Cantering Death

by Scriber

Chapter Six: Inspiration

“Where are Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Rarity?” Scootaloo asked. The four had arrived without much fanfare, quietly opening the front door and promptly locking it after them. Rarity had insisted that they keep the lights off, for fear of drawing attention to the gingerbread house-shaped confectionery shop, but had relented and lit a few small candles when she calmed herself enough to notice the terrified look in the three fillies’ faces.

“I imagine they’re still out there, somewhere…” Rarity replied, gulping. She hoped that Applejack and Pinkie Pie would join them soon; the rush from the excitement and physical strain that had kept her energized moments prior was now beginning to wear off. The white unicorn found that her knees had begun to knock together. Not wanting to scare the already traumatized fillies any further, she joined them in the center of the room and sat down amongst the lit candles. The flickering flame cast dancing shadows across the main area of the shop, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders couldn’t help but let their eyes wander to the dark shapes that their silhouettes cast against in the darkened room. Wordlessly, they scrunched even closer together, the warmth of their quivering bodies pressed against one another offering little to no relief from the overwhelming fear that continued to assail them. Outside, the dull and muted noises of mayhem could be heard through the wooden door of the shop- screaming, crashes, galloping and thuds sailed through the crisp night air like a grotesque symphony of terror.

Somepony, in their hurry to escape from the cantering death that was no doubt chasing them, had knocked over a lantern, shattering it to pieces. As the oil leaked onto the cobble and caught fire, the blaze spread to a few nearby bales of hay, which subsequently spread to two nearby wooden vendor’s carts. With nopony to put out the fire, the orange flame continued on its path of destruction, greedily swallowing up any nearby stand in the inferno. Fortunately, it had yet to spread to any major buildings surrounding the market and looked as though it would stay that way: the stands which were consumed in the fire were all in relative proximity to one another, but far enough away from the thatched roofs of homes and businesses that the fire was contained within the market square itself. Though the buildings themselves were spared for the moment, one unlucky (or lucky, depending on one’s interpretation) infected was not so fortunate: in his mindless pursuit of his next potential victim, the brown earth pony had blindly galloped through the flames, catching fire almost instantaneously.

As the earth pony flailed and thrashed about wildly, he happened to pass one of Sugarcube Corner’s windows, the impromptu non-living light source illuminating the glass panes. Even as his flesh boiled, he managed noticed the four occupants gathered together in the shop. In a horrific display of rage, he began to beat on the window with his head in his final moments, trying desperately to reach the cowering fillies and startled unicorn inside. The effort was short lived, though, as the infected quickly succumbed to the flame that swirled around him. He collapsed to the ground, lungs charred and blackened to match his exterior condition. Rarity quickly and quietly trotted over to the window, intending to draw the blinds shut. She had not had the presence of mind to do so when the four had first arrived at the shop, and it had become frightfully apparent that their presence in the building was rather easily advertised via the dull candlelight within. When she looked out upon the chaos that was taking place just outside, however, she stopped in mid-motion and simply stared for a few moments, eyes wide and unbelieving. The lambent maelstrom of fire which was making short work of the marketplace sent flickering flames upward into the night’s sky, smoke and ash wafting upward on the currents of heat. Several dozen figures, eerily silhouetted by the inferno, ran in every direction; a disturbingly large amount of pursuers, lumbering monstrosities with erratic gaits chased their victims relentlessly. In the distance, Rarity could just make out two or three ponies putting up a valiant resistance - though the sound of the conflict was masked by the din of the roaring fire and the screams of infected and non-infected alike, the battle looked intense enough even without sounds to accompany it.

The white coated unicorn strained her dark blue eyes to see clearly through the madness. Unable to spot her distinctive Stetson hat, Rarity noted with some dismay that there was no sign of Applejack and Pinkie Pie among the fleeing silhouettes that ran about the market. Shutting her eyes to the sight of yet another mindless infected catching fire, she drew the blinds shut and walked as evenly as she could to rejoin the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the center of the room.

