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// Chapter 5 
// Story: Stallions of the Apocalypse 
// by BronyWolfGuy 
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Applejack’s world was reforming again, it was blurred and fuzzy at first, the blending of brown while two distinct colors looming over her, the shapes warped and sharpened, the colors were her two friends, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, who had brought her sleep hardy body in from the cold, stone floor outside. They look with relieve that soon dissolves to happiness as their freckle faced friend woke from her sleep.

“Oh good, your up, we were getting worried”.
“Girls … What happ’ned?”
“I found you passed out after you ran out othe Everfree Forest, I brought Twilight so she could help you”.

Twilight was looking through the book, she was remaining very calm and composed before the book slammed shut.

“What the hay were you thinking? Going to see Zecora by yourself, what if you ran into the stallions of the apocalypse”.
“Calm yourself Twilight, I say em alright, bunch of no good, pain in the flank, one jumped me, and there damn leader Death kissed me!”
“He kissed you? … How did he kiss you?”.
“Why’d you want ta know what way he kissed me tha sonova rotten apple still kissed me and then tried ta pass it off that I ere givin him “the signs” … that worm. That worm in a rotten apple!”.

Twilight flicks through the pages of the book.

“You don’t get it at all Applejack. He wasn’t coming on to you”.
“What do ya mean?”

Twilight hovers the book to Applejack on a certain page. Applejack reads it aloud.

“Untimely Death is the leader of the stallions of at apocalypse. He has the ability ta cause anypony ta die, either directly or indirectly. Due ta his nature, he prefers ta let the pony he chooses ta make his target, and with a kiss of death marks em. Those ponies who have been given three of his kisses of death shall …”

Applejack gulps as she looks at Twilight and then to Fluttershy. They both look to the floor before Twilight lifts her head back up.

“You know, maybe your not been targeted, and he just wants to mess with your head”.
“Well, they are in the Everfree forest, we should try to find them and stop them as soon as we can”.

Twilight takes a book from the shelf and opens it to reveal the elements of harmony.

“Okay, split up and gather the others”.

Everyone nods and move off, Twilight heads to carousel boutique to get Rarity, Fluttershy flew of to find Rainbow Dash, and Applejack dashed to Sugarcube Corner to pick up Pinkie Pie.

Rarity was up early, working on a dress, she was at her sewing machine stitching the fabric together when Twilight started banging on the door.

“Rarity!”
“Coming darling”.

She trots to the door and opens it with her magic. Within the second the element of generosity was slung over her neck. She looked down and then looked at Twilight to see she was wearing hers.

“Applejack found them in the Everfree forest”.
“What? Is she okay?”.
“She’s a little tired from staying up most of the night and … well it’s hard to explain, but she may be in trouble. We have to get rid of the stallions of the apocalypse now”.
“Okay dearie I’m coming”.

The others come as fast as they can to Rarity’s door.

“Twilight! Rarity!”.

Applejack skids across the ground before stopping for her breath.

“Pinkie’s missing”.
“What?”.
“She’s not at her house”.

They look at each other.

“Twi! How many stallions ere they?”.
“Four. Death, Pestilence, War and Famine”.
“ … Twi, when I met em there were only three”.

Pinkie Pie regained conscious. Her vision was blurred, her throat was dry and rough, and she was cold. She could overhear some voices.

“Well done Pestilence, we can now draw the elements to us without the bearers being able to use them. We even have this one‘s element before that stage of the plan. Very well done”.
“Yess. Ass alwayss Masssster you make ssure we have the sstatus quo”.

Pinkie’s eye focus, looking around her surroundings are trees and deep forestation and her movement is limited in a cage of metal bars. They were chilling to the touch and as she sat the bars underneath her chilled her spine. Brutal War stood beside her watching her from outside the cage.

“Hello Cutie. How’d you sleep? Sorry but Death wouldn’t conjure you up a warm pillow for that puffy hair of yours”.
“Hello! Erm where am I? This isn’t my bedroom, have I been sleepwalking?”.
“You sleepwalk?”.
“Not a lot but if I’m really REALLY hungry, sometimes I wake up and Mr and Mrs Cake are standing at my door with a huge plate of crumbs and it turns out I‘ve eaten something important in my sleep”.

Death and Pestilence hear the conversation and trot to the cage. Pestilence was a icky green unicorn with a broken horn, his mane and tail was manky and his eyes was clouded white.

“Brutal don’t chat up the prisssssoner”.
“Shut it Pest or I‘ll break of the rest of your horn”.
“How’d you like pony plague?”
“How’d you’d like your old horn back? UP YOU ARSE I’D BET YOU’D LOVE IT!!”.
“Brutal War … Spreading Pestilence … You two are brothers, you spread your influence equally and make ponies suffer as badly. You can’t fight. Pestilence you should know what happens when you fight with Brutal. Or did you lose your brain with your horn?”.
“… No Masssster”.
“You are such a suck up”.
“Brutal. Pestilence could kill you in a second and make you suffer for longer. Don’t anger each other”.

Death turns to Pinkie Pie.

