Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
*******
“Be very still,” Fluttershy said softly as she placed a new rag on Apple Bloom’s head to try and cool her down. Fluttershy had some basic supplies, but no medicine.
“Ain’t a fever supposed to kill the germs?” Applejack asked her. She was brushing Apple Bloom’s hair, which had been strewn out in random directions.
“No, not when it’s this high,” Fluttershy said. “It would only harm her. If we could move her, I would put her in a cool bath, but I’m still not really sure just how sick she is,” she sighed. “We should have been here.”
Applejack put her comb down and looked at the heap in front of her. “Yeah, Ah wish we were. But y’know what, Fluttershy? Focusin’ on the coulda-woulda-shoulda a the situation ain’t gonna git us anywhere. ‘Sides, this’ll all be just another memory once Apple Bloom’s all fixed up.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, you’re right. She’ll be better in no time.”
Rarity was busy washing Apple Bloom’s sheets. Meanwhile, Applejack and Fluttershy had wrapped her in quilts and blankets, something the young mare was very appreciative of. She laid practically motionless in her bed while the two others tended to her.
“Applejack,” Fluttershy began, “do you think I could leave for a minute? I think I might have some herbs that could help Apple Bloom sleep.”
“Sure,” Applejack said.
Fluttershy nodded and left the room. Applejack hummed a tune as she used her tail to brush some of the rubble into a dustpan.
Apple Bloom shifted. “Sis?” she asked.
Applejack barely heard her. “Yes, Apple Bloom?”
“Am I goin’ ta die?” Apple Bloom asked after a while.
Applejack paused, biting her lip. She walked to her sister’s side and nudged her gently. “Ah won’t let it happen, Apple Bloom. Ah swear.”
Apple Bloom dragged the rag, now lukewarm, off her forehead and looked up at her sister with bright eyes, even brighter due to her illness. “If Ah die…”
“Don’t talk like that,” Applejack said, nudging Apple Bloom. “Yer gonna be alright.”
“Listen ta me,” Apple Bloom said weakly. “If Ah die… please, sis, don’t avenge me. Ah came out here ta find you and git revenge on those nasty ponies like the Daymare…” she paused to catch her breath. “But it didn’t do me any good at all. Ah got myself into really dangerous places. Ah’m kinda lucky Ah get to talk to ya now.”
Applejack nodded, a hole starting to form in her heart. Is this the last time I’m going to get to talk to her? She shook her head. No, I’m not going to think like that!
“Jus’ be careful, sis, that’s all Ah ask,” Apple Bloom said. “An’ be careful what’cha wish for, alright?” she asked, smiling a little.
Applejack hugged her sister, disregarding her illness. “Ah will. Forever,” she added.
=====================================================================
*******
Scootaloo and Dash weren’t actually looking for food. They tried, but failed, to stay on task. Scootaloo just had so much to tell Dash about what had happened, and Dash was so ready to hear it that they, for the most part, just walked around and talked.
“So then, I started to follow this Saphira kid, right?” Scootaloo asked as they cantered around a ruined fountain. “But she just climbs up a tree like that! I still don’t know how she did it.”
Dash thought for a moment. “You think tree-climbing’s her ability?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought at first, but the Daymare must have cast a spell on her or something, because trees don’t have anything to do with her cutie mark, you know, the rubber band?” Scootaloo explained. They were nearing the edge of town.
“Hey, you were talking about the Daymare earlier. What exactly is a Daymare?” Dash asked.
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “You don’t know? Oh, right, stasis,” she realized, remembering Twilight’s brief explanation of where they were for three years. “Well, the Daymare is basically Princess Celestia.”
“What?” Dash asked, passing by a ruined gate that would have said ‘Welcome to Ponyville...!’ had it not been rusted and crushed.
“I dunno,” Scootaloo admitted, stepping over some rocks on a haphazard trail. “It’s just that the Princess went crazy all of a sudden and started attacking all these different towns. We got away, but we came back after it was over to look for you.”
“Wait, you sure you’re talking about Celestia?” Dash asked. That doesn’t sound anything like the Princess. She’s a really cool, fun ruler. How could she turn into something as bad as what the Daymare’s supposed to be?
