Stars Below

Chapters

Tunnel Vision
New Arrival
Welcome to Metro
Departure
On Rails
Detour

Tunnel Vision

Headache.

A monster of a headache, now that I am waking up to feel the full force of it. This is hardly the first time a night of dreamwalking has left me feeling... less than stellar, especially when I have more nightmares to tame than usual, but this morning seems to be a special case. I did my duty as always, reassuring my little ponies in their time of need and helping them overcome whatever fears were troubling them most. Then, just like every night, it was abruptly over. My sister began to raise the sun, and ponies started waking up in droves - the signal that it was time for me to wake as well.

When I opened my eyes, however, I was not greeted by the sight of my bedroom ceiling.

Staring straight up, I realized I could hardly see the end of my muzzle before my eyes. I was in near-total darkness, and as I attempted to get a deep breath I found myself nearly choking on stale air. It stank of rot and decay, with a terrible garnish of ashes in the mix. Finally, I decided to make use of my magic and try to light up my surroundings. When I did, I almost regretted the decision right away. My horn glowed brightly as I channeled a light spell, illuminating a solid grey ceiling made of stone. It curved at both ends, giving away that I was in a tunnel of some sort and lying on my back. Wires and pipes trailed along the walls on either side, I noted, though most of them were torn and rusting in many places.

Terrifying as this realization was, I knew better than to lose my head. Instead, I tried to focus on the present and what I knew so far. I was not in the castle, or even in Canterlot, that much was certain. Beyond that... I did not know. So far, I had only seen the ceiling above me and the walls beside me - and gotten a most unpleasant taste of the air in this tunnel.

It wasn't until I finally tried to set myself upright that I realized why I hadn't noticed that I wasn't in bed - my entire body felt numb and stiff as if I'd been lying still for days. I had no way of knowing for sure, but a stone floor would've made for a bad spot to lay for any amount of time. Regardless, I had to get my bearings, so I gritted my teeth and forced myself onto my haunches. My back let out a series of quiet pops and crackles, reminding me that I hadn't seen a masseuse in far too long, but at least I felt my sense of touch returning to all four legs. A stretch of my wings helped restore blood flow there, too. Now seated on some kind of narrow platform, I took in more of my new environment. Wherever I was, it was clearly not meant for hoof traffic. The center of the tunnel was occupied by a set of massive steel rails, the pair of them carrying on beyond the veil of darkness that my light spell failed to penetrate beyond a few meters.

Looking back over my shoulder, I saw that the tunnel was nearly identical in that direction as well. The only feature that stood out was a large, rusted steel door set into the wall on the right. It was partially ajar, though the inside was just as dark as the tunnel itself. With no other landmarks to go on, I slowly got to my hooves and crept toward it. My hooves noisily clacked against the stone floor even without my silver shoes, and despite the lack of any other living things so far, I got the feeling that I needed to be quiet. I hunched down and slowed my pace even further, almost shuffling toward this unknown doorway. The air was still barely breathable, but it also carried a deep chill now that I had feeling in all of my extremities. It cut through my fur and seemingly right down to my bones, making me shiver despite my natural resistance to the elements. I was mere steps away from that door when the stillness was torn asunder by the sound of explosions down the tunnel behind me.

It was as if dozens of cannons were going off in sequence, one after the other at an impossible pace, and between the percussion, I heard voices - all male, and all of them shouting in some language I felt certain I couldn't have deciphered even if I was close enough to hear it clearly. My ears reflexively folded down against my head, hidden in my ethereal mane and protecting my hearing against the harsh noises as they echoed down the tunnel. I still had yet to find any clue as to where I was, but the strange language gave away that I was likely far, far away from Canterlot. Wherever here was, though, that answer could wait. Those poor creatures, pony or otherwise, sounded as though they were in the middle of a fight, and it wouldn't do to simply leave them to their own devices while I was perfectly able to lend a hoof.

Turning away from the door I'd been about to explore, I galloped toward the explosions and shouting until I came to a turn in the tunnel. It curved gently, swooping to the right and blocking my line of sight, and it sounded as though the battle was just around the bend. The number and frequency of the explosions had sharply decreased in the few moments it took me to close the distance, and the shouting voices had gone from more than five to just two. I made my way to the corner, fighting to control my breathing, and peeked around until I caught sight of who I had rushed forward to save.

There, illuminated by a campfire off to the side of the tracks, were two strange-looking bipedal creatures. They were covered in heavy clothes of some sort, and one wore a metal helmet that was vaguely reminiscent of an Equestrian Army helmet. They had their backs to me, shouting back and forth to one another in that same language I couldn't identify. Then, out of the shadows at the far side of their small camp, I finally saw the thing they were fighting - or rather, things. A large, four-legged beast with pink skin and patchy black fur roared as it lunged out of the darkness claws-first. The two bipedal creatures stumbled back and attempted to fight it off, and that was when I finally saw the source of those explosions. Both of them carried strange weapons made of steel and wood, both covered in strange protrusions and other odd pieces that made them unique. Whatever they were, the ends of their weapons spit balls of flame and blasts of noise that echoed up and down the tunnels. At the same time, the beast that had aimed to kill them faltered in its attack. The bipedal creatures kept attacking it until it fell, then took a few steps back and got closer together.

The creature without the helmet turned his eyes away from the fire to do something with his weapon, exchanging some curved piece from the underside for a different one he had been carrying on his belt. Before he could finish installing this new piece, however, another beast charged out of the dim. His friend wasn't able to stop it in time, and I could only watch in horror as the first creature was tackled to the ground. He screamed and fought back with his hands, but to no avail. It wasn't until after he was dead that his comrade managed to slay the beast, leaving his maimed body pinned beneath it on the rails. I was just about to break from cover and make my presence known when one last beast joined the fray, tackling the last biped before he could recover.

The creature dropped his weapon to the ground and fell just like his friend, fumbling for something on his chest while trying - and failing - to hold back the monster attempting to eat him alive. I knew I had to act before it was too late, finally recovering from my slack-jawed staring. I gritted my teeth once again and charged forward, horn glowing as I readied a powerful combat spell. The beast barely had time to notice my presence before I fired off my spell, blasting it squarely in the face with a beam of sparkling energy. An ear-splitting screech rang out through the tunnel as the beast stumbled back and forgot about its prey for the moment. Instead, with its face half-charred and its body riddled with holes from the bipedal creature's previous attacks, it made a move for me. I had to spread my wings and dodge backward in a heartbeat, only narrowly avoiding a claw swipe that surely would have been the end of me.

The beast clearly hadn't been expecting me to be so light on my hooves, stumbling forward on its paws as the momentum of its swing took it off balance. I cast my eyes to my surroundings in search of a weapon I could use, but I came up short. My only options were the strange weapons the bipedal creatures had been wielding, but I hadn't the slightest clue as to how they worked. Instead, I beat my wings a second time to put additional space between myself and my foe before preparing another magical attack. My horn flashed with deadly energy yet again, and this time my spell struck home. The beam blasted a hole clean through the beast's head, sending it to the ground in a crumpled heap. Then...

Then it was all over.

I panted to catch my breath, closing my wings and settling back down onto my hooves now that I had no need to flee. The campfire that illuminated the battleground was still burning away, filling this tiny section of tunnel with hazy smoke and the comforting smell and warmth of a fireplace. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the fire was made in the bottom of what had once been a steel drum. Taking in my surroundings with a more critical eye now that I had the time, I at first thought I had failed to save the remaining biped from the terrible fate that had claimed his comrade. Stepping forward and preparing to inspect the body, though, I saw a twitch. With adrenaline still coursing through my veins, even such a small move was enough to startle me. I flinched and stumbled back, but quickly relaxed once I understood what was happening.

Stepping forward, I finally got a good look at the creature I had rushed forward to save. He was taller than I, and largely without fur. He kept his body protected with thick layers of fabric and armor, and he carried several of the strange curved objects that his friend had been fumbling with before his demise. His chest was also covered in a number of other tools, primarily a large knife that he had been trying to pull out of a sheath before I entered the fray. His face was hidden behind the thick visor of his steel helmet, but it did not take much effort to raise it with my forehoof. Staring down and squinting in the darkness, I got a good look at his face. Short nose. Small, brown eyes. Small mouth. A little bit of stubble over his upper lip, but he looked young - or I assumed as much. A tuft of brown hair poked out from underneath his helmet, and he simultaneously looked to be totally calm and in immense pain. Looking down, I saw the extent of the damage the beast had done to him before I could intervene. Large, deep gashes were opened across his lower body, spilling blood that soaked through his armor and pooled in the dirt beneath him.

Then, after a tense moment of staring at one another, he finally spoke. His voice was soft and strained, words barely coming out as gasps and whispers. Even though I could not understand his language, my heart broke at the sound. It was undeniable now - he really was only a youngling, and already he did not have much longer to live. I cursed myself for knowing so little healing magic, but it had always been Celestia's expertise. Now, standing over this dying creature, I could not do much but watch. I knelt down to bring myself closer to his face, laying a hoof on his chest in an attempt to comfort him, and tried to speak. Instead, my voice only came out as a strangled squeak, forcing me to cough and clear my throat. It didn't fix the pit that had formed in the bottom of my stomach.

"I am sorry, little one. I was too late to save you," I said, my voice just as quiet as his had been a moment ago. I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes even as they began to dim, and he slowly raised his left hand to grasp at my hoof. He couldn't seem to reach, but I completed the gesture for him with a tight squeeze. He gripped my hoof in his fingers and looked me squarely in the eyes, and for a long moment, I felt as though I was frozen in place. Then, he spoke again in a different language. One I could understand, heavily accented though it was.

"It is... okay," he wheezed, speaking even slower than before as he struggled with a language that was clearly foreign to him. "Thank you..." Then he trailed off, letting his head fall back and rest on the ground. Had his chest not still been rising and falling with the rhythm of his breathing, I would have surely thought him to be dead then and there. Just when I was preparing to speak again, he continued. "Are you... an angel?"

At first, I was simply dumbfounded. My grip on his hand loosened, but he quickly pulled my hoof back in as if desperate for my touch. His hand was cold. "No... I am no angel," I finally answered, unable to bring myself to lie to him in his final moments. "I am simply lost, as you are, and... I did what I could." It was an assumption on my part, but this tiny camp didn't give off the feeling of a permanent home. The youngling didn't seem to mind either way, merely shifting his head in a way that vaguely resembled a nod.

"Close... enough," he coughed, before finally, after much suffering, he went still. His chest stopped moving, his eyes glazed over, and... slowly, I felt his hand slipping away from my hoof. I let it fall, staring with wide eyes as it dropped into the dirt and lay still. Then... then I just sat there, in silence, for what felt like an eternity. I stared down at the body lying before me, feeling the heat of the campfire against my back and the cold, stale air against my front. He looked peaceful, and I supposed that it was well-earned after the pain he'd been put through. I took a moment to get to my hooves, then turned around to take a look at the rest of the campsite.

There was not much else to see, as I was quick to discover, though I was left with questions. Sadly, the only ones who could answer them had already passed on. Aside from the fire burning in the barrel, the two bipedal individuals... it didn't feel right thinking of them as 'creatures' now... had apparently been traveling very lightly. That, or they were not far from wherever they called home. There were a hoofful of scattered belongings on the ground, and I quickly gathered them up with my magic to take a closer look. There was a strange, roughly hoof-sized device made of brass and copper with some kind of wheel attached to the outside that caught my eye most of all. Levitating it away from the small collection of junk, I quickly discovered that it was a unique sort of lighter. Far too large for a pony to use without magic, but just about the right size to fit in the hands of one of the bipeds who had owned it.

I flipped the 'lid' open, the curved piece made of copper, and gave the striker a try. The lighter ignited immediately, casting its meager light on my face. It was just a little brighter than a candle, and the whole device seemed quite sturdy. I considered taking it with me, if not for the fact that I lacked anything to carry it with... or did I? Ah-ha!

Lying off to the side, squished up against wall, was a small cloth bag. It had only one strap, and it looked small enough for me to wear comfortably. Levitating it over to myself, though, I discovered a new item wadded up inside. Turning the bag over, a mask plopped onto the stone floor. It was made of rubber and clearly designed to be worn by these bipeds, and it featured a large, circular can of some sort affixed to the front. Small eye holes made me wonder how anyone was meant to see anything with it on, but that was beside the point. I couldn't wear such a thing regardless, so I set it aside and stuffed my first item into my new bag. After safely stashing the lighter, I poked through the rest of the items for anything of interest.

There was a small book, its pages faded and worn, written in a language I could not even begin to comprehend. Beside it, a pair of the same curved objects that the first individual had tried attaching to his weapon. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be storage of some sort - both of the objects were full of small, cylindrical metal bits that looked to be smaller versions of the lighter I found. These, though, were grimy and ever so slightly misshapen, and not all of them featured a brass body. Some were plain steel, already showing signs of rust, and others were made of low-quality alloys that I could not identify. As far as I could tell, these were the ammunition for those strange weapons - like bolts for a crossbow, but so much smaller and deadlier, not to mention louder.

