A soft “phsh” resounded from each of my steps as they impacted the ash-covered ground, breaking the silence. Every few seconds the wind would pick up too, sending a cloud of grey smudge into the air; but otherwise, my soft hooffalls were the only thing I could hear as I trudged across the barren wasteland.

It’s been… actually, I’ve forgotten exactly how long it’s been since I left the tower. I had stopped counting past five minutes, mostly because the wind picked up, and a cloud of ash blew in my face. So instead, I focused my attention on making sure I didn’t trip on anything… again. I had long since lost sight of the tower. It had slowly sunk over the horizon behind me until disappearing entirely. Now, in every direction I look there’s nothing but ash, ash, and more goddamn grey ash. The sky is no different either: clouds just as grey as the landscape completely block out the sun.

I climbed up another dune, only to stop at the top. I almost fell forward down another steep slope and into some sort of valley area. It was, of course, just like everywhere else, entirely featureless.

Out of the corner of my eye though, I spotted something rising out of the ash, off in the distance in… whatever direction I was going. I continued walking, and slowly the structures came into view. Half-buried in the ground were grey stone walls, rising eerily above the ash covered landscape, complete with a familiar gatehouse, and several rounded towers.

Kislev, capital of the duchy of Kislev, and the namesake of the region.

I can still remember back when I was sixteen, and it was nothing more than a recently settled hamlet. I was there with my old mercenary company, escorting would-be settlers to the newly discovered region. They had a little council on what they were going to name their new home, but every name they came up with was just a stupid pun of cities back on earth, just like literally every other city in Equestria. Like the “greatly” inspired name of Staliongrad… Eeeeugh…

I, being there of my own volition… and because I helped with construction around the village, along with other things, could not let that happen. And so, after about five seconds of failing to think up anything original, I went with the first thing that popped into my head. Regardless of it being ripped straight from Warhammer fantasy, they seem to like it, and thus it was called so. I came back several times afterwards, whether it be for dealing with bandits, animal infestations, designing and constructing functional walls…

…

It was… strange. Seeing it again; the city I had helped build reduced to ruins, its walls the only thing left standing. It… made me think. Its fate might’ve been sealed back before I… died, but there were other villages surrounding Kislev, all ranging from small towns to hamlets. What happened to them? Did they get evacuated or… or were they…

…

I… don’t want to think about it…

I eventually left my little spot on the hill, broken out of my nostalgia and could-have-been’s by the sudden darkening of the sky. While a part of me wanted to stay a bit longer, I didn’t have any desire to fumble around in the dark, especially here.

Which of course, leads me to now.

How is there more ash? I’ve been walking for what, Two hours, Three? Did the entire southern half of the continent spontaneously combust?

I was still walking, having apparently made no visible progress according to the stagnant wasteland around me. The sky had switch over to “night mode” making it almost impossible to see anything beyond five feet in front of me. The normally starry night had been concealed by clouds, rendering everything pitch black, so it wasn’t much help either. I had tried lighting up my horn so that at least I could see where I was going. But apparently my magic was still down for maintenance…

My magic should have recharged at least in some degree by now. Is something blocking it or… where is-

My hoof hit… something causing me to stumble forward, thus causing me to wave my arms around in the dark until I regained my balance.

…And of course, I still can’t see where I’m going… hell, am I even heading in the right direction?

I stopped for a second. And after slinging my pack onto the ground, I reached into my makeshift backpack for the piece of my staff, and by “reached” I mean I awkwardly felt around for it.

Come on where is- ah, there it is.

I pulled the piece out, or, at least something that felt like the stick, and focused on it yet again. And I yet again felt a light pull from the direction I was heading in. I stored it in my pack and continued on.

Of course, now the only thing I have to worry about is accidentally falling into a ravine or-

My leg got caught on something, causing me to stumble, again.

Oh, for the love of…

I put my hands on my knees, and stood back up.

Damnit, can I at least go five minutes without… huh?

I saw something off in the distance, something… yellow, and glowing. Something that distinctly looked like a campfire, illuminating things that distinctly looked like trees…

Fricken Finally!

