While Neat Freak was busy explaining the situation to Twilight Sparkle and Spike, on the other side of town, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were exchanging pleasantries. Neither of them had any idea of the drama that they were about to be pulled into. They had even less of an idea that Rainbow Dash had presumably been zombified, and was wandering around Ponyville, drooling.
"And I have a party tonight, and I just don't have any good songs!" Pinkie was exclaiming. "I've used all my good ones, this is the fifth year in a row that I've been hired to cater little Raging Rapid's birthday, although he's not so little anymore. And I'm flattered, but he KNOWS all my good songs already, can I borrow one of yours?" She was asking.
"Oh, of course," Fluttershy said, beaming. "Most of the songs I know are orchestral and don't have any words, but there is one I still remember from school. It'll keep him busy for hours, I promise!"
"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Pinkie bounced.
"Oh, alright," she said, and thought a moment.
"This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend...
Somepony started singing it not knowing what it was,
Now they're forever singing it just because
"This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend...
Somepony started singing it not knowing what it was,
Now they're forever singing it just because this is the-"
There was a sudden noise that interrupted her, which could only be described as a sudden BAMF sound, and Twilight Sparkle appeared in the middle of the room. Fluttershy shrieked, her words cut off, stumbled backwards, and tripped over a flowerpot. Pinkie didn't even so much as flinch.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie chimed in.
Twilight gave Pinkie a customary smile and wave, but her attention was on Fluttershy now. "You know some basic medical procedures for taking care of your animals, right? I have an animal emergency. Can you come? Now?"
Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, of course!" she said. "Pinkie, I'm so sorry, I have to take this. Will you be alright to find your own way out? I promise I'll make it up to you."
"Okie dokie loki!" The party pony smiled cheerfully, and dove out the window instead of taking the front door. "Whee!"
Twilight wrapped her foreleg around Fluttershy and there was that BAMF noise again, as Fluttershy suddenly found herself reeling with nausea, standing outside the Library.
"I didn't want to say anything in front of Pinkie, but we might have a zombie problem," Twilight said in a low whisper. "We need to take care of this before panic spreads."
"You mean like when Spike thought you were a zombie?" Fluttershy asked, her head slowly clearing.
"That was different! It looks really bad this time!" She directed Shy's attention towards where Rainbow Dash was shuffling drunkenly down the street, her gaze distant and glassy. The normally vocal pegasus was drooling heavily, and making low groaning noises tha weren't anywhere close to actual words. Neat Freak and Spike stood framed carefully in the doorway of the Library.
Fluttershy gulped loudly. "I'll see what I can do," she said bravely, and took a step forward, with Twilight right behind her in case anything went wrong.
"Dashie?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
There was no response, but the pegasus slowly turned her attention on Fluttershy instead, her eyes slowly blinking with stupidity.
"Is that... blood?" Fluttershy asked in a low squeak, gesturing to the faint spatter across the mare's muzzle.
"Yes," Twilight said. "I ran a quick analysis spell. But it's Dash's, my guess is she ran into a door or something and got a nosebleed. Nothing serious, comparatively, so it's not like she tried to hurt anyone," she said quickly. Fluttershy slowly approached, and Rainbow Dash just shambled past her as if she wasn't there. Not violent, just... impassive.
"Gruuuhhh," Rainbow moaned.
"How did this happen?"
"I don't know," Twilight said. "Neat Freak found her wandering the streets and brought it to my attention. Good thing, too. She doesn't seem dangerous, but she also doesn't seem to know where she is. If she'd gotten lost, she might never have found her way back.
"Do you know for sure she's a zombie?"
"Well she looks like-"
"Look, nothing!" Fluttershy said, and stomped her foreleg lightly. "Did you check her heartbeat? Is she... you know." She couldn't bring herself to say it. "Not... alive?"
Twilight looked stunned, and smacked her forehead with her own foreleg. "Of course!" She said. "It's so obvious, I should have done that in the first place!"
"It's alright, Twilight. You were upset. Sometimes I scream when I get upset, it makes things better." She wrinkled her nose, and squeaked in a barely audible whisper. "Ahhhhhhhhh." She smiled. "See?"
Twilight stepped forward, and her horn lit up with activity. A bright red, straight line appeared over Rainbow's head, and they all gazed at it expectantly for what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only a few seconds. After a moment, it began to quiver and pulse with spikes. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"She's alive," Twilight said. "Not a zombie. At least, if she is one, she's not an undead zombie. But that still doesn't explain what in the world is wrong with her. We're going to have to make sure she doesn't go wandering until we figure this out. Fluttershy, can we lock her in your shed if we need to?"
Fluttershy stiffened. "Nopony is allowed in my shed, Twilight." This was spoken with such a fierce tone of absolute non-negotiation that Twilight jumped a little.
They all stared at her.
"I keep my rattlesnakes in there," Fluttershy continued quickly. "They have to be separated so nopony gets hurt. What if they bit someone? That'd be just awful. They can't help being venomous, and they deserve my help just like any other animal."
There was a general muttering of agreement, and Twilight summoned a long rope from midair. This was fashioned into a crude leash, one loop tossed around Rainbow's head, and the other held by Twilight as they led their friend out of the street. As it turned out, Rainbow Dash did not appear to want to hurt them, and in fact the only injury that day was attributed to Scootaloo who was rocketing past on her scooter at that moment.
She saw Rainbow Dash being led off the street by a leash. Turning her head to get a better look at this ridiculous scene, she forgot to watch where she was going, crashed into a tree, and sprained her wing.