“But we have to find a way to help her!”
Amanda and Andrei had found a small munitions stockroom with an iron door. They were alone now, so they could speak freely in English.
Shaking his head, Andrei said, “But I can’t do anything to save your horse. They are going to execute her this evening; the general told me that.”
“There must be something we can do!” Amanda’s voice sounded as desperate as she felt. “They can’t just kill such a harmless, peaceful cartoon character. That’s so wrong!”
“Then what do you want me to do, Amanda?” Andrei said. “They think she is an American spy, because she speaks English. If I vouch for her, I could give away your cover, and I’m sure the general will not be happy with me if I would stand up for her. There simply is no way of avoiding it.”
Amanda folded her hands together. “Please, please, please, Andrei,” she pleaded, “we have to find a way.”
Shrugging, Andrei said, “But why should we save her? Is she that important to you?”
“She’s important in the world she came from,” Amanda answered. “She’s one of six elements of harmony, and… eh…” Amanda tried her best to come up with an easy and fast explanation. “They have special powers. If one of the elements dies, their whole world could be thrown in disarray. Their whole world could end up like this one.”
Andrei mulled over those words. “Well… if you put it that way…” Wrinkles appeared on his scar-covered forehead. “But how has she come from her world into ours anyway?”
“I don’t know,” Amanda said, “but we have to try and free her. We can’t just let them—“
“Everyone! If you want to see the horse, follow me. The execution is going to start!” A voice boomed through the bunker.
“What did he say?” Amanda said, her voice wavering as panic kicked in.
Andrei bit his lip. “Maybe it is best if I don’t translate that for you…”
Amanda had heard enough. With a push of the button, the iron door opened. Soon, she found herself marching along with the soldiers which were heading towards the elevator. The small room at the bottom of the elevator was packed with Russians gearing up, putting on their suits and masks. Some were busily talking to each other. The execution of a cartoon horse truly was something special. The soldiers were bored; they were in the mood to see something special.
Andrei and Amanda feverishly put on their suits as well. Andrei wanted to stay close to Amanda, as he had the feeling that she was going to do something very stupid. Together with a group of eager Russians, they entered the elevator and went up. As the elevator moved, Amanda thought and thought of some way to save Rainbow Dash. But when the elevator reached the top, she hadn’t come up with a plan.
The area outside of the elevator, boxed in between the walls and the towers, could be described as a courtyard. There was a small storage building, a parking area for the trucks and the jeeps, anti-aircraft missiles, and some piles of spare building material. There was also a large group of Russians, eager to see blood.
Amanda was quite small and thin, so she couldn’t see over the heads of the Russians or elbow her way to the front of the crowd. Instead, she grabbed a fuel drum and put it upright, then climbed on top of it. The sight she saw made her want to scream.
There, against a small concrete wall, stood Rainbow Dash. Even though she was blindfolded, Amanda could see how scared she was. Her wings were tied to her barrel, and her ears swiveled around, taking in all the jeers of the soldiers. A line of six soldiers with rifles stood opposite of her, and behind them a couple of bright lamps illuminated the entire scene.
When Amanda looked around, she couldn’t spot Andrei. But when she looked back, she saw that the Russian was pushing his way through the crowd. She had no idea if he had a plan, and she hoped he had, because the only thing that occupied her mind was pure desperation.
Suddenly, the searchlights swiveled upwards. A lone figure stood on the metal rampart, overlooking the crowd. The soldiers threw their fists in the air as a salute. Amanda guessed that the man must be their general. He wore a long trench coat and had a cap with many stars on his head. He looked at the crowd with a content expression on his face. After a minute or two, he raised his hands in the air, telling his soldiers to shut up and listen.
“Today, we witness the execution of the blue pegasus!”
The crowd cheered, a rough chorus of soldiers’ voices.
“She came to us, looking innocent and lost, so we took her in. But then we discovered that her intentions were not of a friendly nature. The horse spoke the language of our enemy, thereby foolishly giving her true identity away. Most certainly she has been sent by the Americans as a spy.”
Amanda listened to the foreign words. Although she had no idea what the general was saying, she listened to his powerful voice. Truly the voice of a leader. If only Amanda had her sniper rifle… She was sure that just one bullet would be enough to take down the whole line of soldiers.