“Big sis…why? Why is t-this happening?” a tearful Sweetie Belle managed, her whimpering little voice barely audible.

“I…I just don’t know, Sweetie Belle,” the unicorn replied. “I thought the incident with the Ursa Minor was bad, but this…”

“Rarity?” an equally meek voice belonging to the dark orange Pegasus rang out. “W-where’s my mom? I-I want my mommy,” Scootaloo sniffled. Rarity’s heart swelled as panic began to rear its ugly head within her: she simply could not speculate as to where the Pegasus filly’s mother could possibly be, let alone whether or not she had survived the ongoing attack taking place just outdoors.

“I’m sure she’s fine, dear,” Rarity said, her voice sounding quite a bit more confident than she actually felt. “Pegasi have a keen advantage over us non-winged ponies, you know. Perhaps when the attack started, she took off into the air, looking for you? Why, I’ll bet that she’s in the skies, right at this very moment, searching! And from what I have noted thus far…infected,” she cringed a bit at using the word, “pegasi do not appear to be able to fly.”

“Hey…hey, yeah!” Scootaloo chimed in, her voice picking up just a bit. “My mom won’t let any of those nasty ponies get her!” A thought crossed her mind, though, and her ears began to droop. “But what about Rainbow Dash? Isn’t she in Cloudsdale?”

“Hmm…yes, I do seem to recall her mentioning something to that effect,” Rarity noted.

“What if there are more zombie ponies up there, too?”

“Knowing Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, I’m sure that there is nothing to worry about. She certainly isn’t one to shy away from any danger…though I am sure that she won’t be too terribly happy about being confined to the city, knowing that her friends remain down here in Ponyville.”

“Whaddya mean, ‘confined’?” Apple Bloom asked, not yet having the situation fully explained to her.

“Well, Apple Bloom, do you recall that odd looking bubble in the sky?” She went on to briefly fill the little filly in, speculating that if what Princess Luna said about the spell was true, then there was no doubt a similar bubble encompassing the cloud city as well.
“And if this outbreak is really taking place across all of Equestria, then…” Rarity finished, not wanting to frighten the already traumatized fillies any further.

“…then what, Rarity?” Scootaloo inquired, suddenly uneasy. The white unicorn paid no attention, however - her eyes had suddenly gone wide and then taken on a glazed-over look to them, as if she had suddenly gone into a deep trance. The chalk-white horn seated atop her forehead began to glow ever so slightly, sparkling lavender hues radiating outward with magic. Her left eyebrow twitched slightly, but her eyes remained unblinking. The three fillies instinctively began to back away slowly, not entirely sure what to make of the new development; Sweetie Belle, easily the most skittish of the three, let out a small, wordless whimper.

“B-big sis? Are you ok…?” she spoke softly, trembling.

Rarity remained unmoving for the better part of a full minute, when suddenly, the slightest of smiles began to creep across her face. She blinked several times, her eyes finally coming back into focus, expression finally returning to her visage. The glow around her horn began to fade back into nothingness as she regarded the Cutie Mark Crusaders, still in the process of backing away, their flanks nearly making contact with the wall on the far side of the room. She spoke, trying her best to put the fillies at ease.

“Don’t worry, you three - I think that we’re going to be alright. We have a plan.”

---------------------------

Another flash of brilliant pink-white light announced the return of Twilight, Fluttershy, Angel, Spike and Owloiscious to Ponyville’s library. The butter-colored Pegasus felt a bit dizzy after the spell: she had felt the magic entering her body and swimming about her, the tingling sensation not entirely unlike a very mild electric shock. Is this what it feels like to use magic? she wondered to herself as she shook her head a few times, blinking her eyes back into focus. The interior of the library was darkened, but not for long - using her magic, Twilight lit a few of the candles that were situated here and there on walls and tables, the subtle illumination from the yellow flames joining the pale moonlight which poured in from the upper story windows.

“Spike, will you draw the blinds shut, please? It may not be safe to let anyone know that we’re here,” Twilight said, the small purple dragon nodding his head silently in compliance. He plodded over to the nearest window, gasped, stumbled backward and nearly fell on his behind at what he saw through the panes of glass.

