Ark: Friendship is Survival

by Pomp-Neigh

Chapter 44 - Battle For Ponyville Pt:4

-INSTALLATION: EQUUS-

-Ponyville-

Starlight Glimmer and a plethora of other survivors from Twilight Sparkle’s castle are running with absolute haste through the town and towards the direction of Canterlot. Batted breaths can be heard from the retreating group, but what can also be heard are the monstrous groans from the wave of infected that chased them.

The light-purple unicorn looks over her right shoulder, terror present in her eyes. Behind her are some of her fellow ponies, three kirin, a duo of deer, a buffalo, a changeling, and the muscle-bound form of Iron Will. But beyond them are the horrors themselves. Grotesque abominations that are a mockery of the being they once were, almost akin to a typical zombie apocalypse, although also unique in its own way.

“Don’t look back, Starlight!” Big Mac exclaims, running alongside the unicorn. “Same goes for all of yahs! Just keep run’n!”

“This is bad! This is bad! This is so, so bad!” Screams Autumn Blaze, located behind the former duo.

“Thanks, Captain Obvious!” Limestone Pie angrily retorts, located beside the kirin. “What gave you that idea, huh?! The hot temperature, the sky breaking apart, or the Luna damned monsters behind-” Her eyes widen, “Look out!”

[Rachachacha!]

The world goes into slow motion, and the small form of a Noglin can be seen in the middle of a leap, its open maw and luminous elongated purple tongue prepared to attach itself upon Autumn Blaze.

Autumn could only look upward in horror, but a combination of fur and feathers enters her view, followed by an extended hind leg that collides with the Noglin, causing the entity to let loose its own form of a yelp.

Derpy Hooves grits her teeth as she sends the Noglin rolling away, following her heroic strike. “Not today!”

“Great job, funny-eyed one! Iron Will is impressed!” The minotaur comments. Located at the retreating group's rear with the buffalo, the other two kirin, and the duo of deer at his side.

Derpy nods in response, flying above the group with the changeling, and Autumn Blaze expresses her gratitude by repeatedly saying:

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

They all continued to flee for a few more moments until a series of magical blasts was let loose from the infected behind them who possessed magical properties.

“Oh, come on!” Limestone shouts, ducking her head as a sphere of energy careens past her.

“I can’t cast a magic barrier around us!” Starlight cries out. “My magic is incredibly low!”

At the group’s rear, both the deer folk and kirin come to a stop before turning to face the hoard. No words were spoken, but they all came to a unified decision.

“We’ll hold them off!” Shouts a light-brown kirin mare while a dark grey mare stands beside her.

The rest of the group comes to a sudden stop at a distance of just 10 feet ahead. In tandem, the two deer folk’s antlers glow with a blue and green hue before a wall of greenery and thorns is erected. On the opposite side of this wall, the magical projectiles from the hoard collide with it. And soon after, the infected ram themselves into the obstacle.

“Fern Flare, Blossom Burst!” Autumn exclaims with an extended forehoof.

“Leave us!” Shouts one of the struggling deer as several heads of infected entities can be seen breaking through the wall.

However, a series of flying infected entities, notably changelings, pegasi, griffons, and a single dragon, is seen flying over the obstacle and en route with bared teeth and glowing lavender eyes.

In response, another individual breaks away from the group: the changeling. Thus leaving behind Starlight, Derpy, Big Mac, Iron Will, Autumn Blaze, Limestone, and the buffalo.

The changeling proceeds to transform into a large green dragon before taking flight and combating their flying foes. All the while, a small collective of infected managed to break through the erected wall, to which both Fern Flare and Blossom Burst engulfed their bodies in flames and charged forth. As for the deer, their antlers stopped glowing before both pants in exhaustion.

As for the remainder of the group, a loud exclamation from Iron Will beckoned them, albeit hesitantly, to progress forward without their allies. And as Starlight turned back once more while the group retreated towards the town’s end, the large green dragon that was the changeling finally fell to the earth - covered in infected flyers.

Starlight could only imagine the horrors that befell the others as she turned her head forth with closed eyes and whispers:

“I’m so sorry…”

“Of course…” Starlight comments with irritation, peeking around the corner of a building while everyone else stands behind her, leaning against the yellow wall. “Just our luck.”

The group had finally reached the end of Ponyville, but now they faced yet another gathering of infected. But unlike the last, this one stood in their way as the masses blocked the path.

“W-what’ll we do, Miss. Starlight?” Derpy inquires.

The unicorn turns her gaze towards them, “I’m not sure, Derpy. And uh, heh, you can drop the ‘Miss.’” She places a forehoof to her chin, “If I had my magic back, I could’ve teleported us out of here in no time.” She sighs. “Some student of Twilight Sparkle I am.”

“Hey now, don’t go beating yourself up,” Autumn Blaze comments. “Your quick thinking is what got us this far. Now, I’m sure that if we can just put our heads together, we can come up with something.”

“You’re awfully enthusiastic,” Limestone comments annoyingly, blowing her mane out of her face.

