"Burn...Burn...Burn it all again....set it aflame and watch the tendrils of orange and yellow lick at the ruins of this world. Watch me weave...a simple pattern into the fabric...so that I may come forward into the dawn and weep as I set myself on fire and burn you all to death".

- Twilight Sparkle

"Ah...ah don't.....ah don't understand!!!" Macintosh finally exclaimed as he stared towards the ruined city. Behind him, Captain Shadow-Mane and Sky-Driver said nothing, still looking across the sinister buildings with mouths agape and eyes wide. The buildings of Manehatten were, for lack of a better word, 'marked'. A six pointed star, drawn in what looked like blood, was surrounded by five smaller stars and plastered on almost all of the buildings in sight. It was a mark Macintosh had come to memorizing back in the days of a peaceful Ponyville...when he watched a certain flank adorned with such a mark bounce happily out of and into a library.

"That's...." Shadow-Mane began, taking a large gulp of air before being able to finally compose himself "Is Twilight's Cutie-Mark...correct?" Macintosh couldn't reply, only look across the smoldering, ruined buildings and the the dark mark which they all were labeled with.

"Interesting..." Sky-Driver muttered to himself "I had heard some minor reports about Carriers being somewhat territorial...but I didn't know it could be to such a scale. That confirms it then...she really is a Carrier."

"How much...how much blood did she need for all this?!" Macintosh asked, turning his head towards Shadow-Mane who simply shrugged with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"With as many marks as there are on the buildings..." Shadow muttered "It's safe to assume that there are a LOT of Afflicted inside the city. Depending on how many we find will determine what side Twilight is on."

"Huh?" Sky voiced, turning his head up towards his Captain and raising an eyebrow "What makes you say that Captain?"

Shadow-Mane trotted up towards Big Macintosh, staring up at the ominous black clouds that hung dangerously overhead. "Think about it," he said, looking across the buildings "If there are swarms upon swarms of Afflicted here, it can only mean that Twilight hasn't sent any of her horde to Canterlot. If there isn't...well..." He looked towards Big Macintosh, the stallion not replying except with a closing of his eyes and a sad nod of his head.

The three of them fell into silence, the Captain and his soldier falling in behind Macintosh as he began a slow walk towards the ruined city. "Cap...what if there ARE swarms here? There's only three of us...we won't stand a chance!" Sky whispered in uncertainty.

"Sky..." Shadow whispered back, not taking his eyes off of the buildings "We'll move as we did in Operation Anchor-Wing...simple as that." Macintosh ignored the talk of the two behind him, focusing only on what was before him.

It was time for answers...there was no denying that Twilight Sparkle was a Carrier of the Ravage Virus anymore. His beloved had runaway and had not come back...because she had turned into a monster. How? Why? What was she up to? Questions he wanted, needed, DEMANDED to know the answers to. All of the pain...all of the despair...everything that the poor workhorse had endured ever since he had run into that house with Carrot Top, Rarity, and the others...it was time to finally discover what it was all really about.

"This is it..." Macintosh breathed as his hoof hit the solid stone of Manehatten's streets "Where are you...?" Shadow-Mane and Sky kept close to him as they ventured into the ruined streets of the city, looking about at the wreckage and carnage that had been strewn about the concrete corridors. Carriages, splintered and broken, cramped up the streets. Overturned market carts and smashed in store windows were the norm around the area, with bodies and skeletons of ponies laying about in small groups.

Sky wrinkled his nose as the smell of death and decay reached his nostrils, Shadow merely grimacing and Macintosh not showing any acknowledgement of the smell at all. They walked down the street carefully, the clouds above glowing with the light of dark red, presumably from the sun. The city was covered with the color of a reddish tint, a color Shadow had only ever seen once before in his life...when they had detonated a Rain-Nuke back in the Pega-Soar Wars.

"Where do you think she is?" Sky whispered as they began a slow climb over a giant pile of debris that clogged up the middle of the street.

"Carrier's are very...symmetrical in their thinking." Shadow muttered, trying his best not to step on any skeletons or sharp glass that were crammed into the mountainous pile. "If I know anything about Twilight Sparkle...is that she was the same way. She'll most likely be in Canter Park, right in the middle of the city." After a few minutes, the three reached the top of the debris pile, looking on into the rest of the ruined city.

Sky silently pointed out four or five Afflicted down the street, the beasts venturing alone about the walkways and stores. One was shifting through a pile of glass and wood, sniffing it carefully. "These aren't swarms..." Sky said with a sad tone in his voice.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves" Shadow offered to a frowning Macintosh "They could be inside the buildings...and these could be nothing but strays."

