Equestrylvania

by Brony_Fife

Silence of the Daylight, Part I

Silence of the Daylight, Part I

---

Nopony thought it would happen again, but the sun slowly peeked up over the hills this morning, as if cautiously making absolutely sure it was safe to come out. Survivors that had spent the entire night in hiding peeked out from their hiding places and were greeted by both the sun and the wrecked village. The demons were gone, and the silence of the daylight stood still for close to an hour before any movement was made.

Many buildings were almost completely gone, nothing but ashes and debris. Where the Behemoth had rampaged, what Dirt Nap had burned. After the demonic Aguni had taken his payment from Dirt Nap, all the fires were suddenly snuffed out, like candles on a birthday cake. There were bodies in the streets, young and old alike, fresh and rotted alike. The zombies of last night fell away to the ground upon seeing the sun, almost as if their power had suddenly been cut off. The smell of smoke and rot wafted into the nostrils of those who still breathed.

The wild animals had fled along with the monsters, for reasons most could not ascertain. Many came to the conclusion that they feared the daylight, or were weakened by the sunlight somehow. The cackling of crows and howling of wild dogs, the bouncing of the flea-men and the gnashing teeth of the mer-men all migrated deep into the dark. Many felt unsure that any of this had happened at all, but the dead and the destroyed were ample proof.

The smoke above the town took its time in leaving, and the sky above was overcast with clouds. Nopony remembered scheduling clouds for Ponyville today, especially not this many. It seemed like nature had simply decided to do whatever it wanted. The rain came down gently onto Ponyville, caressing her broken and battered body in pity. It felt almost insulting. Degrading.

Presently, Twilight Sparkle looks out a hospital window at Ponyville General. The rain trickles down the windowpane, distorting the already-broken Ponyville outside. As if she were really just looking at a post-modern impressionist recreation of her home.

Behind her, the white unicorn stallion from before stands, watching her curiously. His presence feels almost unreal, as if he exists when and where he truly should not. His eyes contain a sense of great emptiness and curiosity, as if he is simultaneously both a foal and a very old stallion. Rarity has already complimented him on his fashionable white clothing: otherworldly in its design, yet at the same time similar to Canterlot wardrobe. He even wears a monocle.

In the same room are all of Twilight's closest associates: Rainbow Dash (now with bandages on her head and back from her crash), Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack. Pinkie Pie has introduced this stallion to the rest of them as "Aeon", and claims he is a time traveler.

"Well, that is not precisely true," he says, drawing Twilight's attention from the window. "I live outside time and am able to observe it, or even get involved and change it around a little if I please."

"So, basically, time traveler," summarizes Rainbow Dash. Aeon merely sighs and nods, defeated by Rainbow Dash's summary.

Pinkie Pie goes on to explain that she had met Aeon one day and they traveled through time. "I rescued myself! It was totally cool!" she said. "Aeon is like my favoritest time traveler in the history of EVER!"

"He's the only time traveler y'know, sugarcube," observes Applejack.

"And he uses his watch to stop time, and he speaks all backwards and stuff and it's so funny!"

Aeon looks at his pocketwatch. "Well, it is not supposed to do that, and I have been trying to fix it for some time now..."

"!NUF hcum os si sdrawkcab gniklaT ?ti xif annaw uoy od yhW," Pinkie Pie chirps. Everypony looks at her as if she speaks in a different language, which is technically true.

"And he gave me that cool cross thingie," Pinkie continues, pointing to Fluttershy's cross necklace. "He said it would come in handy someday, and I said 'WHAAAT' and he said 'I'm a time traveler trust me' and I said 'WHAAAT' and he said 'I'm a time traveler trust me' and I said 'WHAAAT' and he said 'No, seriously, I'm a time traveler trust me' and I said, 'Okie-Dokie-Loki!' and so I hid it between two barrels for monster-chasing emergencies but I guess somepony stole it or something but I'm glad you found it Fluttershy because if you didn't you would have gotten hurt and—"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie freezes in place, becoming like an image in a picture. They all hear the quiet sound of a clock ticking and look to Aeon, whose stopwatch is floating in midair. They all breathe a sigh of relief.

