Remnants of a Dying World

by Dusk-Spark

Ch. 3: "Dead inside"

“There was a time, a long time ago. When the world was brighter, and ponies could live safely. Happily.
But you and I both know, we don't live in that kind of world anymore.
We know the dangers out here.
I can see it in your eyes, you've seen them. Encountered them. You know what they are.
I wish, there was something I could do take that pain away from you. But I can't...I'm so sorry.”

---

---

“We’re not alone? What like, the royal guards are making their rounds?” The message did mention royal guards periodically coming to check for survivors.

“As this one has stated previously; there has been no other pony down here while this one has been trapped.” That one sentence cut down any hope he had of being rescued.

‘No guards in months? What’s up with that?’ Was there something going on in the crystal empire that prevented them from sending ponies down? Or maybe it was an issue with this particular shelter? It DID look like it could use some T.L.C. One problem at a time, Nox. He returned his attention to the saddlebag, “What if it’s someone else coming in from the storm?”

“They would have come through the front gate. The noises originated from the tunnels below.”

“Tunnels below…” The words trailed off as he looked to the connecting hallway from the main room, the connecting hallway led to an iron door. “Th-That doesn’t mean they’re not another pony taking shelter from the storm. The sign did say not to venture into the tunnels but I’ve known plenty of hardheaded ponies.”

“That is…possible.” She didn't sound at all convince. To be honest, Nox wasn't sure if he believed himself either. It was just something his optimism was telling him.

“Well then…” The fact of the matter was; Nox couldn’t stay in the blizzard shelter forever. Any food or water that had been there had long since spoiled or was taken by somepony. And according to the saddlebag, no royal guards had come here for months; not to mention going back outside was out of the question. “We’ll wait for a bit, until I figure out a plan. I don‘t think it‘s wise to go venturing down into the tunnels. How do you know there‘s someone else down there?”

“…” She was silent for several minutes.

“Hello? Are you alright? Did you break or something?"

“No. This one was…trying to give a satisfactory answer.”

“Oh I see…and what’d you come up with?”

“One of this unit’s…previous users outfitted this frame with several adjustments. One of which, allowed this unit to function as a radar.”

“A what?”

“This unit is able to <Data Corrupted> in order to <Data Corrupted> which would allow the user to <Data Corrupted> and find <Data Corrupted>.”

“Um…what?” Was she hearing those voice overs? Didn't seem like it. “Uh, never mind.” Nox made a mental note to search for someone in the Crystal Empire who could fix her. Her…her…now that he thought about it, he never asked her name; “What should I call you for a name?”

“This one has already-”

“Yeah yeah, I know, but I can’t keep calling you saddlebag so…I’m thinking that I should call you something else.”

“…” Silence. Did that mean she agreed or-whatever. Nox had to think of a name now.

“Let’s see…you’re a saddlebag, but calling you saddle or bag seems insulting. I don’t wanna call you Sad, either. Ooh, I know. I‘ll call you…Sally, or Sal.” It wasn’t a pony name, not at all. But that fit, since the saddlebag wasn’t a pony, either.

“That is…acceptable.” There was some beeping noises coming from inside the saddlebags for several seconds. “This one is now registered as Sally.”

“Alright then. So, Sally…do you know where they are? The thing down here, that is.”

“This one can not detect their exact location. If you were to get closer then perhaps…”

“So the closer we are, the easier it’ll be to find them? Then all I’d have to do is sneak by them. Sounds easy enough!” Optimism strikes again! “Alright, lets go then.”

“Wait.” She said quickly, before Nox had taken his first step, “You will need something to defend yourself.”

“I do?” He guessed whatever was beyond the door was pretty dangerous then. “Like what?” He wasn’t exactly a fighter after all. He didn‘t know any pony martial arts, heck the closest thing to a fight he‘s ever been in was back in Cloudsdale when he was accused of stealing someone‘s lunch (turns out that the colt had forgotten his lunch at home).

“…”

“Sally?” He was starting to not like when she went silent like that. It made him think that something inside her broke. Well, more broken then she already was. Definitely need to go see if anyone can fix her.

“2 meters to your left, underneath that shelf will be a helpful item.”

“A helpful item?” He carefully cleared away the bottles and empty food boxes to see- “What the?!” He nearly froze, because he saw a severed gryphon talon! “Wait…” No it wasn’t, that was impossible. It looked like gryphon talons, but made of metal and with a weird slot at the top. “Is this the item?”

“Place your hoof in the plug-zone.”

“The what?”

“That…slot…at the top.”

“Oh.” He placed his hoof into the slot, which fit strangely well. And now he looked like a pony with a gryphon’s talon. “Now what?”

The wire extended out of Sally’s bag, it inserted itself into a hole on the side of the talon. Suddenly the talon whirred to life.

