Praeda Vinea infection

Chapter 4

“Ah came as soon as ah could sugarcube.” I hear AppleJack say as she gallops up to me with a mask over her face, sweat on her forehead. I just look up at her with the stub of my tail cauterized. I did so as I waited for her with my magic.

“AJ… Rarity is Infected.” I say with pain in my voice as I too have to come to terms with this fact.

“Infected? Ah still don’t know what this whole panic here is about? AppleJack asks bewildered but with a sigh I get up from the ground but as I do AppleJack sees my tail and lets out a gasp. “Twi, you-”

“I know. Rarity had me caught. I needed to…” I say but the words die in my throat before I can say them. Taking a moment I sigh and look at AppleJack. “Follow me, AJ. I’ll show you through the window, then explain everything I’ve learned.”

Walking with her over to the window by the door we peer into Rarity’s home, AppleJack stands slack jawed, horrified by the sight of both the gore but also Rarity’s large imposing figure cloaked in darkness. Her figure being stretched while also being muscular and writhing with moving veins, black barbed twigs like vines emerging from her flesh as if they were one and the same. As we watch AppleJack gently places a hoof on the glass only for me to catch sight of Rarity’s ears swiveling, in the nick of time I place a magical barrier over the window as she comes crashing towards the window. If I was a split second slower she would have come through the window. AppleJack yelps in alarm and I jump too slightly.

“Twilight, AppleJackkk~. Come here Darlings~.”

“R-Rarity… Oh sweet Celetia, what happened to you?” AppleJack says solemnly as she watches our friend, ache clear in her eyes as tears form slightly in them.

“Flim and Flam happened.” I say bitterly, my anger evident. “They sold this Elixir that they said made ponies stronger and quicker. But when they used it to show off I noticed that the Pupils dilate. Those match with those infected.”

“R-Rarity… T-thaere has to be somethin Twi, We can fix this. We always fix these things.” AppleJack says with panic and pain in her voice. Her voice cracking as she speaks.

“I plan to find a cure. We can’t let her get out though… We need to close her in.” I say getting a look from AppleJack that tells me she doesn't like the idea.

“Ya are tellin me we need to cage her like an animal?”

“AJ, she could get out and harm others. Imagine if she hurts Apple Bloom.” I explain, AppleJack slowly wilts into a look of resignation as her mind processes my words. Then after a few moments she responds.

“Fine, what do ya need.”

“We need wood, Lots of it. We need to board up the windows but we also need to make layers of it. She will break through just a few covering it. We need support struts for the blockages and to cover the door while we are at it.”

“How are we meant to feed her anything then?” AppleJacky asks but as she does I open my mouth to respond but close my mouth soon after as I see more flaws to my plan. How do you combat this? Sure we can block the windows and door but then she will just break through the walls. If we block everything up she will starve and even if she doesn’t then what? Undoing all of it will make her on alert so any administration of a cure would be suicide. My shoulders and body sag as I poke holes in my plan and I can only find ways to possibly defend ourselves.

“You have a point… I’m just trying to figure out a plan but I’m still on the back hoof. Celestia is also trying to figure out a solution but this problem… It's Equestria wide.” I explain getting a look of horror from AppleJack who’s pupils shrink to pinpricks. “We… we need to find a cure but we may need to accept that we need to prioritize survival.”

“Then… we need to get ponies together and find a place we can hol up.” AppleJack says in thought. “An what about the Guards?”

“A group is at the Hospital, it's a quarantine zone they set up but some have taken law into their own hooves. I ran into a group that had killed an infected pony and burned down their house.”

“Cripes, but ain’t that a good thing? These infected are nasty things.”

“The thing is that before they get like this they act normally. Something causes the sudden shift that goes this way.” I say gesturing to Rarity’s home.

“Then… was that pony they killed-” AppleJack starts to ask but before she can answer I shake my head causing her to curse under her breath as she takes her hat off. “Them rotten good for nothin… Listen Twi, I think we need to round up the other girls an get one of our homes locked down.” I couldn’t agree more with AJ but the options are slim and I don’t know which is best.