“T-twilight? You’re gonna want to look at this…” he said anxiously, motioning for the purple unicorn to join him. Cautiously, Fluttershy joined Twilight as they walked over to join Spike at the window. Two equally timed gasped escaped the two mare’s mouths as they took in the scene which lay before them. There was blood - copious amounts of red-black liquid pooled in puddles on the streets and covered in splashes the surfaces of destroyed carts and vendor’s stands in the marketplace, which lay not one hundred yards away from the library.

“So…so much blood…” Fluttershy managed to say before another small eep! left her muzzle. She felt lightheaded again, swaying slightly on her hooves at the sight.

“But where are all the bodies?” Twilight asked, more thinking aloud to herself than inquiring an answer from her companions. “If there’s that much blood, surely there should be bodies…” Further off in the distance, just before the edge of their field of vision, the shocked observers could barely make out the figures of fleeing ponies, darkened figures seemingly dancing wildly against the backdrop of flames.

“How did the marketplace catch fire, Twilight?” Spike asked.

“I haven’t got a clue, Spike. This…this isn’t good. What if the fire spreads to the houses? The whole of Ponyville could be destroyed! And what about the barrier? If there’s too much smoke under the bubble, then…oh, Celestia. This is bad. This is very, very bad,” she swooned a bit, her mind racing a mile per minute as she weighed the possible structural and atmospheric implications that the raging fire carried. She eventually had to draw the blinds shut, no longer desiring to look at the destruction. Spike followed suit, making his rounds about the ground floor, being absolutely certain that every window’s blinds were drawn tightly shut. Fluttershy, eyes watering again, sat weakly down on the wooden floor, nervously wringing her hooves together. Angel, though normally a somewhat cantankerous and eccentric companion, hopped swiftly to the Pegasus’ side, trying his best to console her. He wore a grim expression on his face as he hopped up and patted Fluttershy on the head lightly, soothing the sniffling Pegasus slightly as she smiled weakly at him and returned the favour.

“I-I need a moment to think,” Twilight announced, beginning to pace about the library nervously. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she slipped into a deep internal monologue, her mind working overtime to consider their possible options. Owloiscious flitted over to Spike, who had sat down wearily on the stairs leading to the second floor, head in his hands.

“Hoo?” he hooted inquisitively, as if to ask, “You ok, buddy?” Though the baby dragon didn’t have the slightest idea as to what the owl was trying to say, the expression of concern in his feathered friend’s eyes conveyed the sentiment marvelously. He breathed deeply, and said,

“You know, that was pretty brave, what you did back there at Fluttershy’s cottage. How’s your head, anyway?”

“Hoo,” the owl replied, as if to say, “I’ve had worse. I’ll survive.”

Even with the door sealed tight and the blinds drawn, it was not a far stretch of the imagination for anypony (or owl, or dragon, or bunny) to surmise just what was taking place outside. The occasional scream or cry rang out clearly in the air, joining the crackling of burning wood and clopping of hooves against cobblestone. Owloiscious, possessing a more finely tuned sense of hearing than anyone else in the room, craned his head toward the sound of what was undoubtedly a conflict taking place somewhere outside, dull thuds of hooves against flesh just barely audible. He nearly commented on this new development to the baby dragon who sat at his side on the stairwell, but decided against it; Spike was the only one in the room who couldn’t fully understand the owl’s native tongue. Fluttershy, in an effort to take her mind off of the disturbing events which had just transpired, trotted quietly into the kitchen, holding a candle sideways in her mouth so as not trip on anything in the darkness of the room. She set the wax candle down on a countertop next to the pantry and began to root through its’ contents: there was a loaf of bread, several tins of fruits and preserves, and a few boxes of junk food - one of Twilight’s guilty pleasures, apparently. Frowning slightly, she made her way to the refrigerator adjacent to the countertop, opening the door with her mouth. The Pegasus squinted slightly against the sudden rush of bright electric light that poured out of the appliance. Once her eyes adjusted, she found several food items that were better suited to what she had been looking for initially: several stalks of celery, a head of lettuce, and about a half-dozen carrots. Knowing that Angel was probably hungry after his encounter with the infected stallion, she settled on the carrots, knowing that everyone but Owloiscious and Spike would more than likely eat the orange vegetable.

