Darkest Equestria

The old road was found in a timely fashion, scraps of the purple balloon leading the way. The clopping of hooves filled the air, and Pinkie kept her eyes to the edges of the lantern light. Behind her, trailing like ducklings, were Twilight and Mayor Mare.

"How much further?" Twilight asked. "I don't know how much longer I can carry Spike."

"We should be close now." Pinkie said.

A moment passed. Trees passed them by, twisted and malformed by the corruption within. It was a sad state of affairs.

"Hey, Twilight, are you going to tell me why you're here? It's not the nicest place."

"I'll tell you once we get to town, Pinkie." Twilight's hooves dragged. "I don't like speaking too loud here. It feels... wrong."

There was a certain air to this place, that Pinkie could agree on. Stale, yet cold. It Festered with an unknown sickness and rot. The darkest of places here seemed to almost whisper, the secrets they told forever unknown even to those who heard them. Thankfully, the forest was clearing up ahead.

The old road spat them out to the edge of town. The disparity between the thickened woods and the clearing surrounding the town was of almost impossible geometry, as if cut by a razor's edge. "Here we are!"

"This... this is it?" Twilight looked towards the town in all its stifling degradation.

"Yep! Here, let's get Spike to the hospital." Pinkie Pie winced. The slicing cuts on her side stung as they were remembered.

"You look like you could use some care as well." Twilight said. "Does it hurt?"

"Not at all!" Pinkie said. "I don't need to go in there."

"Why not?"

"Let's just get him to the hospital, alright?" Pinkie smiled and set off on her way. There was no way she was letting them even think she needed to be put back in there for... 'mental encouragement'.

"Okay." Twilight paused. "I wanted to thank you for saving me. Why were you out there anyways?"

"Don't worry about it! As for why I was out there, well, I saw your balloon go down and went out to find you."

"Alone?" Twilight asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"The others didn't want to help." Pinkie kicked a bit of dirt in frustration as she walked. "They don't care anymore."

To that, Twilight said nothing. But her ears drooped, and her gaze went back towards the town.

It was full of empty streets and the creak of swaying lanterns. Dark windows loomed, shadows dancing behind their smudged faces. Old timbers creaked with the weight of unmaintained rooftops, struggling to hold up its burden. A scrap of cloth waved from its place impaled on an abandoned wagon, hanging on by just a single thread, ready to be blown away at the slightest gale. It was a sad sight.

Pinke smiled and leapt in front of her followers. "Welcome to Ponyville!"

Judging from the look on Twilight's face, her welcome didn't help much. "Where are the ponies?"

"I know right? Maybe the town could live up to its name if we all stopped dying!" Pinkie chuckled nervously as Twilight's frown deepened. She forgot that the whole gallows humor thing didn't really work on ponies from outside town. "That was supposed to be a joke you know."

"Right..." Twilight let out the fakest laugh Pinkie had ever heard.

"A joyless laugh. Cruel irony…" Pinkie whispered to herself. She would have to come up with better jokes later.

Pinkie led the way into town. The hospital was on the outskirts, but it was safer to travel through the center of town. It wasn't like there was much traffic. They passed buildings, and the occasional wayward soul on their way home.

Twilight looked like she had questions about everything, but her gaze kept dropping down to Spike. As for Mayor Mare, well, she had disappeared down a dark alley, hiding her ever smiling face and snickering laughter. If any pony needed to visit the hospital it was her. Her head was not quite exactly in charge anymore.

The hospital came into view. It was a sturdily built building, though that had not done much to prevent the ravages of time. On its front was a red cross, stained with dirt. Where there were once flowerbeds on the sides of the building were now filled with choking weeds.

"Here we are, the Ponyville hospital!" Pinkie gestured to the front door. Its sturdy wooden frame could take a beating, she could attest to that. "And this is where I must leave you."

"Thank you, Pinkie. Are you sure you couldn't come in with me?" Twilight asked. "I don't know exactly how the reception works."

"You just walk in there and start talking, how hard could it be?" Pinkie said. "They aren't going to keep you locked up or anything. At least for that long."

"You mean held up?" Twilight gave her a quizzical look.

"Sure! Now get in there and get Spike some treatment!" Pinkie said with a smile. "Don't want this to drag-on any longer!"

