The Prologue

Prologue

Autumn had come quick this year. It was cold outside but there was no breeze to blame. The sun had set some time ago now and frost had gathered on the trees in the forest, as well on the blades of grass that sat in clumps on the muddy terrain. Soon winter would arrive, where the blistering ice would kill off the remaining greenery in the wood and food will become a scarce commodity. Through the broken pine trees there was an opening of beaten ground, in the centre stood a small, rundown timber hut, it's roof collapsed but the remnants of decorations on the outside told of a story where it was once loved.

Rain pattered softly against the cracked window of the aged wooden shack, with some drops falling through the holes in the collapsed roof, the cracks in the windows catching pools of moonlight, sending their rays through onto the broken timber floor. This lighted them to reveal gaps around the edges of the floor boards where fungus had set in. The room was rich with the dank aroma of mould, with the slight underlying scent of illness. Just outside of the areas highlighted areas of moonlight sat a large huddled shape hidden in the shadows.
"40 years ago. 40 years ago today" the figured rasped in a voice that told of broken spirits and self-torment, shattering the silence of the night and sending up steam from their warm breath into the frosty air.

The shape moved, a slow jerky movement with the sound of hooves scrapping the rotten wood and a grunt of effort, they heaved them self onto their feet. Suddenly, there was a small flicker of light, causing the ignition of a candle nearby, bathing the room in an orange light, flickering as the flame wavered.

The new source of light unveiled the shape to be a large unicorn stallion, his muzzle streaked with grey hairs and scars, his dull white coat bedraggled with mud as if he hadn't washed in moons and his tail was just as black, frayed and tangled to match his mane. He was frail, his body gaunt and his ribs showing through his skin from starvation, though he was lean, indicating that this one had boasted a sturdy frame a lifetime ago. His blue mane was black with grime, and was spread out into every direction, with his twisted horn poking through at an awkward angle. The light fell across his eyes, revealing the lack of pupil in his right eye, indicating blindness. But his left eye told a lifetime of horrors and haunted memories buried in their ice blue depths. They glanced outside nervously, searching in the darkness of the wood.
The stallion closed his eyes and grinded his teeth in decisiveness, before murmuring quietly "There hasn't been any presence of infected around these woods for about a moon now, I'm probably safe to light this for warmth now."

The large horse started to pace slowly, his thin legs jerking and his movement unsteady as if he hadn't used them in a long time. He stretched them individually then stood upright again. He sighed a heavy sigh.

"40 years ago today, everything went to hell." He muttered, his ears flicking with agitation. He began to walk, drawing his head up, right eye scanning the room in which he stood, taking in the black dead wood of the walls, cast orange by flame. Pictures flashed across his mind and he froze, memories long buried returned. Images of a strong young stallion stood in the same room, his coat a brilliant white and mane a gallant blue. He was stood next to a small slender mare, her pink coat in stark contrast with his pale body. They nuzzled, and looked on at the two small foals tussling on the ground, laughing and squealing in the midst of their play fight.

The image was over just as fast as it came, the daintily painted walls of the room to be replaced again with decaying brown timber. The old horse smiled but tears welled in his eyes, a bitter sweet memory of a time forever lost. “Oh how I miss you” he spoke softly. He continued his walk through the broken house, reaching a larger room, where the candle light did not reach but patches of the floor were laid silver from the moonlight spilling through the collapsed roof. Another image flashed across the aged stallions mind, but this time there was no affection for the memory.

Rain was lashing down hard, ponies were racing past the house, wailing with fear, and pegasus were carrying injured ponies through the air. Inside the house, the same white stallion was cowering under a table, his white coat dulled with dust and dried blood, a fresh wound scored his left eye. Under his front hooves hid the two foals, who cried and wailed, their fur bedraggled.

“Where’s mother? We need to find mother!”

The stallion hushed and soothed, pulling them closer, the sound of screaming ponies pierced the house as they sprinted past.

“Shh, she will be back soon, but it’s extremely important that you stay quiet” But he couldn’t keep the rising note of terror out of his voice.

The sounds of ponies fleeing faded and suddenly, the outside grew quiet, only the slight breeze ruffling the leaves outside could be heard. The stallion strained to look up towards the window, rain still coming down hard. Without warning, a large figure past the window, casting its shadow onto the floor in front of the foals. They gasped, their wide eyes bright with tears. The young filly let out a small whine.
The figure turned sharply, ears angling towards the sound. The stallion moved a large hoof over her mouth and ducked out of view. The creature stood by the window listening and the stallion held his breath.

