Chapters Artyom’s POV
“Remember, everything depends on you and you alone. Until we meet again, Goodbye Artyom.”
Khan’s words echoed in my head. Why would Khan put his faith in a twenty four year old man that had spent two days in the tunnels? I asked myself. Khan had informed me about some dangers that lurked in the tunnels.
Who is Khan? Well that is a story for another day. My name is Artyom.
I had spent a few years of my life above ground, before the nukes fell. I remembered nothing from those days. Now I lived and would live in the tunnels for the rest of my life. My hobbies include playing guitar, and collecting old postcards from before the blasts.
The Metro is now my home. The Metro was and is the world’s largest air-raid shelter ever built. It houses the last thousands of lives that survived the cataclysm above. It is the only known shelter to have been built.
Now here I am, on my way to the Armory from a cursed station. Why? Because my town is being threatened. My town, the station of Timiryazevskaya, has been attacked. A Ranger had come to try to alleviate the pressure. Rangers are the elite of the elite. One came to the station, his name was Hunter. He went to kill the threat, but didn’t come back the next morning. He asked me to do something if he did not return. He asked me to give his dog tag to Miller in Polis. I accepted his request.
I made my way through a pipe that lead to the Armory. Swatting away cobwebs every time I wanted to take a step forward. reaching the end of the pipe, my hand was cocooned. Taking my knife, I cut through the webs and threw off the remains. To my side, a skull was encouraging me. I regarded my fall. It couldn't be more than a few feet, so I put my knife away, swung my legs over the edge, and jumped.
I landed with a soft thud, the ground was soft here. Looking at my surroundings, I saw the usual. A few radioactive glowing mushrooms, Puddles of radiation, and of course nosalises feces. checking the room, an opening was present so I walked towards it, staying clear of the radiation puddles. Now outside the room, I relaxed. On the other side was a tunnel.
The Tunnels ran miles under Russia’s surface. The main network consisted of a ring. from this ring sprouted branches of tunnels. Lined with pipes, abnormal growths, dead bodies, and sometimes spare ammo. Like most tunnels in the metro, It had a railway track in its center for railcars. It was called the tunnels before, but now it is the Metro to us.
In the darkness, I could see a light coming from one end of the tunnel. Remembering it to be the Armory, I slowly made my way towards it. It was a ways away in the distance, so my flashlight was a necessity. Turning it on, I immediately regretted my decision. Not ten feet in front of me, were a number of nosalises, or mutants, take your pick.
Mutants hadn’t been a problem before; the dwellers of the Metro had guns. It was a balance. That was, until the Dark Ones started coming. They broke the minds and bodies of the men that fought them. Rendering them unfit for combat, or dead. More and more men died every day.
Nosalises were mutants that I saw daily. They had to have been the most common type of mutant in the world. Nosalises were derived from pigs, moles, and other shrews and desmans, or thats what i’ve heard. They were about the same size as a human. They came in some varieties, but I hadn’t seen any variations yet. They were big, mean, and territorial. So just imagine a giant bipedal mole, with sharp serrated teeth, walking or running towards you. Not my idea of a good time.
They looked asleep, or were asleep before I shined a bright light in their faces. Now getting up, the Nosalises saw me and called their brethren to them. Immediately, I hear the cries of the nosalises as they surrounded their prey. The pipes all around me shook as the Nosalises gained on my position. Outnumbered on the front line, running away seemed to be the best option. This didn’t work as behind me were more. The holes in the ground seemed to regurgitate Nosalises. I saw them coming out of the walls, and they would probably come out of the giant entrance in the ceiling as well.
I could not believe my eyes. My death stood before me. Even if I did fire into the two groups, my ammo would run out before half of them went down.
Is this how I am going to die? Eaten by giant rats? What about my station? What about the dark ones? Clearly the beasts swarming me wouldn’t answer. If only I had known that I would be killed by nosalises, I would’ve graciously given all my bullets to Khan.
I closed my eyes and relaxed. Tilting my head up, the light had already arrived. It got brighter and brighter until it literally crashed through the ceiling. I didn’t care. I was done, finished, ended. And now, the only thing left to do was wait. I thought of all the good I did while I was alive. Other than giving bullets to the poor and needy, there wasn’t much else. That is probably why you are going to have such an unfortunate end then. My conscience told me.
All around me, electricity being discharged, bodies hitting the ground, and the dying breaths of the Nosalises were the only sounds I could hear. Confusion was the emotion I felt as I opened my eyes.
Above me, floated an Anomaly. It was in essence, a glowing blue ball of electricity. Khan had warned me about these phenomena. It was one of the new ones, introduced after the world was atomized.
I stood stock still as the glowing sphere pulsated with energy. The nosalises didn’t know of the danger, but I did. The horde of nosalises didn’t stand a chance as they charged at the strange new object. The anomaly replied in kind, shocking any nosalises that dared to come to close. Once it was over, the anomaly slowly began floating away, away from the Armory.
"Wicked phenomenon, yes? But, you know, it’s not any more "evil" than, say… fire. It all depends on your point of view.” I could still hear Khan’s words of wisdom.
Once the anomaly was out of range, I checked myself over.Turns out, my body was still in one piece. Breathing a sigh of relief, I checked my surroundings. Dead nosalises strewn the tunnel. Most of the bodies were close, but there were those that stayed back. Those that were cautious were still not spared as they were executed by the anomaly floating towards them.
I did not feel remorse for the nosalises killed. If you feel remorse for every being you kill in the metro, you wouldn’t last a week. You need to be strong, or else you perish.
I looked away from the bodies, and looked down the opposite side of the tunnel. There the lights of the Armory still shone bright. walking towards the lights, I was distracted by something behind me.
Glancing backwards, the anomaly was still there. Why hadn’t it left yet? From my previous experience not an hour ago, anomalies didn’t stay in one place for long. The anomaly started to move up and down? What was it doing? Trying to get my attention? I turned around and started walking towards it. It stopped bobbing, and retreated away coyly. What in the name of the Metro was it doing?
