> By the Blood
>  by The card holder
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A New Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You let out a small breath as you finally make it back to the lantern, the messengers flocking up at your presence. Ahead of you, the seemingly abandoned building of Byrgenwerth lies, but you were tired, injured, and running low on blood vials. It would do you some good to return to the dream for now. 

You do so, feeling yourself fade away from the waking world, before fading back in to a now-familiar sight. The Doll was looking at you, the same expression on her face as always whenever you came back from your quest.

Wordlessly, you go up to her, and begin channeling blood echoes, and you feel yourself get ever so stronger as a result. 

Once you were finished, you were about to go inside the building to inspect and work on your weapons, same as always, but the Doll stops you by speaking. "Good Hunter, you have a visitor. She is waiting inside."

Curious, you start walking up the steps into the workshop, a hand resting close to your saw spear. You weren't sure if they would be a threat, but in your experience, it's better to be safe than sorry.

In the middle of the room, in much the same place Gehrman usually sat, was a dark blue horse of some kind, though you could also see that it had wings and a horn. It was facing away from you, lying down. In fact, she looked haggard, as if she had been greatly exerting herself not too long ago.

As usual, Gehrman was nowhere to be found. You weren't sure where he liked to disappear to, but it was not of any concern to you.

You approach the horse, and your footsteps seem to startle it slightly. It raises itself onto its hooves, and slowly turns to face you. She seems to take in your appearance for a moment, before speaking. "Thou- I mean, you are a Hunter, correct?"

You hesitate for a second before nodding.

The horse, female judging by the voice, relaxes visibly. "Oh, thank heavens." Suddenly, you noticed that her hooves were slightly transparent, and she seemed to notice, too. "We do not have much time. My world is in severe danger, and we've decided that we need a Hunter to help us, as we have exhausted all other solutions. Please, noble Hunter, will you help us?"

You thought it over briefly, before coming to a decision.

She smiles upon seeing your nod. "Oh, thank you!" Her horn started to glow a pale blue. "We do not have much energy left, but there is just enough to send you to our world. Your... 'messengers' should be able to follow you through once you are there."

She gestures at you to come close, and you do so, holding your hand towards her glowing horn. Shortly after, you feel yourself fading away to whatever world she spoke of, though you're around long enough to see her stop her horn from glowing.

"T- There. That... should..."

Suddenly, she collapsed, and you could see that more of her was now transparent. This was the last you saw of her before the dream faded away.



You awakened in a pitch black room. You light your hand lantern in an attempt to see, and what the light reveals was a now familiar sight to you.

You were in what appeared to be a bedroom, and copious amounts of dried blood rested on the floor and some of the walls. The furniture was upended, torn asunder, or in some cases even burnt, their ashen remains long ago mixed with the blood. 

Two doors were in the room, but one of them didn't budge when you tried to open it, so you opened the other to find yourself on a balcony, looking out into the open air. From here, you could tell that you were at the top of a tower of a castle of some sort, which appeared to be positioned on the side of a mountain. The sky was dark, but when you looked for the moon, you saw that there was an eclipse, instead.

Below you, you could see a town surrounding the castle, and you could see that the buildings were in a state of total ruin, some collapsed entirely, some burnt out husks. A few were even still on fire, giving off tall stacks of smoke.

Seeing as the other door back in the room would not open, you looked around for another way to descend the tower. Thankfully, where some of the railing had collapsed away, you could spot a ledge large enough to walk on down below. Steeling yourself, you drop down, wincing slightly from the pain the impact brought.

Inching along the ledge, you soon come across a window, smashed to pieces. You head inside, finding yourself on a winding staircase. You begin heading down, seeing more smashed windows and more bloodstains as you go. At the bottom of the staircase, you find a simple wooden door, which offers no resistance as you open it.

On the other side is a large hallway, in just as bad a shape as everything else you've seen so far. However, there were a few bodies here, and they looked to be similar to the horse that sent you here in the first place, though they all had either no horn, no wings, or neither. The armor on most of them made them out to be either soldiers or guards, though a few corpses were unarmored.

Picking a direction at random, you begin walking down the hallway, your saw spear and pistol both drawn and ready. 

This would prove to be a worthwhile action, as when you reached the end of the hall and turned the corner, you were too slow to avoid a lurching swipe from a creature. You cry out in pain before jumping back, getting as much space between you and your attacker as possible. As you inject a blood vial to undo the damage, you look over what attacked you.

