//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Dreams // Story: Reciprocity: A Metro 2033 and MLP Crossover // by MrSing //------------------------------// Dreams The tunnel was dark. Only a few patches of sickly green light came from the fluorescent fungus that grew on the walls. Water droplets periodically fell from broken pipes in small puddles that had formed beneath them. Our flashlights barely pierced through the oppressive darkness, casting a dim light on our surroundings. They revealed the same cracked grey walls, fuse boxes, train tracks, and the occasional door that led to small maintenance stations. Only the tunnels that met up with ours, or branched off into the unknown depths of the metro, spruced up the monotonous sight we had been seeing for the past few minutes. At least, I thought we had been in the tunnels for a couple of minutes. There was no real way to measure time in this place. We could have been here for hours or merely seconds. Time simply seemed to lose all meaning as Sasha and I worked the levers of our handcar. The creaking sound of our work was the only noise that echoed in the silence. I was relieved that everything had been going alright so far, but I also felt strangely disappointed. Since I was a little boy people had been telling me stories about this place. About the bandits, mutants, and other dangers that roamed the metro. This place had taken on mythical proportions in my mind. To find out that the trip was so safe felt like an anti-climax. My friend spoke up and voiced my unspoken thoughts. “This is not what I had in mind when I heard that we would be going in the tunnels.” His face was red from the effort it took to make the hand car move. “Be glad,” Sergei said as he scanned the dark behind us. The magazine of his metro-made assault rifle stuck awkwardly out of the side of the weapon as he swayed it slowly to the left and right; watching out for any possible dangers. “Don’t tell me you really want to fight of a horde of mutants.” “Well, it would at least be a change of pace from this boring tunnel we’ve been in for the past few hours.” My friend replied as he looked up from his lever and shone his flashlight on the twentieth fuse box we had seen. The veteran scoffed. “You do realize that you really are a moron, don’t you?” Sergei answered my friend as he looked over his shoulder and frowned at him. “Come on, man. Where is your sense of adventure?” Sasha said as he let go of the lever. He used both of his arms to gesture wildly at the tunnel as he spoke. “These are the tunnels of the metro. All the danger and excitement is here! Evil bandits, hidden treasures, Nazis and Reds that are fighting, new and strange stations to see, it’s all here!” “Sasha! A little help, please,” I said in a strained tone as I suddenly had to work twice as hard to keep the car moving. My friend gave me an apologetic grin as he started to assist me again. “Still, you know what I mean. We might even meet a ranger or a stalker! Can you imagine that?” His voice was filled with awe as he stared at the wall to his side, lost in daydreams about these legendary figures of the metro. I could hear Stepan letting out a short laugh. He had his back turned against us as he watched the front of the car for obstacles and dangers. “Imagine that indeed,” he said. “Is there something we are missing?” I said with more irritation in my voice than I had intended. The scarred man didn’t seem to notice or mind though, as he just kept staring at the tunnel in front of him. “You two pups have no idea about what it’s like out here.” He sat motionless as he talked, never letting his eye wander from the tracks. “You sit safe behind your flamethrowers in your luxurious homes as the rest of the metro is bleeding out, day by bay.” His voice was calm and tired, like he had had this conversation a thousand times before, and had never convinced a single soul. “You pups only care about the rest of the metro if you’re in danger or if you can profit. Ignoring everything, but your own needs. I don’t blame you though. The other stations would do the same if they could.” “We do care!” The loudness of my response surprised me a bit. Sasha quickly looked at me with concern in his eyes at my unexpectedly abrupt reply. I could feel my cheeks flushing red as I continued with a more restrained voice. “We are out here, risking our lives for your people. That should count for something, shouldn’t it?” I could see Stepan’s back rising and falling as he let out a deep sigh. “Pup, you’re only out here because Alex asked you to come. And Alex only sent you out because he needs us.” He spoke like he was explaining some painfully obvious truth to a not particularly bright child. “I’m not ungrateful for his help, but I do know that we are nothing more than a bargaining chip to him. He’s an old and clever metro fox, helping people, but being bright enough to gain something from it.” He was wrong. I could feel in the deepest corners of my heart that the man was wrong, but I was unable to find the words that could express my conviction. I looked back at the veteran behind me. “Sergei, help me out,” I implored. The veteran looked over his shoulder and straight into my eyes as he answered me. “He’s right Yuri, that’s just the way it is.” He turned his eyes away from me and back to the darkness behind