Kure

The clock stoke 12, midnight. It stuck 12 times. That was odd though, it hadn't ticked at all or anything before and than bang…! Its working again.

Hell didn't know what to do apart from possibly sleep. But she couldn't. she knew only too well that she couldn't. she raised herself. She looked around to find something to do to take up her time. She turned around in a half circle than headed for the door. She couldn't hear the rain anymore so she suspected it had most likely stopped.

Reaching the door she unlocked it and pushed through. Well the rain had almost stopped but that didn't make any difference to the wind and dark grey skies. Hell raised her head like she had done the previous night when the rain had calmed a little. The moon was again full.

Hell's nostrils flared. There was a faint smell of smoke. She couldn't understand how that was possible though, what with all this rain. She blew out the terrible smell and opened her mouth to breath through it instead. There was a small tingle in her hide and it got stronger and more painful with each second til finally she yelped and bolted for the rain.

She gritted her teeth and looked back at where she was standing. Nopony was there and the pain wasn't exactly subsiding. She looked down at her flank. Her cutie mark which was on her left flank was glowing a deadly and bloody red. Steam wavered up from it whenever a rain droplet touched it. Without loosening her clenched jaw, Hell looked around for a bucked. No doubt it would be full of water. She looked all around her, left and right, up and down, round and round. Nothing. Really, nothing. She turned around once again. Her flank hadn't ceased in pain but it sure was getting on her nerves.

She began to walk away from Cleo's. She decided that the rain was light enough to begin her journey home, to the Apple Farm, hopefully Granny Smith was all right. Since Applejack left on some business trip Granny Smith has been taking care of her. Well, Hell was taking care of her. It didn't really matter though, apart from the fact that she would probably be frozen half to death. Hell cringed at the thought. She looked up and paused for a second. Somepony stood infront of her, she could barely make out their shape but she knew they were there. Hooded slim and probably tall.

Hell shook her head. No. it was just her mind playing tricks on her again, she was seeing things. Nothing's there she told herself and kept walking. After a few steps she hung her head low and dawdled. No more than 5 seconds after she put her head down she saw two hooves within her distance of sight which was based on all the mist and grey clouds. She looked up. The figure infront of her wasn't too tall. He was obviously male, hooded and slim. He was watching her through white pupil slits.

Suddenly he began to back up quickly. Her flank stopped burning. Many thoughts went through Hells mind till she remembered his eyes were slit. Her eyes grew wide and she too backed up but slightly. She shuddered and straitened herself. What was he? Who was he? Why was he there? Why did her flank start burning? Was she dreaming?

"Wh-who are you?" they both said and Hell shuddered.

There was a pause and Hell didn't intend on breaking it. Apparently neither did this strange hooded figure. For all Hell knew he could be a vampony, hell, with eyes like that, there was no doubt, but then again… if that were so, what about Hell… what was she? A freak. A pregnancy gone wrong. That's all. She breathed in through her mouth once more and stiffened her jaw than walked towards the figure. He backed up a couple wobbly steps than stayed put. At least until she reached him. All Hell managed to make out under the hood was a pony with white slit pupil, a black fringe that sat jus under his eyebrow and was basically a left side-fringe. And last, the two jaw dropping black horns that were identical to Hell's.

"I thought I was the only one" she whispered to herself after he once again stumbled backwards but this time he turned and took off away from her. Hell caught a glimpse of his cutie mark. A mechanical black and red heart with a blade through the centre of it and a vine that wraps around both the heart and the blade. It was very detailed for something that is supposed to be simply designed and placed on the pony's rump. But than again, hers isn't too simple either.

She stood there for about half an hour contemplating with herself weather he was real or she was hallucinating. She eventually just dismissed the idea and hung her head once again and continued on her way to the Apple Farms. She passed many gloomy houses and the bridge and the landscape slowly changed. It want from many houses, open grassy areas, and towny to very leafy, hilly, tree galore and rural.

A few stray apple trees past her and she knew that she would soon walk through the gates and be home. The clouds slowly began to lighten up as she walked.

