Cantering Death

by Scriber

Chapter Eight, part two: Frenzy

This chapter is now complete! Sorry for the delay.

When you come across the link, right click it and open it up in a new tab. Dontchya love atmosphere?

-Scriber

====================================================

For creatures that were supposed to be dead, they moved fast.

Rainbow Dash did not bother to wait for a command from Spitfire - she was running on pure instinct as she darted forward, immediately engaging the closest infected. Though she had not been in a proper scuffle since her days at Flight School, she found that the ins and outs of fighting came back to her with relative ease. She lunged at the infected pegasus mare, connecting a quick right jab to the jaw of her opponent. The infected barely registered the blow, snarling with rage as she snapped her jaw at the offending hoof, which Dash just managed to draw back in the nick of time.

“Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire shouted, galloping forward to engage the first of the two infected stallions. “You can’t just leap forward like that!” She sounded irritated, but would likely be more angry with the cyan pegasus were she not concentrating on engaging her own assailant.

“Don’t worry, Spitfire - I know what I’m doing!” Dash shouted back, rolling to her right to dodge a sequence of snaps. The infected pegasus mare was only able to bite at the air, seemingly enraging her further. She snorted, kicked her forelegs outward, and charged.

Meanwhile, Soarin had already been accosted by the second infected stallion, their struggle quickly spilling into the front yard of a nearby house. Given that the house was - much like the rest of the city - situated on a sprawling bed of clouds, there was an inherent lack of foliage or vegetation; crudely fashioned bastardizations of shrubs and plants made from the puffy substance were scattered here and there, vanishing into thin air as the two stallions crashed into them. A buck from the infected stallion connected with Soarin’s midsection, temporarily knocking the wind out of him as he was sent careening to the side. He fell to the cloud below, but managed to tuck his legs into himself and roll with the momentum, deftly springing back to his hooves in one fluid motion. As the infected mindlessly charged him, he lifted three of his four legs off of the ground and spun diagonally on one hoof, delivering a roundhouse kick to the infected’s jaw that shattered the bone with a sound not entirely unlike breaking porcelain. The stallion’s head snapped back forcefully, the sound of vertebrae grinding forcefully against each other causing Soarin to wince.

A few meters behind him, Rainbow Dash had begun to launch an aerial assault on her assailant, circling the infected pegasus mare with dizzying speed. The lumbering zombie pegasus quickly became disoriented, allowing Rainbow Dash to set upon her with a quick series of jabs and punches aimed at the midsection, stunning her temporarily. Unfortunately for Dash, however, her barrage of blows didn’t appear to even register any pain response from her opponent; with another snarl, the infected tossed her weight at the cyan pegasus, a headbutt connecting with her flank which sent her spiraling out of control. Dash flipped end-over-end in mid air, landing hard on the cloud at an awkward angle which made her grit her teeth in frustration. She was back on her hooves in a flash.

“Oh, it’s on now, bitch,” she said menacingly through clenched teeth, quickly shaking her head to clear any lingering cobwebs.

The crowd of civilian pegasi, led by the two remaining Wonderbolts, vanished into the distance. Amid the struggle, the three living combatants hardly registered the fact that the mayor’s broadcast had suddenly cut out as an eerie silence befell the cloud city.

Spitfire cried out in pain as a lucky hoof came crashing down on the side of her head, sending her reeling. The infected stallion, sensing an opportunity, lunged at the dizzied Wonderbolt; thinking quickly, Spitfire reared her back legs and bucked wildly at the rapidly advancing infected, knocking him off balance just long enough for her to take to the air. She rose roughly three meters into the night’s sky, absentmindedly lifting a hoof to the stinging spot where the stallion’s hoof had connected and winced. Her eyes narrowed as a nasty look came over her face, brows furrowing in anger. Time to end this, she thought to herself.

“Soarin! Dash! Try to get them close to one another and get into the air as quick as you can!” Soarin managed to glance back at the Wonderbolt captain, his eyes widening as his mind registered the move she was about to pull off.