".uoy knahT," says Rarity, who then makes a face as if she had bitten down on a pickled lemon.

They enjoy their silence for a few seconds before Pinkie Pie continues as if nothing happened. Eventually, Twilight hushes Pinkie with a hoof to her mouth. She turns to Aeon. "So, I take it you're more aware of what's been going on lately, Mr. Aeon?"

Aeon nods. "Indeed."

Applejack removes the rib from underneath her hat. "Well, then, can you give us some answers 'bout this? Some creepy goons dug this up in my orchard. I wanna say Winona buried it there like she does any other bone she finds, but either way, it was in my orchard, and was there pro'lly even b'fore that castle showed up." She puts the rib on a sidetable, thankful that its twisted darkness is finally away from her person. She looks to Aeon.

"Mind tellin' us why they were lookin' fer this?"

Aeon nods. "It is a piece of Dracula. His 'goons', as you call them, are searching for these pieces, and have been for some time now."

Twilight cocks an eyebrow. "Maybe you should start from the beginning?"

"That I should, Miss Sparkle." Aeon takes a deep breath and leans against the wall nonchalantly as he begins his story. "Long ago, Dracula terrorized a different world. Every time this world became wicked enough, he would reappear to try to conquer it. But there was a family, the Belmonts, who would always stand against him and defeat him. They, along with their allies, were capable of defeating him time and time again, until..."

"Until they defeated him for good?" asks Rainbow Dash excitedly.

"Until they all decided to stop fighting and... and b-become friends?" asks Fluttershy demurely.

"Until they decided a party would be more fun?!" interjects Pinkie Pie. She is met with impatient stares, and shrugs.

"...Until finally, Dracula won."

Eyes snap to attention. Aeon continues.

"He had dealt a crushing blow to one Richter Belmont. Not in a way that killed Richter, but in a way that decimated him: Dracula had taken Richter's fiance and transformed her into a monster. Richter had no choice but to kill her."

Fluttershy covers her mouth at the idea anyone could do something so terrible. Rarity looks away sadly as Pinkie Pie's hair deflates. Rainbow Dash purses her lips, infuriated that anyone who would do that could think he'd be allowed to just walk away.

"Even as he brought the battle to Dracula, Richter could not fight the despair gnawing away at his heart. When he returned home from defeating Dracula, he found that the whole world went right back to its wicked ways. The world spurned their savior." Aeon walks over to a window and looks outside. The rain is beginning to ease up, becoming a light drizzle.

"...That's so horrible," Rarity says in quiet shock.

His eyes still gazing at the town outside, Aeon continues. "It was right around that time that Richter... changed. Something inside him snapped. Maybe it was a thankless world that did it to him. Maybe it was his fiance's death. Maybe Dracula did it to him. However it happened, Richter allowed himself to be tainted by Dracula's evil."

"But it was his job to fight Dracula!" Rainbow Dash says. "Why would he willingly...?"

Aeon turns around. His face is solemn. "Sometimes, in their despair, people do atrocious things. They turn to wickedness when they feel they no longer have a purpose. For Richter, he became obsessed with the idea of resurrecting Dracula himself to battle him, to make himself feel important again. To find his purpose again.

"But no matter what he did, the hole in Richter's heart would never heal. Even after a friend of mine had gone to stop him, and snatched him out of Dracula's grip, Richter's bloodline—and the entire Belmont family after him—remained tainted by the power of Dracula, and they finally faded away into the very obscurity and uselessness Richter had feared."

Silence. Aeon reads the faces of these ponies before him. He's read these faces before, when he had to relate this story to people from other worlds. He breathes in deep when no one interjects. "During that time, the world became more and more foul. It would not be long before Dracula came back. So, one day, a very foolish boy had an idea. He would dig up Dracula's body, cut it into pieces, and scatter them all over the dimensional rift, not caring where any of them ended up. He felt this would prevent Dracula from ever coming back."

Twilight looks down, solemnly. "But it didn't work, did it?"

