Crystal Blood Part 6: Vector Major

Manehattan, Equestria, Day 1

Rarity

Rarity was exhausted. Her heart was pounding, her lungs inflated and deflated on a whim-
and her hooves-her own hooves-were aching as if she had just trotted the entirety of the trip from Ponyville to Manehattan. She sat down against some of the stairs in her boutique as one of her salesponies approached her.

“Wow, Coco-darling-I am absolutely fatigued. I’m sorry that I had to come to the boutique
on such short notice,” Rarity gasped.

Coco giggled. The petite, mayonnaise color horse sat down next to her boss with a smile.
“Don’t worry about it Rarity, I understand that things have been busy in the past few weeks. I mean I’ve seen it first hoof! We’ve been absolutely slammed with orders, I’m just surprised that you have been able to keep up with demand!”

Rarity smiled and waved Coco away. “Please, you don’t even need to mention it. I’ve been
so busy finishing up classes at the School of Friendship that I didn't even realize that Rarity for You was dangerously understock! It feels like forever since I’ve been able to come back to the shop and visit you.”

Coco got back up onto her feet and scanned the entirety of the freshly stocked storefront.
“Well, I hope that you like how I’ve run the place in your absence.” Coco raised her hoof and pointed across the room to the new paint job, mannequins, and speakers that were tucked away around the store. Coco hit a button on the side of the wall and the latest Equestrian hits began to play over the speakers.

Rarity smiled and placed her hoof over her chest. “My-my, you really have been hard at
work. This place looks absolutely incredible!”

Coco blushed. “It's the least I could do for this place, Rarity. I just thought that I needed to
bring it into the modern era.”

“Modern era? What do you mean by that..?” Rarity gasped. “Wait, do you think that my styles are falling behind?!”

Coco chuckled. “No, your designs are perfect. It's just that some of the technology in the shop is a little old, that’s all. You see, a lot of shops in Manehattan are beginning to use radios in their shops, so I thought that it would be best to buy one for ourselves.”

Rarity rubbed her chin. “Ah-yes-I have heard of radios before. I only ever see them when I
head into the big cities, Ponyville on the other hoof has almost nothing of the sort.”

Coco led Rarity to a corner of the room where a cabinet sized device was situated.

The device was covered in small buttons that Coco began to mess with as Rarity sat back and watched.

“I’m telling you, Rarity, this stuff is the future! With the flick of the hoof I can listen to the latest music, the news from across Equestria, or even entire shows!” Coco excitedly explained as she spun a dial on the radio as a cacophony of voices filled the closed shop.

One station appeared to be enthralled in a battle between a furiously played cello and an
unrelenting and bass power electric keyboard.

“Wait! I recognise some of those songs! Is that Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody? I know them from Ponyville,” Rarity excitedly clapped her hooves together with a giddish smile.

“Well, it looks like their music careers are doing good. Perhaps we should consider dipping our hooves into the world of radio. You know they have entire stations dedicated to advertising and shopping!” Coco suggested.

Rarity’s eyes sparkled. “Really?!” she exclaimed with a toothy grin. “Wow, darling, I must say that I feel like I have been transported into some technological wonderland. I wish I could learn more, but…” Rarity’s voice trailed along off with her energy.

Coco calmed down as well. “Oh-right, you have to leave soon.”

“I completely forgot,” Rarity started as she slapped herself in the center of her forehead. “I wish I could stay for longer, I really do…”

Coco piped up. “Ma’am, you could stay at my place if you would like. I enjoy your company too-”

Rarity raised her hoof and silenced the young salespony. “Darling, finding a place to stay is
not the problem this time, nor does it have anything to do with my schedule or work load. You see, I did not come to Manehatten alone this time, I traveled with a friend.”

“Which one?” Coco pondered.

Rarity bit her lip. “Applejack…” she announced quietly.

Coco’s face lit up like a shooting star. “AJ! Why didn’t you tell me she was in Manehattan? I would have loved to have her!-Wait…why are you making that sour face?” Coco pointed to Rarity’s frown.

“Oh my, you haven’t heard the news…have you?” Rarity choked up.

“No, most of the news I hear about your friends comes through you, Rarity. Is something wrong?” Coco asked in confusion.

Rarity rubbed her hooves together in a fidgeting motion. “Applejack’s grandmother is dying. She came to Manehatten to buy medicine. We need to get back to Ponyville as soon as we can.”

Coco gasped and covered her mouth. “Goodness, I didn’t know. Give Applejack my condolences…please.”

The doorbell to the boutique jingled from across the shop as the two mares jumped in shock.

“Sorry, we are closed,” Coco explained as she looked to see who had invaded the storefront.

An orange pony with a dusty hat entered through the door with a tightly stringed sack at her side. Her hair was curled and bent at unnatural angles along with being completely oily and filthy, almost as if it had gotten stuck in one of Pinkie Pies used mixers.

The mare's eyes were fixed only on what was directly in front of her and seemed totally exhausted.

“Applejack?” Coco whispered her ears dropped.

