Chapter One: Naive beginnings
"This... this is a dream, right? it... has to be a dream..."
Calm. I was calm. A bright light caused me to stir, and I felt something... weird... a very grainy feeling... sand? I opened my eyes, taking in the cool, blue water in the distance and the fine, tan sand that my body rested on. This wasn't my bed... I wasn't in a bed at all, actually, I was on a beach. Sitting up, I took a good look at my surrounding sandy plain, Benches here and there, most of them catching the overcast shadow of the umbrella beside them. Quite a few of them having random little items atop them that I couldn't discern from my distance. I stood up, asking the only question I could possibly think of at the time.
"Where..? Where am I...?"
"Well, a beach, where else would you think? But... how did we get here, exactly?" My conscious was still with me, wondering the same issue as I. Joy.
I didn't know, last time I was aware, I was dozing off in my bed as I did every night... maybe this was a dream? Just some rather convincing dream! I was still in my bed, probably tossing and turning as I usually did.
That didn't stop me from walking over to one of the benches, though, and glancing over the orange tee shirt that laid there. I don't know what came over me, but I slipped the shirt on as if it were one of my own. It had a small pocket on the side, big enough to put some of the smaller items in. Plus, the wind was cool, and the small bit of protection it gave was appreciated. I repeated the process, walking over to each bench and looking over the small items that were strewn across the beach: Duct tape, a few pieces of cloth, a bottle of water, somepony looming over another that had fallen to the ground, some bread, and--
Wait... what?
I looked back to the two ponies, one laying on their side in the sand, the over with it's head hung low atop the other... was he..? No... was he... eating him? Oh goddess... he was! He was actually eating another pony! The sounds were suddenly much more sickening, the sound of low groaning, the sound of lips chewing on flesh... don't. Stop. Don't vomit... don't vo--
My mind didn't help much as I retched violently, my dark red aura opening a small lunchbox beside one of the benches that held the former contents of my stomach well... well enough. The buck didn't seem too happy though as he snapped his head around, his eyes catching mine and staring into them. Why did I have the feeling he was planning to make me his next meal? Maybe it was the fact that he started to charge at me. He couldn't be too strong, his legs looked bony and he lacked enough muscle to really lift anything... atleast that's what I thought before he slammed into my chest, knocking me down onto my back.
He growled as he pinned me to the tan, grainy ground, a string of his saliva dripping down onto my neck. Is this how I die in my dream? Getting killed by some cannibalistic, zombie pony? Atleast I'll wake up in a nice bed, and to an amazing breakfast... Why wasn't I waking up? I could feel his teeth dig into the hoof I used to block his path to my neck, and my mind started to scream at me, seeming pissed.
"It's not a dream, you idiot! This is a real... thing, and it's going to kill you! DO SOMETHING!"
Sure thing, conscious. Whatever you say, let me just ask this buck politely to get off of me, maybe give me a few things, and send me on my way. I wish it was that easy. Instead, I shoved him off with as strong a buck I could muster, and held him down with what magic I could as I stood up, searching frantically. Binoculars? No... more tape? No... A hammer? Oh... I was going... I was going to have to kill him, wasn't I? I was going to have to kill another pony, in what I could only call self defense? Or was it murder? At this moment in time, I didn't really care.
My magic faded from around the buck, and instead to the hammer I held a bit shakily. He wasn't no time charging at me again, seeming even more pissed than before. I levitated the hammer to my right, waiting until he was close enough, and I brought it hard across his face in the strongest swing I've ever done.
The force sent him skidding to my left, knocking him over to his side. He tried to stagger back onto his hooves, but my hammer didn't allow it, coming down on his muzzle, and right under his ear. The snaps were sickening, but I kept going until the growls and groans stopped... and a bit of his brain became exposed through a new hole in his skull, followed by a stream of blood coming from his muzzle that announced my victory. Was it really that easy to kill somepony? You'd think they would last a bit longer, atleast actually struggle a bit--
Why the hell was I thinking that? I didn't enjoy killing the buck, pony or zombie... did I?
I didn't have time to ponder it before glancing down a road that led off the beach, a large square sign stood beside the entrance, showing a detailed map of where I was. An Island? Prince Blueblood Island, huh..? Apparently, according to the white arrow on the map, I was on Haylor Beach... and the closet hint of civilization was a small town by the name of Montague. Guess that's my next stop, then? Maybe this beach was just some crazy, stupid hallucination, and it was a nice, quiet town full of ponies with families, maybe even a nice buck for myself, yeah? I can only hope as I took my first step onto the road, the sun about midway through the sky.