“Fuck,” he cursed aloud, galloping toward Dash and her assailant. “Rainbow, didya hear that?”

“Yeah, I-” she dodged another series of bites, “-I got it. What for?”

“Don’t ask, just do it!” Spitfire commanded, wings beating powerfully against the cool air. Soarin led the second infected stallion toward the remaining grounded pegasi as Dash corralled the first stallion towards the mare, shoving him in the right direction as he snarled and roared in protest. Once the five were gathered in roughly two meters of one another, Soarin suddenly unfolded his wings and jumped into the air, calling back to Rainbow Dash and imploring her to do the same. Confused and somewhat reluctant to leave the fight unfinished, Dash begrudgingly followed suit. Soarin and Dash quickly put a fair distance between themselves and the three cloud-bound infected, sailing thirty meters outward in a manner of seconds.

“Soarin, what’s Spitfire thinking? She can’t take on all three at-” Soarin held up a hoof, silencing her. He turned back to where Spitfire hovered in the air, pointing in her direction.

“Just watch.”

Noting that her two comrades were now safely out of harm’s way, she began. Leveling herself out horizontally, she began to fly a tight circle around the three slobbering infected as they attempted in vain to leap up at her, eyes burning bright. Spitfire’s distinctive orange and yellow mane trailed out behind her as she picked up speed, her bright tail becoming a blur as it flapped in the air currents she was creating. With blinding speed, the Wonderbolt captain continued to encircle the three ensnared infected, flying a half of a meter off of the cloud below. As she quickly became a blur, her aerial stunt began to blend together; a glowing began to form within the semi-solid circle. It was faint at first, barely discernible and glowing with the intensity of perhaps a few lit candles. Within the span of ten seconds, the glowing had morphed into a burning white-hot light, brightly shining as it banished the night’s darkness with a brilliant array of oranges, yellows, reds and whites. The circle collapsed in on itself further, causing the confused and enraged infected pegasi to back into one another, undead flanks brushing up against the other as their eyes were rendered useless from the proximity to the light. Without warning, Spitfire increased her altitude, forming a sort of cone as she took the light with her as she ascended; now burning as bright as a raging fire, yellowish sparks began to crackle and fizzle as the light suddenly erupted in flame. The towering inferno set fire to the infected almost instantly as they cried out in surprise, hair withering away and reduced to ash in the blink of an eye. Their flesh skipped boiling and was sublimated as it melted away, a rotting steam rising from their charred skeletons as it too was vapourized in the unthinkably extreme temperatures. Even the very bones themselves were soon nothing more than ash. The infected were completely immolated.

Soarin, a queer mixture of approval and horror on his face, silently started toward the Wonderbolt captain. Rainbow Dash hung in the air for a moment, unable to comprehend what she had just seen; her jaw hung open, mouth agape, eyes wide and unbelieving.

“Wha...what the hell was that?!” she cried weakly. Such power! Such grace! Dash had no idea that Spitifire could pull off a move like that...and she wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about it just yet. Snapping her jaw shut, she took off after Soarin, trailing behind ever so slightly as the two Wonderbolts and their companion regrouped.

“It’s been so long, Spitfire...I kinda forgot how awesome that move was,” Soarin offered meekly, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. Spitfire retorted,

“There’s a reason why I’m not allowed to do that one at shows any more, you know.”

“Trottingham, right. Did they ever end up fixing the rest of the stadium?”

“Beats me,” Spitfire shrugged nonchalantly, clearly trying to downplay her role in the infected’s demise. Even still, an internal maelstrom was brewing within, slowly but surely gnawing away at her.

“S-Spitfire...” Dash began, “...what...how-”

“I call it a Flamenado, Dash. Last time I tried that stunt, well...let’s just say that the Wonderbolts aren’t really welcome in Trottingham any longer.”

“But h-how? How did you do that?!”

“That’s kind of a secret, kid. Sorry,” she shrugged, not entirely willing to let that bit of information slip. Seeing the dejected look on Dash’s face, however, she sighed and relented, “Same principle as cloudmaking, like we do in our shows. That’s all I really want to say.”