Applejack did not reply, she appeared to be lost in her own head.

Rarity sighed. “Don’t worry, darling, she’s been like this for weeks.”

Applejack's eyes slowly crept over to Rarity and Coco. “Oh, there you two are, I didn’t see You. I’m ready to get going when you are, Rarity.”

“Just a moment!” Rarity pulled Coco to the side. “I’m sorry that things had to end like this, but we need to get this medicine to Granny Smith. Thank you for everything.”

Coco nodded. “I understand, but what do you want me to do about the shop?”

“Just close down for the day, it makes no sense to stay open when we have already wasted the entire morning restocking the shop.” Rarity waved the question off. “Have fun the rest of the day! Just be sure to lock up before you leave.”

“You’re too generous, Rarity,” Coco giggled as she and Rarity hugged goodbye.

Rarity waved goodbye as she took Applejack's hoof and led her out of the shop. “Did you get everything you need?” she quickly asked.

Applejack sighed and reached into her pouch. She pulled out a single glass bottle containing a substance as clear and pure as water. “This is it. It’s supposed to be some of the best and rarest pain medicine in the entire kingdom. I only hope that it’s enough.”

Rarity walked to the side, but just ahead of Applejack in order to lead her through the hustle and bustle of the early morning Manehatten traffic and to the train station safely. “Do you think that's enough to cure her?”

Applejack scoffed and pocketed the serum. “As far as I know, nothing can cure her. Granny Smith has lived for many moons and as far as I’m aware it’s just her time, it happens, the only thing I can do is try to make her comfortable.” Applejack reached her hoof up to her hat and pulled the brim over her eyes.

From the sliver of her face that was still visible, Rarity could see a watery sparkle in her eyes.

“Uhm…are you okay darling?” Rarity asked as she lowered her head to try to catch a peak under Applejack’s shield.

Applejack pulled away from Rarity as she concealed her face. “Oh course, I’m fine.”

Rarity gave her friend a smug frown. “You know, for the element of honesty, you sure are comfortable with lying.”

Applejack snapped her neck towards Rarity. Her face was wrinkled and robbed of color like a corpse. “Now won’t you shut the barn door! I said I’m fine!”

Rarity recoiled with a puppy-like whimper. “Uhm…sorry, AJ. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

Applejack sighed. “It’s fine, sugarcube, you don’t have to worry none about me. You have enough in your trough as is and I don’t want to spoil anything for you.”

The two mares continued weaving in and out of the Manhattan rush hour crowds in an awkward silence.

The street was beginning to fill with hardworking ponies on their way to work. They stuck close and brushed against each other on the thin city sidewalks.

The familiar whistle of a train echoed through the alleyways as Rarity perked up.

“Ooh, do you hear that, Applejack? We have almost arrived at the train station. Soon we’ll be in Ponyville with your family. Doesn’t that sound pleasant?” Rarity fished for a morsel of a smile on Applejack’s face.

Applejack did not respond for a few minutes. She kept her head down until the pair made it to the steps of the train station. “Yeah, I guess you're right, I want to spend as much time with Granny before…” Applejack’s voice trailed off as her eyes waters.

She shook her head like a dog trying to dry itself off before stepping onto the stairs and towards the doors to the station. “Nevermind,” she quickly added before stepping into the station.

Rarity closed her mouth, disheartened. “I better not open up that wound anymore, at least for a little while.”

Applejack silently took a seat at a train station bench and looked down at her hooves, her wrinkled eyelids where unblinking.

Rarity tried to keep a stable eye on her friend as she bought the tickets for the first train back to Ponyville, a train from the Crystal Empire that was stopping in Manehattan and Ponyville on its way down towards Appleloosa.

An attendant pony informed Rarity that the train should be arriving within ten minutes.

The news satisfied Rarity, who plopped herself next to her rough and tumble friend.

A crowd of rail workers stood next to them and prepared for the incoming train to arrive. Each one was dressed in a handsome uniform consisting of either white undershirts and black vests or hard hats and overalls.

Rarity and Applejack sat in silence for a moment.

Rarity’s mind raced, she tried to look for some sort of weakness in Applejack’s emotional armor that she could penetrate. Unfortunately, she could see no such path. Rarity took a deep breath and fired aimlessly at her friend.

“Hey…AJ?” Rarity whispered.

“Hmm?” Applejack replied, almost inaudibly.

“I have your ticket!’ Rarity exclaimed with a smile.

Applejack blankly took the ticket in her mouth before turning her head towards the crowd of railroad workers without even saying thank you. She watched their mannerism as they joked around and waited for the train to arrive.

Rarity bit her lip and sat back. “Sweet Celestia, AJ’s getting worse, I just hope I can cheer her up before Applebloom sees her big sister in such a state.” Rarity followed Applejack's eyes towards the crowd of ponies.

The crowd began to get antsy.

The train was supposed to have arrived at that time but the railroad tracks were still bare like a dried out skeleton. Infact, the train had not even blown its whistle to announce its approach to the station.

