//------------------------------//
// S3E15: The Hive, Pt. 1 
// Story: My Little Zombie: Friendship is Dead Season 3 
// by Nortes432 ft Spitfire 
//------------------------------//

	Applejack limped forward. "Ah should've shot 'em when ah had the chance." Applejack spat as she dragged her hind hoof across the ground.
Twilight had a bandage wrapped around her head to cover up the injury she got from Secret. Her face was stained from tears. She rarely spoke a word since the incident happened.
Rainbow, who recently learned of Secret and Spitfire's betrayal, was also filled with anger. Keynote stayed by her side, trying to comfort the pegasus. "You won't understand." Rainbow told Keynote. "That mare was my hero. She was my friend. Now, she betrayed us. She hit me! She had a gun to my head!" Rainbow sighed. "She's no longer my friend."
"And...what about the stallion?" Keynote asked. "The one with the hood?"
Rainbow sighed. "I've had several chances to kill him. I spared his life many times. In turn, he saved me a couple times. He's no different, though. He lied his whole life, what's the difference? Spitfire, though..." Rainbow growled. "I will never forgive."
"Ah'll gladly put a bullet in that city stallion's head." Applejack said. "Ah bet we all would. Ain't that right, Twi?"
Twilight stayed silent as she trotted beside Luna. Luna looked at the young alicorn with a frown. The side of her face was bruised badly, but luckily, nothing was cut. "Art thou alright, young Twilight?" She asked quietly.
"No..." Twilight whispered.
Luna raised her head and looked forward. "We understand wherefore ye are so enchafed." Luna began. "It's not everyday that somebody who thou care strongly for turns out to betray thou, and paunch thou in the back, as one would say."
"Did you just say that I li-" Twilight began. She quickly turned away from that thought and fell silent again.
"So, what's the plan?" Applejack asked. "We go in there, do whatever Celestia asked us to do, and then we shoot the traitors?" 
"I can do that." Rainbow growled.
"Nobody is shooting anybody." Twilight said. 
"Are you defending those two?!" Applejack asked. "Must I remind you of the gash on the back of your head? The bruise on Luna's cheek? Maybe my broken leg?!" 
"They would have killed us if they wanted to!" Twilight said. "What makes you think they'll kill us now?!"
"Hey, guys!" Scootaloo called. Everybody stopped and turned to face the young pegasus. She had looked ahead while they were arguing. "We're here!" 
The ponies looked at each other and then followed Scootaloo quickly. 
The young pegasus was right. In front of them was what they've been looking for this whole time. They made it to The Castle of the Two Sisters.


Intro


"It's about time." Spitfire said as she trotted down the hall. Secret followed behind her closely.
"Let's just get this over with." Secret mumbled. "Where do you think they are?"
"There's plenty of rooms in this castle. We won't really find them right away, ya know." Spitfire answered.
"I meant Twilight and the others." Secret told her.
Spitfire looked at him funny. "Probably right on our tail, if we don't keep moving." She told him. 
Secret sighed. "Then continue moving."

The survivors approached the front gate of the castle. "This is it." Luna said. "We remember it just as vividly as the days when we us'd to live hither. That was many, many years ago. We can still recall every detail."
Twilight opened the door slowly, and poked her head in. "All clear." She called. She continued to push the door open the rest of the way as the others piled inside.
As soon as everypony was inside, the door closed behind them.
"It's dark..." Keynote whispered.
Twilight and Luna both used their magic to create a light with their horns. "Stay close." Twilight told them as she moved forward, the rest of the group following her.
Twilight stopped as she heard a creak. "Guys..." Twilight began.
Sure enough, a trap door opened underneath Keynote, causing her to fall in. "Keynote!" Rainbow screamed, jumping in after her. The door slammed shut, blocking off the rest of the group from the two mares.
"Rainbow!" Twilight called. No answer. "You can't be serious..."

Spitfire pulled on one of the fake hooves. "It has to be one of these." She said. She looked down the long hallway, which contained these fake hooves all the way down on both sides.
Secret sat down and sighed. "I'll be here when you find it." He told her in a sarcastic tone.
Spitfire stopped and turned back to him. "Are you alright?"
"Perfectly fine." He answered, his eyes blindly staring at nothing.
Spitfire stomped her hoof on the ground. "Secret, you can't lie to me!" She growled. "Is it because of what happened out there?"
Secret shook his head. "No. Yes. Maybe." He scowled. "Can we just kill this target and get it over with?"
"What happened to you?" Spitfire asked. "So calm? So...worried about others? And what about Twilight?"
Secret shot up. "Don't you dare mention Twilight!" He shouted, throwing a hoof at Spitfire.
Spitfire quickly blocked his hoof, and hit him in the stomach with her free hoof. Secret fell to his knees and grunted. "Secret. I hate this as much as you do. But The Boss wants this person dead, I want this person dead, and the rest of what's left of Equestria probably wants this person dead. So get up, grab your gun, and help me kill this person and end this." Spitfire reached out a hoof to help Secret up. Secret grunted and grabbed onto her hoof. Spitfire pulled him up, giving him a pat on his back, and continuing in search for the correct fake hoof.

