Gore, Terror, Death, and the magic of friendship <3...or not...
Every pony has heard of Zombies. Legends of the dead rising up from the grave, wanting nothing more than to snack on the brains of every living creature that roamed the earth. Well, now it's not just legend...
Twilight Sparkle was desperately trying to get her dear baby dragon out of the house. She tugged on his tail, trying to pull him away from a pile of gems he had been collecting for a feast, for himself.
"Ok, ok." He said, reluctantly turning toward her. He grabbed one of his gems for safekeeping as they left the house.
"Where are we going again?" Spike asked.
"Over to Rarity's. She asked me to come over and help her with a dress she is making for the big celebration tomorrow" Twilight responded.
Spike's eyes lit up, he absolutely loved Rarity, and now he understood why Twilight dragged him out of the house.
They made it to Rarity's house in a short amount of time. Twilight knocked on the door and could hear Rarity's frantic voice beckoning her to come inside.
The house was like a hurricane. piles of fabric in the corner, accessories in the other, glitter and gemstones lying about. Rarity looked a mess as well, her mane was frizzed up like she had went to bed after bathing and never brushed it when she got up.
"Thank goodness you're here, Twilight. I need your help! I was working on the Princess'es dress for tomorrow and I thought that I had it under control, but I kept finding faults and I would take it all apart and try something different. Then I would find something else I liked, so I tried to incorporate it into the design, but it wouldn't work, so I started over again and..."
Rarity went on and on. Twilight just shook her said and smiled at her friend. "We're here to help Rarity, just tell me what needs to be done."
The white pony sighed in relief and looked to her "Thank you so much. Just stand over here and let me pin this on..." It was then she noticed Spike, who had been staring at her this whole time, his mouth agape. "Oh Spike! My sincere apologies, I didn't even see you there! goodness, I must look awful! Please, do come over and make yourself comfortable."
Spike walked in "You don't look awful, Rarity." He spoke, but choked on words that he was too afraid to follow up with.
She smiled "Well thank you Spike."
They started working on the outfit Rarity was designing for Princess Celestia as a thank you for being the best ruler of all of Equestria.
Through all the sewing, pinning, stitching, and pricking, they finally finished. They all sighed in relief and sat down.
"You are both the best friends a pony could ever have." Rarity said, "You deserve my special lemonade, let me get you some, my treat,"
The unicorn used her magic to make the drinks and brought them back to the others. They drank it greedily, it was extremely delicious.
The sun was beginning to set, the three decided to clean up and Twilight and Spike started heading back to their home.
"I'm so excited for the party tomorrow. I can't wait to see Princess Celestia's face when Rarity presents her with that outfit. She is going to love it!" Twilight said to Spike as they approached the front door.
"The Princess will love anything that Rarity makes! She is the best after all!" Spike basically swooned.
Twilight chuckled and they walked into the house. "I just hope everything goes as planned. Let's get to bed, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.
------
It was the morning of the festival, and Pinkie Pie was doing what she loved best, planning the big party for the Princess.
"This punch is amazing!" She squealed, jumping up and down. "This might be the best party yet! Wouldn't you agree, Gummy?"
She looked over at her pet alligator, he just blinked. Pinkie smiled and scooped him up, placing him on her head.
There was a knock on the door and it opened slowly. Fluttershy stuck her head in.
"Hey Pinkie." She said softly. "How is everything? Can I help"
"Fluttershy! Of course you can help!" Pinkie hopped over to her and pulled her inside. "You can hang the rest of these streamers! with your wings, they'll be up in no time!"
Fluttershy nodded and took the streamers, carefully placing them along the ceiling. She was eager to help in any way possible.
Soon the decorations were all up and the preparations were set. Ponies from all over Ponyville began to arrive. Pinkie was overjoyed.
Applejack arrived shortly, bringing a huge load of baked apple goods. "Where can Ah put these?" She asked.
Pinkie showed her the banquet table and helped her set the food out.
Everyone had arrived and was prepared for the coming of the princess. It wouldn't be long. They gathered outside and waited. A big banner welcoming her was held over their heads and soon, the royal chariot was seen coming from the clouds toward Ponyville.
The royal chariot came to a halt and out stepped princess Celestia, she looked to sky and saw Rainbow Dash making a welcome sign out of the clouds. She smiled.
Twilight saw her smile, but looked into her eyes and saw a glimmer of something else. But she wasn't sure what.
"Hello citizens of Ponyville." The princess spoke. "I am so very grateful that you would allow me to visit. and such a warm greeting party. I am honored. She looked and spotted Twilight, and walked up to her. All the ponies started beginning festivities.
Twilight bowed to her teacher. "Princess, I am so happy to see you again."
"As am I, my faithful student." Celestia said to her. As she caught Twilight's eye, she spoke in a hushed tone. "I am grateful for the celebration, but we have matters to discuss soon."
Twilight was surprised by her words. she just nodded. Celestia then put her smile back on as Rarity stepped forward.
