Fallout Equestria: Metroby Gaius MariusChaptersPrologueHunterChasePrologueThe day Equestria died “If anything could save us from madness, it's uncertain.” a crazed zebra An old zebra stallion stood alone his shabby apartment room. He stared out out of his window onto the city of Moscva, while listening to a small radio scanner. Suddenly the radio chatter picked up. He picked up a headset, turning a small gem on the device trying to clean up the static from the signal. He listened for a moment before throwing off his headset. In a frenzied panic he quickly threw on a saddle already heavily laden with survival supplies. He ran out of his room abandoning all other possessions making his way down a few flights of stairs. The building was old and rather run down. The plaster had in many places had large pot marks and aged a sickly yellow. It was a slum building, only inhabited by the very poor. So it came to no surprise to him to see a vagrant mare gently soothing an infant foal wrapped in blankets camped outside the stairwell. At first he ran past her not paying any attention, then over a pang of guilt he stopped for a moment. He turned to warn her, “get to a shelter, their gonna drop the bombs!” The mare only hugged her foal protectively glaring at him. He must have seemed mad to her, but he didn't stop to further convince her. He burst onto the street below, he intended to find refuge in the metro system. An entrance was only a few blocks away. He felt a sense of guilt, like with this knowledge was some great responsibility. It forced him to scream at all passerby’s. That they needed to get to a shelter, make way to the metro. They ignored him. It didn't help his message that a nearby preacher was fervently shouting nearby, “...from ursa minor, to ursa major. We are all in very grave danger.” Suddenly a loud air raid siren sounded. The long, loud cry seemed to freeze everything within the city. The siren slowly died and thus its power did as well. Immediately there was mass panic. As all the zebra in the city turned into a massive, screaming, stampede. All, save for the street preacher, who stood up crying out in almost rapturous pleasure. “ARMAGEDDON! HAHA! ARMAGEDDON!” The old zebra tried to continue his gallop, but with his failing health he was unable to get anywhere near the metro before a large crowd formed around the entrance. He feebly pushed his way into the panicking crowd. Some of the zebra noticed his full saddle bags. They mobbed him, grabbing at his saddle ripping the bags off. His efforts to defend himself and his supplies only resulted in him getting trampled. A stallion zebra wearing an army uniform stood before a set of heavy iron barred doors. The right side of his uniform was heavily decorated with medals proclaiming honer and acts of valor on the field of battle, proclaiming him a centurion. Standing next to him was small troop of six soldiers ready to follow their leaders orders. Originally the metro didn't close or house soldiers, but as the Equestrian war progressed the metro systems where considered sites of possible enemy infiltration. The metro began to be shut down during the night, patrolled by armed services. On this day, orders were passed down from the local senate to have the metro closed, the city on it highest alert, everything short of declaring marshal law. Then, only moments ago new orders came through. The centurion was fighting with himself, listening to his ear-bloom. He couldn't show panic in front of his fellow soldiers. Fighting his urge to abandon his post, grab his elderly parents, friends, anyone and rush them to safety, but a cold logical reason prevented him. The bastards higher on up were aware all their troops would be tempted to rush loved ones to safety, so they gave them as little warning as physically possible. He had to hide all his traces of fear and panic, he had to be a source of order and stability in the face of chaos. The chaos that will be charging in, as the order rang through his ear-bloom that the air raid siren just sounded. “Open the doors!” he ordered then stood back along the wall. He pulled out a watch and looked down at the timer. Past drills had shown how long it took to shut the doors after the final warning was sounded, and he intended to make every second count. As soon as the doors opened slightly, the three soldiers on either door fought to keep themselves from being crushed by the stampede of zebras. They pushed themselves in, diving down the stairs into the metro below. The centurion and his soldiers maintained their discipline, holding their post along the doors. He continued to listen to his ear-bloom. “Equestrians are retaliating, Roam has gone silent, advise to all forces to begin sealing shelters!” This was it, that was order. He looked up to the very large crowd that has only now managed to gather around the entrance. He looked down at his watch counting down. He could only give these poor souls another forty five seconds. He avoided looking into the eyes of the crowd. Instead he looked to his soldiers covertly signaling them that in a moment they'd have to force the doors close and run for their lives. He looked down again to his watch 5...4...3...2...1...“Close the gate,” he said. His soldiers could barely hear the order over the screaming of the crowd, making out the order from watching his mouth. The soldiers immediately threw themselves into the door slamming it into the zebras trying to force their way into the station. A mare at the front of the mob was trying for force an infant foal wrapped in a cloth through the half closed door. The centurion could feel his heart tear in two. If his troops let up on their momentum they'd never be able close the doors, possibly dooming all the zebras they'd just saved, however the foal fit through the crack. Seeing the opportunity, he made up his mind. He grabbed the foal from his mother's outstretched forehooves. The mare's face lit up for a moment but then turned to utter panic as the doors continued to close. She shrieked hysterically as the doors closed, “No! Khonvoum… no my baby!” The soldiers quickly dropped the bar in place sealing the door, before all of them turned and began running down the stairs into the metro. He only made it halfway down the stairs with the foal cradled in his hooves when the screams outside intensified for a moment before being silenced with an intense wave of heat radiating from the door above. The metro system of Moscva was an engineering marvel of the zebra people. Built out of the advancement brought by the early contact with the ponies of equestria, the metro system was actually a product of earth pony design. The massive mass transportation system helped industrialize the once agrarian city making it the economic rival of the capital Roam. However when war broke out the metro was changed, it still served it's primary purpose, but the underground nature made it a natural shelter from pegasi raids. The stations were expanded into bomb and fallout shelters, massive stockpiles of vitamins and medicine were stored inside these station-shelters. Self sustained water filters were installed along with green rooms with UV lights to grow crops, geothermal heating and power were all built under the stations. Throughout the course of the war it became the worlds largest bomb and fallout shelter, now home some forty thousand survivors. However not all stations were created equal. Many early on had experienced water filtration failures or some other critical life sustaining equipment break. Some stations had zebras with the technical expertise and tools to fix and maintain their stations, others did not. Those unfortunate had to flee to other better stations and hope they wouldn't be rejected for fear of overcrowding. Some stations had more societal problems. Almost in all stations had angry civilians who've lost everything far out numbered the soldiers and officers who were blamed for the apocalypse. In such cases, a lynching often soon followed. The ingrained tribal nature of Zebra seemed to win out over the past half century of cultural innovations as all notions of government and unified people dissolved immediately. The stations fell into individual city states. However within the following year alliances and unions began to form between the stations. The first to rise was a trading union forming along the outer ring of metro system. It started out as three adjacent stations, but they were soon motivated by prospect of wealth that would be brought if all the stations along the ring joined. This became their original and still driving goal of the traders who began to refer to themselves as the Trade Guild. Their spread to the other stations was normally peaceful, and helped along with the traders themselves as they would migrate into the targeted stations planting the seeds of the guild. Of course some stations outright rejected them, but by the time the guild controlled nine stations, they formed a well armed and supplied military force that pacified resistance, for the good of all the metro citizens of course. They were not without rivals. Near the southern edge of the ring a powerful idea emerged between a station and its two horizontal stations before it. The Camaraderie, a dictatorship of administrators who gathered all supplies and redistributed it back to population by what they considered to be a fair portion. All members of the stations were conscripted into labor forces yielding great amounts of food and security for its population, so long as they submitted to the absolute authority of the administrators. This powerful group forcefully spread north, seeming to creating a line on the map of the metro. The growth of the two major factions continued until the fifth year. The Camaraderie did also spread to its adjacent stations along the southern ring. The guild was diplomatic at first, both factions were aware of each other and planned for the their inevitable clash. The guild's motivations were purely profit and opportunity while the Camaraderie was an ideology hellbent on control. The guild build bunkers around the Camaraderie southern stations. While the factions were sizing each other up, the war broke out on the northern ring when the Camaraderie line finally clashed. Neither side truly had vast resources needed for a war. The guild was better equipped while the Camaraderie had more equines, yet Moscva's zebras were faced with both a looming population and resource crises having being forced to live underground. So the war was fought with small raiding parties, terror attacks, unconventional warfare as these were like a zebra's second nature. Ultimately though it was a stalemate. One side would raid, often failing to gain any ground, and if they did, it was impossible to hold before a counterattack drove the attacker back. Once the guild managed to capture the western south station, putting them dangerously near the founding station of the line. The Camaraderie responded sending waves of zebra, first the elderly, the sickly and weak as meat shields armed with only crude clubs. The tactic worked as the guild forces ran low on ammunition and had to retreat as armed comrade forces retook the station. The bloody stalemate lasted six years. It slowed down at times due to population shortages but hostilities ended when a new threat emerged. At a western station around the outskirts of the metro system, well past the trade guild ring. There was no warning as huge tailless rodent like creatures invaded. They looked similar to rats, except they were a little bigger than your average zebra. Almost all of them had no visible hair, showing off their light pinkish skin covered in small tumors or patchy malformed flesh, only the ones that did have visible hairs where larger and obviously a more muscular build. They came pouring in the thousands from a line that continued well out of the city and into the countryside. The denizens of the station stood no chance, hardly any of them managed to get out of their tents or hovels before the swarm flooded in drawn by the scent of zebra flesh. A group of zebras lucky enough to be near a motorized rail car were able to escape before being consumed by the horde. The next connected station was soon lost as well. The little warning they got from the zebras speeding through on the rail car was too little too late for these poor souls. The few residents that were able to even grab a weapon did little to stem the flood of mutants before being washed away. The residents of the metro may have faced extinction that day, as that last station connected to a guild station the lead in the metro proper. The rail car crashed into the guild station with it's riders raving and claiming for the residents to take up arms. The war with Camaraderie had forged the Guild. They had improvised the ultimate weapon in the metro, and the warning prompted them to use their super weapon. A large pressure washer was pointed down the tunnel as the cries of the swarm approached. The pump was refitted to spray a large stream of fossil fuel, with a flaming munition gem welded to the barrel. The improv flame thrower worked perfectly. Tongues of flame shot down the tunnel incinerating hundreds of mutant swarms. High pitched squeals filled the station as the swarm slowly died. Zebras maintained their title as the worlds supreme killers that day. That wasn't the last of the rat creatures now commonly referred to as nosalis. They began to infiltrate the metro system. Some inner stations had been over run turning into breeding grounds. Those stations either had to be burned out or the surrounding tunnels collapsed sealing the threat away. Such extreme measures were unpopular when employed. Not only was it the loss of space and resources, but the metro was fast facing a new problem, flooding. Radioactive rain water as well as natural ground water constantly seeped into the metro. A combination of pumps and old drainage pipes ran through the metro. Sealing in any station ran the risk of redirecting the flow of water into inhabited areas. With the mounting problems the two factions declared a truce and diplomacy was enacted. The Camaraderie surrendered the two station along the ring but still maintaining the founding ring station. The guild also surrendered the north ring station, making the Camaraderie line complete. However, the stations along the ring were co-controlled. A small armed guild presence, an embassy was allowed at both ring stations ensuring free passage of traders through controlled parts of the stations. So the guilds dream of passage through the ring of the metro were finally realized, and zealously guarded to this day. Another constant power present in the metro lay slightly left of the metro center. Three stations that lay underneath the Moscva University, the nearby military academy and the nearby great library. These three stations quickly united, being greatly composed of the zebra military and academic elite they managed to stave off the worst of the post-megaspell horrors. They called their station union the Civitatem, the last known bastion of zebra civilization. It's military refers to themselves as the Spartan order. Although smaller in numbers, a combination of well maintained old world equipment and training, their operatives, or ‘Spartans’ were a fearsome force to be reckoned with. The Civitatem managed to stay mostly neutral during the Guild-Camaraderie war, focused only preserving whatever old world knowledge they could. Lastly a new but growing power was growing north of the Civitatem, drawing members from among the independent stations, the Purists. Its founding philosophy dates long before the war the with the ponies of Equestria. It began in days when the zebra tribes were first united into the republic. The most prominent tribe the Roamani, self convinced of their own superiority formed a minor but notorious political movement against tribal unification. Under Caesar's command the group was considered illegal and it’s members to be exterminated after the brutal murder of a member of the senate. The government was never successful in completely removing them, they remained quietly in the backgrounds, mostly recruiting members of the poor, the desperate and the disenfranchised. It seemed with the fall of civilization granted them the opportunity they needed to truly thrive. As mutants began appearing, first as zombie ghouls, then deformed babies, and finally mutant monsters began pouring into the metro. Their ideals changed to that that of a personal calling. To becoming warriors-knights who mission in life was preserve the purity of the zebra people against mutations. At the end of the world, the Purists movement finally began gaining momentum. Some twenty years after the megaspells rained. A lone stallion climbed up a long set of stairs leading up onto the surface. His face and muzzle were completely concealed inside a steel gas mask, with the glass holes for his eyes being darkly tinted. He wore a full body suit that loosely hung on him obscuring his physic. The suit was made of a combination of rubbers and plastics with small squares machine printed the shades of gray giving him urban camouflage. He wore a saddle with the same camouflage, laden lightly with gear with a few more bags strapped across his chest. The saddle also had two large gun barrels strapped to either side under his bags. The soft regular sucking of air could be heard as he climbed up the stairs. His breath was pushed out of a valve on the side of his muzzle. It condensed creating a small thin vapor cloud that form around him as he labored up the stairs. He felt oddly nostalgic here along with the normal nervous sensation of going onto the surface. Like he had been here before. He came upon an iron door, grunting heavily before turning to buck the rusted bar, forcing the door open. He walked out and look upon the scorched city of Moscva. P.S. This story is inspired by the works of Fallout Equestria by Kkat (link) and Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (link). All intellectual property of “My Little Pony” and “Metro 2033” respectively belong to Hasbro, 4A games, Deep Silver and respective owners. P.P.S. Special thanks for expanded lore form Somber’s Project Horizens (link) P.P.P.S Sorry for the rewrite of the Purists origins and changing of titles to better fit in with established lore, if anyone would like to help with editing please message me, as I’m sure it will help with the rate that I upload and reduce my “retcons” HunterA Hunter “If it's hostile, you kill it.” -the Spartan creed Before the end 'I hate ladders,' I thought while staring up at the black and white striped flank in front of me. Apparently during the great war some zebra senator or architect thought since ponies lacked the agility of zebra's, they'd build everything at ninety degree angles and then only to use thin metal poles to climb up. ’I mean anything with a slight slope would've taken up too much space I guess,’ I fumed internally, trying to just balance a hoof on the old rusted bars. It was an effort to keep up pace with my companion, weighed down with our combat hazmat suits and our battle saddles. I guess it was a lifetime growing up using ladders like these that gave him the endurance to keep a solid pace. “Hey Khon, when you left your home station, did you imagine we'd end up in a place like this, not knowing if we will save our metro...or hand its fate over to the stars,” he asked with touch a doubt. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing. Instead focusing at the dangerous task of climbing. The rusted remnants of the ladder began to groan louder the higher we climbed. As my companion reached the top and began to climbed over, the shifting of his weight finally stripped the rusted bolts. The ladder immediately started to fall backwards, in a panic I managed to get one hoof on the edge as my friend turned back. “Got you!” he shouted chopping on my mane. He pulled roughly, dragging me onto solid ground. It really hurt tearing a few hairs but a mix of relief and the rush from the brush with death dulled the ache. While I slumped over trying to catch my breath, my friend looked over the ledge. He said humorously “they can try but there’s no stopping us now, is their Khon?” I got up, not bothering to inquiring who he was referring to. We had climbed into a small room. Like everything in this metro area, the walls were gray concrete. The floors rough rusted steel all illuminated by orange emergency lights. There was a control room but the equipment looked long dead. We focused instead on the airlock door. We both wordlessly knew what to do, sealing up our hazmat suits completely covering any exposed areas, before donning on our gas masks. The mask narrowed my vision, muffled my voice and the soft sound of air being sucked in and push out filled my ears as I breathed. I had a small watch on my right hoof, I nudged a dial on it setting the marker to fifteen. Finally I flicked my tongue along a slide inside my mask, it sprung a small trigger that fitted against my molars. My friend nodded to me as he stood by the wall where the door would open. I could see on the rubbery underside of the gas mask flex slightly as he mouthed the trigger of his battle saddle. I walked up to the wheel handle of the airlock and pushed down. The handle groaned, spun an inch then stopped. I raised my front hooves and brought them down hard on the handle. I winced as the metal on metal let out high pitched whine. I hopped the next room wasn't filled with hungry mutants now very aware of our presence. However, the force seemed to get it moving as the handle made a full rotation with a bit more effort. Finally feeling the door unlock, I slowly swung it open. My friend took lead, keeping his guns pointed forwards. Cautious aggression helped one live a longer life in the metro. I followed behind him my own battle saddle pointing a different direction trying to cover as much area as possible. The door has lead to another part of the facility. A hallway again illuminated in the orange emergency light. Seeing no threat I turned and closed the airlock behind me while my friend kept his guns trained forwards. I was disappointed that we were still inside. The dusty room was sure to clogging our limited filters, but with no way to check the air quality past this point we had to keep our masks on. We moved forwards spotting rows of lockers along the wall. They had names printed on them, the former workers for the metro. We didn't have much interest in them save one labeled Sgt. Afia. Figuring this must have been some security zebra's locker I reached back, taking out a crowbar. With my friend standing back keeping ever vigilant, I stuck the crowbar into the gap of the locker and heaved. The locker fought for a moment before breaking open. Inside I saw old metro security uniform, some personal effects, a picture of a Zebra family was tapped to the door. I couldn’t really tell who was supposed to be Afia, I was too focused on my prize. A Kalashnikov rifle lay standing up at the back of the locker. I was less concerned with rifle as I pulled out its magazine. It was fully loaded I happily thought, with fifteen rounds of 5.45×39mm shinny military grade bullets. Seeing nothing else of value I mentally thanked Sgt. Afia before following my friend again down the hallway. At the end of the hallway we came up to another airlock. As was before my friend took up guard as I worked the handle. Thankfully the handle on this one didn't fight me as hard, however when I opened the door there was a hiss and strong air pressure that fought my opening. This was it, we're about to go on the surface. My friend took point again, the way ahead was unsurprisingly dark as it should be night outside. We both turned on our flashlights mounted on the left side of our battle saddles. The door had lead up a winding staircase. It limited how far we could see but I was glad it wasn't another damned ladder. We climbed up what felt like two stories before emerging out into a ruined government office complex. The ceiling had collapsed long ago, leaving huge piles of rubble in the middle on the room. Still many parts of the seconds floor did seem to survive in the rest of the building. The walls were made of plaster and had many small holes in them leading outside. Unfortunately most of them were too small to fit through. We both looked around before spotting a window. It had metal bars on the inside, but with the crumbling plaster I was sure the both of us together could tear them out. I waved my friend over approaching the window when we heard a low growl. We both looked up through the hole on the ceiling to spot a large dog. It easily twice the size of a zebra. Watchers we called them. Someone figured these used to be a creature called a hyena. An ancient predator of our kind. They were driven out of zebra lands, and nearly to extinction practically after the invention of the firearm. After the great war however they've came back, and the magical radiation changed them. They had a few clumps hairs growing out of their body ranging from white to yellow. They were agile pack hunters, stalking their prey from roof tops swooping down once they got close. Realizing their was only one we both tried to shoot the monster before it let out a howl summoning its pack. Two shots simultaneously rang out of the saddles tearing through each of the monster's lungs, as is stood on its hind legs standing to its full height about to let out it howl. We both started to search our surroundings as a loud low howl sounded from above us. “Ah shit!” I fumed, “there is a pack on the second floor!” “They are trying really hard today, aren’t they?” my friend commended as he moved to get a different angle on the ceiling. We heard four sets of paws running along the floor above, their heavy puffing as they galloped towards the hole in the ceiling. The first one jumped down onto the pile of rubble on our level facing away from us. My friend was very liberal with his ammunition, firing a hail of lead on the creature. Three out of ten bullets from the erratic fire caught the creature's rear ripping away part of its pelvis. The monster wailed in agony crippled and quickly bleeding to death. Two more quickly followed the monster down while another walked along the top ceiling. I took aim at the at the one on the second floor. I clenched my molar teeth on the trigger in my mouth twice. The first shot grazed its belly cutting a small red line across it. The second buried itself into its right shoulder lodging itself inside the bone. My friend opened up on the monsters on our level. Red holes opened explosively on the left creature all along its back. It made only four steps before slumping down. The second monster however avoided him instead choosing to dash right for me. My attention shifted to the approaching monster as it leaped towards me, jaw open to show off a large set of fangs. Its paws were outstretched intending to pin me when it landed. Instead of backing away, I pointed myself directly at him and bit my trigger in rapid succession. I fired three times, two of them were unnecessary, as the first went through its open jaw exiting through the back of its head. The other two found some place through its torso, both tearing clean through leaving a fine red mist on their exit. The dead creature's momentum however didn't stop, and the lifeless creature slammed into me knocking me back. Thankfully it didn't knock me over or land on top of me. Just bouncing with no more damage then a possible bruise later. “Hey, you okay?” my friend ask walking over to me but keeping his guns pointed at the hole in the ceiling. I pushed the trigger back with my tongue, I’ve discovered misfires to be both dangerous and a waste of ammo. How he could talk away with it in his mouth and not get people killed was beyond me. I called back a, “yes, I am alright!” with a bit of a painful wince. There were no more angry growling watcher sounds. The one on the second floor I wounded must have crawled away, but the other one with its backside blown out was making a soft whining noise. I quickly checked my self over making sure the watcher that had slammed into me hadn't torn a hole in my hazmat suit. Satisfied and with my friend watching over me. I reached into my saddle bag and pulled out a knife. The handle was designed with a large ring that fit around my hoof quite snugly, useful for when you mouth is covered with a gas mask. Drawing the knife I cautiously walked over the whining monster, facing its backside as to avoid its front paws. I plunged the knife into its throat. Its pain was over in a few moments. Wiping the blade before putting it back I walked over the barred window. I wrapped my front leg around the bars. He followed my example, grabbing the bars. “On three,” I said, “1...2...3!” We both grunted. The plaster quickly crumbled as the security bars fell out of the wall. We both took a quick glance outside to make sure we wouldn't run into anymore monsters before climbing through the window onto the street below. “Okay there is Ostankino Tower,” my friend pointed to a dark spire that reached past the cloud covered sky. The tower used to be a powerful radio tower broadcasting the words of the Caesar or senate to the zebra public, but now it was in ruins. Parts of the inside were exposed, but it was still standing. A lifetime growing up inside the metro system, I was more used to confined cramped spaces. It had taken a while just to get used to the surface. I had few experiences with heights and just looking at the tower was causing me to get butterflies inside my belly. I fought that feeling. The top of that tower was my goal, the end to my journey. Thankfully this was on the outskirts of the city the blacked city of Moscva. I was told it was rather beautiful city of purest white marble, with decorative carvings everywhere before the megaspell scorched the city. The vegetation was sparse here due the natural harsh climate mixed in with all the fallout, but the grounds outside the immediate city wasn’t burned. As we approached the tower we saw a pair headlights shine up, illuminating a small part of the ever present cloud cover. As we neared close enough to see the vehicle that emitted them, my friend blinked his flashlight at the vehicle in a coded order. The vehicle responded with a flick of it lights, after that we continued our approach. Three well armed zebras in similar combat hazmat suits and gas masks were standing by the vehicle. Upon closer inspection the vehicle looked like and old armored combat jeep with an omnidirectional .50 cal rifle mounted on top. The lead zebra of the group called out, “You're late!” “Sorry Prefect, we just had a few near death experiences along the way. Nothing too major,” my friend cracked while saluting. The perfect shook his head, obviously experienced in my friends antics. He glanced at me saying in an appraising tone, “So you must be the new the recruit Khonvoum. Welcome to the order, the Legate spoke highly of you.” “Yes sir...thank you sir.” I said trying to sound formal. I noticed my breathing was getting more laborious. I glanced down at my watch noting its been around fourteen minutes. I reached into my saddle bag pulling out a fresh filter setting in on the ground near me. I started to push my hooves along the groves of my current filter unscrewing it when the soft sound of rumbling was heard. One of the Spartans got on top of the jeep, trying to get a better view before jumping to man the .50 cal. He shouted in a panicked voice shouting, “form a circle!” With the filter semi-unscrew the gas valve shut meaning I couldn’t breath. I accidentally exhaled when the spartan shouted, causing moisture from my breath to condense on the glass clouding my vision. In panic I unscrewed the used filter as fast as I could, dropping it not bothering to pack it. I grabbed the fresh one before the glass became too cloudy. I tried to trot towards to the group on three limbs while using one to screw in the filter. I must have looked like a fool but the group of Spartans were far too concerned with the approaching rumbling sound. I finished