//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Love on the Battle Field // Story: Not Dead Yet // by Nebula Star //------------------------------// Not Dead Yet By Nebula Star Chapter 8: Love on the battlefield *** Cadenza took a menacing step toward the crusaders and their friends. Immediately Dinky drew her sword threateningly and Rumble jumped in front of the others defensively. “Now, now; none of that. Shiny, if you would.” Rotting Armor stepped forward, his horn lighting up as he wrenched Dinky's sword from her grasp, then he shot a beam upwards and a dome shaped barrier fell down around them all, trapping them all with Cadenza. With a wicked grin she took another step toward them. “I'm going to enjoy ravaging each and every one of you until you're all too exhausted to even stand!” All three crusaders and the two colts screamed, backpedaling into the side of the shield dome. Dinky leaped forward in a blur kicking Cadenza in the jaw, hard enough to make her head snap back. “I don't need a weapon to kick you plot!” She shouted, following up the kick with two quick jabs, before Cadenza's horn lit up, releasing a shock-wave that knocked the ninja filly into the side of the dome where she fell to the ground, dazed. Cadenza then took a moment to crack her neck and straiten her jaw, apparently uninjured by Dinky's attack. “Mmm, feisty one aren't you. Don't worry, I'll help you work off all that energy...” “ZOMBIE PRINCESS!” All heads turned toward the shout to find Spike had returned. Bloodied baseball bat held high, he charged at the shield dome. Cadenza just watched with a smirk as he swung the bat, only to have it bounce off the dome with no apparent affect. Undeterred Spike swung again and again with the half-crazed intensity he always showed when the undead were involved. “You're going to need something a lot bigger to get through my Shiny's shield,” Cadenza told him confidently. CLANG!!! “AAAAHHH!” Cadenza screamed leaping into Rotting Armor's forelegs as something impacted against the shield dome with staggering force. “AAAAAAHHH!” She screamed again when she saw the pink and yellow embodiment of pure pony rage wielding a monstrous mace, just outside the shield. Eyes blazing with fury, Fluttershy raised her mace for another swing. “STAY...!” BONG! She swung, hitting the shield with enough force to create a shock-wave that blasted the dust cloud away from the entire barricade. “AWAY...!” CLANG! She swung again and Rotting armor staggered, dropping Cadenza. “FROM...!” CLANK! Cracks appeared around the impact. “THE...!” CRUNCH! More cracks spread across the entire dome and a few pieces broke free, disintegrating as they fell. “FOALS!!!” CRASH! On the final word, the shield shattered and Fluttershy rushed forward. Cadenza screamed, leaping back out of the way, but dazed as he was, Rotting Armor didn't manage to escape. Fluttershy's horizontal swing caught him dead on and the force sent him flying across the road to slam into the side of a building where he was embedded in the wall. “NO! My Lovebunny!” Cadenza cried gray-green tears in her eyes. “How could you!” She leaped up into the air high above the barricade for all to see. “I only wanted to share my love with all of you!” Her horn lit up to a blinding intensity, her eyes glowing white as her sickly magic began to swirl around her. “I only wanted to share my love!” Her magic erupted outwards, threatening to cover then entire battlefield. Dinky's eyes widened. She knew well what Cadenza's magic could do. Sweetie Belle obviously did as well and put up a shield for their group, which Fluttershy quickly retreated under, but with a start, she realized Pip and the rest of the colts and fillies of his cannon crews may not have anyone to protect them. She didn't know if any of the other unicorns their age could project a shield against Cadenza's magic. She shot off in a blur, galloping at inpony speed to where the other foals were gathered. As she feared, none of the unicorns among them were even trying to cast a shield. She put on a last burst of speed and skidded to a stop in front of them, casting the shield spell even as Cadenza's magic flooded over the barricade. She winced at the strain on her magic, she couldn't hold up against the onslaught for long, she just hoped it would be enough. Looking around, she saw many of the other unicorns had also put up shields, but