For Your Eyes Only

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15

Chapter 1

Princess Celestia,

I am writing this as a testament to the truth. I have held my tongue for too long, and though I am being watched to ensure this story stays out of the minds of the public, my conscience has gotten the better of me. I have written this as a narrative, in an attempt to accurately confer upon my experiences. I have not slept in weeks, the painful memories of my experiences still fresh in my mind.

I apologize for rambling. I suppose I should explain what I’m going on about. Nearly six months ago, I was on a team sent into the Everfree Forest to research the locale. Not much was known about this area, other than that it doesn’t work like anywhere else in Equestria.

The weather controls itself, strange plants grow everywhere, and the animals act strangely, almost feral. We were hoof picked for this assignment to study as much as we could and prepare a report for the ministry of defense. I’m no scientist, don’t get me wrong. I was chosen as a military representative for the expedition. I was brought along as a go-between for the security team and the egg-heads. I’m smart enough to understand most of what the braniacs are saying, and then translate it into military for the grunts. Overall, it didn’t seem like a bad assignment. There were eighteen of us overall. Seven science-types, ten grunts for security and hauling equipment, and then me. I found it odd that none of us seemed to have come from the same unit, and was aggravated that I didn't know a single one of my troop's names.

Well, turns out I’m not that smart after all. We entered the forest early in the morning, hoping to use as much of the daylight as we could to set up camp and get a perimeter going. Decent plan, but it didn’t really matter. By the time we found a suitable clearing, it was already well into the afternoon, and the dense foliage let little light through. We set up the camp as quickly as possible, and rolled out the concertina wire we’d brought along for a temporary border. It wouldn’t stop anything too big, but they’d sure make a lot of noise if they got tangled up in it, giving us a few seconds to escape.

We finished setting up by around eight-thirty, and after a small meal, decided to call it a night. Since I was assigned specifically to the science team, I wouldn’t have to pull guard duty. It was a small blessing, but I would take whatever I got. I fell asleep quickly, having exhausted myself with the preparations, but soon found myself being shaken awake, far too early.

“Sir! Wake up! Private Twigs is missing!”

I sat up bleary eyed and looked at the young soldier yelling at me. He was a younger stallion, maybe twenty at the most.

“What’s going on, Private?”

“Like I said sir, Private Twigs is gone!” He looked pale, and was shaking slightly.

“Gone? Gone how?” I said, getting up from my bunk and putting on my green fatigue jacket.

“I don’t know sir. He was supposed to take up the shift twenty minutes ago, but when Private Twitch went to go wake him up, there was nobody in his bunk…” The young soldier looked nervous. He kept glancing out the tent flap, as if looking for someone.

“Maybe he went to the bathroom?” I said, slightly annoyed. “Alright. Wake the others, we’ll figure this out. Have everyone gather over by the mess table.”

“Yes sir!” The young soldier saluted, and stepped out of my tent. I realized I still didn’t know his name.

A few minutes later, eight soldiers were standing in front of me, looking expectant. The other three were still patrolling the perimeter.

“Private, what’s your name?” I called to the young soldier who had woken me.

“Ironside, sir.” He replied sharply.

“Good call keeping the others on patrol. Good initiative.” I said, turning to look over my assembled crew, some still rubbing sleep from their eyes.

Private Ironside was practically beaming. Yeah, he was definitely fresh from basic training. A kind word from a Captain shouldn’t have that much of an effect on a soldier.

“Alright troops” I called out to them “One of our own has gone missing. A Private Twigs.”

Some of the troops looked around at each other, worried looks on their faces. They began to mutter amongst each other.

“That’s enough chatter. Now, before we start traipsing through the forest, has anyone seen Private Twigs?” I barked.

The troops looked around at each other, and finally an older stallion stepped forward. “Sir, no one’s seen him since you let us get some rack time.”

“Thank you. What’s your name, soldier?”

“Sergeant Flathoof, sir.”

“Alright Sergeant. You’re my new XO. Anyone has any questions, they go through you, and you come to me, got it?”

“Yes sir, thank you sir.”

“One more thing. None of you will follow orders from the science team without going through Sergeant Flathoof and myself. Am I making myself clear?”

“Crystal, sir!” The troops responded in unison.

“Good.” I gestured for the Sergeant to move towards me. “Alright Sergeant, we have one missing troop, and no clue where he is. Honestly, we have no idea what’s out there, and it’s too dark to see right now. We’re going to wait until first light before we send out a team.”

“Yes sir, but what about the missing private? If he’s injured, waiting that long may kill him.”

“I understand Sergeant, I do. But we don’t know this terrain, and I’d prefer not to lose anyone else. We’re going to wait. Have the watch switch out, and get the rest of them back in their bunks. We’re going to need them fresh for tomorrow.”

“Yes sir.” Sergeant Flathoof saluted and stepped back to the waiting troops, calling out “Alright. We have new orders. Next up for patrol, relieve the current group. Everyone else, back in your bunks. We head out at first light! Move it!”

I could tell I’d make a good decision trusting the Sergeant. The troops snapped to attention quickly and went about their tasks.

I heard a rustling, and turned around to find one of the scientists leaving his tent, rubbing her eyes.

“Something going on? It’s almost three am, and you guys are out here shouting and running around like it’s the middle of the day.”

“Nothing to worry about ma’am. There was a small incident, but we’re taking care of it.”

“Sure. And don’t call me ma’am. You military types are too damn formal. Opal is fine.”

“Alright then ma’a-, er… Opal.”

“Heh, sooo tightly wound…” She said, turning back to her tent. “Try to keep the ruckus down to a low roar next time, please.” And with that she closed the tent flap.

I sat down at the mess table, trying to figure out what could have happened. An animal maybe? We hadn’t seen much more than the occasional squirrel or small bird, and I doubted one of my soldiers could be taken down by such small furry things. He had probably wandered off to go to the bathroom and gotten lost…

I groaned as I stood back up, and returned to my tent. Lying down on the stiff canvas bunk, sleep did not come easily. I found myself listening to the sounds of the forest, every twig snap causing my eyes to shoot open. There was something wrong with this place; I just couldn’t put my hoof on it. Everything just seemed… Off.

Chapter 2

Daylight broke just after six in the morning. I rose slowly from my bunk, sore from the restless hours I had spent tossing in it. Stepping out into the dim light the canopy above let through, I found Sergeant Flathoof had already massed the troops and was waiting patiently for orders. As it was light out, he had pulled the perimeter patrol as well.

“Alright everyone, one of ours is still out there somewhere, and we’re not going to leave him behind. I need three volunteers.”

Private Ironside stepped forward, followed by two others.

“What are your names?” I asked them.

The female pegasus stepped forward and stood up to attention, replying “Private Speedy, sir!” before falling back into file with the other two.

The second, a male unicorn who seemed rather thin for a soldier stepped forward and called out “Private First Class Glass, sir!” and falling into line.

“Alright. The three of you will be reporting directly to Sergeant Flathoof. He will be leading the recovery team. His word is holy. If I find that any of you have disrespected or disobeyed him, you’ll find yourselves pulling double patrol shifts, got it?”

The thee replied in unison “Sir, yes sir!” and moved to the Sergeant.

“Alright Sergeant, you look like you’ve got some experience under your belt. Take these three out and search the area. Don’t go too far, and if anything seems wrong, report straight back.”

“Yes, sir.” He turned to the three waiting and barked “You heard the Captain! Move out!”

I turned to address the remaining seven. “The three of you that were on patrol, get some rack time. The rest of you, start on KP.”

I stepped back to my tent, and noticed that the tent flap was open. I was sure I closed it, but maybe the wind had blown it open again.

“Now I know something is wrong” a voice said behind me. I turned to see Dr. Opal leaning against one of the tables. “You just sent away a third of our protection there.”

“Nothing to worry about ma’am. One of the Privates went and got himself lost last night. I’ve got my Sergeant on the case already.”

“Not even a day into this and we’re already down one? Jeez, they weren’t kidding about this place.”

“Excuse me?” I said, turning to face her directly.

“You haven’t heard the stories about this place?” The humor had gone from her face now. Her orange coat seemed pale in the light filtering from above.

“I’ve heard rumors and the like. Something about this place acting oddly.”

“Odd isn’t the half of it… We’re not the first team, you know.” She said quietly. “There was one before us. Same mission, same setup.”

“Oh? That wasn’t in my brief.”

“No, I wouldn’t expect it to be. They didn’t come back, Captain. Not one of them.”

She stared intently into my eyes for a moment, before her composure began to break. Laughing, she walked away saying “Man, I love messing with you guys. So dang uptight.”

The morning went by slowly. After a light breakfast, I set the troops to helping the science crew with preparing some of the heavier equipment, and began reviewing my briefing packet again.

It was just as I remembered reading. We were to go into the forest and protect the scientists as they collected various samples of whatever it is they cared about. We were to spend one week here, no more, and then leave.

I had finished reading over the packet for the third time when Sergeant Flatfoot returned with the three he had taken in tow. I glanced up and noticed that the three younger troops seemed ill at ease. Standing up, I walked over to meet the Sergeant.

“I only count three with you, Sergeant.” I said, somewhat curtly.

“Yes sir.” He seemed unwilling to meet my gaze.

“And?”

“Well, sir. We found him. Most of him.”

“In my tent. Now.”

I opened the tent flap and the Sergeant walked inside. Before I entered, I moved over to the three that had joined him.

“None of you are to discuss your mission with the others. PFC Glass, I’m holding you accountable for these two, do you understand?”

PFC Glass looked up at me and managed to croak out a “Yes sir.”

“Alright. Go get some food and some rack time. We’ll talk later.”

I walked back to my tent and opened the flap, stepping inside. I found the Sergeant sitting on the bunk, and thought for a moment about having him rise to his hooves, but decided against it. There was something about the look in his eyes.

“Alright, Sergeant. Continue.”

“Yes sir. We searched the area around the campsite for a good hour before we found him near some sort of ancient structure. His body that is… It looked like it had been eaten, sir.” The Sergeant looked up at me, a mixture of fear and anger in his eyes. “What the hell is going on out here, sir? What did we volunteer for here?”

“I don’t know Sergeant, but I need you to keep it together. We can’t have the leadership crack out here.”

