Zombie Love Story

by xscar10

Be still my heart

Shiver stepped hesitantly into the fray, he had no experience in this field of battle. Social interaction. One hoof through the doorway and he had clearly caught quite a few eyes. He seemed to not have been the only one to dress up for the occasion, but one of the few.
The room went from talking, to silence, to whispers in seconds. He straightened his collar and walked in slowly, becoming more self conscious by the second. He looked ahead and there she was, standing by the table. Octavia turned her head and it seemed time had slowed to show off the curl of her hair. Her eyes met his, and she slowly smiled as she saw the flower on his collar.
She seemed not to notice all the mud, torn cloth and random rubbish he had gone through. She sniffed the air, and luckily the perfume had stayed strong through all he had suffered. She smiled as she approached him, and his chest tightened with every step.
"Shiver I presume?" She asked, and he felt the knot in his stomach move to his tongue as he stammered nervously.
"I-I uh... I ... I am.... Yes." He said, his previous eloquence escaping him.
"A bit flustered are we?" Asked Octavia a teasing tone to her voice. The way she looked at him he had imagined for months, but he never thought about how he would act once he got this far.
"Y-yes I am." He bowed his head and looked up at her. She smiled warmly and let a little giggle.
"It's ok, I think it's cute." She said, and he looked up at her his heart warming at her beautiful smile. He straightened up and smiled back under his mask. The room started to pick up again, as talking resumed.
"Come on, I want you to meet my friends." She said, and he nodded. As she turned and walked ahead of him, he noticed her hips swaying more than usual. They walked over to the table where Vinyl was talking to friends. Octavia poked Vinyl's shoulder to get her attention.
"Vinyl, it's him!" Whispered Octavia excitedly. Vinyl turned around and tilted her shades.
"Whoa, so this is the famous Mr.Shiver, huh?" Asked Vinyl looking him over. "Somehow I thought you'd be taller." She said with raising a brow.
"I don't understand." Said Shiver, tilting his head to the side.
"So anyways... Shiver tell us about yourself." Said Octavia, changing the subject.
"About... myself? Yes... myself." He thought for a moment scratching his hoof on the floor.
"Well?" Octavia stood looking practically glowing with enthusiastic energy.
"I..." He started, dumbfounded at the simple question. Where would he even start? "I don't know what to say... I'm not very interesting. No, not very." He said, and Shook his head. Octavia put a hoof on his shoulder, and he immediately straightened up.
"Now, you might not find yourself interesting, but I'm sure we will." She said, her hoof touching his shoulder gently. He looked down at his shoulder and back up at her.
"Yeah man, lighten up." Said Vinyl, putting on her shades... indoors... at night... for some reason.
"Alright... I... don't really do anything." He thought aloud. "But I have lots of hobbies to keep me busy." He said looking down at his jacket.
"Unemployed? Did something happen?" Octavia asked concernedly, her hoof moving to her lips.
"No, no. I used to, but I don't any more." He said, stumbling over his words. Octavia could tell he was struggling even without seeing his face.
"So you're retired then?" She asked, entertaining visions of him being fabulously wealthy.
"Retired, that's right. Yes, retired." He said nodding his head. It was the closest thing he knew to explain the situation anyhow. Vinyl was about to comment when she noticed his horn was broken.
"Whoa. Dude, how'd you bust your horn?" She asked, tilting her shades down to her nose. Vinyl's words caught the attention of not only Octavia, but a few onlookers as well.
"M-my horn?" He said aloud to himself. He had forgotten his horn was broken, and it stuck out of the mask like a jagged stake protruding from his forehead. What could he say? I don't remember? Who would believe that? But he can't just lie either.
"Vinyl, why would you ask that? That's a very personal question." Octavia said, allowing Shiver to dodge the bullet.
"Well I was curious!" Vinyl said unsure of just what she did wrong.
"Please don't mind my friend's rudeness. She means well." Octavia said with a sigh.
