“Where is Lyra?!” The beige mare demanded in a high pitched voice. She had a fierce, yet heartbroken gaze in her teal eyes. Her swirly pink and blue mane was caked with blood, but Storm could still see fresh scars hiding behind the curls.

“Who?” Storm replied. He knew this game after a lifetime of being held - and holding others - at gunpoint. All he had to do was give her what she wanted. Keep her talking and then strike.

The mare’s eye twitched momentarily as if she had just heard a sick joke. She grit her teeth before continuing. “Lyra Heartstrings! What did you do with her?!”

“Lady, I have no idea who the fuck that-” Storm was once again cut off as a striped hoof connected with the side of the mare’s head.

Zecora just got another foreleg up for a follow up strike when the beige mare pistol whipped her to the ground in one strike. Suddenly, the mare felt a thick foreleg wrap around her throat, while a tethered appendage ripped the revolver from her own grasp. Before she could react, the barrel was jammed into the side of her head.

“We don’t have time for this!” Storm growled into her ear, shoving the barrel harder against her skull for added emphasis. He continued to crush her windpipe enough to destroy any further resistance, but held off to let her remain conscious. “Those things up there aren’t done with us! They all know vaguely where we are and want me dead more than anything! That's not even counting whatever fucked up things they need you girls for!”

The mare continued to fruitlessly grip at his foreleg, prompting Storm to mentally prepare himself as he shoved her away to the ground. He kept his sidearm trained on her as she stood up cautiously. “I told you,” He continued while helping Zecora to her hooves as well. “I don’t know a Lyra. Why do you think I had anything to do with it?!”

“B-because,” The beige mare coughed. “Because you were in our town before everything went to Tartarus! I thought you were suspicious, but now I find out that you have my marefriend’s engagement present!”

Storm side-eyed the revolver until he found the initials “L.H.” carved onto the side in between dual engraved wings, confirming part of her accusation.

“He is not to blame for her disappearance, Bon Bon!” Zecora vouched while getting up herself. “I found the weapon in the forest after Ponyville’s demise. I brought it back to my place, so there is no need for waving it in my companion’s face.”

Upon this revelation, the fight in Bon Bon’s glare shattered. “Then have you seen her?!” Zecora shook her head sorrowfully. “T-that’s impossible! Lyra wouldn’t go anywhere without it!”

“She didn’t have a choice.” Storm added. “The Damned probably dragged her off like the rest of Ponyville.”

“Lyra Heartstrings wasn’t bound with the rest of us back there. It is possible she could be deeper in this lair.”

“Then that’s where I’m going.” Bon Bon replied while extending a hoof towards Storm, who pulled the revolver back. “Gimme the gun!”

“Think about this for a fucking second! That Carver was doing something to every creature that was brought in. If Lyra wasn’t back there then she is either still topside or too far gone to save. Unless she is down this path, then we can’t help her.”

“We?” Bon Bon squinted at him. “I don’t need your permission or help! I need my special somepony’s gun back!”

“You’re not the only one trying to find someone. We don’t have a lot of time or resources and I’m not giving up any tools to get there. End of discussion.” Storm began walking past her with the revolver aimed and Zecora in tow.

As the arguing continued, the violet pegasus began to stir. She rubbed her head before looking around sporadically. Getting to her hooves, she had a relieved smile plastered on her face. “We’re alive?! Thank Celestia! Wait - where are we?”

“Still underground.” Storm replied, his eyes and weapon never leaving the beige mare. “We’re getting out of here. If you have somepony down here, you’re welcome to join her.”

“I-I don’t know if my mom is down here or not!” The violet pegasus replied. “We were coming back from Appleloosa when those Damned things attacked us! They took over Ponyville and chased us through the woods!”

Storm stopped in the process of backing into the tunnel. That word. That fucking word. It was the only thing that brought him back. He swore under his breath before sighing and looking towards the pegasus. “What does she look like?”

“Well, her name is Clear Sky. She is in her forties and isn’t a pegasus. My mom is a unicorn. Pink coat and mane with blue stripes-”

“Does she have a sun cutie mark? With a gust of wind on the right side?”

The violet pegasus blinked a few times, stunned with the information. “Yes! That’s her! Have you seen her?!”

“Yeah. She’s in Appleloosa. I saw her looking through a spell for a friend of mine.”

“Really?!” She sighed in relief. “Please take me with you two! I need to see her and dad!”

Storm and Zecora shared silent looks before the stallion of the two nodded. “Fine. Don’t draw any attention and be prepared for anything.”

The pegasus nodded frantically before trotting to the duo’s side. “Thank you! Thank you! Oh, I’m Wind Sprint by the way.” She held out a foreleg for them to shake.

Zecora took her hoof gracefully. “Zecora is my name. Healing our friends and banishing evil is my game.”

