Day Thirty Three
Infected: 136 Million
Dead: 68 Million
As the days passed and the number of dead climbed, Sweetie Belle had begun to grow accustom to the sight of wooden coffins and body bags lining the streets. However, Spike just couldn’t accept this bleak reality, so he always found himself entertaining the idea that the pandemic would soon burn itself out and disappear. Unfortunately he still had to wait another two months for the pandemic to peak, and another six for it to disappear completely. By then, one hundred million dead would look like the tip of the iceberg.
Sweetie Belle slid on her armband, though each day she did this, she grew more and more hesitant. Unexpectedly, she felt a gentle hand rest upon her shoulder. She turned to see Spike, his expression neutral.
“Listen Sweetie, I know I can’t stop you, but I just want to say good luck and stay safe.”
She smiled faintly. “Spike, I’ve told you the same thing every day; I’ll be careful.”
“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to remind you.”
Sweetie Belle smile grew before she pressed her lips to Spike’s. She was about to pull away, however, Spike leaning more into the kiss halted her. She found this sudden display of affection surprising, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.
After a solid five seconds, Sweetie Belle pulled away. “Well, I better get going.”
Spike nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see you later.”
The mare adorned her mask and was about to make her way out the door, when she paused and looked to her husband. “Spike, I love you.”
He smiled. “I love you too.”
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After a short walk to the Manehatten subway station, Sweetie Belle was about to make her way into the tent city when she noticed an odd sight; two royal guards, both in gas masks, stood at the entrance. She was beginning to walk past them when one of the guards blocked her path with a spear.
“I need to see your hoofband mam,” he ordered.
Confused but still compliant, Sweetie Belle lifted her foreleg. The guard examined it briefly before removing his spear.
“You’re clear. Move along.”
Not wanting to question authority, she continued down the escalator; however it wasn’t moving as usual. It was about that time that she noticed the dozens of royal guards all scattered about the shelter. It had almost appeared as if the wellbeing of the infected had suddenly turned into a military ordeal.
“Sweetie Belle!” shouted a familiar voice.
The filly turned to see Pinkie Pie rushing over to her, an obviously distressed look upon her face.
“What is it Pinkie?”
“The royal guard, they won’t let us treat any of the code black patients. They said they don’t want to waste any resources.”
“What!? You mean they’re just leaving them for dead!?”
Pinkie nodded. “They said to only treat those with a forty percent chance of survival or higher. Otherwise they get thrown in a code black tent.”
“That’s bull shit! Why is the royal guard even here?!” she exclaimed.
“They wouldn’t say, but it probably has to do with the Canterlot and Fillydelphia riots.”
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Spike sat before the television, being barraged with more and more bad news. From antiviral resistant strains of flu to the bans on public gatherings, no rays of light could be seen. So when he heard an unexpected knock at the door, he jumped to answer it, hoping it was some source of good news.
“One second,” he said as he secured a face mask.
Upon opening the door, he was greeted by Twilight, adorning a face mask of her own. By the look in her eyes it was clear something was wrong, so he moved out of the way and ushered her inside. As soon as he shut the door, he was wrapped in Twilight’s embrace. However a moment later, she took a step back, feeling as though she should explain her being there.
“I’m sorry, it’s just I had to see you.”
Spike raised his brow. “Twi, is everything okay?”
She sighed. “Promise me you can keep a secret.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
Twilight drew in a deep breath before speaking.
“I’ve been hearing rumors. Hopefully that’s all they are, but I think Celestia and Luna are getting ready to quarantine Equestria.”
Spike folded his arms. “So? They’ve already quarantined Canterlot.”
The pony shook her head. “This is different. They’re talking about a military quarantine of every major city in Equestria. Then they’d put martial law into effect.”
Instantly Spike’s expression shifted to one of understanding and surprise. “You mean…”
Twilight nodded. “Listen, I just wanted you to have a heads up, but I might be wrong, so don’t worry about it yet.”
“Then when should I worry about it?”
Briefly she looked away. “When the death toll reaches over one hundred million. Then I’ll let you know if it’s true… Now listen, I’ve got to get going, but I think I’ll be seeing you again soon.”
Spike put on a faked reassuring smile. “Okay, hopefully on better circumstances.”
Twilight returned one. “Yeah let’s hope. And Spike…”
“Yeah?”
“Stay safe.”
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After the sun had made its descent, Sweetie Belle began out into the cold night air. However, on this night, she had gotten delayed by a patient, causing her to leave an hour later than usual. Needless to say, she much rather preferred leaving the shelter with the comfort of sunlight.
As she made her way down the streets, each garbage and biohazard bag cast an eerie shadow. Some of which looked like ponies, however come to think of it, some of those larger bags and coffins actually did contained deceased ponies. Quickly she pushed this thought out of her mind.
Sweetie Belle was no more than two blocks away from her apartment when she heard a noise emanating from a nearby alleyway. In it, three ponies were kicking a colt who lay helpless upon the ground. She knew she couldn’t help, and the police would be useless, so she turned a blind eye and began to quicken her pace.
