Thread 49: Stories 16-30

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 >Crystal Guard
"Crystal Guard 2"
'???'
~~~

>...Wow, today, is, BORING.

"Totally boring."

>Nothin' goin' ooooonnn...

"Not even that one queen annoying the prince."

>Nope...

"Noooottthhhiiinnn..."

>...What the-

"What is that?"

>I dunno... I looks... weird.

"Totally weird."

>Should we check it out?

"Eehhh... sure, it'll give us something to do."

>Excuse me! We need you to stop-

"AHHHH!"

>GAH!

'...What?'

>Poindexter!?

"Your... hair..."

'I just styled it.'

>...PFFTAHAHAHAHAH!

'Stooooppp!'
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 >Luna
"???"
'???'
~~~

>ZZZZzzz..... ZZZZZZZZzzzzzz.... Dun wanna eat that pie... wanna eat mah cake...

"MOONS! MOONS YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK!"

>....

"..."

>...

"...There's monsters-"

>Did... did you just call us moons?

"Uh... isn't that what-"

*ZAP!*

>...

'HOLY CRAP, MOONS! Ya' just fried that guy!'

>He will be fine, it is a minor electrocution.

'...Why'd ya' do it?"

>Our guards are not allowed to call us 'moons'.

'Oh... can I still do it?'

>Yes.

'I'm good, then.'
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 >Celestia
"???"
~~~

This view on her balcony was a familiar one. Not one she particularly liked, at this moment, but a familiar one.

It seemed all she ever did on this balcony nowadays is be told something is going wrong, or watch something go wrong.

>...I'm starting to think I should have taken up baking. Maybe just been a baker, opened up a nice little shop, devote my life to struggling to keep myself from eating my own product... would have been great. Wouldn't it? It would have been so nice...

She had very nearly cast a magical blast when the shield first went up, very nearly used the very magic she had once fired upon Chrysalis at this horde of creatures at her doorstep.

But then she had seen their faces.

The faces of her subjects, her people, everyone.

This... thing, it had turned them into meatshields, had turned her own magic into a hazard with which to be avoided. She could not fire upon a single one without injuring them, perhaps... worse.

Once more, for all her powers, she was helpless.

>Maybe I would have invented a whole new kind of cake, even. Some new level of sweet, or something so light and fluffy you don't even feel it when you chew, you just taste it. Nothing but the flavor...

They did not bang upon the shield as the changelings had, which confused her at first. They had tried, she saw, but they did not hit it as if it were solid. No, instead... it burned them, it seemed.

So, this was Cadence's shield. Interesting. This means that somehow, Cadence had known she would be more effective. Which means Chrysalis was involved.

Perhaps this was her doing...

No, no that was wrong of her to even think. No chance would she call upon the hordes on the city where her subjects lived...

>It would have been magical...

It did not matter, she realized.

She could do nothing bit sit and wait, again. If they made it through, she would fight, but it wouldn't matter. As always, this would come down to Twilight, and-

"Princess Celestia."

That voice.

She had not heard that one in a very, very long time.

There he was, standing in her open doors, a familiar regalia upon him.

"Captain Shining Armor, reporting in."

She found herself smiling.

Damn it, she actually found herself smiling.

>You're retired.

"To a solider, that just means 'taking a break', and I'll have you know?... I feel quite rested."

>...Was that supposed to be a badass line?

"Was it not? Come on, I worked on that."

>That only makes me feel worse.

His smile was just as forced as hers, she realized, but there was something comforting in it.

"You ready?"

>No, no I'm not. I'm never ready when this happens.

"Me either, to be honest."

>You hide it well.

"Well, you know... learned from the best."

At last, she left that balcony, walking over to him with long powerful strides.

>I take it the matter is being looked into by those more qualified?

"I hope so."

>Good. Then I suppose all we can do is hold the line until they save the day.

"So pessimistic. You don't know, we might have this all figured out long before they do."

Her look said everything about her response to that statement.

"Hey, I'm optimistic."

Her deadpan look slowly gave way, edging into a frown.

>Shiny, this thing... I see so many up there, so many from far and wide. So many of my cities have fallen, I can tell...

"Then lets make sure this one doesn't join them. We'll end this right here."

>...You are optimistic.

"One hundred percent, always."

She moved past him, already walking down the hall.

>Well then... shall we give it our all?

"No..."

His strides gained purpose, just as strong and powerful as hers.

"We'll give more."

At last, the smile they shared was genuine, natural.

>Let's defend Equestria, Prince Shining Armor.

"Together, Princess Celestia."

They strode out into the chaos enveloping the streets.

Captain and Princess.

One more time.
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 >Twilight
"32"
'???'
~~~

Twilight Sparkle, protege of Princess Celestia, most brilliant alicorn on the planet...

>NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOO!

Was not as level headed as she normally was, this second.

