Generation Z: The Chronicles

by Another Army Brony

Trapped!

Author's note: The times in this section (and likely from here on out) will be expressed in 24 hour format, to better facilitate an accurate chronological scale. In regards to said chronological scale, I must advise you that there are several events which take place concurrently, and the story may hop a bit back and forth chronologically. I have tried to make it as logical and fluid as possible, but I felt that a bit of a heads up couldn't hurt. To this end, I have implemented time stamps in the story to help keep track of the events. As always, anything that you see that is wrong, or doesn't quite make sense to you, please leave me a comment or a message so I can attempt to de-conflict the offending section. Enjoy!

Once again, a bang-up job as an editor by Pacific Penguin. (Insert catchy phrase extolling his virtues here.)

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Chapter 8: Trapped!

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By the time Twi finished her meeting with Princess Celestia, the sun had long since set and the halls have grown empty. The only signs of life in the vast, splendid desolation were the guards who patrolled the grounds, monitoring for signs of trouble. As pupil and teacher conversed, the situation in Ponyville was outlined; initial objectives and fallback plans were devised. Every eventuality was discussed in depth, ranging from a simple clean up job in Ponyville to an Equestria wide crisis management scheme, no detail was overlooked as being unimportant. Despite the hours of strategizing, there were numerous variables which could potentially alter the outcome of the preparations greatly.

The initial plan was to isolate the infected and use the Elements of Harmony to purge the infection. Should the Elements of Harmony fail to achieve the desired results, a more direct course of action would be implemented. The secondary course of action would utilize a more kinetic approach, and the remains would be disposed of in an inferno, augmented by arcane sciences. This was the most likely course of action, due to the uncertainty of the Elements of Harmony’s effectiveness on the infection. Of course, this primary course of action is based on the assumption that the infected individual(s) could be contained, and that the number of infected were relatively few (five or fewer, as indicated by the earlier report).

As was her nature, Twi insisted on secondary, tertiary, and even quaternary contingency plans based on a number of factors, primarily number and dispersion of infected within Ponyville. The most dangerous course of action dealt with an infection that had broken loose of containment and was running rampant in Ponyville, possibly already being spread to other cities by the infected that had not yet succumb to the virus. In the event of a widespread outbreak, all mass transit systems would be shut down by Royal Decree. No sky carriages would be permitted to fly, and all ports would be closed until further notice. In certain defensible positions, "Havens" would be set up to protect the uninfected from the hordes. In these Havens, food and water supplies would be gathered and rationed to the inhabitants until such a time as the infection had been wiped from Equestria and the survivors could return home.

The sites for the Havens had been pre-selected by Twilight based on geographic location, availability of resources, and defensibility against the threat at hand. By the time their discussion had come to a close, both Princess Celestia and Twi had greatly bolstered confidence in their plans, only slightly shadowed by the fear of a worst case scenario. Though it had been planned for, the worst case seemed like an impossibility; a feeling that was bolstered by the report from Ponyville. Confident that every contingency had been planned for, the discussion drew to a close, and the two parted ways. Princess Celestia ventured to her chambers for some well deserved rest, and Twi struck out to the chariot depot to catch a flight to Ponyville. Being the star pupil of royalty had its perks; nigh unlimited access to the skyport and charter flights chief among them. This was especially handy since the balloon was in maintenance for its annual safety certification. After a bit of a delay due to shift change, Twi boarded a specially chartered flight to Ponyville. The time was about 2200 when she took flight, and thanks to a circuitous route and a few stops along the way, she would arrive in Ponyville with the first light of dawn. With a yawn, Twi settled in for the flight, and promptly dozed off.

~*~*~*~

Ponyville Pavilion, 2000 (8 PM)

The doors to the pavilion had been locked up and barricaded with the remaining debris to further secure it. As the sun slipped fully below the horizon, the preparations were complete. Arthur was one of the citizens on the first guard shift, and had made his way up to the balcony as the sun was setting. Looking out over the city as the light faded, he could see that most of the houses were dark. There were but a few islands of light in the growing gloom, which he guessed might be strongholds similar to the one he was sheltering in. He gazed out on his beloved village as the last rays of the sun faded to darkness. At first the guard shift was uneventful, boring even. By about 2130 though, that sentiment vanished as the first of the infected sent up its ghastly howl. One by one, more of the creatures showed up, adding its voice to the lilting choir of the damned. Slowly the numbers begin to grow, and the creatures begin to bang on the doors and walls, seeking entrance.