a good half of the defenders on and behind the barricade were unprotected against the magic. She could see several nearby that hadn't found the safety of a shield. The wide eyed, hungry expressions on their faces told her all she needed to know. Dinky glanced back at the other filly's and colts under her protection. “If any of you haven't had 'the talk' with your parents yet, you should probably close your eyes!” She told them as she saw a mare look at a nearby stallion and lick her lips. He looked back at her with an eager grin and started toward her. Dinky's eyes widened. “If you don't know what I mean, close your eyes anyway!” “We don't need help from a damn ninja!” “Oh will you just shut up!?” Dinky shouted, glaring back at Pipsqueak. “Not a single one of your crew tried to shield you all from Cadenza's magic!” “We didn't ask you! Pirates don't need help from damn ninjas!” “At least I actually am a ninja and not just playing pretend!” Dinky shouted back, and Pipsqueaks glare hardened, but she didn't give him a chance to respond. “How about I toss you outside my shield and let you get a good dose of Cadenza's magic!? I bet you'd get over me being a ninja real fast, then!” Even the white parts of Pipsqueak's coat visibly paled. “You wouldn't!” “I'M TEMPTED!” She screamed, her eyes flashing dangerously. “Now just shut up and let me save you!” Pipsqueak wisely shut up. ~~~ “Ah really don't think we should be sein' this!” Apple Bloom said wide eyed as she watched what was happening on other parts of the barricade, outside the unicorns' protective shields. “... Celestia damn it, Rarity...” Sweetie Belle moaned, covering her eyes with one hoof. Apple Bloom looked to where they'd last seen Rarity and spotted her with Captain Silver and another nocturne stallion of the night guard... Her eyes widened. “Land's sakes! Doesn't Rarity know the shield spell!?” “Of course she does!” Sweetie Growled. “She let herself be hit on purpose... She's always looking for an excuse...” “Oh my!” Fluttershy blushed when she spotted her friend as well and quickly put her wings around Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, shielding their eyes and keeping hers shut tight as well. Scootaloo winced in sympathy, trying not to look beyond their shield. Of course, not everypony was averting their eyes. A click-whir sound made her look toward the two colts with them and she found Featherweight had pulled out his camera from somewhere and was rapidly taking pictures, while Rumble was just watching the scene with a small smirk. Scootaloo knew from experience it was all but impossible to get Featherweight to put his camera away, but Rumble... She smacked him in the back of his head with one wing. “What in tartarus are you doing!? Don't watch!” “Hey, sex is my talent! But while I may be good at it, that doesn't mean I can't learn a thing or two!” Scootaloo blinked. “Oh, I guess that's a good point.” Curious she looked out where Rumble was looking. “Wow... I didn't know ponies could bend like that.” “Yeah, Blossomforth's pretty flexible,” Rumble agreed. At her questioning look, he explained; “She use to date my brother, and I walked in on them a couple times.” “Hmm. So, Blossomforth, Rarity, Rainbow Dash... your brother gets around doesn't he.” Scootaloo commented. Rumble nodded. “Yeah, he has a different filly friend almost every other month.” “You think you're going to be like that?” He shrugged. “I doubt I'll have to... I heard some talk that once this is over they're going to be encouraging herding to help get the population growing again. So why would I keep changing filly friends when I can just have them all at once.” Scootaloo smirked. “Good point.” Behind them, Sweetie Belle groaned. “I don't know how much longer I can hold this!” “Just hold on, Sweetie!” Apple Bloom exclaimed still being shielded by Fluttershy. Scootaloo looked up, fearfully, watching as wave after wave of magic cascaded off of Cadenza and crashed down around them. Even as she watched another of the unicorns' shields fell and more of the defenders fell victim to irresistible lust. She gulped and moved closer to Rumble's side. He looked over at her seeming surprised. “If worst comes to worst, I'd rather it be you than anypony else...” She told him. He raised a brow. “Really?” She smirked slightly. “Well you did say that your talent is really good sex.” He looked