now?”

“I am.”

“Well, here's what I'm thinking. I'm going to look through the book a little bit more. Since Cheerilee didn't mention where she went, I can use a detective spell so we can track her down. She might be with others, or maybe her and I can discuss the spell to make it work. We'll leave after I'm comfortable with what I've thought up.”

"Geez, you can do that? I don't think I've even heard Twilight mention a spell like that."

"I can. It's a pretty complicated, energy-intensive spell, but it works, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Eh ... it can mix up tracks from time to time, especially in bigger cities. Thankfully Ponyville isn't that populated, so hopefully I'll have no issues."

I took a second to think about her suggestion.

“You sure about this?” I asked.

“You got a better idea?”

“I don't know. Maybe we look for Twilight?”

“Where do you suppose we look? You mentioned her castle was abandoned. She could be anywhere now. What’s to say she's even in Ponyville? She might even be in Canterlot because of those letters Celestia sent.”

I realized she made sense. There was no telling where anypony was right now in the chaos.

“Alright,” I said, “I guess you’re right. Let’s look for Cheerilee.”

After Trixie spent some more time studying the spell inside, I watched as she packed up the book and papers in my bag. We were ready to leave now, so I flung the backpack on my back and walked outside with her.

Out front, Trixie lit her horn a vibrant blue and charged the spell. The bright glow dimmed to a small one focused around the tip of her horn. She then surveyed the ground around us, scanning for what she said would be a trace of hoofsteps. Even though she told me I would not be able to see them, I still looked around anyway. After a minute, along with some walking, I was under the impression she had not found anything.

“Hey,” I said, “Do you see them?”

“Gah. No. Stay here.”

She turned around and trotted back to the hut, circling the outside once before making her way inside. I waited outside until she came back out with a discouraged look on her face. She gestured for me to go before passing me and trotting down the path.

“Trix, communicate! Damn!” I shouted as we ran.

“Alright!” she huffed, “I can’t find her tracks. I might be able to catch them if we hurry back.”

We hurried along the path, making our way to Ponyville rather quickly. As the forest was thinning and houses from Ponyville were appearing ahead of us, Trixie called out.

“Found them! Follow me!”

Her speed instantly increased, and I had to break out into a fast jog to keep up.

“Trix! Wait!”

The stubborn mare ignored my call, seemingly oblivious to the danger we may be heading into as we crossed the bridge into Ponyville. I could vaguely see the top of Town Hall through the houses we started passing. The area became instantly familiar as we were running along a path that passed both Sugarcube Corner and my house. As much as I wanted to stop Trixie and check on my house, I also did not want her to lose Cheerilee’s track.

Once again, we came across a few zombie ponies roaming the streets of Ponyville. Both of the ones we encountered were far enough from our path to avoid, but we easily caught their attention as we continued our careless run. I looked back to see both a zombie stallion and a mare now giving chase to us. Like before, their speed seemed to be a trot at best, so we would lose them eventually at our rate. The problem was not their speed, but their endurance and persistence. It appeared as though we could run across Equestria to get away, but eventually, they would catch up to us. I hoped we were not leading these ponies straight to Cheerilee.

We continued running for a few minutes until we reached the Ponyville train station. From our approach, I immediately noticed the back few cars of the damned train that my old group had to abandon on day one. Starting from the caboose and going forward, the cars were burnt black with increasing severity. The last one I could see, partially blocked by the station, was also caved in.

Trixie finally slowed to a trot as we rounded the corner of the station. On the station platform ahead of us, three zombie ponies were weakly clawing at the front door. We both froze in the hopes that they did not notice us, but the closest one turned his head and caught us. He stopped his assault on the door and instead shot into action at the sight of us.

“Trix, come on!” I hollered, tugging at her to follow me back into the town. She reluctantly dropped her detective spell and followed as we sprinted back to the nearest house we could find. Rushing to the front door, I frantically jiggled the handle just to find it was locked. I wasted no time pulling out my bat to bust the door's window until I noticed movement through it. Inside, I saw a living, light blue pony ushering a filly to another room of the house. Despite my surprise, I turned back around to see Trixie aimed at the door, lighting up her horn. I sidestepped in her way to prevent her from busting the door down herself.

“No, there’s fillies in there! Come on!” I yelled, continuing our run.

Unfortunately for us, the two zombie ponies from before were rushing toward us, causing us to stop. I looked back to see the three station zombies rushing at us from the other direction, realizing we were quickly being surrounded.

“I got an idea! Follow!” Trixie shouted as she galloped through a gap in the houses on either side of us. I followed her as she looped us back around to the station, where she crossed the tracks and headed for the pond from before. Memories from the first day of the apocalypse tried hard to fight their way into my mind, but I focused on the present as Trixie led me to the edge of the water.

God damn it.

“What’s the plan?!” I asked.

“Look, we need to go under.”

“Are you crazy?”

She lit up her horn before responding, “Take off your bag.”

The zombies were closing in on us now, so I hesitantly followed Trixie’s instructions and tossed the bag away from the pond. Her horn was glowing brightly now, until a flash of light surrounded us. I then felt a strange, windy sensation flow through my throat and into my lungs.

“Now!” Trixie yelled, leaping into the water.

After taking a deep breath, I dove in beside her. I blinked my eyes open underwater, able to see from Trixie’s horn, which illuminated a small area around us. She swam farther down into the pond, so I hesitantly followed, still holding my breath. Once we were slightly away from the edge, Trixie stopped on the pond’s murky, sandy bottom and started looking around it. The pond was not as deep as it looked, but I was not happy about her seemingly stupid idea. Eventually, we would have to resurface, and the zombies would catch sight of our idiot heads poking out of the water again, right? I hoped her idea did not involve staying in the water until they left. I could feel my breath running out, so it was almost time to resurface. Growing agitated, I swam next to her and shook her shoulder. When she looked over at me, I waved my hands around in confusion.

She then used her snout to mouth the words: “Open your mouth, stupid.”

Confused by this, I reluctantly opened my mouth, expecting a rush of water to flood in and expedite my drowning. Instead, the water stayed out and floated in front of my mouth, as if there were a shield between my teeth. I then took a breath in, and to my surprise, fresh air filled my lungs again. I looked back at Trixie in shock, but she was back to scanning the pond floor. I was still admiring her spell when she lit her horn even brighter. Small auras of blue light then glowed around various parts of the dirty pond’s bottom. From them, rocks and sticks were dug out and raised toward the water’s surface. I watched as Trixie charged her horn with a very bright blue glow before the rocks and sticks were sent shooting out of the pond in a bright trail of light.

Immediately after, Trixie turned back to where we swam from and ushered for me to follow. As we made our way along the rising underwater ground, I could see the edge of the pond we had come from was clear. Trixie poked her head above the water to make sure, and after it was clear, she gestured for me to follow her out. Her horn dimmed back to normal, and I felt the same wind as before exit my lungs.

Once I was out of the water, I turned around to see all five of the previously pursuing zombies trotting along the other side of the pond, completely distracted as they followed where Trixie had tossed the rocks. I was then attacked by water when Trixie shook her body dry. I stood up, fighting jealousy as I grabbed my bag and flung it over my wet shoulder. She looked back at me and held back a tired grin as she turned and started trotting back to the station.

That is when I noticed the train engine was missing. The conductor from day one must have succeeded in getting the train going, but how had we missed the train on our trip to Canterlot? It was then that I remembered the other train that took Cloud’s hoof. A sinking feeling entered my stomach as I realized they must have collided somewhere between here and the bridge, and I hoped that it was not too severe of a crash. Hopefully there weren't too many ponies on either of them at the time.

The severity of the fire on the remaining part of the train was evident, as the first, initial car looked burnt to a crisp. On top of this, most of the cars looked caved in. The one in front of the caboose had collapsed sideways to the grass opposite of the platform, and the car in front of that one had it's roof and inside wall caved in.

In the meantime, we had to ignore the damage so we could find out who was trapped inside the station. My brain began to excite me with the idea that it could be Twilight or the others. With this in mind, I passed Trixie and anxiously knocked on the door. Realizing my knocks probably didn't sound far off from the zombies, I leaned in and called for whoever was inside.

“Hey! We drew them away! Who's in there?”

Trixie glowed her horn to pick our way in until there was movement from behind the door. We listened as the sound of furniture moving grew for a moment. The door then opened to a shaken Doctor Hooves. He was relieved at the sight of us.

“Oh, thank goodness! Thank you! Thank you! We’ve been trapped in here for hours!”

“Who is with you?” I inquired.

Doc Hooves opened the door wider, revealing Nurse Redheart. While I was disappointed that it was not Twilight or the others, I was happy to see Redheart. During my stay, Twilight accompanied me to a couple doctor visits, during which I got to meet the nurse for the first time. She was a very caring pony, and very accommodating given my non-pony status. She smiled when she saw me and stepped forward.

“Hi Devan. And thank you. But there is somepony else,” she stated.

“Somepony else?”

“Yes,” Doc Hooves said, “In one of the train cars! They are trapped inside! We must rescue them!”

Both of the ponies trotted past Trixie and me and made their way along the platform to the car two cars ahead of the caboose. We followed them there, observing the mangled wreckage. I exchanged a suspicious glance with Trixie, as it looked like an unlivable circumstance. However, after Doc called out, we heard a muttered response underneath the sunken roof.

“Just hang on! We will figure out a way to release you!” Doc yelled.

“Move back,” Trixie said, stepping up to the train car. Doc took a step back as she lit her horn.

“Great wickering stallions! Is that magic?!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Trixie replied dryly as she focused on her spell. She then dimmed her horn. “Devan, I need your help. Stand in front. You too, Doc.”

She pointed to a location right beside the train car, so Doc and I stepped up to it and prepared ourselves for whatever Trixie was planning. The train car illuminated with her blue magical aura as a section of the collapsed ceiling was lifted up from the floor. It was pulled over the collapsed wall sections and forward into my hands and Doc’s hooves. With her help, we dragged the heavy metal back to the platform and went back to our previous spot. She repeated this a few more times with more sections of debris.

Then, a weakly flowing blue mane was visible through the rubble.

“LUNA!” I yelled, instinctively jumping on the car to get closer.

“Devan!” Trixie shouted, “Back up! We almost got it.”

I restrained my eagerness and backed off the car, anxiously waiting to free Luna. After we removed a few more sections, Luna was able to wiggle her way out of the remaining rubble. Once again, I jumped up on the car and kneeled beside her. Just like in my dream, Luna was similarly banged up. Her weakly flowing mane laid flatter than usual on her sides, and her cheek had a visible, bleeding scratch to it. One of her ears was pointed down, hanging beside her cheek. Finally, her foreleg was twisted near the hoof, obviously crushed under the weight of the car. Despite these glaring issues, she smiled back feebly with tired eyes.

“Oh thank God! We can help you! What do you need?” I asked her.

Trixie jumped up beside me with a similar enthusiasm for finding the princess.

“I ... could use some water. And probably a bit more,” she teased, smiling and blinking at the new sunlight entering her retinas.

I took off my backpack and pulled out a bottle of water as Trixie called out to the others.

“Nurse! She needs to be looked at. Do you have any supplies on you?”

“I have some stuff,” Redheart replied, “but the rest of it is at the hospital. That is where we're holed up. There are other ponies there. We can help you take her there.”

Redheart ran back inside to grab her stuff. I looked back at the princess, helping her swig from the water bottle.

"Princess, how did you end up like this?"

She took a few moments to catch her breath. "We were running on the tops of the cars to get away from a mob ... the car collapsed on me." She glanced up at me. "Devan, I was with Celestia and Twilight. Have you seen either of them?"

My eyes widened. "N- no, but you were with them?! Were y'all going somewhere?"

"We were planning on going to your house, then Applejack's farm."

SWEET APPLE ACRES

Why the hell did I not think of that? A huge new wave of optimism flowed over me as I heard this. However, the princess's weakly appearance was concerning. I thought about what Redheart said, realizing we needed to take her to the hospital first. The hospital wasn't very far from here anyway, so it made sense, as opposed to crossing town to get to the barn.

Redheart came back out and hopped on the car with us, kneeling between us to check on the princess. She used a small flashlight to observe the princess’s wounds, and a concerned look appeared on her face when she looked at her stomach. She felt her hoof against it, but Luna squirmed, obviously in pain. The nurse then shined the light in her dark blue eyes and examined them.

“Shit,” she cursed, setting the light aside.

“W- What? What is it?” I asked nervously.

“I think she’s bleeding internally. We need to take her to the hospital now.”

I stood up quickly, nearly bumping my head on a section of damaged wall leaning beside us.

“Well, let’s go! Can we carry her?”

“We brought a stretcher!” Doc called from the platform. “Turns out that was a perfect idea! Go me!”

He rushed back inside the station as we stood around the princess. The three of us, with the help of Trixie’s magic, carefully lifted the princess onto the platform as Doc came back out with the stretcher, designed for ponies. While Luna was bigger than a typical pony, she was able to fit on the wide stretcher, only having to deal with her legs partially hanging off the side. The stretcher featured a yoke in front, which Redheart helped Doc set up over his chest so he could haul Luna. After checking the wheels, Redheart gave him the signal to go, and we all ran alongside as we headed for the nearby hospital.

Secret Weapons

— Spark —

There it was. Her house. She had finally made it. She passed her neighbor’s house, scanning carefully for any zombie ponies in the area. She was alone now, as the group decided to split up once they reached the edge of Ponyville. Vinyl’s house was closer to the edge of town that they entered, but Spark’s house was a bit farther East, on the outskirts of town.

They had all struggled to keep their pace while they galloped toward Ponyville, worn out from a sleepless night before the train incident. They had been forced to take a more direct path through the forest, which proved to slow them down as well. The horde was right on their tail throughout their pursuit, and Spark knew there was almost no time before they would finally arrive. The majority of the horde seemed to be focused around the railroad tracks on the opposite side of town, so she hoped she would be granted a few minutes at least to get her distraction ready.

She entered her house, feeling a wave of comfort rush over her as it appeared unbothered by the apocalypse. Everything was still in the same place she left it when she abandoned it that haunting first day. The comforting feeling slowly morphed into a disturbing, surreal one as she reminded herself of the imminent danger that she, and everypony else in Ponyville, was in. She sped up her pace to a trot as she rushed to her kitchen. Inside one of the shelves by the stove was the key to her backyard shed. She pulled out this key and ran back outside, shutting the door one last time.

She swung the gate to her backyard open and hurried across the lawn to get to her shed. The beige-painted, wooden shed stood not very tall, but it spanned a wide five to six pony-lengths. In front was a wide double door that took up half of the wall, along with a small window on the other half to let in some sunlight. With the key, she unlocked and unlatched the door before backing up as she swung them open. Celestia’s setting sun made its way indoors as it lit up the packed shed, as well as her distraction.

Sparkling in the new sunlight was her invention. What she deemed a ‘motor-bike’ stood tough, facing her menacingly. Built from scratch using a bicycle, metal pipes, two motors from her new lawnmowers, and other various materials, the beauty looked very futuristic. The handlebars, which she welded to be stronger than the bicycle they had originated from, rose above the mainframe before turning outwards. Attached below, in the middle of them, was a shrunken spotlight. Below that was the front wheel, which she had custom-made with deep-threaded rubber. She believed this would help her, as she intended the bike for offroading when she had built it.

While bicycles like the one she made this bike from weren’t that popular in Equestria, she had joy as a filly when her grandfather bought her one for her birthday long ago. This spark stayed with her, which eventually led to her calling, as well as her cutie mark. She was destined to make cool machines like this, and right now, it might have been the best thing she ever did. However, her motorbike was not proven to work yet. She had let it sit for the past month while life distracted her. But she was ready now.

She entered the shed, kicked the kickstand up, and rolled the bike out in the open. She then kicked the kickstand back down and observed the bike for any issues. She inspected the engine, which she had assembled by rebuilding two separate lawn mower engines into one. Not much was known about engines like this in Equestria, as the only engines they really had before Celestia's big Earth reveal were steam-powered. This meant she did not have much knowledge to build off of. That was fine by her. She loved the thrill of putting stuff together and seeing if it worked; this was no exception.

She observed the muffler hanging beside the rear wheel. She had used logic from the lawnmowers she pulled the motors from, realizing that some sort of muffler seemed to be a good idea, seeing as though she had no idea how loud this thing was going to be. She could only guess as to what kind of sound it would produce, predicting it would sound like the two lawnmowers rolling in parallel. While the noise probably wouldn't bother her, she was being courteous to her few neighbors at the time. She realized that was not even remotely a concern now. Now, more noise was a good thing.

Passing her bike and entering the other half of the shed, she grabbed her trusty saw and safety covers for her forelegs. She then sat next to the bike and envisioned a line running down the start of the muffler. Careful not to cut the tire it sat near, she set the saw on the metal tube and eased it back and forth. It took longer than she would have liked, but eventually, the muffler fell to the ground below. Her carefulness was rewarded by a straight cut on the straight pipe, making it almost look natural.

Now it was ready. She set her tools and covers back and instead grabbed her helmet, fit with a transparent visor she made herself. She also slipped on a pair of ankle-high work boots on her hind legs. Lastly, she grabbed a pair of earbuds she used to use when she mowed the lawn, and stuck them in her ears. Now she was ready. She grabbed the bike’s key off the rack of the shed and swung her hind leg over the stationary bike. While she found the custom-made cushion was not very comfortable, that was a luxury she hoped she would be able to fix one day, if she made it out of this alive.

The rushing, joyful feeling of her bicycle rides as a filly entered her mind as she took a deep breath on the bike. She hoped this would work, but she was starting to get anxious that it would not. Her past attempts to start this thing before the apocalypse had not worked, but she felt that she had been getting really close before letting it sit. She set the key in the ignition and, while holding her breath, she turned it.

A sound similar to her lawnmower cranking up rose and fell in a second. She huffed, turning the key again and getting the same result. After sitting in silence for a moment, listening to birds in the trees behind her backyard seemingly mocking her, she swung her hind leg out and kicked the machine. Filling with a new wave of anger she had not expected, she turned the key again.

The engine started.

After it clicked a few times, a loud, powerful growl emitted as the bike shook to life beneath her. Spark dropped her mouth in shock as she listened to the most beautiful sound she ever heard in her life. She shook herself back to reality after a minute of listening to the astonishing roar of the bike and cautiously tested the gas pedal, keeping her hind legs out to the side. The bike jolted at first, but slowly moved forward through her backyard.

She tested the brake, which stopped her perfectly as she leaned on her hind leg. She listened as the sound of the loud engine bounced off the back of her house, as well as the neighbors and forest behind her. This would work perfectly.

Lowering her visor, she slowly rolled out of her backyard and into the more accommodating street. She passed a lonely zombie pony that was drawn by the noise and accelerated down the street. The roar grew louder as did, and the wind started blowing against her body. No amount of bike rides she had taken in the past could amount to how she felt now. She shifted to a higher gear and continued accelerating toward the barn, overjoyed at her amazing machine as she rode toward Sweet Apple Acres. She just hoped she would make it in time to warn AJ, and whoever else was there with her.

— Vinyl —

Vinyl busted the door of her and Octavia’s house open and rushed inside, followed closely by Split. Once they were in, Split slammed it shut and leaned against it, preparing for their pursuer’s attack. While he did, Vinyl grabbed their loveseat and pushed it out of their living room. Split helped her set it up against the door before they both collapsed on it from exhaustion. The door started banging a few seconds later, but it remained shut. They both caught their breaths as sweat drenched from them.

Vinyl regretted losing the train, as the trek back to Ponyville deemed very exhausting, especially when they knew a horde was not far behind. She looked over at her new interest, whose eyes were closed, but his mouth wide in a smile. She smiled too as he opened them and looked back at her.

“Well, we’re still alive,” he said.

“That we are,” she replied.

He continued gazing into her eyes for a few seconds longer until they drifted together in a kiss. They both ignored the banging behind them, choosing to take in the moment they had together. Disconnecting slowly, Vinyl opened her eyes again and stared back into his. There was a mutual feeling associated with them that made it hard for her to look away.

She struggled to come to terms with what might happen, worried about their potential demise. What started as her looking for temporary stress relief became an attachment that she feared to lose. She cursed herself for putting herself in this situation, at a time like this, but she also felt it was worth it. She thought about how these may be her last days anyway, so why not fall in love? Regardless, she would be able to die happy now. So she smiled back and kissed him again before they stood up from the loveseat.

“Well, are you ready?” he asked her.

“Yes, follow me.”

She knew that her beloved friend Octavia would not be home. Octavia, like her, had been travelling to other cities when the apocalypse struck. Vinyl was busy with her DJ gigs in Manehatten while Octavia was performing in her ensembles in The Crystal Empire. She hoped her friend was okay, but she couldn't do anything about it. She tried to ignore the treble clef signifying Octavia's bedroom as she made her way to hers. Slightly messy and covered in art and music posters, she made her way to the walk-in closet. Split walked in the doorway and observed the room.

“So, you into music?” he asked.

Vinyl rolled her eyes before grinning as the idiot cackled at his own joke. During their stay at the Manehatten apartment, they had both gotten to know each other rather well. He was also into music, albeit less than her. Regardless, they shared a lot of similar interests that Vinyl had not expected. That alone helped them grow attached, even with the world falling apart around them.

She opened the closet, which held a few clothes and some of her oddities, as well as her distraction. The box-shaped secret was currently covered by a black sheet, preventing it from dusting up when she took time away from working on it. But it was ready now, after a few adjustments. On top of the flat, clothed surface was a pair of high-grade hearing protection headphones.

She could sense Split behind her, eagerly peaking into the closet to see what she was hiding. She grabbed the headphones and turned back to him, extending them out in her hoof.

“Here. You’re gonna need them.”

“Oh shit,” he replied, grabbing them off of her and hanging them around his neck. “This is gonna be sweet, I just know it.”

Smiling at the thought, Vinyl reached up and grabbed another set of headphones from one of the closet’s shelves. She then stood aside and bit the cloth, throwing her head aside to pull it off and reveal her machine. She spat it out and turned back to Split, who stood wide-eyed with his mouth open in a surprised smile. He looked back at her with an excited gleam in his eyes.

“Is that a …”

“Hell yeah it is!”

Worry Not

— Twilight —

She sat up next to the window facing the apple orchard below. Tied to one of the trees she couldn't see from here was a zombie Daisy. She had eventually woken up, and the rope proved strong enough for Twilight to spend some time observing her. However, she didn't pick up on a whole lot like she hoped. Communication attempts failed, attempts at gestures failed, attempts to hypnotize her fell short, and overall, the pale mare was simply driven by a wicked virus that took complete control of her. Twilight knew it had to effect their brain somehow, but this only brought about more questions in her mind. She eventually left Daisy to herself against the tree, as there really was nowhere they could safely store her yet.

More papers were scattered about the desk on the other side of the room, but her mind was running awry. Twilight sighed as she gazed out the window, eager to focus her thoughts on the next steps. She had hypotheses ready to experiment on, but she was too overwhelmed to figure out where to start.

Sat beside her was Ty. Not long ago, she had quietly made her way inside, careful not to wake Cloudchaser sleeping behind them. Twilight originally wanted to bombard the mare with questions about why she was bothering her at a time where she needed to focus, but ended up sitting in solace with her. They sat for so long just staring out the window that she had not noticed Cloud waking up.

“You two playing ‘I spy’?” she asked from behind.