Wind then held her foreleg out to Storm, who just looked down at it until she sheepishly lowered the appendage. “Name’s Storm. Now let's get out of here before the others find us.”

The stallion didn’t believe that hopeful statement himself. It didn’t add up. He had just witnessed more Damned than he had ever seen in his lifetime, but the Warden only sends a dozen diamond dogs after them? There was an army on the other side of that chamber!

What are you planning… He thought while leading the group - including the begrudgingly following Bon Bon - through a narrow passage. The good side of his visor was the group’s only source of dim light as they navigated past the sharp corners and jumped at every shadow.

Suddenly, a dim blue glow appeared from around a nearby corner. Storm slammed himself into cover of the wall before raising a foreleg to halt the others. “Something up ahead. Possibly Damned…” He whispered. “Wait here.”

He swung around the corner, only to be met with a larger passage filled with glowing crystals - the closest of which was a cyan blue - like a Plexer. A quick scan of the area later, he waved the girls over once the passage’s immediate portion was deemed clear.

As they walked through the shimmering passage, Storm realized that they weren’t actually in a passageway, but a whole new chamber. The larger crystals jutting out from the ground and ceiling gave the appearance of a walled passage. Shades of indigo, cyan, pearlescent, and many more beautiful hues bounced off the walls, lighting up the cave the further they went. Some of them refused to speak out of fear of alerting whatever could be lurking nearby, while others admired the most colorful sight in a colorless world.

A solid minute of walking later, they came across a fork in the cavern created by the largest of crystals. Storm weighed both paths based upon their destinations, what limited parts he could see that is. The left path had less crystals, dipped down where it rounded the corner into darkness. Additionally, a faint chorus of moaning emanated from this path as well. The right path, on the other hoof, continued on their current level and had a fair amount of crystals to light the way.

Storm started on the right path. Zecora and Wind Sprint followed without question, however, Bon Bon was rooted to the spot at the fork. She stared down into the darker of the paths as a terrible tightening began in her stomach. The beige mare couldn’t understand why she suddenly felt that way, but the barely audible distressed moans might have had something to do with it.

The armor pegasus glanced back over his shoulder to see that Bon Bon wasn’t following. He turned back to face the front when a striped foreleg grabbed his own. “We can’t just leave her down here! How would you be able to sleep a conscious that is clear?”

“I don’t.” Storm replied, shaking her hoof off. “But I won't be able to ever sleep if Dash dies.” He wasn't going to argue any further, resolving to push ahead. Zecora glanced back at the beige mare before swallowing her consciousness to join the other two.

The duo-turned-trio rounded another corner to be faced with a titanic chamber - larger than the Carver’s, but not as big as the highway - in the shape of a rectangular passage. Various crystals and gems continued to light pockets of the area, resembling weak spotlights to reveal the chamber. Not all of the chamber was hollow as pockets of large crystals still dotted the floor and walls like razor sharp sores. Additionally, an elevated position to the group’s right had a makeshift guard rail, tents, and even a shed constructed.

“What is this place?” Wind Sprint asked, finally breaking the unanimous silence.

“It's a mine.” Storm replied, not wasting any time to move forward. “Or it was one. No telling what the Warden uses it for.”

“Warden?” Zecora inquired.

“Later.” Storm brushed her off. His focus was elsewhere, more so than usual. “This place is either a main or the main chamber. There should be a lift around here somewhere.”

“How do you know?” Wind continued.

“I had family that worked in the mines. If there is one thing you can count on, it is that everypony will vent about the lift broke down for the third time at the dinner table-”

The stallion recoiled and steadied his weapon, causing the two mares to flinch backwards as well. Standing directly behind the wall of crystals were not one, not two, but five hunched over Diggers. Wind screamed before Zecora placed herself to stand between the younger mare and the creatures. Everypony expected a shot to ring out in that instant, but it never came.

They looked to Storm, who just kept walking past the canines with the revolver raised. He eyed them from his peripherals before waving the girls over. “Come on!” He whispered harshly. “They’re not active! Let’s not wait around for that to change!”

Zecora examined the Diggers from a distance to confirm this. She couldn’t find a single blue glow or insect creature anywhere on them. Every hulking corpse had their heads hunched forward with their spiked arms dug into the stone to keep them upright, resembling a team or squad paying their respects to a fallen brethren. Zecora was the second to make a move, with Wind Sprint practically trying to melt into her striped coat as the two trotted past the beasts.

More crystal clusters and deactivated creatures later, the trio arrived at the opposite corner of the chamber. Storm immediately found his target in the form of a rusted lift dug into the far left corner next to a pile of minecarts similar to the ones in the last chamber. The stallion rushed over to the lift’s control console. He detached his blade, holding it in his tethered grip before using the tip to unscrew a cutout on the console’s side.

