Bloodborne: The Endless Nightmare

In a swirl of mist, you reappear in the same street as before, standing beside the weird glowing lantern. Four of the small albino dragons appear as well, emerging from the ground at the base of the lantern’s stand. They gather around, claws clasped as they stare up at the glowing lamp with reverence.

You ignore them, instead casting a quick glance around as the strange mist slowly dispurses. There is no sign of the mob from before; they appear to have wandered off after your sudden disappearance. You briefly wonder why none of them were able to follow you to the weird garden, but you don’t linger on the question for long.

There’s work to be done.

Casting one last glance at the glowing lantern and the dragons, you step out of the lamp’s light. As you do so, the dragons sink back into the ground and disappear like smoke on the wind. With the Saw Blade held in your magic, you slowly make your way down the street, heading in the direction the angry mob had originally chased you from. You’re not sure if they returned to their previous route or not, but that would probably be the best place to start looking.

Unlike last time, you are more cautious as you explore the deserted streets, sticking to the shadows as often as you can. Appropriating a few articles of clothing from the discarded trunks that are scattered about, you use the edge of the Saw Blade to cut them into long strips of cloth. You wrap these around your hooves in order to muffle your hoofsteps.

Turning a corner, you come across those burning crucifixes again. Without an angry mob chasing you down, you can actually stop and get a better look at them this time. Approaching the nearest one, you glance up, only for your eyes to go wide.

A mare hangs from the wood, her forelegs tied above her head. Wings are spread wide by her sides, the tips of them nailed to the crossbeam. However, instead of feathers, the wings are leathery and bat-like. The pony burns along with the crucifix, the flames slowly consuming her body.

A glance around at the other crucifixes reveals that they too have bat-like ponies hanging from them, stallions and mares alike. Some hang from their necks, others from their tails. There’s even a few foals present, much to your horror. All of them are burning, and now that you aren’t running for your life, you can smell the stench of burning flesh on the air.

Staring solemnly up at the pour souls, you shake your head. Why? Why were they treated like this? What possible reason can there be for these ponies to be killed in such a horrific manner? Did they have something to do with the plague, or were they simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, there’s nothing you can do for them now.

Muttering a quick prayer for them under your breath, you continue on your way.

You continue to traverse the streets for a while longer with little success. The city is bigger than you previously thought, and finding the mob again is proving difficult. Still, you press on, ears perked for any sound of movement. Every so often you catch a faint moaning on the wind, but you are unable to determine which direction it’s coming from.

After nearly an hour of walking, you see a light in the distance. Hope beings to well up inside you as you make your way towards it, only for it to be squashed when you see that you’ve simply gone around in a circle and are back at the lantern.

Grumbling to yourself, you pick a different street and head down it.

This one proves to be a little more fruitful than the first. Nearing the first intersection, you see that there’s a body lying on the curb. A closer inspection reveals that it’s a pegasus stallion with a butcher’s knife embedded in his head. Unlike the bat ponies, he has feathered wings, although many of the feathers appear to have fallen out at some point. His eyes are wide, and you can see that they are not milky like the ponies who attacked you. Did that mean that he wasn’t infected with the Scourge? Are there other ponies out there who might be able to help you?

Regardless, it doesn’t really matter at this point for this stallion. Crouching down, you gingerly close his eyes before, with a grimace, yanking the knife from his head. It comes free with a crunching noise that nearly makes you gag. You quickly toss the knife aside before standing up again.

It’s then that you notice the bloody hoofprints around the body, leading off down the street. It seems that this poor bastard is actually able to help you after all. Hefting your Saw Blade onto your shoulder, you silently follow the hoofprints.

This decision proves fruitful, as after only a few minutes of walking, the sound of multiple hoofsteps reaches your ears. Peering around the corner of a building, you smile to yourself as you catch sight of the mob from before. Their numbers have grown slightly, nearly two dozen ponies now shuffling down the street. Luckily they’re heading in the opposite direction, so they haven’t seen you yet.

Now… how to go about doing this?

Chewing on the inside of your cheek, you glance around the street. There isn’t any real cover that you can use save for several large trunks stacked on top of one another, and the mob stands between you and them. Other than that, the street’s quiet empty and they’ll surely see you before you can reach them. The last thing you want is to get in a fight with all of them at once.