away, blushing. “I guess that's true.” “And I kind of like you.” She told him and on an impulse gave him a little peck on the cheek. She was well rewarded by the look of wide eyed shock that he gave her, and couldn't help giggling a little. Then the shield above them flickered. Sweetie groaned with the strain she was under, desperately trying to hold the shield up a few moments more. Biting her lip, Scootaloo pressed up against Rumble's side. Silently he put a wing around her. “TWILY!” Cadenza suddenly exclaimed, sounding ecstatic, and her magic immediately cut off. Looking up, they all saw the purple streak passing high overhead at extraordinary speeds the unmistakable shape of the youngest princess at its head. “Twily can fix Shiny!” Cadenza said as if to herself, then without another word took off after her. With a gasp of relief, Sweetie Belle collapsed, breathing deeply, and finally letting her shield drop. “Sweetie!” Apple Bloom exclaimed rushing to her side. Meanwhile Fluttershy surveyed the defenses; her face flaming red. “Oh my... I'd better organize some unicorns to start casting the counter spell.” “Flutters!” Rainbow Dash flew in from across the barrier. “You alright?” “Yes, Sweetie Belle shielded us.” Rainbow looked at the collapsed filly, surprised. “Really? Good job, Sweetie!” Sweetie weakly raised a hoof. “Yay,” she breathed, her voice rivaling Fluttershy's from exhaustion. “Rainbow,” Fluttershy cut in, “I'll take care of things here! You go stop Cadenza! She's going after Twilight!” Rainbow nodded. “You got it, General!” She said giving a salute, then took to the air, speeding off in the same direction as Twilight and Cadenza. ~~~ The tower wasn't much further. Twilight held the flask of potion close as she sped through the sky. She'd enchanted it to be all but indestructible, but she wasn't taking any chances. As she drew closer, she spotted the device (not going to say it) up on a small catwalk around an antenna spire. Essentially the highest level surface on the entire building. Twilight rolled her eyes and headed for it. Blasting Pinkie's sign to pieces as she approached. At least Pinkie seemed to have set it up properly, even if the placement was excessive. Something slammed into her, making her lose control and plummet toward the tower's rooftop. “Twily!” She heard the happy squeal even as she felt hooves wrap around her midsection. She barely had time to look back and see Cadenza clinging to her, with an ecstatic look on her undead face, before they hit the rooftop. The crash was enough to make Cadenza let go as they both tumbled head over hooves across the building. Twilight finally stopped when she hit the side of a large air conditioner, and ended up upside down, with her hind hooves up in the air. With a groan, she rolled over and got to her hooves. Somehow she'd managed to hold onto the potion flask through the crash. “Twily!” “Aaargh! Not now, Cadenza!” Twilight exclaimed and took off again, heading for the device. “Oh no, you're not getting away from me again!” Cadenza exclaimed, giving chase. “When will you accept that we belong together!” “You belong six feet under!” Twilight shouted back angrily. “Don't be like that Twily! You shouldn't suppress your emotions! Let me help you get them out!” Her horn glowed and Twilight was forced to snap roll out of the way as a spell burned through the air where she'd just been. Twilight had had one experience with Cadenza's magic already and that was one too many... Being in heat was nothing compared to Cadenza's lust spells. She couldn't keep dodging Cadenza and launch the cure however; she needed to either take Cadenza down or distract her long enough to get the job done. She smiled as an idea came to her. Flying down away from the tower, she blasted a window open in one of the neighboring towers and flew inside. She wasted no time in finding a connecting hall and zipped around the corner, knowing Cadenza wasn't far behind. She had a moment however that she was completely out of sight and as soon as she was, her horn lit up and with a flash she teleported back to the Golly Device (Dammit). Landing on the platform, she began working as quickly as she could. Opening the flask of potion; she emptied it into the device's specialized projectile, and sealed it shut. “FOUND YOU!” The sickly pink princess slammed into her once more, knocking her off the platform