“I’m going to check with the track operator, he can radio the conductor and ask what the hold up is!” a young railroad attendant asked as he galloped up to some office space on the second floor of the station.

“C’mon, what is taking this fancy machine to get here?!” Applejack groaned-the loudest she had all day and rolled back into her seat.

“Oh no, my dear, I am sure that everything is perfectly fine!” Rarity jolted energetically as she looked over at the squallering rail ponies as they rushed around the platform while trying to convince the busy and anxious Manehattanites that they would not be late.

A door suddenly slammed above them.

Rarity watched as the young rail pony from earlier ran out of the office with a smile on his face.

“The train is on its way! One of our staff members radioed in from the first major rail checkpoint into the station. The conductor, on the other hoof, hasn’t responded to our calls. My best guest is that his radio stopped working. So don’t fear! The train is here!” the young colt announced as the platform erupted into a burst of cheers and sighs of relief.

Ponies began to stand by the platform and lean over the sides to watch as the train came in.

About a half kilometer of straight track led to the specific platform that Rarity and Applejack stood on. That specific rail also ended with a massive brick wall and train barricade.

Any and all trains going through this specific track would have to pull in, collect its passengers, and then reverse for a kilometer or so until it reached a track that it could transition over to. It was a result of the old and outdated rail lines along with the lack of land available in such a dense city.

Still, the system usually worked.

“There it is!” Rarity sang as she watched the train appear from off in the distance.

The train kicked up a burst of sparks as it made a sharp turn down the tracks at unnecessarily fast speeds.

“Oh my, the conductor must be trying to make up for lost time! He must be rather reckless,” Rarity added rather jittery.

Applejack took a step away from the tracks. “Uhm…Rarity, this doesn’t seem safe,” she mumbled quietly.

The rail ponies, while not being able to hear Applejack, seemed to agree and began to scatter.

A unicorn worker grabbed a megaphone and a flare before running to the end. He ignited the flare and raised the megaphone to his mouth. “Conductor! Break immediately! You are exceeding the standard station speed limits!” The flare waved rapidly above the unicorn head.

The conductor, if he could ever see or hear the unicorns warnings, made no attempt to slow down.

The train continued to huff and puff like a furious beast.

The unicorn’s face shifted to a look of fear. He turned towards the platform and lifted the megaphone towards the passengers. “Clear the platform! Now!”

Ponies screamed and slammed against each other as they crammed through the doors of the station.

Pegasi took fight and abandoned the station.

Workers jumped down stairs to reach emergency exits and maintenance tunnels.

Rarity quickly turned and followed the fleeing pones.

The ground shook like there was an earthquake. The vibrations deafened the scream and confused shouts of the ponies around them.

Rarity glanced back and watched as Applejack stood where she was.

Her legs were rooted to the ground and her lips had been clenched into a fearful frown. She seemed to be completely frozen with no thoughts to move.

“AJ!” Rarity screamed as she used her unicorn telekinesis to pull back Applejack's hair and drag the earth pony across the ground.

“What in tarnation?!” Applejack gasped like she had been holding her breath.

Rarity caught Applejack and the two tumbled backwards and down the flight of stairs.

The train roared into the station like a meteorite into a city. Its engine choked smoke and sparks up into the air that rained down onto the ponies below.

“Get down!” Rarity shouted as Applejack and herself curled up into balls while covering their heads.

The train rammed straight through the thin barricade. The iron engine did not stop or was even slowed by the barricade as the vehicle ran straight through the wall of the train station.

A deafening, earthy crack echoed through the station as the train's front bulldozed down the stone and brick walls.

The walls themselves cracked under the pressure and fell on top of the train as the engine, coal car, and the first couple of passenger compartments disappeared behind the wall and into the buildings next door.

Dust and particles invaded the enclosed space, forcing Rarity and Applejack to begin hacking up the debris in their lungs.

The train engine bursted into a ball of flames that filled the room with light before extinguishing itself and leaving nothing but destruction and darkness.

Rarity screamed.

Applejack shivered and rocked.

The train soon rolled to an abrupt stop in compliance with the sounds of bending and scrapping metal.

The crash was over, but the chaos was still unfolding.

The low grumble of support beams bending and bricks slowly crumbling around them filled the room along with the screams of other ponies.

Rarity jumped to her hooves. She took one look at the train cars with their shattered windows and at the flames that slowly crept from car to car before turning to Applejack. “We have to help those ponies!”

“Are you crazy? You’ll get us all killed!” Applejack shouted.

“Well I don’t see any pony else rushing in to help!” Rarity replied as the sounds of metal wires twisting and snapping rag out above.

“Look out!” Applejack shouted as she rushed Rarity and pushed her to the ground as a light filament came crashing to the ground right where Rarity had been standing. “See? This whole place is falling apart.”

Rarity looked up at Applejack with hope in her eyes. “AJ, that’s why we need to go now. If we don’t get those ponies out soon then this whole building could collapse on them.”

Applejack was silent for a second that felt like an eternity before looking back up to Rarity with a chuckle. “Sweet Celestia, you're right.”