They both turned around to see Cloud stretch before she got off the bed to come and join them. She observed the mare’s dangling foreleg and struggled to figure out how the mare was walking so casually. There was a hop to her step, but it was hardly noticeable. It reminded her of Devan, who was one of the thoughts freely swirling in her overcrowded mind.

She had gotten in a brief argument earlier with Dash and Fluttershy about the situation, still uneasy about the thought of Devan, with a missing leg, heading straight into the epicenter of this disaster with only two mares to protect him. They tried to reassure her that he would be okay, but she still did not agree. While she knew in the back of her mind that she should set thoughts about Devan and Pinkie aside, she could not help but worry about them.

“We are,” Ty said, “I spy with my little eye … something … red.”

Twilight looked over at the mare, who was smiling gleefully back at her. She sighed, looking out the window at the orchard in front of them.

“Is it … an apple?” she replied dryly.

“Yes! Gee, Twilight, you sure are good at this game,” Ty playfully responded.

Twilight turned back to Cloud, who walked between them and eyed her carefully. She had yet to talk to the mare, as most of her day was spent either alone or with Dash, Fluttershy, or AJ. She appreciated their company in a time like this, but she struggled to find time away to solve these new worldly problems. It did not help that the farm seemed so crowded with ponies.

“Are you alright, Twilight?” Cloud asked.

“I … am. I’m just trying to work through some things right now. Clear my head a bit.”

“I understand.”

Ty dropped her playful demeanor. “Are you still thinking about your missing friends?”

Twilight sighed. As much as she wanted to lie, she knew they already knew.

“Yes. I’m just worried, that’s all.”

“I am too, Twilight,” Cloud said, “your friend Devan is very sweet. I don’t know if the others told you, but him and I grew close. He even saved me at the Canterlot gate.”

Twilight was surprised by this information. “He did?”

“Yes. I figured they already told you, but I guess not. The bridge that crosses the river in front of the gate was up, and nopony was there to let us in. So we crossed the river, but Spark lost her grip on me. It’s really hard to swim against a current with a missing leg. But Devan risked his own life and slipped down the current to grab me before the waterfall. I owe him my life,” she explained.

Twilight turned away from the mare and stared out the window again in an effort to hide a few tears that were starting to form. Both of them noticed, however. She felt Ty’s hoof on her shoulder while Cloud continued.

“My bad, Twilight. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay,” she said, wiping her tears away, “I’m glad he was there for you.”

“I am too. That boy is tough. I would be more concerned for the zombie ponies he and the others encounter.”

Twilight could tell Cloud was trying to ease her mind, but she seemed to be exaggerating to do so. She still believed Manehatten would bring nothing but trouble to Devan and his two mare friends. They explained to her the supposed safe zone the royal guard mentioned, but she wasn't keen on believing there was one.

“They have quite a battle ahead if Manehatten is what I think it is.”

“Come on, Twilight,” Ty replied, “Maybe they're at the safe zone already. Manehatten might not be that bad.”

Cloud added, “Even if it is, he’s got the two best mares he could be with right now. Spark and Candy will keep him safe, I know they will.”

Twilight finally felt a bit of relief from her words. While she still worried about Pinkie, at least Devan seemed to be in good hooves. In the meantime, she needed to find a cure for her cure.

“Thank you, both of you. I feel a bit better now.”

They both smiled before leaving the room so she could focus. As they did, Celestia walked up and stood in the doorway.

“May I come in?” she asked.

“Of course,” Twilight answered.

The tall princess walked in, observing the rest of the room until she sat down where Ty had. She, too, gazed out the window, watching the apple orchard slowly darken as her sun set. Twilight looked up at her former mentor, struggling to understand what emotions she was feeling. The only time she could tell clearly was when they had lost Luna. Even now, just a day later, the princess seemed contempt again.

“How are you doing, Twilight?”

“I’m okay …” Twilight said unconvincingly. Celestia gazed down at her, reading her intently, and probably more successfully than she ever could to her.

"Please, if you do need to get some things off of your chest, do not hesitate in getting me. We've been through a lot, Twilight, and I'm sure there's still more to come. A mind at ease is one of the most powerful tools you can have at a time like this."

Twilight looked up at her former mentor with a new sense of comfort, as well as confusion. She knew the princess was strong, old and wise, and generally handled herself pretty well, but was she not shaken by any of this? Was it all a façade?

“I'll be okay ... eventually. But ... Celestia … what about you? You’ve been through the same crap that I have. Aren’t you at least a bit disturbed?”

The princess continued gazing out the window, not so much ignoring Twilight’s question as trying to find an answer for her. She was deep in thought, which Twilight knew all too well. They sat together for a moment in silence.

“I am. I am troubled,” Celestia replied, continuing to stare out the window, “but we have to be strong. I have to be strong. There are so many ponies counting on us right now that we do not have the time to be weak.”

"I ..." Twilight sighed. "I don't want to be the one to bring up hard subjects, but ... what about Princess Luna?"

She noticed a glimmer of sadness flash through Celestia's face. Twilight continued.

"I know we haven't gotten the chance to look for the moon or anything, but she could still be alive, you know?"

Celestia sighed. "I know, Twilight. It just seems unlikely. I do wish to return to the train station to find her body, but it doesn't make sense risking others' lives to do so. I miss her dearly, I do, but I must set aside my emotions for the good of the group."

Twilight set a hoof on the princess's front hoof, causing her to shed a tear.

"I'm sorry, Celestia."

The princess wiped her tear.

"Thank you, Twilight. Though, I came here for a different reason."

“Why is that?” Twilight asked.

“Show me what you have done so far. Let’s try to solve this thing.”

Author's Note

Hey y'all. Hope you're doing well so far, and still enjoying the book. Just wanted to hop in and say that I will likely be returning to daily chapter releases. The next chapter is hefty, and was the primary reason I needed to fall back a bit on the daily releases.

This ain’t really a spoiler, but if you’d like to continue with a fresh mind, please ignore:

The book is approaching it’s climax. Things are about to get pretty dicey now.

Drop This Barn

— Twilight —

“Twilight!” Ty exclaimed, swinging the door open.

Both Twilight and Celestia looked up from the desk of her writing, startled at the urgency in Ty’s voice.

“What is it? What’s going on?” Twilight asked as she stood up.

“We need you! There’s zombies on the farm and both Applejack and Rainbow Dash are trapped on the well!”

"WHAT?! HOW?"

"They went out front to lure a few zombies away! I guess they got ambushed or something-"

"Without telling me?!"

"Sorry, Twilight! We just figured we should leave you and Celestia alone."

"Shit!"

Twilight rushed out of the room, passing Ty in the hallway. She gunned it downstairs and saw Carrot Top and Fluttershy peering out of the barricaded dining room window. Moving in between them, she looked outside as well. The dusk sky was darkening, making it hard for her to see, but she squinted her eyes and saw what Ty had mentioned.

Outside, she saw AJ and Dash on top of the well, surrounded by a hoofful of zombie ponies. Thankfully, the well was high enough that they could not reach them, but they were stuck nonetheless. Twilight let out a small sigh of relief as she glanced around the inside of the barn. Celestia and Ty were standing behind them, and she could see Cloud hopping down the stairs alongside Spike. She turned back to Ty.

"Where is Derpy? Why didn't she go instead?"

"She's luring a couple zombie ponies that wandered in on the West side earlier. She's been gone a while, but it's getting too dark to look for her."

"Son of a bitch," Twilight cursed, "Okay ..."

She made eye contact with Celestia before gathering everypony’s attention.

“Listen up everypony. This won’t be too difficult, but we need to do this carefully. I don’t want any of us getting bitten when we can easily avoid it.”

She scanned the room, but everypony already seemed to understand her.

“We’ll send two groups. Ty, you can come with me.”

Ty happily grinned from ear to ear as she perked up with excitement at their new adventure.

“Fluttershy, you and Carrot Top will stick together. The plan is simple, okay? I counted at least four zombies around the well. We will assume six to be on the safe side. We all know how fast they can trot, right?” she asked.

“we do,” Fluttershy agreed.

“Okay, good. First, Ty and I will run out and round the left side of the well. A few seconds later, you two will run out and round the right side. Hopefully, the zombies around them will split into two groups when we close in. Once we are closer to the gate, Ty and I will lead our zombies to the chicken coups. You two lead your zombies through the carrot fields to the East. After that, we all regroup and get back inside. Sound good?”

Everypony nodded in agreement, happy with her quick thinking. Twilight led the others to the side door, followed closely by Ty. She set her hoof on the handle and patiently waited until the others set up behind her. After a few seconds, she took a breath and threw the door open.

She could hear Ty directly behind her as she took off toward the well. As they ran, she yelled out at the zombies to gain their attention from her friends. This worked, as most of the zombies jumping up and down to get them turned around to look at her. In the dim light of dusk, she could see AJ and Dash glance back at her. She yelled out to them to “RUN WHEN THEY’RE GONE” and continued her path along the left side of the well. Three of the zombies peeled off after her, but one changed her course. She looked back to see Fluttershy and Carrot Top’s bright bodies rushing toward the other side of the well. Her plan was working flawlessly.

Right up until she heard Applejack holler from the top of the well.

“TWILIGHT!!!!!!”

Twilight, still looking at the well, glanced up to see AJ pointing frantically ahead of them. While she kept up her pace, she turned to look ahead of her, where the front fence was. She had not noticed the wall of zombie ponies who were now crushing their way through it. Some of them hopped over, while others took the brunt of the damage from the barbed wire spiraling along the top. She came to an abrupt stop. From what she could see, there were at least eight more zombie ponies directly in front of her. However, as her vision slowly adjusted to the dark, her peripheral vision picked up many, many more ponies.

The wall of ponies was closing in as they trotted onto the farm in a pointed wave. The unintentional leader of the pack seemed to pick up her pace. Twilight turned to Ty and shouted at her to run back as she started galloping the opposite way. However, the zombies they were initially luring were beginning to cut them off. She started to veer to their right side with Ty to avoid them, but the zombies were surprisingly smart enough to cut them off from their path back to the barn.

With no other option at play, Twilight closed in on the first zombie pony within just a pony-length and swiveled around quickly to buck him with her hind legs. After she dropped the unsuspecting pony, she looked beside her, where Ty copied her move on the second pony. There was one more in their way, so Twilight lined herself up to buck him as well. What she did not notice was just how close the wall of surprise attackers had gotten to them.

“TWI-” Ty started, before leaping into action. Although startled, Twilight followed through with her action and slammed her hind legs hard into the last pony’s face. This sent the pony falling backward, allowing her to look back at what Ty was mentioning. As she turned, Ty’s bright blue head flashed right in front of her, brushing against her as the mare set up for what looked like a buck. While Twi backed away in an attempt to give her space, Ty raised her hind legs, but right as she sent them flying back, the zombie jumped up and grabbed hold of them with her forelegs.

The mare kicked back frantically as the zombie snapped her jaws. With no time to think, Twilight bolted forward, rubbing her side against Ty’s as she rammed the attacker forcefully with her horn. The power she sent through the blow was strong enough to send the mare to the ground, releasing her grip on Ty in the process. Both Twilight and Ty exchanged a very quick glance before they turned back to the barn.

During their struggle, both Fluttershy and Carrot managed to lead the other two zombie mares away from the well. However, they had a similar issue when the wall of ponies busted through the fence. Twilight watched as Carrot was chased away by one of the two original zombie ponies, unintentionally leaving Fluttershy behind as she made her way back toward the barn. Fluttershy was left with the other zombie mare, who was cutting her off from rejoining Carrot.

She also noticed Dash and AJ were off the well now. AJ was sprinting full speed after Carrot, and Dash was rushing to help Fluttershy. Twilight helplessly watched as Fluttershy, on the other side of the well, failed to dodge the one zombie mare, who lunged and grabbed hold of her hind leg, causing her to stumble to the ground. Twilight split from the path she and Ty were taking and gunned it toward the well. As Twilight reached the well, she saw the mare bite into Fluttershy’s hind leg. Fluttershy was able to kick her off and stand up, but the damage was done. Dash finally reached her and both of the mares started galloping back to the barn.

In her pursuit, Twilight was tunnel-visioned, not noticing the herd growing dangerously close to her. They were just pony-lengths away, and now she had mere seconds to act. She turned back quickly to see Ty behind her and realized the mare was practically glued to her side. The well sat next to them now. The zombie ponies they had bucked earlier were starting to get up again. The ones chasing Carrot were also an issue. With no other safe option seemingly available, Twilight gestured to the well. From what she had seen when AJ and Dash were stuck, it was tall enough to prevent zombies from jumping up to them. It would take two of them to climb it though.

Ty quickly caught on and ran to the base of the well, leaned against the side, and extended her forelegs out. Twilight used them to climb up and swiftly crawled up on top of the well. She then swung around and extended her forelegs out, grabbing hold of Ty’s. Her heartbeat raced as she slowly helped Ty up, watching the zombie ponies right behind her.

As she pulled her up, she felt resistance as one of the closer zombies jumped up and hooked onto Ty’s hind leg. Twilight tightened her grip on Ty's hoof as she struggled to maintain her balance on the well. With a burst of energy, she managed to pull Ty’s upper half on the well with her, but the well’s slanted, gable top was making it difficult to get her all the way up. After a few more attempts at pulling, Twilight realized she was at a stalemate with the zombie grabbing onto her leg. Ty kicked below her a few times before giving up and looking up at her.

She looked up to see an almost unreal sight beyond her imagination. In the growing dark, she could make out dozens on dozens of endless, pale-colored ponies. When she gazed out past the fence, she was terrified when she could not make out the end of them. She looked from side to side as some zombie ponies circled the well in an attempt to get them and some of them continued past to chase the others headed for the barn.

She looked back and squinted to see the others, and as she did, the side door to the barn slammed shut. For a second, she was relieved, until she noticed AJ’s orange body in the distance. When focusing her eyes, she saw both her and Carrot struggling to climb up a nearby haybale. The bale moved briefly before the few zombies around them evened it out. Both of the mares managed to get up to the top of it and used their legs to balance it out. Twilight watched as the horde continued on, swarming the outside of the barn as well as AJ and Carrot. She looked back at Ty and exchanged a fearful glance.

She held on tightly to the mare as a very stretched-out minute passed them by. The groans from the horde only grew, and Twilight could only watch on in terror as the farm’s grass was replaced by nothing but zombie bodies. She looked back to see that AJ and Carrot were thankfully still holding onto the top of their haybale. The horde was surrounding them as well now, but from here, it looked as though the zombies at the base were balancing out the haybale for them.

The barn was also surrounded, and Twilight squinted to see zombies banging on the sides, huddled more closely around the windows and doors. The whole scene was chaotic and disturbing, and while Twilight watched, it got worse. Through the dim dusk light, she could see the side entrance they had come out of starting to cave in on itself due to the horde’s enormous presence. This seemed to be caused by a domino effect of the very eager ponies right outside the walls. She watched the side entrance begin to crumble, which struck a new fear in her of the barn collapsing altogether. She looked back at Ty, whose fearful eyes had calmed slightly.

“If you have to let go, just do it!” Ty called over the mob.

“I AM NOT DOING THAT!” Twilight shouted back.

She felt her hind legs aching as they gripped the other edge of the roof. While she was holding on for now, it wasn’t clear to her how long she would be able to do so. Her muscles were tiring slowly, and her heartbeat was not slowing from her adrenaline rush.

“It’s okay,” Ty assured.

“No. I’m not letting you go. If we go down, we go down together.”

Ty shed a tear and smiled softly as she kept her eyes locked with her. She felt Ty’s grasp weaken.

“NO!” Twilight cried, strengthening her already firm grip.

As she fought with the mare, she looked back at the barn once more. It almost seemed to be trembling as more and more of the horde around them started banging on its walls. Despite the structure being as sturdy as it was, every inch of the barn had zombie ponies around it now. Twilight's heart raced, realizing that if they didn't do anything, the horde would likely drop the entire barn, killing everybody inside. She frantically thought about what to do as she turned back to Ty.

Just then, a faint, repetitive bell-like sound grew over the groans of the horde below them.

She couldn’t quite make it out, but the sound continued. She scanned the top of the horde in an attempt to locate it, but the sound of them all around her made it difficult. She then peered toward her right side, where the fields on the left side of the barn rolled into a hill in the distance. Above the hill, she noticed a strange shape appear, illuminated by the soft glow of Celestia’s almost set sun.

She realized the shape was multiple things, noticing what looked like two pony outlines hauling a black, box-shaped object. The distant bells continued, and an even higher-pitched bell started dinging from their direction. She watched as the box suddenly illuminated a faint blue glow that was hard to see from this distance. The box also grew as smaller boxes seemed to stem out of it.

The faint blue glow grew very bright, and just a second later, the rolling sound of ground-shattering bass filled the air. She instantly felt vibrations rush through her from the well below as both a repeating bass thump and a constant, rumbling bass trembled it. The thundering booms were so loud that they overshadowed the sound of the horde right next to them. The sound was also accompanied by bright blue flashing lights coming from the box. She held on tightly to both Ty and the well as the bass shook the ground below.

As she did, she looked back down to see nearby heads of the horde turning to face the new noise. It was not long before the turned heads also began moseying off in the direction of the music. Around this time, there was another noise that sounded faintly over the bass. The sound resembled a rumbling, buzzing noise that she had only ever heard come from a lawn mower. Looking back at the hill, she saw another figure appear on the edge, noting the shape of a pony on what looked like a bicycle with a very thick frame to it. The pony stopped beside the bass-emitting box for a few seconds before taking off down the side of the hill, moving toward them at an angle.

The rumbling sound of the bicycle grew again as the pony drove it down the hill and turned to loop in front of Carrot’s farmhouse behind where AJ and Carrot were trapped. Twilight’s eyes followed the pony as she closed in near the edge of the horde by the haybale. When she was close, the rumbling sound rose and fall in a revving manner. Twilight lost sight of the pony as she started herding some of the ponies around the back of the barn.

She was thrown off when she felt Ty’s grip strengthen suddenly and felt the mare pull on her forelegs. She also pulled on her, realizing the zombie was no longer holding onto Ty. When the mare was finally up, they both collapsed on the roof and gave their muscles a much-needed break. As they rested, the noisy sounds around Twilight distracted her.

“Twilight!”

She jolted at the sound of a mare right behind her, feeling the familiar wind of a pegasus. Derpy was hovering next to the well, flying steadily and gazing at them with her crossed, golden eyes.

“Are you alright?!” Derpy shouted over the bass.

“We are!” Twilight yelled back.

“Okay! I’m gonna help lure them away! Just hang on!”

Before Twilight could protest or give her thoughts, Derpy flapped her wings and glided off toward the chicken coops on the opposite side of the barn from the bass. She caught a glimpse of the bicycle pony moving around the barn and behind the coops. A pattern throughout the horde was forming, and Twilight saw the sea of movement grow as part of the horde started moving in the opposite direction of the bass. It was then that she saw a partial split in the horde form between her and the barn. This split was filled a second later until another one formed. This time, the split grew, and eventually, a path large enough for a pony appeared.

The mysterious ponies that were distracting the horde were effectively splitting it into two, causing a larger and larger gap to form. She looked back at the barn, where the small side-door room was now very caved-in. If they were to make a break for the barn, they would need to use the front door. Zombie ponies still lingered around the outside of the barn, but even with the side door collapsed, it looked as though they still could not get inside. Twilight worried as she could faintly make out shifting movement in the rest of the barn’s structure, and struggled to figure out if it was the barn itself or the bass vibrating her too much to tell. She realized the combination of the horde beating on the side of the barn as well as the new, immensely powerful bass was pushing the building's structure to its limits. It was very likely, even with some of the horde backing off now, that the barn would collapse. They had to move quickly. She glanced over at Ty, who had shimmied her way beside her.

“We need to get the others out of the barn!!” she called over the noise.

“Okay!! When should we go?!” Ty yelled.

“Follow me when I do!!” Twilight shouted.

She waited another fifteen seconds as the gap between the horde grew a comfortable size, only filled by a few stragglers unsure of which direction to follow. While the left side of the barn, where AJ and Carrot were still trapped on the haybale, still had a collection of zombie ponies, the front was clear now. She scanned the ponies ahead of them before leaping off the well and gunning it for the barn.

The vibration of the bass only grew as she made contact with the ground. Ty hit the ground behind her and the two shifted to the left, behind the two nearest stragglers. With the rush of adrenaline they both possessed, they were able to juke the last straggler and make it all the way to the barn door with no problems. But as they approached the front doors, they busted open.

They screeched to a halt to avoid being whacked by the doors swinging open. A second later, Cloud and Fluttershy ran out. She had not expected a zombie stallion to chase them out. Cloud, who came out first, stopped in front of Twilight when she saw her and set up for a buck. As the stallion trotted forward, she threw her hind legs out and bucked him back, wobbling around as she replanted herself on her three good legs. When the stallion started standing up again, Dash rushed out of the barn with her knife in her mouth. She jolted her head back and stabbed the stallion from behind. The bass had grown in the past few seconds, so Twilight had to scream for the others to hear her.

"Where'd he come from?!!" she exclaimed.

"They got in through the side!!" Cloud quickly explained.

Twilight rushed to the doorway, adjusting her eyes to see a few more zombie ponies inside the barn. She didn't know where anypony else was in the chaos, but they all had to act now. Ty and Cloud started warding off a few stragglers coming from the horde outside as she turned around to buck another zombie mare coming out. After she dropped her, she turned to Dash and Fluttershy.

"The barn is gonna collapse!! We need to go!! Where are the others?!!"

"They're inside!!" Dash exclaimed, "The side entrance collapsed on us!! Celestia got stuck!!"

"FUCK!!!" Twilight exclaimed.

She turned around and bolted back inside, followed by Dash and Fluttershy. As she led them through the living room, the fillies, led by Spike, rushed toward them.

"Spike!! Fillies!! Go with Fluttershy!!" Twilight demanded, continuing past them. She glanced back to see Fluttershy hesitantly eye her before leading them all out. Dash stabbed another zombie mare coming at them.

She could see the side entrance from here, noticing the front half of Celestia's white body sticking out from collapsed rubble. However, a few more zombie ponies were between them. She noticed Cheerilee trying to pull her body out as Applejack defended her from the attackers. As she called out and rushed forward to help, more zombie ponies entered from the hallway past the side entrance. Some of them turned to go for AJ while some of them broke off and trotted toward Dash and her.

She finally pulled out her hatchet and started swinging as Dash used her knife to down them. However, as they both fought back, they had to start edging away from AJ and the others to avoid getting bit. She heard wood from the barn groaning around them, despite the bass and roars of the horde outside. As she sliced another attacker, she noticed Celestia's body slowly stand up from the rubble. Twilight met eyes with AJ across the room, glancing over the few zombie mares still between them.

"GO!!" AJ hollered. She and Cheerilee started helping Celestia run after them.

She and Dash stopped fighting back and rushed toward the front door, luring the few zombie ponies with them. The others out front had started making a clearing, taking care of the stragglers not following the rest of the split-up horde. Right after she and Dash rushed out the front doors, she swung around to deal with their pursuers. The zombie mares continued for her. At the door, she took the first one out.

Inside, Cheerilee took out the last zombie mare that was between them as Celestia and AJ dragged behind her. AJ was helping the princess, who limped forward in an awkward trot. But before Twilight could rush back in to assist her, a loud groan emitted from the barn again. The bass continued to rumble the ground as a deafening crashing sound grew above them.