Zecora and Wind Sprint watched from the side, the latter jumping at the sound of the metal panel clanging against the stone floor. He knelt down, shuffled a few things unseen by the girls around inside the console before huffing and swearing under his reverberated breath.

“What’s wrong?” Zecora asked, coming to his side.

Storm sighed with a shake of his head. “The lift’s no good. I thought we could make it out by oiling the gears and jumping the console’s power supply, but that isn’t going to happen.”

“You can fix it though, right?” Wind popped her head up from beside the zebra mare.

“Unless anypony has three sixteen millimeter cables, a spur gear, and a stronger power source than a thruster battery, no I can’t fix it. Guess we’re taking the service route.” The stallion grunted, standing back up at full height, before looking up at a square hatch on the lift’s ceiling. “Typical. The service hatch is locked. Can’t buck it open from here, so we’ll need a key.”

Wind, still hovering slightly above the ground, threw her forelegs up as the rollercoaster of hope going down in her facial features. “A key? Isn’t this place like three decades old? What if it's not here!”

“Then you’re lucky I have three bullets left.” This response earned a pair of widened eyes at the reminded severity of the situation. He began towards the upper level of the chamber at that.

“He's joking, right?” Wind whispered to Zecora, who only shook her head before following the stallion.

In the adjacent corner, a set of wooden ramps and scaffolding led up to the mentioned location. Storm stopped just before the first inclination and tested it with a hoof. When it became clear it wouldn’t crumble under a bulky stallion and even bulkier suit, he fully stepped onto the ramp. The platform creaked and groaned with each step the group took, but now they were on the second story of the chamber.

A makeshift spread of tents alongside a single shack made of metal sheets barely stood. Years of neglect were present in the torn material and rusted metal. A few spots where tents would have been were replaced by wooden framework with crates of pickaxes, lanterns, helmets, and more were strewn about. Zecora broke off from the others, grabbing a pickaxe with her Tethertech. The zebra also examined the mining helmets in hope that the mounted flashlights would still work, but none did.

“Don’t bother.” Storm’s sudden voice from behind made the striped mare jump. He picked up the helmet she was holding, unscrewed the battery pack and tossed the whole thing aside after a second of examination. “The emergency gear is inside the shack. It’s the durable, cave-in scenario type of equipment. With any luck for once, it might still work.”

While turning towards the shack, both stallion and zebra noticed Wind Sprint leaning over the railing staring down at something. Storm and Zecora exchanged silent glances before the former went over to the younger mare’s side. Wind was staring down at the half a dozen Diggers scattered throughout the crystalized maze.

“It’s… so fucking weird.” She finally said aloud upon noticing Storm. “T-they're just like statues! I’ve never been so close to one before without it, you know…”

“Before trying to decapitate you? Yeah, I know.” When she fell silent, Storm quickly tried to change gears by clearing his throat. “I think they’re being stored like tools. Those Diggers aren’t made for combat and I’d be willing to bet my wings they’re used for excavation of these tunnels.”

Both pegasi were silent for a moment before Wind Sprint broke it. “I’m just glad my mom didn’t get caught. I don’t know if I could live through seeing her like that white mare…”

As if on cue, the mental image of the white earth pony getting hacked to her stem and then having fleshy tubes stuck in her stomach replayed in Storm’s head. “I saw the whole thing. The limb dismemberment makes sense, but I still can’t figure out the purpose of those tubes that Carver stuck inside of her.”

“Why don’t they just kill us? What do they need with us alive?!”

“I don’t know. If the Warden is after females, it could be to prevent any survivors from reproducing. Something to break moral, but it's too specific for just that.” Storm swore he heard a familiar male voice whispering his name from the lower level just then. He backed away from the edge. “We can debate this later, we need to get out of here.”

The two pegasi joined Zecora inside the sheet metal shack a few seconds later. Along the wall of the rusted building was a row of standing lockers and a counter with expired food and emergency medical supplies. In the center, a rectangular foldout table with faded tunnel expansion plans, gem haul records, and a few scattered pieces of mining equipment.

“Find anything?” Storm asked, arriving at Zecora’s side.

The zebra shook her head. “Nothing of use. If anything, requiring a key for emergency access is a decision that is rather obtuse.”

“My grandfather said the mining companies used it to prevent workers from leaving early or taking breaks unnoticed. I have no idea who’d want to take a smoke break on top of a moving box of death, but here we are down in this shithole.” Storm eyed the lockers along the furthest wall. “What about those? Are any of them unlocked?”

Zecora shook her head again. Storm’s gaze slid from her newfound pickaxe then back to the lockers. “Let me see that. Got an idea.” With that, the stallion jammed the tool’s tip into the locker door’s crack until the pick was stuck. Then he turned around, reared up and bucked the pick handle with his hindlegs.

