Search & Rescue
“How’s it coming along, Scootaloo?” The pegasus looked up from her work at the changeling across from her. A quick glance down at the paper in front of her let her gauge the progress of her work. The sun streamed in through the window in hers and Cheerilee’s room, hitting the white sheet of paper and making her squint just a bit to get a better look.
It wasn’t anything special, just a get well card she was making for Rainbow Dash. It was a drawing of them together flying through a cloudy sky. At first she had them in a sunny sky but she was sick of the sun so she was pretty sure Dash was too. It wasn’t her best work, she’d say that much. Crayons were limited and she was missing the red from Rainbow’s mane and she ran out of green too...but it was the thought that mattered, right?
“I guess it’s done.” Scootaloo took her good hoof and placed it near the middle of the page and brought her broken one up to try to fold it. The pain wasn’t too strong like when she tried to put weight on it, but it still kept her from accomplishing her task. “Elytra can you...help me fold this?”
“Sure thing!” With a smile the changeling’s horn lit up in the familiar green light. It lifted the paper up in the air, creased it and then folded it over perfectly. When it actually looked like a card, Elytra looked it over. “She’ll love this, Scootaloo.”
“If she gets better.” Scootaloo mumbled and pulled herself to her hooves. She had to do her best to avoid putting her weight on her bad leg, which meant either keeping it bent all the time or leaning against something.
“Hey, positive thoughts.” Elytra put a cracked hoof to Scootaloo’s chin and lifted it so the filly was looking the bug in the eyes. “Nopony ever got better from being sick by ponies being miserable all the time, alright? Positivity is infectious. It makes everypony around you better and happier.”
“Well yeah you think that.” Scootaloo scoffed. “You can taste that stuff in the air!” The pegasus hobbled towards the door, but was scooped up in Elytra’s magic grasp and placed on her back. The filly blew a raspberry and slumped. “Easy to say it’s infectious when you eat the stuff.”
“Maybe.” The changeling offered as she opened the door and trotted out into the hall. “Oh right, I have something for Rainbow Dash too. Mind if we stop by my room first?” A shrug from Scootaloo altered their course as they turned and headed towards Elytra’s door. When just outside the filly was once again lifted into the air and sat on the ground. “I’ll be right back.”
“I can’t come in with you?” Scootaloo asked and craned her neck to try and get a look into the room as the door was cracked open. Elytra’s leg came in front of her face and blocked any glimpse she might’ve gotten.
“Not right now, honey.” Was the answer she received as Elytra disappeared into her room. It was an odd little thing that Scoots had picked up since the changeling had been around more, Elytra only used words like ‘honey’, ‘darling’ and ‘dear’ when she was hiding something. That sneaky bug had tried to cheat at Go Fish more than a few times using those words.
It was suspicious, but there wasn’t much she could do about it at the moment. Maybe she would talk to Cheerilee about it later. Or maybe she could get somepony’s help and break into the room to see what Elytra was hiding! That did sound fun.
“Okay, found it.” The changeling came from the room and shut the door behind her quickly, stonewalling Scootaloo’s curiosity yet again. As she picked Scootaloo up again and placed the filly on her back Scootaloo finally noticed the other thing she had in her magic.
A sphere of some kind was held aloft in the air. It was made of an inky greenish-black substance and something was swirling around inside of it. The immediate comparison would be something from the old changeling aesthetic and not the new one, very dark and gross looking.
“What is it?” Scootaloo cocked her head and reached her good hoof out to poke it. As she got close it was pulled out of her reach. The filly let out a frustrated sigh and flopped onto Elytra’s shell.
“I’ll tell you when we get there.” Elytra chided her small friend with a grin. “Patience, Scootaloo.” That only made the eyes in the frustrated filly’s head roll like marbles around a drain. She was tired of being told to be patient. “Knock knock!” Elytra called out as she reached a hoof out to Rainbow Dash’s door.
“Come in.” The somber reply came from beyond the threshold.
The pair entered and were greeted by the same view that had been unchanging since Rainbow Dash came back with Big Mac. The speedster was laying in bed, her color all but drained now, with Pinkie by her side. It was a scene that turned most hearts to stone.
“H-hey Pinkie.” Scootaloo tapped Elytra’s shoulder, prompting the changeling to place the little pony on the ground. She hobbled over to the pink pony with the card in her mouth and placed it gently on the bed beside her hero.