The general paused. All of the soldiers were still silent, and looked spellbound at their leader.
“If we hadn’t found out about her true nature, we would be in big trouble. We would trust the innocent little horse, make use of her, admire her as an asset to our army. But then she would start to look around, to remember our formations, the times when we change the guard, our scavenge missions, our perimeter patrols. In short, she would spy.”
A few soldiers shouted some profanities, but when they received an angry glare from the general, they wisely shut up.
“Yes, and then she would use an ingeniously and cunningly crafted escape plan to run away from us, and straight back to the Americans. We all know what would happen next…”
From where she stood, Amanda could see that Rainbow Dash was trembling. She had turned around towards the direction the voice came from.
“The Americans would know everything, and they would have an advantage over our glorious army. They would attack, and, however bravely we fight, we might just lose that battle. And all thanks to her!” He pointed at Rainbow Dash.
Once again, a roaring string of profanities and curses were flung at Rainbow Dash.
When Amanda looked, she saw that Andrei had made it halfway through the crowd. But somehow, she had the feeling that the general would be done with his speech soon.
“And that is why, charged as she is with treason and spying and lurking with the enemy, that I, General Porfirevich, pronounce the horse guilty of her crimes. Needless to say, she is to be executed as soon as possible.”
The general paused. Amanda felt her heart sink. Was he done yet? Would he proceed to give the kill command?
Andrei was just a few yards away from the front of the crowd.
Turning towards Rainbow Dash, the general said, “Has the horse got any last words?”
Everyone was silent. Rainbow Dash said nothing. Of course she couldn’t understand the general’s question. She turned away from him, and faced the firing squad opposite her.
The general laughed. “That’s what I thought. Very well, the execution shall begin. Soldiers, present arms!”
The six soldiers which made up the firing squad straightened, and kept their weapons at their sides. Amanda saw that. She knew what would come next.
“Take aim!”
The soldiers lowered their rifles. The bolts clicked.
Amanda couldn’t breathe. She looked at Andrei. He was at the front of the crowd now. He made it. There was still hope.
“Fire!” the general yelled.
“Stop!” Andrei yelled.
“Amanda!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
Amanda closed her eyes, as the shots rang.
With Amanda’s name on her lips, Rainbow Dash fell to the ground, all six bullets tearing through her body. The element of loyalty was no more.
Everyone cheered and yelled and screamed and laughed. For the Russians, this had been top quality entertainment, and a welcome respite from the boring days. Only Andrei was silent.
It was a good thing that all the soldiers were so jolly, because the sound of their merrymaking drowned out Amanda’s cries. She lost her balance, and fell off her oil drum upon the ground. There she stayed. She simply couldn’t muster the will to get up. She had made a promise to help Rainbow Dash, to do something, but she hadn’t delivered. Thanks to her idle mind, Rainbow Dash was dead. Amanda buried her head in her hands as she cried and cried and cried. For a moment, everything went black. She didn’t care if the other soldiers could see her crying over the execution of an American spy. She didn’t care about being discovered and probably sealing her own fate. She didn’t care about being trapped in enemy territory. She didn’t care about anything but Rainbow Dash. But she was dead, and there was nopony to care for.
Amanda felt a rough tug on her shoulder. When she looked up, she couldn’t see who it was, for the lenses of her gasmask were cloudy from the tears.
It was Andrei, of course. He ushered her to get back onto her feet. They had to walk somewhere the soldiers couldn’t see them. They made a wide circle until they stood behind the concrete building that housed the elevator. Andrei almost had to drag Amanda. Her knees felt weak. She couldn’t stand. When they were out of view, Andrei let go of the woman, and she slumped down upon the floor.
“Th-th-they killed her, Andrei. They killed her.”
Andrei put his hand upon her shoulder. “I know, Amanda. I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything. To be honest, I… I didn’t even know what I was doing. It all happened so fast.”
Amanda didn’t blame Andrei. He was the only one who actually did something—or tried to do something. No, she only blamed herself. Screw her life. It wasn’t worth it to live in constant shame and regret.