"Princess Celestia. In honor of your visit to Ponyville. I present you with this dress." Rarity unveiled a beautiful gown. It was light pink with golden trim and blue gems adorning it. The Princess's face lit up.
"Rarity, it is quite lovely!" Celestia said, putting it on immediately. it fit perfect. "I shall wear it the whole day of the celebration. Thank you so much."
Rarity bowed. "It is an honor, my princess."
The ponies went in and sat at the banquet table with Celestia. They began to eat and discuss things. After the feast, the real party began. And while everything was a ruckus, Princess Celestia took her chance. She pulled Twilight into a separate room and shut the door.
"I'm sorry to pull you in like this, Twilight Sparkle. But I must speak to you in private."
Twilight couldn't speak, she had never seen the Princess like this before.
"There's something going on out in Manehatten. I felt the need to tell you in person, that's the real reason why I am here." She spoke with great urgency. "I have only received letters, the guards have decided that it is too dangerous for me to go out there."
"What is it, Princess?" Twilight asked, now fearful.
Celestia sighed and sat down. "I'm not quite sure. The officials over there said there is some outbreak of disease that they can't seem to cure. Ponies all around the area are beginning to run high fevers and hallucinate. But that isn't the worst part."
Twilight saw how the princess furrowed her brow, trying to think of how to word her next sentence. This was the first time she had ever seen her quite so....scared.
"Some of the ponies are starting to...eat the flesh of other ponies." She forced the words out, she held her eyes shut tight, hating how her words were true.
"What do you mean? Like, just biting or what? I mean, eating other ponies? Isn't that what zombies do? Are they turning into zombies?" Twilight was beginning to get frantic. Celestia placed a hoof against her lips to quieten her.
"I'm not sure. All I know is that is spreading fast, and I need you and your friends to help. I don't want to put you in danger, but the elements of harmony should help, and you six are the only ones who have the power to use them."
Twilight shivered, she would do anything to help the princess, but this was all too surreal.
"I don't mean to frighten you. And I certainly don't want to send Ponyville into a frenzy. That's why I am asking you to keep this hushed, don't tell anyone but your closest friends and don't let it out of your circle. I need you to study as much as you can on this mysterious disease. Look up the symptoms, see if this has happened before. I am unsure myself."
Twilight nodded. "I will princess. but...what if I can't figure it out."
"we have to try." Celestia whispered. "We are all in this together, you are not alone. We will figure it out."
There was a knock at the door, it was a guard, looking for her.
"We have to go back out there as if nothing is happening." Celestia spoke. "I'm sorry to worry you and your friends, but this is something that can't be ignored. Now let's put on a smile and join the party."
They stood up and walked back into the crowd. Pinkie had cranked up the music and everyone was dancing. Consumed with worry, Twilight tried her best to keep up her happy facade. But her mind reeled.
How could any disease make ponies acquire a taste for flesh? They couldn't be zombies, these were live ponies they were talking about. How fast was this disease actually spreading. What if it reached ponyville before they could figure out what it was?
"Twilight!! YOOHOO!!" Pinkie snapped Twilight out of her thoughts. "Come on! don't just stand there, dance!"
Pinkie pulled her out to the middle of the dance floor and Twilight reluctantly began to dance. She tried to force out the thoughts, but they were too strong.
Fluttershy, standing near the punchbowl, could clearly see through Twilight's boundaries and knew something was wrong.
"Hey, Fluttershy, what's going on." rainbow Dash, who had been flying around, landed next to her.
"What? oh, hey Rainbow."
"Something wrong? I can read you like an open book." She spoke.
Fluttershy looked at the multi-colored pony. "Something is wrong with Twilight, look at her. Also, her and the princess disappeared a while ago and I'm worried that something bad is happening."
"Oh Fluttershy." Rainbow laughed "you worry too much! Come join the party. I'm sure nothing bad is going on, you're just looking to deep into the things."
"But...Rainbow..."
Rainbow Dash pulled Fluttershy up into the air and above the dance floor. Fluttershy couldn't find the strength to dance with her friend. But nonetheless, to not worry the others, she moved bit by bit.
The party lasted into the wee hours of the night. Princess Celestia announced that she had to make her way back to Canterlot and she would be in touch with Twilight shortly. With that, she thanked the community again and boarded her chariot, flying back home.
The clean up began, many of the ponies had already left. but a few faithful remained.
Twilight acted surprised by her question. "N-no, why would you think that?"
Fluttershy was skeptical "Twilight, something IS wrong. I can tell."
She sighed and looked to the floor. "I have to talk to you and the others, there is something going on."
Twilight called her friends together into one of the rooms.
"There's something really important I need to talk to you about." She spoke, "After clean up, I need all of us to meet at my house."
"OOO! Are we planning an after party?!" Pinkie asked.
"Unfortunately, no." Twilight responded. "It's really important that no other pony knows about us meeting up, ok. It's a special request, from the princess."
"We'll be there, Twilight." Applejack nodded.
"You better believe we will. if it's from the princess it must be important!" Rainbow Dash chimed in.