Looking back towards the Armory, The lights welcomed me. There was comfort there. There was nothing preventing me from going, yet my curiosity wanted to understand what was happening with this anomaly. In my moments of indecision, a voice in the back of my head began to speak. It was then I knew who was speaking to me, and why this anomaly was acting strange.
“Artyom, Artyom, Artyom, Artyom” A voice whispered. the sound echoing in my head.
It was a Dark One. I recognised the “voice.” Focusing, the voice came back.
“Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow” The voice asked.
I was torn. Continue with the mission, or do as the voice asked. This all sounded like a wild goose chase to me, and it might just end horribly. Turning my back on the anomaly, I started walking back to the Armory.
“Help us, Help us, Help us, Help us” the voice pleaded “Only the chosen one, one, one, one”
my curiosity won as I started to walk back towards the anomaly. It continued down the tunnel as well. What the hell have I gotten myself into? The Dark Ones needing help from a human? Lies, the Dark Ones attacked Timiryazevskaya. MY home station, injuring twenty soldiers! And what’s this about a Chosen one? I’m about to find out. I thought to myself.
After a bit of walking, the anomaly stopped beside a door within the tunnel, before it ascended into a hole in the ceiling. Well that’s reassuring, I thought to myself. Pulling out my pistol, It was level with the door. Walking over to it gun drawn, I peered inside. It was colder in that room than in the tunnel. Sure enough, it was open to the surface.
From what I had heard and learnt, there had been an apocalyptic war on the surface. It had devastated the Earth. It had also left deadly radiation everywhere, and biological weapons had changed the animals into mutants. Those same mutants now stalk the surface, looking for their next prey. Holes to the surface served as their gateways into the Metro.
The room’s ceiling was open to any mutant who wanted access to the tunnels. Putting my gas mask on, I took a step into the room. The door was cool to the touch; it was hanging on its bottom hinge. Walking past the door, I scoped out the rest of the room. Nothing, just dirt and rubble. That’s when the door close behind him with a creak.
Swearing to myself, I swung my gun around. Sure enough, behind the door was what I had expected from the start, a Dark One. This was the second time I had seen a Dark One. Its body mirrored that of a human, yet its facial features were distorted. From what I could ascertain, it had two eyes. That was it, no nose, no ears, no mouth, just its eyes. It looked like it was wearing a mask, a mask in the shape of the letter Y. The dark colour of its skin contrasted with the grey of the “mask.”
It didn’t move, it just stared at me. Little clicks could be heard around the room. Looking up, I could see that other Dark Ones had also appeared, standing on the edges of the surface. You idiot! You couldn’t have just walked to safety now could you? This was an obvious trap, a child could see that! Yet as the seconds came, nothing moved. Confused, I ever so slowly began lowering my weapon.
The Dark One by the door stepped forward. Every fiber of my being wanted to shoot this mutant on the face, yet something stopped me. It was Khan once again.
“ Try to get a better understanding of things before you make your judgement.” Khan reminded me.
Then, the voices came.
“You have been chosen, chosen, chosen, chosen” The Dark One said. Its raspy voice popping back into my mind. I didn’t reply.
“You will help us find peace, peace, peace, peace” The Dark One said. Slowly raising its hands. I stepped back. The dark ones above also raised their hands.
“You are our last hope, hope, hope, hope” The Dark Ones all said in unison. the ground beneath me begin to quake. My vision got blurry, and my body started to shake.
“You will lead us to a new land, land, land, land” The Dark Ones said in chorus. The room begin to spin. The Dark Ones swirling around me, my mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening around me.
“You will be our voice, voice, voice, voice” The Dark Ones yelled. My ears were ringing, and I was blacking out. Above me, was a blue orb of light rapidly descending towards me.
“You are the will of the Dark Ones, Ones, Ones, Ones” The Original Dark One said to me. The orb was within reaching distance now, and I closed my eyes. Tremendous amounts of pain went through my body as the orb went through. A memory surfaced just before I lost consciousness. It was of a small boy. Next to the boy was the body of a nosalis, with a Dark One standing beside it.
Celestia’s POV
“Why do I even bother with politics again?” I asked Luna.
“Because it is one of your royal duties?” Luna answered back.
“Well, remind me later to appoint somepony to do that for me. I don’t want to be the mediator of every single argument somepony has with another.” I told Luna.
“If it really is that difficult, than why don’t you have me take your place sometimes?” Luna asked me.
“Because most ponies are not awake during the night or the early morning Luna.” I answered..
“Well, we can change that.” Luna said with a mischievous grin.
“Do not even bring her up.” I warned Luna
“It was a joke Tia, are you really that out of it?” Luna asked me.
“Well, listening to complaints for three hours straight does aggravate me slightly, especially since it took a chunk out of my sleep schedule. I should have been sleeping two hours ago! But they couldn’t just agree on a compromise. No they had to keep arguing about details!” I almost yelled out.
“Well, try to get some rest. If you need me to, I’ll take on some of your regular duties in the morning.” Luna proposed to me.
“Thank you Luna, that would help.” I said
“Goodnight Tia.” Luna said
“Goodnight Wuna” I said
Closing the door, I only wanted to fall onto her bed and get some rest. My shoes, mantle, and crown could take themselves off right? Walking over to my bed, I slowly began to undress. Throwing off my shoes, and flinging my mantle off. I slowly levitated my crown off my head and held it out in front of me. Opening a drawer from my nightstand, I took out a piece of cloth. Polishing my crown in a slow, rhythmic like pattern, I thought to myself.
Do I need more help around the castle? Being a sovereign was very tiring. who would I recruit? Twilight is learning about the friendship of magic, Luna is busying ruling over the night, Shining Armour is in the Crystal Empire with Cadance. What about the guard? Well I don’t think they would have the patience to handle some of the cases I’ve had to go through.
I yawned, derailing my train of thought. Now back inside my royal chambers, my crown was polished. Putting it down on top of my nightstand, I flopped into bed. My vitality was drained, and my mind needed to rest. I found myself drifting off not too long after I put my head down.
I did not know how long it had been since I had fallen asleep. What I do know is that I am no longer in my chambers. I am in a land of grey and ash. I see holes in the ground, with light streaming out of them. I hear distant screams coming from these same holes.
