Metro: Retribution

by RF and AG


Chapter 6: To The Point

Though the meal was nice, the ponies have been rather cold towards me. I was lead back to my cell and left alone, aside from another set of food in what was probably the evening. The soup was good enough. My sleep was dreamless, followed by another breakfast meal of toast and eggs. I wonder how long they plan to let me sit?

To The Point

~~~~~

Perspective: Artyom

         The ceiling continued to be as bland as when I started staring at it. My bed was comfortable enough; it being the most comfortable I’ve slept on in days… maybe my entire life. It wasn’t like I had much to compare it to; cold flooring was hardly a competitor. The bed though was besides the point, so was the ceiling.

My captors were nice enough to turn on a light, so that I could at least see the four walls that surrounded me. Such a typical shade of concrete, capped off by a small light bulb, bed, and a rather low toilet. Overall, it wasn’t the worst room I had ever seen. Maybe lighten it up with a little bit of furnishings here and there, maybe a desk over in the corner, another light, oh, and a door that wasn’t a meter thick, guarded by ponies dressed as medieval knights! Well it wasn’t a meter thick, obviously, but my point about the guards still stood.

No matter how often I told myself that this was as ridiculous as it could get, I kept coming up with new possibilities. There had to be a way to leave this forsaken planet and get back to the Metro; a place where it was either fight for your life or die. Such a better choice than living in a cell and being fed consistently, right? Now my own mind was contemplating actually giving up. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

I did not belong in this world. I didn't from the moment I awoke, and as long as I continued to breathe in whatever air this place has, I would not belong. For the most part, I accepted that fact, yet a part of me still clung on to the hope that maybe I could just stop being the soldier I was, and just settle down.

I sighed audibly and continued to stare at the ceiling, hands clasped behind my head. Minutes ticked away in silence, my thoughts stood still, as I was just barely content enough to continue seeing if the ceiling would do something of interest. I was wrong to assume that the ceiling would change of course, but a knock on the cell door was something different. A voice followed quickly after.

“We art here to escort thee to a ‘meeting,’ Artyom. Gather thyself, then proceed to thy door.”

It would seem that Princess Blue had returned to take me to another interrogation. I could almost hear her air quotes on the word meeting. It was odd that they didn't just open the door and bag me then and there. Maybe a show of trust to get more out of me? After the nice meals, I was already willing to answer some more questions, so what was this about?

I threw that question to the back of my mind, as I got up. I had no possessions at the moment to take with me, so I just moved up to the door. These ponies were odd, letting me choose when I would be ready to be interrogated.

“I am ready,” I spoke clearly, and loud enough for them to hear me. Barely a couple of seconds ticked by, before the door opened up, my instincts forcing me to take a couple of steps back. Two armoured guards quickly made their way through the doorway and around me, handcuffing my hands in front of me in the process. A quick push from behind forced me to stumble out of the cell. Finally, they were showing the rougher side I had prepared myself for!

I expected them to bag my head, but it never came; once again, another odd thing for them. Princess Blue was waiting just to the right of the door, her cold stare burrowing into me once more. Her presence also seemed to exude a rather cold feeling. Perhaps she was just continue to try and intimidate me; many had tried before and she was the most successful. Of course the threat of being hung, or thrown off of a cliff was normally not a good way of forcing me to talk but that Princess; there was a feeling about her that made the threat seem much more real.

In mind numbing silence we walked forward, down the long hall of jail cells. Not a single one contained a prisoner, perhaps this wing was isolated for me and me alone. I could only speculate as to if this was the case. I had enough time to think, as I knew that the walk was going to a silent one.

In this world filled with ponies, I was probably the only human to ever set foot. Well, at least that is a safe assumption. Maybe. Either way it wouldn't matter if I couldn't appease this Princess and the others. For all I know, they had made up their mind and sentenced me to death already. Maybe this would be a classic death march; I heard that the Nazis did one of those a few years ago. At least I would go out with a bang, maybe throw a few quips that they couldn't understand before they… killed me. That actually reminded me of a good question; how would they kill me? There were no guns, I could reason that by the spear throwing guard, so that was eliminated. Hanging maybe? That would be possible, but since I was a good foot higher than this Blue Princess, they would probably have to build a platform for me to hang me from… that, or a tall building I guess. One of these towers would do, or they could always just throw me off one. Speaking of falling to my death, the Blue Princess threatened throwing me off of a cliff. Was the city built on a cliff, or maybe near one? Hell, I didn't even know where exactly I was. Fluttershy didn't mention any places aside from her home, so I wonder where the dungeon could be.

My thoughts were halted as I stubbed a toe on the foot of a staircase. I gave a small growl of pain under my breath before stepping onto the raised stair. Now, where was my thought again? Dammit, there went my train of thought. Fucking trains; hated the lot of them. Nothing but pieces of steel out to ruin my life. Maybe this place probably didn't have one if those spears were any indication. Well that was my hope at least. Maybe they at least had a razor I could shave with. The stubble on my chin was starting to itch, and it would only get worse if I ever put my mask back on. It was the one of the reasons why Stalkers and Soldiers rarely kept beards, of course a few defied that and suffered the itching. The gas masks and the full plated helmets made beards feel more than uncomfortable.

That set my mind down a different hole; how was I breathing the air? Now that I thought about it, I did breath the air in the church and the Spartan Base due to it being an enclosed shelter. Maybe that was the case or maybe the air here was… artificial? No, that would make no sense. Possibly it was just the natural environment that gave off the unbreathable air, that would explain how sealed buildings made of concrete somehow allowed one to live in them. I was no scientist, so there would be no way I could tell. Most I could do would be to bounce around some ridiculous ideas.

A small coughing fit arose from me, as we turned down a hall. I stumbled forward a few meters, before collapsing to my knees. My lungs felt like they were drowning in acid, being rotted away from the inside. Each hack brought along a huge dose of pain, shooting from my chest to the rest of my entire body. The guards, with a little help from the Blue Princess hoisted me back to my feet and hurried me along. My head snapped back to the corner we turned. Along the wall, in the adjacent corner, sat a large flower pot with some sort of plant inside. That little bastard was out to kill me; at least I knew the answer to why I couldn't breathe the air outside. Maybe I could fashion a flame-thrower if I ever got out of here. Torch that hell hole of a forest to the ground, then of course the grass. I should probably start small though, maybe lighting that one plant on fire, if I got my lighter back.

A sudden tug on my restraints halted my forward progress, nearly causing me to fall flat on my ass. Once my footing had been restored, I stood straight up all the while constantly glaring at the guard, whom I figured pulled me back. Not a word escaped either of our lips, but he instead decided to incline his head as to nod towards something beside me. Yes I knew it was a male, heard him whisper to his buddy when they subdued me earlier.

I turned my entire body to face whatever was on my right side. There stood a rather large and imposing door, framed in carved artwork. The door gleamed, as though the thing was made out of solid gold, including the doorknob. Either these ponies were rich beyond my wildest dreams, or gold was just common as hell. I leaned towards the former, they were royalty after all. Of course there was still the possibility that the thing was just paint. Who knew, but that door did shine like gold would.

My eyes moved from the door, to the Blue Princess who seemed to be casting something. My jaw instantly clenched, grinding my teeth in the process. If she so much as cast a single thing on me, I would use my last moments to strangle the life from her. Not out of disdain for the Princess, but more out of a show of strength. I came to the assumption last night that she was what caused me to have a one on one conversation with maybe a dozen trees. I felt obliged to show her that her magic wasn’t everything.

I had planned to make a witty comment about her magic doing nothing, but the sudden clicking and grinding of a door’s lock caught my attention. It wasn’t anything quiet either, that door had one loud lock! Without a second thought though, the doors swung inwards, allowing me to view what I had thought to be the room of my death. Instead, it was lined with shelves that must have been nearly fifteen feet high!

A nudge from the guard on my left broke my amazement. I slowly strode through doors, followed swiftly by the Blue Princess. Without a moment of hesitation the Princess shut the doors behind her, leaving the guards outside of the massive library.

I swivelled my head around, looking each way, observing the room. The walls and the ceiling were nothing to marvel at. No intricate designs, unlike the Lenin Library in Moscow. What this place lacked in creative design, it made up for in information, I bet. There had to be nearly ten rows of shelves that seemed to stretch for a hundred meters before being headed off by another bookcase I slowly stepped forward, guided by the Princess.

My head continued to scan the shelves. Books upon books lined them, each varying in length. Some of them were as thick as my forearm, while other barely contained pages. Nestled between these books, held in untouched glass cases, sat parchment scrolls. My mind quickly flash-backed to my journey through the Library in Moscow. I had come across one of these scrolls. It had barely held together as it was, so I did not move it. For some reason, my mind compared it to humanity as it was. Held together by small threads, yet still standing after the worst could have been done to it. So fragile, that a single misplaced touch could collapse it; finally bringing about the demise of the scroll.

I nearly bumped face first into the perpendicular bookcase, yet for some odd reason Blue Princess held me back with a small tug of magic. I frowned deeply at the use of magic, yet I held my tongue. I didn't need to be on the receiving end of another face to face meeting with something made of wood again.