They had no idea how long they had hidden behind the building, Andrei swearing, and Amanda crying. Andrei could hear how the elevator brought the group of Russian soldiers back down into the bunker. To them, the show was over. Andrei cursed their cheer, their empty heads, their desire to see an innocent creature shot to death. He thought twice about this army now, especially their sense of judgement. This wasn’t judgement; this was murder.
The horse couldn’t even understand what they said, for fuck’s sake! She didn’t even know why she was about to get shot! goddammit!
Andrei stomped his boots on the ground, kicked up dust, hit walls with his fists. But none of those actions brought Rainbow Dash back, and they did little to improve the Russian’s mood.
In the end, as Andrei heard the rustle of voices diminish, he realized they had to go back into the bunker, otherwise they would seem suspicious. He tapped Amanda lightly on the shoulder. But when she didn’t respond, he grabbed her by the shoulders and hoisted her up.
“Hey, hey, Amanda, look at me.” He pulled at her gasmask, forcing her head up. “We have to go, or they’ll start asking questions.”
“L-l-let them,” Amanda said. “I-I-I don’t care.”
Andrei wanted to slap her in the face, just to talk some sense into her. But he knew that wasn’t going to help her. Instead, he forced his voice to be gentle. “I know, Amanda, but… eh… Rainbow Dash wouldn’t want you to give up, right? I’m sure, if she is even half as tough as you told me, that she would want you to live and fight and take revenge.”
Amanda looked up into Andrei’s eyes. He was making sense.
“Yes, but not now,” Andrei said. “Now we have to go and lie low. And when the time comes, goddammit, I swear to every fucking god that you will get revenge, even if I have to go into the crater myself.”
As she listened to Andrei’s words, Amanda slowly came back to her senses. The darkness faded to a grey mist, lingering over her mind. She nodded mechanically, and allowed Andrei to take her back towards the elevator. They were the last ones to enter the metal cage. But before Andrei stepped in it with Amanda, he cast a quick glance at the spot where the Russians had murdered Rainbow Dash. The only thing he could see was a wall splattered with blood.
As the elevator went down, Amanda didn’t look at the Russians, but kept gazing at the ground. It was a good thing she did, because all of the soldiers were laughing and smiling. They had seen some fine entertainment today.
**
Despite her hunger, Amanda couldn’t get herself to eat something. Today, there was meat on the menu, something that was a true rarity. But Amanda’s plate was only filled with vegetables, because she knew where the meat came from. On Ground Zero, nothing should go to waste.
Despite the other soldiers eating and laughing and playing card games, Amanda was and felt alone. Andrei had to go on another scouting mission, so she had time for herself. She thought a lot about what had happened. The image of the bound and blindfolded Rainbow Dash was forever burned into her mind. But what truly broke her heart was the last word Rainbow Dash had said; ‘Amanda.’ Rainbow Dash had counted on her. Even when she knew her chances were slim, she trusted Amanda to do something to help her. Rainbow Dash probably had been comforted by the thought that someone had her back, that someone would get her out of the Russian base, and maybe even help her find her friends. Now, she would never see her friends again—not in this world.
Amanda’s eyes had been bloodshot and red of all the crying. A tear dripped down upon her potatoes. Then another one. Amanda wasn’t sure if she could ever forgive herself. She would never, ever make a promise she didn’t know she could keep. If she made it out of the base.
Thanks to Andrei, Amanda’s chances of getting out alive had increased a lot. During the past few days, she had stolen filters, extra rations of canned food, water, and new equipment. Andrei had helped her not to give up, although she really wanted to. Amanda reckoned that Andrei also felt guilty about the execution of Rainbow Dash, and wanted to make up for it by helping her as best as he could. And now, thanks to him, a large duffle bag filled with everything she needed waited for her underneath her sleeping cot. The only problem was: how was she going to bring it along without anyone noticing it?
Even though it stirred up flames of revulsion in Amanda’s heart, she had been on some short missions with the Russians. She had to make herself useful, after all. Of course she could just sneak away during one of the missions, but then she would still be on her own, and without any supplies. She wouldn’t survive a week without the things in her duffle bag.
