Plague in the Land of Equestria

Chapter 7: An Unexpected Reunion

It was late night when Rainbow Dash finally arrived at the Crystal Empire. She was exhausted from walking half the day and flying the rest. She landed, a bit too eagerly, which produced a dull thud and a poof of dust. Dash coughed while the air cleared up.

I'll just camp out here for the night, so the Empire's guards don't mistake me for one of them, Rainbow Dash thought. She flew up onto one of the storm clouds that seemingly never went away and fell asleep. She woke up, and judging by the sun's position, it was afternoon. A rush of excitement surged through Rainbow Dash as she realized how close she was to finding Twilight. If she survived, said a dark voice in the back of her mind. Dash shook the thought away and trotted towards the entrance. Two guards blocked her way. They raised spears at her when she got near.

"Halt!" The one on the left ordered. "We don't need infected here. We ain't gonna be like the rest of Equestria."

"I'm not infected!" Rainbow Dash screamed in outrage.

"We aren't taking that chance," the guard to Dash's right replied coolly. Rainbow Dash tried walking past and the two shoved her back, hard enough to send her sprawling to the ground.

"I haven't been bitten. How would I be infected?"

"How do we know you weren't bitten?" The guards weren't the sharpest tools in the shed, nor the brightest bulb in the box.

"You could always just search me for bites."

"Yeah, but then you'll kill us!"

"I think I would have to die first. You two boys, all big and tough, afraid to take a girl on?"

"You aren't coming in. Don't waste your time," the guard to the right said. They were obviously getting irritated at Dash's stubbornness.

"Is there any possible way you'll let me in?" Dash asked hopefully. The guard on the right looked like he was about to say no, but then the guard on the left whispered something in his ear.

"Alright, we do have one thing that needs to be done," said the guard on the right. "Steel Hooves here, his brother was sent to the farm outside of PonyVille. What's it called? Sweet Apple something. Anyways, he hasn't come back yet. Steel Hooves is getting worried. If you want in, you either bring him back alive, or you tell us what happened to him."

Great, another huge flight. How much more of this can I take? Dash thought, but she nodded to the guards. "I'll leave immediately," she informed them. Steel Hooves nodded in obvious thankfulness and Dash took off immediately. The flight was very, very long and hard, but eventually she arrived at the farm. She was exhausted more than she thought possible. Dash sat on a fence post. It was still bright and sunny here, so Sweet Apple Acres hadn't been overrun in the time Rainbow Dash had been gone. She looked over at the barn where she found Applejack and instantly regretted it.

Big Macintosh's decomposed body lay on the ground, his head smashed open, just like the last time Rainbow Dash had seen him. The dirt around his body was brown with dried blood. However, his body had rotted further. His skin (now missing all it's fur) had slipped off the bones and fell into his body, which was full of insects. All his organs were shriveled green lumps. Dash gagged and looked away.

I'll just find that guard and get the hell back to the Crystal Empire. She began her search for the missing guard.

Rainbow Dash decided to start with the house. She walked to the front door and opened it. It was dark inside, so she was cautious to step in. Dash took a deep breath and moved forward.

WHACK! Rainbow Dash fell to the floor, unconscious. She awoke in a corner of the house. A lamp was on, and in the light, Dash saw something that shocked her more than anything that had happened. There was a pistol to her temple, but that wasn't what shocked her. What surprised Dash so much was the pony holding the gun.

It was Soarin. He was alive, and from what Rainbow Dash could see, unharmed.

"W-h-how-who-WHAT?!?" Rainbow Dash's mind blanked, and she couldn't even form a sentence.

"Good, you're still alive," Soarin said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was worried you and Spitfire hadn't made it out of PonyVille. The town was pretty stirred up. Where is Spitfire, anyways?"

Rainbow Dash had questions of her own. "How are you still alive? You were cornered by at least a thousand of them!"

"Excellent question. After you left, I fought hard to stay alive. I had killed at least a hundred of them; clubbing them with my pistol and bucking them in the face. I did have a lot of close calls, but after a while, the buildup of dead bodies ended up creating a makeshift barricade, which bought me time to get out. However, right before I left, one of the fuckers came out of nowhere and bit me on the shoulder." Rainbow Dash felt a fresh wave of shock as she heard about his bite. "But," Soarin went on, "my Wonderbolt suit kept the things teeth from breaking skin, which can't infect you. The worst I felt was a little pinch. I had killed it before he could do worse, and then I made my escape. I came here, bathed off in that river in the orchard, then came to this house."

It was amazing. Rainbow Dash really thought it impossible to survive in that room. Then she remembered why she was here. "Have you seen anypony else here? An armored guard, to be exact?" Soarin looked down to the ground.

"He came a day after I got here. I thought he was a threat."

"You killed him?" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief.

"I thought he was attacking me! Haven't you heard of the bandits?" Soarin defended.

"Bandits?"

"Ponies who believe the only way to survive is to take from others. They band up, and rob and kill other survivors."

"Wasn't the armor a good enough sign?"

"A bandit can very easily kill a guard and steal his armor. Anyways, why do you care?"

"I found my friend. She went to the Crystal Empire, but they won't let me in unless I find a missing guard. A guard who was sent here to scavenge for supplies."

Soarin's eyes filled with regret. "Can I go to the Crystal Empire with you? I want to finally be safe," he asked.

"I dunno. That guard was another guard's brother. If he knew what you did, he wouldn't let you in. He'd probably kill you on the spot," Dash answered. Soarin looked disappointed. Dash thought it wasn't just the fact he couldn't go. She remembered when they had last seen each other, they had kissed. She felt that same affection for him. "Alright, but we have to think of a believable lie, so they actually let you in."

Soarin responded immediately. "That's easy. We found him, infected and bit, already turned, so we gave him some mercy and put him out of his misery." It seemed solid enough. Dash nodded.

"Alright grab whatever provisions you have, we're leaving right now," Dash said, then changed her mind. "Actually, I'm really tired and worn out from the flight here. We'll stay the night here, and leave first thing tomorrow." Soarin nodded acknowledgement.

The rest of the day was spent with the two ponies conversing. "Oh Celestia, what I wouldn't do for some apple pie... all these apples are bad now," Soarin moaned, just as the sun was setting, which bathed the house with reddish-orange light.

"I think it's about time to hit the hay," Dash said. "Pun intended."

"You never answered my earlier question. Where's Spitfire?" Soarin asked, an edge of worry in his voice.

"Don't you worry. She's staying in Canterlot to watch over the quarantine survivors. The whole city's a safe zone."

"The quarantine finally fell? How many dead?"

"Around four to five out of the thirty we originally had. Mostly guards. Anyways, we should get to bed." With Soarin alive and a huge journey ahead of them, the two ponies curled up next to each other and slept.