Author's Note

Dedicated to my late uncle. May he rest in peace.

Chapter Three | The City of the Dead

Chapter Three:
The City of The Dead

“Welcome to the land of wolves.”

White.

Dim, white gemstones powered the creaky emergency lights that defended the station from the shroud of darkness. Ponies and zebras wrapped in patchwork winter clothing conducted business, paying with ammunition or bartering what little they had for food, clothes or whatever else. These merchant tents were mixed in with the cloth housing that lined the makeshift town. What was once a shiny new railway in the center of the space had been removed and replaced with a mushroom farm, used to feed a majority of the citizens of Sparkle Station.

I watched ponies hard at work on wooden scaffolding, painting the walls and ceiling. As beautiful as the intricate lines and patterns being placed were, they all meant nothing. They were attempting to remake the station into an image of its former state, brilliant shades of purple that complemented the massive amount of magical imagery, before the passage of time caused it to fall into disrepair. But it was all form without function here; only designed to try and echo the few photographs of how the station first looked, and it still felt off. From the postcards I’d seen of this once busy metro station, with its crowds of ponies, zebras, and even griffons all rushing to work, home, or elsewhere, the recreation almost made me want to laugh at the repair ponies’ attempt at reproducing the atmosphere of the place without the joy and smiles of the folks that once filled it.

“Welcome back, Serenity,” a smoky voice cut through the air. A pony tapped me on the top of my head. I looked up at a pair of warm crimson eyes above me. The fluffy hood around her face forced her deep blue and golden striped mane into my eyes. I pushed it out the way as she continued to grin like a filly. “How was the trip from Friendship Station?”

“Rough.” The batpony mare landed next to me. “The Jackals are getting bolder every day, and if I didn’t have this fucking thing shaking around—“

I tried shifting around the saddlebag radio that sat uncomfortably on my back. Its thick casing had dug into my side, like a single fly that wouldn’t leave me alone. I grunted at another attempt at comfort and began to remove the radio with my teeth.

“I hate dis ting,” I mumbled.

She giggled. “Hey, you know what my dad says, ‘That radio might save your life one day!’”

I returned the jagged nuisance back with the crinkled papers and pencils in my saddlebags, hoping it would be more tolerable than before. It wasn’t. “Yeah, yeah, Dusk. Whatever.”

“Come on. I’ll show you the new listening post.” Dusk waved me to follow with her wing.

She guided me from the labyrinth of a marketplace, past the patchwork fabric houses where fillies were playing with wooden and rusty toys to the south station exit. Two sandbag piles stood on either side of the metal track, each having their own mounted flamethrower covering the darkness in the tunnel ahead. Some guards were checking ponies through customs while others sat around a makeshift fire. A mare filled the air with a reggae melody from a beaten acoustic guitar.

We exchanged waves with the ponies nearby and entered the larger sheet metal building next to the customs house. The space was layered with offices of folks dashing here and there through the tight hallways, folders flying everywhere. Together we bobbed and weaved through the crowd to the back where a greying unicorn sat inside a small room behind a messy desk of papers and boxes. Dusk gestured for me to walk in, but I waved the suggestion away. She giggled and rolled her eyes before knocking on the door to grab the mare’s attention.

The unicorn raised her head from what she was working on. “Oh, Dusk. Something wrong?”

“My friend from Friendship Station is here.”

“The radio pony?” She raised an eyebrow. “I thought he wasn’t gonna be here for another three days.”

“Well,” Dusk grinned, wrapped her hoof around my neck, and yanked me into the room. “Ask him yourself.”

I waved at the unicorn.

“Well, take a seat…um… Serenity, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good luck!” Dusk called. I jumped as she slapped me on the ass as she left. The mare behind the desk snickered, then pointed at me and the literal cause of my pain in the ass.

I sat in front of the desk. “No. Just no.”

“You’d be lucky.” She sifted through the stack of documents on the desk.

“I’d be dead.”

The aged unicorn pulled out a paper from the pile and laid it in front of her. She stamped it with a purple word, Order, before returning it to the container on the edge of the table.

“Why would a younger pony like you fight to get reassigned here? Hell, you fought like your life depended on it. I’ve never seen somepony so desperate to work through the system backwards before. You aren’t running from something, are you?”

“No, I just needed to get away from the noise in the bigger stations.” I gazed past the mare, looking for anything to prevent me from thinking. I studied the tiny bumps of dull grey of the walls as she continued.

“You can’t get further than this, so that's good for you.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Do you ever plan on going back?”

I shook my head. “I wanna get even farther away if possible.”

I locked eyes with the mare. Her irises faded from brown to a pale green. The tone that came from her mouth was raspier than before. “So much for that idea, eh?”