Hell stopped and looked up, infront of her was the Ranch. She stood there for a couple minutes daydreaming and thinking about what poor old Granny Smith would say and do. She really couldn't afford making the old gal' rage. It just wasn't right. It was plain mean and cruel. Hell cocked her head, she had an idea. She looked around, perfect. Flowers flowed all around her. She hadn't noticed them before but now she had. And she had an idea that involved them. She bent down on her fore knees and began picking them. There weren't many but there were pink, yellow, purple and blue small flowers. Some looked like mini snap dragons.

She tugged on one of the purple ones. It didn't budge. Hell looked at it weirdly than gave it another tug. Still nothing. She brought her legs out infront of her and heaved on the flower. It stretched out like a slinky than flung back into place and deeper, pulling Hell down with it. The ground shook and all the leaves flew about. All of a sudden gravity was gone. Either that or Hell was falling.

She turned her body and looked to the sky. She was definitely falling. Leaves were falling into the ground with her. She was falling fast because now the whole from which she came through and the sunshine was coming through was now minute. Within seconds that too was gone. Hell continued to fall. Hell fell for about half an hour than decided she was bored. She didn't know that the earth was that hollow and deep but all she knew was she was bored. The flicker of fear that she felt during the first 30 seconds of falling was gone.

Hell poses as she falls, taking on every momentum and action she can, she thought of Pinkie Pie while she was doing it. The funny little pink mare would have done the same no doubt. About half an hour of that passed than she reeaaly got bored. She looked down. What the heck? She was going to fall straight into some glowing light thingy. Unless she is hallucinating again, it wouldn't be the first.

Hell tried running back up on the air, no luck. Maybe she couldn't fly because the area around her was too confined, oh wait, duh! She gave up trying to up and started to attempt to make her way across so she would miss the flashing light thingy. She didn't really want to touch it. Still no luck. She was headed straight for it and nothing was stopping her pathway down.

Her hind hooves were the first to touch the light. A tingling feeling shot through her body as it was soon engulfed too. Light went black and she must have passed out.

"Yo, tahme, tah wake up" a voice said.

"I think she's dead" said another one.

"Yo fool, yo're crazy, can't yah see she's a breathin'?" said the first voice.

:Er yeah but…"

Hell opened her eyes and the second pony that was talking stopped.

"Your right" he said bluntly and walked away.

Man Hell though, he didn't look too young or so good for that fact. She squinted, blinked again and looked around. She felt sore. She gagged. Her tongue was dry and so was her mouth. "Wha-what happened?" she managed to ask, closing her eyes firmly again.

"Well, ah was just mindin' meh own business in mah paddack when yo done come down outa nowhere with ah loud fump" said the pony that remained. He had a really bad accent. "Thah names Horde by dah way." He turned around, lowered his head and began nibbling at the grass.

Hell tried to stand, she felt her legs wobbly underneath her but they didn't quit on her. She stretched her wings fluttered them lightly to take the weight off her legs a little. "What are you doing?" Hell asked slowly with a careful eye.

The pony lifted his head,. "wha-da-yo-fink? Ah'ma grazin'n" than he dropped his head and continued 'grazin', what ever that was.

"Where am I?"

"Man what the hell-"

"How do you know my name?" Hell cut him off and stiffened. The pony looked at her in confusion. "Hell" she said "how did you know it?"

"A-Ah didn't" said Horde. His coat was a plain brown, nothing attractive to it and it was more like a door mat. So scruffy and un-kept. His mane was odd too. His legs sure didn't look like Hell's or operate like them. They were thin, lifeless, stiff, knobby from the joints and weird looking.

"Anyway" Horde said slowly, eying her, "yo're not from ere ahr yo, this is Earf. 'N' yah might wanna get used to it."

Hell stammered and stumbled. What? She could be on 'Earth', she had to be in Equestria. It just wasn't possible. Hell began to shiver violently. Sweat tricked down from her brow. How was she going to get back?

She could ask another question about what they had seen before or what would happen to her but she couldn't bring herself to say the words, let alone speak at the moment. Maybe Dizzy was playing a trick on her but if so, why did these ponies look weird?

