Friendship is Dead

Chapters

Anypony out there?
Welcome to Crazytown! Population: You
This Title Contains Spoilers
Don't Read This if You Want a Happy Life

Anypony out there?

Starspot woke up in a cold sweat, bolting out of bed and onto all four legs. She panted, relaxing her muscles as she calmed herself. She shook her head lightly, trying to convince herself it was just a dream. The pony sighed, shivering a bit. She focused her horn’s magic onto the nightstand, pulling out a small nine millimeter pistol and a few magazines of ammunition. She placed the ammunition into her belt, looking over each detail of the handgun, making sure that each nook and cranny of the intricately designed weapon was as flawless as the day she had bought it. The world wasn’t like it used to be, and she had to be prepared. It had been almost two months since the experiments had backfired catastrophically. Starspot had often found herself wondering how exactly an attempt to create a parasprite repellent had gone so horribly awry.

She checked every spot of the abandoned house to make sure that she hadn’t missed any supplies. She found a few bottles of painkillers in the medicine cabinet, and a few bandages, but not much else. She cursed quietly under her breath. She had wished she could get a better weapon at the very least, since all the stores in town had been looted. She looked out of the boarded up window, slivers of sunlight coming through. She went down the stairs, carefully prying off the boards on the door as quietly as she could. She opened the door a tiny bit, peering through the crack. The street seemed empty and desolate. She swung the door open, pistol at the ready.

Starspot sighed with relief as she looked around and saw nothing. She cautiously walked out of the house, looking in all directions around her. She took in a sharp breath as she saw one of them. A pony with greyed skin, visible through a horribly matted coat, and a mane that appeared to be torn off in places. The pony had many visible injuries to it’s forelegs, mostly bites and scratches, but in a few places it seemed the skin had just given up all hope of clinging to its host and was hanging loosely by a few strands of muscle fiber. The most frightening part of this pony was its eyes. Neither eye had a pupil, and one eye was bulging slightly out of the socket. The pony was bent over the carcass of another, this one seemingly long dead, as it was mostly bones. Starspot shuddered a bit, taking aim at the zombie pony’s head. She fired off a shot, the silencer muffling the sound. The shot went straight through the zombie pony’s head, creating a small, clean hole in the front and back. The pony dropped instantly. She shuddered.

Starspot had grown pretty used to this new Equestria, but shooting a fellow pony was something that she didn’t want to get used to. She looked around once again for any signs of the living dead. Spotting no signs of life, (or lack thereof,) she began walking down the town’s main street, looking for any signs of where she was. She looked up at a road sign a few feet in front of her.

WELCOME TO FILLYDELPHIA!
Where the ponies are friendly and the streets are safe!

Starspot snorted a bit. “Safe my ass.”

“Don’t move, little missy.” A gruff voice called from over her shoulder. A shot rang out and Starspot immediately hit the floor. She heard a splat as a zombie pony’s head exploded just past her.

She stood up shakily, looking around to see if any other zombie ponies had been alerted by the loud shot of her savior’s hunting rifle. “Th-thank you.” She said somewhat quietly, realizing just how close she had come to death.

“Y’all shouldn’t be out here alone.” The gruff voice said sternly.

“Then who are you with?” Starspot asked smartly. She looked over to the mystery stallion. He seemed to be quite a bit older than her, possibly in his forties or fifties. He had a dark brown mane cut short, causing him to look like a soldier. His coat was a light grey color, although Starspot suspected that he was mostly covered in dust. And she was right. A few patches of the pony's true, light chestnut coat showed through a few places dirt had yet to touch. He was an earth pony, using a rifle modified to be fired by the mouth. He currently looked to be quite irritated with her.

“No one, smart-ass.” He said. “I was with my friend until he got bit and I had to shoot him in the head.”

Starspot fell silent. She had always been a loner, and had never had any friends to shoot, so she couldn't even imagine what that had to be like. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“O’ course you didn’t.” He sighed a bit. “Name’s Conrad, but if y’all like, you can call me Con.”

“Oh.” Starspot said, surprised he didn’t shoot her for her earlier remark. “I’m Starspot.”

“Pleased to meet ya’, little miss, but I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this meetin’ short, ‘fore we get too many visitors smellin’ the blood.” Conrad told her, signalling with his head a house that they could go into.

The two ponies walked into the house with their weapons drawn, searching each room. “Looks like we’re all clear.” Conrad said after looking into the last room. “At least, unless one o’ them zombie bastards gets through the door.”

“Leave that to me.” Starspot smiled a bit, pulling a bit of wood from her pack she was carrying, using her magic to bind it to the doorframe.

“That’s some plum useful magic you got there.” Conrad nodded knowledgeably.

“Well, magic is my special talent. It runs in my family, I guess.” Starspot shrugged. “It has ever since my great grandma Twilight.”

Conrad’s ears perked up. “Twilight Sparkle?”

“Yup. Why, you heard of her?”

“Heard of her? My granny used to tell me stories about the pony that defeated the Ursa Minor.” Conrad smiled with the memories of simpler times. Times when undead ponies weren’t threatening every waking moment.

“Your granny knew my great grandmother?” Starspot blinked.

“I reckon so. Granny Applejack would always tell stories about their group of friends.” Conrad shrugged. “Suppose it was pretty lucky we found each other.”

“So, you got any plans for where to go?” Starspot asked.

“Well, out of this hellhole, for one. After that, I was thinkin’ maybe I’d head to Ponyville, it’s supposed to be the last stronghold other than the castle in Canterlot, but I doubt we’d get into the castle.”

“Okay, mind if I tag along? It is dangerous to be out alone, after all.” Starspot said a bit jokingly.

“Alright, but it’s too late in the day to get going now. We have to rest up, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it.” Conrad frowned a bit. “We’ll have to make it there by nightfall, it’s too dangerous to be out at night.”

“Well, duh.” Starspot rolled her eyes.

Conrad growled a bit at her. “Y’all best take this seriously. I have no problem leavin’ you fer dead.”

“Well excuuuuse me.” Starspot muttered. “Just trying to have a little fun.”

“Ain’t nothin’ fun ‘bout the apocalypse, missy.” Conrad said gruffly. “Now you go look around the second floor for supplies, I’m gonna’ check if the water is drinkable.”

Starspot nodded, walking up the steps and looking in every spot in the house. She cursed quietly, finding almost no usable supplies. She picked up a poster off the ground.

SEE THE WONDERBOLTS!
Watch the amazing antics of the Wonderbolts at Fillydelphia Stadium on the first day of spring at ten A.M.!

Starspot smiled a bit, thinking back to the first day of spring. The air was warm and clear, dew glistening on the grass, and the undead hadn’t spread past Manehattan yet... Starspot put the poster in her bag, sighing a bit. She went down the stairs, instantly smelling something wonderful. She followed the scent to the kitchen, where she found Conrad looking over a pot with what seemed like broccoli floating in it.

“Find anything?” Conrad asked her.

“Nothing much.” She sighed. “Just a few bandages.”

“That’s still somethin’.” Conrad said. “More than I had on me to start.”

Starspot looked at him strangely. “You came that unprepared?”

“All my supplies got left behind when I left Manehattan.” Conrad said.

“Wait, Manehattan? You mean the place where this all started? You were there when the tests went wrong?”

“Tests? What have they been telling you?” Conrad leaned in closer to listen.

“We were told that a company was making a repellent for parasprites and that it was a breakthrough for farmers.” She told him.

Conrad scoffed, laughing audibly. “A parasprite repellent? That’s what they told you?” He laughed even harder. “Naw. That company was doin’ some pretty interestin’ stuff, but nothing that useful. At least, until they started studyin’ Princess Celestia.”

“The Princess?” Starspot blinked. “What were they studying her for?”

“Immortality.” Conrad said simply. “Princess Celestia is thousands of years old, and she looks like a regular ol’ mare... well, a regular ol' magical alicorn with a magical mane, but regular enough, I suppose. She loves the ponies of Equestria, so she jumped at the chance to help them. Those foals. Surely they should have realized that more study was needed.” He put his head in his hooves, sighing. “Rumor has it that they actually got it to work a few times before this zombie hell was unleashed.” Conrad looked at the ground. “Damn unlucky for those ponies, having to live forever as the last on earth.”

“Well, for a bit... until ponies start to... you know... repopulate.” Starspot said, then thought about what she had said. She quickly recovered. “But we need to find these ponies. They probably know more about the zombies than anyone.”

Conrad nodded a bit. “But they’re probably in the castle, which we’ll never get in.”

Conrad turned off the stove, pulling the pot full of broccoli off. He set it between the two. “Eat up, we’ll need our strength tomorrow.” He told her, picking out a few pieces and handing them to her.

“Thanks, Con.” Starspot smiled at him gratefully. Con nodded his head in recognition.

A loud thud from upstairs caused both of them to freeze in place, food still in their mouths. “You did remember to check behind the curtains in the shower upstairs, didn’t you?” Conrad hissed quietly.