======= ☢ =======

I jolted awake, my vision burning at the edges. My body wasn’t happy with the sudden movement, as I violently coughed and grasped the side of my torso. I grabbed my hip flask, taking a swig to dull the pain before sliding off the cushionless couch. Smoldering embers crackled in a rusty barrel in the center of the room as I walked past Sea Mist, who was still sleeping on tainted couch cushions. Most of everything, from the tables and wallpaper, to the messy books scattered over the floor, was tainted a sickly color from two centennials of water damage. The open living room led to a kitchen where my plate carrier, rifle, and bags rested on the mossy wood counters.

I lazily rummaged through my possessions and pulled out a green featureless energy bar, tore it open with my teeth, and spat the wrapper out. Turning, I glanced at the sleepy mare before taking in more of the surroundings. There hadn’t been much time last night to do so. The windows had all been boarded except one in the living room, and I had fixed that issue quickly with a bookshelf. Even got a little help from Sea Mist to brace the front door from the elements with a desk from the master bedroom at the end of the hall. If only the water that periodically dripped from the hallway ceiling could have been fixed.

p l o p

I ripped off a piece of the bar and tried to chew the tough, stale granola the best I could. It hurt. Instead of chewing it, I gnawed at the large piece in my mouth. It was a lot easier on the teeth.

p l o p

I closed my eyes and just listened to the droplets. The sound was relaxing. I synced its repetitive rhythm to my breathing. But it didn’t help shake the one thought in my mind.

p l o p

That dream, what was it? Everything was normal until the end. It mocked me. It was… strange.

C R e e e A K

In a single swift motion I grabbed my rifle and thrust my muzzle into the hallway, tongue ready to fire. It was visibly empty. The sound must have come from the master bedroom. I tightened my left hoof’s grip on my magazine and creeped down the hall, peering at the front door as I crossed it. The door was still barricaded and locked with no signs of tampering.

c r e a k

The sound echoed out, reinforcing my theory that it originated from the bedroom. I calmly placed my hooves down as I grew closer to the room, pausing just before entering. I readied myself with a few quick sharp breaths into my mouth guard then burst into the bedroom.

…

Nothing.

There was nothing. Just a destroyed wooden bed and a shattered vase. I really had let that dream get the best of me. Was it all just in my head?

Just to make sure.

I reached into my jacket and tossed out a metal nut into the room. The tiny piece of steel smacked off the wall and bounced to a stop on the floor. Should’ve expected as much, since the anomaly detector was silent. The situation still left a stale taste in my mouth, perfectly in tune with the remains of the energy bar.

“Wildcard?” a groggy sounding Sea Mist called out.

I gave the master bedroom one last hard look, sighed and headed back to the kitchen. The small mare was pacing around the living room. She paused when I came in. “What was that noise?”

“Sorry, Blue, I was just checking something.” I rested my rifle on the counter.

Sea Mist raised an eyebrow. “Does it have something to do with what you were dreaming last night?”

“What?” I was taken aback.

“It was hard to catch any sleep with you twisting around and murmuring to yourself.”

I felt my cheeks and ear tips flush with heat. She smiled at the reaction. “Shut up.”

“Tell me about them! I always felt better after talking about mine to my dad.”

I crunched the softened granola and gave Sea Mist nothing but a condescending stare.

“Come on! I can help!”

I looked into her big amaranth puppy dog eyes. She added a pout on top, but that wasn’t enough for me.

“Please?” Sea Mist put her hooves together.

“Not today.”

She gave a firm little grunt and turned away. Whatever. She can be pissed, but that’s not gonna guilt trip me into agreeing.

I went and equipped my gear: sliding into my armor vest, putting on my saddlebags, and folding the rifle’s mouth-trigger guard so I could sling it on my back. My gaze returned back to the hallway.

“Ready, Blue?”

Only the leaking ceiling responded back.

p l o p

I sighed and entered the living room. “Sea Mist. We gotta go.”

“One second.” She was frantically trying to fit something into her stable barding’s pockets with her magic.

I sighed. “Seriously, what did you take?”

Sea Mist ignored me and continued to struggle. “Why did they have to make the pockets so damn small! Ugh!”

“Blue,” I extended my hoof. “If you really want it, I can just carr—“

“No.”

I did a double take. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“You’ll laugh.”

“Sea Mist…”

“Fine!” She unfolded the item and levitated it to me. It was a postcard, in pretty good condition too. ‘Greetings From the Medical City of Tomorrow!’ was boldly written across the top with a picture of Stalliongrad’s skyline in the backdrop. Sky carriages flying in from all directions toward the city, the passengers’ toothy smiles complementing the rising sun coming over the mountains.

“Where'd you find this?”

“Uhh, last night while you were building the fire. There was a box of them in the bedroom. I was bored and it was just lying there.”

“What do you mean there was a box?”

Sea Mist whistled while avoiding my eyes.

“Blue, how many did you take?”

“Well…” she rolled the word on her tongue.

“How many.”

She paused. “All…of them.”

