My Little Zombie: Brains are Magic

by spidersean

Chapter 3

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Everypony in Ponyville knew Pinkie Pie throws the best parties in all of Equestria. Since she knew everypony in town, she was able to bring ponies together for the simplest of reasons. Often, these parties were held on an absolute whim for mundane reasons. However, the parties themselves would be far from mundane. They often stretched long into the night and half of Ponyville would show up at her front door.

That night, however, she would throw a party like none other. The Cakes, the couple who owned Sugarcube Corner, had left town for a week on urgent business. Pinkie Pie had invited all of Ponyville to her “Spring Has Sprung” party, and Pinkie Pie was going to make sure it was one of the best parties of her life.

Pinkie Pie did get a little worried about some ponies who had to cancel due to a terrible flu that’s been going around, but she shrugged it off. She felt bad for the poor sick ponies, but the party would still be a success if all the other ponies showed up. As it was, Pinkie had a lot of preparing to do.

The energetic pink party pony bounced around the room with her trusty feather duster in her mouth. She was tidying up the nooks and crannies of Sugarcube Corner. She had already arranged the furniture, vacuumed the building in its entirety, hung a new banner that read “Spring Has Sprung,” baked a mountain of various sweets in advanced, had another batch of cupcakes in the oven, bought a brand new radio just for the party, covered the ceiling with brightly-colored balloons, and even set up the punch bowl. And she still had so much to do!

Dusting off one of the windowsills, she took a glance outside. The sky was a perfect blue and there were only a few fluffy white clouds in the sky. Pinkie couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for her party. She hopped away and put the feather duster on a counter.

Pinkie Pie heard a ding nearby and she gasped. “They’re finally done!” she exclaimed, dashing off toward the kitchen. She hurriedly nosed the oven door open. The sweet scent of fresh baked goods flooded the room and made Pinkie salivate. She hurriedly pulled out the tray of golden brown cupcakes using a hot-pad, turned off the oven, and laid them on top of the oven. It wouldn’t be long before they cooled off and she could frost them. She eagerly licked her lips just thinking about it.

Just then, Pinkie heard bells ring as the front door swung open. She poked her head out of the kitchen and looked towards the front door. Standing in the doorway was a single filly with a distinctive curly orange mane and a pale yellow coat.

“Carrot Top!” Pinkie exclaimed as she stepped out of the kitchen and began hopping her way over to the front counter. She gave her guest a great big smile, “I’m glad you’re here, but the party doesn’t start for a couple of hours, silly filly! You’re way too early! Nopony else is here but me and, really, what kinda boring ol’ party would that be?”

The filly in the doorway didn’t seem to hear Pinkie Pie and took a few steps inside. Her attention seemed to be fully focused on Pinkie. As she got closer, Pinkie Pie gasped a little bit. She giggled, “Heehee, those sure are some spooky contacts you have in, Carrot Top! They make your eyes look all white like an egg or something. It’s kinda weird. Why do you have those silly things in? I mean, it’s not a costume party.”

As the orange-maned filly took another step closer, Pinkie Pie noticed some other things peculiar about the pony. She was ignoring everything Pinkie was saying, her mane and tail seemed a bit disheveled, and she had a large bandage wrapped around her front right leg. She didn’t know Carrot Top too well, but she was acting very strangely. Pinkie Pie’s knee began to pinch, a sign that something scary was about to happen.

“Are you okay, Carrot Top? What happened? You have that bandage around your leg and I’m all li-”

Pinkie Pie was cut short by a low moaning noise that drifted out of Carrot Top’s lips and hung in the air. It sounded empty, tired, weak, and, most of all, hungry. Pinkie’s knee pinched harder, but she still tried to ignore it.

“Oh! You must be hungry! You could smell the cupcakes from outside, huh? Well, don’t worry! I’ve got plenty of sugar-coated goodness to fill that belly of yo-”

Pinkie Pie was cut short once again. Carrot Top’s lips curled into a snarl and she let loose an ungodly, voracious bellow. Its pure guttural tone and rabid nature made Pinkie Pie’s hair stand on end and her knee scream in pain. Pinkie cringed as the monstrosity in Carrot Top’s skin glared at her with her bloodshot milky white eyes.

Carrot Top sprinted at Pinkie Pie at full speed without warning, attempting to scramble over the front counter. Her teeth snapped mere inches away from Pinkie Pie’s face and she uttered more guttural, violent snarls. Pinkie Pie yelped in surprise and dashed back into the kitchen. Carrot Top, finally managing to get over the counter, was in close pursuit.

