I wiped sweat from my brow as I gazed at the rising sun. "Damn it." I muttered. There was still no signs of life after four weeks in this blistering wasteland, as the days had gotten hotter I had placed my jacket and shirt in my bag to keep cooler. Still, there being no signs of life wasn't entirely bad. It meant that Celestia hadn't sent her goons out here yet. She was probably still searching the towns further in Equestria. No one in their right mind would be out in the Badlands, right?

"I must be an idiot." I muttered. "I won't be able to find the Hive." I shook my head, can't be hopeless here! It'll kill me. "There's got to be signs. How else would the Changelings find it?"

I nodded to myself, smiling until a thought occured. "Unless the only Changelings there are the ones born there." I shook my head, "No! Positive thoughts, positive thoughts."

My thoughts drifted back to my recent misadventure. Those two...they'll survive if they work together and trust each other like they had been doing. Rocket and Groot, huh? Why do those names sound so familiar?

It doesn't really matter, I don't really know why I got along with them so well. Maybe because they were like me. Human. But those two, Rocket especially, remind me of when I was younger, less experienced. I was an idiot back then. But as always, gaining skills took time and practice. And nothing said practice like killing zombies. But...there's always something worse than zombies.

"Crap, crap, crap!" I yelled, running through a dark forest being chased by Celestia's Hunters, apparently they were created to hunt down high-class threats, such as myself, thus the name. Diving through a bush I barely avoided a diving pegasi slamming into the ground. I turned and gave it a friendly boot to the face before continuing my sprint. As another pegasus shot down and flew beside me I slammed my trusty club into her face, sending her crashing to the ground.

"GET BACK HERE!!!" A Hunter roared, a spear slamming into the tree next to me. "STOP AND ON YOUR KNEES!!!"

"I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER WORKING FOR A BIT!!!" I yelled back, smirking. There was a pause in the projectiles before they resumed with even more gusto than before. That...probably pissed them off, huh? "HOW'S YOUR BROTHER THESE DAYS?! OOPS, SORRY, I MEANT FATHER!!! OR YOUR WIFE, I MEAN SISTER?!?!"

With a tidal wave of angry roars behind me I ran for all I could. I should really stop antagonizing these guys. But that's boring as all hell! It's not my fault they're so easily offended!

After a few minutes of sprinting I noticed a cliff coming up, complete with river leading to a waterfall. Ah, crap. Behind me people want to kill me. Waterfall that'll probably kill me in front. Ah, fuck it, I took my chance and dove into the water. As I sunk underneath the surface I forced myself back to the sweet, sweet air. As I looked back over to the Hunters I realised they weren't following me. Although they were distracted.

By a Manticore or two trying to catch pony shaped dinner for ten.

What a bunch of idiots! I laughed at their misfortune.

It was at that point I went over the waterfall.

I gave a high-pitched scream, "SON OF A BIIIIIIIIITCH!!!!"

As I crawled my way out of the river I grumbled to myself, "Never trust a waterfall." Luckily I had, miraculously, avoided any injury altogether. Dragging my soaking wet self through the forest I began to look for shelter while I dried off, didn't want to make it easy for pegasi to spot me. After I found a cave I just lazed around until I dried off before setting out yet again.

The forest seemed darker than before, more...sinister. I shook my head, "Yeah right." I whispered. "Shit like that is just stupid. ...Although seeing as I'm on the run from magical pastel coloured ponies, I guess I can't talk."

I entered a clearing and froze. Damn it. More ponies!

But something was wrong. The grey stallion was smiling! "Ah! Welcome! Are you here for the party?"

I blinked. "P-party?"

"Oh, you can speak! How delightful! And yes, a party! Here at Sunny Town we all love parties, I am Grey Hoof party planner extraordinaire!"

I gave a relaxed smile, "I could go for a party right about now."

Laughing I took up a chalice with the residents of Sunny Town. These were truly good people. They didn't judge me with their princess's eyes and words. They thought for themselves. Could they...be friends? I let out a small smile at that thought. A friend...I haven't had a friend since I was ripped from my home. Oh, how I miss them. But...a friend would be nice...if I even remember how to be a friend. It's only been a few weeks...but it feels like forever.

