//------------------------------// // An Investigation on Friends Both Crazy and Dead // Story: Dead Pony Rising // by B_25 //------------------------------// ~ Dead Pony Rising ~ Day 0 The mall is infested with the undead. I am alone atop a gazebo, a small park in the center of the mall surrounding me, as hordes of the undead gather beneath me. I don't know how all this happened, how these things died and came alive all throughout this city, or why the Royal Guard told Celestia a far-cry of what has happened here. She would never have sent me to investigate the story if she knew what truth awaited me. I didn't know what these creatures were at first, and that ignorance almost cost me my life. My scales were a good defense against teeth, but they would endure for so long. When I finally knocked one out with a plank a wood, a green slug crawled out of its undead body, and I briefly wondered if that was the source for the dead to walk again. Just as this had become apparent to me, a strange bee buzzed around my ears. A swarm of undead surrounded me in the park, so in my final acts of life, I took photos of all of them to explain my death, and squished the bee underneath my foot. Doing so, however, caused all the surrounding slugs to eject from their owner’s and perish. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not terrified. I’m not going to say that I can easily brave the nightmares of this mall to do good for all outside its confines. I’m almost wetting myself as I write this, and I want nothing more than to just crawl into the ball and cry. If I could, I would just sit and wait for the girls to save me. But unfortunately, it's the other way around. I don’t know where they are, or if even if they are still alive. My scales offered me protection against scratches and teeth, but if one of the dead were to feast upon my being, I know my body would be no match. But I’m the only one that can brave this mall and maybe make it out alive. I wish those other than me, those who are brave and know how to fight could have my precious defense, but I know it a waste to continue to think like so. I must be the one to brave this mall, find the source of the undead so that they do not spread, but, most importantly of all, save my friends before it is too late. I will find them, no matter their state, and do all that I can to make the world right again. In case this be my last entry. Celestia, this is my farewell. You did nothing wrong by sending me here to investigate, you were only worried about the others, and that’s nothing to beat yourself up over. Just make sure, if you find this journal and camera, you’ll make sure such an event never happens again. Day 1 I heard her speak. I thought her to be dead, in a way unlike the others, who continued to stalk me through the many corridors. Her voice could never leave me for as long as I lived, but hearing its pitch even through the static made me worry immediately. It had an edge to it, one far worse than the times she lost it before. I knew that something was different inside Twilight Sparkle, snapping her whole being, but the surrounding sights left me little doubt on what could’ve caused it. She stopped in the foot court, ever so glad to see my face once again, though she wished that I never came. She explained that only failed ponies belonged here, though she supposed, an exception could be made for a terrible dragon. I didn’t know if she could hear me speak, but I did so anyway. I asked her what had happened when Celestia had sent her away, why she never sent a letter back after finding out what she did, and if the other girls were close to her now. Twilight only told me how many games we would be playing, how many other players we had to join in the fun, both like us and not. I caught her meaning, though I wish I hadn’t. I began to regale what I’ve learned so far to her, as if she were still the somewhat rational mare I knew her to be. But she kept insisting that she wouldn’t be doing my homework for me. I don’t know if it was the static in the speakers or actually the tone of her voice, but I caught a hint of sadness as she spoke, stating that she had failed to solve the mystery. The sadness disappeared as soon as it came. Twilight told me it was quite obvious Celestia had sent me to uncover the story, which I was the one that would have to try and stay alive and figure things on my own. She doubted that I’d make it any further than this, but if I did, she would love to compare notes. Though, in talking to me like I was a baby once more, she made sure that I was to keep this story to myself. It was the reason I was sent instead of somepony else, for my lips could be sealed by those I deemed better than me. Having her speak to me like I was a baby again...it made me feel like one. Without meaning to, I began to cry, tears spilling at the prospect of being alone in this mall, despite the one closest to my heart being there was well. I just wanted her back. To have her save me from this hell and tell me everything was going to be okay. I don’t know if my tears worked or not, but her voice did lose some of that slight edge, though her words more than hurtful. She told me to look into the faces of the undead, which I did, and then to stare into their expressions. The zombies behind the counter were too stupid to climb over it, so I knew myself to be safe from their horror, and proceeded to look just what kind of expression they carried. It was one that I held the day of my arrival. The faces looked terrified as if they were about to witness their death. I wondered if this to be the truth, as if all the undead before me had died with those faces of horror, and were forced to carry it until their death again. Or maybe, just perhaps, in the depths of their bodies, that a fraction of their being still lives. Powerless to the shrouding darkness that blankets over them, forced to feel their limbs walk forever, and their teeth to sink into the flesh of their brothers and sisters. Twilight then told me that if terror continues to plague my face, then soon, she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two of us. Out of whatever kindness she had left within her, she told me that the others were still alive in the mall as well. She made a note to say that they were actually alive, but never, would they be the same. The six of them had seen the truth and been driven to insanity, and that they would meet the end that awaited them in this mall. I don’t know why, but that gave me the bravery I needed. I no longer cared about the terror on both my faces or on theirs, of the fear that hovered around the mall, or even what kind of end I may meet in this mall. But I proclaimed to my best friend that I would survive this mall, that I would find our friends, that I would face whatever this truth his and drag them back from their insanity. knew my courage to be fickle, but I held it for as long as I could. Twilight laughed and laughed like my words were nothing but lies. She told me about the faces again, mention the reasoning behind their terror, and then asking me about my own. She asked just one simple question. Was I afraid of the death surrounding me, or unwillingly feasting upon my friends?