The metal door flew off its hinges in an instant before clanging to the floor alongside the split pickaxe. Storm turned back around to rifle through the locker’s contents. Family photo, corroded flashlight batteries, a pack of cigarettes, and a lunchbox were inside. Storm examined the cigarettes, finding a “Scorchers” label next to a logo resembling Princess Celestia’s Cutie Mark. He slid the package open to reveal that half the box still remained before closing it and pocketing them.

“This ones a personal locker.” He said over his shoulder to the girls. “We’re looking for an emergency locker. See anything different?”

The shack went silent for a few moments as everypony examined the wall intently. Finally, Wind Sprint spoke up. “Oh! Over here!” She excitedly pointed at the locker on the far end of the wall with a red rectangular design on the sides labeled “Emergency.”

Storm placed a new pickaxe from Zecora into the door crack and was in the process of turning around when the younger mare tapped his flank. “Wait! Can I try? I’m really good at buckball, so this should be no problem!”

“Don’t hurt yourself.” The stallion stepped aside.

“Wow. Heroic and caring.” Wind giggled while positioning herself to buck the pick handle. “Same goes for you. We wouldn’t want you injured when I express my gratitude after we get out of here.” She finished with a wink.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” Storm replied dryly. “I’ve got to take care of a few things and I’m twice your age anyway.”

Wind was about to reply when Zecora cleared her throat to break up the derailed, awkward topic. With a rearing strike, Wind Sprint managed to pry the locker door open over half way. The mare went back in to finish the job with a second buck, causing half the pickaxe to split and fly into the locker, scattering a majority of its contents onto the stone floor.

Only a single object remained vertically propped up against the corners of the locker. The object in question was comprised of a thick slab of metal with dual leather straps alongside it for a foreleg to fit inside. Alongside the straps, a trapezoid-like Tethertech link - identical to the ones on firearms - was placed. At the end of the object was a long rectangular blade with razor sharp teeth. In the middle of the blade were two circular contraptions with belts on them. All in all, the thing looked like the bastard offspring between a sword and a chainsaw.

Storm grabbed the chainsword with his Tethertech, levitating it beside his right foreleg before strapping it on as tightly as possible. Pushing a button on the side, the blade part of the tool folded back alongside his foreleg, fitting his limb’s outline so as to not increase his bulk marginally. The stallion then grabbed a battery pack from the ground and loaded it into the tool.

“What is that?” Wind asked, grabbing his foreleg to examine the chainsword.

“It’s a diamond and stone cutting saw.” Storm replied, yanking his appendage safely away. “Be careful with the teeth. This thing is probably as sharp as the day it came off the production line and that's what I'm counting on. Anyway, let's find that key.”

Everypony got to work in the search. Storm found two separate key rings with a dozen of keys on each, so he handed one to Wind Sprint. Meanwhile, Zecora loaded battery packs into mining helmets. When she was finished, two packs still remained. Storm diverted from the key search to charge his thruster batteries with the unused packs.

“I found it!” Wind exclaimed holding up a small bronze key with the words “Shaft Hatch” on it’s base. “Two for two baby-”

A sudden scream filled the chamber. The source sounded far, but the shape of the chamber carried and even amplified the sound, causing the younger pegasus to jump and let go of the key. Storm only had time to blink once as the key soared through the air and towards a floor vent carved into the stone. His telekinetic appendage was launched for the key just as it clanged against the vent slits before slipping inside.

“No, no, no, Fuck! Goddammit!”

Wind Sprint cringed with every grinding sound the key made as it bumped against stone on it’s way down to wherever it went. Her confident front was immediately crushed upon looking in Storm’s direction. Though she couldn’t see him underneath the helmet, she could imagine the fuming expression underneath.

Storm ripped the rusted grate out of the floor and threw it aside. He grabbed one of the mining helmets to stick its flashlight beam down the winding hole. Through a small crack in the vent’s tunnel, he could see the key continue falling until it was swallowed by the darkness. The stallion stood up, exhaling slowly through his nostrils in a clearly frustrated manner.

Upon seeing his purple hand reach for the revolver, Wind Sprint’s nerves were put on ice. The younger mare immediately rushed behind Zecora, ducking behind her for safety. “I-I am so, so sorry! I didn’t-”

“Save it!” Storm cut her off, keeping the revolver at his side, pointed absently up into the air. “Just get to the lift! If the Warden didn’t know we were in this chamber, it sure as Hell does now!” He began to sprint out the door with the other two in tow.

“What is the plan?” Zecora asked while the trio ran for the lift. “Do you have any idea where the key went? It looked like some sort of airflow vent for a fan.”

“That’s exactly what it is! It goes down and there is only one other path that could be connected!”

Arriving at the lift, Storm immediately checked the Diggers to verify that the brutes were still motionless and Plexerless. He ushered the girls inside the lift, pointing at the solid half-wall railing. “Hide here! I’ll get the key and be back!”