To say it took everything in her power not to cry would be an understatement. Her leg already throbbed almost constantly, the bruise on her back made it hard to bend or even move her wings and now her heart was aching too. She had seen Rainbow Dash hurt before, but not like this.
“Thank you, Scootaloo.” Pinkie had the card in her hooves and looked it over before opening it. “She would love this, thank you.” A rare smile came across the features of the mare, small but genuine.
“She will love it when she wakes up.” Scootaloo nodded as she spoke, determination filling her heart and voice. The statement was only met with a dying smile and a small ‘Mmm’ from Pinkie.
“Here.” Elytra placed the strange orb in the hooves of Pinkie. The mare looked it over and then looked back at the shapeshifter quizzically. “It’s a...well...we don’t have a good name for it. I always called them Hearts.” Once more Pinkie looked into the sphere and studied it at length. “Love or positive emotions are stored in it. We use them when...when changelings can’t feed themselves. When they’re sick or…” Elytra’s eyes drifted towards Rainbow as her words trailed off. “I keep some around as storage. Just extra food in case I need them.” There was a beat of silence. “I don’t know if it’ll help, but just hug it. Give it your love and place it by her. I don’t know, I just-sorry.” Elytra cleared her throat and backed up from the trio of ponies.
“No, thank you.” Pinkie Pie became suddenly entranced by the artifact, her eyes focused on it with such intensity that Scootaloo thought she might be hypnotized. “Anything for a chance…” Pinkie wrapped the small orb in a tight hug and rested her head atop it with eyes closed.
Slowly the inky swirling darkness inside the sphere faded and instead became filled with a gentle pink vortex. Scootaloo looked to Elytra, who looked just as astonished as she did. The light intensified and then softened just a bit, settling to be the same shade as Pinkie’s coat.
“I’ve never seen one do that.” Elytra finally spat out after observing the phenomenon. “Then again I don’t think I’ve ever seen one exposed to direct pony love…” Elytra hummed and her wings buzzed beneath their casing as she thought. She snapped back to attention and looked at Pinkie. “Just place it against her. It needs direct contact. I don’t know if it’ll work with ponies…”
“No no.” Pinkie sniffled as she released the Heart and put it against Rainbow Dash’s side. “Thank you, really. I...I really needed that.” Pinkie nodded as she stared at the Heart like she could will it to work its magic. “I needed something.”
----
“No Rares, y’ain’t goin’.” Applejack was joined at the door of the castle by the usual suspects; Cheerilee, Big Mac, Rarity, Meriwether and Bon Bon. She and Big Mac were all geared up and ready to head out to get Sweetie Belle, but there was a whining roadblock at the moment.
“She is my sister, Applejack.” Rarity retorted, shooting icy daggers at her friend. “You know I can handle myself, remember Canterlot?” The example only drew an exasperated sigh from the earth pony. “Look, Sunburst even let me borrow his inhibitor ring thingy so I will not turn into one of those things.”
“Ah don’t care!” Applejack spat back at the seamstress-turned-nurse. “Y’ain’t goin’ out there and that’s that. Ah ain’t...Ah ain’t riskin’ it.” The mare’s fire died a little as worry and fear gripped her heart and voice. “Ah ain’t riskin’ you, alright? Don’t make me lose another friend, Rarity.”
“Well what about you?” The unicorn softened her voice as she reached out and rested a hoof on her friend’s cheek. “None of us want to lose you, darling. Without you...this place would have fallen apart long ago.” Applejack leaned against the hoof and just sighed.
Nopony else spoke. Interrupting such a personal moment in times like these seemed cruel. To see the two mares soften and let their guard down, even for just a moment, was something that needed to happen.
“Ah…” Applejack pursed her lips and thought for a moment. “Ah’ll be okay, Ah promise. Mac and me got the most experience fightin’ these things and gettin’ across town is gonna be dangerous.” She gently pushed Rarity’s hoof away and the determination returned to her eyes. “We’ll be good, Ah promise. We’re gonna get back here with Sweetie in no time.”
“You better or else I’ll never forgive you!” Rarity harrumphed and stuck her nose in the air. “I mean it, Applejack!” With a chuckle the earth pony gave her friend one last hug and smiled. “Oh, and take this.” The aforementioned inhibitor ring was deposited around AJ’s neck on the end of a necklace. “You’ll need it, no doubt.” Applejack waved her brother over and the two set out.