Her papers literally flew around the room every which way, cast this way and that via magic of all sorts as she sorted through every document, scrap of paper and half baked napkins with writing on it she could find.

>What was I thinking? What was I thinking!? I gave Chrysalis everything! I don't have a single note, a single of the fossilized samples, none of the accounts, nothing! Oh sweet Celestia I have nothing!

Two eyes watched from the inside of the box of containment, utterly baffled at her actions. Wearily, he looked over to the roach on one shoulder, and then the tiny golem on the other.

"Is this... am I missing something?"

>NO NO NO NOOOO!

"I feel like I'm missing something."

>What am I going to do!? This makes no sense! The physiological adaptation process should require a very specific body type, primarily an exoskeleton, in order to germinate! This process should not be able to survive within a ponie's body, let alone a gryphon or diamond dog!

"Now, see, I'm starting to feel hurt, like this is deliberate."

>The theorems are all thrown out of whack, the possible vaccines don't account for any of these factors! I have nothing on this, even if I had all of my research! N-no...

She slumped down.

>I... I don't know how to fix this...

"...Fiiix, what?"

Her head snapped to the side, as if she had just realized he was there.

>...Oh, right.

Because she had.

"What is going on?"

>It's... it's the Cordyceps, it's moved onto ponies now.

He gasped.

Then immediately shrugged.

"Am I supposed to know what that is?"

>Cordyceps, it's like a fungus, but... but it can infect organics. It was only supposed to go for your species due to its ability to adapt to insects, but it seems that... that it's...

Her eyes went wide.

>Is your room on fire?

He followed her eyes, down to the very corner of his room.

"...So it is-OH FU"

The green fire consumed him, all of him, covering every inch of the containment room from the darkest corners to the very tip.

The flames disappeared with one final flourish, leaving a barren, empty room behind.

>THIRTY TWO! Oh fuck! What-

The green fire returned, just as intense, but when it vanished it left behind not the traitorous changeling, but instead...

SCREEEE!

Something... else.

>W-what the...

'You're welcome.'

The voice in her ear was harsh, deadly sounding almost. From the shadows, she emerged, the statuesq Changeling Queen positively slinking from that place.

>That's...

The creature banged futilely against the glass, the reinforced room holding perfectly. As it should, seeing as it was designed to contain random changeling laser fire. The red spores it gave off, likewise, found no escape from a place built from the ground up to prevent any pathogens from escaping into the outside world.

'It's your test subject, of course.'

>...that's a soldier.

As if reacting to her, a stallion who still bore the armor of the royal guard turned to her, wildly snapping her in vain.

'Yes, poor fellow was just on the outside of Canterlot before the shield went up. Tragic, but on the positive side he will serve his country well.'

There was something unsettling, both in regards to her words and the situation. Something felt... off.

>I... my notes-

'On the table.'

Indeed, they were. When they had arrived, she had no idea, but there they were.

>...What did you do with 32?

'We needed the room.'

>I have other containment units.

'Oh? Well, I wish you had told me, I would have just saved the magic.'

Suspicious eyes turned on her, narrowing almost darkly.

>Where is he?

'Is that really important?'

>Yes, it absolutely is.

'...I returned him to his cell in the dungeon, of course. I realize you wished to do more tests, but surely they can wait, don't you think?'

She wished she could argue, but in reality she knew the Queen was right. Totally, utterly right, 32's condition was small peanuts right now. Still, that did not mean she had to like it.

>What about-

'I have taken the nessecary precautions of sealing off your lab, of course. The shield remains up, at the moment, but we both know shields can only repel an invasion for so long, isn't that right?'

>But then how-

'But, of course, I have these, just in case.'

Magically, she summoned several screens, each one showing a different part of the castle, and a boarder view outside.

'We'll be able to see what's going on out there, no worries.'

>...There's no way you had enough time to set those up right now.

The Queen turned dark, hard eyes to her, meeting the alicorn's head on.

'You're right, there isn't.'

They sat in silence, each one waiting for the other to be the first to break and look away.

Of course, it was Twilight who finally did.

>I need you to start setting up my beakers over there, get a shield up around the table, and make sure it's extra tight. I don't want a single spore getting out.

'Oh? You think I'm staying?'

>No... I know you are. I need help, and you are currently the foremost expert of this right now. I need you to start talking, symptoms, possible origins, and of course any past histories regarding how you dealt with this.

'I can save you some time on that last one. Fire. And looots of it'

>...Noted. No survivors before this?

'Not a single one.'

>Well...

Determinedly, she turned towards the infected soldier, marching right up to him without a single moment of hesitation.

>Time to break that streak.

'And if we can't?'

>...Then we'll have to make sure there's plenty of fire to go around. For everything.

'Oh, I assure you... there is.'

Diligently, Queen and Princess got to work.

