//------------------------------// // Chapter Three - No plan survives the enemy // Story: Thy Pony Flesh Consumed // by sevenofeleven //------------------------------// Thy Pony Flesh Consumed Chapter 3- Off to the portal. I stared at the yellow-black striped ladder hanging against the metal wall. If I had hands, I could climb up, and get more goodies. Scavenging seemed to be the way to survive here. You can never have too much ammo or medkits. Let's try out that Float spell. Aright, Lyra up! Nothing. My hooves stayed on the black-stained metal floor. Don't know what I was standing in or on, and didn't care. Not going to take a whiff either. Let me try again, how about imagining that I was a balloon? Just got some more helium in me, and I was feeling lighter. Yeah, let's float up a bit. Feeling lighter. Looked down and my hooves were off the floor about an inch. Focused more on the lifty floaty feeling and was rewarded with the rungs slowly moving down past my head. Hey, I got upstairs. Grabbed the flashlight, and looked around. Felt dark magic condense, and an imp appeared. Did the dodge dance, and sent it back. Found some weird jar looking things with blue tops. Wondered what sort of weapon they were used for. Put them in my pack anyway. Who knows, maybe I will find the weapon. Also found some armor, but I couldn't put in on. Put that in my saddlebags anyway. When I meet the human, he might need that. Got back to the ladder, and briefly wondered how to get down. Have to float then slowly fall. Again used the balloon idea, and floated down. Well, almost. Heard something, and it broke my concentration, but I just landed a bit roughly. It sounded like a screech, but it was different from the ones I heard earlier. Whee, a new horror to deal with. Crept down the hall slowly, looking for my new playmate. Finally saw them. Imagine a human skull, wreathed in flames and floating around. There was a group of four. One of them screeched again. It sounded awful, but at least I know they're there. Imagine walking along, and these things just dropped on you burning and screeching. Yeah, not fun. Let's see if I can take them out with a shotgun. Too late! One of them saw me, and shrieked. The other ones looked in my direction, and flew toward me. Wait? They don't have lungs, so how are they able to make any noise? No time to puzzle that out, here they come! Hit one with a shotgun blast, and it went up in flames. The other ones charged while I backed up. Could feel the heat, and smell the farty stink coming off of them as they tried to burn, and bite. My next shot took out two, and I backpedaled even faster. Didn't do any good. The next one came up so close, I'm sure my eyebrows got singed when I blew it away. Took some time to catch my breath and reload. Next to the spider heads, these were now my least favorite enemies. Gotta get back to it. Was feeling pretty good. Once I find that special human and help him get to the main portal, I can go home. Just had to survive. There was light at the end of this horrible tunnel. Don't get me wrong, had a pretty good idea, I'll be spending time with a therapist, but maybe now wasn't the right time to worry about that. Let's find that human. More hallways, but this one had a pillar of some sort of fleshy stuff that dribbled blood on its sides. Was quite sure this wasn't human architecture. The smell? Didn't try to. Hope I don't go to where this is commonplace. Crept past it to my next meeting with the next set of horrors. Keep it together Lyra, soon it will be over. Was rushing a bit when I almost stumbled into an ambush. It was another room that had two doors. Didn't see any enemies, but I guess they were just hiding in the dark. Heard a garbled noise, and backed up. Did that just in time as bullets struck the space I had been standing in. Who or whatever was shooting at me was using a weapon that seemed to spew bullets faster than a pistol. I could use that weapon. Backed up again, then cast a bullet shield just as a zombie came out of the room. This one had some sort of helmet with a blood covered mask over its face. How could it see me through all that gore? No time to find out. Had to shoot back. Fired away with my shotgun. When he fired back, my shield blocked most of the zombie’s shots, then shattered into golden fading pieces. Damn. Got hit a few times before the zombie went down. Reloaded just in time before another zombie with a shotgun came into the hallway. Oww, those shots hurt. He moved in for the kill, and I got him in the head. Goodbye zombie. Now, I was in bad shape. Waited a moment and got a medkit. Felt a bit better, but I still hurt. I crouched down, and slowly crawled into the room. Another zombie fired away at me with a