“Positive,” Scootaloo said, her hooves meeting the soft ground of a forest. “I saw her myself. The only thing different about her were her eyes; they were dragon-like.”
“What?!” Dash said, stopping and looking at Scootaloo. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, a little startled by Dash’s reaction. “Everything else was the same, I swear.”
Dash paced a minute. “But it wasn’t Nightmare Moon? You’re sure she had dragon eyes, Scoot?”
“I swear,” Scootaloo said, a little frightened now. “You okay?”
But we beat Nightmare Moon! Dash thought. This doesn’t make any sense! Are there more than one? The blue pegasus shook her head. I’ll mention it to Twilight later, I guess. “Never mind.”
“Well, okay. Right, where was I…” Scootaloo paused. “Hey, Dash, I can fly now!”
“Really?” Dash asked. “Show me!”
Scootaloo had to take a running start. She spread her wings, and lifted off the ground with a noticeable amount of effort. Dash followed her high above the canopy of the forest.
Her form’s sloppy, Dash observed, but she’s been practicing. And for not having any help, that’s pretty good. “Nice job, Scootaloo!” Dash said, nudging her friend in mid-air. They landed after about five minutes of playing around in the air.
“I’ve been working hard so I could show you!” Scootaloo said proudly. “How was it?”
Dash looked at the teen pegasus in front of her. Examined her. She came to a conclusion.
“You’re just growing up too fast!” Dash said, pulling her fan into a big hug.
Dash bit back sadness. I’ve always liked her, a little. Like a sister. And now that she’s all grown up... Now I know how Rarity feels. I feel like I’ve missed the greatest years of my entire life. We could have had so much fun together! I’m the only one with any air speed, she could have helped me practice! Ugh... I feel so sad. I missed her first flight!
“Dash, are you okay?” Scootaloo asked, moving in front of her idol.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Dash said. “C’mon, let’s go back. Rarity’s waiting.”
Scootaloo saw past Dash’s ruse. “Dash, what’s wrong? Are you sure you’re okay?”
Dash nodded and swallowed. “I… I just feel that, all these years, I’ve abandoned you. I just wish I could have been here.”
“Aw, Dash, don’t go all Rarity on me,” Scootaloo said playfully. “We all know you’d never live that down.”
Dash nodded, and laughed a bit. I feel really bad for not being here, but I’ll just have to work through it. I guess there are just some things that you take for granted.
“You don’t have to worry about abandoning me,” Scootaloo said. “Because no matter what happens to you, you’ll always be right here,” she continued, putting a hoof to her chest. “And no matter what happens to me, I know I’m safe, because I’ll always be right here,” she said, tapping Dash on the chest.
Dash nodded. “Thanks, Scoot. That’s what I needed to hear. It’s been rough.”
“I know,” Scootaloo said. “There are a lot of ponies that are counting on you, you know. Don’t worry about just me.”
“Where is everypony, anyway?” Dash asked.
Scootaloo sighed. “Everypony in Equestria had to evacuate to Fillydelphia with Luna. That’s the only safe place anywhere in the world right now.”
“What?!” Dash exclaimed. “There’s no way everypony in Equestria would fit into one city!”
Scootaloo looked away. “By the time ponies started to evacuate… there was.”
Dash’s heart felt like a rock in her stomach. All those ponies… how?
“How could anypony do that?” Dash asked. “Not only would somepony have to be pure evil to do anything like that…” she swallowed. “But the Daymare couldn’t be everywhere at once!”
“It wasn’t just her,” Scootaloo said. “She had help, willing help. One of them is a shape-shifter. One is an assassin. Then there’s Saphira, who’s pretty much useless. And then there’s Nightmare Moon. She might have more; those are just the ones Luna told me about.”
“Wait, Nightmare Moon?” Dash’s mind was practically turned upside down. “But… but…!”
Scootaloo nodded. “Well, I’m not really that sure, but I do know that somehow Nightmare Moon isn’t limited to Luna… she’s been possessing other ponies.” She shuddered. “Some of them I knew. She changes them almost monthly. I think at one point she was Twist. Another…” she wiped her eyes, and blinked. “I don’t even want to think about it. So many were taken, Dash, and killed. I’m lucky we all survived.”
