Chapters I ducked below a swipe from my right and, before the nosalis could react, I buried my revolver in its mouth and pulled the trigger. I was rewarded with a satisfying splash of blood, bone and grey matter.
A blood curdling yell came from across the room – one of the nosalises had pinned Kirill down and went straight to his neck. Even if I could get the monster off him and there wasn't another one right in front of my face in place of the one I had felled, there would have been no way to staunch the bleeding in time. We'd lost him already.
I feinted, and the creature fell for it. It overshot its claw swipe, and I took the opportunity – the combat knife in my hand sliced through the sinew of its spine with relative ease, paralyzing the nosalis. With it out of the fight, I took aim at the one voraciously dismembering Kirill, but suddenly, I was tackled to the ground by yet another one. To my advantage, it didn't pin my arms, and it took a blade to the bottom of the jaw for its error, piercing its brain, while my other hand held its snout away from my face. All I could hear was the alarm bells banging repeatedly and the clatter of magazines hitting the floor; the roars and screeches had gone quiet. We'd beaten the nosalises back.
“We're clear!” Hunter yelled as he rolled the snout's corpse off of me and pulled me up to my feet. He made it look so easy it was scary. "Are you okay, Artyom?"
I nodded.
"As silent as ever, I see..."
I shrugged. Everyone knew I didn't like to speak.
While I went to check up on what was left of poor Kirill, Hunter and my father talked in the background. "No Dark Ones here; just the usual tunnel trash,” Hunter commented as he kicked a corpse away.
“They don't have to be present to attack,” my father said as he walked in circles. “They don't rely on tooth and claw: fear is their main weapon. That's what they used to scare the nosalises this far into the station. They're not the usual mutant, Hunter, they are the next step of evolution, the Homo Novus of legend. Have you ever heard of natural selection, of survival of the fittest? Guess what: we lost!”
I wasn't the only one who found the dark cloud over Father's head odd. “What's happened to you, Alex?” Hunter questioned, with a hint of resentment. “You've never been the 'lamb to the slaughter' kind. So, your enemies attack from afar; go after them and show them your appreciation!”
Father did not respond verbally: instead, he opened the door to the hospital and beckoned us in. I'd seen what was inside on the way in: men in the cots, babbling and moaning about not seeing, not reaching or comprehending. “Ten soldiers, Hunter,” Father spat in a whisper. “Ten men, trained and capable of combat. Their minds are gone – no body can resist that! The Dark Ones don't attack physically; they go straight for the head, corrupting the mind until the body can't take the strain!” He turned to one of the patients, the only one who had managed to fall asleep. “You think you can play old movie cowboy against that?”
Whatever Hunter was about to answer with was cut off by the door opening. “Boss, boss, come quick! The Dark Ones, they-they destroyed the outer guard post!”
_________________________________________________________________
The scene was as desolate as the sentry had told us. There was no physical damage coming from the outside. The few men who were still alive were crying like lost children, and the wails chilled me more than the bodies of the dead ones. Father turned one of the deceased over; he'd died from a heart attack.
After he witnessed the aftermath of an attack first hand, Hunter was convinced. He promised he would recon, and left me three things: a mission to find a Ranger named Miller in Polis and explain the situation in case he didn't return, his Ranger tag as a token of confidence, and a phrase that didn't leave my head.
“If we are to survive, this threat must be eliminated! No matter the cost – eliminated. Understand?”
_________________________________________________________________
The chariot ride to Canterlot would have been an uneventful one for the new princess and her closest friends if Pinkie hadn't somehow found a way to get into a water balloon fight with a group of seagulls. The guards weren't surprised when they saw their charge had company; Princess Celestia had requested herself more than the single-seat she and the other established alicorns often used as soon as she received the reply from her student after all, and no one knew better than her that her student would never do anything important without her friends by her side.
It didn’t stop them from staring back at the scuffle between the earth pony and the birds. Where had they come from anyway? The sea wasn’t even that close!
Just like the gate sentries, all the guards the ponies passed by let them through with no questions other than the ones their slightly nervous eyes asked. The tension in the palace's air was palpable, even from outside the throne room. Inside, the two largest ponies in the realm were conversing with each other in hushed words.
"… it has been but a month since her ascension, and she has little to no official political study under her harness. What if she is not prepared for this, sister? What shall thou do?"
Celestia gave Luna a small frown, directing her attention towards Twilight and donning the gentle mask she was so used to wearing. "Twilight Sparkle, my dearest friend. I see you have brought the rest of the Elements as well; that's good. Welcome back, girls."
Twilight bowed briefly. "Yes, Princess. You said in your letter that you needed my advice."
“Exactly.” Celestia bowed as well. “I will ask you a question, not only to you, Twilight, but to all of you too, girls,” she said after getting up, signaling at all the present guests with a wing, “and I must ask you to be perfectly honest with us…”
She lowered her gaze to peer into the eyes of each of the Element bearers. “If your very existence was threatened by another species, would you fight them to the death? Would you have them perish for your kind to flourish?"
Each pony had their own opinion on the subject. Rainbow Dash, along with Applejack, nodded in agreement to the original question. Twilight's consisted of 'only if necessary'. Pinkie mentioned something about hostilities and 'extricating them with nuclear fire'; the rest was incomprehensible. Fluttershy went fetal at the idea of violence. Rarity decided to reserve her judgment for after she knew of the hypothetical differences between the two species.
"Excellent,” Luna continued for her sister. “Now, our little ponies, imagine this scenario: you sent these others to their demise, only to find out that hostility was not their intention at any time... but it was too late to change the outcome."
None of the ponies had a ready answer for the sudden swerve in the line of thinking. After a moment, the response was half a dozen 'no's and a weeping Fluttershy being comforted in a group hug. Her distress saddened the diarchs, but Celestia didn't change her speech to acknowledge it. "I want you all to reflect on what you've first said for a week's time. Then, you will come back and state what your outlook is on how ignorance and understanding of a situation may change both it and its outcome."
__________________________________________________________________
Hunter did not return. It would not be easy to find an excuse to leave the station and travel to Polis, but I had given my word. I learned that the Caravan was heading to Riga the next day, and needed guards. I signed on for the ride.
Sleep never came to me that night. The images of the nosalises, coupled with the mangled corpse that was Kirill once, haunted me whenever I closed my eyes. To pass the time, I distracted myself by cleaning the revolver I'd been given, adjusting my watch and checking on my lighter for fuel and flint. The sooner I got to Polis, the better off I would be.
When the time to go came, I stopped by the armory. Pavel had some gear for me. "Artyom! Come right up! Let's get you suited up. First off; here are some bullets as an advanced pay for the guard work..."
Military grade 5.45mm ammunition was the Metro's currency, worth more than its weight in gold. It was a bit ironic to think of how we bought and sold our lives' worth with something that could take life away with a simple pull of a trigger, and was originally designed to do exactly that.
"Now for your gun, Artyom.” Pavel chuckled as he passed me my haul, a jerry-rigged automatic carbine that looked more like a pile of junk glued together than an actual gun. “Be careful, it overheats and jams often. Hell, I guess it wouldn't be the 'Bastard' if it didn't, huh? Here, three magazines' worth of five-forty-five, five cylinders' worth of .44,” he said without stopping his job of piling everything up on the counter. “Next we have... a couple first aid kits, a gasmask – never leave home without those unless your plan is not to come back, haha! Okay, last but not least, a headlamp and a battery charger."
As I turned to leave, he called me again. "Hey, Artyom. Stay safe, eh?"
I left with a nod for a meeting with my step-father. Ever since Hunter's visit, his temperament had worsened. He still manned the station almost singlehanded and with few complaints, but it was hard not to see a mug and a bottle of vodka on his table.
That was the scenery when I entered, him hunched over a document, a cup on one hand and a pencil on the other. The drink made the room smell, but the writing on the paper was impeccable. "My boy, leaving already?” He got up and hugged me. “Look, I know you promised Hunter to deliver that token, but please, son, do not pursue this. Rangers are brave, but their life expectancy is smaller by decades. I don't want to lose you like that. So please, once you get to Riga, deliver the cargo and come back, okay?"
I nodded without meaning it. I felt bad for lying to him about coming back straight to Exhibition from Riga, but we must play the cards we are dealt, even if the game has been rigged from the start.
As I made my way towards the platform, a familiar voice called to me from the trolley. It was Eugine... Kirill's brother. "Hey, Artyom! Did you sign up for guard duty as well?"
I nodded, taking the seat next to him.
"Wow... With 'Dead Eye Shot' Artyom here, what could go wrong?"
I was about to suggest he keep those four words to himself, but it was too late. "Nosalises, anomalies, bandits, take your pick," said the gruff voice sitting across from Eugine. It was Boris, our other guard.
_________________________________________________________________
It was very clear whenever Twilight Sparkle was particularly nervous. She had reorganized the library on multiple accounts, cleaned out the chimney, and read every last book describing the theorems and formulae for possible interdimensional travel. The main reason for the last one was that the Princesses had ordered her to. The second one was that it took a majority of her attention to comprehend what she was reading. Her comfort zone was desperately necessary right now.
After devouring the words of the tomes, she spent the rest of the day coming to a hypothesis of her own. Every recount required an absurd amount of power from a catalyst, and in her mind, there could only be one thing that could catalyze a reaction that intense... The Elements of Harmony. If Twilight could just recreate the tests held within the tomes...
But even that mental exercise didn't get Celestia's words out of her head. “If your very existence was threatened by another species, would you fight them to the death?”
Why would she have them analyze such a grim prospect in the first place?
“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.
__________________________________________________________________
"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…"
__________________________________________________________________
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...
__________________________________________________________________
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...
Chapter 3: Unexpected Partnerships
"Art thou sure this is the best course of action for thy student, sister?" Luna asked with a hint of concern. "Granted, it would be a learning experience, yet I am fearful for what they may face..."
Celestia cast her gaze from the open book in front of her to her sister. She could see the worry in her eyes. "Was it not you who said they should experience all the perspectives of an existence? Those six ponies have faced more than a normal pony ever would in their lifetime and, despite all odds, they prevailed, sister. You know that as well as I do.
“And even though this is a complete change of pace from what they are used to, they won’t be alone in their quest." She gave Luna a warming smile and walked over to cover her with a wing. “There is one I have chosen, a champion of his kind and a good hearted soul. You can trust him to keep them safe.”
They embraced each other for a small moment, and Luna relaxed under the white feathers on her back.
"Come now, Luna, the sun is waiting on us."
"Yes, sister, let us go... and thank you."
__________________________________________________________________
"So ah jus' have ta stand here, right?"
Applejack was starting to get a little worried about the safety of Twilight's experiments. They had begun the test run the day after the slightly larger pony revealed to them what she was so intently working with, but so far, every test recounted in the tomes had failed, and it caused a considerable drop in morale. Even Pinkie had begun to feel downtrodden.
"Well, at least we didn't get blasted out the window again," Rainbow Dash commented, rubbing a scorch mark stretching along the fur on her leg.
Twilight turned over another page of her personal research notebook. "Okay, girls, this last one is from my own thesis. Put these on." She tossed them each their respective Element necklace.
"Uh... Twilight, darling? Are you sure about this?” Rarity asked, her voice laced with uncertainty. “I mean, we all are a bit curious to unravel this mystery, but I’m not sure about using the Elements for this endeavor myself…"
"No... It'll be fine. I promise."
