My Little Necromancer

by Midnight Moon

Chapter 2: The Attack

It was all coming true.

Ponies were running every which way, screaming. The dead were chasing them, cutting down everypony they got close to. Blood, gore, and rot assaulted her nose, and the screams of the dead and dying tormented her eardrums. Some of the buildings were already on fire, and the inferno was threatening to consume everything in its path.

Twilight quickly closed the window and sealed it with her magic. All traces of exhaustion were gone, replaced by terror and adrenalin. Princess Luna was right. Her nightmares were coming true.

What was she going to do? Ponyville wasn’t going to survive this. The dead would kill every living thing. They didn’t stand a chance of survival if they stayed here.

Run. Run to Canterlot. The mountainous terrain and high walls would keep them out. Her nightmares never showed Canterlot actually falling to the dead. It was her best hope.

Twilight hurriedly packed a few books and her Element of Magic. After the Discord fiasco, Celestia decided that it was best that they keep the Elements with them. That decision might just save their lives today.

Things packed, she put on her saddlebags, opened the door, then slammed into Spike while rushing to the stairs.

“Twilight! Twilight!” he nearly shouted. “What’s going on? What are those things?”

“Princess Luna was right,” Twilight somberly responded. “They weren’t just dreams.”

“You mean those are… zombie ponies?”

“I’m afraid so, Spike. Now come on! We need to get out of here!”

Poor Spike was scared out of his mind, but he somehow managed to hop onto Twilight’s back and keep a tight grip. She carefully but hastily descended the stairs, shouting for Owlowiscious to follow her. He had been frozen in fear on his perch, but the sound of her voice roused him to action.

Outside, the stench of the dead was far stronger then from the Library. Twilight almost vomited, could feel the bile crawling up her throat, but she managed to force it down. There didn’t seem to be any walking dead in the area, but she could still hear them howling after the living.

Her friends were out there somewhere. They were still alive, she could tell. They shared a bond, as the Elements of Harmony and as the best of friends. But they were scared, and unable to run, except for Rainbow, who was lucky enough to have been in her cloud house when this all started. In fact-

“Twilight, what are you doing out here?” Rainbow shouted from above. “Get inside! Lock the doors, and stay there until this is over!”

“We need to get out of here!” Twilight shouted back. “Get your Element! Find Fluttershy and Applejack and head for the lake! I‘ll fetch Pinkie and Rarity!”

“But what about-”

“Now, before they find them!”

“You got it!”

“And Rainbow!” Twilight sighed deeply as she collected her feelings, recalling all the great times she and her friends spent together. “Stay safe. Don’t do anything reckless.”

“I won’t.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Rainbow Dash made the appropriate gestures as she said this. “Don’t you let me down, Twilight! I’ll see you there!”

Rainbow dashed off, heading for Fluttershy’s cottage near the Whitetail Woods. Twilight wished they could stick together. There was safety in numbers, not to mention it would be a huge burden off her mind. But Fluttershy and AJ lived far from town, and she didn’t want to chance being too late for them. However, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were the ones in immediate danger. If she left for the other two, then they might not live until she got back. Rainbow Dash was faster. She could get to Fluttershy and Applejack in ten seconds flat, leaving her free to save the others.

Twilight had to start hurrying herself. She and her friends were dead meat- or undead meat- if she stayed still.

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

Sugarcube Corner was the closest to the library, so Twilight arrived there first. Luckily, the fire hadn’t spread here yet, so she was able to enter without any difficulty.
All the lights were out, and the windows were closed, with curtains drawn. Not a sound could be heard inside, and in the near-absolute darkness, it was all too easy for her to imagine countless zomponies around every corner, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prey.

Owlowiscious, bless his soul, must have sensed her apprehension, as he hopped up onto her head, using his night vision and advanced hearing to guide her. With his help, Twilight maneuvered her way upstairs, where she bet the Cakes and Pinkie would be.