and causing her to drop the projectile next to the device. Twilight let out a groan as they plummeted toward the rooftop once more. This just wasn't her day. ~~~ Rainbow saw Cadenza tackle Twilight off the platform and fall to the top of the tower. She had Twilight pinned beneath her. “You're not getting away from me this time, my little lady bug of love. We're going to have soooo much fun together!” Rainbow didn't hesitate. Diving toward them, she spun at the last moment to deliver a flying kick to Cadenza that sent her skidding across the roof to slam into the guard wall. Twilight looked up at her surprised. “Thanks Rainbow!” “Anytime Twi. I'll hold Cadenza, you launch that cure!” Twilight nodded and took off for the platform. Across the rooftop, cadenza climbed back to her hooves. “I usually prefer to have stallions ram into me; but I guess an athletic mare like you has a need to be the dominant partner.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Just stay down, I'm not letting you anywhere near Twilight.” “Protecting your crush? That's cute.” Cadenza taunted. “I'll tell you what; you can join in. The more the merrier after all. A three way with two princesses... Come on, what do you say? I mean, that must be like a dream come true for you.” “Oh, son of a...! I'm not into mares! Why does everypony automatically assume that just because I'm athletic and tomboyish that I must be a fillyfooler!?” Rainbow exclaimed in frustration. “Now now, you shouldn't deny who you are...” “That's it!” Rainbow sped forward in a flash and delivered a devastating hoof-punch to Cadenza's face, slamming her back into the wall and following it up with an uppercut that sent her flipping head over hooves over the wall and off the tower. Unfortunately the undead princess had wings. “Such pent up feelings! You need to let it go!” Cadenza told her as she flew back up to the rooftop. Rainbow didn't hesitate, using her speed, she shot up toward the alicorn. Cadenza was ready, however and managed to evade to the side, causing Rainbow to overshoot her. Looping around at speeds fast enough to leave a rainbow trail in the air, she lined herself up for another strike. Cadenza smirked watching her, but didn't move, seeming to think she could take on the pegasus. Big mistake! Rainbow thought, preparing to strike. At the last second, Cadenza's horn lit up and a wave of magic erupted from her in all directions. Rainbow's eyes widened, but it was already too late. She passed through the wave of magic, losing control as a shock ran through her body, and she crashed down on top of the tower. ~~~ Twilight's eye twitched as she watched the progress bar on the device's screen. The potion was loaded and ready to fire, now she was just waiting for the device to be ready. Warming up!? Why in bloody Tartarus does it need to warm up!? The bar ticked another few pixels forward. Fifty-seven percent. “Oh, Twily!” “NOT NOW CADENZA!” Twilight screamed and immediately began firing energy blasts at the undead alicorn. “Such anger!” Cadenza exclaimed as she deftly evaded Twilight's attacks. “Come now, Twily! You really need to relax; I know the perfect way to release all that pent up tension.” Cadenza cast her own spell, and Twilight was forced to go on the defensive in order to shield herself and the device. Fifty-eight percent. Where was Rainbow Dash. She risked a look around but didn't spot the pegasus anywhere. Twilight knew she'd have to draw Cadenza away, she couldn't risk the device getting damaged. Firing another blast at Cadenza to distract her, Twilight launched herself into the air. “Oh! Are we playing tag!? I love tag!” Cadenza cried cheerfully, giving chase. “That's the one where we have sex when I catch you right!?” Twilight rolled her eyes. She'd actually walked in on Cadence and Shining playing 'tag' once when they were still alive, not her fondest memory, so it was entirely possible that Cadenza was genuinely asking and not just being crude. “No, we're playing 'Get the buck away from me!'” Twilight shouted back at her. “You win by getting as far away from me as possible!” Cadenza pouted. “That's no fun, let's just play tag!” With a groan, Twilight dove down the side of the tower, picking up speed. By the how long it was taking the progress bar, she'd have to distract Cadenza for at least five minutes, before the device would be ready to launch. ~~~ Back on the tower, the device's progress bar hit sixty percent then rapidly filled, the last forty percent taking less than a second to complete. ~~~ Twilight just hoped she could evade Cadenza long enough. At the last second, she pulled out of her dive, skimming the city street covering several blocks in moments. There were quite a few zombies wandering around that she saw, but luckily they all seemed to be BDs. Spotting a narrow ally, she snapped her wings open wide and whipped around the corner at dangerous speeds, glad for all the training Rainbow had given her as she felt the strain of g-forces on her body. “I'm gaining on you!” Cadenza taunted in a sing-song voice. Twilight risked a look back and saw the pale pink princess had gained several meters on her. So much for Rainbow's training... “Oh, we're going to have so much fun! When I catch you! First I'll...” Cadenza began going into explicit detail of just what she intended. With a growl Twilight shot two blasts to either side of the ally; exploding sections of the walls even as she passed through, filling the ally with dust and flying debris. Once she was to the other side she spun and fired another blast. “Hey! That's not fair!” Cadenza complained just before her eyes widened spotting the magic blast heading right toward her. She put up a shield just in time, but was still thrown back, tumbling across the ally floor. “You're just supposed to run from me!” She whined as she climbed back to her hooves. “We're not playing tag!” Twilight shouted. “We're cleaning up our mess.” Her horn and eyes began to glow brightly as her voice began to echo with power. “First step, putting the dead bodies where they belong!” “Oh, do you have a checklist, I always loved your checklists!” Twilight's eyes narrowed. She was going to enjoy this far more than she should. The magic she'd gathered coalesced into an enormous fiery orb, looking almost like a miniature sun that completely filled the alley, and without hesitation she launched it at the undead alicorn. Then with a second flash, she teleported into the sky, overlooking the city just in time to see nearly nine city blocks be consumed with light. She shielded her eyes until the light faded enough, feeling the shock-wave pass over her, and then watched as a mushroom shaped fireball rose into the sky. “Check.” With a satisfied nod. Twilight headed back to the tower where the device was so she could end this once and for all. She was almost there when she spotted Rainbow, lying against the base of the spire that held the device. Concerned, she dove down to check on her friend, landing on the roof and galloping toward her. Rainbow groaned, shifting as she approached, and Twilight felt relieved that her friend was still alive... Unless she wasn't... Twilight stopped in her tracks, if Rainbow had been turned, then she could risk getting closer. “Rainbow?” Twilight asked tentatively. She didn't respond. Twilight bit her lip, worriedly. Four pink hooves slammed into the ground between her and Rainbow. “That wasn't very nice, Twily.” Cadenza growled angrily. Parts of her coat were blackened and smoking, and a few feathers were missing from her wings, but she seemed otherwise uninjured. Twilight's eyes widened. How could she possibly have survived that blast!? Looking up, her eyes fell on the device. She had to get to it. Cadenza leaped at her, and she was forced to dive to the side, rolling once to get out of the way, then she launched herself up into the air, flying for the platform as quickly as she could. “Get back here, Twily!” Cadenza called, leaping after her. “I have to give you spankings now!” Twilight felt magic build up behind her and twisted her wings, rolling out of the way, just as a spell burned through the air where she'd been. The maneuver cost her speed, though and Cadenza managed to catch her just as they reached the platform. Cadenza tackled her to the platform, pinning her just out of reach of the machine. Twilight twisted around, managing to get her hind hooves under the princess and tried to buck her off of, but the pink alicorn managed to just hold on, falling halfway off the edge. Twisting around again, Twilight tried to pull herself to the device. She could see it was ready to launch. She just had to hit the button. “Stop struggling!” Cadenza growled. “I just want to give you my love!” “You know what, Cadenza! SCREW