To Cure a Broken Heart

Sunset gripped tightly onto Applejack as a few military soldiers escorted the three of them along, her panic rising as they were checked for injuries and bites. Rainbow Dash went first. The man patted her down for weapons, taking them out and causing Rainbow Dash to protest.

“Hey— I need those!”

“Not anymore.” The man said before pulling her sleeves and pant legs up, before revealing her neck to see if there were any bites. “All clear.” he motioned her to move forward as she adjusted her clothes and stepped ahead—looking back at Applejack as she went next.

Applejack rubbed Sunset’s back before stepping forward, and after she was given the ‘all clear’, it was Sunset’s turn.

They pulled her sleeve up, revealing the scratch mark that was bruised and bloody, her veins around it darkened and red. The soldier looked up at Sunset, which only made her heart pound faster.

“We’ve got a Code Red.” he said as he spoke into his walkie.

“Code Red—?” Applejack mumbled before calling out, “She’s not infected!”

The man ignored Applejack, “It’s a scratch, sir.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Understood.” Before the man could raise his weapon, Rainbow Dash ran towards Sunset.

“She got it in Everfree!” Rainbow Dash grabbed her arm, attempting to pull her away from the line of sight. “A cougar attacked us on our way here. It wasn’t one of those things.”

The man stared at Rainbow Dash before lowering his weapon, allowing them to pass. “Very well,” he said. “but if I find out any of you are lying…” he trailed off, leaving the rest up to obvious speculation. When they nodded, he motioned towards the entryway, “Move along.”

After getting Sunset’s wound bandaged, the three of them were transported to one of the random stores—which was transformed into a bedroom for survivors. It was full of beds and people who were either sleeping or talking quietly amongst one another.

“What’s going on here? I thought they were supposed to be leaving?” Rainbow Dash asked, settling onto her bed as she looked between Applejack and Sunset.

“Maybe they held back the horde.” Applejack suggested.

Sunset sighed, “Or maybe it isn’t here yet.”

Rainbow Dash extended her palms out, confused, “The horde that we literally ran from? It feels more like we just brought it to them.”

“That ain’t a horde, Rainbow… A horde is larger. That was nothing compared to what they were talking about.” Applejack retorted.

“Or maybe they overstated.” Rainbow Dash crossed her arms before looking at Sunset. “Is she okay?”

Sunset looked away, leaving Applejack to reply for her, “No.”

Silence pursued till Rainbow Dash inevitably spoke again, “Isn’t Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie here?” She stood, immediately trying to move to find them.

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack scolded, “We need to rest.”

“How can you rest in an apocalypse, Applejack?”

Sunset inhaled sharply before standing up, escorting herself out.

While Sunset walked mindlessly around the mall… she spotted a familiar someone.

Twilight.

Her breath caught in her throat as she ran up to her. When Twilight noticed her, she adjusted her glasses before gasping and running towards her as well.

“Sunset!”

As the two hugged, Sunset was the first to sob, holding her close and tightly as if she was about to vanish in her arms. Sunset pulled away, grabbing her cheeks and smiling as she looked at her.

“I… I didn’t think you were—” Sunset paused when she saw Fluttershy, who immediately ran up to her as well. “Fluttershy!”

The two of them hugged Sunset, crying and smiling at the reunion. But when a third person hugged Sunset from behind, she jumped before realizing it was Pinkie Pie. The group hug soon turned into five as Applejack and Rainbow Dash caught up to Sunset.

But the hug turned into a worrying question as Sunset realizing someone was missing. “Where’s Rarity?”

Fluttershy glanced at Pinkie Pie before speaking up, “We don’t know… we got separated from her back at the boutique.”

“We huddled there for a few weeks… but one day Rarity just left. Talking about a cure or something…” Twilight added.

“A cure?” Sunset thought for a moment. Was there a possibility of her being with Celestia? “Well… what matters now is that we’re together. And we’ll stick together and find Rarity.”

After gathering in the middle of the mall—transformed into a cafeteria for the survivors, they laughed, ate, and chatted amongst each other… just like old times at Canterlot High. The noise throughout the cafeteria seemed to echo across the walls, and the skylight at the top served as a way for light to peek through, as power seemed to have been cut.

