Prologue
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Cold gusts of icy wind continued to tear through the small town of Ponyville, bringing with them even more thick, white snow to add to the steadily growing mountains of it. Long, slender icicles hung from the rafters of the many houses around town, framing themselves in windows like prison cell bars.
The wooden market stalls stood abandoned in the town square, no longer wafting delicious scents or displaying glittering jewelry to passersby. They would remain this way for most, if not all, of Winter. This Winter was the worst that Ponyville, maybe all Equestria, had seen in years. Almost everypony was huddled inside their homes, curled up next to a crackling fire or sitting with a blanket while the storm raged on. Those who were caught outside were either coming home with firewood and other resources, or attempting to leave town.
But they couldn't, no matter how badly they wanted to. Ponyville, despite it's central location in Equestria, was completely isolated by the storm. All of the power lines were down, the mail ponies were unable to deliver letters and packages, and even the railroads had been shut down due to safety hazards. The citizens of Ponyville were entirely on their own.
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The wind still howled as the day reached its end, leaving Ponyville in nearly pitch darkness for yet another night. This would be the 10th night, to be exact. The lights of houses were going out behind the ice-barred windows, save the dim orange glow emanating from homes with fireplaces.
An hour or so after the lights went out, a door opened. From the doorway, a figure emerged. The figure's cloak whipped in the wind as it made its way though the empty, snow-filled streets. It moved swiftly from house to house, peering inside the frosted glass, examining each and every detail of the space within. Eventually, it stopped searching, settling upon a house that was a bit taller than those around it. Other than that difference, it was a perfectly average home. The figure approached the door, and began to pick the lock.
Inside, two mares slept soundly in a large bed. One was an Earth Pony with a cream colored coat and a blue & pink mane, while the other was a Unicorn with a mint green coat and the same color mane, but with a white stripe. The low hum of the wind suddenly grew louder for a few seconds, a gust of cold air coming along with it. The Earth Pony, Bonbon, shivered from the sudden cold, and opened her light blue eyes. She rolled over, then sat up, looking around the dark bedroom. She was about to go downstairs to see what was going on, but the sound of the door closing made her freeze. A wave of fear and anxiety washed over her. She turned to the mare laying next to her and gently shook her shoulder.
"Lyra," Bonbon whispered, casing a nervous glance over her shoulder. "Lyra, wake up! please!" After a few more shakes, Lyra slowly sat up and opened her eyes.
"Hm? What'd you wake me up for, Bonbon?" asked Lyra with a yawn.
"Lyra, shh! I think there's somepony in the house." whispered Bonbon, her voice shaking.
"Bonbon, there's nopony in the house. Go back to bed, okay?"
"Lyra, I heard somepony downstairs, I swear! Please just listen to me." Lyra was about to lay back down and try to get back to sleep, but the fear in Bonbon's eyes made her think differently.
"Okay, Bonbon, I'll go check it out." said Lyra reassuringly, giving Bonbon a kiss on the cheek. With that, she got out of the bed, the tip of her horn glowing with a soft golden light. She walked towards the bedroom door as silently as possible, and nodded at Bonbon before opening it. When she did, nopony stood on the other side. The coast was clear so far. Then, Lyra walked out onto the landing and made her way to the staircase. The old wooden stairs creaked as she descended, the light from her horn projecting down to the final step. As she cleared the final stair, she swiveled her head and strained her ears, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary, and all she heard was the low howl of the wind. Lyra gave a satisfied nod, then turned around and began to climb the staircase back up to her and Bonbon's room.
But she never came back in.
Bonbon was beginning to worry. Ever so slowly, she crept out onto the landing and began to make her way to the stairwell.
"Lyra?" she called, placing a hoof on the top step. Silence greeted her ears. "Lyra, if this is a joke, please stop it." she called again, slowly beginning her descent. At the bottom of the stairs, she slipped in something wet. She landed flat on her belly, spreading whatever it was all over herself. Her hooves were covered in it, and so was her chest and abdomen. Bonbon brought a trembling hoof up to her muzzle, then licked the mysterious liquid. It tasted like…iron? Bonbon was puzzled. She stood up and began to go get a towel from the kitchen to mop it up, but something furry bumped against her hoof. She looked down and squinted as hard as she could, but the darkness prevented her from seeing what it was. She trotted back upstairs and came back down with a lit candle. When she reached the bottom…it may have been that the light from the candle was orange, but the liquid she had slipped in was a deep, rich crimson. Something at the corner of her vision caught her eye, and suddenly she knew why Lyra hadn't come back to bed. Suddenly, she became lightheaded and nauseous. The contents of her stomach were emptied upon the floor, and she knew she should do something, but she just couldn't look away from the horror scene in front of her.
Lyra Heartstrings, her beautiful and loving marefriend, lay on the floor in a pool of blood, a gleaming kitchen knife half buried in her chest.