Fracture

by Mandroid

Suburbia.

Music

You grip the roof tight as the smoke bellows into your face, the train screaming down the side of the mountain. The cars behind you were shredded and blown out after the recent events. Before you now on the roof of the train stands a battered and bloody griffin clenching her sides, just like that pegusi so long ago.

It had been a busy three days.

"LAST STOP, STORMWING! LAST CHANCE TO THROW ALL OF THIS BEHIND US!"

Please don't. She glances around at her situation, clearly taking your words under consideration.

But, as is the case with her kind, that griffin bravado and honor takes root and thrives. "Not way. Not after what you pulled. We end this now!"

Thank The Maker.

The hen charges you, using the wind at her back to close the distance between you both as fast as she can.

Idiot.

Knee.

You shoot your knee up into her jaw as she gets close before you grab the feathers on the side of her head. You spin yourself around with her still in your grip and hurl her from the train.

She spins and twists in the wind as you speed ahead, but her wounds do too much to slow her down and she vanishes beneath the trees.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Riding on a burning train down a mountain at blinding speeds and throwing some dumb bitch off with your bare hands, this was the time of your life.

You step to the edge of the train and spot the lake you were currently running over.

No time like the present!

You leap from the train, your velocity causing you to painfully skip over the water's surface.

FUCK,

SHIT

DAMN

ASS

You break through the water's surface near the shore and haul yourself out and onto the shore. Your knives and gear can all be felt on your body, save for one important thing.

DAMMIT.

SHIT

WHERE IS IT?

You get to your feet and slow through the wet sand. "WHERE IS IT!?"

Traveling light was a necessity for you, you usually only ever carried your gear on you and some bits.

Save this. This went everywhere with you. You spot a simple rucksack at the edge of the beach and all but run towards it. Inside you can feel water sloshing around as you madly grasp for the object inside. Once your hand finds purchase, you pull the little stuffed friend out and sigh a deep sigh of relief.

"Hello, Smarty Pants..."

The doll didn't respond, but it being there was enough for you.

Mac had loved this thing...it had been the only thing you had grabbed from Ponyville before you left...

You sigh and shove the doll back into its sack before throwing it over your back and tightening it to ensure it wouldn't be thrown off again.

By your reckoning, you were a few miles from the Trottingham suburbs, only a short walk away. You set out and walk through the woods, putting your body on autopilot as you take in the gentle sights and sounds of the forest.

Before long, you see the small houses of the suburb, the residents of it milling about.

Nothing LOOKED out of the ordinary...

Shining, you're a moron.

You moved closer to the town, now being able to make out some of it.

It was a lot like Ponyville with a northern flavor. The roofs were the same just made of brick, the streets were paved and the citizen-

...Okay, maybe Shining wasn't a moron.

Everyone in the town was muted, grey. They all wear blank expressions and simply shuffle their hooves along the ground as they walk seemingly without direction or purpose.

You stride through the town, giving the ponies a wide berth as you do.

As you walk, you inspect them.

Small pupils, mouths agape, drool spilling out and hooves dragging along the ground.

None of them seem to notice us...

It's a little insulting.

You huff a bit and walk down the road towards an official looking building. Rounded structure, pillars along the outside keeping the roof up, crows next at the top.

A lot like Town Hall in Ponyville.

You step up to the front door and knock your knuckles against it twice.

"Hello?"

You hear the sound of hooves on hardwood from behind the door.

"Anyone in there?"

Break down the door

That's ins-

You find your foot moving up to the doorknob. Your foot bounces off the door three times before the sound of cracking wood and a hail of tiny splinters hearkens your entry into town hall.

Immediately before an arrow embeds itself in the wall.

"GAH FUCK."

"Dammit all!" someone says.

You spot a unicorn in the back of the room wielding a small crossbow, struggling as he tries to reload it.

You burst from the doorway and bound over the makeshift barricades, tackling the stallion to the ground. "You greet everyone like this, kid!?"

"Please don't take me!"

Huh?

Gather information.

"Explain."

He removes his hooves from his face and looks up at you. "You mean...you don't know?"

You shake your head.

"Oh thank Celestia! You may be able to help!"

He wriggles his way out from underneath you and hops to his feet. "It all started about two weeks ago. Some ponies said they saw the old necromancer Grogar in the nearby ruins of Tambelon. A few days later, there were reports of walking DEAD circulating around town!"

"A few magisters looked into it, they think that Grogar has to siphon life energy from living beings and then spread it out over the dead to raise them."

The stallion reloads his crossbow.

"I'm the only one left. The ones outside get...controlled by him! Turned into his little obedient slaves!"

The stallion peers out the window. "I think we can make a break for it if we-"

You weren't listening, you were heading to the door. You throw open the doors and bang your fist against one as loud as you can, attracting the attention of all the ponies outside.

You glance over your shoulder at the stallion. "Stay inside."

Music

Your back arches and your pupils constrict as the townspeople stumble ever closer to you. You run into the crowd of cultists and start swinging your knives, aiming for necks, faces, and chests.

This...this was sick.

There was no one to save from this, no need to. They were gone, the life was stolen from them and they were forced to hobble around afterwards. This wasn't murder, it was an act of mercy. You whirled around the town, killing every shambling form you found. It turned out that the unicorn in the town hall wasn't the only survivor. You found a few families in homes, a few people trying to get food, a child hiding under a porch. You directed each of them to the town hall to take shelter.

The sun sets as you clear out more of the town of more of the cultists. Eventually you spot only one cultists remaining, shuffling towards the woods at the edge of town.

Knives in hand, you close the distance between the two of you. You tackle the cultist to the ground and slam your knuckles and the blade straight into his neck. His eyes lose what's left of their light as the crimson blood seeps from the wound.

Around his bleeding neck, you spot a single blue amulet. You grab the amulet and hold it up to your eye.

The single sapphire catches the rising moonlight as you survey the landscape. Once you point it in one direction, it takes on a low bloody red hue. You remove the sapphire and stare off into the distance, the dull light of a million electric lamps thrumming in the distance.

Trottingham.

The amulet is pointing there.

You rise from your feet and start walking.