pistol. How many of these things are in here? Got behind a cabinet, while the zombie moved in to shoot me. Waited until he was close enough, and put him down with a shotgun blast. Crept around looking for more enemies. Didn't see any more. Looted the room. Found the fast shooting gun. Now it's mine. Picked up some pistol ammo too. No medkits though. Could've used one. Well, lets keep going. Got into a few more shootouts, but I finally found more medkits. Walked down some stairs, and opened the door into another hallway. So many hallways. Anyway, this one led to a room with large windows. Inside the room was all sorts of screens and one human sitting at a desk facing away from me. Walked up to the door, and knocked on it with my shotgun. Clunk, clunk. The human jumped. I would've laughed, but considering what I've been through, I wasn't in the mood. The dark haired, brown-eyed, pale-skinned human turned around slowly like he was afraid of what he was going to see. Then saw me, and his eyes widened. Okay, what does that mean? He got, up and opened the door. “The UAC has therapy horses?” For a moment, I thought about being snarky, but then I thought about all of the craziness I've seen. No, a joke might not go over well. “No, my name is Lyra.” “Lyra? You can talk? I’ve seen such horrible things. A talking horse is not out the ordinary here. Come in quickly before a demon comes,” The human said. I stepped into the room. It stunk of fear. “Has a human come by here recently? I have to help him get to the main portal,” I asked. Who knows how much time I had. Don't want to be too leisurely and screw up. Maybe I would be stuck here. No. Gotta think positively. Yeah, I will be stuck here. The human reached toward me. I looked at his arm, then at his hand. He pulled it back while a sheepish looked crossed his face. “Sorry, I need to pet something to calm down.” I just looked at him. No time for therapy for you when I probably needed some. Well, actually, a lot. The human looked away then back at me. “Right, yeah. There was a marine that came by, and got the teleporter network working.” I looked around. In front of the human was a bunch of screens with text on them. Off to my left was a door. “When did he come by?” “About an hour ago. If you hurry, you might catch up to him,” The human said. He pointed to my left at the door. “Wait, little unicorn.” “Yes,” I asked. Gotta get going. “Are you going to bring help? I don't know how long I can manage here. Been checking video logs and seeing all sorts of terrible things. By the way, my name is Ben,” he said. What am I going to say to this guy? I have no idea what's going to happen. I decided to give him hope. “When I get back home, I'll send somepony.” He laughed grimly, and pointed to the door to my left. I trotted to the door. Before I left, I heard him muttering to himself, ”I meet an unicorn on this dead world, and it tried to bullshit me. I'm so lucky.” My heart bled for the poor guy. Had scanned that room for weapons, and found none. Unarmed, that guy had very little chance against what's outside his room. With difficulty, I tore my mind away from feeling sorry for Ben. Maybe I could get help. Maybe? Went down some more stairs and crossed the room to some sort of dais with a screen that read, “Activate teleporter.” Hit it with some telekinesis, and my sight was filled with golden lines, and a whine that cycled up to earsplitting. Found myself flying through something that looked like the inside of guts. All shiny and bloody. Then the trip ended. No sir, don't like that way of traveling, not at all. My stomach liked it even less. Took me too much time to convince it to keep my food down. It wasn't like I was going to get a lot later. Looked around and wished I didn't. Smears of blood and bits of flesh littered the floor. How hungry would I have to be before I started eating... No, I won't go there, let’s find the human. First, I reloaded my weapons just in case. Don't want to be backpedaling while reloading. After everything was reloaded I left the room, and crept slowly down another hall. Yeah, I know there's a time limit, but I'm not going to run headfirst into another ambush. Too bad I had to move slowly. The scenery wasn't the best for gawking. Pillars of bone and seeping flesh adorned the walls while flames burned and crackled behind closed doors. And the smell, well, let's say that even a griffon would barf at the rich burnt-flesh stink. Just gotta keep going. Once I find the human, I can go home. Walked into a room, and something sprayed stinking red gas over me while a voice said, “Decontamination Procedure started.” Then it was over, and there was another teleporter pad. Really? I swallowed hard, and hit the button. Again the trip