Rose didn’t know how long she had been sitting in front of the window. It had to be hours at this point. It was nearly impossible to tell, as the sun refused to move. It stayed there at its zenith and did not budge a single inch. Despite the heat beating down on her, the intense pain that radiated throughout her entire back, and despite the growing sense of dread in her chest, Rose did not budge either.

She had asked for a sign, and she would remain here until she finally got one. Be it death or be it something else. Rose Wreath was nothing if not doggedly stubborn, and she would prove that to anything that was still watching her.

The belief was still there deep down, or at least the need to believe was. It was there and it would not go away completely. It clung to her heart desperately, and there was a large part of her that could not bear to shoo it away. Not yet at least. Not without the sign she had asked for.

The inglorious sun above refused to comfort her either. Its harsh heat and blindingly bright light still beat down on the pegasus unrelentingly. It was a lashing she would gladly take the brunt of, after all if she had truly wronged her faith then she needed to receive punishment. It was the only thing she could do until she was instructed to do otherwise.

Then her sign finally arrived with a bang.

A massive explosion rocked the city below. Rose got to her hooves, her eyes wide and intense. The concert hall, a massive domed building on the far end of the city, was now engulfed in smoke and she could see bits of it fly outwards from the blast. Fireworks also accompanied the blast and they burst in bright colors and designs in the sky above it all.

It was all followed by a telltale howl from the monsters and the city shook as they rushed towards the source like a moth towards a flame. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both burst forth from the throne room and took to the skies. Throngs of the unicorns also poured out of the castle as they rushed towards the epicenter of the blast. The biggest hornet’s nest on the planet had been kicked and the warriors were on their way to swarm the perpetrator.

The sign was loud and obvious, Rose just didn’t know what in the world it meant.

“Wait…” She mumbled. If the unicorns were all headed towards the blast, then that meant the castle would be clear, or at least a little more clear than it had been before. Could she make it to the radio tower now? The universe was telling her to keep working towards the goal of sending the message out. That had to be it.

Purpose had been reiterated and a path to complete it had now been given.

The pegasus got to her hooves and then immediately regretted the act. The empty socket on her back radiated pain and sitting still for hours had not helped it at all. Immediately Rose’s front left leg buckled from the pain and she bit her lip as tears fell from her eyes. Everything hurt, but she couldn’t let that stop her. Not now.

So she limped onwards towards the end of the hall. It was very slow going and every time she moved her front left leg an intense and debilitating pain shot through her entire body. Every time it brought her to a standstill and she had to gather herself before taking another step. Pain would not stop her, not even being at death’s door could do that.

Ten minutes had passed and Rose had covered about half of the ground between the broken window and the stairwell. It was slow going and sweat was now dappling her brow thanks to a combination of effort and the slowly rising temperature. She was stopped in her tracks once more by a second explosion from the city. It came from a building right next to the

The second was much different from the first. It was more violent and sent up a lot more smoke than the first. The sky shattering explosion sent out a shockwave that soon reached the castle and the windows that weren’t already broken rattled in their frames. Large pieces of masonry skipped across the tops of buildings and some shot high into the sky.

That had to be some form of black powder. Rose had seen stores of it for old antique cannons in a few of the annexes around the city, but it wasn’t held in such high quantities in one place to make an explosion that massive and destructive. This had to be intentional. Somepony had set it up.

It was also equal parts clever and mean: the first explosion drew in the crowds, then the second delayed explosion was to do real damage to the crowd that came to investigate. Dastardly, really.

Rose would still take it as a sign, even if somepony had manufactured it. She had been there to see it, right in the perfect spot. It was what she needed, a confirmation and a little assistance to complete her mission. Providence had once again intervened.

The wounded pegasus kept limping until she got to the stairs. Even from that short distance she felt exhausted, but with a renewed zeal she began to work her way down the stone spiral staircase. There was no way to descend them comfortably, but she opted to lean on the outside wall and keep her front left leg as immobile as possible as she hobbled down them.

As seemed to be the case now, it was slow going. Rose had to stop every dozen steps or so just to breathe and try to regain the fire that once burned in her chest. It seemed like it was easier to forget and let go out now, but she would just attribute that to the pain. It was sapping all of her energy and consuming all of her thoughts. To describe the pain would take more thought than she felt capable of while it was radiating across her entire back. It took every ounce of conviction she had to even walk.

