Fallout: Equestria - All Roads Lead Home

Chapter 6: The City of the Dead

“There are some things that you don’t want to do and you pledge to yourself that you won’t do, you forbid yourself, and then suddenly they happen all by themselves. You don’t even have time to think about them, and they don’t make it to the cognitive centers of the brain: they just happen and that’s it, and you’re left just watching yourself with surprise, and convincing yourself that it wasn’t your fault, it just happened all by itself.”

The stale tasting healing potion slid down my throat, relieving me from its case of dryness. I threw my head back and drank every last drop of the liquid, and when the battle was emptied I tossed it to the ground, shattering the glass container as each one of my cuts and gashes healed.

Sea Mist and I had been house hopping for three days. Our actions became a blur to me. We would scout out the area, eliminating any ghouls or beasts there, then scavenge the ruins for supplies and a safe spot to sleep. Every time we would only find the bare minimum of essentials to survive the night. We couldn’t keep doing this.

The fire’s light had died down a bit as we ate old irradiated food with cooked roach in silence. Being out in the Equestrian Wasteland seemed to have really changed Sea Mist from helpless stable dweller to waster in a matter of weeks. Her once long, clean, crimson mane was now filled with dirt and mud. The vivid color was nothing more than a dull red mess of knots and split ends. Her mental state wasn’t great either. Though she downplayed or out right dodge my questions on the topic, I could tell something was wrong.

I let out a long sigh. I wasn’t doing too well either. I hurt those I cared about every single time I let my rage go unchecked. ‘What could I do?’ I let my mind think for solutions, but my mind’s fog stopped me before I could find the right answer.

“Wildcard?” The cornflower blue mare’s voice grabbed me from my thoughts.

I turned to her. “Yeah?”

Sea Mist’s eyes were filled with determination. “Could I check your past again?”

I frowned at the mare. What was I? Just an open book to be studied? “Why?”

“I want to know why you’re so angry all the time,” she said bluntly.

I sighed again as I tried to cool my emotions. Then an idea popped into my head and a wide toothy smile crossed my face. “Sea Mist, let me tell you a story. It’s about a little colt who grew up in the frozen north with a foster family because his real family died along with his home station years prior. He studied hard, reading and learning from everything: ponies, zebras, books, etc. Some days nothing would happen. Life was just motion. Other days were nothing but pain for the kid. You see, this colt was adopted by two loving zebra parents and other fillies his age didn’t get that. They were told by their pony parents that it was the zebra’s fault for the hellscape above. To them the colt was nothing but a filthy traitor to his own kind!”

I was yelling at that point. My voice began to crescendo even faster than before.

“It’s okay…” Sea Mist said soothingly.

“No, it’s not okay!” Tears were flooding from my eyes but I still continued. “That colt watched as he almost lost his home again! But then came the Spartans of the Order. Like angels they killed every single one of the wicked beasts that tried to enter the station, eventually saving them. That colt then had a dream to help others like the Order did. But guess what happened when he achieved that dream of becoming a Spartan! Guess!”

I paused to take a breath, but answered before the young unicorn mare could.

“He participated in the massacre of hundreds: zebras, griffons and ponies alike. That once small colt thought that in order to fix a problem you needed to attack it at the source, so he went with a small team to open one of the Metro’s big mechanical steel entrances to try and be a hero!”

I let my anger out on a pile of dented tin cans on the ground. I kicked one into the wall with all my force, denting the container even more. Sea Mist laid there quietly. I fucking hated laying my problems on somepony else. I failed to give a stoic look as I continued. “Everyone in that station died that day, except for him and one bat pony. The two of them retreated home, saying nothing about what happened. Eventually, more and more beasts from the surface started to flood the underground tunnels all because of his idiotic illusions of grandeur! He couldn’t take it anymore, so he thought about taking his own life, but was too weak to even do that. So he left. Packed his saddlebags and left his home, friends, foes and mistakes behind. He hoped the storm on the surface would take him out but of course he found more survivors of this fucked up story. He found out that the rest of the world was just, if not more, fucked up then the home he left. Alicorns, slave cities, cannibals and more of the same fucking thing! That’s why I drank myself into the ground for five years! Becoming null to my reality, but of course I’m heading back home!”

