My eyes opened slowly, my eyelids heavy. A dim light swung slowly above me, squeaking with every swing. Other than the squeaking I heard no noise.
I slowly lifted my body off the ground, pulling it up, taking more effort than I had expected. My throat was dry and my stomach grumbled. I could feel the fat inside my body almost depleted, as my body had used that to feed itself. I surveyed the room I was in, looking about it seeing what might tell me where I was and how I had gotten there.
The room was a dark and grimy cube, covered in dirt and dust. There was a strong odor of dead. telling me it most likely wasn't safe here. On the right of me were several stairs and a large circular hatch just large enough for a pony to squeeze through. The rest of the walls were solid with no entrances or windows.
I decided not to investigate further and headed for the hatch, stumbling more than walking as I made my way up the stairs. When I had finally managed to reach the top of the stairs, i stood in front of the hatch, my mind still not made up on leaving. For some reason, the room I was in seemed like it meant something else, something greater, was supposed to happen. Something for the greater good.
I caught scent of the death smell again, which smelled like a rotting corpse, several days old. I made up my mind and laid my two hooves, which, looking at them were covered in so much filth, I couldn't tell their color.
The door's handle, a large circular vault like object moaned loudly as I turned it. Once that had been disabled, I slowly pushed the door open, receiving more resistance than I had expected, pushing harder and harder until my weak muscles were at their maximum strength. I grunted, as it slowly creaked open, allowing just enough space for my skinny, bony body to pass through.
I came into a long hallway, lit by more dim, dust covered lights, which were strung from the ceiling by a weak bendable cord about five feet from each other. The halls extended out of my eyesight in either direction, pushing more wonder into my mind. Across the hall I saw another door much like the one I had just exited, partly open, a rotting corpse halfway out of it.
I looked away and quickly trotted to my left, not caring where I ended up, as long as it was away from the sight. The hall, I noticed had a stronger death scent than the other room, meaning there was most likely more dead bodies than the other room, or that I was closer to the dead bodies.
Soon after heading left, I came across several other bodies, piled up as if the halls were once cleaned of bodies, but no respect was paid. The only hopeful sign I could make of it were that the corpses looked fresh, which meant that other than me there might be another living being in the premises.
I continued trotting, hoping to find food or water, my body aching more and more with every step. I came across several other piles of bodies, each one older than the lest, until I started to pass piles of bones.
I must have passed hundreds of bodies and my mind became bored of looking at the same texture and color, so it started to ask questions. Every minute that passed, another one shot through my head.
"What happened here? How many ponies died? Are there any survivors? Am I going the right way? How did I get here?" My mind shouted for answers and with every question asked, I became more and more curious.I then found myself asking the questions aloud, most likely a natural habit I used to have to keep myself company.
I abruptly stopped when I heard a general question that was easy to answer, yet I couldn't, "Who am I?" This question sent more questions rocketing through my mind, all of them about myself, that I realized I couldn't answer. I almost screamed out because I didn't know my own identity.
I stood there a moment, thinking about it. Who was I and what had happened that I ended up in such a wretched place. The questions were giving me a head ache so I decided to push them out of my mind for the time being, thinking it better not to have another issue on my hands.
My first line of order was to obtain food and drink. Once I had reached that goal, I would continue on my trek.
****
The hallway seem very unforgiving, as I passed by more and more piles of bodies, each becoming larger than the last, their bones stripped of meat and flesh and anything life like other than their shape.
I slammed into the wall and quickly came to the realization I was drifting off, the seriousness of my lack of supplies began to seriously worry me.
I took a few more steps than hit the ground, blacking out, the last thought shooting through my head was, "Will I survive?"
****
I woke up in a bed, my thirst and hunger quenched. I looked around and noticed white linen clothes draped over me, a curtain surrounding the bed I was in.
"Wha? Where?" I muttered before a white mare came in a pink suit and hat on.
"Hello," she said, her voice melodic and sweet, "I'm Nurse Redheart and I'll be your nurse today." I tried to say something in reply, but my mother just hung open. That name sounded extremely familiar, and this place, it seemed like I'd been there before.
"Are you okay sir?" she asked, seeing my lack of speech from where I lay. My body felt weak and frail as she gazed upon me, but still in a much better condition than I had been before.
"Um, yea," I muttered as I looked pat her, out the window. A large apple tree stood there, a number of birds perched on it, and under the tree stood a brown pony, with deep sunken eyes. I could see his ribs at his sides and his gaze was transfixed on me. It hit me then that this was me; the current me. Out of food, water, and hope I was a lost soul.
"So this is what it feels like to die," I muttered as I drifted off into another sleep, leaving the white room and Nurse Redheart in the darkness.
****
I moaned and rolled over, the cold floor pressed against my face. My eyes popped open, and darted back and forth, taking in my surroundings. I was in a large spacious room with the same coloring and odor as the hallway. My thirst was quenched, but my stomach growled hungrily.
"I thought ya'd never wake up," he said as he trotted up to me, his body small and skinny, but his muscles obviously strong, "Ya'll had me worried sick."
"W-where am I?" I mumbled, my body still adjusting from where it lay, slowly starting to recover from the lack of water it had experienced.
"I dun' quiet know," the stallion replied, his country accent thick and rich, his mane covered, like mine, in filth, "All I know is where ah cn' get some food and drink."
"Food?" I asked weakly, "Please, can I have some?"
"Of course ye' can," he said, his voice strong and happy, "Ah didn't save ya fer no reason and waste mah watr on ye."
"Thanks," I mumbled even weaker. He left my vision and I heard his hooves clinking further away, his quest to get me some food. I must have drifted into sleep for when I awoke a large platter of stale bread had been set before me.
"Thanks," I muttered as I shoved some of the bread into my face, getting it dirtier than it already was with my hooves. I must've been extremely hungry, past the point of starvation, because within minutes I had downed the whole platter.
"Thank you so, so much," I said, wiping a hoof across my face, letting the crumbs to small to eat fall to the floor, "It means a lot."
"No problemo," he replied as he looked around.
"Do you know how we got here or anything about this place?" I asked him, hoping maybe he knew how to answer some of my questions.
"Ah dun know exactly how we got ere," he said, "But ah guess it was by will. There's too many bodies out there for alla us ta hav been forced here."
The stallion made and extremely good point as he continued, "But what ah do know fer sure is that this place, wherever it is, is full o' filthy bests set on rippin' alla our guts out."
"What," I squeaked out of bewilderment and shock.
"Ya'll heard me. Ya'll are lucky they didn' find ya'll before ah did." As he finished a loud clanking noise of heavy footsteps came to our attention.
Standing up I nodded my head to him, once again thankful, and said, "I wouldn't hold your breath, I think we've got company."