“I wonder what Owloiscious eats?” she wondered aloud to herself. “Oh! Oh, my…I hope he doesn’t eat…bunnies…” she gulped a bit at the thought. However, after a second glace at the contents of the pantry, she happened upon a bag of birdseed, which she then poured a generous portion into a bowl. A glint caught her eye, and she bent down to reveal a decent amount of semi-precious gems resting on the bottom shelf of the pantry - no doubt food for Spike. Fluttershy grabbed a few of them as well, setting the gems on the countertop.

“Spike?” she poked her head out of the kitchen, the light from the lone candle illuminating her from behind. “Would you mind helping me carry this food out of the kitchen, please? If…if that’s ok…”

“Sure, Fluttershy,” the dragon replied, hopping back to his feet. He, too, was eager to let his mind wander from the evening’s occurrences, and was thankful for the brief reprieve. Guided by the candlelight, the two gathered the provisions and made their way back into the library’s main floor, where a still-pacing Twilight was regarding a particular section of books warily. The yellow Pegasus set the bowl of birdseed down in front of Owloiscious, who hooted gratefully in reply and began to peck at his snack. Spike sat back down on the stairs and was taking thoughtful, paced bites out of the gemstones - he was trying his absolute hardest to keep the violence and death he had witnessed thus far that evening out of his mind, not wanting to spoil his considerable appetite. Angel, briefly resuming his typical demeanor, had initially resisted being coddled and fed by Fluttershy; after a rather sizeable grumble from his stomach, however, he quickly relented and graciously accepted the carrots that the Pegasus had brought for him, nibbling on the vegetables voraciously. Satisfied, Fluttershy then turned and started toward Twilight, who had now begun to levitate several books down from their respective shelves, discarding a few that she didn’t need with audible grunts of frustration.

“Twilight? Are you hungry?” Fluttershy asked softly, already feeling a bit guilty for disturbing the unicorn in the middle of her work.

“…What’s that? Am I what?” a distracted Twilight said, still glancing at the titles of the increasing amount of books she had levitated down from their shelves.

“Oh. Um, I said…are you hungry?” Fluttershy asked a bit louder this time. Her train of thought effectively derailed for the moment, Twilight turned around to face her friend with a small sigh, then looking at the small pile of carrots the Pegasus had brought with her.

“Thanks, Fluttershy, but after all that’s happened tonight…I’m just not sure if I’ll be able to eat anything,” Twilight spoke. With an uncharacteristically heavy sigh, Fluttershy walked closer to her clearly stressed friend, wearing a look of concern and genuine understanding.

“Twilight, I know that tonight has been tough for all of us. It’s…it’s just so awful! But - but I really think you should eat something. You’ve been using an awful lot of magic tonight, and you need to keep your energy up. I wouldn’t want you to overexert yourself.” Fluttershy’s tone was somewhere between encouraging and stern; it was altogether convincing enough for Twilight to soften her expression a bit and relent.

“Fine. You’re probably right, Fluttershy. I just…I have an idea of what might be happening here, but I’m not sure if I have the book anymore! It’s just so frustrating! I can almost put my hoof on it,” she explained, bending over to pick up a carrot with her mouth. She began to chew slowly, the squishy sounds of her teeth mashing the orange vegetable into pulp bringing back memories of earth soaked with blood and dismembered animals. Twilight gagged reflexively at her memories of the gore, but resolutely swallowed and managed to keep her bites of the carrot down.

“I don’t understand what’s happening, Twilight. How…how can the dead come back to life? It should be impossible!” Spike called from across the room. He had finished his semi-precious snack, and had begun to plod over to where Twilight and Fluttershy stood. “I mean, I thought zombie ponies were just an old mare’s tale!”

