The rain drenched Ponyville, leaving everything barely visible through shades of grey. Many ponies continued to trudge along, oblivious to the weather. However, one pony stood out from the rest. Unlike the other ponies, she was clad in a dark colored rain jacket, and moved much quicker than the others.
The pony stopped in front of a building, many of its windows broken, and its front door torn off the hinges.
“Here we go…” The pony quickly glanced around, checking to see if anypony had followed her. Satisfied, she pulled the hood of her jacket down, revealing herself to be Bon Bon, worse for wear. Her mane is a mess, curls ruined, and she has heavy bags under her eyes. She pulled a bag out from under her jacket and wandered the ruined store, searching.
“They have to have something left…..” She muttered, while scanning the room.
She stopped by the shattered remains of a countertop and blew onto it, scattering the dust. The moldy remains of pastries and baked goods come into view.
Bon Bon’s nose wrinkled in disgust and she backed away.
“No, that’s no good.”
The earth pony approaches the remains of a hinged door way. While one is torn completely off the fall, the remaining door dangled haphazardly. Bon Bon carefully pushes it back, only for it to fall off and hit the floor with a thud.
Her head whips around, looking for any signs of movement. After several tense moments, she sighs and relaxes. She begins to wander around the destroyed kitchen, looking through cabinets.
“There has to be something….” Her face brightened, “What about upstairs?”
The pony wandered over to the stairs and began up. Reaching the second floor, Bon Bon stepped in something sticky.
Looking down, she noticed all the dried blood on the floor, leading to a severed head. Its rotting eyes stare into hers, and it slowly snapped its jaws at her.
Moving closer to inspect the head, Bon Bon looks over its features; the shape of the head tells her it was a very young pony, perhaps not much more that six months old. Its matted hair is coated in dried blood and other waste. Bon Bon pushes it away with her hoof, watching it roll under the dusty, ruined remains of a bed.
Continuing her search, Bon Bon scours the room, discovering a rotten bucket of some vegetable, a pile of rocks and lint, and the remains of a bag of flour. Dissatisfied with her search, she shook her head and went back down the stairs.
Reaching the front of the building, she peeked outside, scanning for something. Satisfied, Bon Bon pulled her jacket hood up over her head and exited the building, passing a yellow pegasus pony.
Both the pegasus’s wings are little more than bones, while large chunks are missing from the pony’s flank, lower body and neck. One of the missing chunks breaks up her cutie mark, now only one and a half pink butterflies. Pale, glazed over eyes watch Bon Bon leave and continue to follow her as the living mare plots.
“Alright, so Sugarcube Corner was a bust. Maybe I can break into one of the other houses….” The mare shook her head, “No, that might attract too much attention. Can’t have one of them sneaking up on me.”
Bon Bon stopped by an overturned cart. Quickly scanning the area for others, she set to work, pushing the cart onto its side. With a groan, she set it down, and quickly scanning the remaining contents.
“Ah!” the Earth pony dug through the rubble and pulled out a jar of some unknown mush.
“Carrot Marmalade.” Bon Bon frowned, “Normally, I wouldn’t eat this, but beggars can’t be choosers.”
She set the jar in her bag and scanned the area.
“…I don’t think this will be eno-”
Something caught the Earth pony’s eye. Turning her attention towards a building, Bon Bon walked off to inspect it.
“…something isn’t right here…” Bon Bon knelt to peer at a damaged wall, “This wasn’t here yesterday. And I know I didn’t make it….”
Peering inside, Bon Bon does her best to scan the room. Suddenly something moved in the corner of her eye, causing Bon Bon to step back. Reaching onto her back, she grips a length of iron piping in her jaws, and prepares to swing.
“Wait! Mith Bon Bon!”
Bonbon paused, as a pony struggled out into the open.
“Twist?”
Bon Bon quickly scanned the filly. Twist’s hair is matted and tangled and her coat is dirty. One of the filly’s lenses is cracked, but there seemed to be no sign of injury.
“Are you bitten?”
“No.” the filly shook her head.
“We better get out of here, Twist. I’m certain some of them would have heard the commotion by now. Do you have somewhere safe to go?” Bonbon glanced around, watching for other signs of activity.
“I wath hiding in the Mayor’th office, until they broke down a window. After that I fled here.”
“I see. Let’s get going. Stay behind me.”
The two Earth ponies trot down the street, avoiding the undead.
Sometime later
After she scanned the area for any straggling ponies, Bon Bon unlocked the door to a barricaded shop. Twist entered the door first, as Bon Bon scanned the area. The Earth mare quickly entered the door, closed it, and locked it.
Satisfied, she removed her jacket, and hung it on a dusty coat rack to dry.
“Lyra, I’m back!”
“Mith Lyra ith here too?”
