Chapter 12: The Attack on Canterlot

Rainbow Dash returned from the labs and snuck back to her bed, sliding under the covers. She had cleaned all the blood off of her in the labs; her friends wouldn't suspect a thing. After a night of flying and fighting, Rainbow Dash was beyond exhausted; she needed sleep or she would surely die. Unconsciousness came the second her heavy eyelids had shut, and she slept peacefully.

"Rainbow Dash! Wake up! Please, wake up!" Twilight's desperate hollering made Rainbow Dash bolt awake, slightly panicked.

"What? What is it, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash shook the sleep out of her head and stared at the hyperventilating Twilight.

"L-Luna g-g-got out! She w-was infected, and s-s-she destroyed t-the force f-f-f-field!" Twilight was now sobbing, with worry and grief. "A-a horde o-of infected s-sh-showed up! They've infected h-half the town already! T-there's so m-m-many of t-them out there!"

"How're the doctors? Is the lab secure?"

"I don't know! Dash, we have to help the town! I have no idea where Celestia is!"

"But the lab may be our last hope for a cure!" Dash shouted, outraged, then instantly regretted her negligence for the safety of the ponies outside. "You're right. C'mon, let's go," she added, in a melancholic voice. Twilight smiled, tears still forming in her eyes. She hugged Rainbow Dash.

"You were one of the best friends anypony could ever wish for."

Outside was a scene of such chaos, Discord himself would be impressed. Fires raged in the burnt remains of buildings, and black smoke belched from the piles of blazing wood. Infected were sprinting everywhere, releasing a frightening howling noise. Dead bodies, too mangled and chewed up to reanimate, littered the streets. It was hard to spot any bit of ground that wasn't covered in blood or a viscous black fluid. The townsponies who were still alive galloped behind a line of Guards. The Guards looked more frightened then the citizens, but they held their ground, pointing spears at the army of approaching undead.

"Right, arm up, gentlecolts! Here they come!" shouted a high-ranking Guard, the only one there who had no fear in his eyes. When the infected started to get close, he added "it was an honor to serve with you fine stallions."

Rainbow Dash and Twilight ran to the Guards as fast as they could, trying to beat the infected there. On the way, she picked up a spear that was laying in a puddle of blood. She didn't know where the former owner had gone, but she did know that he was no longer serving with the soldiers. Twilight's horn lit up as she prepared to do another battle spell, and the two reached the front lines.

"We're here to help, Captain!" Dash informed the high-up. And then she recognized him. He was the one who stole all the group's supplies while they were evacuating the Quarantine Zone. "You bastard!" Rainbow Dash punched him in the face, knocking his helmet off. "Stop trying to act like an honorable Guard! You robbed a bunch of ponies who needed the supplies! You cold, heartless fucker!"

"Stop! Not now, Dash. I know what I did. If we both survive this, we can talk it over. Right now, I have to defend this city!" he was glaring at Rainbow Dash. Dash grabbed his hoof and pulled him off the ground. Together, they turned to the approaching army of zombies, who would reach them in about ten seconds. Twilight shut her eyes, her horn beginning to glow even brighter. Dash raised her spear.

The first infected went down with a ghastly gurgling noise, as Dash shoved the spear into it's throat, severing the brain stem. She barely had enough time to rip out the blade and thrust again as the next infected came sprinting up. The Guards fought furiously, swinging their weapons, stabbing, beating the infected down. Rainbow Dash was soaked with vile-smelling blood, but she fought hard. Dash wasn't about to let another town become destroyed at the hooves of the dead. After her sixth kill, the blade of the spear broke off, but she didn't mind; she started using the stick as a bat, cracking the zombies over the head, putting them down for good. The hardwood handle lasted quite a while, but eventually, that too broke.

"Shit!" Rainbow Dash cursed, looking at the two halves of the stick. She looked up to see a zombie leap at her. Instinctively, Dash lifted the stick up, and the zombie found itself impaled on it. Mustering up all the strength she had, Dash started swinging, using the zombie on a stick as a club. After a while, the Guard's numbers were cut in half, and Rainbow Dash was exhausted. The once-zombie was now just a few strands of wet, red flesh. It had literally been beaten to a pulp, as all it's organs and bones were scattered across the ground, leaving only the flesh on the battered stick. Dash dropped it and went for another spear; there were enough dead Guards that nopony really cared about taking weapons from the dead.

"Retreat!" The Captain yelled. He was covered with bites and open wounds, and was barely breathing. However, he miraculously stayed standing, and even dispatched two more infected before stumbling off into the city to die. Rainbow Dash and Twilight stood still, continuing the fight. They were fearless; Rainbow Dash was determined to clear out the city and save as many lives as possible, and Twilight had set up a protective spell over herself. Rainbow Dash's cyan coat had been turned completely red with blood, and little bits of flesh from the infected were stuck in her fur.

Finally, after a good while, Twilight's magic started to fail. The protective spell she had used deactivated, and the battle magic turned too weak to kill anypony. She was sweating gallons and panting hard, and finally collapsed onto the ground.