One of the Afflicted's ears perked, the diseased pony looking up and staring towards the three on top of the hill. For a moment, the four ponies stood completely still, staring towards one another with semi-wide eyes. The Afflicted, much to the group's surprise, simply lowered its head back down and continued sifting through the pile of debris it had been messing with only moments ago. "Um..." Sky stated in wonder "That's...new."

"An Afflicted not attacking an uninfected on sight...what in the world...?" Shadow muttered, narrowing his eyes towards the infected.

Macintosh merely grunted, beginning his slow descent down the pile of debris, much to the dismay of the two guards on the hill who hissed at him to come back and not attract their attention. The workhorse ignored them, quickly making his way back down into the street and walking straight towards the Afflicted. "Screw it..." he growled towards the beast "Ah'm tired of all the runnin' n' hidin'. If they wanna tussle...let's get to the square dancin'." The Afflicted looked back up as Macintosh approached, the beast taking a moment to sniff in his direction...before simply putting its head down and poking at the pile of debris.

Macintosh blinked in surprise as he slowly walked past the Afflicted, the two guards on the hill rushing to catch up with him. "What the hell...?" Sky muttered as they passed the Afflicted, reaching out a hoof to poke it.

Shadow-Mane swatted Sky's hoof away as the Afflicted began to growl, the Captain hissing at his soldier "Just because the lion isn't attacking you doesn't mean you have the ok to go and poke the fucking thing!"

"Alright, alright!" Sky grumbled, shaking his stinging hoof "Just figured I'd see what happened..." The two of them kept close behind Macintosh as they passed by several more Afflicted, all of them raising their heads to stare at them for a moment before returning to their business.

"Ok...I'll bite," Shadow muttered in amazement "How the hell is this possible? What in Luna's name is going on?!"

"Maybe Twi' is doin' something to em'" Macintosh offered, looking towards a pair of Afflicted who were casually walking down the street with one another. "Think about it...if Twi's a Carrier, that means she's got some kind of controller powers, right? Maybe she's makin' him friendly or sumthin'"

"Alright..." Sky said with a raised eyebrow "But...why?"

"Again, Sky...too many questions, no answers. Let's find her first before we start asking more" Shadow said, drawing a nod out of two. As they approached the corner, a bright flash of purple and red gleamed across the buildings, followed by a low rumbling sound which lasted about five seconds before disappearing. "That glow...it resembles Twilight Sparkle's magic. We better double-time it to the park!"

The group broke out into a gallop, traveling through the streets at a hurried pace as the glow of magic flashed outwards another three times. With each flash, the glow got brighter and brighter, signalling that they were nearing Canter Park. All around, Afflicted stopped in their tracks to watch them run, noticing that they were traveling toward the park. They let out low growls as they turned, following them at a brisk pace. "Um..Cap!" Sky shouted as he noticed the Afflicted following them "We got company!"

"Ignore them!" Shadow barked "They're probably wondering why we're running towards their Carrier! As long as we don't do anything stupid they should remain docile!"

The three of them, after a few more moments, turned the final corner and spotted Canter Park at the end of a short street. They gasped as they looked over the wasteland of dirt and sand that used to be nothing more than trees and lush grass. Where there was once forested beauty...now stood a dessert of ash, dirt, and sand, with a large, spiral hill rising out of the middle. Situated at the top of the hill was a swirling, tornado like vortex, of reddish magic. The hum of magic was audible in the air, the vortex casting lights and gleams across the building that danced in a spiral motion.

"Is...is that?!" Macintosh gasped as they approached the park, their speed slowing down to a light trot and then to a walk.

"It could very well be...keep on your guard now..." Shadow answered, narrowing his eyes towards the magical vortex before them. The three of them came to a stop just before the stone turned into dirt, looks of apprehension, caution, and wonder mixed on their faces.

After a few moments of staring, Macintosh took his first step onto the dirt, moving towards the vortex. "This is such a bad idea..." Sky muttered, following Macintosh as they approached the vortex.

"Twilight!!!" Macintosh called out, hoping to get any kind of response out of her. The vortex suddenly flashed however, and a thin piece of sheet metal burst from the sand, flying like a razor disk towards Macintosh.

"BY LUNA'S TEARS, WATCH OUT!" Shadow shrieked...but it was too late. The metal soared into the left side of Macintosh's face, bouncing upwards as the workhorse let out a startled, painful cry and fell backwards into the dirt, falling into unconsciousness.