Moving on, I found a small tin with yet more writing I could not understand - at least it matched the book, which suggested to me that it was the written form of the language I had heard before. The can featured a pull tab and, upon opening it, a rather offensive odor. Fish, by the look of it, and not very good fish at that. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I couldn't stop myself from sticking my tongue out in disgust while casting the tin aside. None for me, thank you.

Other than those few items, and the equipment both individuals were wearing, that was all I found. I couldn't imagine them traveling far with so little food and ammunition in such a dangerous place, but there was no hint as to which direction they had come from. I could very well have started between them and their true home, or it could be further down the tunnel ahead of me. Still, those deadly beasts had come from that direction, so I was more hesitant to explore it. Regardless, I had one last thing to do before I left this camp behind. I turned back to the bodies and sighed, knowing I couldn't do anything even remotely resembling a proper burial with the ground being as solid as it was here. I removed the first biped from underneath the dead beast lying on top of him, taking care not to unintentionally cause any more damage to the already maimed body, and laid him beside his friend. Closing my eyes, I bowed my head and said a silent prayer for the both of them. They were both an ugly sight, thoroughly shredded by claws as long as my horn, but it was the only thing I could do for them. Just as I was beginning to walk away, though, one final thing caught my eye as it glinted in the firelight.

Looking down, I saw a simple, rectangular piece of metal attached to a chain around the younger biped's neck. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was stamped with text in two languages - one that matched the unreadable gibberish in the book and on the tin of fish, and the other in plain Equestrian. I squinted to read it in the darkness, but my natural ability to see at night proved useful in the end. 'Alyosha Petrov' was the youngling's name, and though it sounded nothing like any Equestrian name I'd ever heard, I found myself liking the sound of it. With a solemn nod, I gently removed the nametag from the youngling's body and hung it around my own neck. I did not know if he had any family who would remember him now that he was gone, but it did not matter. If he did not, then I alone would ensure that his name was not forgotten.

New Arrival

Once I was prepared to leave the camp behind, I had a choice. I could continue down the tunnel the way I was going, or I could backtrack and explore in the other direction. One was more attractive than the other, of course, seeing as the murderous beasts all came from somewhere ahead. I lacked any real weapons to defend myself, and I wasn't confident I could wield the unique weapons of the bipedal individuals without harming myself in the process. Seeing as I also lacked the stamina to cast combat spells for very long, my decision eventually became clear. I would backtrack, and see what - if anything - lay in the opposite direction.

So far I had not seen even a hint of sunlight or felt the faintest gust of natural wind, which suggested to me that I was indeed quite deep underground. The air was a constant temperature, just a little too cold for comfort, and it was still stale and foul even after I thought I had enough time to adjust to it.

I walked between the metal rails running down the middle of the tunnel, occasionally getting tripped up on loose railroad ties, but it was smooth going. It didn't take long at all for me to get back to where I initially woke up, and I was once again drawn toward that metal door on my right. It hadn't moved an inch since I left, meaning it was still open just barely wide enough for me to slip through if I wished. Rather than carrying on right away, though, I found myself hesitating. The darkness beyond the doorway seemed even thicker than what I was having to squint through in the tunnel, and the utter lack of noise gave me a bad feeling.

Then again, where else did I have to go? Anywhere in this labyrinth was as good as anywhere else until I had some sort of clue as to a way out.

Having made up my mind, I took a breath to steady my nerves before grabbing hold of the door with my magic. It took more effort than I first expected, but it wasn't long before the door opened up the rest of the way. The hinges obviously had not been oiled in quite some time, letting out the unmistakable screech of tortured metal as the heavy metal door swung open. I winced and lowered my ears, once again forced to protect them from a harsh sound. At least there was no one around to hear it that time, deafening as it was compared to the silence.

With the door opened, I could refocus on my light spell. My horn glowed brighter, and I finally got a look at the path I had just opened up. It led to a steep stairway, which in turn led to yet another door. This one looked to be of the same design as the door I just opened, but it was currently locked. Fortunately, it looked like it unlocked from the side I was on. The passage was otherwise unremarkable, perhaps in slightly better overall condition than the tunnel outside. The concrete stairs were uneven beneath my hooves, and merely passing through stirred up a thin haze of dust and debris.

I coughed to clear my throat, eyes watering, and I caught myself wishing for a feather duster right then and there. I had to laugh at the thought, imagining just how long it would take to clean up a place in such a sorry state. Were it up to me, this tunnel would have been sealed off and completely forgotten about.

Then again... maybe it already had? Could it have been something opened, abandoned, and closed under my sister's watch? A lot had happened during my thousand-year banishment, and even years after my return I was still finding out about little details that she forgot to inform me of. A place like this would have been quite the oversight on her part, full of previously unknown creatures and strange technology, but I couldn't rule it out entirely. Just another thing to ask my sister about when I returned to Canterlot, assuming she didn't find me first. Poor Celestia, most likely in the castle right then worried sick.

I realized then that I'd spent several moments staring at the door in front of me, lost in my thoughts of someplace and somepony far, far away from wherever I was. Thinking about going home got me no closer to making it a reality, so I shook my head and cleared my thoughts. The door featured a strange handle, a wheel that seemed to actuate a set of locking bars. It was nearly rusted solid and took a significant effort, but I managed to wrench this second door open and reveal another tunnel. The door squealed just like the one before it, but this time it seemed that I wasn't alone. I could just barely spot the flickering glow of another fire around a bend on my left. There was only darkness on my right, and I knew there was a good chance that whatever creatures were tending that fire had heard my racket.

My theory was confirmed by the sound of frantic whispers and shushing, a conversation dying out in an instant and being replaced with suspicion. I crouched down low, ears raised and focused on the sound, and for a moment I thought about running back the way I came and sealing that door behind myself. But then... those voices sounded like more of the bipedal creatures I met at the camp. If they were anything like Alyosha and knew my language, I may have the chance to speak with them. The chance to introduce myself would go a long way, I knew, and they were likely to be my best source of information.

Whatever I did, I knew I'd have to decide quickly. I could already see shadows moving, creeping away from the fire, and likely picking up weapons before heading my way to investigate the noise. A hasty glance at my surroundings revealed nowhere to hide - or at the very least, nowhere I could get to in time. I had mere seconds to make up my mind, and I wasn't sure I would be able to get through that passage quickly enough. Even if I could, would they not just follow? Ultimately, I had but one choice, and I would have to hope it paid off.

"Wait! I do not mean any harm!"

I cringed at the sound of my own voice, shrill and tinged with panic. It was certainly not the best greeting I could have offered, but it had the intended effect nonetheless. The shadows rushing to meet me slowed down, and I heard yet more whispering at the very edge of my hearing. They were discussing their next move, surely, and couldn't decide. With no answer - and no attack - forthcoming after several moments, I cleared my throat and tried again.

"I am lost, and I require your assistance," I continued, managing to bring my voice back under control. "May I approach?" I found myself holding my breath after my question, glancing back over my shoulder to make sure my escape route was still within reach. I was ready to bound to safety at a moment's notice when someone finally answered with similarly thickly accented Equestrian as Alyosha.

"No, stay put! We will come to you, and put down any weapons you might be carrying!" The voice called back, and I noted that it sounded like a female. Lacking any weapons to dispose of, I stood still and waited to be face-to-face with my new acquaintances. Moments passed at what felt like a glacial pace, but eventually, I saw a pair of bipedal silhouettes beginning to resolve themselves out of the gloom ahead of me. One was noticeably taller than the other, but they seemed to be hanging back. The smaller one stepped forward, pointing another of those strange weapons at me, before... they just stopped. Both of them.

I fidgeted in place, once again glancing back at my chosen escape route, and I found myself very strongly considering running for safety right then and there. I held my ground for the moment and tried to be diplomatic, lowering my head as I took a cautious step forward. The closer biped took an equal step back, raised her weapon a little higher, and turned on a flashlight that blinded me. "Stop right there! Not another step, you... mutant!"

I instinctively unfolded one of my wings to shield my face, blocking out most of the harsh light and hiding my face while I cringed at the insult. Mutant?! The nerve! Once my eyes adjusted I lowered my wing and faced the biped with a glare. "I am no mutant! I am Princess Luna, keeper of the Moon! Have you no respect?" I raised my voice just a tad, perhaps out of reflex, but it seemed to have the intended effect. Both bipeds lowered their weapons and exchanged looks, though I couldn't see much with the flashlight still hindering my vision.

"A princess? I think we've finally soaked up too much radiation and gone mad, Maksim," the female said after a long moment. I realized she was speaking to her comrade, and I held my tongue for the moment. The much larger individual, apparently named Maksim, shrugged and lowered his weapon completely.

"You're the one always going up to the surface, Natalia. If anyone's losing their marbles, it's you; or Alexi, the old coot," he said, in a deep, rumbly voice that ended in a hearty chuckle.

"He's probably close enough to hear us saying that, you ass!" Natalia shot back, and I must admit that I had to stifle a little chortle of my own. My grin vanished when she turned her attention back to me, her weapon lowered but still pointed in my direction. "You, come closer. If you really aren't a threat, then... I can't believe I'm saying this, but we should get familiar. Who knows, maybe the scientists back at one of the bigger stations will get a kick out of a talking horse."

I was hardly in a position to decline her orders, so I hesitantly stepped forward. The closer I got, the easier it was to judge her height, and I realized that I was nearly as tall as she was. Natalia held up a gloved hand to signal for me to stop once I was a couple of meters away, and I looked her up and down with a small frown. "You are... Natalia, yes?" I asked, struggling to recreate the specific pronunciation Maksim had used, "I'm afraid I do not know much. I have no idea where I am, or... what is going on. There was a battle close by in a neighboring tunnel, and-"

"A fight?! Are the others okay?" Natalia interrupted, only to glance down when she finally spotted the nametag hanging around my neck. Without warning she stepped forward and grabbed it in her left hand, startling me enough that I nearly broke the chain pulling my head back. She read the name in an instant, and the hesitant smile that had been building on her features fell away. "Damn it all... were they dead when you found them?"

I shook my head. "No, they... they fought bravely, and I helped as much as I could against the beasts attacking them, but I was too slow. Alyosha spoke to me before he passed, and I decided to collect his name tag. I... assumed it carried some symbolic meaning?"

Maksim had stepped closer now, crouching down to be closer to eye level with me. He was massive compared to Natalia, evidently quite muscular underneath his makeshift body armor. The size of his weapon matched everything else, looking to be a different model compared to the roughly similar designs I'd seen so far. After taking a look at the tag in Natalia's hand, he shook his head and sighed. "Watchmen, most likely. You're lucky to be alive, facing them without a gun."

"Is that what you are carrying? I am unfamiliar with these weapons," I explained, unable to hide the slight embarrassment at my own cluelessness. The two of them exchanged incredulous looks once again, and it was clear that Natalia was holding back a laugh when she spoke up next.

"What else? We certainly aren't going to get stuck in with a knife! Besides, even in the metro, a trusty Kalashnikov is never hard to find." To illustrate what she was talking about, she presented her weapon for me to look at. It was quite similar to the one Alyosha and his friend carried, though I could tell it was missing a few parts even with my own limited understanding. At the same time, it featured some add-ons that the last two 'Kalashnikov' guns were missing - namely, a large, bulbous attachment near the operating end of the gun and a tubular object along the top. Natalia noticed my continued confusion, but didn't get to say anything before being cut off.

"Ah, but the more exotic pieces require a little more love to keep running," Maksim boasted, grinning widely as he held up his own gun. It featured a longer front end and more wood near the back, plus a drum-shaped protrusion from the bottom instead of a flatter, curved piece like every other gun I'd seen so far. "RPK; military-grade construction, drum magazine, heavy barrel, reinforced stock... All the firepower a man could ever want."

I raised an eyebrow at the terms being thrown around, and thankfully Natalia spoke up on my behalf. "If she doesn't know what a gun is, do you really think she knows what all those fancy parts mean? Not everyone is a gun nut like you," she said, lightheartedly chastising her friend. He just shrugged and tucked his RPK away again, letting it hang off his shoulder by a sling. Then, Natalia let out a weary sigh and copied him with her gun, using a sling around her upper body to let her gun hang on her back. "Alyosha was one of the guards we had just finished training a day ago," she explained, "Maksim and I are with the Order."

Natalia paused, and Maksim picked up the slack. "The Spartan Order, that is; best damn soldiers in all of Metro. We were sent to help relocate the civilians living in this station when their previous home started being hounded by mutants. It started off as one or two attacks in a month, but toward the end they were calling us for help almost every day. The brass back in Polis decided to relocate them and seal the tunnel... this close to the edge of the metro, I guess they decided that losing a few dozen meters of tunnel wasn't so big a deal."