"Terrence!" Green Leaf chuckled. "Go on! Tell us another tale!"

As I opened my mouth to say something I spotted a grey filly with yellow hair. She was staring at me from the other end of the town. What in the world? Standing up I muttered, "Excuse me a moment." Before walking briskly towards her. Who was it? Why wasn't she at the party with the others?

I came to the edge of the town. Well, no. That wasn't exactly true, there was a path into the woods. I decided to follow it, if a young girl could brave these woods I'm sure there's nothing to worry about.

A minute later I came to a dark cottage surrounded by trees. It...looked old. It was falling apart, the roof had gaping holes in it, the walls were rotten. You get the picture. I tried the door. Locked. Of course. What am I doing here? Why aren't I back at the party?

Simple. Curiousity. I can't just leave this alone, something's going on here, I tried to ignore it, but the townsfolk are...off. I can't put my finger on it, but something's wrong. Maybe that girl can tell me what's going on here. If I can find her, that is.

I decided to check around the cottage in the hope of finding a key or an open window. After searching around the house I was sure that there wasn't an unlocked window and the key wasn't somewhere obvious. I sighed and stared at the door. "I will not be beaten by you, demon!" I declared proudly, accidently knocking over a plant pot while doing a Magical Girl heroic pose. "Oops." I began to clean up the mess when I spotted a dull metal in the mess. No way. No fucking way. I pulled it out and it was, in fact, a key. Sighing I tried it and hey presto, the door unlocked. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The inside of the house was dark, the only light coming from the fireplace. "Huh?" I muttered. Was there...something inside it? There's definitely something in there. Wandering over I glanced in. Oh, god, no. Bile rose from my stomach. Blood drained from my face. All as I stared at the object, or, more appropriately, objects in the fireplace.

A skeleton of a child.

"No. No! NO!" I cried. "This can't be right! What...what the hell?! What the fuck?!"

"Leave. You have to leave!" A voice sobbed from the corner of the room as the fire put itself out.

"Who's there?!" I screeched. The room was dark, I couldn't see a thing anymore. Then the fire lit itself again and the room was lit up.

And in the corner of the room was the filly I'd followed.

"Don't look at it!" She sobbed. "Don't look at it!" Her voice was...faded somehow, and her eyes glew a ghostly yellow. Is...is she a ghost? "Stop looking at it!"

"I...I don't..." I tried to speak, but found my mouth wouldn't work.

"STOP LOOKING AT MY BODY!!!" She screeched.

No. No, not her. Oh, god, no... The body in the fireplace...the ghost girl...one in the same? I felt sick. Who did this to her? Who could do this? Something so sickening and evil? It...it wasn't right!

The ghost broke down into tears. I couldn't take it. No child should have to deal with something like this. Not ever. I slowly made my way over to her, dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around her, I could feel her small form shivering in my arms. Blinking, I resolved to ask myself how I could do that later, right now I had a little girl to comfort.

"Shhh. It's okay." I soothed. "I'm not going to look. I'm not looking. I'll never look again, little one." I pulled her closer and her tears began to soak into my shirt. "Shhh. Hush, little one, don't be sad. I won't let anything else hurt you again."

"You...you have to leave." She murmured. "Sunny Town is a bad place. If you don't leave you'll be trapped here." She looked up at me with her large yellow eyes. "Please!" She nuzzled me. “My name is Ruby. Please...don’t forget about me. Please!”

I stood up. "I...I'm going, for you. Stay safe. I won’t forget." I rushed out the door, locking it as I went. No one else should ever see this tragedy again. I threw the key down the well and ran back to the village.

I stared over what was, just a few minutes ago, an idyllic village turned to a rotten hellhole, buildings were falling apart, rubble was everywhere, blocking parts of the pathways, even the grass was blackened. "The hell?" I muttered. "I have to get out of here!"

