//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: "The Cure" 
// Story: The Crimson Rage 
// by Time Shield 
//------------------------------//


THE CRIMSON RAGE


By: Time Shield



CHAPTER 5: “The Cure”



In a cave not far from Ponyville, a lone light flickered, barely visible from outside, especially in the daylight.  Within, a candle sat in the center of the cave, softly illuminating the occupants surrounding it.  Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stared wistfully into the candle flame; Mr. and Mrs. Cake were also nearby, each holding one of their children.  It felt to them like a stroke of luck that they managed to flee town without being spotted by any of the infected, but now that they were safe for the time being, things had quieted down.  There had been no conversation since arriving at the cave, only thoughtful silence.
After a long time had passed, it was finally Sweetie Bell that spoke up with the question that all of them had been thinking, “I wonder if… if Pinkie Pie made it out...”
There was another moment of silence, before Mrs. Cake said, “Well… if anypony could pull through, I know she could.”
“Yeah,” Mr. Cake agreed.  “The things Pinkie’s capable of when she got her mind set on something… I know she’ll be all right!”
More silence followed, and eventually Scootaloo fidgeted and said, “So… I wonder if she really made it out…”  There was no answer this time, because none of them really had one.  As much as they wanted to believe Pinkie Pie was okay, the reality was, it looked pretty hopeless.
Apple Bloom didn’t say anything during all of this, but just continued to stare into the candle flame.  Like the others, she was worried for Pinkie, but a more pressing thought was on her mind: she was waiting for an opportunity to slip away when no pony was watching, so she could run off back to town.  She knew there was no way they would let her go off on her own, and she didn’t want to put them at risk as well.  More than anything, she wanted to know what was going on, and whether or not there was a solution in sight; she just couldn’t stand not knowing.





Twilight Sparkle slowed down to catch her breath as she approached the edge of the Everfree Forest.  It wasn’t much further now, and she figured she could take it easy for just a bit to regain her strength.  There was no sign of anypony else around, and she wanted to make sure she would be able to sprint again if necessary.  Her magic was already returning, so she used her horn to pick up the cloth again.
“Twilight!” a voice called out from above.  She looked up to see Rainbow Dash descending towards her, with Angel Bunny cradled in her front legs.  She stopped to hover a little above the ground, then glanced around, “Where’s Rarity?”
“I… I had to leave her at the Boutique,” Twilight told her.  “She was trapped… but she was still okay when I left.  We’ll go back to get her soon, I promise.”
Rainbow nodded, “All right…”
Twilight looked up at the sky where Rainbow had been flying from, and asked, “What about Fluttershy?”  Rainbow didn’t answer; she just bit her lip sadly and avoided eye contact.  Twilight saw the forlorn expression on Angel’s face as well, and realized what had happened.  She lowered her eyes and said, “Oh… I-I see…”
“I tried to get her out of there; I really did,” Rainbow told her, “but they bit her… and…”
Twilight nodded, realizing how terrible that must have been to see Fluttershy become infected right in front of her.  She said, “I know you did everything you could.  It’s not your fault.”
“Listen,” Rainbow said, straightening herself up, “it’s okay, because when we get the cure, we can change her back, right?”
Twilight nodded, “Right!  Let’s get to Zecora’s, right away, the sooner the better!”  The two continued together into the Everfree Forest.  Despite everything that had happened, just knowing that the last two components they needed for the cure were obtained made her feel better.  The end of the ordeal was finally in sight.





The front door to the Carousel Boutique continued to hold as the infected ponies outside smashed against it repeatedly, but it wouldn’t hold for long.  Rarity had fled upstairs to her bedroom and looked around for a place to hide, eventually settling on a wardrobe.  She climbed into it and shut the door behind her, then curled up into the corner and waited silently.  As she did, she could hear the strikes against the front door reverberating through the boutique.
Before long, she heard a much louder crash, a sign that they made it inside; it was followed by the sounds of at least a couple dozen hooves against the ground as they entered.  She could hear them all running back and forth downstairs, obviously searching for her.  Give up, she thought, as if hoping her thoughts would influence them somehow... Give up… no pony’s here… just give up, turn around and run out…
The steps seemed to slow down only briefly, until several sets of hooves started running upstairs.  With a gasp, she sat as still as she could, though her breathing was quickening.  One of them clearly entered her room, and she covered her mouth, trying to force herself not to make a sound.  She couldn’t help trembling in fear however.
Whatever pony it was that entered her room had stopped.  There were no other sounds of movement, and Rarity realized that it was standing still… just standing in the doorway, the only sound that of a strained, labored breathing.  It was maddening, not knowing what the pony was doing.  Just leave, she thought… Please, just go away… please leave, please leave, please leave…  She very barely prevented herself from crying out when she heard the steps again, moving slowly in her direction instead of out of the room.  No, please… turn around… turn around turn around turn around turn around turn around…
Another moment of silence followed, and then she heard the heavy sound of a hoof slamming against the wardrobe door.  A yelp erupted from her due to the surprise, and it was followed by more pounding.  The door was not designed to hold up against this kind of abuse, and it splintered easily.  She could see the face of an earth pony with the indicative redness in the mare’s eyes glaring in at her.  She let out a piercing scream as the infected pony battered the rest of the way in, baring her teeth and attacking…





