My Little Zombie: Brains are Magic
By spidersean
Chapter One
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The meadow outside of the Everfree Forest, in contrast to the dark woods itself, was quite peaceful and calm on most days. A yellow pegasus pony casually trotted alongside the edge of the forest. There was a light breeze that graced the meadow, its tendrils gently pushing against the pony’s bright pink mane. The gentle aroma of flowers wafted through the air and was met by the sound of a few buzzing cicadas.
Fluttershy heard birds singing nearby and she smiled softly to herself. She briefly wondered if the birds would be interested in joining her choir. She looked up, searching for the source of the beautiful music.
Fluttershy needed to squint and shield her eyes from the sun’s shining brilliance. It shone brighter than it had all week and there wasn’t a cloud in the vivid blue sky. She made a quick mental note to thank the other pegasus ponies for such a beautiful day.
She shook her head a bit, focusing at her task at hoof. I’m not here to admire the weather! I have a mission,’ she reminded herself. ‘Well, it’s sort of a mission. Kind of... Fluttershy had come here looking for any animals she could find outside the Everfree Forest. Most animals that came from the forest were usually injured or sick, due to the nature of the forest itself.
She did this every now and then, not wanting it to get too crowded at her cottage. She had quite a few animals to tend already. Still, the mere notion of leaving a poor animal in need of help behind... Fluttershy felt a shiver go down her spine.
She had already been out here for quite some time. She was about to go home when she heard a whimper not too far from her. The sunny-colored pegasus gasped, quickly galloping towards the weak cry.
On the very edge of the forest was a little ball of fur. Upon getting closer, Fluttershy discovered it was a small, brown, female rabbit. Fluttershy rushed to the rabbit’s side. Her fur was matted and messy, with the occasional bald patch. She was shivering, coughing; she even felt a little clammy.
“Oh, dear. There there, Miss Rabbit. It’ll be okay,” Fluttershy said in her hushed, caring voice. She gingerly lifted the rabbit up with her front hoof and laid it on her back. “I’ll take you to my home. We’ll get you a nice warm bed and I’ll do my best to make you feel all better. Does that sound like a good plan, Miss Rabbit?” Fluttershy gave the rabbit a soft smile.
The rabbit formed a weak smile in response and started to whimper its gratitude to its yellow pegasus savior, but only managed to let out a hacking cough that shook her little body. Fluttershy gasped slightly, “Oh, my!” With that, she began trotting quickly back to her cottage, careful not to let the weak bunny fall over.
Fluttershy hadn’t strayed too terribly far from her home, so it only took a few minutes to bring the sick rabbit there. As the little winged pony found herself on the paved street that led to her house, she let out a soft sigh of relief. Her cottage began to come into view.
Fluttershy’s cottage was cozy, small and, above all else, natural. Its roof was thatched from long dry grass and leaves, giving the cottage a squat, treelike facade. There was a dirt path that led over a gently flowing stream and raised up to the cottage’s simple wooden door. Amid the various small trees and other foliage were nests, birdhouses and flowers of all kinds. Normally, everypony could see all of the different critters Fluttershy had adopted frolicking around in the sunlight.
However, this was strangely not the case, Fluttershy observed as she crossed the natural bridge. For some reason, all of the animals had gone inside when she drew close.
She didn’t have the time to reflect on it for long, though. The rabbit’s wheezing grew louder still, almost violent. Fluttershy’s eyes widened, “Oh my! Hold on, Miss Rabbit! We’re almost there!”
The rabbit attempted to give Fluttershy a pathetically weak smile, but just ended up coughing even more. Fluttershy realized that she didn’t have a lot of time, and her heart began to race. She finally pushed through the front door of her home.
Her living room was simple and small; there was all of the basic furniture inside of it. The only thing that stood out about it was the occasional birdcage or small pet bed. There were a couple rugs with flower motifs laid upon its hardwood floor and there was also a flight of stairs near the center of the room that led to Fluttershy’s bedroom.