I couldn’t hold back my scream. My lungs burned as if Celestia herself filled me with the sun. “Fuck this world!”

My explanation seemed to truly intrigue the younger mare. Great how everyone thought my pain was entertaining. She just stared at me with her own tears walloping in her eyes. She wiped them away with her magic. “Why are you heading back home?”

“Don’t you already know? You saw my past. This is just one big,” I paused, unsure of my own words, “quest for vengeance.”

Now it was Sea Mist’s time to lecture me. “My spell only can see what the subject saw. Not your thoughts or emotions or strong words. So tell me, why are we going there?”

To be honest, I didn’t know why I was going home. Did I think I could save the Metro because of what I found in Cantorlot? Was it because I couldn’t kill my old dream? Maybe it was really just about getting revenge. My head hurt from all the questions of motive bouncing around in my brain.

“I don’t know,” I answered in defeat.

She smiled. “Well, no matter what your reason is for going back I still think it’s a good one. At least you're facing your mistakes again.”

‘Facing my mistakes? I don’t think I can.’ I laid down on the cool, dusty, wooden floor and started to play with my hooves. My eyelids grew heavy as I thought more about how I was going to explain my disappearance to the Order. They’d never had a deserter before. I wondered what they’d do to me. I closed my eyes as Sea Mist took watch over the night.

*** *** ***

A hoof shook me out of my slumber. I didn’t dream about the Dark Ones or anything that night. In fact, I didn’t have a dream in the past four days. I rolled over and stood up to stretch. My back cracked with almost every movement. I let out a big yawn.

“Good morning Wildcard!” the mare said cheerfully.

She seemed a little too excited to venture into a frozen, irradiated, ruined city trapped in an endless winter storm with death waiting around every corner. I didn’t really have the guts to ask her why after my ‘story’ the night before. I cracked my neck. “Morn’n.”

I stomped out the smoldering ashes of the campfire and made my way out of the house. Well, if you call a building with no roof or windows and only three complete standing walls a house. The outside greeted me with a frosty nip at the nose. We were only an hour away from the city. The first signs of its freezing cold winter were showing this far out with the ground turning a tint paler and some of the trees losing what little leaves they had.

Sea Mist came out just after me, loading her pistol which was held in a magical grip. I gave her a disappointed look and a facehoof.

“What?! We’re going into an extremely hostile event. You even said it yourself!” she whined.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, but there are a lot more beasts on the surface than we can fight. It would only be a matter of time before our weapons run dry and we’re ripped to shreds. What bullets we got is what we have to fight with, so until we find a lot more ammunition or a way into the Metro it’s best if we don’t shoot at anything unless we have to.”

Truth be told, I didn’t really have a plan on how we were going to get inside the tunnels. There were multiple access points like buckcovers and stairways, but many of them were closed off to the deeper parts of the system due to beasts or tunnels just collapsing. My entire plan was to silently get through the city, look around and pray something would clue me in on where to go. With dismay, I accepted the very real possibility that we might be trapped on the surface for hours or even longer. But I couldn’t let myself fold to the pressure. The Metro was counting on me even if they didn’t know it, or at least I thought so. I needed to get this information on D6 to General Dawn Spark.

‘One hoof at a time, Wildcard,’ I reminded myself.

“Wildcard, you need to have a little more faith. Not every building in that city could be looted.”

I scoffed at her idea. “You could be right.”

We walked for half an hour according to my bracer’s time piece. The ice and snow grew ever more present around us. Every step of our hooves let out loud crunching from frozen ground until the white carpet became softer and the noise grew quieter as we closed in on the outskirts of the city. I pulled up the hood on my jacket.

The zebras were never able to handle the colder weather, so they invented the baridi style jacket. It was standard issue for their troops during their winter campaign, and like many things in the war eventually became a product to civilizations on both sides of the conflict. For me personally, I didn’t care too much about its history. I just really liked the look. The shades and tints of webbed camouflage matched well with my armor and the environments of Stalliongrad.

I stopped Sea Mist and pointed to her gasmask, then my watch. “The winter storm trapped a lot of the magical radiation from the original megaspell detonations. The air is extremely toxic, so keep eyes on your Geiger counter. Keep your mask on. Also change your filters if you find it’s getting harder to breathe. Set your watch for around five minutes, that’s usually how long they last if you don’t want the guesswork.”