us. “We just can’t afford to care about others these days.” He spoke in a hushed tone as he continued. “The best we can do is protecting our own while we don’t hurt others.” I turned away from the man’s cold words and looked at my friend in front of me. “Sasha, tell him he’s wrong!” I pleaded. Sasha’s shoulders were slumped as he avoided my gaze and focused on pulling and pushing the lever. “Well… you’re wrong!” I shouted at Stepan’s back. I was barely able to keep my creeping doubts out of my voice. The man didn’t even flinch. “Oh really, pup?” I heard him ask as he leaned back a little. “If you care so much, then I’m sure that you can answer a simple question.” He paused for a moment. “What is my station’s name?” His question felt like a punch to the gut. I had heard it somewhere; I had to have heard it somewhere. I frantically searched my memories for any mention of their real name, but my mind came up blank. They had always been the Northerners for me and everyone else in my station. We never talked about other stations. Isolated as we were because of our lack of special trading materials and untouched by the wars because of our flamethrowers. I couldn’t answer the man. “That’s what I thought,” Stepan said in a completely unsurprised voice. “Don’t worry too much about it, pup. It’s not like it matters anymore, we are just another story for the metro now.” I was quiet for a moment. I didn’t know what to say and just focused on propelling the car for a minute as we sat in complete silence once again. It seemed that Sasha and Sergei were just glad that the uncomfortable conversation was finally over. Then finally, a question came to my mind. “Will you tell me about your station?” I could see Stepan tense up. “I already told you, pup, it doesn’t matter anymore.” He said in a gruff voice as he tried to end our little chat. “We are already gone. You don’t have to pretend to care.” “I do care,” I insisted. For some reason I needed to know more about the Northerners. Three hundred people shouldn’t be forgotten just like that. I could see Stepan slowly turning his head to face me as he kept his weapon pointed at the darkness in front of us. He first looked at me with contempt in his still living eye, but when he had studied my face for a second, I could see his expression soften. “You really want to know, don’t you?” He sounded a bit surprised as he let out a soft and empty laugh. “Hah! That kind of thinking is going to get you killed. But if you really want to know.” He continued that mirthless chuckle as he turned his focus back at the tunnel. “My station was called-“ He abruptly turned around, I could see panic on his face. “Stop!” he shouted as he flung himself at our handbrake. Sparks lit up the track and a horribly loud screeching noise filled the tunnel. The car started to shake violently and almost toppled over until we were abruptly slammed against something. I could feel my stomach turn as I fell out of the car and landed hard on the floor. My helmet was probably the only thing that prevented my skull from being cracked open on the hard ground. I lay there, stunned, on my back for a moment, trying to regain my bearings. I could hear Sergei somewhere behind me saying something. It took me a moment before I finally understood that he was asking if everyone was alright. I rolled to my side to see the car and to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling of my weapons and backpack poking my spine. I could feel a wave of dizziness flooding over me as I finally managed to open my eyes. The pump trolley was still upright, but a few of the tires were off the track and the front was smashed against a wall of rocks. I could see Stepan helping up Sasha in the car as Sergei was walking over to me. The veteran crouched down next to me and shone his flashlight into my eyes. “Yuri, do you know where you are?” He opened my eyelids with his hand as I tried to close them against the painfully bright light. “In… in the tunnels,” I answered as I tried my best to get away from that terrible light. I pushed Sergei’s hands away as I sat up, feeling nauseous to my core. I could feel a small headache coming on. “Can you stand?” I tried to get up, but felt myself stumble. Sergei quickly supported me with his arm as he put me back on my feet. I stood there for a moment as I waited until the dizziness finally wore off. I looked at Sergei as I slowly nodded my head, afraid that I would worsen the headache if I did it too fast. Sergei shone the flashlight into my face once again, but this time I was able to keep my eyes open. “You should be fine.” Sergei patted me on the back as he went to the car to check on the others. ‘The bottle!’ I could feel fear flooding my mind as I almost ripped the backpack from my back and gently laid it on the ground. I reached into it and pushed away the flattened mushroom bags. I soon found the towel wrapped cylinder, and opened it to check the gift inside of it. I sighed in relief as the stress left my body, the bottle was still in perfect condition. I carefully put it back in its place and started to walk to where my companions were standing. I could see Stepan pushing and pulling on some of the rocks that were filling up the tunnel in front of us. “That’s some rotten luck,” he said with irritation in his voice as he stopped testing the fallen pieces of ceiling. “It’s going to take at least four days to clean up this mess.” “I don’t think that we can afford four extra days,” Sergei said as he was shining his flashlight into the face of my friend. Sasha just kept insisting that it was unnecessary and that he was fine. “Well then,” Stepan spoke as he pulled out a large piece of paper from his backpack. “I guess it’s a good thing that I’m here.” I curiously walked over to the scarred man and peeked over his shoulder at the large paper. I recognized the web-like pattern of the Moscow metro, but the map was different from any I had seen before. Countless strange little symbols and unintelligible notes were drawn all over the map. I even saw that there were some hand drawn lines that indicated hidden routes. It seemed like the man looked at me with his dead eye for a moment before he closed the map. “That’s not for your eyes, pup.” He put the map back in his backpack and turned to face all of us. I could feel my anger starting to build up as he called me that stupid nickname again; my now pounding headache wasn’t doing wonders for my mood either. “We’re going to need to backtrack a few meters.” He gestured at the tunnel we came from. ”We’ll use one of the old maintenance tunnels to get around.” He started to walk away from the crashed car as he continued to talk, his footsteps echoed in the tunnel. “It’ll take a few extra hours, but it should be safe enough.” The three of us just followed our guide in this desolate place. It seemed that we didn’t have much choice. We had to walk for several minutes through the cold metro, revisiting the sights we had seen before. That is, until Stepan signaled with his hand for us to stop. I looked at the wall and saw a large ominous looking blast door. The red paint had been peeling of the door for years now, and I could see the thick steel underneath it. A small yellow light was above it, blinking on and off. To the sides of the door there where two large, rusted valves. I could feel my headache grow as I stared at the ancient seal. For some reason it was hard to concentrate on the rectangular object. Had this door been here before? I didn’t remember seeing the massive and foreboding steel wall. Had I just forgotten or not noticed it? How could I have? “Okay people, this tunnel is filled with gas, so put on your masks.” Stepan was already busy with tying the straps of his mask as he said this. His voice sounded muffled and strange through the filters. I pulled the mask from my hip and checked the large visor. I was grateful that it apparently hadn’t cracked when I fell of the car. ‘Thanks for small mercies.’ I thought to myself as I strapped on the mask. The object hugging my face felt claustrophobic, but also strangely comfortable as it kept away some of the cold of the tunnel. “Okay, Sasha, you take the left valve. Yuri, you take the other one.” Sergei commanded as he and Stepan pointed their guns at the door. I nodded to the veteran and my friend as I walked to the rusted wheel on the right. As I touched the valve I could feel a strange sensation flowing through my gloves. It felt like the wheel was giving of cold and strange pulses of energy that made the hairs in my neck stand up. I looked at my friend, but from the grin on his face I could deduce that he didn’t feel the same thing I did. “Hey Yuri, let’s make it a race! The one who stalls the other the least gets a pre-war cartridge.” I could only smile weakly as I heard Sergei giving of a groan of frustration at the playful behavior of my friend. I started to turn the wheel. I had to strain my muscles to move the wheel. Every time I was able to rotate the valve I could feel the hostile sensation that came from it growing. “Haha! I’m winning.” I could hear Sasha exclaim as he had to wait once again till I caught up to him. “Don’t make it too easy for me, Yuri!” The ancient door slowly rose. I could hear metallic groans of protest as we disturbed the seal for what was probably the first time in years. Small white wisps of mist poured out from under the opened entrance. When the door was half open I had to release the valve and I almost fell on my back, gasping for air. It felt like the wheel had burned me through my gloves with an intense hate. Sasha stopped turning the wheel as he looked over to me. “Yuri, are you okay?” His muffled voice did little to hide his surprise. “Yeah.” The small lie was voiced with ease. What else could I say? That a simple valve had scared me? “I’m okay, just a bit tired from everything.” I produced a shining military cartridge out of one off the pouches in my armor and I held it out to my friend. “I guess that you win.” Sasha didn’t make an attempt to accept the cartridge. “Nah, you keep it.” I heard a forced chuckle coming from under my friends mask. “The taste of victory was enough for me. Just take it a bit easy okay? We wouldn’t want you falling over dead.” Sergei walked to the metallic door and ducked under it, carefully scanning the area behind it with his gun and flashlight. “Okay, I think we can go through,” he said as he made his way out of the tunnel. Sasha went in next. As I tried to follow him I could feel Stepan’s hand on my shoulder, holding me back. I turned around to ask him what was wrong, but he just stared at me with frowned eyebrows and a strange look in his eye, like he was