//------------------------------// // From Finner // Story: Army Of Shadows // by lordcurly972 //------------------------------// As Applejack fixed the secret entrance, the rest of the ponies cleaned up the blood and moved the bodies outside. It was kind of sad, as Shadow Dash’s hold wore off of them, you could see who they were before. It was tragic that this was the way it had to be, but it was all about survival. Twilight was currently looking for a way to break them free of Shadow’s possession. During the squabble Applejack had knocked one out using the table. This shadow minion was spared from Twilight’s transportation spell, Twilight had hoped that she could use said minion to experiment on and hopefully be able to find the cure. The minion was currently tied up and passed out in a curtained off area of the hideout. Twilight had hoped to begin testing on him as soon as possible, but she needed certain supplies before she could begin. “Alright you guys gather around,” Twilight began, pulling out a map of Ponyville and motioning for everypony to sit at the table, “I’m going need everypony, but Curly and somepony else to help me watch him, to go out and gather supplies. I need somepony to go to the hospital and gather needed medical supplies, such as gauze, antiseptic, aspirin, and anything else we may need. Do I have any volunteers? “I’ll go,” Rainbow Dash said sitting up from the table. Twilight nodded, “Anypony going with her?” “Rainbows been out of the game for so long, I think she could use my help,” Applejack said putting her foreleg around Rainbows shoulders. “Good, now I’m going to need three of you guys to go to Zecora’s hut and bring back as many herbs and potions as you possibly can,” Twilight stated handing Rainbow and Applejack two saddlebags for the supplies. “Bon Bon and I’ll go with Pinkie Pie, after what she did to that minion with that bat, I’d love to have her fight by our side,” Lyra stated give Pinkie a playful punch in the shoulder. “Ahhh, It was nothing,” Pinkie said blushing. “That leaves Rarity, Ellie, and Fluttershy here with me to help keep an eye on Curly,” Twilight stated, handing three more saddlebags to Lyra’s group, “Now, I know I really don’t have to tell you guys this after what you’ve all been through, but please be careful.” The five going out nodded as they strapped their saddlebags to their backs and prepared to set out. They gave one last wave goodbye and then left. Rainbow and Applejack had been walking only a couple of blocks, but it felt like an eternity because neither of them had spoken a word. There seemed to be a certain tension between them all of a sudden, as if this was the first time Rainbow had met Applejack. “Applejack, what’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, “You seem distant.” Applejack stopped walking, “Look Rainbow, we’ve been through a lot. I have had to kill ponies, ponies that used to be my friends. This new world we live in has changed us, and I’m worried that if Twilight does find a cure if ah’ll be able to return to way things used to be.” “Applejack, you’re strong. You can take anything the world throws at you,” Rainbow said comfortingly, “It may take a while to get used to things when they’re normal, but like anything that takes time, it will get better soon and you will be fine.” Applejack began to sob, “You don’t understand! Things can never be normal, not like they used to be.” “Applejack, it’s ok. What’s wrong, what do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked. Applejack stared at the ground, she continued to cry. “Applejack, come on. Tell me what’s wrong,” Rainbow said lifting Applejacks head up with her hoof. “I had to kill Big Mac!” she shouted, bursting in to sobs again, “Shadow Dash got to him a few days after the attack on the party. We had gone to the apple farm to gather a few personal belongings when she swooped down and possessed him. He had resisted for as long as he could, but he knew he couldn’t hand on any longer.” Rainbow listened intently; it was hard to believe what Applejack was telling her. “He lied on the ground and told me that living under Shadow Dash’s tyranny was not a life worth living,” Applejack continued as tears streamed down her face, “So he told me to end it. ‘I don’t think I can’ I told him. But, he told me the exact thing you just said, he said, ‘Applejack, you’re a big girl. You can survive on just will alone and are as stubborn as an ox. But, you can’t let this world get the better of you. Anything it dishes out, you have to just come back fighting twice as hard.’ I looked him in the eyes one last time, told him I loved him and put him out of his misery.” Applejack stopped sobbing and looked up a Rainbow Dash. She wiped the tears off her face and waited for Rainbow Dash to say something. “Applejack… I’m so sorry,” Rainbow said giving Applejack a big hug, “But, he was right you know. You can’t let anything stop you; you have to keep moving forward if you don’t want this life to bring you down. He wanted you to keep fighting, and he will always be with you, in your memories.” Applejack smiled, “Don’t you go getting soft on me now. But thank you, you truly are a good friend.” They were about to get going again when they heard somepony or something bump a trashcan behind them. They quickly spun around and scanned the area for anything dangerous. Rainbow spotted something at the back of the street. A bit of red was sticking out from behind some rubble, a knocked over trashcan right beside it. Rainbow knew exactly who it was. “Ellie, what the hell are you doing out here!” She shouted in a loud whisper, “Aren’t you supposed to be inside with your dad?” Ellie stepped out from behind the rubble and walked up to Rainbow and Applejack. “I wanted to come with you guys,” Ellie said, “My dad got hurt trying to protect me. I don’t just want to sit in there and be useless, I want to help gather supplies. I want to actually make a difference.” “What, by getting yourself hurt or worse?” Rainbow said, “Your dad is going to be worried sick, we’re going back now. You can’t come with us.” “Rainbow please,” Ellie whined, “Wouldn’t you do the same if it was Scootaloo?” Rainbow stopped, she was taken aback that Ellie would try and use that against her. “Uh pardner,” Applejack said putting a hoof on Ellie’s shoulder to silence her, “Rainbow would do anything for Scootaloo. But, that’s different.” “How is that different? This is my dad and he said he would fight against the world to protect me, and wantto do the same for him,” Ellie said removing Applejack’s hoof from her shoulder and stepping in front of Rainbow Dash, “Now, you either let me help you guys, or I’ll go off on my own and do it myself.” Rainbow stared her in the eyes and gave her a smug smile, “You’ve got spunk kid. You’re lucky you’re cute or I’d have to beat the tar out of you.” Ellie smiled back, “Yeah, but I bet I could take you. You don’t look so tough.” “Oh really now,” Rainbow exclaimed grabbing Ellie playfully by the neck and messing her mane up. “Uh, guys ah’d hate to interrupt,” Applejack said pulling the two apart, “But, no one’s going to be saving anyone unless we get moving.” “She’s right,” Rainbow said clearing her throat, “Let’s get moving. Lyra and Bon Bon were watching Pinkie Pie bounce happily through the Everfree forest. “Pinkie your chipper attitude is simply astounding,” Lyra said, “How come you’re so happy all the time?” “I don’t know,” Pinkie answered as she stopped bouncing, this was the first time she had stood still ever since they left the hideout, “I guess I’m always looking on the bright side of things.” “Well, what do you see the bright side being about our current situation?” Bon Bon asked quizzically, “Equestria has fallen prey to a dark clone of one of your friends, Curly Q was injured in a skirmish and there is the possibility we may not all make it back to the safehouse. I’m really having trouble seeing the positive spin on all this.” Lyra stared at Bon Bon, “Wow! Let’s take it easy there Edgar Allen Pony. First off Equestria is not completely lost; I have complete and utter faith that we can save the day. And second Curly Q was only injured, he’ll pull through. His injuries could have been a lot worse. And why all of a sudden do you have this fear that we aren’t all going to make it. You act like this is our first time scavenging for supplies.” “I just have this nagging voice in the back of my mind that keeps telling me something terrible is going to happen,” Bon Bon said as they started walking again. “Bon Bon you really need to take a chill pill,” Lyra said shoving Bon Bon jokingly, “You could learn a lot from ol’ Pinkie here.” “Ohh, ohh,” Pinkie said spinning around to face Lyra and Bon Bon, “You want me to sing you guys the ‘Giggle at the Ghosties’ song? It may help us feel better.” “No,” Lyra and Bon Bon said in tandem. Applejack, Rainbow, and Ellie finally reached the hospital. The silence was deafening, the only thing that seemed to make a sound was the sound of wind blowing through