She gave me a nod of understanding. I pulled out my map of Stalliongrad. Running my hoof down the grids of streets and buildings, I found a buckcover nearby that was used as an old utility tunnel for work on the metro system. That was great news. But we still needed to get there. This trip would be easy with the amount of filters we had if only a single pony was going. I felt sick to my stomach as I thought of a solution. ‘I guess I’ll just have to use less filters.’ Technically speaking anyone could survive on the surface without a mask, but only for a few minutes before suffocating to death.

“Here.” I carefully removed three of the five air filters out of my saddle with my mouth. I tried my best to ignore their metallic taste. The small cornflower blue unicorn floated the items one by one from me into the pockets of her stable 11 uniform that was now under the duster I gave her. I set my watch for five minutes and gestured to Sea Mist to follow.

After a few minutes my Geiger counter started ticking. I brought my left hoof up to the face and saw that the device’s little arrow was now the upper green area. In one single trained motion, I took a deep breath and slid my mask over my muzzle, the seal wrapping snuggly around my whole face. My hot breath was visibly condensing on the cold visor of the mask. I started the timer on my watch then looked over to my traveling companion; Who was struggling at applying her own mask correctly.

“You need some help?” My voice buzzed through the mask. Sea Mist looked at me completely flushed while pouting. She was a lot like me when I was younger. A strong drive to be independent yet still unable to do simple little things like put on a gas mask. I sauntered over to her, helping her apply the mask correctly, making sure the seal was airtight, then fastening the straps with a strong tug from my teeth to her head. The mare looked down in her mask and followed my previous motions of adding one of the air filters to her mask then setting her own watch. Her eyebrow raised along with a question look.

“What’s with the weird muzzle piece?” Sea Mist asked, trying to cross her eyes and peer straight down her muzzle.

“The rubber mouth piece was designed for earth ponies and battlesaddle users to still use firearms even with the mask equipped.” Not everypony could use magic, so thank the Goddesses for this creation.

Without further procrastination, I gestured Sea Mist to my side so we could start moving. Ice and snow howled and wiped at us, sticking to our clothes. The sky was no longer grey, instead replaced with an eerie dirty-white mist. Wagons filled with the remains of folks trying to escape the megaspells packed the road we were walking though. Skeletons of ponies and zebras alike holding their children tightly to their body, covering their kin’s eyes. Their hollow skulls still echoed an expression of deep locked fear. I had to wipe the visor of my mask every few minutes due to the flakes sticking to it. Sea Mist was crying at the sight of the concrete graveyard. Her mask fogging up from the heat radiating off her face. I would be crying too if I wasn’t so desensitized to the appearance of corpses both fresh and old. This was something she would have to get used to here.

‘Dead city has never looked better. Welcome home, Wildcard.’

We hopped wagons and sky carriages until we were over one of Stalliongrad’s six bridges that all went over the massive, now frozen river that the city was built next to. The skyline was blocked by towering skyscrapers as we moved through the valley of broken concrete below. The snow that popped and crackled soft under our hooves was drowned out by the sound of heavy wing beats. Quickly, I shoved Sea Mist into the entrance of a Donut Joe’s Diner as a gigantic grey-colored Demon landed in the middle of the street. Its pale pinkish-red wings blew snow away from its makeshift perch and its claws ripped into the container of the vehicle below. It was bipedal. Its mouth was split into three parts, each with a numerous amount of sharp teeth. Its two bottom lips readjusting to the movement of the creature’s tongue licking his lips. The blue-coated mare’s eyes grew to the size of Luna’s full moon as she lost her breath at the sight of the large winged creature. It sniffed around the area while presenting its teeth with a low snarl. I slowly gestured to my companion to follow me through the kitchen door in an attempt to put as much distance between us and the beast as possible.

In the kitchen, Sea Mist asked in a shaky, quiet voice, “What is that?”

“That’s a gargoyle,” I responded without removing my eyes off the beast. “Most folks around here call them Demons. They’re quite common in these parts, so try to avoid staying out in the open.”

“Noted.”

She nodded and searched around the room. The kitchen was a mess of rusty bent pots and pans thrown all around the area. The body of a spider web-covered corpse appeared to be looking into the fridge. Parts of the galley were missing. Whole stoves, counters and even overhead lights were gone.