Rose kept going.

The dual explosions had seemed to draw every single one of those things out, which was fine for the pony plodding down the steps. She was in absolutely no condition to defend herself at the moment. There was a lot of doubt that she could even run away in her current state, after all she could barely walk.

“Rose…?”

The voice, soft and full of surprise, caught the mare off guard. She had been so busy focusing on the steps and her own hooves she hadn’t even realized how close she was to the next landing or that the hallway beyond already had an occupant. Rose looked up and saw Tempest standing maybe a dozen feet away.

The unicorn was frozen in place and her eyes were locked right onto Rose, wide and full of shock. That look was quickly wiped away and replaced with the usual placid indifference the mare usually wore. Her fuschia coat and dark bodysuit were covered in black powder stains and the unmistakable scene could be picked up even from over a small distance. Rose couldn’t help but give a tired smile as the mare approached her.

“Hey Tempest.” Her voice still sounded rough. Her throat had residual dryness and she hadn’t used her vocal chords in who knew how long. Hopefully the fellow survivor would understand given just how bad she looked. Rose could not stop herself as she hobbled to meet the mare halfway and embraced her in a weak but needed hug.

The feeling of contact was what she needed. Warm skin and fur against hers that somehow still remained cold and clammy despite all of the time she had spent before the sun felt like heaven. Fresh tears formed in her eyes as she tried to squeeze the unicorn, who did not reciprocate a single bit of the action.

“You’re alive…?” Tempest let that surprise creep in again. “How…? I thought Celestia got you.” The other mare craned her neck to get a glimpse at Rose’s back and then she visibly cringed. Rose followed her gaze and saw the bandages on her back were almost completely soaked through with blood again. Whatever time had done to close up the wound, activity had completely undone.

“Divine intervention.” Rose croaked out with a small hint of irony in the words. Her heart was still heavily conflicted on the topic of faith, but she couldn’t deny that something had saved her. “Where are the others…?” That was more important. The Lieutenant needed to know she was still alive and that the mission would be completed despite everything.

“They’re dead, Rose. All of them.”

Rose’s heart shattered and the pain finally overcame the strength she had been holding onto. Her bad leg gave out and she fell to the stone floor. Her chest was filled with intense and suffocating pain as she tried to suck in air in quick but deep breaths. Dead? Had she cost them their lives? The last she had seen of Golden he was running away from Princess Luna. Had he been too slow?

“W-what about Al?” The old smuggler had been in the dungeon, he had to be safe.

“A horde of those monsters followed Golden Star back to the dungeon.” Tempest spoke in the flat even tone, like she was reading off of notecards. “They stopped us from closing the door and they got Al. Golden told me to use the tunnels to get away while he held those things off.”

That was it, the true sign she had been waiting for. They had all been dashed against the rocks. The survivors who had held out for so long against long and impossible odds finally were done in. Their protection had given in and whatever luck or providence that had been on their side had now surely abandoned them in a swift and vengeful way.

Rose was still alive, though. Why? Was it a message? Was she meant to witness all of this as some sort of retribution for her wrongdoings? If it was a punishment, then it was working. It was yet another blow meant to lay her low and it had done so.

“H-how long ago?” She finally found her voice once more.

“I’m not sure how much a ‘day’ is worth anymore considering the sun hasn’t moved since the last time it rose.” Tempest looked to a nearby window and the sun as it hung in the sky. “But you all left to go to the tower about three ‘days’ ago. So…” Tempest trailed off and returned her gaze to the pegasus who was still embracing her

“Three days…?” Rose asked as she finally broke away from the other mare. Tempest nodded. “What if we’re too late now…?” That question was immediately on her mind and it made her heart heavier the same as news of her comrades’ demise. What if Princess Cadance was turned now?

“Well we won’t know until we try.” Tempest moved to Rose’s side to give the pegasus some support to walk. “Come on, it’s not too far now.”

Rose felt truly blessed in that moment. Despite her own injury, despite almost all of the other survivors falling to the monsters,and despite the state of the world at large, she still had somepony to lean on. It was something that warmed her heart and made her believe a little more.