Around me, I began seeing movement. Giant ... rats were scurrying around everywhere, creatures flying overhead, intimidating figures pointed metal cylinders at them. The rats were running around the apes in an attempt to surround them? Loud bangs and flashes came from one end of these contraptions. It seemed to fire an object, whatever the apes pointed the devices at, seemed to be pelted with something.
Thats when I saw the blood, holes appeared in the bodies of the monsters that were unfortunate enough to get in the way. The monsters were not discouraged, it appeared as though this invigorated them. More rats stopped running and began to attack the beings they surrounded. I watched with mute horror as the three beings soon became overwhelmed. As soon as it had begun, it was over. The rats began eating the apes that had tried to fight them.
What is going on? What am I seeing? I honestly had no clue. I heard something behind me, turning around I saw another ape. This one was different from the others. Firstly, it had nothing covering its body like the other apes had. Its face was empty, for lack of a better word. Its eyes were the only feature visible behind a mask it was wearing? It didn’t make any attempt to communicate vocally.
All around the figure, the ground started to fall apart. Everywhere I looked, the ground was falling into a black void. Stepping back, I tried to avoid falling to my doom. Yet the more I moved, the more ground fell apart until I was standing on the last bit of ground in sight.
I lied, the dark ape was also standing on a piece of land that hadn’t fallen into the void. I just stared into its eyes, and it did the same. Then came the headache
It was like something was trying to worm its way into my mind. I put my hooves to my head to try and steady myself. The pain only intensified as the dark ape raised its arms. What is it doing to me? I had to act. Trying to summon my magic, I could only grasp a tenth of it. With that magic, I summoned a fireball. It was shot out of my horn, and it hit the dark ape directly in the chest. As the creature fell, the headache diminished, Allowing me to regain my senses. The ordeal wasn’t over as the creature got up once more and brought his arms up once again.
The headaches now could not compare to the former. It was like a multitude of drills were excavating the inside of my skull. I fell to the ground in pain, unable to focus on anything other than the agony I was going through. Opening my eyes the creature approached me. I saw the ground come out of the void in order to support the creature’s march. The ground had made a bridge from the creature to me.
As it was walking towards me, I could swear another presence was nearby. The creature didn’t seem to notice as it stood over me. Ever so slowly it began to reach for me. I tried my hardest to get away from the appendage coming towards me, but all my muscles would not reply. I could only wait in fear as the appendages on its arms began to come closer and closer.
The touch never came. I opened my eyes to see why it had stopped. The ape wasn’t there anymore, in its place was a dark alicorn. Its skin was as black as the void, surprisingly I could still see it regardless. Around its head, feet and chest were dark blue pieces of armour. I had a feeling of Deja vu as I continued to stare at the pony. Had we met before? It then spoke to me.
“Sister, art thou unharmed?” The Alicorn asked
I was so confused. Who am I talking to? Am I supposed to have known her? Is she like a guard or something? I really didn’t remember
“Umm, yeah I’m alright” I said uncertainly
The ground was now beginning to change. Tiles covered the ground, The rats were now ponies, and the alicorn was now Luna? I didn’t know what was happening. Getting up from the floor, I looked to the ponies in my room. They were surrounding something. Walking over, a shiver went down my spine. There lay the dark ape, It did not stir. It was scorched on its backside, as well as its front.
The creature from my dream was real?! Trying to remember the dream I had had, I recalled that it tried to attack me. It gave me headaches, to the point of submission. It would then do what It wanted with me. The thought terrified me. If I could be this vulnerable, what about other ponies?! Were they being attacked too?
The guards were now debating over whether or not to throw this thing in the dungeon, or to just bury it. One curious guard was examining the creature thoroughly.
“What was that thing Tia?” A voice said beside me. I didn’t have an answer for Luna.
“It was some kind of ape. It walked on two legs, and reached for objects with its arms.” I answered.
“Did it try to harm you?” Luna asked
“Yes, it tried to incapacitate me.” I said
“Why?” Luan asked
“I hope nopony ever finds out, but it was definitely hostile. It did not attempt to communicate before approaching.” I answered
It seemed as though the guards had made up their mind. Levitating the body, the majority made their way out of my chambers. The captain of the guard stayed behind.
“Your majesty, do you need guards posted outside your chambers tonight?” He asked me
“No, I do not think I will be having anymore late night visitors.” I said to the captain.
“By your orders.” He replied walking out of the room, leaving only me and Luna.
“Are you sure you’re going to be alright sister? What if another one of those beast comes for you?” Luna asked with worry.
“I’ll be alright sister, I have you watching over me after all. Speaking of which, how did you know I needed help?” I asked Luna
“Well, I can go into ponies dreams as you know. Yet as I walked past your room, I felt a strange aura. The dream you were experiencing was not normal, it was being influenced by an outside force.” Luna explained “Who other than me has the power to manipulate dreams?”
“I know no other pony, yet these creatures appear to have the ability. What really concerns me is its motive. Why would it try to attack me instead of a guard or even you? Did it sense that I was more of a threat?” I asked Luna
“Well regardless of the motive, it still attacked you right?” Luna asked “It threatened your life!”
“Yes, I am aware. I am still unsure of how to proceed with this matter. Maybe some sleep will help with that?” I told Luna
“Well then, good night sister. Rest assured nothing shall disturb thy sleep when I am on watch.” Luna said, making her way to the door.
“Good night Wuna, have fun.” I said getting back into bed
“Good night Tia, sweet dreams.” Luna said before closing the door.
Sweet Dreams? I have a potential threat to all of Equestria to worry about, on top of all the royal duties tomorrow. What if there are more of them? What if they start to attack pony-kind? How will we fight back? Me and Luna can’t be everywhere at once. I really hoped it did not come to this in the future. Hope, it was all I could do now.
Twilight’s POV
Dusk settled over Ponyville as the day came to an end. Ponies on the streets walked home after a long day of hard work. Those already home welcomed their loved ones with greetings, eager to relieve them of any stress accumulated during their day.