The rather hasty answer did not give Rarity the comfort she sought. "Well, as long as you promise…"
“I do, don’t worry. Now, if the conclusions I drew are correct, the problem with the previous attempts was a lack of power. Let’s see…” With that, Twilight began murmuring the words needed for the spell, just like she had done many times before. Reluctantly, the other Elements closed their eyes and waited.
There was a bright flash of light, and the pleasant fragrance of the library’s fresh wood and old paper was replaced by a smell of earth, rust and decay. When their vision returned, they saw the only illumination of the dark and moist tunnel they were now in came from clusters of fluorescent mushrooms, growing next to the skeleton of an unknown animal on a pile of dirt.
“Well… at least you got the spell right, Ms. Royalty,” Dash deadpanned. “Now where are we?”
__________________________________________________________________
"To Artyom!"
After we were safely inside Riga, we wasted no time and went to the nearest bar. While vodka certainly has answers to some of life’s questions, I began to doubt my sanity.
"Another! To Artyom!"
Boris and Eugine repeatedly toasted in my name, heralding me as some type of hero. I tipped my glass and flinched slightly as it warmed my throat. Boris laughed. "Hah, that’s Riga’s famous ‘shroom vodka for you, Artyom! Really knocks you on your ass, doesn’t it?"
After a few rounds, we left on our own ways. Boris and Eugine would leave back to Exhibition as soon as the main Alekseevskaya tunnel, our original route, was cleared of a cave-in, while I left for a walk to try and figure out a way to Polis. They were so drunk they didn’t have the curiosity to read the apology note for my father that I had left with Eugine.
Eventually, I found the checkpoint, but to my dismay, the exit was blocked by the guards, trying to keep the populace from 'leaving in foolishness', as they eloquently stated. On the walk back, I was approached by a boy. "Are you Artyom?”
I nodded.
“A man on the Black Bar wants to talk to you. I can take you there for one bullet."
As I handed the child his payment, I wondered what he meant. He led me through unfamiliar alleyways and under pipes. As we approached the establishment, the smell of decay lingered around me. Excrement and rotten wood, how quaint...
A man kicked back in a chair immediately noticed my entrance. "Are you Artyom? Take a seat, boy." I nodded to him with some hesitation and did as he asked. He reeked of alcohol and sweat. "Bourbon here has a proposal that should benefit the two of us. I need to get to Dry station, but with this craphole on lockdown, there’s only one way out. That’s where you come in: I heard that the shit in the tunnels doesn’t affect you, and the locals say the passage is ‘cursed’ or something…"
As I entered the abandoned tunnels with Bourbon, I wondered if I'd been wrong to trust him. But the station gates were still sealed and there was no telling when I'd have another chance to leave Riga.
__________________________________________________________________
Rarity's eyes darted through the surroundings, examining everything, from the rails on the ground to the rusted pipes running along the circular side of the tunnel and the mangled bones. “Twilight, dear, did you really have to choose such a dreary environment as our destination? It’s so cold here,” she shivered, “and the humidity and dust won’t do my hair any favors.”
The alicorn barely heard the remark as she shook the remaining stars off her brain. After they were gone and she could think with clarity again, she took in the sights, both of the tunnel and the four ponies looking expectantly up at her.
‘Wait… four ponies?’ She did a quick headcount: Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie… “Girls, where’s Fluttershy?”
“Oh, she’s right…” Pinkie went silent as soon as she looked behind her. “She was right here. Did she disappear? Oh no, maybe a magical top hat mistook her for a bunny and got her pulled through!”
The party pony’s rant would have gone on and on, regarding several seemingly unrelated issues and a logic none of her friends would be able to comprehend, if not for two things. One was a vicious roar followed by a semi-quiet, terrified screech. The other was Fluttershy sprinting down one end of the tunnel, chased by a small pack of furless quadrupeds. They were fast, but the pegasus was faster, and she ran past her friends.
Now deprived of their previous prey, the beasts began to circle around the other ponies.
Their visage remained imprinted in Twilight’s mind as one of the most horrific things she had ever seen. They were about three quarters her own size, and just as she had assumed at first sight, their pink skin lacked all fur. Their rounded heads held a strange set of bony, toothless jaws of a kind she had never seen, right outside their actual mouths, which reminded her of a feline’s. It was hard to tell. Their long, spindly claws looked almost like fingers, and their thin tails swished from side to side. The worst of all, however, was how none of these features fit together.
‘Animal’ wasn’t a word to correctly classify what the beast in front of her was; it was unnatural, like an escaped transmutation experiment that had been starved to the point of emaciation.
“Whoa nelly!” Applejack exclaimed, rearing back and away from a claw swipe that almost hit her muzzle. Just as she did so, the hiss of a pneumatic blast flooded her ears and the thing fell in a heap mid-swipe with a metal rod sticking out of its head. The ponies spun around and saw another creature, this one clad in a dark leather outfit exchanging one metallic instrument it held for a longer one on its back.
Seeing the threat to their meal, the pack of predators charged at the biped. It showed no reaction. Out of instinct, their hooves flew to cover their delicate ears, and all eyes closed involuntarily. However, instead of the roaring of triumphant predators tearing into a helpless victim, what really filled the air was a cascade of small explosions very similar to a roll of firecrackers going off. But any thoughts on it being a simple sound-emitting deterrent were dashed brutally by the sound that interspersed the staccato: a multitude of squeals laden with intense, agonizing pain. The macabre cacophony hurt their ears and flooded their guts with solid ice.
When the chaotic noise stopped and the only real sound was the rapid breathing of her friends, Twilight risked a tremulous peek. The minotaur-like newcomer now stood further back than before, exchanging a curved part of his object for another similar one. The predators from before, once filled with hunger and aggressiveness, lay sprawled on heaps that traced a haphazard line towards its feet.
Seemingly satisfied, it pulled on a lever, making a very intimidating metallic *clack*. It turned its attention to Twilight and her friends. *Are you injured?*
The princess gasped. The creature – a male, were she to judge by his voice – who had mercilessly slaughtered an entire pack of fiercely determined predators… had just spoken to them.
In perfect Avian.
Chapter 4: Rational Linguistics
*Are you injured?*
Twilight's mind was racing, not only from the adrenaline still running thick in her bloodstream, but from the stranger’s question as well. She knew alternate realities would have at least some similarities to Equestria, but landing in one where the inhabitants spoke a language she understood baffled her. The odds were absurdly low, but somehow, it had happened.
*Yes-er, no, no, I think we’re fine,* she finally said with a little hesitation, unable to stop herself from pondering whether her annunciation was off.
The creature approached until the light of the fungi illuminated his face, showing the warm smile on it. *That is good. There is enough blood running through these tunnels as it is; it does not need the ghosts of visitors haunting them as well.*
She stood in awe. She, Twilight Sparkle, was the first pony in recorded history to make contact with another universe and communicate with its inhabitants! This was a ground-breaking find!
And then it hit her: her assignment had just become an official diplomatic mission. Oh dear, she had to make a good impression. ‘Okay, Twilight, breathe… ’ she remembered, breathing steadily in and out. In, and out. Just like Cadence had taught her.
"Uh, Twilight, dear, how can you understand what it is saying?" Normally the elegant unicorn would be burning the clothes before her with her eyes for being such a terrible fashion statement – nay, a crime against all good taste! –, but she was far too shaken by the previous experience to even think of tailoring.
The alicorn opened her eyes from her exercise. "Somehow, he’s speaking Avian, girls. I was studying that right before we left for Canterlot."
*So,* the being interrupted, *I believe a few introductions are in order. I am Khan.* He bowed slightly, slowly so as to not scare the little blots of vivid color.
Twilight returned the gesture. *It’s a pleasure, Khan. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, and these are my friends: Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack...* she said, enunciating each of the ponies with an extended hoof, but trailed off as she realized something. "Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy! They’re missing!" she exclaimed in Equestrian.
A hand landed gently on her back, between her wings. *If you are missing members of your party, I saw two more of your kind on my way through. I’ll take you to them.*
Khan took a few steps into the darkness of the tunnel before he lifted his hand and pressed a button on his headgear, and the beam of his headlamp illuminated a colorful mane inside a side entrance. Instantly, its owner darted out from her hiding spot, setting herself between her friends and Khan. "Quick! Get away while I distract them!"
Pinkie Pie giggled wholeheartedly. "Silly Rainbow, you don’t have to be afraid! He's friendly!" All of a sudden, she appeared behind Khan and wrapped him in a hug, nuzzling his side for half a second before pulling back, a little green on the face. “Ew, doesn’t smell so good, though…”
Khan's reaction at the curious display was awkwardly patting the mare’s head once and taking a step back.
"See?" Pinkie spoke again, this time from the middle of her herd, smiling proudly and oblivious to the confused stares from all around.
*… do your people adhere to physics?* Khan asked with slight trepidation.
*Most of us do,* was the alicorn's answer, spoken between quiet giggles. *But Pinkie? No chance.*
__________________________________________________________________
"So, let me get this straight.” Rainbow Dash was slightly incredulous. “That thing got rid of those other things, and Twilight gets what it’s saying, in this 'avian' language? How does it even know some old griffin tongue?" She shook her head. “What do you guys think it is anyway?”
Applejack shrugged. "Why don'tcha ask Twilight yourself, sugarcube? We don't know that much more than you do."
Rainbow huffed. "Fine... We'll do things the easy way."
She hovered towards her royal friend, gaining Khan's attention. She ignored the way he contemplated her as she inched toward Twilight. "Hey, uh... Twilight. Do you know what this thing is?"
The librarian turned to her with a reproachful glare. "He is a human, Rainbow, the dominant species of this planet."
Rainbow tilted her head a good seventy degrees. "Okay, I don’t get it. If you’re the dominant ones, why stay down here? This space is cramped even for things that don’t fly!"
Twilight turned to Khan and spoke in gibberish, which he returned with even more of it. Her expression contorted into a grimace as he spoke. Rainbow watched the spectacle, confused, poking the alicorn after Khan went silent. “What's he saying, egghead?”
When Twilight turned to the pegasus, her facial lines were upset by a deep, sad frown. “He said that the surface isn’t what it used to be anymore, and the only safe place for his species is this network of tunnels.”
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Hm? Eh, I don’t know, Twi, that sounds kinda absurd. I mean, how bad can it be out there?”
“You know those things that were chasing Fluttershy, Rainbow?”
“Yeah, what of them?”
“They’re almost at the bottom of the food chain.”
“Wha, seriously?” There was shock in her words, but also disbelief. “That’s… I don’t know, Twi. It kinda makes sense, but...”
Twilight nodded glumly. “I'm not kidding, Rainbow. Things are really bad for them.” She pointed at the bones bathed in green light. “That skeleton over there? Khan said that person must have died here, alone. There was nopony with them, not even to give them a burial later. They're all too busy keeping themselves alive…”
Their eyes met. The purple pair was filled with tears. “No one deserves to die alone, Rainbow.”
The winged unicorn might not have known how much her words affected her friend at the time she finished her explanation, but she did when she was wrapped in a silent, unexpected and gentle hug. “Sorry, Twi,” Rainbow Dash whispered in her ear. With that and a squeeze that told of her regret for upsetting Twilight better than words ever could, she was off to join the others, leaving the librarian pony to her personal space.