The pressure on her shoulder as she leaned against Tempest’s side hurt, but not as bad as when she tried to walk on it. It was a welcome relief from intense stabbing pain to more of an omnipresent ache. In a weird way, it was almost pleasant. Unlike the sudden debilitating pain when she tried to walk that made her want to give up and die, this only reminded her that she was still alive. That she could still feel something.

The two mares walked through the halls of the castle unabated. Not even the distant growls of unicorns echoed through the dead structure. The only company afforded to them was each other and the clicks of their hooves as they made their way to the radio tower to send a message to the world. It felt so good to be with somepony else, though. It felt good to have something else other than her thoughts and doubt.

“What do you believe in, Tempest?” The question naturally dripped out of Rose’s mouth. There was a primal need to be reinforced and validated. There was a little part of her in all of this that was beginning to feel a little crazy and she had to quash that right away.

“Hmm?” Tempest had her head on a swivel and had obviously not been paying attention to the mare that was using her as a crutch. “I’m not religious, Rose.”

“Beliefs don’t have to be religious.” Rose clarified. They were for her, of course. It wasn’t that way for everypony, though. “It’s conviction, it’s just something you think about and know is true. Most ponies believe in the power of friendship now thanks to Princess Twilight. Some ponies believe in the power of money. Some believe in Princess Celestia and the sun. It’s…it’s an idea you can’t live without, I guess.”

“Does it matter?” Rose could feel the annoyance in the words.

“I suppose not…” It was probably best not to push the mare who was now her only saving grace in the world, so Rose decided to change topics. “Did you cause the explosions?” She received a curt nod in response but no further clarification. That flipped some little switch in Rose’s head. Tempest had caused the explosions to get back into the castle. It was a distraction. What was the goal though? “Did…did you do it to find me?”

The two mares froze in place. Rose looked up at Tempest with hopeful eyes. Her heart felt light in her chest for a small amount of time as she saw the unicorn freeze and briefly purse her lips before the stoic expression took over her face once more.

“Yes.” There was no clarification or elaboration. Rose didn’t need it. Somepony still cared for her, they cared for her enough to set up an elaborate plot to even have the chance of finding her. That was all she needed.

Tempest felt much more distant than usual. In previous days Rose had been able to have some form of conversation with the mare, and she felt like the two of them had gotten on each others’ good side. Perhaps the isolation of the past three days had changed the alleged spy, or maybe Golden sacrificing himself for her was still weighing on her mind.

“Where are you staying now? You’re not just living in the tunnels, right?” That felt like a question that would actually get an answer. It was something she couldn’t just shrug off, as soon they would both be headed wherever that was. The dungeon had obviously been compromised, so unless Tempest had somehow reclaimed it then that wasn’t the answer.

“In Al’s smuggling headquarters in the city.” Tempest looked straight ahead as she walked and talked. “It’s safe enough as long as I’m quiet. Which I have been, and I expect it to stay that way.” Rose could certainly be quiet. That had been a majority of her existence since joining the guard. So that would be no problem.

It took about twenty minutes, but they finally arrived at a set of stairs with a plaque beside them that read ‘Emergency Radio Beacon. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY’. They both looked up the staircase and at the door at the top. It didn’t look like anything special, just a standard castle door. It wasn’t even made of metal or anything. Rose figured it would’ve been locked.

Maybe it had a spell on it or something? It probably didn’t anymore. Persistent spells and charms had worn off long ago if the guard armor was anything to go by. She wasn’t aware of any posting that guarded this particular door, but then again there were jobs all over this castle she wasn’t aware of so that was a possibility too. There could also just be a lock.

“Let’s send a message to the world…” Rose muttered.

As they were about to take the first step together, something sharp and metal slammed into Rose’s back. Her vision flashed and she let out a cry of pain as her entire body was consumed in immediate debilitating pain. She collapsed on the steps in a pile. Her lungs wouldn’t even work. She commanded them to take in air and they staunchly refused. It was like the pain signals had completely shut down all other functions of her body.

“I should’ve known you weren’t dead…” That was a voice she recognized. It took a moment for the overworked brain in her skull to parse it out, but it eventually came to her. It was Bulwark.

“Bulwark? You’re alive?” Tempest voiced Rose’s surprise for her. Unlike the initial contact with Rose, this sounded more like an annoyance than genuine shock.

