Black Nightmare

Star Song wandered the endless halls of RES: Loyalty, seeing her dead crew at nearly every turn, and feeling the dark sensation of being stalked on her back the whole time. A decapitated head rolled to her hooves feet, which she picked up in her hands, a sigh escaping her lips as she tossed it away again. It had been her best friend, a white stallion with a jet black mane and tail. His torn up body was, however, usefully equipped. A quick search found her some rations, a smoke grenade, and a D sixty-three Pulse Rifle, fully charged too. "This'll come in handy." Star commented to herself, before continuing to walk down the endlessly long corridor. So many had died to one creature. A spy or assassin of some kind, but a damn good one. Whatever it was - it could kill and - it was a gruesome killer. Another five minutes of walking and she stared out the window, pausing under the vent systems. The cold air was a refreshing feeling on her fine, pale-blue coat.

She smiled as she looked out to a vibrant nebulae. Despite all the horrors committed on-board the cruiser, she smiled. The beauty of the universe could make ponies to that, even if only pain and sorrow awaited. When she heard hoof-steps she was forced to sprint away, down a corridor towards the ships centre, fear gripping her heart.

As she fled she saw a glimpse of what hunted her, a monstrous, insect-like, and huge feline. It's carapace was the same as a changelings, with made Star suspicions. She would have to think about it later, but for now she had to flee.

Eventually she would come to a halt, panting as she steadied herself on a handrail. She stood in front of the main reactor. It was the ships power source, and it was huge. Down below lay nine more dead ponies, one shredded, one without arms or a head, another with their spine snapped in two and sticking out their back. All the others seemed to have had their guts shot out, a blood stained the walls and gore littered the floor, drenched in more blood.

Three empty power cells lay broken on the floor, the four in the reactor had nearly depleted, and would work for another hour at most. Nearby lay hundreds of stacked power cells,  all neatly stacked. It was like, for them, nothing had happened.  The gangways had also broke, snapped and fallen to the floors below. There was no crossing them. But going down was an option, if Star Song could survive the fall that is.

Star climbed over the railings and dangled herself over the edge, ready to let go and fall down any moment. She spotted the creature again, and with a gasp lost her grip. She landed with a quiet thump, and it didn't attract the creatures attention, by the look of things. Still, it had been in here too, evidence enough was the corpses, and, again the females of the crew had their gear torn apart and the same vile ooze on them. "I don't wanna know..." Star commented quietly as she search the bodies. Acess codes, weapons, anything! Nothing.

Then she decided to examine the ooze. Not blood. Not a beverage of any type. A quick smell didn't help, so she tasted her with a quick lick. "Changeling semen..." Star's face wrinkled in disgust that a changeling was having sex with dead ponies, that they murdered!

No doubt if she was caught it would happen to her too...

She had to escape. But how? She had limited supplies, and would most likely run into that thing again if she wasn't careful. And now she knew it was a changeling, it became a much greater threat. It could end up being another survivor of this bloody massacre! She needed to be careful... Very careful.

Though for now, she would keep moving. It was her best chance of escape and survival. Hurrying out of the large steel doorway she fled down another corridor towards the barracks and armoury in the centre of the ship. The weapons they would come in handy later if needed. And more armour couldn't hurt either. The corridor to it was long though, and she had no vehicles to travel faster down the long steel tunnel. Of course, she wouldn't give up however, there was too much at stake to give up. Her life, and anypony who was left's life was on the line. She couldn't.

As she reached the armoury she picked up a suit of heavy grunt's gear. A large bulky piece of titanium, that would protect her well in combat, but slow her down slightly. She also grabbed a De Forty-Two pistol as well, gryphon make. The gryphons always made good guns, and sold them to the Equestrian military fairly cheaply too. Infact, most of Equestria's defence's used gryphon technology, from guns to tanks and even the very ship Star was in used some gryphon technology in it's design.

On the topic of gryphons, she found a mangled gryphon corpse inside the room, torn to bloody shred with his guts torn apart and dragged all over the floor too. One of the eyes and been shot out too, probably by the changeling on-board. "So many dead... Why?" Star asked the corpse, or herself. Either way, no reply came. "And why must it all be so horrifically - and brutally - done?" Again, no reply.

Star heard the door open and with a gasp dived under one of the beds, bringing her breathing down to a shallow, silent, repeating huff.

A orange-pink changeling walked in, clad in basic armour and armed with a pistol, pulse rifle and shotgun, all of which came from the ships arsenal. With three pairs of wings and three horns on it's head. It resembled a winged, insect-like triceratops, with a slightly longer neck. And on two legs.

"I could have sworn I heard a pony in here..." It said, a frown on it's face. "Maybe I just imagined it?" It looked around, staring Star dead in the eyes, yet not seeming to notice her. She slunk back, further under the set of beds, hoping not to be seen. Then the changeling walked deeper into the room, still searching for the mare. It put it's hands on a set of bars and climbed up them, sitting at the top with a sigh.

Star had no chance of escape now.

"I've killed everyone, by the look of it," it said solemnly. Another sigh. "I wish Chrysalis didn't send me out here. This was a suicide mission. I have no way home!" It suddenly yelled, bursting into tears. "Why did I do this... This isn't what we're abut..."

Star looked to it and frowned, no in anger, but pity. It was lonely by the look of it, but she couldn't risk showing herself. Surely it would leave eventually, right?

At least one thing was confirmed for her: She really was the last survivor. And it had just spotted her. Staring at her with deep, sorrow filled eyes.