The Mane Six, Spike, and a few of their friends travel to an island to attend a concert and party when the island is hit with an unknown infection. Now ponies are eating each other!
After winning a fashion contest in Manehattan, Rarity won the grand prize! She along with a party of 15 can travel to the remote island of Ponoi to stay at a luxury resort, where they can relax and party. For a few days the group parties hard and relax in the sun, that is when a mysterious illness breaks out that turns most of the island's populace into flesh-eating monsters. As the Mane Six try to stay together, they have to fight just to survive, and find a way off this dreaded island.
This is more of an original story than just a crossover. The setting is 100% inspired by the game, but the story will be more original. This story is also somewhat inspired by the Infection AU that is getting popular and encouraged me to make a zombie story.
Tags/triggers: Blood, Zombies, Zombie Ponies, Sex (references and risqué moments, but no actual sex).
The Island of Ponoi. A Mostly remote island with a dense jungle in the South Luna Ocean. There is a small population on the island, along with a lavish vacation resort that many ponies and other species visit during the summer. With the island close to the equator, it's normally warm year-round. And with many of the island's mysteries being concealed by its jungle and remoteness, many are unaware of the true horrors that lie within this seemingly slice of paradise.
Twilight enters her hotel room with her luggage and her number one assistant Spike right behind her. Twilight takes in a large breath of air as she approaches one of the beds and sets her luggage on it. Spike places his suitcase on the second bed and then approaches the large window. He opens it to reveal the stunning view of Ponoi's resort and beaches.
"Wow... This is absolutely amazing Twilight! A whole week of fun and beach relaxation!" Spike exclaims loudly. Twilight looks out the same window and smiles
"I'm looking forward to it as well. It was so generous of Rarity to invite us with her." Twilight said as she opened up her suitcase.
"I know! She worked so hard to make amazing dresses to win that fashion show in Manehattan! The grand prize is a high-luxury vacation on the Island of Ponoi!" Spike spoke in a stereotypical salesman voice. "Where you and a small party of your friends can spend a whole week in paradise!"
Twilight chuckles at Spike's comedic display. She shifts through her luggage and pulls out a one-piece swimsuit that has her cutie mark on it. Custom made by Rarity herself. She smiles at it as Spike returns to his own bed and lays down on it to feel how comfy it is.
"When is the party?" Spike asked with his claws behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.
"The party isn't until Friday at 7 and will continue well into the night," Twilight responded, before giving Spike a serious look. "And there will be alcohol served, even though the drinking laws here are different back home, you are still just a baby dragon. I better not catch you sneaking any drinks."
"I promise, I promise." Spike gave her a wan smile. "The party is still a few days away anyway. Isn't there supposed to be a live performance there as well right? Who is it supposed to be? Sapphire Shores? Songbird Serenade? Countess Coloratura?"
"Neither, it's the Zebra rapper, Ukufa" Twilight responded, to which Spike gasps loudly.
"I love Ukufa! Who Do You Voodoo Is my favorite song!" Spike said loudly.
"I'm surprised you like rap music Spike." Twilight pointed out to which the dragon shrugged.
"Not my favorite genre, but there is always a diamond in the rough. And Ukufa is an outlier." Spike boasted.
Twilight rolls her eyes and then giggles at Spike. She uses her magic to put on her swimsuit, swimwear is what most ponies wear at the resort anyway. She looks at the clock and sees that it is approaching noon. She smiled as she knew that this week was going to be an experience she and her friends would never forget. Twilight, and her five friends, Spike, Big Macintosh, the Crusaders, and Starlight who insisted Trixie join them for the week of relaxation.
Friday, 7:30 pm
Twilight and the rest of her friends were walking towards the Resort's bars for the party. They had done nothing but go to the beaches and shop for trinkets while waiting for the party, and now it was time for some real fun. All six mares laughing and talking amongst each other. Many of them thank Rarity for the fifth time for inviting them along with her on this vacation.
"This party is going to be, so, AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed loudly.
"You can say that again! It's time to PAAAAAAR-TAY!" Pinkie exclaimed even louder than Rainbow. The other 4 giggles at their friends' excitement.
"Seriously though, We cannot thank you enough for inviting us Rarity. I'm still shocked you invited us and not your own family." Said Twilight as she walked next to the fashionista.
"For the hundredth time you guys, it's no big deal! Most of my family is too busy to come, and besides, you girls are just as close to me as family anyway." Rarity explained, earning more smiles from her friends. Fluttershy then turns to Applejack to ask her a question.
"Applejack, where is Big Macintosh? isn't he going to be at the party?" Fluttershy asked.
"He's already there with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Spike. Since they're so young, they won't be able to enjoy the whole thing, So Big Mac came out here early with 'em so they could have some fun." Applejack answered before looking at Twilight. "And what about Starlight?"
"She and Trixie will be there, but they're still getting ready," Twilight answered as they ascended some wooden steps to the bars.
With the party already started, there were already quite a few ponies there, dancing to music and crowding the bars. Twilight and her friends approach one of the bars not as crowded and begin to order a few drinks. They start slow, but as 8 o'clock turns to 9 o'clock, and then to 10 o'clock, the more they order and the louder their laughter becomes. Even Fluttershy who after being convinced by her friends to drink past her comfort zone was acting less and less shy. Rainbow Dash was in the middle of a risqué story from the Wonderbolt Academy.
"...And since we all share a locker room at Wonderbolt headquarters, I was able to sneak a peak at Soarin." Dash gossiped as each one of the girls leaned in to hear her story. "He's easily about 12 inches!"