“Ummmm....... shit.” Starspot turned her head to the stairs. She levitated her pistol from her bag as quietly as she could. She motioned to Conrad that she’d check it out. She slowly and silently walked up the stairs, using the small amount of light from her horn to guide her. She quietly opened the door to the bathroom, prepared for the worst. She looked around the room, seeing nothing. She pulled back the curtains of the shower and saw a horrifying sight. A pony that had been dead for quite a long time lay in the tub. The tub had some water in it, and the pony’s body had absorbed it, swelling to ridiculous proportions. It took Starspot a few moments to discern the source of the noise they had heard. Apparently the pony’s skin had been stretched to the limit, and just like a balloon with too much air, it had ruptured. The pony’s entrails lay next to it, floating around in the deep red water. The stomach of the pony was outside the body, but still attached to the inside, and it too had burst, revealing that this pony’s last meal had consisted of mostly carrots. Starspot grimaced at the awful scene, gagging. She shut her eyes tight for a few minutes, trying to stay standing on all four legs without passing out from the sickness of it all. Starspot quickly put a bullet through the head of the dead pony, figuring the apocalypse was no time to be stingy with bullets. After the shot, Starspot immediately wished she hadn’t chose to be safe. The shot broke the porcelain tub, bloody water rushing out. The pony’s bits of gore that were no longer attached to it floated past Starspot’s legs. The pony’s small intestine flowed towards her front left hoof, wrapping itself around. Starspot shook it off, shrieking as she ran down the stairs, running for the nearest trash receptacle and losing any of the broccoli she’d already eaten.

“Not pretty, eh?” Conrad asked.

Starspot shook her head, although with how much the rest of her body was shivering, it was most likely difficult to tell. She violently expelled what was left of her stomach contents, wiping her mouth with a hoof. “Why couldn’t a puppy outbreak have been the apocalypse?” She groaned.

Conrad chuckled a bit. “I trust ya’ took care of it?”

Starspot nodded slightly. She tried as hard as she could to not think of what she had just seen.

“You’ll get used to those kinds of sights soon enough. I don’t think there’s a thing in this world that disturbs ol’ Conrad now. Why don’t y’all get some shuteye? I’ll keep watch tonight.” Conrad said. “I think y’all have watched enough tonight.”

Starspot nodded, walking slowly and shakily to the couch that was set up. She collapsed onto it, sighing a bit, relieved that she’d be able to sleep and get her mind off the events she’d just witnessed. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to focus on something else. She thought back to before her whole world got turned around, back when she was just a filly. She had lived in Ponyville until she’d had to move to Canterlot for her parents to more closely work with Princess Celestia. She really had loved living in Ponyville, mostly because it was a smaller community and everypony knew one another. She wondered how much it had changed from what she remembered. She prayed it hadn’t been hit hard, she didn’t know if she could take shooting her childhood friends... At least she had a companion now who could help her if she was unable to bring herself to shoot them. She nestled her mind in a happy memory of playing with her great grandma’s former assistant, Spike. Spike was the only kind fully-grown dragon that she had met. Starspot smiled as she drifted off slowly.

Starspot blinked her eyes open, yawning. She stretched out on the couch.

“Mornin’” Conrad murmered.

“Morning.” Starspot yawned once more. She stood up, cracking her various sore joints. She walked to the downstairs bathroom, splashing her face with water. She looked in the mirror at herself, almost not recognizing herself. Her dark purple mane was tangled and unkempt. She sighed, knowing she may never get the matted mane to lie right again. Her light brown eyes were severely bloodshot and she looked like she’d been drinking too much the night before. Her light purple coat was caked with blood in a few places. Her parents had always told her that she was the spitting image of Twilight Sparkle. Starspot wondered if they would have still thought that if they had seen her now. She found it hard to imagine that Twilight Sparkle had ever been covered in blood with bags full of pistol ammunition and medical supplies strapped to her back. She looked at her flank, frowning. Her cutie mark was obscured by blood. She splashed some water on it, cleaning the spot off. She was very proud to be bearing the same crest as the great Twilight Sparkle had many years ago, albeit with a different color scheme. Hers was a light blue, compared to her grandmother's purple. She stretched, walking out of the bathroom.

“Alright Con, you can get to sleep now and I’ll keep watch.” Starspot said.

“Alright.” Conrad said. “Be careful, though. We don’t want a repeat of the bathroom.”

Starspot looked to the ground, a bit embarrassed. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it none.” Conrad stretched out on the couch.

Starspot snuck a peek at his flank, curious about his cutie mark. She stifled a gasp as she saw it, or to be more precise, didn’t. She looked at the ground again, this time in contemplation rather than embarrassment. Conrad soon began snoring.

How could a pony of that age not have a cutie mark? Starspot wondered. I’ve never even heard of something like that. She frowned, thinking back to when she got her cutie mark.

---===---

Nineteen Years Prior

Starspot was just a little filly, only about nine years old, but she had learned to do quite a bit of magic thanks to her grandmother's teachings. She was to present herself to Princess Celestia so that she could see if she'd be accepted into her elite magic school. She passed every test that was thrown at her until the dragon egg test. She looked at the egg and concentrated, learning all of its curves and flaws. The egg was perfect, and had a small life in the center, just waiting to burst into the world with the help of a little magic. Starspot wrapped her magic around the egg inside and out when she noticed something about the dragon inside. It was only about a year old, far younger than the age when dragons are supposed to be hatched. She felt uneasy about hatching a dragon prematurely and possibly having it die. She let her magic recede back into her horn, turning to the princess.

"I apologize, Princess." Starspot bowed to her. "But I refuse to hatch this dragon egg. If I hatched it now, the dragon would die. I've read multiple books on the subject. I will return to do this test once the dragon has reached an age when it would be safe to hatch it. I ask your forgiveness for this blunder."

Princess Celestia laughed a bit. "Very formal." She placed a hoof on Starspot's shoulder. "You have just passed my test. You see, the thing about magic is that it is sometimes necessary to avoid using it if it means helping others. You remind me so much of your grandmother..." Celestia teared up a bit. "I shall assign you to the same place where it was that Twilight learned the most."

"The library in Canterlot?" Starspot asked.

"No. Ponyville." The princess smiled at her. "And one more thing."

"There's more?!" Starspot groaned a bit. "I didn't know about extra credit. I didn't study."

"Not that." Celestia pointed to Starspot's flank. "That." There, on Starspot's haunch, was a gorgeous cutie mark. It was a light blue six pointed star with stars accenting the outside. For the first time in her life, Starspot felt like an adult.

---===---

Present Day

It had to have been the happiest day of her life, but to never get that... She shuddered at the thought.

The night had passed by boringly, with Starspot not even having to worry about zombies with her boarding up trick. Conrad woke up just after sunrise. “Howdy, missy.” He yawned.

“Hey Con.” Starspot smiled at the stallion.

Conrad grunted in acknowledgement. He stretched out.

“I packed our bags with all the supplies I could find.” Starspot smiled at him.

“‘Kay.” He said sleepily.

Starspot rolled her eyes. “That means get your ass up.”

Conrad grunted, rolling off the couch and landing on all fours. He stretched out. “Alright, let’s get going.”

“Sure, let’s get going.” Starspot said.

“I just said that.” Conrad blinked.

“I know.” Starspot smiled at him. “That’s why I said it.”

Conrad shook his head. “I’ll never get mares.”

Starspot laughed, pulling the planks off of the door and placing them in her bag. She pulled her pistol out and double-checked to make sure that it was fully loaded and pristine. She slowly opened the door, peeking out. She assessed the situation, turning to Conrad. “Four of them down the street, want to run for it or take them out?”

“I say run.” Conrad said. “My weapon’s too loud and yours just ain’t all that accurate at long range.”

Starspot nodded, slowly opening the door and running in the direction opposite the zombies. She looked behind her to make sure that Conrad was keeping pace. He was running alongside her with seemingly little effort. “Not bad for an old man.” She laughed.

“I ain’t old, my body just don’t know that.” Conrad laughed right back.

The two new friends ran down the street, laughing with each other. Something ahead stopped them in their tracks, however. The road ahead was covered with zombie pony bodies strewn about listlessly. At least, Starspot hoped they were zombie ponies.They silently stared down the road.

“Think we should take a different route?” Starspot said.

“Nah.” Conrad shook his head. “Worst we’ll find this way seems to be more survivors, and maybe some teammates that can help us get to Ponyville.”

Starspot looked at him skeptically. “Or they’re trigger happy military jackasses ordered to shoot whatever moves.”

“Only one way to find out, isn’t there?” Conrad smiled, running ahead.

“Dammit!” Starspot cursed. She ran after him. “I swear to Celestia if you get killed I’m not going to be responsible!”

Conrad skidded to a halt in front of her, causing the two ponies to collide.

“Ow, what the hell, Con?” Starspot rubbed her sore horn. “I nearly stabbed you with....” She stopped as she saw what it was that Conrad had stopped for. A bright pink pony with an unusually straight pink mane and a gigantic smile sat in the middle of the road, surrounded by carnage, staring directly at Starspot and Conrad.

“Hi.” She grinned at them. “I’m Pinkie Pie.”

End of Chapter One

For those of you that stuck with it, I thank you, and I assure you that more will be released if there isn’t a mass exodus of hate, and even then, I didn’t do all this work for nothing! I would like to extend a hoof of gratitude to my prereaders and proofreaders that made all this the best it could be.

