Prologue
...I stumble down the hallway. I can still hear the pounding of hooves a few corridors back. They may no longer be able to see me, but that didn’t mean they had ceased chasing me. I have to get out of here, I must. If they find me- I can’t think about that. Not now. If I entertain the idea of failing, then I have already failed. Why ha...
Thump thump... Thump thump
...working? Damn it, they’re getting closer. I can hear them. Their hoofbeats were the drums at my funeral. They will be unless I find somewhere to hide. AH! Damn, now it’s working. I can feel it eating...
Thump thump... Thump thump
...ings mustn’t be forgotten. Remember: I must escape. At all costs, I must escape. They are chasing me... who is? Damn it! Just run. Run and hide. Wait, here! I can hide here. I push open the metal door before me, and it opens into another room. Boxes of supplies line metal shelves. The thin smoke that filled the corridors is absent in here. Good. But if they come in here, there is nowhere to hide.
I shove boxes of canned vegetables aside as I try to hastily make a sufficient hiding spot. It is useless, none of the boxes are tall enough, and they won’t balance right. Damn it! No, there! Another door. This one is wooden, and it opens into a small closet. Even with the door open I can’t see through the darkness inside. Good. I’ll hide here. AH! Damn it...
Thump thump... Thump thump
...doing a number on me. I must remember, I need to run away, I need to escape. My name is Summer Sky. I’m twenty-six years old. I have a green coat that people say looks like fresh grass. My name is Summer Sky. Damn it, they’re right outside.
“We need to get that power back on!” one yells.
“He shut down the main reactor, and the sub-cores! It’ll take all day to get the generators running again!” a...
Thump thump
...eed to run away.
“Exactly, send...
Thump thump
...we can get to work on the power.”
“Alright, did you get that?”
“Yes,” buzzes one of their walkie talkies. My name is Summer Sky. My vision is blurring. Damn it I must stay awake, I must. My name is Summer Sky. My name is Summer Sky.
My name is...
Thump thump
My name...
Thump...
My...
Thump...
...
Malum Ferus
CHAPTER ONE
When I awoke, all I could see was black. My movements were sluggish, and it took great effort to push myself off the cold metal ground. Where was I? Why was it so dark? Everywhere I looked, nothing but that yawning black. I tried to think back to what happened. Was I at the bar? Is that it, I had too many drinks? I tried so hard to remember, but I couldn’t. I began to panic.
I slammed my hooves against the walls. They were not made of cloud, which was the usual building material used by pegasi. Instead, it was made from metal. I also became aware that the floor was made of the same metal, which was equally unusual. Where the hay was I? Not many buildings could afford to utilize metal. I slowly banged my head against it. My head made a dull thunking sound that echoed slightly. I heard a sound come from outside the room. Was somepony there? Yes! They might be able to get me out of here!
“Hello! I’m in here!” I yelled to the noise outside. “Help me, I’m trapped!”
Wait, was that a door? Yes it was! There was a wooden door right next to me, how did I miss that? I rapped on it, trying to get the attention of the pony outside. I also tried to pull it open, but the wood must have been warped. There was a sharp squeak of the door outside opening. I pressed my ear against the wood, maybe I could hear them coming to rescue me. His or her hoofsteps were slow and rhythmic. I heard them walk for a short time, and they stopped. Damn it, couldn’t they see the door?
I opened my mouth to cry out, but the pony outside did instead. It was a moan; one long, low drawn out note. It was inequine, and it sent an icy chill down my spine. Whatever the hell was out there was not a pony. And I had just told it my location. Oh, fuck me Celestia.
I heard another one shuffle in, or maybe it was the same one moving around. It snarled and my skin crawled. I sat there in absolute silence. After a moment that felt like forever, the two (or one) creatures left. When I was certain that they were not coming back, I let out a breath I had not realized I was holding.
I debated whether or not to stay in here, and came to the conclusion that out there I could run. Why did I have that urge, to run? Run and escape... escape what? I shoved my whole weight against the door, and it collapsed open.