"Not in the slightest. Dracula's minions took it upon themselves to travel world to world in order to find their master's pieces and put him back together again." Aeon turns away again, looking out the window. "Many worlds have been torn apart, never to heal, because of them. Now, only five pieces remain for them to find... and that rib is one of them."

All eyes descend on the evil bone on the sidetable. It seems to whisper to them, into their souls, darkly musing to itself how each of them taste. None dare question Aeon's account. Twilight turns back to Aeon.

"Can you answer something else?" she asks. "Where's Princess Celestia?"

Aeon nods, and for the first time since meeting him, a smile—small, but genuine—appears on his face. "That is the good news! She is alive, and safe. She is not, however, in this dimension."

Murmurs and demands for explanation all crash into Aeon, who backs away a little, asking these ponies to calm themselves. He then draws a scroll from his jacket and with his telekinesis gives it to Twilight Sparkle. She opens it and is greeted by Celestia's own hoofwriting. She reads it aloud:

Dearest Student and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony:

I write to you in order to both confirm Aeon's story and to tell you that Luna and I are both alive and safe. All the subjects still in my castle at the time of its 'movement' are also in one piece. Aeon has placed a few friends of his in my castle to help protect us in case Dracula's minions should try to strike us from here.

However, if you have listened to Aeon's story, you now understand how grave our situation is. Dracula's forces will stop at nothing to retrieve his remaining pieces, and you are the only obstacles he faces. You must hurry to locate Dracula's other pieces before they can.

Do not lose yourselves to the tempting darkness of Dracula. Keep each other in your thoughts and hearts at all times. Your friendship is your strongest weapon against Dracula, and I truly believe the Elements of Harmony are more than enough to defeat him. Stand together, and do not falter in your quest.

I will keep you all in my prayers. And no matter what happens, Twilight, remember that you are not just my student, but the closest thing to a daughter I shall ever have. You are my most precious, irreplaceable treasure.

Applejack, your family and your friends will be your source of strength as it always has been. Never forget why you fight for them, and never stop loving them.

Rainbow Dash, you are not just their friend. You are their knight. Your passion fuels your fight for those who cannot defend themselves. It is important that you never lose this quality.

Fluttershy, though Dracula's forces are terrible and fierce, your courage and your love for your friends will overcome anything.

Pinkie Pie, you are a joy to others. Now more than they ever have, Equestria will need you to lift their fallen spirits. Never stop smiling.

Rarity, it is not just your generosity that makes you valuable. It is that you know exactly what it is ponies need, and you give it to them. Never forget that what your friends need now more than anything is your unconditional love for them.

You all know what it is you must do, and I wish you all luck, my little ponies. And no matter what happens, remember that I will be supporting you through it all.

I will never stop believing in you.

~Princess Celestia

Twilight sets the letter down. Halfway through, her voice begins to choke as her throat becomes thick. Tears form in her eyes as she reads about her being Celestia's treasure. She looks around to see her friends are equally teary.

Silence. Silence as the sun finally pokes through the window. Finally, Rainbow Dash nods.

"We have to do this," she says in a tone that is uncharacteristically quiet, but still powerful, still passionate. She looks up, into the eyes of each of her friends, one by one. "We have to fight. We have to win."

---

It's a while before everypony digests everything. Once the initial shock wears off, Aeon gives Twilight a bestiary documenting each of Dracula's minions. Eagerly, Twilight flips through it, her eyes sucking the information off every page with a ravenous appetite. "So many of these creatures seem similar in form and shape to the human legend," she comments.

Aeon nods. "Dracula's home world is populated by humans," he says. "Quite a few of his most loyal lieutenants are humans. Even my original form resembles them."

"Wait," Pinkie Pie says, putting two and two and two together. "So does that mean... you're really a human?"

Aeon gives her an amused glance. "Well, my original form is very close to human. I choose a pony form for a pony world. No need to draw too much attention to myself."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash look at each other and grin. As Applejack snorts and laughs, Rainbow Dash turns to Aeon and says, "The way you're dressed kinda defeats that purpose. We could spot you coming a mile away."

Rarity hisses at the two of them to be quiet. "Ladies, please! Going incognito among ponies is no excuse to not look his best!"

