The remnants

It was dark, black almost. Little was visible in the dark; I could barely see my hooves below me as I walked. Outlines of things littered the hallway. Darker outlines that stood out among the rest of the blackened floor their shadows blending into the solid abyss I walked on. The metal boot covering my hoof sometimes slid on a wet substance that stuck to it slightly. Like walking across a corridor of liquid glue.

Up ahead a light was blinking randomly, flickering on and off with a small ticking sound. Clanking of metal plates and heavy objects fell in the distant hallways and rooms.

I came up to the light and looked up to it blood and brown stains had cover most of the broken shielding for it. Looking forward the other connecting hallways was fully lit to a fair degree. Some lights flickered from their fixtures others completely out and left black. A door was left open and a strange low screeching noise came from it.

I walked slowly down the hallway, crimson wet streaks painted the walls. Broken parts of panels and metal scattered all over the floor. It shocked me, all this had happened in the past twenty-four hours? This is insane in every aspect of the word. The damage looked like it had been through a war zone; blood everywhere, some pieces of torn cloth hanging between cracks in the walls, and what really sickened me the most small pieces of flesh that littered the hall.

“Starblazer.” I called out still walking deeper into the corridor. Then I heard the loud metal scream of an old vent opening. Something dropped to the floor behind me from the ceiling with a thud. It came from the hallway I was just in. I turned to the noise. Fierce moaning screeched out loudly from whatever was in the hallway in the opposite direction. I back peddled a bit before turning to a full gallop. I still turned behind me to see where it was.

Whatever it was it was fast, all I could see was a yellow blur moving on its hind legs. It wailed to where it hurt my ears. The frequency was splitting my head it was so high pitched.  At that point I had to close my eyes to try to take the pain. When I did my hooves hit something and I fell forward tumbling down to the floor landing on my stomach.

I flipped over to see it on top of me. The thing was a yellow unicorn now it was something else. Eyes were replaced by gaping holes with blood dripping from the spaces. Razor like fangs were in place of where normal teeth were. Its hooves had sprouted cream-colored horns out the sides, which I’m guessing was bone, where trickles of blood had fallen off them. It was on top of me going after me with its knife like teeth, biting at everything trying to kill me, snapping every second trying to get a taste of my neck. I was pushing my forelegs against it best I could keeping out of reach of its biting jaw. I tried to reached a hind leg up to try to get it off but I couldn’t move it from under the beast.

It lunged at me while I was on the ground but I just barely moved my head out of the way to where it bit the floor with a grinding screech. It pulled its head back and lunged again. I thought I dodged it but a searing pain had jolted through my right shoulder. I looked over and it had its teeth buried into me. The pain was overwhelming. I let out a shriek and lifted my hoof up. I pulled it back and bucked it off with one hoof. It was still attached and ripped off a chunk of my shoulder and armor. I got up onto three hooves, my right I didn’t want to place on the floor from the pain.

The wound was open and stung like a bitch. Heat was irradiating from it as exposed outer muscle twitched slightly blood trickled down the armor plates fastened to my body. I rose to my hind legs, stumbling a bit because I got up on one hoof. I looked at it in what would have been its eyes. Red fluid dripped from its teeth sinisterly grinning. It opened them slightly and a long red and purple tongue that was forked at the end stretched out and licked its blood stained teeth.

“Come at me you gory bitch!” I screamed at it. Its body arched forward as it released another grimacing scream. I cover my ears by folding them down and covering them but it was no use. The sound put me onto the floor. My head was splitting and my brain didn’t know which to focus the pain on, my head or my shoulder. It got louder and all I could do was sit there and wait for it to stop. I felt something drip down from my nose, probably blood but I also felt it pouring down my throat. I opened my eyes and looked at it. Its mouth hung open wide, it could fit my whole head in its jaw but a gaping hole under its tongue.

Now I felt it, I felt something pop in my head. I fell to the floor the deafening sound was now unbearable all I could hear was ringing. Then it stopped. The pain had seised but the ringing,the loud ringing was all I could hear. I looked up and another figure was behind it a long piece of metal was shoved through its chest. Then it was thrown to the floor. I ignored it and touched a metal hoof to my ear and pulled it into my vision, red, then I did the same to my nose, red.