screwing in the filter, reopening the gas valve and letting fresh pure air flowed in. As the fresh air cleared the foggy moisture from the glass of my mask and fog from my mind. I began to noticed that the rumbling was less of a sound and more like the ground shaking. As if thousands of zebra were stomping on the ground... no, not zebras, watchers. I finally saw thousands of the beasts in full stampede moving towards us. I stood between two Spartans in a semicircle with the jeep closing the circle behind us. The monsters ran past, seeming to not care about us. Within moments be stood in a sea of monsters. “Okay,” my friend said, “this maybe harder than that Library tour, eh Khon? They just never let up on us do they?” The prefect was about to shush him when one of the monsters stopped following his pack and turned to us growling. My mind was spinning, the largest ever reported pack of watchers was twenty five, no one had ever heard of a stamped of these monsters in the literal thousands. The approaching watcher stood on its hind legs intending to let out its howl when I shot it. My bullet traveled right its exposed belly. The creature crumbled not instantly dead, but for now silenced. It was naive of me to hope that preventing the howl would magically keep this horde passive. Drawn by the shot or simply that one was the first of many, many more the monsters near us stopped their stampede and began circling our group. “Open fire!” The prefect shouted as many of the monsters stopped circling and dashed in. No longer concerned about conserving ammo I bit down the trigger of my battle saddle spraying the monsters in front of me. Bloody holes began popping open at the charging monsters, as I used excessive force ensuring these monsters died as far from me as possible. Between the .50 cal rumbling behind me mixing in with all the other gun fire, the howling of the watchers, from under my mask I couldn't distinguish sound. It was the sensory deprivation I blame for when I didn't notice that the spartan beside me was in trouble. I figure a watcher must have managed to leap onto him for it wasn't his screams that alerted me, but the soft flesh with the coarse spiny hairs of the watcher bouncing against me that alerted me. I turned to see the watcher pinning the spartan biting into him, tearing through his suit and the flesh underneath. I only hesitated for a second, now that his suit is torn my fellow spartan stood no chance of surviving. I unloaded five rounds into the creature, and hoped whatever rounds hit the pinned spartan made his passing easier. I pulled a strap to reload my saddle, taking a side step to cover more area our fallen spartan once held. Suddenly it seemed the watchers backed off. Not sure if we simply intimidated them or they were preparing to rush us all at once when my friend screamed, “Manticores!” I looked up at the tower. It was our worst fears, it seemed the manticores used the tower as a nesting ground. A group of the flying demons descended on the watchers treating this as a buffet of the life time. Unfortunately they didn't discriminate. They descended on us. With the jeep attracting the most attention, the gunner swiveled his gun up. He downed two of the beast with heavy fire, but the third came at him from his back. It grabbed the whole the turret mount taking gunner and jeep in tow. However the jeep didn't cleanly lift off, it flew forwards knocking into us. The front end slammed into my side as I tried to leap away. The force sent me flying some ten feet, knocking the air out of my lungs as I slumped into dirt. Another manticore landed where the jeep had once been, it turned to face me before leaping, intending to devour me. Where it began When I close my eyes and imagine, I'm somewhere else. I lay slightly huddled on a old cot that's just a little too small for me, looking up at a collection of old postcards on the ceiling. Today I visited Canterlot, looking up at the picture of the majestic castle. I filled the area I couldn't see from the image with things I imagined from reading old books. I couldn't properly imagine daylight, my station was constantly lit by old dull orange emergency lights. I had excellent night vision even among my peers but for reading I still had do it under candle light. Wood was rare but we do occasionally have small bonfires, so I tried picturing the whole sky a bright as that fire. I had many other places I visited, the Senate of Roam, the pro-consuls manor in Moscva, Cloudsdale, Appaloosa, Saddle Arabia, all little postcards on my ceiling. Since my adoptive father moved to exhibition station when I was little foal I haven't really been anywhere else. Leaving my waking dream I looked at my watch, I had another two hours to kill before the next shift at our local tea factory. Real tea was a luxury only the most successful Guild trade masters rarely enjoyed. Our station had developed a blend of wild growing subterranean mushrooms that grew nearby, we also wove fibers of an inedible root to make a makeshift tea bag. Exhibition tea wasn't...good until you've acquired the taste, and with shroom vodka being your only other filtered water alternative we've slowly grown a foreign market for our tea. There were two stations between us and a Guild ring station. We had been in serious talks of alliance or agreement with them as exports could bring prosperity to us all, and our union would give us leverage against the Guild in price negotiations. Father had been working really hard on that, often being away for days at a time. However two months ago, all our hopes had been smashed to pieces when a new monster appeared at our doorstep. Many zebra in Exhibition station like myself worked in the tea factory, however in particular health young stallions like myself were also encouraged to take up guard duty. It wasn't the rule, as an old mare normally took the scout position at the thousand meter mark to prove the exception. Exhibition had only one useful outbound tunnel, with posts at the thousand meter, seven hundred, and large fortifications at the three hundred meter mark. The other tunnel had clasped at somewhere forty kilometers down only connecting to a completely flooded station. It only had a scouting post six hundred meters down, and a minor fortified post two hundred meters down. That tunnel used to be quite neglected as only stray mutants could find their way in their. I wasn't on duty when they first attacked. The monster didn't make it past the six hundred scout post. It walked straight into the four zebras camping there, alerting them by tripping the cans on strings. It didn't slow its walk as the guards opened fire, it only let out a loud unearthly wail that woke the whole station when it died. We recovered the body of the monster, after examining it looked to be the same size as a zebra. The first oddity to be noticed was its hardened shiny black skin that resembled a black crystal. Its eyes were large black bulbs, almost bug like, and it didn’t seem to have eyelids. It had other oddities were greater still, it lacked a mouth. It had two thin slits, were a muzzle should be. Not only leaving questions of how did it feed, but how did it make that howl that was heard from one end of the tunnel down to the next. Over the next few days the four guards complained of nightmares and headaches. It got worse as they each clasped within the same hour. When they awoke they experienced constant hallucinations. They talked about reaching a for a light, or crying that they couldn't see. It got worse over the next week as blood began to leak from out from their eyes, nose, and mouth. They later died in horrible fits of seizures. At the time we didn't know what caused it, if the unknown creature was the blame. Our suspicions had been confirmed the next week. This time I was on guard duty at the four hundred meter mark when they attacked again from the second tunnel. The only warning we got was brief moment of gun fire from the six hundred mark and that same unearthly scream. I and many others dashed to the two hundred post. When I had gotten there I was greeted by other residents of Exhibition who possessed firearms. I stood behind our makeshift cover as the monsters strolled up to us. It was strange, they didn't gallop, only walked towards us as if not comprehending the danger of armed zebras. They gave the same unearthly howls as we collectively tore them to pieces in a hail of lead. We later found another dead monster at the six hundred scout post, but so too the guards. It was strange they had no signs of external damage. They simply laid there dead with expressions of utter horror. We called the new monsters that terrorized our station the dark ones. Rumor of these creatures spread as sixteen of our people feel into their curse, causing our tentative relationship with our neighbors to fray. Father has been busy ever since making runs back and forth trying to maintain relations and send out word to the Civitatem trying to enlist the aid of it's Spartans. I shook myself trying to snap myself out these depressing ruminations. I rolled out of bed, carefully avoiding the mouse traps on the floor. I grabbed a belt and holster that held a six shot .44 magnum revolver and two ammo pouches. One held two extra .44 moon clips and the other my life savings of pre-war 5.45 cartridges . I strapped the belt onto my waist, it was my duty as an able bodied equine to be armed at all times. The gun had been my fathers, he used it during the great war. It was standard issue with a plain ivory grip, but he claimed it saved his life before and wanted it to protect me. He gave the gun to me after my first shift as a station guard. Originally he wanted to give it to me after I earned my glyph mark, but it appeared when I was so young my maturity had to be decided by other physical factors. Now ready I moved out of the small secretary office room that served as my bedroom. It lead into a manager's office that was both my father's bedroom, and our shared living area. Though the station managers office still technically served its original purpose as father served as an unofficial mayor. Our station was very much a voluntary community, local zebras were expected to take on vital jobs, and every day rations of food were fairly handed out. If you wanted extra bullets to trade with with your fellow neighbors or traveling traders you worked in the tea factory. As I entered the office room I spotted my father at his desk looking at old plumbing blueprints. Noticing me he looked up saying, “ah awake already, off to work so soon?” “No couldn't sleep,” I sheepishly replied, then looking at his work I asked, “so any progress?” Father sighed, “it would have been better for all, had I been a plumber then a soldier. There’s just no way of collapsing that damned tunnel without causing a flood.” I nodded in understanding. I looked out of the office window and onto the field of family sized military tents that lined the station. All bathed in the soft orange glow of the overhead emergency lights. Most zebras were inside their tent homes, making it easier to spot of pair strolling towards the office. I quickly recognized one as one of our border guards, wearing leather barding and a steel welding mask. He was escorting an obvious foreigner towards us. Despite my good night vision the lighting was too weak to properly make out the stranger right away. Through squinting I was able to make out more details as they neared. The stranger was a bulky zebra mare with no mane. The bulkiness of her appearance had more to do with her barding, it looked to be thick layers of Kevlar with ceramic plates on her shoulders and knees. As she got closer I could see two barrels sticking out from under a light saddle, a rifle with a silencer strapped onto her back, a set on throwing knives strapped to her front left leg, a chain necklace with a metal tag, and if I'm not mistaken a stick of dynamite strapped snugly on the front of her chest. Such an armed guest wouldn't be allowed near the station regardless of escort. I was about to shout something in alarm when I was finally able to make out the mares face. Looking into a pair of feline like yellow slitted eyes, “Hunter?” I said out loud. My father almost dropped him papers in surprise asking, “she's here, already?” I didn't reply, instead opening the door and trotting towards this heavily armed mare with a grin on my face. “Hunter,” I called out in a semi hushed tone, it was after station hours after all. The walking armory stopped for a moment looking at me for a moment before reply with a warm smile. “Khonvoum...oh my you've gotten bigger,” then looking behind me she noticed my father, “Centurion Sukhoi, you called sir?” My father trotted beside me, the guard escorting Hunter saluted him. He returned the gesture while telling him that he can take it from here, letting him to return to his post. Then he turned back to our home waving Hunter on, “Come, come inside.” I walked beside Hunter matching her pace. I was thinking of what questions to ask her first, when she reached into one of her bags saying, “I came across a merchant selling old postcards and thought of your wall.” She pulled out an old post card then handed it to me. The image was somewhat faded and it had been folded but all things considered that was prime quality in the metro. The picture was of a small rural town with one the buildings being an actual tree. There was something written in pony scrip in the top corner. Dominating the center of the image was six smiling ponies each one a different color, two earth ponies, two unicorns and two pegasi in a group pose. Hunter leaned over clearly enjoying the look of fascination I had studding the image. “It says, Welcome to Ponyville,” she translated for me. I had to look up from Image before walking to the door frame my attention so focus on the little postcard. “Thank you so much, it's beautiful,” I said hardly able to contain my excitement as we all walked into the office. I considered giving her a hug but quickly rethought that as I was fearful I'd stab myself on something or set off a gun. Instead she reached out with a hoof with ruffled my mane playfully, “you're welcome my little...ah yes not so little any more eh?” she finished with a sigh. I nodded and then turned to go back to my room leaving Father and her alone to talk. I caught her saying in a teasing tone, “They grow up so fast, I know it's been a while but last time I was here he came just up to my shoulders. Now I think he maybe taller then me...haha soon he'll have a mare friend and you'll be grandpa.” I blushed heavily from that and quickly hid in my room. I first smoothed out the postcard, then I grabbed a bit of glue from a small desk in my room. With carefully practiced motion I dabbed bits onto the back of the card then stuck on my ceiling next to the other cards, holding it for a minute till I was sure it would stick. I lied on my cot for I minute admiring the new addition to my collection. I focused on etching into memory what Hunter told me what the card said. “Poni-vill,” i mouthed. 'Hmm' I wondered if the word poni was equine related. I never did managed to find an opportunity to learn other languages or foreign writing. I wanted to daydream. To lose myself in this new area via my newest window into the past until it was time to go to work, but I found myself distracted. It wasn't often Hunter would come to visit, and who knew when or...if she would come again. As silently as I could I crept to the door, lied down and pressed my ear against the crack at the base. Hunter was explaining herself “No, word hasn't reached the Civitatem yet. Luckily I was nearby on the order’s business. When I heard rumors of your station being the epicenter of a new mutant monsters, I came as soon as my mission was complete. Your message for assistance meet me halfway…” she paused and said with a faint hint of humor, “Khon I know you're listening why don't you just come in.” I froze for a moment, shocked and embarrassed. I was sure I hadn't made a sound or cast a shadow through the door. I slowly opened the door, I looked down as to avoid meeting either of their gaze. Hunter continued, “so why don't you show me the inflicted.” This time I looked up, both me and father lock our gaze together before he nodded with a sigh. We left together heading towards the infirmary. We converted the shower room into a small clinic as the white tiled walls and floor were easy to keep clean and the tiles whiteness made the most out of the weak light. Loss of showers was no concern, clean water was too important to waste, the people maintained hygiene through dry washable brushes and scour pads. We entered the locker room leading into the shower area, heavy doors had been installed into this area. Father knocked before our witchdoctor unbolted the door from the other side. I took a deep breath before entering the room. Not just from the stench of blood, I fought conflicting emotions of not wanting to see what I already knew, and guilt over not spending more time here among my comrades. Equines I've grown up with and spent my whole life around, felt like I was abandoning them in their dying moments. As we walked into the room I forced myself to look up at the dark ones victims. They were all strapped down on their own individual cots. Some were still locked in the throes of terrible unending spasms. They had something wedged in their mouths keeping them from biting down on their tongues. They had all entered the bleeding stage as they wept, coughed and excreted blood, sheets and shower curtains splattered alike. Some curtains were drawn but all it did was cast hauntingly blood splattered silhouettes. Those that could still speak were softly moaning, “I-I can't see...trying to reach...I can't reach...” Some of them had family with them gently trying to wipe away the blood, whispering to them hoping they can hear their last words. I finally looked away, my imagination conjured up images of father lying there. Hunter however displayed a detached expression. Walking over and looking at one of the patients calming talking to the witchdoctor, asking a steady stream of questions. After a few moments she started to turn mentioning wanting to see the bodies of the dark ones when an alarm bell rang. Father ran towards a red emergency phone located on the wall beside the entrance, he roughly grabbed the receiver and jammed it against his face shouting “This is Sukhoi!” He nodded his head a few times ordering, “okay well need to do a full lock down, move all non-combatants to second level greenery area and seal all vents!” Taking the initiative, I stood up and doing a small jump I grabbed a lever on a vent and let gravity pull me down as heavy iron plate inside the vent came down. Next I ran to the other side of the room and repeated the process sealing the ventilation in the room. My father explained to everyone that they needed to hold tight and draw their weapons, seal the door behind us and don't open them until an all clear is sounded. With that Father, myself and Hunter left the clinic, the sound of a bar falling into place sounded behind us. Sounds of gunfire and shouts came out from the station platform and possibly even more from the tunnel. I pulled out my revolver and bit down on the grip, sliding my tongue along the trigger, I looked up to Hunter seeing her detached expression hadn't changed. “What's attacking?” she flatly asked. Father shook his head, “they reported a swarm of nosalis.” “Great then they will be drawn right here by the smell of blood,” Hunter replied in a matter of fact. I bit down harder on my revolver. I was deeply concerned as they never made it into the station before, always charging the barricades with reckless aggression. Unless our defenders had been overrun. Before my fears could really start taking hold Father calmly said to me “Khon stay next to me, they ran past our barricades, our kin are alive, together well get through this.” He still had a reassuring command ability, I felt my nerves cool, and my focus sharpen as I stood by him. After that he swung over his assault rifle and bit his grip as sounds of high pitched squeaks and rumblings of large animals crawling came from inside the ventilation ducts. “Here they come,” Hunter said in a snarl. Loud bangs sounded at the creature arrival. I already found rats to be ugly nasty creatures, these creatures were far worse in appearance. The grate of the far left shuddered as the creature rammed into it. Then long yellow claws with sickly pink appendages poked through before closing in grasping and shaking the grate. Didn’t take it long before it managed to tear a large enough hole for it squeeze itself through. Definitely a strange creature as only half it’s pinkish skin covers is long muzzle, peeling back around the mouth exposing red sore covered flesh and showing off it’s long jagged teeth. It’s pig like snout always seemed to be twitching as it turned to face us. It’s beady little eyes looked like red marbles that were shrunken into his head. As it started to pull more of itself out, father expertly shot it in a three round burst. The creature jerked and spazzed inside the confined space. The nosalis behind it had its access clogged as the dying one blocked it's way. Unfortunately there were many other grates. Another nosalis managed to force open a grate on the far right side, it was halfway out when Hunter fired a shot. My ears rang as the large caliber round shot out striking the top half of the nosalis. It exploded in a mess of ultra violent gore painting the wall around it bright red, leaving it's bottom half wedged in the hole. The nosalis not knowing fear pressed on. They continued to throw themselves into the grates. Father alternated between the two grates on the left side firing three round bursts when a nosalis forced itself onto the grates keeping them pinned. I focused on the unopened grate on the near right wall aiming to fire a round right into the thickest meatiest part of the nosalis. An immature part of me wanted to aim for the head, but I knew better, the .44 slugs did enough damage. Not only that but a small part of me wanted to save the ammo I slaved over earning, and the best way to ensure that was to make every shot was at least a kill shot. A nosalis charged into the grate throwing it's full weight into it, the metal visibly shuddered but the moment after the impact the creature stopped having drained all it momentum. I choose that moment to shoot. I made sure I was looking into the largest mass of the creature as my tongue pulled back. The recoil rattled my teeth, as I did as father had drilled me. Sure enough the slug shot out and tore a big meaty hole on the creature, a head shot wasn't necessary. Hunter seemed to only fire after a nosalis made it's way out of the vents, I figured her rounds would tear big holes on the ducts, giving them more access points. Our early bottling strategy was already showing it weakness as our bullets were tearing the grates apart quite effectively, and dead bodies only proved to be a momentary delay. The nosalis easily pushed their fallen brethren through. Still focusing on the near right grate, the next nosalis climbed over it's dead brethren and pressed its face into the grate trying to headbutt its way through. I smiled internally, I was going to get my head shot after all as it ugly face prove to be my biggest target. The second shot quite cleanly wrecked the grate, but with the two dead monsters laying on top of each other the twisted bits of metal held their corpses in place. The grates on left side of the wall however had been completely torn apart and the nosalis poured into the room from three different points. A pile of monster corpses lay at the bottom of these entrances but the horde pressed forwards. Hunter switched her twin saddle cannons onto auto-fire. With the boxed nature of the locker room, the rapid loud bangs was reverberated, I had to fight from being dazed by the sound. The nosalis seemed to be attracted to the noise as those that managed to make it into the room alive charged at her. Between my father and her they made a new kill zone in the middle of the room. I turned my attention the far right grate as they came pouring out of there. I fired another shot as a nosalis crawled out, the bullet entered from its side tearing through it lungs. Another one followed out right behind it. The recoil from each shot was like take a sharp buck into the jaw. I couldn't bring the gun down fast enough to stop it from entering the room. I fired again as it crouched down to land, the shot missed leaving a hole in the concrete wall. The creature recovering from it's fall got up and charged at me. This time I had a clear shot, I aimed little low and fired twice. Both shots seemed to hit its mark this time as creature somersaulted forwards, then stopped moving. Keeping track of my shots, I taped the revolver with my hoof knocking the chamber out. With a practiced motion I lifted my head up letting the spent rounds fall while reaching into my ammo pouch pulling out a fresh moon clip of .44's. I slid the round clip in and cocked my head to the side slamming the chamber back in. The process only took a few seconds but already two more monsters came out the vent I was targeting. As I took aim an empty clicking sound came from my father's gun next to me. As father began reloading, I inched closer to him and refocused on scanning the room for what monsters were coming towards us instead. I did feel a small pang of guilt leaving the horde to Hunter but her twin cannons seemed to fire endlessly. Still it was apparent the monsters were able to get closer to her with her fire and attention now split three ways. Three of the creature's must have sensed weakness as they broke off their headlong charge into Hunter's fire. Two of them stood up on their hind legs charging at me with their front claws outstretched, with the other was hunched low on all fours trying to circle me. I fired twice at the closer standing nosalis, it having gained the most of my attention. The first round tore through its side, causing it to stagger just before the second round tore a gaping wound in its gut dropping it. The other charging monster got within two strides of me before I switched my aim to it. I pointed my revolver at the center mass of the creature before firing. The beast clutched it chest falling forwards into a clumsy somersault towards me. As I side stepped the tumbling monster the third monster made its move. It pounced up at me, intent on closing the distance in a single leap. I only spotted the beast in its mid arc. Before I even had time to react, a three round burst sounded next to me and I felt the a gush of air across my back as the bullets flew past me. The burst caught the monster in its flight, thankfully changing its direction slightly as it crumpled beside me. I glanced briefly at my father as he once again held his assault rifle aiming at our invaders. Then I glanced over at Hunter. The horde of nosalis was thinning out. No longer were they flooding in one after another through the vents. The noises from the station platform was being replaced more with shouts then gunfire. The bad news was our distraction allowed the remaining monsters to close in on Hunter. Another nosalis leap up directly at her. She also shot it in mid flight but her heavy caliber ripped the creature open, showering her in spray of blood and gore. She was forced to close her eyes and fire blindly. Another monster leaped at her but this time it made on top her. I felt a moment of panic. I've scene what these creatures can do to a zebra. They could easily tear and claw off limbs, not to mention the amount of flesh they can bite off in a single snap. Despite having a creature larger then herself land on her, Hunter didn't seem to get knocked back in the slightest. She bucked before the nosalis could find any purchase with it's claws or teeth. The creature rolled forwards off, limbs flailing about as Hunter snapped open her eyes. She fired a few more shots at the last beast as the one that tried to ride her was in the process of rolling back onto its feet. With calculated precision, Hunter reared up before bringing her front hooves down on the beast. Her landing was meet with a wet crunch. She didn't stop with that, she repeatedly in an alternating fashion bringing up her front hooves as if trotting on the creature. Each time she brought a single hoof down it either made a squish or crunch sound. I watched the display in shock, never having seen either such brutality or a zebra killing a nosalis bare-hooved. I scanned the room once more before holstering my revolver. I with the imminent danger over, I finally noticed I was breathing hard and fast. I gulped down hard trying to control my breathing as I rode down the adrenaline rush I didn’t realize I was having. Father holstered his rifle before asking me with great concern, “Khon, are you alright?” I nodded as Hunter answered for me, “Course he is, hes got good sense and a dead eye shot.” With that she calmly knelt beside a nosalis before commenting, “Well no dark ones here, just your regular tunnel trash.” My father started the breath heavily, I looked at him to see he was sitting and shaking. “You don't understand. Our doctor called them Novus Equidae, the next logical step in equine evolution.” his voice betrayed a slightly paranoid sense of urgency as continued, “they've must have driven the nosalis here!” I felt afraid for him as this was the first time father ever said something like this. Before I could say or do anything two of our border guards made their way inside the locker room. They looked over the scene of carnage, the floor littered with nosalis carcases, and finally at us. Their welding mask must have hid their shocked expressions as there seemed to be a long pause before one of them spoke up in a familiar voice, “Sukhoi, sir..Khon...you guys alright?” Father nodded his head recomposing himself, “Yes...we're fine any casualties?” The other guard started speaking as it trotted over to them, “nothing serious yet from what we saw.” Father interjected, “All right, you,” he said to the guards before continuing, “and Hunter with me, Khon and Zolani you help clean this mess.” Then he knocked on the clinic door, “all clear.” As the shower room door opened, he quickly scanned to see if everyone inside where alright. Before turning to leave he patted me on the shoulder mumbling, “you did well, we will speak later.” I watcher the three leave, Hunter gave me a quick wink before disappearing into the station. As the able zebras wandered into the locker room Zolani quickly organized them, “Okay we gonna drag bodies onto a central platform, we're gonna have assembled a cart shortly, anyone who has small children should leave now and head to the basement level and wait with the others.” I nodded as most of them left carefully avoiding stepping on the bodies. The rest simply started dragging bodies working in pairs. I also grabbed a dead nosalis putting a hoof under its shoulder and pulling. Zolani helped me, grabbing the other side of beast as we dragged it out onto the station. “Nicely done,” I complimented. “Me?” he replied before stating, “what was that back there, looks like over twenty, how are you alive?” “Hunter,” I answered, “Spartans...they're something else, like death incarnate.” Zolani nodded, “so, do you think she can help us?” I didn't know, so I answered him with a shrug. As we made our way out to the station platform I saw pile of nosalis corpses being piled onto a hoof cranked rail car. Quite a few tents had been knocked over and the stench of gunpowder and monster remains filled the air. It was obviously gonna be a long day of cleaning up this mess. As I shared this observation with him he tried finding the light in tunnel saying, “well I guess our shift at the factory is cancelled.” That didn't cheer me up, “no instead we are doing unpaid work, besides I had to use a clip and half to defend myself.” He seemed to get the message, “oh ya, those .44 rounds are expensive.” Standing next to the hoof-car we both grunted as we heaved the carcass onto the car. Dead