searching for something. Eventually he let me go. “Well, what are you waiting for pup? We haven’t gotten all day.” He let out another one of his empty laughs. I just tried to ignore my growing irritation at the man’s strange behavior. As I ducked under the door I could see the hallway it had obscured. I felt awestruck as I saw what was in front of me. In a word, it was beautiful. There were flowers growing all over the walls and floor. The small luminescent black plants gave of a stunning blue color, like I had never seen before. This light and that of our flashlights illuminated the poisonous gas and made it seems like we were walking through a river of mist. It was like we had stepped in the night sky of another world. One of the plants next to me closed as I moved to it. As I studied the black leaves it slowly opened up again, almost like it was shy. “This… is amazing,” I managed to say. Sasha was playing with the flowers, slowly standing next to them and then moving quickly to “scare” them into closing again. I could hear a muffled laugh coming from under his mask. Sergei was looking straight ahead at the other side of the tunnel. His weapon aimed at the mist. “Yes, it’s quite something, isn’t it, pup?” I could hear Stepan saying as he made his way in the hall. “Don’t let its beauty fool you though. This place has claimed stalkers that were more experienced than me.” “Wait, wait, wait.” I could see Sasha moving his hands wildly to emphasize his words, closing several flowers in the process. “You are a stalker?” My friend pointed at Stepan. “Why do you think that Alex let him travel with us?” Sergei said as he was still watching the mist. I could feel the pieces connect in my mind. It explained so much about the man, his strange behavior, his incredibly detailed map, the trust Alex had put into his abilities. The scarred man chuckled under his mask. “Sergei, my friend, you’re removing my mysterious aura,” he said in mock anger at the veteran. “Soon the pups will believe that I’m just another man that lives and breathes like a normal person.” “This is so awesome!” My friend was almost jumping in excitement. “So, have you ever been to the surface?” Sasha asked in a giddy voice as he looked at the scarred man with a spark in his eyes. “I was born on the surface, pup, just like Sergei.” Stepan began to walk, the gas swirled around him as he made his way past the veteran. “Oh, come on, you know what I mean.” My friend quickly followed behind the man. “Have you been there after the war?” He gestured upwards as he asked the question. “Well, I wouldn’t be much of a stalker if I never went up to the surface, would I be?” Stepan answered as shone his light through the mist. “So, yes, I have been up there quite a few times. It’s been a year since the last time, though.” “Why’s that?” Sasha enquired. Stepan let out a barely inaudible laugh. “Pup, have you even seen my face?” He gestured at his blind eye. “About a year ago I got into a fight with a mutant who thought I’d make a nice meal. He pounced me when I wasn’t looking, and clawed at my face before I was able to put a bullet in his cursed head.” He stopped for a moment and threw a stone in the mist. I didn’t hear it land, but Stepan apparently did, as he continued to walk after a few seconds. “I was lucky enough to have a spare gasmask on me at that moment, or else I wouldn’t even be here.” “I decided that I should quit before my luck ran out. Losing half of your vision isn’t really helpful when you already need eyes in the back of your head.” The man’s voice wasn’t bitter, but calm, like he had accepted his misfortune long ago. “Anyway,” the old stalker continued. “I had made enough money from the stuff I found on the surface to settle down and life a comfortable life.” The man sighed as he threw another rock in the mist. “That is, until those rats ate the whole station, but that’s just life in the metro.” “So, what’s it like in the other stations? Are there really-“ I couldn’t hear my friends next question as my headache intensified and a ringing began to fill my ears. I pressed my hands to the sides of my head as I almost fell from the sudden pain. “Guys… stop for a moment… I…” I looked up. Only Stepan was still standing in the tunnel, watching the mist in front of him. “What?” I managed to say. The stalker picked up a stone and threw it to the side. I followed it with my eyes, and to my surprise I realized that the stone didn’t bounce of the wall. There was no wall anymore. Only the plants remained, seemingly floating like little torches in space. “What is going on?” I asked him as my confusion grew. “What happened to my friends?” “That’s not the right question.” Stepan still didn’t face me as he slowly started to walk again. “But it’s interesting that you consider the wellbeing of your friends so much.” He threw another stone in the emptiness surrounding us. “You depend a lot on them, don’t you? But you don’t need to worry about them. They’re safer than we are at the moment.” “What are you talking about? Where are we!?” I was almost screaming at the man. Breathing became hard in the mask. No matter how much air I gasped, it never seemed to be enough. “Now you’re asking the right questions.” The man stopped for a moment as he gestured for me to follow him. “You’re seeing the tunnel as it really is, it must have taken an