Dead Space: Lifeline

The door at the top of the stairwell didn’t open on its own accord, much like the warehouse door. Only instead of being on lockdown, the reason for this door’s malfunction was clear to see. There were claw marks on the glassy surface and the seams were practically torn out like a rabid pack of slashers had spent hours prying it apart.

The gap was still too small for me to squeeze my bulky frame through, so I threw my weight into it and ‘persuaded’ the already cracked and broken panels to part. They yielded to my charge and I burst through onto the next stretch of offices like an armoured bullet.

The upper floor offices were just as abandoned and emancipated as the last. Only this one had more litter, with a few banks of snow that had blown in and gathered in the corners. Papers fluttered on a wind and blew past.

The windows to one side were all smashed in letting a wind colder than a brass toilet seat in winter snake into the room. But the opposite tower about twenty metres across suffered a similar fate. And there in the bare offices among the debris of what used to be chairs, desks and cubicle walls was the source of the commotion I was chasing.

There were three unicorns in total. All of them were clad in armour, and two hefted heavy rifles in their telekinetic grips. One of them clad in a set of armour similar to my own was familiar.

Captain Shining Armor was clad in a red winter suit quite like my own, with gunmetal grey plates of Royal Guard armour strapped over the top. The two other unicorns with him were dressed similarly, their ashy grey horns alight with magic as they belted everything they had at the pack of slashers charging them.

I aimed my rainbow cutter, but held my fire realising they were out of range. But it all happened so fast my shots wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

The two unarmed unicorns supporting Shining Armor threw their magic into the crystal monsters, but like a dull knife trying to cut through an armoured plate the bolts of light just seemed to glance off the slashers’ glistening skin. They fired lances and blades of magic, but no matter what they did it either didn’t seem hot enough to cut the crystal ponies’ skin, or they were somehow immune to the effects of magic.

One of the Royal Guard was in the middle of them, surrounded on all sides and doing his best to cut his way free. He desperately swung his head from side to side as if trying to give his magical blades more momentum, but the magic just fizzled out and evaporate on contact with the slashers’ limbs. There were too many of them. I watched as one of the crystal ponies plunged its face into the unprotected part of the unicorn’s neck. Screaming he tried to pry it off, and finally did, knocking it back and unloading a thick beam of energy directly into its mouth from his horn, but another was instantly in its place.

The unicorn was screaming and a moment later his head tore free, the decapitated body collapsing onto the deck.

Across the space between them I heard Shining belt out a curse before he dove to one side. One of the slashers charged him and his last comrade and collided with the other unicorn. Cursing louder than his captain did the pony roared a challenge and tangled in each other’s limbs, stabbing and punching all the way the two tumbled out one of the broken windows and fell out of sight.

The stark white unicorn scrambled to his hooves at the same time, the same rose light wrapped around his horn and weapon.

The triple-barelled rifle swung around and fired. Crystalline energy rounds flickered in bursts, cycling between each of the rifle’s barrels in quick succession, flashing from one allowing the other two to cool before switching. Shining swept his aim low, systematically working his way through the closest slasher and moving to the farthest.

He aimed with the same priorities I did, targeting limbs instead of body shots. Whatever shots did hit the centre mass just seemed to punch through and the crystal ponies didn’t flinch. But the moment Shining Armor hit a limb it came free with a mist of shattered glass and spurts of viscera.

Slashers dropped as Shining paused his excess of fire, adjusted his aim then laid into the crystal ponies still twitching. Soon his opposition was reduced to one shambling monster dragging itself closer with one arm before Shining Armor stomped on it, simultaneously reloading his crystal rifle.

Having popped a fresh crystal cylinder into the chamber and snapped the rifle shut, the captain looked around and finally noted me standing in the opposite building watching silently. His eyes flashed with half recognition.

“Hey! What are you-…” Shining Armor interrupted himself, shaking his head. “Never mind! We… I’m heading to the park on the north side of these buildings! We can link up there!”

I opened my mouth to answer, but was halted before I could make a sound by a cry that fed into my most primal sense of fear. A cry that was all too familiar for having heard it on two previous occasions already.

My tormentor leapt into view, latching onto the side of Shining Armor’s building and groping through the shattered windows with one of its long arms. The same beast that had almost crushed me in the storage area earlier was now clambering about directly in my line of view, thrashing up and down the building, knocking through drywall and sprinkling the ground below with debris and shattered glass. Shining leapt back with surprise. But he didn’t look like he’d seen this monster for the first time either. There was some recognition there, if not in his eyes at least in the way he maintained his combat ready posture.