bodies, even mutant ones were useful. Animal fats can be made into candles, or used in numerous alchemical potions, sinew and muscles for ropes and fibers. But our large over stock of soon to be rotting carcasses will mostly be taken one kilometer down the second tunnel by some very brave volunteers, covered in oil made from nosalis fat and burned on mass. Turning back to fetch more waste carcass I jabbed at Zolani, “so about my spent bullets, what happened how did they get into the station.” He sighed softly, “Well they didn't sneak past us if that was your asking. The scouts noticed them and retreated to the Seven hundred meter barricade. You know the drill, the nosalis were noisy and tripped every alarm, we knew they were coming. Got ready for them...and well.” he paused as we grabbed another carcass to drag back. “They climbed into a vent somewhere between eight fifty and nine hundred.” I gasped, “we had something leading right into the station open...this whole time!” He shrugged, “yes and no, it was sealed long ago, i don't know if it rusted or they tore through it but ya we noticed something was wrong when we could hear them and they not coming at us...so after a few minutes me and a few went past the barricade and started shooting them when we saw them.” Now it was my turn to sigh, “you ran past the barricade into a pack of nosalis, you know what mom will do to you if she hears that!” She was biologically his mother not mine. When father came into the station with me as an infant foal, first thing he did after basic organization of the new inhabitants was find a mare still nursing. Zolani’s mother was in the process of weaning him being a few months older than me. She nursed me till I could eat solid vegetation. We bonded during that time treating she me as a second son. Zolani brushed my comment off with wave of his hoof, “hey you should be thankful think of how many more you'd have to fight if we didn't...sides it was weird they didn't attack us, they simply pushed past their dead and worked their way into the vents.” I agreed with him, nosalis normally attacked mindlessly at what ever was closest. My father's outburst came back to me, I recalled how the beasts seemed focused on Hunter. Could the Dark ones really have that power, and if they did...were they targeting her? My mind started to conjure up more paranoid ideas. I finally stopped myself when I began to wonder if they were listening to my thoughts right now. I threw myself at the work before us trying to drown my thoughts. Father and Hunter had been the first ones to volunteer. Moving that hoof-car back and forth down the second tunnel, disposing of the bodies. I spent the rest of the day mopping and scrubbing walls while families tried setting back up their knocked over tent homes. It was important not just for moral among the residents to clean and fix up the station, but to present ourselves to traders from other stations. We all knew rumor of this attack with spread, and that would hurt trade. After about ten hours, right around the time I would have ended my shift at the tea factory. I finished helping a family patch up their tent. Exhausted I proceeded home hoping none of the monsters or a stray bullet smashed any of the irreplaceable glass windows. As I approached the manager's office, I was pleased to see nothing damaged from the outside and a light was on. I casually walked in, opening my mouth to greet father when I stopped myself surprised to see mare sitting behind his desk with her front hooves crossed. I was somewhat embarrassed with myself for not immediately recognizing hunter. I mean how many other maneless, yellow eyed Zebra's did I know. She wasn't wearing her barding, given how she wasn't covered in gore anymore I'd assume it was being washed. It was first time seeing her outside of her barding, and while she only ever shortly visited once every few years I saw why. Her bulky frame wasn't overly due to her armor. Different parts of her body were bulging while others appeared normal. It must have been due to mutagens or steroids. I should have been less surprised, it was a common rumor that Civitatem Spartans, or rather the former military elite had been given all sorts of enhancers and potions. That and Hunters feline eyes were a dead giveaway of the unnatural alterations. Now that I was really looking at her, I noticed her ears too seemed larger, and more erect some how. If Hunter noticed or was bothered by my staring she didn't show it, “Come here,” she asked me. I slowly trotted over to her, as I past by the desk i finally saw her glyph mark for the first time. It was the mark of her name a hunter. The hunter, a stalker, a killer. Standing in front of her she placed a hoof under my muzzle directing me to face her. I flinched slightly avoiding her eyes before she instructed me, “look me in the eye.” She looked deeply at me, searching as her eyes seemed to narrow. After a moment she released me. “what was that?” I demanded. She paused looking up before speaking, “In your eyes, I see great fear, and your right to be afraid, but I also see a strong will to fight. You're the only one I've seen so far who has fought a dark one, and still shines with life.” I was taken back, “what do you mean, not everyone who shot at them are sick loads of...I mean father’s still...” I retorted before she cut me off. “No, he lives as so do the others...but in their eyes, in their every souls I can see them defeated,” she stated flatly. “Are they alright?” I asked my voice betraying some panic. She considered what to say before replying, “He and every other survivor I've talked to are physically well, I do not believe they will have the same fate as those in your clinic. But I've scene things, broken people. It's like that yet different. I've known your guardian for a long time, served with him. We fought at Zompeii...shatter-hoof.” I gave her a shrug. I read in old history books, Zompeii was an ancient zebra settlement that was destroyed by a volcano, buried in ash. I think it was later called shatter hoof ridge by the Equestrians but I had to make that connection mentally from two different book sources. “Father doesn't speak of the great war. It hurts him to recall it,” I replied. Hunter seems to respectively nod, “well him and I once took part in a horrible battle their. The enemy held the high ground and were receiving pegasi reinforcements. We were ordered to knowingly send our comrades out into a killing field, trying to climb that damned hill. I learned to what defeat looked like day, how to see it in ones eyes. Sukhoi held strong, at least in looking the part, but in his eyes, in all of them...” she trailed off. I sat listening, both excited to learn more about fathers battles in the war first hand, and guilty to learn it behind from behind his back. However were she trailed off lead to an obvious question, “so, and now you see?” “It's not quite defeat, more like will to fight has been drained,” she said hesitantly before quickly adding, “he and the others look...not dangerously so...but afflicted after their encounter with these dark ones...and you are not.” There was long pause before she pressed, “it's very important, I need to know everything about the dark ones, any detail no matter how small.” I took a step back and looked away before saying in a small voice, “what did father...what did he tell you about how I earned my glyph mark?” She smiled, “ well he said you and two other foals dared each other to go to the surface. Yours showed up once you got out, and then to celebrate once you got back...he thrashed your rump good and hard before throwing small celebration.” I blushed, that was the only time father spanked me. “Ya, I had screwed up. It was Zolani, and a late friend of our named Helexis. She died of cancer a over two months ago. She was a few years older than us and always talked about the surface, mostly of what she remembered about a park. I was huge indoor garden, not far from here. Her mother was some sort of a worker there so she claimed to know her way around the abandoned station. So one day Zolani, dared Helexis to show us the garden. We borrowed gas masks, Helexis had taken her father's shotgun and we snuck by the border patrol. This was before nosalis invaded the metro,” I added as hunter shook her head at me. I continued, “The flooding there wasn’t so bad back then, some zebras still came there to salvage anything they could. However parts of the station the water was too deep, but we found a service entrance that lead to the upper level of the station, past the sealed airlocks. From there we made our way up some stairs before we came up to a barred gate. After coming so far and being so close, Helexis used her shotgun to break a bar. After some bending we were able to fit through.” Hunter guffaw, muttering something about delinquent children. “After that we came out into in large dome. All the glass had melted, turning black and molding along the metal frame, she said it looked like the buildings skeleton. We were completely exposed outside, but thankfully it was night. We were disappointed as we couldn’t see anything growing here, but I we had something else to look at. The room had I thinking is called Stalagmite...ya shiny almost organic like stalagmite all over the place that even covered the floor. We were about to start exploring when...” Hunter leaned forwards listening intently, “go on,” she encouraged. “We felt like something was there...we called out, and then we felt it.” “Felt what?” “I can’t remember,” I said then quickly added, “we were afraid and ran back down, we didn’t see anything, Helexis even dropped her gun. We didn’t notice anything different with us until we got back into the metro.” “Us,” Hunter pointed out, “you mean different with all three of you?” I nodded, “Helexis had been a hopeless blank flank, Zolani and I had been really young to get our marks. Only...we all had the same mark.” I said looking down at my own glyph mark. The mark represent the link, a connection, a bridge. I never liked my glyph, I've never shown any aptitude or desire for shamanism, or engineering. I felt my communication skills were poor, as I felt nervous at large gatherings. My glyph mark kinda felt shallow, I was too young at the time to really desire one when I got it and it served to reminder of when I disobeyed father. “Well that is...unheard of, have you told any one of this recently?” she asked. I shook my head, “Zolani, never spook of it again, and when I reminded father he said that this happened so many years ago and couldn't possibly be related. Then he told me not repeat it to anyone as people could get wrong idea.” She nodded before saying, “He's probably right, though I now I'd like to see Zolani.” I responded, “Well if you want to test your theory he never shot at the dark ones, was a scout at the first tunnel, didn't make it in time.” “Pity,” she sighed before asking, “so did you lock or have any method of securing any doors along this service path you took?” I froze feeling an icy chill run through my body. 'Did I?' I asked myself. It was so many years ago, I was terrified at the time racing back down into the metro. We closed an airlock door behind us. I remember that, the door was heavy, and the circular handle difficult to move we worked together. We mustn't let the poisoned air into the metro, but did we pull down the small latch on the side to lock the door. “I...think...so,” I said so unconvincingly that I felt myself wince, I added, “but since then the whole station has flooded with radioactive water.” Hunter said in a very even voice, “Some how I doubt a little radiation would bother a mutant freak.” There was a long awkward pause before she let me in on her plan, “alright I'll head to this garden station and check it out now that I won't be aimlessly wandering your cursed tunnel, and if my suspicion is right you've done more than just endanger yourself on your foolish surface tour.” I held my head low. I could feel myself burning up with shame, it hurt to have Hunter sound disappointed with me. Then I began considering if my actions had been what exposed my station to the dark ones in the first place. A strong hoof bonked me on the head, “Hey, I just said I'm going to take a look, see if I can throw them a roadblock or two if that’s where they are coming through. Falling apart over something you have done as a colt isn’t going to accomplish anything.” I felt myself calm down as she said this. “However in worst case scenario, if you feel guilty this is what can be done about it.” She lifted and took off her chain necklace before handing it to me. I looked at the tag, it read: Immune Hunter Blood type: Qa- 2F3A8D4C The back of the tag had three golden lines connected at the end forming a triangle. Hunter carefully instructed, “If I do not return in three days, it's imperative that you take this tag to the Civitatem, to a spartan by the name of Legate Mudads. Tell her everything that about the dark ones...and that I failed,” I wanted to say something, ask her what she meant by failed but she silenced me with a wave of her hoof. “If you show this tag to any one of the order they will help you but tell them you need to be taken to Mudads, can you do this?” 'Can you do this?' I thought. Could I abandon my station and wander through the metro system on my own. I escorted Hunter past the six hundred meter post after we picked up her cleaned barding. I turned to trot back home after watching Hunter disappear down the second tunnel. As I entered the office room I found father this time sitting, waiting for me. I was about to start telling him what happened between me and Hunter when he waved a hoof saying, “I know you two spoke, whatever it was, was between you two.” I fell silent looking down at me hooves, before he continued, “I'm tired, let's get some rest.” I nodded taking the hint as I moved into my room. I lied down on my bed and looked up at the postcard of ponyville. Footnote: You have selected Ranger Hardcore mode, in this mode you will have no HUD assistance. You are quite fragile as one hit could very well kill you. Your chance of survival is minimal. All scavenged ammo will be in reduced amounts as well as with found filters, they will be partly used. However all damage dealt will do three times as much damage. Current Ammo: Military grade rounds : 49 Revolver rounds : 9 P.S. This story is inspired by the works of Fallout Equestria by Kkat (link) and Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (link). All intellectual property of “My Little Pony” and “Metro 2033” respectively belong to Hasbro, 4A games, Deep Silver and respective owners. Author's Note Still looking for any Editors looking to proof read future (and past) chapters. I can say that it would definitely increase my upload speed :D ChaseChase “Free at last, this should be fun...or dangerous, even better right?” the inexperienced I stood in the middle of the station surrounded by every zebra I have ever meet. They were all loudly and quickly talking to each other. The effect was downing each other out in a choir of babbling. Yet somehow I was being left out, no one paid any attention to me. Father was next to me talking to Hunter. I tried reaching out to him to get his attention, be he paid no attention to me. Words failed me as I tried to speak. It filled me with frustration that rose and rose climbing ever higher. When I couldn’t handle it anymore I opened my mouth and let out a screamed. My frustration made manifest. The room was silent, and everyone looked at me with terror. I woke up with a gasp flinging my hooves, almost rolling out of my cot. It took a few moments for my breathing came down. When it was finally low enough to hear over the pounding of blood in my ears. I was able to make out the soft rustling of another restless dreamer in the next room. I got up and reached for a lighter and candle. Being practiced in the dark, it only took me a moment to get the candle lit. Walking into my father's room with the feeble light, I found him sleeping on his couch bed. He tossing about so much he’d kicked off his blanket. Mumbling softly, I swore I heard him mutter a name or two before endlessly repeating no. I figured he was dreaming about the war again. It surprised me, he hasn’t had them that much since I was foal. Guess it was just another sign of the stress was getting to him. I was careful in waking him, with a soft nudge on his shoulder. He woke with watery eyes, reaching out at me, “Khon...is that you?” “Ya…you okay?” I asked “Ya,” he replied turning away trying to bury himself in that couch. As I reached for his blanket I cautiously asked him, “do you want to talk about it?” “No,” he said in very quiet voice, “just go back to bed.” I covered him with the blanket and trotted quietly back to my room. Throwing myself back into my bed I left my candle lit wanting to look at my post cards. Day dreaming about sunny exotic places was always preferable over the dark places dreams were made of. The day after Hunter left a new envoy of traders from Riga, our closest neighbor came to our station. That only made me feel even more uneasy, having a whole bunch of strangers out on our station platform. I didn’t like the foreign traders all that much. I understood we depended on trade. It was much easier to have them come here to buy our tea, rather than us send out a caravan of our own out. If only my feelings would be so rational. With regular envoys moving back and forth, a steady stream of merchants from beyond our rail line came pouring in. We were taking advantage of the frequent travelers, with so many buying our stock at once we were able to charge higher prices. Out of disaster, we found a bit of opportunity. It was also the perfect opportunity to hear rumors of the outside. I skipped a few meals and used my food to bribe merchants for advice on how to get to the Civitatem. Noticing how uncharacteristically friendly I’d been with the foreigners, Zolani took it upon himself to introducing me more mare merchants. The jerk thought I fishing for mates outside our little community. However he did introduce me to a merchant, Karish was her name. She was going to be making regular trips back and forth through Riga to the Guild ring over the next few days. I offered to work for her, help pump her hoof-car past Riga and Zolani wanted to join too. We negotiated for a few bullets as pay. With a ride and excuse ready I was able to secure a passport. Had to spend a few bullets to get a photo of me. Then got them developed on to a nice printed document showing how I was of the Exhibition station. All merchants assured me I wouldn’t get anywhere without one. Spent the next three days between trying to preparing for a journey. All the while hoping I wouldn’t actually have to go. I spent the third day anxious with no sign of Hunter having returned. Out of growing desperation with hunter’s own imposed deadline looming I volunteered to watch the six hundredth mark. That once easy and relatively safe duty had fallen on a lottery of who draws the shortest straw. One of the unlucky draws were only too ready to trade their post, he even paid me a bullet for it. Then Zolani copied me and swapped for sixth hundred post. After hearing both of us were next up our mother insisted on coming with us. Zolani told me prayed for the both of us that she didn’t find out we volunteered. Honestly I was pretty glad to be able to possibly spend my last day at the station with the zebra’s I care most for. I visited to our local stations armory to gear up for the shift. It was one of the rooms below the station platform, next to where the geothermal generators lay. The armory was really a former detention room for travelers that thought they could skip on the fare. So naturally the locked holding area was perfect for storing weapons. The room was a bit noisy though as electrical tools worked on all manner of things. I only need to show the short straw I was paid to take to the mare working there. She gave me a leather jacket and a plastic miners helmet. The helmet had a little flashlight attached to the front. The battery was inside the helmet on the back with some ugly but, with a generously lengthed wire that lead to a hoof cranked charger. I cranked it a few time to make sure that battery was charged. Then a gun to augment my own pistol. The infamous Bastard gun. A Frankenstein creation of still working parts of broken or worn out firearms. I knew the trigger and firing mechanisms originated from a kalash, but that was about it. The handle felt like it came from a handgun, and the barrel had water inside it that let out steam as the weapon over-heated as it often did. Yes you had to water the gun. It’s loading was awkward as well. The magazine was stripped naked on the back side facilitating how it loaded into the right side of the gun and the thirty round magazine actually feed through the weapon left to right as you fired it. Nothing was worse than having to pull the magazine though when only half used. Oh even watering it still didn’t preventing it from overheating, and soon as it does it’ll jam like hell. To top it off, it had piss poor accuracy even when you weren’t using the metro made ‘dirty bullets.’ What it was good at was putting bullets down range...and doing it very quickly at that. Sides the beauty of using a broken piece of shit was that it really couldn’t get anymore broken. Collecting the equipment and two magazines of dirty bullets, I had to race back up to the platform to join the group leaving north of the station. There were four of us, trotting up to the two hundred mark. It was busy at the barricade. Bricks were being laid down with mortar and the beginnings of overhead scaffolding where being set up. The scaffolding was high enough another line of zebra could lie prone and fire from it. As we approached they gave us an all clear, letting us pass. After that we had our weapons out and read till we reached the six hundred mark. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding when I saw the four posted there were still alive and well. As we arrived to the the six hundred mark I noted it had some major upgrades. A crude wall of bricks had been set up. Standing at chest height shielding most of a zebra while letting them freely shoot. The other side had a patch work sharpened metal rebar sticking out discouraging any charging creature. A nicer fire pit had been dug out. I definitely appreciated that. Though no sooner then after we relieved the current guards did Zolani started yammering. “What a load of shit eh?” Zolani asked. With so many foreigners moving about we were able to gleam small bits of news from around the metro, like the banning of Zolani’s favorite recreational herb. “I’m not that bothered by it. I mean I don’t see the point in the Guild banning hookah, but I’ll agree that’s dumb,” I honestly replied. Our mother added, “well maybe now you’ll finally be able to save up some bullets.” He snapped back, “what you said once you did hookah all the time.” Now our mother, Larentia was what she called herself a learned and proper mare. She had taught myself and all the other younger zebras here our three R's. Naturally she was very good at dealing with self entitled little colts who talked back. “We had seconds to respond,” she snapped back. “Young, frightened stallions much like yourself radio in trying to hit fliers out of the skies with eighty-eight cannons. Or moving ships trying to hit moving vehicles half a mile away. We had to do all the calculations and if we were a little bit off or too slow. They didn’t radio back, so yes I needed something you help with the stress.” She carefully avoided continuing how not long after that targeting talismans took that job over. When she moved to less do or die support role within the army, how she continued to use that forum of recreation. She followed with, “so now what’s so stressful in your life eh?” Zolani shrugged before pointing a hoof at the tunnel behind him. Dismissing her rebuttal, trying to sound smarter than he was, “you don’t get it, it’s all about power. They are starting with our recreation, what’s next?!” as continued to get louder and more fervent, “they are proving they can control even stations that aren’t under their government, next...” “Oh shut up,” the zebra next to him said joining our little family conversation. “With your blathering you’ll bring every blasted dark one down on us, and maybe a few nosalis to complete the mess.” Zolani sat down looking sullen. He didn’t stay quiet for long though. He smugly asked the Zebra, “Acca they can’t be serious, I mean they can’t actually stop merchants from carrying it through their stations can they?” Acca was an older zebra, I used to pester her a lot growing up about surface homes. She used to work as a mason, she could go into great detail of different type of buildings and how they were built, even explained to me parts of the inside of the pro-consuls manor. On occasion she made trips to the guild for her expertise on salvaged building materials when the station needed some for repairs. She sighed before answering Zolani, “last time I had gone down to market station was about a year ago. They had so much traffic, all backed up to hell with new security procedures. Passports weren’t enough anymore, had to fill out new documentation papers, reasons for being there etcetera. After filling them out, and letting me into the market area. Took forever getting in, and my half wit supplier had left my bricks piled up inside their residential area. So the merchant brings me out there then leaves me to count them out and stack on my cart. Some guard or their excuse for a police stops by demands my passport, then that bastard asked for documents showing clearance to be in the residential area.” She paused when Zolani piped up, “so wasn’t it obvious what you were doing, he could’ve just asked the merchant who sold you that shit.” “Eeyup,” Acca replied, “explained that to him, asked him to fetch the merchant or the self evidence of what I was doing. Instead the fanatic started harping on, ‘why isn’t he with you’ or ‘your not aloud outside the market area’ then started accusing me of being a spy. Before I knew what to do guild soldiers started surrounding me with on of their own practically foaming at the mouth how a spy snuck in. They were right about ready to drag me out of the station and have me shot, when the merchant I was working with came back. A few bribes later, he got me out only having my bullets ripped off and half the shit I paid for. With the rampant paranoia that’s been growing among them it’s a small wonder they can get any trading done.” Undeterred Zolani muttered how he’d ‘undermine them’ swearing to work up enough to buy a UV light and start a grow-op. The three of us didn’t have the heart to inform him of all the technical problems with that or the absolute fortune a working UV lighting set is worth. We spent the next hours of our watch tending to the feeble little embers that was our fire. Acca produced a small brass kettle and we proceeded to make small pot of exhibition tea. Next we proceeded with the arduous task of drinking that tar like substance. We had a saying, ‘How could we ever expect to sell this if we don’t at least drink it ourselves!’ As the end of our watch neared I grew more anxious. I really didn’t want to accept that Hunter had calmly trotted to her death. I kept on imagining her sneaking up and sitting next to us covered in the ichor and gore of the dark ones. Surprising us as a joke proclaiming the monsters are no more. I kept turning to watch the tunnel, the soft light of embers killed my night vision but that didn’t matter. The tunnels between stations were true dark, even night vision goggles would not serve you. The only warning we’d have would be sound of cans on strings being tripped or the crunch of crushed plaster and glass being stepped on. With Hunter’s imposed deadline looming, I was losing hope of her survival. That and her final task I’d have to carry out. No she wasn’t dead she couldn’t be, this was normal I reminded myself. She’d appear and disappear and come back months or a year later, that’s how it has always been. The Spartans were a force of death, immune to it themselves. No matter how bad the infestation be it bandits or mutants they always succeeded in purging it. You couldn’t even escape them on the surface, because they reigned supreme there, and she was best Spartan. Okay she was the only one I ever met, but other zebra’s swore she was the best. I had to accept that while it was unlikely she was dead, she gave me a job that I’d have to do. With myself brooding over these facts and Zolani finally quieted, the quiet stillness of the metro sharpened our hearing. The single sound of a metal can being knocked over some distance from us, alerted us four. We froze for a moment before we wordless slung over our firearms and took them into our mouth grips. We all stood there with our guns ready flicking our headlights on illuminating the dark tunnel. I had to squint my eyes for a few moments just seeing white light was enough to make me feel discomfort. “There!” Acca gestured in front of her. I tensed ready to shoot. I couldn’t see it at first but then I spotted little furry creature darted across the spot of light. “Don’t shoot!” Zolani cried before like a moron running in front of us chasing after the creature. “Mhp-yol-wani,” I mumbled mouth full of gun, before spitting it out to shout at him, “dammit Zolani stop!” Mother screamed at him, “get back here you little-” some sort of obscenity I’m not sure how to pronounce. Apparently it was some sort of depraved and uncomfortable equestrian sex act. “Don’t shoot!” he cried again, I could only see the soft light of his headlight bouncing around in the darkness. We heard some high pitch whining as he came back into our lights. A small white furred creature stood up on his back trying desperately to lick his face. I squinted my eyes still trying to adjust, “Is that,” I started to asked. “A puppy!” He beamed with childlike glee. “Oh no,” mother started, “no that thing probably has worms don’t let it anywhere near your snout.” “Hush,” he soothed, “he doesn’t have worms he’s too friendly. No doubt he grew up under the care of equines.” Acca light beamed down the tunnel, “Only one kind of equine that way,” she said. We all stopped to stare at the creature. I looked back at us with it’s tongue hanging out and head cocked slightly to the side. With a heavy sigh Zolani set the animal down. The animal twirled around and ran laps around his hooves. “Sorry buddy, you’ve got to go” he mumbled trying to shove the animal back. The animal ignored him opting to wander closer to us. Mother fired a single shot from her own bastard rifle into the tunnel ceiling. The dog ran back north with a sharp yelp. After that we all sat sullen and somber, for the rest of our shift. Four zebra showed up right on time to relieved us. Same as before guns out till we reached the two hundred meter mark. Once we reached the station I could see my soon to be merchant Employer waiting on the platform. She looked at me and Zolani expectantly. “Well be an hour,” I hastily shouted to her. Mother raised an eyebrow at me. “She um hired me Zolani...to help pump her hoof-car to Riga, didn’t he tell you?” He obviously didn’t as mother turned to him. He was flabbergasted stammering ah's and um’s. That worked for me as lept onto the station platform. A quick trot down to the armory to let them know I was keeping my gear. The answer I got was “what ever you sell/loose it you’ll have to pay it back.” Satisfied I head back up to my room to grab my supplies. As I approached the office though I could see the light was on inside through the close curtains. Not sure if father had company or not I soft knocked on the door. I heard a “come in.” Walking in a found me father sitting with all four hooves on his couch, “sit” he softly instructed me tapping with his hoof beside him. I sat on the other end leaving a space between us. “So...I take it you're leaving now then eh?” he said looking at me barding and gun slung across my shoulder. I only nodded. “I...I’m sorry” he