The next one to approach was, to Twilight’s surprise, Fluttershy. Not only that, there was blood on her hooves, blood that wasn’t hers. She came to a stop sitting before Khan, and mumbled something that they had to lean forward to hear. *... did they really have to die?*
Twilight was too shocked at the pegasus’ fluency to say anything. Khan took a breath; when he spoke, his tone was solemn. *Life in the Metro is cruel and unforgiving, little one. Everything must be fought for by all of those who live in it, civilized or not. These lurkers were so desperate for food, they hunted far from the safety of their burrows. They would not pass up on any sort of prey, be it easy pickings or a suicidal hunt.*
Fluttershy sniffled and looked down.
Khan closed his eyes. *If they do not get their meal... death is still a relief. Between it coming certainly as starvation at the warrens or only probably as injury from game too large to overwhelm, they had a choice to make. Any creature in this position has very little to lose.*
Two droplets fell to the dust on the wood of the sleeper under her. *This is so cruel…* Then, she took a deep breath and faced up again, and Twilight was pleasantly surprised to see her smiling, even if it was the saddest smile she had ever seen. *But I guess I have to thank you for saving us.*
Khan returned the small pegasus her smile, and as she walked back to Rarity and the rest, Twilight broke off her stare of incredulity. *I don’t know what to say…*
Her new friend’s eyes twinkled. *The world is full of surprises and bright spots, Twilight. Remember: for every shadow to exist, there must be a light to cast it. Just be ready for them to shine in your eyes if you don’t want to be blinded.*
She had a feeling that Khan had more than experience in life to back up these words, but he did not elaborate. He stood back up. *We should move. These were not the only hungry creatures around, and fresh blood tends not to stay unnoticed for long. I have an encampment nearby; we can stay there for a few hours and get our issues sorted out.*
Twilight nodded and turned to the whispering mass of ponies behind her. “Girls? We’re leaving.”
“Ugh, finally!” Rarity practically sprung in her direction. “I have just about had enough of this environment!”
With the herd assembled, they fell in step with the leading human. “Where we goin’ now, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
“Khan has a camp around here. We can settle down there while we figure out what to do.”
“Ooo, a camp!” Pinkie perked up. “Does that mean we’ll make a camping party? Are we gonna roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories and set up tents too?”
CRACK!
The party pony looked down at the dry dust of the rat skull she had inadvertently crushed underhoof. “This place could use a little more fun after all, it’s so gloomy and moody and… do we have any other words with –oo and –y?”
“I don’t think this will be much fun…” muttered Fluttershy.
_______________________________________________________________
“Shit, those were traders,” Bourbon said, shouldering his AK and stepping closer to a few fresh bodies. He turned one over with his foot, showing the black holes on his torso. “This has ‘bandit job’ written all over it. Stay on your toes, boy.”
The hidden passage he talked about was a door to an abandoned tunnel, concealed by a large crate. It was mostly empty, save for one small mutant that ran away the moment the light shone on him. As I hated rats and anything that resembled them, the sight sent shivers up and down my spine. Father told me Exhibition was infested by a rat swarm once when I was young.
Seconds after he entered the tunnel next to the scene, Bourbon stopped dead. “Ah, here’s the alarm system.” I looked over his shoulder, and he pointed to a few sets of cans hanging from a rope in the ceiling. “This trick is ancient, but very efficient. Unless you want them to know we’re here, stay away from the cans.”
He sidestepped around most of the can sets, grabbing one he couldn’t avoid so it wouldn’t make noise. I imitated his actions, and soon we were back in the clear. He stopped me once more, before we passed through a door. "These guys also like broken glass, gravel mounds, pretty much anything that can give you away when you step on it. Keep your eyes peeled."
We found ourselves in a vacant room with ammunition and a lit oil lamp. “This is a guard post if I ever saw one, Artyom. Whoever was here left just recently, probably with the intention to come back.” Bourbon put his head to the door to listen, and pulled back from it almost instantly. "Quick, our host’s back. Get into that corner and I’ll show you how Uncle Bourbon works."
I stepped into the shadows and crouched to keep hidden while he snuffed out the lamp and ducked in the opposite corner. Just as I was going to ask him what he was planning, the door opened and a drunken bandit stumbled into the room, singing gibberish. He neared the table, and I saw Bourbon throw something. The drunk fell to the floor, a small knife lodged in the back of his neck. "You can keep that as a trophy," Bourbon half-joked.
We entered the next room in utter silence, hiding in the shadows cast by nearby crates. As I peered over the top, I counted six men sitting around a fire. Bourbon slowly made his way to me and withdrew something else from his pocket. I eyed him curiously until he made a couple of gestures with his hands that had me tilting my head confusion. He facepalmed, leaned towards me and explained in an annoyed whisper, "I need your lighter, kid."
The moment I revealed it, he took it and lifted the flame to a small cylinder with spikes on it, which he threw as soon as the wick caught flame.
“What the- GRENADE!”
Bourbon pulled me down to the ground with him right before the pipe bomb exploded. When we stood back up, the campfire was a sickening sight: five of the bandits were dead, ripped to shreds by the blast. The sixth was trying to crawl away, his right leg bleeding severely.
Bourbon stepped in front of the injured men, crouched, took out his own revolver and handed it to him, grip first. The bandit looked at it in confusion.
Then, he grinned, put the gun to Bourbon’s head and pulled the trigger.
Chapter 5: From The Bottom Of The Glass
After a very short walk, the seven stopped in front of a closed gate. Khan turned to face the colorful little mares, breaking the semi-silent haze of the whispered conversation they were having. *A word of warning: should we see any more of my kind, don't expect them to be as accepting as myself. Even if you are not mistaken for mutants, most of the decent denizens of the Metro bear great distrust even towards their own kind.*
*‘Decent denizens’?* Twilight asked, her head cocked slightly to the side.
Khan sighed. *This new world has brought out the worst in some of its denizens, young princess. A portion of humanity, including those that live here in Dry Station, make a living out of criminal acts. Others devote themselves to power ideologies of the old days, and are hostile to everyone that does not share their view of the world. It is… ill-advised to meet either.*
Khan turned the knob on the rusted door, opening the passage to an old maintenance room lit by a lantern, and waved the ponies inside before closing and deadbolting the entrance. Pinkie Pie, the last to enter, deflated slightly at the emptiness of the room. “Aw, isn’t there anypony else for our camping party?”
Fluttershy came close to the man as he shed his gear, sitting down on a pile of rags not unlike a hay nest on the ground. *Why?* was the only thing she asked.
*It’s hard to say,* he admitted as he sat down, taking a metal dart and inserting it into the barrel of the Helsing he had just unslung from his shoulder. *While a few do it simply because they can, some are victims of the circumstances, just like us. The stomach only cares about the food, not how it was obtained.*
Fluttershy wilted like a leaf on a fire. Everything she had experienced so far – her second-hand view of the slaughter Khan had committed in self-defense, his tales of the Metro's citizens' constant fight for survival, distrust of other good ponies out of fear, and now ponies being evil out of necessity – was shocking and heartbreaking on an almost eldritch level to the particularly gentle pegasus. It went against literally everything she had been taught, everything she herself stood for, not only as an Element of Harmony, but as an Equestrian citizen and subject of Princess Celestia.
The more the animal specialist thought about it, more did the frustration and depression within her heart condense and compress into itself, coalescing to a point where it change into something completely different, something that twisted and contorted her normally meek features.
Then, she didn't feel like crying anymore.
_______________________________________________________________
“Oh, come on, Artyom, that was funny!” Bourbon said between snickers. “You should have seen your faces, yours and his!”
As it turned out, Bourbon’s revolver was empty. The hammer clicked on air, and Bourbon only laughed at the look on the bandit’s face before he kicked him in the head. I knew nothing of the prank at the time, and didn’t know what to think even long after Bourbon pulled it off. Despite his constant smell of whiskey, the bad sense of humor and the patronizing tone he used most of the time when talking to me, losing the only friendly company I had in these passages was not something I was looking forward to.
Bourbon stopped snickering a little later after he saw my mood didn’t change. “Ah, forget you, you sour puss,” he grumbled. "Okay, then, back to business. Listen up, Artyom: we’re definitely not getting to the next station before the gates close for the night, so we'll sleep outside. I want you to watch my back while I set up our camp."
I nodded and shouldered my Bastard while examining the surrounding area. We were in a stairwell just large enough for the two of us to get some rest, and while it looked structurally sound, that didn’t mean it was. This one didn’t seem to fit the rule, though.
"Artyom, give me your lighter."
I retrieved the small device from my pocket and tossed it towards him.
"Thanks." I turned to see him pull out a cigarette and puff nonchalantly on it. I took a step away from him to get some distance from the nauseating stench as the old tobacco burned. "Oh, don't tell me a little bit of smoke bothers you more than the sight of someone’s' brains on a wall?" he teased, the blaze at the end of the cigarette tracing lines on the dark air as he waved his hand around. He laughed. “You’re an odd one, boy. I like you.”
I shook my head at him and walked down the stairs to find some relief from that putrid vapor. To my surprise, I found a new weapon on a backpack forgotten at the foot of it. It looked like a rifle and was slightly larger than the Bastard, but it was lighter as well, with a top-feed magazine. The iron sights on it had green reflectors like the red ones of my revolver, and they lined up far better than those of the Bastard. A little cylinder on the side had a switch, which surprised me when I activated it – it was a laser sight. When I checked the magazine and the barrel, I had another surprise: this gun was chambered for the same 5.45 caliber as my old Bastard.
As awed as I was, I couldn’t stop a chill from crawling down my spine. Whoever left this gun behind must have had a very good reason to do it.
Wanting to test the new firearm, I lined a few cans on the stairwell's railing, took a few steps back, released the safety and sighted it. After adjusting the laser dot so it matched the sights, I pulled the trigger twice. Each shot equaled a can dropping down. My smile couldn’t grow bigger. I would stick to the deal I’d made with Bourbon, but I doubted I would need his AK anymore.
I walked back up the stairs, only to find said gun pointed at my face. The face behind the sights grinned with both annoyance and amusement. "Warn me the next time you decide to go trigger-happy, eh?" I shrugged, and it drew his attention to the weapon in my hands. “Ooooh, look at what we have here! Was this the peashooter you were playing with down below?” I nodded. “Let me take a look.”
I couldn’t help but hug the rifle close to my chest. “The deal still stands. I get you to Dry, you give me your Kalash.”
Bourbon did not react with the anger I was expecting. Instead of that, he laughed, the hardest I had heard him laugh so far. “Oh please, kid, do you think I make a living out of stealing my partners’ guns?” he said after he calmed down a little. It didn’t last long – he looked at my scowl and cracked up once again. “Fine, fine, if you insist. I promise to stand the deal… and to not run off with your new toy. Now hand it over already.”
Reassured, I did as he asked, and he spent a good minute or two checking the rifle inside and out. “You’re wasting your luck if you don’t gamble often, Artyom. This baby is a Kalash 2012, latest model of assault rifle produced before the nukes. More valuable than a crate of fresh fruit,” he wondered as he pulled back on the lever, “and it’s intact to boot! Where did you find it?”
I pointed with a thumb over to the stairs behind me and shrugged. “It was just there.”
One of his eyebrows twisted down. “No body? Blood, spent shells, anything?”
I shook my head. “Only the ones I used up.”
Bourbon scratched his chin, muttering something about 'Arbatskaya'. “Well, that's another mystery for the record.” He rubbed his eyes. “Nnngh, I'm too tired to think right now. Let's just get to sleep.”
I couldn't agree more, but as I lay down on my sheet next to the fire, my mind wandered like the flames on the firewood.