“Yes sir. I understand.” He said, returning his gaze to the floor. “I’ve seen some messed up shit, sir. The Griffon wars alone showed me how cruel this world can really be, but I’ve never seen anything like that… The look on his face…” He stared directly at me. “He was alive when they ate him.” His gaze pierced into me.

“Get something to eat and grab some rest while you can Sergeant. Dismissed.”

Sergeant Flathoof rose from the bunk and started towards the opening in the tent.

“Oh, Sergeant. Not a word of this to anyone, understood?”

“Yes sir.”

Chapter 3

I walked into the large tent the scientist were using as a makeshift lab and screamed “All of you, out! Now!”

The four that had been assigned to assist the science staff quickly saluted and rushed outside.

“Something wrong, Captain? I hope you found your lost boy.” Opal said, her voice full of mirth.

“You! What the hell did you bring us out here for?!” I screamed, slamming my hoof down on a nearby table, scattering its contents.

Startled, she began to speak “Wha-“ but I cut her off quickly, pinning her to the ground.

“What the fuck are we doing here?! What were you looking for?!”

“C-captain, you’re hurting me” She squeaked out.

“I don’t really give a fuck. We found our man.” I said, glaring at her. “The Sergeant found him out near some structure, half fucking eaten.”

I released her, and she started to stand up. “What are you talking about?” she said, visibly paler.

“I mean they found his mangled body in the woods missing big fucking chunks! The Sergeant said it looked like he was alive when it happened.” I began to calm down, quieting my voice. “Now what the hell are you people doing here.”

Opal looked at her staff for a moment before returning my gaze. “We were sent to recover old-world technology.” She said quietly.

“Excuse me?”

“Old world technology. We weren’t the first ones to live on this planet, you know. There was another before us, far more advanced. We’ve found some artifacts before, but from what we can tell, the bulk of them are here in the Everfree.” She sat down at a desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a small device. It was silver on one half, black on the other, with a glass square at the top and a small grey circle on the bottom.

“And what is that?” I asked.

“No clue. All we know is it’s from the old world, and it’s incredibly complex. We’ve found several of these before. We opened one up, and the whole thing is filled with wires crisscrossing throughout it. We can’t even figure out how to turn it on.”

“So we’re out here for worthless trinkets?” I asked, bitterness returning to my voice.

“Not trinkets, Captain. We’re here to discover the past. An entire civilization, eons more advanced than our own, just… Disappeared. Without a trace. We’re here to figure out what happened.” Opal said quietly, placing the silver object back in the drawer and closing it.

“Look, I’m about ready to pull the plug on this whole thing already. Your little hopes and dreams speech isn’t doing much to change that. I’ve already lost one man, and if I’m understanding you correctly, you want to go into whatever those ruins are?”

“That’s the whole reason we’re here.”

“I can’t in good conscience allow my troops to go into that place. I’ll send a recovery crew for the body shortly. In the meantime, I suggest you start packing up. We leave tomorrow morning.”

I started towards the door, but stopped when Dr. Opal spoke up. “Captain, I don’t think you understand how this is going to work. While we’re out here, you’re not in charge. I am.”

I turned slowly to face her. “Is that so? Well ma’am, whether you believe you’re in charge or not, those are my troops out there, and I will not allow any unnecessary harm to come to them.”

“Captain. Look at me. I’m not just some ditzy scientist trying to make a name for herself. We’re here to change the very course of history. I will not have you standing in the way of that. Got it?”

“Sure thing, ma’am.” I replied, and walked out into the common area.

I grabbed the soldier nearest to me, and said “Gather everyone by the mess table. Wake everyone up. You have five minutes to have everyone waiting at attention.”

The young soldier jumped to action, calling back a quick “Yes sir!”

Within a few minutes, everyone was waiting in formation. The Sergeant fell in next to me, looking out at the remaining 10 before us.

“Alright, everyone. I know there have been rumors flying around, and I’m going to put them to rest. As of now, we are in a hostile territory.” The soldiers eyes widened slightly, and the focused on my every word. “Private Twigs was found dead this morning. It is unknown how he died, but we are assuming enemy action.”

“Sir!” one of the Private spoke up. “Who exactly is the enemy?”

“I don’t know yet, son. All I know is that there is someone or something out there, and it does not want us here. You will all be carrying your weapons at all times. You will sleep with them, you will eat with them, you will bathe with them. They will not leave your side for any reason, am I understood?”

In unison, they replied “Sir, yes sir!”

“Good. Anything out of the ordinary is to be reported to me or the Sergeant immediately.”

“Sir” the same Private spoke “When are we getting out of here?”

“I don’t know. If it were up to me, we’d be leaving right now. As it is, the Doctor is calling the shots for now.”

The Private nodded, and looked around nervously.

“As I stated before, any orders given to you by the science team are to be vetted through myself and the Sergeant. Dismissed.”

The troops returned to their various duties, glancing around every once in a while as a branch rustled or a twig snapped in the distance.

“This isn’t good for morale, Sergeant.” I said after a moment.

“No sir, but it’s better that they stay on the hooves than let them think everything is fine.”

“They’re going to make us go back to the ruins.”

“I know sir. I knew it as soon as I saw them.”

The two of us stood there in silence, surveying the camp for a few minutes before the Sergeant stepped away to admonish one of the troops for improper weapon usage.

Chapter 4

We’d been in the forest for three days before Dr. Opal decided it was time to move. She called me into the laboratory tent, and said “Alright. We’ve sat on our hooves for long enough. We’ll be making our way to the ruins in an hour or so.”

“So you’re really going to go through with this, are you?” I replied.

“As I stated, Captain, this is why we’re here.” Venom in her tone. “Leave three of your troops here to guard the camp, the rest will come with us.”

“And I suppose you’ll have your crew fill the night shift?” I said, staring back at her.

“We’ll worry about that when the time comes. I expect we will have plenty to carry back here, and I don’t want to have to leave anything behind.” She said, returning my gaze with a look made of ice.

“You know, I liked you a lot more when you weren’t a bitch.” I said, walking out the door.

“FALL IN!” I called out, and the remaining ten plus the Sergeant fell in in front of me. “Alright, today’s the day. PFC Quill, you and Privates Shore and Blooms will stay here to keep an eye on the camp. Anything noticed will be transcribed in the watch log. Understood?”

PFC Quill straightened up and replied “Yes sir!”

“Good. Take your team and start on the watch.” I waited until they had left before I continued. “The rest of you will be joining the Sergeant and myself. We will be accompanying the science team to the nearby ruins where we will set up a security perimeter and assist them in moving artifacts back to the camp.”

The seven still remaining in front of me grew nervous. Glass, Speedy, and Ironside became noticeably paler.

“I understand the apprehension, but the faster we get this done, the faster we get the hell out of here. That means no dragging your hooves, no complaining, and no ducking out of work.”

“Sir, yes sir.” They replied.

“Alright. We leave in twenty. Make sure your weapons are at the ready.” I stepped away, gesturing the Sergeant to follow.

“I know, Sergeant. I don’t like it either, but they’ve got me in a tight spot here. Orders say the doc’s in charge.”

“I know sir. I’m hoping seeing Twigs’ body will change her mind.”

“I hope to Celestia it does, Sergeant. Because if it doesn’t, it’s sure going to change the troops minds…”

As the troops had affixed their leg-blades and tucked their mouth blades into their sheathes, the Sergeant walked through the ranks, inspecting. I made my way to the lab tent, not entirely looking forward to my next conversation with the good doctor.

“Alright, doc. The troops are ready to go. Let’s get a move on.” I called in, and stepped back from the door.

Opal poked her head out of the tent flap, a sly smile on her face. “Why, Captain! And here I thought you didn’t want to go at all.”

“Look, the sooner we get this over with, the better. Let’s get going before those kids lose their nerve.”

“We’ll be out in just a moment.” She called, retreating back into the tent. At least she wasn’t being a total bitch at the time.

We left shortly after, Sergeant Flathoof leading the way. About twenty minutes later, we found ourselves in a large clearing. A strange smooth stone structure was poking its way out of the ground at a slight angle, as if it had been dropped from a great height and had landed there. I quickly noticed the horrid smell of decay in the area and glanced around to find what was making it.

A moment later, I found the source. The mangled body of Private Twigs lay out in the open off to the left of the pathway. As the Sergeant had said, there were great chunks missing from the body, his eyes still open. Even in the advanced state of decay, the fear in his face was apparent. I walked over to PFC Glass, and opened his saddlebag, pulling out a small tarp. I unfolded it and placed it over the deceased Private’s body. I started to walk away, then returned to take his tags, placing them in my breast pocket and returning to the group. Private Speedy began to weep softly.

“Alright doc, what now?” I called back to Opal.

She walked to the head of the group and said “Now, we look for an entrance.”

I turned to face the troops. “Alright. You heard the lady, we search for an entrance. PFC Glass, you’ll take Twitch and Starch. Ironside, you and Speedy are a team. The Sergeant and I will continue together. If anyone finds something, you are not to approach. Contact myself or the Sergeant immediately. Dismissed!”

The two teams set off looking around the building, Speedy still shaking a little, Ironside placing a hoof on her back as they walked. I turned to the Sergeant and said “Well, shall we?’

As we approached the structure, I realized that what appeared to be smooth stone was actually pitted, and in some areas seemed scorched. I ran a hoof over the strange material, finding it to be coarse and grainy, almost like hardened sand. As we made our way around the odd ruin, I found myself somewhat entranced by the peculiarity of it. It was so completely perfect in its symmetry. Like nothing I’d ever seen. There didn’t seem to be any holes or doors anywhere on it. Just solid stone, or whatever that stuff was.

We had nearly completed a lap of the building when Speedy and Ironside ran over to us shouting “We found something!”

“Lead the way!” I yelled, and the Sergeant and I followed them. They led around the corner to the middle of the northern side of the structure, facing directly away from our path. They stopped and pointed down at the ground. I noticed what appeared to be the top of a solid metal door, almost completely buried under the earth.

“Go get the others, then get the doctor over here. I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”

The two Privates ran off in search of the other team, leaving the Sergeant and I alone with the door.

“What do you thing, Flathoof?” I asked.

“Can’t tell yet, sir. I suppose we’ll have to dig it out first.”

“I was afraid of that…” I said, sighing.

The two patrols ran back to our location, panting with exertion.

“The… Doctor will be here… Momentarily, sir…” Ironside gasped.

“Good. Take a break everyone. We’ll have plenty more work for you soon enough.”