Special Thanks to:
Kuraned
Shall005
Lauren Faust
Hasbro
All the bronies and pegasisters out there that inspired me to write this!

Welcome to Crazytown! Population: You

“Hi.” The pink pony smiled at Starspot and Conrad. “I’m Pinkie Pie.”

Starspot and Conrad looked at each other. “Ummm, I hate to tell ya this, little missy, but Pinkie Pie’s been dead fer years.” Conrad furrowed his brow.

The pink pony giggled. “Well that’s silly. If I were dead how could I be here, huh?” She stood up, walking over to a corpse lying sprawled out on the street. The corpse seemed to be of a pegasus pony, but the wings seemed to have been torn off by the zombie ponies, or at least Starspot hoped that this was the zombie ponies’ doing.

“Gerald, don’t be rude, say hello!” The pink pony said. She twitched a bit, grabbing the pony’s head and twisting it towards Starspot and Conrad. She manipulated its mouth with her hoof.

“G’day, mates, how’s the barbie?” The Pinkie Pie impersonator said, appearing to think that the dead pony really was speaking, and a pony with an Australian accent, at that.

“Um....... hello?” Starspot blinked. This pony had to be absolutely bonkers, she was sure of it.

“What’s your name? Mine’s Pinkie Pie!” The pink pony dropped the pegasus corpse on the ground, turning her neck in a physically impossible fashion.

“Ummm.... I’m...... I’m Starspot.” She said hesitantly. Damn, She thought. Should’ve come up with a fake name.

“You look like the pictures Granny Pie showed me of that Twilight Sparkle!” The pink pony gasped. “You must be Twilight Sparkle! I knew the one I had wasn’t real!” She reached into her bag, throwing something out onto the ground.

Starspot gasped as she saw what the pony had placed on the ground. A skull of a unicorn pony lay in front of her, bits of purple hair still visible in a few spots. She fell to the ground, trembling at the sight of her family member’s skull. “H-how did you.... where did you get this?!” She demanded.

The fake Pinkie Pie giggled. “I went to the Ponyville cemetery, silly! They had a whole bunch of cool ponies there! I almost have a complete set! I just need Rainbow Dash, but I can’t fly, so I can’t get to Cloudsdale. So, I borrowed Gerald’s wings! They didn’t work though, so maybe I didn’t do it right. And now that I know that this Twilight’s a fake, I can get a new one, and then we’ll all be happy!”

Starspot stared at her, dumbfounded. “Y-you can’t be serious.... You... you..... YOU LOOTED THEIR GRAVES?!?!”

The pink pony looked at her confusedly. “Well they weren’t using these. I promise I’ll return them, so it’s more like borrowing!”

“You stole my great-grandmother’s skull?!” Starspot demanded.

“What’d you take of my granny’s, what do you have of Applejack’s?!” Conrad growled, his rifle pointed at the pink pony.

The pony giggled. “Well I had to have her hat! It was famous! And have you heard about her legendary kicks? I’d be crazy not to take the leg!”

Conrad glared at her. “I swear to Celestia I’ll do it. I will blow this bitch’s brains out.”

“Stop!” Starspot said. She hung her head, thinking a bit. She was torn. Part of her wanted to just let Conrad kill her, but another part of her had a plan. “She’s just.... confused.... and probably insane.”

“All the more reason to rid this hellish world of one more monster.” Conrad growled.

“That attitude ain’t gonna get you anywhere with anypony.” Starspot rolled her eyes. “Now, ummm... Pinkie Pie, why don’t you tell us why you want to collect the parts of these ponies.”

“Okie dokie lokie! I need the parts of the ponies because I need the Elements of Harmony in order to get rid of all the bad guys!”

“And how will those parts help?” Starspot asked.

“Because they come from the original bearers, duh!” The pony laughed.

“That’s not how the Elements of Harmony work, though!” Starspot said.

“How would you know? Oh, I know how you know! You’re Twilight Sparkle, aren’t you?!” Pinkie Pie bounced around.

“NO!” Starspot said. “I”m her great-granddaughter!” She looked up to the position of the sun. “We have to get going, Con.”

“Then let me shoot ‘er head off so we can leave!” Conrad said.

“No.” Starspot told him. She magically wrenched the gun away from him. “She’s crazy, but she’s not stupid.”

“What the hay are you talking about?” Conrad narrowed his eyes at her.

“The Elements of Harmony are elements that create peace in dark times. It’s possible that there may be a way that they could help. And while the body parts of the original bearers may not still hold them, what if they passed it down? What if we could hold them? What if we could save the world?" Starspot smiled a bit at that, liking the sound of it. Starspot, the savior of Equestria. "We have to take her with us. I have a feeling she’s related to the original bearer of the Element of Laughter.” Starspot said.

“Well, if I’m going to have to be the Element of Truth, I’m starting now. I don’t like this at all. Who died and made you the leader anyhow?” Conrad grumbled.

Starspot looked at him for a few seconds before answering. “Everypony.” Conrad shut up at that.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie, why don’t you come with us? We’re going to.... uh.... find some more parts of these ponies! Yeah, we can’t do it with just these parts! We need more!” Starspot hoped she’d agree to this lame excuse of an excuse.

“Okie dokie lokie!” The pink pony giggled. She hopped towards them. “Bye Gerald! See you later!”

Starspot shook her head a bit, wondering if she’d made the right choice. She decided they were on too tight of a schedule to dwell on it at all. “Let’s get moving, we’re way behind schedule.” Starspot began running towards Ponyville as quickly as she could, wanting to leave the sea of corpses behind her. Conrad and the new pony followed closely.

“So, your name is Pinkie Pie?” Starspot asked while they ran.

“Yup! My Granny Pie said that she was proud that I was named after her! She was really sweet. Want to see her ribcage?”

“NO!” Conrad and Starspot said together. The two looked at each other, both obviously wondering just how long this mare would survive in the unforgiving new Equestria.

“Do y’all really think that mare’ll be able to handle herself in a fight?” Conrad said worriedly.

“I think we’re about to find out.” Starspot looked ahead, seeing about ten zombie ponies feasting on the flesh of a pony that appeared to have been poorly armed, with the only weapon nearby being a baseball bat.

Starspot pulled out her pistol, floating Conrad’s rifle back over to him. “Okay Pinkie, how are you going to take them out?”

“With a party!” Pinkie Pie grinned, pulling a radio out of her bag, hitting the play button. A polka medly started playing.

“Are you kidding me?!?!” Starspot groaned.

“Nope!” Pinkie Pie giggled, running over to the zombies that were now alerted to her presence. She began to dance wildly, her movements quick, yet graceful, her legs kicking fluidly. Her back left hoof connected with the head of a zombie pony, a loud crunch being heard as the skull crushed. The zombie pony fell to the ground, dead.

Starspot and Conrad’s jaws hung wide open.

Pinkie Pie grinned as she danced, all of the zombie ponies falling down at her hooves as she danced her destructive dance. She giggled, hopping back to the other two and turning off the radio. “That was fun!” She began hopping towards Ponyville once again.

“We’re keeping her with us.” Starspot said, her mouth still wide open.

“Eeyup.” Conrad nodded in disbelief. The two began running after this crazed pony they now had to watch out for.

---===---

The three stopped just before noon to rest. They were on a small patch of broken road, weeds pushing through the large cracks, forming a type of divisor between sections of the stone. There was a gentle breeze, which was highly beneficial, as the sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a cloud to be seen.

“Why didn’t anypony tell me it was so far away?” Conrad whined.

“You’re such a girl, Conrad.” Starspot teased.

“More of one than you.” Conrad grunted.

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted.” Starspot laughed.

“Oh, oh, I know! You should be insulted!” Pinkie Pie jumped up and down. “I win! What game do you want to play next? Please say hopscotch, please say hopscotch!”

“No, we need to rest if we’re to get to Ponyville before nightfall.” Starspot said. “Plus this is not the time for hopscotch, it’s the time for survival.”

A low moan came from over a nearby hill. The three companions froze.

“Okay, we’re going to have to move on. This isn’t safe.” Starspot whispered. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and that was just an echo. They could be miles away right now.”

“Everyone get ready to fight if things get ugly.” Conrad whispered. He pulled out his rifle. Starspot nodded, pulling her pistol out of her bag. They slowly walked over the hill towards Ponyville. About twenty zombie ponies wandered aimlessly in front of them.

“Shit.” Starspot groaned. She checked to make sure the pistol she had loved so much was in pristine condition. “I have nine shots before I have to reload.” She sighed a bit. “And Conrad, you have how many, six?”

Conrad nodded. “That math just don’t add up.”

“Pinkie Pie, why don’t you hang back, and me and Conrad will take out as many as we can. After that, you be ready to distract them long enough for Conrad and me to reload.”

“Okie dokie, lokie!” Pinkie Pie saluted.

“Ready Con?” Starspot whispered.

“As I’ll ever be...” Conrad whispered back.