"Don't leave." A distorted voice echoed through the village. But it was still recognisable. Grey Hoof. "We won't let you become like her."

"What!? DEAD?! FOR WHAT?!?! SHE WAS A CHILD!!!" I screeched, blood pounding through my veins I grabbed my club and clutched it tight.

"We did what we had to. She was cursed!" Green Leaf rasped, appearing around the corner of a building before joining Grey Hoof.

"She was going to ruin the party!" Grey Hood followed up and I could feel the grin that spread across his rotting skull. "We won't let that happen to you. Friend."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" I shrieked, swiping at them with my club. I missed by a few inches, but they got the message and backed away slightly. "STAY BACK! I'M WARNING YOU!"

Grey cocked his head, "Why? We are friends are we not?"

"NO!!! YOU KILLED HER?!?! A CHILD?!?!" I screamed, tears beginning to escape my eyes.

They looked at each other for a minute before looking back at me. "She had 'The Mark'. She had to go. She wouldn't leave. So we made sure that it wouldn't spread. We burned the body to stop the infection. But it didn't." Grey Hoof sighed a breathless sigh and Green put her hoof on his back. "We took it upon ourselves to cure Sunny Town. Those FREAKS with their horns and wings were the fault of it all! Those abominations should burn! All of them!" He sighed as the blood stopped circulating through my knuckles as my fingernails dug into wood. "But, as we cleansed the town we began to experience pain and suffering. They began to outnumber us, until we found the answer!" Grey Hoof chuckled, a sound that sickened me to the pit of my stomach. "Reborn and stronger than ever we rose in the night and converted them to us! They became our dear friends, where once they despised and hated us! It truly is a gift from beyond the gods!" His laughter devolved sounded more like animalistic howling. "Now, my friend, it is your turn to join us! You'll be forever protected!"

Protected? Protected?! I glared at him. "No." I whispered. "Protection is one of life's great lies. Safety, protection? There's no truth in them. Safety is ignoring the dangers that surround you while protection merely means that someone else takes the pain instead. Those are lies." I gripped my club tightly. "AND THIS IS NOT DISTRACTING ME!!!" I turned and swung my club again, catching a...a...a Blank, I guess you could call them, in the side of the head, blackened blood exploding from the wound as it dropped to the ground in a scream. I stomped on its head, sending rotting brain and blackened blood spraying across the ground.

"RED SHIRT!!! NO!!!" Grey cried. He just stared at the dead...undead...redead...perninimatly dead corpse. He glared at me. "You MONSTER!!!"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Monster, yeah, right, whatever, brainrot. Go kill yourself again, fucker."

"DON'T YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY FOR YOURSELF, MURDERER?!?!" He cried.

As an idea popped into my head I began cheerfully singing, "I know a song that'll get on your nerves, get on your nerves, get on your nerves! I know a song that'll get on your nerves, do dah, do dah, do day!"

"SHUT UP!!!" He roared.

I laughed, "Oh, that's not very nice, shitface!"

"GET HIM!!!"

I readied my club, "Bring it, zombie fuckers!"

I fought them for what felt like an age. Smashing and clubbing away. My trusty club was always by my side and would be for years to come!

"STAY BACK!!!" I yelled, smashing another head open. I raised my club up as they crawled back, giving them a reminder as to why they shouldn't come near me. Yeah, this baby's going to stay with me forever.

A good portion of my club then fell to the floor.

I blinked. "Ah, fuck me." The last of the Blanks and Blood Hooves began to close in on me. "Er...no hard feelings?" I chuckled nervously. They just snorted and glared before charging me. "What?" I asked, crushing the skull of a Blank with the remainder of my club. "Not even a 'Sorry for trying to kill you' card? I'm disappointed in you!"

I crushed skulls and broke bones left and right until the last of them fell. Surprisingly I had only gotten superficial wounds, a cut here, a scratch there...not to shabby. I glared at Grey Hoof as the last of his goons had their skull crushed. "You lose!" I taunted, tossing the now useless club, bits of it had been chipping off all throughout the fight and all that was left was a stump.

