Nightmare Fiction (Gore, Violence, anthro, the works)

You've seen them in the streets, their limbs rotting. Their hands over their mouth, coughing incessantly. They're sick, all of them. No cure whatsoever, abandoned by even death itself. And then you caught it. Then the dreams started. At first they were blurry and subtle, almost nothing to them. As you searched, you met others like you, afflicted with the disease, but they were all in the early stages.

Then the dreams slowly became more vivid, villages burning, ponies killed in their sleep, fighting each other, cities falling to ruin. Then one of your group figured out what the dreams were trying to send you: An island with two names; the Deadlands, which is what it is called now, or it's called The Isle of Cere, the name had fallen out of use, but it still shows up from time to time. A rumor began to float around. There was a cure for the disease in the Deadlands. And you should hurry, for the magic in your body is going haywire, and you could break down at any moment and join those who were being quarantined by the Royal Guard.

---

This is it. That moment. It's finally in your grasp. You are on the boat. The Isle of Cere is almost in sight. You see a multitude of other ponies in the hold of the boat, a bag of weapons ranging from crossbows to Lucerne Hammers. The hold itself is brightly lit, but it is still the hold of a boat and very plain looking.

Then the Captain speaks. "We're almost there, grab whatever you rotting lot are taking and get off my boat!"

((Time for introductions and weapon selection. Have fun and remember the rules!))

Sledge stood off to the side, wearing camo cargo pants, a sleeveless shirt that showed off his bulging muscles, and heavy steel toed boots. He walked over and grabbed two medium sized hammers from the bag, grumbling boredly, and looked at the others as he slung the hammers over his back. He then stepped back, scratching his head and straightening his long, reddish-brown beard, the same color as his short mane and tail. He had dark orange fur and his eyes were a dark, steel grey, sweeping the others with a bored expression. He had an amused smile, like he was ready for anything, and his extremely muscular frame showed he quite possibly could be exactly that, ready for anything. But then there was another fact about him. He was four foot zero.

A smaller boat followed in the distance, a brown stallion at the helm while a mare wrapped in a long, bright pink great coat, her pink mane tied in an elegant braid that went almost down to her knees, ending in a styled bun almost like a stinger tail.

"You're sure you can do this?" The stallion asked, looking with concern at the island in the distance. "I can come with you, my knee isn't so bad I can't force one more run out of me."

The mare smiled and turned to face him, her green left eye and pink right eye looking at him with the same expression of gratitude. "I know you could dad, but I won't have it. You're hurt, and besides, I have a LOT of making up to do to Princess Luna; the least I can do is investigate this on my own."

The stallion looked at her with a scanning look before he pulled her into a hug. "Why do you have to be so bloody stubborn?"

"Because you raised me?"

"Point taken but dad's are allowed to be hypocrites."

The mare laughed. "Just make sure they know where I am. You briefed Razor right?"

"Yep. She doesn't hear from either of us in a week and she'll send a garrison."

"Thanks." The mare swept the pink and black top hat she wore off her head and reached into it. "Time to go to work I guess." She said as she slipped on a lacey pink and gold masquerade mask. With the grace of a dancer, the thestral's pink wings extended from the gaps in her coat and she took off into the sky, tailored to perfection pink suit clinging to her while her greatcoat flapped in the wind, her tophat defying physics to stay on her head.

She idly waved to the other ship as she passed, a crossbow and quiver strapped to her back. She continued on toward the island itself, a determined look in her eyes.

Sonata had been playing a soft, slightly melancholic tune on her violin as they traveled, but when the captain yelled out, it threw her concentration off and she pulled a wrong and slightly grating chord. "Don't have to tell me twice to get off this piece of driftwood you call a ship and away from your ugly ass," Sonata barked back to the captain as she put away the musical instrument. Striding over to the barrel, Sonata pulled out a smaller pistol crossbow, a recurve bow, arrows and bolts for each, and a short sword along with a knife like dagger.