*** *** ***
How long has this place been without needing to be maintained? An entire home collapsed into the ground at a near 45 degree angle, Shamblers trotting across and falling off the edge, pulling themselves up as if nothing happened. Intelligence. They seemed to lack it. Good. Something I had on them.
And... I wasn't completely off. It was a town with plenty of mares and bucks... none of them seemed too alive, though. Pretty sure they're dead. And walking. Still dead though. Oh, and groaning.
"Atleast they aren't eating each other, right?" Conscious had a point.
Let's see... left house, or right house..? Right didn't seem to have any corpses walking around in it, that would be a good start. I crawled to the building, the last thing I wanted to do was fight a whole horde of these things. The contents of the interior weren't too bad, a small backpack on the table, a few scattered pieces of food and two bottles of water in the kitchen. Thank you, Luna, thank you that the backpack fit without a problem, and carried my resources without an issue. I continued down the hall into a small bedroom. The closet contained a set of aviators with I put on without question... and there was a hoofgun on the nightstand, a Colt I believe. I levitated it over to myself, taking out the magazine to inspect it. 3 shots. That's it? Well... It could be worse, I suppose. I carefully set it into the side pocket of the backpack, and had a seat on the beds edge.
Then it hit me, and it hit me hard. This was all real. I didn't know where I was, and I wasn't getting home anytime soon... if I even still had a home. Maybe this is some sick simulation? Maybe I'm knocked out at some hospital, or secret underground lab, captured by an evil scientist?
"Don't be stupid. This is real life, Velvet... you'll have to figure something out."
"Like what, brain? I'm never getting home... I'm going to die out here, too..." I countered to nopony in particular except myself.
There were still quite a few things I wanted to do before I died that I'd never get to do now. Graduate, get my Chemistry degree, get my own place to live, get laid... err... maybe that wasn't quite needed, but It'd be nice, yeah? I laid back on the bed, the soft, cushiony feeling reminding me that I was tired. I hadn't even been awake that long, but killing that buck on the beach, and the painfully slow walk here took quite a bit out of me... It wouldn't have been slow if I didn't have to crawl past every little group of Shamblers I came across.
In an attempt to fight sleep, I went through the small nightstand beside the bed, my exploration was rewarded with a small, folded piece of paper. A note? It was better than nothing, I suppose. I opened it, and read.
To whoever finds this note... I'm not really around anymore, atleast, I don't think I should be... hell, who am I kidding? I won't shoot myself, I never had the courage to. I probably just ran out and let the horde add me into their small army of the walking dead... anyway, if you haven't found it already, I left you my Colt in the closet. Take the glasses too, if you want.
The reason I wrote this? So atleast somepony knows I didn't just vanish. None of us did. I don't know who caused this... mess, I don't know if anypony does. Maybe it was some virus, or some stupid event of pony prophecy? Never was too religious myself... either way, there used to be a town here, full of families, very happy ponies. Didn't think anything could change that, not until we heard somepony scream one night. Didn't bother to check it out until the next morning... when half the town were walking around, heads hanging... attacking each other, eating each other... a bit fucked up, isn't it? Oh... well, this is where I get off. The sound of pony crashing against door demands my attention. Good luck, whoever reads this. I wish you the best.
-Brumble
"...Do ponies actually write stuff like that?" Atleast this pony did... didn't want his life to end without somepony else knowing. He didn't seem scared to die like I was, though. He was braver than I, and more than likely stronger. Someone who deserved to live much more than I did.
I set the note exactly how I had found it, as if preserving some ancient treasure, long since forgotten by others. I'm not a smart pony, I'm not a brave pony, and I sure as hell wasn't a strong pony... but I was alive, something others couldn't say. And I was scared. Scared to die, die alone and without anypony caring. Before I died though, I atleast wanted to know what happened. Who started this... mess, if anypony at all. That was my mission. Survive, Investigate, and survive some more. I still had one thing on my side, on important thing, I wasn't a Shambler, a walking corpse.
I was still unturned.
Author's Note
SKILLS
Overkill Rank 1 : You punch and melee with greater force.
Magic Rank 1 : Your magic improves slightly overall.
Authors Notes
Well... here we go, my first attempt at anything decent. Hopefully it's not trash! Cheers!