Artie retreated inside to be with his family. Vaguely, somepony mumbles that the light may be attracting them, and with great haste all the lights are dimmed. This does nothing to dissuade the throng gathered round already, and the moans and pounding steadily grow. Soon, the racket is so great that no soul can sleep. Around 0130, the first pane of glass breaks, wringing a collective gasp and several shrieks from the ponies trapped within. At this point the pavilion is surrounded, and the makeshift barriers pop and squeal in protest but remain in place. Glass intermittently shatters, and in a few places hooves are beginning to poke through the barriers, seeking entrance. As the onslaught continues, the barriers begin to splinter and crack under the pressure of the mob outside. Somewhere, a mare is crying. Everything seems quite distant as Artie gathers his family, holding them tight. He can feel the fear radiating from his wife and foal, but this only serves to steel his nerves, allowing him to radiate an aura of calm that is far from his true emotional state. They hold each other tight, knowing that these might be their last moments together.

~*~*~*~

Rarity’s Boutique, approximately midnight.

Rarity paces back and forth in her boutique, her usually perfect mane disheveled, and growing bags under her eyes. Since she had gotten the word from the Ponyville Civil Guard that all citizens were to hole up and remain confined to their quarters, she could do little but pace and fret over the whereabouts of Sweetie Belle. She knew that she had gone to Sweet Apple Acres earlier to hang out with Apple Bloom, but she should have returned home hours ago, or at least let Rarity know that she would be spending the night…quite flustered, she flicked on the light in the kitchen and opened up the pantry, pulling out a vintage bottle of Marelot. Few things could steady the nerves like a glass of fine wine. Reaching out with her telekinesis, she simultaneously grabbed the bottle of wine and a glass. She set the glass on the counter and poured herself a generous portion. She momentarily debated putting the bottle back, but decided that she would more likely than not be back for another glass soon enough.

Floating the glass to her lips, she took a healthy sip, enjoying the subtle nuances of the wine. She couldn’t help but smile as the warmth began to spread through her. Grinning, she closed the pantry door. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of her eye. Outside her kitchen window, she could swear she saw something move. Wondering if it was Sweetie Belle, she walked over to the window and looked around. Movement to the left of the window, just beyond the range of the light spilling out of the kitchen, drew her attention. Squinting, she tried to pierce the darkness, to no avail. As she turned her attention from the darkness beyond the window, she came face to face with a ghoul. Her mind ceased to function as she took in the figure before her. A stallion with a charcoal coat and a black mane was staring at her from the other side of the window. What drew her attention were not the ruggedly handsome features of the stallion, but rather the fact that he was missing half of his face. The left side of his face seemed to have been torn off, exposing his jawbone and teeth, as his eye hung loosely from its socket. The creature's mangled features were less than a body length away, and neither moved for a moment.

Rarity’s mind was still reeling from the ghastly figure before her, when the creature sent up an unearthly howl. The sound chilled the very marrow in her bones and instantly snapped her out of her daze. Her telekinetic grip on the wine glass faltered, the chalice shattered on the ground. She began to hastily backpedal, stumbling over a number of things as she went. Somewhere in the house there was a crash followed by a moan as one of the creatures made itself an entrance. In a blind panic, Rarity sprinted to her sewing room and slammed the door behind her. She flung everything that was not nailed down against the door, making a barricade from so many mannequins and bolts of fabric. She huddled herself into a corner with her knees to her chest, hyperventilating and trying to make the image of the stallion get out of her head.

Presently, there arose a pounding against the door, and despite her adrenaline surge, not even her telekinetic assistance could stop the door from being battered open. As her last defense failed, the oil lamp on the desk was knocked asunder, breaking and setting the area in front of the doorway ablaze. The abominations walked through the conflagration, paying no heed as the burning oil splashed upon them and set them alight. The charcoal stallion from outside the window was the first one into the room, followed closely by several more. As the stallion closed the distance between them, the flames engulfed him entirely. The combination of the missing face, the immolated body, and the reflections of the flames dancing in the abomination’s eye was too much for the alabaster mare to handle. She fainted as the creature closed to within a body length of her.

In her unconsciousness, she passed from this life in a pleasant bliss. Her proclivity for melodrama ended up being the greatest mercy she could have received, as she felt no pain nor had to witness her meticulously cared for body being rent asunder by the infected creatures. As deaths at the hooves of these abominations go, hers was relatively peaceful.