Fixing the pistol crossbow to her side for an easy draw, and the bolts on the other for easy access to reload. The arrows also found a home around the belt, but on her back. The short sword was strapped over her shoulder, right next to the straps that securely held her violin case to her back. The knife found it's home around her boot and lastly, the bow that rested in her hands was tested as she aimed it, drew the string, listened for flaws, and then slowly eased the tension on it.

With a flourish of a turn, Sonata strode towards the bow of the boat, her own dark green long coat's bottom trailing out slightly behind her as the top half was rather secured by the various straps that held it down. The rather plain brown pants and and white shirt clung lightly to her as they were just the slightest bit damp from the sea travel. Her silvery white hair with it's scattered purple streaks were luckily saved from any errant gusts of wind by the hood of her coat that had remained on for the entirety of the trip and showed little chance of being removed anytime soon. The hood also obscured the majority of her face for the trip, including her primarily golden, but multi-color refracting eyes and the short vertical scars that crossed over each around it's middle.

Now though, those eyes gazed out along the water, looking at the island in the distance. "This had better be worth it," she muttered to herself.

Over in a darker corner of the boat, a lone griffon was leaning against the side of the boat. He was garbed in a long, grey cloak, covering most of his body and his head, the latter by means of a hood. His face, however, was not in shadow, revealing gold-tipped head feathers and a gold lining around his eyes. In his right hand, he idly toyed with a butterfly knife, flipping open and closed, and then twirling it around while he kept his eyes fixed on his left hand, which was holding a single poker card - the ace of spades - between the thumb and index finger. He flipped it into the air once, stabbing it neatly through the centre as it fell, and then catching it in his hand again. But when he put it forward to the light, the slit of the stab was nowhere to be seen.

"Heh. Still got it." Robin grinned as he turned the card in his hand around, only for a convulsion to hit him and make him drop both the card he was holding and one with a stab mark in it from behind his hand. "Ouch... there had better be a cure here, or else I'm going to kill someone." He wrinkled his nose. "No, I'll just rob them blind. That'd be better."

Shutting the butterfly knife simply, he tossed it up into the air and allowed it to fall, catching it in his tail and allowing the fur to fall neatly over the weapon and cover it fully and securely. He pulled back the hood of his robe and, exposing his face, moved over to the bow of the boat where another figure already stood.

He stopped beside Sonata, watching the final parts of the boat's progress across the expanse of water. "It seems fate brings us together on this ship," he said conversationally. "For the same purpose, I presume. Fate is no kind master." He paused. He didn't particularly believe in fate, but this seemed like one of those moments where he ought to hope some higher being was watching out for him. "Perhaps we ought to get to know each other. I doubt this journey will be an easy one, and the more friends we have in this place, the better." He extended his hand. "My name is Robin, but you can call me Rob. What's yours?"

Lightning had slept through most of the trip there though it had been brief ones since if he slept too long, then the nightmares would come to him. While they did provide a good reminder of what he was headed to, there was things that he'd prefer not to see. He still wondered why he actually was doing this when this could have been a terrible hallucation and simply pour alcohol on himself and lite a match. The fact that he hadn't realized that he even had the diease until he had been forced onto the boat. He flapped his wings a little to see if they were alright, especially since his magic had went haywire while flying and had barely managed to recover when it came back undercontrol.

He sighed as he remembered the recent, crappy pass and went over to the equipment on the boat. He grabbed a pistol and examined it for a bit. He disliked guns since they were inaccurate and took so long to reload, which was the reason why he thought about grabbing the rifle instead. In the end, he went with the one that could give him some reach. He grabbed a few things needed to fire the stupid thing as well like bullets, gunpowder and etc. Lightning also grabbed a few knives that he stuffed into his jacket's inside pockets, having grabbed seven total. The stallion seriously doubted his chances in making it back from this trip with what he had.

Lightning slipped the strap of the rifle onto his back so that his hands could be free. He watched as the others left the ship and onto the island itself. "Oh Faust help us." He muttered to himself as he stepped off the boat, knowing that if she had care then they would be no diease in the first place.