It was one of the horse-creatures, that much was certain, but it was clear that something wasn't right. For one, it had no eyes, and its front hooves were disfigured into grotesque claws, still wet with your blood. Its muzzle was surprisingly normal shaped, but the bloody cuts on the sides told you that the creature now sported large fangs, not suited for such a mouth design. 

It roared at you, a noise that echoed through the halls, before it lunged again. You were ready this time, though, and you quickly sidestepped it before swinging your folded spear at it, causing a spray of blood and a wail of pain.

You don't give it time to react, as you continue swinging, drawing more blood and cries from the creature. After several hits, you unfolded the spear and plunged it directly into its chest, making it cry out one more time before it went limp. Retracting your spear, you watch as the creature falls to the ground, just in case it wasn't quite dead. When it failed to move again, you start moving down the hall again.

Soon, you found yourself at the top of a large staircase, and you saw the messengers erecting a lantern for you. Realizing you never got the chance to go over your gear again, you light the lantern before kneeling, fading back to the Hunter's Dream.

You had another long hunt ahead of you, after all.
> Desolation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you arrived back in the dream, the Doll was not standing in her usual spot. This was not unusual, as you've caught her tending to some of the nearby graves or flowers before. Plus, you had a pretty good idea where she would be right now.

Sure enough, the Doll was inside the workshop, watching over the sleeping form of the horse who asked you do help. You now notice that she has an image of a crescent moon on her flank, though you're unsure of the significance. 

The Doll nods at your arrival. "She was incredibly weakened by sending you to her world, but she will survive." As she passes a jointed hand over her mane, you notice that she's almost entirely transparent now, like a ghost.

You ask the Doll if she said anything else before your arrival.

The Doll shakes her head. "She simply appeared, and asked if there were any Hunters around. I told her that you would be here shortly, and she came inside to wait for you, good Hunter."

You give another look to the horse before going over to your work table. While you were a bit worried about their current state, there was little you could do. And the least you could do was carry out her request, after all.

After repairing and fine tuning your weapons, as well as refilling your stock of blood vials and quicksilver bullets, you exit the workshop, heading over to a new tombstone near the back corner of the yard. Messengers sprouted up from it, and you kneeled before it, channeling your thoughts into your destination.

And just like that, you were gone, back to the waking world.



When you awoke, you were once again in the decrepit castle, at the top of the staircase. Getting a firm grip on your weapons, you descend the steps, watchful for any more beasts.

Sure enough, once you got to the bottom, you saw more disfigured horse creatures shamble out from the shadows to greet you. One of them lets out a roar, and then they started to advance towards you.

You were ready, and you wasted no time before striking at the one in the front of the group. It recoiled from your blows, but you quickly stepped backwards to avoid a strike from the creature behind it, which snarled at your face. You responded with a quick shot from your pistol, making it step back while crying out in pain.

By now, you counted three beasts, one heavily wounded, one lightly wounded, and the last still untouched. It seemed that they were a bit smarter than they looked, as they began to slowly spread out, all keeping their distance from you.

You moved just as slowly, trying to keep all of them in front of you, while also being mindful of any surprises from behind. 

The greatly wounded beast is the first to act, and charges you while flailing its claws. You were quick to react, however, and dodged aside before responding with your own attack, cleanly cutting its throat and finishing it off.

Before the blood could even finish hitting the ground, you followed through and swung again, this time at the next attacking beast. The third attacked after just a few hits, so you leaped backwards before unfolding your spear and swinging it in an arc in front of you, managing to slice both beasts at the same time. While one was slain, the other just got angry, and charged you once more.

You were too off balance from your swing to dodge out of the way in time, so you instead brought your gun up and fired. The bullet hit its mark, causing the beast to stumble onto the ground. You wasted no time, and plunged your spear down into it, before lifting it off the ground and kicking it off your blade. 

With both the floor and yourself completely caked in blood, you survey your surroundings. When no other movement occurred, you sighed before moving on. However, your foot stumbled into something one of the creatures was carrying, and you pick it up, curious. It looked a lot like one of your blood vials, but it was filled with a strange blue liquid, instead.

Seeing no reason to leave it behind, you go ahead and pocket the strange vial, before moving on through the large hallway. It was hard to tell from the rubble, but if you had to guess, you'd say that you were close to the front entrance of the castle, at least.

While the halls above were almost entirely silent, down here you could hear faint noises constantly from behind the walls. Most of it sounded like wind, but you could hear the odd growl or creaking wood.

After turning a corner into another, smaller hall, you thought you heard a voice, which was confirmed as you stopped and listened again. It wasn't anything coherent, but you could tell that it was what sounded like a male human voice, crying out for some indefinite reason. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like they were being torn apart.