Fluttershy carefully laid the sickly rabbit upon one of her green couches. The rabbit’s wheezing had subsided somewhat, but her breathing was still shallow and raspy. The pegasus pony’s crystal blue eyes met with the rabbit’s pleading, bloodshot, brown eyes. Fluttershy pressed her hoof against the rabbit’s forehead, but pulled it away in shock.
“O-Oh my! You’re running quite the fever, Miss Rabbit. Hold on for just a moment, okay?” Fluttershy turned and sprinted up the stairs. Moments later she returned with a lavender blanket clutched in her teeth. She laid it on top of the rabbit gingerly, who whimpered her thanks.
Fluttershy took a moment to pause and glanced around the room. She had finally spotted where all of the other animals had run off to. Most, if not all of them, were huddled together in different corners of the room. Their eyes were all fixed upon the shivering bunny beneath the purple blanket.
Fluttershy frowned a bit. Usually the animals were more friendly towards newcomers. But she had also known about all animals’ innate sense of self-preservation. Obviously, whatever the sickly bunny had was gravely serious and the other animals were not keen about catching it.
The only animal that wasn’t hiding away in a corner was a small fluffy white bunny named Angel. He cautiously approached Fluttershy with a worried expression. She gave Angel a reassuring smile. The little white bunny raised an eyebrow in uneasiness while hopping onto the couch. He had been her closest companion for many years, longer than any of her other animal friends.
Angel gave Fluttershy a look that said, ‘I don’t like this, but I’ll help you if need be.’ Fluttershy nodded and gave Angel her thanks.
“Is there anything, anything at all, that I can get you, Miss Rabbit?” Fluttershy turned to ask the brown bunny, exuding an air of motherly care and concern. The rabbit stuck its tongue out and licked its dry lips. Fluttershy got the hint and instantly sprinted to her kitchen and returned almost a second later with a small bowl of water. She set it carefully down next to the rabbit’s head.
The rabbit leaned over and began to slowly and weakly drink. Fluttershy frowned and felt despair well up inside of her. She had dealt with several sick and injured animals before, but none so close to death. The only time it had come even close to this was when she abducted and tried to heal Princess Celestia’s phoenix. Even then, Fluttershy had more time to nurse Philomena, and bunnies don’t come back after they pass.
The brown bunny’s eyes began to grow heavy. Her shallow breathing began to slow considerably. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in panic.
“Oh no. Oh no no no...” Fluttershy said, “Oh dear, what do I do? Oh! I know, maybe I have some medicine that will help!” The pink-maned pegasus dashed off to the kitchen, frantically looking for something.
Angel leaned in to inspect the sick bunny. She had stopped wheezing and coughing as much, but she was still shivering and sweating. The white bunny folded his arms and sighed. He didn’t want to imagine how devastated Fluttershy would be if this newcomer died, which looked like a strong possibility by that point.
“Argh!” shouted a voice from the kitchen that brought Angel’s train of thought to a halt. Fluttershy sped back into the room.
“I’ve run all out of rabbit medicine,” Fluttershy said quickly, “I have to run to the market to get some more. I’ll be right back, Miss Rabbit. Angel, please look after her while I’m gone.”
With that, Fluttershy flung open the front door and flew off. Angel swore that she was moving quicker than Rainbow Dash usually did. He turned his attention back to the little brown rabbit that was causing so much trouble.
Angel stopped cold. The other rabbit wasn’t coughing, wheezing, shivering, or sweating anymore. In fact, she wasn’t even breathing. Angel’s eyes widened and his little stomach did a somersault.
Angel began to frantically fan the other rabbit with his paws, hoping that it would spontaneously revive her. When it yielded no results, he grabbed the bowl of water next to the rabbit and dumped it on her head, hoping the shock would wake her up.
Still no response. Tossing aside the bowl, Angel grabbed the rabbit by the shoulders and shook her. He slapped her across the face a couple times. Nothing. He let go of her and took a step back. His mind raced and he began to hyperventilate. The rabbit next to him had suddenly bolted up right with her eyes still closed, nearly making Angel jump at least two feet out of his skin. His surprise was instantaneously replaced with a deep sense of relief.
The brown rabbit’s eyelids tore open to reveal glossy milky white orbs. Angel paled and his stomach did more somersaults.
