Chapter 4

I gawked in disbelief, since I had great reason to believe that all of the six friends had been dead, or Zomponies. As far as we knew, Twilight had created the disease from mixing plants in the Everfree Forest with Timber Wolf essence. She was the first Zompony. Rainbow Dash had been bitten, believing that Zompony pegasi could not fly and reach her resting in Cloudsdale. She was one of the scariest Zomponies, considering how fast she was in life. We were never sure if Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, RJ's and S's adoption mother, were still safe from the virus. But here Pinkie stood. But not for long.

"HHHHEEERRREEE! ALL YOU ZOMPONIES NEED TO GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE AND AWAY FROM THAT WEAKLING, EASY MEAL. IF YOU EAT US, YOU'LL BE WELLFED FOR DAYS!" coaxed RJ. It was a bit offensive to Pinkie Pie, but it did the trick and snapped S and I back into reality. The Zomponies began their leisurely trot towards us. Mouths watering.

Pinkie Pie looked very grateful, yet torn up with several scratch marks over her once-pink mane. It was now covered in blood and dirt, as if she'd been scavenging for food and fighting off Zomponies and starvation bare-hoofed. I thought of how much easier we had it than earth ponies in the Apocalypse. Poor Pinkie.

My mind snapped back into the present – again – and I realized how close they were getting. "It's time to get dirty!" I shouted with glee. I loved combat. A sly grin slipped across my face.

My magical aura was metallic blue, and I was the only recorded unicorn or alicorn to have that color. I made my horn glow, and a swirling tornado began above my horn. The large, grey twirl became deadlier every moment. I saw that RJ begun an at LEAST level 10 earthquake, sending the Zomponies into panic and making them run in circles, avoiding the cracks in the earth. I was jealous of her fighting skills, but I was certain I could show her up. Finally! My vortex was finished, and I was SSSOOOO very ready to release it. And I did.

Zomponies remaining unharmed above the surface were instantly swept into the blotches of the earth, and the rest swallowed whole in my Tornado of Doom (as I called it, for it was the most powerful of its kind). I shot a glance at RJ, and was relieved that she was utterly impressed as she was staring at the mass destruction I created with her jaw dropped more than two inches lower than it should be. YES!

"Great moves, Cyclone. Cyclone. Cy. Sick. I'll call you Sick. The si sound from Cyclone, which matches up with your SICK moves. Don't you like it, S?" said RJ. S nodded, smiling.

Then I remembered. "PPPIIINNNKKKIIIIEEE!" I screamed, my eyes examining the broken streets.

"I'm right here!" she said in a raspy voice. Pinkie looked cheerful, but her voice was so depressing.

S must have noticed this. "Maybe I have some herbs that can help your throat in the bunker."

"You – You guys have a bunker?" Pinkie's eyes looked hopeful. I realized that this whole time she had been living in the streets. No allies. No sense of security while sleeping or roaming around.

"Yeah. S, Sick and I built it out of metal parts we found in a garage. When it comes to these conditions, there's no such thing as stealing," RJ injected. I don't think Rainbow deciphered Pinkie's former predicament. I sighed. RJ wasn't ever the sensitive type, anyways. I knew this even though I didn't know either S or RJ until the Pony Uprising against Twilight and Celestia.

It was a pretty awkward walk back, considering Pinkie did not have a spring in her step, RJ did not fly above us, twirling and bragging, and, actually, S was staying quiet, like she usually did. I guess being around a former friend of Twilight, who went crazy before accidentally killing herself, had that affect. But so was – MOM!

Tears burst out, and I dealt with my mom being not only drained of her power from Twilight during the Uprising, but a Zompony who was responsible for most ponies being infected. The others had never seen me cry, not even during Rainbow Dash's (my mom's) funeral march.

S seemed concerned but knew I was about to explode. RJ didn't know. "Hey, Sick. What's wrong?" she said.

I responded with a burst of energy. My Tornado of Doom made a reappearance. Grey, depressing dust and water revolved around me like a whirlpool, growing stronger and larger with each of my tears. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" I wailed with such ferocity that the remaining ground of Ponyville trembled. This was chaos magic at its finest.

"SICK! YOU HAVE TO CALM DOWN! WE'LL MISS RD TOO, EVEN IF HER NAME WAS TOO SIMILAR TO MINE! SHE WAS THE BEST TRAINER WE COULD HAVE EVER HAD!" RJ screamed, trying to overcome the loudness of my freak weather. "YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO HAS SUFFERED A LOST! THINK ABOUT DISCORD!"

The twister ceased. I had never really known Discord well enough to break down and cry during the news of his death. But the understanding that the others have felt this way before yet handle it better made me steel myself. I can't act like an out of control wimp. Although out of control does mean chaos, there are better ways to show my strength. Like in battle, not saddening moments.

"Cyclone – er, Sick. Why don't you take a nap? We'll scavenge the bunker for remaining tools," exclaimed S.

I must have seemed like a dummy, for my lips were a centimeter apart, and I was staring into space. Then I remembered what I was looking like that for. "Scavenge? Why would we have to scavenge for anything in our bunker? Unless – "

"Rainbow Jewel's earthquake collapsed the bunker," Pinkie said. "We discovered the bunker was ruined while you were making hot and cold air swirl around each other, thus forming a tornado." We all stared at Pinkie Pie, for I and neither S or RJ had ever heard Pinkie talk so… sophisticated. Did the Zompony Apocalypse corrupt Pinkie's happiness? Did depression deepen her voice and make it raspy?

Either way, we'd have to grab the necessities, pack up, and search for a new shelter in the Zompony infested streets.