The girls begin to laugh at Dash, while Fluttershy grows a wide blush on her face. They were all on their fifth round of drinks when Big Macintosh approached them, Applebloom asleep on his back.
"Hey Aj, The girls are getting tired, I'm going to put them all to bed." Said Big Mac with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo next to him, both girls looking as if they could pass out any minute.
"Alright, Big Mac. You gonna to come back out?" Asked Applejack, but Big Mac shook his head.
"Nope. These big parties ain't my thing." Big Mac responded.
"Alrighty, G'night Big Mac." Applejack smiled at her brother.
"Eeyup." Replied Big Mac before leading the girls back to the hotel. It was then when Spike hopped up onto the free bar seat next to Twilight.
"Kids, am I right? Can't stay up too late." Spike chuckled as he nudged Twilight with his elbow. She looks down at him and narrows her eyes.
"You're still just a baby dragon yourself Spike. You're not gonna try to convince me to let you drink alcohol." Twilight warned.
"Aw come on Twilight! When is the little guy gonna get an opportunity to come here again? Let him have just one drink." Rainbow Dash called out, causing Twilight to look between her and Spike. Twilight then gets an idea to teach Spike a lesson. She smirks and then looks at Spike.
"Well alright, but just one drink, only one." Twilight held up her hoof for emphasis.
"Yes!!! Thank you Twilight!" Spike pumped his fist as Twilight ordered him a beer. She smirked as it was placed in front of him. Spike grabs it, brings it to his mouth, and tilts it back. The moment the liquid enters his mouth he starts gagging and spitting it back up. The mares start giggling at him as Twilight continues to smirk.
"So Spike, like it? You want another beer?" Twilight snickered while Spike tried to play it off cool.
"Uh... not right now, I'm gonna try and finish this first. hehe." Spike gave a wan smile and went for another sip. He held back the gags as the liquid entered his mouth again. Chuckles from the mares were heard again as he tried to act tough. Not too soon later did the lights dim, causing many partygoers to flock towards the stage. Twilight and friends turn around as the lights on the stage dim.
"Ladies and Gentlecolts, please welcome to the stage, Ukufa!" Said an announcer's voice as many began to cheer. When the lights come back on, a Zebra wearing a large coat, and his face painted to look like a skull was on stage. He stood on his hind legs with a microphone in his hoof. He snaps his eyes open, which causes more cheers. Eventually, music began to play.
The party was now in full swing as Twilight watched most of her friends stand up from the bar and join the crowd in listening to the rapper. Twilight stays where she is and orders another drink. She could already feel herself getting drunk, but she didn't care. Tonight was a night to have fun. As the night creeps well past midnight, Twilight could barely stand up straight. She was ready to call it a night as she stood up from the bar. She stumbles as she tries to get her footing. She looks up on the stage and sees Fluttershy dancing like she wasn't shy at all on the stage next to Ukufa as his performance continues. She shakes her head and tries pushing her way past a few partygoers.
She passes one of the hotel bars and sees Pinkie behind the counter, chugging a bottle while the other patrons are chanting for her to chug more. She was distracted by this which caused her to bump into a stallion partygoer who turns and looks at Twilight.
"Hey! Who..." Oh hey now, you're really cute. Say, baby, wanna head to my hotel room for the night?" The stallion winks at her.
"Guh... no thanks." She pushed past him as she could feel the booze trying to come back up.
"Your loss." said the stallion as he went back to listening to the music. Twilight headed for the bathroom to throw up when she noticed Rainbow Dash talking to another mare by them. They look to be flirting as Rainbow then opens the door to the bathroom and invites the mare inside with her. The door closes and Twilight rolls her eyes. Not wanting to disturb them, she decides to just find Spike and head back to the hotel room. Twilight begins to call for Spike's name, trying to yell over the sound of the music. She continues to call Spike's name when she bumps into somepony else. Luckily, this time she bumps into a familiar face, Starlight.
"Oh! Heya Twilight. You don't look so well." Said Starlight standing next to Trixie.
"I'm... I'm fine. Just think I've had enough for tonight. Where have you too been?" Twilight asked as she was unable to stand still. Starlight blushes while Trixie just smirks.
"We were just getting ready, that's all. heh..." Starlight chuckles nervously. Twilight rolls her eyes at Starlight.
"You seen Spike anywhere?" Twilight asked as she had had enough of tonight.
"Yeah, he's by the pool." Starlight pointed in the direction she saw a spike. Twilight thanked her and then saunters past both of them as she could hear Trixie giggling behind her. She makes her way to the hotel's pool and sees Spike sitting there with his feet in the water, alone. Twilight, despite being tipsy, could tell something was wrong. She gets up to him and gently pats his shoulder.
"Spike, you ok?" She asked him. He turns to look at her and he has a depressed look on his face.
"Oh, hi Twilight. It's nothing... it's just I thought this party was going to be more fun. But I'm way too young for it to enjoy it completely..." Spike sighs as he rests his cheeks in his palms, kicking his feet in the water. Twilight frowns, wrapping one of her forelegs around the dragon and hugging him from behind.
"That's ok Spike. One day, when you're older, I'll bring you back here. And I'll show you how fun these kinds of parties are." She spoke softly as Spike looked up at her, his eyes sparkling.
"Really? You mean it?" Asked Spike. Twilight smiles at him, which brings his spirit back up. He stands up and hugs her. "Thanks, Twilight! you're the best!."