"NO!" He screeched. "NEVER!!! YOU WILL ACCEPT OUR FRIENDSHIP!!! WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!!!"

I snorted, "Yeah, no. You lose, shithead, I'm leaving Silent Hill here."

He blinked, "Silent...? Bah, do not try to distract me with your senseless babble!"

"But senseless is the best kind of babble!" I snarked, grinning.

"SILENCE!!!" Grey roared.

I rubbed my ear, "I'm sorry, did you say something? I couldn't hear you, it's almost as if your tongue is rotted or something!" As he began to charge me I quickly scrambled up a nearby house. "Whoa, horsie!"

"Come down here and fight like a being of dignity!" He roared. What happened to friendship?

"I don't suppose I can convince you to come up here and fight like a being with opposable thumbs?" I asked snarkily.

"GET DOWN HERE!!!"

"No thanks, I'm happy to stay up here for the rest of my life." I said lazily.

He replied with a roar and kicked the house I was stood on. I smirked and began to give a snarky comment when the roof began to rock and shake. Before I could react the building collapsed beneath my feet. I landed roughly on my back, pain spiking through me as the remains of the roof rained down around me.

"Well, well, well." Grey Hoof's smug voice rung out from the dust, slightly muffled. "The little monkey takes a fall."

Coughing, I looked around. The room I had landed in might have, at one time, been a living room, but both time and the curse had worn it away to dust, all that remained was a fireplace and a ragged rug. Luckily, and unluckily, all the windows and doors were blocked with sparse bits of rubble. It'd buy me a few minutes at least.

One of the doors began banging, rattling in its frame. "Open this door!" Grey Hoof demanded.

"Yeah, how about...no, you zombie bastard!" I chuckled, searching the room for a weapon. But unless I wanted to throw dust at them I was all out of luck.

"You are trapped! Give up now! You have no idea where you are!" I heard Grey Hoof mutter, "Hey, who's house is this anyway?" I couldn't hear the reply but I heard Grey's all right. "WHAT?!?! GET HIM OUT NOW!!!" Who put a hot coal down his pants? I eyed the rug. What are the chances there's a trapdoor underneath that?

I laughed, "Yeah right! I mean, how cliche can this..." I trailed off as I noticed a latch underneath an upturned corner of the rug. Moving the rug revealed a trapdoor. "I will never again question the cliches of this world." I muttered. "Opening the trapdoor, rusty hinges creaking loudly, I descended into the dark pit, unknown horrors awaited me, and I knew, no matter what I found down there, I would never be the same again." I shook my head, chuckling. "I have got to stop narrating!"

As I descended further and further, it got progressively darker and darker. As the minutes passed I eventually walked face first into a door. Rubbing my nose and grumbling I felt blindly for the handle, finally finding it I pulled the door open and was immediately assaulted with curses from a bellowing voice.

"FREAKS!!! WILL BURN YOU!!! DIE!!! DIE, DIE, DIE!!! CRUSH YOUR SKULLS INTO POWDER!!!"

Ignoring the sudden burst of verbal lashing I ventured deeper into the home of the unseen Blank. A dark, gloomy...dungeon?

I looked around, the only light in the room was coming from a torch, its flame illuminating several empty cells. But at the end of the dungeon was an occupied cell, its door over in the corner of the room. Chained to the wall was a Griffin Blank. Its blackened feathers and rotting flesh were no different than the others besides from species. But...why was it chained up? And why did Grey not want me down here? At least, that's what I presume he was freaked out about. Maybe he was afraid I was going to steal his cookies that he might've hid upstairs.

"THEY MUST ALL DIE!!!" The Blank bellowed, diving against her chains. "THE FREAKS!!! THE ABOMINATIONS!!!!"

Seeing as she wasn't going anywhere, I sat down in front of her on the cold floor, making sure I was out of her reach if she decided to go for me. It was only when I was down at her level I noticed the slight differences between her and the other Blanks. For one, she had a strange red, almost glowing, necklace...collar...thing around her neck. Her eyes weren't the usual black with red either, they had speckles of pinks and blues in them. And they held a deep resentment in them. By her side was what might have once been a weapon, but was now a piece of battered metal, although it looked like it could be used as a club if needs be.