through the guts. Ewww... and then it was over. This time I kept my food down, and stepped off the dais. Opened the door, and what a mess! Flames burned while cables sparked, and ravaged flesh seeped blood on the walls. Had to crawl in between sparking cables and avoid the flames. Ugh, where is this guy? Got blocked by a mass of pinkish-white flesh that flowed. But there was a hole in the floor that I could climb into. When I get back home, am going to take a nice bath for several days. Don't care if my fur falls out. It wasn't too bad, the under floor area was clean and filled with goodies like ammo and medkits. Put those in my saddlebags. Finally there was an opening above me. Stood still for a while to make sure something wasn't waiting. Yeah, right like an imp or worse won't just teleport in for fun. Floated up into some sort of storage room. Boxes were on shelves, and the door was closed. Looted the area for anything I could use then I went for the door. Ahead, it was the usual decor. Smears of blood, bodies and papers strewn all over the place. Don't worry Bon Bon, I will put my dirty clothes in the hamper. Well, when I wear clothes. Looked like five rooms were ahead of me. Time to check them all. The first two just had datapads. I just put them in my saddlebags to read later. Was getting tired. Hope the human is nearby. Pushed myself to check the next room. There he was. Lying in a too big pool of blood. At least, he had his legs not like poor Avery. The human looked at me, and tried to reach for his shotgun, but it was too far and he was too weak. This is bad, what if he dies? Don't want to stay here. Um, yeah that's kinda selfish, but there's not much I can do if he dies. “Hey! Don't die! I have some medkits!” Pulled one out of my saddlebags. It was the big one with the large bottles. Placed it on the human. Watched as the human looked a bit better. He weakly gasped,”More.” I got the last big medkit out of my saddlebags and gave it to him. Guessed it did its thing, but the human just laid there. His eyes even closed. Was he dead? With a gasp and jerk, he awoke. “Are you alright?” I asked. Maybe this will be done soon, and I can go home. The human looked at me. “After seeing what I've seen, a talking horse doesn't seem so far fetched.” Talking horse? Feh! I'm a pony! “I'm here to help you get to the main portal. Are you ready to travel?” Let's get this show on the road! The human laughed then reached over for his shotgun then he put it in his pack. “Yeah, gimme a sec. Gonna get a snack.” He reached into his pack, and pulled out a shiny red apple. I backed up. “What? Thought horses loved apples,” He said as he took a bite. “I had a bad experience with an apple here, the room turned red and maggots appeared,” I said, trying to not step back again. The human nodded. “This place. It makes you see things. I went into a bathroom and looked into the mirror, and saw myself among flames. And that was before I hit the toilet!” He glanced at me to see my reaction. There wasn't one. I wanted to get going. The human leaned toward me after he finished the apple. “Name's Brent Conway,” The he stuck out his hand. “Lyra Heartstrings,” I said then bumped his hand with my left fore hoof. “How far is it to the main portal?” “Not sure. I bet there will be demons to fight,” Brent said. “No kidding. A bunch of imps or zombies probably,” I said with disdain. Brent frowned. “You've not seen the demons I've met.” I shook my head. What? More demon types? How many are there? “How many are there?” Brent looked up. “Let's see, there are Revenants, demons that look like skeletons that shoot homing missiles.” Ugh. I've seen a few skeletons, and didn't want to see any of those walking around with rocket launchers. Whatever those are. “Rocket launchers? Homing rockets?” “Homing rockets will lock on to you position and try to hit you. Not good. Since they're rockets, the explosion can hurt you too even if the rocket doesn't hit you directly. Gimme a sec, got my own rocket launcher, but the rockets don't home.” Brent pulled a large weapon from his pack. The cylindrical weapon just seemed too big for me to be lugging with my telekinesis. “Don't have that.” “When we find the next one, it's yours. What's the next demon type? Oh yeah, the Mancubus. Big fat bastard, but with some sort of napalm launcher for hands. Got tentacles for a mouth,” Brent said then put his hand up to his mouth, and spread his fingers. After that description, I decided that I had enough knowing about the other demon types. We're wasting time. Gotta go home soon. “You can tell me about the other demon types later.” Brent nodded. “Yeah, sure. You'll probably see them too.” He reloaded his shotgun. We headed down the hall slowly, eyes