Graveyard
Rising from the ground and shaking the rubble off of me, I looked around to find my bearings. There was nothing but dust, debris and decay around me.
I appeared to be in what was once a town, now only a ghost of the past. Buildings were reduced to piles of debris and those that still stood only did in halves, shadows of their former selves.
“Hello?”
No reply.
“Anypony there?”
The questions echoed back at me. The howling wind in my ears was the only answer I received. I looked around again but all I saw was more rubble, more dirt.
Moving away from the rubble I was laying on, I felt how the dust rolled off my flanks and landed on the pile of broken bricks beneath me. I stepped off of it and turned around to see yet another decayed building, claimed by the passage of time.
“Did I crash?” I asked nopony in particular as I looked at my wings and stretched them out. They didn’t hurt and they looked fine; there were some scratches and cuts along the leathery edges but nothing major. I flapped them and hopped off the ground and managed to hover without trouble for a few seconds before letting my hooves down on the floor again.
I didn’t feel any pain as I stretched out my limbs one by one. First, my forelegs; left then right, then my hindlegs; right then left. I curled them lightly, stretched them, wiggled the fetlocks. Nothing was broken, there was no pain.
Figuring I’d find no answers here I decided to turn around and explore the town, trying to find other ponies or any creature that could help me. My hooves dragged along the dirt as I walked at a slow pace, turning my head all over, looking at the road ahead and the buildings around me. Not one was in a better state than the one I awoke in. I was in a ghost town, one that looked like it had been abandoned for years.
“Hello?”
I asked the winds but received nothing but my own echoes.
“Any pony here?”
But only the howling wind kept me company. I kept walking, finding stores of all kinds. A stand that looked like it had been a flower shop, another that looked like it had been a tailor’s shop with ragged and withered clothes on dirtied ponniquins.
While the town was ruined, there didn't seem to have been any fighting. And with so many parts in place, it was as though everypony had decided to simply walk out, leaving Mother Nature to reclaim what was once hers.
I came across a particular shop that stood out from the rest. It was on the very end of the road, standing taller and looking more ornate than the others despite the state it was in. There was a sign with a big round apple on the front. The stalls were empty except for the dust that filled them just like the ones I already walked past.
I came across what looked to be the town’s square. Remains of a fountain stood in the middle, the statue of a pony standing there but only its lower limbs were visible, the rest of its body either eroded away or destroyed by whatever happened here.
I directed my attention to the dirt path beneath my hooves again. It was grainy, brown and barren, and there were no signs of vegetation other than the errant weed.
The more I explored, the more questions I had. Houses were empty but they looked like ponies had left in a hurry, as if running from something. Plates remained on tables with cutlery on them. Some had to have been caught up in whatever happened while trying to enjoy a meal and were forced to flee.
Somewhere along the path, I decided to take a turn, slipping into an alleyway. I could see into the buildings from the gaping holes that perforated the walls. Every building in this town was the same; crumbling, desolate, ready to collapse, and yet they stood.
Venturing further into the alleyway, I looked around. Greyed walls, peeling paint, piles of rubble; everywhere I looked it was more of the same. I reached the end of the alleyway and came out on another street. They all looked the same to me now with only decayed and withered colours to decorate the horizon.
A house in the distance caught my attention, though it didn’t look particularly different from the rest. It was just as withered, but something about it caught my eye and drew me to it. I ventured towards it and without realising it I was already standing at the doorway.
I stepped in and looked around. Much like the other houses I saw from the outside, this one had signs of life that stopped abruptly. Negligence showed, thick layers of dust covered the floors, the walls and what was left of the furniture. I found it surprising that the chairs and tables still stood. Everything was as if it had gone undisturbed for years.
I decided to explore further and climb to the second floor. I tested the stairs, gingerly pressing my hooves against them. The wood felt firm despite its look. I climbed the first few steps slowly and when I found they didn’t crumble under me I walked up them faster.
Now on the second floor, I looked to my left first, seeing a few doors. They were all closed but given the state they seemed to be in, even if they were locked, they’d pry open in an instant. I turned to the right and was greeted by two more. I decided to start small.
I walked over to the closest door and raised a hoof to the knob. It clicked. “Locked?” I muttered to myself as I tried again. The door didn’t budge. I thought about bucking it down; it couldn’t be hard after all, but I decided against it and went for the other. I raised my hoof again and to my surprise, this one opened without effort. The knob turned and the door creaked loudly as it cracked open.
A bedroom welcomed me with a desk, a night table, and a bed. It was small and simple yet cosy; it felt like home.
I decided to investigate the desk first. The drawers were sealed shut by decay and mould; I tried to pry them open but they didn’t budge much, so I gave up with an annoyed grunt and decided to move on to the night table.
A framed picture sat there. Two ponies sitting on their haunches next to each other with a small foal in front of them. They looked like a family but their faces were blurred, most of the picture faded into greys and browns. I turned away from it and looked to the bed next.
It looked as if the pony sleeping on it had never left it; the covers were wrinkled and the pillow still had a head-shaped depression on it. I took a step back while my eyes scanned the bed from corner to corner. I looked firmly at the bed and gasped as a chill hit me.
I turned to look at the desk and swallowed a lump in my throat as I stood in the middle of the room, shaking in my hooves, my wings twitching against my flanks as I breathed in and out heavily. I clenched my eyes shut and my jaw tight as pain took over my head; I felt it creeping in, running along my temples and making its way through my forehead. My head pulsed and throbbed as the pain increased.
I opened my eyes wide and let out a sharp gasp, left panting and quivering. I sat on my haunches, my forehooves dropped to the floor as I breathed heavily, shaking.
“I remember…”