Equestria gone madby SaikoChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1It was a pleasant day, warm and sunny, and it seemed just natural to go for a short walk. Rarity had been sewing for hours and she couldn’t resist smiling as last rays of sunlight touched her face. She closed the door and suddenly heard loud scratches. ‘No, Opal!’ she said ‘I think you’ll be staying home today, dearie.’ After few minutes of slow walking down the road, she found herself near the market square where a loud commotion had begun. Dozen or more ponies were standing in a circle, apparently looking at something hidden from Rarity’s eyes. She could hear whispers, at first, and the closer she came, the louder they were getting. She had almost reached the crowd when the first scream rang out in her ears, causing her to stop. From few steps distance, she watched ponies backing off slowly. The one that screamed – she recognized Bon Bon’s voice – was nowhere to be seen. Rarity wasn’t sure if she should come closer to the mysterious thing that made ponies act in such a weird way, but her curiosity won. She approached slowly, trying to crowd in. What she saw, she knew, should have made her scream even louder than Bon Bon did, but she couldn’t sound a word out. On the ground, in a puddle of liquid red in a really, really scary way, lay Bon Bon, with Lyra leaning over her and making squelching voices. Rarity couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, and most of the other ponies seemed to have the same problem. All she could do was look – look at one of her acquaintances being eaten alive. Bon Bon stopped screaming, now she was just moaning and staring at Lyra with fear and pain in her eyes. No one did anything. No one rushed to help, everypony just froze, in some way hypnotized by such violence, seen by most of them for the first time in their lives. ‘Hey guys, what’s all the fuss about?!’ Rainbow. It was Rainbow Dash, flying over the market square, trying to make out things happening down there. The yell woke everypony up. Ponies started running in every possible direction, entering their houses and closing doors behind them with loud bangs. Rarity lifted her head to Rainbow who had finally noticed what was going on. ‘The hell are you doing?!’ she yelled again and dashed towards struggling couple. Bon Bon has lost a lot of blood and she almost stopped moving. She was having her guts dragged out of her body and was too weak to fight. With a long, final moan she closed her eyes, convulsed once and then lay still. The same moment, Dash ’s hoof hit Lyra, throwing her away from Bon Bon’s now-dead body. ‘What have you done?!’ Rainbow screamed with terror, giving one look to Bon Bon’s massacred body just to concentrate on Lyra again. ‘Have you lost your mind? Why?!’ Rarity had not realized the tears were now falling down her cheeks. She slowly leaned over the violently mutilated body of Bon Bon, her mind revolted at the image of Lyra doing the same when she had been devouring her friend's flesh. She knelt, absolutely not paying attention to dirt and blood which covered her previously neat and tidy coat. ‘Bon Bon…?’ she whispered, surprised at her just regained ability to speak Deep down Rarity knew there was no hope for her friend after what had happened to her. Her coat and mane were now stained a dark, scarlet red from the blood that had seeped into. At Bon Bon’s belly, Rarity didn’t dare to look, knowing what her gaze would meet - a view that would never leave her mind. She was about to stand up to see if Rainbow has already dealt with crazy Lyra, when suddenly Bon Bon’s eyelids rose. ‘Oh dear!’, Rarity said, surprised. ‘Everything is going to be alright, darling, we’ll get somepony to help you in a moment. Rainbow Dash!’, she spoke up. ‘Bon Bon is…’ Rarity wasn’t sure what she should say. Okay? Definitely not. Alive? But wouldn’t it scare the poor, shocked pony laying in a puddle of her own blood? ‘She has regained her consciousness!’ But has she, really? The look in her eyes was at least odd, kind of empty and angry at the same time, and while this Rarity could understand, she just had to back off when Bon Bon got on her hooves and began slowly walking towards her, her intestines hauling behind her, leaving trail of crimson liquid on the ground. Bon Bon’s mouth opened as she growled, exposing her overflowed with blood teeth. ‘Step back, everypony!’ Rarity obeyed and looked at the source of the shout. It was a stallion unknown to her, with a syringe as his Cutie Mark. He carried a leather bag in his mouth. Rarity began to wonder how he managed to speak and have his teeth jammed at the same time when he ordered again: ‘Step back, I said! I’ll deal with it!’ He dropped his bag on the ground and put gloves on his front hooves. ‘Come here, lady’ he asked Bon Bon with enthusiasm. ‘I’m a doctor taught his job in Canterlot, I can handle any injury!’ Indeed, she came near him, locking this unusual gaze of hers on him. It was as if time slowed, when Bon Bon leaped forward and bit doctor’s hand. ‘Oh, my dear, I’m sure you’re hurt, but you don’t have to act like that!’, attacked pony said, trying to calm his patient. Bon Bon’s reply was a low, long moan, followed by jumping on the doctor and making him fall. The pony gone mad started tearing the victim’s body with her teeth. Doctor’s screams caught attention of Rainbow Dash who had been trying to talk sense to Lyra. ‘Oh no, you too?’ Rainbow muttered. ‘The hay is happening to you, ponies!?’ She rushed back to Rarity and struggling acquaintances and repeated her previous maneuver, kicking Bon Bon. ‘Go hide somewhere, Rarity!’ Rainbow ordered. ‘And get some capable ponies to come here on your way, I’ll try to do something about those freaks. I’m this town’s hero, after a…’ ‘No, you are not, you bragging snot.’ Somepony interrupted, speaking slowly. Their voice seemed to be merely a whisper but somehow everypony managed to hear it. Both Rainbow and Rarity turned their heads to see Zecora standing near an edge of the market square, tightly wrapped in a dark coat, with her hood on, just like she used to dress back when she wasn’t welcome in Ponyville. ‘Be careful, Zecora!’ Rainbow Dash warned here. ‘We’ve got some… problems here.’ ‘I daresay I can see, with that I agree.’ Zecora said, looking briefly at the splattered blood, surprisingly unaffected by the shocking view. Bon Bon kept assaulting the doctor but the zebra didn’t seem to care. ‘Follow me, you two, please come, or you’ll get eaten by this scum.’ She pointed to the other ponies. ‘What about…’ ‘There is no need to wonder, those there are meant to sunder. Look at this stallion and leave before it’s too late! Come, I say, unless you want to share his fate!’ With those words, Zecora turned back and started walking away, slowly: in the direction of the Everfree Forest, as Rarity noticed. Shall we? – said her facial expression as she gazed at Rainbow Dash. However, it suddenly changed. ‘Watch out, Rainbow!’ She screamed. ‘Behind you!’ Rainbow leaped in Rarity’s direction and looked back. Lyra had just managed to reach Dash’s previous location. She was moaning, her empty gaze locked on the pony she was chasing. Her mouth opened and closed every few seconds, as if she was lazily trying to get ready for a meal. ‘Damn, the zebra’s right, we’re leaving. Now!’ Dash yelled. She flew closer to Rarity, caught her by the mane and started flying towards Zecora as fast as she could – really fast, it is. The white pony was to scared to start complaining about her scalp aching like hell, she was just happy that they were getting farther and farther away from the scary scene that had took place in front of her very eyes. When they caught up with Zecora, Rainbow let Rarity go by herself and they followed the zebra in silence, both trying to understand what had happened. The sun finally hid behind the horizon and so did the red brightness it had emitted, being in thrall to slowly appearing moon and stars. Sky has gone dark and the ponies, absorbed by their fresh memories, didn’t really notice they had entered the Everfree Forest, still and silent. For the first time in their lives, it seemed to be safer than their home in Ponyville… And in all of her scariness, Zecora must have known something worth hearing out. Chapter 2Loud knocking on her door woke Twilight up. She had fallen asleep while studying again and now she had to wipe her eyes before standing up. ‘Twilight, open the door! Hurry!’ She heard Applejack’s voice. Something was off about it, Twilight noticed, something wasn’t quite alright. She decided to obey and ran towards the door. Behind them, there was Applejack with Fluttershy floating in the air nearby. ‘Come in, everypony, has anything happened?’ Applejack didn’t answer; only now did Twilight notice tears flowing down her cheeks. She backed off, let her friends in and closed the door. Fluttershy landed on the floor and put down something she had been holding in her hooves while she’d been flying. Applejack’s lips were trembling, she was shaking and looking at the small bundle laying on the floor. It was obvious that she’d burst out crying if she tried to voice a single word. ‘It’s… it’s Apple Bloom…’ Fluttershy whispered, looking at the little filly wrapped in a blanket. Twilight ran towards her to see what had happened to her. Surprisingly, it was Fluttershy who started to explain. ‘Haven’t you noticed what’s happening all over the town…?’ she asked quietly and led Twilight to a window. She pointed her hoof to a pony wandering on the streets. She was acting in a really odd way, walking slowly and looking around her. Suddenly, she noticed the two ponies observing her; she leaped in their direction and in a few seconds, she was less than a meter from them, banging on the window from the outside. ‘Everypony is… will this window survive this assault?’ Fluttershy asked. ‘It will, Celestia has casted some spells on the whole tree. But what’s happening?!’ Twilight didn’t know if she should be focusing more on the odd acting pony or her friend Applejack crying over her little sister. ‘Everypony is acting this way. It started a few hours ago and now… I have no idea… Ponies like the one out there bite everypony they see and their victims… Their victims pass out or die and then… they wake up to be like this.’ Fluttershy flicked her eyes towards the creature still banging on the window. ‘One of them… one of them bit Apple Bloom. It’s merely a scratch though… Applejack carried her all the way here from the market and we came across each other so I decided to come too. Your house was the closest and we thought somepony has to warn you about what’s happening outside…’ Fluttershy exhaled loudly. It may have been her longest speech ever. She put a lot of effort in it; she knew Applejack wouldn’t be much help in her current state. Twilight put her gaze off the mare gone mad and slowly approached Apple Bloom. She leaned over her and gently unwrapped layers of cloth she had been secured with. The filly was asleep, breathing heavily, with easily noticeable effort. Small teeth marks, by now almost faded, were still noticeable on her flank; almost exactly in the place where her cutie mark should appear. ‘She got bitten by some small foal, two times shorter than her… He couldn’t reach any higher…’ Fluttershy muttered sadly. ‘Do you have any idea what we should do about it?’ Twilight asked seriously. ‘Is it… true?’ Her voice grew quieter as she saw Applejack’s face. ‘Do all of the bitten ponies change to… those… things?’ Fluttershy didn’t say a word. She went to wet a small handkerchief and then started washing Apple Bloom’s wound of any dirt that had gotten stuck to it when she and her sister had been escaping from their attackers. ‘I think I’ll check if there is anything written about such a… disease… in one of my books.’ Twilight gently touched Applejack’s neck. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll make sure your little sister is safe and sound again.’ Twilight gave her a reassuring smile and entered the library, not really knowing where to search. With all of her knowledge, she has never heard anything of any illnesses causing ponies to go mad. The one she saw had those scary eyes, emptied of any feelings. She – or maybe it was an it now? – kept banging at the window, did nothing else, with its only drive being the will to reach the healthy ponies. Possible victims. In moments like that, Twilight was really happy about all the magic making her home one of the safest places in whole Ponyville. She wasn’t the kind of pony to believe in everything she was told without looking it up in a book and even though she had seen the mysterious diseases’ victim with her own eyes, she wasn’t quite sure if all this issue wasn’t some stupid joke. Or maybe a test, a test from princess Celestia? Should she expect Pinkie Pie appearing out of nowhere and bursting with laughter, Applejack wiping the tears and smiling widely, Fluttershy getting ashamed of what she took part in? Or was it all serious? Was Apple Bloom really sick, was she about to change into a mere ruin of the foal she used to be? ‘What should I do…?’ Twilight muttered to herself. She gazed at hundreds of books stacked on high shelves, not sure where to begin her search. She has already read most of the books, especially those with most valuable information, and she was sure there’d been no mention of the bizarre illness. ‘Fluttershy?’ She called for the Pegasus. ‘Have you ever encountered anypony with such symptoms before?’ Fluttershy entered the room. ‘N…never, Twilight…’ she whispered, looking scared. ‘Apple Bloom… She seems to be really sick…’ ‘Where do you think I should search for an explanation?’ Twilight asked, hopelessly looking at all her books about to let her down for the first time. ‘Ask Spike, if he doesn’t know, it means no one does.’ Fluttershy smiled slightly. And then Twilight Sparkle realized she hasn’t seen Spike since she woke up to find the world gone mad. *** ‘Hey, Pinkie, would you already tell me where we’re going?’ Spike asked. What he had thought to be fun has already started to annoy him. Pinkie dropped in a moment after Twilight had fallen asleep and promised him she’d take him to see the best party he has ever seen, her masterpiece she’s been preparing for weeks. Some of her assistants were supposed to be there, taking care of all the equipment, making sure the party cannon would not break down in the key moment. The whole thing has been designed as a surprise for all of Pinkie’s friends but first, she wanted Spike to check if everything was as perfect as it could be. However, the “surprise” part demanded on Spike not to see where the party was held, so he had some piece of cloth tied on his eyes. And it was starting to irritate him. ‘Don’t worry, Spikey, we’re getting closer and closer every minuteee!’ said Pinkie in a melodic voice, apparently jumping around him, as the direction her words were coming from was continuingly changing. ‘And here… we… are!’ She yelled happily. Spike heard her unlock the door and then gasp in surprise. ‘Pinkie?’ he asked. ‘Is something wrong?’ ‘Hey, guys, what’s up with you?’ he heard her ignore him and start talking to some other ponies. She seemed to be kind of confused. Spike put off the cloth that had been preventing him from seeing anything and screamed in terror as he saw one of the ponies unknown to him jump towards Pinkie with her mouth open, blood dripping from ner chewed, stick out tongue. Pinkie Pie started laughing. ‘You almost got me there, Daisy!’ The pink pony backed off a little, but there was no fear in her eyes; she was honestly amused. ‘Your make-up is absolutely perfect, and all this “blood”! I hope you didn’t use all the ketchup we have for the party?’ The pony didn’t reply. She kept pushing forward, looking at Pinkie with no expression at all. Spike could hear some moaning from the house in which the party was to take place. He saw Lily and Rose follow their friend, locking at the pink pony the same empty gaze Daisy was using. Pinkie was just about to laugh when suddenly, her whole body moved in a convulsion. Insecurity appeared in her eyes followed by an expression full of dread. ‘Run, Spikey!’ she yelled. ‘My Pinkie sense… we have to ru-u-un!’ Spike was all for it. Pinkie started running in town center’s direction and so did he, every few seconds looking back at the scary ponies getting left further and further away. They were trying to chase them but surprisingly, they didn’t run, they didn’t rush; just walked, keeping pretty quick, steady tempo, as if assured there was no need to hurry. They’d reach their victims sooner or later with their never-ending effort. A smile appeared on Spike’s lips as he made out the well-known buildings on the suburbs. “Where was this party supposed to take place?!” he thought, approving Pinkie’s responsibility. Party thrown in a place no pony ever heard of would be an amazing surprise, if only there weren’t any crazed folks trying to eat the organizer. It wasn’t going to be a trouble though, not in a minute or two. They were getting closer and closer to the town where the weird event would quickly get explained and pony and dragon would be safe at last. Spike began panting, not used to running such long distances. When they were a few meters from the first building in sight, Pinkie Pie stopped. ‘Why have you stopped?!’ Spike shouted. ‘They’re still behind us, I can tell!’ ‘I-I-I-I… I thi-i-ink there’s another one coming…’ ‘Where!?’ Spike jumped and started turning his head in every possible direction. ‘I don’t mean one of those monsters, silly! I me-e-ean… this!’ Another convulsion ran through Pinkie’s body, making her jump a few times and also twitch her tail. ‘This one is ever more complicated!’ ‘Oh no… You don’t mean… There is something worse than them ahead…?’ ‘Not only a-heeeaaad’, Pinkie sang happily. ‘Behind us, too!’ Spike saw three ponies slowly coming out of darkness into their view. Only now did he notice he hadn’t really paid attention to day changing into night as they were trying to outrun their pursuers. Omnipresent shadows made him fear the hunters even more; it might have been a joke, it might have been some kind of misunderstanding, but Spike would never deny: even considering all the possibilities, he was scared like never before. ‘Come on, Pinkie! We need to reach Twilight’s as soon as possible, understood?’ He caught her mane and made her follow him. She started squeaking in protest, but he didn’t let her go, so the pink pony finally decided to do what Spike wanted her to. They ran faster and faster to finally reach the market square; there, they finally stopped to look around and both gasped. Ponies, crazy ponies everywhere, most of them in blood, some with bodies heavily mutilated. Them moving seemed impossible, yet they did; horrible moaning and growling came from everywhere, sometimes also screams full of pain and terror. ‘What the hay has happened?’ cried Spike. And then, the ponies noticed them. They didn’t make any facial expressions showing it nor did they say anything, but it was clear that Pinkie and Spike were far from safety. All ponies locked their empty gazes on Pinkie, ignoring the little dragon, and started walking towards her; some with vigor, Spike thought of them as the enthusiasts, even though their eyes showed no emotions. Some slowly, step by step, their bodies falling apart in the phrase’s exact meaning; bones cracked, flesh chewed, skin ripped. ‘To Twilight’s, fast!’ he yelled. They started running as fast as they could, trying to make it to safety before getting eaten. Every step seemed to take ages as the crowd was getting closer and closer, locking the friends inside a deadly moaning circle of monsters. They could see a light inside Twilight’s house, one of the few still dimly lit homes on the street, just a hundred or so meters ahead. ‘She must be fine… Oh, I so hope she is…’ Spike panted, exhausted, but eager to make whatever effort needed. Suddenly, he tripped. Pinkie didn’t really notice, as she had finally begun taking the situation seriously and she was as scared as she should have been from the very beginning. When Spike finally managed to stand up, Pinkie has already reached Twilight’s door and started knocking furiously. ‘It’s us, Twi, please let us in! NOW!’ she screamed, not singing anymore. ‘Spike’s with me! Spi…’ she turned back to see the little dragon overflown by monster ponies. ‘Spike!’ Even though her scream made some zombies pay attention to her instead of her friend, most of the ponies preferred checking out the closer meal; Spike felt tears running down his cheeks as he started fleeing. Actually, he was able to escape easily; he was shorter than most ponies and therefore was able to slip between legs of the taller ones. His smallness also make it easier to fit into spaces between ones he couldn’t avoid the other way. He was getting all dirty with disgusting liquids; he started sliding on blood puddles and he was openly crying. However, Spike knew he was getting closer to his target; he knew he could stop now. Suddenly, he felt sharp pain in his tail. A small filly bit it and got hold of it, not letting go even though dragon’s thorns must have shattered her mouth inside. ‘Let me go!’ he cried and made a weird sound as a small ball of fire left his mouth and set the filly ablaze. His eyes widened and he felt an odor of flesh burning. He shook his tail and finally managed to make the monster release him; in a few desperate leaps toward Twilight’s house’s door he eventually reached it. It had already been opened and his violet friend was staring at him, cheering him to run faster. He lay still on the floor as he heard the door closing shut behind him and started panting, not really understanding what had happened. 'So what are these things, why are they after us?!' He and Twilight asked at the same moment. ‘Don’t you get it?' Pinkie Pie snorted. ‘Zombie ponies. These were the zombie ponies!’ Chapter 3Minutes were passing and nopony dared to speak. It’s been some time since the trio reached Zecora’s house. Rarity didn’t know if she should feel safer now; she has always felt awkward around the zebra. Her company was better than that of ponies eating each other though – at least for now. Seconds after the thought had left Rarity’s mind Rainbow finally managed to start talking, still having terrible images stuck in her head, but desperate to find answers. ‘So what?’ she asked, looking at Zecora with anger. For the last few minutes she has been ignoring her guests. Both had been sitting there in awe – the zebra just minded her own business, cleaning the shelves and taking an old book from one of them. ‘Stop being impolite, you’re like a parasite. Why everyone should flee? I’ll show and you will see.’ Zecora put the book on a table and opened it. She was searching for the right page as the two concerned ponies approached, unsure of what they would discover. They leaned over zebra’s shoulders, trying to make out shady letters on paper yellow because of its age. ‘Outstanding quality’, Rainbow muttered, rolling her eyes. Rarity didn’t pay attention to her and kept staring at the dirty pages with disgust, waiting for some answers to come. ‘Are you blind or can’t you read? Ponies are diabolic seed. Now they’re harmful, calamitous, waiting to do something vicious… No defense, no one will hide, a tragic end towards us strides.’ ‘The haaay…?’ asked Rainbow, putting as much disrespect as she could into her voice. Rarity had been about to do her drama queen pose but she decided to listen to Zecora’s reply first. Also, the floor didn’t seem to be too clean and there was no place for her beloved sofa in the tiny hut. She stayed quiet and stared at the zebra. Finally, she spoke. ‘What hero are you, filly, my dear? It should’ve already become clear. The dead are rising to live again, now in Equestria they shall reign.’ ‘The hay?’ The cyan pony repeated, less confident now. ‘Decipher that and you will understand, even though it’s really hard to comprehend.’ The zebra left Rainbow Dash and Rarity and began taking care of herself again; the two ponies looked at each other, feeling scared and insecure. ‘Should we…?’ Rarity whispered. Her voice sounded as if it belonged to some other pony, it lacked the usual confidence. Normally, she would speak in this special, fabulous way of hers – forming each vowel with pietism, making sure everypony noticed her good manners and thought well of her. But now, she was making words come out of her mouth as fast as they could, as if she was afraid something terrible would happen before she could finish what she was saying. Rainbow just sighed and started reading the book. It’s never been her thing, she couldn’t understand how sitting still and looking at letters could be fun for ponies. She loved moving, flying, being in a rush, taking advance of possibilities her wings gave her. She kind of yearned for all her poor, poor friends who were unable to fly; Fluttershy also counted with her fear of everything including taking to the air. Rainbow thought of her as a little bit ungrateful to the most amazing gift anypony could ever receive from fate, fortune, princess Celestia or whoever was responsible for this. This time, however, for the first time Rainbow didn’t get bored with reading. Making out shady letters that held secret of the mysterious events that had happened right in front of her eyes seemed exciting; with every paragraph she was getting more and more scared, but at the same time every word she read, everything she learnt made her more likely to survive. She was eager to read as fast as she could and every time she had to blow dust of the book’s old pages, every time she finally had to blink, every time something distracted her – she felt as she always did when she was forced to leave the sky and stick to the ground. She had no time to carefully think of the information the book was giving to her, it just kept flowing through her mind. Rainbow wasn’t sure if she was too absorbed by reading or just didn’t want to understand how the stuff she was reading about would affect her future life. Because “the stuff she was reading about” was nothing but horrible. At first, she hadn’t wanted to believe in such nonsense – undead ponies, dying and then awaking to bring chaos and confusion to the world, making it a never-ending calamity. However, after a minute or two she understood that it was the only logical explanation – one she would never believe if she didn’t see the evidence with her own eyes. And she did. The undead were supposed to turn after getting bitten; it was the thing that could infect them. Afterwards, they wouldn’t think nor feel anything – no love, no fear, no insecurity. No pain. No memories. Perfect machines designed to spread the infection as fast as possible, as effectively as possible. ‘Finally a match for me.’ Rainbow Dash smirked. ‘You… you wouldn’t… You are not being serious, now, are you, darling?’ Rarity had her eyes wide open, looking at her friend in awe. ‘Why wouldn’t I be being serious? Now I know what it’s all about. It’s like a challenge, this new world… Do you imagine all the chances for me to do something heroic? Beware, undead ponies, for Rainbow Dash will not let you hurt her friends!’ Rarity had already opened her mouth to try to dissuade Rainbow from saying such things when she understood it actually wasn’t that bad. The most loyal of all ponies has always wanted to defend ones she loved at all costs. Now her characteristic trait she had lost after encountering the undead was back and Rainbow Dash has become Rainbow Dash again, getting out from marasmus she had been stuck in. Having thought of it, Rarity closed her mouth; a small smile formed on her lips. Suddenly, she felt more secure and confident, more like herself. Her friend was right, if what they had read was true, there was no point in plunging into despair. The world has changed and they couldn’t have done anything; now they couldn’t be this helpless. They had to take the law into their hooves and undo every harm that could be undone, understand everything that could be understood, help everypony that hasn’t ran into safety yet. It was high time they took care of themselves ‘Indeed’ Rarity smiled. ‘Indeed, Rainbow Dash, you will not.’ She hugged the surprised pony and felt everything she had acknowledged find place inside her mind. There was a new world to discover in front of her, a new world to conquer and to make her home again, and she didn’t have to deal with it on her own. *** Rainbow Dash simply couldn’t manage to lie still. She has been listening to Zecora’s snoring and Rarity’s slow breathing for what seemed to be ages and she just couldn’t take it anymore. The floor she was lying on was uncomfortable even though she had put some blankets on it. There was too little space; she was sure she’d break something if she moved an inch. Furniture was everywhere around her. One of her wings had gotten stuck between chair legs and Rainbow was afraid she’d wake everypony up if she tried to set herself free. Apart from feeling physically awkward in this strange, foreign house, she knew she shouldn’t just lie here waiting for a miracle to happen. Book she had read made her feel more secure – the danger was there, indeed, but at least she knew how to deal with it now – but it wasn’t enough. It was time to find out more about the enemy, to check if her friends were alright, finally, to kick some ass! She began moving slowly, gently, trying to free herself as quietly as possible. After a few minutes she managed to do it and grinned with joy; it was time for Rainbow Dash to do something cool. Something like… Rainbow put her hoof on the doorknob and slowly pushed. Everfree Forest’s silence welcomed here, as spooky as it’s always been, not impressing the bravest of ponies though. However, that night something was off. She looked around her; everything seemed to be alright. She couldn’t hear anything except of her own heart beating. She wanted to do something to add herself some courage, she wanted to spit on the ground or taunt an invisible foe, but she didn’t feel secure enough to violate forest’s sanctity. Smile disappeared from her lips as she carefully closed the door behind her and stretched out her wings. She felt her muscles tighten and bones crack; it felt really good to be able to move again. Rainbow Dash took off into the air, slowly, watching everything around her. She didn’t feel like doing tricks, she just wanted to leave the forest as soon as possible, something prevented her from doing so though. She couldn’t understand all the contrary feelings. The forest didn’t let her speed up, she kept flying higher and higher at slow pace, trying to reach trees’ tops and finally find herself in the place she was meant to be in – the sky. Having left the forest, Rainbow Dash finally started feeling better. All the open space around her almost made her forget what had happened; ponies may have changed, the whole world may have done so too, but the feeling she always experienced when she flew has stayed the same. The forest below her was less dense now; she must have been reaching its borders. Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow felt alarmed; up till now, she hadn’t really thought about her best friends, she just took for granted that they’d be alright. It was easy to be so sure when all the other ponies were far away. Now, however, as she was landing on the field next to Applejack’s stable, she got pretty scared. There was no noise coming from any building; no light, either. Nopony in sight. Rainbow Dash assured herself there was no need to worry and started walking towards the stable’s door. ‘Nothing to worry about…’ she murmured and pushed the door open. Moonlight from behind her seeped into the room, making Rainbow Dash able to make out dark shapes inside. A big barrel was there, moving; something trapped under it kept moaning and growling, apparently trying to set free. ‘Anypony here…?’ Rainbow wanted to yell, but her voice betrayed her; only a quiet squeak left her mouth. She blushed and tried again. ‘Is there anypony here?’ ‘Eeeyup.’, she heard quiet whisper from somewhere far back inside the stable. ‘Big Mac? You there?’ Rainbow Dash asked, walking in his direction. ‘Eeeyup…’ he said again. She saw him slowly draggling towards her. ‘Did they… did they bite you?’ Silence counted as another eeeyup, Rainbow Dash guessed. She wasn’t sure if it was that bad; in the book Zecora had given them, it was written that earth ponies were the most resistant pony species; the strong, healthy ones could heal minor wounds and not turn, while for unicorn ponies any contact with a zombie could end tragically, even if it only scratched them, not even using their teeth. Pegasi were situated somewhere in the middle and Rainbow thought it was simply perfect; not too easy to survive, but also not making her unable to fight. A challenge. ‘Come on, Mac’ she said. ‘We’ll find our way back to safety, okay?’ He gave out a small smile and nodded. Having him cooperate, Rainbow looked at the barrel, still moving and shaking in every possible direction. Big Macintosh stiffened, seeing what his savior had in mind. ‘Is it big?’ she asked. This time the answer was a slight shake of his head. She grinned. ‘Then it’s time to finally kick some ass.’ The book assured her the undead were actually dead, absolutely, inevitably dead, with no memories, no personalities. Just corpses. She had no compunction when it came to dealing with mindless killing machines. Apparently, the only way to kill the bastards was to severely damage their brains. It didn’t really sound… inviting, but Rainbow Dash knew she would have to kill to survive and this time was as good to start as any other. She grabbed a shovel that had been leaning against a wall and tried swinging it in the air a few times. ‘Step back’ she said, grinning to cover the sudden fear that struck her. Was it really the right thing to do? Maybe she should leave the undead foal alone? But if she was to hesitate now, wouldn’t she get herself killed in a situation of real danger? Now she could control the situation and score her first kill with no problems. At least she hoped so. So it was time. She kicked the barrel, releasing the raging colt; it rushed in her direction, and she was just about to attack, when the foal stretched out his wings and leaped into the air, flying. ‘The hay…?’ she whispered, sounding as if she was about to cry. The bastards could fly!? She’d just keep standing still if it wasn’t for Big Mac; he pushed her so the colt couldn’t reach any of them, he just missed and flew farther, stopping after flying a few meters more. His reaction woke Rainbow up; she stood in an attacking position again, wielding her shovel as if it was a sword, and when the foal tried to hit her again, she swung her weapon, chopping his head off. She closed her eyes when blood splattered in every direction including this of her face; feeling the warm liquid all over her, she knew she wasn’t going to look at the foal’s now-really-dead body. She just wiped the blood off her face and looked at Big Macintosh, her eyes showing no feelings at all. ‘We’re outta here, Mac.’ And they left Sweet Apple Acres, closing the stables doors shut, hoping to find some more ponies alive in their beloved town gone mad.