Another glance around the street reveals something helping that catches your gaze. Eyeing the formation of the mob one last time, you turn around and backtrack down the previous street until you come to the entrance to an alleyway that ran parallel to the mob. You slip down it, being careful not to knock over any of the trash cans or barrels located within the alley. Hurrying along, you maneuver yourself about until you are ahead of the rabble.

Peeking cautiously out from your hiding spot in the shadows, you watch the group of ponies draw near. Luckily, they’re staggered enough that you should be able to easily pick off one without alerting the entire group. Selecting one of the stragglers in the back, you keep an eye on him as you wait for your chance to strike.

The first few ponies pass without incident. You hold your breath though as one of them sudden stops right outside the alleyway you’re hiding in. He glances around, appearing to sniff the air, before, much to your relief, moving on.

Eyes still locked onto your target, you lift the Saw Blade a little higher in your magic and give it a few experimental swings. You allow the pony to take a few steps past your hiding spot before moving. Darting out of the shadows, you swing the blade towards the back of the pony’s neck while in the same motion flicking the switch on the handle. The blade flips out in a blur, embedding the saw teeth into the poor sod’s neck. He lets out a gurgling gasp, but before he can draw attention to himself and you, you yank him back into the shadows by his neck.

Giving the blade a sharp turn, you jerk it free from his flesh, allowing him to collapse. Blood splatters across the ground as he twitches and writhes. Bubbles gurgle up from his neck wound as he gasps for air. His milky eyes dart about frantically, and his face contorts into a snarl upon seeing you. There’s nothing much he can do though, and you watch as the light slowly fades from his eyes.

Your stomach twists into a knot, but you’re able to stop yourself from gagging. As unpleasant as this is, it must be done. Reaching down, you gently close his eyes and whisper a quick prayer before stepping over the lifeless body.

Moving to step out of the alley, you freeze when a low snarling noise reaches your ears. You barely have time to turn before a dog is suddenly on top of you. Jerking your head back, its teeth snap closed where your muzzle had been moments before. It slams into your chest, causing you to stagger backwards.

As the dog lunges at you again, you attempt to bring the Saw Blade up, but as it is still extended, you are unable to quickly maneuver it about within the small space. You are forced to use the handle to knock the dog aside. With a yelp, it falls to its side. Moving quickly, you flick the switch again and collapse the blade. Before the dog has a chance to get to it’s feet again, you bring your weapon down upon his head. There’s a sickening crunch, and the dog falls limp.

Breathing heavily, you stare down at the carcass in shock. Where the hay had he come from?! You didn’t even hear it approach! If it hadn’t snarled, you would have been a dead pony. You take a few seconds to calm down before moving to retrieve your weapon. As you go to pull the blade free though, you notice that the dog’s eyes have the same milky property as the infected ponies’.

Does that mean that canines are susceptible to the plague as well? Great… just great. If that’s the case, what other species can be infected? Griffons? Minotaurs? Hopefully there’s no dragons nearby, or else you’re really screwed.

Taking a deep breath, you push all thoughts of infected drakes from your mind. You drag the dog’s carcass over and place it down beside the dead pony’s. For all you know, they could be owner and pet. With that, you heft your weapon and step back out into the street.

There’s more work to be done.

With that, you begin to systematically take down the mob one pony at a time. Using the shadows and alleyways to your advantage, you slowly pick off the stragglers. Not all of them are as quick and clean as the first one either. Several of times you miss the neck or misjudge the strength you put behind the swing. During those occurrences you are forced to hold the struggling pony down until you manage to finish them off. By the time you got down to the last three or so ponies, you were covered in blood that was not entirely your own.

Pulling the Saw Blade out of its latest victim, you make to follow after the last of the mob, only to freeze as you hear somepony hiss out behind you, “Hey! Hey, you!” Whipping about, you raise the blade to attack, but nopony is standing there. Confused, and with your heart pounding in your chest, you glance around. You are positive you heard somepony speaking.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!” The voice calls out again, and now that you are paying closer attention, you can tell it belongs to a mare. Movement out of the corner of your eye catches your attention, and you turn your head. A curtain in a nearby window shifts again, and a single unclouded eye peers out from the darkness behind, glaring at you.

