//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Undead Equestria 
// by MaskedxMaestro 
//------------------------------//

	Pinkie Pie’s return caused less of a commotion in the barn than Fluttershy’s. Which isn’t to say that the yellow pegasus was cherished more than the party-loving pony, but the fact of the matter was that most of the ponies in the barn were asleep by the time the search party had returned. 
They had been greeted only by Apple Cinnamon and Apple Split, who had taken the place of Blossomforth and Thunderlane as barn look-outs. They were more than happy to see that Pinkie Pie was safe, however, they were extremely suspicious of the strange mutilated gray mare that had been spotted following the returning ponies at a short distance. Their suspicions only increased when it was discovered that Twilight, Braeburn, and Fluttershy each had no idea that they were being followed at all and when they all turned around to look at the zompony, it was Pinkie Pie who argued for the protection of the tag-along mare. A heated debate continued for more than fifteen minutes on whether or not to leave Ditzy Doo alone. But in the end, Pinkie Pie’s refusal to enter the barn without knowing for sure that her undead friend was safe won the argument and it was decided that the grey mare would be tied to a nearby tree (behind the barn, out of sight) to satisfy everypony.
Once they were all in the barn with the door shut behind them, the look-out ponies informed the group that not much had happened while they were gone. The only major thing that had been discussed was the idea that Sweetie Belle would be buried in the morning. Otherwise, the plan was simply to wait until both Pinkie Pie and the Elements of Harmony had been found. Thus, the current best plan of action was to wait until morning.
In most cases, Pinkie Pie would have rather appreciated a more loud and crowded greeting, but in this particular case she was grateful for the quiet atmosphere. For upon having been brought up to speed on all that had happened without her during their walk, Pinkie’s mood had quickly turned sour and melancholy.
A lot of pain and hardship had happened without her and the pink mare was distraught at discovering how selfish she had been to remain cooped up in her room.  While she had been busy believing everyone had rudely left her behind, the others had been hurt, scared, or even killed depending on the situation. She hadn’t even noticed that Fluttershy’s back was burned. And the very idea of not having been around to comfort Rarity when she most needed it was heartbreaking to Pinkie and she felt incredibly guilty for only thinking of herself.
When the group had finally dispersed to be alone to think by themselves, Pinkie Pie found herself looking around the area with saddened eyes. So many tired and struggling ponies, all simply trying to survive. Why hadn’t she thought of how hard it must be for everypony else rather than focusing on herself? She gasped slightly at the sight of Rainbow Dash, whose crumpled body caused her to bite her lip. How selfish she had been indeed. 
Pinkie Pie turned to look at Twilight with a frown. The purple unicorn met her eyes with a glum expression before deciding to force herself to weakly smile. Putting a hoof against Pinkie’s, she nodded softly.
“I know.” she whispered, careful not to wake anypony. “But it’s okay. Let’s try to get some rest and we’ll talk in the morning.”
Pinkie Pie nodded despite her outward appearance expressing that she wasn’t really feeling up to sleeping. She obeyed her friend’s request by finding a small section of hay in the corner of a nearby stall but she sat upright, staring at the floor quietly. 
Twilight shot a concerned look to Fluttershy, who returned the gaze with a pout. Without saying anything, the yellow pegasus trotted over to Pinkie Pie and sat next to her. After a while, the two laid down together, both finding comfort in the other one’s warmth.
Twilight, on the other hand, did not need convincing to sleep. She had had only an hour’s rest between the Timberwolf attack and the search for Pinkie Pie which meant her body was absolutely exhausted. Her bones creaked joyfully as she laid down, curling her legs to her chest. She let her entire body sigh heavily, telling herself to enjoy the moment knowing that there was no promise of getting a full night’s rest in the future. Before she could close her eyes, however, she took a long look around the barn. All six of her closest friends had managed to come together at last. She was beyond grateful to know that they were safe, albeit a bit damaged either physically or mentally. And she was also grateful that the rest of the ponies in the barn were okay, too. It pained her to be so logical at a time like this, but even the fact that Sweetie Belle was the only loss during the prior zompony attack was a blessing. So many more could have been killed.