“Why?!” I exploded.

“The ponies in the pictures just look so happy and it makes me happy and I like them!”

I facehoofed. “Fucking spirits. Fine, keep them, just... leave some space for something useful too, alright?”

Her eyes lit up like a Hearthswarming scrap tree. “Really?”

“Yeah, I had a few when I was growing up.”

“So you like them!”

I slid the postcard into my saddlebags. “I did like them. I could give you the ones I used to own—“

“That would be awesome!”

“But, we have to get there first.” I waved her over to help me push the heavy wet desk off the front door. With a few grunts it was over and done. Sea Mist’s stomach grumbled. I tossed her the half-eaten granola bar which she quickly popped into her mouth and chewed on.

“Wow. This is really dry.”

I swallowed the last of my section of the bar and smiled before opening the door. A quiet world rested just outside, the buildings defeated by the elements and time. Empty shells, drowned in an unnatural blue.

The air was sharp with every breath. “Stay close. If anything bad is gonna happen, it’s deeper in the city.”

Sea Mist nodded.

I pulled up my hood and trotted out into the street. Sea Mist happily whistled and followed me down the road towards the beam in the sky. The light snow stuck to our clothes as we approached an eerie dirty mist covered bridge. Wagons filled with the remains of people trying to escape the bombs packed the road we were walking though. Unidentifiable skeletons holding their children tightly to their body, covering their eyes. Their hollow skulls still echoed an expression of deep locked fear. I didn't pay much attention to it and began scaling over vehicles. The only thing that made me stop was the lack of hoofsteps behind. I turned around. Sea Mist had stopped and was quietly crying.

My mane tingled. “Blue, come on. You’ve seen the dead before.”

“They’re—“

“Anywhere but here.” I cut her off.

I helped her climb over faded wagons and sky carriages. Sea Mist paused a few times to stare at the massive frozen river below. I took a moment to take it all in again. The buildings ahead were like the remains of a vast stonehenge, their decaying forms twisting like talons outstretched to the sky in prayer, or in anger. A hidden fence squeaked a forgotten melody into the wind. A mass gravesite of graffitied concrete tombs.

I have crossed so many ruins now, and searched their buildings so many times that I've lost count. I have already taken all the scraps I could that weren't too buried, but I've never understood their true purpose. I have studied everything that I could observe from the wasteland, but home was different. I've never found any answers here. Just forgotten melodies.

It felt different this time. You’d think I’d be happy or sad but I felt… nothing. A strange bliss that was just out of hoof’s reach. Another unanswered question. Sea Mist looked everywhere, never resting in a place for more than a brief second. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates. She was a kid in an alien zone.

We slid down a mound of snow-covered carriages into the limits of the city. Suddenly, the sounds of snow popping and crunching under our hooves was drowned out by the sound of powerful beats of air. I dragged Sea Mist through a large broken window of a diner and dove behind the counter. I swallowed my breath and covered my mouth. It felt as if my veins were frozen. Sea Mist gave me a grim look I’ll never forget; she followed my actions and we waited. My heart jumped with every powerful percussive whip of the wind. The sound grew closer and closer until my ears rang. Then it was silent.

I pushed past the years of fear charging through me and peeked over the counter. Half of a gigantic grey-colored beast was visible through the broken windows. The beast leaned its head down and sniffed around the center of the street while presenting its rows of teeth with a low snarl. Its claws ripped into the vehicles below like paper. Its mouth split into three parts, its two bottom lips readjusting to the movement of the creature’s tongue licking them.

No fucking way. Demons never used to come out this far. How could I have known? Dismay filled my chest and I accepted the very real possibility of a fight. But with only the rifle and a knife—shit. I only know one pony who’s ever even killed a Demon before.

I slowly eased myself back behind the counter. I wore my heart on my sleeve and Sea Mist could tell. She gestured to the open kitchen and I followed, staring at the ground. Each hoof was carefully placed around the broken cups and glass scattered on the tile floors. I bumped into her and looked up. A fridge had fallen and was resting diagonally across the doorframe. Sea Mist gazed at me with worry,but I waved her forward. She slipped under the unit without a problem.

It was my turn. I squeezed my shoulder blades together and attempted to get through the passage. There was just enough room for me to get my front hooves through to the other side. I pulled my hips through the space, but I bumped into the fridge and it slid down the wall, pinning my hindquarters to the doorframe.

It really fucking hurt.

Panic set in fast. I clenched my teeth together and tried to drag my lower half through. The fridge didn’t care to give me an inch. Sea Mist was freaking out. She pulled on the fridge with her magic, sweat beading down her forehead from the physical strain. I just needed a little more… room. I tugged at the tiles with every fiber of my soul. I wasn’t gonna be Demon food!

Finally, the fridge gave up and let me pass. It only took a small fucking heart attack.

