"Could we have the lights off, please? Lights off please... thank you." Lieutenant Perfect Winter said. A meeting has gathered in Fort Jackpot, a military fort close to Las Pegasus. The meeting concerns Alpha Platoon of REM Underground Scouts, an elite division of scouts and soldiers. and a missing survey team in The Badlands, whom have been missing for three fulls days. Presumed dead, the survey crew, which was of thirty ponies, but now down three, sent search teams into the labyrinth that is the Badlands Ruby Mine. But all returned empty handed. They sealed off the mine and contacted Fort Jackpot for a search and rescue.

"Now, I expect many of you wonder why you have been gathered here today.... Well, the issue on hand is that a survey team went missing approximately at 2100, three days ago in the Badlands Ruby Mine. The crew sent there, which numbered about thirty ponies, sent in search teams and didn't think nothing of it, as teams often get lost in the caves of the mine. Usually they are found within a day, and no panic ensues... But lately, one went missing, and search parties went in and came out empty handed and are presumed dead. Not long after the last search party came back, they sealed the mine of and sent a courier here to inform us of the situation... Being the Underground Scouts, I volunteered us for the job." He said, he took a laser pointer in his magical grip and shined it at the slide show. Which first showed the Foremare of the Survey Team, code named Gopher 479.

"This is the foremare of Gopher 479, Honey Sprinkles...She led the team back into the caves, and they never came out.... This is Sweet Cinnamon, a miner..... And lastly we have Rightful Stir... He was the surveyor. These are the HVTs, Highly Valued Targets." He said, the slideshow changed to the mine entrance. He shined is laser on it. "Now, this is the mine, been closed down for years after an accident that involved the death of 32 miners. Recently, efforts have been made to open it back up and restart it, hence the survey team... They go in, and see if there is anything worth mining." The slideshow changed to a map of the mine, it was quit large. "And this is the mine interior that has been mapped thus far, the whole of it has not been covered yet, but we have our work cut out for us." The slideshow changed then to an audio recording.

"This is the last transmission sent to base camp, sent at 1900. Ill play it." He said, he clicked the start button, and a mares voice came on.

"Base camp, base camp, this is Gopher 479. We have found a good deposit of rubies, recommend immediate marking for future miners.... Occasional gold ore veins have been found deeper inside the mine as well, so be advised.... On a side note, we found.... bones down here.... Like that a cow or something, probably nothing though. Maybe a cow or a....or a deer? I don't know, maybe it got lost and starved to death... Who knows? This is Gopher 479, signing off. " The recording said, the mares voice vanishing and the audio clicking off. A few of the ponies looked at each other when the heard about the bones.

"Now, I know what you all are thinking, dispel those thoughts. It is most likely bones from a miner long dead. Now, on to the matter at hand.... We are going to spool a search and rescue and body recovery operation for 12 hours.... Either until we find them or their bodies, or until time is up. Now, I realize many of you have families in the Badlands, but i'm sorry, but we are not shirking our duties. You can wait till your liberty arrives." He said, referring to the majority of bat ponies in the platoon. The Lieutenant himself though is a purebred pony. Like, 40% of the platoon is purebred ponies, they make up the soldiers, while the bat ponies make up the scouts.

"Any questions?" He asks. Three hooves are raised. "Yes, Private Lunar Star?"

"How will the search and rescue play out?" She asks.

"1st Squad will patrol the south end of the mine, 2nd Squad will patrol the frontier caverns, which make up the tunnels in the entrance of the mine. 3rd Squad will patrol the bottom of the mine alongside 4th Squad. I will be with these. To find your way back to the entrance, leave markers behind to mark your way back." He explained, this explanation caused another hoof to be lowered.

"Yes, Sergeant Night Blaze?"

"When are we leaving?" He asked.

"We are leaving at first Reveille." He answered. "No more questions? Good, pack up everyone, grabs your rifles, your equipment, and supplies... Lets get in there, and bring our ponies home..." The Lieutenant said... "Meeting concluded."

<><><>

"And that's the last time we saw them. I mean they didn't meet their quota, so I sent them back in." The leader of the survey crew says, she seemed remorseful.

"So, its your fault they are lost?" Winter asked.

"I guess... Listen, sir, please. Just find them, I have not lost anyone before, and i'm not gonna start now." She said... "Very well, we are closing off the mine and going in, no one is to enter until our job is done. Understand?" Winter said... They arrived at dawn, and started setting up a checkpoint at the entrance. Soon, the teams will be going in.

"Yes, sir." She said, walking away to spread the word. The Lieutenant picked up his radio. "Alright all squads form at the entrance. We are going in." He radioed. A multitude of "Yes sir!"s formed in reply, and soon, 48 ponies arrive at the entrance of the mine. Minus the checkpoint guards, miners, and surveyors. The Lieutenant stood in front of the gathered crowd... He hated speeches, but he had to give one. Situation demanded it.

"Alright ponies, listen up.... The Underground Scouts are going in to find your friends, we will not return until we have either found them, or their bodies." He said, lying. Mission time was twelve hours, so they had that long to find them before that had to call off their search. He didn't like lying, but it helped morale.

"Your friends are probably hunkered down somewhere in there, awaiting retrieval and this mission should take no longer than three hours... Trust me when I say this, when next we come out, your friends will be wrapped in blankets, drinking coffee, and standing upright with blood coursing through their veins. All squads.... Move out!" He finished, ponies cheering them on as they entered. Armed with ZAP Assault Rifles (which are rifles enchanted to where every bullet fired, when it hits its mark, sends a wave of electricity through the targets body) , Automatic Bull-class Assault Riffles, Rockslide Battle Rifles, and an assortment of handguns, they entered the mine... Ready to brave the darkness, as their division often does, to complete their mission.

"Headlamps on. No use bumbling in the dark." Winter ordered, one by one, headlamps from pony headgear came on, illuminating the dark. "Switch heartbeat sensors on, now . Headlamps wont do any good if we can't tell where they are." Heartbeat sensors snapped on, playing their musical tunes that they are programmed to play when switched on. The only heartbeats are those of the platoon. "Keep your weapons loaded and ready to rock... I don't think anything is down here, but it never hurts to plan ahead... Squads, advance!" Winter orders.

Ever so slowly does the platoon advance, leaving markers along the way to mark the way back. The further they go, the less visible the entrance is. And soon, they are engulfed by the darkness. Illuminated only by the headlamps. Soon, they come to a ridge, down below was 3rd and 4th Squads Destination. " 1st and 2nd Squad, keep moving, separate at your destinations and meet back here in eleven hours... Set mission clocks now. Night Blaze, your Squad Leader for 1st Squad, Divine Honor, your 2nd Squad Leader." He ordered, a "Yes sir" echoing in the darkness. 1st and 2nd Squad advance into the darkness, far enough to where heartbeat sensors don't pick them up anymore.

"3rd and 4th Squad, ready grapples, we are going to repel down, bat ponies and pegasi, fly down and secure the area below. Make it happen, ponies!" Winter orders. Ponies begin scrambling to do their duties....

"Yes sir!"

"Right away sir!"

A good five minutes pass as grapples are set up, Officers go first. Before Winter began repelling, Staff Sergeant Cherry Kiwi, one of his pegasi soldiers, reported in. An all clear is given. Below was safe. He began repelling, jumping down and landing on the wall, again, then again. He stopped himself halfway as his headlamp illuminated something on the wall... Something red and shiny. Ponies begin repelling past him. He looks at the red, it looked like blood... He touched it, it was dry..... He leaned forward, struggling to not loosen his grip on the rope. He sniffed the red stain.... Iron.... It was blood. He activates his radio and reports it in.

"Check check soldiers, blood found up here. Dry, looks to be days old.... Judging from the amount, its probably originated from a cut or something, something non-fatal... But where there is blood, there is going to be more around, keep an eye open." He reported. He continued to repel down, eventually landing on the ground... The rest of the two squads finally land not long after.