I rushed towards the new fiery light. But then, I slowed down my pace.

Wait, that means…

Campfires meant people, and people tend to want to either run away from, and/or destroy undead like...what I am now. I could probably disguise myself with the robes I found earlier… but I don’t know how much that will help…

Well… it’s worth a try at least.

I stopped and pulled the black robes out of my backpack, and proceeded to slip them on. While the robes were clearly made for someone much larger than me, the loose cloth just hung off of my shoulder pads, allowing the rest of the robe to fit snugly on my armored form. The… flowing length of the robe, goes all the way down past my ankles, hovering just barely a couple inches off of the ground. The sleeves, while a little bulky, cover me to my wrists, where each end with an embroidered cuff. The whole ensemble would be enough to cover most of my body; well, except for my hands. But… I still wasn’t very confident. I looked utterly conspicuous in my all black, masked attire. But, it was the only option…

Okay so… either I can stay out here, stumbling around in the dark like an idiot… or, I can hope that whoever set up that fire doesn’t immediately figure out that I’m a ghoul…

…

Welp… Social activity ahoy…

I resumed my fast pace, stumbling a few times along the way. Several trees passed my vision as I closed in on the campfire. With grass under my hooves, replacing the barren ground I had trudged across earlier on, it was a relief to finally be out of the ash desert. My eyes would certainly be spared staring at a constant greyscale…

I slowed down to a walk as I came within ear-shot of the small clearing, and I could hear the crackling of wood in the fire, along with what sounded like shuffling… I shifted and moved around amongst the trees to get a better position on the campfire, ducking into a bush, all the while being careful to make as little sound as possible. I finally got sight of exactly who set up the joint in the first place…

A young mare, at least telling by her rather… generous assets, well, “generous” by human standards, around… roughly twenty-five years old? give or take, was sitting down near the campfire, poking at it with a stick. I can’t see a horn, or wings, although the latter would be concealed by her clothes. Her mane and fur colours fall in line with what you would normally expect from ponies, vibrant red… hair covering her face and body, along with a deep blue mane, both being bright, and vibrant. She’s wearing… “basic” clothes; a brown shirt, pants, and boots, along with a cloak and hood ensemble hiding most of her face from view. A… shortbow, is strapped onto her back, along with small quiver to go with it, a well-stocked quiver at that. There was also some sort of… house wagon thing behind her… that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen before a long time ago... probably on TV or something, but I honestly can’t remember when.

I ducked back into the bush.

Okay… so how do I go about this…

I needed to plan my course of action carefully. I mean, I couldn’t just barge into the camp; how would that look?

Yeah, a walking horror cliché bounding into her camp in the middle of the night, that’s totally going to put her in a friendly mood… and get me an arrow to the face. Speaking of which, any attempt at diplomacy would hinge on her being the “friendly” sort to begin with…

…

Well… she seems to be out here alone, that would increase my chances of not getting robbed, if that’s why she’s out here… assuming of course that she doesn’t just shoot me immediately on sight regardless of what I do…

I looked down at my hand.

…and looking like I do now, that wouldn’t be far out of imagination.

I looked back up. The night sky was still almost completely black, though now the dark clouds had parted enough for the yellowish moon to just barely shine through.

It’ll be best if I can get her attention before she sees me… maybe I can play the “I’m lost” card. Maybe even pose as a traveling salesman or something. The chances of her being a bandit are… reasonably high, but the robes should be enough to at least let me get some words in, as long as I don’t show her my hands. After that… I’ll… I’ll improvise?

It wasn’t the best plan, but it’d have to do. I readied myself to stand up and announce my presence to… hopefully not a bandit.

Okay… on the count of three...

One…

Two…

…

Actually, you know what? This is a really bad idea. I’m just going to keep walking, I’ll eventually find a village or something and I can ask for directions there. Maybe, I don’t know…

I backed away and stepped out of the bush.

There’ll be other opportunities for me to-

*snap*

I looked down towards the source of the sound.

…

A stick, I had stepped on a stick. I could hear her getting up behind me.

Shit.

“Who’s there?!”

Uhhhh, shit, shit, shit, what do I do?