‘Fuck me, Luna. We’re in luck!’

Stalkers had been here. It was hard to tell when, of course. But where there were Stalkers meant there was an open Metro entrance. A single door led outside behind me as pointed out by Sea Mist. I told her to watch the Demon as I slowly tried to open the back door. Which was harder than I thought. A pile of snow was pushing against me on the other side. I swore under my breath and gave the metal entryway a powerful push. The hinges quietly cried as the door slowly submitted to my strength. The alley was empty except for the bodies of a few snow-covered dark grey canines. With the size of their body they could easily crush a pony with enough force. These corpses were covered with claw and bite marks. One of them still had their teeth into another one. Good thing the Trackers hated each other as much as they hated us.

I turned around to gesture Sea Mist to move with a hoof. She took notice and started to back out of the room. In the alley, she froze again at the bloody pile of corpses. The mare shook herself out of her state and walked closer to my side. I pulled out my map and looked for our location. We were in the outermost ring of Stalliongrad’s city limits. According to the map there was a Metro service point only a few blocks from the donut shop we were at. I placed the paper back into my bag and moved closer to the edge of the alley to check the street. Both sides were clear in what area I could see. Going straight would be the faster way to get there.

I checked my bracer. My filter had a minute left on it according to my watch. I turned to Sea Mist and pointed to the other side of the street. She nodded and we moved quickly across the open area. We paused on the other side for a few seconds to change our filter. I twisted on the new air talisman to the free spot on my mask while removing the used one and placing it in my saddlebags. I reset my timer of five minutes while watching Sea Mist do the same.

I listened to the surrounding area for any mutants. The cold winter wind was roughing up a piece of cloth in the distance as well as forcing a metal gate into submission with a creaky moan. We seemed to be in the clear, at least for now. The both of us continued to move down the alley, periodically wiping the snow off the front of our masks’ visors. I scanned every rooftop and corner for mutants. They could drop on us at any moment, so being paranoid was a plus here.

I blindly backed up into Sea Mist causing her to stumble a little.

“Why’d you stop?” I asked, turning around.

She pointed to the tower of rubble blocking the path. One of the buildings had crashed into the alleyway, filling it with a roughly three story tall pile of concrete and metal; it was impossible to climb.

“What now?” Sea Mist asked, looking up towards the top of the debris heap.

‘We have to find another way, quickly.’ My filter had four minutes left. Four minutes to find another way. I pulled out the city map to look for other paths. ‘Without taking the main street, the only way to get to the service cover would be through--’ I looked at the door to my right, ‘--there.’

Placing the parchment back into my bags, I tried the door; it didn't budge. Sea Mist noticed me struggling with the frozen entryway and quickly wrapped it in her crimson magic and helped me attempt to open it. The ice around the door broke forward with a loud crack. My eyes went wide as the sound of howling pierced through the air. Sea Mist ran through the door before I even had to tell her. Throwing myself through the doorway, I shut the door as the first Tracker rounded the alley’s corner, slamming into a dumpster.

Sea Mist was shaking, unsure of where to go. We looked around as the howling grew closer. We were in what looked like a drug store. Empty shelves lined in rows only held snow and dust now.

“There’s an exit over there!” Mist yelled through her mask and sprinted for the doorway.

I followed after her, drawing my knife from my saddle bags. A Tracker burst through the alley door with incredible strength and speed. I looked behind to see a small pack of maybe three or four.

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, but it wasn’t fast enough. The lead Tracker lunged forward and swiped my back hooves out from under me as I was just entering into the building’s stockroom. I tumbled onto my back. Sea Mist stopped and turned around. The mutant stood over me and roared as it tried to use one of its massive paws to crush me. I rolled away from the strike as the young mare behind me drew her pistol and discharged three shots into the creature. The Tracker yelped back in pain.

I used this moment to get back onto my hooves while slicing at one of the legs of the mutant. Its crimson blood sprayed onto my gas mask. Using a free hoof, I wiped away the liquid blocking my vision and ran over to Sea Mist, who was trying to open this room’s door.

“It’s stuck!” She buzzed through her mask.

“Just focus on getting it open!”