“When I was studying in Canterlot, I had read some vague, obscure references to an ancient, forbidden magic that could temporarily bring the dead back to life…but I only came across it in a few books, and they were written during a time when ponies liked to write using metaphors as opposed to clear, concise fact. But that wasn’t a virus! At least, I don’t think it was…sure, there are dark forms of parasitic magic than can be manipulated to seek out a host-”

“Para…para-what, now?” Spike asked, brows raised upward in confusion.

“Parasitic magic, another type of magic that’s use was forbidden by the Princesses long, long ago. From what I’ve read on the subject, it let the caster take control of another pony for a short period of time.”

“Y-you mean, like…mind control?” Fluttershy squeaked. “T-that’s terrible!”

“Indeed it is, Fluttershy. Magic like that is forbidden for a reason - it’s evil, and no sensible pony should even think about using something so terrible.”

“Do you think that’s what’s going on here, Twilight?” Spike queried nervously.

“I’m not sure, Spike…as far as I know, parasitic magic only works on living hosts, so it should be impossible. However, I can’t rule it out as a possibility just yet - not until I have enough information.” With that, Twilight turned back to the bookshelves, ready to begin her literary search anew.

“I just hope that Rarity and the others are ok…” Spike meekly said, consternation beginning to creep into his voice. Twilight started in place.

“The others!” she exclaimed. “Oh, Celestia, I hope they’re ok…but it’s too dangerous to go outside. We’d be outnumbered! Maybe they found someplace safe to hide…”

“I know I’d feel a lot better if we could talk to them, Twi’,” Spike added.

“Oh, yes…I’m just so worried about them! What if they got hurt in the fire? Or by one of those - things…” Fluttershy piped up. Thoughts swirled around in Twilight’s head, briefly resuming her internal monologue. Suddenly, a sparkle seemed to quickly glisten behind her eyes as inspiration struck her.

“Aha!” she cried, perhaps a bit too loudly as the others jumped a slightly at the sound. “Spike, can you grab me my copy of ‘Telepathic Communications Made Easy’? It should be under ‘T’,” she instructed. Spike’s ears perked up at the all-too-familiar command, temporarily forgetting his anxiety and dashing off to retrieve the tome. Noting that he would need its’ assistance, he ascended a nearby ladder quickly, perusing the alphabetically sorted assortment of books studiously, reading the titles aloud to himself softly.

“Teas for Tea Drinkers, Technical Teachings for Techies, Teenaged Teetotalism for Teetering Teens…what? Oh, here it is!” Spike announced triumphantly as he held the book out in the air, positively beaming down at Twilight and the others. His small victory was short lived, however, as Twilight hastily levitated the book - and Spike - down from the ladder, sending the baby dragon flying face-first into the floor with a smack!

“Oo-oops!” Twilight offered, sheepishly. “Sorry, Spike. Are you ok?”

“Ugh,” a muffled voice rose up in response as the purple dragon slowly pulled himself to his feet, eyes spinning independently from one another. The purple unicorn stifled a laugh, but her mirth quickly died upon seeing the somewhat mortified look on Fluttershy’s face. Not wanting to worsen the situation, Twilight turned her attention to the book, quickly skimming the table of contents for the section she needed. She flipped to the appropriate page, and absorbed the information in a manner of mere minutes.

“Right, then. Let’s give this a shot,” she said aloud to no one in particular. Setting the book down, Twilight closed her eyes shut tightly and began to concentrate, focusing her energy to the tip of her horn. She felt the electrifying sensation of psychic magic buzz through her skull, resonating inside of her with a not entirely unpleasant frequency. In her mind’s eye, she felt herself reaching out across all of Ponyville - searching, sifting through the inherent background magical frequencies and life signatures of all living beings within the town. She frowned slightly as the invisible magic happened to pass over several infected - their signatures were corrupt, blackened. They felt cold and dead, yet somehow malicious at the same time. Brushing off the brief encounter, she pushed onward, when finally -

“Aha!” she cried again, eyes still shut. The spell had found its mark.
Inside of Sugarcube Corner, a certain white unicorn went into a trance.