"Sir, there is something you need to see." A raw recruit named Ocean Dusk says, gesturing to over behind a rock where a few soldiers were standing, staring in shock. Winter walks over with her... And what was behind the rock? Blood... lots of it... and a body, a body of a stallion.... There was a hard hat and headlamp with a camcorder attached to it... "Ocean, grab your PDA." He ordered as he reached for the hard helmet.

"What the fuck happened?" One soldier remarks, talking about the scratches and bite marks that decorated the whole of the body.

"Maybe he fell and rats got to the body?" Another suggested. Winter removes the tape in the camcorder and gave it to Ocean. She connects the tape to her PDA and begins playing the tape.

<><><>

"Damn, why is that bitch is sending back out here, i'm tired." An taupe colored mare says. The surroundings in the video show that they are entering the Mine... The outside time is dusk.

"Apparently we haven't met our quota.... I'm going to have a talk with her when this is over, Sweet." A stallion replies... Assumed to be Rightful Stir.

"Well, lets hope that you can talk sense into her... I get this creepy feeling when i'm in there... Like i'm not alone." Sweet Cinnamon remarks.

"Well, you aren't.. Were in there as well." Rightful said.

"I mean, not from you guys, but from something else... Like something is watching me. Maybe its just my imagination.... But I swear I hear running, like heavy feat, in the caverns when i'm alone. I think I need to consider a new profession." She said.

"Look, guys. Your freaking me out so stop it, now we got a deadline to meet so lets hurry up... there bound to some veins on the wall here.... Grab that rope and hold it, Rightful, your gonna repel down and look for some ruby veins." The leader of the three said, assumed to be Honey Sprinkles.

"Uhh, right boss." RIghtful said. They grabbed the robe and lowered it down, Rightful grabbed it and climbed down. For the next few minutes, it just shows Rightful repelling down, but it stops as Rightful yelps in pain, and blood sprays on the wall. "Are you alright, Rightful? What happened?" A voice calls.

"I just got tagged by a bat! Fuck, that hurts!" Rightful yelled back, holding his neck. That explains the blood on the wall up there.

"Hey, at least you got your rabies shot! Ahahahaaha!" The voice called back again, echoing in the darkness.

"Oh fuck you! I'm going further down! I think I see something, a glowing red dot below me!" Rightful called back, the video showing him looking down. There was indeed a glowing red dot, but not one, but two. "Got it, is it ruby vein?" The voice called back.

"Fuckin..... What do you think?" He called back as he repelled further down.... The red dots disappeared. "What the hell?" He murmurers. A large blur flies across the screen, and the next thing heard is screaming.

"AHHHHH!" Rightful screamed as he lost his grip on the rope, plummeting one hundred and twenty meters to the ground below. The last thing the video plays is the ground growing larger and larger before he smashes against it... The video cuts out there.

<><><>

"Well, at least we can identify the body..." Winter said, grabbing his radio.

"All squads be advised, one casualty. Name identified as Rightful Stir. Seems to have fallen to his death. How copy?" He radios.

"Sir, This is Night Blaze, we hear you loud and clear, we got nothing on our end.... Heartbeat sensors go off every now and then... But its just rats..." The radio buzzes.

"Roger that, report in once you find something." Winter finished, hooking his radio back onto his right foreleg. "Alright soldiers, we found one, we'll come back for his body so mark it with a flare. Form diamond and advance!" He orders, a red flare being lit and placed on the body. Everyone forms a diamond, with Winter taking his place in the front, and they advance towards the only visible pathway.... The place feels eerie.

"Fucking creepy down here..." One soldier remarks, one of her comrades replies to her in a cautious tone.

"You can say that again, i'm used to be down in caves like these.... But something just doesn't feel right...."

They continue their advance, moving through a small rocky tunnel, decorated with mine cart tracks and wooden beams keeping the roof from collapsing. Occasional long burnt out lanterns decorating the beams. And, ever so often, an abandoned mine cart, filled with gems. Winter occasionally had to snap at a few greedy privates from taking one or two. The further in the went, the more..... eerie it was.... There were scratch marks on the beams, dead rats with no blood... But hey, they could've been dead for days.

They arrive into a large open area in the mine, mine carts, mine cart tracks and a small shack decorate the area... There are lanterns, but long since put out. Cobwebs decorate the corners of the shack.... Winter gives the order to secure the area, Ocean and another soldier accompanies him to the the shack. He reaches for the handle, but stops himself. He feels something, a burning sensation in the back of his skull.... Something was staring daggers at him. He quickly turns around, levitating his handgun to face the darkness in front of him. His two subordinates do the same. Keeping their eyes on the Lieutenant.

"Something wrong, sir?" Ocean Dusk asked, her slit pupils eyeing him... She felt concern.

"No, private..... Nothing..... I think its just my imagination..." He said, levitating his revolver back into its holster.... Maybe it was nothing after all... He turned back around and grasped the handle, he pulled on it. The door wouldn't budge. He pulled back again, nothing..... Was it locked? No... Just a quick yank would open it. He readied a yank, but Ocean stopped him.

"Sir, heartbeat sensor is picking up a beat in there." She said, heartbeat sensor starting beep... Signalling a nearby unknown heartbeat. Winter looked back at the door.... And starts to pull back on the handle, which made a large rattling noise. The heartbeat sensor started to beep frantically, signalling the unknown heartbeat was panicking. He yanked the door open....

And a bat flew out attacked him....

It chomped at him, biting at his neck and head. Luckily, it didn't break any skin or draw any blood as he was wearing body armor, which was covering his neck as well, and a helmet... He whacked at it... Knocking it out of the air. It squeaked at him and regained its flight, flying off into the darkness... The corporal that accompanied him was giggling.

"Lock it up." Winter ordered. The bat pony quickly stopped herself and regained her poker face. Winter looked into the shack, it was dusty, there were cobwebs everywhere.... A desk, chair, computer... Long destroyed. Bookshelf with two books. And other miscellaneous cosmetics, such as crates and a fire extinguisher cut in half. Even a dusty torn up couch. The windows were busted. Staff Sergeant Cherry Kiwi comes up.

"Sir, the area is secure... No heartbeats besides our own." She reported with a brief salute... Winter didn't take his eyes off of the interior of the shack.

"Are there any tunnels? Pathways, for say?" Winter asked..

"Yes sir, only one..... Tracks lead that way, we found a hard hat as well.... Camcorder attached.... Figure Id bring you the tape." She said, handing a tape over to Ocean.... She connected it to her PDA and played whats on it. They crowded around to see what would play.

<><><>

"We should leave, Sweet.... Get the soldiers at Fort Jackpot down here to help... Something doesn't feel right..." Honey said.

"We are not leaving him, he has gotta be here somewhere. He probably dragged himself into that shack.... Check it out, i'm gonna check over there." She said, walking over to a mine cart. This must be Honeys tape considering the pony wearing it is entering the shack. The video shows her looking around, before a shriek is heard.... She turned around in fear. It sounded as if it was in the distance... She ran outside the shack to find her friend, Sweet. Whom was looking down a tunnel...

"Sweet... There is something down here with us! We need to go, now!" Honey frantically said, running up to her....

"Relax, it might've just been a bat... Or a...." Sweet said, but a bunch of skittering and eeking noises come from behind them, in the darkness.... Sweet pulls out a switchblade.

"What the.... What the fuck! Why do you have that?!" Honey said, glaring at her.

"I never leave home without it.... Ill be right back..." She replied, boasting a smirk. She advances into the darkness, without the hard had and headlamp she left at base camp... Soon, it engulfed her....

