Dead Rising: Case Equestria

Time before Royal Guard arrives: 71:12:23

After Spike and Rainbow Dash had set off they went through the plaza without much trouble from the zomponies, and soon found themselves at the door that lead to the Silver Strip. However, the only problem was that a horde of zomponies were blocking the exit.

"Aw man and just when I thought things would be easier..." Rainbow sighed. Spike didn't reply as he had whipped out his camera and taken a picture of the zompony crowd. It was easily worth a good 340 PP under the "horror" section of his camera's memory.

"Uh huh!" He said to himself in satisfaction as he saw the rating. This left Rainbow Dash with a confused look on her face due to not understanding his act in full.

"Hey Spike?" Rainbow asked curiously.

"Yeah Rainbow?" Spike replied, shutting his camera back down and screwing the lens cap back in.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"That! You know, the picture thing!" Rainbow gestured to the camera.

"Oh that!" Spike said as he chuckled a bit. "Well you see in my business to have a good report on things you need to have some good photos to back your story up, and usually the photos we take are put into the categories of horror, outtake, brutality, erotica, drama, and 'Special.' After we get the initial category we also get a rating that shows how good our photo was overall, and the rating is measured in PP." He explained

"PP?" Rainbow said quizzically.

"Yeah, they're short for prestige points, but I call them picture points!" Spike said as he elaborated.

"What do those do for you?"

"Well the more PP you get, the higher ranked journalist you become, and your pay and notoriety as a reporter increase with each rank, and also I in particular get some good stuff!" He said with a grin on his face as he mentioned that last fact.

"What kind of good stuff?" Rainbow pondered, generally understanding most of what he had said.

"New moves!" Spike yelled happily while rubbing his hands together in delight, not unlike a child would do when confronted by his or her favorite snack.

"Whoa no kidding?" Rainbow said in amazement.

"Yup! But enough about that! Let's get a move on!" Spike said reverting back to normal as he took point in walking up to the crowd of zomponies. It was a bit of work, but they managed to get through relatively easy thanks to Applebloom's ingenuity in creating the combo weapons. "I've seriously got to remember to thank her for her work!" Spike thought cheerfully as he finished clearing the doorway. Spike and Rainbow took a minute to admire their handiwork, giving each other a celebratory hoof-bump before exiting the plaza. However, as they went outside, they groaned as they found another crowd of zomponies in their way.

"Oh come on!" Rainbow shouted in frustration. "How many more are there?!?"

"Hey Rainbow?" Spike said in realization, "can't you just fly us over them?"

"Oh yeah! Heh, sorry about that!" Rainbow said grinning sheepishly as she motioned for Spike to get on her back, which he was glad to do as he gave his feet some much needed rest. "Alright, hang on tight!" Rainbow said taking off as she flapped her wings, gaining height with each passing moment, which after a short time let her fly with ease over the zomponies, who could do nothing but stare at their would be prey.

"Hey, come to think of it Rainbow, why not try and see if we can fly out of the area at will?" Spike suggested. Rainbow obliged his request as she angled herself almost straight up towards the sky with Spike holding onto her neck as much as he could, but as they were flying, Spike felt himself thrown forward as Rainbow hit an unseen force that seemed to be a wall of some sort. Spike yelped as he began to fall towards the ground at an alarming rate, but luckily his friend came to his aid, picking him up before he hit the cement. Once they got settled back on the ground, Spike decided to call Twilight about this strange occurence. "Twilight!" He said still shaken.

"Yes Spike?" Twilight said, worried at his tone of voice.

"Do you know anything about an invisible wall covering the Pegasium and everything around it?" Spike said, breathing a little bit easier now.

"Well now that you mention it I saw another report mentioning that Celestia and Luna had covered the city in a magical forcefield in order to quarantine the area so the outbreak wouldn't spread..." She said in rememberance.

"Ah so that explains it! Thanks for the info Twilight!" He said thanking her as he turned back to his companion.

"So we're stuck here until the guard gets here?" Rainbow asked.

"Pretty much."

"Great." The two decided to get back to the task at hand as they searched around for the hotel. Finally after scouting out the area a bit, which turned out to be much bigger than they originally anticipated, they found their destination. To say that they were relieved to get there would be an understatement, because they dashed towards the hotel, laughing in triumph, and tore through the crowd of zomponies guarding the entrance without a second thought. The inside of the hotel they came to find, was pretty nice. The decor consisted of a beige and red combination, with a fair amount of light, but not overly bright. All in all, they both agreed they'd stay there a night or two if given circumstances. However, Rainbow Dash noticed an object on the ground.

"Hm...what could this be?" She thought to herself as she picked it up. Upon further inspection she noticed that it was a plastic card of some sort. She turned it over, revealing to be an ID card that had a photo and the name 'Flash Dancer: Field Reporter' written above the picture. This seemed normal at first, maybe having been dropped in the initial outbreak, but the bad part was that the card had spots of blood on it... "Hey Spike you better come look at this!" She said calling over the purple dragon.