Rose rolled over onto her good side to see the stallion. His brown coat was covered in blood. She could see his massive muscular body was saturated in puncture wounds and scratches and one of his hooves was blistered to the point she was surprised he could even stand on it. On one of his legs was the same shield that he had picked up the other day in The Dusties. It too was coated in red lifeblood.

“She did this.” Bulwark leveled an accusatory hoof right at Rose. “She had to go stare at the stupid sun and wake up the princesses! Just move out of the way so I can get this over with, Tempest!” The stallion roared and his nostrils flared angrily.

“Does it matter now? It’s done.” Tempest stepped in front of Rose so that the prone pegasus could barely see the now hostile earth pony.

“Why do you care?” Bulwark stepped forward, puffed out his chest and rose to his full height in an attempt to intimidate the mare before him. “This isn’t your business. I saw Luna hit the LT, I saw him fall. So now two guards have died because of her!” She could see the stallion start to crack and tears began to form in his angry brown eyes. “She could’ve stopped Parade! She could’ve STAYED BY US! WE COULD BE DONE BY NOW! WE COULD ALL BE OUT OF HERE!” He was visibly shaking as he screamed at the two mares now. “MOVE!”

“Yeah, I did it…” Rose slowly got to her hooves. Her legs shook as they took on her weight and she could feel new blood seeping from the wound on her back. “I…I’m sorry, Bulwark. I thought that…everything I did was for the right reasons.” She paused and took a deep breath before she spoke the next words. “I did kill Parade…not through stopping her. I-I stabbed her. I…I killed her.”

Maybe it was the flood of adrenaline, maybe it was blood loss, maybe it was just good old fashioned catharsis but Rose felt better after saying it. A weight was lifted from her chest and for a brief glorious moment she felt her pain subside. It was the weight of hidden sin being lifted from her soul.

“You what…?” Bulwark stepped back from the mares. A mix of intense emotions whipped across his face in a frenzy. After a few moments they settled right back on rage. “She was a fellow Royal Guard! How could you?!”

“I couldn’t let her kill Princess Celestia.” There was no more passion in the words as she spoke them. There was no zeal or fire. A cold resignation rang through her voice. “Not then. I thought that maybe there was still a chance that Celestia was in there…” She had to drop the title for the alicorn. She had been staunchly refusing to use just her name without the title so far as some form of respect, but she wasn’t even sure the diarch deserved such respect right now. Not as long as the monster had a hold of her. Not as long as her divinity was in question.

“That was enough to ruin everything?!” Bulwark yelled and tossed his shield to one side thendragged a hoof against the tile in a sign he was ready to charge the two mares. “We had a chance to make our lives easier! Maybe even a chance to get out! Instead you kill one of your own?!”

“I’m sorry!” Rose stepped forward despite her body’s protest. “Is that what you want to hear? Because I am now!” Rose couldn’t say another word as a large hoof slammed into her face.

The one-winged pegasus immediately fell to the ground. A ringing filled her ears and her vision was nothing but a blur. She tried to get up, but the same hoof that had hit her connected with her ribs and sent her right back against the stairs. The only thing she experienced was pain, which seemed to be a common refrain as of late.

The colors of the world seemed to smear and blur together in a soup of whites, browns and fushcia. Somepony, Tempest it sounded like, said something but Rose couldn’t hope to parse it. Bulwark responded, then a hoof came rocketing down right at Rose’s face, but something stopped it.

The prone and pummeled pegasus blinked a few times and the world came together slowly. Tempest was now holding Bulwark’s leg so his hoof wouldn’t connect with Rose’s face again. They were both locked in an intense stare-off with one another. The silent stalemate held for nearly a minute until one of them finally blinked.

Somehow, it was Tempest. Bulwark’s hoof connected with her head, right against her already broken horn. It seemed to send a shock throughout the mare’s entire body and her legs gave way. The stallion jumped on the opening and pushed her onto her back and straddled her chest, then he began to wail on her with oversized hooves. From Rose’s vantage point, it seemed like Tempest was trying to fight back but she couldn’t overcome the superior mass of the hulking earth pony on top of her.

Rose dragged herself to her hooves. It was a sisyphean task at this point, but still she persisted. Her back and hooves all screamed at her to stay down, the ringing in her ears and the fact that the world kept swaying in her vision joined in the protest. She couldn’t though. She could not stay down, not now and not ever.