They all agreed. and went back out to clean up the rest of the mess.
The six ponies met at Twilight’s house after cleaning up the mess from the party. Twilight was racked with nervousness, she wasn’t sure how she was going to explain any of this to her friends. But it was her duty to do so.
All the ponies went inside and shut the door behind them. They gathered into a circle in the middle of the library. Twilight sighed. “This isn’t going to be easy. But I trust each of you, and before I explain what is going on, I have to have your promises that this information does not leave this room.”
All of them chimed in with “We promise” and nodded for her to continue.
Taking in a big breath, Twilight began. “Tonight, Princess Celestia told me that there’s been an outbreak of a mysterious disease in Manehatten and it seems to be incurable at the moment. Nopony knows what it is or what is causing it. But the ponies are running fevers and acting…strange.”
“What kinda strange, Twilight. Tell us, we can take it.” Applejack piped up, noticing Twilight’s reluctance to carry on with the story.
“Well. Ponies are beginning to…well…eat each other.”
“Like z-zombies?!!!” Spike yelled.
“Zombies?!!!!” Pinkie echoed him.
“SHHHH!!! Quiet!! Nopony must know!” Twilight hushed them.
“So, what are we gonna do about it?” AJ asked.
Twilight gulped. “I don’t know yet, the princess said the elements may help but I have to study up on it first. She is going to try to get as much info as she can, but nopony is able to go to Manehatten in the state it is in.”
“That’s creepy.” Fluttershy said.
“What is the disease spreads over here?” Rarity asked.
“We’ll just fight it!” Rainbow Dash said, kicking the air.
“How do you fight something like that. No one even knows what it is.” Twilight said . “Well, we need to go get the elements.” Applejack spoke up again.
“I’ll have to speak to the princess again. I’ll ask about them and what our next step should be. But first, I need to start studying this thing.” Twilight said.
“Do you need us to stay here tonight?” Rarity asked, worried about Twilight.
Twilight shook her head. “That’s sweet of you, but I’ll be fine. I need to be alone so I can study effectively. You girls just go home and get some rest, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Each pony said their goodbyes and left the house. As soon as the last one left, Twilight shut the door and locked it. She turned around, sighed with her back against the door and slid down to a sitting position.
“I don’t know what to do.” She spoke softly.
“What books are we going to need for this?” Spike asked, eager to help. Even though he would usually be in bed by now, he was worried for Twilight.
“First off, we need to look into the history of diseases that match these symptoms. We have got to see if ponies have encountered something like this before. Then we need to look up cures for the symptoms, maybe some kind of brew can be mixed, I will speak to Zecora tomorrow and see if she has any idea. Also, maybe there is a magical cure of some kind, or maybe a spell…oh I don’t know.” Twilight placed her face in her hooves for a moment, her head was spinning, but she knew she had to get up and get to work. The disease was spreading, and something had to be done before it was too late.
She lifted herself off the floor and began pulling books from the shelves. With Spike’s help, she began her long night of research.
Twilight awoke from a pile of books in her library. she might have gotten 3 hours of sleep during the night but she wasn't sure. Her studying didn't produce much information. there was no record of any ponies ever facing a disease like this, and there were no spells. So shaking off her exhaustion, Twilight got some things together and made her way to Zecora's house.
Making her way through the Ever Free forest, Twilight approached the shack and knocked on the door, she was greeted by the Zebra, who smiled and invited her in.
---
At a prison in Manehatten
The guards paced before the cells that held a few of the infected ponies that had clearly gone insane. At first they thought they could put them in a cell together...but that was clearly not going to work when they approached them the next morning to find one pony, covered in blood, feasting on the entrails of the other two ponies.
"I'm not insane!" One of the ponies reached through the bars of her cell. "Let me go! I just need a doctor!"
"you need more than a doctor, ma'am." One of the guards walked near her, when he got too close she tried to grab him. Instead, he reached through and shoved her backward
She laughed, "you won't get the best of me, soon I'll be free. and when I am, I'm going to skin you alive and pop those gorgeous eyeballs into my mouth like gumdrops. would you like that? Would you like me to rip that tongue of your's out and pick my teeth with your bones?"
The guard turned and walked down the hall, he was about to go crazy himself by being near these sick ponies.
One of the other ponies hissed at him, the guard turned and looked at him. This Stallion was twice as big as he and his eyes were beginning to bleed. This was the worst case in all of Manehatten. He snarled, drool dripping off of his mouth, which revealed his teeth in a horrific smile.
This one couldn't even talk normal, the disease seemed to be rotting his brain, as well as the rest of his body. he was literally beginning to stink up the area. The Officials of the big city were afraid they might have to put him down. Though murder as a punishment was looked down upon by all ponies....this one might have not even been a pony any longer, he was more like a monster.
The guard had to turn away, his stomach was beginning to get a queasy feeling.
"you alright, George?" One of the other guards called to him.
"Yeah, Cliff, I'm fine...I just need some sleep."