said with a heavy sigh. He raised a hoof to stop me from contradicting, “I was part of the problem, I was so stupid and ignorant when I was young. I volunteered for the legion before the war. I remember being so scared that I was going to miss my chance at glory and simply be a peacetime soldier. Thanks to the propaganda we didn’t think Equestria would last more than three months. I served nineteen years before being discharged, I was expecting the world to end at that point.” He looked me directly in the eyes, “I wasn’t expecting you, or any of this. Back then was a miserable time, I had lost almost everyone I ever knew. We were not wrong to resist Equestria but, I had taken part in many things that were wrong. Since then I’ve a life of incredible piece. You’ve given me piece, and I...I stole you from your real mother.” We were quiet for a bit, I knew most of this, though most if from mother or other people. First time father had admitted his thoughts on the war or his actions in though. He was looking more visibly shaken after saying this. I reached out to him, putting a hoof on his shoulder, “you rescued me, I like my life here and I think of you, Larentia and Zolani as my real family. Exhibition is my home, and I’ll fight for it.” He let out a sad chuckle, “I’d come with you but, I wouldn’t be welcome inside the Civitatem, in fact I’d cause problems.” I figured now was the best time to press for answers as I leaned in asked, “Why, what happened?” He hesitated taking a few moments, before saying, “It’ll be important, not to tell people that you know me or are close to me, in fact don’t talk about me. During the Equestria blitz, we lay siege on Hoofington. It was going badly, I-we lost…. I had to call a retreat...it ended in a rout. Zebra’s like Hunter thought it was a good call, but it was controversial.” “Hunter said something about shattered hoof ridge...” I started before he cut off. “I doubt she told you anything, the Equestrian’s...they did something to us...I can’t talk about it,” he trailing off. He withdrew into himself lost in dark thoughts. I decided to leave him be, getting up and heading to my room. I had prepacked everything, pressed and dried food rations, extra canteens, a gas mask with a spare filter, a first aid kit, and some rat traps and all my ammo. I debated about bringing a tent but thought better of it. Opting to simply pack a bed roll. I figured better to leave my post cards here, something to look forwards to when a I got back. Magazines of gardening, home making and furniture I reasoned could be read-admired while in stations and sold if need be, so I self justified bringing them. All together my saddle wasn’t too heavy or bulky. As I exited my room back into the office father stopped me. He wrapped a leg around my neck in a awkward hug. It became less so when I returned it. “Take care of yourself, and if anyone threatens you...shoot first,” he said full sincerity, “there would be no point to any this if I lost you.” “Yah,” I said as we broke apart, “I’ll take care of myself, and I’ll shoot straight if I have to.” With that I left. I headed straight to the rail off station platform to my employer. I found her with a large zebra stallion. He wore a leather collar and was loading large heavy bundles that held our tea in them. She held more than that though in carts attached to the front and back of her hoof-car I could also see lots of pots of ceramic that I guess held oil made from nosalis fats. She also had a cage with a small drab song bird in it, I understood immediately. If the bird randomly falls over dead, the air was bad. Ergo get your gas mask on. Zolani was there arguing with mother, it seemed like she was trying to force home to accept somethings. Karish greeted me with a smile and wave, “ready to go, were almost loaded up here.” I nodded. The stallion with the leather collar looked up to me, “I’d finish faster with your help.” He was bigger than me but they way he looked and talked made me think we was younger then I. Karish shot him a look, “not his job slave.” He shrugged and picked up the large bag with his teeth tossing it onto the cart. That was a bit awkward, she’s not the first merchant I’ve scene with a slave or bonded servant before, but never talked to one before wasn’t sure what to say to him. He didn’t have marks or bruises on him so I assumed he must be under circumstantial issues, either way I planned to avoid him. I caught onto the argument as I approached Zolani and mother. “Take it dammit, I don’t eat that much and what am i going to spend these on,” she forcefully tried pushing rations and a purse of bullets on him. He resisted equally as much, “I’m fine, I can take care of myself, I don’t need-.” She switched targets galloping at me. Before I could offer any resistance she grabbed one of my bags and dumped what I was sure her entire supply of rations. I froze while she emptied her purse of bullets. “No no,” I insisted say, “you need some for yourself!” “I’m going to be so worried over you two i doubt I’ll be able to eat anything over the next few days,” she rebutted, “and I really didn’t appreciate you both dumping this on me last minute!” She wield guilt against me. I hung my head as she forcefully shut and tied my saddle bag closed, ending the debate. Zolani sighed defeated as well. During our spat Karish’s slave finished loading the carts. With that she hopped on the hoof-car, with her slave copying her. Mother trotted back over to Zolani giving him a tight hug, “Khon is in charge okay?” He started to whine but she insisted, “okay?” She let him go once nodded. She turned to embrace me as well. When she did she whispered into my ear, “take this opportunity, and don’t come back.” Surprised I tried to pull away but she wouldn’t let go. “Find a job and don’t come back here, not till it’s safe. I buried a husband once, I will not bury my sons.” With that she let me go, “I told Zolani the same thing.” I glanced at him and realized he was looking angry and hurt. I didn’t know how to feel. This simplified things, but at the same time I wasn’t happy hearing her wanting to send me away. Felt like she wanted to abandon me but it came from her love and desire to protect me. I rationalized this away, I was coming back with the greatest army that still existed. I’d make here safe. I found myself feeling determined as I climbed onto the cart. I waved mother good bye as we all began pumping the cart. Once we built up momentum Zolani and the slave took over letting myself and Karish relax. “We're free at last!” Zolani grunted between pumps, “well most us anyways,” he sheepishly added glancing at stallion in front of him. No one was amused by that comment. I deliberately avoided looking at him the slave. Karish look up at me, “does he bother you?” I shook my head. “Well most of us start out like him, that’s how I got my Guild membership.” “Really?” I was planning on reaching the Civitatem through the Guild ring, figured now was the best time to learn about them. “I was in my teens when I came into metro, had no family and no usable skills. Most other mares like that had whore themselves to survive. I didn’t want to live like that...well not at first, anyways I wandered a bit, tried to join the guild but you need large amounts of bullets and contacts within them to get started. So I sold myself to a merchant. Found out I was better at it them him, netted him some good deals, more than paid for my freedom with some left over, and I knew my way around the business by then,” she ended her story with a note of pride. I turned to the laboring slave, “oh so you're in this to join the guild?” He didn’t answer. Karish let out a chortle, “Fuck no, he hasn’t got the sense or nor wit for this job. Nah he was starving shoveling shit for a living when I bought him. He’s good just doing manual labor and living of the boon of my salesmareship.” I sat back satisfied with that. I guessed his case that was an example of the best life one could have down here if they didn’t come from a great station like ours. Then again I guess it served as a warning for what life could be like for my fellow zebras of our station should it fall. “Ya I can haul a good load around with him but with you two,” she gestured to the cart behind and infront of her, “if this run goes well I might have enough to start an expansion, probably set up shop along the ring.” “Where you going to be selling all this stuff?” I asked. She smiled, “trade secret, tell you what if want in you can sell yourself to me? We could get a contract signed at any guild station.” I was taken back, “no the one time job for pay works for me,” I sheepishly mumbled. “It’s a life, he’ll tell ya I’m fair,” she smirked gesturing to her slave. “So what about you two just looking to make some quick bullets, if your looking to buy something I could get you guys in touch with the right merchant?” Zolani piped up, “some hookah or something to start a grow op with.” She burst into a fit of laughter that was soon replaced by very serious expression, “be honest, do you have any drugs on you, I won’t be mad but you gotta be straight with me. I won’t vouch for either of you.” I shook my head, so did Zolani. I looked at him for a bit then gave him a swift kick in the flank. “Okay, okay!” he cried, “I only got herb on me thou nothing else.” She nodded, “okay just smoke it all before we reach the ring.” Zolani let out a nervous laugh, “we gonna be a problem, kinda brought my whole stash.” “Ah don’t worry I’ll help,” Karish replied with a smirk. “Haha really? Your like the coolest boss,” Zolani replied, then added, “you’ll pay for it right...right?” she stared at him with a raised brow. “Fuck…” he mumbled. We approached and then cleared the two hundredth mark. The zebra’s there recognized us. They cheered and we waved back. Karish commented how the two of us made crossing the checkpoint a breeze. She asked curiously, “so you two are brothers?” guess our moment with mother tipped her off. We nodded, “well you look nothing alike, green eyes and your stripes are all straight I’d assume pure Romani.” she gestured to Zolani, “-and you...can’t place bit of a mix?” I shrugged, Zolani piped up, “nah he’s got a different daddy, but isn’t the resemblance obvious?” He let go of the lever of the pump leaving his poor partner to work alone. He grabbed me by the tail and raised his own butt. I was jerked up for half a second before pulling away, I grabbed the lever and started pumping away my obvious frustration. “Neat, twin glyphs can’t say I see that often...or ever,” Karish commented. “Wait no I mean we both have supple yet firm glutes,” he joked. “Your fucking high aren't you?” I muttered at him. He made a big show of wrapping a hoof around my shoulder stating, “little brother I’m always high on life you should know that,” before taking over pumping the car. While his antics were annoying it did make me feel good, to show and tell any outsider that we were as thick as blood. When reach the seventh hundredth mark a slow moron was crossing the rail line. Despite ample warning from us and his comrades he clumsily tripped and rolled out the way as we came past. That elected a collective laughter for the zebra’s posted there, Zolani mocked him shouting, “don’t lose your head now!” The caged bird didn’t make a noise the entire trip, the creak of the car being the only noise till we approached the thousand meter mark. One of our station guards flagged us down. Hitting the break we squealed to a halt. “The track is wrecked up ahead,” he said, “merchant just pass on the other lane spotted the track has a break on it. No traffic on this line until we or Riga get a crew to repair it. Unless you can move this onto the left track, mind you that will screw traffic heading this way.” That wasn’t possible, the car with everything was way too heavy. Karish seemed calmed, or I guess she’s experienced at dealing with setbacks. “How far down did they say?” “Couple of clicks,” he replied. Karish took some time considering her next move before making her decision, “there’s a service line about half a click down we can take, it’s not well lit and it links into the sewer system so who knows what’s wandering along it…but it has rails and we are on a car and armed so we’ll be fine. If it’s broken down there well fuck it he’ll head back and have to wait for the main line to be repaired.” I didn’t really know anything really beyond this point being the further I’ve ever been from the station. I did however understand that the public metro was only a fraction of what existed compared to alternate routs, service tunnels, underground centers and sewers. Aside from just knowing they existed I was ignorant beyond that. “Alright who’s the better shot?” she asked looking between me and Zolani. Zolani responded “Well I’m better looking, stronger, older but um ya I’m slightly baked at the moment and Khon’s army daddy taught him how to shoot.” “Okay so three of us will work the lever I want to get through there as quickly as possible, Khon you’ll stand and keep your gun out alright?” Karish ordered, “This what I’m paying you lot for.” We released the brake and all worked to rebuild momentum. As we moved past the thousand meter mark the first indication that we were past zebra habitation was more rats. There are always rats but out here they were out in open. Mercifully they scamped along the walls as far from us as they could and avoided our lights. We labored another half a click until we came to the service tunnel. It had none of the emergency lights I was so use to and the tunnel was mucher smaller. We would’ve gone right past it without noticing, luckily Karish knew where to shop. Zolani and I hopped out and worked the switch to move the rail on the line leading into the side tunnel. Wasn’t till after dumping generous amounts of lubricating oil provided by Karish that we were able to move the switch. Karish meanwhile with her slave got the hoof-car on the new line before we switched it back. She started a small debate over switching it back but neither Zolani nor I would budge on it, we feared it could misdirect the repair crew from our station. She put up oil lamps on the side of car making it bright enough to see around the hoof-car. After that she made us all rest for a bit. When ready, like before we all worked to get the hoof-car’s momentum going. Then the three of them worked hard keeping the car at a good speed. I stood up on my hind legs resting my lower belly and front legs against the seat of the car helping me stay standing. My bastard gun hung loosely off my shoulder while I instead held my charger occasionally flexing my fetlock on the handle keeping my headlight overcharged. Took well over a full minute for my eyes to adjust but worth it with the tunnel ahead brightly illuminated. The caged bird began to make it’s presence known as we merged into this tunnel. Not chirping, in fact I was sure at this point it couldn’t for some reason, but it was insistently fluttering in it’s cage. After merging into this tunnel the foreboding wall of darkness gave no clues as to how far the tunnel behind us went. Our new narrow tunnel was clearly neglected. Roots shot through the ceiling, though we may not be that far down. Evident by the increased huffing and puffing coming from the working zebra’s indicated we maybe going up a small incline. Still the pipes running along the walls were all rusted, and rusted through in many places. Thankfully whatever water or fluid they once held was gone, but that had damaged the rail. Not enough for me to see any breaks but the added friction of the rust did us no favors. Our first kilometer was quiet and peaceful nothing but the creaking of the car and the huffing of the laboring of zebras. Maybe it was just the creepiness of the tunnel but I felt really uneasy, I could feel a growing tightness in my chest. My light caught a shadow, no more like a faint still silhouette of an equine in the distance but I couldn’t see who was casting it. As I leaned in to see better Zolani spoke out, “my chest hurts.” We all paused for a moment, “I’m sorry we got to get through here as quickly as possible, if your going to collapse on me trade with-,” Zolani started to refused claiming he wasn’t tired when I spoke-up, “me too I think…” I wasn’t short of breath or in pain but I could definitely now feel something like a tightness in my chest. “Should we get our gas masks on?” the slave asked. “No,” Karish rebutted, “dam bird should get less energetic not more so if that was it, sides the masks would only limit our breathing and tire us out faster, just work harder!” I looked back up, that silhouette was gone, or maybe we passed it. The feeling didn’t go away, instead grew stronger. My earlier thoughts that it was a tightness was wrong, it was more like an unfamiliar sense. I had difficulty interpreting what I was feeling, instincts could only confusingly tell me that something was getting close, gaining on us. Another silhouette was softly illuminated up ahead. “See that? There!” I pointed Karish stood up and leaned forwards, “No…” she said, “You don't have to ask my permission just shoot if you see something!” More and more silhouettes began showing up along the sides of the tunnels. “No, I can’t be the only one seeing this.” “What?” the slave and Karish both said leaning to the side, however when Zolani took a moment to spot pumping and turn around his “oh fuck!” confirmed I wasn’t crazy. Or at least some other zebra shared my hallucinations. I could see one in the middle of the tracks and we were rapidly approaching. This one was different, it was looking at us, aware of us, it reached out to us with a foreleg. Turned back screaming, “stop the cart!” I didn’t bother to listen to Karish as I reached for the brake. She leaned forwards to stop me, her slave gave me a mighty push back. I fell back against the seat of the hoof-car. As I climbed up I was able to look behind us. I saw a white glowing ball of light hovering over the tracks rapidly approaching us. I raised my foreleg to point at it, to give some kind of warning, but as I tried to speak my vision turned red, then black. I must have passed out as I awoke sprawled out on all fours. I immediately noticed I wasn’t on the hoof-car, nor was I in a tunnel. I was in some sort of white foggy, not a room but rather space as I couldn’t see any walls. I could see Zolani, he was sprawled out like I was but motionless. My body was too heavy to lift but I could raise my head. Some some things around me were close enough to make out through the thick fog. Randomly a few black organic looking Stalagmite jetted out from the floor made of the same material. I felt horrified, I knew where I was. I could hear heavy hoof fails beside me as something trotted up beside me. Hunter stood next to me clad in her armor and donning her gas mask looking fierce and deadly. A light trail of smoke rose from her twin cannons. “Get up!” she demanded without looking at me. Without waiting for a reply I heard her bite down on her trigger. Her cannons roared to life repeatedly firing their heavy caliber rounds. She fired a long burst, the contrast of noise was so sharp I could hear the crisp sound of spent rounds clicking on the ground. Suddenly a dark one appeared before her. It raised a foreleg. Without even touching her she flew backward with such force one of the barrels tore itself from her saddle. And with that she was gone from sight. The dark one turned to Zolani examining him. I tried to speak but was unable to. As if sensing my frustration the thing turned from him and approached me. “NO!NO!NO! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!” I repeated the mantra in my mind. It wasn’t touching me but felt it, I didn’t understand, something alien was inside me I could feel it. As the dark one came closer the fog obscured less of it. I could see forever in those onyx orbs for it had for eyes, its muzzle flexed as the vertical slits on the front of it’s muzzle opened and closed. I reached out to me. I heard the cocking a gun before the loud bang. The side of the dark one’s head opened with a spray of black ichor. I awoke back on the hoof-car, a weak yellow beam came from headlight flickering on and off. The light from our lamps had also burned low. I slowly got up trying to take in my surroundings. My head felt foggy. It took all my mental effort to recall what I just saw, and even then I wasn’t sure what I saw. Hunter...I saw her or I had a vision, or was it just some messed up dream. Zolani was lying back in an awkward position but he was groaning and waking up. “Hey where you shooting at something?” he asked as he came to. “No,” I responded as climbed to my hooves. That convinced me it wasn’t just a dream, I wanted to pester him with what he remembered but I figured getting our bearings first was more important. We were surprisingly still moving albeit very slowly. Karish and her slave were both slumped forwards. It seemed like we all just collectively collapsed. As Zolani began trying to rouse the other two I noted our bird was missing, or rather the cage it inhabited was melted and deformed. A pile of smoking ash lay inside it. I cranked my charger, recharging my headlight to get more light. I heard light steps rapidly approaching from behind us. I cranked harder returning my light to a bright beam. At the very edges of the beam I could make out the faint outline of a nosalis. Not just one I found as a scan back and forth, they formed a solid wall of sickly pale and pink flesh behind us. “Oh fuck,” Zolani managed to get out as one let out a roar leading the horde into a charge. We both threw our body on the lever trying to just jump start the hoof car. We were rewarded with a car squealing forwards a little faster. The lever on the other side served to roughly knock the other two backwards finally awakening them. They were obviously groggy and unable to understand our situation. “Wake the fuck up!” Zolani encouraged. The beats were on us. We were starting to get fast enough the creatures hesitated jumping on looking for better handles. One jumped onto the rear cart, taking one step forwards it reached out with a claw and grabbed Karish’s mane. I fumbled for my baster rifled. Confused and dazed she offered no resistance to beast until it had firm hold on her. As it dragged her back, she flung her hooves about uselessly. Her slave only just starting to comprehend what was happening, now started to try and grab her. As they fumbled for each other, she managed to bite down on his leather collar. He however had no handle to get leverage on her. I brought my gun to bear but had no shot take without hitting either of them. The beast simply fell backwards using its weight to drag her with it. The leather color snapped and she too fell back being instantly swarmed by the monsters. Her screams of pain being instantly drowned out but collective squeals and roars of the other nosalis. I had little time to react to that, a nosalis next to me was huffing and puffing away almost parallel to me. I aimed down and bit on the trigger letting out three rounds. The kick from the gun helped me let go of the trigger not wasting any more ammo. Couldn’t tell if I outright killed it nor not, but animal crumbled serving to trip the other monsters behind it. “Pump the car you asshole!” Zolani screamed at the bewildered slave. He nodded his head. Seemed his desire to carry out orders overrode what ever else he was feeling as pumped the hoof-car with all his strength. The effect was immediate as we rocked and lurched forwards. The beasts had to do a full gallop making it difficult for them to climb onto the cart. Although another one had made in onto the rear cart and was trying for the same tactic as the first one. A burst of fire from my gun denied it. It clutched it belly before rolling back knocking back it’s brethren behind it like a bowling ball. “Khon!” my brother screamed ducking forwards. Turned to see a nosalis running parallel next to him nipping at him. He moved far enough out the way I was able to get a clear shot. I had to hold out for a longer burst of fire, the jarring and awkward angle made most of my chaotic fire misses. Thankfully all it was taking was one good hit to make the monsters trip and get tangled up the others, problem was there was so many of them I feared the inevitable. I could see the magazine starting to make it way through my gun. The car rustled as one the creatures jumped onto the cart standing next to the slave. He threw himself to the side trying to give as much space between himself and the monster. Luckily was still trying to adjust and gain firm footing. A burst of lead into its chest made if fall back. With our most productive asset trying to get back into rhythm we clearly lost some precious speed allowing a pair to climb up onto the rear cart. I stood up making sure I wouldn’t shoot the slave and sprayed lead clipping the two. One fell backwards while the other fell forwards. It continued to crawl forwards prompting another burst of lead to it’s body. The magazine was dangerously close to being empty, quickly eyeballing to figured only have four or five rounds still loaded. I didn’t know how we’ll survive reloading. “I see light!” the slave shouted, working with renewed vigor. Far off I could hear the dinging of an alarm bell. “Don’t shoot us! Don’t Shoot!” scream Zolani. Meanwhile a pair of nosalis made there way beside me. I fired at the first one and pulled up, a line of red opened on the first one all the way to the second one. I was greeted by a hollow clicking sound. I popped the magazine out, gripped in my fetlock I roughly jammed it in my saddle swapping it out for another one. As I pulled out a fresh magazine my brother warned as another monster made it to his side. He hand to let go of the level and duck forward to avoid its snapping maw of the. I fumbled missing the hole in the gun trying to shove the magazine in. The monster grabbed a hold of the car and pulled himself in. Getting leverage it climbed over him and went for me. I finally got the magazine to fit into the gun and slammed on it to shove it all the way through. I only need to pull the firing pin and...the monster snapped out and caught my foreleg in its maw mid cock. It’s teeth must have been dulled as it failed to punch through the leather of my barding but it’s jaw had more then enough power behind it to crush my limb. It shook it’s head violently back and forth preventing me from arming my weapon, not like I could hit it the way I was. If fact I didn’t have have the presence of mind to do so, I was completely occupied with worst pain of life. I felt for sure the break was going to snap in half. The nosalis tried pulling back dragging my off the car like they did with Karish. Only this time my brother was able to hold on to me. He was cling to me for dear life and with monster literally sitting on him. It had us both pinned, but unable to escape. A loud bang sounded with a fountain of blood and guts shooting out from the back of the beast. The monster let go of me and tumbled backwards as Zolani shoved it off. I clutched my freed limb as he grinned at me with my revolver in his mouth. I heard and felt another one behind me. I turned to see a nosalis standing on the cart in front with it's claws outstretched. It must have gotten around and then up there while we were distracted. I aimed my bastard gun at it and, click-click-click...oh right it the firing pin wasn’t set. It swiped its front paw at me slamming me full force in face. The gun and helmet prevented its claws from remove my face. The force of it however made it feel like it was going to take my head off anyways. I flew up and over slamming into the wall of the tunnel. My light was out definitely smashed as I landed on the cold hard cement, winded. I took everything to roll to my side and press against the corner of the wall. My instincts for some reason told me it would be more pleasant to torn apart by beasts from the back then the front. As I lay catching my breath huddled to wall, without a light to attract attention. The boom of the .44 revolver and frantic shouting from my brother attracted the horde. I lay there for a second as the main group passed leaving only a trickle yet constant flow of nosalis. Then numerous machine guns began firing off. I decided to make my charge, they sounded like they couldn’t be more than a hundred meters away. I rolled to my hooves and dashed towards the light down the tunnel. Adrenaline fueling my charge and numbed the pain of my limb. The monsters ahead didn’t notice me and collapsed as what ever defenders lay before me cut them down opening a path to salvation for me. “No give him chance, he’s still alive!” I could hear Zolani desperately arguing with who ever was there. I could hear more monsters behind me but I didn’t look back. I was soon able to zebras, and the car was abandoned having cleared there barricade. It was a proper set-up, sandbags piled up on either side of the rail line with sharpened rebar sticking out it and a wooden plank build over top for zebra’s to fire from a prone position. “There he is! RUN!” he shouted to me. I had no intention stopping as I gained on him. Rather than slow down I ran into him with full force, he had set himself to up to catch me. I tackled him as he embraced me soften my landing as we collapsed. “Alright now!” someone shouted. A zebra in a firefighter suit complete with a respirator trotted forwards. He had two large tanks strapped to his back. He stood upright and held a nozzle in his hooves. When he pulled back on the valve I was treated to a fiery spectacle. Flames whooshed down the tunnel consuming everything. He only had the flames go for a few seconds and then stopped them. Most of the creatures were still live, albeit writhing in flames. Still there were more following...whoosh. More piled on rushing past charred corpses and panicked flaming nosalis...whoosh. The last few run towards him...whoosh. Those not dead yet snarled and made high pitched whines...whoosh. In my personal opinion at that moment whoosh seemed like a greatest single response to anything and everything ever. The defenders all at once let out cheers. Zolani and I looked at each other for moment and let out a deep full laughter amazed we survived that. As I untangled myself from him one of the defenders on platform above me chimed, “welcome to Riga.” I mumbled a thanks as I got up. Now that my life wasn’t in immediate danger my leg decided to remind me it was in pain and galloping on it did it no favors. The fire-zebra turned to us and took off his-I mean her mask and glared at us. “Ya bunch of idjits, you're all lucky to be alive, didn’t you know the tunnel is in a foul mood right now, why would you dare cross it now!” she shouted at us. I had no idea what she was on about but Zolani took offense to that and decided to argue with her. I limped away letting him argue with the scary firemare of unsure sanity, that was his choice. As I climbed onto the car I found Karish’s slave sitting beside it looking at total loss with himself. “Hey, you did great there,” I awkwardly tried to compliment him, “I um...you I never got your name?” “Oh,” he replied “Flamma.” I leaned back resting, regaining my breath. I reach out a my good foreleg to him offering a hoof bump, “Thanks Flamma.” Footnote: Quest event perk: Touched by the other side -- You can now trigger additional events when in contact with the other worldly. Hairline fracture right foreleg -1 Agility penalty without pain medications or until healed. Current Ammo: Military grade rounds : 105 ‘Dirty’ 5.45 rounds: 30 Revolver rounds : 5 P.S. This story is inspired by the works of Fallout Equestria by Kkat (link) and Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (link). All intellectual property of “My Little Pony” and “Metro 2033” Author's Note P.P.S. Oh my god, I'm so sorry and ashamed of myself. I don't know why but I couldn't for the life of me write. I got a new job, a good one too. I’ve been feeling really good and self satisfied. Since then I couldn't sit down since then and write. IDk send me nasty flammy emails if do this again and don't write out chapter 3. That's when i get to introduce the best character.