Rainbow was awoken by Keynote, who was shaking her and calling her name. The rainbow-maned mare looked up at Keynote, blinking to regain her focus.
"Where are we?" Keynote asked, looking around. Rainbow followed her gaze around the room. The room was illuminated by a couple of dim torches on the walls. Bookcases and tables lined the large room. It was almost as if it was a maze of books. 
Rainbow staggered to her hooves, looking around. "Looks like some sort of library." Rainbow muttered. She rubbed the back of her head in pain. 
"You alright?" Keynote asked, reaching out a hoof to Rainbow.
"I'm fine." Rainbow growled through her teeth. "Stay close, Keynote." Rainbow ordered the mare. Rainbow began to trot forward into the endless isles of bookshelves, with Keynote following close behind.

Twilight, Luna, and Applejack walked through the halls of the castle. Scootaloo rode on Luna's back, scared of what happened to Rainbow after she disappeared into the floor. The group of ponies took turns calling out Rainbow's name, only answered by their own echoes. 
"It's useless." Applejack growled. "This castle is huge. There ain't no finding either of 'em."
Twilight snapped, looking back at Applejack. "We already lost two ponies here! We lost so many other ponies for the past year or so!" Twilight stormed up to Applejack, forcing the mare to back against a wall. "I'm not ready to lose any more ponies to this forsaken curse." She growled, narrowing her eyes.
Applejack was shocked at first, but grabbed Twilight by the muzzle, forcing her to back off. "Ah ain't ready ta lose Rainbow either." She told Twilight. "But yer the one who brought us here in the first place!"
Twilight growled, pulling back from Applejack's grip. "Celestia is the one who brought us here. She knows what she's talking about. She put it on us. US!" Twilight shouted. "To find out what is going on here." Twilight stared down Applejack, waiting for her response.
Luna stepped forward. "We doth not think that this is the best time to argue over such matters." She spoke up.
Applejack growled. "You're not fit to be princess if you can't stand up for yourself." She told Twilight. "How many times have you protected Canterlot? Huh? Where were you? On the side? I protected Canterlot. Rainbow protected Canterlot. Even the traitors protected Canterlot. But you just stood to the side, playing princess and avoiding trouble. It was not till Canterlot fell and the princess died that you dared to pick up a weapon!" Applejack spat.
Twilight growled. "How dare you..." She began. She swung a hoof at Applejack. Before the hoof could make contact, a door opened behind Applejack, sending her rolling back into another room. Twilight stumbled forward into the room, looking around in shock.
Secret and Spitfire stood on either side of the two mares, eyes wide in shock. After a short moment of silence, the ponies scrambled to get to their hooves and pull out their weapons. Spitfire and Secret had their advantage, as Spitfire aimed both her hoofguns at the two mares, while Secret waved his shotgun back and forth to keep them back. Applejack held her rifle towards Secret, with Twilight holding her scythe between herself and Spitfire in defense.
"What Ah would give ta put a bullet in yer head." Applejack growled, staring down Secret. "Ah don't like traitors."
"I don't want to do this." Spitfire told them, looking between Twilight and Spitfire.
Luna stepped into the room, drawing her weapon. "What is this nonsense?" She asked, gritting her teeth. 
Spitfire aimed one of her hoofguns at Luna. "Princess, please." She begged. "It's nothing personal."
Secret nodded in agreement. "We just want to kill this person. Please, let us do this. It's important."
"So your boss will be happy?" Twilight asked, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, you two. But you lied. About everything. Rainbow is heartbroken because of you. And so am I." Twilight fought back tears as she stared at Spitfire.
Applejack growled. "You've done enough." She spat. Her hoof getting itchy, she pulled the trigger on her rifle. A bullet flew past Secret's head as he doubled back and shot into the air. This caused a chain reaction. Spitfire turned both her hoofguns to shoot at Applejack, but Twilight lunged forward, hitting her hooves with the blunt part of her scythe. She dropped her hoofguns and stumbled backwards, growling. Applejack quickly began to line up another shot, but Secret got his advantage and knocked Applejack's rifle out of her hooves, sending it to the side. Applejack spat and went to hit Secret, but was quickly countered with a hit to the face. Applejack fell to the side, spitting out blood. Secret pinned her to the ground, but was knocked off by Luna. Luna held her weapon to his neck as she pushed him against a wall, narrowing her eyes.
Silence fell as Twilight and Luna held their weapons towards both Spitfire and Secret, rendering the two defenseless. "You two are done here." Twilight said. "I thought I saw more in you then betrayal."

