The night passed by without any problems. Valor was able to sleep without too much difficulty. The occasional groan from a Trotter outside or the sound of one hitting against the barricaded door or a wall would make him jump, but after a few hours he drifted off, leaving the world behind him.

They all awoke at the sun rising in the distance, Rarity moaning in pain at her healing leg. Twilight joined Valor in the main library. “She was out a few days ago trying to get food.” She said nodding her head toward the white unicorn who was seemingly out of earshot. “One of the Trotters followed her back to the Library and knocked her down outside the door. I was lucky to have been down here reading when I heard her yell.”

“Oh Twilight, please! Allow me to tell him what happened!” The prissy unicorn’s voice yelled out to the two. They returned to her bedside and sat down. The groaning outside continued, but it seemed almost commonplace now to Valor. Rarity picked herself up a bit and leaned comfortably on a pillow. “For starters, let me tell you what I’m doing here.”

“I was visiting Twilight here at the Library to get her fitted for a dress. The dear works herself far too hard and rarely gets a chance to go out. I thought it would be for her best interests to set her up on a date with one of my neighbors. Noteworthy, I think it was. He’s a fine stallion, a little rough around the edges but this was just to get her out of the house, you see?”

Rarity began to lose track of the story and thought about what she was saying before continuing on. Valor looked at Twilight who grinned sheepishly back at him, a blush on her otherwise purple cheeks. He looked back with an evil smirk on his face, joking around with the embarrassed unicorn. “A stallion, huh?” “Shut up, Valor.”

Rarity looked at the pair with her eyes half closed; a knowing grin on her face. “Where was I? Oh yes, after fitting Twilight for her dress, we heard a knocking sound at the door. I was much too busy to answer, so Twilight got it. We saw a green mare standing outside, with what looked like a bite mark on her flank. She had these ghastly eyes and tried to attack Twilight! Of course I could never let such a thing happen, so I used my magic to push her outside.”

“Twilight followed me outside and we saw ponies running in random directions, as if no one had a clue what was going on. That poor dear Spike received a note from Princess Celestia that told Twilight to stay indoors and to barricade herself inside the Library. We lost contact shortly afterward. Spike went to Canterlot to see if the Princess had a message for us…” The grin had long disappeared by now as Rarity recalled what happened to her dragon friend. Twilight placed a hoof on her and gave her a sad smile.

Tears began to well up in the white unicorn’s eyes, but she blinked them back. “Well, regardless, Twilight and I have been stuck here for ages now, one of us going out every day to get some food while the other keeps a lookout on the balcony. But about two weeks ago I was attacked and practically shattered my poor leg.”

She pulled aside the blanket for Valor to see the damage. The wounded leg was severely swollen, a sickening greenish-blue bruise around the break. Her leg still had a bump, indicating that it wasn’t healing properly at all. Twilight and Valor walked back down the ladder and into the library, sitting on a few cushions.

“I’m not very good at fixing broken bones. I tried reading as much as I could as quickly as possible, but she was in too much pain. I used my magic to try and set the bone in place, but it’s only getting worse. My pharmacy trip was to get her some painkillers and possibly antibiotics, but those were all gone. Valor, I know we just met but I need your help.”

Valor looked at Twilight dumbfounded. “My help? I’m a cop, not a doctor. She could get an infection or a clot or worse! She needs medical attention!” “That’s exactly why I need your help. I expect that Cloudsdale should be free of this epidemic. I need you to go up there and check to see if hospitals are open or if there are any doctors who could possibly help Rarity. I also need you to find Rainbow Dash. If we’re gonna beat this thing, I want all the Elements of Harmony together.”

“Ok, but how the hell am I gonna get up there?” “I can use my magic to give you the ability to walk on the clouds. It’ll only last 2 days so be sure to get Rainbow Dash and come back as soon as possible. There’s a hot air balloon on the roof that just needs to be inflated. My friend Pinkie left it here after one of her parties…” Twilight began to grin at the memory that seemed so far away. Almost in a different world now.