“...holy shit, Spitfire.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The three stood in silence for a moment, surveying the isolated swath of destruction that their brief struggle had wreaked on the suburban neighbourhood. A street lamp, held aloft by a hollow metal tube, now sported a hefty dent toward the bottom, causing the fixture to sag slightly. Soarin, amidst the brief chaos, had lost his footing and crashed through a wooden fence, leaving jagged bits of wood strewn about. A few trash bins lay on their sides here and there, bits of refuse littering the cloud below; indeed, it would appear that only the clouds themselves remained unscathed.

Rainbow Dash cast a sidelong glance at the Wonderbolt captain, eyeing her briefly. Her face conveyed no emotion, a decidedly unreadable expression having set in like stone. Soarin, eyes still slightly widened and nostrils flared as the adrenalin worked its way through his system, pawed anxiously at the ground.

“We should probably catch up to the others, Spitfire.” She paused for a moment, then simply shut her eyes and nodded.

“Resume formation. I suggest we cruise at a higher altitude this time - I want to get a better look around.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Plus, if any more of those freaks try to sneak up on us again, we’ll have the advantage.” Spitfire said nothing.

In an unspoken synchronicity, the three uniformed pegasi crouched, flaring their wings outward as they pushed off of the clouds, once again resuming flight. Once they fell back into the V-formation, Spitfire began to pick up speed, wings beating rhythmically as she tucked her legs into her body to reduce drag. Her compatriots followed suit. The towering form of Cloudsdale’s coliseum loomed in the distance, surrounded by a dull yellow glow as a plethora of lanterns even then continued to be lit. At roughly twenty meters above the clouds, Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts levelled off, halting their ascent. Dash strained her eyes to survey the cloudscape below; as she took in the scene, her previously neutral expression morphed into a pained grimace. Tiny pinpricks of lanterns and torches glittered soundlessly as they weaved in between the forms of fleeing pegasi. Some were in tightly-knit groups as they made their way toward the coliseum, while others still were in sporadically formed clusters. Dash perked her ears up as to take in any sounds that may have wafted upward, but found that, over the beating of three sets of wings combined with their altitude, the city below was eerily silent. The faintest hint of a thousand lit torches floated into her nostrils, an invisible scent that danced around and flitted back into the air in less than a second.

For the first time, Dash noted the lack of any discernible breeze. Makes sense, I guess, she reasoned. What with that barrier keeping us all shut in like this. Despite the lack of breeze, though, she shuddered. Every pegasus pony living in Equestria has an inherent adoration of the open sky; some, like the rainbow-maned mare, were adamant about their passion for open air while others were somewhat less apparent. The pegasus race had been living in the clouds for as far back as written history can document, and for good reason - what better place would there for a creature who loves to sky to live than in an abode fashioned from the sky itself? Though it remained unspoken between the three as they flew over the distressed metropolis, one undeniable reality about the evening remained, a subtle malice scratching away in the back of their minds in the manner of all unpleasant and unsavory thoughts; that see-through blue barrier that obfuscated their view of the night’s sky was simply not natural. Their only saving grace in the matter was the fact that the sheer size of the city itself allowed ample room for maneuverability. Should they have found themselves enclosed in a town as small as Appleloosa, however, their virtual imprisonment would have undoubtedly been a more pressing issue.

Lost in her thoughts, Rainbow Dash continued her cursory scan of the cloudscape. To her dismay, one particularly large cluster of pegasi traversing a wide street below suddenly scattered like frightened field mice - squinting, she was able to make out roughly a half dozen forms moving erratically. One of said forms happened upon a poor soul that was unable to flee in time; in a manner of seconds, large, dark splotches stained the clouds as a shriek finally loud enough to cut through the unsettling silence rang out. It was a pained, frightened yowl, a vocal feat that caused the three uniformed pegasi to instinctively tense up. They froze for the slightest of moments before diving wordlessly in formation, gaining velocity as they plummeted in sync with one another toward the source of the scream.