Our bloody skirmish with the bandits was over. I had expected mutants and monsters... but how many more of my 'fellow humans' would try to kill me before I reached Polis?
__________________________________________________________________
“Come on, Twilight, newsflash time!” Rainbow Dash prodded. While Fluttershy went to talk to the human and Pinkie Pie started hanging streamers and balloons all over the pipes and ceiling fixtures, the pegasus, as well as Applejack and Rarity, had pulled the larger pony to a side as soon as Khan had locked them all in. “What did he say now?”
Twilight looked at each of the three expectant faces. “He told me that…” she closed her eyes and sighed, “… we shouldn’t expect a warm welcome from pretty much anypony else that lives here.”
“What?” Rarity asked, stopping her frequent attempts at removing the dust that clung to her mane. “Why is that, darling?”
Twilight paused. “From what I got out of it, the humans are... they're afraid, girls. Some of the stations are run by bandits... or fanatics.”
“Bandits? But we ain't got anythin' to do with those no-do-gooders!” exclaimed Applejack defensively.
“That's not the point, Applejack,” the bookworm continued. “They're afraid to trust anypony they don't know.”
She was about to talk more, but something interrupted her. The twin claps of keratin hitting concrete weren’t much louder than a Royal Guard’s marching step, but in the almost dead silence of the improvised dwelling, they reverberated with the strength of a bomb, to the point that a startled Pinkie fell from atop the valve handle she was standing on, landing on her rear beside her friends.
They all turned to where the noise came from, and were alarmed at the sheer rage Fluttershy was showing behind her teary eyes. *This is cruel, unfair and wrong! It’s just so wrong!* she vociferated bitterly. *Why doesn’t anypony do something about it?!*
“Hey!” As always, Rainbow Dash was the quickest to react, launching herself into the air. Had she the slower reaction of the other, non-pegasus ponies, she would have noticed her yellow friend wasn’t fighting with the human. She came to a stop right in front of Khan’s face. “You leave my friends alone!”
The human was unfazed – except for slowly leaning away from the tomboy pony’s breath range, something she didn’t take well, there was no reaction from him. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” Dash almost shouted, getting right back inside of his personal space. “It’s cool that you helped us back there, but that does not give you the right to bully Fluttershy!”
The other four moved to the ground of the confrontation, and Twilight, the only one who really understood Fluttershy’s angered talking, yelled out, “Rainbow, stop!”
Rainbow Dash being Rainbow Dash, it would take more than a claim from her friends to quit a confrontation. What did the trick, as usual, was a strong tug on her tail, but when she looked back, she was quite surprised to see Fluttershy, of all ponies, spitting out the colorful strands. “He’s not picking on me, Rainbow,” she said after a moment, her voice still scathing.
To say the more abrasive pegasus of the pair was confused would be somewhat of an understatement. “Wha- but- then what the hay was that?” she sputtered. “You were snarling at him, Fluttershy! I've never seen you do that, even at the Grand Galloping Gala!”
Fluttershy blushed fiercely at the memory Rainbow had brought up. “I did? I'm so sorry...” she muttered, now back to her gentle melody. She steeled herself. “Anyway, I'm not angry at Khan. He’s nice.”
Twilight stepped up between Rainbow Dash, who was still flying low in the same spot, and Khan, who had calmly retreated back to his pack. Her purple wings were imposingly flared out to the sides, blocking Dash’s view of Khan. “Girls, it looks like we’ve got a misunderstanding in our hooves,” she said. “Fluttershy, you were complaining to Khan about something being evil and wrong. What were you talking about?”
The question re-kindled the fire within the bearer of kindness. “Oh, Twilight, it’s this world!” she exclaimed in frustration. “Critters shouldn't be dying just to get food home, because they are starving too much to pass on it for a day! Good ponies shouldn't be forced into being evil out of necessity! Not trusting somepony you don’t know just because they could be mean isn't right! The surface isn't supposed to be too dangerous to live on! Everything is backwards! ” The last line marked the peak volume of the mare’s voice so far, as she pounded the ground again in frustration. Her voice started to crack. “Where is the harmony of this... Metro place?! Why don't their princesses set things straight?!”
Now that the rage in her heart was vented, Fluttershy slumped to the concrete, feeling too utterly drained to do anything. The tears began rolling, painting thick mustard-colored lines of wet fur under her eyes. “It's just not fair...”
Most of what Fluttershy told was news to all Elements but Twilight, and even she was taken off guard by a few of the facts being spoken by the perspective of one of her friends. As a consequence, while the others had a thin veil of disbelief to soften the impact, they hit her full-force. “I-I…” she stammered, turning to Khan, *… is that true?*
The man observed the ponies – four other heads had spun in his direction as Twilight spoke – for about two seconds, impassible. Then, slowly, he closed his eyes and nodded once. *A sad truth… but a truth nonetheless.*
It didn’t take knowledge of the Russian – or, as Equestria knew it as, Avian – for everypony to understand that Khan was confirming the story told by the disconsolate pony. Several sets of ears folded back, one set of tail and mane started deflating, and Rarity lifted a hoof to her mouth. “This is horrible…” she said in a quiet, choked whisper.
A ragged breath coming from the floor pulled their collective unfocused attention back to Fluttershy. All but one of the mares were still too stupefied to move; the depressed pegasus was gently pried up off the ground and wrapped by two pink forelegs, and an equally pink snout nuzzled a lighter pink mane. Now in Pinkie’s grasp, Fluttershy sobbed even harder, a sound that finally snapped the other four ponies back into their senses. Even the most touch-shy of them moved automatically to the two, wrapping them up in a warm group hug that scared off the chill of the room.
Together, they watched as the human unrolled a blanket and extended it near the resting space he had made for himself. Just as he finished straightening the creases on the fabric, he looked up at them. * If I’m correct, you have numerous questions you would like answers to, but I suggest you ask them tomorrow. It is late right now, and you seem like you would welcome the rest,* he said as he waved towards the improvised sleeping arrangement.
There was logic behind those words, Twilight recognized. After her time-traveling stint some time ago, she finally recognized Spike’s advice that sleeping was a basic necessity, and depriving yourself of it was only privy to causing even more issues. Not to mention that, after the mass teleportation and everything after it, she was feeling quite spent.
“Darling, what did he just say?” Rarity asked as Khan set his pack on his own blanket. “Is he… inviting us to bed?”
She nodded. “He says it’s pretty late, and he’ll answer anything we have to ask tomorrow.”
“Uh, guys, I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash said with a quirked eyebrow, “that sounds kinda convenient, don’t you think?” She leaned in and whispered, “He could be goading us, waiting for us to sleep, so he can gobble us all up!” she finished theatrically.
Twilight had to admit to herself that she hadn’t considered the possibility of the man’s friendly act to be a ruse. Hers, Applejack’s and Rarity’s eyebrows shot up and their pupils expanded in apprehension as they embraced each other more tightly. However, within the pile, a snug Fluttershy mumbled something in a different tone from under Pinkie’s mane.
“What was that, Flutters?” the farm mare asked.
“She said she doesn’t believe that!” Pinkie chirped, still sounding somewhat cheerful despite the straight state of her hair. “Oooh, look, he’s doing something!”
Fluttershy wriggled out of the embrace to observe Khan along with the others. The human was busying himself with the straps of a canvas bag, from which he took out a discoid shape, which, when he bit down on it, emanated a pleasant fragrance throughout the room. As Twilight sniffed it, she blinked in recognition. “I know that smell…”
Before she could elaborate, a certain friend of hers was already mounted on Khan’s back, making the human stumble forwards so he could keep from falling. “Mmm, that smells good! What is it, what is it?”
The man faced the excitable Pinkie, and, failing whatever objective he had in mind, turned to the agglomeration of mares, among which were the only ones that could understand him. The complete befuddlement and helplessness in his expression, along with the aroma of the same mushrooms Twilight knew Zecora collected and sold as a natural protein supplement, instantly banished the thoughts of him being a threat from her mind.
Judging by the collective bout of laughter from all around the alicorn, she wasn’t the only one who relaxed at the display.
Chapter 6: Back On The Homefront
I opened my eyes, only to find I was no longer in the stairway camp with Bourbon. Instead, I was back in the void-like room from before... except instead of a piercing light, all that met my gaze was sheer darkness.
As I continued my observation of this peculiar environment, a single light rose far into the distance of the pervasive void. It persisted in its futile attempt to shed light upon this shrouded plane of existence, and as it did, more of its kind began to peer from the ethereal horizon.
Soon there came to be millions of them, dotting the void, casting dim rays as they appeared. A familiar pounding returned to my head...
Art thou the one they refer to as Artyom?
*I take it you are yet another to invite yourself to my thoughts, and not the first one?*
Ah, is the Griffin tongue of your preference? So be it. To reply to thy inquiry, indeed, We are not the one whom has contacted ye before.
*In this case, what business do you have with me, strange one? Is there more in need of saying?*
We wondered what Our sister observed in thee. Be advised, She places great faith in thee. On the other hoof… art thou indeed a foal amongst thy kin?
*Is my age a problem?*
No, no, young Artyom, perish the thought! ‘tis not a hindrance to thy cause in the slightest; thy inexperience is, in fact, a valuable tool in paving the road of thy apprenticeship. We are merely curious.
*If the safety of Exhibition lies within the protection the six the other spoke of, then you needn't worry, strange one. Their lives shall be as protected as my own.*
Very well, young one. We shall take Our leave with less of a burden over Our heart’s withers. May good fortune fall upon thee.
*I wish you the same.*
The radiance of the area began to fall away, one orb at a time. With every light that left, the pounding in my head lessened gradually, until it eventually subsided altogether, leaving no trace of its existence, and I was left to wonder what path I was being shepherded into. Where would it lead, and what were these magnanimous beings capable of bending the reality of dreams planning?
As the thoughts flowed by, I questioned if maybe, just maybe, my own mind was playing tricks on me.
-----~~~/)(~~~-----<
Solemn. That was the only word to accurately express the air of emotions around Ponyville. Since the disappearance of Equestria’s newest Princess, along with the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the entirety of Ponyville became less and less joyous. Even the littlest colts and fillies became downtrodden in their absence.
But Ponyville was not the only place infected with morose. In a familiar throne room, in a familiar castle within a familiar capital, a certain unicorn was addressing their vanishing act with one of the two diarchs. "But there must be something you can do!” he shouted, and immediately adopted a contrite stance after realizing it. “… I'm sorry, Princess, but I worry for Twilight; if she is in danger..."
"I can assure you, Captain Armor, that Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Elements are safe,” Celestia told the stallion before her. “Believe me when I say their absence is justified, and we have ways to eventually bring your sister and her friends back to Equestria… but this development is going to take some time, until they are done with their mission."
"I...” Shining Armor didn’t look reassured. “Forgive me, Your Highness, I know I shouldn't have exploded like that, Princess. I understand your priorities." That he actually didn’t went unsaid.
"It is quite alright Captain; I know what it is like to lose a sibling, no matter for how long,” the white royal said. “Perhaps there may be a way to help calm your nerves in the meantime."
He looked up with hope. "Yes, Princess?"
"If you are too worried for Twilight to bear the feeling, go see my sister; she may be able to help you. Ask for her assistance on the matter during Night Court."
The captain bowed, feeling it was more than he could have asked for. "Thank you, princess Celestia. And… I’m sorry for the intrusion."
