Breeze Of Cerberus

Pain... It's the only thing I can feel right now...  My hooves, my back, my head, everything hurts...  The pain is awful... But I can bear it. Soon I end up with just an headache, but a quite violent one... Now I understand how Snow felt when he had that hangover. At least I think I have nothing broken... At least I'm hoping that...

When I'm finally able to think of something else, I remember the grey Pegasus... I quickly open my eyes as I feel something on me, I feel my face getting hot... The Pegasus fell on top of me, it's... so embarrassing... But he’s unconscious; he didn't do it on purpose... And he seems unarmed... At least I saved him, I think... after making him fall... I'm truly the worst security mare possible...

I begin to shake him a little, in attempt to wake him. He is a grey Pegasus, his mane is mid black mid grey, it stops at the end of his neck. His tail is also alternate between those two colors. He’s wearing sunglasses with blue lenses, so I can't really see his eyes, add to it the fact that his eyes may be closed, but even if they weren't, I still wouldn't be able to see them. He is wearing an elegant black vest with small grey strips. I can't see his cutie mark from where I am. All I can tell is that he is around the same age as me.

After some time of shaking him he wakes up and looks at where he is... He jumps on his four legs and says:

“So...Sorry, I... I didn't want to...” he seems pretty embarrassed

-”It's ok, calm down, are you alright?” I try to calm him as I stand up

-”Ye...yes, I think... What happened?”

-”Well... hum... I should be the one apologizing...”

-”Why’s that?”

-”I... I made you fall, I tried to catch you but I fell too... But you fell... on me and you don't have anything... I'm so sorry...”

-”At least you saved me, at the cost of your own sacrifice” he smiles “So thank you, no need to apologies, you saved me.”

-”Oh... You... You're welcome.” He’s the first one to truly thank me... He makes me feel a bit useful... even if I'm the one who caused the problem...

-”So... we fell, where are we?” he takes a look at the floor “the 6th floor?! Crap, I need to go back to the 8th floor!” He seems in an urge now, he doesn't even care about the fact we fell 2 floors...

-”Calm down! Why do you need to get there? We need to evacuate the station!”

-”My family’s up there, they are locked into their apartment, I need to go there!”

-”Alright let me help then, first though… Why are they locked?”

-”They said that their holographic display to open the door has broken on their side, so they can't get out!”

-”All right let's go then, we'll take the elevator.”

-”We must hurry, I can go by myself, it will be faster if I fly.”

-”No, you stick with me, it's too dangerous and it's my duty to protect the citizens.”

-”In that case, jump on my back and we'll fly to the 8th floor together!”

-”I... I can't do that, I'm just too heavy... you won't be able to fly...” And it is true, even if I do look quite thin, I weigh a lot, as strange as it seems

-”Don't worry; come on, we don't have all day!”

-”F...Fine...” I get on his back, and as soon as I'm on top, I see that he has some difficulties with me on his back “I...I told you...”

-”It's … fine” he smiles at me “Enjoy the ride!”

As he says that, he jumps on the rail and prepares himself to jump... I start to stress... A lot, I'm an earth, I shouldn't fly... There’s also the fact that... I fear heights... Every time I look down from a rail, I begin to panic a bit and stress a lot...

Soon, to my big surprise... He jumps instead of flying, and we start to fall... I start to scream, we'll die; I'm too heavy! We are taking speed; I can see the ground getting close to us... I close my eyes and wait for the shock... But instead, I feel a change of direction... We start to go up! I open my eyes and see that his wings are open; he used the speed of the fall to get higher than we were!

We finally reach the 8th floor and I jump down, happy to get on the ground again. I'm shaking so much; I just had the biggest fear of my life! That monster was nothing compared to what just happened. I sit on the ground and try to calm down

“I'll...I'll never fly again...” I say, still shaking from the fear

-”Oh... Sorry for the fear, I should have explain... geez, you destroyed my ears with your screams.”

-”It's...it's..n..not... funny...”