Upon noticing you gaze up her, the unseen mare speaks again. “Oh, you’re a guard, aren’t ya? ‘Bout time you showed up. Know of any safe places?”

You blink owlishly, a blank look on your face. First off, it’s clear that she’s not infected. Secondly, she thinks you’re a guard? Why would she think that? You most certainly are not a guard; you don’t even have armor on. You’re not even sure how to respond to that claim.

The mare seems to take your silence as refusal to help, for she clicks her tongue angrily. “Yeah, yeah. I should’ve known. Ya good-for-nothing… fat lot of good you gaurds do. I’ve heard, I have. Shutting up inside like this isn’t always enough. Though, if you guards got off your flanks, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

“Don’t listen to her!” a second voice calls out from the other side of the street. Glancing over your shoulder, you see another pair of curtains being peeked through. A red lantern hangs above the door of the house, the soft light barely illuminating the siding in the gloom.

“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” the second voice—that of a youngish stallion—continues. “Y-you guards work hard, especially tonight of all nights. You must’ve had a fine time with it. Canterlot has… a special way of treating guards. I don’t think I could stand it if I wanted to. B-but I’m willing to help, if there’s anything that I can possible do!” His words trail off as he dissolves into a coughing fit. “Sorry—ack! S-sorry.”

Before he can recover, the mare is pounding against the glass of her window, causing you to turn around again.

“All this talk! Don’t ya have work to do?” she hisses. “This whole mess that Canterlot’s in, it's all your fault, you know? You fidgety guards! Our city’s ruined, tainted by their ilk!” Her gaze flicks to the dead infected pony lying at your feet before returning to you. “Well? Go on! Go slit some throats, get this mess done with.”

The corners of your mouth begin to pull back in a silent snarl. That’s what you’re trying to do, but it isn’t as easy as it looks! And with her distracting you, the remaining mob ponies have rounded the corner and are now lost to sight. If she took up any more of your time, you’ll have to hunt them down all over again.

The mare is oblivious to you now, muttering to herself words that you can not even hope to hear. Figuring the conversation is now over, you start to head off down the street again, but the stallion, having managed to ease his coughing fit, calls out to you, “W-wait!” Stopping with a huff, you turn around yet again and fix your gaze on his window. What else could he possibly want?

“You got separated from the others, correct?” he asks. You have no clue what he’s talking about. “Well, if it would help, I saw the Captain and his squad pass by earlier. I didn’t get a good look at them, but they appeared to be trying to restore order. T-they were headed in the direction of Canterlot Ward. If you hurry, you still might be able to catch up with them.”

Now that does interest you. From the sounds of it, the Guard is actually out and about trying to deal with the scourge as well. If you can meet up with them, that would make your job a lot easier. Now, you only need to know how to get to this ‘Canterlot Ward’.

Upon inquiring, the stallion says, “The Ward? It’s… it’s just a few blocks from here!” He falls silent, so you motion with a hoof for him to continue. “You just head down this street until you can’t go straight any more. T-take a right, head across the bridge and then up two flight of stairs. You should then pass by a cemetery. Keeping going straight, and you’ll hit the main gate of the Ward. However, if you want a s-shortcut, just cut through the cemetery and you’ll be in the Ward faster. That’s up to you though.”

Nodding your head in thanks, you turn and start off down the road at a brisk trot. The sooner you get to the Ward, the sooner you can help the Guards get this city back in order. As you leave though, the mare has some parting words that she shouts after you. “Go on, admit it! You think we’re all mad, don’t ya! Well, go and stuff it! You’ll be dead before the night is out, mark my words!”

You give your tail a flick, but other than that you don’t acknowledge her. Weapon held high, you make your way down the desolate streets of Canterlot, heading for the Ward.

Far above you, the moon continues to rise ever higher into the night sky.

—Central Canterlot—

It is fairly simple to follow the stallion’s directions. The road you are on ends abruptly and with only two directions to go—right or left—you head down the right street. You can see the bridge he mentioned in the distance, the large supports and archways decorated with pillars and statues. It spans across a large gap that runs throughout the city. It almost looks like it could be a river, except instead of water, empty air lies beneath it. If one were to fall off the bridge, it’d been quite a fall until they hit the ground.