"Sweet? SWEET! Get back here!" Honey said, starting after her..... But something stopped her.... Red beading eyes in the darkness...... Then the screams started..... Blood sprayed from out of the darkness and into the light that shone from Honey's headgear.... Screeching broke the sound barriers, and soon... Sweets screams stopped. Honey's whimpering was audible.

"Sweet? Sweet Cinnamon?" She called out... her voice quivering with fear.... She stared out into the dark..... Nothing..... What the fuck attacked her? Then heavy scratching filled the air...

"Oh fuck this!" Honey yelled, throwing her hard hat onto the ground and taking off...

The last thing the video shows is the light emanating from her discarded hard hat illuminating the tunnel she was running down.... It cut out.

<><><>

"What on Equis was that?" Cherry Kiwi asked, her eyes filled with fear... Was she scared?

"I do not know..... Most likely a large rat or something.... Spread the order to cover the area, Sweets body is around here somewhere. Ocean, check inside the shack for anything useful..." Winter said, lights in the dark danced around... As if they were fireflies.... But they were not.... Sadly. Cherry salutes, does an about face, and walks out to spread the word while Ocean enters the shack.

'The fuck is going on down here?' Winters thoughts echoed. He looked over at a bloodstain.... Must've been Sweets when she was attacked. A bat pony is investigating it. He turns to look at a the lights in the darkness, his soldiers. Some were standing still, some were moving... Some seemed to be looking at something on the ground.... Winter makes a move towards these soldiers.... one bat and two pegasi...

"Whats going on? Why aren't you all on patrol?" Winter asks, his dull voice being raised... They turned and gave a brief salute. "Sorry sir, we found some smeared blood and were wondering where it went.... We have yet to find its destination." The bat pony said...

"Ahh, as you were then...." Winter said, eyeing the blood trail that started from a nearby cart. "Then how about you get moving..... Follow the trail." He ordered, levitating his revolver and following the soldiers.... Then walked for a good few minutes until their heartbeat sensors went off, alerted to an unknown heartbeat... They raised their rifles and followed the trail even slower....

"Unknown heartbeat... Ready yourselves as its staying stationary." One soldier reports, his battle rifle locked and loaded.. They proceeded even slower, wary of some kind of giant rat.... One soldiers hoof clinks on a track, causing the heartbeat sensor to beep rapidly.... Its panicking.

One soldier looks at his sensor, it shows the heartbeat right around the corner... He raises his hoof and gives a nonverbal direction and soon all four ponies rushed around the corner, guns aimed, ready to fire.... What they saw.......made the feeling of relief course through their veins... It was a pegasus, alive... But not well... She was taupe colored, had a black mane with grey streaks..... She was bloody... Scratch marks all over her body, she had only one wing. She was holding a broken switchblade and had it pointed at the group.... She was scared.

Blood decorated the ground in front of her, some of it dark and dry, some of it bright red and wet. It looked as though she has been here for days... had she been here for three full days? The ponies remained frozen at the sight... They had seen some shit in their line of work, but this takes the cake.

"Medic! We need a medic over here!" He yelled, looking back... A light in the dark shined in his face, and approached fast... He then turned back and ran to the mare. But stopped when she scrambled back.

"S--stay! STAY BACK DAMN YOU! I wont let you kill me!" She yelled, shaking... She was downright scared... Maybe confused?

"Calm down.... Just...err....just drop the uhh weapon.... Were here to help.." Winter said, trying to speak with a compassionate voice, but instead it remained dull... The medic came around the corner.

"No! Stay out of my head! You killed Honey and now your gonna kill me!" She screamed... She threw the broken switchblade at Winter, it bouncing off his armor... She then curled up in ball and started whimpering... mumbling incoherently...

"Sir, shes nuts... What are we going to do about this?" The medic asked.

"Soldier, shut your mouth and give me the blanket... Shes not crazy.... just confused." Winter said. "Wheres your kit? Go get your damn kit soldier. Get back here when you find it. Shes need immediate medical attention." He ordered. He then turned back to Sweet... She was shaking violently, causing the heartbeat sensors to go crazy. "Register her heartbeat, i'm getting tired of hearing those things" He ordered before slowly walking over to her... The closer he got, the worse she shook.

"Calm down.... We are here to help.... Here...." He said, draping the blanket over her... "We are going to get you out of here.... We just need you to tell us what happened."

"No! Stay away!!!! Its gonna crunch your bones!" She screamed, crying the whole time.... Winter opened his mouth to say something, but she stopped him.

"C-c-crunch your bones!!" She screamed again before scrambling under the blanket to hide... Soldiers started to show up to see whats going on....

"Form a defensive perimeter! Stop gawking and do something productive!" He yelled at the gathering group of soldiers. The medic returned with a first aid kit hooked onto his armor. Winter pulled back the sheet she was under.... She had her eyes closed, tearing streaming out.

"Shes delusional, give her a shot of morphine. It might calm her down long enough for us to talk to her." Winter said. The medic obliged and injected Sweet with some morphine.. "Good, now patch her wounds. I'm gonna try....something." Winter ordered, looking down at the calming, dirty form curled into a ball.

"Alright, ma'am... We are here to help you... You just need to tell us what happened...." He said, calmly... She wasn't whimpering anymore. Rather, still crying and taking deep breaths... The morphine was having an effect. She refused to speak. She was shivering.

"We are from the outside world... I understand what your going through, but for us to help you, you need to tell us. What happened?" He asked again. The medic was cauterizing her missing wing wound. But due to the morphine, she didn't scream. She sucked in air instead.

"Please, we are going to help you.... Just tell us.... What happened down here? Who attacked you?" Winter asked.

"It." She said... Keeping her eyes on the dirt.

"It?" Winter repeated.

"It attacked me... Before I tell you more... I----I.... Your going to help me? Right?" She asked, teary eyes looking into Winters... He could feel her pain... Losing two friends and being attacked by something unknown.

"Yes, we will get you medical aid, mental aid, anything you need to recover... You just have to tell us what happened, and we will get you out of here.... Have you been down here for three full days?" He asked, and she nodded. "Goddesses....Damn it all, you must be hungry and thirsty.... Hey, you there." He pointed at Ocean, who was standing on watch around the corner. "Give me your canteen, private." He ordered and she nodded, giving him her canteen. He took out his C-Ration, which was crackers and hot sauce, and handed the food and water over to the wounded mare... She took them both and ate and drank voraciously. After finishing up the cracker, she took a deep breath and sat up for the medic.

"We were sent back down here.... by our boss.... We just needed to find one or two more veins of rubies... When our surveyor, Rightful Stir, descended down a ridge to look one, he lost balance and fell... We climbed down after him but couldn't find him. So we came over to the abandoned mining headquarters to see if he crawled over here.... And.... and..." She said, tearing up.

"Its ok... take your time. I know this must be a horrifying experience. Just take some deep breaths and have some more water.." Winter said as the medic started wrapping Sweet wounds with gauze and duct tape.

"Is.... Did you find Rightful and Honey??? Are they alright?" She asked. Her eyes sparkling with hope... The medic stopped his wrapping and looked at Winter, and so did Ocean Dusk, who was standing off to the side. Winter caught their gazes and looked down... 'Time for the worst part of any job.' He thought, turning his eyes back to Sweets... contemplating his words carefully.

"We found Rightful Stir.... But... He was dead. Same wounds you suffer now. As for Honey, we have yet to find her. We found her helmet and camcorder, but that's all we found of her..." Winter informed... The mare in front of him gasped to the news... And started to cry.. He would've cried too had this have been the first time he had to deliver the news of death of a loved one to a loved one. Were any of those ponies intimate? That was not his place to ask. But she cried as if she knew one intimately. She dropped the canteen and brought her hooves to her eyes. Tears streaming down her cheeks. Winter took his helmet off, his green mane bedraggled from it.. He set it down in front of him and aimed at her so he could see her and brought his foreleg over her, bringing her into an embrace. She started crying into his armor. He brought his eyes to meet the medics. He looked away.