“Of course.” Bon Bon smiled, “But we agreed that it was safer for one pony to stay here at all times, just in case they start attacking. Otherwise if both of us are out there’s no way to defend here, and if we come back when it’s besieged by them, we have no place safe to go, right?”
Twist pondered Bon Bon’s logic for a few moments and then nodded in agreement.
Bon Bon set her sack on a table littered with old used cans and jars of food. Reaching into the sack Bon Bon pulled out the jar of carrot marmalade, another jar with a brown mush, and a can with no label.
“Oh, guess who I saw today?” Bon Bon called out to her marefriend, “Fluttershy! Yeah, she doesn’t look too good. Poor girl’s wings are worked to the bone.
Well it’s not like she really used them all that much anyway.”
Bon Bon chuckled, “Waste of a pegasus, really”
“Mith Bon Bon, that wasn’t very nice.” Twist frowned at the mare’s comment.
“Oh, you’re right.” Bon Bon shrugged, “Well, Lyra’s never really complained about what I’ve said.”
Bon Bon stops talking to the filly, working to open the unlabeled can. Finally prying it open, she sniffed its contents.
“…Cat food.” Bon Bon wrinkled her nose at it. “…why is all the canned food I find cat food? Oh well, good enough.”
She stuck a spoon into the can, and called out to her marefriend.
“Lyra, I’m coming in. Got something for you.”
Bon Bon picked up the can with her mouth and walked towards another room. Twist followed. Bon Bon placed the can down and motioned for the filly to come up to the door.
“Do you mind Twist? It’s sort of stuck.”
The two ponies manage to open the door. Twist peers into the blackened room.
“Mith Bon Bon, why ith it tho-”
Bon Bon spun around, bucking the filly in her side. The impact of the sudden attack sent Twist into the blackened room, glasses flying off. Before she could collect her wits, Bon Bon bit down on the doorknob, and slammed it shut.
“Wait! Mith Bon Bon!”
Twist winced as she got back onto her hooves and limped toward the door. She stopped as she heard the sound of groaning and a metal chain dragging on the floor.
“Mith Lyra?”
Twist slowly turned around, back to the door. She continued to limp backwards, eyes darting around looking for some sign of another pony.
Suddenly something leapt onto the filly, pinning her down with its weight. Twist squinted to see a vague pony shaped thing pinning her down, as she feebly tried to fight back. Suddenly the pony thing slams its head into hers, stabbing Twist’s eye with something. The filly screamed in pain, as she felt something rough and dull bite down on her stomach, tearing her skin and muscle off.
She feebly continues her attempt to fight off her attacker, as it tore off another hunk of meat, and began to feast on the filly’s now exposed intestines.
Twist slowly faded into the blackness, as her attacker began to feast upon the filly’s vital organs.
Light poured into the room, as the door opened again. Bon Bon stepped in clutching a bloodstained pickaxe in her mouth. With an awkward swing, she drove the pick into the head of Twist’s corpse.
Letting go of the pick, she smiled at the scene.
A zombie unicorn sat upon the corpse, feasting on its innards. The unicorn’s aquamarine coat and striped mint mane is splattered with both fresh and dried blood. Her horn is caked in gore, blood, and small chunks of rotting flesh. Several bite marks are noticeable on the unicorn’s back and rear left leg.
It tears another chunk of meat off the filly’s chest and chewed, watching Bon Bon with glazed white eyes.
“Dinner, sweetheart.” The Earth pony beamed.
You’re…you.
You don’t know what that means or why it matters so much.
All you know is hunger.
It hurts when you don’t eat, although you don’t know what hurt means.
It sounds appetizing though.
You don’t remember much. Just that you’re stuck in a dark room, if you knew what “Dark” and “Room” were, and you don’t get to wander around looking for food.
Some food comes in every now and them, and feeds you food.
Not good food. Doesn’t taste right.
Not like what you had before.
Small white food with pokey thing on its head.
Bad food doesn’t look like that. Too small. Things on head too big. Food called it “Angel”, but you don’t know what that means.
Today you’re happy though.
Today good food. Small white food with strange thing on face.
You tried to eat that, but not good. Food said something about glass and metal, but you don’t know what that is.
Finally.
Meat.
Screams.
Bon Bon turned to look at the source of them and was greeted by the sight of several ponies running out from Sugarcube Corner, many of them bleeding from bites and other wounds. She managed to stop one of them, Berry Punch. She was bleeding from a bite on her leg.
“Berry! What happened?”
“I d-don’t know. One moment everything was fine, then s-suddenly Pinkie came down the stairs and… started biting ponies.”
“Biting them?” Bon Bon was taken back.
“Yeah, she didn’t look right either.”
“What do you mean?”
“Her eyes looked wrong, glazed over or something. I- I need to get home, and make sure Pinchy is safe!” Berry took off, heading for home.
