So, I take it some of you wanted to know how the plague spreads... that will be explained... in due time. Back with Fluttershy and the Runners at the shed, Tar Pony will seek the answers to how the Runners spread, and will be surprised at what he finds out. What does he learn? Will the Control Freaks lose their sanity and become Runners again? Find out now!
It was nighttime now, and Fluttershy had went out again to feed the four ponies in her shed. She entered, and as she did, she greeted them. Their only response was to growl and moan in the fashion Runners did, and she poured the chicken feed into the feeding trays. The Runners rushed to them, and began eating to their heart's content. Their eyes, formerly glowing a blood red, now returned to their usual colors, and they became Control Freaks again. "Oops... I... I wasn't growling! I had a cough in my throat," Rarity said in her normal voice.
"So, how did you all get infected and become Control Freaks?" Tar Pony asked the other Control Freaks.
"Well, I was in the Carousel Boutique working, as usual, when Pinkie Pie came in. She asked for some party drapes, curtains, the usual. Behind her, though, entered another pony. He looked pale, so Pinkie and I went to help him. He then collapsed on the ground, and we shook him to get up. He stood up, but he didn't feel quite right, as he spoke. Then his eyes turned a bright red, he began to growl, and he bit into me," Rarity explained.
"Then, Rarity and I shoved him out of the shop. She said she was all right, and the bite wasn't deep, so we ignored it. After Rarity brought me my supplies, she had a spasm of some sort before she fell over too! She stood back up, and her eyes turned red too! She started growling and stuff, like this!" Pinkie then made strange growling noises as she made weird faces, moving her jaw left and right, up and down. "She then bit into me, and I ran out with my supplies. I headed back to Sugarcube Corner, and then... I can't remember anything after that," Pinkie explained.
"In fact, I never remembered nibbling on Pinkie. I don't even know how I ended up here," Rarity stated.
"Me neither, until Fluttershy told us that she found us eating garbage!" Pinkie stated excitedly.
Tar Pony nodded in conception. So, the bites spread the disease... how original. And... they don't seem to remember anything after being bitten... until they ended up here. He turned to Big Macintosh. "What about you, Big Mac? I don't see any bite marks on you."
"Well, all I can remember is working in the orchards when some branch clonked my head. I then woke up a while later, saw the branch that fell on me, and then... I don't remember the rest. I don't even remember eating Fluttershy's hen," Big Macintosh explained a bit shamefully. Leon then noticed that Big Macintosh did have a large cut on his head, but other than that no bite wounds. Tar Pony became confused, and wondered how Big Mac became a Runner.
"What about you, dear? How did you become..." Rarity paused as she waved her hoof and waved it in disgust at Tar Pony, "that... thing?" Rarity finished.
"I woke up... somehow. I broke out of my mausoleum and headed to town. I... I passed by the cottage, and Fluttershy fed me and led me in here," Tar Pony explained. He then turned to Fluttershy. "So, Fluttershy, what's the plan on getting to Canterlot?" Tar Pony asked.
Fluttershy kicked the ground with her foreleg for a few seconds before answering. "I... I haven't come up with one yet. What I wanted to do was see if any pony was still in town..."
"Regular ponies or more of us?" Tar Pony asked.
"Oh, no! I couldn't invite anymore! You might start fighting with each other, and we don't want that. Regular ponies need help too. Could you help me find them, since you're... Tar Pony?" Fluttershy said.
"Hmm... they might be frightened to see me… and I really like how awesome I look," Tar Pony said.
"Well, all you have to do is help me find them, and then I'll see what I can help them with," Fluttershy said.
"Um… OK. Where do we go first?" Tar Pony asked.
"We should head to the library," Fluttershy suggested.
"All right... let's get going," Tar Pony said as he was led outside by Fluttershy, still tied in chains.
…
They soon reached town square, which was destroyed, empty, and ransacked. Fires still danced in the abandoned shops, illuminating the night with bright orange glows specked throughout town. There was much devastation, and skeletons picked clean of flesh and surrounded by dried pools of blood lay on the streets, positioned as though the original pony had tried to escape their slow and painful death, swarmed with flies and crawlers. "My god… all this… was caused by some ponies?" Tar Pony asked sadly.
Fluttershy looked at the scene with tears in her eyes. She began to whimper, but Leon stopped her by holding her closely. "Listen, Fluttershy, we'll find some ponies in town... trust me." She looked up at him, and nodded. He smiled, and let her go, and she stopped sniffling, though tears still lingered in her eyes.