My house is a castle and can be defended well, it however has little in the way of food and few rooms. The apple farm has an abundance of food and land but lacks defenses though that can be fixed with time. Fluttershy’s… ya no. Rainbow’s… another no because clouds. Pinkie pies… it’s in the hot spot center of Ponyville, so it will be overrun by those things if the infection gets out of control, same can be said for my home slightly but at least it’s made out of sturdy crystal. We will need food the most if we are to last an unknown amount of time.

Nodding to myself I look at AppleJack with resolve. “We will need to get Sweet Apple Acres fit for us all and others to take refuge at till this all is over.”

“Can do, ah’m sure with enough ponies we can have er safe an sound.” AppleJack says with a smile but the smile falters as she looks back at Rarity’s house. “So we're just letting her remain like that?”

“Effort used on something that won’t have an effect is effort wasted. We need to act smart.” I say as I start to walk away from Rarity’s house, AppleJack quickly follows behind me but not before saying a quiet Farewell to Rarity.

“So Sugar cube, how do we figure out who's infected?”

“You already know, supernatural strength.” I say with a smirk at AppleJack. “Should be simple to figure out if we make them all try to lift a log. Screen everyone, then anyone infected will be kept aside and kept in a place to ensure they don’t turn but also can aid in finding a cure.”

“Are ya sure that's gonna work?”

“I don't know any better way as of yet but I'm sure we will figure it out with time. The more we know about this infection the easier spotting it will be.”

“Ah hope you're right.” AppleJack says with hesitation but as we walk briskly we come to Sugar cube Corner, our first stop. As if knowing we were coming Pinkie sticks her head out with a wide smile on her face that is visible under her mask.

“Heya both of you, whatcha doin?” Pinkie says happily but as we stop at Sugar Cube Corner AppleJack doesn't answer her.

“Pinkie, you and the cakes need to come with us to Sweet apple acres.” I say getting a confused look from Pinkie.

“To Sweet apple acres? Is something happening? Oh oh, is one of your family members coming to visit AppleJack?” Pinkie happily asks, getting a slight shake of the head from the farmpony.

“Pinkie, a big problem is forming and I don't think Ponyville is going to be safe for much longer.” I say with pain in my voice. Pinkie looks at me with confusion but as she looks she takes a few seconds of silence then nods.

“Okay Twi, you've not steered us wrong and I trust you. Let me get the Cakes and the Twins and we will be out shortly.” Pinkie says with a serious voice but her smile still remaining. With great speed she darts inside.

Turning away I look at AppleJack who looks at me. “Ah think I should gather some ponies I know will join us while ya wait here for Pinkie.”

“Who are you planning to get? Just so if you aren't at the farm by the time I get there I can come find you.”

“Carrot top for sure, ah may try Octavia and her roommate. Cherilee and Ditzy Doo-” AppleJack says but the moment Ditzy is brought up my face scrunches slightly as my heart hurts.

“Wake up mommy.”

Choking back my tears and a pained sob I respond to Applejack before she continues. “Ditzy… she is dead. Her daughter too… It happened at the hospital.”

“She is gone?” AppleJack asks in bewilderment. Nodding she growls slightly but after a few moments she sighs. “Ah guess then ah’d go to get Mayor Mair. Once Pinkie is out ya could go get Shy, Discord, an Zecora if ya feel brave to go in that forest with this going on.”

“What about others?” I ask AppleJack who looks back at me with a serious and determined look.

“We need to start with who we know and trust most. Ah wanna save as many as possible too but we are in no way prepared to take on that challenge. We can test to see who is infected in the starting group, once they are cleared we can then use them to bring in more people effectively.” Nodding in understanding I let the logic of AppleJacks words sink in. Are we in the wrong for being callous like this?

“Let's do it then. I'll get Discord to teleport Zecora out of the forest. There is no way I'm going in there and we can't leave her there.”

“Smart thinkin Sugar cube.” With that she starts to head off to collect the ponies she has to collect while I await Pinkie. With a final wave she is off and I turn away from her. The sight of embers from a new house burning catching my eyes. The Cleansing crew. Gritting my teeth I want nothing more than to get Celestia down here and for her to punish them but I know she has her hooves full. No, I need to bring order back to Ponyville.