After the mares did just that, Storm galloped past the Diggers and through the gem maze until he arrived at the forked tunnel. He squinted to see in his half-cracked nightvision, rounding the corner with revolver held high. No immediate threats. The stallion continued down a slight declining path to make another sharp right turn.

A faint blue glow was emanating from the turn, but this time an equine-shaped shadow was in the middle. Storm hugged the right wall, mentally and physically preparing himself for whatever was next. He swung around the corner and nearly blew Bon Bon’s head off. In an instant, the pegasus forgot all about the frozen mare in front of him once he noticed everyone else in the chamber.

Rows and rows of female creatures. Living female creatures. They were the source of the now mind-splitting moaning sounds, which were amplified by the chamber’s interior. Ponies, griffons, changelings, diamond dogs, and many more all had been given the same treatment as Redheart. Their limbs were hacked off, bellies swollen and glowing an aqua color, and multiple fleshy tubes carrying the blue liquid snaked around the chamber. These tendrils breached every creature’s stomach at least in one area while the tendrils at the corner of the chamber disappeared into tiny cracks in the walls, feeding the liquid into the females from an unknown source.

Nor Storm or Bon Bon could utter a word as they watched the girls choking out sobs, moans, and wheezes with every pulse of their bloated stomachs. In the process of scanning the seemingly endless rows of suffering, the stallion finally caught a glimpse of something else. Bodies. Dead ones, this time. All of which were piled in the far corner of the chamber - a few he recognized such as the remains of Rarity’s body and the gatekeepers of Ponyville - next to another tunnel.

Key… key… find the fucking key! Storm reminded himself, forcefully prying his stare off the females.

The key had landed in between three of the females, their bellies forming a triangular lamp to illuminate the small object. Storm wasted no time carefully snatching it up with his Tethertech. Then he turned to leave, noticing what Bon was staring at.

“Lyra…”

A mint-colored unicorn mare writhed in place upon the vocalization. Her tear-stained eyes and broken expression fixated on Bon Bon’s own. It appeared as if the unicorn was trying to croak something out, but the twin tubes going down her throat prevented anything more than a blubbering cry come out. Bon Bon’s face was dripping with tears as she repeatedly whispered the word “no” over and over.

Storm also locked gazes with Lyra. Her yellow eyes darted from him then back to Bon Bon. After a few rounds, the stallion noticed a third place that they were staring at. Lyra switched from looking back and forth from pony to pony, in favor of looking into his eyes and then to his side. Storm looked down at his flank where the revolver was holstered.

Then it hit him.

She was looking at the weapon.

He once again locked eyes with Lyra, noticing the tears coming back for another round. Before realizing what he was doing, Storm slipped the revolver into his telekinetic grip and aimed it directly at the blue-green mare’s head.

“No! Don’t!” Bon Bon screamed, placing herself in between the barrel and Lyra. “Y-you can’t kill her! I won’t let you!”

“She wants it...” Storm replied in a tone barely above a whisper. His voice was cold and indifferent, betraying the horrible knot tying in his stomach at seeing somepony so broken. It was a look he had seen so often, but only knew one way to treat it.

“NO!” Bon grabbed one of the glowing tendrils, trying to separate it with her teeth to no avail. “Help me free her! Please!”

Storm was at a loss for thoughts and words equally. The severed limbs on the mare had been cauterized by the Carver to stop the bleeding, but he had no idea what the purpose of the tubes were. Even worse, he had no idea what would happen should they separate Lyra from the tendril network. As a last resort of judgement, the stallion looked back into those pleading eyes, but only the tears remained.

Lowering the revolver, Storm activated his blade as Bon Bon raised one of the tendrils connected to Lyra’s stomach. She placed a hoof on the unicorn’s cheek. “I’m here honey… W-we’re gonna get you out of here! I-I promise!”

It took everything and more for Storm to place the blade against the tendril. Everything in her eyes told him to stop. Everything in his mind told him to fucking stop. But he couldn’t.

Storm cut the tendril.

Blue liquid sprayed everywhere as the tendril thrashed before going limp. Lyra began to make a sound resembling muffled wailing as her throat filled with the stuff. It sprayed from her mouth like a stuttering water fountain alongside pieces of flesh and bone as the tendrils inside her throat were emptied into her stomach. More liquid flowed out from the edges of the tendril placements there too. Lyra was screaming now, but she was alone…

One by one, the other females started experiencing the same thing - minus the severed tendril from Storm’s hoof - causing them to wail in agony as their stomachs expanded. Storm felt his heart racing in tandem with the chaos, forcing him to focus on the whole chamber and drowning out Bon Bon in the process.

“Lyra!” She screamed, propping her broken wife up to help expel the liquid from her insides. Suddenly, a pair of spindly legs hooked onto the edges of Lyra’s lips before thrusting the body of a Plexer outward and onto Bon Bon’s face.