They both heard a flapping sound, as though a Pegasus were flying overhead. Fluttershy looked up, and saw a gray shadow flying in the night sky. The shadowed silhouette swooped low and finally tackled Tar Pony. "Hi, Fluttershy! There's a monster following you!" the silhouette called out, standing on top of Tar Pony. In the blaze of the flames, her identity was revealed; it was Derpy Hooves, smiling as innocently as she always was.
"Oh! Hello, Derpy! What brings you here?" Fluttershy asked.
Leon was surprised to note how casually they were speaking considering the circumstances, and he shook his head in disapproval. "I saw this pony next to you, and was going to save you, but he didn't attack. So he must be a muffin eater like me!" Derpy said excitedly. "What's their name?"
"He's Tar Pony. He's one of them, but after giving him tender care, he's learned to be nice," Fluttershy said, nudging Leon's head. He was still trapped underneath Derpy, and he groaned in dissatisfaction.
"Derpy? How did you avoid the attacks from the ponies?" Tar Pony asked.
"Who, me? Um… I guess cause I can fly, hello?" she said, looking down as she opened and flapped her wings.
"Where is every pony? Where's my son, where's Draco, where's…" Derpy stopped Tar Pony with her hoof.
"I don't know who your son is, Draco is somewhere in Sweet Apple Acres, and every pony else is… well… gone…" she said sadly. Her eyes now watered, and she began to look away from Tar Pony. "I've… I've been looking for my little muffin, Dinky." She began to sob, and couldn't stop, as her love and affection took a strong grasp at her heart painfully. "I can't find her anywhere! I looked in the house, the library, and even under each pot, plate, pan, and paint can, but she wasn't under any of them!"
Leon looked up at her with sad eyes, and began to tear up as well. "Alan… did you see him with Draco?" Leon asked.
Derpy shook her head. "No, I only saw Draco attacked by two of your kind… and chased into a barn… I didn't stay after that," she admitted sadly.
Leon thought for a moment. Sweet Apple Acres… I need to check over there, see if Draco and Alan are there... and all right. "Derpy, we're going to head to Sweet Apple Acres... will you join us?" Tar Pony asked.
"No... NO! Not with you, you dirty, smelly, innocent-muffin eater! Where's my little muffin!? Where is Dinky!?" she said as she struck Leon repeatedly with her hooves. She was now furious, and Tar Pony tried to block as many of her strikes as she could.
"Ow... hey... quit it! I'm not... a... muffin... or... bloody... cupcake eater!" Tar Pony pleaded to her. "Stop... stop... stop hitting me!"
"Derpy, don't! It's Leon… he's just really… messy…" Fluttershy said.
Derpy looked shocked at Fluttershy, then down to Tar Pony. She got off of him, and helped him up. "Leon… is it really you?" she asked.
"The one and only, dead for… how long, Fluttershy?" he asked.
"Three years," she responded.
"Leon... it is you!" Derpy said happily, hugging him. "I'm sorry for hitting you… of course I'll help you find Alan!" she exclaimed. They then all left for Sweet Apple Acres in search of Alan and Draco.
…
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were down in the cellar. Scootaloo was sniffling as she covered her face with her hooves, and Rainbow was attempting to comfort her and feed her tortoise at the same time. Alan and Draco were outside, keeping watch for any more Shamblers or Runners. Applejack and Applebloom were in the bedrooms, tending to Sweetie Belle. Eric and Dinky fetched supplies from the kitchen to bring up to Sweetie Belle's aid.
From outside, a shouting came. "Um… Applejack… I... I think I see two Pegasi coming this way…" Alan said, as he couldn't tell easily since it was now dusk.
Applejack looked out the window of the bedroom, and saw the silhouettes as well against the burning glow of the fires from the town. "Hold on… don't draw attention yet…" she said.
Alan and Draco stood still, and the ponies continued to come. There then came another pony, covered up in darkness, following the two. "There's another one!" Draco yelled.
Applejack went to the living room, grabbed the shotgun, and headed out. She joined Alan and Draco, who were now armed with a shovel and a hoe. She looked at the ponies, and recognized one of them as they drew nearer. "Oh, no… they… they got Fluttershy!" Applejack announced, shocked and brokenhearted.
Alan and Draco stood shocked, and recognized the other Pegasus. "Derpy… she's one of them as well," Alan said sadly.