Now with a sort of goal in mind, you follow the sound of the voice down the halls, moving probably a bit faster than caution would dictate. As the voice gets louder, you also hear the unmistakable sounds of combat, particularly of a blade being used on flesh. This causes you to quicken your pace, before you track the voice into what looks like a dining room.

The tables were all either upended or smashed to pieces, along with the chairs, and in the middle you could see one of the horse creatures, only this one wasn't disfigured like the others. It was currently fighting one of those beasts, while also surrounded by the bodies of other such beasts.

It had neither wings nor horn, and it was wearing the same armor as some of the corpses you've seen lying around. It was holding a simple short sword in its mouth, which it was currently swinging at the beast. The blade made its mark, and the creature fell to the ground, now headless.

With the only live things in the room now you and them, you slowly approach, doing your best to appear non-hostile.

Your footsteps attract its attention, and it turns to you while spitting the sword into its hoof. "So, what kind of monster are you?" it spat, the voice both male and tinged with anger.

Spotting a potential ally, you state that you are a Hunter.

You see recognition in his eyes. "So... they were right, then..." He looks right at you, almost looking through you. "Well, if you're a Hunter..."

Suddenly, the sword is in his mouth again, and you're barely able to roll out of the way as he swings at you, shouting a muffled "DIE!"

You return the favor with swings of your own, but he's fast, and is able to hop out of the way each time, before he slashes when you're open, carving a deep cut into your midsection. You quickly back away, groaning in pain as your blood starts dripping onto the floor, mixing with the blood of the slain beasts around you.

You ignore the pain, however, as you charge forward again. However, this time you wait for him to make the first move, and the moment he swings his sword, you dodge around to his back before following up with swings of your folded spear.

He recoils from the hits, but after only a couple of strikes his back hooves fly out and buck you right in the stomach, knocking the breath out of you and sending you to the ground. Your senses return just in time to see him attempting to jump on you with his sword, and you quickly roll backwards onto your feet, adapting another fighting stance.

As you use a pair of blood vials, he laughs. "Ain't had a pony ever fight me this well, before! Not even these Celestia-damn beasts put up this much of a fight!"

Despite the two bloody gashes on his backside, he was grinning wildly, and you were then certain that he was far beyond any sort of reasoning.

Not that you were much for diplomacy yourself, anyway.

Suddenly, he uses his front hoof to fling a fallen knife at you, which you're barely able to sidestep in time. He gives you no time to rest, as he's immediately in your face again, swinging his sword with wild abandon. You're barely able to avoid it, the blade passing within less than an inch of you with every swing.

You wait until he's off balance, then hit him with your own blade, sending him to the ground. He quickly gets back to his hooves, though, still smiling despite the deep cut on his forehead.

He charges again, but you're ready for him. He overextends his swing, and you respond by dodging not to either side or away, but straight at him.

For the first time, his smile drops, and you holster your pistol just in time to catch him by the throat, strangling him and forcing him to drop the sword. Still holding him, you quickly flip out your spear and swing the sharp end around in front of you, throwing him in the opposite direction.

The result is immediate. Blood cakes the both of you as his back half is separated from his front, each end landing on either side of you. He reflexively tries to get back on his hooves, but realizes quickly after that he's down a pair.

Even though he was bisected and bleeding to death, he laughed.

"Just... Just like they said, huh...?"

With that, he falls over, the life leaving his eyes for good.

As you feel the echoes resonate within you, you spot a lump within the growing pool of his blood, and you pick it up to see that it's a simple golden key, likely dislodged from within its armor by your decisive attack.

Pocketing the key, you wade through the blood back out of the dining area, now looking for a door to match the key, your steps leaving bloody prints on the carpet.
> Devastation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After some more time spent wandering the halls, occasionally dispatching the odd beast you came across, you finally made your way to what looked to be the front door of the castle. It didn't budge when you tried to open it, but sure enough the key you found off that 'pony' fit the lock perfectly.

As the massive doors slowly creak open, you find yourself at the top of yet another staircase, this time leading down into the neighboring city. It looked just as bad as before, and from here you could see more than a few beasts milling about.

While you're heading down the steps, something gives out a massive screech, but when you look around, you can't pinpoint the source of the noise. Whatever it was, it sounded big.

You arrive at the bottom of the steps just in time for some messengers to bring up a lantern for you, so you light it. You refrain from returning to the dream for now, however.