You glance uneasy over the edge of the makeshift ravine, only to swallow thickly and inch towards the far side of the road. What is with this place and uncomfortable heights? Did adrenaline junkies live here? Seriously, the average citizen most likely walked past several near-death experiences on their way to work on a daily.

This whole city was crazy!

Making your way towards the bridge, you notice that there are dozens of bodies strewn across the road, and it is easy to identify that they are infected ponies. You didn’t put these ones down though, and the dried blood indicates that they had been lying here for a while. Did the guards do this?

Along with the infected ponies, more of the burning crucifixes dot the sides of the road, each of them with a charred body strapped to them. Fortunately or not, you are no longer able to identify if the poor souls up there were mare or stallion, although it’s still too easy to identify which pony was an adult and which was a foal. Those are the worst; the little bodies twisted and blackened as the flames lick hungry at the burnt flesh. You issue a quick prayer for each one you pass, but unable to do anything else, you continue on your way.

The bridge is in the same state of distress as the rest of the city. The road is uneven and bumpy, many of the cobblestone blocks coming loose. Large carriage are scattered about, several of them on their sides. Dozens of books litter the ground, their pages ripped and waterlogged. A large chunk is missing out of the middle of the bridge, looking almost like a massive bite had been taken out of the structure. Still, it looks solid enough for you to cross, so, taking a deep breath, you do so.

Your hoofsteps, despite being muffled by the strips of cloth, still seem to echo as you traverse the bridge. About halfway across you encounter a makeshift barricade constructed out of a broken carriage and a plethora of sandbags. Bodies are grouped around the base of the barricade, and it isn’t until you draw nearer that you realize that some of them are wearing golden armor.

It seems you are going in the right direction.

On the second half of the bridge, once you passed the barricade, the guard body count seems to rise staringly. Bodies in golden armor start to become more common than the civilians. To add to the uneasy feeling growing in your stomach, several of the guards’ bodies show signs of infection: milky pupils, red swelling around the eyes, and cracked lips.There aren’t many, but the fact that the Guard has been infected as well doesn’t sit well with you.

The rest of the journey across the bridge is—thankfully—uneventful. You pause briefly on the other side in order to get your bearings. Sure enough, a few meters down the street to your left you see a flight of stairs heading up to a higher tier of the city. That’s also the direction the bodies go in, so that’s where you’re headed.

The stairs lead you to a small plaza. On the left side there’s another flight of stairs that lead even higher, while on the right there’s a small fountain with a statue of a pony with both wings and a horn. A curious hybrid; you wonder what it’s called. Golden coins clutter the bottom of the fountain’s basin.

Eyeing the fountain for a few more seconds, you then turn and head up the second flight of stairs. At the top you come to another street running perpendicular to the stairs. On the other side is a large wrought-iron fence, the ornate gate to which is just across from you. Through the bars of the fence you can see a gathering of tombstones.

You’ve reached the cemetery.

Peering down the road left and right, you frown when you see it disappear into the gloom. You are unsure of which direction to go in, as the stallion had told you to ‘keeping going straight’. There’s nothing to see but darkness in either direction, so you have no clue which way to go to get to the main gate of the Ward.

As you mull over your options, your gaze slowly drifts across the gate before you. A pair of iron pegasi rest at the top, facing each other. Their wings are thrust forward, the tips touching above the center of the gate. There is no visible lock nor chains holding the doors shut.

…

Well, the stallion did say that if you wanted a shortcut to just cut through the cemetery.

Approaching the gate, you see that it’s actually opened a crack. You nose it open further before slipping inside.

The cemetery itself is built on a circular plot of land. Headstones are scattered here and there, no discernible order to their placement. Some stand alone while others are grouped together in conglomerations of six or more. Six trees are arranged in a circular pattern around the area, their branches bare save for a few dead leaves. A flight of stairs in the back leads up to a higher tier walkway, and you can see another gate located there. A large statue of a robed unicorn stands in the center of the cemetery, massive wings spread wide from it’s back. It’s reared up on its hind legs, a forehoof pointing forward in almost a damning gesture at whoever enters the gate. An ominous feeling fills the air.