"Oh, it's no problem. I understand. My... deformities do stand out." He said, quickly realizing what he had said.
"DeformatIES?" Vinyl repeated back to him, and his eyes widened. He seemed to be backing himself into corners every time he opened his mouth.
"Y-y-yes... I-I have a few more." He admitted, biting at his lip under his mask. If he had a neck he'd have gulped.
"Don't worry Shiver, whatever it is that's your business. WE... won't pry." Octavia said, glaring slightly at Vinyl, who chuckled nervously. Shiver sighed in relief; he was so worried about disapproval, but she showed grace at every turn. He found himself staring at her, a smile creeping across his face.
"Hello? Shiver?" She said as he tuned back into the conversation.
"Hmm? What?" He shook his head, remembering that he was part of the conversation.
"I asked where you lived, it can't be very far since you've seen me play." She said, her ears curling back as she leaned forward.
"He didn't hear because he was too busy staring at you. Cute." Vinyl chuckled.
"Live? Well..." He had to think. Do I tell the truth, and reveal my home to them? Or do I lie, and risk their trust? Whatever he chose he had to make it quick. "Not very far. I fixed it myself. Yes, myself." He nodded his head, hoping that would be enough info to get by.
"Oh! I gotta go, they're bringing out the good cider, and I want to get some before they start all the fun." Vinyl said, as her friends rolled a barrel inside.
"I guess that leaves just you and me then." Octavia said followed by a bit of an awkward pause, with her looking at him out of the corner of her eye, head turned slightly away. "Would you... like to see my room?" She asked, her cheeks flushing a bright rosy pink. Thinking for a moment on what to respond, he turned to her.
"The owl goes not into the nest of the lark." He responded, feeling good about being able to answer quickly and decisively. Surprised by the answer he gave, Octavia turned to him hesitantly.
"A quote?" She asked as it sounded somewhat familiar.
"Yes, Victor Pluto." He recalled the author one of the few books he had found in the old wing of the castle.
"I think you'll find the context of the quote to be a little different than our own." She walked up the stairs, and motioned to him. "Come then!" She called, ushering a quiet chuckle from him. He followed behind her and up to her room, a strange sensation came upon him as he stepped through the door. The feeling of a bittersweet air churning in the back of his mind. He watched every movement of the mare in front of him with a quiet admiration.
"Your room is very soothing. Soft and relaxing... Yes, relaxing." Said he. "I would-" He started, but as he looked at her, she slowly took off her collar. Her eyes had abandoned their previous look of eagerness for one more sultry and seductive.
"You would what?" Her heavy lidded gaze and fluttering lashes cutting off any chance he had of finishing his sentence.
"I-I-I-" He tried to continue, but to no avail, with just a look of the eye she could make the room steamier than a sauna. She stepped closer, brushing past him and closing the door behind him. He became completely stiff, unable to summon the strength to move or even to stop his legs from shaking.
She walked over to her bed, flicking her tail at his nose, and crawled into bed. She gestured with her hoof for him to come, laying across her silky sheets. Unsure of what exactly was expected of him, he approached the bed slowly. His chest tightened with each step closer.
"Now, let me just..." Octavia reached up to his face, taking hold of the mask. A sudden surge of panic shot through him, but he was frozen; he couldn't pull away. She tenderly removed the mask from his face, revealing his glowing yellow eyes, torn mouth and ear. Her eyes widened with surprise as she realized he looked familiar.
"Y-you're..." She started but she couldn't form the words, she simply backed away slowly. Her hoof caught his collar and revealed his spine. Every second she looked at him she saw something more grotesque than the last. The shocked Octavia covered her mouth, panic now filling her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to look away, like a wreck on the side of the road. He became more and more disturbing with the recollection of their first encounter.