Chapter 5

After three hours of digging, the sun was high in the sky, beating down oppressively upon us. The trees seemed to offer no assistance to the intense light from above anymore. We stood at the bottom of the slope the troops had carved out, staring at the massive metal door. It stood at least seven feet high, and five feet across. A large metal wheel was affixed to the front of the door, and wouldn’t budge. Private Twitch gave an experimental kick at the door, and was met with a small thud. The door was solid, and apparently rather thick.

“Well, doc. Here’s your entrance. Any idea how to get it open?”

“If I had to guess, It say it has something to do with the wheel, Captain.” She said, annoyed.

“That’s a great plan and all, except it’s rusted in place. Who knows how long this thing has been sitting here?”

“Well then, I suggest your team get to work, hmm?” She said, and walked back towards the gathered scientists waiting nearby.

“Fucking bitch…” I muttered under my breath. Ironside must have heard me, as I caught him smiling.

“Let’s get this damn door open!” I said. “Starch, go get the ropes.”

Private Starch walked away towards the gear bags slowly. “With a quickness, Private!” I called after him.

A moment later, he returned carrying several lengths of heavy corded rope. After affixing them to a spoke of the wheel, the seven of us began pulling with all our might, trying to make the rusty metal wheel budge. A loud creaking sounded, and the wheel began to turn, throwing several of us off balance.

“We’re getting there! Keep pulling!” I called out. After another minute or so of heaving, the door emitted a low groaning and the wheel turned further.

“Alright, I think we can be done with the rope for now. It looks like we loosened it. Let’s get down there and see if we can get it to move any further.”

The wheel was still rather resistant to movement, but finally gave way, turning with relative ease. After a few turns, the wheel locked in place, and loud click was heard. The door groaned and complained as it slowly swung open. Hearing the cacophony the door had made, the doctor and her team gathered neat the sloping pit to the door.

“Can you see anything?” she called down.

“Not a damn thing. It’s blacker than night in there.” I replied. “Twitch, go grab some torches.”

Twitch flew off without a word, returning quickly with the bag of torched. She placed them in front of me, and I picked one up, igniting it with my pocket lighter. I tossed the burning torch into the open maw of the strange cavern, watching as it lit up the room. I noticed that the door was at least a foot thick of solid metal, and was amazed that it had opened so easily.

“It’s a bare room!” I called up.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get in there!” The doctor said, moving down the slope to the open door.

We shuffled inside the newly opened room and looked at our foreign surroundings. The room was maybe twelve feet across, and twenty long, metal plates covering every surface. Some sort of metal and glass fixture was attached to the ceiling, but seemed to have lived past its purpose. On the opposite end of the room from the entrance was another metal door of similar proportions, but in considerably better shape than the previous. It was oddly chilly in that dark room, even with the heat outside.

The doctor was murmuring to herself, looking over every panel in the room with fascination, before approaching the closed door.

“This one should be much easier to open, I’d think. Let’s crack it open!” She said, giddiness barely contained.

I nodded, and Ironside and Starch moved to the large wheel and began to turn it. It revolved without so much as a single complaint before locking in place with the same loud click. Ironside leaned on the door and it swung open slowly to reveal a long hallway, continuing on past the glow of the torch.

Doctor Opal grabbed a torch from the bag and stepped over to me looking expectantly. I removed the lighter from my pocket and lit the torch. She threw it into the long dark hallway, illuminating is slightly further. We could now clearly see that the hallway was lined on either side by more metal doors, though these were significantly smaller than the previous two.

I walked back to the Sergeant and asked “So, what do you think now?”

He looked at the large metal door we had entered through, and then back to me, saying “Those doors. Were they meant to keep us out, or something else in?”

“Damn good question Sergeant. Not one I really want answered, but a good question all the same.”

The doctor and her team started down the hallway, looking intently at the newly found metal doors.

“Hold up there, doc!” I called out. “Maybe we should have a quick look around first, just in case.”

“Why bother? The doctor called back “This place has been sealed for an eternity! Nothing could possibly be in here. You saw those doors!” and continued to look through the hallway.

I walked into the hallway and looked at the door closest to my left. I put a hoof on a small raised part of the frame, and jumped back as the door slid to the side to reveal another room. The doctor ran over when she heard the door open, and pushed past me into the room.

“Grab another torch!” she yelled, looking around the small room.

Private Ironside grabbed another torch from the bag and lit it with the one in the center of the entry room before passing it to me. I walked into the small room, now illuminated, and set it down on the floor. Looking around for a moment, I realized this had been someone’s bedroom. A metal frame bed sat in one corner, and a desk at the back wall. Everything seemed disproportionately large though. The bed was a good six and a half feet long. The doctor had begun rummaging through drawers, no doubt looking for her precious technology.

I stepped over to the chest of drawers at the foot of the bed and opened the bottom one. Whatever the garments had once been, they were now a mass of cloth scraps and dust. I noticed something shining underneath the pile of scraps, and moved them out of the way for a better look.

A flat metal square with a small pane of glass over it lay at the bottom of the drawer. There was a scrap of paper inside, but it had faded to the point of obscurity. I stared at the paper, trying to discern what it could have been, when the doctor cried out “Aha!”

I turned to see her removing a strange angular metal contraption from a drawer. In her excitement, she dropped it on the ground, and it exploded with a loud reverberating bang. A pinging sounded as something bounced off the metal walls of the room. Twitch screamed, and I ran out to the hallway to find her laying on the ground, her right wing bleeding profusely.

“Get the damn med kit!” The Sergeant screamed, kneeling down to inspect the damage.

The doctor stood still in the small room, staring at the angular metal object. She didn’t even look up to see who she had injured.

I knelt down next to Private Twitch, trying to calm her down. “You’re gonna be fine.” I said, trying to keep the uncertainty out of my voice. “Just be calm.”

She was shaking, her hind legs thrashing as the Sergeant and I tried to hold her down and calm her. PFC Glass ran into the hallway carrying the med kit with him. He set it down next to me and popped the latch on the front. I quickly grabbed a syringe and stuck it into her flank, and she relaxed. Her eyes began to droop. “Glass! Keep her awake!” I yelled, grabbing gauze and forceps from the kit. Glass knelt by her head and shook her slightly, asking her simple questions like her name and today’s date.

“You’re going to have to hold her down, Sergeant. There’s something caught in the wing, and I need to get it out.” I said, focusing on his face. He nodded, and reapplied pressure to her mid-section.

I took the forceps and reached towards her wing. Her eyes snapped to the metal implement moving towards her, and her wing fluttered.

“Speedy, get over here and hold her wing still!” I called out. Speedy moved to the other side of Twitch and took hold of her wing gently, holding it in place.

I reached out with the forceps again, and after a moment grabbed hold of the foreign object in her body. I pulled it out and quickly applied pressure to the hole with the gauze. Twitch’s wing fluttered again, and I shouted “Keep her damn wing still!”

I looked over at Ironside and called him over. “I don’t have any free hooves. You’re going to have to wrap this wound. I’ll keep pressure on it while you work.”

He nodded and grabbed rolls of gauze and medical tape as I slid aside to give him room. He began wrapping Twitch’s wing carefully, and I slowly relieved the pressure as he applied it with the bandage. Within a few minutes, the injured wing was wrapped up, and the Sergeant allowed her to move. Twitch sat up and winced as she folded her wing back into place, still having trouble focusing her eyes.

“Thanks for the fucking help, doc!” I called into the small room. The doctor was still standing there, staring at the device that had injured my troop.

She reached out a hoof to touch it and I yelled “So help me, doc! If that thing hurts one more of my soldiers, I’ll make sure it kills you!”

She looked up and backed away from the device. “Don’t you know what this is?” She said after a moment. “This could turn the tide of war forever.” She returned her gaze to the object, still laying silently on the floor.”

“Yeah. It could kill our troops so the enemy doesn’t have to. Don’t touch it.” I said walking over and sliding it away from her.

She looked up at me, staring. I couldn’t tell quite what was going through her head, but I figured it was nothing good. “Anyone else you’d like to maim today? Or are we done for now?” I said bitterly.

“I think I have enough to work with for now.” She said quietly, and walked through the door into the hallway.

Chapter 6

We arrived back at the camp just as dusk was setting it. It took longer to return, as Private Twitch couldn’t walk very fast. Ironside and Speedy were on either side to help her keep balance.

As we approached the entry point, Private Blooms cried out “Who goes there?!” sounding panicked.

“Just open the damn gate, Private. We got injured here!” I yelled, completely ignoring protocol.

“Y-yes sir!” she squeaked, and ran over to the gate, pulling it open.

I walked with Ironside and Speedy to help get Twitch onto the field gurney, and lay her down on her stomach.

“Alright, Private. I’m going to have to check the wound to make sure it’s still okay. Don’t start squirming or I’ll get the Sergeant in here to hold you down again.”

“Yes sir…” she said, a hint of fear in her voice.

“What the hell is that, Private? Do I hear fear in that voice!?” I barked, causing her to jump slightly. “I don’t remember giving you the right to feel fear.” I turned my head and called out “Private Ironside! Did I give this little filly the right to be afraid?!”

“Sir, no sir!” He replied sharply.

I stood up and walked over to the two of them, worry obvious on their faces. I quietly spoke to them. “Look, I need your help. Twitch has been through a hell of a lot today, and you two giving her that face isn’t going to do her any favors.”

“Sir?” Speedy began.

“Listen to me. I need you two to keep her calm while I work. Just talk to her like everything’s normal. Don’t make her stress any more than she already is.”

I stepped back to the gurney and said “Alright, Private. Wing up!”

Ironside and Speedy knelt by her head and began to talk to her. Slowly she raised her injured wing. I pulled a loop of rope that was hanging from the center pole above, tying it gently around the wing to keep it up.

“You got nothing to complain about, Twitch.” Ironside began. “You got the first hit, and probably the best story ever for an injury! How many ponies can say a million year old device in some creepy vault couldn’t keep them down, eh?”

Twitch chuckled softly, coughing. I picked up the surgical scissors from the med kit next to the gurney and began to cut away the stained bandage. The wound had stopped bleeding, but there was still a ragged hole through the meat of her wing. It was almost perfectly round. I’d never seen a wound quite like it before. I grabbed a small light from the med kit and shined it into the open wound. Whatever that piece of metal was, it looked like it had grazed the bone.