"It's no problem Spi...Spi..." Twilight's speech began to slur as her stomach clenched, wanting to expel the extra alcohol in her gut. She breaks the hug and turns her head and vomits on the floor of the pool area. She slowly lifts her head and wipes her mouth. "...Sorry to kill the mood Spike... but I'm ready to call it a night... let's just go back to the hotel room."
"Ok, Twilight." Spike began to giggle at her. He helps as she leans against him as they make their way back up to the hotel room. Spike swipes the room card and they both enter. Twilight, still wearing her swimsuit approaches her bed. She goes to collapse on it, but accidentally ends up falling to the side and lands on the floor next to her bed.
"Twilight?" Spike approached her, but she was already passed out and asleep. Spike sighs and tries to wake her up, no response. He tries to pick her up, but she is too heavy. Spike quickly gives up before going into the bathroom to change into some pajamas. He steps out and climbs into his own bed and turns out the lights.
3 o'clock AM
Spike slowly opens his eyes to a sound coming from the hallway. He rolls over and tries to ignore it, but as he does, the sound becomes more and more clear. It kinda sounded like...screaming? He slowly opens his eyes and sits up, yep, it definitely sounded like screaming. He slowly climbed out of bed as his curious part got the better of him. He slowly approaches the hotel door and opens it. The sounds of the screams become much clearer now.
"AHH!!! HELP ME!!! AHHH!! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!!" Is what Spike hears. his blood begins to run cold as he slowly peeks his head out and turns to look down the hallway. His eyes widen at what he saw, the image, burning into his mind forever.
Twilight groans hard as she slowly opens her eyes. The light from the window stung her eyes hard and her back ached from lying on the floor. As she slowly gets to her hooves, she feels the pounding in her head. It makes her nauseous and she quickly stumbles into the bathroom of her hotel. She feels her stomach clench hard and she throws up what little she has in her stomach. She groans hard as she looks into the porcelain bowl. Steadying her hoofing, she flushes the toilet and steps back into her hotel room. She approaches the sink and pours herself a cup of water and drinks it. Licking her lips to the satisfying flavor, she pours a second one. She can't believe she missed the bed and passed out on the floor from partying last night. She looks over at the second bed, and to her surprise, Spike is missing. Raising an eyebrow she then looks towards her hotel door and finds it barricaded with chairs and the room TV.
"What in Equestria?..." Twilight says to herself as she approaches the barricade. She knows she didn't do this, that means... She hears a small noise beside her and looks towards the closet. It sounds like soft sobbing, so Twilight slowly approaches it. She uses her magic to grip the nob, and she slowly turns it. She opens the door and... SMACK
Twilight yelps as her muzzle is smacked hard with a mane brush. After rubbing her now sore muzzle, she looks in and sees Spike holding the manebrush tightly in his claw, looking at Twilight as if he were looking at the devil himself.
"Spike!" She scolded, to which she quickly began shushing her.
"I'm sorry Twilight!" He spoke barely above a whisper. "I didn't know if it was really you!"
"Why wouldn't it be me!?" She narrows her eyes at the little dragon.
"Last night..." Tears formed in Spike's eyes. "Not long after we got in bed, I heard screaming. then I heard a lot of screaming.... then I could hear hoof steps out in the hall and... so I peaked."
"...And?" Twilight was beginning to look concerned for Spike as he looked absolutely traumatized.
"...I poked my head out into the hallway and I heard the sound of wet mud being stepped in. I looked down the hall and saw a bunch of ponies knelt over something... like they were eating something. I called out to them and... and..." Spike couldn't finish as he began sobbing again. Twilight softened her eyes and looked back towards the barricade. Whatever Spike saw, it must have been so horrible that he built this. She slowly walked over to it and began using her magic to remove some of the chairs.
"Twilight! No!" Spike called out to her in a panic.
"I just want to see what is going on Spike, I'm not leaving the room yet," Twilight reassured. She pulled away the last chair and very slowly began to open the door. She stuck her head out and the hallway had no lights on, making it hard to see. However, there was this very intense stench. It smelled awful like something had just died in the hallway. She uses her horn to illuminate her surroundings, and what she saw, she will never forget. Blood.
Blood was everywhere. It coated the walls and stained the carpet. There was too much blood here for it to have come from one pony. Twilight feels her stomach clench a second time and she quickly pulls her head back in. She closes the door and attempts to vomit, but she only dry heaves as there is nothing left in her stomach to throw up. What in the absolute hell happened!? She needed to find out, somepony could be hurt real bad.
"W-what is it?" Spike shook like a filly in the middle of winter.
"Sweet Celestia..." She turns her head towards the baby dragon with her eyes wide as dinner plates. "Spike... stay here, and do not come out for any reason."
Spike looked like he wanted to protest, but Twilight gave him a reassuring look to calm him down. Spike sat back down inside the closet and hugged his knees. Twilight closed the closet door and looked back towards her room door. She takes in a large breath and then exhales. She pushes the door open once again and takes her first step out. She could feel the moist carpet under her hooves squish. She cringes hard and fights back the churning in her stomach. She steps out fully and closes the door behind her.
She looks around as her horn illuminates again. Once again she sees the blood caking the walls and the carpet of the hallway soaked heavily. Twilight gulps hard, and takes a few steps towards the door across from her. This was Starlight's and Trixie's room, hoping they would answer, she knocked. To her surprise, the door opens on its own with the first knock, opening halfway. Not taking that as a good sign, she opens it the rest of the way. She steps inside, and the two are nowhere to be seen. The room, however, looks as if a tornado ran through it. Twilight feels a pit in her gut, not taking in the sight very well.