The sights and sounds of another frenzied attack came into sharp relief as their hooves alighted the cloud, the impact sending puffs of the fluffy white stuff outward before disappearing completely.

“Spread out!” Spitfire yelled, again readying herself to do battle. Soarin and Dash put a few meters between themselves, surveying the situation at hand. A few scattered clumps of the previously well-knit group of uninfected pegasi ran screaming from the seven or eight infected that tore mindlessly down the street. So blind were they in their animalistic fury that one stallion, a slightly pudgy pegasus with a short-cropped mane and scraggly tail, careened headfirst into one of the many stone columns that lined the street on either side. A sickening crack signalled the break of his skull as he slumped to the clouds, leaving behind a spattered red streak of blood that ran down the column. Off to the right, an infected mare was busy tearing a small, white pegasus filly to shreds, her high-pitched shrieks intertwining with her assailant’s guttural grunts and roars as her mother looked on in horror, frozen in shock. Seeing this, Dash immediately galloped over to the scene as quickly as her hooves could carry her, hot tears of rage and disbelief streaming out of the corners of her deep pink eyes as she gritted her teeth to suppress a scream.

“GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!!” she hissed through a clenched jaw as she dove into the infected mare, knocking the zombie off-kilter. The white filly, one foreleg only attached to her shoulder socket by several stringy strands of sinew and tendon, crawled with all her strength toward her unmoving mother, crying out for help. The filly’s pained voice grated against Rainbow Dash’s eardrums like sandpaper as she went blind with fury, dark corners appearing at the edges of her vision as she began to pummel the life (un-life?) out of the monster that had effectively cut the child’s life tragically short. Dash straddled the snapping, sputtering mare as her hooves crashed into the infected’s face, over and over and over again. Blackened blood, almost like a syrupy ichor, spattered her hooves and chest as she struck, not even pausing as she felt something snap underneath her berserk blows. Bam. She broke the mare’s eye socket, splitting the flesh and puncturing the eyeball. Bam. Bam. Two strikes to the mare’s snout and it cracked with a sickening crunch, hunks of cartilage and bone fragments expelled outward in a mixture of snot and blood. Bam. A blow that dislocated the jaw, sending it askance as several red-stained teeth flew to the side, glittering dully in the muted pale moonlight. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. The cyan pegasus mare’s eyes were shut now, pressed together so tightly they burned as she struck again. And agian. With an enraged cry that caused even the nearby infected to snap their heads toward the sound, she brought both of her forehooves together above her head and sent them crashing down on the mare’s forehead as hard as she possibly could, splitting the skull with a wet crack! that sent spurts of blood spashing into her face. She didn’t care. All logic, any semblance or ghost of thought process was absent as she continued her brutal assault, hooves colliding with broken shards of bone and wet, fleshy pulp long after the infected was dead.

When she finally opened her eyes, she noted with a lack of remorse that the mare’s head had been reduced to little more than a gory paste; little remained of her face. Dash, panting like she’d just flew a marathon, cast her eyes downward, noting the clumps of flesh and blood that stuck to her hooves and forelegs. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, a little voice was screaming. She ignored it, paying it little attention as she rose to her hooves as the filly’s mother cradled her dying foal, looking at the cyan pegasus with the same horror in her eyes as she had when she first lay eyes on the monster that had ravaged her daughter. Their eyes met for an instant, and Dash almost froze; she knew that she should say something, try to offer what little comfort she could, but a fire raged within, hotter than the center of the sun, filling her body with raw power the likes of which she had never fathomed. Her eyes darted down to the dying pegasus child, and - impossibly - her rage thickened. She turned on the spot and screamed at the top of her lungs,

“You. Fuckers. Are. GOING. TO! PAY!!!” Without even knowing what she was doing, she took to the air, taking in the scene before her. She felt like her senses were kicked into overdrive...no...into hyperdrive as she identified at least six more infected, some feasting on dead or dying pegasi, some locked in combat as the two Wonderbolts deftly maneuvered this way and that.