It didn’t take long for the balloon to be ready. Valor stepped inside, a saddlebag with a hatchet and some food draped across his back. He slowly began his ascent into the sky and looked down at the disappearing Library. He saw a large amount of Trotters wandering the streets, all of them looking relatively normal from this height. His sightseeing was cut short as he began to pass above the clouds. Above him he noted a large, majestic city floating in the sky. “That didn’t take long.” He said aloud to himself.

The balloon was resting behind a building, budding from the cloud that made up the ground. Valor was nervous. If the magic hadn’t taken effect, he would surely fall to his death the moment he left the safety of the balloon. He had slowly begun to edge his front hooves off onto the cloud when he heard a loud scream come from a road over. His head perked up and he lunged out onto the clouds. He panicked as his hooves sank into the soft, white ground, but it held his weight and he galloped toward the source of the yelling.

A scene of utter chaos was unfolding before him. He saw unicorns and Earth ponies running among a mob of bloodied pegasi, carrying various sharp weapons. Some threw weighted nets and others simply used their magic to pluck the pegasi from the sky, sending them crashing into the soft clouds below. All the while several pegasi like the Trotters flew toward the chaotic scene, biting wildly at everything that moved. More nets were thrown into the sky, taking the ponies down with sickening thuds and the sound of bones breaking. It wasn’t clear from where but blood began appearing, soaking into the clouds and staining their perfect whiteness.

Valor thought about the scene before him. He didn’t know which bothered him more, the flying Trotters or the presence of unicorns and earth ponies in Cloudsdale.

Valor shook himself from the sight and ran over to a downed earth pony. He picked up a discarded net and tossed it at one of the offending pegasi. He hit it spot on and she tumbled to the clouds below with a loud crunch. He walked over to it amidst the chaos and watched it bite viciously at his hooves, trying to flap its tattered wings. Valor frowned and lifted his hoof high, bringing it smashing down onto her face. He heard it gurgle and repeatedly stomped until the Pegasus stopped moving entirely.

Off to one side Valor could see a light brown stallion staring down at a net, blood partially covering what appeared to be an hourglass cutie mark. He looked disturbed by the weakly struggling pegasus in the net before him. A pool of blood was forming beneath it, spreading outward and encompassing a knife that lay on the clouds. Valor felt anger rise up in him as he trotted toward the stallion. “We have to do this.” He began to say to the brown pony. “I know it’s hard, but we’re putting them out of their misery. We have to protect those who aren’t infected.”

Valor picked up the knife, blood still dripping from the blade. He approached the netted pegasus, recognizing the distinct orange and amber mane of Spitfire, one of the most prominent Wonderbolts. He sighed and shook his head, wondering how such a fantastic flyer could get infected by one of the clumsy Trotters. Even the flying ones weren’t very agile and seemingly could be out flown with great ease. He lifted the blade and positioned it above her face. Her brilliant orange eyes opened wide in fear at the blade as she let out a small whimper.

The knife stayed motionless in Valor’s mouth. The orange pegasus had tears forming in her eyes as she mustered up enough strength to speak. “Please… Don’t kill me… Why are you doing this…” Valor looked over the mare; her breathing was slow and labored. He noticed that her wings were nearly completely missing, nubs of bone jutting jaggedly from her sides; the remaining feathers were torn and tufted, blood staining her beautiful coat. Behind him, he heard the brown stallion weeping at his handiwork.

Valor’s mouth involuntarily opened in shock, the blade falling to the cloud below. “What the fuck are you doing?!” He screamed at the stallion. “You’re here to kill these… Flyers! She’s not infected, she’s fine! You’re killing her!” The brown pony looked back at Valor, the tears slowing.

“What… what do you mean? We’re all up here to clip the pegasi’s wings. I… I just…” He dropped to his haunches and looked down at the mare, who lay unconscious, but still breathing. “Oh my Celestia, what did I do?” Valor knocked the pony to the ground and stood over him. “You’re going to tell me what the fuck is happening here.”