"What's up Dashie?" Spike inquired, while Rainbow raised an eyebrow that questioned the sudden nickname. Spike noticed this and held up his hands in defense while saying, "what? I heard Pinkie Pie use it a couple times and I thought it sounded catchy so you know..."

"Ok..." Rainbow Dash shook her head at the explanation, figuring that to be the case, "Anyways, I found this ID card lying on the ground here..." she explained, showing him the card. Spike took the card in his claws and stared at it intently, brows furrowed.

"Huh...she must've been a rookie..." he muttered, shaking his head in pity. "Should've been more careful out here..." he said  sighing as he was about to tell Rainbow Dash that they were going on, but Rainbow Dash suddenly gasped and pointed behind him in shock. Spike whipped around, finding a zompony with it's arms stretched out towards him, he yelled and tried to move away, but it was too late as the zompony took him down to the ground, and somehow, Rainbow also failed to notice another zompony sneaking up behind her as well, and it grabbed her, pinning her to the ground. As the cried out, trying to force their way out of the zomponies grip, suddenly, two bolts of magic shot out and knocked the zomponies off of both of them. Spike and Rainbow both had surprised looks on their faces as they turned to figure out just who had helped them out. Spike's jaw dropped as Rainbow gasped at the mare in front of them.

"You two should really be more careful out here..." she said smirking, "I wouldn't want to have to do that everytime now would I?" She then held out a hoof, "Flash Dancer, field reporter for the Canterlot Express." She was about to shake Rainbow's hoof, but stopped at the sight of her. "Wait..." She said, brows furrowed in thought, "aren't you Rainbow Dash, the one who started this outbreak?"

"I didn't start it, I was framed!" Rainbow said, gritting her teeth at the accusation.

"Uh huh, if you say so." She said skeptically as she turned to Spike, who still had his jaw dropped a little bit, and unbeknowst to the two mares, hearts were beginning to form in his eyes. Flash Dancer giggled at the sight of him, to which he recovered from his amazed state and shook her hoof.

"Spike the Dragon, photojournalist." He said, nodding his head at the mare while trying to maintain a cool, smooth composure.

"Wait wait...the Spike?" Flash Dancer said in a bout of recognition at the mention of his name. "You mean you're the dragon that supposedly covered the Fillymette outbreak, but had that scandal later on?" She said looking quite surprised at this fact.

"Yeah I don't really like talking about that last part..." the dragon in question muttered to himself as he looked a bit annoyed.

"Well isn't this a big surprise finding you here? Trying to get back into the limelight I suppose?"

"Maybe, maybe not? I don't usually like giving out that kind of info to people who could peg a bad image on me."

"Mhm...cute, well anyways, why exactly have you two come out here anyways?" Flash Dancer asked as she took the card back from Spike.

"Well I was hoping to find you actually!" Spike said almost a bit too eagerly, while Rainbow Dash nudged him a bit in order to correct his neglection of her. Flash Dancer smiled and rolled her eyes as she noticed his response.

"Is that so? Well I suppose you are kind of a cute dragon..." She said getting almost brushing up against Spike, who blushed noticeably at this. Rainbow Dash groaned and face hooved at his reaction, and wondered why it is that he could be this predictable.

"You think so?" Spike asked, a grin coming onto his face.

"Yup..." She said getting even closer than she already was, Spike was frozen as he felt her whisper in his ear. "And if you help me crack this case, maybe I'll consider you..." She said quite seductively. Spike now knew that if he had any doubts about his mission before, he sure as hay wasn't going to fail it now!

"Anyways!" Rainbow said cutting in abruptly, "Let's get back to the matter at hand..."

"Ah that's right!" Flash Dancer said recalling what she had been out here for, "I figured you of all ponies would have hit the road right now Ms. Dash, but since you're still here...care to answer a few questions?"

"Look lady, I'm not your story, I had nothing to do with starting the outbreak!" Rainbow said sighing in frustration.

"And the images that showed you at the cages before the competition?" Flash Dancer questioned as she raised an eyebrow.

"Fakes!" Rainbow countered sharply, "my sister and my friends barely made it out along with me!" She took a breath to calm herself down. "Look I just need to know where you got the images from!"

"It would also help to know who your source is as well!" Spike added as he had finally recovered from his love struck state of mind.

"Ah ah ah!" Flash Dancer said as she waved her hoof in a chastising manner, "Reporters don't reveal their sources Spike," she then added with a smirk, "well, not real ones anyways."

"Oh really?" Spike said with a smirk of his own, "well maybe I can convince you by telling you I have some very important photos that I've taken?" This worked as intended as the mare stopped in her tracks at the mention of a new lead.

"Really? Then let's see them." She said eyeing his camera, to which Spike simply hid it from view as he waggled a finger at her.