***

“Alrighty.” I hear snapping to attention as I look behind myself to see the cakes and Pinkie. Both the parents carry one of the twins as they have fully loaded saddlebags. Pinkie too has a fully loaded saddle bag with objects stacked on her back.

“You all brought anything not nailed down didn't you.” I jokingly say to which the cakes laugh from under their masks.

“Well Pinkie said we may be at the Apple farm for a while so we decided to plan for a prolonged stay.” Mrs. Cake explains with mirth in her voice. I smile slightly, leading the way we begin our walk towards the farm outside Ponyville. As we walk I look up to the sky with tears stinging my eyes as my mind wanders to the thought of this same situation happening across Equestria. Is this even possible to stop? I’m supposed to be their protector… aren’t I? How can I save them?

“Cheer up Twilight, I’m sure this situation will blow over. We just need to have each other's backs.” Pinkie says as she bounces up and down beside me as we walk. Her usual smile on her face.

“Thanks Pinkie.”

“Anytime Twilight.” Pinkie happily says as she bounces ahead of me just to turn and face me as she bounces backwards. “Everyone needs some happiness, even in rough times. All it takes is a few laughs.” She chants with her capping it off with a quick boop on my nose.

“Maybe.” I respond with Pinkie turning back around while getting to hind hooves.

“We can still stand tall and fix this whole thing with bandaids and silly string.” Pinkie says with confetti shooting out as she strikes a pose, I walk around her and smirk slightly.

She soon after comes bounding up beside me. “Okay, maybe more than just that but still, they help.” Pinkie happily says with a giggle.

“They sure do.” I laugh lightly. Looking ahead of us I see the farm over the hill we approach. Looking over towards Fluttershy's home I turn to the others. “I need to go talk to Fluttershy and Discord and have them join us.”

“You go on and do that Twilight Dear, I’m sure Pinkie and us can get to the Apple farm on our own.” Mrs. Cake says with a smile. Giving her a nod I gallop towards Fluttershy’s house. Coming up to it I hear the animals typically around her house happily making noises. Knocking on Fluttershy’s door urgently it takes little time for the door to open a crack for Fluttershy to peek out but when she sees me she opens the door with a smile.

“Oh, hello Twilight. What brin-”

“Fluttershy, I don’t want to worry you but you need to come to the Apple Farm. Something is happening and it’s dangerous to be on your own.” I say trying to keep myself calm so Flutters doesn’t panic.

“She isn’t on her own, she always has me looking over her.” The voice of Discord hits me as I see a miniature Discord laying on Fluttershy’s main.

“I know, you also were one of the individuals I was getting to join us. I also need a favor Discord.” Perking up he vanishes from Fluttershy’s main and pops in beside me at his full size.

“My me, Twilight Sparkle asking me for a favor? Has the world gone in reverse?” Grumbling at his antics I wish I could chew him out for the games right now but I need his help.

“Teleport Zecora here.” I say with a stern and serious tone causing Discord to open his mouth to make a joke most likely but something about how I look seemingly makes him change his mind. With a snap of his fingers Zecora appears right beside Fluttershy.

“Teleportation without request?” Zecora says in a questioning tone only for her eyes to fall upon Discord. “Ah, it would seem to be a Jest.”

“Zecora, I need you to come and take shelter at Sweet Apple aches. You two as well.” I say looking at Fluttershy and Discord.

“You really seem stressed, could Celestia have sent you a Friendship lesson again.” Discord teases but with a narrow look from me he stops his teasing.

“Ponies have died Discord.” I hostaly say causing him to go rigged while both Fluttershy and Zacora to gasp.

“Ponies…” Fluttershy whispers.

“What has occurred, what have you endured?” Zecora asks with urgency.

Taking a moment to relax I look at both of them and turn around. “We need to get to Sweet Apple Acres. It’s going to be our home.” I say walking off, not soon after the others follow close behind. “There is an infection spreading. It makes Ponies into aggressive monsters. We can’t let ourselves be caught anymore off guard than we already are.”

“What kind of infection?” Fluttershy asks hesitantly.

“It changes ponies. I could explain it but… I don’t think I’d do it justice how horrific this infection is. Just be aware and be on your guard. We need defenses and to figure out a plan.”