I hated to admit it, but I did indeed take a little pleasure in my job. Most ponies would not call this a job. At least not a year ago. These days were different, though. Most ponies did not exist in this place. Like a flock of cows, they had panicked. Though the attackers, they were worse than any snake in existence.
These things were scary. Even I had to admit that. Maybe that’s why I took pleasure in my job? One creature dead was one creature less to fear. Calling them creatures wasn’t the nicest word; after all they had not always been like that. I mostly called them that for the sake of my own sanity.
After all, who could kill this much and say they were still sane? I had given up on that a long time ago. All there was left was staying alive. That was my job. Staying alive at all costs. My employer? Celestia herself. Well, she did not exactly offer a position for this job. It was more of a dying wish -thing.
I could feel a tear creep down my chin as the memories returned. The look of horror in her eyes when the creature got her. I had managed to kill the creature, but it had been too late. Celestia had died. This is where the problem was, though. Not only with her, but all the ponies. When they were killed by a creature, they refused to stay dead.
As the first thing I had done when I had got the news - in a rather unpleasant way – I had gathered up the elements and together we had fought our way to Canterlot. We had hoped to make it in time to warn the princess. It turned out that whatever caused the outbreak was spreading faster than we could gallop. Unfortunately, we lost Spike on the trip.
The poor dragon was nothing like the rest. He had never hurt a fly in his entire life. He never deserved such a fate. When Rarity stumbled, he didn’t hesitate for a second. He had somehow figured out that they were attracted to fire. With the ability to cast said element, he had drawn all the attention to him as he ran as fast as his small legs could carry him.
Before he had ran, he had materialised a single letter. It was addressed to Rarity. The moment we had gotten a break from the madness she had read it. Rarity had cried for hours. I had a feeling that I knew what it said. Spike had been like a brother to me, but my sorrow was nothing compared to what my friend felt at that moment.
Yeah, I told Spike they did not exist. Turns out I was wrong, and oh, how I wish I wasn’t when the creature that once was my mentor, princess and more importantly, lover, stood in front of me with death in her eyes. I was lucky to have my friends around at that time. I don’t remember anything but sorrow, tears and panic.
With Luna being the brave mare she was, she made sure her sister got to rest at last. It left a scar, though. Not only on her, but all of us. With her fell, she left a scar on all of Equestria. She had always been one step ahead of everypony else. Always the one to make decisions. She was the reason Equestria was everything anypony would ever want.
The next one to go was Rarity. Somehow Spike had made his way to Canterlot. Well, that what was left of him. He had become one of the very creatures we feared beyond everything. When Rarity had seen him she could no longer take it. Before anyone could stop her she had bolted out of security and into the hordes. That was the last time I saw either her or Spike.
By the time we had come this far, safety was nowhere to be found. The infected roamed every city, every forest and every field. The airborne scouted their preys and dived only for food. We had discovered that the best way to kill them was either a blow to the head or decapitation. They were tough, but not immortal.
My magic beams were great for emergencies, but I usually kept it down to melee weapons. The light from the beams attracted too much attention to use when sneaking around. I had taken a sword from one of the guards while escaping Canterlot. I had my brother’s training to thank for being alive.
At this point we were heading for the Crystal Empire. We left with very little hope, but it was everything we had left. The road was long, though, and not a patch of dirt was sacred. Not a single one of us was a part of what we once called the Elements of Harmony anymore. Pinkie had not cracked a single smile since the incident. Rainbow Dash felt she’d abandoned Rarity in the time of need. Fluttershy gave no mercy to the monsters and Applejack refused to face the truth about her family.
The bond that kept us together was still strong, though. We would keep each other's backs at all times. Luna was like a leader. She was the second best strategist in Equestria after her sister, but she’d have never been able to see what came next.
We had hid inside a cave to get some well-deserved rest. Pinkie Pie was the first to stand watch. It was only minutes until I was supposed to switch with her when we heard the scream. Rainbow wasted not a single minute dashing out to see what happened. She returned with Pinkie as one of them.
With them came a horde of creatures. It must have been at least twenty. It was me, Luna, Applejack and Fluttershy left. One last stand. Kill as many as possible. That was what ran through our minds. It had indeed been a last stand for Luna and Fluttershy. They were brave ponies. Both of them. In the end, they’d been overpowered and only I and Applejack standing.
Fury was the only word for the feeling that went through every inch of my body. How did the beasts dare take the ponies I loved away? My vision became blurry and energy was building up inside me. The last thing I remembered was feeling it explode. One last thought came to mind before my consciousness faded. I had failed her. I had failed Celestia.
That was almost a year ago now. I had woken up with ashes all around me. It had not only fried the creatures, but the last of my friends. The memory still haunted me beyond everything else. Every night I had the same dream about my friends, every single one of them leaving me until Applejack was left. She would look at me with nothing but pure hatred before bucking my skull in.
What kind of spell had erupted from me that day? That was beyond my knowledge. I would have looked it up from some kind of a book, but after the losses, the heartbreak and the sorrow, I had learnt my lesson. Today I roam Equestria, slay creatures and do whatever I can do to survive.