“I’m sorry, I swear!” He screamed back at Valor. The stallion tried crawling away, but Valor kicked him in the stomach, sending pain throughout his body. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry, man! We were up here to keep more Flyers from coming down to the ground. The way the leaders said it made it sound like if we clipped their wings, the pegasi wouldn’t be able to get down to Ponyville or Canterlot or anywhere else without falling and dying. I thought, I – I thought that it’d be like clipping a bird’s wings. You know, simple and painless. But once we came up here, they gave us knives and axes and- and… Oh sweet Celestia…”

The stallion began crying again. Valor didn’t know what to do. He could see that Spitfire was still alive, if just barely. From the look of Cloudsdale, the group of earth ponies and unicorns were running amok, destroying whatever semblance of civilization remained in the once peaceful cloud city.

“Look, you’re gonna take her back down to Ponyville and take care of her.” Valor grabbed the stallion closer to him and looked into his tear stained eyes. “You fuck this up and I swear that I will kill you.” He violently pushed the pony back. “Don’t make me regret this.” He nodded and placed the netted pegasus on his back, carrying her away slowly.

Valor saw him approach a balloon marked with a hastily spray painted U.E.F. The stallion climbed in, joining a minty coloured unicorn with a lyre on her flank. They spoke briefly and she nodded somberly. The three descended from the clouds, but not before the unicorn had crossed out the U.E.F. with matching paint.

“Get your hooves off me!” Valor hardly had time to think when he heard the shout and looked around frantically. The earth ponies and unicorns were still running around plucking the few remaining pegasi from the sky. His eyes caught an orange filly being tossed down to the ground by an earth pony. She looked like a weak flyer. She had just been hovering, it seemed, flapping her wings at a speed that sounded like a small engine.

“Stay down, you little bitch!” the pony yelled out at her. He brought a hoof down on the filly. “Somepony help me! Stop! Please Celestia no!”

Valor was horrified at the sight. The pony picked up a dull, bloodied knife with his teeth and held it down against the filly’s wings. Valor snapped back into reality and sprinted to the stallion, tackling him to the ground as the blade began to pierce the filly’s coat. A small trickle of blood had begun and she was crying. “Leave her alone!” Valor growled at the pony.

He felt a dull pain in his head and collapsed to the ground. He let out a groan and looked up groggily. Valor struggled to keep conscious, the scene before him somewhat cloudy. A blue unicorn stallion walked from behind him carrying a plank of wood with a dark blue aura. “Another one going soft on us. If this bitch were to be infected and come down to the ground, Celestia knows how many she’d infect before she got grounded.”

Valor watched on, unable to help the orange filly. The unicorn held her down as she screamed out to Celestia herself for mercy. The pony’s blade dug into her side as she let out a piercing cry that shattered Valor’s heart. He tried to get up. He tried to look away. He failed. His body remained motionless on the cloud.

A bolt of lightning hit close to the ponies and the crying filly. The earth pony dropped the blade and looked up to find a black pegasus staring him down. They dashed at the pegasus who turned swiftly and bucked at them, breaking the unicorn’s muzzle with a loud crack. Blood poured down his face as he lay dazed on the clouds.

The filly slowly got onto her hooves and staggered over to Valor, who was finally regaining feeling in his legs. The pegasus snarled at the ponies, flashing his black wings in a flurry of rage. “You lay a hoof on her, and I swear to Celestia I’ll rip your fucking throats out.” The ponies looked at each other, defeated, and ran off in different directions.

The orange filly was still crying, her wing badly damaged by the knife. The large pegasus walked over to her and gently wrapped a wing around her. “You okay, Scootaloo?” He offered a smile which she returned as she hugged him thankfully. Valor stood up, still feeling a bit dazed. “Thanks, uh…” He paused. “Dark Lightning.” The red and black maned stallion offered.

Valor gave the pegasus an amused look. “Dark Lightning? Are you serious?” Valor felt a smile crawl onto his face. “You know, I used to think names like Dark Lightning and Shadow Blade were cool. But then I turned five.” Dark looked at him, annoyed. “Ok, it’s a work in progress. It’s not my real name; I just kinda picked it up recently. There was an accident in the weather factory I worked in a month or so back. Since then, I can kinda create lightning if there are clouds around. I’m not really accurate yet and it hurts like a bitch.” He shrugged. “It helps though. Especially now with all these Flyers and the U.E.F.”