A rustling sound distracted Twilight from her thoughts. She turned her head to see Braeburn settling in for the night. He nodded at her. She nodded back. Then the stallion laid down his head to rest.
Twilight, too, lowered her head to the floor. She thought of how much hope rested on her. How many ponies were probably thinking of nothing but the Elements of Harmony and how it could help them. Would she be able to get them safely?
She shot a glance towards the pen that Rainbow Dash was resting in. Twilight hadn’t even considered whether or not the blue pegasus would be able to use her element once the time was necessary. Would they still work if one of the ponies was not in good health?
Twilight tried to think positively. Perhaps the elements would heal Rainbow Dash. Then again, maybe they’d be forced to wait until she was properly healed to even use them. That wouldn’t be too bad if all they had to do was wait it out, right?
But then…
What if the Elements didn’t work at all?
Twilight blinked, her heart seeming to jump into her throat the moment the thought crossed her mind. What if?
At first she tried to shake the idea from her mind. Of course that wasn’t possible. The Elements of Harmony were powerful artifacts. Of course they’d work. But the more she considered the idea, the more her brain was compelled to ask herself what their next step would be should the worst happen. It was always a good idea to think of all the possibilities, right? Even if they weren’t ideal. 
Canterlot jumped to the front of her mind and Twilight nodded to herself that that was indeed the right course of action. Should, Celestia forbid, the Elements of Harmony not work, they should head for Canterlot.
Her mind now satisfied with her thinking, Twilight closed her eyes. A few moments later and she was sound asleep, her body thankful for rest. 


———


“Twilight.”
Darkness again. The same strange yet calm darkness that had happened twice before. It was familiar and yet still unknown. Cold, but not uncomfortable. No breeze. Everything was still.
The feeling of an invisible road beneath her hooves caused Twilight to open her eyes. Which really didn’t help her considering the only thing she could see was herself if she happened to look down. But she was not surprised by this lack of scenery. In fact, she expected it. The second the cold darkness had enveloped her she understood that she was dreaming once more.
“Yes?” she called out strongly and clearly to the darkness. If the second dream had truly given any kind of foresight like she theorized, then Twilight was sure to respond immediately to any message she was given, in case the messages were dependent on her being completely focused on receiving them. She also promised herself that she should consider all possibilities of what the messages could mean, should she get one. Having misinterpreted the last message cost them Sweetie Belle and Twilight was sure to not make the same mistake again.
“Twilight.” the voice called again.
“Yes!” Twilight spoke louder. “Yes, I can hear you! Or, er, I can hear me? Do I have a message for myself?” she felt silly talking to herself in this manner but she tried to take it seriously. There was always the possibility that the damage she had taken during whatever had happened when she was out for two weeks had caused a disconnect between herself and her self-conscious. Perhaps these dreams were trying to get herself back on track? But then, that wouldn’t explain how she’d know about the future…
A paper formed out of nowhere and fell to Twilight’s hooves.
Twilight, it’s me.
The purple unicorn watched as the paper disappeared as soon as she read it.
“Who?” she questioned. Another paper. This time the message appeared as “Open your mind”. Twilight didn’t understand but she decided it was best to just ignore who was sending her the messages and focus instead on what the message was. She couldn’t afford to waste time.
“What do I need to know?” Twilight asked the darkness.
A third paper fell to her feet and she read the message eagerly. But if she had been confused before, it was nothing to how she felt now. 
	Look behind you.
What? Twilight shook her head from how discouraged she felt. Look behind you? Hadn’t that been referring to the lack of protection at the back of the barn? Perplexed, the purple unicorn stood frozen in thought, her mind racing to try and come up with an explanation for the message. Look behind her? She turned around immediately, incase the message had been meant to be taken more literally. But she saw nothing but more black emptiness. Was the message metaphorical? Was she suppose to look in the past? And if that were the case, could it be referring to the memories she had lost when the zompony outbreak had occurred? How was she suppose to unlock those? 
Her thoughts were interrupted by another paper.
Look behind you.