Hell looked around. There were heaps of ponies all around her but they were separated by a fence. There was no houses and all the ponies looked the same, brown-coated. Some of them looked like they varied in size dramatically and the rest were about the same height as Horde. She looked back at the scruffy pony and noticed something else. His tail wasn't as thick and beautiful as most of the ponies in Equestria and his muzzle was longer. Almost like a snout except it didn't get thinner on the way to his nostrils, and his head was flat. Hell reached up and felt the dip in hers. Everypony has a dip, its why our eyes ar so large and beautiful Hell thought to herself. She looked down at Horde's disgusting tail again.

She gasped. No cutie mark. What type of a pony doesn't have a cutie mark? And another thing. What is this bug that keeps flying around Hell's head and making a buzzzzzing noise. Hell looked around for the creature responsible. She didn't see anything except the a tiny insect that looked slightly like the ones that Rarity, AJ, Rainbow, Twilight and Fluttershy had found at the edge of the Everfee that made the town as well as Equestria have to start all over again with their cropping. Except this one didn't have as large eyes, they were tiny, and so was the creature.

Hell shook her fingey-mane and looked over at Horde again. He was swishing his tail from side to side. Obviously trying to bat the creatures away. Hell watched closely. She couldn't do that. Apparently there was no reason to in Ponyville. Nothing bugs them so much that they have to shoo it away.

It didn't matter. She was hungry. An apple tree stood about 12 hooves infront of her. She walked over to it. The shade was nice there but she was hungry so she didn't stop. She stood on her hind-legs and jumped. She just missed. Meh, she could jump better on all fours. She got down on all fours and sprang herself up like Pinkie Pie usually did. Nope, still just a bit short. She flexed her wings and raised them. She bounced again and this time she boosted herself up with her wings as well.

Apple for, umm- she looked at the sun, made out her bearings for the time and decided: -dinner. Dinner?! It was morning when she fell, wow, she must have slept for a while. Oh well. She crunched on the apple. It wasn't very tasty but it was probably better than the grass that who knows what pony had stepped on.

She went around the tree, picking all the apples from the lower section of the tree until she was full and the sun had truly gone down till morning. She looked at her fore-hooves and shook her body. There wasn't actually any bearings needed in Equestria but Hell was glad Rainbow had taught her that there were bearings that could be used against the sky.

She settled down on the ground, folded her legs under her and arched her neck. It wasn't really comfortable but it was better than sleeping standing like the other ponies were. She closed her eyes and slept.

The birds chirped weirdly in the morning. Their tunes weren't the same as Equestria's. They were the slightest bit more jumpy, un-tuned and there wasn't really any beat or rhythmic notes to the tweets or melodies.

Hell shook her head and opened her eyes. The sun was bright. Clearly she had slept in again. Luckily she had gone to sleep under the tree on the west side so she was in the shade. She stood slowly and stretched her legs. They were stiff from the position she had them in during the whole night. Nothing to worry about though, with a bit of running around they would be fine.

Hell stretched her wings and took bounced into the air. Before she could gain anymore than a couple of metres in altitude something grabbed her right hind hoof and pulled her back down. She landed with a loud thump and her eyes closed with the impact. She didn’t land flatly, she skidded across the ground instead which made a graze mark across her chest, right shoulder and the right side of her neck. Her hind legs were in a tangle, one underneath her body and the other didn't even make it 5 hooves closer to her body.

Her vision blurred to black briefly and an ache descended from her head all the way down to her hooves. No more than seconds later every thing was back to normal.

She tried to stand. Putting pressure on either of her hind legs hurt now and she just fell back down again. "What just happened?" she said softly. She blinked and placed her fore-hooves infront of her like a cat would when its bored except she didn’t put one hoof over the other. She kept them spaced out with her head in the centre. She raised and lowered her shoulders like a hunting lion except this was to get her wings ready for the quick movement that is supposed to result in her flying. She wasn't entirely ready to do it so she counted to three and was about to lunge herself upright when something sharp either bit or stabbed her right leg.