They had determined to avoid the bulk of the town at all costs, as it seemed more and more unicorns from out of town were pouring in each day. From her perch on the balcony AJ had noted that they never seemed to stray too far from that hole they were digging, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Almost immediately out of the castle they veered hard right. Going off towards the schoolhouse and then cutting through the west orchard wouldn’t be the quickest way to the Crusader’s clubhouse, but it would be the safest relative to the rest of the town.
“Y’okay?” Big Mac’s bass filled tones floated through the air as they walked. Applejack walked on his left, her brother’s new blind side to better help him in a pinch.
“S’pose not.” Applejack replied quietly with a deep sigh. “Y’ever feel like...like maybe you shouldn’t be around? Ah mean, like you shouldn’t have survived this long?” Applejack couldn’t hold that feeling back anymore. It was morbid, but it was eating away at her soul like a starving rat.
“With Granny, yeah.” Mac looked off in the direction of their home and took a deep long breath. “Felt Ah coulda got her somewhere, Ah dunno.” His voice quieted, fear creeping into the edges. “Thought you and Bloom died for a good while. Thought Ah was the last one. Kept me up at night, made me think a lot of nasty thoughts, AJ.” She could only nod, her brother now a mirror to own thoughts. “Kept holdin’ out hope though, Ah knew y’all were still out there and would fix this mess sooner or later.”
“You really believe that, Mac?” Applejack wasn’t sure if she even believed in that anymore. Things were looking good, but there had been so many moments of hope recently that were squashed like bugs underhoof.
“Gotta.” Was Mac’s simple reply.
As the two Apples made their way around the outskirts of town they stuck to the shadows and cut through buildings when they could. Staying out in the sun for too long at this point was a health hazard. It felt like the hottest summer day on record twenty-four seven and even the shade still felt downright boiling.
There were no unicorns though, not any that they ran into anyways. If there were any of the monsters they were probably holed up in the buildings to endure the harsh sunlight as well. Neither of them would complain about the absence though. The only thing that they would complain about was Twilight’s conspicuous absence, it never felt right or safe when you couldn’t see or hear the alicorn.
When they got to the schoolhouse, it was in a much worse state than when anypony had last seen it. Large swaths of the walls were missing, the telltale signs of magic scarring the edifice.
“Looks like Trixie got out and wasn’t too happy about that…” Applejack commented as her senses kicked into a heightened state. These marks weren’t fresh, but there was no telling if Trixie was still around.
“Eeyup.”
The two gave Cheerilee’s former place of employment a wide berth nonetheless. They walked down the dirt road that split off from the schoolhouse and trotted off towards their old home. It wasn’t even a couple of minutes before they were in the midst of their orchard.
Every tree was dead. The leaves were wilted and piles of fallen and rotted apples gathered at their bases. The trained eyes of the two apple farmers could spot that there were no saving the trees now. If there was a life after this...everything would have to be chopped down, uprooted, and replanted.
Generations of work, melted under the hot sun above. If the mood of the siblings had not been so down before, it was bottomed out now.
CRACK-BOOOOOM
Both ponies' heads whipped in the direction of the thunderous noise that shattered the stillness of the day. It came from Canterlot. Far in the distance the mountain stood proudly, rising above the rest of the country and the tip piercing the sky. It’s usually perfect visage was obscured through an all-out assault.
Three shapes, all varying in size, circled the royal city. Beams of lights erupted from their horns and focused on the alabaster structures beneath them. Even from this far away one could see the monumental and once thought indestructible features of Canterlot crumble and fade beneath the trio of blasts.
From the heart of Ponyville a howl went up and joined in the chorus of destruction. If Applejack was a paranoid pony, she would’ve said it sounded like a cheer from the unicorns in town. A celebration of a victory, primal and full-throated.
“Don’t like the sound of that.” Mac echoed AJ’s thoughts perfectly once more.
“No, but at least Twilight is over there and not in town.” It was maybe a bit insensitive to whatever ponies might’ve been left in Canterlot, but Applejack couldn’t care about them at the moment. Their local alicorn being out of town meant an easier day for them.
The two Apples trotted through their orchards, only the faraway sounds of Canterlot’s demolition keeping them company. It was still thunderous, chunks of the castle tumbling down the side of the ancient mountain and into the valley below echoing throughout all of Equestria.