I put down my notepad, levitating a pencil to my mouth. Staring at the notepad, I tried to continue with my writing. It was getting harder and harder to keep my eyes open, and my mind focused as the night crept on. I wanted to finish writing this little article for Rarity.
She had requested that I try to summarize the feeling of the night. Something about helping her get into her ‘zone’ while designing. How this helped Rarity design clothes was beyond me.
Putting down the notepad, I just stared out of the window, content with just watching the stars twinkle in the sky. My telescope was somewhere in my treehouse, yet I had no motivation to fetch it. I could see the stars just fine without it. Instead of the random mess of stars that most ponies saw, I saw constellations in all their beauty. The Ursa Minor, right next to the Ursa Major. The Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth pony made their respective triangle. It was magnificent.
That is when I noticed something amiss. Just beside the Ursa Major, a new star was visible. I just stared at it, trying to remember if it was there before. That wasn’t there before my memory told me. Wanting assurance, I looked on the shelves next to my bed. I kept my star maps there, along with any other books that I was interested in rereading. Sure enough, I eventually found the scroll. Slowly unrolling it, I scanned it for my target. After little searching, I found the Ursa Major. Looking at the stars surrounding it, I found that there actually weren’t any stars there. Furrowing the scroll once more, I tossed it onto the shelf.
Glancing back out my window, I saw the star once again. It was brighter this time around. Why was it getting brighter? I asked myself. The only scientific explanation some stars are brighter than others is because they are closer. My brain told me. This made no sense, how could it have gotten brighter in a matter of seconds? It must be moving closer, yet stars don’t move that fast.
It must be something else. A comet, or a meteor perhaps? Strange I thought, it wasn’t the right season for meteorite showers. All I knew for certain was that I should be recording its passing! Quickly grabbing my notepad once again, I began to record this event.
April 10th, new star sighted. Next to the tip of the Ursa Major’s head. Glowing brighter by the second! My guess is that it it a comet or a meteor.
Glancing back up at the sky, I was shocked to see it get even brighter. I couldn’t write fast enough.
The star is coming closer to Equestria, based on the fact that the star has grown from a distant flicker, to a constant shine.
Keeping my eyes on the sky, I saw that it hadn’t relatively changed when I had last seen it. It now seemed to be slowing down. Enough so that Twilight couldn’t see any difference in the intensity of its glow.
The star has slowed down. It has not gotten any brighter for the past minute in comparison to its previous luminosity.
With a last look at the sky, the star had remain stationary. Putting down my notepad, I just gazed at it. Why had it stopped moving? What had stopped it? What is it? The questions began piling up, giving me a slight headache. Lowering my gaze, I just looked out into Ponyville.
I saw no more ponies in the streets, which meant that nopony else was able to see this new object. I saw no more ponies, I did see something in the darkness. It was too dark to make out details, but I saw that it was standing on its back legs. Once I focused on it, it seemed to retreat into the darkness.
What was that? I wondered. It didn’t look like a pony, but what else could it have been? It wasn’t big enough to be a griffon, but it was bigger than a pony. Why was it watching me? If it hadn’t been looking at me, it wouldn’t have noticed that I had looked at it.
Can’t you think about this in the morning? my mind asked. Yawning, I looked out the window once more. Nothing unusual in the window greeted my eyes. Turning away from the window, I got into bed. Closing my eyes, the questions came in droves. What was that thing? Why was it staring at you? What was that thing in the sky? Was it going to get closer to Equestria? Was it going to land in Equestria?
I had no answers to the questions I was bombarded with. The only solution I could think of was finding the answers in the morning. Clearing my mind, I drifted off into easy sleep.
I dreamt of the usual. My routine through Ponyville, the ponies I saw everyday, the places I visited often. It was normal, until I started to feel funny. Like strange funny. I could only equate the feeling to when Pinkie senses the future. It wasn’t natural. That was when my dreams changed.
Buildings rose up above me and converged, trapping me. This continued until the only sources of light were the entrances to the tunnel I now found myself in. The tunnel then shrunk, making it only a few meters above me. Strange valves came out of the walls, and weird vegetation sprouted out of the ground.
Creatures swarmed by me, coming close but never actually touching me. I crouched down and put my hooves over my head. Bright lights flashed behind me, and the creatures continue running by. They eventually stopped, and so did the lights. Putting my hooves back on the ground, I looked behind me. The bodies of creatures I didn’t know littered the tunnel. Among the corpses, one creature stood.
It was standing on its back legs, face obstructed by some mask it had on. It was wearing some kind of black suit, with round objects belted across its body. Some of the objects were red, some were smaller than others, and some were in the form of small shiny balls. It also had these long objects strapped to its body. Three to be precise.
It looked directly at me, and I froze. It started to walk towards me, and I backed away. It stopped, and turned around. Its eyes looking at something only it could see. It tilted its head as if confused at something, and walked away from me. This was a momentary distraction, as it stopped and turned back around. Looking in my general direction. I just stood there, wondering why the creature was so indecisive.
It seemed to make up its mind as it walked away from me. Curiosity drove me to follow the strange clothed being. What was this bipedal? What were the creatures from before? Am I dreaming this? I questioned myself. I did remember falling asleep after stargazing, so this must be a dream. Yet I’ve never seen this place, or the creatures that inhabit it before, how could I be dreaming of things I didn’t know existed before?
The creature I had been following seems to stop before an exit to the tunnel. It raised one of the small objects it had on its body. It raised the object before the door, slowly moving towards the room. Once fully inside, the door seemed to close on its own. I just stared at the door, unsure of whether or not to try opening it. This wasn’t any of my business, yet I felt a need to know what would happen to this creature.
Slowly bringing a hoof to the door, I was surprised when my hoof went right through it. Drawing my hoof back, I stared at it. Nothing abnormal. Reaching for the door again, my hoof went through it once more. pushing farther into the door, I felt no resistance as more and more of my hoof disappeared behind the door.
Bringing my hoof down, I ever so slowly walked forward towards the door. Now inches away from it, I leaned my head forward. It slid right through just like my hoof. Seeing into the room, I saw the creature from before. It was hovering in the air, surrounding it were beings I hadn’t seen before. They all had their front hooves forward, and were pointing it at the creature. That was when I saw a bright light above the creature.