"Starlight!?... Trixie!?" She steps inside more and starts searching the room. She looks inside the closet and even in the bathroom, the pair are nowhere to be seen. In a panic, she runs out and checks the room next to her, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's room. It's identical, it's cluttered but they are nowhere in sight. In each room she checks to look for her friends, it ends the same way. The room is abandoned and it's trashed heavily. Twilight begins to panic, praying to Celestia that Luna will show up to end this nightmare.
She steps back out into the hallway. Her breathing was shaky as she felt the cold dampness of the carpet. As she looked back to all the carnage in the hallway, one thought began to enter her mind. Why is there so much blood, yet, there is not a single body in sight? That caused her to stop in her tracks. She looked all around her again, there had to be gallons of blood in this hallway, but not a single body in sight.
She looked farther down the hall, seeing there was more blood that way. With her curiosity growing, she builds up her bravery and begins trudging her way down the hall, she reaches an open part of the hotel that opens into a small lounge. When she turns towards the hallway, is when she finally sees one. A body lying near the back wall of the lounge. Twilight recoils hard and her stomach again begins to clench. Slowly she approaches the body, taking each step with caution. It had an orange coat, she needed to identify the body, to make sure it was not one of her friends. She gets right on it and uses her magic to roll the body over.
The sight of the lifeless body just slumping over was gut-wrenching. The body appeared to be a mare with an orange coat. But her cutie mark did not show apples, but instead a few palm trees. Relieved that it was not her Friend Applejack, she gets a closer look at the body. The body already seemed to be decaying, as Twilight could see muscle tissue. But that was odd, The body looked like it had been dead for a few days if it was decayed this bad. Twilight could also see some bite marks taken out of the mare. Was she attacked by a wild animal? The resort was quite a few ways from the jungle, but this was the only logical reason for all the blood and the dead body.
She stands up straight and turns back to go get Spike, and hopefully find somepony to report this to. However, right when she was about to turn towards the hallway leading to her room. She could hear breaths behind her. She stops and looks towards the body again, and now the body seems to be twitching. Twilight held her breath and rushed back over to the mare, she was still alive and she needed help.
"Miss! Miss are you ok! Stay still, you are hurt badly. I will go get you some help." Twilight reassured. The mare's eyes shifted to look at her, they were bloodshot and crazed. Her lips curl revealing her teeth. Thick saliva and blood ooze from her mouth. Her breaths begin to sound like growls which causes Twilight's eyes to widen. With motion as fast as a bullet, the mare lunges and takes a firm bite on Twilight's foreleg. Twilight lets out an ear-piercing shriek and punches the mare hard with her other hoof. The mare lets go and Twilight falls backward, landing on her back. tears of pain leak from her eyes as she looks at the nasty bite on her leg.
Her blood oozes down her leg as she then looks up at the mare who bit her. Twilight watches as the mare rises to her hooves slowly. Now standing at full height, Twilight watches as some of her intestines fall out of the mare's gut. Her eyes widen in fear as she then looks the mare in the face. The mare looks at Twilight with blind, animalistic rage. She lets out a loud predatory growl which causes Twilight to yell out in a blood-curdling scream. The mare stumbles towards Twilight, shifting under her hooves like it was hard to walk.
Twilight begins to scoot back on her flank in a desperate attempt to get away. The mare stumbles closer and closer till she is over the top of Twilight. The mare pounces and gets on top of Twilight, getting her and her swimsuit covered in blood as she attempts to bite her in the face. Twilight screams as she pushes on the mare's throat to keep her snapping jaws away from her face. The mare's hooves begin to scratch at Twilight's sides as it desperately tries to bite her again. Tears of fear stream down Twilight's face as she screams and fights for her life. She desperately looks for something to defend herself. She looks over at the wall and sees a fire extinguisher. In blind desperation. She uses her magic to pull it off the wall and smacks the mare hard in the head with it. The mare rolls off Twilight, allowing her to quickly get up.
She looked back down at the mare who was groaning and attempting to get back up. Twilight brings the extinguisher back down even harder onto the mare's head. She hears a sickening crack as the mare's body twitches. Her bloody gurgles could still be heard, causing Twilight to bring it down a third time. She begins huffing as the mare finally grows quiet again, and stops moving. Twilight Slowly backs herself against the wall and looks down. She cannot believe what she has just done. Her breathing was short and choppy as her throat tightened.
It was self-defense, she kept trying to tell herself. But the fact she may have just killed her causes Twilight to begin sobbing again. She looks down the hallway she came from, wiping away most of her tears, she sprints back down the hall. She gets back to her room and tries to enter. The door wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she pushed against it.
"Spike..." Her voice croaks. "Spike it's me... Open the bucking door... please."
After a few seconds, she hears shifting behind the door, like Spike removing the barricades he put back against the door. Slowly, Spike opens the door and looks up at Twilight. She was covered head to toe in blood, and Spike looked at her in horror.
"T-Twilight?..." Spike Whispered.
"Come on Spike... SNIFF... We need to go..." She replied, holding back most of her emotions in front of the baby Dragon.
"G-go?... go where?" He asks before Twilight's magic then surrounds his arm.
"For Celestia's sake just come on Spike!" Twilight says as she forcefully pulls Spike out of the room. The two make their way back down the hall Twilight just came through. She passes the body of the mare she just bludgeoned with the Fire extinguisher, trying to keep Spike from looking at it. But her efforts were for not.
"T...T... T-Twilight?" Spike squeaks as he tightens his grip on Twilight's tail.