"Finish patching her wounds, sergeant." Winter ordered, he looked down at Sweet, he just realized he was taller than her. Maybe by a few inches. Just a note Winter had. She continued crying for about ten minutes before calming down. She looked back up at him before looking away.

"Rightful was my husband." She sniffled... Winter looked down. Another family torn apart.

"I'm sorry for your loss.... We know where your husbands body is, when we send you topside we'll bring his body as well... Can you-" Winter said, Sweet interrupted him.

"No, NO! Please don't send me alone! Please!" She begged, practically screaming.

"We wont. You have my word. Just, please... Take your mind off you husband for a minute and finish telling us what happened." Winter calmly replied... He returned his foreleg to his side, then grabbed his helmet and returned it to his head.

"I.... ok.... Honey... She... She went to check the shack and I went to take a look around... I heard a noise and turned to see her running up to me, scared out of her wits. She begged me to leave with her, but a "eek" sounded off next to us in the dark... The noise was like someone coughing up something, trying to get it out of their throat... I pulled my switchblade and went to investigate. Next thing I know.... I was screaming as something was tearing at my neck and stomach.... I heard its screeching... I saw its eyes... I felt its claws..... Soon I fell unconscious and woke up to total darkness. I guess it thought I was dead and left me to rot... I dragged myself over here, directing myself only by feel. And just, laid here, staring into darkness for three.... was it three days?" She asked. Winter nodded to give her a yes. "Then three days, hoping it would not find me... Every now and then I would hear screeching and footsteps... Then you guys came along..." She explained.... Ocean didn't look at ease, as was the medic.

"Anything else? Did you see clearly what it was?" Winter asked.

"No sir... That's all." She said, looking down. Tears forming. "Alright, have some more water... Let me confer with my medic, you know, if your ok to walk... Then we'll send you out of here." He said, picking up the fallen canteen and handing to her. Which she took and drank. Winter pulled the medic aside.

"Did you hear that? There is something down here! We have to pull out, now!" He said.

"Stow that talk sergeant, or i'll take your rockers. Shes was clearly delusional about that bit and it was probably a giant rat. We've faced down worse than that." Winter replied.

"How can you not see that she is not delusional? There is something down here! We have to leave... Now!" The medic angrily said in response.

"Well, doc. Good news for you, your escorting her out. Go grab two soldiers of your choosing, and take Sweet topside." Winter ordered. The medic sighed in relief.

"Yes sir, any orders after that?"

"Stay topside and tend to Sweet." Winter finished, the medic saluted and took Sweet right foreleg and wrapped it around his neck so he could carry her... "Ocean, on me. Lets go." Winter orders, before pulling out his radio... As if on cue, 2nd Squad does a radio check.

"Roger that, I read loud and clear... Check check, we found Sweet Cinnamon.... Shes alive, but delirious. Keep an eye open for a large rat. Shoot on sight. How copy?"

"We copy. Passing word along to 1st Squad... Watch your backs, radio check in another 2 hours." The radio scratches out... Then it silences... Winter tunes it to 3rd and 4th Squads frequency. "All units, all units, regroup at the Shack, one survivor found and sent on her way under guard. Repeat, all units regroup at the shack, we are going further in." He orders before hooking the radio back on his armor. He and Ocean soon arrive back at the abandoned shack. Everyone is tired looking, and ready to go home. So the info about a finding a survivor was welcome.

"Alright everyone... All we gotta do is find one more pony and we can leave and you can all get a good nights rest... We only have one lead on the final ponies whereabouts... A tape we found showed her fleeing from a giant rat down that tunnel over there.... We will do a diamond down the way and eventually spread out. We have eight hours left everybody... Lets make em count... diamond!" He orders, every pony gets into a diamond formation, Winter taking his place. "Advance!"

They advance down the tunnel, headlamps shining the way... Every now and then the heartbeat sensors would go off.... But they shrugged it off to bats and rats... considering how fast they moved across the sensor screens. The farther down the tunnel they got, the colder is got... Eventually, someponies started getting goosebumps...... They spent the next fifteen minutes going down the tunnel... But soon, they hear something... the heartbeat sensors go off.... the location of the heartbeat? Directly in front of them.

Everyone readies their weapons and advances forward... the sensors picking up their beeps... The sensors have a 30 foot radius on them, any heart that still beats enters that radius will cause the sensor to go off. The light their headgear produces began to make out a pony form... It wasn't looking at them. But rather, hoofing the the wall in front of her... It was a dead end... There was a rusty old world style flintlock laying at her hooves. She turned to greet the soldiers, sporting a calm and collective smile...

"And now illusions... Hahahaha! Ain't that grand?!" She said... This must be Honey Sprinkles.

"I'm glad to see another survivor... Come on, were gonna get you out of here." Winter said, starting towards her.... She stops him by aiming her flintlock at him.

"Illusion, or no. Your not going to save me.... Nothing can save me now.... I'm doomed... They have not found me yet, but they will.... There is not enough rats down here to sustain me either... So if they don't find me... Ill starve... Leave, before you trigger the ire of those who watch in the darkness..." She said... Her eye twitching.....

"What? Who are "they"? Listen, just drop the weapon... I know what you must be going through, but we found Sweet Cinnamon... She is safe... We are going to get you out of here too... Just drop the weapon and lets go, we'll give something nosh on on the way out." Winter said, giving the a nonverbal order to lower the weapons... There is a pile of dead gutted rats in a corner.

"Sweety is safe? Sweety is safe?! No one is safe! Not you! Not Sweety sweet! Not the rats! Not me! No one! Not even the survey team!!! They watch, they learn, they judge, they hunger... No one is safe... They will descend unless you leave... This is their home.... You trigger anger when you enter, you trigger peace when you leave. Everyone is happy, i'm happy... they are happy." She said... Her smile not faltering.

"Ok, you've been down here for three days.. Your delusional from isolation and dehydration... Come on, we can get you help..." Winter replies.

"Dehydration? Thirst? The rats blood sustained me.... They are my friends, i'm not isolated.... They come to feed on their dead brethren, and then I make friends and feed with them.... And ill see them on the other side I will..." She said.

"Listen to yourself! We can help you! I-"

"No, you can't..... they have been following and watching since you've entered.... they have decided you must die... they are coming now.... your fate is sealed..." She said, putting the barrel of the flintlock against her chin.

"You can't help me.... You can't help yourselves.... Your all dead." She said.

"Wait! Wait, DONT-" Winter yelled, galloping towards her... He was too late... She pulled the trigger, adding her blood and brains to the wall as decorations. He stared, wide eyed, to the mess in front of him... He could've prevented this... Should he have been faster.... He looked up at the wall, mouth agape... "Save yourself. They are coming. They watch. They hunger." It read, blood adding to it. He shuddered and looked down at himself... Her blood was on his armor, his headgear... he could smell the iron, and taste the copper... He had just witnessed a pony commit suicide, and he felt shame. Guilt. Anger. Sadness. He thought he could've prevented this.

"Sir?" A female voice piped up, knocking him out of his fearful stare. He shook his and wiped his his face off... The blood was still smeared on it, changing his pristine white coat to a blood red with white splotches. He turned and looked to the source. It was the raw recruit, Private Ocean Dusk. She was scared.

"Sir? W-w-what did she mean? "They are coming" and "Were dead"?" She asked, he slit pupils staring into his... She wanted a straight answer, a truth... And one she was going to get. Every soldier was looking to him for his response.

"I.... Nothing... It had to be nothing.... She was lost in isolation.... Dehydrated, confused.... She was crazy..." He stammered out. In his whole career, noting on this magnitude occured... No pony he ever had to go find ever shot themselves with some old technology pistol. No pony ever talked about imaginary creatures... Nothing like this ever happened.... He had always dealt with these situations with "Confused" or "Isolated Madness".... But this was different... Something was wrong, so so so wrong. He gave her a hopeful look, which dispelled some of her fear... She trusted him.