The town looks no better from within, as the streets are covered in rubble, corpses, and blood. Interestingly, you see the corpses of other creatures, as well, namely a select few that appeared to be half eagle, half lion. Must be a new kind of beast, though strangely they were covered in a similar armor to the guards within the castle, albeit more ornate; or, at least, it was more ornate at one time.

Of course, live beasts were not in short supply here, and your searching was often interrupted by attackers, though you just as often picked fights with unaware beasts that were in your way. While the usual beasts were present, you also caught sight of other, non-corrupted ponies, but the moment you looked again, they would be gone.

That is, until you decide to search the inside of one of the relatively untouched buildings, looking for either supplies or information. The house was dark, but the lantern on your side proved to cut through the darkness a bit, though the inside made you pause. It was a couple of ponies, one with the same shape muzzle as the one you fought earlier and the other with a more rounded face; probably female, then.

However, what gave you pause was the fact that they both had bloody bandages over their eyes, though despite this, they looked right at you. Not only that, but while their mouths were agape, you could see hints of growing fangs.

The silence continued for a moment, before the male cried out and picked up a nearby kitchen knife, charging you. It was a simple matter to meet his swing with one of your own, making him falter in his attack as you carved him away.

The other was not docile, however. Just as quickly as the other, she let out a scream and charged you with another, bigger knife. Unlike her husband (if you had to guess), she managed to land a hit on you, but it was no issue to step back before returning the favor.

When all was said and done, you had two dead ponies in the process of turning into beasts, and you were down one blood vial.

You've had worse house calls.

The rest of the house didn't provide any other supplies, though you did find evidence of other pony corpses stashed in one of their closets.

You shake your head as you leave the house, a morbid sense of mild amusement coming over you. Seems like beast plagues at least follow a pattern, then...

This cycle continues for some time, with you dispatching beasts and almost-beast ponies alike as you searched through the town. The air was thick with ash and blood, but you had long since gotten used to such an environment; Old Yharnam will do that to you. Regardless, you pull your face scarf up a bit more, hoping to keep more ash out of your lungs. After all, it would be unbefitting of a Hunter to die from something as simple as smoke inhalation.

Every once in a while, you would hear that screech come from overhead again, though you were still unable to find the source every time it happened.

Your thoughts are interrupted as, while searching through a back alley, you spot a window with lights on within. Your curiosity piqued, you go forward and knock on the window.

At first, you hear nothing, but then there's some shuffling from inside, and the light goes out. This tells you a couple of things, namely the fact that someone who isn't turning into a beast is inside, and that they were frightened by your knocking.

Still, you wanted some answers, so you knocked again, taking care to do so softly and rhythmically, entirely unlike how a beast would strike at the window.

After a moment, you hear a soft voice speak up from the other side. "H... Hello?"

Female, then. You ask them if they are okay, first of all.

"Uh, yeah, I'm... I'm unhurt, if that's what you're asking. Who are you? Don't you know what's going on out there?"

You state that you do, and let the implications hang in the air.

"...I see. So, you've been killing..." She pauses, then continues. "Tell me, are you a Hunter?"

Remembering how the pony in the castle reacted, you think before answering in the affirmative.

She's silent for some time before she speaks. "...well, I've heard the stories, but I figure you're at least a step up from the beasts."

Seeing your chance to figure out more about this world, you ask where exactly you were, and what happened.

"...you're in Canterlot," she says, "or at least what's left of it. Ever since the Plague hit, it's been abandoned almost overnight. Those who weren't lucky were devoured by beasts... and the even unluckier ones turned into them." She lets out a dark laugh. "They haven't gotten me yet, but I know it's just a matter of time. They got my husband a week ago..."

You give her time to let out a choked sob, before you ask just how long the plague had been happening.

"I honestly don't remember," she states. "I'd say maybe a few weeks, now. Long enough that Canterlot was considered a complete lost cause."

She lets out a sigh. "Hunter, tell me, do you know of anywhere, anywhere at all, that would be a safe haven?"

You regretfully inform her that you do not know of any such places.

"Damn... well, I suppose I can't fault you for that. I'd count it a blessing if there's any safe place left at all."

Having run out of things to ask, you go to make your leave, but she stops you. "Oh, Hunter, if I could ask something of you... if you find my daughter, could you tell her that... that I probably won't make it? I know she must be worried sick about me, but I would hate to break her heart with hope. You should know her when you see her; if I remember correct, she's in charge of fixing this entire mess."

You pause before telling her you'll do so. After she thanks you, you leave, your steps echoing through the alley. This wasn't the first favor you've been asked by sane bystanders, but you were still set on fulfilling her wish as best as you could.