I waited for her to stop screaming, but she continued to scream obscenities, a glazed look in her eyes. "You're not like the others, are you?" I muttered.

As soon as the words had left my mouth her eyes locked onto me, beginning to clear as she fell silent. "You......are new. You're not one of those freaks." She spoke, though it seemed like she was speaking more to herself than me.

"No, I'm not. The name's Terry. Who are you?" I asked politely.

She shook her head. "Hard to remember. This place, this curse, MESSES with my head. It's HARD to THINK straight sometimes." She roared odd words for some reason then continued on normally. Interesting.

"Well," I rubbed my chin. "What do you remember?"

She dropped her head. "I...have a sister. And a brother. I HAVE to take care of THEM. But...they were killed. A so-called accident. They were IN hospital for WEEKS in agony before dying. Can't REMEMBER much ELSE." She stared at me. "ALL I remember is this TOWN. Came here after the END of a journey. A quest, I GUESS you could call it. Didn't KNOW what this place really was. Saw a filly. Wanted to help her. She was a ghost."

"Ruby." I muttered.

Her eyes latched onto mine. Staring deep into me. "Yes. That's her name. The ABOMINATIONS took the offer of a CREATURE they call their 'Master'. It BRINGS them back from the DEAD. Even if YOU destroy them, they'll be BACK in a few years." Damn. So all the beasts I've destroyed here, all the trouble I've had tonight is pointless. Well...maybe I've given those that come here a better chance. But...I'm the only one stupid enough to trust them. "I have only SURVIVED by letting my rage and HATRED flow through me for years upon years. My mind is my OWN because of that."

I stared. "Who are you?"

She held her head high with pride. "I am the Knight of Rage."

I rolled my eyes, "I asked your name, not your posh twat title."

She stared at me, her eyes beginning to lose their glossy look and began focusing. "You. You are brave. Take my blade. It has lost it's form, but it has bound itself to you. It may not think or speak, but it chooses its wielder, not the other way around. Someone in this world shall be able to forge it into a weapon that shall serve you forever. Take it to the tribe of the Minotaur Skarlak Leopek. They will know what to do." She slid the hunk of metal across to me. "Now, I go. At long last I must leave this place. I need to find a successor."

"Uh...I...uh..." I muttered. "Could...could I not be..."

She stared and laughed. "No offence, kid, but you don't even know who you are. You wouldn't cut it right now. Look at you. You're covered in black blood and you can't stand it." She closed her eyes for a minute before looking back at me with a smirk. "I'll see you in the afterlife...Blood."

Her body crashed to the ground as a ghostly Griffin rose from her body, soaring through the ceiling and, presumptuously, out into the world. Wait. I looked up and yelled, "HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET OUT OF THIS TOWN?!?!"

When there was no answer, not that I was really expecting one, I looked over to her body, which was slowly crumbling to ash. Well, this is just perfect. As more of her body crumbled away I noticed a scroll in the ash. Grabbing it I quickly unscrolled it.

Let's see here. 'To those whom it may concern, this is a scroll containing the secrets of Sunny Town as I, Scarlet Deathcrest, Knight of Rage, Saviour of the Valley of the Sacred, Member of___.' Hmm. Strange. The words after that were scratched off. "Still, cool name." 'Sunny Town is not as it seems. The ponies here are undead monsters, their true appearance only able to be seen either under the cover of nightfall, or after discovering the body of Ruby. A young filly. I have taken to calling them Blanks. Although it seems that I may not be the first to come up with such a name. I have seen the name plastered all over the village and on the bodies of the second type of undead. The Blood Hooves. Again, I'm not the first to give them this name. The names may be imprinted directly to our minds. Back to the point. Blanks are different from Blood Hooves in that they can take the form they had when alive, Bloods cannot do this. Bloods also look noticeably different. More skinny and more likely to be missing parts of their limbs. But while Blanks are bound to this town, Bloods are not, but they cannot leave the Everfree Forest. Do not let either of these monsters touch you. The instant they do, you will be turned into one of them. You can only leave the town the same way you entered. Good luck.

