Walking through the now empty desolate wasteland that was once Equestria, Anon pondered what he could have done differently to save his friends and family. The life he had made for himself was now gone as he looked out at the hellish landscape. He took in what was left of the scenery. Twilight's treehouse library was all but burned to ash, along with most of the buildings in Ponyville. The castle of the two princesses was nearly obliterated, only rubble remained behind, the once beautiful site of Sweet Apple Acres Now replaced with haunting imagery, Flesh dangling from trees, the farmhouse empty and souless, and the whole area smelling of blood and decay.
"I don't even want to think about the state that I saw them all in. I had to relieve them of that hell. They begged me for help, and I gave it to them. All of them. I'm the only one left to tell the story of what happened here. I can only hope that it was isolated to Equestria."
"Goodbye, Octavia, my love. I'm sorry I couldn't save you or our boys, but hopefully, I'll be able to see you in the next life." He said as he coughed up blood, his pulse fading as his eyes began to close. The world was losing all senses: sound, taste, touch, smell, and finally, he gave his last breath with a smile, knowing his suffering had ended. The air was quiet, not even the sounds of birds greeted the morning. There sat what was once the lone survivor of this tragedy, lifeless. He chose to die next to where his home had once stood, on the edge of Ponyville, with an amazing view of what was once Equestria but now it had been transformed into a hellscape where everything was dead, even the birds. How had it gotten to this point?
Well, dear reader, embarking on this hopeless journey will weave the tale of it all, from start to the horrifying finale. I'm not going to lie to you; it's not a pretty picture, and if you have a weak stomach, it might not be for you. With that in mind, let us begin our tale.
It all began with a normal day in Equestria. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and all was right with the world. Anon had just sat down to have breakfast with his loving wife, Octavia Melody, and his two adopted children, Base and Symphony. It had been only a few years since Anon had been out hunting and walked into a strange cave that led him to this other world. When he turned back, the cave was gone. It took a while, but Anon eventually accepted that there was no way home and made a life for himself with a young mare who took him in. They eventually became lovers and adopted due to Anon not being able to give her children of their own.
Overall, Anon's life was good. He worked mostly in construction, and his human hands made him an asset to any crew he was on. He was well-liked and respected in the community. Honestly, his life was much better than back home, where he had no wife, a dead-end job, and no future. But here, he had everything he'd ever wanted and more. At that time, he had no idea what was about to befall him and all of Equestria.
That day, Anon grabbed his lunch, kissed his wife goodbye, and sent his kids off to school before heading to work, just like he had always done. Although something happened that caught not only the attention of Anon but also many passersby. A pony walking down the street, covered in blisters and a rash, was being wrangled by ponies in hazmat uniforms. The red earthpony was speaking in tongues, and he looked as though he had just escaped a mental asylum. His face had contorted into a joker-esque smile, almost unhinging his jaw.
Shaking it off, Anon looked down at his watch, "Oh no, I'm gonna be late!" he screamed to no one in particular as he took off in a full sprint, barely making it to work with only seconds to spare. hey, boss made it it was looking dicey there, but im clocked in
The boss, a light grey earth pony with what looked like stubble, looked confused. "Um, Anon, didn't you get the letter I sent to your house?" Now it was Anon's turn to look confused. "No, what letter?" The boss rolled his eyes. "Damn, Dirpy probably delivered it to the wrong house again. Basically, kid, our company got into some legal trouble over an old house we built years ago, before you came along. Well, long story short, we're closing our doors effective immediately as we can no longer stay in business."
"You've got to be kidding me. Well, at least it's not my fault I'm out of a job. You have my sympathies about the company, though you were actually a really great boss." The bossman smiled, "Yeah, you were probably the best employee I'd ever had." If my company hadn't just gone belly up, I probably would have left it to you, but it just wasn't in the cards, I guess."
"Yeah, well, I guess I'll clock out and head home to give my wife the bad news. See ya later, boss." As he left the building, Anon was greeted by the sounds of distant screaming. There was blood everywhere, and ponies were running through the streets in complete pandemonium. Anon was alarmed, to say the least.That's when he saw it: one of the town's ponies came limping around the corner, and just as Anon stepped forward, a horrifying deformed pony walked around the corner. It looked like the one from earlier, with the ponies in hazmat gear, but he had changed. His straight jacket was torn, there were chunks of flesh missing from him, and his eyes dangled from their sockets. Bones stuck out in places over his body, his neck was twisting unnaturally, and the joker-esque smile he had earlier was now the stuff of nightmares. Crooked teeth jutted out in different directions, and his jaw was now fully unhinged, forming a haunting smile that looked like a souless void.
There was no doubt this pony should be dead, but he was walking around. He was a zombie. Not knowing what happened or how, Anon leaped into action, grabbing a two-by-four and smashing the zombie's head in, killing it and breaking his only weapon. Looking back, he saw the old pony convulsing on the ground, another victim, confirming what Anon had thought before. He could be turned. Anon put him out of his misery as well. Then he had a thought: his wife and kids. He had to get back home. Anon grabbed a crowbar and ran through town, taking out any infected that he saw. Body parts littered the streets; it was a bloodbath, but Anon had only his family on his mind.