Valor looked at him, interested in the pegasus’ ability to wield lightning. “Look, I know you don’t exactly trust me, but it’s dangerous out here. Even a pony of your power shouldn’t be roaming alone. I have a small group in Ponyville barricaded in the library and we could use all the help we can get.”

Dark looked at him, eyes squinted as if trying to read Valor’s expressions. “You’re right. I don’t trust you. What the hell are you doing up here?” “I was sent by my group to look for a hospital. We thought that Cloudsdale wouldn’t have been infected, or if it was, it wouldn’t be as bad as down on the ground.” A grim smile appeared on Dark’s face. “Heh, looks like you were wrong.”

“Dark?” a soft voice from behind him spoke up. The two ponies looked to find Scootaloo standing, dried tears on her face. Dark sighed lightly and wrapped a wing around the filly. “Alright, Officer Valor, was it? Thanks for helping deal with the two ponies back there. But I’m not looking to join anypony right now. I’m too busy helping out up here.” He placed Scootaloo on his back and flew into the air.

“Wait!” Valor called up to the black stallion. He stopped and stared down at Valor, an intense look upon his face. “Could you tell me where Rainbow Dash is? I gotta find her.”

“Last I saw of her, she was guarding the Coliseum. If she’s smart she should’ve abandoned here by now.” With that, Dark turned away again and flew toward the town’s center, Scootaloo clinging to his back with all her strength.

By now the earth ponies and unicorns had left the area, leaving behind a bloody mess. Bodies were strewn about, most of them pegasi. They lay with their wings either half gone or entirely missing, revealing the muscle and bone that lay beneath. Far off he heard more screams; undoubtedly the ponies had made their way to another group of pegasi, continuing their slaughter.

“There’s nothing you can do.” He said to himself. Every bone in his body ached at the corpses before him. He desperately wanted to help the pegasi. Their pained cries reaching him, drawing him closer. But his hooves remained still. His eyes met a young colt’s. They were brown, but lifeless all the same. A panicked look remained on his face, even though the knife in his side indicated he was feeling nothing, and never would again. “You can’t help them.” A fly landed on the colt’s corpse. “Find Rainbow Dash. That’s the only thing you can do.” The fly buzzed and landed on the colt’s unblinking eye. Valor turned and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The walk to the Coliseum went far smoother than planned. He hadn’t encountered any Trotters, or their flying counterparts. The ponies invading Cloudsdale seemed to be focusing on the outskirts of the city, so Valor didn’t clash with them either. In fact, he didn’t see any other pegasi around the city in general. The pristine, white buildings seemed abandoned, the streets unstained, indicating that nopony had been there for a while.

Ahead of him, Valor could see the hulking Coliseum jutting from the skyline. He let out a sigh of relief and galloped full speed toward the massive structure. He arrived at the base of the Coliseum and looked around the plaza, seeing nopony nearby. She must have left, he found himself thinking as he continued walking. His eyes focused on the Coliseum and he noticed that the entire building was closed off. The glorious archways that used to be entrances were now barricaded with thick cloud walls, seemingly impenetrable by the earth pony that cautiously passed them.

He had nearly walked the circumference of the colossal structure when his eyes happened upon a lone cyan mare, standing erect and facing the abandoned city. Her prismatic mane was blowing gently in the wind, her eyes unblinking. As Valor approached her, he could see remnants of royal armor on her body; a torn chest plate, metallic gauntlets on her legs. She wore on her face an intense look, as if threatening anything that dare come near her. “Guess I found her…” Valor whispered under his breath as he calmly trotted to the mare.

“Hey, you! Stop!” The mare had noticed Valor and hunched herself in an attack position. “Calm down, I’m not here to hurt anypony. You’re Rainbow Dash, right?” “Who wants to know?” She maintained her posture, grabbing a small spear in her mouth that was lying by her hooves. Better safe than sorry. “My name is Officer Valor of the Ponyville PD. I’m with your friend Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. They sent me up here to get you, something about getting the Elements of Harmony together.”