"Macintosh!!!" Sky hollered, rushing to the workhorse's side and staring with a frowning grimace at the blood that was pulsing from above and below his eye. "I think I can stop the bleeding!" he shouted as Shadow-Mane growled towards the vortex.

The swirling motion of the vortex began to slow, the magical aura dissipating and the figure of a mare being spotted from within. "Twilight...Sparkle..." Shadow growled at the mare atop the hill, staring intently at the shredded brown cloak she wore, her front hooves that were bandaged completely, and the brown mask that she wore on her face. The front of the mask was stamped with the bloody symbol of her Cutie-Mark, her horn aglow with a reddish purple magic.

She slowly turned her head towards Captain Shadow-Mane, her ears perking as Sky hollered "I think I can stop the bleeding, but he's not waking up! Dammit come on!"

"Forget it Sky...we've got a bigger issue to deal with..." Shadow muttered, keeping his eyes on Twilight as she began to take her first slow steps down the hill. Her horn's magic faded as she continued her slow walk, listening to the sounds of Shadow and Sky drawing their blades and holding them defensively in front of them. "She's hostile...prepare yourself Sky!" Shadow growled, drawing a nod out of his soldier.

She stopped, tilting her head gently to the side as a low rumble began to echo out from underneath their hooves, her horn slowly emitting a soft glow of magic. Her horn suddenly flashed, gleaming brightly with deadly looking magic. Shadow and Sky had not the time to prepare as a loud-sounding blast of static and white noise pierced their ears, causing them to cry out in pain and flatten their ears to their heads. "The hell is that!?!?" Sky roared in fury as Shadow-Mane shook his head in pain.

"I don't know!!!" He replied "But be ready for anything!!! She's not the Twilight Sparkle we know!"

Twilight's horn flashed again and two ethereal looking swords appeared out of thin air, swirling around her as she charged down the hill towards the two. The static had gone silent, Shadow and Sky shaking off the stunning effect as the mare closed in on both them. She barrel rolled with a quick side flip towards them, bringing her swords to bear and crashing them into theirs. Shadow-Mane pushed his blade against hers, Sky following suit as the magical blades soared about, countering and slashing whenever an opportunity presented itself.

Twilight heaved one of her blades, catching Sky's sword in an uppercut and aiming her horn towards him. A ball of whirling air formed in front of her horn, the unicorn launching it towards the guard. The ball of air struck Sky with a heavy force, exploding violently and sending him flying down the street into a pile of debris.

"Sky!" Shadow shouted as he deflected another slash from Twilight's blades. "Bastard!" Shadow roared as the two of them slashed, parried, and blocked each others' blades. Shadow ducked as one of the blades cleaved the air just above him, diving back and fanning out his wings. He hovered there for a moment as Twilight simply looked up, her horn glowing with bright magic. "Twilight Sparkle!" Shadow roared "What do you think you're doing!? Why are you attacking us?! We're your friends, remember!?" Twilight didn't respond, simply gathering larger and larger amounts of magic in front of her.

"So much for talking..." Shadow muttered as Twilight's magic exploded with a bright light, sending several balls of missile-like energy towards Shadow. The Captain quickly went into evasive maneuvers as he dodged, dove around, and barrel-rolled through the sky. The missiles soared past him, just barely missing him and crashing into the buildings behind him with explosive force. He soared around the park as Twilight ascended the hill, drawing even more power into her horn and casting it forward in a deadly laser beam of magic.

Shadow let out a startled "WHOA!" as he dove, only barely escaping his flying straight into it. "She's not fooling around...what the hell is going on!?"

He felt a ball of magic singe his fur as it soared just over his back, his ears perking at the sound of a cackling laugh echoing across the park. "That...that's not Twilight's laugh!" Shadow shouted "That's Trixie's! Is she here, is she watching this!?" His train of thought was broken as the laser beam chased him, soaring right past Shadow-Mane as he did a quick somersault in the air and dove towards the ground. "Come on, what gives!" Shadow hollered towards Twilight as he blasted by, the mare following with her horn and launching more missiles of homing magic towards him. Shadow dove, spun, and flipped through the air, avoiding as many of the balls of death as he could. "Why are you doing this Twilight!? WHY!?"

Shadow closed his wings, dropping to the ground in a forward roll as several of the missiles pelted the ground he occupied only seconds before, exploding violently and sending him forward from the blast. He landed roughly in the dirt, looking up towards Twilight with a fierce look in his eyes "That's it, I'm sick of this SHIT!" he roared, getting to his hooves and charging upwards with a fierce cry. Twilight simply lowered her head, hurling more balls of magic towards him in attempts to fell him where he stood.