Twilight groaned in both anger at the sender as well as frustration at herself for being unable to understand the message. But no sooner had she expressed her anger when more papers began to form around her. They began to circle her as they had once before, growing steadily in number as well as speed. They whipped around her head, giving no time for the purple unicorn to read them.
“STOP!” Twilight angrily shouted, stomping her hooves to the floor. The papers obeyed, freezing in place before slowly falling to the floor. 
Look behind you. Twilight, it’s me. Open your mind. 
Every paper held one of these three messages. Each disappearing as she read them. When she was finally alone once again, Twilight sighed. Feeling defeated, she sat down on the invisible ground and slumped her shoulders.
“I don’t understand…” she said quietly aloud. She waited for a response but it was apparent after a few minutes that she wasn’t going to get one. That was fine with her. She no longer felt like engaging with the mysterious messenger. To further prove her point, Twilight laid down fully on the invisible ground and closed her eyes. She felt like ignoring anything that caused her to think and so attempted to empty her mind completely. No more questions, no more mysterious messages, and especially no more trying to decipher them. Just plain regular sleep.
After a minute or two, Twilight’s wish was granted. 


———


Twilight was one of the last ponies to wake up the next morning. By the time she had awoken, it was already past 11, which was very late for her standards. 
She learned that no pony wanted to wake her as they felt that she needed the extra time to sleep. And she hadn’t really missed anything anyway since during that time everypony else was simply preparing for Sweetie Belle’s funeral (the most of which required making sure the area was safe for everypony to be outside). 
Twilight also learned that Pinkie Pie had taken the time to make her rounds with everypony, assuring them that she was fine and apologizing for worrying them. Rarity had apparently clung to Pinkie harder than expected, most likely due to Sweetie Belle’s death, which caused her to feel more strongly about showcasing her feelings to her friends. 
The last thing Twilight learned was that Rainbow Dash was awake. She was shocked to hear this but also relieved and found herself rushing out of her makeshift bed to see how her friend was doing.
Rainbow Dash was surrounded on all sides. Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, the Cakes, and a handful of fillies were all listening as she boastfully recounted her fight with the Timberwolves. Twilight couldn’t resist a smile as she trotted up to the blue pegasus. She should have known her friend wouldn’t let her injuries change her attitude. Even with a makeshift cast on her arm and bandages on both her eye and wing she was still acting as though she barely felt a thing.
“…and then POW! I hit the boulder with a huge smack and I was down for the count!”
“Wow, Rainbow Dash, you’re so cool!” Scootaloo said, looking at the blue pegasus with dreamy eyes.
“Yeah, I know.” Rainbow replied. She tried to cross her arms and grin with her one good eye closed, but flinched when the action caused her muscles in both her arm and her wing to pull painfully.
“It’s nice to see you awake and well, Rainbow.” Twilight said. Everypony turned to look at her as she approached. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay.” Rainbow Dash said. “Learned the hard way about an hour ago that I wasn’t well enough to fly yet.”
Twilight rolled her eyes but it was Rarity who responded for her.
“Of course you’re not okay enough to fly!” she said. “You’re going to lay down and relax until you’re completely healed.”
“I know.” Rainbow said in an annoyed tone, laying on her side and brooding towards the floor. 
Twilight stared at Rainbow’s bandaged eye. She tried not to think about how Rainbow would probably never see correctly out of that eye now, or even at all if the injuries were more severe.
“Thanks for all your help back there.” she said. “Without you, we never would have made it out of Everfree Forest alive.”
Rainbow’s expression changed from moody to pleased in an instant and she turned to look at Twilight with a smile.
“Happy to help.” she said.
Granny Smith’s voice was suddenly heard behind the purple unicorn.
“It’s all set.” she announced. Twilight, at first unsure of what the old mare was talking about, took one look around the ponies’ fading smiles around her before understanding. Sweetie Belle’s funeral. 
Twilight looked up at Rarity with worry. Everypony else appeared to have the same idea and soon all of them were staring at the white unicorn. She refused to look at any of them, choosing instead to stand up and focus her attention on Granny Smith in silence. She walked forward with a strength that Twilight admired greatly. She bowed her head slightly as her friend passed, cursing her sudden awkwardness and wishing she knew how better to help.