There was a thick, ominous fog over the port. The dock itself looked to be in good repair, but there was no one there. Five abandoned ships of similar make and model, each in their own varying state of decay lined the dock. No welcoming committee or signs of life. Down the dock, a few houses were barely visible, and a few figures moved in the distance.

The sun was hanging in the sky, almost to the twilight hour.

Sonata threw a glance over to the griffon, her primarily gold eyes just barely catching a sliver of the dim light, but it was still enough to cause them to refract the light into a multitude of colors like a kaleidoscope. This however didn't last long as the cloth of her hood soon obscured her features once more and even before that, the shining quality couldn't hide the accent of sadness that practically plagued the thestral's eyes. That however didn't last long as her expression soon shifted to one of tired annoyance as she looked at the griffon.

"I don't give enough shits about fate to believe in it," she replied while turning about the rest of the way to begin making progress off the boat. "And if you're going to be a, 'friend', you'd better get some kind of weapon or be damned good at fighting without," she continued with the scowl still in place. She continued walking towards the docks, jumping over the side onto the other wooden surface and using her wings to make sure she landed gently.

Sonata looked up and down the docks as well as towards the town, then towards the sky to see where the sun was while raising a hand to shield her eyes from the worst of the sun's glare. With not much daylight left, Sonata began moving towards the town, but she still planned to check the docks more thoroughly when the chance presented itself. For now though, finding shelter for the night was a higher priority and with that in mind, Sonata continued on towards the town. She was however keeping her eyes up and alert, and glancing from side to side occasionally to make sure nothing was sneaking up on her. There were more than enough strange rumors about the island already, no need to fall prey to one.

The thestral who had flown over their boat had touched down further along the boat; against the drab and dull pier her all pink and white color stuck out like a sore thumb. She leaned against one of the railings of the pier and took her top hat off, somehow producing a long black and gold cane from it topped with a dragon's head shaped handle that was clutching a shimmer amethyst jewel in it's mouth.

She noticed the others walking up towards her and waved in welcome, twirling her hat back onto her head. "Hey look, I'm not the only one on the worst vacation ever." She joked; she had a thick Trottingham accent to her voice, speaking quite fast. Her pink and gold masquerade mask made her mismatched eyes stick out even more.

Robin sighed theatrically. "Oh, woe is me, that you would judge me for the sharpness of my blades alone and not that of my wit." He tugged off his cloak, revealing a satchel strapped around his chest and two ornate daggers slotted into scabbards at his waist. His wings opened as he moved lazily through the air, coming to a halt beside Sonata. "Surely you don't think killing's going to get you everywhere here, do you? I might not have very big swords," he pulled one of the daggers from his sides and started twirling it around his fingers, "but I'm useful for more than just fighting, ya know."

He then turned to the side and noticed the thestral waving at waving at them, and waved back with a wide smile on his face. "I'd have gotten a refund for the fare, but apparently they don't let you if you've already gotten on board." He joked in reply. "Should've known what to expect when I saw the travel brochure."

Sledge hung back silently, stroking his long beard in a sage-like way as he merely listened to the others around him. 'Just might enjoy this trip, these folks seem alright, I guess, and that thestral is cute. That griffon'll be nice to have around just for the jokes, and... well, not much I can say about the others, I guess, not much has happened ye-...I'm probably jinxing myself worrying, friends aren't a priority...' With a sigh, Sledge crossed his arms and waited to be spoken to, the normally loud, confident, and drinking stallion now quiet, brooding, and his booze had ran out over the trip. He kept watching the others, his posture showing his boredom.

Lightning noticed the ponies in front of him were trying to be friendly with one another and couldn't help, but smile. Even under the circumstances, ponies still wanted to be friends with someone. The brief moment of happiness shattered after he remembered what happened to those that had the disease for too long. He shook his head to rid himself of such depressing thoughts and found that someone else hadn't managed to group up yet. He decided that it was better to make an ally than wander alone in a place that probably had people on the verge of insanity. "Hey." Lightning said he as he gave a two fingered wave once he finally got next to Sledge. "Name's Lightning, yours?"