For perhaps... the last time.
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 >Berry Punch
"Guard"
~~~~

A guard carries Berry Punch on his back while another tries to defend them.
>Hey, I was talking to those nice gentlecolts!

"Ma'am, all they said was SCREEE and were trying to attack you."

>What, I can't talk to foreigners? Oh I'm sorry, I thought this was Equestria!
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 >32
"Voice of Variolus"

>-CK TWILIGHT HELP ME! ...

32 blinked as he found himself in very familiar surroundings, his cell. He sighed, knowing full well what probably sent him there.

>One last fuck you, I suppose. OH well, two steps forward, three steps back. And with the impending doom of this Cordyceps sashaying its way ever closer, I doubt that I can be assured of safety behind these mere...bars...

32 blinked, stepping forward to said bar. Notably the door.

The very unlocked door.

>Oh ho ho ho...well well...it's the end of the world as we know it, I'm very much under the radar, and there's nothing binding me here. Now I can do as I please after so many...months? I'm not sure, I wasn't keeping track. Reggie! Q! If you teleported with me, I'm going for doughnuts, you want anythi-

"Do the right thing."

>Ffffuuuucking hell! Again with this, this unending torture! What!? What is the right thing!? Why should I do it!? Who are you to order me around like this and drain me every time you do so!? Leave me be-

"Do the right thing."

>Gaaaahhhhhh! Fuck you! Fuckyoufuckyoufuckyou!

"Do the right thing."

>FINE! FINE I'LL DO THE RIGHT THING! I'LL GO OUT THERE, HUG BABIES, PET DOGGIES, I'LL KISS 42 ON THE LIPS! JUST SHUT UP!

"..."

>You're silent so I assume changeling do good. Fine, I'll try and find a way to help-nngh!

32 lurched forward, shaking his head, he felt...better. Energized, as though the funk of waking up had gone away and for the first time in days he was fully awake.

>...you sneaky minx, whoever you are. You weren't draining me, you were locking away a little bit of love for a rainy day.

"..."

>Well it's good to have a woman keeping track of my health, shall we?

"Do-"

>I'm doing, I'm doing!

And like that, he pushed open the door and ran like a bat out of hell.

>Just give me a little juice when I'm doing the right thing. I'm a fan of Ponylov's research.
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 >77
"Steam Gauge"
'Quicksilver Sash'
-Lucky Strikes-
_Coco_
[Sucker Punch]

>Everyone remain calm!

'WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS!?'

>If I knew I would tell you.

"This is fifty shades of fucked up, man, the dead are coming after us now!"

>They don't seem to have undergone any decomposition, actually.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"

>Look, men, I know these creatures are terrifying, but we must hold strong, the people of Cantelot will be looking to you, the guards, to know that they can remain calm, just as they will look to the A-Team and the Princesses for salvation from this scourge. We must all play a part in defending this city, for all we know the last bastion of civilization, pony or changeling, left on the planet.

-Yeah, I like the sound of that, finally we get to prove we ain't a bunch of slackjawed incompetent cowards!-

>That's the spirit.

'Yeah, but uh...we're not really going to like...charge these guys, right?'

>What? No, for now we hold the line, put on an air of confidence for the civilians' sake, and hope there is a way to stop this nightmare.

"So we aren't gonna Pommel it."

>-_..._-

"What?"

'That's the sarge's cousin, you moron.'

"...damn, uh-"

_Yeah, no, let's not 'Pommel' it._

-We're gonna have words, Private. And by words, I mean my hoof meetin' your teeth 'til you can't make any.-

"What!? Oh come on!"

[77, sir!]

Oblivious to the conversational misstep, Sucker Punch had landed near where the changeling and guards were speaking, snapping off a salute.

>At ease, Private, I'm not even technically an instructor anymore.

[Sorry, 77, but Captain Armor is calling all the guard together-]

"Holy shit, what!?"

'He's the captain!?'

-We have a captain again!? FINALLY!-

[I'm being sent to gather up all the guard enclaves to converge at Captain Armor's current location to receive a plan of action, you four need to get going.]

>Right, you go to Armor, I'll see if I can't gather the A-Team together for a similar purpose.

"'-_Roger!_-'"

The guardsponies run off, Sucker Punch salutes to 77 again before taking off, the changeling sighs.

>Time to go to war again.

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 >Spike
"???"
'???'
~~~

His gun felt heavier today than it ever had before.

It did not slow his stride as he marched through the halls of Canterlot Castle, of course, but the ever present feeling of it was there. He did not know what those things out there, were, but they looked...

Well, everyone could tell what they looked like.

Still, he couldn't let that stop him as he moved on, seeking out a certain individual he knew he would need if that shield went down. Someone who would be invaluable to the fight, should it come, someone who-

...Had absolutely no hope of budging.

His heart sank when he entered the room and spotted them. Black chitin and pink fur, sitting in the middle of the room. One, tired and looking as if she could barely stand. The other, worry and fear rent across her face, barely hidden by her helmet.