Remembering her thoughts from last night, Twilight suddenly perked up and walked over to Granny Smith. The old mare looked at her with interest. 
“Before we get started, I think it would be best to plan ahead.” Twilight said.
“We already have look-outs set up on the roof, there, dearie.” Granny Smith explained with a wink.
“No, no.” Twilight shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I mean that after the funeral I’ll most likely be leaving with a few others to get the Elements of Harmony from my library. I think we should send a scout to Ponyville in order to see how things look there before we leave. And if we send a pegasus now then we’ll waste no time.”
The old mare stared long into her eyes, debating her request.
“Yeh, I think you’re about right.” she said eventually. “Go on ahead outside with everypony else. I’ll let one of them know.”
Twilight nodded her thanks before looking back to see Jonagold and Pinkie Pie helping lift Rainbow Dash so that she, too, could join everypony outside. Twilight waited long enough for Cheerilee and the Cakes to explain that they’d stay inside with the youngest fillies since it would be too great of a risk to take them outside, just in case, before heading out of the barn herself. 
Despite the depressing occasion, the morning was actually quite nice. The sun was shining bright but the clouds were spaced just right so that nopony felt the need to shield their eyes. Twilight could see that everypony was gathering towards a tree towards the right of the barn. As she trotted over, she remembered Pinkie Pie’s strange request from last night which caused her to pause and look in the direction behind the barn.
Ditzy Doo was still tied to a tree a short distance from the barn. The grey mare was standing motionless but was staring in the direction of the noise. Even in the bright light of day, the pale eyes of the zompony spooked Twilight and she quickly looked away, instead focusing her attention at the yard directly outside of the barn door. She titled her head, suddenly realizing that the ground should have had far more bodies then it currently held, which was none. Alarmed, Twilight looked around in vain to find them, suddenly concerned that the bodies had somehow risen overnight. But her frantic searching was calmed when her friend Applejack approached her from behind. 
“Don’t worry.” she explained. “We spent the morning moving ‘em. We didn’t want anypony to have to see them during all this.” 
Twilight didn’t have to ask to know that “anypony” was more or less meant to represent Rarity but she understood that a funeral of these circumstances wouldn’t feel right by any of them if they were surrounded by dead zomponies the entire time. Good thinking on Applejack’s part.
They walked together towards the right of the barn. It took a few minutes, but eventually everypony that wasn’t on guard was standing outside. A hole had already been dug near a tree and Sweetie Belle’s lifeless body rested beside it. Twilight could see from where she stood that the young filly was covered in crude material. Rarity stood near the body, staring down at the ground mournfully. Rainbow Dash had been sat down next to her (per her request), and both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stood nearby as well. 
Twilight exchanged a glance with Applejack before they both moved to stand next to their heartbroken friend. A tight circle had formed around the hole and everypony was respectfully silent. 
At first, nopony knew what to do. None of them had actually chosen somepony to lead the event and as such the silence turned to awkward shifting of eyes. But after a while, a brief shuffling ran through the crowd and soon Apple Bloom appeared with Scootaloo close behind. They approached Sweetie Belle’s body slowly. Nopony tried to stop them from getting too close. In fact, their movement appeared to be exactly what the group needed to break the ice. 
“Sweetie Belle, you were our very best friend.” Apple Bloom said aloud, standing in front of the body with Scootaloo beside her. The orange and purple filly nodded to agree. 
“You were a great Cutie Mark Crusader.” she continued. “And we loved spending time with you.” 
A sharp sniff broke through the air and Twilight found herself glancing with just her eyes towards Rarity. The white unicorn’s eyes were filling with tears, still staring down at the ground in pain. Twilight lowered her head further and listened as Scootaloo began to speak. 
“You were always there for us and we wish you hadn’t left so soon.” The two fillies hesitantly stepped forward before carefully leaning forward to hug Sweetie Belle’s body. They stayed still a moment, Apple Bloom starting to cry during the process, before both of them finally let go at the same time. 
“Rest easy, Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo said. 