At the end of the perpendicular bookcase, was a small corridor that lead behind the bookcase. With the “guidance” of the Princess, I rounded it to find myself staring at a rather cluttered looking study hall. Now, the tables and chairs were perfectly aligned and in their respective places I think, while the floor cushions were organized together. The reason for it being cluttered, was that in the centre, in a cleared area, sat eight other ponies.

Each of them varied in size, colour, and shape. On the far left side sat an imposing white alicorn. She wore a set of golden regalia that seemed to be the opposite to the Blue Princess’s. She was no doubt, one of the four Princesses. Her mane billowed in an invisible wind, just like Blue’s, but the colouration was more akin to a rainbow, than the starry night sky that Blue’s had. Her face remind rather neutral, which couldn't be said for the rest. Her name, until I learned her proper name, would be White Princess. On her right, sat what looked like that guard in purple armour which chased after me. I hadn't gotten a good look as his face originally, but now, even though he still had his armour, he lacked his helmet. The unicorn had a short mane with what looked like blue highlights. If that wasn’t natural, then he would definitely not meet a human military standard. Heh, like a unicorn could ever do that anyway. His scowl for me was probably the most apparent out of all of the ponies present. His clutch on Twilight was also something that caught my eye. Whatever I did to piss him off, it must have been bad. Maybe the purple one was his girlfriend or something, he was keeping her tight against his body. He was henceforth dubbed Scowly.

Wrapped under Scowly’s left foreleg sat Twilight. She stared at me with extremely wide eyes, which more than revealed her terror for me. Completely justifiable terror as it was. beside her sat Fluttershy who looked more sad than anything. She had every right to; betraying another’s trust like I did would have made me more than little sad. From here onwards, sat four ponies that I had never met… not like I knew that many to start with.

The one sitting right next to Fluttershy was a blue pegasus with… seriously? It had a rainbow coloured mane. Seriously? I had thought White Princess’s hair was fruity, but this pony… she won the fruitiest contest. Well, at least her hair did, since the scowl on her face was nearing the unicorn guard’s in the amount of sheer contempt for me. Her right wing was draped over Fluttershy’s back; probably in a move of comfort. Since she was so fruity, I dubbed her Fruity.

Next to Fruity, sat an orange earth pony wearing a cowboy hat. Couldn't remember the official name for the hat type, so cowboy hat it was. Either way, she held a frown on her face, but it seemed to be the least harsh out of all of them. I also noted that she was sitting on the Fruity’s tail. It was obvious enough by her looks that she was also female, so the name cowboy was out of the question. I noticed though, that on her flank was a trio of apples. I was tempted to refer to her as Fruity the Second, but I knew that it would just be overkill on my little inside joke. So, I named her Pears, in honour of a drunk man I listened to back in Polis. He once stated that “pears are the natural enemy of apples. Their rivalry have gone back millennia!”

I bought him another drink for that statement alone.

Sitting beside Pears was another white colour pony with a purple mane that was probably styled or something. No hair could naturally be set that way. The look on her face was one of disgust. I couldn't tell whether it was at me directly, my actions, or something else. Either way, she had this snooty demeanour that was being exuded so much, that I could have rolled a small piece up into a ball, chucked it at her, and it would have just got clogged down in even more snootiness. Yet it was her white coat and slight chubby look that sealed the deal for her name. I mentally grinned as I dubbed her, Queen Marshmallow.

Finally on the complete end of the line, sat an outrageously pink pony. Everything about her was pink… except her eyes, huh. Her look was tough to decipher, for it was a smile, but not one that was meant to be read as happy. No, there was something odd about the smile; something that was hidden behind it, yet I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. I was going to name her something along the lines of the previous three, but in the back of my head I heard a small voice. I blinked a few times, as if to clear away the voice but something stuck; her name, the one I would call her for now. The name that came to mind was Pinkie Pie.

I must have been standing there staring for a long time, for Blue Princess had taken a seat on Pinkie Pie’s left side. It was only then that I noticed they were all seated on a cushion of sorts. Blue Princess looked at me before motioning to a cushion in front of all of them. “Sit.”

“Chair.” I said back to her, with a small intention to be snarky. A flare of her magic pushed the cushion away, all the while moving a chair forward to the exact same place as where the cushion had been. Without a second thought, I quickly sat myself down on the chair. My bound hands resting on my lap while I sat upright. Good posture, father always told me. It was a habit that I didn't mind, in fact it helped keep my back from getting weak at times.

“So, human,” White Princess started up.

“Artyom.” She looked slightly perplexed at my interruption. Without giving her a moment to ask what I meant, I continued. “My name is Artyom.”

“Yes. Well, Artyom, let me begin by saying that you are lucky. Normally the punishment for holding one of my little ponies hostage is much more severe. In fact, if it wasn’t for the ‘special’ nature of who you are, then we wouldn’t be talking right now.” Was she calling me specially gifted? By the way she said ‘special’ I could almost feel the insult. Maybe she didn’t mean it that way...

“I do not understand what you mean. I am nothing special.” How was I so special? Well, If I was the first human to be in this place then I can understand. Play innocent and find some information, that would be my strategy for dealing with this situation.

“Really now?” White Princess started up, “I beg to differ. Is it not obvious that you are the only one of your kind here? I would argue to say that you are very special indeed.”

I just continued to look at her, trying to give her my best blank look. There was no doubt that she was not buying it. There was a slight upturn at the corner of her… mouth? Mouth would probably be the best to call it. Focusing back on the situation showed that nothing had happened, while I contemplated what to call her mouth.

“How about we get to business then, Artyom?” I gave no response to her query, which allowed her to take my silence as a yes. “Luna?”

“What was thy purpose in taking art subjects prisoner?” Blue Princess spoke quickly, earning a look from White Princess. Well at least I knew one of their names; odd that it was named after the moon no less. Symbolic of something? Maybe, but that was besides the point. Luna cleared her throat before speaking again, “I mean, why did you take two of my… friends hostage?”

“А что вдруг - с языка Шекспира, да на нормальный язык? Знаешь, было как-то веселее когда архаизмы сыпались!” I said with a slight chuckle. Of course the use of a language they couldn't understand gained more than a few annoyed glares. Fruity especially seemed ready to jump me.

“What the hay are you saying, you big monkey?! Speak in motherfucking Equish! Don’t make me beat the hay out of you!” I had to cover my mouth with my still handcuffed hands in order to stifle any laughter. Was that what they called swearing? I’ve heard a little girl swear better than that! Sure, the second one was fine and all but I knew what she meant by ‘hay’ and it was still funny.

“Rainbow Dash!” Surprisingly, that exclamation came from the meek looking Fluttershy. She seemed more than slightly agitated by the statement. Her outburst brought along a few questioning looks from all but the Princesses. From what I could assume, she had only told her story to the Princesses. She almost pushed Fruity off of her, while looking shocked at the rainbow pony. “That was very rude!”

“What the hay, Fluttershy? Why are you standing up for this monster?! It held you hostage!” Fruity looked utterly shocked at Fluttershy for standing up for me. Also, Rainbow Dash was her name. Even with knowing her name, I still decided to nickname this Rainbow Dash, Fruity.

At least their attention was no longer focused solely on me. It gave me time to reconsider my situation. So I decided to zone out a little, while they bickered. Some of my attention though still focused on what they were saying.

“Yes, Fluttershy, darling! This… this beast took you hostage in your own home!” Queen Marshmallow spoke up.

“I ‘ave to agree wit Rares on this one, Flutters. It basically foalnapped ya in ya own home!” Pears chipped in her two cents, still continuing to sit on Fruity’s tail. Twilight still had this horrified look to her. I had no doubt scared her mentally. Scowly was still holding onto Twilight and glaring at me. In fact it seemed that he was trying even harder to pierce me with his gaze. White Princess was looking at me, still having that slight upturn in the corner of her mouth. Blue Princess was staring at Fluttershy with a look of pure astonishment, as if expecting her to literally explode right then and there. Finally there was Pinkie Pie who… who was still smiling at me.

Her smile was weirding me out. My right eyelid twitched a few times while staring at her smile. Dealing with a horde of Watchmen was easier than looking at that smile.

Under the looks of her fellow ponies, Fluttershy seemed to wilt a little bit from her previous stance. She was starting to shake, eyes darting back and forth as her entire body continued to tremble. Finally her gaze settled onto me, eyes pleading for help, for a dose of courage or something to help her push back the instinctual reaction to hide. I met her look with what I hoped was a look of compassion. A few quick moments passed, as she continued to look at me for help, there was little I could do. She had to stand up on her own… four hooves.

She proceeded to do just that. Her slowly eyes closed, followed by a sharp inhale of breath. When her eyes snapped open, I could see that she had found some courage, enough to stand up for herself amongst her friends.

“He isn't like that!” The look of astonishment on Luna’s face seemed to spread to that of all but White Princess and Pinkie Pie. I decided that then would be the perfect time to answer the Blue Pri- I mean Luna’s question.

“Out of need and fear.”

Every ounce of attention that had been focused on Fluttershy had been dropped onto me. It was almost comical to watch their heads slowly turn to face me. Even though I had answered their question, it seemed that they had completely forgot what the actual question had been.

“Your question,” I said pointing to Luna with both hands raised. “That is my answer.”

“Do explain, Artyom.” I was not expecting White Princess to speak up. It nearly took me off guard to hear her have more of an investment into what I was saying than any other.