"Let me cover you, go rest, bud."
George nodded and made his way to his bunk down the corridor. As he laid down in his bed, the sick feeling got worse, his eyes soon began to water and he got a putrid taste in his mouth.
---
"Well, Zecora didn't have any information. We are just going to have to go to Canterlot and look in the Equestrian library there." Twilight told the girls.
"I'm up for the trip!" Rarity said. "I've been needing to go there and get some more fabrics."
"Rarity, this is official business, the whole world could be at stake." Twilight scolded her.
Rarity sighed. "I guess you're right."
"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash was all fired up.
Twilight nodded, "Alright everypony, go home, get your stuff together, and meet me back here in exactly two hourse. We're going to see the princess."
---
Canterlot
"Welcome to Canterlot Pharmacy, how may I help you today?"
"I need medicine."
"What kind of medicine?....gosh, you don't look so good."
"I feel sick...need *cough* medicine."
"I need to know what you have, we got plenty of medicine."
"The disease...it's the disease..."
"What disease?"
"*Hack* I...I..."
"Do I need to call an ambulance?"
"Help...please..."
"Hey, what are you...stop it!...I'm gonna call the police!...no! NO!! what are you doing to me?! help me! Somepony! HELPP!!!"
---
"We're almost to the castle!" Pinkie hopped up and down in the basket of the hot air balloon. "I'm so excited! Do you think they'll have food? OO! I hope they have cupcakes!"
"I don't know. but I DO know they have books, lots of them." Twilight told her.
Finally, they were landing in the castle courtyard They made their way to the front gates and the guards recognized Twilight.
"Miss Twilight Sparkle." One of them spoke. "You are here to see the princess, correct?"
"Yes sir." she said.
"Please follow me, all of you." He said. He turned and open the doors and walked down the hall. They kept walking until they came to the throne room, where Celestia was sitting at the top of some rather large steps.
All of the ponies bowed to her as she stepped down to greet them.
"My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Have you made any progress in your studies." She questioned.
Twilight felt like a failure. "Not yet, princess. I was wondering if I may look in your libraries to see if I can find any information there."
She smiled "Of course, you and your friends are welcome anywhere around the castle."
As Celestia gave them directions to the main library, one of her servants stepped into the room.
She noticed him. "Why hello, Kable. Is there something you need?"
Kable said nothing, just walked forward.
Celestia knew something was wrong. "Kable?"
It happened so fast. Kable jumped into the air, lunging at the princess. the guards took immediate action, shoving both him and the princess out of the way. One of them battled the wild pony, while the other ushered Celestia and company down the hall and into another room, closing the door behind them.
"Oh...dear Kable." Celestia whispered.
"Are you ok, Princess?" The guard asked.
"Yes, but I am worried about Frolin out there fighting Kable. If he gets him infected...they're both goners." She spoke.
It was upsetting to hear her sound so broken. Twilight looked at her friends, who were coward together. even brave Rainbow Dash was covered Fluttershy, cowering in her own fear.
"I am so sorry for all of you having to witness that." Celestia said, turning to them. "I had no idea the disease was already spreading so fast out here. I had heard of one incident, but...I didn't think it was this bad."
Twilight looked around, realizing this was one of the libraries. "Princess, what if there is a cure in here?"
Celestia looked around. "Maybe. we will have to look.
All of the ponies began searching the shelves for anything that might help them figure out this disease.
---
"Kable! By the order of the law, I command you to stop! You are under arrest."
"Oh Frolin. You are hilarious."
Kable pulled back his top lip, revealing his teeth, and sank them into his opponents flesh. Frolin screamed, trying to pry the pony off of his leg. When he pushed him off, Kable took a hunk of meat with him. Frolin tried to ignore the gaping wound. He grabbed a sword from the wall and held it steadily in his mouth. Kable once again came rushing toward him and Frolin let him dive right onto the blade. Kable had fallen all the was to the handle of the sword. Frolin dropped it and looked at his once-friend. He was still breathing, his eyes wide open. His stomach contents pouring from his wound. The new stench filled the air, such bile was the certain scent of death.
Frolin took the hilt of the blade and pulled it right out. blood gushed out to meet him. Kable groaned, his life leaving him in one breath.
It was a gruesome sight, Frolin looked at his leg, he knew he needed a hospital...but there was fear that it might be too late. As blood still leaked out, the area around the wound was beginning to turn a slow shade of black.
"There has to be a book with this disease somewhere around here! At least one!"
Twilight was getting frantic, the library was now a mess with books and scrolls of all kinds scattered about.
"What about this one?" Pinkie chimed, grabbing a thick book in her mouth and handing it over to twilight. "It's got pictures of zombie ponies in it!"
All the ponies gathered around Twilight as she looked over the pages. she stopped at a passage that had a list of diseases with the same symptoms the diseased ponies had been having.
"High fever, sensitivity to light and sound. patients lose ability to think within reason and act based on an acquired appetite for flesh of their own species. Their own flesh begins to deteriorate and produces gaping wounds. skin is severely discolored and usually black from lack of blood."