"Don't look at it, Spike!" She tells him before dragging him past the body. They round the corner near the lounge to where the elevator was. She presses the button frantically, hoping in vain that the elevator still works. No matter how many times she presses the button, the elevator doesn't respond.
"Buck me! The power must be out!" Twilight exclaims loudly as her anxiety begins to rise again.
"Twilight! Your leg!" Spike yelled while looking at the Bite on Twilight's leg. She looks down to see it, her blood now oozing down her leg and onto the carpet as well. She pulls Spike's arm with her magic again and goes back into the lounge, forcing herself to ignore the pain.
"I'm fine! We gotta find the stairwell!" Twilight said as Spike tried to keep up with her.
"Where are we going!?" Spike asked, not fully understanding Twilight's panic.
"We need to get down to the lobby and find the others!" Twilight explained as they finally stepped out of the lounge. To her surprise, there appeared to be a hotel bellboy standing in the middle of the hall. Twilight feels a wave of relief and approaches him. "Thank Celestia. Sir! We need help, there's been an accident!"
The bellboy's head shoots upward like he is startled. He turns around, and the sight of him makes Twilight's blood run cold again. His uniform and mouth are covered in blood as meaty chunks hang from his mouth. His eyes were bloodshot and glossy as they seemed to stare into Twilight's soul. He was nowhere near as decayed as the mare she fought, but his face was the same as he looked at her like she was prey.
"Spike..." Twilight whispered. "Climb onto my back... do not make any sudden moves."
Spike was shaking with fear as he looked at the bloodied bellboy. Without hesitation, he slowly does what he is told. He climbs on top of Twilight and sits on her back. The bellboy was growling at the two like an animal, getting more and more agitated by the minute. With only moving her eyes, she looks down the hall where the stairs are located. She takes in a deep breath to calm her nerves. The first mare could only shuffle, perhaps whatever is happening to this bellboy, is the same thing that happened to that mare.
"Hold onto me tight Spike," Twilight warns before lowering herself down and charging forward. The bellboy lets out a hellish yell and lunges at Twilight. She sidesteps him, just barely missing his hoof that reached out for her. She begins to sprint down the hallway as fast as she can. That's when she hears Spike's panicked yell.
"Twilight! He's chasing you!" Spike yelled out. Twilight turns her head and gasps, the Bellboy is sprinting after her, barking like a demon. He was easily gaining on her, which caused Twilight to lower her head and begin sprinting as fast as she could. The yells and screams from the bellboy didn't even sound like they were coming from a pony, but a monster. The sounds he was making were still getting louder, even though she was giving it her all. She looks up and sees the door to the stairwell, She charges through the door and skids to a stop. She turns around and tries to close the door, but the bellboy is too close. As she tried to shut the door, He charged through, swinging the door back open and hitting Twilight hard in the muzzle.
The impact was so hard that it caused Twilight to fling backward hard and land on her back, cracking the back of her skull against the concrete floor. Spike was flung from her back as Twilight began to black out from the blow to the head. She could still hear the demonic barks from the bellboy as Spike screamed her name. Her vision darkens and the last thing she sees before her vision fades completely is a quick flash of green light.
5 hours later
Twilight begins to stir at the sounds of many voices that seem to be shouting in a panic. she tries opening her eyes, but the sudden light stings. Eventually, she can begin to pick out the words being said.
"...Answer me!..."
"...Put that down!..."
"...She could be infected!..."
"...It's been hours! Put that down right now!..."
Twilight could recognize one of the voices yelling. She squeezed her eyes tighter as the yelling was making her headache worse. Eventually, she groans and slowly opens her eyes, only seeing moving blurs.
"...Spike?" She softly groans out.
"See! She is not one of them!" Came the desperate voice of Spike.
"I need to make sure!" Came a second voice. As Twilight's vision clears up, she sees a stallion holding a wrench in his hoof. he holds it above his head like he is going to hit her with it. "Can you understand me!? I'll cave in your bloody face if you don't answer me!"
Twilight's eyes widen as she slowly gets a grip on what is going on around her. She looks at the stallion with a frightened but serious look on his face. He seemed moments away from hitting her with the wrench, causing her to hold up her hooves.
"...Don't hit me..." She managed to speak out, causing the stallion to soften his expression and lower the wrench.
"Oh thank Celestia..." He steps away from her as Twilight slowly pulls her hooves away from her face. "I damn near killed the Princess of Bloody Friendship..."
Slowly, Twilight sits up and looks behind her. She was lying on a bed, inside one of the beach bungalows. But how? Her last memory was that she was in a hotel running from a deranged bellboy. She then feels arms wrap around her and she looks back to see Spike hugging her tightly. She could see tears rolling down his cheeks as he sobbed into her coat.
"Twilight! I was so scared you were going to wake up and be one of those things!" Spike wailed loudly.
"Those... things?" She questioned as she hugged him back.
"We're calling them Trotters." Came a voice next to Twilight, She looks up to see the stallion who had just moments ago threatened to kill her.
"Trotters? What... I don't understand..." Twilight whimpered.
"No pony does! They just started showing up last night, ponies that eat other ponies. And the ponies that are bitten die, and then come back to life, but as a trotter themselves." Said the stallion, giving Twilight a serious look. She could not believe what she was hearing. "I've seen bodies suddenly reanimate and begin feasting on the living. It's a total nightmare!"
"If you're bitten... you turn into one?" Asked Twilight as she looked down at her leg. The same spot that was bitten by a supposed trotter earlier. It was wrapped up in gauze and seemed to be dressed up. "If a bite turns you... then how come I haven't turned?"