Scarlet Deathcrest, Knight of Rage.'

Well, that doesn't help me at all. Oh, wait, there's more on the back.

'P.S To escape this room, there should be a hollow brick in this cell. Pull it out and pull the switch inside. A secret passage will open on the other side of the room. According to several scrolls I've found at least. It's too late for me, but maybe it'll help you.'

Oh. That actually does help a lot!

I walked around the cell, tapping every brick until I found the hollow one. "Aha!" I cheered. "Let's see." Pulling the brick out I found a small, old, dusty, lever. Pulling it, with a bit of effort, there was a groaning sound and the section of wall next to the lever receded, revealing a staircase. I grabbed the chunk of metal and checked around the corner of the secret room. Just a staircase. And dark. Lots and lots of dark. I sighed, "Well, no time like the present." I started up the staircase.

As I trudged onwards I held the metal chunk, ready to swing at a moments notice. After several minutes of following the stairway up, down, along and finally up again, I came to...another trapdoor with a ladder leading to it. I pushed open the hatch and stuck my head out carefully, fully expecting an ambush.

Nothing.

"Huh." I muttered, taking a closer look around. There were several boxes around the room, blocking off pathways and...well, the whole room seemed like a maze. Glancing out a window I saw the exit to this damned town. This house was facing the exit! Just a quick run and I'll escape! Quietly making my way to the door, after pushing the boxes out of the way, I nudged it open and peaked around the corner.

Quiet. Too quiet. I should be really careful about what I do next. I carefully slipped out the door making sure that there were no nearby undead to spot me. I practically shat my pants when I heard the door slam shut behind me. Spinning around I saw no one was there. Great, door's a slammer. Fucking loud closing doors!

"YOU!!!" I turned and saw Grey Hoof and his townszombies charging down the street towards me. Crap!

I sprinted for the forest. As the ground flew under my feet I heard hooves pelting the ground behind me. Too bad for them that I'll hit the forest's edge before they can get me! Ha! I craned my head back to taunt them and the words died in my throat.

A single, twitching, Blank was almost on top of me!

"MOTHERFUCK!!!" I cried, leaping over a fence. "PISS OFF!! GO AWAY!!! SHOO! BAD DOGGY!!!" It kept up with me and was gaining quickly. I...I think that's Starlet. Holy shit. Prime example of Beware the Quiet Ones, right there, huh?

Of course, she didn't listen and tried to take a chunk out of my arm. I sidestepped and yelled, "HEY, BITCH! TRY A TASTE OF THIS!!!" I swung the metal chunk at her, knocking her down and probably breaking a few bones. Almost free! Almost free!

As I passed by the town's boundaries and entered the forest I stopped. Laughing, I gave a mock salute, "Fare thee well, you undead rotbags! This day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Terrence-" I interupted by a polite cough behind me. Turning I saw a group of Blood Hooves standing, watching me with looks of amusement on their rotting faces.

"You quite done?" One asked, his voice surprisingly...still polite, with no rasp at all.

"Er..." I scratched the back of my head. "Yeaaaaaah...I'm done."

"Alright, here's the thing." He began as I spotted another Blood Hoof sneaking off to my side. Aha! I knew they were just the distraction! "Blood Rot!" The Polite Hoof called. ...Huh, I like that. "Get back! We doing it properly! Not the shabby 'rush them' thing you do!" He gave me a rotten grin. "We don't really get much awake time, much less going after somepony who escapes, so we like to have some fun! A little chase is all, you'll join the town either way." Cocky little shitbag!

"You think you can keep-OH GOD, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!" I screamed pointing in the other direction.