I took a small piece of gauze from the kit and glanced at Ironside and Speedy, who both nodded in acknowledgement. They took Twitch’s hooves in theirs, and she squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation. I rolled the gauze into a loose ball, and gently pushed it into the wound. Twitch moaned with pain, bucking slightly.

I grabbed the roll of gauze and gently wrapped the injured wing, affixing it in place with medical tape. Twitch relaxed her body, and I took the rope off the wing, standing up to move to the head of the gurney.

“Alright, Private. You earned yourself some rack time and double rations. Don’t get too used to it though. I expect you healed up and ready to report for duty ASAP.”

I made my way to the tent flap and gestured for Ironside to follow.

“Alright, Private. I’m down two troops now, and honestly Starch was useless back there. You seem to know what the hell you’re doing, and I respect initiative.”

“Thank you, sir.” He replied, unsure what I was getting to.

“Like I said, I need troops who know what they’re doing. That’s why I’m promoting you for now. It’s a brevet promotion, so it can be taken back at any time, but for now...” I said, putting out my hoof “Congratulations Private First Class Ironside.”

He looked up at me in amazement, and reached his hoof out to shake mine. “I don’t know what to say, sir.” He said, meekly.

“Just say thank you, sir.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Go speak to the Sergeant about getting that rank fixed too. You’re out of uniform.”

After the newly minted PFC had left, I set about finding Private Blooms. Something had spooked her, and I intended to find out what. I quickly spotted her still standing by the gate staring out into the dark, and walked up next to her.

“What’s going on, Private? You seemed ready to attack when we got back.”

“I’m sorry, sir. We’ve all been a bit tense.” She said, her voice quavering. “PFC Quill has the log book. It’d probably be best if you got word from him…”

“Carry on then.” I said, and turned to walk away. Private Blooms called back to me, asking “Sir? How long are we going to be stuck here?”

“Not long, Private. Not if I can help it.” I replied, and headed to the barracks tent.

Opening the flap, I found PFC Quill, the log book open in front of him. I stepped up next to him, and he jumped up to attention.

“Anything noteworthy, Quill?” I asked.

“Yes sir.” He said unsurely.

“Go relieve Private Blooms. I’ll send for the three of you if I need any clarification.”

Quill stepped out of the tent and went to find Blooms. I picked up the log book and headed back to my tent. Sitting at my travel desk, I opened the book to today’s date, and began to read.

~0900Hrs. The rest of the unit has been gone for an hour now. Pvt. Blooms reports loud rustling in the distance off of the main gate.

~0922Hrs. Pvt. Shore reports seeing an unidentified figure in the woods, moving away from the camp. Unsure if animal or other.

~0945Hrs. Pvt. Bloom reports seeing an unidentified figure crossing the path to the main gate, appx. 1000 yards away, moving into the forest. Could not identify or accurately describe figure.

~1330Hrs. While on gate duty, noticed two figures moving through forest appx. 1000 yards away, heading away from camp. Could not accurately identify or describe figures.

“I saw you promoted Ironside” said a voice from the open tent flap.

I looked up and saw Sergeant Flathoof standing at the entrance to my tent. “Come in, come in…” I said absentmindedly, still looking over the log. “The kid did well today. Better than some, definitely.”

“Yeah, that’s true. He makes a decent field medic.”

“I figure it’ll help with morale around here anyways. There’s not much left to go around anymore…” I said, still staring at the open book on the desk. “Take a look at these logs.” I said, sliding the book across the desk to the Sergeant.

He looked over the page briefly and then to me. “We’re being scouted.” he said.

“Yeah, that much is for sure, but by who? There’s not one description in here.”

“Well, whoever they are, they’re keeping their distance. At least they haven’t made their move yet…” the Sergeant began looking back at the page.

“Yeah, but why not? It would have been the best time to attack. Most of us were out at the damn ruin. There were only three of us here. Why not attack then?”

“Take your wins as you can, sir.”

“I’m not so sure this was a win, Sergeant…”

Chapter 7

Sleep was a hard fought victory that night, something that had become an unfortunately regular occurrence. The doctor had declared that they were going to return to the ruins the next day, bringing morale down even further. The troops ate their dinner in silence, unable to look at each other, their own fear reflected in the faces of those around them.

Seven AM came too quickly, and the troops formed up next to the mess table, awaiting their orders. I was a bit surprised to see Private Twitch in formation, but found myself glad as well. Her presence might bolster the others some.

“Alright everyone. It’s going to be the same drill as yesterday. Three of you are staying here, the others are with the Sergeant and I.” I scanned the thin ranks for a moment before calling out names. “Quill, you’re the only one here with legible script. I want you to head up the home guard again. Twitch, you and Blooms will stay here and report to PFC Quill. Everyone else, fall out.”

When the others had left, the remaining three moved forward. “Quill, Blooms, I know yesterday was stressful on you two. Keep yourselves sharp, and write down everything. I mean it, everything. Someone’s watching us, and I need to know who. Any details you can get will go a long way.”

I turned to Twitch. “Private, you’ve got some real guts being out of that gurney already. Don’t push yourself too hard. We don’t need you getting any worse.”

“It’s no problem sir. I couldn’t lie there anymore anyways.” She said, a mixture of weariness and determination in her voice.

“Alright then, you three have your orders. Dismissed.”

I walked over to the waiting Sergeant, gesturing him to follow me towards the gate.

“This is the last day we go out there, Sergeant.” I said, staring out towards the path.

“Yes, sir. But what about the Doctor?”

“To hell with her. If anything else happens, we’re pulling the plug. She can scream all she wants, but I’m getting those kids out of here before I lose anyone else.”

“I understand, sir.”

We walked back to the lab tent, and walked inside. “Ready to go, Doc?” I called out.

She looked up from her desk, having been staring intently at something out of view. “Just a minute!” She said, moving the item into a drawer and standing up. “Okay, I’ll get my team and meet you out front.”

We walked back out and the Sergeant called for the field crew to fall in.

We found ourselves back at the ruins half an hour later, standing in the atrium we had dug out. I stood before the troops and began to speak. “Nobody is to touch anything, got that? The scientists can poke and prod all they want, but if they ask you to move anything at all, you get me or the Sergeant first.”

“Yes sir!” the replied in unison.

“Follow your science crew, and be careful. Everyone takes one torch with them. Don’t go too far away. If you can’t hear the others, start heading back. Fall out.”

The five of them walked over to the waiting scientists, and broke off into groups. Dr. Opal stood at the side, waiting for the Sergeant and I.

“Yet another rousing speech, Captain.” She said, walking over to us. “But it sounds a lot like most of your others. You’re beginning to repeat yourself.”

“We’re here to do a job, and that doesn’t involve getting killed. I wish you’d realize that fact.”

“Well, accidents do happen.” She said, starting towards the hallway. “Come along, now.”

The doctor began checking the rooms along the hallway methodically, moving from one to the next after nearly tearing them apart looking for whatever it was she wanted. We found a few more of those strange angular objects, but thankfully she left them where they lay. She seemed uninterested in them as of late. Little of value was found in most of the rooms, but she seemed most curious about a small black rectangle she had found in one of the rooms. It had buttons on the top, and a small pane of glass on the back. There was a circle of some sort of strange material on the front, bisected into two equal parts that slid open easily, revealing a glass circle underneath. She prodded at it for a while, making me nervous that someone else would be hurt, but it appeared to be inert. She placed the black rectangle in her bag, and continued on her way.

“Isn’t this just fascinating, Captain?” She called back to them as she entered yet another room.

“Honestly, this just seems like old junk repeating itself.”

“Oh, you have no imagination. You military types are all the same.” She said, smiling as she began to dig through another drawer. “You don’t seem to see the raw potential a place like this holds. We could be on the precipice of a new era, and all you care about is going home.”

“Given what we’ve seen so far, that seems like a rather fair request.”

Suddenly we heard screaming coming from down the hall. Opal looked up, her eyes wide, and said “That sounds like Tom!”

We ran down the hallway towards the sound, turning a corner and finding a large open room. It was a good thirty feet on each side, plated in metal. Two rows of counters lined the sides, and stoves ran along the center of the room, creating two aisles. We walked inside, the Sergeant raising his torch to illuminate the way. We stopped dead in our tracks.

Private Starch was huddled in the corner, curled up in a ball. He was still swinging his leg-knife wildly in the air at nothing, gibbering to himself. On the floor near him was the mangled body of one of the scientists.

“What have you done?!” Opal cried, running over to the body of her associate.

I walked over to the Private, still swinging his knife, and kicked him in the side. He jumped, and looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

“I couldn’t stop it…” he said, choking on the words.

“You little freak! You killed him!” Opal screamed, still kneeling by the body.

I looked at the knife, and noticed the blood on it seemed off somehow. I slowly took the knife away from the panicked soldier and walked over to the Sergeant. We stared at the blood on the knife.

“It’s… wrong.” I said, still staring.

“It seems almost oily.”

I set the knife down on the ground and walked over to the corpse. I could tell immediately that Starch hadn’t done this.

“What are you going to do about this, Captain?!” Opal yelled. “Your troop killed one of my researchers!”

“Not unless he got hungry halfway through.” I said, turning the body over with my hoof to reveal a large section of his right side was missing.

Opal covered her mouth and scooted back away from the body.

“Seem familiar, doc? I seem to recall seeing something like this just the other day.” I said, staring at her.

“W-what happened to him?” She said nervously, still staring at the gaping hole in the corpse.

“Same thing that happened to Twigs, I suppose.” The Sergeant replied.

“Still think it’s perfectly safe, doc?”

“I…No. We have to continue.” She said, standing up and straightening herself. “Tom’s loss is a tragic one, but we have come too far to just give up now.”

The Sergeant walked over to Starch and helped him to his feet, nudging him back towards the atrium. I bent down to pick up his knife, and when I looked back up, the doctor was gone.

“Fucking idiot.” I said to no one in particular, and moved to catch up with the other two.

Chapter 8

I met up with the Sergeant and Private Starch outside of the kitchen, and we made our way back to the entrance.

“Where’s the doctor?” Sergeant Flathoof asked as we turned a corner.

“She ran off. Probably got herself killed. Good fucking riddance.” I replied gruffly.

We stopped and looked down the hallway.

“Isn’t this where we came in?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. All these hallways look the same to me.”