“What can I say?” The kirin responds. “It’s how I cope.” She finishes with a smile.

“Yeah?” The rock family mare responds before baring her teeth, “Try watching your loved ones get mauled by those freaks, only for them to get back up as one of those things. Let’s see how you ‘cope’ after seeing that.”

Autmun Blaze’s grin drops, and her eyes are cast downward in sadness, “I just did.”

Limestone stares at the kirin for a moment before turning away with a snort.

“Were those kirin back there family of yours?” Iron Will inquires. “Iron Will gives his sincere sympathies.”

“Not by blood, no,” Autumn responds after sighing. “But that doesn’t matter to us kirin. Everykirin in the village is family, blood ties or not.”

“Ah un’rstand that all too well,” Big Mac states. “Speaking of which. Starlight, ah wanted to thank ya fer taking Sugar Belle to safety. Words can’ even express how grateful ah am.”

“Of course,” Starlight responds with a smile. “She was due for a foal for Celestia’s sake. There’s no way any sane creature wouldn’t make sure she was among the first to get out.”

“I hope Dinky is okay,” Derpy comments with worry plastered on her features.

“I’m sure that she is,” Starlight responds. “She and the other young ones were top priority for our evacuation efforts.”

“Haven’t you regained your magic?” The male buffalo suddenly comments, looking towards Starlight. This causes everyone else present to turn towards him. “I thought magic ponies regain their power like river and rainfall.”

“Oh, so you can talk,” Autumn said happily. “I was curious since you were silent all this time. Trust me, staying silent all the time is not fun. Oh, did you drink from a magic river, too?”

“Ugh,” Limestone groans. “She’s almost as bad as Pinkie Pie…” Limestone’s expression loosens upon saying that name, and she looks downward.

-I hope you’re doing better than we are, sis…-

-INSTALLATION: THE ISLAND-

“AH-CHOO!” Pinkie Pie sneezes as she and a certain AI stand on a beach outside of Sanctuary in the early morning.

“You ok there, love?” HLN-A inquires.

“Yeah, I think so,” The mare responds as she rubs her muzzle and snout. “I just got a really bad feeling, is all.”

“Hmm. In that case, we should keep a good lookout.”

“Yeah. The last time I felt this one was when that Sarco ate me.”

“Yikes!” HLN-A displays a snapping gator on their visor. “That was incredibly unfortunate, and it was hard to watch. But at least Rainbow and Vanellope pulled through for you all in the end.”

“And that’s why I’m going to throw them a big ‘Congratulations for beating Helena’s Challenge' party! Of course, that’s after the ‘Welcome to the Tribe, Vanellope!’ party, which is looong overdue!”

HLN-A bursts out into laughter, “You ponies are too much. Come along then; the others are tracking down that Lvl 57 Male Pteranodon. You know, since the last one you guys tried to tame fell into the ocean unconsciously.”

“Okie dokie yokily!” The pink mare responds as she hops alongside the floating AI while they continue to trek down the coast. "I can’t wait for Rainbow Dash to wake up! All those berries I left for her will make her all nice and stuffy!”

The duo continues to chat along the way, completely unaware of Equus’s current hardships. But unbeknownst to them both, a small monkey had been watching them from the treeline.

-INSTALLATION: EQUUS-

"Hang on," Starlight comments in realization. "What you said just now, uh, what was your name again?" She questions the buffalo with a raised forelimb.

“Silent Gorge,” The buffalo responds.

-Huh, that explains it,- She says internally. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Silent Gorge. Now then, what you’ve said has made me realize something. Granted, I’m not quite as analytical as Twilight, but-”

“Just skip to the end,” Limestone interjects, keeping her voice down. “Or did we all forget that there’s a hoard of monsters around the corner?”

Starlight is momentarily taken aback by this before clearing her throat. “In short: my magic hasn’t been regenerating ever since the sky broke apart.”

“Hey, now that you mention it,” Autumn Blaze responds. “Mine hasn’t been doing that either. It’s just… stagnant?” She shrugs.

“Exactly,” Starlight starts, raising a forehoof to her chin. “That can’t be a coincid-” Her eyes shoot wide open, “Oh, sweet Celestia…”

“What?” Everyone else, aside from Silent Gorge, questions in unison.

“Everycreature, the atmosphere of Equus is also filled with magic particles. It’s what we breathe in practically our entire lives that gives us our abilities. Pegasi moving clouds, earth ponies growing crops, unicorns performing spells, all of it,” She emphasizes by spreading her forelimbs apart while sitting on her flank. “This includes restoring our reserves while we rest.”

“Very well assessed, mate! Although, instead of magic particles, it's actually called Element.”

“AAAAHHHH!” The group screams as a whole.

Both Starlight and Autumn Blaze fall over while Derpy takes shelter behind Silent Gorge, who just looks on stoically. Limestone Pie hid behind big Mac, but a certain minotaur had also tried to conceal himself behind the Apple - to which Limestone raises an eyebrow with an expression that reads: ‘Really?’