Zecora tore a sheet of cloth from the roll of spider silk, carefully dropping it into the cauldron while Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash looked on.  As it touched the liquid and was saturated, it seemed to dissolve into it, but retained its unique woven pattern across the surface.  The redness of the liquid turned to a bright gray, almost silver.  She smiled, as it was reacting exactly as she had hoped.  She turned to Angel Bunny, sitting over on the nearby table, and nodded to him.
Angel hopped off the table onto the edge of the cauldron to take a look inside, and then glanced at everypony else.  Twilight gave him an affirming smile.  Sighing a bit, he braced himself as he reached up and plucked a hair from the top of his head, wincing in pain.  He forced a smile and handed it over to Zecora as he used his other paw to wipe a tear from his eye.
Taking the hair, Zecora dropped it into the cauldron.  The liquid began to froth and bubble as it came in contact with the hair.  After a few seconds, the bubbling settled back down again, and the liquid had gained an entrancing glitter to it.  With a triumphant smile, she told the others, “You’ve all done well; I’m quite impressed.  The cure is ready for a test.”
A growl erupted unexpectedly from the side of the house, causing Angel to jump in surprise and hop back to the table.  The others looked over and saw that Applejack was awake again, and she was trying to get free.  “No time to lose,” Twilight said, using her magic to pick up a glass vial from the table.  She dipped it into the cauldron and quickly put a stopper on the end.  Inside the vial, the cure sparkled, like liquid silver.
She glanced at Zecora and asked, “So now, I just throw it on the ground next to her?”  Zecora nodded, and she looked back at Applejack, watching her struggling against the ropes, her reddened eyes glaring in hatred at them.  Without further ado, she tossed the vial down on the ground, and it shattered, releasing a cloud of silver gas upon impact.  Applejack was obscured within the cloud, but she had stopped growling and started coughing instead.  Everypony watched anxiously.
As the cloud dissipated, Applejack became visible again; she was looking around in confusion, trying to clear her head.  “Wh-wha… what happened?  What am I doin’ here…” she managed to say, then gasped and became more alert, shouting, “Big Mac!  He got loose!  Where is he?!”  She looked at the others with widened eyes, and they could see quite clearly that the redness was gone, and the original green was visible.
Twilight and Rainbow let out a cheer and rushed over to her, embracing her tightly from both sides.  Rainbow exclaimed, “Applejack!  You’re okay!”
“Well, o’ course I am,” she said, looking down at her binds.  “Somepony mind tellin’ me why in blazes I’m all roped up?”
Smiling, Twilight used her magic to untie the rope and loosen it.  “Let’s just say you weren’t yourself for a while.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow added, helping with the rope.  “Glad to have you back, A.J.”
Now free from the rope, Applejack dusted herself off and said, “Well all right.  Can y’all fill me in on what I missed then?  What happened with Big Mac?”
“Sure thing,” Twilight answered.  “It’s like this…”  She started going over everything that had happened since she had left Applejack and Big McIntosh in the clearing earlier.  As she explained the details, she couldn’t help but feel elated at the cure being completed.  Now that they had it, and had a successful test, they could turn the tide of the outbreak and hopefully get everypony well again…





