Cover Image

We don't go to Sub-Level Five

by RadBunny
Astral Sentinel is just a typical security guard. The job pays well, has decent hours, and it's basically glorified customer service. There was just one odd thing stamped on the job description. Never ask about Sub-Level Five, ever.

"Sub-Level Five doesn't exist." That's the official statement of the Stairway company.

Washing out from the Night Guard program is usually a death sentence to any similar career. When Astral Sentinel was asked if he was interested in a security job, the Thestral obviously jumped at the chance.

There was just one oddity about the job. Well, there were quite a few, but mainly just one.
He just never, ever could acknowledge the existence of Sub-Level Five.

When a complete lock-down traps the Thestral inside the odd facility, he has to break that one rule. As the security systems begin to eradicate all life inside the building, Astral has to venture down to the elevators that officially don't exist, to a floor nopony alive will speak of.

He soon finds out that some things are best left buried beneath rock and stone.

*Warning. Hitchhikers may be escaped convicts.

"This story is simultaneously horrifying and adorable." -Witchery

Takes place far after Season 9. Although, it could take place at any time...(or in the Radverse, as some people call it.) This thing took on a mind of its own.

Seriously.

Read on if you want to join Astral for the ride.
I hope you brought your crowbar.

In later chapters, loose spoilers for Timeless, Sunspots, and Cure for a Toxin
Warnings for creepy atmosphere, gore, violence, and brief mentions of sexual content/assault (nothing explicit, only implied.)

Despite this being a horror story with unpleasant elements, it's not grimdark or a depressing tale. Lots more ups and downs, but overall it's a positive read of good vs evil, love and fluff; those are the types stories I write, after all. I just want to let everyone know what they're getting into, and don't want any readers blindsided due to some of the content.
(Not a romance involving a 'herd')

Teen
Complete
Gore
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Romance
Horror
Adventure
Violence
Sex
Death
 
