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Silence,
Silence rang through the cabin, only the occasional sounds of crickets were heard outside. And the sounds of a white-coated earth pony pacing back and forth in the living room, his blue mane messy and tangled from the lack of care and brushing. Bags under his eyes, glasses slowly starting to slide off, before he stopped. Sliding them back on his muzzle, before a sigh escaped, his eyes half lidded.
Softly muttering under his breath, ‘’Need…coffee..’’ he made his way to the rundown kitchen, walls painted in rot. The smell of wet wood coating the stallion's nostrils as he coughed, he never got used to the smell, never. He made sure to avoid the broken floorboards that had broken down over the years, making holes that Shining had almost fallen in, or tripped on. Of course with time, he did learn to avoid the holes even in the dark. Making his way to a coffee maker, he switched it on.
However, he stopped blinking, he rubbed his eyes before he let out a groan. Almost hoofpalming, Infront of him was a broken down coffee maker, the glass cracked and broken, the paint being scraped off. Not to mention the rust that had started coating it, hadn't he meant to throw this out earlier? He glared at the broken down machine, not that it would do much of anything. But it was the only thing he could do, he laid his head on the table, still glaring at the coffee maker. His eyes started closing, slowly his vision was filled with black spots, almost finding himself falling asleep.
‘’Grahhhhhhh…’’
He jerked his head up, freezing ever so slightly. Holding a hoof to his chest, feeling his heartbeat race from the sound. His ears went back as it continued.
‘’Graaaaaahhhhhhhh….’’
Then the scraping sound, he stared at the cellar door, right…how could he forget? Getting up, he walked over, a frown on his muzzle. He stared at it, listening to the sounds. ‘’I know, I know…’’ He answered back, unsure why, he knew it didn't do anything. But…it gave some sort of comfort to the stallion, he then walked away, going upstairs. He coughed once again, as the smell of black mold hit him like a brick, he felt himself slightly stumble before standing up.
He couldn't pass out, not again.
Not again,
Ignoring the dizziness, he reached one of the drawers, opening it and taking a bag out with his teeth. Soon putting it on his waist, making sure it was hooked on. He wobbled out of the bedroom, he needed to stay awake.
Finally, with struggle, he made it downstairs again.
Thank Celestia.
He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to get the smell of the mold out of his lungs, it wasn't long until he found himself dry heaving. He could never get used to the smell of the mold that always seemed to assault his lungs at any corner, had it always been this bad? He shook his head, managing to finally stand up, walking to the front door of the cabin. He pushed it open, stepping out before closing and locking the door. He stood there, taking a minute to stare at the dead overgrown grass. Grass that reached his elbows and back legs, he would've cut it if it hadn't been so useful for hiding.
Walking forward, the stallion found himself lost in thought, he had been on his road how many times? Probably thousands, although he lost track. Making his way further down the path, he immediately ducked behind a nearby tree, the sound of hooves being dragged and soft pain groaning was close.
Shining waited, hearing the sound of groaning getting closer and closer. His ears went back, as if he were a timberwolf hunting for their prey, finally he closed his eyes before headbutting the creature. A loud hiss escaping from it as it hit a tree, the sound of bones cracking following. Shining opened his eyes, staring at the creature whose rotten eyes stared at him. Hissing and screeching, it's jaw barely hanging on from hitting the tree. It tried getting back up, flailing as it did. Although Shining immediately put an end to that, placing his front hoof on the creature's skull, before a loud sound of bones cracking could be heard. Soon being followed by the sound of what could be described as crushing some kind of wet sponge.
Shining glared at the creature, a look of disgust plastered on his face, he quickly wiped the bits of black blood and rotten brain matter off his hoof, before making his way back on the path.
The last few months didn't treat the trees or plants kindly, some being dead, or crushed by the corpses nearby. Some branches being broken, or close to falling off. Some even having splattered blood and other gore on them, Shining felt himself shudder, although it wasn't the first time he saw them. He could never get used to them, keeping his gaze down, trying to face away from the gore above him. He continued down the path and into the abandoned ponyville, the houses haven been long abandoned. Most of the windows crack or broken, doors busted down, some even breaking down from the lack of care.