The insect latched itself onto her eye socket, drilling its way inside in seconds right as another Plexer fresh from Lyra’s mouth assaulted the other eye. Meanwhile, the remainder of the females were releasing the blue insects into the room. The instant each Plexer was out, it scurried for the pile of bodies by the far end.

Storm decided it was time to get out of dodge, so he turned to grab Bon Bon if necessary, only to get grappled by what remained of her. Her jaw exploded in a shower of gorey bits, shoving out the old teeth in favor of repurposed ones while the muscle was rearranged to accommodate the extended jaw.

Despite having the jump on him, the forming creature didn’t last long before a single swipe from the stallion’s blade cut through the Plexers, but it also reignited the reminder of his stomach wound. Storm shoved the beige corpse away and sprinted for the exit with the newly formed spawns not far behind.

Once he made it back into the crystal mine’s main chamber, Storm made the horrifying discovery that some of the Plexers had already begun reanimating the Diggers. A steady stream of the insects were crawling down from the mining operations center - most likely crawled up from the air vent - towards the crystal maze blocking his path to the lift.

The stallion managed to rush past the closest docile canines in front of him that had yet to be reactivated, but he wasn’t so lucky ahead as a Digger with a full-face helmet jumped out from the corner of his chosen path to confront him. The creature assumed it’s preemptive bull-charge position before rushing to close the distance between the two.

Storm knew the Plexers were inside its head as a faint blue glow escaped the corners of the Digger’s helmet slits. He raised the revolver and fired directly where its eye would have been, but the bullet only dented the helmet around the slit, refusing to even stagger the beast. Switching to plan b, Storm continued sprinting in the Digger’s direction until it raised both arms to leap at him.

As it left the ground, Storm slid underneath the Digger’s now airborne legs before scrambling to his hooves. He had the chainsword outstretched and revved in the same second which the Digger whipped around to strike. Armored bone met jagged stone in a spray of sparks and shards before the machinery won.

Storm’s chainsword ripped through the bladed arm, causing the Digger to strike with the opposite arm, only to have that one separated momentarily as well. As it was bringing a spiked tail around, Storm put everything he had into splitting the Digger’s helmet open, revealing two Plexers that were quickly reduced to tiny chunks by the chainsword.

Immediately after the brute dropped to the ground, Storm felt the flashing pain in his abdomen return as his adrenalized state waned. For a second, his vision split in two before returning to normal. The wound was beginning to feel “fuzzy” as well, no doubt a bad sign of infection or something else. He picked himself up just as the sound of more Diggers becoming active behind him rang out.

Not now! He screamed at his body’s weakening state, before another vision split and sharp stab in his abdomen as his body’s retort.

Through it all, he could see two, wait - one, now two - and back to one Diggers up ahead once more. This one had no facial armor, so it would be easier. Storm aimed the revolver only to discover his own eyesight would be his worst enemy here. He was starting to sweat and feel nauseous as well, making focusing nearly impossible on top of the vision problem. The Digger was already charging him when a black-white and purple blur suddenly sprung out from the maze’s sides.

Storm’s vision focused enough momentarily to see Wind Sprint and Zecora - both with pickaxes in their hooves or tethered grips respectively - stab each Plexer violently. The brute went limp instantly, tripping over its own corpse just before the girls jumped out of the way.

The stallion felt one of his forelegs give out, bringing him to a full stop. Wind Sprint was giving it her all to pry the weapons from the Digger’s body while Zecora rushed over to Storm’s side. The zebra said something to him, but the delirious pegasus couldn’t make out much. He took out the lift key from his suit pocket and tethered it to Zecora’s grasp. She looked at it before returning back to him.

“Storm! Get up!” Zecora ordered, desperation clear in her voice for the brief moment of clarity in Storm’s ears. “Those beasts are almost upon us!”

The striped mare’s voice was drowned out by multiple voices. Irons, Delilah, Maverick, Ivory, Talos, so many more. All of them whispering different things to Storm, making his head throb alongside the wound. His head hung heavy, allowing him to see the single red bar on his chestplate’s light ring.

Suddenly, a seafoam-colored spectre materialized in front of the stallion’s dwindling vision. It was motionless, standing directly behind Zecora and Wind, who were still trying to get him up. The invented shadow’s build was clearly a stallion’s. It resembled Storm’s own if he had taken steroids for a decade and had a massive shovel held in a hoof. Anything beyond that was unrecognizable as the figure seemed to shift and glitch - though Storm was half sure his vision was causing that.

You displayed the strength to overcome all odds and protect the ones you love… Allow me to return the favor for my freedom...