Suddenly, a male Pegasi swept down before her, blocking her path. His face was obscured by his mask, but it was clear he had malicious intent. Quickly, she took a step back only to bump into another pony. She looked to the two of them before sighing.
“Look, I don’t have shit on me but I’ll give you what I have.”
The Pegasi smirked. “Oh we don’t want any of that. We want something else.”
Sweetie Belle made a confused expression. “What the fuck are you-“
Suddenly she was cut off by the second pony wrapping his hooves around her.
“If you don’t squirm, it’ll be over quicker,” he whispered, his voice sounding rough.
Sweetie Belle now fully understood their intent. Quickly, her horn flared to life levitating a small pocket knife, which Spike had given her, out of her pocket. In one swift motion, she plunged the blade into the colt’s eye socket. He screamed in pain as he clutched the wound. At this time, Sweetie Belle jumped away from him and readied the knife for another strike, when suddenly the second colt tackled her. Immediately after he brought his hoof down onto her cheek.
“Shouldn’t have done that you little bitch.”
“Fuck you,” she replied before she spat in his face.
The Pegasi wiped it away and smiled manically. He then brought the back of his hoof down onto her throat and began to press. Sweetie Belle began to flail and kick to no avail. Frantically she began to look for something to magically throw at the stallion, but it was impossible to move her head. Just as darkness was beginning to fill Sweetie Belle’s vision, she felt the colt release her. The very next thing she saw was red; red covering her, red covering the stallion, and red covering the blade, protruding from his splayed throat.
The stallion gasped through the blood, making a noise similar to someone gargling. The blade was then thrust into his throat once more, though this time the blow was fatal.
She was about to throw the lifeless body off of her, when she felt someone kick him off. She looked up to see Spike offering her a claw. She gladly took it and rose to her hooves.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Sweetie Belle coughed before wrapping her hooves around Spike. Unable to contain her tears, she began to sob onto the dragon’s scales. “Thank you.”
He placed an arm around her. “Come on let’s get the fuck out of here.”
She was about to comply with Spike’s request, when she looked back to see the colt, now with an empty eye socket, crawling away from the scene. Sweetie Belle felt a sensation of pure hate and anger wash over her as she stepped out of Spikes embrace, and over to her pocket knife. She glared at him as she lifted it with her magic and placed her knee directly into his spine.
“Don’t squirm, and it’ll be over sooner,” she said with a cracking voice.
Before the pony could even reply, she drove the blade into the top of his spine, instantly severing his spinal cord. Though after what they tried to do to her, she felt that this wasn’t enough. So she lifted the knife and stabbed him again, again, and again.
She could feel her eyes burning with tears as they mixed with the pony's blood, but she still continued to stab the pony. The only thing that stopped her was Spike, resting a claw upon her shoulder.
“Come on, the sick basterd’s dead. Let’s go.”
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Sweetie Belle was the first of the two to get cleaned up. While Spike was in the shower, her mind flooded with thoughts and emotions. She tried her best to cope, but she couldn’t help but cry. Suddenly, she felt her stomach twist into knots, and her mouth fill with saliva. She darted to another bathroom and emptied its contents. As she took a seat next to the toilet, her sobs returned.
“Sweetie Belle?” called Spike.
“In here,” she squeaked between gasps.
As Spike stepped into the bathroom, he was shocked at the horrible scene before him. “Come here,” he said softly.
Carefully, he knelt down and lifted her into his arms. In turn, Sweetie Belle locked her hooves around him.
As Spike laid her upon their bed, she looked up at him and quickly kissed him. “Thank you.”
The dragon smiled as he placed a hand to her unbruised cheek. “Sweetie, you don’t have to thank me. I know you would have done the same.”
She nodded with a smile, however it quickly faded. “He didn’t do anything to me, Spike. I know you were wondering, but don’t worry.”
Spike let out a sigh as he rested his back upon the headboard. But he didn’t exactly know how to reply to that, so instead he took her hoof into his hand.
“Do you think they’ll come for us? The police I mean.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. The police are spread too thin to investigate murders.”
The unicorn looked down. “Is that what we are? Murders?”
“No, it was self-defense. You know that.”
Sweetie Belle nodded weakly. “I guess, but what we did… I just…” Her eyes began to fill with tears once more.
Spike wrapped his arm around the filly, causing her to lean into him. “Hey, don’t think about it.”
She looked up to him, tears streaming down her face. “But I killed him. He was just trying to get away and I killed him. What’s wrong with me!?”
“Sweetie Belle, that sick son of a bitch had it coming. Odds are you actually saved some pony else.”
“Still, I killed him in cold blood. How is that okay!?”
Spike took in a deep breath. “Because me and you both know what he was going to do. That's how. Now, It’s going to take some time to get past that, but I’ll be here for you every step of the way. I promise.”
Sweetie Belle smiled briefly through her tears. “I love you.”
The dragon placed a kiss atop her head. “I love you too.”