“Oh was that-OH SWEET CELESTIA!” The talons had tightened around his hoof and stabbed into his foreleg! It hurt so bad, and the pain traveled up his leg and through his body. “What the hay, Sally?!” He shook out his hoof and noticed the talons were now moving. “…” He was struck dumb because they seemed to move based on his own will. “How…the-” No words. He had no words to accurately describe the sensation in his foreleg. It was like having an entirely new limb.

“This is called “Talons” or “Dragon Claws.” They were designed <Corrupted Data> years ago as a means to operate more complex machinery. They also had several combat applications.”

“Uh…right.” Nox was still trying to get used to controlling the damn thing. “This one looks a bit old though.” Judging from the rust on the metal and how stiff it moved.

“It is of a much older design. More recent models were…less painful.”

‘Were?’ Well, at least Nox had something to defend himself with. “So how am I supposed to defend myself with-you’re doing it again aren’t you?”

“Directly behind you, there is something under those sheets.”

“Okay.” He lifted up the sheets, and found a rusted metal pipe, which looked like it had seen quite a bit of use; if the way it was bent in multiple directions were any indication. He used the talons to pick it up, and then drop it a few times. This was gonna take some getting used to. “I guess this’ll do?” He didn’t want to sound unappreciative but he would’ve preferred maybe a spear, or a sword…or even a shield. And then, something caught his eye. Something shiny was peeking out from the blanket, the light from the ceiling reflected off the metal. With his curiosity abuzz, he dug out a knife with multiple chips along the blade. It had obviously seen some use (and not for cutting up food), but the way it shined made it seem…like this had been someone’s precious treasure. He couldn’t imagine what kind of sociopath would value a knife but-

“That knife…” Sally somber voice broke Nox’s thoughts.

“Hm? You’ve seen this before?”

“…Yes…” There’s that sorrowful voice again. “We should go.” Sally said abruptly before Nox could question her about it.

---

It’s a good thing Nox had Sally with him, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to see anything down in the tunnels. Calling the tunnel pitch black would’ve been an understatement. He couldn’t deny that he was scared, trotting along very slowly and keep his eyes peeled for anything that looked even remotely dangerous. Every little sound made him jumpy, especially the ones that were close. “Sally, do you know where we’re going?”

“This one uploaded a map when it first came here, however…the tunnels interior seems to have been altered from records.”

Nox could see why, there was a lot of collapsed tunnels and newly opened holes in the ground, walls, and even the ceiling. All of which, were definitely not made by ponies (not naturally anyways). “Well, we’re bound to find an exit eventually if we use the tail rule.”

“The…tail rule?”

“Yeah! One time while visiting Canterlot, my cousin Granite and our friend Shard took a tour of the castle gardens. There’s a large maze in there which we got lost in. Luckily Shard, she remembered the tour guide explaining the tail rule. It‘s where you put your tail on one of the walls and follow it, eventually you‘ll find an exit. Assuming the walls are connected.”

“There is a margin for error in that logic if the maze is-”

“Yeah I know, but it’s a very reliable method!” Nox cut her off sharply, he really didn’t want her to bring his mood down. His optimism was already at their limits when he saw the state of the cave.

“…Your friend, Granite. Why did you two not know of this rule?” This was probably her way of trying to change the subject.

Nox responded by laughing nervously, “Well…at the time we were preoccupied with coming up with contests to see who was the better pony so...." He trailed off, not wanting to finish that line of dialogue, lest Sally think Nox was an idiot. “So, about that knife!” Nox immediately changed the subject, “You mentioned previous users before me. Did the knife happen to belong to one of them?”

“…” Sally went silent, except for a whirring sound from inside the saddlebag.

“Sally?”

A click and whirr sound came first, then Sally spoke: “Is that knife important to you?”

At first, Nox thought she was talking to him. He was just about to answer until a whole new voice spoke out instead; “What this ol‘ thing? Well, it ain‘t all that good in a fight but…it belonged to someone ah used to know.” It was a low, gravelly male voice, with a semi-thick accent that was reminiscent of an Appleoosan accent.

“May this one ask where are they now?”

“…Died. A long time ago. They saved my life but, ah couldn‘t save them. It may sound a might bit illogical to ya, but ah like to think that their spirit is watchin‘ over me. This here knife‘s been savin‘ my life for…well…a long time.”

There was a 2nd clicking sound, “That…is all this one knows.”

“That was a recording.” Nox realized, “So the knife did belong to someone you knew?”

“This one…is not sure.”

“Not sure?”

“As this one has stated previously, many of this unit’s functions have been damaged. As such, much of its data is no longer accessible. When this unit detected the knife, a…this unit has no word for it, surfaced in its programming. And this unit felt…remorse.”

“So, you were sad when you saw it but…you don’t know why?”

“Correct.”