The fire in her chest rose to an inferno.

The shield Bulwark discarded was picked up in Rose’s hoof. She advanced on the stallion who kept savagely beating the mare beneath him and when she got close enough she got onto her rear hooves and brought the shield over her head. The pain that accompanied the action was intense, but she was used to that now. Pushing through it was something that needed to be done. With whatever strength she could muster from the fire in her chest, Rose brought the shield down right on Bulwark’s neck.

A sickening crunch came from beneath his skin as metal struck vertebrae. Bulwark slumped over and fell off of Tempest to one side. That didn’t stop Rose. A roar bubbled up in her chest and ripped through her throat with primal fury as she brought it down on his head.

Then she did it again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

“Rose…”

A weak burbling voice broke through the sound of blood roaring through the pegasus’ ears. It was enough to get the guard to stop and drop the shield, where it clattered to the ground and dripped blood onto what had once been pristine white marble.

Rose’s whole body was shaking and she couldn’t stop it. Beneath her was Bulwark’s body and what remained of his dead, the bones now visible where she had thoroughly caved it in. He had stopped moving as soon as she had struck his neck with the shield, but now she was certain he would never move again. A quick glance down revealed that her entire barrel was covered in splatters of blood and she could see it in her mane again. She could even taste it as it rolled down her muzzle and onto her lips.

“Rose…” Tempest croaked out again.

Rose finally turned to look at the unicorn. She was still on her back, her head lifted up so she could stare at the pegasus. Tempest’s face was already swelling and she could see a tooth had already been knocked free. Blood was trickling from a laceration above one of her eyes and the scar that covered the other had been reopened from the impacts. Rose peeled herself off of the earth pony’s corpse and staggered over to the other mare.

A hoof was offered to Tempest, who gladly took it. Both of them groaned as the unicorn was pulled to her hooves. Both of them leaned heavily on one another and they staggered towards the stairs.

They still had a job to do.

Thankfully the door to the radio room wasn’t locked or barred or anything, so they were just able to push it open. As soon as they were both inside, Rose closed the door by kicking it shut with one of her back legs. Tempest staggered away from the pegasus and sat down, her back against the wall.

The room was small, just big enough for the radio equipment, a chair and maybe another pony or two. The radio itself just looked like big gray boxes with dials and wires coming out of them, but at the very front of all of it was a little square about the same size as the card Spitfire had given her. It had a small opening on the front where such a card could be inserted.

Rose tried to take a step but the adrenaline started to fade. First her legs gave out, then her vision began to fall to the darkness that closed in around it. Finally her mind quieted and she passed out.

Day Thirteen

Rose woke up with yet another headache that made her head feel like she had gone a few rounds with a jackhammer. As she roused from her inadvertent slumber, her eyes found the nearest window so she could figure out what time it was, but was quickly reminded that was not a good way to tell time anymore. She looked around the room and saw Tempest just where she had fallen, propped up against the wall and passed out. At least the hope was Tempest was just passed out.

Her eyes fell to the radio.

“I hope somepony out there can still hear us…”

—-

Sunburst ran a panicked hoof through his vermillion mane. It was well after midnight, or at least that was what his clock told him. The sun in the sky told a much different story, but these days it liked to tell more lies than hard truths. He was sequestered away in an old and ancient study near the top of the Crystal Palace just looking for something to help their predicament.

Princess Cadance had used all of her strength to raise the sun and moon for a couple of days, and now she was out. The sun needed to be lowered though. They needed to find some way to recharge her magical battery enough to set it for a while. That’s all they needed, just a little time before this all snowballed and it got way too hot to go back.

Then of course there was the whole pandemic thing. Outside of the initial guidance from Princess Celestia ten days ago, they had heard nothing. They had been told to close the Empire down and keep everypony home and safe, so they did. Not even the castle staff was allowed to stay in case whatever it was had already made its way here. They needed to keep the royal family safe, no matter what.

The maligned mage fired up his horn and moved a whole stack of books out of his way. He had gone through them all and found nothing he needed. There were supposed natural remedies for magic recovery, but they were all either known hokum or the ingredients couldn’t be acquired inside the Crystal Empire.