It was approaching fast, illuminating the room and its inhabitants. The beings surrounding the floating creature were creepy. They had nothing on their faces beside their eyes. I could not get a better look as the orb of light had come down very close. It then passed through the floating creature. the creature seemed to be in pain, its body convulsed as the orb went through it. Than it was gone. The orb, the creature, and the being surrounding it.
Where had they gone? Were they still alive? I asked the empty room. It did not stay empty for long as one of the beings from before appeared before me. It stared at me, rooting me in place as it began its slow approach.
I tried to run, but my legs wouldn’t comply. That was when the headache began. It came out of nowhere, blindsiding me as my vision swayed. I could not focus on anything through the pain I was currently in. What I could see from my position was that It had indeed come closer, and was now hovering over me. Its eyes staring into mine.
I did not know what it wanted, nor what it needed from me. All I did know was that one of its legs was coming towards my head, Its appendages reaching for me. I could not fight back, as fear and pain coursed through my mind. I closed my eyes as neared, not wanting to see what it would do next.
Its appendages did eventually make contact as I felt its touch. It was soft as its appendage touched my skin. it was cold, dry, and alien. It did not feel like it was going to harm me in anyway, but I was wrong as a sharp pain went through my skull and straight through to my brain. I felt myself hit the ground as my legs gave out, the pain racing throughout my body. No words could describe the feeling. I just wanted it to stop, for somepony to make it stop.
It did suddenly as I could hear my ragged breathing. My heart raced, and I was sweating profusely. I opened my eyes to the same creature standing over me. Just watching as I struggled after its torture. That was when I heard something, a little squeak somewhere in the back of my mind. Had that always been there? I asked myself. It increased in volume, becoming a soft voice.
“Hello? Hello, Hello, Hello” It said
I was torn on whether or not to answer it. Where did it come from? Who’s was it? Why was it here? Opting to remain silent, I did not reply. It did not either. The creature above me seemed to look over its shoulder, as if hearing something else. It looked back down at me before starting to retreat backwards, into the darkness.
Darkness? Where did that come from? I looked at my surroundings. Sure enough, Darkness was all around. What happened to the room I was in earlier? I said out loud. Nothing answered.
That was when fatigue hit me. My body felt sore, and my mind was unresponsive. Closing my eyes, I felt the darkness close in around me. It was comforting, allowing me to finally rest. Until I woke up.
Artyom’s POV
Memories, dreams, choices, responsibilities, expectations, failures, and successes. I had a chance to re-experience my life once again as my consciousness wavered. The Dream-like state I was in allowed me to experience all kinds of emotions I never wanted to feel again. My station being overrun, Bourban bleeding out, and the bodies of those who failed in their mission. The memories only left me with a depressing sadness. I could do nothing to have stopped what had happened to the fallen.
Bourban. That man was the definition of suspicious. He had asked me to accompany him through some “haunted tunnels.” He must have heard that the paranormal didn’t affect me as much as other people. He was going to give me his AK after the trip, which was probably why I agreed to go on it. After some detours consisting of bandits, mutants, and other paranormal shit, he was shot. I could not help him.
This could only inspired me to do more for the living. Their fate was still undecided, and I could be the only one to decide it for them. I will try my hardest to keep my comrades safe, and if this proved to be too much... They would speak of me to all of the Metro. I will not be forgotten easily.
That is if I am still alive. I might be dead already, or I might just be in a coma somewhere on the surface. It is a wonder that I haven’t been eaten yet, if that is indeed the case. I don’t want to die nameless and alone, but with my current state, it may not be my call.
I just stopped. Put my mind on hold, and relaxed. I couldn’t feel my body, and I could see nothing but a void in my vision, yet I could’ve sworn I was moving. It felt like I was being moved somewhere else by something. Perhaps a survivor? Or a demon is bringing me to their nest?
Demons, The bane of all Metro dwellers. Hideous, vicious, and damn near unkillable. I have never heard of anyone being able to kill or injure one without dying themselves. These winged monsters were not beings you should mess with. Their mouths looked like those of the extinct hippopotamus, and their noses were like two rows honeycombs, They were grey and deformed with wrinkles and holes in their skin.
This was getting boring. Going through my life over and over again. I wondered if this was what the afterlife consisted of. If this was it, I am very disapp-
“Ow! What the fuck just hit me?!” My mind screamed as my eyes opened.
No one greeted them as I tried to recover from the pain. My entire body hurt as I lay on a surface. “Whoever did this, is going to go through a torture worse than death.” I told myself as I let my body recover. Bringing my hands to my head, I rubbed my temple. I tried to, but my gasmask wouldn’t let me do it. Not wanting to take it off incase I was on the surface, I kept it on and put my hands behind my head.
Once enough of the pain was gone, I slowly sat up. Opening my eyes I saw some grass by my boots and pants. A bullet fell from one of my belts strapped to my chest. Grabbing my AK from my back, and my revolver from my belt, I checked them over for damage. They both sustained little damage from the impact.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I focused my vision on the foliage in the distance. shrubs, grass, and trees were all I coul-
What? Trees? Bushes? Grass? Are you hallucinating?! Did you land on another planet or something?! Every single being on Earth knows that none of these object exist. Looking down at my feet, green grass surrounded me. Taking off my wool glove, I put my hand on the “Imaginary” grass. Sure enough, I could feel it. Clenching my hand, and bringing it to my nose, I could smell it as well.
What kind of drugs am I on? This can’t be real. Yet as I looked around, all I could see was green. A sea of green assaulted my vision, giving me a headache just looking at it all, absorbing it all.
Where am I? Definitely not Earth, nor in my mind. I had never seen grass or anything else like this in the past. The only logical explanation was that I was somewhere else, somewhere that wasn’t Earth. Where could I be? The planets I had heard about were said to be barren of life, let alone forestry!
Slowly taking in my surroundings, I had to accept the fact that I was in the unknown. Slowly getting to my feet was hard considering the pain that came from my head and body. Soldiering on, I looked for any kinds of buildings anywhere. Roofs, silos, houses, anything man-made.