-”Sorry... calm down, it's alright now...”

-”Y...yes... let's go save your family.”

I get up, still shaking a bit, but feeling better. I take a look around, there’s almost nopony left, there are still some late ponies galloping, trying to escape the station at all cost. How long were we unconscious?  I can even see some dead ponies on the ground... It's... horrible, they died because of the others... They got crushed under the crowd... But some... Have cuts... those miners... They have done a lot of carnage... And before I start to get too emotional because of the sadness of the situation, the Pegasus put a hoof on my back and tells me to follow him and that we must hurry... He is right; we don't really have time right now... we must hurry...

I start following him. He trots towards the corridor behind the anti-contamination door I had opened earlier... Where that pony died... And as we pass next to the security post, I look at the wall, trying not to remember what happened... Once we passed it, I start to look at the grey Pegasus again and follow him.

I can now finally see his cutie mark, it shows two cards, a king and a queen, the king is on the queen, but neither of the cards have a color, it is kinda weird for poker cards, but, well I don't really know much about poker, I think I'm too unlucky and shy to go to a casino and play poker, blackjack or any other game that requires a bit of lying and luck.

I’m about to ask what his cutie mark represents when he stops in front of a door, we have arrived at our destination. He knocks on the door, calling his parents saying that he has arrived, then looks at the holographic display, it works on this side of the door. Happily, he opens the door... and then jumps with surprise. Wondering what had surprised him I go next to him, taking a look...

Red... It's all red... The blood is covering the whole room; a horrific scene. The smell of blood tickles my nose; I start to feel sick again. I look at the Pegasus and I can feel the sadness just by looking at his face: yes, the blood means what it means; his parents... are gone... I can see some tears flowing on his cheeks, I need to make him move because we can't stay here... I try to calm him a bit, talking with a calm voice, but nothing seems to work, he is in shock... But I keep trying:

“Please... listen... its dangerous and we need to move... I can understand your pain...”

-“H..How can you... understand such thing...”

-”I... I lost a friend... it's not the same... I know... but I know that it hurts... please... come on” I grab one of his hooves and pull him a bit

-”Lea...Leave me alone... please...”

-”You know that I can't... Please... for me... follow me... we need to get out of here... Once this is over... I promise that we'll make a beautiful burial... ok?”

-”I... I just... wanted to save them...”

-”And I want to save you... it's my job... don't make me feel like I'm a failure... please”

-”You...You aren't...”

-”Then follow me and prove it”

-”Ok... Let’s... Let's get out of here...”

He cleans his face from the tears and makes a forceful smile, but I can still feel his sadness... Poor him... Living such a misadventure... And I was calling myself unlucky... But he is more so than I am at the moment... No on should have to live that... And I can sense he is forcing himself to follow me, so I won't feel like a failure...

I pull him for the first few steps and then he walks by himself, following me. He stays a bit behind, I let him do so, he wants to be alone for some time... After a few more steps I hear a metallic sound behind us... the same sound that I heard when I was trapped in the corridors, because of them anti-contamination doors.

I quickly turn around to see another monster at the end of the corridor, I scream at the grey Pegasus to run and start to run myself, fear tearing me apart again, but I feel that he isn't following. I turn around again and see him on the ground, looking at the thing in shock. He doesn't move he just stares. I run to him and attempt to make him move but he doesn't, neither does he talk. It's time to return the favor I guess. I take him on my back and begin to run; it makes him snap out of his shock. I feel less fear this time, even if that... thing can run too now. I feel less fear because I have somepony to save now, and in thinking this, we need to find a safe place:

“Do you know of a safe place?!” I yelled

-”Wh...What?”

-”A safe place to hide! Without a vent?!”

-”The...there is the janitor room... It's small but... doesn't have a big vent...”

He guides me to the janitor’s room, and as soon as we arrive I open the door using the security code that helps opening some doors, that I have in case of a problem. He was right; this room is really small... But I don't have time to think, I enter it with him and then lock the door, I can hear the monster walking around, it’s searching for us...