Rarity gave Applejack a knowing nod as she activated her protection spell and turned to the rumble behind them. “Stick with me, don’t get crushed…”

“You bet, sugarcube,” Applejack replied as the two charged towards the nearest passenger car. Applejack would take the lead and use her back legs to buck the door in.

Rarity hopped into the smoky car as she switched her unicorn magic in order to have a bright aura surround her horn like flames on the torch. “Hello? Anyone in here?” Rarity's eye dropped to the side of her head as he eyes widened in the dark car.

Although the onboard lamps had been completely destroyed, Rarity could still see the carnage inside.

Blood stains and bloody hoof prints covered the walls and seats. It looked as though someone had dropped a barrel of punch on the ground.

Fluids dripped down from the ceiling and splattered against Rarity’s shield and Applejack’s hat.

The belongings of the ponies were spilled out around the car, which Rarity expected, but they were still in a peculiar shape. Some pieces of clothing looked like they had been torn into by animals.

“Where are the bodies? Where are the survivors?” Rarity coughed on the smoke that was bellowing into the car like water into a boat that had sprung a leak.

Applejack bent down at the bloody hoof prints.

They all appeared to be going towards the caboose of the train.

“It looks like those ponies must have crawled to the back of the train. Maybe there's an emergency exit?” Applejack suggested as she pushed Rarity down the car. “C’mon, we got to get to those ponies before the fire gets to us.”

The cracking of flames and the sounds of crumbling bricks rained down atop the ceiling.

“Wait!” Rarity shouted over the noise. “Something isn’t right! How could ponies that have been injured enough to cause this much of a blood bath have the ability to pick themselves up and just walk it off?”

“I don’t know how, but from what I can tell it clearly looks like they did. Now c’mon for Celestia's sake!” Applejack shouted as she made her way to the end of the car and proceeded to bust this one off the hinges as well. She took one look into the room as her face turned green. She stumbled backwards and fell onto her flank with a high pitched, choppy scream.

“What is it?!” Rarity asked with the high pitched cry of a curious child. She stepped over Applejack and looked into the car.

“No! Don’t look!” Applejack cried to no result.

Rarity took a step into the room and laid her now gaping eyes onto what Applejack had seen. She stumbled back and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

Before the two mares laid the body of a young, emerald colored mare.

Around her neck was a bag with the symbol of the University of Manehattan. Her body was covered in long scratches, her limbs were outreached at odd angles.

Her front chest and neck had been embedded with shards of crystal, as if the poor thing had been thrown into a crystal vase.

A river of blood flowed from her open mouth and her ripped open stomach and onto the ground.

Rarity couldn’t help but look at the blood. It looked like too much for just a singular pony to have in their body normally.

Applejack helped Rarity stand up and whip the many tears from her eyes. “It’s fine, Rarity, just don’t look at it.”

Rarity could not help but look at the carnage unwaveringly. She had never seen anything like it.

The body was perfectly still, even the mare’s eyes seemed to be frozen in a look of terror.

For a moment Rarity took in the silence of death. It was all she could think about. A corpse that would never move again. Then, the body moved.

Rarity jumped back into Applejack’s tight grasp and screamed. “She’s alive!”

Applejack replied with a soothing voice. “Calm down, it’s just reflexes. They sometimes happen post mortem.”

“-No! I saw something move!” Rarity replied as she dove her forehead straight into Applejack’s chest fluff.

“Rarity, I think you're being delusional…I mean that pony is dead. They’re not even breathing!”
Applejack replied as she looked onto the body. She squinted her eyes onto the carnage as the mare's front leg-one that had been bent out of shape suddenly swung back into place with the click reminset of that from a buckle.

“What in bucking tarnation?!” Applejack cried as Rarity escaped from her clutches.

“See?! I told you!” Rarity cried as the other legs popped back into place.

The mare’s eyes spun around in their sockets before finally centering themselves onto Rarity and Applejack’s faces.

The mare’s legs extended outwards as her broken body got off the crimson ground.

Her jaws were broken and failed to make any understandable words besides the labored grunt. Still, her face continued to contort and snap at the pair.

“Ma’am! Don’t move! Who knows what kind of injuries you have!” Applejack cried as the mangled pony decrepitly made their way down the walkway.

“Darling, I don’t think she can hear you…” Rarity looked up at the mare’s blank stare.

The mare bared her jaws, bits of flesh and multiple colored hair strands hung from her front teeth like streamers.

Rarity was entranced by the carnage. Her heart slid down to her stomach and she stomached more vomit. “Is that her flesh or another pony’s?” she thought to herself in an icy panic.

Applejack pushed herself between Rarity and the oncoming mare. “Get back, Rarity. Something ain’t right!”

The mare stabilized herself while stumbling like a drunk. Then she made an energetic dash towards Applejack.

Rarity reacted by covering her eyes with her hooves and screaming but not before establishing a diamond shaped magic shield in front of Applejack.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed from outside of the train.

Rarity tried to look out the window to see what it was but it was simply filled with too much blood, dust, and smokey ash.