The unicorn wasn’t like me; thrown off guard by every horror he face. Shining Armor was a professional soldier, had been for about as long as I’d been a farmer. Only soldiers were better equipped mentally to face the stress of combat than a farmer, obviously. Hence the captain stood his ground, and I looked about ready to bolt.

He screamed across the gap between us again, “Crap! North side! Move!”

Firing as he galloped, Shining disappeared into another corridor leaving just me and my old monstrous friend. It didn’t take long for the tormentor to notice me and with a swivel of its head leapt over the gap and latched onto my building with a pair of thick forearms.

I jumped back and galloped, putting as much distance as I could between myself and that monstrous head rearing into view. And there wasn’t a moment to lose either as the maw opened up and a quad of long, double hinged arms came slithering out of its gullet, each ending in a barbed tip. Those tips immediately proved to be lethal at any range, not just close.

The tormentor flicked its new set of miniature arms, filling the air around me with the buzz of high velocity projectiles flung in my direction. The barbs hissed through the air and whacked into a set of cubicle walls beside my face.

I didn’t dare slow down or look back as the tormenter grew a new set of barbs and clawed its way along the side of the building to catch up and unleash the next volley of bullets.

Something hit and swept the legs right out from under me. I fell mid-run, sliding to a halt tasting pennies in a numb, swollen mouth. Then came the pain drawing a shrill scream from my raw throat.

I’d broken ribs before, broken a leg from time to time too. I’d twisted my back, sprained an ankle, been clocked in the head by falling apples and even stubbed my hoof on the end of my bed aplenty. But this was an entirely new type of pain – an entirely new universe.

Crying I looked down at one of the tormentor’s barbed projectiles sticking out of my left foreleg. It had punched clean through armour and pierced my flesh. Scrambling forward as another volley smacked into the wall just above me I tried to pull the spike out, but the pain was blinding and I couldn’t bring myself to look at it, never mind touch it.

Blinking away tears I rolled aside and limped away as another flurry of projectiles shredded my hiding spot. Behind me the monster screamed and screeched as I hobbled out of range.

I dove into a corridor outside the beast’s field of view. But as I clambered to my hooves I almost wished to run back and face the tormentor.

Something whipped down the bloody corridor to meet me, and before I could even think to deploy my cutter a tendril of sinew latched onto my foreleg. The web of squid-like tentacles wrapped around my rainbow cutter, engulfing my entire fetlock. And then the whiplash tentacle dragged me off my hooves.

The hall had been remade, covered in an organic layer smeared with an approximation of flesh. It was like I was being tugged down an intestine and was helpless to stop it. My hooves wouldn’t purchase on any of the material painting the floor and I was whipped from side to side as the tentacle dragged me around a corner and up into a wide duct.

The duct was some sort of maintenance tunnel greased with the slick slime and fleshy paint that grew across the corridor as well. I fought at the threshold, trying to hold myself back, but the tentacle gave a powerful tug and I disappeared into the gullet screaming.

The next leg of the journey was a blur of reds and browns as I was dragged through tunnel upon tunnel. Up, down, left then left again and then a long smooth run. Up again…

Finally I hit something. My back smashed into some sort of ventilation grate and I fell through. The tentacle let go at the same time, seemingly of its own accord and I was flung like a toy by a toddler.

I was tumbling head over hooves through the frigid air, completing what must have been at least four whole somersaults before I hit the ground. And even then the bitterly painful ride wasn’t at an end yet. Sliding and tumbling I went crashing through a park bench, a fence of some sort, then finally slammed to a halt against the point base of a statue.

My armour had taken the brunt of the abuse, but the wind was knocked right out of me. My chest felt tight and I was sure something was sprained, broken or at the very least bruised. And this time it was almost definitely my ribs, not my pride.

With a groan I managed to roll over and get my hooves under me, but my legs were trembling as they struggled to support my weight. Sucking in a breath I managed to power through the pain and blink away the dazzling stars circling my eyes.

Around me sat the park Shining Armor had mentioned. A thick, misty haze descended all around as the wind picked up, but I still had a hundred metres visibility, enough to note the even dusting of snow covering the ground, a few light poles, some trees and even a playground I’d ploughed through in my landing.

My leg suddenly stung nearly enough to make me collapse. Looking down I noted the barb still sticking out of my fetlock, piercing the impact-plate that was supposed to serve as protection. The spike bent the sheet of tarnished metal inwards around the gash so the edges of broken armour prodded into the tender flesh where the barb pierced my skin. Blood trickled over my hoof and left distinct stains on the snow.