~*~*~*~*~

Ponyville Pavilion, approximately 0200

Through one of the windows, an orange glow becomes visible. Over the course of only a few minutes, the soft glow becomes a harsh light, and the faint smell of smoke permeates the pavilion. Artie can’t help but wonder, in morbid fashion, which will claim them first; the fire or the zombies. As he chuckles bitterly to himself, he takes notice of the fact that the banging has subsided substantially. Even as he makes note of this, he can hear the moans dying away as well. With great thanks for small favors, he realizes that the siege of the pavilion has broken in favor of an easier target. By about 0330, the moaning finally stops. Somewhere, a wretched soul continues to weep, the quiet sobs bearing witness to the horror that was narrowly avoided. Despite the fact that it is quite early in the morning, nopony can get back to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~

On a cloud at the edge of Ponyville, approximately 0200

RD was sleeping in one of her favorite hiding spots near the Everfree, dreaming about the roar of the crowd as she dazzled them time and time again with her amazing aerobatic maneuvers. Their cheers roared in her ears with all the adoration that she commanded as the Lead Flyer in the Wonderbolts. This was one of her favorite dreams, one that hadn’t gotten old even after several years of replays. Her grin slowly faded away as the dream began to splinter. The color of the dream began to bleed away, the adoring faces of the crowd packed into the amphitheater blurred together, and the sound of cheering slowly diminished.

Somehow a trace of the thunderous applause remained, a low crackle that did not disappear with the rest of the dream. Confused, Dash tried to place the sound as best she could. Her mind still muddled with dreams of glory, she detected a familiar smell though she could not immediately place it. The smell reminded her of the woods, of s’mores, her first kiss at Junior Speedsters Summer Camp and…fire. As soon as it clicked, Dash was wide awake. Shaking her head to try and clear the lingering sound of applause from it did no good, and she soon realized why. The muted sound was not the echoes of a fading dream, but rather the sound of a large fire somewhere below. A peek around the edge of the cloud revealed a towering inferno, easily a three alarm fire.

Even as she was wondering why the alarm hadn’t yet been sounded, she kicked into high gear. Bucking the cloud on which she had rested as hard as possible, she wrought a deafening peal of thunder from it; the pegasi alarm for fire. Looking around, Dash spotted a cloud heavy with rain that was floating nearby. The cloud was supposed to be used for a moderate shower the next day, but the fire trumped that need. As part of the weather team, Dash had been trained as a first responder for fires, as it was much quicker for a pegasus to grab a rain cloud than for an earth pony or unicorn to grab a bucket.

Presently, her training kicked in and in a flash she had the cloud in position over the fire. Even as she was rearing to buck the cloud and unleash the deluge, something caught her eye. In the top floor of the building, a trio of ponies was nearly hanging out of the window. Forgetting about the cloud for a moment, Dash zipped down to attempt a rescue. Normally, this was strictly discouraged due to the risk of the rescuer becoming an additional victim, but one of the three ponies was a filly with an orange coat and a purple mane.

Dash’s heart caught in her throat as she imagined Scootaloo hanging out of the window. On the ground outside the window, a group of ponies had gathered, presumably to catch the trapped family if one of them should fall. As Rainbow drew near the trio at the window, the door behind them burst open and a gaggle of ponies jostled into the room. The trapped ponies turned as one to face the door. Rescuers, thought Dash. And not a moment too soon, either. Her praise for the rescuers died in her throat as they lunged at the family, jaws snapping.

In a moment, the family had been savagely attacked by the group of “rescuers”. Dash could not comprehend what was happening, her brain refusing to acknowledge what she was seeing. The family was being EATEN for Celestia’s sake! Even as she stared in her shell-shocked state, the fire spread into the room, fueled by the air from the open window. Before her eyes the scene transcended the realm of nightmares to something far more hellish, as the attacking ponies were engulfed in flames. As close as she was, Dash could see the hair burning away from the skin, could see the skin crack and bubble. A moan rose up from beneath her, breaking her out of the trance she had fallen into.

As she looked down, she realized two things; first, she had been unconsciously descending as her attention was focused more on the horror before her than on maintaining altitude. Second, the group of good Samaritans below her was not what it seemed. These were no concerned citizens; they were a cluster of the same monstrosities that had just committed the atrocity upstairs. She realized that she was dangerously low and rocketed skyward with a great beat of her wings - and not a moment too soon. One of the creatures’ jaws closed on the empty space her flank had just vacated. As soon as she began moving, she could not stop. She flew faster and faster, trying to outrun the horror that was now and forever ingrained into her memory.