An exit door between Rarity and the bloody pony was broken open and thrown to the ground.

A police pony stuck his head through the door and looked back to Applejack and Rarity. “What are you two doing here?! Get off the train! Do you want to get yourself killed?”

The mangled mare’s eyes widened as the pony stuck out his twist neck right before her. She lunged forward without the stallion noticed and swung her jaws against his neck. Blood splashed across the room as the pony’s artery was ripped from his neck.

The stallion’s screams turned into a moist gaggle as his body hit the ground hard and his body began to go limp.

Rarity’s mouth dropped as she continued to scream.

Applejack jabbed Rarity in the chest and spouted out orders. “For pony’s sake just blast her already! You're a unicorn, ain’t ya?”

Rarity panicked and sent a jolt of energy towards the emerald mare.

The spell was weak. But it was enough to act as a bat that could knock the pony all the way back into the other car where it rolled straight into the passenger door, breaking the thing into two pieces.

Rarity rushed towards the police pony and tried to magically hold his wounds, unfortunately, he was already gone. “He’s not breathing? What do we do?”

Applejack stuttered. “Uhm…I…I don’t know…let's get out of here and find a real doctor for this stallion.”

The emerald pony groaned from across the room.

Rarity looked shocked. “She’s still alive?” She looked back at Applejack and half expected her to make a snarky remark about post mortem reflexes, but her face was frozen with shock and awe.

The emerald mare backed away from the door as a family of multi-colored hooves appeared from its splitting crack.

The hooves tore and bucked down the reminder of the door as a division of ponies with injuries ranging from small bite and scratch marks to the amputation of entire limbs and patches of flesh lumbered out in confusion.

Blood and flesh ripped from their mouths, along with some sort of sparkling dust that caught Rarity’s eyes.

Unfortunately, Rarity did have the time to investigate further.

“Run, Rarity!” Applejack powered her head and violently nudged Rarity around and towards the back of the car.

“But what about the officer?” Rarity cried as Applejack spun her around and sent her racing towards the exit.

“He’s dead! And we'll be too if we don’t get off this train!” Applejack shouted as she clenched her teeth and dashed.

Rarity looked back as a wave of dread came over her. She felt as if she was about to be hit by a tsunami as the horde of bloody and shredded ponies rushed over each other in hopes of gorging themselves on her flesh.

“Don’t look back, sugarcube, just run-RUN!” Applejack shouted as the wall of death gained on them.

Rarity's heart raced as she followed Applejack's tail as it made a sharp turn and threw itself out of the train car and back onto the station platform.

The mares raced down the platform and towards the double doors at the exit.

The chimes and groans of glass shattering and metal structures.

Rarity flinched and braced for impact. She looked up at the ceiling in anticipation that part of the roof was about ready to cave in on her. Yet, to her surprise, the building still seemed somewhat sound despite the train impact and the flames that ran from the sides.

Back on the train, the crazy ponies had begun to slam their hooves against the glass windows.

The window shattered under their presence and sent the monsters spilling out like water from a jug.

The beasts immediately got a backup onto their feet and got back to chasing after the mares.

Rarity’s legs were moving faster than they even had. She and Applejack entered a full out sprint as they crossed the threshold to the outside and ran right into the hooves of an oncoming group of police officers.

“Woah, boys! Stop! We have civilians incoming!” the head officer, an old stallion with a balding head and rectangular mustache, shouted as he slid to a stop.

A trio of police ponies who ran behind the officers slid to a stop too, as if they were about to run into a brick wall.

Applejack turned around and slammed the doors to the station shut before any

Rarity pushed the head officer back before he even had the chance to ask what the mare was doing. “Why, sir, you can’t go in there! The ponies on the train have…have…”

“They’ve gone mad!” Applejack shouted. “They attacked us and killed an officer on the train! You can’t go inside!”

The ponies looked around in confusion. “Please ma’am, you're sounding crazy! We have to get in there!”

The police ponies began to push past the pair.

Rarity got onto her stomach and wrapped her legs around the lead officer. She cringed in embarrassment but did not have time to care about how others viewed her. “Stop! If you go into the building you’ll die!”

“Nonsense!” the officer cried. “Let us in! Those “crazy ponies” ao whatever you’ve labeled them need our help. Now let us into the station!”

Applejack snorted and flexed her muscular body. “I’m afraid I can’t let that happen.”

The police froze as they planned their next move.

A loud crack stole the group's attention as all the nearby ponies looked over to the windows on the side of the train station.

A limping unicorn with a broken and hanging jaw and a singed main had stabbed the glass and sent the panes falling onto the ground below. They jumped through the crack, slicing their chest open as they did.

“Sweet Celestia! It’s a survivor.”

The police broke away from Rarity and Applejack before running down to the window as more ponies spilled from the glass. Some had their guts cut open. Others were covered from a mane of hoof in bites.

“What are y'all city slickers thinking?! Can’t you tell those ponies ain’t right?!” Applejack shouted.

A medical team where pure white uniforms each painted with a white cross and five hearts brushed passed Applejack with a stretcher. They set up shop right next to the carnage that overflowed onto the Manehattan streets.

