//------------------------------//
// 1: Divine Intervention 
// Story: The Zone 
// by Rostok 
//------------------------------//


As forewarning, the monster appears, and the result is not nice.


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Hiker and Murk sat glumly in their opulent, lavish, palatial prison. They had given Celestia and her strange pony advisors all they knew over the last week, barely left with a moment's rest. The incessant questions had sapped their morale and willpower, leaving them tired and weak from the purely vegetarian menu. On a few occasions Garry had reappeared, telling them he'd been press-ganged like Hiker to help them explore Earth. For the last day, only guards had entered their large suite, telling them that Garry had departed, that the ponies had learned all they needed. The only upside was that they had their suits back, in the absence of human clothes.

Murk dug into the armoured webbing attached to his SEVA suit. He felt around inside a large ammo compartment, clawing at the sides. After a little struggling, a flap came undone, producing a small multi-tool, worn and slightly rusty from years of use. He held it up to the light, flicking through the various utensils attached. Hiker looked at him, dejected as usual.

“I kept this here in case I got captured by the bandits, or Duty. I nearly forgot I had it.”

“What are you going to do with it anyway? We're stuck here at their mercy. At least last time they didn't realise what we could do, and there's no way we'll escape from in their castle inside their bloody capital city.”

“I don't know, if we can persuade them to let us out into the open I reckon we could do it. I would do anything for a good sausage right now, bits of grass and plant won't sustain us.”

__

With a brilliant flash of light, Garry and the humanized ponies materialized into existence, into a rainy night in Pripyat. Staggering from the teleportation, led by Garry they ran to the shelter of an awning outside a building next to them. The four women wore their refined protective suits, now khaki and grey, with all sorts of pockets and pouches containing fresh vegetables and fruit, along with magical first aid supplies, water and countless other sundries. Nothing that was considered as necessary for the Zone, like a detector, a gun, anti-rads, bolts, a gasmask or binoculars.

They stood there, soaked to the skin from the torrential downpour. The only light was from Garry's PDA, shining on the makeshift group and the musty old structure behind them. According to it, they were near the center of the city, but with the visibility being barely to the other side of the street, that was hard to verify. Twilight and Luna were mumbling something to each other, but the sound of rain and thunder overpowered everything. Gary barely made the beep of the PDA out, alerting him to an approaching stalker. Out of the rain came a tall figure. Through the rain, all that could be made out was his exoskeleton. He was limping. Garry braved the rain, and ran out to meet him. It was Giant.

“What the hell are you doing out in the rain, big man! I'll explain in a second, get to cover first!!”

As he got closer, he stalled. In one hand was a PDA. The other hand was missing. Other than that he carried nothing, no weapons. Dark brown stains covered his armour, encrusted into the fabric of the suit. Huge tears and gashes riddled it, and the leg he was limping on was seeping blood. As he came within a meter of Garry, he looked directly at him. The lenses of his mask were shattered and broken, dripping blood. Though the small gaps, remains of eye tissue sat mangled inside. He stopped. Garry was speechless.

“The Zone is punishing it's subjects. It's warnings have gone unheeded too long. It has unleashed a beast to prey on all, worshipers and desecrators alike. The Monolith has abandoned us. The Monolith has abandoned us. The Monolith has abandoned us-”

Garry stood there, looking at the thing that used to be his friend. He carefully took the PDA from him, looking at what it showed. He turned it on. It displayed a single image. He nearly vomited.

The picture was taken of the central Pripyat theatre, the Monolithian's HQ. Everywhere body parts were strewn, mangled and ripped. Barely any of the corpses were recognisable. Those that were bore the grey and green pattern of their faction. The limbs clearly not cut, but ripped from their owners. Torsos were impaled on the central beacon that stretched to the ceiling, their faces smashed and broken. There was no sign of a fight. No drawn weapons. No shell casings or dropped mags. No sign of what did the foul deed.  On the far wall however was the worst sight of all. In letters five feet high, daubed in the blood of the massacre was a message.

“Because it wishes it.”

Garry pressed to see the next image. A hulking figure, vaguely humanoid, stood over the camera, barely visible in the low light of the image. In one hand it clutched Giant's severed hand, as if taunting at the photographer, eyes glowing with malice of intelligence and hatred.

Garry looked up. The shell of a man in front of him was still reciting his mantra. Nothing could be done for him. He took his handgun from his holster. It was a mercy. He didn't deserve any of what had happened to him. Garry shot him cleanly through the forehead.

The women standing watching screamed, and ran to Garry, shouting at him until they saw Giant, lying in his destroyed state on the flaw. The three of them looked up to him, expectantly, terrified and shocked. Only Rainbow was capable of words.

“Garry, by Celestia, what is that thing, it looks horrible! That beast deserved to be shot.”

“He was my friend.”

__


Garry and Murk were asleep when the door opened, revealing a host of guards. A sharp voice broke the silence.

“Get up, creatures! We have much to discuss.”

One of the ponies, dressed differently to the rest, trotted over to the pair, kicking them awake to the early morning glow on the horizon. As they groggily got up, he continued.

“I am Prince Blueblood, nephew to the Princess. She wishes for you to learn the 'magic of friendship' in Ponyville with the remaining Elements of Harmony. I got you up at this stupid hour to get you on the early morning train. We had to comandeer it to ship you two alone. I don't see why she bothers personally. You don't seem like you'd benefit from our culture and society, so why she doesn't leave you here to rot or kick you back to whatever sun-forsaken place you came from is a mystery to me.”

With that, the guards marched them from the room, leading them down through empty halls to the gatehouse in silence. As a carriage pulled up, Murk looked to Hiker. This was their chance. They were quickly bundled into it, and drawn away. After a short, cramped trip, they were put onto a deserted train, accompanied by a pair of stern pegasus guards. They sat on the child-sized seats as the train pulled away from the station, leaving the early-morning city behind. Hilly countryside passed them, revealing the tall, proud mountains the city was built on. As the mountains flashed by, Murk whispered to Hiker,

“Now.”

Murk leapt up, knocking the nearest guard cold before he could react. The other made to shout, as Hiker tackled him, pushing him to the floor. Murk stood over the trapped pony, slamming it hard in the temples. It went out like a light. Murk turned to the door, fiddling at the handle with his multi-tool, unscrewing the lock from the door. With a kick, he sent it flying open. The fields and hills rushed by them. A small village was nearby, on the horizon. He motioned to Hiker. He jumped. Hiker followed him to the edge, looking for his companion, seeing him sliding down the embankment. He leapt into space.