To my relief in the distance, there was indeed a roof. It was purple...pink? It didn’t matter. It was something that someone had to have built. I’m going to have to go through a lot of trees with red fruit on them, in order to get there.
Before I got started, Something else caught my eye. A hole appeared? What the hell was that thing? I was smaller than the roof, but it looked out of place. In this land of colour, a white hole appearing out of nowhere struck me as strange. What really worried me though, was the demon that flew right out of it! Accompanied by some nosalises, it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Get your ass in gear! I ran towards the building that was going to come under siege by the mutants. My body protested against my actions, and I politely told myself to deal with it.The trees were not as much an obstacle as their roots were. I could not run five feet before having to jump over a root. It was more annoying than actually distracting, and not being accustomed to it, I soon found myself short of breath.
I was relieved when I finally made it to the house. It was painted pink and purple, no clue why. Looking above it, the hole hadn’t reappeared. Walking towards the house, I could spot the blood stains from even this distance. The blood was on the porch of the building and it lead into the actual house itself.
As I got closer, my suspicions were correct. The mutants had attacked someone here, and since they are not screaming in pain, they were probably dead. I could see tracks on the floor and in the blood. The nosalises tracks were the first I noticed. They were the only tracks I noticed as well. Strange, why didn’t the person attacked put up a fight? Or did they notice the creatures after it was too late?
My question would never be answered as I heard screams in the distance. Sure enough, on the building’s right from the back, a town could be seen. While the view was obstructed by trees, there were definitely a lot more roofs.
So what is it going to be? Go to the town? or stay here and check the house? Checking the house was a whole lot safer, yet the inhabitants were probably already dead. Another scream sounded from the town before I made my choice. Running away from the farmhouse, I muttered a quick prayer for the inhabitants, and one for myself. I was going to need it.
Artyom's POV
I had no time to enjoy the scenery while running towards the town in the distance. Driven by a need to protect, I drew my revolver from my belt as I got closer to the town. Within a minute, I was on its outskirts. Once again, the houses looked like they were coloured by children. Bright colours that didn’t provide any kind of camouflage. Looking up, I counted at least two demons flying overhead. I steeled myself before beginning my walk into the town.
I walked by houses, fires, and the dead bodies of brightly coloured horses. Once again, the inhabitants of this town painted their houses oddly. What is stopping them from doing the same to their livestock? What was strange to me was that each of the horses had a tattoo on their ass. It must’ve had something to do with organisation, I had no other explanation.
I must’ve walked all the way to the center of town. Before me was a fountain surrounded by flowers and trees. In this park were more dead horses, their blood painting the grass red. Where the hell were the people? I hadn’t seen one in the time i've been here. Had they already abandoned the town? I clenched my fist. Can I at least meet something alive?
I heard clicks coming from my right. Turning towards the sound, I got my hopes up. Turns out it was just more horses running towards me. Sighing into my mask, I looked at them. There must’ve been about ten or so horses in the herd. about two had wings, and three had horns, and the rest were normal. Wings? Horns? What? I rubbed my visor before looking again. Sure enough they did have wings and horns! Thinking back, I almost facepalmed as I remembered seeing wings and horns on the horses I had passed before. As strange as that was, I just assumed it to be normal, and dismissed it.
The clicks stopped. snapping out of my daze, I noticed that the horses had stopped running. They were looking at me. absolutely terror rippled through the group as they look at me . I could see it in their eyes. Why they were scared of a person was beyond me. Didn’t they have people that rode them as well? They started backing up away from me, before remembering what they were running from. Two nosalises we a few yards behind them, catching up to the now stationary horses.
The horses seemed to be talking amongst themselves, looking between the rapidly approaching nosalises, and me. Raising my revolver towards the nosalises, I couldn’t get a good shot. The horses were in the way. Holding the revolver with my right hand, I tried to gesture to the horses to move over. The horses didn’t respond as they stared at my display, baffled.
During my display, the horses suddenly smiled at me. It was creepy, to say the least. Did they finally realize i’m actually trying to help them? Probably, now if they would just mo-
Ow! Something slammed into my back, sending me flying, and forcing me to the ground belly first. Getting to my knees, I looked behind me. A purple horse with a horn stood a few feet behind me. It looked somewhat mad at me! Getting to my feet, I just stared at the horse. It’s horn glowed a bright purple. Something inside me told me not to make any sudden moves.
The horse didn’t move, and neither did I. The herd of horses from before had fled down another part of town, taking the two nosalises with them. Now, with just the two of us, I tried to think of a way to negotiate. It didn’t look like it was in the mood to negotiate, so I just opted for silence. It did as well. We just stood there, I stared into its eyes, and it stared at my visor.
The standoff didn’t last. Behind her, a nosalis slowly made its way towards the horse. Bringing up my finger, I tried to point at it. The horse seemed to interpret this as a hostile act, and launched a wave of energy towards me. I hadn’t seen anything like it before in my life. In a second, I was once again in the air, and hitting the ground on my back. It didn’t hurt as much as it was just annoying. Getting up once more, I looked back at the horse. It was on its back, trying to fight the nosalis from before. Time to start saving lives Artyom . I raised my revolver.
Firing one shot, It went straight into the nosalis’ skull. It went limp on top of the purple horse. The horse struggled to get the corpse off of it. Blood started to drip onto the horse’s face, getting mixed into its mane. This prompted it to struggle even more frantically. Walking over to the horse, I stopped right above it, and bent down. The horse noticed me right away, and its horn charged up once again. It pointed its horn at me. Before it could shot, I grabbed its horn, and moved it away from me. The energy discharged into the sky above me. I didn’t let go of the horn as the horse struggled underneath my grip. It looked at me with anger and desperation.
With my left hand on the horn, I used my right hand to grab my gas mask. The horse stopped struggling as it watched my actions. I slid my gas mask off, and held it in my right hand. The horse’s eyes wandered over my entire face before resting on my eyes. I meant it no harm, and I hoped it showed on my face. It seemed to calm down as it continued to stare into my eyes. Letting go of its horn, I awaited its response.