He could even spot the hay itself on the rooftops falling out, some even being caved in. Barely anything could be made out from the lack of light on the inside, as if something had come and snuffed all light out, painting it in some kind of darkness. Now that he had gotten used to, at least he thought so. His mind was too hazy to really confirm, he soon made his way inside the abandoned market, it didn't take him long to find himself digging through the shelves. Thankfully some of the canned foods hadn't gone bad, although the bread he had managed to find was stiff, it would have to do.
‘’E-excuse me.’’
Shining’s head jerked back, his full attention caught on who or what was talking to him. Their coat was a yellow color, long pink hair covering their eyes, their wings deformed. Their muzzle, stomach, and left hoof being a creamy white color. Their cutie mark was that similar to a paw print with its claws out. Shining felt himself slightly relax, releasing a breath he had been holding. ‘’Fluttershy right?’’ he asked, earning a nod from the mare. ‘’Y-yes, I-I didn't mean to startle you, I just came out here looking for Angel, it's not safe out here and-’’
‘’Angel?’’ Shining tilted his head, immediately becoming tense ever so slightly. ‘’Somepony else is with you then?’’ Fluttershy only shook her head in response, ‘’Oh no, Angel is a little rabbit you see? He ran off earlier today and….And I just wanna find him to make sure he's okay..’’ she spoke, ears going back ever so slightly. At that, Shining felt himself relax once more, he watched as the mare shifted ever so slightly uncomfortably. Shining moved his attention to the bags around his waist, before closing them, making sure they were fastened. Before walking to the exit of the market, however, he stopped. Turning his head to the mare, who watched him curiously.
He spoke, ‘’Actually, there is a possibility he could be at my cabin. We can check there, some animals hide there for shelter, he could've gotten in without me noticing.’’ Fluttershy’s ears went up, if her hair hadn't been in the way of her eyes, he was sure he would've seen them lighten up. She immediately made her way over to him, ‘’Y-you mean it?’’ he nodded, turning his gaze away from her. ‘’Stay close, okay?’’ he spoke, making his way out of the market, ‘’o-okay..’’ Fluttershy replied, making sure to stay as close as possible to the stallion.
…
During their walk back, none of them spoke. Silence being the only thing keeping them company. Shining hadn't bothered looking back at the pegasus, keeping his gaze fully away from her. Making it hard for her to read any expression on his face. Fluttershy took a small breath, before speaking up. Her tone still being soft, ‘’And you're sure he might be there?’’ Shining nodded, ‘’Mhm…’’
Silence was once again met.
Well, that seemed not to go anywhere, not that she expected it to, but it was better than staying silent the entire time. Fluttershy desperately needed somepony to speak to, it had been months, MONTHS since she last seen somepony. Perhaps she had started being driven crazy, the only company she had was the animals she managed to save. But animals were such simple creatures, it was only a matter of time before she ran out of things to say. She didn't blame any of them though, animals were such simple creatures, they simply didn't understand.
She hadn't meant for them to get hurt, she hadn't meant for them to run out of food. She hadn't meant to start eating-
She yelps, feeling herself bump right into Shining, she blinked before looking up. Spotting the rundown cabin, ‘’Is this it?’’ Shining nodded, ‘’Mhm.’’ he dug through his bag, pulling out a key and unlocking the door, opening it with a loud creek. Fluttershy followed the stallion inside, her eyes looking around, trying to spot her little white rabbit. She found herself coughing, Celestia, what was that smell? She covered her nose, ears going back as she desperately tried to breath through her mouth, trying to avoid the smell of whatever had entered her nostrils. she looked at Shining who was placing the bag down on a rotten, broken table nearby.
‘’Follow.’’ he said, making his way to a cellar door, stopping a few steps from it. This earned a slight confused look from pegasus, ‘’I thought Angel would be in the living room?’’ she asked, only for Shining to shake his head. ‘’I usually bring supplies down here, he could've went in.’’
Something about this wasn't right, something in Fluttershy's gut told her, it caused her to back up ever so slightly. ‘’Are you sure I can't go outside and look? There's a possibility he might not have went in and could be outside.’’ she suggested, ears going back. Shining's ears also went back, a look of annoyance appearing on his face. ‘’Mrs Shy, if I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would've done so?’’ He took a step forward towards her, causing Fluttershy to take another step back. ‘’I-I..’’