“I woke up in a forest and nearly died from bad air. I ran and fought my way out of forest. I found shelter in her basement,” I said while pointing to Fluttershy. “Had no filters left, couldn't leave. Fluttershy and… Twilight came in. I reacted because I needed new filters. Was a bad decision, but there was no choice.”

Scowly snorted rather loudly before speaking, “There is always a choice beast.”

I was starting to get a little annoyed at their insistence to call me a beast, well at least all, but the Princesses and Fluttershy. I had no idea on what Twilight would call me, she hadn't spoken a single word. I wouldn't let that statement pass though, for this was a true exception to the point.

“What other choices? Wait for more ponies to discover me, so they freak out, and take me hostage instead? I cannot breathe the air, so leaving was out. Incite fear to get what was needed, so I could leave fast. Less time here, the better.” I had my eyes levelled solely on Scowly, matching his glare constantly. I would not back down from that argument, it was one of the few things I was sure off.

“Wait one applebuckin’ moment thar, partner! Ya sayin’ that ya can’t breath our air? That makes not a lick of sense.”

“I agree with Applejack, if you can not breath our air then how come you are without your… ghoulish mask right now?” Queen Marshmallow spoke up, to back up Pears. Well, her actual name was Applejack it seemed. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, whether or not to continue calling her Pears or not was the true question.

“Your plants.”

Such a simple answer brought along what I thought it would; a general confused look. It was actually one of the few times that White Princess dropped her little smirk. She was unsure what to make of my answer. Yet still, for some odd reason, Pinkie Pie still continued with her knowing and terrifying smile.

I was about to speak up to continue my answer to Queen Marshmallow’s question, but I was cut off by the most unexpected pony.

“Of course! It all makes sense now.” Twilight seemed to just shake off her look of terror. Her pupils which had been mere pinpricks grew to ridiculous proportions, nearly claiming all of her eyes as it was. “He had no mask when he was in the cellar, yet he could breathe properly. That’s because there were no plants in Fluttershy’s basement!”

I was rather happy to see that I had been wrong in mentally scarring Twilight. Her enthusiasm at this discovery seemed to trump all thought of fear. I was also glad that she had chosen to actually say ‘he’ instead of ‘it,’ though I could tell that Scowly and Fruity were more than ready to correct her in that way. Lucky for me, Luna cut off their chance.

“That would explain why he had a coughing fit when we passed one of the ferns on our way here.” Luna spoke all the while holding a hoof to her chin.

“Yes! It explains why he needed for me to replace his filters. Which I could have done if I wasn’t so frantic and rushed. In fact they were remarkably similar to some of the industrial filters that I have read about. The ones at factories that lack Unicorns, of course, for then they would just use a magical filter. No, the ones he gave me were simple in design, so they were probably mass produced. Just a layer of fibreglass followed by some oxidized carbon and finally just a metal screen. Maybe they were made for factories as well? If his species doesn't have magic, then it would make complete sense, but if they did than it would probably be cheaper to use magic. That actually reminds me, do you have magic? If you don’t then maybe you are more similar to Gryphons than ponies. Oh what is your species like? How about your home? What is the Equish word for your language? Would you be able to teach me your language? And what were those things that you carried? I have never-”

Twilight was cut off from her incessant ramblings by a golden aura covering her muzzle, acting to keep it shut. “Slow down, Twilight. Maybe in time Artyom will answer your questions, but right now we have more important issues. Now, Artyom,” White Princess said as she focused her attention back on me, “you said that you didn't want to be be here am I correct?”

“Да.” My answer brought a look of confusion from all the ponies. I had a slight lapse in thought, transitioning back to Russian. “I mean yes.”

“I see, why did you want to leave?”

“Not my home, not where I belong. My place is in Metro... in Polis. Was Exhibition, another station, but things changed. I left for personal reasons.” I said with a hint of sorrow, remembering those Rangers, I barely knew, that were probably dead. Those that lived in Exhibition were probably alive, but that part of my life had come and gone.

“Metro? Polis? Exhibition? Is that where you are from? Is that the name of your country and city?” Twilight spoke up with a hint of eagerness. Before this interrogation, I knew the personality of only one pony; Fluttershy. Now I was starting to see what her friends were like and Twilight… she was obviously a scientist type, eager to learn new things.

“Hardly. Metro is a place, a group of tunnels under true city. Polis is a station in those tunnels. We lived underground, taking trains and tunnels to stations. We had no city.”

Blue Princess looked more intently at me, curiosity nearly burning in her eyes, yet there was also a flicker of confusion amongst them. “Under your true city? What do you mean?”

“Конечно это должно было всплыть.” I said before shuffling in my seat a little bit. “My city was… destroyed. Gone, while I was child. Ruins of buildings stand in shadows of what was, of what we were as society. Some survived the blasts. Hidden in train tunnels known as Metro now. We no longer live on surface. The planet had abandoned us.”

Queen Marshmallow seemed to step off her high pedestal for a moment, looking at Artyom with a slight bit of concern showing in her eyes. “Surely, it wasn’t that bad?”

“I am kind of used to it. Bombs that fell, changed animals. Turned them into mutants, gave them abilities to survive. We were left behind for most part. All that we built, destroyed in blink of eye. We were no longer highest on… stick? Each day was struggle to survive.” I paused to take a deep breath, relishing in the ability to breathe without a gas mask. Over the course of my alone time in the cell, I decided to take stock in the little things in life. When I exhaled, I looked at Fluttershy, “Remember all my items? Remember what I pointed at you? Those are our ways of levelling playing field. They keep us alive.”

Fluttershy reacted in the exact way I predicted she would. Her surprise accumulated to her holding both hooves over her mouth while rearing back. Traces of tears were welling up at the corner of her eyes, threatening to break forward. Queen Marshmallow looked concerned for her friend, almost eager to comfort the disturbed pegasus. So I wasn’t surprised when she did just that, and moved to hold the pegasus close to her. In a way, I could understand what she was going through. Not in the way that I had experienced as pain before, but more that I understood why she was nearly in tears. Everything that she loved was non-existent in my world, so maybe the tears weren't over being scared, but more from pity? Hard to tell, I was no mind-reader and these ponies seemed to never act the same.

“That… I'm so sorry…” Twilight spoke up, breaking whatever silence had fallen over the group. Her head was bowed as to make it seem like she was mourning something, yet I could still see her eyes were wide with shock. There was that innocence again, balled up right in front of me. The Princesses on both sides took on a neutral look, holding back any sort of emotion to be shown while Scowly, not surprisingly, continued to scowl at me. Maybe he couldn't change his face or attitude, sort of like the inverse of Ulman.

“Back in Metro I did what I could. I fought to save many. Now I am here. So… what now?” I wanted to get out of this room and maybe back into the world. There was no way in hell I was going sit in this… place and be subjected to being herded around by ponies. Sooner I could leave, the better it would be for all of us.

“Just like that? You don’t even think twice about this? Just, here is my story, when do I get to leave?” Fruity was visibly upset, for what reasons though I couldn't exactly comprehend. “Who the buck do you think you are?”

“I said, my name is Ar-”

“I know who you are, that wasn’t the p- argh!” She was beyond furious for some odd reason now, both hooves held over her eyes while her teeth were barred. I was more than confused at the whole situation.

“Rainbow Dash, calm yourself,” Luna spoke up.

“No! He just comes here and hurts my friends, then proceeds to tell us a sob story just so he can leave? This isn’t right! There is no trial or anything for this?!”

“I said calm thyself, Rainbow Dash! This outburst is uncalled for!” Luna finally corralled the whole situation. Fruity seemed to continue to exude her furious attitude out towards me, intent on trying to intimidate me. A few passing moments of silence was all that was needed, for Celestia to interject back into the conversation.

“I think a better question is, what you would intend to do if we released you Artyom. You can understand as a ruler that I will not allow somep- someone to hurt my little ponies. So what would you do, Artyom?” She looked at me like a mother would look at a young child, asking them what they wanted to do on that given day. Just like a child’s choices, I was limited to what she would allow me to do.

I had to contemplate this, muse over my choices. There was a part of me that wanted to just stay and maybe settle down. Forget about all the troubles that the Metro held; forget about all the dangers I would face daily. Surely there was little left for me after the Rangers were basically gone; I don’t know how many stayed behind or survived. Then there was Anna, the only woman I could say that I came to love during my time in the Metro. Finally Exhibition… I had started all of what happened, just to save the place. Yet now I found myself, lacking the desire to head back. Maybe it was because I was no longer who I was before I left. It was a hard feeling to describe. Maybe a life among ponies would be fruitful and end up bringing about a new life for me. Yet, a vast majority of my mind screamed for me to leave, to forget the ponies and find a way home. That there had to be some reason for why I was here, for why I had been resurrected from the dead in order to be brought to a land of magical ponies. It also reminded me of Anna, the woman of my dreams despite our initial differences, and Khan, the man who despite everything would most likely live forever.

In the back of my mind, I could swear I heard a higher pitched woman telling me to follow my heart and do what would be best. My glazed over eyes drifted over the looks of each pony present, each one staring back at me. Their expressions differed, ranging from a patient look, to that of a spiteful glare. Somehow, though I found myself looking back at Pinkie Pie though. Her smile had thrown away the creepy look that it once had. It was replaced by a toothless smile that seemed to just fit with that little voice in my head.

“Leave. Leave to find way back.”