“Three... two... one... Go!” Starspot screamed the last word to try and confuse the zombie ponies. Starspot and Conrad shot in conrtrolled bursts, trying to cause maximum damage. About half of the zombie ponies fell. Pinkie Pie ran around the remaining zombies while Starspot and Conrad reloaded. A moan behind the two firing ponies stopped them cold. They looked behind and noticed that there was a rather large group of zombie ponies behind them. “Screw the plan!” Starspot screamed. “Just run!” She clumsily stuffed her pistol back into her bag so she could run faster. She ran into the now smaller crowd that was on the path in front of her. She weaved in between them faster than most could react. One zombie pony managed to sink its teeth into her bag, ripping it off of her shoulders. She winced at the close call, running out of the crowd, looking behind her as the other two living ponies followed suit, Conrad not having time to put his bag back on, leaving all but Pinkie Pie bagless. At least Conrad still has his rifle. Starspot thought. But with little ammo. The ponies ran along the road, its mischievous twists and turns causing them to trip over their own hooves every once in a while. The road seemed to cut through the nothingness, as the only plant life around the dry soil were a few cacti and a weed or two poking through the street to greet the ponies' unhappy hooves. They stopped at a sign that was bent back, the metal appearing to have been struck with some sort of blunt object.

PONYVILLE JUST AHEAD
The happiest town in all of Equestiria!

Starspot smiled a bit, thinking back to her childhood days there. She couldn't have agreed with the sign more, after all, it had the second biggest library in existence. "Come on, everypony, let's get going."

The three ponies arrived in Ponyville just before sundown. “Phew.” Starspot panted heavily, coughing a bit. “Made it. Come on, I know a safe place.” She led the two to the library Twilight Sparkle once called home, being overly wary of zombies, hoping to be able to run from these ones. “This is the safest house in town, it’s protected magically.” She opened the door, peering inside to make sure they were alone. She was met with a blast of smoke to her face.

“Spike?” Starspot coughed. “Is that you?”

A large mass rearranged itself in the center of the room. “Huh?” It spoke with a deep, powerful voice. The large purple dragon opened it’s eyes slowly. “T-Twilight?!” It stood with a loud thud, taking up most of the room.

“Calm down Spike, it’s me, Starspot.” She reached out with a hoof, gently stroking his leg to calm him. “I missed you.”

“Starspot? What are you doing here?” Spike leaned down closer to her.

She smiled at him. “We need a place to stay the night, can we stay here?”

“Of course! Anything for you, Starspot! You look just like Twilight, except for the pink in her mane that’s not there. Plus, there's the eyes. Have you seen her? She said she had to run some errands and then I fell asleep, I’ll bet she needs some help from her number one assistant!”

Starspot fell silent. “Spike, when did you fall asleep?”

“Oh, I think it was Thursday. You know us dragons, we can sleep for years, why once I-” Spike froze, seeming to realize what had happened. “I-I’ve been asleep a lot longer than a few days... haven’t I?”

Starspot nodded sadly. “Spike, Twilight’s been... gone... for about twenty years.”

Spike looked down at her. “No...” He shook his head. “No, it can’t be...” Tears began running down his face. “NO!” He roared, flames licking out of his nostrils. He collapsed on the ground, crying harder than Starspot had ever seen anypony cry. Large tears splashed to the floor, soaking the three travellers.

“She’s not gone, silly!” Pinkie Pie smiled. “Starspot, she’s in your bag!”

Starspot glared at her. Spike rose his head up. “What? Was this all some sort of a prank? Haha, good one you guys, although that was really mean. I bet Rainbow Dash was in on it too, wasn’t she? She always took things way too far. Haha Twilight, you can come on out now.”

Starspot stared at the floor. “You don’t want to see this, Spike.”

“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I want to see Twilight? I’ll bet she has some letters for me to send to Princess Celestia!”

Tears fell down Starspot’s face. “Spike, you really really don’t want to see this.”

“Yes I do! Come on Twilight, get out here.” Spike looked expectantly at Starspot’s bags.

Starspot sighed, magically unclasping her bag. She slowly pulled out the skull that Pinkie Pie had thrown on the ground earlier.

“What is.... this isn’t funny, Starspot!” Spike glared at the pony.

“Spike, I’m sorry.” Starspot was now visibly crying. “I tried to warn you.”

“THAT ISN’T TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT IS ALIVE!” Spike roared at her, flames flashed from his nostrils.

“I’m very sorry, Spike.” Starspot said quietly, backing up a bit. “That is Twilight. She died.”

“NO SHE DIDN’T! TWILIGHT WOULD NEVER DIE WITHOUT SAYING... “ Spike fell silent for a moment. “Without saying...” Tears dripped down the dragon’s face. “Goodbye...”

Starspot put her front arms around the dragon’s leg in a kind of hug.

“We’ll go to another room.” Conrad said, pulling Pinkie along with him to look around.

Starspot and Spike cried in each other’s arms for a while, (although Spike did most of the crying) and not a word was spoken between the two for hours.

“Spike... I’m sorry.” Starspot sniffed after the long silence.

“Why? Why wouldn’t she say goodbye?” Spike wondered, asking the same question he’d repeated in his mind a million times each second since he'd known.

“I don’t know, Spike.” Starspot frowned. “But I’m sure she had a good reason.”

“Yeah.” Spike frowned. He wiped the tears out of his eyes with his enormous clawed paw.

“Spike, would you like to go with us when we bury her? I think she would like you to be in attendance.” Starspot asked quietly.

“Yes.” Spike said. “She would have wanted it that way. Should I ask how exactly you found her?”

Starspot shook her head. “You don’t want to know.” She sighed a bit. “So, you don’t know what’s going on out there, do you?”

Spike shrugged. “I assume not much has changed. The sun goes up, the sun goes down, Celestia watches over us. Same as it has been.”

Starspot winced a bit. “Umm... not quite. Some strange scientists tried to come up with something to make ponies live forever... or at least for a long time. It didn’t go right, and now most of the ponies in Equestria have been zombified. Spike, almost everyone in Equestria is dead.”

Spike simply stared forward. “Sounds like an awful place out there. You three are free to stay here as long as you need. I promise that I’ll keep you safe as long as you need to be.”

“You’re very kind, Spike, but I’m afraid we’ll have to leave for Manehattan soon. I think we may still be able to save Equestria. Tell me, do you know the whereabouts of any relatives of Rarity, Rainbow Dash, or Fluttershy? From what I’ve heard, Fluttershy doesn’t seem like the..... mating type, so maybe a sister or something?” Starspot pulled out a list she had made. She had checks under Element of Laughter, Element of Honesty, and Element of Magic.

“Actually, Fluttershy had a filly. Don’t you remember Mr. Sharp?” Spike said. “And don’t you remember his filly, Angel, you two used to play together when you visited, mostly because you were forced to, but you played nonetheless.”

“Wait, that shy little pegasus that was afraid of her own shadow was related to Fluttershy? That’s...... not all that far-fetched, actually.” Starspot thought back. “Do you know where she lives?”

“Last I heard she lived in Fluttershy’s old house at the edge of the Everfree forest.” Spike thought. “And I don’t know where any relatives of Rainbow Dash or Rarity would be, but I would check Cloudsdale for Rainbow Dash’s relatives, and maybe Canterlot would be where Rarity’s would be?”

“Thank you, Spike, we’ll be out of your hair tomorrow, or maybe the next day, because if we need to convince Angel to join us, we’ll want to be back by nighttime, the zombies get more aggresive then.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Spike smiled, trying to mask the pain deep in his heart. “Why don’t you go get settled with your friends upstairs, you remember where everything is here, right?”

“Of course.” Starspot smiled, motioning for him to bend down. He did so and she kissed his scaly cheek. “Thanks, number one assistant.”

Spike smiled a bit. Starspot went up the stairs, opening the door to the bedroom. She walked in to find both Pinkie Pie and Conrad sleeping soundly on opposite sides of the room. She smiled a bit, going over to Pinkie Pie’s bags she’d set down, removing all of the contents and going down the stairs, placing the bag at Spike’s feet. “Don’t let Pinkie Pie... yeah, that’s her real name. But anyways, don’t let her get that bag. And don’t look in there, trust me.” She went back up the stairs, laying down in the middle of the room. She yawned, not realizing quite how tired she was. She stretched out, dozing off.

---===---

Starspot’s dreams that night were filled with memories of her childhood, playing with Angel and reading with her great grandma Twilight, but Twilight’s voice seemed different. Starspot looked up to her, to see that where her head was completely devoid of skin, looking just as it had when she first saw it come from Pinkie Pie’s bags. The skull stared intently at her, gradually breaking down as she heard Spike crying, just as he had done that day. “TWILIGHT! YOU CAN’T BE GONE!”

---===---

Starspot woke up in a cold sweat, looking about the familiar surroundings of the library. She sighed with relief, shaking her head to wake herself. She yawned.

“Mornin’.” Conrad was sitting in the corner, running repairs on his rifle.

“Morning.” Starspot yawned again. “So, first we’re going to Sugar Cube Corner to scavenge for food, then we’d better go to Fluttershy’s house to see if Angel is still there.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Conrad said. “An’ I’m sorry about how I was acting yesterday, but you understand, don’t y’all?”

Starspot nodded. “You were right to question my judgement, after all, I really am not any kind of leader. Plus Pinkie Pie is crazy.”

“You may not think so, but I think you are the leader. I mean, what if you’re right about this whole Elements of Harmony stuff? I woulda’ just killed her without any second thoughts. Then I think I woulda’ gotten out with less than just my rifle.” Conrad said. He placed his rifle back into his bag.