Celestia glanced at the slight scrape marks on the path of the doors her subject had slammed open on his way in. Nothing some polish couldn’t fix. "As I said before, Shining Armor, it is alright,” she cooed to the pony before her, not addressing him by his rank anymore. “You care for your sister, and it is only natural to be concerned."
-----~~~/)(~~~-----<
Twilight Sparkle woke up to no visibility or cold, smooth stone floor beneath her. As she looked around she called out for her friends. "Applejack?" She was met with silence. "Rarity?" No response. "Rainbow Dash?" The only sound she heard was her voice. "Pinkie Pie?" More silence. "Fluttershy?" Silence. "Girls?" Silence. Starting to feel afraid, she tried another idiom entirely. *Khan?* Silence. There was a pattern here, but she refused to acknowledge it. It was scary to think of it.
"… anypony?" she pleaded quietly, but like all the other times, as soon as the words left her mouth, they dissipated without the slightest echo, and the world was once again deathly quiet save for her own breathing. Just as she was about to give up hope of not being alone in… wherever she was, a figure emerged from the shrouded expanse.
"Twily, is that you?" came an all too familiar voice.
"SHINY!!” Without a second thought, the mare galloped straight for her BBBFF and crashed into him, wrapping her forelegs around the other pony in a massive hug, an action magnified by her size being the same as that of the recently arrived stallion. After nuzzling his cheek for a second or two, and receiving a tender noogie in turn, she broke it and faced one of the ponies she loved the most in the world. “Where are we? The last thing I remember was talking to Khan before going to bed..."
Shining Armor smiled. "Don't worry, you're just asleep, and Princess Luna linked our subconscious selves so we could chat a bit.” His nose rankled a bit in confusion. “Who’s Khan, by the way?"
"Oh! He’s a human from the Metro, a hermit I think. He gave us shelter for the night, and we’re following him for now."
If the Royal Guard turned Prince of the Crystal Empire wasn’t befuddled before, he certainly was now. "He's what from where?"
Twilight blushed. In her excitement of the reunion, she had forgotten her brother might have no idea what she was talking about. "Er, this may take a while to explain..."
Chapter 7: Back To Business
Heavy gunfire was my wake-up call the next morning. The sounds of blasting gunpowder were far from our resting place, but they were more than enough to kick me out of slumber and groggily onto my feet.
Bourbon was crouched by the fire, and even though he looked guarded, he sounded relaxed when he talked. “I heard wheels on tracks earlier. They woke me up.” More shots, and after he looked up at the ceiling, he explained, “Fifty-cal machine guns. Most likely Hanza's military trolleys after more bandits.”
I nodded and began dismantling the camp with him. As soon as we finished, he gave me the sign to follow. “Let's get moving, Artyom. Sunlight waits for no one!” he said, laughing at the end. I just shook my head and followed him.
When we reached the place where I had found my new rifle, Bourbon took it upon himself to scrounge the pack of anything useful. However, all it held was items we already had and needed no duplicates of, with no clues whatsoever as for who it belonged to. We left it behind, following through an empty passageway that had large holes on the floor. “Watch your feet here, this floor is pretty weak,” my companion remarked as he tip-toed past them. “One misstep and you're mush for the lurkers, so avoid the flakier parts.”
I could see the remains of a ruined bridge through the broken concrete when I peered through it out of curiosity... and nosalises running on the lower levels. The shots were at their loudest here, and I could barely hear an engine among them. Bourbon looked back when he noticed I wasn't following. “Stop dawdling, boy! Gawking isn't gonna get us there faster. This racket only means Market station isn't far.”
I glared at him, annoyed, but he had a point and, honestly, I wanted to stay out of the tunnels as much as he seemed to. With its rotten structure, bad company and eerie silence, it was absurd to think I ever wanted to explore them in the first place. As we tripped upon yet another emaciated corpse, dead since who knows how long ago, I couldn't help but think how many wide-eyed adventurers' lives this eerie place had claimed.
We descended yet another staircase, which mouthed off onto the end of the bridge I saw from above. Bourbon, who was ahead, was already observing the place with his light. “A cave-in, shit!” He looked to the side, and I followed his line of sight to another way through. “And a staircase... how convenient.”
His speech was punctuated by a series of screeches and snarls that almost froze my muscles stiff. “Damn! Those idiots must have dislodged a nest or something!” Bourbon yelled out, frustrated. He turned to me and waved me closer. “Looks like we don't have an option now, Artyom. Watch my back.” Then, he kicked the winch holding the staircase up, and the loose mechanism sent it crashing down on an overhang down below.
My companion was thundering down the steps before I noticed, and I was quick to follow. The nosalises scratching the floor with their talons only mademe go faster. I ran forwards and into a water drainage pipe, where I saw Bourbon running for dear life not too far ahead. His headlight bobbed widely just as I heard a warning shout: “ARTYOM! TRIPWIRE!”
Paying attention to the warning was barely sufficient to avoid running into a pipe bomb trap. The monsters chasing us weren't as wise, though, and the tunnel bloomed in the orange light of an explosion, followed by crumbling cement and soil.
Market station was just a little further, but Bourbon warned me that our path went through the 'lost catacombs'...
My ears were still ringing by the time I vaulted over a handrail and was assaulted by the stench of rotting wet flesh. "Fuck! As if nosalises behind us were not enough, now we're stuck in a fucking graveyard!” Bourbon sneered, kicking a rusted tin can away. “Artyom, search these bodies. I'll try to get us out of here."
While Bourbon went ahead I began to scour the many corpses on the cloaca we’d landed in for ammunition and supplies. It felt wrong to do it, to violate the dead like that, but when the situation calls upon it, we must do what we can to survive. It's one of the lessons the Metro teaches you learn early on and keeps reminding you for life. As I gazed at the cold husks before me, I made out that some of them were guards, and others were workers. They were probably trying to clear some of the rubble in the area before the nosalises came in.
Suddenly, a bright light overcame my sight, and all sound but for two gentle clicks was lost. I found myself in some type of open-ceiling corridor, with Bourbon at the end walking towards a grate. Behind me, there was a large stone door, with an ominous pink glow leaking between its leaves. I began to move towards Bourbon, and as I did, I heard a deep, segmented howl. Then, my vision faded. I was back among the living, or, rather, I was back in reality with the corpses to scavenge. 'I'm growing tired of these hallucinations.'
The bodies held, in total, a pouch with eight shotgun shells, ten 5.45mm rounds in a Bastard's magazine, three .44 bullets, and a small first aid kit with only one syrette intact. Not much, but every bit helped. I deposited the items and walked over to Bourbon, with a nosalis' wail in my wake. "Rusty piece of shit! Come on, open!” Suddenly, the man stopped complaining as he turned a squeaking handle and looked around, as if frightened. Then he turned to me with the most serious expression I had seen in his face so far. “Artyom, my gut tells me something is very wrong with this place. Remember our agreement – I'm counting on you, kid."
I nodded to him – the visions had already alerted me that this was not a normal room – and he went back to fighting with the mechanism. When I turned to face the entrance from whence we came, my vision gave way once more, returning my perspective to the corridor from before. I was somehow in the middle of the vast hallway, away from Bourbon. Now with some distance between us, something came to my attention, more specifically, the water that reached my ankles, and the dead people floating on it, numbering to an amount I estimated to be roughly equal to the number of bodies in the cloaca.
Out of reflex, I turned to the large stone door, only to find it beginning to open, revealing the reddish light in its entirety, casting a poisonous pink gleam towards me. I do not know why, but that light frightened me more than the nosalises ever could; I just knew I had to stay away from it at any cost. I ran towards Bourbon, my movements becoming more and more sluggish, before my vision receded all of a sudden yet again, and once more, I found myself hurled between realities.
I stood next to Bourbon as he worked the circular handle responsible for raising the gate as quickly as he could, despite the metal's shrill moans of protest. My headlamp began to flicker, and my ears began to ring. I felt tremors rage both throughout my body and the area around us.
"Come on! Nice little grille! I promise you, dear, I will come back and lubricate you, and also get you new paint!" he cooed to the mechanism. I did not think much of it, all things considered, but what he said next made me do a double-take. "Oh, the great door! I hear you are calling me!"
Another flash of white occurred, subsiding quickly this time, as if my eyes were adjusting to the constant abuse. I was in the middle of the corridor yet again, but this time, a strong wind buffeted me away from the blue light of the space beyond the grille, on which Bourbon was now leaning limply against, as if the air itself was trying to force me into the red light I had no doubt was behind me. Terrified, I began to run towards Bourbon, not sparing a single second to see what truly lay behind the colossal door of stone and aura of sanguine. A strong gut feeling told me it was something I would not ever want to be privy to. As soon as I was within reach I grabbed onto the gate and held myself in place.
Meanwhile, Bourbon kept yelling in an ecstasy that sounded almost sexual. "Yes, my mistress! I hear you! Yes, yes, yes! Always, always!" Whatever illusion my companion was experiencing at the moment must have been very different from my own. "Oh, yes! Now I'm happy! Your songs are magnificent! Sing more! Sing only for me!"
I felt the looming danger drawing closer, leaving the confines of the ominous gate behind us, and in an attempt to escape its grasp, I tugged Bourbon off the grating and shoved him through the gate. He didn’t seem to be as affected by the gales as I was, and as soon as he had gone beyond the gate, it increased. The terror had already lost one prey; it wasn’t going to let me escape easily.
My legs left the ground from the force of the air current, and I struggled to hold on and pull myself through with only my arms, until a hand gripped my arm and pulled me inside. I was able to get a look at it: it was the same as before, three long fingers ending in bulbs, connecting to the wrist almost without a palm inbetween. As soon as I was past the gate, the light faded and we were back in reality, tossed belly down onto the earth of the tunnel beyond the gate. Behind us, the rusted turnstile snapped off its slot, shutting the passage tightly.
As I rose from the ground, Bourbon tried to recompose himself from whatever he had gone through. "Aaaa!!! What the hell just happened to me?!” he screeched, turning to face me with genuine fear in his eyes. “Artyom, did you hear those songs? Brrr!” he shivered violently, hugging himself. “I wouldn't wish it on an enemy!"
How could a man's after-reactions be so radically different from what he seemed to be experiencing at the time? The very thought of it made me almost choke with fear, as if it constricted my throat with its invisible hands.
Once I returned to my feet I went to switch on my headlamp, only to find out its battery was dead, which, thanks to the universal charger Pavel had given me, was but a temporary sidetracking. I pulled out the gadget from my pack, connected the wire to the light, and began pumping the dynamo into motion, watching as the needle on the dial gravitated further and further to the right.
Pavel… Just thinking of one of my neighbours brought my thoughts back to Exhibition. Father has no doubt found out by now, I'm sure; I could only pray he didn't fall to the temptation of alcohol too vastly. He was a good man, and the whole station counted on him.
Another thought was how the Metro was different from what I imagined before this. Eugine had thought it would be an exciting adventure, full of heroism and dangers like the old novels told. But while this was indeed an adventure, no book could ever convey the tension, fear and loneliness the characters faced and I shared at this moment. It only made me want to reach Polis, or at least Market station, faster.
“Shit…” The other man, now calmer, snatched a canteen from his bag and took a deep swig from it, passing it to me as he rubbed his sweaty forehead with a gloved hand. I sniffed it, and discovered it was water. "You know, you're tougher than you look, kid,” he remarked as I helped empty out the container, which he stuffed back into a pocket. “Let’s move. I don’t want to be around when the nosalises find a way around that collapsed tunnel."