Dash was furious. “That isn’t even supposed to be possible!”
“I dunno,” Scootaloo said, wiping her eyes. “It might have just been the shape-shifter. It was scary, Dash. Seeing friends from school having those eyes, that dark body. It’s just so evil. And it’s terrifying, because they… they’re trying to kill us.”
That’s awful! Dash thought. How could anypony do that?!
“We should get back,” Scootaloo said, looking back toward Ponyville.
Dash nodded. How…?
=====================================================================
“It should be around here,” Pinkie said, feeling along a wall in Sugarcube Corners.
“We already checked here a week ago,” Sweetie Belle sighed.
“Cheer up!” Pinkie said, continuing to feel for something Sweetie Belle didn’t think was there. “If we didn’t check, we would never find anything. Now let’s see... Hmm...”
“But what are we even looking for?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“That’s a good question! I’m not really that sure,” Pinkie said, laughing at Sweetie Belle’s expression. “Just kidding! It should be right around here. Just a few more paces Weast.”
“Weast?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“It rhymes with yeast!” Pinkie chirped, opening the bread drawers. They were actually fairly large, and she had to climb into it to fully look around, eventually disappearing inside. Sweetie Belle heard a tapping noise behind her and found Pinkie stuck in a long-broken oven.
After rescuing her, Sweetie asked, “How’d you get in there?”
“Same way I get anywhere! Jumping!” Pinkie explained. She rubbed her chin. “But it wasn’t in there, so it must be...” She crouched low to the ground as if she was sneaking up on prey, then pounced on a completely unprepared cabinet. She pursed her lips, finding nothing inside.
“Told you,” Sweetie sighed.
“Cheer up!” Pinkie said. “If Weast wasn’t for yeast, then Weast must be for... feast!” She exclaimed, pushing a small green sticker on the wall. Her hoof went through the plaster, and she felt around in the resulting hole.
“What are you doing?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Hmm…” Pinkie said, deep in concentration. “Ah! There we go,” she said. There was a clicking sound, and the wall opened up into a freezer.
“Huh?” Sweetie Belle said.
“The previous owners installed this for some crazy reason,” Pinkie shrugged. “I thought it might come in handy eventually.”
“Why’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Pinkie shrugged. “Better safe than sorry!”
The great majority of the supplies in the freezer were canned or preserved, but to Sweetie Belle it was a godsend. Her stomach rumbled audibly at the sight of familiar brands, and she turned a slight shade of red. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
Pinkie nudged her. “There’s nothing wrong with being hungry. What did you think would happen, with you being all adventurey adventurous venture-pants?”
“Can we talk later?” Sweetie Belle begged.
Pinkie laughed. “Okie-dokey, lokie. Help me move this food, okay?”
=====================================================================
Twilight walked inside her house, or rather, what was left of it. Papers were everywhere, books were moldy, spiderwebs were hanging from the ceiling, and the wooden floor creaked when she entered. Just your ordinary, cheesy horror story, Twilight sighed, remembering a few that she had read as a filly.
She made her way across to the bookshelves and started looking through her spellbooks. Most of them were ruined, but she did find one on healing. Looking through it, she quickly saw it was useless; all of the pages had been ripped out long ago. Great, so they ruined my library, Twilight muttered to herself. What’s next?
Twilight noticed a note on a nearby desk with gold embroidery; she had only seen it once before, and that was on the oldest texts Celestia dared to give her. She picked it up using her telekinesis and read it, her eyes steadily widening.
Dear Twilight…
We write this note to thee in desperate times. Our quill is unsteady as We write because Equestria is under attack. The Elements of Discord hath decided to rear their ugly heads for the first time in centuries, and this time it looks like they hath constructed a plan far grander and more detailed than We hath ever known.
Time is short, so although We wouldst give thee a worthy explanation for Our actions, We must cut this message short. We have trapped thou inst thine own mind in order to allow an ancient being to aid thee. If thou readst this, thou hast probably already met him, but please know that he wishes thee the best. As do We.
Please be careful. Thou arest incredibly important to the safety of this world. Discord has decided to strike, and
We have seconds left. Meet Us in Fillydelphia. We can tell thee everything there.