Twilight nodded, her face hardening with determination. She grabbed Spike and ran inside the hospital. It seemed that she didn't get the joke.

Pinkie sighed, taking off her mask now that she got the chance to. She removed her outfit, the hoof blades, and shut off the lantern. Then, she stuffed it all in her saddlebags. For a moment she just closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of rain dripping on her coat. She could have sworn it was blood falling in that moment, sticking and sealing clumps of hair together.

Those bandits deserved it. For killing the ponies in town, for butchering her friends. And if only she could get her hooves on their leader... Now that would be something to laugh about. She could see him now, laughing at her as she ran away, stomping on a mare she called friend.

Pinkie would have the last laugh, she always did.

"Pinkie." A familiar voice came from behind her. "Are your symptoms acting up again?"

Pinkie froze, her blood chilling. Then, her head snapped towards the speaker. Standing before her was a white-coated mare.

"Nurse Redheart! What are you doing here?" Pinkie took a step away, forcing a laugh. Just like Twilight had. Cruel irony again!

Standing before her was a white-coated mare. Her fur was stained with red liquid of dubious origin. Over her body she wore a black garment, stained with grime. Her brown saddlebags were bulging with bottles and ointments, and herbs and roots. On her head she wore black medical cap. Bandages were wrapped around her right eye, stained from blood beneath. She stared forward emotionlessly with her remaining eye. The eye was an empty crystal blue. It was a soulless stare, as if there was nothing left of the pony within.

"I was fetching supplies from the provisioner." Redheart stepped closer. Her single eye was piercing, and they locked onto the slicing wounds on Pinkie in a second. "You're wounded."

"It's nothing!" Pinkie waved a hoof. "You should take care of your own wounds. When was the last time you did that?"

"I don't have time to tend to my own wounds. Every second wasted is another life lost to sickness and... madness." Redheart trotted past her. "Come with me. Those wounds need dressing."

"I really feel fine-"

"Then you must be mad." Redheart glanced behind her, eyes narrowing. "When was your last checkup?"

"I feel horrible actually!" Pinkie laughed. "Let's go inside, my wounds are stinging!"

Redheart huffed, staring for a moment longer. Then, she continued inside the hospital.

Pinkie sighed in relief, her back hooves shaking. She wasn't mad, she might have been before, but that had been fixed. She just had to make sure that Redheart saw that.

The doors to the hospital were ominous, the seal to a prison. Pinkie tried to ignore it as she walked inside, trailing right behind Redheart.

Inside the building, the air was stale. The slightest stench of sickness could be smelled even here in the lobby. Pinkie could swear she heard phantom screams coming from the distant crevices of the hospital. The floors and walls were kept somewhat clean, though it was clear that it needed another scrubbing. There was a pool of dried blood on the floor, amongst other substances. There were simply not enough ponies left here to do the work.

Twilight was glancing around the room, looking worried. There was no pony at the front desk.

"Are you in need of treatment?" Redheart came up behind her.

"Ah!" Twilight nearly jumped. "Oh, I didn't see you there! Spike needs his wounds tended to; can you help?"

Redheart stared at the little dragon. "Our supplies are limited. Treatment is for ponies only."

"Please! He is my friend! I can pay." Twilight reached for her saddlebags, then her face went white.

"Here!" Pinkie threw a brown bag at her. "I almost forgot to give this back to you."

It was Twilight's bag of bits. Of course, Pinkie had kept the bits the bandits had for herself. You never knew when a traveling merchant might show up with something that was hard to get in town.

"Pinkie. Thank you." Twilight let out a sigh of relief. She extended the bag towards Redheart. "Here."

Redheart stared at the bag, her single eye unwavering. Then, she took it and stashed it into her saddlebag. "This will pay for the cost of materials. I will have his wounds stitched and sealed, then I will treat Pinkie's."

"You? Isn't there any pony else who can help as well?" Twilight asked with a worried look towards Spike.

"No. I am the sole nurse. There are only three other assistants, and they are busy." Redheart said.

"What happened to the rest of the staff?"

Redheart stared at her, not blinking. A moment passed; the silence so thick it felt like it was hard to breathe. "Follow me, Pinkie."