Undoing the strap holding the armour and now the barb in place, I took a few deep breaths. It had to be like tearing off a bandaid, right?

As it turned out, it was worse. I tore off the plate, gritting my teeth as the tormentor’s spike came free, leaving a hole of ragged, crimson flesh and a fresh streak of blood across the snow. I tasted pennies again, having bitten my tongue. Tears running down my cheeks I gave the weeping wound a look. It was a nasty gash, but it would have been worse had I not been wearing the armour.

I tenderly wrapped it with some of the gauze out of my med-kit and tested my weight on my hoof again. My whole leg throbbed painfully, but the sensation was mildly sobering rather than detrimental.

I looked up at the statue that ‘broke’ my fall. It was of a pony, a normal looking pony which was a welcome sight after facing so many monsters for several hours. It was an earth-pony sculpture, quite similar to that in the town square in Ponyville. Only this pony had an angular coat with a crystalline sheen. It must have been a native crystal pony before being transformed into an undead implement of murder and terror.

My moment of rest was cut short by a familiar howl wafting out the haze of gentle snowflakes raining over the park. While everything I’d met thus far was the stuff of nightmares, what came thundering out of the mist at me next was a horror directly from Tartarus.

The “tormentor” was unlike any of the other crystal monsters I’d faced thus far, as in instead of being formed and repurposed for a deadly mission out of a single corpse, this abomination consisted out of multiple bodies warped, buckled torsos were awkwardly melding with one another. A few of the heads still attached dangled weakly in place, hanging on like loose teeth.

It looked quite like a spider, but with seven scythe-like appendages serving as the hind-legs. The upper body was elongated and erect, the broad shoulders spreading down into a powerful pair of arms and the slender neck ending not in a head but a giant maw lined with rows of scissoring blades.

It scuttled towards me with long leaping bounds of the forearms, maw agape and a broken, rotting howl escaping the emancipated vocal chords of all the poor ponies making up its body. I bolted immediately. Scrambling over the playground fence I slid under a seesaw and disappeared into the weave of iron bars that made up a large climbing frame.

Toy after toy buckled and broke under the tormentor’s charge as it ploughed clean through. I was scrambling around in the snow, kicking and skidding just out of range as the climbing frame groaned and screamed all around me. Whole bars snapped off and twisted inward as if actively trying to impale me. The tormentor’s arms groped through the narrow spaces trying to get to me. But as it tried it tangled itself in the mess of iron bars.

Each grope and grab missed by inches as I managed to scramble just out of range every time. Right up until the point I whacked my head and looked up to realise I’d run out of hiding space. I was on the edge of the climbing frame, and slipped through the bars to escape just as one of the killing claws slammed down next to my face.

Once clear I dove forward for cover behind a merry-go-round.

Panting for air and shivering in the snow I snuck a peek through the playground. The tormentor was untangling itself from the web of metal that enveloped it. The climbing frame was a messy weave of constricting bars that somehow enveloped most of the beast to keep it pinned. But as the tormentor shrugged and thrashed the bars began to snap and break at the welded joints. Debris sprayed into the air as the tormentor spotted me, and drooling began to pull itself free.

Something forced me to my hooves. A little thought driving me forward. Challenging me to get up and keep going.

C’mon, Big Mac. You wanna live forever!?

The plan was to rush forward and start cutting. Not much of a plan, but it was all I could think to do. Aside from running away of course, but I doubted I’d get far before the tormentor caught up and tore me apart.

I charged with an awkward hobble, my wounded leg screaming for more tender attention and my opposite foreleg aiming the humming rainbow cutter. The tormentor was on me at the same time. I sliced the tip off one of the legs, and it reared back on the hind three to strike at me. I managed to side step and duck, parrying some blows against the flanks of my armour and dodging the rest. But each hammer blow was like getting kicked in the ribs by a bull. By a bull or my sister Applejack.

The last blow I didn’t see coming and it caught me in the side. The appendage had lost the tip to my opening attack and the blunt end threw me into the ground.

The tormentor fell with me and I was suddenly beneath it as it danced about trying to skewer me. My rainbow cutter barked and lobbed off one leg entirely, then another; but the tormentor’s balance wasn’t hurt at all. I screamed and kicked, rainbow cutter flashing off another leg or leaving gaping holes in the crystal flesh while my armoured hooves bucked and bashed at the vitrified skin.

