//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: My Little Zombie: Brains are Magic // by spidersean //------------------------------// My Little Zombie: Brains are Magic By spidersean Chapter Two ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apple Bloom was always told that one day, her cutie mark would appear on her flank. One day she’d find out what her hidden talent was and a symbol would appear on her hind-quarters to represent it. Back before the Infection hit, she was one of the few fillies in her class who didn’t have a cutie mark. The other two fillies who didn’t have a cutie mark yet, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, were easily her closest friends. The trio, who dubbed themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, would do various activities in an attempt to find out what their hidden talent was. This ranged from hang gliding to carpentry, creature catching to stage performers. Every time it would end in failure, yet they would still be undaunted. Deep down, they knew that they’d get their cutie mark. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As Apple Bloom lay on the blighted ground of the desolate marketplace and wept into her sister’s lightly charred and forgotten leather hat, her flank remained completely bare. When the last of her tears were shed, she lifted the leather hat with her hoof and placed it on top of her head. Deciding it was time to do what she was instructed, Apple Bloom nudged open one of her plain brown saddlebags. She dug through it and finally found a small vial filled with a murky purple liquid. Apple Bloom popped off the cork and sighed slightly. “Well, Twi, Ah hope you were right. Here goes nothin’,” Apple Bloom muttered to herself before chugging down the entirety of the bottle. She shot up on all four hooves and started coughing. Her eyes stung and her vision swam, blurry dark spots obscuring the edges of her sight. Her stomach desperately wanted to expel the vile liquid, but this was impossible. Apple Bloom knew for a fact that, due to their anatomy, ponies are not able to vomit. At least, they’re not supposed to. Apple Bloom instead settled for collapsing onto the ground and shuddering uncontrollably. Fortunately, it only took a few moments for the agony to subside as quickly as it had arrived. There was still a pulsing pressure on the back of her skull, but she managed to shakily recollect herself. As she turned to walk away, Apple Bloom gave the broken-down apple cart one last long look. She shook her head and began to walk away from the town square and went down a wide city street that stretched for miles. She wasn’t exactly sure what was compelling her to go down that street. It was exceedingly large to accommodate for massive amounts of traveling ponies. Hundreds of happy ponies blissfully doing their day’s activities. However, when it was only being used by one filly, it was incredibly lonely. Aside from the occasional pile of debris, it was completely barren. The road itself was composed of shattered dusty cobblestone. The building wreckage that lined the street, while broken and burned, stood tall. The blackened house frames seemed to loom over the maturing filly. They towered over her and seemed to bear down upon her, making Apple Bloom shrink a little. Apple Bloom gulped as she felt beads of sweat roll down the back of her neck. Environments like this always tended to put her on edge. A cold wind picked up, stinging against Apple Bloom’s face. She grimaced slightly and looked into the direction the wind was blowing. To her dismay, Apple Bloom found an enormous sea of pale white fog rushing to meet her. Within moments, the fog surrounded Apple Bloom and blanketed the landscape. The fog itself was incredibly thick and Apple Bloom had trouble seeing more than a meter ahead of her nose. Regardless, she pushed on. She wasn’t sure she was still heading in the right direction or even where she was going, but she was determined to get there. Suddenly, Apple Bloom’s ears shot to attention and she froze in her tracks. She could swear she heard something in the distance. It sounded like faint hoofsteps. Seconds seemed to stretch into hours as she stood there, rooted to the spot and fully attentive. Just as Apple Bloom was about to dismiss it and continue walking, she heard the hoofsteps once more. They were more distinct, faster in pace, and much closer to her than last time. Apple Bloom felt the beads of sweat form once more and the pressure on the back of her head intensified. Her heart began to race and she began to look around for something, anything to defend herself with. Her eyes frantically quickly around the road, finding only fog and broken chunks of brick and stone. Out of the corner of her eye Apple Bloom saw something move. She gave herself whiplash trying to turn her head and get a full view of it. Through the dense white fog she could only fleetingly see a small, dark figure dash out of view. The back of of Apple Bloom’s head screamed in pain and her ears began to ring. Her heart thundered in her chest and she frantically looked around her. The hoofsteps kept getting louder, but she still couldn’t see anypony. The ringing in Apple Bloom’s ears and the agony persisting in the back of her head was quickly becoming too much to bear. Apple Bloom, despite her best efforts, clenched her eyes shut and grit her teeth. Is this mah punishment, the thought rang out in her mind like a bell in a raging hurricane, For comin’ back? For wantin’ to know tha truth? A voice that cut through her thoughts asked, “Are you okay?” Apple Bloom’s head shot up and her eyes flew open in surprise. There, in the fog, stood a little filly, no more than fifteen meters away. She was positively beaming at Apple Bloom. The filly looked to be the same age Apple Bloom was when the Infection hit; she didn’t even have a cutie mark yet. She was a unicorn, her horn illuminated and cutting through the fog, and her