I tumbled into a room filled with shelves and boxes. It too, was made of metal. Was this whole place made of it? On the opposite end of the room was an open door. What were those things? Did I imagine them? Was I going insane? Was I... wait a second, who was I? I couldn’t remember! Something about a sky... was that it? Was my name Sky? It had to be. Nopony forgets their own name.
I inched myself slowly through the maze of boxes to the door. It led into a good sized hallway, with grated metal floor and pipes running through the ceiling. At least the walls here were lined with cloud. I peered out, checking to make sure whatever-it-was was gone. The hallway was empty.
When I stepped out into it, I gave into a coughing fit from smoke inhalation. There wasn’t much, because I could see pretty clearly, but there was enough to irritate my throat. I searched some of the boxes from the storeroom, and came up with a can of carrots that I munched on. At least it was something.
Nothing prepared me for the out-of-body experience when I stepped back out into the hallway. Disembodied voices tore through my head, as if they were apart of my own memory. Perhaps they were.
“We need to get that power back on!” a male’s voice yelled.
“... Down the main reactor, and the sub-cores!” said a mare’s. Then the silence returned. So the power was off, and it ran off a reactor and sub-cores. That was good to know, I’d need to see if I can get it running again.
The hallway I was in gave me no sign as to where to go, so I chose a direction at random and began walking. I explored some of the rooms adjacent to the hallway, and one of them yielded to me a flashlight.
It was also in one of these rooms I noticed an odd trail of pinkish-purplish drops of dried liquid. It couldn’t have been blood, it was definitely the wrong color. Absolutely no idea what else I was going to do, I chose to follow it. the trail was sparse, and it led me down corridors that must have been near maintenance shafts because of the gaseous hiss that I couldn’t find the source of.
Although everywhere else, (that I had been up to that point), was brighter than the closet I woke up in, that didn’t mean it was actually bright inside. So far I had managed to traverse by using silhouettes as guides, but with the flashlight I was actually able to see.
A pounding in my head alerted me to a headache forming. Just what I needed.
Oh crap, what was that?
The screech of metal on metal. But from where?
Then the shrill scream of a mare. Oh shit! What the hell’s going on?
I pressed myself against the soft cloud of the wall. My breathing was rapid and my hooves shook. The disembodied scream died away, but I continued to stand there, trembling.
I picked the flashlight off the ground and shone it straight in front of me. Slightly rusted pipes, grated crosswalk and the slow swaying of the walls – not unlike the rhythmic breath of a creature. Nothing else.
Something stirred behind me. I could just make it out in my peripheral. I closed my eyes and swallowed. I whipped the flashlight around to reveal...
a wisp of cloud wall coming loose. I sighed, and resigned myself to explore the room next to me.
It was a locker room. Several of them lined the walls, most closed but a few were left open. On the wooden benches were odds-and-ins: empty soda cans, an empty cake box, some plates and forks. The last people in here must have been throwing a party. For who, I wondered. There was a banner hung in the center of the room that began with, “HAPPY BIRT–” but the rest was cut off. It was yellow, with blue lettering.
I walked over to the lockers, and tried a few that were closed. Only one had been left unlocked, and the name tag read “Snowy Knight”. In it were some personal belongings: a couple trinkets, a picture of his family, and some cards. Hanging on a coat hanger underneath was a white trench coat. I checked the few that were open, and they shared the same item. A white trench coat, accompanied by goggles.
Focusing the light on one of the coats informed me that these were lab coats. And this one has some sort of stain on it... something dark brown. No, it had a sort of reddish tinge to it, like – I recoiled and dropped the flashlight again.
Like blood.
That coat was stained with blood.
A quick look at the others confirmed it – they were all stained with blood. I kicked the locker closed.
There was nothing useful in here, but a birthday card laid out on a bench caught my eye. A picture showed a doctor holding his glasses and leaning forward saying, “Studies show that sex gets better and more exciting as you get older, which goes to show you one thing –” I opened it and read the inside “– You old people will believe anything!”