The raucous din was accompanied by not-so-distant growls from up ahead. The Apple duo slowed their pace as they came closer and closer to the sounds of feral unicorns. A few pops of magic spells leaving horns followed, letting both ponies know that this was combat.
If the unicorns were fighting something, that meant survivors.
Big Mac and Applejack broke into a dead sprint, weaving through trees and piles of rotten apples. The beating of AJ’s heart reached a fever pitch as they crested a hill that overlooked the east orchard. Below them was carnage.
The bodies of dozens of pegasi were spread out amongst the trees. There were none that Applejack recognized so they weren’t local, they had come from somewhere else. There was still one fighting, a yellow mare with a mane of fire backed into the branches of a tree. Two unicorns were at the base, reared up on their back hooves and snapping at the pegasus. Bolts of magic flew from their horns and were just barely missing their target.
“You take the left.” Applejack ordered, her eyes narrowing. She received a nod from her brother and the two ponies jumped into action.
Applejack was the first to reach her opponent. She slammed into the unicorn, a mare she didn’t recognize with a white coat and a pastel pink mane, with the force of a runaway train. Her hooves skidded across the bare dirt and kicked up a cloud of dust as the monster tumbled through the dead orchard.
The other feral, another mare with a pale yellow coat and a red and purple mane, turned on Applejack and growled. It had taken a single step before Big Mac’s oversized hoof connected with its face. The monster was sent into a spin from the impact as it thudded against a tree behind it. Judging by the way its neck was turned, AJ assumed the thing wasn’t getting up again.
The farmpony turned her focus back towards the first unicorn, the lanky white one, and flared her nostrils. It had gotten back up and was charging up another blast. She opted to run straight at the beast instead of being too fancy. A bolt left the horn and Applejack hit the deck and slid on one of her back legs. She popped up, still keeping her speed and headbutted the unicorn as hard as she could.
“Mac!” Applejack repositioned as quickly as she could and cocked her rear legs back. Like two pistons, they fired and connected with the unicorn's side and sent it careening towards her brother.
Big Mac rose up on his hind legs, now taller than even Celestia herself, and opened his front legs like he was going in for a hug. The feral hit his chest and he wrapped the tree trunks he had for legs around the much slimmer frame of the monster. The stallion lifted it off of the ground and leaned back, bridging his back as he fell and slammed the unicorn into the dirt in the most violent suplex Applejack had seen in a long while. Big Mac stood again, raised a hoof and dropped it on the unicorn’s hoof. If it wasn’t dead, it was out cold at the very least.
“W-wow…” The pegasus in the tree remarked between raspy breaths. Uneasy hooves tried to find purchase on dead bark and the battered bird practically fell out of the tree. She got to her hooves, just barely, and faced her saviors.
It wasn’t until now that it dawned on Applejack who they had just saved. The coat and mane should’ve given it away, but the mare looked so different from the promotional Wonderbolt stuff now. Almost the entire right side of her body was missing feathers and fur, leaving behind only burned and scarred skin exposed to the elements.
“Spitfire? What’re you doin’ here?” Applejack dropped her guard and closed on the Wonderbolt, giving her a body to lean on for support. Pegasi were always lighter than the other races, but she felt different now. Thin and frail, like a bag of feathers pressed against the sturdy earth pony.
“Cloudsdale.” Spitfire rasped out. With every breath Applejack could hear something wet in the poor mare’s lungs. If the fresh marks on her body were any guess, it was probably blood. “Attacked by Celestia and Luna, gone.” Each word was a labored effort by Spitfire. “Barely escaped. Other pegasi found me. Holed up in farmhouse. Unicorns found us.” Spitfire shook her head and looked at Applejack, one eye almost completely bloodshot and the other with a fully dilated pupil. “Couldn’t run. Too scared to fly with Twilight around.”
“Ah’m sorry, Spitfire.” It was all Applejack could give. It was all she had anymore. “We got a group of us in the castle, it’s safe. We can get’cha back there and you can rest.” Spitfire laughed right in AJ’s face. It was interrupted with a sharp pain that forced the pegasus to the ground.
“No.” Spitfire shook her head and looked up at Applejack. “I’m done.” The mare coughed, a bit of blood coming up and dribbling down her chin. “Can’t fight anymore...beaten out of me.” A tear rolled down the pony’s cheek as she fell over fully into the dirt and onto her back. “I just...want to...stop.” Spitfire waved a hoof at the pair of siblings. “Go.” Her eyes focused on the clear blue sky overhead, perhaps memories of better times filling her head. “I’ll be...better soon.”