"H-hey Spike..."

Her voice was shaking, unsteady, far weaker than it should be.

>Cadence? You... why are you so weak?

"O-oh, you know, they-"

She suddenly violently flinched, a squeak of pain escaping her before she could stifle it. 42 instinctively held her up, ignoring Cadence when she attempted to wave her off.

"I-It's not like last time. They keep... they keep trying, again and again. They don't quit, Spike. They just keep trying. S-so I... I just have to keep throwing it up."

>You look...

The solider bug shot him a look, one that stifled that fairly quickly.

>...You look good.

"T-thanks... my hair's a mess, though."

>Just call it 'wild and free', nobody will notice.

"Hey... that's a pretty good idea..."

She groaned again in time with another flinch.

>Can you keep it up?

"Of... of course I can! Twilight will have a cure in no time at all... just have to... just have to keep it up a little longer... she'll be here any minute..."

Wearily, the dragon looked over to the changeling, silently gesturing for her to come over. It was only with great reluctance she conceded, and stepped out of hearing range.

'Make it quick.'

>It's only been an hour, there's no way she can hold this up.

'I am aware.'

>What are you going to do when it finally goes down?

'If it should go down before Princess Twilight achieves her goal, then I have orders to evacuate the princess to her Empire as soon as possible.'

He frowned, clearly unhappy with the response.

>We could really use you over here.

'I have my orders.'

>You'd do more good helping me fight these guys off with the A-team.

'I have my orders.'

>Damn it, 42! We need to stick together on this!

'...I have my orders.'

He growled, turning away from her.

>Fine, I'll fight them off myself, I'll try to buy you time to get to the portal if things go south.

'I appreciate the effort.'

>What about the rest of your hive?

She flinched, pained as she looked away.

'...I have my orders.'

>Fine.

He brushed past her, walking up to the pink alicorn and giving her a brief, slightly stiff, hug.

>Stay safe, Cadence.

"O-oh, you don't have to worry about me! Twilight will be done any second now. It'll all be fine any second now..."

>...Yeah, any second now. You know Twi.

"Smartest cookie in the world!"

>She is, she is...

He left the embrace, heading towards the door without so much as a side glance to 42.

>Take care of her, okay?

'...I have my orders.'

>Yeah, well... guess you'd better follow them, they seem important.

It was only after he was long, long gone that 42 finally let the stoic expression leave her face, and a quiet whisper escape her lips.

'More than you could ever know...'

He was moving quickly down the hall, strides as long as his still quite stubby little legs could take him, his expression nothing but a dark, angry frown.

He froze, hidden ears twitching.

>You know... we never did take you off the team roster.

He looked upwards, into the darkened corner where nothing was visible, but something was there.

>You up for another mission?

In that darkness... something smiled.

[Do you want me to look like her again?]
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 >Lotus
"Aloe"
~~

Inside Ponyville's premier Spa, two ponies shook in terror. Sure, the windows and doors were boarded up, hastily hammered in, but they knew from the scratching outside it wasn't going to last forever.

>...This sucks.

"I miss the robots."

>Right? The robots were nice.

"So nice."

>Unlike these things.

"They're just awful."

>...

"...Sis?"

>Hm?

"Thanks for never letting us do the special order."

>Mama didn't raise no prostitutes.

"Nope. Sure didn't."

>Gotta... gotta keep the reputation up.

"For zombies, apparently."

>Yep.

"...How much longer you think it'll hold?"

>Bout an hour, at best.

"Sucks."

>Indeed it does.

"..."

>...Start telling secrets with the promise to never let it leave the room?

"Agreed. I'll start... that poster of Spitfire in my room isn't because I like the Wonderbolts."

>I know. I heard you every night for a week and didn't say anything.

"..."

>...This got uncomfortable fast.