"That sounds like the disease." Celestia spoke up. "What is it called? Is there a cure?"
"It's called 'Virus XXZ' the ponies who recorded it states this is not the official name, as there has only been one recorded case of this in all of Equestria." Twilight read.
"Does it say what happened?" AppleJack asked.
Twilight flipped a few pages and read aloud. "Patient S (name kept secret for protection purposes.) had went to the hospital complaining of severe head trauma. The staff kept him hospitalized over night to monitor him. As a nurse brought him his morning meal, he jumped from his bed and devoured one of her limbs before security arrived to sedate him. Scientists came in to research his disease until one night he disappeared. There is no known account of his whereabouts or death since that time."
The ponies gasped. "So the only known information about this disease...and the patient disappeared?! Did they not try to catch him?!" Rainbow Dash basically yelled, clearly annoyed.
"It states that there is no known cure...this info is dated back only 20 years ago..." Twilight stated.
"S-so that's all?" Fluttershy whispered. "Now what's going to happen?"
Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door, making the ponies jump and cower together once again.
"use the exit in the back." The guard stood against the door. "All of you, go."
"Are you coming with us, Shaydin Hall?" Celestia asked the guard.
"I must keep you safe, Princess. please, go!" Shaydin forced his words.
With one look back, all the ponies dashed out the back and through a large hallway.
"Follow me, girls." Celestia told them. "We must get to the elements of harmony."
They followed the princess into another corridor, closing and locking the door behind them. Celestia walked to the end of the room and unlocked a secret door on the back wall. She brought out and chest and set it in front of the girls.
"There isn't much time. You have to use these against the infected." She told them.
She opened the box and passed out the beautiful jewels. The ponies immediately put them on.
"WEE! Let's go fight some Zombies!" Pinkie squealed.
"Pinkie, I'm not so sure we-"
Pinkie cut off Fluttershy's sentence. "Nonsense, Fluttershy! With the elements, we can do anything. I'm not afraid of any zombie pony!"
"I kinda agree with Pinkie on this one. As long as we're together, and we got the elements, we can accomplish anything." AppleJack stated.
"Now, now girls. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Rarity reasoned. "Sure we've got the elements on our side, but that doesn't mean we need put ourselves in danger."
"Well we've got to do something." Rainbow spoke up. "And danger is my middle name!"
"I didn't know your full name was Rainbow Danger Dash!" Pinkie perked up.
"Girls, calm down." Twilight said above them. "Yes, we have to face this, but we don't need to get ahead of ourselves. we need a plan."
"I agree, Twilight Sparkle." Celestia said, gathering the girls around to work out a plan.
---
Pressure was building outside the castle, the sky was gloomy and dark. Diseased ponies began to approach the gates, guards were trying to fight them off but were either mauled and infected or killed on the spot. The virus was spreading quickly, as if the air around the city was poisoned with disease.
These ponies laughed maniacally while they carried pieces of pony flesh in their mouths. As they passed over the gardens in the courtyard, the flowers seemed to turn gray and wilt. The trees drooped and any fruits that were growing began to rot. The crowd was getting bigger and bigger. The ponies out from had already broke into the castle hall and made their way inside, ready to infect and kill anypony alive inside.
---
The girls were getting the plan worked out when the door started to budge. They stood up and looked toward it. Voices could be heard and as the pressure on the door built up more and more, cracks began to appear.
"Come on my little ponies. We've got to do this." Celestia spoke with courage. she stepped out in front of them, and using her magic, cast a shield to block them from danger.
The door burst in and the stench of death filled the room. Ponies of all sizes, with open sores and bleeding wounds, stepped inside. As they saw the shield of the princess, they just smiled and chuckled.
"You think that will stop us? You don't rule us anymore." One of them spoke in a drawled tone, it's own teeth were falling out of it's mouth with every word.
The infected approached slowly, smiling and licking their teeth and lips in hunger.
"Use the power of the elements girls!" The Princess spoke up.
Twilight led them in the magical pursuit. Their eyes glowed as the power of the elements of harmony lifted them up. Light enveloped the six and rainbows of color flashed around them. As the power gathered bigger and bigger, and the crowd got closer. Celestia let down her shield and the infected raced to get her.
A rainbow slammed them all back and burned their bodies. As the light subsided, and the girls came back to the ground, they could see what had happened.
All the ponies were laying on the ground, badly burned and broken. Celestia stood up and looked back at them. "I think you did it, girls!"
They were beginning to celebrate when one of the ponies began breathing loudly, followed by the sound of others. as if in a nightmare, each pony stood up and smiled at them.
They backed up to used the elements one more time. but as the light came into view, it quickly faded.
"Wh-what's going on?" Twilight asked nopony in particular.
They began to back up, they were being pushed into a corner.
"Twilight Sparkle." Celestia spoke, not taking her eyes off the crowd. "Get your friends and go into the room I got the elements out of. there is an emergency exit. All of you get to your balloon and make it safely to Ponyville. Do your best to barricade the village and try to get in touch with the officials in the other areas of Equestria."