I took the torch and leaned into one of the open rooms, recognizing it as one the doctor had torn apart earlier that day. Without a word, I sprinted down the hallway, stopping at the end.

“Fuck!” I shouted as the others caught up to me. “The damn door’s closed. There’s no way to open it from in here.”

“What?!” shouted Starch, beginning to pace back and forth. “You mean we’re trapped in here?!”

“Stow that noise, Private.” The Sergeant barked. Starch stopped in his tracks and sat down, staring at the wall.

“What do we do now, sir?” He asked.

“We rally everyone together first. We’ll figure out a plan then.”

“Get up Starch. We’re moving out.” The Sergeant said, prodding the still panicking Private.

We found Shore and Speedy quickly, standing in another small bedroom waiting near their scientists. They perked up when we entered into view.

“Sir! What was that shouting about?” Speedy asked, stepping into the hallway.

“We’ll talk later, Private. We have a problem here, and we need to get everyone together fast.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Any idea where Ironside and Glass are?”

“They went further down this hallway. I think they’re around the corner somewhere.”

“Good.” I walked into the room and addressed the scientists. “Alright you two, playtime’s over. We’re moving out and regrouping. Get your toys and let’s get going.”

“But Dr. Opal-“ one of them started.

“The doctor isn’t here, is she?” the Sergeant spoke up. “So why don’t you do exactly what the Captain says before I have to use my blade here.”

The scientists looked at each other and then quickly gathered up their tools.

“We’ll be waiting in the hall. Shores, on me.” I said, moving out of the room.

I walked a little ways away from the door and gestured for the Sergeant to come over. “Flathoof, I swear to Celestia. We make it out of here, and I am going to get you promoted for that little show back there.”

“Just doing my job, sir.” He said, smirking.

I turned around to find the two scientists waiting next to Speedy and Shores. “We’re moving out now. Keep close together.” I started down the hallway and turned the corner, listening for voices.

After a few dozen yards, I noticed a soft glow coming from a room on the right side of the hallway. I motioned for silence, and slowly moved towards the open door, peeking inside. I breathed a sigh of relief, and called into the room. “Ironside, Glass, get your flanks out here.”

The two walked out into the hallway, placing their knives back in their sheathes. “Glad to see you, sir.” Glass said, stepping forward. “We lost our science crew about twenty minutes ago. No idea what happened.”

“We turned out backs for a moment and when we looked back, they were gone.” Ironside finished.

“We’ve had a similar problem.” I replied. “We’re getting out of here, now.”

“Sounds like a plan, sir.” Glass said, looking down the darkened hallway.

“There’s a hitch to this plan. The main entrance was closed by someone. We’ll have to find an alternate route out of here.”

“Shit. Always a catch…” Ironside said.

“That’s how this job works. Nothing comes easy. Let’s move”

We began searching the hallways for any sign of an exit.

“Whatever those things are, they were getting out of here before we opened that door.” The Sergeant said.

“Yeah. They got Twigs…” Speedy replied.

“Not just that. We were seeing something walking around the camp yesterday.” Shores interjected.

“Well, we’ll just have to use their secret exit.” I said, staring ahead into the black.

“Who knows how long that will take!” Complained Starch. “This place goes on forever, and we’ll probably get caught before we even find the escape…”

“I thought I told you to belay that shit, Private.” Sergeant Flathoof growled, glancing back at Starch, who shied away.

“He’s right, Private. That kind of thinking will get us killed. Just keep looking for anything that might get us out of here.” I said, trying to steer the conversation to something less hopeless.

We walked in silence for a while, listening for signs of movement. Every clang sent us jumping, every creaking floor plate made our skin grow cold. The torches were beginning to dim, and the mood was growing worse.

Chapter 9

We had been walking for hours when we reached a corner turning left and stretching out into the abyss. I had noticed some time ago that there were no doors on the left side of this long hallway, and the pattern continued around the bend.

“Well, looks like we’ve been walking the perimeter.” I said, still squinting down the path ahead. “Do any of you have some chalk, or anything we can use to mark the walls?” I called out to the group.

One of the scientists stepped forward, holding out a small vial of ink. “I had a spare inkpot with me. I took so many notes yesterday I ran out.” He passed the vial to me and I removed the cork stopper.

I carefully poured some of the contents onto my left hoof and replaced the stopper, then turned to face the corner. I drew a large X on the wall with the black viscous liquid. The wet mark shimmered in the flickering torchlight, growing dimmer still.

“We’ll keep following the exterior wall for now. At least this way we can tell if we’ve already been here.”

I attempted to wipe the excess ink off of my hoof, but found that it had stained into me quickly. “That torch isn’t going to last us much longer. Speedy, you had the gear bag last. What do we have for supplies still?” I called back.

Speedy dropped the bag to the floor and knelt down next to it, rummaging through the pouches. “We have one unused med kit, a couple lengths of rope, two spare leg knives, some field rations, and one folding shovel.” She said after a moment.

“No torches left?” I said, walking over to her.

“No sir. They must have gotten left at the entrance.”

“Shit…” I muttered under my breath. “Glass, Starch, can either of you use your magic to get us some light?” I called over to the waiting unicorns.

“Sure thing, sir.” Glass said, proceeding to close his eyes in concentration. A soft green glow began to emanate from his horn, and he opened his eyes. “I should be able to keep this up for a while, as long as I can keep my concentration.” He said.

“Well, Starch? Got anything to add?” I said, turning towards the Private.

He closed his eyes, straining to concentrate. A dim blue glow formed briefly before disappearing. He opened his eyes and looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry sir. I just can’t concentrate…” He said, softly.

“It’s fine. Glass will keep the lights on for now. Get yourself together soon though, he’ll need some time to rest in a while.”

Starch nodded, almost imperceptibly, and turned away. I snuffed the torch out, and when it had cooled down I placed it in the gear bag. We might need it later.

“Shores, you have the gear for now.” I said, walking back to the head of the group. “Sergeant, take the rear. Glass, you stay in the middle of the group. We’re moving out.”

We made our way down the new hallway in silence, the green glow of Glass’s horn casting strange shadows along the walls. Every few doors along the right side of the hallway lie open. Most were the same small bedrooms we had seen so many times before, but some were different. They were larger, and metal lockers covered the back walls of the rooms. Curiosity got the better of me after a while, and I walked into the room, calling “Five minutes everyone. Take a break while you can.” Shores slipped the gear bag off of his back and sat down next to Glass. Speedy and Ironside moved over to the now prone Starch, trying to calm him down.

I walked over to one of the large metal lockers and with a little effort managed to open one. Inside was what looked like a vest, far too bulky to be practical, a metal helmet painted green, and some sort of long metal tube with square metal bits sticking off of it. There was a small half-circle of metal attached to the bottom, with what looked like a lever inside of it. It reminded me of the angular device that had injured Private Twitch. I closed the locker and moved over to the desk at the center of the room.

“I thought we didn’t have time to do any research, Captain.” One of the remaining scientists called over to me.

“We’re on a break. Science away, just do it quick. We’re leaving here soon.”

I pulled open the lowest drawer and found a glass bottle full of some sort of amber liquid. Unscrewing the cap, I took a whiff and wrinkled my nose at the scent. It smelled like a mix between shoe polish and medicine. I replaced the cap and set the bottle aside. Moving faded scraps of paper out of the way, I noticed another of those odd black rectangles with the glass over them. There was something on the paper inside, but I couldn’t see quite what it was in the dim light. I carefully raised the black rectangle out of the drawer when a loud thudding startled me, causing me to drop it. The glass shattered in the drawer.

I looked up at the doorway, noticing the rest of the group had followed suit. Another thunderous bang rang out, echoing down the hallway. Starch began to whimper, still lying on the ground near the wall.

The room was silent, save for our breath and the whispered pleading of Private Starch. Ironside kicked him sharply and he fell silent. We stared at the door for what felt like an eternity. Another resounding bang rang out through the hallway.

“Can you tell what direction it’s coming from?” I whispered, looking to the Sergeant.

“It’s coming from up ahead, sir.” He quietly replied.

“Shit. Glass, drop the brightness down. No need to give ourselves away.”

He nodded, still fixated on the doorway, and the light dimmed.

“What’s the plan, sir?” The Sergeant asked, looking away from the door to me.

“We can’t stay here. We sit here much longer and whatever that is, it’s going to find us anyways.”

I stood up and walked back over to the locker, opening it as quietly as I could.

“Shore, grab some of that rope and come here.”

Shore dug in the gear bag next to him and pulled out two of the rope lengths, dragging them with him over to me. I reached into the locker and gingerly removed the long metal tube, laying it down on the floor. Speedy looked at me uncertainly.

“It looks like that thing that hurt Twitch…” She said, moving over to my side.

“That’s what I’m hoping it is.” I said quietly. “We saw what that little one did to her. I’m hoping we can use this to our advantage.”

“That seems really risky, sir.” She said, looking directly at me.

“I’ve seen what those things can do. We need anything we can use about now. There’s no point in going back the way we came from. We have to keep moving forward.”

“Yes sir.” She said, turning to look at Ironside.

“I need a volunteer.” I said, addressing the group. “This isn’t guaranteed to work, and I won’t force anyone to make this kind of a risk.”

For a moment, nobody moved. Then Ironside stood up and walked over to me.

“You sure, kid?” I asked, looking him over.

“I have to do something to keep this rank, sir.” He said, smiling nervously.

“Fair enough. Hold still.” I said, gingerly picking up the metal tube. “Speedy, Shores, I’m going to hold this thing in place, you two will tie it to Ironside. Make sure it’s on there good, we don’t want it falling off and exploding on us.”

After a few moments and one close call too many, the strange metal pipe was fastened to PFC Ironside, the open end a few inches past his face.

“What now, sir?” He asked, turning to face me and nearly hitting me with the pipe.

“We move out. You’ll be in front with me. Everyone else will keep their same positions as before. Glass has light duty, and Shores had the bag last, so Speedy will take it up for now.”

“What about Starch?” She asked, already placing the bag on her back.

I turned to look at Private Starch, still lying on the floor, staring at the wall, then looked back at Speedy.

“Point taken, sir.” She said, adjusting the bag on her back.

“Keep together. We’re moving.” I said, and walked out the door into the dark hall.

Chapter 10

Things remained silent as we continued down the unknown path, a small grace I was quite glad for. Starch had finally stopped murmuring, but seemed to have become worse. His actions seemed stiff, as if he was moving only on impulse. I made a note to myself to keep an eye on him.

