The Black Spectrum

by doomtc

Prologue: Why must the good die young?

A young blue colt without a care in the world sat about in the sun on a humid spring day. The day had been short and the school he attended was having problems with termites, so the building had been closed for the time being. He would not have to attend for a few more days either, while the walls were repaired. The free time provided by this arguably serendipitous event was spent by the pond near the colt's house.

The slightest hint of orange lit the horizon as the sun's rays began it's journey below the outline of the planet. The colt watched with lazy amusement, a butterfly, as it went about it's daily life, looking for nectar before the air cooled too much.

"Arabian Night! Are you still by the pond, dear?!" A stern voice called out from above the hill overlooking the pond's crest. A head with a pointed horn bobbed into view over the curved slope of the hill. Arabian Night's mother stood at the top, looking down with a surprised look.

"Still here? You've been laying about all day. Why not play with your friends, uh...uh...Polka and Ace," Arabian Night rolled his eyes at his mother's inability to remember names, "Being so inactive will make you fat, you know?" Arabian Night's mother was being her usual worrisome self.

"They're both off with the Ponyscouts on some camp-out in the forest. They said that the scout masters put it together when the school got closed." Arabian Night explained. He changed position so that he was laying on his back with his legs in the air. He kicked them absentmindedly.

"You can join if you want, dear, you know that." His mother walked down the hill, coming closer. She spoke more softly, and relaxed her tone.

"Nah, I don't like camping, those bug noises are too annoying." Arabian Night never quite enjoyed being in the forest at night either, he'd had too many bad dreams about monsters in the forest.

"Your father can go with you on the camp-outs if you're scared." Arabian Night's mother casually said, almost as if it was just a sidelong comment about a nice picture in someones dining room.

"I'm not scared!" Arabian night proclaimed with a haughty tone. He swore his mother was a mind reader sometimes, but he would never allow her to know that she was right. He curled his legs into his body to appear aggravated, and he puffed out his cheeks. It was his usual pout. His mother simply chuckled.

"If you say so..." His mother trailed off and a sly expression crossed her mouth.

"Yeah, I do say, besides I'm fine right here." Arabian Night huffed in a breath of air then puffed it out quickly. His mother came over to his side and kneeled down next to him and kissed him on the forehead, then stood up.

"Well at least come inside now, then; it's getting cold and we have some carrot stew waiting for you." Arabian Night's mother nudged him on his side, gently rolling him over. She smiled as he stood up and shook away the stiffness and dust that had accumulated from lying on the ground all day.

"Let's go, dear." His mother began up the hill before him, giving Arabian Night a small window of time to notice a brief shine of two orbs coming from the treeline leading into White Tail Woods, on the border of his family's property. The pond was near the forest and animals would occasionally come at night to drink from the pond, so he payed no heed, believing that it was just a normal animal.

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A crash and a high scream awoke Arabian Night. The moon was full, and it's glow lit his grimacing face through the open shutters of his window. He erupted from under his covers after realizing what the sound was, the chill of his initial fright working it's way down to his hoofs, and ending at the tip. He sat upright and stared, with wide-opened eyes, at the door to his room. The crack in his door revealed the figure of his older sister racing down the stairs, perhaps to the source of the sound. He pushed the covers off of his lower body and put his hoof down on the floor carefully, then he tip-hoofed to the door, as silently as possible. He neared the door and began to peak around into the hall of his house's upper story, when a second scream, definitely from his sister, broke through the heavy silence. His fear froze him until he heard other shouts. and a deep booming voice, most likely from his father. Arabian Night rushed down the stairs, stopping at the bend of the second flight as he witnessed a horrible scene. Shouts of "Damnit!" and unidentifiable muffled banging could be heard from the kitchen. The entrance and walls were speckled with blood around the kitchen's hinged frame and the door was firmly shut, with only the shadows below the door and noise to betray the events transpiring behind the wooden slab.

Arabian Night cautiously sneaked down the stairs noticing the iron sting in his nostrils when he approached the blood. His young mind did not understand the implications that the red liquid's presence had in these circumstances. He reached his legs over the puddle and thin streaks leading to the door, and reached shakily for the knob. His hoof hovered for a few seconds while he contemplated a few things. "What could be on the other side?", he thought, and his shock lifted slightly for a moment of unimpeded thought. His mind suddenly flashed back to glowing orbs that he thought were the eyes of an animal. He remembered, now, something that had eluded him before. The orbs were a deep, deep red, and they were far too large to even belong to a coyote. Arabian Night swallowed, his throat dry from his mouth having been open in a frozen look of awe for the past few minutes. The noise, he now realized, was dying down. His curiosity overcame his fear and he opened the door gingerly.

The back of a large, black, and scaled creature sat in bright light of the magical lamp hanging from the ceiling. The kitchen was alight in deep reds covering the pale baby blue walls. Appliances and furniture were scattered about sitting in larger puddles of blood than the one outside. All of this came to Arabian Night slowly before he noticed his father's body laying on the ground behind the creature, three deep gashes across his chest, matting his coat and seeping scarlet blood onto the ground. His sister was nowhere to be seen, but he could clearly see his mother, missing a leg, the jagged cut still spurting a small amount of blood fro an exposed artery, and lying in a crumpled state against the back door of the kitchen. Without the slightest reason, the creature turned it's head slightly. It's red eye caught a glimpse of Arabian Night's paralyzed form, and it turned it's body full around to look face-to-face at the young colt. A toothy smile opened up across the creatures visage, a very equine expression, but unnatural and twisted by the monster's scaly face. Arabian Night's mother's leg was being clutched in the creature's clawed talons. It threw the leg to the side and stood up, appearing larger than the tallest stallion Arabian Night had ever seen. It took a small step forward and then quickly shifted it's weight, causing Arabian Night to jump. A rumbling noise came out of the creatures mouth...it was laughing. Laughing at the horrible things it had just done, and laughing at the fear it caused in a young colt. The seething evil that Arabian Night felt from the creature was too much, and his instincts finally kicked in. He turned and bolted for the door, running headlong into a solid wall of flesh. He looked up and his vision was met with the inquisitive expression of another of the black creatures. It looked down, and it looked up, turning it's attention away for a moment. It's bulk took up the entire door, and before Arabian Night could think up another plan of escape it looked back down. It opened it's mouth, and Arabian Night took the last breath of his life to make a final cry for help that would never be heeded.

Comments

[FlimFlamBros.]

not Bad hope it gets darker!

[doomtc]

Eventually that front image will mean something.