Shadow ducked as the first one passed over him, and quickly leaped to the side as two more soared past. He continued his frantic dance and dodging of the bolts, quickly closing the distance between them. Twilight took a single step back, drawing an ethereal blade out of the air in preparation to combat Shadow once again in close quarters. With a mighty cry, Shadow slammed his blade into hers, the force of the impact shattering Twilight's blade in an instant.

The mare was startled backwards, quickly summoning another blade as Shadow rushed forward, battering and swinging his blade with tremendous force towards Twilight. Shadow swiped Twilight's blade away and roared "ENOUGH!" as she summoned yet another blade, attempting to push Shadow back up the hill.

With a quick parry and a swing of his hoof, Shadow screamed yet again "I, SAID, ENOUGH!!!!" He brought his hoof forward, smashing it into Twilight's mask and shattering it. His hoof connected with her soft face, sending her flying down the hill towards Big Macintosh. She hit the dirt with a soft 'thud' as Shadow panted, sheathing his sword back into its leg holster.

He watched as Twilight looked up at the hill towards him, and the gleaming hatred of red in her eyes that stared into his. Her face had several scratches on it, her mane frazzled, tangled, and caked with mud and dirt. "That's why..." Shadow muttered as he failed to spot any color in her eyes besides red "She's in her territorial defense mode..she's fighting for survival...not for e- ARRGH!!!!"

Shadow cried out in pain as he felt an invisible pressure tighten around him, lifting and suspending him up into the air. Twilight let out a savage growl as her horn gleamed, constricting Shadow even more as he let out a piercing cry of pain.

From behind, Macintosh slowly blinked his eyes awake, groaning and putting a hoof to his head as Shadow continued to shriek and cry out in pain. "Wh...huh?" he grunted, rolling over slowly and looking up towards the hill. He gasped as he beheld his true love, Twilight Sparkle, constricting and twisting Shadow in the air, drawing more and more painful cries out of the poor colt.

"M...Macintosh!" hollered Shadow "G..get out- ARGH!!! ...Get out of here! Run! RUN!!!"

From behind Macintosh, Sky's shouts were just audible over his Captain's cries "Shadow!!! Hang on! I'm...dammit I'm stuck! Just hold on!"

Macintosh slowly got to his hooves, wincing as his eye let out a throb of pain. He looked towards his beautiful mare...his one true goal of this entire, miserable journey. There she was...standing before him...just as he remembered. She let out a savage growl and twisted Shadow's front hoof behind his back, drawing more shrieks out of him as the workhorse slowly approached her from behind.

"Ah found you..." he whispered quietly, quietly moving towards her "Ah finally found you Twi'...and ah don't care what anypony says...you're still mah mare..." he stopped just behind her, staring at the back of her head. "Ah don't care what anypony says..." he whispered with a small smile "You're still Twi'...a good, honest unicorn...and ah love you..."

With that, he grasped Twilight around her neck, drawing a gasp out of the mare who suddenly dropped Shadow, the colt hitting the hill with a loud 'thud' and tumbling down its side. Macintosh turned her head and body around towards him with a light tug, making them stare into one anothers eyes.

"Macintosh...MACINTOSH!!!" Sky hollered as he desperately tried to free his pinned leg. "Don't!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!" Macintosh ignored him, staring into the angry face of Twilight, watching as her horn stared to glow rapidly with magic, magic he knew was meant to kill him.

"No Twi'..." he whispered, stroking her cheek with a hoof "Ya can't do that to me...not now...ah know you're in there somewhere...come back to me Twi'"

Shadow grunted, shaking his head and quickly coming back to his senses. He looked up and over towards the two lovers, staring towards the bloody scar that stained the upper and lower areas of fur and skin around his left eye. "Macintosh get away from her! She's going to KILL YOU!!!" he hollered, trying his best to get to his hooves. His rear legs gave out, however, pain racing up his flank and causing him to cry out.

"No more runnin'..." Macintosh whispered, smiling as tears ran down his cheeks "No more hidin'...if you're gone n' lost...then ah wanna be lost with you..." With that, he closed the distance between the both of them, pushing his lips against hers and kissing her deeply.

"MACINTOSH, NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"! Shadow roared, extending a hoof out towards him in despair. "NO!!! NO NO NO!!! MACINTOSH!!!!"