"B-but Princess...I can't-"
"As your teacher I order you to do so." She turned an eye toward her student. "Twilight, get to safety..."
She turned back and held her shield up to the crowd.
"Go! NOW!" She commanded.
Twilight urged the others into the back room and through the exit. once the last pony was through, she turned back to the Princess.
"Princess...Are you coming?" She asked.
"I've got to protect my city." She said, her shield weakening against the blow of the infected. "Take care of yourself."
Twilight teared up. Her mentor needed her, and there was nothing she could do.
"Princess, please make it out of here alive." She pleaded.
With tears streaming down her face, Twilight raced out the back exit and heading toward the hot air balloon.
The mane 6 looked down at Canterlot as their balloon floated into the sky. Ponies glared at them in anger, The girls knew that if they had stayed just a minute longer, they wouldn't have survived.
"Ah certainly hope the princess can make it out alright." AppleJack was the first to speak since they had boarded.
"She's the strongest pony out there, I'm sure she'll be fine." Twilight responded, unsure of the words she spoke.
Twilight turned to her friends, each of them shared her concerned expression. And she was sure they shared her anxious feelings.
The dark sky seemed to lighten as they approached ponyville. The virus had obviously not hit their home...yet.
"Girls, we need to split up." Twilight spoke as they balloon landed. "Someone needs to tell the mayor about the infection and that we need to start putting up our barriers. We also need to get as many resources as we can and meet back up at my house. There has to be a way to beat this. with or without the elements."
"Um...Twilight." Fluttershy whispered. "What about the animals? They need to be kept safe, and I can't just leave them."
"Is there any way to get them together and protected?" Twilight thought aloud.
"Well, the birds can fly and other animals can burrow for safety..." Fluttershy answered her thoughts, still unsure.
"Any other animals that can't get to safety...I guess will just have to come to my place. I don't want any of us away from one another once we get there." Twilight told her.
"Twilight." AppleJack approached her. "Let me go tell the mayor. I need to go by the farm and tell the family to get safe as well."
Before Twilight could say a word, Rarity jumped in.
"I'll go with her! I need to get poor Opal out of my house. If that's ok with you, Twilight."
Twilight sighed. "I suppose there is enough room for her."
With that, AJ and Rarity sped off to the Mayor's house.
"What can I do to help?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Can you warn the Pegasus ponies to keep lookout?"
"I sure can!" Rainbow said, speeding off into the sky.
"Alright Pinkie Pie." Twilight spoke, turning around. "I guess it's you and...hey, where'd she go?"
"Uh, she sped off when you said we needed resources. something about cupcakes and party favors." Fluttershy told her.
Twilight placed her face in her hoof. "Oh Pinkie, what are we going to do with you."
"Is there anything else I need to do before I go tend to the animals?"
"Just...be safe." Twilight answered her with a concerned smile.
Fluttershy nodded and took to the air with her wings, flying toward her home.
now alone, Twilight let her thoughts take over as she walked a slow pace toward her house.
"I hope the Princess is ok...What if she isn't. what if she..." Twilight couldn't bear to say it to herself, the thought of Celestia being gone was too much to bear. "Or worse...what if she has been turned. If that happens, all of Equestria is in danger! A pony of that strength, there would be no stopping her...thank goodness Spike wasn't there to see it."
Then her mind focused back on reality.
She stopped in her tracks, she gasped, she hadn't even thought of what Spike might be doing or where he was. With that, she bolted toward her home.
--
"Spike!!!" Twilight nearly knocked down the front door. "Spike! Where are you?!!!"
"What?! huh?!" Spike jumped from the top floor and landed with a thud below. He had clearly been sleeping.
"Oh good, there you are." She walked over and helped him up. "Canterlot has been taken over by infected ponies. It's awful."
"All of Canterlot? Is the princess alright?"
"As far as I can see, yes. And...well...I'm not sure. She sacrificed herself to get us back here but, I don't know if she is ok or not." Twilight looked to floor, hating the sound of her voice as she spoke.
There was silence. Neither knew what to say, their minds carried on about their beloved princess.
"We can't just sit here and wonder." The sound of Spike's voice surprised her. "The princess wouldn't do that. she would have a plan, she would protect her people."
Spike turned to twilight. "Twilight, you are the smartest pony in ponyville, maybe even in all of Equestria. if anyone can stop this chaos, it's you"
Twilight was in awe of her friend. such a tiny dragon, but he conducted himself with such strength and bravery. She was also flustered by his compliment, he was always the one to bring her out of depressing thoughts.
"I don't know about that, Spike. But you are right, we can't just sit here and mope." She walked over to one of the shelves and pulled a book about the Elements of Harmony. "When we tried to destroy the virus with the elements, they just burned up the ponies bodies, they didn't hurt the infection at all...maybe we are doing something wrong..."
Twilight began to study the book, and before she knew it, Pinkie Pie was walking in the front door.