I nodded along to the exposition, even if it only left me with more questions so far. I looked between the two of them, so different and yet so similar, and quickly made up my mind on where to start. "I can see the logic in such a decision, difficult though it must have been to make," I began, earning a sage nod from Maksim. "But I'm afraid I must ask... before I can learn anything about this 'Metro' and your Order... what are you? And where am I?"

Once again, Natalia and Maksim exchanged looks, and once again I felt my face heating up as a wave of embarrassment overtook me. Could I have been more tactful with my question? Certainly. But, of course, I only realized that after I asked it. Thankfully, Natalia seemed more than willing to humor me and my cluelessness. "Tell you what," she began with a smile, "you follow me and Maksim back to the station, and we'll introduce you properly. After that, we'll help you decide what to do next. Sound like a good plan?"

"I still think the eggheads back at Polis would like a look at her," Maksim suggested, standing up to his full height again as he spoke. "We've never seen anything like her, and really - 'keeper of the Moon'? What is that even supposed to mean?"

I felt more than a little put out by Maksim's seemingly dismissive attitude, but looking at his expression I could tell that it was more likely that he was just... not the most socially graceful being. There was no malice in his words, but there was plenty of misunderstanding. "I'm right here," I snarked, unable to stop myself. "And I do have a name, in case you've forgotten. Luna?"

"He means well, Luna," Natalia butted in, cutting Maksim off before he began to defend himself. "You just have to get used to Maksim's... Maksim. Now then - let's go and introduce you to everyone else! I'm sure they'll love you."

Welcome to Metro

After such a tense first encounter, the greeting I received at the as-of-yet-unnamed train station being used as a "village" was quite a surprise. Natalia and Maksim led the way, guiding me through a short stretch of tunnel toward the inviting glow of the campfire that had shown me their shadows minutes ago. The closer we got, the more I was able to hear hushed conversations and the sounds of many creatures moving around. I couldn't hear anything distinct, but it was easy enough to assume they were speculating about what became of Natalia and Maksim. Hopefully, they weren't too anxious, given that neither of the Spartans used their weapons.

Natalia went first and warned the others that she and Maksim were bringing a friend, and I heard murmurs of confusion and doubt. Then, when Maksim led me around the corner, I was met with a wave of shock, disbelief, and fear. I froze where I stood as I looked each of the thirty or so bipedal creatures in the eyes, watching as they stared at me like I was some kind of monster. It was a long, tense silence that only broke when Natalia was brave enough to speak up. It was slow going from there, and most of them kept their distance, but a few curious souls stepped forward to speak to me - or, tried to.

It quickly became apparent that I did not understand their language, and Natalia and Maksim were the only ones present who could translate to and from Equestrian - or, as they apparently called it, English. Nonetheless, over the course of an hour or so, I was given a great deal of information to digest.

My primary questions about where I was and who I was speaking to were answered almost immediately, but the exposition that came with the former filled me with dread. Natalia explained, with the help of a particularly energetic young boy who liked making sound effects, that I was in - or rather, under - the city of Moscow in a nation called Russia. These people, and a few thousand others, lived in an extensive underground railway system that they called Metro. The reason for such a strange choice was what frightened me.

Their world was destroyed two decades ago in a war of unimaginable scale, claiming millions of lives and rendering much of the surface an uninhabitable wasteland. People spoke only very briefly of the surface, describing post-war Moscow as a deathtrap full of mutants created by the radioactive leftovers of the bombs that ended their world.

What was worse, the explanation painted an even more bleak picture for the few children I saw watching me with rapt attention. They were fascinated by me, watching my ethereal mane and fidgeting wings. The older men and women who were alive to see the world before the war told stories of a beautiful place full of sunshine and happiness without the countless dangers lurking in Metro. It sounded much like Equestria, at least based on what I was told, but I could never imagine a war on the scale they described.

Shortly after Natalia was done giving me a brief history of her world, I stepped aside with her to a slightly more secluded area and lowered my voice to ask about something else. "These children... they watch me so closely. I know I am something of a novelty in your world, but am I truly that outlandish? Even the adults seemed awestruck by my appearance."

Natalia laughed quietly, but I could sense a note of pain hidden behind the sound. She glanced aside at a little girl standing nearby who was acting as if she wasn't eavesdropping before turning her gaze back to me. "You're probably the most colorful thing they've seen in a while, Luna. These kids never knew life before the war. To them, Metro is all there is. It's not a good place for children, but the surface is even worse," she explained, no longer making an effort to hide the sadness in her voice. I felt myself deflate slightly, looking back over my withers at the same smiling girl Natalia had glanced at a moment prior.

She seemed happy enough, even with her dirty face and worn-out, oversized clothing. I had very little knowledge of what this world was like before the Great War, as some of the men and women called it, but I knew it wasn't fair to those children to live with the consequences.

The more I thought about this story, though, the more a bigger detail began to sink in. With the rush of so many new faces and so many questions, I'd barely had time to consider it, but now... it was all I could think about. My blood ran cold in my veins as the realization fell upon me like a pile of bricks. This world was ravaged by war, and these people had never seen a pony like myself before. That could only mean one thing, and it terrified me. Still, in my panic, I had one last hope. Nobody had mentioned the name of the world itself...

"Natalia?" I asked, wincing when I heard how much fear I allowed to slip into my tone. She looked down at me with a raised eyebrow, silently inviting me to continue. I swallowed hard. "What is the name of your world? I now know the name of this place, the city above it, and the country whose borders surround it, but... where am I?"

Natalia hesitated to answer, looking confused, before laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. The contact startled me at first, but the warmth of her hand helped to steady my heart again. "You really aren't a mutant..." she mumbled, more to herself than to me. "Where do you come from? You said before that you were a princess?"

The lack of a clear answer to my question was an explanation all its own. I knew the truth, deep down, but I could distract myself by focusing on her counter-question instead. "I am from Equestria. My sister and I, we ruled the land together as princesses of the Sun and Moon," I explained, my voice wavering, "this Great War... something like that could never happen where I am from. The last major conflict was..."

I trailed off, realizing what I was about to say. Natalia leaned forward, clearly intrigued by my words, but I couldn't bear the thought of revealing my true nature to her. Not now, when she knows so little about me. I feared it would turn my newfound friends against me, and I could not have that. So I lied. "... several thousand years ago. An evil wizard by the name of Sombra threatened the safety of our kingdom and our subjects, but even that war was short-lived. Your world was torn asunder by weapons the likes of which I can scarcely imagine, let alone the circumstances that might push me or my sister into using them."

Natalia's gaze hardened as she looked at me, and I suddenly felt very small despite being almost the same height as her. She narrowed her eyes at me and pointed, opening her mouth to say something, before Maksim suddenly spoke up and startled both of us. For such a large man, he proved to be quite good at sneaking up on others. "Wizards, princesses, and kingdoms? She sounds like she's from a fairy tale! And you remember a war from millennia ago? Come on..."

"What kind of person lies about something so outlandish?" Natalia snapped back, keeping her voice to a harsh whisper. The little girl crept closer, and I watched her straining to listen out of the corner of my eye. She stood behind Maksim as he stepped around the corner, joining us in our relative privacy away from the rest of the station's inhabitants. "It's... it does sound like something straight out of a book, I'll give you that. Care to elaborate a little more, Luna?"

Put on the spot again, I glanced between Natalia and Maksim's expectant faces. Slowly, I sat down on my haunches and curled my tail around myself. The station floor was cold and hard, but I felt more stable with something beneath me. "Perhaps I've been too vague," I admitted, frowning. "I am an alicorn, one of only four in my world. We are immortal beings that represent all three pony tribes - the unicorns, the pegasi, and the earth ponies. I protected our subjects during the night, in addition to raising the moon and placing the stars and constellations. All of this is possible thanks to my magic."

I paused and indicated my horn, demonstrating with a bit of telekinesis. Natalia, Maksim, and the young girl watched with wide-eyed fascination as I levitated a discarded tin can off the floor and spun it around in mid-air. What they couldn't see, however, was that I was finding out something new as well. I found that I could move the can with relative ease, but it felt... different. It was as though my magic was operating in a vacuum, rather than being accompanied by the ambient energy I was accustomed to.

I was sure Twilight would be fascinated by the opportunity to study such a phenomenon, but at the moment it added to my anxiety. At the very least, it explained why my magical attacks in the other tunnel weren't as effective as I'd expected them to be. That, or those beasts are more resilient than I assumed. Neither option was reassuring, but they would both require more testing to confirm.

"I'll be damned," Maksim murmured, shaking his head. "Maybe she's legit after all. I don't know, though... none of that explains how she's here, and we've seen anomalies that can make stuff float around before." Natalia scoffed at his continued dismissal of my abilities.

"Those same anomalies also kill you when you get close. This is different, and the fact that she doesn't know a single thing about our world should tell you that she probably doesn't know how she got here either." Natalia paused to look at me, once again silently prodding me to step back into the conversation. I set the can down before nodding slowly.

"Indeed. I merely awoke to find myself laid out on my back in a neighboring tunnel. Moments later I heard the sounds of Alyosha and the other guards battling those... watchmen, as you called them, and rushed to their aid. After that, I backtracked and came here. I have only been here, consciously at least, for an hour or two at the most."

Natalia spoke up first this time. "Like a fish out of water. To answer your question, then... this is Earth. If I had to guess, a long way away from your Equestria. I've also made up my mind- the scientists at Polis definitely need to see you. If you're willing to go, that is..."

I had to seriously consider the offer. On one hoof, this place was far from inviting. Traveling however far to Polis sounded like a dangerous endeavor, and I was hardly prepared to face the worst Metro could send my way. On the other, those scientists may very well be my best hope of returning home. After only a moment, I'd made up my mind. "I will go," I said, nodding once more. "But on one condition - you must teach me to protect myself in this new world. I will not merely be a princess in distress." Maksim chuckled, and at first, I thought he was about to cast yet more doubt. Instead, he surprised me.

"Hah! Maybe she's not so bad after all. A wom-... er, mare? Whatever. A mare after my own heart! Still... there's more to defending yourself in Metro than toting a big gun. You don't even speak the language," Maksim said, taking on a cautionary tone after his initial eagerness.

"Then she'll have to learn both on the go," Natalia replied simply, though I had my doubts. There was a good reason I was never first in line to handle diplomacy, especially when language barriers were involved. Here, though, I did not have much choice.

"I am willing to learn," I assured them, leaning forward and looking up to meet their gaze. "It is the only way to guarantee my safety. Or... as close to a guarantee as I may get. Surely the basics will suffice - er... a battle language, if you will. The rest I can rely on one of you to translate for me, yes?"

Natalia and Maksim exchanged looks, and then the latter shrugged. "It could work... all you'd need to know are the absolute basics, enough to keep your head in a firefight if one springs up. That just leaves our other problem - this station just lost its newly trained guard detail."

Natalia slumped slightly, shaking her head, and the little girl standing behind the two of them suddenly looked worried. Evidently, she was only just now finding out what happened in the other tunnel. Natalia looked back over her shoulder, motioned for the child to run along, and turned her attention back to Maksim. "We'd have to delay our return trip and see what can be done here. They really don't have the numbers to be taking losses like that, but we don't have the numbers to station Rangers out here to defend them all the time. Relocating again is out of the question..."

Natalia trailed off, and Maksim spoke up for her. "You had the most success training recruits the first time, I think you'll do better this time too. They all seemed scared of me whenever I tried," he said, somehow sounding equal parts offended and proud. "As much as this breaks the rules... I think splitting up isn't too bad of an idea. Someone will have to get word back to Polis about what happened - the successful relocation and the extended training mission - and Luna can't go by herself."

"How far is this 'Polis' from here?" I interrupted, cringing slightly when both of them looked down at me in mild surprise. "I gather that Metro is quite large, but I have yet to see a map of any kind. Are these train stations all connected?"

Natalia responded first, stepping forward and sticking a hand into one of the numerous pouches on her uniform. After a moment of digging around, she retrieved a folded and deeply-creased piece of paper. It was old and dirty, fraying at the edges, but it was in one piece. She unfolded it and held it up for me, and I took hold of it in my telekinesis to get a closer look. "The circled station is where we are," she explained, "Polis is near the center - clearly labeled. Or, mostly."

I squinted to read the map in the dim lighting, forced to tilt my head to the side to allow a weak lamp to shine directly on the paper. It was covered in a myriad of symbols I did not recognize, colors and shapes scattered across a nonsensical layout of lines and circles. Eventually, I found the spot I was looking for. There was a circle, evidently a train station, in the upper-middle portion of the map labeled 'Mendeleevskaya'. North of it, another station was marked out with a large 'X'. That one was labeled 'Savelovskaya'.

I then searched for Polis, only to come up short. None of the many stations labeled had a name that was even remotely similar, and Natalia clearly noticed my confusion. "Some help, please?" I asked, turning the map around for her to see.