Hell jumped slightly. That hurt. She turned around with a frown on her face and looked at the culprit. "HORDE?!" her face changed from anger to what the hay? The pony had changed. He munched on Hell's leg like nothing even as she kicked and squirmed. He didn't say anything except "zommm" and than the occasional "beee" and "brains" drawing out the 'ai'. The brains part was said with curiosity though.

Hell had enough of just trying to avoid his bites so she booted him in the face. He fell backwards and blood poured out from his snout. No reaction though, he just got up like usual and began walking towards her again. Hell screamed and ran for the other side of the paddock but her right leg kept faltering, causing her to stumble every time she touched it. She tried to throw herself onto her front legs and spring herself up into the air but the same thing happened just like before. She was thrown down to the earth. By that, Hell officially couldn't use her now broken right hind leg.

Hell whined and turned her body around. She gasped at the sight that stood infront of her. She wanted to run but she couldn't. and she knew that too well.

It was the other pony. Not Horde. The other one. He really wasn't pony. His eyes were gone, all that was left in their spot was two deep black wholes. Black blood spilled from them. His teeth were few and those that remained were purely sharp. Weather broken or sharpened, they were never-the-less sharp. She thought his coat was scruffy before well the sight of it now changed her mind. It looked like there were punctures all in it. Lots of fur was torn from his coat along with flesh. Big matted heaps stood out along his neck, cheeks, rump, underbelly and legs. The blood was black and there wasn't much of it. His chest wasn't heaving meaning her wasn't breathing. If her wasn't breathing though, why was he still alive. His nostrils didn't become larger than recede, also indicating he wasn't breathing. His hooves were chipped and the wholes that went through his body were deep and hollow. He really wasn't supposed to be alive but he was. He was an un-dead horror. A zombie.

Her vision faultered just like before than was gone again.

Hell shook her head, she used to think zombies were cool but the sight of this one and its intentions were clear and frightening. She squirmed and attempted to batter away the pony with her remaining fore hooves and left hind hoof. The pony was slow in his reactions but quick in his movements. He lunged his head forward to bite her. Hell's left hind hoof made contact with the side of his muzzle and edge of the cheek and she flung his head away with all her strength. It made her body jump and move slightly. She looked up over her belly. The pony was lifted off the ground with the impact and he crashed to the ground near the apple tree.

Horde wasn't there. Where would he have gone? She asked herself unsure. She yawned and decided she was too tired for this so she let her head fall back against the ground for a second. "Found him" she said with a quick frightening sigh and bolted upright before he could bite her head or neck. Horde didn't have a mouth. It looked like somepony cut it out. All that was left were the bone teeth, black and pointed. She held her right hind leg off the ground so she wouldn't disturb it more than it already was. Yes it hurt but she just had to deal with it.

Horde approached her slowly. Slower than the other one anyway. His face was in some sort of snarl but Hell couldn't tell for sure because like the other pony, he had no facial features and he was a dead wreck. He smelt of a day's death. Lucky it wasn't more. There was an odd growling noise.

"Well that settled it, he's growling" Hell said as she hopped backwards, away from his lunging distance.

Sharp object imbedded themselves into her flank. Hell screamed and yelped at the same time. She forgot Horde's friend was still in that same paddock. Horde charges at her, jaws open wider than normal. A surge of fear washed over her body. She thought that the two ponies would finish her there.

Something smashed into Horde sending him in the left direction and away from her. Hell squealed because the pony's sharp teeth ripped through and down her hide. All of a sudden that pony was gone too. Hell looked around and stumbled forwards, face-planting at what she saw. That stallion. He was many, many hooves away, hooded and standing hunched but she still knew it was him. She blinked blankly and he was standing straight and tall as usual. She heard hooves behind her. Sharp objects once again tore at her flesh but it was along her side. She flinched. She couldn't move anyway.

The stallion reared and flares out his odd wings that were concealed beneath his hooded robe. He charged towards Hell, towards the pony that is tearing out at her flesh and fur. He stops right infront of the pony and forces his eyes infront of Horde's bottomless black pits. The hooded stallion raises his right for-hoof high and slowly. Horde shivers than the hooded stallion clamps his hoof down onto Horde's head. It hits the ground than there is a sickening crack and Hell flinches. She looks back and finds the hooded stallion's right hoof inside Horde's skull.