He pulled out his radio, putting on 1st and 2nd Squads frequency.

"All units, all units... Be advised, mission complete, final HVT found...... She..... she committed suicide in front of me... Consumed by mad ramblings. 1st and 2nd Squad is to regroup at the point where we split up. Body recovery is now priority. How copy?" He reports into the radio, dread filling his voice... The Squad Leaders could feel it.

"10-4" Both Squad Leaders say over the radio after a few minutes of silence. Winter hooks his radio back up...

"Alright everybody, someone grab the body and I-" He begins... Cut off by the radio...

"Sir! We have contacts! They- They are ripping us apart!!!! AHHHHHH! GET IF OFF ME!!! FOR THE LOVE OF- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Night Blaze, squad leader of 1st Squad screamed out from the radio, gunfire pitching in through the background.... 2nd Squad Leader, Divine Honor then pitched in...

"Enemy contact! What the hell are these things?! Shit! SHIT ITS GOT ME!!! EEEERRAAAAAAAAAGH! MY LEGS!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAH! HELP ME! HEL-" It cut out there. They can only guess what happened to her. The soldiers all looked at Winter.

"Honor? Blaze? Come in? Whats going on? Whats happening? Who is attacking you?" He asks into the radio... static being his reply. A screech catches everybodies attention.... It was really high pitched, and soul piercing... It came from the direction they came from... Soldiers began to murmur amongst themselves, some with fear, some with surprise.... But there was one word that everyone understood... And that was cocking back of someponies handguns hammer.

"Sir? I... I got something on the sensors." Ocean said, looking at her rifles heartbeat sensor..... It was beeping, not rapidly, but steadily...

"Sir, its coming towards us... And at a fast rate!" She said, hyperventilating.... What was going on? What is this? What happened to 1st and 2nd Squad?

"Sir? Its right on top of us! What-" She started.... But was interrupted as something sprang from the dark... Something bipedal... It pinned her and started biting and shredding her... Her screams pierced Winters soul... Every soldier stared in shock at the creature... It had red, beading eyes... A monkey life face, wingspan of 10 feet.. It stood 2 feet taller than that of the ponies. Its claws elongated and sharp looking.... And it was killing their own... Their shock was broken when bullets rang out from behind them, these bullets propelled into the creatures skin... it shrieked in pain and ran back into the dark, leaving the bloody limp body of Private Ocean Dusk...

The sensors stopped beeping, meaning it was a good distance away already...

Winters revolver smoked... he had fired three rounds into the creatures skull... Yet it still lived... He was breathing heavily, had one of his own died? Had he sat there and watched as two ponies died? Yet taking action only on the second one? He regained his sense, holstered his weapon, and galloped over to Ocean. Miraculously, She still alive.... Bleeding profusely... Her coat was shredded, her neck pierced, one of her eyes taken.... In the small amount of time that creature had to maul her, it did so much damage. It was a testament to Luna herself that this bat pony still lived. She used her good eye to look at Winter.

"Sir? I--- I-think.... I... Am I alright?" She asked, blood leaking out of her mouth. Winter couldn't answer, he contemplated his words... He had none, what could he say? You'll be alright? Everything is fine? Just a fleshwound? No, none of these would do. He just grunted and looked at her helmet.... It was busted, dented in. She couldn't wear it now.

"Am I going to die?" She asked... Once again Winter had no words. Rather, he just contemplated what he should say. "I--I don't wanna die." She said, her voice breaking, and tears welling up in her one good eye. His soldiers looked to him for his answer... What he would say right now was all that mattered. If he said she would die, then she would. His soldiers would lose their respect and the morale would plummet.... He would be telling the truth, but die doing so.... Would he lie, morale would be better. She would still die, and then they would still die... Was lying in this situation preferable? It would have the same ending.... 'No, we are not going to die here... Not Ocean, not me, not Cherry, not anyone else!' Winter decided. He had his answer to her query.

"No, your going to be alright.... Your going to get out of here, gonna get medical attention and see your family again... Your going to live, just...stay calm. You have my word." He said.... And he meant it. The heartbeat sensors went off again, this time signaling multiple heartbeats... They were approaching at an alarming rate... Screeching, angry noises, fast steps, all those rang from the darkness. Ocean began screaming... A scream of pure terror.

"Soldiers! Make ready and fire at will!" He ordered, he then looked down at Ocean. She was staring up at him, smiling slightly... As if she expected he would make good on his word. He turned back and saw his troops, earthbound ponies standing on their hind legs, rifles at the ready... Ponies capable of flight are hovering. The screeches were getting louder... signalling their approach. Winter grabbed Oceans shoulders and began dragging her back, causing her to scream a scream of pain... Cherry comes out from the crowd of soldiers and assists in the endeavor to pull the wounded mare back.

"Wish we had that medic now. Ahha...ha." Cherry said, trying to lighten the situation with a laugh... Winter just glared at her.

"Cherry, lock it up!" He ordered.

"Contact! Contact!" One soldier yelled, then the gunfire rang out. Battle rifles, assault rifles, and handguns were fired into the darkness... Screams of some kind of animal, like a dying.... something sound off.

"Put pressure on her wounds!" Winter orders Cherry, she looks at him quizzical.

"What wound? There are so many!" She fired back, yelling over the gunfire.

"Pick one! Pick the bloodiest fucking wound and put pressure on it! She'll survive if we can get her to topside, but we need to move. Now!" Winter replied. Cherry slung her rifle onto her back and started putting pressure on the piercing on Oceans neck... That's where the blood was mostly coming from. "Move? Where the fuck are we to go?! That's the only way out, and those..... things have it covered!" She said. "Sir...."

"Doesn't matter, we will cut our way through if we have to." Winter said... He himself thought this was a terrible idea, but its better than sitting around waiting to die. Might as well attempt an escape.... Winter decided if they can get far enough, he will just have to wing it. As long as he still draws breath, they all will escape alive.

"Fucking?! What?!" Cherry yelled... The gunfire stopped, as did the heartbeat sensors.

"Their backing off!" Some soldier yelled, followed by ponies cheering.

"Stop cheering! Save it for when we get out of here! They will be back. And we don't have enough ammo to hold out. We gotta move now while their licking their wounds." Winter said, carrying Ocean.

"Sir, with all due respect, how are we gonna get past them?"

"We will cut our way through, and shoot everything not pony shaped." Winter said, looking over at his troops, some were sitting down and hyperventilating. "Sir, that's crazy!"

"You have a better idea, Corporal?" Some soldier said. The other soldier didn't respond.

"Alright good, Lieutenant, we'll follow you to hell and back..... although I think we already did that. So we'll follow you to the light instead." The same soldier said. "Whats the plan?"

"We have wounded, and she is losing blood fast... So we need to move. There is a shack down the ways big enough for all of us. If can get inside and bar the entrance then we might have buy ourselves enough time to devise a full plan.... and before any of you ask, no I don't have my plan figured out fully. Lets move! Advance, shoot on sight!" He ordered, soldiers began grumbling in a mix of agreement and disagreement. But they all complied and began advancing slowly, forming a defensive phalanx around Winter the wounded bat pony. Many ponies were uneasy. They were trained on how to handle bat bites, how to treat rabies if they aren't vaccinated... which they should be as its a requirement for the Underground Scouts. They were trained on navigation in total darkness, all that. But they were never trained on what to do were they attacked by nocturnal creatures.

Screams pierced the darkness.... They were a good bit aways, but it didn't take rocket scientist to know that they were getting ready for another assault. By the time that assault came, they were halfway to the open area with that shack. They were ready and fended it off, thanks to the heartbeat sensors. There was green blood staining the ground, but there were no bodies.