A young nurse pulled out a bandage and calmly approached one of the dangerous ponies. “Stay still, we’re here to help!”

The ponies eyes locked onto the nurses neck as they jumped up into the air and sunk their teeth into her thin neck.

She screamed as her coworkers gasped and tried to pull the pony off their companion.

The other members of the bloodthirsty horde took their own chance to strike. They scattered and striked at the encircled medical workers. Pilling onto them like a pack of hyenas taking on prey.

Within seconds the entire team had been cannibalized. Their screams went quiet as the monsters tore into their throats with great efficiency.

The four on the scene police officers pulled out their batons and rushed the attacking ponies.

“Wait! Stop! What are you doing?” the officers cried as their wooden weapons pounded against flesh and bone.

Dozens of ravenous ponies rushed the officers in the form of one giant wave.

Hundreds of teeth tore into the officer, their batons did little to stop the incoming carnage.

The officers could do little but scream as they succumbed to the horde.

And more of the monster kept coming.

“Run, Rarity!” Applejack cried as she kicked Rarity in her flank, sending her trotting down the street.

“But where to?” Rarity snapped back.

Applejack’s face went blank. She bit her lip and started pondering as if she was thinking, “but where DO we go?” She suddenly found an answer. “The only place nearby-the boutique! C’mon!”

Rarity nodded and chased after Applejack as thought shouted warnings to the oncoming ponies. “Run for your lives! There are cannibals at the train station. Get out of here!”

The Manehattenites looked down at Applejack and Rarity like they were crazy. Some laughed, others looked away as they tried to ignore them, while others stuck their nose up into the air as if they were above the screaming mares.

Rarity grabbed a couple who were sitting at a local cafe and threw their cups onto the ground. “What are you all sitting around for! You’re all in great danger! Run!”

The ponies looked more annoyed at Rarity’s disturbance than fearful.

“Cannibals? Why, what are you two ruffians shrieking about. This is Manehatten, not some backwards settlement from the Badlands!”

The socialite ponies chuckled to themselves before a sudden scream put an end to the carefree mood.

Down at the end of the street, a bloody unicorn in a full conductor’s outfit had jumped onto a well dressed shop pony.

The shop pony’s wonderfully embroidered and sewn dress that Rarity could tell was the result of dozens of hours of work was ripped open in a matter of seconds.

The unicorn’s jaws ripped off chunks of the shop pony's face and eyelids until her body began to go limp due to the puddles of blood that were no longer in her body.

“The loony mares were right!” a stallion with a decedent handlebar mustache shouted as he ran.

The entire crowd echoed with a collective scream as ponies got up from their seats and ran for their lives with no time to spare.

Right as the chaos kicked off, a squad of bloodthirsty ponies turned the corner down the street and jumped a few of the socialites. Ending their lives with a horrifying efficiency.

The unicorn conductor raised his horn and began to fire a barrage of crystals into the backs of the ponies as they fled.

The ponies began dropping like flies around Applejack and Rarity.

Rarity used her shield to the best of her ability to deflect incoming attacks.

Applejack weaved like a serpent around the pathways of incoming projectiles.

The Manehattenites ran like chickens with their heads cut off.

A mare froze in the street after her long dress got caught on a sewer drain, allowing for a stallion to run up from behind and rip her chest open.

An elderly stallion tried in vain to wave down a taxi, only for their pullers to completely ignore him as a crystal sharp entered through one side of his neck and exited through the other.

A blonde unicorn unevenly trotted down the street with at least a dozen or so bags of high end clothes and perfumes floating above her while under the influence of her telekinesis. She cautiously weaved around the screaming ponies at a pace comparable to a snail. She made sure not to get a drop of blood on her expensive belongings.

Her journey ended as an enraged pony sidelined her and dug its jaws into her shoulder blade before snapping her neck and moving onto the next pony.

Rarity and Applejack had no choice but to run and dodge through the streets as a nauseating amount of screams filled the air.

The street before them began to become more recognisable until the Rarity could see the street sign for Rarity For You off in the distance.

“We’re almost there!” Rarity shouted.

An explosion of sounds echoed from around the corner of the boutique.

A stallion pulling a massive taxi cart turned and hit the curb of the sidewalk with so much speed that it almost flipped over.

Two pegasi that looked like dead birds that had been scooped off the ground snapped at the taxi stallion with their broken and jagged teeth. The two pegasi took turns flying down, snapping at the stallion’s neck, and being quickly jabbed away before restarting the process.

Rarity started to feel uneasy. Her heart dropped each time the stallion swerved and almost sent his cart flipping over and she gasped in relief each time it stabilized itself.

“Get off me!” the stallion screamed as she lowered his shoulder and jabbed it into the chest of one of the pegasi.

The pegasus flew unnaturally backwards as its head and caved its skull in a light post.

Bits of skull and brain flew out onto the pavement as the pegasus stopped moving almost instantly.