“Maybe someone locked up your memories or something? Shard, the friend I was telling you about before, told me how some ponies can lock away memories that they don’t want to remember anymore. Maybe something like that happened to you?”

“That is…possible. However, this unit is unable to repair itself at the present time. Perhaps we should focus on-”

“Hang on, can you shine your light at that wall?” Nox pointed a hoof to the wall in front of them.

Sally obeyed, the beam of light drifting upwards. Illuminating a set of letters with an arrow below them.

“Central Hub.”

The arrow was pointing down one of the intact tunnels. If Nox had wings, they would be fluttering with unbridled joy right now! “Ha! Tail rule never fails!” Nox started galloping down the tunnel, Sally was saying something but he wasn’t listening.
‘Yes! Alright, first I’m gonna have to apologize for going down to the tunnels, even though it was advised not to. Next, I’m gonna explain the situation carefully, comply with all the routine security stuff and then request to go home. Granite and Shard must be worried sick about me! Ah, what am I gonna tell Granite about the proto-wings?
Ah whatever, probably be too thrilled to see me to even care that I destroyed the prototype. Come to think of it, whatever happened to my goggles? Crap, must’ve lost it in the snow. I’ll never be able to find them now, dammit…those were limited edition Wonderbolt replicas!’
Down the tunnel he saw a vaguely pony shaped shadow sitting against the wall. ‘Oh that must be a sentry, I guess I should just call out to him and explain the-’ Nox suddenly felt a sharp sting on his hindquarters; which spread through his body, causing his legs to twitch, falter, trip, and then crash onto the cold ground. “Owww.”

“USER!” Sally was speaking in a much louder (but still somehow calm) tone. This was the 2nd time Sally had struggled to get Nox’s attention. Although she hadn’t…uh…whatever she did to him, last time.

“What is it, Sally?!” Nox could barely contain the annoyance in his voice. He looked to the stationary sentry, and said:
“Excuse me, sir! I’m sorry I came down here without permission but, could you perhaps-”

"User! Threat detected!” Sally said in a much more urgent tone. She shined the flashlight onto the sentry.

“…What?” Whatever that thing was, it was not a pony. Sure, its body looked like a pony.

But where its neck and head was supposed to be, all he saw was long, black tendrils waving about. In fact, instead of fur or a mane and tail. All he saw was that same black sludge-like substance. The black substance…like what he saw back in the shelter. Its body oozed out the stuff like sweat, leaving a black pool wherever it stood.
It stared at Nox, and then SCREECHED threateningly at him!

He tried to back away, but it just stepped closer. “That’s not a pony. Definitely not a pony. What is that thing?” He’d never seen anything even remotely like it.
‘Move. Run.’
He tried to tell his body, but it refused to obey him. He just stared into the sludge the monster was covered in.

“User! You must defend yourself! User!” Sally called out to Nox in vain, who had started babbling incomprehensibly.

Nox suddenly felt a jolt run through his body, that seemed to bring him out of it just long enough to frantically shriek; “SALLY! WEAPONWEAPONWEAPON!” He reached frantically to the saddlebag with his teeth, and brought the rusty metal pipe into his talon.
He pointed it at the monster, “A-A-Alright, whatever you are. Just stay right where you are! I don’t wanna have to hurt you!” Honestly, he didn’t want IT to hurt HIM instead. Which was much more likely.

It paused for a moment, as if considering Nox’s words. It almost seemed like it would comply. Until one of the black tendrils stretched out and struck Nox in the chest. All it took was just a second of Nox lowering his guard.

The force of the sucker punch was enough to knock him on his side. He dry heaved, struggling to breathe.

“User, roll!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Nox rolled to the left. Just narrowly missing a mass of tendrils smashing down on where he had once lain. Had he been just a moment slower then he would’ve been...

The monster's shriek brought Nox back to reality once again. Sally had turned up the power on the flashlight, aggravating the monster enough that it must’ve stung. Or maybe it just didn’t like light, having been down in the pitch black darkness for who knew how long!

“User, destroy the core!”

“The what?!” He had no idea what that meant.

Sally’s beam of light revealed a bright, glowing red sphere on its chest. It had been covered up by the black sludge, but he could clearly see it now that the creature’s tendrils were wildly flinging around.

Without another word, Nox picked up the rusty metal pipe in his teeth and charged the monster without a care! A few times, the tendrils had nearly hit him but he persevered until he was close to it. He stabbed the pipe into the creature…but he had just narrowly missed the core. The metal pipe instead imbedding itself into the monsters right leg.
All that seemed to do was piss it off as it now turned its full attention to Nox. Its tendrils wrapped around Nox’s stomach, lifted and slammed him on the ground and against the wall. He loudly cried out in pain before it tossed him aside. ‘Come on…move…move…’ He tried to tell himself. Too much pain. Couldn’t move.