Twilight let out a gasp, her magic dissipating and the red gleam in her eyes fading until the purple color of her eyes could be seen. She blinked as she watched Macintosh slowly pull away from her, staggering down the hill as tears of blood mixed in with his tears of sadness. "M...Macintosh?!" she whispered in horror, watching as he felt on his rump and hugged his stomach.

"H...howdy..." he whimpered as he felt his insides start to burn, his breathing growing ragged. He smiled at her as she lifted a hoof in front of her mouth in terror, whispering towards her "It's gonna be ok...it's...it's gonna...it........." He fell backwards, landing on his back. He started to twitch and shake as Sky continued to shout from his place in the street, doubling his efforts to free himself.

"N...no!" Twilight shouted "No! Not you!! Why did you...why did you come for me!? Why did you do this!?!" She felt tears slide down her cheeks as Shadow pushed himself to his hooves, staggering for a moment but straightening himself up nonetheless. She watched in despair as Macintosh stopped moving for a moment...his chest rising and falling quickly before he began to stir, getting to his hooves slowly and opening his eyes. His eyes were the color of rubies, his breath ragged and shallow, and his legs shaky as he moved towards her. "Macintosh..." she whispered as he approached her, lifting a hoof towards him before hissing "Ssstop!".

Macintosh stopped in his tracks, as did Shadow, the weary colt watching as Twilight approached her coltfriend, looking up into his diseased eyes. "I'm sorry..." she whimpered, nuzzling the bottom of his chin "I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have come...you should have just left me!" She turned her head towards Shadow, shouting "You should have all just left me behind! I'm nothing but a monster now!"

"That's not true Twilight!" Shadow hollered back, holding his side gently "You were acting out of instinct! It's not your fault, it's Ravage's!"

"Why did you all come for me...?" Twilight whispered as Shadow limped towards her, the mare staring up at her Afflicted lover who stared back down at her, wheezing and drooling a mixture of blood and saliva from his mouth "Why...why did you leave Canterlot?"

"Because Macintosh needed you..." Shadow whispered, falling to his flank and staring up at the workhorse sadly "We all needed you...Trixie is planning on attacking Canterlot, and you're the only one left who can stop her."

Twilight grimaced as she heard Trixie's name uttered, her horn glowing with a bright yellow magic...a color of magic that Shadow once recognized as Celestia's. "I know she is...I'll be there for when the shields fall." She placed the tip of her horn on Macintosh's chin, sucking in a breath and letting out a piercing cry of pain as a bubble of yellowish magic fanned out from her horn. It covered Macintosh completely before vanishing, causing Twilight to drop to the ground in exhaustion.

"Twilight!" Shadow exclaimed, helping the mare back up to her hooves after a few moments and shouting "What do you mean you'll be there?! Tell me you're not helping her destroy the last of our kind!"

"I couldn't care less about Canterlot!" Twilight roared towards the Captain, making him step back a few feet "All I care about is getting to the mare who rests UNDER Canterlot...the mare who I still have unfinished business with."

"What?!" Shadow exclaimed, watching as Twilight turned his back on her and sat on the sandy dirt.

A few moments of silence passed between all of them until a low groan was heard from Macintosh, drawing a gasp out of Shadow as the workhorse muttered "W...what happened?!"

"HOLY SHIT!" Sky hollered as he finally pulled his leg out from under the heavy debris "He's...he's cured!? She purged him! How is she not dead?! How did...what?!"

"Twi'...?" Macintosh whispered, staring towards the back of Twilight's head.

"Macintosh..." she answered quietly, staring towards the ruined city before her and sighing "You shouldn't be here...none of you should be here. You should all be preparing to defend Canterlot...not out here searching for me."

"Hun...that's not true!" Macintosh whispered back "Ah couldn't care less bout' the rest of the world...all that matters to me is you!"

"What matters to me..." Shadow interjected, "is what the hell you're talking about when you say 'unfinished business'. You owe us some answers Twilight, especially after the beating you just gave to the lot of us!"

Sky quickly limped up to the rest of them, the three colts staring towards Twilight as she let out a heaving sigh and looked towards the reddened sky. "I do miss the smell of the wind..." she whispered quietly to herself before turning her head towards the three and muttering "I do owe you that much...don't I...?" There was a pause of silence before Twilight sighed and nodded "Very well...but I will not stay for long...I have business in Canterlot and I will not be stopped now."

She turned towards the colts and with a menacing breath she growled "I do have an appointment with Princess Celestia, after all."