Dash and Ty pulled Twilight back as the roof started collapsing through the second story. The others inside frantically rushed for the door. Dust shook from the base of the barn as the roof started loudly caving in on itself. Right as the first-story ceiling collapsed in front of them, Cheerilee made it to the doorway. Celestia and AJ did not. The barn fully came down, causing an enormous plume of dust to fly into Twilight's eyes as debris smacked around her. The dust surrounded everypony, making it impossible to see anything, especially in the growing dark.

Twilight coughed as the dust filled her lungs. From what she saw, there was no way Celestia or AJ had made it out. It was also possible that Cheerilee had not done so either. She struggled with the sudden realization that all three of them may have been crushed to death, right in front of her.

Strangled by fear, she squinted her eyes in an attempt to find the others, finding Ty’s bright white body in the process. She walked swiftly around where she believed the barn used to be, and after a few steps, she stepped on what felt like a pony. She glanced down to see Cheerilee’s purple foreleg laid out on the ground, causing her breaths to stop briefly, until it started moving and reaching out to her.

She leaned down and grabbed onto it, immediately feeling the hoof squeeze back. She could see Ty’s bright body beside her grab the other one, and as the dust slowly started to settle, she could make out the outline of Cheerilee’s head. She heard her coughing as Cheerilee tried to speak. What Twilight assumed to be knocked-over Cheerilee turned out to be something different as she struggled to pull the mare forward. In the dark, surrounded by dust, Twilight could not figure out what was happening until Cheerilee called out.

“The door!” she shouted over the bass and roar of the horde, “It’s on me!”

Twilight pulled frantically, but could not free her. She was able to tug her maybe a hoof-length forward, but the door trapping her seemed to be too heavy. She struggled to figure out what to do. Were they going to have to leave her, trapped and waiting for …

Her thought process was cut off when Dash’s bright body appeared right next to her.

“Is she stuck?!!” Dash shouted.

“Yes!!” Twilight yelled, still fighting the bass and noisy horde not far from them. She wondered why the bass had grown so damn loud, but couldn't stop to think about it now.

In the dark, she could see Dash’s colorful body jump over Cheerilee and lean down to grab what she assumed to be the door on top of her. As Dash lifted, they felt a slight release, allowing them to partially pull Cheerilee even farther out. She then saw part of Cloud’s outline rush in front of Ty and lean down to grab the other side. With both of them lifting it, the weight was released, allowing Ty and her to pull Cheerilee out fully.

“Come on!! We have to go!!” Cloud called.

Despite being crushed under the heavy barn door, they were able to help Cheerilee to her hooves and ran beside her as she partly limped into a trot. The farther they ran from the barn, the less dust was blocking their vision. In the dark, Twilight could faintly make out Fluttershy. Then the small outlines of the fillies, and finally Spike. Once they saw them too, they all sprinted through the lasting gap between the horde and started fighting their way back to Ponyville.

Once they reached the knocked-over front archway of the farm, Twilight looked back at the collapsed barn and came to a stop. Dash, who was running behind her, stopped and looked as well. The dust was settling, revealing an enormous pile of debris where the tall barn used to stand. She also noticed Celestia's sun had set fully now, with no sign of the previous dusk. It had grown dark as midnight when they were lost in the dust cloud, and there was no sight of Celestia or AJ through the debris.

They had been crushed to death.

While she wanted to deny this fact, the sight pierced her brain. The rapid transition to night also proved this. And if Celestia had not survived the crush, there was no way AJ's smaller body had either. Her eyes swelled quickly. There was no sign of Carrot Top, despite her being on top of the haybale with AJ when the horde ran through. She peered over at the hill the bass had come from, but the outlines and mysterious box from before were no longer on the hilltop.

She gazed back at the horizon, slowly realizing the extent of what had just taken place. Celestia had been crushed to death, and her sun had set along with her. The darkness of night flooded her feeble mind. She glanced up, and through the spotted clouds ... she finally saw Princess Luna's moon. It slowly rose to a spot high in the sky before coming to a stop.

The princess had survived.

A chill danced along her spine. This realization was nice, but they were still in big trouble. Luna had mentioned at the train station that she was not able to control the sun, despite her moon-raising logic defying the apocalypse's magic disappearance. Celestia wasn't able to control the moon either when she was alive. So, unless they found a way to bring back magic, nopony was left to raise the sun.

Soon, the night would grow colder, and colder, as the heat from the sun would fade.

The clock was ticking now.

The Hills Are Alive

— Vinyl —

Her heart beat fast, pulsing with the immensely satisfying feeling of her bass cannon blasting everything it had. She had worked very long nights on tuning this powerful machine, and while she did not anticipate it being used in this fashion, she was thrilled that the day of its arrival was here. Her chest thumped as even her hearing protection struggled to keep the insane noise out. After observing her dials to make sure it was tuned right, she looked across the top at Split. His enormous smile beamed across, causing her to.

It was almost time for them to run. The horde of movement below was coming their way, and soon, the horde they had run from all day would be here. She checked her machine’s feedback one last time, struggling not to vibe to the booms of the bass erupting out of the front of it. She then gestured to Split, and the two met behind the box briefly. There was no talking at this point, so she wrapped one of her forearms around him and used the other to draw a path that they would run.

They knew roughly where they were planning to go. Past the fields they already crossed to get here was a forest, which turned into the Everfree forest. The end goal, which was looking very hopeful now, was to make it to the edge of Ponyville they had come from. When they were there, they would find a house to barricade in temporarily for the night. By then, the horde would be moseying through the Everfree forest, hopefully getting lost in the wilderness for a long time to come. The next day, they would return to the barn and hopefully be greeted by an ecstatic Applejack and her friends. They were heroes in the making, and Vinyl was gleaming at the opportunity. After she mapped out the path they would take, Split nodded in agreement.

They had one last thing to do before taking off. Affixed to the three free sides of the cannon were rope handles which allowed them to pull it whenever pushing was inconvenient. While the cannon was built on wheels, the terrain they had crossed called for it occasionally. The hill they climbed to get up here was brutal, so it only made sense to use the handles to pull the heavy bass cannon back down. This would lure the horde even farther away from the barn, and even if her cannon got busted in the process, it was 100% worth it.

The two turned back to the bass cannon to follow through with their plan. However, despite the bass vibrating the ground so hard that their eyes were shaking, Vinyl noticed it had moved. As she watched for a few seconds, she realized it still was. The cannon was rolling down the other side of the hill, headed straight for the barn.

She broke into a sprint and passed the cannon, sinking her back hooves into the ground and throwing up her front ones to hold it back. The immense bass erupting from it shook her body to the point where she could feel the organs inside of her moving around. A second later, Split rushed up to the back side of it, sinking his teeth into the rope handle and digging his hooves into the ground. Vinyl used all the strength she had left to push back as the heavy cannon rolled against her, causing her back hooves to slowly grind against the grass of the hill. The heavy cannon continued to roll faster until she could not stop it.

When she realized it was hopeless, it was too late. The cannon was moving too fast now. She attempted to jump out of its way, but her hind legs lost their grip on the grass below. She tumbled in front of the cannon, her body slowly veering away from it. However, as both she and the cannon gained speed, the heavy cannon ran over her hind leg. Pain erupted near her hoof as it rolled over her bone, only to be followed by more pain as she tumbled down the rest of the hill beside it.

As she rolled over and over, the cannon’s vibrations still pulsed through her body. Eventually, her fall came to an end. Even though she was in a huge amount of pain, she knew she had to get up and go. Through the darkness, the sea of movement from the horde was closer to her now. Thankfully, she had not rolled straight into them, but they were still very close now. She stood up quickly, wondering if it was worth it to slam the power switch on the bass cannon off. The cannon was too close to the barn now, and its usefulness had diminished greatly. If anything, it was now causing them more problems. She ditched the idea quickly when she realized there was no time for her to follow through.

She turned back. The hill rose ominously above her. Her hoof ached severely, causing her to keep it off the ground as she started trotting back up. As she did, the pain caused her to buckle, slipping down slightly. Her hoof throbbed violently in protest, but there was no time to do anything about it. She ignored it as she pushed herself up again.

Rushing down the hill above her was Split, who had to sink his hooves into the ground to stop before he passed her. He realized her situation quickly and got behind her, using his head to shove her up. While this worked briefly, he ended up pushing her too quickly, causing her to stumble again. Her heart beat faster as panic set in, only accentuated by the horde closing in on them. Instinctively, she and Split started trotting along the base of the hill. If they continued to round the base, they would start to veer to the left, away from the mob to their right.

When they started rounding it, they realized there was still a hill to rise. Vinyl also realized she would not be able to run as far as she thought with her hoof the way it was. Ahead of them to the right, Carrot Top’s house stood on a similarly tall hill. She pondered very briefly but ended up nudging Split. They had made some distance from the cannon, so she threw off his headphones as they trotted.

“We need to get inside!” she yelled.

Split did not reply, instead following beside her as she veered right toward the house. To their right, she could see most of the horde chasing after the bass cannon behind them. The darkness was actually helpful to them right now, but only partly. Her bright white body was still visible to some of them, who eagerly pushed through the other distracted ponies to get to her.

As they got to the base of the hill to Carrot’s house, Vinyl struggled to climb as her hoof’s pain radiated through her. She stopped, but Split got behind her again and fought with her to push her up. Again, she stumbled. She could start to hear the horde over the bass now as the stragglers closed in on them. She tried again to fight her way up the hill, but her hoof would not cooperate. Again, she stumbled. There was no time left. The stragglers were just seconds away from reaching them. She turned to Split.

“Leave me. Please,” she requested.

“NOT A CHANCE!” he hollered, “Keep Going!”

He moved between her and the zombies, glancing over his shoulder to aim his buck right. Vinyl struggled to look away so she could rush up, looking back over her shoulder occasionally to check on him. After he struck the first pony, she stopped momentarily as the pain became unbearable. It was becoming evident that she had broken a bone as she struggled to fend off the pain. As she continued, the sounds of bass started to lessen and the sounds of the horde were growing. She looked back at Split again.

The stragglers were too close together for him to down them. As he bucked the first attacker, the second leaped on his back. There was a third not far behind, and as he fought off the second, the third rammed into his side, pummeling him to the ground. Even more of the stragglers approached. She watched in horror as the first attackers found their chance and sunk their teeth in his side and hind leg. Her heart stopped along with the rest of her body, freezing on the side of the hill as the zombies overcame him. The grueling sight was quickly hidden from her view as the rest of the zombies covered him.

Still taken aback by her love falling to the horde right in front of her, she stared blankly at a straggler on the base of the hill climbing after her. Did it matter now? As scared as she was, she was too shocked to even want to move. She watched the zombie approach. Her vision focused on him, effectively tunnel-visioning her from anything else happening nearby. As he approached, she exhaled, feeling a moment of relief at the thought of giving up.

Then the zombie was ripped from her vision. She shook her head, clearing the tunnel vision to see AJ standing with her hind legs beside the fallen pony. Carrot ran up from behind her and met with Vinyl.

“Come on! Let’s go!” she called.

The two mares must have been watching them, because Carrot took caution in not touching her hoof as she got on her right side and started helping her up the hill. Behind them, only a few stragglers were following. Most of them were distracted by either the bass cannon back by the other hill or … her love.

AJ bucked two more ponies before turning back to face them.

“You help her! I’m going to the barn!”

“AJ!” Carrot shouted back, “No! It’s gonna collapse!”

“I KNOW! I gotta save the others!!”

"AJ! Please!" Carrot protested.

AJ eyed the barn quickly before looking back at them. She lowered her tone so they could just hear her over the bass and horde nearby.

"It's alright. I have to try."

As Carrot started to protest again, AJ took off for the barn. Vinyl continued climbing the hill with her help, able to make it all the way to the front door. She turned to look back at the scene as they were offered the time to do so with all the new distractions the horde had. Below them, there was a concentration of the ponies where the bass cannon was, and one where Split went down. The few stragglers left had gained interest in AJ, who ran toward the barn. Vinyl watched as she swung around and busted a boarded-up window open with her powerful hind legs. The mare disappeared as she leaped in the window.

Vinyl scanned the whole farm, taking in the chaotic, apocalyptic scene erupting in the dark. This new world was terrifying, and very, very unrelenting. Carrot set a hoof on her shoulder, and the mare guided her to the safety of her home. Only a few stragglers followed them all the way up the front porch, so they barricaded the door with just a chair in case AJ came back with others. For the next minute, they made sure the house was secure.

When given the opportunity, Vinyl gazed out of the front window. It raised above the ground below, offering her a clear view of the outside. She glanced at the zombie ponies out front and right underneath her. As she was observing the ones climbing up to the front porch, a loud rumbling noise erupted over the booming bass outside. She looked back at the barn, and she watched as the top of it fell in on itself. First, the second story collapsed, sending dust billowing out of the windows. Then, the first story caved in from the second story crashing down on it. An enormous dust cloud shot out from every direction as the cracking sound of the wooden structure falling slowly came to a stop.

"Vinyl?" Carrot called from inside.

Time froze as Vinyl fixed her eyes on the cloud. She had not managed to save the day. It was over.

It was all over.

By The Horn

— Devan —

Sweat beat on my forehead. My heart raced. Every muscle in my legs strained, uncomfortable with their continued use. Beside me, Trixie panted as her body tired too. Both of us were struggling to keep up with a much more energized Doc Hooves and Redheart as we passed the houses of Ponyville. The race to follow Cheerilee’s tracks had worn us out, let alone being chased by zombies the second we got somewhere important. It had not been long since we left the station—not even two minutes.

Yet, this world offered us no breaks. Celestia’s sun was setting behind us, and its dusk glow illuminated a zombie pony coming out from behind a house a few houses ahead to the left. We continued, as one zombie pony was nothing we couldn’t handle.

Then another pony came from behind them.

We all slowed to a stop after realizing the ponies had not noticed us. They continued trotting across the street ahead, making their way to the right side. Without speaking, we cautiously waited for them to cross.

Then another pony came out.

Then another.

The fourth one noticed us. At the same exact time, there was a new sound filling the air. A distant mob could be heard groaning to our left, near the edge of Ponyville. I thought of the previous train mob from yesterday, wondering if these ponies were a part of it, as they were coming from the north.

Crap.

“The hospital isn’t far from here,” Redheart stated.

“Good, let’s hurry through them,” Trixie replied, glowing her horn.

Another pony came out. Suddenly, three more made their appearance from the house to our left. I backed up a step as Trixie blasted two of them with a double-freeze spell, and I readied my bat to down the third.

One swing of the bat knocked the last to the ground. But more were coming from the corner the first zombie came from, and now, even more were coming from between the houses in between them and us. The count quickly grew to a dozen, then there were too many. I turned around, and to my shock, an army of zombie ponies were crossing the street behind us. A lot of them noticed us, and we were suddenly being surrounded by the biggest mob I had ever seen. It wasn’t even a mob at this point. It was a damn horde.

“THIS WAY!!” Doc exclaimed.

With the cart behind him, he turned toward our right side and started rushing to the right side of the street, away from the edge of Ponyville. The rest of us followed him as he darted in between two houses. However, he was stopped as two zombie ponies trotted past the other side. When he started going again, more zombies crossed, and one of them noticed us.

“Back Back BACK!” he shouted, reversing the cart backwards.

I heard the faint sound of Trixie releasing another spell behind me and turned to see the horde approaching from all sides of the street we were on. The way we were headed previously was growing dangerous, but the other side, to our left, was filling with even more pale ponies. The street was not even visible from the rush of zombie ponies. Without speaking, we all knew we had to go right. Trixie and I took the lead as Redheart ran alongside Doc hauling Luna behind us. With how many ponies were surrounding us, I knew I needed a quicker way to down them.

I switched my baseball bat into my left, non-dominant hand and pulled out my Beretta. It had been a while since I fired it, but I knew it had a full magazine inside. I flicked off its safety switch with my thumb as I firmly held onto the middle of the bat with my left hand. As we ran along the right edge of the street, I pulled the gun up and popped off a round at the nearest attacker, which was crossing the street to our immediate left. He dropped to the ground. I noticed Trixie flinch at the loud burst of my gun, but there was no time for me to warn them about its sound. I popped off two more shots, downing another mare on the other side of the street.

A flash of Trixie's magic entered the corner of my eye as she shot a spell at one farther ahead of us. The spell hit her foreleg, causing her to stumble and veer to her right, eventually knocking both her and another zombie mare beside her over. I shot four more rounds at the ponies approaching from our left side, downing three more. For most of them, I couldn't tell if I was hitting their heads or not. Regardless, they were incapacitated, which is all we needed right now.

Over my shoulder, I noticed that a few of them from across the street were getting close to Luna's stretcher. Redheart had just stopped, very briefly, as she threw her hind legs back and bucked one of them to the ground. Another stallion, just a pony-length away from her, started lunging for her. My bullet ripped through his forehead, dropping him instantly by her side. This caused Redheart to jump out of her fur, but she quickly came back to her senses and continued with us. As I turned to face ahead again, Trixie shouted out.

"THIS WAY!!"

In the midst of the chaos, I noticed she was referring to an open door of a house down the path we were headed. No zombies were exiting, or entering, and boards on the windows showed that someone used to be holed up there. This open door was mysterious, but I had not seen any pony running out of the house since the horde appeared. While it was hard to tell, there also seemed to be no living ponies amongst the swarm. This open door was our best chance at escaping this sudden nightmare. Even though the path to it was clearer than the other options, we still had a few more zombie ponies in our way.

Trixie ran beside me as Doc and Redheart followed us down the path. We had mere seconds left until the horde would be pouncing us from all sides. The first zombie in our way was just a few pony lengths away, so I hastily aimed the gun down and popped off a shot that ripped through his cranium.

The second zombie was just as close, so I fired another round that struck her cheek. As I aimed at the next closest zombie, one of Trixie's bright blue orbs flew ahead and struck her square in the forehead. Not only did the pony get shoved back hard, but the orb also split and flashed left and right. The following orbs then struck two more zombies beside the initial pony, albeit less effectively. The orbs wiped out at least four of them, greatly clearing the way for us to get through.

Now, the door was right ahead of us. One more zombie stood in the way, so I aimed the gun one last time as we ran. When I pulled the trigger, there was a click instead of a bang. I tried it again, rapidly pressing the trigger over and over, but it was jammed.

Piece of fucking SHIT

There was not enough time to fix it or evade the pony, so I instinctively let go of the pistol. As it fell to the ground, I loosened my grip on the bat and let it slip until my left hand was on the handle. My right arm crossed my chest to grab the handle, and with both hands gripping the handle, I quickly raised it over my right shoulder. I swung forcefully, and the bat contacted the mare’s face, sending her to the ground. Trixie leaped over the mare to avoid tripping on her, and we both made our way to the door.

Trixie rushed inside to quickly check the interior for threats, warming up her horn in preparation. While she did, I waited by the door for Doc and Redheart to haul Luna through. I swung on one more pony who got too close, and Redheart bucked another that was following them. Finally, it was fully clear, allowing Doc to dart inside, followed swiftly by Redheart and me.

After slamming the door to the house shut, an accent chair from the living room came lumbering around the corner surrounded in a blue pool of light. I hesitantly shimmied away from the door so Trixie could set it down to barricade it. Banging followed seconds later.

We all finally took a moment to catch our breaths. We were safe … sort of. The downstairs windows, while boarded up, were still a concern. Plus, how well could a structure like this handle a horde? What I saw before we bolted in here far surpassed even the large train mob Trixie and I escaped from. There were so many ponies trotting down the street that they even kicked up dust around them. DUST. They weren’t even galloping, they were just trotting along at their staggered zombie pace.

“Will this place even hold?” I asked the others.

“It should,” Trixie replied, “but let’s do some more reinforcing.”

She trotted through the living room and started casting a spell on a nearby couch. With my help, we pushed the couch against one of the living room windows. We then used any available furniture we could find to barricade the other downstairs windows. Redheart helped Doc unstrap from the cart, and he helped us after setting Luna down in the living room. It took us a solid five minutes to properly barricade all the possible entry points to the house as the horde banged on the outside. After we were done, Trixie and I sat against the barren wall of the living room where the couch used to be while we caught our breaths. In front of us, we could vaguely see the furniture shake in the coming darkness.

“You sure it will hold?” I asked.

Doc, on the other side of the room, walked over to us. He had been observing the barricade closely.

“If my estimates are right, given I guess the materials used correctly, it will hold, but maybe not for as long as we need.”

“What?” Trixie asked.

“I haven’t gotten the chance to observe these sick ponies thoroughly, but given they supply the amount of force I am guessing, with variable factors included, they will eventually degrade this structure’s material in due time.”

“What the hell are you saying?” I interrogated.

“I’m saying, in time, this place will go BANG. And POW. And OUCH. The structure will not hold forever!”

The Doc was suddenly whacked in the face by a small blue orb. Trixie, still catching her breath, leaned her head back against the wall again. Doc shook his head.

“Rude. Anyway, to put it simply, we need to get the heck out of here.”

Trixie huffed. “And how do you suppose we do that?”

“I don’t know! I’m just saying.”

“Well start THINKING instead of TALKING,” Trixie shot back.

“You littl-”

“GUYS!” Redheart exclaimed, taking her attention off Princess Luna briefly, “just relax. We need to figure out a way to get out of here soon. Not just because the house may fall, but Luna is not doing very well.”

Shit fucking shit.

Doc started pacing, observing the now-barricaded windows downstairs. As he left the room to check the rest of the house, I turned to Trixie. She looked back at me curiously.

"Do you have any ideas?" she asked.

"Mmm ... not yet."

"I think I've got one, but it's not fully worked out in my head yet."

"That's okay, what are you thinkin?"

Before she could respond, Doc came rushing to the living room archway with an interesting box wrapped in one of his forelegs. Despite his hoof blocking most of the text, as well as a few pictures on the side, I could see its colorful exterior and hazard markings.

"Look what I found!" he exclaimed.

Trixie and I observed it as he set it on the ground in front of us. Suddenly, Trixie smiled and turned back to me.

"Now it is."

The wind blew against my back as I stood on the rooftop, facing North toward Canterlot Mountain. The sound of the horde below from the two story drop was more intense than I first imagined, but they were quiet enough from up here that I could hear myself think.

Three days.

And it was ticking away to the fourth, if we lived to see it. Celestia’s sun had somehow set fully since we fiddled about inside with our plan. Princess Luna mentioned feeling a weird shift, forcing her to raise her moon to its midnight position. None of us were sure about what happened, but she was particularly concerned. Thankfully, as Doc was explaining part of the plan's logic with Trixie, I was given a few minutes to be there for Luna. I helped her calm her racing thoughts until having to leave her.

Her high moon shone down on the horde below now, illuminating the street of zombie ponies. Still, there were empty patches forming. The horde had continued through to the rest of Ponyville, but still left a sizable mob surrounding us. Trixie and Doc stood by my side, taking in the same sights.

We had formulated a plan with the help of Doc and Redheart. It was risky, and I didn’t like it all that much, but it was necessary. Behind us was a queen-sized mattress, and attached to Trixie were tightly-tied saddlebags. Inside of both of them were improvised radios with their speakers poking out of perfectly cut holes in the sides. By my side was a tube that rose to my knees and was as wide as my hand. Trixie stood tall, ready to go.