"Wait, we can get treated at the same time, right? We both just have cuts." Pinkie said.

"That is... acceptable." Redheart said. "Come along then."

They followed Redheart through grimy hallways. Most doors to other rooms were wide open, revealing empty white beds. Some were in disarray, shattered glass and medical equipment thrown about the room.

"A-Are you sure this place is going to help Spike?" Twilight whispered.

"It's not what it used to be." Pinkie admitted. "But Nurse Redheart has kept all of us alive when no pony else would. If a pony has even the slightest chance to recover, Nurse Redheart will make sure it happens."

Pinkie would never admit it, but she was just as scared of the nurse as she respected her. She was the only one who stayed when all others left, just like her. It was her who brought her out of her...episode. It was Redheart that had saved her, and for that, she was grateful. But that didn't mean she wasn't terrifying. There was just something about that endlessly staring eye, an eye that had seen more than any pony ever should have...

"Here. We will use this room." Redheart opened one of the only closed doors. Inside, a relatively clean room awaited. It had nothing more than a single bed, a few mats on the ground, and a counter full of drawers. "Set the dragon on the bed."

Twilight did as she was instructed, gently laying the purple dragon down. He slumbered; his eyes closed.

"The wounds are superficial." Redheart looked him over, gently poking his side with a hoof. "He will require nothing more than a few stitches and a disinfectant."

"That's wonderful news." Twilight slightly smiled.

"Sit down while you wait. Pinkie, don't go anywhere." Redheart pointed to the mats on the ground.

"Alrighty!" Pinkie immediately sat down on the mat. Best not to argue.

Twilight sat down on the other mat, and they watched Redheart start to work. She set her saddlebags down, and started to rummage through them, withdrawing herbs and ointments.

"So, are you going to tell me why you came here?" Pinkie asked.

"I suppose I should since you helped me." Twilight said. "This town is my property now."

"What?" Pinkie asked.

"I was gifted this town by Princess Celestia. So now, everything here officially belongs to me." Twilight said.

Pinkie blanched. "But Princess Celestia is..."

"Gone. I know." Twilight said. "But I recently received a letter from her, one that must have been sent just before she disappeared. She asked me to come here and cleanse the evil from the Everfree."

The clatter of bottles and metal instruments filled the room. Redheart was holding a needle and was carefully applying thread to it.

"That, how do you plan on doing that?" Pinkie asked. "You must have heard about what happened the last time we sent an army in."

"There will be no armies this time." Twilight said. "I studied intensively before coming here, pouring over the battle reports. Groups of four to six tended to survive. Any group larger than that perished. If I send in small groups that can move stealthily, while still being able to deal with threats that find them, I think progress can be made towards eradicating this evil."

"Then, you really plan on going in there?" Pinkie could feel a small ember in her chest, a flicker of something that nearly died out. Hope.

"N-Not me. Magic is frail here and I couldn't fight to save my life, I wouldn't be of much use." Twilight looked back at her own cutie mark with a wistful gaze. A magenta star was there on her flank, surrounded by smaller white stars. "But I can do something."

Pinkie waited. This was the student of the princess, if any pony could do something. It was her.

"I will raise a fighting force. A group of adventurers." Twilight's gaze hardened; determination filled them with fire. "I will restore this town to its former glory, build up an elite fighting force, cleanse the evil in the Everfree, and save princess Celestia."

"You really mean that?" Pinkie asked. "How are you going to get ponies to come here?"

"What else? The promise of gold and glory." Twilight said. "I am sure that at least somepony will answer the call if I can pay them. According to my research, the most sought-after thing nowadays is bits. Not much unlike previous eras in Equestria."

"So, you are just going to... pay ponies to come here?" Pinkie said. "And risk their lives for money? Who would do that?"

"Not only that. There must be some ponies out there that long for the old days. Perhaps they will come to try once more to save Celestia." Twilight sighed. "It's not much to go on, I admit. But I have to try. If any pony can do it, it's me. I now own the town right outside the Everfree, a perfect place for a base of operations. It needs work, it needs ponies, but it's a starting point."

Pinkie looked Twilight over. Even though she had just encountered the bandits earlier today, she seemed determined to keep going. She had seen the town in all its splendid degradation. She had seen the sickness that poisoned the earth. And yet, she was still willing to try. To make something good of the worst this place had to offer. And in these times, that was more powerful than any blade or spell.