“Ah…” Applejack bit back a rant that was mounting in her head. A hoof landed on her shoulder and pulled her away from the fallen Wonderbolt. “We’re gonna fix this, Spitfire. We’re gonna save everypony that’s left.” She had to try to give the mare hope for whatever time she had left. It was the least she could do.
“What’s...left to save…?” With that, the siblings moved on from the lone survivor, leaving her to her thoughts and memories.
The trek through the orchard to the clubhouse was silent from then on. Neither pony spoke, too afraid of what may come out to even try. Applejack knew that every day, every little defeat, was dragging her closer to that pit Spitfire fell into. How much longer could she go on? How many more deaths could she see? What would break first, her body or her spirit? It was a question she couldn’t linger on, and one that the world would not let her.
As they drew closer to the treehouse another sound became audible. It was the sound of a unicorn, small and shrill. It was loud and angry and desperate. The popping of bursts of magic also came to their ears, letting them know that it was fighting something.
The Crusader’s clubhouse was in tatters: like the school the wooden structure had been decimated by streams of energy. The roof was completely gone and two of the walls had caved inwards, and to top it off the floor had given in and the contents of the little refuge were littered on the ground below.
Including one bound and very angry Sweetie Belle.
The filly matched her unicorn counterparts, lanky limbs with a lengthened muzzle and seemingly endless and sharp teeth. She was about the size of a teenager now, so double her normal size, and her razor sharp horn was still belting out beams of magic.
“Well Ah’ll be.” Big Mac grinned and chuckled, a bit bitterly admittedly, but it was still a chuckle. “Applebloom sure knows how to hogtie, don’t she?” That brought a smile to Applejack’s face as well.
“She learned from the best.” She trotted over to Sweetie Belle, making sure to stay behind the possessed filly. The mare slid the necklace with the inhibitor ring off from around her neck and detached the thing from the flimsy string that held it. With a little maneuvering and patience, she got the ring onto the filly’s horn between magic discharges.
The little green sparks from Sweetie’s horn died almost instantly, only leaving a writhing and growling monster. AJ hummed and spotted a rope in the debris from the clubhouse and retrieved it. With a simple flourish she closed the little unicorn’s mouth and tied it shut. No need to let her be so loud all the way back home. A simple heave tossed the writhing bundle of ropes and fur onto AJ’s back.
That was when a shadow passed overhead.
Applejack and Big Mac looked up to see a familiar purple alicorn sailing above them. Her head turned back to Canterlot in the distance, there was no way that Twilight had made it from the mountain to here that quick. Not even Rainbow could do that.
Three shapes still circled around the former crown jewel of Equestria, their destruction still not thorough enough yet. If those were still there and Twilight was here...that meant Cadance had made it down here from the Empire.
“Big Mac, run.” The Apple Siblings launched into a gallop towards the castle.
Why? That was the main question on Applejack’s mind as she and Mac raced through the deadened trees of Sweet Apple Acres. If Twilight was here, that meant she had to have known that Sweetie Belle was still tied up. Why hadn’t the alicorn helped her fellow monster? Why had she let the filly stay bound for a month and some change?
It was a trap.
That was the only answer. Twilight knew they would come for her eventually, she knew that Rarity would want to get Sweetie Belle. These unicorns, Twilight included, had all the time in the world to wait for survivors to slip up. They didn’t have to eat, the heat didn’t seem to bother them. They were the perfect predators in the apocalypse.
The Apples beat hooves through town, they didn’t even bother going around. They couldn’t afford to. The shadow overhead and the sound of slavering jaws behind them drove them forward. The strangest part was how they never encountered any resistance in front of them, but more and more seemed to congregate behind them in a pack.
They still skirted around the hole in the middle of town, instead opting to go around Sugarcube Corner. A few times Sweetie had started to fall off of AJ’s back but Mac had righted her before they lost their package. It was the whole reason they came out here, there was no way they could lose her now.
As she ran, the sun overhead started to take its toll on the simple laborer. She had worked out in the fields and orchards in this kind of weather for her whole life, but this was different. She had three square meals for most of her life, she had proper hydration constantly when outside and had regular breaks. This was a run for her life.