and ears alert for any noise. After a few more moments going down other hallways we made it to a teleporter pad. One more time. My stomach lurched. “I'll go first then you count to ten then hit the pad,” Brent said then strode forward. I looked around to check out the area. Strange humming machines and blood smears on the walls and floor. Yep, can't wait to go home. Should find out where this place is though. Ten, I guess it's another gut ride. Hope my stomach keeps it together. Hit the button. The new place was a winner. The way ahead was blocked by a mass of pink flesh with bones sticking out of it. Stunk like bloody murder. Can't wait to go home. Again. Brent stood next to a doorway that had cables and flames. There was a small space to crawl into the next room. He pointed to the gap, and took off his pack. Brent pushed it into the next area, and followed. I walked up to the gap and crawled into it. The flames came close to burning me, but I got past. Whee! When I was able to stand up, Brent put up his hand, and got his shotgun ready. Could hear and smell an imp in the next room. Brent moved in. The imp shrieked. I got my shotgun ready, and moved into the room. It looked like a regular room, some consoles, a door to my left and an upper area above us. Probably have to look for stairs or a ladder. Didn't have time to look for goodies because I was in a fight though it seemed like it was going to be short. Brent dodged a fireball and shot the imp. It flamed away. Yeah, that was easy. I was ready to relax with golden flames appeared all round me. What? Started to smell something burning. No way! I'm too young to fry! Managed to run back to the narrow hallway I used to enter the room. Peeked around the wall. Something skinny was standing above us raising its arms. I heard Brent curse as I stepped back as flames started to engulf me again. Hot flashes aren't better the second time around. Focused on casting a spear of light then I peeked out, and fired it at the demon. Barely dodged a fireball. Where did that imp come from? We just killed one. The gold flame demon hissed in pain. Yeah. Peeked out again to fire another spear when there was a loud explosion, and a shotgun blast after that. I saw an imp flame away and Brent smiling. “Got that summoner good with a rocket! Don't try that within melee distance though,” Brent said. “You okay? Look a little singed.” I felt a little toasty, but I could carry on. “I'm okay, maybe we can find another medkit?” We went through the door. Guess Brent was in a hurry too. At the end of the hall was a machine that Brent used to heal himself, but I had found a medkit in one of the rooms earlier. I was feeling good. So close to going home. Figured that I could satisfy my curiosity. “Brent, what and where is this place? How come I don't see any beds?” Brent stopped and looked around. “This is called Mars base. Mars is a dead world far away from Earth. That's where I'm from.” “What is Earth like?” Now, I'm even more curious. Brent sighed. “A bit greener and more crowded than here. Before I choke on my homesickness, let's answer your other question. All of the beds are on the other side of the base. I have never been there because they put me to work right when I arrived. Had to find a missing scientist. After I found him, things went south. So I have no idea how big my room is or if I have a room. Could just have a bed in a room with other marines. How did you get here, Lyra?” Now, it was my turn to sigh. I finally get to meet humans in the flesh and two die and one has earned my dislike, maybe hatred. “Some humans summoned me for some reason. Dr. Betrüger killed one and sent an imp to kill the other one.” Brent grimaced like the spit in his mouth turned vile and poisonous. “Betrüger, yeah, I'd like to... Um, let’s get going. Who knows, maybe he's listening.” I looked around. Maybe we would run into him again, and I can kick him somewhere soft. Yeah. I smiled. We continued down the hall, and reached the main portal. There it was, glowing orange-white while filling the room with dark magic. All we had to do was walk up some stairs, and then into the portal. Not me! Brent. Then T will send me home. Can smell the bon bons from here. Felt a change in the magic, and a human in a bulky white suit came through the portal. He looked at us. “What the hell? You're not-” At that moment, a large demon came through the portal. It towered over the human. The horrible creature had a ram's skull for a head with curling horns. Below that was a pink and muscular body with arms bulging with muscles. The human turned around, and started screaming. The demon picked him up, and threw him at the wall. Bones crunched, and the human was still. Then the demon started