The C̸̞̙̭̽̌̀̈́̽̕̕ȗ̵̧̨̢̻̩̞̘͙̉̋̊͂͘ŕ̷͖̦̍͝s̵̫̪̋̍͂̆̆͆̄é̶̡̧̺͖d̸͎͒̒̿̈̀ Apocalypse

The dark, eerie tunnel was illuminated by Twi’s flashlight. She and I exchanged a glance as she hobbled with the flashlight in her hoof.

“It’ll be ok,” I said.

“Not that. Look at me.”

I watched her as we jogged along the track, trying to figure out what she was on about. She awkwardly hobbled along with three legs as her fourth held the flashlight, her face growing angrier through each step.

“Would you take the damn flashlight?! Please?” she scoffed.

"Bruh, have you never held a flashlight before?"

She growled slightly.

"I have, bonehead. I'm just a bit uncomfortable right now. My other hoof hurts a little. Can you please hold it? You'd be better with it anyway."

“Oh, ok," I answered, taking the flashlight from her. I observed it for a moment to make sure it was on the right set-

WHOA!

THUNK!

I tripped over one of the goddamn rails and splatted face-first on the ground. To make matters worse, I dropped the flashlight, which somehow turned itself off. Now it was pitch black inside the tunnel.

"Damn it, D'mitry!" Twi exclaimed beside me.

"Ow! Hang on!"

I'd heard the flashlight land on the rails in front of me, but it was too dark to see anything. It took me a few seconds to feel for it before I picked it up and turned it on again.

Spike cackled a bit. “Sweet Celestia. How does your species even survive?”

“Shut up, drasshole.”

I stood back up and started jogging with the others again.

"Not naturally, that's for sure," Twi scoffed.

"Hey! You said I'd be better with the flashlight. You were wrong."

"Just watch out for the rails, bonehead."

I continued jogging with them, catching up to run side-by-side with Twi at the front of the group. This time, I carefully watched the stupid rails so I wouldn't trip again. That got me thinking.

“Wait a minute. Why the hell are we even jogging anymore? Can’t we just walk?”

Twi huffed. “I suppose we should. It’s just a bit frightening getting SHOT AT, you know? These guns of your world are terrifying, to put it lightly.”

We slowed to a walking speed, which was relieving.

“Ah. I suppose you’re right. I guess y’all aren’t really used to this.”

“Come again?” AJ asked behind us. “You’re used to being shot at?”

“Uh… well… actually, no. Not really. Nevermind. I’ve only been shot at once before.”

“And why was that?”

“I was at school.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. That stuff just kinda happens where I’m from.”

“Wow.”

We continued walking along for a minute. I then glanced back at Redheart, who was limping at the back of the group. She had one of the guards helping her stay upright, but she still looked to be struggling. I grew worried about her and turned to Twi, extending the flashlight out to her.

“Hey, could you hold this a minute?”

“Oh my fucking god.”

"Please?"

Twi angrily snatched the flashlight from me.

"I proposed you be my stress relief, not the CAUSE."

"Yeah yeah, we'll sort that out later."

I slowed my pace to jog beside Redheart. Since Twi was illuminating the path in front of us, it was a bit darker back here. I could still vaguely see that her leg was clearly bleeding, but it was hard to tell what from.

“What happened?! Were you bit? Please don't tell me you were bit,” I begged.

“No, hun, I got hit by one of the… bullets. It hit my leg.”

“Oh good. Kinda... will you be alright?”

“I think so. It hurts a lot though.”

For some reason, she was still hauling the cart behind her. Without permission, I leaned down as we walked and unfastened the strap connecting her to it. She looked at me, puzzled, until I pointed a finger at the guard.

“You. Pull the cart. And you,” I pointed at Redheart. “Get in.”

The guard immediately grew angry. "Did you just try to order-"

"Just do it," Twi hissed, coming to a stop and swinging the flashlight around until it was pointed at us.

The guard huffed.

"Yes, princess," he replied, assisting Redheart inside the cart. It only took a few moments for him to hook up before we continued. As we walked, I leaned over the cart to see her wound. It was hard to see, but it looked like the bullet had entered just above her back hoof.

“Twi! Can I see your bag?” I called.

Twi turned her head and glared back at me, still having trouble keeping the flashlight steady as she limped along. “Sure! Want a fucking blowjob as well?!”

"I mean..."

She glared back at me, eager to huck the flashlight at my head.

“It’s okay,” Redheart said, “I have one on me.”

She pointed to the saddlebag she had, which hung off the back end of the cart.

“Want me to-” I started.

“No, hun, I got it. I don’t want you to trip again.”

She’d already grabbed a rag, which she used to apply pressure on the wound.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, hun. I’m fine. Promise.”

We continued walking down the tunnel. It was surprising just how long this motherfucker was. I couldn’t even see a light at the end yet, probably not helped by the fact that it was night out. Redheart’s cart rolled down the tracks, its wheels chattering as it danced over the rails. The tracks took up most of the tunnel, so the sides were too narrow to fit it.

We walked on for a few more minutes until Twi stopped.

“Hold on, everybody. Look…”

She pointed the flashlight at the tracks ahead of us. Illuminated by it was a zombie pony lying partially on the tracks. Her body was... cut in half, one part inside the tracks, and one part smooshed against the wall. Twi exchanged a nervous glance with me.

“Gross,” I commented.

"Tell me about it."

"It's a pretty nauseating si-"

She looked up at me with an unamused face as the sound of the cart rolled behind me. We looked back to see the guard point at it.

“How do we get this past her?” he asked.

“We can probably move her,” Twi assured, extending her hoof with the flashlight out to me. “D’mitry. Take the flashlight.”

“Why?”

“D’m-” she started, interrupted by a quick breath of frustration. “D’mitry. If you do not take this flashlight right now, I am going to shove it so far up your ass that your organs will glow in the dark. TAKE IT!”

I hesitantly grabbed the flashlight from her hoof and shone it on the corpse so the others could move it aside. They took the half of the body in the middle of the tracks and dragged it behind the other half. It fit snugly between the rail and the wall, giving plenty of room for Redheart’s cart to move through.

But as the guard started walking past it, we heard a loud whistle in the distance.

“Bruh."