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 resting face first in the sink. Parts of the galley were missing. Whole stoves, counters and even overhead lights were gone. At least there was a back door still.

I motioned for Sea Mist to try to open the back door and turned to watch the Demon through the serving window. It was staring right at me. There was no emotion in thoses eyes, just hunger. My stomach lurched at the sight. The demon let out a long hot breath into the chill air, paused, and launched into the sky with practiced bravado.

I gasped for fresh air. “Shit, you alright Blue?”

“No! You scared the shit out of me.”

“My bad.” I threw up a hoof in defense. “How’s the door?”

“Stuck.”

“Stuck?” I gave the metal exit a push. It was harder than I thought. Through the circular window I could see a pile of snow frozen to the lower frame.

Nothing could ever be so simple.

Sea Mist joined me to give the door another strong push. The hinges quietly whined as the heavy metal frame eventually submitted to our combined strength. The back alley was empty, much to my relief. I creeped to the edge of it to check the street. Both sides were clear from what was visible.

“How long till we get there?” She peeked her head out the doorway.

“No clue. We could be trapped up here for hours.”

I bolted across the open street to the dim alley just ahead. It was tightly crowded with dented trash cans and discolored news headlines. Sea Mist was right on my tail.

“What?!”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “I’m just fucking with ya. We just need to cross a few blocks.”

I paused to stare up at the rebar and concrete from the tops of the buildings on either side that collected in the middle to form a large barrier. Shit. It had to be four… no, five stories tall. We needed another way through. Good thing there were backdoors into these tombs. I just had to find an open one. I started trying doors.

“That’s not funny.” Sea Mist stomped her hoof down. She was fuming.

One of the doors was already open. I peeked inside for a moment then turned back to the mare. “Hey. You don’t have to be here.”

“Yes, I do.”

“What, to talk my ear off?” I rolled my eyes and entered the building. It was a large stairwell with a gap in the middle that climbed to the sky.

Luna, I fucking hate stairs.

I let out a long groan and started the ascent.

“I have to help you.” Sea Mist croaked from behind.

“With what?” I snapped. It had only been three flights and I already wanted to bash my head into the wall. Her nagging wasn’t helping.

She scrunched her brow. “Surviving.”

The next flight of stairs was covered in a glowing neon liquid, pulsing with an unnatural green light. I tossed a screw nut into it and watched it dissolve into the anomaly with little fanfare. Welp, I guess this is our floor.

“Shit.” I turned and raised an eyebrow. “You’re joking, right?”

“I’m serious.”

I attempted to open the floor’s door but it didn’t budge. I spun around, reading my back hooves for a second before blasting the door open to the sound of ice cracking. I wiped my brow. “Uh huh.”

Ahead was a large open area of abandoned, dusty cubicles. The items on their desks were left untouched, as if waiting for their owners to return. Shattered glass crinkled beneath each hoofstep. Snow five stories below had piled up to this level, leaking in through the large broken windows. The pipes above sang as we marched in silence.

“You’re going to die.”

I stopped in my tracks.

“I saw your eyes drift away; felt your lungs give out. Not too far from now.”

My heart hurt with each beat, lips drying rapidly. I didn’t know what to say. I looked away from Sea Mist.

“A shattered mask hugging your—“

“It’s an interesting theory.” I cut her off quickly. No more, please.

She enunciated each word slowly. “It's a fact.”

“Prove it.”

Sea Mist froze, mouth agape.

I let out a sigh. Seeing the future, what a joke. Just smoke and mirrors, illusions from somepony who wants to sell you something.I took a few small breaths and moved to the blown out windows.

“I felt my parents die.”

I stopped and turned back to her. She was rubbing the top of her pipbuck. Sea Mist refused to look at me.

"A couple of friends wanted to study at the cafeteria with me, I couldn't say no and I'm glad I didn't. When we get there, the lights are off, then everypony jumps out. Felt like the whole Stable was there yelling ‘Surprise!’ Then my chest goes... how do you– butterflies? Just the sight made me– because the ponies were laughing and smiling; all of them happy. But my mom was in the back, crying in her wheelchair, she was so beautiful. Tears could never ruin that. I always wonder if I will be like her when I get older. I hope I do. It's mom's smile that would whisk the thoughts away, so she could tell me how she couldn’t believe how big I’d gotten. Honestly, the whole world stopped spinning when dad came out of the kitchen. He was floating a cake to me, something he spent all day baking.”

She gave a light chuckle. Tears had started to collect in her eyes. “Dad could barely cook—so many visits from the Overseer scolding him for fires. Funny to think he enjoyed doing it. But th-that was the best thing I’ve ever had. I just couldn’t believe he made it, you know?”

“I bolted into him, so we just held each other. Let the seconds pass by. No care for the future. No thoughts… just warmth. It was supposed to be the best day of my life.” Her voice grew creakier with each word, streams pushing down her cheek.