“Well, that’s nice, but I still don’t believe you. Anyways, let’s get going, we’re burning daylight.” Starspot got up and walked down the stairs.

Pinkie Pie was reading a book. The cover was green and had three balloons on it. She was smiling, her mane much more curly than it was the previous day.

Spike turned when he saw Starspot. “I thought that that would maybe help her.” He spoke with his deep, gruff voice. “It’s a photo album her grandmother had made of the various parties she’d had.” He smiled a bit. “Perked her right up.”

Starspot smiled. “You’re such a sweetie under that tough exterior.”

Spike blushed a bit.

Starspot stretched out a bit. “Pinkie Pie, you wanna stay here while me and Conrad go to Sugar Cube Corner?”

Pinkie Pie shot up. “Sugar Cube Corner?! Wowie-zowie! I wanna go!”

Starspot laughed. “Alright, then, let’ get going. Spike, when we come back we’ll knock three times, otherwise don’t open up.”

Spike nodded. Starspot walked out of the door, gauging the situation. “There appear to be no zombies out here. This is kind of weird, we haven’t seen one since we got to town.” She felt very uneasy, unsure of whether she should be relieved or worried that they had yet to see a single zombie pony in town.

“We’ll have to keep watch.” Conrad noted.

They all walked to Sugar Cube Corner together, looking around the town as they travelled. The town didn't seem to have sustained much damage, looking much like it had when Starspot had last been here. The buildings were mostly made of stone, and had thatched straw houses. While the town was fairly small compared to Fillydelphia, it was by no means tiny.There were close to a hundred houses dotted around town, most of them placed in the central hub around the large town hall. One building stood out above them all, however. Sugar Cube Corner was a large shop, being one of the only in town with three stories. It was decorated to look like a gingerbread house, with numerous delicacies modeled on the building. Starspot's favorite part was the cupcake that was on the top of it all, with three candles on top. Her mouth watered a little at the sight of the candy dwelling.

She opened the door, praying to Celestia that no zombies were in there. There didn't appear to be any, at least on the first floor. The first floor was a near copy of the outside, with peppermint sticks serving as pillars and lollipops and other candies gracing the walls in every available open spot. The front desk had a glass case built in that usually had a cake or a pie in it, but was now eerily vacant.

“Okay, now Conrad, you check the refrigerator down here, I’ll go check upstairs, and Pinkie Pie, just don’t steal any bones, please.” Starspot said. She headed up the stairs, looking around the room that she presumed to have been Pinkie Pie’s room. There didn’t seem to be much in the room, just a rug, a bed, and a record player. The door seemed to have been knocked off of its hinges and there was a dark red stain on the floor. Starspot looked at the record in the player. “The Parasprite Polka?” She shrugged, looking over the record player. It seemed to be fairly small for travel. She smiled. “A wonderful present for Pinkie! A welcome-back-to-sanity gift.” She laughed a bit at her own joke. She heard a low rumble from her stomach. “I really hope those guys managed to find some food.” She groaned a bit. She went down the stairs. “You guys find anything?”

“Loads, most of it inedible.” Conrad said glumly. “There’s a few cupcakes that are still palatable, and maybe some of these cookies, but other than that, nothing.”

Starspot sighed. The three shared the cupcakes and cookies. “I really hope Angel has some food. I could go for a nice daffodil sandwich right about now. Speaking of which, let’s get going, we want to give ourselves plenty of time.”

Starspot opened the door, walking out into the bright sunlight. It appeared to be about ten in the morning. Starspot sighed a bit, not looking forward to the long trip to Fluttershy's house. Her house was on the very outskirts of town, just outside of the Everfree forest. There was a path leading to it, but along the path were no houses, giving it the same feeling as the street to Ponyville. A bridge cutting through oblivion.The path lead over a spot where there once was a gorgeous stream that was always gently flowing, but it had seemed to have dried up since Starspot had left. The cabin itself looked very different from any other home that Starspot had seen before. There were holes all over where the animals once lived, and birdhouses adorned every spare place. The cabin had a grass roof, making it look much like just a part of a hill, save for the door and windows.

The door was hanging open. Starspot readied herself for a fight. “This could be bad.” She whispered. She snuck in, hearing zombie groans. “Dammit.” She groaned. Her heart sank deep into her stomach. “There goes the plan of getting her to join us.” She looked around the cabin. A couch lay tipped over on the floor, pillows strewn about carelessly. The inside looked much like the outside, with holes and birdhouses everywhere. Starspot had always wondered why there were birdhouses indoors, but they had never been empty, so she assumed there were some species of bird that simply preferred the indoor atmosphere. She looked to the middle of the room. There were a few cages hanging from the ceiling. The cages were very large, looking like they were made to accommodate ponies. She looked inside one, gasping.

End of Chapter Two

A special thank you to everypony that has stuck with the story thus far. For the rest of you, well, you won’t be getting this message. I just hope that if one day you’re surrounded by zombie ponies, you’ll think of me and have a party. Who knows? It could save your life.

This Title Contains Spoilers

Large cages were around the room, suspended from the ceiling by chains. Starspot cautiously looked inside one. A zombie pony lunged at the bars of the cage, gnashing it’s teeth as it tried to bite Starspot.

“Stop! Bad pony! Oh, my!” A very distraught voice sounded from nearby. A bright yellow pegasus pony with a light blue mane that covered half her face stepped into the open. “Umm.... sorry if he tried to hurt you...” She looked at the ground, kicking her hoof at the ground shyly.

“Angel? Wow, you’ve grown up.” Starspot blinked. It was true, the mare was now fully grown, and rather beautiful, at least by Starspot’s standards.

“Starspot... is that you?” Angel squinted.

“Yeah! It’s been years!” Starspot smiled a bit, then looked around the room worriedly. “Umm.... what’s with the zombie ponies?”

“I’ve been trying to help them, but nothing I’ve done has worked!” Angel said frustratedly.

“There’s only one thing that helps these bastards.” Conrad grunted. He pulled out his rifle, shooting the caged pony in the head. “And that was the last of my ammo, you better be grateful.”

“How dare you?!” Angel ran to him, her eyes full of anger and passion. “What gives you the right to do that?!”

“Stop, Angel!” Starspot put her hoof on the pony’s shoulder, well aware of the power of her stare. She had seen that stare cause a grown stallion to burst into tears, and control animal’s minds. “He’s right. It’s the only way to.... make them comfortable.”

Angel shot her a dirty look. “Have you tried anything else?”

“Well, yeah, we...no, but those things are killing ponies and hurting innocent animals!” Starspot tried to win her over.

Angel looked at her with concern. “But still.....”

“Angel, it’s me talking, you know I wouldn’t lie to you.” Starspot nodded at her, flashing a quick smile. “Just trust me.”

Angel looked to Starspot, mulling it over in her mind. “Okay, I believe you.” She looked to the floor. “I’m sorry, mister, I didn’t mean to yell at you... if that’s okay.”

“Not a problem, Missy, I know your grandmother would’ve done the same.” Conrad nodded.

“Grandma Fluttershy? What do you know about her?” Angel gasped a bit, her head shooting up. “You have to tell me everything... if that’s alright.”

“Sure thing.” Conrad smiled at her. “Just come back to the library with us and we’ll tell you all about it.”

“Of course!” Angel smiled. “I would love to!”

The trio led the pony back to the library. All of the buildings they passed were pristine and white, and Starspot recognized them all. Quills and Sofas, the Carousel Boutique, and even the joke shop reminded her of the old days. The trip back took about twenty minutes, during which Starspot and Angel worked on catching up on what had happened to them since they had last met, although most of their stories involved either hiding out, or simply trying to survive. Apparently, Angel was visiting a family member in Maresburg when the zombie infection hit. She immediately ran back to the house that had belonged to her grandmother in order to conduct some medical research on the afflicted ponies to try to alleviate their suffering. Starspot mostly listened, preferring it to prattling on about her own life. Starspot opened the door to the library, finding Spike crying in the corner. He quickly straightened up when he saw the four walk in, though, obviously embarrassed.

“You doing okay?” Starspot furrowed her brow.

“Yeah.” Spike sniffed. “Fine.”

Angel shrieked when she saw Spike. “D-d-d-dragon!” She squeaked frightfully.

“It’s okay, you remember Spike, don’t you?” Starspot said gently.

“Oh.... Spike.... right.” Angel panted a bit from fear.

“I’m a bit bigger than last time, aren’t I?” Spike grinned a toothy and very obviously faked grin.

“Uhm.... yes...” Angel said, still a bit cautious.

“Why don’t we go up to the bedroom and we can tell you everything you want to know?” Starspot suggested, wanting to give Spike some alone time to think.

“Yeah... I mean, if that would be okay with you.” Angel said with her quiet voice.

“Of course it would.” Starspot giggled a bit giddily, feeling very nostalgic. After all, Angel was the only pony she had ever called friend.

The four went up the stairs and began sharing stories of the six friends that once were and their adventures.

“So then, get this, the princess thought that the parasprites were a parade for her!” Pinkie Pie finished the story she was telling. The four laughed together, bonding immensely over the past few hours while they told their stories. Even Conrad and Pinkie Pie shared a few laughs between them.

