Metro: A New World

I have escaped from the hospital. With, of course, help from my two new friends, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. Now, I have been tasked to meet them at the local library in the center of town. One catch, I can't be seen. Who knows how the other ponies will react to my presence. Thankfully, night has fallen, making my task much easier.

As the sun set in the distant horizon, darkness began to fill where the light once was. That's how I liked it. I put on my night vision goggles and continued deeper into the small patch of forest. Being surrounded by trees and nocturnal wildlife was a much welcome change from the surroundings of the cramped metro or the rather lethal surface of Moscow. And speaking of nocturnal wildlife, the pair of deer I saw earlier appeared in front of me. This time, they seemed to recognize me and scampered off in the opposite direction. Couldn't blame them, I do look quite threatening. I continued further into the forest and realized that I was now nearing its end. I could see lampposts and what appeared to be the local post office, judging by the color and the fact that a giant envelope was on the roof. I took solace in the fact that there were no other ponies roaming the streets this late in the evening. Even so, It's best I stick to alleyways and back streets to reach the library. Better safe than sorry.

Meanwhile.....

"You think Artyom is doing okay on his own?" asked Fluttershy.

"I'm pretty sure he can handle himself, Fluttershy." answered Twilight.

"Are you sure? I mean what if--"

"Don't worry about, Fluttershy. I gave him my luck. With that, I doubt anything bad will happen to him." said Rainbow Dash.

"If you say so."

The trio of ponies continued through the dimly lit streets of Ponyville, passing the local post office.

"Twilight?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yes?"

"How we going to introduce Artyom to Ponyville?"

"That's.....complicated. I need time to think about that. Sorry."

"It's fine."

The trio walked further into town until they came to a large tree in the center of town. It was the local library, which also doubled as Twilight's house.

"Here we are."

"Yep, here we---wait. Where's Artie?" said Dash.

"I...I don't know." answered Twilight.

"Could something bad have happened to him?!" Fluttershy began to visibly panic.

"Calm down, Fluttershy. I really doubt anything bad happened to him."

Twilight unlocked the door to her house and lead Rainbow and Fluttershy inside.

"It's so dark in here." said Dash.

"I can fix that." Twilight turned on the nearby light switch, flooding the room with light.

"See? Much......better" Twilight's voice began to trail off as her eyes drifted to her chair, focusing particularly on the thing sitting IN the chair. Fluttershy and Dash both looked in the direction Twilight was looking in. Fluttershy passed out on the spot. Twilight and Dash just stared in disbelief. Sitting in the chair, staring blankly at the ground, was a familiar figure who was barely distinguishable with the amount of cuts. bruises, and bite marks on his person. A bloody knife was also gripped within his right hand

"...Artyom?" asked Twilight and Dash.

Artyom looked up from the floor and stared at the two ponies.

"You would not believe the shit I had to put up with to get here." said Artyom.

Earlier....

As I was just about to set foot outside of the forest's boundaries, I heard the sound of growling behind me. I slowly turned around and came face to face with five pairs of angry green eyes. Through my goggles, I could see that the origin of the eyes were from wolves, but not any kind I have ever seen. Theses wolves were completely made out of wood. How was that even possible? I might have seen some strange things, but this comes close to taking the cake. The wolves began to slowly advance on me. This was bad. I couldn't use my gun, I can't risk alerting the entire town and having myself discovered. I had to this the old fashioned way. I drew my combat knife and entered a combat stance.

Ranger training. Don't fail me now.

The smallest wolf of the pack began to charge at me. Eyes dead set on ripping my throat out. Jaws mashing with feral hunger. The wolf grew closer and closer. It then pounced, opening its mouth wide to ensnare its prey. I sidestepped before the bite could connect. The wolf made contact with a nearby tree and hit the ground. Capitalizing on this moment, I drove my blade down into its chest, straight into its heart. The wolf let out a small cry before its eyes closed in death. I removed the blade from the wolf's chest and turned back to the pack.

"Your move."