"We don't know! that's why I almost smashed in your head! We were all expecting you to turn!" Said the stallion. Soon, another survivor, this time a mare, enters the bedroom of the bungalow in a panic.
"She went out there! She bucking went outside to fight them!" Screamed the mare.
"She did!? What the buck is wrong with her!?" The stallion yelled back.
"Who!? Who went outside!?" Twilight exclaimed as the mare survivor looked at her.
"The pony who has been keeping us safe, Rainbow Dash!" She yelled. Twilight's eyes widen and she quickly pushes Spike away and stands up.
"Where!?" Twilight demanded. The mare points behind her and Twilight doesn't hesitate to walk past her.
"Whoa whoa!? Are you bucking crazy!? You want to get eaten alive!?" The stallion survivor tried to stop her.
"Rainbow Dash is one of my friends! I'm not leaving her out there on her own." Twilight narrows her eyes at the stallion. He sees how she has made up her mind and relents.
"Your funeral Princess." He backs away. Twilight turns back towards the doors of the bungalow and is about to open them when she is stopped one more time.
"Wait, Princess! Take this!" The mare survivor calls out to her. Twilight turns and sees the mare handing Twilight the wrench the stallion survivor had. She uses her magic to envelop it and take it. She looks at it before looking back at the front doors of the bungalow. She takes in a deep breath before bursting through and charging out. The beach in front of her was littered with blood and a few bodies. She could see Dash with a canoe paddle, fending off a small horde of 4 trotters. She had a determined look on her face as they all surrounded her.
"Rainbow!" Twilight called out, Which broke Dash's concentration as she looked over at Twilight. Her eyes widened with both shock and relief to see her friend was ok.
"Twilight! You're ok!" Dash yelled out. But that small distraction was just enough for one of the trotters to pounce. It latches onto Dash as she lets out a pained grunt.
"Rainbow!" Twilight narrows her eyes in anger and quickly lunges forward. One of the trotters turns and sees Twilight. Blood drips from its mouth as it begins to bark demonically at her. He stumbles towards her as Twilight approaches, swinging the wrench that connects with the trotter's jaw, it stumbles back but isn't fully knocked down. She swings again, hitting it in the temple, which finally causes it to crumple to the ground. She looks at the trotter on Dash and swings the wrench to hit it in the back of the head.
The trotter loses some of its strength from the hit, allowing Dash to finally push it off with an exhausted grunt. She then swings the paddle and hits it across the face. A loud crack is heard as it falls to the ground. With two more left, Dash and Twilight finish them off. Twilight brings the wrench down hard, smashing into the skull, and into the brain. Dash knocks the last trotter to the ground, before stabbing the trotter in the eye with the opposite end of the paddle, breaking all the way through its head. They are both soon covered in blood. Twilight pants hard as she looks down at the bodies of the 4 trotters. She still partially could not believe what she was seeing.
"What in Celestia's name is happening?" She whispered to herself. It was then she felt hooves wrap around her, it was Rainbow Dash hugging her tightly.
"Twilight! I can't believe you are ok!" Dash holds her possessively.
"I'm fine Dash, what's been going on?" Twilight begins to hug her back.
"We found you and Spike in the hotel's stairwell. You were bit and I was terrified you were going to turn into these... these..." Dash turns away and looks down at the bodies, a scowl forming on her face. "These monsters!"
"What's even happening Dash, where are the Trotters coming from?" Twilight asked as her gaze followed Dash's
"I'll tell you when we get back inside." Both mares then turn and enter the bungalow, safe for now.
Twilight was in the bathroom of the bungalow, washing off the blood that had caked onto her fur. As the last of it runs down the drain she begins drying herself off with a towel. Slowly, she looks up and sees herself in the mirror. There she was, just staring at herself. Slowly, she begins to look down at her injured fore-legged, all wrapped up in gauze. She slowly began to unwrap it, she needed to see the bite. She gets the gauze off and... there it was. A distinct bite on her leg. It looked relatively healthy though, no infection has settled into it. She then slightly taps it with her other hoof, causing herself to wince.
She felt it, pain. So this really isn't a dream. This, all this was real. Twilight feels like she is in shock, she should be an emotional mess. Dead ponies are coming back and killing and eating the living. She feels the pit in her gut and the panic setting in. But overall, she feels composed. She sighs heavily and finally steps out to where the others are. Spike and the mare survivor were sitting on the couch, Rainbow was leaning against the front doors of the bungalow, and the Stallion survivor was pacing back and forth. All eyes shifted to Twilight as she exited the bathroom. Twilight looked to Rainbow, it was about time she got some answers.
"Ok... I think I'm ready to talk now." Twilight announced, causing Dash to stand up straight. Rainbow begins to approach Twilight, and that's when she notices them. "Rainbow! You're bit!"
"I'm covered in bites Twilight," Dash said calmly. "Many of which are older than 5 hours."
"Older? Then does that mean...?" Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Rainbow interrupted her.
"That means what is happening to other ponies can't happen to me, and by the looks of it, it can't happen to you either," Dash said as she sat in front of Twilight. Twilight felt relieved hearing that. Hearing how both she and her friend were immune was convenient. Or was it? Twilight already began thinking up a hypothesis on why that is, but she needed more evidence to support her idea.
"Well then Rainbow, I guess my first question is when did all of this start happening?" Twilight asked, seeing Rainbow Dash begin to slump her shoulder. She lets out a long sigh before answering.