BOOT

348128 words: Estimated 1 day to read
Download:textHTMLePUB

130 Chapters:

  1. Introduction 2021-08-31 17:13:30 UTC
    937
  2. Chapter One: Strawberry Jam 2021-08-31 17:14:00 UTC
    1636
  3. Chapter Two: All systems normal. Cleaning teams assigned. 2021-08-31 23:38:46 UTC
    1675
  4. Chapter Three: Take my breath away 2021-08-31 23:38:53 UTC
    1853
  5. Chapter Four: It sees you when you're sleeping 2021-09-03 20:07:32 UTC
    1722
  6. Chapter Five: Sub-Level Five 2021-09-04 16:41:17 UTC
    1399
  7. Chapter Six: Bountiful Brass Bouquets 2021-09-06 21:25:42 UTC
    1813
  8. Chapter Seven: Wake up. Smell the ashes. 2021-09-10 18:31:51 UTC
    1302
  9. Chapter Eight: Tenacious Trams Travail a Tired Traveler 2021-09-11 15:45:51 UTC
    1769
  10. Chapter Nine: A friendly face? 2021-09-17 21:17:30 UTC
    1889
  11. Chapter Ten: Haven 2021-09-18 16:21:18 UTC
    1968
  12. Chapter Eleven: Situation Rundown 2021-09-19 19:50:31 UTC
    3303
  13. Chapter Twelve: Who's Who? 2021-09-25 15:20:41 UTC
    2170
  14. Chapter Thirteen: Numbers and concerns 2021-10-01 16:09:02 UTC
    2450
  15. Chapter Fourteen: Reckoning 2021-10-02 18:58:52 UTC
    4485
  16. Chapter Fifteen: Tosses, Turns, and Plans 2021-10-09 18:08:08 UTC
    3073
  17. Chapter Sixteen: Crashing Hopes 2021-10-16 15:55:55 UTC
    3960
  18. Chapter Seventeen: Run from it, Hide from it 2021-10-17 16:05:36 UTC
    1750
  19. Chapter Eighteen: An unruly hello 2021-10-23 16:04:43 UTC
    1244
  20. Chapter Nineteen: Save a life 101 2021-10-24 16:48:59 UTC
    2341
  21. Chapter Twenty: Getting to know you over a cup of poison. 2021-10-30 15:39:08 UTC
    3564
  22. Chapter Twenty One: Percentages 2021-11-06 16:22:52 UTC
    1272
  23. Chapter Twenty Two: Truth 2021-11-07 17:25:33 UTC
    2664
  24. Chapter Twenty Three: Ten Minutes 2021-11-13 16:16:47 UTC
    1967
  25. Chapter Twenty Four: Rest and Revelations 2021-11-14 17:36:28 UTC
    2297
  26. Chapter Twenty Five: Heart to Heart. 2021-11-20 17:04:56 UTC
    2081
  27. Chapter Twenty Six: Untangling Threads. 2021-11-21 17:30:17 UTC
    2990
  28. Chapter Twenty Seven: Comforts 2021-11-27 18:03:37 UTC
    3215
  29. Chapter Twenty Eight: Curse of Knowledge 2021-11-28 16:50:15 UTC
    1287
  30. Chapter Twenty Nine: Progress 2021-12-04 18:43:57 UTC
    2790
  31. Chapter Thirty: Relief 2021-12-11 16:52:37 UTC
    3770
  32. Chapter Thirty One: News and FRE's 2021-12-18 16:37:17 UTC
    4636
  33. Chapter Thirty Two: Four Letters 2021-12-25 17:45:06 UTC
    2522
  34. Chapter Thirty Three: Updated Objective 2022-01-01 17:25:43 UTC
    1890
  35. Chapter Thirty Four: Flickering Lights 2022-01-08 17:43:21 UTC
    1473
  36. Chapter Thirty Five: Cracked Foundations 2022-01-16 16:04:59 UTC
    1335
  37. Chapter Thirty Six: Woes of Green 2022-01-17 16:56:34 UTC
    1725
  38. Chapter Thirty Seven: Five Leafed Clover 2022-01-22 22:39:26 UTC
    1197
  39. Chapter Thirty Eight: Gravity of the Situation 2022-01-29 17:20:44 UTC
    1940
  40. Chapter Thirty Nine: Hippity Hoppity 2022-02-06 17:03:59 UTC
    2148
  41. Chapter Forty: Decompression 2022-02-12 17:15:23 UTC
    1505
  42. Chapter Forty One: Fire 2022-02-19 17:21:41 UTC
    3020
