Queen Haven was having quite a good day up to that point. Court had proceeded smoothly, without any real silliness. And the city seemed to rumble on. She would soon be taking a break from seeing people and running proceedings to talk with her daughters over the interweb thing. The speed at which the world was changing both amazed and concerned her. When she had been a princess the idea of trains running under the ground was a novel concept. And now ponies could communicate instantly across the planet!
Just then, one of the guards spoke up. "Your majesty, we have another visitor. She says it is urgent."
"Very well. Show them in."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." The guard beckoned to the pony at the door. "Your audience with the Queen has been granted."
The mare, a pegasus with a grey coat and brown mane, came to a stop before the Queen. "My most humble felicitations, your excellentness," she said.
Queen Haven laughed. "There's no need for all this formality. Pray tell, what was this matter of which you wish to speak?"
The mare nodded. "I have news of a serious development regarding Sub-Core Energy."
Haven noted this, and nodded. "Do tell."
"There are reports of gas leaking from their drilling operations, and that the company is trying to cover it up."
Queen Haven nodded again. This was concerning. Her government had given Sub-Core the contract to drill for geothermal energy underneath Zephyr Heights, so to hear that there was a leak of some sort was very concerning. "Well, thank you for this development. Is this all?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the mare finished, before turning to leave.
"Before you go," Haven continued, "where is the gas leak emerging?"
"The underground tunnels, where the trains run."
And where the bulk of our population travels between different parts of the city, Haven thought to herself. "Once again, thank you for the information."
As the mare departed to the doors, Queen Haven realised that this needed looking into. But if there was an announcement of an official inspection, Sub-Core would have time to cover something up. So this called for a different approach.
She activated the call to her daughters. "Hello, darlings."
Both Pipp and Zipp tried to squish onto the same screen. "Hey mom!" both said at once.
"I may need your help with something. How good are you at creating disguises?"
Queen Haven was confident nopony would recognise her as she trotted down the steps into a station. She had left her usual regalia behind, in the care of the guards, and even her saddle and other items of state were not on her... well, pony. Instead, she looked well disguised, with a coat and a scarf to help disguise her familiar face and mane.
She made her way down the steps, hearing the familiar noise of tube trains rolling in and out. According to her contact, there were certain times that these leaks happened, and as such she had chosen this time to investigate. She finally made her way onto the platform. She hadn't fancied her chances with the ticket machines, so had booked online under an assumed name.
At last, an underground train rattled in, unusually empty. Seeing one pony sitting in a carriage, Queen Haven chose to board, taking a seat and noticing a safety briefing up ahead.
"WELCOME ONBOARD THE ZEPHYR HEIGHTS UNDERGROUND. FOR YOUR SAFETY, WE ADVISE WEARING THE PROVIDED SAFETY GOGGLES AND BREATHING GEAR. THIS IS DUE TO SUB-CORE DRILLING OPERATIONS. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION."
Queen Haven decided to take the precaution, and put the gear on as instructed. Her attention was suddenly attracted by the pony sitting opposite her, who had seemingly seen better days.
"You're brave, riding the tube on a night like tonight," he said. "You do know there's gas down here, right?"
"The adverts did suggest we wear the safety equipment," Haven replied. "Is it severe?"
"It usually is, especially at this time of day. The gas leaks usually fluctuate, depending on what level they're drilling to. Sub-Core have been drilling down here for months, and they're drilling deep. Too deep, if you ask me." He suddenly leaned closer. "Does my eye look alright to you?"
Haven leaned closer, as best she could with all the gear on. "I would say so. Pray tell, is it a symptom of something?"
"Yes. Problems with the eyes is an early symptom of the infection. We're breathing the gas in, rotting from the inside. All because of the drilling to fuel our relentless appetite for power. We've become ghosts. Ghosts on a train, victims of our own greed. This is a punishment for the way we've treated the world. Zombies, if you will."
Queen Haven was alarmed. How in Equestria had she not been told what was going on? Was somebody in her government being paid to keep quiet?
Suddenly, there was a jolt, and the train began to slow down. The carriage lights had failed as well. "Ladies and gentlecolts, I apologise for the sudden stop. We appear to have temporarily lost power. We should be underway again in a few moments, so please remain in your seats."
It was uncomfortable, sitting there in the dark. Haven's goggles switched over to night vision mode automatically. Suddenly, she saw something standing at the window. "Is that... a pony?"
"It's one of them. One of the infected. Stay still, and don't breathe. He can't see you, but he can hear you." The figure crossed over to the other side of the train as he said this.
The figure loomed closer to the window, and the breath stopped in her throat. No, she thought. It can't be!
Looking through the window was a face she knew very, very well.
The face of her dead husband.
The pony began smashing on the glass, trying to break it open. Haven tried her hardest to not breathe, but it was difficult given her lungs were screaming out for air. At last it was too much, and she breathed in.
It was the signal he needed. The glass shattered from a powerful impact of the back hooves, and the body jumped into the carriage, slamming into Haven with incredible force.
"Go, my love..." he wheezed, his voice pained and tortured. "They came... from below... tortured us..."
Haven screamed and shoved the figure back.