There were more open doors along this stretch of hallway, and I found myself moving slower, gazing into them. They seemed as if a tornado had hit them, beds flipped over, papers everywhere. The researchers had done a number on the rooms they had searched, but this was entirely different. It was as if something had gone out of its way to destroy anything not attached to the floor.

Broken glass crunched under my hooves as we walked along, the only sound aside from our breath. I looked behind me, and saw that the Sergeant had stopped. I tapped Ironside, and stopped as well, the others behind us following suit.

“What do you see, Sergeant?” I called quietly.

“Movement.” He said, still looking into one of the rooms.

I nodded at Ironside and made my way to the waiting Sergeant, the Private at my side. I glanced in the room, which was in as bad of shape as the others, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“Are you sure?” I asked, not bothering to look at the Sergeant.

“I’m sure.”

I pulled my mouth blade from its sheath, the Sergeant doing the same. He nodded at me, and made his way into the room. Glass moved closer to us, attempting to shine some light into the darkened space. I moved in behind Sergeant Flathoof, scanning for any signs of life. A metal grate dropped from the ceiling above between the two of us, and we heard the sound of something scrabbling across thin metal from above, moving away. We glanced at each other, and then began to back out of the room, our eyes still focused on the now open hole in the roof.

When we had retreated back to the hallway, I reached up searching for the small raised button on the doorframe. A small click rang out, and the door slid into place.

“They’ve been following us.” The Sergeant said, taking his place at the back of the group.

“I’m not surprised. We’re on their turf.”

I stepped back to the front of the group and waited for Ironside to take his place beside me, before calling out “Leg blades out. Be ready for anything.”

We continued down the hall, the skittering sound following us from within the seemingly empty rooms. They were keeping a close eye on us now.

I had no idea how long we had been in that place. There was no way to get a sense of the passage of time. Hours? A day maybe? My stomach growled softly, and I cursed myself for not using our down time to get some food in us.

Before long we found ourselves at another corner. This place was huge, but didn’t seem to have any intersecting hallways through it. It seemed like a waste of space to me, but I was somewhat relieved. It would mean less to search. I took the vial of ink out and uncorked it, making the same X on the wall as before.

“Two down. We’re at least halfway there.” I said, returning the vial to my pocket.

The sound of something scrabbling over thin metal was the only reply I received.

I was about to call for the group to move on, when a loud clattering sound rang out from one of the nearby rooms. Starch jumped, startled, and started backing away.

“Don’t move, Private.” I whispered, looking for the source of the sound.

Starch continued to back slowly away, staring ahead. He had almost passed an open door when something reached out and grabbed him, dragging him into the shadowy chamber. I only saw it briefly. Pale, elongated, twisted. The skin seemed waxy, and almost translucent, reflecting the green glow of Glass’s light. It was visible for just a moment before retreating back, taking the Private with him.

A muffled scream came from the room, and we ran inside to see him disappear into one of the holes in the ceiling, being dragged by his hind legs. The look on his face stays with me to this day. It was the same one Private Twigs had.

I stood there, staring at the murky opening in the ceiling until the Sergeant spoke “Sir, we have to move.” It was then that I realized I still had my mouth blade out; biting down on it so hard my teeth had begun to ache. I returned it to its sheath, slowly backing away from the fissure that had claimed Starch.
I walked out into the hallway and sat down, my stomach complaining loudly. My breath echoed in my ears, my heart throbbing.

I stood up slowly, looking over those who still remained. Eight left, including the scientists. We had started with eighteen. I hoped to myself that the three I had left back at the camp were safe. With those three, we were eleven. My knees began to shake slightly. I had lose seven already, and we were no closer to leaving. Seven. The number repeated itself in my mind, seeming to taunt me, and I found myself sitting on the floor again. The Sergeant walked over to me and put a hoof on my shoulder.

“Sir, we can’t stay here.” He said softly. “We have to keep moving. There’s a chance we may find him still.”

Slowly, I looked up at him. I rose to my feet and turned to address the group.

“Alright. We move single file from now on. Stick to the wall, and don’t go anywhere near any of the doors. If you see anything, call it out.” I said, trying not to let my voice shake.

“Thank you.” I said quietly to the Sergeant, before taking my place at the lead.

I took a breath and steeled myself, beginning to move forward. I was glad to be at the front. At least nobody could see my face. My eyes were wide as I stared ahead, moving slowly. I scanned for movement, and tried to see if we were nearing another corner.

After a few minutes, I stopped. We had found ourselves at an intersection, a new hallway leading off to the right. There were no doors along this hallway, only a straight line leading into the darkness. I motioned the Sergeant forward, saying “We appear to be at a crossroads. Any suggestions?”

“It’s your call, sir.” He replied.

“That’s all well and good, but I asked you what your opinion is.”

The Sergeant contemplated silently for a moment before speaking. “We don’t seem to be making any progress on the outer perimeter, sir.” He paused. “My only worry is that there are going to be more of them down there. It seems like the logical place for them to hole up.”

“The inner sanctum, as it were.” I agreed.

“Still, if that’s where they live, it stands to reason the exit would be nearby. Why would they make the only way out too far from their home?”

“I think we have our decision, Sergeant.” I said, turning to face the others. “We’re taking the path to the right. If what the Sergeant believes is true, things will likely get hairy again soon. Be on guard.”

Chapter 11

We started down the intersecting hallway, no longer single file. As there were no doors along this path, it seemed rather pointless. Ironside took his place beside me, staring ahead with a grim determination. I hadn’t heard him say anything in a while, and started to wonder just what was going through that head of his.

After turning another corner, we paused. There was a door on the right side of the hall. A dim light glowed, showing through the crack under the closed passage. I stepped slowly towards it, keeping myself close to the wall. I reached out a hoof and tapped once on the metal door.

“Stay away! Get away from here!” A panicked voice yelled from inside.

“Doc?” I said, startled. “What the hell? Is that you?”

“C-captain?!” The voice replied. After some shuffling and banging, the door slid open to reveal a frazzled and shaking Doctor Opal, a pale orange light radiating from her horn. “How?” She asked, he voice quavering. “Never mind for now. Get in here, all of you!” She said, moving back into the room.

We followed her inside, and she closed the door. “How did you find me?” she said, her eyes wide.

“We saw a light from under the door.”

Cursing, she jumped up and grabbed some of the papers that littered the floor, shoving them into the crack between the door and the floor.

“I’ve been in here for hours.” She said, turning around. “They’re everywhere.”

“What are they?” I asked, moving towards her.

“I don’t know. This place was supposed to be empty…” she replied, trailing off. She sat down on the floor, staring at an errant scrap of paper. “I wasn’t willing to believe you.” She said after a moment. “After we found Tom, I ran off. I figured if I could find something, anything…” She looked into my eyes. “…It would make all this worth something.”

“And?” I asked.

“I didn’t find anything. They found me.” She looked back down, shaking. “I couldn’t see them very well, but I knew they were there. They chased me for a while, but I managed to lose them. I had no idea where I was anymore, and eventually I found this room. It seemed safe enough, so I holed up in here.”

I sat down next to her and put a hoof on her back. She turned to look at me, tears in her eyes.

“I need you to tell me everything you know about this place.”

She sighed, glancing at the two remaining staff she had. “I haven’t been entirely honest with you two.” She started. “I knew there was something wrong with this place before we came here.” She looked back at me, continuing “I wasn’t entirely joking when I said we weren’t the first team out here. There was one before us.”

The two researchers sat up, listening intently.

“Doctor Greenhorn led the first team out here. It was a similar setup to the one we had. Eleven soldiers and seven research staff. We never heard anything from them after they left. That was over a year ago.”

Tears were forming in her eyes again as she continued to speak. “We figured something had happened to them, but the project was too important. We began planning for another expedition, and as I was the highest ranking member on the team, I was chosen to lead. I didn’t think it would be like this…” she said, lowering her head again, beginning to weep.

I stood up and walked over to the Sergeant, who was leaning on the wall to the side of the door.

“Well, we got our answer finally. All it took was six deaths and getting chased by some sort of underground horror to knock the bitchy out of her.” He said, standing up straight.

“We can’t stay here too long. If we could find her this easily, they’ll be able to. Get some food in the troops. I don’t want to be here more than fifteen minutes at the most.”

Sergeant Flathoof walked over to the gear bag and pulled out the meager provisions we had remaining, divvying them out amongst the group. Ironside remained sitting where he was, staring at the ground. I sat down next to him.

“What’s going on, son?” I asked. “You haven’t said a word in hours.”

“I’m sick of this, sir.” He replied after a moment.

“We all are.”

“No, sir. I’m sick of running away. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be able to look the enemy in the eye. I was supposed to be able to see what I was fighting.”

“War isn’t like it looks in the books. It’s rarely a fair fight. If you’re lucky, the deck’s stacked in your favor, but more often than not the enemy has the upper hoof.”

He looked up to me, his face grim and angry. “We can’t keep running. They’ll just pick us off one by one. We have to fight back.”

“I know. It’d help if they stayed still for a moment though.” I said, chuckling.

“It’s not fucking funny, sir.”

“No. It’s not. But if we stay this tense for too long, someone’s going to crack.” I stood up and said “Go get something to eat. We’ll be moving in a few, and I doubt we’ll have time for luxuries like this again anytime soon.”

We ate in silence. I’ll admit, I was a bit ashamed at how hungry I was, considering what had been happening. Still, we had to get something in us, or we’d be useless soon enough.

“Speedy, you’re off bag detail. Shores, you’re up.” I called, raising from my haunches. One of the researchers stepped up and said “Umm, sir? I can take it for a while. I’m just an assistant, so I’m used to carrying junk.”

I looked over the thin grey pegasus for a moment. She didn’t seem like much, but I decided to give her a chance. If anything, it’d give Speedy and Shores a bit of a break.

“What’s your name, kid?” I asked

“Rainy, sir. Rainy Skies.

“Alright, Rainy. Shores will help you get the bag on. When we get moving, keep close to Glass. Anything happens, you follow him. Lose that bag, and I’ll make sure you don’t out of here, got it?” She nodded silently, and as she turned towards Shores, I saw the faintest smile on her face. Maybe there was more to her after all.

We gathered at the center of the room as the Sergeant opened the door and peeked out.

“All clear.” He said, glancing left and right.