Flood flows from Hell's sides and her breathing becomes difficult. She tries to laugh but her eyes are filled with tears. She felt so helpless, so sore, so weak, so scared and so happy just to be alive. And the strange hooded stallion that she had only met once, had saved her.

Hell gulped. She heard something behind her. It sounded like it was a rusted old metal hinge or two. The hooded stallion obviously heard it too because his ears were in that direction. He turned his head to look behind them.

Hell attempted to stand. The stallion noticed her movement and helped her carefully. They hadn't said anything to each other since they met in Equestria so why he had just saved her was out of the question. They both turned and looked in the direction of the noise. An odd form on two legs with arms came into the paddock with a large silver bucket. He was snarling about something. A figure from the far right side of them bolted toward the creature. It didn't have hooves and its face was short. It's muzzle was cut off or something.

Hell looked at it carefully, taking in every detail then it clicked. Twilight had mentioned something about creatures that looked like this. They were called humans or something and they had become extinct millennia before the ponies of Equestria. The ponies of Equestria's ancestors used to need the humans hands to survive. The original earth ponies anyway. The others were in hiding because of being hunted till the war between them and the humans.

The figure that had darted past them was Horde's friend. He didn't slow down as he neared the human. The closer the pony got the more the humans expressions changed. He must have noticed the change in the pony. His scowl turned to an wide-eyed, open-jawed shot of fear that sent him running. He didn't get far before the pony jumped un-naturally onto the human. Hell shivered as she heard the shrill inpony screams of the creature. It batted and beat at the pony but stood no chance as all emotions and feelings were gone.

Hell looked at the hooded stallion who stood beside her, than back at the other pony. What's happening? She asked herself.

"Iron Blade" said the stallion, he had a nice calm voice. It wasn't rough like she imagined.

"What?"

"Iron Blade" he said again and looked at her. "It's my name."

"Oh" Hell blushed. Oops, she couldn't exactly think straight. "W-Who are you? How did you know I was here and in trouble?" she paused than: "Why did you save me? And what happened to them?" Four questions all up. She didn’t think she would ask that many in a row or talk to a stranger with so many words after their second short meeting. Something made her feel welcome in his presence though. Almost like they knew each-other for years and it was a reunion or something. She gulped. Unsure if she had done the right thing.

Iron paused. He discarded the questions about himself and skipped to the 'what happened?' part. He sighed and didn't take his eyes off of the other pony that was devouring the human. "Well, there are evils beyond the borders of Equestria right?" He didn't expect an answer but Hell nodded. "Well, that was a zombie pony. Even in the borders some terrors live. Well, this is what started the war with the Pony's and Human's. Zombies. They were here originally from the humans animal testing labs. And got out. But don't worry. You won't become one unless you are bitten by one of the carriers. All the others are just minions who tear at you're flesh until you are weak and full of fear, than they burn you're soul and drink you're blood. The carriers have eyes, unlike the minions." He paused so it could sink into Hell's mind. "The magic ponies used them to start the war so that they would live and the earth ponies wouldn't be slaves anymore. They made a potion to change the zombie pony to attack any human that they came into contact with. No… matter… what… so we got the zombie's of now. The original one's from the human labs were more like vampony's except normal, with a brain and could go in the sun but they desired flesh of all sorts, not one in particular."

Hell raised an eyebrow in concentration. She nodded. "Oh, so they were originally ponies that developed a craving for flesh because of the humans experiments and the magic ponies used that against the humans and altered it so that they would do what ever possible to achieve that goal, even through death. So, in order for that to happen, they had to alter the ponies brains, remove most of it so it wouldn't know pain or anything. Right?" Hell asked standing as tall as she could.

Iron nodded, his eyes still on the other pony. "We can only kill them through smashing their head and we had better go" he said bluntly and began walking off.

Hell stood there for about 5 minutes than began to hop, ever so slowly using her wings a lot to keep both her balance and her weight light.