Thankfully, the horse didn’t try to blast me again. It only tried to push the corpse off itself. Grabbing the corpse, I gave it a hard shove. It slid off the horse and turned over, face up. The horse just looked at me, giving no indication of getting up. I offered it my hand. It looked at my hand before returning to my face. Slowly reaching for my hand, it eventually slid its hoof into the palm of my hand. My fingers closed around its hoof, opting a slight shiver from the horse. It’s hoof “Grabbed” onto my hand. I had never felt this sensation before. I felt like my hand was being attached into its hoof.
Setting that aside, I pulled it into a sitting position. Letting go of its hoof, it got back to its feet in a second. Staring at me, it slowly back away from me. Putting my gasmask back on , I looked back at the horse. Its face was a mess of emotions. It backed away from me, staring at me, probably prompting me to do something.
I couldn’t just keep calling it the purple horse over and over again. Looking over it, it had lavender fur, and a purple mane with a pink stripe going through the middle. Same with its tail. It invoked in me a sense of nostalgia. Once again I was a kid, with what must’ve been my parents. I was staring through the window of our apartment. I was watching the sunset, and the twilight as it crept across the sky. Twilight. That name sounded appropriate.
The staring contest didn’t last long as the same group of horses from before came back into the square. Their numbers had definitely dwindled from before. There were now six horses. one with wings, and two with horns. Twilight began towards them. I didn’t move an inch from before.
Twilight, and a white horse started to talk, or at least it looked like they were talking. I could hear sounds coming from their mouths. They both also had horns. The white horse then looked at me. I didn’t move from my spot. It stared at me while talking to Twilight. Sitting down, I looked around. I couldn’t see any mutants around, and the demons that had been overhead were now gone. where had they gone? Had they just found prey? or were they in hiding? How the hell had they gotten here? How the hell had I gotten here? All I remembered was that I opened a door and got ambushed by Dark Ones.
My thoughts were interrupted by Twilight. It poked me with its horn. Turning my head towards it, I listened in. It made sounds, probably in an attempt to communicate, but I couldn’t understand one word. Tilting my head, I just stared at the horse. It sighed before lifting one of its hooves and pointing to the herd of horses from before. Looking from the group back to Twilight, I shrugged. The horse walked around me, and started to push me towards the group. Did it want me to follow the herd? I got up and started walking towards the group. I paused to look behind me. Twilight nodded its head. I did as well.
A scream echoed throughout town. Both mine, and Twilight’s head snapped towards the sound. We Looked back to each other. She motioned for me to follow the group, and ran towards to origin of the scream. I started running towards the group of horses. In turn, they started to run away from me. I could tell they weren’t actually trying to outrun me, but they were just putting some distance between them and me. I was fine with this as I chased the group.
We ran hard, I was sweating as the horses came to a stop in front of a building. The White horse from before opened the door, and the horses streamed in. The white horse stayed at the door however, and seemed to be biting its lips. I just stared at it, while it stared at me. It must’ve been thinking something over as it motioned for me to come towards it. I did as I was expected. Once at the door, I stopped. It just looked me over. A look of disgust painted over its face.
After a few more seconds, It made room for me to enter the building. Once inside, the white horse locked the door. From there, I was guided by a series of pokes up a flight of stairs, and into a room. In the room was a bed, a window with curtains, a dresser, a chair, two end tables, and a lamp. Behind me, I could hear the door closing, and a lock clicking into place. Taking off my gas mask, I threw it onto the bed along with my AK and revolver. Walking towards the window, I separated the curtains, I saw nothing special. I pulled up the chair, and took out my journal.Recording the events of the day, I put it aside.
Crossing my arms, I put my chin on my hands and stared out the window. The sun was out in all its glory, yet I felt exhausted. When was the last time I had slept? I couldn’t remember. Dwellers of the metro were known to go long hours without sleep, We had too. A nap couldn’t hurt. As my eyes started closing, everything blurred. There was this dark spot in my vision. Dismissing it, I closed my eyes.
Artyom's POV
Relaxing. One of the many words to describe my current surroundings. Tranquil, peaceful, void of any distractions. I knew I was sleeping, and it felt amazing. The darkness was welcoming, and I relaxed in its embrace.
When was the last time I had actually slept? Not counting napping, but actual rest during my journey? I couldn’t remember, but then again, I had had difficulty with memory ever since I was a child. I didn’t think I had contracted anything, but one day I just found it difficult. It had also been the day I had first visited the surface. Was that why? Did something happen up there?
The more I tried to look for these memories, the fainter they got. Frustrated with their elusiveness, I gave up. There would be time for that later in my life, I hope. The average lifespan of a Metro-dweller was surprisingly long if they knew what they were doing. Imagine, living until your forties! You would be one of the few.
The Metro, boy how I missed those tunnels. I never thought I would say that in my life. Growing up around them, they gave me a sense of safety. Always sheltering me from the harsh surface where the monsters came from. The older I became, and the more knowledge I acquired, the safer the tunnels were. At my ripe age of twenty four, I was at my prime.
I could put a bullet through a nosalis’ skull from a distance, overpower one if it ever got close, and kill one before it realized it had been stabbed. All of my abilities had been my most valued assets in my life. I was sought after by many merchants interested in guards for their railcars.
I always turned them down. Not because I didn’t need the bullets, but because I didn’t want to endanger my life unnecessarily. Not only that, but because I don’t want to kill unless necessary. Most of the people in my station called me an idiot and I ignored them. They also ignored me. I didn’t mind, I enjoyed the silence. It had been my friend since childhood. I shyed away from conversation, and instead used body language and hand signs for communication. It had taken a few months, but the station had eventually adjusted.
What could the possibilities be If I had accepted the offers given to me? Infinite. I could’ve been a hero, a legend, or a dead man. It was definitely not worth the risk. I disregarded my train of thought, I could not undo the past. So why dwell on it?
I felt a little jolt in my side. Thinking nothing of it, I resumed my leisurely thoughts. I felt another jolt, stronger than before. I knew what was happening, and I tried to stay asleep but it was no use. The third jolt came, painful now as the darkness faded. It was replaced with a blur of colour.