After a pause that lasted a lifetime, the silhouette moved. The white horse shifted forwards slightly, leaning to peer through the window once more to see if it was safe to come out. Suddenly a loud crash sounded, and the front door had swung open, the noise of the wind and rain rushing through the rooms. Both foals squealed in horror, burying their faces into their fathers flank. The stallion panicked, but kept his eyes fixed forward to see what was to walk into the room. The sound of hoof steps dragging on the floor echoed through the house, and a deep long groan was emitted. The stallion then rose to his feet, and ushered his children behind them.

“No matter what happens now, promise me you won’t look”

They nodded weakly in response and cowered behind him. He turned back and he choked.

There it was stood. A large stallion, except like no other he had seen before. Its coat was dark green-grey and its mane was matted with clumps missing. There was a gaping hole in its side, bones and organs showing through with maggot crawling in the openings. Its breath was ragged and wheezing, with sharp teeth lining the inside of its dropped jaw.
The white stallion locked eyes with it, and saw no love or compassion in the glassy white depths that lacked the pupils a normal pony possessed. Without a doubt, this stallion is dead.

Silence fell upon the room, and the white horse was stiff and head dropped dangerously low, waiting for the creatures next move, only the sounds of its uneven breathing were heard. There was no way out of this without a fight. All of a sudden, the dark horse threw back its head, and let out a vile screech, a screech that vibrated through the walls and floor, and lurched forward towards the three terrified horses. The foals had opened their eyes and started to scream. The white stallion bounded forward, his horn glowing a brightly, ready to defend his children to the death…

And the vision fades.

The strong white stallion has turned back into the frail old horse once more. He stood in the room, his pupils constricted and his horn glowing as if he was reliving the moment.

“But I couldn’t save them”

The recollection of the long gone memory unearthed the old feelings of anger, sadness and guilt in a fresh new wave of grief. He began to pace the house, tears streaming down his face.

"The undead walk, and I didn't see it coming." His hooves dragged heavy on the rotting floor. "I could have stopped this, I could have saved everybody, but I was too weak to see the signs. It’s his fault" His rough deep voice grew high as notes of desperation entered his monologue of reason.

"He was my friend, why would he inflict this suffering? He was a doctor, he was supposed to help us!" His pacing grew more frantic as he continued, the candle light igniting his face in light.

"But I knew he was up to something but I just couldn't stop it, I let everybody die to avoid risking our friendship, but he stabbed me in the back anyway" the unicorn snarled to himself angrily, tears pricking his eyes and he crossed swords with the demons that haunted him.

"Equestria would have still stood, nobody would have suffered the pain of watching their world collapse around them, as family killed family and friends fed on friends" anger and dismay laced his voice as he started to shout.

"Now my friends and family are dead and infected, now they're coming back to kill the rest of us!" the colt suddenly reared onto his front legs in rage and bucked hard into the decaying wooden walls, his hooves disappearing inside the wall, creating a gaping hole and sending out a loud sharp snap into the air, making him freeze in his tracks then quickly struggle to compose himself.
The snap echoed outside into the forest, continuing further and further until there was silence. The colt was silent, ears pricked and his shoulder tense.

He listened intently, he may have just caught himself some unwanted attention and if they're nearby, there was no way he could escape in his current state. From a distance, a loud shrill screech sounded in reply, echoing back through the night and filling the broken cabin with its solemn ring. A split second after the first shriek had sounded, two more sounded in reply, sounding slightly closer than the first.

“Shriekers are still in the area" the horse sighed heavily, his previous anger dissolving like mist into the cold night air. "I thought they had moved on, thankfully it sounded like they're at least a couple of miles from here. Better keep lying low until they're gone for good. It's all we can do" he moved back into his corner, damp from mold and heaved himself back onto the floor. "They won't get me until I've righted this wrong" with a voice filled with cold determination, and with another flash of his horn, the candle was extinguished, the wisp of smoke rising into the moonlight.

Author's Note

This is my first try at fan fiction literature, so please let me know what you think of my writing style and any tips to improve it!

Also if there is any grammatical or spelling errors, please point them out but please bear in mind that I'm writing in U.K English!

• TheAcrylicCat