“Alright. You should know the drill by now. Ironside, you take point with me. Glass, stay in the center. Rainy, keep close to him. The Sergeant will bring up the rear. Everyone else, keep close to the group. Wander off, and who knows what’ll happen to you.”

The others began to exit the room, taking their positions in the hallway. Dr. Opal walked over to me and asked “How can you be so damn calm?” her voice a harsh whisper.

“You saw first-hoof how well panicking went. Try listening to us for once, this is what we were made for.” I replied, walking towards the waiting group.

She stood in the room, staring at me for a moment before running to catch up.

“Doc, you keep near Glass as well. Trade off on light detail with him once in a while.”

We continued down the hallway, the green light from Glass’s horn leading the way. I noticed that the hallway had been sloping downwards slightly for the last few hundred yards, but decided not to say anything. No sense in getting them riled up over potentially nothing.

After a few minutes of walking, we found ourselves staring at another door, similar to the one we had entered this forsaken place through. It was seven feet tall, three feet wide, and had a wheel on it like the others. To either side was a smaller door like the ones we had seen throughout the halls all over.

One of the doors slid open on its own, and we began to back away.

Silence. Nothing but our heavy breathing.

A low, guttural growl arose from the open room, followed by a sickly pale appendage reaching outward. Searching. The creature emerged from its darkened tomb into the light.

Hunched over, it was at least four feet tall. Its skin was pale, translucent, and blue veins showed just under the surface. I had noticed through my life that in nature, things tend to be somewhat symmetrical. This had to be the most unnatural thing I had ever seen. Its limbs were twisted and malformed, its arms elongated to a ridiculous proportion. Bulbous growths covered its entire body, giving it the appearance of a walking bag of potatoes. Its head, if you could call it that, seemed to be fused to the torso, requiring it to turn its entire body, rather than just its neck. Its eyes were pale and sunken deep into its malformed skull, its nose two thin slits. It stared at us, a look of pure hatred in its eyes. Its misshapen mouth opened in a wet, coughing scream as it moved closer, its freakish arms dragging it along, one leg dragging behind uselessly. It reached out and grabbed one of the scientists with a speed it didn’t look like it could possibly possess. In an instant, it brought the screaming pony to its mouth and bit down on his spine with a sickening crunch. His eyes fluttered, his neck had gone limp.

I didn’t think, I just reacted. I pulled the mouth blade from its sheath. Using the point, I pressed down on the lever of the strange metal pole still attached to Ironside. An explosion rang out, and Ironside screamed, clenching his eyes tightly. The chunk of metal flew from the pipe and tore into the monstrosity before us. It reared up, screaming in agony. A small piece of golden metal ejected from the side of the pipe, tinkling as it bounced off the metal floorboard.

“Don’t worry about me, sir! Keep doing whatever that was!” Ironside yelled, his eyes still watering.

I pressed the metal lever again. Another explosion, another piece of metal tearing into the creature. It began backing towards the huge door behind it, its eyes darting wildly between us.

I kept pressing the lever, more metal striking the creature. I just kept going, not realizing the banging had since ceased. Rather than an explosion, only a small click came from the pipe. The Sergeant grabbed me by the shoulder, snapping me out of my movements.

The blade dropped from my mouth, clattering on the ground as I came to. I looked to the creature, now dead. It lay in front of the large metal door, oily black blood oozing from the fresh wounds I had inflicted.

Ironside was sitting on the ground holding his head in his hooves, his eyes closed. I picked up my blade in my mouth and walked over to him. The metal pipe dropped to the floor as I cut the ropes away. I noticed the side of his face had been burnt. I reached out a hoof and placed it on his shoulder.

“You okay?” I asked, sitting down next to him.

“I’m fine, sir. My ears are just ringing. It worked though, didn’t it?”

“Yeah. It worked fine.” I said, getting up. I walked over to the Sergeant.

“Well, looks like your gamble paid off to some extent.” He said, staring at the corpse that lay before us.

“Yeah. I’m just worried I may have rung the dinner bell while I was at it.”

Chapter 12

“We’ve only got one direction to go in now.” I said, glancing at the massive door.

“What?!” Opal said, nearly shouting. “They’re sure to be in there!”

“Probably, but they’re everywhere. They’ve been using those pipes in the ceiling to get around. This is the only area we haven’t checked.”

I reached up to the wheel, struggling to get it to start turning. The Sergeant walked over and began to help. The wheel squealed from the movement. Ironside grabbed a piece of the rope that had held the metal pipe to him and looped it through a spoke, pulling with all his might. The door gave a low groan, followed by a clicking. I leaned my weight on the door and it slowly swung open.

“Blades out. Now.” I said, peering into the inky blackness. “Glass, get over here.”

Glass shone his light into the room, which barely light the cavernous space. It had to be at least five hundred feet in any direction. Metal desks were lined up in rows, continuing past our limited field of view. There didn’t seem to be any movement, but I knew that was probably just the calm before the storm.

“Stay together. We move as one group. Nobody make any sudden movements.” I said, stepping into the room.

We moved in a small cluster, everyone glancing around, their eyes darting back and forth looking for any signs of danger. After a few moments in the room without being attacked, I decided it was safe enough to turn up the light.

“Glass, bring up your light. Opal, you too.”

The two unicorns focused for a moment, and the room came into focus. It was massive. Though the light had intensified significantly, the corners remained little more than shadows. Hundreds of desks and tables were lined around the space, a thick layer of dust coating them. At the center of the room was a table, twenty feet to each side. Glass and metal fixtures covered the ceiling, spaced out at regular intervals. On the left wall I could make out another small room jutting outward. I decided that was the best place to start. Slowly we made our way over, careful not to make any noise.

The small room was walled entirely in glass, with one panel removed at the center for an opening. Along the back wall was a large metal panel covered in red and blue pieces of glass, with a large black lever in the center.

“Amazing…” Opal said to herself. “Such sophisticated construction…” She stared at the panel, transfixed. Gingerly she reached out to the lever, her eyes fixated. Before I could stop her, she pushed the lever up. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a series of low snaps were heard, growing closer. The glass and metal fixtures on the ceiling began emitting light, coming on in waves, moving closer to us. Sounds of distant machines groaning back to life echoed through the complex, as the entire room was bathed in a pale white glow. The red and blue pieces of glass on the panel began to blink in a seemingly random order.

“Fuck.” The Sergeant said, as we watched the ruin returning to life.

“Indeed.” I said, staring at Dr. Opal.

“At least we can see now. Maybe there’s a map around here somewhere.” She said, trying not to blush.

“Shh!” Speedy hissed. “Do you hear that?!”

I tilted my head, listening for any sort of disturbance. My eyes widened and my blood ran cold. Screaming, angry and rabid, howling through the halls of the ruin. I had dismissed the distant sound as some sort of machine whirring away, but as I stood there listening I knew what it really was. They were awake, and they were pissed.

“We have to get out of here!” Opal said, panic rising in her voice.

“No shit! Everyone start looking for a way out! They have to have some sort of a tunnel or something!”

Scanning quickly around the room, I spotted another of the large metal doors opposite the one we had entered through. “There!” I yelled, pointing. “Everybody move to the door! Double time!”

We began to sprint towards the door, the hateful wailing growing closer by the second. I neared the metal portal and jumped into the air, grabbing the wheel, using my downward momentum to start it turning. Ironside and Speedy grabbed my legs and pulled, as I clung to the rungs. The wheel complained dully as it began to turn, before sticking in place.

“Rainy! Get the rope out of the bag!” I screamed, dropping from the relenting wheel.

Rainy pulled a length of rope from one of the pouches and ran over, Ironside taking it and looping it through the top rung of the wheel. He and Speedy took one side in their mouths, the Sergeant and I took the other. Pulling with all our might, we felt the wheel begin to give slightly.

“Look!” Screamed Opal, pointing at the door opposite us.

The rope dropped from my grasp as my jaw went slack. Malformed creatures began pouring through the entrance. Just as no two snowflakes are the same, neither were these hideous beasts. Their freakishly elongated limbs and tumorous bodies dragged slowly towards us, a pale fleshy wave of pure hatred, throwing aside anything unlucky enough to be in their path.

“For Celestia’s sake, get that fucking door open!” I screamed, grabbing the rope in my mouth. Glass and Shores joined in, heaving as hard as we could. The wheel slowly relented, squealing from the friction. A dull click sounded out, signaling our efforts had been met with success. We pulled on the rope, swinging the door open and ran through, the mass of creatures now nearing the large table at the center of the room.

The door had opened into another hallway, turning to the left. Sprinting, we made our way down the hall which led to a single door, mercifully like the ones in the bedrooms. I reached up and found the raised button on the doorframe and it slid open.

Chapter 13

“A fucking dead end?! Are you kidding me?!” Shores yelled out.

I didn’t say anything. I was thinking those exact words myself. We had found ourselves in a small room, no more than thirty feet in each direction, filled with whirring machines that blew cold air at us. There were no other doors, no signs of an escape route. I pushed the button on the doorframe, hoping to at least buy us a few seconds.

Dr. Opal began pacing back and forth, muttering to herself until the Sergeant put a hoof out to stop her. She was just about to say something to him when Ironside pointed up at something.

“Look. Those pipes run from those machines to the ceiling.” He said, still staring up.

“So?! What the hell does that matter?!” Opal screeched.

“They’re blowing out air. Maybe they go up to the surface.” He said, walking over to the nearest machine. “Help me turn this thing off.”

Dr. Opal stood there, her mouth agape. She seemed like she was about to say something snide, but stopped when I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Doc, unless you have a better idea, I suggest you start searching.”

After a few seconds, Shores called out that he had found something, pointing to a silver lever on the side of the machine. He reached up and pulled it down, and the machine silenced. Wasting no time, Ironside began to kick at the metal grate on the front of the machine. The grate fell to the ground with a clatter after a few well-placed kicks, revealing a large fan and the opening to the pipe. He kicked at the fan until it finally fell away, giving just enough room to move into the machine.

“I can’t see anything. It’s too dark.” He said, backing out of the opening. Glass stepped forward and moved in, his horn beginning to glow. “How much rope do we have?” He asked.

Rainy dug through the bag and pulled out the rope we had left. “About thirty feet…” She said.

“Not gonna be enough. See if there’s anything else we can use.”