  43. Chapter Forty Two: Inconceivable 2022-02-21 17:36:28 UTC
    1769
  44. Chapter Forty Three: Static 2022-02-26 20:10:38 UTC
    3265
  45. Chapter Forty Four: Defragmenting 2022-03-05 16:10:00 UTC
    2927
  46. Chapter Forty Five: Grounding 2022-03-12 16:57:16 UTC
    2863
  47. Chapter Forty Six: Truth 2.0 2022-03-19 16:07:57 UTC
    1963
  48. Chapter Forty Seven: Castling 2022-03-26 16:49:29 UTC
    1971
  49. Chapter Forty Eight: Who really is in the cage? 2022-04-02 18:07:17 UTC
    2305
  50. Chapter Forty Nine: We are who we choose to be 2022-04-03 15:47:57 UTC
    2315
  51. Chapter Fifty: Warnings and Friends 2022-04-09 16:53:36 UTC
    1746
  52. Chapter Fifty One: Don't Breathe 2022-04-10 18:21:15 UTC
    1244
  53. Chapter Fifty Two: Torn 2022-04-16 16:27:46 UTC
    2274
  54. Chapter Fifty Three: A Promise 2022-04-17 17:14:16 UTC
    2324
  55. Chapter Fifty Four: Small Steps 2022-04-23 15:35:17 UTC
    3003
  56. Chapter Fifty Five: Galactic Shift 2022-04-30 16:00:44 UTC
    3943
  57. Chapter Fifty Six: Knife's Edge 2022-05-07 19:15:03 UTC
    1706
  58. Chapter Fifty Seven: Snake Pit 2022-05-14 16:18:36 UTC
    2633
  59. Chapter Fifty Eight: Ignition 2022-05-15 17:44:43 UTC
    2735
  60. Chapter Fifty Nine: RASP 2022-05-21 16:47:49 UTC
    2917
  61. Chapter Sixty: Si vis pacem, para bellum 2022-05-22 19:37:43 UTC
    2660
  62. Chapter Sixty One: We send unto her...only you. 2022-05-28 16:50:07 UTC
    1778
  63. Chapter Sixty Two: Rip and tear, until it is done 2022-05-29 18:52:10 UTC
    2940
  64. Chapter Sixty Three: A Promise 2022-05-30 16:59:08 UTC
    2171
  65. Chapter Sixty Four: Intermission, Part 1 2022-06-04 16:26:00 UTC
    465
  66. Chapter Sixty Five: Intermission, Part 2 2022-06-04 16:26:18 UTC
    6532
  67. Chapter Sixty Six: Return 2022-06-11 15:20:11 UTC
    1862
  68. Chapter Sixty Seven: We don’t go to Silo Three 2022-06-18 11:49:55 UTC
    1764
  69. Chapter Sixty Eight: Outage 2022-06-25 15:15:29 UTC
    1446
  70. Chapter Sixty Nine: Security 2022-07-02 16:59:35 UTC
    1525
  71. Chapter Seventy: On Air 2022-07-04 15:45:26 UTC
    1570
  72. Chapter Seventy One: Stabilization 2022-07-09 15:27:49 UTC
    1847
  73. Chapter Seventy Two: The Viewscreen Cracks 2022-07-16 16:05:00 UTC
    4712
  74. Chapter Seventy Three: Coasting the Rapids 2022-07-23 15:33:13 UTC
    2125
  75. Chapter Seventy Four: Awake? 2022-07-30 15:02:46 UTC
    1248
  76. Chapter Seventy Five: Loopy Pancakes 2022-08-06 15:52:59 UTC
    1228
  77. Chapter Seventy Six: Critical Failure 2022-08-13 15:05:39 UTC
    1227
  78. Chapter Seventy Seven:...Conquers All 2022-08-20 16:13:20 UTC
    1628
  79. Chapter Seventy Eight: Awake 2.0 2022-08-27 15:39:39 UTC
    1874
  80. Chapter Seventy Nine: Don't let the bedbugs... 2022-09-03 16:17:22 UTC
    1256
  81. Chapter Eighty: Moving day with extra “AAAH!” 2022-09-10 14:50:47 UTC
    2321
  82. Chapter Eighty One: A Dash of Chaos 2022-09-17 16:45:06 UTC
    2978
  83. Chapter Eighty Two: Roller Coaster of the Heart 2022-09-24 16:43:31 UTC
    9258
  84. Chapter Eighty Three: A Voice From The Dark 2022-10-01 16:54:44 UTC
    2119
  85. Chapter Eighty Four: Drums in the deep 2022-10-08 16:00:59 UTC