The town was becoming much less dense now, as did the ash in the air, thankfully. You must be reaching the outskirts.

Only a few beasts later, you came across a railway station, though the train seemed to have derailed long ago. The ground was completely covered in bodies, bones, and blood, no doubt from innocents hording around in an attempt to escape.

As you step closer to the station, you can't help but notice how eerily quiet everything was. That's never a good sign.

Sure enough, once you were halfway through the station grounds, that ear-piercing shriek sounded again, this time from directly overhead. You looked up just in time to see a bright orange and red giant bird descend, landing in front of you. You could see what looked like fire licking away at its wings every once in a while, and its eyes were a beastly shade of red.

You unfold your spear, and assume a fighting stance.

The hunt was on.

The bird screeched again before lunging forward and taking flight, its wing sending a wave of flame at you. You barely dodged out of the way in time, your coat getting singed in the process.

The beast went back into the air, before flying back down, divebombing you. Acting on instinct, you got as far from its apparent landing point as possible, shielding your eyes as the impact shoots up a wall of flame.

You were about to proceed forward and begin attacking, but a gut feeling told you to stay back, and as you do so, the bird wails again, sending another spray of flames around it.

You were used to your instincts telling you such things; remnants of previous lives, the exact memories purged from your mind. After all, true Hunters never die; they simply reawaken, as if it were all a bad dream...

The bird screeched once more as more flames shot out from it, before it stopped, lurching over as its color became more dull. You knew this was your chance, so you ran forward, laying into it with your spear. It wailed in pain from your attacks, before curling up into a ball. Again acting on instinct, you back off just as its color returned, a wall of flame with it. It once again took to the skies, hovering above you as it started spitting fireballs.

You dodged left and right, avoiding them as best as you could. However, you were still caught in the blast of the last couple, but it was nothing that a blood vial couldn't fix.

Still hovering low, the bird started to land again, but you beat it to it with a lunge from your spear. Once more, the color drained, leaving it open to your attacks. 

Soon, it started writhing in place from your blows, and you backed off once more. This time, the bird became completely ignited, letting out a massive shriek as it did so. You were able to see some of its flesh falling away just before it took to the air, leaving a burning wake behind it.

Honestly, the sight was somewhat beautiful, in its own twisted way.

It flew overhead, raining down large jets of flame. You had to put everything you had into sprinting away to avoid being roasted.

The entire battlefield began to light up as the buildings around you caught flame, bathing you in orange and yellow light. The bird stopped to hover overhead, and you could see that as its flesh was being cooked away by the flames, it was regenerating just as fast, only for the cycle to repeat.

It spit out a jet of flame towards your direction, and you had little choice but to run through a nearby building, the flames coming withing hairs of you.

You manage to make it back out into the courtyard, quickly putting out a fire that started on your hat. The bird looked to be struggling to stay in the air, and you could see why: as the flesh on its wings kept burning away and regenerating, it started adding various extra extremities, namely what looked like pony legs and tentacles. The extra weight was taking its toll, and soon the bird was forced to land, no longer able to take flight, your intuition told you.

Seizing the advantage, you get behind it and attack with your spear, taking care to not get too close to the flames coating its body. Each hit ripped off burning flesh faster than it could regenerate, but the beast was still able to make clumsy attempts to hit you. 

Unfortunately for you, the combination of massive wings and flames made it impossible to dodge in time, and you were thrown aside and set ablaze in a single motion. Thankfully, your rolling on landing put out the flame, and it only took a few blood vials to bring you back from the brink of death. 

The bird was now very skeletal, though which parts of its skeleton were revealed varied as the flesh burned away and was replaced. The smell of burning flesh was pungent, and you fought to avoid choking on it.

As the bird continued to throw fireballs at you, you ran towards it, dodging left and right to avoid its projectiles. Once you were in range, it tried to hit you again with its wings, but you were able to dodge aside and strike with your spear, tearing yet more flesh away. This continued until almost no flesh remained on the creature, leaving it as little more than a burning skeleton.

Despite this, the flames intensified, and you backed off to avoid being cooked alive. The bird let out one last scream, before collapsing in on itself, snuffing out its flames in the process.

Cautiously, you walked up to its remains, poking the steaming ashes with your spear. When nothing happened, you backed away slowly, just as a gust of wind came and blew the ashes away. In their place, you saw a bright blue stone of some kind, so you pocket it.

As the city burns around you, you spot the messengers bringing up a lantern for you on the station platform. Heavy with echoes and light on vials, you light it and return to the dream. 