Aeon smiles and nearly laughs, himself. Pinkie Pie touches his foreleg to get his attention. "Hey, Eenie, I have a favor to ask you."

Aeon looks at his stopwatch, then closes it. "Well, I suppose I have time," he said, "What do you need?"

Pinkie Pie leads him out of the hospital room, telling the others she'd be right back. On their way down the hall, Pinkie Pie explains her idea to him at her usual exasperating pace. Aeon, patiently, waves his hoof over Pinkie's face, causing her to slow down and lower her volume. He asks her to just tell him what she wants.

"I have a friend who'd love to meet you!" Pinkie smiles.

Aeon is led into another hospital room, this one with only a single patient, a unicorn. She lies in her bed, her burns from earlier muddying her mint green coat. A bandage is above her right eye. Next to her bed is another mare, this one an earth pony with blue and pink hair and a pair of sweets for a cutie mark. Both look up when Pinkie Pie leads Aeon inside.

Pinkie Pie addresses the burned unicorn as "Lyra" and tells her she has a present. Aeon smirks at her. He doesn't exactly understand what is going on until Pinkie closes the door and asks him, this time quietly, to show Lyra his true form.

His eyes widen at her request.

"Please, Eenie? She's been through a really hard time, and I thought you might be what she needs to cheer up!"

Aeon finds it hard to refute her. He turns to the mint green unicorn and her earth pony friend, both equally confused. He nods. "I need you both to promise me that you will not tell anyone about what I am about to show you."

The earth pony, brow furrowed, nods and swears she won't. Lyra just keeps looking at Aeon the same way she did when he first stepped in: like he was a stranger from outer space. She could feel it, just by looking at him, that he wasn't really a pony—he was something both real and unreal, both old and new. She could feel it deep in her gut.

Lyra blinks, and suddenly gasps as she sees that the pony before them is now...

... a human.

A human was standing in front of her now. A human! A real, live human!

At first, Lyra believes Pinkie Pie was just pulling her leg, but then this human, this "Eenie" as Pinkie calls him, moves toward her, and his lips curve into a smile. His face is flatter than a pony's. He walks on his hind legs. His white clothes now cover his whole person, making him seem strangely angelic. Even his movements and body language seem serenely, divinely alien.

Lyra merely gazes at him, wide-eyed, and nothing is said for over a minute. Even her Earth pony friend, a longtime critic of Lyra's belief in humans, is stunned. Finally, Lyra breaks the silence as her eyes begin to water.

"You're..."

Lyra sniffs and clears her eyes.

"You're more beautiful than I thought you'd be."

At this, Aeon nearly bursts out laughing. Pinkie Pie smiles as she feels Lyra's joy growing so large and so fast, it causes her to cry. Aeon's smile is nearly ear-to-ear as he crouches down next to Lyra's bed. There's a nostalgic look in his eyes, searching for something lost and far away. "Do you know?" he said. "That is not the first time anyone has ever called me that."

Lyra looks into his eyes, and finds herself enchanted by how old they look. How wise. How learned and experienced, despite how very young his face looks. Both old and new, real and unreal. She reaches a hoof up to touch his face, and it is smooth and delicate. He removes a black glove from his hand and folds his fingers over her hoof with a surprisingly strong grip.

His hand. He holds her hoof in his real, honest-to-Celestia human hand.

He is real. He is unreal.

Lyra's smile is drenched with happy tears. Today, one of her dreams has just come true.

She turns to her friend. "Bad news, Bon Bon. This means you owe me a million bits."

Everyone present, pony and human, laughs.

---

The Ponyville General Hospital's magic shield is generated by its directors, the triplets three: Ear, Nose, and Throat. At least, that's what everypony calls them. Nopony really knows their names, and they are eccentric enough to want to keep it that way. All three of them are considered geniuses in the field of pony medical science and mental health, but it takes them a concentrated effort to produce a "monster-proof" forcefield that can cover the hospital's grounds.

