Prologue

The leaves of trees around me rustled against a moderate wind as the land began to dim. The sky was in an orange haze, and the sun remained to be seen from the clearing I stood in, as the forest stood in the way.

The beautiful things were always the most dangerous...

Birds went without songs. Crickets ceased their chirps. No animals wandered the forest. No twigs snapped under the steps of another.

There was a time long ago where silent forests resembled danger. While it was still the case, silence was the lesser of two evils. Sound was to be feared.

I worked the three, dark grey claws of my left forehoof around the grip of my crossbow as I quietly stepped up onto the porch of the old house I had found sitting out here in the woodwork. I had circled the area entirely, and I saw no signs of anyone residing in the area.

Night approached...

Whether someone was inside or not, it was them or me, and I chose me...

I rammed my shoulder against the front door, forcing my way into a living room covered in a thick layer of dust and decay. The smell was rancid; mixed with rot and a phantom mustiness.

Instantly, I aimed my crossbow ahead of me, waving it around the room as I optically scanned the area.

There were no rushed movements or panicked stomps against creaky floorboards, rushing to defend their shelter.

Just pure still silence...

I stepped in as a grey aura enveloped my horn moments before wrapping around the nail-embedded 2x4 attached to the makeshift holster I wore on my side. I swung it out, wincing as my magic flickered from the sudden movement.

Hastily, I lowered my head and closed my eyes, filling my world with darkness as I focused all my willpower on not dropping my weapon.

The mental strain developed mild headaches, but after some recollection, my eyes opened as my magic stabilized itself. I lifted my head, looking at the 2x4 levitating beside me to find it went without any sudden drops.

I closed my mouth and breathed in through my nostrils, before looking to my left, toward an open doorway of what appeared to be a bedroom at one time, judging by the old, torn mattress I caught a glimpse of.

I stepped toward it, and along the way, several floorboards groaned underneath my weight.

I swung the 2x4 around, ready to strike anything that may have heard me. My crossbow remained aiming forward.

Hastily, I rushed in, ready to swing or shoot, depending on how close my potential target may have been.

But instead, I was greeted with a room devoid of life. The stench of death grew stronger in here.

There was a dresser pressed up against one of the windows, which had been boarded up by the previous tenant. The bed wasn't in the best condition, but it would have to do.

My attention turned to the closet door that remained shut. Some of the blinds had fallen apart as the years went by, granting me a hint of a silhouette within.

Cautiously, I stepped forward, pulling my 2x4 back, ready for a downward swing once those doors opened.

As I got closer to the doors however, the stench grew stronger still. A smell I was used to at this point...

My eyes began to focus through a gap in the blinds, figuring a still, slender shape...

"Ah..." I muttered under my breath, casting my eyes down as I sighed. "I see..."

I lowered both of my weapons and swung the doors open, revealing to me in its entirety, the corpse of a mare, strung up by the neck from a belt. Hardly any meat remained of her, and her hide had deteriorated enough that I could see parts of her bone structure.

I looked up at her, knitting my brows. Her eyes, now black pits, stared down at me from where she remained. Her horn was burnt like mine. Her coat was a dull purple, and her mane - or what was left of it - was a mixture of pink and a darker shade of her coat.

I cast my eyes below her rear hooves that dangled about a foot off the ground, next to kicked over stool, discovering a tattered piece of paper.

Glancing up at her for a brief second, I ducked down and picked it up with my claws, before turning around and studying the distressed scribblings of emotions.

These are my final thoughts. If the party for which this is intended by some off chance reads this... I'm so sorry, Fluttershy. I know Tartarus awaits me now for the actions I have made. I know this isn't how you would want to see me, but I can't live with this... I messed up...

Applejack... her screaming... I tried so hard to save her, but my magic... It stopped working. I can't get her screaming out of my head.

I don't know where the others are. I haven't had any contact with the outside world, if that even exists anymore... It's like everypony just disappeared...

Tartarus awaits me for my sins. May it be merciful... though I do not deserve it...

I should have listened to you...

Goodbye...

My eyes lingered on that final word...

Goodbye...

It was like looking into a mirror... The only one to hear the goodbye was the one to voice it...

"You and me both..." I whispered as I dropped the note on the floor.

