Chapter 7
Fallen
“Lift those boxes higher! Hurry! We don’t know when they’ll come back. Everypony lift!”
Mayor Mare was hurrying from one blockade to another, offering encouragement and support nonstop.
The chill night air made Lyra shiver as she strained to drag a broken wooden cart into the alley, in an effort to create a temporary defense against attack.
She felt another pony join her and turning, she saw Miss Cheerilee give her a comforting smile. With their combined efforts, they managed to pull the cart into the alley and pile boxes all around it. “Those creatures will certainly have trouble getting in now.” Sighed Lyra with satisfaction as she took a quick drink from the flask given her by Berry Punch.
Lyra wasn’t much for spirits, but at this time of night, she needed anything to get her blood flowing. She also wanted to wash away the pain and horror this night had brought upon the sleepy community of Ponyville.
It had been just after three in the morning when the Blanks had first attacked. They had an unnatural ability to move without a sound. If not for Ditzy Doo and her persistent insomnia, they wouldn’t have had any warning. As it was, they had lost many ponies in the first attack, including her roommate Bon-Bon. All of these had joined the ranks of the undead, adding to their numbers.
The Blanks had entirely cut off this part of the village. Lyra and the other ponies had tried to get to the schoolhouse to raise the alarm, but to no avail. The rest of Ponyville was now either dead or sleeping on in peace, unaware of what terror the night held. Lyra didn’t know which.
A hoof on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to look at the grey pegasus. “Muffin?” Asked Ditzy quietly. “It’s still warm.”
Most of the Ponyville knew the grey pony as ‘Derpy Hooves’, but on this night, Lyra decided that childish nicknames were a thing of the past. “Thank you Ditzy.” Lyra took the lightly steaming muffin and popped it into her mouth. Ditzy gave a small smile. “Hey Lyra? Do you think we’ll be OK?” Lyra gave Ditzy a large hug. “I’m positive we’ll be OK. Mayor Mare knows what to do. She’ll get us out of this.”
Lyra knew this wasn’t true, but she didn’t want to scare the pegasus. It wouldn’t be OK. How could you win against an enemy that used your own friends against you?
A cry came from the right side of the bowling arcade. “They’re over here! They’re comi-”
As Lyra and Ditzy hastily grabbed weapons and galloped towards the arcade, they heard sounds that told them that the Blanks and their undead neighbors had breached the outer defenses. The few ponies that had been holding the arcade were already completely overwhelmed, and an unending wave of creatures now poured through the hole.
Lyra and the rest of the defenders began to retreat slowly, using tactics to allow an organized fallback, rather than a complete rout.
Cheerilee went down battling three of the beasts off to Lyra’s right, and other ponies were falling left and right.
Lyra made a judgement call. Grabbing Ditzy’s hoof, the two of them split off to the side, and ran for the town hall. She had seen the Blanks and their undead minions beginning to surround the survivors, and running was the only was she could see as an escape.
They were near the town hall now, and Lyra could see ponies at every window holding various weapons, some holding brooms, others candlesticks. All were ready to fight. She screamed in pain as teeth sunk into her back leg. She turned and kicked at the attacker with her free hoof.
Ditzy began to run back to help, but Lyra yelled at her. “Get away! It’s too late! Get to the hall! You’ll be safe there!” The Blank smiled around her leg clutched in its wide bite. “Jooiiiinn ussss..” it whispered. “Never...” She retorted.
But already red fog was creeping in on her vision. With one last effort she smashed Berry Punch’s ceramic flask on the Blank’s grinning maw. Grabbing a nearby torch, she thrust it into the skeletal colt’s alcohol-soaked face. “Gotta cook your meat before you eat it!” She snarled. Fire burst out on the Blank’s face, and it shrieked, dropping her leg and running off into the night.
She lay back, almost peacefully, ignoring the chaos and battle around her. “We’ll be together again soon, Bon-Bon...” She whispered. She took a final breath and closed her eyes. “...soon...” Then the monster inside took over, and the pony known as Lyra was no more.