I got up from the dirt and followed Bourbon as he set off though the narrow passage, stepping over the various rotten planks and other trash that had accumulated there over time. There was an opening to the right, leading towards a large vertical chamber whose purpose I couldn't imagine. A roar nearby only ushered me to go faster, and soon I left the tunnel's narrow entrails, stumbling onto a horribly mutilated corpse on my way out. I could barely bring myself to collect the Bastard magazine near the dead man's busted gun.
-----~~~/)(~~~-----<
Instead of the luminous sunlight that greeted her every morning in Ponyville shining through her room’s window, a certain purple alicorn was called to the waking world and away from the meeting of spirits she was having with her brother by a violent sneeze. Rubbing the dust off her muzzle and the sand out of her eyes, Twilight Sparkle peered sleepily around at her friends.
Rarity sat nearby, sluggishly trying to set her mussed mane at least somewhat straight, and Applejack gazed blankly forward like she wasn’t fully awake, with an equally lethargic Fluttershy using her back as a pillow. Pinkie Pie was yawning almost non-stop, leaning against Rainbow Dash, who, in turn, was herself using the pink pony as a support so she didn't fall to the floor on her side. They all had dark circles around their eyes, adding to the impression of an ill-slept night.
The ponies watched groggily as the human sat by a fire pit, silently stirring something in a crumpled pan, emanating a pleasant scent of cooked food into the air. "Where did this guy get Zecora's mushrooms anyway?" Rainbow asked no one in particular.
The stallion-sized mare lifted herself off the improvised bed and stretched her stiff limbs. "If I had to guess, I'd say they’re most likely an indigenous species. Maybe it’s like the language parallel; it just exists.”
The speedster turned towards her. “Good morning to you, too, egghead,” she mumbled crankily. “Seriously, how doesn’t your crown slide off that oval head of yours?”
Twilight blushed pink, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”
Rainbow waved the apology off, rubbing her eyes with the other hoof. “Nah, Twi, it’s alright. I’m the one who’s sorry; I just…” she yawned widely, “… didn’t sleep that well.”
The little exchange brought the attention of the other ponies to their librarian friend. Pinkie just yawned and blinked forcefully, slurring something that remained open to interpretation, and Fluttershy offered a weak but genuine smile. Applejack nodded. Rarity shook her head quickly for a moment, craning her neck to face her. “Good morning, darling,” she said. “You seem to have had a much better beauty sleep than most of us,” the unicorn added somewhat unnecessarily.
“Looks like it,” Twilight answered as she contemplated her friends one more time. “What happened?”
“Didn’t y’all hear?” Applejack piped in. At Twilight’s questioning gaze, she added, “The noises.”
“Noises?”
Rainbow scoffed. “I thought I was a heavy sleeper.” Before the farmer mare beside her could add her two bits, she pressed on, “We heard some really weird sounds all night long.”
“I recognized a few from my time with those ruffian diamond dogs,” Rarity said with a shudder. “Shifting soil, falling rocks and the like.” She shifted closer to the others – because a lady never does something as vulgar as crawling –, putting a hoof near her mouth as if to muffle her own voice. “But some others… I just cannot find an explanation for.”
One winged pony shuddered. The one that also had a horn quirked an eyebrow.
“I think I know what Rarity’s on to,” Dash whispered, turning to the fashionista. “You mean stuff like metal screeching, banging sheets and that ringing noise?”
The classy pony nodded. “Exactly.”
“Ah swear Ah heard moanin’ comin’ from out there,” Applejack whispered, lifting a hoof to signal the door. “It kinda sounded like that dragon Fluttershy scolded off the mountain... but not, ya know? Almost like…”
“Like he was a ghost?” the meek pegasus on her back suggested quietly. Applejack nodded slowly.
Outside, the wind changed direction, bringing along a deep, incorporeal sigh. Twilight perked up an ear at it. “Girls, that's just the wind,” she explained. “Besides, the sound waves lose little energy as they rebound inside the walls of an enclosed compartment. And this place is-”
"Forgive my interruption of your marvelous exposition, Twilight, dear,” Rarity said with a hoof lifted in the air, “but what is our friend doing?"
After a second of confusion spent on re-gathering her scattered thoughts, Twilight finally noted that the unicorn's foreleg was pointing at Khan, who had moved himself to kneel before the fire with his hands pressed together. "I'm not sure," she admitted. “I’ll go ask him.” Stepping carefully over her friends, the princess of Ponyville made her way towards the meditative sage, stopping beside him and waiting for an opportunity to grasp his attention.
As she waited, she wondered about what he was doing, mumbling continuously with his eyes closed. The words were spoken in a language she didn't recognize, but the sound of them carried great conviction and seriousness, which sparked her mind into formulating a number of theories. After countless derivations and hypotheses failed to shed light on the issue, she decided to ask directly. *Excuse me, Khan?* she asked softly, reluctant of breaking his concentration. *If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?*
Khan did not answer at first, but as soon as she resigned herself to wait once more, pouting a little, he stopped and made a slight motion with his hand. *What is it you need, Twilight?* he said serenely.
*Oh, it’s nothing, really, my friends and I were just a little curious about what you were doing,* she answered.
He took a deep breath and turned to face the curious pony. *I was praying, young Sparkle. It is a ritual of mine to pray each morning, not for myself, but for humanity. You must know, my little friend, that I am a man of faith, one who believes everything happens according to God's plan. I have grown to accept and be satisfied by the conditions I am in, which makes my life easier than theirs.
*They have given up hope, so I hope for them. For a future where all hope is abandoned is a future to be dreaded.*
Twilight couldn’t help but sit down, stunned by this man's devotion. That each morning he would seek the aid of a divinity, not for his own benefit, but for those whom have lost hope... Then, she began to wonder something. She wondered if this universe had its own elements of Harmony, or at the least those who symbolized them. Khan, for one, in as sick a place as the Metro, had saved and sheltered them, complete strangers to him, and he put the welfare of his fellow humans as a priority over his own. He couldn't be anything but the embodiment of Generosity.
Before she could compliment him on the nobility of his actions, the man in question cleared his throat, startling her a little. *Our meal is due to be ready soon. If you wish, we could debate your doubts and those of your friends until then.*
The purple pony took a second to realize what the human had just said, but when she did, her throat gave out a little squee of approval, with her wings half-flapping a few times. *Really?* Quickly, she conjured a pair of glasses, settling them upon her nose, and twisted her body to look behind her. "Girls!” she beckoned. “Khan said he'll answer the questions now!"
Each of them had their own response as they began to group around the two.
"Well that's 'bout time!..."
"… I've been dying to know what manner of beast created his ensemble..."
"… now I just wanna know when we're gonna have breakfast..."
"… we can ask anything?! When is his birthday? What is his favorite cupcake?"
"… if he's okay with it."
“Girls!” Twilight scolded the noisy herd. “One at a time, please.” She cleared her throat. "Alright then, let's begin..."
-----~~~/)(~~~-----<
The sewer tunnel, as I found out, led to an old maintenance passage with an exit to the railways once again. The lamp behind me as I left through the hole in the wall shone an orange light on Bourbon's skin, making him look like a ghost. "And here is the Market,” he announced, pointing for a moment towards a bulkhead sealing off the right end of the tunnel. “Stay calm - Uncle Bourbon will get us in."
We approached the entry gate with the howls of animosity in tow. Once we reached the massive steel seal, Bourbon shouted to the sentries within. "Hey, people! Open up! Don't let your two legged brethren die a foolish death!" When that failed to rouse the guards, he hammered the solid metal with his foot. "Are you deaf in there?! We're going to be eaten!"
Thankfully, between Bourbon's continuous abuse of the door and the feral sounds behind us, the sentries answered our call. As warning bells began to sound off inside the station, one of them showed himself from a barred outcropping to our left, his rifle raised at me. "Motherfuckers! Who the hell did you drag with you?!” He looked to the dark stretch behind us as the mutants growled one more time, closer and closer. “Damn, nosalises! Semyon, start the trolley, we'll save their asses!"
Now all we needed to do was halt the advancing mass of flesh and make it within the station, a task that was much easier said than done.
"Artyom, hang on! Fate's on our side!"
'Let's hope you're right, Bourbon...'
The moment I saw the primal eyes in the darkness beyond the reaches of the lights, I opened fire, tearing through the skull of the first nosalis, while the stray bullets pierced those behind it. I could only thank God for how smooth the recoil was on this Kalash 2012 rifle when compared to the Bastard; it would have flown out of my grasp otherwise. Bourbon saw fit to use his shotgun to mow down the closer beasts, dismembering them whenever he did not hit their bodies and blasting deep dark holes when he did.
I could hear a large gate – which, unfortunately for us, was not the one behind our backs – slamming open, a grinding noise coming along with it. Soon after, a trolley rolled onto the tracks on the other side of the room. "Let's kick some snout butts!" somebody shouted from it as its headlight flashed on.
The trolley then began to release controlled volleys of heavy machine gun rounds into the approaching nosalises, cutting down on their numbers. The few that made it through or climbed up from outside its range were no match for the power of my weapon and Bourbon's combined. The deafening bouts of gunfire tore through the swarm of beasts in no time. Despite the adrenaline, I smiled. It seemed things would finally turn out well.
Just as it seemed like we would at last have a reprieve from the onslaught, a vent grate dropped from above. Neither me, nor Bourbon or the sentries had the reflexes to react to the nosalis which followed the metal square, dropping on top of me and pinning me to the ground. The mutant did not attack right away; instead, it roared to me in what I could only think of as surprise, which surprised me in turn. Wasn't it expecting to catch prey?
Right then, everything went crimson, and the weight concentrated on my arms eased up as most of it collapsed on my chest. Piercing through the veil of tinnitus, Bourbon's laughter made me even more confused. "Ah, kid, I really needed a mirror right now! You're really missing out on the faces you can make!"
It turns out Bourbon eviscerated the nosalis' head with a well placed shell, so well-placed, in fact, that I wasn’t hit by any of the spread. It was very impressive, although there was still one matter I had to discuss with him. "Bourbon...!"
"Aaah,” he sighed, recuperating from his guffawing. “Yeah, kid?"
"… Get this snout off me!" I choked out. “I can’t breathe!”
“Crap,” I heard him utter, and soon a foot rolled the carcass off my chest, finally freeing my arms. After the red veil of mutant blood was wiped off by my hands, he helped me to my feet. “Life’s never boring with you around, is it, Artyom?”
Once I arose, the trolley casted a spotlight on both of us. "Hey you!” the same voice from before demanded our attention. “Show yourselves!"
Bourbon was quick to walk, slowly, to the edge of the platform we stood on, facing the trolley’s beam fully. "Do as he says - these guys have no sense of humor," he advised me.
We stepped into the light and lowered our weapons, not eager to add our blood to that spilled on the ground.
"Are my eyes playing tricks? Bourbon, old friend, is that you?!” Apparently my traveling partner was more famous than I had first anticipated. “And I'd given up all hope of ever seeing you alive again! Simon, look who the Snouts scared up!"
"God damn! We stepped in the shit now!" Bourbon whispered to me. "Hey, Mikhalych!” he shouted to the rail car. “What a coincidence, I was just coming to visit you!"
"You hear that, boys? Set out the good dishes-Bourbon's come to visit!"
‘Something tells me there is more going on here than I know about...’
Artyom awakened with no sense in his extremities, realizing after a look around that he was not in his home, or even the tunnels he was familiar with.