In a few minutes, she would be leading the mob away.

I was growing nervous. With how often I was being split from my friends, I did not want Trixie to leave my side. But it was necessary. If everything went right, I would reunite with her back at the hospital by dawn. I just hoped luck was on our side this time. With my thoughts racing, I turned to her and got down on my knees. I got a confused look back from her.

“What are you doing?” Trixie asked.

“Trix … please … please be careful. I don’t want to lose anybody else.”

Trixie stared at me for a moment before turning to face me, setting her hoof on my knee.

“I will be, Devan. Don’t worry. I got this.”

I leaned forward, and we both hugged tight. Her confidence was reassuring, given the situation we were stuck in. I still worried, especially knowing the risks with what she was about to attempt.

“Thank you,” I said as we disconnected.

I stood back up, and Doc glanced over at us. "You guys ready?"

“We are.”

“Let’s do this.”

Doc and I grabbed the mattress from the side and readied ourselves. Trixie grabbed the remote control from her saddlebag before tying it shut again. With one button push, static cackled from the speakers for a second before various wubs filled the air. The radios were tuned as loud as possible, blaring from the rooftop and echoing from the street below.

With Doc across from me, we swung the mattress to my left, away from the street. Then, we swung it back, and with one powerful toss, we launched the mattress off the rooftop. When we did, we released it at the right time to make sure it fell flat. Within the same few seconds, Trixie leaped off the edge with her horn aglow. Time slowed as we watched her fall above the mattress, waiting for both of them to hit the ground. Right before the mattress collided with the ponies below, there was a bright blue flash as Trixie released her spell. As my eyes readjusted, I watched Trixie hop off the mattress with a perfect, translucent sphere of blue surrounding her.

A forcefield.

The zombies around her were forcefully shoved aside as Trixie started galloping down the road, headed back toward the train station where we had come from.

Doc then ran up to my side and set up next to the tube. I leaned down and picked up one of the hand-sized firework balls laying around us. I had grown so happy upon seeing the fireworks Doc had found, and I couldn't wait to set these suckers off. I thanked whoever lived here previously for having them, wondering if they were a pyrotechnic or just a firework enthusiast. Regardless, him finding them was perfect timing.

With a lighter we found in the kitchen, I sparked it, and set the flame to the firework ball's fuze. After a second, the long fuze erupted in sparkles, so I handed the ball to Doc, who dropped the shell into the tube. With one hoof, he tilted the tube, aiming it at an angle toward the station. I set my right ear against my shoulder and used my left hand to cover the other as I picked up another ball. A couple seconds later, the tube emitted a bright red flash. The firework shot out of it loudly in a bright red streak of light.

YES!

I watched as the bright firework rose over the town, sinking back down in the distance as it closed in over the nearby train station. These fireworks were the ones we had hoped for. Doc assumed them to be ‘Comets’, that glowed bright with a tail as they flew. They were perfect for this situation, and could possibly draw even more zombies away than a regular firework. As my excitement grew, I grabbed another one and sparked it before handing it to Doc. He dunked it in. This time, a blue comet fired out of the cannon and streaked high in the sky.

For a quick second as the cannon emptied its smoke, I used my toes to rise up partially, so I could see below. Trixie’s shield was still holding strong, shrinking smaller as she gained distance from us. In the moonlight, there was a sea of movement below following her. The plan was working. With my adrenaline pumping, I eagerly grabbed another firework and sparked it, quickly handing it to Doc. A golden streak shot out, and this time it even whistled.

Awesome!

For the next minute, we slowly spaced out the remaining fireworks more and more until we were on the last one. After watching the red fire shoot across the sky one last time, I noticed something strange. In the sky, illuminated by the streak, a figure appeared.

Make or Break

— Twilight —

Luna’s moon illuminated the path ahead of them, where the horde was miraculously thinning. Twilight and her group were spread in an arrow formation, with her as the spearhead, as they continued through, bucking and downing any zombie ponies who got too close. To her left, Ty raced along, and to her right, Dash did the same. As they neared the end of the long path to AJ’s farm, she glanced back at Fluttershy. She was running with them, but Twilight could still make out the bite mark on her hind leg, despite the darkness. They had to do something about it, very soon.

She then noticed Derpy flying above the treetops, slowly descending to meet them. The pegasus flew down to her side and coasted above the ground next to her as she ran.

"Twilight! Where are you guys headed?" she asked.

"Town Hall!" Twilight answered, "Could you scout ahead of us to make sure there's no big groups?!"

"Gotcha!" Derpy said, saluting before she took off ahead of them.

It took them another minute of running to approach the end of the path, leading them into Ponyville. Ahead of them, across the river, stood Town Hall. She had vaguely discussed through shouts with the others right as they left the barn, but she made sure everypony knew by shouting it again as she veered to gallop alongside the river. While she paralleled the river to get to the bridge leading to Town Hall, she noticed a light in the corner of her eyes.

She slowed her pace a tad and looked over to see a light flying over the buildings past Town Hall. It flew from right to left before disappearing over the rooftops. Shortly after, another white light followed a similar path. Fireworks. Somepony was launching fireworks towards the edge of the city where the train station sat. Smart.

The fireworks sparked her curiosity. Then Derpy set herself down next to her.

“Derpy,” Twilight called between breaths as they made their way over the bridge. “Can you see who is lighting those fireworks? Bring them to Town Hall, only if it is clear.”

“On it!”

The mare took off for the skies again. In Ponyville, the horde had cleared partially, leaving remnants scattered about the streets around Town Hall. She continued to the front doors after bucking one last pony in their way. To their benefit, and surprise, the front doors were unlocked. She opened it up and waited for everypony to get inside, nervously exchanging a glance with Fluttershy as she ran past.

Once inside, she and the others barricaded the door with a nearby ladder. They had grown some followers in their run, and the stragglers who were outside Town Hall wanted a piece of them as well. However, she was starting to realize the building wasn't the best place to bunker down. The tall windows surrounding them offered a less-than-ideal looking shelter, as the glass was probably not strong enough to protect them fully. For now, they would have to make due.

“Come on," Cheerilee said, "let’s bunk upstairs. It’s safer up there."

Twilight liked this idea. The group followed her and made their way to the second story, which only consisted of a walkway around the edge of the building, as well as a few balconies. Cloud and Dash led Fluttershy to one of the balconies as the rest of the group stood on the walkway nearby. After laying her down and observing the bite she had gotten on her hind leg, the two mares turned back to look at Twilight.

“Twilight, we might still have time …” Cloud said.

“Time … for …?”

She saw Cloud glance between her and the hatchet strapped to her foreleg.

“Are … you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Look at me, Twilight,” Cloud said, gesturing to her missing foreleg, “she could survive. We have to take that chance. We have supplies to stop the blood after. There's no telling if she'll make it as a zombie pony.”

Twilight thought for a moment. She wasn't sure how fast this virus spread, as she hadn't been able to study damn near anything about it the past few days. She pondered the thought that it may have spread through her friend's body already, but what if it hadn't? She glanced at Cheerilee, who was taking off her saddlebags and setting them against the wall behind them. Inside of one of them, she had mentioned, was the cure. Twilight was extraordinarily grateful that she had managed to save it from the barn collapse, but she was pissed off at the thought of not being able to do anything with it yet.

"Now hold on," Cheerilee joined, stepping up to where the balcony met the walkway. "What you're suggesting is very risky. Is there anything else we can do? We could tie her up like you did with Daisy."

"Ah ..." Twilight said, "we don't have anything to tie her with."

For a brief moment, the group looked down and observed the barebones Town Hall. The front doors were shaking now as the group of zombie ponies outside tried to make their way inside. Twilight cursed them, as well as the lack of anything useful in this stupid building. She regretted making the call to come here. As they observed their surroundings, Dash walked up to her side.

"Twilight ... we may have to go for it. If it can save her, we gotta try."

Ty stepped on the balcony with them. “Now wait a minute, what does she want? Shouldn’t we ask her first?”

Everypony looked at Fluttershy, who curled up in a shy ball. She too looked down at her hind leg, which was slowly bleeding from the teeth marks that had penetrated deep enough to do so. She quivered from the sight, along with the thought of getting her leg chopped off. She stared back up at Twilight.

"Twilight ..."

Twilight stepped closer and stood by her side. "Yes?"

"i ... i don't want to be a zombie pony ..."

Twilight sighed softly, struggling to keep her emotions in check while she listened to the nervousness in her friend's voice. She glanced at her hatchet and pulled it out, holding it in front of her.

"So you want us to try?" she asked.

“y ... y- ... yes ...”

“Are you sure?” Ty asked thoughtfully.

"i am ..."

“We have to do it quickly," Dash mentioned, "We're running out of time. Do it, Twilight."

Both Dash and Cloud grabbed hold of Fluttershy’s forelegs, squeezing tight as they restrained her. Cheerilee and Ty were fumbling through the saddlebags against the wall, pulling out an array of medical supplies they would use. Twilight struggled to focus, as the task in front of her was difficult to execute. It felt unreal to have to hurt your friend to this extent just for the chance of them surviving. What if she did it wrong? What if it was already too late? From behind, somepony shook her out of her hypnosis. She heard Ty’s voice.

“Twilight, do you want me to-”

“No! Just give me a second.”

“Twilight!” Dash yelled, “we don’t have a second! Do it!”

Twilight held her breath as she raised the hatchet above her, and carefully swung it down above Fluttershy’s bite. Her friend's cry of pain broke her mental state as the hatchet buried itself in her leg, unable to chop fully through the bone. After one unsuccessful tug, Twilight then yanked the hatchet out. Drops of blood flew out in all directions as she raised the hatchet again and swung. This time, the hatchet carved through the rest of her leg, chopping it clean off.

Fluttershy’s screams echoed in Twilight’s head as she backed off, disturbed by the amount of blood rushing out. The others were a blur as they quickly pulled her infected leg back and worked together to stop the blood flow. She questioned whether or not she was hallucinating any of this nightmare, as she had yet to grasp the terrible things she was experiencing. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed with it all. She thought about AJ ... Rarity ... Celestia.

One by one her friends were being ripped from her by this forsaken new shithole of a world. Ponies were falling left and right, and even Princess Celestia was gone now. Was this the end? Was she witnessing an end to her once beautiful world? There had been close calls in the past, but the end? It all happened so quickly too.

She turned away from the others, just to see Spike hanging back with the fillies. He was turned away from her, making movements with his arms as if he was telling them a story. As she watched, Ty stopped beside her and tapped her shoulder.

“Hey, are you alright?” she asked.

“I … I am …”

“Okay. The others are working on stopping her blood, but we may have an issue ...”

Twilight eyed her worryingly. “What … what is it?”

“They're running out of gauze. They thought there was more in Cheerilee's saddlebag, but we can't find any. We need it, or something similar to stop the bleeding.”

Twilight turned to her before looking back at Fluttershy. The two trotted back to the balcony, where the other three mares were carefully assisting Fluttershy as blood below her crept to the edge. She had stopped screaming now, but she looked very delirious. Her eyes were thin and her face drooped slightly as she fought tiredness. Beside her, Cheerilee looked up at them.

“We might need to get her blood as well. She's losing a lot of it.”

“Where in Equestria are we going to get blood?” Dash asked, “do you even know how to give blood?”

“I do. I used to take nursing classes back in school. I’m probably rusty, but it’s better than nothing. As for blood, the only place I know of would be the hospital.”

“The hospital is on the other side of town! Do we even have enough time to get it?”

“Maybe we could-” Cloud started, “wait, where did you send Derpy?”

Fucking shit.

Everything was crumbling around her. She was regretting every decision they had made since she stepped out of that damn barn with Ty, Carrot Top, and Fluttershy.

“Ah ... toward the fireworks,” she answered, “I don’t know how long until she’ll be back. She’s going to see who is shooting them off.”

“Crap.”

Twilight then thought of something. “Wait, what about the new clinic? It shouldn't be but a couple blocks from here, if I remember right.”

“Oh yeah!” Cloud replied, “The one on Rosemary Ave. I know what you’re talking about. One of my friends used to live in the houses that used to be there before the storm. Do you think they would have blood so soon though? It’s only been up for a month or two.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Cheerilee mentioned.

Twi took another deep breath. “Dash. Do you know the clinic we're talking about?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Okay. Here’s what I am thinking. You can come with me and help me check out the clinic. Hopefully there will be blood there. A positive, right?” she asked Fluttershy.

Fluttershy warily nodded.

“Okay. So we grab the blood and gauze she needs and hurry back. The rest of you can stay here. Derpy may get back before we do. If she does, send her to the hospital quickly. Hopefully she can swoop in and out. Sound good?”

“You sure you don’t want one of us to come with? I can help too,” Ty mentioned.

“No, I need you here. Actually, you can help distract the stragglers outside so Dash and I can get away. Afterwards, the others may need you to help protect Fluttershy."

“Gotcha.”

With that, the three mares rushed downstairs and set up to get past the stragglers. Twilight hoped they would be able to get back on time.

Rosemary Ave

— Twilight —

She ran beside Dash in the dark of night, struggling to shake the thoughts of everything that just happened. She was done deeming a new shelter ‘safe’, regardless of how much protection it seemed to have. Somehow, this new world would eventually spit in her face and prove her wrong. Part of her almost wished that she had never arrived at AJ’s farm. She thought about whether or not that would really change anything, realizing the horde would probably sweep through it regardless.

Where had the horde even come from? She had seen hundreds on hundreds of ponies, more than she remembered even living in Ponyville. The only logical explanation would be that they came from Manehatten or Canterlot, and Manehatten seemed more likely given the sheer scale of it. Her mind sparked a new fear when she thought of Devan. If he was heading to Manehatten and was approached by this …

She shook the thought. They had a cart; Dash and Fluttershy told her. The mare friends he was with would reverse him out, but then what? They said the tunnel going up Canterlot Mountain from that rail was blocked off. How would they escape with his missing leg? Her brain hurt. It didn’t help that her emotions were swirling out of control as her mental state slowly deteriorated at recent events.

Throughout their short run, they had not come across any issues. They ran through the streets, passing house after house, some boarded up and some broken into. There were stragglers from the horde littered around town, but she and Dash were fast enough to juke and outrun them. That didn’t really concern her. What concerned her was Fluttershy, and if they could get back with the supplies in time. Dash carried the saddlebags they would use to haul them back.

Then again, what would they do once they saved her? She and Princess Celestia had not made much progress on how to regain magic before shit hit the fan, so she was still at square one. And now, the clock was ticking. She needed to solve it ASAP. Maybe it was just her anxiety, but she felt shivers run down her spine as the temperature around them started to slowly cool. How cold would it get in the coming days?

They rounded the corner to Rosemary Ave. This street was slightly wider than the others around Ponyville, as various shops lined it. The clinic was not far down it, but unsurprisingly, they ran into another obstacle. Ahead of them was another group of zombie ponies. There were more than six in total that were spread out through the street, meaning they could not simply juke or go around them all. The one closest to them was only two shops away, and he caught sight of them despite the dark of night. He turned toward them and began his trot as he let out a yearning grown. This seemed to trigger the others nearby, who one at a time started turning their heads to see what he was on about.

Before Twilight could holler a plan, Dash shouted out for her to follow and rushed to the right side of the street. She followed her as Dash entered between two shops and swiveled her head left to right after they passed through. It was clear, so they turned left and continued down the path connecting the backs of the shops. Behind the path, to their right side, was a small forested area that stood ominously in the dark. After they passed the first building, a zombie mare came trotting out from behind a building ahead of them. The mare stopped briefly, gazing in their direction for a few seconds before turning and coming at them.

These smart pieces of shit, I swear.

One was nothing they couldn’t handle, so they continued down the path. Dash ran ahead of her, and before she could react, Twilight was sideswiped by another zombie as she crossed another alley to her left. The blow wasn’t severe, but it was surprising enough to cause her to lose her hoofing and stumble sideways briefly. Dash heard this happening and rushed back to her, swinging around and swiftly bucking the zombie stallion as he stood back up as well. They continued.

Twilight downed the one ahead of them with a non-lethal blow of her hatchet and kept galloping along the back of the shops. Ahead of them, the path stopped as the shops turned into houses with fenced backyards. She was not fully up-to-date with this area anymore, but she assumed the clinic was somewhere on the other side of the street between where the shops turned to houses. She took the lead from Dash and turned left down a thin alley separating the last shop on the street and the first house. A thin concrete wall stood to her right, rising just above her head. Her hunch was proven correct as they approached the end of the alley, seeing the clinic on a corner across the street.

The two mares peeked their heads around the corner, expecting to see a clearer street as their pursuers were likely drawn through the various alleys between the shops. However, a zombie mare and stallion standing in front of the shop they were next to met eyes with them. They both growled as they turned and started trotting toward them. Twilight glanced across the street, noticing an opportunity to get across as long as they juked them. However, the front of the clinic was boarded up, and there were two more zombie mares hanging out in front of it. It was too risky.

She annoyingly followed Dash back down the alley, but as they reached the end, a blue zombie mare rounded the corner. As she readied her hatchet in her hoof, Dash ran up to a door beside him. When she turned the handle, the door swung open with no problem. Twilight followed her inside before shutting it and holding it shut until Dash could shove a chair against the knob. The mares sighed as they caught their breath.

The door they had used was the side door to the shop, which appeared to be some kind of bakery. In front of them was a small walkway with a see-through display shelf that stored various loaves of bread and pastries next to a cash register. On the other side of the walkway were counters against a wall with stuff on it, but they could not make it out in the darkness. There was also a doorway leading to an even darker room.

“Well … what now?” Dash asked.

“We’ll make a break for it.”

“How??”

“We’re safe here, so we’ll just distract them all into the alley and leave out the front.”

She made her way through the walkway so she could see the front of the shop. Through the ceiling-high glass windows, she could vaguely see the silhouettes of more ponies wandering on Rosemary Ave. One of them moved quickly, trotting from left to right past the storefront and toward the alley they were just in. Another one followed them for a second before slowing down and stopping in front of the store. The zombie mare peered through the windows, causing Twilight to get low behind the front counter, leaving just enough of her head above it to see. After a few seconds, the mare turned her head and started walking back toward the alley.

She heard Dash scoot beside her before a crashing sound happened behind them. She heard an odd sound of rolling metal until a dark shape came rolling out of the doorway behind them. Dash picked it up, realizing it was some kind of mixing bowl as she squinted behind her to see into the dark room. A few seconds later, there was an all-to-familiar groan from inside.

Twilight readied her hatchet again. The zombie mare finally appeared through the doorway, sporting some kind of apron. She watched as Dash swung the bowl at the pony, whacking her face but not knocking her over. As Dash squirmed to get out of the way, she swung the hatchet, aiming for the zombie’s head. The zombie got lucky as she dove down toward Dash, unintentionally dodging her first swing. Below, Dash kicked herself against the counter and swung at the pony with her forelegs.

They tussled for a moment longer until Twilight found another opportunity, carefully swinging her hatchet in the dark. The blade connected with the mare’s head, causing her to freeze before dropping between them. Relieved, Dash squirmed away from the pony and stood back up. Twilight squinted her eyes and opened her ears, checking on any more that may be in the room. The only noise she heard was from the front of the shop. When she looked back over the counter, she saw the pony from earlier banging on the window now, clearly agitated by the sounds she had heard.

As they both stood silently, the mare continued. The banging attracted more ponies from the street, and soon, one started to bang on the front door. The side-door of the shop was also still shaking from the zombies in the alley, so they had no choice but to run into the dark room behind them.

Twilight grabbed a flashlight from Dash's saddlebags and shone it through, scanning the entire room. It was clear, so they continued to an area by the other side of the shop. They heard the sound of breaking glass out front as they looked around. In the corner was a cubby hole that revealed stairs to the second story with an ajar door at the top. The mares rushed up the stairs to the second floor and rushed through the door, shutting it softly behind them.

The room was the same size of the kitchen they had run through, with one door indicating a bathroom. The room hosted a twin-sized bed against the corner, a desk facing them with a window right behind it, some floor lamps, and a double-wide bookshelf with neatly organized books. Twilight winced at the thought of the now-dead baker downstairs. She had clearly worked hard on this shop, following her passion up until this point. Dash broke her from her thoughts.

“Twilight, hey. What do we do now?”

Twilight scanned the room, taking note of the mattress next to them. They spent a few minutes observing the room, startled by the sudden banging on the room’s door. The zombies had made it inside. Of course. Dash pulled the chair from the desk to barricade it. Once it was somewhat secure, they discussed possible plans before coming to an agreement on one.

There was a window beside the bed that had no screen to it, so they opened it up. Below them was another small alley between the bakery and another shop. This alley, unlike the other one, was clear of ponies. If their hunch was correct, the street was also mostly empty as the zombies they had seen were now inside the building or in the alley on the other side of the bakery.

Once the window was open, she and Dash each grabbed an end of the twin-sized mattress and pivoted it to face the window. While the short side was slightly wider than the window, they were able to tilt it slightly so it would fit through. With Dash’s guidance, Twilight pushed the mattress slowly out of the window until it smacked the ground below them. The mares then waited for a minute to see if it gained any attention, and amazingly, it had not.

The mattress laid perfectly below them, and even with its navy-colored sheets, they could vaguely make it out in the darkness.

“Ready?” Dash asked Twilight.

“Yes.”

“Alright, I’ll go first.”

Twilight watched as Dash shimmied herself through the window. The stunt-happy pegasus took no time in lining up and jumping down to the mattress below. Twilight was a bit more nervous, so she hesitantly set her left hind leg out of the window before poking her head out as well, hanging on with her other legs. She glanced down at Dash, waiting for her to move off the mattress so she could land safely. However, Dash wouldn’t move.

She squinted to see what the pegasus was up to, finding Dash squirming her legs around as she laid on the mattress. She glanced back inside, noticing the door to the room was moving a lot now. She wasn't keen on waiting around to see how long it would last, so she glanced back down at Dash.

“Dash!” Twilight whispered, “move!”

Dash would not move out of the way, so Twilight looked to the other end of the mattress where she could land. She would have to push herself out of the window more forcefully in order not to land on top of Dash, so she built up the courage to do so as fast as she could.

In the dark, she used her hind legs to propel herself forward, landing square on the other end of the mattress and successfully avoiding Dash. She turned to the mare, growing mad at her for not following through.

“Dash,” she whispered, “why didn’t you move?”

Twilight stood up above Dash, who turned her head to face her. A shocked, panicked expression filled her blue face as she breathed heavy, using her forelegs to hold her chest.

“Dash … Dash what is it?” Twi asked nervously.

In the darkness, Twilight noticed a glimmer when she leaned down and moved Dash’s foreleg. She moved Dash slightly, just to find a metal pole piercing through her friend's shoulder.

Loyal

— Twilight —

“Dash! No!”

Twilight gripped the pole sticking out of her friend with her hooves. There was a solid head-length section of it sticking out of her shoulder, slowly moving around as Dash squirmed. She picked up the flashlight beside her and cautiously looked down both ends of the alley before turning it on to see better. In the light, there was blood creeping out from where the thin metal pole punctured her, as well as blood painting the pole red. She raised the flashlight to the wall of the bakery, noticing more of the thin metal rods leaning against it. They were all skinny yet lengthy, and all of them had roughly the same thickness all the way down them. She cursed their existence, regardless of whatever they were doing there.