Soarin, having been backed against a wall by a gaunt mare and a stallion, flared his wings outward just before he charged. He firmly planted his back legs on the wall to his rear and kicked outward, easily sailing between the two advancing attackers as he flared his hind legs apart to deliver a pair of precise bucks to their heads. He turned on a dime, knowing that the attack would stagger at least one of them; the mare, having less body mass keened to the side as she stumbled, and in a blink, he was on her. With a set of strong teeth and a jaw like iron, he firmly bit the mare’s tail and hefted her off of the ground. The taste of blood and grime washed over his tongue as he suppressed the urge to vomit. The light blue stallion took off down the street, travelling twenty five meters in a manner of seconds. Again, he turned on a dime, eyeing up his target and calculating his trajectory. With the aid of a firm, fearless muscle memory that came from years and years of exercise and training, he flew as swiftly as he could toward his destination, the snapping and snarling infected suspended in mid-air, trailing off to his side. Just as he was bout to impact the solid stone column, he banked hard to the left and released the filthy tail from his mouth at precisely the right moment; the mare flew into the stone pillar with a monstrous velocity, the impact breaking nearly every bone in her body with an audible crunch! as her form wrapped sickeningly around the cylinder. She impacted so hard that she literally bounced off of it, tumbling end-over-end as she crashed hard to the cloud below in a heap.

Spitfire, meanwhile, had the “luxury” of taking on her assailants one at a time. She, too, had taken advantage of her environment and was aptly utilizing the hardened stone columns, strategically positioning herself so that each buck of her hind legs sent infected skulls cracking against the pillars. Snorting in determination, she quickly disposed of two infected stallions one after another; that was when a third, larger than the rest, rushed her from behind, pinning her against the column as he snapped his jaw eagerly, the blood dripping from his muzzle spattering against the Wonderbolt mare with each twist of his neck. She struggled against his weight with a grunt, trying her best to wriggle free before -

“Aaaahhhhh!!!” she screamed as his teeth sunk into her shoulder, a chance bite that tore at her flesh and sent warm blood billowing freely from the wound. Her eyes narrowed against the sharp, incredible pain as the stallion lunged again, mercifully missing her jugular by mere inches. The mindless monster crashed with the full force of the lunge face-first into the stone pillar, and Spitfire heard a snap that she knew could only mean a broken nose. She ducked, cursing loudly through the pain as she rolled to the side, mistakenly catching one of her attacker’s forelegs and taking him with her. The two tumbled briefly on the cloud, and Spitfire felt a pang of regret and a wave of fear wash over her as she realized that she was about to die. She took in a lungful of air to scream in terror, but the sound never escaped her lips: what did come out, however, was a surprised gasp as she expended the breath, a blueish blur with a shock of rainbow colours passing through her field of vision in a fraction of a second. Startled, she rolled to her side and righted herself, rising to her hooves shakily as the blood continued to drip from the open wound.

Rainbow Dash was screaming, her vociferous vocals matching her physical attacks in intensity, accentuated and broken up with each pound of a hoof. Much like the infected mare just moments ago, she had managed to roll her way on top of the large infected stallion, pinning him temporarily beneath her as blow after blow came crashing down on Spitfire’s would-be executioner. Her attack clearly staggered the male, but only briefly; with a roar, he bucked his legs about wildly, a chance blow catching Dash square against her jaw with such force that it sent her flying off to the side. She skidded a few yards against the cloud before rising again, not missing a beat; the stallion likewise was back to his hooves, and was already beginning to charge her. Spitfire visibly recoiled when she caught the look in Dash’s eyes; it was not the look of a mare in a fight for her life. It was not the look of a seasoned pugilist or a weathered combatant. No; it reminded her of the look in the stallion’s eyes as he chomped down on her shoulder just moments prior, a wild, piercing, bloodthirsty gaze that was more monster than pony. The stallion roared again as he closed the distance, and Dash followed suit, shrieking like a banshee as she rose two meters into the air in a heartbeat.