A deep male voice played in his head as the figure walked up to Storm, extending one of its massive forelegs. He had no idea why, but a scarce sense of trust and faint hope washed over Storm with each gap of distance the forehoof closed. Before he could think about the act, the armored pegasus reached out and grabbed the phantom appendage, which disintegrated along with the figure in an instant.

The mine’s light stands flickered despite no discernible power supply. The lift’s control console came online as red lights flashed. Storm’s suit lights were on the fritz. His nightvision flashed, his HUD was a staticy mess, and his health ring went blank. Even his earpiece started blaring choppy pieces from his music catalog momentarily. Zecora and Wind Sprint looked all around at the electrical phenomenon before the armored stallion won their attention.

Something was different.

Storm Surge was different.

A seafoam-colored aura had begun to form around his suit. The phantom wind snaked around his legs and wings in thicker strands than the rest of his form, moving in circular motions like the teeth on a saw blade.

The stallion stood up straight. His posture made it seem as if the infectious cut in his abdomen hadn’t even been there in the first place. Silently, he stared down the four charging Diggers without flinching. He was calm. Way too calm for anyone in this situation.

“Go!” Storm ordered the girls without looking away from his foes. His voice was coated in confidence as was his battle stance. “I’m right behind you…”

Zecora had to be shaken by Wind before they began sprinting for the lift. Meanwhile, the lead brute drug its clawed arms against the stone, creating sparks along the way before thrusting them upward to meet Storm’s frame. The stallion didn’t flinch. He sidestepped the strike before grabbing the Digger’s arm and ripping it off in a single pull of flesh, bone, and tendons. The beast didn’t have a chance to react before it’s own spiked appendage was smashed into its skull, shattering the helmet and revealing three Plexers.

Now directly in front of the Digger’s face, Storm wung an aura-wrapped foreleg directly into its head, creating a sound equivalent to a volcano erupting. Nothing was left of the creature’s head. It exploded into tiny chunks leaving only a stump of a neck remaining. The other Diggers immediately stopped their charge. All of their Plexers focused intensely on the stallion, but none were doing the normal angry thrashing. They were perfectly still.

Storm paid them no mind as he examined his own hoof in awe. Did… Did I just fucking do that? He thought as the aura returned to that foreleg. Despite the pain being gone from before, the voices of everypony he knew - everyone he cared for - remained spinning in his head.

The stallion looked up, staring the Diggers down through their glowing insects. Staring the Warden down, whatever and wherever it was. Storm’s eyes narrowed, his teeth clenched and his muzzle twitched in a concoction of rage, hatred, loss, and helplessness.

“Not used to us fighting back?!” Storm growled at the being behind the stationary beasts. “It’s about time you get to feel what everyone on this fucked up planet feels!”

Zecora and Wind Sprint made it to the lift. The elder zebra immediately got to work unlocking the service hatch. Both girls watched in shock as their companion raised his wings, which were both shining in that seafoam aura.

Storm launched into the air with a jump that shouldn’t have been possible without the use of his wings before bearing down on the Diggers, all of which had snapped out of their previous state and prepared to meet the assault head on. With a guttural warcry, the stallion slammed himself into the ground between the trio, causing an actual tremor in the chamber as a shockwave of light crushed the Diggers in an instant. Even the stone floor had caved in slightly, prompting the whole chamber to rumble.

Meanwhile, the zebra mare had gotten the hatch open. She ushered the younger girl through before climbing up the ladder herself. The duo were met with the empty vertical space that was the lift shaft - albeit with hollowed out coves around the lift supports where multiple levels connected by service ladders lead up to the top. The top where a small crack of orange light was shining in through…

“Get out of here and make it to Appleloosa!” Zecora ordered Wind. “I’ll stay behind! I’m not having another companion’s death weighing on my mind!”

The violet pegasus did as she was told, reluctantly taking off into the shaft and reaching the top in a few seconds, not that Zecora could see much more than her silhouette against the light. Zecora peeked back down into the hatch in time to see Storm buck a Digger’s head into a wall of crystals, which exploded with the force of the impact alone.

“Storm!” She called out. “We found the way out!”

He ignored her.

“Storm!”

The mentioned stallion refused to acknowledge her screams. He dodged another Digger’s attack before pummeling it’s head into nothing while feral cries and growls escaped his lips with every strike.

Zecora leapt down from the hatch, running up to his side once a clearing in his rain of death had appeared. More Diggers were gathered at the chamber’s entrance and steadily advancing, but this was her best chance. She practically shouted in his ear, but the enraged pegasus remained focused on what he deemed to be his next targets.

With a mixture of fed-up concern, the zebra yanked his foreleg in an attempt to get his attention, but he shrugged it off. The slight movement of his appendage nearly knocked Zecora off balance the second the aura around his hoof made contact with her own.

“There is no reason to slay every single beast! I see that this violence brings you release, but it won’t grant you peace!”