She used her forelegs to gently lift Dash a hair so she could see below her. The rod had impaled through Dash, entering through the side of her chest and exiting through the back of her shoulder. The rod extended through the mattress below, where blood stained the navy blue sheets. When Twi had shined the light on it before to see if it was safe, she had completely missed the rod as its dark color must have blended in with the sheets. She cursed herself for missing this, even though it was reasonable that she had.

Dash groaned before speaking through gritted teeth.

“Twilight … what do we do??”

Twilight took a moment to think. As she did, she heard zombie groans from down the alley. These weren’t as faint as the ones outside the front of the bakery, so she turned her head to see. She flipped off the light quickly and watched a shadowy figure stop at the end of the alley, towards the front of the shop. It had approached from the left side, meaning it was likely headed for where the others were entering out front. However, it seems as though this one noticed them. After holding her breath and sitting perfectly still for a few very long seconds, the figure continued past. She let out a sigh of relief, but realized it was far too risky to stay here much longer.

She shushed Dash as she grabbed the rod and tugged it slightly to test its resistance. She felt a lot more than she expected, meaning it was likely buried deep in the mattress below Dash. While Dash held in a scream, she still groaned in pain as Twilight tugged at it.

Twilight took another second to think before she got an idea. Using her hatchet, she cut through the bedsheets underneath her, cutting out two rectangles that were half the size of her. When they came loose, she folded one of them together before stretching it out. Dash side-eyed her as she breathed heavy through her pain, trying to figure out what she was about to do. Twilight then took the sheets and quickly threw her forelegs over Dash’s head before she could retaliate. She pulled both ends of the sheet back as it found its way through Dash’s lips. She continued to pull until Dash was effectively gagged by them, then crossed the ends and quickly tied the sheets behind Dash’s head. Her friend’s muffled cries mentally hurt her, but she did not trust any mare to be quiet enough for what she was about to attempt.

“I’m sorry, Dash.”

She avoided the mare’s nervous eyes as she shoved her forelegs underneath Dash and forcefully pushed her body upwards. Dash’s body rose slowly through the pole, and her muffled cries grew into muffled screams of pain. Twilight tried very hard to ignore this until she finally pushed Dash fully off of the pole, unable to avoid a rush of blood squirting out on her face and legs.

Dash squirmed after she dropped her on the other end of the mattress. Twilight quickly grabbed the balled-up sheet she had left and wrapped it around the mare’s shoulder in an attempt to stop the puncture holes from bleeding. She looked the rest of her friend over as she waited for the mare to recover from the shock, because they would soon need to get out of here.

Their time to escape shortened quickly when she heard another groan from the end of the alley. Another figure stood where the previous one had, but this time, the figure continued into the alley. Twilight readied her hatchet, hoping others would not follow, but expecting them to. She nudged Dash, urging her to stand up so they could go when another figure stopped at the end of the alley. The first one became clearer as he closed in on Twilight, revealing his pale orange body. With one swing of the hatchet, Twilight dropped the pony as it connected with his head.

She turned around after yanking it out, noticing Dash struggling to get up. The second figure was making their way down the alley now, so Twilight helped her up and off the mattress, allowing the mare to go slow through her pain. She listened for the zombie behind her, and timed a 180 degree swing perfectly as the zombie leapt forward. The hatchet connected with the side of the zombie mare’s face, dropping her just as quick as the first. She looked down the alley again, hearing groans approaching the end of it.

She was not going to risk it any longer. Dash was staggering, but as long as she was moving, Twilight was happy. She assisted her through the alley, careful not to put much pressure on her bleeding wounds. At the end of the alley, she glanced left to right, but there were no zombies left on the path behind the shops. With growing optimism, she lead Dash past the path and made their way to the treeline to escape.

This optimism was quickly cut short when she noticed zombie ponies around the corner of the alley from before, who caught sight of them as they entered the open patch of grass between the backs of the shops and the treeline. Twilight realized they would not make it in the forest, so she started to veer right toward the other shops. However, figures started creeping out from behind the shops ahead of them. She cursed to herself, turning Dash around and making a break for the houses past the shops. This put them dangerously within reach of the ponies in the alley, but it was their only safe bet.

Even though Twilight had to down two of the pursuers, she was able to guide Dash all the way to the second house. The side-door was locked, and there was no time to rush around the house, so Twilight busted the doorknob off with her hatchet and cracked it open. She then busted the door down with a roundhouse buck and followed Dash inside. She then slammed it shut despite how useless it was now and scanned desperately for a safe room.

To her dismay, the house had a very open layout, with the first-story sporting a combined living and dining room, as well as a kitchen through an open archway. The only space they could bunker in would be the bathroom, but as she shone her flashlight on it, it looked tiny through the open door. So instead, she helped Dash trot to the stairs and started slowly climbing them as their pursuers broke the side-door open. She backtracked toward the front of the house, grabbing the console table next to the front door and following Dash up the few steps she managed to climb.

As they continued climbing, the zombies inevitably caught up with them. They were about halfway up when their pursuers reached the base of the stairs, so as the ponies started climbing, Twilight hucked the table hard down the stairs. The table fully impacted the first pony, who tumbled back, wiping out the second pony in the process. The other attackers struggled to push through as the table blocked their way momentarily. This offered them extra time to climb the rest of the stairs.

Twilight pushed Dash through the narrow upstairs hallway. She did not notice it at first, but when she started searching for a room they could bunker in, she realized the few upstairs doors were closed. When she turned the knob on the first one, she found it was locked. The next one was also locked, and so was the one she tried after that. She pulled out her hatchet and repeated the process of trying to break the doorknob on the last one, but when she did, the door would not budge. She shoved with all her might, but someone had barricaded the room.

She was starting to run out of ideas now. Ahead of her was a window at the end of the hallway that let Luna’s moonlight inside. She took a moment to adjust her eyes and look around it. It was then that she noticed a string dangling in front of it, moving back and forth ever so slightly. With a new burst of energy, she ran forwards and yanked on the string hard, sending a ladder flying down from the ceiling.

“Up!” she yelled at Dash before pushing her friend up the steep stairs to the attic.

It was then that she noticed their chasers were caught up again. As she pushed on Dash’s rump, a zombie came rushing down the hallway to get them. She heard and felt the zombie catch up when she was near the top of the stairs, giving Dash one last shove to push her in, unintentionally tossing up her hatchet as well. As she did, she felt a hoof wrap around hers. The hoof tugged at her hind leg, holding on tight despite her frantic kicking.

Dash leaned down, unable to speak with the sheets still in her mouth. She reached down her forelegs and grabbed on tightly to Twilight’s, who forcefully kicked the zombie with her other hind leg to prevent them from moving up the ladder. She did this for a few more seconds as the two played a messed-up version of tug-of-war. Eventually, she felt the zombie’s grip loosen, and she took her chance by kicking back hard with her other hind leg. This freed her, and with Dash’s help, she practically jumped up into the attic.

This caused Dash to tumble backwards as Twilight also fell forward onto the attic’s wooden floor. Before she could get a chance to breathe, she heard the zombie loudly climbing the steps behind her. She quickly felt around in the darkness with her hooves to find the hatchet, but the attic was very dark. As she pulled the flashlight out of her mouth and turned it on again, the zombie dove for her, causing her to drop it on the ground.

Twilight instead focused on dodging the mare, gaining just a second of time to throw her hind legs back in a half-charged buck. This move allotted her an extra few seconds as the mare was sent staggering back a few paces. In the darkness, the flashlight shined toward the attic’s entryway, where a sparkling light revealed her hatchet beside it.

She ran forwards, quickly grabbing the hatchet. From her perspective, another zombie had started climbing the stairs. When he was close enough to the top, she swung the blunt end of her hatchet in an underhand swing, causing him to fall back down the stairs. This created the same effect as before, as he wiped out another pony who had started climbing behind him. Once they were down, Twilight forcefully grabbed the top rung of the wooden ladder and yanked it up violently, causing it to slam shut. One more to go.

She felt the zombie mare who was already in the attic grab her left thigh from behind, so she instinctively kicked back as she used her forelegs to move forward. Even though this didn’t release her from the mare’s grip, it gave her enough leverage to swing around. With one foreleg holding the hatchet, she swung it hard at the pony. The blade connected with the mare’s forehead, instantly dropping her. Her grip loosened as a result, allowing Twilight to turn around fully.

There was anger flowing through her now. An anger she had never felt before. She felt close to madness now, and all her emotions were seething as blood rushed through her. She yanked the hatchet out of the pony’s head, allowing little droplets of blood to splatter her. The pony was down now, but her anger was not. She swung the hatchet again, again connecting with the mare’s head.

WACK

Her blood was boiling now as she ripped it out again.

“FUCK. YOU.”

WACK

“PIECE.”

WACK

“OF.”

WACK

“SHIT!”

WACK

As she pulled out the hatchet again, she took a second to catch her rapid breaths. The flashlight illuminated the room a dim glow, allowing her to see what she had done. She dropped the bloody hatchet on the ground, staring down at the mare’s bloody, chopped up face. She looked back where Dash was laying on the attic floor, and gazed into her scared purple eyes. Her anger faded as she slowly looked back at the mare. She sat in front of her, taking a minute to come to grips with everything. She then set a hoof on the mare’s cold shoulder.

“I’m sorry …”

Another few seconds passed until she accepted it and trotted back over to Dash, picking up the flashlight on the way.

“Dash! Are you doing okay?”

She turned Dash’s head sideways and used her hooves to untie the sheets from her mouth. When they dropped, Dash let in a big gulp of air. Twilight worried as the mare set her head down on the floor, still yet to answer her.

“Dash … are you okay?”

As she asked this, she shone the flashlight on her blue body. The makeshift sheet bandage was still in place, but there was blood seeping through.

A lot of blood.

Panicked, Twilight reached down and grabbed the sheets that were just in Dash’s mouth. She held them in her hoof for a moment, wondering if they were sanitary enough to use. While she debated, she looked back to see blood oozing out and flowing down Dash’s chest. This was enough for her to drop the sanitary debate and push down hard with them in an attempt to stop the blood. But the longer she laid there, the more Twilight realized how much she was bleeding.

No, no, no.

“Come on, Dash, please, please, don’t die on me.”

“Twilight-”

She was happy at the sound of Dash’s voice, but it carried a weak tone to it. Twilight took the sheets she was holding and wrapped them around Dash as well, creating a double layer over the wounds. She held the wound with her hoof a bit longer until Dash called out again.

“Twilight-”

“Yes? Are you okay?” Twilight asked, repositioning herself over Dash so she could look into her eyes. Dash’s slitted, magenta gaze back worried her.

“I’m sorry, Twilight …”

“No. No Dash don’t be sorry, please. Just hang in there.”

“Twilight … I’m seeing doubles here. Even I know what this all means …”

“NO. STOP TALKING LIKE THAT, PLEASE.”

“Please, Twi. Just listen. I don’t think I’m going to make it.”

Twilight started to argue back, but tears overcame her as she did. Nothing came out of her quivering lips as her hooves started shaking from an uncontrollable sadness washing over her. Dash noticed this and reached up her hoof. Twilight grabbed it and they both squeezed hard.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. Please don’t be sad for me. You need to be strong for the others.”

“Dash pl-”

She burst into tears again. Her crying was getting the best of her, and she wasn’t able to talk through her words. During her fit, she heard an explosion sound off in the distance. This briefly took her mind away from Dash, as she listened to two more follow. A few seconds passed, but the explosions stopped. She returned her attention to Dash, who was struggling to keep her eyes open.

“Dash, I’m so sorry. This is my fault. Please, I am so sorry.”

“It’s not. … goofball … listen …”

The mare took a second, breathing deep through her pain.

“... I’m glad I got to be your friend …”

“No …”

Tears continued to flow down Twilight’s cheeks. She looked back at Dash’s wounds, but it was hopeless. Blood kept flowing down, and the red puddle beneath her was growing with her friend’s blood. She could practically see the energy and life being sucked out of her friend’s face. There was not much time left.

“I - I … I’m … I’m glad … I got to be yours …”

Her words drifted into mumbled gibberish.

“too …”

Dash smiled up at her, but her grip loosened as her eyes blinked shut. There was nothing more Twilight could do. She watched helplessly as the mare’s body slowly stopped rising and falling with her breaths. Her grip tightened as her friend’s hoof sunk into dead weight. It was over. She rested her head on Dash’s shoulder, sobbing greatly as she mourned.

For the next few minutes, she let her tears run onto her friend. Just when she thought they would cease, she would burst out into more, again and again. It was only when there was a gasp of air that was not hers that she stopped. With her head resting on Dash’s shoulder still, she shot her eyes open. Another breath was heard, and then, her head rose as Dash’s chest did. She perked her head up, unsure if her friend was just drifting in and out of death or what, but this seemed unusual.

As she observed her friend’s face, the mare slowly blinked her magenta eyes open. However, they did not look the same. The all-to-familiar glazed-over look washed over them, and through her cloudy irises, Dash met eyes with her. A sudden burst of energy took over her friend’s body, and before Twilight knew it, the mare was lunging for her.

Filled with a new smacking confusion, she fell backward. Dash hadn't even been bitten, so the last thing she expected was for her to turn. For a quick moment, she wondered whether or not Dash had gotten the zombie illness, and if that was somehow overcoming her once unconscious body. As much as she wanted to consider more possibilities, she had no time to do so.

As she fell backward, she failed to dodge Dash’s attack. She used her forelegs to push up on Dash’s chin, barely managing to avoid getting bitten. As the mare stood over her, she felt blood trickle down to her chest from the puncture wounds. She raised her head, noticing her hatchet laying on the floor beside her.

Dash stared into her soul as she ferociously tried to get to her. Twilight was already overwhelmed with emotions, and she knew that this could be her breaking point. She had to do it. She had to survive, as much as it didn't seem to matter anymore. So, she disconnected one of her forelegs from Dash and reached out for it.

However, it was just out of her reach. Dash weighed down on her, slowly getting closer as she desperately reached out for the hatchet. She used all the strength she could muster to hold her back, but as she shimmied on her back to be able to reach out farther, Dash grew closer. She was finally able to grip its handle, but her other foreleg could not hold Dash back. Her friend overpowered her resistance and sunk her teeth into her neck.

Pain emanated through it as she could feel her friend’s cold teeth rip into her. She finally raised the hatchet from the floor, curling it over her and sending the blade through Dash’s head. The blow caused her friend to stop instantly. Shortly after, her dead body dropped onto Twilight before slowly rolling off to her right side.

Twilight, still distressed, rose to sit next to her. Again, her tears flooded as she felt her neck wet with blood. The warmth was enough for her to realize it was over for good now. She sobbed, wondering how long she had left. Her tears ran cold and her head throbbed. Sound muffled as she slowly tunnel-visioned in a bout of anxiety. Through her panic, she had not heard the rustling and noises happening beneath her. She hadn't even noticed the door to the attic had been pulled down again.

She was suddenly pulled from her daze as she heard steps up the attic stairs behind her. She then heard a very familiar masculine voice speak out.

“ … Twilight??”

How This Ends

— Devan —

I could not believe my eyes. There was a flashlight pointed sideways toward the wall, shining bright enough to illuminate the three ponies in front of me. One of them was Twilight.

I had finally found her.

I could hear Derpy’s inpatient steps on the ladder below me, but what I saw left me in a frozen state. Twilight sat up next to Dash’s body, and even from here, I could see a blood puddle slowly growing around her head. More blood was splattered around the wooden floor of the attic, and an eerily bloody corpse of a chopped up zombie pony laid closer to me. Earlier, when Derpy met up with me on the rooftop, I thought it was a miracle. Now, it was looking more like a nightmare.

Finally leaving my frozen state, I climbed up into the attic and slowly made my way to Twilight, who was also frozen as she stared back at me. Next to her was an unmoving Dash with a large gash through the side of her head. Her body was pale, and blood and saliva seeped out of her open mouth to the ground. She was dead. An image of her riding the cart down the mountain flashed in my mind. A few more started to flash in my head until I closed my eyes and shook them out.

I opened them and looked back at Twilight. It was only when I approached her that I noticed blood trickling down her neck. She slowly touched her hoof to her neck when she saw me staring. She set her hoof out in front of her and broke eye contact with me to see the blood on it. She then glanced back up at me and squinted her eyes as tears slowly formed in them.

She had been bitten.

This sudden realization stabbed me in the throat, and with a flurry of emotions rushing over me, I leaned down and wrapped my arms around her. No words had to be said as we both let our tears flow in each other’s grasp. I tried to shake the thought of what I just discovered and the meaning behind it, but my mind was racing. Instead, I squeezed Twilight tightly against me as her presence eased my aching soul.

“I’m so sorry Twilight …”

“I am too …”

We detached a few minutes later, and I held her hooves tightly in front of me as we made eye contact again. I could hear Derpy behind me, but she was graciously giving the two of us space. Twilight saw her over my shoulder.

“Were … were you the one with the fireworks?”

“I was.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but dropped her head as a few tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

“It will be alright, Twilight. I promise …” I said.

“No … Devan. My friends are dying one by one. Rarity is dead … Applejack is dead … and now Dash …”

She choked on her words, glancing down at her unmoving friend. It hurt to see Twilight like this. It also hurt to know that Dash hadn't made it either. I’d clung onto hope that both she and Dash were still alive when Derpy led me here, but it wasn't meant to be. As her head faced the floor, I looked deeply into her eyes. I could physically feel my heart ache as I realized what I had to tell her.

Derpy had led me to Town Hall before we made our way here, and we were greeted by Cloud, Cheerilee, and another pegasus. I was also greeted with the heartbreaking scene of Flutter's death. It hadn't been long since I witnessed Pinkie's death before having to see Flutters dead and hear about AJ and Rarity not making it either. It had taken me a few minutes to get caught up on the situation, but Cloud helped me until then. When I finally overcame my grief, I'd asked them where Twilight was. All three of the mares vehemently argued with me about going out to find her, but my stubbornness prevailed. So here we were.

“Twilight …”

She looked up at me. Her sad purple eyes hurt me emotionally, but I had to tell her.

“I wish I didn’t have to tell you this … but Pinkie … Pinkie is dead …”

Her eyes watered as her lips quivered. My mind was begging me to stop there, but I had to tell her everything.

“... and … so … so is Fluttershy …”

She shut her eyes, unable to stop tears from flowing down them. I squeezed her hooves tighter. It took her another minute before she could even respond.

“How?”

I described the scenes in only the details that had to be told to understand the story, hoping to prevent overwhelming her from grief.

Afterwards, she sat in silence, clearly having a hard time soaking in all this new, terrible information. It took a few moments before she finally did, and the floodgates burst open. Once again, I wrapped my arms around her to comfort her as she grieved for all of her friends. My tears continued to fall as well, while my mind struggled to come to grips with the fact that Twilight was the last remaining member of the Elements of Harmony. After a while, we detached again. She sniffed in her tears and glanced down at my legs.

“I … I thought … they said your leg got cut off …”

“It was, but Princess Luna came to me in a dream and brought it back.”

“She did??”

“Yes. Luna is still alive. We found her in the train wreckage. Those fireworks were to distract the mob so the others could take her to the hospital.”

“Oh …”

“Twilight, we can fix you. We can, we just …”

I took a second to think about a plan of action. Our time was running out now.

“How, Devan? It’s too late. I don’t know if they told you or not, or if you found her notes at Zecora’s hut, but Cheerilee found the spell to stop this. I finished it … but we couldn’t find out how to restore magic …”

I pulled off my backpack. When I was at Town Hall, Cheerilee showed me Twilight’s altered version of the spell Trixie and I found. Despite all the catastrophe happening now, there was a light at the end of the tunnel now. And it wasn’t that stupid train. I dug through my backpack and pulled out the folder they put the spell in, including her improvisations.

“This is the spell, right?”

“Yes …”

“And you’re sure it would work?”

“I am, but what does it matter?”

“Twilight … Trixie has magic.”

Her sad eyes lit up instantly. She looked up at me in shock.

“She ... she does?!”

“Yes! I’ve seen it first hand, not even half an hour ago. But there’s a problem we need to address first.”

Twilight closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“W ... What is it? Please tell me it’s not severe.”

“It isn’t … I don’t think …”

Now it was imperative that Trixie survived her heroic plan. Part of me wished Derpy had arrived before she leaped off the rooftop, but we had no idea the puzzle pieces were about to connect. Derpy’s ability to fly combined with Trixie’s ability to use magic was nothing short of a miracle at a time like this. However, Twilight had gotten bitten at the worst time possible. I continued my explanation of the problem at hand, describing what Trixie, Doc, and I had done.

“ … so, the plan was to meet up at the hospital once she drove away enough of the horde. From what Derpy told me, it sounds like any of the horde who isn’t drawn away by her and the motor- … the bicycle pony, will likely be hovering around Sweet Apple Acres for a while.”

Twilight sighed, reminded of the tragic barn collapse. She looked over at Derpy before looking sorrowfully back up at me.

“She … she told you about Celestia … didn’t she?”

“Y- … yes, Twilight.”

“You’re ... stuck here now …”

Her words caused me to chuckle unpredictably.

“I’m not. I don’t think stuck would be the right word anyway. Princess Luna knows how to send me back.”

“How do you know?”

The dream I experienced with Luna entered my mind. Since it happened, it had been burned into a special place in my memory.

“She told me in the dream when she healed my leg. She gave me the choice between healing it and sending me back. She only had enough magic left for one at the time.”

She stared at me blankly while she took this in.

“You … chose to stay?”

“Of course I did. I don’t think any of you understand how much y'all mean to me. I had to.”

A single tear rolled down her already wet cheek as she smiled, causing me to. We both hugged again. I embraced the warmth from her body, also comforted by the knowledge that we were likely to end this nightmare very soon. I just had to keep her alive. That was my only goal. When we detached, I continued my thought process to her.

“So, if the horde is cleared, we have a few options. If you are weak, we can leave you in here alone and come back for you once Trixie is back. I can’t begin to tell you how much I really don’t want to do that, so … do you think you can make the trip across town to the hospital? Derpy and I can keep you safe.”

I debated the possibility of Derpy flying her there, but with just Derpy, it might prove difficult to cross town. Plus, we didn't have any chariots to fly her with anyway. She could still keep us alerted of what's ahead, guiding us to the safest routes, and keeping us out of harm's way.

Twilight took a second to look down at herself, stretching out her hind legs and feeling how she felt.

“I … think I can. But, Devan ... it might be safer to just leave me.”

I sighed.

“Now … okay …”

I looked down at the folder before exchanging a glance with Derpy, who stood silently nearby.

“Derpy,” I called, raising the folder up in my hand. “Do you think you can deliver this to Trixie? If she gets it, she could make her way back here and maybe even stop Twilight from turning.”

“I can!” Derpy exclaimed, trotting up eagerly to help us. She reached for the folder, but I pulled it back.

“Hang on. I want to verify with Twilight that its right.”

I turned to Twilight, who nodded approvingly at my decision. I then laid out the folder in front of us as Derpy grabbed the flashlight and hoofed it to me. With its light glaring on the pages, I pulled them out. Sitting across from me, Twilight separated the pages and spread them across the floor. I waited patiently as she sifted through the pages, but suddenly, she grew a very worried expression. She picked up a couple of the pages laid out and flipped them before setting them down. She then lifted the folder and looked underneath it.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?”

“One of the pages is missing! One of the ones with my writing!!”