YOU!” Twilight shouted in frustration. Cadenza's eyes widened with excitement, her anger vanishing in an instant. “Exactly!” She exclaimed. “But first you have to help me fix Shiny, then we can have a threesome with some awesome brother on sister action...” Twilight rolled her eyes as Cadenza rambled and made one last lunge, slamming her hoof down on the launch button. The device went off like a cannon, shaking the entire platform, and they both watched as the projectile flew up into the sky and exploded into a golden cloud that quickly spread across the city. “Oooo! Pretty!” Cadenza exclaimed happily. “You prepared fireworks to celebrate you finally losing your virginity!” Twilight glared at her, “One, what makes you think I'm still a virgin!? And two... Screw you.” The first of the golden sparkles descending from the cloud reached them, and settled onto one of Cadenza's legs. Immediately that leg twitched then went limp below the fetlock and Cadenza's eyes widened. Another of the sparkles landed on her shoulder and with another twitch that entire leg went limp. Several more sparkles and the fine mist of the cloud itself settled down over her and her body spasmed before going completely limp. She lost her grip slipping from the platform. Her wings refused to move. Her entire body was shutting down. “NOOO! I HAD SO MUCH LOVE TO GIVE!” She cried as she fell. Twilight moved to the edge and watched as Cadenza hit the guard wall on the edge of the tower roof and fell off the side like a rag doll. “AAAaaaaaaahhhhhhh” She screamed as she fell into the back ally behind the tower. About halfway down, she hit a balcony that sent her tumbling end over end toward the other side of the alley. She careened of a fire escape, tumbled several more times, and bounced off the other wall again, before hitting a trash dumpster and finally splattering into the ground. Twilight winced. “Well, at least she was already dead.” “Ouch...” What was left of Cadenza whimpered then went completely still. “Or not.” Looking out over the city, she saw the golden cloud descending down into all the streets and smiled. That cloud would fill the entire city and filter down into ever building, ending the undead plague once and for all, in this city at least. Then they'd just have to make their way around to every major city and launch the cure in each one. She sighed contently, for now, she would enjoy this victory. ~~~ With a tired groan, Lyra sat down, taking a moment to rest. Like most the rest of the unicorns that had been able to protect themselves at the end of the battle, her magic was too exhausted to cast the counter-spell for Cadenza's magic anymore. Only about a third of those affected had been cured. She could still hear what was going on behind her. They'd gotten all the foals out luckily; though there had been no preserving their innocence. They'd all seen far more than they should at their age... For now Lyra was taking a moment to rest while she let her magic replenish itself. Closing her eyes she leaned back, turning her head upwards toward the golden cloud that continued to settle throughout the city. Finally, the zombie plague was cured. The nightmare was over... if only it had been a day earlier. She'd lost more than a few friends to the plague... Lemon Hearts and Twinkle Shine had still been in Canterlot when it fell, Moondancer probably hadn't made it either, though Lyra didn't know for certain. Even Colgate... that weird dentist that looked almost identical to another of her foalhood friends, Minuette, but talked with a completely different accent, having come from Baltimare. Lyra hadn't known her all that well, but she was still a friend. But one loss definitely hurt far worse than the others; being closer to her heart and far more recent. If only the plague had been cured a day earlier; maybe then she wouldn't have lost... “Bon Bon!?” Somepony nearby exclaimed in surprise. It couldn't be... Slowly, she lowered her head, opening her eyes. To find the cream colored mare she longed to see only a leg's length away... glaring at her with an intensity that could have set a dragon on fire. “Bonnie!” Lyra exclaimed happily, jumping to her hooves. Before she could wrap her marefriend in a hug, she froze nervously, seeing Bon Bon's expression harden even further. “Uh... Bonnie... I know you're mad at us for leaving you behind...” Lyra