"What the hell?! Whats it take to kill these things?!" One soldier remarked, panic in his voice.

They arrived to the open mining area, their heartbeat sensors going off like crazy... they were tons of the creatures in there. "Go! Get to the shack and bar the damn door! Move, move, move!" Winter ordered, shining his headlamp onto the shack. The soldiers began galloping towards the shack, shooting at everything that moved in the dark. A few stopped to aid Winter. The screeches and shrieks echoed in the dark. And they were loud. The door bashed open and soldiers piled in, some smashing windows and setting up their ZAP rifles and battle rifles. Winter stumbled in, dragging Ocean by her shoulders, one other soldier carrying her by her hind legs... Two other soldiers are backing them up, walking backwards as they watch for movement... They are in the mining area with them, just unseen. Winter dusts off the couch and carefully lies her down, giving a nonverbal order to one soldier to put pressure on the neck bites. Soldiers tipped the bookshelf over and pushed it up against the door.

"Ok, ok they didn't attack us... Maybe... Maybe they leaving us alone?" One soldier asked.

"Or maybe they are waiting for us to separate, then they pounce! Like.....like Timber Wolves!!!" Another said.

"Lock it up, both of you! Whatever they are, they are keeping their distance... They might be afraid of our guns.... I don't know... But one thing is for sure, we need to escape. Ill radio topside, let them know whats going on..." Winter said, taking out his radio.

"Do you have a plan, sir?" One soldier asked. "No, I don't have it fully figur-" Winter started, before a hysterical bat pony interrupted.

"You don't have a plan?! Didn't you hear the shrieks?! Demons are coming to rape our skulls!" She yelled.

"Calm down! Calm down!"

"No, fuck you! We are going to die here! And i'm not going to.... errr." The bat pony said, before she started looking down the barrel of a loaded revolver. She gulped.

"Listen, you panicking isn't helping. We have faced worse than this, during training you were starved. Being hunted was part of your training. You might not have been trained for this exactly, but something similar to this. Calm the hell down or I will kill you myself. We are going to get out of this alive, and you panicking will impede that. It will drag us down. It will kill us. No, you'll kill us." Winter said, every soldier was looking at him. He had never threatened one of his own before. "So calm down. Ok? Eh? Ok?" Winter finished, evil eyes looking at the panicking soldier.

"Uhh... OK... Yes sir.... Ill.... I'm sorry." She said, looking down. The revolver disappeared back into Winters holster. This situation was handled quickly. That's how he earned the respect of his soldiers and peers. He turned on his radio.

"Sir, whats going on down there? We attempted a radio check on 1st and 2nd Squad, but no one replied back." A mares voice on the other end said as soon as he switched it on.

"1st and 2nd Squad is dead. We have been ambushed by unknown hostiles, and final HVT committed suicide in front of us. We are oscar mike to topside, be ready fo-" Winter reported into the radio, but then the heartbeat sensors stopped beeping, causing every soldier to look at them.

"Are... are-are they gone?" Cherry Kiwi asked, looking out a window. Her headlamp illuminating the darkness outside. Nothing.

"I don't see anything... I think... I think they are-" Cherry said, looking back to the remaining soldiers, but something grabbed her through the window. Something with sharp claws, and it pulled her out as she screamed for help. Soldiers began firing at the creature, but the bullets didn't scare it off.... She dropped her helmet and began screaming as the creature dove its teeth into her neck, she begged for the soldiers to help. And they tried. But the bullets didn't help any, it made it angrier.

It pulled her into the dark, and her screaming ended abruptly as a loud wet thump is heard.

"Shit! They can slow their heartbeat! Fuck! Get away from the windows!" Winter yelled, and soldiers began complying, backing up away from the windows The creatures started to attack the windows just the same, gunfire lit up the darkness as the ponies desperately attempted to fight off the evil in the mine.. Some soldiers started panicking and went for the door, but loud banging on it prevented them from leaving. Winter looked back at his radio, was the mare still talking?

"Sir, whats going on? Whats all the commotion?"

"Pony down, pony down. Repeat, count one casualty. Contacts everywhere! Heartbeat sensors no longer effective as these......things can slow their beats..." Winter said.

"Roger that, we are coming in on a relief effort. What is your location? Do you have visual on charlie?"

"NO, belay that. Do not enter the mine. You will be killed before you get to us. And no, charlie conceals themselves in the dark." Winter relayed. The gunfire still sounding off around him. Soldiers were screaming orders to their buddies, some were had tears in their eyes. Some were downright broken, curling in safe corners and crying. Winter could understand this as the ear drum bleeding shrieks and blood curdling screeches could pierce the toughest stallion.

"Then what are your orders?" Winter paused when the mare on the other side asked that... What could he order? A full retreat? Rout? Could he order them to blow the mine? Prevent the creatures escape? Condemn the soldiers inside to death? No, that wasn't a viable option. But it did give him an idea. Though it wouldn't be popular.

"Rig some C4 Plastic Explosive at the entrance of the mine and detonate it in thirty mikes, if we don't arrive within that timeframe then blow the entrance and lock us in."

"Sir, what the fuck are you thinking?" One soldier asks, surprise in his voice.

"Sir, if we do this, then there is a good chance that we will be condemning you and your platoon to death." The voice on the radio said.

"Soldier, when I give you an order, you better damn-well follow it. Plant C4, and detonate it in thirty mikes... We will be out in twenty." Winter said, clicking the radio off to avoid further argument.

"Sir, what the fuck?" A corporal asked.

"I know, but we will be out in twenty." Winter said, a soldier interrupting him.

"But, what if we don't?! Your damning us!"

"Trust me! We need to have the explosives ready! If we are to escape, just... uhh just hear me out! Whatever we walked into, we woke up an evil. Whatever the hell these creatures are, they are danger to the outside world! I finally figured out my plan. To escape, we need to go back the way we came. But these things will follow us! We will be endangering the ponies topside. So, we have C4 ready to detonate, we escape, we blow the mine, the fuckshit down here is trapped permanently." Winter briefed, some soldiers murmured in agreement, some oppositely.

"But... what if we don't get out in time.... Hell, Ocean will slow us down." One pony said, this soldier was keeping the pressure on Oceans wounds. Winter had considered this and he is willing to take the risk.

"Its a risk we will have to take. Would you like it if we left you behind?" Winter asked. The gunfire had ended and the creatures had retreated into the dark. The soldier nodded an nod of understood.

"Alright, unbar that damn door. As soon as its opened we need to move. Those things will take the opportunity to pounce, so move fast and help out those slower than you." Winter ordered, some soldiers that went to unbar the door were stopped by opposing soldiers.

"Sir, that is a terrible idea! We go out there, we get picked off one by one until there is none left! Thats fucked!" One yelled.

"Yeah!"

"Listen, if anyone dies first. Its me. I took an oath when I became a Lieutenant, and part of that oath was to die first before your troops. If you just listen to me and stop panicking then we would already be out!" Winter shot back.

"What about Cherry? Shes dead and your still standing!" The leader of the insurgents yelled.

"That was a spot of bad luck! I blame myself for her death, but there is nothing we can do!" Winter yelled, his revolver being illuminated by magic... This might end ugly. "But if you want to argue, then how about this? You can stay, and die, or you can fight and run and have a possibility of living. Its your damn choice! But I want to save as many of you as possible and it will be impossible if you all are against me! Trust in your CO and we will escape! All in favor of following me outside, raise--raise your hoof!" Winter yelled, almost immediately, Oceans bloodied free hoof came up. A few other soldiers raised their hooves.

"All in favor of remaining and dying, raise your hoof!" Winter ordered... But to his surprise, no one brought their hooves up, not even the insurgents. Guess it really wasn't appealing. "I take it you all are going to listen to me now?" Winter asked, a smug grin on his face.