Beneath that was scribbled, “LoL, just kidding. Love ya Sky, and Happy Birthday! –Sand Whisper”. Wait, was... was this party for me? No, probably not. Sky is a popular surname. Besides, I had no memory of this place. I tossed the card on the ground, and walked out.
I picked up the trail of liquid again, once more self-conscious about where I was. Why did those lab coats have blood on them? Why did I want to know? Where am I?!
I stretched my wings to help relieve the tension in them. I followed the path down a flight of stairs and around bends. Whoever or whatever this came from was running from something. After seeing that blood, I was convinced that this was a somepony, not a something. But what was this liquid? It was nothing like I’d seen before.
The drops became more concentrated. I was getting closer. Why was this so important?
Finally, it ended in a personal office. Like everywhere else, it was dark. The lights refused to work. The office was bare, no pictures on the wall. The desk in the corner held no pictures either, and there wasn’t a nameplate. What was on the desk was an empty bottle with the remnant of a pink, viscous liquid.
That was it? A bottle? A fucking bottle? Why was I so disappointed? Why did I care? Why?! Why damn it why?! I yanked out one of the drawers and threw it against the wall. So much anger welled up inside of me, and none of it came from the bottle. That was merely a catalyst. I threw another drawer, and another.
Wait, hold on. A piece of paper fell out of the third drawer, and it was addressed to Summer Sky. Abandoning my rage, I picked it up and read it.
To Summer Sky,
This is yourself writing this. I have no idea how much I will remember, but if what I wish is true, then you don’t remember anything. I don’t remember anything. It is better that way. You need to understand, I took the potion to forget what is best left unsaid. Do not go digging. I don’t want to remember. Here is what you need to know: They are chasing you. It doesn’t matter who – just call them “Them”. You cannot fight Them. Don’t try. Just get out of here, as fast as you can. Hopefully the name Glaze invokes bitter anger in you, else this is going to sound terrible. As you escape, if you run into her, kill her. Do not go looking for her, but if she finds you, do not hesitate. She won’t.
I reread the note.
What.
The.
Fuck.
I didn’t even know how to respond to that. I reread it again.
What the fuck have I been drinking? Well, apparently a hallucination-inducing potion. Explains the creatures when I woke up: they didn’t exist, they were only side effects. I ripped the piece of paper. More than likely this was a prank by one of my buddies. Get me drunk off my ass, stick me in a “haunted” house, and watch the drama unfold. I ripped the pieces of paper again. Might as well find a way out of here.
Next to the office was another hallway, this one ending with a barred door. I took a step forward, and I began to trip balls.
My entire vision seemed to implode, and in the matter of a few seconds everything was back to normal. What in this Celestia-forsaken place was that?
I took another step forward, and there was a resounding bang.
The door moved. I froze. Oh shit.
Another bang, and the door moved even more. My blood ran cold. Oh shit.
A third bang, and part of the door dented. Oh fuck!
I scrambled into the office and squeezed myself into the hole and pulled the chair in to try to hide me. One last bang and the door collapsed with a resistant screech. Numerous swears ran through my head. I could hear something walking this way with a slow gait. Please don’t come this way, please don’t come in here.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
It paused. Then it continued walking, now going down the hall that led to the room I was in.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
I could hear it outside the room, in the doorway. Its breath was raspy, and wet. It began to walk inside.
I swallowed reflexively, and took a chance to glance at it. I caught the glimpse of a pale, white hide and quickly withdrew back into my hiding spot.
It snarled and a chill went down my spine. The thing took another step toward me. Help me Celestia, I began to cry. This was not a prank; nopony could mock something this fucking horrid. Tears ran down my face and I hastily rubbed them off with my shoulder. I needed to stop crying, it could hear me. Wait, could it?
Thump.
Another step toward my death.
Yes, it could hear me. Damn it, stallion, pull yourself together.
It seemed to sniff the air, and with one more bone-chilling snarl the creature wandered off.