"Hey! Applejack! Whoo-hoo!" Derpy said.
"Wait... that... that is Derpy! It's really her!" Alan said excitedly.
The Pegasi now entered the clearing, and trotted to Applejack. "Stay back or I'll blow y'all to kingdom come!" Applejack warned, sadness in her voice.
"Applejack, you shouldn't point things at ponies you know," Fluttershy scolded.
"Fluttershy? It really is you!" Applejack said with glee. She lowered the gun, and then raised it again as she saw Tar Pony. "As for y'all, ya can say hello to my little friend!" she said, and aimed the gun at Tar Pony's forehead.
"Applejack, no! He's very friendly, and he wouldn't harm a fly," Fluttershy reassured.
"What's with him being one of 'em then?" Applejack asked impatiently, ready to pump some buckshot into Tar Pony.
"Trust me; he's not like the others. He's got a heart," Fluttershy reassured.
Applejack considered that for a moment, and slowly lowered the gun. "Alright then, I'll leave it be, since you trust it. But he does one thing wrong, consider his head blown off like the gasket on our tractor," Applejack said threateningly.
"Wait, Applejack! You're just letting this thing stay here!?" Alan asked as he followed Applejack to the farmhouse. Tar Pony had seen Alan, and couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. The relief turned to sadness as Alan spoke his mind about Tar Pony.
She turned to leave with Alan and Draco, and Tar Pony turned on Fluttershy. "Why didn't you tell her who I was? Now she's aiming a loaded gun to my head! And what's worse, my son sees me as some sort of monster!" Tar Pony accused.
"I'm sorry, but until we find a way to help you, you're not Leon. That's why you're technically considered Tar Pony…" Fluttershy said.
"Well… but… ah, fuck. Well, can we go into the house? Will I be safe?" Tar Pony said.
"Yes, as long as you behave yourself. Let's see who else is inside." The three ponies then walked into the farmhouse, and shut the door behind them.
…
As soon as Tar Pony walked into the house first, Dinky and Eric both dropped what they were holding and ran away screaming to the cellar. Applejack walked down the stairs, and tied the chains Fluttershy held to the staircase. "So he doesn't get any ideas…" she said.
"Are you serious? I'm not… well, I am one of them… but I'm not as mindless as them!" Leon stated.
"So you can speak? Well, I don't wanna take the risk, seeing as you're more dangerous than the others," she was interrupted by the sound of steps, and Rainbow Dash came inside the room.
"You might wanna watch out, the foals said there's…" she turned to where Tar Pony stood, and her eyes went wide with fear. "A monster!" she yelled out. She ran back down the steps, and left the mares and Tar Pony in the dust.
"Is this how they all see me... as… a monster? I... I may be grotesque in appearance... but I'm still the same as I was before," Leon said, sitting down miserably and lowering his ears.
Fluttershy and Derpy couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Ya haven't eaten any ponies, have ya?" Applejack asked doubtfully.
"No… I can eat regular food… but to be thought only as an abomination? That's a fate worse than death…" He scoffed afterwards. "Even worse… I am dead…" he said miserably.
They all thought about it, and Fluttershy and Applejack unchained him. He looked up at them, and they smiled. He smiled back at them. "Thank you… very much... you don't know how much this means to me." His stomach began to growl, and he knew he was getting hungry. "Is there anything to eat? I'm starting to get hungry…" he said.
"Well, there are always apples for a good meal!" Applejack said happily.
"Anything other than brains sounds good right about now," Tar Pony said.
"You know what? I think you're as equine as we are, no matter what the others say," Applejack said confidently. "In fact, you remind me of a certain pony that lived here before… but he's gone now," she said sadly.
So they don't know who I am yet? Maybe Fluttershy is right… I'm technically not a pony anymore, but that doesn't mean I haven't acted equine since I stood up. Maybe there is a way for me to become pony again… Leon thought with hope on his mind.
Wow... Tar Pony has never been so close, yet so far from his son in three years, and now Alan's staying as far away from him as possible. Will Leon become equine? Will the others trust Leon? Will they somehow plot to kill him? And, is the farm safe from the undead threat of the charred pony? Find out next week, everyone!
Side Note: Still taking names for our charred pony, and will post his name on next week's chapter! Review or PM me your suggested name! Also, got any references in this chapter? Hope you did! Also, the rating WILL change to an M rating next chapter. Thanks for reading, and see y'all next week!