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“NO!” Twilight cried, looking up at me worriedly.

“Where do you think it is?!”

“I DON’T KNOW! Did you miss a page?!"

"No! That's all there was in her saddlebags ... I made sure of it."

"Fuck!! Then they must have lost it at the barn or something!!”

I started to grow anxious as well. We both sifted through the pages again to make sure we had not missed it, but we hadn’t. I even stood up and ran around the attic, searching Dash and the other pony’s bodies, but it wasn’t there.

“Well, do you remember it??” I asked her.

“I do … I do ... but I need something to write with!! And on!!”

“W- Can’t you just tell us?”

“There is no way you two will remember! Don’t you remember when I tried to teach you about magic?”

I did. Just a month into my stay, and when I was growing a bond with Twilight, I grew very curious about magic. From the first day, I was already intrigued. After I grew close with her, I asked her about magic day after day. It had been a daily routine that annoyed the hell out of her, which inspired me to continue. Eventually, she sat me down one day and helped me read a simple spell from one of her books. I still remember when she first spoke in magic, and the strange, foreign-sounding speech it had.

While it was a good memory, as we had lots of laughs at my attempts, I had gotten nowhere in learning. Magic was too difficult for me, and seeing as though I was not a teacher or a unicorn, I didn’t feel the need to continue learning. I already had Twilight as a best friend, and if I had any questions about something in particular, I could always ask her. Now this was backfiring on me.

“Fuck. Alright, just hold still, we’ll look for something you can write with!”

“Wait!” she hollered, “what about the zombies in the house?! What happened to them?”

“We lured ‘em away, Twilight,” Derpy answered.

“Oh … wow, alright then.”

For the next ten minutes, I frantically busted down every door of the house in search of paper and a quill. However, there was none to be found. I cursed the unavailability of pens and pencils in this world, wishing that Celestia had at least accepted that if nothing else. Stupid lawn mowers.

While I was searching, I almost collided with Twilight as I ran through a doorway. Despite her holding onto her neck to prevent blood from trickling out, she seemed to be fine for now.

“I can’t find anything, Twilight! Can you like, carve it on the wall with a knife or something?”

“Really, Devan?”

“I don’t know what else to do!”

"I wish I could! But it is an entire page's worth. Two, actually! Front and back. It is grossly unsimplified ..." she sighed.

Derpy came rushing down the hall to meet with us. She had not found anything either.

“We might need to look elsewhere,” I stated.

Twilight took a deep breath before shifting her eyes between the both of us.

“Devan. We are running out of time for that. Plus, most of the homes and businesses in the town are likely to be barricaded or locked shut. Ink has been a fine supply recently, so our chances of looking elsewhere are slim.”

“What … do you suggest?”

“I … I don’t know.”

Despite the air looming with uncertainty, I thought of a plan. It was the only plan we had left. I looked at Derpy for a moment, observing the mare intently.

“How are your wings doing?” I asked her.

“Uhm … they’re fine, Devan," she replied, shaking them open. "Yeah, all good.”

“Alright. We need to get Twilight to Trixie.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as if I had suggested the most outrageous plan I could think up. But it was all that we had. There was no better way for Twilight to express the magic to Trixie than to bring them together. She knew this too, mentioning how much easier it would be to explain the missing page through words. It was still risky crossing half of the town like this, especially when the horde just swept through, but it was riskier losing Twilight’s knowledge. After debating, more so arguing, with Twilight for a minute, I eventually got her to reason with me.

With the folder of the incomplete spell held securely in my backpack, the three of us ran out the front door. Derpy took off for the skies, ready to shoot across town and find Trixie past the horde. I just hoped she could find her fast enough.

The street was clear now. I looked down at Twilight. She looked back up at me worriedly.

“We need to hurry.”

Try

— 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!!!"

Thank You

— Devan —

I could feel my heartbeat in my chest. My legs, curled up in the cart, were sound asleep with the numbing sensations tickling throughout them. My arms felt a similar sensation, and even my abdomen felt stricken from its usual blood flow. My neck slowly oozed blood, despite Twilight and Trixie wrapping the wound very tightly with gauze. An uncomfortable pain continued pulsing through it.

The cart shook me as it moved, offering a much rougher ride than the similar rail cart ride I took with Spark and Candy. In between the handles now was a frenzied Twilight, standing where I once had when I brought her here. She had attached herself with a makeshift rope she built using magic with pieces of scrap at the train station. Ahead of her was Trixie, who used her magic to clear the path of straggler zombies throughout the town as they rushed me to the hospital.

Despite the bumpy ride, my tiredness was overcoming me. I was slowly drifting in and out, with my eyes blurring and my head throbbing. I blinked my eyes shut, and instead of opening them, I drifted into a temporary rest.

The cold ground awoke me. I opened my eyes. The previous pain throbbing in my neck was gone. My legs were awake again, with the rest of my body.

Celestia’s sun was up, and its rays poked a comforting heat through the treetops lingering above, fighting to cover up where I was laying. I slowly turned my head against the dirt and saw the familiar thick, dark looming trees and shrubbery of the Everfree Forest. This caused my eyes to widen, and I sat up quickly to confirm that I was on the path to Zecora’s hut. I heard hoofsteps skipping behind me, and as I swung my head around, a flash of Pink passed me. I swung my head back to track it, and was startled by what I saw.

Pinkie Pie passed right next to me, trotting along the edge of the path. She was humming along as she skipped, turning to circle in front of me. While she passed, only a few pony-lengths away, she turned her head when she noticed me.

“La-la-la- oh! Devan! You’re awake! Bout time, sleepyhead!”

I adjusted my eyes, which still suffered the groggy feeling of waking up too early. It was Pinkie, and she looked completely normal. I shook my head, trying to understand what I was seeing, but she stood in front of me, unchanged.

“Pinkie?”

“Yep! That’s me, silly, and you’re Devan! Just in case you forgot!”

She chuckled gleefully, skipping up to stand beside my laid out legs.

“P- pinkie … where am I?”

“Oh come on, you silly filly, look around! What other place in Equestria is as dark and daunting and dreadfully mysterious as the good ‘ol Everfree forest?! Surely you remember that, right?”

“I- I do … but-”

“Well that’s groovy! Now get up already! Let’s keep walking!”

Before I could protest or interrogate farther, she hopped up and down, grabbing my arms and snapping me to a stand. My body protested the quick movement for a moment before settling, causing me to wonder what the hell was going on. I remembered everything that just happened—with Twilight, Trixie, Spark, and Derpy, but what was this? A hallucination? Some dream? It felt so real.

Despite my curiosity exploding, I followed Pinkie for a few steps as she hopped along the path, unbothered.

“Pinkie- what is this?”

“It’s a walk, doofus, never been on one? Haha, just messing.”

I started feeling a bit dizzy as we continued walking. Looking around only worsened this, as my anxiety was growing at the uncertainty of what I was experiencing. Suddenly, the trees were growing darker, and the forest seemed to be brewing with a strange purple glow beside us. A cloud covered the sun, darkening the path as well. I grew nervous and started getting scared as my heartbeat quickened. Next to me, Pinkie noticed this and hopped a few steps forward.

“Hey, cheer up Devan! Don’t be scared. You remember the song, dontcha?”

“W- what?”

“Maybe it’ll ring a bell for you! It kinda starts like this …”

She took a quick breath.

“♫ When I was a little filly and the sun was going d-o-o-o-own- ♫”

My ears perked up. The happy jingle of her song was growing in our surroundings, and I could hear the instruments playing all around us. She continued to sing her song, hopping along as the trees swayed with darkness. That’s when I noticed glazed white eyes staring back at us.

“♫ -the darkness and the shadows, they would always make me fr-o-o-o-own- ♫”

“P- Pinkie!” I shouted.

She continued singing. As she did, pale ponies hopped out of the shadows and made their way onto the path with us. Zombie ponies. Their familiar trot and growls and groans and moans filled the air, haunting me with the recent terror of the once magical world. I ran beside Pinkie, ready to hop into defensive mode, but she continued to sing.

“♫ -sooooo! Giggle at the ghostly! Guffaw at the grossly!- ♫”

As she sang, the zombies rushing out in front of us were blasted out of nowhere with blue orbs. The orbs dissipated on them, sending waves of blue rushing down their bodies. Then, they morphed from their paleness and became normal ponies again. As Pinkie and I approached, they smiled back and started to hop along with us.

Now it was becoming pretty evident I was in a dream … or hallucination … I don’t know. I was still in denial, and my brain could not wrap around it all. Regardless, I was happy to see Pinkie Pie again, and I struggled with sadness as we trotted along the path with more and more transformed ponies. The purple haze of the forest was clearing, and by the end of her song, the sun was shining down on the path again. When it ended, all the ponies quickly galloped off to either side of the path, disappearing back into the forest.

Pinkie Pie continued to hop along, but looked over her shoulder at me. She then stopped, turning around and stepping in front of me. She smiled, extending her hoof out in the air between us.

"Come on, Devan, hoofbump! Or ... hoofistbump! Hahaha!"

Through my confusion and sadness, she still managed to make me smile as I raised my right hand and hoof-n'-fist bumped with her. A tear fell from my eye as we set our arms back down.

“Keep on smilin' Devan!" she exclaimed.

She started turning around, but stopped herself.

"Oh! And thanks for coming with me!”

An overwhelming wave of tiredness flooded over me as my eyes quickly shut again, causing me to drift back into nothing.

My nothingness was interrupted when I felt something bounce off my head. I blinked my eyes open again, noticing another bright blue sky. I was in the fruit cart again, but I still did not feel pain throughout any of my body … besides the tiny throbbing in my head. I was curled up in the cart, but I could see part of an apple tree’s top branches hovering above me. I heard the sound of birds, as well as a subtle breeze rolling through and making the branches above me dance lightly.

“Ya’ see, sugarcube, that’s why you don’t nap in the cart.”

My eyes widened again as I sat up in the cart and swung my head to see if I heard who I thought I heard. On the left side of the cart, Applejack was slowly walking up. She wiped her lips and tossed an apple core in an empty basket beside the tree. Leaned up against the tree was Rainbow Dash, who was munching on an apple herself. Both of them, like Pinkie, were unscathed. Dash swallowed her bite and smiled.

“Yeah, ya dingus. What, were you raised in a barn?”

Applejack threw her a half-angry glare before smiling as she looked back at me. I don’t know why, but as she raised her forelegs to lean on the side of the cart, I shifted my body back in fear. I was still unsure of what was happening, and my mind continued to struggle with the logic behind any of this. Again, everything felt real.

“What’s the matter, Devan? Are you alright?” she asked, still resting her forelegs over the cart’s side panel.

“I- I … what is this??”

“What’s it look like, sugarcube?”

“I have no idea …”

“Damn,” Dash spoke up, tossing her apple core in the bucket too. “That apple must have hit him hard.”

The two mares laughed softly as she walked up to the front of the cart and made her way in between the handles to stand next to me. Both of them stood in silence for a second as we stared at each other. AJ smiled.

“Well, I reckon you know we’re at Sweet Apple Acres at least.”

I took a second to look around, admiring the scenery of apple trees lined as far as my eyes could see. When I looked toward the right side of the cart, I noticed an empty hill behind the line of trees. There was a white picket fence out front, as well as chicken coops, but the space sat eerily empty where I remembered the barn to be. I was sucked back into reality, remembering when Derpy shared the horrible news with me.

“The- the barn …”

“Ah, yeah. That glorious barn,” AJ commented.

I turned back to her.

“I’m … I’m so sorry, AJ.”

“Ah, don’t be. It’ll be alright. That barn was a glorious piece of my family’s history, but I’m sure Applebloom will lead the rest of the family to build an even better one.”

My mouth unintentionally opened with shock. This had to be a dream, but they were aware of the events? This only confused me more, so I took a second to breathe before responding.

“So … so you know??” I asked.

“Of course we know,” Dash answered, “we’re haunting you right now. Ooooohohooohoooohooo.”

The mare playfully raised her forelegs and jiggled them around as she imitated a ghost. She was then smacked in the back of the head by AJ.

“Cut it out. He’s already scared.”

Dash warily chuckled. “My bad. There’s nothing to be scared of, Devan. It's alright. The universe carries on.”

I felt a tinge of sadness washing over me as I heard her speak. My mind was struggling to set aside the images of her body in the attic. As I opened my mouth to continue questioning them, I saw a pony out of the corner of my eye. Trotting between two apple trees between us and where the barn used to stand was a pale zombie pony. A few trees down the row, another one appeared and joined her as they both trotted toward us. I was less intimidated this time, as my reasoning of being in some sort of dream was growing. I was still worried as the two continued to trot in our direction.

“Dash, look!” I shouted, pointing at the ponies. She looked back at them and huffed.

AJ spoke from over my shoulder. “I reckon we oughta take care of that.”

Dash turned back to face me. “Yeah. Don’t worry, Devan. We’re here for you.”

She winked, playfully punching my shoulder. She smiled before hopping over the cart handle and rushing toward the zombies. AJ rounded the cart to follow, but she stopped for a moment at the corner and turned to me.

“Oh- one last thing …” she said.

“W- what?”

She smiled as she stood up on her hind legs beside the cart. With her front hoof, she brushed my hair.

“Thanks for everything, sugarcube.”

As she turned to follow Dash, the overwhelming tiredness rushed over me as I passed out again.

I felt a weird sensation wave through my body. Once again, I felt the cold wood of the cart underneath me. Except, this time, the pain in my neck returned. I gulped for air as I once again felt the blood gurgling through it. The numbness in my legs tingled its way back into my consciousness and I blinked my eyes open. I raised my head slowly, waiting for them to adjust.

We were stopped now. Trixie stood a bit ahead and left of the cart, and Twilight was still in between the handles. I could hear them bickering with one another, but their voices were muffled in my ears. Occasionally, they would both glance to the left side of the cart before bickering some more. Trixie then turned her side to us, facing the way they kept glancing, and lit up her horn. I slowly turned my head to look where they were looking, and through blurred vision, I noticed a zombie mare trotting toward us.

I vaguely noticed the shape of a horn on the mare's head, as well as her bright pinkish fur. I could not make her out though, as my vision was somehow blurred. I looked back at Twilight, who glanced over her shoulder at me. She returned a worried expression when she noticed my weakened stare back.

"Just hang on, Devan. We won't be long."

A blue flash lit up our surroundings, causing me to pivot my head back to see. The mare had just fallen to the ground, presumably struck by one of Trixie's magic orbs. For a few seconds, I tried to focus my vision, but it was not unblurring. Twilight eased the cart forward a few paces as Trixie moved closer to the downed mare. I noticed the pink unicorn moving slightly, and soon after, Trixie rushed up to her side to help her to a stand.

She had done it again. A wave of happiness flooded over me, realizing that Trixie finally knew the spell to end this nightmare. Soon, this apocalypse would be over. The happiness was overcome by worry as pain continued to stab my neck.

Trixie and the mare then rushed up to the cart. As they closed in, I noticed the mare was missing part of her ear, and had blood splattered all over her pink coat of fur. My vision fought, but when the mare approached the side of the cart, I finally realized who it was.

"C- c- Candy??"

"Devan!" she exclaimed, stopping by the side of the cart. She observed me for a quick moment before grabbing my free hand with her hoof. "I'm so sorry, dear!"

"Come on!" Twilight exclaimed, "We have to hurry!"

Candy let go, and the three mares started galloping again. She ran alongside the cart as Trixie galloped ahead of Twilight again. She glanced over at me worryingly.

"Just hang in there, sweetie!"

The pain from my bites radiated through my body as I continued watching her. But it did not last for long. The overwhelming tiredness washed over me as I struggled to keep my eyes open, and again, I drifted to sleep.

“hey … devan … wake up. please?”

My sleepy state was interrupted. The pain was gone. I was back in another dream, supposedly. I felt the cool, softness of grass underneath me. I opened my eyes and exhaled, seeing a bright blue sky above me. Next to it was a flowing pink mane, and bright blue eyes. Fluttershy. She stood above me, staring back down worryingly. Her expression changed to happiness when she saw me open my eyes.

“oh, thank goodness. i was worried we might not see you.”

“S … see me?”

A mare’s voice spoke from behind my head.

“Yes, dear.”

I saw white and blue as Rarity walked up beside me. I sat up. Just a few pony-lengths away was a railroad track, leading off into the distance. We were in the clearing between them and a forest. I breathed deeply, watching as a crow flew above the tracks. I turned to face the mares on either side of me, once again taking in the realness of how this ‘dream’ felt. Both of them looked normal as well.

“I-“ I started.

All of my emotions were weighing down on me as I drifted from dream to dream. While the logic was still a blur, I started to guess that I only had a few minutes, at most, to speak with them. But as I went to do so, my tears got the best of me. The longing for my friends was increasing, and I didn’t want to feel like I was saying my last goodbyes. Without speaking, Fluttershy reached forward and hugged me. Rarity also scooted closer and rubbed my back.

“Oh, darling, don’t be sad. Everything is quite alright.”

“H- how?”

Fluttershy disconnected and set her hooves on my thigh as she sat beside my legs. She smiled, her bright blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight. I felt a calming aura flow through me as I gazed into them, comforted by the gentle mare’s sweetness.

“we’re at peace now, devan,” she replied, “and our world is going to continue.”

My tears continued as Rarity kept slowly rubbing my back. The warmth felt nice, and it almost felt like I was in heaven already. The peace was interrupted as I heard groans behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed those damned pale zombie ponies appearing from the forest on either side of the tracks. I looked back at Fluttershy, annoyed at the thought that this was probably the end of my dream.

“I’m … sorry … for what happened to you two …”

“Don’t be,” Rarity spoke in my ear, “The world is saved now, dear.”

I watched her stand up and rush behind me to go fight the zombie ponies making their way toward us. I turned back just to see Flutters stand up as well, smiling softly back at me. She noticed my eyes watering and slowly moved her head forward, nuzzling up against mine. Her soft touch felt heavenly.

“be good, devan. thank you for being you.”

My heartbeat continued. I felt wind blowing against my face as I awoke in the cart again. The pain in my neck was fading now, but not in a good way. I could feel my body shutting down. My breaths were very slow now, and it felt as though I wasn’t getting much air with each one. My neck also felt strange more than anything. I shivered, as my body was cooling. My legs continued to tingle with numbness, and my vision blurred and unblurred. I was growing even more drowsy now, and my brain was tingling, causing me a small bout of anxiety.

In the dark of night, I saw a building growing in front of us. We rushed closer, and passed what looked like the hospital sign. As we closed in on the building, I could see a light appear in the doorway. My eyes then blurred quickly, and I drifted into black yet again.

I did not open my eyes this time. Similar to my dream with Luna, I simply appeared, sucked out of my unconsciousness. I was standing in a hallway, but my vision was still blurry. My eyes slowly adjusted to sunlight illuminating the room through tall, color-stained glass windows. A long red rug laid out in front of me, leading to steps beneath …

Princess Celestia.

She sat on her throne, staring down at me. Luna's throne sat empty beside her. I was in their castle. Once my vision was clear, and I knew where I was, Celestia smiled and waved her hoof for me to come closer. Hesitantly, I walked up in front of the steps. She rolled her eyes and waved her hoof again, continuing a rolling motion with it as I climbed the steps, until I was right in front of her.

Before I could speak, she leaned forward and wrapped her long forelegs around me in a tight hug that practically lifted me off the ground. I squeezed back, holding back my tears. This hug continued for a long minute as I soaked in the comfort of it. I took a step back after we disconnected, standing face-to-face with her as she sat back on her throne.

“Hello again, Devan.”

“Hello ..." I stammered, "Princess Celestia.”

She took a deep breath, staring back and forth between my eyes. I continued staring into hers, unbothered by our unbroken eye contact. She smiled before continuing.

“When I first brought you here, I didn’t expect much. Your world was very interesting to explore throughout the past couple of decades, but as you are aware, I was pretty hesitant to bring even just you in. Part of me thought you would be trouble, even. But I held onto hope … and in the end, it turned out to be the best decision I have ever made.”

She paused for a moment before continuing.

“As my sister has told you, you have done so much for all of us, despite not owing us a thing. From day one, you proved yourself to be a selfless, upstanding creature that earned his place in our magical world.”

She paused again, giving me enough time to cut in.

“B- but … I thought you were getting ready to send me back??” I asked.

“I was at first,” she responded, “but when you asked me for an extended stay, that is when I realized what this place meant to you. As you know, we were set to talk soon, until … you know … things happened. What I was planning was to offer you some time to visit your world if you so wished. But in my eyes, you were welcome to stay in our magical world. I'm sorry if that does not come to pass now, but nevertheless, I am happy that you found a home with us.”

I tried again to hang on to my emotions, but a tear found its way rolling down my cheek. I sniffed to prevent more from falling, finally breaking eye contact with Celestia to look out the stained window beside us. That is when I noticed it had changed, and the previously yellow-tinted window was broken open. Yellow glass shards laid out underneath it, and her sun beamed its way into the floor right below it. I then heard the distant sounds of groaning, and turned to Celestia nervously.

“Yeah,” she said, “we aren’t offered much time, are we? Not here, nor in the real world. Time really passes by without us noticing.”

The groaning was getting louder, and I could pinpoint where along the wall the zombie ponies were. They were moving from right to left, closing in on the open window. I turned to face it, anxiously awaiting what was going to happen next.

“Devan, look at me.”

I turned to face her again.

“Thank you, Devan. For everything. Thank you for saving our beautiful world.”

She leaned forwards and kissed my forehead as more tears made their way down my cheeks. She detached and smiled.

“Have a good rest of your life, dear.”

The vision faded and once again, I appeared somewhere else. Reality was quickly losing its meaning to me as my brain struggled to connect what was real and what wasn’t. However, there was no pain still. This was a dream. It was another dream.

I was sitting down now. There was a soft surface underneath, and my body felt comfortable. I could feel the warm sun beaming down on my face and chest, and a soft breeze cooled off the extra warmth.

My vision unblurred, and in front of me, Celestia’s sun was setting over the horizon. The sky just above it glowed a light red as it slowly dropped over the rolling fields and forests. The mountain peaks in the distance shimmered under its light. Nature sparkled under the glow of the sunset as far as my eyes could see. I was taken aback by the beauty for a minute, stuck in a trance as I gazed at the horizon.

After my mind escaped its trance, I looked down at my feet. I was sitting on top of a picnic blanket, and a daisy laid by my legs. I looked over, and beside me, Twilight was sitting and watching the sunset as well. She saw me in her peripheral and turned her head, smiling as her eyes met with mine.

I was too emotional to speak, and she saw this. Instead, she set her front hoof hovering down between us. I was using all of my strength to hold my hand still as I reached down and grabbed it. We both squeezed tightly, and my lips quivered as I looked back at the sunset. She sat in silence for a minute before her calming voice spoke.

“Thank you, Devan.”

Good Night

— Devan —

The soft feeling of a bed met my body. There was muffled chatter in my ears. A very shallow pain entered my neck. The rest of my body was at ease, and it felt too heavy to move. A slow warmth was radiating throughout it.

My breaths were slow. My heartbeat was slow. My eyelids felt heavy.

Despite this, I used the last of my strength to slowly open them. My vision was blurred, and it struggled to unblur as my vision wavered. The chatter rose for a second as my eyes focused on the ceiling. My body was numb, but I still felt a bit of movement in my right arm. Somebody was messing with it, and I felt a poking sensation near my elbow.