Storm suddenly felt a jolt of agonizing pain from his wound. He looked down to see the seafoam aura beginning to fade rapidly.

Listen to her. You don’t have much longer. I did this for you to escape and protect your kind, not to enact revenge… The voice returned, sounding like a scolding teacher or parent. You must become stronger than the hate...

The pain subsided as the aura returned in full strength upon the voice’s absence. Storm looked from the advancing monsters to the zebra. “Let’s get out of here.”

Zecora almost sighed in relief as the two took off towards the lift, climbing up the ladder into the service chamber. They ascended the other service ladders and were two stories up as the first Digger poked its claws through the lift hatch and tore the thing open to allow its brethren through.

“Can you fly us out of here?!” Zecora asked upon seeing half of the beasts drilling into the stone while the rest climbed up after.

“No! Never learned how to!” Storm shouted back, looking down at the approaching threat. “But I’ve got something better!” Once he reached the top of the third story ladder, Storm kicked the metal ladder down, knocking it clean off the wall and down into two climbing Diggers, taking them down with it. “Keep climbing! I’ll slow them down!”

Zecora was a full floor above the stallion by now, but she couldn’t help checking back every few rungs. Suddenly, the stone in front of her exploded in a shower of pebbles and debris before a Digger appeared. It wrapped one clawed hand around her then started to retreat into the hole, forcing Zecora to use all her strength to hang onto the hole’s edge.

Storm arrived on her ladder, leaping up and latching onto the Digger’s neck. He snapped it effortlessly before prying Zecora out of its grasp and then kicking the beast back into where it came. The duo scrambled to the fourth level where they noticed a Digger on the fifth breaking the ladder.

The stallion rushed to grab the severed ladder, rearing up on his hindlegs and throwing the ladder - like a hammer throw - back to impale the Digger against the wall. Zecora reached his side as the two stared up at the blocked route while the horde closed in from below.

“Don’t squirm.” Storm ordered, placing a foreleg around Zecora before the zebra could protest. Then he kicked off the ground, sending the two up another floor.

“One more to go!” Zecora announced with hope coating her voice. Her companion didn’t share her optimism, resolving to cough violently and grab at his wound. “No, no! Come on! We’ve made it this far to be buried below!”

“Whatever happened to me is wearing off…” Storm croaked out, his voice sounding hoarse and battered. Sure enough, the seafoam aura was becoming more transparent by the second.

The duo swiftly scaled the last ladder to be met with the interior of a surface cave. They could see the orange gaze of the rising sun peeking out from the cave’s mouth. Zecora smiled brightly, dashing for the exit when she noticed Storm staying behind.

“What in Equestria are you doing?!” She screamed, screeching to a halt and spinning around.

“Making sure we aren’t followed!” Storm calmly replied, rearing forward and bucking the cave wall. The whole place shook as he made contact, while his aura shattered in tandem with the last ditch effort. Pieces of ceiling chunks started raining down as Storm and Zecora limped towards the exit.

A winged silhouette appeared in the cave’s mouth before it dashed towards the duo. Storm couldn’t see much in his tunneling vision and screaming insides, but Zecora knew it was Wind Sprint. The aura was completely gone, as was Storm’s resolve. His limping pace dissolved into a fall onto the ground, but both mares caught him. The placed his forelegs on their backs and rushed out of the cave just in time to see the whole thing come down on itself.

“W-w-wow…” Wind could barely get out. Her mouth was wide open in pure amazement. “Holy shit! Why didn’t you do that sooner! That was badass! No! That was fucking radical!”

Storm continued the silent treatment, refusing to respond or even face them. His head was hung low and that was when she noticed he wasn’t moving or breathing. Period. The stallion’s suit lights stuttered back on, but now the chest ring was flashing red rapidly.

Wind, who hadn’t noticed the stallion’s change, let go and soared into the air briefly shouting in delight at the morning sun peeking over the horizon. The trio were now in the entrance to a cave with the desert plains waiting for them outside much like the ball of fire in the sky.

After she was done with the celebration, Wind looked down to see Zecora shaking Storm prompting the younger mare to land and rush beside them.

“Storm?!” Zecora asked, setting him down to check his pulse. “Storm?! Storm?! By the heavens, please answer me!”

He didn’t.

He couldn’t.

The only sign made from him was a hologram from the red light on his chest.

WARNING: VITAL SIGNS APPROACHING CRITICAL CONDITION. SEEK EMERGENCY CARE IMMEDIATELY

Author's Note

Here it is. The chapter that will make some of you go "da fuck?" or make all the pieces in your head click together in a satisfying manner for those who have been paying attention rigorously. Either way, you'll get solid answers soon enough, straight from the horses' mouth. I don't really have much to say here other than another thanks for the support this story has received in its highs and lows while I find my way as a storyteller.

Until next time! Hopefully it will be shorter than 3 months for once!