"You can count me as the first of your adventurers!" Pinkie said.

"What- really? But your..." Twilight looked at the balloons on Pinkie's flank. They were cheerful, even amongst the blood and grime. "It's not your talent to be an adventurer."

"My special talent is to bring joy and laughter." Pinkie huffed. "Don't you think the best way to do that is getting rid of this oppressive atmosphere? It really kills ponies, in more ways than one."

Twilight winced at that, glancing over to Spike. He was currently getting his wounds stitched, somehow sleeping through it all.

"I don't know Pinkie, you have been kind to me, so kind that I remember you even from ten years ago." Twilight said. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Please, I can handle myself. You saw what I did to those bandits." Pinkie looked into Twilight's eyes, blue and purple seeking understanding. "I'm not the pony I was before, but I still love this place. This is the town that raised me just as much as my family did. If you are starting a movement to restore it, to cleanse the evil that is killing it, then I want in. As long as there is friendship and hope, I will be there."

Twilight's eyes widened, as if remembering something. "You..."

"What?" Pinkie asked.

"Sorry, I was just remembering something." Twilight shook her head. "No. You’re right Pinkie. If any pony deserves to protect this town, then it's you. I just hope you know what you're getting into. It won't be easy from what I have read about this place."

"Yes!" Pinkie jumped, her heart filled and energy flowing through her veins.

Redheart's gaze wandered over to them. "Quiet. Sit down."

"Sorry." Pinkie rubbed the back of her head with a hoof sheepishly.

"I don't have a plan yet. I will need to look around the town and get an idea about what I'm working with." Twilight said. "But thank you for agreeing to help."

"Isn't that what friends do?" Pinkie asked with a smile. "We are still friends, right? Though it has been ten years..."

"You would still consider me a friend?" Twilight asked. "Even after I left and returned to Canterlot?"

"Of course, silly! The armies failed. I don't blame you for leaving." Pinkie extended a hoof. "So how about it, are we still friends?"

Twilight paused and stared at the hoof. Her eyes watered, barely noticeable, but to Pinkie's keen eye it was clear as day. "Of course, you're still my friend. We only knew each other for a day, but if that is enough for you, I would be more than happy to accept your friendship."

The two hooves clapped together, and Pinkie finally made a new friend for the first time in years. Or perhaps, rekindled an old friendship that never really got the chance to blossom.

"Then you must need a tour around the town then, right?" Pinkie said. "I'll be your guide."

"That would be perfect." Twilight said with a small smile.

"Then let's get going!" Pinkie leapt to her hooves. Finally, finally she would have a chance of restoring the town. Too long had they crept around in the shadow of the Everfree, too long had they been content with the hoof fate had dealt them. If there was even a prick of light at the end of the tunnel, Pinkie wanted to try and reach it. If she could see the ponies of Ponyville smile openly once more... then she would give what she could for it.

Everything if need be.

"Pinkie. It's your turn." Redheart finished stitching Spike's wounds closed. "Lay on the bed and face your wounded side to me."

Pinke winced as she saw what Redheart was holding. A needle. She never liked needles much. But at least it wasn't a syringe. If she saw one of those again, she might scream.

"Okay." Pinkie hesitantly walked to the bed and glanced back.

Twilight gave her an encouraging smile.

Emboldened by her new friend, Pinkie laid on the bed. Spike had been shifted to the other side, where he lay slumbering. At that moment, Pinkie wished she was the dragon.

"Now Pinkie, we are out of anesthesia as always, so I'm going to need you to hold still." Redheart disappeared out of her vision, leaving Pinkie lost as to what was happening behind her.

"Hold still and close your eyes." Redheart said. "Don't look. You know how you are with needles."

That didn't help much. Pinkie tried to keep her mind on the good things. Like cupcakes, and finally having a chance of cleansing the Everfree of corruption. Two very different but equally joyful things.

The needle touched her coat, and Pinkie closed her eyes. As pain flared, she gritted her teeth and hoped.

This was a chance. A chance for a better future. A spark, an ember. The ashes of Equestria had not gone cold yet.

And she would be the first to herald its rekindling.