After, that his mind briefly focused on the town ahead, squinting a little. It seemed as if some people had been there before they had which could mean the city should be avoided completely, but unless they wanted to sleep at the docks, there wasn't really much of choice. Once, Sledge responded in hopefully giving his own name, Lightning pointed out the figures below. "I wonder how long they've been here." He said in a thoughtful tone to show that he was worried about the mental aspect of the disease had kicked in yet.

On three of the ships, the names had rotted off, they didn't look seaworthy anymore, in fact, they looked like they could sink at any moment, there could be supplies, as they were cargo ships, but one would have to ask if they were worth the risk. Farther down the dock, there were two more boats, one somewhat smaller, but more modern, labeled the 'Mareia'. It looked like it was expensive, and recently docked here. The last boat looked suspiciously like the smaller boat that followed the main boat here.

There was the sound of splashing behind them, but it was probably the waves. Even further ahead, there was a two story building on land labeled 'Dock Offices & Immigration', it had a wooden door, with a large glass window in the front, the glass was slightly cracked. There was a cobblestone road that led to the rest of town. The fog was still thick, and the figures in the distance didn't seem to get closer, or farther away.

Sonata shuddered and shifted slightly away when Robin pulled out his knife, her free hand just starting to go back for an arrow before she caught herself and instead used to motion to pull her hood further down over her face. "We'll see if you manage to live up to both of those claims," Sonata remarked with still the same level of bitterness, but also the slightest hint of teasing that managed to creep in. That however was said as they walked and before they drew too close to the second thestral in the considerably brighter outfit.

At first, Sonata just listened to them, moving noticeably closer to the new arrival and away from Robin while he still had the knife which, she was watching very closely, out. "Heh, but what's not to love. The fog, the gloom, and the foreboding sense of doom, it's practically paradise," she joked back sarcastically, a grin (though slightly nervous) breaking out across her face for the first time since the trip had began. Now that the sun was nearly set, and the presence of the heavy fog, Sonata wasn't as worried about letting the hood fall back, and it did so with her next step. The short cascade of silvery hair with random purple streaks, outlining her facial features and color refracting eyes with the short scares along them that still watched the knife rather warily.

Sonata then looked back over towards the town, or at least what possibly passed for one around here and pointed towards the 'Dock Offices & Immigration' building. "Guess we should see about checking in," she said while starting to take her first step towards the building. "How good do you think the room service is?" she asked still with the sarcasm and to hopefully draw some of the attention away from the fact that she was trying to make sure that the new thestral was between her and Robin so long as he had the knife out. Even if he put it away, she wouldn't be walking right next to him.

Sledge's ear twitched as he heard someone speak to him, and turned, looking up to the stallion. "Name's Sledge Hammer." He grunted, then kept stroking his beard, not even caring that, yet again, he was reminded that he was only four feet tall. He then sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking at what Lightning was looking at when he spoke again. "Probably a long, long time, by the looks of it...I hope we won't be here too long, I don't see us getting to any booze in this dreary of a place." He grinned, and began looking about slowly.

"So I suppose I'm not the only one here for something a bit more than a vacation?" Purse Cutter asked, standing in the groups way. "See, funny thing is, I don't think most people even know this island exists and yet here I have a whole group following along the same breadcrumb trail as me." She said, pacing up and down in front of them with her mischievous, mismatched eyes glinting.

She watched Sonata walk toward the immigration building. "You know, you could go and sign in... or you could be more fun and more practical and we could just waltz into town." Purse said with a grin, gesturing for Lightning, Robin and Sledge to follow her, twirling her cane as she walked down the cobblestone road.