Soon after, my vision allowed me to see a purple face leaning over me. I focused on it as Twilight’s face slowly appeared clearer. She was frowning, and there was evidence of tears welling up in her eyes as she looked down and tried to speak to me. Yet, my hearing was still muffled.

I tried to speak, but my energy was so drained that I found myself unable to do so. I then heard a muffled sound in my right ear, causing her to look across the bed I was in. I slowly turned my head on the pillow, noticing Nurse Redheart and Trixie on the other side. Redheart's mouth was moving as she looked between Twilight and Trixie, clearly telling them something as she fiddled with what looked like a red IV bag.

After a few seconds of her mouth moving, she looked down at me. Her lips moved again before stopping, waiting for a response. I blinked slowly, unable to give her one. She tried again, but I couldn’t talk. She nervously looked up across the bed before turning away to hang up the bag in her hoof. On the other side of the bed, I noticed Twilight's lips quiver. A pang of sadness rushed through me when I saw her start to cry.

While my energy was at a critically-low state, I still allocated everything I had to raise my left hand. I noticed through the amount of pressure I felt that there was a blanket sitting on top of it, but I pushed it up regardless. Trixie noticed this and reached across my body to pull down the blanket. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it briefly before hoofing it to Twilight. Tears welled in her eyes as well, but she graciously allowed Twilight to hold onto it.

I then heard a bit more commotion on the other side of the room, where my feet were pointed. The mares turned their heads briefly as a stallion's voice spoke. My hearing still vaguely muffled, I heard Trixie sigh. She exchanged a glance with Twilight before leaning over me. Finally, I could make out what she was saying.

"I'm so sorry, Devan ..."

She looked like she wanted to say more, but tears were winning the battle. She instead grabbed my other hand and squeezed it for a few seconds. Before she let go, she leaned down and kissed the back of it. She smiled through watery eyes before leaving the bedside and making her way toward the stallion's voice. I turned back to Twilight, who continued holding onto my left hand.

I felt her hoof squeeze it despite slowly losing the feeling throughout. She pushed her forehead against it, holding on tightly as she let more tears flow down on the bed. She kept this up for a minute as I kept my eyes focused on her face, in fear of them blurring again for good. Her purple irises gazed back into me, and I could feel a few tears rolling down my own numbing cheeks. It was then that I felt another warm wave roll through me, pausing the numbness in me briefly.

I opened my mouth, and I could feel my vocal cords wake up briefly. Yet, I could feel my heart slowing, along with my breaths. My lungs were growing weaker, and I knew the end was coming soon. So, I used every last bit of my energy to try and speak. At first, I only made weird, deep groans, but I eventually found the strength return in my vocal cords. I locked eyes with Twilight as she realized I was attempting to speak as well.

“Thank you, Twilight. This world … was ... beautiful ...”

My vision blurred, and with my heart and lungs working slowly, I felt myself drift unconscious.

Suddenly, in the dark, I felt waves rushing through my body. There was no bed. There was no pain. There was nothing appearing in my vision. My eyes were open … I think … but all I could see was black. I felt movement as my body rotated in what felt like zero gravity. However, there was a force acting on me. Bright blue and white lights flashed throughout my retinas, and I slowly began to feel as though I was falling. Where? It was unclear, as my body tumbled … down? I almost started feeling nauseous as I wondered what was happening to me.

The lights continued for another minute, growing in intensity. Then, streaks of white and yellow started surrounding me, as if I was falling through a large tube of nothingness. The streaks appeared to move faster, but it was hard to tell, as my body tumbled over and over on itself, offering me no clue of what direction I was moving in. As my heart started beating faster, and my body fell quicker and quicker, everything flashed brightly before disappearing. My body stopped moving, but I still felt it. It was as though I had hit the ground, but I felt no pain. I was somewhere, still in darkness, but now my eyes were closed. I slowly opened them as my senses returned.

My eyes were looking sideways, as if I was laying down on something. It was nighttime, and in the dark, I could see a street illuminated by streetlights in front of me, spanning vertically in my vision. The first thing I heard was the familiar sound of a car in the distance. Soon after, another car sound closed in as I laid still. I watched as a car passed by from top to bottom of my vision. I hesitantly uprighted my head, pushing down on what appeared to be a bench. As I sat up, I realized I was sitting at a bus stop.

This sudden realization hit me. This was the bus stop I had met Celestia, where she used her magic to pull me from Earth.

I was back. I had not died. However, my stay in Equestria was over. My recent memories and visions of Twilight and her friends sent a wave of emotions rushing over me as I slowly realized that it was all over. I would likely never see them again, and that thought stabbed me square in the heart.

In the dim light of the bus stop, I set my elbows on my knees and covered my face. As I did, I felt a strange, squishy object next to my thigh. When I sat back up and scooted over to see what it was, I was startled to see a muffin laying on the bench beside me. I reached down and picked it up, realizing it was a blueberry muffin with a small tag sticking out of the liner. I pulled it out slowly so as not to harm it, and something was written on the tag. I squinted to see the small, messy writing that read:

Thanks, Devan! Xoxo -Derpy

Tears forcefully left my eyes as I could not hold my emotions in any longer. For the next few minutes, I cried a good cry, letting my mental state recover from its burden. The sadness washed over me, before slowly seeping out as I grieved. The sound of a louder car entered my left ear, and when I wiped my eyes and looked up, I saw a bus approaching the curb. I listened as its squealing brakes brought it to a stop in front of me before the calm rumble of the engine took over.

The doors squeaked open, so I held Derpy’s muffin carefully cupped in my hands and stood up. My sadness slowly faded, and it was replaced by happiness as I realized everything was okay. I got the chance to say my last goodbyes, and the magical world of Equestria had its cure. Twilight and Trixie would lead the others, and Equestria would live to see another day.

My duties were complete.

With this in mind, I stepped forward, and got on the bus.

— • — • — 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓔𝓷𝓭 — • — • —

Author's Note

Wooo, what a journey! I've got more to say, but I'll include it after the epilogue.

That being said, I highly recommend reading the epilogue.

I'd debated making it the last chapter, but it was intended to be more of an epilogue, and it fits better as one. I'll see ya there!

Epilogue: A New Dawn

— — — Twilight — — —

The cold snow crunched beneath her winter boots as she walked along the path. A blanket of this knee-high snow laid on either side of it, but the path was consistently cleared of its accrual. She took in a breath of fresh air, admiring the beautifully white landscape surrounding Ponyville. Her matching yellow and red scarf hugged her neck comfortably as they walked.

It was almost Hearth’s Warming Eve, and the town was starting to liven up to its arrival. This time, it was extra special, as the nightmarish apocalypse was slowly coming to a close. She had helped form coalitions of ponies that swept through the cities of Equestria, bringing ponies out of their zombie hypnosis. In just a few weeks, their efforts had exponential effects, sweeping Equestria free from the plague just as fast as it had started. Even though nearly two months had gone by, she was still reminded of the fateful day they started bringing back their beautiful world.

Next to her, Trixie walked along the path with her blue winter boots and matching star-speckled scarf. Twilight glanced over and observed the mare quietly. It was evident that Devan and her had grown a special bond as well, judging by how she reacted to his death. While curious, Twilight allowed the mare to mourn peacefully alongside her instead of bombarding her with questions about every living second Devan had spent with her. They were already on the same page.

As they continued, two ponies appeared ahead of them. One was a filly, and when they got close enough, Twilight realized it was Applebloom walking with Big Mac. Both of the ponies were covered up with winter hats, scarfs, jackets, and boots. Big Mac also wore large skiing goggles, despite Twilight never seeing him actually skiing. She chuckled at their distaste of this winter weather. They approached the two and stopped along the path.

“Hiya Twilight!” the filly called, galloping up to hug her foreleg.

“Hey girl! How are you?”

“Cold! Big Mac is fillynapping me!”

The group laughed. Big Mac had ‘forced’ the filly on a walk for their mental health, and so they could spend time bonding together. Twilight appreciated his efforts, and she was happy that the stallion had survived to continue caring for his precious little sister.

“Have you spoken with your Crusader friends recently?” she asked the filly.

“I have. Big Mac helped me send a letter to them a few days ago.”

The other crusaders still spent a lot of time in Ponyville, but after the apocalypse, they had to be reunited with their families. Twilight sniffed, reminded yet again of her friends’ deaths, as well as her mentor. They had yet to find a replacement pony to take the role of raising the sun, but there were prospects Princess Luna would assess in the coming spring. In the meantime, the night princess had made a full recovery at the Ponyville hospital, and helped Twilight guide the others to a recovering Equestria.

As she mourned the loss of her friends, she made new ones. Trixie was close to her now, along with the two mares that tried to take Devan to Canterlot. Candy had helped her a lot in recovering from her losses, and the sweet Canterlot unicorn spent a lot of time visiting her, giving her candy gifts, and making sure she was alright. Spark, the country mare akin to dear AJ, had also spent time with her. Candy and Spark had practically become sisters in the past few months, and every time they were together, one of them ended up getting beat up.

There was also Typhoon. That gleeful mare brought so much unexpected happiness to her that she was very grateful she had survived. Ty was also sad at their losses, especially Princess Celestia, but she promised that she would still fly over Canterlot with the Wonderbolts in her honor. Along with her, Cloud had become another close friend. Their shared grief for Devan brought them together, and for this, Twilight was grateful.

After talking a bit more, she and Trixie continued down the path toward her castle. Along the way, she turned to the mare.

“Have you spoken with Vinyl recently?” she asked.

“I have. She’s finally starting to stray from her guilt, thankfully.”

Twilight tsked. That poor mare had a rough ending on that day. She was under the assumption that her bass cannon had single-hoofedly murdered Princess Celestia and Applejack. While the events that had unfolded suggested as such, Twilight tried to persuade her otherwise. She had seen the barn start to collapse prior to her bass. It was gravely unfortunate that the cannon happened to roll down the hill, but the barn would have probably collapsed on its own eventually. On top of this, her bass cannon was able to lure half of the mob away, so without her, they might have all died on that fateful night. She was still a hero, even if she didn’t think so.

Twilight herself had experienced this overwhelming sense of guilt, as she was the one who caused Devan to bleed out. If it weren’t for Trixie and the others convincing her otherwise, she might have been stuck in that detrimental state for the rest of her life. She had to forgive herself. It was not her who caused Devan’s death … even though it felt like it was.

Thankfully, Vinyl’s new friend Split had also survived, despite suffering lasting injuries and losing a leg. He told them it was fine, as he already sported his wing defect. He was a resilient one, and also a very valuable asset for Vinyl. So, while Vinyl had Split, she had Trixie and the others. The apocalypse had taken so much from everypony, but it also brought everypony that much closer to one another.

“What about you?" Trixie asked her, "Have you spoken with your brother?”

“Yes. He’s doing fine.”

Celestia had lied to her. She swears she had a suspicion, but she understood why now. It was a bold lie, but it helped keep her mind off of her brother for some time. When she was finally able to send a letter to him, Princess Cadence helped him send one back. From them, she heard of the actual horror the empire faced. The empire had gone through its own adventure when the apocalypse broke out, but thankfully, her brother, and best friend Cadence, ended up alive in the end. Even Discord survived, despite his very early ‘death’.

Twilight’s castle stood tall in front of them. Parts of its roof and the high up balconies held a blanket of snow on top, and the hanging ornaments sparkled in the white wonderland. She turned away briefly, still hurt by its aura. She needed more time to grieve for her friends. Spike was inside, but she imagined the dragon was getting tired of her tears running on him. Candy was also inside, visiting her for the night. She took a deep breath as she looked back at the castle.

“We should renovate your castle, Twilight,” Trixie said.

She turned to her friend confusingly.

“Renovate? Why?”

“Your castle should serve as a memorial to your old friends. Those empty thrones are just haunting. I’ve been wanting to say something, but I’ve always been afraid of what you would think. I say, once spring comes back around, me and the others can help renovate, and give your friends a proper memorial. All of your pictures, all of your momentos, a combination of everything that they meant to you … that should be what your castle is. What do you say?”

Twilight’s eyes swelled. As she gazed back at her castle, she shed a few tears for her old friends. She felt Trixie’s hoof wrap around her shoulder, and the mare leaned her head against hers. She appreciated the gesture, and as they detached, she made up her mind.

“Yes. I think that would be wonderful.”

With that, the mares appreciated the view once more before splitting apart. She could almost see the sun setting through the clouds, so she walked up to her castle's front doors, awaiting a dawn that was yet to come.

Author's Note

Quit crying. Or don't. Whatever ... I couldn't quit either.

I want to thank everybody for reading my book. I know it is said often, but it really means a lot to me. While I was getting closer to the end of it, this book started meaning more and more to me. I'm very proud that I finally finished it, even cough cough ... 8 years later ... cough cough. Eh, most of that was in the past 5 months really. Lol.

Regardless, I put a lot of effort into it, and I am surprised, and very happy, to see it get so much recognition. I hope despite its sad ending, that y'all enjoyed it. I had A LOT of fun writing it—when not crying like a little baby—so I hope you had fun reading through it.

I especially enjoyed writing my OCs, which was (at least in the original timeline) supposed to be just Devan and Blaze if I'm not mistaken. It was fun writing the personalities of ponies like Candy and Spark, and I hope you grew a liking to them. Especially Spark. Spark's badass. I'm definitely gonna pay someone to draw her on a motorcycle and hang it in my room.

With that being said, in a lot of ways, this book can relate to our own lives. (incoming cheese)

We don’t always get the outcomes we want out of life. Sometimes, we get even worse than we once thought possible. We can lose what’s most valuable to us in the blink of an eye, just by the fate of our universe; no hard feelings attached. This can cause our fragile minds much grief, but it can also change us in ways we don’t yet understand.

Just because we did not get the life we desired does not mean the life we get is undesirable.

Our past can be a driving factor in our present lives as we process through it, and while we can learn a lot from it, we must not dwell on it. Our future is decided wholly by what we do in the present moment, and we should not take this for granted.

No matter how hard your life becomes, be strong in the present. Who knows? There may be a whole new life waiting for you in the future, perhaps one you did not expect. Whatever happens, use your today to make for a better tomorrow.

Okay, enough cheesiness. Lol. Thanks again for reading my book. I hope it has found a little sweet spot in your memory. Hope y'all have a good rest of your day, and as Celestia said, life!

Prologue: Dawn

Devan, an 18-year-old boy from planet Earth, was visited by a mysterious woman with strange, dyed hair one evening at a bus stop. Upon answering a slew of unasked-for questions, Devan is asked about My Little Pony after the woman sees his partially hidden Derpy Hooves T-shirt. With newfound excitement in the conversation, Devan talks with the woman until she grabs his shoulder. His vision darkens and a minute later, he wakes up in a whole new world, leaving his universe behind. Princess Celestia greets him in the magical world of Equestria, where she offers him a home to stay. Prior to this, Equestria suffered the effects of a devastating mega-storm rolling through its lands. Reconstruction efforts were put into place, and she requested Devan's help. When the efforts were finally complete months later, Devan struggled to come to grips with Princess Celestia preparing to return him to his world. Through an extended stay granted by the princess, a new trouble awaits that will change Devan's new world forever.

Author's Note

There are many different perspectives throughout this book. The current POV is provided at the top of each chapter.

This story takes place around Season 5 of G4 MLP

Just to note for anybody not aware: trotting for ponies is the equivalent of skipping for humans. A while back, I assumed trotting meant walking until reading about it later on. "The Trotting Dead" references also serve this sort of confusion, but regardless, trotting in this book is a slightly-faster-than-walking pace. Just wanted to clarify ;)

Also, I could not decide on what measurements to use: imperial or metric ... therefore I used an American approach. Sorry not sorry.

This book was first conceptualized in 2015. The storyline has come a long way since then. Hope you enjoy it!!!

This book is dedicated to my younger self. I'm finishing it as a promise to him.

Necessities

— Twilight —

After Twilight, Spike, and Rarity split from Applejack and Cheerilee, they discussed more about what was happening. While Rarity had not seen as much as Twilight and Spike had, she understood the severity. She was there to listen and be there for her friends in a time of need.

When they got closer to the station, they all noticed a smoke cloud slowly billowing over the treetops ahead. They realized it was in the direction of the station. This caused them to pick up their speed, fearing that there may be ponies actively in trouble. But as they got sight of the station, they realized it was too late.

The front half of the train was separated from the back end and sat down the tracks from the station. Only the caboose and part of another train car were visible from their view. The rest of the train was behind the station, yet they could see the smoke rising above it clearly now. They also noticed a few pony bodies lying beside the train engine. The window above them was busted, with a head-sized hole in the middle and hints of red staining. Besides that, the train engine looked fine from the outside.

They trotted up next to the platform’s stairs. The platform lay empty beside ashes from the inferno happening beside it. The only train car that was not visibly burning was the caboose, yet smoke trailing to it from the car in front of it indicated it did not have much longer. The first car in the detached back half was charred to a near crisp. Its roof and walls had collapsed inwards, creating a smoking black pyramid. There was also a bucket laying near the tracks on the opposite side of the burnt train car. A couple more were in the distance, lying on the grass by the nearby treeline.

“Somepony must have tried putting it out,” Twilight suggested.

“Well,” Rarity said, “looks like they abandoned the effort.”

“Might have had to.”

They turned their attention to the front half of the train down the tracks. She reluctantly trotted up to the bodies by the window with Spike and Rarity watching her back. One of them had what looked to her like a puncture wound through her neck and another through her forehead. The stallion beside her had a similar puncture wound through his cheek, right beside his nose. Twilight was slowly getting used to how grotesque these wounds appeared, but her natural sense of nausea started to make its presence known. She backed away from the corpses, shaking her head and wishing she was in some kind of delusion.

“Are you alright, dear?” Rarity asked, also disturbed by the corpse’s appearance.

“I’m … fine …”

She shook it off and returned to the bodies, cautiously stepped her hoof on the stallion’s shoulder to get enough height to see through the window and into the engine. Peering through the shattered glass, she saw specks of blood on some of the engine’s dashboard panels. She leaned up by the glass to get a closer look when a zombie stallion suddenly rose up from the floor and stuck his hoof through the hole in the glass.

Startled, Twilight didn’t have time to react before he grabbed ahold of her left shoulder. The pony reached out his other hoof through the hole, slicing it over the glass as he grabbed onto her other shoulder. He pulled his head forward, almost sticking it out of the window. She tried to pull away from him, but his grip was too firm. She looked to see his face. A conductor’s hat hung crookedly off the top of his head.

“Twilight!” Spike yelled.

Both he and Rarity rushed up, grabbing her thighs and pulling. It took a few tugs before she broke out of his grip, slipping on the corpse below and falling on top of Spike. The zombie conductor flailed his arms, reaching out and groaning at the group as she rolled off Spike.

“Spike!” she yelled, “are you okay?”

Spike shook it off and gave her a thumbs up. Rarity stood up beside them and checked Twilight’s neck and chest for any bite marks or scratches as she slowly picked herself up off the ground.

“Twilight, dear, are you alright?”

“Yes, I think.”

They all looked back at the conductor.

“What do we do now?” Spike asked her.

She looked back at her hatchet, then at Rarity’s stick, and finally, Spike’s taser.

"We can try tasing him," she suggested, "Maybe if you hold it for long enough, he will pass out."

She stepped forward with Spike and kept an eye on the corpses as the dragon stuck out his tongue and carefully aimed it up at the window. After a few seconds, he shot it. The prongs flew out but missed their mark. She helped him reload another set of prongs inside, and on the second shot, he nailed the zombie conductor.

The conductor fell below the window and out of their vision. This pulled Spike forward slightly, but Twilight was there to pull back on him. She held onto him for the next twenty seconds as they listened to the zapping sound of the taser. He decided he’d held it down long enough and released his claws from the trigger. Twilight disconnected from him and waited. Mere seconds later, the groaning resumed as the conductor rose to the window again. She noticed his odd motion when he did, and took note of his upright stance. The pony was not shifting left or right in the slightest, which was unusual.

She looked back at Rarity's stick and thought of a new plan. After the mare reluctantly hoofed it to her, she held it in her hoof as she trotted up to the window. She approached the conductor, who was once again flailing his forelegs out of it, and took caution not to get within reach.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted, “Are you crazy?! Don’t!”

“We have to, Spike!”

She swung the stick back, then forward with all her strength. The stick struck the window, immediately shattering the rest of the glass. She moved backward right after the swing, avoiding the conductor’s grasp as he reached farther out the window now. She swung the stick back again and repeated the process, striking the conductor's head hard. He fell back inside the engine and did not reappear. She rose her head and stepped over the corpses to see his body laying motionless on the floor.

“Okay.” She turned to face the others. “It’s clear now.”

They both looked back at her confusingly.

“Why does that matter-” Spike started, until Rarity held her hoof up in front of him.

“Twilight. You aren’t thinking about taking the train ourselves, are you?”

Twilight looked between the both of them. “That is exactly what I’m thinking. What other choice do we have?”

“Well, I hate to journey so far on short notice, but …”

“We aren’t going to walk there!” she cried, “We wouldn’t get there until tomorrow. We need to get there now!”

“But Twilight, none of us know how to drive this thing.”

“Yeah!” Spike barged in, “Twilight, we shouldn’t risk it. What if- what if we derail? What if we get stuck at high speeds? Oh no, what if we derail going up the side of the mountain?! I don’t want to die Twilight!”

“Spike, calm down!” she hissed, “Look ... I have read books about operating trains before. Sure, it has been a while, but I’m sure I can figure it out."

She watched as their worried expressions did not change.

“Please … please let me try,” she begged.

Rarity and Spike exchanged a nervous glance. Rarity closed her eyes and thought for a moment before replying, “Okay, Twilight. Try to get it started, and we can go from there.”

“Thank you,” she replied, opening the engine’s back door. She leaned inside, but she had trouble reaching the controls with the conductor's motionless body in the way. She also noticed that one of his hind legs was lodged inside the metal corner that connected the front dashboard to the wall beneath the smashed window. Now she knew why he had trouble moving around in the engine earlier. She observed his leg, wondering how in Equestria the stallion managed to get his hoof stuck in there to begin with.

She realized soon after that his body was taking up too much space in the already cramped engine, and if she were to attempt starting the train, she would need to pull him out. She called out to Rarity to help her pull him, but his lodged hoof would not budge. It was wedged in tight. They tried again with no luck.

“Try to free his hoof,” Twi suggested.

Rarity cautiously stepped over the conductor and grabbed hold of his hoof, where it met the wall. Despite her best efforts of twisting, turning, and pulling it, Rarity could not free his hoof.

“It’s not happening, Twilight.”

"Let me try-" she started.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted from outside, “Rarity!”

Rarity leaned out of the window. “Spike! Shush!!”

“Look!” he called.

She looked at where he was pointing. Three zombie mares were approaching the station, coming from the direction they had. Another pale stallion, a little bit farther away, was approaching from further up the tracks.

“Twilight, there’s too many. We have to go,” Rarity stated.

“We need this train!” she retaliated.

“Twilight!”

“Listen! You guys have your energy back, right?”

“Are you serious-”

“Rarity,” she interrupted, “Please. You can outrun them for a little while at least. Just take them that way and loop back around.” She pointed to the tracks behind them. Rarity looked at her as if she had just killed her family.

“Rarity, please.”