    3197
  86. Chapter Eighty Five: Reboot 2022-10-15 16:54:40 UTC
    2938
  87. Chapter Eighty Six: Temporal Tears 2022-10-22 16:59:48 UTC
    4982
  88. Chapter Eighty Seven: Bro Talk 2022-10-29 15:16:52 UTC
    2901
  89. Chapter Eighty Eight: The Ball is Rolling 2022-11-05 16:31:21 UTC
    3485
  90. Chaptery Eighty Nine: Discoveries 2022-11-12 16:50:14 UTC
    1548
  91. Chapter Ninety: Chaos Storm 2022-11-19 18:15:39 UTC
    2526
  92. Chapter Ninety-One: Arrow Released 2022-11-26 17:36:47 UTC
    3399
  93. Chapter Ninety-Two: Silo Three Bids Thee Welcome 2022-12-03 17:49:51 UTC
    1390
  94. Chapter Ninety-Three: Run 2022-12-10 18:14:52 UTC
    1551
  95. Chapter Ninety-Four: Fracture 2022-12-17 17:58:01 UTC
    1659
  96. Chapter Ninety-Five: Sunlight 2022-12-24 15:38:52 UTC
    6584
  97. Chapter Ninety-Six: Spicy Cotton Candy 2022-12-31 17:17:31 UTC
    6295
  98. Chapter Ninety-Seven: Reality 2023-01-07 18:05:33 UTC
    4611
  99. Chapter Ninety-Eight: Onwards and Downwards 2023-01-14 17:05:25 UTC
    2970
  100. Chapter Ninety-Nine: Green Tartarus 2023-01-21 16:43:39 UTC
    1430
  101. Chapter 100: High Clarity 2023-01-28 18:47:54 UTC
    1563
  102. Chapter 101: Lovely Liminal Location 2023-02-04 16:45:57 UTC
    1436
  103. Chapter 102: Libraries 2023-02-11 17:14:11 UTC
    1938
  104. Chapter 103: Down The Rabbit Hole 2023-02-18 16:49:20 UTC
    1455
  105. Chapter 104: Reality 2023-02-25 16:41:30 UTC
    1220
  106. Chapter 105: Sanctuary 2023-03-04 17:02:01 UTC
    8805
  107. Chapter 106: Recovery 2023-03-18 16:36:02 UTC
    5566
  108. Chapter 107: Simply Sublime Suburb. 2023-04-01 14:49:25 UTC
    1581
  109. Chapter 108: Dawn of the Dastardly Evil, Abandoned Decorations 2023-04-15 16:19:32 UTC
    1375
  110. Chapter 109: Warning: Hitchhikers may be escaped convicts. 2023-04-29 15:33:04 UTC
    2493
  111. Chapter 110: The Maw 2023-05-06 15:13:25 UTC
    3373
  112. Chapter 111: Mouthwash 2023-05-13 16:46:42 UTC
    2570
  113. Chapter 112: Condemned 2023-05-20 16:03:42 UTC
    7854
  114. Chapter 113: Belly of the Beast 2023-05-27 14:10:03 UTC
    8516
  115. Chapter 114: Two Tin Cans and a String 2023-06-03 14:25:52 UTC
    5270
  116. Chapter 115: Out Of Service 2023-06-10 15:43:46 UTC
    2707
  117. Chapter 116: Tethered 2023-06-17 15:20:52 UTC
    1574
  118. Chapter 117: Step by Step 2023-06-24 14:36:04 UTC
    2032
  119. Chapter 118: Mutual Fiend 2023-07-01 15:17:23 UTC
    1645
  120. Chapter 119: Pillar of Autumn 2023-07-08 15:15:08 UTC
    5274
  121. Chapter 120: Sunlight 2023-07-15 15:53:41 UTC
    3530
  122. Chapter 121: Healing 2023-07-22 16:32:49 UTC
    2775
  123. Chapter 122: Waking 2023-07-29 15:32:25 UTC
    1697
  124. Chapter 123: Realm of the Real 2023-08-05 14:57:32 UTC
    2824
  125. Chapter 124: Counterbalance 2023-08-12 16:28:16 UTC
    2959
  126. Chapter 125: Lines in the Sand 2023-08-19 15:40:43 UTC
    2482
  127. Chapter 126: Elevator, going up! 2023-08-26 15:29:17 UTC
    2419
  128. Epilogue 1: Arcane Tales 2023-09-02 14:59:03 UTC
    10081
  129. Epilogue 2: Containment Failure 2023-09-02 14:59:43 UTC
    1419
  130. Epilogue 3: The Adventure Continues. 2023-09-02 15:00:01 UTC
    1765