What Lies in the Dark

by Omega Dracomancer

Rating: mature
Tags: Discord, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Original Character, Horror, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 1425

A mare wakes up in a post-apocalyptic wasteland without any memory of who or where she is. There's no sign of life anywhere, but every time the sun goes down, the moonless sky brings out the noises that follow.

A mare wakes up in a post-apocalyptic wasteland without any memory of who or where she is. There's no sign of life anywhere, but every time the sun goes down, the moonless sky brings out the noises that follow.

What happened to make this world so empty, and more importantly, where's the moon?

Brought to you in part by my buddy The Twisted Pony

2/15/20: Hiatus until further notice.

Published 2015-07-21 20:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-21 20:10:02 UTC

Chapter 1

Nightfall didn’t take it’s time infecting the sky with its shadow. My eyes felt sore, trying to find my way through the thick blackness that surrounded me. My only source of light was a single piece of wood, its tip burning with flame, giving off a slight warmth. It didn’t spread far, it almost seemed as if the darkness was trying to eat the flame's wonderful light away.

The night was silent, the sky was pitch black, not even stars shined in the sky, I wandered through and through. Still no signs of life, except for the occasional flower or edible fruit. The past few days have been long, lonely, and intense.

I would sit down and enjoy a small meal that I made out of whatever I could scavenge from plants, but something would disturb me in the middle of it all. Something that would send shivers down my spine, make my hairs stand up, and drive my nerves insane.

There were sounds... sounds of something scurrying around in the blackness beyond what my eyes could see. I would hear an occasional roar, screams of something that wasn’t another pony, childish laughter. My fear of what could be out there was far beyond anything I could describe. Every night, the sounds would appear to come closer and closer…

Day three...

I decided that I should seek shelter rather than wander about this desolate waste. That's where I am now… My shelter... My home.

My own hoofsteps and the crackling of the torch I held with my magic was all I heard. All I could hear. The strange sounds seemed to stop. Maybe they know something I don't. Maybe my shelter wasn't shelter at all.

I was in a village not too far off from where I awoke. Nopony is here. There are no signs of life. At least, none that I've discovered. Not even something as small as a rat. Finding another pony in this town would be impossible.

I've made one of the homes my own. At least this way, I can feel like I'm safe. I found food in the kitchen. Most of it was spoiled and rotten, but there were a few cans that were still edible. I don't know how long they will last. I need to find more food if this keeps up.

I think a family lived here. I saw a picture of a stallion and a mare. I don't think I was the mare in the picture. Wrong color coat. I didn't know either of them. I didn't even know who I was. Not even my name.

It's been like this for three days. I woke up knowing nothing, and acted on my basic survival instincts. Food, shelter, and water. There's a stream nearby, and I found this town. Hunger is a concern, but this town is large, there's bound to be more food.

There were four rooms in this house. Two rooms for children were downstairs, and the master bedroom was located upstairs. The fourth room is also upstairs, but I don't know what it's for. Maybe a guest room.

I found something curious in the master bedroom. A trunk lay at the foot of the bed, a broken lock hanging from it. It was covered in rust, and seemed like it would fall apart if I touched it. Without anypony around to deter me, I removed the lock, and slowly lifted the heavy, wooden lid. Inside was a lone scroll. I retrieved it, and opened it on the floor.

It was a map. Equestria. A black cross had been written on the paper over a town called Ponyville, seemingly drawn with a piece of charcoal. Is that where I was? It was a massive map, detailing various regions of this land of Equestria.

Was this put here for me to find, or was it random chance that I happened upon it? Either way, I rolled the map back up and brought it downstairs with me. What had been on this map was the only thing I've learned about my situation so far.

As I walked back downstairs, I heard the sounds again. The sounds that followed me throughout these long nights. Quiet at first, but quickly increasing in volume. I held my torch up high, and backed into a corner, shaking in fear. Something had followed me here. It was tormenting me, laughing at me.

All at once, the noises stopped. It was as if somepony had turned off a lightswitch. I could hear my own heart beating furiously in my chest. I swallowed.

"Leave me be." I managed to get out through my panicked gasps.

Why aren't there any other ponies? Where are they all? Am I the last one? What brought me here? The sounds in the dark, no other ponies around me. Was I just hallucinating all of this? Was I drifting away into an eternal void of insanity? I didn’t know what to think. I felt like my mind was losing its grip on reality. It must've been a while since I thought this, because I was breathing calmly again.

But there was something else too, something that I didn’t quite recall being there.

Two large white dots sat in a window on the opposite side of the room, surrounded by the pitch black darkness. They almost seemed to glow. The dots disappeared into thin air, then reappeared in the same spot. I tilted my head in confusion and curiosity. I got up and slowly began to make my way towards the window, torch in the air and caution in my steps.

My steps were light and steady as I approached the window. An outline of something began to form outside of the window when the light from the torch began to reach it. I couldn’t quite make out what it could be. There was a gentle tapping on the window, like something sharp being poked at on the glass. The white dots never moved, they appeared to peer down at me, like eyes.

Like... eyes?

I stop moving and remained quiet, just a few feet away from the window. There was something outside, I knew it. It stared right at me, never taking its sight off me. It knew I was inside. I heard a gentle tapping from above me, then eventually everywhere around the house. I knew this sound... rain!

It was raining, hard. How long has it been raining? Bright flashes of light briefly illuminated the house and the landscape. I wish it hadn't. From what details I could gather for the split second it appeared, I was horrified. A loud booming noise followed the lightning, but I couldn't tell if it was thunder, or the creature that had been staring me dead in the face.

It was a massive creature, covering most of the window. Its face was disfigured and distorted, yet seemed strangely like that of a pony. Its body was covered in thick hair, and its eyes seemed to get even brighter as it realized that I had seen it. A wide, fanged smile spread across its face.

I screamed. My body jumped back, and I lost all ability to hold the torch with my magic. It dropped to the ground, the light vanishing from it as soon as it hit the floor. It was dark once more, and I was screaming. I couldn't control myself. My body pushed hard against the wall on the other side of the room. The eyes were still staring. I could still see the teeth, as if it gave off its own light.

Lightning struck once more. The beast was once again revealed to me. The more I saw of it, the worse it became. It seemed to get even bigger with the second strike.

As the light faded away, so too did the sickening face beyond the window. As thunder boomed once more, I could feel tears streaming down my face. My body was shaking uncontrollably.

I stared directly at the window until my screams died down. I was still crying. The only thing I was able to do was curl myself into a ball and sob to myself. I didn't know if this thing was even really a threat, but just by its appearance alone, I was driven to tears. At least I was safe inside this house.

I was safe inside the house... I was safe inside the house... I was safe inside the house...

Please let me be safe inside this house...