interest into you.” I reached out with my hand to one of the lights as it floated away. “Don’t walk from the path,” Stepan quickly reprimanded me, seemingly knowing what I was doing without looking at me. “Many good men died trying to catch those cursed lures.” Stepan paused for a moment and crouched down; searching for more stones on the cement bridge we were walking on. “You know, when the bombs fell, we lost so much more than just the surface.” His tone was morose, like he was mourning a long lost friend. “Some say that the bombs were so powerful that they tore a hole in reality itself.” The stalker watched as another stone was sacrificed to the abyss surrounding us. “Others say that God himself looked away in disgust and shame as our species committed suicide, and without his guard the world is slowly unraveling.” Another joyless laugh escaped his mask. “It doesn’t really matter who’s right anyway. Humanity is on its way out. We’re just ancient relics now, slowly dwindling away in these hellish holes our ancestors dug. Soon places like this will only be the worries of mutants and rats as the death rattles of our species finally subside.” “How can you say those things?” My voice was slightly trembling. The stress of everything was getting to me. “We can still retake the surface. We can fight of the mutants and wait till the poison and radiation is gone.” I stomped the hard ground in frustration. “We can make the world like in the stories of old, but not if we just sit on the ground as we despair! Are you really willing to stop fighting for that because of this stupid tunnel? What is wrong with you!?” I was wheezing through my mask, my little tirade had cost me more precious air as my mask continued to slowly suffocate me. “You’re still so young and your station is so sheltered. You haven’t seen the other stations fighting, friends stabbing each other in the back in the name of survival. That’s all people are to each other in times of need. Things we can use to get extra ammo, food, and spare gasmasks.” The man’s shoulders were slumped as he stared at the ground. One of the stars flew in between us, trying to lure us from the safety of our path. “You’ll wake up to the truth soon enough, that is, if the metro doesn’t get you before that.” “We’re here!” I was startled as I suddenly heard Sergei’s voice behind me. The hallway had returned to its normal state, taking my headache and breathing troubles with it. Sasha was still animatedly talking with the old stalker, hanging on every word of adventure he spoke. I shook my head in confusion. Had I been daydreaming? How hard had I hit my head? I just stood in the toxic mist as my friends used the valves to open the old blast door that obstructed our exit. Its beauty was now lost on me. I walked back into the tunnels without comment or question. There would be time later to think about the mysteries of the metro. For now, I had to focus on my mission. I would not sit down and give up. I had made it! Before me the familiar shape of the Hive became visible. Its dark spires reaching out to the heavens. A monument to the power of my Queen and to the hard work of my Sisters. My wings started to flap faster in my excitement as a grin started to form on my face. Finally, I was home! I would hear the voices of my Sisters again and could rest until I was ready to continue my mission. I flew forward, avoiding the trees and vines as I sped to the clearance where my Hive stood. I saw the sunshine reflected on the lake next to my home. I felt confused as I watched the crystal clear water. Why where none of my Sisters drinking from it? Why was no one flying in and out of the many flight holes? Did we have so many wounded that there simply wasn’t any time anymore to go out of the Hive? My heart started to beat faster as my anxiety grew. Where was everyone? I chose one of the bigger entrances as I made my way inside. There were no guards to check or greet me, which only added to my growing concern. I softly landed in the dark grey tunnel, feeling the soft wood and mud that was strengthened with worker saliva, under my legs. Only a few green lights embedded in the walls where there to greet me. “Sisters?” I called out in the tunnel. My voice was hoarse from disuse. “I’ve returned.” It felt strange to actually talk to my Sisters. Using the hive mind was so much more efficient. Ideas simply flowed from one mind to the other, with no room for misinterpretation. Using my voice almost felt disrespectful, like I was talking to a mere thrall. “Hello!?” I yelled as I slowly made my way deeper into the Hive. I was walking without a purpose or goal. I just hoped that I would find a Sister that could tell me what was going on. The tunnel opened up to one of the large rooms that connected several places in the Hive. I flew up to the ceiling, past the many bridges, tunnels, and empty cocoons. Looking left and right as I went further and further up. I couldn’t see anyone, not a single soul. I landed on one of the large bridges that spanned the gap between two tunnels. I sat down as I grinded my teeth nervously. The Hive was abandoned. I started to run, faster and faster, as I shouted for anyone to talk to me, hoping that by some cruel twist of fate I had just miraculously missed all my Sisters as I had started my journey into the Hive. I ran, not caring if