“Sorry my brothers aren’t known for cooperating with each other”.
“It’s okay, siblings fight, I used to fight with my sisters a lot”.
“Your quite chipper to be a prisoner”.
“A prisoner? You mean I’ve been captured? Well that’s not a very nice thing to do”.

Pestilence walks up to Death and whispers in his ear.

“Masssster, Thiss pony iss quite a … odd one”.
“Pestilence. You know me better, Death accepts all, no matter what or who they are”.
“Your Death? Does that mean you know if zomponies are real? Because that be really scary”.
“… You speak to Death himself, about zomponies, and you are scared of them than the former … You are either very brave, or very stupid”.
“You don’t seem that scary”.
“Apparel wise, no, but Pinkie. The stories behind me, every death has been caused by me. Everypony you have lost to old age, murder, accidents. I was the one who caused it, I was the one to make you grief. I was the one who made you cry”.
“I haven’t lost anypony to death”.
“Hmm … Well …You soon will”.

Pinkie’s nerve and attitude might be as tough as steel when it comes to experiences like this. Each battle she’s faced she’s not lost her demeanour and nature. She can laugh at those things that scare her, and she isn’t even phased when Death is breathing his cold, dead breath on her. But if one thing’s going to get to her. It would be to know her friends in trouble. That was one of the times that peachy smile of hers dropped. Her curly hair again deflated and hung over her face. She sat there speechless.

“Oh. Now. Do you see?”.
“… Why would you do something like that?”.
“I have to. It‘s my reason for living”.
“You could get a new living”.
“Pinkie. Look at me”.

She looks up at Death. Sulking and her eyes are starting to fill with tears.

“Yes. It’s not a nice job. But as somepony once said, somepony’s got to do it. It has to be Pinkie”.

Famine walks in through the shrubbery and forestry.

“Sorry it took me so long. The maze has been set up well, I myself got lost. You did very well on it Pestilence. I tip my hat off to you”.
“I try my best Famine”.
“Are they coming now Death?”.

Death closes his eyes and his horn glows a black aura.

“… I can feel five heartbeats heading to the forest. I believe it is them”.

Death opens his eyes and turns to Pestilence.

“The heartbeat of the zebra’s. I can’t feel it anymore”.
“Sshe hass been … dealt with”.
“Zecora!?”.

The group turn to Pinkie Pie, the information hit her quite hard, it could be seen it was hard to hold onto such strong emotions.

“Don’t cry, she is the first of many”.

Pinkie’s mood of anguish and despair had just blown into a full belt rage to the lack of sympathy that her friend’s death has come with.

“BRING HER BACK … NOW!!”.
“I have to kill, bringing her back would be the opposite of what I’m meant to do”.
“Your don’t have to do WHAT YOUR MEANT TO DO!!”.

Death turns away. And in the shrubbery with his brothers he disappears. Pinkie Pie returns to her mourning.

“Zecora, just like that. She’s gone. I didn’t even get to say goodbye”.

Pinkie sat there. All she could do was think about her lost friend and flood the floor with tears.

Death and his brothers emerge out the into the maze. Their plan was to separate the elements of harmony and take them one by one. They decided what to do with it’s bearer.

“Death.”
“Hmph?”

Death turned to his brother, Famine, as Brutal War and Spreading Pestilence went of into separate paths to pick of the ponies. As this maze was a mere illusion created by them they could traverse it without getting lost.

“What that pony said. It is not true. She’s just talking out of her friend’s parting”.
“What are you saying brother?”.
“I don’t think you should be so open to having a mere chit chat with others. They don’t look kindly to you. Regardless of what you do”.
“… Your talking about what she said about doing something else”.
“It’s yo …”

Death’s horn starts to glow red and black and lifts up Famine in the air. His eyes glow red.

“I do what I have been fated to do and nothing little or less!! I don’t want such foolishness from your mouth brother, especially from you. After I hold you in such high regards!!”.
“… I am sorry to have doubted you Death”.

With that, Death flung Famine to the ground, Famine was moaning in pain and he got back on his hooves.

“Don’t question me again. Now run. They are coming now”.
“… Very well”.

As Famine ran down the path. Death had faded into the shrubbery again, in the same time the girls had reached the entrance. The forest liked similar has it always had, but a foreboding tension oozed from within.

“I don know Twi. Sumthin ain’t right”.
“Isn’t”.
“We don need your fancy pants right now”.
“Look we got to save Pinkie from them”.
“Yeah. You can stand around here and wait or we go in now and save her!”.

Rainbow Dash darted into dark as the ponies tried to call her back. The others then proceeded after her. Except for Applejack and Fluttershy. The latter could feel the tension there too, but created by her own timidness.

“Now Sugarcube. Ya don need to be frightened”.
“I-I … I’m … oh!”
“Stay with me Sugarcube. I’ll protect ya”.

Rainbow Dash has already made her way through the maze taking turns without a hint of slowing down. She had finally given up blazing through it, she was getting nowhere. She slammed on the breaks and landed on the ground skidding through the dirt and twigs until stopping, bring up a cloud of dust with her. She quickly wafted the cloud out her face while coughing out any that entered her mouth.

“Maybe I should slow down before I land”.