walking toward us. The floor shook under its steps. Brent looked at me. “You know what to do!” Then he picked a gun, and started firing. Bright blue balls of energy flew toward the demon. Noticed that on top of his gun had one of those jars with the blue tops. No time to gawk at weapons. I cast a spear of light at the demon, and went to the fast shooter gun. Then another demon similar to the first came through. I'm going to go home soon so bring on some partymates so it's a going away party! The large demon threw a green fireball at me. I dodged, and kept firing until I ran behind a console to reload. Green fire hit the wall behind me, and I felt some of the heat. Oww! Cast a shield spell which shattered when the demon took a swipe at me. Damn, these demons are fast. Ran past the demon, and fired off another spear. It grunted as the spear hit. Did another spear but at the last moment, I broke it up so it would be a shredding spell. The demon grunted again. Good, I'm hurting them. My gun stopped firing. Oh no, and no time to reload. Switched to the shotgun, and let the demon get a blast to its ugly face. Might improve things. Nope, but the demon was moving slower. Wondered how much ammo I had to take out this demon. Was so busy fighting my demon, I couldn't see what Brent was doing. “Lyra, duck and roll toward me!” Brent screamed. Ducked and rolled while two fast things flew over me. The floor was wet and hard. I know I'll feel this tomorrow. There were two loud explosions mixed with the sounds of demons dying. Brent howled. “Yess!” I got up slowly wanting a nice hot bath. Looked around and saw the area was demon free. “We got them?” “Yes, we did! I guess it's time to say goodbye?” I nodded. So so close. A familiar voice dumped ice-cold water on our glee. “Saying goodbye is the least of your concerns. You will never find what you seek. The soul cube is deep in Hell. You'll find only pain and torment before you die. Then I'll have your souls.” The portal blazed brighter, and we were sucked into it. Then we fell, and screamed... When I awoke, I wished I was still sleeping. The air felt like a giant malevolent demon pony had its filth encrusted hooves on my back. Screaming and crying filled my ears, and I smelled things burning. Metal, people and worse. So close to going home, and now where was I? Looked over at Brent. He just sat there. Lyra, can you hear me? What? The liar T now decides to talk to me? I'm sorry Lyra, I didn't expect Betrüger's power to grow so fast. Don't care, send me home! I can't. Wait? What? I did what you wanted me to do. Send me home! I can't. This dark realm has such horrors that even I have to be wary of. They will surely interfere if I try to go there and carry you back. What? Nooo! Looked out over the desolation. Red rivers of lava bubbled and gurgled near us. Junk was strewn across the black and pitted ground. Up ahead, a sickly green pillar of light glowed against a dead black sky. A few steps away from me were my trusty saddlebags, now a useless pile of cloth. Take me back to the Mars base, I promise not to complain about smears of blood and dead bodies. Please. If you can go back to the Mars base, I can send you home. I swear by the hooves of light of my mother. Don't care about your mother's hooves. You better send me home! No reply. “Come on Lyra, we gotta go. Something awful might come after us here,” Brent said. I looked up at Brent. The dim light made him look sick like he was going to collapse any second. Didn't like how the darkness hid in the folds of his face like a lurking disease. Nodded. “Okay.” “Listen to me, Lyra. We gotta get that soul cube, and then if we find Betrüger, well, you wouldn't want me to have all of the fun?” Betrüger. Dr. Betrüger. The one that threatened me and my world. If he was here, I... Felt it. Deep down I knew this wasn't a good thing for me, but the coldness inside me grew. I had a chance to go home, and this disgusting human Betrüger took that away from me. Yeah, let's get him. Make him pay. The weight of the crushing pony faded away. Brent managed to tie up the shredded remains of my saddlebags into some sort of sling. He put it around my neck, and flinched when he saw the hatred blazing from my eyes. He looked down and back up at me. His eyes were blazing too. We whispered one word together, Betrüger. It was like we whispered the name of our one true love. Well, now it was our one true hate. Anything that stands in our way will be destroyed. Brent found an extra shotgun, and gave it to me. I reloaded it from the shells he gave me. We set forth across the desecrated ground toward the pillar of light. Pain and suffering are coming for you, Betrüger, and your friends. A grim smile adorned both of our faces.