*Hello? Rarity, are you there? Can you hear me?*

Initially, there was no response. She knew that the spell was working - why hadn’t her unicorn friend replied?

*Rarity, it’s me, Twilight Sparkle. Can you hear my voice? Please say something!*

*…good heavens, first a viral outbreak, then the fire, and now…now I’m losing my mind! Could this night get any worse?*

The white unicorn’s ethereal voice sounded stressed.

*Rarity, trust me, you’re not going crazy. It’s really me!*

*…Twilight Sparkle? How…how are you talking to me? How is your voice in my head, dear?*

*I’m using a spell similar to the one Princess Luna used to warn us unicorns about the infection - it’s not nearly as powerful, but I think I managed to get it right.*

*Well, I should most certainly say so, my dear! Are you alright? We were with Pinkie Pie and Applejack earlier, but we got separated and I don’t know where Fluttershy-*

*-Fluttershy’s safe, she’s with me. Wait, ‘we’? Who’s ‘we’?*

*I’m inside of Sugarcube Corner, dear. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are with me, while Applejack and Pinkie Pie ran off to save a poor family that some horrid monster had cornered in an alleyway. They should be back soon, I hope…*

*Are you safe? Nopony got bitten, did they?*

*Thankfully, no. But I’m not sure how safe we are here…the fire in the marketplace hasn’t spread to any of the buildings yet, thank Celestia, but should the fire spread, Sugarcube Corner will likely succumb.*

*…that’s not good. Ok, listen carefully, Rarity. There are a couple of things we need to do right now, and with that fire still burning, we’re running out of time. One: we need to figure out a way to put out the fire. Two: we need to figure out where Pinkie Pie and Applejack are, and make sure that they’re safe. Three: we need to gather everypony together - you, me, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, the Cutie Mark Crusaders-*

*You do know that Rainbow Dash is in Cloudsdale, don’t you, dear?*

*…shit. I forgot about that.*

*T-twilight! Watch your language, dear! I know that things are bad, but-*

*-sorry, sorry. Well, we do need the Elements, so-*

*The Elements of Harmony, dear? Why, whatever for?*

*The Elements are among the strongest magic known to ponydom, Rarity. Even if we don’t quite know what we’re up against just yet, I’m sure that with the Elements, there’s nothing that we can’t overcome!*

*…yes, I do suppose you are correct. But with Rainbow Dash in Cloudsdale…*

*-I know, I know. That…that is a problem, I’ll admit. How can we bring Rainbow Dash to Ponyville with that barrier keeping us in? I would take the balloon, but…oh, Celestia…*

*…dear, couldn’t you just teleport to Cloudsdale? After you cast that cloud-walking spell, of course! We certainly wouldn’t want you plummeting to your death, you know.*

*Rarity, YOU’RE A GENIUS! I could kiss you!*

*…you could do what, now?*

*Uh, nothing. But that’s a fantastic idea! I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me sooner! Thank you, Rarity!*

*Think nothing of it, darling. I do have quite the attention to detail, if I do say so myself.*

The ethereal voice chuckled warmly.

*Indeed you do. All right! Once I go and get Rainbow Dash, she can hopefully pull a few rain clouds together and put out the fire. I would ask Fluttershy, but…well…*

*Yes, we do know our Fluttershy. I couldn’t think to ask anything like that of her - it’s simply too dangerous outdoors! Rainbow Dash, on the other hand-*

*-Right, danger is like a drug to her.*

*Interesting simile, dear. Well, what would you have me do from here? I’m afraid that there are still quite a few…infected…ponies running about at the moment, and there is still no sign of Applejack or Pinkie Pie.*

*Rarity, I need you to stay put for now and keep Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo safe. Wait for Applejack and Pinkie Pie while I go to Cloudsdale and find Rainbow Dash. I’m not sure what I’ll find up there, or how bad the situation is up there, but I’ll try to be as quick as possible. I promise.*