The Tracker in the room was getting up now. It quickly covered the floor of the backroom and jumped at the small mare. I jumped in between and together me and the mutant crashed onto the floor, dropping my blade. Even worse, my mask fell off.

‘Fuck’n hell!’

I held my breath and readied myself. The Tracker swatted at me with a claw that connected with my front armor. It tossed me into a nearby wall next to a metal cardboard baler. I coughed out violently. Sea Mist looked over to me concerned.

“Get...that,” I tried to catch my breath with the thin air. “Open.”

The mare nodded, getting back to opening the door. The other Trackers were now prowling into the room. I looked at the baler to my right and picked up my knife from the floor. The wounded mutant in front leaped at me again. I spun around and bucked the creature's head into the cardboard baler. Desperately, I cut all of the external wires on the machine. I prayed silently to the Goddesses that this would work.

With a loud thud and showering of blood, the metal stab of the metal dropped and disfigured the Tracker head. Its body spazzed out, trying to get out of the machine until it eventually went limp. My vision grew darker around the edges as I searched for the gasmask. Luckily, it was near Sea Mist. I picked up the mask, sealed it around my face and took a few deep breaths.

I spoke to the mare without looking away from the two other Trackers now slowly eyeing up their prey, “Now would be a great time to get that door open.”

“It’s almost there!” the light blue unicorn grunted out.

The mutants stalked ever closer.

“What side are the hinges on?” I asked in the low voice.

The mare took a brief moment to look, “They’re on the other side.”

“Move.”

Sea Mist switched spots with me, drawing her pistol with her crimson magic. I readied my back hooves and bucked the door open to the sound of ice cracking. I grabbed the mare and sprinted out the exit back into the frozen embrace of the winter storm.

According to the map the buckcover was somewhere nearby. My eyes darted everywhere, looking for the metal plate. Sea Mist spotted it first and pointed off to the left. We ran directly towards it while in hot pursuit by the Trackers. Stopping on top of it, we immediately saw a problem; its handle was frozen to the ground.

“I’m done with this shit. Give me your pistol!” I said.

Sea Mist floated the firearm over to me. I took the gun and tongued two shots into the ice, cracking it instantly. I tossed the weapon back to the mare who caught it with her magic. I ripped open the buckcover with my hooves and looked back at Sea Mist. She was holding back and giggling with a hoof.

“Get in the hole.” I pointed at the dark pit.

She slid down the ladder into the darkness. I took one last look at the greyish winter surface and the mutants before joining her down the hole.

‘Exactly how I remembered it.’

The Trackers tried to fit into the buckcover hole to chase after me but it only ended with one of them getting their head stuck. Its roar echoed through the hole as I slid down the steel ladder to the bottom. I took a look at my geiger counter. It was still ticking in the mid green due to the open hole above. Bzzz… My watch’s timer went off. I shrugged as Sea Mist changed her filter. A little radiation never killed anyone.

I turned on my flashlight to illuminate the tunnel in front of us. Rubble and bent railroad tracks surrounded us. In front of us was a hoofcart with a few pale decaying corpses on and around it. What I could only assume was their bags, or what was left of them, was looted. Their cart crashed into a huge Hydraulically-sealed metal door. The only way out was the rusty door to our left.

I slowly crept around the door to check the path behind it. Shadows quickly danced and darted away from my light. Quiet growling echoed from further down the tunnel. I waved a hoof for Sea Mist to follow me closely as I took point.

She looked around at the spiderwebs and dust that covered every nook and cranny, “Did you really use to live here?”

I nodded my head in silence, then coughed. Breathing slowly grew harder. I picked up my pace a little and so did Sea Mist. The young unicorn looked around at everything with amazement or cringe.

The service tunnel bobbed and weaved for what seemed like minutes, decaying bodies of ponies and zebras popping up now and again along the way. I stopped at every one to check for supplies. Sea Mist looked at me in horror.

“What are you doing to that corpse?!”

I removed two filters from his saddlebags and finally replaced mine, setting my timer at the same time. I also found two tubes filled with seven steel balls each. They would be useful for later. Only after finding another knife and pocket lint did I answer her.

“Here in the Metro, the living ones need the supplies more than the dead.” I began placing my new items into my saddlebags and pointed to one of the corpses. “They already had their chance to live.”