“Told my dad that I finally mastered that new spell everypony was so proud of. He wanted me to test it on him and…”

I lowered my head and pressed my lips in tightly together. The streams on the side of her face expanded. She was trembling, her words coming out between gasps.

“Mom’s body was writhing next to dad’s. The neighbor was bashing his head in with a golf club. Meat spilling out of him; the place where his face used to be. I couldn’t tell him. I don’t know why. Even when he was putting me to sleep that night. I lied when he asked what I saw. But dad didn’t push; he never pushed. He just said ‘It’s okay.’ And that night t-they…”

Between hiccups, Sea Mist’s face contorted as she let her emotions wail out.

I paused. Anything I’d say would fuck this up. Then again, saying nothing would do the same.

“I...I get it.” I rubbed the back of my mane. “I spent a lot of time angry. All you can really do is just…breathe.”

======= ☢ =======

More of nothing was around the corner. An intersection’s traffic lights lie dormant in the center of the street. The wind rushed to cover them with more snow. I stopped peeking around the corner and nudged Sea Mist.

“Come on.” I creeped across to the other sidewalk.

She dragged her hooves in the snow while following slowly. Sea Mist’s dull pupils swayed around, like she wasn’t really even there.

“Blue, wake up.”

She looked up at me, wide eyed. Faint bags under her eyes. Her fur was muddy and pockmarked. I believe she even lost quite a bit of weight. It was the first time I really noticed just how weather-beaten Sea Mist was. “When are we going to see other ponies?”

Distant gunshots echoed off the buildings, the source completely indistinguishable. A few puffs of snow kicked up just around the corner. Sea Mist peeked around the street corner with me. Three people were coming towards us. A griffon supported by one of the ponies, her left wing completely defeathered, with nothing but a fleshy reddish pink stump left. An open gash stretched from the bird’s armpit to her hip, bleeding onto her shredded jacket. The muscle fibers that hung out of the wound swayed in the wind. The pony with an askanced look was scanning the area with their rifle, ready to fire.

“Sweet Celestia, they need help!” Sea Mist said in a shouted whisper, I pulled her back before she left our cover.

“What?” I held her with one hoof against the wall and focused on the patches on the group’s jackets. They were navy blue silhouettes of a canine's head cracking a wide white grin. A jackal’s head. I turned around to Sea Mist.

“They don’t need it, Blue.” I responded coldly.

“But…”

A single shot rang out followed by a large thud into the ground. It was answered by constant machine gun fire. Bullets whizzed through the air, cracked off chunks of bricks on the wall perpendicular to me. I protected my right ear with my hoof from deafening and Sea Mist did the same.

In only a few seconds, all sound had ceased. The breeze now tasted like carbon and copper. The fighting had stopped.

The snow crunched loudly as a new set of hoofsteps galloped close. “Bandits are dead. That’ll teach them not to mess with us.”

“Strip ‘em. I wanna know where they stashed that artifact from earlier.”

“Don’t move.” I whispered in Sea Mist’s ear.

Howling echoed throughout the street.

“Fuck. Move!” The other group ran directly down the main road tailed by a stampede of large snow-covered dark grey canines, two the size of a pony. Protruding joints connected to their hairless clawed paws. The Trackers’ tongues slapped against the side of exposed, beaten flesh that surrounded their mouth. The clouds of kicked-up snow faded from view as the pack traveled out of sight.

“Let’s not run into them.” I bolted over to the corpses in the area.

Sea Mist wasn’t too far behind. “The ponies or the mutants?”

“Either.”

I turned all of the bandits’ pockets inside out. One of them had to have… there. I bumped my hoof into cold steel in the griffon’s front pouch. A rectangular object. Perfect. I got it out and pressed the power button. Hopefully, it still worked.

“What are you doing to that body?”

I couldn’t hold back a grin as the device’s screen came alive with a white back glow. “Getting us a map.”

“From that pip…” She tilted her head to the side and raised a brow. “That’s a weird looking pipbuck.”

“It’s just a PDA.”

“What can it do?” Sea Mist leaned over my shoulder to look at the slim device.

“Sort inventory, medical diagnosis of the user, automatic mapping feature, biometric scanner, connection to Stalliongrad's secret government facilities, trajectory analyzer.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?!”

“Noooo.” I let the word trail off my lips. “It keeps notes and has a map.”

“B-but what about SATS?” The stable dweller stuttered in disbelief.

“What the hell is SATS?”

Sea Mist didn’t say another word. I smirked as I found the nearest metro entrance on the map. It wasn’t even that far away. Just a few blocks in… well, shit. I stared down the road towards where the pack had gone. Two blocks shouldn’t be too bad.

I turned off the PDA and slid the device into my front pouch. Pushing over one of the ponies’ bodies, I yanked the bandit’s pistol out of its holster. It was fully loaded with 9mm, so easy to fire a filly could use it...and they frequently do. I held out the gun to Sea Mist, but she gave me a repulsed glance.