Her eyes came to the hole in her face, his teeth shown as the left side had no lips. The teeth were yellowed, and a few were missing. The grayish brown fur seemed sickly and thin, and his left ear had been torn. A breath came slowly into her lungs as she looked into his eyes again.
"Please, please don't-" He took a step closer, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She screamed, and he backed away quickly. The door opened behind him and he ran out, pushing the pony who opened it to the side. He jumped over the railing, and landed in the living room. He was met with shocked and confused looks as he made a break for the door. As he ran out, he heard the symphony of panic behind him. He ran as quickly as his hooves would take him. He looked behind him and saw a group had started to chase after him.
As he ran, he realized that his cape was slowing him down, and threw it off behind him. He looked back and saw them still gaining. He started to tear off his clothes as he ran to keep himself unhindered. Seeing them still gaining, he tried to lose them in an alley. He ran down the alley only to find it was a dead end. Searching for an escape he saw a pipe that lead to the roof.
He jumped up and started climbing. He narrowly made it onto the roof without being spotted. He slinked across the rooftop to the next alley and jumped down. The cold night air licked at his face as he ran, making him notice something wet on his face. He reached his hoof up to his cheek and felt a drop of water on his face. There was water leaking from his eyes. He was... crying?
Before he could pay it any heed, he heard somepony coming, and had to hide. He jumped into a garbage can and hid from the passing heard. They ran by shouting to each other and he peeked out, making sure the coast was clear. He climbed out, and ran tried to make his way back to the forest. He quickly decided that the the best plan of action was to get home as quickly as possible.
He ran off into the thick of the woods and immediately felt safer. He swerved his way through the trees, unrelenting even for a second. He feared the slightest break in his stride could result in the worst for him. Now out of immediate danger he turned some attention to the tears running down his face. His vision was blurry and he felt his chest heave as he struggled for breath he didn't have. Darkness had begun to gnaw at his soul as he came to grips with the truth of his situation.
He isn't merely ugly, or creepy, he was truly horrifying... and a fool to think that he could be anything but. His teeth grit with self loathing. His head hung low as he ran, barely able to see through his tear filled eyes. As he ran a log lay in his path. Unable to see it, he tripped and landed face first into the mud. As he hit the ground the fight left him. He laid in the mud puddle sobbing openly. His mouth filling with the filth of the ground; he couldn't bare to open his eyes.
Laying in place for quite some time, he eventually opened his eyes, seeing a puddle near his face. He sat up and looked into the water, his reflection looking back at him. He sat for a moment observing himself. The mus dripped from his face and he saw his reflection staring back fully. His eyes filled with anger at the sight of himself, and with a slight growl, he stomped on his reflection. He started walking again toward home, but his eyes were dry, he had run out of tears. His face despondent and his head low.
His hooves brought him so close to home when an odd smell filled his nose. He looked through the treeline, and saw a light in the distance. He came close to a gallop, seeing the bright light grow closer. As he stepped from between the trees he brought his head out to see the old castle set in a brilliant yellow and orange. Flames licked at the sky as a pillar of smoke nearly invisible against the already black sky. Burning. His home was burning.
"No... NOOOOOOOOO!" He burst out, screaming at the top of his lungs. He fell to his knees, and beat the ground with his hoof. He lay defeated by the foot of the bridge, asking himself how this could have all happened. Then he remembered, in his rush to be prepared he left his lanterns lit. A simple mistake, but a foolish one. Within but moments he had lost everything. He let out a loud cry, from the pit of his grief filled core.