"Oh! Right, it's... not one station, exactly. Polis is here," she said, pointing to a collection of four stations clustered closely together near the center. I nodded and relinquished my magical hold on the map to let Natalia take it back. She held it steady though, pointing to another detail. A large circle was highlighted with thicker ink, its diameter covering roughly half of Metro and ensuring that all of the "arms" were connected. "This is the Ring line - Hanza. They technically control the station we're in now, but they were willing to work with us for this little operation."

"Mighty unusual for Hanza, too," Maksim cut in. "Those assholes usually won't even give us the time of day unless their own lives depend on it. I'd bet my last bullet that they're getting ready to call in a favor from us in return already."

"Will we have to deal with Hanza on our return trip?" I asked, watching as Natalia stuffed her map back into her pocket. "For a collection of train stations and underground railways, Metro's political sphere sounds very... familiar." In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but draw parallels. The circumstances were different in Equestria, of course, but the attitudes were the same. How many times I wished I could give the arrogant Nobility a piece of my mind back in Canterlot...

But my musing is interrupted when Maksim answers my question. "Hopefully not. They don't patrol every inch of their tunnels all the time, and they should be fine enough letting us pass... assuming they don't take an interest in you." That was less than reassuring, but it was all I was going to get for now, apparently. Natalia didn't elaborate when she spoke up next.

"Regardless, time is tight," she said, suddenly sounding more urgent. "Maksim... terrible of an idea as that is, you're right. We'll split up and try to sort this out faster. I'll stay here and help train more guards, you will take Luna to Polis and teach her some basics along the way. Sound good?" She asked, and I appreciated that she seemed to be directing the question at me just as much as she was at her partner.

"It will have to do," Maksim replied simply.

"I am ready to do my best," I chimed in, "and it seems as though I have my work cut out for me. If nothing else, I will try to be a good student along the way. Are you sure you will be safe here, Natalia?" I couldn't help but ask, in part thanks to Natalia's own hesitation to put that plan forward. I did not fully understand the dangers of Metro, but these elite soldiers being hesitant was all the hinting I needed.

"I'll be fine," she assured me, putting a gloved hand on my shoulder once more. She looked me in the eyes for a moment before continuing, and I gathered that she was telling herself just as much as she was telling me. Regardless, she wasn't backing out now. She took her hand away, stood up, and glanced down as if checking to make sure her gun was still at her side. "You two head out whenever you're ready. I'm going to go to the other tunnel and collect whatever equipment I can from the dead..."

And with that, Natalia turned and swiftly marched away. I heard her booted feet stomping across the station floor long after she left our private little corner, disappearing past the small collection of scrap-built walls that divided the severely limited space into rooms and hallways. A moment later, I slowly got back up onto all four hooves and looked at Maksim instead. He was staring at where Natalia left his line of sight too, as if stuck in a temporary trance, but he snapped out of it as soon as he heard my hooves. "That's that, then. I have everything I need to take with me right here," he said, indicating the numerous pockets and pouches on his uniform, "and I don't presume you have anything of importance to carry with you, either."

I shook my head, but indicated the satchel I acquired in the neighboring tunnel. "Nothing that is my own. I collected this bag, and a curious lighter, in the aftermath of the battle earlier. I will return them if they are needed, though I might wish for a replacement..."

"Hah! No, we don't need an old bag back. Keep the lighter, too. Flashlights are nice, but everyone in Metro knows better than to bet on twenty-year-old batteries. A backup will save your life," he explained, before showing off his own lighter after digging it out of a pocket. He flicked the striker and ignited it, letting me see his grizzled face clearly for a moment, before tucking it away. "Before we leave here, though... you and I should pay the storeroom a visit. We're going to need some more equipment before we make this trip, and they aren't going to miss anything we're taking."

I raised an eyebrow at that, taking a half-step back and earning a frown from Maksim. "Are you absolutely sure? These people seem to be doing quite poorly even without considering their new casualties. I am in need of equipment to protect myself, but I shall not steal it from those who need it just as much."

Maksim rolled his eyes, already turning to start walking away. "Bah, we're not taking anything they can't replace next time traders come by. Hanza will probably hook them up anyway, now that they're under their banner," he argued, and I quickly fell into step beside him. He was taking me in a new direction, passing through tight corridors toward a part of the station I hadn't seen yet.

"If you are quite certain, then I suppose I can agree to this," I said, prompting Maksim to snicker. "What will we need to pick up?"

"I have everything I need," he explained, "but you have need of everything. Gun, ammo, knife, flashlight... I'd also say a gas mask, but I don't think we're going to find one that you can wear unless someone's just holding onto some weird pet mask." Now it was my turn to roll my eyes, and I scoffed just to let Maksim know I disliked being compared to a mere pet. Unfortunately, he seemed to find amusement in that, too.

Departure

Maksim led me past a collection of crudely constructed "houses", though to call them such a thing was being quite generous. They were assembled from scrap wood and sheets of thin metal, some of them even using repurposed sections of train cars. They were ugly and unsafe, and yet... I found myself appreciating them. For a people who had nothing left, forced to scavenge the remains of this underground railway, they had found a way to carry on.

More people stared at us as we walked toward the storeroom, drawn out of their tiny homes and away from whatever chores they were doing to see the source of my hooves' unique clip-clop sounds. Maksim kept glancing back at me and grinning, evidently catching on to the fact that I didn't enjoy the attention. Nonetheless, he was silent until we came to a metal door. It looked fairly unassuming - covered in flaking green paint that revealed a layer of rust underneath - and was set into a dirty concrete wall.

"Here it is," he said, tugging the door open. "Go on inside, I'm right behind you."

"My thanks," I replied, lowering my head to him in gratitude. Maksim just stepped aside, letting me poke my head into the storage room first. It was poorly lit and stacked high with wooden crates, creating something of a claustrophobic environment (or even more of one than the station already was) that made me uneasy. Still, I knew my discomfort was irrational, and that I had nothing to fear here. I pressed on, stepping inside and lowering my head to ensure that my horn cleared the doorframe.

Glancing around, my vision was just beginning to adjust to the dim when Maksim blinded me. He flipped a light switch and turned on a lone overhead light - it was weak and flickering, but it hurt my eyes all the same. Once I recovered, and after I took a moment to scowl at him and his smug face, I noticed some equipment was laid out for easy access. I stepped away from the door to give Maksim room to enter behind me, then eyed everything in plain view. "So... what, specifically, will I need? You listed off several items, but I doubt they are all I will want to take with me."

"Right you are. Aside from a rifle and some ammo, we're going to try and find you enough gear to have a sort of... soldier's kit. The necessities." Maksim paused, bending down with a grunt and picking up a flashlight. "Like one of these! The lighter is better than nothing, but you don't want to go stumbling around in a tunnel with just a candle's worth of light."

I raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, putting on a confused look. Of course, I was faking, but I couldn't resist the temptation to get back at him for the teasing he'd been dishing out thus far. My horn glowed, and it was his turn to look confused. "How is this?" I asked, channeling a light spell that was intentionally pointed directly into his face. "I believe it to be quite sufficient - and far more reliable than old batteries, as you said!"

Maksim held up a hand and turned his head away, shielding his eyes and chuckling heartily. "Alright, alright, point taken! Turn out the spotlight," he said, playfully chastising me. I also heard him mumble another word at the end in his native tongue, and I suddenly understood that 'smartass' was a more or less universally understood word. I obliged after another second or two, finally satisfied with my petty revenge. "So no flashlight... we'll move on to something more exciting."

I stepped forward, leaning to the side in an attempt to see what Maksim was reaching for then. He awkwardly stepped over a small metal box, and then made his way to a table up against the far wall. Upon it were several items I recognized as more guns, though there was apparently quite a lot of variety to these weapons. I spotted two Kalashnikov-style rifles like Natalia carried, though there were a few more weapons of a drastically different - and, in my uninformed opinion, worse - design.

Maksim held up one of the Kalashnikovs, gripping it by the fore-end and presenting it for me to see. It looked like it was missing a few pieces compared to the other guns I'd seen, and I spotted a few patches of rust in an instant. Still, it seemed like it was in working condition, even if I was entirely unqualified to make such an assessment. If nothing else, I could trust a 'gun nut' like Maksim's judgment.

"AK seventy-four," he explained, nodding at the gun in his hand, "one of the most common guns in all of Metro. There are thousands of them leftover from the Great War, and the ammo for them doubles as currency down here. Or... perhaps that is its primary role now - most folks are not dumb enough, or desperate enough, to fire money at their enemies."

I was confused once again, taking hold of the weapon in my magic and levitating it closer for a better look. Maksim took a second to comprehend what I was doing, but let go of the gun quickly. "If the ammunition is now used as a form of currency, then what do these weapons shoot?" I asked, rotating the rifle around and looking down its length. Apparently, this was incorrect.

Maksim leaped forward and yanked the gun out of my grasp, startling me enough that my magical grip faltered in an instant. He took the gun into both hands, laughing incredulously all the while, and cradled it close to his chest as if it were a dangerous animal that would lunge at me if it could. "Looks like I have to teach you gun safety, too! You really haven't seen these things before, have you? You were just looking down the business end of a loaded rifle!"

I felt my face heat up as a wave of embarrassment hit me. In hindsight, I should've known better. I had seen these weapons in action less than three hours ago, after all. I felt my ears pin back and hide amongst my mane, but I stood up straight and nodded slowly. "Yes, that... that is my mistake. I was distracted. May you point out the important details for me, then?"

Maksim nodded, having relaxed by now, and crouched down to bring the gun closer to me. "Right, right... you don't know any better. It's simple enough, you'll learn quickly," he said, and I felt slightly better with his reassurances. He then rotated the rifle so it was parallel to the floor, showing me its side in the light. "This is the magazine," he explained, pointing with one finger, "the bullets go in here, and it is how they are fed into the chamber before being fired."

"I see. Then this release must be how you change to a full one?" I asked, indicating a small lever on the underside of the gun. "I understand now why the guards were struggling with these... magazines."

Maksim nodded, and I felt proud for being able to pick out details so quickly. "Precisely. During a reload is when you are most vulnerable in a fight, so it pays to get very good at doing them very quickly. Just behind the magazine is the trigger - here - it is what you pull to fire the weapon. Before you can fire, though, you must do two things. First, you must turn off the safety by flicking this lever down, then you must chamber a round using the charging handle." Maksim pointed to each part as he described its function, and I did my best to commit every detail to memory.

"It seems quite simple so far. But what of the ammunition?" I repeated, glancing at the magazine to see that it was open on one side. Inside were more of the dirty, poorly made cartridges like I saw in the magazines lying on the ground after the battle earlier. "Surely there are better things one could use as currency, yes?"

Maksim followed my eyes down to the ammo, then nodded in understanding. "Ahh, you haven't seen what I mean. Gunsmiths produce lots of ammo in Metro, but... it is not exactly top-shelf stuff. This is new ammo, cheaply made and low quality. We use these as money," he said, digging into one of his chest pockets for a moment before producing a new object. It was a thin metal clip holding five more cartridges, but these were drastically different. They were all uniformly shaped and made of shiny brass and copper, as well as featuring red paint on their tips. "These," he repeated, "are military-grade rounds. Good stuff produced before the end of the world."

I nodded slowly. "I see... and these cannot be reproduced in Metro, hence their scarcity and thus their value." I felt proud when Maksim nodded approvingly once more. "It sounds simple enough. I will have to pay close attention to what I put in my magazines, then."

"You're a natural! You'll be a bullet-grubbing expert in no time," Maksim joked, reaching over to deliver a somewhat rough pat on my shoulder. I flinched at the impact but smiled nonetheless, and watched as he pointed out one last detail. "One more thing - these are your sights. Rear notch with a front post. Align the post in the middle of the notch, and make sure it's placed over what you want to hit. Not all of these guns are as accurate as they used to be, but firefights in the metro are usually quite short-ranged, so it is not much of a problem."

Then, Maksim stretched out the canvas sling on the underside of the rifle and set it over my head. He let go, and the gun dangled off my side. It was not overly heavy, but I could tell the sling would start to chafe soon enough, and I was dreading it already. "I hope I never have to use any of this information," I said, looking up into Maksim's eyes. He didn't respond, but I could see that he agreed. "But if I do, I will be glad to have you nearby."

"A Ranger is just about the best backup a man - or mare - could ask for," Maksim boasted, winking at me, before turning around to look at the table he took my Kalashnikov from. He fetched a new item, then faced me again. "Next up on the list, a knife. Just like with the flashlight, it will pay to have a backup. Bullets run out, but a sharp blade is always in style."