Chapter 1It was a pleasant day, warm and sunny, and it seemed just natural to go for a short walk. Rarity had been sewing for hours and she couldn’t resist smiling as last rays of sunlight touched her face. She closed the door and suddenly heard loud scratches. ‘No, Opal!’ she said ‘I think you’ll be staying home today, dearie.’ After few minutes of slow walking down the road, she found herself near the market square where a loud commotion had begun. Dozen or more ponies were standing in a circle, apparently looking at something hidden from Rarity’s eyes. She could hear whispers, at first, and the closer she came, the louder they were getting. She had almost reached the crowd when the first scream rang out in her ears, causing her to stop. From few steps distance, she watched ponies backing off slowly. The one that screamed – she recognized Bon Bon’s voice – was nowhere to be seen. Rarity wasn’t sure if she should come closer to the mysterious thing that made ponies act in such a weird way, but her curiosity won. She approached slowly, trying to crowd in. What she saw, she knew, should have made her scream even louder than Bon Bon did, but she couldn’t sound a word out. On the ground, in a puddle of liquid red in a really, really scary way, lay Bon Bon, with Lyra leaning over her and making squelching voices. Rarity couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, and most of the other ponies seemed to have the same problem. All she could do was look – look at one of her acquaintances being eaten alive. Bon Bon stopped screaming, now she was just moaning and staring at Lyra with fear and pain in her eyes. No one did anything. No one rushed to help, everypony just froze, in some way hypnotized by such violence, seen by most of them for the first time in their lives. ‘Hey guys, what’s all the fuss about?!’ Rainbow. It was Rainbow Dash, flying over the market square, trying to make out things happening down there. The yell woke everypony up. Ponies started running in every possible direction, entering their houses and closing doors behind them with loud bangs. Rarity lifted her head to Rainbow who had finally noticed what was going on. ‘The hell are you doing?!’ she yelled again and dashed towards struggling couple. Bon Bon has lost a lot of blood and she almost stopped moving. She was having her guts dragged out of her body and was too weak to fight. With a long, final moan she closed her eyes, convulsed once and then lay still. The same moment, Dash ’s hoof hit Lyra, throwing her away from Bon Bon’s now-dead body. ‘What have you done?!’ Rainbow screamed with terror, giving one look to Bon Bon’s massacred body just to concentrate on Lyra again. ‘Have you lost your mind? Why?!’ Rarity had not realized the tears were now falling down her cheeks. She slowly leaned over the violently mutilated body of Bon Bon, her mind revolted at the image of Lyra doing the same when she had been devouring her friend's flesh. She knelt, absolutely not paying attention to dirt and blood which covered her previously neat and tidy coat. ‘Bon Bon…?’ she whispered, surprised at her just regained ability to speak Deep down Rarity knew there was no hope for her friend after what had happened to her. Her coat and mane were now stained a dark, scarlet red from the blood that had seeped into. At Bon Bon’s belly, Rarity didn’t dare to look, knowing what her gaze would meet - a view that would never leave her mind. She was about to stand up to see if Rainbow has already dealt with crazy Lyra, when suddenly Bon Bon’s eyelids rose. ‘Oh dear!’, Rarity said, surprised. ‘Everything is going to be alright, darling, we’ll get somepony to help you in a moment. Rainbow Dash!’, she spoke up. ‘Bon Bon is…’ Rarity wasn’t sure what she should say. Okay? Definitely not. Alive? But wouldn’t it scare the poor, shocked pony laying in a puddle of her own blood? ‘She has regained her consciousness!’ But has she, really? The look in her eyes was at least odd, kind of empty and angry at the same time, and while this Rarity could understand, she just had to back off when Bon Bon got on her hooves and began slowly walking towards her, her intestines hauling behind her, leaving trail of crimson liquid on the ground. Bon Bon’s mouth opened as she growled, exposing her overflowed with blood teeth. ‘Step back, everypony!’ Rarity obeyed and looked at the source of the shout. It was a stallion unknown to her, with a syringe as his Cutie Mark. He carried a leather bag in his mouth. Rarity began to wonder how he managed to speak and have his teeth jammed at the same time when he ordered again: ‘Step back, I said! I’ll deal with it!’ He dropped his bag on the ground and put gloves on his front hooves. ‘Come here, lady’ he asked Bon Bon with enthusiasm. ‘I’m a doctor taught his job in Canterlot, I can handle any injury!’ Indeed, she came near him, locking this unusual gaze of hers on him. It was as if time slowed, when Bon Bon leaped forward and bit doctor’s hand. ‘Oh, my dear, I’m sure you’re hurt, but you don’t have to act like that!’, attacked pony said, trying to calm his patient. Bon Bon’s reply was a low, long moan, followed by jumping on the doctor and making him fall. The pony gone mad started tearing the victim’s body with her teeth. Doctor’s screams caught attention of Rainbow Dash who had been trying to talk sense to Lyra. ‘Oh no, you too?’ Rainbow muttered. ‘The hay is happening to you, ponies!?’ She rushed back to Rarity and struggling acquaintances and repeated her previous maneuver, kicking Bon Bon. ‘Go hide somewhere, Rarity!’ Rainbow ordered. ‘And get some capable ponies to come here on your way, I’ll try to do something about those freaks. I’m this town’s hero, after a…’ ‘No, you are not, you bragging snot.’ Somepony interrupted, speaking slowly. Their voice seemed to be merely a whisper but somehow everypony managed to hear it. Both Rainbow and Rarity turned their heads to see Zecora standing near an edge of the market square, tightly wrapped in a dark coat, with her hood on, just like she used to dress back when she wasn’t welcome in Ponyville. ‘Be careful, Zecora!’ Rainbow Dash warned here. ‘We’ve got some… problems here.’ ‘I daresay I can see, with that I agree.’ Zecora said, looking briefly at the splattered blood, surprisingly unaffected by the shocking view. Bon Bon kept assaulting the doctor but the zebra didn’t seem to care. ‘Follow me, you two, please come, or you’ll get eaten by this scum.’ She pointed to the other ponies. ‘What about…’ ‘There is no need to wonder, those there are meant to sunder. Look at this stallion and leave before it’s too late! Come, I say, unless you want to share his fate!’ With those words, Zecora turned back and started walking away, slowly: in the direction of the Everfree Forest, as Rarity noticed. Shall we? – said her facial expression as she gazed at Rainbow Dash. However, it suddenly changed. ‘Watch out, Rainbow!’ She screamed. ‘Behind you!’ Rainbow leaped in Rarity’s direction and looked back. Lyra had just managed to reach Dash’s previous location. She was moaning, her empty gaze locked on the pony she was chasing. Her mouth opened and closed every few seconds, as if she was lazily trying to get ready for a meal. ‘Damn, the zebra’s right, we’re leaving. Now!’ Dash yelled. She flew closer to Rarity, caught her by the mane and started flying towards Zecora as fast as she could – really fast, it is. The white pony was to scared to start complaining about her scalp aching like hell, she was just happy that they were getting farther and farther away from the scary scene that had took place in front of her very eyes. When they caught up with Zecora, Rainbow let Rarity go by herself and they followed the zebra in silence, both trying to understand what had happened. The sun finally hid behind the horizon and so did the red brightness it had emitted, being in thrall to slowly appearing moon and stars. Sky has gone dark and the ponies, absorbed by their fresh memories, didn’t really notice they had entered the Everfree Forest, still and silent. For the first time in their lives, it seemed to be safer than their home in Ponyville… And in all of her scariness, Zecora must have known something worth hearing out.