“Oh, how about I tell you guys about the sleepover me and Starspot had once while she was visiting!” Angel said, laughing. “Now, we had to sleep on the floor and share a blanket, and neither of us was very comfortable with it, so then I said- Oof!”

“Oof?” Conrad blinked. “What a thing to say!”

“Not that story.” Starspot hissed in Angel’s ear after smacking her lightly on her side. She was blushing badly. How could she even remember something like that? She wondered, still blushing profusely.

“Oops.” Angel blushed along with her friend, the blush showing more on her yellow coat.

Conrad stared at the two in disbelief. He wasn’t the brightest pony, but it didn’t take a genius to understand what had happened. “The boys always said that’s what happened at girls’ slumber parties, but I didn’t believe ‘em. Damn.” He began to laugh. Pinkie Pie joined him in the laugh, leaving Angel and Starspot with their heads hung low, trying to dissolve into the floor.

Starspot blushed even deeper. “Shut up, asshole.” She grumbled.

“Not a chance!” Conrad laughed. Starspot growled at him.

“Sorry...” Angel frowned.

“So, just how far did things go?” Conrad asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Too damn far.” Starspot seethed. She wished she knew a dissappearing spell, because at the moment, that was what she wanted more than anything in the world. Pinkie Pie laughed hysterically.

The excitement from the revelation died down after a while and Pinkie Pie and Conrad finally stopped the teasing.

“Oh! I know, I know!” Pinkie Pie grinned, her curly mane bouncing hypnotically. “Let’s tell our stories of how we got our cutie marks!”

“I just did...” Angel spoke softly, looking at the ground. She shifted her saddlebags, revealing a cutie mark of a large smiling rainbow. “My special talent is making ponies happy.” Pinkie Pie stared in disbelief for a few seconds before bursting into raucous laughter.

Starspot placed a hoof on her face, sighing. “I swear to Celestia, I want to kill you right now, Angel.”

“So then... are y’all... y’know, a couple?” Conrad asked awkwardly.

“NO!” Starspot glared at him. “We were kids and it was just some stupid experimenting. I don’t swing that way.”

Angel looked away a bit at the last sentence, her heart sinking. She feigned a laugh. “Yeah, me neither.

Starspot sat back a bit, wanting desperately to change the subject. “Tomorrow we’ll rebury Twilight, then we’re going to stop at Sweet Apple Acres to check for food. There’s bound to be some.” She was happy to have a change of subject.

“Alright, let’s get some shuteye, then.” Conrad stretched out, glad no one asked about his cutie mark. He focused hard, trying to remember what had happened to it.

Pinkie Pie lay on the ground, grinning from ear to ear. She was happy that the voices were starting to disappear. She shuddered a bit as she thought back to what she had done while she was, for lack of a better word, insane. She held the photo album Spike had given her close to her chest, feeling truly happy for the first time in a while.

“Goodnight.” Angel frowned a bit, staring at the ground, her low self-esteem screaming at her. YOU AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH FOR HER! SHE’D JUST LEAVE YOU ANYWAYS! She bit her lip hard, the pain distracting her a bit from her emotional pain. She tasted blood from her lip. NOGOODNOGOODNOGOODNOGOODNOGOOD! The voice screamed in her ear. She had always been attracted to mares, she’d accepted that, but Starspot? She figured she would never see her again after she left for Canterlot, so Angel would always fantasize about the life they could have had, never expecting her to show up on her doorstep. No good. “SHUT UP!” Angel shouted. The three other ponies looked at her curiously.

“Are you okay, Angel?” Starspot asked, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Angel’s heart lept. “Y-yeah, I just need some night air to clear my head. I”ll be on the balcony.” She pulled away from Starspot, walking out onto the balcony, hanging her head over the railing. “Way to screw it up, Angel.” She sniffed. “Now not only doesn’t she love you, but she hates you for bringing up that bad memory...” A tear fell from her eye, glistening on the tip of her nose.

“Need a tissue?” A calming voice came from behind her.

She turned around to see Starspot standing in the doorway. She held back even more tears. “No.” She sniffed, the tear falling to the wooden balcony, darkening the wood a shade. She rubbed the tear into the woodwork, wanting that dark spot to go back to normal... for everything to go back to normal.

“I know when there’s something wrong with you.” Starspot said gently. “You’re probably the only friend I’ve ever had.”

“That’s really nice, Star, but I would just like to be alone for now... if you don’t mind.” Angel forced a weak smile.

“That’s horse-apples and you know it.” Starspot nuzzled her friend’s cheek. “You can tell me, I’m your best friend.”

Angel’s heart lept to her throat once again. She barely managed to squeak out a small ‘no.’

Starspot closed the door behind her, morphing the wood together so it could not be opened. “Now you can’t leave until you talk.”

“But Star... you don’t understand!” Angel said, tears filling her eyes.

“Then make me understand.” Starspot nuzzled her friend again, not realizing the effect it had on her.

Angel knocked her friend’s muzzle from her coat, turning and staring into her eyes. “I.... I.... I...” She hesitated. “I love you, Starspot.”

Starspot frowned a bit, taking a step back. “That’s what I was afraid of.” She cursed under her breath.

“I... I’m sorry.” Angel frowned.

“No, I’m sorry.” Starspot sighed. “Maybe in another world, things could have worked out, but in this one, I can’t... I don’t...” She hung her head, biting her lip a bit. “I am just not attracted to mares. Not to mention that with all the craziness in the world, this would be the worst time for any kind of relationship.”

“Of course Starspot, it would be selfish of me to expect-”

“I’m not finished.” Starspot told her. “I don’t think that we could ever be together, and I don’t want to give you false hope, but... I don’t regret that night long ago.” She blushed a bit. “And maybe, given some time... I could warm up to the idea... But for now, I think it would be better if we were just friends. Please, Angel, if you won’t do this for me, do it for yourself.”

Angel looked to the ground. “Yes. Starspot, I will wait for you, even if it takes the rest of my life.”

“Hold on.” Starspot said. “It’s not like that. I would like to ask something of you.” Starspot hesitated for a moment. “I would like you to stay here. I don’t think you can handle those things out there, and I won’t see you hurt. At least while we go to Sweet Apple Acres.” She looked to the ground. “I know I am asking a lot of you.”

“I’ll do it.” Angel said. “I’ll stay here, but you have to promise to come back as soon as possible.”

Starspot sighed with relief. “Thank you.” She unsealed the door, walking silently into the large bedroom, then going down the stairs to where Spike was curled up. She hugged the dragon’s tail, a lone tear falling from her eye. “I love you, as well, Angel.” She whispered to herself, the tear descending her cheek and dripping onto the floor. She looked at the spot the tear had fell. The carpet had darkened a shade. She rubbed the tear in, letting the spot disappear into the various fibers. She closed her eyes, thinking. She didn't like mares, she really didn't. She had tried it once in school, and they were all just too emotional. The stallions weren't much better, but they were a damn sight nicer about it. But Angel... Angel was different... She was sweet and a bit naive, but Starspot couldn't help but to be attracted to her. She frowned, her conflicting emotions making her head spin. She held the dragon close, falling asleep.

---===---

Morning came all too soon for Starspot. She yawned, stretching out. She rubbed her eyes to try to speed up the waking process. Her three friends were already down there making preparations for the day. Angel sulked around, somewhat depressed that she would have to spend the day there alone.

“I promise it won’t take long.” Starspot told her wholeheartedly.

“I sure hope not.” Angel frowned a bit.

Starspot put a hoof on her shoulder. “I promise.” She looked into her eyes. “Trust me.”

Conrad couldn’t help but to snicker at this. “Starspot and Angel sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I- Ow!” Starspot had delivered a rather hard kick to his right rear leg.

“What are you, four?” Starspot snapped at him.

“Obviously not. Look at these wrinkles.” Conrad simply smiled at her.

Starspot rolled her eyes. “We should be back in an hour or so. If we take longer, do not come after us.”

Angel smiled innocently at her. “Would I do that?”

Starspot looked away from her. Damn that’s cute. No! No! Keep your head in the game, Starspot! “Yes, you would. Don’t.” She quickly walked out of the door before she could embarrass herself further. She, Pinkie Pie, and Conrad began the short walk to Sweet Apple Acres. After about fifteen minutes of nothing but dead apple trees, they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. “Let’s check the barn.” Starspot suggested, not that there was much more to check there. The trio opened the door and walked inside. The door shut behind them and a strange purple gas began filling the room. “Oh, shit, it was a trap!” Starspot held her breath, looking for an escape route but it was a losing battle between her and her need for Oxygen. She gasped, breathing in the fumes. She and her friends all passed out.

End of Chapter Three

---===---

Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! The writer of this story let me out of his brain for a while so I could say hi! Hi! Also, he wants me to let you know that because of crazy schedules and a need for partying, new chapters after this will only be posted weekly, on Fridays! I love Fridays, don’t you? You get to do anything! Anyways, be sure to check back on Friday for the next chapter, because I sure as hay am going to be busy with all the cookies I have to make! Why do I have to make them? Because I’m Pinkie Pie, silly! I’ll see ya in chapter four! I hope it stars Pinkie Pie! Wouldn’t that be great? I can’t wait! Byeeeeeeee!