Rainbow and Keynote walked silently through the hallways. Rainbow didn't talk, for she was quickly gathering anger and rage from everything that has happened to her so far. Keynote didn't talk, for she feared to upset Rainbow any further than she already was. Rainbow stopped when she noticed that there was no second pair of hoofsteps. "Keynote?" She asked, turning around. Keynote was not there. Suddenly, Rainbow heard Keynote scream out, her shriek echoing through the library. "Keynote!" Rainbow called. She drew her katana and looked around, waiting for something to happen. She heard a buzzing sound that seemed to get closer and closer. When Rainbow heard the sound stop, she froze. "Who is there?" She asked slowly, turning around. Rainbow suddenly shrieked, but was cut off by something that moved too fast for her to even see.

Twilight helped Applejack to her hooves. "You alright, Applejack?" Twilight asked, examining the mare.
Applejack growled and began to move towards Secret. "Ah'm gonna kill that little-" 
Twilight stopped the mare in her tracks and growled. "You're not killing anypony!" She ordered. Applejack gave Twilight an evil glare, but backed off as ordered.
Luna held Spitfire and Secret at gunpoint with Secret's shotgun and one of Spitfire's handguns. Scootaloo held the other hoofgun in her own possession, looking at it with huge eyes.
They were about ready to leave, but the sound of hoofsteps rushing down the hall stopped them. Twilight drew her scythe and Applejack pulled out her rifle as they saw Keynote moving as fast as she could down the hall. They lowered their weapons, seeing that Keynote was carrying Rainbow on her back. "Help!" She cried. "She's hurt!"
Keynote laid Rainbow on the ground. She was out cold, blood coming out of her mouth. But what really caught their eyes was Rainbow's wing. It was gone. Both of them were gone now. Whoever attacked Rainbow, had taken her only wing off. Twilight and Applejack stared in shock. For some reason, their was no blood. The wound seemed to be already healed.
"What attacked her?" Twilight asked, looking up at Keynote. Twilight was caught off guard when a bullet shot near her hoof, causing Twilight to scurry backwards.
Keynote held a hoofgun in her hand, aiming it at the two ponies. "I did." She spat. She quickly shot near Applejack, causing her to scurry back as well. 
Luna turned the shotgun and the hoofgun at Keynote. "Stand back. We will fire." She ordered.
"Oh, will you now?" Keynote asked, waving the hoofgun teasingly.
Applejack quickly grabbed her rifle and aimed it Keynote. "Yes, we will."
Silence fell as there was a stand-off between the ponies. "I caught you at the perfect time, didn't I?" Keynote asked. She laughed maniacally as she began to create a green glow. Her laugh became more sinister as her body turned to a black color, her size growing with a pair of wings protruding out of her back and a horn growing out of her head. Her eyes were a bug-like green and her mane a similar green color. Twilight gasped in shock at what she saw. 
Queen Chrysalis pointed the hoofgun at Twilight. "You will die first. I should have killed you long ago. When I invaded Canterlot. When I stole your brother. I was so close to ruling Equestria. But you ruined it! You ruined it you li-" 
Before the changeling queen could finish, Luna shot her in the hoof with a hoofgun. "Thou talks too much. We grow tired of thy rambling." Chrysalis dropped her hoofgun as she fell to her knees, screaming in pain. Luna approached the changeling, pointing the shotgun at her. "Our sister sends her regards." 
BANG! A single shot rang out.
Twilight, Secret, and Spitfire were surprised to see Luna drop the guns to the ground, soon collapsing to the ground right after. Her body lifeless and limp, along with the bullet hole protruding out of the back of her head, she was indeed dead. Smoke rose out of the barrel of Applejack's sniper. "Y'all talk funny." Applejack said, smirking.
"Applejack!" Twilight screamed. Secret quickly got up to attack Applejack, but Chrysalis picked up a hoofgun and shot at him, the bullet scraping his hoof and causing him to fall back over. 
She picked up the shotgun, getting to her hooves. "You have done well to serve your queen." She said, nodding to Applejack. Applejack smiled and moved to join Chrysalis' side. As she trotted to the queen, Applejack slowly turned revealed herself to be a Changeling. The changeling took off the cowboy hat and tossed it to the side, holding the rifle at ready.
"But...Applejack..." Twilight said slowly, shocked and confused.
"We killed your friendly Applejack over a year ago!" Chrysalis told them. "Right when you showed up to the barn? Right after the apocalypse broke out? I sent this drone here to kill your friend. Then disguise as her. And the drone did it." The drone smiled devilishly. "There was no Applejack. Never has there been an Applejack." Chrysalis looked up as more of her drones filled the hallway. "And soon enough, there will never be any of you." Chrysalis said, laughing maniacally again.
Twilight, Spitfire, and Secret stood in shock as they were surrounded. Twilight turned her head to look at Luna's dead, lifeless body.
I failed you, Princess. Forgive me... A tear rolled down her cheek as she closed her eyes tightly.