"Hey Twilight! I got everything we need!"
Pinkie had a wagon stacked to the ceiling with all kind of pastries and party decorations.
"Now if those ugly old diseased ponies try to get us, we can just show them one of my parties and I bet that will cheer them right up and make that nasty infection run away from here!"
Twilight had to face-hoof herself again. She couldn't believe, during all this disaster and death, how Pinkie Pie could still be cheery and have her mind set on Parties and food. This time, instead of trying to make her see what was going on, she simply invited her in and let her do as she pleased. Anything to keep her busy, as long as she could study.
Pinkie began to decorate the house with streamers and banners of all colors and designs. She strung some multi-shaped balloons and added some confetti for extra appeal. She was perfectly aware of what was going on, but she wasn't going to let it get to her, and she was going to do the only thing that make her comfortable and made her worries go away, and that was partying.
As Twilight studied and Pinkie did her thing, Rainbow Dash entered, with Fluttershy and a few of her woodland creatures following close behind.
"The Pegasus ponies are keeping watch from the skies!" Rainbow announced.
"And I brought some of the animals, don't worry Twilight, Angel and I will keep them under control." Fluttershy followed.
"Alright, that's good. Now please let me study." Twilight said politely, shooting them a pleading glance, which soon turned grateful as the others completely understood and went about their own business.
---
Meanwhile, out in Equestria...
Luna ran along the beaten up path, angry that her chariot had been smashed to pieces by those damned infected ponies.
"You stop for a one minute rest, thinking you're in the clear, and BAM! All these freakin' zombie ponies decide to nom your transportation...ugh!" She said to herself, infected still on her tail.
After hearing about Canterlot, Luna had made the choice not to go back to the castle. She knew her sister had either got out or was taking care of business. Her big sister was easily the strongest out of both of them, and if Luna hadn't been eaten yet, surely Celestia was doing fine.
"Get off my flank!" Luna yelled as one of the ponies got too close, in mid step she reared back and slammed her hind hooves into it's jaw, causing it to stagger. She gave it no time to recover and continued running.
"I don't know how long I can keep them off me." She mumbled. "I mean, I'm not that fast of a runner."
Then, dumbfounded, she came to a hault.
"DUH! she said. I have wings!"
And with that, Luna spread her wings and flew into the sky.
She surely wasn't going back home, so Luna figured she would go see a pony she could trust with anything. One who was smart and kind.
"Twilight Sparkle."
---
"So everyone in Ponyville knows now?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, Twilight. For the millionth time, the necessary precautions are being taken to protect us. I think y'all worry too dang much." AppleJack told her.
"Sorry to keep asking AJ, I'm just worried." Twilight replied.
"I know ya are. The rest of us are too." AJ walked up and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder "But worryin' ain't gonna make things any easier. We gotta keep our minds focused on the situation, not one what might happen."
After a few seconds, Twilight nodded, understanding what her friend was talking about.
"Well, what do we do now?" Rarity asked, petting her white kitty.
"We wait on Twilight to finish studying." Rainbow said truthfully.
"I think I might be onto something here!" Twilight spoke up, ignoring Rainbow's blunt comment.
"Finally!" Rainbow Dash blurted out, the others glaring at her.
"This book says something about a hidden element....Have any of you heard anything like that before." Twilight turned to them.
Before any of them could answer, a voice sounded from the front door.
"I have."
------------------------
Author's Note:
I wasn't sure how to portray Luna...so I made her badass :)
Every pony in the room...including Spike....gasped.
"Princess Luna." Twilight broke the silence. "What are you doing here?"
"Twilight Sparkle. I see all of Ponyville has started to prepare for the fast-spreading disease" Luna stepped inside and closed the door. "As for the 7th Element...yes, I know what you are speaking of."
A second round of gasps sounded.
Luna continued, "Whenever the 6 Elements of Harmony came into existence, a 7th was rumored to be found...but those were only rumors."
"There has to be some truth to it. Princess, when we tried to use the elements against the diseased ponies of Canterlot, the only thing it did was hurt their bodies, and not even enough to keep them down." Twilight spoke to her.
"That's strange, Celestia and I have never had that problem." Luna pondered.
"Princess Luna, if you don't mind me asking. What all do you know about this 7th element." Rarity stepped forward and asked.
"Well, from the rumors I heard. Ponies were saying that is wasn't...in sync...with the other 6. That it could work on it's own. but that it was more powerful combined with them. I had also heard that for a pony to use it, they didn't have to have a certain trait, such as the 6 that you all represent, but they had to be either pure good or pure evil."
"Well that doesn't sound too promising." Rainbow Dash said, landing in front of them. "What if one of the diseased ponies gets it?
"That's one thing....but how do we know they're pure evil?" Twilight asked.
"How could there be any good in them? Believe me, I know evil when I see it, and those ponies are it." Rainbow responded.
"If that's the case, then we need to act fast." Luna replied.
"Do you have any clue where this element might be?" Twilight asked.