Two more wolves accepted the challenge and rushed right at me. The first wolf did the same as the last, so I sidestepped its attack. The second wolf however, wised up and aimed lower. The wolf's jaws clamped down on my right leg. The wolf's bite strength was impressive, but it clearly was aiming to maim rather than injure. I guess it wanted to play with its food first. I balled up my left hand into a fist and brought down on the wolf's head, making it release its grasp on my leg. Using my other leg, I kicked the wolf back a good distance before turning to the other timber wolf. As I did, the wolf in question pounced on me and brought me to the ground. It then sank its jaws into my left shoulder. A sharp pain shot through me as I tried to remove the wolf from my body. Using my knife, I pierced the right side of its neck and threw the wolf off me. I was down an arm and there were still three more wolves. The wolf that I kicked came back for revenge and rushed me with speed. Readying my knife, I dodged its attack and sliced along the wolf's side, causing a visible cut on its skin. The wolf howled in pain as it assessed its new wound. It then came back for more, so I gave it to him. I drove my knife through the top of the wolf's skull and ripped it out with great force. Three down, two to go. I turned to face the last two wolves. They stood there, watching me.

It was a tense few moments before one of the two wolves came at me. I readied myself and prepared for attack. The wolf pounced, but instead of attacking me with its jaws, it performed a spin in midair and kicked me in the stomach with its hind legs. The force of the impact knocked the wind out of me and sent me down to the ground for a second time. I was surprised. I didn't even know such a feat was even remotely possible. I slowly got up from the ground. As I did, the wolf came at me with speed. It sensed that I was weak and was closing in for the kill. So it thought. Just as the wolf was going to deliver the killing blow, I thrusted my knife through the bottom of its jaw and twisted it, ending the wolf's life. All that was left now was the alpha. The alpha stared at me with piercing eyes, as if he were staring through me. After a few tense moments, the wolf turned around and walked back into the forest.

What could this mean? Was he retreating?

I'll figure it out later. Right now, I have to get to the library, injuries and all.

"And that's what happened." I said

"So let me get this straight. You fought against a pack of timber wolves, defeated four of them, and the alpha turned and left?" asked Dash.

"In a nutshell."

"That's...SO AWESOME!"

"Thanks."

Dash then turned her attention to my shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"It's a flesh wound. Believe me, I've experienced MUCH worse than a dog bite."

"I'll go get the first aid kit." said Twilight.

"That would be appreciated."

Twilight began to walk up the nearby staircase when she suddenly stopped.

"Artyom?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"How did you get in here exactly?"

"Lock pick. It was really quite simple."

"Oooookay then."

Twilight then resumed going back up the stairs.

I turned to Rainbow Dash "I say something wrong?"

"I think she's just surprised that you entered her house without so much as making your presence known."

"As I said, I'm good at sneaking around. It's one of the things that have kept me alive for so long."

I noticed Fluttershy still passed out on the ground.

"Is Fluttershy okay?"

Dash turned to the downed pegasus.

"She's just in shock. She'll be fine by tomorrow."

"I hope so."

The sound of hoof beats down the stairs told me that Twilight came back with the first aid kit. I turned to face her and noticed the said first aid was levitating before her. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"Twilight?" I asked.

"Yes, Artyom?" responded Twilight.

"How are you able to levitate the first aid kit?"

Twilight continued down the stairs and gave me the kit.

"Unicorns are naturally imbued with the power of magic. Do you not have magic where you're from?"

"We do. But it's more illusion and slight of hand than levitating an object with your mind." I opened up the kit and proceeded to apply rubbing alcohol on a sterile cloth. I then proceeded to clean the two bite wounds on my body.

"Artyom?"

"Yes, Twilight?"

"Is it alright if I ask you some questions?"

"Sure. As long as it doesn't turn into an interrogation."

"It won't. I promise."

Twilight went back up the stairs, presumably to get a notepad to jot down questions and my answers.

"Need any help with that?" asked Dash.

"I don't suppose you can wrap my shoulder in gauze can you?"

"I'll try."

Rainbow approached and somehow picked up the roll of gauze with her hooves. I was going to ask how that was possibly, but I have to remind myself that I'm in a world of talking ponies, so anything could be possible. Anyway, she proceeded to wrap my left shoulder with the accuracy of a professional, which surprised me. She then applied surgical tape so the gauze would stay in place.

"Feel good?" she asked.

"Great. Where did you learn to do this?" I said.

"I've injured myself plenty of times. Me being in a hospital is kinda common."

"Heh. Guess it finally came in handy."