There was no hint of surprise among their faces this time. Fruity and Scowly actually looked rather relieved at this idea while Fluttershy and Twilight had a more sad look to both of them. Why those two out of any of them would feel that way was a mystery to me. I had been nothing but a string of miserable events to them, yet they seemed to have the audacity to pity my decision.

“If that is what you intend to do, then I cannot stop you,” White Princess spoke up, “but I must ask that before you depart that you give my… I mean Princess Twilight a chance to learn a little bit about you. You must understand that, since you are a completely new species in our lands, we are curious to learn as much about you and your people as possible. If you agree to this then you can leave tomorrow.”

There was no chance that, with me being this close to leaving, I wanted to piss off the Princesses. “If those are terms then I agree. Can I ask a favour?”

Luna was the one to respond, “Do ask but we do reserve the ability to decline, human.”

“Can I see my gear? I need to check it.”

“That can be arranged, follow me and I will show you to your gear. You will have to remain cuffed though.” I merely nodded in response to Luna’s declaration. She rose from her seat and moved over to me. “Afterwards I will escort you to your meeting with Princess Sparkle.”

I rose from my chair, looking for the last time over the group of ponies sitting intently before me. Not a smile or smirk came to my face, as I followed the Princess out. My feet carried me away, leaving the ponies behind, towards my gear. If all went smoothly I could rest easy without having to worry as to what I will do later on.

My feet must have carried me subconsciously behind Luna, for I found myself walking down a hallway much like the ones on the way to the meeting. I must have zoned out rather deeply, if I made it that far without noticing a single thing around me. It also seemed like Luna had tried to tell me something, for she had stopped to glare slightly at me.

“Did you not listen, human?” That coldness she had portrayed yesterday was edging back into her voice.

“Извини, I… spaced out.” I said with a small shake of my head. It was strange, but that one shake brought me to the realization that I actually had rather long hair. I couldn't even remember when I last had hair that could whip back and forth. There went my train of thought again. Another shake of my head focused me back on Luna, who still had us both stopped.

“You will leave tomorrow morning understood? We will work out a plan for your filters. Just inspect your gear quickly so I can take you to Twilight.” To which I only nodded in response. The conversation was done at that point, since she turned her head up again and proceeded to continue walking down the twists and turns of this ever confusing building. At that point though, I had figured that it was most likely a castle; the decorations giving it away.

I gave little attention to the overall look of the place, for I would not need to remember it. My stint here was due to be over tomorrow, so what was the point in remembering the layout of a place that I never wanted to see again. One rather large spiral staircase though did catch my attention. Hell, it had to be a larger one than the one I had to climb earlier.

Of course I was right in my assumption, that staircase seemed to take nearly half an hour to walked down. I was expecting there to be a rather… magical looking room, filled with antique treasures, or some sort of massive facility in which ponies were working to construct something devious. Yet at the end of the staircase, there was only a compact and bland concrete hallway. It actually reminded me of a few tunnels from the Metro. A dark cramped space, lined with doors along each walls all the while having nothing, but blank concrete to look at.

I felt right at home.

Luna decided to stop abruptly at a door on the right side. I looked backwards, counting the number of doors to the staircase. Six; it was the sixth door down. It gave me something to do while Luna opened the door. I attempted to follow her through the thick cast iron door, but had it abruptly slam in my face. Well, if that wasn’t the rudest thing she… it wasn’t, so I stopped that line of thought. Maybe she was just preparing the room, so she could kill me without anyone noticing. It would be rather simple for her to do so, hell she could probably just throw me against the walls enough times and I would crumble like rotten wood. The fact she left me alone was rather sloppy though, in fact if I wanted to escape I could just start running… and make it outside to suffocate. Such a great idea; maybe staying put would be for the best.

I was proven right in my actions, when the door was gently opened from the inside. Out stepped Luna, who kept her eyes trained on me the entire time she walked out. “Thou may enter, but thou shouldst be wary of our subjects, human.”

I nodded and stepped to the door, as Luna retreated back into the room. Her flowing tail was the last thing I saw before her whole body disappeared into the room. I held back a snicker at hearing her speak in her Shakespearean dialect. After a second to compose myself, I decided it would be best to dawdle and followed after her.

As I stepped into the once shut room, I was beyond surprised at what I saw. Everything that I had seen up to that point suggested that these ponies had nearly no technology and were rather primitive. Yet there I stood in a spacious room lined with electronics and tools that I had seen in the Metro, before as well as those that were brand new to me. What looked like computer towers lined a good portion of the walls, the tables covering what was left. The noises within the room were much akin to what one would expect. Clinking of glass, beeps and whirring noises coming from machines. The sounds of the actual ponies moving in the room though came to an abrupt end, as I stepped through the door. All eyes settled on the new and rather tall being that made itself known right behind the Princess.

Yet for the oddest of reasons, aside from the stares, not a single one of them did anything. It was as if they had frozen in place, watching me like a statue would watch one of its visitors. I pushed the thought of the ponies staring at me to the back of my mind. I was here for a purpose and that was to see my equipment. The Princess took no time in showing me to the table that was holding my gear.

At the far end of the room, nearly dead centre of it too, sat my gear. Every last bit of it was laid out meticulously. The first thought that came to my mind was whether or not the ponies had messed with it. My pace quickened until I came up to the table. Hands wandering the surface or each item, checking for immediate stuff out of place.

“Они что, трогали мою снарягу?”

Luna looked more than a little annoyed at me for speaking in a language she didn't understand. Mentally I sighed for being so complacent with these ponies. I broke out from the Red Line and the Nazis, yet a race that was comprised of magic ponies were holding me prisoner. I shook my head, which the rest of the ponies probably took as a sign I was not going to comply. I didn't give them time to act on that idea though.

Instead I waved my hand, gesturing across the… scientists before asking my question again. “Did they touch?”

“If thou means, have they attempted to disassemble thine gear? No, they haven’t. The most we hast ordered thee to do is look.”

I nodded before mumbling out, “Thank you, Luna.”

She must have been completely blind sided from me saying her name. This made a small bit of sense to me as I had yet to speak out one of the pony’s names. Instead of watching her probably shocked face, I opted to actually look over my gear. My mind brought up a mental check-list in order to make sure that all was actually there.

Armoured suit? Check.

Kalash? Check.

Saiga? Check.

Revolver? Check.

Handheld charger? Check.

Medkit? Surprisingly, check.

Bag of filters? Check.

Headgear and gas mask combination heavy helmet? There but the glass was cracked deeply in multiple sections.

Well shit, I wasn’t going to be able to go anywhere until that was fixed. Of course my first thought was to, how could I fix this myself? I had no access to the necessary tools nor the actual skills needed to do such a procedure. Yet I must have missed something, something painfully obvious…

I actually groaned out loud as the thought hit me. Magical ponies.

They probably had a spell to fix this up. God, this world was starting to get to me. It took me a little bit of contemplation in the basement to actually start believing Twilight when she first said she used magic to light the room. After a full hour of trying to reason that the light was emanating from a light bulb or something similar, I came to the ridiculous idea that, in this messed up place, magic did exist. From there, I actually just let go of all pretence of this world being normal.

“Can you fix it?” I said while holding the helmet up in my left hand and directing my right hand towards the cracks left in my helmet. It was odd that I was not as ticked off with her, especially after coming to the conclusion that she threw me into multiple trees. I was lucky that I didn't die from that, as well as I could actually remember what colour I was glowing before my head became one with the trees. When I saw Luna’s… magic, I just assumed it was her. Never felt the need to ask though, which was odd to say the least.

Luna looked up from her talk with what I assumed was the head researcher, noticing that I was attempting to get her attention. Her eyes moved from looking directly at me, then towards the helmet. “Ahh yes, your… helmet. It shall be fixed upon the morn’.”

Another snicker almost escaped my lips as she turned back towards the other pony. I didn't bother to look at the other ponies in the room, for they had nothing to do with what I needed. It would have been a waste of what precious time I had. Last on my checklist was my ammunition reserves. After the little fight with that first beast and those, snrk, Timberwolves, I needed to take a count of what I had left.

I still had thirty rounds left of a magazine in my Kalash, plus an additional five magazines left in general. So I was still good for Kalash rounds. Now my shotgun had nine shots in a magazine, plus an additional two drums, so forty-nine all together. Not as much as I would have liked, but I would have to make due. I fished out my revolver from the holster; two shots left in that. My hand instinctively reached into another pouch attached to my armour. A small jingling of rounds inside rose up as I grabbed the pouch. A quick peek inside confirmed that I still had a fair amount left. Without the time to count it all, I had to assume that there was probably forty-five rounds left.

I sighed and removed my hands from all of my gear. From what I had observed, I was all set to go. There was little I could do to prepare for the new world aside from some typical mental preparations that I did before each trip. I slowly pushed myself from the table, spinning on my heels in the process. “I'm ready.”

“Good, thou wast out of time anyhow.” Luna says without even so much as a look in my direction. Once more we began our trek back through the castle. Leaving the research room, as I dubbed it, was quick and easy. No hassle from the ponies there, as they cleared out of our way with nearly practised ease. I wondered how long this trip would take.