"Yes sir. Please, I just... I don't wanna die down here." The leader said.

"Unbar the damn door and listen to me, follow the flares and climb the grapples. We will get out of here, all of us!" Winter rallied, some soldiers unbarred the door with smiles on their faces. They believed in Winters words.

As soon as the door was unbarred, soldiers ran ahead and lit up the dark with automatic fire, instead of the semi-auto that the battle rifles or ZAPs offered. Swearing and jeering at the monsters the whole time.

"You like that? You inbred fucks!" One such insult was.

"Come get me, you ass kissers! I'm right here!" Was another.

Winter led the way, dragging Ocean by her shoulders, many soldiers ran ahead, eager to escape and stay ahead of the monsters. A few brave ones remained behind to protect Winter and his charge. It all seemed to be going well, the flares along the pathway seemed to keep the monsters at bay.

"Sir! C4 has been deployed! We are coming in after you!" The radio sounded off. Winter stopped dead in his tracks, his face showing fear... 'You insubordinate dumbfucks!' His thoughts screamed.

"No! Belay that once more! I cannot allow you to-" He yelled into the radio, resuming his dragging.

"With all respect sir, you need assistance! Hold your position and we will come to you via helmet tag trackers." The mare on the radio said.

"I will demote you, sergeant. Return to the surface now."

"No. You have wounded, if I remember correctly. Hold out for a bit and you'll be saved." She said one final time before the radio clicked off, signalling that she went offline.

"Fuck!" Winter screamed. He picked up his pace, and started carrying Ocean. He had to get to the surface before the rescue team went too far in. Gunfire signaled contacts ahead. Winter and his small brave team arrived in a tunnel, filled with flares, soldiers, and monsters. Soldiers were taking cover behind overturned mine carts and were laying into the monsters, who were charging the ranks. Some were climbing on the walls. Their red eyes burning a hole in Winters head. Some seemed to be focused on him, as if they knew he was the leader of the "trespassing ponies". Winter heard a screech and looked up, a monster was flying down at him. He drew his revolver and almost unloaded a full chamber into the creature, but it did not stop. It dropped down and smacked on of the soldiers, sending her flying against the wall, it turned its glare to Winter and the soldiers standing near him... Mostly focused on Winter. It screamed a blood curdling scream, and charged. The soldiers began to fire, and it had no effect.

Winter dropped Ocean, soliciting a yelp of pain from her, and braced himself. It was going to run straight into him and he had no time to get out of the way. When it did crash into him, the force it came at him with sent him reeling back, he collapsed from the immense pain he felt. It pounced on him and began to rip at his armor.

"Its got the Lieutenant! Cover cover cover!" One soldier yelled, drawing a combat knife and jumping on the monsters back. He began to stab at the monster, drawing purple blood. Bullets had no noticeable effect, but yet a sharp knife did. Good to know. Winter said, gripping his revolver with his magic. He knew he only had one round in it, and he was going to make it count. The monster was attempting to grab the brave soldier that was on its back, but its attempt ended when Winter placed a round in its eye. It fell over, nearly crushing the pony on its back.

"I...I.... I cant believe it! I killed one!" Winter yelled, excitement filling his normally dull voice. Some soldiers were cheering, some still shooting. The death of the their comrade caused the monsters run away, purple blood trailing from behind them. It seems they get demoralized when they lose one of their own. Winter grabs Ocean, who was trying like hell not to get dirt in her wounds. He begins carrying again down the hall, normally its a stupid idea to go the way the monsters did. But it was the only way out. Many soldiers ran ahead, chasing after the fleeing monsters and advancing to safety. They were shouting jeers at the monsters the whole way. Winter grinned.

They know they can kill them.

Gunfire sounded ahead, at first it sounded as if they encountered another, but it when Winter arrived, it was just some soldiers waiting for Winter and they were celebrating. The morale seemed to have begun to soar with the death of one of those things. Winter hoped it stayed that way. "What the hell! Keep moving you guys, I got my own escort." Winter said, referring to some brave ponies staying with Winter. The soldiers nodded and ran ahead. It didn't take long for gunfire to sound off further up. Winter rounded the corner to find that they were at where they rappelled down. Soldiers made improvised cover and fired at everything that moved in the dark.

"Friendly fire! Friendly fire! Hold your fire! Friendlies on your six!" Winter yelled as one of the soldiers began firing at them. He flushed.

"Oh shit! Sorry sir! Hurry, get over here! Those things are all around!" He called out. Winter and his soldiers obliged and galloped over, Winter being careful to not rupture any wounded organs in Oceans body.

"Why the hell haven't any of you began to climb back up?" Winter asked, setting Ocean down against an overturned cart.

"We were waiting for you. We were going to cover you as you went up first." He said. This soldier was the ex-insurgent leader. Winter was about to say something, but his radio pitched up.

"Sir, we have your location. We are actually looking down at you... Get up here and we can treat your wounded.... Wait.... the fucks that noise?" The mares voice asked. Referring to the shrieks coming from above. 'Oh shit.' Winter thought. They were making another assault.

"Shit! Contacts, what are these things?!" The radio chirped.... Soon gunfire sounded off from the top of the ridge. The radio began to come alive with orders and scared ponies voices. "We need to get up there, now! Soldiers, move to reinforce! Go, now!" Winter ordered, strapping Oceans armor to his... He was gonna have to climb one hundred and twenty meters with her clinging to life and dangling from his armor. No pressure.

Soon, the creatures descended upon the soldiers below. Many were taken off guard and some were screaming in terror. They were so distracted by whats happening above to remember that they targets as well. Some immediately were grabbed and dragged into the darkness. Their screams ended not long after. Some began to fight back, firing at whatever moved in the dark, but many began to panic and climbed the ropes, those capable of flight either remained to help ponies get to the top or fled and assisted those at the top of the ridge. Winter grabbed onto a rope and began heaving himself up, soldiers below him covering the retreat, but many climbing up.

Winter had gotten about ten meters up before something got his attention. He looked over to the source. It was one of his soldier climbing up was being attacked by a couple of monsters. One have her fore hooves, the other her hind legs.

They were pulling her apart.

Winter levitated his revolver to assist her, but by the time he lined up his sights.... 'Sweet Celestias flank... Winter thought, his magical grip on the revolver failing.... The mare was ripped in half before his very eyes. Her blood pouring the ground below, intestines hanging, or sliding, out. If she was still alive by the time her body was drained of blood, she wasn't when they dropped her. Her two halves falling to the chaos below. Winters grip on his revolver failed. And it joined her on the ground.

"You fucks!" Winter yelled, magically throwing rocks at them, they looked at him. Grinning. For a time, Winter forget he was trying to protect a mare dangling from his armor. But by the time he remembered, the monsters were swooping past him. Trying to knock him off balance.

'Oh fuck me.' He thought.... He tried desperately to hold on. Clinging to it like a foal would to its mother. But to no avail, they knocked him off and he fell... He collected his thoughts before he fell, deciding that this was the end. He placed Ocean on top of him so he would take the brunt of the fall. So he died and not her. He closed his eyes, assuming that his spine would break on contact with the ground, and he would perish. But it was not to be as he hit the ground with a thud, and started sliding. The chain connecting Oceans and Winters armor broke, causing Ocean to fall off.

Winter stopped sliding and coughed out blood. Had he survived the fall? He was starting to laugh, when a monster landed in front of him, and started to grab his leg. It was going to drag him into the darkness. Winter felt fear, he had not felt it yet. But now he knows what it feels like. He started kicking, trying to loosen its grip. But all his thrashing just pisses it off, it screams at him and places both of its hands on the stallions leg, and placed a foot on his stomach...