So, she waited, and Andrei waited, until an opportunity would present itself. It was a good thing Amanda did, otherwise she would have missed her second chance.
Running footsteps could be heard. A second later, the bald head of Andrei appeared in the doorway. His wide eyes and the sweat on his scarred forehead weren’t sings that eased Amanda’s mind. She dried her tears, and followed Andrei in search for an empty supply room.
Andrei didn’t even wait for the door to close before he spoke to Amanda. “There’s more horses!”
“What?!” Amanda gasped and stared at the Russian soldier. He couldn’t be serious.
“Yes, four of them,” Andrei said. “The patrols encountered them this morning and took them prisoner. They are somewhere in the bunker now, but I don’t know where…”
Amanda took Andrei’s hands in her own. “I know. I know where to go.”
Nodding, Andrei said, “Good, because you and they are going to get the fuck out of this cursed bunker. Today!”
“But, Andrei, I can’t possibly go through the guards with the—“
“There’s a secret escape tunnel,” Andrei said. “I managed to snatch away some papers and maps during the debriefing, when the general turned his back to me.” Andrei grinned. “The fool! But anyway, there is a hidden door somewhere in the missile silo, with a tunnel that leads to, well… somewhere on Ground Zero. I know exactly where that tunnel is. The only thing we need to do is gather your horses.”
“But, where should I go after that?” Amanda asked. “I mean, I don’t want to run the risk of stumbling across another Russian base.”
Andrei pointed his finger in the air. He grinned. “I have been talking with all of the soldiers. You know, just gossiping and picking up rumors. Now, there’s this place, where the reds sometimes go to trade, in order to get things that are hard to come by and difficult to scavenge. You saw the convoys, right? Those travel all the way to the place. But I think, with all the stuff you have, and if you use the Winter, then I think you can make it too.”
“But… what is this place you’re talking about?” Amanda asked. “How will I recognize it?”
“They say it’s a shopping mall,” Andrei said. “It’s an underground shopping mall where people gather, trade, and live in relative safety. They have their own guards, and even the Americans go there to trade, and raiders too. That shopping mall is like a neutral party to everyone, because everyone needs trade to get what he wants.” Andrei jammed his hands into his pockets. “I asked one of the soldiers to draw me a map of the area. I got it for you. Here.”
Andrei handed Amanda a piece of paper with a crude, hand-drawn map. Amanda grabbed it with shaky hands and took a quick peek. In the middle was the Aurora crater, with some American and Russian compounds scattered around it. The shopping mall lay in the northeast.
“It isn’t hard to find,” Andrei said. “The soldiers say that they made a huge, colored, neon sign or something. You just have to look for the lights on the horizon.”
This whole plan overwhelmed Amanda for a few seconds. But she was a soldier. She had been to countless briefings, where countless new operations and missions had been explained to her. This wasn’t any different. She had a second chance now. Even though Amanda knew that she couldn’t possibly bring Rainbow Dash back to life, she could damn well make sure that these four ponies would make it out. “Which ponies did you see?” But then Amanda realized that Andrei had never seen the My Little Pony television show. “I mean… what colors were they?”
Andrei scratched his stubbled chin for a few seconds. “One was orange, the other one purple, then there was a white one, and a pink one.”
“Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie,”Amanda concluded.
“I don’t give a fuck about their names,” Andrei said, “I give a fuck about their lives, and yours too.”
Amanda swallowed something away.
“I heard they are going to be executed as well, this evening.” Andrei paused to check his watch. “We don’t have long. Let’s go grab your stuff and head to wherever they’ve put them.”
So they did. After a quick trip to the women sleeping quarters, Amanda led the way towards the holding cells. They entered a part of the bunker where Andrei had never been before. He always thought that is was used for storage. He was kind of right.
They reached the door. Amanda pressed the button.
Once again, two soldiers flanked the door. They jumped up and saluted. Amanda noticed that they were different from the ones she had encountered. One was burly with short blonde hair, while the other was as bald as Andrei.
Andrei didn’t waste one second. “I’ve got orders from General Porfirevich for the immediate release of the horses.”
That was a very dumb thing to say.