"Yep."
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 ???
~~~

If anybody had been around, they would have been terrified.

No, not from the hordes of creatures tearing apart Ponyville, not from the twisted sound of terror as one by one they were infect, not even from the wave of sickly blood red that swept through the town.

Oh no.

Far, far scarier, was the pony sitting happily at her desk, just waiting.

>Oh no! What if someone were to come inside!? I'm so defenseless in here!

She looked left, and right.

Still nothing.

>Oh dear, if only I had gotten the budget to repair that door! Now I'm helpless! Oh, the horror!

Still nothing.

>...What am I going to dooooo?

Her heart leapt as something peaked into her room, a blighted version of a manticore to be precise, and started sniffing around.

>Oh no! A manticore! I have no means to fight off that! I am but a.... HEY!

Ignoring her, it's lips curled up in an almost disgusted snarl, and without another thought it turned around and left.

>SOMEONE COME IN HERE AND TRY TO KILL ME!... Please?

The things outside gave an almost dismissive shriek.

>...Well, fuck you all too.

Cheerilee sat back in her chair, a little bitter.

Just a little.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >???
“???”
‘???’
_____

Okay. Rude.

He barreled through the steel door without even having the courtesy to knock. First offense.

Because, really, who just barges into a mares room unannounced? Who knows what she could’ve been doing! She could’ve been indecent! Granted, all she seemed to wear all day every day was the same old jacket… but still!

Disregarding her privacy. Second offense.

And for all his panicked blubbering, he would have gained a third offense for disrupting her peace if she hadn’t glanced up to see him struggling to slam the same door he’d blasted through. What he was shutting it against, however, was proving difficult… all the guttural growling, the pulsating red blisters, the thrashing legs trying to squeeze through the gap and get a good swipe in.

She rolled her eyes, wagering about another fifteen seconds before her entire room was awash with more ‘visitors’.

>Oh, for Celestia’s sake… c’mon, pervert, you gotta put a little-

She pushed off her cot, arching through the air, over AJ12’s head, to slam her hips into the steel surface, forcing the door shut with a ground-rumbling thud.

>-oomph into it!

But he wasn’t listening. He was far from the plane of doing that. The look of abject fear plastered onto his face as he tore into a tale of infected ponies, gryphons, manticores, what have you, all of them stalking through Ponyville and causing utter bedlam, the yelling and the cries of terror, the spores-

Wait.

Did he say… spores?

So caught up in racing back and forth, gathering what little possessions she had with the intention of “getting them both the hell out of there”, 12 failed to realize he’d been contaminated.

He didn’t realize. But Screwloose did.

She spotted that angry-looking patch of pulsating spores bunched around his right hindleg like a dog catching the scent of its favorite bone.

And her face twisted into the most insidious smile yet.

>Oooooh, perrrrverrrrt.~

The eerie way she sang that out was the only thing that gave 12 pause and he nearly cracked his neck turning to glance at her.

“I- what? What is it, Screwloose? Didn’t you hear me the first time? Pack your shit, c’mon, move it! I dunno how but we gotta go, there’s monsters out there!”

The incessant banging on her door had all but melted away into background noise as Screwloose approached the fretting Changeling, giving him a much-needed eskimo kiss.

"Calm down."

“Wh-wha-”

>Now this maaaaay be a little disorientating for you… but just know that’s it’s all in the name of science! And saving the free world, vaccine, yadda yadda, all that shit there.

12 had always wondered how Screwloose managed to sneak things into her room. Things that by all rights a mare confined to a straightjacket should not be able to get her hooves on. Well, when she stepped down a particular tile that let loose a particular clicking noise, which caused four particularly thick, cast-iron chains to spring forth from behind false holes in the walls, he found out.

Though just a scootch too late.

“Hey- HEY! What is this?! What’re you doing?!”

He struggled and fought the metal clamps, valiantly at that, but was eventually overcome and lifted into the air, eye-level with Screwloose.

She stared him up… then down… steadily biting into her lower lip, pupils beginning to quiver….

>I always said it was my dream to figure out just what made you tick… and now, I finally have that chance….

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? YOU WERE SERIOUS?”

>Quite serious, pervert. We’re about to make history, you and me.

Another tile press. Another ch-klunk!

The middle of the floor was opening, parting, a flood of mist seeping into the room… making way for the sterling silver operating table slowly being lifted.

“OH COME ON!”

>You see, the weird part is… I think I like you, pervert. More than friends, you might say. So consider yourself lucky that I’m willing to go this far to save your life….

As he was laid onto the table, limbs held down, 12’s struggling ceased itself in a blind moment of bafflement.

“I- what? What’re you saying?”

>I’m saying… Tinsel? Did you ever manage to get those keys?

An otherworldly voice echoed throughout the room. 12’s head zipped around as if on a swivel, eyes trying and failing to find the source.

‘I have. But Screws, you’re only gonna have this freedom for a little bit if ya choose… that route.’

That maddened smile from before lost a great deal of its insanity, settling into something fonder, something unnaturally down-to-earth for the manic scientist.

>Yeah, I know. Which is why I’ll try not to get used to it.

“Hey… what’s going on? Screwloose…? Who’re you talking t-… oh you have got to be kidding me….”

>Well, if you don’t believe in nightmares, pervert, I’d suggest having a change of heart. Because you’re about to be in one. Do it, Tinsel.

The sudden inhale on 12’s part had nothing to do with the jittery, almost creepy-crawly sensation erupting in his infected leg.

It was watching as Screwloose’s straightjacket slackened to the point where she could pull both arms free.

“…”

She ran a hoof through her tussled silver mane, flashing the bound Changeling a dominating smirk.

>Oh yes… the screws are indeed loose, perv. ~
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >29
"MM"
'Zecora'
[Trixie]
~~~~

>MAREY RUN DAMN IT RUN!