The grip on the spear loosened and she spat it out back onto the clouds. Rainbow Dash stood up straight and began to eye Valor. “How do you know Twilight?” she asked suspiciously. “She saved me in the Ponyville pharmacy. Brought me to stay with her and Rarity in the library. I know with everything going on up here it’s hard to trust an earth pony, but we need you. Please, come with me.”

The cyan mare dropped to her haunches and looked at him. “Tell Twilight and Rarity I’m sorry. I have to stay up here and protect the pegasi.” Valor was dumbstruck. “What are you talking about? The pegasi are everywhere but here. I saw mobs of them on the outskirts trying to escape!”

“The Commander told us once the Coliseum reached capacity we were responsible for guarding their lives.” Her voice had gained a militaristic tone to it, as if reporting back orders to a superior. “All stragglers were to be turned away.” The stallion looked around him at the “we” she had mentioned. It seemed that Rainbow Dash was the only guard left.

“Rainbow,” he began softly. “Nopony else is here. You’re alone…” She looked at her surroundings and noted that she in fact was a singular military force. Left alone to battle a potentially massive army of raging earth ponies and unicorns. “I move faster when I’m on my own.” Rainbow Dash returned to her original stance and began her duties once more, staring off into the distance. “Tell Twilight I’m sorry, but I can’t leave.”

“But she needs you! You can stop this whole thing!” “Dammit, I told you I’m not leaving! My people need me. My whole city needs me. I can’t abandon them.”

THUMP!

A sound came from behind the hastily barricaded entranceway, shortly followed by a soft moan. Valor looked over the entranceway and noticed that it looked different than the other barricades. This one seemed almost new, and somewhat unfinished. Holes peeking inside were scattered about, letting out rays of Celestia’s sun onto the shaded plot where Rainbow Dash stood guard. “Don’t you dare another step.” She growled at the policepony while still maintaining her stance.

Valor ignored her and continued to the archway, trying to look through the small holes. “I swear to Celestia, I’ll kill you if I have to. Get the fuck away from there now.” She still hadn’t moved, but her voice began to crack. The holes were still too small, so Valor pushed his hoof forcefully through one. It took several tries, but the cloud finally gave way, expanding his view of the Coliseums interior.

Inside lay a massive assortment of pegasi corpses, half eaten by the group of Flyers still roaming around aimlessly. Valor felt hooves grab him and was thrown to the ground. Rainbow Dash turned away and returned to her post. “What the hell are you still doing here? Everypony’s dead in there!” Hooves began to hit against the weak barricade as they spoke. Rainbow ignored Valor and the Flyers attempting to get out. Her body stood rigid in front of the Coliseum, mirroring the statues standing nearby.

“Celestia damn it, give me some answers!” Valor stomped a hoof down and walked in front of Rainbow Dash. Her magenta eyes were wet, a tear coming down her cheek. “I can’t leave them like this. They needed me and, and I failed them. I can’t, I won’t fail them again.”

“Rainbow, you can’t help them now. They’re dead. There’s no bringing them back.” Valor put a hoof on the mare’s shoulder.

Rainbow Dash was visibly broken now, her warlike countenance completely gone. “I’m the fucking Element of Loyalty! How am I supposed to leave them here? My friends… my family… All of them are dead and I couldn’t do a thing about it.”

THUMPF

The clouds blocking the archway disintegrated, a Flyer speeding out of the Coliseum and into the air. A sharp screech escaped its mouth and it plummeted back down at the two ponies. Rainbow Dash let out a scream as it flew directly above her. She dove to the ground, attempting to avoid the offending pegasus’ teeth. Valor thrust his front hoof out, knocking the Flyer to the ground, shooting up wisps of cloud out from the impact.

He frantically grabbed the spear from next to Rainbow Dash, continuously stabbing at the disfigured pony lying before him. Each stab made the beast cry out more, until it finally stopped moving. The spear jutting out of the pony’s skull vibrated from side to side, fresh squirts of blood squirting from the many wounds on its body.