the gutters, creating an awfully eerie whistling sound. Not only did it seem to quite, but there entire journey to the hospital they didn’t run into a single shadow patrol. No one was complaining, but it just made everything seem like it was a trap. Before entering the hospital, Rainbow Dash stood on the steps and made sure there wasn’t anything behind them. She made sure scan the surrounding area well in case anyone was lurking. She finally felt comfortable enough and went inside with the others, slowly closing the door behind as to not make any unnecessary noise. Applejack and Ellie were waiting in the lobby, searching various suitcases and purses for anything they may need. “Hey guys, look what I found,” Ellie said shining a light in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “Ahh,” Rainbow cried as the light it her in the eye, “Watch where you point that thing kid.” “Sorry,” Ellie said turning the light away from Rainbow and aimed it down the hall. Gurneys and wheelchairs gleamed as the light passed over them. Shadows danced on the wall at the end of the hall. The dank hospital air filled there nostrils, it smelled off stale air and bleach. They continued down the hallway until they found the first room that wasn’t locked. Applejack pulled out her knife and pressed her ear against the door and listened for anything on the other side. Finally she motioned that it was clear and opened the door. A cool breeze hit them in the face as soon as the door was completely opened. It felt nice compared to the stagnant air in the rest of the hospital. There were two beds in the room and somepony had left the window open. Applejack walked to the window and closed it. A bed side table sat beside one of the beds with several glass bottles sitting on top of it. Applejack walked over to the table and picked up one of the bottles. It read Morphine sulfate inj., USP 5 mg. She opened her saddlebag and scraped the table’s contents into it. They continued searching the room, finding various things such as clean needles, gauze, and bandages. They still needed to find some antiseptic. Applejack motioned that they were done with this room. Applejack opened the door a crack a peered out, she looked down both ends of the hallway and saw no one. They left the room and moved on to the next. They went from room to room finding various medicines such as aspirin, more morphine, and vitamin c pills. But they had yet to find a single bottle of antiseptic. Finally they came across a door labeled DR. REDHEART RN. Rainbow reached down and tried the knob. “Locked,” she whispered, “I bet if we were to find any of the good stuff, it would be in there.” “Yeah, but how do we get in without making too much noise?” Ellie asked, “You got a key?” “No, but I reckon that they had to keep a spare somewhere in this hospital. We might want to try back at the front desk, maybe the receptionist kept the spare,” Applejack said starting back to the front of the hospital. She was just about to round a corner when she saw two shadows appear on the wall. She motioned for everyone to back up and for Ellie to turn off her light. The shadows were getting closer and she could her them talking. It didn’t sound like anyone she knew. She tried the knob closest to them. Locked, she motioned for them to move further down the hallway and go back into the first room they were in. They went into the room and shut the door behind them. “Get as low as ya’ll possibly can,” she instructed sitting down against the bottom of the door. She stood up a bit and peered out the window. Down the hallway she could see the owners of the shadows. They were two of Shadow Dash’s minions. They were trying the door that they were previously at. Once they found out it was locked they continued down the hallway, trying every door along the way. Soon they would reach Applejacks door and find them inside. She reached up and tried to lock it, but found it needed a key. “What kind of shit head makes a door that needs to be locked with a key from the inside!” she whispered turning to Ellie and Rainbow, “Okay, no one panic. But, they’re making their way to us. Ellie hide under that bed there and Rainbow you come over here and squat on the other side of the door. When they open it, you grab one and I’ll grab the other.” Ellie cowered under the bed; she could feel her heart racing. She couldn’t help but thinking that this would be the end. She buried her head in her hooves, closed her eyes and waited for the sound of the door opening.