Lightning shrugged. "I think the place would be nice if people didn't come to it with the same reason as we did. A nice island resort would be-" He paused as he heard a few splashes and turned his head to the sound, trying to see if he could see anything. His time being apart of the recon part of the Shadowbolts had taught him that he had to always keep himself aware of his surroundings. If he saw nothing he turned his head about around and kept his right hand inside of his pocket, doubting that he would have enough time to load his gun. He managed to keep a cool and easy going appearance and if Sledge questioned the paused he simply said, "It was probably just a few waves." Lightning's expression changed for a moment to become more serious as he said that to signal that he didn't mean it and that he thought it was something more. His eyes drifted over the fog, thinking about how he could probably tell where the figures were in the fog, but also knowing that it could led to another backlash with his magic.

He went to follow the others and said nothing to the others just yet. The stallion didn't want a rushed attack on them since it was doubtful he could get a word off without the possible attackers hearing him since it was unlikely that anyone would believe him when his only evidence was a few splashes that he had heard. Right now, he could only hope that it was paranoia

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Robin focused on Sonata with a little grin. "Once I have an opportunity I'll remember to take a few pictures as proof. You don't seem the very trusting type." He took a better look at her once he noticed the slightly nervous grin she flashed, even while joking. "Or the very relaxed type. Are you alright? Somethin' troubling you? Any more than this place is, already. Because if there's something up I'll need to know." He shrugged. "You know, to look out for danger. I'm not about to be jumped by a sabretooth tiger and not at least see it coming, you know?"

He then turned to the others, slipping his knife back into its holster and spreading both arms out as if he were offering an embrace. "Waltz into town? Sounds like a brilliant idea! Why don't I just stand back first and watch how the idea plays out? At least if any traps are sprung I'll be here. And you'll be there." He chuckled. "I'm just kidding, let's go, shall we? Nothing like getting a feel for the place firsthand." He turned his head slightly back to the sound of splashing, but otherwise said nothing as he moved forward with Purse.

Sonata:
As Sonata got closer to the 'Dock Offices & Immigration' building, sounds of a struggle could be heard. Something was fighting something else in there. It sounded like a blade rending flesh, followed by something being torn out and a loud thump, as if a body fell to the ground.

Lightning:
As he turned around, the boat they came in on was gone. As if it had never existed in the first place. There was no way a ship could have gotten that far away in such a short time.

As the others walked towards the town, more buildings came into view. Names were rotted off, windows were boarded up. The place looked deserted, except for the shadowy figures, who began getting closer as the rest walked into town.

Sonata had been reaching for the handle when the finale of the noises from inside reached her ears and she instantly went to alert. The all to familiar sounds of a blade across flesh also seemed to automatically force her arm to go back to retrieve an arrow. This time though, she didn't stop herself from drawing the projectile and knocking it to the string.

Then instead of actually going through the door first off, Sonata used to door to hide herself from sight of what was inside. She peeked around the edge to glance inside through the large window, using her sleeve to clear the window if needed so she could see better and what a sight to behold. A couple rough looking desks, one of which was just barely holding together with some very obvious and very poor repairs while another was flipped over and a final one had been reduced to pieces in the likely struggle that had occurred if the noise was anything to go by. There were a few chairs that were in much the same situation, being thrown about the place haphazardly and a couple that were now spending the foreseeable future as firewood or scrap. Papers also littered the ground, uprooted from their prior resting point upon the desks that were involved in the fray.

To top it all off however was the thing, or rather the pony, that was standing triumphantly over a corpse with a part of it clutched in her hand. Between the poor lighting and the gore, Sonata wasn't able to initially tell what part it was, at least until she glanced towards the unmoving figure on the ground with a large wound in the center of the back. Letting out a whistle, Sonata considered her next course of action very, very carefully... for all of about 5 seconds. While still holding the arrow in place, but not with any tension on the string, Sonata opened the door with her free hand. "So what'd he do to incur your wrath?" She asked while standing in the doorway and looking at the other mare with a grin.