The second pegasus dove in and landed on the exhausted earth pony's back. Their jaw immediately drove into his neck and clamped down on his veins

A stream of blood poured from the stallion's neck as his legs gave out and his body dropped to the side. His chest slammed into the poles that attached to his taxi car, sending the entire carriage flipping onto its side right in front of the boutique.

“Help!” the stallion screamed while still stuck in his harness as the pegasus snapped at his neck.

Rarity and Applejack turned away from the boutique front door and went to assist the stallion.

“Get off him!” Rarity shouted as she took the lead into the fray with Applejack trailing her closely.

The pegasus looked up from the twitching and gasping body of the taxi driver as it immediately lunged at Rarity without even stopping to finish the kill.

“What in tarnation are you thinking, Rarity? You’ll get yourself killed!” Applejack jumped to Rarity’s side.

“Don’t fret, darling, I can handle myself!” Rarity announced with a confidently firm expression.

Rarity activated her magical shield.

The pegasus slammed into the shield and bounced backward into the overturned carriage.

Rarity advanced.

Her horn charged until her magical aura pulsated with energy.

The pegasus flapped its wings and shot forward, kicking up dust and debris as it did.

Rarity ducked, allowing the pegasus’ own momentum to send the poor soaring over Rarity without having the control to stop.

Rarity released a pulsating wave of energy above her, sending the pegasus to become paralyzed as its body soared dozens of yards into the air.

The mangled pony was unable to retake flight and stabilize itself. Instead of landing gracefully like a typical pegasus, the pony landed right on its back. Its wings folded like a piece of paper as blood spilled from the newly formed cuts and cracks like a shattering water balloon.

Rarity whipped her head as a white, magical energy flowed from her horn with the force of a tsunami wave.

The energy hit the beast and sent it tumbling back into the still corpses of the other pegasus where it fell silent.

Rarity spun around with her back to the bodies. Her hair whipped around elegantly as she moved. “See, darling, I can handle myself,” Rarity replied with an overly confident smile.

Applejack was not amused, in fact, she looked horrified as she shouted. “Get out of there! It’s still standing!”

“What?” Rarity gasped as her eyes widened. She slowly turned around and watched as she became face to face with a set of shattered, bleeding jaws. Rarity screamed.

The pegasus ran towards the screaming unicorn while dragging its limp wings across the pavement.

A trail of blood was laid behind the pegasus as it ran with its crooked legs and snapped at Rarity’s neck.

Rarity fell onto her back and avoided the attack, only for the pegasus to jump on top of her defenseless body.

Applejack snapped into action. She leaped into the air and positioned herself with her hind legs pointed directly at the pegasus’ face. She fired her hindlegs like a double barreled cannon straight into the skull.

The pegasus’ skull collapsed into itself like it was a tent made of a cheap canvas. The creatures’ body tensed up as torn pieces of brain slid from the open cranium like slugs and plopped onto the ground with the unsavory sound of a wet sponge slapping against the floor.

Rarity pushed the body off and gagged as Applejack rushed to the stallion.

“Go and fetch me some bandages!” Applejack held as he covered the stallion's wounds with her own hoofs.

Rarity panicked in silence as she dashed into the boutique. She unlocked the door and rushed past the box of bandages that she used for minor cuts and scrapes-they would not be enough. “This can’t be happening!” Rarity thought to herself as she went up to one of her most expensive and high quality dresses before tearing off a thick strip of cloth.

“This should suffice,” Rarity thought to herself as she rushed out into the streets with adrenaline still clawing itself through her veins.

The streets were clear, but Rarity heard a scream sound out and went silent just a street over from where she was standing. “We can’t be out here for much longer!” she realized while running over to Applejack’s side.

Rarity laid the banageds over Applejack’s shoulder. “Here. Get him wrapped up quickly. More of those things could storm this street at any moment!”

Applejack did not move or even acknowledge the bandage on her shoulder.

A fearful Rarity poked Applejack with her horn.

Applejack popped up, the stallion laid still in front of her. “He’s not breathing…”

Rarity looked over to the stallion. His eyes were closed and sunken into his skull. His mouth was wide open like the opening of a river that spewed blood into the ground. His chest was resting peacefully.

“My word…” Rarity gasped. “In that case we need to go!” Rarity turned towards the boutique.

“No,” Applejack murmured.

“What?” Rarity snapped. “AJ, we need to get out of here, now!”

“No, I can still save him.” Applejack got on top of the stallion and started pounding her hooves into his chest with a stable beat.

“Applejack! This is ludacris, you’ll get us both killed!” Rarity shouted, although she did not run to the safety of the boutique.

Applejack continued the compressions. “Just give him a chance!” Applejack cried with a tear rolling down her cheek.

Rarity conjured her shield in anticipation and took up a defensive stance. “Applejack, I don’t think you understand what’s happening here-” Rarity listened as a faint cry echoed down the street.

“I know exactly what I’m doing!” Applejack roared as she firmly slammed her hooves into the stallion's chest.

A gasp of air escaped from the stallion's lungs in the form of a low wheeze.

“My word!” Rarity gasped as the stallion's eyes creaked open.