They were just running at this point, no real sense of direction, no real purpose, just racing through those oh so dangerous woods of Everfree forest at top speed, as fast as their legs could carry them.

Sadly, some of them couldn't carry quite as fast as the others.

"I'm trying!"

>Trying is not good enough right now!

"I've been behind a desk for years! I'm not athletic!"

'Will you save your breath, we have to increase our speed! If those things catch us, they will infect us with that red seed!'

[Move your not as great and powerful ass!]

"I'm trying oka-"

'FUCK! DUCK!'

The mayor hit the ground hard, more falling than ducking, just in time for a pegasus to pass right over her.

>Marey!

The infected thing turned on the downed earth pony, teeth barred and ready to snap forward.

Only one thing stood between the creature and it's prey.

Literally.

[BEGONE!]

A multicolored magical blast made short work of the creature, but more were quick to swarm in it's place.

[Fools! Monsters you may be, but even you have to know that you stand naught a chance, against the GREAT!]

A wave of firework magic went out, colors of all kinds with streaks of sparks trailing just behind pointed tips flying every which way, blinding, frightening or just outright exploding in front of the infected.

[AND POWERFUL!]

Her horn ignited in more power, even more magic producing what looked like streamers that lashed out like whips, tying whatever they could reach in the bindings of it's traps.

[TRIXIE!]

Her magic at last died down, leaving her panting with exhaustion and not a single creature remained standing.

They stared at her openly, even as the changeling helped the mayor back to her hooves.

>...Wow.

"I'll say! Way to go, Trixie! That was awesome-"

>LOOK OUT!

He dove forwards, almost instinctually, towards the unicorn. Behind her, a shape she had missed neared her, one with a distinct hue to it.

[HAH!]

A magical wave went out, knocking the changeling back. The creature nearly reached her, so close it nearly overshadowed her in the forests dim light, but she remained unafraid.

With a dazzingly, glittering ball of sparkles, it was cast away.

[Trixie never leaves an act unfinished!]

"W-wow! Two for two! You are just on fire here! Thank goodness we... brought..."

Strangely, as the mayor moved forwards to give her healthy pat on the shoulder, the unicorn moved away.

"You okay?"

She was silent for a bit.

Before letting out a loud, almost maddened, laugh.

[H-HAH! You ask the Magnificent Trixie if she is okay!? Of course she is! There is nothing that could even hope to stand against the wonders she brings!]

With a flourish of her cape, she turned her back on them, proudly holding her hat donned head high.

[In fact, Trixie has grown tired of this running, this fleeing! She can defeat all of them, by herself, easily! It shall be her greatest accomplishment!]

"W-what!? Trixie, you can't be serious! We've got to-"

A hoof stopped hers just as it reached out for the show-pony, the striped leg pulling hers away.

'Marey... we need to be quick and be off. I'm sure she can handle these things with but a scoff.'

"Have you all lost your mind!?"

>Have you?

He moved forward, taking his place next to the earth pony on the opposite side of the one the zebra stood.

>She's no ordinary pony, Marey! She's... she's the Great and Powerful Trixie, after all. If she thinks she can defeat them, then who are we to doubt her?

She felt numb as they both gently moved her away, unable to process what was going on.

"Y-you can't... we can't... we can't leave her here, she's our..."

'She is Trixie, the unicorn with powers so great! Come, my friend, we have to get out of her blast range if we wish to survive this date.'

"Zecora..."

At last, she stopped fighting, and let herself be lead off. Just as the sounds of more of those damn things coming closer increased.

[Y-you'll remember this day... you'll all remember this day!]

The three turned around at last, already in a full sprint. And yet, somehow, they still heard her.

[29! I require a speech, and make it pop!]

The chitin around his eyes strained, and for a second his mouth went dry. All the same... he started to speak.

>This is the day of legends! This morn upon which Celestia's sun did fly high shall be remembered not for the light brought upon by that lifegiving creation of the stars, but of that which burned even brighter still!

They came at her in droves, waves really. One by one being shot down as she stood and fought, casting every trick she could remember from her years on the road, and so many new ones as well.

>This is the day when a unicorn, born not of royalty or prestige, showed the world the power of her magic, the wonders conjured within the horn atop her head! This is the day all shall sing about!

The kept coming, and coming, and coming, never falling for long, never stopping. Nothing but a mass of bodies that drew ever closer with every passing second.

>Look there, they'll cry! And with shaking hooves they will gesture! Over there is where I did gaze upon it! Where but once my eyes were graced with wonders untold! There it was, the once in a lifetime scene that could never be told, never be put into words! There it is! Where I saw it...

The masses at last reached her, surrounding her on every side, banging against a magical shield that held back their clawing, biting forms.

And then, as one, they stopped.

Suddenly... they seemed to care no more for her, wish to infect her no more.

She strained, the ache in her hoof almost too much to bare.

And yet...

She smiled.