stammered, “but you know we had to. There were too many of them and... and... I wanted to save you, I really did...” She trailed off as Bon Bon's expression wasn't changing. Finally Bon Bon jabbed her in the chest with one hoof, hard enough to make her sit back on her haunches. “You're just lucky they weren't able to bite through my carapace!” She growled, jabbing Lyra again. “As for what you said...” Lyra bit her lip nervously. “Now Bonnie... you know I just meant that you do have a bit of a temper sometimes.” “Temper! I... what the heck are they doing!?” Bon Bon's eyes had drifted to look over Lyra's shoulder at the the scene behind her. Lyra thanked her lucky stars for the distraction. “Oh, um, Cadenza cast a blanket effect spell over the entire area toward the end of the battle... we've cast the counter-spell on as many as we could, but all the unicorns were already exhausted from the battle.” Bon Bon's eyes went a little wider as they fell on one particular threesome. “Rarity wasn't able to shield herself?” “...From what Sweetie told us, I don't think she tried.” Bon Bon sighed. “Well, I guess I'd better get to work then,” she said, and with a flash of green, shifted into her true changeling form. There were several gasps from nearby. “Everypony relax! I'm Bon Bon from Ponyville, I've always been a changeling, and I didn't have anything to do with the invasion; My mother is an idiot. Now I do know the counter-spell to Cadenza's magic, so if you can all get over me being a bug pony; I'll help you out.” Several of the ponies nearby (that weren't currently under the affects of a lust spell) stared at her a moment with their jaws agape before looking at one another and shrugging. “Alright, I just spent the last two hours just lying on my backside with zombies gnawing on my legs and horn. As annoying as that was, that does mean that I'm plenty rested. Hopefully it will be enough.” She said and went to work. ~~~ A groan from below the platform caught Twilight's attention. Rainbow! Leaping off the spire, she glided down to the rooftop. Rainbow had climbed to her hooves and was standing there, her wings fully extended with an almost panicked look in her eyes. She looked up as Twilight landed. “Twi! Have sex with me right now!” Twilight rolled her eyes and cast the counter-spell to Cadenza's lust magic. After a few bars of smooth jazz, Rainbow's expression changed from panicked to utterly embarrassed. “Uh... you know that was the spell talking right? I'm not really into mares...” Rainbow said sounding mortified. Twilight snorted. “Well I am.” Rainbow blinked. “What, really? “At least I know I'm not into stallions, not after all the times I walked in on Rarity when she was...” Twilight shivered dramatically. Rainbow blinked. “Wow... Sweetie Belle said the same thing. I'm suddenly really glad I hardly ever went to see Rarity at her place.” “Yeah, trust me. It's not a pleasant experience.” Twilight grumbled, resolving to look into memory altering magic. “There you are!” They both looked up to see Princess Luna come in for a landing. “Oh, hey, Luna,” Rainbow said with a wave. “Greetings Rainbow, I take it you saw Princess Twilight pass overhead and decided to help her?” “Well yeah, and Cadenza saw Twilight as well so I figured she'd need some help.” Luna's eyes widened. “Cadenza? Is that what that explosion was earlier?” Twilight nodded. “I had to distract her while the device warmed up.” Luna nodded understanding. “Well I'm glad you managed to launch the cure. I have come to report that the cure has worked: zombie ponies throughout the city are dying for good.” “That's good, because before I left the barricade, Cadenza had turned the battle into an orgy...” They probably would have been overrun if the rest of the zombie horde had been able to reach them.” Rainbow told them. “Really,” Luna tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm. Well she may have actually done us a favor there. We are going to need to replenish the population now that the plague is cured, and this may help some of the more reluctant mares on their way to motherhood.” Rainbow's eyes widened. “Oh no; you can count me out on that! No way I'm getting tied down with foals!” “Well need every mare to do her part.” Luna insisted. “Nu uh! No Way! You can't make me!” “Nopony will be forced Rainbow.” Twilight assured her. “Well good, because there's no way I'm