You doubt that was the last you'll see of that bird...
> Direction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again, the Doll is not waiting for you when you return to the Hunter's Dream. And once more, you find her inside, tending to the unconscious pony. She didn't appear to be turning any more transparent, but she wasn't any better, either.

Suddenly, as you got close to the two, something in your pockets started glowing faintly. Curious, you look for the source, finding it to be that stone you picked up from the giant bird. Not only that, but it started glowing more brightly the closer you brought it to the pony, though even when you touched it to her it didn't seem to do much besides glow brighter.

Acting on a hunch, you put pressure on the rock while it's right next to her horn, shattering it into pieces. As it does, you feel some sort of... something trail into the pony, along with a portion of your gathered echoes.

Once nothing of the rock remained, you pulled back and stood back to your full height, noting that the pony was becoming less transparent by the second. Once they were fully solid, her eyes groggily opened, and she scanned the room around her. When her eyes fell on you and the Doll, realization washed over her.

"How... how long was I incapacitated?"

The Doll answers for you. "Time has little meaning within the dream, but I would estimate it was at least for several hours."

Slowly, the pony gets up, until she's sitting on her haunches. "I see..." She turns to you. "Then I take it you have seen what has happened to our world?"

You nod, before asking for some specifics regarding the world.

She sighs. "It was terrible. One day, our great country of Equestria was peaceful, nothing out of the ordinary. Then, my sister vanished, and not even a day later that... plague spread across the land, turning ponies into terrible beasts, and slowly but surely reducing the natural magic in the air, until it became a great task to simply levitate an object, a spell that can be normally done with zero effort. Not only that, but the moon, which is my duty to raise and set every night, grew out of my control and blocked out the sun, throwing the land into darkness."

She shakes her head. "We fought hard, but there was no stopping it; not even our best magical minds could find a solution, or even what the cause was. However, eventually we were able to find something: a very brief mention of a group of individuals known for eliminating beasts and plagues, who manifest within special dreams."

You and the Doll share a brief look.

The pony continues. "Yes, Hunters have been legends within Equestria for many years, though as of late the legends have fallen from the public knowledge. Regardless, as I have a special connection with dreams, I was chosen to contact one, and was given what little magic was left from my allies to make the journey." She hangs her head low. "Though, it was clearly not enough to survive for very long after the journey. I must thank you for bringing me a mana stone, Hunter."

Before you can ask another question, the pony speaks again. "Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Luna."

Once you and the Doll introduce yourselves, you ask about where the rest of her allies were.

"We were able to make it to the neighboring Crystal Empire, which was free from the plague, for the time, but was still suffering from the magical deterioration. Going there would be your best bet, but in the early stage of the plague, a magical barrier was erected around it, preventing anyone from finding the kingdom unless someone from within 'invites' them. While I do have some magic back, now, I cannot hope to send you there directly and survive, so instead I will tell you this: You have been to the city of Canterlot, correct?"

You nod. 

"Good. At the foot of the mountain on which it rests, there will be a small town known as Ponyville. Within that town, there should be another, smaller castle, belonging to my sister's former student, Twilight Sparkle, one of the remaining princesses in the Crystal Empire. I would wager that you would find a way to contact her there."

You nod once again, and seeing that she was done talking, you head over to tune your weapons some more. Once that was done, you returned to the Doll and channeled what echoes you could, Luna watching curiously during the process. Once that was done, Luna bid you farewell as you left, heading once more into the broken world of Equestria.



The area around the train station was still on fire when you returned, though the intensity of the flames had died down considerably. The eclipse was farther down the sky now, though the light was unchanged.

Walking over to the far edge of the train platform, you spot the town that Luna told you of, which was in almost as bad a shape as Canterlot, it appeared.

Taking a deep breath, you begin to follow the tracks down, starting the trek to Ponyville.



In stark contrast to the burning ruins of Canterlot, the wilderness outside the city seemed almost peaceful, though the air was still thick with smoke from the city. The dead bodies of both ponies and wild animals found occasionally also told the true story of the land around you.

At one point, your path took you through some trees, where you happened across another pony beast. However, shortly after you dispatched it, a howl blew through the leaves, and you were attacked by a group of what appeared to be wolves.

At first glance, they looked to be made of wood. However, the closer you looked, the more you realized that it was actually charred bone that made up their bodies, along with a few scarce spots of flesh that looked like cancerous growths on their bodies. Any discomfort they might've had with such a form was ignored in favor of glaring at you, in that same focused, blood-hungry way that all beasts did.

The first one to lunge at you was swiftly avoided and attacked by your blade, and you couldn't help but grin in satisfaction as its form shattered entirely on a single swing.