I grimaced at the sight of the thing, its jagged, rusty blade shaped in a way that clearly indicated that it was forged by an amateur working with subpar materials. Barbaric as it looked, I knew better than to judge a blade by its shine. The sharpened edge was still plenty dangerous, and the serrations along the back could make themselves useful in non-combat applications. I took the knife with my magic and stashed it in my satchel. "At the very least, this is a tool I am familiar with."

"Based on your story earlier, I bet you'd prefer a sword, hm? Or perhaps a spear?" Maksim teased, grinning at me. I didn't reply, if only because he was absolutely right. He fetched a few more loose items for me, explaining each as he did so, and I stashed them all in my bag. By the time he was done, I'd tucked away three more magazines for my rifle, a couple of orange cases he informed me were medical kits, a couple of packets that were supposedly meals in a bag, and lastly, a paper map.

I took a peek at the map before putting it away and found it to be quite similar to Natalia's. It featured many of the same symbols, still frustratingly unlabeled, and had clearly seen better days. After a quick glance around, I was fortunate enough to find a pencil to add to my growing collection of 'borrowed' equipment. Maksim smiled knowingly as I floated it off of its shelf and proceeded to mark my map. I copied the markings I had seen on Natalia's map, if only to have a rough idea of where I was and where I was supposed to be heading.

"Almost done loading you up with junk," Maksim joked, stepping away from the weapons table and toward a set of shelves on the wall to his right. "Let's see if we can snag a... ah! Here we go."

"What is it now?" I asked, folding up my map and stashing it in my satchel. "I am beginning to run out of room."

"Don't worry, that's part of what we're going to fix. Maybe I should've started with these instead of letting you cram everything into that mailbag, but... here it is?" Maksim offered, smiling sheepishly as he held up two items - one in each hand. One was a backpack, the other was a thick, camouflage-patterned jacket with a number of pockets. "The jacket might be an awkward fit, seeing as you're not exactly the right shape for it, but I think it will work well enough. It's a size large, anyway, so there's plenty of room."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't argue with receiving all of this for free. Instead, I levitated my satchel and gun off and set them aside, then reared up onto my hind legs to receive the jacket. Maksim watched me move, and I saw a twinkle of that same amazement in his eyes that showed itself when I revealed my magic for the first time. It took a minute or two and a lot of adjusting, but I was eventually clad in a warm, heavy jacket that felt quite sturdy. Its long sleeves bunched up around my hooves, requiring me to roll them up several centimeters, and I could feel it restricting the movement of my wings, but it would have to do for now. Of course, the jacket also left my back half entirely unprotected, but there wasn't much that could be done for that.

Next, I set about transferring all of my belongings from my satchel to the new backpack. It didn't take long, and by the time I was done, I was pleased to see how much space I had left over compared to before. Then, with Maksim's help, I heaved my new bag onto my back and secured the straps around my barrel. It was awkward, and I could feel it brushing the back of my neck if I tilted my head back too much, but again, it would have to do. I thought perhaps I could gather enough of those military-grade rounds to pay a tailor for custom attire later, but I did not allow myself to get my hopes up.

After what felt like ages rummaging around in that glorified closet, I was finally ready to go. Maksim stepped back, looked at me, and grinned. "There you have it! You're real Ranger material now, Luna. Feel powerful yet?"

"I feel like a traveling salespony loaded down with merchandise," I griped, "but if this is what I must carry to ensure my survival here, then so be it. Where do we go now?"

"Now? We just have one last stop to make before we can leave this station. Walk with me, I'll lead the way." Then Maksim stepped past me, pushing open the storage room door and leading the way back out into the public space once again. I followed closely behind him, levitating my rifle off of the floor and slinging it over my side once more. It bounced against my body every step of the way, and I felt as though even more people were staring at me as we passed through the main "street" a second time. I could hardly blame them now, with how heavily loaded I was.

Maksim led me in a new direction, past more shacks and across a set of tracks that had a poorly constructed bridge made of wooden planks. On the far side was more of the same "town", occupying the second platform of the station. This area was more open, looking to be a market of sorts, and I heard several merchants shouting at anyone and everyone who could hear them about their wares. I saw guns and ammo on display in one stall, wooden toys in another, and in another...

"You could have warned me!" I shouted instinctively, raising a hoof and slapping Maksim on the back. He flinched, swore under his breath, and turned around to look at me with an odd expression. He was angry about being hit, surely, but he also looked so confused. He then glanced back over his shoulder, searching for what angered me so, and evidently did not make the connection.

"What?! I was heading to the bar! I figured we'd drink to our journey!" He protested, and I was not sure if he was merely pretending to be clueless or if he was truly ignorant. I glared at him to convey my disapproval.

"That is not the issue. My issue is with that," I said, pointing with a forehoof at the stall in question. A portly-looking man was standing inside, surrounded by freshly cut meat. Pork, by the look of it. I wasn't terribly surprised, given the tin of fish I saw in the other tunnel, but this was... different. Ponies eating fish was not unheard of, and truthfully eating pork was not that unusual either given the customs of the griffons. Still, to see it so prominently displayed, and with such poor sanitation... it made my stomach turn, and I was glad I had not eaten anything since arriving here. That thought came with a sharp ache in my stomach, but I was suddenly not in the mood to eat.

"You-... oh," Maksim said, drawing out the sound as the realization finally dawned on him. "I hadn't even thought of that. Pony, only eats plants, makes sense. Er... sorry?" He shrugged, looking and sounding as though he did not know what else to say. I couldn't be mad at him, even if his apology was lackluster to say the least.

"You are forgiven. I shall just have to keep my distance," I said, before motioning for Maksim to continue leading the way. I followed behind him once more, swinging wide around the meat stall and making my way up a rickety-looking staircase to a large wooden platform. There was a bar at one end, complete with string lights and a record player belting out a relaxed tune. It wasn't very busy, and I had to assume that it was the middle of the "day" in this station. That brought another question to mind.

I didn't get the chance to ask, however, before Maksim was leading me right up to the bar. The bartender looked down at me with bewilderment, then snapped to attention when Maksim cleared his throat and spoke up. "Ahem! One for the road, and one for the lady, too," he said, putting a bit of bravado into his voice. I rolled my eyes once more and stood quietly by his side.

The bartender kept looking confused for another few seconds, but ultimately relented. He crouched down, fetched two shot glasses from beneath the bar, and set them on top. Then, he turned around and grabbed a dark green bottle full of an equally dark brown liquid and filled both glasses. Maksim watched, and set down one of those clips of military-grade rounds as payment. The bartender took it silently, then went right back to staring at me.

"Thank you," I said quietly, which seemed to surprise him even more. I wasn't sure whether to feel proud or insulted that my appearance garnered so much attention and interest, but I was quickly getting used to it either way. I levitated up my glass, sniffed at its contents, and immediately wrinkled my nose. It was pungent to say the least, and it most certainly did not seem like anything I should be putting in my mouth. Clearly, Maksim did not feel the same.

"Come on, bottoms up! It's only a proper toast if we drink together," he insisted, raising his knee to bump me in the side.

"Yes, but a toast also needs a sentiment. You haven't even proposed a toast." I wasn't arguing earnestly, and Maksim could tell, but I felt the need to point it out anyway. It was his turn to roll his eyes, but his grin didn't falter.

"Fine, fine. To safe travels!" He cheered, attracting a few more stares than we were already getting whilst standing in the middle of the room. I had to imagine we were quite the sight, mismatched "soldiers" that we were, though the circumstances were just as absurd. I was underground in some ramshackle bar, Stars-knew-how-far away from home, and covered in military equipment that I only just barely understood how to use. I sighed, levitated my shot glass a little higher, and downed it in one swift drink. This was a mistake.

Quite possibly the worst flavor I'd ever experienced washed over my tongue, and it burned the entire way down my throat. I coughed and sputtered, nearly dropping my glass but managing to slam it down on the bar instead. Maksim had a great laugh at my expense, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and setting his glass down next to mine. "Ahh! Good old 'shroom vodka," Maksim proclaimed, putting his hands on his hips. "Tastes like shit and knocks you on your ass, but it's cheap. Welcome to Metro proper, Luna."

I was surprised by Maksim's overly friendly behavior, given his skepticism toward everything I said just an hour or so ago. Then again, perhaps I shouldn't question it. I would much prefer having an eager host than being left alone, and I could understand the inclination toward merriment in such a gloomy place. That was one of the few ways I could see these people still carrying on after more than twenty years of this - trapped underground in a tomb of their own creation.

"Once again, a warning would have been nice," I croaked, my voice strained even after I took a moment to recover from the vodka. "How do you people willingly drink this?"

"It's all we've got, unless you feel like shelling out the big bucks for some pre-war stuff," Maksim explained, "but I thought I'd give you a taste of Metro, like I said. Now we're ready to start making tracks. Follow me."

"I would just as soon stick to water then," I groused, turning in place to follow Maksim back down the steps. This time he led me back through the station toward the first common area I had been introduced to, though this time it was far less populated. It seemed after my initial appearance, everyone was in a rush to get back to work and had quickly dispersed. Everyone, that is, except for the children. They were left to fend for themselves for the moment, but they all paid close attention when we passed through.

I looked at each of them in turn, a small smile creeping onto my face before I even realized it, and I felt some sort of connection. Almost like that between myself and my younger subjects back in Equestria. A deep part of my subconscious mind told me I should be the one to protect them, to stand watch over them, but I knew it could not be. I had a mission of my own, and they would have to make do with what they had here. Maksim didn't so much as slow down, even as he attracted just as many looks thanks to his legendary status as a Ranger.

From there, we made our way back to the tunnel. It looked even lonelier than it did before, now that I knew what the civilization was like here. The warm glow of oil lamps and incandescent light bulbs beckoned me back, inviting me to turn around and go back to the unfamiliar comfort of the station, but I resisted their call. I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and stepped forward to drop down from the platform.

My hooves met dirt just as Maksim's boots met railroad ties, and then we were standing on the tracks together.

"All set?" He asked, sounding more serious then.

"Indeed. Lead the way, Maksim."

On Rails

The trip to the next station was short. Still, Maksim found the time to begin teaching me some of what I would need to know to survive in Metro. The tunnels were dark and cold, and my jacket did little to protect me. It was better than nothing, but that was all. The tunnel itself was also cleaner than the one I woke up in, but only marginally.

There were broken, rusted pipes lining both sides, and occasionally I could see where old light fixtures had once helped illuminate the gloomy environment. The few remaining lights did their best, but they were few and far between. The air was still stale and unpleasant, but it seemed that much more bearable with a new friend nearby. If nothing else, sharing the misery made it less severe. We occasionally passed a set of bones laid off to the side of the tracks, and though I wished to have nothing to do with them Maksim insisted upon giving each pile of remains a once over.

I did not understand the obsession, and I was beginning to wonder if Maksim was less sane than he appeared, only to finally be surprised when I learned what he meant. He'd been very proud showing off the "bounty" he found on one particular body - a clip of five military-grade cartridges and one of those small medical kits. I chose not to comment on how bad of an idea I thought it was to be looting medical supplies off of a long-decayed corpse, nor did I argue when he insisted I keep the cartridges.

While we walked and talked down the tunnel together, Maksim also began some elementary lessons on speaking Russian. By the time we reached our destination at Novoslobodskaya station, I was reasonably confident in my yeses and nos. Of course, that understanding did not serve me very well when I had no way of knowing what I might be agreeing or disagreeing with. I pointed this out, and Maksim merely shrugged and reminded me that I had to start somewhere. I could hardly fault his logic.

Novoslobodskaya was a more well-defended station, a detail that became obvious as soon as we approached it. Rather than merely having an open section of tunnel with a few fires for light (and an unprepared guard detail), this station boasted a military barricade built up from old cinder blocks, sandbags, logs, and sheet metal. Pieces of rebar jutted out of the forward defenses, crude spikes meant to deter even the most determined mutants, I presumed.

Maksim took the lead, and I noted that he was taking extreme care to move slowly and to appear non-threatening. I wondered if he knew that the guards here were on high alert, but my worries were dashed in an instant when they greeted him with smiles and laughter. I stood back for the moment, barely visible in the shadows, and took stock of the situation.

Four guards, armed and armored to a lesser degree than Maksim but still formidable, and one very large device that I could only guess was an even more powerful version of the guns Maksim and I carried. It stood on a metal tripod, its long barrel featuring rings of fins down its length and a very large, bulbous device on the end. A rusty box attached to the side apparently contained the ammunition, and I saw each of the cartridges were nearly as long as my horn.

I was so caught up in studying this new weapon, however, that I failed to notice when Maksim turned around and addressed me - at least at first. He called for me in Russian first, and I tuned it out like I had been the rest of the brief conversation with the guards. Eventually, though, he called me by name.

"Luna! These guys won't hurt you, I explained our... situation. At least as much as they need to know. Come up here and say hello," he said, beckoning me forward with a wave of his gloved hand, and I nervously fidgeted in place. I had no reason to doubt his words, but a part of my subconscious mind did anyway. But I was expected, so I slowly stepped forward and did my best to appear as harmless as I could.