The castle came into view and the telltale thrum of a horn charging made AJ’s blood run cold. This whole time those things had been on their heels, they hadn’t fired a single shot at the fleeing farmers. Why now?
A shot rang out, like a howitzer in an echo chamber.
Dirt kicked up from the impact and showered Applejack with detritus but she didn’t waver. Big Mac did, though. The blast had landed squarely in front of the stallion, causing him to stumble and tumble against the ground. Applejack stopped and turned, the ever advancing tide of unicorns closing in faster and faster.
“AJ go!” He got to his hooves just as the first unicorn hit him. A simple throw dislodged the monster and sent it back into mass. “GO!” He boomed out again as another unicorn pounced on his back. The hulking stallion tossed the thing to the ground and brought his hoof down, popping its skull like a grape.
Applejack ran.
Another wave hit the stallion, more unicorns swarming.
Two. Ten.
Two dozen.
Three dozen.
He finally disappeared beneath the deluge of ferals as Applejack hit the stairs of the castle. Hot tears ran down her face as she tried desperately to push out the sounds of her brother’s anguished cries from her ears. The door opened and she entered, looking back one last time.
The unicorns had retreated, leaving only Twilight perched on a nearby rooftop. Her beady purple eyes stared directly at Applejack, then trailed down to the ground. There, still living, was Big Mac. Battered, bleeding and broken. The rock had cracked and given way to an unstoppable force. He cried out. He cried for his mama, he cried for his granny, he even cried for his sister.
“DO IT!” Applejack shouted at the princess as her vision blurred from tears. “Is this what you want, huh?!” The mare stepped back down the stairs until she was about halfway down. “Then do it, you coward! Ah’m watchin’! Go ahead!” Applejack was yelling at the top of her lungs, every drop of fear, anger and sadness pouring out with her words. “DO IT!”
A single pop echoed through Ponyville, and Big Mac finally stopped crying.
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Was it worth it?
Eenope.
if they don't have to eat they're not predators.
Oh well, not dead "yet", indeed.
And, what's far more concerning than the death of a couple characters right now, is how Twilight and maybe other monster unicorns' supposed intelligence. Previously they seemed like creatures of pure murderous instinct, but if there's basic intelligence, control and hierarchy in them... That makes them far, far more dangerous. I hope they can save Sweetie and maybe get some answers out of her.
And imagine if Rainbow does wake up one day just to find out Mac gone.
They are getting smarter, not good
Step 1: Wish for a Big Mac suplex
Step 2: Regret
Big Mac, may you rest in bloody, mangled pieces. You truly were a great burger.
You get off to our reactions don’t you?
10837917
Sometimes but that’s not why things happen in the story. The outside is fucking dangerous.
So Big Mac's dead....let's just hope getting Sweetie Belle was worth it.
I knew, I knew these things were intelligent. Whats worse is that I had assumed only the alicorns were intelligent. From the way the ferals reacted, it could be that they either do have some sentience. Trixie was clearly outraged with being trapped and took out her aggression on the school, Vinyl, presumably being lazy in this universe, held onto that trait and took a nap when she physically doesn't need to, and the unicorns seemed to cheer for Canterlot's fall.
Now, the only question is, what was in Canterlot. The city shouldn't have had the same bastion of hope as the Crystal Castle, and ninety percent of Canterlot was unicorns. So, whatever they were doing there was aimed for something that was a threat, enough for three alicorns to team up and tear the city apart.
Still holding onto hope that Tempest is kicking ass somewhere.
I fucking knew that something bad was going to happen. Like I said last chapter, you never give us hope without taking something in exchange.
Starting to have a very 'I am Legend' vibe.
Welp. I really hope Sunburst’s plan works after all this.
The fact that these monsters haven’t eaten or drank anything in over a month could be a problem.
oh boy, this just got way more dangerous. They are not mindless (at least not entirely), which makes them much more dangerous, especially with the alicorns gaming their numbers.
I wonder why they destroy Canterlot, thou. Is it really just because there are survivors? With this shown intelligence, I doubt it. maybe there is another ley line they try to reach, just like in Ponyville, or some other magical artifacts Celestia and Luna put into safekeeping and which they can't reach now otherwise.
There's a certain irony in the sisters destroying canterlot
If the alicorns ever get cured there gonna need therapy
Wait, if Twilight was in Ponyville 'planning' the ambush at the Crusader Clubhouse, then...?
Cadence. Cadence is here.