The blonde soldier clicked the bolt of his gun and stepped closer. “I find that very hard to believe, since the general was so fond of executing the blue rainbow one.”
Andrei flashed a glance at Amanda. She read the fear and panic off his face.
The soldiers saw that too. “I say there is something fishy about you two,” the blonde one said, eyeing Andrei and Amanda. “Actually, I would like to have a little chat with you two, preferably with the corporal too.”
“Fuck!” Andrei said through clenched teeth.
“What did you say?”
“Amanda! Get the other one,” Andrei shouted suddenly.
The soldiers didn’t know what Andrei just yelled, which gave him some seconds of opportunity. In one swift motion, Andrei grabbed the barrel of the blonde guard’s gun, while he thrust his other hand against his neck. Blood splattered in Andrei’s face, and the guard let out a gurgle, as the hidden knife shred his windpipe. He went limp. Andrei caught him, spun around, and aimed his rifle towards the other guard, using the first one as a human shield.
It was good that he did, for the other one was getting the better of Amanda. They were wrestling, but the guard proved to be much stronger than Amanda. With one shove, she lay on the ground. As he heard his colleague’s wet gurgle, he left Amanda alone, turned around, and fired his automatic.
Andrei let his gun bark. The other guard had no human shield. He went down.
Dropping the body of the first guard, Andrei jumped towards Amanda, and helped her up. “Are you okay?”
Amanda wiped some blood away from the corner of her mouth. “I’m okay.”
“Get the keys. I’ll get the guns. We don’t have much time. These hallways are very good at echoing.”
“Roger.” Amanda ripped the keys off the guard’s belt, and ran towards the doors. Looking through the little glass spyholes, she found the right one, jammed the key in the lock, and opened it.
The ponies, who had tried to look through the spyhole themselves, tumbled backwards and ended up as one multi-colored heap.
“What in the hay—“ Applejack began to say, but Amanda cut her off.
“We don’t have time. My name is Amanda. I’m a friend. I’m here to save you.”
Applejack wanted to ask another question, but Twilight stepped in between. “Let’s escape first, and ask questions later,” she said.
“Amanda, catch!” Andrei called, throwing one of the guards’ weapons towards her.
“Oh! Another one of those ‘guns,’” Pinkie said. “How exciting. I can’t believe I’m so excited. Am I just as excited as you are? Because I sure am excited.”
Amanda checked the clip, and then turned towards the ponies once more. “Follow me, stay low, and try to take cover when you can. This is going to be dangerous.”
Everypony nodded. They followed Amanda back to the door.
“Come on, everyone, it isn’t far,” Andrei said, as he led the way through the grey hallways. “We have to get to the missile silo!”
A familiar feeling washed over Amanda, as they all ran through the hallways. It was adrenaline, the rush of battle. Any other person would have wobbly knees and shaking hands, but not Amanda. Instead, she felt her senses sharpen, and her mind racing, thinking ahead. Amanda was a soldier, and, no matter how soft-spoken and innocent she looked, she was and would always be a soldier.
And so would Andrei. He had no trouble remembering and finding the right corridors and taking the right turns. According to the layout of the building he had seen, they should be close to the silo.
Voices came from ahead. Of course the Russians had heard the gunshots. Hell, they could have heard them from the other side of the bunker. The sound of voices became accompanied by boots upon the concrete floor.
“Dammit!” Andrei cursed. “If they reach the missile silo before we do, it’s game over.”
They quickened their pace. Amanda looked behind her, but she didn’t need to worry; the ponies were having no trouble keeping up. Creatures with four legs run faster than creatures with two, after all. “Can you shoot your magic?” she asked Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight bit her lip. “I can, but I’d rather not…” She motioned with her eyes to Pinkie Pie.
Amanda knew exactly what Twilight meant. Pinkie Pie shouldn’t see how Twilight and Rarity used their magic to harm, rather than to fix. But then another idea shot into Amanda’s mind. “Can you use a shield spell, Twilight?”
Nodding, Twilight said, “I can.”
“Then you go on ahead of us.”
Upon seeing the lavender alicorn taking the lead, Andrei said, “What’s the horse doing here?”