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The crowded streets of Ponyville boomed with vivacity. Shops lined the streets and merchants hollered from their stalls. The lively hustle and bustle of the town made Lyra and Bon-Bon, two fillies who were the closest of friends, smile. They both preferred the busier parts of Ponyville.
They were on their way to the market to pick up groceries for the evening, as the cream-colored Bon-Bon’s growling belly reminded them. Her teal unicorn friend, however, stopped and tilted her head at a most peculiar sight. Bon-Bon’s cyan eyes followed Lyra’s orange-colored gaze and found Fluttershy rushing out of the market place with a bag of assorted medicine. The pair had known Fluttershy was a nervous pony, but she was acting more so than usual.
“Hey Fluttershy, what’s with the ba-” Lyra had started, approaching the pony.
“Oh! Er, hey girls. I’m, uh, I’m really sorry. But I’m kind of in the middle of something very, um, important. Excuse me, please. I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said quickly then flew off in the direction of her house.
“Hm, I wonder what that was all about,” Bon-Bon turned to talk to Lyra. “Fluttershy sure seemed to be in a rush. Oh my, she appears to have dropped her bit purse as well.” Bon-Bon lifted up a small green bag with a rosy bunny on it.
“Well, let’s go give it back to her!” Lyra said with a grin, snatching it from Bon-Bon’s hoof.
“I dunno... She did seem a bit preoccupied,” Bon-Bon said, looking unsure. Her stomach rumbled. She wanted to eat more than to go on an errand for a pony they barely know. “Maybe we should wait before we bring it back,” she suggested with a hopeful grin and she nodded her head ecstatically, her mane of raspberry and blueberry swirls bouncing up and down.
“Mmm, nah! It just gives me more reason to go check it out!” Lyra responded, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She then ran off in the direction Fluttershy was heading, her fluorescent buzzsaw of sea-green silver of a mane flying behind her.
Bon-Bon realized Lyra’s adventurous spirit was getting in the way of her appetite. She sighed, shook her head, and ran after Lyra.
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Fluttershy had arrived at her home several minutes later. She was sweating heavily and her wings ached. It had been a long, long time since she ever had to fly that fast. She let out a sigh and pushed open the door and her eyebrow raised in suspicion the moment she stepped inside.
There were some scratch marks on the other side of the door that hadn’t been there when she left. The lights were somehow turned off, the darkened room only illuminated by a few windows. The soft sunlight came through in muted shafts, somehow giving the room a sinister air.
The animals that had been cowering in the corner were no longer there. She observed that, in fact, she wasn’t able to find any of the animals. Well, except for one. The little brown bunny that was now standing on the green couch on her hind legs. She was staring at the pegasus with milky white eyes.
Fluttershy felt a little unnerved by it as she set down the medicine-filled bag and opened her mouth to speak, “O-Oh, hello again, Miss Rabbit. I, um, s-see you’re already up. Um, I brought you some medicine t-to help you f-feel better,” She displayed the bag of medicine that the rabbit seemingly ignored. Fluttershy felt a cold bead of sweat roll down her brow, “Uh, y-you should probably lay back down. I-It’s probably better for you. Th-That is, i-if it’s okay with y-you.”
Fluttershy had no idea why, but just the sight of the rabbit was putting her on edge. Her breath was sticking in her throat and she was getting a creeping sensation up her spine that told her something was very, very wrong. At that point, another bunny hopped out from the shadows, stood in front of the couch, and stared at her with his own glossed-over irides. This other rabbit’s fur was a snowy white.
“A-A-Angel, wh-what are y-you...” Fluttershy attempted to stammer out more, but then even more creatures emerged from the shadows of the cottage. Chipmunks, squirrels, ferrets, raccoons, even a few birds came into view. They all were staring at her with milky white eyes.
Every fiber of Fluttershy’s being screamed at her, ‘RUN! LEAVE! GET OUT OF HERE!’ But her body would not obey and she felt herself lock up in pure terror. Her heart thundered in her chest. She felt her stomach constrict and churn. She paled and her eyes grew, her pupils shrinking. She let out a frantic series of terrified whimpers.