The words were stuck in her throat, she gulped, her eyes darting around the cabin. Looking for something to defend herself. It didn't take long until her back ended up hitting the wall, earning a squeak from her. Shining continue to walk towards her, eyes fully glued to her. Fluttershy managed to spot what looked like a broken table leg near her, following her gaze. Shining shook his head at her, ‘’You don't wanna do that.’’ he warned, his tone becoming a lot more darker and serious.
They stood there, waiting for one of them to make the first move, seconds seemed to pass for them.
10 seconds,
20 seconds,
30 seconds.
Finally somepony moved, Fluttershy took the broken table leg, managing to hit Shining across the jaw. Causing him to stumble back, letting out a pain yelped, ‘’Damnit!’’
Fluttershy ran to the kitchen, there had to be a back door, some way to escape. There had to be-
Fluttershy let out a gasp, feeling herself tackled to the ground, she immediately started to kick and struggle, her limbs flailing around like a wild animal. Shining desperately tried holding her down, trying to keep her from moving. ‘’If you would just hold still, this would be a lot easier for both of us!’’ he yelled, before putting pressure on her ribs, earning a loud gasp from the pegasus, scanning around Shining spotted that coffee maker from this morning. He managed to get just close enough to grab the coffee pot, before finally spamming it down onto Fluttershy’s skull.
A pained scream was heard from Fluttershy, as Shining continued to slam the coffee pot onto her head, over and over. The sound of glass shattering being heard throughout the room, blood starting to pour from her skull, leaking out onto the floor. Finally after one last hit, she stopped moving. Shining stared at her, ears lowered, he quickly fixed his glasses before putting the coffee pot back on the worn down counter. Finally getting off the pegasus, before using his mouth to grab her by the tail, he started dragging her to the freezer, although he didn't consider it as a freezer.
Opening it, he closed his eyes, holding his breath. After a moment, he breathed and opened his eyes, staring at the rotten corpses and maggots that greeted him. He hated the smell, but he would have to endure it. He managed to drag one of the corpses out, watching as the arm broke off. A look of disgust came to him, before he pulled the rest of the corpse out. He turned his head to Fluttershy, only for himself to freeze ever so slightly.
She was still alive, shit, how was she alive? Had the head trauma not been enough to kill her? He took a deep breath, watching as her eyes followed him, she would be dead soon. It wasn't his fault, none of this was, he was doing this for a greater cause. It wasn't his fault she was dying a painful death…it wasn't..He took a deep breath, before picking her up and placing her with the rest of the corpses, watching as her eyes darted around in panic and fear as he laid her in. A single tear started to drip down her cheek, before he slowly closed the lid to the freezer. Leaving her in complete darkness, with the corpses, the rot, and maggots…
Shining turned his attention back to the corpse he had pulled out, ‘’It’s for a good cause, it's for a good cause.’’ he muttered, desperately trying to convince himself he wasn't a horrible pony, trying to convince himself this was fine. Trying to tell himself this wasn't murder, although, in the back of his mind, he knew that wasn't true. Something yelling at him that this wasn't right, how he couldn't keep telling himself lies. But like always, Shining ignored the voice, taking a deep breath.
He moved the corpse to the cellar door, hearing the same familiar groans from earlier, he spoke up leaning down. ‘’I’m sorry for taking a while, I was getting something for myself..you aren't mad right?’’
‘’Groaahh…raaahh…’’
The groaning continued, as Shining let a small smile come to his face. ‘’Yes, I made sure not to get hurt, I'm fine.’’ he reassured, removing the wooden stick that kept the door closed. Finally he open the cellar, staring into the darkness, he could hear the sound of hooves dragging. It was that moment Shining's eyes managed to adjust to the dark, allowing the stallion to see just a small bit. ‘’There you are Flash…Hey, I got you something, it's your favorite..’’
He slid the corpse and arm into the cellar, the groaning stopped, replaced by the sounds of flesh being torn, replacing the groaning with the sounds of eating. Shining took a step back, before closing the cellar door and sliding the stick back into place.
Now all he had to do, was wait.
Silence rang through the cabin….