~~~~~

(One hour later)

Perspective: Artyom

Why was this trip taking so long? I checked my watch again, finding that we had in fact killed one full hour just by walking silently through the halls of the palace. Not a word out of Luna’s or my mouth, aside from the shallow breaths that I assumed both her and I were taking. This lack of action in general was starting to get to me.

It had been far too long, since I had something to do that actually involved my skill set. This whole idea of playing nice and talking was not normally something I did. Well, mainly the talking. I could be as nice as the next person when it came down to it. So I guess, it was just the amount of me being the centre of attention in terms of talking and being diplomatic that made me bored.

I had since started to keep track of the amount of left turns we had been taking, the current left turn being the seventh. How were we not going in circles at that point? Hell,I was almost sure that the next set of turns would most likely be a left, followed by a set of stairs.

As we rounded the next left, called it, things got unusual. The pink pony from earlier was walking down that exact hallway. Not a clue as to why she was, but there was no doubt that this was her.

Once again, that creepy smile was seemingly glue onto Pinkie Pie’s face. I kept my lips sealed tight as we neared her, not wanting to say something that could get me into trouble with the Princess. If I had my weapons that would have been a different matter, but since I was unarmed, I needed to keep my mouth shut, or I would find myself face first into another tree.

Luna came to an abrupt halt, forcing me to do so as well. It would seem that she was going to greet the evil pink pony.

“Hello there, Pinkie Pie, what a surprise seeing you here.”

“Heya, Princess! I was just on my way to the kitchen cause I had this supererific idea for a cupcake and just had to get it out of my head before I forgot about it, because if I forgot it then I wouldn't be able to bake it and if I can’t bake it then how can anypony eat it?” She stopped her rant, with a wide eyed look at the Princess, as if asking for her answer.

“I can’t wait to taste it. The kitchens are back down the hallway.” Luna said with a serene smile on her face. “Now if you can excuse me, I must take our… guest here to see our friend Twilight.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Luna continued to smile as she began to walk, with me starting up as well. I was forced to halt as well, a pink form standing in front of me. I hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether or not to just sidestep the pony and follow the Princess. That was pushed out of my mind as Pinkie stood on her back hooves, her left front one pressed against my body.

“Take a close look at the road you follow, Artyom, and be aware of how it might end.” Her face held a completely serious emotion to it. My eyes widening at the words she spoke. I had told no soul what Khan said to me! How could she know what he told me? I wanted to ask her, to hold her down and question her as to how she knew those words. Yet I felt somehow incapable of acting out those actions. She continued talking though.

“Force answers force Artyom. You know that, silly filly, he taught you that.” She lowered herself slowly until she was back onto her four hooves. She began to trot away before looking over her shoulder back at me, “you have a long way to go Artyom, will the end be what you wanted?”

I could only hang my mouth open at her words. She continued to smile at me for a few more moments before she giggled and continued down the hallway to the kitchen. My entire being was shaken at what this pony did. I… I could barely comprehend what had just happened. My mind was on standby, until I faintly heard Luna calling back at me. I barely registered what she was saying, but my feet knew that I needed to keep up with her. She had her head peaked around a corner up ahead, she must have turned it without noticing I wasn’t following.

She continued to say a few more words, but I continued to tune her out, my mind too focused on the events that had just happened. It wasn’t until a hoof prodded me that I finally snapped back to reality. I would have to process what I was told later, I couldn't afford to keep my mind stuck on the randomness of a single pony.