coat was a slate gray. The filly’s mane was messy, jet black, and had a cobalt bow about the same size of the filly’s head. Her tail, like her mane, was messy and long. She had eyes that were large, happy ovals with pure blue irides. “Wh-What did ya say,” asked Apple Bloom, tentatively. “Are you okay,” the filly repeated, spelling it out for Apple Bloom. “It looked like you were in a lot of pain.” Apple Bloom’s mouth was agape. She had spent the last few hours wandering through Ponyville and hadn’t found anypony, living or dead. And now here she stood, talking to a happy little filly that came from nowhere. On top of that, the agony she was just experiencing had vanished without a trace. She silently prayed that her mind wasn’t finally snapping. “N-Nah, Ah’m fine,” she told the filly, “Wh-What do you call yerself? An’ what in tarnation are ya doin’ out here?” The unicorn grinned at Apple Bloom, “I could ask you the same thing!” “Oh, er, right. Mah manners. Name’s Apple Bloom,” said the earth pony, taking a few cautious steps towards the unicorn to shake her hoof. However, the unicorn giggled and started to run off when Apple Bloom approached. “Nice to meet you, Apple Bloom,” the filly said, “But you’re gonna have to catch me!” Apple Bloom blinked, but grinned a little. A wave of childishness washed over any of her previous dread or hesitation. She found herself being overpowered by the mere idea and her grin widened. She should have hesitated and questioned the position she was in, but all thoughts of that nature simply and inexplicably refused to sink in. Under normal circumstances, this would have been cause for alarm, but Apple Bloom instinctively felt like she could trust this mysterious little filly. “Hey, no fair!” Apple Bloom hollered at the filly as she gave chase, “Ya got a head-start!” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apple Bloom ran after the gray filly for at least half an hour. Possibly even more. She was only able to get a few feet close to catching her. Occasionally, Apple Bloom would almost loose the filly in the fog or get a little lost, but every time the little unicorn would shine her horn brightly and led Apple Bloom in the right direction. It quickly became apparent to Apple Bloom that the filly wasn’t just playing tag, but actually guiding her in a way. Finally, the fog had moved on and the filly ran inside one of the few standing buildings. Apple Bloom was following her, but slowed when she noticed the building itself. It was a large bakery, styled in the manner of an enormous gingerbread house. It was charred in places, had a large hole in the roof, and covered with a thick layer of ashes. Other than that, the building was completely fine. The building itself was Sugarcube Corner and it was once home to the most energetic of party ponies, Pinkie Pie. Apple Bloom remembered the name and winced a bit. Pinkie Pie was well-known for holding some of the best parties in all of Equestria. Apple Bloom smiled as she remembered the night of Diamond Tiara’s cute-ceañera. It was held at Sugarcube Corner and it was that night she met Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Apple Bloom sighed nostalgically as she pushed open the front door and went inside. The interior of Sugarcube Corner was quite large, mostly to meet the needs of several parties. There was a counter with a service bell on it opposite the front door. The door to the kitchen and a flight of stairs leading up to Pinkie Pie’s former room lay behind the counter. The building was illuminated only by the setting sun’s light pouring through the window. Apple Bloom dug through her saddlebags once more, this time pulling out a small watch and laying it on the floor. “Three thirty,” Apple Bloom read with a frown, “Well, it’s later than usual...” The state of the Sugarcube Corner led much to be desired. A large amount of the paint had worn away; once saccharine and bright colors were now eroded and dull. Apple Bloom scrunched her nose up. A foul smell drifted through the air and she realized all of the sweets were now almost entirely made of mold and completely inedible. Tables, chairs, and lamps were knocked down the floor, covered by a blanket of deflated balloons. A worn banner that read “Spring Has Sprung” hung lazily from the ceiling. Apple Bloom presumed Pinkie Pie was planning one of her parties before the Infection started. She gave the rest of room a quick glance and wasn’t able to find the little filly she had been following anywhere. A small flash of pink fluttered out of the corner of Apple Bloom’s vision. She quickly turned around and found the room inexplicably starting to light up. Apple Bloom looked up, noticing the lights above her were shattered. When she looked back down, she nearly jumped out of her skin. A spectral pink earth pony was bouncing around the room happily, a feather duster was in her mouth. She was humming a bright and cheery tune and an enormous smile was on her face. Apple Bloom scrambled towards a corner of the room, her eyes wide as saucers. “P-P-Pinkie...? I-Is that... Really you?” Apple Bloom stammered out. The ghostly image of Pinkie Pie paid no attention to her and continued tidying up the room. She would bounce to one part of the room, dust it off, then hop off to another. Apple Bloom watched in shock and confusion as the room start to light up even more. The paint began to fade back into existence, the wood repaired itself and polished itself to a mirror shine, and the sweets began to drain away their mold. The furniture pulled themselves back up and righted themselves. All of this made Apple Bloom’s head spin and she slumped down to the ground. Apple Bloom felt cold sweat beginning to cover her. The pulsing pressure in the back of her head grew more and more agonizing. She felt herself beginning to loose consciousness. The last thing Apple Bloom saw before she slipped into the darkness was a now completely solid Pinkie Pie bouncing towards her.