Please be okay! The whole world could end, but as long as you were safe, I'd be okay with it. He ran faster than he'd ever done until he arrived back at his front door. It was ajar and looked like it had been partially removed from its hinges. Anon opened the door only to find all that was left of his wife was her cutie mark, ripped from her body, and a couple of partially eaten bones. The house was a wreck. Every picture had been torn off the wall. Anon wanted to cry. He wanted to mourn his loss, but he grabbed the cutie mark left on the ground, put it in his pocket to bury later, and ran full speed towards the schoolhouse. Tears were falling from his eyes, but he never stopped. His muscles screamed, but he never stopped. Hell, he didn't even stop to help some poor soul who was about to be eaten. His children were his only goal. If he failed them, then it all would have been for nothing.
As he approached the schoolhouse, Anon felt relief for the first time in hours. The royal guards were picking off zombies and loading the children into chariots bound for the royal bunker. He ran up, almost being taken out by one of the guards before peeking out from behind cover. He yelled over, "I'm not infected, I haven't been bitten!"The guard, looking to the others and nodding, said, "Alright, come out slowly, don't make any sudden moves." Stepping out from behind cover, holding his hands up, he asked over to the guards, "Are my children okay? Did they make it out?"
What are their names? The guard yelled back, still having an attack spell ready, not that Anon could blame them. "Two boys, Base and Symphony!" The other guard checks a list, "Yeah, they were part of the first group out of here. Just approach slowly so we can check you for bite marks, and when you're cleared, we'll take you to your children. Is your wife with you?"
Anon froze for a moment. He couldn't breathe. He didn't have time, so he just gritted his teeth. The guard knew by his silence what happened and motioned Anon over without another word. They checked him and loaded him on the last civilian transport leaving. Then came the flyers, the turned pegassi who still had wings. All were picked off one by one as the carriage approached the gate. The guards at the gate quickly opened it and just as quickly shut it once they were through. The once bustling capital of Equestria was now a makeshift refugee camp for all of the survivors. Some faces he knew, others he had seen. His old boss was even there, though he had what people on earth called the thousand-yard stare and was relatively brain-dead. Whatever he had seen must have been too much for him.
There were a few ponies like that. Most were just scared or in mourning over a lost loved one. The carriage stopped, and the guard pointed to a doorway that led into the castle. This door normally would be shut and guarded, but it was wide open, and all of the guards seemed to have their hands full, either dealing with the hordes or rescuing civilians. With very few left to guard the capital and its entrances, anon walked in to see Miss Cheerily sat down with her students, who all looked very frightened by what was going on. The whole time she was trying to reassure the children that their parents would be found, even though she was not sure if they were even alive.
Anon looked around and eventually spotted his boys, a little scraped up but none the worse for wear. He ran over and hugged them tightly, "Oh, boys, I'm so glad you're alright!" The boys eagerly hugged their father back. "Daddy, we were so scared!" said Symphony. "Speak for yourself, I would have taken on those zombies and shown them the power of the beat!" said Beat, trying to look tough as always but still looking frightened, not fooling his father one bit, but he didn't care as long as they were both safe.Eventually, Anon let them go, and Symphony asked the question that Anon was dreading, "Dad, where's mom? Is she ok? Is she with you?"Anon looked defeated. He wanted so desperately to break down right there, but he steeled himself, took a deep breath, and looked down at his two young boys. "Sons, listen to me very carefully. You're old enough to know this, and I haven't got time to explain much, so just listen. Your mom didn't make it, but don't worry, she didn't get turned into one of those things. I'm so sorry, boys. I failed to get home in time." The boys both simply stood there in shock before bursting out in tears and hugging their father.
Beat spoke up through his crying, "It's ok, dad, I'm sure you did your best. Don't blame yourself. I'm just glad we didn't *sniff* lose you too." Anon looked down and said, "Beat, my brave son, listen to me. You have a very important job: look after your little brother while I'm gone. I need to go speak with Celestia about what's happening. Can you do that for me, champ?"
Wiping his tears, Beat looked up to his father with determination in his eyes and said, "I will, Dad. You can count on me." He then took his brother, who was still crying, over to the bench, holding his hand and trying to comfort him. Walking out the door, Anon went up to the stairway that led to the royal throne room. There, he heard a familiar voice call out to him. It was none other than Twilight Sparkle, the element of magic, looking a little shaken but all around okay.
"Twilight, what happened? Why are the townsponies suddenly turning into the walking dead?" Twilight looked down, seeming pretty exhausted, probably from saving her fair share of ponies. "We don't know. All we know is that some mental patient tore up his hospital and made his way into town. Someone got too close and got bitten, and it all went downhill from there. Right now, we're focusing on saving the survivors of this plague, and then I'm going to get to work on a cure. Thankfully, me and the other girls made it here okay, but Applejack couldn't find her sister, and neither could Rarity. Rainbow Dash hasn't seen Scootaloo or her parents, and Spike is scared out of his mind."
"Wait, the CMC weren't at the schoolhouse with the other kids, why?" Twilight did her best to keep a calm head and answer Anon, but with everything that had happened, she was struggling to keep herself together. "We don't know, Miss Cheerilee said they didn't show up to school today.""Well, I hope for the sake of Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash that they're okay." A horn is sounded across the land. "What was that!?" Anon asked. "That was the horn letting everyone know the guards have returned with the last of the survivors that they could find. If they aren't on that carriage, I fear for their safety," answered Twilight.
Now you know, dear reader, how the beginning of the end came about. Stick around for the next chapter, coming soon, when things get bloody and horrifying and even a little...CHAOTIC (evil laugh).
infected: 45%
dead:12%
survivors:40%
unknown3%