"That isn't enough," says Twilight, pacing their office. Spike, perched on her back, admires the office's simple-yet-bizarre makeup. Some very bizarre pieces of art line the walls, and a couple of bookshelves and filing cabinets stuffed with strangely oversized papers or books. On their desk is a toy telephone. Twilight's eyes descend on it out of curiosity, but she quickly brings them back up to look at the triplets.

"We know—"

"—that it's—"

"—not enough," say the triplets.

They are all visually indistinguishable, save for the color of their manes and eyes: Ear, Nose, and Throat are red, green, and blue, respectively. Their cutie marks are all puzzle pieces, the shape of the piece differing triplet to triplet. They are strange, certainly, but Twilight knows their shield spell—while not nearly as good as her brother's—is the best defense Ponyville has against Dracula's forces.

Twilight has skimmed the bestiary Aeon gave her and has already learned that Dracula's minions become stronger, more active and confident at night. It is ten in the morning already. If his forces mobilize again tonight, there won't be enough Ponyville left to fill a teaspoon tomorrow.

"There has to be a way you three can put up a forcefield big and long-lasting enough that it can protect Ponyville for a whole night. The monsters that attacked us last night will likely come back as early as tonight."

The three triplets drop their grins at once.

"What do—"

"—you suggest—"

"—we do?"

She taps a hoof in deep thought. "Well," she begins. "I'll tell you what we can do." She turns her head to Spike. "Spike, I need you to go get me a copy of 'Enhancement of the Unicorn Magics, Vol. 2' from the Library, please."

Spike is looking up at the ceiling. Twilight raises an eyebrow and, tracing his line of sight, joins Spike in marveling at the chair and coffee table that are on the ceiling. On the table is a mug of coffee producing steam that travels downward. She wonders how they did not notice this the moment they entered the office. Spike snaps out of his trance.

"I'm sorry, I was, uh, the... coffee's defying physics. What did you want?"

Twilight shakes her head. "I need you to get me a copy of 'Enhancement of the Unicorn Magics, Vol. 2.'"

Spike looks at Twilight as if she had told him to do something ridiculous for her own amusement. She returns it with an ugly look. They've already had talks about Spike's growing rebellion, and Twilight had already made it abundantly clear that she will not tolerate Spike being insubordinate. He sniffs.

"Dirt Nap blew up the Library, remember? And even before that, you already lent the only copy of that book we had. And even then, why couldn't we just teleport to the Library instead of just having me go there?"

Twilight's eyes snap open and her face reddens in embarrassment. "Oh. R-Right." She grins, hoping that Spike didn't suspect that she was about to lecture him on obedience again.

The triplets then walk over to one of the bookshelves. Ear removes a giant book and opens it, revealing another, smaller book inside, and hoofs the smaller book to Nose. Nose opens that book, and reveals an even smaller book inside. He hoofs it to Throat, who opens it to reveal a copy of "Enhancement of the Unicorn Magics, Vol. 2."

"We borrowed—"

"—this book—"

"—a while ago," say the triplets.

Throat gives the book to the puzzled purple unicorn before him. He smiles charmingly at Twilight as her eyes slowly go from his to the book. She opens it and instead of finding a smaller book inside like she half-expects, she is pleased to see the volume has not been tampered with.

"We haven't had time to—"

"—read very much—"

"—of it, though," they say. Then in unison: "It's a shame, really."

The triplets' absurdity leaves Twilight speechless. Setting her confusion aside, she flips to the chapter she was looking for, and finds the spell she needs.

"All right," she says, "See this circle?"

The triplets look at the picture she indicates. It is an intricately-drawn circle with words from an arcane language inscribed on the rim.

"This is an Empowerment Circle. Drawing it correctly will enhance your magic spells. You can use any sort of Magic Powders for this circle, but Whisperdust and Sand of Time both work the best. Stand in the middle—" (she looks up to the triplets and eyes them fiercely) "—and don't mess up the circle when you do or you have to start over again! Stand in the middle of one of these and it should multiply your power depending on which Powder you use."

She sets the book on their desk, next to the toy telephone, the Empowerment Circle page face-up. "Study this," she instructs. "There are still some shops where you can find the Whisperdust or Sand of Time you need to make three of these, one for each of you. Heck, I'll lend you some of mine if it survived Dirt Nap's attack. Point is, you guys need to make a forcefield big enough to encompass all of Ponyville, and you need to make them last all night every time you cast it."