You step further into the cemetary, your gaze drifting slowly around the area, only to freeze as you step in something wet. Glancing down, your face pales when you see that you’ve stepped in a huge pool of blood, the source of which is easily identified. Propped up against a nearby headstone, a lone guard lies. His eyes are wide in shock, and large gashes cover his body. A little further back, another body is located, this one of one of the townsponies. Then there’s another. And another. The more you look around, the more bodies you begin to see, both guard and civilian.

It’s like a massacre went down in here.

Heart pounding in your ear, you slowly begin to creep backwards towards the gate. Forget the shortcut; you’ll figure out the proper way on your own. You only manage to take a couple of steps though before a wet thumping sound reaches your ear. Movement out of the corner of your eye catches your attention and, glancing about, you see the source of the noise.

In the back corner of the cemetery, beside the stairs, a unicorn stallion stands. He is clad in blood-soaked purple armor, the metal chipped and cracked. His white fur is stained red, as is his two-tone blue mane and tail. From this distance, you can just barely make out his cutie mark: a blue shield with a pink six-pointed star in its center. A spear is held in his magic.

His back is to you, and as you watch, he thrusts the spear into an unmoving pony at his hooves. Blood flies from the body and splashes across the unicorn’s front, adding another layer to the already-ruined armor. The stallion repeats the actions a few more times, low grunts and growls escaping him with each methodical thrust.

After one particularly forceful thrust, he pauses, crouched over the body and breathing heavily. Slowly, he begins to straighten up. As he does so, he speaks. “Thestrals all over the town… You’ll be one of them sooner or later...” Letting out an animalistic snarl, he turns his head and glances in your direction.

It’s then that you can see his face.

Bandages cover his eyes, the white material stained red. Bloody streaks run down the stallion’s cheeks, matting his white fur. You're not sure how he can see, but he appears to be staring right at you. Opening his mouth, he exhaled loudly, his breath fogging up in the cool night air.

That’s the only warning you get before everything goes south.

With a guttural scream, the unicorn leaps forward and thrust his spear towards your chest. The move is so unexpected that you barely manage to dodge in time, and the tip of the spear grazes your shoulder. You hiss in pain as blood begins to flow down your leg. Thankfully the unicorn’s momentum carries him too far, and he stumbles past you. You kick out with a hind leg, catching him in the side. A loud clank echoes around the cemetery as your hoof strikes the armor, and with a grunt, the unicorn topples over sideways. His spear clatters against the grounds as it falls from his grasp.

Buck this shit!

Turning, you make to dash through the gate and out into the street, but find your way blocked by a fog-like wall of rosy magic. A quick glance shows that the gate to the Ward has the same barrier. The unicorn is staggering to his hooves, his horn glowing the same color as the barrier.

Looks like you’re trapped.

“Too proud to show your true face, eh?” he sneers. “Fine… but what a sporting hunt it is!”

The spear suddenly lifts into the air in a cloud of magic. It hovers there for but a second before rushing towards you at incredible speeds. Lighting up your own horn, you barely bring the Saw Blade up in time to deflect the incoming projectile. Before you can recover though, a burst of magic slams into your side, knocking the wind from your lungs. The unicorn is sudden in front of you and, rearing back, he proceeds to slam his head into you. Hard.

You let out a scream of pain as his horn sinks into your shoulder. A sharp tingling sensation runs through your body as he continues to channel magic even when inside you. Blood explodes forth, coating his head and neck crimson. He jerks his head—causing you to cry out again—before ripping his horn free.

Stumbling about on three legs, you stagger away from the unicorn as he levitates his spear up again. He thrusts it at you again, but you knock it aside with your blade. Before he can attempt that again, you flick the switch on the Saw Blade’s handle and unfurl the blade… right into his face.

The unicorn lets out a howl as you leave a large gash across his muzzle. He stumbles backward, raising a hoof to the torn flesh. You don’t let up though, and quickly slash at his neck and chest as well. The armor protects some of his body, but you still manage to draw blood.

With the unicorn temporarily stunned, you raise the Saw Blade to bring it down upon his head, but before you can land the finishing blow, his horn flashes and your are thrown backwards by a burst of magic.

As you struggle to get to your hooves, the unicorn pulls out a weird-looking device. It’s small, and looks almost like one of those paint gun thing the griffon’s invented some years back. However, instead of paint, it contains what appears to be a vial of blue glowing liquid.