"Woah woah there!" He said with a grin, "you gotta throw the dog a bone if you want him to do any tricks!" He then realized the many connotations of that statement and decided to clarify, "meaning you get my pictures, if we get yours."

"Hm...ok" She agreed with a bit of thought, "I suppose I'll let you tag along with me to where I'm going."

"That's more like it!" Spike said as he and Rainbow Dash shared a triumphant smile.

"I can't tell you my source," Flash Dancer explained, "but there is a central security room that has records of everything that's happened, I bet you'll find what you need there."

"Alright then, let's get moving!" Rainbow Dash said as the three set off towards the South Plaza that was right behind the lobby of the hotel.

Case 1-2: Engaged

Objective: Now that we've found Flash Dancer, she's agreed to take us to a security room that should have proof of Rainbow's innocence.

Date: September 25th, 8:30 A.M.

TIME BEFORE ROYAL GUARD Arrives: 70:29:49

They had little trouble with the zomponies seeing as how they were more than capable of taking care of themselves, however, since the South Plaza was still under construction, it creeped Spike out a bit. They also ran into a few Diamond Dogs along the way, but with the help of their new weapons, and Flash Dancer's magic, it was a much easier fight than previously. After a while, they saw another hallway that seemed a bit more lit up, and complete with it's decor.

"Just a little more to go!" Flash Dancer reassured her companions as they went onwards. However, much to Rainbow and Spike's dismay, they came to find that the doors to their destination were barred by a gate.

"Oh come on!" Rainbow Dash groaned as Spike simply grumbled under his breath as he hit the gate in a futile hope that the force of his tap would somehow destroy the gate.

"I have no idea how you two would get anything done without me here." Flash Dancer said chuckling as she had a visible smirk on her face. In response to this Rainbow and Spike's eyelids lowered in annoyance as they both knew what she was about to do.

"Just push the button." Spike grunted at her.

"Hope I don't have to do everything for you." She said with a playful glint in her eyes as she pushed the button next to her. Just as Huffy the magic dragon predicted, the gate opened up to let them pass through. "Well?" The orange mare prompted them, "what are you waiting for?" She then began to trot forward, as Spike simply looked at her retreating figure with a smile on his face.

"Just admiring the...view." He said grinning as Rainbow rolled her eyes at the subtle, or not so subtle, implications of his statement.

"Let's get a move on ya pervert!" She said punching his shoulder, to which he glared at, making her snicker in return. As they continued on to the Pegasium's interior, Rainbow Dash found herself trying to shake the memories of the events that had occurred a few hours before. However, before she could contemplate more on the subject, they arrived at their destination. However they found that the door to the room was locked.

"Darn!" Spike mumbled, "Guess I'll have to break it down with something..." he then started to look around for an object that would suit ramming purposes. However, Flash Dancer smiled as she once again had the situation covered.

"Here, let me take this one!" She said as bent over to get a better look at the lock. Then her horn began to glow while the faint sound of tumblers being fiddled with was heard. Rainbow simply watched the display while Spike watched... "the display," and muttered something along the lines of: "they didn't teach me that in journalism school..." Rainbow rolled her eyes at his actions and shook her head. Finally, Flash Dancer finished with a triumphant smirk, "you went to journalism school?" she asked Spike, "could've fooled me..." she mocked giggling as she walked past him. The merriment however, came to an abrupt halt as they walked in and saw the state the security room was in.

"What happened here?" Rainbow said gasping in shock as she surveyed the room. All the screens that were supposed to show different Pegasium halls were broken or malfunctioning, and many of the files in cabinets were torn and strewn about. Worst of all the bodies of what looked like two ponies, a unicorn and a pegasus, were laying on the ground, having met their end here.

"Looks like someone didn't want us to see what really went down..." Spike deduced as he looked around. He then noticed something strange on the ponies. They seemed to have a couple of marks on them that seemed to be burn marks of some sort. He called the two mares over and showed them his find.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Rainbow said, obviously confused, "but I don't think zomponies can use magic can they?"

"No they can't." Spike said, confirming her theory. "But regular ponies can."

"Hm...then that proves it!" Flash Dancer exclaimed, "someone really is covering this up from us!"

"Yup, not a bad lead at all..." Spike said as he mulled over this new information. All of a sudden, Rainbow and Spike heard Twilight's voice come to them.

"Spike! Rainbow Dash!" She exclaimed worriedly. "You better come back to the safe room! There's some mare here that seems pretty suspicious..."

"On it!" Spike said to her as he and Rainbow began to leave.

"Hey wait what about those pictures?" Flash Dancer called out to him.

"Just come back to the safe room in the Royal Flush Plaza when you're done here!" He called out to her as he and Rainbow began heading towards the Plaza once again. As they left, Flash Dancer simply smirked.

"They're not going to ditch me for long if I can help it!" She said as she began to go after them.

TIME BEFORE ROYAL GUARD Arrives: 70:11:14