“We are here, human.” With a quick flicker of magic, she threw the doors in front of us open, revealing a rather bold looking room the likes of which would have been considered impossible to find in the Metro. I was at a lack of words, as the brilliance of the room washed over me. A small crystal chandelier hung above the room, sparkling in the glow of whatever was lighting the room. Each desk and seat was polished to perfection, making them nearly sparkle. Something I never thought that wood would have been capable of doing. Marble flooring of a pristine nature seemed to beckon to be admired, but never touched. It was nearly a mirror placed upon the ground, for I could swear that I saw the chandelier clearly just by looking at the ground beneath it. Finally, sitting at the one desk at the centre of the room was Twilight Sparkle.

The pony that I had thought to be traumatized. The same pony who proved me wrong as well as shocked me by her over-eagerness to learn all about me. The pony who I would be sitting in a room with for a few hours. She couldn't be any worse than Luna. At least she wasn’t giving me a cold look, as well as the occasional death threats.

The seemingly giant doors shut as soon as I stepped through them. My entire body spun around to see what had happened, only to come face to face with a door; soon followed by a click, much akin to a locking mechanism.

My eyes widen, I was being locked in here with her. They had to know something that I didn't! Maybe this was some sort of sick and twisted revenge?! Maybe she was going to get back at me and kill me!

“Oh, hi, Artyom! Glad to see you made it.” Her voice spoke fluently behind me. A cold shudder went down my spine. No matter how cheery and out of place she sounded, I knew deep down that this had to be a lead up for some sort of trap. Her smile seemed too creepy for it not to be. The way she followed each of my movements with her eyes was… well not that out of the ordinary really, but it was beyond creepy. I couldn't let this pony know that this place was starting to get to me.

I quickly turned my back to her, probably eliciting some sort of confusion from the purple pony. I gazed at the wall with increasingly cold and stern eyes, focusing on making my face stern and unreadable for my inquisitor. I sucked in a deep breath of air, slowly letting it out through my nostrils. My feet finally pivoted around, forcing me to face Twilight.

“Are you all right, Artyom?”

“Да.” She looked confused like I expected. She said nothing, as I made my way to the chair that was seated across from her. It kinda made me question why ponies had chairs that could support me. The Princesses were probably the only ones that could even use them. That wasn’t important; getting out of this room in one peace was.

“Okay then, so how about we start with something easy?” She smiled at me, probably hoping to receive one back. “Can you tell me your full name?”

“Ну ты же уже знаешь...” I groaned into my hand. “Artyom.”

“Yes I know that part of your name, but what is your last name?” That question shocked me quite a bit. I made sure to not show it on the outside, but I still somewhat reeled from it. I couldn't even remember my original last name at this point, it had faded from my memory much like my mother’s name. All I could remember was my first name. Sure my step-father’s last name was Sukhoi but I never really felt that it was my name. I had always been introduced, and introduced myself as Artyom. No last name, just Artyom. I should had one at some point. I tried searching my memories in the past for my last name, yet I came up empty every time. It felt as though something was blocking me from knowing, forcing me to just stick with my first name.

“Next question.” I was cold with how I said it. Not to just cover up what I had intended to, but now it was due to my realization over my last name. Of course, Twilight looked more than a little confused at that. Her wings rustled at her side, while her brow began to furrow.

A few tense moments passed before she spoke up, “Fine. I have a feeling you will just do the same with the rest of my general information questions. Let’s skip those then.”

She dabbed her quill in the little ink pot next to her before writing again. After a few lines of writing, she looked back up from the page. “All right, now what was the name of the place you were from?”

“The Metro under Moscow, Russia.” I said in a slight matter of fact tone. It was easier to answer these simple questions. Of course that could have been said for the previous one. “Grew up in VDNKh. Known as Exhibition.”

She scribbled down a few notes, before looking up from her writing. Her face held a perplexed look about it. One eyebrow raised higher than the other while her mouth was slightly open. Maybe it was actually a mix of shock and confusion.

“I thought you said Polis was your home? Was this Polis place where you lived before coming here?”

“Да. Well kind of, I stayed in Polis sometimes but lived in D6. ” I said with little thought being put into my answer. Of course, after Twilight had gotten the English part down, she seemed curious by what the first word was. Maybe it was time to tell someone, a word or two in Russian. “Да means yes.”

“Oh! That’s your language’s word for yes?! How exciting!” She cleared her throat a few times. She seemed to roll the word around in her mouth a few times, as if trying to taste each letter. I was a little confused at her mannerisms though.

“Are you okay?”

A child like grin appeared on her face, followed by a quick nod. “Да!”

I couldn’t help but let out a puff of air, holding back actual laughter. She had actually learned the word just by listening to me say it only a handful of times, though it was a rather simple word. Maybe it was her enthusiasm that she put behind the word that made me force back a smile at her. I had to keep up my façade until I could at least leave this building.

She gave a small giggle and blush. Probably was embarrassed at her little exclamation. Behind her hoof, that covered her mouth, she gave a small cough as to set things straight. “Ahem, back to business. Now I have never heard of these places before and I have studied every single inch of maps that we have for Equis. Maybe you could show me on a map?”

“Equis? What is that name?” My coldness was replaced by confusion. Well, half of it was true confusion. I had already thought that I was from another world, but I needed to confirm it.

“That is the name of the planet. Were you never taught this when you were a foal?”

“Foal… is that name of children?” To which I received a nod from her.

“That’s right! you probably don’t call your children that. Cubs maybe? Doesn't matter at this second, but please finish the first question.” She had jotted down a few notes before looking back at me with curious eyes.

“No, I was never taught of planet named that. My planet was Earth, and, from what I see, I doubt this is my planet.” I finally answered her question.

Her jaw dropped like a rock being tossed from a skyscraper into a river filled with shrimp. How the shrimp fit in with that comparison was lost even on me, but suffice to say, she was blown away at the prospect that I was from another world. The very thought of such an idea must have numbed her, or something because she wasn’t moving and her magic dropped her quill. Admittedly I was enjoying this a little, a pony’s expressions must have been much more vibrant than person’s because there was no way that a person could have the same facial expression as Twilight just had.

“I- I… but… it… there…” She sputtered out, her brain probably trying to comprehend what I had just said to her. I admit that if I were in her… place, I would have probably had the same reaction.

Maybe.

Probably not, but that’s only because I started to get used to all the weird shit I saw in the Metro. Hell, Khan was odd enough as it was. The guy just seemed to pop out of nowhere and sometimes at the oddest of times. If the guy wasn’t constantly trying to help me then I would probably have found it a lot more creepy than it was.

“T- that would mean… that changes everything!” I'm pretty sure that her smile covered more than half of her face. Without so much as a second thought, her magic started up again and a whirlwind of blank paper, maybe parchment, came flying towards the table at terminal velocity. She was practically bouncing on her seat in what I assumed was excitement. “I'm so excited! Not only will I be the first to learn about a new species, but that very same species is from another world!”

If I wasn’t trying to hide my emotions from all the ponies around here, I would have groaned loudly and face palmed. Whatever amount of time I thought this was going to take, was thrown out the window. A good prediction was that it would take a few hours longer than originally expected.

“Let’s get started shall we?!” I had no choice in the matter, “What is the scientific name for your species?”

I had to speak now or else it would get more difficult later. “Listen, Twilight, I was no scientist. I was a soldier. Some questions I can not answer.”

“Okay, but can you answer that one?” Her eyes seemed to be trying to plead to me, their size seemed to grow to impossible sizes.

“Yes. Homo Sapiens I think.” The smile she gave me in return was somewhat heart warming.

“Interesting… now are there any other sentient species on your planet?”

“No, humans were only ones… well were I guess. Beings we nicknamed Dark Ones, some called them Homo Novus, came after world end. Not sure if we Dark Ones are only other species.”

“Dark Ones…” her focus was completely on her notes, probably speculating ideas for questions or maybe on my answers. “Hmm, how many humans lived on your world? For that matter how big was your world?”

I put my cuffed hands to my chin, assuming a restricted thinker’s pose. “I can not answer second one. Never met someone who knew or read book that said. Answer to first question was seven billion I think. Before war though. As of now, I am unsure really.”