"Tried ta bloody kill me, that's wot," the mare replied as she tossed the vertebral stack to the ground off to a side, leaning down to wipe the blood off her hand on the clothes of the unfortunate deceased, and then wipe her machete off as well. "Well, I'm not entirely sure that killing is possible anymore, but it wanted to keep me down. I've got an aunt who's a doctor and she learned me a few things about anatomy and if you want something that ain't dying to remain helpless, ya pull out that part that tells the body what to do and it stops doin' anything."

The mare unsnaps a loop of leather on her belt and buckles the machete to it before stepping out into better light. She's of average height for a pony, perhaps just a little less than average, and has a short-cropped white mane to go with a green coat dark enough that it looks black in the poor light of the dreary building. She has a broad-brimmed hat perched on top of her head with a small hole through which her horn protrudes, and there are small dull grey beads along the rim that seem to be heavy, because the brim naturally sags down a bit and makes the mare's eyes and face difficult to see except when she's lifting the brim, which she's doing now to study Sonata thoughtfully. She wears goggles tinted slightly yellow over her eyes and there's a carefully-sewn leather arrangement over her mouth that appears to be some manner of breathing filter. A sort of too-little-too-late gesture in a place like this but one that the mare has nonetheless gone with.

Her clothing is similarly odd, consisting of heavy leather gloves secured to her hands with copper rings so they contour her fingers perfectly and what appears to be canvas shirt and pants with a leather apron over her legs with the tips of very robust steel-toed work boots peeking out. Two bandoliers filled with pouches cross her chest with a belt around her waist boasting more such pouches and multiple straps for carrying equipment, such as the shiny new crowbar hanging from a loop on her left hip and a seasoned machete hanging from a loop on her right. And as if all of this storage isn't enough, two very heavy straps of a backpack are visible coming over her shoulders and the belt around her waist has a pair of extenders integrated into it for attaching the backpack in a way so as to lessen its apparent weight. Just over her right shoulder, Sonata would be able to see the long barrel of a rifle with a bayonet mount sticking into the air with the matching bayonet nowhere in sight.

The mare apparently finishes her examination of Sonata because she gives her a curt nod and extended her hand to her. "The name's Verde Tin," she says. "Got here by my own devices, got this bloody sickness and rather pissed about it, and now it seems I've got company that doesn't instantly want me dead. The last is, at bare minimum, an improvement in my circumstances that's highly encouraging."

Sledge hummed lightly as he looked around, before he wandered up to the closest house, and opened the door.

[I'm dropping out of this Thread, so bye bye Sledge]

"Yeah, definitely not wanting to even try to kill you," Sonata replied giving the mare another look about and grinning the whole time. "Oh, and I'm Sonata, Nights," she replied just as the look might have started to turn into staring. "There's a couple more of us out here if you want to join the group, though the rest of us just arrived by boat and don't know the town all that well," Sonata replied as she pushed the door open the rest of the way for Verde to exit the building. "Care to show us around a little? Or just join us on our merry stroll through the square?"

Robin started fidgeting somewhat. The whole place was making him slightly on edge - not that he'd admit it, of course - and he couldn't help but feel that there was danger around every corner. He drew out both of the knives from his sides and began twirling them idly, keeping his eyes sweeping about the town. Most of all, he tried to stay behind the others as they advanced as a group. His role was as a fast stabber, not a trap-springer, and as such he'd rather stay out of danger.

Lightning paused for a moment as he noticed the boat had done a magic trick and vanished. The stallion wasn't questioned by Sledge, who had left him to look at a door. The pegasus took a few steps towards the edge of the dock before, stopping. His curiousity was begging him to go and look at th area where the boat had been, but what could have made a boat like that just vanish? The thought let his mind wander in between it being a ghost boat to being pulled under by a water monster with tentacles, Lightning preffered the former over the later. Lightning finally decided to step away from the docks and moved towards the others. His eyes glanced over to where Sledge was and suddenly felt uneasy about him opening a door without knowing what was behind it, but found the sound of fighting to be more important. Lightning poked his head through and quickly noticed Verde and the dead body nearby. "Umm...hey." He said as he gave a quick wave and moved further into the room. "So, I missed something important, right?"