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Prologue PT 1: The Discovery6,714 words
Prologue PT 2: The Expedition12,485 words
The Outbreak1,373 words
Patient Zero2,253 words
Scootaloo's Fate1,168 words
Blood Oath2,329 words
Sketchy Strongholds3,196 words
Trapped! 3,580 words
Chapter 9: The Outpost3,985 words
The Dash10,317 words

Sketchy Strongholds

Good news, everyone. I'm back from the dead, as it were.

And I've finished this chapter. Oh goody.

See? I told you all I was getting better at writing. When this one came back from Pacific Penguin, he told me he only had to use 3 red pens to correct it. Heck, at least 20% of the story came back its original color instead of red! Progress, I say!

Again, much love and appreciation to Pacific Penguin for his efforts.

Chapter 7: Sketchy Strongholds

Celestia’s sun was reaching its zenith in the sky as the Civil Guard dispersed to round up the citizens. It had only been about six hours since the "Zero Hour", and all was calm. Nobody knew what was bearing down on them, or what the future held. By this time the next day, there would be no laughter, no smiles. The squeals of joy would be replaced by shrieks of agony and terror, and the citizens of Ponyville would face a horror the likes of which they had never before encountered: the reality of their mortality. But for now, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and a cool breeze gently chased blades of grass. It is noon on day Zero, and all is calm.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In one of the numerous sprawling meadows in the areas surrounding Ponyville, a filly named Hope frolics in the long grass, chasing grasshoppers. Her parents called back to her to keep up, but their words were lost on the excitable filly. As long as she stays within their general vicinity, she is free to frolic to her hearts’ content. The Strongheart family was enjoying one of their sporadic outdoor adventures, soaking up the sun on a pristine meadow on a splendidly temperate day. Dawn had suggested that they bring some food and make a picnic out of it. Arthur agreed, and next thing they knew the whole family was trekking out to their favorite spot for a well-deserved day off. Artie had just set up the picnic and settled down, when a call rose up from behind him. He turned towards the sound and saw a Civil Guard pony waving at him. Smiling, he waved back. The guard called out something else, but the gentle breeze carried his words away, leaving Arthur with no idea what he had said.

About this time, Hope lost track of the grasshopper she was tracking. Her disappointment at losing her little friend was tempered by the fact that in the process of searching for her leggy friend, she had dislodged a beautiful butterfly from its rest. She was back to frolicking at her maximum capacity in no time at all. She barely took notice of the guard as he approached her father, entranced as she was by the winged beauty before her. As the butterfly circled around and around, she catches bits of conversation.

“…illness…rain-bees? It’s going to rain bees?! That sounds bad.”

As Hope continues to chase the fluttering beauty around, she noticed that her parents were packing up the picnic. This upset her a good bit. After all, they just got here. She hadn’t even gotten to explore yet…it was just so unfair…why did they have to go so soon? Dawn and Artie could see the storm brewing from a mile away and already had a strategy to diffuse the coming tantrum. With a flair for the dramatic that a certain alabaster unicorn would approve of, Dawn raised a foreleg to her head and with as much over-wrought drama as she could muster, said:

“Oh dear! The horror…the HORROR! This picnic is dreadfully deficient of ice cream…we must go somewhere with a better supply, quickly!”

As Dawn said this, she stole a glance at Hope. The troubled look and the eyes beginning to brim with tears had been replaced with a sparkle in the eye and grin as wide as a mile. She shared a knowing look with her husband and continued to pack the picnic away. The happy family was packed up and on their way to the ice cream store in no time.. On the way, Hope said she was tired, and asked if she could be carried. Her mom gave her a kind smile and relented, allowing the filly to ride on her back. She soon got comfortable and drifted off to sleep, as the sun was making its way across the western sky.

It was late afternoon when they wandered into the city. The shadows of the buildings grew longer and began to meld into one, creating an artificial dusk in the more crowded areas of the city. As the family of three walked home, Dawn and Artie discuss the strange message the Civil Guard delivered earlier.

“Artie, what do you think is going on? There hasn’t been a rabies outbreak in 50 years, if not longer…I’m worried.”

“Dear, I’m sure it’s nothing to be worried about. These things do happen from time to time, and it seems like the Guard has it under control. They are surprisingly well organized for a largely untrained force.”

“But doesn’t it concern you that they want us all to stay confined to our homes? We will be isolated from all of our friends, and have no access to supplies. Who knows how long this outbreak will last. What if we run out of food? We can’t go buy more, because all the shops will be closed, so we will have to steal food and leave an apology and bits, and-“

“Calm down, Love. Just because there was an isolated incident of what MIGHT be rabies, you don’t need to freak out. I understand your concerns and they are reasonable, but I highly doubt that it will get to that point. We have enough food to last a couple months, and if this thing lasts that long, we will have much bigger things to worry about by that time.

“Oh…okay. Yeah, you are right I suppose. I’m sorry; you know how I get sometimes.”