PrologueThe day Equestria died “If anything could save us from madness, it's uncertain.” a crazed zebra An old zebra stallion stood alone his shabby apartment room. He stared out out of his window onto the city of Moscva, while listening to a small radio scanner. Suddenly the radio chatter picked up. He picked up a headset, turning a small gem on the device trying to clean up the static from the signal. He listened for a moment before throwing off his headset. In a frenzied panic he quickly threw on a saddle already heavily laden with survival supplies. He ran out of his room abandoning all other possessions making his way down a few flights of stairs. The building was old and rather run down. The plaster had in many places had large pot marks and aged a sickly yellow. It was a slum building, only inhabited by the very poor. So it came to no surprise to him to see a vagrant mare gently soothing an infant foal wrapped in blankets camped outside the stairwell. At first he ran past her not paying any attention, then over a pang of guilt he stopped for a moment. He turned to warn her, “get to a shelter, their gonna drop the bombs!” The mare only hugged her foal protectively glaring at him. He must have seemed mad to her, but he didn't stop to further convince her. He burst onto the street below, he intended to find refuge in the metro system. An entrance was only a few blocks away. He felt a sense of guilt, like with this knowledge was some great responsibility. It forced him to scream at all passerby’s. That they needed to get to a shelter, make way to the metro. They ignored him. It didn't help his message that a nearby preacher was fervently shouting nearby, “...from ursa minor, to ursa major. We are all in very grave danger.” Suddenly a loud air raid siren sounded. The long, loud cry seemed to freeze everything within the city. The siren slowly died and thus its power did as well. Immediately there was mass panic. As all the zebra in the city turned into a massive, screaming, stampede. All, save for the street preacher, who stood up crying out in almost rapturous pleasure. “ARMAGEDDON! HAHA! ARMAGEDDON!” The old zebra tried to continue his gallop, but with his failing health he was unable to get anywhere near the metro before a large crowd formed around the entrance. He feebly pushed his way into the panicking crowd. Some of the zebra noticed his full saddle bags. They mobbed him, grabbing at his saddle ripping the bags off. His efforts to defend himself and his supplies only resulted in him getting trampled. A stallion zebra wearing an army uniform stood before a set of heavy iron barred doors. The right side of his uniform was heavily decorated with medals proclaiming honer and acts of valor on the field of battle, proclaiming him a centurion. Standing next to him was small troop of six soldiers ready to follow their leaders orders. Originally the metro didn't close or house soldiers, but as the Equestrian war progressed the metro systems where considered sites of possible enemy infiltration. The metro began to be shut down during the night, patrolled by armed services. On this day, orders were passed down from the local senate to have the metro closed, the city on it highest alert, everything short of declaring marshal law. Then, only moments ago new orders came through. The centurion was fighting with himself, listening to his ear-bloom. He couldn't show panic in front of his fellow soldiers. Fighting his urge to abandon his post, grab his elderly parents, friends, anyone and rush them to safety, but a cold logical reason prevented him. The bastards higher on up were aware all their troops would be tempted to rush loved ones to safety, so they gave them as little warning as physically possible. He had to hide all his traces of fear and panic, he had to be a source of order and stability in the face of chaos. The chaos that will be charging in, as the order rang through his ear-bloom that the air raid siren just sounded. “Open the doors!” he ordered then stood back along the wall. He pulled out a watch and looked down at the timer. Past drills had shown how long it took to shut the doors after the final warning was sounded, and he intended to make every second count. As soon as the doors opened slightly, the three soldiers on either door fought to keep themselves from being crushed by the stampede of zebras. They pushed themselves in, diving down the stairs into the metro below. The centurion and his soldiers maintained their discipline, holding their post along the doors. He continued to listen to his ear-bloom. “Equestrians are retaliating, Roam has gone silent, advise to all forces to begin sealing shelters!” This was it, that was order. He looked up to the very large crowd that has only now managed to gather around the entrance. He looked down at his watch counting down. He could only give these poor souls another forty five seconds. He avoided looking into the eyes of the crowd. Instead he looked to his soldiers covertly signaling them that in a moment they'd have to force the doors close and run for their lives. He looked down again to his watch 5...4...3...2...1...“Close the gate,” he said. His soldiers could barely hear the order over the screaming of the crowd, making out the order from watching his mouth. The soldiers immediately threw themselves into the door slamming it into the zebras trying to force their way into the station. A mare at the front of the mob was trying for force an infant foal wrapped in a cloth through the half closed door. The centurion could feel his heart tear in two. If his troops let up on their momentum they'd never be able close the doors, possibly dooming all the zebras they'd just saved, however the foal fit through the crack. Seeing the opportunity, he made up his mind. He grabbed the foal from his mother's outstretched forehooves. The mare's face lit up for a moment but then turned to utter panic as the doors continued to close. She shrieked hysterically as the doors closed, “No! Khonvoum… no my baby!” The soldiers quickly dropped the bar in place sealing the door, before all of them turned and began running down the stairs into the metro. He only made it halfway down the stairs with the foal cradled in his hooves when the screams outside intensified for a moment before being silenced with an intense wave of heat radiating from the door above. The metro system of Moscva was an engineering marvel of the zebra people. Built out of the advancement brought by the early contact with the ponies of equestria, the metro system was actually a product of earth pony design. The massive mass transportation system helped industrialize the once agrarian city making it the economic rival of the capital Roam. However when war broke out the metro was changed, it still served it's primary purpose, but the underground nature made it a natural shelter from pegasi raids. The stations were expanded into bomb and fallout shelters, massive stockpiles of vitamins and medicine were stored inside these station-shelters. Self sustained water filters were installed along with green rooms with UV lights to grow crops, geothermal heating and power were all built under the stations. Throughout the course of the war it became the worlds largest bomb and fallout shelter, now home some forty thousand survivors. However not all stations were created equal. Many early on had experienced water filtration failures or some other critical life sustaining equipment break. Some stations had zebras with the technical expertise and tools to fix and maintain their stations, others did not. Those unfortunate had to flee to other better stations and hope they wouldn't be rejected for fear of overcrowding. Some stations had more societal problems. Almost in all stations had angry civilians who've lost everything far out numbered the soldiers and officers who were blamed for the apocalypse. In such cases, a lynching often soon followed. The ingrained tribal nature of Zebra seemed to win out over the past half century of cultural innovations as all notions of government and unified people dissolved immediately. The stations fell into individual city states. However within the following year alliances and unions began to form between the stations. The first to rise was a trading union forming along the outer ring of metro system. It started out as three adjacent stations, but they were soon motivated by prospect of wealth that would be brought if all the stations along the ring joined. This became their original and still driving goal of the traders who began to refer to themselves as the Trade Guild. Their spread to the other stations was normally peaceful, and helped along with the traders themselves as they would migrate into the targeted stations planting the seeds of the guild. Of course some stations outright rejected them, but by the time the guild controlled nine stations, they formed a well armed and supplied military force that pacified resistance, for the good of all the metro citizens of course. They were not without rivals. Near the southern edge of the ring a powerful idea emerged between a station and its two horizontal stations before it. The Camaraderie, a dictatorship of administrators who gathered all supplies and redistributed it back to population by what they considered to be a fair portion. All members of the stations were conscripted into labor forces yielding great amounts of food and security for its population, so long as they submitted to the absolute authority of the administrators. This powerful group forcefully spread north, seeming to creating a line on the map of the metro. The growth of the two major factions continued until the fifth year. The Camaraderie did also spread to its adjacent stations along the southern ring. The guild was diplomatic at first, both factions were aware of each other and planned for the their inevitable clash. The guild's motivations were purely profit and opportunity while the Camaraderie was an ideology hellbent on control. The guild build bunkers around the Camaraderie southern stations. While the factions were sizing each other up, the war broke out on the northern ring when the Camaraderie line finally clashed. Neither side truly had vast resources needed for a war. The guild was better equipped while the Camaraderie had more equines, yet Moscva's zebras were faced with both a looming population and resource crises having being forced to live underground. So the war was fought with small raiding parties, terror attacks, unconventional warfare as these were like a zebra's second nature. Ultimately though it was a stalemate. One side would raid, often failing to gain any ground, and if they did, it was impossible to hold before a counterattack drove the attacker back. Once the guild managed to capture the western south station, putting them dangerously near the founding station of the line. The Camaraderie responded sending waves of zebra, first the elderly, the sickly and weak as meat shields armed with only crude clubs. The tactic worked as the guild forces ran low on ammunition and had to retreat as armed comrade forces retook the station. The bloody stalemate lasted six years. It slowed down at times due to population shortages but hostilities ended when a new threat emerged. At a western station around the outskirts of the metro system, well past the trade guild ring. There was no warning as huge tailless rodent like creatures invaded. They looked similar to rats, except they were a little bigger than your average zebra. Almost all of them had no visible hair, showing off their light pinkish skin covered in small tumors or patchy malformed flesh, only the ones that did have visible hairs where larger and obviously a more muscular build. They came pouring in the thousands from a line that continued well out of the city and into the countryside. The denizens of the station stood no chance, hardly any of them managed to get out of their tents or hovels before the swarm flooded in drawn by the scent of zebra flesh. A group of zebras lucky enough to be near a motorized rail car were able to escape before being consumed by the horde. The next connected station was soon lost as well. The little warning they got from the zebras speeding through on the rail car was too little too late for these poor souls. The few residents that were able to even grab a weapon did little to stem the flood of mutants before being washed away. The residents of the metro may have faced extinction that day, as that last station connected to a guild station the lead in the metro proper. The rail car crashed into the guild station with it's riders raving and claiming for the residents to take up arms. The war with Camaraderie had forged the Guild. They had improvised the ultimate weapon in the metro, and the warning prompted them to use their super weapon. A large pressure washer was pointed down the tunnel as the cries of the swarm approached. The pump was refitted to spray a large stream of fossil fuel, with a flaming munition gem welded to the barrel. The improv flame thrower worked perfectly. Tongues of flame shot down the tunnel incinerating hundreds of mutant swarms. High pitched squeals filled the station as the swarm slowly died. Zebras maintained their title as the worlds supreme killers that day. That wasn't the last of the rat creatures now commonly referred to as nosalis. They began to infiltrate the metro system. Some inner stations had been over run turning into breeding grounds. Those stations either had to be burned out or the surrounding tunnels collapsed sealing the threat away. Such extreme measures were unpopular when employed. Not only was it the loss of space and resources, but the metro was fast facing a new problem, flooding. Radioactive rain water as well as natural ground water constantly seeped into the metro. A combination of pumps and old drainage pipes ran through the metro. Sealing in any station ran the risk of redirecting the flow of water into inhabited areas. With the mounting problems the two factions declared a truce and diplomacy was enacted. The Camaraderie surrendered the two station along the ring but still maintaining the founding ring station. The guild also surrendered the north ring station, making the Camaraderie line complete. However, the stations along the ring were co-controlled. A small armed guild presence, an embassy was allowed at both ring stations ensuring free passage of traders through controlled parts of the stations. So the guilds dream of passage through the ring of the metro were finally realized, and zealously guarded to this day. Another constant power present in the metro lay slightly left of the metro center. Three stations that lay underneath the Moscva University, the nearby military academy and the nearby great library. These three stations quickly united, being greatly composed of the zebra military and academic elite they managed to stave off the worst of the post-megaspell horrors. They called their station union the Civitatem, the last known bastion of zebra civilization. It's military refers to themselves as the Spartan order. Although smaller in numbers, a combination of well maintained old world equipment and training, their operatives, or ‘Spartans’ were a fearsome force to be reckoned with. The Civitatem managed to stay mostly neutral during the Guild-Camaraderie war, focused only preserving whatever old world knowledge they could. Lastly a new but growing power was growing north of the Civitatem, drawing members from among the independent stations, the Purists. Its founding philosophy dates long before the war the with the ponies of Equestria. It began in days when the zebra tribes were first united into the republic. The most prominent tribe the Roamani, self convinced of their own superiority formed a minor but notorious political movement against tribal unification. Under Caesar's command the group was considered illegal and it’s members to be exterminated after the brutal murder of a member of the senate. The government was never successful in completely removing them, they remained quietly in the backgrounds, mostly recruiting members of the poor, the desperate and the disenfranchised. It seemed with the fall of civilization granted them the opportunity they needed to truly thrive. As mutants began appearing, first as zombie ghouls, then deformed babies, and finally mutant monsters began pouring into the metro. Their ideals changed to that that of a personal calling. To becoming warriors-knights who mission in life was preserve the purity of the zebra people against mutations. At the end of the world, the Purists movement finally began gaining momentum. Some twenty years after the megaspells rained. A lone stallion climbed up a long set of stairs leading up onto the surface. His face and muzzle were completely concealed inside a steel gas mask, with the glass holes for his eyes being darkly tinted. He wore a full body suit that loosely hung on him obscuring his physic. The suit was made of a combination of rubbers and plastics with small squares machine printed the shades of gray giving him urban camouflage. He wore a saddle with the same camouflage, laden lightly with gear with a few more bags strapped across his chest. The saddle also had two large gun barrels strapped to either side under his bags. The soft regular sucking of air could be heard as he climbed up the stairs. His breath was pushed out of a valve on the side of his muzzle. It condensed creating a small thin vapor cloud that form around him as he labored up the stairs. He felt oddly nostalgic here along with the normal nervous sensation of going onto the surface. Like he had been here before. He came upon an iron door, grunting heavily before turning to buck the rusted bar, forcing the door open. He walked out and look upon the scorched city of Moscva. P.S. This story is inspired by the works of Fallout Equestria by Kkat (link) and Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (link). All intellectual property of “My Little Pony” and “Metro 2033” respectively belong to Hasbro, 4A games, Deep Silver and respective owners. P.P.S. Special thanks for expanded lore form Somber’s Project Horizens (link) P.P.P.S Sorry for the rewrite of the Purists origins and changing of titles to better fit in with established lore, if anyone would like to help with editing please message me, as I’m sure it will help with the rate that I upload and reduce my “retcons”
HunterA Hunter “If it's hostile, you kill it.” -the Spartan creed Before the end 'I hate ladders,' I thought while staring up at the black and white striped flank in front of me. Apparently during the great war some zebra senator or architect thought since ponies lacked the agility of zebra's, they'd build everything at ninety degree angles and then only to use thin metal poles to climb up. ’I mean anything with a slight slope would've taken up too much space I guess,’ I fumed internally, trying to just balance a hoof on the old rusted bars. It was an effort to keep up pace with my companion, weighed down with our combat hazmat suits and our battle saddles. I guess it was a lifetime growing up using ladders like these that gave him the endurance to keep a solid pace. “Hey Khon, when you left your home station, did you imagine we'd end up in a place like this, not knowing if we will save our metro...or hand its fate over to the stars,” he asked with touch a doubt. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing. Instead focusing at the dangerous task of climbing. The rusted remnants of the ladder began to groan louder the higher we climbed. As my companion reached the top and began to climbed over, the shifting of his weight finally stripped the rusted bolts. The ladder immediately started to fall backwards, in a panic I managed to get one hoof on the edge as my friend turned back. “Got you!” he shouted chopping on my mane. He pulled roughly, dragging me onto solid ground. It really hurt tearing a few hairs but a mix of relief and the rush from the brush with death dulled the ache. While I slumped over trying to catch my breath, my friend looked over the ledge. He said humorously “they can try but there’s no stopping us now, is their Khon?” I got up, not bothering to inquiring who he was referring to. We had climbed into a small room. Like everything in this metro area, the walls were gray concrete. The floors rough rusted steel all illuminated by orange emergency lights. There was a control room but the equipment looked long dead. We focused instead on the airlock door. We both wordlessly knew what to do, sealing up our hazmat suits completely covering any exposed areas, before donning on our gas masks. The mask narrowed my vision, muffled my voice and the soft sound of air being sucked in and push out filled my ears as I breathed. I had a small watch on my right hoof, I nudged a dial on it setting the marker to fifteen. Finally I flicked my tongue along a slide inside my mask, it sprung a small trigger that fitted against my molars. My friend nodded to me as he stood by the wall where the door would open. I could see on the rubbery underside of the gas mask flex slightly as he mouthed the trigger of his battle saddle. I walked up to the wheel handle of the airlock and pushed down. The handle groaned, spun an inch then stopped. I raised my front hooves and brought them down hard on the handle. I winced as the metal on metal let out high pitched whine. I hopped the next room wasn't filled with hungry mutants now very aware of our presence. However, the force seemed to get it moving as the handle made a full rotation with a bit more effort. Finally feeling the door unlock, I slowly swung it open. My friend took lead, keeping his guns pointed forwards. Cautious aggression helped one live a longer life in the metro. I followed behind him my own battle saddle pointing a different direction trying to cover as much area as possible. The door has lead to another part of the facility. A hallway again illuminated in the orange emergency light. Seeing no threat I turned and closed the airlock behind me while my friend kept his guns trained forwards. I was disappointed that we were still inside. The dusty room was sure to clogging our limited filters, but with no way to check the air quality past this point we had to keep our masks on. We moved forwards spotting rows of lockers along the wall. They had names printed on them, the former workers for the metro. We didn't have much interest in them save one labeled Sgt. Afia. Figuring this must have been some security zebra's locker I reached back, taking out a crowbar. With my friend standing back keeping ever vigilant, I stuck the crowbar into the gap of the locker and heaved. The locker fought for a moment before breaking open. Inside I saw old metro security uniform, some personal effects, a picture of a Zebra family was tapped to the door. I couldn’t really tell who was supposed to be Afia, I was too focused on my prize. A Kalashnikov rifle lay standing up at the back of the locker. I was less concerned with rifle as I pulled out its magazine. It was fully loaded I happily thought, with fifteen rounds of 5.45×39mm shinny military grade bullets. Seeing nothing else of value I mentally thanked Sgt. Afia before following my friend again down the hallway. At the end of the hallway we came up to another airlock. As was before my friend took up guard as I worked the handle. Thankfully the handle on this one didn't fight me as hard, however when I opened the door there was a hiss and strong air pressure that fought my opening. This was it, we're about to go on the surface. My friend took point again, the way ahead was unsurprisingly dark as it should be night outside. We both turned on our flashlights mounted on the left side of our battle saddles. The door had lead up a winding staircase. It limited how far we could see but I was glad it wasn't another damned ladder. We climbed up what felt like two stories before emerging out into a ruined government office complex. The ceiling had collapsed long ago, leaving huge piles of rubble in the middle on the room. Still many parts of the seconds floor did seem to survive in the rest of the building. The walls were made of plaster and had many small holes in them leading outside. Unfortunately most of them were too small to fit through. We both looked around before spotting a window. It had metal bars on the inside, but with the crumbling plaster I was sure the both of us together could tear them out. I waved my friend over approaching the window when we heard a low growl. We both looked up through the hole on the ceiling to spot a large dog. It easily twice the size of a zebra. Watchers we called them. Someone figured these used to be a creature called a hyena. An ancient predator of our kind. They were driven out of zebra lands, and nearly to extinction practically after the invention of the firearm. After the great war however they've came back, and the magical radiation changed them. They had a few clumps hairs growing out of their body ranging from white to yellow. They were agile pack hunters, stalking their prey from roof tops swooping down once they got close. Realizing their was only one we both tried to shoot the monster before it let out a howl summoning its pack. Two shots simultaneously rang out of the saddles tearing through each of the monster's lungs, as is stood on its hind legs standing to its full height about to let out it howl. We both started to search our surroundings as a loud low howl sounded from above us. “Ah shit!” I fumed, “there is a pack on the second floor!” “They are trying really hard today, aren’t they?” my friend commended as he moved to get a different angle on the ceiling. We heard four sets of paws running along the floor above, their heavy puffing as they galloped towards the hole in the ceiling. The first one jumped down onto the pile of rubble on our level facing away from us. My friend was very liberal with his ammunition, firing a hail of lead on the creature. Three out of ten bullets from the erratic fire caught the creature's rear ripping away part of its pelvis. The monster wailed in agony crippled and quickly bleeding to death. Two more quickly followed the monster down while another walked along the top ceiling. I took aim at the at the one on the second floor. I clenched my molar teeth on the trigger in my mouth twice. The first shot grazed its belly cutting a small red line across it. The second buried itself into its right shoulder lodging itself inside the bone. My friend opened up on the monsters on our level. Red holes opened explosively on the left creature all along its back. It made only four steps before slumping down. The second monster however avoided him instead choosing to dash right for me. My attention shifted to the approaching monster as it leaped towards me, jaw open to show off a large set of fangs. Its paws were outstretched intending to pin me when it landed. Instead of backing away, I pointed myself directly at him and bit my trigger in rapid succession. I fired three times, two of them were unnecessary, as the first went through its open jaw exiting through the back of its head. The other two found some place through its torso, both tearing clean through leaving a fine red mist on their exit. The dead creature's momentum however didn't stop, and the lifeless creature slammed into me knocking me back. Thankfully it didn't knock me over or land on top of me. Just bouncing with no more damage then a possible bruise later. “Hey, you okay?” my friend ask walking over to me but keeping his guns pointed at the hole in the ceiling. I pushed the trigger back with my tongue, I’ve discovered misfires to be both dangerous and a waste of ammo. How he could talk away with it in his mouth and not get people killed was beyond me. I called back a, “yes, I am alright!” with a bit of a painful wince. There were no more angry growling watcher sounds. The one on the second floor I wounded must have crawled away, but the other one with its backside blown out was making a soft whining noise. I quickly checked my self over making sure the watcher that had slammed into me hadn't torn a hole in my hazmat suit. Satisfied and with my friend watching over me. I reached into my saddle bag and pulled out a knife. The handle was designed with a large ring that fit around my hoof quite snugly, useful for when you mouth is covered with a gas mask. Drawing the knife I cautiously walked over the whining monster, facing its backside as to avoid its front paws. I plunged the knife into its throat. Its pain was over in a few moments. Wiping the blade before putting it back I walked over the barred window. I wrapped my front leg around the bars. He followed my example, grabbing the bars. “On three,” I said, “1...2...3!” We both grunted. The plaster quickly crumbled as the security bars fell out of the wall. We both took a quick glance outside to make sure we wouldn't run into anymore monsters before climbing through the window onto the street below. “Okay there is Ostankino Tower,” my friend pointed to a dark spire that reached past the cloud covered sky. The tower used to be a powerful radio tower broadcasting the words of the Caesar or senate to the zebra public, but now it was in ruins. Parts of the inside were exposed, but it was still standing. A lifetime growing up inside the metro system, I was more used to confined cramped spaces. It had taken a while just to get used to the surface. I had few experiences with heights and just looking at the tower was causing me to get butterflies inside my belly. I fought that feeling. The top of that tower was my goal, the end to my journey. Thankfully this was on the outskirts of the city the blacked city of Moscva. I was told it was rather beautiful city of purest white marble, with decorative carvings everywhere before the megaspell scorched the city. The vegetation was sparse here due the natural harsh climate mixed in with all the fallout, but the grounds outside the immediate city wasn’t burned. As we approached the tower we saw a pair headlights shine up, illuminating a small part of the ever present cloud cover. As we neared close enough to see the vehicle that emitted them, my friend blinked his flashlight at the vehicle in a coded order. The vehicle responded with a flick of it lights, after that we continued our approach. Three well armed zebras in similar combat hazmat suits and gas masks were standing by the vehicle. Upon closer inspection the vehicle looked like and old armored combat jeep with an omnidirectional .50 cal rifle mounted on top. The lead zebra of the group called out, “You're late!” “Sorry Prefect, we just had a few near death experiences along the way. Nothing too major,” my friend cracked while saluting. The perfect shook his head, obviously experienced in my friends antics. He glanced at me saying in an appraising tone, “So you must be the new the recruit Khonvoum. Welcome to the order, the Legate spoke highly of you.” “Yes sir...thank you sir.” I said trying to sound formal. I noticed my breathing was getting more laborious. I glanced down at my watch noting its been around fourteen minutes. I reached into my saddle bag pulling out a fresh filter setting in on the ground near me. I started to push my hooves along the groves of my current filter unscrewing it when the soft sound of rumbling was heard. One of the Spartans got on top of the jeep, trying to get a better view before jumping to man the .50 cal. He shouted in a panicked voice shouting, “form a circle!” With the filter semi-unscrew the gas valve shut meaning I couldn’t breath. I accidentally exhaled when the spartan shouted, causing moisture from my breath to condense on the glass clouding my vision. In panic I unscrewed the used filter as fast as I could, dropping it not bothering to pack it. I grabbed the fresh one before the glass became too cloudy. I tried to trot towards to the group on three limbs while using one to screw in the filter. I must have looked like a fool but the group of Spartans were far too concerned with the approaching rumbling sound. I finished screwing in the filter, reopening