“Right.” The white earth pony continued towards Sugarcube corner, passing other ponies. One of them, a blue unicorn stallion staggered out of the store and collapsed in the doorway, bleeding out of a massive neck wound. Several nearby ponies gasped in shock and terror, and backed away from the corpse.
Bon Bon’s eyes widen in horror as the stallion staggered back onto its hooves. He scanned the area, his eyes a shockingly glossy white. The stallion growled, and lunged at a yellow pegasus, ripping into her flank and neck.
Bon Bon stepped backwards as an earth mare leaps through a window to attack another mare, and a young filly with glazed eyes attacks another. Suddenly another scream filled the air as Bon Bon’s head snapped up in realization.
“Lyra!”
Bon Bon took off, heading towards the scream. As she looked around, she took in other scenes similar to the ones she had left: glassy eyed ponies attacking and biting others. She leapt to the side to dodge an orange earth mare, pulled to the ground by several glassy-eyed fillies and colts.
“Please be alright; please be alright, plea…”
Bon Bon skidded to the stop in front of her store, where the scene unfolded before her. A glassy eyed brown earth stallion ripped a chunk of flesh out of Lyra’s neck. The stallion chewed for a bit, swallowed, and moved into take another bite.
“GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARD!”
Bon Bon slammed into the stallion, knocking him off Lyra. As the stallion regained his footing, Bon Bon spun around and bucked him in the face. Leaving the fallen stallion behind, she turned her attention to Lyra.
“Lyra?” Bon Bon’s voice was quiet.
Lyra’s eyes opened, “Hey Bonnie.” A weak smile appeared on her face, “This has been one of those strange days, hasn’t it?”
“You’re going to be fine, trust me.” Bon Bon unlocked the door to her shop and struggled to pick up Lyra.
“Heh, Bonnie you and I both know I’m not going to make it.” Lyra’s eyes closed again, “Just keep yourself safe.”
“I will not lose you. Not now, not ever.”
Bon Bon managed to drag Lyra inside the store, leaving her on the floor. As the Earth pony goes to close the door, the brown stallion lunged, trying to force himself in.
“GET OUT!”
Bon Bon swerved around, and bucked the stallion in face, knocking him back and ripping off his lower jaw. Bon Bon froze in horror as he staggered back onto his hooves, a sickly gurgling noise coming from the ruined remains of his face. Bon Bon slammed the door shut and collapsed.
“What is going on?”
Lyra groaned and pulled herself back up. The sound of her hooves clopping against the wooden floor is the only sound. The hoofsteps stopped in front of Bon Bon. The Earth pony looked up.
“Lyra?”
Bon Bon’s eyes widen as Lyra’s glassy eyes look into her.
“…No.” Bon Bon whispered, just before Lyra lunged at her, mouth open and ready to tear a hunk of her flesh out.
“NO!”
Bon Bon rolled off the makeshift bed, and landed on the floor with a thud. She sat up, quickly scanning the area, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. After assuring herself that there is no danger, she laid back down.
“…that dream again.” Bon Bon closed her eyes, and sighed, “Every night it’s that same dream. Why can’t it be something different? I don’t want to be reminded of my failures…”
Some Time Later
Bon Bon trudged through another puddle, frowning.
“Rain. Ever since that it has always been raining.” Bon Bon shook her head, “What would I do for a little sunshine…Then again, the rain keeps them from finding me. Somehow.”
Her frown grew, “I’m not even certain how that works. I’m not even sure how any of this works.
I don’t even know if things will get back to normal. Half the Elements are dead, and we haven’t heard anything from Canterlot….”
The Earth pony stopped in the middle of the street, as the undead continued along their way.
“Why am I asking myself all this?”
The Earth pony shook her head, and continued on her way. She stopped in front of a building, built into a tree.
“….I don’t think I’ve tried the library yet.” She quickly scanned the building for any obvious signs of entry or damage. “Seems safe enough.”
Bon Bon trotted over to the door and pushed. The door didn’t budge.
“Locked?” Bon Bon frowned and backed up a bit. She slammed herself against the door, with no effect.
“Oh come on…..”
The mare spun around and bucked the door with all her might. With a crack, the hinges gave way and the door fell over. Bon Bon glanced around, checking for any unwanted attention. Pushing the remains of the door out of her way, she entered the library.
Glancing around, she noted that everything was coated in a fine layer of undisturbed dust.
“…it’s locked but nopony is here?” Bon Bon frowned, “that can’t be right.”
Bon Bon wandered around, entering the small kitchen. After yanking open a drawer, she smiled at the cans of food sitting inside.
“This might be enough to keep us fed for a while. I hope I can fit it all in.”
The mare set her bag down and began to fill it with the cans. Upon completing her task, she put the bag back onto her back and scanned the room again.