“Just trust me, mister,” Twilight said. “If things go awry, just take cover behind me.”
Andrei exchanged a glance with Amanda. “I hope you know what you’re doing…”
They ran and they ran and they ran. They scaled stairs three steps at a time. They could hear the sound of voices coming closer.
And then, disaster struck.
“The horses are on the loose! Fire!”
Twilight barely had time to put her shield up, before bullets began to fly. The lead impacted the shield, making high, clinking sounds. All of them glided down to land harmlessly on the floor.
“Bloody hell!” Andrei leveled his automatic towards the Russians in the hallway, but Amanda stopped him. “Don’t!” she said, “the shield works two ways! If you shoot, you might hit us with the recoiling bullets.”
“Then this shield is fucking stupid,” Andrei said. Desperation sounded in his voice, as he knew their chances of reaching the missile silo were over. They had to get past these Russians first, and the hall had no side passages. It was just one straight hall. Andrei cursed again, as he realized how close they had been. It was just around the next corner. A few more yards.
“Keep shooting! Don’t let them pass!”
Bullets kept flying, and Twilight kept blocking them. But even the princess of friendship had limits. Beads of sweat appeared on her face. Her wings quivered with the effort. It took a lot of magic to deflect such a tremendous amount of force. “I… I don’t know how much longer I can hold them off!” Twilight yelled.
If the shield failed, they were dead. There was a small group of six Russians firing at them, but more could stream in any minute now. Six guns against two; it wasn’t rocket science.
“Fuck, fuck, FUCK!” Andrei swore and punched the walls. “We need to rush through!”
Amanda also realized Twilight wasn’t going to hold up the shield much longer. Her brain feverishly worked on some kind of plan. She couldn’t draw a blank now. Not this time. They were at a disadvantage. Amanda wished they had a whole army behind him, but the truth was that there were just two humans and four horses. They had nothing.
Or… maybe they had.
Two humans, and four horses…
Amanda perked up. They had horsepower. She didn’t waste a second. “Andrei, grab Twilight. Everypony else, PUSH!”
“Oh! Are we going to walk in polonaise?”
“Yes we are, Pinkie,” Applejack said, grabbing Amanda. “Now push like you mean it!”
There was no time for Andrei to think about the plan. Three horses and one woman pushed against his back. In a reflex, Andrei grabbed Twilight. Together, they rushed on ahead.
That was something the Russians didn’t expect. As they saw the shield coming closer, they had no idea how to react. Some stepped back and kept firing, and others held their grounds. They saw that the shield posed no threat to them.
It didn’t pose a threat, but it did pose an obstacle.
The group of escapees slammed shield-first into the first Russian to meet them. He lost his balance, and fell down. Thanks to the power of the three horses, they were able to push on, taking the man with them as they advanced.
BUMP! There went a second one.
The weight of the Russian soldiers provided some resistance, but everyone and everypony kept pushing.
Andrei actually smiled. Their crazy plan was working! He let out a loud roar, as he really put his weight and his back into it.
They ran into a third Russian. He tried to jab at the shield with the butt of his gun, but that did nothing.
Suddenly, a new hallway opened up from their right. Andrei stopped. “Go, go, go! Everyone in!” he yelled, while he himself waited with Twilight and the shield, providing cover.
The missile silo was huge. Amanda and the ponies couldn’t even see the ceiling. It was as if they were standing in a gigantic tube, with stairways and catwalks circling around its sides. Amanda, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity began scaling the stairs, heading for an outcropping that looked like a reinforced, concrete room.
Down below, Twilight Sparkle looked up to Andrei. Her eyelids were half closed, and her ears drooped down. “I.. I can’t hold it any longer.”
“That’s fine, horse,” Andrei said. He put Twilight down, and grabbed his automatic. “I have been dying for some action for a long time.”
When he saw the shield flickering, Andrei took cover in a nook. Twilight climbed the stairs, galloping towards her friends.
Amanda was the first to reach the room. Casting a quick glance inside, she saw that it was a control room of some sorts, with switchboards and loads of buttons.
When Andrei looked back, he saw how far his friends had come. “Through the door, Amanda!” he shouted.
“But what about you?!” Amanda yelled back.
