Infinite Ponygram

by Fullmetal Pony

Prelude to The Nightmare

Somewhere in Legendaria

It had started with the screams.

When the last light of day had faded and the moon had risen, as villagers returned to their homes, some of them started screaming. The victims seized up and fell to their knees. Some went into convulsions. None of them stopped screaming.

An elderly woman rushed over to one of the victims, a child, bent down, and thrust out a wrinkled hand over his head. A glow surrounded the woman’s hand and then spread down to envelop the child’s head. His shaking lessened and his mouth went slack. After a moment, his eyes closed and he went limp. His chest fell up and down in a slow and steady pattern.

A little sweat had gathered on the woman’s brow. Villagers that were not holding down the other victims or gathering torches to see better in the dark drew close to her.

“Sophia, what is this?” one of them asked.

“A hex, it appears.” Sophia got up, knees cracking as she did, and rushed to another victim. A man had managed to restrain a young woman, who, like all the others, was still screaming. Sophia placed a hand in front of the woman’s face and the same light as before covered her hand and the woman’s head. “One that induces fear.”

When the glow faded and the woman was resting, Sophia backed away. She looked at the unaffected villagers gathered near her. “The caster must be nearby. Gather the men and weapons, and get me the elixir. Send some of our fastest men to alert the guild. A Master may be behind this. I’ll cast some protections a—”

Before Sophia could finish, all the villagers, save for those hit with the hex, collapsed. They were still for a moment on the ground and then began to writhe. Some spasmed as if running. Others clutched their knees to their chests. Some trembled like the hex victims. Many joined those already screaming. But, all those that had just fallen shared one thing in common: their eyes were all closed.

“Damn!” Sophia grit her teeth. A glow surrounded her body and sweat lathered her skin. “Multiple spells with this wide of a range?! But why he—”

Something tore through Sophia’s back. Blood streamed out her mouth and dripped onto the gauntleted arm sticking out of her chest. She could feel the warmth of her lifeforce seeping out of the wound. The icy cold already taking hold of her extremities rushed over the rest of her when something pressed closed to her ear.

“Ah, I was hoping a few more would enjoy such a lovely night with me for a bit.”

Sophia’s body told her to avert her eyes from the thing speaking beside her, but in her last moments, her eyes, drawn to the sound of her killer, looked. It was then, that she, despite her years of experience and despite the mental wards she had cast over herself, screamed.

Villages across Legendaria’s countryside that night were pierced with far off cries. Some thought it was poor souls caught by a monster. A few thought it might be Masters goofing around. Many did not sleep. In the dark, no one knew just what had happened.