Your eyes widen as you realize that it’s the same liquid that weird old stallion gave you on the airship.

Breathing heavily, the unicorn jams the needle of the device into his side and injects himself with the liquid. He lets out a hiss as his veins glow blue for a brief moment, but then, slowly, his wounds begin to heal.

Oh… oh buck no.

Rushing forward, you swing your blade about and knock the device out of his magic. It’s already too late though, as most of his wounds have stopped bleeding. You slash at his face again, fully intent on re-opening the gash, but he blocks the blow with the handle of his spear. In a blur, he whips the spear around, flashing the tip by your face. Pain flares in your cheek as the blade tears into your flesh, barely missing your eye by inches.

Not letting the pain distract you, you flick the switch on the Saw Blade again, causing it to collapse and trap the spear’s shaft between the back of the blade and the wooden handle. The unicorn tries to pull it free, but you just slam the edge of your blade into his armored chest once, twice, three times before, which a sharp jerking motion, snap the spear in half.

As the two halfs of the broken weapon clatter to the ground, you unfurl your blade again and slash at the stallion’s neck. The saw teeth dig into his flesh, ripping and tearing as you yank hard on the handle. With a sickening sound, the blade comes free, leaving behind a deep, gushing wound.

The stallion staggers back, his breath coming in short, sporadic gasps now. He makes to move towards the device with the glowing liquid again, but quickly dash forward and kick it away. It skitters away into the darkness, the faint blue glow the only indication of where it has gone.

Pausing, the unicorn stares after the device, his expression blank. The bandages around his face have shifted during the fight, revealing one of his eyes. It’s completely fogged over, the once blue eye now gray and lifeless.

Eye darting around its socket, the stallion lets out a choking laugh.

“W-what’s… what’s that smell?” he rasps. “The sweet blood. Oh, it sings to me.” Blood begins to dribble from his mouth. His lips pull back in a snarl, and you can see his teeth start to grow and sharpen into fangs. “It’s… it’s enough to make a pony sick…” With a shudder, his body begins to shift and warp. Muscles ripple beneath his fur as, with a crack, his armor splits in two in order to accommodate his growing form. Giving one last convulsion, the stallion let out a horrific, ear-splitting shriek before exploding in a shower of blood and magic.

Stumbling backwards at the force of the blast, you close your eyes to shield them from the sudden bright light. Before you can recover, something sharp catches you in the side and sends you flying into a headstone. The stone cracks as your body slams into it, and you crumple to the ground in a pile of rubble. With your head ringing and the world spinning, you glance up in time to see a giant paw come flying in and catch you upside the head.

Into another headstone you go.

Yeah, that’s definitely a cracked rib.

Pulling yourself from the debris again, you can already feel the right side of your face beginning to swell. You glance up blearily, only for your heart to skip a beat as you see that the unicorn stallion has somehow transformed into a large, bipedal wolf-like creature. His white fur is now long and unkempt, the blood-soaked strands clumping together. The purple armor, split open and useless, dangles from about his shoulders and barrel.

Snarling, the stallion-turned-monster lunges for you again. You dive quickly to the side, ignoring the pain that flares up in your chest from the cracked rib. Rolling, you grab the Saw Blade in your magic before landing on your hooves. You hit the switch as you turn to face the stallion, unfurling the blood-covered blade.

The stallion—no, the beast howls before rushing towards you again. It slashes at you with it’s claws in a furious rage, and you barely manage to dodge beneath the swipes in time. Bringing your blade around, you attack the creature’s legs in a desperate attempt to slow it down. You blade manages to connect once before the creature suddenly leaps high into the air in a cloud of stone and dirt.

Lifting your head to see where it has gotten to. However, before you can locate it, it lands behind you and racks your back with its claws. You muscle through the pain and, gritting your teeth, throw your head back. The Saw Blade flashes through the air and embeds itself in the creature’s chest with a sickening crunch. Before you can pull it free though, the creature kicks you, sending you tumbling across the ground.

The blade still stuck in its chest, the creature follows after you. It claws at you, and you barely roll out of the way in time. Sparks fly into the air as it tears into the stones beneath you.Crawling on your belly, you scramble to get away, all while pitifully dodging the creature’s attacks.

