Stars Below

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.