"WHAT?!" Polite cried, him and the other Blood Hooves whipping around in the direction I'd pointed. I began to sneak past them and after I was away from the main crowd I began sprinting for my life. "OH, YOU'RE A SMART ONE!!!" I heard Polite happily yell in the distance. "I'LL ENJOY HAVING YOU FOR COMPANY!!!"

"Well, at least he's kind of nice." I muttered as I ran. Rather him than Grey Hoof at least. But my personal preference? None of the bastards! After several minutes of running from the Blood Hooves I ran into an illuminated clearing. Illuminated by Ruby's glowing eyes.

"Ruby!?" I cried, panting deeply. This entire night has just took it out of me. I'm going to need a drink when...if I escape.

"I...I'm sorry." She muttered as the Blood Hooves circled us. They knew that they'd caught us. That we were trapped. No escape. "I never meant for this to happen, I was just curious. I've never seen something like you before. I'm so sorry!"

I grinned, "Hey, I'm not dead yet. There's always hope, kiddo." I ruffled her hair. Again the question of 'how' rose in my mind, but I pushed it back. "But...it does look pretty bleak. But it's always darkest before the dawn. You're tough, Ruby. Don't give up hope." The Bloods were almost on top of us. This is it. Death.

But who says I'm going down without a fight?

"DON'T YOU KIDS KNOW?!" I yelled, my battle cry being the first thing I could think of. "HEALING SPELLS HURT THE UNDEAD!!!" I swung the chunk of metal into a Blood Hoof, smashing its head off its body. The beasts snarled at me before freezing, their rotten ears twitching in the air, and running off.

Best. Battle cry. Ever.

"What just happened?" I asked Ruby as I slung the metal slab over my shoulder. "Why'd they run?"

She grinned happily, "Ponies are coming! You'll be safe now! They daren't attack a group and they can't go too far away from Sunny Town tonight!" She wrapped her hooves around my legs before fading away. "Thank you. For hope."

I stood there, thinking of her last words. "For hope, huh?" I muttered. "Can't say I've been thanked for that before." I chuckled. "Can't say I've been through that before either though, so I guess it all balances out."

"THERE HE IS!!!" A roar came from the other side of the clearing.

Hunters.

"AH, SHITBALLS!!!" I yelled, sprinting away. "THIS IS NOT MY NIGHT!!!"

I fell to the sands yet again. Not good. Just where abouts am I? Groaning I pushed myself up and fished out my canteen. Taking a swig of water I put it back in my pack and waited for some energy to return before continuing.

"Damn desert." I muttered. "Almost as bad as the Battle of Serenity Valley. Though it's not as bad as I remember."

I shook my head and pushed myself over the next dune. "There's got to be some sign near..." I trailed off as I saw what was over the dune.

A settlement, town or city, I couldn't tell, was off in the distance, only a day's walk, if I paced myself I should arrive in the morning. If I rushed I'd just tire myself out and do the vultures work for them. Have to pace myself.

Chuckling, I muttered to myself, "Things are finally going my way." My new goal in mind, I set off.

Author's Notes:

So there you have it! That's how Blood survived Sunny Town! You guys voted and a whopping 60% wanted this! (Though...only five people voted, so that's three people. But don't think about that! 60%! Large number! Woo!)

I will be doing the other flashbacks at some point. So if you voted for a different flashback don't worry, you'll see it eventually!

You may have noticed Blood was acting a little...immature and mouthy during the flashback. That's because he's just started his run from Celestia something like a week ago. He's only been in Equestria at this point for...5 weeks? 6 Weeks? Something like that.

Also, yes. I doubled this as the (late) Halloween chapter. Lazy? Maybe. But if it fits, don't worry about it, right? At first I was going to do a Halloween chapter where we saw Nightmare Night from Guardian's prospective, but seeing as I don't know if you guys actually care about, or are interested in, him, I didn't do it. But I don't blame you! I blame myself. I might have made him too uninteresting or...Oh, well! You didn't come here to see me mope! See you next time!

Next chapter: Blood meets a species other than ponies! A new hint to the Changelings' location? Will Blood ever show more goals than just revenge?! What is his mind like?!