As the sun began to slowly set, the occupants of the cave curled up to get some rest on the few blankets they had brought with them.  Mr. and Mrs. Cake were able to set a place for Pound and Pumpkin between then, and they had fallen asleep quickly, especially after the strain of events that day.  Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were each on a separate blanket, asleep as well, the sounds of their breathing mixing with the rest of the ponies there.
Before long, Apple Bloom opened one eye and looked around at everypony else, making sure they were asleep.  She carefully got back to her hooves and walked as stealthy as possible, moving to the entrance of the cave.  Once she was safely outside and knew she hadn’t been followed, she broke into a run, heading back for Ponyville.
Now that it was getting dark, she figured she would be able to move around easily and be harder to spot.  As she approached the outskirts of town however, she could hear the growls from the infected carrying through the air, and she began to lose some of her confidence.  Obviously this meant the infected ponies were still actively searching for others.  She wondered who was even left, since she could see even from this distance that there were fewer lights in town than she would have expected for the early evening.
A chill ran down her spine as she realized that all it would take is one of them to spot her, and she’d be swarmed.  She was a fast runner, but she was just a filly, and she knew she would never be able to outrun a full grown pony.  Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, Apple Bloom thought… Maybe I should just go back…  Whether it was foolishness, stubbornness, or just a gut feeling, she ignored the voice of common sense within her and pressed herself onwards.
Before long, she realized she had to start staying out of sight.  She could see the infected running back and forth through the streets, some of them still working on breaking down the sturdiest doors, and others prowling like packs of wolves.  She crawled up to a group of bushes and stayed concealed, poking her head out just a bit to get a better look.  Some of the faces that she saw were familiar from town, but there was no sign of either Applejack or Big Mac…
As she was watching, something suddenly covered her mouth as she was grabbed from behind, stifling the cry of surprise she nearly let out.  She was only in a panic for a second before a voice whispered, “Shhhhhh...”  Her eyes darted over to see who it was, and the voice continued in a hushed tone, “It’s all right…  Just try be quiet…”
“Spike?” Apple Bloom whispered.  It was indeed the dragon, having taken refuge in the same group of bushes as she had.  She breathed a sigh of relief, and then added, “Don’t scare me like that!  I thought you were… you were one o’…”
Spike released her and went back deeper into the bush, apologizing, “I’m so sorry, Apple Bloom.  I just didn’t want to blurt something out and startle you, ‘cause they might’ve heard us!”
“Do y’know what’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom asked.  “Where’s Twilight?  Are Applejack and Big Mac are okay?”
“I don’t know,” Spike replied.  “I haven’t seen Twilight since she came to the library earlier.  I kept looking for more books like she wanted me to.  But then, there was a commotion outside, and I ran upstairs to look out of the window, and that’s when I saw… well, all of that!”  He motioned towards the town.
“What did you do then?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I climbed out from the window and down the back of the tree,” Spike told her.  “Then I sneaked out of town and waited here.”
“All by yourself?”
“Yeah.”  He frowned, “At least I didn’t leave anything behind; I couldn’t find any more books that might have something about the disease.  Some help I turned out to be…”



“Same here,” Apple Bloom admitted.  “I came back thinkin’ I could do somethin’ to help, but I think it was a bad idea.  They were right; I’m just puttin’ myself in danger again.  Ain’t no pony else out here to help us either.”  She stared at the ground in silence, but then suddenly brightened up as a thought occurred to her.  “Wait!  There is somepony who can help us!”
Spike was confused, “Who?”
“Princess Celestia!  You can write a letter and send it to her!” Apple Bloom suggested.
Shaking his head, Spike said, “I didn’t have time to take anything with me from the library.  I don’t have anything to write the letter.  No paper, no quill, no ink… nothing.”
Apple Bloom looked crestfallen, but then asked hopefully, “Do y’think we could get some from town?”
“No way,” Spike said, looking nervous at the thought of setting foot back in town.  “Too dangerous!  We’ll never make it!”
“It could be our only chance!”  Apple Bloom insisted.  “We’ve gotta do what we can!  C’mon!”
Spike glanced back into Ponyville, and then back to Apple Bloom.  He weighed the options and realized that the filly was right; this might be the only way either of them would have of helping out.  He swallowed once and said, “O-okay, I guess… but I’ve still got a bad feeling about this…”





“…and that’s everything,” Twilight Sparkle said, completing her explanation.  Zecora and Rainbow Dash were busy filling dozens of vials with the cure from the cauldron, putting them into bags for the four of them to carry.
Applejack had listened to the whole story, and after it was done, she took a seat on the ground, trying to wrap her head around everything she had just been told.  She said, “That’s awful… just awful…"
“Yeah, but we have the cure now,” Rainbow reminded her.  “We can get everypony back.  Speaking of which…”  She looked over at Twilight and asked, “We thought it was just a couple of ponies before.  How are we gonna get it to the whole town?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted.  “This should be way more than what we need, but it can still only be delivered in small shots.  If we try to use a lot of it, it’ll just dissipate and be wasted.”
“Perhaps the way we need to try,” Zecora suggested, glancing over at Rainbow, “lies in the skills of pegasi.”
“Huh?” Rainbow said.
Twilight smiled suddenly, “That’s it!”  She turned to Rainbow and said, “Dash, when we release the cure, you can whip up a small windstorm to hold it!  Then you just guide it through town and cure anypony with the Crimson Rage you come across!  What do you think?”
“It could work,” Rainbow said, thinking about it.  “I’d say we’d have a better chance if we had more pegasi.  But I’m sure I can get a good strong wind going on my own if I need to.”
“Great!” Twilight exclaimed.  She turned to the others and said, “All right… We have the cure, and we have a plan.  Everypony grab as many vials as you can carry.  It’s time to take Ponyville back!”  She was met by shouts of agreement from everypony, and they all started loading up the bags containing the cure.  Before long, they were ready to set forth, and the four of them started down the trail through the Everfree, heading back for town.  



To Be Continued…