I knew not of who these ponies were, and I had no interest in finding out. It wasn't important. The only thing that mattered now was survival.

I readied my weapons once more as I proceeded to search the rest of the house and make sure everything was clear.

The bathroom housed a generator with enough fuel that would last me about a quarter of the night. I wasn't worried, though. I carried a gas can with me for such occasions.

The kitchen housed a stove with the proper compounds that burnt essence, though it remained unlit. Beside that was a lamp.

It was no surprise to me that I wasn't the first person to discover this place. The mare in the closet would have had to off herself around the time the Everfree took over, considering the state of her deterioration.

Someone else paid a visit in order for an essence cook set up to be here, since it hadn't been discovered around the time of the disaster. It was astonishing that anyone was left alive in the time it took for the essence to be discovered. The shadows weren't able to take all of us in the time they had, it seemed.

A series of metal venting pipes protruded from the oven, before dispersing to different areas of the house along the ceiling.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the windows remained boarded up, and that the only way in, apart from brute force, was the front door.

The alarm tucked away in the chest pocket of my trench coat beeped continuously. With the desire for silence, I raced to turn it off, tracing my claws around its blocky structure through the fabric of my apparel, until I found the switch at the top that I had sought.

After a moment of silence, keeping my ear open for anything that could be approaching to investigate, I let out a sigh of relief with the knowledge that nothing was coming. No twigs snapped, no steps, no wooden floorboards creaking within or without of the structure... No screams of the lost, or the monsters that lived in the forest...

I reached into my saddle bags, muttering to myself. "One hour left..." I pulled a carton of matches out.

After lighting the oven, I went back for the bathroom. As I approached the generator, I pulled the gas can from the pouch I had made for it on the opposite side of where I stored my 2x4.

The fill line along the side of the transparent housing was of great help in preserving the fuel I had. I wasn't sticking around for long, so I needed as much as I could save.

I put just enough in to last me the night. Give or take, a few extra minutes.

By the conclusion of my preparation for the darkness, I set up one of the spare bear traps I had made the night prior, at the front door.

The lamp came with me to the bedroom, as that was going to be where I held my defense.

I covered the two windows with black sheeting to prevent the lamp light from being seen from the outside, through the gaps of the planks that helped fortify my position.

Upon sitting on the edge of the evidently squeaky bed, I closed my eyes and let out a satisfied exhale from the relief to my sore haunches.

After giving a moment to myself, I took my saddle bags off, before pulling a ham radio out of one of the pouches. I flicked the switch on, and as the dim amber glow enveloped around the rustic red needle of the dial, I lifted the accompanying mic to my lips.

The needle pointed at the right channel that we had agreed upon in previous conversations. 80.

I pressed the button down before the mic, before speaking in a normal volume.

Heh... normal... as if such a concept existed anymore...

"It's me... Freeseas... I'm hunkered down in some old house for the night." I paused as I turned and looked at the corpse in the closet, watching me... "How..." I shook my head and focused back on the radio. "How is everyone? How's Stargaze holding up?" I bit my lip as dread grew in my chest, morphing into a storm of emotions. Anger, doubt, depression, sadness... fear... "I mean... can you even hear me? Am I talking to ghosts? Are you still alive?" My voice started to raise for a moment, but I stopped myself before it escalated any further. I took a deep breath in attempts to collect myself. "Stay safe... and keep Stargaze safe, but don't sacrifice your life for her..." I let go of the button, letting static emit from the receiver for some time. Hoping I'd get a response from them... Hoping...

...

... But after several minutes, I was still left with white noise.

I hung my head down as I held the button down again.

"I'll try again, same time tomorrow..."

And with that, I shut the radio down, to once again be surrounded by silence.

I tucked it back into my saddle bags, before hopping off the bed and landing on my hooves, walking across the house to turn on the generator. I was going to save the looting for tomorrow, before I left.

Upon sitting back down in a lamp-lit room, I turned my head, regarding the corpse in the closet. She reminded me of just how alone I truly was out here... She reminded me of death. What they could have been...

I was almost tempted to have a conversation with the deceased mare staring down at me, because of the realization that I was alone. I would have done almost anything to not feel alone...

My mouth opened.

"Who...?"

...

That was all I could get out...