“What’s that book over there?” Bon Bon trotted over to the middle of the room. A single book laid there. Bon Bon scanned the open page, furrowing her brow in thought. After rereading the page several times, she shook her head.
“No use. I’ve never seen anything like this before. What was her name…Twilight, might know something about thi…oh, right; she’s one of those things.
Oh well.”
Bon Bon continued to wander the room.
CRUNCH
Bon Bon’s hoof came down on something noisy.
“…oh shit.”
Bon Bon looked down in confusion. She lifted her hoof out of the remains of a body.
“…huh, so that’s what happened to Spike.”
Bon Bon backed up slightly and stared at the preserved remains of the dragon on the floor. Looking closer, Bon Bon noticed several bite marks on the dragon’s neck and arms, as well as his hollowed out chest captivity.
“…The door was locked, everything’s covered in dust, and Spike was somepony’s lunch.” Bon Bon frowned in thought, “all this points to…Twilight?”
She shook her head, “No, she’d know better than to try something dangerous and unpredic-, oh wait.” Bon Bon frowned, “..why does this matter? I need to get something for Lyra.”
The mare scanned the room one last time and left. She trotted down the street, avoiding the undead ponies around her.
“I need to stop feeding her fillies and colts, they never fill her up. By Celestia, I’ve fed her Pip, Twist, Sweetie Belle…Angel, that owl Twilight had, and….Gummy.
I think that was the stupid alligator’s name.” Bon Bon shook her head, “In retrospect that was probably a bad idea.”
Bon Bon stopped in the middle of the street, something catching her eye.
“What the….”
Bon Bon squinted, trying to focus on something in the sky. From what she could see, it appeared to be three or four pegasi, carrying other ponies in some sort of basket.
“….those can’t be dead ponies, the dead don’t do that. On the other hoof, I think I fed most of the survivors to Lyra at this point.” Bon Bon’s face changed from pondering to realization, “Wait a minute, if I can get their attention I ca-”
An orange earth mare sunk her teeth into Bon Bon’s flank. Screaming, Bon Bon managed to shake the mare off and bucked it in the head. The orange mare collapsed, most of its head broken. Bon Bon turned her head, getting a good view of her flank. The skin has been broken and blood slowly dribbled out of it.
“…No.” Bon Bon whispered. The whisper turned frantic as the mare began to run, “Nononononononononononono….”
Skidding to a halt in front of her shop, Bon Bon unlocked the door and ran inside. Slamming it shut, the earth mare collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.
“….No….”
Bon Bon curled into a ball, sobbing. Pausing for a moment, the rattling of chains fills the air, followed by growling. Bon Bon slowly pulled herself to her feet and shambled into Lyra’s room.
The undead unicorn strained against her collar, gashing her teeth at the Earth mare. Bon Bon continued to stare at the remains of her lover and smiled. The look in her eyes changed from exhaustion to desire. Bon Bon trotted into the room, pushing the skeletal remains of Twist and other ponies out of the way.
“Oh, Lyra.
I’m sorry. Nothing’s gone the way I thought it would.” The Earth pony reached over and stroked the tattered remains of Lyra’s mane.
“But don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine. Let me get you out of that.”
Bon Bon reached over, fiddling with the collar in her hooves. Lyra snapped at the hooves, nicking Bon Bon.
“Lyra! Stop that.” The earth mare scolded, “If you keep fighting, this is going to take longer to finish….there.”
The collar and chain hit the ground with a metallic clank. The undead mare paused, staring into Bon Bon’s eyes.
“Lyra…I’m sorry. Please? A hug for old time’s sa-”
The undead mare sunk her teeth into Bon Bon’s shoulder, tearing out a chunk of flesh. The living mare giggled, oblivious to the pain and blood.
“Stop that! It tickles.”
Bon Bon embraced the undead mare, as she chewed on the hunk of shoulder.
“I’m so sorry.” Bon Bon sighed, “I couldn’t help you, and now…now I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Bon Bon sighed again, as Lyra bit into the living mare’s neck. She tears the hunk of flesh away, spraying both of the ponies with blood.
“…I love you.”
Bon Bon’s embrace tightened around the unicorn, as she took another bite out of Bon Bon’s neck, ripping out the remains of her esophagus.
You’re…you.
Something not right.
Food come back with smell of new food on her. Also has your smell.
Smell of bad.
But you not care.
Food say something.
Not matters much.
Food take off thing that keep you from moving.
Says more things.
Still not matter.
You feast.
Lyra continued to gnaw on a femur bone, stripping the remaining flesh off of it. Dropping the bone, Lyra stood up. Around her were the fresh remains of Bon Bon; Bones, hair, and a few other parts that were indigestible.
Stepping though the mess of body parts, Lyra left the building. She joined other undead ponies, aimlessly wandering through the ruins of Ponyville.