And fireworks unseen in Equestria sprang out, reaching high above the trees and into the sky.

>The final show, of the GREAT! and POWERFUL! TRIXIE!

Like a firework, it burned brightly for but a second.

And then it was gone.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >32
"Q"
'Reggie'

>Hang a left, hang a right, damn stairs have to be around here somewhere.

'*chitter*'

>Oh what do you know, backseat walker? I don't need your directions, I'm listening to a voice in my head!

'*chitter*'

>Well of course I can trust it, I've gotten this far on the kindness of strangers, haven't I? Don'tanswerthat.

'*chi-*...'

>Stairs stairs stairs, up up up, neeeeed to fiiiind, left-nngh no no, right! Here we are and here we go! To freedom...of a sort!

"*tink*"

>Hm? Now what makes you say that? Whose hooves could I possibly be playing into?

"*tink*"

>Chrysalis'? True true...but come now, the world is ending, what kind of petty simplistic evil beastial creature would-ahahahahahaha! Oh, ohhhh, I couldn't say that with a straight face. Yes, we're probably playing right into her hooves, perhaps we were simply afforded the possibility of escape for the express purposes of dying for her entertainment. Mayhaps she counts on us to be a loose end she can tie up while everyone's striding among the ashes and not looking my way, allowing her to off me without the slightest chance of me gaining martyrdom. I know this, and I accept it.

"*tink*?"

>Because if I don't, I'm fucked too, this voice in my head isn't exactly a forgiving entity when I don't do what it wants. So let us go forth into the great unknown and accept whatever fate it leaves us with! Who's with me!?

"*tink*!"

'*chitter*!'

>That's the spirit! ONWARD!

He scrambled up the stairs, a maddened grin on his face as he burst through the door above into...an empty hallway.

>...anti-climactic, yeah. But let's see...voice, where should we go?

A look to the left garnered nothing, but to the right gave him another burst of energy.

>Now, just what could be waiting for us over...oh....

32 smirked.

>I guess I never got a yes or no regarding my membership cancellation. Time for a definitive answer.

'*chitter*?'

>No, they won't let you join if you just ask, that is a myth.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >High Roller
"Blues"
'Gramaphone'

The tub sat on the floor in front of the chartreuse pegasus, its contents a foaming bleach white liquid that the stallion knew too well. With a sigh, High Roller dropped his saddlebags and armor to the floor and rummaged inside, retrieving a bottle of dark blue mane dye and a small oblong case, both of which he placed on the sink before turning back to the tub.

"Hey man, my uncle had...has? Had, a gramaphone out here, you want any music while you're doing whatever the heck it is you're doing in there?"

Roller didn't answer, instead he simply stared at the tub. For all the bluff and bluster he'd heard of the changeling race's ability to shapeshift, he'd felt a bit insulted by the flippancy the average pony had towards the matter. The bugs were better, end of story. It almost brought a tear to the stallion's eye, for he knew what they should have.

Anything another species could do, a pony could do as well, all it took was enough of a sacrifice.

"I'm gonna turn it on, yell if you want me to change the record."

With that in mind, he took a step into the tub, immediately sucking in air through clenched teeth as the process began. The formula was an old one, passed down from an old zebra recipe from the initial brushfire conflicts they'd when first meeting Saddle Arabia.

'I like my town
'With a little drop of poison
'Nobody knows they're lining up to go insane...'

They concocted a potion from a similar plant to the one they'd use for war paint, it's name was some gibberish his old employer hadn't even been sure he pronounced correctly, but it translated to a very straightforward name: "Color Destroyer".

'I'm all alone
'I smoked my friends down to the filters
'But I feel much cleaner after it rains..."

He eased further in, a sensation of burning, of immolation almost, spread up his extremities as he stepped inside. Lowering further and further in, he could feel the potion throttling every bit of chromatic complexity from his hide, leaving behind only a milky whiteness.

'And she left in the fall
'That's her picture on the wall
'She always had that little drop of poison...'

Deeper still, past his thighs, there's always that sting here, and always a tinge of worry in the back of his head. Either way it didn't matter all that much, he never intended to have kids anyway.

'Did Discord make the world
'While Faust was sleepin'?
'You'll never get a wish from a bone...'

Down. Further, almost there, eyes and mouth shut tight, one last breath through the nostrils. It burned, oh Faust did it burn. Just...keep...going...

The music was far aware, muffled beneath the mixture, the sheer destruction of every color on his skin. He wanted to scream as every single feather was turned a lifeless white. Keep it, hold it, one...two...three!

He burst through the surface, coughing and sputtering. He hated this bit, so so much, this brief moment when composure was forsaken, when he groped for a towel like a foal kicked about blindly trying to find its mother. Grabbing at it with his wingtip, Roller quickly threw it over his head as he stepped out of the tub, rubbing away the moisture that coated his body.