Pinkie Pie tried to slam the door shut, but her hellish pursuer managed to stick both a front hoof and her snout into the door. Pinkie gasped and quickly pushed against the door, trying to close it on the terror. It pushed back with brutish force and managed to work in the rest of its face. It swiveled its ghastly eyes around to meet Pinkie’s terrified countenance in a murderous glare.

Pinkie Pie felt her heart thunder in her chest and her knee felt as if a vice had been tightened around it. She quickly stammered out, “N-No! Leave me alone! Th-This isn’t happening, this can’t be happening, i-it’s all just a really really bad dream! Yeah, that’s right! Y-you’re not real and all I gotta do is g-giggle at the ghostly!” She let out a quick series of frantic giggles.

The monster tried to reach its hoof towards Pinkie Pie, but Pinkie pushed harder against the door with a short scream. She let out another burst of laughter, before watching as the monster continued struggling, twisting and wrenching its leg back and forth. There was a sickening crack and a tearing sound. Pinkie Pie gasped in horror and leaped away from the door. The monster completely ignored its fresh wound and pressed open the door. It advanced towards Pinkie with a limp.

The realization swept over Pinkie like a tidal wave. She started to break out in a cold sweat and her knee wailed in agony. She started to yell, “L-Laughter isn’t working! I-It’s not working! It’s not working!” She sped to the corner of the room.

The world began to spin. Pinkie heard something pop above her and her mane fell in front of her face, straight as could be. Her mind raced, Laughter didn’t work. But it always works! Did Granny Pie lie? She’d never lie to me! It’s getting closer! Laughter didn’t work! What do I do? I have to do something. Is this really happening? Is this the end? Who will throw the parties when I’m gone? Laughter didn’t work! It’s getting even closer! I have to do something! What do I do?! It’s right there in front of me! DO SOMETHING! LAUGHTER DIDN’T WORK.

Pinkie’s mind finally registered the glimmer of a metallic object on the surface of the counter next to her. She felt her teeth grip its handle tightly. She heard the vicious growling of the beast nearby. She felt herself lunge forward and pull back. Something warm splashed over her chest. She felt herself repeat the motion again and again and again. She heard someone scream in her voice. Finally, something heavy hit the ground, followed by a clanging metal object, and then everything became quiet.

Pinkie’s eyes grew wide, observing the act she had just committed. For a while, there was nothing but silence. Then, she felt something begin to bubble up inside of her. It started as a mere humming noise. Then, it became a hollow chuckle. Slowly, it became a giggle. Then another as it rose in pitch and length. It rose in frequency until it became shrill laughter that echoed through Sugarcube Corner. It rang out through the building and it rose higher and higher.

Without warning, it stopped. Pinkie looked out the window and saw more of those monsters. Her mouth curled into an enormous grin, probably the biggest Pinkie ever gave. Her back began to itch, another Pinkie Sense.

Everypony in Ponyville knew Pinkie Pie threw the best parties in Ponyville. That night, however, she would throw a party like none other. One that everypony in Ponyville, and possibly all of Equestria, was invited to. She had a lot of preparing to do, though.

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Apple Bloom’s eyes snapped open. She gasped for air and nearly collapsed to the floor. Her head was wracked with pain. Each moment of the vision came flooding back to her, every single one of Pinkie Pie’s merry hops and terrified screams. Pinkie’s crazed laughter rung through her ears. It made Apple Bloom grit her teeth. Breathing heavily and slowly attempting to regain her balance, Apple Bloom shakily observed her surroundings.

Apple Bloom was still in the decrepit Sugarcube Corner, albeit now it was illuminated by the pale moonlight drifting through the broken windows. All of the furniture was knocked over, the paint was worn, and the sweets had expired long ago. She was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the storefront. The pain in her head was beginning to subside, but she could still faintly hear Pinkie’s laughter.

Something whimpered near Apple Bloom. Hiding underneath an overturned chair was the little unicorn filly Apple Bloom had been following earlier. She was shivering in fright and her eyes were wide, staring at Apple Bloom.

“Hey, is everythan’ all right?” Apple Bloom took a few steps toward the filly, softly addressing her.

“N-No!” the filly squealed at her, making Apple Bloom jump slightly in shock. “D-Don’t come near me!”

“Whu-What’s the matter?” Apple Bloom asked, concern growing in her voice.

“Y-You’re crazy, that’s the matter!” the filly shrieked. Apple Bloom’s eyes widened.

“Wh-What?!”

“Th-That’s right, I saw you! First you passed out over in that corner and I was starting to get worried. I w-was about to see if you were okay, but then you just bounced up and started jumping around the whole room! Then you started acting like somepony else was here and you started sc-screaming. Then you ran into the kitchen a-and you started laughing! It looked like you were stabbing somepony too!”