Andrei waved his hands in the air. “I’m fine! Just go!”
The Russians, meanwhile, had shaken off their bafflement and regrouped. There were now about a dozen of them. Slowly, they moved into the missile silo…
… And straight into a barrage of gunfire from Andrei.
Up in the control room, Amanda winced at the sound of gunshots. She looked down. There was nothing she could do. Andrei wanted to buy them time, to give them a head start. Shaking her head, Amanda decided to use that head start well.
“Dagnabbit!” Applejack shouted. “Door’s locked.”
“Locked?!” Amanda looked around. There was indeed a reinforced, steel door. It had a lock, which was connected to the pneumatic system. Amanda’s brain shifted into high gear. “Twilight! Can you blast the door open?”
“Huh? What?” Twilight’s head hung low to the ground. The running and spellcasting had obviously sapped her. Blasting the door open was not an option.
Applejack trotted up to the door and bucked it. Of course she couldn’t buck open a steel door.
Amanda looked down. Andrei had left his nook and was now crouched low to the ground behind a drum, giving the Russians all he had. Even though his aim was true, he was outnumbered. Not only that, but Amanda could spot a puddle of red underneath his foot. He wasn’t crouching just to steady his aim.
“But whatever shall we do?!” Rarity wailed. She wished there was a fainting couch nearby.
Strange as it may sound, that was the most helpful thing Rarity could say, because the sound of her voice made something click in Amanda’s mind. “Rarity! Can you use your magic to pick the lock?”
Rarity tilted her head. “Well, I… eh…”
“Can you do it or not?” Applejack said.
Rarity’s horn glowed. Out of her mane, she floated a bobby pin and a needle. “I always keep an extra needle with me. And I… well… I can try…” She moved towards the lock, and began to work.
All the while, Amanda watched the battle at the bottom of the stairs. Several Russians lay dead and bleeding on the floor. Andrei now held his shoulder with one hand, trying to steady his aim. His gun kept barking and spitting lead. Amanda realized that their time was almost up. He couldn’t have many bullets left by now.
Everypony watched as Rarity was busy picking the lock. She had the tools, and, thanks to her years of sewing, she had sharp eyes—eyes for details. Her horn glowed softly. Her movements were precise and delicate. She touched the tumblers with the needle, pressing them down one by one. Rarity thought she got them all. Slowly, she moved the bobby pin. Slowly… carefully…
SNAP!
The bobby pin broke.
“Oh no!” Applejack yelled.
But she spoke too soon. The nudge Rarity had given the lock with her bobby pin proved to be enough. With a hiss, the door slid open, revealing a dark hallway.
Down below, Andrei continued to fight. Even though he was badly hurt, he kept shooting the other Russians. With a cry of pain, another soldier went down, reaching for his heart. Amanda wanted to go down to help her comrade in the horrible battle. But she knew she couldn’t. She had to run, and protect the four little ponies. She had a responsibility now.
With a terrible pain in her heart, and tear-struck eyes, Amanda averted her gaze from the scene, and stepped through the door.
**
“What the hay is that!” Applejack exclaimed.
“That’s our ride,” Amanda said. She entered the code, and the door to the Winter slid open. “Everypony in!”
Luck seemed to be with Amanda. The hallway had led to a large set of stairs, leading up, up, up, until she came at more iron doors, which only opened from the inside. Once they stepped out on Ground Zero, and after Amanda oriented herself, she realized that they weren’t that far from the Winter at all. The tank stood about a hundred yards away from the exit of the passageway.
Once the ponies and Amanda all took place in the tank, Applejack said, “So can this thing really, well… ride?”
“It can,” Amanda said, climbing up and taking place in a steel chair. “But first, I have to do something else.” She turned the handles, aiming the barrel of the tank’s gun directly at the hillside where the exit of the hidden passage was.
Applejack looked at Amanda, as she peered through the scope. “Then what are you doing no—“
A thundering boom resounded, followed by the sound of crumbling stone. The entire right side of the hill went down, burying the exit completely. There was no way the Russians were going to get through that.
Amanda climbed down, and took place in the driver’s seat. “Now we’re ready to go.”