*I trust you, Twilight.*

*I need to cut off this conversation - this spell is taxing enough as it is already, and I don’t want to use up too much of my magic.*

*I understand, darling. Stay safe, do you hear me?*

*I will, Rarity. Thank you. I’ll see you all soon.*

With the slightest of grunts, Twilight ceased channeling her magic through her horn and the spell faded away. Knowing that she needed the same book she had consulted to visit Cloudsdale a few months ago for the Best Young Flier Competition, Twilight galloped hurriedly to the section where she knew the book lay. She didn’t want to risk injuring Spike any further, and she knew that she was in an excitable enough state to accidentally pull her number one assistant down from the ladder again. Instead, she located the book she needed a few shelves up from where she stood, flipped it open to the page with the information she needed, and read. Nodding with determination, she quickly cast the spell on herself: normally, she would begin to worry about the magical strain she was putting on herself, but she knew that the spell was elementary enough to not be a concern. Besides, her friends needed her to be strong! She couldn’t let them down!

“Twilight? What was that all about?” Spike asked, still a bit confused about the minute or so that she had spent with her eyes closed, standing absolutely still with horn aglow.

“Oh, right. Sorry. I just talked with Rarity - she’s fine. She’s with the Cutie Mark Crusaders at Sugarcube Corner for now.”

“How-”

“Because of that book you found for me, Spike. Thank you, by the way! Oh, and sorry. Again. I didn’t mean to pull you off of the ladder like that.”

“It’s fine, Twilight. Don’t worry about it,” the baby dragon replied, absentmindedly raising a hand to his head and wincing as he stroked a sore spot.

“What was that spell you just cast on yourself, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, curious.

“A cloud-walking spell. I’m going to Cloudsdale to find Rainbow Dash.”

“C-cloudsdale? But…but there could be more of those ‘infected’ ponies up there! And besides, wouldn’t that be disobeying Princess Luna’s orders? You could get in a lot of trouble!”

“I’m afraid so, Fluttershy, but that’s the nature of the situation. It cannot be avoided, and we need to gather the Elements of Harmony together.” Her friends looked uncertain. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine!” She did her best to reassure her companions.

“Promise me you’ll be careful, Twilight?” Spike asked.

“Yes, please do stay safe…” Fluttershy added demurely.

“I promise. Fluttershy, please look after Spike, Owloiscious and Angel while I’m gone. I’ll try to be quick.”

“Of course, Twilight,” the yellow Pegasus replied, sounding a tad more certain of herself.

“Right,” Twilight said with determination, taking several deep breaths to prepare herself for yet another teleportation spell. She closed her eyes again, calming herself, willing a serene state of well-being to overcome her. Steadily, surely, she drew upon her decidedly expansive inner reserve of magic - she knew that his spell would be somewhat taxing to perform (especially after the psychic and cloud-walking spells), but her love for her friend Rainbow Dash and her concern for her well being seemed to unlock something within her. It was faint, at first; a feeling of raw, immense power began to blossom at the very core of her being, radiating outward in electrifying pulses and waves. Gasping slightly at the new sensation, her eyes shot open, again aglow with a blinding white light which illuminated the entire interior of the library as though it were high noon. Fluttershy, Spike, Angel and Owloicious could do little more than look on in awe, the former of the four having been the only amongst them to witness their purple unicorn friend unleash this caliber of magic before.

With a brilliant crescendo of energy and a surge of impossibly bright light, she disappeared, bound for the city in the sky.

Comments

[Trumpetturtle]

Yay chapter 6! (You uploaded right when I opened this page lol)

[Scriber]

4693
Wow, good timing!

[bradhadair12]

I'm really looking forward to this! Don't let me down!

[ThePinkazoid]

4693 me too

[Scriber]

4833
That was quite informative, good sir. I know that zombies aren't everyone's cup of tea, and I applaud you with not only taking the time to read my work thus far, but also for taking the time to write out your comment. You raise an absolutely correct point in noting that these are not, in fact, my characters - I generally take it as a given that any fan content produced that was inspired by MLP inherently suggests that the author, artist or musician makes no claim of ownership. I now realize that, regrettably, I did not make that statement at the beginning of this tale, and I will amend that issue as soon as I am finished typing this out.