They moved together in silence for several minutes. The process to get to the other side of the paddock was agonisingly slow and even if this creepy zombie pony had just fed, it had still attacked Hell and she didn't like having it anywhere near her with out something between each-other. Every minute or so she would look back at the creature. It was on the far right side of the paddock. With the other horses. They cowered from the creature but were curious to see what had happened to him. He just hoofed at the ground and snarled with the occasional hunger play bite. It was rather weird. Shouldn't he have been trying to eat the ponies? He went crazy a couple times and tried to jump the fence to get them but his dead form couldn't lift himself. But then he would calm down and beckon them towards him again, playfully. It was like a game. The hunter's game to see if they prey who is usually dumber will fall for it… not bad….

Hell snorted as a disgusting scent filled the air. The scent of something that had died years upon years ago. She crinkled her nose and opened her mouth to breathe through it instead. She tasted it too. She poked her tongue out in disgust and tried to scape the taste off with her teeth as she pulled her tongue back in pressing on her teeth. Nah, that didn't help. She tried several times but she still tasted it so she just went to breathing through her nose again.

Hell struggled to keep up with Iron who seemed to be ignoring the smell. She turned to look at Horde's zombie friend. He had left the other horses and was closer to them now, but he had his head down and stood still where he was. Hell gulped and she felt the fear inside of her rising again. She really didn't want to die at the age of 20. she had so long left to live and if she lived it right there would be no regrets. The perfect life. She turned around again, the creep was even closer. Way closer.

Hell gulped again and turned to look at Iron. He stopped suddenly. Hell waved a fore-hoof infront of his face. It didn't disturb him at all. She pushed her body into his which hurt but at least it got his attention. He looked at her and back to where he was staring. Hell just stared and waited for him to explain even though she was scared of the Dæmon behind them.

Iron lowered his gaze. "I-I feel like I am attached to you by soul, that's how I knew you were in trouble. And I knew how to defeat them and knew where you were and how close you were to being attacked through you." He looked over to the troubled mare. Her brow was raised in confusion and disbelief.

"Didn't anything happen when you were first ripped from the sky?" Iron asked.

Hell thought for a minute. Her vision faulted twice, that’s all. Oh she thought. "My vision blurred, blackened gave me a head and body ache than was back to normal." There was a pause than Hell asked "Was that you?"

Iron nodded slowly. "You see, I am a soul thief. I feed on souls but I am connected to yours and can access your soul and sight at any time in the present but apart from that I feel what you feel. It has no affect on me but I can still feel it. Zombies have no soul so I can't eat theirs to kill them and I can’t control them either but I can detect them and they find my soul quit a distraction. They love the power and reality of it’s evilness." He turned away than nodded ahead and crouched.

Hell looked ahead. She couldn't see anything but the deathly smell was by far stronger. Her fear flared so high that she jumped for the sky but didn't make it very high before she saw millions of sharp glistening objects in front of her but at ground level. Zombie teeth. She began to sweat and beat her wings against the air desperately to get off the ground.

Iron was off the ground and beside her in the air in no time at all. In fact he was higher than her in no time. He urged her on but she couldn’t keep up or even get close to him. She tilted right unconsciously. When she realised she was on a lean she looked at her right wing. It wasn't in good shape. It didn’t bend and flex in the expected spots. Not too many feathers lined the base of her wing and it looked terrible and sore. Come to think of it, Hell found it some what more sore now.

She grimaced. She remembered the first crash landing she had because of Horde. Scraped up all her right side. The cut along her side pounded. For the first time in years she thought she was going to fall, unable to hold herself to the sky due to functioning errors in her sides and wings.

Hell looked up. She could feel herself sinking. Feat engulfed her. She closed her eyes and took in her last breath before her wing truly stopped working on her. Leaving her with heart and severe chest pains.

She heard Iron say something but she couldn't understand or do anything anyway. The last thing she remembered was the breath-knocking impact of the ground. The many snarls of triumph. Sharp jabbing object pierce all over her body, they yanked and ripped and tore at her form. The burning of her soul. Her high pitched last scream from the eternal pain, fear and then the darkness that followed to nothing.