“Just take the pistol.” I unbuckled the holster off the body.

She puffed out a tiny bit of air. “I don’t even know how to use one of those.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just try not to shoot me.”

Sea Mist gently took the gun and holster with her magic. I waved her along as I trotted down the street. Past the restaurants and stores of the district, frozen in time. The wind had drawn back its powerful hold on the area. It even began to warm up a bit. Eventually, everything became a blurry empty canvas to me. We were only a building away from the entrance.

C L I C K

“Stand still, stalker, or I’ll put one right in your cheek.” I tensed up, stopping dead in my tracks at the command. It was the same voice that killed the bandits. I turned to face the group of ponies trained on me. Dressed in grey coats with red accent colors. A golden sun patch proudly presented on their shoulder. Sea Mist glanced at me, her eyes tight and worried.

“I have no issues with the Old Guard.”

The female unicorn stalker smirked. “Well I don’t see the Party here, so I don’t give a shit.”

She paused, putting out a hoof with her best stone cold poker face. “Give us your artifacts.”

“Don’t have any.” I relaxed my shoulders the best I could. Halfway was good enough for me.

“You don’t have any?” She scoffed at my comment. “You’re a horrible liar. Scan ‘im.”

One of the younger stalker’s horns lit up with a bright teal glow. A ring of eldritch symbols formed out of the snow, encasing everypony there. Sea Mist raised her hoof as lines formed around both of us. The caster glared at me and dropped the spell. “Just give us the artifacts, sir.”

“Being formal now? You can look at one...” I reached back into my saddlebags and brought out an orb floating in my hoof, its blue radiance illuminating off everypony’s eyes. Sea Mist was completely taken by awed bewilderment. The stalkers’ lips were practically salivating at its mere presence.

“As a treat.”

“That Moonlight. Give it!” The lead mare snapped.

I returned the artifact to my bags. “Sorry, but it’s my family’s.”

“It’ll feed mine. It could feed everypony’s here!” She leveled her pistol with my skull. “You can rest easy knowing you’ll be able to sleep toni—”

“Then shoot me.” I cut her off.

Everypony was taken aback. Sea Mist rubbed the top of her pipbuck. “You don’t mean that, do you Wildcard?”

“Look, you haven’t shot me yet and I’m tired. Really fucking tired. Just let me go home.” I had had enough of everypony’s bullshit.

A single droplet of rain broke the tension. It fell gracefully onto the lead stalker’s pistol, instantly freezing into a flower-like shape on the gun’s slide on contact. Another hit the stallion behind her, blacking his coat to a sickly grey. The mare dropped the pistol and the Old Guard stalkers bolted in different directions. I hooked right for the closest building, sprinting as fast as my hooves would carry me.

“What’s going on?!” Sea Mist screamed from behind.

It started coming down harder. I felt droplets fall on to my exposed skin, burning as they flash-froze. I opened the door and let my companion run in first. Spikes of ice shot up randomly like thorns wherever the fat drops struck, piercing everything in the street indiscriminately. The stallion from before was rushing towards me. I held the door shut and watched him through the door’s window. He banged on the frame, screaming then begging for me to open it. Eventually the rain came down in sheets, each drop hitting and encasing the pony in ice. His eyes darted left and right as his body was fixed to the door. He began to tear up, like a lost foal, as I turned to find Sea Mist.

I focused on breathing to calm my rapidly beating heart, each pump contracting my veins painfully towards it. Empty metal clothes racks lined the walls and floor of the ornate, brightly painted shop. It may have been a fashion boutique once, but it felt hollow now. The light outside reflected off the ice and rain, bathing the area in a strong lavender glow. The pale, naked mannequins sat staged in front of the round front display window silhouetted by the light; nothing more than the expressionless watchers. The lead stalker blankly stared through me while levitating a knife to Sea Mist’s throat.

“I need that money for my family. Give me that Moonlight. Now.”

I put on my best face, unslung my rifle and took aim for the mare’s head.

“Are you dense?! Gun down! Moonlight now or this mare—“

I cut her off. “Do I look like a Scout Ranger to you? Sorry, filly.”

Why couldn’t my hooves stop shaking? Fucking hell, if I could just relax then it would be easier to scare them. But I didn’t get the reaction I wanted. Not even close.

“You’re a horrible liar.” She grinned, a bead of sweat rolling down her brow, and tightened the edge closer to Sea Mist’s soft flesh.

I shook my head and spoke around my mouth trigger, “Don’t.”