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash saw her friend go down, but couldn't take a break from fighting to go help her. Three infected piled up on top of Twilight, ripping out chunks of flesh. Twilight screamed in agony and squeezed her eyes shut, blood running down her coat. Suddenly, her eyes opened, but there were no traces of pain in them. Only anger. Her horn lit up once again, and her body started glowing a purplish-white. Then, she exploded, killing off several infected. "TWILIGHT!" Rainbow Dash started to cry and fight even harder, adrenaline taking over. The spear was destroyed, but she started using shards of wood to stab the infected, and when that ran out, she resorted to punching. Her hooves were cracked and bleeding, and the infected started to surround her. Rainbow Dash didn't care. She would go down fighting.

And then, just when she lost hope, a familiar voice rang out from behind the crowd of rotting bodies. "Howdy, y'all!"

All the infected turned away from Rainbow Dash. Dash stood still, panting heavily, with a scowl on her face. Applejack and Pinkie stood there, coated in blood.

"Pinkie here's invitin' y'all tah one o' her parties. There ain't no party like a Pinkie Pie party, right, Pinkie?"

"You betcha!" Pinkie smiled. The infected all started moving towards the two, forgetting about Rainbow Dash. Dash thought she saw a little happiness in Applejack's eyes.

"This is fer' the Apple family!" Applejack suddenly rushed the crowd, holding two large knives. Pinkie lifted up a spear, her mane and tail deflating. Her face turned from happy to insanely bloodthirsty. Then, the pink pony rushed in, right behind Applejack. Rainbow Dash couldn't see what was going on, but more dead zombies fell into visibility than she could count. Dash picked up another spear and dashed in, attacking the army of undead from behind. In just ten minutes, that entire area was clear. Pinkie was unscathed, just sitting on the ground, smiling with satisfaction. Applejack, however, had been ripped apart in the battle. She was laying on the ground, ribs exposed, bite marks on her arms and shoulders. She was still breathing, barely. Dash ran over to her fallen friend.

"Hey Applejack..." her voice choked up, and tears ran freely down her face.

"Howdy, p-pardner..." Applejack's voice was soft and weak. She coughed, sputtering blood onto her ripped open chest.

"You're gonna be fine..." Dash said, running her hoof down Applejack's cheek to comfort her.

"Now don't you worry 'bout me. Ah'm lookin' forwards tah seein' mah family again." Applejack let her head fall back, hitting the ground. Her breathing went more and more shallow, then came to an absolute stop. Rainbow Dash started sobbing uncontrollably. She heard hoofsteps behind her, as Pinkie walked over.

"Pinkie-" Dash cut off when she saw Pinkie stab Applejack in the head. "NO!" Rainbow Dash tackled Pinkie to the ground, hitting her in the face twice, hard. This wasn't Pinkie; Pinkie wouldn't do that. Her friend had been replaced by a monster. Rainbow Dash continued beating her until she was dead. Then, standing up, she turned around and set off down the street, towards the next Guard barricade. "I want to help."

"Not here. Get to the castle and secure the Princess if you really want to be of assistance," denied the Guard that appeared to be in charge. The oncoming group of infected was much, much, much smaller than the one Rainbow Dash was just in. The Guards would be able to handle it. Nodding, she started flying towards the castle.

The gates were wide open, and inside Guards were battling the infected ferociously. Blood and bodies littered the once grand hall, red masking the gold. Dash galloped to the throne room, and found Celestia hunched over something. Not knowing what it was, Dash got closer, and then she spotted it. Celestia was leaning over her dead sister's body, crying.

"Rainbow Dash... you need to evacuate the town. Canterlot has been lost."

"No! We need to fight them off! There's still hope!" Rainbow Dash protested.

"There was never any hope to begin with. The lab has been breached, all the scientists are dead. There's no hope for a cure now. Even Canterlot has now been overrun. Please, Rainbow Dash. Don't let any more innocent ponies die by the infected. Get them out. The Guards will cover you."

"What about you? You have to come too!"

Celestia sighed, and lifted her right wing. There, still bleeding, was a large bite. "I tried to save my sister. It didn't work."

"M-maybe you won't turn?" Rainbow Dash was shocked.

"Come on, Rainbow Dash. Even the divine will succumb to this virus. You saw it happen with Luna. I need to get myself away from the rest of Equestria. I'm going to the sun."

Rainbow Dash didn't think her jaw could drop any further, but it did. "Y-you're banishing yourself to the s-s-sun?!?"

"It's the only way. Luna was more powerful than any other infected. If I stay here and turn, I'll destroy all of Equestria."

Rainbow Dash sat in silence for a minute. Then, with a sigh, she said, "Alright. I'll get the rest of the town out of here."

"Thank you. You're doing a great thing."

Rainbow Dash hung her head and left the room. The infected were winning the battle in the entrance of the castle, as only six Guards remained, of the eighteen Dash saw when she entered. She had to fly out of there, to keep away from all the hungry mouths below her.