"I started noticing it at the party last night. I was uh... Leaving the bathroom when I noticed a fight breaking out near one of the bars. I... I watched this stallion jump on the back of another stallion. I thought the two were really hoofing it out when the stallion on the bottom started yelling that the other was biting him. I went to help break it up, pulling the stallion on top of the other one and... then he jumped on me!" Dash said quite loudly. "He bit me right on the shoulder and so I punched him to get him off. Twilight... the look on his face... Never in my life have I looked at a face more covered in blood then that guy."
Twilight listens to her friend's story closely. it appears whatever happened last night happened after she turned in for the night, as she remembers seeing Dash go to the restroom with another mare by her side. She ignores her question on why they went in together and instead wants to know what happened after Dash was bit.
Flashback
Dash was yelling loudly as she clutched her shoulder which was now seeping blood. She looks up at this crazy Stallion that just bit her. She scowls at him till she notices the features on his face. His eyes were bloodshot and glossy, and they were darting all around him like he was crazed. Slowly her eyes begin to soften as he looks back down at her, growling like a beast. the stallion was then suddenly shoved in the side by what looked to be one of the resort's security guards.
"Hey, buddy! You lost your bucking Mind!" Yelled the security guard as he shoved the crazed stallion. Shifting his attention to the security guard, the stallion quickly tries to lunge at him. The guard was trying to push the stallion back as it appeared the stallion was trying to bite him too. Dash watches as a second security guard offers his hoof to her.
"Come along with me Ma'am, we'll help get that wound taken care of." Said the second security guard. Rainbow looks up at him, still holding her shoulder, and takes his hoof with her other hoof. He helps her up and leads her, and the stallion who was first attacked towards the nearest infirmary at the resort. They are led inside the hotel and go straight to a very small infirmary where Rainbow and the other Stallion had to sit together. The walk takes about 15 minutes, and since it was so late at night, it took around 30 minutes for them to be seen. Rainbow insisted the stallion be taken care of first, as he seemed to be in the worst shape. By the time the doctor dresses both Rainbow Dash and the other stallion, about an hour and a half had passed since they were both first bit.
"Well, that should just about do it for you two." Said the Doctor looking them both over one more time. "Let me get a statement from the security officer who escorted you both here and I can dismiss both of you."
"Doc... I don't feel so good..." Said the Stallion who looked to be sweating.
"It's just a bite from another pony. It's not like you contracted rabies from a wild animal or something. I'm sure you're fine." the doctor reassured.
"You weren't there... the bucker sure did act like a wild animal with rabies." Said the stallion as he rubbed his leg where the bite was.
"And what of you miss? You were bitten by the same pony, how do you feel?" The doctor asked as he looked at Rainbow Dash.
"I feel fine. But I agree, that guy was seriously acting strange. I didn't even do anything and he bit me." Dash Interjected.
"If you're feeling fine, then I'm sure the sicky feeling you are feeling sir is unrelated. Perhaps you should halt your drinking for the night." The doctor stood up and readjusted his glasses. "Let me speak with the security guard and I'll dismiss you both."
It was then the Doctor stood up and exited. Dash sighed and slumped in the seat she was sitting in as the stallion next to her kept to himself, his sweating only increasing. Soon an hour passes and the doctor hasn't returned yet. Dash was getting impatient and began to fidget by herself. When roughly 3 hours after the bite happens, Dash has had enough.
"Guhhhh!!! When is he coming back!? It's approaching 2 hours since he left!? Where the buck is he!?" Rainbow yelled She looks over at the stallion with her and her eyes widened at him. His face was pale, and he was covered in sweat. He was panting hard and his eyes were beginning to look bloodshot. And his bandages, were already filthy as blood was already bleeding through it, while her own bandages were still clean. "Whoa... dude... you really do look sick."
"...Bucket... get me a bucket..." he says softly. Rainbow, stands up and grabs the trashcan near the door. She picks it up and carries it to him and sets it in front of him. The stallion leans over and vomits. Rainbow looks away, sticking her tongue out from the noise of hearing him throw up. When he was done she looked back at him. He was staring into the trashcan like he was looking at a car accident. Rainbow looks down and gasps, the stallion just threw up a whole bunch of blood. "Oh, Celestia... Water... I need... some water...."
"Geez... okay dude. Just sit right there, I'll be back." Rainbow Dash stood up, approached the door, opened it, and peeks out. There was no one in sight, causing her to step out into the hall and close the door. She walks down the hall, finding this part of the hotel to be eerily quiet. "Hey, Doc! Where you at!?"
With no response, she decides to exit to get the injured stallion a drink. Down the hall was the hotel lobby where there was a water fountain with small paper cups. She grabs a cup with her wing and fills it up. As the water hit the empty cup, something occurred to Dash, it was too quiet. She turns and looks to see the lobby completely empty, not a single soul in sight. The party should still be going on, why was everything just so... quiet? her thoughts were interrupted by hearing the water overflow and hit the metal of the fountain. She pulls the cup back and looks back one more time before going back towards the infirmary. She opened the door and stepped in, the Stallion was now slumped forward in his chair like he was asleep. She approaches him and tries shaking him.
"Hey, hey buddy. I got you a drink of water as you asked." Rainbow said loudly as she shook him. There was no response, but the shaking caused him to dead weight forward. Dash quickly backs up as he falls forward out of his chair, laying on the ground stomach down. "What the heck!? Dude!? you okay!?"
Rainbow Dash set the cup down and knelt down on all four knees to check on him. His eyes were closed and his mouth was bloody from him throwing up blood. Dash continued to shake him, but he was completely immobile. Rainbow stands up to her full height and was now freaking out a little.