My heart mirrored the rhythm of the freezing rain. Sea Mist held her breath, pleading with her eyes. She fruitlessly searched around for a way out. I slowly inhaled and exhaled out the side of my mouth. Sweat ran down my muzzle, curving around each of my facial scars before plopping onto the floor. I slowly tongued my trigger.

c l i c k

The color in my face melted away. My rifle misfired. The stalker smiled, tossing her hostage to the ground and charging towards me at a blinding pace. I dropped my gun and drew my own knife from my bracer with my teeth. Her blade whistled as it flew over me. Before I could think, the stalker spun around and bucked me off my hooves. An explosive cough escaped my lungs as I skipped off the floor.

She spun into the air, bringing the knife back for a deadly hit. Crimson magic yanked hard on the stalker’s leg, causing the mare to crash headfirst into the floor. Sea Mist’s eyes shrank to pinpricks as the stalker got up, blood soaking down her teeth, and snapped towards Sea Mist like a caged beast. I chased after the stalker and slammed my blade into her side. She screamed as I dragged the weapon back towards me, bumping as it went over each rib.

She bucked me full force against the wall. The world was spinning. She walked up to Sea Mist, picked up her head in her hooves and beat it into the ground, and I saw blood roll down from the stable dweller’s mane. I lost it as the stalker turned to face me.

I screamed so hard it felt like my vocal cords were snapping. She plunged her weapon into my side as I tackled her wrist. She back pedaled into a clothes rack with a heavy thud. She growled, cracking her elbow into my spine before picking me up by the torso and throwing me away. My mouth filled with the taste of copper as I hit multiple racks, cartwheeling over the final one.

Each breath grew harder as I forced myself up. I stumbled a little as I got to my hooves, just in time for the mare to punch me back down. She quickly pinned me down and began shanking me with the blade she had stuck in my side. Each wet smack forced me to gasp in pain until I was trembling for air. My body felt like it was on fire as the blade was slowly being dragged down my side. The stalker practically salivated at my tiny squeals.

“Amani!” I screamed out.

B A N G

The mare’s head whiplashed as her body fell to the side. Smoke seared off a hole in her left temple. Sea Mist stood to my right, forehead caked in blood. Her face twisted from seething anger to shock. She just stared at the corpse quietly. I groaned as I pulled out the knife and stood up.

“F-f-fuck. Good job.” I searched down the pony’s body until I found her medical items. I ripped open the first aid bag and grabbed the box of syringes inside, injected myself with painkillers before dressing the gash, then I wrapped the cut on Sea Mist’s forehead. She hadn’t moved during this whole process. I didn’t even know if she breathed.

“Come on, Blue. The ponyhole is in the alley just next door. Let’s go before the rain lets up.”

She didn’t respond.

I shook her shoulder. “Sea Mist.”

“Sorry, what?” She shivered, trying to hold back tears.

“We’re leaving,” I repeated in a low tone.

“Yeah...yeah.” Sea Mist stumbled over her words. I grabbed my weapons off the floor as I weaved to the back door.

The alley on the other side of the frame was clean and dry. Rain hammered away at the makeshift sheet metal roofing constructed over the area. Old wood beams supported its weight. I waved my companion over to the ponyhole in the center of the alley. With a small tug, the hatch slid away. A single ladder dove into the dark void below.

“Wildcard, can we talk?” Sea Mist spat out sheepishly.

“Not now.”

“But I—“

I snapped back. “I said not now.”

“I want… need to talk about what happened.” She rubbed the top of her pipbuck.

“I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Look, if we talked about everypony we came across, there wouldn’t be enough words left for the rest of us. Just forget it and move on. There’s more pressing things right now.” I gestured to the hole.

Sea Mist sighed before sliding down the ladder into the darkness. I took one last longing look at the peaceful rain, then the engraved name on my rifle: Amani.

‘Just move on.’

I joined her down the hole.

======= ☢ =======

My eyes quickly dilated to the dim lighting of the tunnel. Rubble, dirt, and bent railroad tracks lay in front of us. A hoofcart encased in spider webs had bones in their seats. One end of the vehicle had been crushed into a large hydraulic metal door. A rusty pony door was tucked into the wall on the left. Sea Mist was aimlessly walking around the space, bumbling over items on the ground.

“Hey, Blue!”

“I can’t see!” Her words were filled with panic.

“Just walk over to my voice.”

She glanced over to my general direction. “O-okay.”

With only a few hoofsteps, Sea Mist trotted into the wall of the tunnel. We could work on it. I helped Blue up and guided her to the nearby side door. The wheel hissed and yawned as I spun it open.

Red.

A single dim, red light creakily spun providing the only source of light to the station. Shadows quickly danced and darted away from its rays. The business stands were empty. The tents next to them had been torn and abandoned much just like everything else. The farm in the central dirt track was overflowing with massive white and tan mushrooms.

The social hub of Sparkle Station, for the first time in my life, was completely silent.

The massive amount of magical imagery stood as the last piece of culture from the city left. A greying mural of a purple unicorn was painted on the largest wall. I never remembered it. Sea Mist approached the mural with glistening eyes.

“Wow.”