Once outside again, Rainbow Dash bolted down to the Guard brigade. That had successfully warded off the attack without losing any of their numbers. She dropped to the ground beside them.

"Princess Celestia asked me to get all the townsfolk to safety, and ordered me to tell you that you will be our escort," she informed the leader.

"'Fraid not, ma'am. I'm aware I'm disobeying a direct order from the Princess, but it's my job to defend Canterlot, and leaving would be the opposite."

"You have to help us! We're getting the citizens to safety!"

"Look. I understand that discretion is the better part of valor here, but my men are ready to die. We have to keep these damned things from getting out. I know you understand."

Rainbow Dash was frustrated, but she just shook her head and went out to find civilians. After collecting all the survivors she could find, and dispatching quite a few infected, they were ready to go. She had found Soarin, fighting alongside a line of Guards. Finally, the group left. The panicking townsfolk galloped as fast as they could. Several of them stumbled and fell, and the group had to leave them behind. A large mob of infected were following close behind, howling in hunger and excitement. Adrenaline kept the group going, but they were forced to stop as they ran into another group of infected, almost a mile away from Canterlot. They were quickly surrounded.

There was a small gap in the infected. Rainbow Dash conducted the survivors through, until it was just her and Soarin.

"Alright, let's g-" Soarin was cut off as a zombie lunged and grabbed him, trying as hard as it could to rip into his flesh. Rainbow Dash ran in to help.

"Catch, bitch!" Soarin shouted, as he grabbed the infected and threw it at Rainbow Dash, then bolted out of the mob. The zombie spun as it was being projected, and slammed into Rainbow Dash, knocking her down.She tried to hold it away, but the infected smiled, as it had just caught prey- and that black fluid dripped from his mouth, and as Dash opened her mouth to scream for help, she instead caught a mouthful of it. Spitting it out, she desperately threw the zombie into the air and flew out of the group of zombies, then, as fast as she was able to, caught up to the group. They soon left the zombies far behind, and took shelter in a small cave. Dash turned to Soarin.

"So... what do you have to say for yourself this time?" she asked, gritting her teeth. The taste of the black liquid was beyond vile; there was really nothing to compare it to. That taste lingered in her mouth, threatening to make her puke.

"W-w-well, ya see... I thought I was gonna die, y'know, I panicked, and just through it blindly. I didn't know you were there, I swear!"

"Bull. Shit. I heard you yell out 'catch, bitch!' I'm not stupid. Now, tell me one reason not to make me kill you, right here."

"Want a reason? How about this: you won't be able to take me. That fight on the roof? I wasn't prepared. But right now..." Soarin drew a large knife. "Right now? I say, come right on at me!"

Rainbow Dash grinned, kicked up a medium sized rock, and threw it at Soarin's head. He tried to dodge, but it still bounced off his forehead, and he was briefly stunned. Rainbow Dash lunged at him, pummeling him with her front hooves. He dropped the knife and covered his face, which was a huge mistake. Dash picked up the knife and thrust it into his stomach. He slowly lowered his hooves, an expression of shock and pain on his face as he slowly looked down at the knife in his stomach. Blood dripped from his mouth as he looked up at Rainbow Dash, with pleading eyes.

"I-I d-don't wanna die! Don' wan... d-die. I do-don't wann...a die..." he choked out the words, sobbing. Rainbow Dash had to end this. She ripped the knife out of his stomach, making it squirt red blood all over the cave floor, and put the blade to his throat. Then, applying pressure, she slid the sharp part of the knife across Soarin's throat. He gurgled blood, choking, trying to breathe, but to no avail. After almost a minute, Soarin lay dead against a rocky wall. Dash had a slight headache, and felt a little sick to her stomach. She asked one of the frightened Canterlot refugees to check for a fever. She nodded her head, eyes wide.

This is it... I'm sick. After only twenty minutes, I've got a fever. I have to get out of here. I have to let these ponies live... Dash looked up, scanning the dim cave. She picked the biggest, most confident one, and asked him if he would lead the group. He nodded and saluted. Rainbow Dash smiled and flew out of the cave. Then, she flew straight up, and looked at the world below her. The world she was leaving today. Smiling, she closed her eyes, feeling the wind ruffle her mane. Dash kicked one of the storm clouds, allowing a ray of sunlight to come out. And then, she dove towards the part of the ground that the light had landed on. She heard a boom; a Sonic Rainboom. She was nearing the ground now, but instead of lifting up like she used to, she kept plummeting towards the earth. Dash closed her eyes, and pictured her and her friends in a group hug. Smiling at the memory, she accepted her fate, a little tear starting to form in her eyes.

And then Rainbow Dash hit the ground, and never got back up.

Author's Note

Silly Rainbow Dash; Pinkie did that to keep Applejack from turning. :P After the Epilogue, this story will be done. Hope you enjoyed it!

If you didn't know, 'discretion is the better part of valor' means that it's time to stop everything and run!