-Princess Lun
It ended there. Twilight gradually deciphered the old language and sat down, pondering the implications.
She didn’t even have the time to write her own name, Twilight thought. Princess Luna… It’s been a while since I’ve seen her.
Twilight put the note on the inside of her crown, along with the best spell she could find to help Apple Bloom. This letter could be really important. I should read it to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and see if they know anything. It’s time I received some answers.
The world is in danger, Twilight shivered. The purple mare imagined just how powerful Discord could possibly be. It’s not the first time we’ve saved it, but… It might be our last.
=====================================================================
*******
A dark turquoise unicorn trotted into a ruined throne room. Her mane was an extremely pale cyan, almost white. It was braided and hung down to her neck. Her eyes were a pale yellow, containing dagger-like slits instead of pupils. Her cutie mark was of a fiendish harp.
She walked up to an important-looking white alicorn that was resting on a wide throne, flipping through a book. She was majestic; her horn and wings several times bigger than an ordinary unicorn or pegasus, and she wore a gold crown on her head. Her cutie mark was of a jewel; an amber sun. Her eyes were blue, dagger-like slits, but one was covered up by her mane, which was flowing with bright green, pink, and blue pastel colors.
“Sister,” the turquoise unicorn said impatiently.
“Yes, Envy?” the alicorn asked.
“Deception wants us to move to the next stage of the plan,” Envy said. Her voice was commanding and strong.
“Oh, already? I thought the Elements would stay in hiding for much longer,” the alicorn said, sighing and flipping through her book impatiently. “It’s about time they reared their ugly heads.”
“Oh, so you heard about that?” Envy laughed. But it wasn’t really a laugh; it was artificial and hollow.
“You expect me to just sit around reading all day?” the alicorn asked, swatting the book aside. “Ugh, books. My time is too important for something so stupid. There’s nothing new anymore.”
“You just can’t read as fast as I can,” Envy said. “If you want something to do, go find a new body. You’ve been hogging that one for the past three years.”
“And there’s a good reason why,” the alicorn said, her dagger eyes darting to her sister’s. “If I let go for a minute, she’s going to attack. She’s waiting for an opportunity, and that’s something I will not give to her willingly. Besides, the body of a goddess is the only thing that I truly deserve.”
“Psh, goddess. Well, if you’re bored, I need help finding a male body. So many females in this world, I do wonder how the population survives,” Envy remarked.
“I thought you preferred the feminine touch, brother,” the alicorn remarked.
“Yes, it is rather… interesting, inhabiting a female form,” Envy said, shifting her weight from one pair of legs to the other in a side-to-side motion. “And it’s also nice having such a wide variety of beautiful bodies. It’s almost as if somepony made entire populations using a template. Anyway, the reason I’m looking for a male body is to advance the plan, and I was hoping you could take a peek inside your Dreamscape or whatever and find me a specimen.”
“So Deception’s target is female again? That’s boring,” the alicorn remarked. “Aren’t there any in storage you could use? Looking through the Dreamscape is a pain and a waste of test subjects. You know how important my project is.”
Envy rolled her eyes. “Arrogance, this is Deception we’re talking about here. I looked in storage, found a perfectly acceptable body, and she turned it away like I pulled it from a dumpster. I wouldn’t be asking you if I didn’t need to; I know how important the Dreamscape is.”
“Fine, then,” the alicorn named Arrogance said. “I will take a look at my extensive reserves. When does Deception need it?”
“ASAP, so you better hop to it,” Envy said. “Meanwhile, I believe that we’re closing in on the Elements. Do you want me to give our troops the go-ahead?”
“Not until you’re there,” Arrogance said sternly. “It may be overkill, but I am not allowing a screw-up.”
Envy shrugged. “It’s not like I have anything better to do, and I’ll enjoy finally looking those brats in the eyes and having them read what Discord really is, written in blood.”
Envy turned to leave, but Arrogance stopped her.
“Don’t go overboard. We need them alive,” Arrogance warned, looking at Envy threateningly.
“Hmph. I was only kidding,” Envy scoffed. But she didn’t look like she was.
=====================================================================
[Note]: I do not own anything in this story that already belongs to someone else.