I sat next to her and tried my best to read the passage inscribed underneath.

The path of the right is a difficult one, but it is always there. No matter how many times we fall.

They were beautiful words but something itched at the back of my mind. “Who is that?”

“You don’t know?!” Sea Mist screamed in my ear.

I simply shook my head. She could’ve been anyone to me.

“That’s Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic!” She was bouncing with a long smile.

“Wait…” I thought I knew that face. “She’s the head of the Ministry of Arcane Science, right?”

“Yeah!”

“So, face-to-face with one of the ponies that helped end the world. An honor.” I bowed a little to the mural, ignoring the sharp flashes of pain in my side.

Sea Mist punched me on the foreleg. “Stop joking!”

I snickered and got up. “You’re right. Let’s stop messing about to go find civilization. We can leave the egghead to dream in silence.”

She huffed, then followed me through the maze of cloth houses covered with dust to the northern station exit. She looked around at the spiderwebs and dust that covered every nook and cranny. “Did ponies really used to live here?”

“Yeah, I knew plenty of folks from this station.”

We came up on a sheet metal customs house that covered the way out. Towers on both sides of the wall protected the path in and out. The mounted flamethrowers made sure of that. The gate in the center was closed tight.

I entered through the only door on the building and was met with a familiar sight: layers of tiny doorless offices around a single hallway. Crushed folders and crumpled papers rested on every surface. The young unicorn looked around at everything with amazement.

I paused at one office just before the exit and couldn’t help myself from peeking in. Everything inside the tiny room was spotless. An anemone had been placed on the desk. The flower hadn’t withered, but the color had faded to time. A picture was tucked underneath its stem. I squinted to see the details. In the frame were four figures: a young pony, beaming, standing in front of a smiling zebra family. The couple behind held each other tenderly while watching the younger zebra colt mess up the mane of the pony. In the tan colt’s hooves was a patch he proudly presented to the photographer: A partial lunar eclipse.

I bowed my head. It was painful to look at. I… don’t know what to do, Amani, but you would. You always knew what to do. What to say. How to smile. I’m sorry.

Sea Mist tapped me on the shoulder. “What are you looking at?”

“Just somepony’s memorial.”

With a heavy sigh, I exited the room. I didn’t want to waste any more time, so I headed to the door.

“You coming?” I hollered back while exiting the customs building.

The response came as a crash as Sea Mist tripped over a desk. I rolled my eyes at the sound of galloping coming towards me. I used my hooves to scratch my hair impatiently until she caught up.

“Wildcard, everypony down here thinks you're dead. Don’t they?”

I smirked. “That’s right.”

“So, how do you plan on telling ponies?”

“Let’s just say I’m working on it.” I started walking down the tunnel.

Sea Mist’s 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 now?” I groaned with a raised brow.

She pointed to the ceiling; a pair of crimson eyes stared at us from the darkness.

The eyes disappeared. Both Sea Mist and I looked around for where it went. Sea Mist shakily pointed her pistol at the roof, paranoid at the tiniest 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 stabbed the barrel of my rifle around towards the shadow, but I was too slow. The creature lunged at blinding speed, knocking my gun away with a single strike, kicking Sea Mist into the tunnel wall and pinning me to the ground. A silver baton that extended from the side of their forehoof, brushed the fur inches from my forehead. The light of the station shined onto the grey face of our assaulter as they pressed their other baton into my throat. The pony’s ears were fuzzier than normal. They bared razor sharp fangs and stared into my soul with her crimson viper-like eyes. Bat wings spread out wide.

I knew that face. “Dusk...?”

“Serenity?!” The cracking in her voice almost brought me to tears. The batpony’s facial expression softened as she got off of me, retracting her weapons and squinting.

I stood up and shivered at the pain in my side. “Yeah.”

Dusk happily embraced me. My coat began to feel clammy as the grey mare nuzzled into my neck. Was she crying? She doesn't do that. I felt myself begin to blush as Sea Mist looked at us, raising an eyebrow.

“You still owe me a whole magazine,” Dusk said, but I could feel her smirking. She pulled herself back and looked at me, frowning. “What happened to the pretty stallion’s face?!”

She touched my scars with a free hoof. I softly swatted it and turned away. “Don’t worry about it, I was just being an idiot.”

She sighed. “Always playing the role of the klutz, huh?”

“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. I grew up with her.”

“I get that part, but how come a magazine is so important?”

Dusk used a wing to muffle her laughter. The batpony then used the same wing to beckon the younger mare forward. “She’s definitely new. Let's get to Dry Station.”

“One final thing.” Sea Mist tilted her head. “Who’s Serenity?”

My vision started to softly blur at the edges. I lifted my hoof closer to my face to see it soaked in blood. That wasn’t good. “Well… shit.”

The last thing I saw was a smirking Dusk catching me with her wing.

“You really are a tired klutz.”