having foals.” Rainbow said with a nod. “Of course, as one of the elements of harmony, I really need you and the others to set an example, and as a loyal friend, I know I can count on you to help me out...” Rainbow glared at her. “That's not fair.” Twilight grinned smugly. “Are you saying you won't set a good example, that you'll give who knows how many other mares an excuse to not do their part? And make things just that much harder for me? One of your best friends?” “And what about you!? You just said that you're not into stallions!” Luna's eyes widened at that. “You did?” She asked, directed at Twilight. “I'm going to be running the country; ponies will understand if I don't have time to have foals.” “What!? Oh no no no no! Twilight you have to have foals too!” Luna insisted. “No I don't, I have to deal with trying to get Equestria back on its hooves and reestablishing foreign relations; I won't have time...” There was a loud clang and they all turned to find a metal pony on the roof a few paces away. Luna blinked. “Ponytron? But I never activated...” A dozen more loud clangs rang out and they suddenly found themselves surrounded by identical robot ponies. “Luna, you're pet project seems to have replicated itself.” Twilight muttered. The first ponytron's shoulder panel opened and a segmented arm extended with a laser canon aimed at them. “Imperfect lifeforms detected. Executing prime directive.” It intoned emotionlessly. “Luna... what's their prime directive?” Twilight asked nervously putting a shield around them, as the rest of the ponytrons extended their weapons as well. “Um... to destroy all imperfect lifeforms...” Luna almost whispered. “WHAT!? Luna! We're ALL imperfect lifeforms!” Twilight exclaimed as they opened fire. “I meant diseased or rotting!” Luna cried. “They're robots! It doesn't matter what you meant! They'll take everything literally! Please tell me you have some fail-safe to shut them off!?” “I didn't think I'd need it...” Luna whimpered. Twilight glared at her a moment before closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. Here they'd just managed to cure a zombie plague that had nearly wiped out all of ponykind and now Luna had unwittingly unleashed a self replicating robot with the sole purpose of wiping out all life it deemed imperfect. She just couldn't take it anymore. Her horn lit up brighter than the noon-day sun and her eyes glowed pure white as she floated up into the air. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” She screamed at the top of her lungs as lightning lashed out from her horn, and the world shook with her rage. Though they were not programmed for emotion, at that moment, every ponytron within sight of her turned and ran as they all spontaneously gained the ability to feel fear. ~~~ Elsewhere in the city, a purple alicorn with a dark indigo mane stood surrounded by the corpses of zombie ponies, watching as the last of them collapsed in the golden mist. “Aw... Looks like it's over.” Midnight said to herself sounding depressed. Good, then we can focus on finding a way to get back home. Midi told her other side. Midnight sighed. “I already know how to get us home.” Surprise came from Midi, within their shared mind. You already know? “Well yeah, I'm the one that brought us here.” You brought us here!? Midi exclaimed. Wha... Why!? She shrugged. “I was bored and I thought it looked like fun.” WHAT!? You thought fighting hordes of undead ponies looked like fun!? “Well yeah! I mean, we can cut them up, blow them to pieces, grind them to dust, and we don't have to feel bad because they're already dead!” Midi groaned - and would have facehoofed if she were in control - at what her other side found to be fun. Whatever, just... just take us home. Midnight sighed. “Okay... looks like the fun's over here anyway.” Several loud clangs from behind caught her attention and she turned to see dozens of metal ponies landing on the road. “Imperfect lifeform detected, executing prime directive.” “Ooo! Robots!” Midnight exclaimed excitement welling up in her. NO! We're going home! Midi told her firmly. Midnight recoiled as if she'd been hit and let out whimper like a kicked puppy. Midi sighed mentally, her resolve crumbling under the onslaught. Sometimes being the kinder, more generous side had it's disadvantages. Fine... Blow a few up. “WAHOO!” Midnight shouted leaping in to attack.