Chapter 2Loud knocking on her door woke Twilight up. She had fallen asleep while studying again and now she had to wipe her eyes before standing up. ‘Twilight, open the door! Hurry!’ She heard Applejack’s voice. Something was off about it, Twilight noticed, something wasn’t quite alright. She decided to obey and ran towards the door. Behind them, there was Applejack with Fluttershy floating in the air nearby. ‘Come in, everypony, has anything happened?’ Applejack didn’t answer; only now did Twilight notice tears flowing down her cheeks. She backed off, let her friends in and closed the door. Fluttershy landed on the floor and put down something she had been holding in her hooves while she’d been flying. Applejack’s lips were trembling, she was shaking and looking at the small bundle laying on the floor. It was obvious that she’d burst out crying if she tried to voice a single word. ‘It’s… it’s Apple Bloom…’ Fluttershy whispered, looking at the little filly wrapped in a blanket. Twilight ran towards her to see what had happened to her. Surprisingly, it was Fluttershy who started to explain. ‘Haven’t you noticed what’s happening all over the town…?’ she asked quietly and led Twilight to a window. She pointed her hoof to a pony wandering on the streets. She was acting in a really odd way, walking slowly and looking around her. Suddenly, she noticed the two ponies observing her; she leaped in their direction and in a few seconds, she was less than a meter from them, banging on the window from the outside. ‘Everypony is… will this window survive this assault?’ Fluttershy asked. ‘It will, Celestia has casted some spells on the whole tree. But what’s happening?!’ Twilight didn’t know if she should be focusing more on the odd acting pony or her friend Applejack crying over her little sister. ‘Everypony is acting this way. It started a few hours ago and now… I have no idea… Ponies like the one out there bite everypony they see and their victims… Their victims pass out or die and then… they wake up to be like this.’ Fluttershy flicked her eyes towards the creature still banging on the window. ‘One of them… one of them bit Apple Bloom. It’s merely a scratch though… Applejack carried her all the way here from the market and we came across each other so I decided to come too. Your house was the closest and we thought somepony has to warn you about what’s happening outside…’ Fluttershy exhaled loudly. It may have been her longest speech ever. She put a lot of effort in it; she knew Applejack wouldn’t be much help in her current state. Twilight put her gaze off the mare gone mad and slowly approached Apple Bloom. She leaned over her and gently unwrapped layers of cloth she had been secured with. The filly was asleep, breathing heavily, with easily noticeable effort. Small teeth marks, by now almost faded, were still noticeable on her flank; almost exactly in the place where her cutie mark should appear. ‘She got bitten by some small foal, two times shorter than her… He couldn’t reach any higher…’ Fluttershy muttered sadly. ‘Do you have any idea what we should do about it?’ Twilight asked seriously. ‘Is it… true?’ Her voice grew quieter as she saw Applejack’s face. ‘Do all of the bitten ponies change to… those… things?’ Fluttershy didn’t say a word. She went to wet a small handkerchief and then started washing Apple Bloom’s wound of any dirt that had gotten stuck to it when she and her sister had been escaping from their attackers. ‘I think I’ll check if there is anything written about such a… disease… in one of my books.’ Twilight gently touched Applejack’s neck. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll make sure your little sister is safe and sound again.’ Twilight gave her a reassuring smile and entered the library, not really knowing where to search. With all of her knowledge, she has never heard anything of any illnesses causing ponies to go mad. The one she saw had those scary eyes, emptied of any feelings. She – or maybe it was an it now? – kept banging at the window, did nothing else, with its only drive being the will to reach the healthy ponies. Possible victims. In moments like that, Twilight was really happy about all the magic making her home one of the safest places in whole Ponyville. She wasn’t the kind of pony to believe in everything she was told without looking it up in a book and even though she had seen the mysterious diseases’ victim with her own eyes, she wasn’t quite sure if all this issue wasn’t some stupid joke. Or maybe a test, a test from princess Celestia? Should she expect Pinkie Pie appearing out of nowhere and bursting with laughter, Applejack wiping the tears and smiling widely, Fluttershy getting ashamed of what she took part in? Or was it all serious? Was Apple Bloom really sick, was she about to change into a mere ruin of the foal she used to be? ‘What should I do…?’ Twilight muttered to herself. She gazed at hundreds of books stacked on high shelves, not sure where to begin her search. She has already read most of the books, especially those with most valuable information, and she was sure there’d been no mention of the bizarre illness. ‘Fluttershy?’ She called for the Pegasus. ‘Have you ever encountered anypony with such symptoms before?’ Fluttershy entered the room. ‘N…never, Twilight…’ she whispered, looking scared. ‘Apple Bloom… She seems to be really sick…’ ‘Where do you think I should search for an explanation?’ Twilight asked, hopelessly looking at all her books about to let her down for the first time. ‘Ask Spike, if he doesn’t know, it means no one does.’ Fluttershy smiled slightly. And then Twilight Sparkle realized she hasn’t seen Spike since she woke up to find the world gone mad. *** ‘Hey, Pinkie, would you already tell me where we’re going?’ Spike asked. What he had thought to be fun has already started to annoy him. Pinkie dropped in a moment after Twilight had fallen asleep and promised him she’d take him to see the best party he has ever seen, her masterpiece she’s been preparing for weeks. Some of her assistants were supposed to be there, taking care of all the equipment, making sure the party cannon would not break down in the key moment. The whole thing has been designed as a surprise for all of Pinkie’s friends but first, she wanted Spike to check if everything was as perfect as it could be. However, the “surprise” part demanded on Spike not to see where the party was held, so he had some piece of cloth tied on his eyes. And it was starting to irritate him. ‘Don’t worry, Spikey, we’re getting closer and closer every minuteee!’ said Pinkie in a melodic voice, apparently jumping around him, as the direction her words were coming from was continuingly changing. ‘And here… we… are!’ She yelled happily. Spike heard her unlock the door and then gasp in surprise. ‘Pinkie?’ he asked. ‘Is something wrong?’ ‘Hey, guys, what’s up with you?’ he heard her ignore him and start talking to some other ponies. She seemed to be kind of confused. Spike put off the cloth that had been preventing him from seeing anything and screamed in terror as he saw one of the ponies unknown to him jump towards Pinkie with her mouth open, blood dripping from ner chewed, stick out tongue. Pinkie Pie started laughing. ‘You almost got me there, Daisy!’ The pink pony backed off a little, but there was no fear in her eyes; she was honestly amused. ‘Your make-up is absolutely perfect, and all this “blood”! I hope you didn’t use all the ketchup we have for the party?’ The pony didn’t reply. She kept pushing forward, looking at Pinkie with no expression at all. Spike could hear some moaning from the house in which the party was to take place. He saw Lily and Rose follow their friend, locking at the pink pony the same empty gaze Daisy was using. Pinkie was just about to laugh when suddenly, her whole body moved in a convulsion. Insecurity appeared in her eyes followed by an expression full of dread. ‘Run, Spikey!’ she yelled. ‘My Pinkie sense… we have to ru-u-un!’ Spike was all for it. Pinkie started running in town center’s direction and so did he, every few seconds looking back at the scary ponies getting left further and further away. They were trying to chase them but surprisingly, they didn’t run, they didn’t rush; just walked, keeping pretty quick, steady tempo, as if assured there was no need to hurry. They’d reach their victims sooner or later with their never-ending effort. A smile appeared on Spike’s lips as he made out the well-known buildings on the suburbs. “Where was this party supposed to take place?!” he thought, approving Pinkie’s responsibility. Party thrown in a place no pony ever heard of would be an amazing surprise, if only there weren’t any crazed folks trying to eat the organizer. It wasn’t going to be a trouble though, not in a minute or two. They were getting closer and closer to the town where the weird event would quickly get explained and pony and dragon would be safe at last. Spike began panting, not used to running such long distances. When they were a few meters from the first building in sight, Pinkie Pie stopped. ‘Why have you stopped?!’ Spike shouted. ‘They’re still behind us, I can tell!’ ‘I-I-I-I… I thi-i-ink there’s another one coming…’ ‘Where!?’ Spike jumped and started turning his head in every possible direction. ‘I don’t mean one of those monsters, silly! I me-e-ean… this!’ Another convulsion ran through Pinkie’s body, making her jump a few times and also twitch her tail. ‘This one is ever more complicated!’ ‘Oh no… You don’t mean… There is something worse than them ahead…?’ ‘Not only a-heeeaaad’, Pinkie sang happily. ‘Behind us, too!’ Spike saw three ponies slowly coming out of darkness into their view. Only now did he notice he hadn’t really paid attention to day changing into night as they were trying to outrun their pursuers. Omnipresent shadows made him fear the hunters even more; it might have been a joke, it might have been some kind of misunderstanding, but Spike would never deny: even considering all the possibilities, he was scared like never before. ‘Come on, Pinkie! We need to reach Twilight’s as soon as possible, understood?’ He caught her mane and made her follow him. She started squeaking in protest, but he didn’t let her go, so the pink pony finally decided to do what Spike wanted her to. They ran faster and faster to finally reach the market square; there, they finally stopped to look around and both gasped. Ponies, crazy ponies everywhere, most of them in blood, some with bodies heavily mutilated. Them moving seemed impossible, yet they did; horrible moaning and growling came from everywhere, sometimes also screams full of pain and terror. ‘What the hay has happened?’ cried Spike. And then, the ponies noticed them. They didn’t make any facial expressions showing it nor did they say anything, but it was clear that Pinkie and Spike were far from safety. All ponies locked their empty gazes on Pinkie, ignoring the little dragon, and started walking towards her; some with vigor, Spike thought of them as the enthusiasts, even though their eyes showed no emotions. Some slowly, step by step, their bodies falling apart in the phrase’s exact meaning; bones cracked, flesh chewed, skin ripped. ‘To Twilight’s, fast!’ he yelled. They started running as fast as they could, trying to make it to safety before getting eaten. Every step seemed to take ages as the crowd was getting closer and closer, locking the friends inside a deadly moaning circle of monsters. They could see a light inside Twilight’s house, one of the few still dimly lit homes on the street, just a hundred or so meters ahead. ‘She must be fine… Oh, I so hope she is…’ Spike panted, exhausted, but eager to make whatever effort needed. Suddenly, he tripped. Pinkie didn’t really notice, as she had finally begun taking the situation seriously and she was as scared as she should have been from the very beginning. When Spike finally managed to stand up, Pinkie has already reached Twilight’s door and started knocking furiously. ‘It’s us, Twi, please let us in! NOW!’ she screamed, not singing anymore. ‘Spike’s with me! Spi…’ she turned back to see the little dragon overflown by monster ponies. ‘Spike!’ Even though her scream made some zombies pay attention to her instead of her friend, most of the ponies preferred checking out the closer meal; Spike felt tears running down his cheeks as he started fleeing. Actually, he was able to escape easily; he was shorter than most ponies and therefore was able to slip between legs of the taller ones. His smallness also make it easier to fit into spaces between ones he couldn’t avoid the other way. He was getting all dirty with disgusting liquids; he started sliding on blood puddles and he was openly crying. However, Spike knew he was getting closer to his target; he knew he could stop now. Suddenly, he felt sharp pain in his tail. A small filly bit it and got hold of it, not letting go even though dragon’s thorns must have shattered her mouth inside. ‘Let me go!’ he cried and made a weird sound as a small ball of fire left his mouth and set the filly ablaze. His eyes widened and he felt an odor of flesh burning. He shook his tail and finally managed to make the monster release him; in a few desperate leaps toward Twilight’s house’s door he eventually reached it. It had already been opened and his violet friend was staring at him, cheering him to run faster. He lay still on the floor as he heard the door closing shut behind him and started panting, not really understanding what had happened. 'So what are these things, why are they after us?!' He and Twilight asked at the same moment. ‘Don’t you get it?' Pinkie Pie snorted. ‘Zombie ponies. These were the zombie ponies!’
Chapter 3Minutes were passing and nopony dared to speak. It’s been some time since the trio reached Zecora’s house. Rarity didn’t know if she should feel safer now; she has always felt awkward around the zebra. Her company was better than that of ponies eating each other though – at least for now. Seconds after the thought had left Rarity’s mind Rainbow finally managed to start talking, still having terrible images stuck in her head, but desperate to find answers. ‘So what?’ she asked, looking at Zecora with anger. For the last few minutes she has been ignoring her guests. Both had been sitting there in awe – the zebra just minded her own business, cleaning the shelves and taking an old book from one of them. ‘Stop being impolite, you’re like a parasite. Why everyone should flee? I’ll show and you will see.’ Zecora put the book on a table and opened it. She was searching for the right page as the two concerned ponies approached, unsure of what they would discover. They leaned over zebra’s shoulders, trying to make out shady letters on paper yellow because of its age. ‘Outstanding quality’, Rainbow muttered, rolling her eyes. Rarity didn’t pay attention to her and kept staring at the dirty pages with disgust, waiting for some answers to come. ‘Are you blind or can’t you read? Ponies are diabolic seed. Now they’re harmful, calamitous, waiting to do something vicious… No defense, no one will hide, a tragic end towards us strides.’ ‘The haaay…?’ asked Rainbow, putting as much disrespect as she could into her voice. Rarity had been about to do her drama queen pose but she decided to listen to Zecora’s reply first. Also, the floor didn’t seem to be too clean and there was no place for her beloved sofa in the tiny hut. She stayed quiet and stared at the zebra. Finally, she spoke. ‘What hero are you, filly, my dear? It should’ve already become clear. The dead are rising to live again, now in Equestria they shall reign.’ ‘The hay?’ The cyan pony repeated, less confident now. ‘Decipher that and you will understand, even though it’s really hard to comprehend.’ The zebra left Rainbow Dash and Rarity and began taking care of herself again; the two ponies looked at each other, feeling scared and insecure. ‘Should we…?’ Rarity whispered. Her voice sounded as if it belonged to some other pony, it lacked the usual confidence. Normally, she would speak in this special, fabulous way of hers – forming each vowel with pietism, making sure everypony noticed her good manners and thought well of her. But now, she was making words come out of her mouth as fast as they could, as if she was afraid something terrible would happen before she could finish what she was saying. Rainbow just sighed and started reading the book. It’s never been her thing, she couldn’t understand how sitting still and looking at letters could be fun for ponies. She loved moving, flying, being in a rush, taking advance of possibilities her wings gave her. She kind of yearned for all her poor, poor friends who were unable to fly; Fluttershy also counted with her fear of everything including taking to the air. Rainbow thought of her as a little bit ungrateful to the most amazing gift anypony could ever receive from fate, fortune, princess Celestia or whoever was responsible for this. This time, however, for the first time Rainbow didn’t get bored with reading. Making out shady letters that held secret of the mysterious events that had happened right in front of her eyes seemed exciting; with every paragraph she was getting more and more scared, but at the same time every word she read, everything she learnt made her more likely to survive. She was eager to read as fast as she could and every time she had to blow dust of the book’s old pages, every time she finally had to blink, every time something distracted her – she felt as she always did when she was forced to leave the sky and stick to the ground. She had no time to carefully think of the information the book was giving to her, it just kept flowing through her mind. Rainbow wasn’t sure if she was too absorbed by reading or just didn’t want to understand how the stuff she was reading about would affect her future life. Because “the stuff she was reading about” was nothing but horrible. At first, she hadn’t wanted to believe in such nonsense – undead ponies, dying and then awaking to bring chaos and confusion to the world, making it a never-ending calamity. However, after a minute or two she understood that it was the only logical explanation – one she would never believe if she didn’t see the evidence with her own eyes. And she did. The undead were supposed to turn after getting bitten; it was the thing that could infect them. Afterwards, they wouldn’t think nor feel anything – no love, no fear, no insecurity. No pain. No memories. Perfect machines designed to spread the infection as fast as possible, as effectively as possible. ‘Finally a match for me.’ Rainbow Dash smirked. ‘You… you wouldn’t… You are not being serious, now, are you, darling?’ Rarity had her eyes wide open, looking at her friend in awe. ‘Why wouldn’t I be being serious? Now I know what it’s all about. It’s like a challenge, this new world… Do you imagine all the chances for me to do something heroic? Beware, undead ponies, for Rainbow Dash will not let you hurt her friends!’ Rarity had already opened her mouth to try to dissuade Rainbow from saying such things when she understood it actually wasn’t that bad. The most loyal of all ponies has always wanted to defend ones she loved at all costs. Now her characteristic trait she had lost after encountering the undead was back and Rainbow Dash has become Rainbow Dash again, getting out from marasmus she had been stuck in. Having thought of it, Rarity closed her mouth; a small smile formed on her lips. Suddenly, she felt more secure and confident, more like herself. Her friend was right, if what they had read was true, there was no point in plunging into despair. The world has changed and they couldn’t have done anything; now they couldn’t be this helpless. They had to take the law into their hooves and undo every harm that could be undone, understand everything that could be understood, help everypony that hasn’t ran into safety yet. It was high time they took care of themselves ‘Indeed’ Rarity smiled. ‘Indeed, Rainbow Dash, you will not.’ She hugged the surprised pony and felt everything she had acknowledged find place inside her mind. There was a new world to discover in front of her, a new world to conquer and to make her home again, and she didn’t have to deal with it on her own. *** Rainbow Dash simply couldn’t manage to lie still. She has been listening to Zecora’s snoring and Rarity’s slow breathing for what seemed to be ages and she just couldn’t take it anymore. The floor she was lying on was uncomfortable even though she had put some blankets on it. There was too little space; she was sure she’d break something if she moved an inch. Furniture was everywhere around her. One of her wings had gotten stuck between chair legs and Rainbow was afraid she’d wake everypony up if she tried to set herself free. Apart from feeling physically awkward in this strange, foreign house, she knew she shouldn’t just lie here waiting for a miracle to happen. Book she had read made her feel more secure – the danger was there, indeed, but at least she knew how to deal with it now – but it wasn’t enough. It was time to find out more about the enemy, to check if her friends were alright, finally, to kick some ass! She began moving slowly, gently, trying to free herself as quietly as possible. After a few minutes she managed to do it and grinned with joy; it was time for Rainbow Dash to do something cool. Something like… Rainbow put her hoof on the doorknob and slowly pushed. Everfree Forest’s silence welcomed here, as spooky as it’s always been, not impressing the bravest of ponies though. However, that night something was off. She looked around her; everything seemed to be alright. She couldn’t hear anything except of her own heart beating. She wanted to do something to add herself some courage, she wanted to spit on the ground or taunt an invisible foe, but she didn’t feel secure enough to violate forest’s sanctity. Smile disappeared from her lips as she carefully closed the door behind her and stretched out her wings. She felt her muscles tighten and bones crack; it felt really good to be able to move again. Rainbow Dash took off into the air, slowly, watching everything around her. She didn’t feel like doing tricks, she just wanted to leave the forest as soon as possible, something prevented her from doing so though. She couldn’t understand all the contrary feelings. The forest didn’t let her speed up, she kept flying higher and higher at slow pace, trying to reach trees’ tops and finally find herself in the place she was meant to be in – the sky. Having left the forest, Rainbow Dash finally started feeling better. All the open space around her almost made her forget what had happened; ponies may have changed, the whole world may have done so too, but the feeling she always experienced when she flew has stayed the same. The forest below her was less dense now; she must have been reaching its borders. Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow felt alarmed; up till now, she hadn’t really thought about her best friends, she just took for granted that they’d be alright. It was easy to be so sure when all the other ponies were far away. Now, however, as she was landing on the field next to Applejack’s stable, she got pretty scared. There was no noise coming from any building; no light, either. Nopony in sight. Rainbow Dash assured herself there was no need to worry and started walking towards the stable’s door. ‘Nothing to worry about…’ she murmured and pushed the door open. Moonlight from behind her seeped into the room, making Rainbow Dash able to make out dark shapes inside. A big barrel was there, moving; something trapped under it kept moaning and growling, apparently trying to set free. ‘Anypony here…?’ Rainbow wanted to yell, but her voice betrayed her; only a quiet squeak left her mouth. She blushed and tried again. ‘Is there anypony here?’ ‘Eeeyup.’, she heard quiet whisper from somewhere far back inside the stable. ‘Big Mac? You there?’ Rainbow Dash asked, walking in his direction. ‘Eeeyup…’ he said again. She saw him slowly draggling towards her. ‘Did they… did they bite you?’ Silence counted as another eeeyup, Rainbow Dash guessed. She wasn’t sure if it was that bad; in the book Zecora had given them, it was written that earth ponies were the most resistant pony species; the strong, healthy ones could heal minor wounds and not turn, while for unicorn ponies any contact with a zombie could end tragically, even if it only scratched them, not even using their teeth. Pegasi were situated somewhere in the middle and Rainbow thought it was simply perfect; not too easy to survive, but also not making her unable to fight. A challenge. ‘Come on, Mac’ she said. ‘We’ll find our way back to safety, okay?’ He gave out a small smile and nodded. Having him cooperate, Rainbow looked at the barrel, still moving and shaking in every possible direction. Big Macintosh stiffened, seeing what his savior had in mind. ‘Is it big?’ she asked. This time the answer was a slight shake of his head. She grinned. ‘Then it’s time to finally kick some ass.’ The book assured her the undead were actually dead, absolutely, inevitably dead, with no memories, no personalities. Just corpses. She had no compunction when it came to dealing with mindless killing machines. Apparently, the only way to kill the bastards was to severely damage their brains. It didn’t really sound… inviting, but Rainbow Dash knew she would have to kill to survive and this time was as good to start as any other. She grabbed a shovel that had been leaning against a wall and tried swinging it in the air a few times. ‘Step back’ she said, grinning to cover the sudden fear that struck her. Was it really the right thing to do? Maybe she should leave the undead foal alone? But if she was to hesitate now, wouldn’t she get herself killed in a situation of real danger? Now she could control the situation and score her first kill with no problems. At least she hoped so. So it was time. She kicked the barrel, releasing the raging colt; it rushed in her direction, and she was just about to attack, when the foal stretched out his wings and leaped into the air, flying. ‘The hay…?’ she whispered, sounding as if she was about to cry. The bastards could fly!? She’d just keep standing still if it wasn’t for Big Mac; he pushed her so the colt couldn’t reach any of them, he just missed and flew farther, stopping after flying a few meters more. His reaction woke Rainbow up; she stood in an attacking position again, wielding her shovel as if it was a sword, and when the foal tried to hit her again, she swung her weapon, chopping his head off. She closed her eyes when blood splattered in every direction including this of her face; feeling the warm liquid all over her, she knew she wasn’t going to look at the foal’s now-really-dead body. She just wiped the blood off her face and looked at Big Macintosh, her eyes showing no feelings at all. ‘We’re outta here, Mac.’ And they left Sweet Apple Acres, closing the stables doors shut, hoping to find some more ponies alive in their beloved town gone mad.