I looked up to the figure; Starblazer was there on his hide legs with a red stained makeshift blade in his hoof. He walked up to me and picked me up. I could feel how wide I had opened my eyes. He opened his mouth and said something but the ringing was so loud it’s all I could hear. He looked over to the left and he pointed in the direction. A door was in the place where he pointed, he opened it and walked me inside sitting me on the floor inside.

The ringing had eased up a little bit and I could hear but just barely. Starblazer looked at me with wide eyes holding my face. I could hear his voice but it was muffled so much by the ringing I couldn’t understand it.

The room was empty except for some candles that were lit in the corner. Starblazer had left my side now and stood by the door. He looked out into the hallway similar to how Blue did it but he seemed to have a limp. Looking closer he had a deep slice on his side and his hind leg had a similar incision towards the hoof of the right hind leg. His eyes though portrayed more of a sense of calmness rather than Blue had with fear. My hearing was starting to come back now and I could hear Starblazer’s heavy breathing. He looked over to me sitting on the floor, probably with a blankly shocked face, big stinging gash in my shoulder. He came over to my side and looked at my wound.

“You probably can’t hear me right now, you took a nasty hit there to the senses.” He said observing the bite marks in he skin and armor.

“I saw one of those ones, the ones that scream. It did what it did to you to another soldier.” He looked back out to the door when a clanking echoed down the hallway, then turned back to me.

“His head just popped like a balloon. Exploded, blood and brains everywhere.” He said as a chill ran up his body.

“I have no idea what’s going on here,” He said touching his wound on his side, his face cringed at the touch of it.

“But if we don’t leave, we will probably die here.” He smiled weakly.

“I wish you could hear me, if you can just say something.”

I rubbed my ear.

“I can hear you.” I said. His eyes remained half open as they always did but he had a big grin stretching across his face.

“I was coming to look for you,” He nodded.

“Crimson, you fainted hard when you saw all that blood.” He said.

“I left because I went to go get help.” I looked at him in disbelief.

“You can call anypony here from the intercom system.” I said. All he did was shake his head,

“If I knew that earlier I would have been there when you woke up, I’m sorry.” I waved my hoof.

“It’s alright, just don’t leave me alone again like that.” He smiled again and nodded.

I looked over to the door that opened to the eerie hallway. Noises irradiated, im not really sure what it is or was but it reverberated from the walls and echoed down all of the rooms and quarters, through the vents and air ducts, and the hallways and corridors.

To be honest I’ve never felt more fear in my entire life than I have now. In one part of my mind I thought of how to get out of here, on the other, I thought of all the possible ways I could die. I thought of this, and then I thought of Blue. Blue Mist, he was so young… well… younger than me, but he had dreams, he has big dreams and even now when all of us deserted our hopes and aspirations he still held his close. He often practiced cooking in the kitchen it was charming little novelty. He would take our normal crap we eat, throw some spices into it, or completely remake it, and it would be ten times better. I wanted to get him out of this, he’s seen enough already and I don’t want him to lose those bright youthful eyes like I have.

“Star,” I said getting his attention as he turned to me.

“We need to go to the medical wing, I sent Blue to find you, we split up.” He nodded.

“It wasn’t really a smart idea, don’t you watch movies?” He said with a smirk.

“Usually when you spli-“

“Yes, I know what happens.” He smirked, a bloodstain that had been splattered on his face slightly stretched with his flexing cheekbone.

“We need to backtrack to find him, I’m not really sure what direction I came from.” I said looking back into the hallway then back to Starblazer’s wound.

“Star, what happened?” He looked at me confused at me.

“What?” I motioned to the cut going down his waist.

“Oh damn, I didn’t see that before.” He said bringing a hoof to his side and then to his face like I did to see if it was still bleeding, it was. His hoof was drenched in the stuff. He moved stretching his side opening the wound more. He looked at his side confused. He was obviously pretending not to feel pain but it was easy to see.

“That’s funny, I can’t feel it.” He said he looked back to me.

“Forget about me, I’ll be fine, we have to find your little friend.” I nodded and we both started off down the hallway.