With the Flyer finally dead, the two ponies looked back at the archway only to find all of the remaining Flyers hastily trotting and flying toward the exit and their potential meal. “Rainbow, get up, we gotta get out of here now!” Valor called to the cyan mare, who still lay on the clouds. Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she sobbed heavily into her hooves.

With a quick pull, the spear was back in Valor’s mouth. He galloped full speed at the oncoming Flyers, picking up as much momentum as possible. He felt the pressure of a body pushing against the tip and then a sudden release. He looked up to find a screeching pegasus impaled on the spear, flapping its wings in an attempt to escape. He continued his charge, ramming into another pony and finally a third, until the spear hit and stuck into the Coliseum wall. There were still more Flyers pouring out into the open, all attracted to Valor’s movements.

“Rainbow, c’mon we have to move!” He yelled again to the pegasus. “Leave me here. I failed the pegasi. I’ll fail you and Twilight too.” She gave her somber reply and stood up, turning to the horde of ravenous Flyers making their way out of the Coliseum she swore to protect. One grey mare found her particularly interesting and rose from the ground, knocking over a basket with her abrupt motion, a few muffins tumbling out of the open top. She let out a piercing screech, making Rainbow Dash shudder, and flew toward her rapidly.

Rainbow Dash looked ahead at the incoming mare and prepared for the worst. She knew what was coming. She deserved it. How could she have let everypony down so badly? The yellow mane of the mare was pushed back in her flight, revealing a large hole in her face where an eye used to be. Crusty blood fell off the face from the wind pressure pushing against her. Rainbow waited calmly while Valor could only watch, unable to free himself from the other Flyers that made their ways toward him.

I’m sorry. Celestia forgive me.

The grey mare fell to the ground with a loud thud, violently twitching as electricity coursed over its burned body.

“I didn’t think you’d be dumb enough to come here, Valor. Maybe you need more help than I thought.” A voice called from above. Dark Lightning landed in front of Rainbow Dash and readied himself for the grey mare that was getting back up on its hooves. She charged again but with less force, as the electric charge was still causing her damaged body to twitch. Dark turned abruptly and bucked the pegasus. With a loud snap he broke her neck, her head dropping instantly as she collided with clouds below. He raised his hoof and brought it down swiftly.

“Didn’t think I’d see you again.” Valor yelled back after fishing the hatchet out of his saddlebag and planting its blade into the face of a jawless pegasus. He continued methodically slaughtering the nearby Flyers until they all lay in a mismatch of disfigured bodies at his hooves. Before more could come near, he pulled the spear out of the cloud, dropping the three struggling pegasi onto the ground.

Almost immediately one of the pegasi took off, hovering about twenty feet before Valor. He could see through the gaping wound in its body that more of the previously dead pegasi were rising to their hooves. One mare in particular was attempting to fly, even though one of her wings was torn, exposing a bony nub. It flapped up and down wildly as she hung lopsided in the air. His view disappeared as the pegasus rushed at him, knocking him to the ground with a thud.

With a quick turn the pegasus was flying back down at him. Valor quickly grabbed the spear that was knocked from him and stabbed it into the air, landing the point through one of the Flyer’s wings. With the speed it was traveling, the sudden stop tore the wing clean off of its body, sending it tumbling through the air until it flew past the cloud’s end. The mare plummeted to the earth below.

“Dark! We have to get out of here! There’s too many!” Valor shouted to the pegasus who was still standing in front of Rainbow Dash, protecting her from any Flyers coming near them. He bucked randomly, not especially aiming for their heads, just hoping to make some sort of contact lest he miss and fall.

“You’re telling me!” He shouted back. Dark turned to face Rainbow, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. She watched her friends fly and limp out of the Coliseum with murderous intents. Some screeched loudly, piercing her ears. Her head was pounding to the point where she could almost hear it.

“Rainbow, I know this is hard, but you have to leave them.” He tried consoling her while fighting off the horde before him.

Valor had killed the other two Flyers and galloped to Dark and Rainbow Dash. He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her rose-coloured eyes. To their side Dark shot another bolt of lightning from the clouds above and beneath him, narrowly missing a Flyer that was closing in on them. “Fuck this!”