This entire storyline takes place BEFORE season two, but AFTER season one.
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Jeeeeez :O
I like this story a lot.
I wasn't sure reading with the music would be worth it, but it so totally was!
Someone has a hard on for Kingdom Hearts...
5179 Just so anyone else thinking about commenting about my mainly Kingdom Hearts music selection, there are quite a few reasons why.
1. I'm a diehard KH fan.
2. They have a wide selection of beautiful pieces, from six different games. I typically, though, will only use games from the console series and Birth by Sleep, because the DS has poor sound quality.
3. Since I know the series, it's very easy for me to navigate and find the right song. I know most of the characters and their themes by heart anyway.
I don't stick STRICTLY to KH, I do deviate from it time to time, but when it comes to setting the mood Kingdom Hearts music is the best option. I don't want to stumble blindly into a random FF soundtrack or look up songs with lyrics. And thanks for commenting!
I'm hooked!
Very well written! Can't wait for more!
"It’s almost as if somepony made entire populations using a template." Fourth Wall much, Envy?
The scary thing is, there was a TV on upstairs, and just as I finished reading that line, and I kid you not, whatever it was my sister was watching let rip with the classic "Da-bum-bum-CHING" drum roll and cymble finisher. By the time I was done choking on my soda and went to check, she was already flipping through channels, so I never DID get to find out what it was about. Still, the timing on my end was just creepy. 
Also, Lyra Heartstrings? Envy's wearing HER? Oy they, is Bon Bon going to be TICKED! At least all this talk of reserve bodies implies that Twist might, MIGHT still be alive.
*Crosses talons*
So, I guess this going to be a GrimDark Extended Remix of the Season 2 two-part opener. ...and all this KH music is making me wonder what is taking SquareEnix so long in making a KH 1+2 HD Remix. Really, just take the Japan-only rereleases (already in english, so one LESS thing to do), let them share Heartless Poly and Skin data to save space, drop in some Postgame and Newgame+ features, some cross-game bonus keyblades for completing one game or the other, the option to let Roxas wield underhanded as a nod to BbS, some way to view the cutsceans from Re:CoM to fill the gap, and then all the US players can stop she-dogging over the fact that they never get all the bonus story bits that the native Japanese players get in their exclusive rereleases.
...wait... Why am I ranting about KH in a MLP thread again?
Also, please oh PLEASE let Spike to alright! As a RariSpike shipper, I want at least ONE good thing to happen in this story.
Time to make a real comment.....wow shape sifting deamon ponies makes me wonder just how the mane 6 are going to deal with this and is it just me or does any one else get bad vibes from AppleBlooms 'illness'
170945
Glancing over the comments for older versions of upcoming chapters...
171495Not sure if I should clarify or not but will anyway. By the notation marks '' I put above illness, I was implying that AppleBloom isn't sick but possibly in the early stages of possession/conversion/infection...... but that's just my zombie apocalypse paranoia talking
169991
I might just make a new account. No one is following me anyway.
171505
...silly filly, this story is Tragity, not Survival Horror.
That said, however, things are only going to get rougher from here on out. The Mane Six have Plot Armor (Save Rarity, whom the cover art implies will get Mind Bucked by Envy), but every OTHER secondary and background pony is fair game. Even Luna may end up in the Glue Factory before all is said and done.
Eight more minuts until Three PM. ...is it a bad sign that I've gotten used to keeping this window open just to be Jonny on the spot once it updates?
“But what are we even looking for?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“That’s a good question! I’m not really that sure,” Pinkie said, laughing at Sweetie Belle’s expression. “Just kidding! It should be right around here. Just a few more paces Weast.”
“Weast?” Sweetie Belle asked.
--Damnit Patrick.--
How? How did Discord do that?!?!!
OMFG, too good.
Lovely and dark. I've always wanted to see what a world where Discord won was like. The looks of things from the Season 2 intro episodes were pretty crazy; one can only imagine how much worse it was when he was out for longer. I really enjoy the world building and how you are treating the antagonists as legitimate threats to the Mane Six. I just hope there's no Villain Decay. Awesome work.
So Celestia is being controlled, I hope we reach Fillidelphia soon, I want to know how we got here