Sea Mist was speechless and just stood there. I continued my way down the tunnel.

“You coming?” I hollered back.

My words caused her to snap out of her trance and gallop after me. When she caught up I handed her another filter, which she placed into her bag with her magic.

After two minutes of walking, I checked my geiger counter to find that the arrow was no longer ticking. I pulled off my mask and hooked it to the side of my saddlebags. I used my hooves to scratch my hair back into a mess; the straps had flattened different parts of my hair and I didn’t like the feeling.

“The air is breathable here. You can take off the mask.”

Sea Mist took off her own gas mask, placing it in her bags. She looked at me with her hair now almost as messy as mine.

I smiled. “You did pretty well up there. Hell, you almost looked like you belong here!”

“If that’s your day-to-day on the surface, I don’t really even want to know what it’s like underneath.”

“Don’t worry. It’s much better down here,” I started walking again. “We just need to get to a station and we should be fine.”

“How long will that take?” Sea Mist asked childishly.

“Well,” I looked over to a door that was marked with a conjoined white crescent moon and yellow sun that formed a circle. “Not too much longer.”

I approached the door and casually pushed it open, walking through the entranceway into a main rail tunnel. I turned back to Sea Mist.

“We’re on a stalker’s traveling route, so we should run into someone soon.”

“What’s a stalker?” the young unicorn asked.

“It’s the title we give to anyone brave enough or crazy enough to travel to the surface. Those who come back alive gain the title.”

“Why would anyone want to do that?” she asked.

I paused, “For some folks it’s the only option they see left due to either a situation they put themselves into or are forced into. Others are adventurous. It’s a different reason for everyone, but the ones who do it are seen almost like how soldiers and doctors were before the world ended.”

Sea Mist thought for a moment. “Then why did you become a stalker?”

“I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be seen as a hero,” I chuckled. “I know, I know. It sounds childish, but it’s true.”

“What’s wrong with wanting to be the hero?”

I went silent and just continued to walk. Sea Mist quickly tried to fix the awkward situation, “I didn’t mean to bring back those memories—“

“The road to Tartarus is often paved with good intentions,” I cut in. “Don’t forget that like I did.”

“I promise,” the blue unicorn said bravely.

“Good.”

Sea Mist bounced alongside me now smiling and asked playfully, “Does that mean you’ll stop being such a crazy pony now?”

“I can’t. You can never be too cautious.”

The young mare tilted her head to one side, her ears flopping over. “What do you mean? This place seems pretty safe to me.”

“Never say th—“ I was cut off by the sound of clicking. We both stopped. It checked my bracer, but the arrow was still. I looked down the path we were travelling and a pair of glossy crimson eyes in the darkness stared back. The mutant slowly pulled its way across the roof with its claws, revealing its dim purple leather-like skin. The creature’s skin on the front of its face was pulled with a reddish pink layer encapsulating its nose and mouth.

“Nosalis. Stay still,” I whispered to Sea Mist, remaining as still as possible.

The nosalis’s teeth clicked more rapidly as it looked directly at the young light blue mare. She was shaking uncontrollably. Before I could stop Sea Mist, she sprinted to an alcove nearby. The mutant leaped from the ceiling after her. I tackled the nosalis and we tumbled onto the railroad tracks. I drew one of my knives and stabbed it deep into one of its eyes; the mutant screamed, then ripped me off his back with one of its claws slamming me into the ground in front of it. While trying to catch my breath, the nosalis rammed a claw into my side and picked me up.

“A little help would be nice!” I yelled over to Sea Mist.

During the duration of Sea Mist fumbling with her pistol, I was brought eye to eye with the beast. It roared in my face and in response I thumped it on the nose. The nosalis pulled its claw out of my side, causing me to fall to the ground. I grasped my wound tightly as Sea Mist finally unloaded the remaining bullets in her pistol into the beast. She continued pulling the trigger, to audible clicks, as the nosalis fell backwards in pain.

This was no time for me to relax. I drew my remaining blade to the mutants throat. I used all my strength to slice through the creature’s tough hide, but I succeeded, watching blood rush out of its fresh, fatal wound. I fell on my butt, wheezing heavily, as I watched the body convulse, then fall still. Sea Mist ran over to me.

