The gymnasium felt like a fortress, although less like a sanctuary and more like a crowded zoo… but they were the animals this time around. The students used anything they could find as a form of barricade: benches, floor mats, even the old crates where the sports equipment would be shoved in.

“Please… please pick up, please.” one of the Crystal Prep students mumbled beneath her breath, begging for an answer. When the answering machine picked up, she left a message: “Mom? Please call me back… I-I don’t know what’s going on. Something happened at Canterlot High during the Games… the students… they’re…” the dial tone cut her off, leaving her to weep as a few of her friends began comforting her.

“Sunset?” as she turned to face the voice, she realized it was Applejack. “Look… I’m uh… I’m sorry I said those things to you. I shouldn’t have thought you were lying… I guess it just seemed too—”

The edge of her lip curled slightly as Sunset placed her hand on her shoulder, “It’s okay. I… I know if I were in your shoes, I probably wouldn’t have believed me either.” Sunset moved her hand before fiddling with her fingertips. “How’s Pinkie Pie?”

“She’s uh…” Applejack let out a sigh as she looked over at the fidgeting pink-haired girl, “She’s still a little shaken up. No doubt as to why… she practically bashed Bulk Biceps' head in.”

“Well… he’s still alive, if that helps.”

“I think that’s the problem. How strong are those fuc–” Applejack glanced at Applebloom in the corner before clearing her throat, “How strong are those things? Is it just because it’s Bulk Biceps or are they all practically invincible?”

“I don’t know.” Sunset let out a nervous laugh, “The image is definitely not helping. I’d rather assume they’re weak than realize they’re stronger than all of us combined.”

“What about Principal Celestia? Vice Principal Luna? Do you think they—” Applejack stopped when Sunset immediately looked up at her, fear painted on her face. “I… I’m sure they’re okay.” Applejack finished that thought before it could scare her as well.

Trying to navigate through this without an adult’s help was scary, sure, but to even think that Principal Celestia or even Vice Principal Luna turned? That was horrifying. But before Sunset could even try to continue the conversation, a sudden bang caught their attention.

“They’re trying to break in!” Flash gulped, immediately running to hold the doors shut. A few other students helped, but as the doors swung open for a split second, Sunset ran over to slam the doors shut once and for all. “Fuck… that was close.” he murmured, but as he looked at the other student who helped… “Sunset…” Sunset glanced over. It was Bon Bon. She held the door shut but something was different.

Her leg.

“Bon Bon…?” Sunset whispered eerily, glancing at the scratch on her leg. Flash moved to grab a weapon, but Sunset stopped him. “Maybe scratches are different… We don’t know how this virus spreads yet.”

“It has to be airborne… we can’t risk anything, Sunset. You saw it: those kids were getting infected left and right. She has… she has to leave.”

“L-Leave? What? No! I’m fine, i-it’s just a scratch!” Bon Bon begged, glancing back at Lyra who immediately came to her defense.

“Are you seriously suggesting we throw her out to those monsters? What is wrong with you?! She’s fine! It’s just a scratch!” Lyra’s yelling caught the attention of everyone else in the gymnasium.

Flash scoffed, “So you’d rather let us all get infected because of her? How do we know she’s not?!”

“Flash. Shut up.” Sunset scolded. “Think about it for a second, that’s her girlfriend! I’m not separating them because you’re scared. We’re all scared. Can we please not turn on each other because of it?”

“And what do you call that?!” Flash motioned to Bon Bon. Her nose was bleeding, and she began to panic.

“What? N-No.. I’m okay, I swear! Why are you looking at me like that… please—please stop! Make it stop!”

Sunset didn’t want to think she was infected, and instead of making a harsh decision, she ran over before wiping the blood off her nose. “It’s okay. You’re okay.” Sunset tried to comfort her, but Bon Bon shoved her back. Flash caught her before she could hit the ground before shoving her behind him.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” Bon Bon began to cry, “Why are you laughing at me? I’m sorry… I don’t want to hurt you!” She began hitting her head, her eyes slowly going bloodshot. When she suddenly lashed out at Sunset, Flash dragged her into the middle of the gym before rushing to grab a weapon on the other side.

As Bon Bon’s originally kind self turned into a feral exterior, the students and Sunset were horrified. Not only did the others panic and scream, but they cried as well. When Bon Bon pounced onto Sunset, she held her arms length away, trying to kick or shove her off.

The frantic movements stopped as Bon Bon was suddenly hit off of Sunset. She assumed it was Flash, but as she watched Bon Bon get repeatedly hit… she looked up and realized it was Lyra. Tears poured down her face, but adrenaline kept her going.

“Are you okay?” Flash asked, dropping his own weapon before reaching to help Sunset up. When Lyra finally stopped, Sunset took a small step forward before trying to comfort her.

“L-Lyra—?” but as she flinched and squirmed away, Sunset pulled back.

“Don’t touch me!” Lyra fell to her knees before cradling Bon Bon’s body. “I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…” she sobbed. “This is your fault!” she suddenly yelled, glancing up at Sunset before looking back down at the corpse in her hands. “Oh, Bon Bon…”

Sunset gulped at the blame. If anything, she had tried to defend Bon Bon… So how was this her fault? She took a step back before moving to sit on the bleachers at the other side of the gym. The other students were shuffled into one corner, so she sat on the empty side. Her leg began to bounce, and she began picking at her nails and scratching the back of her hand.

“S-Sunset…” Fluttershy snapped her out of it as she sat beside her, “are you okay?” she added, but she knew Sunset was far from it.

“No.” Sunset bluntly replied.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” she mumbled, referring to how Lyra said it was her fault. “She’s just…”

“Mourning. I know, but thanks for trying to make me feel better.” Fluttershy remained silent for a bit before pulling Angel out of her backpack, using him as a comfort tool. Before she could speak up, Sunset added: “We need to find a way out of here. We can’t stay in this place, not while they’re breathing down our necks.”

“But how? The exits are boarded up…”

Sunset glanced up at the windows on the other side of the gym, eight or so feet above the tallest bleacher. “Not all of our exits.”

Author's Note

Things are getting a bit more complicated... and personal in this freight train. People are already losing their loved ones, and now are losing their own minds.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Was definitely not my favorite to write, as I did not want to separate Bon Bon from Lyra... but drama is going to be a continuous topic in this story, so expect to see more.