“Dear, don’t apologize. You worry because you care. You have one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever met.”

At this, the two shared an affectionate nuzzle. They had taken a meandering path through the streets of Ponyville, and wound up in a business sector near their home. The sun was midway in its descent as they passed through the town, and all was calm. As they turned a corner onto a narrow avenue, a sound arose from an alley up ahead. As they drew upon the source of the noise, a rancid smelling pony shambled out of the alcove directly into their path. With nothing more than a moan the creature begins to shuffle towards the family, as Artie moves to stand in between. As it draws near, Arthur readies for a confrontation. The figure stops short, before it speaks.

“Beware. The dead…they trot. TROT I SAY! They be hungry for the flesh of the living, says I. Accursed are we, doomed are we. They trot…”

As the figure walks away mumbling about trotting, the three ponies stand stunned into silence; The smell of alcohol is strong in the air. Dawn is the first to recover enough to speak and quickly urges the rest home. As they walk the last few blocks to their home, a scream echoes out in the distance and is cut short. Hope looks towards the source of the sound, but says nothing.

They soon arrive at their home, having picked up a good bit of steam after their unusual encounter. As they opened up the door, several notes looked up at them from where they had been slid under the door. As Dawn went to prepare dinner, Artie closed the door and pushed a small bookshelf in front of the door to secure it, then began reading the notes. They were all written hastily, and basically said the same thing: the shuffling, moaning ponies are infected with rabies. They infect other ponies through biting, and they feel no pain. It is best to barricade yourself inside your home and wait for it to pass.

As Artie reads the last of the notes, there is a rapid knock on the door. Looking through the peephole, Artie sighs when he sees his good friend Davenport, who lives up the street. What puzzles him once he opens the door is the small pile of luggage piled around his feet. Davenport explains that the luggage is for when he is in the pavilion. He explains that a large group of ponies are going to hole up in the pavilion so that they are not alone for the entire quarantine. Dave then extends an invitation to Artie and his family to join him, which is promptly accepted. Dave departs as Artie goes to tell his family about the new arrangement. Soon enough, all members of the Strongheart family are suitably burdened with supplies and they strike out towards the pavilion, leaving their home devoid of life and uncannily empty. Inside the empty house, silence reigns; all is calm.

As they walk away from their home, Hope looks back. For a reason she does not quite understand, it seems like they are walking away from the house for the last time. Twilight is creeping over the horizon, chasing the light from the sky; night soon will fall. A loud noise erupts a few houses down, halting all progress as the family turns in unison to stare at the source. The smelly pony from earlier is wrestling with another pony, and appears to be losing. The new pony knocks over Smelly, who bucks with all his might, sending the new pony flying through the air. Time seems to slow down as this new pony soars through the air and hits a mailbox. The mailbox is snapped off the top of the post by the force of the impact, leaving a jagged, splintery pike in its place. The unidentified pony’s momentum proceeds to drive him onto the pike, plunging it through his chest with a snapping of ribs and a tearing of flesh. His impalement is arrested roughly halfway down the remainder of the post as the blunt end punches through his chest, exiting just below his shoulder. In the ocher light of dusk, the image of this corpse skewered on a post is painted in a crimson tint by the failing light. In the wake of the sudden violence, everything seems preternaturally silent.

The impaled pony lies still, as silence settles like a shroud around the world. Out of the silence, a strange creaking arises. The impaled pony slowly struggles against the pole through its chest. With a mighty heave the beast snaps the pole off just above the ground, and begins shambling after Smelly. Smelly just stands there, rigid with fright as the beast closes in. With a start, Smelly’s brain catches up to the moment and he begins to stumble backwards as he trips over a rock. He has no time to react before the impaled pony is on top of him. Despite the horror unfolding in front of them, no one can move to stop it or look away. Seconds seem to tick on into hours as time slows to a crawl. The beast latches its jaws around the smelly pony’s neck. Smelly’s scream is transformed into a muted gurgle, punctuated by a wet, ripping sound. The trance broken, the Strongheart family turned and fled as one, desperate to put distance between themselves and the horror unfolding behind them. Artie threw Hope onto his back and took off at a gallop.

As they run towards the pavilion in the center of town, Hope bombards her parents with questions, receiving in reply only 'we will talk about this later'. This does absolutely nothing to quench her curiosity so she keeps on questioning. Finally, Artie's patience runs out as the usually calm and collected stallion breaks his composure in an unprecedented way: he raises his voice at Hope.

"Hope! That is enough with the questions! Just…be… quiet!"

Artie's outburst caught them all off guard, and the trio fell into silence as they continue towards the pavilion. They arrived at the pavilion as the last rays of the sun disappeared from the sky, covered in sweat and thoroughly exhausted. As they rounded the corner, they saw they doors swinging shut. Artie demonstrated a previously unknown level of athleticism as he leaped and closed the distance, wedging his hoof in the gap between the doors at the last second. Overall, it was a rather heroic move, if a bit pointless. As the door swung back open after rebounding off his hoof, Artie looked inside the pavilion at the nearly three dozen faces staring back at him. Among them was Dave, who graciously and mysteriously held up a scorecard with an eight on it, and exclaimed:

"Nice form, but you need to work on the landing."