“Rainbow, sometimes being loyal means more than sticking around. Sometimes…well sometimes you have to leave the people you care about behind to really help them. Listen to me. These ponies are dead. You dying won’t help them. Come with me to Twilight and Rarity. Be a part of the Elements of Harmony again. Stop this thing from taking away another pony’s friends and family. We need you.”

Her rose eyes looked back into Valor’s thankfully and she stood up straight. With a last sniffle, she regained her composure. “You’re right. I can do this. I have to.”

“Dark, get your ass over here!” Valor yelled to the black pegasus who was being overrun by Flyers. He bucked wildly and tried to summon lightning, only to find that he couldn’t.

“There’s too many! Leave! I can try to hold them off as long as possible!” His body turned back to the Flyers that attempted in vain to knock him to the ground. Dark’s power seemed to be fading with each shove and buck until he finally seemed to give up.

Within a second, Rainbow Dash darted upwards to an incredible height. She did a quick flip and rocketed toward the ground where Dark feebly attempted to defend himself. A funnel formed around Rainbow Dash, growing thinner and thinner until she broke through releasing a massive stream of rainbow behind her. Her collision onto the cloud sent the Flyers shooting backward, knocking many off the cloud in a broken state. The few remaining were crumpled and dead. Bones were sticking out of random locations, blood seeping and pooling around each body. In the center stood Rainbow Dash and Dark Lightning, seemingly fine.

A quick look of the impact zone showed that Dark, Rainbow and Valor were clear to escape without much of a struggle. Valor called to the two pegasi, beckoning them to follow him back to the balloon. He galloped to where his hatchet was lying and gripped it in his teeth. With Dark and Rainbow flying above as lookouts, the small group of survivors began their flight from the decimated Coliseum and the horrors they had faced there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EPILOGUE:
She looked down from a nearby building, waiting for the three ponies to leave the Coliseum. She had seen the Sonic Rainboom before and knew that the Flyers would be either killed or dazed for quite a while. The force nearly knocked her off the building for Celestia’s sake. When the policepony and the two pegasi left the scene a smile crossed her lips.

With a quick dash, the pony jumped into the air and spread her wings, gently flying to the Coliseum, trying not to land near any of the Flyers. This is going to be easy… she thought to herself as she galloped through the massive archway of the Coliseum. All around her she could see the corpses of various pegasi. Each had with them suitcases full of their most valuable possessions. Truly a goldmine for anyone trying to make a quick bit.

She sighed heavily, ignoring the riches around her searching for one thing. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area once more in vain hope that she didn’t miss it. They stopped upon a small basket lying on its side. She let out a small squeal in excitement. Her hooves pressed against her muzzle, realizing what she had done. The pegasus heard a moan behind her that seemed to be coming closer. She turned to find a Flyer, clumsily walking toward her, its wings fractured in all different angles. It attempted to fly, only to drop back onto its hooves.

The pegasus let out a groan in annoyance and quickly moved in front of the Flyer. She whipped her tail around the front leg of the ragged pony and pulled back, knocking it to the ground. The mare looked down at the Flyer that bit randomly into the air, too damaged to get back on its hooves. The pegasus happily trotted back to the basket and picked it up in her mouth, dashing into the sky after she looked around her once more.

Once in the air, she heard a loud, pained screech come from the clouds below her. A few remaining Flyers were gently rising into air, flying in the direction of the policpony and the two pegasi. Oh thank Celestia! She thought as she hugged the basket in her arms.

Free of the Flyers now, she opened the top of the basket revealing an abnormally large amount of muffins of different flavours inside. “Muuuuffiiiiins!” she cried happily. Suddenly her eyes went cross and a derp expression appeared on her excited face. Derpy put the basket handle in her mouth and flew off into the distance, truly happy for the first time since the virus appeared.

Sorry about how long it took to write this one. But, I think it was worth it. A shoutout to Dark Lightning for letting me use his OC. He adds a nice touch to the story, doesn't he? And the epilogue, I know it looks hastily written. But that's just because it was. And see? Derpy's fine. A-Ok. In fact, she has muffins! She's great! I'd never let Derpy die. She's just magically invincible.
Until next time.