“Seven billion you say? That would mean your planet must have been rather vast. Unless your population could deal with more packed quarters… possibly different architecture.” She shook her head, as if to move her thoughts towards something else. “Moving on, I can speculate later.”

It was odd, she just stopped talking abruptly all the while looking at a sheet of parchment. Maybe it was a question list, it was impossible to see through it, so I decided to not guess. She must have came upon an interesting question if she was staring at that paper so intensely. Her once excited smile or thought expression was replaced by a disheartened stare. It was if she was afraid of looking at me and asking the question.

“Валяй, спрашивай.” She looked up at me with that saddened look, but now it contained a hint of confusion, no doubt from me slipping back into Russian. “Ask it.”

A deep sigh escaped her lips as her head drooped down to look at the parchment again. “I- I know you described your world briefly for the group but… could you tell me about it again? Maybe with more detail?”

I stared at her with what I was hoping, was a neutral expression. I was trying to read her face, seeing as to why she was ashamed to ask this. Aside from the two Princesses, ponies, from what I had seen, were very easy to read. Maybe Twilight was fearful or learning what my world was like, or maybe she thought I would feel insulted by such a question. A few more seconds of staring and my answer was a mixture of both. Understandable, especially after their initial reactions.

“I will try.” I brought a hand to my mouth in order to cough and clear my throat. As soon as it lowered I stood up. “Can I walk around?”

She nodded her consent at me. I paced slowly to the only window in the room. It was hardly large enough to get through. It was merely a viewing hole, one for light to shine through. I stared out into the serene beauty that was the sun setting on the distant horizon. How I had forgotten how such thing looked like; being little more than a kid, it was tough to actually remember such seemingly unimportant details in life. I had saw a couple when I scouted out the city but they always seemed marred. For not seeing the untouched thing in all those years, it made me feel somewhat nervous. Not the type in which you would believe something bad would happen, but more akin to how I felt when around Pinkie. It was an uneasy feeling that something else was pulling on the strings. Maybe it was just paranoia that plagued my mind like a nightmare. Too many betrayals in the past had left me scarred, unable to trust, and somewhat broken on the inside. Yet along with that feeling came an odd wave of relief, calming down the fires that told me to make a break for the exit and just leave right then a there.

“Artyom?” I blinked hard, snapping out of my reverie. My entire body spun to look at where the voice came from. Twilight was just staring at me, a mixture of concern on her face. “Are you all right?”

“Да.” I walked back towards my seat, eyes mulling over the chair while the decision to stand or sit came to the forefront of my mind. Sit won the battle. “Where to start… where to start.”

“When I was child, the world fell to war. Not normal war, nuclear war from what I was told. I had no memories of what happened. Probably too young to remember anyway. The world was always divided, according to a friend. Many countries with different ideas, different goals, and different wants. I don’t remember who attacked who, didn't matter at that point, since the world had died. So many died, too many to count. What happened to others is beyond me. In Moscow though, people fled down. Down into the tunnels of the metro. It became our home.” My stop gave Twilight a chance to ask another question.

“What is the metro exactly? You said before, that it was a group of tunnels, but it has to be more than that right?”

“Correct,” I said while standing up again. “The Metro used to be system for trains. Quick way to travel distances without streets getting crowded.”

“An underground train system? That is quite amazing! Your people must have been really intelligent to have come up with such an idea.” I didn't even bother to look at her, my eyes kept getting drawn to that sunset.

“Yes, we were. Anyway, the metro system became Metro when people realized that we had no home above ground. So we stayed, living in what were stations before. They became our homes for over two decades. It wasn’t easy surviving, we had little to eat. Not to mention the mutants that attacked. Each day was struggle to survive. It was common sight to see friends die. By mutants, or by our own hands; things were never peaceful.”

Twilight looked a little flustered. She knew that my world had been bad, but the idea that people dying by unnatural means seemed to throw her for a loop. I waited on her though, I knew that she would have a question regarding what I had just told her. I was starting to like being right.

“Mutants? Were the Dark Ones mutants? And you guys killed your own people?” She didn't stammer out a single word, instead it all came out clear and concise. No matter what her voice was like, her face betrayed what how she was trying to act. Eyes wide in astonishment, a grim looking frown plastered on her face, openly displaying her sorrow at the ideas. Her ears also seemed to respond to how she felt; both laid flat against her head. Submissive posture maybe? Fearful perhaps; I’ll remember that for the future.

“Mutants were once something normal. Changed by effects of bombs. The Dark Ones were something else, not sure. And yes, we killed each other. Never friend or ally, just those who were enemies. Basic conflicts like in war.” My explanations were kept short and simple for my world would take forever to explain and I didn't want to cater to her possibly unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

“It has been a awhile since a war has happened in Equestria, but a few have happened on the international scale. The Gryphons to the east have been in a few conflicts with the Minotaurs, but aside from that there hasn't been a war in over a thousand years.” She continued to write notes while clarifying the reason for her questioning about war.

“Too many wars in human history. Over petty things or things of bigger size.” I had moved away from the window at this point. A painting closer to the door had caught my eye; something about the duller colours when compared to this world was enchanting. It was a picture of Celestia and Luna standing on a ridge overlooking a valley of sorts. Their bodies were clad in armour that suited them, a bright gold that seemed to herald the sun for Celestia while Luna wore a nearly black set. Maybe it was closer to purple, but either way it seemed to be more reserved than that of her sister’s. The sisters looked out from the ridge into a sea of armoured ponies that looked to have gathered in front of them. The transition from day to night hidden among the light that left Celestia’s horn. It was odd to see that on their necks sat a gold coloured necklace while both of their forelegs had golden bands of the same colour.

I sighed out loud. “There was war before I appeared here. One side sought to conquer, the other sought to help. At least that was my view; I sought to help. Maybe it wasn’t war, just a battle. Only one needed to settle it. So many fell protecting what would have saved Metro. The Red Line wanted to control it, so they attacked. Short battle, maybe one hour of time. Hundreds of people died. We eventually lost, суки used train to smash defences. Our last option was destroy what we were protecting. Haven’t had to really think about it. Turned that switch without regret, without remorse. Maybe waiting a little longer would have saved us. At least the Red Line bastards died with us… with my friends. I can only hope Metro is better now.”

I stood looking at that painting for a few minutes, hoping that Twilight would interrupt before I had to continue. If I dared to speak right then and there, I would have probably choked on my words. “I- I… how… how about we move to something lighter. Did you… did you have friends?”

I slowly made my way back to the chair, gently lowering myself. When I was seated, a long sigh escaped my lips before I leaned back in the chair. “Yeah, I had friends. Where to start though is question.”

I smirked, knowing the answer. “I’ll tell you about Khan. Such an odd man, but probably best of friends. One odd character, knew everything about anything. Appeared out of nowhere though.”

“Sounds a little like my friend Pinkie Pie!” Now that couldn't be a coincidence that her actual name was what I dubbed her. “She was the pink Earth Pony. She is so random at times!”

“Heh, sounds like Khan. I remember this one time…”

*****

Perspective: Princess Celestia

“Ah, Shining Armor, glad you could make it. I was beginning to wonder if the messenger would ever find you.” I had my back turned to him, yet I knew who it was. Just another one of the benefits of being an Alicorn. Not enough of them to counter immortality. That, of course was neither here, nor there.

He bowed quickly, one leg across his chest. I rolled my eyes at the action. by all rights he was an equal in rank, even if he had no wings to show the position. Years of duty as a guard tended to give some interesting habits. At least I was glad that I convinced Twilight out of bowing before me. “There is no need for that, Prince, we are equals.”

“I'm sorry, Princess, but it is a force of habit.” My eyebrow quirked up at that.

“Do you bow before your wife before getting into bed with her?” That took him off guard completely. Nearly all of the citizens of Equestria saw me as nearly a god or a virgin-like Princess. Only Cadance and Luna knew better, and maybe Twilight would learn in time, but I was still her mentor to her. I had to admit though, it was always fun to toy with some of my closer subjects. They were always more bashful over something like that.