At this, the tension broke and conversation returned to normal as the rest of the Strongheart clan made their way into the pavilion. Once inside, the scale of the operation became evident. There were stacks of canned and preserved goods in the corners, and some piles even reached the second floor. Groups of foals clustered around game boards while their adult counterparts formed circles of gossip. Even as Dawn and Artie were still taking in the scope of it all, Hope had run off to join a game of tag with her friend Pip. The two had become the best of friends about 10 minutes into their first day of school, and were nearly inseparable whenever the opportunity for each other's company presented itself.

All around the perimeter, benches, chairs, tables, and other detritus was piled up against the windows and doors haphazardly. There were two immediately discernible reasons for this, the first being to provide a measure of protection from whatever was outside. The second reason was to clear the floor so that everypony had a place to lay their head. Even from just a preliminary look, Artie could tell it was going to be a long night. He had no clue just how long, however. The sun had sunk entirely below the horizon by this time, and the light was fading fast. As the light waned, so did the vigor of the crowd and one by one they dropped off to sleep. A guard rotation was established for fire watch, and everypony else settled in for the night.

***Canterlot, at the Royal Library***

Twilight sat at a table piled high with books, enjoying her privileged access to the Royal Library during her down time in Canterlot. Her concentration was abruptly shattered as Derpy flew into the library through a window, landing in an unceremonious fashion at Twilight's table. The window hadn't been open. Twilight's jaw hit the table in shock as the wall eyed mail mare shook herself off and regarded the shattered window with a strange grin.

"Oops…"

-was all she had to say for herself. As Twilight struggled to regain her composure, Derpy rummaged through her bags for the letter she had come to deliver, dropping it on the desk with a smile as Twilight mumbled something of a thankful nature. Derpy snapped a salute, and disappeared in a blur. Finally shaking off her shock, Twi opened the letter and began to read. As she read about the "attacks" and the symptoms of those who were bitten, an icy ball of dread began to form in her stomach. The symptoms sounded familiar, and she knew exactly where to look to verify.

She began to trace a route through the labyrinth of dusty tomes into one of the oldest sections of the library. In a dark alcove covered in dust, with cobwebs in the rafters, Twi found the book she sought. 'A study of the Anthropological background behind Old Mares' Tales'. Despite a title that was so dry it could parch at thirty paces, the book itself was actually an engaging read. What made this book special was that it was written by an anthropologist trying to PROVE that old mares' tales were rooted in fact, and with success in several cases. One of these stories in particular held her interest, and she went straight to the section in question.

The section dealt with a folk legend from far away in the land of the rising sun, that originated before recorded history. Reading the author's description of his time spent trekking the jungles in search of a fabled village and its dark secret, Twi came across the name she had been searching for; Somnambulation. While its literal meaning was "Sleep Walking", the condition it describes was actually far different. The victims are not sleeping, but dead. They are meat puppets with a heinous virus at the reigns. Equestrian history is riddled with isolated cases of outbreaks throughout history. In a remote area of the jungle, an entire village disappeared without a trace. In the darker areas of the Everfree Forest, there were areas from which ponies simply never returned. The virus has been around since the dawn of Equestria and the outbreaks had always been relatively small and isolated, never really posing a great threat.

Twi was struck by a startling realization. This time, it might be different. Ponies were no longer isolated as they were in the past, with the advent of the railroad system bringing an unparalleled level of interconnectivity to Equestria. In this new day and age, the virus could spread to all corners of the globe as never before, with a swiftness that could only be described as shocking. This was compounded by the fact that the population density in most cities was greater than any other time in equestrian history; with the advent of better medicine ponies lived longer, compounding this effect . The entire population was a powder keg, and all it would take to ignite it was a single ember. At the moment, Ponyville was a roaring inferno of infection…all it would take is for one of the infected to make their way to a populated area, and the whole of Equestria would go up in flames. Twilight shook herself out of her contemplative daze with a start. it was imperative that she hurry; She had a letter to write.

Her letter to Mayor Mare was brief. Essentially, nopony leaves Ponyville for any reason. She sent the letter directly to Mayor Mare with magic, and swayed on her hooves for a moment as the drain of the spell hit her. She had significantly underestimated the distance to Ponyville, and the additional strain left her woozy. After a moment of recovery, she headed to the throne room. It was sunset, and that meant that the Princesses would be in the throne room, as they transferred authority. Sure enough, Princess Celestia had just finished lowering the sun and had relinquished control of Equestria to Luna. Twilight approached Princess Celestia and bowed before beginning her soliloquy.

"Princess Celestia, we have a problem…"

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