Opal looked up suddenly, and then grabbed Ironside. “Those panels on the wall! Start kicking them!” She said, her voice suddenly very serious.

Ironside nodded, and began to attack the walls with his hind legs. The panel caved in slightly, and Opal rushed over, pulling at the now bent corner to reveal a mass of multi-colored wires crisscrossing through the wall. She began ripping the wires out of the wall with her hooves, piling them in the middle of the room.

“Is this enough?” She said, looking at Glass.

“We need a good hundred feet or so.”

Rainy and Speedy began tying the now freed wires together, cording them as best they could. “We’re up to about sixty feet” Rainy called out.

Ironside and Shores began kicking at the walls again, Glass and Dr. Opal tearing away at the loose panels. The screaming was drawing closer. Though we had a door between us and them, it wouldn’t hold for long. We had maybe five, ten minutes at the most before they reached us.

“We don’t have any more time! This is going to have to do.” I said, grabbing some of the wires and cording them together. “Everybody get to work!”

With all of us knotting the wires and rope together, the work took less than two minutes. I passed the end of the rope to Glass.

“I’m not going to be able to do this, sir.” He said.

“Why the hell not?”

“Well, I can’t get up the pipe to attach it. We’re going to need someone else for this.” He said, looking at Speedy.

“Shit.” She said, realizing all eyes were on her. “Fiine.” She said, rolling her eyes.

She grabbed the rope in her mouth and walked into the open machine. “Don’t let it snag on anything while I’m moving. I don’t really want to fall halfway up there.”

“Don’t worry about that, we’ve got it covered. Just get a move on.” I said, pushing her forward. She jumped up and began to fly up the pipe slowly.

“Glass, move in there and give her some light.”

After a few tense moments, the rope stopped sliding into the open pipe. Speedy called down from above “All clear! Just go one at a time, I don’t know how much weight this thing can hold!”

I stepped away from the machine and addressed the remainder of our group. “Alright, we have an escape plan. Doc, you and Rainy will go first. Glass, Shores, you’re up next, followed by Ironside. The Sergeant and I will go last.”

I gave Dr. Opal a sly smile and said “I hope you were good at gym class, doc.”

“Only subject I got less than an A on.” She replied nervously.

Rainy flew up the pipe quickly, followed by the doctor, who climbed slowly up the makeshift rope, cursing the whole way.

“Alright Shores, you’re up.” I said, the Sergeant pushing him forward.

“Yes, sir.”

The screaming was nearly upon us now. Only another few minutes and they’d be at the door.

Shores took a good minute and a half to reach the top, Glass waiting at the bottom for him to call the all clear. As soon as Shores yelled out, Glass took off like a rocket, moving up the rope.

“Ironside, you ready?” I said, nudging the Private.

“No, sir.” He replied curtly.

“Too damn bad.” I said, pushing him towards the opening of the machine.

“There isn’t enough time!” He shouted. “You two might get stuck down here!”

“And what the hell does you getting stuck with us do to solve that?” The Sergeant spoke up.

“All clear!” shouted Glass from the top of the pipe.

PFC Ironsides backed away from the rope and looked at me. “It’s not right. I can’t just leave.” He said.

“Private First Class Ironside.” I said coldly. “Need I remind you that I can take that new rank of yours away at any time? Disobeying a direct order from your superior officer seems like a pretty good reason to bust you down.”

“…point taken, sir.” He said quietly, and began to climb.

He had gotten almost halfway up the rope when the banging began. Meaty fists slammed against the metal door, the hollow percussion like thunder.

“I think it’s for you, sir.” The Sergeant said wryly.

“Damn missionaries.” I retorted.

“I know what you’re planning, sir. I don’t like it.”

“Too damned bad, Sergeant. There’s only enough time for one of us to get out of here, and you’re it.”

“I respectfully disagree, sir.” He said, standing up.

“I don’t think I like your tone, Sergeant.” I said, still watching the door vibrate from the impacts.

“Duly noted.” He replied, and then everything went black.

Chapter 14

I woke up in a cramped dark place, my head throbbing. Other than the stars in front of my eyes, I couldn’t see a thing. Slowly coming to, I realized I had something tied around my waist. I looked up to see Glass, his horn glowing green, heaving me up to the top of the pipe.

“Mother fucker!” I screamed. “Let me down! Let me down you son of a bitch!”

I was still thrashing as they pulled me over the ledge. “That rat bastard!” I screamed.

Ironside grabbed me by the shoulders and stared into my eyes. “Snap out of it!” He shouted at me.

“Son of a bitch knocked me out…” I said quietly.

“We didn’t know. The Sergeant started yelling that you had been hurt and for us to drag you up.” Ironside said, sitting down next to me.

“I owed that bastard a promotion…”

“Sir, we have to keep moving. They could already be following us.”

I stood up slowly, my head still aching. “Move out.” I said quietly.

We made our way down the narrow passage, Glass lighting the way. The sounds of the creatures began to fade as we moved farther away from the opening of the pipe, the way before us twisting back and forth. Our footsteps clanged on the thin metal of the passage, which seemed to have no end.

“We’re going up.” Speedy said after a while. “It’s very slight, but the pipe’s angling up.”

“I see a light!” Ironside yelled, running past the rest of us. A thin shaft of light poured from above, a good hundred yards away. We quickened our pace, moving to catch up to him. Within a minute, we were standing next to the PFC, staring up at the beam of sunshine falling from sky. There was a square pipe jutting out to the surface, a small fan spinning at the bottom. At the top of the pipe was a solid metal grate, a good ten feet above.

“Rainy, grab that shovel out of the bag.” I said, moving towards Shores.

Rainy pulled the shovel out and handed it to me. “Shores, give me a boost. I’m going to stop the fan.”

I stood on Shores’ back, raising the shovel slowly up towards the spinning blade. “Take cover!” I yelled, thrusting the metal blade of the shovel into the path of the fan. A loud snap followed by metal clattering around and the fan was no more. I grabbed onto the frame that had held the fan in place and lifted by back legs off of Shores, letting my body weight pull the remnants of the fan from its resting place. I dropped to the ground, the frame still in my grasp, and looked around. “Everyone okay?”

“I’ll be fine, sir.” Shores spoke up. I noticed he had a shard of the metal fan sticking out of his right hind leg.

“Shit. I said take cover, Private.” I said, moving to grab the med kit from the gear bag.

“If it’s all the same, sir, I’d prefer to wait until we’re topside before we worry about medical attention.”

I sighed and put the kit back in place. “Speedy, think you can get that grate moved?”

“I’ll try, sir.” She said, and took off. She strained with effort trying to move the solid hunk of metal, when Rainy lifted off the ground to assist. The two of them managed to lift the grate slightly out of place, and slid it to the side. Speedy dropped back to the ground and took the rope in her mouth before lifting back up.

“All clear!” she yelled down, looking at us from above.

A few minutes later, we were all back on the surface, the sun’s rays gracing us with a warmth we thought we would never feel again. A slow, gentle breeze rolled over us, causing the trees to whisper.

“Alright, enough playtime. Private, get your flank over here before you bleed out.”

We found that we had come back to the surface nearly a mile away from the ruins, in the middle of a small open area in the forest. After patching up Shores, we made our way slowly back to the trail leading to camp.

As we neared the camp, Private Blooms screamed out “Who goes there?!” peering over a makeshift barricade.

“Open the damn gate, Blooms!” I yelled back.

“Captain?!” She shouted, running to open the entrance to the camp. “Thank Celestia you came back! There were these things everywhere! We didn’t know what to-“ I put a hoof over her mouth, silencing her.

“We’re leaving. Now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where are Quills and Twitch?”

“Quills is in the med tent. Twitch isn’t doing so good.”

“Fuck. Alright, everybody, grab what seems necessary, and let’s get the hell out of here.”

I made my way to the med tent and walked inside. Quills turned around and upon seeing me, snapped to attention. “Sir! The log book is ready for y-“

“No time. What’s going on with Twitch?”

“She passed out a few hours ago, sir. She must have overworked herself when we put up those barricades. That plus the blood loss, and she probably passed out from exhaustion.”

“Alright, grab someone to help you carry her. And grab any of the medical supplies you can, no carts. We’re leaving in five.”

Chapter 15

We had lost eight of our original eighteen members by the time we had finally escaped that hellish nightmare. The failure still weighs heavily on my mind to this day.

Upon our return, the scientists were whisked away quickly. I never saw the two of them again. I was given an honorable discharge from the service, with full pay and benefits, no doubt an attempt to buy my silence. They’re still watching me from afar, making sure I never disclose any of what happened in that week. They’ve kept us separated as well.

I saw Ironside and Speedy again once more, about three months ago. We were only able to speak for a few moments before some of the guards began to close in on us. They had decided they were leaving, they didn’t say where to. It seemed they were a couple now, and I wish them the best in their lives together. I truly hope they can find somewhere that will offer them peace.

Private Twitch recovered from her injuries, but will never fly again. Whatever that thing was, it tore her up pretty good. The crew we’d left at camp didn’t see much of what we had, so they’ve been left alone for the most part. I’m sure they’re being watched as well, but they were allowed to continue to serve in some capacity. From what I heard from friends still in, Blooms quit shortly after returning. She works at a spa now. Says “At least here, I know what’s going to happen. Nothing’s hiding in the forest waiting to get me.” Quills got moved to some sort of administrative job pushing papers around. No idea if he likes it, but at least that handwriting of his is getting put to good use.

Glass was the odd one out. He was in the thick of things with us down in that hole, but he managed to stay in. They promoted him to Sergeant, and last I had heard he was training the new troops.

I wrote my report after we had returned, and requested to give it to you personally, but was met with disapproval from the brass. They quickly disavowed any knowledge of the mission we had set out upon, creating cover stories to explain the deaths. A lab explosion, a training exercise gone wrong. Pure bullshit. I still have Private Twigs’s tags to remind me that what happened was real. I’ve enclosed one of them with this letter as well.

I expect that before you finish reading this letter, I will be taken away just as the Dr. Opal and Ms. Skies have been. It doesn’t really matter though. The truth will come out soon enough. Those creatures, whatever they are, already found a way out of that ruin. Eventually the Everfree will run out of food for them, and they’ll venture out. They’re going to come for us, no matter how much the brass tries to pretend they don’t exist. It’s only a matter of time. What happens when that time comes, depends on what you do.

Respectfully,
Captain Vault, Equestrian Royal Army