Rarity took a moment to think. Spike, who was listening in on their conversation, pulled out his taser. Rarity saw him through the window.

“No, Spike,” she said, “Stay here with Twilight.”

“No chance. I can’t let you do this alone.”

She didn’t have time to argue with him. She just smiled warily and thanked him as she exited the engine, grabbed her stick, and took off. The zombies were just pony-lengths away now, so they booked it up the stairs of the station's platform.

Twilight ducked her head beneath the window, listening for the groans and moans of the zombie ponies. After she heard them pass, she took a quick peak to ensure they were gone. Once they were, she stood over the conductor's body and searched his vest pockets for a key. After digging around for a second, she felt the key and pulled it out. She vaguely remembered the sequence to start the engine, so she took it and stuck it in the key slot. Turning it yielded nothing.

She pondered anxiously, trying to remember if she had missed a step until she saw the conductor’s stuck hoof. Underneath it was a large floor lever that had been pulled down by him. She ducked under the dashboard with her face uncomfortably close to his corpse. There was an icon above the lever, which she remembered as the train’s emergency brake system. If this was engaged, it effectively disabled the train’s start sequence.

The conductor had likely landed on the lever during a fight, which made things much more complicated for her. She tried again to pull the conductor back, but his hoof was not moving. She looked back at her hatchet, nervously realizing what she had to do. She grabbed it from its holster with her hoof and placed her other front hoof on his thigh for support.

She pulled the hatchet back and gritted her teeth as she swung. It struck the conductor’s hoof right where she wanted it, sinking in at a slight angle and making contact with the bone inside before stopping. She yanked to pull it out, but it was wedged inside. She used her right hind leg to press on his body for more support and tried again. This time, it popped out, sending her flying backward against the door hinges. She quickly uprighted herself and set up for another swing.

She concentrated on this swing even more than the first, and when she swung, the hatchet sliced through the previous cut. It contacted his bone again, but cut right through it and sliced his hoof off. Red blood spurted out on the engine's metal floor. After setting the hatchet back in its holster, she pulled on the rest of the conductor’s heavy body with all her might. Eventually, she managed to pull him into the doorway. She stepped over him and, while inside the engine, pushed on his lower half until his body slowly fell out. She watched it slide over the coupling, causing it to drop to the side of the tracks.

The engine floor beneath her was slippery from the extensive blood trail his body created. She tried disregarding the grotesque, dismembered hoof as she reluctantly pulled the blood-covered emergency lever up. She then turned the key back and tried it again. The engine rumbled to life this time, and the smokestack out the front window started spitting out steam.

The next step, to her knowledge, was flicking a switch on the dash to send power to the wheels of the train. However, she misinterpreted the layout of icons on the switches. When she flicked the switch, the bells on the train engine started dinging. She quickly turned it off and reoriented herself, closely following the remaining steps she remembered to get the train ready to roll.

After she was ready, she stuck her head out of the broken window. The platform was empty, and so was the station's surroundings. Rarity and Spike were nowhere to be seen. She meant for them to loop around the station within sight, but something might have gone wrong. Anxiety began creeping up on her. She pondered briefly before grabbing the handle hanging from the engine’s ceiling. When she pulled it, the train horn blew loudly. She blew it for a few seconds before letting go of the handle. After another fifteen seconds of waiting, she blew it again.

Fear and guilt started to build as she questioned whether she had made the wrong call. She looked back toward the station. After a few more seconds, she finally saw them rush around it. Relief set in as they ran towards her. Rarity gestured for her to start going as they closed in on the train cars. Twi released the brakes and pushed forward on the throttle. The train jolted and began accelerating as she watched them jump on the open car behind the engine. She looked back at the zombies cornering the station and watched as they slowly pulled away to safety.

Within Reach

— Devan —

Luna’s moon reflected brightly on the forest floor. My eyes were fully adjusted to the dark of the night as I sat against the tree, watching and listening for anything. We had settled on splitting the night watch into three shifts between Spark, Flutters, and me to allow Dash and Cloud to rest. Miraculously, Flutters had managed to bring Cloud back to consciousness and slow down the bleeding from her severed hoof. She had awoken an hour later as we continued the walk with her on Spark and Flutters’ backs.

It wasn’t long until we would reach Canterlot, but as day turned to night, we settled on stopping and sleeping in the woods by the tracks. Despite the time crunch of everything going on, we knew it would be best to arrive at Canterlot fully rested. Celestia said it was safe there, and I believed her. Which is why I had trouble sleeping before my middle shift.

I looked at my watch. It was another two hours until I would give up watch to Flutters for the final leg of the night. I debated on just letting her sleep, seeing as I probably wouldn’t sleep well anyway. I turned my head and looked at Cloud. She was lying on her left side next to Flutters, twitching slightly in her sleep. I looked at her bandaged front hoof hanging in front of her chest and bit my lip, looking away as guilt crept back in my conscious. Who am I kidding, it never left.

I shouldn't have stood. Fucking moron. I should have laid down. It should be me without an arm, not her.

These thoughts had spun around in my head the whole night. The hour of sleep I managed to get had offered me nothing but a nightmare. In it, I was stuck in the same damn tunnel and the same damn train light came flying toward me. I had awoken in a cold sweat when the train presumably ran me over, and Spark was there to console me while I faked falling back to sleep. I was glad that Cloud was alive, but I wished things had turned out differently.

I also thought about Pinkie Pie. Thoughts of her chasing me through the Everfree forest filled whatever empty space my mind had left. It was surreal to think about all of the shit that had happened in one day. Sure, I had read and watched books and movies about apocalyptic type events in fiction, but this was insane to actually live through. I was terrified, knowing our end could come in an instant. The time scale seemed completely off with how fast things were happening. I looked up at the moon through the treetops, hoping this all would end just as quickly.

Then I thought about Twilight. While I had made a lot of friends in this wonderful world, Twilight and I had easily become best friends. Most of my time in this world ended up being spent with her over the rest. The lab experiments took up some time, yeah, but we had spent a lot of time just sitting together. Talking. I hoped to Celestia that she was safe, and that maybe she had already made it to Canterlot somehow. The train at the station wasn’t a good sign, but perhaps she had done what we were doing. I hoped she and whoever else was with her had trotted up to the gate of Canterlot already.

I looked back at Cloud, unaware that she had woken up. Her head was still resting on her good front hoof as she stared at me. When she noticed me see her, she awkwardly got up before I could say anything, then used her three good legs to walk over and sit beside me.

“Cloud …” I protested.

“Shut up.”

She smiled at me as she sat by my side. I looked down at my feet. For a minute, I couldn’t speak. Not to her. I was still coming to terms with what had happened, and what I had caused. It was hard to let that guilt go.

“Devan.”

I didn’t respond.

“Devan, look at me. Please?”

After a few moments, I sighed and made eyes with her. “I’m sorry …”

She looked down and grabbed my right hand with her good hoof before looking at me again. “It’s not your fault, Devan.”

I closed my eyes. “It is. I need to accept that.”

She squeezed my hand. “You don’t.”

I opened my eyes. Everything that had happened was coming together, crashing in my head.

“You helped me,” I said, “You saved me. And what do I have to give in return? I make a mistake and get your fucking hoof chopped in half.”

My voice was raising from its whisper. Guilt and anger were attacking my brain.

“Devan …” she pleaded.

"No," I huffed as I stood up. My anger was getting the best of me now. My rant was getting to a volume that could wake the others. I needed a minute to relax, so I started easing my way around the leaves on the ground and walking toward the train tracks. I would still be able to see the others from the edge of the forest, but the openness seemed welcoming to my angry soul. Cloud stubbornly followed me. I turned and looked down at her, continuing my rant.

“The world is going to shit and I have done nothing. Nothing but watch. I'm just a damn spectator at this point. What have I done, really? I couldn’t stop the tunnel incident, I couldn’t put out the train fire, I couldn’t help Dash when she got hurt, I couldn’t help you, I couldn’t find Twilight, and I couldn’t …” I stumbled on my words, “I couldn’t … save Pinkie. I'm ... I'm just a fucking burden!”

“Devan, please ...”

I took a moment to look around and took a deep breath as my emotions stirred. The calming forest nearby swayed with the gentle, nighttime breeze. I sighed, my thoughts collapsing.

"I don’t belong in this world anymore …"

“Devan!!” she half-shouted, careful not to wake the others, “I’m going to cut your arm off if you keep saying crap like that.”

“Then do it. It should have been me, not you.”

She turned, making me think she was going to walk away until she raised her back hooves and bucked my legs hard, causing them to sweep under me as I fell forward to the ground. I rolled over to face the night sky and accepted it, taking in the beauty of Luna’s high moon. It was replaced with Cloud’s head and vibrant blue mane.

“Devan, I get it. You feel guilty. But you have to stop blaming yourself.”

I used my hands and started to lift myself up to retaliate when she hopped her good front hoof on top of my chest to stop me.

“You won’t get anywhere that way. It’s not your fault the world decided to turn itself upside down. You probably aren’t as used to things changing so quickly as we are. I understand. This can be a crazy world. But please keep your head up.”

She took her hoof off and allowed me to sit up. I stared blankly down the tracks, able to see the mountain that Canterlot sat on right ahead of us. I looked back into her eyes.

“Please,” she said, “We need you.”

“But … do you forgive me?”

“I already said it, Devan. It wasn’t your fault. You don’t have to be sorry. Unless you somehow brought the train in there yourself,” she replied, smirking.

“Thank you …”

I wrapped my arms around her in a hug. She hopped her hoof around my back in return. A few tears slowly rolled down my cheeks and onto her back before we disconnected.

“See, now you have do have to apologize, for getting my wings wet. Asshole.”

I smiled, wiping my wet eyes. “Sorry.”

She looked over at the distant city on the mountainside. I stood up and looked alongside her. It was just within our reach, and another half a day of walking would lead us up to those front gates.

“We’re almost there,” I mentioned.

“Oh yeah. I bet I could fly there in fifteen minutes.” She glanced back at her unfunctional wings and shook them. “Little shits.”

“Do they feel any different?” I asked, “Dash and Flutters mentioned it, but didn’t go into detail.”

“Well,” she replied, “They feel a bit numb if that makes sense. I’m a little worried about them to be honest. I hope I can still use them again.”

“I hope so too.”

“It’s funny. I was trotting to get coffee yesterday morning in Ponyville when shit hit the fan. My sister …” she started.

I looked to see her stare off into the mountain.

“She … she’s in Canterlot on vacation. Sorry. I’m sure she’s fine,” she continued, “Anyway, I had thought about flying there myself. Bit of a haul, but I’ve done it before. But as I started flying, my wings just started getting heavier and heavier. Before I knew it, my ass was grass. Thankfully I only really glided down, but this damn ground hurts.” She hopped her hoof on the grass below us.

“So you just gradually lost the ability?”

“Yes.”

“Damn.”

We both spent a minute just taking in the beauty of Canterlot’s mountain. There were some clouds forming around it, as the night sky was growing patchy.

“What do you think is happening at Cloudsdale?” I asked her.

She sighed. “Shit, I don’t know. I really, really hope it’s not what I think.”

“And what is that?”

She locked eyes with me. “Pegasi trying to fly off … now …”

I caught on to what she meant. If they were still able to walk on clouds, many of them might be unaware of their potential inability to fly. If they tried to fly off now, they could sink to a painful death.

“Fuck. Well … you said you glided right?”

“Yes, barely. It took every ounce of energy I had to prevent my wings from falling to my sides. They grew really heavy.”

I could tell she was starting to get a bit emotional as well by her eyes as she looked on at the clouds.

“My mother used to tell me age-old stories,” she said, “A long time ago, before the kinds got along, they used to encounter each other. Sometimes, they would just go on with their business, but sometimes …” She looked down at the ground briefly before continuing. “Sometimes, the pegasi would circle them. The ponies, at least. They would take whatever the ponies had on them, and if they didn’t comply … they would team up and grab them …" Now she was really struggling to get to the end of her story. A tear started falling from her eye. I rested my hand on her shoulder, but she continued. “They would lift them up, really, really high … and drop them …”

Shi-i-i-it.

I had heard about some of Equestria’s history through Twilight and her books, but I could not recall something that brutal. It seemed far-fetched, given how colorful and welcoming this new world was when I first arrived.

“I wonder if this is some kind of twisted way for the world to get … even … I mean, I know that every pony is suffering now, but I can’t imagine Cloudsdale right now.”

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m sure they are using their energy to glide too. Or maybe they found out without plummeting, maybe they are just watching from the cloud tops, waiting …”

“Hopefully.” She looked up, looking partially reassured. “Thanks, asshole.” She awkwardly hoof-bumped my leg with her rear hoof. “You should sleep. My crippled ass can take the rest of your shift.”

Not so Sweet

— Candy —

The light from Trixie’s wind tunnel dimmed as its magic timer ran out. Candy looked over Spark’s shoulder ahead of them to find more members of the mob trotting toward them. She was not sure why Trixie set the tunnel up in this direction. Part of her believed she had aborted the plan of escaping to the forest and instead shot it toward Canterlot, as she was so adamant about visiting the city. She cursed the stubborn mare for putting them in this predicament, but she hoped Trixie could help fend off the remaining attackers at the tail end of the mob.

However, there was an explosion behind them. There was not enough time to look back, because the tunnel was dissipating now. As it did, they suddenly had more problems on their hooves than the few ponies ahead. On either side of them, small, broken up groups of the trailing end of the mob started lunging for them. Candy sidestepped before using her forelegs to jump up to a two-legged stand. As she did so, she yanked her battle axe from her back with her forelegs. Balancing on her hind legs was difficult, especially while hauling the heavy axe, but she managed to stay standing while she swung at the first attacker. The colorful axe connected with the mare’s white forehead, stopping her instantly.

Ahead of her, she saw Spark powerfully buck an attacker coming in from the other side, dropping them to the ground. She also heard a new jingling sound behind her. A second later, a flashing, bouncing ball the size of her hoof bounced over her downed attacker and bounced away to the forest beside them. The loud jingling resonated, especially every time the ball made contact with the ground. She was able to catch a glimpse of it distracting part of the mob, and turned back to see a smiling Vinyl.

Behind her, she saw a plume of smoke rising up from the train engine, with leaping flames engulfing it. The bright light illuminated the area around it, but she could not see Devan or Trixie anywhere. Despite the scattered zombie ponies between them and the train, she expected to at least catch sight of Devan's tall body. Were they still in the train car? Why was the train on fire? She noticed the illuminated zombie ponies near the engulfed engine focusing their attention on something beside it. While this concerned her, she had to refocus her attention back on their attackers.

One of them approached. She swung the battle axe at an awkward angle, knocking the pale gray mare to the ground with the flat end of it. Before she could swing again, somepony barreled into her, causing her to fall to the ground as well. She lost grip of her battle axe, which fell beside her. When she looked up, she saw the pony who knocked her over was also sprawled on the ground. The undead stallion clumsily picked himself off the ground, swinging his head around frantically. She noticed as his head swiveled that one of his eyes was closed, and the other was red with blood. The pony was effectively blind, so he vigorously flared his nostrils to smell for her.

Her axe had fallen in front of Split's hooves. As he started leaning down to pick it up, the undead stallion finally caught a whiff of her. She tried rolling to her stomach but realized he was too close. Instead, she rolled again to her back and forcefully kicked her hind legs up, bucking his biting jaw away. However, in her fight, she hadn't noticed the other downed mare crawling beside her. While she kicked the stallion back, she caught a glimpse of gray before the mare lunged, sinking her teeth into her belly. She screamed out, desperately trying to punch the mare off of her.

Finally, Split swung her battle axe, slicing through the blind stallion’s face. The stallion fell on top of her as he swung it again, connecting the sharp blade to the back of the gray mare’s head. Her teeth loosened. The mob continued to close in on them, so Candy quickly rolled over as Split pulled the stallion off of her. She stood up, exchanging a quick, fearful glance with him before returning their attention to the mob.

Ahead of her, Spark was setting up to buck the last zombie mare in their way. However, there was a zombie stallion trotting toward her front side. Spark didn’t notice him, as she was facing behind her to time the buck right. Instinctively, Candy powered her hind legs into overdrive and used her body to intercept the stallion before he could pounce on her. Despite her blow, the stallion merely staggered sideways, somehow keeping on his hooves. As she tried to back off to shove him again, he turned and lunged toward her.

She tried ducking underneath his open jaw, but it wasn’t enough. The stallion's teeth clenched on her ear as he passed, rotating her to face him. With one quick head jerk, he ripped half of her ear clean off. The pain from it seared through her as she backed off, watching the stallion spit it out and lunge for her again. As Candy darted to the side to avoid it, Spark came into view and used her as a distraction. Before the stallion could react, the country mare bolted her forelegs into the ground and whipped her back end around. After briefly tapping the dirt with her hind legs, she rose them up and shot them at the stallion, knocking him down with a powerful buck.

Their path along the tracks was clear of attackers now. The train fire rose high now, but there was still no sign of Devan and Trixie. She noticed what looked like flashes of blue lining up to the trees beside the track, but she was interrupted when more of the mob came trotting toward her. Candy exchanged a quick, nervous glance with Spark as she turned and started galloping alongside her. Behind them, Split and Vinyl started their gallop too.

Spark took the lead and started galloping down the side of the tracks. She and the others followed her in the darkness of dawn, speeding away from the sudden mob. She worried about whether or not Devan had made it out, but there were too many of the undead to stop and check for him. She hoped he made it out, as well as Trixie, as she reluctantly galloped with the others.

After a few minutes, they were far down the track from the distant orange glow of the inferno. There were only a hoofful of stragglers following them, as the train fire and odd bouncy ball distraction lured most of them away.

There was still no sign of Devan or Trixie.

Spark slowed, looking over her shoulder at her. Even in the darkness, she could tell Spark noticed part of her pink ear was missing. The mare slowed to trot beside her to get a closer look. Candy was not willing to address this issue yet, but she understood the severity and what it meant. As they ran, a tear fell from her eye as she realized she was effectively ‘dead’. The pain flowing from her belly and ear scared her, and she could already feel her body slowly warming up to fight it. She was worried, because she had already seen a case of somepony getting bitten back in Canterlot. The mare she was with at the time fell ill as she was now, and in just half an hour, she had turned.

“Candy …” Spark called, her eyes growing wide with shock.

“Just … just keep going,” Candy replied, fighting oncoming tears as she continued her gallop.

The mare listened, keeping quiet for another few minutes as they galloped alongside the track. On the way, they used the bridge they had first set up the cart on to cross the river. They had not made it all that far from Canterlot Mountain before Trixie's train smashed into them. What they hadn't mentioned to Devan was that their damaged cart had caused Spark a lot of issues after he fell asleep. They even sat still for an hour when the engine puckered out, but Spark's handiness proved good enough to fix it. She just wished the train engine had been the same.

The mob was far enough away now, so the group agreed to head into the forest beside them. After another few minutes of galloping through the woods, they made it to a wide open clearing between the forests. They continued through it, eventually coming to a stop to catch their breath. Light from Celestia’s sun was slowly illuminating the field of grass as dawn was breaking. However, a new blanket of grey clouds had formed overhead. The overcast made its presence known as raindrops started falling on their sweaty bodies.

“Did any of you see Trixie?” Vinyl asked.

“No … no …” Spark replied timidly.

“Fucking damn it,” Split cursed.

“Hey!” Vinyl yelled, “They may have run the other way! We didn’t see them go down. We can’t know for sure.”

"I did see flashing blue lights," Candy mentioned, "They were leading away toward the forest, where she was SUPPOSED to take us."

"I know ..." Vinyl said, "Look, something else may have happened. I know she's stubborn as fuck, but she wouldn't do that to us. Those blue flashing lights must have been her magic, so they both could have made it out. We can only hope ..."

There was a moment of silence as both she and Split observed her stomach and ear dripping blood on the ground.

“I’m … I’m sorry,” Split apologized, “I tried to get them in time … I truly did.”

“I ... I know, just shut up ...” Candy responded. She sat down, struggling to catch her quick breaths. She looked over at Spark, who was also staring at her stomach. When she checked it out herself, she realized the severity of it. The mare’s bite had sunk deep into her coat of fur, and red blood oozed from the teeth marks. She sighed, closing her eyes. Tears then escaped them. She felt a hoof on her shoulder and heard Spark step up to her.

“It’s okay, Candy. It'll be okay.”

She opened her teary eyes. “What do you mean? It’s ... over …”

“We …” Spark started. She looked away and sniffed to avoid any tears from coming out. “We don’t know that. We can take you somewhere and tie you up. If- If we do that, then once we find the cure … we ... she ... can bring you back later."

“But Trixie …”

“We don’t know that she’s dead!! Okay? We don’t even know if she’s the only pony with magic. Let’s just hope she made it out. We'll search for her, but we need to get ya somewhere safe first.”

“Where?”

“I ... I don't know ...”

They looked around at the large field they were in. The nearest trees were quite a ways away now.

"Shit," Split said, "We should have stopped at the edge of the forest. We could have tied her up to one of the trees."

"She was just bitten!" Spark exclaimed, "We have some time."

"Spark," Candy sighed, "We don't. I saw a mare turn within half an hour. If I'm the same as her ... we've only got minutes."

Spark's eyes widened with fear.

"Well, come on then! Let's go!!" she exclaimed, tugging at Candy to follow. The others, now partially rested, followed her lead as she took them to the distant forest ahead of them. The Canterlot Mountain rose tall behind it, its tops partially covered by stray clouds.

They were not far from the forest when her body could not handle it anymore. The group had noticed her slowing and made efforts to keep her going, brushing their bodies alongside her as they trotted. But Candy could not go any farther. She slowed to a walk before collapsing on the ground. It was sprinkling now, and raindrops patted her body. The others debated carrying her on their backs, but the dripping bite on her belly worried them. They were not sure whether or not this could get them sick, so Candy insisted against it.

“No, Candy. Please get up!” Spark cried, trying to lift her up with her forelegs. With Split and Vinyl’s help, they managed to stand her up, just for her to collapse again. Her energy was depleted. Heat spread through her body, and the others could feel it as well. Spark eagerly glanced around for anything that could help them, but the grassy plain they were in and offered nothing despite one large tree.

“You-” Candy said, “You have to leave me.”

Spark stomped the ground next to her. The clouds above reflected some of Celestia’s sunlight as the third morning of this apocalypse was here. Raindrops continued to fall, showering them.

"Wait!" Split called, "There!"

Both Candy and Spark looked around and noticed Split pointing to the single, large tree nearby.

"It's base is too thick ..." Vinyl mentioned.

"Well, we can still try!"

The three of them worked together to lift Candy and made their way to the tree. Once they were under it, the rainfall weakened. Just a few drops fell from the tree branches above.

They set Candy down against the tree. She watched as Vinyl dug through her saddlebag. She pulled out a rope, but as expected, the tree trunk was far too wide to tie her to it. After a minute of searching for another means, they realized they would not be able to tie her up. Spark sighed in defeat before looking back at her.

“I’m sorry …” she said.

“It’s okay ... just go,” Candy requested.

Spark moved forward, holding her hoof for a minute. The tough, country mare began losing her battle against tears as she brushed Candy's curly purple hair one last time before backing away. Tears swelled in her own eyes as she watched the others turn and leave. Spark turned back as they did, so Candy used the last of her energy to give her a little wave before shutting her teary eyes as her breaths slowly came to a stop.

One of a Kind

— 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.