Shining was standing stock still, mouth open in pure surprise, while a nice blush was radiating on his cheeks. He stayed that way for a little while, I couldn't help but let out a little laugh. My horn glowed as I moved a teapot over to my tea table situation by the window of my room. The cups were already set out, planned for me and Luna, but she would be busy for a little while dealing with our guest. So, for now I decided to have a cup of tea. That and the levitation spell concealed the muffling spell I put on the room. Not a soul could hear what I was going to say to Shining. “Sit, Shining, we have something to discuss. Aside from my teasing, of course.”

Without a second thought Shining moved to the other cushion, situated on the opposite side of the tea table. I was not surprised when he refused to take a cup of tea; he was always straight forward and down to business when it came to meetings such as this one.

We sat quietly for maybe a minute, I was staring out on the slowly setting sun while he was staring at me. Most ponies though that the rising and setting of the sun was a big ritual in which we both needed to be there and see our respective celestial bodies. It was hardly even close to that; we usually just gave the bodies a set path and push before going about our business. We only made it look fancy for public image.

“Princess, why did you summon me here? I feel I should be preparing to head back to the Crystal Empire tomorrow, not sitting here while you drink tea. No offence intended, Princess.”

“None taken, Shining Armor.” I said before taking a sip of tea. “I know you are busy but this is important enough to forestall your plans to pack. Now tell me, what did you think of our guest?”

His face grew dark at the mention of Artyom. “You mean the beast who captured my little sister and her friend? The one that is being let free to wander the country tomorrow? I think he should be sent to the moon and he would if I had any say.”

I tittered at the former Captain of my guard. It was unlike him to get so angry at something. Of course he was just being an overprotective big brother but still. “Now, now, Prince Armor, I understand that there is cause to dislike our guest, but that is hardly the reaction I would expect from you.”

Shining looked like he was about to rebuke my statement, before my golden shod hoof shot up to stop him from speaking. “You heard his side for the story and yet you still refuse to accept him as more than a beast. I do not condone what he did, but in the great schemes of things, he barely held the pair at all. There have been worse crimes than what he has committed.”

I stared straight into Shining, knowing full well that I could read him like a book and I had to say, it was an interesting book at that. His love for his sister and country overruled his logic. I had to admit that, we as a species were overly emotional. In that right I was trying to lead by example and show less extensive emotions. Shining had a crucial role to play for me in what was going to happen and I needed to divert this early on. “The magic of friendship as you have seen Shining has cleansed beings more powerful than our human guest. I suggest that you learn to get along with him, for you will be spending more than a little while with him.”

“P- Princess?” He stammered out, completely shocked by my words.

“Artyom will need an escort through his journeys. You are to escort him for a period of one year. If he has not found a place in the world by then, then you are free to return to the Crystal Empire. You might not be my Guard Captain any more, but this mission is something that I think only you can handle. Cadance will be notified when you leave tomorrow. I’ll also want status reports when you figure they are necessary.”

He nodded his head before finding his voice again. “How do I get in contact with you, ma’am?”

“Glad you asked, Shining. I will supply you with a roll of parchment, quill, and ink that should last you awhile.” I levitated a vial that I had placed on my desk across the room. The vial itself was a simple thing, just glass and cork; it contained maybe half a litre. The contents on the other hoof were extremely special. Inside that vial was liquid dragon fire that was specifically tuned to my magical signature. In essence, a small drop could send nearly anything to me. Spike was kind enough to allow me to extract some on a few occasions. “This here, is liquid dragon fire. A single drop will send whatever it touches, straight to me. Use it carefully, for I have very little of the stuff.”

He mutely nodded again, as I placed the vial down on the table. He took the vial in his magic as he stood up. The light clopping of his hooves against the floor, echoed in the quiet room.

“Shining Armor.” He turned his head to look at me, followed by his body. “I’m not asking you to become friends instantly, but I can tell that even with all the foreign blood covering it, his heart is pure.”

With that said, he left the room. Only my thoughts and I were left; even the tea had started to cool.

~~~~~

(A few hours later)

Perspective: Artyom

“Ебите меня семеро, что за жизнь-то.” Simple as that. Fuck my life.

The ordeal with Twilight wasn’t necessarily bad mind you, but the fact of the matter was that we had spent three hours straight, cooped up in that room. One question led to another, which soon led to five more questions being asked on branching subjects. If I hadn't have had to be cooped up in the same room, constantly asking questions… well I probably would have been cooped up in my cell without anyone to talk to.

I guess it wasn’t so bad.

I actually kind of missed her now that I was indeed sitting in my cell, with no one to talk to. It felt nice to have someone who cared to listen to what you had to say. Back in the Metro I spoke little because everything that was asked of me did little to spark a response. On the occasions that it did, I just kept my mouth shut. The whole idea of being the silent soldier tended to instil an idea of power and fear among others. Here, it was different. Here it was the physical shapes that mattered more; horns and wings in combination gave off the illusion of power.

I was laying flat on my bed, staring once more at the blank ceiling above me. With the amount of time I had been looking at it, I feared that I might have burned it into my mind. That one lucid dream was bad enough, but if I had to see this ceiling in my dreams, I would have probably gone insane.

Sigh, the more I thought about it, the more I actually missed talking to Twilight. I played off the whole no emotion act I was going for. It wasn’t that tough to do any more, years of practice and all that. Her questions had indeed changed after asking about my world and what happened to me, they were more oriented on subjects that could be considered happier. At times I couldn't help, but slip into the melancholy though. One specific question received an answer that surprised me really. I was speaking completely off the top of my mind, so maybe when my parents were brought up, I didn't think much to answer. I just said what I last remembered of her. That being the face I saw in that light before I died.

“Красота.”

I rolled slowly onto my left side, the dim outline of the door stood out in the darkness. For being such an intimidating thing, the light shining through portrayed a sense of weakness, something that could be broken. Not that I would try though, it was too much like me in ways. Hardened by whatever shaped it, yet still it had moments of weakness.

This place was truly starting to get to me.

I closed my eyes, slowly letting the events of the day wash over me before falling to the deep black ocean of my subconscious. From the meeting with a group of rather expressive ponies, to finally seeing my gear. Slowly followed by question after question posed by Twilight, with the slow trek back to my cell in silence next to Luna. I swear I actually saw a hint of emotion on her face. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but I knew she had a small smirk on her face. Whether it was from the day’s events or some knowledge of what was going to happen, was inconsequential.

When I saw that smile, I almost felt… content? It felt weird and unnatural, as if something was twisting me a little in the inside. I flipped around so my back was against the wall, hoping to also fling off any more of those odd thoughts. Childish I know, but at times like these, it was good to take heart in the little things, as well as the naive things.

I sighed outwardly again before going back to laying on my back. My eyes were shut and yet I could still see the ceiling. I was right about burning it into my eyes. How foolish of me to stare at that damnable thing for so long, now it would haunt me in my dreams. As well as that odd laugh.

Wait, odd laugh?

Without a another moment to contemplate what was going on, a face appeared above me. It was too dark to tell and I was beyond surprised to even try. My first instinct was to push myself up and out of bed. That went about as smoothly as it sounded… meaning I was on my feet and ready to fight in seconds.

My hands were curled into fists and raised to strike. They never really got their chance though.

“There is no need to come to blows, Artyom! No need to strike a friend.” That voice… no, it couldn't be.

“W- what?!” My voice hitched at the possibility. The darkened figure rose one of its hands before snapping its fingers.

Illumination spread throughout the room, brightening it much like a lantern would, each nook and cranny of the room was revealed in the rather bright glow that just seemed to start in the middle of the air. That was hardly the surprise though.

Standing in the direct centre of the room was a man I swear I had seen dead, a man that by all means continued to defy what I thought was reality. There he stood, light brown fur jacket with a hood. That signature red beaded necklace matched with a scarf tied around his waist and that red bandanna with gold patterns on it. His grey beard, along with that ponytail, covered his cheeks and chin. All of what I was seeing could not be real, there was no way.

“Khan?” I asked hesitantly.

“Indeed, Artyom, now let’s walk. I have much to show and tell you.” With a wave of his hand, the door to my cell opened slowly. A blinding white light shone from the other side. Not a single thing could be seen through it, and yet he still was able to get me to walk into it.