Don't Read This if You Want a Happy Life

Author's Note: I wasn't kidding with that title, this chapter is messed up.

“Oh, shit, it was a trap!” Starspot held her breath, but it was a losing battle between her and her need for Oxygen. She and her friends all passed out.

Starspot woke up after what she could only assume was an hour or so. She looked around. She was surrounded by cloaked ponies, most of them seeming to be stallions.

“Yesssss.” The one Starspot assumed to be the leader hissed. “You will make a fine mother to our massster race of poniessss.”

“M-mother?” Starspot’s eyes grew wide as she placed a hoof on her rump, feeling that it was sore. “N-n-no...” She gasped. She felt extremely violated. She gagged, vomit spewing to the floor.

“Yesssss.” The leader narrowed his bright yellow eyes at her. “You should be proud that the world will sssssooon be filled with your sssspawn.”

“You...you...you monster!” Starspot finally managed to choke out. She looked around. “Where are Conrad and Pinkie Pie?!”

“They were.... unnecesssssary.” The leader grinned, his yellow teeth showing. “My.... asssssociatessss are taking care of them. They did not even have anything good on them. Tell me, what issss the ussse of some old bonesssss?”

“Don’t hurt them!” Starspot begged. “Please!”

“We do not harm. If they happen to fall into the manticore den, that isssss the supreme will of Celessssssstia.” The leader lowered his hood to reveal that his ears had been removed, causing his head to have the appearance of a skull with skin stretched over it.

“I-I’ll kill you!” Starspot attempted to stand, only to find her hooves restrained, and she was too sore between the legs to walk anywhere anyways.

“No, you won’t.” The leader glared at her. “You are powerlesssssss.”

The door to the barn burst open, a blur flying around, pony after pony falling at the hooves of the mystery assailant. The blur stopped just in front of Starspot, and she immediately recognized the blue mane of Angel. “Stay... away... from MY MARE!” She screamed, tackling the leader and placing a hoof on each side of his head. She squeezed until she felt the crunch she was looking for. The stallion's eyes popped out of his head, the pressure from his squishing brain pushing them and bits of cerebrum out of the sockets. She stood, panting hard, rage filling her eyes. she looked at the rest of the ponies in the room, the ones that were conscious fleeing immediately. “Are you okay?” Angel took the key to Starspot’s shackles from the leader, undoing them. “Can you stand? What did they do to you?”

Starspot shook her head, tears falling down her face. Conrad and Pinkie Pie walked in.

“The people that had us were saying something about a superpony coming in here and killing their leader, what’s that all about?” Conrad blinked.

“Those jerky lerkies took my bag!” Pinkie Pie said angrily. “Now I don’t have my radio!”

“Or my grandma’s legs.” Conrad muttered a bit.

“I want to go back.” Starspot said tearily. “I just want to go back.”

Angel nodded understandingly. She picked her up, tying her to her back with rope. Angel flew Starspot to the library while Conrad and Pinkie Pie looted.

Starspot cried the entire way there.

Angel frowned. “I’ll run you a bath.” She said as she landed in front of the door.

“No.” Starspot grabbed onto her tight. “I don’t want you to leave.” She sniffled.

Angel nodded. “I’ll let you stay up there until your bath is ready, but then you need a bath.”

“Can’t you stay in the room?” Starspot sniffed.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Angel frowned. “After last night...”

“Please... I don’t want to be alone...” Starspot looked at her with pleading eyes.

Angel looked to the wall, deep in thought. “Okay.” She sighed a bit.

“Thank you.” Starspot shook a bit from her traumatic experience. “You wouldn’t happen to know how make any medicine to stop.... to stop me from......”

Angel frowned. “I’m sorry, but I don't know what you're asking for.”

"Angel, the leader, he... he...

Starspot allowed more tears to fall from her face. “This isn’t fair. Why me? Why me?”

Angel hushed her, taking her to the bathroom and running water. Angel began to sing the song her grandma would always sing when she needed calming.

“Hush now, quiet now,
it’s time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now,
it’s time to go to bed.”

Starspot hugged Angel close, and for the first time since they had been reunited, Angel didn’t get the fluttery feeling in her chest. This time, her chest was filled with pity for Starspot and contempt for the monsters that had done this to the mare she loved. Angel wanted so much to bring that evil pony back to life if only so she could once again kill him. She silently wondered if it was him who had done the deed. She shook her head a bit. No. That doesn’t matter at all.

Starspot buried her face in Angel’s soft mane, wishing she could just disappear in it. I hate doing this to her. She thought. I’m just leading her on. We could never be together in this zombie-infested land. She tried to think of anything but what had just happened to her. Tears flowed down her face as she wondered what she could do. She was violated, she was impure, and nothing could ever change that. Who the hell were those ponies that had attacked her? What were they trying to do? She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she realized she would have to go back to that barn... the barn where it had happened. For now, though, she just wanted to feel safe, and in Angel’s care, she knew nothing bad would ever happen to her.

Angel reluctantly helped Starspot clean off, trying to avert her eyes most of the time, mostly because she couldn’t stand to see her friend in such immense pain. Starspot was crying silently the whole time. Angel wished and prayed to Celestia that she could just take away all of her friend’s pain. She would take it herself if she needed to, just as long as Starspot didn’t have it. Angel looked at the ground, knowing that her friend was right. As long as Equestria was a land of zombie ponies, they couldn’t possibly ever be together. After what had happened earlier that day, she knew that people in this land would do anything to get by, or would just plain do anything, and she knew that neither of them could think logically while their hearts belonged to each other.

“Star?” Angel spoke softly. “I’m sorry.” She frowned. “Not just for what happened to you. I’m sorry to try to make you into something you aren’t. You aren’t interested in mares, and I can’t change that.”

Starspot shook her head. “We’ll talk later. For now, I just.... I just want..... I don’t know what I want. To turn back time? I wish. What just happened.... that happened. Nothing will ever change that. I may..... I may have a foal forming in me soon.... I’m so scared.” Tears began flowing freely from her face. “I hate them.” She spoke shakily. “I hate stallions. I hate them so much.” She burst into a fit of tears.

“Even Conrad?” Angel asked softly.

Starspot nodded angrily. “I hate all stallions, maybe even all ponies.”

“No, you don’t.” Angel hushed her. “You’re just lashing out. Conrad is your friend.” Angel drained the tub and helped Starspot dry off, eyes averted.

Starspot hugged Angel close. “Thank you for saving me.”

Angel blushed a bit. “I’m sorry I didn’t show up earlier.” She frowned. “If I did..... I could have stopped it... I could-”

“Oh, hush, you silly filly.” Starspot choked back tears. “You did what you could.”

“B-but... it wasn’t enough.” Angel spoke softly and looked at the ground.

“Nothing can change what just happened. I’ve accepted that. I may have a foal forming in me soon, nothing can change that.” Starspot looked at Angel. “And nothing can change that you are in love with me.... or that I am with you.” She added the last part with a hint of sadness.

Angel looked up at Starspot worriedly. “Are you sure you’re okay? You must not be thinking straight.”

“I am.” Starspot frowned. “I love you, but we cannot be together. There is far too much that needs to be done and... and I don’t want you putting yourself in even more danger for me.”

Angel frowned as well. “I was thinking the same thing. I can’t hold you back from saving Equestria.”

“And after this... I don’t think I’m ready for any kind of relationship, and won’t be for a very long time.” Starspot looked to her friend. “Please understand.”

Angel hugged her lightly. “I do. I know that we can’t... we couldn’t survive as a couple out there.”

Starspot frowned a bit. “I’m sorry to do this to you.”

“Don’t be.” Angel frowned. “I’ve waited a long time, a few more years won’t matter.”

Starspot kissed Angel’s cheek. “Thank you. Tomorrow we’re going to head for Cloudsdale after Twilight’s funeral, but we have to be careful, we may have to pass by Manehattan.”

Angel blushed at Starspot’s kiss. “Just like you, Starspot. Even after what happened you always have a plan.”

Starspot smiled, blushing a bit herself. “Like I said, I can’t change what happened. Might as well just do something to distract myself.”

Angel turned away from Starspot so she couldn’t see the blush. “Ummm... you should get some sleep.”

Starspot nodded a bit. She stood shakily, walking slowly to the bedroom with Angel close behind to catch her if she fell. “Nice fighting earlier, by the way.”

“You were in trouble, I had to do something.” Angel blushed a bit.

“It was amazing! I’ve never seen you like that.” Starspot smiled, laying in her usual spot. She pulled a large blanket over herself. “I’m going to sleep now.” She closed her eyes to sleep, but when she did, all she could see were the eyes of that awful leader pony as he stared at her after the deed had been done. She shrieked aloud.

Angel rushed to her side. “Is everything okay?”

“N-no.” Starspot shuddered. “When I closed my eyes... I saw....... him.” She started crying again.

Angel put her hooves around the mare, holding her close. She sang a very calming song to her.

“The bad of the day can never take away,
can’t ever be bad enough,
to make these arms stop their gentle sway,
now darling, darling, be tough.”

Starspot sniffed, burying her face in Angel’s mane. “Please don’t leave.” She whispered. Angel nodded, laying on the ground next to her. She hugged her friend close, continuing the song.