His search for clues was stopped dead in its tracks by a group of monstrosities, vaguely relatable to a sort of carnivore, but so twisted and deformed he couldn’t figure out what they were before. Fangs jutted from their ravenous mouths, long and sharp enough to pierce through bone. Razor sharp claws juted from their legs. They slowly crossed the distance towards Artyom, clacking their nails on the floor. He tried to run, but fear paralyzed every muscle in his body.
He was helpless as they descended upon him, tearing his flesh from the bone. All he could manage was a chilling scream as they severed his neck skin open.
____________________________________________________________________________
Artyom woke up with a start. "Damn Nosalises," he grunted as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was the third time that night; peaceful sleep was sure not come to him.
Having realized that, he turned to look at his wall, and the pictures of the world hanging on it, ranging from New York to London, from Moscow to France. He wished he could see them in their glory. The novels he had been reading the night before lay on his desk, among them To Kill A Mockingbird and 1984. Seeing no point in re-reading them so soon, he set them back to the shelf.
He checked his watch. It read a little past 5 AM. It was a little early, but he decided to start his day nonetheless. If by some miracle he managed to sleep again, he would sleep in for sure.
Soon after he finished getting dressed, he heard his name from the door. Peering inside his room was Kirill, one of his station's guards. "Artyom? You’re up, that’s good. Your father wants you to meet him at the airlock for Hunter's arrival.”
As they moved through Exhibition’s hallways, Kirill kept droning on and on about how Hunter spent three weeks outside without freezing, then about the Rangers and their fortitude. ‘Kirill really needs to learn when to shut up,’ Artyom thought.
____________________________________________________________________________
Another day was beginning in Ponyville, the sun just starting its ascent to chase away the night sky. Everypony was sound asleep, except for the town’s librarian – a coronation and a new pair of wings changed neither the character of the wielder of the Element of Magic, nor her occupation or, perhaps most importantly, her questionable studying habits.
As usual, Twilight Sparkle had spent the entire night studying nonstop, save for a few dozen coffee cups and the time needed to rinse the dry remains of the beverage off the bottom of the mug between servings. This time, the object of her attention was linguistics, griffin linguistics to be precise.
*This was easier than I thought!* she said out loud, and instantly she put her hooves over her mouth after she noticed she’d spoken in textbook Avian. ‘How long did I spend reading that?’ She peered out the window to see the sun had broken the horizon, giving her the answer. ‘Uh-oh, a bit too long, I’m afraid.’
"Ughh... Morning, Twi." She turned to see a small dragon getting up from his basket, rubbing his eyes clean. "Were you up all night?"
"Yeah, I found a couple of books on the ancient griffin language!” she announced happily, flapping the slight kinks off her wings. *It was a night well spent,* she added with a smug smile.
Spike blinked, considering how Twilight had learned an entire language in under a day. He decided it was better not question it unless he wished for a headache. "Oookay then... Well, I'm going to get breakfast started."
The tiny dragon walked into the kitchen, leaving the new alicorn to her mess. It didn't take long for Twilight to reorganize the library's main room to the way it usually looked, and just as she finished, the smell of pancakes filled her nostrils, the succulent smell lulling her towards the kitchen. She realized that, during her all night study session, she had not eaten anything, something her stomach reminded her of with a roar exactly as Spike set the stack down in front of her. "Here we go, a morning meal worthy of a princess!” He winked. “Bon appetit, Twi!"
It didn't take long for them both to finish off every morsel of fluffy delight, and with both their hungers sated to the point where they had a small case of bloated belly, they prepared to start their day.
That is, until a letter was received via dragon fire. Twilight was quick to nab the parchment from the air and unfurl it.
"What does it say, Twilight?" Spike asked, trying to climb behind her head to read.
Twilight stared at the paper in silence for a while. "… It says that ‘the Princesses request my presence for advice on a confidential matter’."
’What could they need advice from me for?’
________________________________________________________________________________
"Artyom! Stand back. We don't know what else will be behind that door."
My stepfather was the unofficial leader of our station, a strong man who was there when the nukes fell upon the capital. My parents died after leaving me in his care; whether they met their end to radiation, heat or shock wave was unknown, just like so many others who didn’t make it to the metro in time.
"You two, opposite sides of the door. Open it on my mark."
The look from the guards' faces told that they feared what may lie behind the hatch.
"Kirill… Open the hatch."
The sound of machinery flooded the room as the airlock slowly spread apart. The light engulfed the room, and a single figure stood in front of it. He was clad in ballistic armor and combat equipment, but the real highlights of his display were the night vision goggles, the serrated knife on his belt, and the rifle on his back. This man wan not just a soldier, he was a legend of the metro, a one man apocalypse.
"Alex, Artyom! So nice to see you." Hunter gave a nod in our direction. "You there. Guard. You can stop looking around, I was not followed. Now do us a favor and close this door. I’ve been on the cold for a little too long to enjoy it."
Kirill shrugged and began to close the airlock. Hunter took a seat next to us around the fire. "Hey, Artyom, I got you something.” He pulled out a postcard portraying that New York statue. “A souvenir vendor in Tulskaya had it. I thought of your wall.”
I looked it over for a fair amount of time before giving him a smile in return as I took the card. He nodded and turned back to Father. "So, Alex, is all going well with Exhibition?"
Before he could answer, a noise echoed from the ventilation ducts above. It was a horrid and primal thing; hearing it sent a shiver down my spine. Suddenly, there was a revolver and a bullet pack in my hand. "Artyom!” Hunter bellowed as the station's alarms sounded. “Stay behind us and keep sharp."
A grating on the left wall fell to the floor, revealing what I had feared. ’Nosalises.’
Author's Note
So yeah rewrites are coming up now... If you have any grievances towards Twilicorn just PM me.
Chapter 8: Welcome home, Artyom
"Holster your weapons at once!" That was our greeting as Bourbon and I went around the station's massive gate. "Who're you? Come into the light! Slowly, slowly... Well I'll be damned – Bourbon! Hey, guys, we'd better search these two." Like I'd thought, Bourbon did have a reputation.
Bourbon stepped forward, taking the lead. I followed, and he gave a mock bow as we stopped in front of the guards.
"So, you old drunk, what are you carrying this time around?” The apparently lead guard glanced at me. “And who's the boy?"
"Look here, boss, I'm sure we can work this out..."
The center guard bore a mischievous grin once Bourbon released the words into the air. "Sure, let's go and chat a little. And you,” he motioned to the others, “keep an eye on this one." As Bourbon and the guard passed through the fence out of sight, relieved myself of my pack and reached inside.
"Don't move, mudak ." I looked up to the sentry and met his gaze as I retrieved the generator from my pack, connected it to my headlamp and checked the charge.
"Stand still, I'm talking to you!" I disconnected the generator, satisfied with the three-quarter charge and stood face to face with the man. Despite his age and demeanor, he was nervous of me, most likely due to the fact that I towered over him.
The lead came back, alone. "Okay, these two may pass. Welcome to the Market." I turned to the fence to proceed with Bourbon, only to hear the faint word 'zhopa ' muttered from behind.
"Unless you enjoy the company, let's leg it." Taking no time, Bourbon and I entered the market proper. After moving along an array of empty boxcars, Bourbon stopped and pulled me to his side. "Listen kid, we're in deep shit. No way I can pay back those rail-car guys. We'll be lucky if they let us shovel shit for the rest of our days."
I began to wonder how much Bourbon owed exactly, and to how many different people. "What do you suggest?"
"Well... we can't go to Hanza. Look, here's some cartridges, go get a couple of filters, will ya? I have an idea..."
I'd never seen a market like this--you could buy almost anything. But, Bourbon owed money to the Hanza sentries, and was anxious to leave.
I had five minutes to prepare for Bourbon's plan before meeting him at a nearby bar. Thus, I had scarce time to search all the stalls and kiosks of the market. Each one had varying goods of different values, from weapons to pans and simple clothes to the rare can of disinfectant.
After I had purchased a few cylinders worth of .44, an hour in filters, and a new piece of flint for my lighter, I began to head to the bar Bourbon told me of. On my way out of the vendor's nook, something caught my eye from a nearby stall. It seemed to be a small yellow pastry of some sort wrapped in a plastic covering. The vendor noticed my observations and stood from his counting bullets.
"Something I can help you with my boy? A little treat perhaps?"
"How much for this?" I pointed out the assumed confection.
"It'll be five bullets kid."
I took a moment to think about what I was doing. There were more useful things I could get for five bullets, such as lighter fuel or some clean water... and here I was about to spend five bullets on something that won't last very long, or had already spoiled.
"I appreciate your business, kid!"
'I hope this was worth it...'
-----~~~/)(~~~-----<
The small herd sat around the human as he told the resumed history of his world, from a time before the devastation of the land above and the retreat into the subterranean safety of the Russian Metro System. When there was no need to don masks which filtered the poisonous air, or hide from the monstrosities that plagued the surface.
The princess among them was transfixed by the man, listening with the utmost interest, as was instinct due to her bookish nature and natural curiosity. But unlike the studious pony, the sole unicorn decided to avert her attention elsewhere, more specifically to the many scrap wools and leathers around the makeshift den. She astutely examined each fiber and scrap. The fashionista wouldn't normally touch leather due to ethics regarding its origin, but she decided to keep her mind elsewhere to dilute the grim reality of the current situation; dividing the food by seven resulted in meager portions that barely counted as leftovers, and didn't provide a distraction for long. Khan had explained how he would have to ration his supplies, as he wasn't expecting any sort of visitor, let alone half a dozen, and she didn't have the heart to complain after that.
Time and time again she found herself wondering of her younger sister. Little did she know, she was not the only one thinking of their place in Equestria. Each of the mares had, at one time or another, thought of home, family, friends, or in Fluttershy's case, animal friends.
Even though they had only been in the dark of the Metro for a short time, each of them felt as if they hadn't seen Equestria, let alone Ponyville, for sheer months. At least they were not forsaken entirely, as they found a new friend in the human known as 'Khan', whom seemed to have extensive, almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Metro. There were many questions he deflected or took his time in answering, such as who had caused the apocalypse on the surface, or why the nazis and communists – whom he began referring to respectively as 'Reich' and 'Red Line' – were so hostile. A good deal of what they heard could be resumed to 'I don't have a precise enough answer to give'.
The man placed the now clean eating utensils within his rucksack and began to stand, attracting the attention of the equines. *We should get going, we have stayed here long enough.* After seeing the concern in their faces, Khan hinted at the shadows along the wall with his chin. *We're not the only ones in this room.*
This earned an incredulous look from both the alicorn and the butter pegasus, both of them looking around the room in question for any sign of the unwanted guest. *What exactly do you mean, Khan?* Twilight asked. *We don't see anything.*
He turned around and beckoned them closer, his hand slowly fanning the air towards him. *Come closer, and I will show you.*
“Girls, Khan wants to show us something.” Her voice was now laced with uncertainty, as her mind tried to process what it was that their eyes could not perceive. The only conclusion she could take was that whatever was with them was hiding in plain sight, camouflaged from the unwary eye.
“What is it, Egghead? Did he find out how to get us home?” The spectrum mottled mare, obviously enough, kept true to her headstrong attitude, deigning to jump to conclusions as she sailed next to the man.
“We can certainly hope sugarcube, but Ah have a feeling that's not the case,” Applejack stated, patting Rainbow Dash on her back as she fell in line, looking at the human whilst the rest of the herd grouped beside him as well.