Then he had also been studying pandemic mitigation. It wasn’t an explored topic in Equestria, not really. The last time any sort of major illness had broken out and spread through most of the population was hundreds of years ago, and understanding of such things had progressed a lot since then. So they would have to wing it to keep everypony safe.

“Hello…? Can anypony hear me…?”

Sunburst’s ears stood up straight and swiveled around as the tinny voice broke through the stale air of the old study. He immediately stood up and spun around on the spot, his blue cape flowing out behind him as he did.

“Oh no…” The stallion readjusted his glasses with his magic and he ‘beard’ with a hoof. “...am I finally going crazy…?” He trotted around the tiny space he was using to isolate himself and still study in an attempt to find the voice. “Helloooo? Voice in my head?”

“Please…somepony answer…please…”

His ears finally located the direction the sound was coming from and he quickly trotted over and began moving stacks of books and scrolls. Settled in the back of the room, propped up against a wall was a pile of equipment. They were mostly gray boxes with all kinds of dials and readouts, but static was coming from one of the little speakers attached.

“Oh right, the radio…” He had moved it when he set up the little space for himself and had completely forgot about it. “Wait…THE RADIO!” Sunburst dove towards it and his hooves fumbled for the little gray standing microphone that was sitting on top of the whole pile. His hoof pushed the button on the stand in a blind panic. “H-hello! Yes I can hear you! Yes hello!”

Hopefully he had not missed his window to respond.

“Thank the sun…” A sigh accompanied the feminine voice. The first thing Sunburst noticed now that he was actually listening, was that the mare on the other end sounded so incredibly tired. It made him feel bad for her on a base level. Maybe she was sick. “...who…or where are you?”

“Um…I-I’m in the Crystal Empire.” Sunburst answered once he was sure the mare was done speaking. “Where are you?” A thought crossed his mind that he should immediately go get Shining Armor to have him talk to whoever this was, but he didn’t want to lose the signal or for the mare to go away.

“The Crystal Empire.” A sense of exuberance returned to the voice coming from the speaker and some of the tiredness vanished. “Princess Cadance, is she okay?”

“Yes? Why wouldn’t she be? Where are you?” He had so many questions and right now he needed a lot more answers than this mare. If she didn’t start answering them, then he would go get Shining Armor. He always had more patience for ponies.

“I’m in Canterlot-”

“Canterlot?!” Sunburst couldn’t help but interrupt her. “W-we haven’t heard anything from Canterlot in over a week! What’s happening there? Is everypony okay? Cadance is worried sick about Celestia and Luna! Are they sick?” He waited for a few moments and heard nothing in response. “Hello?”

“Things are bad…” The mare responded slowly. “...really bad. Celestia and Luna are infected and…and they turned. I think everypony else is dead except for me and….” She hesitated. “...and one other pony.”

“What do you mean ‘turned’?” It sounded like a phrase from an old zombie comic book. This couldn’t be that, right?

“It..it turns ponies into monsters. Killer monsters. Just unicorns, though…we think it spreads through magic.”

Sunburst’s mind immediately went into overdrive as the mare spoke and he rifled through the contents of his brain at hypersonic speeds. That didn’t sound like anything he had ever heard of before and didn’t even sound possible. Infections couldn’t spread through magic.

“Nonono.” Sunburst had to correct the mare. “ That’s impossible. If there was something spreading through magic then the Central Pool would clear it. It’s impossible. You have to be mistaken.”

“I only know what I know.” The mare responded with an exasperated and tired sigh. “It only turns unicorns, and it won’t turn a unicorn with a broken horn. It has to be spread through magic then, right?” She waited for a moment. “Please tell me I’m right.”

“It’s possible…I guess.” Sunburst readjusted his spectacles again and stroked his beard in thought. “Very improbable though. The unicorns that didn't turn had broken horns, you said?” He looked up to try to get a glimpse at his own horn, but he could only see the very tip of it.

“Yeah…” There was a noise, it almost sounded like a growl that came through the speakers. “I-I’m sorry. I have to go. I won’t be able to talk again probably.” There was yet more rustling and a louder growl. “Don’t try to save us. We’re…we’re doomed. Canterlot is doomed. Please, save everypony else. Save Equestria.”

Author's Note

God I missed writing Sunburst