The triplets all nod in unison.

"Good," Twilight says as she makes her way to the door. Spike, who had fallen from her back when she instructed the triplets, grumbles as he follows her out the office. "See you guys tomorro," she calls over her shoulder. "And work on that spell!"

After she leaves, the triplets all look to each other. "Show of hooves!" Throat exclaims. "Think I got a shot with her?"

No hooves are shown. Throat groans.

"But she is—"

"—quite a cutie—"

"—isn't she?"

---

Outside, the rain has stopped. The sunshine comes down in shafts as the clouds reluctantly break away from each other above. The fingers of light stroke the remains of Sweet Apple Acres.

As she walks through the welcoming gate, Applejack is greeted by the damage Dirt Nap has done. Many apple trees were burned away completely. Much of the grass is now charred dirt. The cornfields had thankfully survived, but their bread and butter—the apple orchard—is decimated.

Over there, among the ashen apple trees, is Granny Smith. The look on her face and in her eyes is just as heavy and destroyed as the rest of Sweet Apple Acres. This land was her father's land. She and her children and her children's children all grew up here, worked here to make it a bigger, better place.

And all it took was one night, one disgruntled grave digger to bring it all down.

Suddenly, Applejack is torn from her thoughts by barking and mooing. She looks in the direction they came from, and smiles at the sight of her loyal pet dog, Winona, running with the cattle to greet them as if they'd been away for years.

Applejack finds her face on the receiving end of Winona's affections. "Arright, Winona, arright! Ah'm OK, you 'kin simmer down now!" she laughs. Winona yips in glee when Applejack sets her down to speak to Daisy Jo, the de facto leader of the cattle.

"Sorry Ah didn't warn y'all 'bout the fires," Applejack says, her voice now becoming more solemn.

Daisy Jo nods understandingly. "That's all right, Applejack. Winona here gave us fair 'nuff warning 'afore that creep set fire t'the barn, don'tcha know."

Applejack gives Winona a celebratory pet-down while gushing about what a good dog she is, how brave she was to lead the cattle to safety from that mean ole' grave digger. She looks back up to Daisy Jo. Then to the orchard, where Granny Smith stands, simply observing the extent of the damage.

Daisy Jo leans in and whispers into Applejack's ear. "I think yer granny could use some words of encouragement right now, eh?" Applejack glances to Daisy Jo, then nods. With a small sigh, she joins Granny Smith in the remains of the apple orchard.

For a long while, there is silence. Winona looks to Daisy Jo and lets out a small whimper.

"Y'know," Granny Smith begins, "b'lieve it 'r not, this orchard's been in worse places than right now."

Silence. Applejack nods, slowly. Granny Smith does not know how deep this all goes. About Dracula. What he is, and what he will do. She doesn't know that Dracula won't stop at just this orchard, this town. She doesn't know what horrible things are going to happen, to her immediate family, to her other relatives.

And neither does Applejack. Not really. The fact that she doesn't really know scares her.

She takes a long breath. "Ah'm... Granny Smith, Ah'm mighty glad yer tryin'na be optimistic, at least. It ain't no small thing to take, watchin' yer livelihood git burnt to the ground."

"Big Macintosh took it hardest, Ah think," Granny Smith says quietly, still remembering Big Macintosh's face as he led both her and Apple Bloom to the Hospital. As he watched the grave digger set ablaze the farm where he was born. That look of utter... vulnerability. Granny Smith has only seen Big Macintosh make that face only a hoofful of times, and it breaks her heart every time she sees it.

The old mare shifted her weight from one side to the other. "Kinda th'reason he stayed b'hind in Ponyville t'look fer survivors. T'be honest, Ah'm..."

Applejack looked to her grandmother thoughtfully, waiting for her to finish her sentence, but knowing she would not. Her eyes went back to the remains of their orchard. Granny Smith cannot find the words to describe how she feels about her family being attacked, to be wounded this way.