“We’ll never forget you.” Apple Bloom added. 
The two friends backed up so that they stood with the rest of the circle again. They appeared satisfied with their goodbye and everypony seemed to respect the maturity the two fillies had just shown. 
Everypony waited for the next pony to pay their respects. A few ponies stepped forward to bow their head in respect but none of them provided a speech. Eventually it was clear that it was time for Rarity to say something, if she wanted to say anything at all. But nopony knew how to ask her. Twilight took the initiative to turn and look at her friend with polite expectation. 
The white unicorn was trying her hardest not to break. She looked at Twilight with shining eyes before nodding. She was slow, but she brought herself to move closer towards her sister’s body, all the while trying to swallow her own tears. Looking down at the misshapen heap below her, Rarity’s lip began to quiver. It soon turned to shaking and then her eyes were squinting in agony. Fluttershy was quick to action, stepping up to stand next to her friend in support. Applejack joined in by approaching Rarity from the other side. Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, all three of them agreeing with just their eyes to stay put so that they didn’t overcrowd their poor friend.
“I could have made it so much better…” Rarity managed to say through her short sobs. Twilight’s shoulders sank at her words. She pitifully looked at Sweetie Belle’s outfit made from hay and sacks.
“She deserved better…” Rarity added, her tears increasing. Applejack put a hoof against Rarity’s arm and the white unicorn took advantage of the touch by leaning into it, eventually collapsing into the farm pony’s arms. The orange mare frowned heavily, lowering her head so that her hat covered her eyes. A single tear could be seen rolling down her cheek.
Rarity continued to cry as Twilight watched two Apple family members approach the hole. It was Half Baked Apple and Golden Delicious, both of whom waited a few seconds before reaching for Sweetie Belle in order to lift her up. 
“Oh, wait, please, wait!” Rarity stammered once she realized what they were doing. She released herself from Applejack’s arms and stretched out her arms to place them on top of Sweetie Belle’s head and back.
“Oh, Sweetie Belle…” she said, pushing her muzzle into her little sister’s mane. “I’ll miss you so much…”
Half Baked Apple and Golden Delicious frowned at the sight but waited until Rarity was finished. When the unicorn finally pulled away, the two Apple family members continued their duty, slowly lowering the little filly into the ground. 
Fluttershy and Applejack each caught Rarity as she slumped forward. She raised her hooves to her eyes and she began to sob once more. The yellow Pegasus and the orange farm pony each hugged her tightly as she cried.
Once Sweetie Belle was placed properly, each pony in the circle took their turn to toss a bit of earth into the hole. The action was done in silence and everypony was allowed their right to pay their last respects to the poor filly. When they were finished, the ponies slowly made their way back to the barn, leaving Twilight with her five friends as well as a few stragglers including Haked Baked and Golden Delicious (who had taken it upon themselves to finish filling the hole).
Twilight approached Applejack cautiously, not wanting to disturb the emotions being felt. The orange mare looked up at the purple unicorn and met her eyes.
“Go ahead back to the barn, Twilight.” she said. “We’ll take a few more minutes out here.”
Twilight nodded before turning to help Pinkie Pie lift Rainbow Dash. She couldn’t imagine what Rarity was going through and she wanted to console her friend but knew it was best to leave her with Fluttershy and Applejack. Carrying Rainbow carefully, Twilight looked up at the barn. On top of it were three ponies, all looking in different directions. She was thankful for their assistance in keeping everypony safe. 
“I hope Rarity will be okay…” Pinkie Pie said quietly.
“Me too.” Twilight responded. 
Once back in the barn and most everypony settled, Twilight looked around to figure out what the next course of action was. She didn’t want to rush after such an emotional event but she didn’t want to lose time either. The barn may have been safe for now but who knows what other cities in Equestria were going through. The sooner she found the Elements, the better. 
Granny Smith must have had the same thought for she approached Twilight after only a few minutes and cleared her throat.
“Scout came back.” the old mare said. “Ponyville is mostly clear. Only two zomponies were spotted and they weren’t near your library.”