All the doors were hanging open, except for the bathroom door. Owlowiscious gave her a slight squeeze with his talons, signaling that he could hear something in there. Cautiously, she went over and knocked the door as silently as she could. She heard a faint gasp, some whispering, and some fumbling about, then the door slowly opened a tiny crack.

“Anypony out there?” somepony inside whispered.

“Mrs. Cake, it’s me, Twilight,” she whispered in response.

Multiple sighs of relief could be heard from the other side. The door fully opened, revealing the Cakes and a very relived looking Pinkie Pie holding the Cake Twins. Glad to see them living and breathing, she entered the slightly cramped bathroom, closing the door behind her.

“Thank goodness it‘s you,” Mrs. Cake said in a hushed voice. “We thought you were one of those monsters. Just what are they anyways?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Twilight responded. “Listen, we need to get out of here, and get to-”

“Leave? With those monsters still out there?” Mr. Cake was shocked. “We’re perfectly safe in here, and now that you’re here to help, we can-”

“That’s not going to work!” The Cake Twins were startled, so Twilight calmed herself down a bit before continuing. “Even if the dead don’t find us-”

“The dead!?” Pinkie gasped.

“Sssh! Even if the dead don’t find us, there’s a fire out there and no pegasus ponies available to put it out. It’s either chance going outside or stay in here and wait to burn to death.”

Mr. and Mrs. Cake were conflicted. They were safe from the dead in here, and there was still a chance that that fire wouldn’t reach here. And surely some pegasus would come along and put the fire out with a rain cloud. They wouldn’t let the town burn down, right? And from what they managed to see, those monsters couldn’t fly, so the pegasi shouldn’t have any problem putting out the fire, right? They’d be safe if they stayed in here, right? Everything would be alright, right? Right?

A crash sounded downstairs. They could hear loud tumbling and thrashing about from the kitchen, which once again reminded Twilight of hear dream. And how the zompony started the fire that burned down Sugarcube Corner.

“We need to get out of here, now!” Twilight insisted. “Follow me.”

She opened the door before anypony could object. Once again, Owlowiscious leapt on her head, signaling which way to go. The Cakes and Pinkie followed her, still afraid of meeting any of those monsters, but more afraid of being burned alive.

Downstairs, the stench of decay coated their tongues. The Cake Twins seemed ready to cry, but Pinkie managed to keep them quiet with funny faces and snacks from… wherever she kept them. Even in the midst of a crisis, Twilight still managed to wonder where she got all her snacks. But, Pinkie Pie will be Pinkie Pie. She had given up on understanding her ways long ago.

They focused on making it to the front door without making a sound. In the kitchen, the zompony continued to thrash about, as if in a blind rage. They didn’t think it would be able to hear anything over its own din, but they didn’t want to risk it.

They had almost made it to the door when Pinkie began to sniffle. Spike hurriedly put a finger to her nose before she sneezed. They silently breathed a sigh of relief before continuing on.

The front door creaked loudly as they opened it.

The din from the kitchen abruptly ceased. Then the kitchen doors flew open, revealing a zompony with twenty-one maggots. As Twilight watched, three of them were crushed between the rotted teeth of the monster.

It was too much like the scene from her nightmare. She froze in fear, unable to budge an inch, even as the thing lunged toward them.

Mr. Cake jumped in front of her and bucked the creature with all his strength. Despite working in a sweets shop, he was quite tall and strong. His hind legs struck the creature with tremendous force, cracking bones and pushing it back several feet.

“Well,” he said, “Somehow I thought they would be stronger. Maybe we’ll be okay after all!”

The zompony slowly got back to its feet. Despite broken bones showing through the rotted skin, it didn’t seem to show any pain. Though shocked and disgusted, Mr. Cake stepped up to buck the creature again.

A large piece of broken wood flew towards the creature. It broke into many splinters, with a few lucky pieces lodging in the head and brain. The zompony abruptly collapsed, dead as it rightfully should be.