Fluttershy watched hopelessly as her closest animal companion took a few steps closer. The brown rabbit hopped off the couch and followed Angel closely. The other animals slowly approached as well. Fluttershy felt her hooves knock over the bag of medicine as she backed against a wall and pressed against it closely. Her breathing becoming frantic and shallow.
Without warning, Angel lunged at Fluttershy, the other animals following suit. Fluttershy’s eyes clenched shut and she opened her mouth to scream, but only strained air escaped her lips. She felt little jaws clamp down on her and sharp teeth tearing at her flesh. Fluttershy collapsed in a heap and began to feel the world grow dark and cold.
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Bon-Bon’s stomached roared in agony. It had been far too long since she and Lyra set out to return Fluttershy’s bit purse. She smiled slightly when they saw Fluttershy’s house not too far away, a welcome sight after such a long walk, but her tomach bellowed once more in anguish. She would argue with Lyra some more about stopping, getting a bite to eat, and then talking about this beforehand, but she quickly learned how futile an endeavor that was. Lyra had simply set her mind on it, and nothing was going to change it.
They approached the front door, which was ajar for some odd reason. They also could not find any of Fluttershy’s animal friends playing outside, or Fluttershy for that matter. Bon-Bon turned to frantically shake her head and make ‘We-Really-Should-Just-Leave’ motions with her hooves, but found that Lyra had already gone inside.
The earth pony took a deep breath and took her first tentative steps into the cottage. The only source of light in the entirety of the cottage was a faint shaft of muted light that dimly shone through a curtained window. Bon-Bon jumped a bit when she stepped on and cracked a plastic bottle of pills. She looked down to see the bag of assorted medicine Fluttershy had earlier spilled onto the floor, along with other nick-knacks.
She heard Lyra shriek in horror nearby. Bon-Bon turned to see what the problem was and her jaw hit the floor. Her gnawing, unavoidable hunger had suddenly vanished when she saw Fluttershy slumped against a wall. Her eyes were shut and her mouth was slightly agape. Fluttershy was not breathing, nor did she give any other sign of life. Several small bite marks covered her body and she was lying in a small puddle of blood. Lyra and Bon-Bon looked at each other, their eyes wide.
Bon-Bon opened her mouth to speak when Fluttershy stirred a little. Both ponies snapped their attention to her, gripped with an instinctual terror. They watched Fluttershy get back on all four hooves, struggling as she did so. She rose her head to look at the two intruding ponies. Her eyes were milky white.
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It had been years since the first infection. Nopony really knew exactly how long it had been and nopony seemed to bother keeping check anymore. The thriving village that had once been Ponyville was now ruins. Nothing there but charred husks and broken glass remained. Even the very earth and grass had taken on a deathly grayish shade, mirroring the sky.
The town was eerily quiet and still, with the exception of the clopping of hooves against a cobblestone road that echoed throughout the ruins. A single living earth pony was making her way through Ponyville. She was trotting down the village’s streets that she had frequented as a young filly. Back when the world was filled with vibrant colors and life. Back when the sun shone brightly during the day for more than a few hours. Back when the skies were clear and laughter filled the air.
The pony stopped at the small, pathetic gazebo in the middle of the town square. When she observed the buildings around it, she quickly discovered it was the only structure that hadn’t been burnt to its frames or viciously torn down. Even the small wooden market stands surrounding the gazebo had been broken. A stinging cold wind brushed against her rosy mess of a mane.
The filly trotted over to one of the broken stands and sighed. It was the stand her sister used to run. She used to help her on occasion, but for the most part her sister ran everything. Her sister had always been a very reliable pony. The filly rummaged slightly through the wreckage of the stall.
After a bit a shifting, she found a hat. It was made of worn tanned leather and was slightly charred. The pony gasped and gingerly lifted it by its brim. She set it down away from the wreckage and laid down next to it. She carefully nuzzled her forehead against the hat and slowly let out a few shaky, shuddering sobs. Tears began to roll out of her eyes and the sounds of her faint sobs now echoing through the sprawling ruins of Ponyville.
“...A-Applejack,” Apple Bloom said between her sobs and sniffles.