"Greetings," I said, quietly, and before my mind caught up with my mouth and I remembered that they could not understand me. My ears folded back as I felt another twinge of embarrassment, but the men seemed to respond to me well enough.

There was silence for a long moment, then... a laugh. I looked up, eyes slightly narrowed as I squinted past the bright lights mounted to the barricade, and found the source. An older man by the looks of things, with thinning hair and a grey beard. He laughed and nudged his friend on his right before making a comment in Russian. I glanced up at Maksim expectantly. He spotted my look and leaned down, whispering behind a raised hand even though nobody but me could understand English.

"He thinks you look silly in all that gear - like a pack mule," he explained, and I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"A pack mule?" I repeated, feeling an odd mix of emotions. On one hoof, the implication was insulting. I was a princess, not a mule! But on the other hoof... donkeys existed in Equestria, too. Then again, if the surface was as poisoned as I had been led to believe, the odds were quite slim that any of them were still living up there. I huffed quietly and shook my head. "Explain. Are these mules the same as the ones I am familiar with?"

"They didn't talk or make things float with magic, so I am going to go with no," Maksim said, and I frowned at his sarcasm. He stood up straight again and chuckled, turning back to the other men and leading me closer. They conversed in Russian some more, and I was made to stand by and wait in the meantime in addition to occasionally being stared at by whoever wasn't actively participating in the chit-chat.

These men seemed more experienced than the people at the other station, and they were less amazed by me so much as they were wary. I had no idea what sort of story Maksim gave them, but I had reason to doubt that he tried to introduce me as a visitor from another world. As humiliating as it was, it was likely in my best interest to just nod along and let people assume I was a mutant.

After a few more minutes of chattering, Maksim finally looked down at me again and switched back to English. "Good news, there's a train leaving this station soon. They'll let us in, and I can pay them to let us travel. It'll get us closer to Polis in a flash, not to mention along a safe route. It won't be cheap, but it will be worth it to save so much time."

"Wonderful," I said, momentarily forgetting to keep my voice low. The other men seemed quite amused by my enthusiasm, but at least none of them were making comments this time. Still, I reined myself in before continuing. "Lead the way, Maksim. At the very least, I am familiar with traveling by train - one of the very few similarities I have seen between our worlds so far."

Maksim grinned at that, but didn't comment. Instead, he stood up straight, gave one last farewell to the guards at the barricade, and sauntered past them into Novoslobodskaya station. I fell into step at his side, and I could see already where it was different compared to Mendeleyevskaya. While the latter was struggling to adapt to the influx of visitors and in need of repairs, the former clearly enjoyed a greater degree of importance.

Given that this station was an anchor in the so-called Ring Line, I was hardly surprised to find that it looked to be in much better shape than its neighbor. Electric lights illuminated the scene on their own instead of splitting the difference with torches and fire barrels, platforms were orderly and well-maintained for easier flow of goods and people through the station. The station itself was also far larger, which made this degree of organization much easier to achieve. It still wasn't anywhere near what I would consider "spacious", but I did not feel as though the poorly constructed shacks were closing in around me.

Maksim led me down a central "street" at a leisurely pace, giving me ample time to take in my surroundings, and after a few moments, I finally thought to ask him a question. "Perhaps you can tell me how to introduce myself in your language? It was difficult to answer earlier when you invited me forward."

"Huh? Oh! Right, right, that one is my fault. Your name wouldn't change, so you can still introduce yourself as just 'Luna'. It's... best if you leave out the 'princess' bit, though. People would look at you like your head is screwed on backward." I cocked an eyebrow at that, then raised a forehoof to gesture broadly at myself. Maksim got the message. "Eh, so maybe that's a moot point. Still, it's a weird title; no such thing as nobility anymore."

"Point taken," I answered, rolling my eyes. "But how do I say something simple, like 'hello, my name is'?"

"It's easy! You've already got a basic understanding of the accent with 'yes' and 'no', so I won't go over that part again. If you wanted to introduce yourself, you'd say something like..." Maksim trailed off, cleared his throat, and swapped languages. He spoke slowly and carefully, which I appreciated. The phrase wasn't overly difficult, if a little wordy, and I repeated it back a moment later.

Maksim held up his hand in a 'so-so' motion, and I huffed. He turned to keep leading me through Novoslobodskaya, picking up the pace, and in a few seconds he was all smiles again. "We'll work on it. Just takes practice, you'll see! Now then... that train is leaving in just a few minutes, so we best hurry. No time for shopping or visiting."

"I should hope we wouldn't do any of either, regardless," I intoned. "We are on a tight schedule, remember?"

"Yes, I know, mom," Maksim retorted, lightly shoving me with one hand. I stumbled to the side, but maintained my balance. I was getting better at anticipating Maksim's more 'hands-on' approach to being friendly. "Come on, just across the way. I'll do the talking with the merchants."

I once again elected to hold my tongue rather than remind Maksim of the obvious. I wouldn't be able to tell the merchants anything other than my name, anyhow, so I went along in silence. Our walk across the station was brief and without interruption, though I got the impression that I was missing quite a lot of the life of this place. It was large enough to occupy several platforms and teeming with life, and I saw that even more of the station was hidden beyond doors both big and small.

A massive steel bulkhead caught my eye in particular. It was attached to a series of large steel arms that seemed to be holding it shut, though train tracks ran right up to and underneath the door. Whatever lay on the other side was locked away securely, though the pair of guards near the door told me it was very much still in use. Men and women moved quickly back and forth, some carrying tools, others carrying supplies, and others still simply wandering about between jobs. It was fascinating to watch, and my eyes and ears were constantly on a swivel to take in all the new sounds.

Power tools were surprisingly common here too, given the apparent difficulty in even keeping the lights on. All of this was merely on the surface - readily available for me to take in. I was almost sad not to get the chance to explore more of this place, but time was of the essence.

When we reached the apparent boarding area for the convoy, I received another shock. Rather than seeing a locomotive like I was expecting, the "train convoy" was nothing more than a series of three flat carts made of scavenged materials like nearly everything else. I stopped Maksim before he could walk up and begin talking shop with the merchants running it, tugging on his sleeve with my magic.

"What is this?" I asked quietly, nodding my head at the flat cars. Several men were busy loading them up with crates, stacking them neatly and securing them with ropes. "Are you positive that this is the safest way to travel? "

Maksim just chuckled, shaking his arm until I released it a second later. He stopped walking away and turned to face me, nodding his head toward the 'train'. "It is the best one can expect in Metro. The pre-war trains have all been stripped for parts and scrap, and they're too difficult to keep running anyway. These homemade jalopies are what we have instead."

"And what of the safety? I would hate to fall off and put a premature end to this journey," I retorted, aware that I was perhaps being a tad foalish with my questioning. Still, I wanted answers and reassurance. Maksim provided the former, but the latter was still lacking.

"It's safe enough that I've never seen anyone have any trouble with them - at least, no trouble that was the train's fault," Maksim answered vaguely, grinning at me once again as he turned and walked away. I didn't get the chance to stop him that time, and I was forced to accompany him up to the edge of the platform.

Maksim got the attention of a man I presumed to be the one in charge, judging by his slightly fancier equipment and the way he pointed things out to the others while not doing any real work. The two started talking, in Russian of course, and I was made to wait once again. In the meantime, I turned around and watched the proceedings around me. The last few crates were being piled onto the rear train car, meanwhile, the middle car was being filled with passengers. There were a few ratty seats bolted to the frame, most of which were filled in mere seconds, though the very front of the train was what caught my attention most of all.

There were two more seats, a metal 'shield' of sorts, and a large device covered in hoses, wires, and gauges. That, I presumed, was the engine. One seat was on the right and had room for pedals and levers. The other seat looked to be a position for a guard, and it even featured a spotlight to point down whatever tunnel this shoddily made train happened to be rolling through.

It all looked as though it were assembled by a drunkard operating in total darkness. I had to snicker at that thought, realizing how close to the truth it may really be, even if it was somewhat grim. Around that same moment, Maksim finished his negotiations, turning around to address me in English again. "Glad somebody's in high spirits," he teased, nudging me to get my attention. I turned and looked up at him, feeling strangely embarrassed. "It wasn't cheap... but I got our seats on the train. Climb aboard, I'll be right behind you."

"How much did they charge, if I may ask?" I said, crossing the gap from the platform and setting hoof on the wooden floor of the middle train car. People openly stared as I negotiated the uneven surface, and I was forced to move slowly so as to avoid tripping myself up and making even more of a scene than I already did simply by being there.

"Too much," Maksim answered simply, keeping to his word and boarding the train right behind me. The two of us found unoccupied seats near the front of the passenger car and were quick to claim them. I removed my backpack before sitting down, letting it sit on the floor in front of me, and Maksim did the same with his own. He was tall and large enough that the rest of his gear still fit him comfortably, but I was less fortunate.

When I sat down on the old, mushy seat, my jacket bunched up around my side and my rifle poked me in the ribs. I winced and repositioned it, and Maksim watched with that same smug grin from before. "Are my struggles really so amusing?" I asked, rhetorically. "I've not had anywhere near as much time to get acquainted with all of this new equipment, you know."

Maksim held up his hands defensively, leaning away as if my mild words were far harsher. "Excuse me, Your Majesty," he teased, "I was about to offer some help, honest. I just figured you'd like to figure out for yourself!" I could hardly disagree, at least not without lying, so I just nodded and turned my attention to my surroundings.

The man that Maksim was bargaining with a moment ago stepped up to the front car and faced all of his passengers. He looked each of them in the face, all eight or so including myself and Maksim, and nodded. Then, he looked at the guards boarding the rear train car and gave them a thumbs-up. After that, he started addressing all of us in an authoritative tone. Sadly, I couldn't understand a word of what he said - at least, not after the beginning. He used the same introduction Maksim had taught me only a few minutes ago, and I picked up that the man's name was Dimitri.

Dimitri spoke for several moments, and got a round of agreeing answers from the passengers, Maksim included. Satisfied, he turned around and got to work starting the engine so the train could get moving. Finally able to speak up without interrupting, I turned to Maksim and nudged him. "What was his speech about? Rules and such, I presume."

"Hit the nail on the head. He spouted off the usual safety speech that everybody's heard a thousand times and ignores by now. Hands to yourself, butt in your seat, stay quiet to let the guards communicate, all that fun stuff." Maksim glanced back over his shoulder after answering, then appended, "Speaking of guards, there are fewer than I expected. Guess this section of tunnel is even quieter than I thought. Good for us."

"I hope you are right, and this merchant isn't merely skimping on protection to further his own profits," I said, unable to help myself from letting a bit of sarcasm color my tone. If that wasn't obvious enough, the grin on my muzzle gave Maksim the hint well enough.

"A merchant more concerned with money than safety? Pah! That would be the day," he shot back, and we both shared a laugh. The other passengers continued to stare, but I found it easier to ignore them now. I was amazed at how quickly I had grown attached to Maksim, but after considering it for a moment, it began to feel less unexpected. He was an expert in all things Metro, not to mention charismatic, and he had been so quick to agree to aid me.

All things considered, I was glad to have such a faithful companion to guide me through whatever would come next. My first few hours in Metro had been quite the whirlwind of information and emotion, and it was only as the engine sputtered to life and the train lurched forward that I felt myself beginning to relax, even if only slightly.

The wheels rattled on old, neglected tracks, and the carts bumped frequently and unpredictably. It was, by all accounts, a terrible ride, but it was easy to turn inward and focus on planning what lay ahead. My trip to Polis would be mercifully short, thanks to Maksim's negotiation skills, yet I had no idea what I would do once I arrived. There was mention of scientists and scholars working there, perhaps some of the last of either still alive after the Great War.

I had to hold out hope that they could provide me with more answers, and most of all, a way home to Equestria. Until then, I leaned back in my uncomfortable chair and closed my eyes. The seat was just large enough that I could fit my hind legs on it without worrying about falling off, and the back was high enough to give me something to lean against, but it was a far, far cry from the throne I was used to. The steady growl of the engine in front of me and the low murmuring of conversations around me was strangely comforting, but I did not allow myself to be tempted toward sleep yet.

Instead I sat, planned, and tried to ignore the fact that my flank was going numb after a few minutes. At least Maksim sitting next to me kept me warmer than I would have been otherwise.

Detour

As the train slowly but steadily carried me and Maksim toward our next destination, I found that I finally had time to process the last several hours in full. I opened my eyes after the first few minutes, and I slowly took in my surroundings in greater detail. Maksim and I shared the passenger car, bare as it was, with six others. Unlike Maksim, though, not all of these people were fighters. An older-looking man and woman sat beside one another at the back, likely married, and near them was a trio of young men. The last passenger was a lone woman, and I noticed that she had been keeping to herself thus far.