Spitfire could hardly keep track of her motions as Dash, utilizing her uncanny gift of agility and riding waves of raw, powerful fury, struck at the infected from mid air. She circled him, leaping at every opportunity to strike, delivering a dizzying flurry of punches and bucks that left the orange-maned Wonderbolt breathless. A potent mixture of shock, admiration, disbelief and horror welled up within her as Dash continued the furious assault, wincing despite herself as a well-placed buck to the stallion’s midsection shattered ribs and punctured lungs. Rainbow, unsatisfied, finally landed on the somehow still-standing stallion’s back and - reaching forward - wrapped her forelegs around both sides of his jaw. Spitfire gasped as Rainbow twisted, a throaty roar emanating from the cyan pegasus’ throat that grew with intensity as she applied more and more pressure. Veins stood out on her neck as sweat poured from her brow, and with a primal scream, the stallion’s neck gave way with a loud snap! The infected fell loosely to the cloud, his head sticking to the side at a horrific angle.

Spitfire felt weak. Her knees began to tremble as an unpleasant lightness washed over her. She turned about and surveyed the carnage in a haze: a mare, laying off to the side, her head reduced to a pile of useless flesh. Another, her body twisted and broke, lying to the side of a pillar. The two she had just dispatched, their heads cracked and bleeding, lying motionless on the cloud. Soarin, fighting with feverish intensity as two mares viciously attacked him. A colt, no older than a young teenager, advancing on her with a malice in his eyes that broke her heart. Rainbow Dash, forelegs coated in clotting blood, advancing and beating the thin zombie to death in a matter of seconds.

And just as suddenly as it had began, it was over.

The three were left alone, still spread slightly apart, the bodies of the vanquished littering the street. Even the mother and the dying foal had somehow escaped through the madness. Blood stained the clouds red and coated cracked pillars; it covered their uniforms and streaked through their hair. They simply stood for a moment, all panting heavily, recovering. Soarin was the first to move - at a pace faster than a trot but slower than a gallop, he rounded on Rainbow Dash; she was hunched over, sobbing silently with a look on her face that conveyed nothing but rage. Spitfire took a few deep breaths and tried to ignore the stinging pain that radiated outward from the bite in her shoulder. She steeled herself and pushed through it as she started toward the two, wincing with each step as the open wound tore and contracted with the motions. Soarin, noting the Captain’s condition with look of muted horror, was the first among them to speak.

“Spitfire, holy shi-”

“Yeah, fucking stings.” She laughed bitterly. “I suppose I should be thankful, in a way. Least I’m not a stallion, right? I’d probably be one of those fucking things,” she spat out the word with unbridled hate, “by this point. How ‘bout you, eh, Soarin? You didn’t let any of them bite you, did you?”

“Nah. One of ‘em caught me pretty good in the gut, knocked the wind out of me. Other’n that, I’m fine. How bout you, Dash? You ok?”

Silence.

“...Dash?” Spitfire asked, ignoring her own pain for a moment. She started toward the pegasus mare, but hesitated - her mind briefly replayed the look in Dash’s eyes moments prior, causing her to shudder involuntarily. Soarin, however, had no such reservations.

“Hey, Rainbow, talk to me,” he started, putting a hoof on her shoulder. In a flash, she was on him, having knocked the foreleg away and pouncing on him with a speed that startled Soarin and Spitfire alike.

“How many more, huh?!” she screamed, convulsing and shuddering with each haggard breath. “How many more of these fucking monsters do I have to kill to make up for what just happened?!”

“Whoa, Dash, take it easy!-”

“TAKE IT EASY?! DID YOU FUCKING SEE WHAT THEY DID TO HER?!”

“Did to who, Dash?” Spitfire shouted, genuinely concerned for Soarin’s well being. Dash leaped off of the stunned pegasus stallion, advancing on the wounded Wonderbolt.

