The Dark Ones

“Keep them away from us, Artyom! I don't want to die!"

Eugine was as useful as an empty scattergun: he looked intimidating, but posed no real threat. But he did deserve credit – he was giving it his all to get us away from the abominations. The Riga merchant we had picked up at the start of the ride was easily picked off earlier on, leaving me and Boris to defend the cart from the creatures' onslaught.

"ARTYOM! GET THIS THING OFF OF ME!"

I turned to see a nosalis trying to pull Eugine off the trolley. With little time to react, I shoved the front of the Duplet Eugine had given me into its chest and fired one barrel, launching the creature into the pipes on the tunnel's wall. Boris had run dry minutes ago, so he took to pumping the second lever and left the defense to me. I pulled the second trigger and sent one of the monsters at the front of the mass of flesh chasing us tumbling onto the rails with a hole in its cranium. There were only two shots more. I started to feel light headed.

Another nosalis jumped at me, and I promptly ripped a hole through its chest with a shell. The falling creature tripped two more as it rolled, giving me time to switch to the Bastard. My head felt heavier with every passing second, so much that I had to struggle to keep it up now.

I suppressed the approaching nosalises with two magazines before the gun jammed. The little cloud coming from the cooling shirt told me it had overheated. Damn you, Pavel!

I switched to my revolver and knife as they approached, and the leader was met with a round to the eye. The next took a shot to the forehead – a cloud of blood exploded out the back, and the bullet, true to its Magnum class, followed through and struck one of the next nosalis' forepaws.

My vision clouded. I felt cold, and my lungs burned in my gasps for air.

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"What is she doing in there?" Rainbow Dash asked as she pulled up at the last second of her practiced dive-bombing. "I mean, I know she is an egg-head, but come on! Two days without saying a single word to any of us is a little much, don't you think?"

Dash landed next to Applejack, who stood in front of the library's door. "Ah don't rightly know, sugarcube, but ah plan to find out. Let's go." She walked up to the door, rapping her hooves against the wood. They could hear the fumbling of books and clanking of vials as somepony made their way to them. As the door opened, the duo was greeted by a scorched Twilight. Her mane was blown back, her face and feathers covered in ash. AJ stifled a giggle. "Hey, Twi. You okay there, sugarcube?"

“For the most part,” Twilight giggled, leading them inside. The three were greeted with mountains of books strewn about, with Pinkie Pie skiing down the largest pile. She flew out the open door and, less than two seconds later, appeared next to them. They all gave her a look of confusion. "What? It's super duper fun! Especially because instead of hitting trees, you just get itty bitty paper cuts!"

After a round of laughter regarding the rationalization, Rainbow Dash prodded, "So Twilight, what's up? None of us have heard from you for the past two days!” She folded her forelegs. “Leaving your friends in the dark... that's not cool, you know."

Pinkie was happily having a one-way dialogue with a book about a 'recluse soldier' and 'man of war', but the other two paid rapt attention to what Twilight had to say.

"Well, girls, I've been re-enacting the experiments within these books," she said, hovering three hardcovers closer. "They state that interdimensional communication is feasible with a proper catalyst to achieve the singularity."

Rainbow fell asleep halfway through the explanation, while Applejack's and Pinkie's reactions were more subtle – they just looked on in confusion. She chose to reiterate with simpler words, "What I'm saying is, we might be able to go to alternate universes!"

The party pony bounced giddily. "Ooh! Can we go to the Mushroom Kingdom? No, wait! How about a universe full of sentient cupcake cyborgs set upon feeding the world with delicious cupcakeyness?"

Twilight laughed at the thought, but then frowned. "Actually, I’m doing this as an assignment for Princess Celestia…"

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I opened my eyes, and was barraged by light. The area around me was hard and cold, but tranquil; what little noise was there, came from my breathing. The white light was complete, save for the stone floor.

I struggled to my feet, checking myself for injuries. Somehow, I was perfectly unscathed, but there was a pounding in my head growing more severe every few moments.

Where am i? My thoughts ran hollow as the pounding increased.

You are safe for now... Human.

I looked around for the source of those words. There was a figure off in the distance, I wasn't sure how far due to the lack of visual references. As my vision focused, I noticed it was tall, stood on four legs, and glowed with a bright light that prevented me from establishing what it was exactly.

I kept my distance. Do not be afraid, human. I am here not to harm you, but to give you a warning… and a task.

I eased up and paid attention, not wanting to irritate the being. I realized the pounding in my head increased as it spoke, and that I couldn't hear its words physically. Was it a telepath?

Your quest is a noble one, there is no doubt about that. What you do not realise is the consequences should you fail.

I tried to reciprocate the link, thinking like I was speaking out loud while concentrating on the figure. And what are those consequences, strange one? What will happen if I fail?

Should you fall, so too will the bastions of your civilization. I grimaced, alarmed at the news, a slight reaction the entity noticed nonetheless. I see you understand the gravity of the situation, then. I hope it strengthens your resolve.

And the task?

I saw a smirk come from the creature. At least, that's what it looked like it was. Not everything in your tunnels is predatory. There are six creatures which aren't, and they will try to help you. It would be in your best interests to accept their offer.

How will I know these creatures from the rest?

Let it be said they are... quite a colorful group compared to what you are used to.

I was going to ask what she meant about that, when I felt its stare was not on me, but on something behind me, and I was suddenly grabbed by an arm. It was deformed in appearance, having only three fingers of abnormal length and no palm to speak of. A different voice entered my thoughts as it grasped me.

Awaken...

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I awoke from my purgatorial prison to find myself sitting back on the cart with Boris and Eugine, still being chased by snouts. I shook Eugine to wake him up, and thankfully, he came to rather easily. "Artyom? What happened? The last thing I remember was being chased by...” He then saw the horde slowly gaining on our trolley. “Oh no! Wake up, Boris! Wake up!"

Even as he worked the propulsion, Eugine shook the guard mercilessly with the tip of his foot. By the time he was awake, Eugine had already worked up a pace, and he was quick to join him. With the two pumping the lever, the cart sped up; it seemed we would escape.

That is, until a black furry shape latched itself to the trolley and I was pulled off the edge. I had no time to recover from the tumble, and quickly crawled under some pipes and hid away as the mass of the creatures passed, ignoring the quiet human in favor of the noisy trolley and the multiple treats in it.

As soon as they did, I rose from my spot and sprinted after them; being locked out of the station meant certain death by this point. As I neared, I saw the walls displayed a flickering orange lightshow: the cover-mounted flamethrower of the defense post was running on full steam. Many of the snouts on the wave had been killed by it, and those that didn't were retreating in a panic that overrode the hunger. I sped around them as they scurried off, almost getting knocked down by a few stray ones that came too close.

"Wait! Don't fire, that's the guy we lost! Have mercy, for God's sake, let him pass!"

As I got closer, the tunnel grew brighter and warmer from the flames on the bodies. I glanced behind me, and noticed the second wave of monsters hot on my heels. I was still in the gun's minimal range when the guards decided that enough was enough and stopped listening to Boris' pleading. They were aiming far from me, but even then I was hit in my left arm before I could dive over the sandbags that lined the checkpoint.

While the guards made short work of the monsters I had unknowingly lured in, I turned my attention to my arm. It was nothing serious, but it could get infected if left unchecked.

"I don't know how you made it out of there, Artyom, but thank God you did!” I looked up to see Eugine, almost as jittery and sweaty as I was. He had a big smile on his face as he helped me to my feet. "We should get some drinks to celebrate... and to disinfect that. It looks nasty."

I nodded in agreement. I don't think even I will be able to gulp down all I've been through today myself without some vodka to help wash it down...