The very first problem I came to when I tried to sort out recent events was also the beginning - how did I end up here? I hadn't thought to check the area I woke up in for many clues, distracted by that fight and Alyosha's subsequent demise, though I wasn't confident I would have found much anyway. The first tunnel I explored seemed particularly desolate, with few signs of habitation besides the camp made by the guards.

Those mutants were another shock on their own, 'watch men' as they were apparently called. Large, four-legged beasts that operated in packs and lunged at their prey with claws and teeth. They did not seem particularly intelligent, at least the ones I faced, but they made up for it in sheer brutality. Even then, I felt I was very lucky indeed to have only fought the last one of that pack. My magic seemed less effective against them than I'd expected, but bullets did the trick rather nicely.

That thought made me wonder if my other spells were similarly weakened. My telekinesis worked fine enough, aside from the sense of 'wrongness' I'd discovered at Mendeleevskaya, but I had yet to try anything more complex. Teleportation would undoubtedly be useful, though the poor lighting in these tunnels would make it quite challenging to use it with any degree of confidence.

I resolved that I would need to find time to study how my magic interacts with this poisoned world sooner or later, if only to improve my own understanding and, thus, my chances of survival. At the moment, though, I could hardly start casting spells while seated amongst other passengers who assumed I was merely a particularly unique mutant. Speaking of passengers...

The trio was particularly talkative, and I couldn't help but pay attention - or at least, as much as I could with the poor lighting and lack of understanding. They wore mismatched uniforms and carried poorly-made guns that I didn't recognize, though they were clearly not part of the convoy's guard detail. They spoke quietly, and I picked up only a scarce few words that I thought I recognized. If my memory from the market back at Mendeleevskaya served me well, I was able to pick out a mention of money - or in this case, military-grade ammunition.

From what I gathered, those three men were mercenaries. That seemed fitting, given the gear and the way they carried themselves, and they were discussing something to do with Hanza - another word I was able to identify. It gave me an idea of how this massive 'Ring Line' might be keeping its stations protected, and I had to wonder if these men were an exception or if sellswords... or guns, in this case... were commonplace in Metro. Maksim had yet to divulge any information on the subject, but I couldn't imagine the people of Metro taking kindly to an attempt to profit off of division.

Of course, I knew there were bandits and other unreasonable individuals here just as there were criminals and villains in Equestria, but so far Metro seemed to be at least somewhat stable. That thought drew my attention to the elderly couple sitting behind me. I had no idea how old they really were, but I knew they had a great deal of experience with the pre-war world. To think that the world they knew for most of their lives was dead and gone, perhaps never to return, filled me with sadness. As I kept staring at the two of them, I realized that they were both asleep.

The woman leaned on her husband, and the two of them were huddled together amongst their meager belongings. If they said why they were boarding this convoy, I couldn't have understood it. They looked as though they were moving, though I had to wonder where to. Thus far, the stations I visited seemed quite similar. One was larger and more organized, but they followed the same form. Shacks, makeshift walls, back-breaking work to carve out a living with limited resources. It painted a bleak picture.

But then, there were people like Maksim. He found ways to smile and joke in a place like this, and I figured it was people like him that kept Metro going for as long as it has. Twenty years sealed away from the surface, from fresh air and moonlit skies, would be unthinkable for ponykind.

The Moon coming to mind turned my thoughts onto another path, and I cursed myself for neglecting it as long as I had. Celestia was surely worried about me back in Equestria, but what of my duties? Would my connection to the Moon and stars still work here? Would I even be able to enter the dreamscape? Those thoughts were troubling, and for the moment I pushed them away.

After all, they did nothing to serve my immediate goal. Rather than continuing to try and complete a puzzle that I lacked the pieces to, I decided to finally break the silence between me and Maksim. I nudged him, and he looked down at me with a grunt. "You must tell me more," I said, before clarifying. "I have been told of Hanza, Polis, and the Order... what other factions occupy Metro? I saw a great many symbols on the map you gave me, and I could not guess what most of them meant."

"I suppose we have nothing better to do, and you're due for another lesson," Maksim answered, sitting up straight but keeping his voice relatively low. "Aside from those three, the other major players are the Red Line and the Reich - at least in our neck of the woods. Pull out your map, I'll show them to you."

I obliged, levitating the crumpled piece of paper out of one of my jacket pockets. I saw out of the corner of my eye that one of the mercenaries was staring at me now, and the expression on his face was troubled. Like he didn't know whether to be afraid, disgusted, or amazed. I ignored him for now. Once my map was unfolded, Maksim gently took it from me and held it out where we could both see. Then, he indicated a long line of stations all marked with the same symbol - a hammer and a sickle.

"This is the Red Line - no other faction has as much raw manpower, and only Hanza has more stations or meters of tunnel. Hardcore communists, and bullies to boot. They make for bad neighbors," Maksim explained, taking on a casually critical tone, "but they're generally higher on everybody's list than their sworn enemy, the Reich. The Reds have been at war with the Reich since the two factions first got organized all those years ago, and it's been a balancing act between them. Aside from the boots on the ground, which they have plenty of, the Reds also like their spies. I'd be willing to bet a Red spy saw us at the last station, even, and is making a report to his boss right now."

"Will I be of interest to these 'Reds'?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow. "We are quite far from their established territory for now, assuming this map is accurate. And if I am, would they be able to help me in the same way you say the scientists at Polis can?"

Maksim shrugged, then considered his answer for a moment before finally speaking. "Hard to say. They'd need to justify the effort to track you down and 'collect', find some way to say that it serves the Party and the greater will of the people; the usual communist script." He spoke as if it were common knowledge, but the look on my face reminded him that I was an outsider. "Right, er... without delving too deep into history and politics, the Red Line's version of communism is this - one party, one leader, one ideology. On paper, it's about serving the people and their best interests, but it gets... muddy. They aren't 'real' communists, if that makes sense."

I nodded slowly, and I found my initial impressions of Metro being challenged already. This place and its people were not as unified in their struggle as I thought, though a more generous interpretation might mean that the Red Line was simply doing what they thought was best. Still, I needed to know about the other side of this apparent struggle. "And what of the Reich? They occupy far fewer stations than their enemy - how have they not been wiped out yet if they've been fighting as long as you say?"

Maksim sighed, then leaned in and lowered his voice even further. "The Reich, or the Fourth Reich, to use their full name, are Nazis," he explained in a whisper, as if even mentioning their name were a crime. At least this time he clarified without my asking, pointing to the stations marked with a strange, three-armed logo. "Race purists. They'll measure your skull, and if it's the 'wrong' size by a few millimeters, they'll kill you - or in your case, take you for a mutant at first glance and probably kill you anyway. They make up for their lack of numbers with better training and equipment, at least compared to the Reds. They're similar in some ways though - they also have one party, one leader, and one ideology. Most people don't like the Reds, but nobody likes the Reich."

In an instant, it made sense. The Reds were bullies, but they were not as evil as their enemy. I narrowed my eyes at the trio of Nazi stations, and it occurred to me that our destination was troublingly close to them. Suddenly feeling anxious, I pointed at them with one hoof. "Then we must be on guard. Belorusskaya is quite close to their territory. Should we expect to run into them when we arrive?"

Maksim hesitated once again, and this time he looked troubled. "Hopefully not. Hanza trades with them on occasion, since Hanza trades with everyone, but usually they go to the customer when it's an established route like that. Still... I suppose it isn't out of the realm of possibility that some Nazis might be visiting."

I took a deep breath and glanced down at the weapon resting beside me. I had seen the terrifying power of a rifle demonstrated shortly after I woke up, and I'd had the basics of how to use it to my benefit explained an hour after that, but the thought of actually wielding this weapon still frightened me. It was barbaric and loud, crude and unwieldy, but it was my best tool for protection. It was frightening, yes, but also intriguing. I had yet to see what any of my combat spells might do to a human target as opposed to a mutant, and I deeply hoped I would never have to find out.

Looking up at Maksim again, I decided to change subjects. "So we'll have to be vigilant. In the meantime... have you been paying attention to those men behind us? They seemed to be planning something, but I cannot understand them," I said, indicating who I was referring to with a tilt of my head.

Maksim opened his mouth to respond, glancing up at the same men I was referring to, but he was interrupted. Apparently, the one who had been staring at me finally got the hint I was talking about him, and he was not pleased. He stood up halfway and pointed an accusing finger at me, then spouted off something that sounded like an insult, an accusation, or both. I could do nothing but glare right back at him, brow furrowed, and hope that Maksim came to my defense.

Of course, he did, pointing right back at the man and raising his voice at him in kind. The other man kept pointing at me as he spoke, and Maksim always had something to throw back at him. The argument continued for several moments, and I was beginning to grow anxious. Thankfully, one of the guards stepped in before things got too heated. He moved away from his post at the back of the train and stood between Maksim and the angry mercenary, one hand on his rifle and the other held out in a gesture for them both to be silent alongside - presumably - ordering them to do so out loud.

Maksim and the mercenary backed down when they were both in trouble, and I was just about to whisper to Maksim to ask him what the argument was about. That was when the guard screamed.

A deafening bang sounded off somewhere up ahead and to my right, accompanied by a muzzle flash that was blinding in the gloom, and the guard who had just finished chastizing Maksim and the other man took a bullet to the stomach. He fell and tumbled off the side of the moving train, clutching his wound, and the tunnel fell into chaos all at once.

My ears were still ringing and my head was still aching from the first gunshot when more rang out, the remaining guards trading fire with unseen attackers. Heart pounding in my chest, I had to fight the instinct to spread my wings and take to the air. They couldn't do much anyway, restrained by my jacket as they were. Instead, I floundered in panic, falling out of my seat and lying flat on the floor. Maksim followed suit, and I realized that was the best course of action at the moment.

Spotlights switched on to further blind and disorient me, and I clenched my eyes shut as bullets passed overhead. Long ago I'd learned what a near-miss from a crossbow bolt or an arrow sounded like, but they paled in comparison to this new sound. Supersonic projectiles whipped, zipped, and cracked over my head like lightning, and each one seemed as though it was closer than the last. I was just beginning to lose my grip when I felt Maksim's hand on my side, tugging me closer to him.

"They stopped the train," he shouted, his voice nearly totally lost in the battle around us. I had barely even noticed the change in momentum, the screeching of the brakes drowned out by the gunfire. The last few train guards were fighting valiantly, but they were outnumbered and stuck in a kill zone. They didn't stand a chance. "We have to get out of the open! We'll get underneath!"

Unable to speak with my jaw locked in fear, I merely nodded and scrambled along on my belly as best I could. The uneven floor scraped at my underside and caught on my equipment, but we managed to flop down into the dirt beside the train tracks just when a burst of gunfire tore up the seats we'd been sitting in. I also managed to levitate our backpacks with us as we made it to relative safety, dropping them beside Maksim and finally raising my head.

The train car we were hiding under was thankfully thick enough to stop bullets, another flurry of shots drumming against it but failing to find us beneath. I took several deep breaths and found my rifle and my wits, chambering a round and turning off the safety just as Maksim had instructed. He did the same with his RPK, only adding an extra step to check that his magazine was full.

The spotlights provided enough illumination to see some of the features of our surroundings, and I realized that our ambushers had set their trap in what looked to be the remains of a maintenance stop - that, or a very minor station. "They were waiting for us," I announced, torn between trying to speak over the shooting and simultaneously not wanting to give away our hiding spot. All my years of combat experience from ages past felt useless then, utterly irrelevant when faced with these new weapons; my thoughts being scattered by my initial panic did not make things any easier. "And we are outnumbered! What do we do now?!"

"Shoot back, and move!" Maksim ordered, before raising his rifle to his shoulder and leaning out from under the train. He fired a short burst in the general direction of our enemy, and I leaned out behind him to add pressure. Without a clear target, though, I did not want to waste ammunition. Before I pulled the trigger for the first time, I had an idea.

I took aim at one of the large spotlights, lining up the bright bulb in the middle of my sights as I had been taught whilst holding my rifle aloft in my magic. It was heavy, and I hoped the weight would absorb some of the recoil; nonetheless, I kept a solid grip on it just in case. I squinted one eye closed, then squeezed the trigger. My rifle barked three times before I let go, jumping in my telekinetic grip each time, and three shell casings bounced off of the train's undercarriage and landed beside me.

I felt a rush unlike anything I'd ever felt before. Sheer terror mixed with a perverse excitement at wielding an unfamiliar yet powerful weapon, adrenaline rushing through my veins as I saw my bullets strike true. The light exploded in a shower of sparks and broken glass, plunging half of the killing field back into total darkness. I adjusted my aim and repeated the process on the second light, putting two bullets into it and removing them from the equation entirely. I was just about to try and find another target when Maksim jerked me to the side.

I yelped in surprise, nearly dropped my rifle, and cursed under my breath as the tip of my horn gouged a small trench in the wooden panel above me. Maksim's roughness was forgivable, however, when a quartet of bullets chewed up the ground where I had been sitting a fraction of a second ago.