"What the hay is going on here!?" Rainbow shouted to herself, things were getting awfully strange. First, some maniac bites her and another pony, the other pony is getting extremely sick, there is no one else around, and the doctor has been gone for well over two hours by now. She approaches the door again and sticks her head out, looking both ways to see if the doctor was anywhere close. As she does, she begins to hear moaning behind her. She looks back and sees the Stallion slowly rising to his hooves again. Dash, narrows her eyes at him, seeing him get up.
"What the buck is your problem!? Why did you just fall over like that!?" Rainbow demanded as the stallion raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot and glossy as he looked right at her. He grits his teeth and begins to growl at her, causing Dash to flinch her head back. "Did you just growl at me?"
The stallion begins to look crazed the more he stares at Rainbow Dash. He continued to huff and growl like a deranged animal as Dash took one brave step toward him. She holds up her hoof to him, trying to reason with him, but that is all it takes to set him off. He quickly lunges at her, causing Dash to quickly pull back. He turns in the direction she flinched towards and again lunges at her.
"Dude!? get the buck away!" She yelled getting angrily at him. He tries lunging again, and Dash punches him hard in the cheek. He shrugged it off like it didn't even hurt him and lunged again. Dash flinches backward, causing her flank to be pinned against the back wall. The Stallion presses in and begins to try and bite her. Rainbow widens her eyes and punches him again, when she does, he bites her hoof hard. Rainbow yells out in pain as her blood seeps into his mouth. She holds her hoof there, looking all over to find something to defend herself with. She sees the large medical cabinet next to her. With her good hoof, She reaches over and opens it with enough force that a few jars of cotton balls fall out and break. She grabs a scalpel and plunges it into the neck of the stallion.
The stallion acts like it didn't even hurt him. He sinks his teeth into her hoof deeper and yanks back hard. Rainbow lets out another pained shriek as she could feel the blood run down her foreleg. She reaches and grabs another jar of cotton swabs and bashes him over the face with it. The jar shattering on impact is enough for the stallion to lose his grip. Rainbow, seeing an opportunity to get away, quickly runs for the door. The Stallion eventually focuses on her again and lets out a guttural bark. Rainbow Runs out and quickly slams the door behind her. She could feel the Stallion slam against the door behind her, beating on it as he was desperately trying to get to her. She sits on her flank and presses her back against the door.
"What the buck is happening?" Cried Rainbow as she looked down at her hoof. Blood oozing and dripping onto the floor. The pain causing her eyes to go moist. She just sat there holding her hoof in pain while the stallion kept trying to bust his way through the door, having no luck.
Present
Twilight looks at Rainbow in bewilderment, she had described her first encounter with the infected. Dash was holding her hoof in her other hoof where some bandages were. Presumably, where she was bit, Rainbow lets out another sigh as she wraps up her encounter.
"I went back out to where the party was, but... all there was... just bodies and more trotters. It looked like a total massacre, I wanted to check to see if any of our friends were there. But when I got too close, a couple of gallopers noticed me and chased me off." Rainbow Dash said while looking to Twilight.
"Gallopers?" Twilight asked with her head cocked to the side.
"They are like trotters, but they can still run," Dash explained. "And they can run fast. I had to fly just to get away from them, but I couldn't fly for long."
"How come?" Twilight asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Some pegasi trotters can fly, you become a big target for them. I can outfly them, but when you have about 10 on them on your tail, it's hard to fly and avoid them at the same time... I've seen others try to fly only to get grabbed in mid-air..." Rainbow then shudders at her own memory. Twilight was having a hard time taking all of this in. Did all of this really just happen in the span of hours while she was passed out? That was when a new more important question popped into her head.
"And what about the others? Where are our friends?" Twilight asked with genuine worry. Rainbow's eyes went soft and distant.
"...I found Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie....I'm still looking for the others." Rainbow Dash admitted.
"Some of them are still missing!?" Twilight exclaimed loudly to which Rainbow and the other survivors quickly shushed her.
"You can't be too loud Princess. The Trotters will hear you." Said the Stallion that almost put a wrench through her face earlier. Twilight looked at him, curious as to who he was.
"And who are you?" Twilight asked
"My name is Trackhoof." He responded before then pointing to the mare survivor. "And this is my wife Aqua. Ms Rainbow Rescued us from our bungalow last night and brought us to her hideout at the Lifeguard Station. When she said she was going to look for more survivors, we volunteered to go with her."
Twilight was a bit surprised by that statement. She looks back at Rainbow, this whole time she had been going out and rescuing survivors. She was impressed by her bravery and heroism to help and rescue others. Then again, Rainbow was always like that. She would always help others that were in need. Staying true to her element. Twilight couldn't help but smile.
"While you have been out looking for our friends, you have been helping other survivors?" Twilight asked her rainbow-maned friend.
"Yeah... I have. We have a hideout in the lifeguard station." Dash admitted before also adding. "Fluttershy and Pinkie are there now."
"Alright." Twilight nodded. "I'm guessing you were looking for me then when you found me and Spike in the hotel?"
"Yeah, that's correct." Responded Dash. "I found you knocked out in the stairwell. Spike Protected you by burning any trotters to a crisp when they got close to you." That statement caused Twilight to widen her eyes. She then looks down at the baby dragon who refuses to even look her in the face. Rainbow Dash sighs before standing up.
"We need to get moving again. Staying in a spot like this unprotected isn't wise. Trotters will swarm back in outta nowhere. They're like cockroaches." Said Rainbow Dash as she picked up her canoe paddle again. Twilight looks at her and also stands up.
"Lead the way." Twilight picks her wrench back up with her magic.