Blinking my eyes, the window became crystal clear. Yawning I began stretching, only to be interrupted by a hard poke in my side. wincing, I let out a gasp. Bringing my hands down to my sides. I was just in time to block another jab. Turning my head to my right, I spotted the white horse from before. It brought it head up to look at me.
It then proceeded to stare at me indefinitely. I became uncomfortable fast, getting up and walking towards the bed that supported my mask and weapons. Sitting down on sheets, I proceed to inspect my weapons. Checking the clip on my AK, the grip, and the muzzle. Satisfied with its condition, I switched to my revolver. Checking the chamber, I replaced the spare bullet I had used yesterday. Doing my best to try and calibrate the sights on it, I got a glance at my gas mask.
It was unnecessary at this point, the air was breathable and beyond fresh. It would just weigh me down. Strapping my revolver to its holster, and my AK to its Scabbard, I looked forward. The white horse had moved in front of me, and was now blocking my path. It was still staring, but with less intensity. It looked almost curious, its eyes darting up and down my face. This undesirable attention made me uncomfortable. If this was the reaction I would get without my mask, I would rather it on. Reaching for It, I brought it to my face. Strapping it on, I looked towards the horse. It almost frowned, or that is what I thought it had done. the horse did a one-eighty straight towards the door. Comfortable with my identity hidden, I followed her out of the room.
I was lead into the same room from before. I noticed the ponies from before, as well as a few extras. They must have arrived during my sleep, it showed on their faces too. one glance at me, and three different horses cringed, while a few others neighed. all their eyes drilled into me. I could take this, to them I was alien. With my mask on, I was invulnerable to their stares.
Taking another good look around the room, I saw that some windows and the front door was barricaded with supplies. Boards, chairs, dressers, and mannequins? That was what they looked like, and they creeped me right out. Looking from their fortifications, I recognised one horse from the numerous others in the room.
There was Twilight, in the corner of the room. Her attention focused on something on a table below her. It was brown and had markings from what I could see. Approaching her, I noticed something else as well. A lizard was standing beside her. It had lime green spines on its back and head. The spines ended at its tail. Its scales were light purple, and its underbelly was a light green as well. Fins, the same colour as its underbelly, adorned its cheeks.
I was not noticed by the creature, until I had started to approach Twilight. A glance was all it took before the reptile shot behind Twilight. Its hands were shaking, and Twilight groaned in agitation. Moving the lizard to her side, Twilight continued to study the paper before her. The creature on the other hand got a good look at me, and was shaking harder than an old generator. Giving gave it a quizzical glance, Twilight turned her head towards me.
She regarded me silently. I Walked until I reached her. Motioning with her head, she tried to turn my attention towards the parchment she was observing. Moving alongside her, I finally got a good look at the map she was studying before. Around forty black squares marked the map. nine circled in red, and one square in blue stood on the outskirts of town. She used her powers to materialize little blue flags in each of the houses that were circled.
At this point I had given up on trying to explain this phenomenon. I just assumed it was magic, and I didn’t think I was very far off.
These flags slowly began moving outside their respective houses, and towards the blue square. I could establish that the flags were horses, the houses circled were occupied, and the blue square was a sort of safe zone. She looked at me, requiring assurance of her silent explanation. I gave her a nod.
Focusing back on the map, she made one of the houses pulsate. Assuming that it was their current location, I saw two little red paths show up the map. Starting at their current building, they split up, and extended towards the closest house with survivors. They tapped buildings, and the flags inside the houses moved onto the paths. The paths continued to reach houses and people until they both ended up hitting the safe zone.
Once again, Twilight looked up from the map. Nodding, I noticed something about the two paths. one path hit five houses, while the other only hit three. Bringing up my finger, I pointed to the path with more stops, and then pointed my finger back to myself. This surprised Twilight as she looked at me with a look of uncertainty, trying to come up with an explanation for my unexpected heroism. I just nodded to her. She frowned before looking back towards the map. Twilight bit her lip, trying to make a decision. The Lizard from before started to talk? It made sounds. Twilight seemed to understand what it was saying. She reached consensus as she took a deep breath in, and out. Turning to me, she nodded her head as well.
Something caught her eye as she craned her neck, trying to see past me. Turning my head, I could see a window behind me. A horse with wings was flying outside. Turning back toward Twilight, I saw her wave her hoof sideways repeatedly. She stopped after a second and frowned. Her eyes widened as a look of shock consumed her face. her eyes meeting my mask, she tried to push me away? It didn’t work, looking behind me. All I could see was a blue blur approaching fast.
I barely had anytime to think as the window shattered into pieces in front of me. The horse from before had used its momentum to plant its hooves onto my shoulders. caught completely off guard, I lost balance immediately. I was in shock as we rolled across the floor. The horse had tumbled into a wall, and I had landed close to it. Instinct kicking in, I drew my knife in one swift motion. In another It was now embedded into the wall a centimeter from the horse’s neck. Using my other hand I pinned its shoulder opposite my knife. it recovered from the impact, and tried to move. It tried, until it saw my six inch steel knife. It froze, eyes locked on the knife.
Aside from the ragged breathing from myself, and the blue horse in front of me, the room was completely silent. Nothing moved, no one spoke, everyone froze. As our breathing came under control, Twilight slowly made her way over to us. I was fighting the urge to slit this horse’s neck, like I would open a letter. My blood pumped, adrenaline flowing through my system, and my mind told me to kill my attacker. Twilight was by my side before I could decide on a course of action. Turning my head towards her, I saw she was biting her lip, and staring at my knife.
Looking back once more to the horse I’ve pinned, she too was still looking at my knife. Taking a deep breath, I pulled it out of the wall, and I put it back into its sheath. the blue horse slid down the wall and onto the floor. Bringing a hoof to its neck, it looked up at me in fear. Frantically scrambling away from me, the horse eventually hit a corner of the room and stared back at me in fear.
Getting up onto my feet, I turned towards the stairs. I think I heard Twilight saying something. I ignored her, My heart was still beating rapidly from the surprise attack. I needed to calm down before I killed something.