I stared for... I don't know how long. Studying her decayed form. Almost hoping she'd say something back... Anything.

Crazy ponies spoke to the dead, though. I was not going to give in to the Everfree's way. I was not crazy...

I turned my head away as I worked on stripping myself of my jacket after removing the saddle bags. I draped it over my body, up to my neck as I rested my back against the mattress. Both my 2x4 and crossbow stayed within arm's reach of me.

The moment I laid down, I had already felt myself drifting away into the realm of sleep...

An air raid siren blared all around me, at ear deafening levels. My eyes shot open wide as fear drove a bullet to my rapidly beating heart.

And there I stood...

Back in Canterlot...

Ponies cried and ran all in one direction, towards the castle as pegasi flew overhead in formation, alongside an armada of zeppelins that bore Celestia's sigil of a blazing sun along their sides with pride. A phoenix extended their wings in the center.

They all flew away from her castle, towards the outskirts of the city.

The voice of a stallion emanated through the speaker system of one of the zeppelins as it passed by. Explosions roared in the distance as heat grew in the air. The scent of ash filled my nostrils as smoke rose up to the stormy heavens.

"This is an Apollyon threat level announcement. Vacate to the nearest bunker immediately. If you cannot reach a bunker, seek shelter in alternative underground solutions and keep a radio on you. Check your radio once every six hours. Preserve your battery life. Maintain your food and water supply. Do not, for any reason, go outside."

The operation of heavy treads squeaked as diesel engines rumbled. The ground shook as two lines of Solarflare tanks rolled on down through the Canterlot streets, toward the entrance of the city... Straight for the front lines...

Soldiers of the Solar Syndicate sat along the sides of these tanks, watching as the civilian lives fled for the safety of bunkers.

"Do not interfere with military operations." The stallion over the speaker proceeded to say. "Looters will be shot on sight."

I looked back to the skies as the stallion repeated the instructions, and at that exact moment, did the hatch doors descend and split apart along the middle of each zeppelin.

Seconds passed, before bulky steel shells rained down on the surface in the distance. A blazing inferno reached up for the skies; its roar mixing in with the air raid sirens, the screams of terror, the rumble of engines, and the instructions that were spoken through the intercom, which were now incomprehensive.

I shot up, gasping as I looked around frantically in the bedroom I awoke back in.

"Fuck!" I hissed under my breath as thunder roared outside in a moment's notice. A heavy rain pattered against the roof of the house.

I put my clawed hoof over my chest, feeling as my heart pounded aggressively from the loud noise mixed with the nightmare... from the memory... which was ripped out of the dreamscape and thrown into this world in the form of a thunderstorm.

The day Equestria was lost.

The house rattled as lightning struck, and thunder shook.

I collapsed back on the bed, sighing as I looked up at the ceiling.

Well, I wasn't getting anymore sleep tonight...

But at least any sound that occurred within the house was drowned out by the storm...

A rhythmic stomping soon shook the ground as it started to pass by. With each thud, the furniture jumped a bit.

I stayed silent as wood creaked and groaned on the other side of the wall with a heavy breathing, right outside the house. A deep, distorted, guttural growl bellowed out from it, as if its heavy, earth shaking steps didn't already imply it was big.

Thunder cloaked sounds I would have made here, but I didn't favor even the smallest percent chance of alerting a crag wolf behemoth of my presence.

I listened as its steps faded with each stomp, until the thunder and rain overtook it.

By morning, I sat on the top step of the front porch. The storm had passed with the night.

An empty can of Granny Smith's Apple Slices sat next to me. Having a can of these every morning was about the only thing I looked forward to in the day. I was lucky to have stumbled upon a truck shipment of the stuff last month, in a ditch.

The night was uneventful, save for the crag wolf that passed by, and a few savages in the area. But nothing set off the bear trap I left at the front door, which meant that nothing got in.

I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a match I took from the carton before stepping outside, along with a pack of cigarettes and a polaroid photo, ready to start my daily routine before taking the rest of the day on.

I lit the end of a cigarette after sticking it between my lips and pulling on it as I flipped the photo of better days around.

I sat in the middle of the group portrait, clean and well groomed, at a dining table, smiling back at my present self.