“The filly! The little filly that died because I WASN’T FAST ENOUGH!! Me! Rainbow Dash! NOT FAST ENOUGH!!! She was crying for her mother and she was screaming while that fucking monster tore her apart and now she’s dead and it’s MY FUCKING FAULT!!!” Tears streamed from her eyes as her shaking intensified. “I-...I...oh, Celestia...” She wavered, her eyes going fuzzy for a moment as she leaned to the side and vomited. The choked sounds of retching and heaving mixed in with her pained sobs, and she cursed as she emptied the contents of her stomach; she the mare that had killed the pegasus filly; she cursed herself; she cursed Princess Luna and Princess Celestia and the Wonderbolts; she cursed the fact that the same fate had probably befallen her friends, the friends she had sworn to herself to never let anything happen to. Rainbow Dash collapsed on the ground, bawling like a lost foal. Her sobs racked her sore body as the adrenalin faded and a lingering emptiness rushed in to take its place, filling her mind with a despair that seemed, at the time, inescapable. Soarin and Spitfire exchanged worried glances, yet allowed themselves the smallest sigh of relief; as cruel as it may sound, a broken and remorseful Dash was infinitely better (and safer) than an enraged and violent Dash.

Silently, the two Wonderbolts approached and gently offered any meager comfort that they could. They let her cry every last tear out of her system, and even the injured Spitfire couldn’t help but keep her focus on the bawling young mare before her. Within a few moments, the bawling gave way to intermittent sobs, and even those gave way to the occasional sniffle. The three sat in silence before Dash spoke.

“I wasn’t quick enough...” she weakly insisted. Her voice was weak, a dead ringer for Fluttershy in its lack of volume.

“Shh,” Spitfire shushed, absentmindedly running a hoof through her rainbow-coloured mane in consolation. “It wasn’t your fault, Dash.” Rainbow tensed, looking like she was about to protest, but relented. Spitfire continued, “There’s nothing any of us could have done. Look, I know it might sound harsh, but what happened, happened. That’s the reality of what’s going on here tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such dark times in Equestria...no, I’m sure that I haven’t.” Soarin shot Spitfire a quizzical look, as if to say, Is this really helping? Spitfire glanced back, only offering the slightest of nods as she went on. “You know something, Dash? Given the situation, I think that you’ve handled yourself just like a Wonderbolt should.” Rainbow gasped in mid-breath, her drooping ears perking up ever so slightly. “The way you charged in there, before we got separated from the rest of my squad...the way you just jumped right in, no hesitation, no second thought...that’s a degree of bravery I could never hope to have. Remember when we were talking earlier? Before the first attack?” Dash sniffed, nodding.

“...yeah.”

“Remember how stressed I was? How surprised I was that the Princess showed up in our room so suddenly?” Dash nodded again.

“Yeah.”

“Well, to tell the truth, Dash, I wasn’t just stressed; I wasn’t just nervous. I was fucking terrified.” Both Soarin and Dash sat up at that, their eyes turning to meet hers. “I’m just a showmare. I’m no hero. Sure, ponies look up to me and my team as a source of inspiration - you said so yourself - but I’m no hero. What you’ve accomplished so far this evening - from putting a snob in his place to protecting hundreds of ponies to saving my life - I think...I think that you’re a hero, Dash.” In spite of it all, Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat. Soarin remained silent as he twitched, once. “You’ve handled yourself remarkably so far, and I’m truly, truly proud of you. And before you ask - no, I’m not just telling you what I think you need to hear. I really, really mean that. And even though this night isn’t over - far from it - I feel a whole lot better knowing that somepony was brave enough to stand up and fight.” A silence hung over their heads for just a moment. Dash breathed in deeply, letting go the last of her doubts.

“Thanks, Spitfire. That really means a lot, coming from you. I just...I just wish I could know if my friends are okay. I don’t know how bad things are in Ponyville, y’know?” Spitfire nodded somberly.

“I hear ya.” She clambered to her hooves, the other two slowly following suit. She winced as she felt the sharp pangs of pain return in her shoulder. “Hey Soarin, think you could tear a strip off of your uniform or something? I need to stop this thing,” she motioned to her bite wound with her head, “from bleeding.” Soarin, not meeting her gaze, twitched again. Rainbow Dash looked at the pegasus stallion curiously.