At the scene of the fire, a forgotten raincloud drifts along slowly, insensate to the horrors below.

~*~*~*~*~

Twi stirred in the chariot as dawn began to break. The roundabout trip was nearing its end, and Ponyville would be coming into view as soon as they cleared the next ridge. Stretching out the kinks that had settled during her nap, Twi mentally reviewed her plans for the situation in Ponyville. Based on the information she had been presented in the letter from Mayor Mare, it would be a very simple matter to head off the infection before it could propagate out of control. Her plot to put a positive spin on the situation and to reassure the citizens of Ponyville ground to a halt as the chariot crested the final ridge. Smoke curled from several buildings in town, and flames were still licking at the sky in others.

Twi could only stare in mute horror as they drew upon the besieged city. At her request, the pilots slowed down and made a low, slow pass over the city center and market square. As they passed over the city, Twi saw a group of nearly two dozen ponies meandering through the square. Her greeting died in her throat as she got a good glimpse of them for the first time. Tattered flesh hung in ragged strips from several of the creatures. The entrails of one were being dragged along the ground behind it. As the creature shambled forward, its gristly train caught upon a stone, entirely eviscerating the oblivious abomination. The wet slap of organs hitting pavement caused the lavender mare to become violently ill, her stomach mercifully empty due to a skipped meal. There were signs of a massacre everywhere she looked. Even as she ran the numbers in her head, accounting for the total population, population density, and a slew of other factors, she could not deny the truth. Ponyville was overrun, and there was simply no way to contain the infected.

In the span of 48 hours, the infection had spread from 5 confirmed cases to no less than 20, with the actual number most likely well into the triple digits. As she watches in numb shock, Twi observes one of the infected walk through a puddle of some kind of burning liquid. In a moment, the beast was entirely immolated, the sizzle of its fat clearly audible even from a distance. And yet, the creature seemed not to notice in the slightest and continued shambling along until the flames consumed it entirely, at which point it simply fell over and continued to burn. For the second time in as many minutes, Twi’s stomach tried to turn itself inside out. A grim realization settled upon her shoulders, and she knew she would have to make haste if she was to have a chance at success. She instructed her pilots to change their landing zone to Sweet Apple Acres, which they more than happily agreed to.

Twi crushed her feelings of despair and remorse under a sense of obligation and duty as she prepared to enact the last ditch effort to save Equestria. She quickly penned a letter to the Princess informing her of the dire circumstances and sent it on its way. With luck, the rest of the world would follow the Princess' instructions without question or delay, as even a slight hesitation could spell certain death for hundreds of ponies. Vaguely, Twi recognized a smoking ruin as the former site of Rarity’s boutique. Despite her best efforts to contain them, tears escaped unchecked down Twilight's face, washing away a bit of the ash that had settled there. ‘I must be strong’ she thought to herself. 'Everypony needs me to be strong right now. There will be time for tears later, once everypony is safe.' Through a monumental effort of will, Twilight regained her composure. With a grim sense of determination and the weight of the lives of hundreds of ponies hanging over her head, she began to review the contingency plan. Step one, set up the Outpost.

Comments

[Another Army Brony]

Alright. I've got a good pace going for the next chapter, and barring any unforseen circumstances, I should be updating rather frequently for the next couple weeks. Once again, I am back in the middle of nowhere and on night shift with nothing to do. This is what inspired me to begin writing in the first place, and I'm rather excited that I have an oppourtunity to get all these crazy ideas out of my head and onto paper (figuratively speeaking, of course). This chapter is about 3,000 words and only took 2 days (between other duties as well) to get to where it is now. If I keep to this pace (don't hold your breath, I'll run out of brain power eventually) then you should see a new chapter about the same size as this one every few days. Once my new computer arrives, it should be even easier for me to stick to this schedule since I won't have to engage in bouts of gladiatorial might in order to get a computer to write on. Anywho, I'm rambling. From here on out, you can expect a bit more action in each chapter...I'm not going to lie, I am still trying to find what works for me. I am trying to balance dialogue, scenery description, and action scenes in a way that feels natural, so things might be hit-or-miss for a bit. Bear with me and please feel free to offer suggestions if you think there is something I can do better. That's all I've got for now, stay tuned for more.