"Good thinking! We need to retreat while they're still blind," Maksim shouted, just in time for the last guard on our side to finally meet his end. The shooting abruptly slowed to a stop, but I knew it would not last. Our attackers, wherever they were and however many they were, knew exactly where we took cover.

"Where? They did not choose to ambush us in this tunnel because it would be easy to escape," I argued in a whisper, tucking my rifle in against my side and turning the safety back on for the moment. "If we move away from the train, we will surely be spotted and killed!"

"So we confuse them," Maksim whispered back, before dropping to his stomach and crawling underneath the train. I followed suit, moving between the rails toward the rear of the line of cars. Our enemy resumed firing a moment later, suppressing our last position and giving away that they didn't know we were moving. I heard them shouting back and forth, or perhaps taunting any surviving victims, and the pounding of boots on concrete as they repositioned. Maksim looked over his shoulder at me and pointed up at the train. "They're moving in for the kill - they're gonna capture the civvies left up top, if they're alive, and then keep looking for us. We have to be quick if we want to save them!"

I nodded and scurried along as quickly as I could, relieved when we finally came out from underneath the train at the rear. Maksim crouched beside me while I squatted low, peeking over the edge of the rear car and between the stacks of crates. I saw the silhouettes of men moving, grabbing the elderly couple and the lone woman before hauling them off. The three mercenaries were nowhere to be seen, dead or otherwise, and I forgot about them for the moment.

Instead, I made note of the series of flashlights that had turned on in the absence of the spotlights. Four lights, all attached to the ends of rifles, waved and bobbed around as their owners moved up and down both station platforms. I heard additional sets of footsteps, however, and I knew more attackers were hiding in the shadows somewhere.

Maksim risked a peek on the other side of the train car, crouching low and poking his head out to see from a different angle. I didn't imagine he saw much more than I already did, but I didn't dare raise my voice enough to ask with an enemy soldier so close. He was standing halfway down the last train car, mere meters away, facing toward the front. I glanced over at Maksim, then nodded my head toward the soldier. Maksim nodded in turn, and I slowly crept out of cover.

The gap between the train car and the side of the platform was narrow, but I could fit with relative ease. I let my rifle dangle off my side by its strap, not risking holding it in my magic and giving myself away with the glow of my horn, and eased forward until I had a clearer line of sight on the soldier. He was several meters away from his nearest comrade, and all of them were busy checking the front of the train for our whereabouts...

Shouts further down the tunnel confirmed that the civilians we had been riding with were indeed captured, but I would have to worry about them later. At that moment, Maksim and I were cornered. I narrowed my eyes, watching the soldier as he loitered, and pieced together my plan. A lethal spell would be too noisy if it didn't work instantly, and I had no idea if it would be as quick and elegant of a takedown as I would like - for that matter, I didn't know if my alternative would work either. I'd mastered a spell to help ponies sleep many years ago, a way of instantly putting them out for a good night's rest if discomfort or insomnia prevented it. It was something I always used for benevolent purposes, of course, but I knew it could have other applications.

I just didn't think this would be one of them.

I raised a forehoof and tapped on the side of the train car, the clonk of keratin on wood got his attention in a heartbeat, and I was ready for him when he turned my way. The man gasped and raised his rifle clumsily, but he was too slow. My horn flashed, and a tiny ball of energy shot forward and impacted him squarely in the forehead. The man resisted the spell for but a fraction of a second before collapsing, and I caught him and his weapon before either could make noise clattering to the ground.

I eased the man down and dragged him off the train, laid him in the dirt, and double-checked to see that he was still breathing. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding then, my entire body tense like a coiled spring, and set his rifle down nearby. I was quite confident he would not wake up, at least not without help, for several hours. Still, I removed the magazine from his weapon and added it to my own collection to make sure he would not be able to shoot me in the back later.

He was clad in a dirty grey uniform and wore a steel helmet, and aside from his weapon, he did not seem to be carrying very much equipment at all. The man's face was partially covered by a mask of some sort - thin black cloth that did not offer much protection. He was not much to look at, but he reminded me of Alyosha. He was a young man, judging by his stature, and his panicked response told me he was not very experienced. Still, I did not allow myself to ponder him too much or for too long; he was a threat, and he had been dealt with for the time being.

Maksim saw my work from the far side of the train car, apparently moving forward when I did, and I saw his silhouette creeping low to the ground. We would be more difficult to pin down if we separated, I knew, even if the prospect of being caught alone frightened me. I couldn't sit idly though, so I stepped over the sleeping ambusher and silently climbed onto the platform.

It was still dark, only illuminated in small shafts of white light from the occasional flashlight as more soldiers searched the immediate area. They still seemed to think we were near the front of the train, but they were slowly working their way back as they searched everything. I moved carefully and quietly, finding my way over to a corner and hugging the concrete wall. I lacked any solid cover there, but the darkness did a good enough job of concealing me. I stood and waited there for several moments, watching my surroundings, and pieced together my next move.

There were three soldiers on my side of the tunnel at an absolute minimum, but I was fairly certain I could hear one or two more. Maksim's side, assuming he climbed up when I did, seemed less populated. If I was caught I would at least have support from across the tunnel, but that was assuming Maksim wasn't occupied as well. The men searching near me were getting closer, and I knew I would have to make my move sooner rather than later. Still, I didn't like how much of my plan ended up hinging on assumptions rather than facts.

It felt strange, bringing up instincts and techniques I hadn't used in hundreds of years. Before waking up in Metro, I occasionally wondered if I was going soft - if my martial prowess was slipping away from me. I worried that the lack of practice was making me weak, and that one day I would not be able to protect my subjects. It was troubling enough to see my older sister forced to rely on outside assistance, even if the element bearers were powerful in their own right, and I knew I was not as strong as she was at her best.

Strangest of all, then, was how much I enjoyed the rush. The adrenaline coursing through my veins once more, my senses on high alert while my heart thundered in my chest. My hooves were shaking when the ambush began, bullets flying and my enemy unseen, but I had managed to bring myself under control. Now, I moved with grace; I was turning the tide of this engagement, precarious as it was.

With the enemy still unaware of my location, I crept forward along the wall and squinted as my eyes continued to adjust to the darkness. Eventually, shapes began to resolve themselves in greater detail. Crates and barrels were stacked up in seemingly random positions, giving me ample cover once I moved away from the edge of the platform, and my sharp hearing could detect the noisy footsteps of my adversaries before they were close enough to see me.

If I could reach the far end of the station without being detected, I knew I'd effectively be behind my remaining foes. It was risky, but an undeniable advantage if I could secure it. Just as I made to move toward my new goal, however, my plan fell apart before it even began.

There was a scuffle on the other platform, and before it ended I heard a man shout in Russian before a gunshot cut him off. Just like the first shot minutes ago, it was deafening in the silence, and I saw the flash as clearly as the midday sun. All the flashlights in the area snapped to the source, and I heard more shouting as the men moved in for the kill.

The men on my platform turned and used the train as a bridge to cross over quickly, and the ones down on the tracks climbed up onto Maksim's side with the cover of their allies. I froze where I was, hidden from view for the moment, and held my breath. A few seconds passed in agonizing anticipation, but I soon heard what I needed to hear.

"Luna! They're onto us, go loud!" Maksim yelled, just before the men storming his last position opened fire and drowned him out. The repeated gunfire and muzzle flashes made them easy targets for me, with men standing among the crates on the train and the debris on the far side of the tunnel to take cover from Maksim's return fire while fully exposing their backs to me.

I crouched low beside the box I had been using as concealment, readied my rifle, and flipped the safety lever down to the semi-automatic position. I took a deep breath once again, realizing what I was about to do. Subduing an opponent was one thing, but killing one was something I hadn't done in a long, long time. I would have hesitated longer were it not for the fact that they were out to kill my friend, but as it was I knew I had no time to waste.

I lined up my sights on the back of the nearest man's torso, aiming roughly at his center of mass, and squeezed the trigger. My rifle boomed, briefly joining the cacophony of seven or eight others, and another shell casing flew across my peripheral vision. I watched as the man I was aiming at, one crouching below a box and firing haphazardly in Maksim's general direction, flinched at the impact of my bullet before keeling over to the side and going limp.

It occurred to me then that I had no clue about human anatomy; I was essentially shooting blindly, hoping I would hit something vital. Of course, my own intuition filled in a lot of the blanks, and I could gather that I had been lucky in hitting that man in the heart and killing him quickly rather than leaving him to bleed to death. Still, aside from the obvious option of aiming for the head for a clean kill, I was left to do guesswork.

Guesswork or not, it appeared my first kill had gone unnoticed while the rest of the soldiers focused on Maksim. He returned fire less and less often, pinned down behind cover and unable to risk exposing even his arms to fire blindly, and some of our foes were taking the opportunity to close in and attempt to encircle him. They were not spread out much, likely feeling quite confident that they wouldn't be targets, but I intended to show them their mistake.

I leveled my rifle again, lined up the sights on another soldier taking potshots in Maksim's direction, and squeezed the trigger. Another bang, another sharp kick of recoil, and this time I managed to put a bullet through the man's head. His helmet jerked forward but didn't leave his head, held on by a chin strap, and his body slumped over and fell off the side of the train car he'd been standing on.

I shifted my aim and found the next enemy soldier in line, going for the center of his back just like the first one I'd killed moments ago. My eyes were narrowed and my brow was set, and I kept low to the floor while levitating my rifle slightly in front of myself to minimize my profile. I spread my wings slightly, prepared to swiftly move to either side in case I was spotted, but so far the enemy was none the wiser while they focused down on Maksim. My heartbeat had slowed over the last few moments, but adrenaline still coursed through my veins and left my hooves trembling.

I had been able to push aside my reservations about killing shockingly fast, even by my own reckoning, but I did not have the time to mull that over just then. These men were out to kill my friend, not to mention what they'd do if they found me, and I could not allow either to happen.

I fired at my third target, hitting him just a little to the left of the center of his back, but I was not as lucky this time. Instead of dying instantly, the man fell with a wail and got the attention of his comrades. They seemed to assume Maksim got a lucky shot in, slowing their advance but not yet looking back to see me crouched in the shadows. I felt a grim satisfaction watching them fail to realize what was happening, but that dried up in an instant when I tried to fire again.

I pulled the trigger, sights lined up on another target, but nothing happened. Looking down at my rifle, I saw the cause. I hadn't been watching for the shell casing flying across my field of view that time, but if I had I would have noticed that it failed to extract. The dirty, slightly misshapen casing was caught in the action, sticking out the side of the rifle like a stovepipe.

Cursing under my breath, I levitated my rifle closer and turned it sideways. I fought with the bolt to pull it back all the way and extract the caught casing, but I had no luck. The entire mechanism felt as though it had seized, and even pushing against the charging handle with my hoof didn't yield results at first. I was so focused on unjamming my rifle that I failed to notice the sound of footsteps approaching from my side, and my sense of hearing being temporarily dulled by the ringing in my ears did not help either.

I had just managed to free the partially crushed casing and chamber a new round when I was caught off guard by a soldier rushing me from the right. I yelped in surprise as he bellowed a battle cry, attempting to jump on top of me and pin me down. I reacted in a fraction of a second, thankful for having had the forethought to make myself ready to move moments ago. With one swift beat of my wings, I dodged to the side, rolling along the dirty concrete floor and leaving the diving man to land on his stomach.

Heart pounding once more, I kept rolling until I was on my hooves again. I stood up and glanced around, only to realize I had been surrounded while I focused on protecting Maksim. The man on the ground hadn't even recovered before one of his comrades opened fire, and I just barely managed to duck behind another crate to avoid a trio of bullets whizzing past my head.

Strangely, he didn't continue shooting to try and suppress me. I peeked out of cover and saw another man holding the end of his fellow's gun and pointing it toward the ground. He shouted something in Russian, and the other man nodded. For one reason or another, they did not want to risk shooting at me where I was. I couldn't fathom why, but I knew I had to take advantage of the situation.

Unfortunately for me, it became clear why they held their fire only a second later. I had just turned around to flee, hoping to run back the way I came and drop down onto the train tracks like before, when I ran face-first into another soldier. Instead of shooting me, however, he held his rifle like a club and swung for me.

Panicked as I was and with my mind left reeling, I could not react as swiftly as before. Instead, I merely gasped and stared dumbly before the solid wooden stock of the rifle connected with the side of my head. My entire world exploded into agony, and all of a sudden the headache that welcomed me into this place felt like a tender massage in comparison.

Dazed and off balance, I stumbled back until my rear bumped against the crate I had taken cover behind before. My vision spun, my limbs refused to cooperate, and before I knew it I had collapsed onto my side. The last thing I saw before the abyss claimed me was the same man stepping forward and sneering down at me before finishing me off with a swift kick to the face.