I stood completely still… maybe she won’t see me if I-

“I can see you back there! Come out with your hands up!”

Shit… okay, time to go through with the plan A after all…

I turned around, hands raised to the sides so that the sleeves cover them from view, and slowly walked into the camp, making sure to make no sudden movements. She was standing four meters away from me, staring at me angrily, and with confusion. With her bow drawn and an arrow trained at my head.

Now that I could get a better look at her, I was about right with my assumption about her age. She was also shorter than me, by several inches at least.

Okay, I’m a traveling salespony, I’ve just came trudging out of the ash, and I’m looking for directions… all right, let’s do this.

I opened my mouth, I wanted to tell her that I was lost, that I didn’t want to hurt her. But, instead of apologizing for startling her, and allaying any of her fears, what came out of my mouth was…

“Eeuraaarrrr”

…less than helpful.

W-what?

I stood there, stunned, I had expected my voice to sound raspy but-

I only had enough time to hear a short “twang” before an arrow impacted my chest, splitting when it hit my armor underneath. While it didn’t pierce through, the force behind it was enough to cause me to stagger. I backpedaled, in shock… only, one of my hooves to get caught on something. I lost my balance and tripped backwards, landing on top of my backpack, surprisingly painlessly… The flimsy and poorly done up piece of leather holding it together promptly came undone, causing all my stuff to spill out.

Oh, are you kidding me-

I couldn’t run and leave my record player or anything else behind, all of it’s too important. I look up from the ground back at the mare, only to see that she’s already nocked another arrow.

Instincts take over as I roll out of the way of the incoming projectile. It flies past my head, embedding itself where I had been, just a second earlier. I got up on one knee, and used my hands to push off the ground. I was more than a little stiff, most of it probably due to the marathon I had walked earlier. But I stood up despite it, never taking my eyes off of my assailant, leaving me to quickly think up a plan.

Alright… close the distance, disarm her, and-

She reaches back into her quiver, again.

Shit.

I rush her, closing the distance as fast as I can. I grab the bottom of the bow, jamming it upwards as she was just about to shoot me point blank, sending an arrow flying off into who knows where with a “twing”. I pulled the bottom of the bow with all my might, and so did she.

Come on, you little...

I give her a knee to the stomach, causing her to let go of the bow and stumble backwards, ending our grappling stalemate. I toss the bow off to the side, and cautiously approach her, hands raised in the closest thing I can do to a placating gesture.

She looks at me, panic flashes across her face.

Okay, easy there, easy-

Then of course, it dawns on me what I had just done. She quickly reaches under her cloak, and-

I jump backwards as she suddenly whips out a dagger from somewhere under her cloak. I barely manage to step out of the way before I see the metal blade flash across my vision, missing my head, but slashing the front of my mask.

Okay, Diplomacy is not working.

She starts wildly flailing in my direction, forcing me to backpedal and desperately try to evade her frantic swings.

I can’t- keep on-… wait- maybe if I-

For a split second I look over my shoulder. My stuff is scattered on the ground, but laying, there glittering from light from the fire, is Gladiator.

I quickly turn back, looking forwards, barely dodging out of the way of another swing, and the tip of the dirk ends up nicking the bulky cloth sleeve on my left arm. Seizing upon the momentary pause after her swing, I turn and run, with her charging after me. I slide into the ground near my pack and wrap my right hand around Gladiator’s hilt, fumbling with it for a second in my attempt to firmly grasp it.

“RRRRRAAHHH”

I look backwards, blade in hand. The mare is almost upon me, dagger held above her head. Thinking quickly, I spring around. She plunges the blade towards my neck, and I parry; the cross guard of my sword catching the middle of the blade. Surprise breaks out on her face.

Gotcha…

I lunge off the ground, towards her, knocking her off her feet, and thankfully, knocking the dagger out of her grip. We both tumble back down to the ground, with me on top of her. Almost without thinking, I grip my sword and position it above her chest. Even though I knocked the wind out of her, she reacts immediately, grabbing onto my hands and trying to wrest Gladiator from my grasp, making me use all my strength to push her back. She starts to try and kick me, frantically thrashing and kneeing my sides, trying to throw me off. None of which blows actually hurt…

I hold firm, her breath begins to grow heavy, gasping for air. Her face scrunches up in exertion. She stops thrashing all together. Then, her hands begin to give way.