“Uh, Soarin? Buddy? Are you-”

Pop! A brilliant flash of purple and white light poured over them, causing their pupils to contract as they shielded their eyes. Rainbow shook her head, blinked once. Twice. How in the hell...?!

“T-Twilight? Is that really you?!” Dash asked breathlessly, the beginnings of a goofy grin already beginning to form on her face. Spitfire, having blinked as well, looked absolutely stupified.

“H-how...wha...what?!” The purple unicorn mare allowed herself to smile, too, and trotted over to the three uniformed pegasi. Unable to restrain herself, she threw her forelegs around the stunned cyan pegasus mare, not caring in the slightest as she felt the wet presence of drying blood rub up against her stomach.

“Oh, Rainbow! I’m so glad you’re okay! I just knew that locater spell work!” She released the pegasus from her embrace, smiling warmly as she regarded the orange-maned Wonderbolt, whose mouth was hanging agape. “Oh, Miss Spitfire! A pleasure to see you, too! And...um...Soarin, was i-” she turned her head and stopped mid-sentence. The smile instantly faded from her face, a look of horror creeping in to replace it.

“Twilight?” Rainbow asked. “What’s up?”

Rainbow didn’t even need to turn her head. A snarl rang out, an all too familiar snarl that made her feathers stand on end.

Comments

[Trumpetturtle]

You win awesome points for:
1) As Blood Runs Black
2) Reminding us how BADASS Spitfire is.
3) This story (You probably knew that one)

[Scriber]

10156
1) Been listening to them for years!
2) Goddamn right, she is.
3)

[oblivion2k]

Damn, nice music choice! Been a while since I've listened to these guys, and it set up the scene perfectly!

[KaijinZero]

damn spitfire. you scary.

once again you have outdone yourself. congrats

sweet jesus

i am without words to discribe how fukcing awesome that was

[Jenohart]

>As Blood Runs Black
\m/\m/

[Dr Bob]

Graaah, need more!

you have good taste in music, this anon approves.
not only that but your story was amazing.

[Rainbow Dash the Awesome]

Through most of this fic I've been thinking of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPVrlBVn1uo

[MetalPony]

10165 O didnt even realize you put as blood runs black in the story :D I seen them live and they kick ass

[Shader]

Oh dear, has Soarin' gotten infected? Stallions seem to have a rather raw deal with this infection.

[food food food]

Applejack will tear them apart...WITH A LASSO!
I always thought that was the most underused aspect about her...

[Fable Scroll]

Good story so far. Some sequences felt unnecessary except as a display of the gory violence of the situation /e.g. the bit about Quill Stroke's death in Canterlot), but the story isn't finished yet, so I won't dismiss anything. The descriptions are appropriate for this kind of story, nopony is glaringly out of character, and I'm eager to find out more about what exactly is happening, what with the unusual properties of the disease and the peculiarly unfit emergency system.

Also, I feel bad for Rainbow Dash for the fight she'll probably have on her hands soon, because of a bad decisions made in the heat of the moment.

10165 more plz --->

oh my, is rainbow gonna die (would be cool if twilight got bit and went back to ponyville)

[Midnight Moon]

36404

You're kidding, right? Rainbow Dash? Killed by a bunch of zomponies? Not a chance.

[oblivion2k]

Ah, good thing I re-read this chapter before going to the next one, I forgot that you planned to add more when I last read this chapter.
And Holy Shit. Rainbow Dash is a Bad Ass.

[Bromonn]

“I suppose I should be thankful, in a way. Least I’m not a stallion, right? I’d probably be one of those fucking things,”

I'm not sure I understand this statement. Is she implying that only colts get infected? That can't be right, there have been a few mares in this chapter alone that were infected. Does the infection only take place if you die from a bite? If so is Spitefire relieved over the fact that, I dunno, her size is smaller then a colts and so she didn't die from the bite?

Hmm, maybe it will be explained in the next chapter.

[Paddle Steamer]

The gore of hoof to hoof fighting with zombies, ah we humans have it made with our guns.

Guns; now with 90% less gore and chance of being bitten.