Suddenly, the lights came back on and the train lurched forward. "Power has been restored!" said the other pony, who had moved over to the door. He hit the release button, and the body fell out and onto nearby tracks.
"Ladies and gentlecolts, we apologise for the delay. We will be rerouted to a different platform due to a report of track damage."
The train lurched into a tunnel, and Haven allowed herself one uncharacteristic curse. "What the buck is going on?"
The train rumbled to a stop as more gas explosions erupted around the train. The doors slid open as the formation violently stopped, and Haven was sent flying from one side of the train to the other with a bang. Her goggles and breathing gear were knocking clean from her face, and her disguise came apart.
"By Faust!" somepony said. "It's the queen! What is she doing here?"
There was no time to explain, and Haven was the first to exit the train, with the other passengers following fairly promptly. A member of underground staff was standing there, calling to them.
"We're going to take you through these side tunnels to escape!" he called. "There's a short access tunnel in this direction, which will allow us to leave the area and get you onto another train! I must implore you, keep your mouths covered! It will minimise the gas effects!"
Haven covered her mouth as best she could, eventually tying her scarf over her mouth to try and fix the problem. The gas was pooling in the platform, with it forming a yellow fog. She and the other survivors trotted through, the gas burning their eyes and making breathing difficult.
They had stopped on another platform, and were now waiting for another train to arrive, when suddenly there was a series of loud crashes and bangs. A tube train roared past, another zombie holding onto the driver's window and trying to break it open. A second's glimpse of the passengers, unable to escape, and the train was gone.
There was a series of crashes as a train came off the rails, blocking a tunnel up ahead. Presumably it had collided with another one. Another set of explosions tore up the track in the tunnel before them, and gas continued to leak out.
Walking down the tunnel was an entire line of zombies. Clothing hung from them, their faces bloated and pallid flesh attached to their bodies.
"This way!" the staff member called. "Back on the train!"
They now ran the other way to another platform where another train was waiting. The passengers wasted no time in getting onboard, pulling their goggles and breathing gear on as the doors slammed shut. The zombies pounded on the windows, howling like nothing else on the planet as the train pulled away.
"We left one behind!" a passenger called.
Seconds later, said pony's screams echoed from the platform as the zombies tore her apart.
The train seemed to be safe as it pulled away from the platform. It was soon at top speed, and would hopefully get away from this nightmare that was engulfing them.
They were wrong. A creature suddenly lunged forward and tore an entire section of the train away, including ripping out a considerable amount of the floor.
"Damage to the brake lines!" said a voice, the driver seemingly having forgotten to shut off the intercom. "The brakes are coming on!"
The train continued to struggle onwards as a passenger looked about, scared. "I want to get off!" she said.
"All passengers, please remain seated!" another voice said.
"If we move," said the first stallion, "we may die."
"We can't stay here!" the mare said. "If we stay we'll die!" She got up.
This was a mistake. A gigantic red hand plummeted down from above them and tore her out of the carriage. Her screams were audible as she vanished.
The traction motors whined as the train tried to keep moving, but it came to a stop on a bridge. A series of explosions tore apart the ground below the bridge as more creatures began to emerge. First emerged a host of destructive monsters who began ripping everything apart. Chimerae, what appeared to be a Cerberus, and even a Cockatrice were on the prowl in the streets.
Queen Haven was in shock. "I've heard of those things," she said. "They reside in a place deep in the depths of Equestria. And if this is what I think it is... then Sub-Core have drilled directly into Tartarus!"
As a pink alicorn flew about, blowing things up with gigantic energy beams, the red hand appeared again, followed by a red body. It was a gigantic centaur, who had to be at least as tall as a skyscraper. He tore away more of the carriage.
"Why, hello there!" he said. "So nice of you ponies to let us out. After you subjected us to eternal torment, it only seems fitting to do the same to you. Enjoy a fiery demise."
He lifted the carriage off the bridge and held it over the gap. Seconds later he flung the carriage into the pit. It flew towards a gigantic pit of lava at the bottom. Haven screamed as her death approached, hurtling towards her at incredible speed. As the carriage hit the lava-
She woke up. She was in her chambers, seemingly safe and sound. "What in Equestria was that?" she asked.
"Mom? Are you OK?"
Haven looked to her left to see Pipp there. "Yes dear, I'm fine, I think. Just a nightmare, that's all."
"It must've been a pretty bad one," Zipp said, on the other side. "You were screaming pretty loud."
"Oh, you needn't worry yourself with that. It's no longer an issue. None of what happens in dreams is real. I'll be back to normal in the morning."
There was a pause before Pipp spoke again. "Guys... can you smell gas?"
Author's Note
Derren Brown's Ghost Train was a hybrid VR experience/motion simulator ride located at Thorpe Park in southern England. One of the first attempts to combine live action with VR effects and large scale sets, the ride was crippled by reliability problems and rarely worked as intended. Which is a shame, as the idea was good.
This story is a loose adaptation of the attraction's basic plot, combined with elements of the Well to Hell urban legend. I can guarantee that if reception to this story is positive, more stories based on theme park attractions will follow.