“Yes!” Applejack shouted as she bent down to the stallion's snout.

The stallion groaned as he snapped up at Applejack’s face. He snarled as his rigor mortis afflicted muscles suddenly bent and snapped back into place.

“What’s gotten into y’all!” Applejack shouted as she ran back.

The stallion’s jawline clenched, he grinded his teeth while snarling at the two mares with dead eyes.

“He’s gone mad too!” Rarity cried.

“Get to the boutique!” Applejack screamed as she pushed Rarity away from the reincarnated corpse.

The stallion gave chase.

Rarity slid into the boutique with Applejack essentially on top of her.

Applejack turned and bucked the front door which flew as it came to a close.

The stallion stumbled through the streets like a drunkard. It leaped through the air towards the closing door and lunged itself through the opening.

Its front leg lodged in the gap like a door stop and began to pry open into the boutique like a thief in the night.

“Shit!” Applejack cried as she rammed her body into the door, slamming it shut on the arm before it had the chance to cause damage.

“Give me a hoof!” Applejack shouted as Rarity hopped next to her and pushed into the door.

The stallion cried out as it slammed its body into the front door over and over again. Splinters and paint chips ricocheted off the door and it shattered beneath the two forces that pushed against it.

Debris hits Rarity’s eyes.

Rarity screamed and winced in pain and exhaustion. Yet she continued to fight for her life at the door front.

The door rattled with each onslaught of attacks.

Applejack turned to Rarity. “Keep the door closed! I got an idea!” she shouted as she pushed herself off the door.

The door almost was thrown off the hinges by the stallion once Applejackand and her strength left.

Rarity screamed before engulfing the door with her magical aura and pressing the full weight of both her magical prowess and strength against the door.

The stallion screamed and snarled.

Rarity could see its eyes through the cracks that emerged in the door.

They were pointed directly at Rarity and filled with murderous intent that seemed to never let up despite the many wounds on its body.

Applejack readied her hind legs and bucked the stallion right in his legs joints.

The bones audibly snapped as the foreleg lost its connection with the rest of the body and fell to the ground.

The stallion roared as it fell from the door frame and onto the ground. It rolled around like a dying bug with only three legs to support itself.

Rarity slammed the door shut before reaching up and pulling the lever for the solid steel gates of the shop. Rarity almost never used them under normal circumstances, the anti theft gates only seemed to make her boutique seem less hospitable to customers. Unfortunately, this circumstance was completely out of the ordinary.

The gates of the shop closed, as a wave of darkness filled the room.

The stallion could still be heard struggling to get up. Once it did, it slammed its body into the steel dividers.

Rarity and Applejack stood at attention as the pounding at the door continued. It went on for what felt like an eternity before the creature stopped and very loudly stumbled away.

The room went silent for a little while.

Rarity went light headed and dropped to the ground.

Applejack made a gagging sound in the corner of the room.

“AJ! Are you alright?” Rarity shouted as she flipped on the lights.

Rarity’s vision was restored. She watched as Applejack leaned over a trash can and vomited.

Tears rolled down her face.

“I-I’m fine, Rarity, I’m just a little beat up…” Applejack explained.

“Oh no! Did that pony hurt you?” Rarity exclaimed.

“No…but I’m exhausted. Those things were nothing like I’ve ever experienced before, what were they?” Applejack sobbed.

Rarity paused. “Wherever they were, they weren’t ponies. They were rapid…like animals.”

“Is that what you think they were? Some dangerous critters?” Applejack asked.

Rarity did not know the answer. “Perhaps, but I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Neither have I,” Applejack sighed. “You don’t think those things are in Ponyville, do you?”

Rarity thought about the possibility. Sweetiebell was home with her friend Scootaloo’s aunts. Rarity was not there to protect her younger sister if anything happened.

Applejack’s sister, Applebloom, was in a better position. She was with her older brother, but even a large stallion like himself would still have trouble fighting against those creatures by himself while caring for a filly along with an elderly and sickly mare.

Rarity observed Applejack’s mental state, she was not in the position to receive bad news. Rarity smiled warmly.

“I’m completely sure they are fine. The city of Manehatten should be able to contain a few rapid pony’s. Not to mention the army should be prepared to handle situations like this. We just have to sit tight and hope for the best,” Rarity added with a warm smile to mask the fear in her heart.

Applejack seemed to be put at ease.

Rarity sat back. “Sit tight, we’ll be alright. We’ll get out of here soon. I'll turn on the radio and listen to the news for more information...” Rarity was not even sure if she believed herself. But she hoped it was true. She had to get back home, and soon.

Author's Note

As the first train of infected eat their was through Manehatten, Rarity and Applejack are trapped in the boutique. But will its walls be enough to protect the mares from the jaws of the undead? Find out in two weeks when Rarity and Applejack fight their ways through the streets of Manehatten as they try to find their way home...

This chapter was one of the longer ones and it was written in half the time due to my busy schedule. I will be getting to work on chapter seven (which I expect to be even longer than chapter six) right now. Thanks for your continued support!