If you’re reading this, you’ll probably be one of, if not the only, other possible survivor in what once was Equestria. I found a secret valley. There’s a map in the drawer. I’ve secured the entrance, but you should be able to get in with the instructions on the back of the map. I wish you all of the luck in this world on your journey. May we meet soon.
- I am Twilight Sparkle, and I am a survivor
“Hey Vinyl, Pipsqueak. We have a direction.” Octavia felt a smile form on her face at the first good news in months.
“Thank thou for everything,” Luna let out a scream of agony as the first set of teeth penetrated her soft skin.
Applejack knew that this was the end. They were trapped inside a cave with countless numbers of creatures with no other intention than ripping her into pieces. From the very beginning she’d denied it. She’d denied the death of her family, she’d denied doom and most importantly, she’d denied the truth. No longer. Applejack, last member of the apple family, had accepted her fate. She was dying here tonight.
A purple light exploded from somewhere behind her and it felt like the time stopped. It was a moment of silence while a transparent purple seemed to cover everything. No creatures growled. No weapons connected to skulls. Even the wind seemed to have stopped. Then everything happened so sudden Applejack thought she would faint from the shock.
All around her creatures combusted. Less than a second later they were ashes. Twilight had fainted behind her. Another second later she was up. She cried. She cried for almost two seconds before she galloped out of the cave with the speed of light. Applejack tried to move, but found out she couldn’t.
Over the course of an hour Applejack had lost track of how many times the sun had set and risen. After Celestia had died it had seemed that her powers were transferred to Twilight. It now seemed that Luna’s power had done the same thing too, since the cycle of day and night continued. This was just one of many things going through Applejack’s mind.
She was usually not the mare to question magic, but right now she had to think about something to keep herself distracted from the disturbingly fast change of scenery. It was starting to give her a severe headache. A regular pony just simply couldn’t handle so many sunsets and –rises in such a short time.
As if on cue to her wish, time slowed down once again until everything seemed to have frozen. With a pop, all the purple around her disappeared. Or, instead, Applejack reappeared. Everything that had happened came crashing down on her. Once again reunited with the world she’d fought the last month, she did the only equine thing to do. She vomited.
She heard a noise. She was already starting to miss the old Equestria. This new one would never give you a moment to rest. Leaving your guard down for just a second could be fatal. Applejack had done just that and now that she had no friend to take her back the only thing left was the hope of a miracle.
The earth pony quickly scanned the cave for anything she could use as a weapon. There was nothing but dust. Dust that had once been the ashes of the ponies she’d loved. Ashes of the monsters they’d become. Soon she would not have to worry about this, though. After all, the creatures had no worries.
The hoofsteps were slowly coming closer. The creature following the smell of its prey, the smell of the little gooey pile that had been inside Applejack’s stomach just mere minutes ago, was getting closer to its reward. The soft thuds turned into small clopping sounds as it entered the cave. With every clop the fear inside Applejack roused. Some miracle had saved her, Celestia knows how many days ago, but it had been all in vain.
Once again, after what felt like such a short time, the element of honesty faced a situation she had no control of. It was just a matter of seconds. Hoof to hoof combat with these things was close to impossible. You’d have to snap its neck before it got a chance to attack. The only problem was that snapping its neck would require for you to get close to the mouth.
The shadow of the creature slowly appeared on the wall. It moved closer and closer until Applejack could finally see her doom face to face. It had a well-worn and heavily ripped cloak covering its body. By the looks of it, a poor zebra had been caught by the sickness. Maybe it had spread outside Equestria?
Instead of the usual charge on sight these things used to do, it simply stopped. The creature tilted its head at the sight of Applejack. Had they mutated somehow while she had been gone? It opened its muzzle. What came next surprised Applejack the most. Instead of the growls the monsters usually let out, it spoke.
“Is this Applejack I see? But the cross outside has the name of thee.” It spoke in a lower pitch than most, but there was something familiar about it. Then, as if a light bulb would have been lit in the cowpony’s head, she realised who it was.
“Zecora?” Applejack managed to catch herself from shouting it out. Noise was dangerous in this world. “Is that really you?”
“My friend, my friend, soon shall we talk, but right now you have to come with me for a walk. My wards spotted the walkers coming this way, when they are here, is hard to say,” she whispered before turning towards the entrance of the cave.
She was much lighter on her hooves this time. Applejack tried walking with the same grace, but found herself failing miserably. Despite the purple light protecting her from the time itself, her muscles still felt like they’d been unused for months. Walking would take a few moments to get used to.
Outside of the cave were five poles struck to the ground. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Luna. The earth pony allowed for herself to pay a second of respect for her fallen friends. She took off her Stetson and held it to her chest while taking a deep bow. Afterwards she pulled up the pole that said her name. The symbol of death would be more useful as a weapon of survival when the pony it was for still walked upon Equestria.
“Hurry now, my friend, we do not want this to be our end. I know a place we can hide, follow me if you can keep up the stride,” Zecora said in her usual rhyme and winked before galloping off. Being the sporty mare she was, there was no way Applejack would let Zecora win this race.
On the top of the cliff the cave rested beneath, the silhouette of a mare observed their movements.