Gritting my teeth, I coiled then unloaded one final mighty kick. My spine was braced on the ground and my hind legs made contact, finally succeeding in lifting the tormentor just a little. Just enough to turn it off balance. The monster toppled over and landed hard on its back.

I scrambled to my hooves just as the maw opened and those three projectile firing tendrils re-appeared. My foreleg throbbed with painful reminder as I aimed and fired, shaving the appendages off close to the mouth.

Spitting up a fountain of what was simply best described as gore, the tormentor thrashed and swung its forearms. I was too slow to get out the way and took a swipe to the chest. Launched across the playground I smacked into the fencing and felt it buckle under me.

Looking up weakly from where I lay catching my breath I saw the tormentor plant its forearms and scramble back to its legs. With a heavy gorilla-like bound the beast came closer, howling in anger and raising a fist to finish me. I braced.

And then the wail of a rifle pierced the air. It grated my senses like a hoof over a chalk board, but at the same time it was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard before.

A shower of razor edged crystals sailed through the air and slammed into the tormentor’s side. The hail traced upwards, shattering and sparkling against the beast before the volley of projectiles found the weakened, yellowed pustules enveloping the right arm’s elbow joint. The crystal rounds pierced the soft, diseased flesh and blasted clean through, severing the lower limb from the rest of the body.

The tormentor howled, buckling sideways before scampering away with a fearful posture I hadn’t seen in any of the crystal monsters so far. As the beast was retreating into the haze my eyes were drawn sideways in time to see a figure with his crystal rifle levitated by his side vault the playground fence and take aim to lay another burst into the tormentor’s backside.

I never through much of Shining Armor in his role as captain of the Royal Guard. He never seemed like much of a soldier, more like a surfer pony undergoing an identity crisis. But seeing him there with his rifle leveled, cursing the monsters that plagued the Crystal Empire, he just seemed to fit into the role perfectly.

Lowering the crystal rifle across his chest the white furred unicorn growled through the trail of dried blood connecting his mouth and his nose.

“Hey! I’m not done with you yet! Buckin’ thing!” Shining Armor called after the tormentor as it disappeared into the haze, its heavy footfalls replaced by the ghostly howl of the wind.

I was so sure that wasn’t the last we’d see of the thing.

Holstering his rifle across his back, Shining trotted over and offered a hoof to help me up.

“I did not expect to see you,” he sighed, flicking some of his nappy mane out of his eyes. “Big Mac, right?”

I frowned, dusting myself off. How could Shining Armor forget? We’d met before. Both my sisters were at his wedding! Apple Bloom was one of the flower girls, and Applejack was a bridesmaid.

“Uh… eeyup.”

Shining Armor paused like he was indexing his memory for a moment. “Applejack’s big brother,” he finally clarified with a smile. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Yeah…” I looked at him oddly, trying to read his expression, or more like trying to read his state of mind. He was clearly slipping a little, but then could I really blame him? He had been out here for Celestia only knew how long freezing to death and surrounded by crystal pony monsters. “Have you seen Applejack?”

Shining sighed and shook his head. “No. Sorry. Everypony got separated. He was out looking for them when…”

The unicorn caught me staring and he quickly shook his head. “I’ve been trying to find everypony. Not much luck in that department I’m afraid. But…”

His horn glowed and a small square of light flashed to life between us. Within the square of light glowed an outline? A silhouette at first, then features became clearer and finally I found myself looking at a recreation of Princess Cadance’s face.

The princess of love looked worse for wear. She had a black eye, a bloodied lip and her mane was out of control. She probably looked no better when being held hostage by Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings.

Her mouth moved and I heard her voice as if she were standing beside us.

“This is Princess Cadance. If any unicorns can pick up on this transmission, please find as many ponies as you can and come find me at the Crystal Empire library. I have set up a safe zone. We have protection, food, water and medical supplies.”

The glow on Shining Armor’s horn faded and Cadance vanished. “I’ve been making my way there. Care to join?”

I must have looked unsure because he added, “Look, I know you want to find your sister. Believe me, I want to find mine too. Twilight Sparkle is out there too. The best thing we can do is try to regroup. Applejack is tough. She’s probably beaten us to the library by now.”

Swallowing, I nodded. It made sense. Safety in numbers. And if Applejack wasn’t at Cadance’s position already, chances were she was already on her way. And even not, once we reached the princess we’d be able to form a search party and find everypony who was still missing with much greater ease.

Walking by Shining Armor’s side, we set out across the park in the direction his compass pointed us. And for the first time that day I felt a little spike of confidence. I was making progress.

All we had to do was live long enough to reach that library.