Khan pointed to the wall across the room. *Tell me, friends, what do you see over there? In the shadows?*
Fluttershy and Twilight inspected the wall, the former shaking her head distractedly as she studied it. Even the minute divots of the wall fell under their dilligent once-over.
*I can only see wall,* Fluttershy said hesitantly. Twilight nodded,starting to doubt Khan's assessment.
The human nodded wisely a single time. *That is where you are wrong.* His headlamp flickered to life, casting its illuminating beam against the wall and lighting the room in its darkened depths.
At first, they saw nothing out of the ordinary, just a wall lined with piping, cracked paint, dust and mold, the usual motif so far. However, as Twilight went to ask what they were looking for, the shadow presented itself out of the corner of her eye. The dark shape of a man, not unlike Khan, was standing in place from where they entered the room the night prior. It watched without moving, observed while doing nothing but breathe... waiting for something to happen. Its body didn't seem real, like a shadow, but instead of a flat projection, it was a perfectly three-dimensional apparition, defined enough to mess with their depth of view.
The nervous silence that had settled in the room was broken when Khan began to speak again. *You see it now, yes?* he asked, keeping his eyes closed as his headlamp centered the ethereal shape. *This... is a silhouette. A man who once walked the very tunnels we have has perished, and what remains of him is this ghostly visage, lost and set to wander in our mortal realm. His death must have hardly been a peaceful one.* He shut off the power to his headlamp, turning around and opening the doorway to the tunnels proper. *Come, we shouldn't linger. The living bear no rights to the paths the dead tread.*
After Twilight relayed his words to the group, each of the girls had a reaction, ranging from Rarity's muted 'oh, dear', Pinkie's eyes losing their happy glint, Rainbow Dash going from ruffled in fear to slumped in sympathy, and Applejack placing her hat above her heart, grimacing and scrunching her eyes shut. It seemed the story had hit her harder than all the rest.
Fluttershy, for her part, sat in front of the shadow, looking at where his eyes would have been. Her face was neutral, but a tear escaped her eye. 'Even in death... these people have no peace. What kind of being can tolerate this prospect of existence?'
-----~~~/)(~~~-----<
I arrived at the bar moments later, stopping in front of Bourbon with my teeth sunk into the treat I’d bought.
“Artyom, anomaly-killer and candy-eater!” He gave a hearty laugh, to the point of wiping his eye of a tear, surely mocking me for making such a decision. “You sure are a riot, kid. I wish I started traveling with you sooner.”
I simply shrugged, rather enjoying the cake despite its horrendous aftertaste. Reaching into my bag, I handed him a few spare filters, seeing as I had plenty for the moment.
He took them and gave a gesture of thanks, placing them in his bag with a smirk before contorting his face into a more serious expression. “So, I made an arrangement with a guy here. Greedy asshole, but he’s willing to let us out. It’s gonna take some quick feet on our part, so be ready to bolt when you see the chance. I assume you are done with your little shopping spree?”
I nodded, quickly polishing off the rest of the morsel, complete with a faint shudder as it traveled down my throat. I shouldered the Kalash and prepared for whatever we were to do.
“Great, let's go then. The sooner we escape this trap, the better.”
We walked calmly to the airlock, finding a nest of guards sitting around a fire with a pot upon a spit. They all seemed rather cheery, considering their post. In Exhibition, a post at the airlocks would chill a man to his core, knowing that any day could be his last. My heart ached as I thought of home, my mind wandering and thinking of Plimel and my father.
“Bourbon?” A guard asked as we stepped past a turnstile, approaching the airlock with purpose.
“As if you don't know...” Bourbon retorted, clearly annoyed that he would have to go through this again.
“Cough up and get out.” I began to wonder if it was just Market that employed such a corrupt and underhanded guard. I understand the necessities were needed, but in such a populous station they were in no short number. The guard here seemed to want to milk Bourbon of every bullet he owned.
“I've already paid Mike.” Even more proof of what I had assumed.
“You didn't pay me . But if you don't want to go through...” The guard had a mischievous grin as he held out his hand, his palm opened and waiting hungrily for payment.
“Shit — a pleasure doing business with you...” Bourbon filled his open hand with two or three shiny bullets, reluctantly shaking the commander’s other one.
The guard quickly pocketed the rounds and turned to the others. “Get ready, everyone, the gate's opening!”
The others gave him an uncertain look, one of them even questioning him. “Are you sure, commander?”
He looked at him and nodded before moving to the gate. “Take your positions and cover me.”
The commander began to unlock the gate, turning the wheel at the base and quickly pulling it open, allowing the light from the stairway outside to flow in. The cold swept in as well, chilling me as it first hit. Thankfully, my clothes were more than warm enough for the outside world, though I knew little of what to expect.
“It looks clear... Go!” The commander shouted, ushering us out the gate quickly.
“Thanks!” Bourbon told him, hastily stepping outside and pulling me along. “We need to move our asses, boy!”
A moment after his words reached me, I could hear shouting from inside the station. “Hold it right there!” “Bourbon! Hold it!” “Get them!”
“Move it, kid!”
As the commander closed the gate behind us, locking it noisily, we rushed to the stairs, ending up in front of a row of decayed wooden doors. “Put your mask on, Artyom. Time to use those filters you bought.” We donned our masks, testing them to see if they were in working order before opening the passage.
All but a moment later, we arrived to the surface, leaving the subterranean refuge and entering a shell of a metro station entrance. The building was littered with pure white snow that crunched under my boots as I took my first steps out of the tunnels. My nerves began to get to me, and my stomach flipped, taking the cake for a sickening ride. I was treading unfamiliar ground now, with no way back.
“Be re-e-ally careful now...” Bourbon uttered, placing a hand on my shoulder as he stepped in front of me. I followed his gaze as he looked to a dilapidated portion of the roof, a hole revealing a large ball of light shining through it. From what I had heard, and read, the large illumination in the sky was called “sun”. It had a stark beauty to it, though I must admit it frightened me with its power.
Stepping around some more turnstiles, we came to a lifeless corpse. He had deep wounds on his chest, similar to those a nosalis would cause. “And here we meet a happy citizen!” Bourbon spoke with dripping sarcasm, a small sigh leaving his mouth in a cloud of steam shortly afterwards. “Stalkers. Those crazy devils come to the surface almost every day, looking for scrap metal, ammo, anything they can dig up and carry...” He crouched over the dead man, relieving his pockets of any valuables.
I took to the bag, grabbing a few shotgun shells from it with a frown. For some reason, I felt as though there was some hidden, and familiar meaning to the word ‘Stalkers’. I couldn't place it, but they seemed nostalgic to me in whatever manner...
“Sometimes you find the dead ones frozen stiff... like snowmen in rags – heh.” Bourbon had some hint of sadness in his voice, probably aimed toward the poor man whom had met his fate here. “Search the room carefully, you might find another cache around here. They often make hideouts for themselves on the surface, just in case. So just take a look around, and we'll have no problem with spare filters or ammunition whatsoever.”
I looked to a doorway to my left, taking his advice and cautiously searching for anything of value. Peering inside of the doorway, I noticed a stairway directly to the right inside of it, as well as a tripwire at the foot of the stairs. Following the wire with my eyes, I found a rather crude but deadly trap made of a wooden log and sharpened rebar suspended above the door frame.
Carefully, I stepped through the door and over the trip wire, ascending the stairs and coming to the second level of the station entrance. Something ran in front of me, no doubt frightened by my presence, before jumping out of a row of windows further ahead. It couldn’t have been a nosalis; those damnable creatures were too sluggish and stupidly bold to match this limber new animal. After I managed to suppress my frantic heartbeat, I examined the area, finding that directly at the top of the stairs and to my right was a small toolbox filled with an assortment of ammunition and filters.
I gladly gathered these amenities and slung the Kalash back, seeing that I now had a surplus of .44 for my revolver. Guard training had showed us how the heavier bullet was more effective against unarmored mutant flesh than human armor, and the skirmishes I had been in so far proved such a notion perfectly right.
A second later, I heard a howl come from the outside. Peering out the window the mutant had scampered through, I had my first glimpse of Russia’s late capital city of Moscow. Ruined and hollow buildings stuck out like stakes all over, forming jagged lines on the horizon. Each one was a shell of its former glory, no doubt. A faint sadness struck me as I realized that the surface would never be as it was in the books, that all of the pictures I owned of my home were no longer examples of what it was like. I heard a second howl and saw the same agile monster dart across the ground, sniffing around before diving into a stairwell. A moment passed and two more followed in its wake.
“Despite everything, life sings on... even if it is a whisper of what it once was,” I spoke to myself, poignantly contemplating the words as I descended the stairs back to my friend.
When I arrived, Bourbon was still scavenging the stalker's corpse. “What have we got here? Ah, a filter... That will surely come in handy,” he spoke aloud as he searched the rest of the belongings. “Some ammo, great.” He stood up and closed the man's eyes with his fingers. “Thanks, friend.”
I moved to the next room, one across the floor, and discovered another corpse behind the reception counter. He was devoid of anything aside from a few cartridges for his Bastard, which I took without much thought. Stepping outside and moving to the room adjacent to the last, I found yet another body crumpled on the floor. This man looked as if he had died from either hunger, thirst or cold, as there were no wounds on his body. He was lying next to a few filters, which I placed into my pack. I still held onto some reluctance to take things from the dead, but seeing as they were in the same situation before, doing just the same, I shrugged it off more easily.
After my little scavenging hunt was done, I followed Bourbon to the doors of the building. “Ready?” he asked, positioned behind the frame. I gave a small but perceptible nod as I looked over the hall one last time. “Let's go then.” He said, easily kicking down the door and carefully stepping outside. “We've got reach an air shaft close by, it’s one of the easiest ways into Dry station. Then, we go our separate ways. And don’t you worry, the deal still stands: you’ll get the AK I promised you.” I could feel the smirk behind his mask from afar.
The street outside was lined with debris, some of them being what I believed were cars of old. Aside from that, the ground was carved in jagged lines, revealing the city's sewage system.
As we stepped into the open, my heart skipped a beat. A deep, loud roar, unlike any I had heard in my life, echoed throughout the area, making my body freeze in fear. Bourbon cursed and began to move back to the cover that the building provided, hiding away behind a pillar. “Hide, kid!” I mustered my courage and followed in his footsteps, hiding next to him. “Stay hidden. If we meet the beast in the open, crawl into the nearest crevice.”
I peered from the cover and paid witness to a gigantic monstrosity circling overhead, with wings of massive span and talons like razors. Its face looked like a bat’s, but so much larger and more menacing. It reminded me of a picture I had on my wall, which displayed a rooftop with statues upon it, dubbed ‘Gargoyles’.
“Some people call these demons, I call them bitches.” Bourbon uttered, his hand gripping the Kalash tightly as he grimaced at the beast. “They don’t leave you alone until you’ve given them a few good slaps, and even then they come back.” I figured both were fitting names.
The demon went just as quickly as it came, flying off further down the road and perching with its back to us on a distant rooftop. Assuming it was safe, we stepped out from the shade of the pillar and stood out into the sunlight. “So, that's the dead city,” Bourbon grunted, bowing down and waving his arm in a strange, mocking curtsy. “Welcome home, Artyom.”
Author's Note
Hey, Rains here. I had A LOT of family issues and the like pop up while I was writing and I had to postpone my work on this!
But now I'm back! And I plan to update regularly! Twice a month at the least.
Anyway, thanks for reading, And thank you for the amazing editing Mr. Kellar, I'd be lost without you!
