Rarity and Sweetie Belle were walking through the streets of Manehattan. They'd just gotten off of the train, which had departed in a hurry. It seemed that many wanted simply to be as FAR away from there as possible.

It was approaching sunset, and presumably at that point the undead horde they's heard about would attack then, as they consistently had. Needless to say, they were going at a brisk canter, Rarity's typical paraphernalia in tow.

Fortunately, Proncess Celestia had been trying to get sunset to take a bit longer than usual. It cost her some extra energy and was a much longer process, but it gave her little ponies extra time to find shelter, and that was enough for her, she'd said.

Sweetie Belle was toting one of the bags in her grass-green magic. This was some effort for her, to be sure, her horn occasionally shooting off a spark or two. "I'm not sure how you do this with so many bags, sis." she said, feeling like she was trying to walk, talk, read and have a snack at the same time.

'Though, come to think of it, an apple would totally smack right- no, no, no. Focus, Sweetie. You got this.'

If it were her decision, she'd just add it to her Pocket, which would hold the weight fairly easily... but Rarity insisted that she hold onto it thus.

Rarity smiled at her sister. "It just takes some practice, darling. Worry not; I'm sure that once your carbuncle develops a bit, you'll be doing things like... this with ease."

With a flick of her horn, the bags she was carrying lifted above her head and began a slow circular dance around her.

'Showoff.' Sweetie thought, rolling her eyes.

"Besides, this is good practice, and you'll thank me for it someday soon." Rarity finished. "Also, concentrate, dear; You're beginning to spark more."

Sweetie looked up to find that, indeed, the strain of the heavy bag was causing her to shoot of four or five sparks in a second. Stopping, for a moment, she closed her eyes and concentrated more magic into her pk field. The glow steadied again, and she picked up her pace a bit to keep up with her sister.

They proceeded through the streets, hoping to be quick enough to get to their destination. Rarity, being the practical and forward-thinking mare that she was, had called ahead to Coco Pommel, asking if she had a space for two more. Which, as it turns out, she did. She wholeheartedly agreed that it would be a bad idea for anypony to go alone, considering the.... circumstances. Numbers would be a strength.

Being the community-driven mare that she was, it wasn't too much of a stretch to presume that she would also know about what was going on in town. So, they could catch up with a friend, learn valuable information and had free lodging! It was feeding three birds with one scone.

As they were almost to their destination, as if on cue, the sun had fully set and almost immediately after came the rattle of bone and ghoulish moaning.

Rarity looked back to her little sister, She was sparking again, but now wasn't the time! "That's enough of that, Sweetie! I'll take it from here. Hop on; HurryI"

Needing no further prompting, Sweetie released her PK spell and leapt onto Rarity's back. Her sister was surprisingly strong, and took the sudden weight without even flinching. She took the extra bag in her magic and increased their speed.

Coco Pommel was at the door of a nearby hotel, gesticulating wildly for them to hurry.

Suddenly, a large skeletal figure loomed over Rarity. She shrieked with understandable fright, but Sweetie Belle hit it with a burst of energy from her horn, with concussive force.

Taking the opportunity presented, Rarity resumed her sprinting, dodging new attackers left, right and center. Soon enough, they managed to just barely get through the doorway. Coco slammed the door shut and applied the Amazing Lock that she'd installed, effectively sealing the building. They were safe. For the moment, anyway.

Just to be sure, Coco grabbed a conveniently placed contaioner of salt and spread a line of it across the line of the doorway.

Rarity wiped sweat from her forehead. Looking back at Sweeie, she said, slightly off-hoofedly, "See? What'd I say about all that practice?"

Sweetie Belle didn't give a verbal response, simply electing to hug her sister.

Coco As Coco trotted over to ensure that her friend was okay. "Rarity! Thank Celestia you're alright." she said, with a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for the save, dear. This cutie is my little sister, Sweetie Belle. Say hello, darling."

"Hi miss Pommel! Nice to meet you." Sweetie greeted.

"We're a touch shaken up, perhaps. But nothing some relaxing tea wouldn't cure."

Sweetie Belle rummaged around in her Pocket briefly before retrieving a sack of tea bags.

"I expected this to come up sooner or later. Let's see... We have Ginseng, Berry blends (Straw, Blue, Wild and Field), Earl Grey, Vanilla-Rosemary-Rooibos (my personal blend), Lemongrass, Sleepytime, Ginger-Lemon, Chammomile, Peach, Yorkieshire, Chai, Oolong aaaand.... Honey-Lemon!"

Coco blinked a couple of times. "Did you make some of those up?"

"Just the one." Sweetiee replied, not missing a beat.

"I'll take the Chammomile. Just don't get Sweetie to make it." Rarity cautioned, to Sweetier's embarassment.

Coco tilted her head slightly. "Why is that?"

Sweetie looked at the floor. "My cooking skilll is... optimistically awful. Always has been."

Coco looked taken aback for a moment. "Oh, my. Just how awful?"

Sweetie replied, "Three words: Burnt orange juice. I think it's something to do with my personal magic. It's like mixing oil and water. And then it catches flame."

"I see." Coco said, before bringing the selected tea bags tp the kitchen.

Within a few minutes, they were all sitting in Coco's living room, enjoting some excellent... uh...

Sweetie requested, "What are these, Miss Pommel? They're very tasty."

"They're miniature calzones. Filled them with fresh fruit, some Ricottza cheese..."

Rarity smiled. "Calzones? We'll have toi try that at home sometime. It sounds like it would make for an exquisite meal. Very nice pick, darling."

Coco blushed slightly, but accepted the compliment with a "Thank you."

Rarity looked around the area. "I love what you've done with this place. It looks quite exotic."

The area was festooned with herbs of various kinds, had silver lining, on the wall there was a large cross. just looking at it, Rarity could tell that iot was carved from a piece of a sanctified tree. It had a core of solid silver that hjad been quenched with sanctified Unicorn Water, likely was enchanted by Celestia and Luna themselves. It had to be the ultimate repellant for the undead. (1)

"That's a VERY unique cross. and those herbs smell lovely."

Coco nodded. "That cross was passed down in my family for generations, but we never really haad a reason to use it before. I figured it would come in handy now. And those herbs aren't just for the smell. Those are Sage (protects and drives out negative energy), Chammomile (repels evil spirits and brings good fortune), Artemisia (prevents accidents and wards off evil spirits), Neem (which brings protection and prosperity, in this life and the next), Hawthorne, Vervain, Garlic flower (all three are vampire repellant)... a few others. there's a bouquet of that at each and every window here. In each corner of the room, if you hadn't noticed, are quarters of an onion (absorbs negative energy). Basically, this hotel is officially THE safest place to be in the town, right now. Full stop."

"Good to know. Now." Rarity said, suddenly all business, "Down to brass tacks. Clearly this is a serious issue that we face. This place might be safe, but the same can't be said for the ret of Manehattan."

Coco sighed deeply. "Unfortunately. I'm not sure what can be done about this at all."

Rarity tapped at her chin a few times with one hoof. "Hmm... Maybe some research is in order? Where's the nearest library? Mayhaps the'll have something on how to deal with those.... those... horrid things."

Coco nodded. Perhaps that would be a good idea.

For the time being, however, it would be a bad idea to go outdoors as of yet, so they decided to call it a night for the nonce. Fortunately, Coco had the beds prepared and they were able to sleep relatively peacefully. Research would wait for the morning.

Author's Note

1: Taske a guess at what this is a reference to. Cookie for those who do!