Everypony looked towards Twilight Sparkle, whose horn was glowing with purple magical energy. She seemed to have been shocked at what she did, though that quickly passed.

“Thank goodness we have you to help us,” Mrs. Cake said. “But how did you know to strike it in the head?”

“I didn’t,” she truthfully replied. “I just got scared when it started getting back up, thinking it couldn’t be beat, and I saw the loose plank sticking up, and I just threw it.”

“Well, at least we know they have a weakness,” Mr. Cake said. “Let’s just hope we don’t run into many more of-”

Unearthly moans came from outside. It seemed that the scuffle attracted the attention of more of the undead, and now they were converging just outside. Now the Cake Twins were crying, and even Pinkie couldn’t get them to smile and settle down. There was no way the four of them could take them all and protect the young Cake Twins.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake reached an unspoken agreement. Mrs. Cake handed over her saddlebag full of baby supplies to Twilight and gently kissed the Cake Twins, calming them down. Mr. Cake did the same.

“You be sure to keep them safe, Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake said. “Raise them to be good and proper ponies, you hear?”

“Loud and clear,” Pinkie said. “But shouldn’t you-”

“Promise?”

“Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” She even made the appropriate gestures, and even managed to produce a cupcake from nowhere. “But you’re the-”

“Go down to the cellar,” Mr. Cake interrupted. “Take the exit into the alleyway and get somewhere safe.”

Pinkie still didn’t seem to understand what was going on, but she lead Twilight, Spike, Owlowiscious, and the now silent Cake Twins down to the cellar. She unlocked the cellar door, but hesitated before opening it.

“Pinkie, what is it?” Twilight asked.

“What about Mr. and Mrs. Cake?” she said. “We can’t just leave them behind. That wouldn’t be very nice. And what did she mean by raising Pumpkin and Pound? They’re the parents, not me. I mean, sure, I’m always happy to babysit for them, but-”

“Pinkie,” Twilight sighed deeply. She didn’t want to crush her friend’s delusions, but time wasn’t on their side, and the longer her friend held that belief, the harder it would be when she learned the truth.

“Pinkie… Mr. and Mrs. Cake… They’re not coming with us.”

Comments

[FeatherCord]

I cant imagine Mr. and Mrs Cake trying to be heroic....seriously I cant

[Midnight Moon]

431775

Not even to save their foals? Is something wrong with you?

[FeatherCord]

432324

i said "i cant imagine Mr and Mrs Cake trying to be heroic"
not "I cant imagine Mr and Mrs Cake ARE trying to be heroic"
....see the difference?

[Midnight Moon]

434978

Yes, but that doesn't change my point.

... Okay, maybe I have a more active imagination than most, but seriously, it's part of being a parent. Let's agree to leave it at that.

[Thespurgin]

And so the first named victims were taken.

Trixie will pay for this effrontery to existence... to mock death itself... Someone release the draconeques! (so I can't spell that bloodie word... so sue me!)

[Mossflower]

like the story, you have a very 'straight to the point' kind of writing, but it doesnt feel rushed. looking forward to more!

[Mossflower]

do you mind if i add this story to a couple of groups?

[Midnight Moon]

464903

Go right ahead. I'm no longer on as much as I should be, sadly, but I'm always happy to see my fellow bronies enjoy my writing .

[BioChemicalWolfGear]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE CAKES!!!!!!!!! so sad

THANKS FOR MAKING ORPHANS BRO!
THIS IS MY LITTLE PONY! NOT MY LITTLE NEGLECTED

but seriously cool story :P

[Vitae]

508631

Hmm.....can you say that you've meat a cake?!?! Bahahaha......I'm sorry.

All in all this is a fine chapter but I somehow felt like I knew they were going to give themselves to stall the zombies when the moaning came so not that much of a shock.

It's a good chapter but fell a bit flat in terms of sadness and suspense.

Keep on keeping on