She can't find the words to describe this, simply because there aren't any.

There are no words to describe the destruction of something you work your whole life for. What your children and your children's children work their whole lives for. There are no words to describe the kind of person or creature who would willingly destroy that something of yours without a second thought.

There just aren't.

Applejack feels a lick at her leg and looks down to see Winona. When she realizes she has her missy's attention, Winona sits and looks up to her forlornly. Even though she is merely a dog, Winona seems to understand the gravity of this situation. Her beautiful dark brown eyes ask if they're really going to be okay.

"We'll rebuild," Granny Smith says, finally, compounding her sentence with a nod. "We'll recover."

Applejack looks to her grandmother, fighting her tears. "B-But... but it'd take years b'fore any new trees'll produce any more apples. Y'might..." Her voice drops to a whisper, dreading what she is about to say. "Y'might not live long 'nuff t'see this orchard git back up on her hooves."

Silence. Granny Smith nods again, this time slowly, her eyes going back to the damaged orchard. "Very possible," she agrees. "But... You kids were allus gunna outlive me. Ah'm fine with it. I wannit t'leave this orchard in capable hooves, and tain't no hooves more capable'n you grandkids'a mine."

Granny Smith puts one hoof on her granddaughter's shoulder and wipes away a tear she spots in Applejack's eye. A wrinkly smile envelops her face. "Promise me, AJ. We're gunna survive this. We're fam'ly. Fam'ly allus pulls through."

A smile works its way onto Applejack's lips.

"Yerright. And we will." She nuzzles her grandmother. "Ah promise."

---

A lonely wind brushes across Big Macintosh's mane as he searches the remains of Ponyville, calling out to see if anypony is still there. He could not find it in his heart to see the extent of the damage to his farm, to his home. Yet, here he is, looking at the rest of the damage done. He's forgotten that Sweet Apple Acres is only a small part of his home.

This town—all of it—is his home. And all of it is gone. Rubble. Ruins. Ashes. Bodies. All this takes the place of the warmth and safety Ponyville once possessed.

He stops for a moment when he hears some shuffling coming out of a building. His green eyes spot a pony exiting a fallen-in shop. This survivor is scruffy and dirty, looking scared out of his wits. Big Macintosh tries to remember this guy's name: blue coat, white-ish mane, unicorn... that safety-pin cutie mark. "Pokey Pierce?" he asks.

Pokey Pierce slows down to a stop before Big Macintosh, looking up at him. "Um, yeah," he says quietly, looking around at the damage. "That's me." He looks back to the larger stallion. "Big Macintosh, right?"

"Eeyup."

"Hey, uh, if you're here, then there's—so there's all these other ponies around town... right now, trying to look for survivors, right?" asks Pokey Pierce in a shaky voice.

"Eeyup."

"I'm OK, no injuries. So... M-Maybe, maybe, uh, w-we should go? Together. And look for other survivors?"

"Eeyup."

Pokey nods, smiling. It's a smile Big Macintosh has seen before on different ponies, but it all means the same thing. Pokey Pierce is fighting the urge to break down and cry. Applejack held the same smile when she told their parents goodbye. Seeing it makes Big Macintosh want to break down and cry a little himself.

"Okay!" Pokey says, relieved. He walks alongside the larger stallion, his body language becoming more relaxed, yelling for anypony to come out if they're still alive. Big Macintosh sees a familiar body here, another familiar body there... all ponies, killed because they were too slow to escape. He almost steps over one like he's just stepping over trash, but stops. Out of respect, Big Macintosh solemnly walks around it.

They walk by the Library, or what remains of it. Half of it is gone, reduced to ash and rubble, while the rest of it is a mess from the rain. "Twilight's not gonna be happy about that," comments Pokey.

"Nnnope."

Big Macintosh's eyes snap to attention when he sees movement inside the Library. He calls out, and a unicorn mare pops her head out from a window.

He is stunned by the pure, marble white of her coat and mane. Her face is beautiful and delicate-looking, almost queenly. Her rosy eyes lock onto him, and a relieved smile appears on her face. She runs out of the hole in the Library's side, and as she comes closer, he notices the dirt and grime on her coat, sullying its beauty. On her flanks, behind a set of saddlebags, is a fleet of red stars.