With each word the filly spoke, Apple Bloom’s eyes grew wider and her pupils shrunk smaller. She felt a lump of ice sink to the pit of her stomach as revelation sat in. She hadn’t just experienced Pinkie Pie’s memory, she reenacted it.

“S-Sugarcube, jes wait a minute. Ah can expla-”

The filly suddenly let out a horrified scream. She pointed a hoof towards the front door. Apple Bloom quickly turned to face the source of the filly’s terror, a skinny, dark, four-legged figure standing in the doorway. Its skin barely clung to its bones and it was backed by two similar figures. All three of them had milky white eyes.

Without hesitation, Apple Bloom shot in front of the cowering filly, assuming a defensive pose. She gave a quick glance around her and quickly spotted a long-forgotten rolling pin. She quickly picked it up and held it in her mouth by one of the handles. ‘T’ain’t the best weapon,’ Apple Bloom thought, ‘But it’ll have to do.’

The three figures slowly approached Apple Bloom and the filly, letting out a low guttural moan. Apple Bloom tensed up a bit and braced herself. She heard the filly behind her whimper. The figure closest to Apple Bloom stepped into the moonlight that shone through the broken window.

Apple Bloom saw that the figure was terrifyingly skinny and was missing entire patches of hair. She presumed that it hadn’t eaten in ages. It had once been a stallion with a dull yellow coat. It was bearing its blood-stained teeth and glared at Apple Bloom. She refused to waver, and instead shot back a crippling glare of her own. The second stepped forward, a mare that had a similar physique and a pale green coat. The third zombie, a colt by the looks of it, hung back. Apple Bloom noted that it was slightly shorter than the other two, yet had a much darker coat.

The first zombie’s moan rose into a bellow and it charged at Apple Bloom. The filly unicorn behind her let out a terrified shriek. Apple Bloom raised the rolling pin and brought it down upon the charging monster’s head in one fluid motion. With a resounding crack, the rolling pin smashed over the ghoul’s head. Both the weapon and the monster’s skull split in half.

As the first zombie hit the ground, the second began its charge towards Apple Bloom. The third zombie let out a cringing high-pitched shriek and also began to rush towards her. Apple Bloom noticed that the end of the rolling pin was now shattered and splintered. Without another moment’s pause, Apple Bloom thrust the end of the broken rolling pin upwards. It pierced through the pale mare’s chin. Apple Bloom grunted and pushed harder, only stopping when she saw the other end of the pin poke through the top of the mare’s skull.

Letting go of the pin and letting the pale monster drop to the floor, Apple Bloom barely had time to react to the short dark colt that was barreling towards her. As if it was instinctual, Apple Bloom turned on her front hooves, reared back, and bucked as hard as she could. She felt her back hooves connect with the dark colt’s face and it was sent flying into the wall.

Apple Bloom wheeled back around, expecting the zombie to spring back up and dash at her again. She panted heavily and sweat dripped down her brow. However, as the seconds stretched into minutes, it became clear that the threat had passed. Apple Bloom blinked and grinned.

‘Now that there was a mighty fine buck. Reck’n the entire Apple family woulda been proud,’ Apple Bloom thought as she readjusted the charred hat on her head and wiped away some sweat.

“W-Woooow,” the filly behind her said in awe. “Y-you did it. You won! Y-You... saved me.”

“‘Course Ah did,” Apple Bloom grinned as she turned to face the filly. “Ah wouldn’ want anypony to get hurt. ‘Specially not such a young lil’ filly like yerself, sugarcube.”

“B-But... Then why were you pretending to stab somepony back there and acting all crazy?” the filly asked. She slowly began to crawl out from underneath the chair.

“Well... It’s a long story. Ah reck’n we both got a lot to explain to each other,” Apple Bloom said. The filly nodded her head in agreement. Apple Bloom smiled softly, ‘Well, she’s beginnin’ ta trust me again.’

Apple Bloom slowly approached the filly, her hooves stepping on the cold, balloon-covered floors of Sugarcube Corner. “Ah’d be happy to tell ya everythan’. But it’s gettin’ late and after that whole mess, Ah’m not so sure Ah wanna stay down here. Maybe it’d be best if we both hit the hay. Is it okay if’n we wait until mornin’?”

The filly paused. Apple Bloom’s heart froze for a moment. She began to doubt herself and question whether or not the filly would even think to trust Apple Bloom that much. However, a long, drawn-out yawn from the filly absolved her fears.

“O-Okay, I guess,” the filly said, looking up at Apple Bloom with tired blue eyes. Apple Bloom gave her a warm smile and they both began to head up the stairs for the night.

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