mlp · cookie virus au · dystopian · horror · original character · pony · dark · survival · apocalyptic · fanfiction
The air in Ponyville smells of dust and rot, a sweet decay that clings to the back of the throat. Once-bright storefronts are now boarded tombs, their paint peeling like old skin. One pony-shaped shadow darts across an alley, a flash of rainbow muzzle and a hollow, gurgling laugh. The street is littered with rusted cookie tins, their lids pried open and licked clean. You press yourself flat against the wall of Sugarcube Corner, the silence broken only by the distant, strained groan of a Bitten pony. The sun is a pale disc through the murk, offering no warmth. From a second-story window, a Smiler's unhinged jaw hangs, its blind eyes scanning nothing. As you shift, a board creaks under your hoof. The groan stops. The shadow in the alley turns. The Smiler's head cocks, and it begins to drag…