Twilight nodded. “Thank you, Granny Smith.” she said. “Sounds like I’ll only need a few ponies with me. Maybe even just one.” 
“You sure?” the old mare asked.
“I think so.” Twilight nodded. She didn’t like the idea of running into trouble but she felt strongly that keeping the search party down to one pony would be the best decision.
“Well, alright.” Granny Smith said, turning to leave.
“Oh, but I also need to talk to you about something!” Twilight said quickly. The old mare turned back around with a raised eyebrow.
“I actually need to talk to all of you about something.” Twilight said a little louder, getting everypony’s attention in the barn. All eyes were on her as the purple unicorn stepped into the center of the giant room.
“I know we all don’t want to think about it but I really think we need to talk about what we should do if the Elements of Harmony don’t work.”
Whispers immediately began to flood the barn. Everypony turned to each other in suspicion and alarm. Twilight knew to expect this reaction and waited a moment before continuing.
“I want them to work as much as the rest of you. And I have strong hope that they will. But I think, given the circumstances, that we should think about the worst, just in case.”
The whispers died down but nopony spoke up to directly agree with her. It was apparent by the looks on their faces that they hadn’t wanted to consider this option, even if it was the logical thing to do. There was an uncomfortable silence until Braeburn suddenly spoke.
“She’s right.” He said, stepping forward. “It would be smart to have a plan B. We gotta take these things very seriously. That being said, what exactly are you suggesting?” Braeburn turned to look at Twilight with curiosity. The purple unicorn paused, looking at the Applelooza pony with a stiff upper lip.
“I think we should go to Canterlot.” 
The Apple family ponies met her words with great distaste. While none of them boo’d her idea, the looks on their muzzles were enough to convince Twilight that not everypony was happy with this plan.
“Not all of us.” she quickly corrected, turning in a circle to make sure she looked at everypony equally. “I already know that the Apple family has a plan for what to do during emergencies and I wouldn’t want to force you all out of the barn. But some of us should go. I think that if the worst should happen, some of us, including myself, should travel to Canterlot in order to investigate more about what has happened in Equestria. In fact, now that I think about it, I think some of us should go even if the Elements of Harmony do work so that we can figure out exactly what happened here and how we can prevent it from happening again.”
Most ponies nodded. Some murmuring traveled throughout the room.
“But especially if they don’t work,” Twilight added. “We should figure out who would want to stay and who would want to leave.”
“Sounds like a smart plan.” Rainbow Dash said with confidence, bringing all eyes to her. “I’d definitely go with you, Twilight. I’ll always have your back.”
“Me too!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, nodding with a grin. 
Twilight smiled at them both before looking at the rest of the ponies in the barn. Some of them looked away from her uneasily. Others simply stared with blank expressions.
“I don’t expect you all to have an answer right away.” Twilight said. “But I think everypony should think about it while I’m gone. I’ll be leaving soon to retrieve the Elements from my library and my intention is to be back before sunset.”
“I hope you’re not leaving without me.” a voice called from the front of the barn. Twilight and everypony else turned to see Applejack just walking in.
“You sure you want to come with me?” Twilight asked. “I figured I’d only take one other pony with me so if you really want to come along, you should know it would only be the two of us.”
“Fine by me.” the orange mare replied with a small shrug. Applejack trotted over to Twilight as though she hadn’t just come from a funeral. The tears were completely gone from her cheeks and she even managed to smile a bit.
“Alright. Then let’s head out soon. There’s no time to waste.”
“Tch. What’s new?” Applejack asked. But her words were meant in a joking manner rather than annoyance so Twilight replied with a roll of her eyes and a smirk.
“Is Rarity okay?” Twilight asked more seriously.
“She will be.” Applejack said. “She’s still outside with Fluttershy. Probably good to leave her alone.”
Twilight nodded, then turned just in time to see Granny Smith bringing her a small pack.
“Short trip or not, yer gonna need some food.”
“Thanks, Granny.” Applejack said. “We’ll be back in no time.”
Twilight shifted the pack onto her back before moving towards the door with Applejack. Before she left, she turned back to look at everypony one last time.
“Don’t lose hope.” she said simply. And then they were gone.