"Please, please don't-" He took a step closer, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She screamed, and he backed away quickly. The door opened behind him and he ran out, pushing the pony who opened it to the side. He jumped over the railing, and she sat on her bed, panic running through her mind.
"What happened?!" Somepony asked, sticking his head in the room.
"M-monster!" She said, unable to form much more than that. Octavia breathed deeply, trying to bring life back into her senses. The other ponies quickly ran off after Shiver, and she was left alone to herself. She curled up into her bed, and grasped a pillow close to her chest. She wasn't sure just what to make of what had just happened. She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want even a second of this encounter to be remembered. She buried her face in the pillow, hoping to hide her face from the world.
She felt the pillow grow cold around her eyes, and as she pulled her head up just enough to see the mascara stained pillow wet from her tears. She wasn't sure why she was crying, but knew that any reason she had was justified. She held herself in place trying to calm herself down, but the tears never stopped.
Opening her eyes, she looked out the window seeing nothing but the light shown from the moon across the rooftops. She hoped that she could escape her own sorrow but for a moment, alas she was granted no such asylum. She lay staring out the window, when a noise caught her ear. She sat up and looked over her shoulder to see somepony standing in her doorway.
"Hey Octy..." Said Vinyl standing at her door. She peeked her head in, and saw the the forlorn shape on the bed. Octavia didn't answer, she simply laid her head back down. Vinyl walked in and sat beside her. She sat silently as Octavia lay curled up in her bed.
"Hey what happened back there? Everypony's freaking out." She said, and Octavia looked up at her. Her eyes were red, and shimmering with fresh tears. She wrapped her forehooves around Vinyl's neck and continued weeping. She simply laid her hoof on her back and let her cry.
"Thank you Vinyl." She said, tightening her grip around her.
"No problem, you know I'm here for you 'tavi." She said with a smile. "Now, can you tell me what happened?" She asked as Octavia sat up straight.
"I don't even know." She said, looking out the window. His haunting stare etched in her mind, she didn't know what to make of what she saw. "You remember that thing outside our window a few months ago?" She asked, recalling each disturbing feature, exaggerated from her imagination.
"Yeah... did you see that thing again?" Asked Vinyl. Octavia sniffed loudly and cleared her throat. She took a few seconds to answer, before nodding.
"Yeah, I saw it again." She sighed, laying back down across her bed.
"So Shiver and the others ran after it?" Vinyl asked, and looked out the window. Octavia sat silently. Vinyl assumed she just didn't want to talk anymore. "It's Ok Octy. We're here for you." Vinyl said, and Octavia wrapped her hooves around her pillow. Vinyl stood up, and closed the blinds before she left. She walked to the door, her silhouette framing Octavia on her bed. She closed the door behind her, and Octavia balled herself up, her sheets wrinkled all around her.She rolled over and looked at her nightstand, the now wilting white flower catching her eye.
She pulled herself closer, a cold shiver running down her spine. She opened her drawer pulling out the letters he had wrote to her. She pulled them out, one by one and looked at them. They were all there, dozens of letters, written as only a perfectionist could. She opened one to read it.