The others also charged you, only to meet a similar fate.

Satisfied with the results of that skirmish, you begin to continue on your way, but stop when you hear a faint rattling behind you. Turning, you see the scattered remains of the wolves begin to rattle in place on the ground, before rushing up and condensing to a single point in the air, giving birth to a growing mass of bone.

With a mighty roar, the mass began to take form, turning into an even larger wolf, with far more limbs than was necessary, with several sticking out from its back uselessly.

You unfold your spear just in time for it to bound at you, its jaws set to close on your upper half. You avoid the bite, but are forced to continue retreating backwards as it keeps biting, hoping to catch you with one of the strikes.

When that wasn't working, it instead swept a claw along the ground at you, which you were barely able to roll over in time. Now off-balance, the wolf was defenseless against your attacks, each hit sending shards of bone and bits of flesh to the ground.

After one final stab, the beast bucks wildly, causing you to lose your grip on your weapon and tumble to the ground. You quickly get back on your feet, however, and have just enough time to see your spear stuck in the creature's side before it gets absorbed into the mass, becoming assimilated with the beast's body.

Scowling, you draw your backup weapon, a standard issue Hunter's axe. You didn't use it very often, but you still liked having it around just in case, such as right now.

Not giving the beast time to react, you charge forward, firing a shot into its face before following up with an axe swing. Right before you swing again, you pull the axe to its full length, causing the blade to hit deeper as you strike.

The wolf recoils greatly from the force of the blows, but in the middle of a massive swing, you're caught off guard when the beast sends another claw at you, hitting you square in the chest and sending you rolling away.

Not even hesitating to jam a vial into yourself, you get back up and head back towards the beast, both hands tightly gripping your axe. It makes the first move, bringing its entire weight forward at you, but you're too fast for it, and you sidestep before carving into the beast's side, sending more bits of its body to the ground.

After a few more hits, the beast lets out a mighty wail, before falling to the ground, completely shattering into thousands of bone shards. Catching your breath, you stride through its remains and reclaim your spear without ceremony, and continue on your trek to Ponyville.

After some distance, you realize you've lost sight of the train tracks, but it doesn't matter now, because you emerge from the trees to see the town itself ahead of you, and at the very least the smoke isn't as thick, here.

Doing a last inspection on all your weapons, you stride forward, into the unknown.
> Searching
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ponyville was in slightly better shape than Canterlot, but that wasn't saying much. There was a bridge over a small creek leading into town that was still intact, but there were still several buildings that suffered from various states of disrepair. And that's not mentioning the plentiful stacks of bodies in the streets.

As soon as you set foot within the town proper, a group of ponies came to greet you, but it was easy to see that they were already too far gone to the plague. When you didn't slow in your approach, they let out war cries and hisses before charging you, but they were little match for your own skills and weaponry. 

During the fight, a few fully transformed pony beasts also arrived, and while you were forced to retreat from the brawl a few times, you were still able to dispatch them with not much issue. Before you knew it, all the gathered foes were slain, and you were completely covered in their blood.

Just another day as a Hunter, you suppose.

After taking whatever you thought would be useful from their corpses, you move on, eyes scanning the surroundings for anything resembling a castle. You didn't see any earlier, but it's possible that the castle is simply a pile of rubble, now.

Speaking of rubble, it appears that you've reached what was once the market district. Crushed stalls lined the road on both sides, most of which still showing off their now rotting goods. Curiously, it looks like someone lit some incense on a few of the stands. While it was true the smell kept beasts away, there would have to be a lot to actually work. This was only an isolated instance of it every ten feet or so.

In fact, it was like a marked path, now that you think about it.

Your curiosity piqued, you move down the road, following the trail left behind. You manage to get through half the town before the road becomes impassible, and with no other route marked by the incense, you pick a direction and explore that part of the town, instead. 

Beasts were in ample supply, of course, but they were little problem to you. You did notice that some of them were slightly bigger than the others, though, but you're unsure if that was a sign of increasing mutation, or if the pony was simply larger while they were normal.

As you're looking through the streets, one particular building catches your eyes. It was somewhat in shambles, just like the ones around it, but unlike the others, it was apparently designed to look like it was made out of pastries and other desserts, though the illusion is broken due to the superficial damage to the outside.

Not only that, but you could still see lights on inside.

After dispatching a couple more beasts that were in the way, you cautiously approached the front door of the establishment, and after giving it some thought, you decide to knock.

The result is immediate. You hear shuffling coming from inside, but it was too evenly timed to be a beast. Soon, the door was opened, and a very pink mare was standing there. "Hiya!"