“User, get up! User, get up!” Sally’s voice sounded much more frantic now.

“Sally…help…” He pleaded with her in a low, weak voice. Without warning, the knife shot out but it just barely missed the monster’s core. And then it did something strange; It froze. It just stared at the knife that had fallen harmlessly in front of it.
He knew a chance when he saw it. A sudden rush of energy awoke in him, and he charged the monster once again. The monster was far too distracted to notice Nox rearing up on his hind legs. He struck it hard over the head, knocking the monster to the ground with a loud THUD!
Not over yet. With the monster on the ground, Nox picked up the knife and dove at the monster before it could use its tendrils to retaliate. He plunged the knife deep into the core, and kept stabbing as the bright red liquid from the core dripped along the knife’s edge.

“User! User!” Sally called out, “The task is done! User, calm down! User!”

There was that jolt along Nox’s back leg again, “Will you stop that!” Nox shouted at her!

“This unit is…sorry. But, the task is done. The threat has been eliminated.” She said a low, cautious voice as she shined the flashlight onto the melting monster.

Nox was still breathing heavily, his whole body shook. The knife slipping from his grip and echoing the clang throughout the tunnel as it hit the ground.

“User. Are you…damaged?”

“N-No. I…I‘m fine.” He lied, he was NOT fine. He’d never hurt anyone or anything before. And he just murdered the crap out of this…whatever it was. Not to mention his body ached from being thrown around like a ragdoll. It was only through sheer dumb luck that his neck hadn't snapped or something. He sighed, “I…I had to do it. Right?”

“Yes. You would have ceased to function if you did not.”

“Yeah, yeah. That…that was for survival. I didn’t have a choice.” He choked out. He pulled the rusty metal pipe out of the monster’s leg, but it was useless now. It had melted to a point where all he had was a piece barely bigger than the knife. His body felt much more tired now, the adrenaline was wearing off now. He definitely needed a few minutes to collect himself, no way he was gonna face the royal guards looking the way he did now.

“Perhaps, we should rest?” Sally appeared to detect Nox’s weariness.

“Yeah.” Nox limped over to the opposite wall and set himself down carefully. “I could really use some food right now…” Or a bottle or two of hard apple cider. While sighing, something caught his eye where the monster had been sitting before it noticed Nox and Sally.
“Sally, can you shine the light over there?” he gripped the knife close, just in case the battle wasn't over yet.

The light from Sally’s flashlight showed a strange rectangular metal device, untouched by the black sludge of the monster. “That is…a recorder. If it‘s not too much trouble: can this one request that you-”

Sally didn’t need to say anymore, Nox moved his aching body towards the device and dragged it closer to him. “What now?”

“Those buttons on the front; do you see the one which resembles two arrows pointing to the left?”

“Yeah.”

“Press it, please.”

Nox obeyed, using the talon to hit the button. There was a whirring sound in the machine and then a sudden click. “Now what?”

“Do you see the button resembling a big arrow pointing right?”

“Yeah.” Nox guessed she wanted him to press that as well.

The device coughed violently all of a sudden, for several seconds all he heard was loud, violent, painful coughing and dry heaving, followed by quick, then slow breaths.
The voice in the machine spoke; “Haha…guess my number’s up.” It was that same low, gravelly voice from Sally’s previous recording. “Dunno who ends up findin’ this thing, but ah really hope ya made it out alive. Ah…ah was infected a while back. Now, I wanna tell ya‘ll somethin‘. Think of it as…my last words.” The voice coughed violently, “Come on, ol’ stallion. Ya still got some fight left in ya. Listen, to whoever finds this. I‘m assuming, that I didn‘t survive the change. When them things infected me, ah knew what I had to do. I had to off myself, that‘s why I came down here. Ah left my partner up top, didn‘t want her to see me like that…”

Nox looked to the monster he’d just killed. That thing was a pony before, that thing was a pony! But wait, it had come to off itself, so what happened?

“I been wondering for a while now, now that Ah’m at the end. What if I don’t change? What if Ah‘m immune?” He coughed violently once again, this time it took much longer to recover. “Ah know, it’s far fetched. And I’m being real selfish, if I ended up hurtin’ anyone ya know…I…there are no words to express how sorry I am.” The voice cracked, was he crying now? “But, I…I…I…I don’t wanna die! I don‘t wanna just end it all because I MIGHT change! No, no, no. Then what was the point of everything I‘ve done up till now! It ain‘t right! IT AIN‘T RIGHT! Ah survived for years, I…I…” There was silence, some coughing and then the voice spoke again, “So…hate me if ya want. Blame me all ya want. I know, that I was weak. So, I‘mma put my life, and the well-bein’ of any pony I come across in the future in the hooves of fate. My name is Wild Flare. And I am so sorry…I‘m so, so sorry!”
click.