A moment of shock plays out on her face. Then, she looks up at me in absolute terror, tears forming in the corner of her eye’s.

“No, no, please no-”

Another inch…

“No, no, no no…”

Come… on…

The shattered tip was just touching her shirt. She scrunched up her eyes.

“No… please…”

Almost…

“Please… no, no-! “

Her hands give way completely.

She lets out something akin to a blood-curdling scream as… what’s left of my sword, pierces through into her chest, causing me to recoil a little as my ears are assaulted by her high-pitched wailing. She renews her thrashing, weakly trying to twist out from under me, eye’s wide open and moving frantically. I yank Gladiator back up, and plunge my blade back downwards, this time aiming for her neck.

“-AHHHHHgrk…”

Her throat starts to gurgle, drowning her screams as blood oozes out from around my sword.

Her thrashing begins to die down, her eyes stop moving, and simply stare forwards. The sounds coming from her throat faded, until the crackling of the fire was the only thing I could hear…

…

I rolled off of her, and got back up on my hooves.

Well… that was an ordeal.

I looked back down, where she was limp on the ground, blood pooling under her neck. It’d be safe to assume she’s dead, or, at least, close to it…

Well, wrong place wrong time, I guess…

...

…

…

Something’s… wrong…

I felt… fine. Confused, but fine… but it wasn’t what I felt that was giving me pause, it was what I wasn’t feeling.

Guilt.

I felt nothing, not even a little twinge. Normally by now I’d at least feel something. Some form of Remorse, or even a little self-hatred… I shouldn’t be this calm… or okay, or… anything.

I look down at my hands, droplets of blood dripping were through between my fingers. Some were soaking into my dry skin, staining it a dark red.

I shouldn’t be this…

…

Emotionless…

Suddenly, a thought struck me.

…

What if I can’t…

…

I tried… a test, to see if I was right. I thought back to all the times I talked with Starswirl, how he almost always talked down to me… Nothing, I thought back to his betrayal, how angry I was and… nothing…

This isn’t… this doesn’t…

I can remember… feeling it, but…

I thought back all the way to when I was a foal, meeting up with Sunny back after-

…

Nothing, I feel nothing…

I… suppose it makes sense. Well, at least scientifically. Emotions are caused by chemicals, cocktails of different compounds that are released into the bloodstream. Of course, me not having a bloodstream, since I’m… undead, would probably prevent me from feeling anything… if the organs that release said chemicals were actually working in the first place…

But… that means…

Back when I was… still alive, and the tower was being sieged by the Equestrian army, we were running out of food and water, quickly. Something had to be done, or we’d all start starving, which of course was exactly what they wanted. With no other option, and dwindling rations, we all agreed that some of us would have to become ghouls, to conserve what we had left. But, I thought they were just being… defeatist or something… Did I really take away their…?

…

That’s… bad...

…

I look back up. I was still confused, befuddled, but I couldn’t do anything to help it. The implications were clear, but…

I gave my head a little shake.

No, I shouldn’t get caught up in things I can’t change...

My eyes slowly drifted back to the mare, by now most definitely deceased. I couldn’t just leave her body to rot… could I?

I shouldn’t…

My eyes changed targets, switching over to her… wagon house…

Well, I should probably check in there regardless, she might have a shovel or something. I need to take everything I can get…

I started walking over to it, catching a glimpse of her body as I walk past it.

… it’s not like she’s going to need any of it anymore…

Author's Note

Welp, another chapter down, only... I don't know how many to go. Time to go through it all again, I guess.

On a side note, I can post a picture of what our dear hero's mask actually looks like, if anyone's interested. I'll just have to drum it up from my steam screenshots.

Anyways, cheers!

Edit: Welp, here it is. I know its not really the best angle and everything but I'd need to do a full new playthrough in order to get a better one, sorry.

(Also, kudos to whoever can guess where its from )