“Oops! Sorry for the scare, everyone,” HLN-A comments sheepishly, a face sticking out a tongue present on their visor. “I picked up your heat signatures on my scanners, although I’m truly sorry we couldn’t get here sooner.”

Everyone was still recovering from their horror to appropriately respond, save for Silent Gorge.

“As for the infected, well, you might feel a commotion in three… two… one…” HLN-A presents the countdown on their visor.

On cue, the infected begin to roar out, but the sounds of firing cannons silence these roars immediately. A rumbling in the earth ensues afterward, which prompts the entire group to run around the corner of the building, and their eyes widen when they see what’s responsible for the commotion: Giant mechanized equines. Afterward, many dropped implants are drawn towards the Stryders through magnetism where the infected once stood. A specialized compartment opens up on every equine-like entity, of which the implants are stored away.

HLN-A floats before the ever-stunned group, “Everyone, meet the Stryders! Led by your local Ponyville resident: Lyra Heartstrings!”

In addition, a series of spinning mechanical pillars appear out of thin air. And following the technological anomalies, other mechanized forces are manifested as a result.

These entities began to march in unison while the smaller flying mechanisms soared through the air. All while the giant Stryders towered above the infected buildings.

“Ah! And it looks like Discord sent us some Defence Units and Attack Drones! Excellent! This infection is as good as gone!”

As the newly arrived force started to enact their programming, beams of energy being let loose by Stryders which washes away the infection, both Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon can be seen approaching the group.

“Survivors,” Lyra starts. “My apologies for the delay, but we’re here to deal with this outbreak. Please evacuate the-”

“No!” Limestone interjects, stomping towards Lyra. “If these things can fight back against this nasty stuff, then I want in!”

“Miss. Pie, you can’t-”

“Don’t you dare try to tell me that I can’t fight!” Limestone roars out as her face is mere inches away from Lyra’s. “Give me something to fight with and I’ll prove it,” Limestone points a forelimb towards Bon Bon, “I’m not stupid; she’s been flying around with that fancy armor this whole time.”

“Look, if you would please just-”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses or-”

“Limestone Pie!” Lyra interjects, which causes the Pie family member’s ears to fold against her head. “I wasn’t going to say any of that! So please let me speak!” Lyra continues with a more comforting tone. “I was actually gonna say, and this goes for all of you…”

The magic-lime mare looks towards a nearby Stryder before her eyes flash yellow and gold. A compartment opens up on the mech’s side before several pieces of Tek Armor float toward them. Each piece of equipment is noticeably tailored to each species present: buffalo, kirin, minotaur, and pony.

As everyone looked upon these with awe, Lyra formed a smirk on her muzzle before stating:

“Suit up. We’ve got an infection to be rid of.”

"Wait, Lyra, what about the monster responsible for all of this?" Bon Bon inquires as she leans into the unicorn.

"Oh, don't worry. The CMC will get what's coming to it," Lyra responds. "Megan's already found them."

"Wow! Look up there!" Derpy Hooves exclaims as she points in the direction of Canterlot.

In the skies, a large collective of beings from nearly every race on Equus is approaching Ponyville, their Tek Armor's jet pack carrying them forth. At least when it came to those who naturally couldn't fly. Many familiar faces can be seen among the masses such as every member of the Wonderbolts, leaders of the other nations, Pillars of Equestria, well-known guards, established nobles like Fancy Pants, Fleur de Lis, and shockingly, Blueblood.

HLN-A looked up to the sky with a happy face emoji present on their visor.

"Helena... I hope you're getting a nice view of this."

Comments

[Loganic]

Extras don’t get permission to survive.

[Theone23]

11213671

Although, now that there's a lot of famous ponies and beings from the show, I think some names are getting crossed off.

[Loganic]

11213673
Named extras die even worse then normal ones.

[DatGuy1st]

Pfft-HAHAHAHA! Thanks for adding Blueblood there😂. Excited to see some of them thinking, "Prince Blueblood? Reliable???"

[Pomp-Neigh]

11213671
😂

On a side note, don’t think that famous characters are safe. 😉

[Pomp-Neigh]

11213706

[Legioner8]

11213671
images3.memedroid.com/images/UPLOADED289/5751a989682bb.jpeg

but a combination of fur and feathers enters her view, followed by an extended hind leg that collides with the Noglin, causing the entity to let loose its own form of a welp.
Derpy Hooves grits her teeth as she sends the Noglin rolling away, following her heroic strike. “Not today!”

derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/8/11/697064.gif

and shockingly, Blueblood.

Blueblood is picking up the slack for the transgressions of his counterpart in your other story?

[demondude123]

an extended hind leg that collides with the Noglin, causing the entity to let loose its own form of a welp.

---

I believe that's supposed to be "yelp", not "whelp".

[Pomp-Neigh]

11214317
Ah, thanks for that! It was meant to be yelp, but brain died.

[demondude123]

11214392

Eh, no worries, happens to the best of us.

[Pomp-Neigh]

11214228
😂