"Oh, th-thank s-s-—thank sssss—thuh-thank C-Celestia!" the mare says. Her voice is deep but timid, and her stutter seems to draw out words to be twice as long as they are supposed to be. "I was wuh-wondering when I'd fuh-f-find oth-other p-p-ponies!"

She nuzzles both Pokey and Macintosh. "You OK?" asks Pokey. Macintosh notices his timidity has dissipated, and has been replaced by something much more macho. He smirks.

"Y-Yes, I'm f-fine. J-Just s-s-s—just, s-s-suh-sssome bumps and b-bruises."

"Then come with us. We're looking for more survivors."

The mare breathes deep and blushes cutely, as if surprised Pokey would ask such a request. "Oh! Um, th-thank you f-for having me ab-aboard, Mr..."

Pokey places a hoof on her shoulder, reassuringly. "Please, ma'am, call me Pierce." He jerked his head to Macintosh. "Andthishere'sBigMacintoshhedoesn'tspeakmuch."

Big Macintosh decides to thwart Pokey's attempts at being dashing. "Ah 'kin speak just fine, POKEY."

Pokey's face falls as the mare puts a hoof to her mouth and giggles. "P-Pokey," she says. "That's a—th-that's a cute name, I l-like it!" Pokey looks to Big Macintosh triumphantly.

"What's your name, sweet pea?" asks Mac.

"Marble." She grins and laughs nervously. "I-I'm an artist f-from Fill-Fuh-Fillydelph-Fil-Filladelph-fuh-fer..." She takes a deep breath and enunciates every syllable of the word: "Fil-ly-del-phi-a." She giggles at her own inability to form a word as Pokey and Macintosh smile. "I was here t-to, to get s-suh—to get s—for fresh air, and ins-inssspiration f-for my next work."

Pokey's eyes widen as well as his smile. "An artist, huh? What do you make?"

Marble looks away shyly as Pokey asks his question. She laughs, and both stallions find it a beautiful sound, like church bells chiming from far away. "Oh, j-just, y'know, p-paintings and sc-scuh-sculptures, and other th-things." She looks around, surveying the damage. "Looks like I chose a b-buh-bad time."

The group begins to travel onward again, Pokey quietly telling Marble that she's OK so long as she's with him—er, them.

As they continue through the town, looking for survivors, Big Macintosh entertains himself by watching Pokey Pierce try to impress Marble through his macho behavior. She seems to find him as amusing as he does, and they often share aside glances to each other when Pokey fumbles his act.

The sun is approaching noon when they come across a mound of pony bodies. The stench and sight are equally horrific, empty eyes staring in no direction, mouths hanging open without the sound of breathing...

Big Macintosh hears Marble let out a gasp, and turns his head to see she has turned away and shuddered, sticking a hoof into her mouth to silence a scream. The color has gone out of Pokey's face.

He looks ahead to see a friend of his, Caramel, dragging a corpse to the pile. Big Macintosh gets his attention nearly right away, and Caramel explains what they're doing.

"Mayor's orders," he tells them. "Since this town was attacked by zombies, we need to gather all the bodies we can find and burn them to make sure they don't rise again." He looks at the pile before them depressingly as another survivor lays another body on top of the pile.

"It just... keeps getting bigger and bigger," he says with a sigh.

Comments

[link4588]

"Andthishere'sBigMacintoshhedoesn'tspeakmuch."

Don't forget to use spaces.

[Kamineigh]

I'm pretty curious as to what has happened to Cheerilee. Seems like the kind of thing Big Mac would worry about.

[Timuri]

Just how quickly Mac and Pokey seem enamored with Marble throws up some big red flags, given current circmstances. She could be perfectly normal and truthful, but the spangle of red stars for a cutie mark and Mac immediately remarking on her extraordinary beauty also makes me think of one of Dracula's favored types of minions: succubi.

[Brony_Fife]

8364402
HHHHMMMM. EYE DEW INDEED WUNDER WHYYY.