Thrown off by her cheerful attitude, you can't think of anything to really say.

Thankfully, she's evidently perfectly fine with carrying a conversation by herself. "Oh! You're new to Ponyville, aren't ya?" she asks, hopping around excitedly. You reluctantly agree, before she squeals in delight. "Oh, this is perfect! I haven't thrown a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party in ages! By the way, I'm Pinkie Pie!"

She practically pulls you inside, and while you immediately ready your spear, she's gone before you can get a bead on her, and the door swings shut behind you.

The inside was apparently a store, and it was in slightly better shape than the outside of the building, but that wasn't saying much. Several tables were overturned, and it looked like the front counter was partially smashed in some time ago. Still, that mare seemed to be living in it just fine, though you don't really trust how happy she is despite the world around her.

She returns quickly, beaming at you. "Alright, the cake should be ready soon!"

Set on getting some answers, you ask why she's so cheerful, even though the town around her is in a less than ideal state.

Her smile falters slightly. "Well, I know this big bad plague is no good, and a lot of ponies are getting hurt..." She comes close to breaking her cheerfulness, but shakes her head and snaps back to smiling widely. "But I can't let it get me down! As long as I can, I'll be sure to keep sharing smiles!"

While your own cynical mind thought it was a useless outlook on life for the times, you couldn't help but give a small smile of your own, her positivity being very infectious. 

Part of your mind is still wary, though, and it pushes you to ask some more questions, specifically about whether or not she's alone.

Her ears droop slightly again. "Yeah, just lil ol' me, here. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were away with the kids on vacation when everything went bad, and I haven't seen them since..."

Suddenly, she springs back up. "Oh, wait! I'm not alone! I still have Gummy!"

Gummy?

As if in answer to your unspoken question, she turns to a set of stairs behind her and whistles. "Come here, Gummy, we have a new friend for you to meet!"

There was some shuffling upstairs, before a lumbering abomination started slowly descending the stairs. It looked vaguely like it used to be an alligator, but it had clearly been affected by the plague, as there were several points on its body where its scales burst to give way for bulging flesh. Its claws left deep gouges in the wooden steps, even at its slow pace, and it had multiple eyes on top of its head, each one blinking slowly and independently.

Curiously, instead of teeth, its mouth was filled with a writhing mass of tentacles, though you could see several sharp points on the ends of them.

By the time it reached the bottom of the stairs, you're already in a battle stance, and it appears to be doing the same.

But then, suddenly, Pinkie laughs loudly, causing you both to stop. "Oh, silly, don't worry! I know Gummy has... 'grown up' a bit, but he wouldn't hurt a fly!" To prove her point, she hopped over to the beast's side and scratched under its chin, an action that caused no discernible reaction from it, but all the same it wasn't trying to devour the mare's flesh. "See? Perfectly harmless!"

Still not entirely convinced, you remain where you are.

There's a bell ringing from the other room, and Pinkie jumps up. "Ooh, cake's done!"

She goes off to fetch it, and you can't help but follow after her a bit, if for no other reason than to not be alone with the beast, no matter how friendly it appeared.

You stop in the doorway to what was most likely the kitchen, though, as the inside was exactly what you were afraid of.

Blood was splattered on the floor and walls, and there were several bloody cooking implements scattered around, most of them bladed in some fashion. There was a large burlap sack in one corner of the room, and it was open just enough for you to get a glimpse at the corpses inside. 

Pinkie herself was at the heart of it all, happily humming as she starting taking a cake out from the oven, which was a faint red in color. Still not noticing you, she merrily brought the cake over to another counter, where she took a bowl filled... something and started frosting the cake, turning it a slightly more solid red.

You had seen enough, and you began to walk out to leave.

Before you made it to the door, though, Gummy, let out a brief wail, and quickly jumped in front of you, baring its tentacle-mouth at you.

You jump back in surprise, spear at the ready, as you hear Pinkie reenter the room behind you. "Aw, leaving so soon? That's no good, we haven't even started the party yet!"

You turn to face her, noting that her expression was still cheerfully smiling, though you now knew it to be a smile of madness. 

You don't say anything, simply holding your weapons at the ready, prepared for combat.

Pinkie never stops smiling. "Well, I know what will cheer you up! How about you and Gummy play together?"

You turn back to the beast just in time to roll out of the way of its lunge, and you get back up just in time to see it whirl back around to face you and let out another wail.

Likewise, you flip open your spear and tighten your grip on your pistol.

After a moment of deadlock, you both charged each other.