She looked up. She could easily fly up and spot Pinkie from the sky. It was a perfect plan, but the trees had formed a think coat around the maze, getting through it would have been tough, nay impossible.

“What what am I meant to do now?”.
A rustling was coming from the inside the bush, when she turned to it Brutal War had already pounced. 

“Hey get off me you jerk!”
“Ou you’re a feisty one”.

He unhooked the element of loyalty around her neck and through it over his.

“I’m not one for jewellery, but this thing is really … bling bling”.

Rainbow Dash managed to struggle free from his pin and kicked in the stomach hard enough to knock him off. He staggered back and fell to his knee. The anger swelled in his face with the sweat.

“YOU DAMN BITCH I’LL TEAR YOU!!”.
“Oh yeah! What a little thing like you going to do about it?”.

Brutal got up and started digging in the ground like a bull. He then started to charge with his pointed teeth in his mouth set on her. Rainbow Dash jumps above him and slams his back into the ground and he skids along the dirt. She jumps off him and takes the element of his weakened body.

“Urgh … Your good … No one has ever broken out of my pin … Let alone moved with such speed”.
“Please! I’m the fastest pegasus in Ponyville!”

Brutal gets to back to his hooves.

“I’m not from Ponyville”.

They jump at each other and bash hooves together, trying to wrestle each other to the ground. Rainbow Dash still had the elements in her hoof. When she had let her guard down he snatched if from her, moving to the side as she kept on pushing, allowing her to fall to the ground.

“Too slow”.

He proceed to put the element around his neck again. And before Rainbow Dash could retaliate he had slipped into the bushes again. She tried to dive after him but the brambles were too think.

“You can’t follow me like that, but thanks for the parting gift. You’re a cool girl, maybe we could hang out some time”.

The voice disappeared along with the prize. Rainbow Dash could do nothing but try to find him and Pinkie Pie. She ran forward, whether she was going round in circles didn’t matter, the sooner she found Pinkie Pie the better.

“Rainbow Dash!”
Rarity had gotten separated from Twilight but was still looking for Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. She stumbled through the dirt and twigs as she kept wandering aimlessly through the hedgerow.

“This is the Discord palaver all over again”.

As Rarity continued, Famine had walked towards her from the opposite end. She halted as he continued to walk up to her. He stopped a few feet from her in total silence, before proceeding to bow.

“Good morning”.
“Erm. Who are you?”.
“Famine, I have come to relief you of that element”.
“Oh yeah pretty boy, you can’t take it from me”.
“How about a trade?”.
“I can’t trade the element!”.

Famine took a bag out from under his cape. The threw it to the floor, it was filled to the brim with jewels. Rarity’s eye popped out wide at the shimmer of them.

“You look starved from jewels. These will fill you up. All you have to do is just give me the element”.
“Done!”.

Rarity took off the element and tosses to Famine, who catches it in his mouth.

“Pleasure doing business with you”.

He chuckled as he walked into the bush next to him. Rarity was playing with the jewels bewildered by them. She was playing with a bright red one filled with fire, until it turned to stone and it faded to dust.

“Huh? What the?”.

The jewels, one by one, did the same, turning into the dust. The bag had then turned to dust itself, with the illusion faded, Rarity clearly saw what she had done.

“That was just some sort of spell. Ohhhhhhh he’ll have hay to pay for tricking me”.

As Rarity continued through to retrieve her element. Twilight had already encountered Pestilence. He was laughing and coughing as Twilight was ready to fight him. Crouching down ready to counter any of his attacks.

“Jussssssst give up the element. We have all of them already and everyone’sssssss already dead. Your the last one”.
“What? Your … your lying”.
“Nope, your friendsssss are dead, each one of them, and it wassssssn’t pretty, eww”.
“Your lying and laughing about it!”.
“I’m not lying. Jussssssst give up will you, your getting nowhere”.
“YOUR LYING!”.

Twilght’s horn started to glow and lifted up Pestilence from the ground. He was unfazed from the act. Only jolting and jeering her more and more trying to give up the element. That she still refused to do.

“For Celesssssstia’ssssss ssssssssake I’ll just do this the eassssssy way”.

Pestilence then proceeded to blow a thick green smoke over Twilight. She resisted it at first, then got drowsy, and unable to stand. She collapsed. Pestilence took of her element and flung it into the bush.

“You were a real pain. Pity to know you’ll probably wake up”.

Death came out from the shadows behind Pestilence, he looked at the unconscious Twilight and back to Pestilence.

“So this is all the elements of harmony, just the two more, one’s a very timid pony who scares easily, and there’s also the one we met before. I should handle this”.
“Ssssso . . . Your going to give her the sssssecond kiss?”.
“Yes. Then she’d be just one more away from losing her soul to me. That reminds me, that little one who visited the zebra, seems to have a resemblance to this one. Did you do as I asked?”.
“Yessssss. That little pony, I visssssited her like you sssssaid”.
“Very good, your doing so well Pestilance. You really want this don’t you?”.
“Oh. Yesssssss Masssster”.
“Meet with the others at the prisoner, after I obtain the final elements. I think it be time for a mass burial”.

The two brothers enter the bushes, the last part of their plans about to go underway.

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