//------------------------------//
// III - Consequences 
// Story: Half-Hoof: Black Forest 
// by Alfoals Trottenbauer 
//------------------------------//

A strange creature had mounted itself onto the head of a science team pony, the corpse made gurgling noises as if the lungs had filled with blood. It's hooves were gnarled into claws, weapons of the unearthly creature's grasp. The pony's abdomen was completely torn open from the barrel to the flanks, the ribs opened and closed as if they were teeth. The corpse trotted sluggishly toward Ace, Ace struck the creature with his hoof, the corpse swung at him. Ace galloped past the living carcass. Flames danced along the corridors, the upper half of another corpse crawled toward him, burning ablaze, screaming with liquified organs. The body fell onto the floor before it could reach him.

Creatures like the one he saw on the corpse's head roamed the halls, the tubes holding lasers had broken, beams dragged along the walls, a security pony lay on the floor as a laser cut through him, splitting the body in half. Ace darted past the beams. A glass door stood in the way of his escape. Ace bucked it with all his might, the glass shattering on his armor, the one wall of protection against this world of death. He knew the armor would be like a wall of tissue paper against a flood, though he had to take the chance if he was ever going to escape. 

He crawled through the broken glass door, another flaming corridor was before him. He galloped through the flames to an elevator door. The elevator had ponies trapped in it.

"Somepony! Help, get us out of here!" A mare screamed.

"For Celestia's sake, somepony open the doors!" A stallion shouted.

The sound of somepony bucking the elevator in the shaft echoed from the doors. Ace broke the glass with his hooves.

"Don't worry, I'm going to try to get you out of there!" Ace called.

"Somepony's out there!" The mare said.

The elevator started falling a few inches.

"You need to get here quick!" The stallion warned.

Ace crawled through the elevator doors, trotted to the shaft's ladder and started climbing. The elevator started moving slowly. Ace jumped on top of the elevator, trotting over to the ventilation grill. He smashed the grill with his hoof. Seven science team ponies stood inside. Ace grabbed a mare's hooves, pulling her out of the elevator.

"Thank Celest-" She started.

"Climb up that ladder, quick. The rest of you should follow her. If you can't, follow me." He stated.

The lavender mare he pulled out of the metal box about to plummet into the shaft started climbing. Ace pulled a stallion out through the grill. He started climbing the ladder as the elevator started falling, metal screeched as sparks flew everywhere. Ace jumped onto the elevator, there was no time to save anypony else. The other five screamed as they plummeted to their death, a crash boomed through the shaft as their bones broke, the elevator caving into their bodies.

Gunshots echoed from the top of the shaft. Ace climbed slowly, intending not to startle somepony with a gun. He neared the top of the shaft, just below the stallion. As the stallion trotted into the elevator door, Ace got off the ladder. The muzzle flash of a security pony's pistol lit up the dark corridors, more fire undulated at the walls. The gurgling of more corpses filled the room. The security pony looked over to Ace.

"Ace! What the hay are these things!" The stallion with the pistol shouted.

A carcass reared up on it's hind legs, blood filled it's throat as it seized the security stallion by the latch of his neck, choking him with it's mangled hooves. The stallion dropped his pistol, it skidding to Ace. Ace levitated the gun, firing at the alien on the corpse's head. Gunpowder filled the air as the muzzle flash lit the room, Ace firing at least ten shots of lead into the creature manipulating the body of his colleague. The corpse fell, releasing the security guard. The guard held a hoof at his throat as he regained his breath once again.

"Thank Celestia you were here... You can take the gun." He barely managed to get out with enough air.

"Come with me, you need to get out of here too." Ace advised.