F in the comments for canterlot
I knew they'd retained their intelligence. I didn't think they retained enough of it to plan ambushes in the long term, though.
I don't know if they're going to want to be saved when the time comes, given what they've all done. Or if they'll survive the process, for that matter, given that they haven't eaten or drank anything in over a month.
10837980
Meh. I never liked Canterlot. 'Twas a silly place.
10837934
The mountain is almost certainly situated over another pool. Think about it: it was the capital of the land and the home of two alicorns responsible for moving the sun & moon. They probably needed to live there just to do their jobs without burning out.
10837985
The way Sunburst phrased it, it sounded like there was one massive pool that connected the eight known Ley Lines. The Castle of Friendship is special in that it's a vertical Ley Line that's connected to its own pool. I could be wrong though.
10837991
Depends on how they're laid out. Unless they're like lines of latitude on a globe, I'd assume they occasionally intersect in some places, making smaller pools. That said, the mountain could be the site of the singular pool.
10837991
You're right
10837997
Well. You were two seconds too slow to correct me. That's some timing.
10837999
Just got back from breakfast. I should've eaten quicker.
F
I'm really curious to what's happening in the minds of the unicorns and alicorns
i don't know what happed
10838002
will we ever get a short chapter detailing what The Alicorns And unicorns be thinking while there "poisoned"
There's a Certain Irony in Luna and Celestia Destroying Canterlot
(Rest in peace Big mac)
10838049
Not sure. It's always possible but I worry it might give too much away too soon.
10838055
That was a quick response am surprised
But im not asking when im asking "if" we will ever get some insight into what this does to there mental capacity
(An Edit: I just realized that asking if is kind of asking when because when the answer to that if is yes then its just a when so that's a fact.)
10838059
Yes.
10837950
At this point everyone is going to need therapy
I heard this somehow. Maybe because it was written so large. Lol.
Noooooooo, Rainbow went through so much to get Mac there!
After Twilight did that... Sheesh. Even when things get fixed, I know there's going to be A LOT of tension and resentment. I bet they won't want alicorn rulers anymore. But even so, not having alicorn rulers wouldn't mean that it weakens the alicorns. If alicorn-hood is achieved through powerful feats, social status and original race means nothing to their magic.
Well Equestria is pretty much screwed no matter what. If they cure everypony the only ones capable of handling the sun and moon are the unicorns or the alicorns. There is no way anyones ever going to trust the alicorns again and the unicorns are going to have a lot of hate thrown at them too.
Damn, RIP Mac.
And a serious time limit just got added, because when the princesses are done destroying Canterlot, odds are even that Ponyville's their next target. Sunburst needs some magical big guns to help, and he needs them yesterday.
Also, measured congrats to Rainbow, with Spitfire gone, you're now in charge of the entire Equestrian military and, like, third in line for the throne at this point.
That ending...hits differently being the oldest brother. F in the comments for Big Mac. Damn; that really got me.
Oh. They're getting smarter. That's just great.
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There's an added bit of horror here in the fact that, if she's here already, that means she was likely following Sunburst and Flurry Heart the entire time they were on the train.
Not like this!
NOT LIKE THIS!
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Nothing will please you people smh /s
Fuck, but just what is Twilight up to, why didn't she take out both Apple siblings, unless she's hoping Sweetie will taint the castle's pool enough?
I feel attacked right now
The roar of dragons filled the air "Zombie ponies are crunchy and go well with the flavor of ketchup"
Oh poop ... I'm F'ed
Spike's on it...
There are going to be so many unicorn hatecrimes after this is all over that the unicorns are going to wish they stayed as slobbering monsters in control of the apocalypse. Equestrian society and racial unity will never be repaired after all the slaughter and terror.
Oh dear. I think I just realized why they're digging.
Oh no.
... damn.
Love it.
Big Mac is dead. Poor guy.
Rainbow. I hope you get better soon.
Question. And the other races? For example, the Changelings or other races. If nothing happens to them, how would they react to this situation?
Where is your story more or less located? Its chronology?
In the previous chapter, Mac said he could take down three dozen fillies. Three dozen ferals took him down hours later for thought crimes.
I'm sensing a very slight amount of irony there. (Poor guy...)
Honestly, this entire magical infection kinda reminds me of the Anti-Life Equation from DC Comics. You wouldn't have happened to have had any inspiration from it, would you?