the gas valve and letting fresh pure air flowed in. As the fresh air cleared the foggy moisture from the glass of my mask and fog from my mind. I began to noticed that the rumbling was less of a sound and more like the ground shaking. As if thousands of zebra were stomping on the ground... no, not zebras, watchers. I finally saw thousands of the beasts in full stampede moving towards us. I stood between two Spartans in a semicircle with the jeep closing the circle behind us. The monsters ran past, seeming to not care about us. Within moments be stood in a sea of monsters. “Okay,” my friend said, “this maybe harder than that Library tour, eh Khon? They just never let up on us do they?” The prefect was about to shush him when one of the monsters stopped following his pack and turned to us growling. My mind was spinning, the largest ever reported pack of watchers was twenty five, no one had ever heard of a stamped of these monsters in the literal thousands. The approaching watcher stood on its hind legs intending to let out its howl when I shot it. My bullet traveled right its exposed belly. The creature crumbled not instantly dead, but for now silenced. It was naive of me to hope that preventing the howl would magically keep this horde passive. Drawn by the shot or simply that one was the first of many, many more the monsters near us stopped their stampede and began circling our group. “Open fire!” The prefect shouted as many of the monsters stopped circling and dashed in. No longer concerned about conserving ammo I bit down the trigger of my battle saddle spraying the monsters in front of me. Bloody holes began popping open at the charging monsters, as I used excessive force ensuring these monsters died as far from me as possible. Between the .50 cal rumbling behind me mixing in with all the other gun fire, the howling of the watchers, from under my mask I couldn't distinguish sound. It was the sensory deprivation I blame for when I didn't notice that the spartan beside me was in trouble. I figure a watcher must have managed to leap onto him for it wasn't his screams that alerted me, but the soft flesh with the coarse spiny hairs of the watcher bouncing against me that alerted me. I turned to see the watcher pinning the spartan biting into him, tearing through his suit and the flesh underneath. I only hesitated for a second, now that his suit is torn my fellow spartan stood no chance of surviving. I unloaded five rounds into the creature, and hoped whatever rounds hit the pinned spartan made his passing easier. I pulled a strap to reload my saddle, taking a side step to cover more area our fallen spartan once held. Suddenly it seemed the watchers backed off. Not sure if we simply intimidated them or they were preparing to rush us all at once when my friend screamed, “Manticores!” I looked up at the tower. It was our worst fears, it seemed the manticores used the tower as a nesting ground. A group of the flying demons descended on the watchers treating this as a buffet of the life time. Unfortunately they didn't discriminate. They descended on us. With the jeep attracting the most attention, the gunner swiveled his gun up. He downed two of the beast with heavy fire, but the third came at him from his back. It grabbed the whole the turret mount taking gunner and jeep in tow. However the jeep didn't cleanly lift off, it flew forwards knocking into us. The front end slammed into my side as I tried to leap away. The force sent me flying some ten feet, knocking the air out of my lungs as I slumped into dirt. Another manticore landed where the jeep had once been, it turned to face me before leaping, intending to devour me. Where it began When I close my eyes and imagine, I'm somewhere else. I lay slightly huddled on a old cot that's just a little too small for me, looking up at a collection of old postcards on the ceiling. Today I visited Canterlot, looking up at the picture of the majestic castle. I filled the area I couldn't see from the image with things I imagined from reading old books. I couldn't properly imagine daylight, my station was constantly lit by old dull orange emergency lights. I had excellent night vision even among my peers but for reading I still had do it under candle light. Wood was rare but we do occasionally have small bonfires, so I tried picturing the whole sky a bright as that fire. I had many other places I visited, the Senate of Roam, the pro-consuls manor in Moscva, Cloudsdale, Appaloosa, Saddle Arabia, all little postcards on my ceiling. Since my adoptive father moved to exhibition station when I was little foal I haven't really been anywhere else. Leaving my waking dream I looked at my watch, I had another two hours to kill before the next shift at our local tea factory. Real tea was a luxury only the most successful Guild trade masters rarely enjoyed. Our station had developed a blend of wild growing subterranean mushrooms that grew nearby, we also wove fibers of an inedible root to make a makeshift tea bag. Exhibition tea wasn't...good until you've acquired the taste, and with shroom vodka being your only other filtered water alternative we've slowly grown a foreign market for our tea. There were two stations between us and a Guild ring station. We had been in serious talks of alliance or agreement with them as exports could bring prosperity to us all, and our union would give us leverage against the Guild in price negotiations. Father had been working really hard on that, often being away for days at a time. However two months ago, all our hopes had been smashed to pieces when a new monster appeared at our doorstep. Many zebra in Exhibition station like myself worked in the tea factory, however in particular health young stallions like myself were also encouraged to take up guard duty. It wasn't the rule, as an old mare normally took the scout position at the thousand meter mark to prove the exception. Exhibition had only one useful outbound tunnel, with posts at the thousand meter, seven hundred, and large fortifications at the three hundred meter mark. The other tunnel had clasped at somewhere forty kilometers down only connecting to a completely flooded station. It only had a scouting post six hundred meters down, and a minor fortified post two hundred meters down. That tunnel used to be quite neglected as only stray mutants could find their way in their. I wasn't on duty when they first attacked. The monster didn't make it past the six hundred scout post. It walked straight into the four zebras camping there, alerting them by tripping the cans on strings. It didn't slow its walk as the guards opened fire, it only let out a loud unearthly wail that woke the whole station when it died. We recovered the body of the monster, after examining it looked to be the same size as a zebra. The first oddity to be noticed was its hardened shiny black skin that resembled a black crystal. Its eyes were large black bulbs, almost bug like, and it didn’t seem to have eyelids. It had other oddities were greater still, it lacked a mouth. It had two thin slits, were a muzzle should be. Not only leaving questions of how did it feed, but how did it make that howl that was heard from one end of the tunnel down to the next. Over the next few days the four guards complained of nightmares and headaches. It got worse as they each clasped within the same hour. When they awoke they experienced constant hallucinations. They talked about reaching a for a light, or crying that they couldn't see. It got worse over the next week as blood began to leak from out from their eyes, nose, and mouth. They later died in horrible fits of seizures. At the time we didn't know what caused it, if the unknown creature was the blame. Our suspicions had been confirmed the next week. This time I was on guard duty at the four hundred meter mark when they attacked again from the second tunnel. The only warning we got was brief moment of gun fire from the six hundred mark and that same unearthly scream. I and many others dashed to the two hundred post. When I had gotten there I was greeted by other residents of Exhibition who possessed firearms. I stood behind our makeshift cover as the monsters strolled up to us. It was strange, they didn't gallop, only walked towards us as if not comprehending the danger of armed zebras. They gave the same unearthly howls as we collectively tore them to pieces in a hail of lead. We later found another dead monster at the six hundred scout post, but so too the guards. It was strange they had no signs of external damage. They simply laid there dead with expressions of utter horror. We called the new monsters that terrorized our station the dark ones. Rumor of these creatures spread as sixteen of our people feel into their curse, causing our tentative relationship with our neighbors to fray. Father has been busy ever since making runs back and forth trying to maintain relations and send out word to the Civitatem trying to enlist the aid of it's Spartans. I shook myself trying to snap myself out these depressing ruminations. I rolled out of bed, carefully avoiding the mouse traps on the floor. I grabbed a belt and holster that held a six shot .44 magnum revolver and two ammo pouches. One held two extra .44 moon clips and the other my life savings of pre-war 5.45 cartridges . I strapped the belt onto my waist, it was my duty as an able bodied equine to be armed at all times. The gun had been my fathers, he used it during the great war. It was standard issue with a plain ivory grip, but he claimed it saved his life before and wanted it to protect me. He gave the gun to me after my first shift as a station guard. Originally he wanted to give it to me after I earned my glyph mark, but it appeared when I was so young my maturity had to be decided by other physical factors. Now ready I moved out of the small secretary office room that served as my bedroom. It lead into a manager's office that was both my father's bedroom, and our shared living area. Though the station managers office still technically served its original purpose as father served as an unofficial mayor. Our station was very much a voluntary community, local zebras were expected to take on vital jobs, and every day rations of food were fairly handed out. If you wanted extra bullets to trade with with your fellow neighbors or traveling traders you worked in the tea factory. As I entered the office room I spotted my father at his desk looking at old plumbing blueprints. Noticing me he looked up saying, “ah awake already, off to work so soon?” “No couldn't sleep,” I sheepishly replied, then looking at his work I asked, “so any progress?” Father sighed, “it would have been better for all, had I been a plumber then a soldier. There’s just no way of collapsing that damned tunnel without causing a flood.” I nodded in understanding. I looked out of the office window and onto the field of family sized military tents that lined the station. All bathed in the soft orange glow of the overhead emergency lights. Most zebras were inside their tent homes, making it easier to spot of pair strolling towards the office. I quickly recognized one as one of our border guards, wearing leather barding and a steel welding mask. He was escorting an obvious foreigner towards us. Despite my good night vision the lighting was too weak to properly make out the stranger right away. Through squinting I was able to make out more details as they neared. The stranger was a bulky zebra mare with no mane. The bulkiness of her appearance had more to do with her barding, it looked to be thick layers of Kevlar with ceramic plates on her shoulders and knees. As she got closer I could see two barrels sticking out from under a light saddle, a rifle with a silencer strapped onto her back, a set on throwing knives strapped to her front left leg, a chain necklace with a metal tag, and if I'm not mistaken a stick of dynamite strapped snugly on the front of her chest. Such an armed guest wouldn't be allowed near the station regardless of escort. I was about to shout something in alarm when I was finally able to make out the mares face. Looking into a pair of feline like yellow slitted eyes, “Hunter?” I said out loud. My father almost dropped him papers in surprise asking, “she's here, already?” I didn't reply, instead opening the door and trotting towards this heavily armed mare with a grin on my face. “Hunter,” I called out in a semi hushed tone, it was after station hours after all. The walking armory stopped for a moment looking at me for a moment before reply with a warm smile. “Khonvoum...oh my you've gotten bigger,” then looking behind me she noticed my father, “Centurion Sukhoi, you called sir?” My father trotted beside me, the guard escorting Hunter saluted him. He returned the gesture while telling him that he can take it from here, letting him to return to his post. Then he turned back to our home waving Hunter on, “Come, come inside.” I walked beside Hunter matching her pace. I was thinking of what questions to ask her first, when she reached into one of her bags saying, “I came across a merchant selling old postcards and thought of your wall.” She pulled out an old post card then handed it to me. The image was somewhat faded and it had been folded but all things considered that was prime quality in the metro. The picture was of a small rural town with one the buildings being an actual tree. There was something written in pony scrip in the top corner. Dominating the center of the image was six smiling ponies each one a different color, two earth ponies, two unicorns and two pegasi in a group pose. Hunter leaned over clearly enjoying the look of fascination I had studding the image. “It says, Welcome to Ponyville,” she translated for me. I had to look up from Image before walking to the door frame my attention so focus on the little postcard. “Thank you so much, it's beautiful,” I said hardly able to contain my excitement as we all walked into the office. I considered giving her a hug but quickly rethought that as I was fearful I'd stab myself on something or set off a gun. Instead she reached out with a hoof with ruffled my mane playfully, “you're welcome my little...ah yes not so little any more eh?” she finished with a sigh. I nodded and then turned to go back to my room leaving Father and her alone to talk. I caught her saying in a teasing tone, “They grow up so fast, I know it's been a while but last time I was here he came just up to my shoulders. Now I think he maybe taller then me...haha soon he'll have a mare friend and you'll be grandpa.” I blushed heavily from that and quickly hid in my room. I first smoothed out the postcard, then I grabbed a bit of glue from a small desk in my room. With carefully practiced motion I dabbed bits onto the back of the card then stuck on my ceiling next to the other cards, holding it for a minute till I was sure it would stick. I lied on my cot for I minute admiring the new addition to my collection. I focused on etching into memory what Hunter told me what the card said. “Poni-vill,” i mouthed. 'Hmm' I wondered if the word poni was equine related. I never did managed to find an opportunity to learn other languages or foreign writing. I wanted to daydream. To lose myself in this new area via my newest window into the past until it was time to go to work, but I found myself distracted. It wasn't often Hunter would come to visit, and who knew when or...if she would come again. As silently as I could I crept to the door, lied down and pressed my ear against the crack at the base. Hunter was explaining herself “No, word hasn't reached the Civitatem yet. Luckily I was nearby on the order’s business. When I heard rumors of your station being the epicenter of a new mutant monsters, I came as soon as my mission was complete. Your message for assistance meet me halfway…” she paused and said with a faint hint of humor, “Khon I know you're listening why don't you just come in.” I froze for a moment, shocked and embarrassed. I was sure I hadn't made a sound or cast a shadow through the door. I slowly opened the door, I looked down as to avoid meeting either of their gaze. Hunter continued, “so why don't you show me the inflicted.” This time I looked up, both me and father lock our gaze together before he nodded with a sigh. We left together heading towards the infirmary. We converted the shower room into a small clinic as the white tiled walls and floor were easy to keep clean and the tiles whiteness made the most out of the weak light. Loss of showers was no concern, clean water was too important to waste, the people maintained hygiene through dry washable brushes and scour pads. We entered the locker room leading into the shower area, heavy doors had been installed into this area. Father knocked before our witchdoctor unbolted the door from the other side. I took a deep breath before entering the room. Not just from the stench of blood, I fought conflicting emotions of not wanting to see what I already knew, and guilt over not spending more time here among my comrades. Equines I've grown up with and spent my whole life around, felt like I was abandoning them in their dying moments. As we walked into the room I forced myself to look up at the dark ones victims. They were all strapped down on their own individual cots. Some were still locked in the throes of terrible unending spasms. They had something wedged in their mouths keeping them from biting down on their tongues. They had all entered the bleeding stage as they wept, coughed and excreted blood, sheets and shower curtains splattered alike. Some curtains were drawn but all it did was cast hauntingly blood splattered silhouettes. Those that could still speak were softly moaning, “I-I can't see...trying to reach...I can't reach...” Some of them had family with them gently trying to wipe away the blood, whispering to them hoping they can hear their last words. I finally looked away, my imagination conjured up images of father lying there. Hunter however displayed a detached expression. Walking over and looking at one of the patients calming talking to the witchdoctor, asking a steady stream of questions. After a few moments she started to turn mentioning wanting to see the bodies of the dark ones when an alarm bell rang. Father ran towards a red emergency phone located on the wall beside the entrance, he roughly grabbed the receiver and jammed it against his face shouting “This is Sukhoi!” He nodded his head a few times ordering, “okay well need to do a full lock down, move all non-combatants to second level greenery area and seal all vents!” Taking the initiative, I stood up and doing a small jump I grabbed a lever on a vent and let gravity pull me down as heavy iron plate inside the vent came down. Next I ran to the other side of the room and repeated the process sealing the ventilation in the room. My father explained to everyone that they needed to hold tight and draw their weapons, seal the door behind us and don't open them until an all clear is sounded. With that Father, myself and Hunter left the clinic, the sound of a bar falling into place sounded behind us. Sounds of gunfire and shouts came out from the station platform and possibly even more from the tunnel. I pulled out my revolver and bit down on the grip, sliding my tongue along the trigger, I looked up to Hunter seeing her detached expression hadn't changed. “What's attacking?” she flatly asked. Father shook his head, “they reported a swarm of nosalis.” “Great then they will be drawn right here by the smell of blood,” Hunter replied in a matter of fact. I bit down harder on my revolver. I was deeply concerned as they never made it into the station before, always charging the barricades with reckless aggression. Unless our defenders had been overrun. Before my fears could really start taking hold Father calmly said to me “Khon stay next to me, they ran past our barricades, our kin are alive, together well get through this.” He still had a reassuring command ability, I felt my nerves cool, and my focus sharpen as I stood by him. After that he swung over his assault rifle and bit his grip as sounds of high pitched squeaks and rumblings of large animals crawling came from inside the ventilation ducts. “Here they come,” Hunter said in a snarl. Loud bangs sounded at the creature arrival. I already found rats to be ugly nasty creatures, these creatures were far worse in appearance. The grate of the far left shuddered as the creature rammed into it. Then long yellow claws with sickly pink appendages poked through before closing in grasping and shaking the grate. Didn’t take it long before it managed to tear a large enough hole for it squeeze itself through. Definitely a strange creature as only half it’s pinkish skin covers is long muzzle, peeling back around the mouth exposing red sore covered flesh and showing off it’s long jagged teeth. It’s pig like snout always seemed to be twitching as it turned to face us. It’s beady little eyes looked like red marbles that were shrunken into his head. As it started to pull more of itself out, father expertly shot it in a three round burst. The creature jerked and spazzed inside the confined space. The nosalis behind it had its access clogged as the dying one blocked it's way. Unfortunately there were many other grates. Another nosalis managed to force open a grate on the far right side, it was halfway out when Hunter fired a shot. My ears rang as the large caliber round shot out striking the top half of the nosalis. It exploded in a mess of ultra violent gore painting the wall around it bright red, leaving it's bottom half wedged in the hole. The nosalis not knowing fear pressed on. They continued to throw themselves into the grates. Father alternated between the two grates on the left side firing three round bursts when a nosalis forced itself onto the grates keeping them pinned. I focused on the unopened grate on the near right wall aiming to fire a round right into the thickest meatiest part of the nosalis. An immature part of me wanted to aim for the head, but I knew better, the .44 slugs did enough damage. Not only that but a small part of me wanted to save the ammo I slaved over earning, and the best way to ensure that was to make every shot was at least a kill shot. A nosalis charged into the grate throwing it's full weight into it, the metal visibly shuddered but the moment after the impact the creature stopped having drained all it momentum. I choose that moment to shoot. I made sure I was looking into the largest mass of the creature as my tongue pulled back. The recoil rattled my teeth, as I did as father had drilled me. Sure enough the slug shot out and tore a big meaty hole on the creature, a head shot wasn't necessary. Hunter seemed to only fire after a nosalis made it's way out of the vents, I figured her rounds would tear big holes on the ducts, giving them more access points. Our early bottling strategy was already showing it weakness as our bullets were tearing the grates apart quite effectively, and dead bodies only proved to be a momentary delay. The nosalis easily pushed their fallen brethren through. Still focusing on the near right grate, the next nosalis climbed over it's dead brethren and pressed its face into the grate trying to headbutt its way through. I smiled internally, I was going to get my head shot after all as it ugly face prove to be my biggest target. The second shot quite cleanly wrecked the grate, but with the two dead monsters laying on top of each other the twisted bits of metal held their corpses in place. The grates on left side of the wall however had been completely torn apart and the nosalis poured into the room from three different points. A pile of monster corpses lay at the bottom of these entrances but the horde pressed forwards. Hunter switched her twin saddle cannons onto auto-fire. With the boxed nature of the locker room, the rapid loud bangs was reverberated, I had to fight from being dazed by the sound. The nosalis seemed to be attracted to the noise as those that managed to make it into the room alive charged at her. Between my father and her they made a new kill zone in the middle of the room. I turned my attention the far right grate as they came pouring out of there. I fired another shot as a nosalis crawled out, the bullet entered from its side tearing through it lungs. Another one followed out right behind it. The recoil from each shot was like take a sharp buck into the jaw. I couldn't bring the gun down fast enough to stop it from entering the room. I fired again as it crouched down to land, the shot missed leaving a hole in the concrete wall. The creature recovering from it's fall got up and charged at me. This time I had a clear shot, I aimed little low and fired twice. Both shots seemed to hit its mark this time as creature somersaulted forwards, then stopped moving. Keeping track of my shots, I taped the revolver with my hoof knocking the chamber out. With a practiced motion I lifted my head up letting the spent rounds fall while reaching into my ammo pouch pulling out a fresh moon clip of .44's. I slid the round clip in and cocked my head to the side slamming the chamber back in. The process only took a few seconds but already two more monsters came out the vent I was targeting. As I took aim an empty clicking sound came from my father's gun next to me. As father began reloading, I inched closer to him and refocused on scanning the room for what monsters were coming towards us instead. I did feel a small pang of guilt leaving the horde to Hunter but her twin cannons seemed to fire endlessly. Still it was apparent the monsters were able to get closer to her with her fire and attention now split three ways. Three of the creature's must have sensed weakness as they broke off their headlong charge into Hunter's fire. Two of them stood up on their hind legs charging at me with their front claws outstretched, with the other was hunched low on all fours trying to circle me. I fired twice at the closer standing nosalis, it having gained the most of my attention. The first round tore through its side, causing it to stagger just before the second round tore a gaping wound in its gut dropping it. The other charging monster got within two strides of me before I switched my aim to it. I pointed my revolver at the center mass of the creature before firing. The beast clutched it chest falling forwards into a clumsy somersault towards me. As I side stepped the tumbling monster the third monster made its move. It pounced up at me, intent on closing the distance in a single leap. I only spotted the beast in its mid arc. Before I even had time to react, a three round burst sounded next to me and I felt the a gush of air across my back as the bullets flew past me. The burst caught the monster in its flight, thankfully changing its direction slightly as it crumpled beside me. I glanced briefly at my father as he once again held his assault rifle aiming at our invaders. Then I glanced over at Hunter. The horde of nosalis was thinning out. No longer were they flooding in one after another through the vents. The noises from the station platform was being replaced more with shouts then gunfire. The bad news was our distraction allowed the remaining monsters to close in on Hunter. Another nosalis leap up directly at her. She also shot it in mid flight but her heavy caliber ripped the creature open, showering her in spray of blood and gore. She was forced to close her eyes and fire blindly. Another monster leaped at her but this time it made on top her. I felt a moment of panic. I've scene what these creatures can do to a zebra. They could easily tear and claw off limbs, not to mention the amount of flesh they can bite off in a single snap. Despite having a creature larger then herself land on her, Hunter didn't seem to get knocked back in the slightest. She bucked before the nosalis could find any purchase with it's claws or teeth. The creature rolled forwards off, limbs flailing about as Hunter snapped open her eyes. She fired a few more shots at the last beast as the one that tried to ride her was in the process of rolling back onto its feet. With calculated precision, Hunter reared up before bringing her front hooves down on the beast. Her landing was meet with a wet crunch. She didn't stop with that, she repeatedly in an alternating fashion bringing up her front hooves as if trotting on the creature. Each time she brought a single hoof down it either made a squish or crunch sound. I watched the display in shock, never having seen either such brutality or a zebra killing a nosalis bare-hooved. I scanned the room once more before holstering my revolver. I with the imminent danger over, I finally noticed I was breathing hard and fast. I gulped down hard trying to control my breathing as I rode down the adrenaline rush I didn’t realize I was having. Father holstered his rifle before asking me with great concern, “Khon, are you alright?” I nodded as Hunter answered for me, “Course he is, hes got good sense and a dead eye shot.” With that she calmly knelt beside a nosalis before commenting, “Well no dark ones here, just your regular tunnel trash.” My father started the breath heavily, I looked at him to see he was sitting and shaking. “You don't understand. Our doctor called them Novus Equidae, the next logical step in equine evolution.” his voice betrayed a slightly paranoid sense of urgency as continued, “they've must have driven the nosalis here!” I felt afraid for him as this was the first time father ever said something like this. Before I could say or do anything two of our border guards made their way inside the locker room. They looked over the scene of carnage, the floor littered with nosalis carcases, and finally at us. Their welding mask must have hid their shocked expressions as there seemed to be a long pause before one of them spoke up in a familiar voice, “Sukhoi, sir..Khon...you guys alright?” Father nodded his head recomposing himself, “Yes...we're fine any casualties?” The other guard started speaking as it trotted over to them, “nothing serious yet from what we saw.” Father interjected, “All right, you,” he said to the guards before continuing, “and Hunter with me, Khon and Zolani you help clean this mess.” Then he knocked on the clinic door, “all clear.” As the shower room door opened, he quickly scanned to see if everyone inside where alright. Before turning to leave he patted me on the shoulder mumbling, “you did well, we will speak later.” I watcher the three leave, Hunter gave me a quick wink before disappearing into the station. As the able zebras wandered into the locker room Zolani quickly organized them, “Okay we gonna drag bodies onto a central platform, we're gonna have assembled a cart shortly, anyone who has small children should leave now and head to the basement level and wait with the others.” I nodded as most of them left carefully avoiding stepping on the bodies. The rest simply started dragging bodies working in pairs. I also grabbed a dead nosalis putting a hoof under its shoulder and pulling. Zolani helped me, grabbing the other side of beast as we dragged it out onto the station. “Nicely done,” I complimented. “Me?” he replied before stating, “what was that back there, looks like over twenty, how are you alive?” “Hunter,” I answered, “Spartans...they're something else, like death incarnate.” Zolani nodded, “so, do you think she can help us?” I didn't know, so I answered him with a shrug. As we made our way out to the station platform I saw pile of nosalis corpses being piled onto a hoof cranked rail car. Quite a few tents had been knocked over and the stench of gunpowder and monster remains filled the air. It was obviously gonna be a long day of cleaning up this mess. As I shared this observation with him he tried finding the light in tunnel saying, “well I guess our shift at the factory is cancelled.” That didn't cheer me up, “no instead we are doing unpaid work, besides I had to use a clip and half to defend myself.” He seemed to get the message, “oh ya, those .44 rounds are expensive.” Standing next to the hoof-car we both grunted as we heaved the carcass onto the car. Dead bodies, even mutant ones were useful. Animal