It was slow for me walking down that long passage diving deeper into the darkness. I could not explain the amount of pure agony my shoulder was hurt like. All I could do was push forward though. I could feel the inside of my armor getting moist and stained from the blood leaking from the massive incision on my torso.

The hallway up ahead turned into another deep dark corridor. It was black and flickering lights speckled down the hallway at the far end. It was where I’d come from. That unbearable musk irradiating from the vents filled my nostrils and made my eyes water slightly. Something was odd though, it peaked my curiosity. A low white fog had covered the floor. It was cold now, freezing almost. I could see my breath. Starblazer’s breath was visible, quick and small. Mine was long and bigger breathes. I was scared of-all those ideas on how the enemy could find us, now-now after all this, I’m not sure what I’m scared of anymore.

I thought of something I held so close but was so distant, emotion. I missed all of those that I had not experienced in a long while. That morning after I left Silver’s quarters I felt one that wasn’t a pleasant one but I missed it non-the less, sadness. Happiness I did not feel anymore, I might have once but it probably was not too memorable for me. Hope you ask? That’s not an emotion; it’s a worry, a bore, and a lie. What about anger? All the time, I haven’t gone a day without being angry. Fear, now that’s an interesting one, I’ve felt fear-I understand it quite well. This though, this is a new kind of fear, a fear I could not put into words on how scared I am right now.

“Crimson!” Starblazer said breaking my thoughts.

I looked over to him.

He wasn’t looking at me though, he was looking at the wall with signs mounted on it.

“You said he went into the infirmary right?” I nodded. I was still walking down the slim hallway. He looked behind him down the other passage.

“I told him to meet back here if he couldn’t find you.”

At that Starblazer turned his head away from what he was looking at and sat in front of the sign.

“I’m sorry Crimson.” I walked over to him.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

All he did was shake his head and point.

A small body was on the floor. The helmet was on and looked untouched. The body-the body was gruesome. I almost cried, not at the sight but at who it was. I had to turn away. I stumbled to one of the walls and slid down to the floor. I could feel the tears falling from my eyes, I tried to hold it but it wouldn’t stop. I sat there sniveling, Blue was gone now. I couldn’t protect him and now he’s gone.

Seven years, I’ve known him. He was one of the closest friends I had and probably the only friend I’ve had. When you lose someone like that, in a way so horrid that you could not possibly fathom why he or she deserved this you can only blame yourself. Many say it’s their fault but there was nothing they could do. Me though, I could have stopped this from ever happening. He was like a brother to me and now just a heap of remains on the floor. I felt sick to my stomach. I was the one who killed him, I made him go alone and now look what’s happened.

Now I’m alone in this world. The silence I’ve held so dearly I wanted to not be there, I wanted to hear his voice, I wanted to hear him alive again. I don’t want to leave here alone, I have Starblazer but this won’t be the same. I wish it was me and not him.

I crouched down and sat in front of the body and stared at the red eyes still glowing. Then scanning down his body to the floor. Despite how grotesque it was I had to say one last goodbye.

“Well,” I said with tears in my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re gone.” I said to the carcass.

“I wish it were me Blue, I really do.” I said looking back to the giant line between it’s chest and abdomen, every organ pulled out and torn to pieces. It was disgusting on every level but he was still my friend. I put my hooves around the body and pulled it close. I was full blown crying now. I hugged it tight, even though it was dead and he was not there I felt the need to.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder and I looked back still holding Blue’s body close to me.

“I’m sorry, Crimson.” I closed my eyes and exhaled.

“Star,” I said going back to Blue.

“You don’t need to stay here,” I said to him. I felt the hoof pulled of my shoulder.

“I won’t leave,” He said.

“No, you need to go.” I said Letting go of the corpse and watching the head sag over its chest.

“There’s no reason for you to stay.” I said.

I heard the low sound of metallic clops echo from behind me as he walked away.

I looked behind me but Starblazer hadn’t walked away, rather he went against the wall across from me and sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

“I’m not going to leave you Crimson, we need each other.” He said pulling a cigarette from a utility pouch on his belt and putting it to his lips. I looked back over to Blue’s body. I pulled the metal mask to me and placed my forehead against it. I only had one thing I could say…

“I’m sorry Blue.”