"Last I heard, it was believed to be inside a cavern deep in the Ever Free Forest...but that cavern could be covered by now." Luna said.
"Could we possibly look up any news about this in the archives here in ponyville? Even if a lot of this is just rumors?"
"There might be some information there. I remember reporters writing about it in papers and magazines. We can always check." Luna stated.
"Now is a good time to go." Twilight turned to everyone else. "Will all of you stay here while I go to the archives with Princess Luna?"
"Of course we will, Twilight! We got your back!!" Pinkie shouted before any pony else could answer.
With that, Luna and Twilight made their way through Ponyville and to the main archives.
---
"You know, Derpy, you might want to get inside where it's safe, instead of being outside delivering mail"
The Blonde haired, gray pony turned around to see Ms. Cheerilee speaking to her. She was carrying bags of groceries and had a very concerned look on her face.
Derpy smiled. "Cheerilee, I gotta get these letters out to the ponies. What if one of them is really important. Thank you for being worried about me."
Cheerilee put on an understanding smile. "It's good you want to help the others, but take care of yourself too."
Derpy nodded. "I will, the other Pegasus ponies are looking over us, so I think we're ok for now."
"Well, be safe." Cheerilee said to her, nodded her goodbye, and trotted off.
Derpy went from house to house delivering mail for the ponies, as far as she was concerned, she could be eaten alive...but as long as she had made sure to help every pony, then that wouldn't matter. After finishing her rounds, she made her way home.
She walked through the living room and into her kitchen where she was about to cook dinner, when she heard a noise.
She turned around. "Hello?"
Her front door opened and slammed shut. Derpy backed into one of the counters, knocking a few bowls down onto her head.
Steps were heard coming toward her, she did the only thing she could think of. She opened one of the larger cabinets and squeezed herself inside, shutting the door and holding it.
"Derpy..." A small voice called her name, it sounded almost like a weak cry for help.
Scared out of her mind, Derpy held the door even tighter, hoping the creature would go away.
"Derpy, I need your help..."
The voice was beginning to sound familiar. Familiar but distorted. Her grasp on the door relaxed slightly.
"D-Dinky?" Derpy spoke softly.
"Derpy, please..." The small voice became more frantic.
Derpy opened the door and saw the poor little unicorn filly laying on the floor of her kitchen, panting.
"Dinky? What happened?" Derpy approached her, trying to lift her up, "What's wrong?"
"It's the...the..."
Suddenly, Dinky's eyes began to bleed as her breathing grew more rapid.
Derpy might have been slow, but she wasn't stupid. "Dinky...it's the infection isn't it? We gotta take you to a doctor."
"No, Derpy. I can't infect them too.."
"But...I have to do something."
"Take me out of the city, put me outside the walls so I can't hurt anyone here..." Dinky hacked, her skin was getting warmer by the minute. Sweat drops poured from her mane just as blood droplets poured from her eyes.
Derpy contemplated. Dinky was like a daughter to her, she couldn't just abandon her.
"Derpy, please...I can't...I can't..."
Dinky let out an earth shattering groan that worked it's way from her stomach and up through her esophagus. her eyes popped open, brimming with red and devoid of the friendliness they once held.
"Dinky..."
The small filly jumped from her arms and faced her, her back arched and her face narrowed.
"You should have listened..."
---
"Fluttershy." AppleJack walked over to Fluttershy as she laid on Twilight's bed, staring out the window. "Something the matter?"
Fluttershy looked to her orange pony friend. "I'm worried."
"Well, sugarcube, we're all worried." AJ spoke calmly to her, sitting next to her. "But we gotta stay strong. We're all in this together."
"You think they'll find anything about the element?" She asked.
AJ contemplated. "Possibly, the Ponyville archives has a large amount of books from what I know, and I figure many of them deal with history...." Her thoughts traveled off.
"I'm sure they'll find out something, Darling." Rarity reassured the two ponies. "With princess Luna here, we have an even greater chance of stopping this thing."
There was a twist of the knob on the front door and in came Twilight and Luna, holding a scroll, smiles beaming on their faces.
All the ponies rushed to them, asking questions at once about what they found.
"Calm down, calm down everypony. Let's not get too excited, we have work to do. Gather your things and let's head out to the Ever Free forest." Twilight announced.
"Oh, um...maybe I should stay here, with the animals." Fluttershy proposed.
"Fluttershy, we need you, what if this element doesn't work unless we are all there?" Twilight pleaded.
Fluttershy sighed and nodded.
Each pony began to pack necessities needed for the journey. They were all very eager to find the element and stop this virus. So many ponies had already been killed or turned into monsters, they couldn't risk this happening to any pony else.
So with the lives of every pony in their hands, they gathered their things and began their trek to the Ever Free forest.
--------------
Author's Note:
I know a lot of the fandom portrays Derpy as being a single mom to Dinky, but I didn't want to start anything...and I didn't feel comfortable portraying Derpy as a complete mess up lol :) Thanks for reading, I'm so happy that I have fans of this story!