fats can be made into candles, or used in numerous alchemical potions, sinew and muscles for ropes and fibers. But our large over stock of soon to be rotting carcasses will mostly be taken one kilometer down the second tunnel by some very brave volunteers, covered in oil made from nosalis fat and burned on mass. Turning back to fetch more waste carcass I jabbed at Zolani, “so about my spent bullets, what happened how did they get into the station.” He sighed softly, “Well they didn't sneak past us if that was your asking. The scouts noticed them and retreated to the Seven hundred meter barricade. You know the drill, the nosalis were noisy and tripped every alarm, we knew they were coming. Got ready for them...and well.” he paused as we grabbed another carcass to drag back. “They climbed into a vent somewhere between eight fifty and nine hundred.” I gasped, “we had something leading right into the station open...this whole time!” He shrugged, “yes and no, it was sealed long ago, i don't know if it rusted or they tore through it but ya we noticed something was wrong when we could hear them and they not coming at us...so after a few minutes me and a few went past the barricade and started shooting them when we saw them.” Now it was my turn to sigh, “you ran past the barricade into a pack of nosalis, you know what mom will do to you if she hears that!” She was biologically his mother not mine. When father came into the station with me as an infant foal, first thing he did after basic organization of the new inhabitants was find a mare still nursing. Zolani’s mother was in the process of weaning him being a few months older than me. She nursed me till I could eat solid vegetation. We bonded during that time treating she me as a second son. Zolani brushed my comment off with wave of his hoof, “hey you should be thankful think of how many more you'd have to fight if we didn't...sides it was weird they didn't attack us, they simply pushed past their dead and worked their way into the vents.” I agreed with him, nosalis normally attacked mindlessly at what ever was closest. My father's outburst came back to me, I recalled how the beasts seemed focused on Hunter. Could the Dark ones really have that power, and if they did...were they targeting her? My mind started to conjure up more paranoid ideas. I finally stopped myself when I began to wonder if they were listening to my thoughts right now. I threw myself at the work before us trying to drown my thoughts. Father and Hunter had been the first ones to volunteer. Moving that hoof-car back and forth down the second tunnel, disposing of the bodies. I spent the rest of the day mopping and scrubbing walls while families tried setting back up their knocked over tent homes. It was important not just for moral among the residents to clean and fix up the station, but to present ourselves to traders from other stations. We all knew rumor of this attack with spread, and that would hurt trade. After about ten hours, right around the time I would have ended my shift at the tea factory. I finished helping a family patch up their tent. Exhausted I proceeded home hoping none of the monsters or a stray bullet smashed any of the irreplaceable glass windows. As I approached the manager's office, I was pleased to see nothing damaged from the outside and a light was on. I casually walked in, opening my mouth to greet father when I stopped myself surprised to see mare sitting behind his desk with her front hooves crossed. I was somewhat embarrassed with myself for not immediately recognizing hunter. I mean how many other maneless, yellow eyed Zebra's did I know. She wasn't wearing her barding, given how she wasn't covered in gore anymore I'd assume it was being washed. It was first time seeing her outside of her barding, and while she only ever shortly visited once every few years I saw why. Her bulky frame wasn't overly due to her armor. Different parts of her body were bulging while others appeared normal. It must have been due to mutagens or steroids. I should have been less surprised, it was a common rumor that Civitatem Spartans, or rather the former military elite had been given all sorts of enhancers and potions. That and Hunters feline eyes were a dead giveaway of the unnatural alterations. Now that I was really looking at her, I noticed her ears too seemed larger, and more erect some how. If Hunter noticed or was bothered by my staring she didn't show it, “Come here,” she asked me. I slowly trotted over to her, as I past by the desk i finally saw her glyph mark for the first time. It was the mark of her name a hunter. The hunter, a stalker, a killer. Standing in front of her she placed a hoof under my muzzle directing me to face her. I flinched slightly avoiding her eyes before she instructed me, “look me in the eye.” She looked deeply at me, searching as her eyes seemed to narrow. After a moment she released me. “what was that?” I demanded. She paused looking up before speaking, “In your eyes, I see great fear, and your right to be afraid, but I also see a strong will to fight. You're the only one I've seen so far who has fought a dark one, and still shines with life.” I was taken back, “what do you mean, not everyone who shot at them are sick loads of...I mean father’s still...” I retorted before she cut me off. “No, he lives as so do the others...but in their eyes, in their every souls I can see them defeated,” she stated flatly. “Are they alright?” I asked my voice betraying some panic. She considered what to say before replying, “He and every other survivor I've talked to are physically well, I do not believe they will have the same fate as those in your clinic. But I've scene things, broken people. It's like that yet different. I've known your guardian for a long time, served with him. We fought at Zompeii...shatter-hoof.” I gave her a shrug. I read in old history books, Zompeii was an ancient zebra settlement that was destroyed by a volcano, buried in ash. I think it was later called shatter hoof ridge by the Equestrians but I had to make that connection mentally from two different book sources. “Father doesn't speak of the great war. It hurts him to recall it,” I replied. Hunter seems to respectively nod, “well him and I once took part in a horrible battle their. The enemy held the high ground and were receiving pegasi reinforcements. We were ordered to knowingly send our comrades out into a killing field, trying to climb that damned hill. I learned to what defeat looked like day, how to see it in ones eyes. Sukhoi held strong, at least in looking the part, but in his eyes, in all of them...” she trailed off. I sat listening, both excited to learn more about fathers battles in the war first hand, and guilty to learn it behind from behind his back. However were she trailed off lead to an obvious question, “so, and now you see?” “It's not quite defeat, more like will to fight has been drained,” she said hesitantly before quickly adding, “he and the others look...not dangerously so...but afflicted after their encounter with these dark ones...and you are not.” There was long pause before she pressed, “it's very important, I need to know everything about the dark ones, any detail no matter how small.” I took a step back and looked away before saying in a small voice, “what did father...what did he tell you about how I earned my glyph mark?” She smiled, “ well he said you and two other foals dared each other to go to the surface. Yours showed up once you got out, and then to celebrate once you got back...he thrashed your rump good and hard before throwing small celebration.” I blushed, that was the only time father spanked me. “Ya, I had screwed up. It was Zolani, and a late friend of our named Helexis. She died of cancer a over two months ago. She was a few years older than us and always talked about the surface, mostly of what she remembered about a park. I was huge indoor garden, not far from here. Her mother was some sort of a worker there so she claimed to know her way around the abandoned station. So one day Zolani, dared Helexis to show us the garden. We borrowed gas masks, Helexis had taken her father's shotgun and we snuck by the border patrol. This was before nosalis invaded the metro,” I added as hunter shook her head at me. I continued, “The flooding there wasn’t so bad back then, some zebras still came there to salvage anything they could. However parts of the station the water was too deep, but we found a service entrance that lead to the upper level of the station, past the sealed airlocks. From there we made our way up some stairs before we came up to a barred gate. After coming so far and being so close, Helexis used her shotgun to break a bar. After some bending we were able to fit through.” Hunter guffaw, muttering something about delinquent children. “After that we came out into in large dome. All the glass had melted, turning black and molding along the metal frame, she said it looked like the buildings skeleton. We were completely exposed outside, but thankfully it was night. We were disappointed as we couldn’t see anything growing here, but I we had something else to look at. The room had I thinking is called Stalagmite...ya shiny almost organic like stalagmite all over the place that even covered the floor. We were about to start exploring when...” Hunter leaned forwards listening intently, “go on,” she encouraged. “We felt like something was there...we called out, and then we felt it.” “Felt what?” “I can’t remember,” I said then quickly added, “we were afraid and ran back down, we didn’t see anything, Helexis even dropped her gun. We didn’t notice anything different with us until we got back into the metro.” “Us,” Hunter pointed out, “you mean different with all three of you?” I nodded, “Helexis had been a hopeless blank flank, Zolani and I had been really young to get our marks. Only...we all had the same mark.” I said looking down at my own glyph mark. The mark represent the link, a connection, a bridge. I never liked my glyph, I've never shown any aptitude or desire for shamanism, or engineering. I felt my communication skills were poor, as I felt nervous at large gatherings. My glyph mark kinda felt shallow, I was too young at the time to really desire one when I got it and it served to reminder of when I disobeyed father. “Well that is...unheard of, have you told any one of this recently?” she asked. I shook my head, “Zolani, never spook of it again, and when I reminded father he said that this happened so many years ago and couldn't possibly be related. Then he told me not repeat it to anyone as people could get wrong idea.” She nodded before saying, “He's probably right, though I now I'd like to see Zolani.” I responded, “Well if you want to test your theory he never shot at the dark ones, was a scout at the first tunnel, didn't make it in time.” “Pity,” she sighed before asking, “so did you lock or have any method of securing any doors along this service path you took?” I froze feeling an icy chill run through my body. 'Did I?' I asked myself. It was so many years ago, I was terrified at the time racing back down into the metro. We closed an airlock door behind us. I remember that, the door was heavy, and the circular handle difficult to move we worked together. We mustn't let the poisoned air into the metro, but did we pull down the small latch on the side to lock the door. “I...think...so,” I said so unconvincingly that I felt myself wince, I added, “but since then the whole station has flooded with radioactive water.” Hunter said in a very even voice, “Some how I doubt a little radiation would bother a mutant freak.” There was a long awkward pause before she let me in on her plan, “alright I'll head to this garden station and check it out now that I won't be aimlessly wandering your cursed tunnel, and if my suspicion is right you've done more than just endanger yourself on your foolish surface tour.” I held my head low. I could feel myself burning up with shame, it hurt to have Hunter sound disappointed with me. Then I began considering if my actions had been what exposed my station to the dark ones in the first place. A strong hoof bonked me on the head, “Hey, I just said I'm going to take a look, see if I can throw them a roadblock or two if that’s where they are coming through. Falling apart over something you have done as a colt isn’t going to accomplish anything.” I felt myself calm down as she said this. “However in worst case scenario, if you feel guilty this is what can be done about it.” She lifted and took off her chain necklace before handing it to me. I looked at the tag, it read: Immune Hunter Blood type: Qa- 2F3A8D4C The back of the tag had three golden lines connected at the end forming a triangle. Hunter carefully instructed, “If I do not return in three days, it's imperative that you take this tag to the Civitatem, to a spartan by the name of Legate Mudads. Tell her everything that about the dark ones...and that I failed,” I wanted to say something, ask her what she meant by failed but she silenced me with a wave of her hoof. “If you show this tag to any one of the order they will help you but tell them you need to be taken to Mudads, can you do this?” 'Can you do this?' I thought. Could I abandon my station and wander through the metro system on my own. I escorted Hunter past the six hundred meter post after we picked up her cleaned barding. I turned to trot back home after watching Hunter disappear down the second tunnel. As I entered the office room I found father this time sitting, waiting for me. I was about to start telling him what happened between me and Hunter when he waved a hoof saying, “I know you two spoke, whatever it was, was between you two.” I fell silent looking down at me hooves, before he continued, “I'm tired, let's get some rest.” I nodded taking the hint as I moved into my room. I lied down on my bed and looked up at the postcard of ponyville. Footnote: You have selected Ranger Hardcore mode, in this mode you will have no HUD assistance. You are quite fragile as one hit could very well kill you. Your chance of survival is minimal. All scavenged ammo will be in reduced amounts as well as with found filters, they will be partly used. However all damage dealt will do three times as much damage. Current Ammo: Military grade rounds : 49 Revolver rounds : 9 P.S. This story is inspired by the works of Fallout Equestria by Kkat (link) and Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (link). All intellectual property of “My Little Pony” and “Metro 2033” respectively belong to Hasbro, 4A games, Deep Silver and respective owners. Author's Note Still looking for any Editors looking to proof read future (and past) chapters. I can say that it would definitely increase my upload speed :D
ChaseChase “Free at last, this should be fun...or dangerous, even better right?” the inexperienced I stood in the middle of the station surrounded by every zebra I have ever meet. They were all loudly and quickly talking to each other. The effect was downing each other out in a choir of babbling. Yet somehow I was being left out, no one paid any attention to me. Father was next to me talking to Hunter. I tried reaching out to him to get his attention, be he paid no attention to me. Words failed me as I tried to speak. It filled me with frustration that rose and rose climbing ever higher. When I couldn’t handle it anymore I opened my mouth and let out a screamed. My frustration made manifest. The room was silent, and everyone looked at me with terror. I woke up with a gasp flinging my hooves, almost rolling out of my cot. It took a few moments for my breathing came down. When it was finally low enough to hear over the pounding of blood in my ears. I was able to make out the soft rustling of another restless dreamer in the next room. I got up and reached for a lighter and candle. Being practiced in the dark, it only took me a moment to get the candle lit. Walking into my father's room with the feeble light, I found him sleeping on his couch bed. He tossing about so much he’d kicked off his blanket. Mumbling softly, I swore I heard him mutter a name or two before endlessly repeating no. I figured he was dreaming about the war again. It surprised me, he hasn’t had them that much since I was foal. Guess it was just another sign of the stress was getting to him. I was careful in waking him, with a soft nudge on his shoulder. He woke with watery eyes, reaching out at me, “Khon...is that you?” “Ya…you okay?” I asked “Ya,” he replied turning away trying to bury himself in that couch. As I reached for his blanket I cautiously asked him, “do you want to talk about it?” “No,” he said in very quiet voice, “just go back to bed.” I covered him with the blanket and trotted quietly back to my room. Throwing myself back into my bed I left my candle lit wanting to look at my post cards. Day dreaming about sunny exotic places was always preferable over the dark places dreams were made of. The day after Hunter left a new envoy of traders from Riga, our closest neighbor came to our station. That only made me feel even more uneasy, having a whole bunch of strangers out on our station platform. I didn’t like the foreign traders all that much. I understood we depended on trade. It was much easier to have them come here to buy our tea, rather than us send out a caravan of our own out. If only my feelings would be so rational. With regular envoys moving back and forth, a steady stream of merchants from beyond our rail line came pouring in. We were taking advantage of the frequent travelers, with so many buying our stock at once we were able to charge higher prices. Out of disaster, we found a bit of opportunity. It was also the perfect opportunity to hear rumors of the outside. I skipped a few meals and used my food to bribe merchants for advice on how to get to the Civitatem. Noticing how uncharacteristically friendly I’d been with the foreigners, Zolani took it upon himself to introducing me more mare merchants. The jerk thought I fishing for mates outside our little community. However he did introduce me to a merchant, Karish was her name. She was going to be making regular trips back and forth through Riga to the Guild ring over the next few days. I offered to work for her, help pump her hoof-car past Riga and Zolani wanted to join too. We negotiated for a few bullets as pay. With a ride and excuse ready I was able to secure a passport. Had to spend a few bullets to get a photo of me. Then got them developed on to a nice printed document showing how I was of the Exhibition station. All merchants assured me I wouldn’t get anywhere without one. Spent the next three days between trying to preparing for a journey. All the while hoping I wouldn’t actually have to go. I spent the third day anxious with no sign of Hunter having returned. Out of growing desperation with hunter’s own imposed deadline looming I volunteered to watch the six hundredth mark. That once easy and relatively safe duty had fallen on a lottery of who draws the shortest straw. One of the unlucky draws were only too ready to trade their post, he even paid me a bullet for it. Then Zolani copied me and swapped for sixth hundred post. After hearing both of us were next up our mother insisted on coming with us. Zolani told me prayed for the both of us that she didn’t find out we volunteered. Honestly I was pretty glad to be able to possibly spend my last day at the station with the zebra’s I care most for. I visited to our local stations armory to gear up for the shift. It was one of the rooms below the station platform, next to where the geothermal generators lay. The armory was really a former detention room for travelers that thought they could skip on the fare. So naturally the locked holding area was perfect for storing weapons. The room was a bit noisy though as electrical tools worked on all manner of things. I only need to show the short straw I was paid to take to the mare working there. She gave me a leather jacket and a plastic miners helmet. The helmet had a little flashlight attached to the front. The battery was inside the helmet on the back with some ugly but, with a generously lengthed wire that lead to a hoof cranked charger. I cranked it a few time to make sure that battery was charged. Then a gun to augment my own pistol. The infamous Bastard gun. A Frankenstein creation of still working parts of broken or worn out firearms. I knew the trigger and firing mechanisms originated from a kalash, but that was about it. The handle felt like it came from a handgun, and the barrel had water inside it that let out steam as the weapon over-heated as it often did. Yes you had to water the gun. It’s loading was awkward as well. The magazine was stripped naked on the back side facilitating how it loaded into the right side of the gun and the thirty round magazine actually feed through the weapon left to right as you fired it. Nothing was worse than having to pull the magazine though when only half used. Oh even watering it still didn’t preventing it from overheating, and soon as it does it’ll jam like hell. To top it off, it had piss poor accuracy even when you weren’t using the metro made ‘dirty bullets.’ What it was good at was putting bullets down range...and doing it very quickly at that. Sides the beauty of using a broken piece of shit was that it really couldn’t get anymore broken. Collecting the equipment and two magazines of dirty bullets, I had to race back up to the platform to join the group leaving north of the station. There were four of us, trotting up to the two hundred mark. It was busy at the barricade. Bricks were being laid down with mortar and the beginnings of overhead scaffolding where being set up. The scaffolding was high enough another line of zebra could lie prone and fire from it. As we approached they gave us an all clear, letting us pass. After that we had our weapons out and read till we reached the six hundred mark. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding when I saw the four posted there were still alive and well. As we arrived to the the six hundred mark I noted it had some major upgrades. A crude wall of bricks had been set up. Standing at chest height shielding most of a zebra while letting them freely shoot. The other side had a patch work sharpened metal rebar sticking out discouraging any charging creature. A nicer fire pit had been dug out. I definitely appreciated that. Though no sooner then after we relieved the current guards did Zolani started yammering. “What a load of shit eh?” Zolani asked. With so many foreigners moving about we were able to gleam small bits of news from around the metro, like the banning of Zolani’s favorite recreational herb. “I’m not that bothered by it. I mean I don’t see the point in the Guild banning hookah, but I’ll agree that’s dumb,” I honestly replied. Our mother added, “well maybe now you’ll finally be able to save up some bullets.” He snapped back, “what you said once you did hookah all the time.” Now our mother, Larentia was what she called herself a learned and proper mare. She had taught myself and all the other younger zebras here our three R's. Naturally she was very good at dealing with self entitled little colts who talked back. “We had seconds to respond,” she snapped back. “Young, frightened stallions much like yourself radio in trying to hit fliers out of the skies with eighty-eight cannons. Or moving ships trying to hit moving vehicles half a mile away. We had to do all the calculations and if we were a little bit off or too slow. They didn’t radio back, so yes I needed something you help with the stress.” She carefully avoided continuing how not long after that targeting talismans took that job over. When she moved to less do or die support role within the army, how she continued to use that forum of recreation. She followed with, “so now what’s so stressful in your life eh?” Zolani shrugged before pointing a hoof at the tunnel behind him. Dismissing her rebuttal, trying to sound smarter than he was, “you don’t get it, it’s all about power. They are starting with our recreation, what’s next?!” as continued to get louder and more fervent, “they are proving they can control even stations that aren’t under their government, next...” “Oh shut up,” the zebra next to him said joining our little family conversation. “With your blathering you’ll bring every blasted dark one down on us, and maybe a few nosalis to complete the mess.” Zolani sat down looking sullen. He didn’t stay quiet for long though. He smugly asked the Zebra, “Acca they can’t be serious, I mean they can’t actually stop merchants from carrying it through their stations can they?” Acca was an older zebra, I used to pester her a lot growing up about surface homes. She used to work as a mason, she could go into great detail of different type of buildings and how they were built, even explained to me parts of the inside of the pro-consuls manor. On occasion she made trips to the guild for her expertise on salvaged building materials when the station needed some for repairs. She sighed before answering Zolani, “last time I had gone down to market station was about a year ago. They had so much traffic, all backed up to hell with new security procedures. Passports weren’t enough anymore, had to fill out new documentation papers, reasons for being there etcetera. After filling them out, and letting me into the market area. Took forever getting in, and my half wit supplier had left my bricks piled up inside their residential area. So the merchant brings me out there then leaves me to count them out and stack on my cart. Some guard or their excuse for a police stops by demands my passport, then that bastard asked for documents showing clearance to be in the residential area.” She paused when Zolani piped up, “so wasn’t it obvious what you were doing, he could’ve just asked the merchant who sold you that shit.” “Eeyup,” Acca replied, “explained that to him, asked him to fetch the merchant or the self evidence of what I was doing. Instead the fanatic started harping on, ‘why isn’t he with you’ or ‘your not aloud outside the market area’ then started accusing me of being a spy. Before I knew what to do guild soldiers started surrounding me with on of their own practically foaming at the mouth how a spy snuck in. They were right about ready to drag me out of the station and have me shot, when the merchant I was working with came back. A few bribes later, he got me out only having my bullets ripped off and half the shit I paid for. With the rampant paranoia that’s been growing among them it’s a small wonder they can get any trading done.” Undeterred Zolani muttered how he’d ‘undermine them’ swearing to work up enough to buy a UV light and start a grow-op. The three of us didn’t have the heart to inform him of all the technical problems with that or the absolute fortune a working UV lighting set is worth. We spent the next hours of our watch tending to the feeble little embers that was our fire. Acca produced a small brass kettle and we proceeded to make small pot of exhibition tea. Next we proceeded with the arduous task of drinking that tar like substance. We had a saying, ‘How could we ever expect to sell this if we don’t at least drink it ourselves!’ As the end of our watch neared I grew more anxious. I really didn’t want to accept that Hunter had calmly trotted to her death. I kept on imagining her sneaking up and sitting next to us covered in the ichor and gore of the dark ones. Surprising us as a joke proclaiming the monsters are no more. I kept turning to watch the tunnel, the soft light of embers killed my night vision but that didn’t matter. The tunnels between stations were true dark, even night vision goggles would not serve you. The only warning we’d have would be sound of cans on strings being tripped or the crunch of crushed plaster and glass being stepped on. With Hunter’s imposed deadline looming, I was losing hope of her survival. That and her final task I’d have to carry out. No she wasn’t dead she couldn’t be, this was normal I reminded myself. She’d appear and disappear and come back months or a year later, that’s how it has always been. The Spartans were a force of death, immune to it themselves. No matter how bad the infestation be it bandits or mutants they always succeeded in purging it. You couldn’t even escape them on the surface, because they reigned supreme there, and she was best Spartan. Okay she was the only one I ever met, but other zebra’s swore she was the best. I had to accept that while it was unlikely she was dead, she gave me a job that I’d have to do. With myself brooding over these facts and Zolani finally quieted, the quiet stillness of the metro sharpened our hearing. The single sound of a metal can being knocked over some distance from us, alerted us four. We froze for a moment before we wordless slung over our firearms and took them into our mouth grips. We all stood there with our guns ready flicking our headlights on illuminating the dark tunnel. I had to squint my eyes for a few moments just seeing white light was enough to make me feel discomfort. “There!” Acca gestured in front of her. I tensed ready to shoot. I couldn’t see it at first but then I spotted little furry creature darted across the spot of light. “Don’t shoot!” Zolani cried before like a moron running in front of us chasing after the creature. “Mhp-yol-wani,” I mumbled mouth full of gun, before spitting it out to shout at him, “dammit Zolani stop!” Mother screamed at him, “get back here you little-” some sort of obscenity I’m not sure how to pronounce. Apparently it was some sort of depraved and uncomfortable equestrian sex act. “Don’t shoot!” he cried again, I could only see the soft light of his headlight bouncing around in the darkness. We heard some high pitch whining as he came back into our lights. A small white furred creature stood up on his back trying desperately to lick his face. I squinted my eyes still trying to adjust, “Is that,” I started to asked. “A puppy!” He beamed with childlike glee. “Oh no,” mother started, “no that thing probably has worms don’t let it anywhere near your snout.” “Hush,” he soothed, “he doesn’t have worms he’s too friendly. No doubt he grew up under the care of equines.” Acca light beamed down the tunnel, “Only one kind of equine that way,” she said. We all stopped to stare at the creature. I looked back at us with it’s tongue hanging out and head cocked slightly to the side. With a heavy sigh Zolani set the animal down. The animal twirled around and ran laps around his hooves. “Sorry buddy, you’ve got to go” he mumbled trying to shove the animal back. The animal ignored him opting to wander closer to us. Mother fired a single shot from her own bastard rifle into the tunnel ceiling. The dog ran back north with a sharp yelp. After that we all sat sullen and somber, for the rest of our shift. Four zebra showed up right on time to relieved us. Same as before guns out till we reached the two hundred meter mark. Once we reached the station I could see my soon to be merchant Employer waiting on the platform. She looked at me and Zolani expectantly. “Well be an hour,” I hastily shouted to her. Mother raised an eyebrow at me. “She um hired me Zolani...to help pump her hoof-car to Riga, didn’t he tell you?” He obviously didn’t as mother turned to him. He was flabbergasted stammering ah's and um’s. That worked for me as lept onto the station platform. A quick trot down to the armory to let them know I was keeping my gear. The answer I got was “what ever you sell/loose it you’ll have to pay it back.” Satisfied I head back up to my room to grab my supplies. As I approached the office though I could see the light was on inside through the close curtains. Not sure if father had company or not I soft knocked on the door. I heard a “come in.” Walking in a found me father sitting with all four hooves on his couch, “sit” he softly instructed me tapping with his hoof beside him. I sat on the other end leaving a space between us. “So...I take it you're leaving now then eh?” he said looking at me barding and gun slung across my shoulder. I only nodded. “I...I’m sorry” he said with a heavy sigh. He raised