I sit down feeling in-security and look at the Pegasus; he’s in shock because of that monster... He repeats the same words:

“No...It's impossible...No no no... Impossible” He keeps saying this, his head in his hooves

-”Calm down, I know it's a real nightmare...”

-”Impossible... No... It's impossible...”

-”I said calm down!” I slap him, making him snap out of his delirium... Why did I slap him..? It’s not my type of action...

-”I...I...I'm sorry...”

-”No no no, I slapped you...”

-”There were a reason... and the stress... it made you do that...”

-”Maybe...”

-”Th...Thank you... for saving me...”

-”It's my job... So why... were you that shocked in front of... that?”

-”Be...Because...” I can see some tears flowing again “it... Was my mother...”

-”Yo...Your mother?!” I yelled in surprise

-”Y...Yes...”

We stay silent for a while... His mother... How is it... possible?! Does it mean that... the plague can infect other ponies outside of the mine?! It's... A bigger problem than I thought... More of those things... It's like in those old horror movies with them stupid zombies... Except that they are smarter... Much smarter...

The silence is awful... It's a deadly silence... And I can't stand it anymore, so I break it:

“Tell me... What is your name?”

-”My name? My name is Poker Ace.”

-”Really? It is quite a special name”

-”Well, you see, my mother is... was a scientist, so she wanted to call me 'Beaker', quite a special thing don't you think?” He smiles and giggles, and so do I, guessing it was a joke “But she was nice, and my father was a non-conformist, so to please my mother and himself, he proposed this name, because in card games, there is a scientific part, with mathematics, and this name would be special.”

-” I see... It explains out quite well.” I smile as I say that so he feels more comfortable.

-”And your name is...?”

-”I didn't tell it?”

-”No you didn't.”

-”Oh sorry! That’s impolite of me, my name is Spring Breeze, but call me Breeze, its shorter.”

-”Then call me Ace, its shorter too.” and he giggles, I think that I succeeded in making him forget about what happened... for now... And he also makes me giggle, I need to decompress too...

-”So... I saw your cutie mark, it has a link with the casinos right?”

-”Yes, my cutie mark represents the facts that I'm a good poker player, I know how to bluff and manipulate the other players, so I win quite often even if it does happen that I lose, and your cutie represents?”

-”Well, mine means that I'm good with technologies, especially computers, I can hack some, but sometimes... they just explode... I'm lucky right?” he laughs and so do I

-”Yes, you're the luckiest mare on this station for sure!”

-”I know right?”

-”So, you're a security mare right?”

-”What made you guess? The fact that I have said it many times or my security badge?”

-”Yeah, stupid question, stupid answer right?”

-”Yes of course... You think it has gone?”

-”Maybe... let's give an ear.”

I put my ear on the door and listen carefully, I can't hear anything; there’s nothing in the corridor. I think it might be gone; I inform Poker Ace and open the door. It’s gone, we can go, but I stay on my guard, as does Ace.

We start walking to get out of here, I keep an eye on him, to be sure he is following me and that he’s alright. Soon, he states that we might need to find a safe place for the night and that we'll need some rest... He is right after all, such stress, we'll have to sleep tonight, and the station will soon turn into night period. He says that if those things can pass through the vents, we will need a place which, once closed, can't be entered. I know a place like that. Some floors below, there’s a security base, smaller than the HQ, but it has a anti-revolt system, like the other bases: A heavy door closes it, and when it's closed, nopony can enter, It was made to be a real fortress.

I tell him about the base and begin to head in it's direction, but this time, we'll use the elevators, I will never fly again. After some time, the base is in view. We walk towards it. Once we arrive I search for how to activate the anti-revolt system while Ace looks to see if there’s anything bad in the base. I finally find how to activate it, and when he gives me the green light, I launch the program. But there’s something quite bad about it...