You actually manage to make it to an intact headstone before one of the creature’s swipes connects. Flipping in the air, you slam into the headstone back first. The creature lets out another howl before lunging at you, its maw gaping wide. Razor sharp teeth glint in the moonlight.

Reacting on purely instinct, your horn lights up and you grab the closest object in your magic. Without even looking to see what it was, you bring it between you and the beast, close your eyes, and pray.

There’s a sickening crunch followed immediately by a spray of blood… but you feel no pain.

Opening your eyes, you stare into the tooth-filled mouth that is wide open mere feet from your face. Embedded in the roof of said mouth is the upper half of the broken spear, the spearhead sticking out the back of the creature’s skull. The shaft still has your magic around it, though it fades as you stop channeling.

The creature wheezes, a confused look crossing its milky eyes. Blood flows from its mouth, dripping through its teeth and down its throat. The warm liquid drips down onto your stomach and thighs, but with how much blood is already there, it makes no difference. The beast lets out one last gurgling breath before its body goes limp and it collapses on top of you. Smoke begins to waft off the corpse, and within a few seconds the beast has turned back into a unicorn.

Silence once again fills the cemetery.

Pushing the body off of you, you opt to just lie there, breathing heavily. Bile slowly rises in your throat, but you manage to push it down. Your everything hurts… again. The doll’s white sash is now completely stained red with blood, the once majestic cloth ruined. Not that it is going to be doing much good here; there’s no way that it’ll be able to bandage all your new wounds. No, you need medical attention, and you need it now.

You peer up at the second story balcony and notice that the gate to the Ward is no longer blocked by the fog-like magic barrier. Well, thank the Goddess for that. Hopefully there are some uninfected—and alive—guards in the Ward who can lend a helping hoof. You just need to get to the Ward. Gritting your teeth, you push yourself up onto your hooves. The broken rib shifts about in your chest, forcing you to choke back a sob of pain. It hurt, but you aren’t coughing up blood… yet.

You glance around for your Saw Blade, and after a few seconds of searching you spy it lying beside the body of a guard. Picking it up with your magic, you collapse the blade before beginning to limp your way towards the stairs. The stab wound in your shoulder twinges with each step, blood oozing out of the hole caused by the unicorn’s horn.

As you stagger along, your eyes wander of the many bodies of guards and civilians alike. Now that you’re looking more closely, you notice that the guards are showing early signs of infection. Some had bandages over their faces, some had bloodshot eyes. There is even one whose teeth are far sharper than they should be. You also notice that many of the guards’ wounds were inflicted not by the townsponies, but by other guards. A guard with a spear in her chest, another with magical burns about his face. There’s even a pair of guards who have their teeth in each other's throats. What in the name of existence…

If these guards are this infected, who’s to say that the guards that may be in the Ward aren’t as bad off, or even worse? What’s to stop you from coming face to face with an entire infected guard company? There’s no way you’d survive that without some serious help, and from what you’ve seen, that’s not likely to happen.

Lost in thought, you aren’t paying attention to your hooves, and as such, end up kicking something. Glancing down, you see that it’s the strange device the unicorn used earlier. It lies there and glows softly, the glass vial on the back full of luminescent blue liquid. You stare at it dumbly for a few seconds before picking it up gingerly with your magic. Raising it to your eyes, you study it curiously, your mind racing.

The stallion had used it earlier to heal his wounds. The same should work for you, right? Although, you’ve already been injected with the substance once tonight. There isn’t some negative effect from overdosing, is there? The last thing you need is to get horrible sick while in the middle of this horror-filled city. You debate silently with yourself for a moment before a sudden flare of pain lances up your side.

Screw it. You just finished saying that you need all the help you can get.

Turning the device in your magic, you take a second to steel yourself before sticking the needle into your barrel and pulling the trigger. Immediately a cold sensation spreads throughout your body from where you injected yourself. You can’t help but shiver as you feel your body begin to heal; your flesh mending itself and your rib shifting back into place. Even the swelling in your face goes down.

Within a few seconds your injuries, while not completely healed, are nothing more than minor scrapes and scratches. You put weight on your leg and only a dull pain comes from your shoulder; the stab wound nothing more than a bruise now.