You make yet another excellent point in the necessity to respect the characters. The suddenness of Nurse Redheart's death was a stylistic choice on my behalf: believe you me, I am not one to kill a character without a proper build-up, but in her case, it felt situationally appropriate to have her succumb to the virus in that manner. That being said, while I usually make no apologies for the content of my work, I will apologize for sending her off in a manner that was not to your liking. Should any more prominent characters succumb to the virus later on down the road, I will be absolutely certain to respect the characters themselves. Readers are absolutely the most important aspect of this project; whereas some writers tend to write for themselves or (more commonly) for profit, this work is an entirely unfunded, unselfish literary adventure made specifically for fans of MLP who also happen to adore zombies and the zombie genre as much as I do. That being said, I am trying my damndest to appeal to a wide spectrum of readers, which is the primary reason why you'll note that this story is devoid of any shipping or fan-popular relationships that have become somewhat fanon in this community. Some people loathe shipping, apparently.

Dearest Dusty, it's readers like you that keep me going. Your attention to detail as well as passionate stance regarding certain aspects of fanfiction are somewhat of an inspiration to me, and I thank you again for taking the time to type that small novel of a comment. I do hope that you'll continue to read this story as it develops, and feel free to voice your opinion at any time, via comments, private message or e-mail. That goes for the rest of you readers, too! I absolutely love comments like these: keep 'em coming!

Not bad at all, quite well written, for a fanfic, especially in this fandom.
Quite sad that Nurse Redheart died. But glad that pony family survived. And I hope the Cakes are okay, and AJ and Pinkie.
I'm kind of curious to know if there are now also undead woodland creatures wandering around.
Keep up the good work, hope to read more soon. Also hope none of the mane cast get killed.

[Oceanus92]

This is shaping up to be a darn good fic. Now all we need are zombie griffons, zombie manticores, (possibly temporary zombie Celestia?), regenerating zombies, and zombie dragons that breathe fire.

...ZOMBIE DRAGON BREATHE FIRE.

[Midnight Moon]

I JUST realized something that might put a hitch in your story, scriber. Near the end of chapter two, you wrote down that only COLTS could get infected by the virus. And yet, Nurse redmane, a MARE, got infected. This would also mean that you can't infect the mane 6, as they are all mares!

[Midnight Moon]

5448

Sorry, i meant chapter ONE

5456
I guess mares can get infected but only after death.

[Scriber]

5448
5589

Excellent observations, you two. Yes, mares can only be infected after death - this can happen if the contagion is somehow introduced into their bloodstream, be it from a fatal bite or other (less sanitary) possibilities. More on that to come in the story, trust me.

The nature of this virus is that of a a blood-borne (or saliva-borne) pathogen: while it is not contagious for one to be in the proximity of an infected, any contact with bodily fluids that ends up in oral, nasal or ocular cavities (or in the bloodstream) is absolutely fatal to colts and stallions. They generally succumb to the virus within minutes: not quite on the same timeframe as, say, 28 Days Later or Dawn of the Dead, but somewhere in-between.

5385
A zombie Angel Bunny is nearly too horrifying to even comprehend, let alone write about.

[richfiles]

I'd hate to imagine a caste of mares in Equestria that would have to go about their lives like they had AIDS... that could start a zombie apocalypse all over again if they make one slip up... and need a 2x4 embedded into their brains at the moment they die, just to be sure.

Do you mean that mares are immune while alive, but if they die with the infected fluid on a point where it can touch the blood, then they turn after death?

Or do you mean they can become carriers, and turn at the moment they die, but the virus does not cause them to die... and if they carry... do they fight it off if they live, or do they carry it till they die, even if they live years?

[richfiles]

I do not want to even imagine Alicorns are even capable of contracting disease, much less be Zombified.