“Are you okay!”

I pulled out one of my medical syringes and punched the needle through my clothing, injecting it into my body, “I should be fine ‘til the next station as long we don’t encounter anymore nosalis.”

I groaned, pulling out the needle. I tossed it to the side and got back on my hooves.

“Just promise me you’ll never say those words again. Bad things always happen when someone does,” I warned Sea Mist sternly.

“I’m sorry. I won’t say them ever again.”

“Good,” I nodded at her. “Best we start moving again.”

With the pain nullified in my nerves, we started to walk again. Sea Mist was noticeably more paranoid now. Her eyes darted in every direction, not pausing for too long before glancing to another dark area. Then after a few minutes, she completely stopped in her tracks.

“What is it?” I asked with a questioning look.

She only pointed to the ceiling. Once again a pair of crimson eyes stared at us from the darkness. I readied my knife to fight.

‘Of fucking course there would be more! Just my luck.’

I was extremely unsure about this fight. With only one pistol magazine left and a single knife, I didn’t like our odds. But what other choice did we have? The eyes disappeared. Both Sea Mist and I looked around for where it went. My companion shook while aiming her pistol with her magic at the roof, ready to fire at any sign of movement. I took a deep breath and just listened to the tunnel. The sounds of leaky pipes echoing around us, the soft crunch of dirt and gravel under our hooves and the creak of ceiling til—

I wiped around to the face the shadow, but was too slow. The creature lunged at an incredible speed, pinning me to the ground and simultaneously knocked the weapon from Sea Mist’s magical grasp with a silver baton that extended from the side of their forehoof. The light of my flashlight shined onto the grey face of our assaulter as they pressed the other baton into my throat. She, yes I was sure it was a she, had short navy blue hair, with a single yellow streak, and was brought up into a small messy bun. Her ears were fuzzier than the normal pony ear. She bared her fangs and stared into my soul with her crimson viper-like eyes.

I knew that face. “Dusk...?”

“Serenity.” The batpony’s facial expression softened as she got off of me, retracting her weapons and squinting. “Is that really you?!”

I stood up and brushed the dirt off me. “I wouldn’t lie.”

Dusk happily galloped up to me and wrapped me in a tight hug. My coat began to feel clammy as the grey mare nuzzled into my neck. Was she crying? I felt myself begin to flush as Sea Mist looked at us, raising an eyebrow.

“You still owe me a magazine of 7.62,” Dusk said, but I could feel her smirking. She pulled herself back and looked at me, frowning. “What happened to your face?!”

She touched my scars with a free hoof. I softly swatted it and turned away, “I got into a problem, but I’m fixing it.”

She sighed, “You’ll always getting into pro--”

“Could someone explain to me what's going on?” Sea Mist cut in.

I turned to the unicorn, who looked like an impatient, needy filly, and raised a hoof, “This is Dusk. She’s my childhood friend.”

“I get that part, but what about the magazine of 7.62?”

Dusk used a wing to muffle her laughter. The batpony then used the same wing to beckon the younger mare forward. “Let’s get started heading to Wet Station and I’ll explain.”

Moving once again, Sea Mist began her questioning of the batpony, “So, can you explain now?”

“Here in the Metro, we use ammunition cartridges as currency. Because a single bullet could be the difference between life and death. Everyone can make ‘dirty’ bullets, but the friendship rounds is what you want. They’re actually casted instead of swaged like at other stations. They’re less likely to jam.“ Dusk paused for a moment then giggled. “It’s actually kind of morbid if you think about it. One bullet can be equated to someone’s life. At most stations, a drink cost five lives. You want a nice warm jacket? Well you’re in luck, it’s on sale. Not two hundred, but one hundred and fifty lives.”

Sea Mist’s eyes went blank at the humour from such a dark topic. Dusk just started to hum to herself, blissfully ignorant about the little pony’s state. I sighed; she always had a way with kids.

“Any other questions you need answered?” she asked with a wide simile.

“Just one,” Sea Mist tilted her head. “Who’s Serenity?”

Footnote: New Perk

New Perk: Thought You Died -- Your person has fallen from memory because everyone thought you died. Welcome back to the land of the living. Your Karma and Faction Reputations are reset. You are also 25% harder to detect.