a hoof to stop me from contradicting, “I was part of the problem, I was so stupid and ignorant when I was young. I volunteered for the legion before the war. I remember being so scared that I was going to miss my chance at glory and simply be a peacetime soldier. Thanks to the propaganda we didn’t think Equestria would last more than three months. I served nineteen years before being discharged, I was expecting the world to end at that point.” He looked me directly in the eyes, “I wasn’t expecting you, or any of this. Back then was a miserable time, I had lost almost everyone I ever knew. We were not wrong to resist Equestria but, I had taken part in many things that were wrong. Since then I’ve a life of incredible piece. You’ve given me piece, and I...I stole you from your real mother.” We were quiet for a bit, I knew most of this, though most if from mother or other people. First time father had admitted his thoughts on the war or his actions in though. He was looking more visibly shaken after saying this. I reached out to him, putting a hoof on his shoulder, “you rescued me, I like my life here and I think of you, Larentia and Zolani as my real family. Exhibition is my home, and I’ll fight for it.” He let out a sad chuckle, “I’d come with you but, I wouldn’t be welcome inside the Civitatem, in fact I’d cause problems.” I figured now was the best time to press for answers as I leaned in asked, “Why, what happened?” He hesitated taking a few moments, before saying, “It’ll be important, not to tell people that you know me or are close to me, in fact don’t talk about me. During the Equestria blitz, we lay siege on Hoofington. It was going badly, I-we lost…. I had to call a retreat...it ended in a rout. Zebra’s like Hunter thought it was a good call, but it was controversial.” “Hunter said something about shattered hoof ridge...” I started before he cut off. “I doubt she told you anything, the Equestrian’s...they did something to us...I can’t talk about it,” he trailing off. He withdrew into himself lost in dark thoughts. I decided to leave him be, getting up and heading to my room. I had prepacked everything, pressed and dried food rations, extra canteens, a gas mask with a spare filter, a first aid kit, and some rat traps and all my ammo. I debated about bringing a tent but thought better of it. Opting to simply pack a bed roll. I figured better to leave my post cards here, something to look forwards to when a I got back. Magazines of gardening, home making and furniture I reasoned could be read-admired while in stations and sold if need be, so I self justified bringing them. All together my saddle wasn’t too heavy or bulky. As I exited my room back into the office father stopped me. He wrapped a leg around my neck in a awkward hug. It became less so when I returned it. “Take care of yourself, and if anyone threatens you...shoot first,” he said full sincerity, “there would be no point to any this if I lost you.” “Yah,” I said as we broke apart, “I’ll take care of myself, and I’ll shoot straight if I have to.” With that I left. I headed straight to the rail off station platform to my employer. I found her with a large zebra stallion. He wore a leather collar and was loading large heavy bundles that held our tea in them. She held more than that though in carts attached to the front and back of her hoof-car I could also see lots of pots of ceramic that I guess held oil made from nosalis fats. She also had a cage with a small drab song bird in it, I understood immediately. If the bird randomly falls over dead, the air was bad. Ergo get your gas mask on. Zolani was there arguing with mother, it seemed like she was trying to force home to accept somethings. Karish greeted me with a smile and wave, “ready to go, were almost loaded up here.” I nodded. The stallion with the leather collar looked up to me, “I’d finish faster with your help.” He was bigger than me but they way he looked and talked made me think we was younger then I. Karish shot him a look, “not his job slave.” He shrugged and picked up the large bag with his teeth tossing it onto the cart. That was a bit awkward, she’s not the first merchant I’ve scene with a slave or bonded servant before, but never talked to one before wasn’t sure what to say to him. He didn’t have marks or bruises on him so I assumed he must be under circumstantial issues, either way I planned to avoid him. I caught onto the argument as I approached Zolani and mother. “Take it dammit, I don’t eat that much and what am i going to spend these on,” she forcefully tried pushing rations and a purse of bullets on him. He resisted equally as much, “I’m fine, I can take care of myself, I don’t need-.” She switched targets galloping at me. Before I could offer any resistance she grabbed one of my bags and dumped what I was sure her entire supply of rations. I froze while she emptied her purse of bullets. “No no,” I insisted say, “you need some for yourself!” “I’m going to be so worried over you two i doubt I’ll be able to eat anything over the next few days,” she rebutted, “and I really didn’t appreciate you both dumping this on me last minute!” She wield guilt against me. I hung my head as she forcefully shut and tied my saddle bag closed, ending the debate. Zolani sighed defeated as well. During our spat Karish’s slave finished loading the carts. With that she hopped on the hoof-car, with her slave copying her. Mother trotted back over to Zolani giving him a tight hug, “Khon is in charge okay?” He started to whine but she insisted, “okay?” She let him go once nodded. She turned to embrace me as well. When she did she whispered into my ear, “take this opportunity, and don’t come back.” Surprised I tried to pull away but she wouldn’t let go. “Find a job and don’t come back here, not till it’s safe. I buried a husband once, I will not bury my sons.” With that she let me go, “I told Zolani the same thing.” I glanced at him and realized he was looking angry and hurt. I didn’t know how to feel. This simplified things, but at the same time I wasn’t happy hearing her wanting to send me away. Felt like she wanted to abandon me but it came from her love and desire to protect me. I rationalized this away, I was coming back with the greatest army that still existed. I’d make here safe. I found myself feeling determined as I climbed onto the cart. I waved mother good bye as we all began pumping the cart. Once we built up momentum Zolani and the slave took over letting myself and Karish relax. “We're free at last!” Zolani grunted between pumps, “well most us anyways,” he sheepishly added glancing at stallion in front of him. No one was amused by that comment. I deliberately avoided looking at him the slave. Karish look up at me, “does he bother you?” I shook my head. “Well most of us start out like him, that’s how I got my Guild membership.” “Really?” I was planning on reaching the Civitatem through the Guild ring, figured now was the best time to learn about them. “I was in my teens when I came into metro, had no family and no usable skills. Most other mares like that had whore themselves to survive. I didn’t want to live like that...well not at first, anyways I wandered a bit, tried to join the guild but you need large amounts of bullets and contacts within them to get started. So I sold myself to a merchant. Found out I was better at it them him, netted him some good deals, more than paid for my freedom with some left over, and I knew my way around the business by then,” she ended her story with a note of pride. I turned to the laboring slave, “oh so you're in this to join the guild?” He didn’t answer. Karish let out a chortle, “Fuck no, he hasn’t got the sense or nor wit for this job. Nah he was starving shoveling shit for a living when I bought him. He’s good just doing manual labor and living of the boon of my salesmareship.” I sat back satisfied with that. I guessed his case that was an example of the best life one could have down here if they didn’t come from a great station like ours. Then again I guess it served as a warning for what life could be like for my fellow zebras of our station should it fall. “Ya I can haul a good load around with him but with you two,” she gestured to the cart behind and infront of her, “if this run goes well I might have enough to start an expansion, probably set up shop along the ring.” “Where you going to be selling all this stuff?” I asked. She smiled, “trade secret, tell you what if want in you can sell yourself to me? We could get a contract signed at any guild station.” I was taken back, “no the one time job for pay works for me,” I sheepishly mumbled. “It’s a life, he’ll tell ya I’m fair,” she smirked gesturing to her slave. “So what about you two just looking to make some quick bullets, if your looking to buy something I could get you guys in touch with the right merchant?” Zolani piped up, “some hookah or something to start a grow op with.” She burst into a fit of laughter that was soon replaced by very serious expression, “be honest, do you have any drugs on you, I won’t be mad but you gotta be straight with me. I won’t vouch for either of you.” I shook my head, so did Zolani. I looked at him for a bit then gave him a swift kick in the flank. “Okay, okay!” he cried, “I only got herb on me thou nothing else.” She nodded, “okay just smoke it all before we reach the ring.” Zolani let out a nervous laugh, “we gonna be a problem, kinda brought my whole stash.” “Ah don’t worry I’ll help,” Karish replied with a smirk. “Haha really? Your like the coolest boss,” Zolani replied, then added, “you’ll pay for it right...right?” she stared at him with a raised brow. “Fuck…” he mumbled. We approached and then cleared the two hundredth mark. The zebra’s there recognized us. They cheered and we waved back. Karish commented how the two of us made crossing the checkpoint a breeze. She asked curiously, “so you two are brothers?” guess our moment with mother tipped her off. We nodded, “well you look nothing alike, green eyes and your stripes are all straight I’d assume pure Romani.” she gestured to Zolani, “-and you...can’t place bit of a mix?” I shrugged, Zolani piped up, “nah he’s got a different daddy, but isn’t the resemblance obvious?” He let go of the lever of the pump leaving his poor partner to work alone. He grabbed me by the tail and raised his own butt. I was jerked up for half a second before pulling away, I grabbed the lever and started pumping away my obvious frustration. “Neat, twin glyphs can’t say I see that often...or ever,” Karish commented. “Wait no I mean we both have supple yet firm glutes,” he joked. “Your fucking high aren't you?” I muttered at him. He made a big show of wrapping a hoof around my shoulder stating, “little brother I’m always high on life you should know that,” before taking over pumping the car. While his antics were annoying it did make me feel good, to show and tell any outsider that we were as thick as blood. When reach the seventh hundredth mark a slow moron was crossing the rail line. Despite ample warning from us and his comrades he clumsily tripped and rolled out the way as we came past. That elected a collective laughter for the zebra’s posted there, Zolani mocked him shouting, “don’t lose your head now!” The caged bird didn’t make a noise the entire trip, the creak of the car being the only noise till we approached the thousand meter mark. One of our station guards flagged us down. Hitting the break we squealed to a halt. “The track is wrecked up ahead,” he said, “merchant just pass on the other lane spotted the track has a break on it. No traffic on this line until we or Riga get a crew to repair it. Unless you can move this onto the left track, mind you that will screw traffic heading this way.” That wasn’t possible, the car with everything was way too heavy. Karish seemed calmed, or I guess she’s experienced at dealing with setbacks. “How far down did they say?” “Couple of clicks,” he replied. Karish took some time considering her next move before making her decision, “there’s a service line about half a click down we can take, it’s not well lit and it links into the sewer system so who knows what’s wandering along it…but it has rails and we are on a car and armed so we’ll be fine. If it’s broken down there well fuck it he’ll head back and have to wait for the main line to be repaired.” I didn’t really know anything really beyond this point being the further I’ve ever been from the station. I did however understand that the public metro was only a fraction of what existed compared to alternate routs, service tunnels, underground centers and sewers. Aside from just knowing they existed I was ignorant beyond that. “Alright who’s the better shot?” she asked looking between me and Zolani. Zolani responded “Well I’m better looking, stronger, older but um ya I’m slightly baked at the moment and Khon’s army daddy taught him how to shoot.” “Okay so three of us will work the lever I want to get through there as quickly as possible, Khon you’ll stand and keep your gun out alright?” Karish ordered, “This what I’m paying you lot for.” We released the brake and all worked to rebuild momentum. As we moved past the thousand meter mark the first indication that we were past zebra habitation was more rats. There are always rats but out here they were out in open. Mercifully they scamped along the walls as far from us as they could and avoided our lights. We labored another half a click until we came to the service tunnel. It had none of the emergency lights I was so use to and the tunnel was mucher smaller. We would’ve gone right past it without noticing, luckily Karish knew where to shop. Zolani and I hopped out and worked the switch to move the rail on the line leading into the side tunnel. Wasn’t till after dumping generous amounts of lubricating oil provided by Karish that we were able to move the switch. Karish meanwhile with her slave got the hoof-car on the new line before we switched it back. She started a small debate over switching it back but neither Zolani nor I would budge on it, we feared it could misdirect the repair crew from our station. She put up oil lamps on the side of car making it bright enough to see around the hoof-car. After that she made us all rest for a bit. When ready, like before we all worked to get the hoof-car’s momentum going. Then the three of them worked hard keeping the car at a good speed. I stood up on my hind legs resting my lower belly and front legs against the seat of the car helping me stay standing. My bastard gun hung loosely off my shoulder while I instead held my charger occasionally flexing my fetlock on the handle keeping my headlight overcharged. Took well over a full minute for my eyes to adjust but worth it with the tunnel ahead brightly illuminated. The caged bird began to make it’s presence known as we merged into this tunnel. Not chirping, in fact I was sure at this point it couldn’t for some reason, but it was insistently fluttering in it’s cage. After merging into this tunnel the foreboding wall of darkness gave no clues as to how far the tunnel behind us went. Our new narrow tunnel was clearly neglected. Roots shot through the ceiling, though we may not be that far down. Evident by the increased huffing and puffing coming from the working zebra’s indicated we maybe going up a small incline. Still the pipes running along the walls were all rusted, and rusted through in many places. Thankfully whatever water or fluid they once held was gone, but that had damaged the rail. Not enough for me to see any breaks but the added friction of the rust did us no favors. Our first kilometer was quiet and peaceful nothing but the creaking of the car and the huffing of the laboring of zebras. Maybe it was just the creepiness of the tunnel but I felt really uneasy, I could feel a growing tightness in my chest. My light caught a shadow, no more like a faint still silhouette of an equine in the distance but I couldn’t see who was casting it. As I leaned in to see better Zolani spoke out, “my chest hurts.” We all paused for a moment, “I’m sorry we got to get through here as quickly as possible, if your going to collapse on me trade with-,” Zolani started to refused claiming he wasn’t tired when I spoke-up, “me too I think…” I wasn’t short of breath or in pain but I could definitely now feel something like a tightness in my chest. “Should we get our gas masks on?” the slave asked. “No,” Karish rebutted, “dam bird should get less energetic not more so if that was it, sides the masks would only limit our breathing and tire us out faster, just work harder!” I looked back up, that silhouette was gone, or maybe we passed it. The feeling didn’t go away, instead grew stronger. My earlier thoughts that it was a tightness was wrong, it was more like an unfamiliar sense. I had difficulty interpreting what I was feeling, instincts could only confusingly tell me that something was getting close, gaining on us. Another silhouette was softly illuminated up ahead. “See that? There!” I pointed Karish stood up and leaned forwards, “No…” she said, “You don't have to ask my permission just shoot if you see something!” More and more silhouettes began showing up along the sides of the tunnels. “No, I can’t be the only one seeing this.” “What?” the slave and Karish both said leaning to the side, however when Zolani took a moment to spot pumping and turn around his “oh fuck!” confirmed I wasn’t crazy. Or at least some other zebra shared my hallucinations. I could see one in the middle of the tracks and we were rapidly approaching. This one was different, it was looking at us, aware of us, it reached out to us with a foreleg. Turned back screaming, “stop the cart!” I didn’t bother to listen to Karish as I reached for the brake. She leaned forwards to stop me, her slave gave me a mighty push back. I fell back against the seat of the hoof-car. As I climbed up I was able to look behind us. I saw a white glowing ball of light hovering over the tracks rapidly approaching us. I raised my foreleg to point at it, to give some kind of warning, but as I tried to speak my vision turned red, then black. I must have passed out as I awoke sprawled out on all fours. I immediately noticed I wasn’t on the hoof-car, nor was I in a tunnel. I was in some sort of white foggy, not a room but rather space as I couldn’t see any walls. I could see Zolani, he was sprawled out like I was but motionless. My body was too heavy to lift but I could raise my head. Some some things around me were close enough to make out through the thick fog. Randomly a few black organic looking Stalagmite jetted out from the floor made of the same material. I felt horrified, I knew where I was. I could hear heavy hoof fails beside me as something trotted up beside me. Hunter stood next to me clad in her armor and donning her gas mask looking fierce and deadly. A light trail of smoke rose from her twin cannons. “Get up!” she demanded without looking at me. Without waiting for a reply I heard her bite down on her trigger. Her cannons roared to life repeatedly firing their heavy caliber rounds. She fired a long burst, the contrast of noise was so sharp I could hear the crisp sound of spent rounds clicking on the ground. Suddenly a dark one appeared before her. It raised a foreleg. Without even touching her she flew backward with such force one of the barrels tore itself from her saddle. And with that she was gone from sight. The dark one turned to Zolani examining him. I tried to speak but was unable to. As if sensing my frustration the thing turned from him and approached me. “NO!NO!NO! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!” I repeated the mantra in my mind. It wasn’t touching me but felt it, I didn’t understand, something alien was inside me I could feel it. As the dark one came closer the fog obscured less of it. I could see forever in those onyx orbs for it had for eyes, its muzzle flexed as the vertical slits on the front of it’s muzzle opened and closed. I reached out to me. I heard the cocking a gun before the loud bang. The side of the dark one’s head opened with a spray of black ichor. I awoke back on the hoof-car, a weak yellow beam came from headlight flickering on and off. The light from our lamps had also burned low. I slowly got up trying to take in my surroundings. My head felt foggy. It took all my mental effort to recall what I just saw, and even then I wasn’t sure what I saw. Hunter...I saw her or I had a vision, or was it just some messed up dream. Zolani was lying back in an awkward position but he was groaning and waking up. “Hey where you shooting at something?” he asked as he came to. “No,” I responded as climbed to my hooves. That convinced me it wasn’t just a dream, I wanted to pester him with what he remembered but I figured getting our bearings first was more important. We were surprisingly still moving albeit very slowly. Karish and her slave were both slumped forwards. It seemed like we all just collectively collapsed. As Zolani began trying to rouse the other two I noted our bird was missing, or rather the cage it inhabited was melted and deformed. A pile of smoking ash lay inside it. I cranked my charger, recharging my headlight to get more light. I heard light steps rapidly approaching from behind us. I cranked harder returning my light to a bright beam. At the very edges of the beam I could make out the faint outline of a nosalis. Not just one I found as a scan back and forth, they formed a solid wall of sickly pale and pink flesh behind us. “Oh fuck,” Zolani managed to get out as one let out a roar leading the horde into a charge. We both threw our body on the lever trying to just jump start the hoof car. We were rewarded with a car squealing forwards a little faster. The lever on the other side served to roughly knock the other two backwards finally awakening them. They were obviously groggy and unable to understand our situation. “Wake the fuck up!” Zolani encouraged. The beats were on us. We were starting to get fast enough the creatures hesitated jumping on looking for better handles. One jumped onto the rear cart, taking one step forwards it reached out with a claw and grabbed Karish’s mane. I fumbled for my baster rifled. Confused and dazed she offered no resistance to beast until it had firm hold on her. As it dragged her back, she flung her hooves about uselessly. Her slave only just starting to comprehend what was happening, now started to try and grab her. As they fumbled for each other, she managed to bite down on his leather collar. He however had no handle to get leverage on her. I brought my gun to bear but had no shot take without hitting either of them. The beast simply fell backwards using its weight to drag her with it. The leather color snapped and she too fell back being instantly swarmed by the monsters. Her screams of pain being instantly drowned out but collective squeals and roars of the other nosalis. I had little time to react to that, a nosalis next to me was huffing and puffing away almost parallel to me. I aimed down and bit on the trigger letting out three rounds. The kick from the gun helped me let go of the trigger not wasting any more ammo. Couldn’t tell if I outright killed it nor not, but animal crumbled serving to trip the other monsters behind it. “Pump the car you asshole!” Zolani screamed at the bewildered slave. He nodded his head. Seemed his desire to carry out orders overrode what ever else he was feeling as pumped the hoof-car with all his strength. The effect was immediate as we rocked and lurched forwards. The beasts had to do a full gallop making it difficult for them to climb onto the cart. Although another one had made in onto the rear cart and was trying for the same tactic as the first one. A burst of fire from my gun denied it. It clutched it belly before rolling back knocking back it’s brethren behind it like a bowling ball. “Khon!” my brother screamed ducking forwards. Turned to see a nosalis running parallel next to him nipping at him. He moved far enough out the way I was able to get a clear shot. I had to hold out for a longer burst of fire, the jarring and awkward angle made most of my chaotic fire misses. Thankfully all it was taking was one good hit to make the monsters trip and get tangled up the others, problem was there was so many of them I feared the inevitable. I could see the magazine starting to make it way through my gun. The car rustled as one the creatures jumped onto the cart standing next to the slave. He threw himself to the side trying to give as much space between himself and the monster. Luckily was still trying to adjust and gain firm footing. A burst of lead into its chest made if fall back. With our most productive asset trying to get back into rhythm we clearly lost some precious speed allowing a pair to climb up onto the rear cart. I stood up making sure I wouldn’t shoot the slave and sprayed lead clipping the two. One fell backwards while the other fell forwards. It continued to crawl forwards prompting another burst of lead to it’s body. The magazine was dangerously close to being empty, quickly eyeballing to figured only have four or five rounds still loaded. I didn’t know how we’ll survive reloading. “I see light!” the slave shouted, working with renewed vigor. Far off I could hear the dinging of an alarm bell. “Don’t shoot us! Don’t Shoot!” scream Zolani. Meanwhile a pair of nosalis made there way beside me. I fired at the first one and pulled up, a line of red opened on the first one all the way to the second one. I was greeted by a hollow clicking sound. I popped the magazine out, gripped in my fetlock I roughly jammed it in my saddle swapping it out for another one. As I pulled out a fresh magazine my brother warned as another monster made it to his side. He hand to let go of the level and duck forward to avoid its snapping maw of the. I fumbled missing the hole in the gun trying to shove the magazine in. The monster grabbed a hold of the car and pulled himself in. Getting leverage it climbed over him and went for me. I finally got the magazine to fit into the gun and slammed on it to shove it all the way through. I only need to pull the firing pin and...the monster snapped out and caught my foreleg in its maw mid cock. It’s teeth must have been dulled as it failed to punch through the leather of my barding but it’s jaw had more then enough power behind it to crush my limb. It shook it’s head violently back and forth preventing me from arming my weapon, not like I could hit it the way I was. If fact I didn’t have have the presence of mind to do so, I was completely occupied with worst pain of life. I felt for sure the break was going to snap in half. The nosalis tried pulling back dragging my off the car like they did with Karish. Only this time my brother was able to hold on to me. He was cling to me for dear life and with monster literally sitting on him. It had us both pinned, but unable to escape. A loud bang sounded with a fountain of blood and guts shooting out from the back of the beast. The monster let go of me and tumbled backwards as Zolani shoved it off. I clutched my freed limb as he grinned at me with my revolver in his mouth. I heard and felt another one behind me. I turned to see a nosalis standing on the cart in front with it's claws outstretched. It must have gotten around and then up there while we were distracted. I aimed my bastard gun at it and, click-click-click...oh right it the firing pin wasn’t set. It swiped its front paw at me slamming me full force in face. The gun and helmet prevented its claws from remove my face. The force of it however made it feel like it was going to take my head off anyways. I flew up and over slamming into the wall of the tunnel. My light was out definitely smashed as I landed on the cold hard cement, winded. I took everything to roll to my side and press against the corner of the wall. My instincts for some reason told me it would be more pleasant to torn apart by beasts from the back then the front. As I lay catching my breath huddled to wall, without a light to attract attention. The boom of the .44 revolver and frantic shouting from my brother attracted the horde. I lay there for a second as the main group passed leaving only a trickle yet constant flow of nosalis. Then numerous machine guns began firing off. I decided to make my charge, they sounded like they couldn’t be more than a hundred meters away. I rolled to my hooves and dashed towards the light down the tunnel. Adrenaline fueling my charge and numbed the pain of my limb. The monsters ahead didn’t notice me and collapsed as what ever defenders lay before me cut them down opening a path to salvation for me. “No give him chance, he’s still alive!” I could hear Zolani desperately arguing with who ever was there. I could hear more monsters behind me but I didn’t look back. I was soon able to zebras, and the car was abandoned having cleared there barricade. It was a proper set-up, sandbags piled up on either side of the rail line with sharpened rebar sticking out it and a wooden plank build over top for zebra’s to fire from a prone position. “There he is! RUN!” he shouted to me. I had no intention stopping as I gained on him. Rather than slow down I ran into him with full force, he had set himself to up to catch me. I tackled him as he embraced me soften my landing as we collapsed. “Alright now!” someone shouted. A zebra in a firefighter suit complete with a respirator trotted forwards. He had two large tanks strapped to his back. He stood upright and held a nozzle in his hooves. When he pulled back on the valve I was treated to a fiery spectacle. Flames whooshed down the tunnel consuming everything. He only had the flames go for a few seconds and then stopped them. Most of the creatures were still live, albeit writhing in flames. Still there were more following...whoosh. More piled on rushing past charred corpses and panicked flaming nosalis...whoosh. The last few run towards him...whoosh. Those not dead yet snarled and made high pitched whines...whoosh. In my personal opinion at that moment whoosh seemed like a greatest single response to anything and everything ever. The defenders all at once let out cheers. Zolani and I looked at each other for moment and let out a deep full laughter amazed we survived that. As I untangled myself from him one of the defenders on platform above me chimed, “welcome to Riga.” I mumbled a thanks as I got up. Now that my life wasn’t in immediate danger my leg decided to remind me it was in pain and galloping on it did it no favors. The fire-zebra turned to us and took off his-I mean her mask and glared at us. “Ya bunch of idjits, you're all lucky to be alive, didn’t you know the tunnel is in a foul mood right now, why would you dare cross it now!” she shouted at us. I had no idea what she was on about but Zolani took offense to that and decided to argue with her. I limped away letting him argue with the scary firemare of unsure sanity, that was his choice. As I climbed onto the car I found Karish’s slave sitting beside it looking at total loss with himself. “Hey, you did great there,” I awkwardly tried to compliment him, “I um...you I never got your name?” “Oh,” he replied “Flamma.” I leaned back resting, regaining my breath. I reach out a my good foreleg to him offering a hoof bump, “Thanks Flamma.” Footnote: Quest event perk: Touched by the other side -- You can now trigger additional events when in contact with the other worldly. Hairline fracture right foreleg -1 Agility penalty without pain medications or until healed. Current Ammo: Military grade rounds : 105 ‘Dirty’ 5.45 rounds: 30 Revolver rounds : 5 P.S. This story is inspired by the works of Fallout Equestria by Kkat (link) and Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (link). All intellectual property of “My Little Pony” and “Metro 2033” Author's Note P.P.S. Oh my god, I'm so sorry and ashamed of myself. I don't know why but I couldn't for the life of me write. I got a new job, a good one too. I’ve been feeling really good and self satisfied. Since then I couldn't sit down since then and write. IDk send me nasty flammy emails if do this again and don't write out chapter 3. That's when i get to introduce the best character.