An alarm start as the doors slowly closes, we take a look at the bridge in front of the base and we see something terrifying... There are several monsters running this way, the only thing we can hope for now is that the doors close in time. The stress and fear starts to make me mad as I lose the ability to stand up, I don't want to die, but they will arrive and the doors are really slow. We'll die, I don't want to die!

Ace calls me, he wants some help to put objects in front of the door to slow them, What a genius! We take tables and desks, putting them on our side of the door, It’s faster than putting them on the other side. Then we start to push against it, the things are here. They start to hit the barricade, we push as hard as we can then we hear a disgusting sound... The monsters hitting the barricade are getting crushed by the doors. And then, the doors completely close... Lots of blood on them...

“Do you think they are dead?” I asked

-”Nothing can survive a crush like that... if they are alive, it would mean that they are immortals... so let's think positive.”

-”Yes, you are right”

We are finally in a real secure place, where we can rest and have enough space to move. Safety... It’s quite a rare word right now... And I enjoy the fact that I can use the word, and I'm not alone, Poker Ace seems happy to be able to rest as well. I'm about to talk to him when my stomach makes a shameful sound... Ace laughs when he hears it, then his makes the same sound, we end up laughing like crazies.

He tells me to wait a second and he searches his saddlebag, he has difficulties to find what he’s searching for, even if I guess what it is. He finally finds it, and takes out two gorgeous apples, he tells me he had bought them for lunch and dinner but hadn’t had time for lunch, so has one for me; Lucky me for once.

I take it and start to eat, hungrily. It is so good to finally be able to eat something, we’ve been running so much; I'm not sportive at all! Then I see Ace’s “shocked” face because of the way that I’m eating, I'm sure that I'm blushing now, so I start to eat normally. He eats his apple too then smiles, satisfied because he’s no longer hungry. I smile too, it's almost like we have forgotten about everything else in this hell.

We make some room and lay down, using our saddlebags as pillows; there’s nothing else we can use to sleep on, so we’ll sleep like this.  After we settle both of us say “good night” and I quickly fall asleep, exhausted by this day.

I wake up in a corridor and stand up. Everything looks like it's made of smoke: the ground, the walls etc. I stress a bit, wondering where I am, but I have only one way to go, because I'm in a dead end. I follow the path until I arrive in front of a glass. Behind it I can see a black stallion unicorn, happy to see me. His mane is half white half black, same for his tail. He has emerald eyes. He’s made of smoke, like everything else. I’ve already seen this situation... and I try to remember where... Then he points at a door. I remember and warn him about the vent but it's too late, again. He’s pulled into the vent, screaming, blood flowing out of it. I start to punch the window, screaming that it's not possible, until I hear a sound behind me. When I turn around, my breath is cut of surprise: I'm surrounded by monsters made of smoke. They approach... and suddenly attack!

I jump, and scream when I wake up... It was just a nightmare... All those events have really traumatized me... I take a look at Poker Ace, he’s still sleeping, but it seems like his sleep isn't nice too... I should wake him up... And it's what I do.

I go next to Ace and shake him, he softly wakes up

“Oh... hum... Good morning” he says

-”Good morning, sorry to wake you... you were having a bad dream too...”

-”Oh... I don't remember... You had one then?”

-”Yes... Because what has happened... it has truly traumatized me... Geez...”

-”Yeah... What a nightmare night...” as he says that, he takes out some chocolate from his saddlebag “Breakfast?”

-”Thanks”

I take some of it, I’ve never tried eating chocolate as breakfast, but it's not bad. And it helps making the stress of the night go away. A new horror day begins... but today, we'll get out of this hell, I'm sure of it! We need to reach the spaceship station and take one out of this nightmare. We'll finally be free. Thinking that it will soon end makes me strong, and I think it's the same for him.

He soon says that we should get going, and I agree, the sooner we get out of here, the better I'll feel. I search again for the system, because of course, I forgot where it is. As soon as I find it I launch the program and the doors start to open, but this time there isn't an alarm, it's better this way... But, when we can see in-between the doors, a single thing can be read on our faces: terror.