"AAAAAAGH!" Winter screamed as his leg was detached from his body. The creature ripped it off and drank the blood that pouring from the severed limb. Ignoring the blood coming from the limbs place on the body. "OH MY GODDESSES!" Winter yelled before slumping to the ground, unconscious. Ocean looked up at the Lieutenant, intense pain filling her body with muscle she moves. She gasped when she noticed his missing leg, and when she saw the creature drinking from the detached leg. She looked frantically around for a weapon, anything. "There has to be one! Come on!" She murmured frantically, the officer had tried to save and. Now it was time to repay the favor.

Finally, she found a discarded revolver, it looked a lot like Winters. She aimed it at the creature, who noticed her moving. She wasn't far from it really, maybe eighteen feet. It shrieked a horrible shriek and dropped the leg, charging Ocean. She screamed in terror and closed her eyes, pulling the trigger. She opened here eyes a second later to find the creature dead. She had hit in the head, between its eyes. A really lucky shot. She laughed at her luck before scrambling over to Winters side, she checked for a pulse. There was one, but it was faint. He was still alive. She heard something behind her, causing her turn and fire a blind shot, missing the a bat pony behind her.

"Shit! Friendly fire!" She yelled before looking at Winters body. "Ahh hell! What happened?!" She asked, before looking at the dead monster and the leg next to it.

"Nevermind.... Hey, Firework! Give a me hoof with Winter. " She said, before looking back at the bleeding Ocean.

"Ocean, the monsters are fleeing.... Did you kill that thing? If you did then you fucking saved us all... We are going to get you medical attention, just hold on!" She said, grabbing Oceans shoulders as she took flight. She flew up to the ridge, where wounded and dead ponies were littered. There were REM Medics and civilian paramedics tending to those wounded. The bat pony laid Ocean down and called for a paramedic. Ocean looked over to find Winter laying next to her, Firework brought him up. He was still unconscious. Two paramedics came into Oceans vision.

"These two are badly wounded, you gotta help them!" Firework yelled. One paramedic ran over to Winter, while the other looked down at Ocean.. Making eye contact.

"We cant treat them here, their wounds will get infected... Stitches! Get the stretcher and call in a medical chariot! These two need immediate medical attention!"

Ocean looked back over at Winter. He had tried to save her, and now she saved him.... She was happy. Proud. Her vision began to fade and she looked back at the doctors.... They were rushing over to her.

The last thing she saw before her vision failed was a stretcher.

<><><>

Epilogue

Winter woke up gasping, and had a strange feeling wash over him. It felt a mix of pain and.... missing something... He looked around. Drenched in sweat and his coat covered in blood, he realized he was in a hospital. He was alone, the TV was on. But it was muted, it was some news channel. The doctor came in.

"Ahh good, your awake. Another few days and I would've had to take you back to the ER for your coma." He said, smiling and looking Winter in the eyes.

"Doc.... Whe----Where am I? What happened? I.... It felt like I was having an nightmare." Winter said, laying his head back down and wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Well, if that nightmare was about you facing death then it wasn't a dream at all. I was left out of most of the information, but when they brought you in, you were missing a leg and bleeding out. You were unconscious as well. And from the blood loss you sustained, you were rendered into a coma for two weeks." The doc said, looking at his clipboard. Winter sat up and stared at the doc.

"I.... I'm missing a leg?" He asked, quivering... The next word the doc would utter would affect Winters future. He knew that and was scared. He loved his job, and despite not recollecting what happened, he imagined it was fun. As his job usually was. Exploring underground caverns was fun.

"Yes." The doc said, Winter nearly broke out in tears. "You lost in a fight with some kind of.... something. That's all I was told about why your were in that condition. But no worries. We have an artificial leg all ready for you and we will attach it when you leave. Congratulations Lieutenant Perfect Winter. Your going to be perfectly fine." The doc said, smiling even more and reached out to shake Winters hoof. They shook, although Winter wasn't happy about this. A knock at the door caught both ponies attention.

"Oh yeah, you might have a visitor as well. A bat mare has been coming to visit you for the past five days. She was in the ER with you." The doc said. Winter looked back at the door. 'Ocean...' Winter thought, she was in his nightmare.... or..... whatever it was. He was trying to rescue her. "You owe a lot to his mare. I was told she saved your life." The doc said. "Come in!" He called.

The door opened to reveal a mare. A bat pony alright. She had a teal eye, a dark purple coat and was wearing a cloak all bat ponies wear in the sun. She was wearing an eye patch. And a lot of gauze and bandages. But other than that. She looked fine. She smiling and was visibly nervous. "Hey doc. Is he up yet?" She asked.

"Actually yes! He just woke up... Excuse me I have to go finish up your paperwork. When I return then you can sign out and leave Mr. Winter." He said, leaving the room. Ocean walked up to Winters bed and sat down. He was lying back looking at her. The extent of her wounds concerned him.

"What happened, Ocean?" He asked, exhausted.

"A routine mission gone to hell, sir. We were attacked by a netherworld on monsters. I was nearly killed and you saved me. So I returned the favor." She said, smiling and looking at his stump. "Although I should have acted faster."

"Who took my position?" Winter asked immediately.

"Oh.... heh.... Awkward.... I was hoping you wouldn't ask.... but I did. After I woke up, I found out I was promoted on merit to Corporal, they named me the new leader of whats left of the Underground Scouts platoon." She said, looking away and chuckling uncomfortably. Winter laid back down and stared at the ceiling. His career was over, and now he is a cripple. Well, on the bright side, he can write on his experience. He looked back at Ocean, he was looking at him. She visibly nervous and she even started sweating.

"Well, I just came to check up on you, and you seem good now so i'm gonn-" She said, starting for the door, but she was stopped by Winter.

"Spending five days checking up on me just to see if I was alright... No, that's not why your here. Your nervous. Whats wrong, something up?" He asked, concerned.... He might not be platoon commander anymore. But their welfare still concerned him.

"Oh... Uh.... ahahehhee. Well uh... its.... its a question I want to ask that is bugging me. I thought to wait so I was gonna leave." She said, he cheeks were flushed.

"Well it must be important since you been visiting me for five days.. This being six, ask away." He said. She shifted uncomfortably. She looked as if she did not want to ask it.

"Well... errr.. Its just that.... Uhh... Well, it is to say that I was wondering.... whooo... I can't ask it.... Maybe... maybe this will say more than words?" She said, she was visibly frightened. She reached into her cloak and pulled something out.... Winter struggled to understand what she just pulled out. Something gold and diamond.

She pulled out a Wedding Ring.

Author's Note

Olitiau
An Olitiau is a gigantic cryptid bat (or flying reptile) hypothesized to exist in Central Africa. With a wingspan of 10-15 feet, and a monkey-like face, red beading eyes. and a scream that could pierce your soul... It is no wonder why its considered a "demon" in many cultures. Olitiau, if it does indeed exist, has been spotted in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Central Africa, Cameroon, Papua New Guinea, and several Asian Countries. If you see one, shoot first, ask questions later... As they often attack more than once... One report was from American Soldiers in Vietnam who reportedly attacked by more than one Olitau. The creatures swooped down and attacked the soldiers at their camp, and terrorized them throughout the night. They ended their siege at dawn, and the creatures were never seen again by the American soldiers at that camp. Another report of Olitau spotted in war time was in Afghanistan, where a squad of American Marines entered the Tora Bora cave system and was soon attacked by a flurry of them. Only one marine was reported to have made it out alive and the attack was attributed to a nest of vampire bats, evidence backing this up was that the surviving American Marine had a rare form of Rabies. The bodies were never recovered. Another report was in Cameroon, where a bat hunter named Ivan T. Sanderson reported to have been attacked by an Olitau, his story backed up by his friend and his hunting companion, Gerald Russel, who was with him the time of the attack.

Do they live among us?

Source 1

Source 2