"Okay, I now officially HATE zombies!" Starblazer exclaimed as she and Velvet rammed against the door, slamming it into the faces of the undead ponies.
"You and me both," Velvet muttered, bolting the door shut. "That should hold them for a while." She walked over to the wall and sat down next to Starblazer, who had slumped down to the floor.
"How you holding up?" Velvet asked after a moment of silence.
"Been better," She looked her self over, getting her first glimpse of her poor condition.
The armor on her chest had been ripped open and matted tufts of blood-stained fur poked out through openings along her armor. Her leg and hoof guards fared no better, and her helmet was all but nonexistent.
"How's your side?" Velvet asked, occasionally glancing over her shoulder at the door.
"Painful." She laughed quietly. In truth, painful was far from the agonizing burning that coursed through her right side, sending waves of pain through her that made her entire body shudder. "But I think I'll live." Velvet nodded, glancing at the door again.
"So, Velvet. How long have those...things been on the ship?" Starblazer asked, unable to suppress her curiosity.
"Now that," Velvet sighed, "is a long story." There was a sudden bang on the door, and the two mares were instantly on their feet. A scream sounded from the other side as the zombie rammed the door again, it's hinges groaning from the force of the attack.
"Now," Velvet said as one of the hinges loosened, "would be a great time to start running again." No further explanation was needed as they turned and bolted down the hall, rounding the corner just as the door came crashing down with a scream. The once empty hall become a rushing torrent of rotting flesh and shades of red as the hordes poured through the narrow doorway in pursuit of the two mares. While they couldn't see them yet, though neither dared to look behind, they could hear them well enough to know that the zombies were close behind. They rounded another bend and ran past two idle zombies, who fell to two pistol rounds before either could react.
"Huh," She huffed, "That wasn't so hard." Their victory, however, was short-lived as the horde of zombies spilled around the corner, the swarming bodies screaming for flesh and blood. The two mares turned and ran down the hall and round another corner, only to be met with a blank grey wall. Starblazer looked frantically around, hoping for a way out, but found none. Velvet stood ready, her pistol drawn, when the horde rounded the bend, cornering them.
"VAIT!" The voice screamed, and the horde obeyed, immediately halting their advance. "Vell, vell, vell. So, zis is it, no? Zis is where all ze the things you have worked for go to waste. And you know vhat's funny?" The voice paused, as though waiting for them to answer. "You both actually thought you where fighting for something!" He laughed, arousing a disturbing chuckle from the undead ponies.
"What do you want Virgil? Why prolong our deaths with meaningless rants when you could easily cut us down!?" Velvet spat.
"Hold your tongue foal, or I shall make your death long and painful." Virgil growled, "I have come with word from my master."
"Then tell us already!" She shouted.
"I vas getting there, alright!?" Virgil hissed, "And iz not for you anyvays, it's for her." The lead zombie raised it's foreleg and pointed it right at Starblazer, sending an eerie chill down her spine.
"What's she got to do with any of this?" Velvet demanded.
"More than you think." A deeper, darker voice spoke, her words shaking the ground.
"Oh, zis is an unexpected surprise, no? I vas just about to-"
"Silence, you fool!"
"Fool? Fool? How dare you insult me! I control zis ship, and all who are in it!"
"No you don't. You are both wasting my time and a waste of time." There was a sound of scraping metal, and then, deep with the Manehattan, there was an explosion. All at once, every zombie collapsed and disintegrated into piles of cold ash.
"Despicable AI. I've always loathed technology. Except for one," A mist of shadow rose up from the dust and formed a familiar shape. It's two white eyes rolled over Velvet and locked with Stablazer's, narrowing as they did so.
"Abyss," She hissed.
"What?" Velvet asked, her pistol trained on the figure, "You know it?"
"I have a gender, foal." The mist growled. "And yes, you could say we know each other very well."
"Yeah, we had such a great time chatting it up when you decided to possess me." Starblazer said sarcastically.
"Indeed, though the past is past, and it is time to move on to greater things." The Abyss chuckled.
"What type of things?" Velvet asked, her pistol never wavering.
"Oh questions, questions," The Abyss said, "believe me, all shall be revealed in time. But sadly, not to you."
"And why not?" She said defensively.
"Because you are useless." The Abyss answered, "She is the one I want." A dark tendril shot from the floor as she spoke, ramming into Starblazer and pinning her to the back wall, her rifle clattering to the floor. She wanted to cry out for help, but the impact left her breathless. Fortunately for her, Velvet was already in motion.
She charged, pistol drawn, towards the Abyss, but was swatted away like a fly by another tentacle.
"A valiant effort, little pony." She hissed, the tendril wrapping around Velvets neck, "But all in vain." There was a sickening crack as Velvet's head was spun one-eighty, shattering every vertebrae in her neck.
"NO!" Starblazer screamed, clawing at the ice which suspended her, "You'll pay dearly for that!"
"Silence!" The Abyss roared, increasing her hold on Starblazer. "I have heard enough of your squealing to last a lifetime!"
"You think I'll just listen willingly to what you have to say?" Starblazer said in disbelief, "Why would I ever listen to you?! You just murdered an innocent pony!"
"I said be silent!" The Abyss screamed.
"No Abyss. Not this time." Starblazer said sternly, "I have had it with the zombies, with you, with this condemned ship!" She screamed.
"I said SILENCE!" The Abyss repeated, exerting a crushing force on Starblazer.
"You cannot silence me, Abyss. I will defeat you, once and for all."
"Oh really," The Abyss grinned, no less angrily. "And just how do you plan on doing that?"
"With help from a friend."
"Ha! You foal, you have no friends left!"
"Wrong!" She corrected, "If what you've said is true, then I still have one friend left, one who is more powerful than you."
"Enough! I have heard enough!" The Abyss slid forward until she was face-to-face with Starblazer.
"What's the matter Abyss?" Starblazer smirked, "Scared of a little pony?"
"You think you're invincible, don't you?" The Abyss spoke quietly, staring into Starblazer's eyes.
"I like to think I am," Starblazer said sarcastically.
"We'll see if I can't change your mind." The Abyss said, sprouting hundreds of tiny tentacles from her body.
"And just what are you going to do with those?" Starblazer asked, "Tickle me to deat-" She was cut off by the clump of icy tendrils that shot forward and filled her mouth. She gagged as they slowly made their way to the back of her mouth and began down her throat, freezing everything they touched.
"I've had enough of you," The Abyss said, still pushing her tentacles downwards, "and it's time I was rid of you." She raised another tendril tipped with a large blade just above Starblazer's head as though it were an executioner's axe. "Goodbye, Starblazer of Equestria. It's been fun." And with that, she brought the axe down.