I slipped and fell or roughly brushed the walls. I ran until I my legs gave out from exhaustion. As I lay on the ground I watched the room I was in. It was decorated with carefully crafted murals, telling the tale of my Hive’s history. In the middle of the room I could see a large dark object. It was a large seat that was decorated with green glowing orbs and symbols. My Queen’s throne was empty. The Hive had left me alone. They had gone without saying a word to me. I was useless, no orders to follow, no Queen to protect, no Sisters to work with. I closed my eyes and felt the world around me disappear. My eyes opened and I was greeted with the grey stone of the alcove I had been sleeping in. I sighed as I felt myself returning to the slightly less horrible situation that was reality and not dreams. I walked out of my temporary shelter and felt the fresh snow crunching under my hole filled legs. If there had been one good thing about the dream, it was that I could fly in it and didn’t have to freeze my legs of on the snow covered ground. As I started my normal routine of searching for paw prints and sniffing the air for prey, I felt my thoughts, once again, wandering back to the day of our defeat. There was little else to think about these days. The more I thought about it, the more certain I became. The magical wall that had overwhelmed my Sisters and Queen had been made of something I should have recognized immediately. The source of all our power, love, had been turned against us. I stomped the snow in front of me as I clenched my jaw in frustration. Instead of using elegance and plotting, the ponies had pushed us out with brute force. Those idiotic squandering creatures! I couldn’t fathom how much power they had wasted on that magic. It was like they were insulting us. Like they were saying: “Look at us, we have so much love that we can waste mountains of it without ever missing it.” I spat on the ground in disgust. We could have used that love to create innumerable spells. We would have had enough power to catch prey for decades to come. We could have build dozens of Hives. We could have conquered countries! And all those little ponies did, was sit on their love. Those stupid creatures just used it for their idiotic friendships and marriages. What a waste! I felt my loathing grow as I thought about those creatures. They didn’t even deserve their love! It belonged to us. The most those ponies should hope for was that they would be good thralls, giving their love to us for a greater cause. But no, they just sat on their treasure, like an old dragon guarding its gold. Perhaps they were simply too cowardly or stupid to use its real potential. ‘Help us Sister’ I stood still. I had heard something. I looked around, but only the cold snow, trees, bushes, and blue sky greeted me. ’We’re starving. We’re dying.’ I jumped up. There it was again. The noise was nearly inaudible, but it sounded like whispers. I quickly jumped in a circle, hoping to see what kind of creature was tormenting me with its games. ’The Queen is dead, all is lost.’ I felt a sense of dread creeping over me as I listened more intently. It wasn’t a sound around me. It was a sound inside of my head. It was a cacophony of desperate whispers that were tickling the back of my mind. The voices felt alien and strange, nothing like the clear and comforting thoughts that our shared consciousnesses usually sent out. ’Come back. You’re useless. You failed. Help us. I couldn’t understand what was being said, but the whispers felt cold and accusing. I concentrated on making contact with the Hive again, but my mind just found that horrible feeling of emptiness again. How could I hear my Sisters, but not be able to contact them? What was going on? What was I even doing out in this forest. I had been here for months and there was nothing here! My Hive needed me and I was out here playing with the wildlife and catching rabbits. Egoistically stuffing my face with the little food there was, while the rest of my Hive was starving. I stomped the ground again, but this time in determination. This forest was a dead end. There was absolutely nothing to be gained from staying in this cursed place for even one more second. Enough time had been wasted. It was time to return home. ‘You’ll never make it. Our blood is on your hooves.’ I screeched loudly to stop the insistent voices. I quickly put my legs to my mouth. Hoping that no predators, or Queen forbid, that chimera, had heard me. I had to get out of this forest. If not for my Hive and Queen, than for me. This place was eating away at my mind and I started to feel the threads of my spirit starting to unravel more with each passing day. I had to get out of here. There was just one problem. I had no idea where I was, my sense of direction was completely lost. All of the trees looked the same, how could one ever find her way out of a place like this? I couldn’t fly up to take a look around and asking my Sisters for help was impossible. I shook my head. It didn’t matter. If I just walked in a straight line I would eventually get out of this place, and perhaps recognize the landscape, or even steal a map from some unsuspecting traveler. I would get out of this place and survive, for Hive and Queen. I would fight my way out of here if necessary. I would survive, no matter the costs.