She chuckled. "I guess it has." I then took it upon myself to wrap my leg wound and tape the gauze on.

"Alright, Artyom." said Twilight. The purple unicorn descended the stairs and took a seat on the nearby couch. Twilight was about to speak again when she noticed Fluttershy on the ground.

"Rainbow, could you bring Fluttershy back home? I think she needs to rest for awhile."

"On it. Take care, Artie." Dash proceeded to open the door and gently pick up the canary yellow pegasus. She then spread her wings and took off into the night sky, leaving me alone with Twilight. Twilight then used her magic to shut the door.

"Now lets begin. For starters, what is your name?" inquired Twilight.

"You know my name already, Twilight." I responded.

"I know, but it's protocol."

I sighed. "My name is Artyom."

"Just Artyom?"

"I prefer to go by my first name."

"Okay. Now. Where are you from exactly?"

"A place very far from here."

"I take it that's why you have that accent."

I nodded in agreement.

"What is the name of your homeland?"

"Russia. Or more specifically, Moscow."

Twilight scribbled on her notepad "Mmhmm, and where is it located?"

"I told you, very far away from here."

"Could you describe your homeland for me?"

"Do you want the past or current description?"

Twilight ceased her writing. "What do you mean "past or current"?"

"My homeland underwent a radical change before I was born. I was told stories of what it used to be. What it is now, is vastly different."

Twilight went back to her notepad. "How so?"

"My homeland was completely obliterated by war."

Twilight looked at me with concerned eyes.

"Everything was destroyed. Countless numbers of lives were lost because of the war." I sunk back into the chair as the memories came flooding back to me. "One of which was my mother."

Tears were forming in Twilight's eyes.

"And if that wasn't bad enough, we had to flee to the underground because the surface had become completely inhospitable. Add that to the bone chilling weather and horrifying creatures that were born from the war, and you have Russia."

Twilight stifled a cry.

"That's....that's terrible." said Twilight.

"Tell me about it." I said.

Tears began to freely stream from Twilight's eyes. She must feel bad about me. I got up from the chair and sat next to Twilight. I slowly embraced her.

"Shh. There is no need to cry."

Twilight sniffled. "Yes there is." The unicorn looked me in the eyes. "How can you carry on with life after that? Knowing full well that everything you know and love is...is destroyed?"

"I try to look at the bright side of things. Look for the silver linings. My stepfather told me that when I was young and learned of my mother's fate. I try to see the good in any situation, which is why me, and plenty of my kind have survived."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, clean yourself up. I'm pretty sure you have a lot more questions about my kind." I took two tissues from a nearby tissue box and gave them to Twilight, which she used to clean her eyes.

"Better?" I asked.

Twilight gave me a weak smile. "Much."

"Excellent." I got off the couch and sat back down on the chair.

"Now. Ahem. Can you explain your apparel, well, what's left of it anyway?"

"This is armor. It's used as protection against attacks."

"How effective is it?"

"It's good, but there are other kinds that are designed to soak up a ton of damage."

"Uh huh. One last question for the night."

"Ask me."

"Are your kind....carnivores?"

There was some hesitation in the question. She's probably wondering if my kind primarily eat meat.

"Humans, which is the name of my species, are omnivorous, meaning we eat both meat and vegetables."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "That's nice to know."

"What? Did you think I was going to eat you.?

Twilight blushed in embarrassment. "...Kind of."

I laughed. "I would never eat something I just had a conversation with."

Twilight giggled. "Nice to know you're friendly." She yawned audibly. "It's getting late. I'm going to bed. Are you fine sleeping on the couch?"

"It should do nicely."

"Alright. Good night, Artyom."

"Good night, Twilight."

Twilight hopped off the couch and ascended the stairs.

"Hey, Twilight." I called out.

"Yes, Artyom?"

I eyeballed the nearby bookshelf "I don't suppose you have a map or book explaining where I am, do you?"

Twilight levitated a big book from the middle of the collection and placed it on the couch. "This might answer you questions."

"Thank you." Twilight continued up the stairs and into her bedroom. I looked at the book before me. It was massive. I couldn't read the title because of the caked on dust. I blew away the dust and revealed the title.

The Egghead's Guide to Equestria

I set aside my pack and took a seat on the couch. I then placed the book on my lap and began to read it.

Time to get some answers.