She covered her mouth as she read, setting the letter aside, to read a newer one.

She read them, feeling as though there was a hole through her center, growing larger with every word. The sudden context of the letters gave her a deep hollow feeling. She pulled the next one out of the pile as new tears welled in her eyes.

She couldn't bring herself to read another. Either because it would be too difficult,uely or because she couldn't see through her tears. She looked to the window again, imagining the moon in the sky behind her blinds. She felt as though she had swallowed a grape that wouldn't go down.
"What have I done?" She asked herself, putting shiver's face behind each of those letters. She stood, her legs shaking as she walked to the window. She rolled up the blinds, and saw the moon just behind the roof of the next house. She stood staring out into the night for quite some time, letting her tears fall freely. As she stood, quite some time later, she heard a loud mournful wailing in the distance.

Octavia Shiver Both

Shiver watched the building burning, all his work turning to dust before his eyes. The pillar of smoke disappearing into the abyss of the night sky. His eyes were set on the flames as they danced. His mind tinkering on the edge of an imaginary line before something snapped.
"I... I have to fix it. Yes, fix it." He said, trotting over to a pile of wood. He grabbed a plank of wood, and brought it to the building. He walked back over, to grab a hammer and nails. He lifted the board to the wall, and spit the nail in. He nailed the board in place over the charred wood. He turned, and walked back over to get another plank, but as he grasped one in his teeth he heard the first one fall. He looked back and saw the charred board had given way, the majority of the wooden wall had collapsed, exposing the degraded stone of the castle wall.
"No no no..." He said, running over to the burning remnants of the wall, and searched desperately for a way to fix it. As the wall fell though, he saw inside his home. Walls, tables, chairs, books, clothes, the flames spared nothing. He looked around frantically until he saw the burning stairs.
"The study!" He exclaimed, dashing inside as the flames licked at his eyes. He ran up the stares, seeing the study already in flames. He felt his fur singe as he ran through the burning portal. Seeing his desk already consumed in flames, he pulled open the drawers, his mouth burning on the metal handle. There was nothing redeemable in the drawers. Everything was either ash or might as well be. Shiver growled in frustration, stomping his hooves as he searched for anything. He didn't even seem to care, or even notice that his fur and tail were catching fire. There didn't seem to be anything left in the room for him.
"Come on!" Said a voice, catching Shiver's ear. He turned to the doorway and saw a ghost standing there.
"This way, hurry!" The ghost's voice was feminine, and strangely lacked urgency. She waved a hoof, motioning for him to follow. Shiver hesitantly walked forward, and as he approached she ran away.
"Wait!" Shiver yelled, running after her. He followed her down the stairs, listening to her giggle as she ran. He had to jump, as the bottom of the stairway had collapsed.
"Come on, slow poke!" Said the girl, stopping to look back before giggling. Shiver wasn't sure if this was another memory, or a real ghost. He followed, climbing through the debris. The ghost was much faster, simply running straight through the cluttered halls.
"This way! We're almost there!" She said, looking over her shoulder. As Shiver followed he realized that he was headed across the castle, toward the south wing. He hadn't been down there in ages.
“But... there’s nothing down here. Yes, nothing.” Shiver said, navigating through the rubble. The ghost stopped ahead and looked back, swishing her hips and tail.
"You haven't caught up to me once; I'm starting to think you're just enjoying the view." She said sticking out her tongue as she patted her flank with a hoof. She rounded the corner and Shiver lost sight of her. Shiver jumped a rock and landed on the other side, seeing her disappear through a doorway. He walked through the portal, and saw a room the flames hadn't touched yet. The ghost was walking up to an old book shelf swishing her hips widely. She stopped in front of the shelf, looking at the shelf searchingly.
"Alright. I hid it here. You can thank me later." She said, pointing to one of the books . She stepped back and disappeared, and shiver stepped forward. He pulled out the rotted remains of the book and a couple pieces of paper fell out. Two pictures of the mare posing playfully for the camera, and a paper with a recipe on it. Shiver was unsure of what this means, but it deserved to be preserved, if nothing else.
He stepped out of the room, and ran down the hall, staying as far from flames as he could. With the notes in his teeth he made a break for the nearest exit, stopping only when he was out under the moonlight again. He sat looking up at the castle as it slowly had the wood fall away as the stone skeleton of the castle was revealed. He sat, with no tears left to give as dawn came. He was friendless, loveless, and now homeless. He could always rebuild, but there wasn't much left to go off of. The old walls were worse than ever, and probably unstable.
For that matter he didn't have to motivation to do so, even if he could.

Octavia lay in her bed, as she had just about cried herself to sleep. She found herself waking up the next morning, her body slick with sweat, and her eyes were red and puffy. She sat up, sliding lazily out of bed. She attempted to bring herself to stand, but only managed to bring her back legs up, stretching her stiff muscles. She looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes wandered to her flank. She thought, somewhat stereotypically so, that it looked big.
With an exasperated sigh, she turned and headed for her door. She made her way downstairs, feeling how she described as like having been the winner of a limbo competition. She made her way to the kitchen where Vinyl was asleep on the table, with surrounded by empty cups. She snored loudly. Octavia poked Vinyl on the nose, and she opened her eyes slowly.
“Why are you sleeping on the table?” Octavia asked, as she walked to the refrigerator. Vinyl rolled over, and sat up, wiping drool from the corner of her mouth.
“My bed was occupied.” Vinyl said, sliding down off the table. Octavia didn't even want to ask. She simply brought her bowl of cereal to the table. Vinyl made her way over to the cabinet and levitated out a bottled water. She downed the contents of the bottle quickly.
"In the confusion last night, the party didn't last long, but it was still way after you went to bed." Vinyl said, clearing her throat. It was a nice party, but Shiver never showed back up, so I'm guessing he went home. Said Vinyl, and Octavia fully remembered last night's dramatic reveal.
"Right... That's..." Said Octavia suddenly losing her appetite. She was going to force a smile for Vinyl's sake but couldn't lift the corners of her mouth. Suddenly a knock at the door caught her attention.
"I'll get it." Octavia said, standing, and trotting over to the door; Vinyl was simply raiding the fridge silently. Octavia came to the door, opening it slowly.
"Hello?" Asked Octavia, laying eyes on a mare with the brightest green eyes.
"Hello, my name is Esmeralda. I heard that you might have news of my father."