By the Maker, this stuff is amazing!

Pulling the needle free, you watch in wonder as the empty vial is suddenly ejected from the device. A faint whirring noise can be heard and a full vial suddenly replaces the first.

Wat?

You study the device again and this time see a small latch on the side of it. Flipping it open, you discover a small storage space that looks like it could hold five of the vials. There’s another one on the other side, indicating that the device can hold up to ten vials at a time. However, there are only two present at the moment. Better save them as a last resort. Closing up the device again, you slip it in between the sash and your barrel.

With that, you continue up the stairs.

At the top, you glance down into the cemetery as you walk along the walkway to the gate. You look at all the bodies down below, all the death and blood. This is supposed to be a place of mourning and remembrance, and instead it has become a battlefield of bloodshed. How many more, you wonder. How many more lives have been lost within this city? How many have died this night already?

And how many more must die?

As you reach the gate, a splash of color catches your eye. There, in front of the gate and lying in a pool of blood, is the body of a pegasus mare. You have to tell her gender by the shape of her body, as her head is currently missing. Her coat is an almost obnoxiously pink color, though the tips of her feathers are tinted purple. You can’t see her cutie mark, as it is hidden beneath a layer of blood.

You give the body only a passing glance before stepping over it and through the gate. There’s an alleyway on the other side which only leads to a small building. Coffins line the walls of the alley, some of the broken open while others are chained shut. You walk past all of them before entering the building.

The cloth around your hooves instantly get soaked as you find yourself standing in a few inches of water. The building—which appears to be storage for the cemetery caretakers, is filled with sacks and barrels. The entire one-roomed structure is flooded, although you can not tell where the water’s coming from. A ladder at the far end of the room leads up to a hole in the roof, and you make your ways towards it.

The ladder leads up to the second floor of the structure, which turns out to be a smallish office-like room. Bookshelves line the walls, and two rectangular tables take up most of the room. Books, papers, and scrolls litter the floors and tables. There’s an archway at the far end of the room with a spiral staircase beyond leading further upward, so that’s where you head.

—Canterlot Ward—

At the top of the stairs is a pair of ornate double doors. There appears to be no locking mechanism, so you put your shoulder against them and push. Slowly, with a groan, they swing open revealing a large room on the other side. The ceiling stretches high above, nearly five stories high. Torn banners and trappings hang from the wooden lofts. Massive windows line the opposite wall, many of them stained glass. An ornate chandelier hangs from the ceiling. It swings ominously despite the fact there is no wind. Gargoyles line middle of the walls, with statues present further, hidden within small alcoves that run around the perimeter of the room. Dozens of lit pots of incense are scattered around the floor.

And there, in the center of the room where it had no earthly business being, is another small lamppost.

You stare at it for a few seconds before walking forward. As you draw near, four small albino dragons emerge from the mist around the base of the post. One lights the lantern, casting a soft blue light around the surrounding area. With that, they clasp their claws and gaze up at the lantern.

Stopping in front of the lamp, you eyeing it blankly. Will this one take you back to that weird garden as well? Actually, that might not be a bad idea. You might be able to find some more supplies there that can help you.

The dragons seem to get more excited as you kneel down beside them. Ignoring them, you reach out and touch the glass of the lantern. As you do so, the mist around the lamp flares up, and in a burst of light, you’re gone.

—Bearer’s Dream—

As the mist clears, you find yourself standing in the garden again. You’re on the dirt-and-stone path that leads up to the building on the hill. A gentle breeze still blows through the flowers, causing them to sway back and forth. The abnormally large moon still looms low in the sky.

Nopony appears to have shown up in your absence, so you guess you’re still on your own. Maybe you’ll try the building again; see if you can’t get the door open. There’s probably something inside that you can use. Deciding that you like that course of action, you start towards the foot of the steps, only to pause.

The doll is no longer present.

The ledge on which it had originally rested is now empty save for the lantern, which is still glowing a soft yellow. The doll, along with your contract and the note, are gone though. Did somepony come along and move them? Are they still here? Why would…?

You freeze, your body stiffening as the sound of hoofsteps suddenly comes from behind you. Before you have a chance to turn around, a soft voice speaks up.

“Hello, good Bearer…”