'-ft in the fall
'That's her picture on the wall
'She always had that little drop of poison...'

Soon he had dried himself, sighing that the worst had passed, he made his way to the sink. Turning on the faucet, Roller set about the process of dying his hair a vibrant blue, what one would expect of a guard.

On a better day he would have gone full bore, another similar process to make him a horse of a different color, quick application of a false cutie mark he'd procured from a black market dealer in Neighgeria, colored contacts.

'-and oh how we danced
'And we swallowed the night
'Her long hair black as a raven's...'

However, the rushed nature of the job demanded function over form. Alabaster skin, blue mane, armor to cover the blank spots. Quick get in get out before anyone was the wiser.

All he had to do was convince a dangerous psychopath to start using her methods for the greater good...Well, greater profit at any rate.

He stepped out of the bathroom, face hard, jaw set, armor on, the picture of one of Celestia's gallants.

>Mr. Noteworthy.

"Wha!? Bwuh?! Oh crap, uh, officer! I didn't do anything I sw-"

>It's me.

"Oh...ohhhh...okay, yeah-"

'We will never be going back hoooome~!'

>...turn the damn gramaphone off.

"Yessir, right away!"

Blues scrambles and soon the needle was scratching off of the record, leaving them in silence.

"..."

>The hospital?

"Oh! Oh yeah! Yes! Let's go!"

Blues quickly trotted to the door, moving to open it to reveal.

"Oh...oh dear..."

Ponyville, in the distance, was covered by a red cloud of writhing shapes. Shapes that were making their way outward, towards Canterlot, towards Everfree, towards the Hospital.

>Well. This complicates matters.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Blueblood
"PJ"
~~

He didn't know how he knew he would find her in this particular room, but he did wish he could at least pretend he was surprised.

>Leaving so soon?

She nearly jumped out of her skin. How unlike her, so distracted she couldn't even detect him beneath his pitiful 'sleuthing'.

Still, her pause was a brief one, not lasting more than a second before she got back to fiddling with her 'target', a giant bag of potatoes on her back.

"Come on, damn it, work!"

>It's not going to.

"Buffalo shit! They use this thing all the time! And I know they put in safety measures so this thing can be used by someone who isn't fuck-powerful! So WORK!"

To punctuate her point, she slammed her hoof down on the object in question receiving nothing for a response.

>Are you really planning to leave for the Crystal Empire?

She let out a growl, giving the machine another smack.

"That was the plan! Heard they're okay with us buggers over there, figure I can hide out, if things go south get out into the snow. This stuff looks like plants, and if there's one thing I know, cold beats plant!"

>It beats changeling too.

She didn't give a verbal response.

Just... a slight twitch of her lips.

>...There's a code.

At last, she turned to face him.

"What?"

>A code. There's a code you need to put in to turn it on. This is so nobody can use it to sneak attack the Empire.

"...DAMN! DAMN IT! Okay, what's the code!?"

>I wouldn't know.

She growled again, before randomly starting to press whatever button on the edge of the portal she could find.

"Dumb luck don't fail me now!"

>You're going to drain the backup.

"Not my problem!"

>I know, but it's the only way someone other than a powerful Unicorn could manage this.

"Again! Not! Problem!"

>...

Silently, he moved up to her, and gently pushed her aside.

Three seconds later, the portal opened.

"HEY! I thought you said you didn't... where are you going?"

He didn't answer her, already heading towards the door.

"Bluey! Come on, buddy! You can't go out there! You'll just... listen, I've got plans for something like this, okay? I've got ways to-"

>Abandon everyone.

"Okay, fine, it isn't pretty, but it's about survival, you know? I don't think we stand much of a chance against those things!"

>Probably not, no. Especially not me. I'm... not much of a fighter.

"Then what do you think you're doing!?"

>Making up for the harm I caused this city... in the only way I can.

He turned back to her, tears on the edge of his eyes.

>I know I'm going to die if those things get in, but I don't care. I'd... I'd rather die than run away from them. They gave me a chance I did not deserve. I will not... I will NOT waste it. I may throw it away... but I will not waste it.

She reached out, almost desperately.

"Bluey come on!"

>I'll tell Haymaker you're safe.

"This is stupid! We can make it out!"

>I hope you live a long, happy life, PJ. I really do. You've been a good friend, and I want you to be happy. Good luck.

"Blueblood you come right through this portal with me right now or-"

He shut the door on her.

He actually shut the door on her...

"Ahhh... ah fuuuucck... Fuck no. Come on... FUCK!"

Angrily, she turned back to the portal.

"Not fucking dying by zombies. No fucking way. Nope. Not happening. No zombies for me. Fuck this, fuck that, and fuck all of them. Can all just go... go fuck a tree... I'm gonna survive. That's what she said, survive. Above all else, gotta survive... fuck all of this... I'm..."

And yet... she did not move through.

Not just yet.

"I'm gonna live."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________