“Stand up, little pony, and we will make it through,
Stand up, little pony, and smile.
Stand up, little pony, and please stop being blue,
And I’ll be by your side for a while.”

Starspot began to snore gently.

Angel wiped away her sleeping friend’s tears, allowing herself to drift off too.

---===---

Angel woke up to a smack to the back of her head. Conrad stood over her, nostrils flaring. “How could you take advantage of her while she was so vulnerable?” He hissed quietly.

“I-I-”

“That’s a nokie dokie.” Pinkie pie whispered angrily.

“It wasn’t like that!” Angel whispered. “She needed my help taking a bath-”

“Oh, here it goes.” Conrad rolled his eyes.

“And after that she needed sleep. She couldn’t close her eyes without seeing the monster that did this to her, so I sang her to sleep.” Angel explained quietly.

“Fine, we’ll talk in the morning.” Conrad grunted.

Pinkie Pie glared at her angrily.

Angel sighed, allowing herself to rest her nose on Starspot’s head. Was that what I was doing? She thought. Was she taking advantage of a pony that was admittedly very troubled? Was she no better than that cult? She shook her head. No. She said she loved me, and besides, it’s not like we had sex. I’m just helping her through a difficult time.

Angel was unable to sleep for the rest of the night.

---===---

Starspot woke up early the next morning. She yawned widely, She snuggled closer to Angel, taking in the familiar and comforting scent of her friend’s mane. “Morning.” She whispered.

“Morning.” Angel said a bit awkwardly. “You feeling better?”

“Loads, thanks to you.” Starspot looked up at her. “You’re a great pony.”

Angel blushed, pulling away from her a bit. “Starspot, please, don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Starspot blinked.

Angel fought back tears. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be. I know that you’re vulnerable and I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“B-but Angel, you aren’t...” Starspot frowned a bit.

“I think it’d be better if we didn’t use this sleeping arrangement until at least after the zombies are gone.” Angel said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Staspot nodded a bit, still not fully understanding what had changed Angel’s mind. She pulled away from her, stretching out. “I’m going to go talk to Spike for a bit.” She stood up, walking slowly down the stairs. She tapped Spike on his tail to get his attention. Spike turned to her, yawning. “Hi Spike.” She smiled a bit.

“Hiya Star.” Spike stretched out. “You feeling... better?”

Starspot nodded. “I guess. But... I’m having some... trouble... have you ever been in love?”

“No.” Spike said quickly. “Everything you’ve heard about me having a crush on Rarity is a lie!”

Starspot blinked. “Um... okay. But I’m talking about me... I’m worried that Angel and I might... well, I think we...”

“You don’t need to tell me, I could tell.” Spike smiled at her. “The eyes gave it away the first time you brought her back.”

Starspot blushed a bit. “Well, last night, I couldn’t sleep because of... what had happened, so I had Angel sleep with me. We’ve agreed that we can’t be together until the zombies are gone, so... am I a bad person? Am I just leading her on?”

“I’m not sure.” Spike frowned a bit. “But I think you should probably lay off on the sleeping together if it’s not in your agreement, but... if you two love each other, why not live while you can and just be together?”

“Maybe... maybe...” Starspot thought for a moment. “Spike, are you sure you’re up to what we have to do today?”

“Burying...” He gulped a bit. “Twilight? Yes, she would have wanted me to be there, and... I want to see her...” He shook his head a bit, as if the sadness was simply crumbs he could swipe off and be done with. “Oh! By the way, I know you like magic, so I grabbed a few of Twilight’s old magic books. You can take them with you.” Spike quickly changed the subject.

“Okay. Thank you, Spike, for everything. Especially for making these new bags. They will sure come in handy.” Starspot hugged the dragon’s foreleg.

Starspot waited for the other ponies to make their way down. “Okay, we’re going to do this funeral, then we have to book it. Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie’s bags got taken by those.... those ponies... So we can only have a real funeral for Twilight.” The other ponies agreed silently, no one wanting to talk about the elephant in the room. Starspot sighed a bit. “Okay, we’re going to get this out of the way now. Yes, I was...” She had an issue saying the word. “I was... raped... But we have more important things to deal with. We need to get to Cloudsdale and Canterlot. With how long this has been going on... there may not be any ponies left alive pretty soon, and that includes us. Now let’s get going.” Starspot led them out to Twilight’s grave. “Spike, you knew her best, why don’t you say a few words?”

Spike sniffed a bit. “Yes...” He sighed a bit. “Twilight was... a hero. She saved all of Equestria from eternal night after Nightmare Moon attacked. She was brave, she never backed down when she knew her friends were in need. She had so much l-” Spike choked back tears. “She had so much love to give to her friends. I was proud to be her assistant, and I am proud to have... to have known her for as long as I did. I know she probably can’t hear me at all, but... Twilight, I want you to know, that I am going to miss you every day, and I wouldn’t want to spend my life any differently than by being your assistant... and your friend. You will never be forgotten. I still remember how jealous I got of Owlowisious when he first came, and you taught me that you could love both of us... I’ll never understand why you’re gone, but I can only hope that whatever happens when you die is better than what is going on down here. Don’t worry about your great granddaughter. She’s a wonderful girl that’s stronger than any pony I’ve seen since... since the last time I saw you. And she’s taking after you, Twilight! She has such great friends, and a great mate, just what you always wanted for her! You would be so very proud of her...” Spike coughed a bit, his tears choking him. “I’ll never let Equestria forget you, I promise!” Spike sniffled, digging a hole where the ground was disturbed. He gasped a bit at the sight of her coffin. Starspot opened the coffin, floating the skull to the coffin. She set it in gently as Angel began to sing a beautiful ballad. Spike was crying heavily. Starspot put a hoof on the dragon’s leg, a long moment of near silence following. The only sound that could be heard was the soft sound of Angel’s voice. Starspot was about to close the coffin when she noticed a note sticking out of it. She lifted the note out, reading it aloud.

“Dear Spike,
If you are reading this, that means that I am dead and you slept through my passing. I left this note to tell you not to blame yourself. I know that you already are, but I’ve known that I was close to death for a long time. Ponies just don’t live as long as dragons do, and even my magic can’t stop the flow of time. I chose not to tell you because I couldn’t bear to see the look on your face. You were always so cute while you were sleeping, like a child.” A few tears had stained the paper here. “And that is what you were. You were my child, but more than that, Spike, you were my companion. I cannot thank you enough for the help raising Sunshine after my mate’s passing. I know you loved him as much as I did. Do not worry, I have someone to take care of matters around the library after I am gone. I have left you a large sum of gems stashed away in Rarity’s shop, I know they’re your favorite food. I’m afraid I must cut this note short here, for I fear my time has come. Goodbye, my number one assistant.
Love, Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike sniffed. “She was so kind.” He said softly.

Starspot patted his leg. “Spike, we’re going to go. You take as much time as you need... I’m going to miss you... I promise to visit once we fix this thing.”

“You will always have a home in Ponyville.” Spike turned to her, his eyes red. “Any time you come here, you will be treated like a princess.”

“Thank you.” Starspot told him, walking away to leave him with Twilight’s note. The sound of the dragon’s cries followed them hauntingly to the outskirts of town. The four began the long, arduous walk towards Cloudsdale, without really knowing what they’d even do when they arrived. They walked for what seemed like hours on a dirt road that seemed to go nowhere. Starspot squinted, spotting a city in the distance. “Okay, we’re nearing Manehattan.” She said. “Everyone be on your guard. This place is likely to be crawling with zombies.”

The four ponies crept closer to the city. A loud scream made them all jump. A lone colt stood in the center of a group of nearly forty zombies.

“We have to help him!” Starspot gasped. “Angel, you fly over the zombies and pick that little guy up to take him to safety. Everyone else, charge!” Starspot began running towards the large group of zombies. Her horn flashed as many of the zombies heads exploded. She ran at the nearest zombie, kicking it hard in the head, hearing a satisfying crunch. About this time, Conrad reached the large group as well. He kicked a zombie hard in the chest to ground it. He aimed for the head and kicked, but his aim was a bit off. He ended up kicking his hoof directly into the ground. The zombie took the opportunity to lean forward and take a large bite out of Conrad’s leg. Conrad screamed as blood gushed from the severed vein.

“Conrad!” Starspot screamed, smashing the zombie’s head with her hoof. The zombie’s mouth released, the chunk of meat it had taken out of Conrad lay on the ground, still attached to him by a few strands of muscle fiber. Angel had reached the colt at this point and landed near it. “Don’t worry, I’m here to help.” She reached out and touched the foal, and suddenly, all of the ponies, zombie and regular, froze. They could do nothing to move their paralyzed bodies at all. A low buzz emanated from the foal.

A voice came from the strange colt. “Welcome to Manehattan, welcome to the facility of Equus Industries.” Suddenly the filly’s buzzing rose in pitch, then everything went black for the ponies.

---===---

Hi! It's me again, Pinkie Pie! I'm here to ask Ratmage99 what the hell is wrong with him! These are cute little ponies, for goodness sakes! Shame on him. Anyways, maybe next week he will fix everything and make things okey dokie and everypony will live happily ever after! Maybe...