When the other survivors began to sing together, Sunset glanced at Twilight while their friends joined in as well.

Sunset began, “If I can get into the hospital… Where do I start?”

“The hospital? Why would you want to go there?”

“Principal Celestia left months ago to find a cure… if I can just get to the hospital, maybe I can find not only her but Rarity too; what did she say about it?”

Twilight shrugged, taking a few bites of her food as she watched the others clap and sing, “I honestly don’t remember… It was so long ago. But the hospital is nothing but a black hole. It’s full of the infected, and with this new mutation strand, thinking about a cure is just a one-way ticket to… you know. You have to forget about it.”

“I can’t do that… I need to find Celestia and if we can just get into the hospital, maybe we can find specifics: why the apocalypse started, how to cure it. I need answers.”

“Maybe there isn’t any. We should just prioritize finding a place to bunker down and hide. It’s dangerous out there, but it’s safe here.” Twilight’s voice was muffled slightly, mainly since the singing drowned the both of them out.

Sunset glanced around, noting how a few of the military personnel moved from the lobby area. “Applejack said the Military was being evacuated. Said a horde was coming. I don’t understand why they’re still here.”

“A horde?” Twilight pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, “What do you mean a horde?”

“They’re getting stronger, right? That means smarter too. Maybe if there’s a Patient Zero at the hospital, I can finally figure out what the hell is going on… but I’ll need someone’s help. Someone I can trust.” When Sunset glanced back at Twilight, she could tell where this was going.

“I–I don’t know anything about infections…! I barely read about viruses and bacteria back at Crystal Prep. All my focus was—was magic.”

“But you were also a scholar. I’m telling you… you’re smart. If anyone can help me, it’s you.”

“I–I don’t know, Sunset. This is crazy…! If we leave the safety of the mall, we’re done for.”

“I—” Sunset paused as she looked around, watching as the military personnel continued to move through the mall. Her eyes narrowed, and in a moment she realized. Looking over at Twilight, she gasped, “It’s too loud—it’s too loud…!” She glanced up at the skylight only to see the infected beginning to break through the glass. “They’re coming in from the top!”

The glass broke, sending shards of pieces downwards as well as the infected. The people began screaming and scrambling back, but aside from the broken legs, the infected still crawled towards the survivors.

Sunset grabbed Twilight, pulling her up before helping the others as well. “We have to get out of here!” she yelled.

“Dammit! I knew this was a fucking terrible idea the moment they took my fucking guns!” Rainbow Dash yelled, running alongside Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

Sunset bent down before grabbing an AK-47, tossing it at Rainbow Dash, who caught it instantly. “There you go.”

“You gave me a jammed weapon! No wonder it was fucking thrown away!” Rainbow Dash growled, tossing it aside.

“How was I supposed to know that?” Sunset glanced back before stopping, “Where’s Fluttershy and Twilight?” Sunset looked at the others before waving them off, “Go find somewhere safe, I’ll catch up.”

“Sunset wait—!” Pinkie called out, but Applejack pulled her back.

When Twilight nearly bumped into Sunset, Sunset was quick to ask, “Where’s Fluttershy?”

“She was just behind me—”

Sunset glanced around before spotting Fluttershy huddled up in the corner, a familiar creature slowly creeping towards her. Discord. In an instant, Sunset grabbed a shard of glass before tossing it at him.

“Hey!” The glass scratched his cheek before falling to the ground, causing a snarl to escape his throat as he turned to face Sunset. “Oh shit…” she mumbled before glancing at Rainbow Dash as they were near the exit. “Rainbow Dash— get Fluttershy out of here!” She called out before pulling Twilight along with her, running down the hall as Discord ran after the two of them.

Twilight yelped as Discord jumped ahead, blocking their pathway. Grabbing onto her, Sunset pulled her into a store before pulling the metal gate downward. His claws scratched her chest, causing her to fall to the ground, leaving Twilight to pull it completely down and lock it. Moving to help Sunset up, the two of them jumped as claw marks appeared on the sheet as well as dents, but after a few minutes… there was silence.

They were safe.

For now.