=Fracture 9=

-Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB2SaEzSduM-

>You grip the roof tight as the smoke bellows into your face, the train screaming down the side of the mountain.
>The cars behind you were shredded and blown out after the recent events.
>Before you now on the roof of the train stands a battered and bloody griffin clenching her sides, just like that pegusi so long ago.
>It had been a busy three days.
"LAST STOP, STORMWING! LAST CHANCE TO THROW ALL OF THIS BEHIND US!"
>Please don't.
>She glances around at her situation, clearly taking your words under consideration.
>But, as is the case with her kind, that griffin bravado and honor takes root and thrives.
>"Not way. Not after what you pulled. We end this now!"
>Thank The Maker.
>The hen charges you, using the wind at her back to close the distance between you both as fast as she can.
>*Idiot*
>+Knee+
>You shoot your knee up into her  jaw as she gets close before you grab the feathers on the side of her head.
>You spin yourself around with her still in your grip and hurl her from the train.
>She spins and twists in the wind as you speed ahead, but her wounds do too much to slow her down and she vanishes beneath the trees.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
>Riding on a burning train down a mountain at blinding speeds and throwing some dumb bitch off with your bare hands, this was the time of your life.
>You step to the edge of the train and spot the lake you were currently running over.
>:No time like the present!:
>You leap from the train, your velocity causing you to painfully skip over the water's surface.
>FUCK,
>:SHIT:
>+DAMN+
>*ASS*

>You break through the water's surface near the shore and haul yourself out and onto the shore.
>Your knives and gear can all be felt on your body, save for one important thing.
>DAMMIT.
>:SHIT:
>*WHERE IS IT?*
>You get to your feet and slow through the wet sand.
"WHERE IS IT!?"
>Traveling light was a necessity for you, you usually only ever carried your gear on you and some bits.
>Save this.
>This went everywhere with you.
>You spot a simple rucksack at the edge of the beach and all but run towards it.
>Inside you can feel water sloshing around as you madly grasp for the object inside.
>Once your hand finds purchase, you pull the little stuffed friend out and sigh a deep sigh of relief.
"Hello, Smarty Pants..."
>The doll didn't respond, but it being there was enough for you.
>Mac had loved this thing...it had been the only thing you had grabbed from Ponyville before you left...
>You sigh and shove the doll back into its sack before throwing it over your back and tightening it to ensure it wouldn't be thrown off again.
>By your reckoning, you were a few miles from the Trottingham suburbs, only a short walk away.
>You set out and walk through the woods, putting your body on autopilot as you take in the gentle sights and sounds of the forest.
>Before long, you see the small houses of the suburb, the residents of it milling about.
>Nothing LOOKED out of the ordinary...
>Shining, you're a moron.
>You moved closer to the town, now being able to make out some of it.
>It was a lot like Ponyville with a northern flavor. The roofs were the same just made of brick, the streets were paved and the citizen-
>...
>Okay, maybe Shining wasn't a moron.

>Everyone in the town was muted, grey.
>They all wear blank expressions and simply shuffle their hooves along the ground as they walk seemingly without direction or purpose.
>You stride through the town, giving the ponies a wide berth as you do.
>As you walk, you inspect them.
>+Small pupils, mouths agape, droll spilling out and hooves dragging along the ground+
>:Euch...:
>*They're like meat puppets...*
>None of them seem to notice us...
>It's a little insulting.
>You huff a bit and walk down the road towards an official looking building.
>Rounded structure, pillars along the outside keeping the roof up, crows next at the top.
>A lot like Town Hall in Ponyville.
>You step up to the front door and knock your knuckles against it twice.
"Hello?"
>You hear the sound of hooves on hardwood from behind the door.
>:Huh?:
"Anyone in there?"
>+Break down the door+
>What?
>*Do it*
>That's ins-
>You find your foot moving up to the doorknob.
>Ohgoddamnit!
>Your foot bounces off the door three times before the sound of cracking wood and a hail of tiny splinters harkens your entry into town hall.
>Immediately before an arrow imbeds itself in the wall.
"GAH FUCK."
>"Dammit all!"
>You spot a unicorn in the back of the room wielding a small crossbow, struggling as he tries to reload it.
>You burst from the doorway and bound over the makeshift barricades, tackling the stallion to the ground.
"You greet everyone like this, kid!?"
>"Please don't take me!"
>Huh?

>+Gather information+
"Explain."
>He removes his hooves from his face and looks up at you. "You mean...you don't know?"
>You shake your head.
>"Oh thank Celestia! You may be able to help!"
>He wriggles his way out from underneath you and hops to his feet.
>"It all started about two weeks ago. Some ponies said they saw the old necromancer Grogar in the nearby ruins of Tambelon. A few days later, there were reports of walking DEAD circulating around town!"
>*...Animated corpses?*
>"A few magisters looked into it, they think that Grogar has to siphon life energy from living beings and then spread it out over the dead to raise them."
>The stallion reloads his crossbow.
>"I'm the only one left. The ones outside get...controlled by him! Turned into his little obedient slaves!"
>*Slaves...*
>The stallion peers out the window.
>"I think we can make a break for it if we-"
>You weren't listening, you were heading to the door.
>You throw open the doors and bang your fist against one as loud as you can, attracting the attention of all the ponies outside.
>You glance over your shoulder at the stallion.
"Stay inside."

-Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dvIjjzO2aU-
>Your back arches and your pupils constrict as the townspeople stumble ever closer to you.
>*This...*
>*This ends.*
>You run into the crowd of cultists and start swinging your knives, aiming for necks, faces, and chests.
>This...this was sick.
>*An affront to all life*
>And like all affronts.
>*It had to be ended.*
>There was no one to save from this, no need to.
>They were gone, the life was stolen from them and they were forced to hobble around afterwards.
>This wasn't murder, it was an act of mercy.
>You whirled around the town, killing every shambling form you found.
>It turned out that the unicorn in the town hall wasn't the only survivor. You found a few families in homes, a few people trying to get food, a child hiding under a porch. You directed each of them to the town hall to take shelter.
>The sun sets as you clear out more of the town of more of the cultists.
>Eventually you spot only one cultists remaining, shuffling towards the woods at the edge of town.

>Knives in hand, you close the distance between the two of you.
>You tackle the cultist to the ground and slam your knuckles and the blade straight into his neck.
>His eyes lose what's left of their light as the crimson blood seeps from the wound.
>Around his bleeding neck, you spot a single blue amulet.
>+Curious+
>You grab the amulet and hold it up to your eye.
>The single sapphire catches the rising moonlight as you survey the landscape.
>Once you point it in one direction, it takes on a low bloody red hue.
>You remove the sapphire and stare off into the distance, the dull light of a million electric lamps thrumming in the distance.
>+Trottingham+
>The amulet is pointing there.
>:Whoever made it will probably be there:
>You rise from your feet and start walking.
>*Then that's where we're going*