Steel grey coat, purple eyes, white, medium length mane and tail with blue at the bangs. My horn poked out from my head, standing tall. No scars, mutations, or fears that seemed to matter anymore...

I was unmolested... normal... a pony. Not this thing I was becoming now.

I was happy back then. I had a good life, before the Everfree took it all away.

I was surrounded by friends.

Friends...

My crew... they weren't just friends. They were family.

I had to keep hope that I'd see them again. I couldn't let that go... Losing hope meant defeat...

"New meat?" A deep voice spoke from the tree line ahead of me, causing me to jump to my hooves and raise my crossbow up to where I thought I heard it. The voice chuckled. "Relax... I'm not here to hurt you."

"W..." I looked around frantically, trying to catch a sight of whoever it was that was talking. "Where are you?"

My eyes deceived me as a figure stepped out from the darkness of the tree's shadows. About as large as an alicorn, if not larger, was a changeling. He grinned, revealing to me two rows of sharp teeth. His body was made up of a thick, scratched up carapace, and a purple glow emanated from ten dots that formed a zig zag motion in two sets of five; one set on either side of his face.

His muzzle was thick and stretched out, but not quite like an alicorn's. This seemed more... reptilian, in nature. His pointy ears were folded back, looking almost like horns. His unicorn horn was serrated and curved back slightly, and his tail was thick and made up of a more flexible material that was unknown to me.

"Put your weapon down, or this'll go another way." He declared, stepping forward slowly.

"What do you want?" I asked as I lowered it halfway, but keeping my guard up, nonetheless.

"That's a good question." He replied as he came to a stop a few feet away from me. "But there's too many answers to that question." He nodded to the door, before focusing back on me. "I take it you saw the mare in the closet?"

Hesitantly, I nodded, not taking my eyes off him. "What of it?"

His smile widened. "You stumbled over a gold mine, Meat." He took a few more steps forward, before coming to a stop at the bottom step. We were eye level with each other. "Listen closely..." He spoke softer as he looked up at the sky, still grinning as a deep growl purred under his breath, which reeked of rotted flesh. "Do you hear the Apollyon sirens sing to us of salvation?" He paused for a moment, stuck in place as he stared up at the morning skies, before the light in his eyes dimmed to nothing, as if basking in the cold morning air.

I heard nothing but the wind dance around the leaves of trees and branches. There were no sirens.

"Listen, Meat..." He continued, as if he sensed that I heard not of what he spoke. "Their voice... is it not enticing?" He looked back down at me as the glow in his eyes grew again, and his lips finally made contact with each other. Two fangs stuck out just slightly from his mouth from the top rows of teeth on either corner of his lips. "They call to us, they want us to come... But it can't be done alone." He glanced down at the photo, just before I stuffed it back in my jacket pocket. His smile grew again as he looked back up into my eyes. "You seek someone." He stated matter of factly.

"It's not your business." I replied with a glare.

He chuckled. "Oh, but that's where you're mistaken. See, I'm all about business... So... Let's bargain." He sat down on his haunches before me. "Your friends. Where were their last whereabouts?"

I stayed silent as my eyes stayed fixated on the glowing dots that resembled his eyes.

"Ah, come now..." He smirked. "Let's help each other out. We're both after something."

"Not around here." I replied quickly. I wasn't comfortable giving away their direct location. "Somewhere else. Far."

His smile brightened. "Well, then... Perhaps we're after the same treasure. Granted, for different rewards."

I raised a brow, but remained quiet, all the same.

He took a deep breath, before standing back up and turning around. "You'll find me five miles east of here. We can discuss more there. And..." He paused as he looked over his shoulder at me. "Do come prepared. The forest between carries the heavy dark. We wouldn't want you to wind up like the last candidate for this promising treasure..."

"And if I choose to go a different way?" I asked.

He scoffed, though I heard a faint snarl behind it. "Then that is your choice, Meat... But ask yourself... Why would you pass up your best opportunity to leave this place? That is what you seek, yes...?"

My silence answered his question. He knew it...

With that, he turned back to the tree line that he first emerged from as he walked away. "See you on the other side, then..."

Author's Note

I'm glad to have started this project. I had gotten into Darkwood last year, and I was deeply inspired by the atmosphere and story of that game. I wanted to add to that. Consider this prologue a pilot chapter of what's to come. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.